foedera mundi Praescriptosque mari fines annique meatus Et lucis noctisque vices tunc omnia rebar Consilio firmata Dei. When I had search'd into the World's Great Frame And Nature's Leagues and Combinations seen How the Vast Ocean 's bounded how the Year Runs its perpetual Course how Night and Day Succeed each other then I rightly judg'd That these and Nature's universal Laws Were fix'd by Counsel and a Cause Divine Thus you see what Reason Scripture and the Sentiments of the Wise agree in viz. that what we behold in the World is a Proof of a Deity and Providence Let us now seriously attend to all these and thence gather what is our Proper Duty and Concern on this Occasion 1. Let us Acknowledg this Great Truth that the World is the Product of a Divine Mind and that all the Ranks of the Visible Creation owe their Being to this Plutarch saith rightly that Men had first of all the Notion of a God from the Beauty of the things that are seen in the World But the Pagans went too far here and their Contemplations of the World ended at last in their owning it to be a God It is meet saith Pliny we should believe the World to be an Eternal and Immense Numen that had no Beginning and shall have no End This strange Creed of theirs was the Foundation of Idolatry i. e. of worshipping the Creatures It gives an account of the Egyptians and others paying Reverence to mean and sordid Animals Vilia cur magnos aequent animalia Divos The Stoicks indeed held the World was God but they were too wise to understand it in the gross Sense their meaning was that a Divine Spirit or Mind pervades this World and actuates all its Parts and preserves it in Being and Operation This is the sense of Cato's Word in Lucan Iupiter est quodcunque vides Which is of the same Import with Iovis omnia plena all things are replenish'd with the Divine Influence every Creature owes its Subsistence as it doth its Being and Original to God Which is that very Truth I am now reminding you of and is every ways so reasonable and accountable You may see God in the things he hath made The Impress of Divinity is stamped on the Creatures as Princes put their Effigies on their Coins We find the Idea of God i. e. Infinite Goodness and Wisdom reflected from the visible Objects of Nature This I question not was the true Meaning and Intention of Plato when he held the World was a Living Creature and that every thing in it is Animated I deny not that his Followers if they may be call'd so took the World to be a real Animal but as for the Old Gentleman himself I am perswaded that by the Soul of the World he would have us understand the Order and Harmony of it as he plainly shews in his Timaeus Its Parts are as orderly and its Motions are as regular and proportionable as if it were inspired with Life yea as if it were some Intellectual Animal This exact Order and Regularity it received from that Eternal Mind who gave it its Existence God may truly be call'd the Soul of the World Him let us acknowledg to be the Author of this Beautiful Universe whilst some deluded Epicureans or Platonists date its Being and Form from Chance or Necessity let us with one of the Antientest Philosophers we read of confess that the Fabrick of the World is most Beautiful because 't is God's Voluntary Workmanship 2. Be invited hence to Study the Works of Nature to contemplate the Creatures to meditate on the Works of the Lord and the Operation of his Hands The great God is set before our Eyes in the World and may be seen and taken notice of in every Creature like the Picture or Statue of some Founder of a College set up in some eminent and noted Place for all the Society to behold it God hath copied forth himself in the Creation The Creatures are so many Glasses wherein the Divine Glory is reflected wherein the Image of God is represented Think it then a noble and divine Work to be employ'd in the Contemplation of these You that have time and leisure and helps proportionable set some time apart for this Study Take a Survey of this huge Pile of the World consider well the Various Parts of it scan its Excellent Structure View first the Lower Rooms of this Habitation this Spatious Earth which God hath given to the Sons of Men with all the Excellent Furniture belonging to it the different Sorts of Vegetables and Animals it is provided with Let your Thoughts descend into the Subterraneous Mines and Treasures of inestimable Value Go down into the Deep Seas and there be astonish'd with the multiplied Wonders of that Place Then return again and mount the Upper Stories of this Divine Habitation Entertain your selves with the Wonders of the Aerial and Ethereal Regions converse with those Immense Globes of Light and Fire which adorn that part of the Universe Exercise your Thoughts with these and the other Excellencies which this vast Fabrick of the World will exhibit to you which had its Name given it by the Greeks from its Ornate Figure and Comely Make. Pythagoras is said to be the first that gave that Denomination of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to this Great Frame of Heaven and Earth as Laertius and Plutarch tell us and the latter of these adds that it was stiled so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Order which is in it And the Latins gave it the Title of Mundus upon the like account viz. from its Neatness Elegancy and Beauty This may allure us to the Study of Natural Philosophy and a Survey of the Structure of the World For here we shall certainly meet with perfect Order and Ornament even such as will conduct our Thoughts to the Divine Author of them If this be not the effect of our Studies and Enquiries they are all in vain for the knowing of the Works of Nature and being able to count them are not True Philosophy unless we gather a God from them Else Iohn Tradeskan would have been the best Philosopher in his time and any Man that can shew the Rarities at Gresham College would be as Good as Virtuoso as any of the Fellows of the Royal Society We must not think it enough to be acquainted with the Works of the Creation we must advance yet higher Our Skill in Natural History must lead us to Theology by studying the Composition and Oeconomy of the World which bears upon it all the Characters of Divine Power Wisdom and Goodness we ought to be acquainted with God himself to whom alone these Attributes originally belong And none ought to be discouraged here for All Persons of what Rank or Quality soever are in some measure concern'd in this Employment and may manage it with Success This should be an Universal Work nor indeed need
of Wit and Art in the Prosecution of it and hath said more than any other Man ever did or perhaps could in Defence of this Hypothesis But any Impartial Judg that hath perused what the Learned Dr. More hath offer'd against it will pronounce it to be a vain Enterprize and indeed utterly Unphilosophical He hath demonstrated that there is not any necessary Causality in Matter whereby such Effects are produced that there is no such immutable Law implanted in it no such original and independent Power but that it is derived wholly from a higher Principle By sundry Arguments he irrefragably baffles the Notion of solving all Things by Mechanick Principles but by no Topick more effectually than that which I have propounded viz. the wise Contrivances in the Works of Nature Mere Motion is no Designer no Contriver therefore it can't be the Cause of those Things which we daily see We must then rationally as well as necessarily infer an All-wise Being from the Operations of the Creatures for we see that they are directed to some End And as to what Des Cartes saith that the Ends of the creating of things are not known to us unless God be pleased to reveal them I refer the Reader to the Honourable Mr. Boyl who hath professedly writ against this Doctrine and hath with undeniable Demonstrations confounded it that is he hath most clearly and convincingly shew'd that the Ends and Designs of God in the Works of the Creation are manifestly known and in abundant Instances he shews that they are most obvious and apparent He denies not that in some of God's Works the Ends designed are somewhat obscure and seem to be beyond our reach but then it is as true that in most of them the Ends and Uses are manifest and the exquisite fitness of the Means is conspicuous And as he observes by this way of ordering and managing Things the most wise Author of them doth both gratify our Understandings and make us sensible at the same time of the Imperfection of them Indeed this must be said that Cartesius's Opinion viz. that the Consideration of Final Causes hath nothing to do in Philosophy is consistent enough with his own Principles for if all that we see in the Bodies of Animals and elsewhere in the World be merely Mechanical then there is no Contrivance no Art because he holds all to be the natural Result of Matter and consequently there is no End and which follows from that there is no Signature of Divine Wisdom in the framing of them But this Conceit of his of Mechanism hath been justly exploded by all the great Masters of Reason who have handled this Subject and the excellent Person before-named hath for ever silenc'd that Opinion if Convictive Arguments can silence it Therefore Des Cartes's denial of Final Causes falls to the Ground because it hath nothing to support it now since that Foundation is removed Mr. Boyl hath observed well not only like a Philosopher but a Christian that this French Wit by his throwing aside Final Causes hath thereby deprived his Disciples of the chief End of Natural Philosophy which is to set forth the Praises of God and to admire his Goodness and Wisdom in the Fabrick of the Universe But if we will truly Philosophize we must by no means shut out the Consideration of the Ends of the Creation but we must with great diligence and study enquire into them and acquaint our selves with them And then by seeing and observing the World we shall learn to know a God we shall be brought to acknowledg and adore an infinitely wise Author who appointed all things their Ends as well as gave them their Beginning And now having thus spoken in General I will descend to Particulars and consider the whole visible Structure and System of the World as to its several Parts Here we will contemplate 1. The Heavens 2. Those things which are observable between the Heavens and the Earth 3. The Earth 4. The Sea 5. The Inhabitants that belong to these several Regions Aerial Terrestrial Aquatile All these proclaim a God an Omnipotent Supream Being a Wise and Provident Governour CHAP. II. The Author proceeds to a Particular Proof of the Divine Existence and Providence from the Consideration of the Heavenly Bodies The unrivall'd Beauty of the Sun The Vniversal Vsefulness and Benefit of it It s vast Dimensions The trascendent Swiftness of its Motion It s Regular Course through the Heavens Where is largely discuss'd the Copernican Hypothesis concerning the Earth's Motion and is proved to be precarious because 1. It is grounded on this Vnphilosophical Notion that it is difficult and troublesome to the vast Heavenly Bodies to be continually journeying and posting and therefore the Copernicans would free them of this great Trouble by laying it upon the Earth which they fancy can bear it better 2. It confronts that Historical part of the Bible Jos. 10.13 Isa. 38.8 In such a plain Narration of Matter of Fact and that of a Miracle it is not to be supposed that Words are spoken any otherwise than according to the real Nature of the Thing and the Propriety of Speech 3. It proceeds upon an erroneous and mistaken Apprehension concerning the Nature of the Earth and the chief Inhabitant of it Man For both of them are far greater than the Heavens in real worth and value 4. We may as well imbrace the Doctrine of Transubstantiation which is an absolute Defiance to our Senses as this Opinion Objections and Evasions framed from Custom and the moving in a Ship answered 5. If the Trembling of the Earth may be felt as all grant then the violent Whirling of it about must needs be more sensible Objections against this answered Demonstrations which depend on the Eye-sight are fallible and have been questioned by the best Artists The Modishness of the Copernican Notion tempts most Men to follow it This is no Temptation to the Author who for the Reasons premised holds that the Heavens continually roll about the Earth from that effectual Impulse which they at first received from the Almighty Hand I Begin with the Heavens that immense Space where the Sun and Stars are placed that vast Expansum which contains the Great and Glorious Luminaries of the World for I speak not any thing of Angels the Blessed Inhabitants of this upper part of the Creation as afterwards when I shall treat of Man I shall say nothing of his Soul because I have design'd to discourse only of the visible World These Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work Psal. 19.1 they tell aloud who was their Author even the same who is the Infinite and Bountiful Source of all Things He framed this Molten Looking-Glass Job 37.18 this Solid and Bright Mirrour of his own Majesty that we might behold Him and his Perfections in it And yet He stretched out the Heavens like a Curtain Psal. 104.2 as a Vail to shrowd as it were
A DEMONSTRATION OF THE Existence and Providence OF GOD From the Contemplation of the Visible Structure of the Greater and the Lesser World In TWO PARTS The First shewing the Excellent Contrivance of the Heavens Earth Sea c. The Second the Wonderful Formation of the Body of Man By IOHN EDWARDS B. D. sometime Fellow of S. Iohn's College in Cambridge LONDON Printed by I. D. for Ionathan Robinson at the Golden Lion and Iohn Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1696. TO THE Most Reverend Father in God His GRACE THOMAS By Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate and Metropolitan of all England c. May it please your Grace HAving lately presented your Grace with a short Essay concerning the Causes and Occasions of Atheism I thereby in a manner obliged my self to dedicate this following Treatise to your Venerable and Illustrious Name for that was but a Preparatory Introduction to this It is certain your Grace hath Right to both because you have shew'd your self a strenuous Asserter and Defender of the True and Orthodox Faith concerning the Deity and betimes exploded the Vanity and Inconsistency of the Hobbian Creed relating to this Great Concern And not only before but since your Arrival to the Metropolitan See you have signally owned and patronized this Cause which I undertake and on the contrary you have as becometh your High Place publickly discountenanc'd and given check to the Abettors of Atheism I profess my self to be one that abhors unnecessary Disputes and loves a Free and Ingenuous Latitude in Matters that are of an Indifferent nature But when I see the Grand Points of our Holy Religion shock'd by Prophane Assailants when I behold Impiety and Atheism lifting up their daring heads amongst us I think my self indispensably concern'd according to that Talent which the Divine Goodness hath been pleas'd in any measure to confer upon me to grapple with the Bold and Vaunting Adversaries to make Opposition to their extravagant Attempts and to assert and defend that Cause which is the Basis of all Religion the Supporter of Kingdoms and the Glory of our Lives This is that which I at present design and humbly crave your Grace's Acceptance of what I here offer But whilst I implore your Patronage I will not apparently incur Your Displeasure and at the same time Injure the whole Nation by diverting and detaining your Grace any longer Wherefore I take my Leave of your Grace and am glad I have this farther Opportunity of publishing to the World that I am Your Grace's most bounden Servant and dutiful Son Iohn Edwards The PREFACE I Could have presented the Reader with many more Observations on the Particulars which I handle in the ensuing Discourse especially on Animals for besides what Remarks I have made my self many Learned Enquirers not only of old but lately have given us a distinct and full Account of the Nature of them But my Business was to take notice only of the most eminent of them and that so far as they are evident Arguments of a Deity i. e. of the Divine Wisdom in contriving their Make and Structure And on other Works of the Creation I could have expatiated much more than I have done but it being not my Chief Province I did not think it would be expected of me especially when that which I have said is sufficient for my present purpose Nor did I design a particular Philosophical Account of all the things I treat of because this is to be found in the known Tractates of Physicks And as to the latter Part of my Undertaking I could have more largely insisted on the Parts of the Body but that had been to transcribe the Books of Anatomy I reckon'd it therefore enough to give a Solution of the Main Phaenomena's in this Humane System and to bring all by rational Deduction to this Concluâ—ion that they are caus'd by an Intelligent Mind If I cannot by this Attempt convince Atheists which perhaps is next to blanching an Ethiopian yet I hope I shall do something towards preventing the Spreading of that pernicious Infection which they are the Authors of I hope I shall effect something towards checking the Progress of that Hellish Ferment which works in the World at this day It may be what I shall offer will be serviceable to bridle the Insolence of those bold Men and to make them recoil and give back It may be it will cripple and disable them though they make a shift to be upon their Feet Perhaps it may give them a Mortification though they will not let us know so much Or if my Hopes fail me as to this yet I will not despair of Confirming and Strengthning such who are really perswaded of the Doctrine here treated of I may be helpful to establish these Persons in their Belief though I cannot reclaim the Infidelity of others But this is not the height of what I aim at for besides what I have already suggested my Intention is that this Discourse should afford variety of matter to the Religious for their Devout Contemplations I have set the Greater and Lesser World before them and have so display'd the several parts of both that they may every where discern the Eternal Godhead I have propounded those Visible and Remarkable Topicks whence pious Minds may infallibly deduce the Truth and Reality of Providence and the adorable Excellency of the Power Wisdom and Goodness of God and his other Divine Perfections and Properties which respect Mankind If I had not chiefly design'd these Papers for such I should not have so often alledg'd the Holy Scriptures which with the other sort of Men are in no esteem and are thought to have no Authority no more than the Alcoran or some Legendary Tale. But all those that have a true Sense of Religion on their Spirits reverence and prize these Writings next to the Blessed Author of them and they know that it is proper to prove a God out of his Own Book The Reader may observe that I frequently make use of Scripture in setting forth Natural things those which appertain to the Heavens Earth Sea c. and the Body of Man because I would let the World see that this Holy Book is not only useful as to Divine and Spiritual Matters but even in respect of all sorts of Humane Learning which I have on another occasion amply proved Having thus propounded the Designs of my Undertaking and if I be successful in any of them I shall reckon it a great Happiness I will enter upon the Work it self by the Assistance of Him whose Existence and Providence I am now to demonstrate THE CONTENTS PART I. CHAP. I. THE Argument of the following Discourse is suited to the Genius of those for whom it is chiefly designed God's Being and Providence are proved in General 1. From the Harmony and Connection of the things in the World Where is shew'd wherein this Harmony consists and how the Notion of Chance
comparing the Almighty to Nebuchadnezzar upon whom all Things must wait to whom all Things must be subservient I delight not in quoting such Passages as these but there is a kind of necessity of doing so that Mens Minds may not be corrupted and debauch'd by such ill Language which I hope may be in part prevented by my cautioning against it And here by the way seeing I now have and shall frequently afterwards have occasion to mention some Opinions of this Ingenious Gentleman and to argue against them I do here once for all declare that nothing of this Nature is done by me from a Principle of Contradiction or a delight to oppose this or any other Author's Assertions No I most solemnly profess and acknowledg that I bear a due regard to the Wit and Invention of his Hypotheses which are very diverting and entertaining But because I am verily perswaded that they are defective as to Truth I on that account offer a Refutation of them But I would not be thought to say any thing out of pique or so much as an Inclination to reflect with Contempt or Disgrace on any Man's Person or Undertakings and particularly those of the Ingenious and Learned Theorist It is wholly from a just and deep sense of their opposition to that great Standard of Truth in this kind viz. Moses's Writings that I appear against them And I think it is a good and justifiable Employment to assert and defend the Mosaick Verity and whilst I am about this Work I reckon I am in an Honourable Post. That the World is made for Man is no such daring Proposition as some pretend it is The Heavens above him and the Earth beneath him are for his Sake Even those former the Heavenly Bodies are made for him or else you can never make Sense of the Psalmist's Words Psal. 8.3 4. When I consider thy Heavens the Work of thy Fingers the Moon and Stars which thou hast ordained then I say What is Man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of Man that thou visitest him Whence it is evident that these glorious Creatures so bright so beautiful so remarkable were created and provided for the use and benefit of Man and that God sheweth how mindful he is of him and how he delights to visit him i. e. to discover an extraordinary Kindness to him above all other Creatures by providing the World and all Things in it for him It is true the Heavens are made for the Angels as well as Man but yet we know that even these excellent Beings though they be of higher Nature that he are Ministring Spirits and employed for the good of Mankind especially of the choicest part of them the Heirs of Salvation So that not only the Heavens but the Inhabitants thereof are for Man's sake But it is enough for my present purpose that the Sublunary World and the Heavens of which we are to treat serve Man and were made for him This the Stoicks were great assertors of and particularly Tully who was a Friend to that grave Sect defends it Man is as it were the Center of the World in respect of Final Causes saith a profound Philosopher of our own And though this be denied by Des Cartes and some of late who would pretend to imitate him in that as well as in some other Things yet till there be assigned better Arguments for their Opinion than we hitherto find we have reason to hold fast our Proposition that the World was made for the Sake of Man Even Inanimate Creatures are accommodated to his use and service and the whole Creation some way or other is for his Good Yet it is certain that they have no Knowledg or Foresight no Consultation or Deliberation and consequently can understand nothing of this End which they are made and continually act for Wherefore we must necessarily grant that there is an Omniscient Principle that acts them there is a wise and understanding Being that directs and governs them It must be ascribed to this and this alone that irrational and dumb Creatures yea such as have no sensitive Perception act so orderly and with a tendency to an End And this they do not seldom but constantly and perpetually We see and observe that there is an uninterrupted Course of the Sun and Moon and other Heavenly Bodies in order to our Welfare which could not possibly be procured without them And we see and are convinced that other Senseless Creatures are directed to an End and miss it not All Natural Agents of what kind soever have a regular and fixed Tendency to what is profitable for the Universe The short is any Man that is not wilfully blind may see that there is Design and Contrivance in the World's Creation and in all the Parts of it and that there is an End pursued even by those Beings which have no Sense or Reason Whence we cannot but conclude that seeing these are void of all Counsel and consequently do not act thus by any Counsel of their own therefore they do it by another's There is some Intelligent Agent and Principle there is some wise over-ruling Cause that directs and governs them and purposely produced them for such Ends and Uses Will not any understanding and considerate Man grant that this Director and Governour is God who as he is the Ruler so was the Author and Architect of the World It was he that first endued them with such a Nature and Instinct whereby they tend to their particular Good and End and also to the universal Good of the World Yea those things which are contrary to one another conspire in one common End We must be forced to give our Suffrage to what one of the Antients said There is God who hath commodiously framed and ordered all the Parts of the Universe for the advantage of the Whole As they have their Existence from him so they are actuated by him And it is utterly impossible to conceive that they can be able to act as they do i. e. for certain Ends and Purposes unless there were an higher Agent to direct them The End and Contrivance of things undeniably prove the Divinity and confute blind Chance and Fortune yea and Necessity too which latter is held by Spinosa and accordingly he asserts that God himself hath no certain End or Design in what he doth Thus whether you respect the Order and Beauty of the Creatures or the End and Design of them it is evident that they are Arguments of a Deity The whole Frame of Nature cries out that there is a God All the Creatures confess that they are not of themselves but from an Other In vain hath the French Philosopher attempted to prove that we may give an account of all the Phaenomena of the visible World from Matter and meer Mechanical Motion I say in vain was this Attempt made though I deny not that the Noble Author of it hath shewed a great deal
the amazing Excellency of the Divine Glory from Mortal Eyes although from thence he distributes all the Tokens of his Liberality and Kindness to us There is nothing more evident than that the Heavenly Bodies were made for the good of Mankind i. e. to influence on the Earth to shine to give Rain from the Clouds to yield Heat and Moisture c. Which is expressed by their hearing the Earth in that fore-mentioned Place Hos. 2.21 where God is likewise said to hear them for they do as it were by their natural Frame and Disposition desire of God to be beneficial to the Earth and the Inhabitants of it And he doth hear or as 't is in the Hebrew answer and fulfil the natural Inclinations of these Celestial Bodies which have a tendency to Man's Good and Advantage And that the End and Use of them is to be serviceable to Mankind is clear from the first Institution and Appointment of them God made two great Lights the greater Light to rule the Day the lesser Light to rule the Night He made the Stars also Gen. 1.16 viz. to rule the Night And what can we imagine this Government of Day and Night to be for but to serve the Necessities of Man Of these Celestial Bodies I will speak particularly and first of the Sun that great and vast Source of Light that glorious Eye of the World which penetrates into the darkest Recesses on Earth and lays them open and visible Though such is its Sovereign Majesty that it will let nothing be seen in the Heavens but It self it blots out all the Stars with its redundant and unrivall'd Lustre yea such is its radiant Glory that it will not suffer us to gaze upon it That which is the Cause of seeing all things will scarcely be look'd upon it self This is the Prince of the Heavenly Luminaries as Arnobius speaks by whom all Things are array'd and deck'd with the Robes of Light This is emphatically call'd the Light or the Fire for Vr signifies both because it not only illuminates but warms the World with its powerful Rays Unto the former Quality we are beholden for our Ability to see how to dispatch our Business and Work Our Bodily Eyes would be useless without this of the World for they would serve us to no purpose of Life And the whole Earth would be but one dark Dungeon And it is not only for Necessity but Pleasure that this Light is given us for to it we owe the several beautiful Colours which ravish our Sight for these are the various Modifications of its Light and Splendour From the latter Quality with which this glorious Body is endued the Earth receives all its Fecundity and Fruitfulness and all Animals their Vigour and Activity For the Sun is the grand Cherisher of all Things the Common Parent of Life the Foster-Father of the World Because of this transcendent Excellency the Pagans ascribed Divine Nature to it Yea others both Iews and Christians though they went not so high yet were of Opinion that the Sun is an Intelligent Being This was the Apprehension of Maimonides and of Manasseh ben Israel And Origen long before these held the same Which Extravagancy we can attribute to nothing but their very high Esteem which they had of this glorious and beneficial Gift of the Creator Next to its Beauty and Usefulness we might consider its stupendous Magnitude which calls for our Admiration and commands us at the same time to admire with a most profound reverence the Divine Immensity from whence it had its Original It is some thousand times greater than the Moon and a hundred and forty others say a hundred and sixty others say eightscore and odd times bigger than the Earth for the Opinions of Authors are different about the Dimensions not only of the Sun but of the Moon Stars and Earth their Computations varying because their Hypotheses of the Heavenly System and the Distances of these Bodies from one another are disagreeing but 't is acknowledged by all that the Body of the Sun is of a wonderfully vast Bigness they all agree that it is much above a hundred times larger than the whole Earth and they unanimously reject and explode Epicurus and that Philosopher of the Italian Sect who held the Sun is no bigger than it appears to us to be Again the admirable Motion and Course of this glorious Luminary require and deserve our Contemplation And here we shall plainly observe the Footsteps of an Extraordinary and Divine Power First the Constancy of its Motion is matter of Admiration Whence it was as Plato thought that the Heavenly Bodies and this more especially were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if their never-failing Course argued them to be Divine And it appears from Macrobius likewise that they had that Denomination from their incessant Running as if this were a stamp and impress of Divinity Secondly not only the Perpetuity of the Sun's Motion but the Swiftness of it is remarkable which is very elegantly express'd to us by the inspired Poet Psal. 19.5 He rejoiceth as a strong Man to run a Race he resembles some celebrated Athletick that is famous for his Nimbleness of Feet and always outruns those whom he strives with and wins the Prize from them This Celestial Racer as the skilfullest Mathematicians inform us runs 15 Degrees in an Hour and seeing a Degree in the Heavens is 15 German Miles i. e. 60 Italian or English ones we may infer that he measures about 1000 Miles in an Hour Though this Illustrious Body be of that huge Bulk and Magnitude which I before mentioned yet this is its marvellous Speed and Career Because of this great Celerity Wings are attributed to the Sun Mal. 4.2 but applied in a Spiritual manner to the Sun of Righteousness he flies rather than runs And in allusion to this is the Psalmist's Expression If I take the Wings of the Morning Psal. 139.9 i. e. if I make as much haste as the Sun doth when it sets out in the Morning and flies from the East to the West in a few Hours or if I hasten as fast as the Sun-beams do when at its rising they spread themselves over the Horizon The Rapid Motion of the Sun the swift and sudden passage of its Light are its Wings The like manner of Expression is used by Lycophron who speaking of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aurora attributes Pegasus's Wings to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It flew over a certain Promontory with the swift Wings of Pegasus And for this reason perhaps Pegasus is said by the Greeks to be the Son of Aurora But Thirdly The Regularity of the Sun's Motion is that which I shall chiefly insist upon and thence demonstrate that there is a higher Cause and Author that gave it this orderly Progress As it hath a Monthly Motion through a twelfth part of the Zodiack and passes through the whole every Year so it every
Difference between a Motion of a part of the Earth as in the usual Shakings of it and of the whole as in the present Case Yes I grant a Difference but it makes against them for the the moving of the whole Terrestrial Mass is a more sensible thing than the Motion of a part of it only Therefore if we feel this latter we may feel the former i. e. we may feel it if there be any such thing But it is evident there is no such thing because we have no Sense at all of it For this and other Reasons I take the Immobility of the Earth to be an unshaken Verity I hold it a consistent and rational System that the Earth is the Steady Center of the Material World and that the Sun and Fixed Stars with their innate Light and the Planets with their borrow'd one wheel about this Beloved Spot and as it were dance round the Lord and Owner of it who is the Glory of this Visible World and the Image of the Supream Deity To conclude having thus offered my Own Thoughts on this Controverted Point I commend the Reader to that Accomplished Mathematician and Astronomer Ricciolus who hath in his Almagestum Novum several Demonstrative Arguments against the Copernican Hypothesis which if they be well weigh'd will be found to have great Force in them However this must be said that there is no certain Proof there is no Demonstration of the Contrary For tho there is a Great and Celebrated Experimenter in Philosophy one whose profound Insight into all Mathematical Secrets is well known to the World and whose Integrity and Faithfulness in discovering what he hath found out are not to be question'd in the least though there is I say such an Excellent Person who hath offer'd something to demonstrate the Earth's Diurnal Circuit for he found that there was a sensible Parallax of the Earth's Orb among the Fixed Stars and particularly that Fixed Star which is in the Dragon's Head yet no Man knows better than himself that Demonstrations that depend upon Eye-sight are fallible and uncertain witness the Disputes that have been between the Learnedst Mathematicians about Parallaxes and several other matters which are to be judged by Sense And this Gentleman himself declares that he was not fully satisfied with the Observation which he made because by reason of inconvenient Weather and some other Causes he could not make it exactly Therefore with all Deference and Respect paid to this Learned Gentleman and other Great Philosophers of our own Nation I look upon the Motion of the Earth as an Ingenious Conjecture only And so some of the most Judicious Writers have granted it to be But since several Persons of Eminency have appear'd in its behalf and have espous'd it as a true Hypothesis it hath been taken up for a modish piece of Philosophy for there is a Mode in Philosophy as well as in Clothes or any thing else and it hâ—th been thought ridiculous by some not to conform to it He is not reckon'd a Virtuoso who makes not this one of the Articles of his Philosophick Creed I am verily perswaded that most become tame Proselytes to this Opinion merely in Compliment to some considerable Persons who vouch it This is one of the chiefest Reasons why the Copernican Notion is so prevalent The other Doctrine held by the Old Peripatetick Gentlemen and others heretofore is grown out of Fashion and therefore is rejected I speak not this as if I were against any Ingenious Discovery or Invention be it never so New as I have already declared or against any Philosophick Liberty justly so called but then I would have it bottomed on some good Foundation something that a Man can have some Notice of by Sense or some other plain way But such is not the Doctrine of the Earth's Circumrotation Therefore it is so far as I have hitherto discern'd a precarious and groundless Opinion and is the vain result of Copernicus's Gigantick Attempt to raise up the Earth into the place of the Heavens I will only add this one thing more That seeing Copernicus's System begins to be Vulgar and Common I thence expect its Declination for very few Opinions of this Nature are long-lived when they come to be generally received For the Great and Ambitious Wits disdain what is Common and much more that which is Old and accordingly will bethink themselves of some New System or perhaps will retrieve the Old One which will seem New and Fresh at first especially from those Colours which they may give it Thus the Opinions concerning the Earth go round when That stands still For my part I keep my Ground and presume to proceed upon the Antient Hypothesis Which yet is not altogether so neither for that Great Soul of Astronomy Tycho Brahe hath maintain'd it making the Earth the Moveless Center of the World About this moves the vast Machin of the Heavens being set into Motion by the Almighty Architect and Framer of them But especially the Motion of the Sun in so constant and regular a Course is to be taken notice of by us with Religious Admiration If its Revolution were stopt in any one part of Heaven that side of the Earth which is next to it would be scorch'd and burnt up and the opposite side would be all frozen and by that means the whole Earth become useless which may give us some account of the great Blessing which we enjoy by the Circular Progress of the Sun CHAP. III. The Oblique Course of the Sun being the cause of the Vicissitudes of Day and Night of Winter and Summer which are so beneficial to Mankind is an Argument of the Divine Care and Providence The Powerful Influence of the Moon evidences the same So do the Planetary Stars and Fixed Ones Which latter are eminent for their Magnitude Number Beauty and Order Regular Course Vse and Influence all which set forth the Wisdom and Goodness of the Beneficent Creator The Study of the Stars leads us to God Astronomy Vseful BUT more particularly and signally the Course of it in that Oblique Line which it mâ—kâ—s is most remarkable and is a Proof of a Wise Being who order'd it so at first for the Good of the World For I listen not here to what a Modern Author suggests that the Heavens before the Deluge in Noah's time had not the same Course they now have As if the Eruption of the Flood had reach'd to the Celestial Orbs and had wash'd the Sun Moon and Stars We read that God threatned to send a floud of Waters on the face of the Earth Gen. 6.7 13 17. but there is not a word of the Heavens being concern'd in the Inundation But this Learned Writer tells us that not only the Earth but the Heavens are not the same that they were at first but that they have another Form and State and particularly he saith that the Situation of the Earth in respect of the Heavens
Celestial Earth or an Earthly Star as some Philosophers of old stiled it Though this is to be said that it is not properly an Earth i. e. it seems not to be a Body wholly Dark as is evident in the Eclipses which it is incident to for then we may discern its whole Body Therefore it is not altogether destitute of Light it hath an intrinsick Glimmering of its own But because this is very faint the Lunar Body may be reckon'd as Opake But notwithstanding this which the more signally advances the wondrous Power of the Creator it hath a mighty Influence on this Inferiour World and all things in it So that we could no more be without this than without the Sun And this powerful Influx which is of such use yea of absolute necessity to us is increas'd or diminish'd either of which are requisite accordingly as there is occasion by its Different Postures and Figures in which it appears to us For in its going round our Earth by Copernicus's leave it turns it self variously to the Sun whence it is necessary that according to its various access to or recess from that Luminary more or less of its enlightned half be turn'd toward us and that it appear in divers Phases and Shapes by which means its Virtue is communicated in a manner proportionable to our several needs Especially when this Lunar Body is in the Full i. e. when all that part which is toward us is replenish'd with Light all Plants and Animals the Air the Earth and the whole Ocean which is observ'd to swell at that Season feel its Power and Vigour Whence as you read of the precious Fruits brought forth by the Sun so also of the precious Things put forth by the Moon Deut. 33.14 Some of the choicest and most valuable Products of Nature are from the particular Influence of this Second-Hand Sun which most officiously supplies the place of the Other and makes some amends for his absence by being a Remedy as Pliny speaks against the Night's Darkness in several parts of the World And to that purpose it dispatcheth its Course through the Zodiack every Month without fail Thirdly The Stars both Planetary and Fixed attest a Divine Numen The former of these are distinguish'd from the latter by their particular Colour Motion Size and Distance from us Venus is clear and bright and goes through the Zodiack in a Year and is less than the Earth 6 times And yet is the biggest next to the Sun and Moon as to appearance Mars is of a Firy Hew it passes through the 12 Signs in the space of 2 Years and is less than the Earth 13 times Iupiter is fair and coruscant is bigger than the Earth 14 times and is many Years making its Passage through the Zodiack Mercury dispatcheth his Revolution in a Year and is 19 times lesser than the Earth and is the least Planet as to sight Saturn is of a pale Colour this slow-paced Planet is 30 Years performing its Course and is 22 times Larger than the Earth Some of these Planets as Venus and Mercury are Pages or Lackeys to the Sun and never go far off from it But the rest as Mars Iupiter and Saturn are not so tied to attendance on their Illustrious Master They can go farther off and ramble six Signs from the Sun and so be Opposite to it And as there are these Primary Planets so there have been Secondary ones discovered of late viz. four about Iupiter and two about Saturn which have their peculiar Motion about their Primary and Central Planets And both of them are situated and govern'd by Him that gave them their Nature But as to the Situation of these Planets with respect to the Earth and as to their Motion and Magnitude there is a great disagreement between the Ptolomaeans and the Copernicans And Tycho differs from both these and then comes Des Cartes and disagrees with them all Therefore what hath been said before as to any of these must be submitted to those that are able to judg of these Hypotheses Then as to the Fixed Stars which in the Inspired Book are justly call'd the Stars of God Isa. 14.13 because of their Greatness and Height for in the Sacred Stile God's Name is frequently used to express what is Great and Excellent And such are these Heavenly Bodies which are so many Suns at a distance from us for those Firy Globes are of the same Make with the Solar Body And if they were as near to us as this they would appear not inferiour in Bulk and Brightness to it These Vast Lights are so remote from us that Telescopes which magnify the Planets after a great rate make these seem no bigger to us or very inconsiderably And this is one cause of their Scintillation they are so far off that their Rays are much more refracted than those of the wandering Luminaries They quake and tremble because of the different Mediums they appear through Though this Twinkling may arise also from the greater Fulgor of these than that of the Planets which causeth a more vehement Vibration on the Eye The Least of these is far greater than the whole Earth and one of the Largest Size is a hundred times bigger And so this Globe of the Earth and its whole Vortex are inconsiderable and shrink into nothing if compared with those innumerable Orbs above us This stupendous Magnitude argues the Greatness yea the Immensity and Incomprehensibleness of their Maker And if it be ask'd Whence is that Fewel for those vast Fires which continually burn Whence is it that they are not spent and exhausted How are those Flames fed None can resolve these Questions but the Almighty Creator who bestowed upon them their Being who made them thus Great and Wonderful that in them we might read his Existence his Power his Providence Nor is their Number less admirable which exceeds our mean Arithmetick And therefore to tell the Stars is mention'd as an insuperable Task Gen. 15.5 God promis'd to make Abraham 's Seed as the Stars of Heaven Gen. 26.4 which if compared with Gen. 13.16 will be found to be of the same import with making his Seed as the Dust of the Earth which is innumerable It is true the Constellations a certain numer of Fixed Stars which are together and seem to make up several particular Figures or Representations are but sixty four viz. twelve in the Zodiack twenty nine in the Southern Hemisphere and twenty three in the Northern One But if we speak of the Fixed Lights which belong not to any Constellation they are not so easily reducible For though there are not above one thousand and four hundred of these visible to the Eye according to the largest Accounts given us by Astronomers who likewise tell us that our Northern Hemisphere is the most remarkable for them for as there is more Earth in this part of the World than in the other so there are more Stars yet it is granted by
the other Places before-mention'd where there are long and cold Winters there is reason to believe that they are most sutable to the Constitutions and Tempers of the Persons who inhabit them The great Disposer of all things placed such Inhabitants there as were fit for that Region and no other For they could not dwell in these Countries where we inhabit as we could not dwell there So that the placing of those People in that dark cold and frozen part of the World is so far from being a Detraction to Divine Providence that it is a singular Proof of it and shews the Wisdom of the World's Maker in a sutable choosing of Places for Persons according to their particular Temperament and Exigencies And both with relation to these and the Polar Regions we may truly say that the excessive Coldness of these Parts is useful and serviceable for the good of others that are near to the Sun and have need sometimes of cooling From these remote Treasuries the Winds are fetch'd for the rebuking of the scorching Heats of Summer of which we can give no Natural and Philosophical Account unless we derive them from these great Store-Houses This acquaints us with the true cause of that excessive Sharpness and Rigour of the Air which we feel sometimes and that of a sudden This solves the unexpected change of Weather yea sometimes the sudden and unlook'd for checking of Pestilential Diseases and Infections which is known to happen Inconsiderate Minds are apt to think that the Regions that are seated under the Poles are altogether useless and thence perhaps may be tempted to question the Divine Conduct But if we will consider those Places we shall find that they are as Necessary as any parts of the World It is true they are for the most part Unhabitable but their being so makes others Habitable for these are the common Receptacles of Cold whence it is dispersed by Divine Providence to those Parts where it is wanting at any time that is when the Sun's Fierceness calls for a Check And several other ways those Polar Receptacles and Nurseries of Cold are serviceable yea necessary for the welfare of the World Lastly The wise framing and ordering of the Sun's Motion and Progress of which I have spoken before necessarily infer this Difference of Places on the Earth as to Heat and Cold. Unless we will remove this Luminary from its Ecliptick and thereby disorder the whole Course of the World and destroy the various Succession of Times and Seasons which upholds Mankind as well as all other Creatures whatsoever we must be forced to confess that the several Zones and Climates tho differing so much in Heat and Cold are useful in the Creation and that the Position of the Globe of the Earth is most wisely and discreetly ordered The late Theorist boldly contradicts this and tells us that the Situation of the Earth is not the same now that it was before the Deluge It did not stand Oblique to the Sun as it doth at present whereby we have a great Difference of Seasons as Spring Summer c. but it had a right or parallel Situation insomuch that there was a Continual Equinox And yet this Person who is so curious about the Idea of his First Earth hath given it us with a very great Blemish yea much worse Fault than any that he pretends to find in this present Earth for they are his express Words The Paradisiacal Earth had a Torrid Zone which was Vninhabitable All this great Portion of Earth was burnt up and wither'd and had no Grass Tree or Plant upon it and so no Creature could find any Sustenance there This is his fine Paradisiacal Earth as he calls it And yet it is worth our observing that he saith in another Place in express Terms All the Earth is green and a Perpetual Spring is over it all meaning his Paradisiacal Earth When he hath thus confuted himself there is no need of any Body else to do it But we may grant him his Theory that there was a Primitive Earth of a different Form from the present It is partly true that the Earth is not what it was for there are the Marks of Sin and of the Fall even on the Earth and we read of a Curse denounced against it Gen. 3.17 though he is pleas'd to turn that Chapter into mere Allegory and thereby to null the main Points of our Religion and afterwards by the violent Irruptions of the Flood it is most probable that the Earth underwent some Alteration But what is this to the changing the very Situation and Posture of the Earth How is it proved hence that the First Earth had another Situation to the Sun and had a perpetual Equinox and Spring These things are asserted by him but no where proved Wherefore I look upon it as a precarious and groundless Opinion The Variety of Seasons before the Flood may be gather'd from Gen. 8.22 I will not again curse the Ground nor smite any more every living thing as I have done While the Earth remaineth Seed-time and Harvest and Cold and Heat and Summer and Winter and Day and Night shall not cease As much as to say Though during the time of the Deluge these Alterations of the Seasons were interrupted and the Sun's Heat and Light were as if they were not because they could have no Effect upon the Earth as long as it lay under Water yet now having restored things to their pristine Course and Order I assure you they shall continue so to the end of the World Thus it is included in these Words that there were the same Vicissitudes of the Year before the Flood that there are now And this appears to be a Truth from what I have already shew'd viz. that the present Position and Situation of the Earth are very convenient useful and in some Respects necessary for there is a necessity of a Vicissitude of Seasons and a Variety or Exchange of Heat and Cold because the Fruitfulness of the Earth depends upon these and Heat and Cold generated in the Air are the two Hands of Nature as my Lord Bacon rightly saith by which she doth all her Work It is unreasonable to conceive an Equality of these and consequently an Equal and Unvariable Temperature of the Year before the Deluge Which is thus lately represented by an Admirable Pen A Man can hardly at first imagine what a Train of ill Consequences would follow from such a Condition and Posture of things of which it would not be the least that such a Mediocrity of Heat would deprive the World of the most beautiful and the most useful Parts of all the whole Creation and would be so far from exalting the Earth to a more happy and Paradisiacal State that it would turn it to a general Desolation and a mere barren Wilderness to say no worse Such an Heat would be too little for some sorts of Vegetables and too great for others The
and Happiness of the whole Race of Mankind that were to come after And which is yet more he proves that this Change this Dissolution of the Primitive Earth and the framing of another out of it is a great and singular Work and Argument of Providence of Counsel and Sagacity and he demonstrates in several Particulars that it is the Product of a Reasoning and Designing Agent We are come then at length to the Grand Matter which I was all along aiming at viz. the Proof of a Deity from the Make and Disposal of the Earth Thus that of the Psalmist is evinced to be true The Earth is full of thy Riches which he saith to convince us of the Wisdom of God in the Works of the Creation And now to close this part of my Discourse viz. concerning the Earth I will add a few Words concerning Earthquakes which are occasioned by those Spatious Cavities and Vaults which I have asserted before to be within the Bowels of the Earth Some of the old Philosophers imputed this Motion to Winds and Vapours bred in these hollow Places Others ascribe it to excessive Waters got into the Channels of the Earth by reason of excessive Rains and agitated there in those vast Caverns It was the Opinion of some of the Antients that this Motion was the Effect of the Sea 's beating on the Earth and powerfully moving and shaking it whence Neptune had the Title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Earth-shaker and he was call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Words are of the same import Others think it is caused wholly by the Subterraneous Fires and Sulphureous Matter in those Cavities Thus that Admirable Observer of the Works of Nature whom I have frequently cited attributes this Phaenomenon to the Elevation of the Water out of the Great Abyss which he supposes to be in the central Part of the Earth by the Virtue of this under-ground Fire He hath a Particular Notion of this Heat causing this Commotion and Disorder in the Earth But I conceive that All these are the Causes at one time or other nay it may be at the same time of Earthquakes strictly so call'd and Tremblings of the Earth which are Tendencies to them The Winds generated in the Entrails of the Earth may by extending the Parts in some Places cause a Tremour or by a sudden violent Eruption occasion a Greater Motion So by the immoderate Rains or by Inundations of the Sea the Meatus of the Earth may be washed and worn away and other adjacent Parts may give way and sink downwards and thereby cause a Motion above if with a subsiding in some of the extream Parts Also the Subterraneous Sulphury Matter of which there is great Quantity being inflamed may produce these Concussions by extraordinary Rarefaction which making more room must needs produce an unwonted Motion and sometimes a horrid Noise So that an Earthquake may be said to be a kind of a Subterranean Thunder This was Pliny's Notion of old Non aliud est in terrâ tremor quà m in nube tonitru Thus he speaks because of the Resemblance between the breaking of the Earth and of the Clouds and the Dreadful Shock that accompanies both But though Earthquakes are thus resolved into Physical Causes yet they are to be look'd upon as remarkable Testimonies of the Divine Power and Greatness We cannot but own and reverence these when we consider the Dreadful Effects of these Concussions Nay it is hardly to be solved by any of the forementioned Causes how there can be a trembling of the Earth at the same moment in Places that are so vastly distant from one another There was an Universal Shock almost all the World over in the Emperor Valentinian's time about the Year of our Lord 369. In the Year 1601 there was a shaking of the Earth in Asia Hungary Germany Italy France at the same time In Peru as Acosta relates this Tremor oftentimes reaches near six hundred Miles from North to South This must have an Extraordinary Cause and that Man must strain his Philosophy who undertakes to give a Satisfactory Account of it from Common Principles and the Natural Efficacy of Things This unusual Exertment of Divine Providence we of this Nation as well as others have lately felt with Surprise and Astonishment And I hope it will be thought no Digression if I here remind the Reader to reflect upon it with great Thoughtfulness and Seriousness and to consider and weigh the true Nature and Design of this amazing Event I know there are some Persons that slight all such Occurrences and tell us that they are from Natural Causes and therefore it is Weakness and Vanity to trouble our selves about them Men of Philosophy say they are acquainted with the Spring and Source of these Accidents and therefore are not possess'd with Fear and Dread and cannot be perswaded that Nature acting in its own way and according to its due Laws intends us any Mischief But the Reply to these Men is easy for though I most willingly grant that Earthquakes and the lesser Tendencies to them as Tremblings of the Earth are the Product of Natural Causes yet it is as true that the God of Nature when he is provoked by the Sinful Enormities of a People may and oftentimes doth turn these Natural Effects into Punishments and Iudgments So that both Philosophy and Divinity are concern'd here and they are very well consistent We may as Naturalists search into the physical Reasons of these Events but then as we are Students in Religion we are bound to make a farther Enquiry and to take notice of the Design of Heaven in these great and wonderful Effects that happen in the World With Philosophers and Physitians we are ready to grant that Scarcity and Famine Plague and Pestilence are naturally produced and yet we are ascertain'd from the Sacred and Infallible Records of Scripture that these were oftentimes inflicted by God on purpose as the Recompence of Mens heinous Sins So it is in the present Case which makes it very plain the Motion and Shaking of the Earth are to be attributed to Causes in Nature and I have before assigned what they are yet we must likewise acknowledg that there is a more than Ordinary Hand to be taken notice of in this Matter and as Understanding and Devout Christians we are to observe what the Purpose of Divine Providence is at such a Time Pursuant to this I offer these brief Remarks on that Signal and Stupendous Dispensation 1. The Antients have thought that this was ever attended with something that was Boding and Ominous Thus Socrates the Ecclesiastical Historian pronounces concerning the Earthquake which happen'd in the Days of the Emperors Valentinian and Valens that it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a certain Sign of the Shakings and Convulsions which afterwards were in the Christian Churches And I could produce other very Grave Writers who speak to
as Bellows are because they are distended or whether as some of late contend they are dilated by the elastick Force of the Air rushing in and so upon their Extension follows the swelling of the Diaphragm and thereupon the Motion of the Thorax This is Inspiration And then in Expiration the Diaphragm is contracted and returns to its right Figure and the Air is expelled Neither will I question Whether it be a collateral End of Respiration to discharge and expel an excrementitious Fluid out of the Mass of Blood as the excellent Author whom I have formerly cited thinks he can sufficiently prove But this we are sure of laying aside all Disputes that the Lungs are the great Instrument of breathing and that they are absolutely requisite for the admiting of the Air in order to the rouzing of the vital Spirits and quickning and maintaining the Flame of Life for the sensitive Soul is fed by Air as the Body by Food And we are sure of this likewise that they are necessary Organs of Speech and Voice of articulate and significant Sounds And we have no reason to doubt of this that the great Architect and Framer of Man's Body hath particularly fitted and composed the Lungs for these Purposes for they are light spongy and flexible and full of hollow Places to hold the Air and convey it through hidden Passages to all the Body And they are wide and capacious that the Air may play in them and have its full Scope in the Cavity of the Thorax And moreover that they may be firm and steady and so perform their Operations with the greater Certainty and Accuracy they are on the Back of them fastened to the Spina and thereby become fixed This may convince us that they are the Work of a supreme and primary Cause who is Owner of infinite Understanding and doth all things with Skill and Counsel Wherefore that is an excellent Spark of Devotion in the Talmud At every Breath that a Man breatheth he ought to praise God his Creator The other rich Treasure in this Chest is the Heart the Fountain of natural Heat which it disperses over all the Body by vertue of its peculiar Office which is to make Blood and to distribute it by the Arteries into the Parts Whether the so deservedly admired Motion of the Blood be from an infinite Faculty as Galen thought or from Rarefaction which expands the Heart as Cartes determines or from the Air taken into the Lungs as Mr. Hobbes suggests or from the Quantity or Copiousness of the Blood falling into the Heart which labors to expel it thence by a Constriction of its Fibres whereby the Cone of it is brought nearer to the Basis as Dr. Charlton thinks I will not here dispute but this we are certain of that an intellectual Spirit was the first Cause and Efficient of it And any considerate Man that takes notice of the wonderful Make and Figure of the Heart and of all the Vessels subservient to it cannot but acknowledg as much Therefore a celebrated Anatomist of our own resolves the Motion of them and of the Blood into a divine and supernatural Principle not to be conceived and explained by us We know that when the Blood flows into the right Ventricle of the Heart this is dilated and when it is thrust out thence this is contracted but the true natural Spring of this double Motion is hid from us Whether the Motion of the Heart depend upon the Blood or the Motion of this depend on the Heart because if it be a great Muscle as not only Hippocrates and Galen but some modern Philosophers and Physitians have averred it seems of it self to be made for Motion being actuated by Spirits and drawn by Fibres it is not my Business here to enquire but this is the thing which ought to employ our Thoughts and excite our Devotion that whatever second and natural Causes may be assigned of this Phaenomenon the supreme Author and Contriver of it is some intelligent Substance and it is impossible it should be otherwise For the whole stupendous Contexture of the Heart and its double Ventricle with the four Vessels in them viz. two Veins in the right and two Arteries in the left Side the former to convey the Blood to the Heart the latter to carry it off together with the various Nerves Fibres c. is a Work of Understanding Prudence and Judgment for all these Parts have Relation to one another and are mutually helpful in their Operations and they all apparently conspire for the Good and Welfare of the Body Who can sufficiently admire the Circular Conveyance of that noble Liquor through the greatest Vein of the whole Body into which all the other Veins empty and disembogue their Blood into the right Ventricle of the Heart out of this into the Lungs through a capacious Artery falsly called a Vein which hath its Original from the Heart and is divided into many Branchâ—s which are dispersed through the Lungs out of this Parenchyma of the Lungs into the left Ventricle of the Heart through a remarkable Vein corruptly call'd an Artery which hath its Rise from the Lungs and is mixed with the Branches of the Aspera Arteria and the Arterious Vein And so when the Blood is digested and perfected in both those Ventricles of the Heart and Lungs it is carried out of the left Ventricle into the bigger Sort of Arteries through the great Artery which proceeding out of the Heart disperses its Branches through the whole Body and out of the lesser Arteries not by Anastomoses or Inosculations as some have thought but through the Substance of the Flesh into the lesser and then the greater Veins and thence thro' the Vena Cava into the right Ventricle of the Heart again and so the Circulation is made Or the short is that the Heart hath on one side of it the Vena Cava and on the other the Arteria magna both which great Trunks have Branches dispersed through all the Body even the extremest Parts and are continued to one another by capillary or small Vessels and so there is no Interruption of the circular Course of the Blood but it returns to the Place from whence it first set out These are the Journeys of the Blood these are its several Stages these are the distinct Chanels and Vessels it moves through Thus by the Heart and other Passages as 't were in a Water-engine it is carried in a constant Course round Which is a sufficient Evidence that these Machines were at first made and then set into Motion by an omnipotent and wise Being And the Speediness of this Motion is as remarkable as the Circulation it self For from the Pulses which are the sensible moving and beating of the Arteries and are made as often as the Blood rusheth out of the Heart into these Vessels we may gather the swift Career of this liquid Substance Primrose is singular in
Romans that after they had banished Physicians they six hundred Years together preserved themselves found and in perfect Health by eating only of Coleworts or Cabbage Some have an Averseness to Doctors as they call them because it is chargeable Nay there are some fantastick Folks that think these Persons can cure a Disease no other way than by killing the Patient The very Colledg-Dispensatory seems to them to be but the Office for Burial And the Aphotheeary's Mortar rings the Man's first Peal It is no wonder that such Cabbage-eaters as these vote our Artist to be a very bad Man Again this Conceit may be nourished by the particular Behaviour which is observed in them when they visit the sick They â—eem to be regardless of their Danger and though they know that their Case is deplorate and even desperate yet they remind them not of another State and of preparing themselves for it Whence some are apt to gather that they believe no such thing themselves But this is a very uncharitable Inference and those that make it consider not that the Physician and the Divine come to the Sick on different accounts and to discharge different Offices The latter is to take care of their immortal Part and to address himself to them accordingly But the business of the former is to advise and administer what is proper for the restoring of their Bodies to Health and if they faithfully employ their Care about this they discharge their Part. Not but that it is to be wished that they would and I doubt not but some of them do especially when there is no Clergyman at hand as Good Men and Fellow-Christians apply themselves to their Patients as they see occasion and make use of this seasonable Opportunity to discourse religiously to them to admonish them concerning their former Actions to urge them to repent of the Evil of them to beg the divine Pardon and Favour and to fit themselves for a better World when they see they cannot keep them any longer in this But yet Discretion must go along with Religion and therefore though they perceive that the poor Clinick is incurable yet they are not obliged to tell him so with their own Mouths but it is better to commend this Office to some of his Friends and near Relations This is more seasonable and prudent than a personal Application to him for it doth not become the Physician to doom his Patient And let us be cautious of censuring and dooming the Physician Moreover this may be one cause why they are voted to be Irreligious because they are not seen so often at the solemn Places of Devotion they are not so frequent at the publick Prayers and at Sermons as other Men. A Physician oftentimes hath the Character that Horace gives of an Epicurean Parcus Deorum cultor infrequens But if the Law which is grounded on good Reason excuses them in this case I see no reason why we should not Their necessary Avocations are a sufficient Plea for them Yea an Act of Mercy is preferrable to Sacrifice To save a Man's Life is an high Act of Charity which is one of the most substantial Ingredients of our Religion To heal and to worship are expressed by the same Word in the Greek And a Healer and a Priest are synonimous in the same Language I am sure we may here make good use of the Criticism A Physician â— whilst he is conscientiously discharging his Office is accepted as if he were employed in divine Worship yea as if he were an immediate Minister of Religion Therefore the Cavil hath no Ground no more than that of the Pharisees against our Saviour that he healed on the Sabbath day Furthermore this Rank of Men may perhaps incur the Censure of Irreligious because their Converse is so promiscuous and they oftentimes are concerned in the worst Company I mean the worst that can be for Religion that is some who are professed Patrons of Atheism and whose Practice is suitable to such a Principle It is true if they frequently associate with such and in hope of a Fee comply with them in their Folly and Madness yea if they do but so much as connive at these they pay dear for their expected Guineas But if only in the way of their Profession they converse with such Persons that they may be serviceable to them by preventing the Maladies they fear or curing those they labour under I do not see Cause to condemn them The Objection will lie as reasonably against Divines who have the Charge of Souls who if they will fulfil their Ministry as the Apostle advises and perform all the Parts of their sacred Function must visit their Flock and hold Converse even with the worst to reclaim and reform them Which is no more than what our Lord did when he eat and drank with Publicans and Sinners Once more some devout and well-meaning Persons may think Physicians have no Religion because they have so much Philosophy They hear them talk so much of Bodies that they are ready to infer they have no Sense of the other Part of Man Whilest they solve things in a natural Way they are suspected to own no supernatural Principle But this is an erroneous â—urmise for these things do not exclude one another A Man may be a Philosopher and a Christian He may nay he must acknowledg a first Cause though he holds that there are secondary ones Divine and natural Agents are not inconsistent The Discourse of a Physician should savour of both these especially the former and then the observing World would have no Cause to object against them the want of Religion Then it would be seen that their excellent Employment hath Influence on their Practice and furnishes them with devout Thoughts of God and a firm Belief of his infinite Power and Wisdom Thus you have my Thoughts concerning the Occasion of that Calumny which Physicians generally lie under I have endeavoured to take off those Prejudices and Censures which seem to reflect a Scandal on that noble Profession But if it be further urged that many of them are really such as they are reported to be yet this doth not at all invalidate the Proposition which I have asserted For either we speak of Physicians improperly so called that is ignorant Quacks c. Or those that are learned and well skilled in the Faculty As to the former they deserve not the Name of Physicians and therefore though it could be proved that some of these are Atheists yet it cannot be imputed to the Faculty because they are not properly of it Yea I further grant that Ignorance in Medicks as well as in all other learned Arts capacitates Men for Atheism As for the latter i. e. those who are skillful in this Science and merit the worthy Title they bear it is not to be denied that even some of these have procured to themselves the Imputation of Atheism and Impiety by their prophane