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 THE

ChrijlianPhilofopher:
A .

COLLECTION
0 F THE

Beil:Difcoveries in Nature,
WITH

Religious Improvements.

By COTTON MATHER D. D.
· And Fellowrf the Roy AL SocIETY.

LONDON;
Printed for · EMAN,MATTHEWS, at tbe Bible in
Pater-Nofier-Row. M. DCC. XXI.
/
 ... ,
~ 111 J

Mr.-THOMAS HOLLIS,
.

Merchant iri London,

SI 11..,
H E ieatned Authot of
u~~~~II the enfuing Treatife, has
· T already diffus'd his Name
~ and Reputation in a great
· - -· . - Variety of UfefulWorks ;
by which the better Part of Mankind .
do fufficiently know him _ to be in~
Laboursmoreabundant. The ~Reader
~ill find in this Treatife; a Collection
A 2 fro1n
iv Dedic11tio11.
fro111Wricers of the fidl: and befi
1at4~ both ·n OU! own an~ Qth
Nations ; and every Obfervatio11in.
pfov'd t6 che Ends of Devotion anp
J>rat'tice. The Re1narks chat the A
thor gives, are fO n1ingledwith .tne .
Difcoveries chat he has brought cope-
thcr, chat as ic ows us with wllat
Spirit He has pu ed His Enquiries
into the Wonders of the Uhiverfe; fo
it is both an In{huction and a Pattern
to a feriousMind. He has generally
drawn into his Application, all tt1at
the Bible faith upon the fevGral Sub-
jects: And thus he lays open the
two great Books of God, Nature and
Seripture. In this way, our Curiofity
is not only entenaip'd, hue fanctified;
the lnvijlble1 'Thinis of God frmn the
Creation of the l¼rld are .fcen, and
i111prov'dco the Glory of Hirn whofe
thcv arc. ·
"
Your· fiirprizinr.r Generofity to the
Aca<lcn1yin Nei::.England,l1asn1adc
this Dedication n1ore proper to you
than any other J>erfon. Suth a Bene-
ficence
 Deaication. v,
is ari. Argument, l\ow chorowIy:)
fi~t:'1;1<;:e.
yp.1.i
. d.~fifethat· ,rhe'Doctrines of the\
1

Gofpel, . and the Purity qf Difcipline;\

1n;iy be crahfmitted, to. future Get'ie-
ririons. , And ...cerrainly; it ,is.the nqA
hleft, and the m:oft.divin~·Applicatioi1_1
Qf your _Charity,· when by- it you ,are) .
a Fellow-helper ·to .the 'Truth This is
given to thofe :from · ,vhoh1you·can·i
have no Expectation of Recompence;
but as it's all done to the Lord, and
not unto Men, fo by him it will be re-
me1:11ber'd at the Refurretfion of the
Ju.ft. You know how much it is
againft my Temper to give flattering_
Words,and I'm convinc'd that _it is
againft yours to receive 'e111. But I
have reafon to think, that the Reverend
uchor, and the whole Country where
God has placed hin1, will believe this
Dedication well directed, to the BEST
of all their Benefactors. 'ThisAdrtti-
nijlration ef {e~vice is abundan_t,by_
any Than~fgrutngsto God,'(whtlf!bj
ithisMiniflration, they glorifyGoafor
'Ot-trprefefs'dSubjecfionto the Gofpel
of
vi Dedication.
of Chrift, and for your liberalDi/l_ri-
i14tion to them and to all Men) and hy
their Prayerfor you. · i

I have no more to add, but the-

Apofi:le's Willi, chat your Faith may·
grow exceedingly, and )'Our Charity
Haily abound; rbat whatever you do,
may be · done faithfully to the Bre.J
thren, ttnd to Strangers.

I am,
SIR,
l.on don,
Stpt, i i.
1 , 10 • Your Sincere Friend,

and Obedient Servant1

. Tho. Bradbu~y~
 vii]

An INDEX.
T HE lntroduElt'on.
Of the Light,
-- page I
g
Of the Stars, - 16
Of the Fixe4 Stars, I!)
Of the Sun, - 25 :
Of Saturn,
of Jupiter,
- , 3 2,
34
Of Mars, 37
of Venus, .. 3g
OJ Mercury,
Of Comets,
- ibid.'
41
Of Heat, - -4~i
Of the Moon,
Of the Rain,
Of the Rninbr,w,
- 47 1
51.
Of the Snow,
Of the Hail, -~·
-- - 54
sg
60
Of Thunder and Lightning,
Of the Air, . .
Of the Wind,
. J

- 61 .
6Si
69
Of the Cold,
Of the Terraqueous Globe,
Of Gravity,
- 7-z.
7i ,
St
Of the Water, si .
Of the Earth, 96
- --
Of Magnetifm, 104 '
Of Minerals, 116
Of Vegetables, 12.%,"
Of Jnfecls,
Of Reptiles,
'f the Fifbe<r
- 141
166
, -
>fthe Feather'd Kind,
Of the Quadrupeds,
- I7J
180

'OfJvlap, == - 198
z:u
 B OO K..S lately PitUifo'
d.
T HE Neceffity of contending for Reveale d R e-
ligion ; with a Sermon on the 5th ~f No:_vember
J7 19. By the Reverend '.Mr.ThomasBradlmry. \\Tith a
Letter from the Reverend CottonMather D . D . on the
fate D ifputcs ®out he fa·er-Blelfcd Trini ty. Pr. 1 I.
The Dottri11e of tireBldled Trini ty flared and de-
fended, ·by fornc LondonMinifiers. (the IntroduB:ion
by th~ Rererend - Mr. Tung. Chap. I. by the Re1·e-
1"end Mr. Robin_fuff.Chap. It by tl1e Reverend Mr.
Sinith. ' Chttp. III:- by the Reverend. M r. Reyno/Js)The
Second Edidon. ·price 1 s. 6 d .
. A Difcourfe concerning the Neceffity of b~liet·ing
the Doftrin~ of the Holy Trinity, as profefs'd an9-
-rnainrain•d by rhe Church of England in the firft of the
39 Articles of Religion. By the Re 'rerend Mr. Samuel
111athe;·. Prier 1 r. · -
A Difcourfc concerning the Godhead of the Holy
Ghoft, the . Thiru - Pcrfon inthe Eternal Trinity :
\Vherein the Sentiments of Ti r. Clark are confidered.
By the Rcvercnd "Mr. Samuel 1'.father. Price 2 s.
· Hynms and Spii-itu:tf Songs. In three -Books. By
the Kcvere~d Mr. StinonBrowne.\Vith a Set of Tunes,,
in' tbreeParts, curioufly engraven on Copper- Plates.
)A O>Jieffiori of the Promifes of Scripture, unde~
their proper Hrads. In two Parts. \Vith an Intro-
®clion 'by the Rcrerend Mt. Snmue/ Clark.
·The OccaTioiial Papers. In three Volumes: Being
E:ff"ays on, arious SubjeEts and Occafi011s.
The Familv Infiructor. In two Volumes.
Memoirs ot ·thc Church of Scotlaudin four Periods.
All Primed for E':.tAN, MATTHEWS, at the Biblein
Pdter-Ncfl er-Rc,w; "here Subfcr'iptions ~re taken in,
for'printing a Practical Expolition oTthe Olcl and N!!w
Tt!lamem, in Six Volumes in Folio, written by the
fatt ncrcnd Mr . J\'Lztth'JJ Hi.11ry,1v1inificr of the
Cofpe. : \\ nich i~ now in the Ptefs, and will fpcedily
be publifh'J.
, - . THE
 ( I )

I N T R O D U C T I O N·.

II H E EssAYSnow before us will demon-

fhate, that Philofophyis no En1:;m1,
mighty and wondrous Ir.cemive rn Reli-
but a

gion; and they will ex_hibit .that P1-m.oso-

PHICAL RELIGION, whic h will carry with
it a mofr fenfible Character,and viet:nriom Evider. e of a
reafonableService. GLORY TO GOD IN THE b 1GH-
EST, and GOOD-WILL TOWARDS MEN, ar.: nated
and exercifed; and a Spirit of Devotion and of -;harity
inflamed, in fuch Methods as are offered in thc fe Ef-
Jays, cannot but be attended with more Bt.n~fits,tha11
any Pen of ours can declare, or any MinJ conceive.
In the Difpofitionsand Refo!tttionsof PrnTY_ thus en--
kindled, a Man moil efieaually fhe'U.'Ihimfelf a MAN,
and with unutterable SatisfaB:ion anfwers the grand
Erm of his Being, which is; To glorify GOD. He
difcharges alfo the Office of a Priefl for the Creation,
under the Influences of an admirable Saviour, and
therein afferts and affures his T itle unto that Priefl-
B hood,
2, The lntroduaion.
/;ood, which the Blcffedne(s of the jiau1·eState will \'cry
much con!ifl: in being ad\·anced co. The whole
JVorld is indeed a Temple of GOD, built and fitted by
chat Almighty ArdJittEi; and in this Temple, every
fuch one, atfrfting himfdf with the Occa!ions for it,
will fpMk of His Glo1J. He will alfo rife into that
Superiour lViiy of Thinking and of Li'I.Jing, which the
JV,jift of Men will chufc to take; which the more
p,,/ite Part of Mank ind, and the Honourableof the Enrtb,
\\, 1 efieem it no D 1{ho11ourfor them to be acquainted
" th. Upon that Palfagc occurring in the befl: of
llooh, Ye Som of the'/1[ight)',nfcrile umo the Lord Glory
.1ndSm igth; it is a Glofs and an H int of fv[unjler,
·h ch c.trries with it a C ogen cy: lyihil eft tarnfub-
limt, t1 m ue ma.~nfficum, quod non tenentur l.1udare &
m.1Q_,1ifi,mf) '/I'll_Ci-eatrn fwmt. Behold, a Reli~~Oit,
, , , :ch w It t tound .. 11hout Contro~erfy; a Relrgzon,
,,li1t'1 n ..,h.-'kngc all polTible Regards from the
}l,g,,, :is \\ell ~ the /_ow, among the People; I will
-rcfurne tLc ·rr . ' a PmLOSOl'HlC.'I.L RELIGION: And
yet 1-.. ,\' Dv.w.~i 1' !
I, profccut·n~ thi~ l,1tcntion,and in introducing al-
moll ,. · ry 'lrti.h of it, the Reader will continually
find · ,e 4 ithcr ot other quoted. This confl:nnt Me-
thod <' Q .'l., 'c ., to be hoped, will not be cenfured,
as pron:c,!i,1~ fron ., Ambitiou to, imimate mzd boafl a
Lt',m:iug, ,d,1ch ti 1\lej]irnrsd1, Port-Ro)'(ilhave re-
buk ed; - 1J tl~·lt c Humour for which Ariflin re-
p_roache, 1u/, ,., "111not be found in it: Quis hac au-
J,m, & 11 11 •t)11 1m11iuum ftrepiw terreatur, Ji eft ine,·udi-
rn r, q:1,1/,sc(l <r.• ·,1,1111multituJo, & exifiimet te aliquem
m.ignum qui Ii.refire fot ueris? Nor will there be dif-
caniblc nny Spice of the impertinent Vanity, which
I.a BmJ••rehath fo well facirizcd : ' Herili:iswill alway~
• we, whc-chcr he fpcak, or writes. He makes the
' Pl'i11uof Plnw{opli.:i, t•> fov, T,iat TVii1ehz£bri,1tes;and
' the Rom,m Orntcr, 7/)llt ·,v.zrer tem~enzteJit. If he
' t.t!k~ of 1\lor,1/ir,r,ic i~ not he, but 1rhc Div ine Plato,
'who
 Ti e lntr.oaµaion. 3
« who affirms, T/_,atVirtue is amiable, and Vice odious.
c The moll: common and trivial things, which he him-
' felf is able to think of, are afcribed by him to Latin
' and GreekAuthors.' But in thefe Q!,otationr,there
has been propofed, firfl:, a due Gratitude unto thofe,
who have been my lnflrut1ors; and indeed, fomething
within me would have led me to it, if Pliny~ _,yho is
one of them, had not given me a Rule; Ingenu_um efl
profiteri per quosprofeceris. It appears alfo but a p,iec~
f Juflire, that the Names 9f thofe whom the Great
GOD has difl:inguifi1ed, by employing them .,t9 make
hofe Difcoverie's,which ar.e here collected, .fl}ould live
nµ fi1ine iQ every Cuch Collection. Among .t~~fe, l~t
't be )rnow,;i, that there are efpecially Twp, unto
whon) I have , been more indebted, than unto many
others; the Indufirious Mr. RAY,and tqe Inqui(ttive
;M:r.DERHAl\1 ; Fratru'll'Zdulcepar: upon whom, jn di~
vers Paragraphs of this Rhapfody,!_have had very much
of my Sub4!l:ence_; (I hope without doing the part of
a Fidentinurupo~ , them) and I give thanks t<;> HeaveQ.
for them. . ~
'Tis true, fqtp.e Scores of other Philofophershave
been confulted on this Occafion_; but .an ]nduflry fo
applied, has iii.it very little to ~efpeak any Pralfes for
him that has ufed it: He earnefily renounces them,
and follicits, that not only he, but the GreaterMen,
who have been his Teachers, may difappear befor~ the
Glorious GOD, whom thefeEjfa_ysare all wriqen to
reprefent as worthyto bepraifed; and by whofe Gracewe
11rewhat we are; nor have we any thing bµt what we
ha'Verecei"Jedfrom Him. ,
A confiderable Body of Men (if the Janfeniflsmay
now be thought fo) in France, have learnt of Monfieur
Pafcal, to denote thernfelves by the FrenchImperfonal
Particle On; and it was his opini9n, that an honeft
Man ihould not be fond of naming himfeij:or ufing
the word I, and ME; that ChriflianPiety will annihi-
B :t late

/
 4 'The lntroduclion.
late our I, and }.fr, and H:,man Civility \\ ill fupprc(s
it, and conceal it.
Mofr certainly there ca.n be very little Pretence to
an 1, or 11E, for what is done in thefe E.lfays. 'Tir
done, and entirely, by the Hflp efGod: This is all that
can be pretended to.
'There is very little, that may be faid, really to be
performed by the Hand that is now writing; but on-
ly the Drvothnary Part of thefc Ejfays, tho they arc
not altogether ddlitute of American Communications :
And if the Virtuofu's, and all the GenuinePhil"Jophersof
our Age, h:ffe approred the Defign of the devout
RAY and DrRHAM, ;ind others, in their 'Tre:uifes _; it
cannot be difiafl:eful unto them, to fee what was more
generallyhinted at by thofe Excellent Perfons, here more
particularly cnn-ied on, and the more fpeciaJ Flights of
the true PmLosoPHICAL RELIGION exemplified. Nor
will they that value the E11aysof the memorable An-
ticnts, Theodoret, and Naz.,ia,;z..w,and Ambrofe, upon
the Works of the fix Dnyr, count it a Fault, if iimong
Ieffer Men in our Days, there be found thofo who fay,
Let me r:m after them. I remember, when we read,
Praife is comelyfor the Upri1,ht, it is urged bv Kimcl,i,
that the Word which we render comeiJ,fignihes defirn-
Ue, and acceptable; and the Senfe of rhat Sem~nce is,
that Qui re£1iJimt, alirid nil:il defidernnt']limn Laudem &
Gloriam Dei. Sure I am, fuch Ejfnp as thefc, to ob-
ferve, and proclaim, and publifh the Prnifer of the
Glorious GOD, will be dejirnble and nmptable to all
that have a right Spirit in them; the refl, who arc bliiuJ-
td, are Fools, and unrcgardable : As little to be re-
garded as a M1JrjlerAourifhing a Broomjli£k! Vix illil
optnri quidquam pejus potefl, ']Umn tit fmuitate fi,a fr11m1-
tt1r. For fuch Cmt1111rrto be found in the 'Tents of
profcflcd Chriflianiry!-Good God, unto what Timer haft
thou reftrt-'td u, ! If the frU:tau< ~l.·t/'hilcfopherwill not,
~er Abubehr, a ftfal.·omn1111 \Vr iter, by \\hom fuch an
one v. as exhibited more than fo·c hundred Ycars ngo,
will
 The lntroducfion. 5
will rife np in the Judgment v.:it/1this Genei'ation, and con-
demn it. Reader, even a ft1ahometanwill '!hew thee
one, without any Teacher, but Reafan in a ferious View
of Nature, led on to the Acknowledgment of a Glo-
rious GOD. Of a Man, fuppofed as but ufing his
Rational Faculties in viewing the Works of GOD, e-
ven the Mahomet an will tell thee; 'There appeared
' unto him thofe Footfi:eps of \Vifdom and \Vonders
' in the Works of Creation, which affeB:ed his Mind
' with an exceffire Admiration ; and he became here-
' by afiured, that all thefe things mufr proceed from
fuch a VoluntaryAgent as was infinitelyperfeEl,yea,
' above all -PerfeB:ion : fuch an one to whom the
' \,Veight of the leafl: Atom was not unknown, whe-
ther in Heaven or Earth. Upon his viewing of the
Creatures, whatever Excellencyhe found of any kind,
he concluded, it mufl: needs proceed from the In-
' fluence of that Voluntary Agent, [o illuftriou0y glo-
rious, the Fountain of Being, and of Working. He
knew therefore, that whatfoever Excellencies \Vere
by Nature in Him, were by fo much the greater, the
more perfea, and the more lafring ; and that there
was no proportion between thofe Excellencies which
were in Him, and thofc which were found in th e
Creatures. He difcerned alfo, by the virtue of tha t
more Noble Part of his, whereby he knew the ne-
cejfarilyexifient Being, that there was in him a cer-
tain Refemblance thereof: And he faw, that it wa~
his Duty to labour by all manner of Means, how
he might obtain the Properties of that Being, put on
His Qualities, and imitate His AElions; to be diligent
' and careful alfo in promoting His Will; to commit
all his Affairs unto Him, and heartily to acquiefce
in all thofe Decreesof His which concerned him, ei-
ther from within, or from without : fo that he plea-
fed himfelf in Him, tho he f11ould affliElhim, and
even dt'flroyhim.' I was going to fay, 0 J\fentis nu-
f:t VerbalmzEleata! But the Great Alfi,d infiruB:s me,
B 3 that
6 The Introduc1ion.
tfiat we Chrifl,am, in our ,·aluablc Citations from them
that are Strangers to Chriflia11it,v,
fhould feize upon the
Sentences as containing our Truth,, detained in the
hands of Ui;juflA.ffejfo,-r ; :md he allows me to fay,
Audite Ci,eronem, quem Naturrz docuit. Ho,,·c,·cr, this
I may fay, God /;ar thus fa, taught n 1fahomctan ! And
this I will fay, Cln·iflimz,beware lcfr a '/11:ihometanbe
c:i.lkd in for thy Condemnation!
Let us conclude with a Remark of J1,1inutiusF:clix:
( ff fa much \\'ifdom and Penetration be rcqnifite to
' obfervethe wonderful Order anJ Dcfign in the Struc-
' cure of the \\'orld, how much more~were necclfary
' to J':mn it!' If Men fo much admire Philofophers,
bccaufc they dfco'Vera [mall Part of the /Vifdom that
made all things; they mull be ft.ark blind, who Jo not
admire that lVifdom id.elf!

REL
 (7)

RELIGIO PHILOSOPH1CA;

0 R, THE

CI1rifl:ian Pl1ilofopher :
BEING

A Commentary, of the more .N!odern

and Certain PH 1Loso PHY, upon
that Inftrucl:ion,
Jon xxxvi. 24.
Rememberthat thou magnify His Vflork whicb
Men lebold.

~ HE Works of the Glorious GOD in the

i~I
ll!Ji
Creation of the \Vorld, are what I now
propofe to exhibit; in brief Ejfays to enu-
~~ merare Jome of them, that He may be glo-
ut.> rified in them : And indeed my Ejfaysmay
pretend unto no more than Jomeof them; for,Theophi/us
writing, of the Creation,to his Friend Antolycus, might
very juflly . fay, That if he fhould have a ThcuJand
Trmgues,and lire a ThouJand Years, yet he were not
B 4 able
8 er'heChrijlianPhilofopher
.
able t o defcribe the admirable Order of the Creation,
J)i 'T~ ..;a£f/3ZM0v(lt')'t:::·i, ~ ;;- -,,>iinv '7';i"' 'rd0£;. Such a
Trr.nfiwdeutGreamefi<f God, and tht Riche, of his /,Vif-
dom appearingill it!
Chr;foflom,I remember, mentions a TwofoldBock of
GOD; the Book of the Creatttres, and the Book of
the Scriptures: GOD having taught firfl: of all us
Jlti, ~fwtm,, by his Wurkr, did it afterwards,.,_,,;, n.-.11
,.«i?1uv.by his /,Vords. \Ve will now for a while read
the Formerof thefc Books, 'twill help us in reading the
Latter: Thev will admirably affi!l one another. The
Philofopher being asked, \Vh:it his Boob were; an-
fwcred, Totius Emis Natura/is Univerfitns. All Men
are accommoµated with that PublickLibmry. Rende,·,
, ,alk with me into it, and fee what we fl1all find fo
legible there, that he that mm may read it. Behold, a
Book, whereof we may agreeably enough ufc the
words of honefi /Eg.:irdus; LeElu hie omnibusfad/is, etfi
mmquam legere didfrerint, & communisefl omnibu1,omni-
'tmtque om/is expojittts.
.
ESSAY I. Of tbe LI G H_T.

W OULD it not be proper, in the firfi place, to

lay do\\ n thofe Laws of Nature, by which the
Jvfnmin/ World is gm·crned, and which, when we
come to confider, we ha\·c in the Rank of SeccndOwfu,
no further to go? All Afechnnfr,dA.-cc'flnts are at an
end ; we !lep into the Glorious GO D Immediately:
The \'cry next Thing we ha\·e to do, is to Acknow-
kdge Him, who is the Firfl Gmfe of nil : and the
CHRISTIAN P mLosoP!-HR will on a.III1n-itations make
t he Acknowledgments.The acute Pen of Dr. CheJnehas
thus dcli\'crcd them.
I. All Bodin perfcrere in the fame Srate of Refl, or
forwards in a flrait Line, unlcfs forced out
of ;''vf.o'Vi11.~
of that State, by fomc Vn•!o;ce 0mwarcily ip1pr~ffcd
upon chem. '
II. The;
 ' 'Ibe ChriftianPhilofopher. 9
II. The Changesmade in the M otions of Bodies, are
always proportional to the Impre/JedForce that moves
them ; and are produced in the fame D ireElionwith
that of the Moving Force.
III. The fame Forcewith which one Budy firikes an-
other, is r.eturned upon the firft by that other; but
tpefe Forces _areimpreiled by contraryDireilions.
IV. Every Part of every Body attraEts"or gravitates
towards everyPart of every other Body : But the Force
by which one Part attraas another, in different Di-
fiances from it, is reciproc~lly as ;he Squares of thofe
Difiances; and at the fame Difiance, the Forceof the
Attrafrion or Gravitation of one Part towards divers
others, is as the QEantity of Matter they contain.
Thefe are Laws of the Great GOD; whofor,nedaO
things. GOD is ever to be feen in thefe ~verlafling
Ortlinances. But now, in proceeding to magnify that
, Work of Godu·hich Men behold,it feems proper to begin
~vith that by which it is that we Behold the refl:.
The LIGHT calls firfr for our Contemplation. A
mofr marvellous Creature, whereof the Great GOD
is the Father ;
/Ilic incipit DEUM nn.fle .
The Virus Chriflianifmurof the pious 'JohnArndt ve-
ry well does infill: upon that Strain of Piety ; GOD
and His L Q VE exhibited in the Light.
It was demanded, In what Place is the Light contain ...
ed? By what U7ay is the Light divided l
Ariflotle's Definition of Light; ib;,mv ii htfrur1.ridlir1.-
~r:tu;;, Light is in the Inworkingof a Diaphanous Bod)'; is
worth an attentive ConGderation.
Light is undoubtedly produced, as Dr. Hook judges,
by a Motion, quick and vibrative~
It is proved by Mr. Molyneux, That Light is a BodJ.
Its RefraEtion,in paffing thro a DiaphanousBody, fhews
that it finds a different Re.ftflmrce;Re.Jiflancemuft pro-
~eed from a Contact of two Bodier. Moreorcr, it .re-
quir es
10 :TheChriftian Philofopher.
quires T ime to pafa from one pl:icc to another, tho it
has indeed the quickdl: of all M otions. Finally, it
cannot by any means be inmafed or diminifhed. If you
increafe it, it is by robbing it of fomc other part of
the Medium which it would hare occupied, or by
bringing the Light, that fhould naturally ha,·c been
diffufcd thro ,fome other Pbce, into that which is now
more enlightened.
Sir Ifaac N ewton judges, 'T is prob:ible, tmt Bodies
and Light a.Etmutually on one another. Bodin upon
Light, in emitting it, and reAccting it, and refracting
it, and inflecting it : Light upon Bodies, by heating
them, and putting their Parts into a Vibrnting Motion.
All H;pvthef es of Light arc too dark, which try to
explain the Ph.mcmena by Nro: M cdifications of Rnp;
they depend not on any fuch M odificatiom, bur on
fomc Congeniteand Unchangeable Propert ies, effencially
inherent in the Rays.
The Rays of Light arc certainly little Particles, aftu-
!llly emitted from the Lucent BodJ, and refracted by
fomc A ttrt1E1i o11, by which Light, and the Bodin on
which it falls, do mutually act upon one another. It
is evident, That as Rays pafs by the Edges of Bodies,
they arc i11ct 1rv11tt'd by the Acrion of thcfc Bodies, as
they pafs by th em.
And it is now pcrcei,·ed, Tbat Bodies draw Light,
and this Light puts Bodies into Heat : And chat t he
:Morion of //~ ht is therefore fwifter in B odies, than in
va,uo, becaufc of th is Attr action; and !lower after
its heina rc11Jle d, than in its Incidence.
~ J'
lrrndia:ed by the D ifcm·erics of the Gr eat Sir /_;aac
rr
we now ,m<lcr!bn d , That er ery R,zy of I i_~
N :-J.·~o'I.·, l:t
:s rndc1\\ ed with its 0~1·n Colour, and it~ J1fferenc De-
gree cf R ,fr,:r.gitilityand Rejle;,.. ibilitr. 011e Ray is Vi-
d t , aflotht·r 111,li,~o, a th ird Blue, a fourt h Grem , a fifth
1il uw, a fo.th 0 , .iii!/, ~ulll tlw laH Red. All thcfc arc
Ori.~i;,,1/ C,i'r)'r., and fr 0 111 thl' ~l ixrnre of t hcfc, all rhc
imcn:~e,i::ttl' l 11ic:~ rro ceed ; and f Vi,1:t!from an equa-
ble
 'TheChrijfianPhilofopher. Ir
ble Mixture of the whole: Black, on the contrary,
from the fmall Q_uantity of any of them reflected, or
all of them in ~ great meafure fuffocated. It is not
Bodies that are coloured,but the Light that falls upon
them; and their Coloursarife from the Aptitude in them,
to refleElRays of one <;:olour, and to tranfmit all thoft;
of another. 'Tis now decided, No Colourin the dark!
Tho Light be certainly a Body, it is almofr impoffi..;
ble 'to concei,·e how Jmall die Corpufcles of it are.
Dr. Cheyneillufirates it with an Experiment, That it
may be propagated from innumerable different Lumi-
nous Bodies, without any confiderable Oppofition to
one another. Their feveral Streams of Light will be
together tranfmitted into a dark Place, thro the leall:
Orifice in the \Vorld Suppofe a Plate of Metal, hav-
ing at the top the finallefi Hole" that can be made,
'\\·ere erected perpendicularlyupon an Hori-LontalPlane,
and about it were fet numberlefs luminous ObjeB:s of
about the fame Height with the Plate, at an ordinary
Difl:ance from it; the Light proceeding from every one
of thefe Objects, will be propagated thro this Hole,
without interfering.
Mr. Romer, from his accurate Obfcrvations of the
Eclipfeson the Sate/lits of 7upiter, their Immerfions and
Emerfions, thinks he has demonfl:rate~, That Light re-
quires one Second of Time to move 9000 Miles. He
fbews, that the Rays of Light require ten Minutes of
Timeto pafs from the Sun to us. And yed\fr.Hugens
hath :fhewn, That a Bullet from a Cannon, without a-
bating its firfi Velocity, would be 25 Years paffing
from us to the Sun. So that the M otion of Light is
above a million times fwifter than that of a Cannon-
Ball ; yea, we may carry the Matter further than fo.
We fuppofe the Diflance of the Sun from the Ear th
to be r 2 ooo Diameters of the Earth, or fuppofe r 000 0,
the Light then runs rooo Diameters in a 1f ~e;
which is ac leaft 130 , 000 Miles in a Second. Dr. C 1cyne
ilicws,

I
I 2, rhe Chriftian
Philofopher.
fllews, That Vght is about fix hundred thoufand times
more fwifr than Sound. Amazing Velocity !
To chequer the Surprize at fo fwift a Motion, I
may propound. one that {hall be as \·ery furprizingly
po-:.:;. Dee affirms, that he and Cnrdan together faw
~n Infl:rument, in which there was one \Vheel con-
fiantly moving with the refr, and yet would not finilh
its Re.-olution u11derthe fpace of feven thoufand Years.
"Tis cafy to conceive with Stevinus, an Engine with
twelve Wheels, and the Handle of fuch an Engine to_
be turned about 4000 times in an Hour, (which is as
()ften as a Man's Pulfe does beat) yet in ten Years
time the \) 1eight ar the Bottom would not mon: near
fo much as an Hair's Breadth : And as Aferfemmsnotes,
it would not pafs an Inch in 1,000,000 Years; altho it
be all this while in Motion, and htn-e not fiood fiill
one Moment : for 'tis a Mifiake of Cnrdan, /'.1otu1 val-
tie tardi> ;zecejfario
quietes habem imermcdias.

c Behold the Lit,bt emitted from the Sun;

• \Vhat more familiar, and what more unknown?

' While by its fpreading Radiance it reveals
• All Nature's Face, it frill itfelf conceals.
• See how each Morn it does its Beams difplay,
• And on its golden \Vings brings back the Day!
• How foon th ' effulgent Emanq.tionst-ly
• Thro ti1c blue Gulph of intt:rpofing Sky!
• How foon their Luflre all the Region fills,
' Smiles on the Valleys, and adorns the Hills !
' Millions of ]\files, fa rapid is their Race,
' To chear the Earth, they in few Moments p:ifs.
Amazing Progref!i! At its urmofl:Stretch,
• What human M ind can this fwifr .Motion reach?
' But if, co fal'c l~>quick a Flight, you fay,
• The ever-rolling Orb's irnpullin: iby
• On the next Thread!>anJ Filament'>docs bear,
• Which form the fpringy Tcicurc of the Air~
'That
 crheChriftianPhilofopher. I 3
' "that thofe frill firike the next, till to the Sight
' The quick Vibration propagates the Light : .
' Still 'tis as hard, if we this Scheme believe,
' The Caufe of Light's fwift Progrefs to conceive.
SirRichardBlackmore'sCreation,Book2.
'
The 1ews have a good Saying, OperaCreationis exter-
m1 habent in fe lmaginemCreationisinternt.e. It will well
enough become ~_ChriflianPhilofapher,to allow for that
Imagein his Contemplafions, and with devoutThoughts
now and then reflect upon it.
Before I go any further, I confefs myfelf unable to
refifl the Invitation, which, I think, that.I have, to in-
fert an Obfervation of Hugo de SanElo-ViElore ; That
every Creature does addrefs a Treble Voice unto us :
ACCIPE, REDDE, FUGE; · indeed, there is 1tf)
Speechnor Languagewhere their Voice is not heard. . It is
an Exercife highly becoming the ChriflianPhilofopher~
to fetch Lejfons of Piety from the whole Creation of
GOD, and hear what lvlaxims of Piety all the Crea-
tures would, in the way of RefteElionand Similitude,
mind us of. In the Profecution of thefe i't'leleteticks,
what better can be confidered, than this TrebleVoice,
from all thefe Thoufands of PowerfulPreachers,whom
we have continually furrounding of us? Firfl:, Accipe
Beneficium: Confider, What is the Benefit which a Good
GOD har, in this Crtature, beflowedttponme! Secondly,
Redde Servitium: Confider, What is the Servicewhich I
owe to a GraciousGOD, in the Enjo;mentof Juch a Crea-
ture? Lafi:ly, Fuge Supplicium: Confider, What is the
Sorrow which a Righteou, GOD may inftiEl ueon me by
fuel, a Creature, if I perfifl in Di/obedienceto Him? Even
a Pagan Plutarch will put the Chrifiian Philcfapher-in
mind of this, That the World is no other than the
Temple of GOD; and all the Creaturesare the Glajfes,
in which we may fee the Skill of Him that is the Ma-
ker of all. And his Brother Cicerohas minded us,
Deum ex Operibm cognofcimus.'Tis no wonder then
that
I4 The ChriflianPhilofopher.
that a Bemnrd lhould fee this; Verus Dei Amator, quo-
czmquefe 'i.lertit,familiarem Admonitionemfui C,eatorishn-
/,et. The famous Hermite's Book, of rhofe three
Le~wes, the Heaven, the Jf/ater, and the Earth, well
Jludied, how nobly would it fill the Chnmbersof the
Soul with the mofl preciousand plea/antRiclm? Cle-
mens of Alexandria calls the \1/orl<l, A Scripture of thofe
threeLeaves; and the Creatares therein [peaking to us,
have been juflly called Concio11atorer Rcales, by thofe
who have befl:underfiood them :
Obvia dum piEli luflro Miracula .Mundi,
Natura intueor dum pariemir Opus :
Emicnt ex ipfis Divina Poten~iaRebus;
Et {e'visefi ~efpesqui probat ejfe Deum.
But the Vgbt now calls for me.
,r. How GlorioUi a Body ! ' But how infinitely,
' aod beyond all Comprehenfion Glorious then, the In-
c finite GOD, who .ha'>challenged it as His Glory!
' !fa. xlv. 7. I forv: t/Je Light. The GO D of whom
' we have that SublimeStroke, in the HiH:ory of the
' Creation ; he faid, Let there /;e Light, and there was
' Light! The GOD whofe Majcfl:y is within that
' Holy of Holies, where He d·,.;;e/lsin the Light, that no
' Afan can approachmz:o! Lord, thou haft in a won-
' drous Difplay of thy Bcnignit)-, afforded the Benefit
' of the Li,~ht unto thy Creatures: IVhatfoe--.1e;- doe,
' make manifefl, is Light. How mifcrable fhould we
' be, and in what inexpreffiblc Confufion, if the Ligl-t
' were withheld from us ! What could be manifi:fl
' unto qs; what cnjoyc<lor performed by us! 0 let
' all that 'll'alkin tbe Light of tbe Livi11g, unite jn Prai-
, fcs to the Creator of the Light ! 0 ! gJ-vethm,ks to tl-e
' Lord, for He is i cod, m,d hi, Alercy mduretl, for <-:Jer.
' But, Lord, wilt thou le:irc my Soul in Darl.:uefi! The
' Light granted unto the Soul, in the Knowledge of
' thofc things, •.;.:hie/,to kiwu., is Life eternal, is more
' p recious :md needful, than that ip which our ]Jl)dy
' finds
 The ChriftianPhilofop.h
.er. J5
finds itfclf fo much befriended. 0 Father cf Glory,
Jetme ha'Vethe Eyes of my Underftandingenlightened.
' I have a moil:Glorious Redeemer, of whom I am
alfured, That he is the true LIGHT, and the LIGHT of
the W-orld. A Light which, like other Light, carries
its own Evidence with it : there needs no more to
prove., that our Blefied JESUS is the Son of GOD,
and 1the Saviour of the World, ,than attentively to
Behold Him. He can be no otl;er, than whac he af-
. ferts · IJimfelf to be, The Light of Men. Lord, in thy
Light I fha!I fee Light. When I feethe Truth as it ii
in 1 E SUS, in fuch a Revelation and fuch an Eihi-
' bition, as my JESUS gives of it, then I fee every
thing in a true Light. My Saviour, thou arc more
f precious, and more needful, and moi:-eufeful to me
' than the Light. I will walk in thee, and under thy
i Conduct ; fo fhaU I ~oalkin the Light continually.
I_ ' But ,•.rhatfignifies the Light, unto him that has no
Eyesto percei\·e it. 0 myRedeemer! Bdl:ow thou an
Eye upon me: A Faculty to difcern the Things that
arefpiritttaUy to be difcerned. .
' For the Light of Reafon, which enlightensevery Man
' that ccmesinto the World; every Man has all poffible
' Reafon to glorify GOD, and never do any thing,
' whereof any Man may jufi:ly fay, It feems to me un-
, reafonable. .
' But, 0 my GOD, thou hail: (avoured us with a
c rich Conglobation of Light, in the Book of thy lively
' Oracles, wherein we have a Light fhining in a dark
c Place. I would confider every thing in the Light
' wherein this lovely Bookfets it before me : But, let
' me not rebel againfl the Light !
' 'lhe Light is truly Jweet. But, what £hall I find
' the Inheritance of the Saints in Light! They that are
' 1hut out of that Light, and caft into outer Darknefs,
' and where they <hall neverJeeLight; Ob ! the JVeep-
' ing, and l-Vailing, and Gnafhing of Teeth, which they
~ mufi be cxpofed unto! My Sa7.liottr,I am under thy
.' Conducr,
16 erheChriflicmPhilofopher.
' Condua, paffing through a gloomy Valley into thy
' Light; and when I fit in Darknefr, the Lord will le ,i
• Light umo me.
' How fwifi the Motion of the Light ! But, 0 my
c Saviour, why no more f v.:ift!n thy coming to vifit
c and relieve a \Vorld lying in the perpetual Night of
c 1,Vickednefi? IVhy th_yCharict fa longin coming?
' And, 0 my Soul, v,:hy art thou (low in thy Con-
' tcmplations of GOD, and CHRIST, and H E-A-
' VEN; fly thou thither, with a Swifmefs beyond
' that of the Light, (for fo thou canft] upon all Oc-
' cafions.'

ESSAY II. Of tbe ST ..\ Rs.

L ET us proceed, and, conforming to the End of

our Ereil Stature, behold the Hea'Vens,and lift up
our EJes unto the Stars.
The learned Hugens has a Sufpicion, that every
Star may be a Sun to other Worlds in. their Cevera.I
Vortices. Confider then the vafl: Extent of our Sclar
Vortex, and into what Afionifhments mufl we find the
Grandeur and Glory of the Creator to grow upon us !
Efpecially if it fhould be fo, (as he thinks) that an
thefc \Vorlds hare their /11/;abitants,whofe Praifes arc
offcr'd up unto our GOD!
Quantula de CcclifpeElanti Vertiu celfa
Tm-a vidererur, ft Cx!i t Vertice Tei-ra
Ulla videntur ! So Buchmum.
His Improvement of the Thought is, How littlt of
this little has rain M:m to firi\'c for, and to boaft of!
0 Pudor! 0 flolidi pr.:rceps
vefaui,1'l.'oti!
Mr. Childreymentions two Curiofitics, which ough t
t c• 1 c a little further enquired into. The one is, That
between the t\\O Conflellations of C.wms and Ctpheur,
there lies crofs the /llilky-1V.zy, a black, long, little
Cloud,
 'The ChrijlianP hilofopher. I 7
Cloud, neither increafing, nor abating, nor changing
the Place in which it makes its Appearance.
The other .is, That in February, and a little before
and after that Month, in the Evening, when the Twi-
light has near deferred the Horizon, tl:-iereis ra very
difiinguifhing \Vtty of the Twilight; a _Brig/it·Path
fl:riking up towards the Pleindes, and almofr reaching
them, which is not obferved any ci:her · time cf the
r~~ ·~
The Jews have a Fancy among them, ,That when
the Almighty firfi befpangled the Heavens with ·Suirs;
he left a Spot near the Nori/JPole unfinilhed ·and un,J
furni!hed, that fo if any other fhould fet up·for. i:t
GO D, there might be this trial made of his Preten-
fioils; Go, fill up, if )'Ott can, that (art of ·the Hen:vens,
which iJ yet left impetfeEt. · But without any ft1ch Sup-
pofi.tions, we may fee enough in the Heavens · to pro-
claim this unto us; Lift up }OurE_fer on high, and be-
hold: Who has createdthefethings?. None bttt an Infinitely
GloriousGOD couldbe the Creatorof them ! .
The TELESCOPE;invented the Beginning of the ·tall:
Century, and improved now to the Dimenfions even
of Eighty Feet, whereby Objecl:s of a mighty ,Difiance
are brought much nearer to U$; is an . In{hument
wherewith our Good GOD has in a fingular manner
favoured and e'nriched us : A A1ejfengerthat has
brought unto us, from very diH:ant Regions, 11100:
wonderful Difcoveries. . ·
My GOD, I cannotlookuponour Glajfeswithout utter...
ing thy Praifes: By them I Jee thy Goodnefsto the Children
of Men! ,
By this Enlightener of our lf/orld, it is parti<.ularly
difcorered,
That all the Planetsat lea.fl, excepting the Sun, arc
den.feand dark Bodies ; and that what Light thefe opake
Bodies have, is borrowed from the Sun.
• That every one of the Planets, excepting the Sun,
do change th~ir Faces lik~ the 1l1ocn. Venm, and !vfer-
C c11r-y
 18 :TheChrijlittnPhilofopher.
cmy appear fometimcs like an R1lf-/'.JJw, and fomctime,
quite round, according as they are more or lcfs oppo-
fite to the Sun. f.1ars has h•s Times of appearing in
a Curvi-lined Figure. 7upim has four little Scars,
chat continually move about him, and in doing fo, cafl:
a Shadow upon him. Saturn has a Ring encompa!fmg
of him. ·
That each of thefc Planm hare Spots in their Su-
perficies, like thofc of the lvloon.
That not only each of thefc Plauetr, but the Sim
alfo, befidc s whatc\·er o~her ~lotion they may hai·e, do
mo,·e thc mfeh-es upon their own Centers; fome of
them wit h a Mot ion of Re-uolutiou,others by that of
Lib;·mil'Jz.
It was a good Remark made by one of the An-
cients, Q_zdd efl Ca:lwn, & totius Narrmt Deco,, aliud,
111mu quoddamfpeculum, in ']llO fummi Opifitir relucet
11/agifierium! .
The Pagan 1l1Uy,contemplating, Ca:leflitm1 adtnirabi-
lr:mOrdinem, 1i11credibilem7tu Omjlmuiam, the- admirable
Orcer, and the incredible Confb.ncy of rhc Hca.\'enly
Bodie s and their M otit•ns, adds upon it, Q!ti 7:acart
ft!eme putat, ue if/~ 1.\temiJe>:pe,i h,1bwd11s ejl: \Vhofo-
ercr thinks this is noc gorcrned br 1l1ind:md Under-
jfouding, is himfrlf to bt.:.a<."coumeJ · void of all Mind
and Underftanding. •
According to Mr. Hugem, the Diflancc of the S1111
from us is 12,000 D iamcten, of the £:irth. A Dia-
meter of the Earth is 7,8-}6 Miles. The Difomce of
the ne.1rdl Fixed S1.1n from us, compared with that of
the Sun, is as 27,664 to 1 : So thcn the Di{bnce of the
twardl Fi>:e.lSt11rsis at lc:ilt 2,404,510,928,000 Miles;
wh ich i<ifo great, that if a Cannon-B:111(goi ng all the
\\ ay with the fame Velocity it has wh en it parts from
rhc M outh of the Gun) \\'oukl frnrcc arri\'e there in
700,000 Years. Gre,1tGOD, whm is t!J1·Jmmmftt_Y!
The Number of tbe !)i,11',! The learned Arndt has.
:.t ~•-OLl Thought upon it: Si Deus tant,mt S:tf,mmr
f.hdti-
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 19
Multitudinem condidit, quis dubitet, iUum mu/to_majorem
CopinmhabereSpirituum Creleflium,fine intermi/]ione ii/um
/audantium? If the Arlorning-Starsare fo many, how
many are the Sons of GOD !
,r.'Glorious GOD, I give Thanks unto thee, for
c the Benefits and Improvements of the Sciences 7 gran-

.c ted by thee unto thefe our latter Ages. The Glaf-

, Jes, which our GOD has givei1ns the Difcreiion to
' invent, and _apply. for the molt noble_Purpofes, are
' Favours of Heaven moil: thankfully to be_acknow-
' !edged.
' T~e \,Vorld has much longer enjoyed the Scrip.:.
' tures, which are Gla./Jes,that , bring the ,bejtof Hea-
' vens much nearer to us. . But, tho the Objeil-Glajfes
' are here, the Eye-Glajfes are ,vanting. My GOD,
' befiow thou that Faith upon me, which, ufing the
' ProfpeEliveof thy Word, may difcover the Heavenly
' World, and acquaint me with what is i11that \Vorld,
' which, I hope, I am going to.
' I hear a Great Voicefrom the StarryHeavens, A-
c fcribeye Greatnefi to our GOD. Great GOD, what a
' Variety of Worlds haft thou created ! How afro-
' nifuing are the Dimenfions of them! How fiupen ..
' dous are the Difplays of thy Greatnefs,and of thy
' Glory, in the Creatures, with which thou haft reple-
' niilied thofe Worlds! Who can tell what Angelical
' Inhabitants may there fee and fing the Praifes of the
• Lord ! Who can tell what Ufas thofe marveUou-s
' Globesmay be defigned for ! Of thefe unknown
' Worlds I know thus much, 'Tis our Great GOD that
-.:has madethem.,all.'

ESSAY III. Of the F 1 x .Eo ST AR s.

O UR Great Profpective having made Enquiry,

finds :a far greater Number of Stars, than what
we can difcern with the naked Ew. The Antients
reckon'd only OneThoufand ad Tu:emy Tir.:o Stars in
C 1. their
20 CJ'heChrijlian Philofopha~.
their F,jty Confiellations. Kepler augments the Num•
ber to One Tlxmfand 'Tiree Hundred and Ninety Two.
B.zyr carries it on to One Thoufand Sewn Hui1dredrmd
Nine. Tran:llcrs to the 5outlrnard increafcd the
Number of their Conildlations to Sixty Two. The
Number of the Swrs, brought do,\ n into our latejl
G!tbes, is about Nineteen Hundred; but thofc in the
Hea\·ens are inconccirn.bly more. Among the Pleiader,
in a Circle of but one D egree diameter, where our
naked Eye.fees but Six, thus affificd we fee FortySix.
The ftiill.:y-JVay is nothing but an infinite Number
of Stars,. \\ h:ch arc fo fmall, and lie fo thick, as to
gi,·e but a confufcd Glare unto us: And fo the Nehu-
/of.x, in the Head of Oriw. ·
The Pr.rfapeis a Clufler of more than Forty Stars.
Thofe adjacent unto the Sword and Girdle of Oriofl
about Fourfcore. :Mr. Derham fufpetts, that the
/Vhitenefi of the Jl,[ilkJ-1-Vay is not caufed by the great
Number of the Fixed Stars in that Place, but partly,
by their UgZ,t, and rarely by the RcAections of their
Plm:cts,.\vhich blend their Light, and mix it. ·
It is a little furprizing, that all the Planets appear
y_remerin the Gl:l{s than to the naked Eye; but the
Fixtd Strtrs appcnr fina f'er there.
The \Verd~ cf the i11gen:ousDr. Chey;e arc worth
c011!idering: ' Since our Fi,.ed ' Stars arc cxaetly of
' the fame Nature with our Sun, it is \·ery likely that
' they hm·e thci r Pl,ww; nnd thcfe Planets h:we Sate/-
' lits; and thcfe Plm1ctJand Sme!!its ha\·c Inhabitants,
' rational and irrational; Plants and Vegt'tables, \ Va-
' tcr and Fire; nnnlogous to tlwCc d our Syflcm.'
Afuibe Je Gm1tne_{s to our Gu.I!
Tha: which render~ it probabll', that the Fixrd S:ars
ar.e Dmlics like cur Sun, i, this : 'Tis plain they {h inc
by their m·11Light. It i-. impofiiblc they f110uldnp-
pcnr {o lucid as "e fee them, from the Light of our
Sim tr~rn(mitted umo them. 'Tis their aflonifhing
D.tbnce from m time cnu!e!I the bcfl of our Trlef,oper
[')
 The ChriflianPhilefopher.
_ 2.r
to Ieffen them. Tho we in this Globe approach nearer
to them, fome 24,000 D:ameters of the Earth, or
188,304,000 1'.'.!iles,one time of the Year than ano-
ther; yet their Parallax is hardly fenfible, or any at
all : which could not be, if the Di.I.lance were not
wonderful.
Hence alfo, it is impoffible they fhould be all in the
Surface of the fame Sphere, fince our ~im, which is
one of them, cannot be reduced unto this Rule_. They
are doubtlefs at as immenfe Diflances frame one ano-
ther, as the nearefi of them is from us. Were we at
fuch a Difiance from the Sun, we fhould not have the ·
lea!l Gli~pfe of the Planets that now attend i"t. . Their
Light would be too weak to affect us, and all their
Orbs would be united in that one lucid Point of the
Sun. ·
There are difcovered New Stars in the Firmament,
which having appeared a certain Time, do.again dif-_
appear .
. A New Star appeared about 125 Years . before the
Birth of our Saviour.
Claudian mentions one which appeared, A. C. 388.
Albumaz..erHaly mentions one, which appeared in the
fifteenth Degree of Scorpio,and continued four Months.
In the Year 1571, and the Month of November,
there appeared in that Confiellation, which we call
the Chair of Caffiopeia,a mofi notable and wonderful
Star of the firfi Magnitude, which held a Place among
the other Stars, not having any Parallax, and kept a
Courfe like theirs: It continued fixteen Months;
then decreafed; anon grew quite invifible. A Noble
Perfon afilrms, there was a MackSput remaining in th<.
Place where that Star appeared.
In the Year 1601, there appearid a New Star c>f
the third Magnitude, in the Swan's Brcafl:, which con-
t:nued vifible twenty fiveYears, and then difappearcd.
Thirty three Years after, it appeared again in its for-
mer Magnitude; but went away again in- a Year or
C 3 two.
l l TheChrijli,1nPhilofopher.
two. It re-appeared lfre Years after, and was exrnnt
for ferernl Years, but of no more than the fixth or fe-
,·emh Magnitude.
In the Year 167 1, another Star, which arrived un-
to the third Magnitude, appeared in the Swan's Bill;
it incrcafes, and then decreafcs, and is about a Month
making its Revolution.
There is an admirable Star in the TVhale's Neck:
This fidl: appears as one of the fixth Magnitude, and
then increafcs by little and little, for one hundred and
twenty Days together, till it arrives to its full Big-
nefs and Brighmefs, which is that of the thi(d Mag-
nitude; wherein it continues fifteen Days together:
after which) it then decreafes until it becomes invifi-
blc. It appears e,·ery Year in its greateft Lullre, thir-
ty two or thirty three Days earlier ~han in the fore-
going Year ; fo that its Revolution is compleated in
about three hundred and thirty three Days.
In the Years 1612, and 1613, there appeared a Cloudy
Star in the Girdle of Andromeda; ~vhich 9ifappeared
until th~ Yei;ir 1664, and then appeared again.
'There; is another Scar, between Eridanm and the
Jl., re, which alfo fhows itfelf, and then withdraws,
hke the former.
There is one Star 9f the fourth Magnitude, with
nm of the fifth, in CafJ:opein,whrch in all probability
arc new ones.
Mr. C(lffenihas obfen·ed four towards the Artick Pole,
\\ hich ::ire probably new ones too.
Some Stars formerly appearing, do no,v difappear.
One fuch there was in Ur(izftlirror. Another or two in
Andromed,-z One wh1eh ·'1',-cho B, a/.,ein Certs in his Ca-
talogue, for the twentieth of Pfces. For time out of
St:zrsobferved in the l'ltiaJer.
rl'lind, there were S1'1.:e,1
The \\'ricer of Afl,·o;:um;,'5 A.fo.mtemcnt enquires, whc-
rher thL· 5~-:.•m S·ars in the F1rll of the R'!"w!ationhJre
110 Allufion to them. Ho" crcr, at pre Cent there arc
but Six to be fren, probably one of them is retired.
1'.1r.
 'Ibe Chriftian 23
Mr.Derham thinks thefe New Stars may be Planets,
belonging to fame of the Sy~ems. of the Fixed Sta~s,
and thofe P1a1lets become v1fible, when they are m
that part of their Orbits which is nearell the Earth,
and again gradually difappear, as they move in their
Orbits farther from us.
a
'It is furp 'rizing Obferration of Dr. Cheyne: ' Sup-
' po!ing ' that every Fixed Star is a Sun, and governs .
' in a A-lundaneSpace, equal to our Syfl:cm, then there •
C mull be only as many ~Fixed Stars of the Firfl Magni-
e tude, as there are Syfi:ems that can .fl:and round ours.
' But there are but about twelve or thirteen Spheres
' that can fl:and round a middle one, equal to them :
' And fo many are the Stars - of the fir!l: Magnitude.
' Again, if we examine how many Spheres can fl:and
' round this firfl: Range of Spheres, we fhall find their
' Number between Forty-Eight and Fifty-Two. And
' fo we find the. Number of the Stars of the fefond
' Magnitude. As for the feveral other Magnirndes, it
' is not altogether poffible to determine their Number,
' becaufe they are not fo difi:ingui!hable from thofe of
' the other 1vfagnitudes, as the firfl: and fecond are.'
He adds mofr reafonably and religiou0y: It is impof-
fible for any bodyferioufl,y to confiderin his Mind, what ir
certain about th~(eHeavenly Bodies, and to hinder himfelf
from being rn.vifoed with the Power and Wifdom of the
Great GOD of Hl!avenand Earth !
Mr. Derham fuppofes the particular Star Syrius to
be above two Millions of Millions of Miles diftant
from us.
Dr. Grew, from a very probable Computation, makes
the Difiance of the Pde-Star from the Earth to be
Four Hundred and Seventy lv[illions, and Eight Hun-
dred and Fortv Thoufand Miles.
Confidering· the mean and vile Fables of the Pagan
Poetry, yea, and the fcandaloi1s Actions of fomc Greater
Dt:'Vi/1among the Pagans, which are commemorated
and celebrated in the Names which our Globesgive
C 4 unto
24 'Ibe Chrijlian Philofop
her.
unt o the Co1fte!.1a1ioiH, I cannot but mo\'c you, 0 CJ,ri-.
Jiiau Ajlro11 omcrs, to attempt a Reformation of fo {hame-
fol a11Abufe. For fl1ame, kt thofc Glorioµs Bodies
no longer fuller the Affronts of our Bafe Dm ominatiiJm.
T o put Chri[limrNames 011 the Conjlel latiom, qnd allow-
ing the preCent"Figures upon our Glol,esto remain ftiU
as they are, ne,·enhekfs to transfer them into Scripwral
Starin, was a thing cndcarnnred by S,hifo-ur, and by
NG'Vidius.
The Caution ufcd in the ant i~nt Hebraickand A, ·a-
bickAftronomy, about the Names of the Conflellations,
is well lmo\\ n to all that arc ,·erfcd in Antiquities. D if-
miffing that Rdlcccion, what remains is this: A learned
F, encbmrm pretends to tell us, That the Stars in the
Hearens do frand ranged in the Fann of Hebrew Let-
ters, and that it is poffiblc to R,e11dthere, wbate',Jeris to
hnppm of Importancethroughout the Uni,mfe. ..Amazing!
That fo much Learning fhould be Om.fijlentwith, and
much more, that it iliould be Subfervimt to fuch Futi-
litfrs ! TI1e true Reading "f the Stars is to look up,
a::d fpell out, the g:orious Pcrfcfoons of that G OD ,
who is the Father rf tbofe Lighu, and who made and
them nil.
mo,..,:es
~- ' I would by no means look up unto the Stars,
' with the fooli!h Ajl, ohgy of the Srar-gau r.c, who cry
' to read, what the Great GOD thdt made them ha<;
' not -u:rittrn there. But thrre i~ very plainly to be
' read there, the Power and the Grandeur o.fthe Glo-
' r:ons GOD. This, t his I will ob fern\ proflratc
' in the Dufl before H im. T, ;e Htw,Hm dcclzre tl-e
' G/(lrv cf GOD; and {hall ll <'t I olfer,;;eit? TVl.•eu I
' ccnfiderthy ll.:a•vmr, 0 Lord, ,111dthe Stn;-s v.;J:ichtLou
' hnfl ord.1i1 :ed, I cannot but cry out, 1-Vl•atis ]\fan, tl•m
thou art mi11 ~/1il of him, m:d tl:e S111vf ,)lim, tlat thou
' •z:ijirft Nm!
' Unto the r athrr of tl.e Faithful, nw GO D faid,
' 1.ock }IC,'W tcv:ard llct l'i.t il, nud tell tf,e s::1rr, if tl:o:t be
' ab!e to ,;umlcr ti.cm.; } 11 fb.ill ti) <..j/;[ii ;:g be. C.!uriOuf
Lord,
 '!be ChrijlianP~ilofopher~is
~ Lord, make me one of them. A l¼rm of the Dufr>
f filled with the Love of GOD ~nd of his Neigh-
' bo:ur, becomes a StfJY in the Eye cf the Glorioµ~
' GOD: And if he be one of much Grace, and one
c of much Ufe, he i~ then a Star of the greaterMagni-
' tude,, , · ·
' GOD, myMakFr ?,nd theirs, gives me that Soni
' for the Night, wherei1i I view them; He tflls the
' Number of the Stars; fie rrills thrm all by thefr Names.
' 'Tis true of the Jufl, who are to foine flS the Starsfor
' e'Verand e,z;er, May I be knpwn by the Lord as one
' , of that Mqnber, and have a Name in His Book of
C iife ! . • . ., , . •
' Are the very St(l-rsthemfelves liable to Vicif]itudes?
' And fhall not I look for them in this our miferable
' \Vorld ? . . . • · , .
' How little can I comprehend the Condition and
~ Intention of the Stars?· 0 lncemprfhenfible GOD, I
' will not cavil, bu; adore, when· I- ~nd Myfleriesin
.' thy Pr!)'Vidence,
altogether beyond my fenetration!'

ESSAY IV. Of the SuN,

A Mofi Glorious _and mofi Ufeful Creature! But

{till a Creature!
By Old Afironomers call'd, CorPlanetarum.
There will be no Athenians now to araign me for
it, if I call it, The Carbuncleof the Hea'llens. Kircher
fuppofes the Sun to be a Body of wondrous Fire, une-
qual in Surface, compofed of Parts which are of a
different Nature, fome fluid, fome folid: The Difque
of it, a Sea of Fh·e, wherein ,Naves of afi:onifhing
Flame have a perpetual Agitation.
Sir Jfaac Newton, as well as Dr . Hook, takes the Szm
to be a folid and opake Body. Dr. Hookthinks this
Body to be encompafled with a va!t Atmofphere, the
Shell whereof is all that 1hines. The Light of the Sun
he takes to be from the Eurnin!! of the more fuper-
. ~ ~d
16 crhe ChriftianPhilofopher
.
ficial Parts, which are fet on fire, which may be with-
out hazard of being burnt out in a vafl: Number of
Ages. And Sir JfaacNewton thinks the Sim to be a
fort of a mighty Earth, mofl: vehemently hot; the
Heat whereof is conferred by the marvellous Bignefs
of t he Body, and the mutual Action and Re-aB:ion be-
tween That, and theVg/Jt emitted from it. It~ Parts are
lcept from fuming away, not only by its Fixity, but :ilfo ·
by the Dmjity of the Atmofphere incumbent on _it, ·
and the vafl:Weight thereof. The Light feems to be
emitted much afrer the manner as Iron, when heated
u nto fucb a Degree, as to be jufl: going into Fufion ,
by the vibrating Motion of its Parts emits ,vith Vio-
lence plentiful Streams of liquid Fire. So great a
Body will continue its Heat a great "hile, perhaps in
proportion to its D iameter.
Upon the Con\'exity of the Body of the Sun, t here
~re obfc1Ted b/(lck Spot.r, which are movr-able, and
cnangeable. ThcCe mo:ve regularly towards the Wcfl:,
and finifu their Re\·olution in about five and twenty
D ays; and fo tcfiify unto us, that the Stm turns upon
it s own Center~ the Axis of the :M otion inclining to
the Ecliptick.
Thefe ft,[,mt!~ Sol,1m are probably Evaporations,
which arifc from the Body of the Srm, fomewhat as
Vapours do from the Earth; anqthey form thcmfch·es
into Cloud.r. That which ndds to this Probability, is,
that the Spotsare always changeable in their Bulk, and
F 0rm, and Configuration. Sometimes their Number
i; ~tcatrr, and fomccimcs kffcr, and fomecimcs there
are none at all. Some 0f them fhinc, :md ochers that
fh cnc, become dark. D :ligcnt Afironomcrs, who ha,·e
w~itcd on them for nine or ten Ycars toge t her, ha\'e
nen:r found them in all this time to return unto the
Jur.t Omfiguraticn. In CfllT!cmai11'stime, crery one
faw a Spot in this great Luminary. And there h:t\'e
been direr~ Days tc~cther, [as in the Year 1547,J
wherein rhc .~:a,ha\ :i.prc:.ue<l little brighter than the ,
J'il1,on
 'TheCbrijlianPhilofopher.
J.,foonin her total Eclipfe, and the Stern have been vi-
fible at Noon-Day. Virgil and Ovid intimate fuch a
[)arknefs upon the Sun once for a whole Year toge-
ther, that the Fruits of the Earth could not be ri-
pened. .
, The apparent Diameter of the Sun . being fenfibly
fhorter in Decemberthan in 'June, it is plain, and Ob- ·
ervation confirms it, that the Sun is proportionably
earer to the Earth in Winter than in Summer. It is
alfo copfirmed, by the Earth's moving fwifter in De-
cemberthan in June; which it does :,ibout five Fif-
teenths. And for this reafon there are about eight
ays more from the Sun's vernal Equinox to the au-
umnal, than from the autumnal to the vernal.
Mr. Tcmpion's Obfervations, from the Equation of
natural Days, render · it evident, That the Motion of
he Sun (if we muft fpeak in thofe Terms) mufi be
fwifter at fome times, than at others. Great GOD,
the it[otion ir alv.:aysunder thy GloritJusGuidance!
According to Caffini, the Sun's mean Difl:ance from
the Earth is 22,000 Semidiameters of the Earth. And
the Sun's n;amcter is equal to 100 Diameters of the
Earth: And therefore the Body of the Sun muft be
1,000,000 times greater than the Earth.
Ca[/ini more direcrly expre.lfes himfelf; That the
Sun's Difiance fro.in the Earth is 172,800Jooo Englifh
Miles.
Take Mr.Derham's Computation; Saturn is com-
puted at 93,45 r Miles in Diameter, and confequently
427,318,300,000,000 Miles in Bulk: Jupiter at
120,6~ 3 Miles in D:ameter, and by confequence
920,0 II,200,000,000 Miles in Bulk. But yet, as a-
mazing Ma.lfes as thefe all are, they are all far out-
done by that Globe of Fire, the Sun : which, as it is
the Fountain of Light and Heat unto all the Planets a-
bout it, by its kind Influences affording them the great
Comforts of Life ; fo does it in Bulk furpa[s them all.
Its Diameter is computed at 822,148 Miles; and fo
there
18 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
there mufi be 290,97 1,000,ooo,ooo,ooo M iles in the
folid Content of it.
Dr. Grew is of opinion, that for ought we know,
the Sun mlJ afford us his Light, without fuch an in-
tenfe Heat, as has been imagined. The Beams of the
Sun, he thinks, may firfl: concei\·e their Heat, when
they come to. be mixed with our Atmofphere. There
:ire things intcnfely hot, which gire no Light at all;
but Rotten Wood, or Fifh, and the Gloworm, and fame
other Bodies, gi,·e a brisk Light, without any Hent.
Light and Hem, he thinks, hare 110 neccffary Conjunc-
tion, at lcafr not in any fenfible Proportion. It is
known alfo, how neceffary the Air is to produce Fire,
and eren Light itfelf, in fome of thofe Bodies that !hine
in the dark. If the Sun were a burningBod)',and the Heat
of it fo much greater than that we feel of it, as to be in
pr oportio n to its Difiance; how comes the Subflance
of it fo little to be altered by fo intenfe an Heat, and
to hold this Heat with fo great an Equality for near fix
Th Clufand Years? One way or t1other; _either fo lu-
mii;ousa Body without Fire, or fo burning a Body, not
confumedor altered; it is ,vonderful !
But Sir Jfaac Ncwtrm fuppofcs, That a ,·cry large,.
denfe, and fixed Body, when heated beyond fuch a de-
gree, may emit Light fo copiouCTy, that by fuch Emif-
fton, and by the Re-acti on of it6 Light, and by the
Refle ction and Refra ction of the Rays within its hid~
den /\Jeatw, it may come to grow frill hotter and hot.-
ter, as dcrivin~ more Degrm of He,zt by thofc \Vays,
than it can nt CG!dby any other. Thus, he foppofcs
tlw Sun a vafl: Globe that is Yehemently heated, and
the Heat thereof preferred by its great Magnitude,
and the mutual Aetion :md Rc-~tction which there is
between it, u1~d the Light emitted by it. And its
Parts arc pref en cd from e, aporating in Flami-and Fmnt,
not only by the Great Fixio· of its Nature, but allo
by the mighty \\ eight nrJ Thick1:cf) of the Atmo-
fphc-re,
 'TheChriflianPhilofopher. 29
fph ere, which environs it; and condenfes its Vapours.,
whenever they are emintcd.
However, behold the Sun feated by the Glorious
GOD, like a powerful lvlonarch, on his Throne, (as
Dr. Cheyneexpreffes it) from thence difiributing Light,
and Life, and Warmth, . in a plentiful Effufion, to all
the Attendants that furround him; and th~t fo equal ...
Jy, that the nearefl:have not too much, nor the farthefl:
1:00 little : His ·Bulk and Situation fo contrived, in
rcfpeB: of the Planets, as to have ~antity of Matter
jufl: enough to draw round him thefe),fa!fy Bodies.,
and their Sate/lits, who are fo variou~ in their QEanti-
ties, and, their Difiances, ·and that ill' regular and uni-
form Orbits. The Doctor fays well, ,t'hefe are things
that clearlyfpeak~the. OmnipotenceandOmnifcienceof their
Author.'- · •.· : . , · • •·
What a Fancy -is that of Dr. /,Vittie ! 'That the Su!'-
is probably the Seat of the Blejfed; the .Sun, which - ts
the Center of the Heavens, and the Seat of inherent
Light.- It is true, · of ·the Bleffed we read, 'They /ball
fhine as the Sun ; and their Bleffednefs is called, Th e
Inheritanceof the Saints in Light. But this is very ihort
of Demonfhation, that the Saints mufi be lodg~d
there. Tho die Church Militant were once repre-
fented as clothedwith the Sun, it foll~ws not, that the
Church Triumphant mufi be Dwelling in the Sun.
And Mr.Arndt propounds a Thought, \Vhich canno_t
be too much dwelt upon: Sicut Sol Ornammtum efl Cccli,
ita CHRISTUS efl Ornamentumfua E cclefia.
Dr. Cbeynewith good reafon apprehends, That the
Quantity of Light and Heat in the Sun is daily decrea-
fing. It is perpetually emitting M illions of R ays,
which do not return int o it. Bodiesatt racl: them, and
fuffocate them, and imprifon them ; and they go no
more back into their Founta in.
Mr.Bt!l'noulli, from the Flafhes of the L ight, in the
Vacuity of a Tube accommoJa ted with M ercury,
,..,·hereby a dark Room is enlightncd, renders it likely
th~ t
 30 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
that our Atmof phcrc, and all the Bodies on our Globe
are faturated at all tin,cs_ with Rays of Light, which
ncvcr do return unto their Fountain.
'Tis true, this Dccrcafc of the Sun is ,·cry it1co11( ..
derablc. It !hews that the Particles of Light arc ex,..
tremely frnall, fince the Sun for fo many Ages has been
confiam:ly emitting Oceans of Rayr, without any \'ery
fcnfible D iminution. However, 'tis from hence eri-
dent, that the Sun had a Beginning ; it could not ha,·e
been from Eternity; Eternity mufl: have wafied it : le
had long e'er now been reduced unto lcfs than the
Light of a Candle.
Gloriour GOD, tmm art the Father of Ligbtr, the Ma-
ker of the Sun !
In a late Afl of ,he-Faith, a'i they call their .inhuman
Butche_ries, performed by that execrable Hell uf1m
~arth, the lnquijiiion in Ponugnl; a Confeffor being
brought forth to :die a gric,·ous D eath, as foon as he
<:flmcinto the Light of the Sun, which he had not feen
i\1fome Years before, he broke forth into this &pref-
fion, /!Vhu that Im RMjim in lii1;t,could worjhip nny b11t
the Maker of th,11 Gluhozo Cre,iture! They gagg'd him
immediately!
My Pen 0iall not be fcn:cd fo. Enjoying the Be-
nefits of the Sun, I ,, ill glorfy , him that made it :
Thott nlone art for ever to be ad,re.l, 0 thcu AJaker of that
Glorio111Crentun' !
An eminent \Vriter of Nmural Theologyhas this Re-
rr.ark, •fhat the Srm is Imago il'omm qui a/iis pi-ttfunt.
And that nil Sttperiours in crery Station, looking . to-
wards the Suu, fhould hare {hot into their .Minds the
Rays of CuchThoughts ns thrfo; If/hat goodInflueucet
011ghrI to diff enfl!:mro:/icfe rl·,u h,rz:eDependauceon me!
The Apocryphal fkl<ik of /Vifdum docs wifely, to
call the I.if.ht of the Su~, A,; Image of the Divine
Gu. dntJs.
The Diam ,ter of the E.ml, is near Eight Thoufand
M iks;;md the D iameter of the 0, bis !lf.1guruTen
Thoufan d
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 3!.
'fhoufand Diameters of the Earth. This OrbisMag-
nus,
or the Orbit of the Earth, in its annual Revolu-
tion about the Sur.; Dr. Gregory makes the Semidia-
meter of it 94,696,969 Englifh Miles: which is the
Difiance of the Earth from the Sun. But the Semi-
diameter of Saturn's Orbit is no le[s than ten times as
great . . ~All AO:ronomers before Kepler fuppofed this
Orbit a perfe8Circle; but he has proved it an Ellipfif.
If out Solar Syflem have fuch large Dimenfions, and if
every Fixed Star be a Sun, that has a Syflem, of the
like Dimenfions perhaps, belonging to it :--
Great is our GOD, and greatly to be praifed: His
Greamefsi! unfearchableI ·. 1
. How · is' it poffible to confider the Grandeurof our
GOD, : without Annihilatingourfelves' before Him, or
. without Horrour at the View of the matchlefaE'Vil, in
finning againfr fo Glorious a Majefry ! · •
It is a Patfage in a little Treatife, entitled, 'TM
Bookof Nature ; not unworthy to be tranfcribed here:
' 1Jf thou never obferve. the Sky with thine Eyes, ·but
' to guefs at Rairi and Fair Weather; or if thy look-
' ing up to Heaven be bounded with the StarryFirma-
' ment; and, if thou removefr from thee the Love and
' Honour of GOD, and the Contemplation of Him
' who dwelleth in the Heavens, thou hail: no caufe to
c ·raife -thyfelf above the Brutef, thy Fellow-Inhabi-
~ rants of this Lower World.' · 1
And now, let Hugo de S. VtEtore' conclude for us :
Quis Solem per hyberna-defcendere Signa pracipit? Q}_tis
f dcit?- , Quis eum ab 0-
turf um per ajli'Ufi S.igna:afcendere
,rientein Occidentem ducit? Q.:lisiterum ab Occidentein
Orientemrervehit? Hae cunElafunt mirabilia, fed Joli Deo
pof]ibilia.
How G lorious will the Righteous be in that \,Yorld,
when they !ball fhine ar the Sun?

ESSAY
 3 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
Es s Ay v. Of s AT u RN.
LL th-:: Mafler Planets, as they may be called; ·
.1 mo\ c 'lbout the Sun, as their CommonCenter.
'T ~y mo, with different V clocities : but there is
this Commc ·1 Law obfervcd in all of them; That the
Squares of the Timu of their Re'lloltttions,are proportional
to the Cubes of their Dijlmzm. And the Lunar Planets
obferve the fame Law in their Motions about their
MaflerPlanetr. And another Common Law with them,
is, That Lines dra.wn from the Foci of the Cun·cs
they move in, to their Bodies, will fwccp over equal
Area's in equal Times on the Planes of other Orbits.
Who but the Great GOD could make and fix thefo
L aws ? Lord, they continuethis day accordingto thine Or-
• dinances,for all are thy Servnntr. · .. ·
It is now found, that ~aturn, bcfr<les his round Bo-
dy, has alfo a luminous Ring, which encompa!les him>
as the Horizons of our Artificial Globes do ufually
encompafs them; and is Oat upon · the Verge, as thei
ufe to be. The Rir.g fhews itfclf in an Q7,•al, and _at
certain times it wholly difappears. .
It appears not, howe,·er, that Saturn rernh-cs upon
his.own Cmttr. .
\Vhcn this Planet appears at• 20 degr. _,omin. of
Pifies, and of Libra, then 'tis that he appears round ;
or without his Anf~, as they arc called, which is once
in fifteen Ycars; or half his Courfc, which ererv one
knows to be compleated in thirty Years, or 1~,950
Da ys.
The Ring frcms to be Ot ake and Solid. cncompafling
the Planet, but no \\ here touc hing it . The Diameter
of it is two nnd a q u:irtcr of Saturn's D i:imcters; and
the D ifianca of the R iu.~ from th e Pl.met is about the
Brrndth of t he R h:.~ irfclf. Mr. H ,t.~rm rakes the
Urcndth of the Ring co be nbom Six l·hmdrcd German
J\1ilcs.
The
 'TheChriflianPhilofopher.
The Proportion of the Body of Smurn to the Earth,
3,
is thi:1t nf 30 to I.
The DiH:ance of Saturn from the Sun is about ten
times as great as the Difiance of our Earth from hir11;
and by confequence, that Planet will not have above
an hundredth Part of that Influence from the Sun,
which this Earth enjoys.
T he Ring of Saturn, being diflant from him no
more than nvo and a quarter of his Semidiameters, it
cannot be feen at the Difiance of 64 D egrees from Sa-
turn's Eq~ator, in whofe Plane the Ring is placed.
So that there is a Zone of almofr 53 Degrees broad, to-
wards either Pole, to which this famous Ring does ne-
ver appear.
Saturn is attended with fiveSatellits.
The Firfl:Satellitmakes a Revolution about Saturn in
I Day, 2 I Hours, ancl 19 Minutes; and makes two
Conjunctions with Saturn in Iefs than two Days. It is
dillant from the Center of Saturn 4 { of his Semidia-
meters.
The Second makes his Revolution in 2 Days, 17
Hours, and 43 Minutes. It is difrant from Saturn 5 f.
Semidiametersof the Planet.
T he Third is difiant from Saturn eight of his Semi-
diameters, ai1d makes his Re\ 'olution in almofl: 4 +
D ays.
The Fourth revoh'es in 15 Days, 22 Hours, 41
Minutes. 'Tis dillant from the Center cf Saturn a-
bout 18 of his Semidiameters.
'T he Fifth is difiant from the Center of Saturn 54
,.zidimneters,and revolves about him in 79 f
of his .r.c
.Days. .
M r. Hitygrn. , who firft of all difcovered the F otht h,
(for •vhich c.rnfe 'tis called the Huygenian Sate/lit, tho
D r. H,1l'e;af:c~wards corr ected the Theory of its Mo-
tioe ) thinks, t e mighty Difiance between th e Four th
and Fifth S..1 /fits to be a ground for Sufpicion, t hat
D t here
34 erheChrijlian Philofo
pher.
there may be a Sixth between them, or that the FiftT,
may be attended with fome of his own.
On the Revolutions of the Planetr, the incompara-
ble Sir Richard Blackmore,in his Noble Poem of Crea-
tion, thus drives us to confider the Firfl Cau.feof all :
' Saturn in Thirty Years his Ring complcats,
' \Vhich fwifter Jupiter in Twcl're repeats.
'
'
'
'
'
JfarsThrce and Twenty Months revolving fpends,
The Earth in Twelve her Annual Journey ends.
Venm, thy Race in twice Four M onths is run;
For his Mermriw Three demands; the ftfoon
Her Revolution finifhcs in One. ,
l
< If all at once arc mov'd, and by One Spring,
~ \ Vhy fo imequnl is their Ammal Ring?
'The :Motions of the Hcarcnly Bodies can be pro-
duced and governed by none but an Infinite G OD .
It is well argued by Lal1antius; There ii indeeda Po'I.Vc
in the Stars, of peiforming their Afotiom; bttt that is the
Po-wcrof God 7.L'/10 made nild goverm all thiugs, not of the
Stars thcmfelws that are. moved. And by Plato before
him; Let us think, how it is poj]iblefor fv prodigiousa
J1a{s to be can·ied rouildfor Jo longa time by mzynatural
Caufe? Fv;· which mifou I ajfcn God to be the Caufe, mid
that 'tis impoflibleit fboul.l be othei".i:ife.

ESSAY VI. Of Ju r IT ER,

J,
UP ITER's Globe, :i.ccording to Cizffeni's Mc·i, ,e
mufl: be f!re:1tcr than that of the Earth, b) 2 ,6
Times. The Periodical Time of his Rcrd\'11 on .ibot.
thc,Srm, is Twelrc Years, or 4380 Da)•
In the Body of 'Jupit r, and O\:er;;, , 1t I :s h -
nous Part, there :trc obfcrrcd thrl'c u , B./tr
the Spots which :tppc:tr in the l\10011. ! c;t: R .
Girdles arc near {lrait :md p:trallcl, anc ,tc:1dinl:!
Eafl: to \Vefl:, after the manner of the .Ee n cl:.
· 111akcn kind of Equimftial "·ith Trop·cl
 'TheChri.ftian
Philofopher. 35
,Southern is larger a little than the Northern, and a lit-
tle nearer to the South than the ocher is to the
North.
Dr. Hook has obfervcd alfo a fmall and n dark Fila-
ment, and the Zonesgrowing a little darker, as they
draw nearer to the Poles. And fome have obferved
in them fomething of Currvity, tho their Borders are
perfectly round.
'Jupiter has Four SateUits, or little Moons, waiting
on him.
The nearcfi: is difiant from him, according to Mr.
Flamfluzd's mofi accurate Obfervations, a little more
than Five of his Semidiameters ; and fini:£hes his
Courfe in 1 Day, 18 Hours, 28 Minutes, and a few
Seconds.
The Second is difl:ant from him about 8 of his Se-
midiameters, and finifhes his Courfe in 3 Days, I 3
Hours, 17 Minutes, and a few Seconds.
The Third is difiant from him about 14 of his Se:
midiarncters, and fini{hes his Courfe in 7 Days 3
Hours, and 59 Minutes, and fome Seconds. . '
The Fourth is difl:ant from him about 24 of his
Semidiameters, and fini:£heshis Courfe in 16 Davs, 18
Hours, 5 Minutes, and fome Seconds. ,
Thefc Guards of 'Jupiter caft a Shadow upon him,
when they 'are found interpofed between the Sun and
him.
The Fourth would appear to an Ey~ in Jupiter, as
big as the Moot~ d?es to us. A Spectator there woul1
have alfo four kmds of Months. In one of 'Jupiter s
Years, which is Twelve of ours, there would be :2407
of the leafr Months; Half that Number for the next
Satellit : · The Months of the Third v,rould be near
1
fobduplc of the econd, or fubquaduple of the Firfr :
The Months of ~he greatefi: would be about Two
Hundred Fifty-four. A Year of 'Jupiter has a great
Number of Days; but of the four Sorts of Months,
D 1. the
36 "!'heChr~flian
Philofopher.
the I 1/1 co:nains only Jorn- Days and a ~1arter; the
great !l fom..:thing m0rc than Forty. .
J\[r. Cafji11ihas obferved a Couple of Spots 111 the
BcJ.y of 'Jupiter,"hich make a R ernlution_ on the
Center of th"s Planet, from E..1fl:to \Vell:, m abom;
9 Hours, 56 ~I inutcs. Others ha,·c lately confirmed it
by better Obfrrr:uions. This proves, that the Planet
movo about upon its own Center. Behold the fho,·teft
l't,i,d that is made in the Firmament! The Days and
the Night-;, each of them Five Hurm a-piece.
CmrpmziobCer\'cd, with a more than ordina ry 'lele-
(.ope, certain Pr o_tuberances and Inequalities in the
Surface of this Planet.
\ Ve may here infert a Remark upon the P eriodi cal
Motions of the Planets; both the Primr.ry and their
Sc.-cndmies.
One thi11r, ,·c1y cu11fiderable in the Periodical Mo-
t ·011 of the Sffo11daryPlmzets, is, That it is mixed with
t\ k' llll of Co,hleo1u DireEliou towards oneor other
Po!c of its Prim.iry Plamt; by \\·hich means e,·ery Sa-
tilit, by gem le Degr ees, changes its Lat itud e, and
m:tkc.!>its V!lits toward s each Pole of its Primary.
\\c \\ ill here brc:ik off \\ ith the \Vords of Mr. Alo-
lJreux. ' From hence m.:i.y ,nt jufily fall imo the
' dccpdl Admir:ition, that one and the fame Law of
M tioil fhould be obfcne<l in Bodies fo vaflly difl:ant
' from <>:ichother, and which fcem to hare no De-
' pcnbnce or Correfpon<lence \\ ith c:ich other. This
' doth mofl cri<lcmly demon/hate, that they were all
' at ::rnpllt into 11ocion by one and the fame uner-
r I ll.11 I, c, en the infinite Po,\ er and \Vifdom of
' C OD, \\ ho h:ith fi:-.cd this Order amon(T t hem all,
' . . h :h cfi·1bli!l1ed a Z...w , ..hich they ca~not tranf-
' gr, f,. ·
·, U. 1.,r, r dull ,H1tt,r, could nen·r prcduce fuch
' :111 har:non:ous R1.~11/,1,
itv in the :\fotion of Bodies fo
' \:t!lly dill:int: This !he,, s a l)cfian at:d Intention
' in t, e r, fl f./,';Je;·.' :::i

ES SAY
 _TheChrifti~nPhilofopher. 37
E ssAy VII. Of MAR s.

M ARS borrows his Light from the Sun, as well

as the refl: of his PlanetaryBrethren. He has
his Increafe and his Decreafe of Light; like the /1,Joon;
may be fecn almofl: bifecled,when in his Quadrature
with the Sun, or in his Perigteon; tho never cornicu-
lated or forked, like his Inferiours.
Dr. Hook difcovered fcveral Spots in Mars, and par-
ticularly a triangular one, which has a Motion. Mr.
Ca/Jiniafterwards difcovered fottrSpots, the two firfl:on
one Face of Mars, afterwards two more that were
larger, on the other Face. Upo1~ further Obferra-
tion it was found, that the Spots of thefe two Faces
• turned by little and little •from Eaft to·Wefi:, and re-
turned at the Space of twenty-four Hours and forty
. Minutes. In fuch a Term therefore, there is a Re-
volution of Mars upon his own Axis.
The Year of Mars is near twice as long a,;;ours;
his Natural Day a little greater than ours : his Artifi-
cial Day is almofi:every where equal to his Night, be-
fides what belongs to Twilight. Mars as well as 'ju-,
piter has a perpetual /Equinox. Hence there can be
but little Variety of Senfom in any one particular Place
pf thefe Planets.
r \Vhence the Fafcia, or Fillets obferve4 in Mars ?
'There appeal' certain Swathes, as we 111a.ycall them,
which are pofited parallel to his LEquator. Are they
owing to the Heat and Cold there, li~e our Clouds
and Snows?
It is thought that Mars has ~n Atmofphere, becaufo
Fixed Stars are obfcured, and as it were extinct, whe!l
they are fee11jufl:by his Body.

ESSAY
 3S 'TheChriftianPhilofop/Jer.
Es s A y VIII. Of V EN u s.

V EN US has ,·arious Appearances; ~-ou;rdfame-

times ; anon hn!f-mmd; by :md by like a Cref-
um.
Mr. Ca{fiui difcovcred certain Spots on this Planet,
by the Motion whereof it appeared that it moved up-
on its own Center, and upon an Axis, which carries
it from North to South; a Motion wholly unknown
nnv ,, here clfc in rhe He~n-ens. Two Spots it has,
,, hich arc ,cry thin, long, uncertainly terminated ;
and a fhining Part belongs to one of them.
He difco,·cr' d alfo, as he judges, a Sate/lit artend-
jng this Planet ; which Dr. Gregoryaffents to, as more
tl.:m probable. This is not ufually feen, perhaps
becaufo it may not have a fit Surface to rcfieB: the
Light of the Sun; ·which is the Cafe of the Spots in
the Moon.
Jf~rigone,and K eplcrus,nnd Rh~te;zjis
, coi1clude, that
f/cw1 moves about its Axis in about fourteen Hours.
Dr. Cl.eyzefays in twenty -three.

E S S A Y IX. Of 1v1E R cu R y.
rr •
HE Great Jln1clius lwth obfcrvcd, That 1llcrcm-y
change~ his Face, like l"'e,ms,and like our 1'1oon;
nppcaring fomctimcs ru:md,fometimes half-round fome-
trn cs like a Cri{.t'itt. '
'J hi!>Pl:lnct has his \ b0dc fo near the Sun that as
~ct there ha~ been little diCcmcrcd of him. '
It :!pfcars not yet, ,'11cthcr he rernh·cs upon his
n,wn ,,:1 ,,_1,
and fo "hat may be the Length of his Days.
Lut it 1s probable, he 1rav h:ire foch :1 1v1otion, as
\ HII as tlic o:hcr Pla1:cts. Ho\\~,·cr, his Year is hard-
ly cgual to :1 Quarter of ours.
· S·r lfiu1 ~.1.,~1011has t;r:ible. A pprehcnftons of the
l k:it lll this Planet, ns oc111gkrcn times as much as
thc-
 'ThephriflianPhiloJopher~
39
the Heat of the Summer-Sun in England; which ac-
cording to his Experiments made by the Thennofcope;
would be enough to make Water boil. If the Bodies
in this Planet be not enkindled by this Heat, they
mufr be of a peculiar Denfity. But Mr. Az..outpre-
tends to prove, That tho this Planet be fo near the
Sun, yet the Light there is not capable of burning any,
ObjeB:s. ·
,r. But let us now entertain ourfelves with a Spwp-
is, of certain ~fatters relating to the Planets, as they
are determined by the latefl: and rnoft accurate Aftro-,
nomers .
. The Diflancefrom tbe Sun, in Englifh Miles:
Of Mercury --- Miles 32,000,000
Venus 59,000,000
The Eartb - - 8~,000,000
Mars --- - 123,000,000
Jupiter --- - 424,000,000
Saturn :.__ --- 777,000,000

The Diameterin Englifh Miles.

r - -..,
Of Mercttry - Miles 4,240
Venus - - 7,906
'T'heEartb - 7,935
Mars - - 4,4#
1upiter 81,155
Saturn 67,870
~he Sun 763,46~
The Time of tbe PeriodickRevolmion:
Days Hours
Of Mercury -
. 87 ZJ
Venus
'T'he Earth
Marr
224
365
686
- 17
6

7upiter 4,33 2
Sauern ia,n9 7
D4· ~o
40 The Chrij!ianPhilofoph
er.
·ro this we w ill
a<ld Mr. D erhrzm'sAccount of their
Magnitude. ·
Saturn has an O rb of 1,641,p.6,386 EnglifhMiles
Diameter.
']upirn·an Orb ?f 89 S',134,000 1':1iles.
iH11r1an Orb ot 26::;282,910 MIies.
Vwztr an Orb of 124,487,114 }.,files.
11lc;wry an Orb of 66,621,000 Miles .

'J. ' Great GOD, tho1t hnfl lifted me ttpto Heaven;

' Oh! lit me not be cafl ajier nil dn71lJZtn Hell.
' The Philofophcr, who gazing on the Strzr_swith
' his attcntire O bfcrration , tumbled-into a Pit that
' he obfcn cd not, was not fo unhappy as he that h'.is
' \·ifirc<l He:z7.•c;1on the noble Intention s of Aflrono-
, m_v,but by an ungodly Life, procures to himfelf a
' Con<lcnmation to tha t Hell, which is a State and
' Pince of Utter Darknefs. \Vrctche d Aftronomers !
' l!/J;o m• ,w:rng tl:e --..candring
Stars, to r,;.:homis refer,;;ed
ti:• B!,1d11ef,of Dadnefsfor ew;·.'
\\'c will ·conclude what we colleB: about the Stars~
\\ ith cranfcribing a Palfoge out of the l\1i_fi-ellanea C:l:-
ir,(,1. ' TiH: Ho1:ourablc Mr. Robfftr computes the
' DiJl:rnci:<;0f tht: Fixed Stars ;--which he fuproCes
' tv be fo m~ny Sum of a different Mag nitude. He
' thinks, that it feems hardly wirhin the reach of any
• of our 1h-thods to determine ic. The Diameter of
' the E, rtl/s Orb, which is at leufi One Hundred and
' s·,.ry Millions of Miles, is but a Point in compari-
fon of it. At lean Ni11cParts in Ten, of the Spnce
' bcrwccn us a11dthe Fixed Stars, can reccirc no grca-
' tcr Light from the S,m, or any of the Star,, thm
' ,, hnc ,, c hare from the Stm in a clear Night. Light
' takes up more time in tra\·clling from the Scar, to
' u,;, than we in 1raking a TVifl-India Voyage, wh ich
' ic. ordinnrity pcrforrr.~cl in fix \\'eeks. A Sound
' \\ ou!J not nrri\·c ::o us from thence in Fifty Tho,frmd
' rears
 'TheChriflianPhilofopher. 4r,
' fears, nor a Cannon-Bullet in a much longer Time.
( This is eafily computed, by allowing ten Minutes
( for the Journey of Light from the Sun hither; and
' that Sound moves abom 'ThirteenI-f1mdredFoot in a
~ .SPcond.'

E SS AY x. Of C O M ET s.
;T IS an admirable \,Vork of our GOD, that the
< many Globesin the Univerfe are placed at fuch
D ifiances, as to avoid all violent Shocks upon one
another, and every thing wherein they might prove a
prejudice to one another.
Even Cometstoo, move fo as to ferve the Holy Ends
of their Creator! CoMETs, which are commonly cal-
led Blaz..ingStars, appear unto later Obfervations to
.be a fort of -ExcentricalPlanm, that move periodically
about the Sun.
Sir JfaacNewton, from whom 'tis a difficult thing
to diffent in any thing that belongs to Philofophy, con-
cludes, That the Bodies of Cometsare folid, compact,
fixed, and durable, even like thofe of the other Planets.
· He has a very critical Thought upon the Heat,
which thefe Bodies may fuffer in their Tranfits near
the Sun. A famous one, in the Year 1680, paffed fo
near the Sun, that the Heat o[ the Sun in it mu!l: be
rwenty-eight tho\.1fund times as intenfe as it is in
England at Midfummer; whereas the Heat of boiling
\.Vater, as he tried, is bµt little more than the dry
E~rth of th~j.tHland, expofed unto the Midfummer-
Sun : and the Heat of red-hotIron he takes to be three
or four times as great as that of boilingWater. Where-
fore the Heat of that Comet in its Perihelionwas ne.1r
t\vo thoufand tim~s as great as that of ,·ed-hot/ro;1.
If it had been an Aggregate of nothing but Exhala-
tions, the Sun would have render'd it in\'ifible. A
Globe of ,·ed-hot Iron, of the D imenfions of our Earth,
wo~ld fc~ucebe cool, by his Computation~ io 5~;00 ~
.1 cars.
42. cr'hcl'hrijlicm Philofopher
.
y c:irs. If then th is Comet cooled an hundred times
as fall as re.l-1:otl,-011, yet, fince his Heat was 2,000
times greater t han t hat of red-hot Iron, if you fuppofe
his Body no greater than tha t of th is Earth, he -will
not be cool in a :M illion of Years.
The Tails of C11metr,,,hich arc longeft and largell
jufr after their Pe:riheliom,he takes to be a long and
\ cry thin. Smoke, or a mighty T rain of Vapours,
w hich t he ignited N uclms, or the H ead of the Comet,
emits from it And he cafily and thoroughly con-
founds the filly Notio n of their being only the Beamr
<'
f rheSun, ihining thro t he Head of t he Star. '
The Phxnomena of t he Tails of Comets depend upon
t he Motion of their Heads, and have th eir :Matter
fupplicJ from thence.
T here may arife · from the Atmofphere of Comets,
V apours enough t o rnke up fuch imm enfe Spaces, as
we fee t hey do. Computations made of and from the
Rarity of our Afr' , ·whi ch by and by iffue in A fioni!h-
ments, will render this J\h tter evident. ·
T har the T~ils of Cometr arc extremely rare, is ap-
parent from this; the Fixed Stars appearing fo plainly
~hro them.
The Atmofpherc of Cometr, as they defcend towards
the Suil, is, cry fenfibly dimini01ed by t heir vafi: run-
ning out, that ~hey mar afford M atter to pro duce the
13/az..e. Jlroeliw has obfcr\'cd, that t heir Atmof phere
i~ enlarged, when they do not fo much run out into
'Fnil.
Th is Lucid 'l"tnhzfometimes, as Dr . Cheyueobfer\·es;
extend~ to four hundred thoufond Miles abm·e the
Body of the Sr,zr.
Sir lj:.::cl\' ,-..~·
tm ha~ nn Apprchcnfion, which is ·a
little furpri1inf?, That thofc Vapours "hich arc di-
late d , and go df in the Blnus of Cumets,:ind are dit:.
f~fed thro all_the Ccldlial R egions, may by littl e and
lmlc , by the ir o,, n proper C)'(r,;ity,be attra cted into
the Nt111cts,and become intermingled with t heir At-
mofpheres.
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 43
mofpheres. As to the Confl:itution of fuch an Earth
as ours, it is nece{fary there fhiould be Sem; thus, for
the Confervation of the Sl:(u, and Moifiure of the
Planets, there may be a ncceffiry of Comets; from
whofe condcnfed Vapours, all that Mo&1rn-e, which is
confumed in Vegetations and Putrefactions, and fo
turned into dry Earth, may by degrees be continually
fupplicd, repaired, and recruited. Yea, he has a fuf-
picion, that the Spirit, which is the finefi, the mofi:
fubtile, and the very befi part of our Air, and which
· is nece{farily requifitc unto the Life and Being of all
things, comes chiefly from Comets. If this be fo, the
Appearance of Comm is not fo dreadful a thing, as
the Cometcmantia,generally prevailing, has reprefent-
ed it. ·
Mr. Ca[/ini w;ll thus far allow bad Prcfages to Co-
met,, That if the Tail of a Comet fhould be too much
intermingled with our Atmofphere, or if the 1fatter of
it fhould, by its Gravity, fall down upon our Earth ;
it may induce thofe Changes in our Ah-, whereof we
fhould be very fen!ible.
Bernoulli~in his Syflema Cometamm,fuppofes, That
there is a Primary Planft, revolving round the Sun in
the {pace of four Years and 157 Days; and at the
difl:ance of 2,583 Semidiameters · of the Orhis Jlllagnm.
This Primary Planet, he fuppofes, either from his migh-
ty Diflance, or his minute Smallnefs, to be not vifible
unto us ; but· however to have fcveral Sate/lits movinrr
t)

round him, tho none defcending fo low as the Orb it

of Satum; and that thefe becoming vifible to us,
when in their Perigteon,are \Vhat we call Comets.
Srneca's PrediB:ion, That a Time fuould come,
when our Myfieri es of Cometsihould be unfolded,
feems almofr accompli£11ed. However Senecahas not
obliged us with the Plumomenaobferved by him, which
encouraged this PrediB:ion. _
No Hifiories of Cometswere of fcrvice to the The-
ory of them, until Nic~phcrw Gregoras,a Cv;zflantino?o-
l!tmz
44
/itrm Afironomer, dcfcribed the Path of a Comet ll1
1337.
All that confider'd Cometsuntil T)dJoBrahe, confi-
der'd them as no other than Vapours below the ftfoon.
Anon, the fagacious Kepler improving on T)·c~o's
Difcorerics, came at a true Syfiem of Comets, and
found, that they mored freely through the Planetary
Orbs, with a M otion that is not much different from
:t ReEliliuearone. .
The incomparable Hew/ius went on, and though he
embraced the .KeplcrimzHypothefis, of the Reililinenr
J\!otiou if Comet.r,yet he was aware, That the P.11/Jof
a Comet-:t•nf bem imo a citr-vcLine to1:.:Mds the Sun.
At Iail: the illuflrious Sir JfaacNcwtOil arrires with
Dcmonfirntions, 'That all the Phxnomcna of Comers
would naturally follow from the KeplerimzPrinciples.
He {hewed a 1fcthod of delineating the Orbitsof Co-
u1tt:. gco:netrically ; which caufed Admiration in all
that con!idcrcd it, and comprehended it.
The muft ingenious Dr . Halle)' has made Calcula-
tions, upon "hich he ventures to foretell the Return of
Cc.mm; but he obfeL"rcs, that fome of them hm·e their
Nul .s pretty near the annual Orb of the Earth. I
,, ill tranfcribe the \Vords he concludes with : '\\'hat
' may be the Confequeuce,of fo near an Appulfe, or ot·
' a Cu;.1aE1 , or lufily, of a Shock of tT1eCelcfiial Bodies,
' ( which is by no means impoffiblc to co111eto pa[s)
' I lcarc t0 be difcuflcd by the Studious of Phyfical
' :\fatter'>.'
'I he Sentiments of fo acme n Philofopher as Di:.
( ,r, llJ' m Cm ,,, dcfcn e to be tranfcribed. •
' I think it nio:l probable, that thcfe frightful Bo-
' Jic,o,arc the Min ificrs of DiviJu· Yriflice,and in their
' \' 1lit,; lend u~ buziJ.11or uoxium Vapours according
' to the Ddip1s of Prondcncc; That the~ may ha\·c
: brought, ~1,dm:iy 11111 bring tibout the great Cat~-
1\rophc ot our Syfiem ; and, That thev may be the
' J-lab1t:tt:o:io• .111:im,z/,in a St;ltc of Pmz;jl'Jncnt,
whi~~1
' if
 Philofopher. 4;
'TheChriftian.
' if it did not look too notional, there are many Ar-
t guments to render not improbable.' -
And elfewhere: ' 'Tis mofl: likely, they are the
c Minifiers of Divine Jufiice, fending baneful Steams,
c from their long Trains, upon the Planets they come
" nigh. However, from them we may learn, that the
c Divine Vengeance may find a Seat for the Prmifhment
' of his difobedient Creatures, without being put to
~ the expence of a New Creation.'
,r. When I fee a vafr Comet, blazing and rolling
about the unmeaforable .IE,ther, I will think;·
' Who can tell, but I now fee a wicked World
" made a _fiery0'Ven-in the 'rime of the Anger of GOD!
" '!'he Lordfwallov.:ingthem iepin his Wrath, and the Fire
~ devouring them !
. ' What prodigious Mifchief and Ruin might fuch
' a Ball of Confujionbring upon our finful Globe, if the
~ Great GOD order its Approach to us !
' How happy they, that are in the Favour and
' Friendfhip of that Glorious Lord, who kno-u:show
c to deliver the Pious out of Difire!fes, and referue the
' Unjuflfor a Punifhment of a Day rf'Judgment!
-Si fraElus illabaturOrbfr,
lmpavidum ferient Ruin,z.

APPENDIX. OfHiAT:

W E ihould be forgetful, if we take our leave of

the HeavenlyBodies, and fay nothing of Heat,
whereof they have fo much among them.
To the Heat of Bodies it is requifite, that the fmall
Parts of it be agitated with much Vehemence and
Rapidity ; and that the Determinations of the infcn-
ftble Corpufcles thus agitated be alfo very various; and
that likewife the variouOy agitated Particlc_s be _fo
fmall, as generally [peaking to be fingly infenftble: tor
\lnlefs they be exceeding fine, they cannot pcnctr~tc
read"1ly
46 <The
Chrijlian Philofopher
.
readil}' into the Pores or contig uous Bodies, ::tud fo
warm or burn t hem.
The Op eratio n of Ha1t up on ou r Senfes, the Rc-
fult of whic h we commonly call He,u, is uCually eft i-
rnate d by its R elation to th e Organ s of our Feeling.
If t he M otion of t he fmall Pa rt s be mor e languid in
t he ObjeElt han it is in t he Sentient, we pronounce the
B ody co _be cold! b~t if it be more viole~t in the Ob-
je£1 tha n Ill the .)d1t1e;zt,we fay the Body 1s hot.
T he lnt,,ij;;cfs of Heat (as of Light) always is as the
D <'njityof the Rays, or Particles of Fire, that occafion
it ; and rhisD,nfity is as the Diflancefrom the radiating
Point reciproc~1lly. ,
D r. Sime has p ublii h ed furprizing Exp eriments, of
producing Fire and Flmne, from the bar e :Mixture of
t wo Liquors aflwzlly cold; a vegernb le O il, and a com-
pound ~pirit of N itre.
The incr ed ibl e Forc e of B 1mzing-Gln.ffes- !
A burning C on care , made at L uface. in Germany,
near three L;ipfickElls in D iamet er, made of a Copper--
Plate, fcarce twice as thi ck as the Back of a common
K nife; makes \ Vood in t he Hcus (which is two Ells
oft) co tfamc in a momen t ; and \Va ter in an earthen Pot
boil in-mediately: Tiil th ree Inches t hick, to be melt-
ed qu ite through in t hree M inutl ~; a Plat e of Iron to
be prcfcntly red-hot , and ,·cry quickly per forated: it
, \ ill nm in fi,·c or fix M inutes; T iles, and Slates
nnd i:artlu:n Potfhcard<;, melt in a litt le t ime, and rui~
imo Gia(.,; :1 Clod of Earth turns into a greenifhGlaft.
M r. 'tfihii nhnus makes Conn~x Burnina-Glaflcs of
t hree or tour Fo nt Diameter, th e Fvcus at ~he D ifhnce
of rnchc root D .nmctcr ; which in a moment vitrify
T ile~, and ~!nrcs, and Pumice -Stones , and earthen
\ dlrlc; ; 1rdt :ill rdinous T hings under \Vater; melt
all i\k tal~ in a moment , and G~ld itfelf is turned into
G/,zfi of a purple Colour: O f fuch cfficncy arc the
Rmr, when firip'd of an rmFlious11Iattc-1 , wh ich we
ma} fup pofo thL·n~sc1:crally clothe d w irh.
,r. ''The
 'I'heChrijfianPhilofoph~r. 47
1f. The antient Perfians were the \ Vor01ippers of
C

the Fire: But I will abhor the ir Fire-Places. The

' Indians of my Countr y, while unchr ifiianized, con-
' eluded from the firange Effects of the Fire, It muft
' be a God. I will adore ' the Glorious GOD that
' made the Fire. Great GOD, I blefs th ee for t he Be-
, nefits, which thy Creatures, and I among them, re-
, ceive by the Fire, which is fetch'dft om Heaven unto
us. May my Z eal for thy Service be always kept
' boilingin the Heat proper for it.
' Since Fire is thus irrefi.frible, and Heat fo infup-
portable, furely I fhould beware of that Imp iet y,
which will expofe _me to the Revenges of GOD.
Who can d7.l.'e!l with fuch a devouringFire, fuch ever-
lafiing Burnings? My GOD, be not thou unto me
a ConfumingFire. My GOD, who can abide the Heat
of thine Anger!'
I have feen a Book of Devotion; ent itl ed, Chi-ifl ia-
us per lgnem; or, A Difciple warming himfelf, and
wning his Lord. It is there actually evident, and
performed, That this one Object, the Fire on the
Hearth, will afford a whole Book-fuUof profitable Co11-
templations.

ES S A Y XI. Of the Moo N.

W E are now coming down unto our T erraqueous

Globe. The Moo N, a fort of Sate/lit unto th is
Globe, falutes us in our \Vay. Paying an Homage t o
none but her Glor ious Maker, we will now behold her
walking in her Brightnefs.
What fhall we th ink of the Protuberant Parts ob-
ferved on that Celcfrial Body? "\Vhat of the Round
Hollows, like Pits or \:Vclls of fcr eral M agnitudes ,
.whichhave been formerly mifiaken for 111u1mtai11s?
The Periodical Revolut ion of th e Moon, in refe-
rence to the Fixed Stars, accord in!?; t o :Mr. Flmnjlerzd,
js z7 Da ys, 7 Hours, 43 Min mes; 7 Seconds. I
11
48 'TheChr~ftianPhilofopher.
In the fame Space, ,,·ith a fira • ge Correfponde11ce
of the two Motions, it rerolres the fame way abour
irs own Axir; by which the fame Side is always cx-
pofed unto our tight. But becaufe in the Space of :r
Periodical :Month, the Earth is alfo with this her Sa-
tellit, mored on almofi an entire Sign, the lvfooncan't:
yet come to a new Conjunction with the Sun, bur
wants 2 Days, 5 Hours of it ; which mufr be paffed'
before the entire Lunation will be orer, and before the ,
l\foon has exh ibite d all her Phafes. Thefc 2 D ays
5 Hours, added unto the Periodical Month, make
the Sprodical0;:e; which is 29 Days, 12 Hours, and
!· of an Hour.
Thofc Libratiom of the Moon's Body, which occa-
fion that the Hemifphere expofed unto our Sight is
not always exactly and precifcly the fame, arife from
the Excentricity of the Moon's Orbit, and from the
Perturbations it fuffors by the Sun's Attraction, and
from the Obliquity of the Axis of the Diurnal Rota-
t ion of the Moon's own Orbit. \Vithout the Know-
Jcdoe of thefc Things, the Phancmena of the Moon
wo~ld be inexplicable : but upon the Confideration of
thcfe, they arc very demonfirable.
'Tis very furc, that although it be almo!l: the
fame Face which the !1!0011 turns ' to the Earth, yet it
j-, not entirely fa. There is a Libratory!llutiou, whence
it comes to p::ifs, that fometimcs the more Eanern and
\Vdl:crn Parts of it, fometimcs the more Northern
and Southern appear altern::ncly.
Acc ording to Sir If.we 1V,wtcu, the mean D i{bncc
of the !lfoon from the Earth, is about 60 Semidiamc-
rcrs of the Enrrh ; or nbout '.l.4,000 En~lifh M iles.
Tl. e n·c:m D :ameter of the /lfuoll is 3'2 .Minutes, •
1 z Secondc;; as the S11u'sis 3 1 ~linuccs, 27 Seconds.
The D<1f:tyof the l\[1,011, to ti.at of the Earth, he
conclude" to he nearly a\ 9 to 5. And the ~fafs
of Matter in the /lfcw, to th:lt ot' the Earth, to be
ne: rly as 1 to :C .
The'
 T/J"C
Chriflian Philefopher. 49
The !Yloonhath properly no Atmofp hm , fuch as be-
lo11gs to our Earth, of Clouds, \Vinds, Thunders ;
her Face is always clear, and by our Telefcopes we
can fee the Sun's Light pafs regularly and uniformly>
from one mountainous Place to another.
The Light of the Moon reflected on us, is of fuch
a Weaknefs, that even in the Full-Jl.,foon,it will b~
b rought by no Burning-Gla[s to afford the leail De-
gree of Heat. .The Rays have their Force decreafed>
at leafi: as the Square of their Difiance. The Force
of th'e Sun's Rays reflected unto us from the Moon,
to thofe that come to us directly, is decreafed, at
lea!l: i11 proportion of the Square of the Moon's Pi-
fiance from the Earth, to the Square of the Moon's Se-
midiameter. And by Calculation it will bt found,
That the Light of the Muon brought hither, will be
in force but the Fifty Thuufnndth Part of what comes
hither directly from the Sun.
Dr. Hook finds, That the Quai1tity of Light 'which
falls on the Hemifphere of the Full-Moon, is rarefied
into a Sphere about 288 greater in D iameter than the
Moon, before it arrive to us. Confequently, th e
Moon's Light is 104,368 times w~aker than the Smi's;
and it would require 104,368 FuUJ.l',foonsto give a
Light equal t1nto that of the Sun at N 0011.
'There is a Secondary Light of the l\;/oon ; that is to
fay, the obfcure Part of the Moon appears like to
]cindled Afhes, jull before and after the Change. This
is the Sun's Ra)'S reflected from the bright He1i1ifpherc
of the Earth, to the dark Parts of the :Muon ; and
thence again refl~cted unto the Earth, <leftitute of the
Light of the Sun. This is by 'Jacquet and Zu cchim
more largely difcour[ed on. \Vhen the l'rloon is at
Changeto us, the Earth is at Full to the A1oon; and
the Light of the Earth is about fiti:ccn times greater
than that of the li,'l.0011. The Moou alfo being fo little,
as not to obfcure above a twent ieth Part of the E m th,
it may be fuppofcd that th e Light from t he Enrth
E n1~1y
 50 Chriftian Philofopher.
CJ7Je
111:iy rcnJcr her a litt le vif1ble t o us e, en in Salm· E e~
/,j}t'J.
1 he ll!uoil is ulmoll: one Sem idia mct er of the Earth
neare r t o us, when {he is in t he /11n idirm, than whe n
!he is n igh the Horiz..w. Bue why dot h fh c t he n ap- ·
pear b igger to ou r figh t \\' he n ih e is nig h th e Ho;·iz..o
n,
t han \\ hen fhe is in t he l't!eridimz? D r. !Val1isagree ~
with D e, Cams in t he Solution : the H'ob zonta l Af oon
1s ca pab le of bei ng compared wi th many i~t en ·ening -
O bjcas , H Ills, l' reeS', and· the like; 1;>.u t the Jvleri..,,
dian l\,f ociz'hath noth ing to b_ecomp ared' , vith . .
T ho clie ftlvou, as w ell as the Earth , an d pr obably
all "the Plu 1~e,ts, be of a F igure oblatelyJpherio.lica l, t hat
is to ~1)'., .h:11.:ingits J?i~mft\r a_t the Jequ,!tri1·,. lon~c r
than its 1\x!s; yet t he Excels o_t'- th e .tEqua t c-r1al• D iq--;
mete,r in lier i~ fo inconlide rab le, that foe 1'!1..1;;:·
nougti p:if5 for a G lob'c. And per ha ps t~.i.s ·altn?~
wcH ~=
fpberical Figure of the Jllion 1110.ybe the Rerult t'f her
Oo\\ ).fotion round her Axis; for Jupite;•, which mov,es
t he fwifrcll of any round its Axis, is otJ~1. F igurc n1orc
c' I u th an any ot her Planet.
;:.! obf crr e) , If our 11foouwere bigger , or
Dr . Che.,1
rn:.1rcr th e E.1rth, or it we had more than one, w e
lliot.l ll be C\ cry now and then in hazar~ of bei ng
dnm ned . A l' d if our pr efenc /\[ton were Ids, or at a
.,.rc.1~l... Jifbncl', or it t here were none at all, we
f11,,u\l be in ha,a rd of being fiifled with the ba11~ ful
::-i:c:umo~·a f1a~11~ g O cea n. It is e\·idenr our Sa-
1ri11
.. i.-.11"<Ll:\\ itdy co'nrri\ cd for ou~-Purpofcs,- bJ' thee,
() ,,, C,a,i(1 u GOD 1

• 1 l' i11<.u11,r.. 1b' c S' r {{.1,1c

N t:W lOil ha " ::it length
1 : ' • ·ll t hc \ \'o r!,! \\ ith a Tl: vry of the Jtfoo11 , which
l. , I · .., t>d tha t \\ 1i:c:1 all for mer Ai1ronomcrs
t11< t it:' 1 11i:npofli bk.
II . , in 11..:rfo[rion , and wrote fince
,, , i1.td C i.tilt.·
1·. • ,1 1r \ f 1p~ o~ rl1 • 11! n, taken bv H.-:.elius ::md
R · · 1· ; b ut Ii ' c ,t.\l o!,t't.·1-rc no s:,,u and Rivers
t 1 •• It i:. .Mu a:·slic,l, T bt if o.ny fuch \\ere there ,
they
 'Ib~.- P~ilofopher; 5r
C,hr.iflian.
1
they could notbut -raife a mighty A(mofphere, and fuch
Clouds as, mu.11.needs darken ·the Body cf the Muon,
fometimes_.,in1.one part, fometim.es in anoth~r; They
carry 01~ theii- Jp(ercnces ; · if no T,Vatersin, _the Moon,
then there . ·are no'Piants, nor Animals, nor 11lfen. A-
bout the C9nfl:.itutioJ1.of this Quep1 of the Night, there
feems a µeccffiry for us to rpnain ,in the dark! , .
. Fo.r·Mr,.V~rham has cqnfoted H11geniuswith his own
Gla./fes, and has, detnonfltated, that ·there · are · great
C<;>lleet:ious.ofJJi,,terrin .the M 1on, and ~y confequenc~
R1vers, •and;V.apours, and ·Air; . ·and 111 a word, a
confiderable Apparatus for Htzbitation. • · ... ' .
• ' But by. :what Creatures :inhabited? A Difficulty
this, that cannot be folved without Re'l.lelation.
, · ,r. ' My G,OD,. I blefs thee for that Lumin~ry, by
which we have the uncomfortable Darknefs of our
~ 'Night fo, much abated ! That Luminary, the Influ-
c erices whereof. have fuch a part in the Flux and Re-
c flux of our Seas; without which we fhould be very
' miferable ! That Luminary, whofe Influences are fo
' fenfibly .felt j1) the Growtl:i of ~ur Vegetables, and our
' Animals!'
- The(e are fome of the Songs, which GOD, the /!,la-
ker 'ofus:bouh,' ,has given me in ,the Night.
The.Influences .of the ,Woonupon Sublunary Bodies,
3\.-every wonderful. An Hiflorj of them is yet among
the Defiderma, of our Philofophy. \Vith my confent,
he !hall merit , more than the Title of a Rabbi Solomon
1archi, who gives it unto us. Dr. Grew, in his Cofmo-
logia, has enumerated more than a dozen remarkable
-Headsof Ej/e[fr, and MQtions,and Change;-in the \Vorld ,
·over which the Moon has a fenfible Dominion. O ur
-Limaticks arc not the only Infianccs. Our H1tibandmc;l
·will multiply the Infl:ances upon us, till they make a
·Volume, whic~ neither a C ltrmella, nor a 7cm T11 ffer
have reached unto. The Gcwgr:sof my Ne ighbour -
hood jufl: now furnifl1 me with two Infianc r ~, wh icl_1
b:we in them fomething that is notable . 1t our Che)-
E:::. · 1/Ut-
52, rrheChrijlianPhilofopher~
,wt-1'Vood,whereof we fomctimcs make our Fuel,
fcll'd while the /ll oon is 'l.l'axing, it will fo fparkle in
t he Fire, that there {hall be no fitting by it in fafety.
If it be cut while the Moon is waning, there will be no
foch Inco11,·cnicnce. Moreorer, we find, whatever
'timber we cut, in two !Vanes of the Moon in ~ Year,
the 1Vauein Auguft, and the Wane in Felnum-y,will be
for ever free from Worms ; no Worms will ever breed
in it. What :Monfieur And,·y relates, confirming the
Obfcn·ation of BoreUus, about the Succefs of Medi-
c ines for Wonns in Human Bodies, taken in the Wane
of the Moon, is wonderful.
' I am fore, to be under fuch InAuences of the
' lvloon, as to fee the Great GOD managing many of
' his Gracious Intentions by fuch an lnftrmnent; and
' to be awakened to his Praifes in the Night, when we
' fee the ftloon walkhzg in her Brigbmefs; would riot be
' a Lunacy, that the mo!l Rational of Men could be
' ~lihamed of.'

ESSAY XII. Of the RA1N~

W E arc now coming down into our Atmofphere:

Herc we arc quickly furroundcd with Cloud,.
And here , vc qu ickly find ourfeh·es in the midfr of
that R.ziu, wh ereof the Great G O,D, in his Book, fo
<)ften claims the G/01J of being the Maker and Giver.
The Rain is \Yater by the Heat of the Sun diYided
into , ery finall and i1wifiblcParts; which afccnding
in the Air, till it encounte rs w ith the Cold there, is by
<icgn•cc;eondcnfcJ into Cloudr, and thence defcends in
D, opt. A M,jl is a multirndt.: of little, but folid Glo-
bu les; which therefore dt.:frend. A Claudis a Con-
P,l'riec;0f little, but ccnca-:•e G lobules; which therefore
nl<.:~'JhlUJ~to that ht.:ight, wherein they are of equal
"l'1ght " 1th the Air, where they remain fufpended,
till hy a M otion in the Air ther arc broken: and fo
.
tlit•\". L~)Jll<.' llo,, 11in Dr PI,· either fmallcr , as in a .!11zifl;
or
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
orbigger, when many of them run together, as in a
Rain.
Tho the Rain be much of it exhaled from the Salt-
'sea, yet by this Natural DiftiUation,'tis rendred frc!h
and drinkable to a degree, which hardly any Artificial
DiftiUationof ours has yet effecl:cd.
The Cloudsare fo carried about by the \Vinds, as to
be fo equallydifperfed, that no part of the Earth wants
convenient Showers, unlefs when it pleafes GOD,
for the Punilhment of a finful People, to withhold
Rain, by a fpecial Interpofition of his Providence :
Or, if any Land wants Rain, they have a Supply fome
other way; as in the Land of Egypt, wherein little
Rain falls, there is an abundant recompence made for
that want, by the annual Overflowing of the Rirer.
Mr.Ray well obferves, That this Difiribution pro-
claims the Providence of GOD, .ind is from a Di•vine
Difpojition. Without this, there would be either de-
folating Floods,or fuch D,oughts as that of yprus, in
which no Rain fell for thirty Years together, and the
Ifiand was deferted, in the Reign of Cunftantine. The
gradu{ZlFalling of the Rain by Drops, is an admirable
Accommodation of it to the Intention of watering
the Earth. 'Tis the be!l: way imaginable. If it
:fhould fall in a continualStream, like a River, every
thing would be va!l:ly incommoded with it. ·
,r.\,Vhen GOD gives Rain from Heaven, he will
give alfo fruitful Seafonsin our Minds, if they be there-
by led to due Acknowledgments of him. 'Twill be-
fpeak, 'twill procure, the richefl: Showers of _Bleffings
upon us. ' How feafonable will it be for us now
' humbly to acknowledge the U1'itnefs, which our
' GOD gi\'CS us of his Power and Goodnefs ! To fee
' the Paths of GOD in the Clouds which drop Fatnefa
' upon us! 'To wilh for thofe Influences of Hea\'eJJ,
' which may come upon ourfelves like Rain upon the
' Grafs, ns the Showers that water the Earth, and rai11
~ flown R'ighteoufuefs
upon the World! To refolv~,up-
E ~ ou
5+ 'I'he ChnjlianPhi/ofpphe~
rn an Imirnnon or our merciful GOP, .who Je~di
' R,1i;zupw t/,eJ11fl, a;1.ltl:e Un11ifl! To fend up our
' ))dire~, thac ,, c 1rny not be like the Earth, wbic/J
' d1i;zkr in the Rai;z th,u <Omerojien upon it, but bears
• Thorns and Britlrs, ,·ejeEteJ,and nigh 1/JltO cur(tng! In
' tine, To glor:fy our GOD with Confeffions of this ··
' importance; C1rn the Heavms give Slxni:ers? Art not
' tl.011le, 0 Lord cur God? Therefore~.xewill ·u:ait 11p1m
' tl-u ; far t/,011 hajl made a.1 of thefe things.'
'The Archbifhop of Cambra_y £hall exprcfs our Sen-
timents. ' If I lift up my Eyes, I perceive in the
' Clouds that fly a.bo,·c us, a {urt t f hanging Seas,
' that fcn·c to temper the Air, break the fiery Rays
' of the Sun, and water the Earrh "hen it is too dry.
' \V hat Hand wa,; able to h:mg on:r our Ht·a<lsrhofe
' great R eferv:itorics of \Vatcrs ! \Vhat Hand takes
' care ne\-cr to kt chem faII, but in moderate
' Showers!'

ES S A Y XIII. Of the R ow.

A 1.N ;n.

· ;\ f TE R we h:l\'c gi\'cn the common D efinition

.1"-\. of it, Arws C<rlejlh,qui fit ex SolisLuce, in Nt i-
l, 111,:,rz;·it,1J11:p1jitmn& tm1pe;·atam,.fede;,;Di amctroSoli
ipji, i11,,11n·w:e ac i1:cidmt,·,pluviofo tempcre; and fhou.ld
add more than there be Colom·si,1 the Rainbow, and
"ith the modc,:n Correftions of anticm Errors, pro-
ceed to the D1lkrcnccs between the Sular Iris and the
f 11 ,.-, and between the bis and the Halo.: we hare
yet m:i<lc fo little Progrds i11real and certain Eno-r.L"-
1,11,e, tl~..t \\ • fl1ould be left after all, with the Sub-
jl'Ci < f c,ur D1fcourfc,flill in tl·e Clouds.
But \\ c arc call :d upon, To cou(tder tl-e ·v.:o;;drom
TVirr!r ~f Ci .I, :llld particularly that, wherein /Je
c,1:ift1tie Ligl:t cf his Ckzd to µi11e, that is co fay, his
R 1111b11·.i.·.
A fop )m Clcrg, •11:111 of Sralato, in a Book D e R,1-
1.7Lu.if, written before the former Century,
dii; Vif111
began
 %~C.,~rift_ian
· PhilofoP.~C[-
5,
began mathematically to defcribe ho, v the interiourBow
of the hJ.s is formed in roup_dDr ops of . Rain., by a
RefraB:ion of the Sun's .Light, and one Reflection be-
nveen them ; and the Exteriour by two Refra:6:ions,
and t.y:o forts of Refleccions between them, ,in each
,Drop of,:VVater. · -1 •
Des Cnrti!S( who · don't ufe to 9ctray his 'futors)
took the Bints from Antonius de Dominis, ai1d went on
mathematicali'y,and ,vith much , dcmonfiration: to give
us a Theory of the Iris, fro1n the Laws. of ~ef,aflion,
which lucid Rays do fufl-erin paffing through diapha-
nous Bodies. . He clearly' dcmonfirated the Primary lrii
to be only the Sun's Image, reijeB:ed from the concm·e
Surtaces ~of an innumerable Quantity of fm1all fpheri-
cal Drops · of falling Raii1; with this neceffary Cir-
cumfrance, '.That thofe·Rays which fell on the Ob}eccs, •
parallel to each other, ihquld _not afrer one ReAetl:ion,
and two Refractions, (~o wit, at going inro the Drop,
and coming out again) be difperfed, or m~de to di-
verge, but come back again alfo to the Eye, parallel to
each other. The Secondary Iris, he fuppofes proq.uced
by thofe Rays of the Sun, which fall mo~e obliquely,
but after' the fame manner as before : only in thcfe
there are two RcAections, · byfore the Sml's Rays, re-
fracted a fecond time, and tending towards the Eye
in a parallel Pofition, can · get out from the qqueous
Globules. · ;.,-.
The acute and accurate Mr. Halleycomes after the
French Philofopher, and fhows how the Carte.ftan-Pro-
blems were more eaftly folved, than the Author him-
felf imagin' d. He fuows how to determine the An-
gle, by which the Iris is difiant from the oppoftte
Point of the Sun ; and the Ratio of the Refraction be-
ing given geometrically,or 'Viceverfa, the Iris being gi-.
ven, to determine the refratl:ive Power of the Liquor,
And he goes on to cultivate the Subject with the In- _
genuitr proper to fo accompli01'd a G~ntlema1~.

E4
56 TheChrijlian Philofopber.
But then comes t he adm irable Sir Jfnnc N e-u. ·to11~
wh om \\ c now ,,·cntur c to call the PerpetualDiElator of
t he learned \,\'orld, in the Pri;zciplu of Natura l Philo-
(ophy; and thap whom, there has not yet fhone among
·M ankind a more fagacious R cafoner upon the Laws
of Maur e. This rare .Perfon, in his incomparab le
Treatife of Opticks, has yet further explained the Ph~-
1wmen a of the Rainbow; and has not only {hown how
t he Bow is made, but how the Colours (whereof An -
t iquity ma<lc but Tln-ee)arc formed; how t he R ays
do {lrikc our ' Senfc with the Cdours, in t he O rder
which is required by their D l!grees of R efrmzgibility,in
the Progrcfs from the In fale of the Bow to t he O ut-
fide: the Violet, t he Indigo, the Blu~, the Green, t he
Tcl'vu·, t he Orange, and the R ed.
In a ·Book lately publi lh cd at Norimberg, in:itle d,
T f,aumamiadis Thaumafia, which has not yet reached
A merica; rh9 skilful Autho r lays togeth er whate,· er
i:. to be found upon this Argument, among the mo-
dern, as ,veil as the ant icnt \Vr itcrs .
It is good A <h-icegi,·en by the Son of Sirach; Look
t1poutU Rai11l ·ow, and praife Him that made it.
The Gofpcl of the Rainb ow, offered by F1Jtfchiur.
S,c ubi Ca:liflem fuLoriri aJfpexerisA ma n,
Q:10Ca:l:mz 111e/i11s;1o
u !11eteoron,babet :
Jilt•<i111dem varios ducem t N :ibeCulo; ·es,
110gm eri wfpi,iuu.lus adefl.
J!mn.1.
Jlu;1cita c~nfpiciar Pigum amorif,
, f cu '".Jeri
A. olimfaEli Ja:dtris r{lo/ll m1or.
Q_·,ul D :us omnip,ten, 1V c.1hf111Eloco/ltulit ipji,
Se Jn-;;,11urum toti11sOrbis Opus. ·
.'\'a p,,p,ffuru m f.,1-mefum F/11111 i11i)Uuda
f:,m J:.erat a;::e']Uid,m.
Jri JJ..,111:1:em

E1:7J
ifhcd :
\\'hen you di(ccrn the BC':JJof H.·m •m co rife;
c T he lrighuy!/11<1e
cr there falutcs your Eyes:
' Producing
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher~ 57
' Producing various Colours on the Cloud,
' Mankind beholds it, and furvives the Flood.
c Behold it, Sirs, a Sign of Heavenly Love,
' And of a Covenant made by GOD above:
~ Almighty GOD did by that Sign engage
' To keep his Noah's World from Age to Age.
' 'Tis thus engag' d, GOD will no more employ_
~. Deep Waters, as of old, Men to defiroy.

The Halo is of fo near kindred unto the Rainbow~

that it claims a mention with it: A Circle that fur-
r~unds the Sun, or the Moon, (or a Stas;) fometimes
3
tis coloured like a Rainbow. According to Sir Jfaac
Newton, it arifes from the Sun's or Moon's fhining
through a thin Cloud, confifting of Globules of Hail
or Water, all of the fame Size. Mr. Huygensconceives
it formed by fmall round Grains of a kind of Hail,
made up of two Parts ; one of which is opake, and
inclofed in the other, which is tranfparent. The fame
way he accounts for the P{lrhelia. Only there he ap-
prehends, that the icy Grains are of an oblong Figure,
and rounding at the Ends like Cylinders, with round
convex Tops.
,r.May we look upon the Rainbow, and praife Him
that made it! My Readers, will you give me leave
to teach you the Ufa of the Bow ? Mercertells us, the
religious ']1:wsin many places, upon the appearance of
a Rainbow, go forth and fall down, and confefs their
Sins, and own themfelves worthy to be drowned with
a Flood for them. To us Chrifiiam, our Lord fays>·
What do you more tban they? ' As the fight of the
' Rainbowfuould bring to remembrance, What a wojid,
~ what a fe{lrfulDefolation,oncecamettpona wickedWorld>
' wbofe Foundationwas overfiown with a Flood! So
' the SacramentalImportance,now inO:amped by the
~ Will of GOD upon the Rainbow, fuould be acknow-
' ledged with us. It fhould be confidered as a Sign
! ~nd a Sea! of a Co7ienant,which the Great GOD
~ has
 58 ([beChriftian P~ilojopher.
• has n,nde, That He will not have thi, World, tqoug h
• a {lntul one, to be dru-u:ned an)' mere; nor his Church
' in the \Vorld. Upo11 the V)~w of tile admirable
' ,llt::teor,how proper this D oxology ? Ble.lf.J be our
' G,·,ici<ms,aud lllr:niful, tlild L,ng-J,eferingLor~; .'LJ..•
' hati, fv:orn, that tie IVitters of Noah foaU go on.11:7 the
' Earth no mlre! B·1t t11en, how can we forgct•the
' Glorious C HRI ST, who is our Head in the Cove-
' nant; and about whofe Head there has been the ap-
• pcarance of a Rnit:bow, in the Vifions of h~s;Pro-
c phcts, bctokenmg our Dcpendance upon H:m for all
' our Prefcrvations ! But then wc are not excufcd
' from, but rather excited to thcfo forrhcr Thsrnghts
' on this occ.1.fivn: That though,a .;.,•ate1J Flood, -u:l:ich
c may dro,i.:n the vVorld, i1 JlOmore to be J~ared~ Jft tl.rre
' is a fiery Flood,for the Depredarionsv.:he,-eoEq mf{era-
' bfr Wvdd is g,owing /;or;-ibl;· comluflible. \Ye are to
' expca,
' - -- · ---Ajfore Tmzpus
' Q!_lo/I/are, quo Tel/us, C(Jrrepwque
&gia Cxli
Ardeat, & l\fundi Moles operofalaboret.'

ESSAY XIV. Of tbe S :Now_.-

0 F the Snv"JJ,there are many ·Curio!itics ob(er·,·cd

by the excellent Dr. Gr,.:J.
It is obfcrn:d by him, as well as by Des Cartes, and
Dr. Hock, That ,·ery many Parts of the Snrn.J.• arc of a
rr.ofl rrgul:tr Figure; they arc generally fo m::myRow-
clc;, or Scare;of fix Pvi11t1,being as real, as perfccl-, as
tranfp:trcnt Ice, as any one may fee upon a Vcllel of
\Vatcr: On each of which fix Poiilu, there are fet
o~her co!i'atmzlPointr, and thofc al ways nt the fame
Anglcc; ac; arc the q1a;n Points themfch·cs.
Thcfc arc of t1·,crs l\fagnm1dcs; many arc l~rge
net fair, but fomc arc rcry minute.

Among
(
 'T.&e
9btJft.iari
Pj;il.ofoph.er.
59
Among thefe, 'i:here .are found fome irregular ~nes,
which are but Fragmentsof the regula r. But iomc
feem ,co have 19ft. th .eir original Re gular it y, not by
·beii1g broken, ..but by various v..-inds, firfr gently
thaw'cl, and then froze into fuch i_rregular Clumpers
again.
A fauwyClo.ud Jeems . then tQ be an infinite Mafs Qf
Icicles regularly figured; not fo much as one of t he
many Millions being irregular. - _A Cloud of Vap ours
is gathered into Drops; the Drops forthw ith defcend.
On the Defcent they pafs through a foftU7ind t hat
freezes them, or a cold Region of the Air, by wh ich
each Drop is immediately froze intQ an Icicle, that
fhoots forth into fevcral ·Siiri(Cfrom the Center. But
frill _continuing _their Defcent, and meeting with fqme
fprinkling little Gales ·of a warmer Air, or in their
continual Motion or \,Vafr~ge ,to _and fro, touch ing
'upon each other; fome are a little thaw'd, blunted,
, fr9fl:ed, clump~r'd ;_ ot!1ers broken: but t he mcfl:
hank'd and clung .IP _feyeral Parcels _together, wh ich
we caU Flakes uj Snow.
· It.fhould (eep-,.;that every D,op.if Rain contains in
h fome fpirituous Particles. Thefe · meet ing in t he
Def cent, with ·pthers !)fan acido-falinous Nature, the
fpirirnous ,Parts are apprehended by them, and wi th
thofe th~ watery ; and fo the whole Drop is fixed.,
but frill according to the Energy of the fp1rituous, as
the Pencil, and the determinate Poffibility of the faline
Parts, as a Ruler, into ·a little Star.
Though the Snow feem foft,yet it is truly hard ;
it is Jee: but the Sofinefs of it is from th is; Up ,)n t he
firfr touch of the Finger on the fharp Edges, it tha\\·s
immediately ; the Points would e!fe pierce the Fin gers
like fo many Lancets.
Again, though the S 1101J be tru e Ice, and fo hard .
and fo denfe a Body, yet it is very light: Th is is be-
caufe of t he extreme Thiimefs of each Icicle, in compa-
rifon of the Breadth. As Gold, though t he moil pon-
derous
60 'TheChriftian Philofopher
~
derous of all Bodies, beaten into Leaves, rides on the
!call Breath of Air.
\Ve read of Heaven giving Snow like Wool. I have
known it giw a Snow of Wool. In a Town of New-
England, called Fairfield, in a bitter foowy Nigh t,
there fell a QEantity of Snow, which covered a large
frozen Pond, but of fuch a woollenConftfrcnce, that it
can be called nothing but lf7ool. I have a ~ antity of ,
it, that has been thefc many Ycars lying by me. i
Res admirmrdaNix, & optimarum Rerum in JacroSer-
111011e Synbo/um: 'Tis the Expreffion of the pious and
learned Mr. Gale.
~f.' \Vhen we fee the Snow, that comesdov.:nfrom
' Hea~"m, and retrmzrnot thither, but ·waters the Earth,
' and makes it bringfo11h and bud; we cannot but hope,
' that the \Vord of our G OD , which comes like it,
' will continue v,:irh us, an~ acco11plifhthe Int ent ions ;
' of it. ·
' \ Vhercof one, upon the Soul of thy Servant, 0
c my GOD! is, to produce my D efires, That my Sins,
' which hm·e been like Scarlet, may become white like
' Suow, in thy free and full Pardon of them. 0 wafh
' me i11the Blood <f my Sa-z1iour,and I jhall be whiter than
' the Snow! But, Lord, let a \Vork of real Sanclifica-
, tion, at the fame time upon me, render me purer tbr,n
c: t l:e Snow ! ' '

ESSAY XV. Qf tbe H A1 L.

'T ISGutr.-zPluvitt acerrimofrigore congelata.
Hail is \'cry often a Concomitant of ThzmJer
and L~<r,ht1:i11g.'Tis well known, as D r. 1-Va/lisob-
frn ·cs, That in our A,·,ificial Cong.elations,
a M ixture of
Suow and Nit re, or CH'n common Snit, will cauft: a very
fudden Congcbtion ot \\"mer. Now the fame in the
Clouds mar caufo / ~Stoner; and the rat her, becaufc
not only in fomc th:.it arc prodigiouOy great, but alfo
!!l common JJ.zil-Sz.;.eJ,thcr~ fccms to be fomothing
liko
 rhe ChriflianPhilofopher. 61 1

like ·snow rather than Jee, in the midfl: of them. The

large Hai/...Stones, that weigh half or three quarters of
a Pound, by the Violence of their Fall manifefi: that
they have defcended from a confiderable height. And
though perhap,s in their fide Concretion, their Bulk
might not exceed the moderate Size of the common
ii; yet in their long defcent, if the Medium through .
which they fell, were alike inclined unto Congelation,
hey might receive a great Acceffion to their Bulk, by
erhaps many of them coalefcing and incorporating
~nto one;'.
I ,r.'Worfe than Egyptiansthey, whom an Hail-Storm
f will not caufe to fear the Word of the Lord. The ir-
L refiflibleJudgments of GOD are fometimes cornpar' d
l unto Hail-Storm.r,and great Hail-Stones. Thefe things
L come down upon the ·world ·with that Voice, 'Irem-
, ble to be in ill Terms with a GOD, -whowith a Tempe.ft
of Hail, and a deflroyingStorm, can immediatelycrufh all
that is oppofedunto him.'
Of all the Meteors,both the fiery and the watery, _the
oet has well acknowledged ;
Qui Meteora videt liquidoradiantia Crelo~
Hie '1.lidet
/Eterni faEla ftupenda Dei.
· Who fees bright Meteorsin the liquid Skies,
. Has the great \.Yorks of GOD before his Eyes;

Chriflian,take the Advice; ['tis honefl:Frytfchim's.]

~Rumpe Moras, Meteoraquefiifpice Crtli.
/!la aliquid Jemperquo movearishabent.

ES SAY XVI. Of the TH u N D ER and

L I G I! T N I N G.
IS powerful Thunder, whu um underfland ! Yet
. our Philofophy will a little cry to fee and fay
omething of it.
~ he
6v %e ChriflianPhilofophe
,-..-
The Account of Thzmdei-, gi\:en by Dr. Hok, is
t his. T he Atmof phcrc of th a Earth abounds _ with
;1itrullf Pnrtider of a fpiriruou,; nature, which are :
e\ cry \\ here carr ied along ,vith ,it. Be!idcs which fort
of •Particle s, t here arc alfo others raifcd up int~ •the
A, r, wh ich may be fomewhat of the Nature of ful-
phurcous, and uuEliom, a~d other combufiible ~odies .
\\' e fee Sp irit of iVmc, ot T urpentine, of Camphire,•and
almoll all ot her combufi ible Bod ies, will by Heat_be
rllre ricd int o t he Fotm of A fr , or Smoke,and be raifed
u p into the Air. All t hefc, if they have a fufficient
D ~gree of Hei1t, will' ~m ch Fire, and be turned .into
Flmne, from t he 1,i trow Parts of the A ir mixing: witlt
th c!T'; as it ha~ been pr oved by Tho ufands of Experi~
mcncs. There are alfo other forts of fuch Sceams1
that arife from Jitbtem mcons and mineral Bodies; •whicli
only by t heir cort'ling to mix with th~ Nitre of the_Air!
th ough they htffe no fenfible Heat rn them, w1ll)fo
fcrm~nt an d act upon one a n<:> th cr , a s to produce ·an
r,ft ual Fl ame. O f this, the ilft nes are roo frequent
\ Vitn elles and Suffcrcrc;. T he l. ighming feeins .to b~
r ery much of fuch an O rigin al. , . , ,..._
Dr. / Val/iso[?f~n·cs,That 'J/nmd:r ~u~d Liglmz(i!ghtwe
fo much rcfemblancc to fired Gzmpo--..vde;- it~their E.Jfcfls,
t hat ,, e may l'c ry weil fuppofc: muc h of t he fame Calif er.
T he principal I n9n:dicnts in 'Guflpo1J.18t,arc N itre and
SJJlpl:ur. Suppotc in the Ai.r~ :1 conrcnien t ~1ixturc
or 1,i1row and fulpl rmou,· Va pour,, and tho fo t·o r'akc
fire by accident , foch :111 E:,.p/vjM; an d wi th iuch
Noifean d Li:1,/t as that in the firinlZ of Gmzpo.vder, may
, ,ell follow upon it; and being once kindlc'd, it w ill
run from pbcc to place, as the V:1pour leads it, like
as in a Train of G1npm·,/e;·, T his E:-.plofion, high in
t he Air, :md far from us, \\ ill do no coniiderable mif-
ch1ef. But, if it he, cry 11c:1rus, it has terrible Con-
fequcn ccs. The J} flance of its Pince may be cfti-
11·:ned by the D !lance of rhe Time , w hic h there
i~ betwee n feeing the 11.fb, and hc..1ring the Clap:
For r
 The Chrijlian Philofopher. 63-
For though in their Genera ~ion they be fimultancous;
ye~ Light mov}~~ fafl:cr t~an So:md, they com_e~uccef-'
frvely ro us. I hat there 1s a n!trous Vapour m 1t, we
may ·reafonably judge, becauie ,.,e know of no other
&dy ' fo liable to fo fudden and furious Explofion.
'That there is a fulphureo:tsone, is manifefl:from the'
Smell that at tends it, and the fultry Heat, that is com-
a
mpnly Forerunner of
it. .
,r.·' 1The natural <;aufesof the Thunder do not ar-all
~ rele'afe'me from confidering _ the lntereft and Providenct
' "of,the Gloriou ·s. GO D, concer'ned in it. It is a
C;, N ot.e '~prepared J'for:'"the Songs of the Faithful , TM
~- GOD of Glory'tMmdemh. It is He, who '
,, c r_ r·· ~ y,il ' ·, J:i ,, ;. ·
:, ·I;µ~'l{na, mof ~!!i•·1'fxtra., quo ma,xi1:1amotu
, .:'1''."T'1 .ft~gereFertl!, . & in~rta~iaCorda
•tr~mz~,:,
). ..Per Gentes . \ • •· flvavit Favor.
tmmtlis
'

' And•it!deed, as •the Thunder has in it the Voice of

' , God, [-Paganifm itfelf owned it, as being <l>~v».c.,lr]
' thus -there are feveral Points of-' Piety, wherein I am;
~ as with a Bath Kol, infl:rueted from it; . _ •
' 'There is this Voice mofl: fenfiblfto be heard i11
' •the Thunder, Power belvngeth unto God.. There is no-
, t'hin'g'able to fiand before thofe Lightnings, which are
' ~iled the Am ,ws .ofGod. We _fee Cafl:les fall, Me-
< tals melt, Bricks themfelves vitrify; all flies, when
' hot 'lijunderboltsare fcattered upon them. The very
' lvlountains are torn to pieces, when ;---Feriimt fum!.
' mosf ua Fulmina Monter. It becomes me now to fay,
' T he 'Ilmnde;- of his Power who can underftand? An
' hau ght y Emperor !brinks, and !hakes, and hides
' his gu ilty Head, before the powerful Thunder of
' ' God . .
' How can I hear the Voice of the Almighty 7' ::m-
' derer, wit !1out fuch Th oughts as thefe ? GloriousGod,
' let me, through the Blood of a facriftad Saviov ·, b-: i tl
' goodTerms with Oi1eJoable to deftroyme in a mommt !
~ And.,
64 The ChriflianPhilofopher.
' A nd, let me be afraid of offend ing H im, who is
' po!ldfcd of fuch an irrefiflible A rtillery!
' At the fame t ime, do I not fee the Mercy and Pa,;
' tienceof a Good G od to a finful \Vorld? The De-
' folat ions of th e \ Vorld, how wonderfully would
~ they be,
' Si quoties pcccamRominesf ua Fulmina mittat !
' It is no rar e t hing for th e Children of Men to die .
' by a Thunderbolt : A King has been fo flain in the
' midfi of his Army . Th ere was a Punifhment of
' old u[ed upon Crim inals, by pouring hot Lead into
' their Mouth s, wh ich was called Combuflio AnimiZ,
' and ufcd in imitat ion of God 's defiroy ing Men ,~·ith
' L ightning; whereby the inward Parts are burnt with-
' out any vifiblc Touch upon the outward. This Cop:""
' bufl io An im~, a Death by Lightning, has been fre-
e quently inflicted. -Their being a_(le ep at the time
' has not preferred them, though there be a Fancy in
' Plutarch that it would ; nor ,vould a Tent of Seal-
' Skin have done it, th ough fome great ones have re-
' paired unto fuch an A mulet for their Protection. My
' God, 1 adore tby SovereignGra,e, thnt Jucb n Sinner as
' J haw net Jet bem b)' Lighmiug wnzed into Duft aud
' Aftm beforethee! .
' I tak e notice of one thi ng, 'That as Gu ilt lying
' on the M inds of M en, makes them {brtlc at ~
' Tl 1md(Y-Clap ;
' Ii i frmt qui trrpidmtt, c:rnd onrniaFulgura paUent,
' C11111tou:it, exanimerprimo quoque ftlurmure Oxli :

' So the M ifcarringes :ibout wh ich our H earts do firfl:

' nn<l moft of all mi(~i,c us in a T lmndrr-St orm, are
' t ho[c which mofl: of all call for a thoroughRepeman,e
' with us. T here arc fame \ Vritings which I cannot
' rend, except I hold them againJ1 th e Fire; by hav..
' ing my H c:m held up ag:tin!l the Lighwiug, I may
• qui~kl y read 1''.J' n J,:iq11ill'.
c-:;.,•
~ Impious ,
 The ChriftictnPhilofopher. 65
' Impious P.eople are ·'J,,af to Thunder!' · .
Her/i,:ius, in his 'IraEtntus de Fu/mine, reckons up 'a
confiderable number of thofe, which might be called
F<ElidaFulmina. Such will they be that mqke thcfo
lmpreffions upon us. ·

E S S A Y XVII. Of tbe A 1 :( :

T H E Air of our Atmofphere, in which ,ve

breathe, is a diaphanous, coinpreffible, dilatable
Fluid; a Body covering the Earth and the Sea, to a
great height above the highefi Mountains : : in this,
among other things, differin•g from the /Ether; that it
rcfraB:s the Rays of the Moon, and other Lurili-
nanes.
Ther~ feem to be three different forts of Corpufcle1.,
whereof the Air is compofed. There are fnch as are
carried up into the Air from other Bodies, as Vapouri
exhaled by the ·Sun',-Heat; or by fobteri:'aneous. There
may be alfo a more fobt ile kind, mixed with our A ir.,
emitted from the Heavenly Bodies, and from the 111ag-
netickSteams of the Globe on which we fojourn. But
there may be a third fort of ·Particles, which may
mofr properly merit the Name of Aerial; as being the
diflingui{hing P~rts of the Air, taken in the flricl:er
fenfe of the Term. Thefe Particles have an Elaflicity
in them; are fpringy; refemble the Spring of a Watch,
Elnflicity is an effcntial Property of the Air, and it is
thou ght no other Fluid has any thing of it, but bnly
fo far as it participates of Afr, or has Air contuin'd in_
the Pores of it. Our Air abounds with Particles of
foch a nature, that in cafe they be bent, 01· prefs' d by
the \Ve ight of the incumbent part of the Atmofphere;
or of any other Body, they cndf'avour to free them-
felves from that Pre/fore, by bearing aga inft the Bo-
dies that keep t hem under it ; and as fooil a~ the Re ...
tnovul of thcfc Bodies gives them way, they expand
the whole pared of Air which they compofcd.
1~ Dr.
66 qJ;eChriflianPhilofopher.
D r. Hook th ink s t he Air to be littl e elfc than n
T inEture or Solut ion of tcrrcfir ial and aque ous Par-
t icles, d iffoln:d in, and ag itated by the .IE.ther, and
to hare fomcth ing f ali11e in the ir Nature. ·
Mr . BoJle found, t'hat one and the fame Port ion of
A ir ma y t ake up 5 2, 000 tim es the Space it <loth at
ano t her t ime. H e found, th at the fame Q.9ant ity of
A ir, by only ha\'ing t he l?reffure of the Acmofpherc
rnkcn off in the Pneuntatick Engine, and without in- i
crcafing t he Sprin g w it h any ad vent it iou~ Heat, would
poffcfs ab orc 13, 000 t ime~ its naniral Dimenfions.
D r. G,rcgoi:yproceed?, T hat , accord ingly a Gl obe of
Air, of one In ch diame ter, w ould at th e Di{b.nce of;
the Scmidi~1netcr of ,t he Ea rth from the Earth, fill :ill
t he Planet ary R egions as far as, and muc h beyond tho
Sphere of Samm. Adni irnblc Rarefact ion!
T he lf ffight of Air wa,s o ifcO\·er'd fir{} by Galiliru,1
who finding that Wtttei · could not by pumping be
r aifcd :my highe r th ao .34 or 35 F oot, concluded that
the old N ot ion of an infini t e Fuga Vizcui ,,:ould nerer
do; and fo fell to thinking on the Counterbalance of
t/,e JViight of the Air. Torricelliru afte rwards purfued
and impro,·ed the Though t, and as a furth er Proof of
the ll 't?ightif the Air, invented t hat wh ich we call the
Torricclli,mExperimeilt; •
Mr. Bo)le found b}' repea ted Exper iments, that the
\ \'ci~ht of Afr to lVatcr is as 1 to IOoo.
l) r. 11.llltJrat her determines t he fpecifickGravity of
Air to \Vatcr, to be about 1 t o 800. llf ercury is to
Air as 10, 800 to 1. An<l fo, a C ylind er of A ir, of
90 0 Ft'ct, i~ equal to an Inch of J\lercury.
\ \'c will, with D r. TVi,iwu.:right,fuppofc a cub ical
F oot of TV,~terto ,, eigh 76 Pounds T,·~1· W eight. The '
C ompafs ot a Foot fquure upo n t he Supcrficics of our
Bodies, mufl fu!lain a Quunti ty of Air , equal to z66 a
Poun ds \ Vcight. If the Superlicies of a Man's Body
contai ns fifteen fqu:irc feet, which is rrc tty near the
Tr uth, he w ould fuftain a \\'eigh t ClJUUl to 39,9 0 0 ,
Pounds
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 67
Pounds Troy, which is above thirteen Tun. The dif-
ference between the greatefl: and the lea.fl:Pr~ffure of
the Air upon our Bodies, is. cquitl to 3982 Pc,unds
Troy. On which the DoB:or fays, 'No •wonder then
~ we fuffer in our Health by Change of Weather; 'tis
' furprizing that every fuch Change does not entirely
~ break the Frame of our Bodies to pieces, and be the
' confia11tHarbinger of fudden D eath.'
Mr God, it fr bccaufe I have obtained Help from thee,
that I continue to .this Day !
, .Sir JfaacNewton thinks true nnd permanentAir to be
made by Ferh1entatiort and Rarefattion of Bodies, that
are of a , very fixed Nature. And it is plain, thofe
Particles fly and avoid one a1iothet with the greatell
Force at a diflance, which when they are very near, do
attrafl and adhere to one another with the greateit
Violence.
The Particles of true and pennanentAir, being ex-
t racted &om the denfefi and mofr fixed Bodies, will
be more denfe and crafs than thofe of Vapour, and
from hence, it's likely, may be heavier than thofe;
and the Parts of an humid Atmofpheremay be lighter
than thofe of a dry one, as in fact they appear to be.
He thinks therefore, that the Rarefact ion and Con-
denfation of the Air cannot be accounted for from the
Spring, or Elafl:ick Forms of the Part icles, without a
Suppofition, that they are endued with fomc Centri-
fugal Force or Power, by which they fly and avoid one
another, and the denfe Bodies, from whence they arc
extracted. .
This may be the caufc for Filtration, and the Afccn t
of \,Va.tcr in final! capillary Tubes, to a muc h greater
height, than the Surface of the \Vater in the open
Ve!lel, in which they are placed. The Air wit hin
the Tubes is much rarer than in more open Spaces,
tmd by th at means not prcffing fo much on th e Surface
of the \Vat cr within the Tubes, a'i with out .

F 2
68 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
It 1s ::idmirable to confider the Neceffity of Air to
the whole animal \Vor ld ; how foon the ,:;italFlame
dccs Ianguiih and expire, if Air be withheld from it!
En~n the Inhab itants of the Water cannot live with-
out the Ufe of it. It is evident that the Air, at the
lcafr that part of it which is the Aliment of Fire, and
the Fuel of the r:;itnlFlame in Animals, eafily pene-
trates the Body of \Yater cxpofed to it, and with a
wondrous_ lnfinuation diffufes itfclf thro e,,ery part of
it. Put Fillies into a V effel of a narrow mouth, full of
\Vatcr, · they will continue to live and fwim there
whole Months and Years. But if with :my Covering
you fiop the Veffcl, fo as to exclude the Air, or in-
terrupt the Commµnication of it with the Watc.:r,
they will fuddcnly be fuffocated ; which was an Ex-
periment often made by Ro11deletim. The JnfeEts ra-
ther need more Air than other Creatures, having more
Air-Veffeh"for their Bulk, and many Orifices on each
fide of their Bodies for the Admiffion of Air, which
if you flop with Oii or Honey, they prefcmly die,
and rcvi,·c no more. Plim knew not the reafon of his
own O bfcrrntion ; Oleoi!bto JnfeEta omnia exrmimantut.
Yea, 1'1n!pighi:uhas difco,·ered and demonlhated, that
the PlantI thcmfch·cs hare a k ind of Refpiration, be-
ing furnifhcd with a Plenty of Vcffels for the Deri-
,·ation of Air to all their Parts . Dr. Hu?(e,and Mr.
Ra_Y , and others, ha,·c now alfo rcndcr'd it ,·cry evi-
dent, That the Fa:tuI in the \Vomb docs receive a
mcafurc oi Air from the maternal Blood, by the Pla-
am.1 U1rrir.,1,or the Cot.11edam • • \Vhcn this Communi-
cation is broken off, ,~ hat is it that now, to preferve
the Life of the Animal, fpccdily raifes the Lungs, and
lccchc'> into them :111 tibun<lancc of Air, which caufcs
a fu<ldcnand mighty .Accc11fio11 in the Blood, for the
Maintenance whcrcot· a far grc.1tcr Quatitity of Air
is rcquificc? Ct:rta inlv Come inrclliocm Being mufl:
now imcrpnli-, to put the D ;:iphra~i"m,and all the
Muicb th:n fcrrc to Rxfpiration, imo their Motion !
/lfy
 The ChrijlianPhil~fopher. 69
My God, I /..nowthee! And now, as our ingenious
W af er lings ; '
c Thus wing'd with Praife, we penetra te the Sky,
' Teach Clouds and Scars to praife Him as we fly.
' For that He reigns, alf Creatures fhould rejoice,
' And we with Sour s fupply their want of Voice.
' Angels and ,.,,e, afliil:edby this Art,
' May fing together, tho we dwell apart.
,r. ' The Syrianswor!hipped the Air as a God. I
' will wor!hip Him that created it.
' I will give Thanks to the Glorious God, for the
' Benefits with which the Air is repleni!hed by his
' Bounty. It was long fincc called the Paranymph, by
< which the Efpoufal and Communion between Hea-
~ 'Venand Earth is carried on.
' I breathe in the Fa'lloursof God continually. An
' ungrateful Wretch, if I do not breathe out his
•C p ra1.;u.
;(, f
' How jufl:ly might the Great God fill the Air with
' invifible Arrov.:s of Death, and fuch deleterious
' Miafins, and pefiilential Poifons, as might foffer the
' Unholyand Unthankful to breatheno longer in it!'

ES SAY XVIII. Of the W 1 N D.

W HAT of better Definition of the Wind, than the

Stream the Air? Plato long fince defin'd it,
The Motivn of the Air about the Earth.
Other Hypothefes for this Current of the Air not
well anfwering all Phtenomeua, the learned Mr.Hal~
ley recommends this to Confideration, as the Caufe of
it; The AB:ion of the Sun-beamson the Air and W a-
ter, as the Sun paffes every <layover the Oceans, con.,.
fider'd with the Nature of the Soil, and the S1tuation
of the Continents adjoining.
According to the Laws of Str.ticks, the Air, which
is lefs rarefied ~nd expanded by Hem, and confc~
F ~ que1~tly
70 'I'he ChriflianPhilofgpb(r.
qucntly more ponderous, mufl: ha,·c a :Motion roun d
t hoft: Parts thereof; which arc more rarefied and lefs
ponderous, to bring it into :.m£quilibrium. The
Pr cfence of the Su;z alfo continually {hifting to the
\ Vcfiward, that Parr llnto which the Air tends, by
rcafon of the R arefaction made by his greatefl: Meri-
dian Heat, is with him carr ied Weflward, and confc-
9uently the Tendency of the whole Body of t he lo..::c;·
Air is that way. Thus a general Enjlerly 1Vind i<:
forn1cd. From this Principle, the Enflerly!¥ind on rhc
North Side of the 1Equator, fh ould l1c to the Nurth-
'l.~-m-dJ,f the Eofl; and in Suuth Latitudes, it fbould
be to he Soutl,1.1:ards thereof: inafmuch a5 near the
Lioc, t 1c Ai,· is much more rarefied than at a greater
diflanc'- from it. Herc all the Ph~;10111e;7a of the general
'(rade-TVinds arc anfwcr'd for; which if the ,vhole Sur.:.
face of the Globe ,,·ere Sea, would undoubtedly blow
nil n 1d the \ Vorld, as they arc found to do in the
A:/,11,id.:.and Ethi opick Oceans. But finet: great Cqn-
nncnt~ intcrpofe, and break the Contint;iity of the
Ou .1,u, rcg:ml mufl: be had to the Nature of the Soil,
and the l'olition of the high Mountains, which c.mfe :
the V nriarion of the \\ 'inds, from the general Rule
rhat has been propofcd. If a Country, which lies
near th e S11i1,prO\·c to b~ low, flat, and fandy, the
Heat ocea!lon'd bv the ReActticrn and Retention of
the Sun-beams there , w ill fo rarefy the Air, that the
dcnfcr and cooler Air will run thither, to refiore the
.£quilibrium. Hence may be the confl,wtCalmsin that
rare of the Oc ean, c:nlkd Thr Rai11s. This Tract be-
ing placed in the middle, between the \ \"cfl:erly \\'inds
blowin~ on the hot Coafl, and the Ea!lerly \Vinds
that blow to the \\'t:fl" :lrds, the Tendencv of the Air
there i~ indifferent co either, and fo Hands iJJ.£q1,i/i.
/,.·io, hem ecn both; and the \Ve ght of the incumbent
.Atmcfpl n bcin~ d!m:ndhe(· by cbc comi11ual contrary
~, 11d<;blo,, 1 trt':11 l1cn..:c tl.c Air hl•rc holds not
the copic,us \ :ipour it rclt:1\ cs, but lets it fall into
frcquL·nt R.zi;:s. le
 7-'h(Chriftiitnl:hilofopher.71
It is very hard to conceive; why the Limits of the /
Trade-Wind fhould be fixed· about the thirtieth De -
gree of Latirude all round the Globe, and that thr 1y
fhould fo feldom tranfgrefs thofe Bounds> or fall fh·orc
of them. I:. - (
Behold the Wings of the Wind! "i
The. inquifitive and ingenious Mr. Derham f.,ound
by many Trials, That the Wind in a great Stom\ does
move about fifty or fixty Miler· in an Hour; -'That a
common brisk Wind moves aboutfifieenMiles ai;i. Hour.
But fo gentle is the Courfe of many \Vinds, tl,.:1atthey
do not exceed oneMile an Hour. )
Dr. Grew obferres, That there are \Vinds 1 (befidec,
the Trade-Winds) efpecially from the \Vefii:, which
blow fometimes two or three Days upon 9 ,~1~ Poi11t,
and will in this time drive before them . ·a (• Ship an
hundred and fifty Leagues, or four hundred ~nd fifty
Englifh Miles. 1 :c
The Wind is of great Ufe to ventilate the A ,ir, and
to diffipate contagious Vapours; which if they "fhould
fiagnate, would produce grievous Difeafes on the ,aui-
mal World. ----Si nop.ventofa, venenofa. It alfo rnrnf-
fers the Cloudsfrom one place to another, for the mor<:..,
commodious watering of the Earth. It likewife tem-
pers the Heats of many Countries, which elfe would
be exceffive. It carries Vejfelson their Voyages to re~
mote Countries. Windmills are driven by it, whereof
there are many Benefits. But as the excellent J\fr.Ray
obfer,·es, That it is rarely fo violent, as to defiroy all
before it, and overwhelm the \Vorld; this proclaims
a fuperiour Power moderating of it, the Wifdom and
Goodnefsof Him, who brings the lVind out of his Trea-
fures.
What amazing things the TVi11ds, called the Tz1foo;1s
(or Typhons ! ) and how irrefiflibly furious! But our
merciful God flays the ;·ougbTf/inds.
The Hurricanes in the Weft-Indies, and the ir Brc-
t\1re!).the Monfoons in the Eaft; what {hocking Stories
F 4 do
72. TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
do che Trarellers give us of them! How direful Ef-
, are fometimcs caufcJ by them ! They blow
,, 11 mighty Trees by the Roots. They chafe mighty
:c, ir r into the \Voods. They make erery thing to
rr,~mb r, and gi,·e way, that is in their v,:ay. Great
1

G:; I, •J./J1 vldifl Oil the I-Vind, nnd makejl it mo'VI!-u;hicb

•-:. J,c,r,J ft pleafe; -u;hocanjland in thy fight, if thote
,. l ·V ,
•r. \\' ate,·er Point of the Compafs the Wi;zd blows
qv,11, ·r may blow fome Good Thoughts into our
\,f 11Js, .. i then it will be no Ill Wind unto us.
' 1,,r,l v 1ght ccrrainly to confider the Jlormy f,Vind,
' .1' j 1~ 1 ~ the lVvrd of God. And there arc 7empefts,
• , : 1 /winds of the Divine \Vrath to be depre-
c.1r ,i ut then there arc Inlluences of Hea\·cn to
' le ; r· , which arc, As the Ultnd blvv.:etbw/;e,·eit
' IJ. .Ii. , ·we hear the Sou;zd thereof. but caiJnOttelJ
' -.;.;,"z e met/.,?nor -i:.:hithe,it goeth.'

~ A Y XIX, Of the Co .L o.
r -fERE is much l~ifputc about the PrimrmrFri-
-~idzmr. None, I hope, abom the Firfl Cwfe of
1e Cold, which fomctimes mortifies us.
It is qudlioncd by fame, wh ether the Cdd be any
rl in~ that is pufiri,ve,and not a n1.crePrivmiou. The
Cutd:iefi of any thing, they fay, fignifies 110 more, than
its not baring its infrnfible Parts agitated fo much as
rhofc of oµr Smfcries, by which we judge of TaElile
Qirdi:ier. Tp make a thing become cold, rbere needs
no mrre, than th:: the Sun, or Fi,e, or fome other A-
gem, that n~c.rc\ :-'hcmcn~lyag;tatcd its Parts _before,
do i10\\' ccafc to do it. ·
Bm then, on rhc other fiJe, there arc lnfbnces of
CI.I produced by rehement Agitations.
To fo,1c there IC\.'111S to be a micrhty !lore of Cw-
p:~(</,,r,a litdc a-kin to Nitre, t·xhaleJ from the terre- ·
Hr·al GloLc 1 ~of ~he Fgurc \\hich Philupqms tells us,
Demucriw;
·1
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 7J
Democritus:iffio-ned to F,-ig, vifick A tvms) which may
more than a L~tle contribute to our Cold.
That Cold (and fo A eeiing) may arife from fame
faline SuoHance floating in the A ir, feems probable
from this ; That all Salts, but fome above others,
when mixed with Snow or Ice, do prod igiou{ly increafe
the Force of Ccld. And all Jaline Bodies produce a
StijfneJsin t he Parts of thofc Bodies, int o which they
enter.
· The Force of the Coldis trnlv wonderful. Olearius
tells us, in Jvlufco'l1y t heir Spittle will. freeze e'er it
r.each the Grou nd. So violent the Cold there, that no
Ftm can hinder it, but fometim es the Nofes, the Ears,
the Hands, and the Feet of Men will be frozen, and
all fall off. 'Tis reported by Fletcher and Herberflein,
That not only they who tra vel abroad, but many in
the very Markets of their Towns are fo mortally
pinched, as to fall down dead with the Cold. Captain
'James and Gernt de Vm tell us frightful things of the
Coldthey found in their No rt hern Coafl:ing. Beauplan
adds, That without good Precautions, the Cold pro-
cluces .thofe Cancers, which in a few Hours defl:rov the
Parts they feize upon. \,Vhat mighty Rands of Ice
(the magnumDurmnen Aquarum, as Lucretius calls it)
have been encounter'd by fuch Navigators as Munchius
and Baffin, who found fome Icy lflands near three hun-
dred Foot high above the \,Vater ! In the River of
Canada fometimes are feen Icy ljlands, computed four-
fcore Leagues in length.
The irrefifl:ible Force of Congelrztion!
Conge!ation feems to be from the IntroduB:ion of the
Frigorifick Particles, into the Interfl:ices between the
Particl es of the \Vater; and thereby getting fo near
to them, as to be juft within the Sphere of one ano-
ther's attra B:ing Force, on which they cohere into one
folid Body.
\Vas it not then a Mifrake in Pliny, when lee was
pcfinedby h_i m, Aqu~ Copi.z in Angriflo? The Dimen-
. · · fi onr
74 ~he ChrijlianPhilofopher.
(tom of Water arc increafcd by Freez..ing; and with
·fuch a Force in the Expan!ion, that the lVeights raifed
by it, the Stonerbroke in it, the Metals obliged to gi,·e
way to it, were hardly credible, if thefe Eyes had
not feen them !
~- ' When we confider the Cold, efpecially if we
' hare it under our more JenjibleConfideration, we
' cannot but ft1bfcribe to that \Vord, Who can fland
' before his Cold! How naturally arc we now le~ to
' a Dread, and a Deprecation of lying under the Dif-
' pleafure of the Ghrious God, who by that one Part
' of his Artillery, the Cold aione> can foon ddlroy his
' Enemies!'
The .Mitigmicm of our C<ld,,and our Omzfo,·tsand
Suppom againfr the Affaults of it, befpeak our thank-
ful Praifcs to our Glorious Bmefa£1or: That we are
not, as Livy fays of the Alps, /E.ternis da,1,nnmi Ni- .
-:.:i!ms
! '
It is obfervable, That the Dc;rees of Cdd i~1feye-,,
ral Climates are not according to the~r Degrees of
Lntitttdt!. Some ha,·e met with Yery tolerable \Vea-
ther under the ArElick Pole. But /1.fartinius, in his At-
reports of Chi11a,lvl.,.ius iu hac P-rO'Vinci
1,zsChi;1e11jis,
Frigm eft, q:ram i!iiur pofi'at Poli Altitudo. 'fhe Coun-
try lies in little more than fony Dtgreesof Latitude, and
yet for four Months together i11the Ycar, the Ri:ers
there arc fo frozen, that the lee will bear the Paflage
not only of Men, but of Horfasand of C0t1ches too up- .
on it. The like Report could I gi,·e of my" own
Country, "hich lies in the fame Latitude. In my
w:1rm Study, from the Billets of \Vood lying on ~
great Fire, the S,1p forced out at the ends of the fhort
Billets by the F ire, has frozen there, and been turned,
into Jee, \\ bile the \Vood has been confuming. How-
trcr, our Col,/ i!> much moderated fince the opening
and clearing of our /Voods, and the \Vinds do not
hlow fuch Rawurs, as in the Days of our Fathers,
,, hen IVa:rr, c:afi\JPinto the Air, would commonly
b~~
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 7S
be turned into lee e'er it came to the Grnund. I have
foinetimes wifhed, that \Vife-Men would make the
Reflection of Petronius upon this }.;1atter : Incultis af..
perifqueRegioni/111s,diutius Nives h.uent; aft ubi Aratr'o
domefaEtaTel/us nitet, dum loqueris le'tlisPrnina dilabi-
tur. Similiter in PeEloribusIra con.fidit; Ferns quidein
/r[eutesobfidet, Eruditaf p1·ttterlabitur.

ES S A Y XX. Of the Terraqueous

G Lon E. -
CT1HE Difiance at ,vhich our Globe-is placed from
·.J.. the Sun, and the Contempcrati'on of our Bodies
and other Things to this Difl:ance, are evid~nt \Vorh
of our Glorious GOD !
. According to the accurate Obfer vations of the E1zg-
lijh Norv..·ood,and the FrenchPicart, the Ambit• of our
Globe will be twenty-four thoufand nine hundred.
and thirty Miles. Wherefore fuppofing it fpherical,
the whole Surface will be 197,831,392 Miles; whicb
in the folid Content will be found no lefs than
,.6 ·1,631,995,920 Miles. The cubick Feet will be
30,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,000,000. The Earth, with
her Satellit the Moon, moving about the Sun, this Or-
his Magnus, as 'tis ufually called, according to our
Derham, is a Space of more than 540 Milli0ns of
Miles in Circumference, or 172 Millions of Miles in
Breadth,
The CopernicanHypothefis is now generally prefer-
red, which allows a Diurnal and an Annual Motion to
our Globe,rather than to the Sun. According to this,
the Diurnal Motion of our Globe is near 1,039 Miles
in an Hour.
The Arguments that prove the Stability of the SuJt;
rind the Motion of the Earth, have now render'd it
indifputable. It is impoffible to account for the A p-
pearances of the Planets, and their Sate!!its, and the
Fixed Stars, in any tolcr~le manner, without admit-
ing the Motion of the !!cmh; or to account for Co-
metsj
76 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
mets ; or for that Aualogy of the PeriodicalTimes, to
the middle Diflal!m, which is the ncccffo.ry Confc-
qucncc of the dl:ablifh'd Law cf Gravitation. Unlefs
we would fubrcrt the whole Syf,em of Aflronomy, and
(as Dr. Che;ne obfcrre~) difpro re the Caufes of all the
Celeflinl .Motions, we fhall t,ever be able to affert, that
the Earth Jlmzds wmzo•t"ed. Nor is there any Obj ection
:igainfi the Mot ion of the Earth, but what has had a
full Solution.
Thefe Motion s, performed fo regularly for near fix
thou fund Ycars, how much do they oblige us to cry
out, Great GOD, thou that art the Crentor, art alfo the
Govcrnourof tbe If/odd!
Eren a Png,m Cleanthes, as his Brother Cicero will
tell us, would affign this as a fufficient Caufe for a
Belief of a Deity; .1Equabilitatemft1otus, Converjiol~em
Cdi, Solis, Lun.c, S)'de!tmzque omnium Diflinclionem, Va-
;·ietatem,Pttkhritttdinem, Ordinem; quarum rerumAfpefltts
ipfe fntis i;zdicaret,no1z'ejfe
fortuita. And Plutarch fays,
This Obfcrvation was the firfl: that led Men to the
Acknowledgment of a GOD. ·
The Prophet Habakkuk mentions the Stop to this
Courfe in the Days of 'Jofhua,as a real Matter of
Fact The fame Infinite Power that ga,·c the ft1otion,
gm·e t he Check. . . "
The Circunwolucions of the Globe arc of ndmirablc
Co;zvmimcy, yea, of abfolutc N ecejf,t_r , to the Inhabi-
tants . As Tu~y notes, Confer.-.,at Animanter.
T he Sphericnl Figure of our Globe has numerous
and man·cllous Conreniencies, whereof no Man that
fcriou!1y confiders it can be infcnfiblc. How in-
commodious mufl: an Angular Figure h:.l\'c been ; or
fuch an one as many of the Antients, and particularly
the Epicureans, with Scupidity enough im:i.gin'd?
It is admirably well ordcr'J, (as Dr. Afore obfcrvcs)
That th e Axir . of the Globo fhould be {teddy, and
perpetually p:i.rallclto itfclf · not carele!1y tumbling
this way and that way, :.sir might happ~1: and that
the
 The ChrijlianPkilofopher. 77
the Poflure of the Axi r be inclining as it is, and not
perpenaicular to a Plane going thro the Center of the
Sun, or coincident. Hence comes the Glubeto be fo
habitable in all Parts ; and even under the Line itfelf,
as 'tis noted by Sir l-ValterRaleigh, the Parts are as
pleafant, and as fruitful, and as fit for a Para,,ife, as
any in the World. And the Longevitv of the Natives
there does rather exceed the refl: of Mankind, as we
learn from the Relations of Pifo, and Rochefort, and
Pirard, and Le Blanc, and other Tefl:imonies. · Yea,
Mr.Keill demonfirates, that from the prefent Pofit1on
of the Globe, and the Inclination of its Axis to the ,
Plane of the Ecliptick, we reap this Advantage; They
who · live beyond forty-five Degrees of Latitude,
and have mofl: need of it, have more of the Heat of
the Sun throughout the Year, than if he had fhined
always in the /Equator: Whereas in the Torrid Zone,
and even in the Temperate, almofl:as far as forty-five,
the Sum of the Sun's Heat, in Summer and 'Winter,
is lefs than it would be, if the Axis of the Globe
,vere perpendicular to the Plane of the Ecliptick. He
very well adds, This Confideration cannot but lead
us into a tranfcendent Admiration of the Divine Wif-
dom! Yea, were the whole Creation furveyed, it
would be every where found, as Mr. Ray obfervcs,
That God ha, chofenbetterform, than we couldhave done
for ourfe!'Ues.
And then, the Collection of the Waters on the Globe
into fuch vafr Cvnceptacula,wherein the innumerable
Fifhesare nourifhed, · and whereon Voyagesare per-
formed ; and the Difl:inct:ion of the Dry Land, fur-
nifhed with fo many Vegetables and Animals : ·what
can it be any other than the Refult of Counfel, of
Deftgn, of Infinite l-V,fdvm! How blind art thou, 0
Man, and under what a brutal and fatal Darkncfs, if
thou fee it not !-- 'TheBrutifh amongthe People -:.l·
ill
not [,e wife.

' 'The
78 rrheChriftit1nPhilefophe
r.
'fhc Figure of our Globe is n~ofl:probably that of,
:1nOblateSpheroid. It fwclls towards the JEpuitoria$
Parts, and flats t owards th~ Polar; according to , Sjt
JfnacNeu.·ton,the Dimnettr ot the. Globe is about thir..;
ty-four }.tiles longer than the A,>;is. · ;
Dr. Gregoryfl1c,\ s, that this is the reafon why the,
Asir of our Globe doc~ twice crery Year change its·
Inclination to th<~Ecliptid, ~n<l ~s often return back
again to its former Polition.
Thr.. molt accurate Afironomer, l\fr. Flamfle(l{f,
found the Difiance of the Po/e-Sttzr•from the Pole, t~l
be greater about the Summer Solfiice than about the
U/intti', by about forty or forty-five Seconds. Hq
found nlfo, by repeated Obft·rnuions, a fenfible ~-
nual Parallax in others of the Fixed Stars. Thi~
proves our Globe to morn annqally about the Sun. ·;
Mr. Halley !hows the annu~l :Motion of the Earth
to be fo fwifr, as far to exceed that of. a Bullet · !hot;
oi1t of a Cat)n011, and to be after. the rate of 21Q
:Miles in a Mioute, and _.z.,600 Miles in an H our.
Our Globe is nearer to the Szm in Decemberthan ii)
'Jttne. Its Perihelicmis in Demnber. The Sun's appa-
rent Diameter is greater then ; und our Globe then
bas a fu:ifur /l,/0tio;z by a twenry-fifrh Part. Hence
there arc about eight DaJ\5 mor~ in the Summer Half--
Year, than in the Winter · Half-Ycnr. The colder and
more Northern Places of our Globe arc indeed brought
fomc lnmc.!.rcdsof th oufands of 1 tiles nearer the Srm
in TVimer than i1) Sum;11cr.

Uj_
on the Occu;-re;:ce
s of t be 'i.2
:hole G Lon E.

'o M_.\~ ! we a.re now con:c down into thy Ter-,

ritones. How many SI R ,. Ai,. Ts may 11 AN
' here fee himfclf nttcndc<l and forrounded with!
' The molt mljwaL!e Thiil!, in the \Vorld is for MAN
' hcrl'upon to ccntri,·c and rc!i1h-c in this manner ;
' 0 thm my .\~'? to the GloriousGOD m,ZJbe as obe-
·1.JiLe
.' dimt,
 The CpriftianPhilofopher. 79
' dient, as willing, as ready, as what bis Creatures yield
.' to me! •
' It has been excellently well propofed; Cumctttme
' Creaturauniverftt omnihur Virihus, in Hominis Utilitatens
' connituntttr,difcat hinc Homo, fimiliter ex totis Virihus
' DE O fervire, ad illum'i.ue fe co1mertere, qui omnesCre-·
' aturas 11.fui, f ervitioquejuo deftinavit.
.' But then, to this we will annex ·a further Difpo-
' fition of Piety: Can a Nian he profitable to GOD ?
' MySp·vice to Him does not advantage Him. When
,_I have done all, I am an unprofitableServant. Where-
' , fore let me fiudy to transfer to n1y Neighbour, the
' Ser-vicewhich by the Creatures of GOD is done to
" me. Yea, let me fo far as my Tenuity can attain
' to it, labour to do to my Neighbourfuch Things as
' the Great GOD pleafes to do to me. In this Cha-
, rity, there will be that Imageof the Glorious GOD>
~ which is the Gloryof the MAN that arrives to it.
' One fays well, Quocunque vertamus Oculos, ecce
' Teflimonia, Oratores,& LaudatoresDei, qui totum Li-
, brumMundi Laudumfuarum Hifloriam, & Panegyricum
~- tjfe voluit.
· ' MAN, let the Glorious GOD have Praifes from
' thee, and have thy Homage'and Se,.,.uice.Hereby the
' Creatures will be returned and united to GOD
' their Maker, and it will be brought about, that
' they iliall not be made in vain. It was a wifo
' Thought ; Per Hominem, & i!lius Religionem, omnes
' Creaturtecum Deo conneiluntur, ne fmflra a Deo fint
' creatte.
' There is another pathetick Remark, made more
' than an hundred Years ago, but worthy to be for.
' e\'er thought upon ; Omnes Creaturttnaturaliter Dm m
' plus amant, quamf eipfas, dmn illiuslv[rmdata exequendo,
' feipfas confumrmt; folus nzttem Peccatorfaipfum impenfiur
' _quam Deum amat. EYery Creature, but only t he
' wicked Sinner, /01,• es GOD more than it low s iifelf

~ Tw o
 80 crbe Chriftian Philofo
pher.
' Two lnfl:ru ctions of t he pious /E,gardur w1fl be
' worth rcmembring here.
' The one; Duk er ribi fint Creaturi:2,propterD emn~
' n quo fum ; fed du/cior ipfa Crentor, qui omnibusmajDr,
' & melinr.
' The other; In quibus plm Dei, in iis plur fanEl.c
' fit Voluptatis, & cum iir te conjungicupim.
' GOD mufl:be the Sweet of all Creat ur es to me ;
' and the mor e of GOD in any C re atures, the more '
' mu!1 be my Regard, the more my Relifh for t hem.' _

1- As we go along, we c~n:-iot well ~n-oida Touch

upon Cohe.fion. \\' e fee two ~·ery pb in, finooth, well-
pol ifh'J Bodies , will firmly colm·e, C\'en in an exhaujled
Rec,iver. Thi s renders it evident, that Cohefir,nis not .
owing to the G;-rrvity, nor to any othe'r Property of
of th~ Afr. \Vha t appears in the Surfaces of cohering
Bod;C$ upoa the ir break ing, !h ows us, That a necef-
forv ConJition of Cohe.fio n 1s a' Congruity. of Su1f1ueJ;
and fuch as exclud, s any Fl;:id from lying between ·
t hem. \\ c n,ay fuppofc, with Dr. CheJl:e, that fomc ·
of the PrimarJA1om1,,...-hereof Bodies are conflitutcd;
ar c termir:a :ed wi:h ; l,1h1and fmcoth Surfaces on all
fiJ c-;; whic'1 wil1 rr0duce Bodies of the fl rongeft C1-
/,efio11:Others arc ,artly tcrm rnatc d with plai,z and
fmoot/11 and r• r:ly , i:h cm"'ve Surfaces, wh ich will
pr ()oucc Bod.c" of a n:.. :ner Ct/,f/ioi:. Others arc en-"
t ircly tcrm,Pa ., w•r~ n. -:.·eSurfiH.:cs;,\\'hich will pro-
duce Flui.l,; and bctwcrn thcfe cm ir•·ly plai;z and
fm oorh,a1~d cm;rc' c ,,~.;', there are in inite Cum~ina-
tiom 1f S:ofu , t.f.. ,, ,l d {moath, .111d cur'Ve, which
w ill accc unt f r all t ,,c ar "m Dc !!recs of Cuhefon in
Bod ies, in rcfp,·-t of .i.c.r F· ,urcs. Bur now thcCemem,
w hich hit)~crc; .. c Sep:1r.1,; on of BC>di es, when the ·
l' r:n~<; cit tl·e.r ,,urtacrs ate b rnught into Contact; ·
[rhi<;l c:in be no. ;i, g bt. tl 1c m1;,1;1falLaw ,f Artra,·-
ti r;r, whcrcbv a:t the Pa:-ts nf Af zttcr cndcarour to
embrace one · :mu hcr, :m<l ca11cot be fcpara:cd but ,
by
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 8I
bya Force, that £hall be fuperiour to that by which
the7 attraEl.
Being arrived here, we are gotten within a little
« of the Glorious G O D. The very next Step ,ve
' take mufi be into Him, who iS
the immediateCattfe
' of Weight in Matter. None but He producing, im-
' printing, preferving that Propertyin Matter, is to be
' now confidered. \Ve will go on to take notice of
f that Property.'

Es s A y XXI. Of G R AV I T y ·.

0 our Globe there is one Prop~rty fo exceedibg;

ly and fo generally fubfervient, that a very great
Notice is due to it; that is, GR Av 1 Tr, or the Ten-
dency of Bodies to t~e Center;
A moll: noble Contri, ,ance (as Mr. Derlramobferves)
to keep the feveral Globes of the Uriiverfe from !bat-
tering to pieces, as they would elfe evidently do in a
little Time, thro their fwift Rotation round their
wn Axes. O ur Globe in particular, which revolves
at the rate of above a thoufand 1'.1iles an Hour, would,.
y the centrifugal Force of that Motion, be foon diffi-
ated, and fpirtled into the circumambient Space,.
ere it not kept well together by this wondrous Con-
trivance of the Creator, Gravity, or the Power of At -
ra8ion. By this Power alfo all the Parts of the Globe
:ire kept in their proper Place and Order ; all Bodies
gravitating thereto do unite themfelves~with, and pre-
ierve the Bulk of them entire; and the fl~eting \Va--
ers are kept in their conll:ant .iEqu!_poife,·remaining
· n the Place which God has founded far them, a Bound
which He hath Jet,that they may not pafs, that they tum
iot again to co'verthe Earth. It is by the virtue of this
_ lorious Contrivance of the great God, who formed all
hings, that the Obfervation of the Pfalmifi: is perpe-
tually fulfilled : Tho11,rulefl the i·aging of the Se,z ; when
he Waves thereofarife, thou fiillefl them.
G Very
•
82, :fheChriflianPhilofopher.
V cry rnrious have been the Sentiments of the Curi-
ous, what Ca11fe there fhould be affign'd for this greac
and catholick Affcccio11of Matter, che Vtr Cmtripeta:
I {hall wave them all, and bmy them in rhc Placeof Si-
lence, with the Af.ueri,z Striat,1 of Defca,w, which our
Keil has ,·cry fufficie,1tly brought to mthing; and per-
haps the Fluid of Dr. Hoch.mufi go the fame way. 'Tis
enough to me what that incomparable Mathematician,
Dr. Halley, has dcclar'J upon it: That, after all, Gm- •
-vity is an EffeEtinfolr:ible by any phi/of phical J!Jpcthe-
fis; it muil: be religioufly rcfolv'd into the immediate
/'Vil/ of our mofl: wife CR E.AT o R, who, by appoint-
ing this Law, throughout the material \Vorld, keeps
:ill Bodies in their proper Places and Stations, which
without it would foon fall to pieces, and be utterly
defiroy'd.
All Bodies defcend flill towards a Point, which ei-
t her is, or lies near to, the Centerof the Globe. Should
our Almighty G O D change that Center.but the two
t houfand t h part of the RadiitJ of our Globe, the Tops
of our highcil 11.ountains would be foon laid under
\ Vater. ·
In all Places cqni-di!bnt 'from the Center of our
Globe, the Force of Gnn-iry is nearly equal.
Indeed, as it has been pro\'cd' by Sir Ifaac Nru·tau,
the Equatorial Parts ar" fomcthing higher than the Po-
lar Parts; the diffrrenre between the Earth's Diam~-
ter and A:v:i,be:ng about thirty-four Englifb Miles.
does equally affect ~111
Gra~.1it_v BodieJ. The abfalute
Gravity of all is the fame. AbflraB:ing from the rcfifi-
nncc of the Medium, the moH ,ompaEl and the mofr
diffufe, the gri:aufl and the .fma!.'efl,would defccnd
an cquul Space in :m equal Time. In an exhauficd
R ccci vcr n Fat her \\ ill dcfcend as fail as a Pound of
I.eizd. But thi~ rdiflancc cf the Aledi:mt has produc'd
a comp11rati'VeGravit_Y. And upon the ditforcncc otJpe-
in many Bodies, the Obfrrvacions ot our
cifick G,·a~.1it)
Ph ilofophcrs have blcn \·cry curious.
According
 'TheChriflianPhilofopher. 83
According to the exquifite Halleyand Hu;gens,the
Defcent of hea'VJBodies is after the rate of about Jixteen
Foot in JJneSecondof Time.
Neverthelefs this Power increafesas you defccnd to,
decreafesas you afcend from the Centerof the Globe,
.and that in proportion to the Squares of the Difl:ances
therefrom reciprocally; fo as, for infl:ance, at a dou-
ble difl:ance to have but a quarter of the Force. A
TonvVeight on the Surface of the Earth, raifed Hea-
ven-wards unto the height of one Semidiameter of
the Earth from hence, would w~igh but one qqarter
of a 'Ti.n. At three Semidiameters from the Surface
of the Earth, it would be as cafy for a Man to carry
a Ton, as here to carry little more thau an hundred
Pounds. At the difl:ance of the Moon, which fuppofe
to be fix;ty Semidiameters of the Earth, 3600 Pounds
weigh out one Pound; and the Fall of Bodies is brit fix-
teen Foot in a whole Minute.
I remember I have fomewhere met with fuch a de-
vout Improvement of this Obfervation : 'The furtr.er
' you fly towards Hea•ven,the more (if I may ufe the
' FalconersWord) you mufr lejfen. There is great
' reafon why it fhould be fo. Defamati,onrparticular-
' ly will be Things. by which you m·ufi be lejfen'd:
' you mufr meet with hea'VJThings; Defamations are
' in a fingul~r manner fuch ; they are not eafy to car-
e ry; 'tis not eafy to carry it well under them; fome
' of them are a TonvVeight. But, my Friend, if you
' were as near Heavenas you ought to be, you would:
' make light of them ; you would bear them wonder-
' fully!'
The acute Borelli has demonfrrated that there is no
fuch thing as pojitive Le'Vity, and that Le'Vity is only a
leifer degree of Gravity. But how ufeful is this, not
only to divers Tribes of Animals, but alfo to the rai-
fing up of the many Vapours, which are to be convey'd
about the \Vorld ? The Evaporat ions, which, accord-
ing to Mr. Sedi/ea:/sObfer vations, and others, ar~ the
G 2 tcweft
S4 cr'he ChriflicmPhilofopher.
fc,, ell: in the \,Vim er, :md grc ateft in the Sum mer, the
mo.fl of all in win Jy \Veathcr, and confiderab ly ex-
ceed what falls in R ain, many being tumbled abou t
:ind fpent by the W inds, and many falling down in
D c,,s.
The inge nious J/a!ieyhas yet a fufpicion t hat there
rn3y be fome certa in Matter, which may have a Cona-
tus direaly contrary to that of Gi'nvity; as in Vegetati-
0; 1 the Sprouts d ireetly tend again.fl t he Perpendicular.
Dr. Gngory demonflrates, that t he antient A fir ono-
mcr~ were not ignor~nt of the heavenly Bodies gravi-
tating towards one :mother, and being pr eferv' d in
the ir O rbits by the Force of Gravity.
Mr. K eil fh ews, that the Force of Gravity to t he
cer.rrifugal Force, in a Body placed at the Equator of
our ~lobe, is as :.89 to 1 ; fo that by the centrifugal
Force ar ifing from the Earth's R ota t ion, any Body pla-
ced in the Equator lofcs a :.89th part of the \ Veight
it w ould haYe if the Gl obe were at refl:. And fince
th ere is no crntrifugal Force at the Poles, a· Body there
we ighs :.89 Poun ds, which at the Equator v,ould
" ei!;h but 188. O n our Gl obe the decreafe of Gra-
•;:i11~ in boing fr om t he Poles towards the Equator, is
a h\ ays as t f.,eSqt:are cf the C~(ine of.rhe Latitude. - Q!tod
{,1ci:Nm11r .1 (to ufe Trd,'y's \\'ords) per ommmz/l!rmdum,
·rnnz: 1 11, [.nte & R atiC';,ecri1
.ficifi1(.
}.Ir. S.,mr:cl Cliffk obfervcs, ' Tis now c,·i<lent that
the mofl unin.irfal Prin c:iplc ol Gravitation, the Spring
0C:ili:1nfl:all the gre:lt :ind regub r inanimate M otions
in the \\'orltl, .111fo ering not at all to the Surfacer of
B0d"c'i, by \\ hieh alone they can aet one up on another,
but entirdy to their _(c/it!C,;:tem; can not poffibly be
tl.c rct'ult ot· :.my 11Ttio,1 originally imprc !led on /lfat-
t, ,·, he n'uft of 1:rccflity be caufrd by fomcrhing which
} l'll :~:(.., the , ery Sub{ianct· of ~ll llcd ies, and con-
rinuall_' {1/tl fit! i,1 tl•('li:n F ,w or Pv,t'ff entirely d if-
lt·rent from tl..1: by, •.hic:h .iforcr :.iceson lll lltt'r. This
thr :iJd,) 1,; 11,:c".i.lt11tlJ,m:irjl,r.(w, iic-t o;,fi,of tl·t!
'ivodd' s C
 ,;eChriftianPhilofopher. 85
-World'sbeing made originaJ !y by a fupreme imellig'lnt Cmfe,
that it dependfe'11ery
/mt mo1·eo11er moment onfame fuperiw
Being, f0r the Prefer11ationo[ its Frame, and that all the
great Motions in it are caujed by Jome imma;erial Pov.:e,·,
not ha'Vingoriginal/yimprejfeda certainQuantity of ftfotion
ttpon /}fatter, but perpetuallya;1d aElually exerting itfe!f
e'VeryMoment in ewry Part of the World : ·u.:hich pre-
ferving and governing Power gi'J)esa very noble Idea ~f
p R O V I D E N C E.
Dr. Chepze demonfirates, That Gravity, or the At-
traElionof Bodies towards one another, cannot be me-
chanically accounted for. The Planets thcmfelves can...
not continue their Motions in their Orbs without it.
It is not a Refult from the Nature of Matter, becaufo
the Efficacy of /t,Jatter is communicated by immediate
ContaEl, and it can by no means aB: at a difl:ance.
\Vhereas this Power of Grn:vitation aci:s at all Difl:an-
ces, without any Medium or Infirument for the Con-
veyance of it, and pafies as far as the Limits of the
Univerfe. .~atter is indeed entirely paj]ive,and c.an't
either tend or draw, with regard unto other Bodies, no
more than it can move itfelj-: And what is effential to
M atter cannot be intended or be remitted ; but Gra'vity
increafes or diminifhes reciprocally, as the Squares of
the D ifiances are increafed or diminifhed. 'Tis plain
this univerfal Force of GravitatioJJis the Effectof the
Di11inePower and Virtue, by which the. Operations of
all material Agents are preferved. They that pre[s for
a mechanfcalAccountof Gra7;ity, advance a Notion of a
fubtile Fluid, unto the M otion whereof they would
afcribe it. But then frill thofo Parts · of Matter mufl:
be defiitute ·of Grm;ity, which were very unlikely!
And this Hypothefiswould fiill remove us but one Step
further from immechaJZimlPrinciples; for th e Cauf c of
the Motion of your Jubtile Huid, this, _.Gentfemen, you
muft own tQ be immecha.nical. Since ~u mufl: admit
a firfl. Caufe, you had as good be fenfible of it in th is
pluce. '·'Tis He who does immediat ely imprt'fs 0 11
G 3 /lftuter:
86 7'he ChrijlianPhilofopher.
/11.:tterthis Ptoperry. Tbere nercr was yet afforded -
unto the Wor!d (as my Do ctor obfervcs) a SJfiem ~f
Nat11ral Phi!ofiphJ which did not require Poflulmcs,
that r.re nqt meclvmitally to be accounted for. The
fcwefi: any one prctc,1ds to, arc, the E.xiflenceof ~[atte-r,
and the ln:pre[/:c,z of ,·eclrliuearMctiom, and tf.e Prefer'Ua-
tion of t/;e Facultiesof uatural Agents. No Man has pre-
t ended to fetch from the Principles of M echmzifman
Account for thefe. The l mprefficnuf an attrnffive Fa-
cu!ty upcn lvLmer, is no harder a Poflulate than the refl:.
It is a Jo.farmof FaH, that Alatrer is in polfeffion of this
~ality. And it can be referred Unto nothi11g, but
the Influence of that Glorious O NE, who is the .firfl
C.111fe of all Things.
' Behold, a continual Op portunity for a conliderate
' and religious 1\-fan, to hare a Senfe of a Glorious
' GOD awaken'd in him! And what is a ?Valk ·u.:ith
' God, but that Senfe kept alive in c\'ery Step of our
' vV1.1lk? I am continually entertain'd with weighty
C Body, or Matter ~r
tending to the Cemer Gra'l1ity; I
' fer! it in my own. The Caufi:of this Te11der.c)', 'tis
' the Glorious G O D. Great GO D, T'i:011 gi'Ueflthis
' 1',fotter ft1ch a Te;.drr.cy,nnd tl:ou kcrpefl it in its Opera-
til'il. Th'ere is no other C1ufc bur the TVi/1 and
' T-Vi,k.cf the Glorious GO D. I am now effcfcua!ly
com mc'd d that :mticnt Confcffi<m,and mufl with
' A fldtirn rrakc it, He is mt far 'ji·omt'iJCYJ or.ecf us.
' \\ hen 1 tee :iny thing moring or frtding chat way
' th~t its l-ea7.'JN11t1irt! carries ir, I may \'ery juflly
' th nk, and I would cl°ten form the Thought, it is
' ti Glono·u GOD, ,,, o u.-;.ucaniu this 'kl,ztter fuch n
' 't..·n-! \\ hl'n /11,ttter linb dou.·nv::zrd,my Spirit !hall
' e\ en ti·... Furemount t1f.i.•,1rtl,in :i.c1rn1ndedgmcnt of
' rr.c C d \\ ho orders it. 1 \\·ill no longer compl:iin,
' B.I cl.I, I.~ Jw~t:a ti, lur Ht•;.-, ot ;/ ,.-., ,m.i lacl.:u:,1rd,
' b11! I ci1;,.ct u ·• c 1/'m; w t I e L,jt-1 m:d, ,!'/.e;e lie
:lot!, v:cd, b t l c,I;:1. t I- Inld li.,;,; l!. liderh himfelj
' rn tl.e Rigl.1-ha1!.I,ti ! 1 r. 1.1:ttJ.,e Jli111. No, 1 am
'now <
 'The ChriflianPhilofopher. 87
c now taught where to meet with Him, even at every
' turn. He knows the ·u:aythat I take. I cannot fiir Jor-
e ward or backward, but I pe> :cei7JeHim in the Weight
' of every Matter; on the Left~hand and on the Right I
' fee Him at '/J.:ork.My ivaJ £hall be to improve this
' as a weighty Argument for the Being of a God. I
' wi1l argue from it, Behold, there is a God, whom I
' oughtfir ever to love, andferw, and glorifj. Yea, and
' if I am tempted to the doing of any wicked thing, I
' may re1ecr, chat it cannot be done without forrie
' Aci:ion;·wherein the Weight of Matter operates. :: But
' then I t\}ay carry on the RefleS:ion, How .near· am 1
' to that Glorious GO D, whofe CommandsI am going to
' 'Violate! ll1atter keepr his Laws; but, 0 my Suul, wilt
' thm hreak 'em ! How fhall I do this Wickednefs, and
' therein denythe God, who not only is above, but alfo ·;,
·' 1110ft f mfibly now exerting His Power in the 7Jeryftfatter>
ich I make mycriminal Mifapplications!'
' upon ·1:.:/;
f. Before we go any further, it appears high time
to introduce an Affertion or two of that excellent
Philofopher Dr. CheJne,in his PhilofophicalPrinciplesof
natur,il Religion. He afferts, and with Demonfl:ration>
(for truly without that he afferrs nothi11g!) that there
is no foch thing as an uni'Verfal Soul, animating the
vaft Syfl:em of the \Vorld, according to Plato; nor any
fubjlantial Forms, according to Ariftotle; nor any 0111-
nifcient radical Heat, according to Hippocrates; nor
any plaftick Virtue, according to Sca!iger; nor any hy-
larchick Principle, according to More. The[e are mere
aliegorirnl Terms, coined on purpofe to conceal the
Ign orance of the Authors, and keep up their C redit
with the credul ous Part of Ma nkind. 'fhefe unintelli-
gible Bei;zgs are derogatory from .the \V ifdom and Pow-
er of t he Great GOD, who can eafily go'11emth e
Mach ine He could create,by more direct Methods than
employ ing fuch fubfe rvient Di-vinities; and ind eed
thefe Beings will not ferve the Dcfign for which we
invent th em, u nk fs we endow th em with Facult ie~
G 4 above
88 (]"beChrijlianPhilofopher.
nbo\'e the Dignity of fecondmyAgents. It is now plaiu
from the mofi evident Principles,that the Great GOD
not only has the Sp1·i11gs pf this immenfe Machine, and
all the fevcral Parts of it, in his own Han d, and is
the firfl Mover; but that without H is continuallnftumce
the whole Movement would foon fall to pieces. Yet
bcfidcs this, He has refen •cd to Himfelf the power of
difpenfin1,with thefo Laws, whenever He plt!afes.
My Dotr or has made it evident, That it is not ef.:.
fential to Matter to be either in Refl or in /1,fution:Bue
tho there is in Afatter a Vis inertitC,by ,vhich all Bo-
dies refifl:, to the utmofl: of their power, any Changeof
their State, whether of Refl or !llotion; yet this Vis is
not effential to .Matter,but a pojitive Famlty implanted
therein by the Author of Nature. It is therefore evi-
dent that the Prefervation of a Bodyin Re.ftor in N[otion
(after the firfi Infiant) abfolutely depends on the Al-
mighty G OD, as the Caufe. No part of Matter can
111oveitfelf, nor when put into motion, is this Motion
abfo!utely dfential to its Being, nor does depend up-
on itfelf; and therefore the Prefervatiopof this A1otio;z
mufl: har e its Dependancc on fame other Caufe. But
there is no other Caufe affignable bcft<les the cmni;o-
t-mt Caufe, ,vho prcfer res the Being and Faculties of
ull natural Agents. •
Gr eat GO b, en the B ehalf of aJ/ thy Creatures, I ac-
k11Qw!edg e iu Thee ·u:e mw e and ba-uecur Being!

ESSAY XXII. Of the \VAT F..R.

P URE Water is ;i Fluid mid of all Sapor, and

fccms ro confifl: of fmall, fmooth, round and po-
ro us Part icles, that :ire o.f equa l Diameters and equal
ieJ. Th ere nrc ~l:ro
Gra--.,it b~ t\\ ~en t hem Spaces, that
~trc:fo larg e, a11d ranged in fuch a manner, as to be
on ~di lidcs pcn-ious. ·r hl!ir Smcoth :efr accounts for
t heir tlidi11gcalily oYcr t he Surfaces of one another.
T h!-ir Ro11nd mj; kcers t\1cn.1from touching one :mo-
tlier
 :fhe ChriftianPhilofopher. 89
ther in more Points than one. So great is their Poro:..
fity, that there is at leail: forty times as much Spaceas
M11tterin Water. For Water is ni,1~teen times fpeci-
fically lighter than Gold; but Gold will by Prelfure let
Water chro its Pores, and has doubtlefs more Pvr~~
thanfolid Part.s.
Dr. Wain'J.Vright ob[erves, The compounding Parti-
'cles of J,Vp.terare Iefs than thofe of Air ; the former
will pJlfs thro feveral Bodies that the 1:;tter will not_i
it will force itfelf thro the Skins of Animals, even af-
ter they ,are dried and converted into Leather. Fafren
a firong Rope, of what length you pleafe, to an Hook;
at the bottom of the Cord hang any Weight fhort of
what will break it, th<,>'ever [o great; you will find
the Weight will rife in moifl Weather, and fink in dry.
You may alfo raife the Weight, by moifrening the fides
of the Cordwith a wet Sponge. Thus a few Particles
' of \,Vater may overcome any finite Refiflance, if a Cord
wfll bear it. Now fince there is but a little Quanti-
ty of \Vater in this Experiment, and this is driven in-
to the !ides of tpe Cord wi~h a Force no greater than
the \Veight of 4 Cylinder of Air incumbent on the
Water, therefore the Water mufi aB: by~ Property,
whereby its Force is greatly augmented; and this can
be no other than that of the Cuneus: ·And the Forces
of Wedgesare to one another reciprocally proportional
to the ftngles their Edges do make. B?tt in Sp/;eresthe
greater or lelfer Degree of Curvity is to be confidered
as their Angles, when Spheresare con!ideres{ ~s Wedges.
and the Degrees of Cur7Jityin Spheresare reciprocally
as their ·.Radii. Now the Particles of Water being fo
inconceivably fma_ll, much lefs than thofe of Air, they
mufi, when acting -as Wedges, have their Powers incon~
ceivably increafed, fo as to qvercome any finite Rejifl-
(l1tce.
If fuel, Power is in a Particle of Water, what h '(hy
fqit:er, 9 Time i11ji;zit
e.llfaker of that, a1:dall things!
. pr.
90 'TheChrijlian Philofopher.
Dr. Cheyneobferves, T hat the Q uantit y of J,f/ater
en the oudide of our Globe doth daily dccrcafe , part
of it being_erery day turn\! into .Mineral, Vigetable, and
Animal Subfiances, which are not eafily di!folved again
jmo their component Parts.
It is a Curio!ity dcmonfirated by Mariotte, in his
Dtt M ivemmt der Eaux, That a 'Jet-d'eme ne\·cr will
rife as high as its Refervatory, bu t always fall th ort of
it by a Space, which is the fubdreplicate R atio of t hat
H eight.
In the Congregatiomof Wate;-, and t he D iflrib11tic m
of it over our Globe, we cannot but fee the wo11der.-
ful \ \'if Jorn and Goodnefs of our G OD. T he great
tmd wide Sea, wherein rzref,dmmiilg Thingr i11 numeral-Je,
'tir ji,U of Thy Richei, 0 our GOD! And the Ufes of
it nre marvellous. The Waters are i1t the Place -xhich
Thou, 0 ow; God, hnfl preparedfur them : Thou haflJeta
Boundthat they may not pafs over. •
A fanciful and prefumptuous Gen t lem~m having
made his Exceptions ngainfr the Proportion .of /,Vates·to
dry Land on our Globe, is well anfwcr' d by M r. Keil~
T hat the O bjeetions proceed from a deep Ignorance
of Nawral Philofaphy. For if there were but half t he
Sen that now is, there would be but half the V.1porm;
and we fhouid foon find our miferable want of thefe.
Mr. Ray affures us, That wher~ the bottom of the •
Sea is not roc}(y, but Earth, Ouzc, or Sand, which
is incompnrnbly the greatdl: part of it, it is by t he
1'1otion of the \Vatcrs, as for as the Reciprocation of
the Sl!a extends co the bottom, e\·ery where brought
unto a Level; thn:: is to fay, it has an equ,1!aud 1mi-
fcrm Defcem from the Sbores to the Deeps.
That the 1i1utio1t~{ th!! lf7,zte-r de!cends to a. good
D epth, is pro\·e1l from the Pl,zms, that grow dcepdl
in the Sea; ,..,hich :di gcncr~1llygro,v flat, in manner
of a Fan, and not \\';th Ikrnches on all (iJcs like 'lrm :
a thing that is comrl\'cll by the D :vinc Prm ider1cc,for
that the Edges of them <lo itl that poflurc, W!th mofr
eaG:,
 'The ChriftianPhilofopher. 91,
eafe, cut the \Vater flowing to and fro.. Probably in
the greater Depths of the Sea there grow no Plants
at aH ; the Bottom is probably too remote for the ex-
ternal Air to pafs in a fufficient Q.!;1antity thither.
Nay, we are told that in thofe deep Seas there are no
Fifh at all; their Spawn would be loll: there : being
lighter than the vVater, it will not 'fink thither; and
the Climate there may be too cold for the quickening
of it .
. According to Mr. Hnlle/s Experiment, Water as
warm as the Air in the Summer, will in twelve Hours
exhale the tenth part of an Inch. This Quantity will
be found abundantly fuflicient for all· the Rains, and
all the Dews, and all the Springs in the World; and
will account for the Cafpian Sea, and· our vafr Canadian
Lakes, being always at a fiand; and for the Current,
faid always to fet in at the Streights of Gi/;r~ltar, tho
the Mediterranean Sea receive fo ·many Rivers. Every
ten frJ.umeInchesof the Surface of the Water, yields in
Vapour per diem [we allow it only for the time the
Sun is up J a CubeInch of Water. fa,ery Mile will yield
691.;. Tons. A fquare Degre<; of fi_xty-nine Englifh
Miles will yield thirty-three Millions of Tons. If the
Mediterranean Sea be efi:imated at forty Degrees long~
and four broad, . which is the leafl:; the whole Mediter-
ranean mufr lofe in Vapours in a Summer's-day at leafi:
5280 Millions of Tons. And yet fometimes the Windr
lick up the Surface of 'Water fafl:er than it exhales by
the Heat of the Sun. The Mediterranean Sea receives
nine confiderable Rivers. We will fuppofe each of
them to bring down ten times as much \Vater as the
River Thames, which they do not; but this will allow
for the ,fmall Rivulets. The Tham.s, allowing the
\,Vater to run after the rate of two Miles an Hour,
may yield 20,300,000 Tons per Jiem. Allow ac, be-
fore, and all the nine Rivers bring down 1827 Milli-
ons of Tons in a day. This is but little more than a
Third
92, 'The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
Third of what is prorcd to be evaporated out of tho-
/.fediterranean in tw elve Hours time.
The afionifhing Flux and R eflux of the Sea, what
Benefits it affords unto the \Vorld ! If the Oceanonce
were fiagnated, firfi all the Places towards the Shore
would be turned into a ftfephitis; and then by degrees
it would yet further corrupt, until the whole became
as poifonous as the Lake of Sodoin. The Fifhes would
be cirfl hereby defl:royed, and by the poifonful Steatns_.
anon the Plants and Animafr would fharc in the De•
firuttion. In the Tide of the Sea the \Vaters are lift-
ed up in an Heap, and then let fall again. So the
fear'd Corruption is prevented: And how many Con-.
veniences afforded for our Navigation! But what ?.
Oh! what the Original of it ? Where's the Zaph11atb
Paaneah who fhall enlighten us ?
. On our Globe all Bodies ha,·e a Tendency towards
the Cemerof it. And fuch a Gra'llitation there is to-
\vnrds the Center of the Sun, and of the Moou, and of
all the Planets. There is caufc to fufpea. that the
Force of Gravity is, in the Ccleftial Globes, proportio-
nal to the Qi}antity of Matter in each of th em. The
Sun, for infbnce, being more than ten thoufand times
as big as the Em·th, its Gravitation, and the attraccing
Force of it, is ten thoufand times as .much as that of
the Earth, acting on Bodies at the l1mc D ifl:ances.
If our Globe were alone, or not affected bythe
Aaions of the Sun and the ftfoon, the Ocean, equally
preflcd by the Force of Grnvity towards the Center,
would continue in a pcrfett Stag11atio11, always at the
fame hei~ht, without ever ebbingor flowing. But it
is demonltrated, that the ~im and the A1oonha,·e a
like Principle of Gravi1ntio1t towards their Centers,
and our Globe is alfo within the Atti, ity of the i.r At-
traftiom. \Vhence it will follow, that the Equality
of the Preffurc of Gravity towards the Center will be
thereby dinurbed . And tho the Smallncfs of thefo
f orccs, in refpcct of the Grn'LJ.itnrio11
towards the Cen-
ter
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 93
ter of the Earth, render them imperceptible, yet the
Ocean being fluid, and yielding to the leafl:.Force, by
lts ,·ifingfhews where there is the leall PrefJure upon
it, and where it is mofr preffed, by finking. Accord-
ingly we fl1all find, that where the Jl,foonis perpendi-
cularly either above or below the Horizon, there the
Force of Gravity is mofr of all diminiilied, and confe-
quently , that there the Oceanmuft neceffarily fwell, by
the coming in of the Water from thofe Parts where
the Pre!fure is greateft, namely, in thofe where the
Moonis near the Horiz.,on. The Sea, which otherwife
\vould be fpherical, upon the Pre!fure of the Moon muil:
form itfelf into a fpheroidal or oval Figure, whofe
longefr D iameter is where the Moon is vertical, and
fhortell where f'he is in the Horizon ; and the Moon
fhifring her Pofition as fhe turns round our Globe
once a day, this Oval of Water fhifts with her, occafi-
oning thereby the two Floods and E bbs obfervable in
each five and twenty Hours. , The Spring-Tides upon
the New and Full Moonr, and the Neap-Tides upon the
(blarters, are occafion'd by the attracl:ive Force of the
Sun in the Ne ....
t· and Full, confpiring with the Attracti-
on of the Moon, and producing a 'Tide by their united
FiJrcer. Whereas in the ~arters the Sun raifes the
· \Vater where the Jl,1oon depre!fes, and on the contrary;
fo as the 'Tidesare made only by the difference of their-
AttrnEtion. The Sun and J\'11on being either conjoin' d
or oppofite in the Equinoflial, produce the greateft
Spring-Tides. The fobfequent Neap-Tides being pro-
·duced by the Tropical Moon in . the Q?arters, are al-
ways the leaft Tides.
But then from th e Shoalnefsof the lVater in many
places, and from the Nan-ownefs of the Straits, by
which the Tides are in many places propagated, there
arifcs a mighty Divcrfity, which, without the Know-
ledge of the Places, c.innoc be accounted for.
Dr. CheJne has taught me to take notice of one thing
more. If out· E,mh had any more than o;zel',foon at-
tct: ding
94 <The
Chriflian Phi/ofo
pher.
tending it, we fhould rcceire probably a Detriment
from it, ra ther than an Advantage. For at the Con-
jrmEtivnand Oppojitivnwith one another, and with the
Sun, we f11ould have Tides tl1at would raife the \Va-
tcrs to the 'Tops of our Mountains, and in their Qua-
draturer we fhould have no Tides at all.
0 my S011!,beholdingthe Moon above, louk up to God,
who ha!h fo wifaly proportio;i' J Im·, fvr the Dejigm Oil
which He placed her there.
'The Sea is the grand Fountain of thofe frefh iVaters,
w hich fupply and enrich the E,zrth, and by com·eni-
cnt Channels are carried back to the place from
whence they came; the perpetui Fi,mes, rvitttquepei·en-
nir Imago: How equally arc thefe frefh \Vatcrs difhi-
buted? How few Amigrtn's in the \Vorld ? How a-
~reeably are they difpofed? And what a prodigious
Run ham many of the Rivers? The Danube, in a fo-
ber Account, as Bohun computes, runs fifteen hundred
~ f iles in a fl:rait Line from its Rife to its Fall. 'The
Nile, according to Varen,'us, allowing for Curvatures,
runs three thoufand Miles ; and the Niger two thou-
fand four hundred ; the Gmzgu twelve hundred ; the
Amaz.onian above thirteen hundred SpmzifbLeagues.
,r. ' But is it not high time for us to hear the Vvice
' ~fmany Waters! . , •
' One celebrating the Bounty of our God unt6 us
' in the lVater, fo cxpretfcs it : Quo Thefauro rJe/ uni-
' cum Elememum Aqutt, fi Dm, ;//ud in Sanguinem, ut
' olim in Egypto, ,w-ve,·terd, pojfemw redimere? 'The
' Contemplation may be carried unto the Element
' that is next abo\·e it.'
An cxccllcn:: Perfon, who writes A11g11fliffimam Na-
tur.-t Scholam, hac; tlius rendred fomething of it articu-
late: 0 Hom'.!,ne imitnre Erpos Cl /11ulos,qui me tptidcm
bibunt, fed tantum bibum. At w, cui mdior cfl Ailima,
itn me bibe,tJt uon t.1;r:mnbil•,1r,fad bmedicm:emDe:mz l:n-
l,,en;d11 m bibis. ll.1b.fis a:itemfi agr:ofmsipfius lv1ajiflti-
tcm, eamquc,ol,u.
Long
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 9;
Lonr, fince have we been taught fuch Notes as
thcfe. '0 Lord, how manifoldare thy Works! In Wtfdom
' haft thou made them all. The Earth is full of thy RiL'her.
' And Jo is the great and wide Sea, whereinare.Jwimming
' things innumerable.'
' But can we look on the Sea, and not fee a Picture
' of a troublefome World; fee and be infiruB:ed.'

APPENDIX.
§.WE can fcarce leave the Water without fome
Remarks on our Fluids; and we will be
more particularly indebted to Dr. Cheynefor hinting
them firft. How frugal is Nature in Principles,and
yet how fruitful in Compojitionsand in Confequences !
The primary Fluids are but four, Water and Air, :md
Mercury and Light.· 'Tis but feldom that three of
thefe are much compounded with others. 'Tis Wate;·
alone, 'tis L;mph, that is mofrly the · Bafis of all other
Mixtures; and it is the Parts of folid Bodies floating
in this Fluid that produce all our pleafanc and ufeful
Varieties of Liquors. ·
Again, How vafr the difference between the fpeci-
fick Gravitier of our Fluids ! Merwry is about eight
thoufand times heavier than Air. Air mufr have
choak'd us, if it had been half fo heavy as Mercury.
And yet Mankind, in its prefent Circumflances of the
13/ood-Vejfels,1.V1derfrequent Obflru[tions,could , not
well have don~ without fuch an hea'VyFluid as Mer-
cury. ••
Thirdly, All Fluids agree in the condition of the
direB:ion of their Prejfure upon the fides of the con-
taining Velfel. .This Prejfure is for ever communic a-
ted in Lines perpendicularto the !ides of the conta in-
ing Veffel. This beautiful and uniform Prop erty of
all Fluidr necelfarily follows from the Spheridtyof the ir
con.flituent Pamcles.
. JJ Our
96 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
Our Doetor's Conclufion is as I wonld have it.
'Now could any thing but the Almighty Power of
' God have rounded thofe infinite numbers of fmall
' Particles wheret>fFluids confifi? Or could any thing
' but his i,Vifdom ha\'C affigned them their true Di-
« menfions, their exacl:\Veights, and required Solicfi-
,c ties
. ;.'
.
I befeech you, Sirs, by what Law_s of Jl,fechmzifm
,~·ere all the Particles of the feveral Fluids turned of
differing Diarr.etm, differing Solidities, differing Weights
from one another; but all of the fa.me Diameters, and
Solidities, and Weights among themfelves ? This is the
Finger cf God! It is a jufi Allcrtion of Dr. Grew, The
Regularity of CorporealPrhiripb fhewr thnt they comeat
firfl from a Di71ineRegulator.

E S S A Y XXIII. Of tbe EA R T H.

T HE Lord by iVifdom liar founded the .Earth. A

poor Sojourner on the Earth now thinks it his
Duty to behold and admire the _T,VrJlom of his glorious
Maker there.
The Earth, which is the Balis n.nd Support of fo
many V cgctables and Animals, and yields the alimen-
tary Particles, whereof l.f/ater is tlJII!V chicle, for their
Nouriflunent: Quorum omnhmz(as Tully faith well) in-
m:dibilis Afu!titudo, infatiabili Varictatc diflinguiwr.
The rnrious 1foulds and Soils of the Earth declare
the admirable \Vifdom of the Creator,. in making fuch
:i prO\·ifion for a \·air \"ariety of Intentioi.s. God Jai.11
Let the Earth b;-ingfmh !
And yet,
N,c ,;,,croTt·rr~ ferre omneromniapoffimt.
It ii; pretty odd ; they w~o have written de Art:
C,,mbinatoria, reckon of no !ewer than one hundred
:ind forcnt'\•-ninc M illions, one thoufand aml lixty <lit'...
frrcnt fort; of Eart!1: Dut w e may content ourid\'C'i
with
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 97
with Sir John Evelyn's Enumeration, which IS very
Jh~t of that.
· However, the Vegetablesowe not fo much of their
Life and Growth to the Earth itfelt: as to fame agree-
able Juices or Saits lodg'd in it; Both Mr. Boyleand
Van Helmont, by Experiments, found the Earth fcarce
at all dimini!hed \vh~n Plants, even Trees, had been
for divers Yeal's growing in it.
The Strata of the Earth, its Lap and Beds, affor<l
fuipr12ihg Matters of ObfervatioP t the Objerls lodged
in thein; the Ufesmade of them; nnd particularly the
Paffage they giv'e to fweet Waters, as being the Calan-
de,s wherein they are fweetned. It is allcrted that
thefe are found ali to li~ very much according to the
Laws of Gravity. Mr. Derham ,vent far to demon-
ftrate this Aff"ertion. . .
The vain Co/tr of Ajfes, thatfain would be wife, hai·e
cavill'd at the unequal Surface of the Eartl~, have open'd
againfi: the !vlountains,as if they were fuperfluous Ex-
ctefcences; but Warts deforming the Face of the
.'E.arth, and Proofs the Earth is but an Heap of Rub-
bi(l_land Ruins. Pliny had more of Religion in him.
. The fag~cious Dr. Halley has obferved, That the
Ridges of Mountains being placed thro the midfi: of
their Continents, do ferve as Alembicks, to di.fl:ilfrefh
\,Vaters in mfr ~amities for the Ufe of the vVorld:
And their Heights give a Dc:fcent unto the St,·eams,
to run gently, like fo many Veins of the .Macrornjin,
to be the more beneficial to the Creation. The
generation of Clouds, and the difl:riburion of Ra in,·,
accommodated and accomplifhed by the Muumains, is
indeed fo obfervable, that the learned Scheuchz..,e;- and
Creitlovius can't forbear breaking out upon it with a
Mirati fummmn Creatoris Sapientiam !
'What Rivers could there be without thofe admirable
'luols_of Nature !
. Vapours b~ing raifed by the Sun, acting on the Sur-
face of the Sea, j.S a Fire under an Alembick, by ra-
H 1c(ving
98 7'heChriftittn Philofoph
er.
rcfying of it, makes the lightefl: and frefhefc Ponion)
the reof to rife firft:; which Rarefaction is made (ns'or,
Chcy1eobfcrves) by the :niimmtion of its aEci,c Parti-
cles among the porous Parts thereof, whereby they arc
put into a violent :Motion many different ways, and
fo are expanded into little Bubbles of larger D1men-
fions than formerly they had; and fo they become fpc-
cifically lighter, and the weightier AtmofpJJerebuoys
them up. The Streams of thele Vapours rdl: in places
where the Air is of equal Gravity with them, and are
carried up and down the Atmvfphere by the courfe of
that Air, till they hit at 1:1.!1: againfi: \he fides of the
11/um:taim, and by this ConcufTion are condci1fed, and
thus become heavier than the Air they fwum in, and
fo glcet down the rocky CH"crns of thcfe Mountains,
the inner pa_rts whereof being hollow and fiony, afford
them a Bafon, until they are accumulated in fuffic1ent
~iantit ies, to break out at the firfi: Cra,zy: whence
they Jcfcend into Plains, and fcrcral of them uniting ,
form Rirulets; and many of thofe uniting, do grow
into Ri7.-crs.This is the Story of them; this their Pe-_
digree!
/lli;;e;als are dug out of ft[ountnins; which, if they
"ere fought only in lc,·el Countries, the Delfs would
be fo !lown with \Vatcrs, that it '>rnuld be impoffiblc
to make A ddits or Soughs to drein them. Herc is, as
Ol.1usl\faguus e:xprefles it, Imxhmtjla pretiofuruml',feUI!~
lcrrmzubertar.
A G,-rm.m\Vr itcr,got upon the ftfoumains,gi,·cs this
Account of them: S:mt cw tot uatur nles Aruaces Chpni-
t.1', iil q:1il:tsDeus '"Jnria11foafla & ftfimralia excoquit

The / iab,'tatiws and Sit1:11ticm of 1fankind arc made

,·: filv the more comfortable for the J\1oumains. There
i\ a {·afi \:.lriety rf Pl.:nts prC'per to the J\101mtt1ins:and
m:i.11 y A111malsfind the /I lv:m•a·n! their mofl: proper
l'l.tccs to breed and f11,·d in. TI e bighefl Hill, n Reji,ge
to
 • %e ChriftianPhilofopher. 99
to the wild Goats! A Point Mr. Ray hqs well fpoken
t~ • I

They !eport that Hippocrates did ufually repair to

the M?imtains_for the Plants, b~ which ~he wrough_t
the chief of his Cures. , · ,
Mountains alfo are the mofl: conven ient Bound 'aries
~o Territo ries, and afford a Defence u nto t hem. One
calls them the Bulwarks of Natu re, rnfl up at the Charges
efthe Almighty; the Scornsand Curbs of the inoft viEforiour
Armies. T he . Barbarians in Cttrfius \\'ere ~orifidently
fenfible of thi s ! "
Yea, 1veb.1 .ay appeal to "the Senfe's of atl'Meh,-,vhe-
ther the grateful Variety of Hills 'and' Daiei be not
mo;e pleafing than the _largefl: cont111ued Plains.
Tis _alfo a falutary C.onfortnationof the Earth ; fome
and others below.
Confl:itut ions are befl: fuited a!JO'l1e,
'Truly thefe maffy and lofty Piles can by no means
be fpared. · · . ·
Galen, thou fhalt chailize · the Pfeudo-Chrifl ians ,'
who reproach the Wo1:ks of God. Say'!- Accu-
fandi JanemettSententi8.hiefunt Sophijli , qui c:'tmnondum
invenire nequeexponereOperaNatu ra queant, eam tamen
inertia at'queinfcitia condmmant. " ,
Say now, 0 Man, fay, under the fweet Confiraints
of Demonfrration, Great GOD, the Earth isf ull of thy
Goodnefs! .. . . .
And Dr. Grew fhall carry on t he more general Ob -
fervation for us. 'How little is the M ifchief whic h
' the Air, Fire, or Water fometim es doth, compa red
' with the innumerable Ufesto which th ey daily fer ve ?
' Be!ides the Seas and R ivers, how many wholefome
' Springs are there for one that is poifonous ? Are the
' Northern Countries fubj eB: to Old? T hey hc1vea
' greater plenty of Furs to keep the People warm.
' \.Vould tliofc under or near th e L inc be fubj e-ct to
: Heat ? They have a confb:mt Eaft erlyBreez.e,'\\ h.ch
blows fi.rongeftin the H eat of t he Day, t o reirelh
! them t And with this R efrelliment wit/;out, they
H l 'have
 100 CJ:he
ChrijlianPhilofophtr.
' have a ,·ariety of excellent Fmits to comfort and coot
' them within. How admirably are the Cloudsfed with
' Vapours, and carried about with the Winds, for the
' gradual, equal, and feafonable watering of moll
' Countries ? And in chofc which have lefs Rni11,how
' abundantly is the want of that fupplied with noble
.' Rivers?'
Even the fubterrancous Cnverm have their Ufes.
And fo have the JgnivomaruMoumaim: Thofc terrible
things arc Spiracles, to ,vent the Vapours,which elfa
might make a difmal Havock. Dr.1,Voodu:ardobfen·es,
That tho ,Pkl.ccs which arc very fl.lt>jeB:unto Earth-
n11,1kes ufi.ially have thefo Volcano's,l'et without thefe
fiay VentJ weir Earthquakeswould bring more trcnu:n-
dous Defol:uions upon them. ·
Thofc two flammivomous Mountains, Vefuvius and
/E,tna, hare fometimes terrified the whole World with
their trc1;1L'l1~nus.Eruptions. Vefr,vius tranfmitted its
frio-htful Cinders as far as Confiantrnople, which obliged
th~ Emperor to le~n-ethe City ; and Hifiorians tell us
there was k.<;Pt an Annivcr~rrry Commemoration of it.
Kirchff has g1ren us a Chromcle of whst furious things
ha,·e been done by ./E,tna; the melted Matter which
one time it poured forth, fpreading in ~rcadth fix
]v[iles, ran down as far as Catm1ea,,and forced a Paf-
fagc into the Sea.
· Aft,, abounds in thefc Volcano's. Africn.is known
to hare eight at lcafr. In America 'tis :tffirmed that
there arc ~o lcfs than fifteen, among that \ail Chain
of !\tountains c.:1!lcd rhe Andes. One fays, 'Nature
' fccms here to ke ep houf<.! under ground, an<l the
Hollows of the Mmntaim to be the Funnelsor Chim-
' llt',VJ, by which the fotiginous Matter of thofc crer-
laf\:ingFires af ccnds.'
The North too, that fcems doom'J unto etmuzl Cold,
has its famous Jlccla. An<l B.,rtholomewZam found
0ne in Grceul,md, yet 11c.:1rcrto the Po!c; the Etfo1s
whereof ar<.!very furprizing.
A
 rhe ChriftianPhilofopher.IOf
'A rcafonable and religious Mind cannot behold
thcfe formidable Mountains, without fome Refleccions
of this importance: Great GOD, who knows the Power
efthine Anger ? Or what can fland beforethe powerful In-
dignationof that God, ·u.:hocan kindle a Fire in his Anger
that fball burn to the loweftHell, and fat onfire the Fuun-
dations of the Mountains!
The Volcano'swould lead us to confider the Earth-
quakes, wherein the Earth often foflers violent, and
foi:nctimes very defiruccive Concuffions.
The Hiflory of Earthquakes would be a large, as well
as a fad Volume. 'Whether a Col!uEiationef':Minerals
jn the Bowels of the Earth is the caufe of thofe direful
Convulfions, may be confidered: As we know a Com-
pofition of Gold which Aqua Regia has diffolved; Sal
Armoniack, and Salt of Tartar, fet on fire, will with
an horrible crack break thi-o all that is in the way.
But Mankind ought herein to tremble before the Ju-.
!lice of God. Particular Citiesand Countries,,vhat fear-
ful Defolatians have been by Earthquakes b~ought
upon them!
The old finking of !Mice and Bttris, abf01;bed by
Earthquakes into the Sea, mention'd by Ovid, or the
;welve Cities that ,vere fo fwallow'd up in the Days
of 'Tiberius, are [mall things to what E<Zrtlquakes are
to do on our Globe; yea, have alre~dy done. I kn9w
not what we lhall think of the huge Atlantis, men-
tioned by Plato, now at the bottom of the Atlantick
Ocean : But I know Varenius.thinks it probable, that
the Northern Part of America was joined unto Ireland,
till Earthquakes made the vafi ;md :,1mazingSeN,ra~
tion. Ochers have thought (o of England and Frfi!1ce;
of Spain and Africa ; of Italy and Sicily.
Ah, Sicily! Art thou come to be fpoken_of? No.
longer ago than t'othef ~ay what a ru~fu\ Specbcle
was there exhibited in the If1andof Sicily bv an Earth-
qurd..,y, i11which there peri{hed the befl: l;arc of two
lrnndred thoufand. Souls !
H 3 Yea,
1oz 'Ibe ChriftianPhilofophett.
y ca, AmmianuI M ar;eCinustells us, iri.the Ycar 365,
Ho;;endi Tremore! per omnem Orbis Ambitrm: graffmi
funt.
0 Inhabitants of the Earth, how much ought you to
fear the things that will bring you into ill Terms wit h
the Glorious G O D ! Fear, left the Pit and the Snare
be upon you ! Againfl: all other Strokes t here may
fome Defence or other be thought on : The re is none
againfl: an Earthquake! Ir fays, Tho they hide in the top
of Carmel, I will jilld them there!
But furely the Earthquakes I have met with w ill ef-
fectually infl:ruet: me to avoid the Folly of fetting my
Heart inordir.ately on any Eai-tU)' PoJfcffions or En-
joyments. Methi nks I hear Heaven faying, Surely /;e
-u.:iU receive this lnfir11Elion
!
A modern Philofophcr fpeaks at this rate, '\Ve do
' not know when and where we {bnd upor. good
' Ground: It would amaze the fl:outcfi Heart , and
' n,akc him ready to die with F ear, if he could fee
' into the fubterrar.eousff/odd, and view the. dark R e-
' ceffes of Nature under groun d ; and behold, that
' cren the firongc.fl: of our Piles of Building, ,, hofc
' Foundation "e think is laid firm and fafl:, yet arc
' fet upon an Arch or Br:dgc, made by the bendin~
' Parts of the Eilrth one upon another, on·r a prodi-
' gious Vault, at the bo~tom of \\ hich there lies an
unfathomable Sea, but 1ts upper Hol :o,• s are filled
' with fbgnating Air, and witn Ex1- rations of ful-
' phureous and bituminous 1 ter Upon fuch a
' dre(l.tful Ab.ifs we ,, alk, anc ndc, and Oeep; anq
i arc fufiaincd 0nly by :m ,1 ,·d Rrof, which alfo is
' not in all pl:lccs of an cqm: fh;ckncfs.'
Giv e me lca\'c to fay, I .. c Earrh111alesto be \"ery
moving P,·1,1,Jmsunto ,.:..:o,-/~-m.'1.-d!'d
Al,il : Their Ad-
<lrefs may b( n-r) a r-cea[, y pt.t mto the Terms of the
0

Prophet; O E,mh, L~rtl, E11rth, heor the TVu,dif tl:c

Lord!
 :I'heChriftianPhilofopher. I 03
' Chrefojlomdid well, among his other Epithets, to
t call the Earth our TaU e; but it fhall teach me a,
~ well as feed me : 1fay I be a Deipnofophift upon it.
' Indeed, what is the Earth but a Theatre, as has
' been long !ince obferved ? In quo Infinita & I/!11/fri({,
' Providentitt, Bonitatis, Potentii:£ ac Sapientia: Divin.i:
' SpeElacula co11templanda ! But I mufl: not forget that
' this Earth is very .ihortly to be my .fleeping-place;it
' has a Grave waiting for me : I will not fear to go
' dvwn, for thou haft promifed,0 my Sa,µiour, to bringme
~ itp
again.' ·

APPENDIX.
§. HAving arrived thus far, I will here make:\
Pauie, and acknowledge the Shine of Hea-
,,en on our Pq,ts of the Earth, in the Improvements of
our modernPhilofopby.
To render us the more fenlible hereof, we will
propofe a few Points of the Mahometan Phi!ofoph;r,or
Secrets reveal'd unto Mahomet, which none of his Fol-
lowers, who. cover fo much of the Earth at this Day,
may dare to quefl:ion.
The Winds ; 'tis an Angel moving his Wings that
raifes them.
The Flux and Reflux of the Sea, is c:rnfed by an
Angel's putting his Foot on the middle of the Ocean,
which compreffing the Waves, the \Vaters run to the
Shores ; but being removed, they retire into their
proper Station.
FallingStars are the Firebrandswith which the good
Angels drive away the bad, when they arc too faucily
inquifitive, and ap{'roach too near the Verge of the
Heavens, to eves-drop the Secrets there.
Thunder is nothing elfc but the cracking of ~n An-
gel's Whip, while he Oa!hes the dull Clouds into fuch
and fuch places, when they want Rains to fertilize the
fatrtb.
H 4 E,tipfu
104 cn:e Chrijlian Philofopher
.
Eclipfesare made thus: The Sun and Moon arc fhut
in a Pipe, which is turned up and down ; from each
Pipe is n \.Vindow, by ,vhich they enlighten the
\Vorld ; but,, hen God is angry at the Inhabitants of
it for their Tranfgreffions, He bids an Angel clap to
the \Vindow, and fo turn the Light towards Heaven
from the Earth : for this Occafion forms of PraJer ar':!
lefr, that the Alm ighty ,vould aver~ his J udgmcn_ts,
nnd rcftore Light unto the \Vorld.
The thick~skull'd Prophet fets another Angel at
work for Earthquakes; he is to hold fo many Ropes
tied unto e\·ery QEarter of the Globe, and when he is
commanded, he is to pull ; fo he fh.akes that part of
the Globe: and if ;.i City, or Mountain, or Tower, is
ro be overturned, then he tugs harder at the Pulley,
till the Ri,·ers dance, and the Valleys arc filled with
Rubbifh, and the \Vmcrs are fwallo w ed up in ~he
Precipices.
Nfay our Devotion ex1·cedthe Mahomctan as much a,
cur Philofophy!

ESSAY XXIV. Of!v 1 AGNETIS1'1.

S U C H an un:i.ccountable thing there is as tl:e

MAG r-:ET 1 s ~1 of t/;e Eanh. , A Prin~iple ,·ery
diff'crcnt from thnt of Gravit;•.
The Operations of this ~mazing Principle, are
principally difcovcrc<l in the commu nion that Iron has
wirh the J.oadfloue; a rough, coarfc, unfightly Stone,
hilt of more Value than all the Diamouds and 'Jt·u.:rh
in the Un.iH'.rfe.
Ir is obfcrn:d bv Stmwius, That the arn·aEfrve Q.!1{1-
li:v cf the 1H,g;1c:· \\ ns known to the Amicnts, ncn
be) o:1d all H flory. Indeed, bciidcs wl:at Pliny fays
r.f a, Arijlo:lc fpcaks of ·Tl.,zles,as hm·ing faid, the
.~,.;;e !:a~ a Sc11I,''n, 7<V g1J111•~v xm;• l,!'crl1!j:,
it muve;
), d!.
lt
 TheChrijlianPhilofopher. 105
It was Roger Bacon who firfr of all difcovered the
Verticity of the Jlllagnet,or its Property of pointing to-
.wards the Pole, about four hundred Years ago.
The Communication of its Verrue to Iron was firfl:
of all difcovered by the Italians. One Goia firfl: lit up-
on the Ufe of the /Jfariner's Compafs,about A. C. 1 3oo.
After this, the various Declinationof the Needle under
different Meridians, was difcovered by Cabotand Nor-
man. And then the Variation of the Declination, fo
as to be not always the fame in one and the fame
place, by Hevelius, Att7..ot,Volckamer, and others .
· 'The inquifitive Mr. D erhamfays, The Variation of
the Variation was firft found out by our GeUibrand,
A. C. 1634.
,l\.qd he himfelf has added a further Difcovery;
That as the CommonNeedle is continually varying to-
wards the Eaft and Weft, fo the Dipping Needle varies
up and down, towards the Zenith, or fromwards, with
a magnetickTendency, defcribing a Circle round the
Po!e of the World, or fome other Point; a Circle,
whereof the Radius is about 13 D egre~~
In every Magnet there are two Poles, the one point -
ing to the North, and the other to the South.
Th ~ Pol~s~in divers Parts of the Globe, are diverfiy
inclined towards the Centerof the Earth.
Thefe Poles, tho contrary to one another, do mu -
tually help towards the Magnet's Attra ction, and Suf-
penfi on of Iron.
· If a Storiebe cut or broke into ever fo many pieces,
there are thefe t-u:oPolesin each of the pieces.
If two Magnets are fpherical, one will conform it-
felf to the other, fo as either of them would do to
the Earth; and afo;r they have fo turned themfclv es,
they will endearour to approach each othe1· : but
placed in a contrary PoGtion, they avoid each oth er . .
If a Magnet be cut thro the Axis, the Segment s or
the Stone, wh ich before were joined, will now avoid
apd Ay each oth c;.
If
106 rhc ChriftianPhilofopher.
If the ft1ngnet be cut by a Section perpendicular to
jts Axfr, the tw o Points, which before ,,ere conjo;.n-.
ed, will becom e contrary Poles; one in one, t'othcr
in t'other Segment.
Iron recei\·es V ertuc from the A!agnet,by applicatio1~
to it, or barely from an approach near it, tho it do
not touch it; and the J.-o;zreceives this Vcrtuc Yari-.
oufiy, according to the Parts of the Stone it is made
to approach to.
The Magnet lofes none of its own V crtue by com-
municating any to the Iron. This V crtue it alfo com-
municaccs ,·cry fpeedily ; tho the longer the b·on joins
the Stone, the longer its communicated V ertue will
hold. And the better the Magnet, the fooner and
flronger the cpmmunicated Verrue.
Steel receives V ertue from the Magnet better than
lrou.
A Needle touch'd by a lifagnet, will turn its Ends
the fame way towards the Poles of the \Vorld as the
Magnet will do it. But neither of them conform thefr
Poles exaB:ly to thofe of the \Vorld; they have ufual-
ly fome Variation, and th is Variation too in the fame
place is not always the fame.
A Mag1z~twill take up much more Iron when arm'd
or cap'd than it can alone. And if the Jro;zRing bo
fufpended by the Stone, yet the' magnetical Particles
do not hinder the Ring from turning round any way,
to the Right or Left.
The bdl J\Ia,gnet,at the leafl: difbnce from a lefler
or a weaker, cannot draw to it a piece of Iron adhe-
ring actually to a much weaker or lefier Stone; but
if it come to touch it, it can draw it from the other.
But a weaker J\!a.~;:l'f, or e,·en a little piece of Iron, cun
llraw a,,ay or fcparatc a piece of Jrm contiguous to a
better and greater lrfizgnct.
ln our Northern Parts of the \Vorld, the Somh Pole
of a Load/lonewill r~ifo more Iron than the North Pole.

A
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 107
'APlate of Iron only, but no other Body interpofed,
can impede the Operation of the Loadflone,either as to
its attraccive or directive Quality.
The Power and V ertuc of the Loadflonemay be im-
pair'd by lying long in a wrong pofl:ure, as alfo by
Rufr, and \Vet, and the like.
A Magnet heated red-hot,will be fpeedily deprived
'c?fits attrafiive Q_ualitl; then cooled, either with the
South Pole to the North, in an horizontal pofition, or
with the South Poleto the Earth in a perpendicular, it
,will change its Polarity;the SouthernPole becoming the
Northern, and vice 'Verf~.
By applying the Poles of a very JmaUFragmentof a
'Magnet to the oppofite vigorous ones of a larger, the
f oies of the Fragment have been fpeedily changed.
Well temper'd and harden'd Iron Tools, heated by
Attrition, will attracl: Filings of Iron and Steel.
The Iron Bars of Windows, which· have fiood long
in an erecl: pofition, do grow permanently magnetical;
the lower ends of fuch Bars being the NorthernPoles,
and the upper the Southern.
Mr. Bo;le found Englifh Oker, heated red-hot, and
cooled in a proper pofiure, plainly to gain a magnetick
Power.
The illufl:rious Mr. Boyle, and the inquifitive Mr.
Derham, have carried on their Experiments, till we
are overwhelmed with the Wonders, as well as with•
the Numbers of them.
That of Mr. Derham, and Grimaldi, That a piece
of well-touch Iron Wzre, upon being bent round in a
Ring, or coiled round upon a Stick, lofes its Vertici-
ty; is very admirable.
The Strength of fome Loadflonesis very furprizing.
Dr. Lifle;-faw a Collection of Loadflones,one of them
weighed naked not al,ove a Dram, yet it w01,lldraifo a
Dram and half of Iron ; but being 1hod, it would raife
one hundredandforty andfour Drams. A fo1ooth Load-
flone, weighing 65 Grains, drew up 14 Ounces; that
.1s,
 108 The Chriftian
Philofopher.
is, 144- times its own w eight. A Loadjlcnetl1at was
no bigger than an Hazel-nut, fotch'd up an huoc
bunch of Keys. ti

'The Efflw1..'i1l of a Loadflouefcem to work in a Ci,c/~·-

\ Vhat flows from the North Pole, corr.cs round, and
enters the Svuth Pole; and what flows from the Sotab
Pole, enters the North Ale.
Tho a minute: Loadflcne n'ay have a prodigious
force, yet it js rery frrange to fee what a fbort Sphere
if AElivity it lio.s; it affeci:snot the J;-o;rfenfibly abo,·c
:in Inch or two, and the biggefl: little more than a
root or two. The magnetick EJ/luvia make hafie to
return to th e Stone that emitted them, and feem afraid
of leaving it, as a Child the Mother befor<.;it can go
~done.
On that afion ifhing Subjecl:, The Variation of the
Compafs, what 1fwe fhoul<l hear the acute 1\{r. H(!//ey's
Propofols ? .
He propofcs, 'That our whole Gl~bc fl10uld be
looked upun as a grMt Afagnet, haripg four mag;:etiwl
Pvlr:s,or Points of Attracl:ion, two near each Pole of
the Equarnr. In tlwfc Parts of the \\'orld which lie
near adjacent unto any one of thefc magneticalPoler>
the Needle is gorerned by it; the nearer Pole bei:1g
jJ\\'ay~ rrcdc-minant orer the remoter. The PC'!.?
-' \·Lich ac rrefe11t is ncarefl: unto Brit,1i11, lies in or
i:car the 1frritfon of the Lands-end of Ei1glt111d, and
rot abon: fc\·cn Degrees from the Arrick Pole. By this
JJ.!, the V ~riations in all Europe, and in TartmJ, and.
in th,: i\ 7orth Sc,1, ~tre principally gorcrned, tho' ,vith
fomc rcg.1rJ tf' the ocher Northern Pole, which is in a
:;\1tridia;1 p.:if!i: g ~bout the middle of Ciddomin, and
.1bour lit'~rcn Di.:.'."r.:c\fro:n rhc J\torth Pole of the
World. To this ·the Needle pays its chief rc(pcfc iq
all the North Am riut, and in the t\\ o Ocean s on ci-.
thcr litlc, l'i'tn from the Az..c,,·cr\\'cfhrnrd, unto 'J,z-
Jnn, and furth'r. The t\\'o Southern Pofr.carc: diftan t
radicr further t"ro:11the: South Pole of the ~\'orld ; the
Ol~C
 'TheChrijtianPhilofophet.
aone is about fixteen Degre es therefro m, and is und er
Meridian about twenty D egrees to the vVefl:ward of
the MagellanickStreig hts; this commands the Needle
jn all the South A merica, in the Pnci.fick Sea, and in
the greatefl: part of the Ethiopick Ocean. The fourth
nod lafr Pole feems to have the greatefr Power and the
iargefr Dominions of all, as it is the mofr remote from
the Pole of the Wor ld; for 'tis near t wenty De grees
from it, in the M er idian which pa!fes thro Ho!landia
No'Va, and the Hl~hd Celebes. This Pole has the mafre-
ry in the South part of Africa, in A rabia, and the R ed
Sea, in Perjia, in India, and its H1ands, and all over
the Indian Se.,z, from the Cape of GoodHopeEafl:wards,
to , the middle of the great South Sea, which divides
Ajia from Am erica.
Behold, che D ifpofition of the magnetical Vertue, as
jc ~:. thro-nghout the whole Globe of the Earth at th is
c.ay !
. But -now to iolve the Pha:nom e;za !
We may reckon the exterr, al Parts of our Globe as
a Shell, the internal as a Mtcletts, or an inner Globein-
clude d within ours; and betw een t hefc a fl uid Medium,
which having the fame comm on C enter and A xis of
diur nal Rotation, may t u rn about with our E arth eve-
ry four and twenty H ou rs : only th is oute r Sphere ha-
ving its rnrb inating M ot ion forne fm:.ul mat ter eit her
{witter .or flower th an th e intern al Ball, and a very
fnw.ll difference becomin g in lengt h of T ime fenfible
by many Repeti tion s; t he intern al Part s wi ll by de-
gree s rece de fr om the external, and not keeping pace
with one anoth er, will appear gr adually t o mo\·e, ei-
ther Eafiwards or "\Vefl:wards, by th e di fference of
th eir Motion s. K ow if the exterior Shell of our G lobe
fuould be a Magnet, having its Poles at a difiancc from
the P oles of diurna l R otatic n ; and if the inter nal Nu-
cleur be likewife a lvlagnet, having its Poles in two
ot her places, difi ant alfo frcim the A xis, ar.d t hefo lat -
ter , by a flow :.mc_igr adu~d Mot ion, chr.ugc thei r p!:.t~c
·Jll
IIO ?JJeChriflianPhi!ofopher.
in refpeB:of the external, we may then give a reafona.:
ble account of the four ma!,neticalPoles, and of t,1e
Changesof the Needle'sVariatiom. \Vho can tell but the
final Caufeof the Admixture of the magnc:icalN!atter,
in the M afs 9f the terreihial Parts of our Gkbe,
fuould be to maintain the concave Arch of this our
Shell ? Yca, ,vc may fuppofe the Arch lined with a
magneticalMatter, or to be rathe one great conca7J
Magnet, whofe two Poles nrc fixe,1 in the Surface of
our Globe ? Sir Ifaac Nwton has demonftrated the
Moon to be more folid than our Earth, as nine to five ;
why may we not then fuppofe four-Ninths of our
Globe to be Cavity? Mr. Halleyallows rhere may be
Inhabitants of the lower Story, and many ways of pro-
ducing Light for them. .The Medium itfelf may be
always luminous; or the concave Arch may fuine
with fuch a Subfl:ance as does invefl: the Surface.:of
the S:en; or they may have peculiar Lmninaries,wher~ 4

of we can have no Idea : As Virgil and (:/audian en-::

lighten their E~l/ttmFields ; the fatter,

'.Amijfumue credeDiem ; Jrmt altera 1zobir

Sydera; J:mt Orbesnlii; Lumenquevidebii
Purius, E~rfi1m1quemagis mirabereSolr:m.

The Diameter of the Earth being about ei~ht

thoufand £;1glifh Miles, how eafy ;tis to allow fo·c
hundred Miles for the Thickncfs of the Shell ! And
another five hundred Miles for a 1'iedium capable of a
,,afl:Atmofphcrc, for the Globe contained within it !
- But it's time to fl:op, we arc got beyond Hu-
ma11Pmetrntio11;,•.c hare dug as far as 'tis fit any Con-
jcEfore fhould carry us !
Ir is a little forprizin~ that the Orb of the AB:id..,.
ty of 111a.~1ms, as Mr. Derhmn obfen·es, is larger or
Icfferat <l11ferc11t times. There is a noble and a migh-
ty Londflouereferred in the Repoficory at Gnf'.•;m-
Collcgc, which will keep a Key, or other piece of
Iron,
 TheGhriflianPhilofopher. I I I
Iron, fufpended unto another ,fomctimcs at the difl:ance
of eight or ten Foot from it, but at other times not
above four.
' [A Digreflion,if worthy to be called fo !]
§. But is it poffible for me to go any further with-
out making an Obfer71ation, which indeed would ever
i10wand then break in upon us as we go along ?
Once for ail; GentlemenPhilofophers,the Ma G NE 'I'
has quite puz.::.,ledyou. It fhall then be no indecent
Anticipation of what fllould have been obferved at the
Conclufion of this Collection, here to demand it of
you, that you glorify the infinite Creator of this, and
of all things, as incomprehenjible. You mufr acknow-
ledge that Human Reafon is too feeble, too narrow a
thing to comprehend the infinite God. The vVords
of our excellent Boyle deferve to be recited on this
Occafion : ' Such is the natural Imbecillityof the Hu-
e man Inte!lefl, that the moft piercing Wits and excel-
c lent Mathematicians are forced to confefs, that not
c only their own Reafon, but that of Mankind, may
c be puzzled and nonplus'd about QyANTITY, which
c is an Object of Contemplation natural, nay, mathe-
c matical. \Vhereforc why !hould we think it unfit
c to be believed, an~ to be acknow·ledged, that in the
c Attributes of God [it may be added, and in His Dif-
, penfationstou•ardsthe Children of MenJ there fl1ould be
' fome things which our finite Underil:andings cannot
' clearly ,:omprehend? And we who cannot clearly
' comprehend how in ourfelves two fuch difl:ant Na-
' tu res, as that of a g,ofs Body and an immaterial Spirit
' fhould be fo united as to make up one !f1an, why
' fhould we grudge to have our REASON Pupil to an
' orm:ifc,ient lnflruflor, who can teach us fuch things,
' as neither our own mere Reafon, nor :my others,
' could ever have difcovered to us?'
I will now finglc. out a few plain J1,Jathematical ln-
mzces,wh erein, Sirs, you will tind your finefl:Rea-
(lfJ fo tranfcended, and fo confounded, that it is to be

hoped
1I 2 TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
hoped a profoundHumility in the grand Affairs of out
boly Religionwill from this time for ever adorn you.
Mr. Robert 1enkin difcourfing on the Reafonablenefsof
the Chriflian Religion, giYeStwo Infi:ances how much we
may lofe omfelvesin the Speculationof material things.
Firfl:, Nothing fecms more evident, than that all
/11atter is divifible; yea, the leafl Particle of Matter
mufl: be fo, becaufe it has the Nature and E!fence of
Alatter : it can never be fo divided that it <hallceafe to )•
✓~ C
be lvlatter. But then, on the other fide, it is plai11,
Afatter cannot be infinitelydivifib!e; becaufe whatever
is div~ftble,is divifible into Parts; and no Parts can be
iufinite, becaufe 110 Number can be fo. A number/if;
Number is a Contradiction ; all Parts are capable of
being nwn/;red; they are more or fewer, odd or even. It
is not enough to fay, that Matter is only capable of
fuch a Divijion, but never can be aflual!y divided into
infinite Parts; for the P.1rts into which it is di7.Jifible
mufr be aEtuallyexiflem, tho they be not nEual/y di7.li-
ded. And lafr of all to fay, thefe Parts of Matter arc
indefinite, but not infinite, is only to confefs we know
not -u.·hatto fa_\'.
Secondly, \Ve all agree that all the Parts into which
the W hole is divided, being taken together are equal to
the Wh ole. But it feems any jingle Prm is equal to the
J,Vhole. It is granted, that in any Circlea Li11emay be
drawn from t'Vei'J Point of the Circumference to the
Ctmer. Suppofe the Circle to be the Equator, and
a million Idler Circles are drawn . within the Equator,
about the fame Center, and then a right Line dra,vn
from e7.ler_l' Point of th e Equator to the Center of the
Globe ; er cr y fuch right Line drawn from the Equator
to the Cmt •·, mufl of neceffity cur thro the million
!:]ferCfrcles,about t he fa'TieC'11ter: confequcnrly there
rnufl: be the fame m.mber of Points in .'.l.Circle a mil-
lion of time<;lefs thrn the E.7uator, a<; there is in the
Equator icfelf. The 1fer Cinles may be multiplied in-
to as many as there arc Aims ·in the Di.:tmeters; and
fo
 erheChriftianPhilofopher. I I j
fo the leafl Circleimaginable IMYhave ar many Points
as the greateil: ; that is, be as big us the greatefl:, as
big as one that is millions of times as big as icfelf.
Yet more; What will you fay to this? Let a Radiur
be moved as a RadiuJ upon a Circle; 'tis a Cafe of
Dr. Grew's propoiing : whether we fuppofe it u·ho!ly
moved, or but in part, the Suppofition will bring us
t o an Abfurdity; if it be in a part movmt, and in a
part quiefient, it will be a curve Line, and no Radius;
if it be wholly movent, then it moves either about or
upon the Center; if it moves about it, it then comes
lh ort of it, and fo again is no Radius: it cannot move
upon it, becaufe all motion having parts, there can be
no motion upon a Point.
M ore yet; We cannot conceive how the Perimeter
of a Circle, or ocher curve Figure, can confift without
being infinitely angular; for the parts of a Line arc
Lines 1 But we cannot conceive how thofe Lines can
have, as here they have, a different direccion, and
t herefore an inclination, without making an Angle.
And yet if you fuppofe a Circleto be angular, you de-
{l:roy the Definition of a Circle,and the Theorems de-
pending on it.
Once more; I will offer a Cafo of my own. The
Line on which I am now writing is a Space betweea
two Points; it will be doubtlefs allowed me, that my
Pen in paffing over this Line, from the one point unto
the other, muJl pafa ovi:rthe haij' .of the Line beforeit
pa.Jfesover the whole; and fo the half of the remainin~
half, and fo the half of the quarter that remains : fo
fiill the half of the remaining [pace, the half beforethe
·whole; and yet when it comes to execution, you find
it is not fo. If the Pofition you allo\ved me had been
t rue, my Pen would not have rc~ch'd unto the end of
t he Line before the End of my Lifi; or in a Ter m
wherein it might have written ten Books as big as olJ
Zoroafter's,or more Manufcripts than ever were in
the AlexandrianLibrary.
I It
I r4 1e Chriflian Philofopher.
'"J1
It is then erident, that all Mankind is to this d:ty
in the dark as to the ultimate Parts of Q!wntity, and of
1\1.rion. ,
Go on my learned Grew, and maintain [ who more
?) that there is hardly
fit than one of thy reconditeLe,1rni11g
mzy onething in the /¼rid, the Ejfencewhereof-u;eca;zper-
fiEl~ymr.prehcnd. Hut then to the natural Jmbecitlit J of
R r A s o ~, and the moral Depravatiom of it, by our
Fall from God, and the Afcendant which a corrupt
and vicious !Viii has obtain'd over it, how much ought
this Confidcration to wam us againfr the Conduft: of
:m 1mlmmUcd Underflandingin things relating to the
Kingdom cf God? I am not out of my way, I ha\'e had
a l',Jagnet all this while fleering of this D igreffion : I
nm now returning to that.
,r. G od forbid I fhould be, 'Tam Lapis ttt Lapidi
Numm i111feputem. To fall down before a Sto;zr,and
fay, 'Thon art a God, would be an Idulatry, that none
but a Soul more fcnflcfs than a Stone could be guilty
of. But then it would be a rery agreeable and nc-
ceptablc Homage unto the Glorious G O D..for me to
fee much of Him in foch a wonderfu l Stene as the
MAGNET, They hare done well to call it the
Loadflorte, that is to fay, the Lead-flone : l'rfay it lead
,ne m;to Tl:ee, 0 my God and 111) ' Savio11r! A1ag;;et;fmis
in this like to Gravity, that it leads us to GO D, and
brings us ,-cry near to H im. \Vhcn we fee Jl,fag11etifm
in its Op.?ration, .we mu.fl fay, This is the TVork o
God! AnJ of the Sto;ze, which has prm·cd of fuch ,·aft
ufe in the Afairs of tile TVat~rsth,,t co11erthe Sea, nnd
will e'er lnng <l0it'> part in bringing it about that the
filory q{ tlx Lo;·,!fh.1/t'cowr the Em-th, we mufl: fay,
Great Ced, this is a won,lc;jul Gift of Thine 1:mo the
1Vv,I.I !
I do not propofc to cxcmplity the cwzfional RefieRi-
mu \\ hid1 a dcrnut 11ind may make upon all the C:·w-
t11re1 of God, their p,.opotic.,, an<l ARiom, and Rel,ui-
ons; the !Ari E!t?p/ 1a111iniwould not be big cnou~h :o
COnt3.111
 The,ChriflianPhilofopher. I I5
contain the thoufandth part of them. If it were law-
ful for me here to paufe with a particular Exe;·dfi upon
the Loadjlone, my firft Thoughts would be rhofe of the
holy Scudder, whofe vVords have had a great Imprem-
on on me ever fince my fir{l; reading of them in my
Childhood: 'An upright Mm'l.is like a Needle touch'd
' with the LMdjlone; tho he may thro boill erous
' Temptaiions and firong Alluremr!n_ts oftentimes look
' towards the Pleafore, Gain and Glory of this p;-efem
< World, yet becaufe he is truly touch'd with the
' fancrifying Spirit of God, he frill inclineth God-ward,
' and hath no ~iet till he fl:and jl eady towards Heaven.'
-·- Ho,vever;to aninfate the Devotion of my Chri-
f lian Philofopher, I will here make a Report to him.
The ingenious Ward wrote a pious Book, as long ago
as the Year 1639, entitled, Magnetis ReduRorium Theo-
logicum. The Defign of his Efiay, is, to lead us from
the Confideration of the Loadflone, to the Confiderati-
on of our SAvrouR, and of his incomparable Glories;
whereof the Magnet has in it a notable Adumbration .
In his IntroduB:ion he has a Note, ·worthy to be tr:ln-
fcribed here, as religioufly afferting the Defign, of
which our whole Eifay is a Profecution. Hie pracipuw
& potentiffimusCreaturarumomnium Finis ejl, cum Scala
nobis& Ala fiunt, . quibus Anim::enojlrafupra Dmneta &
Sterquilinia Jl,fundi hujus rvolitanter, fa cilius ad Ccelum
afcendzmt, & ad Deum Creatoremafrirant. For what is
now before us, if our TVard may be our Adviier;
Chriflian, in the Loadjlune drawing ar.d lifting up the
lr in, behold thy Savi:u;- draw ing us to himfelf, and
ra ifing us above the fecular Cares and Snares tbat ru -
in us. In its ready communicationof its Venues, be-
hold a fhadow of thy Saviour communicat ing his holy
Spirit to his chofen People; :.1.ndhi'> j'l,Jinifiers nwre
particular! y made Parta kers of his attr,iffinJe ,1)/u.:en.
\ Vhen Siber and Gold arc neglected by the Lc,ilftwe,
but ccarfc Iron preferred, beholLi rhy Srrvicur p3lllq~
over the Angelical!Vir!d, an<l cbufing to t~.kc c 1.r Na.-
I ~ 11.re
 Ir 6 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
t ure upon him. The !run is alfo und1flmgui1hed,whe:
thcr it be lodged in a fine Co vering, or whether it be
lying in the mofi fgu:tlid and wretched Circumfiances;
which invites us to think how little refpefl of Perfons
there is with our Sa'lliour. However, the Iron {hould
be clam.fed, ir 1hould not be rufly; nor will our Savi-
our embrace thofc who are not fo far cleanfad,that they
arc nt leufr wi!iing to be made clean, and have his Files
ptls upon them. The Ironis at firfimerelypaffive,then
it mo'l.lelmore feebly towards the Stone; anon upon
Contact it \\ ill fly co it, and exprcfs a marrellous Af-
fection and Adherence. Is not here a· PiB:ure of the
Dilpofici cns in our Souls to,vards our Saviour? It is
(he Pkafu rc of our Saviour to work by lnflrmne12 ts,
as the Loa,tjlonewill do mofl: when the Med iation of a
Steel Capis uicd about it. After all, whatenr is done,
the whole Praife is due to the Loadflonealone. But
there would be 110 end, and indeed there fh ould be
ncne, of thcfe :i\feditations ! -- Our IVa rd in his
Dedication of his Book to the King, has one ,·cry
true Compliment. Hoc rwfim lvfajefl,ui tut£ bcua.fide
fpt!i1dere;Ji unicw 1mimm poj]idm:s,ft11mdi totiur te facile
11/ 011,irchrlill cffi.-eret. But what a Great KING is He,
\\ho is the Owner, yea, and the Maker of all the
.Maguctsin the \Vorld ! I am a Great KI NG, faith the
l.ord vf Hefts, and mJ Nmne is to be feared among the
N,uio;,s ! May the Loadflo11e help to carry it to them.

E S S A Y XXV. Of 1v11 N E R AL s. .

0 PERU}, [ Dci Coguithnem(fays my dear Arndt)

q,di!,et ex Ji11cero er.~aDmm amore & gratitudine,
fibi i1cq11i, <'ref,11de.1t,lit fci.u, (jll.c Dmr nofiri caufa crea-
'1.'r,·it. }·k [miles at the trifling Logicimzs, who, totam
.:rt,11,111ime,· i;1,mo Subtilit(!tes trmifigrmes, wholly taken
up ,\ ith '1, itf:.r, o\'crlook the giorio us \\'orks of G0d.
O ur Dmh is richly fornilhc,1 wirh a Tribe of ftli-
;1c;·,z!s,called fo b::caufc dug out of Afi1m; ttnd bc-
c:mfc
 'Ibe ChriftianPhilofopher. I I 7
caufe dug, ther~fore. a}fo called Fuflils. Many things
to be written of thefe, ot1ght to ban~ a Nimok in the
Margin!
'I he adventitiousA[jils, which arc but the Exuvi-£
of Animals, hm·e been erroneouOy thought a fort of
peculiar Stones. Thefe mufl: be excludql.
But then the Nntives of the Earth are to be found in
a vafi variety. The inquifitive Dr. lVuod-a:ardhas
prepared us a noble Table of them.
There are near twentv fcveral forts of Earth. Of
thefe, befides the Potrir's Earth , and the Ful'er's
Earth, how exceedingly ufeful is the Chrdkto us! 'Tis
a '170Au';(.fl!S1iY.
There are above a dozen fe\·eral forts of Stom,,
that are found in la,''ler Maffes.
What Vejfels, wh~t Buildings, what Ornaments, do
thcfe afford us; efpecially the Slate, the ll,1mNe, the
f"ree-fione, and the I.ime-ftone?
How helpful the fVnrming-jlone?
How needful the Grind-jloneand ,liill-jlcnc ?
To the Service of our 1faker wc have fo m:rny
Calls from the Stonesthem~lves~ [for if Jl,,fm fhould be
iilent at proclaiming the Glory of God, the 'ilerySto1w
would Jpeak] that a learned and a pious Ge,wmz fo ad-
dreffes us: Audis tibi kquemes Lapides; ttt ne .fis Lafis
ii; hac parte, fed ipforum Vocem audi, & in illis Vocem.
Dei.
The U7hetflon11gives me a particular Admonition,
which I have fomewhere met with: Multi mu/ta doc~nt
a!irs, qua ipji prtejlare nequeunt. The worfr Motto for
a Divine that can be ! Lord, Jav,e me from it !
How afl:onifhing the Figures, which Dr. Robinfon
and Mr. Ray report, as naturally delineated upon fe-
veral kinds of Stone~; ~lmofl:every thing in Nature
defcribed in them, fo as could not be out-done by any
Sculptor or Painter ! The Col,1ptice,fuch as no Human
Skill could <\rifeto !
I ]
1r 8 711e Chrijlian Philofo
pher.
Yea, in Stoner th ere has been fometimes t0u~d fo
much c,f an Jluman Si'ape, that every thing rea1 } m it
ha.~ been aftmvfhcd at Jt. Z riler and K, rcher ment on
fome famous R 1l'kr, which fo rcfemblc Jh nl..j, that ,ti!
People call them fo. VI.ms lVo, mmr \\ as Poffeflor ot a
large Stnr.e, which had exactly the Head, F:1H, N((;k
and S!10l,ldcrsof a 111.m. Monco;myrand otnLrs rcla e
the fc\-cral l 1arts of a Man, which many Stcne.rha\'e
exafrly o.hibited. (J/; ! /;ow happy u:e, ifi11en and Stoner
!-ad l,j 1 Refeml-/m;ce!
There arc many forts of Stones found in /,.!fer/l.1ajfes.
Of thcfe there arc many who do not exceed the
h:1.rdnefsof A1arble.
Seven or eight of thcfc arc of an i11determinateFi-
gun'.
Twice ac;many ha,·c a detenninate Figure.
Among thcfe 'the \V onders of the Ofleo-colla, to join
and heal our brof..enB rones. ·
· But then there are others which do exceed ;iJarUe
in hardncfs.
To this Article belong thofe that arc ufually called
G,n:.ror p,·e,io:u Stmcs. •
[Pebble;and Flints are of the Agme-l.:.ind.]
Some of rhffe arc ota!.e.
Three of the orah lia,·e a Body of one Coluur.
Here the \Vonders of the Ncphritick Stoue!
Three of the opr.kehave dffe;-ent Coloursmixed in the
fame Bodv.
Herc Lhc\\'ondcrs of the Blcod-Jlo11e !
Some arc pe!.'ucid.
T \\'o with Colo:..rs accordin; to their <lif-
chm1.._'{.ei1ble,
terC'lt pofition in the Li ht.
}, inc or ten with Colvzffsperma1,c;1t.
S('mc arc dinpl•n;:11us.
•1 \\ o ;tl!u-..u( or partaking of it.)
Thrl'c rcJ.
·y h1tc ll.,r.
'1\._ grcr;1.
(J

Four ·u:itlout mzyl >lwrs. 'But

 q-'heChriflianPhilofopher. I r9
< But an excellent \Vriter obferving, Deus eft Figu-
' l11sLapidum, carries on his Obfervat ion, That the
' God who makes precious as well as co11 :monSto;;.:s, has
' made Men with as nrnch of a Djf-erenceJ and not al-
' togethe_r without fuch a Proportion.'
' GoodGod, Thy heaw nly Gracesin the Soul are l,rfrhta
' Jewels than any that are dug out of the Earth ! A "'poor
' Man may be adorn\! with thcfe; thofe who are fo,
c they fhall be mine, faith the Lord, in the Day whm l
~ make up my Jr:wels.' ·
' How often have I feen a Jewel in the Snout of a
~ Swh,e !'
'And how many Cottnte1feitsin the vVorld !' ·
There are feven forts of Salts to be met withal.
But the Salt of our Table, of how much confequence
th is to us! The Ufes of it are too many to be by any
reckoned : Very many are v,ell known to all. To
which add the Experience which Bickerus affirms the
Arm y of the Emperor CharlesV. had, that they mufl:
have pcrii11'd on the African Shore, if they had not
found a Grain of .Salt in their Mouths; an Antidote
i1ot only again!l Thirfl, but Hunger too.
He dcferves to be herded with the Creatures, which
An imam habentpro Sale, who !hall be fo infipid an Ani-
mal, as to be infenfible that the Benefits of Salt call
for very great Acknowledgments. Aty God, Jave me
f rom what would renderme unfa'VorySalt !
There are three liquid Bitumens, !ix or feven folid.
There are about a dozen metallickJl,,Jinerals.A1emtry
is one of thefe, but how a!l:onifhing an one ! The Par-,
ticks whereof how fmall, how fmooth, how folid !
The . Corpufcles of it ha,·e Diameters much le[s tha11
thofc of Air; yea, than thofe of Water; and not much
greater th :m thofe of Light itfelf !
At Iai1:we come to l\1etals; Iron, with i~s Atten -
dants ; Tin, Lead, Coppe;·, Silver and Go L D.
' I ihall not confider the Rcafons which mm·ed
' Cardtm to affcrt that 1. lletafr h:n·c a Soul; but I am
1 4 'fore
I 20 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
' fore that I myfelf hnve a Soul, and am one that is
' renfonable; if fo, what can be more agreeable to me,
' rh:m a Confid eration which I find hinted by a c.:uri-
ous \Vritcr of naturlll Tl.-eology;\Ve lhould admire
' the Jt,f1mificence
of one who would bdl:ow a confide-
' rable ~amity of enriching Metals upon us. But
' then how n~uch caufc ha\·e we to adore the Muniji.-
' cenceof our bountiful GO D, who has enrich'd us
' with Afetaif info ,·afl:a Quanti~y, and with Comuch
' Profofioa from His hidden Treajures ! Quotufquifque
' rfl qui non 'Videt, quid Ratio officiiJui poftulat r
How amazingly fervicrable 1s our Iron to us! In our
m£cl:anica/Arts, in our Agriw!ture, in our Na'Vigation>
in ourA1·chiteElurc;in all, I fay, at, our Bufincfs ! \Vhat
a fordid Life do tho[e Barbarians lead, who are kept 1g-
nora11t of it! Unthank!ul for this, 0 1v!an,you deferre
Hem;en lhould become as Iron over you.
It is from G O D that the .Metals of mofl: necef.ary
Ufc,; are t he mofl: plentiful; others that may be bet-
ter fpared, there is a r:1rity of them.
That one fingle Metal, Iron, as Dr. Grew obferres,
jt ~ets on foot abo\·c an hundred forts of manual Ope-
rat ons.
Tho the Love if J\1oneybe the Root of aU E•vil, yet
!he ingenioµs Dr. Cocklmnzhas difcourfed \'ery jufrly
on the vafl Imp ortance whereof the Ute of Aloney is to
:Mankind. And indeed where the Ufc of A1oneyhas
not bl'cn imrodµced, Men are bruti!h and fa\'age, and
nothir.g that is good h;ts been cultivated.
There is a furprizing Providence of GOD in keep-
ing up the Value of G~ld and Silver, notwith!l:anding
the rnfl Qua:1tities dug out of the Earth in all .A,ges,
r.vcr fince the Trade bei:;un cf ejfodirmturOpes; nnd fo
continuing them fit Matcr;nls to make 1l1or.cy of.
Among the marrcllous ~alitics of Gold, its D11Eli-
lity ddcncs to have a particular Notice take1i of it.
The /Vi re-drawer.<,to crery 48 Ounces of Silver,
nilow one of Gold. Now tu:o Tards of the fuperfine
Wirr;
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. I 2.I
Wireweigh a Grain. In the Length of 98 Yards there
are 49 Grains of Weight. A fingle Grain of Gold co-
vers the faid 98 Yards. The 10000th part of a Grain
is above one third of an Inch long, which yet may be
p.B:uallydivided into ten; and fo the 100000th part of
a Grain of Gold may be vifible without a Microfcope.
It is a marvellous thing that Gold, after it has been
divided by corrofive Liquors into iwuifible Partr, yet
m::1yprefently be fo precipitated, as to appear in its
o,•.:ngoldenForm again.
But, as Dr. 'Grew obferves, the fame Immutaba;ty
which belongs to the Compofition of Gold, much more
belongs to the Principlesof Gold, and of all other Bo-
dies, when their Compofition is defi:royed. Dampier:,
an ingenious 'Traveller all round the Globe, has an
Obfervation; I know no Place where Gold is found, /mt
what is 'lleryunhealthy.
' Poffeffor of Gold! Beware left the Obfervation be
' verifitd in the unhealthyInfluences of thy Gold upon
~ thy Mind; and lefl: the /07.1e of it betray thee into
' many foolifh and hurtful Lufis, which will drown thee
~ in Deftruilion and Perdition.'
~ The Auri facra Fames is the worfi: of all Difiem-
' pers.'
My God, I hlefsThee; I know fomething that is better
than fine Gold, fomething that cannot be gotten for Gold,
neither/hall Sil'llerbe weighedfor the Price thereof.
If Gold could fpeak, it would rebuke the Idolatry
wherewith Mankind ad-ores it, in much fuch Terms
as I find a devout \Vriter affigning to it. Non Deus
fum, fed Dei Creatura; Terra mihi Mater. Ego Jer'llio
tibi, ut tu fervia s Crratori.
,r. 'Finally, The antient Pagans not only worlhip-
' ped the Hofi of Hea'Uen,(jufrly called Zabians] but
11: whatfoever they found comfortableto Nature,· they
,t: alfo deified, even, Qtodczmqueju'llaret. The River
11: Nilus too mufi at length become a Deity; yea~Naf -
~ ,unttfr in hortis Numina.>
~ And
 1 22 :TheChrijlian Philofopher.
' And according to Pliny, a A'Lm that helps a N£1,1
' becomesa God.'
'God fovc us from the Crime ftigmatiz'd by ou·r
' Apofilc, to adore the Creatures·more than the Creator!
' Ey no means let us be as Philo f peaks, K?:rµ~v µ11.>J,o,
9"utd,-tt.Y1H,morE admiring the l//orld, thau
' 11' K.ca-µc~onv
' the Maker of the /,Vorlti.'
' \Ve will glorify the G OD who has bcllo\\·cd,
' things upon us; fur the Silver is mine, and the Gold i~
~ mine, faith the Lord of llofh.'
. ·

ESSAY XXVI. O/theVEGE TABLES.

T HE Contri\·ancc of our rnofl Glorious Creator ,

in the VECa:.TAnLFs growing upon this Globe,
cannot be wifely obfcn·ed without Admiration and
Afl:onifl1ment.
\Ve will finglc out fome Remarkables, and glorify
our G OD !
Firfl:, In what mannir is Vegetation pcrforn1ed? And
how is the Growth of Plmts and the Incrcafc of their
Parts carried 011 ? The cxccilcnt and ingenious Dr.
'Johz /Voodward has, in the way of nice Experiment,
brought this thing under a c!ole Examination. It is
c\·idcnt that FVtuc,· i~ ncce!fary to Vi:~etation; there is
a lVizter which afccnds the V dfols t,f the Plmus, n1uch
afrer the way ot a Filtrati.n ; and the Plants cake up ~
larger or Idler ~amity of this Fluid, according to
their Dimcnfions. 'fhe mucl1 gre~rcr rart of that
fluid i\llfs which is cmn-eycd to the Plants, does not
abide there, but exhale thro them up into the Atmo-
fphcre. I knee Countries that abound with bigger
l'l,mtI arc obnoxious to greater Damps, and Rams,
and inconvenient Humidities. But there is a'.fo a zcr-
,·e(lri.1l11-lma which is mixed with this TViae;-,and
:ifcends up into the J>/muswith the /Vater. Something
of thi,; 1'.fnttcr will attend /,fl'ater in ull it.~motions,
and ft:ck by it after .ti! its Percolations. Indeed the
Qian-
 %e ChriftianPhilofopher. 123
~ant "ty of this terreflrial Matt er, w hich the Vapours
ca1ry up mto the Atm.f phere, is very fin e, and not very
,nucb, but it is the trueH: and the bell: pr epared vegeta-
/;le 1',fatter; for whic h caufe it is that Rain-lVi ucr is of
fuc h a fingular Fert ility. 'Tis true t here is in 'fVater
a mineral Matter alfo, ·which is ufually too fcabrous,
and ponderous, and inflexible, to enter the Pores of
the Roots. Be the Earth ever fo r ich, 'ris obferved lit-
tle good will come of it, unlcfs t he. farts of it be loo-
fened a little, and feparated. And thi s probably is all
the ufo of Nitre and other Salts to Plants, to loofen the
fa ;rt h, and fep ara :e the Parts of it. It is this terre-
flrial Matter which fills t he Plants ; they are more or
lefs nourifued and augmented in proportion, a:; their
Wate;· conveys a greater or leifer quantity of proper
terreflrial Mattfi· to them. Neverthelefs 'tis aifo pr~
bable that in this there is a variety; and all Plants are
not formed and filled from the . fame fort of Corpufclef.
Every Vigetable fecrns to require a peculiar and fpecifick
lvlatter for its Formation and Nouri!hment. If t he
Soil wherein a Seed is planted, have not all or mofi of
the_ Ingredients nece{fary for the Vegetable to fub.ift
upon, it will fuffer accordingly. Thus Wheat fown
upon a Trace of Land well furniih'd for the Supply of
that Grain, will fucceed very well, perhaps for divers
Years, or, as the Husbandman expreiles it, ar long af
the Ground is in heart; but anon it will produce no
more of that Corn; it will of fome other, perhaps of
Barley: and when it will fubfifl: this no more, frill
Oats will thri,,e there; and perhaps Peafe after thefe.
\Vhcn the Ground has lain fallow fome time, the Rain
w ill pour down a frefh Stock upon it; and the care :
of the Tiller in manuring of it, lays upon it fuch things
as arc mofi: impregnated with a Supply for Vegetation.
It is obfer v'd that Spring-waterand Rain-water contain
pretty near an equal charge of the vegetableMatter, but
Ri'Ver-water much more than either of them ; and
hence th e Inundations of Rivers leave upon their
Banks
124 'The ChrijlianPhilofopber.
Banks the faire!l CrQps in the \Vorld. It is now plain
that Watt, is not the lvlatter that compofcs Vegetabler,
but the Agem that conreys that Matter to them, and
introduces 1t into the fevcral parts of them. 'Where-
fore the plentiful pro\'ifion of this Fluid fopplied to all
Parts of the Earth, is by our Woodward jufHy celebra-
ted with a pious Acknowledgment of that natural
Providmcethat fuperintends over the Globe which we
inhabit. The Parts of Wmer being exactly fpherical,
and fubtile beyond all cxprcffion, the Surfaces perfecl:ly
polite, and the Intervals being therefore the largefi,
and Cothe mofr fitting to recei\·c a foreignMatier into
them, it is the mofl: proper lnfl:ru1;11entimaginable for
the Service now affign'd to it. ,A.ndyet lf/nte,· would
not perform this Office an.d Service to the Plants, if it
be not affifted with a due quantity of Heat; J:Ieatmufi
concur, or l/-egetationwil\ not fucceed. ~ence ~s the
Heat of fcrer~l S,eafons affords a different face of th~ngs,
the fame does the Heat of feveral Climate!. The hottei·
Countries u[ually yield the largerTrm, and in a great-
er rnricty. And in w,mner Countries, if there be a
remiffion of the 11fualH~M, the ProduEtion ,vill in pro-
portion be dimini~1'd. .
That I may a little contribute my two Mites to the
illuftration of the ,my where in Vegetmiw is carried on~
I will here communicate a couple of Experiments late-
ly i;i1adt>in my Neighbourhood.
My Neighbour planted a Row of Hills in his Field,
with our lndimz Com, but fuch a Grain as was colour'd
red and blue; the refl: of the Field he planted with.
Corn of the mofl: ufual Colour, which is Je!!ow. To
the ffi ') fl: lfJ',11dw,1
rd-JiJe this Row infeeted four of the
next neighbouring Rows, and part of the fifth, and
fomc of the tixth, to render them colour'd like what
grew on itfclf. Bur on the Lee..:. •,1rd-.fideno lcfs than
frrcn or eight Rows were fo colour'd, and fame fmal-;
Icr impreffions were made on thofc that were yet ful'-
ther d iflant.
'The
 TheChriflianPhilofopher. 115
t"fhe fame Neighbour having his Garden offen
robb'd of the Squafbes growing in it, planted fome
Gourdsamong them, which are co appearance very like
them, and which he difiinguilh'd by certa,n adjacent
marks, that he might not be himfelf impofed upon;
by this means the Thieves 'tis true found a very bitttr
Sauce, but then all the Squafbeswere fo infeB:ed and
embitter' d, that he was not himfelf able to eat what
the Thieves had left of them.
That moll accurate and experienc'd Botunifr Mr.
Ray has given us the Plants that are more commonly
met withal, with certain charaB:erifiick Notes, where-
in he efiablifues twenty-ji'lleGenders of them. Thefe
Plants are to be rather {tiled Herbs.
· But then of the Trees and Shrubs, he difiingui1hes
five Clajfes that have their Flower disjoi11ed and re-
mote from the Fruit, and as many that have their
Fmit and Flowercontiguous.
How unaccountably is the Figure of Plants prefer-
ved ? And how unaccountably their Growth <letem1i-
ned ? Our excellent Ray flies to an intelligent plaflick
Nature, which mufi: undcrfiand and regulate the whole
Oeconomy.
Every particular part of the Plant has its afronifhing
Ufes. The Roots give it a Stability, and fetch the
Nourilbment into it, which lies in the Earth ready for
jr. The Fibrescontain and convey the Sap which car-
ries up that Nouri!hment. The Plant has alfo larger
V d1els, which entertain the proper and fpec,fick Ju .ce
of it; and others to carry the Air for its neceUary re-
fpiration. The outer and inner Bark defend it from
Annoyances, and contribute to its. Augmentation.
'fhe Leaws embrace and preferve the Flower and Fruit
as they come to their explication. But the pr:nc ,pal
nfe of them, a,;; MzlpigU, and Perault, and Mariotte,
l1ave obfen 'ed, is, to cor.coB: and prepare the SatJtor
the Nourifbmcnt of the Fmit, and of the whole Plant;
not only that which afcends from the Root 1 but alfo
wnat
116 <The
ChriflianPhilofopher.
what they take ,n from without, from the Dew, :ind
from the Rain. For thert! is a regrefl ot the Sn. in
Piants from above downwa rds ; and this dcfcendent
Juice is that which principally nom<ihes both Fru t
and Plant, as has been clearly pr~H·edby the Experi-
ments of Signior .Afiz/pighiand Mr. Brotherton.
How agreeable the Shade of Plmm, let ever) ~fan
fay that jiu t1nderUs ou1z Vine, and under /,is own Fig-
tree !
How charming the Proportion and Pulchritude of
t he Leaves, the Flo-:.;.·ers, the Fruits, he who confefles
not, mull be, as Dr. More fays, ~;:efimk into a fodur.;i
pitch vf Degmc,·acJ,mrdflupid as II BMf}.
Our S:n-iour fays of the Li/lier (which fome, not
without reafon, fuppofe to be Tulip,) thnt Solomon in
nll his Glory wm not arrn;-edlike one ,if t/Jefe. A nd it is
obfern:·d by Sp~~elius,that the Art of the- mnfl c:.k:!ful
Painter cannot fo mingle and temper his OJ/11,m, a5 ex-
ricl:lyto imitate or counterfeit the native ones of the
Flowen of Vegetables. ·
Mr. Ray thinks it worthy a t'cry particular Ob-
ferrat ion, that Wheat, which is the bdt fort of Grnin,
and affords the wholcfomefi Bread, is iu a fingu'.ar
manner patient of both Extremes, both Heat and Cold,
and will grow to matur!t)' ~,~ w~ll in Scotlaud, acd in
Dmmm·k, ac;in Eg.,pt, and Gui;r~r,and 11!.ul,rgaj.ir.It
fcarcc rcfofes any Climate. And the cxcecdi1w F.rti-
/it)' of it is by a Pagan Pliny acknowledged as ·an Tn-
ftance of the Divine Bounty to 1'fan, Q..!'od eo ,r.,1>.in1e
liomi1.n1 nfot, O!le Ik01cl in a fit Soil, he fays, ) icld-
ing one hundred a1Jd fifty. A Ce, m,m Di\·ine fo for
plays the Pnilcfophcr on this Occ:iiion, as to pr } fc
it for a Singularity in Ere.id, that: tot1mz C(I'IIJ Jt,fle,.t,zt,
adco, ut in 111:icaB:,ce''J, om,:ium /'1-lmrl,rrwum10iru ex. r-
ni CortC1rir, il1'trimn!rim crminMtur, ifiiu}rp,eV, [er t !, 1t
On·p:uJefe d:ffim.!nt. A Friend of 111111chad t 1 ·, n-ft.-.:
Enrs of R,·c gro\ving from C1m Gr.1iu, ~u.J. t • , m
S:alk.
L .•t:
 er/JcChriftianPhilofopher. 127
But of our Indian Corn, one Grain of Cornwill pro-
duce above a thoufand. And of Guiney Corn, one Grain
bas been known to produce ten thouflmd.
The Anatomy ofiP/ants, as it has been exhibited by
the incomparable Curiofity of Dr. Grew, what a vafc
Field of 1-Vondersdoes it lead us into !
The mofr inimitable StruRur2 of the Parts!
The particular Cana!J,~nd mofr adapted ones, for
the conveyance of the lymphatick and effential Juices!
The Air-Vijfels in all their curious Coylings !
The Co'Verings·which befriend them, a vVork un-
fpeakably more curious in reality than in appearance !
• The firange Texture of the Leaves, the angular or
circular, but always mofl: orderly Pofition of their Fi-
lms; the various FoldingsJwith a Duplicature, a A,Jul-
tiplicawre, the Fore-row!, the Back-1·owl, the Ti·e-rowl;
the noble Guard of the Films interpofed !
The Flowers, their Gaiety and Fragrancy ; the Pe-
riantbium or Empalement of them; their curious Fold-
ings in the Calyx before their Expanfion, with a clofe
Couch. or a t:oucaveCouch, a jingle Plait or a double Plait,
pr a Plait and Couchtogether, or a Row!, or a Spire, or
Plait and Spire together; and their luxuriant Colours
after their Foliation, and the expanding of their Pe-
ta/a! •
The Stamina, with their Apiw; -and the StJltt.r
( called the Attire by Dr. Grew) which is· found a fort.
of Male Sperm, to impregnate and fructify the Seed !
At lafi. the whole Rudiments and Lineaments of the
;Parent-Vegetable,furprizingly lock'd up in the little
compafs of the Fruit or Seed!
Gentlemen of Leifure, confult my illufl:rious Docr0r,
-perufe his Anatomy of Plants, ponder his numbenefs
Difcoverics; but all the while confider that rare Pcr-
fon as inviting you to join with him in adoring t,1c
God of his Fathe,, and the God ·who has done thefe ex-
cellentthings, which ought to be knov:n in all the Earth.

Signior
1 :z.8 TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
Signio:: Malpighi has maimain'd it with cogent .
Arguments, that the whole Plant is aaually in the
Seed; and he anfwers the grand Objeetion againft it•
which is drawn from a degeneracy of one Plant fome•
times into another. One of his Anfwers is, Ex mvr-
bufo& monftrofoajfeElu, non licet inferrepmnanemem fla-
wm aNatu ra imentum.
But there is no Objection to be made againfl: Ocular
Obfer'Vaticn. Shew us, Lewenhoeck,how it is? He will
gi"·e us to fee, a fmall Particle no bigger than a Sand>
contain the Plant, and all belonging to it, all actually
in that little Seed; yea, in the Nux vamica it appears
even to the naked Eye, and in an afl:onifhing Elegan-
cy ! Dr. CheJnecxprefies himfelf with good alfurance
upon it : ' f,Ve are certai;z that the Seedsof Plants are
' nothing but littl,: Plants perfectly formed, with Bran-
' ches and Leaves duly folded up, and involved in
' A-Iemb raneJ, or furrounded with lVa !ls proper to de-
~ fend them in this tender fl:ate from external Injuries;
' and Vegetation is only the unfolding and extending
' of thcfe Branches and LC.1vcs, by the force of Juices
.' raifcd by Heat in the fiender Tubes of the Plant.'
Thofe capiliaryPlants, which all the Ancients, and
fome of the Moderns, ha,·e tak en to be dcftitute of
Seed,, arc by Bauhinur and othei;s now pronounced
Spermatophorow. Mr. Ray fays, Hm;c Semcntiam 7Jeriffi-
mam ejfe Auwpfia w:'Vincit. _
F,·. Crxfiusclaims to be the firfl: ,vho difcovered the
Seeds of thr.:fe Plams, with the help of a /11icrofcupe.
One Mr . Cole has profccuted the Obfcrvat ion, and is
afl:oni01cd at the fmall Dim enfions of the Seeds. The
Boxes or V ef1cls that hold the :Seedsarc not hall-: per-
haps not a quarter, fo big as a Gram of Sand ; and
yet an hundredSt!ed,arc found in one of thcfc '1.mtmn
Pl.mtam e tamil/o Semine produci attemum Obfarv,ztQrt!m
merito in Admir,itiomm rapiat !
Sir Thoma; Bro-u:uol,fcrrcs, That of the Seeds of
TobrucCJ a thoufand make not one Grain; ( tho Otro de
Gz,eric,
 :[be. ChriflianF_hilofopher.119
Gieeric, as I remember, fays, fifti-two Cyphers with
one Figure will give the Number of th ofe, which
would . fill the Space between us and the Stars !) A
Plant which has extended its Empire over the -whofe
W ot!d,' :and has a larger Dominion than any of all the
YegetableKin~dom. , . .. ,
· Ten thoufarid Seeds of Harts-tongue hardly friakc
the.Bulk of~ Pepper-corn.But now, as Dr. Grew notes,
the ·Body, with the Covers of every Seed, the lig11eous
and p~renchy,?lo_us Par!s of bot?, the Fibres of thofe
Pates, . the Prmc1ples ot thofc Fibres, and the homo-
geneous Particles of thofe Principles, bei11g him mo-
derately multiplied one by another, afford·an hundred
thoufand millions of Atoms formed in the Space of a'
Pepper-corn.'; _But who can define how manyrn~re -f
The Ufes of Trees i11various Works were elegant-
ly celebrated; as long ago as when T/Jeophrnflz1s ,,,.rote
his fifth Book of the Hiflory of Plants. ' •- J
And what · flately Trm do fometimes by their glori-
ous Eeight and · Breadth recommend · themfelves · to a
more fingular Obfervatiot1 with us! The Cabbage-tree
an hundred and forty or fifty Foot high, as if it i·ere
afpiring to afford a Diet to the Regions above ·us";
how noble a· Spectacle l
'The Treeswhich are found fometimes near "twenty
Foot, or perhaps more, in circumference, ,vhat capa<"
'cious Canoesdo they afford, wh en the Traveller makes
them change their Element? Near Scio there is an
Iiland call_ed Long-ljland,and on this H1and (as 70. P_itts
·tells us) there js a Tree of a prod igious bignefs; un-
der it _are C,o j{ee-houfes, and many Shops of ieveral In-
tent ions, and fcveral F ountains of \Vater; and it- has
near forty Pillars ·of M arble and of Timber to fuppo rt
the Br~mches of it. It is a Tree famous to a Prov erb
all over T urkey.
fa ·en th e moft noxious and the mofl: abjeft of the
Vegetables, how uCeful arc they ! As of t he Br?Lm!,/ e
Dr. Grew notes, If it ch(lnce to prfrk the Owner, it -u:i!l
K ••!Jo
130 :Ihe ChriftianPhilofopheY.
alfatea¥ the Thief. O/a:er Maguur admires the Benefits
which the rottenBarks of Oak, gi,·c to the Northern
People, by the Shine, with which they do in their long
Nights dired the Trareller. And Dr. Merret cele-
brates the Thiflles, and the Hop-firings, for the Glaj
afforded by their Allies !
Thefmgal Bit of the old Britons, which in the big-
ncfs of a Beau facisfied the mofi hungry and thirfiy
Appetite, is now thrown into the Catalogue of the Res
deperdi1a.
The peculiar Care which the great God of Nature
has taken for the Safety of the Seedand Fruit, and fo
for the Confen·ation of the Plant, is by my ingenious
Derha111 confidered as a loud Invitation to His Praifes.
They which dare fl1ew their Heads all the Year,
how fccurely is their Seed •or Fruit lock'd up in the
\Vintcr in their Gems, and well corer'd with neat and
clofe T.tmicksthere !
Such as dare not expofe themfekes, how are they
preferved under the Cm·erture of the Earth, till invi-
ted out by the kindly \Varmth of the Spring !
When the Vegetable Race comes abroad, what firangc
Methods of N ature are there to guard them from In-
€om·eniences, by making fomc to lie down profuatc,
by making others, which were ~y the Anticnts called
.1£,fchyzomm ~ , ro clofe thcmfelves up at the Touch of
Animals, and by making th e mofl:of them to fhut up
under their guard i11the cool of the fa ·ening, cfpeci-
:illy if there be foul \Vc.=i thcr approaching; which is
by Ger/,ar.itherefore called, '171eCormt,Jman's Weather-
v.:ifar!
\ Vhat \'arious ways hac;Katu re for the fcmtering and
ot the S-·ed! Some ::irefor this end winged
the Jo-:.t•iu.t
" ith :i. light fort ot a D own, to be carried about with
the Sred by the \ Vind. Some arc laid in fpringy cafcs,
wh ich " hen the\' burfl: and c:-.u:k, dart their Seed to a
d 1(b nct·. pcrfo1m'ng thcrt'i ll the pare of an Husband-
man, O ther~ by their good ~alitics inrite them-
felres
 <TheChrij}ianPhilofopher. I j I 1

felves to be fwallowed bythe ~irds, and being ferti-

Jiz.'d by paffing thro their Bodies, they are. by them
trf1,nsferred'to places where they fruB:ify. Theophraflus
affirms this of the Mifletoe; and Ta'llernierof the Nut--
1neg. Others not thus taken care for, do; hy their
Ufefulnefs to us, oblige us to look after them.
It is a little furprizing, that Seedsfound in the Giz.~
r..,ardsof Wild-fowl, have afterwards fprouted in the
Earth; and Seedsleft in the Dung of the Cattel. .The
Seeds of Marjoram and Strammonium,carelelly kept;
have grown after feven Years. . , .
How nice the provifion of Nature for their Suppoft
in fianding and growing, that they may keep their
;Ileads above ground, and adminifler to our Intentions!
.There are fome who fui:nd by their own Strength j
and. the ligneous parts of thefe, tho' like our Bonesi
yet are not, like t hem, inflexible, but of an elafrick
nature, that they may dodge t heViolence of the \.Vinds:
and their Branches at the top very commodiouily have
a tendency to an hemifpherical Dilatation, but with'"'
in fuch an Angle as makes an .£quilib:ratiori tbete ;
An ing,enious Obferver upon this one Circtimfianc e,
cannot forbear this jufi Reflecrion : A vijible Argument
that the plafiick Capacitiesof Matter are go'llern' d 6yaJi
all-wife and {nfiniteAgent, thr:native Striclneffesand Re-
gularities of them plainly foewing from whofe Hand they
i·ome. And then fuch as are too weak to fl-and of
tbemfe!'lles, 'tis wonderful to {ee how they ufe the Help
of their Neighbours,addrefs them, embrace them, clirhb
up about them, fome twifring them1elves with a firange
convol'llingFaculty, fame catching hold with Clafpers
and Tendrels,·which are like Hands to _theni; fotne
{hiking in tooty Feet, and fome emitt ing a natura l
Glue, by which they adhere to their Supporters.
But, Oh ! the glorious Goodnefs of our GOD in all
thefe things! Lend us thy Pen, 0 indtifl:rious Ray, to
declare a little of it . · Plantdrum ufus latijfhn'::paw, &
in omniVitte parte cn:urrit. Sine i/lis "Jut~, flu~ illis cont..
K :i nzode,.
132 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
mod~ non rviruit1tr;ai nee vivittti' omnino:qu,wmque ad
ad Ddiciasfacirmt, eIr
frmt, qui:rcu;iq_ue
'Vif1~111 1uccjfari,z
c•1pkti{fimoji,o Pe,lu abui:di!Jr1b111h1!jlram.
Q!umto ex ii s
Jlfehfa imzccentior,mzmdlct,f,tl11b~ior , quam ex Animali-
ttm C.-cde& Ln11it11a ! J%inoccrte Na tura Animal caruivo-
rum uon· cfl ~ 1111//is
ad P~,td,mt& R apinam armis inftm-
8mJI; · ntlii D mtibw e~atiJ & ferratis , non Unguibru
ad1J;l(iJ'. 11f.mu, ad· Fi't1[J1h ,·olligendus, D emer ad mmz-
deudos coinparati. Non hgimm ei ame D il(l'vium Carnes
ad efum coitceffm.At ;10;1 vi[lttm tantum nobi,fuppeditant,
fed & Vijlit11m, & l\1edici11am, & D omicilia, aliaqu,
/£,difi_cia, & Navigia, & Supelleflifem, & Focum, &
Oblec1am,l/ta.';mfuuhzAnimique, Ex his Naribus Odora~
& S11Jfrn11igi1t
;111•Jita p_armttm-: Homm Flores inenarrabili
Columm & Schemat11mVitrfrtatc & Elegamia Owlos exhi-
laraut, & fua•viffima Odunwi quos expirmzt Fragrantia,
Spiritus ;-ecn:mu. Hornm Frunus, Gultt illeceb,ttl\1enfas
farmdas inflrnzmt, & /mzguentemAppetitum excitam. 'I a-
ceo Virort11tOadis '.Amlmm, qrmz, per Pra~a, Pafcua,
Ag;-os,S)!var Jpatiamibus_objicitmt; & Umbras quas contra
.1£,flum (:)' Solis Adores pr.rbem. ,
Indeed all the Pl,1;1tsin thc1wholc VegetableK ingdom
arc every one of them fo 11fef11l, as to rife up for thy
ConJemnation, 0 M.w, -u:/.,o dofl little Good in the JVorld.
But fometimes the l!_ksof one fin.~! &Plant are fo many,
fo ,·arious, that a wife J\fan can fcarce behold it with-
out 'fomc Emulation a<;well as Admiraticn, or without
fomc wifhing, that if a ftli:t,m1orphojiswere t o bcfal
him, it might be into one of thcfo. Plutarch repo rts,
that the Bab)loili,zw out of the Palm-tree fetch'd more
than d1rcc hundrcJ G.:\·er:tlforts of Commodities.
The Coco-treefupplic,; the lndimzr with Bread, and
\ \'ater, and \Vine, and Vinegar, ~nd Bfandy, and
~!ilk, and Oil, and Honev, ~ll1li Sugar, and Needles,
nnd Thread, and Linnen, 'and Cloche~, nnd Cup,;, and
·~110011,,and Brfo1m,:ind I3a,kcts,and P:-ipcr,:md Nails;
1 "imber, Co ·crings for their Houfcs; Mafis, Sails,
Cvrdag1.:, for their V c!lels; .1dd, McJ1cincs for their
Dif-
 er/7~,\~hr.ij!ian.
Fpil.Q.[Pphet
! 3.3
Difeafes; and what can: be 1defired more? This is
more expreffiycly ,related ip ,the, Hortw ,fl!alabarims,
publi!hed. by the illqflrious T/411 J.)raakenfiein, ', . :
The AloeMwricata yields th¢ 4i1Jerica;zsaU that•thei~
N eceffiti"es~an call for. J)e (t;J,Vega an..i Margravewill
inform us how this alone fi.tmifhes 1 thern with Hm.lfes

ai1d Fences, and \Veapons of many forts, .a(1dSh.Q~~,

and Clothes, and 'l'hread, and Needles, ,and .\.Vine,
:ind Hoi1ey, a11d Utenfils. ct~at cannot -be1;numbred.
Hernandeswill ~{fore us, E/pntfJ ,bfc..iJ,nica,·quicquidVi.rte •
effe.P;ote.ft
necejfarium facil~ praJlare,p_otefl, Ji.'effeti"fbzishz~-
.mams modttf:. r. ,;': ! · ·; \. ·. J: •,:1 " . •
\V hat a , forptizing Diver!ity fro1n the . Cinnamon-
tree ! , ·~ . ·"- ,.. ,, ·,1 •• l "

to
, , 4 ,

Some will have the Plantm:zr; be ! th~ King.of-Ill!

Fruit, tho the Tree be litde more than te1J'Eoot: hi-gh,
and raifed not from Seed, but from the Root.1: ;ofthe old
ones. The Fruit a delicate Butter, and ofcdn the
whole Food that a whole F::imilywill fub!ill upo.n. .
Among the Ufesof Plan~s_, •how furprizing an one is
that, wherein we find them ufed fo.r Ciflerns,,to pre-
ferve \Vater for the needy Children of:Men ·,! ..
The Droppirzg-tree in Gujn'fy, and on fome, Iflands; is
infiead of ,R.ait(sand Springs to the Inhabitants.
T he Btznduca Cingatenjium,at the end of its Leave~
has long Sacks or Bags, containing a fine limpid Wa-
ter, of great .ufe to the P~qple when they want Rain~
for eight or ten Months toget her.
The 'U:ildPine,defcrib'd by ,Dr, Sloane;hasthe Leaves,
which are each of them two Foo.t:;indm~half long; and
three In<;hes broad; fo inclof~g. one within another,
that there is formed a large rBafon, fit to co_ntain a
con!id crable quantity of \,Vatet (Dampier fays, the
befi part of a Quart) which in the -rainy Seaf~n falling
upon th e utmoll: part s of the fpreading Lem'.es, runs
down by Channels into the Bottle, where th e Leaves
bending inwards again, come fo clofe to t he Stalk,
as to hinder the Ernp orations :of the Vlat cr. •Ji~ t he.
K 3 1110Ull4
 134 'TheChriflian Philof
opheY.
mounrainous, as well as in the dry and low \Voods
when there is _a fcarcity of ~Vater, this Refer-vntory i;
not only ncceOary and fuffic1ent for the nourifhmcnt
of the Plant itfelf, but it is li,Ccwife of rnar\·ellous ad-
1·antage unto Men and Birds, and all forts of Infefu,
,vho then come hither in Troops, and fe!Jom go away
without Refrefhmcnt.
What tho there are venomousPlants? An excellent
Felloicof tbe CoUege of P/Jyficiammakes a jufl: Remark :
• f Aloes has the Prop~rty of promoting Httmo·rrhnges;
' but this Property is good or b;td, as it is ufed ; a
f JJfedicimor a Poifon: And it is very probabl~ that
' the me.fr dangerous Poifom, skilfully managed, may
< be m:idc not only innocuous, but of a!l other ~1edi-
~ cines the mofr eJfeEtunl.'
\X/hat admirable EffeB:s of Opium well fmegmathed !
Even poif,mousPlants, one fays of them, It may be rea-
fonably fuppofed that they ~raw into their \·ifible Bo-
dies that m~lignant 'Juice, whic~, if diffufed thro the
other Plants, woµld make them lefs v-:hol.efomeand fie
for Nouriiliment. . . .
In the Delight! of the Gardm 'tis not eafy to hold a
Mediocrity. They afford a Shadow for our celeflial
Pamdife. The King of Pcrjia has a Ga,-dencalled Pa~
rndifa upon Earth. 'The antient Rrm:cmsculti,·ated
them to a degree of Epicurifm. S6me confined their
Delights to a ftngle Vegetable,as Ctlto, doting on his
Cabbas,e. The Tulipifh are fo fet upon their gaudy
Flower, that the hard Name ~nd Crime of a Tulipo-
manin, is by their own Pr-0fclforscharg~d upon them ;
a little odd the Humour of thofe Gentlemen, who af-
fecl:ed Plantiltion~ of none but venomousVigetab!es.
But •finally, the ,·afi Ufes of PlamJ in iWedi,ine, are
thofc 'which fallen and feeble Mankind has caufc to
confider, with fingular Praifcs to the merciful God,
'"ho fo pitic.c.uc; under the fad Effects of our Offences.
Among the eighte~n or rn cnty thoufand Vegetablu,
we have ever now and then a fingle one, which is a
· Poljchrrfl,
..
 13?
l'olyclmft, and almofi a Panactra;or at leaft foch nn
one as obliges us to fay of it, as Dr. lvlortonfpeaks of
the CortexPerwvianus; 'tis Antidotttsin Levamen.1£rum-
m1.rumVztte bumanapluriwzarttmdivinitus concejfa. And,
In Sanitatem Gentium proculdubioa Deo optimomaximo
condita.
Among the Antients there were feveral Plants that
bore the Name of Hercules,- called Herac/eum,or
Heraclea; probably, as Le Clercthinks, to denote the
extraordinaryForceof the Plants, which they compared
to the Strength of Hercules.
Cabbagewas to the Romans their grand Phyfick, as
well as Food, for fix hundred Years together.
Mallows has been efieemed fuch an univerfal llfedi~
cine, as to be called Malva Omnimorbia.
Every body has heard,
Cur moriaturbomocui Salvia crefcitin hortis?
The fix favourite Herbsdifiinguifh'd by Sir WiUjnm
Temple for the many Ufes of them, namely, Sage, and
Rue, and Saffron, and Alehoo}-;
and Garlick, and Elder,
if they \\'ere more frequently ufed, would no doubt
be found vafily beneficial to fuch as place upon Health
the Value due to fuch a 'Jewel.
The Frenchdo well to be fuch great Lovers of Sor~
;·el, and plant fo many Acres of it; it is good againfi:
the Scurvy, and all ill Habits of Body.
The Perfuafion which Mankind has imbib'd of Tobacco
being good for us,has in a furprizing manner prevail'd !
What i_ncredible Millions have fuck' d in an Opinion,
that it is an ufeful as well as a pleafant thing, for them
to fpend much of their Time in drawing thro a Pipe
the Smokeof that lighted Weed! It ,vas in the Ye~
15 85, that one Mr. Lane carried over from Virginia
fome Tobacco,which was the fir{l:that •had ever been
feen in Em·ope; and within an hundred Years the
Jmokingof it grew fo much into fafhion, that the very
K 4 Cufroms
136 'TheChriflianPhilofophe1'.
Cuftoms of it brought fo:tr hundred thc1ifm1dPounds a
1ear into the Englifh Trcafury.
lt is doubtlef~ a Plaut of many Virtues. The Oint.;
711entmade of it is one of the bdl in the Difpcnfa tory.
The Prafoce of fmoking it, tho a great part of them
that ufc it might ,·cry truly fay, theyfind neither Good
r.or Hurt by it; yet it may be fear'd it ' rat her docs
more Hl!rt than Good.
' May God preferrc me from the indecent, ignoble,
' crjmina.1 Slavery, to the mean Delight of fmcl.:inga .
' !Vied, which I fee fo many carried away ,\ 1th.
" Ana if ever I !hould f moke it, let me be fo wife as
~ to do it, not only with ftfodcration, but alfo "ith
' foch Employments of my Mind, as I may make that
' Action afford me a Lcifurc for !'
Methinks Tobaccois but a poor N epenthe, tho the
'Takc;,rs thereof take it for fuch an one. It is to be
feared the cauflickSalt in the Smokeof this Plant, con-
,·cy' d· by'the Salival/Juice into the Blood; and alfo the
Vellicnti(Jn·which the continual ufe of it in S1111ffgi,·cs
ro the Nerves, may lay Fvundations for Difeaf es in
:Millions· of unnch·ifcd People, which may. be com-
mouly nnd crroneonfly afcribed to fomc othe·r Ori-
ginal.
It is very rrmarbble, that ,)ur compaffionate God
h::isfurni!h\i all Regiom with Pfoitr peculiarly ad:ipt-
t·d for the relief of the Difea..fes
that arc moft common
in thofc Regions. ' Ti.s Mr . Ra/s RcUJark, Tales
Pl,wtmwn Sp;(ics in quarunque Regione a Dio crcmzwr,
f'·HzlcsHumh.ibus& A,:ima!ibusibidmz untir maxime con-
"VCl1i ur.J.
Yen, Sil, nm:deraffirms, tbnt from the Quantity of
''the: Plants mcfi pkmifull y growing in nny place, he
could gire a probable Guefs \\ hat were the Diflmzpers
whkh the Pcopk there \\ ere moll of all fubjctt to.
Bmeio'l.,intu!in~" rittcn a Bcok, on purpofe to !11cw
tl:nt ercri Country hns ercry thing fcrring to its .Oc-
cahons,
 l'htloJop}ier. 1 }7
'}}# Chr:ijtum
cafions, and particularly Remediesfor all the Difl:em~
pers which it may be ,affiiB:edwith . .
Can we be any other than charmed with the Good-'
nefs appearing in it, when we fee the Plants every
where ftarting O\lt of the Earth~ <!rid·hear thejr cour-
teous Invitation, FeebleMan, 1 am a Remedy, which our
graciousMaket hm ' p.-o71ided jot thy.Fe~blenefs;take me~
know me, ufe me , thouart welcometo all the Good that is
to be feund in me! · · ·
Yea, fuch are the ·:virtues of the .VegetableWorld.,
that it is no rare thing to fee a whole Book written on
the Virtues of ·one •fingle Vi:getablf!. ·~ ,, .
How long is Rofenbergiuson the Rofc, ju his Rhodo-
logia.! 1J7hitakerwill have the Vine to be the Tree of
Life, in his Treatife on the ;Blood of it. Alfled h~~
entertained us with a ·yet greater , variety on that
Plant of Renown.. · ·· , · .
I was going to mention the Anato,nziaSambuci,writ~
ten by a German Philofopher. - · .
But I prefently call to mind fuch a vafi Number of
Treatifes publifued, each of them 011 one JingleVegeta-
ble, by the Natttrte Curiojiof Germany, chat a Catalogue
would be truly .tQotedious to be introduced.
If the Coralmay pafs for ::i Vigetabl~, ~arenciereshas
obliaed us wirh .a wbole Treatife upon it.
· B~1t· then we have one far-fetfh' d and dear-boteght
Plant, 011 which we have fo many Volumes written,
that they alone a_i~?Jt threaten t? become a Library.
'TEA is that diarmmg Plant, Read Pecklinus's Book
de Potu The,x,and believe the medicinal and balfamick
Virtues of it; it firengthens the ·Stomach, it f,veetcns
the Blood, it revives the Heart, and it refre_!hes the
Spirits, and is a ;Remedy againfi: a World of Difiem-
pcrs. 'Then go to Waldfchmidt, and you'll find it al-
fo to brighten the lme!lefluals. When Profe has done
jts part, our Tate will bring in Verfe to celebrate the
fovereign Virtues of it. -
In~
I 38 rrhe ChrijlianPhilofo
pher.
ImzocuosCa/ices,& Amicnm Vatibus Her/,a,11
Vimque datam Folio.

At hill it fhall be the ,·cry 0ti of the Poet.

U/hi/fl TE A, our Son·owsJafelyto beguile,

Sobrietyand Mirth does,·econcile:
For to this NeElar tl'e the Ble/Jingowe,
Togrow more 1.J.'ife
as -u:emorechemful g;-ow.

Ther~ is a Curiofity obfcn·ed br,1fr. Robi~ifmof

Owby, that fh.ould not be left unmention~9:; it is, that
Birds a_~the natm·al Plantersof all forts of Trees; they,
diffeminate the Kernels on the ~rth, which brings
them forth to perfc.:l:ion. Yca, he affirms, that he
h::ith aB:ually feen a great Number of Crows together
plantin<7a Grove of Oaks; they firfl: made little H oles
in the Earth with their Bills, going about and about,
till the Hole was deep enough, and thco they dropt
in the Acorn, and corer'd it with Earth and :Mofs. At
the time of his writing, this young Plantation was
~rowing up towards a Gro'Veof Oaks, and of an height
ior the Cnrwsto build their Nefl:s in.
In Vh-giuia there is a Plant called The 'James-Tou:n-
TVied, wherecf fome having eatt:n plentitully, turn'd
Fo.lJ upon it for feveral Days; one would blow up a
Feather in the Air, another dart Straws at it; a third
frt nark naked, like a Monkey, grinning at the rcfl:;
a four,h fondly kifs and paw his Companions, and
fncar in their Faces. In this francick State they were
confined, lcfl: they fl1ould kill themfekes, tho there
appcar'd nothing but Innocence in all their AB:ions.
After clercn D:iys they return'd to thcmfclres, not
remembring anv thing that had pafs'd.
My Friend, 'a Mad11efsmore fenOcfs than that with
which this Vi-getnble c1ffenoms the Eaters of it, hold,;
thee in the flupefying Chlins thereof, if th ou dofl:not
behold
 crheChriflianPhilofopher.139
ehold in the whole Vegetabl e Kingdomfuch Works of
the glorious Creator, as call for a continual A,.dmira-:
tion.
,r. It is a notable Stroke of Divinity methinks whicn
Pliny falls upon, Flores Odorefqueindiem gignit Natura2
magna ( ut palam efl) Admunitionehominum.
• The Man began to be cured of his Blindnefs, who
' could fay, / fee Men, like Trees, walking. That Man
< is yet perfectly blind who does not fee Men, like Trees2
f firft g'r_owing and flourifhing,then withering, decaying.
~ dyi11g. 1

< The Raptt Anthropomorplut, and fome other Plants2

' that have grown with much of an Human Figure, to
' be fancied on them, have been odd things. But there
are Points wherein all Plants will exhibit fomething
' of the Human Figure.'
'The Parts of Plants analogous to thofe in an Hu:.
~ mttn Body,are notably enumerated by Alfled in his
' 7'heologiaNatura/is. The Analogy between their
' States and ours would be alfo as profitableas reafona-
~ ble a Subject of Contemplation.'
' And I hope the Re'Uivalof the Plants in the Spring
' .will carry us to the Faith of our own RefurreElion
~ from the Dead!
'And of the Reco'Uery which the Church will one day
' fee from a Winter of Adverjity; the World from a
' Winter of Impiety: The Earth fhall one day be filled
~ with the Fruits of Righteoufnefs,however barren and
c horrid may be the prefent AfpeB: of it.'
'A Man famous in his day (and in ours too) thought
c himfelf well. accommodated for devotionary Studies,
~ tho he fays, Nullosfe aliquandoMagiflros habuijfenifi•
' Q}_terczesV Fagos.'
' I will hear thefe Field-Preacherr,their loud Voice
~ to me from the Earth, is the fame with what would
~ be uttered by Angels_fiying thro the midft of Heaven;
f Fear God, and glorifyhim!
. '0~
a:40 'J"'/J
(l,~'kfj_ftia
n P.hilof~
pher.
'One thus :irticul.itcs the Vegetable Sermons: ~cct
' nos, 0 incredulifilii hominum,.1!!tper morwi ermnus, at
' mmc re'Viximfts, Vetus ucflnmt Corpusac Veflimentum
' d~pofuimur,(:J ;10".J~ Cremur.1! Janafi11nus. Fpcite vos
~ 11u11caliquidjimile. And again, Dun~ iu hac miferrima
' Vita eflis, no{ite d~ Corporecj[e·fo/iiLiti; noflri n::mores
' eflote, qunf Cr~atoi: /;oncfliffimerqlo.rmis·Viflibres i;zduit,
~ q11otmmis per tot ftfi/!enarior,jam indiab exordio/.Jund,.
~ And once more, Ecce 'llires 1UJjlra, m;z nobis ipfis,fed
' 'V.obisdefervirmt.· Non noflroBonojlorenws, fe~r.;e)_lr
' Imo Divina Bonitas vobisfloret per r.os, m dice-re pr,ffitir,
,' De.iB,uignitattptJtz.11Qbisftorere, fuoque OdoreJ11a11iflim
' rvosren-cnre.' , .
' A famo.us German Qoaor of P hilofophy ccclares;
' that he found it impoffiblc for .him to look upo,1 tjie
' Vegetable/Vo; Id without thofo Acclamations, Pf4/m
: t'i:xxix. 6. Thf Knowledgeof thefe things is too 'i.:.•onde
' jid fur mr?,it is high, I mnnot att1,in to ;r,'
' The pious Arndt. obfen·es, that every Creature is
' ~nfbmp'd whh Charatl:ers of the Divine Goodnefs,
' and brillgs Tefl:imonies of a good Creator. Our Vine
~ fo calls upon us, Siim, 0 homo, lwzc Liquoris mei Sua-
' 'Vitate111,quq,f:o;·_tmrmrecreo,a C;:entoremeoejfe. Our
' Brend fo c.:allsupon us, Vis ijln, qua famem Jublevo, a
' Creaton! meo, & veflro mihi obtitJt. It is a Saying of
f Auflin's, JJ~µm O·e..1t1irmfingulas guttula Di'Virt,tfr,~
B~11itaJisnfperf:Jfe,1/t per i/lns /;omi11ibenefit.'
'A devout \Vritcr treats us with fuch a Thought:
' a<; this : Our Go,d is like a tender Father, who,
' when the Infant complies not prefcntly with his
' Call5, allures him with the Offer of pleafant Fruitt
' to him. Not that the Child fhould fl:op in the Love
' of the Apple, the Plumb, the Pe~r, but be by the
' Fruits dr,rn n to the Lm ·c and Obedience of the F.1-
, ther that gi\·c.s them. Our hearenly Father calling
' on us in his lVord, gi\'cs us alfo Rain from Hea-;Jen,
' a11dfrnirful Sm/oils, to engage our Lo,·e an<l Obe-
f dit·ncc. .Q!.i.r:
faui Bmeficin aliud nihil fum, 111amtot
'mmmr
 'rhe.ChriftianPhilofopher. 141
' manus& Nuncii De~, f 'arati ad:ipfumDeum nos Je'du-
' cere, i!liufque amoremaltius animisnoflris infinuare, ut
' ipfum tandem Dmor~m in Creawrfs & Donis fufcipere
~ difcamm.' ·
~ Among other 'Thoughts of Piety t1pon the Vege-
' .tableWorld, fame have allo,v'd a room for this; the
' {lrong Paffion in almofrail Children for Pruit ; --.
' by tendring Fruit/to them, yotr may draw them to
' any thing in the \Vorld. May not this be a lafl:ing
' Signature of the firfl. Sin, 1':!ftupon the Minds of pur
' Children! An Appetite for the forbiddenFruit. \Vhen
' we fee our Children greedy after Fruits, a remem-
c brance and repentance of that Sin may be excited in
~ us.' -
Add this : !2!,tidprodefiopeCreaturarmn'Viwre,fi Deo
non'Vi'Vitur? .
A good Thought of a German\Vritcr: '
Sol & Luna, totufque Mundus Sydereus, luce Jua Demit
collaudunt. Terra Deum laudat, dr,m'Viret& floret. Sic
Herba & FlofculiOpificisJui Omuipotmtiam& Sapientiam
commendantOdore,Pulchritudine,& Colorum•variaPiclu-
ra : Aves Canttt & Modulatione; A;bores Frucfibus;
Mare Pi}i:ibus;omnesCreaturalaudant Deum, dum iUius
mandataexequuntur, CoUoquuntur nobifcumper divinitus
ipfis injitas Proprietates,manifeftantesopificemJuum, 6-:
exhurumtesnosad ipfumlaudandum.

Es s A y XXVII. Of IN s E C T s.

W E are hafl:ening into the Animal World.· Here

we foon find a Tribe vafily numerous, caUe4.
by A riflutle"K7ot.J.ct,
and by Pliny therefore InfeEla,be-
caufe of their having certain Incifures and Indentings
about th eir Bodies.
The FrenchPhilofophcr does well to rebuke us for
calling thefe imperfectAnimals, for they want no Parts,
either neccjfaryor cowveniemfor them; they are complete
in their Kind, and the Divine vVorkmanfllipis afro...
ni!hing !
 rhe ChrijlianPhilofopher.
nifuing ! Pliuy fl1all here correet us, In hir tam paT'Zl
i,
atque mdlis, ']Ult Ratio, quanta Vis, quam inextricabilis
perfeElio! ·
Even the poor Ephemeron, whofc whole Period of
Life is but fix or fcren Hours, who is bred and born,
and lives, and goes thro all his Operations, and ex-
pires, and goes into his Grave, all within this little
Period, rnufi not be thrown into a Clafs of imperf-El
Animah; nor may ic be faid of it, that it is made i,i
-vain.
\Ve enjoy :m excellent Ray, "ho in his ~1etbodra
JnfeElornmhas difiingui!h'd to us the fereral Kinds of
InfeElr.
Of JnfeEls,there are Comewhich do mt cbangethe ir
Form.
Some of thefc 'Af"-i1"P.tf~.,7<tare without Feet; thcfe are
either terreflrial, produced on the Earth or in the Earth ·;
(whereto Snails may be referred) or within the Bowels
of Animals ; or clfc aquatick, whereof fornearc greater,
which have a peculiar way of mo,,ing, by firfr fixing
their Head on the Ground, and then drawing up their
Tail towards it; fomc are /effff, having a different
way of crawling; and among thefc there arc both
round ones and flat ones.
But then there arc fome h.r.1i11g Fm.
'There arc Hexapoda,or fix-iqoted ones; of thclc
there are fomc te1i-e jlrial ones, both of a largerfort, and
of a Jmalicr: of the fm :dler, th ere arc about .fi've which
moldl the Bodies of other li,·ing Creatures; and as
many that girc not that M olcfbtion. There are other
aquatickones.
There arc alfo Otl,1poi,,1, er eight-footed ones; of
thefc there arc fomc th at hare a 'Jail, as the Scorpion;
and fomc that ha,·c none, :i.sth e Spider ; "·hereof one
fort fpins 110 \ \' cb ; t hree fort!> ar c Spiuflm. To thde
add the 'li d.:,, and t he M it~i.
Yca, ther e ~1re 7;,0,11 t;l.1 ;.lt,,1po,l.1, or fourteen-foot-
ed ones; p:1rticularly t he t hree fores of AfaUi. More
than
 '!he ChriftianPhilofopher. 14,
than fo, there are twenty-four-footed ones, whofe eight
Fore-Feet are lefier ones, and fixteen H inder-Feet are
larger ones. .
More than this, there is a fort of thirty-footed ones :
hut as being tired with fpecified Numbers for the
Feet of thefe curious things, the reft we call Polypoda,
or many-footed ones; of thefe there are fome on the
Land, and others in the Water.
Of Jnfefls, there are others who do undergo a Change.
Tho Squammerdam(who has given the befr Account
of thefe) obferves, that this is improperly affirmed of
thefe Me1G1,µQftifp.ev(I,,
fince there is no real Transformation
of thefe, but only an Explication of the Parts of the
.Animal, which were before latent in Miniature, and
like the Plant in the Seed.
Of thefe there are fome, in whofe Tranfmutation
there is no Reft 0r Stop between the old and the new
Form, and who don't lofe their Morion at the t ime of
their !hifring the Pe!licula. And there are fame, in
whom the Vermiculusleaving the former Shape of the
_Nympha, with which it appeared in the Egg, and fub-
fi!l:ed without Food, now beginning to feed, hath its
Parts vifibly increafed and firetched out, and takes
the Form of a new Nympha, which is not without mo-
tion, and from thence becomes a Fiser.
To the former Speciesof Tranfmutation there be-
long many forts, thirteen at leaft ; to the fecond a vafi:
multitude more. And among the re!l:, the multitud i-
nous Armies of Butterflies, .which being divided into
diurnal and noflurnal; of the former fort alone there is
about fifty feveral K inds obferved in England.
There is a third Speciesof Tranfm utatio n, which
is a fenfible Change from a Vermiculus to a fiying JufeEI,
but yet with a fenfible Reft or Stopbetween one Form
and the other. The Flefh-Fliesbelong to this, and fo
do fame other Kinds.
Before we go any furth er, we \Vill make a paufe
upon an Ob ferra t ion, th us expreifed bf Mr. Barker in
his
 l 44 TheChrijlianPhilofopher;
J1isNatural Theology; for it is upon a Matter which
occurs in the View of all Creatures, that now remain
for our Contemplation ; yea, the VegetaUes too have
thcmfclrcs exemplified it. ' Whence is it that thofe
' nvo natural Principles of Selj-Prefervation and Self-
' Propagation,nre fo inviolably founded in the Nature
' of all Ii,•i11gCreatu res, ercn thofo that have _nuReil-
' Jou,as well as thofe that have ; both which are ne-
e ccllary to the Subfifl:encc of the Unirerfc? May hot
' we hence eafily argue, that furely this was done in-
c tmtionally for fuch an End? And if intentiondl'y, then
' it is done by Reafon; and if by Reafcn, it mufr be by
~ Hi~ Renfo11that fi'rfcmade this Univcrfe.' -
Dr. Go1·den adds to the Affuranccs which all the Iri-
qui!iti\'c before him ha~·e gi\·en us, that no /n.fe:1,are
bredof Cormption, but all ex Ovo. •
He alfo obferres, that the Female~ of :i.11 Flies put
their Spawn in or near thofc places where the Eruca'1,
which arc hatch'd out of them, arc to have their
Food. ·
He obfc1Tes likewifc, that there is a ki1~dof Gluten,
by which the Females faflcn their Eggr to the bearing
Buds of Trees, at fuch a rate, that the Rain cannot
wafh them off.
And he obferves, that thefc Eggs will not be hurt
by the greatefl: Froft that can happen.
lvir.Andrr in his Book, De la Gen!!ratioude Vers dam
le co;-prde l'H ammL•,takes notice of a Mifbke in the
Amicnts, who denied Brea:h to the lnfeRs on the foore
of their ,rnming L11r.gs;for J,ifeElshave a greater num-
ber of Lungs than other Animals. The Anticnts ~
thought that the JufaFlshad no BlaC!d,becaufe many
them had not a 1·rdLiquo,- like ours; but this too was
n Mifiake, 'tis not the Colvm·,but the lntem ot the Li-
quo1·that is to be confidcred in this Cafe. It was like-
wifc the Belief of the Anticnts, that the /11{.[I,had no
Ht.m·ts; whcrca'> our }.1icrofcopes now co11rince us of
the contrary. And the Silk-wmm particularly h:ne a
con-
 TheChriftia!'
Philofopher. 145
continued Chain of Hearts, from the Head almofr to
the extremity of the Tail. And it is the number of
Lungs and Hearts that occafions thofe lnfeEls to give
figns of Life a long while after they are divided into
feveral parts.
Mr. Poupart affirms, that the Earth-worms and the
Round-tail' d Worm~, which are found in the lnteflines
of Animals, as alfo Snails and Leeches,are Hqmophro-
diter ; but fuch Worms as become Flies are not fo, ra-
ther they are of no Sex, but are Nefls full of Anii11als.
The .fpomaneousGenerationof JnfeEts has at lafi: been
fo confuted by Redi, and Malpighi, and Squammerdam,
and our excellent Ray, and others, that no Man of
Senfe can any longer believe it. Indeed fuch a Jpon-
taneousGenerationwould be nothing Iefs than a Creation.
'That all Animals are generated of Parent Animals,• is a
thing fo cleared up from Obfervation and Experiment,
that we mufi fpeak of it in the Language of thofe
who have lately, writ of it, Nous crayonsabfolument.
And of their Generationany other way, we cannot but
ufe the Language of Dr. Lyfler, Non inducorut credam.
If an InfaR may be equivocallygenerated, then, as Dr.
Robinfonjufl:ly enquires, why nut fimetimes a Bird, Jea,
a Man? Or why no new Speciesof Animals now and then?
For there is as much Art fbewn in the Formation of
tbofe, as of tbefe. Dr. Cheynea{fores us, nobody now-
a-days, that underfrands any thing of Nature, can fo
much as imagine, that any Animal, how abject foever,
can be produced by an equivocalGeneration, or without
the Conjunction of Male and Female Parents, in the
fa~, or in two different lndi,·iduals. And there are
very few who have confidered the Matter, but whac
own that every Animal proceeds from a pra:-exifrent
Animalcule, and that the Parents conduce nothing but
a convenient Habitation to ic, and fuitable l'lourifhmems,
till it be fit to be trufl:ed with Light, and capable of
enjoying the Benefits of the Air. There is noth ing
in the Animal Machine, but an inconceivable number
of branching and winding Canals, filled with Liquors
L ·of
 .'IheChriftian Philefopber.
of different natur es, goi ng a perpetual round, :md no
more capab le of p roduc mg the w onderful Fa br ick of
anothe r A nim al , than a thing is of makin g itfel f.
''] ·he re is belid es in the Gmeratiw, of an An imal, a ne-
ccffit y t hat the Head, Heart, N erves, Veins and Artt :-
ries, be formed at t he fame time, which never can be
clone by the mot ion of any Fluid 1 which way ·foerer
moved.
Great GOD, T hou art the Father of all things; evm
the Father of JnfeEts
, tZJ well aI the Father of Spirits: A nd
Thy Greatnefrappean 7.1;i tb a fingular Brightnefsin the /eaft
~f T hy CrMtum !
C oncerni ng F, ov ge nerated in the Clouds, ther e
has been a mi ght y No1fe ; the Thunder fo1rce makes a
grea ter! Bur Mr . Ray fays well, it feems no more lik e-
ly tha n SpanifbGenn ers begotten by the Wind, for tha t
has good A uth ors too . He adds, He that can [wallow
t/;e raining of Frogs, hath made a fair Step towards tt/ie--.J
ing that it may rain Calves alfo ; f ur ·u:e read that one fe!l
mt of t/;e Cloudr in Avi cen'1 Tim ~. Fromondw's Opi-
nion, that the F,-ogrw hich appear in great multitude s
after :i Shower, :lre no t indeed generated in the Cloud s.,
but are coa~ulated of Duft, commi:x'd and fermented
with Rain-water, is all o,·e r as impert inent. It is \'ery
certain t hat Frogsa rc of t wo d ifferent Sexes, and have
their fpermarick V cffels; an d rh.cir C opulation is no-
t orious (per integnmt aliquando fl,&n f em conti1
iuata) and
after the Spa w n mufl: be cafl into t he \V ater, whe re
the Eg~,; lie in the midfl of a copious G elly ; then
muf1 appear a Fccrlcf~ Tr.dJoh, in which F orm it mufl:
cont inue a long w:1ilc, t ill the L imbs be gro wn our,
anJ it arrircs to t he perfectForm cf a Frog. To w hat
purp ~fc all this, if your W.'.l)', Gcmkmcn , [Fromcndus,
and the rdl ] may fuflicc?
F,·ogr:1ppraring in fuch multirndcs upon Rains, <lo
but come ford, up on the Invitation whic h th e ag reeable
Vapor of R.tilM:.:n:er gi\·cs to them. A nd for fome
fuch rcafon we :ire commonlv entertain'd wi th fuch
• A rmies
 'TheCprijtiatJl'htloJopher. 1 47
Arm ies of them in the cool Summer-Evenings, that we
wonder where they have been lu rking all the D ay.
M cnfieur Perrault, upon the D ,flection cf the Falling~
Frog,, which the equi'llocalGentlemenfo teaze us with ,
found their Stomachs full of Meat, and their lnrefl ines
of Excrement. The inquifitive Mr. Derham, on his
meet ing with Frogs in a prodigious Number, croffing
a fandy Way jufr after a Shower, purfued the Matter
with his ufua1 Exaetnefs, and he foon found the Co-
lony itfue from a11adjacent Pond, v-1hohaving pafs' d
t hro tne ir Tadpole-State, and finding the Earth moifi-
ned fr,r their March, took the opportunity to leave
the ir old Latibula, where they had now devour'd t heir
proper Food, and feek a more convenient Habitat ion.
Or what 1f we fuppofe them, at leafr in their Spawn,
fttch' d up into the Cloudrby the Sun, and kept t here
till grown into the State wherein they fall down from
th~1.ce, as it has been affirmed they have on Ve!fels at:
Sea?
' · ·As to the Worms and other Animals bred in the In-
tefr ines of Man and Beall, it is Dr. Robinfon'sRe mark,
I thi~k it may be proved, that the vafl variety of Worms
foun~ in almoftt:fl the Parts of differentAnimals, are taken
into the refpeEli-veB cdies byMeats and Dr inks.
Ev.en the Maggotswhich grow in the Back of the
common Caterpillar, are by their Parents lodg 'd t here,
as a proper Apartment for them.
The Toads found in the midfl: of T rees, nay, and of
Stones, ,vhen they have been fa:wnafun_der, no doubt
ti1ey grew of a Toad-Spav.:n,wh ich fell into that M at-
ter befdre the Concretion thereof.
T he vulgar Opinion, that the Heads or Clothes of
uncleanly People do breed Lice, or th at Mi tes ar e bred
in Cheffa, Mr . Ray notes, is a vulgar Error: he affirms,
that all fuch Creatures are produced of Eggr laid in
fuch places by their Parents; Nature has endu ed chem
with a wondrous Acutenefs of Scent and Sagacity,
whertby they can, tho far difiant, find out fu1.: h pla-
L2 ce~
L\-8 <The
ChriftianPhilo
fopher:
ccs, and make towards them ; and tho they feem lo
flow, yet it has been found that in a little time they
w i11 march a con(idcrablc way to find out a conve-
nient Harbom. Herc J\Ir. Ray makes a Paufe of Ri-
li_'l,ion;fays he, ' I cannot but look upon the fl:range
' Inftinct of this noifomc and troublcfomc Creature
' the J.o:ife, of feeking out foul and nafty Clothes to
' harlwur in, u5 an Effect of Divine Providence, de-
' Jign'd to deter Men and \Vernen from Sordidnefs
' a~1d Slur tiflrncfs, and provoke tlfcm to Cleanlinefr.
' God himfclf hates U;zdeamr~(s,and turns away from
'it, [ D<'ut.:x:-.:iii.12, r3, 14-] But if God requires,
' and is plcafed with Bodily Cleanlinefs,much more is
' He fo with the Pum 1~(sof the 1'lfi11d. B!e.lfedare the
.' prm in Heart, fir the_vJh.-z!l fee Gad!'
The EJes of InfeEts hm·c in them what is ,·er}' ad•
mirablc ! Their great ncceffity for accurate Vifion is,
j n the reticulated Corneaof t heir Eyes, admirably pro-
,·ided for; it is a mofl curious piece of L attice-work ,
in which every Forrmzmis of a lenticular nature, and
enables the Creature to fee C\'ery way w1thout any
Time or Trouble; probably e\'ery Lem of the Cornea
has_a difiinB: Branch of the Optick Nerve minifiring
to It.
Sfi ders nrc moftly 0Elo11ocltlrw; fome, as Mr. Wil-
loughbythought, Jcnocular. Flii:sare multocultll',having
as many Eyes as there are Perforations in their Corne~.
The grcatcft part of the Head of that pra:datious In-
fra, the Drn'l,011 -F!;·, is pofldfod by its Eyes.
Tho we fay, As Uid tzJ a Beetle, Mr. Leuenhoeck
has di lc01er' d at lcafl: 1/,,-cethoufand EJes in the Beetle.
J;~(eflf ha,·e the ir Ante1111£, by which they not only
cl,,11fetl!cir E1cr, but al(o guard them; their Eyes be-
inf! titted mofily to ft·e diflantial ObjeEls, thefe Feelers
ob,·iatc the lnco1H"enicncc of their too ra!hly running
their Head s ugainfi O~)jccl:s that may be very near to
t;~cn~.
And
 'I/ie,1GPriftianPhilofopher. 149
·And many of them arc, as Mr. Derham obfern!S,
mofi furprizingly beautiful.
j · The Mechaaifm in thofe •that cteepis mofr cxqui-
fitely curious.. , •, ,
, What can .exceed the Oars of the Amphibious IufeEts,. '
that fwim and walk? Their hindmofl: Legs are made
mofi nicely, with commodious flat Joines, and 'BriJllcs
on each tide thereof towards the· ends, ferving for ~
Oar, to fwim; and nearer the Body are two ftiff Spikes,
to enable them to ,valk, as they .h:;ffeoccafion. .
An incomparable provifion is .made in the Feetof
.fuch as walk or hang on fmooth Surfaces ; divers of
.thefe, befides their acute and hooked Nails/ have alfo
~kinny Pa(ms., on their Feet, .which . enable them to
-flick on Glafs, ·and other -fmooth ,Bodies, th ro t he
Preffure of the-A.tmofphere. · , · ·
The great.Strength and Spring ,in the Legs of iu:ch
as leap, is very. notable; and fo are the \VCll-:mad e Feet
:i.nd firong Talons of fuch as dig. .
Admirable the Faculty of fame that cannot fly, to
convey themfelves with Speed and ,Safety, by the help
of their Webs, or fome other Artifice that renders their
Bodies lighter than the Air! How pleafantly do ·the
Spidersdart out their Webs, and fail away by the help
thereof; whereof Dr. L_rjlerand Dr. Hulfe were fome
of the firft who made a difcovery ? There feems to be
an hint of their darting in Ariflotle, and in Pliny ; but
the Antiems knew nothing of their failing. Some
other little Animals may have their ways of Conveyance
as unknown to us, as heretofore has been that of the
Spiders; Creatures found in very new Pits, and Holes
in the Tops of Houfes, where they were never bred
by any equivocal Generation. The green Scum on the
Surface of !1:agnacingWaters, which is nothing but
prodigious Numbers of Animalcules; how come they
there? And when gone, where do they go?
\Vhat can be better contriv'd than the Legs of InfeEh;
mofr incomparab ly fitted for th e intended Srr ri ce?
L 3 Or
 The ChriflianPhilofopher
.
Or t han their Wmg s, difiended and ftrc11~t11nedwith
the Jineil Bones, and thefe cover'd wim the Jightd\
M embranes, whereof fame are adc.rned with the n.ofi:
beauti ful Feathers; for the elegant Cc,lours ot Afahs
and Butterflies are ow ing to neat Feathers on thei r
1'Vings, that are fet in Rows with grcac Exacrncfs,
and all the good Order imaginable? And fome
are provided w ith Articulations, for thei r W mgs to be
withdrawn, and ~ }~ed up in Cafes, and again readi•
ly fpread abroad upt,h occafion :· Scarabsand other that
have El;-trr., are thus accommodated. T hat their Bo-
dy may be kept fieady and upright, there is t he ad-
mi rable Ar tifice of Pointelsand Poifes, under thofe wh o
have no more than two Wings, (whereas thefour-'IXh,g'd
ones have no fuch things :) Thefe PoifeJ Ill the bipen-
nated Infects are for the mofi: part lit tle Balis, t hat are
fet at the top of a ilender Stalk, whi ch t hey can rno,·e
every way at pleafure to obviate V aciliatiom. If one
of t he Poifes be cut off ( or if the four-winged have loft
one of their fecondary or auxiliary Wings) the Infect
w ill Ay as if one fide m'er-balanc' d the other, till it
fall to the gro und.
How minute, but how afl:onifhingly curiour, mufi be
the Jo ints_, t he Mufcles, th e T endons, and the Ner\'es,
ncccffary to perform the M ot ions of thefe marvellous
Crea tur es ! Th efe th ings concur ,even in the f,11aCefl
Anin: alculcs, and fuch as cannot be fecn without our
M icr~(copes.
Wh en Galen had admired t he Skill, quod declnrmtt
Opijires cum in Ccrpvribm pnrvis aliquid infwlpnnt, in-
hanccd in the Phaetcn in a Riug, where the Legs of
t he H~1feswere no big~cr tha n thofe of a Gnat, he yet
\'ery jufl:ly cries out , their M ake did not come up to
t hofc of a Cunt: 111.zjor ad/me alia q111Xdam cJfe'Z.'idetur
Arw e;m, qui Pulicemcondidit, Vi, atque Sapientin; and
is amazed that An rnm,1 iu tnm nljfflit Aui,11.1/ibus np-
farrnt,
Among
 TJ ~JHUfl, I- f✓ HIIJ UJlfJt;(". 1) 1
Among the celebrated Pieces of Human Art, there
was the Cup that Ofwald Nerlinger made of a Pepper-
corn,:that held twelve hundred little Ivory Cups, all
,gilt.on the . Edges, and ha,,ing each of them a Foor,
and yet afforded room for four hundred more. Bue
our Derl~amjufily celebrates the more fl:upendous Art,
which 'plainf) m,,nifefleth the Po'!J.·erand W,fdom of the
infinite Contri'verof the inimitable Fineries in the Bodies
of our little InfeRs; they mufi have EJes, a Brain, a
/'rlouth, a Stomach, and Entrails, :rd other Pans of an
,Animal Body, as well as Legs and Feet: and all thefe
mufi have their neceifary Nerves and Mufcles; all thefe
·are cover' d ·with-an agreeable Tegument, whereof how
neat the Imbricationsand other Fmcries ! All this Cu-
riofity many times lying in .a Body mu.ch fmaller than
the fmallefi. Grain of Sand. A Drop of Water is a fort
of an · Ocean to them ! Mr. Derham in a Drop of the
green Scum upon Water, a Drop no bigger than a Pin's-
head, fees no fewer than an hundred frisking about.
Ho)v vaflly many more in a Drop of Pepper-water! How
va!Uy many, many, many more, in a Drop of the
Lrnenhoeck"ianExamination ! Dr. Harris affirms, that
not · only_ m blatk Pepper-water, but alfo in ·water
where in Barley and Oats, but efpecially f,Vheat, hath
been fi:eeped for about four or five Days, he hath feen
prodigious Numbers of them. Great G O D, we are
amaz..ed! '
The Jewshave a foolifh Notion, tho advanc'd by a
Rabbi Solomon,(upon the EgytJtian Plague of Lice)Quod
Diauolur non dominaturJuper Creaturam, qua Grano Hor-
dei fit minor. Indeed .a Man who by Humility fhrinks
himfelf into lefs than the light D uft of the Balance, may
take the comfort of the Notion. But then in Philufo-
phywhat a mighty Army of Animals lefs than a Barley-
cJm are found under the Dominion of the glorious
GOD, who alfo has all the Devils as much under His
Command as rhe leaft of thefe. I have read of a Flea
L 4 111
152 'TheChrijl-ianP,hilofo
pher.
j n a Chr.in, Beelubub is no more bet ore the Almighty
}.faker of the Flies, and all the other infeEls.
'T he Sagacityobferrabl e in the generaiity of JnfeRs,.
for t heir Prov ifion againfi: the Neceffities of the Winter,.
is never enough to be admired.
Some having fed and bred themfclres up to the
P erfection of the ir Vermirnlar State in the Summer
Months, then re tire to a Place of Safety, and there
throw off their Np npha, and put on their Aurelia-Jlate
for all the Wint er, in which -they have no occafion for
any Food at all; th is is done by all the Papilionac eou,>
as well as di vers other 'Tribes. ·
O thers, in their mofl perfect State, are able to fub-
{ifl: in a kind of 'Iorpitude, without any Food at all;
be ing at no A Flion, they are at no E xpence,but can lie
;md ilcep whole Months without any Sufl:cnance. 'T is
re mar kable that it is not any Strefs of Weather wh ich
dri ves them into their intended Ret irement, but they
go to it in the proper Seafon, towards the end of Sum-
mer. ' T is alfo remar kable, that every Speci es betakes
it felf t o a convenient Receptacle, whereof there is a
vafl: varie t y, where the Froft cannot come at them.
T here are others w ho need Foodin the \Vinter, and
it is .ifronifu ing to fee what a For cfigh t the ir glorious
C reator has gi,·en them to lay up accord ingl y.
On.:; of rhcfc Providers is t he BEE, reck on'd by
Ariflotle among t he 'li,tt, llo>-n1d, or Ch.,il People. Prc-
r~uc now for a Scene of \V onders ! Every Colony of
Bm has a Kiug, whereof Pliny gi\'es th is true Dcfcrip-
ticn : Omnil-w famptr fonnn cgregia, & dupfo qunm ctrte-
ri.r mnjur, Anntr brr7J:ore1,Crnr(I reEla, ln.~rejfus celjior,
in F, cute macula quedmn Diademate cm,dicai1S , mrdtum
e:inm Nitlre n 7.J:Jgo di_ffenmt. T his majd li cal Bee h~s
a S1il:.~,"hich he can ufc wi thout lofing it; but his
M ajelly rarely finds occafion for it . The commm !Jfes
(w hich h:1re their iour / Viugs and fix Legs) are divided
into Bands, which ha\·e th eir Offiurs, all working for
the Go od of t he Whole, ;,1ndas long as th ey lire. But
th en
 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
then there are Drones, which are bigger than they,,
and are Servants and Nurfes under the Honey-Bees,in
the hatching of their Brood. A B~e, as Rufden ob-
fcrves, the firfl:day of his flying abroad is an exquifite
Chymifl, or at leafr a diligent Purveyor and Collector of
the Honey-dews,provid.ed by Heaven for him on the
Leaves of the Planes in the Field, which he lays up in
convenient Cells, and the_re preferves it in a Covering
of Wax, as forefeeing that a Winter is coming. How
indefatigable the Pains ~:if thefe indufirious and mar-
vellous Creatures! If they have no King, · they pine>
they die, they yield themfelves a Prey to Robbers;
but they will not bear two. • Butler obferves, they ab-
hor PolJ,an-hy, as well as Anarchy. Their King op-
prelfes none, is a Benefactor to aU; fo their Loyalty
to him is inviolate. His Place of Abode makes a
Court, a noble Retinue of Bees attends him.

--.- Rege incolumil'rlms omnibusuna efl, ,

Amijfo ruperefidem. -- .
Ille operumcuftos; ilium admirantur; & pmnes
Circumflantji-emittt der.fo,flipantquefrequente,,
Et Jttpe atto!lunthumeris, & Corpora.. be~o
ObjeElant,pulchrnmquepetunt per Vulnera mortem.

They have the Ordersof their King_ for.all the Work

they do ; and they never fvJarm w1thout his Orders.
The chief caufe of their SvJarm is the want of room.
He ufually goes himfelf with them, as in view of a
more Aourifhing State, and leaves his decaying and
unpleafant Kingdom, with the noifome old Combs,
to fuch Succelfors as he has left alive. If the old one
dies in his going forth, they return home to the
Prince whom they had relinquifh'd. And the King
fometimes gives his Confent to a fecond Swarm, tho
there be no lack of room, out of his refpeB: to fome
of his Royal Lineage. In their Hives they are mighty
juft to one another~ tho the fear of being robb'd
makes
154 Vie ChriftianPhilofopher.
makes them kill any Strangers that break in upo n
them. Coloniesarc fometimes engaged in \Vars; the
King ufually orders the Battel, and animates them
w ith his Voice,and like a Gen eral, for whofe D efence
the y unanimouOy expofe themfe lves: They neither
give nor take any Quarter, and they di!lingu i!h one
another by their fmelling.· Spurt any thing among
them that may make them fme/1 all able, and their
Ho{lilityceafeth. The King is the only ft1ale among
t he Bees. Each particular Cell in the Honey-comb is a
-Matrix . The King ,rnlk s from one Cell to another,
and injeB:s a Seed into each of them; the Ho;zq-JJees
mix with it a generati-veMatter, which they ha\'e loc~'d
there, and ·add \ Vater to it, and cover it with f,f/tix,
which is not opened till the young Bee opens its way
out of it. The D rones are alfo begotten by the Kiug
in like manner, but on a genenitive /11atterfometbing
<liffcrent, and in deeperCt!lls. The Drones are for no
purpofe, but only to lie at home clofe to the Combs,
where the )'O tmg Bees are breeding, and hatch the
young Brood, as a Cap<m does the Eggs affign'd co him.
Henc e the time for breeding the D ronesis defcrr'd till
near the fall·of the Jl.-ney-D,!'".»s,
becauie they would
have ·the ufe ·of them at as little charge of feeding as
they can. But fuch is the Nature of the Drones, that
if the Bees do not ki1\ them, as they generally do,
when they ca.n be no further fcr'viceable, they do by
the Coldnefs of the Seafon in Stptembe;-die of them-
fch·es.
But no,v how many moral l11flmEliomwould the
Commonwealthof Bm afford to a Mind willing to be
inftruElerlof God, by the M inifiry of this 111Jfleriou
lnfefl ! Honefl: Prn-charhas with ~\11 Imitation of it ga-
ther'd no lcfs than three Centuriec; of them ; and yet
thefe arc bur a few of the thin~, which thcfc nculeated
Prencher.rwould ad,·ifc us of: I will fingle out but this
one peculiar Document from them for myfclf, which
Pliny
 'TheChriftittn
Philofopher. 155
Pliny takes notice ot: Nulius Apibzi!>ft per Cir/umlicuit,
Otioperit Dies.
Another of thefe Providers is the AN T> whereof
the Wife-Man fays, they are exceedingwife; a People
notjlrong, Jet theypi·eparetheir Meat in the Summer.
Sir Edward King having been curious in examining
their Generation, wonders to find them lying in Mul-
titudes on their Eggs (which . they ·indufirioufiy gather
together) by way of Incubation. He wonders to fee
them in the Morning bringing them up towards t11e
top . of the Bank, ·and for the moil: part on the South.!.
fide of it; but at Night, efpecially if it be cool, or
likely to ram, you may dig a Foot before you can find
them. Indeed all "is wonderful !
. There is the Field-Ant and the 1f7ood-Ant;the Field-
'A.;.t Jeeds upon frnall Seeds. They have their Leaders
and Rulers, which they follow along their little Path's
in exaa: Order, and · return the fame way; they all
go out light, but · all return home hea\·y laden, with
their Burdens on their Backs. · The Wood-Ant feeds
upon Lea,,.es. You may fee fometirnes great Paths
made by them, three or four Inches broad, and as
beaten as the High-ways; they mar.ch fl:outly under
fuch Loads, that you cannot fee their Bodies; a Path
looks perfeB:ly_greenwith them.
In two Months of the Year they take Wing, and
fly abroad in the warm Sun, to take their Pleafure,
after the Fatzgueof their Labour is over.
And how unparallel'd the Tendernefs, the Dili-
gence, the Forecafi of this little Animal, for the Safety
of their young ones! A ~f'.>'~, that filled Squammerdam
with an unf peakable Pleafure at the view thereof;
Non fine JTICttriditatefpeElabam! 'Tis very diverting
to fee how they carry about their youngones, and ex-
pofe thernfelves to any Dangers,rather than leave their
youngonesexpofed ; and how they remove them from
one place to another, as they find occa!ion.
Same-
t
 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
Sometimes the Ants in the f;zdier will hare Ne ils
moll: artificially placed between the L imbs of huge
•:frees,and thefo Nell:s as big as ati Hog/head; here is
their Wimer Habitation.
They will ranfack flrangely for PrO\·ifions, and in
mighty Troops, which all follow whcrerer the fore-
mole goes.
Excellently well Mr. De;-hamhereupon : ' That the
' great Wtfdom difcernible in this little Animal, is ow-
e ing to the Infufions of the great Confcrvator of the
' \Vorld, is evident; becaufe either .this Wrfdom and
' Forecr'.ftis e.n Aft.of the · Animal itfelf, or of a Being
' . that hath T,Vifdoin : but the Animal being irrational,
' 'tis impoffible it can be its own JtEl, but it mull: be
' deriv' d or rec·eiv' d. from fome wife Bi:ing. And who !
' - \Vhat can that be, but an infinite L 0 .R D,
.' and Conferv.itor 0£the World !'. '
An Ant-hiil, ·'tis 'a Sent; of ~ very curious Contri_:
Yance. 'Jolmflonmnkes it an Article of his Thaumrrta-
graphy, and f~ys very truly, Vix 1,Ui_us _Urbism-ti.ftciojic;
StmElura. If you read the Defor 1pt10n of the qua-
drangulm· City, four Foot long, and a Foot wide, the
Streets wifely laid out, the convenient Granaries pro-
vided, the Ciriliry of the Citizens to one another, as
Aldrovm1dus has given it, you would fee nothing in
any Stral-omore entertaining. ,
l wonder not that the Wifdom of God fends me
thither : Go to the Ant, tho:, Sluggard; may I Jeam her
lVays and be wife!
But we arc paffing into a Theme, whereon there is
110 end o
f the TVondm! The Care of the lnfeEls about
their Ojf-fpri11g.
Singular the ir Proddence for their Young, in find-
ing or making fit Receptacles for their Eggs or Seed,
where they may enjoy a fofficicnt Incubation, and
ba\·e ready an agr eeable and fufficicnt Food for their
E<lucation.
They
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 157
They to whom Fltjh is proper Food, lay their Sperm
in Flefh; from which Nurfery of Maggots, S. Redi has
for ever banifh'd the old Whimfey of anomalousGene-
ration, by incontefiable Experiments.
Others, to whom the Fruits or Leaves of the Vege- ,
tablesare a Food, find a Repofitory there.
Some take this 'Tree, fome take that Herb; and one
Family frill always the fame.
If the Cochineelwere not accommodated with a Fruit
like a Prickle-Pear, which opens after the Flower which
protected it is by the Heat of the Sun fcorched away,
wh~n the fmall red JnfeEtsare come to maturity, and
would die and- rot for want of more Food, if the
Indians did not now come to fhake them out ; Gentle-
men, where would you be fupplied with your fo much
efl:eemed Scarlet? ,
Ochers require a greater degree of \Varmth in their
Lodging, and thofe look out the Bodiesof larger Ani-
mals, that they may be lodged there. Many, if not
rnofl: forts of Birdj, have their Lice in their Feathers;
and feveral forts of Benfls have peculiar Lice in their
Hairs, all difl:incl:from the two forts·where·with Man
is infefl:ed. It has been pretended that the Afs is free,
and an odd reafon affigned for it ; but it has been ra-
ther fuppofed from a Paff..1gein Ariflotle, the Chronology
whereof won't well fuit with the odd Reafon I refer to.
Some work thcmfelres into the very Scalesof the
Fifhes. There Lumbricusinnafiitur, qui debilitat; it was
obferved as long ago as the Days of the StagJrite.
They find them even in the Stonwchof Cod-jifh.
, The Sheep complains of them in his Nofe; the
Ki11e have them on their Backs ; the Horfes in their
Guts.
Thofe in the Headsof Deer are often mentioned by
antient \ Vriters.
lVorm s of many Yards lon<r :-, are bred in the Legs of
Mm, and in other Parts of their Bodies; in their
'Tongues, their Gums, and their Nofes, as 'r:s rcport~J
m
I 58 TheChriflianf hi(ofopher.
in our PhilofophicalT rnnfacliom; in their EJes, and their
Erebro-u:s,as in the Geon,m Ephemerides. M uujfet and
'lyfan will fet before you what Worms the Stomac,; a d
Bowelsof Mm have often breeding in them. La:dy
in my Neighbourh ood a poor Man reaching to vomit,
a monfirous Worm thrufi up one end of itfe;f, \\h ch
the Man feizing on, fell to pulling of it, as a fi.fher-
man hales up his Line, arid pull' d till the T,VC!rm lay in
an enormous heap; whence being drawn into its lengt h
and meafured, the lVo,m, in the full extent of it, made
about ,mehundred and fifty Footlong. I may fay, Hifie
ipfe -vidiOculis. Yea, Dr . L;fier affirms true Cnter[il."ars
to have been vomited from thence. Al}d :Mr.J ej]o p
affirms true Hexapodsto have been alfo thr own up
with a Vimit. Entertain unquefi ionablc Acc ount s from
Germany, and you will fee ToadJ, and Frogr, and L i-
zards, cafl up from an Human Stomach, no doubt from
the dr inking of their Spawn. The L iv ers and K idi!ep
of Animals ha.-e had their lVvnn s : yea, Verz.nfi ha has
found them (without a Metaph or) in t he B,ains of
Men; probably they ,vere laid in the Ltzmi;za of the
Nofl:rils, and gnawed their way into the Biains thro
the Os Cribriforme.
lf/i erus found them di\·ers t imes in th e Gall-Bladder
of Pcrfons whom he had opened. In di,·ers F.verr
th e Blood has been found firapgcly 'Vem:icul,itcd , as
Ki rcher and fevcral others have upon £ya mirat;o n re-
port ed ; [fo one W,, rm kills another!] Vmniizous Colle-
8:ions are found in the Small-P ox, as Lange and B orelius
tcfiify ; and in pock.yScab, there art! incredible .Multi-
ru des of them.
O chers ,\·ho make themfelres N ,fls by Perforati011 s
in t he Eilrth, or in fomc /Vor-d, or in Con:l,sof their
own building; 'cis admirable to fre how they lay in,
and fcal up the Pro\'ifions t hat \\ ii! be necetfary f 1 r
t heir young ones there. So d:vcrs l chmmz m c:irry in
1'.Jaggc ts, which they cake from the Learcs of Trees ,
w hii.:h
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. I 59
which they fagacioufly put up clofe into their Neils.
Ariflotle fays they carry in Spiderstoo.
Their Nidification is afionifhing ! When their Eggs
are on the Leaves of Plants, or other Materials on the
Land, how commodioufly are they laid! Always care-
fully glued on, with one certain End lowermofi, and
handfome Juxt~-pofitions.
\,Vhen in the fVater, in what beautiful Rows! In a
gelatineMatter fo faflen'd, as to prevent its Diffipation.
Single out but Pliny's Infiance of the Gnat, a con-
temptible Animal, the Story of his Proceedings would
give you a thoufand Afl:onifhmenrs !
They who mu.fr perforate hard Bodies, to make
their Lodgings there, have their Legs, Feet, Mouth,
yea, their whole Bodies, very firangely accommoda-
ted to the Service.
But for them who build or fpin their Nefls, their
Art, as Mr. Derham expreffes it, jufily hids defianceto
the mcfi ingeniousArtifl amongMen fa muchas tolerablyto
copythem. The geometrical Combsof fome, the terre-
frrial Cellsof others; the Webs, the Nm, the Cafes, of
divers. A Bi/hop of Paris long fince obferved, Naf-
citur Aranea cum Lege, Libro, & Lucerna; the very Spi-
der knows its Leffon.
There is a natural Glue afforded by the Bodies of
feveral to confolidate their ·work. The Wafps have
chis, as well as the Tinea Veflivora, the Cadew-w:;rm,
:1nd feveral others; what Goedart alfo obferves of his
Ernca, this can be by fome darted out at pleafure, and
woven into filken Balls. Mr. Boyle mentions an oval
Cafeof a Silk-'U:orm,which a Gentlewoman of his Ac-
quaintance drawing out all the filken Wire that com-
pofed it, found it above three hundred Yards, and yet
weighed no more than two Grains and an half That
wondrous Infecl: the Silk-worm! It has no Eyes, but
how fine its Performances. Let the Hifloria Singufaris
of them, written by Libavius, ·be perufed, it will be
found a Collecl:ion of \Vonde rs. Good God, /hall thy
Silk-worm
 16 0 TheChrijlittnPhilofopher
.
Silk-wurm adornme, and fbn/1 he not inflmEl me too! There
is a11other Tf/orm, w/;ichwould at lenfl learn thir of him,
to fpin out of his ou:n Bowe!f, from his own Experien~·eaud
hh own ft feditation,fuch things aJ may be ufefu/ to thofe to
whom they fhall be communicated. But, 0 vain Perfon,
p rou d of the jilken Attire that is ru!li ng upon thee; is
it poffiblc t hat in a little TVimn thy Pride ih ould find a
Nouri lh menc !
The re arc others of thcfc little Animals w hich make
Nature itfclf fcrviceablc to their P urpofe, and make
t he Vegetation of Trees and Herbs the M eans of buil d-
ing their little H abitations .. They build in t he Ga!II
ruid Balls of the Oak, the TViUow, the Briar, nnd other
V egetables, nnd arc furnifhcd with a Piercer, to pro-
fecute their Bufinefs. Among thcfe we will finglc out
what the Jchmumon-Flydocs to the Leaf of the Nettle.
T he Parcnt-Infecl:, with a fiiff fccacious T ail, terc-
b rates t he R ib of the L eaf w hen tender, and makes
w ay for its Egg into the very Pith or H eart thereof,
an d pro~ab ly by s in therewith fome J uice ~lits Body ,
whi ch will pervert the regular Vegetation of it. F rom
this \ Vound arifes a fo1all E xcrefc:e ;rce, which (when
the Egg is hatch'd into a ]I.faggot)grows bigger as the
A-faggotincreafcs, and fwells on each fide the L eaf,
between the two Membr.1ncs, and extends itfclf into
the parenchymous part thereof, ti.ll it is grown as big
as two Grains of J.Vheat. In th is Manfi0n there lies
a fmall, white, rough ft1.1ggot, whir.h turns to an Au-
1-elia,and afterwards to a \'cry beautiful, green, fmall,
Jc!merm:0 11
-F/ y.
A pccul i~r Art ifice, and fo far out of the reach of
any mortal Underfianding, th:i.t here mufl be, as
Mr. D ed mn juflly paufcs upon it, the Concun-enceof
Jome grm t md 1-l'i{e Being, that has from the beginning M-
km care f or the CJr,oJ of the A;~imr.l! The Formation of
thefe C.1j'er is qu ite beyond the Cunning of the Animal
itfelf, but it j ., the A B: p:mly of the Vi:r:,rt .zl·le, and
partly of fome VirulenCJin the Juice or Egg of the
t A111mal
 CJ'he
ChriftianPhilofopher. I 6r
Animal repofited on the Vegetable; w:1ic:i /o,Jalpighi, in
his Defcription of the Fly bred in Oaken-Galls, has no-
tably confirm'd to us. Erunt Plantarum Tumores, mor-
bofte Excrefcentite, vi depofiti Ovi a turbata Plantarutn
compage, & vitiato humorum Afotu excitatce, quib:11inclit-
Ja Ova & Animalwla, velut in Urerofavemur & augen-
tur; donec manifeflatis jirmatifque propriis Jartibus, quaji
exoriantur novam exoptaittia auram.
It is a jufl: Thought of one well skill'd in Cfinology,
'That lvlen themfelves, and much more other Creatures,
may do many things which aptly ferve to fome certain
End whereof they have no confideration, Creatures
may be direcl:ed and confl:rained by a flr cng F:mcy
which they have of fuch and fuch Work~, and of Ac-
tions that belong to them. Well, but ,vho has im-
printed it? It is the Great GOD, who will ha,:e fucb
Works to be done. Great GOD, fhall we contrive v.:hat
Ser'Vice of thine th_vnobler Creature MA N may thereby be
J1elped to! My excellent Philofopher concludes: The
Divine Reafon runr lihe a Golden Vein thi·ough the whole
Leaden lvline of Brutal Nature.
There is one thing more to be added : That the
Numbers of lnfeEts and Vermin may not be too offenuve
to us, Providence has ordained many Creatures, ef pe-
cially fuch as arc in fuperior Orders, to make it their
bufinefs to defl:roy them, efpccial1y when their Increafe
grows too numerous and enormous. As in we ln die.r,
where they are fometimes exceedingly punifhed with
Ants, there is the Urfus Formicarius, whofe very bufi--
nefs is to devour them. Hideous Armies of W rriis do
fometimes vifit my Country, and carry wi:ok Fu:ldi of
Corn before them, and climbing up Trees, lea\ c mem
as bare as the middle of Wlnte,. Our wild Pidgeons
make this the Seafonof their De{cent, and in prod1g10us
Flocks they fall upon thefe Robbers, and- clear the
Country of them.
The Dtflruflion and Death of Animals does procl~im
the Fame of the Divine TVifiom in adjufl:ing of it!
11 The
 CJbeChriflianPhilofopher.
The Locufls, that have fometimes prm cd fo derour-
ing a Plague, do alfo prore a D.jb to the People that
fufter from them. In A Vi;nge round r/;e !Vorlt!, I read,
That in the Ei1fl-!11dies,'\\ hen thcfe Creatures come
in great Swarms to devour their Fru its and Herbs,
the Nati,·es take them with Nets, and parch them
o, ·er the fire in an earthen Pan, on which the ir \\ 'ings
and Legs would fall oft-: and thcil· Head and Backs
turn red, bu t their Budies bein~ foll, would cat moifl
and f.veet enough, and their H.:ad a little crackle in
one's Teeth; a D i!11th:it People might fubliil upon :
tho the Condition of the A,;·idophagi, mentioned by
Di cdorus, and by Stral-o, would not encourngc one to
l:,e confin'd to it.
E\ ·cn the more noxious InfeRr and i"t:,rmi;1arc fuch,
that ,vc may confider in them the F'mger of Gcd ! The
Sufferings they inflict upon us, may be confidcrcd as
the Scourges of God upon us for our M ifrarriages, and
be improved as Excitations to Repmtrmce.· I ha,·e read
fomewhere a Palfage to this purpofc : ' I .would carry
< on the Matter to fo much of !Vntclfidntf,·, in my ap-
' prebend ing Opportunities for Thoughts of Repe;unuce,
' that the Pro vocatiom that may happen to be gi,·e n
' to my B odi~1Si!i!Js at any time, f11all prornke •fuch
< Thoughts in my Soul. -- If I happen to lodge
' wher e any /;feEtor Vi'i'l:riil afl:nrlts me, it /hall /,um-
' ble me. I will think 1 /,a-veUflll one r.mongthe Enemies
< of God in the l Vur!d. Th ,Je wu-ajj Creaturesare pnrt of
< the Armies which the Lord ~fHo/is emplop, n;ul v..·ithJome
' Cv;uempt, a,~aii!flI.is Emmies!'
The !Vom1s ,, hich, clpeciall}' in pbces wher e the
fa!t and ji-cjbWater meets, <lo in fuch horrid Swarms
eat into the Bottoms of our Ships, and render t hem
cren like HoueJ-coml•s;the Coafls that are noc infdlcd
with them, ought to :1ck110 ,-.ledge the Farour of Hea-
\ Cll in it; an<l the 1'krc;;hant and 11ariner that foftcrs
by them, ought to conli<lcr ..::hat RebNkeof Heavm up-
~11
 'The ChriflianPhilofopher. I 63
on their Dealings vr Doings may lie at the bottom of fuch a
Calamity! .
How wretched would our Condition be, if we w·erc
conilantly infefl.ed with Flies, like th e poor v.:inkiug
Peopleof Nev.:-Ho/land in the Eafl-l ndies! To be ex-
empted from the Mifchiefs which the Juflice of God
fomecimes infMls on People that do not acknowledge
Him, 'tis what calls for our Acknowledgments of His
Goodnefs.
If the Lord of Hofls pleafe to fingle out from his Ar.:.
mies, whereof there is no Number, no other Legiom than
thofe of lnfec1s, even thofe Velites commanded by Him,
how would they embitter, and even extinguifh our
Lives! Locufts alone make whole Nations tremble:
Worms have defiroyed Kings; and Flies have fcattered
Kingdcms.
But then the rererfc : 0 Cantl:arides, how many
Millions of LiYes are continually favcd by your epifpa-
flick Applicati ons ! GOD is to be acknowledgedin the Good
which i, done by a poorgreen Fly to the Childrenof Men!
Honefl: Mr. T erry tells us, That among the Per.fees
in the Eafl-Jndies they profefs this D evotion : That
the firfl: Creature of Swfa and of Ufe which they behold
in a 1forni ng , they employ Rill as a Remembrancer
to them all the Day following, to draw up their
Thoughts in T hankfgiving to the Almighty God, who
hath made fuch a Creature for our Scn'ice.
lvf;'God, fhall the Pagan rife up and condemnthe Chri-
flian ! If we Jhou/d notfrom the View of thy Creatures hm;e
our Hearts drawn up to thy Praifes, we fhould to our con-
fitjioufind fr fa !
,r. 'For what ENDS me all thefe little Creatures
' made? Mofl certainly for great ENDS, and' for
' fuch as are worthy of a GO D !'
· ' The exqui!ite Artifice which is confpicuous in the
' M ake of thefc Creatures, does p roclaim a marvellous
' and matchlefs T¥ifdom in the Maker of them ; and
~ \Vifdom will make nothing in vain.'
M i 'Tho
 164 The ChriftianPhilofophe
r.
' Tho the more Jpecial Ufes of the[e Creatures be as
' yet unknown to us, the only wJe God fends to us
' this Ad\·icc conccrnmg them: !¥hat I do tl:ou /mow-
' efl 11otnow, but thoujb,1/t knuw hereafiu.'
'Howcrcr, this \\e know NO 'iV; for thcfc and all
' Creatures this END is great enough, that t/;e Great
' God t/.,ereinbeJ;oUsV.'ithpleaj.re the ~~•aricus
and curi1Jt1J
' 1Vorks(1fHis Hands. Behold a fufficient EN D, as
' well for a TJTor/,Jas for a Tf/r.rm, chat the infinite
·, God may with delight bel:oldHis c,wnGluries in the
' \Vorks ,, hich His Hands have wroug:1t. JvlyRen-
e ders, let us cume to a Confort in the D )xolo.~y, 0
c Lord, thw haft created all things, and for thy Pleafure
' they are m:d were o-eated! The Great God has con-
' tri\'cd a mighty Engiile, of an Extent that cannot be
' meafured, and there is in it a Contriyance of won-
' dram. ftlotions that cannot be numbred. He is infi-
' nicely gratified with the View of this Engine in all
' its J\1otions,infinitely grateful to Him (o glorious a
' Specl:acle ! when it becomes grateful to us, then we
' come into fame Communion with Hih1. I will
' cfl:eem it a fufficient E N D for the whole Creation
' of God, that the Great Creator m,1yha'Ve the Gratifictz-
' tion of beholdingHir own admfr,,!;/elf/irkmarjhip. And
' I will cl1eem it a part ot the Homage I owe to His
' Eternal Maj efiy, to be facisf.eJ iJ1fuch an END as
' this.'
' I will transfer this .i\J,,dit,itionto the Exercifcs
' which arc to fill a Lfe uf Pic:ty. HaYc I not Reafc;z
' enough, .i\!oti·veenough, to abound in all_ the Exer-
' cifcs of a pious Life, e\·cn the mofl:fecret of them, and
' a Guard upon the Frmmr and Thoughts of my Heart
' with in me? Tie Great GOD is the Bel:o!df:I· of my
' 'tuhvleBeh,1'".
io11r,Ile kno-.i.·s1J.,e'tM,Y that I take; m1d I
1

' chufe the thii1grthat ple,'1.fe

Him in u:hat I am now a do-
' mg.
. '
§. Find ing m 1fclf now cntred into the Aili11Ml
1Vorld,I will take this opportunity to inforc and pur-
foc .
 :l'heChrijlianPhilofopher. I 65
foe an Obfervation of the acute Dr. Oe;ne; which is,
That the ProduEtionof Animals is a thing altogether
inconftfient with the Laws of folechanifm: from whence
I inter, that it mufl be from fomething fuperior to
them.
For firfr, -the Blood is by the Force of the Heart
fqueezed from the left Ventricle, thro the Arteries, to
:the Extremities of the Body, and is thence returned
by the Veins into the right Ventricle, thence by the
Arteria Pulmonalis into the Lungs; from the , Lungs by
the Vena Pulmonalisagain into the right Ventricle. The
Muticn of the Heart is caufed by the nervous'Juices mix-
ing with the Blood, in the mufcular part thereof; and
thefe nervous 'Juices are both derived from the Blood,
and forced into the mu_(cularpart of the Heart, by the
Motion of the Heart itfelf, the Texture of the con-
taining V effels, and perhaps by the Pulfation of the
Arteries upon the Nerves of the Brain. Here now, the
Heart is the caufe of the Motion of the Blood in the Ar-
teries; and the Motion of the Blood in the Arteries urging
their Juices thro the Ner:vcs, is the caufe of the Mo-
tion of the Heart : which is a plain Circulation of Me-
chanical Powers, a PerpetuumMobile, a thing unknown
to Nature ! An Epicurean cannot contrive a Water-
Jt,fachine,wherein the Water fhould move the Machine,
and the Machine move the Water, and the fame /¥ate.·
continually return in a Circleto move the Machine.
Great GO D, it is thy immediate Influenceon the Pow-
ers of Nature in me that keepsmy Heart in motion. Oh!
that I may love thee and Jerve thee with aU my Heart! In
thee I live! To glorify thee, /hould be the Bujinefs of my
Lif .I
1 e.
Again, In all Animals how JmaU, how fine the Or-
gans ! How indefinite the Number of them ! Senfation
is performed by the mediation of Organsarifing from
the Brain, and continued thro the part affected. Now
there is 11ot the leafr imaginable folid part of the Vef-
fels or l'vlufiles but what we find fenfiblc; wherefore
M 3 the
166 1:11e Chrijlian Philofopher.
the Kumber cf Organs that conrey Smjathn mull: be
jnconcei, able! Nutri:i n is a,fo performed by Organr,
chro which a ~upply is conn~~ cd to the pi ace to be
nourifhed. Now there is itJ P.m of the Body but
wb1t rnay be inmafcd or lc./fned; fo tr.en in e,·er 1 in-
di'Uidua/Poim cf tbe Bcdy there is the Term:r.at:on of
Orgam, thro which a Nourifb1r:..1:tmay be com e1ed.
Furthermore, the Canals do all augIT cnt, and rr.av all
decay ; and therefore crcry affignable pm of cr.c!e·
Ca-
nals mufl be th~ Termination of fame Jec.-etorvDuff,
fcparating a Fluid fit for the 1-epairing of their. Loi:"cs,
:ind thcfe ogain mufl hmc others to repair their Lc-11es;
and how fhall we concci,·c where to itop ? 11crcc-vcr,
the mofl ex9ui(itc G!,iffescan difcm·cr r,oth:i;g in the
fcl'tral parts ot the V c!Tels and M ufdcs, but Car.ah
amazingly llcnder; the better the Glnlles, die more of
thcfe c11pillmJPires arc difcO\'ered. In f110rr, all t he
folid Parts of the Body arc nothing but either Tubes to
comcy fome Fluid, or Threads in Bundles, tied by
others that furround them, or going from une Fibre
to another, or fpread into thin .Membranes; but each
of thrfo how iuconai7.'aHJ· mim.nc ! the Doilor does not
icruplc to fay, infinite!_~!
0 i;z(i;iitelyGreat GOD, I am njlonifhtd! I am ajlo-
;;,foed( Fer all thofe tl.-ingsh,11/;my Hand made, faith ihe
Loi~ ,

E S S A Y :XXVIJI. Of R r. r T I L s.

L ET us now handle the· Reptils, which arc a fort

of Animals that rd1 occ rart of their Body on
rhe Earth, while they ath ancc the other forn ard.
In our way of doing it we f11alltake up SC1·fozts,aud
it fb,1/inot httrt w.
Concerning the n,eanefl of thcfe, nan,ely, thr Earth-
•i.::crn:,D r. TVi/1is makes this Reirark: L:m.l, ims ter-
njiris, liw 'i.Ji!e& ai,:cmptibileJ:abca111r,
OrgmMVita/in,
.. uccncn
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
necno11 & alia V,fcera, & lvlemlmi Divino artificio admi-
rabiliterJ;1brcj:1Sa
fanitur.
And the }fir al Motion of it is admired as ,, ·ell as de~
fcribed by Dr. T)fan.
The 1fotion of Reptils is extreme! y curious.
Their Ford and their Nefl lies in the next Clod,
Plant, or Hole ; or they can long bear Hunger and
Hardihip.
So their finuous Motion, perform'd with as much Arc
~s what is in the Ltgs or Wings of other Creatures,
and as curiouOy provided for, is found fufficient for
the conveying of them.
T here is abundance of geometrical Neatnefs and
Nicenefs in the Motion of Serpents; their annular
Scales lie crofs their Belly, contrary to what thofe in
the Back and the reil: of the Body do: the Edges alfo
of the foremofl Scales lie over the Edges of the joliowing
Scales; and every Scale has a diflinEt Mufcle, one end
of which is tack'd to the middle of the Scale, the
other to the upper Edge of the following Scale.
The Snails have neither Feet nor Claws, but they
creep with an undulating motion of their Body; on
which Dr. Lyfler has written : and by a Slime ~mitted
from their Body, they adhere to all Kinds of Super-
ficies.
The motive Parts of Caterpillarsare admirably con-
trived, 1iot only to fcrve their progreffion, but for ga-
thering of their Food. .
The Spine, and Mufcle.rco-operating with the Spine,
in foch as have Bones; and the annular and other
~u[cles in fuch as have none; are incomparable Con-
trivances.
The Magnitudewhereto fome Serpentshave grown, is
prodigious. Bochart will afronifh you with a Colle-
ction of Relations found in Antiquity concerning Ser-
pents, and particularly Dragons, of a 1110fi enormous
Magnitude. Gefner too will quote us Authors for
M 4 fame
168 'TheChriftian Philofopher
.
fome fo big, that the little Book I am now writinrr
,Yill afford ~o room for them. ::.
Yea, Sueto;ziusaffirms, that one was expofed by Au-
guflus, which \Yas no kfs than fifty Cubits long. Dio
ccm1es up with him, and affirms, that in Hetruria there
wa<; one that was fourfcore and five foot long, which,
afrer he had made fearful -D evafiations, \\ as kill' d
w ith a Thunderbolt. Strabo out-does him, and af-
firms, that in Crx!o-S;-riathere had been one which
was an hundred Foot long, and fo thick, that a cou-
ple of Men on iiorfrback, on each fide of him, could
not fee one anot!ier. Yea, one that ,ms an hun-
dred and twenty Foot long, was kill'd near Utirn by
t he Army of Regulus. \ Veil might Auflin fay of thefo
dreadful Aninials, l'vlajorancnJi11.t flfper. Terram.
Tho, if I m;gh t be allo\\ ed the Benefit of a /11eta-
fl or, I ,, ·ould fay, I have bwi.i:nv.:hereto find a greater
th.,;z a!I of tl-efa! Bur,

Ye Dragons, ·u:l:ofecontagiousBreath
Pcorlr:,tl'e dark Retreats (f Death,
Cl m1s,e )01ff dire Hiffinv into hem1cr.lyScngs,
0

And praife )OU, Jlfaker with )OU, forked Tongues.

'Tis what occurs in my Lord R ofiommo;z's
Par:iphrafc on Pfalm cxh·iii.

'The poifanrnsTi ibes ha Ye bee:1 'made an Objeftion

a~a-;.fl tLc Divine Providence, as be111gddhufti,·c to
the rdl of the \Vorld
of a Viper is found by D r. Mead, on a
'l f,c ]>,,~fen
microfc p;a! l '..xaminati,,n, a rarcel offm.-i!i Salts, nimbly
flcatin.~ in de L:qucr, but fj.'tidly changed, m;d fhot out in-
to Gnflalr, cf a,; iucred,Ue Tmuity a;;d Sharpnefs, ,1:ith
fw1,tl.i1..~ Me to Kncts 1.-t-reand there,ji-om ·u:hich they
_{to11cdto pruie d: it lies in a E,1.~in the Gums, a:: the
urrc-r-cnd of the Teeth; thefe Teeth are rnbula~cd,
f1r the c0m·erance of the PoiftiJinto the Wound which
tl1cy make. G,.!m fays, Mountebanks d:<l i.fc to ftop
r!.cfe::
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 169
thcfe Perforations of the Teah, before they would let
Spedators behold the Vipers to bite them.
Let it be confidered, that the venomous Creatures
have their great medicinalUfes; we fee a Treacle fetch'd
out of a Viper; th Viper's Fleih cures Leprofies, and
obfl:inate Maladies. The Gall of a Rmtl e-fnake (which
we take out of hin in the more early :Months of his
yearly appearance, and work into Troches with Cl:a!k
or Meal) is a rich Cordialand AnodJne, for which pur-
1

pofe I ha\'e often taken it, and given it : it invigorates

the Blood into a mighty Circulation, when fatal Sup-
preffions are upon it; it is highly alexipharmick, and
cures Quartnn-Agues. And yet this Rattle-Jnake, fuch
a venomous \:Vretch, that if he bite the Edge of an
Axe, we have feen the bit of Steel that has been bit-
ten, come off immediately, as if it had been under a
PutrefaElion.
The very Steam of the Serpents in the famous La
Grotta de!li Serpi, at Snjfa in Italy, celebrated by Wor-
mius from Kircher, and firangely difcovered by a Leper
happening to fieep there, does wondrous things.
Moreover, ubi Vims, ibi Virtus; 'tis obferved, the
bruifed Fltfh of the venomousCreatures applied to their
Bit es, cures the Venomof them.
But, as Mr. Derham obferv.cs, ' There would be
' no lnjufiicc in God for to make a Set of fuch noxious
' Creatures, as Rods and Scourges, to execute the
~ Divine Chafl:izements on finful Men.' He adds, 'I
' am apt to think, that the Nations which know not
' God arc the mofl: ani10ycd ,vith thofe noxious Rep-
c tils, and other pernicious Creatures.'
There is a firauge Story related and a!fertcd by
Franz.,ius, That Anno Ch1·ifliI 564, vafl: Armies of Ser-
pents appeared in Hungary, and occupied their Fields
of Corn ; and when the People were with a particular
Contrivance by Fire going to defl:roy them, one who
\\·as bigger than the refl: lifting up his Head, articu-
latrly cried out, 1.Volitehoc fam e, quia non noflroArbi-
trio,
 'TheChrijlian Philojopher.
trio, fed a DeJ l.uc mi/JiJumus, c:dperdend.u Segetes. If
the Story Ihould be but a Fiible, yet the i,loral is w ife
and good.
It may be they that have been thought ':Jenomous ,
h:n-c not had in them fo much1enom as has been
thought for. S:r T/;e,dore11fayemI ghs at the Po;fon
cf a Tond,and fays, 'tis no wodi han a Fng; he had
himfelf without mifchief eaten ~reral.
'Tbere is one Mr. RobinJon of Cumberland, who offers
jc as a probable ConjcB:ure, that the n.Je;iomous C e.-ztures
lick up the Venom of the Earth, which, if it were dif-
fufed, might be more dangerous than their Bite or
Scing.
1 'hc fame Gentleman obferres concerning the
c;·a~.;.:Jing
U/2rm, \\hich is dcfp;fcd, as the mofl ufeicfs
:i.mong all the Creatures cf God, that the Earth
~bounds \\·ith a grofs, fat, luxuriant Slime at the time
when thefe Vermin are engendred, and theCe Vermin
then feed upon it; this, if it were not fuck'd up, and
contrafted into the Bodies of tbcfc dimimiti,·c Animals,
but were diflufed thro the Grafs and H erbage, , \ ould
occafion i\111;-rainsin Beafls, and perhaps Difiafes in
Men, whofe Diet is much upon Herbage.
A T¼rm nuw makes a paufe, anJ adorer the Diviue
1Vorkmar.Jhipappe.:iriugin the Conjlit11tionof /;is Brethren!
\Vhit :-imazingEffects follow on the Bite of the Ta-
ran:u!a ! The Patient is taken wfth an extreme diffi-
culty of brcatl ing, and hca\ y Angui!h of Heart, a dif -
mal S:1dnC'f~ of Mimi, a Vi.ice quc:ulous and forrowful,
and his EJes \·cry much d iflu rbcd. When the violent
Symptoms ,\ hich appear on the fir.{l D ays arc over, a
continu.il A[./.md1olJhangs about the Perfon, till by
dancing, or finging, or change of Age, the poifonous
lmpreJJions :-ire extirpated from the Blood, and the
Fl uid of the Ncrres: but this is an Happincf<. that
ure!y happens; nay, Baglivi, this wicked Spider's
(I
Conntrym:m, fays, ti-ere is 1/J ExpeElati";z ewr l·eing
r,·f El(1mrtd. Many of the l'oifoncd arc ucn:r well
but
 7be ChriftianPhilofopher. 17r
but among the Graves, and in fol1taryplaces; and they
lav themfelves along upon a Bier, as if they themfeln~.s
w·ere dead: like People in defpair, they will throw
themfelves into a Pit; l¼inen,otherwife chafle enough,
will cafl: away all Modefly, and throw themfelves into
yery expofing and indecent Pofiures; they love to be
tofs'd in the Air, but fome will be mightily pleafed -
with rolling themfelres, like Swine, in the Dirt ; and
others cannot be pleafed except they be foundly
drubb'<l on their hinder Parts. There are fome Co-
lours agreeable to them, others offenfive, efpecially
Black; and if the Attendants have their Clothes of
ungrateful Colours, they mufl: retire out of their fight.
The Mujick with the Dancing which muil: be employ'd
for the ir Cure, continues three or four Da ys; in this
vigorous Exercife they figh, they are full of Com-
pla ints; like Perfons in drink, they almoil: lofe the
right ufe of their Undedl:anding: they difiingui!h not
their very Parents from others in their treating of
them, and fcarce remember any thing that is pa!t.
Some during this Exercifc are mightily pleafed with
green Buughs, of Reeds or Vines, and wave them with
their Hands in the Air, or dip them in the Water, or
bind them about their Face or Neck; others love to
be handling ,·ed Cloths and naked Swords. And there
are thofe who, upon a littie intermiffion of the dancing,
fall a digging of Holes in the Ground, which they fill
with Water, and then take a fl:range fatisfaction in
rolling there. vVhen they begin to dance, they call for
Swords, and ace the Fencers; fometimes they are for a
Looking-g!afl, but then they fetch many a deep Sigh at
t :1e beholding of themfclves. Their Fancy fometimcs
leads them to rich Clothes, to Necklaces, to F111encs,
and a variety of Ornaments; and they are highly cour-
teous to the By-fl:anders that will gratify them with
any of thcfe things; they lay them very orderly about
the place where the Exercifc is performed 1 and in dan-
cing;
r
172. :TheChriftianPhilofopher.
ci;;g pleafc themfclves with or,c or other of thefc things
by turns, as their troubled Imag ination direB:s them.
How miferable would be the Condition of Man-
kind, if thefc .Animals were common in every Coun-
try ! But our compaffionate God hus confined them to
one little Corner of ltrily; they arc cxifl:ing clfewherc ,
but no where thus ,·cnomous, except in Apul in. My
God, I glorify th) CompaJ]ion to .firrfullvfm;kind, in thy Re-
Jh-aints upw the Poifom cf the Tarantula!
But who can behold the D.f pofitions of the poor
Tarmurtlates, and not behold at the fame time with
H orr or, a lively E,.h ibition of the Fvl'ies whereto ".,1i -
ciow People me difprfed? Perhaps the Thought well
p uriued would g;ve fuch an Illuftration of the Venom
t hat befools, <leprarcs, and enOaves 'ViciousP.ople, as to
lead us into fame very r ight N otions of the Methods,
v:hcr ein the e7.:zlSpirits, to whofe Conduct they hare
rc11gn'd themfclres, do, thro a jufl: Ju dgment of God,
operate upon t hem.
Vfriour People, if you are not fo Tarm1tulated, th at
it ,,·ill fright you to look into a Loaki11g-gl4r,bethink
yourfch:es, and in th e Conditio1\ of the M iferables
t hat are Hung with a Tarai1tuL1, behold as in a Look-
ii:g-glafs your O\\ n Behaviour and Confufion.
\. ' That the le.7Jland the wo;Jl of the Creatures
' JT1aydo 1lI,m the Service of leacling him to God, a
' rervrn r.cd \Vritcr has dcmonfhntcd, in ftngling out
' the Example of a Toad. A Gentleman faying, that
' in cverv one of the Creatureshe could fee Im·irntions
' to the ·Praifis of GOD, one nsk'd him, What! in
' ~ Tuarl? Q_,,modo i11Bufone potes laudare Deum? He
' rr.al:e rhi~ hoo<l Anfwcr, Thie; That a gocd God ht1S
' ad71,111ced me above the Bafenefsm:d Vi';10111 of thnt nm-
' tem· tible Animal!'
· ' The Bifhop<.who in their TraYcl to the Council
i of Crnjlan ,e, found a poor Country-man in the Tears
of Praifesto God :1t the fight of a 'Jund,"ere fi ruck
' into
 The ChriftianPhilefopher. 17J
' into jufr ReAecl:ions, whereof this was one, Surgunt
' IndoEli, & rapiunt Ca:lum.'

E S S A Y XXIX. Oft be F 1 s H E s.

T HE Fifhesof the Seafha11declareto thee!

Let us become Divers, and vi!it the watery
World; there we !hall fee, as Mr. Derham truly fays,
a various, a glorious, an inexhauflibleSceneof the Divine
Power, Wifdom, and Goodnefr.
The Variety of the Creatures that are the Inhabitants
of the Waters is very confiderable. Pliny in the ele-
venth Chapter of his thirty-fecond Book reckons up
one hundred and feventy-fix Kinds of them : indeed
he is very fhort in his Account. Our Chrifrian Pliny,
the excellent Ray, raifes the Number of the Fifbesto
five hundred, excluding the Shell-.fifb; but of the SheU-
fi/b more than fix times the Number, and yet he
thinks there may be but half the Species of the Fijbes
yet known to us.
If you'll believe Pliny and Company, Vera efl vulgi
Opinio, Quicquid nafcitur in parte Naturt2 ulla, & i,i
Mari ej}e,prate1·quemulta qu12nufquam alibi.
Mr. Willoughbyfays Ariflotle's Divifion of the Fifhes
is the befr, [ better than Rondelerius's] into three
Kinds, the cetacious,the cartilaginous,and the fpinous.
He gives us a Catalogue of ninety-threefeveral fort~
of our Englifh F,fbes.
The Shape of their Bodies, long and flender, or elfe
very thin, is admirably accommodated to their Action
of Jwimming, wherein they are to divide the Waters.
The Air-bladder, wherewith mofr of the Fifhes are
furni!hed ; this is what cannot be beheld without
Afionifhment ! By this they poife their Bodies, and
keep them equiponderant to the Water; without it
they would fall to the bottom, and lie groveling there,
as it has been found, when that Wind-bladder has been
broken. By contrac1i11g or dilatingthis Bladder, they are
able
1 74 The Chriftian Phi!ofoph
er.
nble to fink or to raifc themfelves at their plcafure;
::md continue in any Jepth of \Vater they pleafe.
Fifhes are fau.fible of Sound,, but whether they hear,
or only feel the Sounds, is ,·cry much difputed. Atha-
najiw Kirche;-obfen es, That tho the F;fhes that ha\'e
Luugs have alfo Ears, yet by what Organsthe hearing
of the refl: is performed, a nemine ad/me penitw explora-
tum efl.
Their Fim, made of grifily Spokes, connected by
Me mbranes, like our Ft1ilf,and furnifhed with .Muf-
cles for motion, thefc do p:.mly fervc them for pro-
greffion, but chieAy to hold the Body upright: when
t hcfe arc cut off, as they were by B ore!1i , they waver
t o and fro, and when they <lie, the ir Belly turns up-
wards. -
· The great Strength, by which they dart themfekes
forward with an incredible Celerity, lies in the ir Tails;
almofl: the. whole mufculous part of their Bodies is
befiowed upon them, to affifl: the Vibration thereof.
H ow F,fhes row thcmfch-es by their Tails, and other
C uriofities relat ing to f·1.:.Jimminz, you may"read in Bo-
re!ii's ingenious D:fcourfc de motu Auimalium.
It is remarkable to fee how Fifim h:n-e the Centercf
Gravity ah, ays placed in the fi ttefl: part of their Bo-
d ies, which is a Point of great Confideration in their
fluid Element.
Confider the Fuod of thefe Animals; they neithe r
chew the ir }.Jcat in th eir M ouths, nor ,r,rindit in their
}.faw,;: but in their Stun1.1chthey are fornifhcd with
a diffulvem Liquor, ,\'h ich dccs corrode the ir Food, ::ind
reduce it, Skin and Bones and all, into a Ch)lm or
Cremar; and yet it is , cry marrellous, the T;dle can
percci\·e in th is Liquor nothin~ of Acidity: it will ma-
nage Flc!h as Aqua-f~rtir docs Metals, und yet no frn-
fiblc Sharpueji-in it!
But where !hall they find their Food? 1.ord, thefe
t nll tt[on thee, that thou m.1_rfl
'U.'t1i ~~iverbcm then-jlfeat in
gi: fl t!Jtm, tl-e_v
due Seafou: 'tl'l·at tl.-o:e gather; tl-011 opemft
thhit
 · V1e ChriftianPhilofopher. 175
thine Hand, they are filled with · Good. How rich a
Prumptuary is this unlikely Element ! From the large-fl:
' Leviathan which playet/; in the Seas, to th e fmallefl:
lvlite in the Lakes and Ponds, all are plent ifully pro-
vided for; as is manifcfi (which Mr . D erham notes)
from the Fatnefs of their Bodies, rmd the Gaiety' of their
Ajpeils and Ailion s. ·
There is a Germination of divers aqttathk Plants iu
the \Vmers; the \Vaters are alfo a fort of a M atrix to
many Animals, particularly Jnfeils, not only fuch as
are peculiar to the \Vaters, but alfo many pertain ing
to the Air and the Land ; who, by their near alliance
to the \Vaters, delight in being about them, and fo
become a Prey to the Inhabitants thereof. Dr. Schuyl
mentions the Horror of the Water turned into Bl ood at
Leyden, from nothing but the infinite Swarms of Pu/ices
upon it; befides thefe, what mighty Shoals do vvefind
of lejfer Animals there, which the greater feed upon!
What a vafl:.Supply of our Food have we in fucking
the Abundance of the Seas? How ma ny M illions of the
F.jh are every Year fetch'd out of their Element, and
imerr' d in the hungry Bowels of Men? Some of thefe
very delic ious, particularly the White-fifh, whereof
fuch infinite Shoals in t he vafr Lakes of the North
Ameri,a, which has this very fingular Property, that
all forts of Sauces do but fpoi l it; it is alw ays eaten>
either boil'd or broil'd, w ithout any manner of Sea-
foning.
You, Gentlemen, who think your own Country of
England worth vifiting with your Travels, as methinks
you !hould before you go abroad, find the little River
T rent in Staff ord/hire affording thirty feveral forts of
F1ftJ1s; you 'Jl be ready to affirm of it, as the Hrmga-
riam do 0f their Ti bifcus, two parts arc Wa ter, the
thml is F,fb .
lvlv Gvd, when in our Ne ceffeties we ask of our Father
a F,fh, our heavenly Father fe eds us, how agreeably,hew
plentifully!
As
176 The Chriftian Philofophe
r.
As the JmalieflAnimals are bred in the \ Vatcrs
wime[s thofc in Pepper-,uater, fo arc the lnrgefl; thof;
of the ce:a.comK:n<l are there.
Plin)' mentions the Baltt;u of the f;zdia;zSea, which
w ere 11ine hundred and fixty Foor long; an<l he men-
tions f,/71,{z!esthat were fix hundred Foot long, and
t hree hundred and 11xty broad, which came into a Ri-
ver of A,abia. In the fccond Chapter of his ninth
Book he offers a R.eafon why the lm·gefl Anima!J are
b red in the Sea.
But I love to pafs from him to a more crufty and
modern Plin)', our indufl:rious Ray; and we will now
fee fomething cf his Remarks upon thefc Be/lutZ/1.fa-
rin:c: The Tail in thefe has a different poficion from
wha t it has in all other F,Jlm; it lies par.'.lllel co the
H orizon in thefe, and it is perpendicular in the rcft;
h ereby it fupplies t he u[c of the hinder pair of Finr,
w hich t hefe Creatures lack; and it ferves both to raife
and fink their Body at their plcafure. It is necclTary
t hat thefe Creatures frequently afccnd to the top of
the Water to breathe, and therefore they fhoul<l be
furnifhed with an Organ, by which their afccnt and
dcfccnt might be facilitated. The turning of their Bo-
dies in the \Vatcr they perform like the Birdr, bv the
motion of one of their Fins, while the other is.qui-
efcent. I t is very remarkable t J.iat their whole Body
is compafs'd round with a copious F,a, which we call
the Blubber, whereby their Bodies arc poifed, and ren-
dred equiponderant to the \Yater, and the \Vater alfo
is kept off at fome diflance from the B.'oo,l, the imme-
diate Contact whereof might elfc ha\·e had fomc chil-
ling force upon it; it ferves likewife, as our Clothes
do for us, to keep the Fifh 'U.'/ll"lll, in rcneaing the hot
Steams of their BoJy, and fo redoubling the H eat
thereof: hence they can abide the grearefl: Cold of the
Northern Sem, to which they chielly reforr, not only
for the ~ict which they enjoy there, bur becaufe the
1Vorthern Air, which is more fully charged with the
Particle s
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 177
Particles which we fuppofe to be nitrow, and that are
the Aliment of Fire, is fitteil of a]l to maintain their
vital Heat in that Act:ivity, which may be fufficient
for to move fuch an unwieldy Bulk as theirs. The
fiupendousMagnitude of thefe Amma ls ! Thou Amitype
thereof, amorrg the Poets which adorn our Age, de~
fcribe chem to us.

Hl"hilethe vafl Whale takes in the Deep his place, 1

Prince of the 'l,f/atersand the finny Race i
Rolling in Sport, the Bilt'owshe remo-ves,
And, like a floating lfle, the Oceanfhover: ,
Now in his weedy Court he lies at eafe,
Now fpouts againfl the Skies exhaufled Seas;

And yet one fays very well concernihg him; he is

minima quadam operumDei, particula ac velttt mica.
Let what I gave you of the nine hundred and fixtj
Foot pafs for a Plinyifm; and fo what Ba.fitin his Hexa- '
tmeron reports of Whales equal in bignefs to the great-
eft Mountains, let the Cenfure of Brier-u:oodpafs upon
it, as an intolerableHyperbole: We will write more fo-
ber things. Palling by what ./Elian affirms of the
Whale being five times beyond the largcfl: Elephant,
we find Ronde!etius alligning him fomecimes thirty-fix
Cubits of length, and eight of height. Dion is a grave
as well as an old \Vriter, and he reports a Whale com-
ing to. Land out of the German Ocean fixty Foot in
length, twenty in breadth. But Gefner, a later, affirms
a Whale to have landed near our Tinmouth-Ha'Ven,in
the Year 153 2, which was ninety Foot in length, and
the breadth of his Mouth fix Yards and an half, and
his Belly of fuch a compafs, that one £landing on the
Fi!h, and flip,Ping into his Belly, very narrowly efcap'd
being drown d there.
But then, if we may take Hartenius for a Voucher,
among the twenty fevcral Kinds of !Fh,1/es by him enu-
merated, he reckons one fore that is thirty Ells long,
N and
178 The ChriflianPhilofopher
.
and hath more th:rn fer.;emyTeeth, fo large as to make
Handles of Knives and other Infrruments. He reckons
another fort that is forty Ells long, and m·erwhclms
Veffels that come in his way. He proceeds to fome
eighty Ells long, and fomc of ninety.
All thefe proclaiming the Grandeur of their Great
Creator!
Even in the coldSea too, what a 1Varmth of Parental
AffeB:ion do the old ones cxprefs for their JOzmgonei,
and how difiinguifhing ! When the Seals are hundreds
of thoufands of them lying in a Bay coming out of the
Sea, they bleat like Sheep for their Young; and tho
they pafs thro hundreds, yea, thoufands of other
youn~ ones before they come to their o-u:u,yet they
will tuffer none but their own to fuck them. Ewn the
Sea-Jt.1onflers drmJ.:out the Brenfl, they give fuck to their
young ones. Mcnflrous Parents, that are without natural
AjfeEtion! Thefc Inhabitants of the Sea with open
Mouth cry out againfr you.
,r.' I remember a Crnjfus, of whom 'tis reported,
' that he fo tamed a Fifh in his Pond, as to make him
' come to him at his calling him; ,·erily, I fhall ha\·e
' a Soul dcfcrving his N ame, and be more fiupid than .
' the Fifh, if I do not hear the Calls which the Fijb
' gi\·e to me to glor ify the God that made them; and
' who has in th eir Variety, in their l',fultimde, in the ir
' SrrnRurn, the ir D ifpojitions and Sagacities, difpby'd
' his Glor ies. The Papifls ha\·c a filly and fooli!h Le-
' gend of th eir St .A nthonypreaching to the Fi/bes; it
' w ill be a D ifcret ion in me to make the re\·erfc of the
' Fabl<! , and hear t he Fiflm preach ing to me, which
' th ey do many T ru t hs of no fmall importance. As
' mute as they arc, th ey arc plain a1l<l.lo11dPreachers;
' I want not hing but an Enr to make me a profitable
' He:1rer of them. '
' It i-; a good \\'i{h to be in 7.1irt11te Dtlphinus, to ufe
' the D ifpatch of the quick Dolphin in all good Pur-
' p o1es.
r '
~ Tho
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 1 79
' Tho ,tis the way of the Sea for the greater to devour
' the lejfer, and the Wifdom of Heaven is confpicuous
' in it; yet I deprecate this way of all the Earth: for
' indeed the Fifh, who devour not thofe of their own
' particul ar Kind, therein condemn the curfed Rapa-
: city too often feen among the Children of Men.'
' 'To catchFifh is an Employmentwhereby many fup-
' port themfelves, a Diver(ion wherewith many refrefh
' themfelves ; in managing this Fifherywhat an oppor-
c tunity for many ufeful Reflections! In the Means of
' Goodbefrow'd upon us, the Glorious-One does Retia
' Sa!utis pandere. How happy we, if taken in the N ets
' of Salvation! We are fo when effetcually perfuaded
'c to• the ,
embracing of our Saviour, and of his Reli-
• g1on.
· ' Alas ! the Minifrers of the Gofpel now fifh,not
c with Nets, but with Rodr; and after long angling,
~. and baiting,_and 'll"aiting,how:,few are taken !'
' In the '1emptatiomto Sin and Vice which are offer'd
' to me, I fee the Hooks with which the Deftroyer
' propofes to take me, that I may be thrown into the
' Perdition of ungodlyMen. My God, let not the Satanick
~ Baits have any Power over me!'
' How Juddenlyis the Fifh caught and killed, and
' with what a Surprize, when . the poor Animal has
' not the leaft thought of fuch a Fate coming upon
' him ! One moment fporting, taken the next ; he
' pull' d away, his Fellowsnot at all regarding it! He
' was a wife Man who long fince took notice of this ;
' Man knowethnot his Time: As the Fifhes that are taken
' in an e:uilNet, Joare the Sons uf M en. My Gcd, help
' me_to think feriouflyof Death every day, as not knowing
' but it may be my dying-day.'
' At our Tables we are now welcome to all the F jb
' we can fairly come at, wh~ther they have any Fms
' or Scales or no; but methinks it gives a fp ecial re!ifh
' to the Difb, 'tis a Djb which my admirableS aviour
~ fometimes tafted of'
ES SAY-
1 80 'TheChrijlian Philofopher.
ESS AY XXX. Oftbe F EATHER E D.

T HE EI RDS now invite us to faa;•and Jing

with them in the Praifes of our God.
Thefe ought immediately to follow the F,fhes, not
only for the Order of their Creatim, but alfo bccaufe,
3s Bafil notes , there is a ':::t1)1")-t1·wt ni, ,:r<;'J,1.1.~G
,, ,:.,rosu ..'
.-'iix.7tt,
Volantibus Affi;1itas cum Natamibur .
. Thefe are either Lm1d-fuwl or l.fl'ate;·-Fowl. O f the
Land-Fowl fon~c h:n-e crookedBei1b and Ta!cns, whe re-
of forne arc cnrnivcrcus, called Birds of P,·ey.
And fomc are a1Cofrugivorour,called by the general
Name of Pm-rots.
Others ha\'e their Bills and C/m.t·smore /freight; of
w hich the re arc fomc of a larger Size, which cannot
fly at all.
Some arc of a middle Size, and h:H"eeither a biggrr
or longerBill; fome ,,·hereof do feed pr omifcuoully,
fome only on Fifb, fame on LfeEls: or a, f,na!ler and
fbortrr Bill, whereof fame have a whiter Flejb, ot he rs a
blacker. .
Some arc of a lcjfer She, called t he Jmall B ird,;
,vhich arc either the foft-bMl.:'d, that feed mo!lly on
Worms or Flier; or the hard-beak'd, tha t feed moflly
on Seeds. ,
The U7ater-Fo,d arc either fuch as fre quent the \ Va-
tcrs for their Food, thefc arc all clovm-footed, and ge-
nerally hm·c Ion,~Lcgr, :m<lt hofc uakC'dfor a good ,;·ay
nborc the Knees, that they may the more convenient-
ly wndc in the \Yaters; or they arc fuch as do Jwim in
the \Vaters, the more of thefc arc --..~•hole-footed: fomc
have but three Toes on :.1 Foe t, but mofl of them fo:,r ;
thefc either all connected by intervcnin!! /'11embrm1es ,
or more uf ually wit It the back Toe loofi·. ·1'fofl 1-Vatcr-
ha\'c a/bm 7'ail.
Fo•u.:ls
In Birds the Shape and Make oi their B"dy is in-
comparably a<l:1pted co their Fiight; b.fare fl1arf:, to
p.crcc
 'TheChriflianPbilofopher. 18i
pierce and make their way thro the Air, and then ri-
ling to their full Bulk by gentle degrees.
Their Feathers, how artificially placed, for facilita-
ting the motion of the ir Body! Being placed any other
way than what they are (as they would have been if
meer Chance had placed them) they would have ga-
thered Air, and been ,an Incumbrance to the Palfage
of their Body thro the Air; whereas in the neat Order
wherein they are now placed, they are like a Boat
new drefs'd and clean'd, making its Paffage thro the
Waters. At the fame time they hare the Security of
an admirable Cloathingin them, with a fofr and warm
D cwn next to their Body, but thofe next to the
lf"eather of fironger Confifience, and clofed mofl:cu-
riouil y. And then there is a mofi furprizing Accef-
fion to all this in the Art with which thofe Animal~
do preen and drefs their Feathm, and the ,vondrous
Oil-bag with which they arc for this purpofe accom-
modated. There is ufually one Gland (Mr. Willoughby
fometimes found a couple) in which there are divers
little Cells, ending in two or three larger ones, which
lie under the Nipple of the Oil-bag; this Nipple is
perforated, and being prefs'd or drawn by the Bird's
Bill or Head, emits a liquid Oil in fome, an unctuous
Greafe in others, which being employ'd on their Fea•
thers, contributes to their nimblegliding thro the Air.
How commodiouily their TVinv are placed! They
that Ay much, or have mofl: occa!ion for their I-Vingr,
have them in the very befi: part imaginable, to balance
their Body in the Air, and _give them a fwift progref-
fion. Alter their Equipoije, by cutting a TVing, or
hanging a Weight, and how they reel! Such as have
as much occafion for fwimming as for flying, have their
Wings therefore fet a little out of the Centerof their
Body's Gravity; and for fuch as have more occafio11
for p,i1;ingthan for _fi;ing,thefe for that reafon have
their Legs more backward, and their Wings more for-
ward.
N 3 'The
182 7be Chriflicm Philofopher.
The incomparable Curiofity of e\'ery Feather! The
Shafi, hollow below, that it may be the fl:ronger and
the lighter; above a Pith filling it, which is a!fo bot h
{lrong and light; the Strength man·cHous ! The Vanes>
how nicely gauged! broader on one fide, narr nwer on
the other , in both contribu t ing to the provrcifa-e mo-
tion of the Fowl, and clofcnefs of rhe 1Ping. The
Vanes of the Flag-feathersof the \ Ving, the Ed~es of the
exterior bending downwards, of the interior upwards,
by which means they lie clofe to one another when the
\ Ving fprcads, and not one Feather mifics its full Jm-
pulfe on the Air; yea, the ,·cry jloping of the Tips of
thcfc Feathers is a Nicety to be wondred at.
Let an Eye affified with Glatles Yiew the textrine
'Art of the Plumage, and, as Mr. Derham, who has gi-
ven us a more particular Account of it, jufHy fays, it
will be found fo exquifi te, that it cannotbe ':Jiev:ed~..i:ith-
out Admiration!
' My PEN, thou art fetch'd from the T½ng of n
< Bird; thou wall one of the Feathers, whkh thou art
' now writing of! How forprizing an Engine! H ow
' forprizing, how cxtenfire, how powerful thy Opera-
' tiws in the \Vorld ! Nc,cr flrnll my Pen be employ-
< ed in any thing but the Sen ·icc of the glorious God,
' to whom I am indebted for ic.'
Admirable the Apparntm of the {hong, but light
B onesin the lf/ings ! The 'Jcints which mm·e fo as t o
anfo er all Occafions ! The Strength of the peElvral
e.rin Birds is grcntcr than in any things not made
/IJ11fal
for ftJiug. Borelliobfcn·es, that the peRora/ /lfufcles in
/lfen arc very [mall, and they don't come up to the fif-
tic::h part of all the /ll11fal
es; but in Bids the feRoral
J\!iifclesarc rcry large, & equm:t, imo exccd1111t,c,~magis
pcndcm, quam rdiqui onmes fil1fmli cju.fdemA,,is fimul
J11mpti. f or "hich caufc our TVil/01,ghbJ obfrn-es, that
if ~kn would propofc to profper in thei r ,·ain Project
fer jl)ing, their i Vings mu!l be fofl.ned not to their
Arm,,
 Tbe ChriflianPhilofopher. 183
Arms, but their Legs, the Mufdes being much frronger
there.
· The Tail of the Bird, which has been thought a
fort of a Rudder, 'tis proved by Borel'ithat this is the
leafl ufe of it; but it ferves wonderfully to affifi the
,11Jentand the Pefcentof the Bird in the Air, and ob-
yiate the Vrzci/lationsof the Body and vVings.
The flight performed according to the !l:ricleO:
Rules of Jlechanifm ! The untaught Artifl gives a
motion to his Wings, than which the acutefl Mathe-
matician could not give one more agreeable.
Blind Philofoplnr,canfl thoufee no GOD in all of this?
View next the Fi:et and Legs, which minifier to
their other motion.
Both of the~1 very light, for their eafier 'Tranfporta-,
tion thro the Air.
In Water-Fowl how exaB:ly do their Feet and Legs
correfpond to their way of living ! Some of them have
their Legs pretty long, that they may wade in the
vVaters, in this cafe their Legs are without Feathers a
good ,vay above their Knees, which is a Conveniency;
their Toes alfo flre all broad : and in the Mudfucker~
two of the Toes are fomewhat joined, that they may
not eafily fink in walking upon boggy places. Thofe
that are whole-footed,or have their Toes webbed toge-
ther, have their Legs generally 1hort, which for fwim-
ming is inofc convenient; and it is pretty to fee how
artificil'!lly they gather up their Toes and Feet when
they go to take their Stroke, and as artificially again
<;xtend or open their Feet when they drive themfelvc~
forward in the \Vaters.
RapaciousBirds, as they have hookedBe((ks~thus they
have {hong, and {harp, and pointed Talons, fitted for.
the Rapine they are (o intent upon, and for the tearing
the Flefo that falls into them; and, as our Wzlloughby
and Ray obferre, they have robufi: ~nd brawny 1hfghs"_
for firi~ing dowq their Prey.
N4
184 erheChriftittnPhilofopher.
By the way; of this K:nu there is a fort of wliitt
Crcv.:s (w e mule believe fon1 e who tell us this!) which
they call K ing-Carriun-Ci'(,WS;and it is affirmed, that
when a great number of Cllwr are a/1embled about a
Carcafc, if a K i11g-Carric11-Crcw be among them, he
falls on firfl:, and none of the ref't will tafl:e the leafl:
~Iorfel till he has fill'd his Belly, and is withdrawn.
I hope thefe Crowr do no hurt by breaking in upon a
Paragraph t hat is treating upon other M atters, cf pe-
ciall y if they cffet'tually teach us, that the want of
good Nlam,ers will never want a Con demnation.
Birds that climb, as the lVood-,~ecke,·Kind are, how
fitted for the purpofe ! Their 'Jt;igbs \·ery llrong, their
L egs \·cry fl:rong, but yet Ycry fi1ort; their Toes, two
forwards, two backwards, and fo clofely joined, that
they may firmly Jay hold on the Tree: an hard and a
fiiff Tail, bending downwards, on which they lean,
;md fo bear themfe!Yes up in climbing.
How conv eniently arc the Legr of Birds cur\·ed,
for their eaf y perching, and roofling, and. refl: ! And
to help them up upon their \V ings in takir.g their
Flight, and then to be fo tuck\! up to the Body, as
not to obfmicl: the Flight !
It is admirable that fuch Birds as ure Fin-toed are
naturally direcced and carr ied to the lf7.mr, and fall to
fwimming there; thus D:1ckliug_i, 'tho hatch'd and led
by an Hm, when they come near u Pond of f,Vmer, i;z
tfiey ~o. tho they nercr f.nv fuch a thing before, and
tho the Hen clucks :md call<;, and is in a mighty Agony
to keep them out, a<;I'liu)' exprcfles it, with Lrmmtta
circa Pif,in.t Jt,.g;•a,nwgmtibus fapu!lis, Natura duce.
There is n confidcrablc Obferrntion of Ariflotle,
•ltt1?.i 1-'tm /,Nr, There is no FIJcrl:ut whnt has Fm as
\'c!I as U,"inv, n power of v.:a!kiil;or crupin,'l,on the
Earth; 'tis bec:mfe there is not alwnys a fufficient
Food to be had for them in the Air, nor could the
Birds take any rd}, for \\ it hour Feet they could not
rerch on tk Trees; and if they lie on the ground,
they
 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher. 185
they could not again eafily raife themfetves; and
where could they fit, hatch, and breed their Young?
The Story of the Bird lf Paradife, received even by the
Learned in the former Age, is now found a Fable;
that Bird has Lev and Feet, and thofe great and !hong.,
and armed with Talons, as being a Bird of Prey.
The Bill of Birds, how fuited for gathering Foo~
and other U fes ?
The EJe, how commodioufiy fituated ! (It is, by the
way, a thing fo remarkable, that nothing lefs than
Afioni!hmeni can be the refult of the Obfervation;
that the Fo·wlsin their Tribes have their Centinels.,
efpecially in the Night. The Watchfulnefs of the
Scart is true to a Proverb: One, by furprizing the Cen~
tine!, has caught three hundred in a Night.)
And the Ear, which would obfirucr the Flight of
it, were it like that of other Animals; the inner Ear.,
largely defcribed by Mr. Derham, is a Contrivance
that is a very amazing one.
Willis admires the Points wherein the Brain of
Birds and Fifhes agrees, differing from the Brain of
Man and Beafts.
To Stenothere appears ElegansArtificis libereagentif
indiciu:11,in the Bifurcation of the Afpera Arteri-a in
Birdf, whic;h is not in other Animals, and which fits
them for their finging.
In the Swan particularly, Bartbolin celebrates it, as
being admirand,:eStru8ura, by which means it may
continue half an Hour under Water without any
danger of choaking. .
Read Blafius and Coiter, and admire the Tongueof
the IVood-pecker,efpecially the !harp, horned, beard-
ed Poim, and the g!ev.:yMatter at the end of it, the
better to flab and fl:ick into the Jittle Maggot,, and to
draw them out of the \Vood.
The fcvcral ways the Birds have of purveying for
their Food, call for our Confiderarion as we go along :
but how can they be confidered withou ·c fome furprize
of
186 TheChriftianPhilofopher.
of Pleafurc at the ,·icw thereof. Among all thefe, that
of the Man-of-U7arBird, mention'd by Dampier, is
,·cry fingularly direrting. He fees a Bird called a
]3aoby,and flying at him, gives him a Blow, which
~aufcs him immediatc1y to difgorge the Fifh he has in
his Crop; and this he feizes on, perhaps before it can
in its fall reach the Earth or \Vater. ' 'T is in cffccr
c what Men do to one another, when the Jufiicc of
' Heaven ufes them to make Seiz.uru on one another's
' Poffeffions. Have not the French in the late and lon~
~ \Vars, been Men-of-War Birds,011our EnglifoNation !'
\\'onderful the Provifion in the Bill, for thcjudging
of the Food! Ii has peculiar Ner'Ues for the purpofc.
Thefc arc fmallcr and lcfs numerous in_rhem that hare
the affiftancc of their EJe: but they arc more nume- .
rous and thickly branched about, to the Yery end
of the Beak, in fuch as hum for their Food out of
fight, in Water, in /lfud, or under Ground. Flat-bil-
led Birds, as M r. ClaJto1zand Dr. Afoulm have obfer-
,·ed, they that gropefor their Meat have three Pair of
Ner'Uesthat come into their Bills, whereby they accu-
rately difiipgui{h what may be proper for their Food.
Shall we fiop a Moment, and c0nfidcr how ufeful
the rnrnivorow Birds of Prey become, c,·cn in profc-
cuting their ,·oracious Inclinations ? If the number of
lejfcr Birds were not by their means leffcncd into
fuch a Proportion, th ofe leffer Birds w ould o'V1,r flock
their feeding; nnd then al(o, fbould th ofc /1fa Birdr,
which arc fo numerous, d ie of Age, they would lea,·c
their Cnrcafes to rot upon the Ground, and their Stink
would corrupt th e Air, and become infupporrnblc.
Dr. Grew obferres, both J]irds and Beaflr ha\·ing
one common ufc of Spit1/e, are therefore forniih'J with
the parotid G/nuds, which help to fupply the Mouth
~ ith it; but the IVi od-Ped-er, and other Birds of that
Kind, bccaufe they prey upon Flit:,which they catch
with their 7011v1e , therefore in the room of the faid
Glai!ds, they h:trc a couple of Bags filled with a 'Vifcam
i Humour;
 The Chriflian·Philofopher. 187
Humour; a fort of natural Bird-lime, which being by
fmall Canals, like the Saliva/, brought into their
Mouths, they dip their Tongues in it; and with the
help thereof, they attack and mafier their Prey.
:Pafs from the Mouth, to its near Ally the Stomach.
:'Tis admirable i11 its Duplicity; one to }often, another
to digefi! Admira~le in its Variety, fuited unto a di-
verfe Diet: membranousin fome that are carni'7.lorous ;
mufwlow, with a Strength agreeable, where Grain
mufi undergo a Comminmion ! .
The Gizzard has a Faculty of grinding; to which
purpofe the Bird fwallows rough Stones, which when
grown fmooth, it throws up again as ufelefs. Dr.
Harvey fays, this grinding may be heard in Eagles and
fome other Fo'U.·ls,if you hiy your Ear clofe to them
when their Stomachsare empty. .
In Birds there is no Maflication or Comminutionof
the Meat in the Mouth; but in fuch as are not carni-
vorous, it is immediately [wallowed into the Cropor
Craw, or at leafi a kind of Ante-Stomach,( which Mr.
Ray obferved, efpecially in the Pifcivorous) where it
is moifien'd and mollified by proper Juices, from the
Glandulesthere difrilled in, then transferred from thence
into the Gizzard.
Their Lu'Klgsadhere to the Thorax, and have little
play; which is a good Provilron for their fleady Flight.
Wanting the Diaphragm, infread of it they have di~
verfe Bladders, made of thin tranfparent /vlembranes,
with pretty large Holes out of one into the other.
Thefe Membranescontain Air in them, and are alfo
Braces to the Vifcera. The Lungs have large Perfora-
tions, thro which the Air has a Pa{fage into the Belly.
Doubtlefs the Body is hereby made more or lefs buoy-
ant, and their Afcent or Dejcentfacilitated.
Their Necks, how·proportioned unto the Length of
their Legs! Indeed, they that mufi fearch out their
Food in the Wa.ters, have them longeryet ; and they
hare them fo long, that when their Heads are extend-
ed
188 'The Chrijlian Philofopher.
ed _in flight, t hey c,:mfe a due Equipoife and Lik mio,:
of the Body upon the J,Vings.
The Infpccl:ion of the fe T hings would compel us
t o confrfs the gl orious M A K E R. of them all !
In deed wha t Stena fays on a D cfcription of a parti-
cu lar Subject , (the Myology of the Engle) may be
more generall y appl ied; N on minus arida efl Legentibus,
qumn J;zfpeElam ibus j ucrmda. F or which reafon I will
n ot ofter t he R eaders too many Part icularities.
T he Nid.ifirntioil of Bilds; a thing how full of Cu-
r iofit y: They find out Jecure Places, and \'cry p;-opey
ones; where the ir Young may lie fafe and warm, and
have their Growth pro moted . But then, with what
ru1 artificial Ekg nncy are fome of th eir N efls prepared?
Human Sk ill could hardly imitate it . Am ong other
C urio!it ies of NiJijicrztio1z,I wi11 menti on one that is
obferred in Pidgeonsof my own Country. They build
t heir Nefls with lit tle Sticks laid athwp.rt one ano-
ther, at fuch diib.nccs, that wh ile they are fo near
together as to pre l'ent the falling through of thei r
Eggr, t hey are yet fo far afunder, that t he cool Air can
come at their Eggs. An d t he RE AS ON for t his
A rchiteElure of the ir N efls ! 'T is th is; their &dies are
much /;otte;·t h:m th ofc of other Birds ; and t heir Egg,
wou ld be perfc&:ly addled by t he Hetu of t heir Bodies
in the Inc ubation, if the 1Veftsw e're not fo bu ilt 1 tha t
th e ecolAir might come at them to temper it.
\ Ve hare feen the f-..T,.ftof an I11dia11 Bird compofe d
()f t he F,l,res of cert:i.in Roots, which we re fo curioufl y
int crwon· n, t hat it could not be beheld without A fio-
n ifl1111ent! Thcfc Nfls they h:i.ng on t he Ends of t he
T w igs of the Trees, or er the \ Vmer, to fecurc their
Egv and Yo•a,:_~ from the Raragc of Aper, and ot her
Deafls, that elle "oulJ prey upo n t hem. They are
jufily enonrh called fdrle 'j,ul.:.r.
' And w h~t 01all ,, e fay r.f the Fl,nni;rgo 's? The y
build th eir Nijls in fhallo w Pc, ds, where there is
much ft1ud; \\ hich they fcrapc t oget her into little
H11locks>
 erheChriftianPhilofopher.
Hillocks, like ljlands, appearing out of the \Vater
~bout a Foot and a half high from the Bottom. They
make the Foundation of thefe Hillocks broad, bring-
ing them up tapering to the Top, where they leave a
fmall hollow Pit, which they lay their Eggs in; and
when they either lay or hatch their Eggs, they fl:and
all the while, not on the Hillock,but clofe by it, with
their Legs on the ground, and in the Watera refiing
themfelves on the Hillock, and covering the hollow
Neft upon it with their Bodies. Their Legs are very
long, and building as they do upon the ground, they
could neither draw their Legs conveniently into their
Nefts, _nor fit down upon them otherwife than by
refling their whole Bodies to the prejudice of their
Eggs or Young, were it not for this rare Contrivance.
[Pfal. lxxxiv. 3.J
The Incubation,for which this Tribe of Animals is
remarkable, opens a new Scene of Wonders unto us.
The Egg with its crufiy Coat is admirably fitted for
it. Here ,ve find one part provided for the Formation
of the Body before 'tis grown to any conGderable Di-
menGons, another for its Nourifhmentafterwards, till
the Bird be able to fhift for itfelf.
Willoughbyconfirms that Obfervation of Pliny, Ipfum
Animal ex albo Liqttore Ovi corporatur: Cibus ejus in
Luteo eft.
But then the accurate bracing of thefe parts, by
which they are kept in their due place, Mr. Derham
obferves, mufl be a defign'd, as well as it is a curiour
piece _of \Vorkmanfhip. They are feparated by lvlem-
hranes.The Chalaz.,t2, ( which becaufe formerly thought
the Sperm of the Cock, were called the Treddles,) are,
as Harvey fays, As it were the Poles of this Mici-ocof m,.
and the Connexionsof the Membranes. But as Mr. D er-
ham obferves, they ferve only to keep one and th e
fame part of the Yolk aiways uppermofi, let the Egg
be turned which way it will. Th e Chalazt2, it fcems,
are fpecific~lly lighterthan the lf/hites in which t hey
fwim ;
I 90 'TheChrijlian Philofopher.
fwim; and being braced unto the Membrane of the
Yolk, not exaB:ly in the Axi1 of the Yolk, but fome-
what out of it, it caufcs one fide of the Tulk to be
heavier than the other: fo t hat the Yolk being by the
Chnlaz.1£made buoyant, and kept fwimming in the
midfi: of the two Whites, is by its own heavy fide
kept with the fame fide always up permofl:, and pro-
bably this uppermojlfide is that on which lies the
Cicntriculn.
It is affirmed, that our Hens once in every day of
their Incubation turn their E.~gr,wi t hout ever turning
of one more than once, or leaving any one unturn'd.
'This is for a Service which they underfl:and not them -
fclves.
'The Com-eyance of what Colourswe pleafe to the
Fowl that is hatching, by our painting of the Eggs,
is a Curiofity.
'That Birds mufl: lay Eggs, is a fenfible Argument
of a Divine Providence,deligning to preferre them, and
fccurc them, that there might be a greater plenty of
them, and that the D ejl, ·oJ-ersmight not firaiten thei r
Generations. Had they been vbiparow, if they had
brought forth a great number at a time, the burden of
their \Vomb would ha,e rendred them fo heavy, their
U/ingr could not well h:n-c fen·ed them : or if they
had brought forth but me or huo at a time, they
would ha\·e been troubled all the Year long with bear-
ing or feeding their Young. The Com·eniency con-
fult ed in oviparomAnimals, is one of D r. /I/ore's Tri-
umphs orer Atheifm. Of rhcfe Eggs he makes an
Anti dote ngainfl that helli!h Poifon !
Dr . Chc)newill more parricub.rly affurc us, U7e knew
that the Eggs of Animals arc only an Urerw for a little
Animal, furni01ec.l with proper Food, and fenced from
external Injuries: and we kr.uw likewife that all the
Effects of /11mbati o11are only to fupply a proper degree
of ll£nt, which may make the congealed Fluidsto tlow,
and more ca!ily pafs into the nourifhing Ch annels of
the
 TheChriftian
Philofopher:.19\
the included Animalcule. On this occafion he goes on,
We areJure that all the Transformationsof Infeils and
other Animals, arc nothing but the Expanfion of their
Parts, and the breaking of the Membranesthat folded
them up, by the Augmentation of thefe Parts ; and
all the feveral Figuresthey put on, are owing to the
feveral Membranes in which they are involved. His
Conclufion is what I was wiihing for: It is impof]ible
duly to confide
r thefe things, without beingwrapt into Ad-
miration of the infinite Wifdom uf the Divine Architeil,
and contemningthe an·ogcmtPretencesof the World-wrights,
and much morethe ProduElionof Chanceand juflling Atoms.
As Mr. Derham obferves, what a prodigious lnflinEt
is it, that Birds, and only they, ihould betake them-
felves to this way of Generation! How ihould they
be aware that their Eggs contain their Young, and that
they have in the ir power the ProduElionof them?
What .!hould more th em to betake themfelves to
their N efts, and there with Delight and Patienceabide
the due numbet of Days ? And when their Chickensare
hatched, how furprizing is their Art, and Care, and
Paj]ion,in bringing them on until, and only until, they
are able to fhift for themfelves.
A Remark of our valuable Ray is worthy to be in-
troduced here. It would be on many accounts incon-
venient for Birds to give fuck ; and yet no lefs incon-
venient, if not altogether dellruchve unto the Chicken,
upon Exclufion all of a fudden, to make fo great a
change in its Diet, as to pafs from a Liquid unto a
harder Food, before the Stomach be confolidated, and
by ufe habituated unto the concocting of it, and its
tender and pappy Fleih fitted to be nouriihed by
what fhall be flrong and folid; and before the Bird be
by little and little accuil:omed to the u!ing of his
Bill in the gathering of it up, to which it comes
not very readily: therefor e there is a large Yolk provi-
ded in e\·ery Egg, a great par: whereof remains after
the Chickenis hatched, and is inclofed in its Belly, and
by
192 Vie ChrijlianPhilofo
pher.
by a Channelmade on purpofe, receiv'd by degrees in-
to the Guts, and fcrves inficad of Jifill.:, to nourifh
the Chicken for a confiderablc t ime; which ncverthc-
lefs in the mean time feeds itfelf by the MfJuth, a little
:it a time, and gradually more and more, as it gets a
more perfect Ability.
I will add a Curiofity relating to the Pidgeom, which
annually vifit my own Country in their Seafim, in fuch
incredible numbers, that they have commonly been
fold for Two-pencea dozen; yea, one Man has at one
time furprizcd no lefs than two hundred doun in his
Barn, into which they have come for Food, :md by
lhutting the door, he has had them all. Among
thefc Pidgeons,the C-o cks take care of the JOtmg ones
for one part of the day, and the Hens for the other.
'When they are taken, we generally take but one Sex
:it a time. In the Crops of the Cocks, we find about
the quantity of half a Gill of a Subfiance like a ten-
der Cheefe-Curd: the Hi:m have it not. This Curd
flows naturally into their Crops, as 1Wilk does into the
Dugs of other Creatures. The Hem could not keep
their JOtmg ones ali,·e when firf!: hatched ; but the
Cocksdo fetch up this thickned1vlilk, and throw it into
the Bills of the ir JOu11g ones , which arc fo nouri(hed
with it, that they grow fafler, and fly Cooner than any
other Bird among us. None but the Cockswhich have
young bnes to care for, hare this Curd found in their
O·ops. Kill one of thofc Cocks, and all the young ones
pine away to death in the Nefl, nowich{landing all
that their Dams can do for them. Sec Sirs, and be
inflructcd !

AJ.fculus ipfefo".JetFa:rur, nrque iucubat 0~1i1;

Conjugiifer"..'(lt fa.:dcracnffofi,i.

All Birds lay a certain number of Eggs, or near

that numb er , and then betake themfeh·es to their ln-
c:tlati<m: but if their l:.gg, be withdrawn, they will
then
 'J1JeChriflianPhilofopher. 193
then lay more. vVhen they have laid fuch a number
of Eggs, as they · can conveniently cover, and brood,
and hatch, they give over, and begin to fit. This is
not becaufe they are nece!farily determined to fuch a
number: For Hens, for example, if you let their Eg,g,
alone, when they have laid fourteen or fifteen, they
w ill give over, and begin to fit; whereas if you daily
t ake away their Eggs, they will go on to lay fiye
t imes that number! This holds not only in domefti _c k
Birds; and fo, as Mr.Ray obferves, it can't be thought
the effeB: of Cicuraticn and lnflitution : But the like
was by Dr. Lifter obferved in Swallowstoo.
But altho almofi the whole Tribe of Birds, do pro-
duce their Young by lnwbation, there is a marvellous
Deviation from it in fome few Families which do it in
a more novercal way, and without any trouble at all,
only by laying their ·Eggs in the Sand, expofed unto
t he Heat of the Sun. Th is Infl:inB:of the Oflrich par-
t icularly, who leavr:t/1her Eggi in the Eartl,, and wa,m-
eth them in the Duft, is afcribed unto G O D, who
fupplies the want of Concern in the Parent-Animal
another way.
I t is a furprizing thing, which the obferving Ray
has mentioned. Such oviparous Creatures as ~ue long..
lived, have Eggs enough at firfi conceived in them, to
ferve them for many years laying; probably for as
many as they are to live : allowing fuch a pr oportion
for every year, as will ferve one or two Incubations.
But Jnfefls which are to breed buc once, lay all their
Eggs at once, have they ever fo many. He fays moll
jufl:ly, Chancecannotgovern it.
The Scarcity of the v oracious and pernicious Bird~,
and the Plenty of the manfuete, and ufifu l, and more
defirable, is to go among the Matters of our Won -
derment!
And fo mufi thefwift Motion of fuch whofe Focd is
to be fought in diftant Places, and in diflerent Seda ns;
th e {lowM otion and fhorc Flight of others more ,hme,,,,
. 0 fli.h;
 1 94 7he ChriftianPhiloJofner.
flick; and the Awkwardnefs of fome to Flight, whofc
Food is to be ~ot near at hand, and without much
JIJing for it.
It is amazing, TVhofeeds the youug Raven; when they
cry! - That Birds which feed their Young in the
Nejl, tho probably they cannot count the Number of
them, and tho they bring but we !r!orfalof Meat at a
time, and tho they have not fewer it may be than fe-
,·en or eight young in a Nefl together, whicl1 at the re-
turn of their Da ms do all at or..e,and with equal gree-
dinefs, hold up their Heads and gape, yet they forget
not one of them, they feed them all. Our good Ray
notes well, 'Ti; beyondthe pofjibilityif a meer /1,!achine
to peifurmfuch a thing /ZS this!
\Vith what an impetuous defire of Jittir.g are the
Birds infpired, while it is called for! After the Young
are hatch'd, for fome time they do almofi confiantly
broodthem under their Wings, lefl: they fhould fuffer
by any Inclemency of the Se-afon; all this while how
hard they labour to get them Food! Jparing it out of
their own Bellies, nlmofi pining themfel\'es to death
rather than that their Young !hould want any thing !
\Vith what Courage are they in[pired in this time, to
"·enture their very Live<; in defence of them, and eren
Ry in the Face of a Af•n that flull molell their Young,
(as a Hen or a Goofewill do) which they would ne,·er
do in their own defence! Thefe things are contrary
to the Io!linct of Self-prefervation, and are eminent
Pieces of Self-denial. Our good Ra; fays well, They
mufl needi be t/;e Tf/orksof Pru".:idence
}or the upholdingof
the TVorld ! Thcfe Paim are befrowed upon a thing
which cakes 110 11oti.e of it, makes 110 amcndr for it, ne-
\'er acknowledges it wirh Thankfulnefs ; and when
the )'Cttng one is grown old enough to fhifc for itfelf,
the Str>'~ is gone ! The old one takes no further care
of it, will beat it inJiftcrently with fuch as it is not at
all related to ! The words of ~fr. Robi1Jfo11 on this Oc-
~afion ;ire agreeable: ' She docs ihe browsnot ·what, but
' yet
 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher. I 9;
' yet it is what ought to be done by the mofl: exquifite
' Knowledge; hence it is conclufive, that fomething
' elfe has Knowledge for her, even the Creator and Con...
' triver of all things, who is the omnifcient and omni-
' potent God.' At the fame time how remarkable to
fee, that Poultry and Partridge, and other Birds, at the
rfl fight know the Birds of Prey, and make a Sign of it
with a peculiar Note to their young ones, who thereon
hide themfelves.
We celebrate the Dove of Arehytas, whereof Gellius
tells us, Simulaehrum Columbi:e e ligno abArehpa, ratione
quadam, difciplinaque meehanicafaEl-arn, vola.Jle; the
fame whom we find celebrated by Horacefor a noble
Geometrician. This Dcve furely had more Geometry
or Chiidrens Rattle, for which
in it than the -w>.11.'?a.'}'n,
Ariflotle celebrates him, as the Im·entor of it. We
are furorized at what Ramus tells us of the Wooden-
Eagle ;nd the Iron-Fly, made by Regiomontanus; the
former of which flew forth of the City, met the Em-
peror a good way off, faluted him, and returned with
him; the latter, at a Feafr, whereto he invited his
Friends, flew out of his Hand, fetch'd a round, and
flew back to him again before the afl:onifh'd Beholders.
Du Bartas employ'd his Poetry on thefe Curiofities.
But what! No Honours, no Praifes due to that in-
finite G O D, who hath with fo much Art contrived
all the Variety of Birdr, and accommodated every part
of them within and without after fo rare a manner,
that there is not fo much as a Feather mifplaced, -re-
dundant, or defective! Auftin fays well, Deus nonfolum
Ange/um & Hominem, fed nee exigui & contemptibilisnni-
mantis vifiera, neeAvis pennulam, nee Herbtejlofculum,fine
fuarum partium convenientiadereliquit. •
In the xivth of Deuterrnomy there is a Bfrd called
Racham, which fignifies M ercy. The Talmudifl s haYe
a Saying, That when thi~ Bird appears; the J\1my of
God and His Mefjiah is then coming to the World.
Verily, in every Bird that flie<;into our \'1.,'orl<l,there
Q :l IS
196 The ChriflianPhilofoper.
is a difplay of t he D ivine Goodnefs,as well as Power and
JVifdom. I w ilh that, in t he reigning D ifpofitions of
Benignityand Compaffiwamong Mankind, Rachmn ,vcre
making her Appearance ! _
O ur excellent C~{,nologermakes his religious R e-
m~uk upon it, That the Birds (an d fo the BeafiJ)
which arc dome.flick,or the moil: ufeful, are the rnofr
prolifi,k; there are more Hens than Kites, more Geefe
than Sii:ans. A Crane, which is but fcurvy M eat,
hatches no more than ti:..'O Eggs in a Year; fcveral Sea-
Fov.:lrbut one. The Pheafam and Partridge, excellent
:Meat, and eafily come at, hatch fifteen or twenty.
The more \'aluable, which lay fe--.;.,•er at a time, fit the
,ifiner,as the Dove. Thus, if it w ere not out of place
to obfcn·c it here, there are more Dugs than J.oxes;
more Cats than Lions. The Sheepfeeds and breeds in
nll Countries much alike.
Of TVild-Fov:l, tl10fe which are the mofl ufeful, Ay
not fingly, but arc gregarious, which renders chem the
more vijible and audible to us, and the more plentiful
Game. And for our more quiet poffeffion of things
t hat arc mofr uf iful, they are natumlly m.-zrked,when
there is occafion for it. J,Vz'/d-fo·u:l,and Fifhes, and
othe r C reatures, which arc not fitted by Nature to
b e any Man's Propriety, have only fuch diflinguiihing
:Marks as belong to the whole S11ecies ; but of the do-
me.flick, as Poultry, Horfes, Dogs and Cats, not only the
Specirs, but the fildividuals hn\'e their Marks. The
Sheep, which arc proprietary, if not fo marked, it is
compcnfated in this, that they do not flraggh·.
~ - 'M y Great Saviour has gi,·en me this Direftion ,
• Match. \'i. 26. Coil_{idcr the Fui.::lrof t!:e Air.'
' But ic; it po flible to confiderthem without conti-
0

' nual TVim,frrr at the Divine !Vvrkmm;fbip appearing

' in them ! TV011.-lcrs tn be articulated and modulated
' into c11dlcf,;Prai(es of their Glorious Creator! Mc-
' thinks ti1c fil'c,~ Nvtcs uttered by many 'Tribes of
' them inritc me into a Cvufortwith them.'
, I
 erheChriflianPhilofopher. 197
< I know not what well to make of a Relation pub-
' lifhed afew Years ago, but fo well attefl:cd, that
' a pious and worthy Man wrote a large Trcarife up-
< on it, entitled, Vox Corvi! which affirms, That a
' Raven perching on the top of a Steeple, and thence
' turning towards a quarrelfome Neighbourhood, was
' heard very audibly and articulately to utter thcfe
' Words, Look into the third of the Coloffians, and the
' Jixteenth: But this I know, Ask the Fowls of the Air,
' and they/hall tell thee. There neects no Genius to take
' a poffeffion of our Birds, that we may hear from
~ them the Admonitions of Piety, -and Exhortations
' to believe and adore an infinite G O D intelligibly
'. enough proceeding from them.'
' It was a celebrated Speech of the Philofopher, Si
' Lufcinia ejfem, ut Lufcinia cmzerem; I can fly much
' higher than they, and if I praife their Glorious Cre-
' ator, I !hall Jing much better than they ; Homufum,
' atque ut Homo canam colamque.'
' The Providence of the Glorious GO D, in the
' Propagation and Sufientation of the Fov.:ls,'tis ad-
' mirable; it extends to Ra vens, to Sparrows; and !hall
' I imagine myfelf excluded from the Care of that Pro-
vidence! Holy Mr. Dod ventur' d upon the D ifficulties
and Contingences of a married Life, when he faw the
Hen with her Chickensprqvided for. 0 Unbelief;I
command an eternal Silence to thee ! Shall the Birds
of Seafonbring with them a Condemnation of my In-._
advertency, to my fittefi Opportunities for the doing
' and the getting of Good!'
c There are the linages of many Virtues in Birds,
( which have been called Simulachra Virtutmn) of
which I would endeavour an Imitation, and therein
glorify the God that fpeaks to me by them ; among
[ thefe I would efpecially pitch upon two. Teach
' me, 0 Stork, how gratefullyto treat my Parent; {hew
me, 0 Dove, how lo'Vinglyto treat my Confon.'

0 3 Of
l yo rfltLOJ0flJCr.
.1 fJC \,,l 'Jrt jtl[lft
Of fuch RcAcEtionsa famous Philofophcr fays truly,
F,.eFlis animis non poterunt non effegratrzl licet peruerjis ri-
dicul,l ~Jideamur.
The Man who learns all the Good "hich the Birds
may mind him of, and then !ires to the GO D, ,vhofe
lf/ork and whofe Voice he difcerns in the Birds, this
J\1mzfha ll be a Phrrnix, and th e Traditions of the An-
ticms no longer a Fable.

ESSAY XXXI. Of the FouR-FooTED.

"l.7{}E proceed to the Animals that are perfcEtl hairy,
V , and -u·alkinguponfo111·.
'Thcfo ~1adrupeds are either locfad or clawed.
O f the hoofed or imgulate; fame are who/e-ho~Jedl
whereof 'tis obfen 'd that none hare H orns, nor have
the I\fales any appearance of Breafis: there are four
forts of thete.
Others are dcven-footed; of thcfe there are two
Di vifions.
There is the Bifulc.ue Kind, which 1.s alfo fubdi-
vidcd.
There arc the F,..mni11mtt.
Some ot the fe hare perpetual Horns.
\\'here of there ::ire !ix of the B11!.'-ki;:d,
fire of the
Sheep-Lind, elc.,:en ot the Goat-kind.
Ot hers ha\·e deciduou! Hurnsr thefe are the Deer-
J..iiid,where0t' eight fores b,·e been reckon'<l up.
Of t hofc \\ ho do not ,hew tl.-eCudl there is only the
S,whff-!..inil, whereof there arc h\·e forts rcckon'd up.
And then there is the Kind whofe Hocf is clo\-cll
into fo1!r Di-..;ijivils; wc know fire of thcfc, but wc
Jrnow 1 o R11mi11,1•1r,;1 in .my of them.
Cf the c/,1-.:.:c,Jor digi1,1te; there is one fort whofc
13,, \ adhere ~o one ano ther, covcr'd with one com-
p 1011 Skin, but ,,·ith obtufc Nails, tb~,t flick out round
the mar~in of th! Foot; chi!>i:, ~he Elephmnl "ho
mull p;it, for ,11:0111,do:tr.
There
 CJ"'he
Chri/tian /!htlojopher. I 99
There is another fort, which has onlv two Claws;
namely, the Camels, which, tho they l;ave no Horns,
do ruminate, and have the four Stomachsof the horned
Ruminants.
A third fort includes thofe which the Greeks call
whofe Foot is divided into many Claws,
' J\v9f"'-u&1..to~tct,
with bread Nails on them: this is the Ape-kind,
whereof there is a great variety; nine or ten .Kinds
hare been deforibed by the Naturalifl:s.
A fourth fort is of rhofe which have many Claws, yet
they are not cm·er'd at the end with broad flat Nails,
but have then:i rather like Talons, crooked and pointed;
thefe had bell: be difl:inguifh'd by their Teeth.
Some of thefe have many cutting Teeth in each of
their Jaws ; of thefe there is a greater fort, which ei-
ther have a fhort round Head, as the Cat-kind, whereof
there are feven forts ; and I hope the Lion will not be
offended if he be reckon'd among them: or they have
a long Snout, as the Dog-kind, whereof there are thir-
teen or fourteen forts ; and among thefe there are Va-
rieties of Mungrels, and hebricious Breeds : and there
is alfo a lejferfort, which have a long and £lender Bo-
dy, with fhort Legs; thefe are the IVeafel-kind, and
there are about eight forts of them.
Others of thefe have only two large remarkable
Teeth in each of their Jaws; thefe are the Hare-kind,
which live mainly on Plants and Fmits; and there are
about half a fcore forts of them.
To thefe Kinds of Q}_wdrupeds there muO: be added
feveral that are mzomalour.
Some have a long Snout, with Feet which are di-
vided into many Claws, and are furnifh'd with Teeth;
there are ·eight or nine forts of rhefe, whereof the
Hedge-hog is in the Van.
Others of thefe are dcllitute of Teeth, and there are
two forts of rhefe.
There are !!!,Mdmpeds that are Firers too, as the
Bat-kind, wher<:ofthere are different Forms.
0 4 There
2.00 ·1 ne lAJrynan 1--m,0Jop,1er.
There is one very odd Anomale, whic h has but
three Claws on each of his four Feet, .ind has a Name -
foke too often among them that go not upon four; 'tis
the lgnmms, a Sloth we call it: he takes eight or nine
Minutes to move one of his Feet three or four In ches ;
and when he has grown fat and plump wi th eating all
the L eares on a Tree, he will be Skin and Bone be-
fore he reach another, ,vhi ch will be fa·c or fix Days ,
tho' it may be ,·ery near the former.
There arc alfo vivipar,1us and fanguincous ~ a-
drupeds, breathi1i~ with Lungs, but haring only one
Vc1:triJ:! in tlic1r H earts; to thefc we may add the
'ionoife whereof there arc many Species, tho they be
rather uvipnrow.
Bu·c then there arc fome ovipm·ous ~ 1adrupeds,
which have a long Tail, horizontally flretchcd out;
thefe are the Lhard-kind, and there be fourteen fe-
\·eral forts of them.
The French Gentleman who writes A D m1011flr,1 -
ticn of the Exiflence of GO D from the Knov.:ledgeof Na-
rnre, makes this Remark: 'All the Animals o,ve their
' Birth to a certain Male and Female of their Species.
' All thofc d ifferent Species arc preferred much t he
c fame in all Ages. \Ve do not find that for three
' choufand Years pa!l:any one has perifhed or ceafed;
' n~ither do we find that any one multiplies to fuch
' tin Excefs, as to be a N ufance · or Inconrenience to
' the rdL'
And now lince we arc upon the for1r-fioted, the R e-
rnarka ~ cs in their Legs and Fm may be thofc which
\\ e may :1;:rcca~ll"cnouf;h be,~inupon.
The pr ue Pr.jlureof the BodJ in the Q!.tndmpeds is
nc t on! y mofi beneficial to thcmfch·cs, but alfo mo!l:
acv.11~tagcousco 1Han; they perform their own Actions
tl,e better for t hat Pofl:ure, and they fen ·e Man the
l c.tcr, both (or Cin in,~eand for 'iili,1ge.
But then it's obfcrv:iblc how exaEcly their I.cg, arc
rr:ide conforma ble to this Pofiure.
le
 ~he C..,hr.tjttan
I'htlo_Jophe;--.2.0I
It imites yet more Obferrntion, how admirably
their Legs and Feet fuit the Exercifes of every Animal.
The Elephant>a Creature of prodigious \Veight, has
Legs, as Pliny notes, like Pillars rather than Legs.
The Deer, and the Hare, and other Creatures of a
ftngular Swiji:nefs,have their Legs accordingly Gender;
but they have therewithal an incredible Strength a-
dapted to their Swifinefs.
Some have their Feet made only for walking and run-
ning, but fome have them for fwimming too.
The Toes on the Feet of the Otter are all conjoined
with Membranes, and in fwimming, when the Footgoes
forward in the Water, the 'Ives are clofe; but wheri
backward, they are fpread out; whereby they more
- forcibly firike the Water, and are driven 'forward.
The FrenchAcademifls are furprized at the extraordi-
nary Struchire in the Feet of the Berrie-, : their hindmofl
Feet, like thofe of a Goofe,are more proper to fwim
than to walk with; but their foremoft are like Hands
rather than Feet, and wondrou0y fuit their Occafions.
Some, as the Moles, have their Feet for walking, and
for digging.
· Some, as the Bats, for walking, and for _flyingtoo.
In fome the Feet are more lax and weak, for the
plainer Lands ; but others have them fiiff, and lefs
flexible; their Joints hardly difcernible, as the Elks,
and the Goats, which are to traverfe the Ice, or to
pafs over the dangerous Precipices of the Mountains.
In fome the Feet are fhod with tough and hard
Hoofs,(either whole or cleft, as there is moll: occa-
fion) in others they have only a callousSkin.
And here 'tis admirable to fee how their 'loeJ are
fupplied, according to their feveral Conveniences.
The Structure of the Bones in Quadrupedswould be
a mighty large Field for Curiofity and Admiration.
Galen remark'd a fingular Provifion of Nature for
the Strength of the Lion, that his Bones are much more
Jo/id than thofe of other Animals.
4 M~
 2.0Z. -1. r;e lAJTIJflOTt rUtiClj
Mr. Rny enquiring how fo many Animals do to bear
up againfl the cxtremdl Rigor of the Cold, he notes,
that the Extremities of their Ton are fenced with
Hoifs, "·hich in a good meafure fecure them: he adds,
the main th ing is, that the Cold is its own Antidote;
for the Air be :ng fully charged and fated with ni-
trous, or fome other fort of Particles, (which are the
great Efficients of Cold, and no lefs alfo the Pabulum
tor Fire) when it is infpired it caufes a great Acccn-
Jion in the Blood (as we fee the Fire burns fiercely in
fuch \Vcath er) as enables it to a vigorous refiftance of
the Cold.
'The defmfivc Armour given to fomc Creatures, with
tbe Skill to ufc it, how admirable! The Hedge-hcg,
filled with !harp and {hong Pr ickles, h.1salfo a 1'.fofclc
gil'en him on purpofe, which enables him to contraet
l·.i:nfrlf into a glob;darFigure, and fo inclofc himfelf in
his Thicket, that bis rapac ious Enemies cannot lay
t.o\l upon him. O!aus Bon·ichius is amazed at the
wondrous Fabrick of that 1fofcle . The Armadilia,
defcribed by Jllarcgra...·e,is corered with a .firong, hard,
fcaly Crufl: or Shell, of a boney Subftance, with four
uanfn:rfc Commiffures in the middle of the Body,
conne [tcJ by tough 1-Icmbranes. By a peculiarl\!ufcle
he br ings his Tail to his Head, and fo gathers himfelf
in:o a round B:ill, that there is nothing to be fern but
his A ,rnature: had fuch a Mufcte be'cn gi,·cn to any
Animal coYered w ith fofr Ha ir or Fur, there might
ha\ ·c been a pretence co fancy that this was accidental
nnd unde!igned ; but feeing· there is not one Inflance
of this kinJ, ~fr. Ray \'cry juftly fays, It mufl be gmtt
St:tpiditJ to lelie,:e it, a11dImpudeuceto ajfert it.
Let us pals to the He:id. The H ead of Man is of
one fingul:ir Form. In the Fuur-fcotedthe Form of the
Hea..-1is almofl a~ rnrious as the Species, in fomc fquarc
and large, fuirnb!c to their Food, 11ot ion , and
Abode; in others more fmall, more 01arp, and more
!:ender, fiill co fuit thoic purpofrs. H ow furp ri-
zingly
 'Ihe Chrijtian PhtloJopher. 203
zingly is the Head and the Neck of the Swine adapted
for his rooting in the Earth! How the Neck, Nofe.
Eyes and Ears of the Mole, adapted in the nicefr man-
ner to its way of fubterraneous living! The firong
Sno..utof the Swine, fuch that he may fufficiently thrult
it into the Ground, where his Liring lies, without
hurting his Eyes·; and of fo fagacious a Scent, that
we employ them to hunt for us ; and even his wallow-
ing in the Mire,is a wife Contrivance for the Suffocation
of troublefome Infecrs ! The Mole fo fhaped, that our
Doetor More makes this Creature a notable Ingredient
in the Compofition of his AntidoteagainflAJ1eifm; even
his want of a Tail is a confiderable Contrivance for his
advantage.
The Brain of Quadrupedrobliges us to employ ours
in a particular Contemplation of it ; it is larger in us
than in them, no doubt for the Accommodation of a
nobler Guefi, which we entertain in ours : but an ex-.
aet AnatomiH: of that Part, 'the famous Dr. Willis, has
led us more particularly to contemplate the Situation
of it. In Man, to whom God has given a lofty Coun-
tenance,with a Capacity to think on heavenlythings, the
Brain ·is placed above the Cerebellum,and all the Sen-
fories ; in Brutes, whofe Brain is incapable of Specu-
lation, the Cerebellum,whofe Bu6nefs it is to minifier
to the AB:ions and Functions of the Prttcordia (the
principal Office in thofe Creatures) is above the
Brain, and the Eyes and Ears are placed at leafl equal
to it: moreover, in the Head of JYlanthe Bafe of the
Brain and Cerebellis parallel to the Horiz..on,by which
means there is lefs danger of their jogging or {lipping
out of their place ; but in Brutes, whofe Head hangs
down, the Bafe of the Skull makes a right Angle with
the Horizon; and yet left the Cerebel/. fuould be un-
fieady, and the fre'quent Com:uffions thereof 1l1ould
caufc <lifor<lcrlymotions of the Spirits about the Pr.t-
cordia, there is a fufficient provifion made by the Ar-
~ifice of Nature, by the Dura Meninx clofely encom-
pafling
204 c1 he Chrtjftan l!lJtliijoper.
paffing of it; be!ides which, it has alfo in fame a fironn
0
boney Fenceabout it.
The carotid Arteries paffing thro the Skull of Q ua-
dmpeds, and their branching into the Rete mirabile, and
fome other fuch things, are particular Accommoda-
tions to their Circumfiances, to prevent a too rapid
Incurfi on of Blood into the B rains of Creatures that
hang down fo much.
At the great Aperture of the Shell in a Tortoife,
there is at the top a raifed Border, to grant a liberty
to the Neck and H ead, for the lifting of himfelf up-
wards; and this InAeEtion of the Neck is of great ufc
to him, for without it he would be unable to turn
himfe!hd1en thrown upon his Back. The French A ca-
demifts look'd upon the Contrivance as a furprizing
one!
The Var ieties in the inner and outer Ear of Ani-
mals entert ained Dr . Grf?"JJwith obfcrmble Curiofities.
In an Owl, that perches above, and hearkens after her
Pr ey below, it is produced further out above than it is
below, that fo the leafi Sound from that ~arter may
be the more• cafily receired; but in a Fox that fcouts
zmdtrneath, it is for the fomc reafon produced further
om below. In a Polernt, which hearkens dircctlv for-
ward, it is produced behind, for the taking of a fo~ward
Sound; but an Hare, which is ,·;::ryquick of hearing,
and thinks of nothing but being purfued, has a boney
Tube, a natural Otacouflirk, fo directed bad:ward, as to
recci,·e the !inalkfl: and farthcfl: Sound that comes be-
hind it; and in an Horfe, which recei\·es the Sound of
the Dr i,·er behind, the Paflagc into the Ear is like
that of the Hare.
It is remarkable th::it in Q!wdrupcds the N ecksarc
commcnfurate to the f.t-gs; the equality in the kn~th
of their Ne,kr and their Leg.r is mofl: remarkably fecn·
in Bc:ifl:~that t"ccdconfbntly upon Grafs. But th::it
which is yet more furprizing, is, that in that fort of
Creatures which mufl:needs hold their Heads down in
an
 TheChriftianPhilofopher. 2.05'
an inclining Po/fore for a confiderable while together,
which would be very painful to the Mufcles, on each
fide the Ridge of the Vertebres of the Neck, Nature
hath placed an ri'l1'01•eJf"1111r,
or nerruow Ligament, very
thick and {hong~ and apt to firetch, and furink again,
as need requires, and void of Senfe, extending from ,
the Head ( to which and the next Vertebres of the ,
Neck it is faflned at the end) to the middle Vertebres
of the Back (to which it is knit at the other end) for
the affifling of them to fupport the Head in that po-
fi:ure; it is by the Vulgar called the Whitleather.
Indeed this Proportion is not kept in the Elephant;,
he has a fhort Neck, the exceffive Weight of his Head
and his Teeth to a long Neck would have been unfup-
portable; but then his Probofcis! Tully takes notice>
Manus data Elepbantis, quia propter Magnitudinem Cor-
poris, dijficiles aditm habebant ad Paflum. He i:5pro-
vided with a Trunk, wherewith, as with an Hand, he
takes up his Food, and his'i)rink, and brings it to his
Mouth; a Member fo admirably contrived, that Mr.
D erham has jufi occafion to fay, 'tis a manifefl.lnflance
of the Creator'sWorkman/hip. ,
Galen obferving the Necks of Animals, how accom-
modated to their feeding, is not able to forbear his
Acclamations of an Opus Artificis Utilitatis memoris !
He goes on with his Contemplation, and adds, as we
cannot but alfo do, Q.!topaElonon id etiam eft admi-
randum !
· On the mention of the Elephant, ,ve will introduce
a particular Curiofity relating to him ; he has no Epi-
glottis, becaufe there is no danger of any thing falling
into his Lungs from eating or drinking, feeing there
is in him no Communication between the Oefophagus
and the Paffa.ge into the Lungs,; the Paffage to the
Ventricle is thro the Tongue, an Hole near the Root
of it is the beginning of the Oefoph agm, and the Paf-
fage of the Air into the Mouth is quite fropped up;
howe,'er, he is not fufficiently fecured from fmall Ani-
. mals
 10 6 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
mals that may creep in and murder him; a l',f uufe
creeping up his Prubofcis, might get into his Lungr
and fo fiiAc him : gucfs now the reafon why an Ele:
phant is fo afraid of a M oufe ! To avoid this danger ,
w hen he Oeeps he keeps his Probofcisclofe to the
gr ound, t hat nothing but Air could get in. :Mr. Ray
celebrates this as a rare Sagacity!
T he Stomachof Quadrupeds ! H ow adapted to the
various Fo od intended for it! One kind of Stomachin
t he Carnivorous, another in the Herbaceow!
T he peculiar Contri, ·ancc on the Stomach of the
Camel deferves our Paufe upon it; the words of the
Parifian Anatomifls upon it, are, At the top of the feccnd
of tl.·efour Ventriclesthere are f evernl fquare Hules, 'which
·u:erethe Orijfres ef about twemy Ca'Vities, made like Sacks,
placed between two l',ftmbrmter, which do wmpofe the Sub-
ftance of this Ventricle; the 'Uiewcf thefe Sacks made us
think that they might well be the Refervatories, -u:h
e;·e Pliny
faith that Camelsdo a long ti11tekeep the Water, which they
drlnk in great abundance, to fupply the wam thereof in the
dry D efarts. ' ·
In fome of the Qrndrupeds the Stomachis fitted for a
D igeflion upon bare 1',laflication;but in ethers there is
a w hole Set of Stomachs,co digeft with the help of Ru-
minaticn. M r. D erham is \·cry fenlibly affected with
the curious Artifice of Nature , here; but for the
" ·hole Bufinefs of Rumination, the learned PeJeruswill
give you a rery affeB:ing Enterta inment in his lvfoJcO-
logia, Jeu, de R111ni11m1tibus & Ruminatione Commcnta-
1-iur.
Dr. Grew obfcrres, all carni-:.
1 cro11s
Animals ha,·c the
f mallefl V cmr icles, Fltfh going fartbcll: ; thofc that
feed on Fruits and Roots h~n-e them of a middle fize ;
Sheepand Oxen, wh ich feed on Grnfi, hare the gpnt <' jl;
yet the Horfe, tho graminirnrous, has compar:iti,·ely
but a little one, for that he is made for Labour: the
fame is co be faid of the 11,ire, which is made for ftfo-
1io11,for w hich · th e moll: ca(v R f pirntionand the mo!l:
free
 'The€hriflianPhilofopher.207
free play of the Dinphragm is requifite, and that could
not be if the Stomach were very big and cumberfome
upon it.
There are domeflickAnimals which look up to me
for their Fcod, fometimes for the Crumbs that fall from
my Table;_ I will confider myfelf as doing the part of
a Steward for the Glorious G O D in feeding .them ;
it !hall be done with an holyDelight, and with fuch au
Inference dr.nvn from it as this : And will not the Glo-
riou,-G O D gracioujlyand readilygrant the Mercy which I
lcok up to Him to beflowupon m~!
The Food of the Caflor is generally of dry thingr.
and fuch as are hard of digefi:ion ; and now there is a
wonderful provifion made in the Stomach of that Crea-
ture, by a d:geflive Juice, lodg'd in th~ curious little
Cells of it ; the admirable Struccure and Order there-
of is dcfcr ibed by B°lafius out of TVepfar, and then he
adds, Nimfrum quiaCaflorisalimentumex fuccum & co8u
& fumme ndmirandw in fuit
dijjicilimum efl, j ,zpientij]imus
Operibusrerum Conditor,D. 0. 1\1.ipfi pulcherrimaifla&
affabrefaElaStruElura benigniffimeprofpexit, ut nunquam
dee_lfetFermmtum, qucd ad folvendum & comminuendum
alimentum durum & afperum par Jaret.
There is in the Eye of Brutes a Periopthalmium, or
nietating Membrane; which the Eye of Man is a fira.n-
ger to; the Royal Academyat Paris have been very cu-
.rious and pun.:3:ualin the defcription of it : their Opi-
nion of it is, that this A1embraizeferves to clean the
Cornea, and to hinder, that by drying it grow not lefs
tranfparent. Man and the Ape, which are the only
Animals wherein this MC:'mbraneis not found, have
not wanted this provifion for the cleanfing of the ir
Eyes, becaufe the y have Hands, ,vith which they may,
by rubbing the ir E_velids,expre[s the Humidity con- .
tain'd in chem, which they let out thro the D uElru
LachrJ'malis ; as is known by Experience, wh en the
!,igbt is darkned, or when the EJes are pained, or
itch ing,
2.08 T.heChriftian Philofopher.
itch ing, thefe Accidents do ceafe upon the rubbingof
the Eyes.
In the Heart of Q!tadrupcds the~e is an excellent pro-
vifion for the living of thofc Creatures.
'Thc ForamenOvale in fame (that which in a Hrtw
0

makes the Anaflomojis, by the means whereof the Blood

goes from the Cava into the Aorta, without paffing
thro the Lungs) is an Acee/lion to the Wonders.
This Paffage between the Arteria Venofa and the
Venn Cava is kept open in Amphibiow Q;_ ,adrupeds; this
maintains a degre e of Heat and Motioh in the Blood,
which may be fufficicnt for them while they are under
\ Vater.
The Epiglottis in fuch Creatures is alfo large r and
fiiffer thnn it is in others, that fo when they arc feed-
ing under vVater, rhe Water may not break in upon
their Lungs.
I confei"s M r. Chefelden is of t~c O pinion, that it is
not the Foramen0-vale, bu t the Oflium Ve1iarumCorc110-
~-iarnm, which being very near it, may eafily be mi-
fiaken for it, that the Anatomi!ls have made thei r cu-
rious R emark upon; however the provifio n is admi- .
rable !·
The Heart in Beafls is near the m;ddle of the whole .
Body, in Man it is nearer the Head; this A riflotle ob~
fcrves : but .Mr. Lo,u~r, who has been a mofl: curious
A11atomifl:of this Part, gires us a reafon for it; th~
Trnje crion and the D ifiribucion of che Blood wholly
depend ing on the Syfl ole of the Heart, and fo either the
Heart mu!t have been flr onger in lvfan, or the Hend
woulJ ha\·e want ed its due Proportion of Blood, if ic
had not been fo near to the Heart; whereas in B<' ajlf,
whofe Hcndf hang down, the Bloodgoes a plainer way,
a nd often a fiecp one.
There arc alfo pecul iar N !!rves reaching to the
H e~trt of B.nfl s, be11de'> the ji v:th P.1ir, as in lifa11, a
R elief prov ided by N atur e, lefi t heir prom Heads
might fail of imparcing A nimal Spirits copiouOyro ic.
The
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher.
The Cone of the Periuu dium Ill Q uzdrupedsis loofe
from the Diaphragm, wher eas in M art it is ta~ ned to
i t; thus the motion of the Jl;Jidrifj, in the neceifary Acl:
of Refpiration, is notably affiited in the pc,~ure of beth.
Dr. 'Tyfon's Remark upon it is, T his mufl needs be the
Ejfeff of U7ijaomand D~fign, and it is plain was in-
tended in !,Jan to walk upright, and not upon all four,
like the Q}wdrupeds.
In the Four-footedthere is not that Communication
between the Head and the Heart which there is in a
l'vfan, efpecially by the Branches of the interaflal Pair
of I>lerves,which are fent from the cervical Plexus to
,the Heart, 'and the Prcecordia,a thing which ::rvfrDer-
ham cannot behold without calling it a prodigiousCare
of Nature ; thus the Head and Heart of :Man have a
more intimate Concern with each other, and a greater
and quicker Correfpondence, than what is in other
Creatures : Brutes are more fimple :Machines; but in
Man, by the Commerce of the cervi cal Plexus, t he
Conceptions of the Brain prefently affccl: the Heart>
and agitate its · Veilels, and the whole Appe ndage
thereof: together with the Diaphragm; whence t he
Alteration •in the motion of the Blood, the Pulfe, and
Refpiration: and when any thing affecl:sor alters the
Heart, the Impreffions are not only retorted by the
fame Duel: of the Ne r,;;er,but alfo the Blcod itfelf.,
with a changed Courfe, flies to t he Brain, and tLere
agitating the Animal Spirits w ith d iverfe I mpu lfes~
pr oduces var ious Conceptions in the Min d. Thi s is
Dr. Wi t.i/s Obferva tion; who adds , t hat t hf' Antients
th erefore made th e Heart th e Seat cf Wifdm ; and
certai nly t he vVorks of l¥ifd om and Virtue do very
much depend up on the Commerce which is ben·. ccn
t he Heart and the B rain. This ~minent Perfon diilett-
ing a Feel, found , betides t he Smallncfs of his Brain,
th e pr incipal di fference between him and a Man of
Scnfe to be, that the Na,vi lntennftalis Plexus, in hoc
St:tlto vahfe exili r, & minorum ZVervorumSiztct!itiofli-
p paws
2.IO T he Chrijlian Philofopher
.
pntus Ji1erit. The want of the ime;·c,jlal C,Jmmerce with
rhe H ..rirt in Brutes, is truly an admirable thing!
MAN, ponder upon this, and fay, lf/1:ere is Cod my
lvlaker, ·whotazchesus mere thnn the Beajlr of the Enrth !
I cannot here forbear to introduce a g<od Obfcr-
,·ation of a Gcntlc1ra11 who writes Chriflian Religious
Appeal, which he thus exprclfcs ; ' That God ih ould
' endow us with R eaflu, and make us differ from the
' Brutes, only that we may rule them, and nor o:ir-
' fci'ves, and put a golde;z/11.utcck in our Hands, only
' to dig Dunghili's; has nor the leafl: Congru ity with
' the Deror;iw obfcrved by Him in all His \Vorks,
' which arc framed in \\ eight, Number, and Order.'
LnE1m1tiw, do thou pals a Cenfur<~on the /I/en like
tl:e Brutes tl:at perifh, who do not from the B eafls learn
the Being and the Glory of a G O D ! Jl'os qui nuli'um
omnino Deum ejfe dixenmt, non modo non PU/ofoplos, fad 4
11e Homines quidem fuijfe dixerim ; qui mutis jimifimi, ex
folo Corpo1·e cwflitermu, nihil •vident11s nnimo. [lib. 7. c. 9.J
Galen gives us a notable Relation of ;;i Kid, which
he took alire out of the Belly of the Dam, and
brought it up; the Embrio prefently fell to walking,
as if he had heard, fays Gnlm, that Legs were gi,·en
him for that purpofc; then he imelt into all the things
that were fct in the Room, and refofing them all, on-
ly fopped up the .Milk: after two Months the render
Sprouts of Shrnbs and Plams appeared, and then re-
futing the rcl1, he kept to thofc which arc the pecu-
liar Food of Goats. But that which to G,zlm appeared
mofl admirable of all, was, that a while after it began
to chew the Cud; ,, ·hereupon fays he, 0!M.ii, n, ..,,.ter
,0E~~wu1, i11:;;->-./'}',,7H£':!'I-rct.ir-rZv (r.i6!v/u.,1.'µ!'J'1, Ali that
Jaw crieJ out -:.;;ithA,lmirntim, being aflonifhedat tl:e 11,1-
111ralF.rwlties tJj Animalf. He complains thereupon
that many ue~lecr Cuch IV'url:.rof l\~zture, and admire
none but M5vct.-r ,.' fe1i 9!//,,_,rd., rmujiwl Spe:J,1d.-s. 1'fr.
Ra_ynote~, O;;e 111.1_1 · fill a l ~fume -:;.:itbComments011 this
f IJ4,mt S:o;J,
'The
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 1 Ir
The Sagacityof fame Q!.tadrupeds,tho fo far fhort
of Man's, yet is a matter of Ail:onifhment to ..Man;
and Man's will be fhort of theirs, if it fee not the glo- .
rious GOD of Nature operating in it.
Indeed there was Humour enough in Rorarittr;
who upon hearing a learned Man prefer fuch a
Wretch as FrederickBarbero.Jfa,before that great Em-
peror CharlesV. was thereby fo provoked, that he
wrote his two Books to prove that Beafls often hava
more Ufeof Reafon than A1en. The Confequence of the
abfurd Reafcning he found among Men was this with
him, ltaque in ./11entemmi/;i 'VenitAnimalia Bruta Jape
Ratione uti melius Homine. But the Confequence of his
)\VD abfurd Reafoning will foon be found fuch as will '
cany thoufonds of Te rrors ,vith it.
It is enough that what of Reafon app ears in the
Brutal Trib es, is an immediate Effect of the Providence
exerted by the all-w ife Creator, and applied for the
Prefervation of His Creatures. 0 Lord, thou prefe;-veft
mt onlyMan, h11tBeafl alfo !
The vVords of the excellent Sir Richard B!ackmcre,
in his Efiay on the Jmmcrtality of the Soul, are worthy to
be tranfcribed and pondered on this OccaGon. ' I
' mufl: acknowledge that I look upon the Soulsof Brute
' Creatures as immaterial, for I cannot conceive how
' an internal Principle of Jenfitive Perceptionand local
' /1,lotioncan be framed of ]}latter, tho ever fo fubtile
' and refin' d, and modified with the moft artful C o11-
' tri, ·anr.e ; -- yet they are plainly of a bafe and
' low Nature, and deflitute of thofe intel!eElual Fa-
' cu!tie.rand that free Choice that fhould make them
' Subjects of Moral Governm,w, enable them to difcern
' the Obligation of Laws, and the Diftincl:ion of Vir-
e ttte and Vice, and underfland the Notion of being an
' accountableCreature,and receiving Rev.:ai-dsand Pu-
' nifhments.-- \Vhether the Animal Souls i'n a State
' of Separation remain fiupid and a_fle ep, or whether
' they are difperfed thro the Creation, . and .employ' <l to
Pl 'animat e
 lil 7he Chriftian Philofopher.
, ' animate otl:erBeings, or return to one commonElemwt,
' whence they \\ere at firl1 deriv'd, is unrevealed;
' but t his is c.ertain, the Souls of Brntes are not de-
' fign'd by the Great Creator for fuch a Life of Plea-
' Jure and Happir,eff,a<;chat of Hum,m .Soulsin a Srote
' of Jmmmality and Pe1feElicn, for t he Enjoyment of
' whi ch they have no D 1fpofitio11sand Capacities.'
The O pinion of Defcanes, and G'i:_/fmdus, and !Vzli'is,
and others, That the Soul of Brutes is mate1i.z!,and
the whole Animal a meer /i.lachiue, is clogg'd with in-
foperable D ifficulties.
O ur excellent Ray befpcaks a lo-u.. ·ci- degree of Reafa1z
for them, and his Argument is fetch'd from fomc ot"
t heir Attions, which, without allowing fome Argumen-
taticu in them, can hardly be accounted for; he iin~lcs
out the Deg, the Dog running before his :t-.fafter, will
flop at a divnrication of t he w ay, t ill he fee which
w ay his /1,laflerw ill ta ke Again , when t he D og has
got a Prey, which he fears his M after w ill take from
him, he runs away to hide it, and afte n\ ards returns
t o it. O nce more, if a D og be to leap upo n a Table
which he fees too high for him to reach at once, let
there be a Stiol or Chair near it, he will firfl: mount
that, and fo the Table, yea, tho the Stool fbnd fo that
the Creature takes not a direE1Leap towards the place
finally intended; if he were a m!'.er Piece of G9ckv.:ork,
and this M otion caufcd by the flriking of a Sp1·i;rg ,
t here can b~ no re:i.fon imagin'd why the Spring being
fet on work, !hould not carry the Machine in a dh-r?E
Line towards the Objeet that put it in motion, as well
when 'tis on an high Table as when 'tis en a low.
They that ha\"e written de Ca1111m Fidelitnte C'I S,zga-
citme, have entertained us with Stories full ,>f \\'an-
ders. The Obfenus ha\·e thought thcmfehes obliged
fometimes to fofpeft that the Do.~;might ban· a Spirit
of P;thou in them. Ct1111o·ari11r in his Hor.z S11bc~(.--..·.r
has
colleEtcd furprizin r:, but credible Relations, of foch
i:.1Ui: Dog.,.
:is \\1c may call n·.1_(.
A
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 213
A well-known King, who dealt mllch in them, at a
f.dnous Act in one of our Univerfities, very publickly
d etermin' d it, that they couldmake Syliogifm.r,and fo 'tis
no longer to be difputed. 'The Authority is as greaf
as that of 'Jacobuslvlhyllus, who wrote an Ekgium Canis~
which is thought a ,·ery elegant Epigram.
There is a furprizing thing related of the Sea-Tor-
toifes, both A riftotle and Pliny have remark'd it; 'That
when Tortoifes have been a long time upon the Water,
during a Calm, their Shells will be fo dried with the
Sun, that they are eafily taken by the Fifhermen, be-
caufe being become too light, they cannot plunge into
the '\Vater nimbly enough. The French Academiflsdo
not refer this eafinefs to be no,v taken, merely to the
L ightnefs of the Creature's Body, for he could eafily
let Ai r enough ouc of the Lungs to render his Body
heav ier than the Water, upon which he would fink
imme diately, but to a Sagacity of the cautious Animal,
which is truly marvellous. The Tortoife is always
careful to keep himfelf in his Equilibrium, and there-
fore he dares not let the Air out of his Lungs, to ac-
qu :re a \Veight which would make him to fink im-
ir,ed·ately; for he fears left the wetting of his Shell
ihould render it fo heavy, that being funk to the bot-
tom of the ·water, he might never aftenvards have the
power of re-afcending. What Forefighthere ! What a
degree of Argumentation too !
They that have written de Solertia Animalium (as
many befides Plutarch have done) have reported fuch
Efiays and Shadows of Reafan in many of them as are
diverting.
The Fox is often catch'd in 'Tricks, which afford
as pleafant Stories as any in that old Volume, The de-
/qEfable Hifiory of Reynard. His way to get rid of his
Fleas is notorious.
\ Vhat notable ArchiteEl:.rare our Bevm ! They lay
their Logs, and build their Dams, and form their Cham-
bers, with a marvellous Artifice. A Nation of Indians
P 3· do
214 'The ChrijfianPhilofopher
.
do fometimes in fc~i.rce any thing but their Speech
out-man a Nation of Be'Vers. ·
Elepha;its, what reafonable,but what prodigicusthings
hare been related of them ! Things that almofl have
Religion in them. The Story of Hanno is an amazing
one, Pierius is our Author for it. \Vcll may I i;,;·ite
of them that hare themfelves been fo fufceptible cf
D .fcipline as to u·rite whole Sentences; 'tis affirm'd
that Elephants have done fo. Alfli:d fpcnds two whole
Pages together, in his concife way, enumerating but
t he Heads of the flrange thi11gswhich this traEtable,and
almofr rational ~adrupcd arri\·es to !
\Vhat a nocable, docible, tracbble Animal the
Harfa! The Horfe, of whom the admirable Buduman
fings, -
-- fa accommcdntufus.
Equus ad czmElos

Read Suliuus, and fee what Approaches the Horfe

makes to Renj ll ! One would gucftion which had
mofl:, C.zli,~ulaor /;1citatus. Dr. Grew admires him, as
l,cing fwift and flrong, ahm·e mofl: other Animals, and
yet firangely ol-ediem; both comdy and clean ; he
breeds no Vermin of any fort; his Breach, his Foam,
his [xcrcments and Sweat, all foccc and ufeful; fit-
ted c\-cry way fr,r Service or Plcafure, for the meanefi:
or the greatell: 1'.faacr. There me amient E::-.amples
of other Harfas bdi<les Bucephalus and Lethru,(tts, that
h:n-e been honour\l ,, ith fi:.itely Frmera/sand Sepulchre,
at their Deaths, as ,,ell as their Maflcrs; vea, tho the
Ep:taph of Adrian be loft, his Hvrfe's is prcferved to
this day. The Ridm of H1.1rfes, who in their Lives
will fubmit to no Bri,lles, nor do any Ser'"Ji,efor Him
that m.1dc them, defcr\'c at their D,mlJJ to p.1(~ a,, ay
no better dlccm'd tban their Hurfcs, but will h:n-e a
worlc Fat<.:rhan they. The Gentleman, who going
home wirh hi~ Head full 0f the f:,/d_1· Fumt'S from the
1/enlth.,ot the Evening's Debauch, could not compel
his Jh;-fe to drink illl Health which :it the next Brook
he
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. l I 5
he propofed to him, had fo much Reafonlefr him (and
a ,,ery little might ferve) as to make that Re::leB:ion,
Thnt the Alan in the Saddle was the gre(lterBenfl of the
two.
How innumerable are the Appearances of Nature,
which are above the Powers of Mechanifm? 'Tis reli-
gioully and mofl: reafonably ·obferved by Dr. Cl.eyne,
t hat all thefe are fo many undeniable Proofs for the
Being of a G O D; there muH be a Po'U.'er fuperior to
thofe of Mechanifm, and this mufl: lead us to Him,
-u.:/;onlcnedoesgreat ar.d marvellousthings.
Hew often hm1e I heard this, and how plainly feen it;
this Power be/01,geth
to God!
After all, do we fee fomething in thefe, and other,
and all Creatures, that appears defeEliveto us? A wife
Remark made by the Marquis of Pianez..z..afhall be
intrcduceJ upon it; his remarkable words are thefe:
' The /imittd PerfeEliom, and the feeming lrregula-
, rities of the \:Vorld, rather afford us occa{ion to ac-
e knowledge and glorify the Providence of G O D,
' wh;ch not only declares, that all the Creatures are
' too impe,feEl to deferve to be worfhippedas Deities,
' but alfo amidfl: their lmpe,feElionsobliges them to
' confefs, as it were with their own Mouths, one in-
' finitely perfeEl Deity ; a D eity that would not ha,·e
' Man fix on them as the Objects of his Love and Ad-
' miration, but that from them he fhould pafs on to
' the Lore and Eileem of his only true GOD.'
There is one very furprizing thing, and without
ttcknowledging a Superintendency of a Divine Provi-
dencethere can be no accounting for it. The Manfuete
O-eatures bring forth no more than one or two at a
time, the Bea.flsof Prey bring forth as often, and feven,
or nine, or eleven at a Litter; and yet ! what inex-
preffible , Multirndes of the Manfutte have we to ferrc
us ! v\hat vafi Herds of Baves! \Vhat vafi Flocks of
Sheep! Whereas they that lire upon Prey appear i11
very little Numbers. How rarely is a TVolfmet withal,
P 4 tho
l I6 7be ChriflianPhilqfopher.
t ho a Price be fet upon his H ead ! What Rarities are
Liem, and Tygen, and Ounces! To be caged in the
'11,·u:erfor SpeFlacles!
And then the Liberty gi,·cn us to hmche;·our ufe-
ful Cr eatures at our plcafure ; 'tis obfcrred by }lfr.
Rohinfon, that this w ill be found a K.indmfs, rather
than a Cruel,y to the Creatures; if we kill them for
our Food. their D [patch is quick, and much lcfs do-
lorou s, than t hat the) lh culd be torn to pieces by
fuch cruel Maflers as the Lion, and the Tyger, and
B ear, "ho ·would not gi,·e th em time to die, but
even eat their ,....le01from tl1eir Bones aliw; and if
they !hould Ji,·e to the tedious Condition and Mclan-
<:hoty of Cid Age, it \\ould, after many Tortures, kill
them, and lcare their Carcafrs romng, ftinking, and
u1elef<;upon t:,e grounu.
'1 he j1M·t 1 ife of a B,-aji,compared with t!1e Life of
Man, deferves to hare fome Remark made upon it;
this at Jcafr : !vlan, do nor lwd the Lijeof.a Beafl, if
thou wouldfl not be conden--:ned and confined to the
fho;-tLife of a BC'ajl,nor come under the Executir-n of
t liat Sentence, Tl.e Dn)S of the FVicked/ha!/ be fhortned.
T here is a )\'3Y of li'.Ji;;g,by fomc called liviug a1 nee ;
it is indeed not living at all, but rather dying apace; a
b,nf.lJ Life ought to be a fl;Jrtued one.
\ \'hat ufeful InflruEtionr,, ould the Propert ies of the
fe\'eral Aniir.:zlsyield to the Chrifl!,m Philofofher, would
he be duly and wifely :.ittentire to th em! F,·a,;::.,iw,
and Simpfon, and others, ha-.c culti,·ated this Theme,
1~otunulelully; 't1s capable of a much more yaft Cul-
t i\':i.tion: Chriflian, hearken to the Voice of the many
p, e.1cl.crsthou hafl about thee, ldl thou 111011m at the
/,1.fl,and fay, I f,a·:.renot oh.Jed de Vi.iceof 111)Te,uhers,
ncr incli::cdmine Ear to them tl.·at iu(lrnE11dme!
I ren.embcr one Obfenation 0t Sen,r,1, "hich a lit-
tle e:-..empl1fiesa mira/ R111wrk 011 the Properties of
fo1rc F<1u-_(ovtc.l; Omnia 11,te}\T,1111r,:
ftrn 11.-rllhid,1fu;;t,
w,flr:rum,tur ad Vio:.1. Idem i11qu1c:i1 & Jhlidis hgmi_is
e-.-e1;1t,
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 2.17
evenit, rerwn fufpicior,eferiuntur. --- I thought this
worth mentioning, but not becaufe I do not think a
Chriftian of a gocd Und.1rftandingmight eafily produce
ten thoufand more.
The Account ·which honeil: Leguat gives of the fo-
litary Bird, which he and his Companions obferved on
the Hle of Rodrig1, is as admirable as unqueil:ionable;
the Bird has TPi'ngs,but fo {mall that it cannot Ay
with them, they ferve to flutter with a mighty noife
when they call one another ; they never lay but one
Egg. which is bigger than that of a Goofe; the Male
and Female fit upon it in their turns, and all the while
tl:ey are ha~c,1ing it, or bringing it to provide for
Lfelf, (which is divers Months) they will not fuffer
any other Bird of their own Species to come within
two hundred Yards round of the place : but this is
very fingular, the Males will never drive away the ap-
prcaching Females, but call for their own Femalesto do
it ; the Female does the like, and upon the Approach
of any other Males, call their own Males to clwfe them
away After thefe Birds have raifed their young one,
and left it to irfelf: c we have often obferved (fays my
' ingenious Traveller) that fame days after the young
' one lea~'eS the Neft, a Company of thirty or forty
' brings another young one to it, and the new-fledg'd
< Bird, with its Father and Mother joining with the
< Band, march to fame by-place; we frequently fol-
< lov,red them, and found that afterwards the old ones
' went each their way alone, or in couples, and left
' the two young onestogether, which we call'd a Mar-
c riage.' My religious Traveller does give all poffible
Affurance for the Truth of this Relation, and adds,
I could not forbear to entertain my Mind with Jeveral Re-
fteEtionsc.n thir Occajion. I Jent Mankind to learn of the
Beafts.
It is an Obfenration made by one of the moll rcfin'd
Philofophers by whom our Age has been illuminated ;
< Moil: Creatures hare fame Quality, whereby they
'admonifh
2.18 e:The
ChriftianPhilofopher.
' admonifh us of what is BE ST. Of Neamif,·, all
' Birds which love to be perpetually pruning of them-
' fclves; and Cat,, which commonly cover their Ex-
' crements, and wipe their Mouths atrer D inner. Foul
• Water w ill breed the Pip in Hens, and Nafiinefs
' L ice and Scabs in Kine; and all Creatures, even
' StL"inethemfelres, which love Dirt, yet thri\'e bdl:
' when kept clean. Of Forecnft,the Sitta and the Ant,
' which Jay up Nuts and other Seeds in their Grana-
' ries, that frrre them in the .\Vinter. Of .Modefly,
' the Elephants, the Dromedaries,and the D ee,·, wh ich
' always conceal their Vene.real Aces. Qf mature
' /lfan-iage, all Animals which beget the ir bcfi Breed
' :it their full Gro\\ th. Of Conj,,g 11Oajlity, the Dwes
' and Partri.!ges, which keep to one H u<band and
' \Vife . Of ConjugalLo.-.. •e, the Ru0k, the Ma le help-
' ing the Female to make her Ndl:, feeding her while
' fhe fits, and often fitt ing in his turn. O f /11atemal
' Lo'Ve,the do~nefiick Hen, gentle by Nature, and un-
' armed, yet, in defence of her Chickens, bold and
• fierce; and the Tjge;-herf elf, the fiercefl: of Beafl:s,
' yet is infinitely fond of her Whelps.'
'The fame excellent Fellow <] t/;e R oy AL Soc IE TY
carries on his O bfervation ; 'The moll: odious or nox-
• ious thin gs do ferre for Food or Phyfick, or fomc
' 1fanufa 5'cure, or other good u,fc; neither arc they
• of lcfs ufo to nmeud our /lli11ds,by teaching us Cnre,
' and D iligeua, and more fVit : and fo much the more,
c the worfc the things are, we fee and !hould arnid.
• TVi:afels, and Kites, and other mifchiernus Animals,
• induce us to \Vatd1f'ulnefs; Tl'ifllef and Afv/es to
< good Husbandry; Lice oblige us to Cleanliuefsin our
c Bodies, Spiders in our Houfes, and the /llorh in our
• Clothes: the Deformity and Filthincfs of Sit'ine makes
' them the Bt?mltJ•-fpotof the Anin'al Creation, and
< the Emblem of all Via; and rhe Obfceuit_)' of Do.~r
' !hews how much more beaflly it is in /llm: the FJ:,:
' teaches us to beware of the Ti1ief: and th e Vipers and
'S,orph11s
 'TheChriftta'tt
Philofoplier. 119
' Scorpionsthofe more noxious Creatures, which carry
' their Venom in their Tonguesor their Tails.'
I will profecute this Obfervation of my Brother,
\\ ith only obferving fo much further upon it ; that no
little part of the Homagewe owe to the glorious Cre-.
ator of all thefe things, is to learn thofe Virtues, and
chofe decentand hwefl things, whereof, if the Faculties
of our Minds be awake, we £hall eafily perceive His
Creat!tresto be the lvlonitors.
In writing thefe things I cannot but call to mind
the expreffive Words of TheodorusGiz,z.,a,in his Preface
to Ariflutle's Books de Animalibus; In contemplandisAni-
malium Moribus, Exempla fuppetunt omnium Ojficiorum,
& EHigies ojferuntur Virtutum fumma cum Authoritate
NaturtE, omnium Parentis, non jimulata, non inconffanter,
fed vere ingenua:atque perpetua. He goes on to £hew
how powerfully the K.indnefs of the Brutes to thofe of
the ir own Kind, rebukes the tmbrotherlyCarriage too
often found in Mankind; and adds a variety of Ad-
monition~, which, my Reader, thou art not unable to
difco\·er by thy own Ingenuity.
,r.' One of the mo.flvaluable vVriters that ever was
' in the \Vorld, brings from the glorious Creator of
' the Beafls this Voice to :Man ; Sic utere iUis, ut Ex-
' empla Vi,tutum qua in iUis apparent, olferves, & om..
' nibus Viribus conerisilia longointeruallofuperare, ut ne
·' Beflialem Animam reperiamin tuo CorporeHumano.'
' It would not be a Fancy defl:itute of 'Judgment, if
' I fhould fet before me the Tabe!la Hieroglyphica,
' wherewith A!fled has obliged us.'
' But of all the Tribes that graze in the Field,
c there is none that I would more chufe for an Em~
' blem than the Sheep ; the clean, patient, innocent
' Creature, which has nothing belonging to it but
' what is of a celebrated Ufefulnefs. 0 thou mofl honoii-
f rable Creature, what a Dignity has the Son of God Him-
' Jeffput upcnthee !' ·
I
 21 0 The Chriflian Philofopher.
' I fee fo much of G OD in the Circum!l:an ccs of
' the Brntal Tribes, as obliges me to look upwards in a
' way too high for them.'
' At the fame time, tho I would by no means fall
: into PJthagoremzand Mahometan Superftitions, yet I
would abhor to treat any of the Brutes with bar-
' barous Cruelties, lmmanitie.rand Inhumanities; cruelly
' to delight in their i\liferie r, or to be unmerciful to
' them, is an Offence to God, a1:d what a righteous
' i\1mz would not be guilty of; unknown Punifl;mentr
~ may be refcrved for it.'
' Great GOD, if I do not acknowledgeThee, I am con-
' demned by the Ox, which kncws his O,.:.;ner,and by the
' Afr, which knows his lvlajler's Crib!'
Luther feeing the Cattel go in the Fields, ufed this
Expreffion ; Behold, there go 011r Preachers, our 1'1i/k-
, hearers, and T,Vool-bearers,~,.:
..:hich daily preach to us Fairb
tawards GOD, tl·at -u·etm{! in Him ar our loving F..t/;er,
who will maintain and uo1m'fhus.
It is \·ery certain our Dcminion o,·er the Creatures
is Yery much impair'd by our Fall from God. Thofe
Creatures do now either _fiyfrom us, or fly at us, which,
if we h:td been faithful to our God, would not hare
done fo. H onefl: .h.garduspropounds two Admcnitions
cf Pieiy on thefc OccaGons; the one, F11grz Auimalium
n re, moneat te de tua fuga a Dev per peccatrmz. The
other, Animalium in te ad l.tdmdum impetm J,ofli/is,mo-
mat te de Odio & Furore Diaboli, & i\lundi, ad-verfus te
immmzi.
I conclude with an Oofcn ·ation of Dr. Gre':l)'s;
' As the EJfenceof c\·ery thing, and its relation, in be-
' ing fitted, beyond any Emendation, for its Ac1iom
'' and llfes, evidently proceeds from a 11ind of the
' higbefl Underjla11di11g,fo the 1~aturc of thefc Acliom
and Ufes,in a5 much as they arc not any way de-
' ftruetire or troublcfomc ; no, but each thing tends
' apart, and all confpire t0gcthcr to confcrre, cherifh,
' and gratify : this is an E\ idence of their proceed in~
'from
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 2.2.I
( from the greateft Goodnefs. There are rr.any who are
c very cunningand fubtile in t?e Invention of _Evil, and
' Engines have been fitted, with much Contrivance, for
' the tormenting of Men; how eafy had it been for
' the Creator of the Univerfe to have f.1:ock'd it with
c Creatures that fhould never have moved fo much as
' one Limb without Pain, or have had the leafi Senfa-
' tion without a mixture of horrible Torment, or have
' entertain'd the leaf.1:Imagination, but what fbould
' ha \·e had Horrorin it? But behold, our good God
' has ordered it, that whatever is natural is delightful,
' and has a tendency to Good ; He has employ' d His
' tranfcendent Wifdom and Power, that He might
' make way for His Benignity.'
Great GOD, 'Thou art Gcod, and 'Thou doft Good; Oh
t.eachme 'Thy Statutes ! So fings the Poet :

0 Deus, 0 Mundi folus qui fleEtishabenas,

Vt tua nunc Bonitasoculiseft ol,via cunEtis!

ESSAY XXXII. Of MAN.

A N D now let the Lord of this lower World be in~

troduced, MAN, who is to do the Part of a
Prieft for the reft of the Creation, and offer up to God
the P1aifeswhich are owing from and for them all.
In Libru Creatttrarum contineturHomo (as one of the
School-Divines happens to exprefs it well) & efl prin~
cipaliorLitera ipjius Libri.
.. It was moil: reafonably done of thee, Father Auflin,
to tax the Folly of them who admired the Wonderr in
the other Parts of the Creation abroad, & relinquunt
feipfos, nee mfrantur, but fee nothing in them/elvesto be
wondred at. It is not for nothing t:1at Mankind is in
the Gofpel called every Creature ; he that beholds Man,
may therein behold what is moft wonderful in c"VerJ
Creature.
It
1l2. The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
It is well cxprefs'<l in a Treatife entitle<l, Schola&
Scala Natui·a ! ' Nature doth not lead thee towards
' GOD by a far-fctch'<l and winding Compafs, but
' in a fhort and ftrait Linc. The Sun waits upon the
' Rain, the Rain upon the Grafi, the Grafs fcr\'CS the
' Oittel, the Cattel frn·c thee, and if thou fer\ ·e G OD,
' then thou makefi good the highefi Link in that go/-
' den Cbain, whereby Heaven is joined to Earth; then
' thou fl:andefi where thou oughtel1 to !land, in the
' uppermoflRvund of the Divine Ladder, next to the
' mofi H igh; then thou approvefi thyfelf to be indeed
' what thou were defigned by God to be, the High-
' Priefl and Orator of the Uniwrfe; becaufe thou alone,
' amongfi all the Creatures here below, art endued
' with Underfianding to know Him, and Speech to
' exprefs thy Knowledge of Him, in thy Pra ifes and
~ Prayers to Him.'
I may now fay with hondl: Stige/iur,
'Jam 'VOcat ad pulchrosnor Fabrica Corpori1Arws,
Qu~ mira Authorem monjlrat in Arte Deum.

The Bony of ]vfAN being mojl cbviou1to our view,

is that which u·e will firfl begin with; a /IL1chi11e
of -a
mofi afl:onifhing \Vorkmanfhip and Conrri,·ance ! J\fy
God, I will prnifeThee, far I am ftrmzgclyand v.:onderfuUy
made!
' But is it poffiblc for me to confider this Bony as
< any other than a Temple of G O D ! A Vitruvius
< will teach us that the moll exquifite and accurate
' Fiour e for a Tt-mplewill be found in a Conform ity to
< an::,Human B()dy; indeed an Human Body ought for
' ever to be beheld and employed, as defigned tor an
' holyTemple; for me to apply any Part of foch a Body
< to any Action forbidden by God, would be a very
' criminal Projlit11t
ion.'
'By 11.fing my B,dy in and for the Sen ·ice of God,
• and by praiji1 g the Glorious-One, who has formed
' e,·ery
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher. 22.3
' every Part of my Body, and clothedme with Skin and
' F/efb, and fenced me with Bones and Sinews, I de!ire to
' affure my fhare in an happy RefurreRion of this Body
' from the Gra'11e,into which it is falling : for tho a
' /.fan die, he is to li'Ve again; an appointed Time will
' come, when Thou, 0 my God, wilt call, and I /hall an-
'fwer thee, and thou wilt ha'Uea defire to fee the Work of
' thine Hands re,·ived and refl:ored.'
The ereEtPoflureof Man, the Osfi,blime, how com-
modious for a rational Creawre, who mufi have Domi-
nion over chofe which are not fo, and mufi invent and
pracl:ife things ufefol and curious! Tully admires the
Pro'Vidence of Nature, as he calls it, adding the reafon
for it; Sunt enim eTerra Homines, non ut Incola atque
Habitatores,fed quafi SpeEtatoresfuperarum r~rum, atque
Ccr:leflium,quarum SpeEtaculum ad nullum aliud Genuf
Animantium pertinet. By this pofrure Man has the ufe
of his Hands, which, as Galen obferves, are, Organafa-
pienti Animali con'Uenientia;and his Eyes, which as they
ha\·e the glorious Hemifphere of the Heavens above
him, fo they have the Hori-z..on of three Miles on a per-
fecl: Globe about them, when they are fix Foot high>
and Gy the Refraa.ions of the Atmofphere they have
much more than fo: his Head is alfo fufiained, which
is heavy, and how painful to be carried in another
Poflure !
The provifion made for this PoHure is very fur-
prizing; what Ligaments? efpecially that of the Peri-
cardium to the Diaphragm, which, as Vefaliusand Blan-
cardius note, is peculiar to Man? The Bones, how ar-
tificially placed and braced? Moil remarkably the
Vertebra of the Back-bone? The Feet, how exquiGtely
accommodated! For the rare 11:echanifm whereof, a
Chefeldenmay be confulted; yea, every Writer of Ana-
tcmy will offer enough to trample Atheif,n under foot.
To all add the Mmifhy of the Mufcles, which anfwer
all Motions, and yet with eafy and ready Touches,
keeping the Line of Innixicn and the Centerof Gra'Vity
where
2.24 'TheChriflian Philofopher.
where it ought to be ! Yca, all the Parts of the Body
fo difpofed as to poife it ! All in a nice Equipoife!
\ Vith a prodigious rnriety of Mvfc/es placed through-
out the Body for the Serrice ! Borelli obfen·es, ' 'tis
' worthy of Admiration, thal' in fo great a rariety of
' Motiom Nature's Law of Equilibration fhould always
' be obferved; fo that if it be tranfgreffed or neglecl-
' cd, the Budy ncceffarily and immediately tumbles
' do w n.'
Every thing docs confpire to affu.re us, that t he
M aker of M an intended Mai: for fuch a Poflure.
T he mofl: indigent Condition where in Afan is born
into the \ Vorld, but the plent iful Prov ifion which he
finds made by a gracious and merciful God for him in
the \Vorld, th is invites Afar. rn return to God, and to
tafte H is L o'Ue,in all the Cre:1tures that accommodate
him, and rely upo n H is Care for erer, for t he Supply
of all his \ Vanes. And, as Mr. Arndt expreffes it,
H omoD ei Amorem in omnibus;·cbus eo imimius degttjlaret,
in caducis Creaturis Deurn immortalem i1rJe;1ie;;s difceret,
quod immortalis Detts melius pcf]tt exhilarare, co11Jo!ar
conoborare. ac co11f 1:,·
vm·t homhzem, qumn onmes cmnino
Creaturttftuxa & cito periturtt.
A Compar ifon between the Man-ocrfm and the Ali-
o-ocofmwould afford a rery edifying :md acceptable
Entertainment to a eontemplat in ; J\flllc.i; the excellent
Aljled will therewith enterta in the Gentlemen that
will vifit his T heo!oy,ia N.itural is.
Indeed he that fpeaks co ~fA:-.:, fpeaks to e'Uery Crea-
tztre; and /1/,m is there fore the more co11 ccrned, as well
as rnpable to hear C'Uery Creature [peak ing to him.
' Tis what calls for a <lecp C011G c rrar ·011 \\ith us,
t hat in the Bod_1· of Man the re is noth ing deficient, no-
thing fupcr!luous, an Eud and Ufe for e,·ery thing.
]Vawra noil nbundat i11Ji,perjluis, uec deficit ill ucajfa riis.
There is no Pare that we can well {pare, nor ::mythat
can fay to the rcfl:, I /n'"..•e
110 1:cul (f Jo:,! Th e BeliJ and
t he 111mzb
ers cannot qt.arrcl with one another. En:n
the
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 125
the Paps in Men, befides their adorn ing of the Bre(T.jl,
and their defending of the Heart, fometimes contain
Milk, as in a Danifb Family mention'd byBartholinus. A
Man mention'd by Beccone,upon the Death of his \Vife,
fuckled the Infant himfel[ He concludes, that fince,
according to Malpighius and others, the Paps of Men
ha\'e the fame Veflels with thofe of \Vomen, 'tis in-
tended that, if need requires, the Young !hould be
fuckled at them, who, upon a little pulling, foon fetch
· Milk into them.
What 1110uldwe do with a Bavarian Poke under our
Chins?
Our pious Ray makes this Remark, That if we
confider no more than the very Nails at our Fingers
ends, we mufl: be very fottifh if we can concei'Ue that any
other than an infinitelygoodand wife God was our Author
and Furmtr. And there was an honourable Perfon
who long before him faid, An non videmus in finguli;
fummis Digit is, Artificium D ei? Eflne unguis aliquis qui
non reddat Tlflimonium Deum ejfe Opificemeximium?
No fign of Chance in the whole Structure of our
Body. • It is remarkable, in Bodies of different Animals
there is an Agreementof the Parts, as far as their Occa-
fions and Officesagree ; but a differenceof thofe where
there is a differenceof thefe. Dr. Don-glafr will tell
you what Mufcles are in a Man that are not in a Dog,
what in a D og that are not in a Man. The Matter,
the Texture, the Figure, the Strength, with the ne-
ceffary Accoutrements of every Part, how amazingly
commodious! How oftrn does the Ars, Providmtiri,
& Sapiemia CON DITO RI S, appear to the Pagan
Galen upon the Contemplation !
In the Body of Man the Lodgmentof the Parts is as
admirable as the Parts themfelves. vVhere could the
Eye, the Ear, the Tongue, be fo commodiou0y placed
as in the upperAparcmentj affigned for them ? Tully fays
truly, lvlirifice ad ufus nece.lfarioscoliocati_(unt! And for
the other Parts, he notes, Reile in iUisCorp orum pm·-
Q.. tibres
l 26 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
tibus .-ollocata
fimt. Four of the five Sen.Jes,how com-
modiouOy lodged, near the Brain, the common Se.1-
fory, and a place well guarded; Galen celel>rated th ;s
wondrouOy agreeable Situation ! And how could the
fifth Senfe, that of the Touch, be more a 6reeably lcda-
ed, than ,vith a Difperfion into all Patts of the Body !
'\Vhere ihould the Haild, the Feet, the Legr be, but
jull where they arc! \Vherc the Hea;·t, the Sol lv!icro-
cofmi, which is to labour about the whole Mafs of
Blood, but in the Centerof the Body? \Vhere can the
Vifcera difcharge their Offices better, than in the place
affigned to them ? \"\'here could the B ones and the
M ufcles be better difpofed of? And what better Co-
7.1eringwere it poffiblc for the whole Body to have,
than the Skin; whereof the MicrofiopicalVie-u.•sgin:n
by Cowperin his Anatomy, muft give a mil Surprizc to
us!
vVhat can be more ornamental, than that thofe
M embers which are Pain, do fiand by one another in
an equal Altitude.
The Provifion made in the Body of 1fan to fla7Je
off E7Jils, is \'cry admirable. The Secretions made by
the Glands, whereof Cod·burn, Ktil, /1.,Joreland,and
others, gire us notable Accounts, are fuch as can-
not be confidere<l without fomc Amazement. How
many Parts of the Body fland ready to do what be-
longs to faithful Centinels! The principal and more
cffcmial lnfirumcnts of Life and Senfc, how well bar-
ricado'd are they? Of how many Parts arc we fupplied
with Pain , to make up a Defccc ,vhich may happen
in any of them? The P,1irsof Nff"i.JeS, and the Rami-
fications of the Veiw and Arttries in the R~!hlv Parts,
what Cafe, of Difafler are :rnfo crcd in them ? 11r.D i:;--
ham here juflly adores the infinite Contriver! Dr. Sloane
ju{Hy admires the C ont rivance of our Blood, which on
fome Occafion~, as foon as any thing dcflrutl:i\·c to the
Conl1icution ot it comes into ir, immcJiatdy by an iu-
tcfltneCvmmot~on<.'lldeavours to thrufi it forth, and fo
'tis
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 12,
'tis not only freed from the new Guefi-, but fometimes
what likewife might long have lain lurking there. '
What EmunElories has the Body, and what fur-:
prizing Pajfages,to carry off Mifchiefs, which we foo-
li01ly bring upon our felves ! And how af1:oni!hingthe
Methodsand F..jfurtsof Nature to fee all things to rights.
Valfa/rua difcov~red Paffages imo the Region of the
Ear-drum, which are of mighty ufe to difcharge mor-
. bifick Matter from the Head. Hippocratesin his Book
de Alimentis makes his Remarks upon the Sagacityof
Nature, to find out Paffages for the difcharging of
things ofienfive to the Body ; and indeed they who
confofs no Wonders in it, are HippocraticisVinculis al-
ligandi. Modern Stories of what Nature has done for
th is, occurring in the German Ephemerides, and elfe-
where, would fcarce be credible, were not the Fide-
lity of the Relators unreproachable. Dr. Grew be-
fiows his jufl: Remarks upon it, that in mofl: Woundr,
if kept clean and from the Air, the Flefh will glue to-
gether with a nati'VeBalm of its own; and that broken
Bones are cemented with a Callus, which they them-
felves help to make: yea, Difeafes themfelves are not
ufelefs, for the Blood in a Fe'Ver, if well govern'd, like
Wine upon the fret, will difcharge itfelf of all hetero-
geneous Mixtures. But the Philofoph er lafl: quoted
obferves, Nothing can be more admirable tluw the many
ways Nature hath providedfor pre'Ventingor curing of Fe-
'Vers. Yea, Mr. Boyle and others have entertained us
with furprizing Relations, how the Senfes of Seeing
and Hearing have been refrored and frrangcly quickned
by acute Fe'Ven-befalling thofe that wanted them.
The Harmonyand Sympathy between the Members.
of the Body, made by the Commerce of the Ner'Ves,
and their mo!l: curious Ramifications thro the whole
Body, is, as Mr. Derham obferves, a mofl: admirable
thing, and fuch as greatly fees forth the Wifdom and
Benignity of the Great Creator; to fee how God hath
Jo temperedthe Body together, that the Membersfhoidd have
Q 2 the
 7he Chri(filtn Philofopher
.
t heJame care cnefor another, and if we ll1emberfi1fer, all
fujfer with it!
the ./l'lembers
O ne fo fbncc is by Mr. Derham fingled out ; there
is one Conjugationcf the Nerw,, which i~ branched into
the B all, and the /l!ufcles, and the Glands of the EJe;
to the Ear, to the 'Jaws, and the Gm}lj, and the Teeth;
to t he Mufi/es of the Lips, to the Twji/.r, the Palate,
the Tongue, and the Parts of the l'vlowh; to the Prt!-
cordia too; and lafily, to the ftfufcles of the Fme, and
,·ery particularly th ofc of the Cheeks. H ence 'tis that
a guflable thing, fcen or [melt, excites the Appetite, and
affeds the Glands and Parts of the /ll outh. A fbamejiil
t hing fecn or heard affects the Cheek.,. If the F,mcy be
p lcafi:<l, the Pi·trcordia ar e afleB:cd, ,:rnd the M ufclcs of
t he ft1uuth and Face arc put into the Motions of Laugh-
ter. When Sadnefs is caufcd, it exerts itfelf upon the
Prtrcordia, and the Glands of the EJeS emi t their Tears;
wherein alfo, as w as long fince noted, Flews ,:rrrmmm
levat , and the M ufcles of the Face put on a forrowful
Af peB:. H ence alfo the torvous Look, produced by
Anger and Hatred; and a gay Cwmcnance accompanies
Love, and Hope, and J OJ. F inally, hence 'tis that, as
Pliny notes, the Fare in ftLm ~lone is the Index of all the
Pajfrons.
I t is an inexplicable Sympathy which there is be-
tween the D ifcafes cf t he Belij·and thofc of the Ski11;
whence rcry ftubborn D iarrh~a's cured by D iapho-
retickr.
\ Vhat a Sympathy bet\\'een the Fm and the Bou.'e/s!
The Prie!l.s walking barefoot on the Pa\·ement of the
Temple, were often affi id cJ, as rhe Talmuds tell us,
with D ifeafcs in the ir Bou·d.1 . The Phyfician of the ·
Temple was called a Buwcl-D o.7vr. Belly-achs occa(ion'd
by walking on a cold Fl oor, arc cured by applying
/;ot BrickI to the Soles of the Fte:.
A glorious Pro\ ·i<lence of God is to be fccn in three
remarkable D rj}in:ilitud.,J bet\\ cen ftl m and J-.1cn, Faces,
toiccs,and IVriti11 gs.
Firfr,
 The ChriflianPhilofopher.
Firfl:, Such is the variet y of Lineament s in the Faces
of Men, that tho Valerius Jl1aximus, and fame others,
gives us Examples of Men that have. been very like
one another, yet there are no two Faces in all things
alike. Had Natur e been a blind ArchiteB: (as our
curious Ray well obferves) the Faces of feveral Men
might have been as like as Eggs laid by the fame Hen,
or Bullets cafl: in one M ould. Jt was one of Pliny's
\Vonders, In Facie Vultuque noflro, cum ·jint decem aut
paulo plura mm-.hrn, nuflas duar in tot mi!/ibusHominum
indifcretas Effigies exiflere. Now, as my modern and
better Pliny proceeds upon it, 'fhould there be an in-
' difcernible Similitude between divers Men, what
' Confufion and Difrurbance would necelfaril y follow?
' \Vhat Uncertainty in all Conreyances, Bargains and
' Contra.cl:s ? 'What Frauds and Cheats, and fuborning
' of Witnejfes? Wh at a Subverfion of all Trade and
' 0Jmmerce ? What H azard in all judi(ial Proceedings?
' In Afiaults and Batteries, in Murders and Alfa.ill-
' nations, in Thefts and Robberies, what Security
' would there be to Malefacl:ors ? How many other
' Inconveniences?'
Secondly, The Voicesof Men differ too; not only
divers Countries pronounce in ways peculiar to them-
felves, but in the fame Country how many Dialecl:i ~
Britain as ,vell as G~eece exemplifies this variety; thus
Gileadites can difcover Ephraimites. A-Lapide tells us
how the Flemings difcover a Frenchman; and Fuller,
what way they took in England long fince to difcover
a Dutchman : yea, fame have demorlfl:rated that Voices
do difiinguifh Individuals as much as Faces, and in
fome Cafes more; for this way. the D ifcovery is made
in the D,1rk, and by the Blind alfo.
Thirdly, Dr. Cickburn fhall fupply us with one Dif-
fimilitud e more: ' To no other Caufe than the wife
' Providence of God can be referr'd the no lefs fl:range
' variety of Hand-writings.. Common Experience fhews,
' that th o Hundreds and Thoufands were taught by
Q..3 'one
230 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
' one Mafr~r, and one and the fame Form of \Vr iting,
e yet they all write differently; there is fomething pe-
e culiar in every one's W,-iring, which difiinguilhes it;
' fome indeed can counterfeit another's Characler and
' Subfcr ipt ion, but the Infiances are rare, nor is it
' done without · Pains and Trouble: nay, the moft
~ Expert and Skilful cannot write much fo exaclly like,
' that it cannot be known whether it be genuine or
' counterfe it ; and if the Pr o,·idence of God <lid not
' fo order it, what C heats and Forgeries too would
' be daily committed, which would run all into Con-
e fu!ion? The divcrfity of Hand-writing is of mig,;ty
' gr.eat Ufc to the Peace of the \Vorld ; and what is
c [o very ufeful is not the Effca: of any Human Con~
' cert; 11:en did not of thcmfekcs agree to it , they
' are only carried to it by the fecret Providence of
i God.'
J'rlyGod, let me never do (lny thi;ig that may be to t1'e
Damage of that which thou proclaimrjl thJfelf Jowry tender
of! Hu MAN Soc IE TY, Alankind ajfociatcd.
The Variety of the Parts whereof the Body is com-
pofed cannot but oblige our Admiration, cannot but
compel our admiring Souls to acknowledge our glo-
rious Maker!
The Bones in a Skeleton are two hundred and
forty-fire, befides the Offiz S.fnmoiba, which arc for-
ty-eight. ·
· The Mufcler of the Body arc four hundred and
forty-fix.
The Ner".JeJwhich come immediately out of the
Skull, from the /',fcduUac/;fong,1•a,arc ten Pair ..
Th e Nerves whicl1 come out between the Vertehr.t
are thirty Pair.
The S@f-skin examin'd v,:ith a M icro fcopc, ::tp-
pe3.rsmade up of La ys of exceeding fmall Scales, whi~h
cover one another more or lc[s, accordinQ" to the dif-
ferent Thickncf s of the Scmf-skin in the ·fo cral Parts
of the Body; buc in the Lirs they only in a mcnner
touch
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. lJI _
touch one another. Leuenhoetkreckons that in one cu..:.
ticular Scale there may be five hundred excretoryChan-
rzels,and that one Grain of Sand will co,·er two hun-
dred and fifty Scales ; wherefore one Grain of Sand
will cover one hundred and twenty-five thoufand Ori-
fices, thro wh;ch we are daily perfpiring. What a pro-
~igious number of Glands mufi: there now be on the
Surface of the whole Body! Into every one of thefe
Glands there enters an Artery, a Vein, and a Nerve.
How many Organsnow in all the Body !
Look upon thy Skin, 0 Man, and fay, Great God,
how wondroufl.y haft thou clothedme !
Daily perfpiring, I faid. The Sum of all the Particles
that are firained thro the cuticular Glands, is reckon'd
by SrznEloriusto amount to about fifty Ouncesin a day;
fo that fuppo!ing a Man's Body to weigh one hundred
and fixty Pounds, in fifty oneDays a Quantity equal to
the whole Body is perfpired. The lyledicina Statica
will multiply the Calls to us to glorify the God who
Jo upholdsour Souls in Life.
But then the multitude of Intentionswhich our Cre-
ator has in the Formation of our feveral Parts, and
the Q_ualificationrthey require to fit them for their
various Ufes, this alfo calls for our ·wonders. Dr.
Wilkins takes notice of it, that according to Galen
there are in an Human Body above !ix hundred fe-
veral Mufcles, and there are no lefs than ten feveral
Intentions to be obferved in each of thefe ; about the
Mufcles alone there are at leaf!: fix thoufand feveral
Ends or Aims to be attended to. They reckon the
Bonesto be two hundred and eighty-four, the difiinfr
Intentions of each of thefe are no fewer than forty ;
the wh.ole Number of Scopes for the Bones arife to
an hundred thoufand : thus it is in proportion with
all the other Parts, the Skin, Ligaments, Veffels, Glan-
dules, Humours, but more peculiarly with the feveral
. Members of the Body, which do in regard of the
multitude of Intentions or Qialifications required to
Q..4 them,
 7be Chriflia~Philofopher.
them, rery much exceed the homc,~eneomParts ; a
failing in any one of thefe would caufc an Irregularity
in the Body, and in many of them, as the D oaor
notes, it wou ld be fuch as would be ,·cry notorious.
J1y Friend, contemplate the Figures of Spigeliur, and
B idloe, and L_ferzu, if thou can!l: without A!l:onif11-
ment ! \,Vho can behold a Machine compofed of fo
many Parts, to th e right Form, and Or der, and Mo-
t ion whereof there are fuch an infinite number of In-
t entions requ ired, without crying out, 1f/ho can be
comparedto the l.ord !
The •;:arictyof Officeswhich fomctimes one Part per-
forms, will here come into Conlideration. Thus the
'Jonvte,it ferves not only for tajling, but alfo for the
Jl,[ajliaztio;zand the D eglutitionof our Fcod; and then
for the Formati on of our \ Vords in fpealing, the ufe of
it is admirable! The Diaphragm, with the Mufcles of
the Abdomen,are of ufe, not only in Refpiration, but
alfo for the compreffion of the lntejlines, that the Ch)1e
p1ay be forced into the LnReal Veins, and out of them
into the ThoracickChannel ; and no doubt the commi-
nution of the 11:eat in the Stonr{l(his likewife hereby
affi!ted. The mufcular Contra~ion of the Heart, in the
Pu lfc of it, fcrres not only tor the Cirw!ation of the
Blood, but alfo for the more perfcft: Mixture of it, by
wh ich it is prefrn ·ed in its due Cralis and Fluidity,
and it incorporates the Ch)le and other Ju ices it re-
cei,·es \\'ith it.
fa·en P11i11 itfelf, however affiicti,·e it be, yet is of
Ufe to us; it quickens us to fcek for H elp, and makes
us careful to am id what may be for our Hurt; it is,
as }.Ir. Ray calls it, a m,,Jl'J"s-t' in the Government of
the \Vorld.
The mention of Pain leads one to think on Sleep;
Sleep, a thing fo neceffory to repair the great Expencc
of Spirits we make in t he day-time, thro the conJhnt
c:xercifc of our Senfes and n~otion of our J\Jufder.'Tis
a little furprizing, that tho "e lie long on one fide,
we
 1 33
we have no fenfe of Pain during our Sleep, no, nor
when we awake. One would think the whole Weight
of the Body preffing the Side 011 which we lie, fhould
be very burdenfomc and uneafy, and create a grievous
Pain to us ; and if we lie lung awake we really find it
fo. Our ingenious Ray fuppofes that our Eafe in this
cafe may be owing to an Inflation of the Mu.fcles,where-
by they become fofr, and yet renitent, like fo many
Pillows, diffipating the force of the Prelfure, and fo
the feeling of the Pain. Hence when we refi: in our
ClothesweIoofe our Garters, our Buckles, and other
Ligatures, to 'give the Spirits a free Palfage, elfe thefe
Parts will be pained, which when we are awake are
hot fo. The reafon of this 'Af~ll.)'1Jcr1.:t., during and af-
ter a long Sleep on one fide, is by Dr. Lyfter and by
·Dr. 1ones attributed to the Relaxation of the Nerver
and Mufcles in the time of Sleep ; or Pain while we
lie awake, is owing to the 'lenfion of them.
0 mercifitlGod, thou makeft my Bed for me!
Let mo~e particular Parts of our Body come into
Confidcration with us; 'tis impoffible for them to do
fo without coming into Admiration too !
The Head ought certainly to be firfl: confidered.
The Head, becaufe it mufl: contain a large Brain, is
made of a mofl: capacious Figure, as near as may be
to a Spherical. ·
What an infinite number of Glands in the cortical
part, and of beginning Nm1es in the medu!larpart; an
hundred whereof exceed not one jingle Hair.
Upon the Head grows the Hair, which is of great
ufe, not only to quench the Stroke of a Blow at the
Skull, but alfo to cherifh the Brain; it ferves alfo to
disburthen the Brain of a fuperAuous Moifl:ure, where-
with it abounds. Marchetti finds that Baldnefs comes
from the Dr;nefs of the Brain, and the fhrinking of it
from th e Skull ; he found an eniptySpace between the
Brain and the Skull in the Bald. The Hair UHikewife
'1 graceful Ornament, elfe, as Mr. Ray obferves, the
· ;refem
134 (TheC'hrijliarzPhilofopher.
prefent Age would not be.flowfo much ft,foueyupcn Peri-
wigs.
How commodioufly are the Nerves, wherewith four
of the Senfes are fcrved, as well as all the fuperiour
farts, all fent out the fhorteft and fafeft ways, thro
proper Holes in the Head. And thofe that ferve the
Jnferiour, carried down in a Bony Channel. And as
Dr . Cheyneremark s, it is very remarkable, that the
Veins do not pafs out at the fame H oles the Arteriu
enter; for if they did, then upon any violent M otion
of the Blood, or any greater ~antity thereof than
C)rdinary, lodged in the Arteries, their Dilataticn and
Pu/fation would comprefs the Viim againfl the Bony
Sid es of th eir Pa lfage, and fo occafion a Stngnatio;zand
Ext ravafation of the Blood in the Brain, to the De-
fi.ruct:ion of the whole Machine, which by thefe diffe-
rent Entries and Exits of thefe Ve/leis is preremed.
The Brain, the cortical Parts thereof, ferre to
make the Animal Spirits; that is, to feparare them
from the Blood : The Medullary Parts to receive
them, and convey them from thence into the l:1lt!rves.
The inner Mer.inx, by its Conjlriflion, upon occa-
fton, caufes a more vigorous Effiux of the Spirits, and
t hereby the better Irradiation of the Organs of M o-
tion and Scnfe. By the frequent Repetition of this
ConflriElicnall the day, being tired, as all other kluf-
des arc by continual Aftion, it is anon relaxed, or
fuf pended from Atl:ion. H ereupon, the Effiux of the
S_;,iritsinto the fa.id Orgam, being made more flowly,
we foll afl.eep.
A great Philofopher obfcrvcs and affirms, that the
Cl carnefs of our Fancy depends on the regulutStruEfure
of the B rain; by wh ich it is fitted for the receiving
and compounding of all Impreffions with the more
Regul arity. In Foolr the Brain is deformed. The
Defom1it y is not cafily noted in other People : Bur>
no doub,, a fmallcr D ifference than can be imagined,
may
 Z3)
may'alter the Symmetry of the Brain, and fo the Per-
fpicuity of the Fancy.
' Gracious God ! ho-a.· much ought I to adore the Goodneµ
of thy fupe-,·intending Providence, which gave my JJrain
that Cmfimna•ion, that enables 1,ne now to fee and write
thy Praifes.
The Head has wo!lderful things to fhow : ~ut can
any thing in the vVorld be fhown fo curious and mar-
,,ellous as the EYE ! Our excellent Ray fays truly,
Not the leaft Curiojity cnn be added to it. 'What Rhetorick
what Poetry can fufficiently celebrate the Glories of
this admirable Organ ! Hvw perverted the Eye, ·u:hichis
not e71erunto the Lord, the gloriousMaker of it ! There
was much Difcourfe all over Europe a while ago, con-
cerning a Child, in whofe Right Eye there were very
apparent and legible, thofe Latin Capitals, DEUS
ME US; and in whofe Left Eye, thofe Hebrew Let-
ters, 1.l1N, lvly Lord. This we may jufl:ly fay, No
·rational Beholder can look upon the Eye, without fee-
ing Reafon in the wondrous Workmanihip thereof • .
to make this Confeffion, The Maker of this Organ is for.
ever to be adored, as MY God and MY Lord.
· The Place of the Eye, even in the Head, how a-
greeable ! ~is here not only near to the Brain, but
alfo advantaged for the better View of ObjeB:s, and bet-
ter defended and fecured. How unhappy were the
People, if there were any fuch as Pliny tells ot: Oadis
· PeRori affixis, and Oculos in humeris habentes; from
whom our famous Romancer Mandeville, doubtle[s,
took hints for fome of his Fables. Galen would fatif-
fy us, if we wanted any Satisfaction, that the Eye in
the Hand ,vou!d have had many inconvenient Circum-
fianccs.
The fpherical Form of the EJ'I!, how commodious!
To lodge the Humours, and alfo take in the Obj ects)
and likewife to befriend the Motions ! The Parts of
the EJe being made convex, efpecially the chrJftaline,
)Vhich is of a lenticular Figure, convex on both fides;
~. ~
236 TheChrijlianPhilofopher.
by the R efractions there made, there is a direaion
of many Rays coming from one point in the Objea,
namely, as m:myas the Pupil can receive, to one point
anfwerable in the bottom of the Eye, without which
the Senfc would be obfcure and confufed. The dif-
ference between a Pilture that is recei,·ed on a ·u.:hite
Paper in a dark Room, thro an open or empty Hole,
and the fame receired thro an H ole furni01ed with an
cxaaly polifh ed lenticular Chryfial, is brought by
Mr. Ray to illuflrate this.,
The Membranesand Hmnoun of the EJe are all pure-
ly tranfparent, purely pellucid; thus none of the Rays
let in are fuftocated before they reach the bottom of
t he EJe, nor are they Jophiflicatedwith the Tincture of
any Colour,by which that Colour might be refunded
on the Object, and the Soul decei, ·ed.
The wueousCoat or Iris of the Eye has a mufculous
Power, and can contraa or dilate the Pupil ; the for-
mer is to preferve the EJe from Injury, by too lucid
an O bject that may be too near to it; the latter is to
apprehend a remoter O bject, or one placed in a fainter
Light: all, as ~tis jufl:ly faid by Scheiner, Tam mi;o Ar-
tificio, quam mrmifica Naturtr largitate. There are fume
Animals which can fo clofe the Pupil as to admit of,
one may fay, one fingle Ray of LigLt, and by throw-
in~ all open again they can take ~n the faimefl Rays;
'tis an incomparable provifion for them who mufl
,vatch for their Prey in the Night. Thefc h.n-e alfo
another afioni{hing provifion for their bulinefs, \\ hich
is a Radiation cf the EJes, from the fhining of the Re-
tina about the Optick Ner'l1e. l\fon has not this pro-
,·i{ion, becaufc he has no occafion ; and yet there hare
been lnftances of fome whofe Iris has had the Faculty
fo to dart out Rays of Light, that they could fre in the
D:.uk. TVi/lis and Briggs mention dirers Infbnces;
and Pliny tells us, 'twas reported of 'Jrbo-ius C.1:f,l>"
that E-.pergefaFlu,noilu paulifper, haud aliu mcdoquam
luce c/ara, contuereturomuia.
The
 TheChriftian _Philofopher.l37
'The uveous Coat and the infide ofthe Choroidesare
wonderfully blackened; this is, that the Rays may be
fupprdfed there, and not fo reflected backwards as to
confound the Sight : if any be reflected by the retiform
C,;at, they are foon choak'd in the black infide of the
Uvea; were they to and fro reflected, there could be
no difl:inct Vifton; as the Light admitted into a dark
Room would obliterate the Species, which before
were feen upon white Paper, by the Light let in thro ·
an Orifice in the ·wan; Dr. Briggradds this reafon for
it, Quod Radii in Vifionefuperfiui, qui ab ObjeEl-islatera-
libus proveniunt, hocritu abfarbeantur.
Dr. Grew makes a jufi Exdamation : What more
wonderful than to fee two Humours of equal Ufato true
Vifion, bred fo near together as to be contained with-
in one common Coat, and yet one of them as clear as
ChryHal, the other as black as Ink!
Since the Rays from an Object nearer to us, or far-
ther from us, don't meet jqfi in the fame difl:ance be-
hind the chryfla!lineHumour, therefore the ciliary Pro-
cejfes, or the Ligaments pbferved in the infide of the
fclerotick Ttmiclrs of the Eye, do ferve infl:ead of a Muf-
cle, by their contraction, to alter the Figure of the
Eye, and make it broader; and confequently draw the
Retina nearer to the chryflallineHumour, and by the re-
laxation thereof fuffer it to return to its natural di-
fiance, according to the Exigency of the Object, in
refpect of difl:ance more or lefs. Dr. Grew afcribes to
the Ligamentttm Ciliarea power of making the Chryflal-
line more convex, as well as of moving it either to or
from the Retina ; and indeed by the Laws of Opticks
there mufi be fomething of this neceffary to difrintl:
Vifion. ·
The chryflallineHumour, when dried, appears mani-
fefl:lyto be made up of many very thin fpherical Scales, ,
lying one upon another; Leuenhoeckreckons there may
be two thoufand of them in one Chryflalline,frcm the
outermofi to the Center : every one of thefe v-1onder-
fol
 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
ful Scales is made up of one !inglc Fibre, or the finefr
'Thread imaginable, wound in a fiupendous manner
this way and that way, fo as to run feveral Courfes
and meet _in as many Centers, and yet not in any on~
place to rnterfcre ot crofs one another. Some ino-e-
nious Men hare queflion'd this, but 1fr. Derhamt>fi-
lences them with, It is u·hat 1 n~rfilf have feen, and cmz
Jhewto any bodywith the help cf a goodl\ficrofiope.
Peter Herigonhas obfen·ed a remarkable thing about
the lnfercion of the Optick Ne;·'Veimo the Bulb of the
EJe. The Situation of it is not jufi behind the EJe,
but on one fide, left that pare of the Image which falls
upon the H,ole of the Optick l\Ter-ve fhould wane its
Pieture. But 1fr. Ray will rather have the reafon to
be, becaufe if the Optick Axis fall upon foch a Center,
as it would were the Nerve fo,lted jufl behind the EJe,
this great Inconvenience woutd follow, that the middle
point of every Objeet we v.iew'd would be inrifiblc,
or there would a dark Spot appear in the midfi: of it.
Behold, a Situation of a NLrve, which any one "ould
at firfl: have thought inconvenient, now evidently
found to be affign'd by a mofi: admirable \Vifd om !
And then, what a wife Contr iv:mce, part icularly
about the motion of the Eye, in uniting into one that
Pair which are called the motvryN er-::es? Each of thete
do fend their Branches in each Mufclc of each EJe;
this would caufo a Diflortien of the E;es : bur being
united near their Infertion, they caufe both E,rer to
hare but one mctim; when one Eye is mm·cd this or
that way, the other is turned the fame way with it.
But what !hall we fay concerning this? There is a
<lccu{farion of the Rnys in the Pupil of the E,1e, the
Image of the Objeet in the Retimz, or bottom of chc
Eye, is in-::erted; whence does it come co pafs that ic
appears not fo, but in its natural Pcflu;-e? \Vhy the
,vifual Rays com ing in flra it Lines by thofc Po int~ of
the Senfory, or the R etina, which they touch, afk·B:
the common Senfc or Soul, accord ing co their d ire-
ction;
 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher. 1.39
tion ; they fignify to it, that the feveral Parts of
the ObjeEt, from whence they proceed, lie in frrait
Lines (Point for Point) drawn thro the Pupil, to the
feveral Points of the Senfory, where they terminate,
and which they prefs upon : Whereupon the Soul
mufr needs conceive the Object in its true Pofrure.
The Ner'Ves are naturally made, for to inform the
Soul, not only of the external Objelts, which do pref.
thereupon, but alfo of their Situation. Hence the
Objett:s will appear double, if the Eyes be difrorted.
This is Des Carte/s way of accounting for this My-
fiery : Nutitia il/ius ex nulla Imagine pendet, nee ex ulla
AEtione ab objeElis'lJeniente, · fed ex folo .fitu exiguarum
p.artium cerebri, e quibus NeY'Viexpullulant. Mr.Mo-
lyneux contents himfelf with this Account : The
Eye is onlythe Organor lnflrument, it is the Soul that feel
~Y means of the EYE . To enquirehow the Soul perceh;es
the ObjeR ereEl, by an invtrted Image, is to enquire into
the Soul's Faculties.
Even the aqueousHumour is not an ufelefs one : It
fuilains the U'VeaTunica, which elfe would fall flat
upon the ChrJfia/line.
Becaufe the outermoftCoat of the Eye might chance
to be wounded or pricked, and this fluid Humour
be let our, there is therefore a Provifion made, fpeedi-
ly to repair it, by the help of certain T-Vater-Pipes, or
LymphaduEls, inferted into the Bulb of the Eye, pro-
ceeding from Glandules defigned by Nature to fepa-
rate this Water from the Blood for that Ufe. Anto-
nius Nuck found, that if the Eye of an Animal be
pricked, and the aqueousHumour fqueezed out, in the
fpace of ten hours the Humo ur and Sight would be
refrored unto the Eye, at leafr if the Creature be kept
in the Dark. Verz-afcha gives divers Examples, both
ancient and modern, of Sight firangely recovered, by
the Reparation of the aqueo~tSHumour, after it had
been let out ;it very dangerous Wounds.
 2 40 The Chriftian Philofo pher.
Ii: is remarkable, that the hornyCoatof the EJe docs
not lie in the fame Superficies with the White of the
EJe; but it rifes up, as it were on Hillock, above
its Convexity, and is of an Hyperbolicalor Parabolical
Figure. Tho' the EJe feems to be perfectly round, in
reality it is not fo; but the lri, thereof is protuberant
abo\'e the TV/Jite: and the Reafon is, becaufe if the
CorneaTunica, or Ch,:rJ!a!li11e Humour, had been concen-
t rical to the Sc/erode,, the EJe could not have admitted
a whole H emifphere at one View ; and as by Sheiner
noted upon it, Sic Animalir Incolumitati iu muftis rebus
minw C(lutum ejfet. ·
D r. More has now a Remark, That the Eye being
t hus perfecr, the Reafon of Man would ealily ha,·e
refied here, and admired the CoHtri,·,mce. Being a-
ble to more himfelf every way, he might ha,·e thought
himfelf every way fufficiently provided for. But, be-
hold ! An Addition to this Perfecrion ! There are
Mufcle, alfo added unto the EJes! For we htffe occa-
fion, particularly in reading, to mo,·e our EJes, with-
out moving our Head. The Organ is therefore fur-
niilied ,vith no lef~than fix l\1ufcles, to mo\'e it up-
ward~, dowtrn ards, to the right, to the left, ob-
liquely, and round about.
And now, for the Secur ity of this wonderful Or-
gan, the Eyes arc funk in a convenient Valley, where,
as Tully fays, Latent utiliter ; and they are encompallcd
round with Eminencies, as within a Rampart: Excel-
fis tmdique partibus fepiumur. This detepds them
from the Strok es of anv flat or broad Bodies. Abo\·c
fiand the EJe-brc/tcs,to.keep off any thing from run-
ning down upon chem, fays the fame Orator, Superi-
ora Superciliisol,duR-a,_(11dorema Capite & Rome deftuen-
tem repcllrmt; the EJe-lids then fence them from fudden
and Ieffer Stripe s : whereas the Fifbes, who hare no
occafion for a Defenfati re againfi Dufi and Mores, arc
deflitutc of EJe-/idj ! The 11iElitati111,l\!m1l-raneis an
11dant Pro\'if:on for all their Occafions ! Thefe
ab1i1
EJe-lids,
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 14(
Eye-lids, alfo round the Edges, arc fortifi ed with Brif-
tles, like Palifadoes, to keep off the Incurfions of
troublefome Infects. 'Tis remarkable, that thefe
Hairs grow to a determinate, but a moft commodiour
Length, and need no cutting, as many other Hairs of
the Body do; and that their Points do fl:and out of
the way, bending upwards in the upper Lid, in the
Iowei· dowm.rards. But then Sleep is nece ffary for us.
' This would be difturbed, if the Windows were al-
ways open to the L ight. Here are Curtains then co
be dra wn, for t he keeping of it out. Yet more : The
outward Coat of th e Eye nmft be kept pellucid. This
would anon dry and !brink, and lofe its Diaphaneity>
if the Eyes were always open. The EJe-lids are there ...
fore fo contrived, as often to wink. Thus they var-
ni{h the Eyes with the ir Moiflure over aga in : They
have Glandu!es, on purpofe to feparate an Humour for
that u fe, and witha l wipe off whate ver Duft or Filth
may ftick to t hem. A nd left t lie Sigh t fhould be
hind er'd, the y do it , with what Celeri ty! Cicero
adds, t hey are !11ollif]i ma tailu, ne laderent Aciem :
And I will add , Man, who is a fociable Creature, and
fhould exhibit Jocial Ajf eElions by fome 'VijibleTokens>
is here furnifl1cdwith Tears for that purpofe, beyond
any other Animal.
My God, let me e'Uer employ them, on the jufl Occafions.
for them.
It is a Paifage which drops from the Pen of a Per~'
Jon of Q!_wlity, in a Treatife, entitled, A View of the
Soul : ' It does not feem wonderful to behold a Dif-
' tillation from the Eyes, 'tis to be found in Beafl, as
' well as in Man, upon an offenfiveTouch thereof: But
' when there is no fuch Caufe to be alledged, to have
' the Body, as it were, melted on a fudden, fend fortl1
' its Streams thro that unufual Channel, makes it fcem
' to me no Iefs than the quick and violent Agitatiou
' of fome Di•vine Flame, thawing all the 'IJital Par.tr, .
~ and drawing the Moiflure thro the ch ief and clearcft
R ' Or gan
1.42. :The ChriftianPhilofopner.
' Organ of th e Body, the Eye, and not to be caufed
' by any thing, which is part of itfelf.'
'!'his br:ngs to my mind an ancient Problem: Cu,
Dew Oculos fletus iiljlrnmmtum ejfe valuit. And the
Anfwer to it, Vt quo fordeJ"peccatorumhauriuntur, eo-
dem per ltlchrynar dilunntur.
And then the Bnll of the Eye has the exterior Coat
made fo thick, fo tough, fo flrong, that it is a ,·ery
}-,ard matter for to make a R upture in it. But becaufe
the E;e mufl: be expofcd at all Seafons, and in all \Vea-
thers, there is provided for it an hot Bed of F.1t,
\\ hich fills up the Imerfrices of the M ufcles ; nor is it
fo fcnfible of Cold, as other Parts of our Body. 'Tis
::i {h:mge thing, which the Fm1ch Academifis found
by Experience ! The Aqueous Humour of the EJe will
not frm.,e. Admirable ! It has the Fluidity and Per-
fpicuity of common \ Vater, nothing fingular to be
difcm·ered in the Tafre or Smell of it. O f what Ethe-
,eal Nature mufi we imagine it ?
Shall we, on this occafion, look bnck on the Eys of
other Ai1imals, and compare ours with theirs? The
C/J1Jflt1lline Hmr.our, in the Eyes of the Fi/hes, is much
nearer to a Sph'ere, than that of Lmzd-Auimals. 'Tis
bccaufc the Light ha~ a different R efrnElio;z in the T¥.z-
za, from what it has in the Air : That Convexity,
which would unite the Rays of Light in the Air, will
not in the T,Vater. In thofe Animals, that gather their
FooJ from the Ground, the Pupil is Oval or Ellipticnl,
the greater Diameter going tranfw;fely from Side to
Side. In thofc that frck their Food on higher Places,
t he greater Diameter is the Perpeudiwl,li". Thefe two
r igurcs arc wonclerf ully fitted unto their different Ne-
ccllicies. Thofc A11im.1ls,that ha\·e no Motion of
the ir Ned.:., hare a Clufl.er of Si:mifph~riwl E_1·f-!•a!is
which lend in the Pieturcs of Objcfr; all round about
them; and they that fcck their Food in the dark, h:ffe
a Retina coloured "J.-J.it<', which relk6:s the Light, and
cl'ab!cs them to frc bcft, when the\· h:11 c kafl of it.
. An
 The ChriftianPhilofopher. 243 1

An acute Philofopher fays jufl:ly, ' T hefe are won-

' dertui and furprizing Infiances of Furefight and Coun-
~ fel, m the Being who framed thofe Organs.'
But why don't we fee double with our tv.:oEJeS ?
Galen, and ochers after him, took this to be from a
Coalition, or Decuffation of the Optick N erves. I pafs
by the Affertion of the Bartholines, that they are
u nit ed, not by any Interfecl:ion, fed per totam Subflan-
tia Omfujionem. Dr. Gibfon fays there is the clofefl:
ConjunElion,but no Confujionof the Fibres. Others
apprehe nd only a Sympathy between the Optick Nerves.
Mr. Briggs t hinks chat the Optick Nerves of each Eye
confifl of homologousFibres, and that thefe FibriUa have
t he fame 'Tenfton and other Circumfiances in both
Eyes; and fo when an Image is painted on the fame
corref ponding and fympathizing Parts of the Retina>
the fame Effecrs are produced, the fame Notice or In-
formation is· carried to the Thalamus Ne rv omm Optico-
rum, and fo imported and imparted to the Soul, that
is to judge of all. O ur great Sir Jfaac N ewton fays>
A re not the Speciesof Obje8s feen with both Eyes, united
here the Optick N erves meet, before they come into the
7;.:
Brain, the Fibres on the right fide of both Nerve!' uniting
there? MonGeur Tauvry, in his RationalAnat omJ, thinks
th is Anfwer to be enough : 'When we fee the fame
' Body with two Organs, we judge it to be one, be-
e caufe we fee it frill in one place, and refer it to one
' place; for every Point of the feen Object is directed
' upon oneplace, by the perpendicular Rays of each of
' the two Cones; this is what we call the Dire8 ion of
' the Optick Axis. 'Tis a natural Confequence from
' th is Explication, .that certain D ifiortions of the Eye
' ,vill make the Object appear double, becaufe ,vc
' then direct the fame Point of the Object to t wo
' different places.'
'We might go on and refume our Enqu iry , \Vhy
Objects which are inverted in the bottom of the Eye
do not appear fo, but in a direct Pofit ion ? Tauwy
R i. think.5
244 'IlJe ChriflianPhilofopher.
thinks it enough to foy, ' \Ve Jo not jud ge of the Si-
' ruation of the Bodies by the P,r.-r,..,hich is affected
' in the E1e,but by the Jlli11mr in which ii: is affocl:c d;
' the Soul judges of the Objc[t by the ftfamm· in
' which the Org,m is affcaed.'
To conclude our Obfr:r\a.tions of the Eye; Mr.
Dedw,r , cry jufily fays, Noue l,fs tha;z GOD cwld
w1trive, order, a;z,f pn-::id1-an Organ tis mngnijit-emmrd
curious as the Senfais t!/efid. And Sturmius had reafon
enough to fay, he was fully pcrfuadcd, that no M an
who furrcy'd the E;e could abandon himfelf to any
_{pewlati7.:eAtl-cifm. And Che)ile paffes a mofi equal
Sentence, \\ hen he fays, He certain/;·defff'i.'esnot to m-
joy the Bleffings of his E)~fight, ,;;/;ofeA{iil(Jis Jo dtprnved
tzs not to ad;11,-;.::/cdge
the Bounty ancl TVifdrmz of the Author
<fhis Nature, in the 1·avifhingand aflonifhingStruEforeof
this ;:obleOrgan!
' Good God! How 1mrenfoi1ableam I, if t he Eyes
' made by Him ihould not be e11erto the Lml !
' An envious E)'e is an abufed one; a.11ha11,~hty EJe
' is a diflomd one; an unchafleEye, how ignominiouf1y
' mifapplied ! It ·has Dirt thro,vn imo it. Gracivm
' God, let ;zct my E_resbe Pou-/;ol<'s ,,JTVickedmf,. Let ;10
' D Mth get into my Surd hy thofa !Viudows.'
' A pitifid EJe a bo11mifulE,re, and the E)<' 011 the
' Book that will feed it well, h°'v much to be wilh\l
' for! And au EJe upon a C H R 1 s T at H is Table,
' evide;1'/yJet fvrth as crucifiedbefore it.'
' Tis an odd ~ 1cfbo11 in 'Iympius,\Vhy the E_m
' arc the /,zflthings 7:,ickned, and th e firfl that arc de-
cd? It is anfwcrcd, Ut quo m.-1gi1
, c:.i.y 1/l ipfornm Peri-
' mlum, co miu:u fit ;;o,mdi .Spatium.'
T he EAR 1sw:1at falls next under our Con!idel'~l-
tion ; double, 11)t on( y to provide a 6alnfl: the I.of, of
one, but alfo for the more comn10dious he,li'i11g.
'Tis ::1fl
onilh i11g to fee the Sagacit}' of fomc duf
Pcrfo11~,who con-e to underfla:1d things that tire fpo-
kcn, only by_/;L,1•.; t,1e motion of t:1c Lips in the Spea-
ker;
 % e ChriflianPhilqfopher.
ker; but t he Inflances of this are fo rare, that they
abate no.thing of our Obligations to our glorious Ma-
_kcr for beilpwing . the noble Senfe of Heari1,gupon us.
The Situation of the Ear is where it may give the
rno!t fpeedy Liformation, and where it will occajionand
.alfo encounterthe le.all Annoyance.
The outward Ear is moft nicely adjufted to tr.e pe-
culiar Circumflances of every Animal. Dr. Grew ce-
lebrates the marvellous Varieties in the Ears of feveral
Animals for the reception of Sound, according to their
feveral E?-igences. And Mr. Derham challenges our
.Confeffion of a notableProfpeElof the Handy-work of God
fVen in Jo in.ccnjiderable a Part as this. In Man the Form
of it is of all th _e moil: agreeable to the ereElPoflureof
J1is Body. 'Tis pity the mofi eminent of our modern
Anatomifls cannot yet agree whether it has any Mufcles
bck\Jlging to it.
\Vhat a forprizing Speftacle the Helix, which in its
tortuous Cavities collects the fonorous Undulations, .and
gives them a gentle Ch-culaticn,with fome Refraftion,
and conreys them to the Concha, that large and round
Cell at the entrance of the Ear! Then to bridle the
Evagation of the Sound when arrived thus far, but at
t he fame time avoid any Confufion thereof by Reper-
rnf]ions, what a curious provifion is there .made by
thofe little Prornberanccs called the Tragtts and the
Ant.itragus of the outward Ear, fofter than the Helix,
and blunting the Sound without repelling it! Mon-
!ieur Dio;zis obferves, they that hare this Eat cut off
have but a confitfedway of hearing.
That the Subfiance of the outwald Ear fhould be
cartilaginous; this is an admirable Contrivance of the
mofi wife Creator. Dr. Gibfon obferves, if it had been
Bone,it would have been troublefome, and might by
many ACJ:idents have been broken off; if it had been
Fltfh, it would hare been fubjecl: to Contufion,y ea, we
· may add, it would not then hare remained fo well
expanded, nor hm·e fo kindly received Sv1111d.r, but
R3 h~e
146 rrheChriftianPhilofop'1er.
hare abforbed them, and retarded ttem; whereas
now the Sounds h~n'e their agreeable Vclt.t ations, as
in ,veil-built Arches, and the JVhifpering- J lacer,whereof
the \,\'orld has had many famous ones.
How artfully tunnell'd the auditory Pajfage! But
then, becaufe the Paffage mufr be always open, there-
fore to prevent the invafion of nox.'cur things, ,vhich
lo\·e to retreat into every little Hole, behold, the Paf-
fage fecured with a bitter and naufe ous Excrement,
afforded from Glands appointed for that purpofc !
W here the Meatus auditorius is long enough to afford
har bour to any Infects, there this Ear-wax is conflant-
ly to be found; but Birds, whofe Ears are cover'd
with Feathers, and where the T)mpanum Les but a
little way within the Skull, have none of it. Schei-
hammer confutes the old Anatomifls, who make this
Ear-7.1:a-x an Excrement of the Brain, and jufily fays,
Nil abfurdius ! Dr. D rake has giren us an handfome
Cut of the Glandul:e CeruminoflC. Pliny afcr ibes a great
medical Virtue ro the Ear-v.:ax, the Scrd~s ex Am ·ibus,
as curing the Bites of Men, (which he fays, inter afper-
rimos nume1·ant11r)and of Scorpionsand Serpenu. And
Mr. Derham allerts he had found it a good Ba!fam in
hi5 own Experience .
The Notion of an innate Air in the Ear, is by Scl•el-
/,mnmer found but a· Fa11cy; th~ Palfagc into th e in;;e;-
Ear from the Throat coniutes it : but in this Pa(fagc
ther e is a wife provifion, as he notes, that no Ah·
might pafs in thi ther but ,vhat f11allbe changed and
,, ar med, and fo rend red harmlefs : Imoforta!Jisuonfrz-
lil e ali11s,r.ifi ex •pu/rno;;i/m.r.
The Pai'fagefrom the EM to the- Przlati ( the T11ba
Et1fia,himl(I) accurately defcribed by Va~(ah•a; this is
to giH· wa y to the inner Air...upon e\·cry mot.ion of the
J\1,mbrnna Timprmi, the Alalleus, the ]nms, and the
S:apn; nn<lif rhi~ be fhut up, D eaf;;efrenfucs.
And then the 0; Petnf11m, that Bone which contains
th1• rdl, th is h~s a remarkable Texture and Hardncfs
aborc
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 1 47
above the other Bones of the Body, and fo it ferves
not only as a very fubfl:antial Gum·d to the Senfory,
but alfo, as Dr. Vieujf ens obfcrves, to oppofc the Im-
pulfes of the t£thereal _n.fntter,that there be no lofs of
Sound, and no confufion in it, but that the auditory
Nerves may have it regularly convey'd to them.
The M embrann Tynpani, a~ long ago as Hippocrates's
Time, had fome notice taken of it, whether it has
any difengaged part, by which it is not fafi:ned to the
boney Circle,in which it is enchafed, as Monfieur Di cnis
affirms, is difputed. Mr . Derham could not find it.
But t hen Dr. Vieu_ffensdifcover'd a further inner Mem -
brane, TenuiffimtC i·ar:cque admodum Textur(!!, whereof
the Ufes are to keep the Gate of the Labyrinth, left
the thick Air abroad hurt the pure Ah- within, and
that a due Heat may be prefervcd in the Bafis of the
Lflbpinth. .
But now the afl:onifhing f our little B ones, and three
little Mufcles about them, to move them, and adjufl:
the whole Compages to the feveral Purpofes of Hear-
ing, and for all manner of Sounds!
Thefe were wholly unknown to the antient Ana-
tomifts. 1acobus Carpenjis was he by whom the Mal-
leus and the Jncus were firft of all difcovered; the
Gentleman who was indeed the fir.ll Refrorer of the
Anatomick AYt, :which Vefalius afterwards carried on.
The Stapes was found out by 'Johannesab l ngraf]ia, a
leari1ed Sici!itm. The fourth was what FraHciI Sy[;_
vius firfl: lit upon.
In Man, and in the Four-footed,they arc four, curi-
oufly inarticulated with one another, with an external
and internal Mufcle, to draw or work them in extend-
ing or in relaxing of the Drum. In Fowls Dr. Moulen
could never find any more than oneBone and a Carti-
lage, making a Joint with it, that was eafily move-
able.
It is a probable Thou ght of Rohault, That for us
to gi w Attention, is nothing clfe but for us, by ex-
R 4 tending
 C'Jh
e Chriflian Philofo
pher.
tending or rel::txing the Tpnpanrmzof the Ear , to put
jt into thnt pofit ion, in qua tn-mulum aeiis extemi mctum
exciperepcj]it, whe t c:n it ihaJI be rno!l: fen{iblc cf t' e
motion of the extei nal Air. The Benefit ,, li1ch deaf
Perfons receive by fwd Noifes, em1bling to hear what
fhall be fpokcn to them in the miJ{l thereof. he!ps to
clear this Matter. D r. Wif.'is tells of one who h1~cd a
Serrant ,rho was a Dmmmer, on purpofc th:.t his dwf
JV,fe might hear his Difcourfes, which, while the
Dr11111 was beating, {he was able to do.
In Birds the auditory Ne;ve is alfe&ed frcm the im-
preffion tl'ade on the Membrane, only by tl!e interme-
diation of the Colume!/a; but in ft1mzit is dor.e I v rl,e
interrcntion of the four little Bwes, with the Mt.fries
acting upon them, his Hearing being to be a<ljuflcJ to
all kinds of Sounds or Impreffions made Uf011 tbe
Jl,JunbranaTympmzi; the Impreffions are thus made up-
on the audito1JNe1ve, they fir!l: act upon the 11fonbrane
and the l\1alleus, the J\1al/eusupon the lncus, the l11cus
upon the Or orbiculrzreand Stapes, and the Stape.1up on
the auditory Ncrue, the Bafe of the Stapes not onlv co-
vering the Feneflra (,'llfllis,wherein the auditor)' Ne;'V!'
lies, but alfo h:ffing a part of the audi101)Nerve fpread
upon it. Our Yaluable Derham, up on a diligent E:-.a-
m111ation, found this to be the Proafs uf Heariug.
How will the lVcnde;-sgrow upon us, 1f we pafs
now to the Labyr;wh ! And there fon·ey the wonder-
ful Strucrnre of the Veflibulum and the Corhlca,and yet
more particular Iy the _(emicirmlar C.mals! Thefc laft
arc three, and ol three different Siles. V.i!f(lh•a thinks,
th:it as a part of the auditor)'Nc·,w is Jodg'd in thcfc
Canals, thw, they arc of tL;,. Si:..es, the better to fuit
nil the \·aricty of Tones ; and tho there be fume dif-
ference ac; to the Length and Size ol the Crnals in
,1fferent Pcr fons, yet left there f110uld be Dijord in
the muli:t:ir)01,r,rms of one and the fame 1'1an, thofe
Gmnls h:n r ah, ays :n t fameMan a mofl exact Con-
iurmity to one ;uiothl'r,
Sha!!
 'I'he ChriftianPhilofopher. l 49
Shall we take notice of one Curiofity more ! There
is one of the auditory Naves, whofe Branches do
fpread partly to the :Mufcles of the Ear, partly to the
E;e, partly to the Tc:ngueand lnfiruments of Speech>
acd inofculared with the Ne;·ves, to go to the Heart
and Breafl; by means hereof there is an ufcful and
wondrous Confentbetween thefc Parts of the Body. It
is natural for mofi Animals, upon the hearing of any
uncouth Sound, prefently to erect their Ears, and pre-
pare them for tLe catching of every Sound, and there-
withal open their Eyes, to fiand as faithful. Ceminels
upon the \,Vatch, and be ready with the Mouth to call
out, or utter, according to the Dictates of the prefent
Occafion; when furprized with any frightful Noife ,
they give a Shriek immediately.
Dr. Willis obfcrves another great Ufe of this nervous
Commercebetween the Ear and the Mouth ; Ufum a/ium
iufignioremp1·trftat: that is, that the Voice may corre-
fpond with the Hearing, and be a kind of Echo to it;
that what is heard with one of the two Nerves, may
be readily expre!fed with the Voice, by the help of the
other.
SO UN D is the Object of this admirable Senfe ;·
t he intricate nature of it has puzzled the befi of N a-
turalifis.
How many founding Inflmments have yet been con_.
t rived by the \Vit of Man, whereby Sounds have been
augmented, and conveyed, and rendred ferviceable !
The biggefi Bell in Europe is reckon' d to be at Er-
furt in Germany, which may be heard, they fay, four,
and twenty l't1iles.
I t is reported that A/exandet the Great had a Tube,
which might be hea~d an hundred Stadia, whereof the
Figure is preferred in the Vatican. It is a little fl:range
that no one fhould hit upon the like I1n-cntion, ti ll
Athar.afius Kircher, in our Days, and foon after him
Sir Samuel lvforeland, whofc Ttda Stentorophonicawas
publifh'd in 1672.
 :z.50 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
Caves hrn-e OUt-dcnc Tubir for bellowing. Olaur
J,.!,1gm1sdefcribes a Cave in Fm/and, into which if a
Do g or any other Animal be caft, it fends forth fo
dreadful a Sound as to knock down every one that is
near it ; and they have therefore guarded it with high
Walls to pre, ·ent fuch a Mifchief: Pete;- Mart)'r in-
forms us of a Ctme in Hifpaniola, \\'hich with a fo1all
\Vci ght cafl: into it, will with its hideous noife at fi,·e
Miles diflance endanger Deafncfs. Kircher in his Pho-
1mrgia finds a Pit in the Cummer J\.fo:mtaimof Switur-
/a;rd, that fends out a fearful Nolfe, and T-Vindaccom-
r:mying of it; and a \Vell in that Country, a noife in
which is equal to that of a great Gun.
Olaus l1lagnw mentioning the rnfl: high Mountains
of AugemMnnia, tell<;, that the \V~\·cs of the Sea {hi-
k ing at the bottom thereof, make fuch a terrible noife,
as not only to deafen the Mariners, but alfo to Jicken
t hem, and even to fright them out of their \Vits, if
they dare approach them., Habent Bafer i!lcrumMon-
tium in HuEtuum ingrejfu CJ' egujfu tort11ofasrimm, ji-:.•e
fciffimz.r,fatir jlupe;zdoNatttrte Opijiciofabricntar, iu qui-
bus !ongaVoraginefarmidabilis illef,mitus, q11aji fubterrn-
nc111n touitm generatur.
The prodigious Catm·acl of Niagara, whereof Hen-
nepinhas gircn fume relation, produces a Nuife which
perhaps nothing on Earth has equall'd; a Noife which
it might well nigh deafen one to think upon. .
\Vbat is the Matter of So1111d ? The Atmofphffe 111
grofs? Or the ethereal part of it? Or fame foniferous
'Jrn e-fraJ-quo_v Particles of Bodies ?
That the Air is the Medium of So1111d, is manifeft
from Experiment. In an ,me:xhaufid Receiver a [mall
Bell may be heard at the difl::rnce of fcreral Paces;
but when it is cxhaufl:ed, it can (carcc be heard at the
ncardl: difiance : if the Air be comprelled, a Sound
will be louder, proportionably to th e Compreffion, or
the ~1antity of Air crouded in ; the Experiment foc-
ccc<l~,not only in forced Rarefactions and Conde~1fa-
t1ons
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher.
tions of the Air, but alfo in fuch as are natural. The
Srnry of the Piftvls difchargcd by Frtrdlichius on the
Carpathean Mounta ins, related by Varenius, gives an
InHance how the Sound was diminiilied, by the rarity
of the Air, at the great Afcent up to the Atmof phere ;
but how magnified by the Polyphonifms,or the- Reper-
cuffions of the Rocks and Caverns, and other phono-
captickObjeElsin the Mount below !
The Water alfo is capable of cranfmitting a Sound;
the Sound of a Bell fl:ruck under 'Nater is heard, tho
as much more dull, and not fo loud: Judges in mujical
Notes pronounce it about a fourth deeper.
Divers at the bottom of the Sea can hear Noifer
made above, but confufedly; thofe above cannot hear
the Divers below at all. ,
Dr. Hearn tells of Guns fired at Stockholm, which
were heard an hundred and fourfcore Englifb Miles.
In the Dutch vVar, Guns were heard above two hun-
dred Miles. If we go more Southward, Guns at Flo-
renceare heard at Leghorn, which is fixty-five Miles.
·when the French bombarded Genoa, they were heard.
at Leghorn,which is ninety Miles. In the Infurrection
at Meffena they were heard at Syracufe, which is an
_hundred Miles. This inclines Mr . Derham to think
that Sounds Ry near as far in the Southern as in the
Northern Regions, tho the Mercury in the . Barometer
does rife higher without the Tropicksthan within the
Tropicks; and the more Northerly, frill the higher,
which may increafe the Sounds.
Celebrated Authors differ about the Velocity of
Sounds. Mr. Derham has by nice Experiments deter-
mined, that there is a fmall difference in Soundsbefore
the Wind and againfl it, and this a little abated or
augmented, according to the Strength of the Wind;
but nothing elfe in the World will affect it: and there
is one motion to all kinds of Sounds, whether loud or
low; and they all fly equal Spacesin equal Times ; and
fa.fi.ly,the Mcrm of their Flight is at the rate of a
Mile
 The Chriftian Philofopher.
M ile in 9{ half Seconds, or 1142 Feet in one Seco,rd
of Time.
The Power of mu.firnlSounds o\·er the Spirits of flfm,
yea, and over their Bodies coo, is ,·cry furprizing.
What could the famous Timothy the Mufician do upon
Alexander? \Vhat another upon Eriws? A:1-anafm
Kircher in his Phonurgia, and Jfaac Vo[fiuswriting de
PoematrmzCmw & RJthmi Vilibw, report ftrange thingi
of the Power which Mu.fie/.:. has over the Affeecions.
The Gemran Ephemerides mentions thofe, who at
fome Notes of lvlu.fickarc unable to hold their Water.
Morhojftells us of thofe who would break Romer G!ajfes
w ith their Voice. Great Sea-Commanders hare ob-
fcrred, that their wounded ft1m, with broken Limbs,
undergo much Pain at the Enemies Difchargcs. 'Tis
well known that Seats will fometimes tremble at the
Sound of Organs.
• The Force of M:l_/ick on Pcrfons poifoned with the
'Tarantula, is altogether aftonifl 1ing !
Jfmenias the Thehmz, by playing on the Flute or
Htlrp, cured the .__\' ciatica. In the late Fre;ich Hiftory
of the Academy of Sciences,there is a l,.fan cured of a
Ferverand Fwny by properTunes pl:1y'd to him.
B ut after all, who but a God infinitely wife could
contrive fuch a fine BodJ, Co fufceptible of cYery Im-
p reffion that the Sellfe of Hearing has occ:1lion for ;
and thus empower Animals to exprefs their S(//.fecf
thiilgs to one another ? .
:Mr. Derham thus juflly concludes his D :fcourfe on
the Senfe of Hc'tiring; 'Who can Curvey all this admi-
• rable \Vork, and not as readily own it to be the
' \ Vork of ao omnipotent and infinitely wife a.nd good
' God, as the moft artful ftlelcdies we hear, :m: the
' Voice or Performances of a li\·ing Creature!'
Great God, ht me mer tljt!m_vEni- 10 /!'am ~J.•h,1tthou
wouldfl /w-:Jeme to l.uon,,aud/hut m; Ear 11pcu thtfe tbiug.-,
to be m1aaJJ1aimc.l
--.z;hri-t'U·ith is a lear;redlguo:·,1;1te
!
' May I h:l\"c the Happinefs of that [.-.;pcricnce,
' Faith comer/,y he,iriug.' I
 rrheChriflianPhilofopher. 2.53
I will add one Remark : Many have been born de-
frirute of Seeing; many born defl:itute of Hearing ;
expofed unto many Inconveniences by the want of the
Senfe whereof they were defl:itute ; however capable
of being provided for. I could never learn, that a-
ny Child of Man was born defritute of both Senfes;
·one deflitute of both could not be in any Capacity of
being provided for. My God, I behold thy Compaffion,
-and I adore it ! .
·what a Provifion has our Glorious Creator made
for our Smelling ? The Apertures of our Noflrils.
,vhich are cartilaginous, • and accommodated with
proper and curious lv/11.fcles,have, as our Derham
notes, all the Signatures of Accuracy. And long before
him, Tully; Nares, eoquod omnis odor ad fuperiora far-
tur, reElefu;-fum funt, & quod Cibi & PotionisJudicium
magnum earum efl, nonfine caufd vicinitatem Oris fecuti:t
f11nt. Here the oljaflory Nerve, receive the odoriferous
Efiluvia of Bodies; and becaufe the odorant Particles
are drawn in by Breathing, the upper part of the
Nofe . is barricadoed with Laminte, which fence out
noxious Bodies from entering the breathing Paffages ;
(for which purpofe the Vibrifci, or Hairs placed at
the entrance · of the N ofrrils, are a notable Contri-
vance) and they receive alfo the Divarications of the
olfaEtoryNer"Jes, which are here fpread very thick>
and thus meet the Scents which enter by the Breath,
and {hike upon them. 'The more accurate the Senfe
of Smeliingis in any Animal, the longer thefe Lamintt
are, and the more in Number, folded and crouded
with the more nervous Filaments, to detain and fetter
the odorous Particles. There are Animals, the chief
AEts of whofe Lives are performed by the Minifrry of
this wonde,fitl Senfe, and thefe have certain Points of
Provifion, which are not in l'vlan ; but, I will not fay,
are wanting in him : For he has enou~h; and he has
utterly loit all Sagacity, if he be not fenfiblc of enough,
to oblige his Praiies of the God that made him.
Our
 254 Vie ChrijlianPhilofopher.
Out Tajling is as well provided for.
For the C:'lufes of Tajles, and their DiverGtics,
~r. Grew will give us a more accurate Account than
7 heoplmzflus.
Concerning the Organ of Tafling, \\'C will not re-
cite the \'arious Opin ions of Bauhin, and Bartholin,
and Laurentius, and our lVharton. Our fVi !lir deter-
mines, Pracipimm & Jere folum gujlattu Organon efl
L ingua. Our Derham inclines to that of /1,[alpighi,
that fince the outward Covering of the T ongue is per-
forated, and under this there lie the Pnpillary Pam,
,vhereof Mr. Cowperhas given us Cuts full of Elegan-
cy, the Tafie probably lies in the[e: Ocetmwzt Papil-
laria Corpora,probabiliuseJlin his ultimo, ex fubintmmc
fapido Rumore, Titillaiionem & Jifordicationemquandam
fieri, qu:cGuflum efficiat.
There are Nerves cur ioufly divaricated about the
Tongue and /11outh, to rece ive the lrnpreffions of e,·ery
Gufl, and thcfe Nerves guarded with a ·firm and pro-
per Tegument, which defends them from Harms,
but fo perforated in the Papillary Eminences, that the
Tafl es of all things arc freely admitted there.
Admirable the Situation of the Tajle with the
Smell, for the D ifchargc of the ir Offi ces, at the fir!l
Entrance into the wa y to the grand R eceptacle of our
Nourif11ment : that they may tltere fore judge what is
nouri01ing, and what unfarnury and pernicious.
The Tnfl e : Q1i fmtire eorum quibw "..lefiimurgeuer,i
debet ; as Tully long fincc obferved, Habitat iii ca parte
Oris, qua cfmlcmis, & poculeatisiter Natu ra patefecit.
Our mofl wife Crearor has efiablif11ed a gre~lt Con-
fent betw een the EF, and the N fe, and the T~ugue,
by ord eri ng th e Branches of the jll;re Nerves to each of
thofe three Parts. Hereby there is all the GuarJ that
can be againft Food that may hurt us ; it is to under-
go the Scrutiny of three Seufes, before it goes inco the
Stomach.

J But:
 crheChrtjftan l!htlo)opher'.
But if · the other Senfes have ~heir peculi~rSeats,
there is one,- to wit, Feeling, that is dif perfed tluo
the whole Body, both without and within. Every
Part needs to be fenjible of what may be for its own.
Safety, and therefore our moil: wife Creator has ad-
mirably lodged the Senfe of Feelingin every pari. le
was Tu lly's Remark, Toto Corpore aqualibiter fufus efl,
ut omnes Jt1us, omnefque nimios & Frigoris & Caloris ap-
pulfus f emire pcjf umus. Pliny adds, 'I'aEfusJenfus omni-
bus eft,etia.m q11ibusnu!ius alius.
The Organ of this wonderful Senfe, is the Nerves ;
which are, in a moil: curious, afi:oni!hing, incompara-
ble manner, fcattered throughout the whole Body.
Malpighi, upon many Obfervations, has deter~
min'd that as Tafling is performed by the Papi!ltl! in
the 'Tongue, fo Feeling is performed by the like Papi/Ill!
under the Skin. Thatthefe Papilla Pyramidales,thrufi.~
ing their Heads up to terminate in the outer Skin, ·
are thofe by which we fe el; he 'fpeaks of an Animus
abundecertior redditu,. Our diligent Cowper has con-
firmed ·this, and given us elegant Cuts of thefe Pa-
pi/It£, from the Informations of the Microfcope.
Dr. Cheyneobferves, the apt proportioning of that
Senfe, our Feeling, unto the- Atl:ions and Impulfes of
the B'odies among which we live, is wonderful -!
Had the Senfe been ten times as exquifite as it is,
we !hould have been in perpetual Tom :cnt. Had it
been many times duller and more callous than it is,
':e fh ould have loft many of our moil: agreeable De-
lights, and we !hou!d have had our tenderefl: Parts
confumcd without Knowledge or Concern. This nice
A djuflment !
\ Ve ,1·cre but now pretty near the T eeth; of t hefe
the N umbe;·s are thirty two. But, Oh ! how many
more t he !Vonders ! Galen obferves, we commend the
Skill and Senfe of him t !1at {hall well marfhal a Com-
pany of thirty two : and 01all we not admire him who
hath fo ad mirably d ifpofed thefe thirty two?
\Ve
 The ChriflianPhilofopher.
\Ve will here finglc out eight or nine things, that
are ,·cry remarkable : The Teeth continue to grow in
their Length as long as we li\·e, as appears by the
unfightly Length of a Tooth, when the oppofite hap-
pens to be pulled out. Thus Providence repairs the
wafie that is daily made of the Teeth, by the frequent
Attrition in Mafl:ication. That part of the Teeth,
which is abo,·e the Gums, is not invefied with the
fenfiblc Membrane, called Periefli11m,with which the
other Bones are covered; but then the Teeth are of a
cloferand harder Subfiance than the refi of the Bones,
that they may not be fo foon worn down by grinding
the Food. For the nourifhingof thefe necelfary Bones,
the Glorious Cre:i.tor has wonderoufly contri,·ed an
1mfem Cavity in each fide of the 'Jaw-Bone, in which
are lodged an Arury, a Vein, and a Nerve, which thro
lefler Gutters do fend their Twigs to each particular
Tooth. But becaufe Infants arc to feed a confidera-
ble while upon Milk, and Iefl:their Teeth lhould hurt
the tender Nipples of the Nmje, Nature defers the
Pro<lucl:ion of them for many Months ; whereas dirers
Animals, which mull Jeck betimes a Food that needs
Mallication, arc born ,virh them. The different
Figure of the Teeth, how furprizing ! The Foretceth,
called lnciforer, broad, with a thin and fharp Edge,
to cut off a Morfcl from any folid Food. The EJe-
Teeth, called Canini, fironger, deepet, and more able
to tear the refifl:ing fore of Aliments. The Jaw-
'Ieeth, called ft{olares, Aat, broad, uneven, accommo-
<lated with little Kn obs, to hold, and grind, and mix
the Aliments.
Becaufe the Operati ons, to be performed by the'T'eeth,
fomctimcs require a confiderable Strength, what
flrong Alufcles is the lower Jaw prm·ided withal !
And every Tooth is placed in a ihong, a clofe, a deep
Socket ; and the Teeth arc furnif11ed with Ho!.lfafls,
th::it arc fuitablc to the fhefs, which in their diflcrcnt
Offices they may be put unto. The Forc-tc,'th :ind
the
 <flieChrijlian bilofopher. 2 57
the Eye-teeth have ufually but one Root, which, in the
latter, is very long ; but the Grinders, that mufi: ma-
nage hard Bodies, have three Roots, and in the upper
Jaw often four,becaufe thefe are pendulous, and the
Jaw fomething fofter. How convenient the Situation
of the Teeth ! The Grinders, neare!l: the Center of
their Motion, becaufe the greateft Force is required
in them ; the Cutters, where they may readily cut off
what is co· be tranfinitted to the Grinders. Finally,.
the 'Jaw, that is furniihed with Grinders, has an ob-
lique or tranfverfe Motion, which is necdfary for
the Comminution of the Meat : But this Motion is
not is the Jaw of Animals, which have not fuch
Teeth belonging to t hem.
c Temperancein Feeding, is one fpecial Article of
' the H omage ,ve owe to the Glorious One, who has,
' in our Teeth, [o difplay'd his admirable ·workman-
~ .fhip ! ,
And we are now not far from the Tongue, the Ufes
whereof are, how various ! how marvellous! and the
Texture how much to be wonder' d at ! You were in
the right of it, Vefalius, when you told us, That na
J\t/ortalhad ever Jet thorowly confider'd all the Wonders
of it. .
This is the main Organ of Tafling ; it helps alfo
in the Maflication, and the D iglutition of the Food.
Here the Spittle has its Vent; which, tho com--
manly taken for an Excrement, is indeed an Humour
wonderfully ferviceable ; becaufe a great part of our
Food is dry, there are provided feveral Glandules, to
feparate this Juice from the Blood, and no lefs t han
four pair of Channels to convey it into the Mouth,
which are lately found out, and called the D uRu s
Saliva/es; ~nd through which the Saliva continua lly
difl:illing, ferves to macerate our Food, and, by temper-
i!1gof it, render it fit for chewing and fo:a!lowing.
And hereby alfo the Cc,11c0Eticn in the Stomach is not a
little promoted.
s Bm
258 'The Chriftian Philofopher.
·
But the gr.1nd Glory of the Tongue, is, t hat it is th e
mnin I nfl:rumcnt of _(peaking; a nd therewith -i.veUefr
God, even our Father! This is a Faculty p eculiar to
Man : It was never known that a Beaft cou ld attai n
to any thing of it. A Bird indeed has been taugh t
now and th<'n ,' few words, an d w ith no litt le diffi-
culty ; butt' :n Le tmdi.rflandJ"not th e meani ng of his
few words, nor <leeshe ufc them for Sighs of th ings
conceived by himl The moil: that can be pretende d,
is, that a ParHt being ufed unto fuch or fuch Enjoy-
ments or Afllictions, at t he Prolatio n of cer tain
•words,may cxpref<; his Paffions by the noife of the fo
•words. The yew:jhRabbins were not fo very abfu rd
in defining a 1fan , Animal loquem, a Creature that
fpcaks. By the w.1y, ' you that arc Stammerersought
' exceedingly to humble yourfcl,·cs befo re the Holy
£ God, under his Rebuke upon yo u, in an Organ,
< which, well employed, would be your Glory. Ou r
' S:wicur, feeing a Man that had an Impediment in his
< Spr:ech,he Jighed upon it; no doubt it grieved h im
' to fee a 1'Jan fo 1Jlfffked by the D ifpleafure of Go d ,
' in a mofl: fcnfible Wound upon fo dillinguifhing a
' Faculty. lvly Friends, learn to fpeak dt'libernte!y .
' This Expedient alone would help you ,vonderful-
' Iy : For in Singing there is no Stammc;·ing. Speak
' but little, don't affecta Loquacity; a Folly )'Ott-r Tribe
' nrc often fubjcct to! tho 'tis more burdenfome and
' un~rateful in them, than in other People. \ Vhat lit...
< tie you fpeal;:, let it be\ cry wi{e, ,ery good; fuch as
' may befpeak fon,e refpeaful Regard for what yo u
' fay. 'Then _be not altogether difcouraged unde r
your Calamity: A Mos Es, a PAUL, and a
< Bo Y 1. F, \\ ill make a noble Trimwuirnte of Camp a-
' nions for you, under your uncafy Infirmity.' I go
on : The neceffity of the Tongue for Spf•'chwill remai n
generally to be allcrtcd, notwithlbnding the Tricks
of the Vint;i/.1ui, taking ndrnncage of the D upli ca-
t1. rc of the lvl,.di,:flin11m,to form YariousV oices; and
notwith-
 crheChriftianPhilofop?er. 159
notwithfl:anding the rare Inftance reported bf Roland>
in his Aglojfoflomagraphia, ji:ue Defcriptio Oris fine Lin-
gua, quod perfeile loquitur, & re!iquas ji,as jimEtiones
naturaliter exercet.
What the Emperor 'Juflinian himfelf a!ferts in his
Refcripts; [Vidimus venerabilesViros, qui abfciffisradi-
citus Linguis;] that he himfelf faw venerableMen, who
when their Tongueswere cut out, at the very Root,
yet continued plainly fpeaking the Truth of Chrifl:ia-
nity againfl: the Arians; a Face whereof many Wit-
11eilesare fubprena'd by· Cujacius: it looks miracu-
lous!
My God, thou haft made Man's Mouth! Make thou
the Speechof minewhat it oughtto be. A pure Language!
I have faid, l'wi1l take heed, that I do not Jin with my
Tongue. A[/ifl me to keep fuch a Refoluti~n, and abhor
all rotten orfaulty Communication. I refolve my Mouth
fhall fpeak the Praife of the Lord : Oh that. my Tongue
may be like choiceSilver, for the good Ufaand Wvrth of
-whatis th1:rebyarticulated, and as a Tree of Life, in a/I
,my Converfation!
If we pafs down from the Mouth, we are quickly
entertained with a Wind-Pipe, which is all made up
of Wonder ! A continual Refpiration is n~ceffary for
the Support of our Lives ; it is therefore made with
annulary Cartilages,to keep it confl:antly open, and that
the Sides of it may not !fag and fall together. And
left, when we fwallow, our Meat or Drink fhould
fall in to" do mifchief there, it hath a ftrong Valve,
an Epiglottis, to cover it when we fwallow. For the
more convenient bending of our Necks, it is not made
of one continuedCartilage, but of many annular ones,
which are joined by fl:rong Membrane s ; and thefe
:Membranes are mttfcular, compounded of frrait and
circular Fibres, for the more effectual Contraction of
the Win d-pipe, in any violent Breaching or Coughing.
And that the Afperity of the Cartilage s may noc hurt
the Gullet, which is of a tender and skinny Sub{bnce,..
S z. or
260 CZheChri(fictnPhilofopher.
or hinder our fwall o\\ ing of our Food, thefe annulary
Gr ftlcs•-arc not entire Circles ; but \\ here the Wiud-
pipe touches the Gullet, there the Circles are fitted up
with only u foft Mcmbra,1c, which may eafily gi\·e
way to the Dilatation of the Gullet. But now to pro-
claim a plain Ddign in this Conformation, as foon as
the "/,V,.1,d-pipeenters the Lungs, its Cartilages are no
longer defident, but perfect Circles; it was no longer
nccelfary they fhou ld be deficient, it was mor con-
venient they fhould be perfeR. And then, to finifh
the Collection which our excellent Ray has made (for
I have him nnw before me) of thefe Curiofitics ; for
the ,·arious M odulation of the Voice, the upper end of
the TVind-pipe, is endued with fe,·cral Cartilages and
fllufcle,, to comratt or dilate it, as we would hare
our Voiceflat or fharp; and the whole is continually
moificllcd, with a glutiuousHumour iffuing out of the
final! Glandules, that are upon its inner Coat : fo 'tis
fenced, that neither the Air fetched in, nor the Breath
going out, may hurt it; yet it is of fo quick a Senfe,
th at it is prornked cafily to caft out, by coughing ,
w hc.tercr may be oficnfo·c to it. -
Cafpar B,m/;olin has further obfcn·ed, that where
the Gullet perforates the JWdri_/f, the carneous Fibres
of that mufcular Part arc inHcckd and arcuate, as a
SphinEterembracing it, and clofing it fafl:; which is a
fenfiblc Providence, left, in the perpetual Motion of
the faid !11idriff, the upper Orifice of the Stomach
fl1ould gape and call out the Food as fa.fl:as it re-
cci\'c<l it.
Dr. Grc'i.J.
1 obfl..'1Tcs,that the Variation of the J!.Ti;,·d-
pip.:is obfrrrablc in crcry Creature, according as it
is nece!fary l<.irtli:it of the Vvice ; and the Ri;;gs of the
lf/in d-pir,care fitted for the Modula:ion of the Voice.
'The faculty of the Glottis, in fo cxquifacly ;or.-
traAi11g,( r di/,11ingof itfelf, a'> to form all Notes, is,
as 11r. D,,·/, w1 fays, prod,,(cus! For, a,; Dr. Keil notes,
if you fuppofo the grcatcft Diflance cf the t'\\ o fides
of
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.l6I
of the Glottis, to be one tenth part of an Inch, in found-
ing tw,elve Notes, to which_ the Voice eafil y reaches,
the Line mufl: be divided into twelve Parts, each of
which gives the Aperture that is requifite for fuch a
Note with a certain Strength. · But if we confider the
Subdivifion of Notes, into which the Voicecan run, the
Motion of the Sides of the Glottis will be frill vafl:ly
nicer. A Voice can divide a ·I>lote,at leafl: into an
hundred Parts, which a jufl Ear can perceive; but
then it follows, that the different Apertures of the
Glottis actually divide the tenth Part of an Inch into
twelve hundredParts, and a goodEar will be fenlible of
the Alteration. But becaufe each fide of the Glottis
moves jufl: equally, therefore the Divifions are double,
the Sides of the Glottis, by their Motion, do actually
divide ohe tenth part of an Inch, we mufl: fay, into two
thoufand andfour hundredParts.
My God, ] defire that never any evil Word may have
my leave to go thro .fo curious a Pa/Jage, and that the
Difpojitic-nsof my Mind m1iynot be Jo vicious and odious,
ns to render Joelegant a Pfl./fage,the vent of fin open
Sepulchre. ' 'Tis fit that nothing but Confeffeonsof
~ God, and K.indnejfes,to Men, ihould have foch an
' exquifite Pfljfagefound for them.'
\Ve cannot leave thcfe Parts, without confidering
Refpiration. A Faculty of foch importance to Life,
that in thefacred Oracles, and indeed in our common
Phr afe alfo, Breath and Life are fo concomitant, as to
be equivalent : Lord, thou takefl away their Breath, and
they die.
'The Ufes of Rt.fpiration were but indifferently af-
figned, until Malpighi's Difcoveries. Wi llis, and
Ma;•ow, and others~ do mention Ufes thereof that arc
not contemptible ; but our 'Thurflon rejects the Opi-
nion of their being the principal, and thinks, 'tis prin ...
cipally to move, or pafs the Blood, from the right to
the left Ventricle of the Heart. Experiments made,
by divers ingenious Men, on frrangled Animals, iiant
· S3 demon--,
 The ChriftianPhilofo
pher~
clemonfirated his Opinion : For which cau(e the lear-
ned EmzuUeralfo efpoufed it, who having reckoned up
no lefs than thirteenUfes of Refpiration, v,hich are of
great confequence, but condpce rather to the Well-
being, t:.an the B eing of the living Creature, he con-
cludes witn a fourteenth, as the chief of all, which is,
Fvr the pa[ftngof the Bl,od thro the Lungr, that is t/,rov.:n
into them by the Heart. Anon come <;Dr. Drake, and he
not only eHablifhes this Notion of RefJ,iration, but alfo
carries it further, and makes it the true Caufe of the
Diafiole of the Heart ; which nenher B, 'clli, nor Lower,
nor Cov.:per,much lch ai;iy before thofe eminent Per-
fons, have , ,·ell accounted for Dr. Lower·has proved,
that the Hr?at is a ftl;if le. The M )tio n of all ft1.uf-
cles does confifl in Co;,Jlri[/ion. This accounts for the
SJJl,,le: but the Hem-t has no Aiitagonifllvlufcle. What
fhall we now do for the Dia/tole ? Great \Vits have
been puzzle d here. But now Dr. Dral.:.emakes the
weight of the incumbent Atm cfphere to be the true
Am~gonifl for all the Mufdes ; which fcrre .both for the
Con!hiccion of the Heart, and for ordinary Refpiratio11.
Dr. CheJneadds yet one Ufe more for this great Fa-
culty and A&ion ; that is, to form the Elaflick Glo-
lmles, of which the Blooddoes principally conlift, and
without which there would be a general Obfl:ruB:ion
in all the capillaryArterie;.
Dr . TYnim-.:rightobferves, the Air can't remain in
the Ltmgs, without being much heated, and thereby
having the Spring of it unbent, and fo become fpeci-
fically lighter than the t'Xternal Air: For which rea-
fon it will, by a known Princ iple in ftf e,hm1icks, give
place to it, and rife to fuch an height, as till it meet
with Air of its own \Veight, and there- it will remain.
But then the Sides of the Blocd-Vijfels, which by the
Jn•lation of the L:mgr were drawn afunder, now,
when the I rmv arc crouded on an Heap, will be
forced to~erher, and fo the Blood contained in them
w ill be broken into innumerable Parts, exceeding
fmau.,
 CJ:be
Chri.ftianPhilofopher.
• 263
(mall, and thereby rendered the fitter to pafs the fc-
veral Strainers of the Body.
Great God! thou hafl in ·thy Hand my Breath and all
my wayr; I refu!ve to ferve thee flS l,11gar I breathe; I
refolve to lookon thy Se;vice as the end for which thou dofl
continuemy Breath ; I refoh.Jeto empLJymy ]~rem.:in thy
Service to the lafl : I will praife thee as well as 1 can to and
in my !aft Breath ; and whenI have no BTeath, I fhall d/J
it hetter.
Behold now the Lungs? a mofr furprizing Piece of
Workmanfhip ! Confult the Defcription of them gi-
ven b'y Malpighi, who fir{l of all d1fcovered their Ve-
ficula ; and by Willis, who, writing after him, has
proceeded upon it yet more accurately, and by Cvwper
in his admirable Tables. 'I'hen fiand and admire the
fVork of Gcd. You can do no otherwife ! \V c will not
meddle with the Controverf y benveen Etmulkr and
TVillis, whether the Vejiculte of the Lungs have any
mufcular Fibres, or no. \Ve will content ·ourfelves
with Galen's Conclufion upon the Parts minifl:ring to
Refpiration, that admirabilemSapientiam teflamur.
While the Fcetus is yet in the Womb (as Dr. Keil
obferves) the Veficles of the Lungs lying flat upon
one another, comprefs all the capillary Blood-Vejfelr,
which are fpread upon them. As foon aswe are born,
the Air, by its Gravity and Elafl:icity, rufhes into the
empty Branches of the Trachea Arteria, and blows up
the V cffels into Spheres : by which means the Com-
preffion being taken off from the Blood-Vejfels, and
they equally expanded with the Lungs, all the Blood
has a free Paffage thro the Pulmonary Artery. But
when the Air is thrufl: out again, by a Contraction of
the Cavity of the Thorax, it being a fluid Body, com-
preffes the Vejicles and Blcod-Vejfels upon them, every
where equally. By this Compreffion, the red G!o-.
bules of the Blood, which thro their languid Moti on, in ·
the Veins, ,.,.ere grown too big to circu late, 111 the hne
capillaryVijfels, are broken, and again divided in the
S4 Serum,
2.64 'TheChrijlian Philofopher.
Ser11m,and the Bloodis made fit for Nutrition and Se~
crction. This PreOure of the Air on the Blood-Vt:Jfel1,
Dr. Keil fays, is equal to an hundred pound \\eight.
It is alfo probable, he thinks, that Particles of the
Air mufi enter the Blood-Vejfels, and mix with the
Blocdin the Lungs.
The Divine \Vorkmanfhip about the HEAR i, who,
that has any Heart, can forbear admiring of it, with
mofi fcriftble Acknowledgments! This is that admi-
rable Bowel, "hich with its inceffant Motion dilhi-
butes the Blood, the Vehicle of Life, throughout the
,vhole Body. From this Fountain of Life and Heat,
there are Conduit-Pipeseven to the Ieufi, yea, and mofi
rem ote Parts of the Body. 'Tis the Machine, which
recei\·es the Blo0dfrom the Veins, and forces it out by
the Arteries, thro the whole Body. The force with
which the Heart fqueezes out the Blood into the Ar-
teries, is, in Borelli's Reckoning, equal to the force
of threetl-:u11Jnnd found i.:eight. For this important Ufo
it is mofi c:xquifitely contrii·ed. Being a mufwlar
J>art, the Sides of it are compofed of two Orders of
Fibres, running circularly or fpirally from the Bafe to
Tip, contrarily the one to the other; and fo being
dnrn n contrary ways, do Yiolently confiringe and
flraitcn the VemricleJ, and firongly force out the Blood.
And then the V cffcls, we call Arterier, which carry
from the Heart to the fereral Parts , hare their
Vnh·es, which open <'11tu·nrds like Trap-doors, and
gin· the B/ord a free PalTagc out of the Heart, but will
;10t foffer any Return of it th:ther; and the Veins,
which bring it back from the fr\'cr.i.1 Members to the
Heart, h,n'.ctheir Valves, or Trap-doors, which open
im.r,irds, .ind gi, e way for the running of the Blood
into the If<',fff, but prevent its running that way back ·
a!.'ain. Morem·cr, the Arteries confifl: of a Qiatlrn[le
Com,the third of which is made up of annular, or
orbicular, carncous Fibres, to a good Thicknefs, and
is of a m11Jrnlilr ~ature, (which w:is firil obfcrred by
Dr.
 'Ihe ChriflianPhilofopher. 1.65
Dr. Wik'is) and this, after every Pulfe of the Heart,
ferves to contract the Veffcl fucceffively with incredi-
ble Celerity, fo by a kind of periflaltickA1otion, forcibly
and very fwiftly impelling the Blood onwards to the
capillaryExtremities, and thro the Mufcles; wherefore
the Pulfe of the A rteries is not caufed only by the Pul-
fation of the Heart, which drives the Blood thro them
after the manner of a Wave, as many would have it,'
but alfo by the Coats of the Arteries themfelves, as it
has been confirmed by the Experiments of many mo-
dern Phyficians, yea, and of Galen alfo. We may add
one thing more, that the Heart and the Brain do nota-
bly enable one another to wqrk; for the Brain cannot
live unlefs it receive continual Supplies of Blood from'
the Heart, much lefs can it perform its Functions of
preparing and of difpenfing the Animal Spirits; nor
can the Heart afford a Pulfe, unlefs it receive Spirits
or fomething defcending from the Brain by the Ner7Jes:
do but cut afunder the Ner7Jesthat go from the Brain
to the Heart, the Motion thereof ceafeth immediately.
For the Motion of the Heart, Monfieur Tauvry flies
to a fubtile Matter managing the Fibresof it, but feems
to acknowledge it a Matter which no Mortal has traced
Jet to SatisfaElion. In fine, the Heart is a compound
lvfufcle, and each Ventricle of it will ( as Dr. Keil ob-
ferves) contain an Ounceof Blood. We may well fup-
pofe the Heart throws into the Aorta an Ounceof Blood
every time it contracts; the Heart contracl:s four thou-
fand times in one Hour, fometimes more, fometimes
lefs ; hence there paffes thro the Heart every Hour four
thoufand Ouncesof Blood, that is to fay, three hundred
and fifty Pound. Now the whole Mafs of Blood is no
more than twenty-five Pound, fo. that a ~antity of
Blood eqqal to· the whole Mafs paffes thro the Heart
fourteen times in oneHour, which is about once in every
four Minutes; not the 7.l'boleMafs itfelf: we don't
foppofe that the Blood which goes to the Extrem it ies,
can
166 The ChrijlianPhilofopher
.
can return to the Heart as foon as the Blood which
toes only to the Kidneys or the Liver.
' Without making any fanciful Excurfions upo n
' Metaphors drawn trom the Figure and Office of the
' Heart, I am fure 'tis infinitely reafonable that I
' fhould behold th is Bowel with a moft hearty arid
' lively Senfe of my Obligations to give thee my Heart>
.' 0 my God, and /07.1e tJ-,ee with all my Heart!'
The Stomach. has in it how many thin gs that are
t ruly admirable! The greatefl: Philofophers have cried
out, 'H ow great a Comprehenfion of Nature did it
' require to make a l'rlmftrrmmthat fhould corrode all
' forts of Fltfh coming into the Stomach, and yet noc
' the Stomach it felt: which is alfo Fhfh !' 'Tis membra-
nous, and capable of being dilated or comrnEled, ac-
cording to the Quantity of Meat contained in it; tho
Situation of it under the Li7.1er,accommodates with
an Heat, that carries on the Concoction;when it has
gone thro with the O;ncoction, it can fhrink itfelf, and
ca!l: out the Food. But, ConcoElion,how performed~
Inform us, Dr. Drake! - There is· in Bodies a
Principleof Dijfolution, which upon the Extinction of
their vital and vegetative Faculty, begins to exert it-
fclf towards the DeflruElionof the Subje&. Th is P rili-
cipleof Corrnptfonis, perhaps, the fame that in :i State
of Circulation and Vegetation was the Principle of Life,
but now being denied that Palfage which it had be-
fore, it makes its way irregularlf, and fo defiroys the
Continuity of the Solids, in which it is included, and
introduces that Change in the whole Mafs which is
called Corr11ptioil.This aElive Principle is a fort of Air,
which is mixed in a confiderable ~:mtity with all
forts of Fluids ; this (tho its natu ral and cficntial Mo-
tion be expanfo ·e or qunquave,fum) when it is intro-
d uced into Bodies, has two kinds of motion, one ex-
panfi,z"', by which it communicates that iuufline J\fo-
tio11which all J uices have, :ind by which the contain-
ing Parts arc gradually extended, and hm·c their
Gro wth;
f
 'The ChrijlianPhilofopher
.
G ro-wth ; but the other progreffive, and indeed circu-
latory, wh;ch is c ccafioned by the Renitency of folid
Pares, and obl iges its taking that Courfe which is
:iuofl:open and free. This A,fotionbeing fiopr, the ex-
panjiw fiill remains, and continues to aB:, till by de-
grees it hat h fo far overcome the Relifiance of the in-
cluding Bodies, as to bring itfelf into an equal de-
gree of E xpanjion with t he external Air, which cannot
b e done wit hout a DeflmElion on the Texture and
Cont inuity, or fpecifick, de ~ree of Coha:lion of the
Solids ; and this is called a State of Corruption. This
deflruEliveQf,tality of the Air in Bodies may be promo-
t ed, either by weakening the Tone of them, and the
Coha-fion of the Par ts , and fo facilitating the Work of
t he Air, as it is don e \'Vhen Fruit is bruifed; or by in-
t end111gthe expanji'lieForce of the Air itfclf with Heat,
or other co-operat ing C ircurnfiances. The former is
done in Maflica tiom, the latter is done by the Heat of
the Stomach, wh ich forcibly rarefying the Air, enable s
it to rend the includin g Bodies to pieces the foone r,
and [o to let loofe the Fluids, and ,perhaps likewife
produce a Comminution upon feveral parts of the So-
lids,fo as to make them fufiainable in the Liquor; which
latter is the Operation t hat compleats the Digeflion in
the Stqmach. In fiewing, tho the Heat be unf peakably
iliort of what is in roaflingand in boiling, the Opera-:
t ion is of all the quickefr, becaufe it is performed in a
pretty clofc Velfel, and fu ll, by which means the Suc-
cujfionrare more often repeated, and more fl:rongly re-
,,erberated. The Operation of the Stomachis mighti-
ly refembled by the Digefior of 1-fonGeur Papin; in
this the frfeat is put, together with fo much Wtzter as
exaB:ly fills the Engine, the Lid is then skrewed on fo
clofe as to admit of no external Air, and with two or
three lighted Charcoal,or the Flame of a Lamp, it is
reduced into a perfeB: Pulp, or indeed a Liquor, in a
very few Minutes, in fix, or eight, or ten, or twelve,
or !ixteen, according to the Toughnefs of the Matter
to
168 The Chrijlian Philofopher
.
t o be digefied, or the Augmentation of this little Fire ;
this way even the hardefl BoneJ are prefently diffol\'ed.
'Thus the StomadJ naturally clofes on the Al iments,
which defcend to it; it firictly embraces them whe rt
it is full; by keeping out extraneous Air, it fortifies
and invigorates the Succuffionsof that which is con-
tained in the Aliments, and this is enab led hereby to
break and refolve the Bodies which included it, into
Particles that may be fmall enough to enter the La-
Realf. \ Vhen all the Ch;me and Chyle is preffed out,
che Stomach, which follows the mot ion of its Contents ,
is again by means of its mufcular Coat reduced into 3.
State of Contracl:ion, and the inner is brought there-
by to lie in Folds, and by means of the Periflaltick lvlo-
tion rubbing lightly upon one another, pr oduce that
Senfe of a Vrllicatim which we call Hunger : this being
felt firfi i~ the upper O rifice, which is firfl crncuated,
begins firft therefore to prompt us to repleni!hing ;
but as by degrees .the rei11ainder of the Contents arc
expelled, t his FriB:ion of t he Membranes upon each
other, fpreads gradually m·er the whole Stomach, and
renders our Hunger more impatient.
Great God, I blefs thee for all my Food. ftl y gracious
Feeder, I Uefs dee that I have i/Ot kno..:..·u
the terrible F,z-
mine. I will take 110 Food-u:ithoutlooking11p to theefar thy
B !e[ling, by which alone I live !
The lm efliues; thefe receive the ChJit?. from the P;-
loruJ; thcfe further digefl: it,• prepare it, feparatc it:
t hcfe by their perifl:altick M ot ion drire it into the
Lacrcals ; but the excrememitious Parts thcv fend off
clfc\\ here, from w hence there is no regre.fs, unlcfs
upon a Rclax'ation or Laceration befalling the Valve
of th e Co!(Jn. Can you behold the Stru cl:ure of the ln-
ufi.'nes, as reported by K erkri11,~i11s,by Gli./Jo11,by TVil-
/is, and PcJa, and others, without Afl:onifl1ment !
The lm iflin,?_
r, 'ri s wonderful, they are fix times as
long a5 the E d_vto which they appertain ; and uow
th:1t they !hould k e<:p their Tone,and their Site, and
hold
 TheChriftianPhilofopher. 269
hold on doing their Office, and give an undiflurb'd
Pa.Hage to what every day pafles thro them, and this
for fome Scores of Years together, ~tis impoffible for
me to confider it without falling down before the glo-
rious God, and making that Acclamation, U/hat haft
thou done in me, 0 thou Prefarverof Men! How much do
I depend upon theefor my Preferruation from grie'UowDif-
eafes!
'The Liver does admirable things, in continually fe-
parat ing the Choler from the Blood, and emptying it
into the lnt,flines, where it is ufeful, not only to pro-
voke Dejection, but alfo to attenuate the Chyle, and
render it fo fubt ile and fluid, that it may enter at the
Orifices of the Lac1eals.
'The Bladder is an admirable Veifel ! 'The Subfl:ance
is membranous,and extremely dilateable, for the recei-
ving and conta ining of the Urine, till a convenient op-
portunity of emptying it; it hath alfo Shuts for the
Ends of the Ureters, which are fo artificially and mar-
v~lloufly contrived, as to give the Urine a free entrance,
but frop all palTage backward: the Windit[elf cannot
be tranfmitted thro the Shuts, tho never fo firongly
forced upon them !
In the Kidneys, how admirable the innumerable Si-
phonr, the little and curious Tubes, conveying the uri-
nous Particles into the Ureters! difcovered firfl: by Bel-
lini, afterwards illuflrated by Malpighi.
Leuen/;oeckhas diCcm·ered VelTels in an Human Bo-
dy, t~e Diameterswhereof are more than feventy-nine
thoufand times le[s than an Inch; and, as Dr. Wainright
obferves, at leait fo fmall mufl: be the Diameters of the
Lafleals. My God, how exquijite, how curious are thy
Tf/orks! But then huw much do I dependuponthee to keep
all the 0.jfels of my Body, doingtheir Officein their order!
- That fo fine an Engine is not ruin'd a thoufand
times in a day, but holds on in its motion for twenty-
fiw thoufand.fi:uehundredandjixty-fevm Days ! .
All
 The Chriftian Philofoph
er.
All the G!,mds of the Body, each ot them an adm i-
r able Congeriesof many V ctleis, m a fiu pcndous Va-
r iety, curled, compl i<.:a
te d, circUmf,.ryrated, and mar -
,·cllouOy woven into one an ot her; thefe give the Blcod
a n opportun ity to flop a little, and foparate thro the
P ores of the capil,ary Ve{fels into the fecretory ones ,
which after all exonerate into one common D u[fos.
R ead Wharton~ and Bartholin, and Bi[fius, and othe rs;
but prepare always for a F ield of Wonders, equal to
any in the Freidof Z Mn ! - But t hen con!ider too
t he Variety of Humours that are feparatcd by the
Glands; all differen t in Colour, in Tafie , in Smell,
a nd in ot her Qualities.
The B ones, how admirable in their Circumfiances !
T he Back-boneis contrive d with an Artifice t ruly afl:o-
n ifh ing ! I t is d ivided into many Vertebres, for the
commodious bending; one entire and rigid Bone of that
le ngth would hare been oft en in danger of fnapping ;
it is tapering, in the form of a Pillar, the lower Vme-
bres being the broa defi: and Iargdl:, t he fupe rior in or-
d er lelfer and Idler, t hat fo t he Tr unk of the Body
may ha,·c t he greater Stab ility : but the feveral Verte-
bres arc fo elegantly compacted and uni t ed, t hat they
ar c as fir m and {hong as if they w ere but one finglc
Bone; they arc all perforated in t he middle, with a
b.rge H ole for the Spinal l\1an-ow ( that wondrous
Pith!) to pafs along, anJ each 0f them hath an Hole
on e:i.ch of their fides, to tranfm 1t the N~rves to the
ft [ufclesof the Body, and thereby conn~y both~ Scnfc
and Mo t ion. By the clofe Co nne=tion of the V;,rte/;res,
th e Back-bom is fonned fo as to admit of no great
F lexure and R ecefs from a right L ine; it alfo :1dmits
n o angular, nor any but a moderate lircu!,1 bend1n~,
lcfl: the Spinal !tftzrrow f110uld be compn :Jcd :ind fo
t he Palfo~eof the Spirits to and fro meet \\ 1th fomc
O hfiruB:ion.
Dr. Grew obfcrvcs, that in 7', ees t here is a new Rin ~
added cYcry Year out of the Bark to the \\ ood; fo
too
 'The_Chriflian
Philofopher.
too in Animals while they grow, there is a new Peri-
3

ofiium added from time to time out of the mufcular

Membranes to the Bones : The Jweet Harmonywith the
vafi Variety in the 11/orksof God !
Admirable the Provifion that is made for the more
eafy and expedite Motions of the Bonesin their Arti-
culations : a twofold Liquor is prepared, by the In-
unction whereof their Heads or Ends enjoy fome Lu-
brificat ion; firfi, there is an oily one, furnifh' d by the
Marrow; and tl}en there is a mucilaginousone, furnifh-
ed by certain Glandules, that are feated in their Arti-
culations; both of thefe together make up -the moft
proper Mixture for this pu_rpofe that ci,in poffibly be
thought upon; both of the Ingredients are luhricating.
But more than this, from their Compofition they mu-
tually improve ·one another ; the !11ucilageadds to the
fo1oothing Efficacy of the Oil, and the Oil preferves
the /ltfucilagefrom Infpiffation, and from contracting
the Confifrency of a Jelly. Hereby the Motion of the
Bones is facilitated; for if they were dry, they would
not readily obey the Pulls of the motoryMufcles, which
we find in the vVheels of our Clocks; the ends of the
Bones are hereby alfo kept from an inconvenient /nca-
lefcency,which, if they were dry, being fo hard, a
fwift and long Motion would neceflarily give to them;
and thus the Wheels of our Coaches mufi be befmear-
ed with a Mixture of Greafe and 1ar (an Imitation of
ours!) that they may l1ot be fet on fire. What a flvth-
ful World mufl: we have had, and how confined to
Deliberation, if this Care had not been taken of our
Bones! And finally, a great Mifchief is now prevent-
ed, the Ends of our Bonesare not worn down, by a grie-
vous Attrition in their motion rubbing againfi: one
another ; 'tis indeed a frrange thing that this proves a
fufficient Prefervative to 1 prevent the Confumption of
the Bones, when we fee the tops of Teeth, which are
harder, worn off by Maftication, and brought fo low,
that the very Ner'Velies bare, and for meer Pain they
can
 'TheChrifl-ian
Philofopher.
can be ufed no more. The ingenious Mr. Haver,,
who makes thefc Remarks in his 0fleo/~gy,makes this
Conclulion : Here we cannotavoid the noticeof the vifib!e
Foot{lepsof an infinite Renfw, and wecan nMJerfufficiemly
admire the Wifdom and Providenceof our great Creator!
\Ve may add, ,vonderful the OmflruElionof the Bones,
that are to fupport the Body, or bear heavy Burdens,
or be employed in difficult Exercifes ; they are made
ho/.'ow,this wonderfully accommodates them for both
Lightnefs and Stiffizefs; an hollowBody is more inflexible
than a fa/id one, of the fame Subfiance and Weight:
but the Rips, which do not carry Loads, nor do any
thing wherein fo much Strength is required, but arc
only to fehce the Breafl:, thefe have no Cavity in them,
and thefe, towards the fore part of them, are broad
m1d thin, fo that they may give way, •without much
danger of any Frafture ; and when they arc bent, they
do by their el,iflickPropertyag~in return to their Fi-
gure : and yet the Hollowof the Bones is not ufclefs,
but it contains the Marrow, which fupplies an Oil, for
the Maintaining and Inunction of the Bones, and of
the Ligaments, and facilitating their Motion, and to
fecure them from Difruption, to which they would
by any fudden Contortions be otherwifc obnoxious.
1 'he mention of the Ribs will bring on one Obferrn-
tion more; That altho the Breafl is cncomp::i0cd with
Ribr, the BeL'yis lcf~ free; this is, that it may girc
way to the motion of the Midriff in Refpiratiou, and
to the neceffary reception of our. Food, and to the con-
\'enient bending of our Body. The Females alfo find
the Benefit of it in the time of their Pregnancy. Great
God, all my Boues11111ft Ja_v,v.:/;oir like to tf-ce! I bl~{sthee
for that thott dofl uot chaflm the multitud11 of my Bo1:erwith
firong Pain!
It cannot be without Admiration looked upon, that
nil the Bones, and all the /llufi/es, and all the Vijfcls of
the Body, fhould be fo com rived, fu adapted and com-
paclcJ, for their fercrnl Motio ns and Vfi:s ! All ac-
cordinf;
 'TheChrijlianPhilofopher. 2 73
cording to the ftricl:efl:Rules of the Mathematicks! If
you attempt an Innovation or Alteration, you mar all
ihfiead of mending any thing. In the Mufcles alone
there is more Geometrythan in all the artificial Engines
jn the World; the greatefl: Mathematicians have not ·
found a nobler Subject for their Difquifitions and
Contemplations than de Motu Animalium. The Efiays
of Croon, and Steno, and Borelli, on that Subject, have
been very curious.
Dr. Grew obferves, that no lefs than forty or fifty '
Mufcles, be!ides many other fub[~rvient Pares, go to
execute that one Ail of Laughing; certainly then laugh.:.
ing for nothingmay be indiB:ed for an Ail ofFolly! He
goes on with his Obfervation, That in fome Cafes we
cannot execute one fingle Thought wii:hout fuch a Re..;
tinue. Suppofe one fitting in a Room has a T hought
of looking at fom.ething out of a Window, that one
Thought has immediately feventy or eighty Mufcler put
into inotion to wait upon it; fa that, fays the Doctor>
there is not a Monarch upon Earth Jerved with f uch Maje.:.
fly a.r every Man is within the Territory of /;is ov.:nBody:
But then how reafanableis it, 0 Man, for thee to fcrre
the Maker of all thefo ! Glorious God, I will do it with all
myMufi/es, v:ith all 1j1JP07.J..'ers
! .
Dr. Grew has a further Obferv:ttion ; \,Vhat can be
more admirable, than for the Principles of the Fibr~s of
n Tendon to be fo mixed as to make it a foft Body, fit
both to receive and impart the Species of Senfe, and to
be eafily notuilhed and moved, and vet with fuch :t
Softnefsto have the Streni,thof Iron! ·
Thofe l'v!ufcleswhich appear as contemptible as any
of the Body, even the Mufcles of the Belly, tho Galm,
and other Anatomifis after him, have contented them ...
felves ,vith reckoning four or five Ufes of them, they
are indeed more than can be reckoned. Dr. Gre'1.'.1 has
employed althofi a· large Page in the Enum erati on.
'Tis admirable that under our Skin there fliould bi
ftich an unlmo,vn varietjof Patts, and fo rery rnri oufly
~r_ mingled,
174 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
mingled, all fo p::ick'd that there is no unnece.ffa,yVii-
cuity in the whole Body, yet fo far from clafh1ng with
:md hindring of one another, that they do all in the
moll: friendly manner confpireto affill:one another, and
concur in the general De1i~n, which is the Preforrn-
rion of the whole. Behold, A;·gwnmts (as our pious
Ray well notes hereupon) of infinite Wif dom and Oiun-
fel ! He mufl be 1cvrfathnu mad, that ca11find in his Heart
to imagineall not provided by a 1110ft j.cife and ime/i'igent
Caufe!
Every Part is clothed, joined, corroborated by
,vfembranes,which are capable of a prodigious Extcn-
fion ; thofe of the Ptriton.:rzmzarc a particular fofl:ance
of that, out of which alone, in hJdropicalPe1fonr, there
have been drawn forty Gallons of \Vater, by a Pnra-
centejis. The undoubted Authorities of Tulpius, and
Blafius, and other Phyficians, oblige us to bcliere fur-
prizing things of this Importance.
It is notable, that all our Organs are involved in
Coats, one or more, confifling of tough or mufcular
Fibres, intend ed not only to proteE1them, as has been
commonly thought, but alfo by a due Con!lrifoon to
affifi them in fl.-a;niugoff their feveral Contents.
Thefe Part~ which at firll appear to be of no more
ufe than to hll up empty Spaces, will upon Exam ina-
tion be found exceeding ferviceablc. The Filt fen·es
to cherifh the Body, and keep it warm; yea, Will
maintain it for fome time, when Fvod is wanting, and
be as a fulphurous Pabulum,to preforve the Hwt of the
Blood. By what Vetlcls the Fiu comes to be foparatcd
from the Blood, is a Point of curious Enquiry ; the
collection of it more on fome certain Pares (as the Cmd
and the Reim) than on others, appears to be for the
chcri{hing of thofc Parts with U/4mmh; the Cmd is
like an Apron of lf/iioi.'en Clut/Jto the lower Belly. The
Gladiatoi-,whofc Gm/ was cut out by Galen, felt fo
much Cold, that he was forced co11lbntly to keep his
Belly covered with Wool/. The lmejlhm containing
much
 rhe ChriftianPhilofopher.
much Food, there to undergo its iafi Concocriou, and
Veffels of Blood not flowing thi ther, 11eed fuch a Co~
veting to defend them ; doubtlefs a confb.nt Heat is re-
quired about the R eins, for the Separat ion of t he Urine
from the Blood : for \•.:efee if the Blocd be ,chilled, the
Secretionof the Urine will be fenfibly fiopt, and the
Serum cafr upon the Glandu/es of the Mouth and
Throat.
Monfieur Bernoulli,in a curious Meditation about
mufcular Motion, has obferved another thing, that mult
not be pretermitced; that in mufcular Motion the Ex-
pence of Animal Spirits is not in proportion to the La-
bour which the Animal is at : and fo a Man reduc~d
to hard Labour, is not reduc' d to the neceffity of ha ..
ving twice or four times :as much Victuals as one that:
is under no fuch neceffity of ·working. Now the Spi-
rits are the moil precious things in all the Animal Body,.
we live by them; fo needful and ufeful a Subfiance
was to be faved by all the Means that were poffible.
And behold, as Dr. Cheyneexprefies it, -u.·efee the wife
Author of Nature has taken v..w1deiful.Care that no Expen-
cesfhould be made that could be avoided.
It has been obfen·ed by fome, that to provide Mat~
ter for the generation of Spirits in Man, a vafr ~anti-
ty of Blocd is prepareJ, far exceeding what is found in
other Animals. The Blood for the Body of l'vfan bears
the Proport ion to his vVeight, of cne to ten; in other
Animals 'tis but oneto twenty. And for the fetching of
Spirits out of this Matter, there is the Laboratoryof the
Brain, which in a Man is twice as much as in a B::ajl
four times as big.
It is Dr. Cheyne's Propofition, That the Smngth of
Animals is in a triplicateProportion to che ~antity of
Blood running in the Veffels.
The Lympha of the Blood is a rnarveilous thin~;
a Liquor feparated in the !Hembranesand Glandules,
which is the Medium whereby the ferous and fibroui
Parts of the Bloodare united, and .the Bonesand m~m-
,· · T l. irmt9ut
 'I11eChriftianPhilofopher.
branous P,'.irts of the Body arc nourifhed. But how
marrcllous the Lymphntick Vi.Jfels,which convey this
exquifite Liquor ! They <lifappear when the Anim,1l
dies; the ir number is unaccountable : they were firfr
of all difcoYered by Thomas Bnrtho!inand 0/,zur Rudbeck,
in the Years 1050 and 165 1. Pecker made a progrefs
in the difcovery of them; and their Valves were dc-
monflrated by Frederick RuJfch, which permit this
tranfparent Liquor to pafs thro them to,vards the
Heart, but are like fhut Floodgatesupon the returning;
they rife in all Parts of the Body. The Glandr that
feparatc the Lympha are of the fmallcfl kind, and fcarcc
\·iliblc by the finefl JWcrofcopes;but the LJmphaduEh
unite with one another, and grow larger as they ap-
proach the Heart; and yet they do not, like the Veinr,
open into one common Channel. -- The whole Con-
trivance of thefe fine Ve.Jfelr,,vho can behold without
Amazement!
About the Blood, this is admirable; the Branches
which go off at any fmall difi.ance from the Trunk of
an Artery, unite their Channels into one Trunk again,
whofe Branches likewifc communicate with one ano-
ther, and with others; whence it comes to pafs (as
Dr. Keil obfen-es) that when any fmall A•·tery is ob-
firuB:ed, the Blood is brought by the communicating
Branches to the Parts below the Obfirufcion, which
mufl: othcrwifc h:n-e been deprived of their Nourifh-
rnent. And in the Veins there is the like Pro rifion,
that fo jufl:ly furprizes us in the Artcrier.
,The Vifiidity of the Blood is increaCed by the Heat
in a Fever; if we apply a much lefs degree of Heat
than will boil \Vater, it will turn the Smm: imo a
Jelly; the H.-:ztof the Skin, where the Pulfc will beat
fixty Strokes in a M inute, is to the Heat of boiling
1Vater as 16 to p ; boiling lVntcr is but little more
than three times as hut as the Blcod of an healthy Man.
If the Heat of the Bluod increafc in proportion to the
Beat of the Pulfc (as it mufi-,if it be-atwith the fanic
Strength
 'TheChriflianPhilofopher. 2.77
Strength it did) a Man whofe Pulfe beats 195 Strokes
in a Minute, woul_d be as hot as boilingWater; now
120 .Srrokes is c~munon. Behold whence the Si-1.,inefs
of the Blood in inflammatory Difl:empers !
' Why fhould I finfully o'Ver-heatmy Blood? But
' fince my Life depends on the good Confl:itution of
' ~his red Liquor, which is yet fo eafily depraved, fo
' eafily diflurbed, fo eafily orerturned; 0 God of my
' Life, I uonder that I /i<ve! I de.fireto li'Ve as a dying
: /t,fmz! But J li'Ve, bernufethou art the God of my Life!'
But at lafl: the lnflrument all this while employed in
writing thefe things, that ~ofy<tm ·or,-,hc.iv, demands of
me that it be not forgotten ; the HAN n, the HAN o,
whereof I need no Ciceroto be my Monitor, Q!fam
aptas, ·quamquernultarmnArtium Miniflras, J\1.ANUS>
Natura 1:ominidedit ! It is divided into four Fingers>
bending forwards, and one {l:ronger than any of them
that bends backwards, to join with them; 'tis fitted
thus to lay hold on Objects of any fhape, or fize, or
quantity; and fometimes one Finger alone can dif-
ch~rgc many Offices: the Fingersare fl:rengthned with
feveral Boner, jointed for motion, fornifhed with Muf-
~les and Tendons, to bend them circularly forwards;
how ~onvenient this for the holding and griping of
any ObjeEt ! The Fingers alfo have their Mufcles, to
extend and open the Hand, and move them to the
right and left ; and thus the whole Hand may be em-
ployed, as all of a piece.
But then how notable is it, how wonderful! That
the Tendons bending the middle 1oint of the Fingers
are fo perforated,as to give paffage to the Tendonsof
the .Mufcler,vhich draw the uppermofr Joints, and all
bound clofe down to the Bonewith {lrong Fillets, like
fo many Bow-firings, Iefl: they fuould frart up, and
1 hinder the Hand in its Operations: finally, the Ends
of the Fingers arc fortified with Nails, which indeed
adornthem as well as defendthem ; yea, and have their
further Ufes too, if what C~mi/luswrites in his Trea-
' . T 3 . tifc
z78 'The Chrijlian Philofophe
r.
rife upon the forming of Judicia Jl,[t:dicnfrom the In~
{peB:ion of the l\~lils, may be relied upon : and how
t hin the Skin, and how cxqui!ite the Senfe at our Fin-
gers-ends, by which we may judge of what we ham
there to be handled! \Ve know who con!idered this
Q?cfiion, and how long ago ; l\/11menm omuinoCunfli-
tutiottem habeat Manus, quameliurem nliam hnbere 110ii
potuit?
The Ufes of this nflonifbiuglnffrumem cannot be rec-
koned up; a whole Book written by it, might be eafily
filled with an Enumeration of its Ufes. Arijlot!e fays
w ell, T hey do ill who complain that Man is worfe dealt
v,·ith than other Creatures, who arc born with 11atural
1Veapo11r to defend thcmfelvcs, and offend their Ene-
mies ; an Hnn:I, with . Renfon to ufc it, abunda nt ly
fupplies the Ufes of all thofe umuml fVeapcm; ' t is an
.fiorn, an Hoof~ a Claw, a Ttjh, and all ! Dr. Grew fays
very t ruly, Never was there made rm lnflmment Jocu-
,·ious! T he Gxteen feveral general ftlotio,irof it are the
Elements of Opermioz, as the Letters are of Speech; how
infinitely to be divcrfified ! \ Vh:it fhall " e call t his
but the Handy--1::ork of our God!
Galen having dcfcribed the Parts of t he Fingers, and
t heir Motion, cries out:, Conjiderahie mirabi!emCR E-
.A TOR IS S.1piemiam!
c ·when I apply my Haud to any AEli()nwhich could

' not be done ,vithout it, I have my !11ind i1witcd to

c fuch a Thought upon it; Great God, I blefs thee J~r
' mmiilg me with Jo curium n11dJoadapted an lnjlrument !
c 11/.1y 1 nc'I.Je-1tmgra1cf11lly
put forth my Rmd to m, e'Vil
c AE1ic;:.'
• c Such n Thought often rolling in my l\Jind, and
• ruling of my Hand, would be a better 'Tokmfor Good
' to me, than the moil promifing Li;:fs of any filly
~ Chirom,mry.'
· VvlzmtaYyi\-101icn fhonid not Le left unconfidcred ;
whereof Dr . C/:erne obfen·cs, the only Conception w e
can form, is, that the 111ir:d,like a skilfol Mufician,
~rikc~
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
llrikes on that Nerve which conveys An imal Spirits to
the Mufcle that is to be contracted, and adds a greater
force than the natural to the nervous 'Juice, whereby it
opens its pa{fage into the Veficles, of which the muf-
wlar Fibres confift; but this Atl:ion of the.Mind or
Will on thefe Animal Spirits, is altogether unaccountable
from the Laws of Motion. lVlyGod, in thee I move !
The aflonifhing Pvwer of fponta'¥1eous Motion is what thou
haft given me ! Oh ! may I newr emplo y it in any Afls of
,RebellionagrzinflHim that gave it.
Certainly Men may do well alfo to confider, whe-
ther the very Configurationsof feveral Parts, may not
afford good and great Admonitions of Morality to
them. I need not explain my felf, when I offer an
Hint I have fomewhere met withal : Pcnde1·,0 Afan,
11JhatParts of thy Body have Bridles of Nature uponthem!
Some Confidcration is alfo due to the aftoni{hing
Smngth with which the Bones of Men have been fome-
times endued. The Strength for which a Samfon has
been fo famous, was indeed owing to a Pofleffion and
Affifiance of a Spirit entring into him from above;
but the ordinaryStrength of our Nerves, exerted in mo-
ving and lifting, is truly admirable ; the Force of the
nervous Fluid! And the Ability of the little Fibres, to
fufiain what it puts them on! And there are now and
then, fince the Days of Jl,filothe Ox-carrier, Examples
of Stm,gth, which will yec more flrongly call for our
growing Admiration ; it would fwell my E1k'lyfo big,
that it would require a Man of fuch Strength to carry
it, if on this and other Occ:.~fionsI fhould infert all
that has occurred to our purpofe, in Valerius Ma ximur,
jn C:cliusRhodiginus, in Zuinger, in Came,·arius, in Hake-
well, in Tf/rmly,and in other Collectors ; hoWC\'er, a
touch or two may not be unacceptable.
The Tyrant l\11tximus would with his Hands draw
loadcn Carts and TVizins,break the Bones of Hoif er, and
cleave T rees afundcr. Jl;[arius,who of a Curler became
an Empe1w, could with his fourth Fing er fl:op a Cart
T _4 t~at
i8o Chrijlia,iPhilof~pher.
e:I11e
that wac; drawn with Horfos, and force it backwards~
and a Fillip of his Finger ·(which they alfo report of
Tiberius) would knock a Man down like a Blow of an
Rimmer. One Sa/vim, n1entioned by Pliny, having an
/;u11dred-Ppzmd1 weight at his Feet, and as many in his
ff~11d1,"~ith twice as much 011 his Shoulders,coµld go
up a Nir of Stairs. GuJrgeCaflriotwith his maffy Sci-
1uter ?id amazing Executions, he cµt the Turks to
pieces, Barletiu1affirms, t?ree thoufand of them with
his own Hands, and fcorn µ ever to thr~nv away mor~
than oue Blow upon an Objecl: ; he could cleare Helmet
~nd Haruefs, as if they were but Str~w before him.
~ardan faw one dancing with two in his Arms, two
on h:s Shoulders, and one hanging about his Neck.
A Baron of Mi;tddheim would with his middle Finger
do things that furpafs Imagination; he wpuld fl1m·c ~
Cm.ncn where he plc~fed; he would break Ho1fe-fboes
with his Hands like Pot.fherds; (which is a Circum-
fiance they alfo relate of Powva, a PolifbGentleman.)
Little Veuetirme!lo would '\ 'ith his Htlnds ,\·reach great
Pins of Iron, as if they were foftned with the Fire, and
~arry on his Shoulders an erect Beam of twenty foot
lrng and a foot thick, and fhift it without tJ1e ufe of
Hands from one Shoulder to another. A Prornfi at
]tfijnn would make nothing with his bare Ha11d1to
fetch a Pipe of \Vine om of a Cellar, and lay it on a
.Cart. lV/a;olusaffirms he faw a Man who took a Pillar
of 1farble three foot long, and one foot in diameter,
which he c;tfi up very high into the Air, and recei\·cd
jt again in his Arms, ;ir, d pl:ly'd with it as a little
Ball ; and another who would bre~k a Cableas big as
~ Man's Arm, as e::dilyas if it were a Thread of T-u:ine,
Frcifnrd, a faithful Hiflorian, tells of a 1-fanwho would
make nothing to carry a great Afr, "ith all his Lend,
µpon his Back. The Stories ,\e ha\·e of the mighty
J3ur<lens carried by fomc of our Cornifh}.kn, related
py Mr. Carew, and others, are truly wonderful, ·

~an
 'Ibe ChriflianPhilofopher.
Can we now do any other than fall down before the
glorious GO D, who has given fuch Strength to the
Ghildren of Men, as if their Strength were the Strength
Brafs; (and yet, when God
of Stones,or their Plefh 'l.!)ere
pleafes, crufh'd beforethe Moth !) wi;h the antient Ado-
ratio!1, 0 Lord Go~ of Hofts, who is a ftrong (;od like to_
thee!
· I conclude with the pathetical Words of an out-
landi{h Doctor qf PhiJofophy; 0 Deus, ft totiuJ Corporis
mei Membra ,,,ertrre]!turi7!Linguas, Nominis tui mag11ift-.
rentia11fenarrarenonpoffen..1-
But i11M A N, mufi that haye the /aft ConGdera_.
tion, the State whereof,. alas, is that which too com-
monly is the /aft confidered ! Tl}~ SOUL, which
has mufiered the many Thoughts wh~rewith our Chri-.
flianPhilofoplW.has fill' d his Pages,mu!l: mnv be thought
upon. But oh ! How rrn1ch is tpe f'ather ~fSpirits to
be herewith acknowledged and glorified ! Even the
Pa~an Orator :!hall be our Monitor; 1am'VeroAmmum
ipfum, MentemqueHominis, Rationem, Conjilium, Pruden-
tiam, qui non Di'Vina Cura pefef/a cjJeperfpicit, is his
ipjis Rebus mihi 'Videturcarere.
'Tis high tirrie for us now to take the SOUL of
~an into our Goptempl{ltion. The SOUL, where-
of 'Juvenal,

Senfum aca:leftidemij/um traxim1:1,s

arce,
Cujus egentprona, & terramfpef/;mtia.-:-~

The SO U L, whereof Claudian,

--- H£c fala manet, buftoquef uperftes

Evolat. --

And if our Philofophyterminate in Theology, the fur.:

prizing Words of a Pagan Phyfician will be proper to
be introduced on the Occafion: 0 Galen, we Profef-
fots of Chriftianitywill be thy furprized He.\r~rs,while
thoq
 er'heChrijli,1nPhilofopher.
thou fpcakefi at this rate to us: Si quis nu!li Seil.x a.J.-
(liE1us,fed /ibern fentmtia rernm Confide,mioneminierit
confpicatusin tmzta Caruium & Succorumco!iu'llietaman:
Mmtem habitare,- (omnia enim declarantOpificisSapi-
tntiam,) -- pe1feE1i[ftmtt 'lheologii:cverum priucipium con-
flitrm ; qui:cTheologiamu/to efl major atque puflnntior to-
ta Medicina. [De ufu Part. lib. 17. c. 1.] \Vonderfol
.\Vords from a Pagan Ph_ifician !
'The fiupendous F acultics of the Sou L !
The T¥ifdom, with which a SouL may perform
:wonderful things. 'Tis the Wifdom that Godputs into
the Heart of a Solomon.
The Performances of that reaching Phi!ofophy,
which we have feen fagacious Minds endued withal,
they have been amazing ones !
The Performances of the PolitiLjtm, h. fometimes
been as amazing as thofe of the Philofopl:er.
Men of a Great Soul, \\ hat afionifhing things have
t hey arrived unto !
And yet, I will venture to fay, the Love of GOD
in the Soul, or a Principle ~fGrace infufed into it, is a
Divine Warkmaufhip, that is more nohlethan all its o-
ther Faculties, and will unf peakably enablethem all.
I ha\·e read, in the Afceticks, ofa Servant of God, a
Patfage of th is Importance: 'I am not unable to write
' in Jeveu Lm1gw1ges; I feafr myfelf with the Sweets
' of all the S,imces, which the more polite part of
' :Mankind ordinarily pretend unto. I am entertained
' with all kinds of Hiflories, anticnc anc.lmodern. I
' am no Stranger to the Curiofitie1,which by all forts
~ of Learning are brought to the Curious. Nercr-
' thclcfs, it appears unto me more valuable than all of
' th is, it appears more dclcftable, it is a th ing of a
' fup eriour Chara etcr, with a true Spirit of Charity,
' to relieve a poor, mean, mifcr:ible Neighb our ;
' much more ro do any cxtenfi\·c Service for the Re-
' drcfs of thofc EDidemicall',Jiferies, under wh ich l',fmz-
... 'kind
 'TheChrijlictnPhilofophfr.
' kind in general is langui!hing, and to advance the
' Kingdomof God in the \Vorld.' .
RE As o N, what is it, but a Faculty formed by.,
G o o, in the Mind of Man, enabling him to difcern
certain Maxims of T ruth, ,vhich God himfelf has efia~
blifhed, and to make true Inferences from them ! In all
the Dictates of Reafon, there is the Voiceof God. When-
ever any reafonab/ething is offered, l have Go o fpeak-
ing to me. Behold a Method in which a Man, (who
will fhew himfe!f a /11rzn,and hearkento Reafon) may
fill his Life with A8 s of Obedienceto Goo! Whatever
I fee to be Reafan, I will comply with it, from this
Confideration, 'tis ·u.:hat G o D calls me to! Reafon
extends to Points of Morality, with as much Evidence
as to thofe of Mathematicks. 'Tis as evident, that
G o o, my /11aker, is to beglorified; and, that I am to
do as l wouldbe doneunto ; as it is, tbat three and four
makes feven ; or, that a Squareis douhleto a Triangle, of
equalBafe and Height. May the Fear of Goo for
ever preferve me from doing any thing, whereof I
may fay, it feemsto me unreafonrzble.
The prodigious Learning, wherewith fome great
L iterators have been enriched ! Ideas, like the Sand;
on the Sea-fhore,for the vafi variety of them ! There
have been Men of fo extenfive a Genius, that they
ha\'e been worthy to have a Celebration of their Ob-
fcqnies, in as many Languages as were thofe of Pei-
reskius : A Colleaion whereof, entitled Pangloffia,had
in it no fewer than forty Languazes.
\V e fee fometimes a much richer Soul than that of
Toflatus; of whom yet BeUarminefays,

Hie jlupor eflmundi, qui fcilile difcutit omne.

What a Ch4racter could Vives give of his Bud12usi

Cafaubon reports of 'Jvfe ,ph Scaliger, There is nothingthat
any ]l,I,.mcoulddejire to learn, but that he was able to
teach: Hr.:had read ncthing, (~nd )'et what had he not
read!)
 'Ibe Chrijlian Philofopher.
,end?) Lut what /;e did 1·eadilyremember. Salmajius
gives a Report, little fhort of this, concerning Cafau-
&on. Voetius and Voffius, how do they celebrate the vafl:
Erudition of our Ujber! Others ,vill or may do as
much for theirs. Bcc/Jartis rarely mentioned without
the Epithet of the incomparnUe. Grotius was no litrle
Man~Se/den was not much fmailer than he, both con-
cluding their LiYes with Tdl:imonics to the Preference
of real Pitty, before all their Skill in Languages and
Science1.
My dear Witjiur, l:itely dead, mufl: for c,·er live in
the Catalogue of v;oudeifulMen; and Mr. Baxter too !
Of thefe two, and of fome others, what Ambera-
,~s writes of Zuinger, may be the confummate Elogy;
Cujur magnafitit Dol:1rir.a,fad e..:igun,.fi cum Pietate COIZ-
faratur. Such was he, of whom I am going to repeat
, .,·hat I have heretofore allerted ; had I Learning
enough to manage a Caufe of tl~at nature, I !hould b'e
1eady to maintain, that there nercr ,vas knov,:n under
the {:!)p!!of Heflyen a more learned Man than the in-
comparable AL STE D IU S; he has written on evc-
:ry one of the Subjecl:sin the whole Circleof Leanih:g as
nccurately and as cxquifitely as thofe Men who ha\·e
fpent all their Li\·es in cultivating but any one of the
Subje&. The reafon why many of his Compof'ures
arc no more efl:eemed, is the Pleouajinof their \Vorth,
:incl their deferving fo much Efl:eem. To hear fomc
J:lly and !hf11yMen, with a fcornful Sneer, talk as if
they had fofiiciently done his Bu!inefs, by a foolif11
Pun, of AJ/J-tedioru,is to fee the ungrateful and ex-
alted Folly of the World; for Co;uifmefsis one of his
peculiar Excellencies: they might more jufily call him
:my thing than tedious.
The early Attainments and Atchie\·cmems of fome,
hare been the juft Admiration of the World. }.tr.
Baillet has drawn up a curious Lift of illuflriourYowls.
 'TheChrif!ianPhilofopher.
\Nhen I fee fuch Men, and their Works, I mull: for
ever look off, and look up to the glorious God, and ac-
knowledge, Great God, thou art the Father of thefe
Lights! 'Thefehad noth;ng but what they recei,uedfrom
thee! And if fuch Perfe£lions may be found in frail and
weak Men; what, Oh! what are the Excellenciesof tbe in-
finite God, before whom al/ thefe Men are but as the Drop
of the Bucket, and the light Duft of the Balance! But
when I confider how far the finful Children of Men ·
may come to have the Chambers of their Souls filled
with prai ous things, it leads me to think, What is that
MA N, who is more than a meer MA N ! 'ThatMA N
who is the Son of God! 0 God, the Hea7Jensdo praife thy
TVonder! BOOKS which have in them vafi: A-
mazements of mofi 7JaluableTreafure,-, cannot well be
laid out of our Hands without fuch ·Thoughts as
thefe.
But what !hall we fay when we fee the va!t
Performancesand Capacities of forne S O U L S, from
which the want of Bod;ty Senfes would have prohibited
all our Expectations of any thing that fhould be confi-
derable. Aly God, l know that thou canfl do e'IJerything;
all Souls are thine, and thou canfl make them do what thou
pleafefl !
The Jews tell us of a Profeffor in their Academy of
Sora, who was called Sagi Nahor, or Jofeph of great
Light ; he was blind, but it feems he had a Soul foll of
Knowledge.
\Ve have had eminent Preachers who were Mind
Men, and educated for ·and ferviceable in the Evange-
lical Minifrry; Mr. Cheefman of Eafl -gmflon was one,
who loft his Eyes by the Small-Pox before he was four
Years old : thus Mr. Francis Tailor, and 1-fr. Homer
'}-ackfon. '
But then that they fhould prore Wi ·iters too, learn-
ed, acute, polite T¥ritm !

T be
2.86 The ChrijlianPhilojopher.
The Books of Mr. 'John Traughton arc valuable
things ; his Lutherus Redivivus could be writ by none
but a Seer, and an Eagle-ey'd one.
But if many blind ftfen hare done learnedly, thou,
Mr. William 'Jamefon,haft exce/.'edthem all! 1 'hat mi-
raculous Man, a Profo[for of H ifiory in the famous
Univerfity of Glafgow,tho blind from his Nativity, ha~
publiilied a rn.riety of Books, and thefe in the Latin
as well as the EuglifhTongue, and full of QJ,otatioil,
full of Criticifm, fu11of a~curate and exquifite Expla-
nations on the nicefi Comrorerfies : ,,;hen I read fuch
things, I cannot but fee, and fay, the Finger cf God!
That one Faculty of the Soul, the 1'1EMORY,
how amazing the Powers of it, how fiupcndous the
Performances! The Account Sen~ca gives of himfelf,
if half of it be true! -- Nam Cl duo mik'ia Nomimmt
,·ecitata, quo ordine ernnt diEla, reddebmn. Of his very
dear Companion,as he calls Intro Porcius, he affirms,
that he retained in his ftfemo1Jall the Declamations he
had ever fpoken, and never had his /1,Jemory failing
h im fo much as in one finglc ,..,·ord. Pliny will gi\'e us
more Examples of what the ftfemory of .Man has done;
a G_yrus, who could call all the Soldiers in his Army by
Name; a Mithrid11tes,who could fpe:ik to twenty-two
feveral Nations in their own Languag es; a Carneades,
who Que quis exegerat in Vvluminain Bibli otl-ecis, Le.~m-
tis modo reprefentnvit. Such was the lvfnnoryof Dr. 'Jolm
Rainolds, that he was called n. living Library, and a
third Univerfity. l.iJ/ius had all Ta ,itus exactly in his
:Memory, and Suarez., had all Aufliu. Homer's Finds
have thirty-one thoufand fix hundred and ferenty Vcr-
fcs, his O~Iffes no lefs; and yet the younger Scnligcr
committed all Humer to his ft1e7i1or:, in one and twenty
Days . 'I 'he J\1emor y of our famous 7~,;.;c/would per-
form Vondcrs, he , -;ould readily and exactly repeat
any thing he had wr itten, after once reading of it, and
would hare done it if the Auditors had been fuouting,
or fighting, and gi\'..:n him rhe grcatc!t Occ :ifions of
Con-
 V1e ChrijlianPhilofopher.
Confufions; even Scores of barbarous Words, after
once reading, he would repeat forwards and back-
wards, wirhom hefita tion. Zuinger mentions many
frrange Examples of a {hong Memory, among \\-hich
that of ChriflopherLongoliusis very rnl!morable ; fcarce
any Length of Time was able to difiodge any thing he
had once lodged in his /i,Jemory! But then how unac-
countable the Infl:::mces of a Ltefa Memcria, reported
by Zuinge.·, and Foreflus, and Schenkius, and others>
eipecially when an Apoplexy has left a Man Memory
enough to write Volumes, but unable to read a Sylla-
ble ! The various Inclinationsof the S O U L are a
moft admirably wife Provifion of our good God, that:
the Bufinefs of the World may be all tranfacted~ and
with Satisfaction :
Di'Ver.fisgaudet Natura miniflriJ,

\Ve find Homer fometimes admiring this Variety;

and Horaceentertains us with a Sunt quos Curriculo,--
which might have been extended to a Volume ; for as
one fays,-, there may be found a Sunt quor for every
' thing under the Sun.
. Tho Solomon declares truly, that much Study is a
T,Vearinefrto the Flefo, yet with what Affiduity do
many apply themfelves to it, and how delightfully!
There have been other hard Students befides Cato, of
whom TuUy fays, Erat in eo inexhaufla aviditas legendi>
nec.fatiaripotemt.
The 1ews have done well to place this among their
B1:racoth;D eusfa cit ttt unimique fimm Opijiciumplaceat.
The blejfedGod is to be acknowledged in it / Ther e
is an Infiance which Dr. Edwards has pitch'd upon :
\Vould a Geutlemmzbrought up a Scholar,and one \·ery
nice, neat, and curious, vifit fick Perfons whcne\ ·er
they call him, and leave his own Bed that he may gi,·e
his Vifits to them in theirs, and enter into Rooms
that are filled with the moft ungratefu l Steam and
Stench,
2.88 'TheChriftianPhilojopho\
Stench, and all his Days converfe with Excrcmcmsj I,
continue fituated imer Stemu & Urinam? One would
think this were a Degradation to the Vdvet uzp and
Scarlet Robe; to go in Silk and Plu{h co the mofl: fqua-
lid and nafl:y Chambers, looks a little flrange ; to fuck
in the Air of :1 Room which the Breath of the Difeafed
has infecced, for chis to be done by Pcrfons of an ho-
nourable Characcet, and for them to undergo patient-
Jy and cheerfully more ferv ile things than what are
undergone in the bafell and moll fervile Callings !
But, --
c Behold, J ha•1:ecreatedthe Smith, 1.l.'ho
blows the Coa/J
< in the Fire .1 fo faith our God : and he is to b~ fecn
< in the difpofition to profefs every h,,neflTrade for m-
< cejfaryUfes ! When I behold any Man cheerfully fol..:
< lowing the Bufinefs of his Ca!iing, I would upon the
< Invitation fay, Glorious God, it is well thdt thou haft Jo
~ difpofedthe Mind of this my Neighbo:,r!'
They who have written de lvlo1 -bir Artificum, hare
mentioned no Cafe more deplorable than chis, for a
1',[antu befick of his Calling.
Our Great GOD is to be feen, confeffcd, adored,
in that admirable Variety of Matters which the Inven-
tion of Man has reach'd to! And the admirable Saga-
city that profecutes chem! \Vhen foch i11\'entive Wid
as Helmont and Wallis have taught the Deaf and the
Dumb to read and Jpeak, methoughts I have feen that
Sagacity notably exemplified.
' Glorious GO D, my Soul with all poffible Pro-
' firation before thee rece ives thy faithful SaJiugs,
' where in thou haft infirucced me: Every good Gift
' comes down from the Father of Lights! And the Lord
~ giveth 1-Vifdom! Not only of the fo11r Children that
' had it, but of all that h,n-e ever had any rhing of it,
' it mufl: be o,vn'd God gave tlmn Kno1clt?d,ge and Skill
c in aO Learning and /Vifdom : If a Baz.akel ha\·c it, 0
' Spirit of God, thou art He who gi,•cfr him Knuwledg6
~ in all mmmercf /'Vorkn:ar.ft,ip! . .,.
But:
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 289
But then there is another thinti wherein rhe Super-
intendence of the Glorious Creator and Gvrcrnor of
the ·world is mofl: confpicucus; and that is, t he Pro-
grefs which the Invention of Man has made : things of
greater ufe were fooner invent ed, things of a !e./J er ufe
later, every t hing in the Time wherein our Great God
has had his excellent Purpofcs to be ferved with it ;
t hings equallyplain with fuch as have been formerly
difcovered, and as much defired, have been lock'd up
from Human Underflandm~, till t oe G od, in who]e
hand are our TimeJ, is pleafed wifely to make them
underflood by the Children of Men. 'Tis not froni
yourjortuitous Concourfeof Atoms, ye foolifh E; h ureans !
\,Vhy mull: Printing be with- held from t he Service of
Mankind till the Year 1430, when . th e- F'.rfl -hl'rn of
printed Books was by the Hand of Lnureuct!K cJtt!r mid-
. wifed into the ·world, and the Skill immediately im-
proved by Faufl and Schoeffir? \\ hy mufl Mankind
have no Telefcopestill the Year 1609, whe n one whom
Syrturus would fufpelt: almofl: an A ngel in the Shape of
a Dutchman, infhuB:ed Lipperfein at l'r-!iddlelm rgh to
proceed upon them? To mention a Subjett which
my ChriflianPhi!ofopherhas ,·ery much liv' d upon, What
is the Anatomy of Mundinus, if compared t o our mo-
dern? (tho Cardan, and other learn ed M en, have fo
much cried it up with their Elogics and Commen-
taries.) Bagli,z1ifays truly, 'tis as far Jhort of it as a
Flea is of an El ephant. We will pafs to another In-
fl:ance : The Romans had not fo mt.ch as a Sun-dial till
the fecond Puuick \Var, and when they had one, they
had no more than that one, in the Forum, above an
hundred Years, tho Pliny fays it never ,vent right in
all this time. Our King Alj-i·ed had no better fhifc
than this for meafuring his H ours , t he burning of a
Candle, marked into twelve parts, for which a Lanthorn
,vas needful to fecure it from the \Vinds of the Wtn-
. dows, for Glaz...ingwas not yet in fat11ion. Dr: Grew
obferves, the firfl Conceit which tended to a [,Vatch,
was a Draw-well; firfc, People found the drawing of
U \Vaf.e'f
2.90 cr'heChrij!itm Philofopher
.
\Vater \\ 1th a Hand-cord and a Pitcherrroublefome, fo
they thought of a Dra ught-wheel; by and by they con~
ceivcJ fuch a Movement applicable to a Spit, if the
motion of the Weight could be made flow enough, this
was done by adding more lf/ heels and a Flyer, which
made a '],ick: by and by Men oegan to fee, that if
t he motion were yet Hower, it would fcrre to meaf11re
'Time alfo, t hen infl:ead of a Flyer they p1,1ta Balance,
and thus mude a Clock; this being fo ufeful, M en con-
fidered how it might be made portable, by fomet_hing
anfwerable to a /Veight, and fo infl:ead of that they
put the Spring and the Fufe-w!Jee/, which make a
Jf/(ltch. Herc is the Pedigree of the noble Engine.
But to what an al1oni1hing PerfeEtion is Clock-work
and TVntch-work now arrired ! \Ve will hardly allow
a Gentleman of fuch Antiquity as Boethius to be the
I m·entor of the Clock-work, that hath been fo migh-
tily improved; no, Re,giomontanm,thou 1h:t.lthave the
H onour of being t he In fl:rument employed by God
for the rare Invention, not more than bet ween two
and three hundred Y cars ago. The curious Perfor-
mances of Clock-v.:orkcannot be related without our
finding a Surprizc of Pleafure in the Relations; how
many A-lotionsproduced! H ow many D~(:gnsanfwcr 'd !
The Gentleman who ,vrites The Artiji d,il C/cck-mak:r,
has \\.·ith his Calculations made prm·ifton for a mar-
vellous variety of them. What Hqlin in his Cofi1tugra-
pln reports of the Clock. at Lunden in Dmmrzrk, what
G(ljfarel in his unheard-o}Curiojitiesreports that he him•
felf Jaw in a Clockat Lig,rn, :md the C!o.kwhich e\·crr
day diverts the Si)e5htors at H.irlr:m, arc notable In-
fianl:es among many ochers. The R epe.z:iug-C!ocks me
now commonon thoufands of Tables, bu~ how wrio:1s !
At length Mr . H:n·~e m ha, inrcmcd the way of apply-
ing P.-ndu/:m:rto TV,,:cb-'work. If G,1!il.ri entertained
a Thou;ht of fuch a thin~, yet he ner a brought it
to Pcrfoction. \\ ·e mufc ll')t let Mr. ll 11
Jgem bt• rJbb 'd
of his Claim, r icher by Becher, or the Academy D e!
Cimemo. The firfl: that was made in Eus,l.m:I \\':J., in
chc
 (]1JeChriftia
n Philofopher.
the Year 1662. The Ufes of th efe Pendulum-Watche1
cannot be fufficiently celebrated.
But ufeful indeed will be thefe Meafurers of Time, if
they teach and help us to be the more wife Redeemerr
of it.
I t was thought, that he, who when Patents for Mo.:.
nopolieswere granting in F,ance, begg'd for one to de-
mand a Shilling ji·om every Man who wore a Watch, but
bad no care how hefpent his Time, ask' d for what would
ha\·~ afforded a Revenue too rich for a Subjecc !
If the lvlathematicks, which have in the two !aft:
Centuries had (uch wonderful Improv ements, do for
two hundred Years more improve in proportion to the
former, who . can tell what :tvfankind may come to !
vVe may believe, wi t hout having Seneca our Author
for it, Multti venientis ttvi populus ignota nobisJciet. . .
The Union between the SOUL and the BO DY
is altogether inexplicable, the Soul not hav-ing any Sur-
face to touch the Bady, and the Body not having any
Sentimentas the Soul. The Unionof the Soul and Body
does confifl:, as Monfieur Tawury expre!fes it, in the
Conformityof our Thoughts to our CorporealAccions ;
but, fays he, for the Explication of this Conformity,we
muft have iecourfeto a fuperior Power. Truly, Sfrs, do
what you can) you mufl: quickly come to that!
O ur nervous Parts are very fenfible. OhjeF!:sdo ar-
feB: our Senfes, and make l mpreffions on them; the
Senfesreceiving fuch Impreffions, the Modifications of
tbe Organs.produced by them terminate in the Bmin;
if they do not fo, the Soul is unconcerned in them ;
but there is a Law given to the Soul by the gloriou
God, whoforms the Spirit of Man within him, that in thei
doing fo there !ball be fuch and fuch T houghts produ-
ced in the Soul.
' b my Soul, what a wondrous Being art thou! H o-tv
' capable of aflonifhing Improvements!- How wor thy to
< be cultivated w ith the befl:Improvements ! } low wor-
e thy to have all poffiblc Endeavours ufed for th y R e-
~ co11eryfrom the Deprav ntions ·which th y Fa;~fror.1God
u :,; C h i!<;
 'Ihe Chri/lian Philofopher.
' has brought upon thee ! How worthy to be kef t -i;:irh
' all Diligence from every thing that will bring any
' more T,Voundsupon thee! \V11:1c reafn is there that
' thou fhoul<lfi be tilled with the Lc71eof God, and
' acl:ed by the Faith of thy only ~aviour ! And if the
' Image of the glorious God, which has been impaired
' by Sntmzid.:l mpreffions on thee, be rcrired and re-
' fiore<l in thee, what marrellous, and crcn eternal
.' Felicities, art thou fure of arriving to!'
But, 0 MAN, wilt thou fiop here, and know no-
thing nbr,'Vethy Jeff? Among the amienc 1ews there
was a fore or ;;ntur,1/Philofophers,\\ ho are by the Rab-
bim caJ]eJ '12?1),P.?~;:i, Snpien:es lnquijitioni r, or Sa-
pier.es Scrutntionis, from their enquiriug after ;zatural
Caufes; perhaps our Apofilc may mean the1e, when he
fays, 1 Cor. 1. 20. fV mre is the Empirer of this lVurld?
'Jerome'sVerfion favours it. Now of thcfe Gentlemen
it is reported, that they denied the Exiftence of fupe-
rio;-Ime!ligmces; our Chriflimz Phi!vfopher\\·ill not be
guilty of fuch a Stup idity.
We arc now foaring into the in..•ijiblelVorld, a
\Vorld of ime!ieElualBeings, but im·i{iblc to fuch EJeI
ns ours. I do here in the firft pbcc moft religioufly
affirm, that even 111y Sc;;pf ha1·ebeen convinced ot fuch
a \Vorld, by as cle.1r, plain, foll Pro,fs as c\·er any
Man 's have had of what is moft obvious in the fi11fible
1Vorld°; Proofi which I am ready to offer in the mofl:
com·cnient Scafon. But then, ho-.;; gLriow art thou, 0
God, in thy imzumerab!eCompanyif the holyAngds, and
in thy Guvermmnt over thofe a'fa that hn•;:emade then,fel..•es
'tl'.1er! All t~1e\Von<lers we h:.we hitherto feen in
1"'!.!il
·\ the 7.Jifib!e Creation, what arc they, compared to thofo
· that arc out of fight, tliofe th:it m-c found among the
Ange/. tl.·at excel i;z JJo"J:~rr, the Hofis of the infinite
.G O D, the f.[i,1iflm which d~ llis Plenfure !
There is a Seal.:cf Nizturc, wherein we pa(<;regu-
larly and proportiombly from a Sm,c to a 11lw, the
Faculties of the Creatures in their r:.•i:r.:0·
1 1 Cl:jf.·sgrow-
?g _fiill brighter :u~<lbrighter, and more cap:icio1~<;
till
 The ChriflianPhilofopher. 293
till we arrin· to thofe noble ones which are found in
the Soul of M A N ; and yet M A N is, as one wdl
expre!fes it, but tl•e Equator of the Univeiff .
It is a jufr View which Dr. Grew had of the l½r!d,
when he came to this Determination : ' As there are
' fcveral Orders of animated Body before we come to
' lnte!iefl, fo it mufl needs be that there are feveral
' Orders of imbodiedlr.teliefl before we come to pure
' Mind.'
It is likely that the Tranfiti on from Humnn to per-
feEt MI N D is made by a gradual Afcent; there may
be Angels whofe Faculties may be as much fupei;ior to
ours, as o~rs may be to thofe of a Snail or a Worm.
By and by we may arrive to Minds diYefied of all
Body, excellent JI.finds,which may enjoy the Know-
ledge of Things by a more immediateIntuition, as well
as without any Inclination to any mural Evil.
Th e highefr Perfe ction that any created Mind can
arife to, is that in the Soul of our admirable Saviour,
\\ hich is indeed embodied; bm it is the Svul of the
Ivlmzwho is perfonally united to the SON of GOD.
Anon we fee an infinite GO D; but canft thou hy
fe arching find out GO D? Canft thou find out the Almighty
to PerfeEl-ion?
It is a good Tho1.2ght, and well expr e!fed of an ho-
ncll Writer on the K.11ow!edgeof God from the T,f(orks11f
Creation. 'It is true there are fome Footjleps of a Deity .
' in all the \Vorks of Nature, but we !hould afcend
' by thefe Footfleps as by a Footjloolto the God of the
' W orld, as Solomon by iereral Steps afcended t9.· his
e, and by th e Sra!e of Natu re afcend tct the/ ·
' T /Jro11
' God of l'-latu,·e.' · ··
Th is is what \\·e !hall now, tho in a more fummmy .·
v:ay, a little more d illinaly proceed to.
No D ominion over the Creamres can be more acc epta"
b ly, more deli ghtfully cxercifed ,vith me than this; for
me to employ tbr:m as often as I pleafc in leading me to
G O D , and fo in ferving that which I propof e as the
chief END for which I liv1:, and 11 , and have my
w,1e
U 3 Being;
Z94 Vi e ChriftianPhilofopl1er.
Bt:ing; whic h is, to glorifj G O D , and ad..itvv.:ledge Him.
W 11en the Creatures were brough t to our Prctoplaft ,
to Jee w J.,at he would call them, he did not cxe rcife a more
de!1rablc Dvminiw over them, in giving what Name he
plea'.ed to each of them, than I fball do in having
them all brought to me, that I may read the Name of
God, fo far as it is to be feen in them, and be affi!led
in my Acl.:nowl edgmcntsof the Glorious- 0 N E.
,r. Hear now the Conclujionof the M atter. To en-
kindle the Difpojitionsand the Refolutionsof P I ET Y
jn my Brethren, is the Intentionof all my ESSAYS ,
and mufl be the Conclujfonof them.
Arheifm is now for ever chafed and hiffed .out of the
\ Vor!d, every thing in the \ Vorld concurs to a Sen-
tence of Brmijbmentupon it. Fly, thou Monfler, and Ude,
and let not the darkefl Recejfesof Africa itfelf be able to
cherifh thee; nerJerdare tu fbew th,rfelf in a Wvdd ~..:.•/:er
e"Jerything flands ready to overwhelm thee! A B E I N G
t hat muft be Juperior to Matter~ .e,·en the CrMtor and
Go'Uerr.or of all Matter, is every where fo confpicuous,
t hat there can be nothing more mcnflrous than to dmy
the God that is abo'Ve. No S.rflemof Atheifm has c\'er
yet been offered among the Children of Men, but" hat
may prefemly be convinced of fuch lnconjifle;fre s, chat
a Man mull: ridiculouOy believe nothing certain before
he can imagine them ; it mull: be a SJJlem of Thingr
'liJhicbcn;111ot fland to<~ether! A Bundle of CcntradiRiwr
t o themfelves, and to all commonSenfe. I doubt it ha.s
µeen an hzconfideratething to pay fo much of a C ompli-
ment tg Atheifm, as to befl:ow folcmn 'Irtatif es foll of
)earned A,·gumcnts for the R efutation of a ddirious
Phrem:.,y,which ought rather to be put out of coun-
t en:mcc w ith the mofl comemptuouslildignatiou. And I
fear CuchvVriters as have been at the pains to put the
ObjeElionrof Ath cifin into the mofi plaufible Terms, that
they m::iyhave the honour of l,,_,.i11g n D e;,i/ ·u.:hmthey
,:ave rriifed him, have therein done too rmadr..•{/'ed~
H owever, to fo much notice of the ra\·ing Atheifl we
~nay condcfccnd while we go along,~s to tdl him, that
for
 T.heChrijlianPhilofopher. 1..9'5
for a Man to quefiion the Being of a G O D, \Yho re-
quires from us an Homageof Ajfeilion, and lf/vnderment,
and Obedience to Himfelf, and a perpetual Concern
for the vVelfare of the Human Sodety, for ,which He
has in c:mrFmnatifm evidently fuited us, woi.ld be an
exalted Folly; which underg9es efpecially two Condem-
n~tions; it is firfi. condemned by this, that every Pare
ot the Uni'Ueifeis continually pouring in fomething for
the conf~tingof it; there is not a Corner of the whole
\Vorld but what fupplies a Stone towards the Inflicl:ion
of fuch a Death upon the Blafphemy as ju.flly belongs
to it : and it has alfo this condemning of it, that Men
would foon become Cqnibalsto one another by embra-
cing it; Men being utterly defiitute of any Principle
to keep them honeftin the Dark, there would be no Jn-
t_eg'rityleft in the World, but they would be as the
Fifhes of the Sea to one another, and worfe than the creep-
ing Things, that ha'Ueno Ruler O'Uer them. Indeed ·from
every thing in the World there is this Voice more au-
dible than the loudefi Thunder to us ; God hath fpoken,
(Ind thefe two things have I heard! Firfl:, Belie'Ue and
adore a glorious G O D, who has made all thefe Things,
and know thou that He '!.vi!lbring thee into cyudgment!
And then be careful to do nothing but ·u..'hat
fhall befor the
Goodof the Communitywhich the gloriousGO D has made
thee a Member of. ·were what God hath fpoken duly
regarded, and were thefe two things duly complied
with, the \\'orld ,vould be foon revived into a defi-
rablc Garden cf God, and Mankind would be fetch'd
up ihto very comforta~le Circumfiances; till then t he
\.Vorld continues in a wretched Condition, full of dcle-
fitl Creatures, with wild Beafis cryingin its defolate Hou-
Jes, Dragom in its mofi.pletifant Palaces. And now de-
- dare, 0 everythir,g that is reafanable,declare and pro-
nounce upon it whether it be poffible that Ma xims ab-
folutel y necej/ary to the Subfifience and Ha ~pir[efl · of
Mankind, can be Faljities? There is no poffibiliry for
this, that Cheats and L;es mufi be fo necejfary, that the
Endswhich alone are worthy of a glorious GOD, can-
not be ana in'd without having them impofcd upon us!
U 4 Ha ving
2.96 The Chrijlian Philofopher.
Ha\'ing difpatch'<l t!1e Atheijl, w ith oeftowing on
him mt many Thoughts, yet more than could be defcr-
,·ed by fuch an Idiot; 1 w ill proceed now to propofe
two gen era, Strokes of Piety, which will appear to a
Chriflimz Philofoplm as unexceptionable as any Propofats
that e\·er were made to him.
Firll, the \ \'arks of the glorious Gcd exhibited to
our View, 'tis mofl: certain they do befpeak, and they
fhould excite our Acknov.:ledgmemr cf His Gloriesappear -
ing in them: the Great GO D is infinitely gratified
in beholding the D ilplays of Hts own infinite Power,
:md 1Vtfilum, .md Goodnefs, in the \ Vorks which He
has made ; Lut it is alfo a mdl: accepruble Gratifica-
tion to Him, when fuch of H is \ \'arks as are the ra-
tional Beholden o( then ,fclws, and of the refi, !hall
with devout Minds nck;,ow/,Jg,• H is Perfections, which
they fee i11in.ng there. Ne 1er lloes one endued ,tith
Reaf.;n do any thing mere e vidently reafennble, than
whe n h<?makes erery thing th;.it occurs to him in the
rnO: Fabri<-:- ~f the \Vor ld, all /;,m,ti"Jeto frme agree-
a.ble Efforts r:•1<lSalleys of Rrligion. \\'hat can any
lvfan !i·:ing objeu aga:11£1: tlie P;et; of a M ind awakcn'd
by the iigl.t of God 11 His \Y0rks, to fuch Thcughts
as t hde : Verily, there . r ,z g!criow G O D ! VerilJ, the
GOD who des thefe thing, :s -;;..·o,·thJ to be feared, -v.;orthy
tv be lu-vcd, ii:orthJto be relr,J rn ! l re;-ifr,all pojf l-le Obe-
dience is due to fuch a GO D, n;d mrfl al-umind·le, m~fl
ine:wJ1ble is the Jf-'ided,.1f cf ,· I R(be/iionagni;fl Him!
A Mind kept llndcr he lmpreffion of fuch Thoughts
as thc[e, is an hrly anJ a 1.c,b!i: :t\-lind, a 'Templeuf God,
a 'T,.mplejil"ed v..'ilhtl-e Clo _vuf God. There is nothing
but what will afford an Uffa_fi,.,ufor the 'Thoughts; the
ofrner a 1fan improves the Ocrnjitn, rhe more does he
::,lori}jGO D, and anfo er the thief Eud cf 1.1/au; and
why fuould he 1wt }c:h cccaficiifor ir, by \'i11ti11gfor
th is purrcfc the fc\'C:ral Cl.if]esof the Creatures' (for
D.f ip:i!usi;i Mc Sd.fJliiuir Pcripatetiw,) a~ he may hare
opportunity for fo e:encrous nn E'.\ercife l Bur fince the
horrid Evil of all Siu is to bl! inferred from this; it ir
(,
 "!he ChriftianPhilofopher.
a Rqbellionagainft the Laws of the gloriousGOD, wbo is
the Maker nnd the Ruler uf al/ Worlds; and it is a diftur-
banceof the good Order wherein the glorious Maker and
Ruler of all Things has pli1ced them all; how much ought
a quickned Horror of Sin to accompany this Contem-
plation, and produce this mofi agreeable Refolution> .
My God, I will for e'verf ear to offendthy gloriouslvlajefty!
Nor is this all the lmprov:? ment which we are to make
of what we fee in the Workr of God; in our improving
of them, ,ve are to accept of the Rd;uke which they
give to our Prejz,mption, in pretending to criticize up-
on the dark things which occur in the D ifpenfations of
His Providence; there is not any one of all the Crea-
tures but what has thofe fine things in the Texture of it>
which have never yet been reached by our Searches>
and we are as much at a lofs about the Intent as abou t
the Texture of them ; as Jet we know not what the
glorious God intends in H is forming of thofe Creatures>
nor what He has to do in them, and with t hem ; He
therein proclaims this ExpeEtation, Surelythey will f ea;·
me, and receiveLiflruEtion. And the Point wherein ,ve
11renow infl:ruEcedis this.: ' What ! Shall I be fo vain
· ' as to be dijfatisfied becaufe I do not underftand what
' is done by the glorious GO D in the \ Vorks of His
' Providence!' 0 my Soul, haft thou not known, haft thou
not l:eardconcerningthe everlnfling God, the Lord, the Cre-
tllor of the Ends of the Earth, that there is no fearchingof
His Underftanding?
And then, fecondly, the CHRIST of God mufi
not be forgotten, who is the Lord of all. I am not afha-
nzedof the Gofp el cf CH R IS T, of which I will affirm
conftantly, that if the Philofupherdo not call it in, he
pnga;zius, and leaves t he tinefl: and brightefl Part of
his \Vork unfinifhed. Let Colerusperfuade us if he can,
that in the Time of )o hn Frederick the Elector of Sa:x-
<mythere was dug up a Storie, on which there was a
Re pr efenta t ion of our cmdfied Saviour; but I cannot
forbear faying , t here is not a Stone any where which
would not look black upon me, and fpeflk.my Cond~m-
- nation,
 198 The Chrijfian Philofopher.
nation, if my Philofophyfhould be fo 'Vainas to make
me lay aftde my Thoughts of my enthcu ed Saviour.
Let Lambecius, if he pleafe, employ his Leaming upon
the Name of our S:wiour CHRIST, found in Let-
ters naturally engraven at the bottom of a large Agate-
Cup, which is to be fcen among the Emperor's Curio-
fities; I hare ncrer drank in that Cup, howeyer I can
more eafily believe it th~n I can the Crucifix11sex Ra-
dhe Crmnbresenattts, or the ];1:agoVirginis cum Fzliolo
in /11incra Ferri exprtJfa, and fe\·eral more fnch things ,
which the P ublifhers of the Gemzan Ephemerides have
- mingled w ith their better Entertainments : but I w ill
affert, that a glorious C H R I S T is more to be con-
fidered in the Wor/.J of Natrre than the Philof opher is
generally aware of; and my CHRISTIAN Philofophcr
has not fully done his Part, till H e who is the Firfl-
horuof e7JeiJCreaturebe come into Confideration with
him. Alfled mentions .=i Siclus 'Jzultto-Cbriflianus,which
had on one fide the Name 7 ES US, with the Face
of our Saviour, and on the ot~er the \Vords that Ggn:-
fy tht: King lvltjjiah comes-.~ithPeace, and God becomes n.
/vlfln; and Leufden fays he had a couple of thefe Coins
in his po!feffi.on. I have nothing co fay on the behalf
of the Z eal in thofe Chrifliani-z.,ed ']e-ws, "ho probably
were the Authors of thefc Coins, a Zeal that /;oil'd into
fo nccdlcfs an Expreffi.on of an Homage, that indeed
cannot be too much cxpreOcd in the inflittttcd ~ays of
it to a Red eemer, ,vh o[e Ki ngdom is not of this lVo;/d :
but th is I ,, ·ill fay, all the Creatures iu this !Virl.l ar e
;r.r: of Hii Kingdom; there arc no Cretitures but what
arc H is JIJeda!r, on crery one of them the Name of
J ES US is to be found infcribed. Cclcbrnte, 0
D tmhaver, thy Gr.wmi!t:z, the Perwviau Plant, on ,\'hich
a {lrong I 1rag inati on finds a Rcprcfcntation of the !11-
flmm ,•nts employ ed in t he Sujfri r.gs of our Sa\'iour, and
cipcc ia1ly the bloodySv.:eat of His Agon ies; were the
R cprefcnta tion as really and lively made as has been
imag;:,eJ, l would fub fcribe to the Epigr~m upcn it,
which concludes:
 The Chrijl-ian
Philofopher. 299
Flor hie ita forma vincit omnesFlofculos,
Ut totuJ optet ejfe SpeElatorOw/us.

But I will, with the Exercife of the mofl:fvlid Reafani

by every part of the World, as well as the Vegetab/eJ,.
l;,e led to my Saviour.
J
A View of the Cre(ltionis to be taken, with fuitable
Acknowledgments of the glorious CHRIST, in
whom the ~ternal Son of God has perfonally united Him-
felf to O N E of His Creatures, and becomes on his
;.ccount' propitious to all the refl ; our Piety indeed will
not be Chriflianityif H E be left umhought upon.
This is HE, of whc~n we are infi:rucl:ed, Col. r.
16, 17. All things were (reated by Hmi, and for Him;
and He is before all thingr, and by Him a!l things conjift.
It' is no contemptible Thought wherewith De Sabunde
has entertained us : ProduHioJlfundi a DeofaEla de Nf-
lilo, arguit aliam produElionem,Jumm(lm, occultam,&
aternam in Deo, qu.e efl Ile fua propria Nat~ra, in qua
producitur Deus de Deo, & per quam oflenditur fumma
Trinitas in Deo. And certainly he that as a Father
does produce a Son, but as an Artifl only produce an
Houfe, has a Value for the Son which he has not for ,
tl:e Houfe; yea, we may fay, !f GOD had not firfr,
and from Eternity, been a Father to our Saviour, He
would never ha,·e exerted Himfelf as an Artifl in that
Fabrick, which He has built by the Might of His Power,
and far the Honourof His Mnjefly !
The Great Sir Francis Bacon has a notable Pa!fage
in his Coefeffionof Raith : I believe that God is fa holy, as
that it ir impoffiblefor Him to be pleafed in any Creature,
tho the Work of his o·wnHands, without beholdingof the
fame in the Faceof a Mediator; -- without which it was
impofjib!efor Him to have defcendedto any Work of Crea-
tion, but He fhould have r:njoyedthe blejfedand individual
Societyrf three Pe~{onsin the Godheadfor e".Jer;but out of
His eternal and infinite Gr.:odnefs
and Love purpojingto be-
f011fe a Creature, and communicatewith His Creatures,He
- ordained
 The ChrijlianPhilofopher.
ordainfd in His e!crnal Counfil that Cile Pcrfonof tLe Go,!-
hcad/huuld be united to 11nr Natu rr, and to oneparticular of
H ij Creat11rrs;that fa in the Pe;f.,;z of t/;e A1ediatortl:r true
L adder might be fixed , whereby Ced might defccnd to His
O eatm·es, and His Cre,1t11re s afi"end to Him.
It was an high Flight of Origm, who urges, t hat
our High-Priefi's h~wing tafled c,f D eath, .;,;r€f ,;r:c(J(?-,
F O R A L L, is t o be extended eren to the \'ery
Stars, which would othe rwife h:1ve been impure in the
fight of God ; and thus are A L L T H I N G S re-
fiored to the Kingdom of the Father. Our A pofllc
Patti in a famous Patfage to the Cckffimzs [i. 19, 10.]
may feem highly to favour this Flight. O ne fays up-
on it, ' If th is be fo, \\ c need not break the Glafks
' cf Gali!.£0, the Sf otr may be wafl1ed out of the S:.1;1,
' and total Natu re fanfrified to God that made it.'
Yea, the Glcred Scriptures pb inly and often inr ice
us t o a Conceprion, which D r. Goodwin has chofen to
<leliver in fuch Terms as thefe : 'The Son of God per-
' fonally and :.icruallyexifl:ingas the Son of G od with
' G od, afore rhe \\'orld or any Creature was made, Hr?
' undert aking and corenancing ,virh G od to becon~e
' a 11Jan, yea, tl:at Al.m which He lw.th now taken up
' into one Perfon with H imfelf, as well for this Ei!.I,
' as for other E11ds more glorious; God did in the
' Fore-knowledge of that, and in the Affurance of that
' Covmant of H i5, proceed to the creating oi all things
' which He bath made ; and without the Intu ition of
' tli r, or haring ti i., in His Eye, He would not ban!
' 111~1de any th ing which He hath m:1de.'
0 C H R I S 'T I A N , lift up ;iow thine EJe.r, and
lvok J,-vm the fl.JCr -..d·ue ti.cu art to all Point~ of the
Comp:d-..· , and co11ceming'".. d·a tt'''Jer thou fi'rfl, allow t h:lt
all thcfo thin~'> were formed f or th e S,1/.:.rof that Glo-
riou\- On c-, " ·ho i<;now Go-i 11: ,mififl iu tJ.e F/1/bof our
J ES U S ; ' tis on llis f,CC\ um rbt the etern::i.1Gcd-
he~1dhac; th e D.li~l:t in ail rhdc rhings, which prc-
fcrvcs them in their Being, and gr:mts chem the He~'',
in the ck1hi11g \\ hereof tlicy ,omii:ueto tl:is d,1y.
E ·.1t;
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher;3or
But were they not all made by the Hand, as ,veil as
fo r the Sake of that Glorious-0 N E? They were ve-
rily fo. 0 my 1 ES US, it was that Son of God who
now dwellsin thee, in and by whom the Godheadexerted the
Po'We r, v.:hichcould be exe1·tedby none but an all-poweiful
G O D, in the creatingof the lf7orld! He is that vVo RD
of G O D by whom all things were made, and without
whom was not any thing made that was made.
This is not all that we have to think upon; ,ve fee
an incomparable Wifdom of GOD in His Creatures;
one cannot but prefently infer, What an incomprehenfi-
ble Wifdom then in the Methodsand Affairs of that Redemp-
tion, whereof the gloriousG OD has laid the Plan in our
'JESUS! Things which the Angels defire to lookii1to.
But, 0 evangeliud Mind, go on, mount up, foar high-
er, think at this rate; the infinite Wifd om whichformed
all thefe thingsis peculiarlyJeated in t/;e Son of God; He is
that reflexive Wifdom of the eternal Fatl:er, and tha t
Image of the invifible God, by whom all things ·u:e re created;
in Him there is after a peculiar manner the orig inal
Idea and Arcl;etypeof every thi ng tha t offers the infinite
Vvifdom of God to our Admiration. Wherever we fee
the T,Vifdomof God admirably !hining before us, we are
invited to (uch a Thou ght as this ; this Gloryis orig inal-
ly to befound in thee, 0 our Immanuel! 'Tis i:1 Him tran-
fcendently. But t hen 't is impoilible to fiop without ad-
ding, Ho1.1Jglorious, how wundrcus, /;ow fv,uely art thou,
0 our Sac;;iour !
Nor may we lay afide a grateful Senfe of this, that as
the Son of God is the Upholder of rd/ T hings in all lF orlds,
thus, that it is owing to his potent lnterce/]ionthat the
Sin of Man has made no more havock on th is om· lf/orld.
This our W orld has been by t he Sin of Jl.!lmfo pervert-
ed from the true E nds cf it, and rcndre d full of fuch
Ioathfome and hardul R egions, and fuc h ScelerataCa-
flra, t hat the R evenges of G od would ha,·e long fince
rendred it as a fi ery Oven, if <,ur bleJTedJESUS had
not interceded for it : 0 my Savio:,r, ',.r.:hat
'"..uould
hac;;ebe-
come of me, and of all that comfort.rme, if thy lmtrpofitiw
had not preferved us! \Ve
 The ChriflianPhilofopher.
\Ve will add one thing more: Tho the one GO!)
in His time Subjifleucesbe the Governoras well as the
Creatorof the World, and fo the Son of God c\·er had
what we call the natural Governmentof the \Vorld, yet
upon the Fall of Mankind there is a metliatoryKingdrnt
that becomes expedient, that fo guilty Afan, and that
which was loft, may be brought to God; aud the fin-
gular Honour of this mediatoryKingdom is more imme-
diately and moft agreeablyaffign'd to the Son of God, who
a{fomes the Man J ES US into His own Perfon, and
has all Power· in Heavm and Earth given to Him ; all
things are now commanded and ordered by the Son of
God in the Man uponthe Throne, and this to the Glory of
the Father, by whom the mediatoryKingdom is erected,
and fo conferred. This peculiar Kingdom thus managed
by the Son of God in our J E S U S, will ccafe when the
illufirious Ends of it are all accomplifhcd, and then the
Son of God no longer having Cuch a difli11ilKi;:gdomof
His own, !hall return to thofe eternal Circumflances,
wherein He fhall reign with the Fathe, and the Holy
Spirit, one God, blcffed for e,·er. In the me..·rntime,
what Creatures can we behold without being obliged
to fome fuch Doxology as this; 0 Sen of God, i11canzate
and enth1·onedin my JESUS, this is part rf thy Domi-
nion! What a great King art tl:ott;and what a. Name haft
thott above e~JeryName, and how "Jajllyextended is thy Do-
minion! Dominicn and Fear i; with thee, and there is ;z!I
Number of thine Armies! All the lnbabitams of the Earth,
and their moft puijfant Emperors, are tu be repmetl ns no-
thing beforethee!
Bue then at !aft I am lofing myfelf in fuch Thoughts
as thefe: Who can tell ,vhat U.{esour Saviour will put
all thefe Creaturesto at the Reflitmion of aD thir:gs,when
He comes to refcue them from the Vanity which as yec
captivates them and incumbers them ; and His raifod
People in the 1ze--..!JHeavens will make their Vifits to n
new Eartb, which they fhall flnd f-louri!hin(! in Parndi-
fnick Regularities? Lord, .... uz.
..z: thou meanefl i,z thmz. I
kno-:.JJ 1.-erenfmI I go on, lf//.-(1
not r.ow, l•ut I /hall k,;o-..;J
cm
 'TheChriftianPhilofopher. 303
c:m tell how fweetly our Saviour may faafl His choJai
Peoplein the Future State, with Exhibitions of all thefe
Creatures, in their various Natures, and their curious
Beauties to them ? Lord, I hopefor an eternallyprogref]ive
Know~dge, from the Lamb of Godfucceffe'"Jely leadingme to
the Fountainr of it !
I recover out of my more conjeEluralPn,gnoflicatiom.,
with refolving what may at prefent yield to a ferious
Mind a Satisj-:iEli.n, to ·which this \Vorl<l knows none
fuperior: When in a way of occajionalR~fieElionI em-
ploy the Creaturesas my Teachers, I will- by the Trttth1
infl:ruB: me, be led to my
wherein. thofe ready Jl,,Jonitors
glorious J E.S US; I will confider the Truths as they
nre in 1 E SUS, and count my Afceticks deficient, till
I have fome Thoughts of HIM and of -His Glories
awakened in me. To conclude, It is a good Paffage
which a little Treatife entitled, Theologia Ruris, or,
The Book of Nature, breaks off withal, and I might
make it my Conclufion : ' If \\'e mind Heaven whilft
' we live here upon Earth, this Earth will ferve to con-
' duct us to Hea-ven, thro the Merits and Mediation
' of the Sen of God, who was made the Son of Man, and
' came thence on purpofe into this lower World to
' convey us up thither.'
I will finiih with a Speculation, which my moil: va-
luable Dr. Chepte has a little more largely profecuted
and cultivated.
AU intelligentcompoundBeings have their ·whole En-
tertainment in thefe three Principles, the DES IRE,
the O B J EC T, and the S E N SAT I O N arifing
from the C ngruity between them ; this A,ia1ogyis pre-
forved full and clear thro the Spiritual !Y urld, yea, and
thro the material alfo ; f0 unive;fal and perpetttal an
Analogycan arife from nothing buc its Pattern and Ar-
chetypein the infinite God or M:ikt'r ; and cou!J we
carry it up to the Source of it, ,,c f1vmld find the
TRINITY of Perf ,ns in the C',ern:ii GODHEAD
aJmirably ex11ibiceJ to us In the GO DH EA D
we may firft a?prei:end a Defire, an infinitely 3cl:irc,
ardent,
304 The ChriftianPhilofopher.
ardent, powerful Thought, propofing of Sa:i.,jzEtion; let
this reprcfcnt GOD the FATHER: but it is not
poffible for any Object but God Himfelf toJui.rfy Him-
felf,and fill His Dejire of Happinefs; therefore HE
Himfelf refleEledin upon Hirnfclf, and comcmp,lating
His own infinite PerfcB:ions, even the Brightnefsof HiI
Glory, and the exprefsImage of His Perfon, mufl: anfwcr
this glorious Intention ; and this may reprefent to us
GOD the SON. Upon this Contemplation, wherein
GOD Himfelf.does behold, and poflcf,, and enjoy
Himfelf, there cannot but arifc a Love, a )oy, an Ac-
quiefcmceof God Himfclf within Himfclf, and worthy
of a God ; this may fhadow out to us the third and
the lafr of the Principles in this m;jleriow TernarJ, that
is to fay, the Holy SPIRIT. Tho thefc three Rela1io11
of the Godhead in itfelf, when derived analogically
down to Creatures, may appear but Modificationsof a
real Subftflence, yet in the fuprcmc Infinitude of the
Divine Nature, they mufl: be infinitely real :md li"..liiig
Principles. Thofe which arc but Re!.1tionr,when tranf-
ferred to createdBeings, arc glorious Re!ati'Vesin the in-
finite God. And in this View of the Holy Trinity,
low as it is, it i,; impoffible the SON fhould be with-
out the FA Tl.iER, or the FATHER without the
SON, or both without the H oly SPIRIT; it is im-
poffible rhe SO N fhould not be nccc!farily and eter-
nally begotten of the FATHER, or that the Holy
SPIRIT f110u!J not necc0arily and eternally proceed
both from Him and from the SON. Tims from what
occurs throughout the whole Cre:1tion, Reafon forms
~n imperfect Idea of this incomprchenfiblc Myfl:ery.
But it is time to ftop here, and indeed how can \\ c
go any further!

FINIS.
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