of a mixt Constitution without a Sympathetical Union of an active and passive Principle but what these Principles of Activity and Passivity were they could not easily determine These our great Philosopher expresseth by the Names of Light and Darkness which when they came immediately out of Gods hand were bound up and hamper'd in one confus'd Mass which might fitly be compar'd to a dark and palpable Mist like the Aegyptian Darkness which was to be felt in which vast Fog or Mist were bound â—p and smother'd those bright lucid and active Particles of pure and Volatile Aether as we see Light inclos'd within the walls of a dark Lanâ—horn or the active Particles of Fire when smother'd in Ashes or imprison'd within the dark body of Matter Thus Darkness was upon the face of this thick Mist or Fog of Matter until God by another Almighty Fiat created Motion which being infus'd into the stagnating Mist of Matter the whole Mass of it was put into a fermentation and motion and whilst the contrary Qâ—alities were acting their Antipathies one upon another these nimble and active Particles of lucid Aether being the most Volatile broke through this dark Mass of Matter and uniting themselves caus'd a bright shining Light which Moses calls Day and this division of Light from Darkness occasion'd by the putting of the whole Mass of Matter into a Fermentation and Motion made the first Production CHAP. V. Of Light the formal Cause of all mixt Productions what it was whilst in Mass. BY Light is to be understood that vast Aetherial flame which whilst â—t was in Mass diffus'd its bright shining Rays not only through the Material Regions but the Planetary and Coelestial Spheres This Aetherial flame was the Anima Mundi the Vehicle of Life wherein was contain'd the Seminal and Specifick Forms of all sublunary Creatures Man oâ—ly â—xcepted and then daâ—c'd about the Passive Matter like Aâ—oms in the Morning Sun Beams until its Prolifick Slime by vertue of its Plastick Power was modifi'd and prâ—par'd for receiving of Life And this seems to be the sense and Philosophical meaning of Moses in the Second Chapter of Genesis Verse the Fifth God made every Plant of the Field before it was in the Earth and every Herb of the Field before it grew meaning only their Seminal and Specifick Forms which were contain'd in a Vehicle of Light before they were united to their Material Vehicles Thus Light according to the Mosaick Principles of Natural Philosophy became the Formal Cause or the Male Parent of all mixt Productions CHAP. VI. Of Darkness the material cause of all mixt Productions what it was in Mass how it was reduc'd into Form Of the Power of Matter and Motion Of Sympathy and Antiphathy BY Darkness the other Principle or Material cause of generation is not meant a bare pâ—ivation of Light but that vast Mist or Dark Fog of Matter consisting of infinite Numbers of Particles or little Corpuscles of different Figures and contrary Qualities which by reason of a Principle of motion infus'd into it run a Reel in a dark confusion until these contrary Qâ—alities of Heat and Cold Siccity and Humidity Gravitation and Levity falling out among 'em selves begun to act their Antipaâ—hies upon one another which causing them to separate and divide those of the same kindred and affiniâ—y by the Power of a Sâ—cret and Innate Sympathy drew together and united And first of all these Particleâ— of Matter which were of a hot and volatile Nature being most active and vigorous plac'd themselves in the Centre or Middle as we observe 'em always to do in Sâ—acks of Hay Corn or other composiâ—ions of mixt Matters wherein there is a strife or contest between those contrary Qualities of Heat and Cold Siccity and Humidity And these hot and siery Paâ—ticles having by their natural tendency taken possession of the Centre began immediately to â—ct their Antipathy upon those Particles of Matter that were of a cold and waterish substance forcing them to fly to the Circumfeâ—â—nce and to range about in thick Fogs and waterish Mists filling up not only that vast Expansion between the superficies of the Eaâ—th and the Moons Vortex but all â—he Planetary Spheres During which contest between Heat and Cold Fiâ—e and Water the intermediate Matter of a mixt Nature neither â—imply hot nor cold but participaâ—ing of both Natures viz. such as were of an Unctious Pinguid Bituminous and Terrene Quality seâ—led themselves in a midle Sphere And every Class of Matter of the same Kind and Species the better to secure it â—elf from intermixing with the Matter of a different Nature did inclose it self with great Dykes or Partitions consisting of Excrementitious confuâ—'d and undigested Matter and the natural Position of these being Rake-wise from the surface towards the Centre they most properly may be esteem'd the greater joynts of the Earth And as these divide the several Kinds of Matter so they preserve the several Feeders and Mineral Waters from intermixing as will be more largely shewn when we shall have occasion to Discourse of Dykes Rakes Veins Strings Riders c. The confus'd Mâ—ss of mixt Matter being thus redâ—c'd to several Classes and a regular â—orm every Class leading to some proper Mine or Mineral which is the siner and better digested part of that Class as Coal Rudle Iron and the several Kinds of Ore and these all lay in lax and â—luid Stratâ— or Beds like the loose Leaves in an unpresâ—'d Volume or Book or like the weak joynts in a newly conceiv'd Embrio enclos'd in a Bag of Water in the Womb of its pregnant Mother CHAP. VII Of the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the Waters what is Pholosophically meant by it Of the first division of the Waters and the clearing of the sublunary Firmament THE whole Mass of Terrenâ— Matter being thus far reduc'd into Form and Order not according to the Laws of Gravity the heaviest subsiding first in order and falling lowest as Dr. Woodward conceives which mistake in Observation will be made apparent in its proper place but by motion of consent suitability of Natures and an agreeable juxta-position of Parts The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters which Words if we consider 'em under a philosoâ—â—ical Notion may be understood oâ— the Aetherial Flame which moving upon those waterish Fogs and Mists rarifi'd the more subtile and tâ—nuious Parts or Fumes of it into a brisk gale of cold condensing Wind which did not only clear up the Sublunary Firmament by dividing of those Fogs into Sublunary and Superlunary Waters but by condensing the Sublunary Fogs and Mists into a vast body of Water it cover'd and surrounded the whole body of Terrene Matter and as the Waters sank down towards the Centre they press'd together the several Strata or Layers of Stones Mines Minerals and other Subterrene Earths as we press together the leaves of a large Volume and in our sinking and digging into the Body of
before the Deluge was not smooth even and uniform but unequal and distinguish'd with Mountains Valleys as also with Seas Lakes and Rivers CHAP. X. Of the constituent parts of the Earth And first of the Volatile part of it or the Central Fire its natural Uses THE Constituent parts of this Terraqueous Globe are reducible to three different Classes of Matter viz. Volatile Fix'd and Fluid and these bear equal proportion one to another and in the Structure of the Earth do occupy the same proportion of place The Volatile Matter consisting of sublimated Sulphur Nitre and Bitumen keeps possession of the Central part and as all Matter of the same kind and affinity which having an appetite to Union naturally affects a round and globular Figure so the Central Fire may be suppos'd to be of the same Form That Figure wherein the Excentral Fire appears is only accidental occasion'd by the compressures of the circumambient Air. That vast subterranean Vault wherein this volatile Globe of Central Fire is contain'd which the Miners call thâ— Belly of the Earth may be suppos'd to be either of a round or circular or of an aequilateral multangular Figure occasion'd by the solid Strata of Stones spreading and vaulting themselves about it The natural Uses of this Central Fire seem to be Analogous to that vital Flame which is seated in the Heâ—rt or Center of all Animals for as that by its Vital heat â—nlivens the whole Body so this Central â—ire by that Vital warmth it disseminates through the whole mass of Matter enlivens it and gives as well to the several Strata of Stones Metals Minerals and other subterranean Earths their degrees of Consolidation as to the several kinds of Ores their different degrees of Purity and Perfection As the Vital Flame does not only cause the Ebullition and Pulsisick Faculty in the Exterior paâ—ts of the Body but also the Circulation of the whole Mass of Blood through all the greater and lesser Veins of it so the Central Fire is as well the cause of the Ebullition of Springs Thermae and Mineral Feeders which break out upon the tops of Mountains and the exterior parts of the Earth as of the constant Circulation of the whole Mass of Subterranean Water through those Dykes Rakes and Fissures which from the Mountains do divide and spread themselves through the whole Body of the Earth and are the greater and lesser Veins of it Again as the Vital Flame gives the tincture and colour to the Blood Flesh and all the Heterogeneous parts of the Body so the Central Fire by the different degrees of concoction and boyling up of Matter gave to the several kinds of it their different Tinctures and Colours this might be illustrated by several Analogous Experiments and Observations as in the boiling of Quincâ—s and other Fruits so likewise in Bâ—king of Bread c. The Central Fire by running a perpetual Round within the Boundaries of its own Infernal Vault carries the Shell of the Earth about with it and is the cause of its Diurnal Motion Lastly It is the Earth's Aequilibrium that keeps it fix'd upon its Center CHAP. XI Of the fixt part of the Earth And first of the Inequalities of its Surface their Natural Causes and Uses THE fixt part of this Terraqueous Globe which we call the Earth may be describ'd either as to its Exterior parts or Interior consistences of it The Exterior parts consist of Mountains Heaths Dales Plains Valleys with the Channel of the Sea The Interior consistences of it are the Strata or Beds of Stones Metals Mines Minerals and Subterranean Earths all lying upon Flats with a Dibb and Rise Or they are Dikes Rakes Riders Veins and Strings either cross-cutting and dividing the several kinds of Stones Metals Mines Minerals c. of a different kind or cross-cutting and dividing those of the same Species as all Metallick Rakes c. Of the Inequalities of the Earths Surface THese Irregularities and Inequalities upon the Superficies of the Earth are occasion'd by the Elevations and Depressions of the solid Strata and these are cau'd either by the greater Dikes which divide one Species of Stones c. from those of a different kind and these greater Dikes make Channels and Water-courses for the greater Rivers which following their windings and turnings till they empty themselves into the Sea cause all those pleasant Dales which at last when the Mountains wear out dilate themselves into spacious Plains and Valleys The lesser Dikes and Joynts which divide the Stones c. of the same kind by throwing them up and down cause all those lesser Hills which as well delight the Eye with a grateful variety of Objects as refrigerate and cherish the whole Body with a more cool clear and wholsome Air. There is not any thing in this Natural World that contributes more towards the making of it Habitable then these inaequalities upon its Surface For First they occasion all these different Kinds and Natures of Soil which produce the several Species of Vegetables suitable to the several Natures of those Animals that feed upon them The Earth's Surface being God's Storehouse wherein is provided Food and Nourishment agreeable to the Nature of every Animal and every living Creature by a Natural Instinct knows its proper Food and Nourishment and when and where to find it They occasion all those different qualities of the Air as Warm Cold Thick Thin Moist and Dry for as God has provided Food suitable to the several Natures to feed on so He has provided Air suitable to their Natures to Breath in Those Inequalities upon the Earth occasion all those Springs Mineral Feeders and Medicinal Waters which break out in Rapid Streams from the Tops of Mountains and the Skirts of lesser Hills so that as God has provided convenient Food for every Animal to feed upon and agreeable Air to breath in He has likewise by causing of Springs to break forth and bubble up at the Foot almost of every Hill provided convenient Water for every Animal to quench its Thirst with Whereas if the Earth had been of an Even and Spherical Supersicies cover'd with one solid Strata or incrusted Cover of Earth I doubt we should have been forc'd to have Digg'd as deep as Dr. Burnet and Dr. Woodward's Abyss before we shoâ—'d have met with Water sufficient to have quench'd our Thirst and it s also doubtful that when we had found it it wou'd not have been Sweet and Wholsome These Inequalities also cause the sâ—veral Strata of Stones Mines and Oâ—es c. having a Natural Rise to brâ—ak â—oâ—th at Day so that the Ingeâ—â—ouâ—â—â—d Industrious Miner may meet with not only Stone for Building of Houses Coals for his Fires but the several Kinds of Ore to enrich his Coffers with These Inequalities also produce all those Pleasant and most Profitable Copises and Thickets of all Kinds of Trees which delight most to grow
Clay c. which divide the several Strata we presently raise their Feeders And if any who being prompt'd either to gratifie his Natural Curiosity or gain some considerable Advantage to himself would raise a new River upon dry Ground let him go to the Foot of some Hill or Rising Ground and begin a Level-Drift which by cross-cutting of the several Strata of that Rising Earth he will Tap and fet at Liberty all the Feeders and if he drive on till he shall cross-cut with the Drift one Branch of those greater Dikes he will Raise a considerable River which may turn to his great Advantage CHAP. XVII Of those Preternatural Accidents that Disturb and Interrupt the Course of Nature in this Material World c. HAving in the former Chapters given an Account of the Originals Causes Consistences and Natural Uses of the several Parts of this Natural Globe as well Fix'd as Fluid It will not be improper to subjoin an Account of such Preternatural Accidents as sometimes have disturb'd and may for the future interrupt the regular Course of Nature and at the last so far destroy the Frame and Fabrick of this Material Part of it as to render it uncapable of being an Habitable World And these are Earthquakes Hurricanes Volcano's violent Eruptions of the Subterranean Waters as at Noah's Flood Stagnations of the Subterranean Air causing the Springs and Mineral Feeders to sink down into the Interior â—arts of the Earth Interruption of the Circulation of Vapours and Rains upon the Earth as in the days of Elisha the Prophet violent and Preternatural Thunders such as destroy'd Sodom and Gomorrah These and the like are the Accidental Distempers that have happen'd in the Body of the Earth and they seem Analagous to those Fevers Agues Convulsions c. which interrupt the Healthful Constitutions of our own Bodies and are sometimes destructive of 'em And as all the Diseases and Distempers our Bodies are subject to have their Original from Accidental Heats or Colds which either Sublimates and Exalts our Animal Spirits into a Feverish degree of Volatility or by Cold and Aguish Damps depresseth them into a degree of Stagnation So all those Accidental and Preternatural Disturbances that happen in the Course of Nature have their original Cause from the several Kinds and Natures of Damps which are Either Central Subterrene or Aerial And are of Quality Either Hot Cold Sweet or Foul. CHAP. XVIII Of the Central Damps Their Causes Natures and Dreadful Effects upon this Globe THE Subterranean Vault being filled with a confus'd Mass of undigested Matter Consisting of Sublimat'd Sulphur Bitumen and Nitre whenever it happens that there ariseth a War between these angry Volatiles and their Fluid Neighbours viz. the Subterranean Water and Air which Circulates through those greater Veins that environ this large Vault and do not only Feed and Nourish that Infernal Smother but keep and confine it within its own Boundaries that it break not forth in violent Eruptions upon the fixt Body of the Earth As soon as this Intestine War commenceth these Active Volatiles of Sublimated Sulphur Bitumen and Nitre collect and aggregate into great Bodies And when these discharge in the Central part of the Vault the Nitre which is the principal Cause of the grand Effort or Flatus dilates and expands its self on all sides upwards and downwards Indifferently And this violent Effort or Flatus causeth an universal Concussion of the whole Globe When the Damp gathers towards the Circumference of the Vault and there dischargeth it self the grand Flatus hath its Tendency upwards and sometimes causeth a Concussion of one half of the Globe without any Eruption of Fire When the Damp Fires upon some Class of the Superincumbent Strata it either splits them making Cracks and Chasms in the Exterior parts of the Earth for some Miles in length which at the instant of the Shock openeth and in the Interval between the Shocks closeth again Of this Kind was that â—rack or Chasm which open'd and â—â—allow'd up the Tents of Korah Dathan and Abiram and no doubt but the Shock struck a Terror into the whole Camp Or if the grand Flatus be very Strong and Vehement it either elevates the whole Class above the Superficies of the Earth forming a new Mountain or else it sinks down into the Vault and the vacant place is immediately fill'd with Water not from Dr. Woodward's Abyss but from the Veins of the Earth which break into it When the Damp fires near or upon some of the great Joints or Clifts of the Earth the Flatus pursues all the Windings and Turnings of these Joints and Clifts until it break forth in Dreadful Hurricanes either under the Sea occasioning most Horrible Disorders and Perturbations raising its Surface into Prodigious Waves Tossing and Rowling them about in most strange Whirlpools Overturning and Swallowing up Ships in an instant And upon the dry Land Overturning Cities Towns Blowing up Mountains c. Tho' these Effects of the Subterranean Nitre when Rarified and Dilated by the Central Flame be very Dreadful yet if these Fissures and Spiracles through which they get a Vent and break out upon the Earth had been Perpendicular as Dr. Woodward Conceits they wou'd have Destroy'd the whole Surface of it For then every one of these lesser Damps or Squibs which daily take Fire in the Subterranean Vault wou'd have broken out upon us And the greater Damps being Fired wou'd have Blown up not only the Inhabitants of the Earth but their Houses with its Superficies into the Air for the deeper the Fissure or Spiracle is if it be Perpendicular in a streight Line the more Strength and Impetuosity it gives to the Flatus as we observe in Guns and Fuzees Again The very Sulphurous Exhalations which wou'd have ascended through these Perpendicular Fissures without interruption wou'd with their Noisome Smell have Sufâ—ocated and Stifled those Animals that Live by Respiration and wou'd have afforded Matter for continual Thunder in the Air. It was then most agreeable with the State of this Habitable Globe that these Fissures or Joints of the Earth shou'd have their Position from the Surface to the Câ—nter in crooked Lines with various windings and turnings openings and closings not only for securing us from those dangerous Effects of the Central and Terrene Damps but also for the better and more commodious Communication of the Subterranean Waters through the Flat Strata of Matter And Lastly That the Subterranean Waters by following of the windings and â—urnings of these greater Fissures might have a longer Journey to the Sea and thereby supply the Inhabitants of the Earth with sweet Waters at a more Commodious and Convenient Distance These Phenomena of Central Damps and that they are the only cause of all those Universal Earth-quakes that have happen'd in this Natural World being wholly new and the World not yet accquainted with them may at first sight seem only the
the Earth we find them lying upon Flaâ—s with a Dibb and Rise the Rise towards the tops of Mountains and the Dibb towards the main Ocean as the Waters left them and forc'd them up when they drew down into their proper Channel The whole Mass of Terrene Matter being thus Compact and Cemented together by the pressures of the circumambient ambient Waters as we press Brick and Tyle in their several Moulds the Central â—ire did by its heat bake and consolidate those Stones Metals Mines and Minerals that were of a fiery nature as well as those of an unctuous and pinguid quality into their several degrees of Consolidation and Induration whilst the Anteperistical Cold together with those petrifying juices of Salt and Nitre which then did abound in all the lax and undigested Strata did petrify those Strata of a Terrene Nature into their several degrâ—es of Induration and Lapidifaction By these Natural Gradations the Earth became fixt upon its Center and â—he Waters a fluid body moving and circulating about it and they both made one Terraqueous Globe of a Spherical and Mathematical Rotundity all the Lines from the Superficies to the Centre being of an equal length Thus the space between the surface of the Waters and the Moon 's Vortex was clear'd of all those Fogs and Mists which ranged about in it And being fill'd with their Air Moses calls it the Firmament of Heaven which made the second Production viz. of space wherein the Under-agents or second Causes had room to work and produce effects of a higher and more noble Nature and Quality CHAP. VIII The division of the lower Waters into Subterranean Superterranean and Nubiferous and by what Gradations the dry Land appeared THO' this great Embrio was ready for birth and to breath in fresh Air yet it could not be deliver'd from this great Bag of Water wherein it was enclos'd by any innate Power it had in it self without a Supernatural assistance The Almighty was pleas'd therefore to play the Midwife and to deliver it by breaking of this great body of Water and by dividing of the sweet from those of a Saline and Brakish Nature For as soon as the intermediate Matter which made the Shell of the Earth was rednâ—'d into Form and Order and the several Strata or Layers of Stones Metals Minerals and Subterrene Earths with their cross-cutting and dividing Dykes Rakes Ryders Veins and Strings or Side-branches had receiv'd from the heat of the Central fire and the petrefying Juices of Salt and Nitre their several degrees of Incrustation Induration and Lapidifaction the thirsty Matter gradually suckt in the thin sweet Water until all its Veins Dykes Cavities and Pores were fill'd and saturated with it The Salt Water being the Sedement of the whole Mass and likewise being too thick to penetrate and pass through the straâ—t Pores and Strainers of the solid and condensed Matter did gradually draw down to its Channel And all the Veins and Pores of the Earth being now Saturated with sweet Water the Subterranean Lympheducts or underground Water-works began first to bubble up and play from the tops of the highest Mountains from whence thâ— Rivers took their first rise and began to form their courses to the Sea and by their rapidity and weight continually pressing in upon her from all sides swell'd her up into a Gibbosity and forâ—'d her into a constant flux and reflux which reciprocation of Motion causing in her a boyling Fermentation the sweet Water does disentangle it self from the Salt and being lighter riseth up in Fumes and Vapours which fly abroad until they be condens'd into Clouds which falling down in showers of sweet Water upon the Earth becomeâ— the Succus Nutritivus of the fleshy paâ—t of it giving not only a vital nourishment to the several Kinds of Animals living on the outer Coat or Skin of it but repairing the Subterranean Waters by preserving them from wasting The Waters being now divided into Superterranean Subterranean and Nubiferous the dry Land appear'd and was gradually prepar'd for being an habitable World CHAP. IX Of the Primeval or Antidiluvian Figure of the Earth DR Burnet in his Theory of the Earth conceits and endeavours to perswade the World that the Primeval Earth was Spherically or Mathematically round without Seas Mountains or any inequalities upon its Surface Which Hypothesis or rather ingenious Conceit seems in the first place to be inconsistent with the Original State of this Materiâ—l Globe which being design'd for a placâ— of Habition for several Kinds of Animals of â— mixt and compounded Constitution whose vital â—lame is nourish'd and maintain'd by a continual respiration of a soft and vaporous Air which must not only be frequently fann'd with the brisk gales and blasts of a cleansing Wind but also moistned and sweetned with showers frequently falling through it All which have their Original cause from the constant flux and reflux of the Sea and those inequalities upon the surface of the Earth Without which there would neither have been an Atmosphere Wind Rain or Air but the Superficies of the Earth would have been by the Sun's Beams continually beating upon it Baked and Incrusted into the hardness of Brick and Tyle This Hypothesis seems also inconsistent with the different Natures of those Animals with which the Almighty Creator has been pleas'd to stock it some of which being only produc'd in a Warm and Fertile Soil others only in a Cold and Sterile So some Animals delight only to breath a warm and soft Air others a more bleak and piercing Thus Strawberries and Gilliflowers will not thrive upon the tops of cold and barren Mountains nor Mountain Vegetables in the most fertile Soil or best prepar'd warm Beds This will be made more clear and evident when we shall give account of the natural uses of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea and those inequalities and irregularities of the Earth's Surface Once more to suppose the Earth to have been of an even and Spherical Supersicies seems inconsistent with the different Kinds and Natures of that Matter of which it consists some of which being hard others soft some fix'd others â—luid it cann't be imagin'd that all this variety of Matter would settle in a Figure Spherically and Mathematically round From these Arguments we may without being guilty of any great presumption conclude against Dr. Burnet's Hypothesis that as the Antediluvian Earth consisted of the same Matter with this present Earth and produc'd the same Species of Animals of the same natures and qualities it was of the same Figure that now we find it in a Terraqueous Globe of a Physical Rotundity with Seas Mountains c. And thâ—t these irregularities and Inequalities of this Terrestrial Globe did not Date their Original from that Disruption which was occasion'd by the Deluge as Dr. Woodward positively asserts Part 2d page 80. is evidâ—nt from part 6. Page 246. where he undertakes to prove that the Face of the Earth
where the solid Beds of Stone are weak and broken and lye near day and where they may easily thrust their Roots into their broken Joints and suck in the Mineral Spirits c. CHAP. XII Of Mountains their Original Cause Consistences and Natural Uses being the first Dry Land that appear'd THE Mountains are the Ebullition oâ— Matter occasion'd by the Central Fire when it was in its â—ull Strength and Vigour They consist of such Strata of Stones Metals Raggs Chivers Cills c. as are of a Hot quality and these are like so many Hot-beds wherein the several kinds of Ore receiv'd their Conceptions as well as their different degrees of Concoction and Perfection as hereafter will be more fully shewn The Mountains consisting of such Matter as is of a Hot quality and being bound with strong Cills which having a quicker Rise than those upon the Plains do lift up their Heads above the rest of the Earth and became not only the great Pillars and Supporters of the whole Fabrick but the first Sea-Banks that broke the Circulation of the Waters and were the first dry Land that appear'd The Tops of the Mountains reaching aâ— high as the cold Regions of the Air and having but the advantage of a single Râ—flection of the Sun 's Globuli have always a Cold and Condensing Air upon them and striking a Level with the Gibbosity of the Sea do by the Sympathy between Cold and Cold attrâ—ct the Vapours to them which either fall down in Showers of Rain being Condens'd by the rising of the Ground Cold or are rarifi'd into Wind by the falling of the Sphere of Rarefaction which term will be hereafter explain'd when we describe the Nature of Winds All the greatest Dikes and Divisâ—ons of the Earth as I have already observ'd do contract themselves and meet in the Mountains as the Veins do in the Necks of Animals and these being the greater Veins of the Earth by dividing into lesser Veins and Branches maintain and preserve a constanâ— Communication or Circulation of Water through the whole Body And this is the only Reason why the Heads of all the greatest Rivers in the World have their Rise from the Tops or Sides of the highest Mountains which by following of the Windings and Turnings of these greater Dikes or Veins and by receiving into them the lesser Dike-Feeders are increas'd from small Rivulets into large and Navigable Rivers which at the last empty themselves into the Main Ocean The Declivity of the Mountains gives Rapidity of Motion to the Rivers which does not only preserve their Sweetness for the benefit of Men and Beasts but also by pressing upon the Sea from all sides swells her up into a Gibbosity and is the only cause of her Flux and Reflux which the following Chapters will give account of As the Declivity of the Mountains gives Rapidity of Motion to the Rivers so it gives Motion to the Winds and Air For as the Condensation of Vapours causeth an Inundation in the Waters so the Rarefaction of the Vapours and Exhalations causeth an Inundation and Overflowing in the Air And those Lateral blasts of Wind that come so strong upon us are only Waves of the Air and the roaring Noise we oftentimes hear upon the Mountains is only the breaking forth of the Winds upon the still Body of the Air and there putting of it into a rapid Motion which is increas'd by the Descent of the Mountains for Air and Water are the same in Specie differing only in degrees of Thinness and Fludity As the Mountains are the great Pillars and Supporters of the Earth their Foundations all meeting in the Center and Forming that Vast Subterranean Vault which keeps the Central Fire from breaking forth so they are the greatest Ornament of its Superficies giving not only a most pleasant Prospect over the Plains and Valleys but terminating the Visive Faculty with a grateful variety of Objects The Mountains have their Natural Position either in Ridges or Clusters those we see in Clusters intermixt with great Dales Gills and Valleys were at the first settling of Matter all of an even Superficies but their Joynts and divisions consisting of Raff Ragg Chiver and such confus'd Matter without strong Cills or Strata of Stones to bind them together were by great Storms and Tempests of Rain c. but especially by Noah's Flood broken and driven down into the Valleys and from thence into the next adjacent Sea And this is the Reason why some Mountains have a Perpendicular Rise why their Ribs and Sides lye Naked and Frightful threatning to fall upon us and these great Dikes and Joynts are either fill'd with Ponds of Water which afford great plenty of Fish or they are become pleasant Valleys Gills and Dales having a Fâ—uitful Soil and the warmest Sun by reason of its Beams being Reflected from all sides of the Mountains CHAP. XIII Of Mountain Heaths c. THE Mountain Heaths lye upon the Skirts of Mountains towards the Sea their Consistences and several Strata are rather of a Pinguid Bitumious and Nitrous than of a Hot and Sulphureous Quality and they generally lead to Mines of Coals which are the Pneumatick parts of such Strata of Stones and Metals as are their upperCovers the principal and more Pneumatical Ingredients whereof are Bitumen Sulphur and Nitre Bitumen gives the Flame Nitre blows it up and Sulphur gives the Heat Thâ—ir crosâ—-cutting and dividing Dikeâ— consist of tough Clay and a mixture of confus'd Matters These Mountain Heaths were the second dry Land that appear'd for as the Sea did gradually draw down into its Channel its unruly Waves drove up these lesser Hills we see upon the Skirts of the Mountains and forc'd their Strata of Stones Metals c. to have a Rise towards them thereby making a Channel so Spacious as might contain so Vast a Body of Water and keep its Proud Waves within their proper Limits Their Stones Metals c. had their degrees of Incrustation and Lapidifaction from the Central Fire CHAP. XIV Of the Plains and Valley c. THE last dry Land that appear'd was the Plains and Valleys which by the Depression of their Strata sank down into the Channel of the Sea the Consistences of these are rather of a Terrene and Nitrous than â— Pinguid Quality They afford us the best Free-stone as White Grey Red and Yellow these Tinctures and Colours they receiv'd from those different degrees of Concoction they had from the Central Fire and the degrees of Lapidifaction and Induration they receiv'd from the Anteperistical Cold and Petrefying Juices Their Strata have an easie Dibb towards the Sea sometimes not a Yard at fifty for as the Waters divided their Strength abated and the Flat Strata laid more level CHAP. XV. Of the Channel of the Sea c. AS the Valleys sink down gradually into the Channel of the Sea so the Channel is only a spacious
Products of Fancy or meer Conjecture yet if Seriously and Impartially enquir'd into will be fouâ—d Grounded upon such Reason as cannot without a prejudic'd Opinion be easily deny'd For it cannot be imagin'd by any who have made it their business to understand the Structure of the Earth those â—everal Classes of Solid and Dense Matter on which it consists the windings and turnings of those Dikes and Partitions which divide them and are the Subterranean Water Courses that there shou'd be Magazines of Subterranean Gunpowder lodg'd in Infernal Cavities round the whole Globe and that there shou'd be Trains laid from one Collection to another and that all these Trains shou'd take Fire through all the Subterranean Rivers in one instant of Time Neither can it reasonably be suppos'd that there shou'd be a Concussion of the whole or half or any considerable part of the Globe by one Subterranean Flatus but what is from the Central Vault Again The Consistences of the greatest part of the Earth being rather of a Gold Terrene and Mercurial than of a Bituminous Nitrous and Sulphureous Quality it cannot be suppos'd that those parts of the Earth which afford no quantities of this Natural Gunpowder shou'd suffer a Concussion or Earthquake but from these Central Damps Besides those Miners who have sunk deepest into these Occult Regions do from their own Experience assure us that there are no Grotto's or Cavities above an Hundred Fathoms deep unless in those Mountainous Countries where the Consistences are of a Sulphurous and Nitrous Quality affording plenty of Natural Gun-powder which being Fir'd cause all those Vulcano's we Read of in History CHAP. XIX Of Terrene Damps and their Dreadful Effects upon this Globe c. TErrene Damps have their Original either from Heat or Cold and are either Fiery or Waterish Those which have their Original from Fire are of the same Nature with those Central Damps we have given Account of As all Local Earth-quakes do more frequently happen in the Mountainous Countries than in the Plains and Valleys because all the greater Dikes Joints and Veins of the Earth contract and meet there And the Flatus which is the occasion of the Shock makes its way by what passage soever it can get Vent But these Mountainous Couâ—tries especially which yield great store of Sulphur Bitumen and chiefly Nitre these Minerals affording the greatest plenty of Natural Gun-powder are most injur'd by those dreadful Shocks because those Mountains whose Natural Consistences are of so Hot and Fiery a Quality are commonly very Cavernous and their greater Joints and Fissures as well as strong Strata having by frequent Concussions and Earthquakes lost their Natural Feeders are become the most proper Receptacles for those Fiery Stores to be lodg'd in until either the Central Fire or their own Natural Heat being contracted into a Point Discharge first the lowest Damp and the rest by Trains like so many Subalterns discharge in Course and sometimes for several Months together till the Subterranean Gun-powder be all spent And these Burning Mountains such as Aetna Vesuvius Hecla and others are only so many Spiracles or Vulcano's serving for the discharge of these Subterranean Damps which disgorgeth Flames of Fire and Stones of great Weight and Substance Showers of Sand and Rivers of melted Minerals and yet these Mountains by those Vulcano's lose nothing of their Height or Magâ—itude all these Eruptions being Recruited out of the great Magazine of Natural Gun-powder contain'd in the Infernal Vault Besides these Damps of a Fiery Natore contain'd in the Interior parts of the Earth there are others which sometimes happens in the Exterior parts of it such as those Fiery Damps in Colleries are only the Perspirations of Sulphur and Nitre out of the Cole Wall or Mine Collected into a Body and these either take Fire at a Candle or like so many dry Exhalations receiv'd into the Body of a Cloud and discharge like Thunder shakes the Earth about the Collery kills the Miners and have other Dreadful â—ffects To these we may add those Preter-natural Ebullitions and Eruptions of Subterranean Waters which Moses calls the Breaking up of the Fountains of the great Deep And these whenever they happen upon the Earth as at Noah's Flood are occasion'd by an Universal Fermentation and Dilation of the Central Fire which gaining ground upon their Fluid Neighbours force them into a most Rapid Motion through all the Subterranean Veins and consequently causeth those vâ—olent Eruptions of Water in all the Springs Rivers Joints and Fissures of the Earth Sometimes the Circulation of the Subterranean Waters stagnates and sinks down into the Interior parts of the Earth the Springs and Rivers dry up as in the days of Elisha and this is occasion'd by the stifling and damping of the Central Heat the Circumambient Waters prevailing upon it Sometimes the Circumbient Air which Circulates in the Exterior parts of the Earth especially the Caverns Joints and Concavities of Rocky Stones and other Metals and is the only cause of the Eruption and Motion of Springs Rivers c. Damps and Stagnates which forceth the Springs and Eruptions of Waters to stand back and fill those Caverns and Joints from whence they flow until the weight of the Waters break the Damp or rather Damm of Stagnated Air and then follows Eruptions and Overflowings of Springs Rivers c. This kind of Damps I have met with sometimes in Colleries where the Water made way for it self in such Joints and open Closers as it met with in the under Cills especially Lime-stone which is of all Stone the most Jointy and Open. And when the Air in these open Joints and Cavities was dampt the Waters stood back in the Working and forc'd the Mines out of the Pit until the weight broke the Damp and then the Waters Drain'd This Damp most frequently happens in the Summer Months when the Ambient Air is Thick with Hot and Piery Exhalations and the Effluvia of sweet Blossoms especially of Peas and Beans And this the Miners call the sweet Damp. This Stagnation and Damping of the Subterranean Air is in all probability the cause of the Annual Over-flowing of the River Nilus the Horary Overflowing of the Spring at Gigleswick in York-shire the Drumming in the Well at Bautry c. And these being by Men of Learning reckon'd among the Magnalia Naturae we shall enquire more particularly into the Causes of them And first of the Over-flowing of Nilus Nilus is one of the Noblest Rivers in the World and is famous not only for the long Course it takes through Ethiopia and Egypt which is suppos'd to be Three thousand Miles before it empty's it self into the Miditerranean Sea but also for its Over â—lowing and Fertilizing that Low and Level Country supplying in it the want of Rain 'T is believ'd by Men of great Learning that this Yearly Over-flowing of that Country is ocâ—â—sâ—on'd by the great quantities of Snow dissolv'd
Suitableness for those misplaid Ends and Purposes for which they were Created In their being Good and Perfect in their several Kinds In the Regular keeping and observing those Rules given them at their Creation Thâ—t this Infinite variety of Orders Shapes and Figures by which the several Species of Creatures are Charactâ—riz'd and Distinguish'd are not the Effects of blind Chance or Casual Motion but tâ—e Products of Infinite Power Wisdom and Counsel will be clear and evident if we carefully observe that not only their Numbers Shapes and Figures but also their whole Contextures and Contemperation of parts with their Natures and Qualities have all of them a manifest relation to those several Uses and Operations they perform and this is so fairly Illustrated and Prov'd by the Ingâ—nious and Leaned Mr. Ray in his Treatise concerning the Wisdom and Providence of Gâ—d in the Creation of the World that a â—urther enlargement upon this Argument wou'd be wholly superfluous That all Creatures are Good and Perfect in their Kind will appear if we consider that it was most agreeable with the Divine Wisdom that the whole Scheme and System of Nature shou'd consist in different Degrees of Perfection and Subordination of Life And that every Inferior Speâ—ies shou'd be Concatenated to its Superior by Animals of an Intermediate Nature And yet notwithstanding this difference amongst the Creatures in Degrees of Life and Perfection we cannot but observe that every Creature even of the lowest Degree of Life is Good and Perfect in its Kind viz without any blemish defect or flaw for the meanest Insect is as perfect an Animal as the Elephant and Whale and God's Wisdom and Power is as well to be Admir'd in the Paint upon the Butterflie's Wing as in the Glorious Body of the Sun Again there is nothing more agreeable with the Divine Wisdom than that there shou'd be in so great a variety of Creatures Degrees of Subordination and Perfection will yet further appear if we consider That these Creatures of a lower Degree of Perfection do by comparison Illustrate and commend those of a higher Degree That those Regular Subserviencies and Harmonies might make up a Vital Cement whereby the whole Frame and Structure shou'd be United It was necâ—ssary that there shou'd be variety of Natures and different Degrees of Life that the Wisdom of the Creator might be the more Display'd Acknowledg'd and Celebrated and that his Infinite and Universal Goodness might be more Visible in the supplying and providing for the Wants of so vast a number of Creatures of so different Natures Lastly That Man being plaâ—'d at so great a distance from the Beatisick Vision which whilst he continues in this Compounded State wou'd either have Dazl'd or Confounded his Sight or Affright'd and Ravish'd his Soul out of his Body it pleas'd therefore the Divine Wisdom to Create all this great variety of Creatures that he might behold his Creator at Second-hand when his Bodily Eyes cou'd not bear the sight of Him at the first And Secondly That he might exercise and improve his Rational Faculties and entertain his Heaven-born Soul with Natural as well as Divine Speculations which in some measure Compensates for the want of a clearer sight of the Divine Vision Again altho' it must be granted that in those different Degrees of Perfection all are not alike Amiable Lovely and Beneficial to Man yet those that are the less Beautiful and Lovely sets off the Beauty of the rest as Shadows set off the more lively Colours Thirdly That the goodness of the Creature does consist in its fitness for those Ends and Purposes for which it was Created will appear if we consider that it cannot be easily imagin'd that God who is Infinite in Wisdom and Goodness shou'd Create any thing in Vain but to good Ends and the best of Purposes We therefore in the Nature of Things can discover Infinite agreeableness of this to that and of one thing to another And though we cannot throughly penetrate and discover the Relation Use and End of every Thing in Nature by reason of our Incapacity occasion'd by the Darkness of that State we live in yet we have reason from what we can discover to conclude That every thing was Created for good Ends and particular Uses For first of all we do observe that every Inferior Creature was subservient to its Superior And all the Creatures subservient to Man altho our Ignorancâ— in this Dark and Degenerate State has made us uncapable of Understanding their Natures and Uses Secondly We observe that every Element is fitt'd for its Animal and every Animal for its proper Element We observe that every Object is fitted for its Sense and every Sense to its proper Object We observe that Food and Nourishment is provided in Nature's Sâ—ore-house for every Animal and every Animal for its proper Food and Nourishment These being trite and common Topicks I refer the Reader to those Authors who have made it their Business to enlarge upon them I shall proceed therefore to shew how in the last place the goodness of the Creatures consist in observing and keeping of those Laws given them at their Creation When the Almighty had Created the World and Stock'd it with several Ranks and Degrees oâ— Creatures He gave them Laws to keep and Rules to walk by And these we call the regular Course of Nature from which they never vary unless at their Creator's Command These Laws which all the Creatures are govern'd by are 1. A Divine Impression Or 2. Natural Instinct 3. External Senses 4. The Laws and Rules of Natural Reason 1. The Inanimate Creatures are govern'd by a Divine Impression for if we look up to Heaven we observe how the Sun Moon and all the Aetherial Globes do perform their Natural Motions from which they have not vary'd higher or lower faster or slower since their first Creation and how they shed forth their Coelestial Influences on all things here below 2. If we look downward we may observe how this Terraqueous Globe consisting of dull and stupid Matter turnes about its own Centre and Naturally Constantly and Regularly performs its Diurnal Motion its cold sides â—herâ—by receiving thâ— warm Influence of the Coâ—lâ—stial Bodies 3. We may obseâ—ve that those â—â—eak aâ—d groveling Plants viz. the Hop Viâ—e and Ivy are by Nature 〈◊〉 with â—endrils or pliant Strings and how by a Natural kind of Instinct they seek about for Supporters and having found them they Clasp about them for all the Plants of this Kind as 〈◊〉 they were sensibe of their being Adjective are always in busie quest for their Substanâ—ive Fourthly We may observe how the Insects those Animals of the lowest Degree of Life propagate and preserve their Kind by Natural Instinct which in them supplies the want of higher Degrees of Sense for with what curiosity do the Bees make their waxen Cells lay in their Winter Provision
strikes down these fiery Globuli with greater force upon the Earth and Waters and consequently they rise higher and èlevate the Vapours with them So that the Atmosphere is higher or lower in several parts of the Earth as the Sun riseth higher or lower in the Meridian and its Beams are darted down in a more direct or oblique Line And as the lowness of our Northern Atmosphere causeth the Sterility and Barrenness of the Northern Mountains so the height of the Southern Atmosphere causeth those Mountains in the Aequinoctial and Southern Regions to be more Fertile and Productive CHAP. II. Of the â—fficient Causes of all Metors and first of Heat BY Heat is not to be understood the Element of Fire which Aristotle and his Followers conceited to be under the Concave of the Moon there being no such Element there but by Heat is meant that Internal Heat and Fermentation which is in the Body of the Earth and that Natural Fire which is originally and essentially in the Body of the Sun the Vehicle of External Heat which Streams out from every part of that Fiery Globe giving Heat Light and enlivening Vegetations to the whole Material World being within the Compass of its Fiery and Luminous Atmosphere These Streams of Heat and Light which is only the shadow of Heat being Darted through the Regions of the Air in Strait Lines and single Rayes are not perceivably Hot or Cold no more than the Light of a Candle without the Sphere of its Heat but being doubled by multiplyed Reflections and Reboundings from the solid Surface of the Earth does increase its Heat as the Reflections are multiplyed and rebounded which makes it hotter against a Wall than upon the plane Ground and in the Vallies than upon the Mountains We must therefore distinguish between those single Rayes of Heat which dart through the Air in instants which are neither perceivably hot or cold and the Heat upon the Superficies of the Earth which being contracted by an Artificial Glass is Râ—al Fire The Essential Qualities of Heat are Calefaction Elevation Rarefaction Liquefaction and Consolidation as it meets with Matter Predisposed to receive its Effects CHAP. III. Of Cold the other efficient Cause of Meteors BY Cold is not meant a bare privation of Heat as former Philosophers did conceit but a real Body of a Subtile Sublimated and Homogenous Nature and of a cold and frigid Quality It s proper place of Existence is between this Earths Atmosphere and the Atmosphere of the Moon which is our next Neighbouring Globe and by the rising and falling of this main Body of Cold are caused the several Changes and Alterations of the Weather with us The Cause of its Rising and Falling is the pressures of these two Atmospheres between which it is plac'd When the waterish Atmosphere of the Moon presseth it down it causeth Storms and Tempests here upon this Globe And when it Rises it causes the same in the Moon The Rising and Falling of this Main Body of Cold is sometimes also occasion'd by its Dilating and Contracting of it self Now as the Suns Beams are hotter in their Reflections upon the Earth than in the Sun it self so these Cold Rays which are darted from this Main Body of Cold being increas'd and multiply'd by Reflection from the Mountains and Rivers are much colder than the Main Body of Cold in its own Sphere These Reflected Globuli of Cold may be term'd the Lower or Ground-cold because in Summer it penetrates the Earth and in Winter it seldom rises higher than the Tops of the highest Mountains unless when it joins with the Main Body and then it causeth great Storms of Frost and Snow c. This Lower or Ground-cold is commonly the Rear-guard and Van-guard of the Sun always going before and following it and it s most perceivable in the Evening and Morning Twilights especially by Birds and Aerial Animals whose Bodies do so sympathize with the Air that they can more quickly perceive the Change of Weather especially the rising of a Storm or Rain or Snow than any of the Terrene Animals and this they commonly discover by their Flying high or low or Flocking together or sometimes by different Notes or Voices This occasion'd the Ancient Augurs to conceit them prophets c. The Essential Qualities and Effects of Cold in general are Frigefaction Congelation and sometimes Petreâ—action and when the lower Cold is Contracted either by Art or Proprio motu it Starves and Freezes as the Fire Burns and Scorcheth This lower Cold contracts and dilates it self as it meets with Opposition from the contrary Quality of Heat and Fire The Effects of the lower Cold when it enters the Earth By Antiperistasis it Fires Damps in Collieries Mines burning Mountains and Vulcano's When it lyes upon the Earth it causeth Dews and hoar Frosts it sucks out Damps and corrupted Air out of Under-ground Works c. CHAP. IV. Of the Air or Medium wherein all Meteors are Generated THE Air is a Vast Medium or Expansion fill'd with Rarify'd Vapours and Exhalations which like Water would Stagnate unless by a Daily addition of Rarify'd Vapours or Wind it were put into a Flux and Reflux as the Sea is the addition of Rivers continually flowing into it from all sides When the Air is Calm then are the Meteors Generated when by the Wind the Air is put into a violent Flux and Reflux they are Broken and Dispapear CHAP. V. Of Fiery Meteors c. THE Lower Cold which follows the Sun in the Evening Twilight continues its Operation for some Hours after its Beams are out of sight and no longer the middle of the Night being for the most part a Calm as well in Winter as Summer during which time of its Operation it causeth all those Fiery Meteors which the former Philosophers gave several Names to as falling Stars Rods Beams Ignes Fatui or Will with Wisp c. according as they differ'd in Matter Magnitude and manner of Appearance some Consisting of a hot and dry Exhalation others of an Exhalation mix'd with a Viscous and Unctious Matter a Third of a simple and unmix'd Exhalation All these are Generated in the Lower Regions of the Air the Matter of them being drawn up out of the Earth Waters and Bituminous Boggs and Mosses by the Sun's Influence upon them especially in the Spring Months For then the Subâ—erranean Heat draws out to communicate with its Main Body for as at this time all Animals renew their Hair clear their Blood from gross Humours so doth this great Animal the Earth purge her self of gross Humours by Mushrooms and other Pinguid Evaporations for then the Subâ—erranean Heat drawing out to communicate with the External Heat brings forth of the Earth these Mineral Spirits and Pinguid Perspirations in so plentiful a measure which being taken up into the Air are Condens'd into Clouds and fall down again upon the Earth in such Fertilizing Showers that the Psalmist tells us the Clouds at this Season