Part. 1. B. 1. c. 4.

PHYSICO-THEOLOGY

=Transcriber’s Note:= Due to the age of this book, spelling, grammar,

hyphenation, capitalization etc do not conform to modern standards,

and in many cases are not even consistent within the text itself.

Text has been retained as printed. Exceptions were made for a few

extremely obvious printer’s errors (such as RAEDER for READER in the

heading TO THE READER, and confusion between similar-looking Hebrew

letters).

Italic text is denoted _like this_; upright text within italic passages

~like this~; bold text =like this=.

_PHYSICO-THEOLOGY_:

OR, A

DEMONSTRATION

OF THE

BEING and ATTRIBUTES of GOD,

FROM HIS

_Works_ of _Creation_.

Being the Substance of

Sixteen SERMONS

Preached in St. _Mary-le-Bow-Church, London_;

At the Honourable Mr. _BOYLE_’s LECTURES,

in the Years 1711, and 1712.

With large NOTES, and many curious OBSERVATIONS.

By W: DERHAM, Canon of _Windsor_, Rector

of _Upminster_ in _Essex_, and F. R. S.

_Mala & impia consuetudo est contra Deos disputare, sive animo id

fit, sive simulatè._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. fine.

_The FIFTH EDITION, more Correct than any of the former._

[Illustration]

_LONDON_: Printed for W. and J. INNYS, at the

_Prince’~s~-Arms_ the West End of St. _Paul_’s. 1720.

[Illustration]

TO THE

Most Reverend Father in GOD,

_THOMAS_,

Lord Archbishop of CANTERBURY.

Primate of all _ENGLAND_, &c.

The Surviving TRUSTEE of the Honourable Mr. _BOYLE_’s LECTURES.

_May it please Your Grace_,

I may justly put these LECTURES under your Graces Patronage, their

Publication being wholly owing to You: For having the Honour to be a

Member of the ROYAL SOCIETY, as well as a _Divine_, I was minded to try

what I could do towards the Improvement of _Philosophical_ Matters to

_Theological_ Uses; and accordingly laid a Scheme of what I have here

published a Part of, and when I had little else to do, I drew up what

I had to say, making it rather the diverting Exercises of my _Leisure

Hours_, than more serious _Theological Studies_. This Work, (although

I made a considerable Progress in it at first, whilst a Novelty, yet)

having no Thoughts of Publishing, I laid aside, until your Grace,

being informed of my Design by some of my Learned Friends, both of the

Clergy and Laity, was pleased to call me to the unexpected Honour of

Preaching Mr. _Boyle_’s LECTURES: An Honour I was little aware of in my

Country-Privacy, and not much acquainted with Persons in high Stations,

and not at all, particularly, with your Grace. So that therefore as it

pleased your Grace, not only to confer an unsought profitable Honour upon

me (a Stranger) but also to continue it for Two Years, out of Your good

Opinion of my Performance, in some measure, answering Mr. _Boyle_’s End;

so I can do no less than make this publick, grateful Acknowledgment of

your Grace’s great and unexpected Favour.

But it is not my self alone; but the whole LECTURE also is beholden to

your _Grace_’s kind and pious Endeavours. It was You that encouraged this

noble Charity, and assisted in the Settlement of it, in the Honourable

_Founder_’s Life-time; and since his Death, it was You that procured a

more certain Salary for the LECTURERS, paid more constantly and duly

than it was before[a].

These Benefits as I my self have been a Sharer of, so I should be very

ungrateful should I not duly acknowledge, and repay with my repeated

Thanks and good Wishes And that the infinite Rewarder of well-doing may

give Your _Grace_ a plentiful Reward of these, and Your many other, both

Publick and Private Benefactions, is the hearty Wish of,

_Your GRACE’s

Most Humble and Thankful

Son and Servant_,

W. DERHAM.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It may not only gratify the Reader’s Curiosity, but also be of Use

for preventing Encroachments in Time to come, to give the following

Account of Mr. _Boyle_’s Lectures.

Mr. _Boyle_, by a Codicil, dated _July 28. 1691._ and annexed to

his Will, charged his Messuage or Dwelling-House in St. _Michael_’s

_Crooked-Lane, London_, with the Payment of the clear Yearly Rents and

Profits thereof, to some Learned Divine in _London_, or within the Bills

of Mortality, to be Elected for a Term not exceeding Three Years, by his

Grace the present _Lord Archbishop_ of _Canterbury_ (then Dr. _Tenison_),

Sir _Henry Ashurst_, Sir _John Rotheram_, and _John Evelyn_, Esq; The

Business he appointed those Lectures for, was, among others, _to be

ready to satisfie real Scruples, and to answer such new Objections and

Difficulties, as might be started: to which good Answers had not been

made_. And also, _To Preach Eight Sermons in the Year, the first ~Monday~

of ~January~, ~February~, ~March~, ~April~ and ~May~, and of ~September~,

~October~ and ~November~._ The Subject of these Sermons was to be, _The

Proof of the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels, ~viz.~

Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans, not descending lower to

any Controversies that are among Christians themselves_. But by Reason

the Lecturers were seldom continued above a Year, and that the House

sometimes stood empty, and Tenants brake, or failed in due Payment of

their Rent, therefore the Salary sometimes remained long unpaid, or could

not be gotten without some Difficulty: To remedy which Inconvenience, his

present _Grace_ of _Canterbury_ procured a Yearly Stipend of 50_l._ to be

paid Quarterly for ever, charged upon a Farm in the Parish of _Brill_, in

the County of _Bucks_: Which Stipend is accordingly very duly paid when

demanded, without Fee or Reward.

[Illustration]

TO THE READER.

[Sidenote: _Vid. Bp. ~Burnet~’s Funeral Serm. p. 24._]

_As the noble ~Founder~ of the LECTURES I have had the Honour of

Preaching, was a great Improver ~of Natural Knowledge~, so, in all

Probability, he did it out of a pious End, as well as in Pursuit of his

~Genius~. For it was his settled Opinion, that nothing tended more to

cultivate true Religion and Piety in a Man’s Mind, than a thorough Skill

in Philosophy. And such Effect it manifestly had in him, as is evident

from divers of his published Pieces; from his constant Deportment in

~never mentioning the Name of GOD without a Pause, and visible Stop in

his Discourse~; and from the noble Foundation of his Lectures for the

Honour of GOD, and the generous Stipend he allowed for the same._

[Sidenote: _Vid. Mr. ~Boyle~’s Will._]

_And forasmuch as his Lectures were appointed by him for the ~Proof of

the Christian Religion against Atheists and other notorious Infidels~,

I thought, when I had the Honour to be made his Lecturer, that I could

not better come up to his Intent, than to attempt a Demonstration of

the ~Being~ and ~Attributes of GOD~, in what I may call Mr. ~Boyle~’s

own, that is a ~Physico-Theological~, Way. And, besides that it was

for this very Service that I was called to this Honour, I was the

more induced to follow this Method, by reason none of my learned and

ingenious Predecessors in these Lectures, have done it on purpose, but

only casually, in a transient, piece-meal manner; they having made it

their Business to prove the great Points of Christianity in another

Way, which they have accordingly admirably done. But considering what

our ~Honourable Founder~’s Opinion was of ~Natural Knowledge~, and that

his Intent was, that those Matters by passing through divers Hands, and

by being treated of in different Methods, should take in most of what

could be said upon the Subject, I hope my Performance may be acceptable,

although one of the meanest._

_As for others, who have before me done something of this kind; as

~Mersenne~ on ~Genesis~; Dr. ~Cockburne~ in his ~Essays~; Mr. ~Ray~

in his ~Wisdom of God~, &c. and I may add the first of Mr. ~Boyle~’s

~Lecturers~, the most learned Dr. ~Bently~ in his ~Boyle~’s ~Lectures~,

the eloquent Arch-Bishop of ~Cambray~, (and I hear, the ingenious Mons.

~Perault~ hath something of this kind, but never saw it:) I say, as to

these learned and ingenious Authors, as the Creation is an ample Subject,

so I industriously endeavour’d to avoid doing over what they before had

done; and for that Reason did not, for many Years, read their Books until

I had finish’d my own. But when I came to compare what each of us had

done, I found my self in many Things to have been anticipated by some or

other of them, especially by my Friend, the late great Mr. ~Ray~. And

therefore in some Places I shorten’d my Discourse, and referr’d to them;

and in a few others, where the Thread of my Discourse would have been

interrupted, I have made use of their Authority, as the best Judges; as

of Mr. ~Ray~’s, for Instance, with Relation to the Mountains and their

Plants, and other Products. If then the Reader should meet with any

Thing mention’d before by others, and not accordingly acknowledged by

me, I hope he will candidly think me no Plagiary, because I can assure

him I have along, (where I was aware of it,) cited my Authors with their

due Praise. And it is scarce possible, when Men write on the same, or

a Subject near a-kin, and the Observations are obvious, but that they

must often hit upon the same Thing: And frequently this may happen from

Persons making Observations about one, and the same Thing, without

knowing what each other hath done; which indeed, when the first Edition

of my Book was nearly printed off, I found to be my own Case, having

(for want of Dr. ~Hook~’s ~Micrography~ being at hand, it being a very

scarce Book, and many Years since I read it,) given Descriptions of two

or three Things, which I thought had not been tolerably well observ’d

before, but are describ’d well by that curious Gentleman._

_One is a ~Feather~, the Mechanism of which we in the main agree in,

except in his Representation in ~Fig. 1. Scheme 22.~ which is somewhat

different from what I have represented in my ~Fig. 18, &c.~ But I can

stand by the Truth, though not the Elegance of my Figures. But as to

the other Differences, they are accidental, occasion’d by our taking

the Parts in a different View, or in a different Part of a Vane; and

to say the Truth, (not flattering my self, or detracting from the

admirable Observations of that great Man,) I have hit upon a few Things

that escap’d him, being enabled to do so, not only by the Help of such

Microscopes as he made use of; but also by those made by Mr. ~Wilson~,

which exceed all I ever saw, whether of ~English~, ~Dutch~, or ~Italian~

make; several of which Sorts I have seen and examined._

_The other Thing we have both of us figur’d and describ’d, is, ~The

Sting of a Bee or Wasp~; in which we differ more than in the last.

But by a careful Re-examination, I find, that although Dr. ~Hook~’s

Observations are more critical than any were before, yet they are not so

true as mine. For as to the ~Scabbard~, (as he calls it,) I could never

discover any Beards thereon; and I dare be confident there are none, but

what are on the two Spears. And as to the Point of the ~Scabbard~, he

hath represented it as tubular, or bluntish at the Top; but it really

terminates in a sharp Point, and the two Spears and the Poyson come out

at a Slit, or longish Hole, a little below the Top or Point. And as to

the Spears, he makes them to be but one, and that the Point thereof lies

always out of the Scabbard. But by a strict Examination, they will be

found to be two, as I have said, and that they always lie within the

Scabbard, except in stinging; as I have represented them, in ~Fig. 21.~

from the transparent Sting of a Wasp. And as to the Spear being made of

Joynts, and parted into two, as his ~Fig. 2. Scheme 16.~ represents, I

could never upon a Review, discover it to be so, but imagine, that by

seeing the Beards lying upon, or behind the Spears, he might take them

for Joynts, and by seeing the Point of one Spear lie before the other, he

might think the Spear was parted in two. But lest the Reader should think

himself imposed upon both by Dr. ~Hook~ and my ~Self~, it is necessary

to be observ’d, that the ~Beards~ (or ~Tenterhooks~ as Dr. ~Hook~ calls

them) lie only on one Side of each Spear, not all round them; and are

therefore not to be seen, unless they are laid in a due Posture in the

Microscope, ~viz.~ sideways, not under, or atop the Spear._

_The last Thing (which scarce deserves mention) is the Mechanism of the

~Hair~, which Dr. ~Hook~ found to be solid, like a long Piece of Horn,

not hollow, as ~Malpighi~ found it in some Animals. And I have found

both those great Men to be in some Measure in the Right, the Hair of

some Animals, or in some Parts of the Body being very little, if at all

tubular; and in others, particularly ~Mice~, ~Rats~ and ~Cats~, to be as

I have represented in my ~Fig. 14.~ &c._

_And now if my Inadvertency in other Things hath no worse Effect than

it hath had in these, namely, to confirm, correct, or clear others

Observations, I hope the Reader will excuse it, if he meets with any

more of the like kind. But not being conscious of any such Thing

(although probably there may be many such) I am more sollicitous to

beg the Reader’s Candour and Favour, with Relation both to the ~Text~

and ~Notes~: In the former of which, I fear he will think I have much

under-done, as in the latter over-done the Matter: But for my Excuse,

I desire it may be consider’d, that the textual Part being Sermons, to

be deliver’d in the Pulpit, it was necessary to insist but briefly upon

many of the Works of GOD, and to leave out many Things that might have

been admitted in a more free Discourse. So that I wish it may not be

thought I have said too much rather than too little for such an Occasion

and Place. And indeed, I had no small Trouble in expunging some Things,

altering many, and softening the most, and, in a word, giving in some

measure the Whole a different Dress than what I had at first drawn it up

in, and what it now appears in._

_And as for the ~Notes~, which may be thought too large, I confess I

might have shorten’d them, and had Thoughts of doing it, by casting some

of them into the Text, as an ingenious, learned Friend advis’d. But when

I began to do this, I found it was in a Manner to new-make all, and

that I should be necessitated to transcribe the greatest Part of the

Book, which (having no Assistant) would have been too tedious for me,

being pretty well fatigu’d with it before. I then thought it best to

pare off from some, and to leave out others, and accordingly did so in

many Places, and would have done it in more, particularly, in many of

the ~Citations~ out of the ~Ancients~, both ~Poets~ and others, as also

in many of the ~anatomical Observations~, and many of my own and others

Observations: But then I consider’d as to the First, that those Citations

do (many of them at least) shew the Sense of Mankind about God’s Works,

and that the most of them may be acceptable to young Gentlemen at the

Universities, for whose Service these Lectures are greatly intended.

And as to the anatomical Notes, and some others of the like Nature,

most of them serve either to the Confirmation, or the Illustration, or

Explication of the Text, if not to the learned, yet to the unskilful,

less learned Reader; for whose sake, if I had added more, I believe he

would forgive me. And lastly, as to the Observations of my self and some

others, where it happens that they are long, it is commonly where a

Necessity lay upon me of fully expressing the Author’s Sense, or my own,

or where the Thing was new, and never before Publish’d; in which Case, it

was necessary to be more Express and Particular, than in Matters better

known, or where the Author may be referr’d unto._

_In the former Editions I promised ~another Part I~ Had ~relating to

the Heavens~, if I was thereunto encouraged. And two large Impressions

of this Book, having been sold off, so as to admit of a Third before

the Year was gone about; and hearing that it is translated into two, if

not three Languages; but especially being importuned by divers learned

Persons, both known and unknown, I have thought my self sufficiently

engaged to perform that Promise; and have accordingly published that

Part._

_So that I have now carry’d my ~Survey~ through most Parts of the visible

Creation, except the ~Waters~, which are for the most Part omitted; and

the ~Vegetables~, which, for want of Time, I was forced to treat of in a

perfunctory Manner. And to the Undertaking of the former of these, having

receiv’d divers Sollicitations from Persons unknown as well as known,

I think my self bound in Civility to own their Favour, and to return

them my hearty Thanks for the kind Opinion they have shewn of my other

Performances, that they have encourag’d me to undertake this other Task.

And accordingly I have begun it, and (as far as my Affairs will permit)

have made some Progress in it: But Age and Avocations growing upon me,

I begin to fear I shall scarce be able to finish it as I would, and

therefore must recommend that ample and noble Subject to others, who have

more leisure, and would do it better than I._

_As to ~Additions~, I have been much sollicited thereto by divers curious

and learned Persons, who would have had me to insert some of their

Observations, and many more of my own: But in a Work of this Nature, this

would have been endless; and although the Book would thereby be render’d

much better, and more compleat, yet I could by no Means excuse so great

an Injustice to the Purchasers of the former Editions. And therefore

(except in the second Edition, where it was not easy to be avoided) few

Additions or Alterations have been made, besides what were Typographical,

or of small Consideration. Only in the third Edition I amended the first

Paragraph of ~Note (a). Chap. 5. Book 1.~ concerning ~Gravity~; and in

the Fourth, ~Page 16.~ and ~18.~ I inserted two Passages out of ~Seneca~,

that were inadvertently left out, and corrected many Things, that upon a

careful Review, seem’d to want amendment._

_And lastly, as to the following ~Analysis~, it was added at the Request

of some of my learned and ingenious Friends; and although it might have

been contracted, they would not suffer it to be so._

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

AN

ANALYSIS

OF THE

Following BOOK.

The Works of the Creation relating to our Terraqueous Globe, are such as

are visible in the

Outworks or Appendages of the Globe, _viz._ these three:

1. The Atmosphere

Composed of Air and Vapours, _Page_ 4.

Useful to

Respiration and Animal Life 5.

Vegetation of Plants 9.

Conveyance of

The winged Tribes.

Sound 11.

The Functions of Nature.

Reflecting and Refracting Light 12.

Containing the

Winds, which are of great Use and Necessity

To the Salubrity and Pleasure of the Air 14.

In various Engines 18.

In Navigation.

Clouds and Rain: Of great Use to the

Refreshment of the Earth and the things therein 20.

Origine of Fountains, according to some 23.

2. Light. Its

Fountain 26.

Wonderful Necessity and Use.

Improvement by Glasses 28.

Velocity.

Expansion 29.

3. Gravity.

Its great Benefit 33.

Cause of _Levity_, which is of great Use in the World 35.

Terraqueous Globe it self. Of which I take a View in General of.

Its Spherical Figure, which is the most commodious in regard of,

Light 40.

Heat.

Lodgment of the Waters.

The Winds 41.

Its Bulk 43.

Its Motion _ibid._

Annual.

Diurnal.

Its Place and Distance from the Sun, and other heavenly Bodies 46.

Its Distribution, so as to cause all the Parts of the Globe to

Balance each other 48.

Be helpful to one another.

The great Variety and Quantity of all things serving for Food,

Physick, Building, and every Use and Occasion of all Ages,

Places, and Creatures 53.

An Objection answered 55.

Particular of the Earth: of its Constituent Parts, _viz._ Its

Soils and Moulds, necessary to the

Growth of various Vegetables 61.

Various Occasions of Man, and other Animals 62.

Various Strata or Beds, affording Materials for

Tools.

Firing.

Building.

Dying, and thousands of other things 64.

Conveyance of the sweet Fountain-Waters 65.

Subterraneous Caverns and Vulcano’s; of great Use to the

Countries where they are 67.

Mountains and Valleys, which are not rude Ruins, but Works of

Design, inasmuch as this Structure of the Earth is

The most beautiful and pleasant.

The most Salubrious: to some Constitutions, the Hills; to some,

the Valleys 71.

Best to skreen us, and other things 72.

Beneficial to the

Production of various Vegetables.

Harbour and Maintenance of various Animals 73.

Generation of Minerals and Metals 75.

Absolutely necessary to the Conveyance of the Rivers; and in

all probability to the Origine of Fountains _ibid._

Conclusion against blaming GOD 81.

Its Inhabitants; which are either _Sensitive_ or _Insensitive_.

Concerning the Sensitive, some things are

Common to all the Tribes, particularly these Ten:

I. The five Senses and their Organs; the 85.

Eye, an admirable Piece of Mechanism in regard of its

Form, for the most part Spherical, which is best for

The Reception of Objects.

Motion of the Eye 90.

Situation in the most commodious part of the Body of every

Creature.

Motion, in some Animals,

Every way.

Fixed; and the excellent Provision in that case 91.

Size: which is in

All Creatures, according to their Occasions.

Such as live abroad in the Light; larger.

Such as live under ground, less.

Number, in some Animals:

Two 94.

More: Together with the wise Provision to prevent double

Vision.

Parts; some of which are viewed

Transiently, the Arteries, Veins, and some of the Muscles

and Tunicks.

More strictly some of the

Muscles, and the excellent Provision made for their

peculiar Uses, Equilibration, _&c._ 96.

Tunicks: Among which the various Apertures, Forms, and

Positions of the Pupil are particularly noted 99.

Humours, especially the prodigious Finery and

Composition of the Crystalline, according to

Mr. _Lewenhoeck_.

Nerves 105.

Optick.

Motory.

Guard and Security, provided for by

The Reparation of the Aqueous Humour.

Covering of the Eye Lids.

Strong and curious Bones.

Hard and firm Tunicks.

Withdrawing them into their Heads 109.

Of erect Vision 111.

Hearing. Its

Organ, the Ear, 113.

Double, enabling us to hear every way, and a good Provision

for the Loss or Hurt of one.

Situated in the very best place for Information, Security,

and near the Eye and Brain.

The Fabrick of the Outward Ear, which is in

All Creatures formed, guarded, placed, and every way

accoutered according to their various Places and

Occasion 115.

Man suitable to his erect Posture; and all its Parts,

the _Helix_, _Tragus_, _Concha_, &c. admirably suited

to the Reception and Melioration of Sounds, and the

Security of the Part.

Inward Ear: In which I take a View of the 121.

Auditory Passage, curiously tunnelled, tortuous and

smooth and being always open, is lined with the

nauseous Ear-wax for a Guard.

Tuba Eustachiana 122.

Bone, particularly hard and context for Guard, and

to assist the Sound.

Tympanum, and its Membrane, Muscles, and four little

Bones to correspond to all kinds of Sound.

Labyrinth, Semicircular Canals, Cochlea; all made with

the utmost Art 127.

Auditory Nerves, one of which is ramified to the Eye,

Tongue, Muscles of the Ear, and to the Heart;

whence a great Sympathy between those Parts 128.

Object, Sound. Under which I consider,

The Improvements thereof by the Wit of Man 129.

Its great Necessity, and excellent Uses 132.

Its Pleasure, and the Power of Musick 134.

Smelling. In which sense these things are remarkable; the

Nostrils, always open, cartilaginous, and endowed with

Muscles 137.

Laminæ, serving for

A Guard against noxious Things 138.

The spreading of the Olfactory Nerves.

Prodigious Use of it in all, especially some of the

Irrationals 139.

Taste. The Things most remarkable in which Sense are, the

Nerves spread about the Tongue and Mouth, with their Guard.

The Papillæ, neatly made 140.

Situation thereof to be a Centinel to the Stomach and Food.

Consent thereof with the other Senses, by some Branches of

the fifth Pair 141.

Feeling. 142.

Whose Organ is the Nerves 143.

Which is dispersed through every Part of the Body, and the

admirable Benefit thereof.

II. Respiration the grand Act of Animal Life 145.

Ministering to the Circulation of the Blood and Diastole of

the Heart.

The Parts concerned therein are

The Larynx, with its great Variety of Muscles, _&c._ for

Respiration, and forming the Voice 148.

Trachea and Epiglottis, exquisitely contriv’d and made.

Bronchi and Lungs, with their curious Arteries, Veins and

Nerves 150.

Ribs, Diaphragm, and the several Muscles concerned.

Its Defects in the

Fœtus in the Womb 153.

Amphibious Creatures 157.

Some Animals in Winter.

III. The Motion of Animals: Concerning which I consider

Transiently the

Muscles, and their Structure, their Size, Fastening to the

Joynts, Motions, _&c._ 158.

Bones, and their curious Make.

Joynts, with their Form, Bandage and Lubricity 161.

Nerves, and their Origine, Ramifications and Inosculations.

More particularly the Loco-Motive Act it self, which is

Swift or slow, with Wings, Legs many or few, or none at all,

according to the various Occasions and Ways of Animals

Lives. As particularly in

Reptiles, whose Food and Habitation is near at hand.

Man and Quadrupeds, whose Occasions require a larger Range,

and therefore a swifter Motion 164.

Birds, and Insects, whose Food, Habitation and Safety

require yet a larger Range, and have accordingly a yet

swifter Motion and direct Conveyance.

Geometrically and neatly performed by the nicest Rules.

Well provided for by the

Due Equipoise of the Body 165.

Motive Parts being accurately placed with regard to the

Center of the Body’s Gravity, and to undergo their

due Proportion of Weight and Exercise.

IV. The _Place_ allotted to the several Tribes of Animals to

live and act in. Concerning which I observe that

Their Organs are adapted to their Place 167.

All Places habitable are duly stocked.

Various Animals have their various Places; and the Wisdom

thereof 168.

V. The Balance of Animals Numbers, so that the World is not

Overstocked by their Increase.

Depopulated by their Death.

Which is effected in

The several Tribes of Animals by a due Proportion in the

Length of their Life 169.

Number of their Young, in

Useful Creatures being many.

Pernicious few.

Man very remarkably by the

Different Length of his Life.

Soon after the Creation 171.

When the World was more, but not fully peopled 171.

When it was sufficiently stocked, down to the present

time.

Due Proportions of Marriages, Births and Burials 174.

Balance of Males and Females 175.

VI. The Food of Animals. In which the Divine Management and

Providence appears in the 179.

Maintaining such large Numbers of all kinds of Animals on

the Land, in the Seas, and divers Places too unlikely

to afford sufficient Food.

Adjustment of the Quantity of Food to the Number of Devourers,

so that

There is not too much, so as to rot, and annoy the World 181.

The most useful is most plentiful, and easiest propagated _ibid._

Delight which the various Tribes of Animals have to the

Varieties of Food, so that what is grateful to one, is

nauseous to another: Which is a wise means to cause

All Creatures to be sufficiently supplied.

All sorts of Food to be consumed.

The World to be kept sweet and clean by those means 183.

Peculiar Food, that particular Places afford to the Creatures

residing therein 184.

Curious Apparatus in all Animals for Gathering, and Digestion

of their Food, _viz._ the

Mouth, nicely shaped for Food, _&c._ In

Some, little and narrow 189.

Some, with a large deep Incisure.

Insects very notable to catch, hold and devour Prey; to

carry Burdens, to bore and build their Habitations 190.

Birds as notable, Horned in all. In some

Hooked for Rapine, climbing, _&c._ 192.

Sharp and strong to pierce Trees, _&c._

Long and slender to grope.

Long and broad to quaffer.

Thick and sharp edged to husk Grain.

Compressed to raise Limpets, _&c._

Teeth, which are peculiarly hard, firmly inserted in the

Jaws, variously shaped in the same, and different

Animals, deficient young Creatures, _&c._ 194.

Salival Glands, commodiously placed for Mastication and

Deglutition 196.

Muscles and Tendons, serving to Mastication, strong and

well lodged.

Gullet, sized according to the Food; with curious Fibres,

_&c._ 196.

Stomach; 197.

Which hath a curious Mechanism of Fibres, Tunicks, Glands,

Nerves, Arteries and Veins.

Whose Faculty of Digestion by such seeming weak Menstruums

is admirable.

Whose Size and Strength is conformable to the Nature of

the Food, or Occasions of Animals.

Which is in

Tame Animals but one.

Ruminants, Birds, _&c._ more.

Guts, whose Tunicks, Glands, Fibres, Valves, and Peristaltick

Motion deserve Admiration 201.

Lacteals, together with the Impregnations from the

Pancreas, Gall, Glands, and Lymphæducts.

Sagacity of all Animals in finding out, and providing Food. In

Man less remarkable for the sake of his Understanding 202.

Inferiour Creatures. In such as are

Come to mature Age, and are able to help themselves, by their

Accurate Smell 203.

Natural Craft.

Hunting and groping out of Sight.

Seeing and Smelling at great Distances 205.

Climbing; the strong Tendons and Muscles acting therein.

Seeing in the dark.

Helpless. As 207.

Young Creatures.

Man, born the most helpless of any, the Parents Reason,

Hands and Affection sufficing.

Irrationals: For whose Young the Creator hath made a

sufficient Provision partly by the

Parent-Animal’s own

Στοργὴ, and Diligence in Nursing and Defending them 207.

Sagacity and Care in repositing their Eggs and Young,

where Food and all Necessaries are to be found 209.

Ability of the Young themselves to shift for, and help

themselves, with the little Helps of their Dams 210.

Creatures destitute of Food at some Seasons, or likely to

want it, who

Are able to live long without Food 211.

Lay up Food before-hand.

VII. The Cloathing of Animals, which is 214.

Suited to the Place and Occasions of all. In

Man, it is left to his own Reason and Art, joined with

sufficient Materials: Which is best for him,

Because he may sute his Cloathing to his Quality and

Business 218.

For Perspiration and Health sake.

To exercise his Art and Industry.

To excite his Diligence in keeping himself sweet and clean.

In being the Parent of divers Callings 219.

Irrationals: Who are either

Ready furnished with proper Cloathing.

On the dry Land with Hair, Fleeces, Furrs, Shells, hard

Skins, _&c._ 220.

In the Air with Feathers, light, strong and warm.

In the Waters with Scales, hard for Guard; smooth for

Passage; or with strong Shells to guard such as move

more slowly 223.

Provide for themselves by their Textrine, or Architechtonick

Art. Of which under the next Branch.

Well garnished, being all Workman-like, compleat, in its kind

beautiful, being 224.

Adorned with gay, various and elegant Colours.

If sordid, yet with exact Symmetry, and full of curious

Mechanism.

VIII. The Houses and Habitations of

Man, who is abundantly furnished with

Contrivance and Art to build and garnish his Habitations 226.

Materials of all sorts to effect his Works.

Irrationals, whose marvellous Instinct is manifested by the

Convenience of their Nests and Habitations for the

Hatching and Education of their Young 228.

Guard and Defence of themselves and their Young.

Fabrick of their Nests, scarce imitable by Man, and shewn by

their Contrivance and Make, being exactly suitable to

their Occasions, and made by

Putting only a few ugly Sticks, Moss, Dirt, _&c._ together 231.

Building Combs according to the best Rules of Mathematicks.

Weaving Webs, and making Cases. For which Service the Parts

of their Bodies, and Materials afforded by them are very

considerable.

IX. Animals Self-Preservation. For which there is always a Guard

in proportion to the Dangers and Occasions of their State.

Which is observable in

Man, whose Reason and Art supplies the Defect of Natural

Armature.

Irrational Creatures; who

As they are on one Hand sufficiently guarded by their

Shells, Horns, Claws, Stings, _&c._ 239.

Changing their Colours.

Wings, Feet, and Swiftness.

Diving in, and tinging the Waters.

Ejecting Juices out of their Body.

Accurate Smell, Sight and Hearing.

Natural Craft 243.

Uncouth Noise, ugly Gesticulations, and horrid Aspect.

Horrible Stink and Excrements.

So on the other Hand can by their Strength, Sagacity,

or natural Artifices entrap and captivate, what is

necessary for their Food and other Occasions.

X. Animal’s Generation.

Equivocal, is denied 244.

Univocal, Which of

Man, is οὐ πρέπειας ἕνεκα, passed wholly by

Irrational Creatures, which is remarkable for their

Sagacity in chusing the fittest Place for their Eggs

and Young: Where it is observable what a

Compleat Order they observe.

Neat Apparatus their Bodies are provided with for this

purpose 248.

Natural Venom they inject with their Eggs into Vegetables

to pervert Nature, and produce Balls, and Cases 250.

Making use of the fittest Seasons, either

All Seasons 251.

When Provisions are most plentiful and easiest had.

Due Number of Young 252.

Diligence and Concern for their Young, in point of

Incubation 253.

Safety and Defence 254.

Faculty of Nursing their Young, by

Suckling them. In which it is observable

How suitable this Food is.

How willingly parted with by all, even the most savage.

What a compleat Apparatus in all Creatures of Dugs, _&c._

Putting Food in their Mouths, with their proper Parts

for catching and conveying Food 255.

Neither way, but by laying in Provisions before-hand 256.

Having in the Fourth Book thus dispatched the Decad of Things in

common to the _Sensitive Creatures_, I take a view of their

particular Tribes, _viz._ of

_Man_; whom I consider with relation to his

Soul. Concerning which having cursorily mentioned divers things,

I insist upon two as shewing an especial divine Management,

the

Various Genii, or Inclinations of Men, which is a wise

Provision for the Dispatch for all the World’s Affairs,

and that they may be performed with Pleasure 263.

Inventive Faculty, In which it is remarkable that

Its Compass is so large, extending to all things of Use, and

occasioning so many several Callings.

Things of greatest Necessity and Use were soon and easily

found out; but things less useful later, and dangerous

things not yet. Here of divers particular Inventions,

with an Exhortation to exercise and improve our Gifts.

Body. In which the things particularly remarked upon are the

Erect Posture 282.

The most convenient for a Rational Being.

Manifestly intended, as appears from the Structure

of some particular Parts mentioned 285.

Nice Structure of the Parts ministring thereto.

Equilibration of all the Parts 286.

Figure and Shape of Man’s Body most agreeable to his Place

and Business 287.

Stature and Size, which is much the best for Man’s State 288.

Structure of the Parts, which are

Without Botches and Blunders.

Of due Strength.

Of the best Form.

Most accurately accommodated to their proper Offices.

Lodgment of the Parts, as the

Five Senses 297.

Hand.

Legs and Feet,

Heart.

Viscera.

Several Bones and Muscles, _&c._ 298.

Covering of all with the Skin.

Provision in Man’s Body to

Prevent Evils by the

Situation of the Eyes, Ears, Tongue and Hand 300.

Guard afforded all, especially the principal Parts.

Duplication of some Parts.

Cure Evils by means of

Proper Emunctories 301.

Diseases themselves making Discharges of things more

dangerous 303.

Pain giving Warning, and exciting our Endeavours.

Consent of the Parts, effected by the Nerves, a Sample

whereof is given in the Fifth Pair, branched to the

Eye, Ear, _&c._

Political, sociable State. For the Preservation and Security

of which the Creator hath taken by variety of Mens.

Faces 308.

Voices.

Hand-writing.

_Quadrupeds._ Of which I take no notice, but wherein they differ

from Man, _viz._

Prone Posture, which is considerable for

The Parts ministering to it, especially the Legs and Feet,

sized and made in some for

Strength and slow Motion 315.

Agility and Swiftness.

Walking and Running.

Walking and Swimming.

Walking and Flying.

Walking and Digging.

Traversing the Plains.

Traversing Ice, Mountains, &c.

Its Usefulness to

Gather Food 317.

Catch Prey.

Climb, Leap and Swim.

Guard themselves.

Carry Burdens, Till the Ground, and other Uses of Man.

Parts differing from those of Man.

Head, wherein I consider

Its Shape, commonly agreeable to the Animal’s Motion 319.

The Brain, which is,

Lesser than in Man 319.

Placed lower than the Cerebellum.

The Nictitating Membrane 321.

Carotid Arteries, and Rete Mirabile.

Nates.

Neck.

Answering the Length of the Legs 322.

Strengthened by the Whitleather.

Stomach, 324.

Corresponding to the several Species.

Suited to their Proper Food, whether Flesh, Grain, &c.

Heart: Its

Ventricles in some

One only 325.

Two.

Three, as some think.

Situation nearer the midst of the Body, than in Man.

Want of the Fattening of the Pericardium to the Midriff 327.

Nervous kinds. A Sample of which is given in the different

Correspondence between the Head and Heart of Man and Beast

by the means of the Nerves. 329.

_Birds._ Concerning which I take a View of their

Body and Motion; where I consider

The Parts concerned in their Motion 333.

The Shape of the Body, made exactly for swimming in, and

passing through the Air.

Feathers, which are

Most exactly made for Lightness and Strength.

All well placed in every Part, for the Covering and

Motion of the Body.

Preened and dressed 334.

Wings, which are

Made of the very best Materials, _viz._ of _Bones_

light and strong; _Joynts_ exactly opening, shutting,

and moving, as the Occasions of Flight require; and

the _Pectoral Muscles_, of the greatest Strength of

any in the whole Body.

Placed in the nicest point of the Body of every Species,

according to the Occasions of Flight, Swimming or

Diving.

Tail, which is well made, and placed to keep the Body

steady, and assist in its Ascents and Descents 337.

Legs and Feet, which are made light for Flight, and

incomparably accoutred for their proper Occasions of

Swimming 338.

Walking.

Catching Prey.

Roosting.

Hanging.

Wading and Searching the Waters.

Lifting them upon their Wings.

Motion it self.

Performed by the nicest Laws of Mechanicks.

Answering every Purpose and Occasion.

Other Parts of the Body, _viz._ the

Head, remarkable for the commodious

Shape of it self 341.

Forms of the Bill.

Site of the Eye and Ear.

Position of the Brain.

Structure of the

Larynx.

Tongue.

Inner Ear.

Provision by Nerves in the Bill for tasting and

distinguishing Food 344.

Stomachs, one to

Macerate and prepare 345.

Grind and digest

Lungs incomparably made for

Respiration 346.

Making the Body buoyant.

Neck, which is made

In due Proportion to the Legs.

To search in the Waters, and

To counterpoise the Body in Flight.

State. Of which I take notice of three Things, _viz._ their

Migration remarkable for

The Knowledge Birds have of

Their Times of Passage 348.

The Places proper for them.

Their Accommodation for long Flights by long or else

strong Wings.

Incubation, which is considerable for

The Egg, and its parts 351.

Act itself; that these Creatures should betake themselves

to it, know this to be the Way to produce their Young,

and with delight and Patience fit such a due Number

of Days.

The Neglect of it in any, as the Ostrich, and the wonderful

Provision for the Young in that Case 354.

Nidification. Of which before.

_Insects._ Which, altho’ a despised Tribe, doth in some Respects

more set forth the infinite Power and Wisdom of the Creator,

than the larger Animals.

The things in this Tribe remarked upon are their

Body 359.

Shaped, not so much for long Flights, as for their Food,

and Condition of Life.

Built not with Bones, but with what serves both for Bones

and Covering too.

Eyes, reticulated to see all ways at once 360.

Antennæ, and their Use 361.

Legs and Feet made for

Creeping 363.

Swimming and Walking.

Hanging on smooth Surfaces.

Leaping.

Digging.

Spinning and Weaving Webs and Cases.

Wings, which are

Nicely distended with Bones 365.

Some incomparably adorned with Feathers and elegant

Colours.

Some joynted and folded up in their Elytra, and distended

again at pleasure.

In Number either

Two, with Poises.

Four, without Poises.

Surprizing Minuteness of some of those Animals themselves,

especially of their Parts, which are as numerous and

various as in other Animal Bodies 367.

State: which sets forth a particular Concurrence of the

Divine Providence, in the wise and careful Provision

that is made for their

Security against Winter, by their

Subsisting in a different, _viz._ their Nympha or Aurelia

state 369.

Living in Torpitude, without any Waste of Body or Spirits 370.

Laying up Provision before-hand.

Preservation of their Species by their

Chusing proper Places, to lay up their Eggs and Sperm, so

that the

Eggs may have due Incubation 373.

Young sufficient Food.

Care and Curiosity in repositing their Eggs in neat Order,

and with the proper Part uppermost 382.

Incomparable Art of Nidification, by being endow’d with

Parts proper for, and agreeable to the several Ways of

Nidification, and the Materials they use in it.

Architectonick Sagacity to build and weave their Cells,

or to make even Nature herself their Hand-maid 384.

_Reptiles._ Which agreeing with other Animals in something

or other before treated of, I consider only their

Motion, which is very remarkable, whether we consider the

Manner of it, as

Vermicular 394.

Sinuous.

Snail-like.

Catterpillar-like.

Multipedous.

Parts ministring to it.

Poison, which serves to

Scourge Man’s Wickedness 398.

Their easy Capture and Mastery of their Prey.

Their Digestion.

Watery Inhabitants considerable for their

Great Variety 401.

Prodigious Multitudes.

Vast bulk of some, and surprizing minuteness of others 403.

Incomparable Contrivance and Structure of their Bodies.

Supplies of Food.

Respiration.

Adjustment of their Organs of Vision to their Element.

Poise and Motion of the Body every Way 402.

Insensitive Inhabitants. Among which having mentioned Fossils

and others, I insist only upon _Vegetables_, and that in a

cursory manner upon their

Great Variety for the several Uses of the World 404.

Anatomy.

Leaves 407.

Flowers and their admirable Gaiety.

Seed, remarkable for its

Generation.

Make.

Containing in it a compleat Plant 408.

Preservation and Safety in the Gems, Fruit, Earth, &c.

Sowing, which is provided for by Down, Wings, Springy Cases,

carried about by Birds, sown by the Husbandman, &c. 412.

Growing and Standing: Some by

Their own Strength 417.

The Help of others, by clasping about, or hanging upon them.

Remarkable Use, especially of some which seem to be provided

for the Good of

All Places 420.

Some particular Places, to

Heal some Local Distempers.

Supply some Local Wants.

Practical Inferences upon the whole are these Six, viz. That

GOD’s Works.

1. Are great and excellent 425.

2. Ought to be enquired into, with a Commendation of such as

do so 427.

3. Are manifest to all, and therefore Atheism unreasonable 428.

4. Ought to excite Fear and Obedience 431.

5. Ought to excite Thankfulness 432.

6. Should move us to pay God his due Homages and Worship,

particularly that of the Lord’s Day: which is an

Appointment

The most ancient 438.

Wisely contrived for Dispatch of Business, and to prevent

Carnality.

Whose proper Business is, to cease from Worldly, and to

follow Spiritual Employments; the chief of which is

the Publick Worship of GOD.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

A

SURVEY

OF THE

Terraqueous Globe.

[Illustration]

_INTRODUCTION._

In _Psal._ cxi. 2. The Psalmist asserts, That _the[a] Works of the Lord

are great; sought out of all them that have Pleasure therein_. This is

true of all _God’s Works_, particularly of his _Works of Creation_:

Which, when _sought out_, or, as the _Hebrew_ Word [b] signifieth, when

_heedfully_ and _deeply pried into, solicitously observ’d and enquir’d

out_, especially when clearly discovered to us; in this Case, I say, we

find those Works of GOD abundantly to deserve the Psalmist’s Character

of being _Great_ and Noble; inasmuch as they are made with the most

exquisite Art, [c] contrived with the utmost Sagacity, and ordered

with plain wise Design, and ministring to admirable Ends. For which

reason St. _Paul_ might well affirm of those Ποιήματα of God, [d] That

the _invisible Things of God, even his eternal Power and Godhead, are

understood by them_. And indeed they are the most easy, and intelligible

Demonstrations of the _Being_ and _Attributes_ of God;[e] especially

to such as are unacquainted with the Subtilties of Reasoning and

Argumentation; as the greatest part of Mankind are.

It may not therefore be unsuitable to the Nature and Design of

Lectures[f] founded by one of the greatest Vertuoso’s of the last Age,

and instituted too on purpose for the Proof of the Christian Religion

against Atheists and other Infidels, to improve this occasion in the

Demonstration of the _Being_ and _Attributes_ of an infinitely wise and

powerful Creator, from a Cursory Survey of the Works of _Creation_, or

(as often called) of _Nature_.

Which Works belong either to our _Terraqueous Globe_, or the _Heavens_.

I shall begin with our _own Globe_, being nearest, and falling most under

our Senses. Which being a Subject very various and copious, for the more

methodical and orderly proceeding upon it, I shall distribute the Works

therein:

I. Into such as are not properly Parts, but _Appendages_ or _Out-works_

of the Globe.

II. The _Globe_ it self.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is not unlikely that the Psalmist might mean, at least have an Eye

to, _the Works of the Creation_ in this Text, the Word ‎‏מעשה‏‎ being the

same that in _Psal._ 19. 1. is translated _God’s Handy-work_, which is

manifestly applied to the Works of _Creation_, and properly signifieth

_Factum_, _Opus_, _Opisicium_, from ‎‏עשה‏‎ _Fecit_, _Paravit_,

_Aptavit_. And saith _Kircher_, _significat talem affectionem, quâ

aliquid existit vel realiter, vel ornatè, velut non sit in pristino statu

quo fuit._ Concord, p. 2. col. 931.

[b] ‎‏דרש‏‎ _Quasivit_, _perquisivit_, _sciscitatus est_, Buxtor. in

verb. _Et simul importat curam, & solicitudinem._ Conrad. Kirch. ib. p.

1. col. 1174.

[c] _Quod si omnes mundi partes ita constitute sunt, ut neque ad usum

meliores potuerint esse, neque ad speciem pulchriores; videamus utrùm ea

fortuita sint, an eo statu, quo cohærere nullo modo potuerint, nisi sensu

moderante divinâque providentia. Si ergo meliora sunt ea quæ Naturâ,

quàm illa, quæ Arte perfecta sunt, nec Ars efficit quid sine ratione; ne

Natura quidem rationis expers est habenda. Qui igitur convenit, signum,

aut tabulam pictam cùm adspexeris, scire adhibitam esse artem; cumque

procul cursum navigii videris, non dubitare, quin id ratione atque arte

moveatur: aut cùm Solarium, &c. Mundum autem, qui & has ipsas artes,

& earum artifices, & cuncta complectatur, consilii & rationis esse

expertem putare? Quod si in Scythiam, aut in Britanniam, Sphæram aliquis

tulerit hanc, quam nuper familiaris noster effecit Posidonius, cujus

singulæ conversiones idem efficiunt in Sole, &c.——quod efficitur in cœlo

singulis diebus & noctibus; quis in illâ barbarie dubitet, quin ea Sphæra

sit perfecta Ratione? Hi autem dubitant de Mundo, ex quo & oriuntur, &

fiunt omnia, casune ipse sit effectus,—an Ratione, an Mente divinâ? Et

Archimedem arbitrantur plus valuisse in imitandis Sphæræ conversionibus,

quàm Naturam in efficiendis, præsertim cùm multis partibus sint illa

perfecta, quam hæc simulata, solertius, ~&c.~_ Cic. de Nat. l. 2. c. 34,

35.

[d] And a little before he saith of _Nature_ it self, _Omnem ergo regit

Naturam ipse ~[Deus]~ &c._

[e] _Mundus codex est Dei, in quo jugiter legere debemus_, Bernard. Serm.

_Arbitror nullam gentem, neque Hominum societatem, apud quos ulla Deorum

est religio, quidquam habere sacris Eleusiniis aut Samothraciis simile:

Ea tamen obscurè docent quæ profitentur: Natura verò opera in omnibus

animantibus sunt perspicua._ Galen. de Us. Part. l. 17. c. 1.

[f] _Philosophia est Catechismus ad Fidem._ Cyril. 1. contr. Jul.

[Illustration]

BOOK I.

_Of the Out-works of the Terraqueous Globe; the Atmosphere, Light, and

Gravity._

[Illustration]

CHAP. I.

_Of the Atmosphere in general._

The Atmosphere, or Mass of Air, Vapours and Clouds, which surrounds our

Globe, will appear to be a matter of Design, and the infinitely wise

Creator’s Work, if we consider its _Nature_ and _Make_[a], and its _Use_

to the World[b].

1. Its Nature and Make, a Mass of Air, of subtile penetrating Matter, fit

to pervade other Bodies, to penetrate into the inmost Recesses of Nature,

to excite, animate, and spiritualize; and in short, to be the very Soul

of this lower World. A thing consequently

2. Of greatest Use to the World, useful to the Life, the Health, the

Comfort, the Pleasure, and Business of the whole Globe. It is the Air

the whole Animal World breatheth, and liveth by; not only the Animals

inhabiting the Earth[c] and

Air[d], but those of the Waters[e] too. Without it most Animals live

scarce half a Minute[f]; and others, that are the most accustomed to the

want of it, live not without it many Days.

And not only Animals themselves, but even Trees and Plants, and the whole

vegetable Race, owe their Vegetation and Life to this useful Element;

as will appear when I come to speak of them, and is manifest from their

Glory and Verdure in a free Air, and their becoming Pale and Sickly, and

Languishing and Dying, when by any means excluded from it[g].

Thus useful, thus necessary, is the Air to the Life of the animated

Creatures; and no less is it to the Motion and Conveyance of many of

them. All the winged Tribes owe their Flight and Buoyancy[h] to it,

as shall be shewn in proper place: And even the watery Inhabitants

themselves cannot ascend and descend into their Element, well without

it[i].

But it would be tedious to descend too far into Particulars, to reckon

up the many Benefits of this noble Appendage of our Globe in many useful

Engines[k]; in many of the Functions and Operations of Nature[l] in the

Conveyance of Sounds; and a Thousand Things besides. And I shall but

just mention the admirable use of our Atmosphere in ministring to the

enlightening of the World, by its reflecting the Light of the heavenly

Bodies to us[m]; and refracting the Sun-beams to our Eye, before it

ever surmounteth our Horizon[n]; by which means the Day is protracted

throughout the whole Globe; and the long and dismal Nights are shorten’d

in the frigid Zones, and Day sooner approacheth them; yea the Sun itself

riseth in Appearance (when really it is absent from them) to the great

Comfort of those forlorn Places[o].

But passing by all these Things with only a bare mention, and wholly

omitting others that might have been named, I shall only insist upon the

excellent Use of this noble circumambient Companion of our Globe, in

respect of two of its Meteors, the Winds, and the Clouds and Rain[p].

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Mundi pars est Aer, & quidem necessaria: Hic est enim qui cœlum

terramque connectit, ~&c.~_ Senec. Nat. Qu. l. 2. c. 4.

[b] _Ipse Aer nobiscum videt, nobiscum audit, nobiscum sonat; nihil enim

eorum sine eo fieri potest, ~&c.~_ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 33.

[c] As the Air is of absolute Necessity to Animal Life, so it is

necessary that it should be of a due Temperament or Consistence; not

foul, by reason that suffocateth: not too rare and thin, because that

sufficeth not; with Examples of each of which, I shall a little entertain

the Reader. In one of Mr. _Hawksbee_’s Compressing Engines, I closely

shut up a _Sparrow_ without forcing any Air in; and in less than an Hour

the Bird began to pant, and be concerned; and in less than an Hour and

half to be sick, vomit, and more out of Breath; and in two Hours time was

nearly expiring.

Another I put in and compressed the Air, but the Engine leaking, I

frequently renewed the Compressure; by which means, (although the

Bird panted a little after the first Hour,) yet after such frequent

Compressures, and Immission of fresh Air, it was very little concerned,

and taken out seemingly unhurt after three Hours.

After this I made two other Experiments in compressed Air, with the

Weight of two Atmospheres injected, the Engine holding tight and well;

the one with the _Great Titmouse_, the other with a _Sparrow_. For near

an Hour they seemed but little concerned; but after that grew fainter,

and in two Hours time sick, and in three Hours time died. Another thing

I took notice of, was, that when the Birds were sick and very restless,

I fancied they were somewhat relieved for a short space, with the Motion

of the Air, caused by their fluttering and shaking their Wings, (a thing

worth trying in the _Diving-Bell_). I shall leave the ingenious Reader to

judge what the cause was of both the Birds living longer in compressed,

than uncompressed Air; whether a less quantity of Air was not sooner

fouled and rendred unfit for Respiration, than a greater.

From these Experiments two Things are manifested; one is, that Air,

in some measure compressed, or rather heavy, is necessary to Animal

Life: Of which by and by. The other, that fresh Air is also necessary:

For pent up Air, when overcharged with the Vapours emitted our of the

Animal’s Body, becomes unfit for Respiration. For which Reason, in the

_Diving-Bell_, after some time of stay under Water, they are forced to

come up and take in fresh Air, or by some such means recruit it. But

the famous _Cornelius Drebell_ contrived not only a Vessel to be rowed

under Water, but also a Liquor to be carried in that Vessel, that would

supply the want of fresh Air. The Vessel was made for King _James_ I.

It carried twelve Rowers, besides the Passengers. It was tried in the

River of _Thames_; and one of the Persons that was in that submarine

Navigation was then alive, and told it one, who related the Matter to

our famous Founder, the Honourable, and most Ingenious Mr. _Boyl_. As to

the Liquor, Mr. _Boyl_ saith, he discovered by a Doctor of Physick, who

married _Drebell_’s Daughter, that it was used from time to time when

the Air in the submarine Boat was clogged by the Breath of the Company,

and thereby made unfit for Respiration; at which time, by unstopping a

Vessel full of this Liquor, he could speedily restore to the troubled Air

such a proportion of vital Parts, as would make it again for a good while

fit for Respiration. The Secret of this Liquor _Drebell_ would never

disclose to above one Person, who himself assured Mr. _Boyl_ what it was.

_Vid._ _Boyl. Exp. Phys. Mech. of the Spring of the Air, Exp. 41._ in

the _Digres_. This Story I have related from Mr. _Boyl_, but at the same

time much question whether the Virtues of the Liquor were so effectual as

reported.

And as too gross, so too rare an Air is unfit for Respiration. Not to

mention the forced Rarefactions made by the Air-Pump, in the following

Note; it is found, that even the extraordinary natural Rarefactions, upon

the tops of very high Hills, much affect Respiration. An Ecclesiastical

Person, who had visited the high Mountains of _Armenia_, (on which some

fancy the Ark rested) told Mr. _Boyl_, that whilst he was on the upper

part of them, he was forced to fetch his Breath oftner than he was wont.

And taking notice of it when he came down, the People told him, that it

was what happen’d to them when they were so high above the Plane, and

that it was a common Observation among them. The like Observation the

same Ecclesiastick made upon the top of a Mountain in the _Cevennes_. So

a learned Traveller, and curious Person, on one of the highest Ridges

of the _Pyrenees_, call’d _Pic de Midi_, found the Air not so fit for

Respiration, as the common Air, but he and his Company were fain to

breath shorter and oftner than in the lower Air. _Vid._ _Phil. Transact._

No. 63, or _Lowthorp’s Abridg._ Vol. 2. p. 226.

Such another Relation the learned _Joseph Acosta_ gives of himself and

his Company, that, when they passed the high Mountains of _Peru_, which

they call _Periacaca_, (to which he saith, _the Alps themselves seemed

to them but as ordinary Houses, in regard of high Towers,) He and his

Companions were surprized with such extreme Pangs of Straining and

Vomiting, (not without casting up of Blood too,) and with so violent a

Distemper, that he concludes he should undoubtedly have died; but that

this lasted not above three or four Hours, before they came into a more

convenient and natural Temperature of the Air._ All which he concludes

proceeded from the too great Subtilty and Delicacy of the Air, which is

not proportionable to humane Respiration, which requires a more gross and

temperate Air, _Vid._ _Boyl_, _ubi supra_.

Thus it appears, that an Air too Subtile, Rare and Light, is unfit for

Respiration: But the Cause is not the Subtilty or too great Delicacy, as

Mr. Boyl thinks, but the too great Lightness thereof, which renders it

unable to be a Counterbalance, or an Antagonist to the Heart, and all the

Muscles ministring to _Respiration_, and the _Diastole_ of the Heart. Of

which see _Book 4. Chap. 7. Note 1._

And as our Inability to live in too rare and light an Air may discourage

those vain Attempts of Flying and Whimsies of passing to the Moon, &c.

so our being able to bear an heavier State of the Air is an excellent

Provision for Mens Occasions in Mines, and other great Depths of the

Earth; and those other greater Pressures made upon the Air, in the

_Diving-Bell_, when we descend into great Depths of the Waters.

[d] That the Inhabitants of the Air, (Birds and Insects,) need the Air

as well as Man and other Animals, is manifest from their speedy dying in

too feculent, or too much rarefied Air; of which see the preceding and

following _Note (f)._ But yet Birds and Insects (some Birds at least)

can live in a rarer Air than Man. Thus Eagles, Kites, Herons, and divers

other Birds, that delight in high Flights, are not affected with the

Rarity of the Medium, as those Persons were in the preceding Note. So

Insects bear the Air-Pump long, as in the following _Note (f)._

[e] Creatures inhabiting the Waters need the Air, as well as other

Animals, yea, and fresh Air too. The _Hydrocanthari_ of all Sorts, the

_Nymphæ_ of _Gnats_, and many other Water-Insects, have a singular

Faculty, and an admirable Apparatus, to raise their back Parts to the top

of the Waters, and take in fresh Air. It is pretty to see, for Instance,

the _Hydrocanthari_ come and thrust their Tails out of the Water, and

take in a Bubble of Air, at the tip of their _Vaginæ_ and Tails, and then

nimbly carry it down with them into the Waters; and, when that is spent,

or fouled, to ascend again and recruit it.

So Fishes also are well known to use Respiration, by passing the Water

through their Mouths and Gills. But _Carps_ will live out of the Water,

only in the Air; as is manifest by the Experiment of their way of Fatting

them in _Holland_, and which hath been practised herein _England_, _viz._

they hang them up in a Cellar, or some cool Place, in wet Moss in a small

Net, with their Heads out, and feed them with white Bread soaked in Milk

for many Days. This was told me by a Person very curious, and of great

Honour and Eminence, whose Word (if I had leave to name him) no Body

would question: And it being an Instance of the Respiration of Fishes

very singular, and somewhat out of the way, I have for the Reader’s

Diversion taken notice of it.

[f] By Experiments I made my self in the Air Pump, in _September_

and _October_, 1704; I observed that Animals whose Hearts have two

_Ventricles_, and no _Foramen Ovale_, as Birds, Dogs, Cats, Rats, Mice,

_&c._ die in less than half a Minute counting from the very first

Exsuction; especially in a small Receiver.

A _Mole_ (which I suspected might have born more than other Quadrupeds)

died in one Minute (without Recovery) in a large Receiver; and doubtless

would hardly have survived half a Minute in a small Receiver. A _Bat_

(although wounded) sustained the Pump two Minutes, and revived upon the

re-admission of the Air. After that, he remained four Minutes and a half

and revived. Lastly, After he had been five Minutes, he continued gasping

for a time, and after twenty Minutes I re-admitted the Air, but the _Bat_

never revived.

As for _Insects_: _Wasps_, _Bats_, _Hornets_, _Grashoppers_, and

_Lady-Cows_ seemed dead in appearance in two Minutes, but revived in the

open Air in two or three Hours time, notwithstanding they had been in

_Vacuo_ twenty four Hours.

The _Ear-wig_, the great _Staphylinus_, the great black lowsy _Beetle_,

and some other Insects would seem unconcerned at the _Vacuum_ a good

while, and lie as dead; but revive in the Air, although some had lain

sixteen Hours in the exhausted Receiver.

_Snails_ bear the Air Pump prodigiously, especially those in Shells; two

of which lay above twenty four Hours, and seemed not much affected. The

same Snails I left in twenty eight Hours more after a second Exhaustion,

and found one of them quite dead, but the other revived.

_Frogs_ and _Toads_ bear the Pump long, especially the former. A large

Toad, found in the House, died irrecoverably in less than six Hours.

Another Toad and Frog I put in together, and the Toad was seemingly dead

in two Hours, but the Frog just alive. After they had remained there

eleven Hours, and seemingly dead, the Frog recovered in the open Air,

only weak, but the Toad was quite dead. The same Frog being put in again

for twenty seven Hours, then quite died.

The Animalcules in _Pepper-Water_ remained in _Vacuo_ twenty four Hours.

And after they had been exposed a Day or two to the open Air, I found

some of them dead, some alive.

[g] That the Air is the principal Cause of the Vegetation of Plants,

_Borelli_ proves in his excellent Book _De Mot. Animal._ Vol. 2. Prop.

181. And in the next Proposition, he assureth, _In Plantis quoque peragi

Aeris respirationem quandam imperfectam, à quâ earum vita pendet, &

conservatur._ But of this more when I come to survey Vegetables.

_Some Lettice-Seed being sown upon some Earth in the open Air, and some

of the same Seed at the same time upon other Earth in a Glass-Receiver of

the Pneumatick Engine, afterwards exhausted of Air: The Seed exposed to

the Air was grown up an Inch and half high within Eight Days; but that in

the exhausted Receiver not at all. And Air being again admitted into the

same emptied Receiver, to see whether any of the Seed would then come up,

it was found, that in the Space of one Week it was grown up to the Height

of two or three Inches._ Vid. Phil. Trans. No. 23. Lowth. Abridg. Vol. 2.

p. 206.

[h] _In volucribus pulmones perforati aerem inspiratum in totam ventris

cavitatem admittunt. Hujus ratio, ut propter corporis truncum Aere

repletum & quasi extensum, ipsa magis volatilia evadant, faciliusque

ab aere externo, proper intimi penum, sustententur. Equidem pisces,

quò leviùs in aquis natent, in Abdomine vesicas Aere inflatas gestant:

pariter & volucres, propter corporis truncum Aere impletum & quasi

inflatum, nudo Aeri incumbentes, minus gravantur, proindeque levius &

expeditiùs volant._ Willis de Anim. Brut. p. 1. c. 3.

[i] _Fishes by reason of the Bladder of Air within them, can sustain, or

keep themselves in any Depth of Water: For the Air in that Bladder being

more or less compressed, according to the Depth the Fish swims at, takes

up more or less Space; and consequently, the Body of the Fish, part of

whose Bulk this Bladder is, is greater or less according to the several

Depths, and yet retains the same Weight. Now the Rule ~de Insidentibus

humido~ is, that a Body, that is heavier than so much Water, as is equal

in Quantity to the Bulk of it, will sink, a Body that is lighter will

swim; a Body of equal Weight will rest in any part of the Water. By

this Rule, if the Fish, in the middle Region of the Water, be of equal

Weight to the Water, that is commensurate to the Bulk of it, the Fish

will rest there, without any Tendency upwards or downwards: And if the

Fish be deeper in the Water, the Bulk of the Fish becoming less by the

Compression of the Bladder, and yet retaining the same Weight, it will

sink, and rest at the Bottom. And on the other side, if the Fish be

higher than the middle Region, the Air dilating it self, and the Bulk

of the Fish consequently increasing, but not the Weight, the Fish will

rise upwards and rest at the top of the Water. Perhaps the Fish by some

Action can emit Air out of its Bladder——, and, when not enough, take in

Air,——and then it will not be wondred, that there should be always a fit

Proportion of Air in all Fishes to serve their Use, ~&c.~_ Then follows

a Method of Mr. _Boyl_ to experiment the Truth of this. After which, in

Mr. _Lowthorp_’s Abridgment, follow Mr. _Ray_’s Observations. _I think

that——hath hit upon the true Use of the Swimming-Bladders in Fishes.

For, 1. It hath been observed, that if the Swimming-Bladder of any Fish

be pricked or broken, such a Fish sinks presently to the Bottom, and

can neither support or raise it self up in the Water. 2. Flat Fishes,

as Soles, Plaise, &c. which lie always grovelling at the Bottom, have

no Swimming-Bladders that ever I could find. 3. In most Fishes there is

a manifest Chanel leading from the Gullet——to the said Bladder, which

without doubt serves for the conveying Air thereunto.——In the Coat of

this Bladder is a musculous Power to contract it when the Fish lifts._

See more very curious Observations relating to this Matter, of the late

great Mr. _Ray_, as also of the curious anonymous Gentleman in the

ingenious Mr. _Lowthorp_’s Abridgment, before cited, _p. 845._ from

_Phil. Trans. N._ 114, 115.

[k] Among the Engines in which the Air is useful, Pumps may be

accounted not contemptible ones, and divers other Hydraulical Engines,

which need not to be particularly insisted on. In these the Water was

imagined to rise by the power of Suction, to avoid _a Vacuum_, and such

unintelligible Stuff; but the justly famous Mr. _Boyl_ was the first that

solved these Phænomena by the Weight of the Atmosphere. His ingenious and

curious Observations and Experiments relating hereto, may be seen in his

little Tract, _Of the Cause of Attraction by Suction_, and divers others

of his Tracts.

[l] It would be endless to specify the Uses of the Air in Nature’s

Operations: I shall therefore, for a Sample only, name its great Use to

the World in conserving animated Bodies, whether endowed with animal or

vegetative Life, and its contrary Quality of dissolving other Bodies;

by which means many Bodies that would prove Nuisances to the World,

are put out of the Way, by being reduced into their first Principles,

(as we say), and so embodied with the Earth again. Of its Faculty as a

Menstruum, or its Power to dissolve Bodies; I may instance in Crystal

Glasses, which, with long keeping, especially if not used, will in Time

be reduced to a Powder, as I have seen. So divers Minerals, Earths,

Stones, Fossil-Shells, Wood, _&c._ which from _Noah_’s Flood, at least

for many Ages, have lain under Ground, so secure from Corruption, that,

on the contrary, they have been thereby made much the stronger, have in

the open Air soon mouldered away. Of which last, Mr. _Boyl_ gives an

Instance (from the _Dissertation de admirandis Hungar. Aquis_) of a great

Oak, like a huge Beam, dug out of a Salt Mine in _Transylvania_, _so

hard, that it would not easily be wrought upon by Iron Tools, yet, being

exposed to the Air out of the Mine, it became so rotten that in four Days

it was easy to be broken, and crumbled between one’s Fingers_. Boyl’s

Suspic. about some hid. Qual. in the Air, p. 28. So the Trees turned out

of the Earth by the Breaches at _West-Thurrock_ and _Dagenham_, near

me, although probably no other than _Alder_, and interred many Ages ago

in a rotten oazy Mold, were so exceedingly tough, hard, and found at

first, that I could make but little Impressions on them with the Strokes

of an Ax; but being exposed to the Air and Water, soon became so rotten

as to be crumbled between the Fingers. See my Observations in _Philos.

Transact._ Nᵒ. 335.

[m] _By reflecting the Light of the heavenly Bodies to us_, I mean that

Whiteness or Lightness which is in the Air in the Day-time, caused by the

Rays of Light striking upon the Particles of the Atmosphere, as well as

upon the Clouds above, and the other Objects beneath upon the Earth. To

the same Cause also we owe the Twilight, _viz._ to the Sun-beams touching

the uppermost Particles of our Atmosphere, which they do when the Sun is

about eighteen Degrees beneath the Horizon. And as the Beams reach more

and more of the airy Particles, so Darkness goes off, and Day light comes

on and encreaseth. For an Exemplification of this, the Experiment may

serve of transmitting a few Rays of the Sun through a small Hole into

a dark Room: By which means the Rays which meet with Dust, and other

Particles flying in the Air, are render’d visible; or (which amounts to

the same) those swimming small Bodies are rendered visible, by their

reflecting the Light of the Sun-beams to the Eye, which, without such

Reflection, would it self be invisible.

The Azure Colour of the Sky Sir _Isaac Newton_ attributes to Vapours

beginning to condense, and that are not able to reflect the other

Colours. _V._ _Optic._ l. 2. _Par. 3. Prop. 7._

[n] By the Refractive Power of the Air, the Sun, and the other heavenly

Bodies seem higher than really they are, especially near the Horizon.

What the Refractions amount unto, what Variations they have, and what

Alterations in time they cause, may be briefly seen in a little Book

called, _The Artificial Clock-Maker_, Chap. 11.

_Although this inflective Quality of the Air be a great Incumbrance and

Confusion of Astronomical Observations;——yet it is not without some

considerable Benefit to Navigation; and indeed in some Cases, the Benefit

thereby obtained is much greater than would be the Benefit of having the

Ray proceed in an exact straight Line._ [Then he mentions the Benefit

hereof to the Polar Parts of the World.] _But this by the by_ (saith he.)

_The great Advantage I consider therein, is the first Discovery of Land

upon the Sea; for by means hereof, the tops of Hills and Lands are raised

up into the Air, so as to be discoverable several Leagues farther off on

the Sea than they would be, were there no such Refraction, which is of

great Benefit to Navigation for steering their Course in the Night, when

they approach near Land; and likewise for directing them in the Day-time,

much more certainly than the most exact Celestial Observations could do

by the Help of an uninflected Ray, especially in such Places as they

have no Soundings._ [Then he proposes a Method to find by these means

the Distance of Objects at Sea.] V. Dr. _Hook_’s _Post. Works_. Lect. of

Navig. p. 466.

[o] _Cum Belgæ in novâ Zemblâ hybernarent, Sol illis apparuit 16 diebus

citiùs, quàm revera in Horizonte existeret, hoc est, cùm adhuc infra

Horizontem depressus esset quatuor circiter gradibus, & quidem aere

sereno._ Varen. Geog. c. 19. Prop. 22.

_~[These Hollanders]~ found, that the Night in that place shortened no

less than a whole Month; which must needs be a very great Comfort to all

such Places as live very far towards the North and South Poles, where

length of Night, and want of seeing the Sun, cannot chuse but be very

tedious and irksome._ Hook Ibid.

_~[By means of the Refractions]~ we found the Sun to rise twenty Minutes

before it should; and in the Evening to remain above the Horizon twenty

Minutes (or thereabouts) longer than it should._ Captain _James_’s Journ.

in _Boyl_ of Cold. Tit. 18. p. 190.

[p] _Aer—in Nubes cogitur: humoremque colligens terram auget imbribus:

tum effluens huc & illuc, ventos efficit. Idem annuas frigorum & calorum

facit varietates: idemque & volatus Alitum sustinet, & spiritu ductus

alit & sustentas animantes._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 39.

CHAP. II.

_Of the Winds[a]._

To pass by other Considerations, whereby I might demonstrate the Winds

to be the infinite Creator’s Contrivance, I shall insist only upon their

great usefulness to the World. And so great is their Use, and of such

absolute Necessity are they to the Salubrity of the Atmosphere, that all

the World would be poisoned without those Agitations thereof. We find

how putrid, fetid, and unfit for Respiration, as well as Health and

Pleasure, a stagnating, confined, pent up Air is. And if the whole Mass

of Air and Vapours was always at Rest, and without Motion, instead of

refreshing and animating, it would suffocate and poison all the World:

But the perpetual Commotions it receives from the Gales and Storms, keep

it pure and healthful[b].

Neither are those Ventilations beneficial only to the Health, but to the

Pleasure also of the Inhabitants of the Terraqueous Globe; witness the

Gales which fan us in the heat of Summer; without which, even in this

our temperate Zone, Men are scarce able to perform the Labours of their

Calling, or not without Danger of Health and Life[c]. But especially,

witness the perpetual Gales which throughout the whole Year do fan the

Torrid Zone, and make that Climate an healthful and pleasant Habitation,

which would otherwise be scarce habitable.

To these I might add many other great Conveniencies of the Winds in

various Engines, and various Businesses. I might particularly insist

upon its great Use to transport Men to the farthest distant Regions of

the World[d] and I might particularly speak of the general and coasting

Trade-Winds, the Sea, and the Land-Breezes;[e] the one serving to carry

the Mariner in long Voyages from East to West; the other serving to waft

him to particular Places; the one serving to carry him into his Harbour,

the other to bring him out. But I should go too far to take notice of all

Particulars[f]. Leaving therefore the Winds, I proceed in the next Place

to the Clouds and Rain.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Ventus est aer fluens_, is _Seneca_’s Definition, _Na. Qu. l. 5._

And as Wind is a Current of the Air, so that which excites or alters its

Currents may be justly said to be the Cause of the Winds. An Æquipoise of

the Atmosphere produceth a Calm; but if that Æquipoise be more or less

taken off, a Stream of Air, or Wind, is thereby accordingly produced

either stronger or weaker, swifter or slower. And divers things there

are that may make such Alterations in the Æquipoise or Balance of the

Atmosphere, _viz._ Eruptions of Vapours from Sea or Land; Rarefactions

and Condensations in one Place more than another; the falling of Rain,

pressure of the Clouds, _&c._ _Pliny_, l. 2. c. 45. tells us of a certain

_Cavern_ in _Dalmatia_, called _Senta_, _in quem_, saith he, _dejecto

levi pondere, quamvis tranquillo die, turbini similis emicat procella_.

But as to Caves it is observed, that they often emit Winds more or less.

Dr. _Connor_, taking notice of this matter, specifies these, _In regno

Neapolitano ex immani Cumanæ Sibyllæ antro tenuem ventum effluentem

percepi_. The like he observed at the Caves at _Baiæ_, and in some of the

Mines of _Germany_, and in the large Salt-Mines of _Cracow_ in _Poland_.

_Ubi_, saith he, _opifices, & ipse fodinæ dominus Andreas Morstin, Nob.

Polonus, mihi asseruerunt, quòd tanta aliquando Ventorum tempestas ex

ambagiosis hujus fodinæ recessibus surgere solebat, quod laborantes

fossores humi prosternebat, nec non portas & domiciliæ (quæ sibi in hâc

fodinâ artifices exstruunt) penitùs evertebat_. Bern. Connor. Dissert.

Med. Phys. p. 33. Artic. 3.

And as great Caves, so great Lakes sometimes send forth Winds. So

_Gassendus_ saith the _Lacus Legnius_ doth, _E quo dum exoritur fumus,

nubes haud dubiê creanda est, quæ sit brevi in tempestatem sævissimam

exoneranda_. Gassend. Vit. Peiresk. l. 5. P. 417.

But the most universal and constant Alterations of the Balance of the

Atmosphere are from Heat and Cold. This is manifest in the General

Trade-Winds, blowing all the Year between the Tropicks from East to

West: if the Cause thereof be (as some ingenious Men imagine) the Sun’s

daily Progress round that part of the Globe, and by his Heat rarefying

one part of the Air, whilst the cooler and heavier Air behind presseth

after. So the Sea and Land Breezes in _Note (d)._ And so in our Climate,

the Northerly and Southerly Winds (commonly esteemed the Causes of cold

and warm Weather), are really the Effects of the Cold or Warmth of the

Atmosphere: Of which I have had so many Confirmations, that I have no

doubt of it. As for Instance, it is not uncommon to see a warm Southerly

Wind, suddenly changed to the North, by the fall of Snow or Hail; to see

the Wind in a frosty, cold Morning North, and when the Sun hath well

warmed the Earth and Air, you may observe it to wheel about towards

the Southerly Quarters; and again to turn Northerly or Easterly in the

cold Evening. It is from hence also, that in Thunder-Showers the Wind

and Clouds are oftentimes contrary to one another, (especially if Hail

falls) the sultry Weather below directing the Wind one way; and the Cold

above the Clouds another way. I took Notice upon _March_ the 10ᵗʰ 1710/1,

(and divers such like Instances I have had before and since) that the

Morning was warm, and what Wind stirred was West-South-West, but the

Clouds were thick and black (as generally they are when Snow ensues): A

little before Noon the Wind veered about to North by West, and sometimes

to other Points, the Clouds at the same time flying some North by West,

some South-West: About one of the Clock it rained apace, the Clouds

flying sometimes North-East, then North, and at last both Wind and Clouds

settled North by West; At which time Sleet fell plentifully, and it grew

very cold. From all which I observe, 1. That although our Region below

was warm, the Region of the Clouds was cold, as the black, snowy Clouds

shewed. 2. That the struggle between the warmth of ours, and the cold of

the cloudy Region, stopped the airy Currents of both Regions. 3. That the

falling of the Snow through our warmer Air melted into Rain at first; but

that it became Sleet after the superiour Cold had conquered the inferiour

Warmth. 4. That, as that Cold prevailed by Degrees, so by Degrees it

wheeled about both the Winds and Clouds from the Northwards towards the

South.

_Hippocrates_, l. 2. _De Vict. Orat._ _Omnes Ventos vel à nive, glacie,

vehementi gelu, fluminibus, ~&c.~ spirare necesse judicat_, Bartholin. de

usu Nivis, c. 1.

[b] _It is well observed in my Lord ~Howard~s Voyage to ~Constantinople~,

that at ~Vienna~ they have frequent Winds, which if they cease long in

Summer, the Plague often ensues: So that it is now grown into a Proverb,

that if ~Austria~ be not windy, it is subject to Contagion._ Bohun of

Wind, _p. 213._

From some such Commotions of the Air I imagine it is, that at _Grand

Cairo_ the Plague immediately ceases, as soon as the _Nile_ begins to

overflow; although Mr. _Boyl_ attributes it to nitrous Corpuscles.

_Determ. Nat. of Effluv._ Chap. 4.

_Nulla enim propemodum regio est, quæ non habeat aliquem flatum ex se

nascentem, & circa se cadentem._

_Inter cætera itaq; Providentiæ opera, hoc quoq; aliquis, ut dignum

admiratione suspexerit. Non enim ex unâ causâ Ventos aut invenit, aut

per diversa disposuit: sed primum ut aera non sinerent pigrescere, sed

assiduâ vexatione utilem redderens, vitaiemq; tracturis._ Sen. Nat.

Quæst. l. 5. c. 17, 18.

All this is more evident, from the Cause assigned to malignant epidemical

Diseases, particularly the Plague, by my ingenious, learned Friend, Dr.

_Mead_; and that is, an hot and moist Temperament of the Air, which

is observed by _Hippocrates_, _Galen_, and the general Histories of

Epidemical Diseases, to attend those Distempers. _Vid._ _Mead of Poisons,

Essay 5._ p. 161. But indeed, whether the Cause be this, or poisonous,

malignant Exhalations or Animalcules, as others think, the Winds are

however very salutiferous in such Cases, in cooling the Air, and

dispersing and driving away the moist or pestiferous Vapours.

[c] _July 8. 1707_, (called for some time after the _Hot Tuesday_,)

was so excessively hot and suffocating, by reason there was no Wind

stirring, that divers Persons died, or were in great Danger of Death, in

their Harvest-Work. Particularly one who had formerly been my Servant, a

healthy, lusty, young Man, was killed by the Heat: And several Horses on

the Road dropped down and died the same Day.

In the foregoing Notes, having Notice of some Things relating to Heat,

although it be somewhat out of the way, I hope the Reader will excuse me,

if I entertain him with some Observations I made about the Heat of the

Air under the Line, compared with the Heat of our Bodies. _J. Patrick_,

who, as he is very accurate in making Barometrical and Thermometrical

Instruments, had the Curiosity for the nicer adjusting his Thermometers,

to send two abroad under the Care of two very sensible, ingenious

Men; one to the Northern Lat. of 81; the other to the Parts under the

Æquinoctial: In these two different Climates, the Places were marked

where the Spirits stood at the severest Cold and greatest Heat. And

according to these Observations he graduates his Thermometers. With his

Standard I compared my Standard Thermometer, from all the Degrees of

Cold, I could make with _Sal Armoniack_, &c. to the greatest Degrees of

Heat our Thermometers would reach to. And with the same Thermometer (of

mine) I experimented the greatest Heat of my Body, in _July 1709_. First

in an hot Day without Exercise, by patting the Ball of my Thermometer

under my Armpits, and other hottest Parts of my Body. By which means the

Spirits were raised 284 Tenths of an Inch above the Ball. After that, in

a much hotter Day, and indeed nearly as hot as any Day with us, and after

I had heated my self with strong Exercise too, as much as I could well

bear, I again tried the same Experiment, but could not get the Spirits

above 288 Tenths; which I thought an inconsiderable Difference, for so

seemingly a very different Heat of my Body. But from some Experiments

I have made (altho’ I have unfortunately forgotten them) in very cold

Weather, I imagine the Heat of an healthy Body to be always much the same

in the warmest Parts thereof, both in Summer and Winter. Now between

those very Degrees of 284 and 288, the Point of the equatorial Heat

falleth. From which Observation it appears, that there is pretty nearly

an equal Contemperament of the Warmth of our Bodies, to that of the

hottest Part of the Atmosphere inhabited by us.

If the Proportion of the Degrees of Heat be desired from the

Freezing-Point, to the Winter, Spring, and Summer Air, the Heat of Man’s

Body, of heated Water, melted Metals, and so to actual Fire; an Account

may be met with of it, by my most ingenious Friend, the great Sir _Isaac

Newton_, in _Phil. Transact._ Nᵒ. 270.

[d] _In hoc ~Providentia~ ac ~Dispositor~ ille Mundi ~Deus~, aera

ventis exercendum dedit,——non ut nos classes partem freti occupaturas

compleremus milite armato, ~&c.~ Dedit ille ventos ad custodiendam

cœli terrarumq; temperiem, ad evocandas supprimendásq; aquas, ad

alendos satorum atq; arborum fructus; quos ad maturitatem cum aliis

causis adducit ipsa jactatio, attrahens cibum in summa, & ne torpeat,

promovens. Dedit ventos ad ulteriora noscenda: fuisset enim imperitum

animal, & fine magnâ experientiâ rerum Homo, si circumscriberetur natalis

soli fine. Dedit ventos ut commoda cujusq; regionis fierent communia;

non ut legiones equitemq; gestarent, nec ut perniciosa gentibus arma

transveherent._ Seneca, ibid.

[e] _~Sea-Breezes~ commonly rise in the Morning about nine a Clock.——They

first approach the Shore gently, as if they were afraid to come near

it.——It comes in a fine, small, black Curle upon the Water, whereas all

the Sea between it and the Shore (not yet reached by it) is as smooth

and even as Glass in Comparison. In half an Hours time after it has

reached the Shore, it fans pretty briskly, and so encreaseth gradually

till twelve a Clock; then it is commonly strongest, and lasts so till two

or three, a very brisk Gale.——After three it begins to die away again,

and gradually withdraws its force till all is spent; and about five a

Clock——it is lulled asleep, and comes no more till next morning._

_And as the Sea Breezes do blow in the Day, and rest in the Night; so on

the contrary ~[The Land-Breezes]~ blow in the Night, and rest in the Day,

alternately succeeding each other.——They spring up between six and twelve

at Night, and last till six, eight, or ten in the Morning._ Dampier’s

Disc. of Winds, _ch._ 4.

[f] One Thing more I believe some of my Friends will expect from me is,

that I shew the Result of comparing my own Observations of the Winds,

with others they know I have from _Ireland_, _Switzerland_, _Italy_,

_France_, _New-England_, and some of our Parts of _England_. But the

Observations being some of them but of one Year, and most of the rest of

but a few Years, I have not been able to determine any great Matters.

The chief of what I have observed is, that the Winds in all these Places

seldom agree, but when they most certainly do so, it is commonly when

the Winds are strong, and of long continuance in the same Quarter: And

more I think in the Northerly and Easterly, than other Points. Also a

strong Wind in one Place, is oftentimes a weak one in another Place,

or moderate, according as Places have been nearer or farther distant.

_Vid._ _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 297, and 321. But to give a good and tolerable

Account of this or any other of the Weather, it is necessary to have good

Histories thereof from all Parts; which, as yet we have but few of, and

they imperfect, for want of longer and sufficient Observations.

CHAP. III.

_Of the Clouds and Rain._

The Clouds and Rain[a] we shall find to be no less useful Meteors than

the last mentioned; as is manifest in the refreshing pleasant Shades

which the Clouds afford, and the fertile Dews and Showers which they

pour down on the Trees and Plants, which would languish and die with

perpetual Drought, but are hereby made Verdant and Flourishing, Gay and

Ornamental; so that (as the Psalmist saith, _Psal._ lxv. 12, 13.) _The

little Hills rejoice on every side, and the Valleys shout for Joy, they

also sing._

And, if to these Uses, we should add the Origine of Fountains and

Rivers, to Vapours and the Rains, as some of the most eminent modern

Philosophers[b] have done, we should have another Instance of the great

Use and Benefit of that Meteor.

And now, if we reflect upon this necessary Appendage of the Terraqueous

Globe, the _Atmosphere_; and consider the absolute Necessity thereof to

many Uses of our Globe, and its great Convenience to the whole: And in

a Word, that it answereth all the Ends and Purposes that we can suppose

there can be for such an Appendage: Who can but own this to be the

Contrivance, the Work of the great Creator? Who would ever say or imagine

such a Body, so different from the Globe it serves, could be made by

Chance, or be adapted so exactly to all those forementioned grand Ends,

by any other Efficient than by the Power and Wisdom of the infinite God!

Who would not rather, from so noble a Work, readily acknowledge the

Workman[c] and as easily conclude the Atmosphere to be made by GOD, as an

Instrument wrought by its Power, any Pneumatick Engine, to be contrived

and made by Man!

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Clouds and Rain are made of Vapours raised from Water, or Moisture

only. So that I utterly exclude the Notion of Dry, Terrene Exhalations,

or Fumes, talked much of by most Philosophers; Fumes being really no

other than the humid Parts of Bodies respectively Dry.

These Vapours are demonstratively no other than small Bubbles, or

Vesiculæ detached from the Waters by the Power of the Solar, or

Subterraneous Heat, or both. Of which see _Book 2. Chap. 5. Note (b)._

And being lighter than the Atmosphere, are buoyed up thereby, until they

become of an equal Weight therewith, in some of its Regions aloft in the

Air, or nearer the Earth; in which those Vapours are formed into Clouds,

Rain, Snow, Hail, Lightning, Dew, Mists, and other Meteors.

In this Formation of Meteors the grand Agent is Cold, which commonly, if

not always, occupies the superior Regions of the Air; as is manifest from

those Mountains which exalt their lofty Tops into the upper and middle

Regions, and are always covered with Snow and Ice.

This Cold, if it approaches near the Earth, presently precipitates the

Vapours, either in _Dews_; or if the Vapours more copiously ascend, and

soon meet the Cold, they are then condensed into _Misting_, or else into

Showers of _small Rain_, falling in numerous, thick, small Drops: But if

those Vapours are not only copious, but also as heavy as our lower Air it

self, (by means their Bladders are thick and fuller of Water,) in this

Case they become visible, swim but a little Height above the Earth, and

make what we call a _Mist_ or _Fog_. But if they are a Degree lighter, so

as to mount higher, but not any great Height, as also meet not with Cold

enough to condense them, nor Wind to dissipate them, they then form an

heavy, thick, _dark Sky_, lasting oftentimes for several Weeks without

either Sun or Rain. And in this Case, I have scarce ever known it to

Rain, till it hath been _first Fair, and then Foul_. And Mr. _Clarke_,

(an ingenious Clergyman of _Norfolk_, who in his Life-time, long before

me, took notice of it, and kept a Register of the Weather for thirty

Years, which his learned Grandson, Dr. _Samuel Clarke_ put into my Hands,

he, I say) saith, he scarce ever observed the Rule to fail in all that

Time; only he adds, _If the Wind be in some of the easterly Points_. But

I have observed the same to happen, be the Wind where it will. And from

what hath been said, the Case is easily accounted for, _viz._ whilst

the Vapours remain in the same State, the Weather doth so too. And such

Weather is generally attended with moderate Warmth, and with little or no

Wind to disturb the Vapours, and an heavy Atmosphere to support them, the

Barometer being commonly high then. But when the Cold approacheth, and

by condensing drives the Vapours into Clouds or Drops, then is way made

for the Sun-beams, till the same Vapours, being by further Condensation

formed into Rain, fall down in Drops.

The Cold’s approaching the Vapours, and consequently the Alteration of

such dark Weather I have beforehand perceived, by some few small Drops

of Rain, Hail, or Snow, now and then falling, before any Alteration hath

been in the Weather; which I take to be from the Cold meeting some of the

straggling Vapours, or the uppermost of them, and condensing them into

Drops, before it arrives unto, and exerts it self upon the main Body of

Vapours below.

I have more largely than ordinary insisted upon this part of the Weather,

partly, as being somewhat out of the way; but chiefly, because it gives

Light to many other _Phænomena_ of the Weather. Particularly we may

hence discover the Original of Clouds, Rain, Hail and Snow; that they

are Vapours carried aloft by the Gravity of the Air, which meeting

together so as to make a Fog above, they thereby form a _Cloud_. If the

Cold condenseth them into Drops, they then fall in _Rain_, if the Cold

be not intense enough to freeze them: But if the Cold freezeth them in

the Clouds, or in their Fall through the Air, they then become _Hail_ or

_Snow_.

As to _Lightning_, and other enkindled Vapours, I need say little in this

Place, and shall therefore only observe, that they owe also their Rise

to Vapours; but such Vapours as are detached from mineral Juices, or at

least that are mingled with them, and are fired by Fermentation.

Another _Phænomenon_ resolvable from what hath been said is, why a

_cold_, is always a _wet_ Summer, _viz._ because the Vapours rising

plentifully then, are by the Cold soon collected into Rain. A remarkable

Instance of this we had in the Summer of 1708, part of which, especially

about the _Solstice_, was much colder than usually. On _June 12_, it

was so cold, that my Thermometer was near the Point of hoar Frost, and

in some Places I heard there was an hoar Frost; and during all the cool

Weather of that Month, we had frequent and large Rains, so that the

whole Month’s Rain amounted to above two Inches Depth, which is a large

Quantity for _Upminster_, even in the wettest Months. And not only with

us at _Upminster_, but in other Places, particularly at _Zurich_ in

_Switzerland_, they seem to have had as unseasonable Cold and Wet as we.

_Fuit hic mensis——præter modum humidus, & magno quidem vegetabilibus

hominibusque damno. Multum computruit Fœnum, ~&c.~_ complains the

industrious and learned Dr. _J. J. Scheuchzer_: Of which, and other

Particulars, I have given a larger Account in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 321.

In which _Transaction_ I have observed farther, that about the Equinoxes

we (at _Upminster_ at least) have oftentimes more Rain than at other

Seasons. The Reason of which is manifest from what hath been said,

_viz._ in Spring, when the Earth and Waters are loosed from the brumal

Constipations, the Vapours arise in great Plenty: And the like they do in

Autumn, when the Summer Heats, that both dissipated them, and warmed the

superior Regions, are abated; and then the Cold of the superior Regions

meeting them, condenseth them into Showers, more plentifully than at

other Seasons, when either the Vapours are fewer, or the Cold that is to

condense them is less.

The manner how Vapours are precipitated by the Cold, or reduced into

Drops, I conceive to be thus: Vapours being, as I said, no other than

inflated _Vesiculæ_ of Water; when they meet with a colder Air than what

is contained in them, the contained Air is reduced into a less Space, and

the watery Shell or Case rendered thicker by that means, so as to become

heavier than the Air, by which they are buoyed up, and consequently must

needs fall down. Also many of those thickned _Vesiculæ_ run into one, and

so form Drops, greater or smaller, according to the Quantity of Vapours

collected together.

As to the Rain of different Places, I have in some of our _Transactions_

assigned the Quantities; particularly in the last cited _Transaction_, I

have assigned these, _viz._ the Depth of the Rain one Year with another,

in _English_ Measure, if it was to stagnate on the Earth, would amount

unto, at _Townely_ in _Lancashire_, 42½ Inches; at _Upminster_ in _Essex_

19¼ Inches; at _Zurich_ in _Switzerland_ 32¼ Inches; at _Pisa_ in

_Italy_ 43¼ Inches; at _Paris_ in _France_ 19 Inches; and at _Lisle_ in

_Flanders_ 24 Inches.

It would be endless to reckon up the _bloody_ and other _prodigious

Rains_ taken notice of by Historians, and other Authors, as præternatural

and ominous Accidents; but, if strictly pried into, will be found owing

to natural Causes: Of which, for the Reader’s Satisfaction, I will

give an Instance or two. A bloody Rain was imagined to have fallen in

_France_, which put the Country People into so great a Fright, that

they left their Work in the Fields, and in great haste flew to the

Neighbouring Houses. _Peirise_ (then in the Neighbourhood) strictly

enquiring into the Cause, found it to be only red Drops coming from a

sort of Butterfly that flew about in great Numbers at that Time, as

he concluded from seeing such red Drops come from them; and because

these Drops were laid, _Non supra ædificia, non in devexis lapidum

superficiebus, uti debuerat contingere, si è cœlo sanguine pluisset;

sed in subcavis potius & in foraminibus.——Accessit, quòd parietes iis

tingebantur, non qui in mediis oppidis, sed qui agrorum vicini erant,

neque secundum partes elatiores, sed ad mediocrem solùm altitudinem,

quantam volitare Papiliones solent._ Gassend in vit. Peiresk. L. 2. p.

156.

So Dr. _Merret_ saith also, _Pluvia Sanguinis quàm certissimè constat

esse tantùm Insectorum excrementa: Pluvia Tritici quàm nihil aliud esse

quàm Hederæ bacciferæ grana à Sturnis devorata excretaque comparanti

liquidissimè patet_. Pinax rerum, _&c._ _p. 220._

The curious _Worm_ tells of the raining of Brimstone, _An. 1646. Maii

16._ _Hic Hafniæ cùm ingenti pluviâ tota urbs, omnesque ita inundarentur

plateæ, ut gressus hominum impediret, Sulphureoque odore aërem inficeret,

dilapsis aliquantulum aquis, quibusdam in locis colligere licuit

Sulphureum pulverem, cujus portionem servo, colore, odore, & aliis verum

Sulphur ferentem._ Mus. Worm. L. 1. c. 11. Sect. 1.

Together with the Rain we might take notice of other Meteors,

particularly _Snow_; which although an irksome Guest, yet hath its

great Uses, if all be true that the famous _T. Bartholin_ saith of

it, who wrote a Book _de Nivis usu Medico_. In which he shews of what

great Use Snow is in fructifying the Earth, preserving from the Plague,

curing Fevers, Colicks, Head-Aches, Tooth-Aches, Sore Eyes, Pleurisies,

(for which Use he saith his Country-Women of _Denmark_ keep Snow-Water

gathered in _March_), also in prolonging Life, (of which he instanceth in

the _Alpine_ Inhabitants, that live to a great Age,) and preserving dead

Bodies; Instances of which he gives in Persons buried under the Snow in

passing the _Alps_, which are found uncorrupted in the Summer, when the

Snow is melted; which sad Spectacle he himself was an Eye-Witness of. And

at _Spitzberg_ in _Greenland_, dead Bodies remain entire and uncorrupted

for thirty Years. And lastly, concerning such as are so preserv’d when

slain, he saith they remain in the same Posture and Figure: Of which

he gives this odd Example, _Visum id extra urbem nostram ~[Hafniam]~

quum, 11 Feb. 1659. oppugnantes hostes repellerentur, magnâque strage

occumberent; alii enim rigidi iratum vultum ostendebant, alii oculos

elatos, alii ore diducto ringentes, alii brachiis extensis Gladium

minari, alii alio situ prostrati jacebant_. Barthol. de usu Niv. c. 12.

But although Snow be attended with the Effects here named, and others

specified by the learned _Bartholin_; yet this is not to be attributed to

any peculiar Virtue in the Snow, but some other Cause. Thus when it is

said to _fructify the Earth_, it doth so by guarding the Corn or other

Vegetables against the intenser cold of the Air, especially the cold

piercing Winds; which the Husbandmen observe to be the most injurious to

their Corn of all Weathers. So for _Conserving dead Bodies_, it doth it

by constipating such Bodies, and preventing all such Fermentations or

internal Conflicts of their Particles, as would produce Corruption.

Such an Example as the preceding is said to have happened some Years

ago at _Paris_, in digging in a Cellar for supposed hidden Treasure;

in which, after digging some Hours, the Maid going to call her Master,

found them all in their digging Postures, but dead. This being noised

abroad, brought in not only the People, but Magistrates also, who found

them accordingly; _Ille qui ligone terram effoderat, & socius qui palâ

effossam terram removerat, ambo pedibus stabant, quasi sua quisque

operâ affixus incubuisset; uxor unius quasi ab opere defessa in scamno,

solicito quodam vultu, sedebat, inclinato in palmam manûs genibus

innitentis capite; puerulus laxatis braccis in margine excavatæ foveæ

defixis in terram oculis alvum exonerabat; omnes in naturali situ, carneæ

tanquam statuæ rigidi, apertis oculis & vultu vitam quasi respirante,

exanimes stabant._ Dr. Bern. Connor, Dissert. Med. Phys. _p. 15._

The Doctor attributes all this to Cold; but I scarce think there could

be Cold enough to do all this at _Paris_, and in a Cellar too. Bur his

following Stories are not improbable, of Men and Cattle killed with Cold,

that remained in the very same Posture in which they died; of which he

gives, from a _Spanish_ Captain, this Instance, that happened two Years

before, of a Soldier who unfortunately straggled from his Company that

were foraging, and was killed with the Cold, but was thought to have

fallen into the Enemies Hands. But soon after their return to their

Quarters, they saw their Comrade returning, sitting on Horseback, and

coming to congratulate him, found him dead, and that he had been brought

thither in the same Posture on Horseback, notwithstanding the jolting of

the Horse. _Ibid. p._ 18.

[b] Of this Opinion was my late most ingenious and learned Friend, Mr.

_Ray_, whose Reasons see in his _Physico-Theolog. Discourses_, Disc. 2.

ch. 2. p. 89, _&c_. So also my no less learned and ingenious Friends,

Dr. _Halley_, and the late Dr. _Hook_, many of the _French_ Vertuoso’s

also, and divers other very considerable Men before them, too many to be

specified here.

[c] _An Polycletum quidem admirabimur propter partium

Statuæ—convenientiam ac proportionem? Naturam autem non modò non

laudabimus, sed omni etiam arte privabimus, quæ partium proportionem non

solùm extrinsecus more Statuariorum, sed in profundo etiam servavit?

Nonne & Polycletus ipse Naturæ est imitator, in quibus saltem eam

potuit imitari? Potuit autem in solis externis partibus in quibus artem

consideravit._ With much more to the like Purpose, _Galen. de Us. Part.

l. 17. c. 1._

CHAP. IV.

_Of Light._

Thus much for the first Thing ministring to the Terraqueous Globe, the

Atmosphere and its Meteors; the next Appendage is _Light_.[a] Concerning

which I have in my Survey of the Heavens[b] shewed what admirable

Contrivances the infinitely wise Creator hath for the affording this

noble, glorious and comfortable Benefit to other Globes, as well as

ours; the Provision he hath made by Moons, as well as by the Sun, for the

Communication of it.

And now let us briefly consider the great Necessity and Use thereof to

all our Animal World. And this we shall find to be little less than the

very Life and Pleasure of all those Creatures. For what Benefit would

Life be of, what Pleasure, what Comfort would it be for us to live

in perpetual Darkness? How could we provide ourselves with Food and

Necessaries? How could we go about the least Business, correspond with

one another, or be of any Use in the World, or any Creatures be the same

to us, without Light, and those admirable Organs of the Body, which the

great _Creator_ hath adapted to the Perception of that great Benefit?

But now by the help of this admirable, this first-made[c], because most

necessary, Creature of God, by this, I say, all the Animal World is

enabled to go here and there, as their Occasions call; they can transact

their Business by Day, and refresh and recruit themselves by Night,

with Rest and Sleep. They can with Admiration and Pleasure, behold the

glorious Works of God; they can view the Glories of the Heavens, and

see the Beauties of the flowry Fields, the gay Attire of the feathered

Tribe, the exquisite Garniture of many Quadrupeds, Insects, and other

Creatures; they can take in the delightsome Landskips of divers Countries

and Places; they can with Admiration see the great Creator’s wonderful

Art and Contrivance in the Parts of Animals and Vegetables: And in a

word, behold the Harmony of this lower World, and of the Globes above,

and survey God’s exquisite Workmanship in every Creature.

To all which I might add the Improvements which the Sagacity of Men hath

made of this noble Creature of God, by the Refractions and Reflections of

Glasses. But it would be endless to enumerate all its particular Uses and

Benefits to our World.

But before I leave this Point, there are two Things concerning Light,

which will deserve an especial Remark; and that is, its swift and almost

instantaneous Motion, and its vast Extension.

1. It is a very great Act of the Providence of God, that so great a

Benefit as Light is, is not long in its Passage from Place to Place. For

was the Motion thereof no swifter than the Motion of the swiftest Bodies

on Earth, such as of a Bullet out of a great Gun, or even of a Sound[d]

(which is the swiftest Motion we have next Light), in this Case Light

would take up, in its Progress from the Sun to us above thirty two Years

at the rate of the first, and above seventeen Years at the rate of the

latter Motion.

The Inconveniencies of which would be, its Energy and Vigour would

be greatly cooled and abated; its Rays would be less penetrant; and

Darkness would with greater Difficulty and much Sluggishness, be

dissipated, especially by the fainter Lights of our sublunary, luminous

Bodies. But passing with such prodigious Velocity, with nearly the

instantaneous Swiftness of almost Two hundred thousand _English_ Miles in

one Second of Time,[e] or (which is the same Thing) being but about seven

or eight Minutes of an Hour in coming from the Sun to us, therefore with

all Security and Speed, we receive the kindly Effects and Influences of

that noble and useful Creature of God.

2. Another Thing of great Consideration about Light is, its vast

Expansion, it’s almost incomprehensible, and inconceivable Extension,

which as a late ingenious Author[f] saith, “Is as boundless and

unlimited as the Universe it self, or the Expansum of all material

Beings: The vastness of which is so great, that it exceeds the

Comprehensions of Man’s Understanding. Insomuch that very many have

asserted it absolutely infinite, and without any Limits or Bounds.”

And that this noble Creature of God is of this Extent,[g] is manifest

from our seeing some of the farthest distant Objects, the heavenly

Bodies, some with our naked Eye, some with the help of Optical

Instruments, and others in all Probability farther and farther, with

better and better Instruments: And had we Instruments of Power equivalent

to the Extent of Light, the luminous Bodies of the utmost Parts of the

Universe, would for the same Reason be visible too.

Now as Light is of greatest Use to impower us to see Objects at all, so

the Extension thereof is no less useful to enable us to see Objects afar

off. By which means we are afforded a Ken of those many glorious Works

of the infinite Creator, visible in the Heavens, and can improve them to

some of the noblest Sciences, and most excellent Uses of our own Globe.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is not worth while to enumerate the Opinions of the

_Aristotelians_, _Cartesians_, and others, about the Nature of Light,

_Aristotle_ making it a Quality; _Cartes_ a Pulsion, or Motion of the

Globules of the second Element, _Vid._ _Cartes Princip._ p. 3. §. 55,

_&c._ But with the Moderns, I take _Light_ to consist of material

Particles, propagated from the Sun, and other luminous Bodies, not

instantaneously, but in time, according to the Notes following in this

Chapter. But not to insist upon other Arguments for the Proof of it, our

noble Founder hath proved the Materiality of Light and Heat, from actual

Experiments on Silver, Copper, Tin, Lead, Spelter, Iron, Tutenage, and

other Bodies, exposed (both naked and closely shut up) to the Fire: All

which were constantly found to receive an Increment of Weight. I wish he

could have met with a favourable Season to have tried his Experiments

with the Sun-beams as he intended. _Vid._ _Boyl Exp. to make Fire and

Flame ponderable_.

[b] Astro-Theol. Book 7.

[c] Gen. i. 3. _And God said, Let there be Light, and there was Light._

[d] It may not be ungrateful to the Curious, to take notice of the

Velocity of these two Things.

According to the Observations of _Mersennus_, a Bullet-shot out of

a great Gun, flies 92 Fathom in a Second of Time, (_Vid._ _Mersen.

Balist._) which is equal to 589½ Feet _English_, and according to the

Computation of Mr. _Huygens_, it would be 25 years in passing from the

Earth to the Sun. But according to my own Observations made with one

of her Majesty’s _Sakers_, and a very accurate Pendulum-Chronometer, a

Bullet, at its first Discharge, flies 510 Yards in five half Seconds,

which is a Mile in a little above 17 half Seconds. And allowing the Sun’s

Distance to be, as in the next Note, a Bullet would be 32½ Years in

flying with its utmost Velocity to the Sun.

As to the Velocity of Sound, see _Book 4. Chap. 3. Note 28._ according

to which rate there mentioned, a Sound would be near 17½ Years in flying

as far as the distance is from the Earth to the Sun. Confer here the

Experiments of the _Acad. del Ciment._ p. 140, _&c._

[e] Mr. _Romer_’s ingenious Hypothesis about the Velocity of Light, hath

been established by the _Royal Academy_, and in the _Observatory_ for

eight Years, as our _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 136. observe from the _Journ.

des Scavans_; our most eminent Astronomers also in _England_ admit

it: But Dr. _Hook_ thinks with Monsieur _Cartes_, the Motion of Light

Instantaneous, _Hook Post. Works, pag. 77._ And this he endeavours to

explain, _pag. 130_, &c.

What Mr. _Romer_’s Hypothesis is, may be seen in the _Phil. Transact._

before-cited: As also in the before commended Sir _Isaac Newton_’s

_Opticks_: _Light is propagated from luminous Bodies in time, and spends

about seven or eight Minutes of an Hour in passing from the Sun to the

Earth. This was first observed by ~Romer~, and then by others, by means

of the Eclipses of the Satellites of ~Jupiter~. For these Eclipses, when

the Earth is between the Sun and ~Jupiter~, happen about seven or eight

Minutes sooner than they ought to do by the Tables; and when the Earth is

beyond the ☉, they happen about seven or eight Minutes later than they

ought to do: The reason being, that the Light of the Satellites hath

farther to go in the latter Case than in the former, by the Diameter of

the Earth’s Orbit._ Newt. Opt. L. 2. Part. 3. Prop. 11.

Now forasmuch as the Distance between the Sun and the Earth (according

to the Computations in my _Astro-Theology_, _B. 1. ch. 3. Note 2._) is

86051398 _English_ Miles; therefore, at the rate of 7½ Minutes, or 450

Seconds in passing from the Sun, Light will be found to fly above 191225

Miles in one Second of Time.

[f] Dr. _Hook_ Post. Works. Lect. of Light, _pag. 76._

[g] For the proof of this vast Extent of Light, I shall take the

Computation of the same great Man, _pag. 77_. _If_, saith he, _we

consider first the vast Distance between us and the Sun, which from the

best and latest Observations in Astronomy, is judged to be about 10000

Diameters of the Earth, each of which It about 7925 ~English~ Miles;

therefore the Sun’s distance is 7925000 Miles; and if we consider that

according to the Observations, which I published to prove the Motion of

the Earth, ~[which were Observations of the Parallax of some of the fixt

Stars in the Head of _Draco_, made in 1699]~ the whole Diameter of the

Orb, ~viz.~ 20000, made the Subtense but of one Minute to one of the fixt

Stars, which cannot therefore be less distant than 3438 Diameters of this

great Orb, and consequently 68760000 Diameters of the Earth: And if this

Star be one of the nearest, and that the Stars that are of one Degree

lesser in Magnitude (I mean not of the Second Magnitude, because there

may be many Degrees between the first and second) be as much farther;

and another sort yet smaller be three times as far; and a fourth four

times as far, and so onward, possibly to some 100 Degrees of Magnitude,

such as may be discovered by longer and longer Telescopes, that they may

be 100 times as far; then certainly this material Expansion, a part of

which we are, must be so great, that ’twill infinitely exceed our shallow

Conception to imagine. Now, by what I last mentioned, it is evident that

Light extends it self to the utmost imaginable Parts, and by the help

of Telescopes we collect the Rays, and make them sensible to the Eye,

which are emitted from some of the almost inconceivably remote Objects,

~&c.~——Nor is it only the great Body of the Sun, or the vast Bodies of

the fixt Stars, that are thus able to disperse their Light through the

vast Expansum of the Universe; but the smallest Spark of a lucid Body

will do the very same Thing, even the smallest Globule struck from a

Steel by a Flint, ~&c.~_

CHAP. V.

_Of Gravity._

The last Thing subservient to our Globe, that I shall take notice of, is

_Gravity_[a], or that Tendency which Bodies have to the Centre of the

Earth.

In my _Astro-Theology_, _Book 6. Ch. 2._ I have shewn of what absolute

Necessity, and what a noble Contrivance this of Gravity is, for keeping

the several Globes of the Universe from shattering to Pieces, as they

evidently must do in a little Time by their swift Rotation round their

own Axes[b]. The Terraqueous Globe particularly, which circumvolves at

the rate of above 1000 Miles an Hour[c], would by the centrifugal force

of that Motion, be soon dissipated and spirtled into the circumambient

Space, was it not kept together by this noble Contrivance of the Creator,

this natural inherent Power, namely, the Power of Attraction or Gravity.

And as by this Power our Globe is defended against Dissipation, so all

its Parts are kept in their proper Place and Order. All material Things

do naturally gravitate thereto, and unite themselves therewith, and so

preserve its Bulk intire[d]. And the fleeting Waters, the most unruly

of all its Parts, do by this means keep their constant æquipoise in the

Globe[e], and remain in _that Place which_, the Psalmist saith, _God had

founded for them; a bound he had set, which they might not pass; that

they turn not again to cover the Earth_, Psal. civ. 8, 9. So, that even

in a natural Way, by virtue of this excellent Contrivance of the Creator,

the Observation of the Psalmist is perpetually fulfilled, _Psal._ lxxxix.

9. _Thou rulest the raging of the Sea; when the Waves thereof arise, thou

stillest them._

To these, and an hundred other Uses of Gravity that I might have

named, I shall only just mention another Thing owing to it, and that

is _Levity_[f], that, whereby what we call light Bodies swim, a Thing

no less useful to the World than its opposite, _Gravity_, is in many

Respects, to divers Tribes of Animals, but particularly serviceable to

the raising up of Vapours[g], and to their Conveyance about the World.

And now from this transient View of no other than the Out-works, than

the bare Appendages of the Terraqueous Globe, we have so manifest a

Sample of the Wisdom, Power, and Goodness of the infinite Creator, that

it is easy to imagine the whole Fabrick is of a Piece, the Work of at

least a skilful Artist. A Man that should meet with a Palace[h], beset

with pleasant Gardens, adorned with stately Avenues, furnished with

well-contrived Aqueducts, Cascades, and all other Appendages conducing

to Convenience or Pleasure, would easily imagine, that proportionable

Architecture and Magnificence were within: But we should conclude the

Man was out of his Wits that should assert and plead that all was the

Work of Chance, or other than of some wise and skilful Hand. And so when

we survey the bare Out-works of this our Globe, when we see so vast a

Body, accouter’d with so noble a Furniture of Air, Light and Gravity;

with every Thing, in short, that is necessary to the Preservation and

Security of the Globe it self, or that conduceth to the Life, Health, and

Happiness, to the Propagation and Increase of all the prodigious Variety

of Creatures the Globe is stocked with; when we see nothing wanting,

nothing redundant or frivolous, nothing botching or ill-made, but that

every thing, even in the very Appendages alone, exactly answereth all

its Ends and Occasions: What else can be concluded, but that all was

made with manifest Design, and that all the whole Structure is the Work

of some intelligent Being; some Artist, of Power and Skill equivalent to

such a Work?

FOOTNOTES:

[a] That there is such a Thing as _Gravity_, is manifest from its Effects

here upon Earth; and that the Heavenly Bodies attract or gravitate to

one another, when placed at due Distances, is made highly probable by

Sir _Isaac Newton_. This attractive or gravitating Power, I take to be

congenial to Matter, and imprinted on all the Matter of the Universe

by the Creator’s _Fiat_ at the Creation. What the _Cause_ of it is,

the _Newtonian Philosophy_ doth not pretend to determine for want of

Phænomena, upon which Foundation it is that that Philosophy is grounded,

and not upon chimerical and uncertain Hypotheses: But whatever the Cause

is, that _Cause penetrates even to the Centers of the Sun and Planets,

without any Diminution of its Virtue; and it acteth not according to the

Superficies of Bodies (as Mechanical Causes do) but in proportion to

the Quantity of their solid Matter; ~and lastly~, it acteth all round

it at immense Distances, decreasing in duplicate proportion to those

Distances_, as Sir _Isaac Newton_ saith, _Princip._ pag. ult. What useful

Deductions, and what a rational Philosophy have been drawn from hence,

may be seen in the same Book.

This Attraction, or Gravity, as its Force is in a certain proportion, so

makes the Descent of Bodies to be at a certain rate. And was it not for

the Resistence of the Medium, all Bodies would descend to the Earth at

the same rate; the lightest Down, as swiftly as the heaviest Mineral: As

is manifest in the _Air-Pump_, in which the lightest Feather, Dust, _&c._

and a piece of Lead, drop down seemingly in the same Time, from the top

to the bottom of a tall exhausted Receiver.

The rate of the Descent of heavy Bodies, according to _Galileo_, Mr.

_Huygens_, and Dr. _Halley_ (after them) is 16 Feet one Inch in one

Second of Time; and in more Seconds, as the Squares of those Times.

But in some accurate Experiments made in St. _Paul_’s _Dome_, June 9.

1710, at the Height of 220 Feet, the Descent was scarcely 14 Feet in

the first Second. The Experiments were made in the Presence of some

very considerable Members of the Royal Society, by Mr. _Hawksbee_,

their Operator, with glass, hollow Balls, some empty, some filled with

Quick-silver, the Barometer at 297, the Thermometer 60 Degrees above

Freezing. The Weight of the Balls, their Diameters, and Time of the

Descent is in this Table.

+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

| Balls filled with ☿. | Empty Balls. |

+---------+-------------+----------+---------+--------------+----------+

| Weight. | Diameter. | Time. | Weight. | Diameter. | Time. |

+---------+-------------+----------+---------+------+-------+----------+

| Grains. | Tenth inch. | ½ Secᵈˢ. | Grains. | Inch.| Tenth.| ½ Secᵈˢ. |

+---------+-------------+----------+---------+------+-------+----------+

| 908 | 8 | 8 | 510 | 5 | 1 | 17 |

| | | | | | | |

| 993 | 8 | 8 less. | 642 | 5 | 2 | 16 |

| | | | | | | |

| 866 | 8 | 8 | 599 | 5 | 1 | 16 |

| | | | | | | |

| 747 | 7½ | 8 more. | 515 | 5 nearly | 16½ |

| | | | | | | |

| 808 | 7½ | 8 | 483 | 5 nearly | 17 |

| | | | | | | |

| 784 | 7½ | 8 more. | 641 | 5 | 2 | 16 |

+---------+-------------+----------+---------+------+-------+----------+

The Reason why the heavy, full Balls fell in half the Time of the hollow

ones, was the Resistence of the Air: Which Resistence is very ingeniously

and accurately assigned by Dr. _Wallis_, in _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 186. And

the cause of the Resistence of all Fluids, (as Sir _Isaac Newton_, _Opt._

Q. 20.) is partly from the _Friction_ of the Parts of the Fluid, partly

from the _Inertia_ thereof. The Resistence a spherical Body meets with

from Friction, is as the right Angle under the Diameter, and the Velocity

of the moving Body: And the Resistence from the _Vis Inertia_, is as the

Square of that Product.

For a farther Account of the Properties and Proportions, _&c._ of Gravity

in the Fall or Projection of Bodies, I shall refer to the larger Accounts

of _Galilæus_, _Torricellius_, _Huygens_, Sir _Isaac Newton_, &c. or to

the shorter Accounts of Dr. _Halley_ in Philos. Trans. abridged by Mr.

_Lowthorp_, Vol. I. p. 561. or Dr. _Clarke_ in his Notes on _Rohault_,

_Phys._ 2. c. 28. §. 13, 16. And for the Resistence of Fluids, I refer to

Dr. _Wallis_ before-cited, and the _Act. Erudit. Lips._ May 1693. where

there is a way to find the Force of Mediums upon Bodies of different

Figures.

[b] That the heavenly Bodies move round their own Axes, is, beyond all

doubt, manifest to our Eye, in some of them, from the Spots visible on

them. The Spots on the Sun (easily visible with an ordinary Glass) do

manifest him to revolve round his own Axis in about 25¼ Days. The Spots

on ♃ and ♂ prove those two Planets to revolve also from East to West, as

Dr. _Hook_ discover’d in 1664, and 1665. And ♀ also (although near the

strong Rays of the Sun) hath, from some Spots, been discovered by Mr.

_Cassini_, in 1666, and 1667, to have a manifest Rotation. _V._ _Lowth.

Abridg._ Vol. 1. p. 382, and 423, 425. And such Uniformity hath the

_Creator_ observ’d in the Works of Nature, that what is observable in

one, is generally to be found in all others of the same kind. So that

since ’tis manifest the Sun, and three of his Planets whirl round, it is

very reasonable to conclude all the rest do so too, yea, every Globe of

the Universe.

[c] The Earth’s Circumference being 25031½ Miles, (according to _Book II.

Chap. 2. Note (a)._) if we divide that into 24 Hours, we shall find the

Motion of the Earth to be nearly 1043 Miles in an Hour. Which, by the by,

is a far more reasonable and less rapid Rate, than that of the Sun would

be, if we suppose the Earth to stand still, and the Sun to move round the

Earth. For according to the Proportions in _Note (e)_, of the preceding

Chapter, the Circumference of the _Magnus Orbis_ is 540686225 _English_

Miles, which divided by 24 Hours, gives 22528364 Miles in an Hour. But

what is this to the Rapidity of the fixt Stars, if we suppose them; not

the Earth, to move? Which is a good Argument for the Earth’s Motion.

[d] _Nihil majus, quàm quòd ita stabilis est Mundus, atque ita cohæret

ad permanendum, ut nihil nè excogitari quidem possit aptius. Omnes

enim partes ejus undique medium locum capessentes, nituntur æqualiter:

maximè autem corpora inter se juncta permanent, cum quodam quasi vinculo

circumdata colligantur: quod facit ea natura, quæ per omnem mundum omnia

Mente, & Ratione conficiens, funditur, & ad medium rapit, & convertit

extrema_, Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 45.

[e] _Eâdem ratione Mare, cùm supra terram sit, medium tamen terræ locum

expetens, conglobatur undique æqualiter, neque redundat unquam, neque

effunditur._ Id. paulo post.

[f] That there is no such Thing as _positive Levity_, but that Levity is

only a less Gravity, is abundantly manifested by the acute _Seig. Alph.

Borelli de Mot. à Grav. pend._ cap. 4. See also the Annotations of the

learned and ingenious Dr. Clark on _Rohaulti Phys._ p. 1. c. 16. Note 3.

Also the Exper. of the _Acad. del Cimento_, p. 118, &c. Dr. _Wallis_’s

_Disc. of Gravity and Gravitation before the Royal Society_, Nov. 12.

1674. p. 28, _&c._

[g] I have before in _Note (a), Chap. 3._ shewn what _Vapours_ are, and

how they are rais’d. That which I shall here note, is their Quantity:

Concerning which the before-commended Dr. _Halley_ hath given us some

curious Experiments in our _Phil. Transact._ which may be met with

together in Mr. _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ Vol. II. _p. 108._ and _126._ Mr.

_Sedileau_ also at _Paris_ observed it for near three Years. By all their

Observations it appears, that in the Winter Months the Evaporations are

least, and greatest in Summer, and most of all in windy Weather. And by

_Monsieur Sedileau_’s Observations it appears, that what is raised in

Vapours, exceeds that which falleth in Rain. In the seven last Months of

the Year 1688, the Evaporations amounted to 22 Inches 5 Lines; but the

Rain only to Inches 6⅓ Lines: In 1689, the Evaporations were 32 Inches

10½ Lines; but the Rain 18 Inches 1 Line: In 1690, the Evaporations 30

Inches 11 Lines; the Rain 21 Inches ⅓ of a Line. _Vid._ _Mem. de Math.

Phys. Ann. 1692._ p. 25.

If it be demanded, What becomes of the Overplus of Exhalations that

descend not in Rain? I answer, They are partly tumbled down and spent by

the Winds, and partly descend in Dews, which amount to a greater quantity

than is commonly imagined. Dr. _Halley_ found the descent of Vapours in

Dews so prodigious at St. _Helena_, that he makes no doubt to attribute

the Origine of Fountains thereto. And I my self have seen in a still,

cool Evening, large thick Clouds hanging, without any Motion in the Air,

which in two or three Hours Time have been melted down by Degrees, by the

cold of the Evening, so that not any the least Remains of them have been

left.

[h] See _Book II. Chap. 3. Note (c)._

[Illustration]

BOOK II.

_Of the Terraqueous Globe it self in general._

In the foregoing Book having dispatch’d the Out-works, let us take a

Survey of the Principal Fabrick, _viz._ the _Terraqueous Globe_ it self;

a most stupendious Work in every particular of it, which doth no less

aggrandize its Maker[a], than every curious, complete Work, doth its

Workman. Let us cast our Eyes here and there, let us ransack all the

Globe, let us with the greatest Accuracy inspect every part thereof,

search out the inmost Secrets of any of the Creatures; let us examine

them with all our Gauges, measure them with our nicest Rules, pry into

them with our Microscopes, and most exquisite Instruments[b] still we

find them to bear Testimony to their infinite Workman; and that they

exceed all humane Skill so far, as that the most exquisite Copies and

Imitations of the best Artists, are no other than rude bungling Pieces

to them. And so far are we from being able to espy any Defect or Fault

in them, that the better we know them, the more we admire them; and the

farther we see into them, the more exquisite we find them to be.

And for a Demonstration of this; I shall,

I. Take a general Prospect of the Terraqueous Globe.

II. Survey its Particulars.

I. The Things which will fall under a general Prospect of the Globe, will

be its _Figure_, _Bulk_, _Motion_, _Place_, _Distribution_ into Earth and

Waters, and the great _Variety_ of all Things upon it and in it.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Licet——oculis quodammodo contemplari pulchritudinem earum rerum,

quas Divinâ Providentiâ dicimus constitutas. Ac principio Terra universa

cernatur, locata in media mundi sede, solida, & globosa——vestita

floribus, herbis, arboribus, frugibus. Quorum omnium incredibilis

multitudo, insatiabili varietate distinguitur. Adde huc Fontium gelidas

perennitates, liquores perlucidos Amnium, Riparum vestitus viridissimos,

Speluncarum concavas altitudines, Saxorum asperitates, impendentium

Montium altitudines, immensitatesque Camporum: Adde etiam reconditas

Auri——venas——Qua verò, & quàm varia genera Bestiarum?——Qui Volucrum

lapsus, atque cantus? Qui Pecudum pastus?——Quid de Hominum genere dicam?

Qui quasi cultores terra constituti, ~&c.~——Qua si, ut animis, sic

oculis videre possemus, nemo cunctam intuens terram, de Divinâ Ratione

dubitaret._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 39.

[b] _I cannot here omit the Observations that have been made in

these later Times, since we have had the Use and Improvement of the

~Microscope~, concerning the great Difference, which by the help of

that, doth appear betwixt ~Natural~ and ~Artificial~ Things. Whatever is

Natural, doth by that appear adorned with all imaginable Elegance and

Beauty.——Whereas the most curious Works of Art, the sharpest, finest

Needle doth appear as a blunt, rough Bar of Iron, coming from the Furnace

or the Forge. The most accurate Engravings or Embossments seem such rude,

bungling, deformed Works, as if they had been done with a Mattock, or a

Trowel. So vast a Difference is there betwixt the Skill of Nature, and

the Rudeness and Imperfection of ~Art~._ _Bp._ Wilk. Nat. Rel. L. 1. Ch.

6.

CHAP. I.

_Of the Figure of the Terraqueous Globe._

This I suppose I may take for granted to be Spherical, or nearly so[a].

And this must be allowed to be the most commodious, apt Figure for a

World on many Accounts; as it is most capacious, as its Surface is

equi-distant from the Center, not only of the Globe, but at least

(nearly) of Gravity and Motion too, and as some have thought, of the

central Heat and Waters. But these, and divers other Things I shall pass

over, and insist only upon two or three other Benefits of this globous

Figure of the Earth and Waters.

1. This Figure is the most commodious in regard of Heat, and I may add of

Light also in some measure. For by this means, those two great Benefits

are uniformly and equally imparted to the World: They come harmoniously

and gradually on, and as gradually go off again. So that the daily and

yearly Returns of Light and Darkness, Cold and Heat, Moist and Dry,

are Regular and Workman-like, (we may say,) which they would not be,

especially the former, if the Mass of Earth and Waters were (as some

fancied[b] it) a large Plain; or as others, like a large Hill in the

midst of the Ocean; or of a multangular Figure; or such like.

2. This Figure is admirably adapted to the commodious and equal

Distribution of the Waters in the Globe. For since, by the Laws of

Gravity, the Waters will possess the lowest Place; therefore, if the

Mass of the Earth was cubick, prismatick, or any other angular Figure,

it would follow, that one (too vast a Part) would be drowned; and

another be too dry. But being thus orbicular, the Waters are equally

and commodiously distributed here and there, according as the Divine

Providence saw most fit; of which I shall take notice by and by.

3. The orbicular Figure of our Globe, is far the most beneficial to

the Winds and Motions of the Atmosphere. It is not to be doubted, if

the Earth was of some other, or indeed any other Figure, but that the

Currents of Air would be much retarded, if not wholly stopped. We find

by Experience what Influence large and high Mountains, Bays, Capes, and

Head-lands have upon the Winds; how they stop some, retard many, and

divert and change (near the Shores) even the _general_ and _constant

Winds_[c], that blow round the Globe in the Torrid Zone. And therefore,

since this is the effect of such little Excrescences, which have but

little Proportion to our Globe, what would be the Consequences of much

vaster Angles, which would equal a Quarter, Tenth, or but an Hundredth

Part of the Globe’s Radius? Certainly these must be such a Barricade,

as would greatly annoy, or rather absolutely stop the Currents of the

Atmosphere, and thereby deprive the World of those salutiferous Gales

that I have said keep it sweet and clean.

Thus the Figure of our Globe doth manifest it to be a Work of

Contrivance, inasmuch as it is of the most commodious Figure; and all

others would be liable to great and evident Inconveniences.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Although the Terraqueous Globe be of an orbicular Figure, yet it is

not strictly so, 1. On account of its Hills and Vallies. But there are

inconsiderable to the Earth’s Semidiameter; for they are but as the Dust

upon a common Globe. But, 2. Our modern Astronomers assign a much greater

Variation from a globous Form, namely, that of a prolate Sphæroid, making

the Polar about 34 Miles shorter than the Equatorial Diameter. The Cause

of which they make to be the centrifugal Force of the diurnal Rotation of

the Globe.

This Figure they imagine is in _Jupiter_, his Polar being to his

Equatorial Diameter, as 39⅗ to 40⅗. But whether it be so or no, I confess

I could never perceive, although I have often viewed that Planet through

very good, and long Glasses, particularly a tolerable good one of 72 Feet

in my Hands: And although by Reason of cloudy Weather, and (at present)

_Jupiter_’s Proximity to the Sun, I have not been of late able to take a

review of that Planet; yet _Saturn_ (so far as his Ring would permit,)

and _Mars_ appear perfectly round thro’ Mr. _Huygens_’s long Glass of

126 Feet, which by Will he bequeathed, with its whole Apparatus, to our

_R. S._ by whose Favour it is now in my Hands. And moreover, I believe

it difficult, next to impossible, to measure the two Diameters to a 40ᵗʰ

Part, by reason of the smallness of _Jupiter_’s apparent Diameter, and by

reason he is moving all the time of measuring him.

As to what is alledged from lengthening the Pendulums of Clocks, to make

them keep the same Time under the Equator, as they do in our Climes; I

have shewn from the like Variations in the Air-Pump, that this may arise

from the rarity of the Air there, more than here. _V._ _Phil. Trans._

Nᵒ. 294. But if the Degrees of a Meridian grow larger, the more we go

towards the Line, (as Mr. _Cassini_ affirms they do, by an 800ᵗʰ Part in

every Degree, in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 278.) then there is great reason to

conclude in behalf of this Sphæroidal Form.

The natural Cause of this Sphericity of our Globe, is (according to

Sir _Isaac Newton_’s Principles) that _Attraction_, which the infinite

Creator hath stamp’d on all the Matter of the Universe, whereby all

Bodies, and all the Parts of Bodies mutually attract themselves and one

another. By which means, as all the Parts of Bodies tend naturally to

their Center, so they all betake themselves to a globous Figure, unless

some other more prevalent Cause interpose. Thus Drops of Quick-silver put

on a spherical Form, the Parts thereof strongly attracting one another.

So Drops of Water have the same Form, when falling in the Air; but are

Hemispherical only when they lie on a hard Body, by reason their Gravity

doth so far over-power their self-attracting Power, as to take off one

half of their Sphericity. This Figure is commonly attributed to the

Pressure of the circumambient Air: But that this can’t be the cause, is

manifest from the Air-Pump; the case being the very same in an exhausted

Receiver, as in the open Air, and not any the least Alteration of the

Figure that I could perceive, in all the Trials I have made.

[b] It would be frivolous as well as endless to reckon up the various

Opinions of the Ancients about the Figure of the Terraqueous Globe; some

of them may be seen in _Varen. Geogr._ l. 1. _c. 3. init._ or _Johnston’s

Thaumat. c. 1. Artic. 3._ But among the variety of Opinions, one of the

principal was, That the visible Horizon was the Bounds of the Earth, and

the Ocean the Bounds of the Horizon, that the Heavens and Earth above

this Ocean, was the whole visible Universe; and that all beneath the

Ocean was _Hades_, or the _invisible World_. Hence, when the Sun set, he

was said _tingere se Oceano_; and when any went to _Hades_, they must

first pass the Ocean. Of this Opinion were not only the ancient Poets,

and others among the Heathens, but some of the Christian Fathers too,

particularly _Lactantius_, St. _Augustine_, and others, who thought their

Opinion was favoured by the Psalmist, in _Psal._ xxiv. 2. and cxxxvi. 6.

See _Bp. Usher’s Ans. to a Jes. Chall._ p. 366. _&c._

[c] _Neither do these constant ~Trade-Winds~ usually blow near the Shore,

but only on the Ocean, at least 30 or 40 Leagues off at Sea, clear from

any Land; especially on the West Coast, or Side of any Continent: For

indeed on the East Side, the Easterly Wind being the true Trade-Wind,

blows almost home to the Shore, so near as to receive a check from the

Land-Wind._ Dampier’s Winds, Ch. 1.

And not only the _general Trade-Winds_, but also the _constant coasting

Trade-Winds_, are in like manner affected by the Lands. Thus, for

Instance, on the Coast of _Angola_ and _Peru_. But this, saith the

curious Captain _Dampier_, the Reader must take notice of, _That the

Trade-Winds that blow on any Coast, except the North Coast of ~Africa~,

whether they are constant, and blow all the Year, or whether they are

shifting Winds, do never blow right in on the Shore, nor right along

Shore, but go slanting, snaking an acute Angle of about 22 Degrees.

Therefore, as the Land tends more East or West, from North or South on

the Coast; so the Winds do alter accordingly._ Ibid. Ch. 2.

CHAP. II.

_Of the Bulk of the Terraqueous Globe._

The next Thing remarkable in the Terraqueous Globe, is the prodigious

Bulk thereof[a]. A Mass of above 260 Thousand Million of Miles solid

Content. A Work too grand for any thing less than a God to make. To which

in the next Place we may add,

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is not difficult to make a pretty near Computation of the Bulk

of the Terraqueous Globe, from those accurate Observations of a Degree

made by Mr. _Norwood_ in _England_, and Mr. _Picart_, and Mr. _Cassini_

in _France_. Whose Measures do in a surprizing manner agree. But Mr.

_Cassini_’s seeming to be the most accurate (as I have shewn in my

_Astro-Theology_, _B. 1. Ch. 2. Note (a)._) I have there made use of

his Determinations. According to which the Diameter of the Earth being

7967,72 _English_ Miles, its Ambit will be 25031½ Miles; and (supposing

it to be Spherical) its Surface will be 199444220 Miles; which being

multiplied into ⅓ of its Semidiameter, gives the Solid Content, _viz._

264856000000 Miles.

CHAP. III.

_The Motions of the Terraqueous Globe._

The Motions the Terraqueous Globe hath, are round its own Axis, and round

its Fountain of Light and Heat, the Sun[a]. That so vast a Body as the

Earth and Waters should be moved at all[b], that it should undergo two

such different Motions, as the Diurnal and Annual are, and that these

Motions should be so constantly and regularly[c] performed for near 6000

Years, without any the least Alteration ever heard of (except some Hours

which we read of in _Josh._ x. 12, 13. and in _Hezekiah_’s Time, which,

if they cannot be accounted for some other way, do greatly encrease

the Wonder[d]; these Things, I say,) do manifestly argue some divine

infinite Power to be concerned therein[e]: But especially, if to all

this we add the wonderful Convenience, yea absolute Necessity of these

Circumvolutions to the Inhabitants, yea all the Products of the Earth

and Waters. For to one of these we owe the comfortable Changes of Day

and Night; the one for Business, the other for Repose;[f] the one for

Man, and most other Animals to gather and provide Food, Habitation,

and other Necessaries of Life; the other to rest, refresh, and recruit

their Spirits[g], wasted with the Labours of the Day. To the other of

those Motions we owe the Seasons of Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumn,

together with the beneficial Instances and Effects which these have on

the Bodies and State of Animals, Vegetables, and all other Things, both

in the Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid Zones.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] With the _Copernicans_, I take it here for granted, that the Diurnal

and Annual Revolutions are the Motions of the Terraqueous Globe, not of

the Sun, _&c._ but for the Proof thereof I shall refer the Reader to the

Preface of my _Astro-Theology_, and _B. 4. Chap. 3._

[b] _Every thing that is moved, must of Necessity be moved by something

else; and that thing is moved by something that is moved either by

another Thing, or not by another Thing. If it be moved by that which is

moved by another, we must of Necessity come to some ~prime Mover~, that

is not moved by another. For it is impossible, that what moveth, and is

moved by another, should proceed_ in infinitum. Aristot. Phys. l. 8. c. 5.

_Solum quod seipsum movet, quia nunquam deseritur à se, nunquam ne moveri

quidem definit; quinetiam cæteris quæ moventur, hic fons: hoc principium

est movendi. Principii autem nulla est origo: nam ex principio oriuntur

omnia; ipsum autem nullâ ex re aliâ nasciepotest: nec enim esset id

principium, quod gigneretur aliunde._ Cicer. Tusc. Quest. l. 1. c. 23.

_Cogitemus qui fieri possit, ut tanta magnitudo, ab aliquâ possit naturâ,

tanto tempore circumferri? Ego igitur assero Deum causam esse, nec aliter

posse fieri._ Plato in Epinom.

[c] Among the Causes which _Cleanthes_ is said in _Tully_ to assign for

Men’s Belief of a Deity, one of the chief is, _Æquabilitatem motûs,

conversionem Cœli, Solis, Lunæ, Siderumque omnium distinctionem,

varietatem, pulchritudinem, ordinem: quarum rerum aspectus ipse satis

indicaret, non esse ea fortuita. Ut siquis in domum aliquam, aut in

gymnasium, aut in forum venerit; cùm videat omnium rerum rationem, modum,

disciplinam, non possit ea sine causâ fieri judicare, sed esse aliquem

intelligat, qui præsit, & cui pareatur: multo magis in tantis motibus,

tantisque vicissitudinibus, tam multarum rerum atque tanrarum ordinibus,

in quibus nihil unquam immmensa & infinita vetustas mentita sit, statuat

necesse est ab aliquâ Mente tantos naturæ motus gubernari._ Cir. de Nat.

Deor. l. 1. c. 5.

_Homines cœperunt Deum agnoscere, cùm viderent Stellas, tantam

concinnitatem efficere; ac dies, noctesque, æstate, & hyeme, suos servare

statos ortus, atque obitus._ Plutarch de placit. l. 1. c. 6.

[d] We need not be sollicitous to elude the History of these Miracles,

as if they were only poetical Strains, as _Maimonides_, and some others

fancy _Joshua_’s Day to have been, _viz._ only an ordinary Summer’s

Day; but such as had the Work of many Days done in it; and therefore

by a poetical Stretch made, as if the Day had been lengthened by the

Sun standing still. But in the History they are seriously related, as

real Matters of Fact, and with such Circumstances as manifest them to

have been miraculous Works of the Almighty; And the Prophet _Habakkuk_,

iii. 11. mentions that of _Joshua_ as such. And therefore taking

them to be miraculous Perversions of the Course of Nature, instead

of being Objections, they are great Arguments of the Power of God:

For in _Hezekiah_’s Case, to wheel the Earth it self backward, or by

some extraordinary Refractions, to bring the Sun’s Shadow backward 10

Degrees: Or in _Joshua_’s Case, to stop the diurnal Course of the Globe

for some Hours, and then again give it the same Motion; to do, I say,

there Things, required the same infinite Power which at first gave the

Terraqueous Globe its Motions.

[e]

_Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,_

_Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,_

_Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebar_

_Consilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveri_

_Sidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,_

_Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igne_

_Compleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undis_

_Littora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe._

Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.

[f] _Diei noctisque vicissitudo conservat animantes, tribuens aliud

agendi tempus, aliud quiescendi. Sic undique omni ratione concluditur,

Mente, Consilioque divino omnia in hoc mundo ad salutem omnium,

conservationemque admirabiliter administrari._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2.

c. 53.

[g] The acute Dr. _Cheyne_, in his ingenious _Philos. Princ. of Natural

Religion_, among other uses of Day and Night, saith, the Night is most

proper for Sleep; because when the Sun is above the Horizon, Sleep is

prejudicial, by reason the Perspirations are then too great. Also that

Nutrition is mostly, if not altogether, performed in Time of Rest; the

Blood having too quick a Motion in the Day: For which Reason, weak

Persons, Children, _&c._ are nourished most, and recruit best by Sleep.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the Place and Situation of the Terraqueous Globe, in respect of the

Heavenly Bodies._

Another Thing very considerable in our Globe, is its Place and Situation

at a due Distance from the Sun[a], its Fountain of Light and Heat; and

from its neighbouring Planets of the solar System, and from the fixt

Stars. But these Things I have spoken more largely of in my Survey of the

Heavens[b], and therefore only barely mention them now; to insist more

largely upon,

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is a manifest Sign of the Creator’s Management and Care, in

placing the Terraqueous Globe at that very Distance it is from the Sun,

and contempering our own Bodies and all other Things so duly to that

Distance. For was the Earth farther from the Sun, the World would be

starved and frozen with Cold: And was it nigher we should be burnt, at

least the most combustible Things would be so, and the World would be

vexed with perpetual Conflagrations. For we see that a few of the Rays of

the Sun, even no more than what fall within the Compass of half an Inch

or an Inch in a Burning-Glass, will fire combustible Bodies, even in our

own Climate.

[b] _Astro-Theology_, Book vii. Chap. 7.

CHAP. V.

_The Distribution of the Earth and Waters._

The Distribution of the Waters and the dry Land, although it may seem

rude and undesigned to a careless View, and is by some taxed as such[a],

yet is admirably well adjusted to the Uses and Conveniences of our World.

For in the first Place, the Distribution is so well made, the Earth and

Waters so handsomely, so Workman-like laid, every where all the World

over, that there is a just æquipoise of the whole Globe. The _Northern_

balanceth the _Southern Ocean_, the _Atlantick_ the _Pacifick Sea_. The

_American dry Land_, is a Counterpoise to the _European_, _Asiatick_ and

_African_.

In the next Place, the Earth and the Waters are so admirably well placed

about in the Globe, as to be helpful to one another, to minister to one

another’s Uses. The great Oceans, and the lesser Seas and Lakes, are

so admirably well distributed throughout the Globe[b], as to afford

sufficient Vapours[c] for Clouds and Rains, to temperate the Cold[c] of

the Northern frozen Air, to cool and mitigate the Heats[d] of the Torrid

Zone, and to refresh the Earth with fertile Showers; yea, in some measure

to minister fresh Waters to the Fountains and Rivers. Nay, so abundant

is this great Blessing, which the most indulgent Creator hath afforded

us by means of this Distribution of the Waters I am speaking of, that

there is more than a scanty, bare Provision, or mere Sufficiency; even a

Plenty, a Surplusage of this useful Creature of God, (the fresh Waters)

afforded to the World; and they so well ordered, as not to drown the

Nations of the Earth, nor to stagnate, stink, and poison, or annoy them;

but to be gently carried through convenient Chanels back again to their

grand Fountain[e] the Sea; and many of them through such large Tracts

of Land, and to such prodigious Distances, that it is a great Wonder

the Fountains should be high enough[f], or the Seas low enough, ever

to afford so long a Conveyance. Witness the _Danube_[g] and _Wolga_ of

_Europe_, the _Nile_[h] and the _Niger_[i] of _Africk_, the _Ganges_[k]

and _Euphrates_ of _Asia_, and the _Amazons River_[l] and _Rio de la

Plata_ of _America_, and many others which might be named; some of which

are said to run above 5000 Miles, and some no less than 6000 from their

Fountains to the Sea. And indeed such prodigious Conveyances of the

Waters make it manifest, that no accidental Currents and Alterations of

the Waters themselves, no Art or Power of Man, nothing less than the

_Fiat_ of the Almighty, could ever have made, or found, so long and

commodious Declivities, and Chanels for the Passage of the Waters.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] The most eminent Author I have met with, that finds fault with the

Distribution of the Earth and Waters, and indeed with the whole present

Structure of the Globe, is the learned and eloquent Theorist, Dr.

_Burnet_, who frequently exclaims on this Point, _Tellus nostra, si totam

simul complectamur, non est ordinata & venusta rerum compages——sed moles

aggesta vario, incertoque situ partium, nullâ ordinis aut venustatis

habitâ ratione._ Theor. Sacr. l. 1. c. 7. _Ecquis autem à Deo hæc ita

facta? ~&c.~_ ib. _Quo autem Herculeo labore opus effet ad excavandum

terram in tantum hiatum?——Si immediatè à causâ primâ effectus fuisset

hic alveus, aliquem saltem ordinem, mensuram, & proportionem notare

voluisset in ipsius formâ, & partium dispositione;——sed confusa omnia,

~&c.~_ ib. c. 8. _Tellus nostra cùm exigua sit, est etiam rudis: Et in

illâ exiguitate multa sunt superflua, multa inelegantia. Dimidiam terræ

superficiem inundat Oceanus; magnâ ex parte, ut mihi videtur, inutilis._

And then he goes on to shew how this Part of the Creation might be

mended, _ib._ c. 10. All this is to me surprizing from an Author of

great Ingenuity, who seems in his Book to have a just Opinion of, and

due Veneration for God. But certainly such Notions are very inconsistent

with the Belief of God’s creating, especially his governing and ordering

the World. But suppose the Terraqueous Globe was such a rude, confused,

inconvenient Mass, as he pretends, yet it is well enough for a sinful

World. But besides, what others have long ago abundantly answered, the

following Survey, will, I hope, sufficiently manifest it to be the Work

of a wise and beneficent, as well as omnipotent Creator.

[b] Some have objected against the Distribution of the Earth and Waters,

as if the Waters occupied too large a part of the Globe, which they

think would be of greater Use, if it was dry Land. But then they do not

consider that this would deprive the World of a due Quantity of Vapours

and Rain. For if the Cavities which contain the Sea, and other Waters,

were deeper, although the Waters were no less in Quantity, only their

Surfaces narrower and lesser, the Evaporations would be so much the

less, inasmuch as those Evaporations are made from the Surface, and are,

consequently, in proportion to the Surface, not the Depth or Quantity of

Water.

[c] I took notice before in _Book I. Chap. 3. Note (a)._ That the Vapours

constituting Clouds and Rain, are _Vesiculæ_ of Water detached by Heat.

The manner of which I conceive to be thus; Heat being of an agile Nature,

or the lightest of all Bodies, easily breaks loose from them; and if they

are humid, in its Passage, carries along with it Particles, or little

Cases of the Water; which being lighter than Air, are buoyed up thereby,

and swim in it; until by knocking against one another, or being thickened

by the Cold, (as in the Note before-cited,) they are reduced into Clouds

and Drops.

Having mentioned the manner how Vapours are raised, and there being more

room here than in the Note before-cited, I shall, for the Illustration of

Natures Process, take notice of three Things observable to our purpose,

in Water over the Fire. 1. That the Evaporations are proportional to the

Heat ascending out of the Water. A small Heat throws off but few Vapours,

scarce visible: A greater Heat, and ascending in greater Quantities,

carries off grosser, larger, and more numerous _Vesiculæ_, which we call

a _Steam_: And if the Heat breaks through the Water with such a Fury, as

to lacerate and lift up great Quantities or Bubbles of Water, too heavy

for the Air to carry or buoy up, it causeth what we call _Boyling_. And

the Particles of Water thus mounted up by the Heat, are visible Sphærules

of Water, if viewed with a Microscope, as they swim about in a Ray of

the Sun let into a dark Room, with warm Water underneath; where some of

the Vapours appear large, some smaller Sphærules, according (no doubt)

to the larger and lesser Quantities of Heat blowing them up and carrying

them off. 2. If these Vapours be intercepted in their Ascent by any

Context, especially cold Body, as Glass, Marble, _&c._ they are thereby

reduced into Drops, and Masses of Water, like those of Rain, _&c._ 3.

These Vapours in their Ascent from the Water, may be observed, in cold

frosty Weather, either to rise but a little above the Water, and there

to hang, or to glide on a little above its Surface: Or if the Weather be

very cold, after a little ascent, they may be seen to fall back again

into the Water; in their Ascent and Descent describing a Curve somewhat

like that of an Arrow from a Bow. But in a warmer Air, and still, the

Vapours ascend more nimbly and copiously, mounting up aloft, till they

are out of Sight. But if the Air be warm and windy too, the Vapours are

sooner carried out of Sight, and make way for others. And accordingly

I have often observed, that hot Liquors, if not set too thin, and not

frequently stirred, cool slower in the greatest Frosts, than in temperate

Weather, especially if windy. And it is manifest by good Experiments,

that the Evaporations are less at those times than these; less by far in

the Winter than the warmer Months.

[c] As our Northern Islands are observed to be more temperate than our

Continents, (of which we had a notable Instance in the great Frost in

1708/9, which _Ireland_ and _Scotland_ felt less of, than most Parts

of _Europe_ besides; of which see _Book IV. Chap. 12. Note (c)._) so

this Temperature is owing to the warm Vapours afforded chiefly by the

Sea, which by the preceding Note must necessarily be warm, as they are

Vapours, or Water inflated by Heat.

The Cause of this Heat I take to be partly that of the Sun, and partly

Subterraneous. That it is not wholly that of the Sun, is manifest from

Vapours, being as, or more copiously raised when the Sun Beams are

weakest, as when strongest, there being greater Rains and Winds at the

one time than the other. And that there is such a thing as _Subterraneous

Heat_, (whether Central, or from the meeting of Mineral Juices; or

such as is Congenial or Connatural to our Globe, I have not Time to

enquire; but I say, that such a Thing is,) is evident not only from the

Hot-Baths, many fiery Erruptions and Explosions, _&c._ but also from the

ordinary Warmth of Cellars and Places under Ground, which are not barely

comparatively warm, but of sufficient Heat to raise Vapours also: As is

manifest from the smoking of perennial Fountains in frosty Weather, and

Water drawn out of Pumps and open Wells at such a Time. Yea, even Animals

themselves are sensible of it, as particularly _Moles_, who dig before

a Thaw, and against some other Alterations of the Weather; excited, no

doubt, thereunto by the same warm Vapours arising in the Earth, which

animate them, as well as produce the succeeding Changes of the Weather.

[d] Besides the _Trade-Winds_, which serve to mitigate the excessive

Heats in the Torrid Zone; the Clouds are a good Screen against the

scorching Sun-Beams, especially when the Sun passeth their Zenith; at

which Time is their Winter, or coolest Season, by reason they have then

most Clouds and Rain. For which Service, that which _Varene_ takes notice

of, is a great Providence of God, _viz._ _Pleraque loca Zonæ Torridæ

vicinum habent mare, ut India, Insulæ Indicæ, Lingua Africæ, Guinea,

Brasilia, Peruvia, Mexicana, Hispania: Pauca loca Zonæ Torridæ sunt

Mediterranea._ Varenii. Geogr. l. 2. c. 26. Prop. 10. §. 7.

[e] That Springs have their Origine from the Sea, and not from Rains and

Vapours, among many other strong Reasons, I conclude from the Perennity

of divers Springs, which always afford the same quantity of Water. Of

this sort there are many to be found every where. But I shall, for an

Instance, single out one in the Parish of _Upminster_, where I live,

as being very proper for my purpose, and one that I have had better

Opportunities of making Remarks upon above twenty Years. This in the

greatest Droughts is little, if at all diminished, that I could perceive

by my Eye, although the Ponds all over the Country, and an adjoining

Brook have been dry for many Months together; as particularly in the dry

Summer Months of the Year 1705. And in the wettest Seasons, such as the

Summer and other Months were, preceding the violent Storm in _November_

1703. (_Vid._ _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 289.) I say, in such wet Seasons I

have not observed any Increment of its Stream, excepting only for violent

Rains falling therein, or running down from the higher Land into it;

which discoloureth the Waters oftentimes, and makes an increase of only

a Day’s, or sometimes but a few Hours Continuance. But now, if this

Spring had its Origine from Rain and Vapours, there would be an increase

and decrease of the one, as there should happen to be of the other: As

actually it is in such temporary Springs as have undoubtedly their Source

from Rain and Vapours.

But besides this, another considerable Thing in this _Upminster_ Spring

(and Thousands of others) is, that it breaks out of so inconsiderable

an Hillock, or Eminence of Ground, that can have no more Influence in

the Condensation of the Vapours, or stopping the Clouds, (which the

Maintainers of this Hypothesis suppose) than the lower Lands about it

have. By some Critical Observations I made with a very nice portable

Barometer, I found that my House stands between 80 and 90 Feet higher

than the Low-Water Mark in the River of _Thames_, nearest me; and that

part of the River being scarce thirty Miles from the Sea, I guess, (and

am more confirmed from some later Experiments I made nearer the Sea)

that we cannot be much above 100 Feet above the Sea. The Spring I judge

nearly level with, or but little higher than where my House stands; and

the Lands from whence it immediately issues, I guess about 15 or 20 Feet

higher than the Spring: and the Lands above that, of no very remarkable

Height. And indeed, by actual Measure, one of the highest Hills I have

met with in _Essex_, is but 363 Feet high; (_Vid._ _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ.

313. _p. 16._) and I guess by some very late Experiments I made, neither

that, nor any other Land in _Essex_, to be above 400 Feet above the Sea.

Now what is so inconsiderable a rise of Land to a perennial Condensation

of Vapours, fit to maintain even so inconsiderable a Fountain, as what I

have mentioned is? Or indeed the High-lands of the whole large County of

_Essex_, to the maintaining of all its Fountains and Rivulets?

But I shall no farther prosecute this Argument, but refer to the late

learned, curious and industrious Dr. _Plot_’s _Tentamen Phil. de Orig.

Font._ in which he hath fully discussed this Matter.

As to the manner how the Waters are raised up into the Mountains and

Higher Lands, an easy and natural Representation may be made of it, by

putting a little Heap of Sand, Ashes, or a little Loaf of Bread, _&c._

in a Bason of Water; where the Sand will represent the dry Land, or an

Island, and the Bason of Water the Sea about it. And as the Water in the

Bason riseth to, or near the top of the Heap in it, so doth the Waters

of the Sea, Lakes, _&c._ rise in the Hills. Which case I take to be the

same with the ascent of Liquids in capillary Tubes, or between contiguous

Planes, or in a Tube filled with Ashes: Of which the industrious and

compleat Artificer in Air-Pumps, Mr. _Hawksbee_, hath given us some, not

contemptible Experiments, in his _Phys. Mech. Exp._ pag. 139.

Among the many Causes assigned for this ascent of Liquors, there are two

that bid the fairest for it, _viz._ _the Pressure of the Atmosphere_,

and the _Newtonian Attraction_. That it is not the former, appears from

the Experiments succeeding, as well, or better in _Vacuo_, than in the

open Air, the ascent being rather swifter in _Vacuo_. This then being not

the Cause, I shall suppose the other is; but for the Proof thereof, I

shall refer to some of our late _English_ Authors, especially some very

late Experiments made before our most famous _R. S._ which will be so

well improved by some of that illustrious Body, as to go near to put the

Matter out of doubt.

[f] See _Book III. Chap. 4._

[g] _The ~Danube~ in a sober Account, performs a Course of above 1500

Miles, ~(_i.e._ in a strait Line)~ from its Rise to its Fall._ Bohun’s

Geogr. Dict.

[h] _Tractus_ sc. _Longitudo ~[Nili]~ est milliarium circiter 630 Germ.

sive Ital. 2520, pro quibus ponere licet 3000 propter curvaturas._ Varen.

Geogr. l. 1. c. 16. p. 27.

[i] _Varene_ reckons the Course of the _Niger_, at a middle Computation,

600 _German_ Miles, that is 2400 _Italian_.

[k] That of the _Ganges_ he computes at 300 _German_ Miles. But if we add

the Curvatures to these Rivers, their Chanels are of a prodigious Length.

[l] _Oritur, flumen (quod plerumque Amazonum, ~&c.~) haud procul Quito

in montibus——Cùm per leucas Hispanicas 1356. cursum ab occidente in

orientem continuârit, ostio 84 leucas lato——in Oceanum præcipitatur._

Chr. D’Acugna Relatio de flumine Amaz. in Act. Erud. Aug. 1683.

CHAP. VI.

_The great Variety and Quantity of all Things upon, and in the

Terraqueous Globe, provided for the Uses of the World._

The last Remark I shall make about the Terraqueous Globe in general is,

the great Variety of Kinds, or Tribes, as well as prodigious Number of

Individuals of each various Tribe, there is of all Creatures[a]. There

are so many Beasts, so many Birds, so many Insects, so many Reptiles, so

many Trees, so many Plants upon the Land; so many Fishes, Sea-Plants, and

other Creatures in the Waters; so many Minerals, Metals, and Fossiles in

the Subterraneous Regions; so many _Species_ of these _Genera_, so many

_Individuals_ of those _Species_, that there is nothing wanting to the

Use of Man, or any other Creature of this lower World. If every Age doth

change its Food, its way of Cloathing, its way of Building; if every

Age[b] hath its Variety of Diseases; nay, if Man, or any other Animal,

was minded to change these Things every Day, still the Creation would

not be exhausted, still nothing would be wanting for Food, nothing for

Physick, nothing for Building and Habitation, nothing for Cleanliness and

Refreshment, yea, even for Recreation and Pleasure. But the Munificence

of the Creator is such, that there is abundantly enough to supply the

Wants, the Conveniencies, yea, almost the Extravagancies of all the

Creatures, in all Places, all Ages, and upon all Occasions.

And this may serve to answer an Objection against the Excellency of, and

Wisdom shewed in the Creation; namely, What need of so many Creatures[c]?

Particularly of so many Insects, so many Plants, and so many other

Things? And especially of some of them, that are so far from being

useful, that they are very noxious; some by their Ferity, and others by

their poisonous Nature, _&c._?

To which I might answer, that in greater Variety, the greater Art is

seen; that the fierce, poisonous, and noxious Creatures serve as Rods and

Scourges to chastise us[d], as means to excite our Wisdom, Care, and

Industry, with more to the same purpose. But these Things have been fully

urged by others; and it is sufficient to say, that this great Variety is

a most wise Provision for all the Uses of the World in all Ages and all

Places. Some for Food, some for Physick[e], some for Habitation, some for

Utensils, some for Tools and Instruments of Work, and some for Recreation

and Pleasure, either to Man, or to some of the inferior Creatures

themselves; even for which inferior Creatures, the liberal Creator hath

provided all Things necessary, or any ways conducing to their happy,

comfortable living in this World, as well as for Man.

And it is manifest, that all the Creatures of God, Beasts, Birds,

Insects, Plants, and every other _Genus_ have, or may have, their

several Uses even among Men. For although in one Place many Things may

lie neglected, and out of Use, yet in other Places they may be of great

Use. So what hath seemed useless in one Age, hath been received in

another; as all the new Discoveries in Physick, and all the Alterations

in Diet do sufficiently witness. Many Things also there are which in one

Form may be pernicious to Man; but in another, of great Use. There are

many Plants[f], many Animals, many Minerals, which in one Form destroy,

in another heal. The _Cassada Plant_ unprepared poisoneth, but prepared,

is the very Bread of the _West-Indies_[g]. _Vipers_ and _Scorpions_, and

many Minerals, as destructive as they are to Man, yet afford him some of

his best Medicines.

Or if there be many Things of little, immediate Use to Man, in this, or

any other Age; yet to other Creatures they may afford Food or Physick,

or be of some necessary Use. How many Trees and Plants, nay, even the

very Carcases of Animals, yea, the very Dust of the Earth[h], and the

most refuse, contemptible Things to be met with; I say, how many such

Things are either Food, or probably Medicine to many Creatures, afford

them Retreat, are Places of Habitation, or Matrixes for their Generation,

as shall be shewed in proper Place? The prodigious Swarms of Insects in

the Air, and in the Waters, (many of which may be perhaps at present of

no great Use to Man) yet are Food to Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, Insects

themselves, and other Creatures[i], for whose happy and comfortable

Subsistence, I have said the bountiful Creator hath liberally provided,

as well as for that of Man.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Non dat Deus beneficia? Unde ergò ista qua possides?——Unde hæc

innumerabilia, oculos, aures & animum mulcentia? Unde illa luxuriam

quoque instruens copia? Neque enim necessitatibus tantummodò nostris

provisum est: usque in delicias amamur. Tot arbusta, non uno modo

frugifera, tot herba salutares, tot varietates ciborum, per totum annum

digestæ, ut inerti quoque fortuita terræ alimenta præberent. Jam animalia

omnis generis, alia in sicco, ~&c.~——ut omnis rerum naturæ pars tributum

aliquod nobis conferret._ Senec. de Benef. l. 4. c. 5. ubi plura vide.

_Hic, ubi habitamus non intermittit suo tempore Cœlum nitescere, arbores

frondescere——cum multitudinem pecudum partim ad vescendum, partim

ad cultus agrorum, partim ad vehendum, partim ad corpora vestienda;

hominemque ipsum quasi contemplatorem cœli ad deorum, ipsorumque

cultorem.——Hæc igitur, & alia innumerabilia cùm cernimus, possumusne

dubitare, quin his præsit aliquis vel Effector, si hæc nata sunt, ut

Platoni videtur: vel si semper fuerint, ut Aristoteli placet, Moderator

tanti operis & muneris?_ Cicer. Tusc. Quæst. l. 1. c. 28, 29.

[b] _Sunt & gentium differentiæ non mediocres——quæ contemplatio aufert

rursus nos ad ipsorum animalium naturas, ingenitasque iis vel certiores

morborum omnium medicinas. Enim verò rerum omnium Parens, nullum animal

ad hoc tantum ut pasceretur, aut alia satiaret nasci voluit: artesque

salutares iis inseruerit._ Plin. N. H. l. 27. c. 13.

[c] This was no very easy Question to be answered by such as held,

that _all Things were made for Man_, as most of the Ancients did; as

_Aristotle_, _Seneca_, _Cicero_ and _Pliny_, (to name only some of the

chief). And _Cicero_ cites it as the celebrated _Chrysippus_’s Opinion,

_Præclare enim Chrysippus, Cætera nata esse Hominum Causâ, & Deorum._

_De fin. bon. & mal. l. 3._ And in his _De Nat. Deor. l. 2. fin._ he

seriously proves the World it self to have been made for the Gods and

Man, and all Things in the World to have been made and contrived for the

Benefit of Man (_parata & inventa ad fructum Hominum_, are his Words).

So _Pliny_ in his Preface to his 7ᵗʰ Book saith, Nature made all Things

for Man; but then he makes a doubt, whether she shewed her self a more

indulgent Parent, or cruel Step-Mother, as in _Book IV. Chap. 12. Note

(b)._ But since the Works of God have been more discovered, and the

Limits of the Universe have been found to be of infinitely greater Extent

than the Ancients supposed them; this narrow Opinion hath been exploded.

And the Answer will be found easy to these Questions, Why so many useless

Creatures? In the Heavens, Why so many fixt Stars, and the greatest part

of them scarce visible? Why such Systems of Planets, as in _Jupiter_,

_Saturn_, &c. (See my _Astro-Theology_.) In the Earth and Waters, Why so

many Creatures of no use to Man?

[d] _Nec minùs clara exitii documenta sunt etiam ex contemnendis

animalibus. M. Varro author est, à cuniculis suffossum in Hispaniâ

opidum, à talpis in Thessaliâ: ab ranis civitatem in Galliâ pulsam, ab

locustis in Africâ: ex Gyaro, Cycladum insulâ, incolas à muribus fugatos;

In Italiâ Amyclas à serpentibus delatas. Citra Cynamolgos Æthiopas

latè deserta regio est, à scorpionibus & solpugis gente sublatâ: & à

scolopendris abactos Trerienses, author est Theophrastus._ Plin. Nat.

Hist. l. 8. c. 29.

To these Instances may be added, the Plague they sometimes suffer from a

kind of Mice (they call _Leming_, _Leminger_, _Lemmus_, &c.) in _Norway_,

which eat up every green Thing. They come in such prodigious Numbers,

that they fancy them to fall from the Clouds; but _Ol. Magnus_, rather

thinks they come from some of the Islands. _Hist. l. 8. c. 2._ If the

Reader hath a mind to see a large Account of them, with a Dispute about

their Generation, a handsome Cut of them, with the Prayers, and an

Exorcism against them used in the Church of _Rome_, I shall refer him,

(it being too tedious to recite in these Notes) to _Musæum Wormian._ l.

3. c. 23.

_Quare patimur multa mala à creaturâ quam fecit Deus, nisi quia

offendimus Deum?——De pœnâ tuâ peccatum tuum accusa, non judicem. Nam

propter Superbiam instituit Deus creaturam istam minimam & abjectissimam,

ut ipsa nos torqueret, ut cùm superbus fuerit homo, & se jactaverit

adversus Deum,——cùm se erexerit, Pulicibus subdatur. Quid est, quòd te

inflas humanâ superbiâ?——Pulicibus resiste, ut dormias. Cognosce qui sis.

Nam propter superbiam nostram domandam——creata illa quæ molesta sunt:

populum Pharaonis superbum potuit Deus domare de Ursis, de ~&c.~ Muscas &

Ranas illis immisit, ut rebus vilissimis superbia domaretur. Omnia ergo

per ipsum——facta sunt; & fine ipso factum est nihil._ August. Tract. 1.

in S. Johan.

But although the infinitely wise Creator hath put it in the Power of

such vile Animals to chastise us, yet hath he shewed no less Wisdom and

Kindness in ordering many, if not most of them so, as that it shall be in

the Power of Man, and other Creatures to obviate or escape their Evils.

For, besides the noble Antidotes afforded by Minerals, Vegetables, _&c._

many, if not most of our _European_ venemous Animals carry their Cure,

as well as Poison, in their own Bodies. The Oil, and I doubt not, the

Body of _Scorpions_ too, is a certain Remedy against its Stroke. A _Bee_,

_Wasp_, or _Hornet_ crushed and rubbed, and bound upon the Place, I have

always found to be a certain Cure for the Sting of those Creatures. And

I question not, but the Flesh, especially the Head of _Vipers_, would be

found a Remedy for their Bites.

_Our Viper-Catchers have a Remedy in which they place so great

Confidence, as to be no more afraid of the Bite ~[of a Viper]~, than

of a common Puncture, immediately curing themselves by the Application

of their Specifick. This though they keep a great Secret, I have upon

strict Enquiry found to be no other than ~Axungia Viperina~, presently

rubbed into the Wound._ This Remedy the learned Doctor tried himself with

good Success in a young Dog that was bitten in the Nose. _Vid._ _Mead of

Poisons_, p. 29.

And as to the means to escape the Mischief of such noxious Animals,

besides what may be effected by the Care, Industry and Sagacity of Man;

some of them are so contrived and made, as to give Warning or Time to

Creatures in danger from them. Thus, for Instance, the _Rattle-Snake_,

the most poisonous of any Serpent, who darts its poisonous Vapours to

some distance, and in all Probability was the _Basilisk_ of the Ancients,

said to kill with its Eyes, this involuntarily gives warning by the

Rattle in its Tail. So the _Shark_, the most rapacious Animal of the

Waters, is forced to turn himself on his Back, (and thereby gives an

Opportunity of Escape) before he can catch his Prey.

[e] _Hæc sola Naturæ placuerat esse remedia parata vulgo, inventu

facilia, ac sine impendio, ex quibus vivimus. Posteà fraudes hominum &

ingeniorum capturæ officinas invenire istas, in quibus sua cuique homini

vœnalis promittitur vita. Statim compositiones & misturæ inexplicabiles

decantantur. Arabia atque India in medio æstimantur, ulcerique parvo

medicina à Rubro mari imputatur, cùm remedia vera quotidie pauperrimus

quisque cœnet._ Plin. l. 24. c. 1.

_Non sponte suâ ex tellure germinant Herbæ, quæ contra quoscunque morbos

accommodæ sunt; sed eæ voluntate Opisicis, ad nostram utilitatem producta

sunt._ Basil. Ascet. Tom. 2.

Consult here, _Book X. Note (z), (aa), (bb)._

[f] Among poisonous Vegetables, none more famous of old than _Hemlock_,

accounted at this Day also very dangerous to Man, of which there are some

dismal Examples in our _Phil. Trans. Wepfer_, &c. But yet this Plant is

Food for _Goats_, and its Seeds to _Bustards_; and as _Galen_ saith, to

_Starlings_ also. Neither is this, so pernicious a Plant, only Food, but

also Physick to some Animals. An Horse troubled with the _Farcy_, and

could not be cured with the most famed Remedies, cured himself of it

in a short Time, by eating _Hemlock_, of which he eat greedily. _Vid._

_Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 231. _And a Woman which was cured of the Plague, but

wanted Sleep, did with very good Effect eat ~Hemlock~ for some time; till

falling ill again of a Fever, and having left off the Use of this Remedy,

he ~[Nic. Fontanus]~ endeavoured to procure her Rest by repeated Doses

of ~Opium~, which had no Operation, till the Help of ~Cicuta~ was again

called in with desired Success._ Mead of Pois. p. 144.

And not only _Hemlock_, but many other, if not most Plants accounted

poisonous, may have their great Use in Medicine: Of which take the

Opinion of an able Judge, my ingenious and learned Friend Dr. _Tancred

Robinson_, in a Letter I have of his to the late great Mr. _Ray_, of

Nov. 7. 1604, viz. _According to my Promise, I here send you a few

Observations concerning some Plants, seldom used in Medicine, being

esteemed poisonous, which if truly corrected, or exactly dosed, may

perhaps prove the most powerful and effectual Medicines yet known._

Having then given an Account of some of their Correctives, he gives

these following Examples, _viz._ _1. The Hellebores incorporated with

a Sapo, or Alkaly-Salts alone, are successful Remedies in Epilepsies,

Vertigo’s, Palsies, Lethargies, and Mania’s. Dos. a ℈j. to ʒss. 2. The

Radic. Assari, Cicutæ, and the Napellus, in Agues and periodical Pains.

Dos. ℈j. to ʒss. 3. The Hyoscyamus in Hæmorrhagies, violent Heats and

Perturbation of the Blood, and also in all great Inflammations. Dos.

℈j. to ʒss. 4. The Semen Stramonia is a very good Anodyne, useful in

Vigilia’s, Rheumatisms, Hysterick Cases, in all the Orgasms of the Blood

or Spirits, and where-ever there is an Indication for a Paregorick. Dos.

℈j. to ʒss. 5. Elaterium thus corrected, may be given from gr. x. to xv.

in Hydropical Cases, without any sensible Evacuation or Disturbance. So

may the Soldanella and Gratiola in greater Doses. 6. Opium corrected

as afore-mentioned, loses its Narcotick Faculty, and may be given

very safely in great Doses, and proves more than usually prevalent in

Convulsive Cases, Fluxes, Catarrhs, and all painful Paroxysms, ~&c.~_

[g] _It is of the most general Use of any Provision all over the

~West-Indies~, especially in the hotter Parts, and is used to Victual

Ships._ _Dr. ~Sloan~’s_ Nat. Hist. of _Jamaica_, Vol. 1. Chap. 5. §. 12.

[h] I have shewn in the _Phil. Trans._ that the _Pediculus fatidicus_,

_Mortisaga_, _Pulsatorius_, or _Death-Watch_ there described, feedeth

upon Dust; but that this Dust they eat, is powdered Bread, Fruits, or

such like Dust, not powdered Earth; as is manifest from their great

Diligence and Curiosity in hunting among the Dust. See more in _Phil.

Trans._ Nᵒ. 291.

[i] _Vid._ _Book IV. Chap. 11._

[Illustration]

BOOK III.

_Of the Terraqueous Globe in particular, more especially the Earth._

Having thus taken a general Prospect of our Terraqueous Globe, I shall

in this Book come to its Particulars. But here we have such an immense

Variety presenting it self to our Senses, and such amazing Strokes of

Power and Wisdom, that it is impossible not to be at a Stand, and very

difficult to know where to begin, how to proceed, or where to end. But we

must however attempt.

And for the more clear and regular proceeding on this copious Subject, I

shall distribute the Globe into its own grand constituent Parts.

I. The _Earth_ and its Appurtenances.

II. The _Waters_ and Theirs.

The first of these only, is what at present I shall be able to take into

this Survey.

And in Surveying the _Earth_, I intend,

1. To consider its constituent Parts, or Things peculiar to its self.

2. The Inhabitants thereof, or the several Kinds of Creatures that have

their Habitation, Growth, or Subsistence thereon.

1. As to the Earth it self, the most remarkable Things that present

themselves to our View, are,

1. Its various Moulds and Soils.

2. Its several Strata, or Beds.

3. Its very Subterraneous Passages, Grotto’s and Caverns.

4. Its Mountains and Vallies.

CHAP. I.

_Of the Soils and Moulds in the Earth._

The various Soils and Moulds are an admirable and manifest Contrivance

of the All-wise Creator, in making this Provision for the various

Vegetables[a], and divers other Uses of the Creatures. For, as some

Trees, some Plants, some Grains dwindle and die in a disagreeable Soil,

but thrive and flourish in others; so the All-wise Creator hath amply

provided for every Kind a proper Bed.

If some delight in a warm, some a cold Soil; some in a lax or sandy,

some a heavy or clayie Soil; some in a Mixture of both, some in this, and

that and the other Mould, some in moist, some in dry Places[b]; still we

find Provision enough for all these Purposes: Every Country abounding

with its proper Trees and Plants[c], and every Vegetable flourishing and

gay, somewhere or other about the Globe, and abundantly answering the

Almighty Command of the Creator, when the Earth and Waters were ordered

to their peculiar Place, _Gen._ i. 11. _And God said, Let the Earth bring

forth Grass, the Herb yielding Seed, and the Tree yielding Fruit after

his kind._ All which we actually see is so.

To this Convenience which the various Soils that coat the Earth are of to

the Vegetables, we may add their great Use and Benefit to divers Animals,

to many Kinds of Quadrupeds, Fowls, Insects, and Reptiles, who make in

the Earth their Places of Repose and Rest, their Retreat in Winter, their

Security from their Enemies, and their Nests to repose their Young; some

delighting in a lax and pervious Mould, admitting them an easy Passage;

and others delighting in a firmer and more solid Earth, that will better

secure them against Injuries from without.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is not to be doubted, that although Vegetables delight in peculiar

Soils, yet they owe not their Life and Growth to the Earth it self, but

to some agreeable Juices or Salts, _&c._ residing in the Earth. Of this

the great Mr. _Boyl_ hath given us some good Experiments. He ordered his

Gardener to dig up, and dry in an Oven some Earth fit for the Purpose,

to weigh it, and to set therein some _Squash Seeds_, (a kind of _Indian_

Pompion). The Seeds when sown were watered with Rain or Spring-water

only. But although a Plant was produced in one Experiment of near 3 _l._

and in another of above 14 _l._ yet the Earth when dried, and weighed

again, was scarce diminished at all in its Weight.

Another Experiment he alledges is of _Helmont_’s, who dried 200 _l._ of

Earth, and therein planted a Willow weighing 5 _l._ which he watered with

Rain or distilled Water: And to secure it from any other Earth getting

in, he covered it with a perforated Tin Cover. After five Years, weighing

the Tree with all the Leaves it had born in that time, he found it to

weigh 169 _l._ 3 Ounces, but the Earth to be diminished only about 2

Ounces in its weight. _Vid._ _Boyl’s Scept. Chym._ Part 2. _pag. 114._

[b] Τοὺς δὲ τόπους ζητεῖ τοὺς ὀικείους, οὐ μόνον τὰ περιττὰ——Τῶν

δένδρων, &c. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ φιλεῖ ξηροὺς, τὰ δὲ ἐνύδρους, τὰ δὲ χειμερινοὺς,

τὰ δὲ προσήλους, τὰ δὲ παλισκίους, καὶ ὅλως, τὰ μὲν ὀρεινοὺς, τὰ δὲ

ἑλώδεις.——Ζητεῖ γὰρ τὰ πρόσφορὰ κατὰ τὴν κράσιν, ἕτι δὲ ἀσθενῆ, καὶ

ἰσχυρὰ, καὶ βαθύῤῥιζα, καὶ ἐπιπολαιόῤῥιζα, καὶ ἔστις ἄλλη διαφορὰ κατὰ τὰ

μέρη·——Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα, ἔτι δὲ τὰ ὅμοια ζητεῖ τὸ ὅμοιον, καὶ τὰ ἀνόμοια

μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν, ὅταν ᾖ τις παραλλαγὴ τῆς φύσεως. _Theophrast. de Caus.

Plant._ l. 2. c. 9.

[c]

_Nec verò Terræ ferre omnes omnia possunt._

_Fluminibus Salices, crassisque paludibus Alni_

_Nascuntur; steriles saxosis montibus Orni:_

_Littora Myrtetis lætissima: denique apertos_

_Bacchus amat colles: Aquilonem & frigora Taxi._

_Aspice & extremis domitum cultoribus orbem,_

_Eoasque domos Arabum, pictosque Gelonos:_

_Divisa arboribus patriæ, ~&c.~_

Vir. Georg. L. 2

CHAP. II.

_Of the various Strata or Beds observable in the Earth._

The various _Strata_ or _Beds_, although but little different from the

last, yet will deserve a distinct Consideration.

By the _Strata_ or _Beds_, I mean those Layers of Minerals[a], Metals[b],

Earth, and Stone[c], lying under that upper _Stratum_, or Tegument of

the Earth last spoken of, all of a prodigious Use to Mankind: Some being

of great Use for Building; some serving for Ornament; some furnishing

us with commodious Machines, and Tools to prepare our Food, and for

Vessels and Utensils, and for multitudes of other Uses; some serving

for Firing to dress our Food, and to guard us against the Insults of

Cold and Weather; some being of great Use in Physick, in Exchange and

Commerce, in manuring and fertilizing our Lands, in dying and colouring,

and ten thousand other Conveniences, too many to be particularly spoken

of: Only there is one grand Use of one of these Strata or Beds, that

cannot easily be omitted, and that is, those subterraneous Strata of

Sand, Gravel, and laxer Earth that admit of, and facilitate the Passage

of the sweet Waters[d], and may probably be the Colanders whereby they

are sweetened, and then at the same time also convey’d to all Parts of

the habitable World, not only through the temperate and torrid Zones, but

even the farthest Regions of the frozen Poles.

That these Strata are the _principal Passages_ of the sweet

Fountain-Waters, is, I think not to be doubted, considering that in them

the Waters are well known to pass, and in them the Springs are found by

those that seek for them. I say, the principal Passages, because there

are other subterraneous Guts and Chanels, Fissures and Passages, through

which many Times the Waters make their way.

Now that which in a particular manner doth seem to me to manifest a

special Providence of God in the repositing these watery Beds is, that

they should be dispersed all the World over, into all Countries, and

almost all Tracts of Land: That they should so entirely, or for the

most part, consist of lax, incohering Earth, and be so seldom blended

with other impervious Moulds, or if they are so, it is commonly but

accidentally; and that they are interposed between the other impervious

Beds, and so are as a Prop and Pillar to guard them off, and to prevent

their sinking in and shutting up the Passages of the Waters.

The Time when those Strata were laid, was doubtless at the Creation, when

_God said_ (Gen. i. 9.) _Let the Waters under the Heaven be gathered

together unto one Place, and let the dry Land appear_; or else at the

Deluge, if, with some sagacious Naturalists, we suppose the Globe of

Earth to have been dissolved by the Flood[e]. At that Time (whatever it

was) when the terraqueous Globe was in a chaotick State, and the earthy

Particles subsided, then those several Beds were in all Probability

reposited in the Earth, in that commodious Order in which they now are

found; and that, as is asserted, according to the Laws[f] of Gravity.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Altho’ Minerals, Metals and Stones lie in Beds, and have done so

ever since _Noah_’s Flood, if not from the Creation; yet it is greatly

probable that they have Power of _growing_ in their respective Beds:

That as the Beds are robbed and emptied by Miners, so after a while they

recruit again. Thus _Vitriol_, Mr. _Boyl_ thinks, will grow by the Help

of the Air. So _Alum_ doth the same. _We are assured_ (he saith) _by the

experienced ~Agricola~, That the Earth or Ore of ~Alum~, being robbed of

its Salt, will in tract of Time recover it, by being exposed to the Air._

_~Boyl~’s_ Suspic. about some Hid. Qual. in the Air, p. 18.

[b] As to the Growth of _Metals_, there is great Reason to suspect that

also, from what Mr. _Boyl_ hath alledged in his _Observations about the

Growth of Metals_: And in his _Scept. Chym. Part 6. pag. 362._ Compare

also _Hakewil_’s _Apol. pag. 164._

And particularly as to the Growth of _Iron_, to the Instances he gives

from _Pliny_, _Fallopius_, _Cæsalpinus_, and others; we may add, what

is well known in the _Forest of Dean_ in _Gloucestershire_: That the

best Iron, and most in Quantity, that is found there, is in the old

Cinders, which they melt over again. This is the Author of the _Additions

to Gloucestershire in Cambd. Brit._ of the last Edition, _p. 245._

attributes to the Remissness of the former Melters, in not exhausting

the Ore: But in all Probability it is rather to be attributed to the new

Impregnations of the old Ore, or Cinders, from the Air, or from some

seminal Principle, or plastick Quality in the Ore it self.

[c] As for the Growth of _Stone_, Mr. _Boyl_ gives two Instances. One

is that famous Place in _France_, called _Les Caves Goutieres: Where

the Water falling from the upper Parts of the Cave to the Ground, doth

presently there condense into little Stones, of such Figures as the

Drops, falling either severally, or upon one another, and coagulating

presently into Stones, chance to exhibit_. Vid. Scept. Chym. pag. 360.

Such like Caves as these I have my self met with in _England_;

particularly on the very Top of _Bredon-Hill_ in _Worcestershire_,

near the _Precipice_, facing _Pershore_, in or near the old Fortress,

called _Bembsbury-Camp_; I saw some Years ago such a Cave, which (if I

mis-remember not) was lined with those _Stalactical Stones_ on the Top

and Sides. On the Top they hung like Icicles great and small, and many

lay on the Ground. They seemed manifestly to be made by an Exsudation,

or Exstillation of some petrifying Juices out of the rocky Earth there.

On the Spot, I thought it might be from the Rains soaking through, and

carrying with it Impregnations from the Stone, the Hill being there all

rocky. Hard by the Cave is one or more vast Stones, which (if I mistake

not) are incrustated with this Sparry, Stalactical Substance, if not

wholly made of it. But it is so many Years ago since I was at the Place,

and not being able to find my Notes about it, I cannot say whether the

whole Stone is (in all Probability) Spar, (as I think it is,) or whether

I found it only cased over with it, notwithstanding I was very nice in

examining it then, and have now some of the Fragments by me, consisting,

among other shining Parts, of some transparent angular ones.

The other Instance of Mr. _Boyl_, is from _Linschoten_, who saith, that

in the _East-Indies_, when they have cleared the Diamond Mines of all the

Diamonds, _In a few Years Time they find in the same Place new Diamonds

produced._ Boyl. Ibid.

[d] It is not only agreeable to Reason, but I am told by Persons

conversant in digging of Wells throughout this County of _Essex_, where

I live, that the surest Beds in which they find Water, are _Gravel_, and

a coarse, dark coloured _Sand_; which Beds seldom fail to yield Plenty

of sweet Water: But for _Clay_, they never find Water therein, if it be

a strong, stiff _Clay_; but if it be lax and sandy, sometimes Springs

are found in it; yet so weak, that they will scarcely serve the Uses

of the smallest Family. And sometimes they meet with those Beds lying

next, under a loose, black Mould, (which, by their Description, I judged

to be a sort of oazy, or to have the Resemblance of an ancient, rushy

Ground,) and in that Case the Water is always naught, and stinks. And

lastly, Another sort of Bed they find in _Essex_, in the clayie-Lands,

particularly that part called the _Rodings_, which yields Plenty of sweet

Water, and that is a Bed of white Earth, as though made of Chalk and

white Sand. This they find, after they have dug through forty, or more

Feet of Clay; and it is so tender and moist, that it will not lie upon

the Spade, but they are forced to throw it into their Bucket with their

Hands, or with Bowls; but when it comes up into the Air, it soon becomes

an hard white Stone.

Thus much for the Variety of Beds wherein the Waters are found. That it

is in these Beds only or chiefly the Springs run, is farther manifest

from the forcible Eruption of the Waters sometimes out of those watery

Beds. Of which see _Chap. 4. Note (k)._ This Eruption shews, that the

Waters come from some Eminence or other, lying at a Distance, and being

closely pent up within the _watery Stratum_, by the clayie Strata, the

Waters with force mount up, when the Strata above are opened.

[e] _V._ Dr. _Woodward_’s Essay, Part 2. _Steno_’s Prodr. _&c._

[f] Id. ib. _pag. 28._ and _74._ But Dr. _Leigh_ in his _Nat. History

of Lancashire_, speaking of the Coal-pits, denies the Strata to lie

according to the Laws of Gravitation, saying the Strata are a Bed of

_Marle_, afterwards _Free-Stone_, next _Iron-Stone_, then _Coal_, or

_Kennel-Mine_, then some other Strata, and again _Coal_, _&c._

But upon a stricter Enquiry into the Matter, finding I had reason to

suspect that few, if any, actually had tried the Experiment, I was minded

to bring the Thing to the Test of Experiment my self; and having an

Opportunity, on _April 11. 1712._ I caused divers Places to be bored,

laying the several _Strata_ by themselves; which afterwards I weighed

with all Strictness, first in Air, then in Water, taking Care that no

Air-bubbles, _&c._ might obstruct the Accuracy of the Experiment. The

Result was, that in my Yard, the Strata were gradually specifically

heavier and heavier, the lower and lower they went; and the upper which

was Clay, was considerably specifically lighter than the lower _Stratum_;

which was first a loose Sand, then a Gravel. In which _Stratum_

principally the Springs run that supply my Well.

But in my Fields, where three Places were bored (to no great Depth) I

found below the upper (superficial _Stratum_) a deep Bed of Sand only,

which was of different Colours and Consistence, which I weighed as

before, together with the Virgin-Mould; but they were all of the same,

or nearly the same specifick Gravity, both out of the same Hole, and out

of different Holes, although the Sand was at last so gravelly, that it

hinder’d our boring any deeper.

Upon this, fearing lest some Error might be in the former Experiments, I

try’d them over again; and that with the same Success.

After this, I made some Experiments in some deep Chalk-Pits, with the

Flints, Chalk, _&c._ above and below; but the Success was not so uniform

as before.

Acquainting our justly renowned _R. S._ with these Experiments, they

ordered their Operator to experiment the _Strata_ of a Coal-Pit; the

Success whereof may be seen in _Philos. Trans. Nr. 336_.

CHAP. III.

_Of the Subterraneous Caverns, and the Vulcano’s._

I shall take notice of the subterraneous Caverns, Grotto’s and Vulcano’s,

because they are made an Objection[a] against the present Contrivance

and Structure of the Globe. But, if well considered, they will be found

to be wise Contrivances of the Creator, serving to great Uses of the

Globe, and Ends of God’s Government. Besides many secret, grand Functions

and Operations of Nature in the Bowels of the Earth, that in all

Probability these Things may minister unto, they are of great Use to the

Countries where they are[b]. To instance in the very worst of the Things

named, _viz._ the _Vulcano’s_ and ignivomous Mountains; although they

are some of the most terrible Shocks of the Globe, and dreadful Scourges

of the sinful Inhabitants thereof, and may serve them as Emblems, and

Presages of Hell it self; yet even these have their great Uses too, being

as Spiracles or Tunnels[c] to the Countries where they are, to vent the

Fire and Vapours that would make dismal Havock, and oftentimes actually

do so, by dreadful Succussions and Convulsions of the Earth. Nay, if the

Hypothesis of a central Fire and Waters be true, these Outlets seem to

be of greatest Use to the Peace and Quiet of the terraqueous Globe, in

venting the subterraneous Heat and Vapours; which, if pent up, would make

dreadful and dangerous Commotions of the Earth and Waters.

It may be then accounted as a special Favour of the divine Providence,

as is observed by the Author before praised[d], “That there are scarcely

any Countries, that are much annoyed with Earthquakes, that have not one

of these fiery Vents. And these, (saith he) are constantly all in Flames

whenever any Earthquake happens, they disgorging that Fire, which whilst

underneath, was the Cause of the Disaster. Indeed, (saith he,) were it

not for these _Diverticula_, whereby it thus gaineth an _Exit_, ’twould

rage in the Bowels of the Earth much more furiously, and make greater

Havock than now it doth. So, that though those Countries, where there are

such _Vulcano_’s, are usually more or less troubled with Earthquakes;

yet, were these _Vulcano_’s wanting, they would be much more annoyed with

them than now they are; yea, in all Probability to that Degree, as to

render the Earth, for a vast Space around them, perfectly uninhabitable.

In one word, (saith he) so beneficial are these to the Territories where

they are, that there do not want Instances of some which have been

rescued, and wholly delivered from Earthquakes by the breaking forth of

a new _Vulcano_ there; this continually discharging that Matter, which

being till then barricaded up, and imprisoned in the Bowels of the Earth,

was the occasion of very great and frequent Calamities”. Thus far that

ingenious Author.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Nemo dixerit terram pulchriorem esse quòd cavernosa sit, quòd

dehiscat in multis locis, quòd disrupta caveis & spatiis inanibus; iisque

nullo ordine dispositis, nullâ formâ: nec quæ aliud contineant quàm

tenebras & sordes; unde graves & pestifera exhalationes, terræ motus,

~&c.~_ Burnet ubi supr. c. 7.

[b] The _Zirchnitzer_ Sea in _Carniola_, is of great Use to the

Inhabitants of that Country, by affording them Fish, Fowls, Fodder,

Seeds, Deer, Swine, and other Beasts, Carriage for their Goods, _&c._

_Vid._ _Phil. Trans. Nr. 191_, &c. or _Lowth. Abridg. Vol. 2. p. 306_,

&c. where you have put together in one View, what is dispersed in divers

of the _Transactions_. This Sea or Lake proceeds from some subterraneous

Grotto, or Lake, as is made highly probable by Mr. _Valvasor_, _Ibid._

The _Grotto Podpetschio_ may be another Instance, that the very

subterraneous Lakes may be of Use, even to the Inhabitants of the

Surface above: Of which see _Lowth. ubi supr. pag. 317._ _Sturmius_

also may be consulted herein his _Philos. Eclect. Exercit. 11. de Terræ

mot._ particularly in _Chap. 3._ some of the most eminent Specus’s are

enumerated, and some of their Uses.

[c] _Crebri specus ~[remedium]~ præbent. Præconceptum enim spiritum

exhalant: quod in certis notatur oppidis, quæ minùs quatiuntur, crebris

ad eluviem cuniculis cavata._ Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. 2. cap. 82.

[d] _Woodward_’s Essay, _Part 3. Consect. 13._

CHAP. IV.

_Of the Mountains and Valleys._

The last Thing I shall take notice of relating to the Earth, shall be the

_Hills_ and _Valleys_. These the eloquent _Theorist_ owns to “contain

somewhat august and stately in the beholding of them, that inspireth

the Mind with great Thoughts and Passions, that we naturally on such

Occasions think of God and his Greatness”. But then, at the same Time

he saith, “The Hills are the greatest Examples of Ruin and Confusion;

that they have neither Form nor Beauty, nor Shape, nor Order, any more

than the Clouds in the Air; that they consist not of any proportion of

Parts, referable to any Design, nor have the least Footsteps of Art or

Counsel”. Consequently one grand Part of this lower Creation, even the

whole present Face of our terraqueous Globe, according to this ingenious

Author, is a Work of mere Chance, a Structure in which the Creator did

not concern himself.

Part of this Charge I have already briefly answered, and my Survey now

leads me to shew, that the Mountains are so far from being a Blunder of

Chance, a Work without Design, that they are a noble, useful, yea, a

necessary part of our Globe[a].

And in the first Place, as to the Business of Ornament, Beauty, and

Pleasure, I may appeal to all Men’s Senses, whether the grateful Variety

of Hills and Dales, be not more pleasing than the largest continued

Planes. Let those who make it their Business to visit the Globe, to

divert their Sight with the various Prospects of the Earth; let these, I

say, judge whether the far distant Parts of the Earth would be so well

worth visiting, if the Earth was every where of an even, level, globous

Surface, or one large Plane of many 1000 Miles; and not rather, as now it

is, whether it be not far more pleasing to the Eye, to view from the Tops

of the Mountains the subjacent Vales and Streams, and the far distant

Hills; and again from the Vales to behold the surrounding Mountains. The

elegant Strains and lofty Flights, both of the ancient and modern Poets

on these Occasions, are Testimonies of the Sense of Mankind on this

Configuration of the Earth.

But be the Case as it will as to Beauty, which is the least valuable

Consideration, we shall find as to Convenience, this Configuration of the

Earth far the most commodious on several Accounts.

1. As it is the most salubrious, of great use to the Preservation or

Restoration of the Health of Man. Some Constitutions are indeed of so

happy a Strength, and so confirmed in Health, as to be indifferent to

almost any Place or Temperature of the Air: But then others are so weakly

and feeble, as not to be able to bear one, but can live comfortably in

another Place. With some, the finer and more subtile Air of the Hills

doth best agree, who are languishing and dying in the feculent and

grosser Air of great Towns, or even the warmer, and vaporous Air of the

Valleys and Waters: But contrarywise, others languish on the Hills, and

grow lusty and strong in the warmer Air of the Valleys.

So that this Opportunity of shifting our Abode from the warmer and more

vaporous Air of the Valleys, to the colder and mote subtile Air of

the Hills, or from the Hills to the Vales, is an admirable Easement,

Refreshment, and great Benefit to the valetudinarian, feeble part

of Mankind, affording those an easy and comfortable Life, who would

otherwise live miserably, languish and pine away.

2. To this salutary Conformation of the Earth, we may add another great

Convenience of the Hills, and that is, in affording commodious Places for

Habitation; serving (as an eminent Author[b] wordeth it) “as Skreens to

keep off the cold and nipping Blasts of the northern and easterly Winds,

and reflecting the benign and cherishing Sun-Beams, and so rendering

our Habitations both more comfortable and more chearly in Winter; and

promoting the Growth of Herbs and Fruit-Trees, and the Maturation of the

Fruits in Summer.”

3. Another Benefit of the Hills is, that they serve for the Production

of great Varieties of Herbs and Trees[c]. And as there was not a better

Judge of those Matters, so I cannot give a better Account of this

Convenience, than in the Words of the last cited famous Author, the late

most eminent and learned Mr. _Ray_[d], (who hath so fully discussed this

Subject I am upon, that it is scarce possible to tread out of his Steps

therein). His Observation is, “That the Mountains do especially abound

with different Species of Vegetables, because of the great Diversity of

Soils that are found there, every _Vertex_ or Eminence almost, affording

new Kinds. Now these Plants, (saith he,) serve partly for the Food and

Sustenance of such Animals as are proper to the Mountains, partly for

medicinal Uses; the chief Physick, Herbs and Roots, and the best in their

Kinds growing there: It being remarkable, that the greatest and most

luxuriant Species in most Genera of Plants are native of the Mountains.”

4. Another Convenience which my last named learned Friend observes[e]

is, “That the Mountains serve for the Harbour, Entertainment, and

Maintenance of various Animals; Birds, Beasts and Insects, that breed,

feed and frequent there. For, (saith he) the highest Tops and Pikes of

the _Alps_ themselves are not destitute of their Inhabitants, the _Ibex_

or _Stein-buck_, the _Rupicapra_ or _Chamois_, among Quadrupeds; the

_Lagopus_ among Birds. And I my self (saith he) have observed beautiful

_Papilio_’s, and Store of other Insects upon the Tops of some of the

_Alpine_ Mountains. Nay, the highest Ridges of many of these Mountains,

serve for the Maintenance of Cattle, for the Service of the Inhabitants

of the Valleys.”

5. Another Thing he observes is, “That those long Ridges and Chains of

lofty and topping Mountains, which run through whole Continents East and

West[f], serve to stop the Evagation of the Vapours to the North and

South in hot Countries, condensing them like Alembick Heads into Water

and so (according to his Opinion) by a kind of external Distillation

giving original to Springs and Rivers; and likewise by amassing, cooling

and constipating of them, turn them into Rain, by those Means rendring

the fervid Regions of the torrid Zone habitable.”

To these might be added some other Uses and Conveniences[g]; as that the

Hills serve to the Generation of Minerals and Metals[h], and that in

them principally are the most useful Fossiles found; or if not found and

generated only in them, yet at least all these subterraneous Treasures

are most easily come at in them: Also their Use to several Nations of the

Earth, in being Boundaries and Bullwarks to them. But there is only one

Use more that I shall insist on, and that is,

6. And lastly, That it is to the Hills that the Fountains owe their Rise,

and the Rivers their Conveyance. As it is not proper, so neither shall

I here enter into any Dispute about the Origine of Springs, commonly

assigned by curious and learned Philosophers. But whether their Origine

be from condensed Vapours, as some think[i]; or from Rains falling, as

others; or whether they are derived from the Sea by way of Attraction,

Percolation, or Distillation; or whether all these Causes concur, or only

some, still the Hills are the grand Agent in this prodigious Benefit to

all the Earth: Those vast Masses and Ridges of Earth serving as so many

huge _Alembicks_ or _Cola_ in this noble Work of Nature.

But be the _Modus_, or the Method Nature takes in this great Work as it

will, it is sufficient to my Purpose, that the Hills are a grand Agent

in this so noble and necessary a Work: And consequently, that those vast

Masses and lofty Piles are not as they are charged, such rude and useless

Excrescences of our ill-formed Globe; but the admirable Tools of Nature,

contrived and ordered by the infinite Creator, to do one of its most

useful Works, and to dispense this great Blessing to all Parts of the

Earth; without which neither Animals could live, nor Vegetables scarcely

grow, nor perhaps Minerals, Metals, or Fossiles receive any Increase.

For was the Surface of the Earth even and level, and the middle Parts of

its Islands and Continents, not mountainous and high, (as now it is) it

is most certain there could be no Descent for the Rivers, no Conveyance

for the Waters; but instead of gliding along those gentle Declivities

which the higher Lands now afford them quite down to the Sea, they would

stagnate, and perhaps stink, and also drown large Tracts of Land.

But indeed, without Hills, as there could be no Rivers, so neither could

there be any Fountains, or Springs about the Earth; because, if we could

suppose a Land could be well watered (which I think not possible) without

the higher Lands, the Waters could find no Descent, no Passage through

any commodious Out-lets, by Virtue of their own Gravity; and therefore

could not break out into those commodious Passages and Currents, which

we every where almost find in, or near the Hills, and seldom, or never

in large and spacious Planes; and when we do find them in them, it is

generally at great and inconvenient Depths of the Earth; nay, those very

subterraneous Waters, that are any where met with by digging in these

Planes, are in all Probability owing to the Hills, either near or far

distant: As among other Instances may be made out, from the forcible

Eruption of the subterraneous Waters in digging Wells, in the _lower

Austria_, and the Territories of _Modena_, and _Bologna_ in _Italy_,

mentioned by my fore-named learned Friend Mr. _Ray_[k]. Or if there be

any such Place found throughout the Earth, that is devoid of Mountains,

and yet well watered, as perhaps some small Islands may; yet in this

very Case, that whole Mass of Land is no other than as one Mountain

descending, (though unperceivedly) gently down from the Mid-land Parts to

the Sea, as most other Lands do; as is manifest from the Descent of their

Rivers, the Principal of which in most Countries have generally their

Rise in the more lofty Mid-land Parts.

And now considering what hath been said concerning this last Use of the

Hills, there are two or three Acts of the divine Providence observable

therein. One is, that all Countries throughout the whole World, should

enjoy this great Benefit of Mountains, placed here and there, at due and

proper Distances, to afford these several Nations this excellent and most

necessary Element the Waters. For according to Nature’s Tendency, when

the Earth and Waters were separated, and order’d to their several Places,

the Earth must have been of an even Surface, or nearly so. The several

component Parts of the Earth, must have subsided according to their

several specifick Gravities, and at last have ended in a large, even,

spherical Surface, every where equi-distant from the Center of the Globe.

But that instead of this Form, so incommodious for the Conveyance of the

Waters, it should be jetted out every where into Hills and Dales, so

necessary for that purpose, is a manifest Sign of an especial Providence

of the wise Creator.

So another plain Sign of the same especial Providence of God, in this

Matter, is, that generally throughout the whole World, the Earth is

so dispos’d, so order’d, so well laid; I may say, that the Mid-land

Parts, or Parts farther from the Sea, are commonly the highest: Which

is manifest, I have said, from the Descent of the Rivers. Now this is

an admirable Provision the wise Creator hath made for the commodious

Passages of the Rivers, and for draining the several Countries, and

carrying off the superfluous Waters from the whole Earth, which would be

as great an Annoyance, as now they are a Convenience.

Another providential Benefit of the Hills supplying the Earth with Water,

is, that they are not only instrumental thereby, to the Fertility of

the Valleys, but to their own also[l]; to the Verdure of the Vegetables

without, and to the Increment and Vigour of the Treasures within them.

Thus having vindicated the present Form and Fabrick of the Earth, as

distributed into Mountains and Valleys, and thereby shewn in some Measure

the Use thereof, particularly of the Mountains, which are chiefly found

fault with: I have, I hope, made it in some Measure evident, that God was

no idle Spectator[m], nor unconcerned in the ordering of the terraqueous

Globe, as the former bold Charges against it do infer; that he did

not suffer so grand a Work, as the Earth, to go unfinish’d out of his

almighty Hand; or leave it to be ordered by Chance, by natural Gravity,

by casual Earthquakes, _&c._ but that the noble Strokes, and plain

Remains of Wisdom and Power therein, do manifest it to be his Work. That

particularly the Hills and Vales, though to a peevish weary Traveller,

they may seem incommodious and troublesome; yet are a noble Work of the

great Creator, and wisely appointed by him for the Good of our sublunary

World.

And so for all the other Parts of our terraqueous Globe, that are

presumed to be found fault with by some, as if carelessly order’d, and

made without any Design or End; particularly the Distribution of the dry

Land and Waters; the laying the several Strata, or Beds of Earth, Stone,

and other Layers before spoken of; the Creation of noxious Animals, and

poisonous Substances, the boisterous Winds; the Vulcano’s, and many other

Things which some are angry with, and will pretend to amend: I have

before shewn, that an infinitely wise Providence, an almighty Hand was

concerned even in them; that they all have their admirable Ends and Uses,

and are highly instrumental and beneficial to the Being, or Well-being of

this our Globe, or to the Creatures residing thereon.

So also for humane Bodies, it hath been an ancient[n], as well as modern

Complaint, that our Bodies are not as big as those of other Animals; that

we cannot run as swift as Deer, fly like Birds, and that we are out-done

by many Creatures in the Accuracy of the Senses, with more to the same

Purpose. But these Objections are well answered by _Seneca_[o], and will

receive a fuller Solution from what I shall observe of animal Bodies

hereafter.

But indeed, after all, it is only for want of our knowing these Things

better, that we do not admire[p] them enough; it is our own Ignorance,

Dulness or Prejudice, that makes us charge those noble Works of the

Almighty, as Defects or Blunders, as ill-contriv’d, or ill-made.

It is therefore fitter for such finite, weak, ignorant Beings as we, to

be humble and meek, and conscious of our Ignorance, and jealous of our

own Judgment, when it thus confronteth infinite Wisdom. Let us remember

how few Things we know, how many we err about, and how many we are

ignorant of: And those, many of them, the most familiar, obvious Things:

Things that we see and handle at Pleasure; yea, our own very Bodies,

and that very Part of us whereby we understand at all, our Soul. And

should we therefore pretend to censure what God doth! Should we pretend

to amend his Work! Or to advise infinite Wisdom! Or to know the Ends and

Purposes of his infinite Will, as if we were of his Council! No, let us

bear in Mind, that there Objections are the Products, not of Reason,

but of Peevishness. They have been incommoded by Storms and Tempests;

they have been terrify’d with the burning Mountains, and Earthquakes;

they have been annoy’d by the noxious Animals, and fatigu’d by the

Hills; and therefore are angry, and will pretend to amend these Works

of the Almighty. But in the Words of St. _Paul_[q], we may say, _Nay,

but O Man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the Thing

formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not

the Potter power over the Clay, of the same Lump to make one Vessel to

honour, and another to dishonour?_ If the Almighty Lord of the World,

had for his own Pleasure, made this our World more inconvenient for Man,

it would better become us to sit still, and be quiet; to lament our own

great Infirmities and Failings, which deserve a worse Place, a more

incommodious Habitation, than we meet with in this elegant, this well

contriv’d, well formed World; in which we find every Thing necessary for

the Sustentation, Use and Pleasure, both of Man, and every other Creature

here below; as well as some Whips, some Rods to scourge us for our

Sins[r]. But yet so admirably well temper’d is our State, such an Accord,

such an Harmony is there throughout the Creation, that if we will but

pursue the Ways of Piety and Virtue, which God hath appointed; if we will

form our Lives according to the Creator’s Laws, we may escape the Evils

of this our frail State, and find sufficient Means to make us happy while

we are in the Body. The natural Force and Tendency of our Virtue, will

prevent many of the Harms[s], and the watchful Providence of our Almighty

Benefactor, will be a Guard against others; and then nothing is wanting

to make us happy, as long as we are in this World, there being abundantly

enough to entertain the Minds of the most contemplative; Glories enough

to please the Eye of the most curious and inquisitive; Harmonies and

Conforts of Nature’s own, as well as Man’s making, sufficient to delight

the Ear of the most harmonious and musical; All Sorts of pleasant Gusto’s

to gratify the Taste and Appetite, even of the most luxurious; And

fragrant Odours to please the nicest and tenderest Smell: And in a Word,

enough to make us love and delight in this World, rather too much, than

too little, considering how nearly we are ally’d to another World, as

well as this.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Though there are some that think Mountains to be a Deformity to

the Earth, ~&c.~ yet if well considered, they will be found as much

to conduce to the Beauty and Conveniency of the Universe, as any of

the other Parts. Nature_ (saith _Pliny_) _purposely framed them for

many excellent Uses; partly to tame the Violence of greater Rivers, to

strengthen certain Joints within the Veins and Bowels of the Earth,

so break the Force of the Sea’s Inundation, and for the Safety of the

Earth’s Inhabitants, whether Beasts or Men. That they make much for the

Protection of Beasts, the Psalmist testifies, ~The highest Hills are a

Refuge for the wild Goats, and the Rocks for Conies.~ The Kingly Prophet

had likewise learnt the Safety of those by his own Experience, when he

also was fain to make a Mountain his Refuge from the Fury of his Master

~Saul~, who prosecuted him in the Wilderness. True indeed, such Places

as these keep their Neighbours poor, as being most barren, but yet they

preserve them safe, at being most strong; witness our unconquered ~Wales~

and ~Scotland~.——Wherefore a good Author doth rightly call them ~Natures

Bulwarks~, cast up at God Almighty’s Charges, the Scorns and Curbs of

victorious Armies; which made the ~Barbarians~ in ~Curtius~ so confident

of their own Safety, ~&c.~_ Bishop _Wilkin_’s World in the Moon, _pag.

114._

[b] _~Ray~’s Wisdom of God, ~&c.~ pag. 251. Dissolution of the World,

pag. 35._

[c] _Theophrastus_ having reckoned up the Trees that delight most in the

Hills, and others in the Valleys, observeth, Ἅπαντα δὲ ὅσα κοινὰ τῶν ὀρῶν

καὶ τῶν πεδίων, μείζω μὲν καὶ καλλίω τῄ ὅψες τὰ ἐν τοῖς πεδιοις γινε ται.

κρείττω δὲ χρήσες τῶν ξύλων καὶ τῶν καρπῶν, τὰ ὀρεινά. _Theoph. Hist. Pl.

l. 3. c. 4._ Ἅπαντα δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὀικείοις τόποις καλλίω γίνεται, καὶ μᾶλλον

ἐυσθενεῖ·——Τὰ μὲν γαρ φιλει τοὺς ἐφίδρους καὶ ἑλώδεις.——Τὰ δὲ, τοὺς

ἐυτκεπεῖς καὶ ἐυηλιους. _Ib. l. 4. c. 1._

[d] _Wisdom of God_, p. 252.

[e] _Ubi supra._

[f] Many have taken Notice, that some of the greatest Eminences of the

World run generally East and West, of which take the late ingenious and

learned Dr. _Nichols_’s Account, [_Confer. with a Theist_, Part 2. pag.

191.] _To go no farther than our own Country, all our great Ridges of

Hills in ~England~ run East and West; so do the ~Alps~ in ~Italy~, and in

some Measure the ~Pyrenees~; so do the Mountains of the Moon in ~Africk~,

and so do Mount ~Taurus~ and ~Caucasus~._ This he saith _is a wise

Contrivance to prevent the Vapours, which would all run Northwards, and

leave no Rains in the ~Mediterranean~ Countries._

[g] That the Generation of many of the Clouds is owing to the Hills,

appears from the Observations of the ingenious and learned Dr. _Joh. Jam.

Scheuchzer_ of _Zurich_, and Mr. _Joach. Frid. Creitlovius_ cited by

him. They observed at Sun-rising, divers Clouds detached by the Heat of

the Sun, from some of the Tops of the _Alps_, &c. upon all which their

Observations, the Conclusion is, _Mirati summam Creatoris sapientiam,

qui & id quod paulò antè nulli nobis usui esse videbatur, maximis rebus

destinaverat, adeóque ex illo tempore dubitare cœpi, num Nubes essent

futura, si istiusmodi Montes & Petræ non darentur. Hypothesi hâc stante,

elucesceret permagna utilitas, imò necessitas, quam ~Helviticæ Alpes~

non nobis tantùm accolis sed & vicinis aliis regionibus præstant,

dispensando, quas gignunt Nubes, Ventos, Aquas_. Scheuch. Iter. Alpin. 2.

p. 20.

[h] Let us take here _Ol. Mag._ Observation of his Northern Mountains,

_Montes excelsi sunt, sed pro majori parte steriles, & aridi; in quibus

ferè nil aliud pro incolarum commoditate & conservatione gignitur,

quàm inexhausta pretiosorum Metallorum ubertas, quâ satìs opulenti,

fertilesque sunt in omnibus vitæ necessariis, forsitan & superfluis

aliunde si libet conquirendis, unanimique robore, ac viribus, ubi vis

contra hæc naturæ dona intentata fuerit, defendendis. Acre enim genus

hominum est, ~&c.~_ _Ol. Mag._ Hist. L. 6. Præf. See also Sir _Robert

Sibbald_’s Prodr. Nat. Hist. Scot. p. 47.

[i] See _Book I. Chap. 3. Note (b)._

[k] _Monsieur ~Blundel~, related to the ~Parisian~ Academy, what Device

the Inhabitants the lower ~Austria~, (which is encompassed with the

Mountains of ~Stiria~) are wont to use to fill their Wells with Water.

They dig in the Earth to the Depth of 25 and 20 Feet, till they come to

an Argilla ~[clammy Earth]~——which they bore through so deep, till the

Waters break forcibly out; which Water it is probable comes from the

neighbouring Mountains in subterraneous Chanels. And ~Cassinus~ observed,

that in many Places of the Territory of ~Modena~ and ~Bologna~ in

~Italy~, they make themselves Wells by the like Artifice, ~&c.~ By this

Means the same ~Seig. Cassini~ made a Fountain at the Castle of ~Urbin~,

that cast up the Water five Foot high above the level of the Ground._

_~Ray~’s_ Disc. 1. pag. 40. _ubi plura_.

Upon Enquiry of some skilful Workmen, whose Business it is to dig Wells,

_&c._ whether they had ever met with the like Case, as these in this

Note, they told me they had met with it in _Essex_, where after they had

dug to 50 Foot Depth, the Man in the Well observed the clayie Bottom to

swell and begin to send out Water, and stamping with his Foot to stop

the Water, he made way for so suddain and forcible a Flux of Water, that

before he could get into his Bucket, he was above his Waste in Water;

which soon ascended to 17 Feet height, and there stayed: And although

they often with great Labour endeavoured to empty the Well, in order to

finish their Work, yet they could never do it, but were forced to leave

it as it was.

[l] As the Hills being higher, are naturally disposed to be drier than

the Valleys; so kind Nature hath provided the greater Supplies of

Moisture for them, such at least of them as do not ascend above the

Clouds and Vapours. For, besides the Fountains continually watering them,

they have more Dews and Rains commonly than the Valleys. They are more

frequently covered with Fogs; and by retarding, stopping, or compressing

the Clouds, or by their greater Colds condensing them, they have larger

Quantities of Rain fall upon them. As I have found by actual Experience,

in comparing my Observations with those of my late very curious and

ingenious Correspondent, _Richard Townley_, Esq; of _Lancashire_, and

some others, to be met with before, _Chap. 2. Note (a)._ From which it

appears, that above double the Quantity of Rain falleth in _Lancashire_,

than doth at _Upminster_. The Reason of which is, because _Lancashire_

hath more, and much higher Hills than Essex hath. See _Book II. Chap. 5.

Note (e)._

[m] _Accusandi sanè meâ sententiâ hìc sunt Sophistæ, qui cùm nondum

invenire, neque exponere opera Naturæ queant, eam tamen inertiâ atque

inscitiâ condemnant, ~&c.~_ Galen. de Us. Part 1. l. 10. c. 9.

[n] _Vide quàm iniqui sint divinorum munerum astimatores, etiam quidam

professi sapientiam. Queruntur quòd non magnitudine corporis æquemus

Elephantes, velocitate Cervos, levitate Aves, impetu Tauros; quòd

solidior sit cutis Belluis, decentior Damis, densior Ursis, mollior

Fibris; quòd sagacitate nos narium Canes vincant, quòd acie luminum

Aquilæ, spatio ætatis Corvi, multa Animalia nandi facilitate. Et cùm

quædam nè coire quidem in idem Natura patiatur, ut velocitatem corporis

& vires pares animalibus habeamus; ex diversis & dissidentibus bonis

Hominem non esse compositum, injuriam vocant; & in negligentes nostri

Deos querimoniam jaciunt, quòd non bona valetudo, & vitiis inexpugnabilis

data sit, quòd non futuri scientia. Vix sibi temperant quin eousque

impudentiæ provehantur, ut Naturam oderint, quòd infra Deos sumus, quòd

non in æquo illis stetimus._ Seneca de Benef. l. 2. c. 29.

[o] _Quanto satiùs est ad contemplationem tot tantorumque beneficiorum

reverti, & agere gratias, quòd nos in hoc pulcherrimo domicilio voluerunt

~(Dii)~ secundos fortiri, quòd terrenis præfecerunt._ Then having

reckoned up many of the Privileges and Benefits, which the Gods, he

saith, have conferred upon us, he concludes, _Ita est: carissimos nos

habuerunt Dii immortales, habentque. Et qui maximus tribui honos potuit,

ab ipsis proximos collocaverunt. Magna accepimus, majora non cepimus._

Senec. Ibid.

[p] _Naturam maximè admiraberis, si omnia ejus opera perlustraris._

Galen. de Us. Part. I. 11. conclus.

[q] Rom. ix. 20, 21.

[r] _Neither are they ~[noxious Creatures]~ of less Use to amend our

Minds, by teaching us Care and Diligence, and more Wit. And so much the

more, the worse the Things are we see, and should avoid. ~Weezels~,

~Kites~, and other mischievous Animals, induce us to a Watchfulness:

~Thistles~ and ~Moles~ to good Husbandry; ~Lice~ oblige us to Cleanliness

in our Bodies; ~Spiders~ in our Houses; and the ~Moth~ in our Clothes.

The Deformity and Filthiness of ~Swine~, make them the Beauty-Spot of the

Animal Creation, and the Emblems of all Vice——The truth is, Things are

hurtful to us only by Accident; that is, not of Necessity, but through

our own Negligence or Mistake. Houses decay, Corn is blasted, and the

Weevel breeds in Mault, soonest towards the South. Be it so, it is then

our own Fault, if we use not the Means which Nature and Art have provided

against these Inconveniencies_. Grew’s Cosmol. c. 2. §. 49, 50.

[s]

_Non est gemendus, nec gravi urgendus nece,_

_Virtute quisquis abstulit fatis iter._

Senec. Hercul. Oet. Act. 5. Car. 1833.

_Nunquam Stygias fertur ad umbras_

_Inclyta virtus._

Id. Ibid. Car. 1982.

[Illustration]

BOOK IV.

_Of Animals in general._

In the last BOOK, having survey’d the Earth it self in Particular, I

shall next take a View of the Inhabitants thereof; or the several Kinds

of Creatures[a], that have their Habitation, Growth, or Subsistence

thereon.

These Creatures are either Sensitive, or Insensitive Creatures.

In speaking of those endow’d with Sense, I shall consider:

I. Some Things common to them all.

II. Things peculiar to their Tribes.

I. The Things in common, which I intend to take Notice of, are these Ten:

1. The five _Senses_, and their Organs.

2. The great Instrument of Vitality, _Respiration_.

3. The _Motion_, or Loco-motive Faculty of Animals.

4. The _Place_, in which they live and act.

5. The _Balance_ of their Numbers.

6. Their _Food_.

7. Their _Cloathing_.

8. Their _Houses_, _Nests_ or _Habitations_.

9. Their Methods of _Self-Preservation_.

10. Their _Generation_, and _Conservation_ of their Species by that Means.

FOOTNOTES:

[a]

_Principio cœlum, ac terras, camposque liquentes,_

_Lucentemque globum Lunæ, Titaniaque astra_

_Spiritus intùs alit, totamque infusa per artus_

_Mens agitat molem, & magno se corpore miscet._

_Inde hominem, pecudumque genus, vitæque volantum,_

_Et quæ marmoreo fert monstra sub æquore pontus._

_Igneus est illis vigor, & cœlestis origo_

_Seminibus._

Virgil. Æneid. L. 6. Carm. 724.

CHAP. I.

_Of the five Senses in general._

The first Thing to be consider’d, in common to all the Sensitive

Creatures, is, their Faculty of _Seeing_, _Hearing_, _Smelling_,

_Tasting_ and _Feeling_; and the _Organs_ ministring to there five

_Senses_, together with the exact Accommodation of those Senses, and

their Organs, to the State and Make of every Tribe of Animals[a].

The Consideration of which Particulars alone, were there no other

Demonstrations of God, is abundantly sufficient to evince the infinite

Wisdom, Power and Goodness, of the great Creator. For, Who can but stand

amaz’d at the Glories of these Works! At the admirable Artifice of them!

And at their noble Use and Performances! For suppose an Animal, as

such, had Breath and Life, and could move it self hither and thither;

yet how could it know whither to go, what it was about, where to find

its Food, how to avoid thousands of Dangers[b], without Sight! How

could Man, particularly, view the Glories of the Heavens, survey the

Beauties of the Fields, and enjoy the Pleasure of beholding the noble

Variety of diverting objects, that do, above us in the Heavens, and

here in this lower World, present themselves to our View every where;

how enjoy this, I say, without that admirable Sense of _Sight_[c]! How

could also the Animal, without _Smell_ and _Taste_, distinguish its Food,

and discern between wholsome and unwholsome; besides the Pleasures of

delightful Odours, and relishing Gusto’s! How, without that other Sense

of _Hearing_, could it discern many Dangers that are at a Distance,

understand the Mind of others, perceive the harmonious Sounds of Musick,

and be delighted with the Melodies of the winged Choir, and all the rest

of the Harmonies the Creator hath provided for the Delight and Pleasure

of his Creatures! And lastly, How could Man, or any other Creature

distinguish Pleasure from Pain, Health from Sickness, and consequently be

able to keep their Body sound and entire, without the Sense of _Feeling_!

Here, therefore, we have a glorious Oeconomy in every Animal, that

commandeth Admiration, and deserveth our Contemplation: As will better

appear by coming to Particulars, and distinctly considering the Provision

which the Creator hath made for each of these Senses.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Ex sensibus ante cætera Homini Tactus, deinde Gustatus: reliquis

superatur à multis. Aquilæ clariùs cernunt: Vultures sagaciùs ordorantur,

liquidiùs audiunt Talpæ obrutæ terrâ, tam denso atque surdo naturæ

elemento._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 69.

[b] _Subjacent Oculi, pars corporis pretiosissima, & qui lucis usu vitam

distinguant à morte._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37.

[c] _Fœminæ aliquæ Megarenses solis oculis discernere valebant inter Ova

quæ ex Gallinâ nigrâ, & quæ ex albâ nata sunt_, is what is affirmed (how

truly I know not) by _Grimald. de Lumin. & Color. Pr._ 43. §. 60.

CHAP. II.

_Of the Eye._

For our clearer Proceeding in the Consideration of this noble Part[a],

and understanding its Oeconomy, I shall consider:

1. The _Form_ of the Eye.

2. Its _Situation_ in the Body.

3. Its _Motions_.

4. Its _Size_.

5. Its _Number_.

6. Its _Parts_.

7. The _Guard_ and _Security_ Nature hath provided for this so useful a

Part.

As this eminent Part hath not been pretermitted by Authors, that have

made it their particular Design and Business to speak of the Works of

God; so divers of the aforesaid Particulars have been touched upon by

them. And therefore I shall take in as little as possible of what they

have said, and as near as I can, mention chiefly what they have omitted.

And,

1. For the _Form_ of the Eye; which is for the most part Globous, or

somewhat of the sphæroidal Form: Which is far the most commodious optical

Form, as being fittest to contain the Humours within, and to receive the

Images of Objects from without[b]. Was it a Cube, or of any multangular

Form, some of its Parts would lie too far off[c], and some too nigh

those lenticular Humours, which by their Refractions cause Vision.

But by Means of the Form before-mentioned, the Humours of the Eye are

commodiously laid together, to perform their Office of Refraction; and

the _Retina_, and every other Part of that little darkned Cell, is neatly

adapted regularly to receive the Images from without, and to convey them

accordingly to the common Sensory in the Brain.

To this we may add the aptitude of this Figure to the Motion of the Eye,

for it is necessary for the Eye to move this way, and that way, in order

to adjust it self to the Objects it would view; so by this Figure it is

well prepared for such Motions, so that it can with great Facility and

Dexterity direct it self as occasion requires.

And as the Figure, so no less commodious is,

2. The _Situation_ of the Eye, namely in the Head[d], the most erect,

eminent Part of the Body, near the most sensible, vital Part, the Brain.

By its Eminence in the Body, it is prepar’d to take in the more[e]

Objects. And by its Situation in the Head, besides its Proximity to the

Brain, it is in the most convenient Place for Defence and Security.

In the Hands, it might indeed (in Man) be render’d more eminent than

the Head, and be turned about here and there at pleasure. But then it

would be exposed to many Injuries in that active Part, and the Hands[f]

render’d a less active and useful Part. And the like may be said to its

Sight, in any other Part of the Body, but where it is. But in the Head,

both of Man, and other Animals, it is placed in a Part that seems to be

contrived, and made chiefly for the Action of the principal Senses.

Another Thing observable in the Sight of the Eye, is the Manner of its

Situation in the Head, in the Fore-part, or Side-part thereof; according

to the particular Occasions of particular Animals. In Man, and some other

Creatures, it is placed to look directly forward chiefly; but withal it

is so order’d, as to take in near the Hemisphere before it. In Birds, and

some other Creatures, the Eyes are so seated, as to take in near a whole

Sphere, that they may the better seek their Food, and escape Dangers. And

in some Creatures they are seated, so as to see best behind them[g], or

on each Side, whereby they are enabled to see their Enemy that pursues

them that way, and so make their Escape.

And for the Assistance of the Eyes, and some of the other Senses in their

Actions; the Head is generally made to turn here and there, and move as

Occasion requires. Which leads me to the

3. Thing to be remarked upon, the _Motions_ of the Eye it self. And this

is generally upwards, downwards, backwards, forwards, and every way[h],

for the better, more easy, and distinct Reception of the visual Rays.

But where Nature any way deviateth from this Method, either by denying

Motion to the Eyes, or the Head[i], it is a very wonderful Provision

she hath made in the Case. Thus for a Remedy of this Inconvenience, in

some Creatures their Eyes are set out at a Distance[k] from the Head,

to be circumvolved here and there, or one this, the other that way,

at Pleasure. And in Creatures, whose Eyes are without Motion, as in

divers Insects; in this Case, either they have more than two Eyes, or

their Eyes are nearly two protuberant Hemispheres, and each Hemisphere

often consisting of a prodigious number of other little Segments of a

Sphere[l]. By which Means those Creatures are so far from being deny’d

any Benefit, of that noble and most necessary Sense of Sight, that

they have probably more of it than other Creatures, answerable to the

Rapidity of their Flight, and brisk Motion; and to their Inquests after

Food, Habitation, or Repositories of Generation, or such other Necessity

of the Animal.

4. Another admirable Provision in the Eye, is, its Size; in some Animals

large, in some little. It would be endless here to enumerate Particulars;

as thole of Quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, and other terrestrial Animals.

And as for Fishes, they will fall under another Part of my Survey.

I shall therefore only take Notice of its Size in one Creature,

the _Mole_[m]. As the Habitation of that uncouth Animal is wholly

subterraneous, its Lodging, its Food, its Exercises, nay, even all its

Pastimes and Pleasures, are in those subterraneous Recesses and Passages,

which its own Industry hath made for it self; so it is an admirable

Provision made in the Size of the Eye of that little Creature, to answer

all its Occasions, and at the same time to prevent Inconveniences. For

as a little Light will suffice an Animal living always under Ground; so

the smallest Eye will abundantly supply that Occasion. And as a large

protuberant Eye, like that of other Animals, would much annoy this

Creature in its principal Business, of digging for its Food and Passage;

so it is endow’d with a very small one, commodiously seated in the Head,

and well fenced and guarded against the Annoyances of the Earth.

5. Another Thing remarkable in this noble Part of Animals, is, its

_Numbers_; no less than two[n] in any Instance, that I know of; and in

some Animals more, as I have already hinted[o].

Now this is an admirable Provision; first, for the Convenience of taking

in the larger Angle or Space: And in the next Place, the Animal is by

this Provision, in some Measure prepar’d for the Misfortune of the Loss

of one of these noble, and necessary Organs of its Body.

But then besides all this, there is another Thing considerable in this

multiplicate Number of the Eye; and that is, that the Object seen is

not multiplied as well as the Organ, and appears but one, though seen

with two or more Eyes[p]. A manifest Sign of the infinite Skill of the

Contriver of this so noble a Part, and of the exquisite Art he employed

in the Formation thereof. But the Design and Skill of the infinite

Workman, will best be set forth by

6. Surveying the _Parts_ and _Mechanism_ of this admirable Organ the Eye.

And here indeed we cannot but stand amazed, when we view its admirable

Fabrick, and consider the prodigious Exactness, and the exquisite Skill

employed in every part ministring to this noble and necessary Sense.

To pass by its Arteries and Veins, and such other Parts common to the

rest of the Body, let us cast our Eye on its _Muscles_. These we shall

find exactly and neatly placed for every Motion of the Eye. Let us view

its _Tunicks_, and these we shall find so admirably seated, so well

adapted, and of so firm a Texture, as to fit every Place, to answer

every Occasion, and to be Proof against all common Inconveniences and

Annoyances. Let us examine its three _Humours_, and these we shall find

all of exquisite Clearness and Transparency, for an easy Admission of the

Rays; well placed for the refracting of them, and formed (particularly

the _Crystalline Humour_) by the nicest Laws of Opticks, to collect the

wandring Rays into a Point. And to name no more, let us look into its

darkned Cell, where those curious Humours lie, and into which the Glories

of the Heavens and the Earth are brought, and exquisitely pictured; and

this Cell we shall find, without, well prepared by Means of its Texture,

Aperture, and Colour, to fence off all the useless or noxious Rays; and

within, as well coated with a dark Tegument, that it may not reflect,

dissipate, or any way confuse or disturb the beneficial Rays[q].

But to descend to Particulars, although it would be a great Demonstration

of the Glory of God, yet would take up too much Time, and hath been in

some Measure done by others that have written of God’s Works. Passing

over therefore what they have observed, I shall under each principal Part

take a transient Notice of some Things they have omitted, or but slightly

spoken of.

And my first Remark shall be concerning the _Muscles_ of the Eye, and

their Equilibration. Nothing can be more manifestly an act of Contrivance

and Design, than the _Muscles_ of the Eye, admirably adapted to move

it any, and every way; upwards, downwards, to this side or that, or

howsoever we please, or there is occasion for, so as to always keep

that Parallelism of the Eye, which is necessary to true Vision. For

the Performance of which Service, the Form, the Position, and the

due Strength of each Muscle is admirable. And here I might Instance

the peculiar and artificial Structure of the _Trochlearis_, and the

Augmentation of its Power by the _Trochlea_[r]; the Magnitude and

Strength of the _Attollent Muscle_, somewhat exceeding that of its

Antagonist; the peculiar Muscle, called the _Seventh_, or _Suspensory

Muscle_[s], given to Brutes, by reason of the prone Posture of their

Bodies, and frequent Occasions to hang down their Heads: And I might

speak also of the peculiar Origine and Insertion of the _lower Oblique

Muscle_[t], which is very notable, and many other Things relating to

these Parts; but it would be tedious to descend too much to those

admirable Particulars. And therefore to close up these Remarks, all I

shall farther take Notice of, shall be only the exquisite Equilibration

of all these _Opposite_ and _Antagonist Muscles_, affected partly by

the Equality of the Strength; which is the Case of the _Adducent_ and

_Abducent Muscles_; partly by their peculiar Origine, or the Addition of

the _Trochlea_, which is the Case of the _Oblique Muscles_[u]: and partly

by the natural Posture of the Body, and the Eye, which is the Case of

the _Attollent_ and _Depriment Muscles_. By this so curious and exact

a Libration, not only unseemly Contortions, and incommodious Vagations

of the Eye are prevented, but also it is able with great Readiness and

Exactness to apply it self to every Object.

As to the _Tunicks_ of the Eye, many Things might be taken notice of,

the prodigious Fineness of the _Arachnoïdes_, the acute Sense of the

_Retina_, the delicate Transparency of the _Cornea_[w], and the firm and

strong Texture of that and the _Sclerotica_ too; and each of them, in

these and every other respect, in the most accurate manner adapted to

the Place in which it is, and the Business it is there to perform. But

for a Sample, I shall only take notice of that part of the _Uvea_ which

makes the _Pupil_. It hath been observed by others, particularly by our

Honourable Founder[x], That as we are forced to use various Apertures to

our Optick Glasses, so Nature hath made a far more compleat Provision in

the Eyes of Animals, to shut out too much, and to admit sufficient Light,

by the Dilatation and Contraction of the Pupil[y]. But it deserveth our

especial Remark, that these Pupils are in divers Animals of divers Forms,

according to their peculiar Occasions. In some (particularly in Man) it

is round; that being the most proper Figure for the Position of our Eyes,

and the Use we make of them both by Day and Night. In some other Animals

it is of a longish Form; in some Transverse[z], with its Aperture large,

which is an admirable Provision for such Creatures to see the better

laterally, and thereby avoid Inconveniencies, as well as help them to

gather their Food on the Ground, both by Day and Night. In other Animals

the Fissure of the Pupil is erect[aa], and also capable of opening

wide, and shutting up close. The latter of which serveth to exclude the

brighter Light of the Day, and the former to take in the more faint Rays

of the Night, thereby enabling those Nocturnal Animals (in whom generally

this erect Form of the Pupil is) to catch their Prey with the greater

Facility in the dark[bb], to see upwards and downwards, to climb, _&c_.

Thus much for the _Tunicks_.

The next Thing I shall take notice of, will relate to the _Humours_ of

the Eye, and that only concerning the Mechanism of the _Crystalline

Humour_; not its incomparable Transparency; nor its exact lenticular

Form; nor its curious araneous Membrane[cc], that constringeth and

dilateth it, and so varieth its _Focus_, (if any such Variation there

be, as some affirm with great Probability,) nor lastly, its admirable

Approach to or from the _Retina_, by help of the _Ciliar Ligament_[dd],

according as Objects are far off or near, because these Things are what

are usually taken notice of; but that which I shall observe is, the

prodigious Art and Finery of its constituent Parts, it being, according

to some late nice Microscopical Observations[ee], composed of divers

thin Scales, and these made up of one single minutest Thread or Fibre,

wound round and round, so as not to cross one another in any one Place,

and yet to meet, some in two, and some in more different Centers; a Web

not to be woven, an _Optick Lens_, not to be wrought by any Art less than

infinite Wisdom.

_Lastly_, To conclude the Parts of this admirable Organ, I shall make

only one Remark more, and that is about its _Nerves_. And here, among

others, the admirable Make of the _Optick Nerves_ might deserve to

be taken notice of in the first Place, their _Medullary_ Part[ff]

terminating in the Brain it self, the Teguments propagated from the

_Meninges_, and terminating in the Coats of the Eye, and their commodious

Insertions into the Ball of the Eye, in some directly opposite to the

Pupil of the Eye, in others obliquely towards one Side[gg]. But most of

these Things have been treated of, and the Convenience hereof set forth

by others that have written of God’s Works. I shall therefore take notice

only of one wise Provision the Creator hath made about the Motion of the

Eye, by uniting into one the _Third Pair_ of Nerves, called the _Motory

Nerves_[hh], each of which sending its Branches into each Muscle of each

Eye, would cause a Distortion in the Eyes; but being united into one,

near their Insertion into the Brain, do thereby cause both Eyes to have

the same Motion; so that when one Eye is moved this way and that way, to

this and that Object, the other Eye is turned the same way also.

Thus from this transient and slight View (I may call it) of the Parts of

the Eye, it appears what an admirable Artist was the Contriver thereof.

And now in the

_Seventh_ and last Place, Let us consider what Provision this admirable

Artist hath made for the _Guard_ and _Security_ of this so well formed

Organ[ii]. And here we shall find the Guard equivalent to the Use and

Excellency of the Part. The whole Organ fortified and fenced with strong,

compact Bones, lodged in a strong, well made Socket, and the Eye it self

guarded with a nice made Cover[kk]. Its Humours, and its inward Tunicks,

are indeed tender, proportionate to their tender, curious Uses; but the

Coats without, are context and callous, firm and strong. And in some

Animals, particularly Birds[ll], some Part of those Tunicles have the

Nature and Hardness of Bone or Horn.

But for Creatures, whose Eyes, like the rest of their Body, are tender,

and without the Guard of Bones; there Nature hath provided for this

necessary and tender Sense, a wonderful kind of Guard, by endowing the

Creature with a Faculty of withdrawing its Eyes into its Head[mm], and

lodging them in the same Safety with the Body.

Thus have I survey’d this first Sense of Animals, I may say in a cursory,

not accurate, strict manner, considering the prodigious Workmanship

thereof; but so, as abundantly to demonstrate it to be the Contrivance,

the Work of no less a Being than the infinite Wise, Potent, and Indulgent

Creator[nn]. For none less could compose so admirable an Organ, so adapt

all its Parts, so adjust it to all Occasions, so nicely provide for every

Use, and for every Emergency: In a word, none less than GOD, could, I

say, thus contrive, order, and provide an Organ, as magnificent and

curious as the Sense is useful; a Sense without which, as all the Animal

World would be in perpetual Darkness, so it would labour under perpetual

Inconveniencies, be exposed to perpetual Harms, and suffer perpetual

Wants and Distresses. But now by this admirable Sense, the great GOD, who

hath placed us in this World, hath as well provided for our comfortable

Residence in it; enabled us to see and chuse wholsome, yea delicate Food,

to provide our selves useful, yea gaudy Cloathing, and commodious Places

of Habitation and Retreat. We can now dispatch our Affairs with Alacrity

and Pleasure, go here and there as our Occasions call us. We can, if need

be, ransack the whole Globe, penetrate into the Bowels of the Earth,

descend to the bottom of the Deep, travel to the farthest Regions of this

World, to acquire Wealth, to encrease our Knowledge, or even only to

please our Eye and Fancy. We can now look about us, discern and shun the

Precipices and Dangers which every where enclose us, and would destroy

us. And those glorious Objects which fill the Heavens and the Earth,

those admirable Works of God which every where surround us, and which

would be as nothing to us, without being seen, do by means of this noble

Sense present their Glories to us[oo], and fill us with Admiration and

Pleasure. But I need not expatiate in the Usefulness and Praises of this

Sense, which we receive the Benefit of every Moment, and the want, or any

defect of which, we lament among our greatest Misfortunes.

Leaving then this Sense, I shall proceed to the other four, but more

briefly treat of them, by reason we have so ample a Sample of the divine

Art in the last, and may presume that the same is exerted in all as well

as one. For a Demonstration of which, let us in the next Place carry our

Scrutiny to the Sense of _Hearing_.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _In Dissectionibus anatomicis vix aliquid admirabilius, aut

artificiosius structurâ Oculi humani, meo quidem judicio, occurrit: ut

meritò, per excellentiam, Creatoris appelletur Miraculum._ Gul. Fabr.

Hildan. Cent. 2. Observ. 1.

So likewise that accurate Surveyor of the Eye, Dr. _Briggs_, whose

_Ophthalmography_ I have met with since my penning this part of my

Survey. His Character of this curious piece of God’s Work is, _Inter

præcipuas corporis animati partes, quæ magni Conditoris nostri sapientiam

ostendunt, nulla sanè reperitur, quæ majori pompâ elucet quàm ipse

Oculus, aut quæ elegantiori formâ concinnatur. Deum enim aliæ partes vel

minori satellitio stipantur, vel in tantam venustatem haud assurgunt;

Ocelli peculiarem honorem & decus à supremo Numine efflatum referunt, &

nunquam non stupendæ suæ Potentia characteres repræsentant. Nulla sanè

pars tam divino artificio & ordine, ~&c.~_ Cap. 1. §. 1.

[b] It is a good Reason _Frier Bacon_ assigns for the Sphæricity of the

Eye: _Nam si esset planæ figuræ, species rei majoris oculo non posset

cadere perpendiculariter super eum——Cùm ergò Oculus videt magna corpora,

ut ferè quartam cœli uno aspectu, manifestum est, quòd non potest esse

planæ figuræ, nec alicujus nisi sphæricæ, quoniam super sphæram parvam

possunt cadere perpendiculares infinitæ, quæ à magno corpore veniunt, &

tendunt in centrum Sphæræ: Et sic magnum corpus potest ab oculo parvo

videri._ For the Demonstration of which he hath given us a Figure. _Rog.

Bacon. Perspect. Distinct. 4. Cap. 4._

Dr. _Briggs_ saith, _Pars antica, (sive Cornea,) convexior est posticâ:

hâc enim ratione radii meliùs in pupillam detorquentur, & Oculi fundus

ex altarâ parte in majorem (propter imagines rerum ibidem delineandos)

expanditur._ Ibid. §. 2.

[c] Suppose the Eye had the _Retina_, or back part flat for the Reception

of the Images, as in _Fig. 1._ ABA: it is manifest, that if the Extremes

of the Image AA were at a due focal distance, the middle B would be too

nigh the Crystalline, and consequently appear confused and dim; but all

Parts of the _Retina_ lying at a due focal distance from the Crystalline,

as at ACA, therefore the Image painted thereon is seen distinct and

clear. Thus in a dark Room, with a Lens at a Hole in the Window, (which

_Sturmius_ calls his Artificial Eye, in his _Exercit. Acad._ one of which

he had made for his Pupils, to run any where on Wheels). In this Room, I

say, if the Paper that receives the Images be too nigh, or too far off

the Lens, the Image will be confused and dim; but in the Focus of the

Glass, distinct, clear, and a pleasant Sight.

[d] _Blemmyis traduntur capita abesse, Ore & Oculis pectori affixis._

Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 8. _Occidentem versus quosdam sine cervice

Oculos in humeris habentes._ Ib. l. 7. c. 2. From these, and other such

like Fables, in this last cited Chapter of _Pliny_, no doubt our famous

Romancer Sir _J. Mandevile_, had his Romnantick Stories related in his

Travels.

[e] See _Book V. Chap. 2. Note (e)._

[f] _Galen_ deserves to be here consulted, who in his Book _De Usu

Partium_, from many Considerations of the Hand, such as what is here

mentioned, as also its Structure, Site and Use, largely proves and

reflects upon the Wisdom and Providence of the Contriver and Maker of

that Part.

[g] Thus in _Hares_ and _Conies_, their Eyes are very protuberant, and

placed so much towards the sides of their Head, that their two Eyes take

in nearly a whole Sphere: Whereas in _Dogs_, (that pursue them) the Eyes

are set more forward in the Head, to look that way more than backward.

[h] _Sed lubricos Oculos fecit ~[Natura]~ & mobiles, ut & declinarent

siquid noceret; & aspectum, quo vellent, facile converterent_. Cicer. de

Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 57.

[i] _The Eyes of ~Spiders~, ~(in some four, in some six, and in some

eight)~ are placed all in the fore-front of their Head, (which is round,

and without any Neck) all diaphanous and transparent, like a Locket of

Diamonds, ~&c.~ neither wonder why Providence should be so anomalous

in this Animal, more than in any other we know of. For, 1. Since they

wanting a Neck, cannot move their Head, it is requisite that Defect

should be supplied by the multiplicity of Eyes. 2. Since they were to

live by catching so nimble a Prey as a Fly is, they ought to see her

every way, and to take her ~per saltum~, (as they do) without any Motion

of the Head to discover her: Which Motion would have scared away so

timorous an Insect._ _~Power~’s_ Micros. Observ. pag. 11.

_The Eyes of the ~Cameleon~ resemble a Lens, or Convex Glass, set in

a versatile globular Socket, which she turneth backward, or any way,

without moving her Head; and ordinarily the one a contrary, or quite

different way from the other._ Dr. _Goddard_ in Phil. Tran. Nᵒ. 137.

_But what is more extraordinary in this Motion ~[of the Cameleon’s Eye]~

is to see one of the Eyes move, whilst the other remains immoveable; and

the one to turn forward, at the same time that the other looketh behind;

the one to look up to the Sky, when the other is fixed on the Ground.

And these Motions to be so extreme, that they do carry the ~Pupilla~

under the Crest which makes the Eye-brow, and so far into the ~Canthi~,

or Corners of the Eyes, that the Sight can discern whatever is done

just behind it, and directly before, without turning the Head, which is

fastned to the Shoulders._ Mem. for a Nat. Hist. in Anatom. Dissect. at

Paris. Diss. of Camel. pag. 22.

[k] _Snails_ send out their Eyes at a distance, they being contained in

their four Horns, _like atramentous Spots, fitted to the end of their

Horns, or rather to the ends of those black Filaments or optick Nerves,

which are sheathed in her Horns_, as Dr. _Power_ wordeth it. _Obs. 31.

pag. 36._ So the ingenious Dr. _Lister_. _Exercit. Anat. Cochl. & Limac._

[l] _Vid._ _l. 8. c. 3. Note (a)._

[m] _Severinus_ is of _Aristotle_’s, _Pliny_’s, and _Alb. Magnus_’s

Opinion, that the _Mole_ hath no Sight; _G. Seger_ denies any Humour to

be therein, but thinks they may probably see, because Nature made nothing

in vain. But _Borrichius_ saith, their Eyes have _appendiculam nerveam in

cerebrum euntem, cujus beneficio globuli illi ~[the little Eyes]~ extra

pellem facilè poterant exseri, retrahique pro arbitrio——In illis oculorum

globulis humor aqueus copiose satis natabat; cæterorum non nisi tenue

vestigiem._ Blas. Anat. Anim. c. 35.

_Et quoniam Natura hoc vitæ genus ipsi destinavit, etiam perquàm exiguos

Oculos——dedit eo concilio, ut ii, pretiosissima corporis pars, à terræ

pulvere nè affligerentur. Ii insuper pilis recti, ~&c.~ Humores illis

oculis insunt, & tunica nigra, uvea, se prodit. Ad hos tramite alio

nervus venit._ Schneider in Blas. ibid.

Some time since I made divers accurate Dissections of the _Eyes_ of

_Moles_, with the help of Microscopes, having a doubt whether what we

take to be Eyes, were such or no. And upon a strict Scrutiny I plainly

could distinguish the _Vitreous_ and _Crystalline_ Humours, yea, the

_Ligamentum Ciliare_, and the atramentaceous _Mucus_. The _Pupil_ I could

manifestly discern to be round, and the _Cornea_ copped, or conical: The

Eye is at a great distance from the Brain, the Optick Nerve very slender

and long, reaching from the Eye through the intermediate Flesh, and so

passeth to the Brain, along with the pair of Nerves reaching to the Nose,

which are much the largest that are in all the Animal. These Creatures,

I imagine, have the Faculty of withdrawing their Eyes, if not quite into

the Head, (as _Snails_) yet more or less within the Hair, as they have

more or less Occasion to use or guard their Eyes.

_Galen_ saith, _Moles_ have Eyes, the _Crystalline_ and _Vitreous_

Humours, encompassed with _Tunicks_. _De Us. Part. l. 14. c. 6._ So

accurate an Anatomist was he for his Time.

[n] _Pliny_ tells us of a sort of _Heron_ with but one Eye, but ’twas

only by hear-say. _Inter Aves Ardeolarum genere, quos Leucos vocant,

altero oculo carere tradunt._ Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. So the King of the

_Nigræ_ that hath but one Eye, and that in his Forehead, _l. 6. c. 30._

Which Fables I take notice of more for the Reader’s Diversion, than any

Truth in them.

[o] _Supra_, _Note (i)._

[p] The most celebrated Anatomists differ greatly about the Reason why

we see not double with two Eyes. This _Galen_, and others after him,

generally thought to be from a Coalition or Decussation of the Optick

Nerves, behind the _Os Sphenoïdes_. But whether they decussate, coalesce,

or only touch one another, they do not well agree. The _Bartholines_

expressly assert they are united, _non per simplicem contactum vel

intersectionem in homine, sed totalem substantiæ confusionem_, Anat.

l. 3. c. 2. And whereas _Vesalius_, and some others had found some

Instances of their being disunited; they say, _sed in plerisque ordinarie

confunditur interior substantia, ut accuratâ disquisitione deprehendi_.

But our Learned Dr. _Gibson_, (_Anat. l. 3. c. 10._) saith, they _are

united by the closest Conjunction, but not Confusion of their Fibres_.

But others think the Reason is not from any Coalescence, Contact, or

crossing of the Optick Nerves, but from a Sympathy between them. Thus

Monsieur _Cartes_ is of Opinion, that the _Fibrillæ_ constituting the

medullary Part of those Nerves, being spread in the _Retina_ of each Eye,

have each of them corresponding Parts in the Brain; so that when any of

those _Fibrillæ_ are struck by any part of an Image, the corresponding

Parts of the Brain are thereby affected, and the Soul thereby informed,

_&c._ but see more hereafter under _Note (oo)_, from _Cartes_ himself.

Somewhat like this is the Notion of our judicious Dr. _Briggs_, who

thinks the Optick Nerves of each Eye consist of _Homologous Fibres_,

having their rise in the _Thalamus Nervorum Opticorum_, and thence

continued to both the _Retinæ_, which are made of them; And farther, that

those _Fibrillæ_ have the same Parallelism, Tension, _&c._ in both Eyes;

and consequently when an Image is painted on the same corresponding,

sympathizing Parts of each _Retina_, the same Effects are produced, the

same Notice or Information is carried to the _Thalamus_, and so imparted

to the Soul, or judging Faculty. That there is such an Ὁμοιοπάθεια

between the _Retina_, &c. he makes very probable from the ensuing of

double Vision upon the Interruption of the Parallelism of the Eyes; as

when one Eye is depressed with the Finger, or their Symphony interrupted

by Disease, Drunkenness, _&c._ And lastly, That simple Vision is not

made in the former way, _viz._ by a Decussation or Conjunction of the

Optick Nerves, he proves, because those Nerves are but in few Subjects

decussated, and in none conjoined otherwise than by a bare Contact, which

is particularly manifest in Fishes; and in some Instances it hath been

found, that they have been separated without any double Vision ensuing

thereupon. _Vid._ _Brig. Ophthalmogr._ cap. 11. & 5. and _Nov. Vis.

Theor._ _passim_.

What the Opinion of our justly eminent Sir _Isaac Newton_ is, may be

seen in his _Opticks_, Qu. 15. _Are not the Species of Objects seen with

both Eyes, united where the Optick Nerves meet before they come into the

Brain, the Fibres on the right side of both Nerves uniting there, ~&c.~

For the Optick Nerves of such Animals as look the same way with both

Eyes, (as of Men, Dogs, Sheep, Oxen, ~&c.~) meet before they come into

the Brain; but the Optick Nerves of such Animals as do not look the same

way with both Eyes, (as of Fishes and of the Cameleon) do not meet, if I

am rightly informed._ Newt. Opt. Q. 15.

[q] _Nigra est ~[Uvea]~ ut radios (ab Oculi fundo ad anteriorem ejus

partem reflexos) obumbret; nè hi (ut ait clar. Cartesius) ad Oculi fundum

retorti ibidem confusam visionem efficerent. Alia forsan ratio hujus

nigredinis statuatur, quòd radii in visione superflui, qui ab objectis

lateralibus proveniunt hoc ritu absorbeantur. Ita enim è loco obscuro

interdiu objecta optimè intuemur, quia radii tunc temporis circumfuso

lumine non diluuntur._ Brigg’s Ophthal. c. 3. §. 5.

[r] _Admirandum Dei artificium ex diversorum animalium comparatione

indies evadit manifestiùs. Mirantur omnes Trochlearem in oculis Hominum

& Quadrupedum, & quidem jure: sed admirationem omnem superat, quòd sine

Trochleâ oculum movens in Avibus novum genus Trochleæ longè artificiosiùs

Nictitandi Membranæ dederit._ Blas. Anat. Animal. p. 2. c. 4. _ex Stenon._

_~[Musculum Trochlearem]~ per intermedium trochleam traductum, nunquam

intueor, quin admirabundus mecum, Ὁ Θεὸς, exclamem ὀυ μόνον ἀεὶ

γεωμετρεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ μηχανᾶται._ _I. C. Sturmii Exercit. Acad. 9. de

Vis. Org. & Rat._ c. 3. §. 4. p. 446.

[s] _Observare est quod Quadrupedes, qui oculos in terram pronos,

ac pendulos gerunt, Musculum peculiarem habent, quo Oculi globus

suspenditur——Hoc Musculo Bos, Equus, Ovis, Lepus, Porcus, &c. præditi

sunt: hoc etiam Canis instruitur, sed alio modo conformatum habet._

Willis de An. Brut. p. 1. c. 15.

Of this Opinion also was _Bartholine Anat._ l. 3. c. 8. and divers other

eminent Anatomists.

But Dr. _Briggs_ is of Opinion that the _Adnata_, and the other Muscles

sufficiently answer all those Ends ascribed to that Muscle by former

Anatomists, and thinks _Probabiliùs itaque esse hunc Musculum nervi

Optici actionem (per vices) confirmare, nè à prono Brutorum incessu &

copioso affluxu humorum debilitetur_, Ophthal. c. 2. §. 2.

The _Musculus Suspensorius_ being in the _Porpess_, as well as Brutes,

Dr. _Tyson_ thinks the Use of it is not to suspend the Bulk of the

Eye; but rather by its equal Contraction of the _Sclerotis_, to render

the Ball of the Eye more or less Spherical, and so fitter for Vision.

_Tyson’s Anat. of the Porpess_, p. 39.

[t] _Musculus obliquus inferior oritur à peculiari quodam foramine in

latere Orbitæ ocularis facto, (contra quam in cæteris, ~&c.~) quo fit

ut ex unâ parte à Musculo trochleari, ex alterâ verò ab hujus Musculi

commodissimâ positione, Oculus in æquilibrio quodam constitutus,

irretorto obtutu versus objecta feratur, nec plus justo accedat versus

internum externumve canthum; quæ quidem Libratio omnino nulla fuisset,

absque hujus Musculi peculiari originatione (cujus ratio omnes hucusque

Anatomicos latuit)._ And so this curious Anatomist goes on to shew

farther the stupendous Artifice of the great Creator in this Position of

the _Oblique Muscles_. Brigg’s _Nova Vis. Theor._ p. 11. _meo libro_.

[u] Besides those particular Motions which the Eye receives from the

_Oblique Muscles_, and I may add its Libration also in some Measure, some

Anatomists ascribe another no less considerable Use to them; namely, to

lengthen and shorten the Eye (by squeezing and compressing it) to make it

correspond to the Distances of all Objects, according as they are nigh

or far off. Thus the ingenious Dr. _Keil_; _The Aqueous Humour being the

thinnest and most liquid, easily changeth its Figure, when either the

~Ligamentum Ciliate~ contracts, or both the ~Oblique Muscles~ squeeze the

middle of the Ball of the Eye, to render it Oblong when Objects are too

near us._ _~Keil~’s Anat. Chap. 4. Sect. 4._ See _Note (y)._

[w] _Quis verò opifex præter Naturam, quâ nihil potest esse callidiùs,

tantam solertiam persequi potuisset in Sensibus? quæ primùm Oculos

membranis tenuissimis vestivit, & sepiit; quas primum perlucidas fecit,

ut per eas cerni posset: firmas aurem, ut continerentur._ Cic. de Nat.

Deor. l. 2. c. 57.

[x] _Boyl_ of _Final Causes._

[y] It is easy to be observed, that the _Pupil_ openeth in dark Places;

as also when we look at far distant Objects, but contracts by an Increase

of Light, and when the Objects are nigh. This Motion of the _Pupil_

some say, is effected by the circular and strait Fibres of the _Uvea_,

and some attribute it to the _Ligamentum Ciliare_. Yet I have no great

doubt but that they both concur in that Action, and that the _Ligamentum

Ciliare_ doth, at the same time the Pupil opens or shuts, dilate or

compress the _Crystalline_, and bring it nigher unto, or carry it farther

off the _Retina_. For the Structure of the _Ligamentum Ciliare_, and its

two Sorts of Fibres, drawn with the Help of a Microscope, I shall refer

to Mr. _Cowper’s Anat._ T. 11.

[z] _In Bove, Caprâ, Equo, Ove, & quibusdam aliis elliptica est

~(Pupilla)~ ut eo magis in hisce forsan animalibus, quæ prono incessu

victum in agris quæritant, radios laterales ad mala & incommoda utrinque

devitanda admittat._ _~Briggs~’s Ophthal._ c. 7. §. 6.

_Homini erecto, aliisque, ~&c.~ caput erigere, & quaquaversus

circumspicere solitis, plurima simul objecta, tum suprà, tum infrà, tum è

latere utroque——visu excipiuntur; quapropter Oculi Pupilla rotunda esse

debet.——Attamen bovi, ~&c.~ caput ferè semper pronum——gerentibus, tantùm

quæ coràm, & paulo à latere obversantur, intuitu opus est: quapropter

Pupilla——oblonga est, ~&c.~_ Willis _de Anim. Brut._ p. 1. c. 15.

[aa] Thus _Cats_ (their Pupils being erect, and the shutting of their

Eye-lids transverse thereunto) can so close their Pupil, as to admit of,

as it were, one only single Ray of Light; and by throwing all open, they

can take in all the faintest Rays. Which is an incomparable Provision for

these Animals, that have occasion to watch and way-lay their Prey both by

Day and Night.

[bb] There is besides this large opening of the Pupil, in some nocturnal

Animals, another admirable Provision, enabling them to catch their Prey

in the Dark; and that is a Radiation of the Eyes: Of which Dr. _Willis_

thus; _Hujus usus est Oculi Pupillam, quasi jubare insito, illuminare,

ut res noctu, & in tenebris positas conspicere valeat: quare in Fele

plurimùm illustris est: at Homini, Avibus, & Piscibus deest._ This

Illumination he speaks of, is from the _Tapetum_, in the Bottom of the

Eye, or the shining of the _Retina_, round the optick Nerve.

Besides which, he saith, the _Iris_ hath a Faculty also, in some, of

darting out Rays of Light, so as to enable them to see in the Dark: Of

which he tells this Story; _Novi quendam cerebro calidiori præditum,

qui post uberiorem vini generosi potum in nocte atratâ, sive tenebris

profundis, literas distincte legere potuit. Cujus ratio videtur esse,

quòd spiritus animales velut accensi, adeòque ab hâc Iride irradiantes,

jubare infito Medium illuminabant._ Willis Ibid.

Such another Thing, _Pliny_ tells us, was reported of _Tiberius Cæsar_:

_Ferunt Tib. Cæs. nec alii genitorum mortalium, fuisse naturam,

ut expergefactus noctu paulisper, haud alio modo quam luce clarâ,

contueretur omnia._ Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37.

So Dr. _Briggs_: _Virum sanè calidæ indolis novi in Comitatu Bedfordiensi

degentem, qui oculis felineis——donatus est: adeò ut epistolam——mirè

admodùm in loco obscuro (ubi eadem mihi vix apparuit) perlegit. Hujus

verò Oculi (nisi quod Pupillas insigniores obsinuere) ab aliorum

formatione neutiquam discrepabant._ Ophthal. c. 5. §. 12.

[cc] The _Tunica Aranea_ is taken notice of by _Frier Bacon_, who

calls it, _Tela Aranea_, and saith, _in hâc continetur——glaciale vel

Crystallinum_. _~Rog. Bacon~’s Perspect. Distinct. 2. c. 3._ The

wrinkling of this, and the _Cornea_ (as the Skin is of old Persons)

he thinks is the Cause of the Obscurity of the Sight in such Persons.

_Bacon_ Ib. par. 2. cap. 2. But this _Tunick_ some deny, and others

allow of: Dr. _A. M._ of _Trinity-College, Dublin_, (in his _Relat. of

Anat. Obs._ in the Eyes of Animals, in a Letter to Mr. _Boyl_, _Ann.

1682._ annexed to his _Anat. Account of the Elephant burnt in ~Dublin~_,

p. 57.) affirms the _Tunica Aranea_, and saith, _I have often seen it

before ’twas exposed to the Air one Minute, notwithstanding what Dr.

~Briggs~ saith to the contrary, ~&c.~_ But Dr. _Briggs_ his Opinion is,

_Humor Crystallinus, nisi aeri diutiùs expositus, vel lenitèr coctus

(instar lactis) cuticulam non acquirit: quæ verò impropriè, Tunica Aranea

dicitur, cùm si tantùm adventitia, ut in Oculo Bovis recens execto

appareat._ _~Briggs~’s Ophthalm. c. 3._

The _Crystalline Humour_ being of a double Substance, outwardly like

a Gelly, towards the Center as consistent as hard Suet, upon occasion

whereof its Figure may be varied; which Variation may be made by the

_Ligamentum Ciliare_; Dr. _Grew_ doth, upon these Accounts, not doubt to

ascribe to the _Ligamentum Ciliare_, a Power of making the _Crystalline_

more Convex, as well as of moving it to, or from the _Retina_. See

_Grew_’s _Cosmolog. Sacr._ l. 1. c. 4. Now it is certain by the Laws

of Opticks, that somewhat of this is absolutely necessary to distinct

Vision, inasmuch as the Rays proceeding from nigh Objects do more

diverge, and those from distant Objects less: Which requires either that

the _Crystalline Humour_ should be made more Convex, or more flat; or

else an Elongation, or shortning of the Eye, or of the Distance between

the _Crystalline Humour_ and the _Retina_.

But although Dr. _Briggs_ (so good a Judge) denies the _Tunica

Crystallina_, contrary to the Opinion of most former Anatomists; yet

there is great Reason to conclude he was in a Mistake, in my Opinion,

from the Observations of the _French Anatomists_, of the _Crystalline_ of

the Eye, of the _Gemp_ or _Chamois_, who say, _The Membrana Arachnoïdes

was very thick, and hard, so that it was easily separated from the

Crystallinus_, p. 145.

The same Anatomists also favour the Surmise of Dr. _Grew_, This

[Contraction of the Fibres of the _Ligamentum Ciliare_ on one side,

and Dilatation on the other] _would make us think that these Fibres of

the ~Ligamentum Ciliare~, are capable of Contraction, and voluntary

Dilatation, like that of the Fibres of the Muscles; and that this Action

may augment, or diminish the Convexity of the ~Crystallinus~, according

as the Need which the Distance of the Objects may make it to have on the

Eye, to see more clearly and distinctly._ Anat. Descrip. of a _Bear_, p.

49.

Since my penning the foregoing Notes, having as critically as I could,

dissected many Eyes of Birds, Beasts and Fishes, I manifestly found the

_Membrana Arachnoïdes_, and will undertake to shew it any one, with

great Ease and Certainty. It is indeed so transparent, as not to be seen

distinct from the _Crystalline_. But if the _Cornea_ and _Uvea_ be taken

off before, or the _vitreous Humour_ behind it, and the out-side of the

_Crystalline_ be gently cut, the _Arachnoïdes_ may be seen to open, and

the _Crystalline_ will easily leap out, and part from the _Ligamentum

Ciliare_; which otherwise it would not do: For it is by the _Arachnoïdes_

braced to the _Ligamentum Ciliare_. This Membrane or Tunick, in the Ox,

is so substantial and strong, though thin, that it yields to, or sinks

under the sharpest Lancet, and requires (for so thin and weak a Membrane

in appearance) a strong Pressure to pierce it.

[dd] As Birds and Fishes are in divers Things conformable, so in some

sort they are in their Eye; to enable it to correspond to all the

Convergences, and Divergences of the Rays, which the Variations of each

of the Mediums may produce. For this Service the _Tunica Choroeides_,

(in Fishes) hath a musculous Substance at the Bottom of it, lying round

the optick Nerve, at a small Distance from it; by which Means I imagine

they are able to contract, and dilate the _Choroeides_, and thereby to

lengthen and shorten the Eye: For the helping in which Service, I imagine

it is that the _Choroeides_, and _Sclerotica_, are in a great Measure

parted, that the _Choroeides_ may have the greater Liberty of acting upon

the Humours within.

But in Birds, I have my self found, that although the _Choroeides_ be

parted from the _Sclerotica_; yet the _Choroeides_ hath no Muscle,

but instead thereof, a curious pectinated Work, seated on the optick

Nerve, represented in _Fig. 2._ In which _c.a.e.b.d._ represents the

_Choroeides_ and _Sclerotica_: _a.b._ the Part of the _optick Nerve_,

that is within the Eye: _v.v.v._ the _vitreous Humour_: _a.f.g.b._ the

_Pecten_: _h.i._ the _Crystalline_. For the Reception of this _Pecten_,

the _optick Nerve_ comes farther within the Eye, than in other Creatures.

The Structure of this _Pecten_, is very like that of the _Ligamentum

Ciliare_; and in the Eye of a _Magpy_, and some others, I could perceive

it to be musculous towards the Bottom. This _Pecten_ is so firmly fixed

unto, or embodied in the _vitreous Humour_, that the _vitreous Humour_

hangs firmly to it, and is not so easily parted from it. By which

Means all the Motions of the _Pecten_ are easily communicated to the

_vitreous Humour_, and indeed to all contained in the _Choroeides_. And

forasmuch as the _Crystalline_ is connected to the _vitreous Humour_,

therefore also the Alterations in the _vitreous Humour_ affect also the

_Crystalline_; and the _Crystalline_ is hereby brought nearer unto, or

farther from the _Retina_, as occasion is. Besides all which Observables

in the _Choroeides_, and inner Eye, I have also found this farther

remarkable in the _Sclerotica_, and outer-part of the Eye of Birds,

_viz._ That the fore-part of the _Sclerotica_ is horny and hard, the

middle-part thin and flexible, and _Braces_ intervene between the fore

and hind-part, running between the _Choroeides_ and _Sclerotica_; by

which Means the _Cornea_, and back-part of the Eye, are brought to the

same Conformity, that the rest of the Eye hath.

The great End and Design of this singular and curious _Apparatus_ in

the Eyes, both of Birds and Fishes, I take to be, 1. To enable those

Creatures to see at all Distances, far off, or nigh; which (especially in

the Waters) requireth a different Conformation of the Eye. In Birds also,

this is of great Use, to enable them to see their Food at their Bill’s

End, or to reach the utmost Distances their high Flights enable them

to view; as to see over great Tracts of Sea or Land, whither they have

occasion to fly; or to see their Food or Prey, even small Fishes in the

Waters, and Birds, Worms, _&c._ on the Earth, when they sit upon Trees,

high Rocks, or are hovering high in the Air. 2. To enable those Animals

to adapt their Eye to all the various Refractions of their _Medium_.

Even the Air it self varies the Refractions, according as it is rarer

or denser, more or less compressed; as is manifest from the learned and

ingenious Mr. _Lowthorp_’s Experiment in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 257. and some

other Experiments since of the before-commended Mr. _Hawksbee_, both in

natural, rarify’d and compressed Air; in each of which, the Refractions

constantly varied in exact Proportion to the Rarity or Density of the

Air. _Vid._ _Hawksbee_’s _Exp._ pag. 175, _&c._

Besides this Conformity in general, between the Eyes of Birds and Fishes,

_Du Hamel_ tells us of a singular Conformity in the _Cormorant_’s Eye,

and that is, that the _Crystalline_ is globous, as in Fishes, to enable

it to see and pursue its Prey under Water: Which _J. Faber_, in Mr.

_Willoughby_ saith, they do _with wonderful Swiftness, and for a long

Time_. Will. Ornithol. p. 329.

[ee] The _Crystalline Humour_, when dry’d, doth manifestly enough appear

to be made up of many very thin spherical _Laminæ_, or Scales lying one

upon another. Mr. _Lewenhock_ reckons there may be 2000 of them in one

_Crystalline_, from the outermost to the Center. Every one of these

Scales, he saith, he hath discovered to be made up of one single Fibre,

or finest Thread wound, in a most stupendous Manner, this way, and that

way, so as to run several Courses, and meet in as many Centers, and yet

not to interfere, or cross one another, in any one Place. In _Oxen_,

_Sheep_, _Hogs_, _Dogs_ and _Cats_, the Thread spreads into three several

Courses, and makes as many Centers: In _Whales_ five; but in _Hares_ and

_Rabbets_ only two. In the whole Surface of an _Ox_’s _Crystalline_, he

reckons there are more than 12000 Fibres juxtaposited. For the right and

clear Understanding of the Manner of which admirable Piece of Mechanism,

I shall refer to his Cuts and Descriptions in _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 165.

and 293. The Truth hereof I have heard some ingenious Men question; but

it is what I my self have seen, and can shew to any Body, with the Help

of a good Microscope.

[ff] _S. Malpighi_ observed the Middle of the _optick Nerve_ of the

_Sword-Fish_, to be nothing else but a large Membrane, folded according

to its Length in many Doubles, almost like a Fan, and invested by the

_Dura mater_; whereas in Land-Animals it is a Bundle of Fibres. _V._

_Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 27.

[gg] _Certissimum est, quòd in omnibus Oculis humanis (quos saltem mihi

dissecare contigit) Nervus opticus Pupillæ è diametro apponitur, ~&c.~

Briggs_’s Ophthal. c. 3. §. 15. Ita _Willis de Anim. Brut._ p. 1. c. 15.

_Nervi Optici in nobis, item in Cane, Fele (& in cateris forsan

animalibus calidis) ad fundum Oculi delati Pupilla regioni prospiciunt,

dum interim in aliis Quadrupedibus, uti etiam in Piscibus & Volueribus,

obliquè semper Tunica Sclerotidi inseruntur. Unde, ~&c.~_ _Willis Ib._ c.

7. §. 11.

[hh] _This Pair is united at its Rise; whence is commonly drawn a Reason

why one Eye being mov’d towards an Object, the other is directed also to

the same._ Gibson’s Anat. _Book III. Chap. 11._ So _Bartholine Anat._

Libellus 3. c. 2.

[ii] Among all the other Security the Eye hath, we may reckon the

Reparation of the _aqueous Humour_; by which Means the Eye when

wounded, and that in all Appearance very dangerously too, doth often

recover its Sight: Of which _Bern. Verzascha_ gives divers Examples

ancient and modern. One is from _Galen_, of a Boy so wounded, that the

_Cornea_ fell, and became flaccid, but yet recovered his Sight. Other

such like Instances also he gives from _Realdus Columbus_, _Rhodius_,

and _Tulpius_; and one that he cured himself in these Words, _Ego in

Nobilissimi viri filiolâ similem casum observavi: hæc dum levibus

de causis cum fratre altercaret, iste iracundiâ percitus cultellum

Scriptorium apprehendit, & sororis oculo vulnus infligit, inde humor

aqueus effluxit. Vocatus præsentem Chirurgum jussi sequens collyrium

anodynum & exsiccans tepidè sæpiùs admovere. ~℞~ aq. Plantag. ~℥iv.~

Rosar. Sanicul. Euphras. ~ana~ Trochisc. alb. Rhaf. cum Opio ~℈ii.~

Tutiæ pp. ~℈i.~ Croci orient. ~℈ss. M.~ Hoc Collyrium inflammationem

compescuit, vulnus siccavit & sanavit. Hinc post aliquot menses Humor

aqueus succrevit. Nam visus, sed dibilior, cum summo parentum gaudio

redivit._ B. Verzaschæ Observ. Medicæ. Obs. 14.

Another Cure of this kind, was experimented by Dr. _Daniel Major_, upon a

Goose, Ann. 1670, the _aqueous Humour_ of both whose Eyes they let out,

so that the Eyes fell, and the _Goose_ became quite blind: But without

the Use of any Medicine, in about two Days Time, Nature repaired the

watery Humour again, the Eyes returned to their Former Turgency, and the

_Goose_ was in a Week after produced seeing before twenty eight or thirty

Spectators. _Ephem. Germ._ T. 1. Add. ad. Obs. 117.

From the same Cause, I doubt not, it was that the Eye of a Gentleman’s

Daughter, and those of a Cock, when wounded, so that the _Cornea_ sunk,

were restored by a _Lithuanian_ Chymist, that passed for a Conjurer, by

the Use of a Liquor found in _May_, in the Vesiculæ of _Elm_. Of which

see Mr. _Ray’s Catal. Cantab._ in _Ulmus_ from _Henr. ab Heers_.

[kk] _Palpebræ, quæ sunt tegumenta Oculorum, mollissimæ tactu, nè

lederent aciem, aptissimæ factæ, & ad claudendas Pupillas, nè quid

incideret, & ad aperiendas; idque providit, ut identidem fieri posset cum

maximâ celeritate. Munitæque sunt Palpebræ tanquàm vallo pilorum: quibus

& apertis Oculis, si quid incideret, repelleretur, & somno conniventibus,

cùm Oculis ad cernendum non egerimus, ut qui, tanquàm involuti,

quièscerent. Latent prætereà utiliter, & excelsis undique partibus

sepiuntur. Primùm enim superiora Superciliis obducta sudorem à capitæ,

& fronte destuentem repellunt. Genæ deinde ab inferiore parte tutantur

subjectæ, leviterque eminentes._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. c. 57.

_Tully_, in the Person of a _Stoick_, having so well accounted for

the Use of the _Eye-Lids_, I shall for a further Manifestation of the

Creator’s Contrivance and Structure of them, take notice of two or three

Things: 1. They consist of a thin and flexible, but strong Skin, by which

means they the better wipe, clean, and guard the _Cornea_. 2. Their Edges

are fortified with a soft _Cartilage_, by which means they are not only

enabled the better to do their Office, but also to close and shut the

better. 3. Out of these Cartilages grow a Pallisade of stiff Hairs, of

great Use to warn the Eye of the Invasion of Dangers, to keep off Motes,

and to shut out too excessive Light, _&c._ and at the same time to admit

of (through their Intervals) a sufficient Passage for Objects to approach

the Eye. And it is remarkable, that these Hairs grow but to a certain,

commodious Length, and need no cutting, as many other Hairs of the Body

do: Also, that their Points stand out of the way, and in the upper-lid

bend upwards, as they do downwards in the lower lid, whereby they are

well adapted to their Use. From which last Observables, we may learn how

critical and nice the great Author of Nature hath been, in even the least

and most trivial Conveniencies belonging to Animal Bodies; for which

Reason I have added it to _Tully_’s Remarks. And more might have been

added too, as particularly concerning the curious Structure and Lodgment

of the _Right Muscle_, which opens the Eye-Lids; and the _Orbicularis_,

or _Circular_ one, that shuts them; the nice _Apparatus_ of Glands that

keep the Eye moist, and serve for _Tears_; together with the Reason why

Man alone, who is a social Animal, doth exhibit his social Affections

by such outward Tokens as _Tears_; the _Nerves_ also, and other Organs

acting in this Ministry. I might also speak of the Passages for

discharging the superfluous Moisture of the Eyes through the Nostrils,

and much more of the like kind. But it would take up too much Room in

these Notes; and therefore it shall suffice to give only such Hints as

may create a Suspicion of a noble Œconomy and Contrivance in this (I had

almost said) least considerable part of the Eye. But for Particulars I

shall refer to the Anatomists; and for some of these Things, particularly

to Dr. _Willis_’s _Cereb. Anat._ and _de Anim. Brut._ and Mr. _Cowper_’s

Elegant Cuts in the 11ᵗʰ _Tab._ of his _Anatomy_.

To the Eye-Lids we may add another Guard afforded the Eyes of most

Quadrupeds, Birds, and Fishes, by the _nictitating Membrane_, which Dr.

_Willis_ gives this Account of, _Plurimis ~[Animalibus]~ quibus Musculus

suspensorius adest_ (which Limitation he needed not to have added)

_etiam alter Membranosus conceditur, qui juxta interiorem oculi canthum

situs, quando elevatur, Oculi globum ferè totum obtegit. Hujus usus esse

videtur, ut cùm Bestiæ inter gramina, ~&c.~ capita sua propter victum

capessendum demergunt, hic Musculus Oculi Pupillam, nè à stipularum

incursu seriatur, oculit, munitque._ De Anim. Brut. p. 1. c. 15.

This Membrane Man hath not, he having little Occasion to thrust his

Head into such Places of Annoyance, as Beasts and other Animals; or if

he hath, he can defend his Eyes with his Hands. But Birds (who frequent

Trees and Bushes) and Quadrupeds, (Hedges and long Grass) and who have no

part ready, like the Hand, to fence off Annoyances; these, I say, have

this incomparable Provision made for the Safety of their Eyes. And for

Fishes, as they are destitute of Eye-Lids, because in the Waters there is

no occasion for a Defensative against Dust and Motes, offensive to the

Eyes of Land Animals, nor to moisten and wipe the Eyes, as the Eye-Lids

do, so the _Nictitating-Membrane_ is an abundant Provision for all their

Occasions, without the Addition of the Eye-Lids.

And now, if we reflect, are these the Works of any Thing but a wise and

indulgent Agent?

[ll] Although the Hardness and Firmness of the _Adnata_, or _Sclerotica_

in Birds, is a good Guard to their Eyes, yet I do not think it is made

thus, so much for a Defence, as to minister to the lengthning and

shortning the Eye, mentioned before in _Note (cc)._

[mm] _Cochleis oculorum vicem Cornicula bina pratentu implent._ Plin.

Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. See more of the Eyes of _Snails_ before in _Note

(k)_; and in _Note (l)_, I said that I suspected _Moles_ also might

thrust out, or withdraw their Eyes more or less within the Hair or Skin.

[nn] The diligent _Sturmius_ was fully persuaded there could not be any

speculative Atheism in any one that should well survey the Eye. _Nobis_,

saith he, _fuit persuasissimum. Atheismum, quem vocant speculativum, h.

e. obsirmatam de Deitate in Universo nullâ persuasionem, habere locum

aut inveniri non posse in eo homine, qui vel unius corporis organici, &

speciatim Oculi fabricam attento animo aspexerit._ Sturm. Exerc. Acad. 9.

De Vis. Organ. & Rat. in Epilogo.

[oo] The glorious Landskips, and other Objects that present themselves

to the Eye, are manifestly painted on the _Retina_, and that not erect,

but inverted as the Laws of Opticks require; and is manifest to the Eye

from _Monsieur Cartes_’s Experiment, of laying bare the vitreous Humour

on the back part of the Eye, and clapping over it a Bit of white Paper,

or the Skin of an Egg; and then placing the fore-part of the Eye to the

Hole of the Window of a darkned Room. By which means we have a pretty

Landskip of the Objects abroad invertedly painted on the Paper, on the

back of the Eye. But now the Question is, How in this Case the Eye comes

to see the Objects erect? _Monsieur Cartes_’s Answer is, _Notitia illius

ex nullâ imagine pendet, nec ex ullâ actione ab objectis veniente, sed ex

solo situ exiguarum partium cerebri, è quibus Nervi expullulant.——E.g.

cogitandum in Oculo——situm capillamenti nervi optici——respondere ad

alium quendam partis cerebri——qui facit ut Anima singula loca cognoscat,

quæ jacent in rectâ, aut quasi rectâ lineæ; ut ita mirari non debeamus

corpora in naturali situ videri, quamvis imago in oculo delineata

contrarium habeat._ Dioptr. c. 6. But our most ingenious Mr. _Molyneux_

answereth thus, _The Eye is only the Organ or Instrument, ’tis the Soul

that sees by means of the Eye. To enquire then how the Soul perceives

the Object erect, by an inverted Image, is to enquire into the Soul’s

Faculties——But erect and inverted are only Terms of Relation to up and

down; or farther from, or nigher to the Center of the Earth, in Parts

of the same Thing.——But the Eye, or visive Faculty takes no notice of

the internal Posture of its own Parts, but useth them as an Instrument

only, contrived by Nature for the Exercise of such a Faculty.——Let us

imagine, that the Eye ~(on its lower Part)~ receives an Impulse ~[by a

Ray from the upper part of the Object]~ must not the visive Faculty be

necessarily directed hereby to consider this Stroke, as coming from the

top rather than the bottom ~[of the Object]~ and consequently be directed

to conclude it the Representation of the top? Hereof we may be satisfied,

by supposing a Man standing on his Head. For here, though the upper Parts

of Objects are painted on the upper Parts of the Eye, yet the Objects are

judged to be erect. What is said of Erect and Reverse, may be understood

of Sinister and Dexter._ Molyneux’s Dioptr. Nov. Part I. Prop. 28.

CHAP. III.

_Of the Sense of Hearing._

Concerning the Sense of _Hearing_, I shall take notice of two Things, the

Organ, the _Ear_; and its Object, _Sound_.

I. For the Organ, the _Ear_; I shall pass by its convenient Number of

being double, which (as in the last Sense) serves for the commodious

Hearing every way round us; as also a wise Provision for the utter Loss

or Injury[a] of one of the Ears. But I shall a little insist upon its

Situation, and its admirable Fabrick and Parts.

1. It is situated in the most convenient Part of the Body, (like as I

said the Eye is) in a Part near the common Sensory in the Brain, to give

the more speedy Information; in a Part where it can be best guarded, and

where it is most free from Annoyances and Harms it self, and where it

gives the least Annoyance and Hindrance to the Exercises of any other

Part; in a Part appropriated to the peculiar Use of the principal Senses,

in the most lofty, eminent Part of the Body, where it can perceive the

most Objects, and receive the greatest Information: And lastly, in a

Part in the Neighbourhood of its Sister Sense the Eye, with whom it

hath peculiar and admirable Communication by its Nerves, as I intend to

shew in its proper Place. In respect then of its Situation and Place in

the Body, this Sense is well designed and contrived, and may so far be

accounted the Work of some admirable Artist. But,

2. If we survey its Fabrick and Parts, it will appear to be an admirable

Piece of the Divine Wisdom, Art, and Power. For the Manifestation of

which, let us distinctly survey the outward and the inward Part of its

curious Organ.

1. For the _outward Ear_: If we observe its Structure in all Kinds of

Animals, it must needs be acknowledged to be admirably Artificial,

it being so nicely prepared, and adjusted to the peculiar Occasions

of each respective Animal. In Man[b], it is of a Form proper for the

erect Posture of his Body. In Birds, of a Form proper for Flight; not

protuberant, because that would obstruct their Progress, but close and

covered, to afford the easier Passage through the Air. In Quadrupeds,

its Form is agreeable to the Posture, and slower Motion of their Bodies;

and in these too, various, according to their various Occasions. In some

large, erect, and open, to hear the least Approaches of Dangers[c],

in others covered, to keep out noxious Bodies. In the Subterraneous

Quadrupeds, who are forced to mine, and dig for their Food and

Habitation, as a protuberant Ear, like that of other Quadrupeds, would

obstruct their Labours, and be apt to be torn and injured; so they have

the contrary[d], their Ears short, lodged deep and backward in their

Head, and passing to the under Part thereof, and all sufficiently fenced

and guarded. And as for Insects, Reptiles, and the Inhabitants of the

Waters, if they enjoy this Sense, (as there is great Reason to think they

do,) it may probably be lodged commodiously under the same Security and

Guard, as the Smelling, or some other Sense is.

And moreover, as the Form of this Organ is various in various Animals,

so in each of them its Structure is very curious and observable, being

in all admirably contrived to collect the wandering, circumambient

Impressions, and Undulations of Sound, and to convey them to the Sensory

within. If I should run over the several _Genera_ of Animals, we might

find a notable Prospect of the handy-work of God[e], even in this so

inconsiderable Part of Animals. But I shall only carry my Survey to that

of Man. And here the first Thing that offereth it self to our View, is

the _Helix_, with its tortuous Cavities, made to stop, and collect the

sonorous Undulations, to give them a gentle Circulation and Refraction,

and so convey them to the _Concha_, or larger and more capacious round

Cell at the Entrance of the Ear. And to bridle the Evagation of the

Sound, when arrived so far, but withal not to make a Confusion thereof,

by any disagreeable Repercussions, we may take notice of a very curious

Provision in those little Protuberances, called the _Tragus_, and

_Antitragus_ of the outward Ear, of a commodious Form and Texture[f], and

conveniently lodged for this Use. The great Convenience and Benefit of

this Form and Contrivance of the outward Ear, is sufficiently manifest

by the want thereof, which causeth a _Confusion in the Hearing, with a

certain Murmur, or Swooing like the Fall of Waters_[g].

Another wise Provision of the Creator, is in the Substance of the outward

Ear, which is cartilaginous, the fittest for this Place. For (as an

ingenious Anatomist[h] observes) “If it had been Bone, it would have been

troublesome, and might by many Accidents have been broken off: If Flesh,

it would have been subject to Contusion”. But indeed a worse Consequence

than this would have ensu’d such a Softness as that of Flesh, and that

is, it would neither have remain’d expanded, neither would it so kindly

receive and circulate the Sounds, but absorb, retard, or blunt their

Progress into the inward Organ. But being hard, and curiously smooth and

tortuous, Sounds find an easie Passage, with a regular Volutation and

Refraction: As in a well-built Arch, Grotto, or musical Instrument, which

magnify and meliorate Sounds; and some of which convey even a Whisper to

a large Distance[i]: But from the outward, let us carry our Survey,

2. To the inward Part of this admirable Organ. And here we find the

most curious and artful Provision for every Emergency and Occasion. The

_auditory Passage_, in the first Place, curiously tunnelled, and artfully

turned, to give Sounds an easie Passage, as well as a gentle Circulation

and Refraction; but withal, so as to prevent their too furious rushing

in, and assaulting the more tender Parts within.

And forasmuch as it is necessary that this Passage should be always

open, to be upon the Watch[k]; therefore to prevent the Invasion of

noxious Insects, or other Animals, (who are apt to make their retreat in

every little Hole), Nature hath secured this Passage[l], with a bitter

nauseous Excrement[m], afforded from the Glands[n] appointed for that

Purpose.

From hence let us approach the most inward Parts, in which we shall see

Strokes of the most exquisite Art. To pass over the _innate Air_, that

most Authors talk of[o], (because there is no such) the passage to the

Palate[p], and their Uses, with divers other curious Things that might

be named; let us stop a little at the Part containing the rest, namely,

the Bone[q]. The particular Texture and Hardness of which, above other

Bones of the Body, is very remarkable; whereby it serves not only as a

substantial Guard to the Sensory, but also to oppose the Impulses of the

ætherial Matter, that there may be no loss, nor Confusion in the Sound;

but that it may be conveyed regularly, and intirely to the auditory

Nerves.

The next Part I shall take Notice of, may be that fine Membrane, called

the _Tympanum_, or _Membrana Tympani_[r], with its inner Membrane[s];

together with the four little appendent Bones[t], and the three inner

Muscles to move them, and adjust the whole _Compages_ to the several

Purposes of Hearing, to hear all Manner of Sounds, loud or languid,

harsh or grateful[u].

From this Region of the _Tympanum_, I might pass to that of the

_Labyrinth_[w], and therein survey the curious and admirable Structure

of the _Vestibulum_, the _Semicircular Canals_[x], and _Cochlea_;

particularly the artificial Gyrations, and other singular Curiosities

observable in the two latter.

But I shall not expatiate on these recluse Parts; only there is one

special Contrivance of the Nerves, ministring to this Sense of Hearing,

which must not be passed by; and that is, the Branches of one of the

_auditory Nerves_[y], spread partly to the Muscles of the Ear, partly to

the Eye, partly to the Tongue and Instruments of Speech, and inosculated

with the Nerves to go to the Heart and Breast. By which Means there is an

admirable, and useful Content between these Parts of the Body; it being

natural for most Animals, upon the Hearing any uncouth Sound, to erect

their Ears, and prepare them to catch every Sound; to open their Eyes

(those constant faithful Sentinels) to stand upon their Watch; and to

be ready with the Mouth to call out, or utter what the present Occasion

shall dictate. And accordingly it is very usual for most Animals, when

surpriz’d, and terrify’d with any Noise, presently to shriek and cry out.

But there is besides this, in Man, another great Use of this nervous

Commerce between the Ear and Mouth: And that is, (as one of the best

Authors on this Subject expresseth it)[z], “That the Voice may correspond

with the Hearing, and be a kind of Echo thereof, that what is _heard_

with _one_ of the two Nerves, may be readily expressed with the Voice, by

the help of the _other_.”

Thus much shall suffice to have spoken concerning the Organ. Let us,

II. Take Notice of the _Object_ of this admirable Sense, namely, _Sound_;

and so conclude this Chapter. I shall not here enquire into the Nature

and Properties of _Sound_, which is in a great Measure intricate, and

hath puzzelled the best Naturalists: Neither shall I shew how this

admirable Effect of the divine Contrivance, may be improv’d to divers

Uses[aa] and Purposes in humane Life; but my Business will be to shew

that this Thing, of so admirable Use in the animal World, is the Work of

God. And this will appear, let the subject Matter of Sounds be what it

will; either the Atmosphere[bb] in Gross, or the ætherial Part thereof,

or soniferous Particles of Bodies, as some fancy, or whatever else the

Philosopher may think it. For who but an intelligent Being, what less

than an omnipotent and infinitely wise God could contrive, and make

such a fine Body, such a Medium, so susceptible of every Impression,

that the Sense of Hearing hath occasion for, to empower all Animals to

express their Sense and Meaning to others; to make known their Fears,

their Wants, their Pains and Sorrows in melancholick Tones; their Joys

and Pleasures in more harmonious Notes; to send their Minds at great

Distances[cc], in a short Time[dd], in loud Boations; or to express their

Thoughts near at hand with a gentle Voice, or in secret Whispers! And to

say no more, who less than the same most wise and indulgent Creator,

could form such an Oeconomy, as that of Melody and Musick is! That the

_Medium_ should (as I said) so readily receive every Impression of

Sound, and convey the melodious Vibration of every musical String, the

harmonious Pulses of every animal Voice, and of every musical Pipe; and

the Ear be as well adapted, and ready to receive all these Impressions,

as the _Medium_ to convey them: And lastly, that by Means of the curious

Lodgment, and Inosculations of the _auditory Nerves_ before-mentioned,

the Orgasms of the Spirits should be allay’d, and Perturbations of the

Mind, in a great Measure quieted and stilled[ee]: Or to express it in

the Words of the last-cited famous Author[ff], “That Musick should not

only affect the Fancy with Delight; but also give Relief to the Grief and

Sadness of the Heart; yea, appease all those turbulent Passions, which

are excited in the Breast by an immoderate Ferment, and Fluctuation of

the Blood”.

And now, who can reflect upon all this curious Apparatus of the _Sense of

Hearing_, and not give the great Creator his due Praise! Who can survey

all this admirable Work, and not as readily own it to be the Work of an

omnipotent, and infinitely wise and good _GOD_[gg], as the most artful

Melodies we hear, are the Voice or Performances of a living Creature!

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] I presume it will not be ungrateful to take notice here of the

admirable, as well as useful Sagacity of some deaf Persons, that have

learnt to supply their want of _Hearing_ by understanding what is said

by the Motion of the Lips. My very ingenious Friend Mr. _Waller_, _R. S.

Secr._ gives this Account, _There live now and have from their Birth,

in our Town, a Man and his Sister, each about fifty Years old, neither

of which have the least Sense of Hearing,——yet both of these know, by

the Motion of the Lips only, whatever is said to them, and will answer

pertinently to the Question proposed to them——The Mother told me they

could hear very well, and speak when they were Children, but both lost

that Sense afterwards, which makes them retain their Speech; though

that, to Persons not used to them, is a little uncouth and odd, but

intelligible enough._ Phil. Trans. No. 312.

Such another Instance is that of Mr. _Goddy_, Minister of St. _Gervais_

in _Geneva_, his Daughter. _She is now about sixteen Years old. Her Nurse

had an extraordinary Thickness of Hearing; at a Year old, the Child spake

all those little Words that Children begin to speak at that Age.——At two

Years old, they perceived she had lost her Hearing, and was so Deaf, that

ever since, though she hears great Noises, yet she hears nothing that one

can speak to her.——But by observing the Motions of the Mouth and Lips

of others, she hath acquired so many Words, that out of these she hath

formed a sort of Jargon, in which she can hold Conversation whole Days

with those that can speak her own Language. I could understand some of

her Words, but could not comprehend a Period, for it seemed to be but a

confused Noise. She knows nothing that is said to her, unless she seeth

the Motion of their Mouths that speak to her; so that in the Night, when

it is necessary to speak to her, they must light a Candle. Only one thing

appeared the strangest part of the whole Narration: She hath a Sister,

with whom she hath practised her Language more than with any other: And

in the Night, by laying her Hand on her Sister’s Mouth, she can perceive

by that what she saith, and so can discourse with her in the Night._

Bishop _Burnet_’s Let. 4. p. 248.

[b] I cannot but admire that our most eminent modern Anatomists should

not agree, whether there be any Muscles in the outward Ear of Man or

not. Dr. _Keil_ saith there are two; Dr. _Drake_ the same Number; and

Dr. _Gibson_ makes them to be four. So also doth _Monsieur Dionis_, and

so did the ancient Anatomists: But Dr. _Schelhammer_ expressly denies

there are any, and saith, _Seduxit autem reliquos Brutorum Anatome,

in quorum plerisque tales Musculi plures inveniuntur; putârunt autem

fortassis ignominiosum Homini, si non & his instructus esset, & minùs

inde perfectum animal fore._ Schel. de Auditu p. 1. c. 1. §. 7. But

_Valsalva_, who wrote very lately, and is very accurate in his Survey

of the Ear, saith, _Musculi auriculæ posteriores quandoque quatuor,

quandoque duo; sed ut plurimùm tres adnotantur; & quando solùm duo se

manifestant, tunc unus ex illis duplicato tendine versùs Concham deferri

solet. Horum musculorum in numero varietatem non solùm in diversis; verùm

etiam in eodem subjecto quandoque vidi——Ex quibus differentiis subortæ

sunt Auctorum discrepantiæ in horum Musculorum numero, & positu:——quod

non evenisset, si pluries in diversis Corporibus iidem Musculi quæsiti

essent._ Ant. Mar. _Valsalva de Aur. Human._ c. 1. §. 6. But Dr. _Drake_

thinks some of _Valsalva_’s Muscles the Product of Fancy. Mr. _Cowper_

makes them to be three, one _Attollent_, and two _Retrabent Muscles_. See

_Anat._ Tab. 12.

[c] _Inter cætera ~[animalia aurita]~ maximè admirabilis est auris

leporinæ fabrica, quod cùm timidissimum animal sit, & prorsus inerme,

natura id tum auditu acurissimo, tanquam hostium exploratore ad

perfentienda pericula, tum pedibus ceu armis ad currendum aptis munisse

videtur._ A. Kircher’s _Phonurg._ l. 1. §. 7. Technas. 2.

[d] _Moles_ have no protuberant Ear, but only a round Hole between the

Neck and Shoulder; which Situation of it, together with the thick,

short Fur that covers it, is a sufficient Defensative against external

Annoyances. The _Meatus Auditorius_ is long, round and cartilaginous,

reaching to the under part of the Skull. Round the inside runs a little

Ridge, resembling two Threads of a Skrew; at the Bottom whereof is a

pretty Inlet, leading to the Drum, made, on one side with the aforesaid

cochleous Ridge, and on the other, with a small Cartilage. I observed

there was _Cerumen_ in the _Meatus_.

As to the _inner Ear_, it is somewhat singular, and different from that

of the other Quadrupeds, and much more from Birds, although I have met

with some Authors that make it agreeing with that of Birds. There are

three small Bones only (all hollow) by which the _Drum_ (to use the

old Appellation) or the _Membrana Tympani_ (as others call it) acteth

upon the _Auditory Nerve_. The first is the _Malleus_, which hath two

Processes nearly of equal Length; the longer of which is braced to

the _Membrana Tympani_, the shorter to the side of the _Drum_ or _Os

Petrosum_; the back part of it resembles the Head and Stalk of a small

_Mushroom_, such as are pickled. On the back of the _Malleus_ lies the

next small Bone, which may be called the _Incus_, long, and without any

Process, having somewhat the Form of the short Scoop wherewith Water-men

throw the Water out of their Wherries. To the end of this the third and

last small Bone is tacked by a very tender Brace. This little Bone bears

the Office of the _Stapes_, but is only forked without any Base. One of

these Forks is at one _Fenestra_, or _Foramen_, the other at another; in

which _Fenestra_ I apprehend the Forks are tacked to the Auditory Nerve.

These _Fenestra_ (equivalent to the _Fenestra Ovalis_, and _Rotunda_ in

others) are the Inlets into the _Cochlea_ and _Canales Semicirculares_,

in which the _Auditory Nerve_ lieth. The _Semicircular Canales_ lie at a

distance from the _Drum_, and are not lodged (as in other Animals) in a

strong, thick Body of Bone, but are thrust out, within the Skull, making

an _Antrum_, with an handsome _Arch_ leading into it, into which a part

of the Brain enters.

One Leg of the _Malleus_ being fastned to the _Membrana Tympani_, and the

_Incus_ to the back of the _Malleus_, and the top of that to the top of

the _Stapes_, and the Forks or Branches of the _Stapes_ to the _Auditory

Nerve_, I observed that whenever I moved the Membrane, all the little

Bones were at the same time moved, and consequently the _Auditory Nerve_

thereby affected also.

I hope the Reader will excuse me for being so particular in this Organ

only of the _Mole_, a despised Creature, but as notable an Example of

_God_’s Work, as its Life is different from that of other Quadrupeds; for

which Reason it partly is that I have enlarged on this part differing

from that of others, and which no Body that I know of, hath taken much

notice of, and which is not discoverable without great Patience and

Application; and partly because by comparing these Observations with

_Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)_, we may judge how the Sense of Hearing is

performed.

[e] _Among many Varieties, both in the inner and outer Ear, those which

appear in the Passage into the Rock-Bone, are remarkable. For in an ~Owl~,

that perches on a Tree or Beam, and hearkens after the Prey beneath

her, it is produced farther out above than it is below, for the better

Reception of the least Sound. But in a Fox, that scouteth underneath the

Prey at Roost; it is for the same Reason, produced farther out below. In

a ~Pole-Cat~, which hearkens strait forward, it is produced behind, for

the taking of a forward Sound. Whereas in a ~Hare~, which is very quick

of Hearing, and thinks of nothing but being pursued, it is supplied with

a bony Tube, which as a natural Otocoustick, is so directed backward, as

to receive the smallest and most distant Sound that comes behind her._

Grew’s Cosmolog. Sacr. _lib. 1. c. 5. §. 6_.

[f] The Texture of the _Tragus_ and _Antitragus_, is softer than that of

the _Helix_, which serveth gently to blunt, not forcibly to repel the

Sound in the _Concha_.

[g] Dr. _Gibson_’s Anatomy, _Chap. 22. Book III_.

_Those whose Ears are cut off, have but a confused way of Hearing, and

are obliged either to form a Cavity round the Ear with their own Hands,

or else to make use of a Horn, and apply the end of it to the inner

Cavity of the Ear, on order to receive the agitated Air. ’Tis likewise

observed, that those whose Ears jut out, hear better than flat-eared

Persons_. Monsieur Dionis’s _Anat. Demonstr. 8_.

[h] _Gibs._ Ibid.

[i] It would nauseate the Reader to reckon up the Places famed for the

Conveyance of Whispers, such as the Prison of _Dionysius_ at _Syracuse_,

which is said to encrease a Whisper to a Noise; the clapping ones Hands

to the Sound of a Cannon, &c. Nor the _Aquaducts_ of _Claudius_, which

carry a Voice sixteen Miles, and many others both Ancient and Modern. If

the Reader hath a mind to be entertained in this way, he may find enough

in _Kircher_’s _Phonurgia_. But it may not be irksome to mention one or

two of our own in _England_. Among which, one of the most famed is the

_Whispering-Place_ in _Gloucester Cathedral_, which is no other than a

Gallery above the East-end of the Choir, leading from one side thereof

to the other. It consisteth, (if I mistake not) of five Angles, and six

Sides, the middle-most of which is a naked, uncovered Window, looking

into a Chapel behind it. I guess the two Whisperers stand at about twenty

five Yards Distance from one another. But the _Dome_ of St. _Paul_’s,

_London_, is a more considerable _Whispering-Place_, where the ticking

of a Watch (when no Noise is in the Streets) may be heard from Side to

Side; yea, a Whisper may be sent all round the _Dome_. And not only in

the Gallery below, but above, upon the Scaffold, I tried, and found that

a Whisper would be carried over one’s Head round the top of the Arch,

notwithstanding there is a large Opening in the middle of it into the

upper part of the _Dome_.

[k] _Auditus autem semper patet: ejus enim sensu etiam dormientes egemus:

A quo cùm sonus est acceptus, etiam è somno excitamur. Flexuosum iter

habet, nè quid intrare possit, si simplex, & directum pateret; provisum

etiam, ut siqua minima bestiola conaretur irrumpere, in sordibus aurium,

tanquàm in visco, inhæresceret._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 57.

It deserves a particular Remark here, that in Infants in the Womb, and

newly born, the _Meatus Auditorius_ is shut up very closely, partly by

the Constriction of the Passage, and partly by a glutinous Substance,

whereby the _Tympanum_ is guarded against the Water in the _Secundine_,

and against the Injuries of the Air as soon as the Infant is born.

[l] It is remarkable, that in most, if not all Animals, whose Ears are

tunnelled, or where the _Meatus Auditorius_ is long enough to afford

Harbour to _Ear-wigs_, or other Insects; that, I say, in the Ears of

such, _Ear-wax_ is constantly to be found. But in Birds, whose Ears are

covered with Feathers, and where the _Tympanum_ lies but a little way

within the Skull, no _Ear-wax_ is found, because none is necessary to the

Ears so well guarded, and so little tunnelled.

[m] The _Ear-wax_ was thought by the old Anatomists to be an Excrement of

the Brain: _Humor biliosus à cerebro expugnatus_, the _Bartholines_ say

of it, l. 3. _c. 9._ But as _Schelhammer_ well observes, _Nil absurdius,

quàm cerebri excrementum hoc statuere. Nam & ratio nulla suadet, ut in

cerebro fieri excrementum tale credamus:——neque viæ patent per quas ab eo

seclusum in meatum auditorium possit inde penetrare._ As to its Taste,

_Casserius_ gives Instances of its being sweet in some Creatures. But

_Schelhammer_ says, _Ego verò semper, cum amaritie aliquid dulcedinis in

illo deprehendi_. Vid. Schel. de Audit. _p. 1. c. 2. §. 10_. But I could

never distinguish any Sweetness in it; but think it insipid mixed with a

Bitterness.

[n] _Cerumina amara Arteriolis exudantia._ Willis de Anim. Brut. _par.

1. c. 14_. _In the Skin——are little Glands, which furnish a yellow and

bitter Humour._ Monsieur Dionis’s Dem. 18. An handsome Cut of those

_Glandulæ ceruminosæ_ is in Dr. _Drake_, from _Valsalva_.

_Pliny_ attributes a great Virtue to the _Ear-wax_; _Morsus hominis inter

asperrimos numeratur: medentur sordes ex auribus: ac ne quis miretur,

etiam Scorpionum ictibus Serpentiumque statim impositæ._ Plin. Nat. Hist.

_l. 28. c. 4_. And that it hath an healing Quality, and may be accounted

a good Balsam, I my self have experienced.

[o] That there is such a Thing as the _innate Air_, (talked of much by

most Authors on this Subject) _Schelhammer_ very justly, I think, denies,

by Reason there is a Passage into the inner Ear from the Throat, through

which the _innate Air_ may pass out, and the outward Air enter in. _V._

_Par. Alt._ p. 2. c. 1. §. 10. When by stopping our Breath, and Straining,

we force the external Air into the Ear, it may be heard rushing in; and

if much be forced in, it may be felt also to beat against the _Tympanum_.

When the Passage to the Throat is by any Means stopp’d, as by a Cold in

the Head, &c. the Hearing thereby becomes dull and blunt; by Reason the

Communication between the outward and inward Air are obstructed: But when

by strong Swallowing, or such-like Motion of the Throat, the Passage is

opened, we perceive it by a sudden Smack or Crack, and we immediately

hear very clearly; the load of feculent Air being at that Time discharged

from the inner Ear.

It is a wise Provision, that the Passage for the Air into the Ear, is

from the Throat; _Ut non statim quivis aer externus irrumpere queat_ (as

_Schelhammer_ saith, _Par. Ult. c. 4. §. 8._) _sed nonnihil immutatus, ac

temperatus, calore ex medio ventre exspirante; imò fortassis non facilè

alius, nisi ex pulmonibus._

[p] _Valsalva_ hath given us a more accurate Description of the _Tuba

Eustachiana_, or _Passage to the Palate_, than any other Author, to whom

I therefore refer, _De Aur. Human._ c. 2. §. 16, _&c._

The chief Use hereof, he thinks, is to give way to the inner Air, upon

every Motion of the _Membrana Tympani_, the _Malleus_, _Incus_ and

_Stapes_. This Passage, if it be shut up, Deafness ensues: Of which he

gives two Instances: One a Gentleman, who lost his Hearing by a Polypus

in the Nose reaching to the _Uvula_; the other a Yeoman, labouring with

an Ulcer above the left Side of the _Uvula_; which when he stopt with

a Tent dipped in Medicine, he lost his Hearing in the left Ear, and

recovered it, as soon as the Tent was out. _Ibid. c. 5. §. 10._

[q] Os [petrosum] _ex quo interiores ~[Labyrinthi]~ cavitatum parietes

conflati sunt, album, durissimum, necnon maximè compactum. Id autem à

Naturâ ita comparatum esse videtur, ut materia ætherea Sonorum objectorum

impressionibus onusta, dum prædictis impingitur Parietibus, nihil aut

saltem ferè nihil motûs sui amittat, atque adeò illum qualem ab Objectis

sonoris accepit, talem communicet spiritui animali contento intra

expansiones rami mollioris Nervorum auris._ Dr. _Raym. Vieussens_ of

_Montpellier_, in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 258.

[r] The _Tympanum_ of the Ear, or as _Valsalva_ and the Moderns, the

_Membrana Tympani_ was taken notice of as early as _Hippocrates_’s Time.

In Birds, it is strained towards the outward Parts; in other Animals

towards the Brain, or inner Parts. Monsieur _Dionis_ saith, _It is not

equally fastened to the whole Circumference of the bony Circle, in which

it is inchased; for on the upper Side it hath a free disengaged Part,

by which some can give vent to the Smoak in their Mouth._ Demonstr. 8.

That there is some Passage I doubt not, but I question whether Monsieur

_Dionis_ ever saw the disengaged Part he mentions. I have my self

carefully searched divers Subjects, and do not remember to have seen any

such Passage; and I perceive it escaped the diligent _Schelhammer_’s Eye.

_Valsalva_ also by injecting in through the _Tuba Eustachiana_, could

not force any Liquor into the _Meatus Auditorius_; but yet he imagines

he found the Passage out in another Place of the Drum, in some morbid,

and one sound Head. _Valsalv. de Aur. Hum._ c. 2. §. 8. Mr. _Cowper_ also

affirms there is a Passage by the upper Part of the Membrane. _Anat. Ap._

Fig. 8.

[s] Dr. _Vieussens_, before-named, discovered a Membrane,

_tenuissimæ raræque admodùm texturæ intra cavitatem Tympani_; as

he describes it. Whose use he saith is, _1. Occludens Labyrinthi

januam impedit nè naturalis purissimus ac subtilissimus Aer intra

cavitates——communicationem——habeat cum aere crasso. 2. Labyrinthi basin

calefacit, ~&c.~ ubi supra._ Probably this double Membrane may be such,

or after the same Manner as it is in the _Tympanum_ of Birds: Of which

see my Observations in _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)._

[t] The four little Bones being treated of by all that have concerned

themselves about this Sense of Hearing, since their Discovery, I shall

take Notice of only two Things concerning them. 1. The Discovery of them

is owing wholly to the Diligence and Sagacity of the latter Ages; of

which _Schelhammer_ gives this Account from _Fallopius_, _Hæc Officula

antiquis Anatomicis——ignota fuere; primusque qui in lucem produxit

~[Malleum & Incum]~ fuit Jac. Carpensis; primus quoque procul omni dubio

Anatomicæ artis, quam Vesalius posteà perfecit, restaurator. Tertium

~[Stapedem]~ invenit ac promulgavit primus Joh. Phil. ab Ingrassia,

Siculus, Philosophus ac Medicus doctissimus. Quartum, Thomâ Bartholin.

teste, viro longè celeberrimo, Fran. Sylvio debetur_ Schel. _ubi supr._

c. 3. §. 9. 2. Their Difference in Animals: In _Man_, and _Quadrupeds_,

they are four, curiously inarticulated with one another; with an external

and internal Muscle to draw, or work them, in extending, or relaxing the

_Drum_; but in _Fowls_ the Case is very different: _His unum Ossiculum

solùm largita est Natura, quod Collumellam fortè appellaveris: teres enim

est & subtilissimum, basi innitens latiori, rotundæ. Huic adnexa est

cartilago valde mobilis, quæ in Tympanum videtur terminari._ Id. Ib. §.

8. _In the Ears of all the Fowl that I could examine, I never found any

more than one Bone, and a Cartilage, making a Joynt with it, that was

easily moveable. The Cartilage had generally an Epiphyse, or two, one on

each Side.——The Bone was very hard and small, having at the end of it a

broad Plate, of the same Substance, very thin, upon which it rested, as

on its Basis._ Dr. _Al. Moulen_ in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 100.

These are the most material Things I find observed by others, concerning

the Ears of Fowls, and some of them hardly, I believe, observed before.

To which I shall subjoyn some other Things I have my self discovered,

that I presume escaped the Eyes of those most curious and inquisitive

Anatomists. Of which the last cited _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (d)._

[u] _Videtur quòd Tympanum Auditionis instrumentum præliminare, & quasi

præparatorium fuerit, quad Soni impressionem, sive species sensibiles

primo suscipiens, eas in debitâ proportione, & aptâ conformitate, versùs

Sensorium, quod adhuc interiùs situm est, dirigat: simili officio

fungitur respectu Auditûs, ac tunicæ Oculi Pupillam constituentes,

respectu Visûs; utræque Membranæ Species sensibiles refringunt & quasi

emolliunt, easque Sensorio non nisi proportionatas tradunt, cui nudo si

adveniant, teneriorem ejus crasin facilè lædant, aut obruant. Reverà

Tympanum non audit, sed meliori tutiorique Auditioni confert. Si hæc pars

destruatur, Sensio adhuc aliquamdiu, rudi licèt modo, peragi possit;

quippe experimento olim in Cane facto, ~&c.~——Janitoris officio ut

Tympanum rectè defungi possit, expansum ejus pro datâ occasione stringi,

aut relaxari debet, veluti nimirùm Oculi Pupilla——Quapropter huic Auris

Tympano, non secus ac bellico, machinæ sive tæniæ quædam apponuntur,

quæ superficiem ejus modò tensiorem, modò laxiorem reddant: hoc enim

efficiunt tria Ossicula, cum Musculo, ~&c.~_ _Willis_’s de Anim. Brut. c.

14.

For this Opinion of Dr. _Willis_, Dr. _Schelhammer_ is very severe upon

him, deriding the Refractions he speaks of; and therefore seriously

proves that they are the Humours, not Tunicks of the Eye, that refract

the Rays of Light; and then jeeringly demandeth, Whether the sonorous

Rays are refracted by passing through a different Medium? Whether the

Convexity or Concavity of the Drum collects those Rays into a focal

Point, or scatters them? _&c._ And then saith, _Ob has rationes à

clariss. Viri, ac de re Medicâ præclarè meriti, sententiâ non possumus

non esse alieniores; in quo uti ingenium admiror, quoties medicamentorum

vires, aut morborum causas explicat, sic ubi forum suum egressus,

Philosophum agit, ac vel Partium usum, vel Chymicarum rerum naturam

scrutetur, ejus haud semel non modò judicium desidero, verùm aliquando

etiam fidem._ This is so severe and unjust a Censure of our truly

famous Countryman, (a Man of known Probity) that might deserve a better

Answer; but I have only Time to say, that although Dr. _Schelhammer_

hath out-done all that wrote before him, in his Book _de Auditu_, and

shewed himself a Man of Learning and Industry; yet as our Countryman

wrote more than he, (though perhaps not free from Errors too) so he hath

manifested himself to have been as curious and sagacious an Anatomist,

as great a Philosopher, and as learned and skilful a Physician, as any

of his Censurers, and his Reputation for Veracity and Integrity, was no

less than any of theirs too. But after all this terrible Clamour, Dr.

_Schelhammer_ prejudicately mistaketh Dr. _Willis_’s Meaning, to say no

worse. For by _utræque Membranæ refringunt_, Dr. _Willis_ plainly enough,

I think, means no more than a Restriction of the Ingress of too many

Rays; as his following explicatory Words manifest, _viz. refringunt, &

quasi emolliunt, easque Sensorio non nisi proportionatas tradunt_. But

indeed Dr. _Schelhammer_ hath shewn himself a too rigid Censor, by making

Dr. _Willis_ say, the _Ear-Drum_ hath such like Braces as the _War-Drum_,

viz. _Quod porrò de machinis seu tæniis Tympani bellici adducit, dicitque

idem in Tympano auditorio conspici, id prorsus falsissimum est._ I wonder

Dr. _Schelhammer_ did not also charge Dr. _Willis_ with making it a

Porter, since he saith in the same Paragraph, _Janitoris officio, ~&c.~_

But Dr. _Willis_’s Meaning is plain enough, that the little Bones and

Muscles of the _Ear-Drum_ do the same Office in straining and relaxing

it, as the Braces of the _War-Drum_ do in that. And considering how

curious and solemn an Apparatus there is of Bones, Muscles, and Joynts,

all adapted to a ready Motion; I am clearly of Dr. _Willis_’s Opinion,

that one great Use of the _Ear-Drum_ is for the proportioning Sounds, and

that by its Extension and Retraction, it corresponds to all Sounds, loud

or languid, as the Pupil of the Eye doth to several Degrees of Light: And

that they are no other than secondary uses assigned by Dr. _Schelhammer_,

as the principal or sole Uses of keeping out the external colder Air,

Dust, and other Annoyances; but especially that, _ob solius aerís interni

potissimùm irrumpentis vim, hunc motum Tympani ac Mallei esse conditum,

ut cedere primùm, deinde sibi restitui queat_; as his Words are, _P.

ult._ c. 6. §. 13.

It was no improbable thought of _Rohault, nos attentos præbere, nil aliud

est, nisi ~Tympanum~, ubi ita opus est facto, contendere aut laxare, &

operam dare ut illud in eâ positione intentum stet, in quâ tremulum aeris

externi motum commodissimè excipere possit._ Roh. Phys. p. 1. c. 26. §.

48.

The Hearing of deaf Persons more easily by Means of loud Noises, is

another Argument of the Use of the Straining or Relaxation of the

_Tympanum_ in Hearing. Thus Dr. _Willis_ (ubi supra) _Accepi olim à viro

fide digno, se mulierem novisse, quæ licèt surda fuerit, quousque tamen

intra conclave Tympanum pulsaretur, verba quævis clarè audiebat: quare

Maritus ejus Tympanistam pro servo domestico conducebat, ut illius ope,

colloquia interdum cum Uxore suâ haberet. Etiam de alio Surdastro mihi

narratum est, qui prope Campanile degens, quoties unà plures Campanæ

resonarent, vocem, quamvis facilè audire, & non aliàs, potuit._

_Abscisso Musculo ~[Processus majoris Mallei]~ in recenti aure, relaxatur

~[Tympani Membrana]~._ _Valsalv. de Aur. Hum._ c. 2. §. 5.

Upon considering the great Difference in Authors Opinions, about the

Use of the Parts, and Manner how Hearing is performed, as also what a

curious Provision there is made in the Ear, by the four little Bones, the

Muscles, Membrane, _&c._ I was minded (since I penned this Note) to make

enquiry my self into this Part, and not to rely upon Authority. And after

a diligent search of various Subjects, I find we may give as rational and

easie an Account of Hearing, as of Seeing, or any other Sense; as I have

shewn in my last cited _Note (d) Book VII. Chap. 2._ with relation to

Birds. And as to Man and Beasts, the Case is the same, but the Apparatus

more complex and magnificent. For whereas in Birds, the _auditory Nerve_

is affected by the Impressions made on the _Membrane_, by only the

Intermediacy of the _Collumella_; in Man, it is done by the Intervention

of the four little Bones, with the Muscles acting upon them; his Hearing

being to be adjusted to all kinds of Sounds, or Impressions made upon

the _Membrana Tympani_. Which Impressions are imparted to the _auditory

Nerve_, in this Manner, _viz._ First they act upon the _Membrane_ and

_Malleus_, the _Malleus_ upon the _Incus_, and the _Incus_ upon the _Os

Orbiculare_ and _Stapes_; and the _Stapes_ upon the _auditory Nerve_:

For the Base of the _Stapes_ (the same as the _Operculum_ in Birds) not

only covers the _Fenestra Ovalis_, within which the _auditory Nerve_

lieth, but hath a Part of the _auditory Nerve_ spread upon it too. It

is manifest that this is the true Process of Hearing; because, if the

_Membrane_ be mov’d, you may see all the Bones move at the same Time, and

work the Base of the _Stapes_ up and down in the _Fenestra Ovalis_, as I

shewed in this Chapter, _Note (d)_ concerning the _Mole_; and as it may

be seen in other Ears carefully opened, if the Parts remain _in situ_.

[w] I do not confine the _Labyrinth_ to the _Canales Semicirculares_,

or any other Part, as the elder Anatomists seem to have done, who by

their erroneous and blind Descriptions seem not well to have understood

there Parts; but with those much more curious and accurate Anatomists,

_Monsieur de Vernay_, and Dr. _Valsalva_; under the _Labyrinth_, I

comprehend the _Canales Semicirculares_, and the _Cochlea_, together with

the intermediate Cavity, called by them the _Vestibulum_.

[x] In the _semicircular Canals_, two Things deserve to be noted. 1.

That the three Canals are of three different Sizes, _Major_, _Minor_,

and _Minimus_. 2. Although in different Subjects, they are frequently

different; yet in the same Subject they are constantly the same. The

Reason of all which, together with their Uses, _Valsalva_ ingeniously

thinks is, that as a Part of the tender _auditory Nerve_ is lodged in

these Canals, so they are of three Sizes, the better to suit all the

Variety of Tones; some of the Canals suiting some, and others, other

Tones. And although there be some Difference as to the Length and Size of

these Canals, in different Persons; yet, lest there should be any discord

in the auditory Organs of one and the same Man, those Canals are always

in exact Conformity to one another in one and the same Man. _V._ _Valsal._

_ubi supr._ c. 3. §. 7. and c. 6. §. 4. 9.

[y] _Hic posterior Nervus extra cranium delatus, in tres ramos dividitur,

qui omnes motibus patheticis——inserviunt. Primus——musculis Auris

impenditur. Proculdubio hujus actione efficitur, ut animalia quævis, à

subito soni impulsu, aurs, quasi sonum nimis citò transeuntem captaturas

erigant. Ramus alter——versus utrumque oculi angulum surculos emittit: qui

musculis palpebrarum attollentibus inseruntur; quorum certè munus est ad

subitum soni appulsum oculos confestim aperire, eosque velut ad Excubias

vocare.——Tertius——ramus versus Linguæ radicem descendens, musculis ejus &

ossis Hyoeideos distribuitur, adeóque organa quædam vocis edendæ actuat,

~&c.~_ _Willis_’s Cereb. Anat. c. 17.

[z] _Hujusmodi Nervorum conformatio in Homine usum alium insigniorem

præstas, nempe ut Vox, ~&c.~_ _Willis Ibid._

[aa] Among the Uses to which the Wit of Man hath employ’d Sounds, we

may reckon the Instruments useful in convocating Assemblies, managing

Armies, and many other Occasions, wherein Bells, Trumpets, Drums, Horns,

and other sounding Instruments are used; the Particularities of which

it would be tedious to recount: As that the biggest _Bell_ in _Europe_

is reckoned to be at _Erfurt_ in _Germany_, which they say may be heard

twenty four Miles; with much more to the same Purpose. I shall therefore

only for a Sample take notice of the _Speaking-Trumpet_; the Invention

of which is commonly ascribed to our eminent Sir _Samuel Morland_; but

was more probably _Ath. Kircher_’s; at least he had contrived such an

Instrument, before Sir _Samuel_ hit upon his. _Kircher_ in his _Phonurg._

saith, the _Tromba_ published last Year in _England_, he had invented

twenty four Years before, and published in his _Misurgia_; that _Jac.

Albanus Ghibbesius_, and _Fr. Eschinardus_ ascribe it to him; and that

_G. Schottus_ testifieth he had such an Instrument in his Chamber in the

_Roman College_, with which he could call to, and receive Answers from

the Porter. And considering how famed _Alexander_ the _Great_’s Tube was,

which is said might be heard 100 _Stadia_, it is somewhat strange that

no Body sooner hit upon the Invention. Of this _Stentorophonick Horn_

of _Alexander_, there is a Figure preserved in the _Vatican_, which for

Curiosity sake, I have from _Kircher_ represented in _Fig. 3._ He saith

its Diameter was five Cubits, and that it was suspended on a Supporter.

For the Make of the _Speaking-Trumpet_, and the Reason why it magnifies

Sounds, I shall refer to _Kircher_; especially to Sir _Samuel Morland_’s

_Tuba Stentorophonica_, Published in 1672.

[bb] That the Air is the Subject, or _Medium_ of Sound, is manifest

from the Experiments in rarefied and condensed Air. In an unexhausted

Receiver, a small Bell may be heard at the Distance of some Paces; but

when exhausted, it can scarce be heard at the nearest Distance: And if

the Air be compressed, the Sound will be louder, proportionably to the

Compression or Quantity of Air crouded in, as I have often tried my self,

and may be seen in Mr. _Hawksbee_’s curious Experiments, p. 97. Also his

Experiments in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 321.

_Kircher_ saith, he took one of these Trumpets of fifteen Palms length,

along with him to the _Mons Eustachianus_, where he convocated 2200

Persons to Prayers, by means of the unusual Sound, at two, three, four,

and five _Italian_ Miles Distance.

With these _Bellowing Trumpets_, I shall join some _Bellowing-Caves_

for the Reader’s Diversion. _Ol. Magnus_ describes a Cave in _Finland_,

near _Viburg_, called _Smellen_, into which, if a Dog, or other Living

Creature be cast, it sends forth so dreadful a Sound, that knocks

down every one near it. For which Reason they have guarded the Cave

with high Walls, to prevent the Mischiefs of its Noise. _Vid._ _Ol.

Magn. Histor._ l. 11. c. 4. Such another _Peter Martyr_ saith is in

_Hispaniola_, which, with a small Weight cast into it, endangers Deafness

at five Miles Distance. And in _Switzerland_, _Kircher_ saith, in the

_Cucumer-Mountain_ is a Pit that sends out both a dreadful Noise and

a great Wind therewith; and that there is a Well in his Country 3000

Palms deep, whose Sound is equal to that of a great Gun. _Vid._ _Kirch.

Phonurg._

_Ol. Magnus_ speaking of the vast high Mountains of a Northern Province,

call’d _Angermannia_ saith, _Ubi bases eorum in profundissimo gurgite

stantes, casu aliquo, vel proposito Nautæ accesserint, tantum horrorem

ex altâ fluctuum collisione percipiunt, ut nisi præcipiti remigio,

aut valido vento evaserint, solo pavore ferè exanimes fiant, multoque

dierum curriculo, ob capitis turbationem, pristinæ mentis, & sanitatis

compotes vix evadant. Habent bases illorum montium in fluctuum ingressu &

regressu tortuosas rimas, sive scissuras, satis stupendo naturæ opificio

fabricatas, in quibus longâ varagine formidabilis ille Sonitus quasi

subterraneum tonitru generatur._ Ol. Magn. l. 2. c. 4. See also _Chap.

12._

Neither doth this succeed only in forced Rarefactions and Condensations

of the Air, but in such also as are natural; as is evident from _David

Frœdlichius_ in _Varenius_, upon the highest Eminencies of _Carpathus_,

near _Kesmarckt_ in _Hungary_. The Story of _Frœdlichius_ is this, _Ego

Mense Junii 1615. tum adolescens, sublimitatem horum montium, cum duobus

comitibus Scholaribus, experiri volens, ubi, cùm in primæ rupis vertice,

magno labore, me summum terminum assecutum esse putarem, demum sese

obtulit alia multo altior cautes, ubi pervasta eaque vacillantia saxa

(quorum unum, si loco à viatore dimovetur——aliquot centena——rapit, &

quidem tanto cum fragore, ut illi metuendum sit nè totus Mons corruat,

eumque obruat) enixus essem, iterum alia sublimior prodiit, ~&c.~ donec

summo vitæ periculo ad supremum cacumen penetraverim. Ex declivioribus

montibus cùm in subjectas valles,——nil nisi obscuram noctem, aut cœruleum

quid, instar profundi aeris, quod vulgò sudum cœlum appellatur, observare

potui, mihique videbar, si de monte caderem, non in terram, sed recte in

solum me prolapsurum. Nimiá enim declivitate, species visibiles extenuatæ

& hebetatæ fuerunt. Cum verò altiorem montem peterem, quasi intra

nebulas densissimas hærebam——Et cùm non procul à summo vertice essem de

sublimi quiescens prospexi & animadverti iis in locis, ubi mihi antea

videbar intra nebulas hæsisse, compactas atque albas sese movere nubes,

supra quas, per aliquot milliaria, & ultra terminos Sepusi commodus

mihi prospectus patuit. Alias tamen etiam nubes altiores, alias item

humiliores, necnon quasdam æqualiter à terrâ distantes vidi. Atque hinc

tria intellexi, 1. Me tum transivisse principium media Aeris regionis. 2.

Distantiam nubium à terrâ, non esse æqualem.——3. Distantiam nubium——non

72 Mill. Ger. ut quidam——sed tantum dimidiatum Mill. Ger. In summum

montis verticem cùm pervenissem, adeò tranquillum & subtilem aërem ibi

offendi, ut nè pili quidem motum sentirem, cùm tamen in depressioribus

ventum vehementem expertus sim: unde collegi summum cacumen istius montis

Carpathici ad Mill. Germ. à radicibus suis imis exsurgere, & ad supremam

usque aëris regionem, ad quam Venti non ascendunt, pertingere. Explosi

in eâ summitate Sclopetum: quod non majorem sonitum primò præ se tulit,

quàm si ligillum vel bacillum confregissem; post intervallum autem

temporis murmur prolixum invaluit, inferioresque montis partes, convalles

& sylvas opplevit. Descendendo per nives annosas intra convalles, cùm

iterum Sclopetum exonerarem, major & horribilior fragor, quàm ex tormento

capacissimo inde exoriebatur: hinc verebar nè totus mons concussus

mecum corrueret: duravitque hic sonus per semiquadrantem horæ usque dum

abstrusissmas cavernas penetrâsset, ad quas aër undiq; multiplicatus

resiliit.——In his celsis montibus, plerumq; ningit grandinatve mediâ

astate, quoties nempe in subjectâ & vicinâ planitie pluit, utì hoc ipsum

expertus sum. Nives diversorum annorum ex colore & cortice duriore

dignosci possunt._ Varen. Georg. Gen. l. 1. c. 19. Prop. ult.

The Story being diverting, and containing divers Things remarkable,

I have chosen to note the whole of it (altho’ somewhat long) rather

than single out the Passages only which relate to the diminishing the

Sound of his Pistol, by the Rarity of the Air at that great Ascent into

the Atmosphere; and the magnifying the Sound by the Polyphonisms or

Repercussions of the Rocks, Caverns, and other Phonocamptick Objects

below in the Mount.

But ’tis not the Air alone that is capable of the Impressions of Sound,

but the Water also, as is manifest by striking a Bell under Water, the

Sound of which may plainly enough be heard, but it is much duller, and

not so loud; and it is also a fourth deeper, by the Ear of some great

Judges in Musical Notes, who gave me their Judgments in the matter. But

_Mersenne_ saith, a Sound made under Water, is of the same Tone or Note,

if heard under Water; as are also Sounds made in the Air, when heard

under Water. _Vid._ _Mersen. Hydraul._

Having mentioned the hearing of Sounds under Water, there is another

Curiosity worth mentioning, that also farther proves Water to be

susceptible of the Impressions of Sound, _viz._ _Divers_ at the bottom

of the Sea, can hear the Noises made above, only confusedly. But, on

the contrary, those above cannot hear the Divers below. Of which an

Experiment was made, that had like to have been fatal: One of the Divers

blew an Horn in his Diving-Bell, at the bottom of the Sea; the Sound

whereof (in that compressed Air) was so very loud and irksome, that

stunned the Diver, and made him so giddy, that he had like to have dropt

out of his Bell, and to have been drowned. _Vid._ _Sturmii Colleg. Cur.

Vol. 2. Tentam. 1._

[cc] As to the Distance to which Sound may be sent, having some doubt,

whether there was any Difference between the Northern and Southern Parts,

by the Favour of my learned and illustrious Friend Sir _Henry Newton_,

her Majesty’s late Envoy at _Florence_: I procured some Experiments to be

made for me in _Italy_. His most Serene Highness the _Great Duke_, was

pleased to order great Guns to be fir’d for this purpose at _Florence_,

and Persons were appointed on purpose to observe them at _Leghorne_,

which they compute is no less than 55 Miles in a strait Line. But

notwithstanding the Country between being somewhat hilly and woody, and

the Wind also was not favouring, only very calm and still, yet the Sound

was plainly enough heard. And they tell me, that the _Leghorne_ Guns are

often heard 66 Miles off, at _Porto Ferraio_; that when the _French_

bombarded _Genoa_, they heard it near _Leghorne_, 90 Miles distant: and

in the _Messina Insurrection_, the Guns were heard from thence as far

as _Augusta_ and _Syracuse_, about 100 _Italian_ Miles. These Distances

being so considerable, give me Reason to suspect, that Sounds fly as

far, or nearly as far in the Southern, as in the Northern Parts of the

World, notwithstanding we have a few Instances of Sounds reaching farther

Distances. As Dr. _Hearn_ tells us of Guns fired at _Stockholm_ in 1685,

that were heard 180 _English_ Miles. And in the _Dutch_ War, 1672, the

Guns were heard above 200 Miles. _Vid._ _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 113. Also

there is this farther Reason of Suspicion, that the _Mercury_ in the

_Barometer_ riseth higher without than within the Tropicks, and the more

Northerly, still the higher, which may encrease the Strength of Sounds,

by _Note (bb)._

[dd] As to the Velocity of Sounds, by Reason the most celebrated Authors

differ about it, I made divers nice Experiments my self, with good

Instruments; by which I found, 1. That there is some, although a small

Difference in the Velocity of Sounds, with or against the Wind: which

also is, 2. Augmented or diminished by the Strength or Weakness of

the Wind. But that nothing else doth accelerate or retard it, not the

Differences of Day or Night, Heat or Cold, Summer or Winter, Cloudy or

Clear, Barometer high or low, _&c._ 3. That all kinds of Sounds have the

same Motion, whether they be loud or languid, of Bells, Guns, great or

small, or any other sonorous Body. 4. That they fly equal Spaces in equal

Times. Fifthly and Lastly, That the Mean of their Flight is at the Rate

of a Mile in 9¼ half Seconds, or 1142 Feet in one Second of Time. _Vid._

_Phil. Trans. Ibid._

[ee] _Timothy_ a Musician could excite _Alexander the Great_ to Arms with

the _Phrygian_ Sound, and allay his Fury with another Tone, and excite

him to Merriment. So _Ericus_ King of _Denmark_, by a certain Musician,

could be driven to such a Fury, as to kill some of his best and most

trusty Servants. More of this Power of Musick over the Affections, may

be seen in _Ath. Kirch. Phonurg. L. 2. §. 1._ Also in _Is. Vossius de

Poematum cantu, & Rythmi viribus_.

And not only upon the Affections, but also on the Parts of the Body.

Musick is able to exert its Force, as appears from the _Gascoigne_

Knight, _Cui Phormingis sono audito Vesica statim ad Urinam reddendam

vellicabatur_. Such another we have in Aᵒ. 1. _Ephem. Nat. Curios.

Observ. 134_. Also _Morhoff de Scyph. vitr. per cert. human. vocis

sonum fracto_: where there is not only the Account of the _Dutchman_ at

_Amsterdam_, one _Nich. Peter_, that brake Romer-Glasses with the Sound

of his Voice; but also divers other Instances of the Powers and Effects

of Sound. But to the Story of the _Gascoigne_ Knight, Mr. _Boyl_, from

_Scaliger_, adds a pleasant Passage, That one he had disobliged, to be

even with him, caused at a Feast, a Bag-pipe to be played, when he was

hemmed in with the Company; which made the Knight bepiss himself, to the

great Diversion of the Company, as well as Confusion of himself. _Boyl_’s

_Essay of the Effect of Lang. Motion._ In the same Book are other Matters

that may be noted here. One whose Arm was cut off, was exceedingly

tormented with the discharge of the great Guns at Sea, although he was

at a great Distance on Land. And a great Ship-Commander observed his

wounded Men, with broken Limbs, suffered in like manner at the Enemies

Discharges. An ingenious Domestick of his own would have his Gums bleed

at the tearing of Brown-Paper. And an ingenious Gentleman of Mr. _Boyl_’s

Acquaintance confessed to him, that he was inclined to the _Knight of

Gascoigne_’s Distemper, upon hearing the Noise of a Tap running. The

dancing to certain Tunes, of Persons bit with the _Tarantula_, he was

assured of by an ingenious Acquaintance at _Tarentum_, who saw several,

among the rest a Physician, affected with that Distemper. And many other

Accounts of this kind, seemingly credible, are related in _Morhoff_,

_Kircher_, and many others; although Dr. _Cornelio_ questions the Matters

of Fact relating to the cure of the _Tarantula_-bite, in _Phil. Trans._

Nᵒ. 83. Mr. _Boyl_ also saith, a sober Musician told him, he could make

a certain Woman weep, by playing one Tune, which others would be little

affected at. And he saith, that he himself had a kind of shivering at the

repeating two Verses in _Lucan_. And I add, that I very well know one

to have a sort of chill about his _Præcordia_ and Head, upon reading or

hearing the 53ᵈ Chapter of _Isaiah_; as also _David_’s Lamentations for

_Saul_ and _Jonathan_, 1 Sam. i.

Neither are our own Minds and Bodies only affected with Sounds, but

inanimate Bodies are so also. Of which many Stories may be met with in

_Kircher_, particularly a large Stone that would tremble at the Sound

of one particular Organ-Pipe; in _Morhoff_ also, who among many other

Relations hath this, _Memini cùm ipsi [clarif. Willisio] de experimento

Vitri per vocem fracti narrarem, ex eo audivisse, quod in adibus Musicis

sibi vicinis aliquoties collapsum pavimentum fuerit; quod ipse sonis

continuis adscribere non dubitavit._ Morhoff. cap. 12. _Mersenne_ also,

among many Relations in his _Harmon._ and other Books, tells a far

more probable Story, of a particular Part of a Pavement, that would

shake, as if the Earth would open, when the Organs played, than what he

relates about _Antipathy_, in his _Quæst. Comment. in Genes._ viz. That

the Sound of a Drum made of a Wolf’s Skin, will break another made of

Sheep’s Skin: That Hens will fly at the Sound of an Harp strung with

Fox-Gut-Strings, and more to the same purpose. Mr. _Boyl_ also, in his

last cited Book tells us, Seats will tremble at the Sound of Organs; and

that he hath felt his Hat do so too under his hand, at certain Notes both

of Organs, and in Discourse, that he tried an Arch that would answer to

C fa-ut, and had done so an 100 Years; and that an experienced Builder

told him any well-built Vault will answer some determinate Note. And at

_Eastbury-House_ near _Barking_, I my self discovered the Porch, (having

firm Brick-Walls,) not only to sound when struck on the Bottom, but also

to give almost as loud a Sound, when I sounded the same Note with my

Voice.

[ff] _Willis_, ubi supra.

[gg] _Ille Deus est——qui non calamo tantùm cantare, & agreste, atque

inconditum carmen ad aliquam tantùm oblectationem modulari docuit, sed

tot artes, tot vocum varietates, tot sonos, alios spiritu nostro, alios

externo cantu edituros commentus est._ Senec. de Benef. l. 4. cap. 6.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the Sense of Smelling._

This Sense I shall dispatch in less Compass than the two last, because

its Apparatus (although sufficiently grand and admirable, yet) is not

so multiplicious as of the Eye and Ear; it being sufficient in this

Sense, that the odoriferous Effluvia of Bodies[a] can have an easy, free

Passage to the olfactory Nerves, without the Formalities of Refractions,

and other Preparations necessary to the Perfection of the two former

Senses. Accordingly the all-wise Creator hath made sufficient Provision

for the Reception of Smells, by the Apertures of the Nostrils[b]; made

not of Flesh, or Bone, but cartilaginous, the better to be kept open,

and withal, to be dilated or contracted, as there is occasion: For which

Service it hath several proper and curious Muscles[c].

And forasmuch as it is by Breathing[d], that the odorant Particles are

drawn in, and convey’d to the Sensory; therefore there is a very wise

Provision made in the _Laminæ_, with which the upper Part of the Nose is

barricaded, which serve to two excellent Uses: Partly, to fence out any

noxious Substances from entering the breathing Passages in our Sleep,

or when we cannot be aware[e]; and partly, to receive the Divarications

of the _olfactory Nerves_, which are here thick spread, and which do by

these Means meet the Smells entring with the Breath, and striking upon

them.

And accordingly, the more accurate this Sense is in any Animal, the

longer we may observe those _Laminæ_ are; and more of them in number

folded up, and crouded together, to contain the more nervous Filaments,

and to detain and fetter the odoriferous Particles in their Windings and

Turnings.

And an admirable Provision this is, which the great Creator hath made

for the good of brute Creatures[f]; the chief Acts of many of whose

Lives, are perform’d by the Ministry of this Sense. In insects, and many

other Creatures, it is of great Use in the Propagation of their Kind;

as particularly in helping them to safe and convenient Places for the

Incubation of their Eggs, and breeding up their Young. Others are by the

Accuracy of this Sense, of Use to Mankind, which would be otherwise of

little or no Use[g]. And most of the irrational Animals, Birds, Beasts,

and creeping Things, do, by their Smell, find out their Food; some at

great Distances, and some at Hand. With what Sagacity do some discover

their Food in the Midst of Mud and Dirt[h]? With what Curiosity do the

herbaceous Kind pick and chuse such Plants as afford them wholsome Food,

or sometimes such as are Medicinal[i], and refute such as would hurt and

destroy them? And all by the Help principally, if not only, of the Smell,

assisted by its near Ally the Taste. Of which I shall in the next Place

speak very briefly.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] Piece of _Ambergrease_ suspended in a Pair of Scales, that would turn

with a very small Part of a Grain, lost nothing of its Weight in 3½ Days;

neither did _Assa fœtida_ in 5½ Days; but an Ounce of _Nutmegs_ lost 5½

Grains in 6 Days; and _Cloves_ 7⅘ Grains. _Boyl’s Subtil. of Effluv._ c.

5.

[b] _Nares, eò quòd omnis Odor ad superiora fertur, rectè sursum sunt:

Et quòd Cibi & Potionis judicium magnum earum est, non sine causâ

vicinitatem Oris secutæ sunt._ Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 56.

[c] Had not the Contriver of Animal Bodies been minded that his Work

should have all the Signatures of Accuracy, this Sense might have been

performed with a bare Aperture of the Nose; but that nothing might

go imperfect out of his Hand, he hath made a part of the Nose easily

moveable, and given a Set of Muscles to lift up, and open and shut the

Nostrils; and so adjust it to every Occasion of this Sense.

[d] _Odorem non aliud, quàm infectum Aera, intelligi posse._ Plin. Nat.

Hist. l. 9. c. 7.

[e] For a further Guard against the Ingress of noxious Things, the

_Vibrissi_, or Hairs placed at the Entrance of the Nostrils serve, which,

in some measure, stop the Entrance of Things improper, or however give

Warning of them, but at the same Time allow an easy Passage to the Breath

and Odours.

[f] _Multò præclarius emicat [Olfactus] in brutis animalibus, quàm in

homine: ista namque hoc solo indice, herbarum, aliorumque corporum priùs

ignotorum virtutes certissimè dignoscunt, quin & victum suum absentem,

vel in abstruso positum, Odoratu venantur, ac facillimè investigant. Quòd

autem minùs sagaces sunt hominum nares, illud non facultatis hujus abusui

(prout nonnulli volunt) ascribi debet, verùm in causâ est ipsius Organi

defectus: hoc enim circa victûs humani criteria (ubi ratio, & intellectus

adsunt) non ita accuratum requiritur: Proptereà enim inferiores potentiæ

in homine, à naturâ minùs perfectæ existunt, ut superiorum cultui &

exercitio relinqueretur locus._ Willis de Anim. Brut. _cap. 13._

[g] Thus the chief Use of Hounds is to hunt; and other Dogs, to be a

Watch and Guard to our Houses by Night. For which Services (particularly

in Hounds) their _Olfactory Nerves_ are not only remarkably large, (like

as they are in other Brutes,) but their Branches and Filaments are, in

the _Laminæ_ of the Nostrils, both more and larger than I have seen in

any other Creature whatsoever. Also there are more Convulsions of the

_Laminæ_ than I ever remember to have found in any other Animal.

The Sagacity of Hounds is prodigious, of which see an Instance in _Book

IV. Chap. 11. Note (hhh)._

[h] See _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (e)._

[i] _Vid._ _Plin. Hist. Nat._ l. 8. cap. 27. _Quæ animalia quas herbas

ostenderunt._

CHAP. V.

_Of the Taste[a]._

In this, as in the last Sense, we have an _Apparatus_ abundantly

sufficient to the Sense; Nerves curiously divaricated about the

Tongue[b], and Mouth, to receive the Impressions of every Gusto; and

these Nerves guarded with a firm and proper Tegument to defend them from

Harms; but withal, so perforated in the papillary Eminences, as to give a

free Admission to Tastes.

But I shall say no more of this Sense; only a Word or two of its Consent

with the Smell, and the Situation of them both: Their Situation is

in the most convenient Place imaginable, for the Discharge of their

Offices; at the first Entrance[c], in the Way to the grand Receptacle

of our Food and Nourishment; to survey what is to be admitted therein;

to judge between what is wholsome, and fit for Nourishment, and what is

unsavoury and pernicious. And for this End, the all-wise Creator seems to

have establish’d a great Consent between the Eye, the Nose, and Tongue,

by ordering the Branches of the same Nerves[d], to each of those three

Parts; as also indeed to divers other Parts of the Body, which I may have

occasion to mention in a more proper Place[e]. By which Means, there is

all the Guard that can be, against pernicious Food; forasmuch as before

it is taken into the Stomach, it is to undergo the Trial of three of

the Senses; the Scrutiny of the Eye, the strict Surveyor of its outward

Appearance; and the Probation of the Smell and Taste, the two severest

Judges of its natural Constitution and Composition.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] τὰ δὲ εἴδη τῶν χυλῶν, &c. _Saporum genera,——dulcis, pinguis,

austerus, acerbus, acris, salsus, amarus, acidus._ Theophr. de Caus.

Plant. l. 6. c. 1. What may the Cause of the difference of Tastes,

he saith is hard to assign, πότερον γὰρ τοῖς πάθεσι, &c. _Utrum

affectionibus Sensuum——an figuris, quibus singuli constant, ut Democritus

censet._ id. ib. Δημόκριτος δὲ, &c. _Democritus——dulcem esse saporem qui

rotundus: acerbum qui figurâ magnâ; asperum qui multis angulis, ~&c.~_

id. ib. &c. But of the Diversities and Causes of Tastes, see Dr. _Grew_,

_Lect._ 6. and Dr. _Willis de Anim. Brut._ c. 12.

[b] _Intellectus Saporum est cæteris in primâ linguâ: Homini, & in

palato._ Plin. l. 11. c. 37.

The Opinions of Anatomists concerning the Organ of _Taste_, are various.

_Bauhin_, _T. Bartholin_, _Bartholette_, _Vestinge_, _Deusinge_, &c.

place it in the laxer, fleshy Parts of the Tongue. Our famous _Wharton_,

in the Gland at the Root of the Tongue: _Laurentius_ in the thin Tunick

covering the Tongue; but the Learned _Malpighi_ with great Probability

concludes, because the outward Cover of the Tongue is perforated, under

which lie papillary Parts, (of which Mr. _Cowper_, hath very good Cuts

in his _Anat. Tab. 13._) that in these the Taste lieth. _Malpighi_’s

Words are, _Quare cùm dictis meatibus insignibus occurrant papillaria

corpora, probabilius est in his ultimo, ex subintranti sapido humore

titillationem, & mordicationem quandam fieri, quæ Gustum efficiat._

Malpig. Op. Tom. 2. De Linguâ, pag. 18.

_Præcipuum ac ferè solum Gustatûs organon est Lingua; cui aliquatenus

subobscure tamen Palatum, & superior Gulæ pars consentiunt: in omnibus

verò fibræ nervosæ immediata sensionis instrumenta sunt. Quare observare

est, Linguam præ aliâ quâvis parte insigniter fibrosam esse, etiam

texturâ valdè porosâ constare, in eum nempe finem, ut particulæ rei

sapidæ copiosiùs ac penitiùs intra Sensorii meatus admittantur——Nervi

autem qui fibris Linguæ densissimè intertextis famulantur, ac saporum

impressiones τῷ πρώτῳ αἰσθητηρίῳ communicant, sunt——Nervi è paribus tum

quinto, tum nono; & ubique cum densâ propaginum serie per totam ejus

compagem distributi._ Willis ibid.

[c] _Gustatus, qui sentire eorum quibus vescimur genera debet, habitat in

eâ parte Oris, quâ esculentis & poculentis iter natura patefecit._ Cicer.

de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 56. _Vid._ _quoque supr._ _Note (b), Chap. 4._

[d] _Multa hujus ~[quinti paris]~ Nervi propagines Masticationis operi

destinantur; ideoque quoniam alimenta ingerenda non modo Gustus, ast

etiam Olfactûs & Visûs examen subire debent, ab eodem Nervo, cujus rami

ad Palatum & Fauces missi, Manducationis negotium peragunt, propagines

aliæ, velut exploratrites, ad Nares & Oculos feruntur, nempe ut isthæc

aliorum sensuum organa, etiam ad objecta Gustûs melius dignoscenda

probationum auxiliis quibusdam instruantur._ Willis Nerv. Descrip. &

Usus. _cap. 22._

[e] See _Book V. chap. 8._

CHAP. VI.

_Of the Sense of Feeling[a]._

Having spent so much Time upon the other Senses, and therein given such

ample Proofs of the infinite Creator’s Wisdom; I shall but briefly take

Notice of two Things relating to this last Sense.

One is its Organ, the Nerves. For as all Sensation is performed by the

Nerves[b], and indeed the other Senses (performed by Nerves) are a kind

of Feeling; so is this Sense of _Feeling_ performed by Nerves likewise,

spread in the most incomparable, curious Manner throughout the whole

Body. But to describe their Origine in the Brain, and Spinal-Marrow,

their Ramifications to all the Parts; their Inosculations with one

another; and other Matters; whereby not only the Sense of _Feeling_ is

perform’d, but also animal Motion, and an admirable Consent and Harmony

of all the Parts of the Body is effected: (To describe, I say, these

Things) would take up too much Time, and I have already, and shall, as I

go along, give some Hints thereof.

The other Thing I shall take Notice of, is, the Dispersion of this Sense

throughout the Body, both without, and within. The other Senses, I have

observ’d, are seated in the very best Place for the Relief and Comfort,

the Guard and Benefit of the Animal. And forasmuch as it is necessary to

the Being, and well-being of the Body, that every Part should be sensible

of Things safe, or Things prejudicial to it self; therefore it is an

admirable Contrivance of the great Creator, to disperse this Sense of

_Feeling_ throughout every Part[c]; to distinguish between Pleasure and

Pain; Things salutary, and Things hurtful to the Body.

Thus in the five Senses of Animals, we have an Œconomy worthy of the

Creator, and manifestly demonstrating his Power, Wisdom and Indulgence.

For whether we consider the Mechanism of the Organs, or the great Use

and Convenience of each Sense, we find it noble and grand, curious and

artificial; and every way worthy of its infinite Maker, and beyond the

Wit and Power of any Thing but a GOD: And therefore we must even deny our

Senses, by denying them to be God’s handy-work.

And now from those chief Machines of animal Performances and Enjoyments,

the five Senses; let us pass to another Thing in common to all the

Sensitive Creatures, which is Respiration.

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Malpighi_ is of this Opinion, that as _Taste_ is performed by the

_Papillæ_ in the Tongue, so is _Feeling_ by such like _Papillæ_ under

the Skin. From several Dissections, and other Observations, he thus

concludes, _Ex his & similibus videbatur animus abundè certior redditus,

earundem Papillarum pyramidalium copiam, quas aliàs in Linguâ descripsi,

in locis præcipuè acquisitiori Tactui dicatis reperiri, eodem progigni

nervoso & cuticulari corpore, simulque circumvolvi reticulari involucro,

& extimam cuticulam, veluti ultimum terminum attingere.——Microscopio

quilibet in manûs dorso pro sudore orificia quædam miro ordine dispersa

intueri potest, circa quæ frequentia quædam capitula assurgunt; hæc verò

sunt Papillarum fines, dum à cute assurgentes interpositum superant rete,

simulque extimam cuticulam. Hæc repetitis sectionibus deprehendi; ex

quibus non improbabiliter deducam, sicuti ex elatioribus——papillis——in

Linguâ, Gustûs Organon elicitur,——ita ex copiosâ harum Papillarum

congerie——in organis, ubi maximè animalia Tactûs motione

afficiuntur,——adæquatum Tactûs organum sufficientèr haberi._ Malpig. de

extern. Tact. Org. _p. 26._ _Consul. quoque ejusd. Vit._ p. 28.

These Observations of _Malpighi_, our late curious and diligent Mr.

_Cowper_ hath confirmed, and given us very elegant Cuts both of the

Skin, and the _Papillæ_, and the Nerves, Glands, _&c._ under it, from

Microscopical Observations. _Vid._ _Cowper’s Anat._ Introd. and Tab. 4.

[b] Although the Eye be the usual Judge of Colours, yet some have been

able to distinguish them by their Feeling. _Quidam fuit qui venit ad M.

Duc. ~Hetruriæ~ aulam qui colores per Tactum cognoscebat. Pro experimento

velum sericum, uniformiter textum, & pluribus coloribus tinctum,

offerebatur, & veracitèr de colore to singulis partibus judicabat._

Grimald. de Lum. & Col. prop. 43. §. 59.

[c] _Tactus autem toto corpore æquabilitèr fusus est, ut omnes ictus,

omnesque nimios & frigoris, & caloris appulsus sentire possimus._ Cicer.

_ubi supr._

_Tactus sensus omnibus est, etiam quibus nullus alius; nam & Ostreis, &

terrestribus Vermibus quoque. Existimaverim omnibus sensum & Gustatûs

esse. Cur enim alios alia sapores appetunt? in quo vel præcipua Naturæ

architectio._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 71.

CHAP. VII.

_Of Respiration._

Of all the Acts of Animal Life, this is one of the chief, and most

necessary. For whatsoever hath Animal Life, hath also the Faculty of

Respiration, or somewhat equivalent thereto[a]. Indeed so congenial

is this with Life, that _Breath_ and _Life_ are in Scripture Phrase

and Common Speech taken as synonymous Things, or at least necessary

Concomitants of one another. _Moses_[b] expresseth animal Life, by [_The

Breath of Life_]. Saith he, _Gen._ vii. 21, 22. _All Flesh that moved on

the Earth, Fowl, Cattle, Beast, creeping Things, and Man; all in whose

Nostrils was the Breath of Life in the dry Land died._ So the Psalmist,

_Psal._ civ. 29. _Thou takest away their Breath, they die._ So grand an

Act therefore in common to all Animals, may justly deserve a Place in

this Survey of the Works of God in the animal Kingdom.

And here I might launch out into an ample Description of all the Parts

ministering to this necessary Act, and shew the curious Contrivance and

artificial Structure of them; but a transient View shall suffice. I

might begin with the outward Guards, the Nose and Mouth; but these have

been already touched upon. But the exquisite Mechanism of the _Larynx_,

its Variety of Muscles, its Cartilages, all so exquisitely made for the

Purpose of Respiration, and forming the Voice[c], are very admirable:

And no less so is the Tongue[d], which ministers to that, and many other

Uses too.

Next, the Fabrick of the[e] _Trachea_ deserves especial Remark. Its

Valve, the _Epiglottis_ on the Top, to fence against all Annoyances;

its cartilaginous Rings[f] nearly environing it, with its membranous

Part next the Gullet, to give the freer Passage to the Descent of the

Food. And Lastly, Its inner Tegument of exquisite Sense to be readily

affected with, and to make Efforts against every Thing that is hurtful or

offensive; these, I say, do all justly deserve our Admiration.

And no less prodigious are the Parts farther within; the _Bronchi_, the

_Vesiculæ_[g], with their muscular Fibres[h], as some assert they have,

together with the Arteries and Veins, which every where accompany the

airy Passages, for the Blood to receive there its Impregnations from the

Air.

From hence I might proceed to the commodious Form of the Ribs[i], the

curious Mechanism of the Intercostal-Muscles[k], the Diaphragm, and all

the other Muscles[l] ministring both to the ordinary, and extraordinary

Offices of Respiration. But passing them by, I shall stop at one

prodigious Work of Nature, and manifest Contrivance of the Almighty

Creator, which although taken notice of by others[m], yet cannot be

easily passed by in the Subject I am upon; and that is the Circulation

of the Blood in the _Fœtus in the Womb_, so different from the Method

thereof after it is Born. In the Womb, whilst it is as one Body with the

Mother, and there is no Occasion, nor Place for Respiration, there are

two Passages[n] on purpose for the Transmission of the Blood without

passing it through the Lungs. But as soon as the _Fœtus_ is Born, and

become thereby a perfectly distinct Being, and breathes for it self, then

these two Passages are shut up: one nearly obliterated, the other becomes

only a Ligament, except in some Creatures that are Amphibious, or are

forced to lie long under Water, in whom these Passages probably remain

open[o].

And now what Action of any rational Creature, what is there in a Man’s

Life, that doth more plainly shew Design, Reason, and Contrivance, than

this very Act of Nature doth the Contrivance and Design of the great GOD

of Nature? What is Thought and Contrivance, if this be not? Namely, That

there should be a temporary Part in the Body, made just for the present

Exigence; to continue whilst there is occasion for it, and to cease when

there is none; in some Creatures to remain always, by Reason of their

amphibious Way of Living, and in Land-animals (purely such) to cease?

Another excellent Contrivance, a-kin to the last, is, for the

Preservation of such Creatures whose occasions frequently necessitate

them to live without, or with but little Respiration: Fishes might

be named here, whose Habitation is always in the Waters; but these

belong to an Element which I cannot at present engage in. But there

are many Animals of our own Element, or partly so, whose Organs of

Respiration, whose Blood, whose Heart, and other Instruments of Life, are

admirably accommodated to their Method of Living: Thus many amphibious

Creatures[p], who live in Water as well as Air; many quadrupeds, Birds,

Insects, and other Animals, who can live some Hours, Days, yea, whole

Winters, with little or no Respiration, in a Torpitude, or sort of Sleep,

or middle State between Life and Death: The Provision made for these

peculiar Occasions of Life, in the Fabrick of the Lungs, the Heart, and

other Parts of such Creatures[q], is manifestly the Work of him, who as

St. _Paul_ saith[r], _giveth to all Breath, and Life, and all Things_.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] The Uses assign’d to _Respiration_ by all the Anatomists before

_Malpighi_’s Discoveries of the Structure of the Lungs, are so various,

and many of them so improbable, that it would be frivolous to recount

them. But the more eminent modern Anatomists assign these Uses. _Willis_

thus sums up his Opinion, _Præcipua Pulmonum functio, & usus sunt,

sanguinem & aerem per totas partium compages, intimosque recessus, atq;

ductus quosque minutissimos traducere, & ubique invicem committere; in

cum nempe finem, ut sanguis venosus à circuitu redux, & chymo recenti

dilutus,——tum perfectiùs misceatur & velut subigatur, tum potissimùm

ut secundùm omnes suas partes ab aëre nitroso de novo accendatur._

Pharmaceut. p. 2. S. 1. c. 2. §. 2. _Mayow_ saith rightly, that one grand

Use of _Expiration_ is, _Ut cum aëre expulso, etiam vapores è sanguine

exhalantes, simul exsufflentur._ And as for _Inspiration_, that it

coveyeth a nitro-aerial ferment to the Blood, to which the Animal-Spirits

are owing, and all Muscular-Motion. _Mayow de Respir._ p. 22. _&c._ _meâ

Edit_.

Somewhat of the Opinion of these two last cited, if I mistake not (it

being long since I read their Tracts, and have them not now at hand,)

were _Ent_, _Sylvius_, _Swammerdam_, _Diemerbroek_, and my Friend Mr.

_Ray_ in an unpublished Tract of his, and in his Letters now in my Hands.

But our Dr. _Thurston_, for good Reasons, rejects these from being

principal Uses of Respiration, and thinks, with great Reason, the

principal Uses to be to move, or pass the Blood from the right to

the left Ventricle of the Heart. Upon which account Persons hanged,

drowned, or strangled by Catarrhs, so suddenly die, namely, because

the Circulation of their Blood is stopped. For the same Reason also it

is, that Animals die so soon in the Air-Pump. Among other Proofs he

instanceth in an Experiment of Dr. _Croon_, _Profess. Gresh._ which he

made before our _R. S._ by strangling a Pullet, so that not the least

Sign of Life appear’d; but by blowing Wind into the Lungs through the

_Trachea_, and so setting the Lungs a playing, he brought the Bird to

Life again. Another Experiment was once tried by Dr. _Walter Needham_,

before Mr. _Boyl_, and others at _Oxford_, by hanging a Dog, so that

the Heart ceased moving. But hastily opening the Dog, and blowing Wind

into the _Ductus Pecquetianus_, he put the Blood in Motion, and by that

means the Heart, and so recovered the Dog to Life again. _V._ _Thurston

de Respir. Us._ p. 60, and 63. _meâ Edit_.

Such an Experiment as Dr. _Croon_’s my Friend, the late justly renowned

Dr. _Hook_ shewed also our _R. S._ He cut away the _Ribs_, _Diaphragm_,

and _Pericardium_, of a Dog; also the top of the Wind-Pipe, that he might

tie it on to the Nose of a Pair of Bellows; and by blowing into the

Lungs, he restored the Dog to Life; and then ceasing blowing, the Dog

would soon fall into dying Fits; but by blowing again, he recovered; and

so alternately would die, and recover, for a considerable Time, as long,

and often as they pleased. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ. 28.

For the farther Confirmation of Dr. _Thurston_’s Opinion, the ingenious

Dr. _Musgrave_ cut off, and close stopped up the Wind-Pipe of a Dog

with a Cork, and then threw open the _Thorax_; where he found the Blood

stagnating in the _Lungs_, the _Arteria Pulmonaris_ the _right Ventricle_

and _Auricle_ of the _Heart_, and the two great Trunks of the _Cava_,

distended with Blood to an immense Degree; but at the same Time, the

_Vena Pulmonaris_, the _left Ventricle_ and _Auricle_ of the _Heart_ in

a manner empty, hardly a spoonful of Blood therein. _Philos. Trans._ Nᵒ.

240. Or both the Experiments may be together met with in _Lowth. Abridg.

Vol. 3. p. 66, 67._

This Opinion of our learned _Thurston_, the late learned _Etmullerus_

espoused, who being particular in reckoning up the Uses of Respiration,

I shall therefore the more largely cite him. Respiration, saith

he, serves, _1. Ad Olfactum. 2. Ad Screatum & Sputationem. 3. Ad

Oscitationem, Tussim, Sternutationem, Emunctionemque. 4. Ad liquidorum

Sorbitionem, Suctionemve. 5. Ad Loquelam, Cantum, Clamorem, Risum,

Fletum, Flatum, ~&c.~ 6. Ad facum Alvi, Urinæ, Fœtûs Molæve, necnon

Secundinarum expulsionem. 7. Ad promovendi Ventriculi, Intestinorum,

Lacteorumque vasorum, ~&c.~ contenta. 8. Ad halitus aqueos Sanguinis è

pulmonibus, aëris ope, exportandos. 9. Ad Diapnoën. 10. Ad exactiorem

Chyli, Lymphaque, necnon Sanguinis——miscelam. 11. Ad conciliandum

sanguini——coccineam rubedinem, ~&c.~ 12. Nec merosè negabimus,

aërem——pulmones, & sanguinem illos transcurrentem, minùs calida reddere,

~&c.~ 13. Quod denique aër sanguini singulis Respirationibus aliquantillâ

sui parte, admixtus, paucissimas quasdam in spiritum animalium

elaboratione particulas simul contribuat._ All these Uses, although of

great Consequence, yet he thinks rather conduce to the _Well-Being_, than

the Being of the Animal; because without any of them, the Animal would

not so speedily die, as it doth by Strangling, or in the Air-Pump. He

therefore assigns a 14ᵗʰ, and the principal Use of Respiration to be,

_For the passing of the Blood through the Lungs, that is thrown into them

by the Heart._ Etmull. Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 1. & 16.

But the late Dr. _Drake_, with great Ingenuity and Address, (like a

Person so considerable for his Years, as he was in his Time,) not only

establish’d this Notion of Respiration, but also carries it farther,

making it the true Cause of the _Diastole_ of the Heart; which neither

_Borelli_, _Lower_, or _Cowper_, much less any before those great Men,

have well accounted for. That the Heart is a Muscle, is made evident

beyond all doubt by Dr. _Lower_. And that the Motion of all Muscles

consists in Constriction, is not to be doubted also. By which means the

_Systole_ is easily accounted for. But forasmuch as the Heart hath no

_Antagonist-Muscle_, the _Diastole_ hath puzzled the greatest Wits. But

Dr. _Drake_ with great Judgment, and much Probability of Reason, maketh

the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere to be the true _Antagonist_

to all the Muscles which serve both for ordinary Inspiration and the

Constriction of the Heart. The Particulars of his Opinion may be seen in

his _Anatomy_, l. 2. c. 7. And in _Philos. Trans. 281._

And I remember when I was at the University, my most ingenious and

learned Tutor Dr. _Wills_, when he read Anatomy to us, was of Opinion,

that the Lungs were blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air, and

represented the manner of Respiration in this manner, _viz._ He put a

Bladder into a Pair of Bellows, turning back the Neck of the Bladder,

and tying it fast, so that no Air might enter in between the Bladder

and Bellows. This being done, when the Bellows were opened, the Bladder

would be blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air; and when shut,

the Air would be thereby pressed forcibly out of the Bladder, so as to

blow the Fire. This Experiment I take Notice of here; because (besides

the Illustration it gives to Respiration) that great _Genius_ seems to

have had a truer Notion of this _Phænomenon_, than was very common then,

_viz._ about the Year 1677 or 78; as also, because I have in some Authors

met with the same Experiment, without mention of Dr. _Wills_, whose I

take it to have been.

Another Use of great Consideration, the already commended Dr. _Cheyne_

assigns; namely, to form the elastick Globules of which the Blood

principally consists, without which there would be a general Obstruction

in all the capillary Arteries. _Cheyne_’s _Phil. Prin. of Nat. Rel._ or

_Harris_’s _Lex. Tech. in Lungs._

[b] _Gen._ ii. 7. vi. 17. _and_ vii. 15.

[c] Because it would be endless to specify the curious Mechanism of all

the Parts, concurring to the Formation of the Voice; I shall therefore

for a Sample note only two Things, 1. There are thirteen Muscles provided

for the Motion of the five Cartilages of the _Larynx_, _Gibs. Anat. l. 2.

c. 14_, a Sign of the careful and elaborate Provision that is made for

the Voice. 2. It is a prodigious Faculty of the _Glottis_, in contracting

and dilating itself with such Exquisiteness, as to form all Notes. For

(as the ingenious Dr. _Keil_ saith) _supposing the greatest Distance

of the two Sides of the ~Glottis~, to be one tenth Part of an Inch in

sounding 12 Notes, (to which the Voice easily reaches;) this Line must

be divided into 12 Parts, each of which gives the Aperture requisite for

such a Note, with a certain Strength. But if we consider the Sub-division

of Notes, into which the Voice can run, the Motion of the Sides of the

~Glottis~ is still vastly nicer. For if two Chords sounding exactly

Unisons, one be shortened, ⅟₂₀₀₀ Part of its Length, a just Ear will

perceive the Disagreement, and a good Voice will sound the Difference,

which is ⅟₁₉₆ Part of a Note. But suppose the Voice can divide a Note

into 100 Parts, it follows that the different Apertures of the ~Glottis~

actually divide the tenth Part of an Inch into 1200 Parts, the Effect

of each of which produces a sensible Alteration upon a good Ear. But

because each Side of the ~Glottis~ moves just equally, therefore the

Divisions are just double, or the Sides of the ~Glottis~, by their Motion

do actually divide one tenth Part of an Inch into 2400 Parts._ _Keil_’s

Anat. c. 3. Sect. 7.

[d] Among the Instruments of Speech, the Tongue is a necessary one; and

so necessary, that it is generally thought no Speech can be without it.

But in the third Tome of the _Ephem. Germ._ is published, _Jac. Rolandi

Aglossostomographia, sive Descriptio Oris sine Linguâ, quod perfecte

loquitur, & reliquas suas functiones naturalitèr exercet._ The Person

described is one _Pet. Durand_, a _French_ Boy of eight or nine Years

old, who at five or six lost his Tongue by a _Gangrene_, occasioned the

Small-Pox. Notwithstanding which, he could (as the Title saith) speak

perfectly, as also taste, spit, swallow, and chew his Food; but this

latter he could do only on that Side he put it into, not being able to

turn it to the other Side his Mouth.

In the same Tract, _Chap. 6._ is this Observation of _ventriloquous_

Persons, _Memini me à quodam sat celebri Anatomico audivisse, dum de

duplicaturâ Mediastini ageret, si Membrana ista duplex naturalitèr

unita in duas partes dividatur, loquelam quasi ex pectore procedere, ut

circumstantes credant Dæmoniacum hunc, aut Sternomythum._

[e] _The Variation of the Wind-pipe is observable in every Creature,

according as it is necessary for that of the Voice. In an ~Urchin~, which

hath a very small Voice, ’tis hardly more than membranous. And in a

~Pigeon~, which hath a low and soft Note, ’tis partly cartilaginous, and

partly membranous. In an ~Owl~, which hath a good audible Note, ’tis

more cartilaginous; but that of a ~Jay~, hath hard Bones instead of

Cartilages; and so of a ~Linnet~: Whereby they have both of them a louder

and stronger Note, ~&c.~_

_The Rings of the Wind-pipe are fitted for the Modulation of the Voice:

For in ~Dogs~ and ~Cats~, which in the Expression of divers Passions use

a great many Notes, (as Men do,) they are open and flexible, as in Man.

Whereby all, or any of them are dilated, or contracted, more or less, as

is convenient for a higher or deeper Note, ~&c.~ whereas in some other

Animals, as in the ~Japan-Peacock~, which useth hardly more than one

single Note, they are entire, ~&c.~_ _Grew_’s Cosmolog. Sacr. _Book I.

Chap. 5. §. 9, 10._

[f] It is a farther manifest Indication of singular Design in the

cartilaginous Rings of the _aspera Arteria_, that all the Way where they

are contiguous to the _Oesophagus_, they are membranous, to afford an

easie Passage to the Food; but after that, in the _Bronchi_; they are,

some compleatly annular, some triangular, _&c._ And another observable

is, the lower Parts of the superior Cartilages, receive the upper Parts

of the inferior, in the _Bronchi_; whereas in the _aspera Arteria_, the

Cartilages run and remain parallel to one another; which is a noble

Difference or Mechanism in this (in a Manner) one and the same Part,

enabling the Lungs and _Bronchi_ to contract themselves in Expiration,

and to extend and dilate themselves in Inspiration.

[g] I shall not here intrench so much upon the Anatomist’s Province, to

give a Description of the _Lungs_, although it be a curious Piece of

God’s Workmanship; but refer to Seignior _Malpighi_, the first Discoverer

of their _Vesiculæ_ in 1660, in his two Letters to _Borelli de Pulmon_.

Also to Dr. _Willis_’s _Pharm. Rat._ p. 2. S. 1. c. 1. _de Respir.

Orig. & Us._ who as he wrote after _Malpighi_, so hath more accurately

described those parts; and to Mr. _Cowper_’s _Anat._ Tab. 24, 25. And

if the Reader hath a Mind to see what Opposition Seignior _Malpighi_’s

Discoveries met with at Home and Abroad, and what Controversies he had

on that Account, as also his Censures of Dr. _Willis_’s Descriptions and

Figures, he may consult _Malpighi_’s Life written by himself, _pag. 4 to

21_.

That the _Lungs_ consist of _Vesiculæ_, or _Lobuli_ of _Vesiculæ_

admitting of Air from the _Bronchi_, is visible, because they may be

blown up, cleansed of Blood, and so dried. But Mr. _Cowper_ saith, he

could never part the _Lobuli_, (so as to make Dr. _Willis_’s _Fig.

1. Tab. 3. & 4._) so that probably the _Vesiculæ_ are contiguous to

one another throughout each Lobe of the Lungs. And not only Air; but

_Diemerbroeck_ proves, that the _Vesiculæ_ admit of Dust also, from two

asthmatick Persons he opened; one a Stonecutter’s Man, the _Vesiculæ_ of

whose Lungs were so stuffed with Dust, that in cutting, his Knife went as

if through an Heap of Sand; the other was a Feather-driver, who had these

Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.

[h] There is a considerable Difference between Dr. _Willis_, and

_Etmuller_, _viz._ Whether the _Vesiculæ_ of the Lungs have any muscular

Fibres or not? _Etmuller_ expressly saith, _Nullas Fibras musculosas,

multo minùs rubicundam Musculorum compagem (sunt enim Vesiculæ albidæ &

fere diaphanæ) in ipsis reperiri._ ubi supr. c. 6. §. 2. And afterwards,

§. 3. _Pulmones esse molles flexilesque musculosis fibris ceu propriæ

explicationis organis destitutos._ But Dr. _Willis_ as expressly alerts

they have musculous Fibres, and assigns an excellent Use of them;

_Cellulæ istæ vesiculares, ut nixus pro expiratione contractivos edant,

etiam fibras, utì per Microscopium planè conspicere est, musculares

obtinent_, ubi supr. §. 16. And in the next §, _Ut pro datâ occasione

majorem aëris copiam exsufflent, aut materiam extussiendam ejiciant,

fibris muscularibus donatæ, sese arctiùs contrahunt, contentaque sua

penitùs exterminant. Et enim ordinariæ pectoris Systolæ, quas musculorum

relaxationes ex parte efficiunt, aërem forsan totum à Tracheâ &

Bronchiis, haud tamen à Vesiculis, quâque vice ejiciunt: propter has

(quoties opus erit) inaniendas, & totius Pectoris cavitas plurimùm

angustatur, & cellulæ ipsæ vesiculures à propriis fibris constrictis

coarctantur._

[i] _Circa hos motus [Scil. Pectoris dilatationem, &c.] divini Conditoris

mechanicen, ad regulas Mathematicas planè adaptaram, satis admirari non

possumus; siquidem nullâ aliâ in re manifestùs Ὁ Θεὸς γεωμετρεῖν videtur.

Quippe cùm pectoris, tum ampliato, tum coarctatio à quibusdam Musculis

(quorum munus unicum est contrahere) perfici debeat; res ita instituitur,

ut Costæ quæ thoracis, volut parallelogrammi oblongi versus cylindrum

incurvati, latera efformant, in figuram modò quadratam, cum angulis

rectis, pro pectoris ampliatione; modò in rhomboeidem, cum angulis acutis

pro ejusdem contractione, ducantur, ~&c.~_ Willis, _ubi supr._ §. 28.

_Galen_ having spoken of the Parts ministring to Respiration, concludeth,

_Nihil usquam à Naturâ ullo pacto per incuriam, fuisse præteritum,

qua cùm omnia præsentiret & provideret, quæ sunt necessaria illa, quæ

causa alicujus extiterunt, confecutura, omnibus instaurationes parare

occupavit, cujus apparatus copiosa facultas admirabilem Sapientiam

testantur._ De us. part. l. 5. c. 15. See also _l. 6. c. 1._

[k] For the Structure of the _Intercostals_, _Midriff_, &c. I shall

refer to Dr. _Willis_, and other Anatomists. Bur Dr. _Drake_ taxeth Dr.

_Willis_ with an Error in fancying there is an Opposition in the Office

of the _Intercostals_, by reason that the Fibres of the _external_ and

_internal Intercostals_ decussate; that therefore the _external_ serve

to raise the Ribs, the _internal_ to draw them down. But Dr. _Drake_

is of _Steno_’s, and Dr. _Mayow_’s Opinion, that notwithstanding the

Decussation of their Fibres, the Power they exert upon, and the Motion

they effect in the Ribs, is one and the same. _Drake_’s _Anat._ l. 2. c.

7. and l. 4. c. 5. _Mayow de Respir._ c. 7.

[l] Although Dr. _Drake_ and some others deny the _Intercostals_ being

Antagonist-Muscles, as in the preceding Note, yet they, and most other

Anatomists that I have met with, attribute a considerable Power to them

in the act of Respiration, as they do also to the _Subclavian_ and

_Triangular Muscles_: but the learned _Etmuller_ denies it for these

three Reasons, _1. Quia respirando nullam in illis contractionem sentio.

2. Quia——sibi invicem non adducuntur, ~&c.~ 3. Quia Costæ omnes ab aliis

modò enarratis musculis moventur, idque simul, ~&c.~ Intercostales

itaque, necnon Subclavios Musculos Costis, parietum instar, ad complenda

interstitia intercostalia, pectusque integrandum, ac Costas connectendas,

intertectos esse, probabiliter concludo; quo munere triangulares

etiam——fungi, rationi consentaneum est._ Etmul. Dissert. 2. cap. 4. §. 6.

But as to the Use of the _Triangular Muscle_ in Respiration, we may

judge of it, from its remarkable Size, and Use in a Dog; of which Dr.

_Willis_ gives this Account from _Fallopius_: _In Homine parvus adeò &

subtilis iste ~[Musculus]~ est, ut vix pro Musculo accipi queat: in Cane

per totum os pectoris protenditur, & cartilagines omnes, etiam verarum

Costarum sterno inosculatas, occupat: Cujus discriminis ratio divinam

circa Animalium fabricas Providentiam planè indigitat. Quippe cùm hoc

animal, ad cursus velocissimos & diu continuandos natum, quo sanguis, dum

intensiùs agitatur, ritè accendatur eventileturque, aërem celerrimè &

fortiter uti inspirare, ita etiam exspirare debet——idcirco propter hunc

actum firmiùs obeundum (cujus in Homine haud magnus est usus) musculus

caninas molem ingentem & tanto operi parem fortitur._ Willis _ubi supr._

§. 32.

[m] _Ray_’s Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 343.

[n] Mr. _Cheselden_, an ingenious and most accurate Anatomist, having

somewhat particular in his Observations about the Circulation of the

Blood through the Heart of the _Fœtus_, I shall present the Reader with

some of his Observations, which he favoured me with the Sight of. _The

Blood_ (saith he) _which is brought to the Heart by the ascending Cava,

passes out of the right Auricle into the left, through a Passage called

~Foramen Ovale~, in the ~Septum~ ~[common to them both]~ without passing

through the right Ventricle (as after the Birth) while the Blood from

the descending Cava passeth through the right Auricle and Ventricle into

the pulmonary Artery, and thence into the ~Aorta~ through the Duct,

betwixt that and the pulmonary Artery, called ~Ductus Arteriosus~, whilst

a small Portion of the Blood, thrown into the pulmonary Artery passeth

through the Lungs, no more than is sufficient to keep open the pulmonary

Vessels. Thus both Ventricles are employed in driving the Blood through

the ~Aorta~ to all Parts of the ~Fœtus~, and to the Mother too. But after

the Birth, the Blood being to be driven from the ~Aorta~ through the

~Fœtus~ alone, and not the Mother too, one Ventricle becomes sufficient,

whilst the other is employed in driving the Blood through the Lungs,

the ~Ductus Arteriosus~ being shut up by means of the Alteration of its

Position, which happens to it from the raising the ~Aorta~ by the Lungs

when they become inflated. After that the Blood is thus driven into the

Lungs, in its return it shuts the ~Valve~ of the ~Foramen Ovale~ against

the ~Foramen~ it self, to whose Sides it soon adheres, and so stops up

the Passage. The ~Ductus Arteriosus~, or ~Ductus Arteriosus in Ligamentum

versus~, is seldom to be discerned in adult Bodies, but the Figure of the

Foramen ~Ovale~ is never obliterated._

[o] It hath been generally thought to be not improbable, but that on some

Occasions the _Foramen Ovale_ may remain open in Man. In a Girl of four

or five Years of Age, Dr. _Connor_ found it but half closed, and in the

Form of a Crescent. And he thinks somewhat of this kind might be in the

Person whose Skeleton was found to have no Joynts in the Back-Bone, Ribs,

_&c._ Of which a Description, with Cuts, may be found in _Phil. Trans._

Nᵒ. 215. and more largely in his _Dissert. Med. Phys. de stupendo Ossium

coalitu_, where he adds to the Girl, in whom the _For. Ov._ was not shut,

a like Observation of another Girl he opened at _Oxford_ of three Years

Old, _In quâ Foramen Ovals ferè erat occlusum, in medio tamen, exili

foramine, per quod Turundam facilè transmisi, erat pervium_, pag. 30. So

Mr. _Cowper_ (than whom none more accurate and a better Judge) saith, _I

have often found the ~Foramen Ovale~ open in the Adult._ Anat. Append.

Fig. 3. But Mr. _Cheselden_ is of a different Opinion. Of which in the

following Note.

From somewhat of this Cause I am apt to think it was that the

_Tronningholm Gardiner_ escaped drowning, and some others mentioned

by _Pechlin_. His Stories are, _Hortulanus Tronningholmensis etiamnum

vivens, annos natos 65, pro illâ ætate satis adhuc valens & vegetus, cùm

ante 18 annos, alii in aquas delapso opem ferre vellet, forte fortunâ &

ipse per glaciem incautiùs procedens, aquas incidet 18 ulnas profundas:

ubi ille, corpore erecto quasi ad perpendiculum, pedibus fundo adhæsit.

Constitit sic per 16 horas, antequàm produceretur in auras. Dixit autem,

simul ac infra aquarum superficiem fuit demersus, statim obriguisse

totum, &, si quem tum habuit motum & sensum, amisisse, nisi quod sonantes

Stockolmii campanas etiam sub aquis obscuriùs percipere sibi sit visus.

Sensit etiam, statim sese velut vesiculam ori applicâsse, adeò ut aqua

nulla os penetraverit, in aures verò transitum, etiam sentiente illo,

habuerit; atque inde auditum suum debilitatum aliquandiu esse. Hoc statu

dum 16 horas permansit frustrà quæsitus, tandem repertum, conto in

caput infixo, cujus etiam sensum se habuisse dixit, fundo extraxerunt,

sperantes ex more aut persuasione gentis revicturum esse. Itaque pannis

linteisque productum obvolvunt, ne aër admitti possit perniciosus

futurus subito illapsu: custoditum sic satis ab aëre sensim sensimque

tepidiori loco admovent mox calidis adoriuntur fasciis, fricant, radunt,

& sufflaminatum tot horis sanguinis corporisque motum negotiosâ illâ

operâ reducunt: denique antapoplecticis & genialibus liquoribus vitæ

reddunt & pristinæ mobilitati. Retulit is atque ostendit se etiamnum in

capite circumferre vestigia violentiæ à conto illatæ, & cephalalgiis

vexari gravissimis. Et propter hunc ipsum casum, religiosè à popularibus,

& hujusce rei testibus probatum, Serenissimæ Reginæ matris munificentiâ

& annuo stipendio est donatus——& Serenis. Principi——oblatus, vivus sui

testis——Consignatam manu habes Historiam D. Tilasii, Biblioth. Reg.

Præfecti, qui testatus est se prænovisse mulierem, quæ tres ipsos dies

sub aquis hæsit, & similem in modum, quo Hortulanus ille, resuscitata,

adhuc dum lucis plenâ fruitur usurâ. Accedit Nob. Burmanni——fides.

qui confessus est,——se in pago ~Boness~ parochiæ ~Pithoviæ~ concionem

frequentâsse funebrem, in quâ, dum acta recenseret Præco Senis cujusdam

septuagenarii Laur. Jonæ——audiverit ex ore Concionatoris, vivum eum,

adolescentum 17 annorum, aquis submersum, 7 demum hebdomadâ (rem

prodigiosam!) extractum ad se rediisse vivum & incolumem._ Pechlin. de

Aer. & Alim. def. c. 10.

Shall we to this Cause, or to the Ossification, or more than ordinary

Strength of the Wind-Pipe, attribute the Recovery to Life of Persons

hanged? Of which _Pechlin_ gives an Instance that fell under his own

Knowledge, of a Woman hanged, and in all Appearance dead, but recovered

by a Physician accidentally coming in, with a plentiful Administration

of _Spir. Sal. Armon. Pechl. ib._ c. 7. And the Story of _Anne Green_,

executed at _Oxford_, _Dec. 14. 1650._ is still well remembered among the

Seniors there. _She was hanged by the Neck near half an Hour, some of

her Friends in the mean Time thumping her on the Breast, others hanging

with all their Weight upon her Legs, sometimes lifting her up, and then

pulling her down again with a sudden Jirk, thereby the sooner to dispatch

her out of her Pain_: as her printed Account wordeth it. After she was in

her Coffin, being observed to breath, a lusty Fellow stamped with all his

Force on her Breast and Stomach, to put her out of her Pain. But by the

assistance of Dr _Peity_, Dr. _Willis_, Dr. _Bathurst_, and Dr. _Clark_,

she was again brought to Life. I my self saw her many Years after, after

that she had (I heard) born divers Children. The Particulars of her

Crime, Execution and Restauration, see in a little Pamphlet, called _News

from the Dead_, written, as I have been informed, by Dr. _Bathurst_,

(afterwards the most vigilant and learned President of _Trinity-College,

Oxon_,) and published in 1651. with Verses upon the Occasion.

[p] The Sea-Calf hath the _Foramen Ovale_, by which means it is enabled

to stay long under the Water, as the _Paris. Anatomists_. Of which see in

_Book VI. Chap. 5. Note (c)._

But the fore-commended Mr. _Cheselden_ thinks the _Foramen Ovale_ is

neither open in amphibious Creatures, nor any adult Land-Animals. _When

I first_ (saith he) _applied my self to the Dissection of Human Bodies,

I had no distrust of the frequent Accounts of the ~Foramen Ovale~ being

open in Adults: but I find since, that I mistook the ~Ostium Venarum

Coronariarum~ for the ~Foramen~. The like I suppose Authors have done,

who assert that it is always open in amphibious Animals: for we have made

diligent Enquiry into those Animals, and never found it open. Neither

would that (as they imagine) serve these Creatures to live under Water,

as the ~Fœtus~ doth in ~Utero~, unless the ~Ductus Arteriosus~ was open

also._

This Opinion of Mr. _Cheselden_ hath this to render it probable, that

the _Ostium Venarum Coronariarum_ is so near the _Foramen Ovale_, that

without due regard, it may be easily mistaken for it. Such therefore as

have Opportunity of examining this Part in amphibious Animals, or any

other Subject, ought to seek for the _Ostium_, whenever they suspect they

have met with the _Foramen_.

[q] Of the singular Conformation of the Heart and Lungs of the

_Tortoise_, which is an amphibious Animal. See _Book VI. Chap. 5. Note

(b)._

[r] _Acts_ xvii. 25.

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the Motion of Animals._

Next to the two grand Acts of animal Life, their Sense or Respiration,

I shall consider their _Motion_, or _locomotive Faculty_; whereby they

convey themselves from Place to Place, according to their Occasions,

and Way of Life: And the admirable Apparatus to this Purpose, is a

plain Demonstration of God’s particular Foresight, Care, and especial

Providence towards all the animal World.

And here I might view in the first Place the Muscles, their curious

Structure[a], the nice tacking them to every Joynt, to pull it this

Way, and that Way, and the other Way, according to the special Purpose,

Design, and Office of every such Joint: Also their various Size and

Strength; some large and corpulent, others less, and some scarce visible

to the naked Eye; all exactly fitted to every Place, and every use of

the Body. And lastly, I might take Notice of the muscular Motions, both

involuntary and spontaneous[b].

Next, I might survey the special Fabrick of the Bones[c], ministring

to animal Motion. Next, I might take notice of the Joynts[d], their

compleat Form adjusted to the Place, and Office they are employed in;

their Bandage, keeping them from Luxations; the oily Matter[e] to

lubricate them, and their own Smoothness to facilitate their Motion.

And lastly, I might trace the various Nerves throughout the Body;

sent about to minister to its various Motions[f]. I might consider

their Origine[g], their Ramifications to the several Parts, and their

Inosculations with one another, according to the Harmony and Accord of

one Part with another, necessary for the Benefit of the Animal. But some

of those Things I have given some Touches upon already, and more I shall

mention hereafter[h], and it would be tedious here to insist upon them

all.

I shall therefore only speak distinctly to the Locomotive Act it self, or

what directly relates to it.

And here it is admirable to consider the various Methods of Nature[i],

suited to the Occasions of various Animals. In some their Motion is

swift, in others slow. In some performed with two, four, or more Legs: in

some with two, or four Wings: in some with neither[k].

And first for swift or slow Motion. This we find is proportional to the

Occasions of each respective Animal. _Reptiles_, whose Food, Habitation,

and Nests, lie in the next Clod, Plant, Tree, or Hole, or can bear

long Hunger and Hardship, they need neither Legs nor Wings for their

Transportation; but their vermicular or sinuous Motion (performed with

no less Art, and as curiously provided for as the Legs or Wings of other

Creatures: This, I say,) is sufficient for their Conveyance.

_Man_ and _Beasts_, whose Occasions require a large Room, have

accordingly a swifter Motion, with proper Engines for that Service;

answerable to their Range for Food, their Occupation of Business, or

their want of Armature, and to secure them against Harms[l].

But for the winged Creatures (Birds and Insects,) as they are to traverse

large Tracts of Land and Water, for their Food, for their commodious

Habitation, or Breeding their Young, to find Places of Retreat and

Security from Mischiefs; so they have accordingly the Faculty of flying

in the Air; and that swiftly or slowly, a long or short a Time, according

to their Occasions and Way of Life. And accordingly their Wings, and

whole Body, are curiously prepared for such a Motion; as I intend to shew

in a proper Place[m].

Another remarkable Thing in the motive Faculty of all Creatures, is the

neat, geometrical Performance of it. The most accurate Mathematician, the

most skilful in mechanick Motions, can’t prescribe a nicer Motion (than

what they perform) to the Legs and Wings of those that walk or fly[n],

or to the Bodies of those that creep[o]. Neither can the Body be more

compleatly poised for the Motion it is to have in every Creature, than

it already actually is. From the largest Elephant, to the smallest Mite,

we find the Body artfully balanced[p]. The Head not too heavy, nor too

light for the rest of the Body, nor the rest of the Body for it[q]. The

_Viscera_ are not let loose, or so placed, as to swag, over-balance,

or over-set the Body; but well-braced, and distributed to maintain the

æquipoise of the Body. The motive Parts also are admirably well fixed

in respect to the Center of Gravity; placed in the very Point, fittest

to support and convey the Body. Every Leg beareth his true Share of the

Body’s Weight. And the Wings so nicely are set to the Center of Gravity,

as even in that fluid _Medium_, the Air, the Body is as truly balanced,

as we could have balanced it with the nicest Scales.

But among all Creatures, none more elegant than the sizing the Body of

_Man_, the gauging his Body so nicely, as to be able to stand erect, to

stoop, to sit, and indeed to move any way, only with the Help of so small

a Stay as the Feet[r]: whose Mechanism of Bones, Tendons and Muscles to

this purpose, is very curious and admirable.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] That the Muscles are compounded of Fibres, is visible enough. Which

Fibres, the curious and ingenious _Borelli_ saith, are cylindraceous; not

hollow, but filled with a spungy, pithy Substance, after the manner of

Elder, as he discovered by his Microscopes. _Borel. de Mot. Animal._ Part

1. These Fibres, he saith, are naturally white; but derive their Redness

only from the Blood in them.

These Fibres do in every Muscle, (in the Belly at least of the Muscle,)

run parallel to one another, in a neat orderly Form. But they do not

at all tend the same Way, but some run aslant, some longways, _&c._

according to the Action or Position of each respective Muscle. The

Particulars of which, and of divers other Observables in the Muscles,

would, besides Figures, take up too much room in these Notes; and

therefore I must refer to the Anatomists, particularly _Steno_,

_Borelli_, _Cowper_, &c.

[b] The infinite Creator hath generally exerted his Art and Care, in

the Provision made by proper Muscles and Nerves, for all the different

Motions in animal Bodies, both involuntary, and voluntary. It is a noble

Providence that most of the vital Motions, such as of the Heart, Stomach,

Guts, _&c._ are involuntary, the Muscles acting whether we sleep or wake,

whether we will or no. And it is no less providential that some, even

of the vital Motions, are partly voluntary, partly involuntary, as that

for Instance, of Breathing, which is performed both sleeping and waking;

but can be intermitted for a short Time on occasion, as for accurate

hearing any Thing, _&c._ or can be encreased by a stronger Blast, to make

the greater Discharges of the Blood from the Lungs, when that any Thing

overcharges them. And as for the other Motions of the Body, as of the

Limbs, and such as are voluntary, it is a no less Providence, that they

are absolutely under the Power of the Will; so as that the Animal hath it

in his Power to command the Muscles and Spirits of any part of its Body,

to perform such Motions and Actions as it hath Occasion for.

[c] _Quid dicam de Ossibus? quæ subjecta corpori mirabiles commissuras

habent, & ad stabilitatem aptas, & ad artus finiendos accommodatas, & ad

motum, & ad omnem corporis actionem._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 55.

By Reason it would be endless to mention all the Curiosities observable

in the Bones, I shall for a Sample, single out only an Instance or two,

to manifest that Design was used in the Structure of these Parts in Man.

The first shall be in the _Back-Bone_, which (among many others) hath

these two Things remarkable. 1. Its different Articulations from the

other Joynts of the Body. For here most of the Joynts are flat, and

withal guarded with Asperities and Hollows, made for catching and

holding; so as firmly to lock and keep the Joynts from Luxations, but

withal to afford them such a Motion, as is necessary for the Incurvations

of the Body. 2. The difference of its own Joynts in the Neck, Back

and Loins. In the Neck, the _Atlas_, or upper _Vertebra_, as also the

_Dentata_, are curiously made, and joynted (differently from the rest)

for the commodious and easie bending and turning the Head every way. In

the _Thorax_, or Back, the Joynts are more close and firm; and in the

Loins, more lax and pliant; as also the Spines are different, and the

Knobs and Sockets turned the quite contrary way, to answer the Occasions

the Body hath to bend more there, than higher in the Back. I shall close

this Remark with the ingenious Dr. _Keil_’s Observation.

_The Structure of the ~Spine~ is the very best that can be contrived; for

had it been all Bone, we could have had no Motion in our Backs; had it

been of two or three Bones articulated for Motion, the ~Medulla Spinalis~

must have been necessarily bruised at every Angle or Joynt; besides,

the whole would not have been so pliable for the several Postures we

have occasion to put our selves in. If it had been made of several Bones

without intervening Cartilages, we should have had no more Use of it,

than if it had been but one Bone. If each ~Vertebra~ had had its own

distinct Cartilages, it might have been easily ~dislocated~. And lastly,

The oblique Processes of each superior and inferior ~Vertebra~, keep

the middle one that it can neither be thrust backwards nor forwards to

compress the ~Medulla Spinalis~._ _Keil_’s _Anat._ c. 5. §. 8.

Compare here what _Galen_ saith of the Articulations, Ligaments,

Perforation, _&c._ of the _Spine_, to prove the Wisdom and Providence of

the Maker of animal Bodies, against such as found fault with Nature’s

Works; among which he names _Diagoras_, _Anaxagoras_, _Asclepiades_ and

_Epicurus_. _V._ _Galen. de Us. Part. L. 12. init._ and _Chap. 11_, _&c._

also _L. 13. init._

2. The next Instance shall be in one or two Things, wherein the Skeletons

of Sexes differ. Thus the _Pelvis_ made in the Belly by the _Ilium_,

_Ossa Coxendicis_ and _Pubis_, is larger in a Female than Male Skeleton,

that there may be more room for the lying of the _Viscera_ and _Fœtus_.

So the Cartilage bracing together the two _Ossa Pubis_, or _Sharebones_,

_Bartholine_ saith, is twice thicker and laxer in Women than Men: As also

is the Cartilage that tieth the _Os Sacrum_ to its _Vertebra_; and all to

give way to the Passage of the _Fœtus_.

Another considerable Difference is in the cartilaginous Production of the

seven long Ribs, whereby they are braced to the Breast-Bone. These are

harder and firmer in Women than in Men; the better to support the Weight

of the Breasts, the sucking Infant, _&c._

[d] It is remarkable in the Joynts, and a manifest Act of Caution and

Design, 1. That altho’ the Motion of the Limbs be circular, yet the

Center of that Motion is not in a Point, but an ample Superficies. In

a Point, the Bones would wear and penetrate one another; the Joynts

would be exceedingly weak, _&c._ but the Joynts consisting of two large

Superficies, Concave and Convex, some furrowed and ridged, some like a

Ball and Socket, and all lubricated with an oily Substance, they are

incomparably prepared both for Motion and Strength. 2. That the Bones

next the Joynt are not spungy, as their Extremities commonly are, nor

hard and brittle, but capped with a strong, tough, smooth, cartilaginous

Substance, serving both to Strength and Motion.

But let us here take notice of what _Galen_ mentions on this Subject.

_Articulorum unusquisque Eminentiam Cavitati immissam habet: Veruntamen

hoc fortasse non adeò mirabile est: Sed si, consideratâ omnium totius

corporis ossium mutuâ connexione, Eminentias cavitatibus suscipientibus

æquales semper inveneris; Hoc mirabile. Si enim justo amplior esset

Cavitas, laxus sanè & infirmus fieret Articulus; si strictior, motus

difficulter fieret, ut qui nullam versionem haberet; ac periculum esset

non parvum, eminintias ossium arctatas frangi: sed horum neutrum factum

est.——Sed quoniam ex tam securâ constructione periculum erat, nè motiones

difficiliùs fierent, & eminentiæ ossium extererentur, duplex rursus

auxilium in id Natura molita est. 1. Cartilagine os utrumque subungens,

atque oblinens: alterum, ipsis Cartilaginibus humorem unctuosum, velut

oleum, superfundens; per quem facilè mobilis, & attritu contumax omnis

articulatio Ossium facta est.——Ut undique diligenter Articulus omnis

custodiretur, Ligamenta quædam ex utroque osse produxit Natura._ Galen de

Us. Part. l. 1. c. 15.

[e] For the affording this oily or mucilaginous Matter, there are

_Glandules_ very commodiously placed near the Joynts, so as not to suffer

too great Compression by the Motion of the neighbouring Bones, and yet

to receive a due Pressure, so as to cause a sufficient Emission of the

Mucilage into the Joynts. Also another Thing considerable is, that the

excretory Ducts of the _mucilaginous Glands_ have some Length in their

Passage from the Glands to their Mouths; which is a good Contrivance, to

prevent their Mouths being oppressed by the Mucilage, as also to hinder

the too plentiful Effusion thereof, but yet to afford a due Expressure

of it at all Times, and on all Occasions, as particularly in violent

and long-continued Motions of the Joynts, when there is a greater than

ordinary Expence of it. See _Cowper_’s _Anat. Tab._ 79.

[f] There is no doubt to be made, but that the Muscles receive their

Motion from the Nerves. For if a Nerve be cut, or straightly bound, that

goes to any Muscle, that Muscle shall immediately lose its Motion. Which

is doubtless the case of Paralyticks; whose Nerves are some of them by

Obstructions, or such like Means, reduced to the same State as if cut or

bound.

And this also is the cause of that _Numness_ or _Sleepiness_ we find

oftentimes, by long sitting or lying on any Part.

Neither is this a modern Notion only: For _Galen_ saith, _Principium

Nervorum omnium Cerebrum est, & spinalis Medulla.——Et Nervi à Cerebro

animalem virtutem accipiunt——Nervorum utilitas est facultatem Sensûs &

Motûs à principio in partes diducere._ And this he intimates to have been

the Opinion of _Hippocrates_ and _Plato_. De Us. Part. l. 1. c. 16. _&

passim_.

[g] Dr. _Willis_ thinks, that in the _Brain_ the Spirits are elaborated

that minister to voluntary Motion; but in the _Cerebellum_, such as

effect involuntary, or natural Motions; such as that of the Heart, the

Lungs, _&c._ _Cerebri Anat._ c. 15.

[h] See _Book V. Chap. 8._

[i] To the foregoing, I shall briefly add some Examples of the special

Provision made for the Motion of some Animals by _Temporary Parts_.

_Frogs_ and _Toads_, in their _Tadpole-state_, have Tails, which fall off

when their Legs are grown out. The _Lacerta aquatica_, or _Water-Newt_,

when Young, hath four neat ramified Fins, two on a Side, growing out a

little above its Fore-Legs, to poise and keep its Body upright, (which

gives it the Resemblance of a young Fish,) which fall off when the Legs

are grown. And the _Nymphæ_ and _Aureliæ_, of all or most of the Insects

bred in the Waters, as they have particular Forms, different from the

Insects they produce; so have also peculiar Parts afforded them for their

Motion in the Waters: Oars, Tails, and every Part adapted to the Waters,

which are utterly varied in the Insects themselves, in their mature State

in the Air.

[k] _Jam verò alia animalia gradiendo, alia serpendo ad pastum accedunt,

alia volando, alia nando._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 47.

Compare also what _Galen_ excellently observes concerning the Number of

Feet in Man, and in other Animals; and the wise Provision thereby made

for the Use and Benefit of the respective Animals. _De Us. Part._ in the

beginning of the third Book.

[l] As I shall hereafter shew, that the indulgent Creator hath

abundantly provided for the Safety of Animals by their Cloathing,

Habitations, Sagacity and Instruments of Defence; so there appears to be

a Contemperament of their _Motion_ with these Provisions. They that are

well armed and guarded, have commonly a slower Motion; whereas they that

are destitute thereof, are swifter. So also timid helpless Animals are

commonly swift; thus Deer and Hares: But Animals endowed with Courage,

Craft, Arms, _&c._ commonly have a slower Motion.

[m] See _Book VII. Chap. 1._

[n] See _Book VII. Chap. 1._ the end.

[o] See _Book IX. Chap. 1. Note (c)._

[p] _Siquis unquam alius Opifex, æqualitatis & proportionis magnam habuit

providentiam, certè Natura habuit in animalium corporibus conformandis;

unde Hippocrates eam rectissimè justam nominat._ Galen. de Us. Part. l.

2. c. 16.

[q] The Make of the Bodies of some Water-fowl, seems to contradict what

I here say, the Heads and long Necks of some, as of Swans, Ducks and

Geese; and the hinder Parts of others, as of the Doucker and More-hen,

and some other Kinds, seeming to be too heavy for the rest of their Body.

But instead of being an Argument against, it is a notable Instance of,

the divine Art and Providence, these Things being nice Accommodations to

their way of Life. Of such as have long Necks, see _Book VII. Chap. 2.

Note (i)._

And as for such whose hinder Parts seem to over-balance their foremost

Parts, whereby they fly with their Bodies in a manner erect, this also is

an excellent Accommodation to their way of Life, which is Diving rather

than Flying. _Vid._ _Book VII. Chap. 4. Note (k)._

[r] See _Book V. Chap. 2. Note (h)._

CHAP. IX.

_Of the Place allotted to the several Tribes of Animals._

Having dispatched the Motion of Animals, let us in the next Place

consider the _Place_ which the infinitely wise Creator hath appointed

them to move and act, and perform the Offices of the Creation in. And

here we find every Particular well ordered. All Parts of our Terraqueous

Globe fit for an Animal to live and act in, are sufficiently stocked

with proper Inhabitants: The watery Element (unfit, one would think,

for Respiration and Life) abounding with Creatures fitted for it; its

Bowels abundantly stored, and its Surface well bespread. The Earth also

is plentifully stocked in all its Parts, where Animals can be of any

Use; not probably the deepest Bowels thereof indeed, being Parts in all

likelihood unfit for Habitation and Action, and where a living Creature

would be useless in the World; but the Surface every where abundantly

stored.

But that which is most considerable in this Matter, and plainly sheweth

the divine Management in the Case, is, that those Creatures are

manifestly designed for the Place in which they are, and the Use and

Services they perform therein. If all the Animals of our Globe had been

made by Chance, or placed by Chance, or without the divine Providence,

their Organs would have been otherwise than they are, and their Place

and Residence confused and jumbled. Their Organs (for Instance) of

Respiration, of Vision, and of Motion, would have fitted any _Medium_, or

have needed none; their Stomachs would have served any Food, and their

Blood, and Covering of their Bodies been made for any Clime, or only one

Clime. Consequently all the Animal World would have been in a confused,

inconvenient, and disorderly Commixture. One Animal would have wanted

Food, another Habitation, and most of them Safety. They would have all

flocked to one, or a few Places, taken up their Rest in the Temperate

Zones only, and coveted one Food, the easiest to be come at, and most

specious in shew; and so would have poisoned, starved, or greatly

incommoded one another. Bur as the Matter is now ordered, the Globe is

equally bespread, so that no Place wanteth proper Inhabitants, nor any

Creature is destitute of a proper Place, and all Things necessary to its

Life, Health, and Pleasure. As the Surface of the Terraqueous Globe is

covered with different Soils, with Hills and Vales, with Seas, Rivers,

Lakes and Ponds, with divers Trees and Plants, in the several Places; so

all these have their Animal Inhabitants, whole Organs of Life and Action

are manifestly adapted to such and such Places and Things; whose Food

and Physick, and every other Convenience of Life, is to be met with in

that very Place appointed it. The watery, the amphibious[a], the airy

Inhabitants, and those on the dry Land Surface, and the Subterraneous

under it, they all live and act with Pleasure, they are gay, and flourish

in their proper Element and allotted Place, they want neither for Food,

Cloathing, or Retreat; which would dwindle and die, destroy, or poison

one another, if all coveted the same Element, Place, or Food.

Nay, and as the Matter is admirably well ordered, yet considering the

World’s increase, there would not be sufficient Room, Food, and other

Necessaries for all the living Creatures, without another grand Act of

the divine Wisdom and Providence, which is the _Balancing the Number

of Individuals_ of each Species of Creatures, in that Place appointed

thereto: Of which in the next Chapter.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Est etiam admiratio nonnulla in bestiis aquatilibus iis, quæ

gignuntur in terrâ: veluti Crocodili, fluviatilesque Testudines,

quædamque Serpentes ortæ extra aquam, simul ac primùm niti possunt, aquam

persequuntur. Quin etiam Anatum ova Gallinis sæpe supponimus——~[Pulli]~

deinde eas ~[matres]~ relinquunt——& effugiunt, cùm primùm aquam, quasi

naturalem domum, videre potuerunt._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 48.

CHAP. X.

_Of the Balance of Animals, or the due Proportion in which the World is

flocked with them._

The whole Surface of our Globe can afford Room and Support only to such a

Number of all Sorts of Creatures. And if by their doubling, trebling, or

any other Multiplication of their Kind, they should encrease to double or

treble that Number, they must starve, or devour one another. The keeping

therefore the Balance even, is manifestly a Work of the divine Wisdom

and Providence. To which end, the great Author of Life hath determined

the Life of all Creatures to such a Length, and their Increase to such

a Number, proportional to their Use in the World. The Life of some

Creatures is long, and their Increase but small, and by that means they

do not over-stock the World. And the same Benefit is effected, where the

Increase is great, by the Brevity of such Creatures Lives, by their great

Use, and the frequent Occasions there are of them for Food to Man, or

other Animals. It is a very remarkable Act of the Divine Providence, that

useful Creatures are produced in great Plenty[a], and others in less.

The prodigious and frequent Increase of Insects, both in and out of the

Waters, may exemplify the one; and ’tis observable in the other, that

Creatures less useful, or by their Voracity pernicious, have commonly

fewer Young, or do seldomer bring forth: Of which many Instances might

be given in the voracious Beasts and Birds. But there is one so peculiar

an Animal, as if made for a particular Instance in our present Case, and

that is the _Cuntur_ of _Peru_[b]: A Fowl of that Magnitude, Strength and

Appetite, as to seize not only on the Sheep, and lesser Cattle, but even

the larger Beasts, yea, the very Children too. Now these, as they are the

most pernicious of Birds, so are they the most rare, being seldom seen,

or only one, or a few in large Countries; enough to keep up the Species;

but not to over-charge the World.

Thus the Balance of the animal World, is, throughout all Ages, kept even;

and by a curious Harmony, and just Proportion between the Increase of all

Animals, and the Length of their Lives, the World is through all Ages

well; but not over-stored: _One Generation passeth away, and another

Generation cometh_[c]; so equally in its Room, to balance the Stock of

the terraqueous Globe in all Ages, and Places, and among all Creatures;

that it is an actual Demonstration of our Saviour’s Assertion, _Mat._ x.

29. that the most inconsiderable, common Creature, _Even a Sparrow (two

of which are sold for a Farthing) doth not fall on the Ground without our

heavenly Father._

This Providence of God is remarkable in every Species of living

Creatures: But that especial Management of the Recruits and Decays

of Mankind, so equally all the World over, deserves our especial

Observation. In the Beginning of the World, and so after _Noah_’s

Flood, the Longævity of Men, as it was of absolute Necessity to the

more speedy peopling of the new World; so is a special Instance of the

divine Providence in this Matter[d]. And the same Providence appears in

the following Ages, when the World was pretty well peopled, in reducing

the common Age of Man then to 120 Years, (_Gen._ vi. 3.) in Proportion

to the Occasions of the World at that Time. And lastly, when the World

was fully peopled after the Flood, (as it was in the Age of _Moses_, and

so down to our present Time) the lessening the common Age of Man to 70

or 80 Years[e], (the Age mentioned by _Moses_, _Psal_. xc. 10. this, I

say,) is manifestly an Appointment of the same infinite Lord that ruleth

the World: For, by this Means, the peopled World is kept at a convenient

Stay; neither too full, nor too empty. For if Men (the Generality of

them, I mean) were to live now to _Methusalah_’s Age of 969 Years, or

only to _Abraham_’s, long after the Flood, of 175 Years, the World would

be too much over-run; or if the Age of Man was limited to that of divers

other Animals, to ten, twenty, or thirty Years only; the Decays then of

Mankind would be too fast: But at the middle Rate mentioned, the Balance

is nearly even, and Life and Death keep an equal Pace. Which Equality

is so great and harmonious, and so manifest an Instance of the divine

Management, that I shall spend some Remarks upon it.

It appears from our best Accounts of these Matters, that in our

_European_ Parts[f], and I believe the same is throughout the World;

that, I say, there is a certain Rate and Proportion in the Propagation of

Mankind: Such a Number marry[g], so many are born, such a Number die; in

Proportion to the Number of Persons in every Nation, County, or Parish.

And as to Births, two Things are very considerable: One is the Proportion

of Males and Females[h], not in a wide Proportion, not an uncertain,

accidental Number at all Adventures; but nearly equal. Another Thing is,

that a few more are born than appear to die, in any certain Place[i].

Which is an admirable Provision for the extraordinary Emergencies and

Occasions of the World; to supply unhealthful Places, where Death

out-runs Life; to make up the Ravages of great Plagues, and Diseases, and

the Depredations of War, and the Seas; and to afford a sufficient Number

for Colonies in the unpeopled Parts of the Earth. Or on the other Hand,

we may say, that sometimes those extraordinary Expences of Mankind, may

be not only a just Punishment of the Sins of Men; but also a wise Means

to keep the Balance of Mankind even; as one would be ready to conclude,

by considering the _Asiatick_, and other the more fertile Countries,

where prodigious Multitudes are yearly swept away with great Plagues, and

sometimes War; and yet those Countries are so far from being wasted, that

they remain full of People.

And now upon the whole Matter, What is all this but admirable and plain

Management? What can the maintaining throughout all Ages, and Places,

these Proportions of Mankind, and all other Creatures; this Harmony in

the Generations of Men be, but the Work of one that ruleth the World? Is

it possible that every Species of Animals should so evenly be preserved,

proportionate to the Occasions of the World? That they should be so well

balanced in all Ages and Places, without the Help of almighty Wisdom and

Power? How is it possible by the bare Rules, and blind Acts of Nature,

that there should be any tolerable Proportion; for Instance, between

Males and Females, either of Mankind, or of any other Creature[k];

especially such as are of a ferine, not of a domestick Nature, and

consequently out of the Command and Management of Man? How could Life

and Death keep such an even Pace through all the animal World? If we

should take it for granted, that, according to the Scripture History, the

World had a Beginning, (as who can deny it[l]; or if we should suppose

the Destruction thereof by _Noah_’s Flood: How is it possible, after

the World was replenished,) that in a certain Number of Years, by the

greater Increases and Doublings of each Species of Animals; that, I say,

this Rate of Doubling[m] should cease; or that it should be compensated

by some other Means? That the World should be as well, or better stocked

than now it is, in 1656 Years (the Time between the Creation and the

Flood; this) we will suppose may be done by the natural Methods of each

Species Doubling or Increase: But in double that Number of Years, or at

this Distance from the Flood, of 4000 Years, that the World should not

be over stock’d, can never be made out, without allowing an infinite

Providence.

I conclude then this Observation with the Psalmist’s Words, _Psal._ civ.

29, 30. _Thou hidest thy Face, all Creatures are troubled; thou takest

away their Breath, they die, and return to their Dust. Thou sendest forth

thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the Face of the Earth._

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Benigna circa hoc Natura, innocua & esculenta animalia fœcunda

generavit._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 55.

[b] _Captain ~J. Strong~ gave me this Account, together with a

Quill-Feather of the ~Cuntur~ or ~Condor~ of ~Peru~. On the Coast

of ~Chili~, they met with this Bird in about 33° S. Lat. not far from

~Mocha~, an Island in the South-Sea,——they shot it sitting on a Cliff, by

the Sea-side; that it was 16 Feet from Wing to Wing extended; that the

~Spanish~ Inhabitants told them they were afraid of these Birds, lest

they should prey upon their Children. And the Feather he gave me_ (saith

the Doctor) _is 2 Feet, 4 Inches long; the Quill-part 5¾ Inches long, and

1½ Inch about in the largest Part. It weighed 3 dr. 17½ gr. and is of a

dark brown Colour._ Dr. _Sloane_ in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 208.

To this Account, the Doctor, (in a Letter to Mr. _Ray_, _March 31, 1694_,

with other Papers of Mr. _Ray_’s, in my Hands,) adds the Testimony

of _Jos. Acosta_, l. 4. c. 7. and _Garcilass. de la Vega_, who l. 8.

c. 19. saith, _There are other Fowls, call’d ~Cuntur~, and by the

~Spaniards~ corruptly ~Condor~. Many of these Fowls having been kill’d

by the ~Spaniards~, had their Proportion taken, and from End to End of

their Wings measured 15 or 16 Feet.——Nature, to temper and allay their

Fierceness, deny’d them the Talons which are given to the ~Eagle~; their

Feet being tipp’d with Claws like a Hen: However, their Beak is strong

enough to tear off the Hide, and rip up the Bowels of an ~Ox~. Two of

them will attempt a ~Cow~ or ~Bull~, and devour him: And it hath often

happened, that one of then alone hath assaulted Boys of ten or twelve

Years of Age, and eaten them. Their Colour is black and white, like a

~Magpie~. It is well there are but few of them; for if they were many,

they would very much destroy the Cattle. They have on the forepart of

their Heads, a Comb, not pointed like that of a ~Cock~; but rather even,

in the Form of a Razor. When they come to alight from the Air, they make

such an humming Noise, with the fluttering of their Wings, as is enough

to astonish, or make a Man deaf._

[c] _Eccles._ i. 4.

[d] The Divine Providence doth not only appear in the Longævity of Man,

immediately after the Creation and Flood; but also in their different

Longævity at those two Times. Immediately after the Creation, when

the World was to be peopled by one Man, and one Woman, the Age of the

greatest Part of those on Record, was 900 Years, and upwards. But after

the Flood, when there were three Persons by whom the World was to be

peopled, none of those Patriarchs, except _Shem_, arriv’d to the Age

of 500; and only the three first of _Shem_’s Line, _viz._ _Arphaxad_,

_Salah_, and _Eber_, came near that Age; which was in the first Century

after the Flood. But in the second Century, we do not find any reached

the Age of 240. And in the third Century, (about the latter End of which

_Abraham_ was born,) none, except _Terah_, arriv’d to 200 Years: By which

Time the World was so well peopled, (that Part of it, at least where

_Abraham_ dwelt,) that they had built Cities, and began to be cantoned

into distinct Nations and Societies, under their respective Kings; so

that they were able to wage War, four Kings against five, _Gen._ xiv.

Nay, if the Accounts of _Anian_, _Berosus_, _Manetho_, and others, yea,

_Africanus_ be to be credited; the World was so well peopled, even before

the Times we speak of, as to afford sufficient Numbers for the great

Kingdoms of _Assyria_, _Ægypt_, _Persia_, &c. But learned Men generally,

with great Reason, reject these as legendary Accounts. If the Reader

hath a Mind to see a Computation of the Increase of Mankind, in the

three first Centuries after the Flood, he may find two different Ones

of the most learned Archbishop _Usher_, and _Petavius_; together with a

Refutation of the so early Beginning of the _Assyrian Monarchy_; as also

Reasons for placing _Abraham_ near 1000 Years after the Flood, in our

most learned Bishop _Stillingfleet_’s _Orig. Sacr._ Book III. Chap. 4. §.

9.

[e] That the common Age of Man hath been the same in all Ages since the

World was peopled, is manifest from prophane, as well as sacred History.

To pass by others: _Plato_ lived to the Age of 81, and was accounted

an old Man. And those which _Pliny_ reckons up, _l. 7. c. 48._ as rare

Examples of long Life, may for the most Part be match’d by our modern

Histories; especially such as _Pliny_ himself gave Credit unto. Dr.

_Plot_ hath given us divers Instances in his History of _Oxfordshire_,

c. 2. §. 3. and c. 8. §. 54. and History of _Staffordshire_, c. 8. §.

91, _&c._ Among others, one is of twelve Tenants of Mr. _Biddulph_’s,

that together made 1000 Years of Age. But the most considerable Examples

of aged Persons among us, is of old _Parre_ of _Shropshire_, who lived

152 Years 9 Months, according to the learned Dr. _Harvey_’s Account; and

_Henry Jenkins_ of _Yorkshire_, who lived 169 Years, according to the

Account of my learned and ingenious Friend Dr. _Tancred Robinson_; of

both which, with others, see _Lowth. Abridg. Phil. Trans._ V. 3. p. 306.

The great Age of _Parre_ of _Shropshire_, minds me of an Observation of

the Reverend Mr. _Plaxton_, that in his two Parishes of _Kinardsey_ and

_Donington_ in _Shropshire_, every sixth Soul was 60 Years of Age, or

upwards, _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 310.

And if we step farther North into _Scotland_, we shall find divers

recorded for their great Age: Of which I shall present the Reader with

only one modern Example of one _Laurence_, who married a Wife after he

was 100 Years of Age, and would go out to Sea a Fishing in his little

Boat, when he was 140 Years old; and is lately dead of no other Distemper

but mere old Age, saith Sir _Rob. Sibbald_, _Prodr. Hist. Nat. Scot._ p.

44. _and_ l. 3. p. 4.

As for Foreigners, the Examples would be endless; and therefore that of

_Joh. Ottele_ shall suffice, who was as famous for his Beard, as for

being 115 Years of Age. He was but two _Brabant_ Ells ³⁄₉ high; and his

long grey Beard was one Ell ¼ long. His Picture and Account may be seen

in _Ephem. Germ. T. 3. Obs. 163._

As for the Story _Roger Bacon_ tells, of one that lived 900 Years by the

Help of a certain Medicine, and many other such Stories, I look upon

them as fabulous. And no better is that of the _Wandring Jew_, named

_Joh. Buttadæus_, said to have been present at our Saviour’s Crucifixion;

although very serious Stories are told of his being seen at _Antwerp_,

and in _France_, about the Middle of the last Century but one; and

before in _Ann. 1542_, conversed with by _Paul_ of _Eitsen_, Bishop of

_Sleswick_; and before that, _viz._ in 1228, seen and convers’d with by

an _Armenian Archbishop_’s _Gentleman_; and by others at other Times.

If the Reader hath a Mind to see more Examples, he may meet with some

of all Ages, in the learned _Hakewill’s Apol. p. 181._ where he will

also find that learned Author’s Opinion of the Causes of the Brevity and

Length of humane Life. The Brevity thereof he attributeth to a too tender

Education, sucking strange Nurses, too hasty Marriages; but above all, to

Luxury, high Sauces, strong Liquors, _&c._ The Longævity of the Ancients

he ascribes to Temperance in Meat and Drink, anointing the Body, the

Use of Saffron and Honey, warm Clothes, lesser Doors and Windows, less

Physick and more Exercise.

[f] The Proportions which Marriages bear to Births, and Births to

Burials, in divers Parts of Europe, may be seen at an easy View in this

Table:

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

| Names of the Places. | Marriages to | Births to |

| | Births: As | Burials: as |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_England_ in general. | 1 to 4.63 | 1.12 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_London_. | 1 to 4. | 1 to 1.1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Hantshire_, from 1569, to 1658. | 1 to 4. | 1.2 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Tiverton_ in _Devon_, 1560, to 1649. | 1 to 3.7 | 1.26 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Cranbrook_ in _Kent_, 1560, to 1649. | 1 to 3.9 | 1.6 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Aynho_ in _Northamptonshire_ for 118 Y. | 1 to 6 | 1.6 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Leeds_ in _Yorkshire_ for 122 Years. | 1 to 3.7 | 1.07 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Harwood_ in _Yorkshire_ 57 Years. | 1 to 3.4 | 1.23 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Upminster_ in _Essex_ 100 Years. | 1 to 4.6 | 1.08 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Frankfort_ on the _Main_ in 1695. | 1 to 3.7 | 1.2 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

| Old middle and lower _Marck_ in 1698. | 1 to 3.7 | 1.9 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

| Domin. of the K. of _Prussia_ in 1698. | 1 to 3.7 | 1.5 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Breslaw_ in _Silesia_ from 1687 to 1691.| | 1.6 to 1 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

|_Paris_ in 1670, 1671, 1672. | 1 to 4.7 | 1 to 1.6 |

+-----------------------------------------+--------------+-------------+

Which Table I made from Major _Graunt_’s Observations on the Bills of

Mortality; Mr. _King_’s Observations in the first of Dr. _Davenant_’s

_Essays_; and what I find put together by my ingenious Friend Mr.

_Lowthorp_, in his _Abridgment_, Vol. 3. p. 668. and my own Register of

_Upminster_. That from _Aynho_ Register in _Northamptonshire_, I had

from the present Rector, the learned and ingenious Mr. _Wasse_: And I

was promised some Accounts from the North, and divers others Parts of

this Kingdom; but have not yet received them: Only those of _Leeds_

and _Harwood_ in _Yorkshire_, from my curious and ingenious friend Mr.

_Thoresby_.

[g] The preceding Table shews, that Marriages, one with another, do each

of them produce about four Births; not only in _England_, but in other

Parts of _Europe_ also.

And by Mr. _King_’s Estimate, (the best Computations I imagine of any,

being derived from the best Accounts; such as the Marriage, Birth,

Burial-Act, the Poll Books, _&c._ by his Estimate, I say,) about 1 in

104 marry. For he judgeth the Number of the People in _England_, to be

about five Millions and a half; of which about 41000 annually marry. As

to what might be farther remarked concerning Marriages, in regard of the

Rights and Customs of several Nations, the Age to which divers Nations

limited Marriage, _&c._ it would be Endless, and too much out of the Way

to mention them: I shall only therefore, for the Reader’s Diversion,

take Notice of the Jeer of _Lactantias_, _Quare apud Poetas salacissimus

~Jupiter~ desiit liberos tollere? Utrum sexagenarius factus, & ei Lex

Papia fibulam imposuit?_ Lactant. Instit. l. 1. c. 16. By which _Lex

Papia_, Men were prohibited to marry after 60, and Women after 50 Years

of Age.

[h] _Major Graunt_, (whose Conclusions seem to be well-grounded,) and Mr.

_King_, disagree in the Proportions they assign to Males and Females.

This latter makes in _London_, 10 Males to be to 13 Females; in other

Cities and Market-Towns, 8 to 9; and in the Villages and Hamlets, 100

Males to 99 Females. But Major _Graunt_, both from the _London_, and

_Country_ Bills, saith, there are 14 Males to 13 Females: From whence he

justly infers, _That Christian Religion, prohibiting Polygamy, is more

agreeable to the Law of Nature than_ Mahumetism, _and others that allow

it_, Chap. 8.

This Proportion of 14 to 13, I imagine is nearly just, it being agreeable

to the Bills I have met with, as well as those in Mr. _Graunt_. In the

100 Years, for Example, of my own Parish-Register, although the Burials

of Males and Females were nearly equal, being 636 Males, and 623 Females

in all that Time; yet there were baptized 709 Males, and but 675 Females,

which is 13 Females to 13.7 Males. Which Inequality shews, not only,

that one Man ought to have but one Wife; but also that every Woman may,

without Polygamy, have an Husband, if she doth not bar her self by the

want of Virtue, by Denial, _&c._ Also this Surplusage of Males is very

useful for the Supplies of War, the Seas, and other such Expences of the

Men above the Women.

That this is a Work of the Divine Providence, and not a Matter of Chance,

is well made out by the very Laws of Chance, by a Person able to do it,

the ingenious and learned Dr. _Arbuthnot_. He supposeth _Thomas_ to lay

against _John_, that for eighty two Years running, more Males shall

be born than Females; and giving all Allowances in the Computation to

_Thomas_’s side, he makes the Odds against _Thomas_, that it doth not

happen so, to be near five Millions of Millions, of Millions, of Millions

to one; but for Ages of Ages (according to the World’s Age) to be near an

infinite Number to one against _Thomas_. _Vid._ _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 328.

[i] The foregoing Table shews, that in _England_ in general fewer die

than are born, there being but 1 Death to 1¹²⁄₁₀₀ Births. But in _London_

more die than are born. So by Dr. _Davenant_’s Table, the Cities likewise

and Market-Towns bury ⁷⁄₁₀₀ to one Birth. But in _Paris_ they out-do

_London_, their Deaths being 1½ to one Birth: The Reason of which I

conceive is, because their Houses are more crowded than in _London_. But

in the Villages of _England_, there are fewer die than are born, there

being but 1 Death to 1¹⁷⁄₁₀₀ Births. And yet Major _Graunt_, and Dr.

_Davenant_, both observe, that there are more Breeders in _London_, and

the Cities and Market-Towns, than are in the Country, notwithstanding the

_London_-Births are fewer than the Country; the Reason of which see in

_Graunt_, _Chap. 7._ and _Davenant ubi supr. p. 21._

The last Remark I shall make from the foregoing Table, shall be, that we

may from thence judge of the Healthfulness of the Places there mentioned.

If the Year 1698 was the mean Account of the three _Marcks_, those Places

bid the fairest for being most healthful; and next to them, _Aynho_ and

_Cranbrook_ for _English_ Towns.

[k] _Quid loquar, quanta ratio in bestiis ad perpetuam conservationem

earum generis appareat? Nam primum aliæ Mares, aliæ Fœminæ sunt, quod

perpetuitatis causâ machinata natura est._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51.

[l] Altho’ _Aristotle_ held the Eternity of the World, yet he seems to

have retracted that Opinion, or to have had a different Opinion when he

wrote his _Metaphysicks_; for in his first Book he affirms, that _God

is the Cause and Beginning of all Things_; and in his Book _de Mundo_

he saith, _There is no doubt, but God is the Maker and Conservator of

all Things in the World_. And the _Stoicks_ Opinion is well known, who

strenuously contended that the Contrivance and Beauty of the Heavens and

Earth, and all Creatures was owing to a wise, intelligent Agent. Of which

_Tully_ gives a large Account in his second Book _de Nat. Deor._ in the

Person of _Balbus_.

[m] I have before in _Note (g)_, observed, that the ordinary rate of

the Doubling or Increase of Mankind is, that every Marriage, one with

another, produces about four Births; but some have much exceeded that.

_Babo_, Earl of _Abensperg_, had thirty two Sons and eight Daughters,

and being invited to hunt with the Emperor _Henry_ II. and bring but few

Servants, brought only one Servant, and his thirty two Sons. To these

many others might be added; but one of the most remarkable Instances

I have any where met with, is that of Mrs. _Honywood_, mentioned by

_Hakewill_, _Camden_, and other Authors; but having now before me the

Names, with some Remarks (which I received from a pious neighbouring

Descendant of the same Mrs. _Honywood_) I shall give a more particular

Account than they. Mrs. _Mary Honywood_ was Daughter, and one of the

Co-Heiresses of _Robert Atwaters_, Esq; of _Lenham_ in _Kent_. She was

born in 1527, married in _February_ 1543, at sixteen Years of Age, to her

only Husband _Robert Honywood_, of _Charing_ in _Kent_, Esq; She died in

the ninety third Year of her Age, in _May 1620_. She had sixteen Children

of her own Body, seven Sons and nine Daughters; of which one had no

issue, three died young, and the youngest was slain at _Newport Battle_,

_June 20, 1600_. Her Grand-Children in the second Generation, were one

hundred and fourteen; in the third two hundred and twenty eight; and nine

in the fourth Generation. So that she could say the same that the Distick

doth, made of one of the _Dalburg_’s Family of _Basil_:

1 2 3 4

_Mater ait Natæ, dic Natæ, filia Natam_

5 6

_Ut moneat, Natæ, plangere Filiolam._

1 2 3

_Rise up Daughter, and go to thy Daughter,_

4 5 6

_for her Daughters Daughter hath a Daughter._

Mrs. _Honywood_ was a very pious Woman, afflicted, in her declining

Age, with Despair, in some measure; concerning which, some Divines once

discoursing with her, she in a Passion said, _She was as certainly damned

as this Glass is broken_, throwing a _Venice_-Glass against the Ground,

which she had then in her Hand. But the Glass escaped breaking, as

credible Witnesses attested.

CHAP. XI.

_Of the Food of Animals._

The preceding Reflection of the _Psalmist_, mindeth me of another Thing

in common to Animals, that pertinently falleth next under Consideration,

which is the _Appointment of Food_, mentioned in Verse 27, 28, of the

last cited _Psalm_ civ. _These ~[Creatures]~ wait all upon thee, that

thou may’st give them their Meat in due Season. That thou givest them,

they gather; thou openest thy Hand, they are filled with Good._ The same

is again asserted in _Psal_. cxlv. 15, 16. _The Eyes of all wait upon

thee, and thou givest them their Meat in due Season. Thou openest thy

Hand, and satisfiest the Desire of every living Thing._

What the _Psalmist_ here asserts, affords us a glorious Scene of the

divine Providence and Management. Which, (as I have shew’d it to concern

it self in other lesser Things;) so we may presume doth exert it self

particularly in so grand an Affair as that of Food, whereby the animal

World subsists: And this will be manifested, and the _Psalmist_’s

Observations exemplified, from these six following Particulars:

I. From the subsisting and maintaining such a large Number of Animals,

throughout all Parts of the World.

II. From the proportionate Quantity of Food to the Eaters.

III. From the Variety of Food suited to the Variety of Animals: Or the

Delight which various Animals have in different Food.

IV. From the peculiar Food which peculiar Places afford to the Creatures

suited to those Places.

V. From the admirable and curious Apparatus made for the gathering,

preparing, and Digestion of the Food. And,

VI. _and lastly_, From the great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out

and providing their Food.

I. It is a great Act of the divine Power and Wisdom, as well as Goodness,

to provide Food for such a World of Animals[a], as every where possess

the terraqueous Globe; on the dry Land; and in the Sea and Waters; in the

torrid and frozen Zones, as well as the temperate. That the temperate

Climates, or at least the fertile Valleys, and rich and plentiful Regions

of the Earth, should afford Subsistence to many Animals, may appear less

wonderful perhaps: But that in all other the most likely Places for

Supplies sufficient Food should be afforded to such a prodigious Number,

and so great Variety of Beasts, Birds, Fishes and Insects; is owing to

that Being, who hath as wisely adapted their Bodies to their Place and

Food, as well as carefully provided Food for their Subsistence there.

But I shall leave this Consideration, because it will be illustrated

under the following Points; and proceed,

II. To consider the Adjustment of the Quantity of Food, in Proportion

to the Eaters. In all Places there is generally enough; nay, such a

Sufficiency, as may be styled a Plenty; but not such a Superfluity,

as to waste and corrupt, and thereby annoy the World. But that which

is particularly remarkable here, is, that among the great Variety of

Foods, the most useful is the most plentiful, most universal, easiest

propagated, and most patient of Weather, and other Injuries. As the

herbaceous Eaters, (for Instance) are many, and devour much; so the

dryland Surface we find every where almost naturally carpeted over with

Grass, and other agreeable wholsome Plants; propagating themselves in a

Manner every where, and scarcely destroyable by the Weather, the Plough,

or any Art. So likewise for Grain, especially such as is most useful,

how easily is it cultivated, and what a large Increase doth it produce?

_Pliny_’s Example of Wheat[b], is a sufficient Instance in this Matter;

which (as that curious Heathen observes) being principally useful to the

Support of Man, is easily propagated, and in great Plenty: And an happy

Faculty that is of it, that it can bear either extreams of Heat or Cold,

so as scarce to refuse any Clime.

III. Another wise Provision the Creator hath made relating to the Food

of Animals, is, that various Animals delight in various Food[c]; some

in Grass and Herbs; some in Grain and Seeds; some in Flesh; some in

Insects; some in this[d], some in that; some more delicate and nice; some

voracious and catching at any Thing. If all delighted in, or subsisted

only with one Sort of Food, there would not be sufficient for all; but

every Variety chusing various Food, and perhaps abhorring that which

others like, is a great and wise Means that every Kind hath enough, and

oftentimes somewhat to spare.

It deserves to be reckoned as an Act of the divine Appointment, that what

is wholesome Food to one, is nauseous, and as a Poyson to another; what

is a sweet and delicate Smell and Taste to one, is fœtid and loathsome

to another: By which Means all the Provisions the Globe affords are

well dispos’d of. Not only every Creature is well provided for, but a

due Consumption is made of those Things that otherwise would encumber

the World, lie in the Way, corrupt, rot, stink and annoy, instead of

cherishing and refreshing it. For our most useful Plants, Grain and

Fruits, would mould and rot; those Beasts, Fowls and Fishes, which are

reckoned among the greatest Dainties, would turn to Carrion, and poyson

us: Nay, those Animals which are become Carrion, and many other Things

that are noysome, both on the Dry-land, and in the Waters, would be

great Annoyances, and breed Diseases, was it nor for the Provision which

the infinite Orderer of the World hath made, by causing these Things

to be sweet, pleasant, and wholsome Food to some Creature or other, in

the Place where those Things fall: To Dogs, Ravens, and other voracious

Animals, for Instance, on the Earth; and to rapacious Fishes, and other

Creatures inhabiting the Waters.

Thus is the World in some Measure kept sweet and clean, and at the same

Time, divers Species of Animals supply’d with convenient Food. Which

Providence of God, particularly in the Supplies afforded the _Ravens_, is

divers Times taken Notice of in the Scriptures[e]; but whether for the

Reasons now hinted, or any other special Reasons, I shall not enquire.

Thus our Saviour, _Luke_ xii. 24. _Consider the Ravens; for they neither

sow nor reap, which neither have Storehouse, nor Barn, and God feedeth

them._ It is a manifest Argument of the divine Care and Providence,

in supplying the World with Food and Necessaries, that the _Ravens_,

accounted as unclean, and little regarded by Man, destitute of Stores,

and that live by Accidents, by what falleth here and there; that such a

Bird, I say, should be provided with sufficient Food; especially if that

be true, which _Aristotle_[f], _Pliny_[g], and _Ælian_[h], report of

their unnatural Affection and Cruelty to their Young: “That they expel

them their Nests as soon as they can fly, and then drive them out of the

Country”.

Thus having considered the wise Appointment of the Creator, in suiting

the Variety of Food, to Variety of Animals: Let us in the

IV. Place, Take a View of the peculiar Food, which particular Places

afford to the Creatures inhabiting therein.

It hath been already observed[i], that every Place on the Surface of

the terraqueous Globe, is stocked with proper Animals, whose Organs of

Life and Action are curiously adapted to each respective Place. Now it

is an admirable Act of the divine Providence, that every Place affords a

proper Food to all the living Creatures therein. All the various Regions

of the World, the different Climates[k], the various Soils, the Seas,

the Waters, nay our very Putrefactions, and most nasty Places about the

Globe, as they are inhabited by some or other Animal, so they produce

some proper Food or other, affording a comfortable Subsistence to the

Creatures living there. I might for Instances[l] of this, bring the

great Variety of Herbs, Fruits and Grains on the Earth, the large Swarms

of Insects in the Air, with every other Food of the Creatures residing

in the Earth, or flying in the Air. But I shall stop at the _Waters_,

because the _Psalmist_, in the fore-cited civᵗʰ _Psalm_, speaks with

relation to the especial Provision for the Inhabitants of the Waters; and

also by reason that many Land Animals have their chief Maintenance from

thence.

Now one would think, that the Waters were a very unlikely Element

to produce Food for so great a Number of Creatures, as have their

Subsistence from thence. But yet how rich a Promptuary is it, not only

to large multitudes of Fishes, but also to many amphibious Quadrupeds,

Insects, Reptiles, and Birds! From the largest _Leviathan_, which the

_Psalmist_ saith[m] _playeth in the Seas_, to the smallest Mite in the

Lakes and Ponds, all are plentifully provided for; as is manifest from

the Fatness of their Bodies, and the Gaiety of their Aspect and Actions.

And the Provision which the Creator hath made for this Service in the

Waters is very observable; not only by the Germination of divers aquatick

Plants there, but particularly by appointing the Waters to be the Matrix

of many Animals, particularly of many of the Insect-Kind, not only of

such as are peculiar to the Waters, but also of many appertaining to the

Air and the Land, who, by their near Alliance to the Waters, delight to

be about them, and by that means become a Prey, and plentiful Food to the

Inhabitants of the Waters. And besides these, what prodigious Shoals do

we find of minute Animals, even sometimes discolouring the Waters[n]! Of

these (not only in the Water, but in the Air and on Land) I have always

thought there was some more than ordinary Use intended by the All-wise

Creator. And having bent many of my Observations that way, I have

evidently found it accordingly to be. For be they never so numberless or

minute, those Animals serve for Food to some Creatures or other. Even

those Animalcules in the Waters, discoverable only with good Microscopes,

are a Repast to others there, as I have often with no less Admiration

than Pleasure seen[o].

But now the usual Objection is, that Necessity maketh Use[p]. Animals

must be fed, and they make use of what they find: In the desolate

Regions, and in the Waters, for Instance, they feed upon what they can

come at; but, when in greater Plenty, they pick and chuse.

But this Objection hath been already in some measure answered by what

hath been said; which plainly argues Design, and a super-intending

Wisdom, Power and Providence in this special Business of Food.

Particularly the different Delight of divers Animals in different Food,

so that what is nauseous to one, should be Dainties to another, is a

manifest Argument, that the Allotment of Food is not a Matter of mere

Chance, but entailed to the very Constitution and Nature of Animals; that

they chuse this, and refuse that, not by Accident, or Necessity, but

because the one is a proper Food, agreeable to their Constitution, and

so appointed by the infinite Contriver of their Bodies; and the other is

disagreeable and injurious to them.

But all this Objection will be found frivolous, and the Wisdom and Design

of the great Creator will demonstratively appear, if we take a Survey,

V. Of the admirable and curious Apparatus in all Animals, made for the

Gathering, Preparing and Digestion of their Food. From the very first

Entrance, to the utmost Exit of the Food, we find every Thing contrived,

made and disposed with the utmost Dexterity and Art, and curiously

adapted to the Place the Animal liveth in, and the Food it is to be

nourished with.

Let us begin with the _Mouth_. And this we find, in every Species of

Animals, nicely conformable to the Use of such a Part; neatly sized and

shaped for the catching of Prey, for the gathering or receiving Food[q],

for the Formation of Speech, and every other such like Use[r]. In some

Creatures it is wide and large, in some little and narrow: in some with

a deep Incisure up into the Head[s], for the better catching and holding

of Prey, and more easy Comminution of hard, large and troublesome Food;

in others with a much shorter Incisure, for the gathering and holding of

herbaceous Food.

In _Insects_ it is very notable. In some forcipated; to catch hold and

tear their Prey[t]. In some aculeated, to pierce and wound Animals[u],

and suck their Blood. And in others strongly rigged with Jaws and Teeth,

to gnaw and scrape out their Food, to carry Burdens[w] to perforate the

Earth, yea the hardest Wood, yea even Stones themselves, for Houses[x]

to themselves, and Nests for their young.

And lastly, in _Birds_ it is no less remarkable. In the first Place,

it is neatly shaped for piercing the Air, and making Way for the Body

thro’ the airy Regions. In the next Place, it is hard and horny, which

is a good Supplement for the want of Teeth, and causeth the Bill to have

the Use and Service of the Hand. It’s hooked Form is of great Use to

the rapacious Kind[y], in catching and holding their Prey, and in the

Comminution thereof by tearing; to others it is no less serviceable to

their Climbing, as well as neat and nice Comminution of their Food[z].

Its extraordinary Length and Slenderness is very useful to some, to

search and grope for their Food in moorish Places[aa]; as its Length

and Breadth is to others to hunt and search in muddy Places[bb]: And

the contrary Form, namely, a thick, short, and sharp-edg’d Bill, is as

useful to other Birds, who have occasion to husk and flay the Grains

they swallow. But it would be endless, and tedious, to reckon up all

the various Shapes, and commodious Mechanism of all; the Sharpness and

Strength of those who have Occasion to perforate Wood and Shells[cc]; the

Slenderness and Neatness of such as pick up small Insects; the Cross-form

of such as break up Fruits[dd]; the compressed Form of others[ee], with

many other curious and artificial Forms, all suited to the Way of Living,

and peculiar Occasions of the several Species of Birds. Thus much for the

Mouth.

Let us next take a short View of the _Teeth_[ff], In which their

peculiar Hardness[gg] is remarkable, their Growth[hh] also, their firm

Insertion and Bandage in the Gums and Jaws, and their various Shape and

Strength, suited to their various Occasion and Use[ii]; the foremost

weak and farthest from the Center, as being only Preparers to the rest;

the others being to grind and mince, are accordingly made stronger,

and placed nearer the Center of Motion and Strength. Likewise their

various Form[kk], in various Animals is considerable, being all curiously

adapted to the peculiar Food[ll], and Occasions of the several Species

of Animals[mm]. And lastly, the temporary Defect of them[nn], is no less

observable in Children, and such young Creatures, where there is no

Occasion for them; but they would be rather an Annoyance to the tender

Nipples and Breasts.

From the Teeth, the grand Instruments of Mastication; let us proceed

to the other ministerial Parts. And here the _Parotid_, _Sublingual_,

and _maxillary Glands_; together with those of the Cheeks and Lips, are

considerable; all lodged in the most convenient Places about the Mouth

and Throat to afford that noble digestive salival Liquor, to be mixed

with the Food in Mastication, and to moisten and lubricate the Passages,

to give an easie descent to the Food. The commodious Form also of the

Jaws, deserves our Notice; together with the strong Articulation of

the lowermost, and its Motion. And lastly, the curious Form, the great

Strength, the convenient Lodgment and Situation of the several Muscles

and Tendons[oo], all ministring to this so necessary an Act of Life, as

Mastication is; they are such Contrivances, such Works, as plainly set

forth the infinite Workman’s Care and Skill.

Next to the Mouth, the _Gullet_ presenteth it self; in every Creature

well-siz’d to the Food it hath occasion to swallow; in some but narrow,

in others as large and extensive[pp]; in all exceedingly remarkable for

the curious Mechanism of its Muscles, and the artificial Decussation and

Position of their Fibres[qq].

And now we are arriv’d to the grand Receptacle of the Food, the

_Stomach_; for the most Part as various as the Food to be convey’d

therein. And here I might describe the admirable Mechanism of its

Tunicks, Muscles, Glands, the Nerves, Arteries and Veins[rr]; all

manifesting the super-eminent Contrivance and Art of the infinite

Workman[ss]; they being all nicely adjusted to their respective Place,

Occasion and Service. I might also insist upon that most necessary

Office of _Digestion_; and here consider that wonderful Faculty of the

Stomachs of all Creatures, to dissolve[tt] all the several Sorts of Food

appropriated to their Species; even sometimes Things of that Consistency

as seem insoluble[uu]; especially by such seemingly simple and weak

_Menstruums_ as we find in their Stomachs: But I shall only give these

Things a bare mention, and take more peculiar Notice of the Special

Provision made in the particular Species of Animals, for the Digestion of

that special Food appointed them.

And in the first Place it is observable, that, in every Species of

Animals, the Strength and Size of their Stomach[ww] is conformable to

their Food. Such whose Food is more delicate, tender, and nutritive, have

commonly this Part thinner, weaker, and less bulky; whereas such whose

Aliment is less nutritive, or whose Bodies require larger Supplies to

answer their Bulk, their Labours, and waste of Strength and Spirits, in

them it is large and strong.

Another very remarkable Thing in this Part, is, the Number of Ventricles

in divers Creatures. In many but one; in some two or more[xx]. In such as

make a sufficient Comminution of the Food in the Mouth, one suffices. But

where Teeth are wanting, and the Food dry and hard, (as in granivorous

Birds,) there the Defect is abundantly supply’d by one thin membranaceous

Ventricle, to receive and moisten the Food, and another thick, strong,

muscular one, to grind and tear[yy] it. But in such Birds, and other

Creatures, whose Food is not Grain, but Flesh, Fruits, Insects, or

partly one, partly the other, there their Stomachs are accordingly

conformable to their Food[zz], stronger or weaker, membranaceous or

muscular.

But as remarkable a Thing, as any in this Part of Animals, is, the

curious Contrivance and Fabrick of the several Ventricles of ruminating

Creatures. The very Act it self of _Rumination_, is an excellent

Provision for the compleat Mastication of the Food, at the Resting,

leisure Times of the Animal. But the Apparatus for this Service, of

divers Ventricles for its various Uses and Purposes, together with their

curious Mechanism, deserves great Admiration[aaa].

Having thus far pursu’d the Food to the Place, where by its Reduction

into Chyle, it becomes a proper Aliment for the Body; I might next trace

it through the several Meanders of the _Guts_, the _Lacteals_, and so

into the _Blood_[bbb], and afterwards into the very Habit of the Body:

I might also take Notice of the Separation made in the _Intestines_, of

what is nutritive, (which is received,) and what is feculent, (being

ejected;) and the Impregnations there from the _Pancreas_ and the

_Gall_; and after it hath been strained through those curious Colanders,

the _lacteal Veins_, I might also observe its Impregnations from the

_Glands_ and _Lymphæducts_; and, to name no more, I might farther view

the exquisite Structure of the Parts ministring to all these delicate

Offices of Nature; particularly the artificial Conformation of the

Intestines might deserve a special Enquiry, their Tunicks, Glands, Fibres

traversing one another[ccc], and peristaltick Motion in all Creatures;

and their cochleous Passage[ddd] to retard the Motion of the Chyle, and

to make amends for the Shortness of the Intestines, in such Creatures who

have but one Gut; together with many other Accommodations of Nature in

particular Animals that might be mention’d. But it shall suffice to have

given only a general Hint of those curious and admirable Works of God.

From whence it is abundantly manifest how little weight there is in the

former atheistical Objection. Which will receive a further Confutation

from the

VI. and last Thing relating to Food, that I shall speak of, namely, _The

great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out and providing their Food._

In Man perhaps we may not find any Thing very admirable, or remarkable in

this Kind, by Means of his Reason and Understanding, and his Supremacy

over the inferior Creatures; which answereth all his Occasions relating

to this Business: But then even here the Creator hath shewed his Skill,

in not over-doing the Matter; in not providing Man with an unnecessary

Apparatus, to effect over and over again what is feasible, by the Reach

of his Understanding, and the Power of his Authority.

But for the inferior Creatures, who want Reason, the Power of that

natural Instinct, that Sagacity[eee] which the Creator hath imprinted

upon them, do amply compensate that Defect. And here we shall find a

glorious Scene of the divine Wisdom, Power, Providence and Care, if

we view the various Instincts of Beasts, great and small, or Birds,

Insects and Reptiles[fff]. For among every Species of them, we may find

notable Acts of Sagacity, or Instinct, proportional to their Occasions

for Food. Even among those whose Food is near at Hand, and easily come

at; as Grass and Herbs; and consequently have no great need of Art to

discover it; yet, that Faculty of their accurate Smell and Taste, so

ready at every turn, to distinguish between what is salutary, and what

pernicious[ggg], doth justly deserve Praise. But for such Animals, whose

Food is not so easily come at, a Variety of wonderful Instinct may be

met with, sufficient to entertain the most curious Observer. With what

entertaining Power, and Artifice do some Creatures hunt[hhh], and pursue

their Game and Prey! And others watch and way-lay theirs[iii]! With what

prodigious Sagacity do others grope for it under Ground, out of Sight,

in moorish Places, in Mud and Dirt[kkk]; and others dig and delve for it,

both above[lll], and under the Surface of the drier Lands[mmm]! And how

curious and well designed a Provision is it of particular large Nerves in

such Creatures, adapted to that especial Service!

What an admirable Faculty is that of many Animals, to discover their

Prey at vast Distances; some by their Smell some Miles off[nnn]; and

some by their sharp and piercing Sight, aloft in the Air, or at other

great Distances[ooo]! An Instance of the latter of which GOD himself

giveth, (_Job_ xxxix. 27, 28, 29.) in the Instinct of the _Eagle_:

_Doth the Eagle mount up at thy Command, and make her Nest on high? She

dwelleth and abideth on the Rock, upon the Crag of the Rock, and the

strong Place[ppp]. From thence she seeketh her Prey, and her Eyes behold

afar off._ What a commodious Provision hath the Contriver of Nature made

for Animals, that are necessitated to climb for their Food; not only

in the Structure of their Legs and Feet, and in the Strength of their

Tendons and Muscles, acting in that particular Office[qqq]; but also in

the peculiar Structure of the principal Parts, acting in the Acquest of

their Food[rrr]! What a Provision also is that in nocturnal Birds and

Beasts, in the peculiar Structure of their Eye[sss], (and we may perhaps

add the Accuracy of their Smell too) whereby they are enabled to discover

their Food in the Dark? But among all the Instances we have of natural

Instinct, those Instincts, and especial Provisions made to supply the

Necessities of Helpless Animals, do in a particular Manner demonstrate

the great Creator’s Care. Of which I shall give two Instances.

1. The Provision made for young Creatures. That Στοργὴ, that natural

Affection, so connatural to all, or most Creatures towards their

Young[ttt], what an admirable noble Principle is it, implanted in them

by the wise Creator? By Means of which, with what Alacrity do they

transact their parental Ministry? With what Care do they nurse up their

Young; think no Pains too great to be taken for them, no Dangers[uuu] too

great to be ventured upon for their Guard and Security? How carefully

will they lead them about in Places of Safety, carry them into Places

of Retreat and Security; yea, some of them admit them into their own

Bowels[www]? How will they caress them with their affectionate Notes,

lull and quiet them with their tender parental Voice, put Food into their

Mouths, suckle them, cherish and keep them warm, teach them to pick, and

eat, and gather Food for themselves; and, in a word, perform the whole

Part of so many Nurses, deputed by the Sovereign Lord and Preserver of

the World, to help such young and shiftless Creatures, till they are come

to that Maturity, as to be able to shift for themselves?

And as for other Animals (particularly Insects, whose Sire is partly

the Sun, and whose numerous Off-spring would be too great for their

Parent-Animal’s Care and Provision) these are so generated, as to need

none of their Care, by Reason they arrive immediately to their Ἡλικία,

their perfect, adult State, and are able to shift for themselves. But

yet, thus far their parental Instinct (equivalent to the most rational

Care and Fore-sight) doth extend, that the old ones do not wildly drop

their Eggs and Sperm any where, at all Adventures, but so cautiously

reposit it in such commodious Places (some in the Waters, some on Flesh,

some on Plants proper and agreeable to their Species[xxx]; and some shut

up agreeable Food in their Nests, partly for Incubation, partly for

Food[yyy],) that their young in their _Aurelia_, or _Nympha_ State, may

find sufficient and agreeable Food to bring them up, till they arrive to

their Maturity.

Thus far the Parental Instinct and Care.

Next we may observe no less in the young themselves, especially in those

of the irrational Animals. Forasmuch as the Parent-Animal is not able to

bear them about, to cloath them, and to dandle them, as Man doth; how

admirably hath the Creator contrived their State, that those poor young

Creatures can soon walk about, and with the little Helps of their Dam,

shift for, and help themselves? How naturally do they hunt for their

Teat, suck, pick[zzz], and take in their proper Food?

But for the young of Man, their Parents Reason, joined with natural

Affection, being sufficient to help, to nurse, to feed, and to cloath

them; therefore they are born helpless, and are more absolutely than

other Creatures, cast upon their Parents Care[aaaa]. A manifest Act and

Designation of the Divine Providence.

2. The other Instance I promised, is the Provision made for the

Preservation of such Animals as are sometimes destitute of Food, or in

Danger of being so. The Winter is a very inconvenient, improper Season,

to afford either Food or Exercise to Insects, and many other Animals.

When the flowry Fields are divested of their Gaiety; when the fertile

Trees and Plants are stripp’d of their Fruits, and the Air, instead of

being warmed with the cherishing Beams of the Sun, is chilled with rigid

Frost; what would become of such Animals as are impatient of Cold? What

Food could be found by such as are subsisted by the Summer-Fruits? But

to obviate all this Evil, to stave off the Destruction and Extirpation

of divers Species of Animals, the infinitely wise Preserver of the World

hath as wisely ordered the matter; that, in the first Place, such as are

impatient of Cold, should have such a special Structure of their Body,

particularly of their Hearts, and Circulation of their Blood[bbbb],

as during that Season, not to suffer any waste of their Body, and

consequently not to need any Recruits; but that they should be able to

live in a kind of sleepy, middle State, in their Places of safe Retreat,

until the warm Sun revives both them and their Food together.

The next Provision is for such as can bear the Cold, but would want

Food then; and that is in some by a long Patience of Hunger[cccc], in

others by their notable Instinct in laying up Food beforehand against

the approaching Winter[dddd]. Of this many entertaining Examples may

be given; particularly we may, at the proper Season, observe not only

the little Treasures and Holes well-stocked with timely Provisions, but

large Fields[eeee] here and there throughout bespread with considerable

Numbers of the Fruits of the neighbouring Trees, laid carefully up in

the Earth, and covered safe, by the provident little Animals inhabiting

thereabouts. And not without Pleasure have I seen and admired the

Sagacity of other Animals, hunting out those subterraneous Fruits, and

pillaging the Treasures of those little provident Creatures.

And now from this bare transient View of this Branch of the Great

Creator’s Providence and Government, relating to the _Food_ of his

Creatures, we can conclude no less, than that since this grand Affair

hath such manifest Strokes of admirable and wise Management, that since

this is demonstrated throughout all Ages and Places, that therefore it is

God’s Handy-Work. For how is it possible that so vast a World of Animals

should be supported, such a great Variety equally and well supplied with

proper Food, in every Place fit for Habitation, without an especial

Superintendency and Management, equal to, at least, that of the most

prudent Steward and Housholder? How should the Creatures be able to find

out their Food when laid up in secret Places? And how should they be able

to gather even a great deal of the common Food, and at last to macerate

and digest it, without peculiar Organs adapted to the Service? And what

less than an infinitely Wise God could form such a Set of curious Organs,

as we find every Species endowed with, for this very Life? Organs so

artificially made, so exquisitely fitted up, that the more strictly we

survey them, the more accurately we view them (even the meanest of them

with our blest Glasses) the less Fault we find in them, and the more

we admire them: Whereas the best polished, and most exquisite Works,

made by human Art, appear through our Glasses, as rude and bungling,

deformed and monstrous; and yet we admire them, and call them Works of

Art and Reason. And lastly, What less than Rational and Wise could endow

irrational Animals with various Instincts, equivalent, in their special

Way, to Reason it self? Insomuch that some from thence have absolutely

concluded, that those Creatures had some Glimmerings of Reason. But

it is manifestly Instinct, not Reason they act by, because we find no

varying, but that every Species doth naturally pursue at all Times the

same Methods and Way, without any Tutorage or Learning: Whereas _Reason_,

without Instruction, would often vary, and do that by many Methods, which

_Instinct_ doth by one alone. But of this more hereafter.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Pastum animantibus largè & copiosè natura eum, qui cuique aptus

erat, comparavit._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 47.

_Ille Deus est,——qui per totum orbem armenta dimisit, qui gregibus ubique

passim vagantibus pabulum præstat._ Senec. de Benef. l. 4. c. 6.

[b] _Tritico nihil est fertilius: hoc ei natura tribuit, quoniam eo

maximè alat hominem; utpote cùm è modio, si sit aptum solum——150 modii

reddantur. Misit D. Augusto procurator—ex uno grano (vix credibile dictu)

400 paucis minùs germina. Misit & Neroni similiter 340 stipulas ex uno

grano._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 10.

[c] _Sed illa quanta benignitas Natura, quòd tam multa ad vescendum,

tam varia, tam jucunda gignit: neque ea uno tempore anni, ut semper &

novitate delectemur & copiâ._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 53.

[d] _Swammerdam_ observes of the _Ephemeron Worms_, that their Food is

Clay, and that they make their Cells of the same. Upon which occasion

he saith of _Moths_, that eat Wool and Fur, _There are two Things very

considerable, 1. That the Cells they make to themselves, wherein they

live, and with which (as their House, Tortoise-like) they move from Place

to Place, they make of the Matter next at hand. 2. That they feed also on

the same, therefore when you find their Cells, or rather Coats or Cases

to be made of yellow, green, blue or black Cloth, you will also find

their Dung of the same Colour._ Swammerd. Ephem. vita. Published by Dr.

_Tyson_, _Chap. 3._

[e] _Job_ xxxviii. 41. _Psal._ cxlvii. 9.

[f] _Aristot. l. 9. c. 31. Hist. Animal._

[g] _Pliny_ affirms this of the _Crow_ as well as _Raven_: _Cæteræ omnes

~[i.e. Cornices]~ ex eodem genere pellunt nidis pullos, ac volare cogunt,

sicut & Corvi, qui——robustos suos fœtus fugant longiùs._ Nat. Hist. l.

10. c. 12.

[h] _Var. Hist._

[i] _Chap. 9._

[k] _Admiranda Naturæ dispensatio est, ut aliter, alioque modo, tempore,

& industriâ colatur terra septentrionalis, aliter Æthiopia, ~&c.~ Quoad

Aquilonares, hoc certum est, in plerisque agris Vestrogothorum, parte

objectâ Meridionali plagæ, Hordeum spatio 36 Dierum à femine projecto

maturum colligi, hoc est à fine Junii usque medium Augusti, aliquando

celerius. Ea namque maturitas ex soli naturâ, aërisque clementiâ,

ac humore lapillorum fovente radices, Soleque torrente, necessariò

provenit, ut ita nascatur, ac maturetur, talesque spicæ sex ordines in

numero aristæ habent._ Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 15. c. 8. _Prata & pascua tantâ

luxuriant graminum ubertate ac diversitate, ut necessum sit inde arcere

jumenta, nè nimio herbarum esu crepent, ~&c.~_ Id. ib. l. 19. c. 36.

[l] Among the many noble Contrivances for Food, I cannot but attribute

that universal Aliment, _Bread_, to the Revelation, or at least the

Inspiration of the Creator and Conservator of Mankind; not only because

it is a Food used in all, or most Parts of the World; but especially

because it is of incomparable Use in the great Work of Digestion, greatly

assisting the Ferment, or whatever causes the Digestion of the Stomach.

Of which take this Example from the noble Mr. _Boyle_. “He extracted a

_Menstruum_ from Bread alone, that would work on Bodies more Compact

than many hard Minerals, nay even on Glass it self, and do many Things

that _Aqua-fortis_ could not do——Yet by no means was this so corrosive

a Liquor as _Aq. fort._ or as the other _acid Menstruum_”. _Vid._ the

ingenious and learned Dr. _Harris_’s _Lex. Tech. verbo Menstruum_, where

the way of preparing it may be met with.

[m] _Psal._ civ. 26.

[n] The Insects that for the most part discolour the Waters, are the

small Insects of the _Shrimp-kind_, called by _Swammerdam_, _Pulex

aquaticus arborescens_. These I have often seen so numerous in stagnating

Waters in the Summer-Months, that they have changed the Colour of the

Waters to a pale or deep Red, sometimes a Yellow, according to the Colour

they were of. Of this _Swammerdam_ hath a pretty Story told him by Dr.

_Florence Schuyl_, viz. _Se aliquando Studiis intentum, magno quodam &

horrifico rumore fuisse turbatum, & simul ad causam ejus inquirendam

excitatum; verùm se vix eum in finem surrexisse, cùm Ancilla ejus pœne

exanimis adcurreret, & multo cum singultu referret, omnem Lugduni

~[Batavorum]~ aquam esse mutatam in sanguinem_. The Cause of which,

upon Examination he found to be only from the numerous Swarms of those

_Pulices_. V. Swamm. Hist. Insect. p. 70.

The Cause of this great Concourse, and Appearance of those little

Insects, I have frequently observed to be to perform their Coït; which

is commonly about the latter end of _May_, and in _June_. At that Time

they are very venereous, frisking and catching at one another; and many

of them conjoined Tail to Tail, with their Bellies inclined one towards

another.

At this Time also they change their Skin or _Slough_; which I conceive

their rubbing against one another mightily promoteth. And what if at this

Time they change their Quarters? _Vid._ _Book VIII. Chap. 4. Note (f)._

These small Insects, as they are very numerous, so are Food to many

Water-Animals. I have seen not only _Ducks_ shovel them up as they swim

along the Waters, but divers Insects also devour them, particularly some

of the middle-sized _Squillæ aquaticæ_, which are very voracious Insects.

[o] Besides the _Pulices_ last mentioned, there are in the Waters other

Animalcules very numerous, which are scarce visible without a Microscope.

In _May_, and the Summer Months, the green Scum on the top of stagnating

Waters, is nothing else but prodigious Numbers of these Animalcules: So

is likewise the green Colour in them, when all the Water seems green.

Which Animalcules, in all Probability, serve for Food to the _Pulices

Aquatici_, and other the minuter Animals of the Waters. Of which I gave

a pregnant Instance in one of the _Nymphæ_ of _Gnats_, to my Friend the

late admirable Mr. _Ray_, which he was pleased to publish in the last

Edition of his _Wisdom of God in the Creation_, p. 430.

[p]

_Nil adeò quoniam natum’st in Corpore, ut uti_

_Possemus, sed quod natum’st, id procreat usum._

And afterwards,

_Propterea capitur Cibus, ut suffulciat artus,_

_Et recreet vireis interdatus, atque patentem_

_Per membra ac venas ut amorem obturet edendi._

And after the same manner he discourseth of Thirst, and divers other

Things. _Vid._ _Lucret. l. 4. v. 831, &c._

Against this Opinion of the _Epicureans_, _Galen_ ingeniously argues in

his Discourse about the Hand. _Non enim Manus ipsæ_ (saith he) _hominem

artes docuerunt, sed Ratio. Manus autem ipsæ sunt artium organa; sicut

Lyra musici——Lyra musicam non docuit, sed est ipsius artifex per eam, quâ

præditus est, Rationem: agere autem non potest ex arte absque organis,

ita & una quælibet anima facultates quasdam à suâ ipsius substantiâ

obtinet,——Quòd autem corporis particulæ animam non impellunt,——manifeste

videre licet, si animalia recèns nata confideres, quæ quidem priùs agere

conantur, quàm perfectas habeant particulas. Ego namque Bovis vitulum

cornibus petere conantem sæpenumero vidi, antequam ei nata essent

cornua; Et pullum Equi calcitrantem, ~&c.~ Omne enim animal suæ ipsius

Animæ facultates, ac in quos usus partes suæ polleant maximè, nullo

doctore, præsentit.——Quâ igitur ratione dici potest, animalia partium

usus à partibus doceri, cùm & antequam illas habeant, hoc cognoscere

videantur? Si igitur Ova tria acceperis, unum Aquilæ, alterum Anatis,

reliquum Serpentis, & calore modico foveris, animaliaque excluseris; illa

quidem alis volare conantia, antequàm volare possint; hoc autem revolvi

videbis, & serpere affectans, quamvis molle adhuc & invalidam fuerit.

Et si, dum perfecta erunt, in unâ eâdemque domo nutriveris, deinde ad

locum subdialem ducta emiseris, Aquila quidem ad sublime; Anas autem in

paludem;——Serpens verò sub terrâ irrepet——Animalia quidem mihi videntur

Naturâ magis quàm Ratione artem aliquam ~[τεχνικὰ artificiosa]~ exercere:

Apes fingere alveolos, ~&c.~_ Galen de usu. Part I. c. 3.

[q] _Alia dentibus prædantur, alia unguibus, alia rostri aduncitate

carpunt, alia latitudine ~[ejusdem]~ ruunt, alia acumine excavant, alia

sugunt, alia lambunt, sorbent, mandunt, vorant. Nec minor varietas in

Pedum ministerio, ut rapiant, distrahant, teneant, premant, pendeant,

tellurem scabere non cessent._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 71.

[r] Because it would be tedious to reckon up the Bones, Glands, Muscles,

and other Parts belonging to the Mouth, it shall suffice to observe,

that, for the various Services of Man’s Mouth, besides the Muscles in

common with other Parts, there are five Pair, and one single one proper

to the Lips only, as Dr. _Gibson_ reckons them: But my most diligent

and curious Friend the late Mr. _Cowper_, discovered a sixth Pair. And

accordingly Dr. _Drake_ reckons six Pair, and one single one proper to

the Lips, _l. 3._ c. 13.

[s] _Galen_ deserves to be here consulted, who excellently argues against

the casual Concourse of the Atoms of _Epicurus_ and _Asclepiades_, from

the provident and wise Formation of the Mouths of Animals, and their

Teeth answerable thereto. In Man, his Mouth without a deep Incisure,

with only one canine Tooth on a side, and flat Nails, because, saith he,

_Hic Natura certò sciebat, se animal mansuetum ac civile effingere, cui

robur & vires essent ex sapientiâ, non ex corporis fortitudine_. But for

_Lions_, _Wolfs_ and _Dogs_, and all such as are called Καρχαρόδοντες,

(or having sharp, serrated Teeth) their Mouths are large, and deep cut;

Teeth strong and sharp, and their Nails sharp, large, strong and round,

accommodated to holding and tearing. _Vid._ _Galen. de Us. Part. l. 11.

c. 9._

[t] Among Insects the _Squillæ aquaticæ_, as they are very rapacious,

so are accordingly provided for it: Particularly the _Squilla aquatica

maxima recurva_ (as I call it) who hath somewhat terrible in its very

Aspect, and in its Posture in the Water, especially its Mouth, which is

armed with long, sharp Hooks, with which it boldly, and greedily catcheth

any thing in the Waters, even one’s Fingers. When they have seized their

Prey, they will so tenaciously hold it with their forcipated Mouth, that

they will not part therewith, even when they are taken out of the Waters,

and jumbled about in one’s Hand. I have admired at their peculiar way of

taking in their Food; which is done by piercing their Prey with their

_Forcipes_ (which are hollow) and sucking the Juice thereof through them.

The _Squilla_ here mentioned, is the first and second in _Mouffet_’s

_Theat. Insect. l. 2. c. 37._

[u] For an Instance of Insects endued with a Spear, I shall, for its

Peculiarity, pitch upon one of the smallest, if not the very smallest of

all the _Gnat_-kind, which I call, _Culex minimus nigricans maculatus

sanguisuga_. Among us in _Essex_, they are called _Nidiots_, by _Mouffet

Midges_. It is about ⅒ of an Inch, or somewhat more long, with short

_Antennæ_, plain in the Female, in the Male feather’d, somewhat like a

Bottle-Brush. It is spotted with blackish Spots, especially on the Wings,

which extend a little beyond the Body. It comes from a little slender

Eel-like Worm, of a dirty white Colour, swimming in stagnating Waters by

a wrigling Motion; as in _Fig. 5._

Its _Aurelia_ is small, with a black Head, little short Horns, a spotted,

slender, rough Belly, _Vid._ _Fig. 6._ It lies quietly on the top of the

Water, now and then gently wagging it self this way and that.

These _Gnats_ are greedy Blood-Suckers, and very troublesome, where

numerous, as they are in some Places near the _Thames_, particularly in

the Breach-Waters that have lately befallen near us, in the Parish of

_Dagenham_; where I found them so vexatious, that I was glad to get out

of those Marshes. Yea, I have seen Horses so stung with them, that they

have had Drops of Blood all over their Bodies, where they were wounded by

them.

I have given a Figure (in _Fig. 7._) and more particular Description of

the _Gnats_, because, although it be common, it is no where taken notice

of by any Author I know, except _Mouffet_, who, I suppose, means these

_Gnats_, which he calls _Midges_, _c. 13. p. 82._

[w] _Hornets_ and _Wasps_ have strong Jaws, toothed, wherewith they can

dig into Fruits, for their Food; as also gnaw and scrape Wood, whole

Mouthfuls of which they carry away to make their Combs. _Vid._ _infr._

_Chap. 13. Note (c)._

[x] _Monsieur de la Voye_ tells of an ancient Wall of Free-Stone in

the _Benedictines-Abby_ at _Caen_ in _Normandy_, so eaten with Worms,

that one may run ones Hand into most of the Cavities: That these Worms

are small and black, lodging in a greyish Shell, that they have large

flattish Heads, a large Mouth, with four black Jaws, _&c._ _Phil. Trans._

Nᵒ. 18.

[y] _Pro iis ~[Labris]~ cornea & acuta Volucribus Rostra. Eadem rapto

viventibus adunca: collecto, recta: herbas ruentibus limumque lata, ut

Suum generi. Jumentis vice manûs ad colligenda pabula: ora apertiora

laniatu viventibus._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37.

[z] _Parrots_ have their Bills nicely adapted to these Services, being

hooked, for climbing and reaching what they have occasion for; and the

lower Jaw being compleatly fitted to the Hooks of the upper, they can as

minutely break their Food, as other Animals do with their Teeth.

[aa] Thus in _Woodcocks_, _Snipes_, _&c._ who hunt for Worms in moorish

Ground, and, as Mr. _Willughby_ saith, live also on the fatty unctuous

Humour they suck out of the Earth. So also the Bills of _Curlews_, and

many other Sea-Fowl, are very long, to enable them to hunt for the Worms,

_&c._ in the Sands on the Sea-shore, which they frequent.

[bb] _Ducks_, _Geese_, and divers others, have such long broad Bills, to

quaffer and hunt in Water and Mud; to which we may reckon the uncouth

Bill of the _Spoon-Bill_: but that which deserves particular Observation

in the Birds named in these two last Notes is, the Nerves going to the

end of their Bills, enabling them to discover their Food out of Sight; of

which see _Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (e)._

[cc] The _Picus viridis_, or _Green-Woodspite_, and all the

_Wood-Peckers_ have Bills, curiously made for digging Wood, strong, hard,

and sharp. A neat Ridge runs along the top of the green _Wood-Pecker_’s

Bill, as if an Artist had designed it for Strength and Neatness.

[dd] The _Loxia_, or _Cross-Bill_, whose Bill is thick and strong,

with the Tips crossing one another; with great Readiness breaks open

Fir-cones, Apples, and other Fruit, to come at their Kernels, which are

its Food, as if the crossing of the Bill was designed for this Service.

[ee] The _Sea-Pie_ hath a long, sharp, narrow Bill, compressed side-ways,

and every way so well adapted to the raising _Limpets_ from the Rocks

(which are its chief, if not only Food) that Nature (or rather the Author

of Nature) seems to have framed it purely for that Use.

[ff] _Those animals which have Teeth on both Jaws, have but one Stomach;

but most of those which have no upper Teeth, or none at all, have three

Stomachs; as in Beasts, the Paunch, the Read, and the Feck; and in all

granivorous Birds, the Crop, the Echinus and the Gizard. For as chewing

is to an easie Digestion, so is swallowing whole to that which is more

laborious._ Dr. _Grew_’s Cosmol. Sacr. c. 5. §. 24.

[gg] _J. Peyer_ saith, the Teeth are made of convolved Skins hardened;

and if we view the Grinders of _Deer_, _Horses_, _Sheep_, _&c._ we shall

find great Reason to be of his Mind. His Observations are, _Mirum autem

eos ~(_i.e._ Dentes)~ cùm primùm è pelliculis imbricatim convolutis & muco

viscido constarent, in tantam dirigescere soliditatem, quæ ossa cuncta

superet. Idem fit etiam in Ossiculis Ceraforum, ~&c.~——Separatione factâ,

per membranas conditur Magma locellis, quos formant laminæ tenues,

ac duriusculæ ad Dentis figuram anteà divinitùs compositæ._ J. Peyer

Merycol. l. 2. c. 8.

[hh] _Qui autem ~(_i.e._ Dentes)~ renascuntur, minimè credendi sunt à

facultate aliquâ plasticâ Brutorum denuò formari, sed latentes tantummodo

in conspectum producuntur augmento molis ex effluente succo._ Id. ibid.

[ii] From these, and other like Considerations of the Teeth, _Galen_

infers, that they must needs be the Work of some wise, provident _Being_;

not _Chance_, nor a fortuitous Concourse of _Atoms_. For the Confirmation

of which he puts the Case, That suppose the order of the Teeth should

have been inverted, the _Grinders_ set in the room of the _Incisors_,

_&c._ (which might as well have been, had not the Teeth been placed by

a wise Agent) in this case, what Use would the Teeth have been of? What

Confusion by such a slight Error in their Disposal only? Upon which he

argues, _At siquis choream hominum 32_ (the Number of the Teeth) _ordine

disposuit, eum ut hominem industrium laudaremus; cùm verò Dentium choream

Natura tam bellè exornârit, nonne ipsam quoque laudabimus?_ And then

he goes on with the Argument, from the Sockets of the Teeth, and their

nice fitting in them, which being no less accurately done, than what is

done by a Carpenter, or Stone-Cutter, in fitting a Tenon into a Mortice,

doth as well infer the Art and Act of the wise _Maker_ of Animal Bodies,

as the other doth the Act and Art of Man. And so he goes on with other

Arguments to the same Effect. _Galen. de Us. Part. l. 11. c. 8._

[kk] A curious Account of this may be found in an _Extract of a Letter

concerning the Teeth of divers Animals_. Printed at _Paris_, in _M.

Vaugnion_’s Compleat Body of Chirurg. Oper. Chap. 53.

[ll] As it hath been taken notice of, that various Animals delight

in various Food; so it constantly falls out, that their Teeth are

accordingly fitted to their Food; the rapacious to catching, holding

and tearing their Prey; the herbaceous to Gathering and Comminution

of Vegetables: And such as have no Teeth, as Birds, their Bill, Craw

and Gizard, are assisted with Stones, to supply the defect of Teeth.

But the most considerable Example of this Kind is in some Families of

the Insect-Tribes, as the _Papilio-Kind_, _&c._ who have Teeth, and

are voracious, and live on tender Vegetables in their _Nympha_, or

_Caterpillar-State_, when they can only creep; but in their mature

_Papilio-State_, they have no Teeth, but a _Proboscis_, or _Trunk_ to

suck up Honey, _&c._ their Parts for gathering Food, as well as their

Food being changed, as soon as they have Wings to enable them to fly to

it.

[mm] It is remarkable in the Teeth of Fishes, that in some they are

sharp, as also jointed, so as to fall back, the better to catch and

hold their Prey, and to facilitate its Passage into the Stomach: So in

others they are broad and flat, made to break the Shells of Snails and

Shell-Fish devoured by them. These _Teeth_, or _Breakers_, are placed, in

some, in the Mouth; in some, in the Throat; and in _Lobsters_, _&c._ in

the Stomach it self; in the bottom of whose Stomachs are three of those

_Grinders_, with peculiar Muscles to move them.

[nn] What is there in the World can be called an Act of Providence and

Design, if this temporary Defect of Teeth be not such; that Children, for

Instance, should have none whilst they are not able to use them, but to

hurt themselves; or the Mother; and that at the very Age when they can

take in more substantial Food, and live without the Breast, and begin to

need Teeth, for the sake of Speech; that then, I say, their Teeth should

begin to appear, and gradually grow, as they more and more stand in need

of ’em.

[oo] It would be endless to particularize here, and therefore I shall

refer to the Anatomists; among the rest, particularly to _Galen_, for the

sake of his Descant upon this Subject. For having described the great

Accuracy of the Contrivance and Make of these Parts, he saith, _Haud

scio an hominum sit sobriorum ad Fortunam opificem id revocare: alioqui

quid tandem erit, quod cum Providentiâ atque Arte efficitur? Omnino enim

hoc ei contrariaum esse debet, quod casu ac fortuitè fit._ Galen. de Us.

Part. l. 11. c. 7. _ubi plura._

[pp] _The Bore of the Gullet is not in all Creatures alike answerable

to the Body or Stomach. As in the ~Fox~, which both feeds on Bones, and

swallows whole, or with little chewing; add next in a ~Dog~, and other

ossivorous Quadrupeds, ’tis very large, ~viz.~ to prevent a Contusion

therein. Next in a ~Horse~, which though he feeds on Grass, yet swallows

much at once, and so requires a more open Passage. But in a ~Sheep~,

~Rabbit~, or ~Ox~, which bite short, and swallow less at once, ’tis

smaller. But in a ~Squirrel~, still lesser, both because he eats fine,

and to keep him from disgorging his Meat upon his descending Leaps. And

so in ~Rats~ and ~Mice~, which often run along Walls with their Heads

downwards._ Dr. _Grew_’s Comp. Anat. of Stom. and Guts. _Chap. 5._

[qq] Of this see Dr. _Willis_’s _Pharm. Rat._ Part 1. Sect. 1. c. 2.

_Steno_ also, and _Peyer Mery_, l. 2.

The Description these give of the muscular Part of the Gullet, the late

ingenious and learned Dr. _Drake_ saith is very exact in Ruminants, but

not in Men. _In Men, this Coat ~(the second of the Gullet)~ consists

of two fleshy ~Lamellæ~, like two distinct Muscles. The outward being

compared of strait longitudinal Fibres.——The inner Order of Fibres

is annular, without any observable Angles.——The Use of this Coat,

and these Orders of Fibres is to promote Deglutition; of which the

Longitudinal,——shorten the ~Oesophagus~, and so make its Capacity larger,

to admit of the Matter to be swallowed. The Annular, on the contrary,

contract the Capacity, and closing behind the descending Aliment, press

it downwards._ Drake’s Anat. vol. 1. l. 1. c. 9.

[rr] See _Willis_, ibid. _Cowper_’s _Anat. Tab. 35._ and many other

Authors.

[ss] _Promptuarium autem hoc, alimentum universum excipiens, ceu Divinum,

non Humanum sit opificium._ Galen. de Us. Part. l. 4. c. 1.

[tt] _How great a Comprehension of the Nature of Things, did it require,

to make a ~Menstruum~, that should corrode all sorts of Flesh coming into

the Stomach, and yet not the Stomach it self, which is also Flesh?_ Dr.

_Grew_’s Cosmol. Sacr. c. 4.

[uu] The Food of the _Castor_ being oftentimes, if not always, dry

Things, and hard of Digestion, such as the Roots and Bark of Trees,

’tis a wonderful Provision made in that Creature’s Stomach, by the

digestive Juice lodged in the curious little Cells there. A Description

of whose admirable Structure and Order may be found in _Blasius_ from

_Wepser_; concerning which he saith, _In quibus Mucus reconditus, non

secus ac Mel in Favis.——Nimiram quia Castoris alimentum exsuccum, & coctu

difficillimum est, sapientissimus & summè admirandus in suis operibus

rerum Conditor, D. O. M. ipsi pulcherrimâ istâ & affabrè factâ structurâ

benignissimè prospexit, ut nunquam deesset Fermentum, quod ad solvendum,

& comminuendum alimentum durum & asperum par foret._ Vid. Blas. Anat.

Animal. c. 10. _Confer etiam Act. Erud. Lips._ Ann. 1684. p. 360.

Most of our modern Anatomists and Physicians attribute Digestion to

a dissolving _Menstruum_; but Dr. _Drake_ takes it to be rather from

fermentative, dissolving Principles in the Aliment it self, with the

Concurrence of the Air and Heat of the Body; as in Dr. _Papin_’s

_Digester_. _Vid._ _Dr. Anat. vol. 1. c. 14._

[ww] _All carnivorous Quadrupeds have the smallest Ventricles, Flesh

going farthest. Those that feed on Fruits, and Roots, have them of a

middle Size. Yet the ~Mole~, because it feeds unclean, hath a very great

one. ~Sheep~ and ~Oxen~, which feed on Grass, have the greatest. Yet

the ~Horse~ (and for the same Reason the ~Coney~ and ~Hare~) though

Graminivorous, yet comparatively have but little ones. For that a

~Horse~ is made for Labour, and both this, and the ~Hare~, for quick

and continued Motion; for which, the most easie Respiration, and so the

freest Motion of the Diaphragme is very requisite; which yet could not

be, should the Stomach lie big and cumbersome upon it, as in ~Sheep~ and

~Oxen~ it doth_, Grew, ib. Chap. 6.

[xx] The _Dromedary_ hath four Stomachs, one whereof is peculiarly

endowed with about twenty Cavities, like Sacks, in all Probability for

the holding of Water. Concerning which, see _Book VI. Chap. 4. Note (a)._

[yy] To assist in which Office, they swallow small angular Stones, which

are to be met with in the Gizards of all granivorous Birds; but in the

Gizard of the _Iynx_, or _Wryneck_, which was full only of _Ants_, I

found not one Stone. So in that of the _Green Wood-Pecker_ (full of

_Ants_ and _Tree-maggots_) there were but few Stones.

[zz] _In most carnivorous Birds, the third Ventricle is Membranous; where

the Meat is concocted, as in a Man: Or somewhat Tendinous, as in an

~Owl~; as if it were made indifferently for Flesh, or other Meat, as he

could meet with either. Or most thick and tendinous, called the Gizard;

wherein the Meat, as in a Mill, is ground to Pieces._ Grew, _ubi supra_,

Chap. 9.

[aaa] It would be much too long a Task to insist upon it here as it

deserves, and therefore concerning the whole Business of Rumination,

I shall refer to _J. Conr. Peyeri Merycolog. seu de Ruminantibus &

Ruminatione Commentar._ where he largely treateth of the several

Ruminating Animals, of the Parts ministring to this Act, and the great

Use and Benefit thereof unto them.

[bbb] There are too many Particulars to be insisted on, observable in the

Passages of the _Chyle_, from the Guts to the _Left Subclavian Vein_,

where it enters into the Blood; and therefore I shall only, for a Sample

of this admirable Oeconomy, take notice of some of the main and more

general Matters. And,

1. After the Food is become Chyle, and gotten into the Guts, it is an

excellent Provision made, not only for its Passage through the Guts, but

also for its Protrusion into the _Lacteals_, by the _Peristaltick_ Motion

and _Valvulæ conniventes_ of the Guts. 2. It is an admirable Provision,

that the Mouths of the _Lacteals_, and indeed the _Lacteals primi

generis_ themselves are small and fine, not wider than the _Capillary

Arteries_ are, lest by admitting Particles of the Nourishment grosser

than the _Capillaries_, dangerous Obstructions might be thereby produced.

3. After the Reception of the Aliment into the _Lacteals primi generis_,

it is a noble Provision for the Advancement of its Motion, that in the

_Mesenterick Glands_, it meets with some of the _Lymphæ-Ducts_, and

receives the Impregnations of the _Lympha_. And passing on from thence,

it is no less Advantage. 4. That the _Lacteals_, and _Lymphæ-Ducts_

meet in the _Receptaculum Chyli_, where the Aliment meeting with more

of the _Lympha_, is made of a due Consistence, and Temperament, for its

farther Advancement through the _Thoracick Duct_, and so into the _Left

Subclavian Vein_ and Blood. Lastly, This _Thoracick Duct_ it self is a

Part of great Consideration. For (as Mr. _Cowper_ saith) _If we consider

in this Duct its several Divisions and Inosculations, its numerous Valves

looking from below upwards, its advantagious Situation between the great

Artery and ~Vertebræ~ of the Back, together with the Ducts discharging

their refluent ~Lympha~ from the Lungs, and other neighbouring Parts,

we shall find all conduce to demonstrate the utmost Art of Nature used

in furthering the steep and perpendicular Ascent of the Chyle._ Anat.

Introduct.

[ccc] These, although noble Contrivances and Works of God, are too

many to be insisted on, and therefore I shall refer to the Anatomists,

particularly Dr. _Willis_ _Pharmaceut._ Dr. _Cole_, in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ.

125. and Mr. _Cowper_’s elegant Cuts in _Anat. Tab._ 34, 35. and _Append.

Fig._ 39, 40.

[ddd] In the _Thornback_, and some other Fishes, it is a very curious

Provision that is made to supply the Paucity and Brevity of the Guts; by

the Perforation of their single Gut, going not strait along, but round

like a Pair of Winding Stairs; so that their Gut, which seems to be but

a few Inches long, hath really a Bore of many Inches. But of these, and

many other noble Curiosities and Discoveries in Anatomy, the Reader will,

I hope, have a better and larger Account from the curious and ingenious

Dr. _Dowglas_, who is labouring in those Matters.

[eee] _Quibus bestiis erat is cibus, ut alius generis bestiis

vescerentur, aut vires natura dedit, aut celeritatem: data est quibusdam

etiam machinatio quædam, atque solertia, &c._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c.

48.

[fff] Among Reptiles that have a strange Faculty to shift for Food, _&c._

may be reckoned _Eels_, which, although belonging to the Waters, can

creep on the Land from Pond to Pond, _&c._ Mr. _Mosely_ of _Mosely_, saw

them creep over the Meadows, like so many Snakes from Ditch to Ditch;

which he thought, was not only for bettering their Habitation, but also

to catch Snails in the Grass. _Plot_’s _Hist. of Staffordshire_, c. 7. §.

32.

And as early as the Year 1125, the Frost was so very intense, that the

_Eels_ were forced to leave the Waters, and were frozen to Death in the

Meadows. _Vid._ _Hakewill_’s _Apol_. _l. 2. Chap. 7. S. 2._

[ggg] _Enumerare possum, ad pastum capessendum conficiendúmque, quæ sit

in figuris animantium & quam solers, subtilisque descriptio partium,

quámque admirabilis fabrica membrorum. Omnia enim quæ intus inclusa sunt,

ita nata, atque ita locata sunt, ut nihil eorum supervacaneum sit, nihil

ad vitam retinendam non necessarium. Dedit autem eadem Natura belluis

& sensum, & appetitum, ut altero conatum haberent ad naturales pastus

capessendos; altero secernerent pestifera à salutaribus._ Cic. de Nat.

Deor. l. 2. c. 37. See _Book IV. Chap. 4._

[hhh] It would be endless to give Instances of my own and others

Observations of the prodigious Sagacity of divers Animals in Hunting,

particularly Hounds, Setting-Dogs, _&c._ one therefore shall suffice

of Mr. _Boyl_’s, viz. _A Person of Quality——to make a Trial, whether a

young Blood-Hound was well instructed,——caused one of his Servants——to

walk to a Town four Miles off, and then to a Market-Town three Miles from

thence.——The Dog, without seeing the Man he was to pursue, followed him

by the Scent to the abovementioned Places, notwithstanding the Multitude

of Market-People that went along in the same Way, and of Travellers that

had occasion to cross it. And when the Blood-Hound came to the chief

Market-Town, he passed through the Streets, without taking notice of any

of the People there, and left not till he had gone to the House, where

the Man he sought rested himself, and found him in an upper Room, to the

wonder of those that followed him._ Boyl. Determ. Nat. of Effluv. Chap. 4.

[iii] There are many Stories told of the Craft of the _Fox_, to compass

his Prey; of which _Ol. Magnus_ hath many such, as, feigning the barking

of a _Dog_, to catch Prey near Houses; feigning himself dead, to catch

such Animals as come to feed upon him; laying his Tail on a Wasp-Nest,

and then rubbing it hard against a Tree, and then eating the _Wasps_

so killed: Ridding himself of _Fleas_, by gradually going into Water,

with a Lock of Wool in his Mouth, and so driving the _Fleas_ up into

it, and then leaving it in the Water; By catching _Crab_-Fish with his

Tail, which he saith he himself was an Eye-Witness of; _Vidi & ego in

Scopulis Norvegia Vulpem, inter rupes immissâ caudâ in aquas, plures

educere Cancros, ac demum devorare._ Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 18. c. 39, 40.

But _Pliny_’s fabulous Story of the _Hyæna_ out-does these Relations of

the _Fox_, _Sermonem humanum inter pastorum stabula assimulare, nomenque

alicujus addiscere, quem evocatum foràs laceret. Item Vomitionem hominis

imitari ad sollicitandos Canes quos invadat._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c.

30.

[kkk] This do _Ducks_, _Woodcocks_, and many other Fowls, which seek

their Food in dirty, moorish Places. For which Service they have very

remarkable Nerves reaching to the end of their Bills. Of which see _Book

VII. Chap. 2. Note (e)._

[lll] _Swine_, and other Animals that dig, have their Noses made more

tendinous, callous, and strong for this Service, than others that do not

dig. They are also edged with a proper, tough Border, for penetrating and

lifting up the Earth; and their Nostrils are placed well, and their Smell

is very accurate, to discover whatsoever they pursue by digging.

[mmm] The _Mole_, as its Habitation is different from that of other

Animals, so hath its Organs in every respect curiously adapted to that

way of Life; particularly its Nose made sharp, and slender, but withal

tendinous and strong, _&c._ But what is very remarkable, it hath such

Nerves reaching to the end of its Nose and Lips, as _Ducks_, _&c_. have,

mentioned above in _Note (kkk)._ Which Pair of Nerves I observed to be

much larger in this Animal than any other Nerves proceeding out of its

Brain.

[nnn] Predacious Creatures, as _Wolfs_, _Foxes_, _&c._ will discover Prey

at great Distances; so will _Dogs_ and _Ravens_ discover Carrion a great

way off by their Smell. And if (as the Superstitious imagine) the latter

flying over and haunting Houses be a sign of Death, it is no doubt from

some cadaverous Smell, those Ravens discover in the Air by their accurate

Smell, which is emitted from those diseased Bodies, which have in them

the Principles of a speedy Death.

[ooo] Thus _Hawks_ and _Kites_ on Land, and _Gulls_ and other Birds that

prey upon the Waters, can at a great Height in the Air see _Mice_, little

Birds and Insects on the Earth, and small Fishes, _Shrimps_, _&c._ in the

Waters, which they will dart down upon, and take.

[ppp] Mr. Ray gives a good Account of the Nidification of the _Chrysaëtos

caudâ annulo albo cinctâ. Hujus Nidus Ann. 1668. in sylvosis prope

Derwentiam, ~&c.~ inventus est è bacillis seu virgis ligneis grandioribus

compositus, quorum altera extremitas rupis cujusdam eminentiæ, altera

duabus Betulis innitebatur,—Erat Nidus quadratus, duas ulnas latus.—In

eo pullus unicus, adjacentibus cadaveribus unius agni, unius leporis, &

trium Grygallorum pullorum._ Synops. Method. Avium, p. 6. And not only

_Lambs_, _Hares_, and _Grygalli_, but Sir _Robert Sibbald_ tells us, they

will seize _Kids_ and _Fawns_, yea, and Children too: Of which he hath

this Story of an _Eagle_ in one of the _Orcades_ Islands, _Quæ Infantulum

unius anni pannis involutum arripuit (quem Mater tessellas ustibiles pro

igne allatura momento temporis deposuerat in loco ~Houton-Hed~ dicto)

cumque deportâsse per 4 milliaria passuum ad ~Hoiam~; quâ re ex matris

ejulatibus cognitâ, quatuor viri illuc in naviculâ profecti sunt, &

scientes ubi Nidus esset, infantulum illæsum & intactum deprehenderunt._

Prod. Nat. Hist. Scot. l. 3. p. 2. p. 14.

[qqq] See in _Book VII. Chap. 1. Note (l)._ the Characteristicks of the

_Wood-Pecker-kind_.

[rrr] _The Contrivance of the Legs, Feet and Nails [of the ~Opossum]~

seems very advantagious to this Animal in climbing Trees (which it doth

very nimbly) for preying upon Birds._ But that which is most singular

in this Animal, is the Structure of its Tail, to enable it to hang on

Boughs. _The Spines, or Hooks——in the middle of the under side of the

~Vertebræ~ of the Tail; are a wonderful Piece of Nature’s Mechanism. The

first three ~Vertebræ~ had none of these Spines, but in all the rest they

were to be observed.——They were placed just at the Articulation of each

Joynt, and in the middle from the Sides.——For the performing this Office

~[of hanging by the Tail]~ nothing, I think, could be more advantagiously

contrived. For when the Tail is twirled or wound about a Stick, this Hook

of the ~Spinæ~ easily sustains the Weight, and there is but little labour

of the Muscles required, only enough for bowing or crooking the Tail._

This, and more to the same purpose, see in Dr. _Tyson_’s _Anat._ of the

_Oposs._ in _Phil. Trans._ No. 239.

[sss] See before _Chap. 2. Note (z), (aa), (bb)._

[ttt] _Quid dicam quantus amor bestiarum sit in educandis custodiendisque

iis, qua procreaverint, usque ad eum finem, dum possint seipsa

defendere?_ And having instanced in some Animals, where this Care is not

necessary, and accordingly is not employed, he goes on, _Jam Gallinæ,

avesque reliquæ, & quietum requirunt ad pariendum locum, & cubilia sibi,

nidosque construunt, eosque quàm possunt mollissimè substernunt, ut quàm

facillime ova serventur. Ex quibus pullos cùm excluserint, ita tuentur,

ut & pennis foveant, ne frigore lædantur, & si est calor, à sole se

opponant._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51, 52.

To this natural Care of Parent-Animals to their young, we may add the

Returns made by the young of some towards the old ones. _Pliny_ saith

of _Rats_, _Genitores suos fesses senectâ, alunt insigni pietate._ Nat.

Hist. l. 8. c. 57. So _Cranes_, he saith, _Genitricum senectam invicem

educant._ L. 10. c. 23.

This St. _Ambrose_ takes Notice of in his _Hexameron_, and _Ol. Magnus_

after him, _Depositi patris artus, per longævum senectutis plumis

nudatos circumstans soboles pennis propriis fovet,——collatitio cibo

pascit, quando etiam ipsa naturæ reparat dispendia, ut hinc inde senem

sublevantes, fulcro alarum suarum ad volandum exerceant, & in pristinos

usus desueta membra reducant._ For which Reason this Bird is denominated

_Pia. Vid. Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 19. c. 14._

Hereto may be added also the conjugal Στοργὴ of the little green

_Æthiopian Parrot_, which Mr. _Ray_ describes from _Clusius_. _Fœmellea

senescentes (quod valdè notabile) vix edere volebant, nisi cibum jam à

mare carptum, & aliquandiu in prolobo retentum, & quasi coctum rostro suo

exciperent, ut Columbarum pulli à matre ali solent._ Synops. Meth. Av. p.

32.

[uuu] The most timid Animals, that at other Times abscond, or hastily

fly from the Face of Man, Dogs, _&c._ will, for the sake of their young,

expose themselves. Thus among Fowls, _Hens_ will assault, instead of fly

from such as meddle with their Brood. So _Partridges_, before their young

can fly, will drop frequently down, first at lesser, and then at greater

Distances, to dodge and draw off Dogs from pursuing their young.

[www] The _Opossum_ hath a curious Bag on purpose for the securing and

carrying about her young. There are belonging to this Bag two Bones (not

to be met with in any other Skeleton) and four Pair of Muscles; and

some say Teats lie therein also. Dr. _Tyson_, _Anat._ of the _Oposs._

in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 239. where he also, from _Oppian_, mentions the

_Dog-Fish_, that upon any Storm or Danger, receives the young Ones into

her Belly, which come out again when the Fright is over. So also the

_Squatina_ and _Glaucus_, the same Author saith, have the same Care for

their young, but receive them into different Receptacles.

[xxx] See _Book VIII. Chap. 6._

[yyy] See _Chap. 13. Note (c)._

[zzz] There is manifestly a superintending Providence in this Case, that

some Animals are able to suck as soon as ever they are born, and that

they will naturally hunt for the Teat before they are quite gotten out

of the Secundines, and parted from the Navel-String, as I have seen. But

for _Chickens_, and other young Birds, they not being able immediately

to pick till they are stronger, have a notable Provision made for such

a Time, by a part of the Yolk of the Egg being inclosed in their Belly,

a little before their Exclusion or Hatching, which serves for their

Nourishment, till they are grown strong enough to pick up Meat. _Vid._

_Book VII. Chap. 4. Note (a)._

[aaaa] _Qui ~[Infantes]~ de ope nostrâ ac de divinâ misericordia plus

merentur, qui in primo statim nativitatis sua ortu plorantes ac stentes,

nil aliud faciunt quam deprecantur._ Cypr. Ep. ad Fid.

[bbbb] I might name here some of the Species of Birds, the whole Tribe

almost of Insects, and some among other Tribes, that are able to subsist

for many Months without Food, and some without Respiration too, or very

little; But it may suffice to instance only in the _Land-Tortoise_, of

the Structure of whose Heart and Lungs: See _Book VI. Chap. 5. Note (b)._

[cccc] _Inediam diutissimè tolerat Lupus, ut & alia omnia carnivora,

licèt voracissima; magnâ utique naturæ providentiâ; quoniam esca non

semper in promptu est._ _~Ray~’s_ Synops. Quadr. p. 174.

To the long Abstinence mentioned of Brute-Animals, I hope the Reader

will excuse me if I add one or two Instances of extraordinary Abstinence

among Men. One _Martha Taylor_, born in _Derbyshire_, by a Blow on the

Back fell into such a Prostration of Appetite, that she took little

Sustenance, but some Drops with a Feather, from _Christmas 1667._

for thirteen Months, and slept but little too all the Time. See Dr.

_Sampson_’s Account thereof in _Ephem. Germ. T. 3. Obs. 173._

To this we may add the Case of _S. Chilton_, of _Tinsbury_, near _Bath_,

who in the Years 1693, 1696, and 97, slept divers Weeks together. And

although he would sometimes, in a very odd manner, take Sustenance, yet

would lie a long Time without any, or with very little, and all without

any considerable Decay. See _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 304.

[dddd] They are admirable Instincts which the _Sieur de Beauplan_

relates of his own Knowledge, of the little Animals called _Bohaques_ in

_Ukraine_. _They make Burroughs like ~Rabbets~, and in ~October~ shut

themselves up, and do not come out again till ~April~.——They spend all

the Winter under Ground, eating what they laid up in Summer.——Those that

are lazy among them, they lay on their Backs, then lay a great handful

of dry Herbage upon their Bodies, ~&c.~ then others drag those Drones to

the Mouths of their Burroughs, and so those Creatures serve instead of

Barrows, ~&c.~ I have often seen them practise this, and have had the

Curiosity to observe them whole Days together.——Their Holes are parted

like Chambers; some serve for Store-Houses, others for Burying-Places,

~&c.~ Their Government is nothing inferior to that of ~Bees~, ~&c.~ They

never go abroad without posting a Centinel upon some high Ground, to give

notice to the others whilst they are feeding. As soon as the Centinel

sees any Body, it stands upon his Hind-Legs and whistles._ Beauplan’s

_Description of ~Ukraine~_, _in_ Vol. I. _of the_ Collection of Voyages,

_&c._

A like Instance of the Northern _Galli Sylvestres_, see in _Chap. 13.

Note (g)._

As for the Scriptural Instance of the _Ant_, see hereafter _Book VIII.

Chap. 5. Note (d)._

[eeee] I have in _Autumn_, not without Pleasure observed, not only the

great Sagacity and Diligence of _Swine_, in hunting out the Stores of the

_Field-Mice_; but the wonderful Precaution also of those little Animals,

in hiding their Food beforehand against Winter. In the Time of Acorns

falling, I have, by means of the _Hogs_, discovered, that the Mice had,

all over the neighbouring fields, treasured up single Acorns in little

Holes they had scratched, and in which they had carefully covered up the

Acorn. These the _Hogs_ would, Day after Day, hunt out by their Smell.

CHAP. XII.

_Of the Cloathing of Animals._

Having in the foregoing Chapter somewhat largely taken a view of the

Infinite Creator’s Wisdom and Goodness towards his Creatures, in ordering

their Food, I shall be more brief in this Chapters in my View of their

_Cloathing_[a]; another necessary Appendage of Life, and in which

we have plain Tokens of the Creator’s Art, manifested in these two

Particulars; the _Suitableness of Animals Cloathing to their Place and

Occasions_; and the _Garniture and Beauty thereof_.

I. The Cloathing of Animals is suited to their Place of Abode, and

Occasions there; a manifest Act of Design and Skill. For if there was

a Possibility, that Animals could have been accoutred any other Way,

than by God that made them, it must needs have come to pass, that their

Cloathing would have been at all Adventures, or all made the same Mode

and Way, or some of it, at least, inconvenient and unsuitable. But on the

contrary, we find all is curious and compleat, nothing too much, nothing

too little, nothing bungling, nothing but what will bear the Scrutiny of

the most exquisite Artist; yea, and so far out-do his best Skill, that

his most exquisite Imitations, even of the meanest Hair, Feather, Scale,

or Shell, will be found only as so many ugly, ill-made Blunders and

Botches, when strictly brought to the Test of good Glasses. But we shall

find an Example remarkable enough in the present Case, if we only compare

the best of Cloathing which Man makes for himself, with that given by the

Creator for the Covering of the irrational Creatures. Of which it may be

said, as our _Saviour_ doth of the Flowers of the Field, _Mat_. vi. 29.

_That even Solomon, in all his Glory, was not arrayed like one of these._

But let us come to Particulars, and consider the Suitableness of the

different Method the Creator hath taken in the Cloathing of Man, and of

the irrational Animals. This _Pliny_[b] pathetically laments, and says,

_It is hard to judge, whether Nature hath been a kinder Parent, or more

cruel Step-Mother to Man._ For, says he, _Of all Creatures, he alone is

covered with other’s Riches, whereas Nature hath given various Cloathing

to other Animals, Shells, Hides, Prickles, Shag, Bristles, Hair, Down,

Quills, Scales, Fleeces; and Trees she hath fenced with a Bark or two

against the Injuries of Cold and Heat. Only poor naked Man_, says he, _is

in the Day of his Birth cast into the wide World, to immediate crying and

squalling; and none of all Creatures besides, so soon to Tears in the

very beginning of their Life._

But here we have a manifest Demonstration of the Care and Wisdom of God

towards his Creatures; that such should come into the World with their

Bodies ready furnished and accommodated, who had neither Reason nor

Forecast to contrive, nor Parts adapted to the Artifices and Workmanship

of Cloathing; but for Man, he being endowed with the transcending Faculty

of Reason, and thereby made able to help himself, by having Thoughts

to contrive, and withal Hands to effect, and sufficient Materials[c]

afforded him from the Skins and Fleeces of Animals, and from various

Trees and Plants: Man, I say, having all this Provision made for him,

therefore the Creator hath wisely made him naked, and left him to shift

for himself, being so well able to help himself.

And a notable Act this is of the Wisdom of God, not only as the more

setting forth his Care and Kindness to them that most needed his Help,

the helpless irrational Animals, and in his not over-doing his Work; but

also as it is most agreeable to the Nature and State of Man[d], both on