J; - :21

TELL IArJW4"D:

. 0 R,\ . ,

ifIe,)~ C 0 U R~ES

Between an

INDIAN PHII~OSOPHER

AND A

FR E NCH MrSSIONAR Y, ON THE DIMINUTION of the SEA, the Formation of the EARTH, the Origin of MEN and ANIMALS,

And other

Curious Subjects, relating to NATURAL HISTORY and PHILOSOPHY.

Being a Tranflation from th'e French Original of

, ' Mi." M A ILL E T,

AUT H 0 R of the Defcriptio» if E o Y l' T •

. ~------~-~-----~------

LONDON:

Printed for T. OSBO R N E, 10 Gra),s-I1111.

MDCCL.

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THE

i\.UTHO R's DEDICATION,

To the illuflrious

Cyrano de Bergerac,

Author of the imaginary Travels tbro' the Sun and Moon.

IllttJlrious CYRANO,

'I Hope you will not take it ill . that I addrefs my prefent Wark to you, iince I could not pallibly

A 2 have

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have made Choice of a more worthy Protector of the Romantic Flights of Fancy which it contains. 'Tis indeed true, that there is as little Analogy between your

. extravagant Sallies and mine, as there is between Fire and Water, and as great· a Diilance between the one and the other, as there is between Heaven and Earth. This, my illufirious Traveller, is a Circumflance of no Moment, The Difference is [0 Iinall, that it ought pot to prevent your generous Acceptance of the .Homage I now pay you.' All Men have an equal Title to be extravagant; I lnay travel thro' the Sea, 'as well as you have done thro' the Sun and Moon, For the Truth of this I appeal to the Teflimonies of all the Philolophers, who have either gone before, or may come after us. Is there one of them, who when treating of the Flux and

Re-

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DEDICATIOiV.

Reflux of the Sea, has not attempt. ed to eftablifh fome Syfiem, as fabulous as mine, and as ridiculous as yours.

A peculiar Conformity of Genius and Sentiments, has emboldened me to throw my Eyes on you, illullrious Cyrano, as the Patron and Support of this Product of the Reveries of Iny Imagination. Tho' your Merit is perfect- . ly eflabliihed, yet I rnuft frankly confefs, that when travelling thro' France, where I had the Happinels to meet with your ingenious Fictions, I in that Country found your Reputation fomewhat Iuperannuated. But Fame, who carries the Names of original Authors thro' all the Quarters of the Univerfe, has, for this Difrepute into which your Philofophy has fallen, amply recompens'd you in my Country, where your Manner of Thinking fpreads as faft as Fire does muong the mofl combuflible

A 3 Sub-

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Vi D E·D i c » T ION.

Subftances; and I aflure you, that at prelent People have their Reveries in the Indies, as you formerly had yours in Europe.

I muft however tcll you (for between Philofophers nothing ought to be concealed) that in Iny Country, as well as in your own, you are accus'd with having fuffered yourfelf to be grofsl y decei ved in the Courfe of your marvellous Voyages, by certain Men of the Lunar World, who told you more of it than was really true. You are alfo charged with having inf~rted a great many Foolries into your Defcriptions. The Natives of Iny COlin try alfo blame you for fome indecent Allulions and Reflections which favour of Libertinifm; for in Point of Decency and Morality we Indians cannot bear Raillery. But your Partizans have dextcrouily parried the Blow, by laying the Blame of what was laid to your

Charge

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DEDICATION. vii

Charge on a certain Greek Author=,

fUll more loofe and corrupted than

you) and whofe Writings, they fay,

have ferved as a Plan and Model for

your Work.

You need not doubt, illuf1:rious Cyrano, but) being a zealous Admirer of your incomparable Talents, I on this Occalion f1:rongly fupported thofe who undertook

. your Defence. I at aU Times promife you the fame Ardour in maintaining the Inrerefl of your Vifions, agaillfl: all who Ihall dare to oppofe them, being fo thoroughly, as I am,

Illufirious CYRANO,

Of your Romantic Lordfhip, The very faithful Imitator,

TELLIAMED.

~ Lucian.

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~: 'cr is a Jlra71ge Defign to af-

~;,:F'::;;;?~': ~~~:~' tempt to prove to Men tbat

~",,,_l..-..,";-;,~· they are ill an Error , but it ~ " .~ woztld be fiili jlrcmger to be

'" . Y willing to force tbem to con-

Jeft that they are Jo. In a Word, as a Ct'-

lebrated Poetefs of our Age has "Very well expreJ!ed heljeff *.

Nul n'efl content de fa fortune, Ni mecontent de fon efprit :to

Man is naturally prepqJfeffid in Favour if his own Knowledge ; Experience every Day in vain attempts to fbeto him bis Ignorance and his Blindnef], Whm he bas been a hundred Times fbeun: his Error, he does 710t for this believe himfeif leJs clear-jighted,

or

-.

"* Mad. des Houlleres,

:t: No Man is content with his Fortune, nor d:rcontent with his Judgment.

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or lcfi ilifallib/e. Provided we grant him but this one Point, he will perhaps condemn all the ref], 1"'he f<.yalities qj the Heart,which are the Bonds of Society for which he was born,jeem to interefi him left Je1!fibly, than the agreeable Idea he has conceiued of the Ex-

... tent of his Genius. He is at jitji diJPofed . to revolt agBi1!ft every :thing which has. a Tendency to reClifY his Jztdgmmt, and jhew him that he is deceived. Everyone C011- fents readily to be deceived by his Heart,

but nobody is noilling to . be deceived by his Judgment.

Tbere are, however, Errors, 'which are no: the lefs fitch for being generally believed. Tbe Antiquity or Univerfality of an Opinion, Z"S by 110 Means the Standard of'Jrlttb. J am of the Opinion of 011 z"llzij!riolts Author *,who

0;)' thinks,that itt order to guard again/l Error, the Antiquity q/ all 0p£12i071 is lefs a Proof of its Autbe1tticity, than a jufi Reafon to call it i12 Doubt, fiifPeC! it, and con-

: fequently not embrace it till after mature

Deli-

* The fccond Principle that lays a Foundation for Error, is a blind Veneration for Antiquity. Our Fathers, fay we, have believed fuch a Doctrine, why fhould we pretend to be wifer than they? If a Folly is but ever fo flightly eflablifhed, this Principle preferves it for ever. It forbids us to extricate ourfelves from an Error, becaufe we have been in it for ferne Time. Fontme/le of the Origin if Fables.

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PREFACE.

Deliberation. 'I'o Jay that our Ancd/ors have believed a 'Thing, is a pitiful and pernicious Argument, which cramps the Mind, deJlro),s Reafon, fa" . zours Ignorance and Error, and only pro'ves, that in all Ages Men have been credulous; that fince the Number of ignorant and foolijh 1.11en is greater than that of the wije and Jagacious, 'Truth is not al'ways to be eflimated by the Multitude * ; that the more ancient all Opi11i011- is, the nearer it alproaches to the fabulous Times; and that corifequently there is 110 Sentiment IdS worthy of Reception, tban that which has no more folid Foundations than thaft q 'lime, and the Multitude of Fotaries. Experience furnifbes us with fa man)' Proofs of this Trutb, that it would be an 4l1ro11t to the Judgment of the Reader, to pretend to give him h!fiaJlces if it.

It [eems the lflhrk now pr~rmfed to the pubIick,has been formed upon theft Principles. It is [o jugular, [a much an Original, and fo very dijlermf from the com-

mon

'* The Teflimony of thofe who believe a Thing already eflablifhed, has no Force to fupport that Thing; but the Te!l:imony of thofe who do not believe it, has Force to de!l:roy it. F01ltmelle's H!Jlory oj. Oracles, Diflert, I. Chap. 8.

Grave etiam argumentum tibi oldebatur, quod opinio de Dils immortalibus; et omnium 1fe.t, et quotidie cref ceret, Placet igitttr tantas res opmione fiultorum judicari, prefirti7ll qtti illos infallOs dfe dicatis.

Cic. de Nat. Deer. Lib. 5.

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mon lFay of thinking, that the Reader lJirljl acknorw/edge the whole to be new. 'The Cha~ racier of the Author is fo confpicnota as not to be mifiaken. Fie is a bdd Philofopher, who reojons 'with UllC01Jlm0l1 Liberty, and from pllllijibfe O~ferV17tiol1s, and incontefi-

able Fails, builds a connected and coherent Syjlem. His Name and Manner of 'writ-ing are fo "lvefl known in the Republick if Letters, that he can hardly be concealed

from the Publick. Tbis is all 1 jhall fay of him at pr~fent. If his Work is bad, he has the Mortification of not Jitccceding, and tf it is good, we reap the Profit if his diligent Refearcbes.

As this Work may fall into the Hands of the Learned, as well as the Ignorant, we heartily wijh that both may find their Account in it. It is a great Ad'L'alttage for an Author, when he knows how to mix Delight with Profit, without permitting Erudition to loft tmy Tbing of its Value, or Iufferi71g pleafan: Raillery to. degenerate into Pedantry and Ofientation. But our Indian Phi ... l%pher isJo grave, that he never quits the [erious and jr:ie(ltzjic Strain. ~hefe Indians

are an admirable Set of Men, and perhaps of all the AllimalsGod has made, none are lejs addiCfed to laugbing, We 1l1ufl however apprift thofe Readers, who feek for nothing but A1I1ufemmt ill Books, that this Work is net abfolutely deJlitzite of entertaining Nar-

. ratiues s

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ratives , that the [econd and Jixth COJ~verfatiom,for Inflance, noill jurnijb them soitb . a coifiderable Number of Fads, nobicb tho'

related )imply, . and soitbout Ornament, will 110t fail to pleafe them; and that the reading of the refl, will only cqfl them a moderate Ap/JlicatioJ1. '['he Reafonings of our Indian are generally fa eaJj, and jo far from being al!flruft, that they require 110 more Attention tban that which our Ladies daily be/lo'w on a Play or a Romance. He never. 'prefel1ts us with thefe metaph)fical Ideas,

'whofe Traces [ometimes efcope tbe Reach 0/ the greateJl Penetration. I-Ie folknos Nature Step by. Step, rcprejhlts her mofl ordinary, and fometimes ber mqjl rare and

jingula,. Produdlons. Is there ony ,[,hing more pleq/ing tban an Olfervatio7l of what Nature daily performs b~fore our Eyes .~ What is more agreeable tban to catch her as it were at Work, and force her to diJplay her moll fecret Myjler'ies to us ? .

. Tbe Author could not have choJm a fob.jea more capable of exciting the Curz'q/ity, not only of the Learnedcbut of every Man who is at the Pains to think. Nothing is more important to us, than to be acquainted with the Nature of the Globe which 'we inhabit, which our A71ceflors inhabited before tIS, and which our Pojlerity 'will illhabt't .fo long as it fballlu!!fifl i11· the Ab),/s of Ages, the End of nebicb is unknouin to us; to ex-

aJJ11Jl1'

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IZ1JlilIe whence it proceeded, how it was

formed, wh~t Revolutions it bas undergone, <what its prejent State is, and to what 17icilfitudes it may be afterwards expofld. If Man is born to hduftry, it is more rea[onable that he jhould be indzijirious about 'that which nearly concerns him, tban about

'Things which do not affitl him.

Tbe .Jillthor qf the neui Dialogues of the Dead ~!<, ingeniouJly rallies thofe Philo .. ,(opbers, nobo b)r an unpardonable Abl!fe of their Time and Talents, tread upon Mall, beca~fe they do 110t know him, and often addict thel;ifelves to Studies, which only tend to render them more vain and ridiculous than they were bifore. 'Ibis Reproach is equally due to mo/l Melt of Learning. But this perverfe Ufe if the human Powers, is in 120 Cafe more difcernable, than ill wh(lt relates to Man hil1ife!f. I hnotu the furprizing Progrejs which witbin theft two Ages Philqfophy bas made 011 this SubjeCl •. Anatomy brought to a greater Perfection, . and the Nature if the Soul better defcribed, tban fir five or .fix tboujand Years bifore, are fnyible Proofs if the Genius, and.izdl Difcernment if our Moderns. Among a 'lJajl Number if frivolous Studies, they do not neg/eel [ucb as are mo/l important.

Tbe Nature and Orighl of our Globe have 110t been fo we/I treated if by any other Author;

:.II Dialogue between Paracelfus and Moliere.

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Author; with reJpeCl to its Origin, among the »arious Opinions, which in all Ages have divided Mankind, all have agreed, that there was a Period ill which the World begmz to be inhabited, sobctber it was from Eternity, as jome of the ancient Philofophers maintained, or whether it began to exifl in 'rime, as Reafon and Religion induce us to believe. But the human 1udgmmt has not as yet penetrated farther. Religion in fbme, in others the Prejudice of Education, and i12 all, the Olfcurity if the SubjeCl, hinder them from carrying their Refearcbes farther. If [ome ancient Philofophers, amI even learned Nations, have pretended to explain the MOllner in which this Univerje was formed, the Ages in which they lived have [em that they only fpread Fables and Ro-

mances under their omqft [ubtil Syflems, and 111qft myjleriollS Allegories.

What relates to the Nature of our Globe, has not been better Cleared up. This rude and unformed Mafs which fopports and 120Urifbes us, includes in its Entrails numbtrlifs Miracles, worthy of the longejt and deepeft Study; fuch as Minerals, Metals, FoJIils, &c. and among tbeJe di.ffere11t Species there is 011 i1!finite Variety, the GOlfe of which is but little known, fince we have 120t made it our BZffinefs to find it out. PrepoJfif!ed with this general Idea, thllt God by a fiilgle Won!, in an, Irflant, produced the If/orld

Ottt

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out if notbing, we flolifhly imagine, that this inhabited Globe came from his Hands in the State in which we .fee it, and Up01Z this Principle we have haflily concluded that it was ?Zeed/~fs to fee.q for allY other Reafon than his Omnipotence and Will, jor the prodigious Variety obfervable in the Compo/itiol! ~l tbis Globe. 1 leave Mankind to judge ~f the Trutb of the Conjeque11ce, by the AbJurdity if the Principle; for without expatiating 011 this SubjeCl, let us only C011- lider the different Colours daily [een Jo whimjically mix'd i11 the fame Piece 0/ Alarble.

'T() bave Recourfe to the Will of God, ill order to explain tbls Variety, is to have RecoUlfe to tbe occult ff<!:_lalities of the Ancients, and tacitly coifefs our O'W7t ignorance; for to attribute this iJifi1zite Varifty to. a Supreme Intelligence, witholltJitppqjillg an End jar it, is at 011ce to ajjirm and deny his ExiJlet1ce. Now what End worthy 0/ God call we fiNd in theft h!flrllments if human Vanity, Jo long buried iJZ the Abyfs which concealed them.

fVhat jhall 1 Jay of that infinite Number of extraneous Bodies folmd i71 the hardefl Stones end Marbles, or if thofe whole Mounrains if Shells and Sea Bodies, which Nature Jams to have coUeaed 071 Purpoft ill Places tbe moJl remote from thofe in whhh they noeraformed. To C011tfjl the Trutb tf tl.)Cfi F aClsl as /owe bave done, to dmy the

Hetero ..

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PRE F ACE. lleterogeneity of thell: Bodies hfertcd £71 others of a quite different Species, and not to grant the Origin of theft Sea-Bodies

f0ltJu{ ill Grounds the mcfl remote (rom their Element, is 110t only to belye the corflant r dJimony of our Senfts, but alfo to renounce Reafln, and contradict good Senfe. Some learned Men haw fir this Reafon determined, .110t to t'11vefligate the Caufe qf an Ellefl which they could not call in ~IeJliOl1. 'Their d~fferent Sentiments are explained or refitted ill this Work. 'Tis true Jome have had/uch abfurd Opinions of this Matter, that they do 110t deferve Refutation. Others <with 1710re pmetrating Eyes, and left prejudiced in favour of »ulgar Opinions, have carifully objerved· the C01l1pqJitioll of the dijjermt Grounds 0/ our Globe. They have had confider able Penetration, and feem ttl have had a glimmering View of Truth; but becaufe their Eyes 'were as yet too (w{~a/l. to bear her Splendor, foe made her Efcap:? from them. Nature [eemcd to ojfer hefel! to them, withcut being hid in Clouds. They soanted' but to make one Step into the mqjl

.fecret Place if her Snnduary, But tbe final! Succefs of a great many Rejearches has too often proved, that this lalt Step is the longejf, and the mofl dijficu!t to be made. It was therefore refcrved for Telliamed,fi1Jl to penetrate into the dark Recejfes, where Nature [emu to wrap berjelf

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up in Myfleries, to force her thence, and to reveal her Secrets to us. "Iis . he, <who, concerning the Origin and Nature of this Globe, gives us 110t jimple ConjeElures, as many have done before him, but a certain Knowledge founded on long, laborious, and exact Refearcbes, on incontefiable Facts, and uportlajling and fel!fible Monuments of the great Principles of the Trutbs which he has difcooered, and of the ConjequeJ1ces which he has drawn from them.

''I'is a/lonijhing, that in order to acquire this Knowledge, he feems to have perverted the natural Order, fince i71flead of fid/ attempting to illvejligate the Origin of

our Globe, he has begun with. bzJlruClillg hin!felf concerning its Nature. 'Ibis Re»erfement of Order has been in him the Ef-

feCI of a happy Genius, which has led him Step by Step to the mo/l fitblime Difcoueries. ''I'is in decompounding this Globe by an exaii Anatomy of all its Parts, that he has fir) learned of what Suifiances it was compqfed, and what Arrangements tbe]e Sztbjlances obfer'Ved among each of her. 'Ibis Knowledge joined to that arijingfrom CompariJon, always neceJ!ary in the Mall who attempts to penetrate the Vails in which Nature loves to hide her jeff, has ferued as a Guide to our Philofopher, to arrive at the moJl important Knowledge. By the Matter and .drrangement of theft Compqfitiom,

. he

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be has di(covered the true Origin of this Globe, how and by whom it nnas formed. Hence, by natural COlifeqUeJ1Ces, he bas fixcd in jome Meafure, not the Jit)! ltiflant of its Exijtmce, which he did 110t believe po/-

,/ible for hmnanReafon to do, but the Period at Fwhich it commenced to be habitable, tbat in 'Which it began to be peopled, and that in which it may ceafe to be jo. He has alfo laid bifore us all the Reoolutions, to whicb not only this Globe, but all the others ill the Uniuerfe, may be JubjeCi ill the 11JJ1J1eJ2-

jity qf Ages. . .

Wecmz only judge by reading the Book i~fe!f, how many Meditations and Refe.arches were requi/ite to produce a Syfien: Jo new and jingular, Jo conneCied and coherent. Perhaps it will 710t be improper to give a flort Allalyjis if it here. \ I mu/t however

promi]«, that I have 110 Deflgn to take ony Party for or againjl him J and that corfeQUt11tly, if there is ony 'l'ht'l1g advantageous in this Extract, to the Syjtem of the Indian Philrfopher, it ought be looked upon as coming from all Author who is highly

charmed with his Ideas. .

That all the Grounds qf 'which our Globe is compq{ed, even the highdJ Mountains, have riji.'1Zolit of the "Praters; that they are the Work of the Sea, and have all been

formed in her Btfbsn, mtift at Jirjl certainly be tbought (J Paradox, but, if 'Zve follow tbe

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Dedudions and Rifearches if Telliamed, this Paradox will appear to be a Truth.

If we narrowly examine, Jays this PhiIqfopher, the Suijlonce 0/ our Grounds, we ohferve nothing uniform in them, nothing but what indicates in their Compojition, the EJfeB of a blind and fuccdJive Caufe , Sand, Mud, Flints, confounded together, and united by a Cement 'which makes but one Mafs of theft different Bodies; Beds of thofe SubJlances applied over eacl? other, and preferuing always the [ame Arrangement, whm they have not been diJlurbed by a

foreign tho' known Caufe. If the Sea forms in her Bofom Jimilar Colledions, compofed of the fame SubJlo71ces united by the Salt 'which is proper to theft Waters, and wbich

Ierves as a Cement to them, arranged alfo in Beds and Layers, and difpqfed in the lame Diredion, how is it pqJJible for us not to be flruck with [ucb an .dgreement ? But If this Rifemblmlce extends to the Po-

fition qf theft ColleBioJ1S; if it is the Jame in the Bolom of the Sea as lIP011 Land; if there as well as herr, they are jituated ill the [ame Manner ; if on the Grounds 01Z dry Land we obferue, as well as in tbofe covered by the Waters, evident 'Traces oj the Work of the Sea, and of the AJ!aults fbe has made upon them; who wit! be fo obJlillate as to rrjufi his Affmt to the

Truth

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'Truth arifing fo clearly from this Difcovery.

'['his /0 jelifihle Proof of the Origin oj our Grounds, continued he, becomes a DemonjlraticJl, b), the extraneous Bodies inferted in their Subfiances. 'Fe can dijJillguijh two dijft'rC11t Sprcif's (f tbeje, 'which both con'cur to r(:ab!i jb this 'IT utb. 'The fir/! are terrellrial Rodt't's, fuch as 'Trees, Leaves, Plants, TVead, Iron, Reptiles, 'and euen human Bones, found in the Heart of the hardeJl Stcnes=and Marbles. The [econd are Sea-Bodies, [ucb as Shells of all Sorts, kncum and unknoum, Coral Is, Beds of 0)'-

)len, Benes if Sea Fifo, and even Fijh thcmjl.'lves eitbcr intire or mutilated. 'Ihefo Sea-Bodies ./pread on the Surface 0/ the Earth, are not in a [mal], but in an almil infinite Number. 'They are not to be found £II onefingle Ii<!.{(lJT)' perhaps placed 011 the Coafi, but are to be· met with in all Countries if the World, in Places the mofl diflan: from the Sea, on the Surface of tbe MOltlltaillS,tll1d even at the Bottom of their Entrails. There are 'whole Mountains qf them, and theft Sea-Bodies are really [ucb, 110twith/lallding the .forry Reafons 0/ flme Literati, who at the Expeuce of good Senje have dared to maintain the contrarv,

Now from theft t'lCJO Species if e:",~tratleous Bodies inferred in the Sub/lance qf our Globe, there refitlts, according to Telliamed, a

b 3 Demon-

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Demonflration of his Principle, that our Grounds are the Works if the Sea, In a soord, fays he, it is euident, that theft Bodies sobetber terrifirial or marine, could not have pmetrated into the Maffes i11 which they are at prefint found, except at a Time wbe11 the Subjlances of theft Ma.f!es were loft and Ii..,. quid; neither is it lefS evident, that there Sea-Bodies could have OJ1ly been carried by the Sea into Places at prifent fbfar dillant from ber. It is alfo certain, that tbeft extraneous Bodies either 0/ the 'ferreflrial or Sea-Kind, are found en the Tops of our h;gh~fl Mountains. To attribute this Prodigy to the Deluge, is, according to cur Pbilofopher, all i12d~fe7?fible Opinion. We lJJtffl therefore, fays he, draw this cer- . tain and nccejfary Conclujiol1, that there. has hem a 'lime when the Sea covered tbe highe/l Mountains of our Globe; that foe covered them for a cotfiderable Number if Years or Ages, in order to knead and finn tbem in her Bofbm , and that jhe has cifterwards dimiuifbed by all the Bulk 'If tbc 7raters fitppqfcd to be contained betuiecn their highell Summits, and her prtfmt Sur-

face. This Proof, continues he, which at jirft [cems j7x,cking, is confirmed daily, by the aciual Prolongation of our Lands, which are viji/;{y enlarged, and which jlJetw us Shores and Harbours jilled up and effaced, "wbi!e otbcrs appear to fi,pply their Places.

With

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xxiii

With hew 111al1)'ExamplesdoesHiJlory furn1Jh ZIS if Cities which the Sea has left, and of Countries which jbe has dejerted?

'The apparent Grounds then of our Globe, are incolltejlably, adds he, the Work of the Sea; and fince fbe has been diminifbed by all their Height, it is evident that the Caufe oj this Diminution Jubji/ling always, }he jlil! continues to dimil1ijh in like Manner. From this Principle arifes a Difcovery, from which Telliamed kno'lvs how to draw a numerous 'Train of C01!fequences. In a 'Word, fays he, if it is true that the Sea diminifbes,

it is no lefs evident, tbat there is no Ell:' polJibility of finding the juJl Meafure of her real Diminution. Nou: in comparing this prejent Diminution soitb the Elevation of our bightjl.lvfoulltains, cannot we a!fo difcover the Period of 'rime, rzt'hich the Sea has employed in Jitbjidil1g from all this Eleniation to her pre{ent Surface, and COllfe .. quentlyknow the Number of Ages elapfed

flnce our Globe became habitable? By C01l1- paring this Sort of Diminution at prejent, with the aiiual Depth of the Sea, cannot we (lifo have the jtJi Meafitre of her future Diminution, and C01!(equently foreJee the Num .. bel" of Ages necejfary·for her total Exbau-

jlion, and perhaps jor the burning of the whole Globe ?

'1 he Indian P hilqflpher 'With having found out the

, b 4

is not content Origin of the Earth

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Earth which we inhabit; the Knowledge he acquired in jlu4,'ing this SubjcCl, has conduded him to other Difcoueries equally curious, and fiill more interefiing, The 'Very Foundation of his Syflt"111 has furnifbed him with a Proif, that in Proportion as this Globe exifis, and as the Allimation 0/ all that has Life in it continues, there are

formed, eoen ill its Bofom, the Catt{csif the AllllihilatiolZ of that 'Vital Spirit sobicb mlfll one Day ceafe in it, and lay a Foundation for its burning. It is marly thus, that during Life the human Body accumulates aud col/etls sobat 'Zoillone Day be the Principle of its Deflrudion. Now from this, by a natural COllJeque12ce, the Indian Pbilojopber has concluded, that the [ame Tbing htlfhpened in all the other Globes. In a 'Ford, he has obJer<'{Jed that there is a perpetuai Motio» in tbis Unioerfe, even sritb ndPeCl to its Subjlance, and that there is a continual Change in all the Globes of which it is compofed; that 'Very coifiderable Cht1JlgCS are obfer'Vable in the Moon, as well as in the Globe of the Earth, and i11 the Body of the SUIl, as well as in the m?ft diflant qf our Planets; that afier baving fbined for [eueral Ages, certain Stars have

difappcared totttlly, <while others have appearedwhich we never jarzv bgore. From theft OhjervatioJlS, and fame other PheJ1O- 1J1fl1a uhich pafs ill the Heavens, he

C011-

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concludes, that at the End of a certain Time the opaque Globes become luminous, 'l1)hile thoft laJi become dark, and intirely loft their Light; that both are 1Z0~ regular in this State of Change; tbat by the Exbauflion and Extz"nCfioll of the Spirit if LIfe, with 'U.>,hich they are impregnated, th~feGlobes 'which are become opaque, are enflamed and and Jet on Fire a-neio , that the new luminous Globes, when the Matter which ferced as Alimmt to them is totally con/limed,

fall into their pi-imitive Obfcurity, and that this continual Circle of Revolutions is formed and renewed perpetually in the vafl 1111- Ilw!fity of Matter,

Such are the Principles which Telliamed has laid down and explained in the

jive firfl Difcourfes of this Work. He

might have /lopped here, and ought to have done jo. His Syfiem by 110 Means obliged him to explain, how in the PaiJage from Light to 0bfct/rity, Men and Animals might be renewed in the feoeral Globes qf' the Univerfe. He bad aiied wifely, in referring theft 'Things to tbe fupreme Intelligence, who governs all. But the Itch of Reafol1il1g, fo common among Philojophers, has 120t permitted him to corfine himfelf within jttJi Bounds; and in order to pujh his Syflem as far as it would go, he has car-

. ried 'things too far., Tbis is the SubjeCf if the Sixth and laj! Comxrfation, which is ds

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PRE F ACE.

as jingltlar, and as much an Original as the others, In it Telliamed follows the Ja1Jie Method, jipportiltg hinyeif much more upon the Strength of Fads, than the Subtilty of Retifolli11g. It will 110 doubt appear 'liery ji11guldr, to find Men and Animals C0/11i1tg out of the Sea; but the Indian Philq(ophl!r has Ollly propoftd this as all Hypotbefis. We 11m}! however grant, that he proves beyond COlltradiaioll, that the P af. Joge of any Anima/I'u)hich lives in theWa-

fer, to Refpiratioll in the Air, is notfo ;111- pqlJible, as is commonly believed; that Re[piration become necefJar)I to Animals come out of the Sea, is not a ftdficient Reafon to

reject this Opinion; tbat it [eems founded 011 a great Number of Faas which cannot be eqjily denied, and which can hardly be explained on the ordinary ·Hypothejis. Be this as it will, we have Reqfln to believe, that many qf the Learned will find the whole Syjlem of the Indian Philofopher jiifJiciently curious and lingular to defert» their At ... tention.

Tbe Cqfe is not the fame with another ClaIs of Perfbns, to whom this Idea of No ... velty alldSingularity will perhaps appeara jtt!l Reaflll for condemning the 'York; 1 mean thore Perfbns remarkablefor their ex .. cejJive Scruples and Delicacies in point of ReligifJJ1. Lgrant indeed, we cannot too much reJPea this Delicacy) when it is en-

lightened

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lightened and guided by' ReaIoll; but it IS equally certain, that this excejJive Zeal fame .. times only proceeds from Ignorance and Meannefs of Spirit, jince it Oftm degene ... rates into Jaffe Prejudices, and a barbarou: and ridiculous Blindl1eft *' ; that without giving a Shock to Religion, we may boldlj attack ill-grounded Scruples, which dre 011- ly the Ei/eC1s of an ine>:cufable SuperJUtion;. and that if we are obliged to fltpport the; pure' and falutary Ideas of the former, we' are equally bound to oppqft thePropagation of the fiupid Opil1i011S Jet on Foot by the latter;

jor it is hardly credible, how fubtil Error is to z'1?Jimwte itje!f into the .Minds if Men, how powerful it is to e.ftnblifh itle!! there, after it has taken PoffijjiOil, and to maintain itfl!J;. how dextrous to grafp at every Thing which canfaoour th~ Empire it has ztjttrped. t. Call we tlrcrefori be Jurprized, that it fbould coveriij~!fwitha Cloak of

Reli-

% Supcrfl:itio fufa per gentes oppreflit omnium fere animos, atque. horninum imbecilitatem occupavit, Nee vcro, fupcrftitione tollenda, religio tollitur. Qgamobrem, ut religio propaganda. ctiam eft, qUa! eft conjuncta cum eognitione natune, fie fuperflitionis ftirpcs omnes elidendre funt; inftat enirn & ur~ get, & quocumquetc verteris .perfequitur,

a; de Divin. Lib. 2.

t Errors once eflablifhed among Men, generally fpread "deep and wide Roots, and cling about every Thing which fupports them.

Fmttnel/e's- Origin of Fab/(I.

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xxviii PRE F ACE.

Religion, than which notbing is more venerable. -

Be this as it will, thrfe Perfons are the more troublefome, becazife H though we can cc give them very good Reafom, yet they " have a Privilege not to yield to the H bif! Reafons if they do 110t like them *. " Now 'tis hardly to be doubted, but that upon the jirJl Appearance they will imagine there is fomething dangerous to Religion in the Syflem if the Indian Pbilojopber, and that upon this Account they will treat it as impious, atbeiflical and ahominable. lYe might allfwer them in general, that 'we ought not to condemn jlightly, and that if we were to found our Judgment upon Appearances, or upon Confequences often very remote, there would be few Chriftian Schools, and even few ancient Fathers of the Church, who jhould he [creened from Cenjure, But the graver the .dccufation is, the more it deflrves a formal A1Zfwer. Let us there-

fore fairly, and without Prejudice, examine, whetherinflead oj' being oppojite to Religion, the Syflem ifTelliamed is not on the contrary highly conformable to the mqft jujl and falutary Ideas, which Religion gives us if- the Deity.

Let us therefore Jeporate from this Syf-' tem every Thing which is foreign to it. Of this Kind are the Eternity oj" Matter, ab

* Preface to the Plurality of Worlds.

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ab ante, and the Origin of Man, filch as our Indian has reprefented it. It is evi-' dent, that he only prnpofes both as Hypotbefes, and we cannot be offended at his taking

this Liberty; fince it is authorifed by the conflant Pratiice of all the Schools. 'The Eternity of Matter, tho' Jllpported by jome qf the ancient Philofophers, is an Opinion Jo abfurd, that in an .Age jo knowing as

ours, it is Jurprizing that Men who want to be thought bright Geniufes, fbould be the Abettors of it. With r~JPeSl to the Origill of Man, what our Philofopher bas faid qf it in this Treatije, is 110 more tban a Conjedure formed by a warm Imagination, and can never make any Imprejjioll on the Mhld oj the Reader. As to the Deluge, it is needleJs here to enter into the celebrated COJ1tro<'verjj, whether it has been really univerfal, and whether the Words of Genefis ought to be underflood of an Inundation truly general, and iobicb covered the whole Earth. Tclliamed in fome PaJ!ages Jeems to deny this, but prottjls that it is indifferent to him which euer Side of the ff<Eeflioll the Reader efpoufes. .And in a Word, we lind tbat tbe Sentiments he has produced agai1!ft the UniverJality of the Deluge, only terminate in fome Doubts; that. 1/ on tbefe diffirent Subjec1s he propofes certain Notions and Realonings, . which feem to appife Reoealcd Religion, he only does it toJhew, that there is

110

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PREFACE.

no ObjeC1 about which the buman RettJoji may not form either very great DiJliculties, or very probable Syfiems, and that there pre Dotlrines certainly true, which it combats with almoj/ ttndnjwerable ObjeCliom. Be-

fides, it is to be remembered, that eVf11 iii Chriftian Schools, 'ioe make a great Dijfirenee betweel1 cOf.ztijling a received Doc ... trine, and COlltefli1tg Jome Reafbns alledged to-prove that it ougbt to be Jo. Natural Equity therefore demands that We Jhould pardon our Indian Philofopher on thrfe three Points, fince in bandling tbem, he has not pretended to ejlabliJh a particular Sentiment, and has never paJ!ed the Bounds obferved by the mo.fl [anguine Defenders if Orthodoxy, who have always claimed a Right of examining the Reafolls ufed to defend the Truths of Religion, or to refute the oppqJite Sentiments.

Let us now proceed to thrfe Opinions, which our Philofopher has either ejfablijhed or fitpprfed in this 'Ireatije, tho' they are not peculiar to himfl!f: OJ this Kind are the Plurality of Globes, inhabited by Creatures if our Species, which is the Bafis. of the fifth C012'VerjatioJl; and the Species if

iuture Eternity afcn'/;' d to theft Globes i11 the fame Palfage. But Pm 120t of Opinion that what Tclliamed has. [aid 011 this SubJeCl, can be any jt!fl Reafln to fufpeCl his Religion. Not' to mention Cyrano, known

. ' for

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for his imaginary Voyages into the Sun and Moon, the Author of the ingenious Converfations on the Plurality of Worlds, has 110t been blam'd for his ingenious Raillery:

And tho' we find a great deal if Ollentation, asul little Solidity, ill the Work which Huygens compqfed on the fame SubjeCl, yet he naasfar from being treated as all impious 1110(1, and all Atheijl, 011 tbat Accollnt. It bas in our O'1IJJl Days been fbeum *, that this Sentiment is by 110 Means new, tbat it 'was knoum ill the jir}! Ages ofChriflia11ity ; that tho' this Opinion has been attributed to flme Heretics +. and tho' all Author in the fourth Cmtury ranks it among/! the Number of HereJies"j., yet it has beo:

, fit/laill'd, at leafl as a Polftbility II, in a Work composd exprtjly againjl Pagans, by one oj the l1n/1 ancient and 'Venerable Fathers 0/ the Church.

We may Jay the fame of the future Eternity of our Globe, or rather of this Uni-

'* Memoirs of Literature, Tom. 9' Diflertarion entituled, Sentiments of tbe ancient PhtlaflphcrI on the Plurality of Worlds.

-r Ir.eneus attributes it to the l/almtinians, Adverf.

H~rcr. Lib. 2.

. t PhilaJlres Bifhop of Brefce. Hercf 65. Tom. 2.

Bibl. P. P.

II Nee enim quia uma e.fl Creator, idclrt» unus dl mundus ; poterat enlm Deus, et alios mundas facerr; Athan, contra Gentes.

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Unicerfe. It is evident, tbnt the Scripture, which teaches us that this World muf] one Day have all End, 110 'where informs us that it is to he annihilated; that e~:Je1z in feveral Pqffages it formally indicates tbe contrary *; that the primitive Cbriliians

have hem of this lafl Upinio71, and uniuerfolly belieued, that the general Conflagra-

tion would only purify this 'Vorld, without annibilatlng its Matter; that the mqfl celebrated Fathers of the Church, fuch as Origen and Auguflin t, thought the fame. Shall we therefore condemn in a Philofopher, what we ought to refpeCl in the Defenders of the Faith?

Of all the S)'fiem tben of Telliamed, there are 0111)' two Points on which perhaps any

* For behold I create new Heavens, and a new Earth, and the former {hall not be remembered, nor come into Mind, lfa. lxv. 17. And I faw a new Heaven, and a new Earth, and the firfl: Heaven and the firfl: Earth were paffed away; and there was no more Sea, Rev. xxi, I. Neverthelefs, we according to his Promife look far new Heavens, and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteaufncfs, 2 Pet. iii. 13.

. :t: Si mutabuntur Gteli, utique 110n perit quod mutatur ; & .ft habitus mundi tranjit non omni modo, exterminatia, vel perditio fuljlantia: materialis ojlenditur :

Sed lmmutatio qu.edam /it qualitatls, at~ue habitus tranjformatio, Origen de Prine. Lib. I. Cap. 6. In litteris quid em legitur, pra:terit jigura hujus mundi; Iegitur mundus tranjit; legitur Gtelum & :r erra trarifi-

. bunt ; Jed put» quodpraterit, tranjit, tranjibunt,aliqutmto mitius ditTa fUllt q""''''' peribunt. Aucull, de Civitat,

Dei, Lib. 2. C~·,. , r' 0

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xxxiii

any Accufati.m may be formed again) him, I mean the Origin afoul' Earth, fucb as he '!ftablijhes it, and the Perpetuity of Motion, which he admits ill the other Globes; jar when we tell JOlt that this Globe which we inhabit is the Wor.'<. of the Sea, ifyou rea-

Jolt but a little, )'011 at once judge, that in order to admit this Propofitio», )'ou mufl renounce the Hifiory of the Creation, [ucb as we read it ill Genefis , and if )'ozt take 'one Stepiarther, you tbin]: yourJelf obliged to acknrno/edge tbe Pre-exiflence 0/ Matter, This holds true if that eternal Circulation if Changes, by means 0/ which our Pbilo-

flpher pretends to jz,e'w; that tbe State of the . Univerfl may perpt'ttwte itJc(j: 'The Reader may at fidl imagine, that this Principle has a Tendency to oppoft the adual Concurrence of a fitpreme and i11tel/igmt Cotije, and cOlifequently to dejlroy Prouidence ;:~. . Let us there/ore enquire 'what l.RJI! ought to think if thefe C01!(equeJ1ces; b), reducing 'l'hings to their .iuft Value, perhaps 'We jhall find that the difadvantageous Idea, which People may entertain if this IYork, is at Bottom-no more tban a Bug-bear, and a Phantom, only capable of terrij)'il1g prepolf1fed Imaginations.

c Let

* This is what Clemens .Illo,andrlnus found, Fault

with in the Vortices of Anaxagaras. . ,

Srromat. Lib. 2. Cap.·4--

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PRE F A C·E.

Let us begin with the Origin of our Globe. It is at firJ! vi/ible, that the Opinion of the Pre-exiflence of Matter, as it ls explained or fitppofed in this :!reatife, gives 110 Shock to the Omnipotence of the Creator, and the Gratitude due to himfrom the Creature, for the Being he has conferred upon it : For whether the Creation of Matter has, or has not,jor many Ages preceded the ailual Arrangement of this Univerfe, which Telliamed fuppofts in his Syj/em, God will for this be neither the left powerful and glorious, nor left the Author and Creator of

all Things. •

'Tis true this Sentiment is not geNerally received; becaufe. it is oppo/ite to the common Belief, that the UniverJe was produced from nothing. ill the fame State in <which we . fee it; and becauft it [eons to combat what the Scriptures teach us concerning the Ori-

gin of the World. But we know that Va'tablius, Grotius, and other learned Men, ha.ve maintained, that in order to give the true Senft 0/ the firfi VerJe oj Genefis, it ought to be tratflated, When God created the Heavens and the Earth, Matter was without Form, which clearly efiabliJhes the Pre-exiflence of Matter. If this Opinion is 110t true, it may at leafl be looked upo.11. as probable, and we mt!ft grant, that a jimple- P,,;obability is fi!lficient to lay 6 Foundationfor a Philofophicnl Syflem. 1t

'l.eJould

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(would be eafy to jhew, that if the Syflem of Telliamed concerning the Origin of the Earth) is 110t entirely conformable to the Moraie Hiflory of the Creation, yet it is not

abjo!utely contrary to it, .. .

. What means that Mafs ill the Beginning without Shape and FO~'m, that Darknejs Ipread UP011 the Face of the Deep ; the Spirit, of' God mo'Ving upon the Face of the !Vaters; and that Separation of tb« Iraters from the Jf7aters, mentioned in Ge ... nefis? ,rhat. other Ideas do theJe ExpreJlio1ZS naturally con'Pfy to the Mind) than thoJe which our Pbilofopber gives us, rz;:hm he reprejents. this Globe as buried at . jirjt under the l¥_atei·s of the Sea, which animated by that .c'pirit of Life with which the Creator had i,J1pr.egnated them, formed our Grounds and our Mountains in their Bolo,iz. . '1 h,eje iVoters afterwards, diminifbed ~n the lv!a~li1er explained by Telliamed, their Sur/ace {ttbjided, . and our higheft Mountains beginning to jhew their 'rops t!!;o'V~ the Waves, the Earth as yet / arren, .loon gave the fitjl Marks of her Fertility:

Then foe be.gan to be. cloatbed with Herbs, and the verdant Puflu-age, necelJary for the Nourijhnitllt oftbe Animals (with which foe was afterwards flocked. Man was the

laft Work of the Hand- of God, and in all theft Re.fpeCls, Scripture and the PI;.JIofophy

: C2 if

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PRE F ACE.

, if our Indian, preJent our Minds with thd fame Images.

It may perhaps be [aid, that fince in Genefis, the Word Day is ufed to denote the rime in which God produced the Works of Creation, we ought by a mcejfary Conjequence to believe, that they were accomplijbed in tbe Space of fix Days, or of fix Reoolutions 0/ our Globe round its Center. But it is evl ... dent from Genefis itfe!f, that the SU11 noas not created till the fourth Day, and that conjequently before that Time, we could nei ... tber count Days nor Nights; sobence we may conclude, that the Word Day is in that Part ttftd improperly, metaphorically, and to jignifv the SuccejJion with which the /ur-= Intelligence executed the different Works there mentioned. Be/ides, the 10l1gefi or tEe jhortefJ MeaJitre of Time which this Farmation 0/ the UniverJe cofi him, is by no means capable of takil1g /1'0111,. or adding to his Potuer ~ God would not have been greater, tho' he had produced the World in an 111-

fiant, or to life the Scripture ExprelJion 6y a Let it be. Tbus neither the fix Days in 'which, according to Genefis, he laboured at his Production, 1101' a longer Space of Time,

fuch. as we may imagine, according to the' Syflem ifTclliamed, 110r what the Scripture {ays concerning his "eJling on the je ... cent]: Day, as if he had been fatigued by

his

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his Labour, in the leqfl diminifb Us Glor),.

Tbere is 120 Time in him; the Pafi and the Future are in him indiviJible; and if Mofes

has [aid, that he employedfix Da)'s to create

tbe Heavens, the Earth, and all that they contain, it is perhaps a Method of !peak ..

ing sobicb he . ufed, to i1iform lIS that all

theft 'Ihings were marie fuccejjively.

lYith refpe8 to Providence, we want to Imow 'lvhp{ we ought to underfland by tlat Term ; and whether a lFork compqfed with Jo much WtJdom and Art, that without re~ touching it, its very Deflrutiion jhould prove the Principle of its Renovation, would not be (lJZ infallible Mark oj a lFifdom much more perfeB, pouerful, and attentive to the Good of thoJe jor whom this Work was formed,' than if at every Inflant the Artificer suas obligea to Pllt his Hand to it ? What CompariJon could we make between a Clock-maker, '[1)ho hpd Sldll enough to make a Clock fo curiouJly, that by tbe Dijorder which Time jhouMproduce in ber Parts and Movements, there fbould be 1UW Tf7heels and Springs formed out of the Pieces, <which had been 'Wont and broken; and anotber Artip of the fame ProfdJion, whoft Wor]: flouid ever.,V Day, every Hottr, and Minute, require his Attention to reaJify its Errors, and eternal Variations?

Permit me to ufo this Comparifon, 'which in the pre{ent Cafe, I COl1feJS bas no Faun-

e 3 . dation,

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dation, (,xcept in the narrow Limits ofour Underflanding and Ideas: 'Ibis is prccifely the Cafe which remains to be determined between Telliamed and his Opp~(ers.

Tbefe reprefent' the Creator under tbe Idea of a bungling and tmjkilful Artificer, 'lob{)/e Work is fo flight and zl'ljUI/, that £ts total' Ruin is every M01J1eJ1t expeCfed. Tbe Workman in vain puts his Hand to it, and lmploys all his Pains to reClify its Faults. After a con.fiallt andn/Jiduouf' Ap-: pit cation, after-reiterated Attempts which col} him no leJs Labour than the original Produtiion, he is no farther advanced tban he was the fitfl Day;' and he will always have his 'Toil to begin, till he deflroys the

jorry If/ork'if fa much Care and Pains.

I ddj the moJl1izoderate ,4bettors of the di'ViJie Concurrence to Jay, that I have exagyerated this Defcription Of their Opinion. Do they not maintain.tbat to {very Actio11. '?f the Creature, whatever it is, the Inter'VeJ1ti011 of the genera! Caufe is I1bfllutely l1eceJ!ory, and that eveiy 11!ftal1t of Prejervation is a. ne» Creation? As others have fuffc:'e~t'J foewn. the terr~ble COlifequences art'jing from tbis S),jlem, Tfball not here touch upon' them. . . ' ,

. The Iridian 'Phi(OJopher preJents lIS with a quite different Image of the Deity. lie 4e-

Jcribes him under the Idea of a Jki!fitl . .Artifl, infinitely Moflcr of his B.ujil1efs,

.. . . . . 'who

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who ill the Produiiion oj bis Work, employs

all the Means proper to render it durable,

7ififul, and beautiful. Time which confomes

all Things, and tbe Nature of humanAffairs, always JubjeCl to Vicijjitudes,il1 'Vain attempt

a Change in his Maller-piece; they cannot produce its Dejlruaion. 'Ihefe 'Very Di]: orders which he forekn» muft happen, will contribute to its Preferuation, It will per ... petuate itfllJ by the fame Means, which in

other Works prove the Principles if their Ruin; and from the Bofom of its OWIZ Wrecks, it will ariJe as peifeCl and beau-

tiful, as it (lppeared on its jid! Forma-

tion.

Now of thife two RepreJentutions, which gives us the mojllloble, foblime, and exalted Idea if the l)eity? What is more proper to excite our Gratitud« and Love, than to fee him fo far concerned for our Tranfjllillity, as to prevent. our Dread, Ie/I his Works, abandoned by his powerful Halld, jhould one Day return to that Chaos whence

his Goodnefs drew them for our Sakes? What "more glorious for God, than to have fo formed the World, which we inhabit,

that in preferving a/wa)'s, nearly the fame Number of opaque and luminous Globes, the DejlruCliolZ if jome jho(tld contribute to the Renovation of others, withottt being obliged. to produce new ones? What more worthy if fpc Creator," than to have cJlablijhed Jueb

c 4- all

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PRE F ACE.

011 Order itt the Nature if the Uniuer]«, . ·that it flotlld carry in iife!! the Pri1ie/ples both ~f its Life and Death; that animated 'witb tbat Spirit of Life, witb 'which he basz"mpregnated it, it Jbcu!d be in its ltif01ZCY tbe ./lztf,?or 0/ all thqfe ProduBioJtS. which were either ujifu! or 71l'cdfary to the ,\'ubl!flence if the Creatures, dejlined to inbabit it; that it afterwards fbould wax old, by the lYetlkenillg if this [ame Spirit; that it ./hall· be Jet on Fire by the Extindion of this Spi- . rit, and br its Return, like the Phenix rift out of its oton AJhes? Surely, if Nature always lIfes the beJl Oeconomy in producing the greatifi Defign: *, how can we think to boneur the Author if Nature, by .{ztbjeCling him to fo painful and continual At- .

tensions to t1 D'!ftgll of fo J1/1tJll I1I1por-· ranee to him, as the Preferuatio» if this

Univerfe] .

It mo.-v, perhaps, be Jaid, that this Prilz- ' cip!e tends to cflablifb the idle Deity ifEpi-' emus ; and in order to render tbe Opinion. of Telliamed odious, People will 110t Jail in Imitation oj Cicero ~r, to draw a ri-

diculous

'* Dialogues on the Plurality of Worlds, I Eve-

~/ng. .

t Neque enim tamdeflpiens fuiJfot Epicurus, ut bomUJIcl/lis fimilem Dl'Um /ingeret, lineamentls dun/axa!' extremis, nun hahitu jolidlJ membris bominis pr.:editum· Imnibus nan membrarum, 1It minim« fjllidem, exilem.

quemdam

.2

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PREFACE.

, diculous PiC/ure if this Divinity. Hence' People will conclude, like bim, that to ima .. gine a God like this) is, in ejfeCi, to acknmuledge none at all. We migbt anJwer, that to conJulteven the Roman Orator in the Comparifln, . the inJenjible Idol of the Epicu ... reans, was, perhaps, for more -ualuable . than the rejllefs active Deity, to whom the Stoics gave Jo many' Occupations /0 highly below him. But we have at prefent no BujineJs either with the Stoics or Epicureans. It is JzdJicient to have fbeum, that the Sentiment ~lTelliamed) is fa/ar from

firiking at the Wifdonl, the Goodnefs, and the Omnipotence of God, that it is on the contrary infinitelyfavourahle to thefoDivine Attributes, which both Reafon and Scripture oblige us to acknawledge in the fuprel11e Being.

We certainly cannot eajily force our Pbi« lofopher to grant, that God is continually ~mploy' d in the Preferuation of the Univerfi; and that he is fa Jlrongly attached to this Work, that at evcry Moment it is requiJite

for him to uft the utmo/l Efforts of his Power to fMjlain it. Befides, he will readily acknowledge, that the 1York ofPreflrva-

'1uemc!am atque 'perlucidum, 1zihiJ luiquam tribumtem, nihil gratijiconnm, ommns nihil curanum; nihil agentem

'lUte natura primum nulla eJfe.p_Dtdl. •

, Crc. de Nat. Deor, lib. 1. ,

tiOl1,

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):lii.

\

PRE F ACE.

tlott, is truly the Work of the Hand of God ; that nothing happens in the World without his PermijJion, and in C01iformity to his eternal Decrees; and that among all the fecond CauJes, there is 110t one which is 11otJubordinal! to his omnipotent Will. 'I'he De ... finders of the cElual Divine COl1CUrrenC(

will 120t be content with this ConcejJion. But is not this, perhaps, OJ. much a Fault ill tbeir Manner oj Tbinking, as in that of our Pbilofopber ? Call they refufeto grant, that the Operations of God do by no Means refellible .anv thing that is fuggejled by our weak and foal/ow Ideas ? And upon this Principle, is it not evident, that they attri"ute fo the Deity a Providence no more than purely human, and bounded by Hours and Moments, Juch as we may conceive in a wife Man? Is not a Providence, thus limited and impeifea~ a Providence, . the End of 'Which is nothing 4fe tban to make God the .ttuthor if Sin, and to fap the Foundations if Morality~ ~ injilzitely ulZworthy of a fl~ vereignly perftEl Being? Can we more ifftC/ualfy honour this fipreme Ineelligence, than ill dijhzgagil1g him from the' Slavery to

which theft baft and fer-nile Ideas feem to

reduce him? .

:t: This is what the DifcipJes of Difcar/(S t!ndMal~

~:QlI~he are upbraided with.' .

. If,

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PRE F ACE.

:rf, however" there }hould remain any ScrupIes with reJpe51 to theft Points, everyone is at Lz'herty to look upon what Telliamed has 'Wrote on them as the Diuerfion of his Mind, founded OIl ConjeBurts, on [ome Phenomena, or Oil Confequences very remote from the Solidity if the Proofs, which he advances for the Diminution of the Sea. Tpe Protejlations he frequently makes oj his having no Mind to take any Part in theft Differences, out only to fuflain bis Sentiment as a pure Hypothffis, leave us no Room to doubt of tbe ReClitltde of his Intentions, and of the little Difpojition he had to appear a Dogmatijl",

. We aright therefore to read his two lafl Conferences, with the fame Turn of Mind, that we read the agreeable Reveries of Cyrano, and the ingenious FiBions contained in the Difcourjes on the Plurality if Worlds. No Body ever upbraided thtft A~lfhf)rs . on Account oj what they wrote, andTelliamed expeBs the fame 'Indulgence from his Readers.

:this is what I htld to fay ill' Defence of our Indian Phi/oftpher, without pretending to be his Difciple, or to juflify him; and I proteft that I only look upon bis Syjiem, as well as the other Syflems of ancient and modern Philofophers, to be all ingenious Chime-

. rat I }hall ad4 one Refiection, which con-

mt

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" v

1

PRE F ACE.

1l0t jail to make an ImprejJion OJZ the Minds tlfwiJe 'Men. When the Phi/oftphy qfDef"'! cartes appeared, what Outcries were made againjt his Doctrine? Tbe mofl hot andzeaIous offerted, that it had a (jendency to l1athi11g left than the Dejlruction of Religion,the ~iery Foundations tf which it fapp' d. " Hotoever, this fi; dangerous Syftem was afterwards adopted and maintained, at .leaf! in part, tbro' all the mofl Orthodox Chriflia7Z Schools. Wby fl? Becaufe in the Judgnunt of prepofl1fid and ignorant People, it is fil'/ftcient'Jor a Dotirine to harve an Air oj NO'lJelty, to be jttdg' d pernicious. 'Iime wears r1f this Jaffe ImpreJJion, and it becomes left fitJpeBed in P"op01"tioo as it grows older, or rather IlS it begins to be bitter known. Let me add, that in our Days we knou: better than ever, the extreme Dijference there is between tbe Dodrlnes of Faith and Ideas purely human. In" a Word, it is ?lOW gene",; rally granted, that Religion and PhHofophy pave Rigbts very diflil1ct, a?zd a Manner if Reajonil1gpeculiar to each of tbem, that the one is fuperior to Nature, whofo Laws God mayreveife at his Pleafure; .and that the other is the Science of Nature berfelf, 'lohoft Lau» God bas permitted us to trace and invefligate ; that Faith is above Re'!fon; and that on" the contrary, RcaJoll is the Candle which ought to light us to all natural l(nowledge.

Upon

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PRE F ACE.

Upon this Principle let the Reader look upon Telliamed, as a Phi/oftpher who has by no Means attempted to compoJe a 'Ireatift of Theology. Let him therefore be permu-. ted to reafbn like a Philofopher; and let us in his D!fcourfes only feek for Syf/ems purely philofophical. Let thoJe who want to injlrltct themfeIves in tbeir Religion, confit/t the many excellent Works, in all Ages

wrote in its Defence. As for the Indian Philofopher he here proteJls, that he 01llj pretends fa intertjl Reafbn in his Syf/em, and that, if People do him JujHce, they can only attack him by the Light if Reafon.

Cum de religione agitur, T. Coruncanium, P. Scipionem, P. Screvolam, pontifiees maximos, non Zenonern, aut Cleanthem; aut Chryfippum fequor; habeoque C. Lrelium augurem, eundem fapientem, quem potius audiam de religione dicentem in ilia oratione, quam quemquam principern Stoicorum , mihi unum fatis erat, ita nobis majores noflros tradidiffe. Sed tu auctoritates omnes eontemnis ; ratione pugnas, patere igitur rationam meam, cum tua ratione contendere.

CIC. de Nat. Deor. 1. 3.

PLAN

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xl.

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( xlvii )

p

L

A

N

OF

TEL L lAME n"s SYSTEM.

FIRST' DAr.

PROOFS of the Diminution of the Sea. Foundation and Origin of this Syftern.

Aquatic Lanthorn of a fingular Invention. Principles of this Syflem.

Proofs of this Syfiem by the Difpofition of

our Grounds.

By their Compofition.

By the Sea Bodies found in them. By their external Form and Appear ..

ance.

New Proofs of this Syfiem. Petrification of Flints.

Variegated Stones and Marbles.

Rock

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xlviii ·P/an ifTelliamed's SyjJem.

Rock and Gravel Stones. Waved Marbles.

Our large Mountains. Primitive State of our Globe.

Reafon of the Difference obfervable in the Subftance of our Mountains.

SECOND DAr.

SEquel of the fame Doctrine proved by Facts.

Extraneous Bodies found in Stones and Marbles.

Ships, and Parts of Ships, petrified. Flints, Sea Flints, and Stones of a different

Colour.

Herbs and Plants.

Sea-Bodies difperfed in all Parts of the

Globe.

Mountains of Shells, Corals, &c. Small Mu!hrooms.

Banks of Oyfter-Shells,

Whether thefe Facts can be attributed to the Deluge.

Towns of Lybia buried under the Sand. Future Confequences of the Diminution of

the Sea.

How our Grounds began to appear.

The actual Enlargement of ur dry Land. Examples of this Enlargement.

T H 1 R D

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PIa?] if Te1Iiamed's Syjlem. xlix

'I'HIRD DAr.

N E"\" Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea.

Eftimation of this Diminution.

The Waters of the Sea are not diminifhed byn Change of Place.

They have not retired into the Center of the Globe.

The Caufe of their Diminution is not an Effervefcence.

Defect of our Hiftories. '

Invention to afcertain the Progrefs of the Diminution of the Sea.

Ancient Examples of Menfiirations of this Kind.

Eftimation of this Diminution. Difficulty of fixing it.

FOURTH DAr.

EXamination of the different Syflems concerning the Origin and Nature ofthe Sea-Bodies found in our Moun-

, rains,

Syftem concerning the Origin of our Mountains, and its Refutation.

Anfwer to forne Difficulties drawn from this Syftem.

d

Differ-

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1 Pla1t of Telliamed' s Syflcm.

Diflertation of Scilla on the fame Subject Sea-Bodies found in the Earth, are not the Effects of Chance.

Anfwer to fome Objections made upon

this Subject.

New Proofs from Scilla.

Sentiment of Langius, and its Refutation .

. Sentiment uf Omar, '

Laft Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea. Recapitulation of the Proofs of this

Syflem.

Ufe that may be made of it.

FIFTH DAr.

CAufes of the Diminution of the Sea; Confequences of this Syfiem, with rcfpect to the paft, prefent, and future State of the Univerfe, Whether Matter and Motion are eternal. Syfiem . of the general Motion of the

Globes.

Alterations and Viciflitudes to which they are fubjeCl:.

Reafon of the Inequality of the Days, and of the Viciffitudes of the Seafons.

Changes which have happened in the State of the Heavens.

The Nature of the Sun.

The Appearance of Comets.

The

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PlalZ .qfTelliamed's Sy/lem. u

The Entrance of our Earth into the V or-

tex of the Sun.

The great Age of the primitive Men. Renovation of the Globes.

Origin of Vulcanos.

Uncertainty of the future Fate of our Earth.

The State of the fixed Stars,

Refutation of Hl~j'gms'sSyftem concerning the Plurality of Worlds,

Variious Thoughts on the fame Subject.

SIXTH DAr.

OF the Origin of Men aud Animals) and of the Propagations of the various Species by means of their re-

fpective Seeds.

Terreftrial Plants that grow in the Sea. The Origin of Animals.

Their Refernblance to certain Fiihes, Eafinefs of the Pafiage from Water to the

Air.

Birds.

Terreftrial Animals. Phocafes, or Sea-Calves. Sea-Dogs, or Wolves. The Origin of Man. Sea-Men.

Savage, or Wild Men.

d 2 Men

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Iii Plan of Telliamed'r Syflem.

Men with Tails. Men without Beards.

Men with one Leg, and one Hand. Blacks.

Giants.

Dwarfs.

The Paflage of Men from the Water into the Air.

Anfwer to fame Objections on this Subject.

Tradition of the Chilil1efe. -

An Animal may pafs from the Refpiration of the Water to that of the Air, and from the latter to the former.

Anf wer to fame Difficulties.

The Propagation of the various Species by . their reipective Seeds.

How thefe Seeds become fruitful. Conformity of this Syftem with the Book of Gmdis.

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[ I ]

TELLIAMEI):

o R,

DISCOURSES

ON THE

Diminution of the SEA,&C.

FIR S T DAY.

Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea.

SIR,

SINCE you defire that I fhould entertain you with the whimfical Opinion at an Indian Traveller, whom I faw at Grand Cairo in the Y ears I 7 I 5 and I 7 16, I fhall grant your Requeft, and perform my Tafk as exactly as I poffibly can. I' have frill fa lively an Idea of the remarkable Things I learn'd of him, that I hope I Ihall not omit the leaft Particulars. This Stranger repofed a great Confidence in me, and thought he lay under fingular Obligations to me for Ierne fmall Services I did him in Egypt. He readily difclofed his Mind to me, when fame Days before his Departure for the Indies, I afked him concerning his Country, his Name,

B his

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2 TEL L I A rvI ED: Or,

his Family, his Religion, and the Motives of his Travelling; he accordingly Ipoke to me nearly in the following Manrier: .

Sir, I have always declined fpeaking to you of my Religion, becaufe it can be of no ufe to you, and becaufe all Men being naturally prepoffeffed in favour of that in which they are born,· it offends them to contradiCl: the Articles of it. For this Reafon, and by the Advice of my deceas'd Father, I have all my Life avoided entering into this Matter, that 1 might not give rife to Difputes in which every Man thinks it a POInt of Honour and Confcience to fupport his own opinion, and which never terminate but in mutual Animofities. For this Reafon, Sir, I hope you will pardon me for not fatisfying 'your Curiofity in this Particular. I would not have even [poke my Sentiments to you, on the Compofition of the Globe, the Study of which is the Caufe of my Travels, if! had not difcerned in you, a Soul capable of triumphing over the Prejudices of Birth and Education, and above being provoked at the Things I intend to communicate to you; per,:, haps they will at firft appear to you oppofite to what is contained in your Iacred Books, yet I hope in the End to convince you that they are not really fo. Philofophers (permit me to c1afs myfelf among that Number, however unworthy of the Name) rarely find thefe happy Difpofitions; they have not even met with thorn in the Ages and in the Countries of Liberty, where it has been often dangerous fov {orne of them who have dared to fpeak againft the Opinions of the Vulgar, Befides, continued our Indian, you have tra-

velled

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Difcourfes on-tbeDiminution of the Sea, &c. 3' velled a great deal, you have travelled thro' \ many Maritime Countries, you feem to think'

that the Secrets of Nature are not unworthy

of your Curiofity. You have learned to

doubt, and every' Man who can do fa, has .

a great Advantage over him who believes irn- '" plicitl Y 1 and without taking .he Trouble to , examine, y ~Utherefore poflefs, Sir, the prin-

cipal -Difpofitionsneceffary for relifhing the Obfervations I am about to make. This gives

me Reafon to hope that you will yield to the Evidence of the Proofs 1 fhall bring, for the Support of 'my Syftem.

As for my Family, my Name, and my Country, what I can tell you is, that I am the Son of a Father who was far advanced in Years when I was brought into the World , as for my Country, it is far diftant from yours. My Name, -which you are curious to know, only from a Principle of Friendfhip to' me andmy "on, is '1'elliamed. My Father, who was blefs'd with the Goods of Fortune, was by my Grandfather educated in the Study ,of the. Sciences, efpecially of Natural Hiftoty, which he himfeJf, had' greatly: cultivated. My Father took Care to nourifh in me the fame Inclination which he had received as hereditary from my Grandfather, andto inflrucb . me concerning theCornpofition 'of this habitable Globe,. which was his own principal Study. Such was his paternal Affection, thatnoewithftanding his Age, he travelled along with me asd ' :affifted my Thoughts and - ¥editations.' Death" which cut -him off too foon, did not permit him to perf~a: me in there fublime Branches of Knowledge: However, the Paffion with which he

,'" B ~ Hosted by Gdr.aSle

4 TEL- L I A M ED: Or,.:

had infpired .me for them, and the Defire of communicating them to my Son, render me now, though advanced in Years, a Traveller through the World with him.

Fomda, An Obfervation which . my Grandfather tion and made, and which he communicated to my ~~ig~ntf Father, was the ·Caufe of a Courfe of Study, :c~. y. which lafled all their Lives, and which has

been the principal Occupation of mine. The Houfe of my Anceftors, which I frill poffefs, is built on the Sea-fide, at the Point ofavery narrow but long Peninfula. It is cover'd by a fmall Ifland, the whole of which is a hard Rock perfectly Horizontalwith the Sea. My Grandfather, as ;h~.; affur'd my Father, had in his Youth obferv'd, that .i.n . the. greateft, Calm; the, Sea always remained above the Rock, ;~ng cover'd it with Water: Twenty-two Y.ears, however, before his Death, the Surface, of this-Rock appeared dry and r : began to rife ...

" This Event furpriz'd my. Grandfather, and made him entertain forne Doubts.concerningthe generallyeftablifhed Opinion, that the Sea is not. dirninifhed. He even thought that . if there was -any Reality in this apparent Diminution, it could only be the Continuation of' a preceding Diminution, -of which the Grounds C?r .Soils higher than the Sea, would no doubt bear or include in them the fenfible Marks. This Idea' engaged hi!TI' to examine the(~ Grounds with more Attention than he .~i+<1 . done before .. ' He· accordingly found J~t.t. .. there was no Difference between the Places . far' . from:"th~ Sea, and thefe which were eitl1er near..:to it or ftil] wafhed by it; that they had the fame Afpetl:, and that the former as well as the latter had Sea-Ihells adher-.

• • ,.+

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Diflourfes OJ1 the Diminution tf tb« Sea, &c. 5 ingto, and inferted in their Surfaces. 'He

found twenty Kinds of Petrifications which

had no Refemblance to each other; fome were

deep, and others fuperficial , fame were of

an uniform, and others of different Subftances.

He obferved Quarries of Free-Stone hard and

foft, of various Colours and different Grains.

He found other Qgarries of Flint or of in-

laid Stones, white, black, greyifh, and often

of a whimfical Affemblage of Colours. Some

of the Quarries were Marble, white, black,

of the Colour of Agate, {haded and not {haded.

The Origin of this fo great Variety of Soils, join'd to the Strata or Beds different in Subfrance, Thicknefs and Colour, of which molt of there ~arrie5 were cornpofed, flrangely perplexed his Reafon. On the one hand, if this Globe had been created in an Inftant, in the fame State in which we fee it, by' the Power of a Will as efficacious as abfolute, he thought that its folidSubftance would have been compared of one fingle Matter; and efpecially that it would not have been arrang'd in Beds laid over each other with JIJ{hiei's, even in their Inequality of SubO:ance and Colour. This denotes a fucceflive Compofition, which is alfo juftified by the Infertion of fo many extraneous Bodies, even fuch as have had Life, into thofe Beds. But if it had heen neceffarv to have Recourfe to another Origin of our Soils, though both within and without thefe Petrifications he remark'd almoO: infallible Traces of the Action of the Sea, how could he comprehend that it could have formed them, fince it was now fa far below them? How could he perf wade himfelf that it had

B 3 drawn

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6

TEL L I A M ED: Or,

drawn from its Bofom, the fo different Materials which he faw employed In the Compofition of thefe Soils.

Thefe Reflections induced him to go to the Sea-fide, to fee whether in meditating on what bappened there daily, it was poflible for him to remove his Doubts, and difcover the true Origin of the terreftrial Globe. He thought that as the Literati, who were the Or· narnents of his Time, were moftly employ .. ed in vain and frivolous Studies, he might well employ his Days in the Refearch of a Subject fo interefting as the Origin of thofe Soils % Earths which carry us, of which our C.iti~s are built, and which fupply our Wants. ~ With this View, he Ilowly wander'd along the Sea-Ihore, fometimes on Foot, and at others in a light Chaife, often very near, and fometimes at a greater Diftance, that he might have a greater Extent of Ground under his Eyes, and be able to obferve the Difpofition of a whole Coaft, He frop'd for feveral.Hours on one Shore, and in a particular Place obferv'd (if I may fo call it) the Labour of the Waves, which broke at his Feet: the Sand and the Flints which the Billows brought along, as they were either calm or tempeftuous.Sometimes he fat down on the Sum mit of a fteep Rock, which the Sea wafhed , and from thence, as well as the Waves permitted him, he obferved whatever was moft remarkable.

His principal Study at this Time, was to difcover the Difpofition of Subaquatic Soils, the Motion and the Labour of the Waves of the Sea. For this Purpofe he hired Ieveral lkilful Divers, whom he ufed when the Depth

of

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Difcourfls 011 the Diminution. if the Sea, &c. 7 of the Water no longer permitted his Eye to diftinguifh Objects and the Qpalities of :'oils.

Thefe Divers had Caps of Cere-Cloth and

Mafks , to the Tops of thefe Caps, which

below were lin'd with a large Qpantity of Cotton, and fo clofely tied about the Neck.

that no Water could enter, were tied long Thongs of Leather, by means of which they

could dive into very deep Places, and remain

under the Water for feveral Hours. Each

of them had a Compafs in his Hand and a

fmall fharp-pointed Stick, with a Streamer

at one End. By thrufting this Stick in-

te the Bottom they perceived the Force and Direction of the Current; they could" alfo

walk eafily under Water, when the Bottom

was not too foft. This my Grandfather put in Execution in the greateft Calm, far from the Shore, and in Places where it was pofflble to

reach the Bottom with the Thongs. He repeated his Experiments in the fame Place feveral Times, and when oppofite Winds

blew. By this Means he knew whether there

were any Variations in the Currents and in

the different Obfervations he had made on the

fame Places.

As he defired to know the State of the Seas where the Divers could not go either by the Thongs or the AIDftance of their Breath, he invented a Machine, which fucceeded with him to the greateft Perfection. It gave him an Opportunity of continuing his Difcoveries even in the deepeft Places where no Sound could reach. This Invention is fo flngular, that it deferves a Defcription.

B 4-

Of

8

TEL L I A MED: Or,

~n aqua- Of a very light but {hong and thick Wood,' tlhC Lanf- he ordered Cafks to be made, narrow at the t orn 0 a B f whof E . . . d

fingular .ottom, one 0 w rote xtrermnes terrmnate

Invention like the Apex or Top of a Sugar-Loaf.

Thefe Lanthorns, {even or eight Feet in Height, and about the Middle three or four wide, had eight Apertures. The four leaft made at equal Diftances, and difpofed feverally as high as the Eyes of a Man when he frood upright in the Lanthorn, were exactly clofed by Sallies and cryftal Glaffes. The four others, a Foot and a half broad and three Feet long, cut below the others, were elofed up by tough and thin Leather palled and nailed to the Outfide of the Wood, fo that the Water could enter into none of the Apertures. The firfr mentioned Holt;s were defign'd to facilitate the Diver's Power of confidering all the Bottom which furrounded him, when he dived with this Lanthorn. TI~e others, by the Air always mix'd with the Water, and tranfpiring through the Leather which elofed them, fervcd to refrefh the Perfon contained in the Lanthorn, and render Relpiration eafy. Thefe Skins being gently flrerch'd, had aIfo another ufe, which was to yield to . the double Motion of this Refpiration ; and to follow that of another Leather, nailed in form of a Purfe, to the inner Side of the Bottom of the Lanthorn, when the Diver wanted to pufh it outwards.

To underftand this the better, imagine to yourfelf, that in the Thicknefs of the Wood of which the Bottom was made, and which was two Inches thick, there was an Aperture made a Foot and a half in Diameter, cover'd externally by a Plate of Iron, nailed to the

. Wood,

Hosted by Coog [e

Difcourfls 011 the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 9 Wood, and internally to this Leather in

form of a Purfe: Betwixt the Iron and the Leather, was introduced into the Aperture a

Foot and a half [quare, a Piece of Wood ex-

actly fitted to it, and of the fame Thicknefs

with the Bottom. This Piece of Wood was fufpended in the Cavity which it fitted, at the Diftance of an Inch from the Plate of Iron,

by means of a Spring tied to it at one of the

Ends, and at the other, nailed to the Wood

of the Bottom. The Toughnefs of the Lea-

ther, with which it was covered internally;'

and the Largenefs of the Square, permitted

this Elevation. By this Means the Piece of Wood had a Spring; for in Proportion as it

was prefs'd, it was deprefled into its Aper-

ture as far as the Plate to which it correipond-

ed , and it rofe an Inch and more as foon

as the Preffure ceas'd, which produced the

fame Effect in the Pieces of Leather nailed

to the- Sides of the Lanthorn.

In the Middle of this Piece of Wood, was made a long Notch an Inch broad, correfponding to a fimilar one in the Plate of Iron nailed upon the Outfide of the Aperture; the Notch in the Plate was defign'd to admit a Piece of Iron, furnifhed with Beards on its Sides, like thofe with which Padlocks are fum. The Notch made in the Wood, a little narrower by fame Lines; ferved to catch there Beards, and difengage them from the Edges of the Plate.

To this bearded Iron was tied a Rope of fomc Fathoms length, and which had its other End fixed to a Ball of Stone. When the Lanthorn was to be us'd, after putting the Diver into it, this Ball of Stone, deftin'd

to Hosted by Goog I e

10 TEL L I A M ED: Or,

to amft its Defcenr, Was fixed to its lower End, by introducing the bearded Iron \ int€? the Aperture made in the Plate. By this Difpofition, when the Diver wanted to return from the Bottom of the Sea, he had nothing to do, but with his Foot to prefs the Piece of Wood contained in the Purfe of Leather. Upon this the Beards of the Iron fixed In the Plate, being re-united to their common Trunk, gave the Lanrhorn, difengag'd from its Weight, and become much lighter than the Column of Water it occupied, a full Liberty of remounting to the Surface.

To keep this Lanthorn upright in its Afcent, as the Weight of the Ball of Stone did its Defcent ; there were tied to the lower End of the Lanthorn two other Ropes, furnifhed with Leads of five or fix Pound Weight. Thefe Ropes were longer by a Fathom, than that to which the Ball of Stone was fixed. The fuperior End of the Lanthorn was fur .. nifhed with a large Piece of Cork, terminating in a Point, and fixed to the Lanthorn by a Bar of Iron running through it. Ae the Top of this Bar was a Ring, through which a Rope pafs'd, in order to fufpend the Lanthorn by the Yard or MaO: of a Ship, when it was to be PUt into the Sea. In this Condition, after having introduced the Diver, it was let down into the Water as far as the Cork. Here it was kept for feme time, to give the Diver an Opportunity of preparing himfelf, and of knowing whether the Lanthorn leak'd; and as foon as he made a Signal that every thing was in order, the Lanrhorn was let down, either by cutting the Rope, or

letting it flip through the Ring. .

Upon

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DijcO!Irjes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. II

Upon this. fays our Philofopher, who had his Eyes fixed on mine, I fee you have an ardent Defire to know whether, on thefe Occafions, our Divers have ever been expofed to Danger from Sea-Monfters, or whether they have not feen fome of them of an extraordinary Form. Fifhes, continued he; are rare in Seas that are deep, and far from Land which furnifhes them with Nourifhment, The Divers have indeed frequently met with Animals, creeping or walking in the Bottom of the Sea, of a Form approaching to that: of Animals, which creep or walk in the Earth. If any Fillies were in their Wa'f~ they got off Ipeedily, being no doubt, aftonifhed to fee in theAbyfs which they inhabited" fo great a Prodigy, and to hear the Noife of fome Bells tied to the Lanthorn, which were continually moved by the Air in its Defcent and Afcenr,

My Grandfather inftantly mark'd down what the Divers had difcover'd, as well as the Qyality and Colour of the Slime, which the Leads brought from the Bottom. He was not: even afraid fometimes to defcend in Perron into the Sea, in order to inform himfelf by his own Eyes, with r~fpeB: to fame remaining. Doubts, or extraordinary Things, with which the Divers could not acquaint him. By thefe Refearches and Experiments, which he made in the Bottom of the Sea, he form'd Charts, efpecially when the Difcoveries were made near the Coafts ; and upon there Charts, the Force and Direction of the Currents were exactly mark'd, The Divers knew thefe Currents, by means of a red or green Ribbon, a Yard or two long, which was tied to the

Top .

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12 TEL L I A'M E"D: Or,

Top of the Lanthorn, and which the Currents mov'd more or Iefs, according as they were ftronger or weaker.

After this Labour, my Grandfather compared the State of the Bottom of the Sea, with that of the Land which correfponded to it, in order to know the Relation there was between them, either in their Conformation, or between the Currents, and the Winds moil: common on the neighbouring Coafts, of which he took great Care to inform himfeIf. He alfo obferv'd, whether in the Bottom of the Sea there were Cavities correfponding to the Gulphs of the neighbouring Grounds, or on the contrary, Elevations, in Confequence of Capes, which almoft always happened. He continued long on the Ifles and Rocks of the Coafts, which he vifited , and thence he confidered at Leifiire, what happened during the Tempeft and the Calm, not only on the Shore where he was, but alfoon that of the adjacent Continent. His Defign was the better to judge by the Labour of the Sea, whether Ihe had really formed thefe different Soils, which only feem'd to have been raifed as Barriers for her. In this Study, he employed near two Years, during which, to the Eaft and Weft of his own Haufe, he vifited an hundred and fifty Miles of the Coafr, and made Experiments on the Bottom, of the neighbouring Seas; and from thefe laborious Refearches he made the following Obfervations ..

PrinciFb That the Sea contained Currents almofl in of this all its Extent; that fome of thefe were ge-

Syflem, t: d f

neral, that is, conn crable, going rom one

Parr of the Globe to another: For Example, from

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Difcourfes ontpe Diminution oj the Sea, &c. 13 from the North to the South, from the Eaft

to the Weft, or in contrary Directions; that

fome were alternate, and returned on them-

felves after a certain Space of Time, like the

Flux and Reflux of the Sea, efpecially in the Neighbourhood ofCoafts,and in great Gulphs;

that others were continual, and without any otherVariation than their greater or leffer Rapi-

dity during their Courfe ; that fome were pro-

per to certain Coafts, and that they were

aided or oppos'd Iornetimes by Winds, and fometimes by a fuperior Sea, favourable or oppofite r :

That when a Current meets another directly oppofite to it, which often happens,. there is the fame Combat between them, as there is between the Waters of a River, and thole of the Sea, when' they oppofe each other; rhac-the fame Eff~a: was alfo produced by them ; that is, at the Point of their Junction there was a kind of Bar or Ridge compofed of the Subftances which were in the Currents; and' Heaps of Sand or Mud accumulated, higher or harder in Proportion to the Largenefs and' Force of the Currents, and the Deepnefs of the Seas.

That there were alfoCurrents which crofs'd each other; that the ftrongeft in this Cafe, cut the weakeft, whofe Courfe upon this terminates,' ftopping at its Sides the Subftances carried 'along in the other, which often forms 3. Ridge of Mountains, and fometimes a double one, when fome powerful and rapid' Current feparates the two oppofite ones, and leaving them on its Right-and Left, continues its Road between their depofited Subftances, 'as in a deep Valley.

That

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14 TEL' L I A M ED: 0'1',

That the Waters of the Sea, however clear they may appear, always contain fome Subfrances, which they take up in fome Places and lofe in others; that they collect thefe Subfrances according to the Rapidity of their Currents, the Difpofition of the Bottom thro" which they pafs, or by Accidents happening during their Courfe.

That in paffing through narrow Places the Currents undermine and carry off their Subfrances with them, as we obferve, that .a River pent up between its Banks, or which in its Rapidity meets with a Bottom which is fhallow and foft, wears them away, and carries them along with it, that after' having exhaufted the Matter of certain Beds or Soils, which they or other Currents had formed, which they fucceffively carry off, they at Iail: elfewhere form Arrangements of thefe Subfrances.

That when great Tempefts happen'd in the Places whence thefe Currents proceeded, or through which they pafs'd, what they detach'd from certain Parts of the Bottom, the Shells, and the Fillies, which they either killed or bruifed, the Trees, the Plants, the Leaves of Trees which the Rivers alld' Torrent-s had carried into the Sea, where' rhefe Currents were, were all carried along by them, and depofired partly in their Courfej when being lefs confined by the Difpofition of 'the Places thro' which they pafs'd, they flow'd but flowly in the (Places where they terminated. That in there Iaft Places, there were always Heaps of Sand or Mud, lying in the Bottom of the Sea, which as yet covered [hem, or other fimilar Congeftions which it

2 Hosted by Google no

DifcpurJes 011 the Diminution of the Sea) &c. 15 no longer covered, filch as Rocks, Iflands,

Banks, or Continents, appearing at prefent on

our Globe.

That when thefe Currents reach particular Coafls, they there find Materials of another Kind which they alfo employ in their different Fabrications, according to the Diverfity of Subftances, and the Difpofitian of the Places where they arrange them.

That near the Difemboguernents of Rivers, Brooks, and Torrents, into the Sea, there are form'd .in the Sea, Barrs or Beds, compofed fome of Sand, Gravel, and Flints ; others of Slime or Mud, different in Colour and Qgantitv, according to the Qpaliry of the Sub ... frances which the adjacent Rivers brought along with them; that thefe fmall Mountains were more firm when only cornpofed of Slime or Mud, that thefe laft included a great many Herbs, which ftopping on their Surfaces, were afterwards covered by new Slime added to the firft ; that by the Softnefs of their Subftance they were fubjeCl: to be mov'd, and their Beds expofed to be difor ... der'd or confounded, fince after violent Ternpefts, or the overflowing of adjacent Rivers, the Divers, and my Grandfather himfelf, often found the former Figures of thefe Beds chang'd, made flat, or lengthen'd.

That on the fhallow Coafts, the Sea threw everv Thing with which it met, as far on Shore as it poffibly could; that on Coafts cover'd by Iflands or Rocks, which the Sea could break, in Gulphs where there were Rocks, whofeWrecks fell into a fandy Bottom, where Rivers and rapid Torrents terminated, carrying with them Stones, Flints, Gravel, and

, , S90d,

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16 TEL L I A ME D: Or,

Sand, the Sea having received thefe, convey'd them to the Shore, tofs'd them, rubb'd them a long Time together, and by this Me ns made them round'; that the" Sea at Ia11: lac'd them in fuch a Manner, that it's Billa" had no longer Force to carry back with th the Flints, to which the little Water which remained, could only add fome Gravel and then fome Sand ; that this Augmentation was not great, Iince after a very inconfiderable Addition, the Sand remained dry, at firft in Calms, and then in every State of the Sea.

That on the contrary, when Coafts were expofed to a vaft Sea, this Sea only brought on Shore fome Shells, with Sand and Mud, according to the Subftance of the Bottom over which it rolls.

That at the Foot of fteep Shores, there were new Mountains form'd, compofed fometimes of large and fometimes of fmall Stones, according to, the Nature of the Stones in thefe higher Places, which the Injury of Time broke, and which fell into the Sea; that among thefe great and fmall Stones there were often fome of a different QEality and Colour, which had been brought by Accident from other Parts ; and that thefe Stones were united together by the Mud or Sand, into which they had fallen, or that the Waters of the Sea had fince inferred themfelves between them; that there were only extraneous Bodies and Stones found in thefe Congeflions, when the Bo: tom of the Sea was fandy , that on the contrary, we fee almoft none of them when the Bottom is muddy, becaufe they are re-

taind

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-

DiJcotirfes 011 the Diminution of the Sea, &c~ 17.

tained in their Courfe, by the Softnefs of the

Slime in which they funk,

That at the Foot of Iteep Rocks where the Sea is deep, the Bottom is always muddy, Iince the Waters being repelled by the Rocks and returning on themfelves cannot convey any thing weighty thither; that this Mud is ting'd by the Waters which fall from the Mountains during the Rains, and which retain the Colour of the Earth they have carried along, fometimes yellow, fometimes red,

. orofdifferent Colours, according to the Irn ... preffion they receive from the Nature of Trees, from their Leaves or' Fruit, from Plants or Herbs, and from all other Bodies which thefe Soils produce, and which either perifh in their Bofoms, or are mixed with them.

That with refpect to Shores of Stone or Rocks which are not fteep but rugged, and to which the Sea flows on a nearly fimilar . Bottom, it dafhes on them almoft always mildly; on account of the Rocks which op~ pofe its Courfe, and break the Force of its Billows, that it then brings with it Sand, fmall Flints, various and numerous Shells, an incredible deal of Impurities and light Bodies, which it collects in paffing over a

. rugged Bottom; that with there Subftances it augments the Rocks on the Shore; that there are alfo augmented by the vV reeks of the Fifh and Shell-filli, which are found in thofe Parts; and which adhering to the Stones formed in there Parts, live on the Impurities which the Sea brings along with her.

My Grandfather had found in fhallow Places, and thofe where there were indurat-ed: Rocks of Sand covered with Mud, cer-

C cain

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18

'.,' "","."

T-E L L I A M ED: Or,

tain Shell-fifh unknown or very rare on the Coafts. Thofe whofe Fifh were frill alive, could hardly be torn from the Rock; and thofe whole Fifh were dead, were fo funk in the Mud, with which many of them were filled, that by thefe Dilpofitions it was eafy to

. know why they were never, or at leaft very

rarely feen upon our Shores.

Proofs of After thefe different Refearches and Expe-

this 5yr· . I . . db· 1 h

tern by riments, not ung rername ut to rna ce t e

the Com. Application of them to the prefent State of pofition our Soils, and to compare with their Compo-

~f.rur fitions, what ,paffed in the Sea or upon its

01 s, Shore. With this View my Grandfather for fome time vifited the Mountains near his own Houfe and the Coaft, in order to difcover more nearly the external Appearance, and the Difoofition which he had before but view'd at a'Diftance from the Shore or from his Boat ufed in his Refearches, He examin'd a long Ridge of thefe Mountains, ftopping fometimes on their Summits, fometimes on their Declivities, and fometlrnes in the deepeft Vallies, that he might confider them in all Directions and Manners, often one after another,

. and fornetimes altogether. In a Word, after reiterated Refearches, he was perfuaded their external Appearance and their AfpeCt did not differ in any thing from thofe of the Elevationsand Vallies which the Sea covered, and that ,they were arranged on the Earth by the

fame Means as thofe which he faw in the Sea.

The Direction of the Beds which cornpofed both, and perfectly correfponded to each other, and even the Conformity: of the Subftancesr. of which thefe Beds \vere formed,

were to him a new Demonftration of his Opi-

. G aiion,

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By their Compofition,

· DifcOUrJeS OIl the Diminution of the Sea, &c~ 19 nion. He had obferved fimilar Beds formed

in the Sea of Depofitions of Sand or Mud,

which were arranged on each other in a Manner almoft always horizontal; fometimes however the Direction of thefe Beds varied,

when by the Difpofition of the Bottom, the Currents carrying there Subftances were forc-

ed to fink or rife againft them, forming

then their Beds according to the winding of

the Ground, but always of an equal Thick-

nefs. This he rernark'd moft generally, efpe-

dally on the Surfaces of high .Mounrains. He

found other Mountains which were not form- '

ed by Beds or Strata; and in thefe he difco-

vered the Collection of different.Subftances,

which he had feen formed in the Sea, near the Difemboguements of Rivers and Torrents, or

at the Foot of Iteep Shores. .

The prodigious Number of Sea-fhells of By the all Kinds, cemented to the Surface of' both ~~a-~;h thefe Concretions, from the Sea-Ihore to.rhe V:hlch 1 higheft of our Mountains, as is obfervable they arc on the Co aft and in the Parts adjacent to it, mixed. was not a lefs convincing Proof to him of

their Fabrification in the Sea, where thefe

Fifh are .produced, live and die.. Confiderable Beds of Oyfters which he found

on fome Hills, others which appeared infert-

ed into the Subftance of the Mountains; en-

tire Mountains of Shells Iituated on the Tpps

or Sides of other Hills and Vallies, which

were covered with them to the Height!

of feveral Feet; an incredible Number of Sea-(

fh.eUs cO?1ing, out of the Sub~ance of Mounl

tams which TIme had undermined, anp.}many\

other Sea-bodies which every where a~:rpeared

C 2 to

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•

\~ ... : .. ,. .

. ~<..::~.,:'.~~~

20 TEL L I A M ED: 01·, __

to him, reprefented a juft Image of what he had

feen in the .sea itfelf -

Dy the He faw nothing in the whole external Ap'~ Fo~m of pearance of the Mountains which did not contthelrlcAx- vince him of the fame Truth. The Marks of

erna p- ,

pearances. the Attacks of the Sea in .Tcmpefts, were

deeply imprinted in a hundred Iteep Places of thele Mountains; Amphitheatres were formed by the Action of the Sea: Steps under Steps were produced on their Sides, according to the Diminution of the Sea, which was theri evidently marked. Corals which it hadlefi; adhering there, after it had given Birth .ro them, and nourifhed them in __ thefe Places; where they were petrified. The Holes of Seaworms, which only live in the Water, and which were found imprinted on many Rocks, were to him convincing Proofs of the' real Origin of our Mountains, and of their ancient' State.

The High and the Low, between which they are divided, were to him the laft Proof which did not permit him to doubt, but thef~ Mountains were the fame Work which the Sea performs every Day in making Roads thro' the Slime and Sand, which Ihe raifes at the junction of two Currents, which are either oppofite, or cut each other. Thus we fe~ the Waters of Rivers, after having formed Bars at their Difernbogucments,compofed of the Subftances they brought along with them, break thro' thefe Bars, by beating them down' in certain Parts when they require a more, ' free and open Paffage. There is, however; this Difference between the Collections of Matter in the Sea, and thefe forrn'd near the

'Dif~

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e

• Diflomfes 01l the Diminution if the Sea, &c. 2 r Difembogument of Rivers, that thefe laft are

not Io indurated as not to be fubdued by the, Waters which firfl: formed them. The for-

mer, on the contrary, which are generated in

the Sea, being petrified at the End of a cer-

tain Time, fubdue it. It is by this Means,

that it at prefent feems fubjected to all thefe

Banks which have refitted it. However they

frill retain the Form of the Paffages, which.

the Currents had made when their Matter

was foft, and which the Flux and Reflux of

the Sea, had long entertained, whilft as yet wafhing them, it fometimes raifed itfelf be-

tween the Apertures which the Waves had

made, and afterwards left them. This is obfervable on the Coafts in a vail: Number of

Places, which differ in nothing with refpect to

their Conformation, from thofe which are al-

ready far diftant from it.

After thefe general Notions of the Surface New

of our Soils, and' of fame Parts of their in- Proofs 9f ternal Compofition , which are obfervable this Sy!in Plates which are either Iteep or underrnin- tern.

ed by Torrents, my Grandfather refolved to

make an exact Diffection of them, beginning

at their Surfaces, and paffing to their deepeft Entrails. He began this new Labour on the

Places moft adjacent to his own Houfe. I

may fay, on this Occafion, that as Nature had

placed a Rock under his Windows; of fo par-

ticular a Form that it feemed to have been

made .(0 teach Men the infenfible Diminution

which the Sea fuffered every Day, fo the Parts adjacent offer'd him fo many other Proofs of'

it, that it was natural to think, that all this

could not be the Effect of Chance. It was,

no doubt, the Work of fome happy Genius,

, C 3 (if

. Hosted by Google

~z TEL L JAM ED: Or,

(if a Philofopher may be allow'd to fpeak fo) who had made it his Bufinefs to convince us in this fhort Method, of the Manner in which this whole habitable Globe was formed; as if, by this Means he had intended to fupply the Remembrance of Facts, or the Writings which Time had deftroyed, and which could have inflructed us concerning them.

In thefe different Parts my Grandfather found all kinds of Petrifactions in the Surfaces' of the Mountains; and thefe Petrifactions were in Places very diftant from each other.

Petrifac- One of the firft which prefented was a Com ... ~~f.n o~ d pofition of Stones, Flints, Wood, and other

, mt- e S Subftances; this is called a Flint-bed, which

is often of a confiderable Extent. but always fhallow, Be obferved that this. Kind of Petrifaction was rarely found except in fuch Places as were either even, or had but a very fmall Declivity. Afterwards comparing thefe Cornpofitions, with the Work he had feen performed by the Sea,on· her Coafts, and

• where fhe could freely roll Stones and Flints, he knew that thefe Beds of Flints were fituated precifely in thefe Grounds, whore Difpofition did not naturally differ from thofe in which the Sea daily forms fimilar Collections. At laft examining exactly the Compofition of thefe Flint-beds, he found that it included abfolute1y the fame' Subftances which the .Sea brought to the Shore; and that nothing might be wanting to a compleat Proof, that the one came from the other, he found varipus Shells and Fifh- bones in the Collection of Subftances which forrn'd thefe Flint-beds. He even found that the Sand by which the whole Mafs W?S united, was of the fame Nature and

Q!;lality

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Difcourfes 011 the Dimil1utiol; of the Sea, &c. 23 ~ality with that of the adjacent Sea; fo that

it was not poflible to doubt but this Kind of Petrifaction was a preceding EffeCt of the

actual Work of the fame Sea upon its Shores.

He was alfo confirmed in the fame ~enti4 menr, by a Bed of hard Sand and frnooth Stone which was not very thick, and with which thefe Beds of Flint are generally c04 vered. He knew that this fuperior Bed was the laft Work of the Sea, beating on thefe Collections, and only conveying Sand mixed with Shells to them. Thefe Collections being· in a State of perfeB: Reft by the Retreat of the Water, had at Iaft contracted that extreme Hardnefs, and Adhefion, which they had not, when agitated by the Billows: My Grandfather found this Kind of Petrifaction in Places very far from the Sea, and even on the Tops of very high Hills, which was a certain Dernonftration that the Sea had reached thither, and that after having long remain'd there, and labour'd for the Collection of thefe Subfiances, her Waters had fubfidcd all the Height of thefe Mountains, to their prefent Surface.

Flint-beds are very frequent about your City of Marfeilles. A Bed of this Kind, five or fix Foot thick, covers the whole Plain of St. Michael, and over it is another Bed of fmooth Stone, very thin, and formed by the Sand which the Sea had left in that Plain. The new Walls of Marfeilles are built of this Flint, in which 1 have often obferved Pieces of Earth incruftated. vVe alfo find V eins of it in almoft all the Roads which lead to the pleafant Farms which adorn its ftony Soil.

C 4 Thm

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TEL L I A M ED: Or,

Taus Nature feems to have taken Pleafure, t) place in the MiddJe of that City, which owes its Riches and Reputation to the Sea, this fenfiblc and infallible Proof, that the Rock on which it is built, was formed in the Sea.

Thefe Beds of concreted Stone, lodg'd between two Beds of fmooth Stone, have not been formed by Flints and Stones which the Torrents of the neighbouring Mountains may have brought thither, becaufe the little Hill on which Marfeilles ftands, is on all fides feparared from thefe Torrents by Vallies. The Sea alone, which Ilill reaches to that Mount, whofe Summit was difpofed to receive them, has railed them by its Billows on the Northweft, on a Ground fornewhat lower. The Sea 'alone could bring them thither, as you will eafily judge on your Return, by confidering the Places, if you do not remember them fufficiently to comprehend what I now have the Honour of ' telling you. One of the Arches of the Aqueducts which conveys Water to Marfeilles, is built on a Iimilar Bed of Flint oppofite to /fix· gate. On the Side of St. Victor, there are fome of thofe Beds very remarkable, by the Pains which have been taken to make Streets in that Itonv Ground. Torrents and Rivers may indeed form Iimilar Collections, and fuch are formed on the Declivities of Mountains, and at their Feet by the Stones and Flints which tumble from their Summits. But thefe Collections have no Confiflence, becaufe the Earth by which they are joined, is not petrified like the Sand which is falted by the Sea, If there is Sand,

. , . mixed

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Difi:o~trfes on the Diminution of tbe Sea, &c. 20'S mixed with the Collections, formed· by Cur-

rents and Rivers which may compofe a hard Concretion, yet 'tis certain that neither Fifh-

bones, nor any Sea-Ihells are found in them.

A fecond Kind of Concretion in the Surface 'I.' ar;c"'atof the Mountains, or which, at leaft, is nei- ed :-;t~~es ther confiderably deep nor extenfive, attracted ad Marthe Attention of my Grandfather, becaufe it is bles. frequent. I t is a Collection of Pieces of Stone

or Marble, large in fome Quarries, fmall in

'others, generally of uniform Colours and Quali-

ties, tho' fome of them are of a different Kind.

Thefe Pieces are united by a Mortar, forne-

times white, fometimes gray, .Iornetimes

brown, fornetimes black, yellow, redifh, or

of a different Hue mix'd of all thefe Colours.

This Mortar is as hard and folid as the Stones

which it unites; and. in this Affernblage, we

rarely find petrified Wood, incruftated Stones

and Flints, which are generally found in Flint-beds. Thefe Quarries were generally

placed at the Foot of fome -Mountain, but

were not arranged in Beds like the others, On

the contrary, their Subftance was perfect! y

equal, and without any Difference or Divifi-

on. In meditating on this particularly, my Grandfather judg'd by the Pofition of thefe Quarries, that they might be the fame Work

at which, according to his Obfervations, the

Sea daily laboured, at the Foot of Ih:cp Mountains, whore Wrecks falling into her,

along with what the Rains carry off. and. what

Chance brings, are receiv'd into her Bottom.

buried at firft in the Mud, and afterwards CQ-

vered by other Subftances which Time throws

upon them.

In

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26 . TEL L I A M ED: Or,

In order to know whether thefe ~arrles really owed their Origin to this Labour, my Grandfather compar'd the Stones of their Compofition, with thefe of the fuperior Places, and the Cement which united them, with the Mud of the adjacent Seas. With refpect to the Stones, he found they were really of the fame Colour with thefe of the Mountains raifed above thefe ~arries: But he obferved this Difference between them, that fuch as were included in thefe Compofitions had a finer Grain, and were more 'weighty than thofe contain'd in the fuperior Places. As for the Mud, he obferved, that it was alfo of the fame OEality with that of the Bottom of the adjacent Sea. but of a different Colour.

Thefe Differences perplexed him at firfr, but it was not long before he knew the Reafon of them. He wifely judged that the great Hardnefs of the Pieces of Stone included in thefe Concretions,. could only be owing to the leng Continuance of thefe Stones detach'd from the fuperior Qparries in the Sea, in a weighty Mud in which they were buried. He did not doubt but the Change of the Colour of the Mud proceeded from the Hue which the rifing Grounds, carried to the Sea by the Rains, had communicated to it. In a Word. when the Earth of the Placesfuperior to thefe Quarries was white, brown or blackifh, the Mud which feemed to unite thefe Stones retain'd perfectly the fame Colour; and it was red, yellow or greenifh, when the more elevated Earths were of thefe Colours. For this Reafon the Marble of Saravcffa is fo beautiful, becaufe, on the adjacent Mountains

. there

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Difcourfes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 27 there is an Earth of fo lively a red, that the

Canals thro' which the Rain Waters flow from

thefe Mountains to the Sea, feem to be ting'd

with Blood. This is eafily obfervable by

thofe who in Boats pafs from Geneva to Porta-

oenere , nor is it to be doubted, but in the

Places where the Rain Waters difcharge them-

felves into the Sea, there are Qgarries of

Marble preparing for our Poflerity, like that

of SaraveJJa, or at leaft of a Qgality approach-

ing to it. The Marble of Sicily variegated

with a beautiful yellow, which makes it fo

much efteemed, has the fame Origin. This

may be proved by the Earth of the fame

Colour and Beauty flill found on the Moun-

tains fuperior to the Quarry of that Marble.

This, in a Word, is the Reafon of all the

other Colours with which the Qgarries of this

Kind are variegated in all, the different Coun-

tries of the World.

'Tis however to be obferved, that the Colour of the Mud which ferves to form there Q.!.!arries, is often more beautiful and lively than that of the fuperior Earths. The Reafan of this is evident; thefe Earths having at firft been pure, as all Virgin Earths are, and being fo at the Time of the Compofition . of thefe Quarries, to the Mud of which they have ferved to give a Tincture, they have been afterwards altered, either by the Mixture of the Things they nourifhed in their Bofom, and which have been there petrified and confounded, or by extraneous Earths which the Winds have conveyed thither. However they always retain Marks enough of their firft State, to convince us, that tbey have formerly

ferved

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28

TEL L I A M ED: Or,

ferved to tinge the Cements of the Qgarries which are form'd below them.

The Reafon why thefe OEarries include neither petrified Woods nor bak'd Earths, was alfo obvious to my Grandfather; for being formed under the Water of the Sea, of Subflances which have been thrown into it, there cannot be Wood found in them, which rarely goes to the Bottom; neither can baked ' Earths be found in them, except on very extraordinary Occafions: The broken Pieces of Bricks and Tiles, which are the Wrecks of cur Houfes, are not convey'd into the Sea from the Tops of fleep Mountains, at the Feet of which thefe ~arries are form'd, Iince very little is built on their Summits, but on Places of a gentle Declivity. Neither do we difcover in thefe Qparries, at leaft, not commonly, Stones. and Flints made round, becaufe Stones do not become round in the Sea, till they have been long rubed againft each other, upon a fhallow Bottom, either of Stone or firm Sand. The Sea, as I have already obferved, cannot perform this Work in deep Water, nor convey Flints to the Tops of freep Mountains, which break the Forceof her Billows and Currents, and force her to return upon herfelf. Befides, in thefe Places, the Bottom confifringgenerally only of Mud, every thing weighty or bulky is ftopt at a Diflance by the Softnefs of the Slime. In a Word, my Father comprehended that thefe Mountains could not be compofed of Beds, fuch as are found in· the Mountains lodg'd in . a free and open Sea, Iince the former are only the Wrecks ofthefe latter Mountains, which fall ..

i~~

HostedbyGoogle '

I Difcourfes 011 the Diminution ~f the' Sea, &c. 29 ing at their Feet are received into a Mud pro-

per to reunite them, and form them into a

Solid, Whole, or Mafs. The [mall Extent

of thefe Qgarrles, and their oblong Form,

always terminating in a Point, were frill, to

my Grandfather; evident Demonftrations of

their Origin.

He alfo obferved, that the Quarries of this Kind, when placed at the Feet of Mountains of a Subftancewhich was foft and eafily broken by the Impreflions of the Air, fuch as the Qparries of black" gray, . or agate-colour'd Marble, were compofed of very fmall Pieces; whereas," when they were fituated at the Foot of Mountains, compofed of hard Stones that are with Difficulty mouldered, fuch as all the Mountains-made of Mud or fine Sand, the Pieces which compofed thefe inferior Qgarries, were of a much larger Bulle. In order I to convince himfelf that the one came from \ the other, :he obferv'd, that the higher and. fteeper the fuperior Mountains were, the more; confiderable were the Qgarrics formed at their I Feet, which could only proceed from the great-: er Qgantity of their Wrecks, which had had. Leifure to fall, and be accumulated in a long Space of Time neceifary to exhauft a deep Sea. In a . Word, to omit nothing proper to infrruct him in the Origin of thefe Concretions, and to eftablifh their Truth, he pounded the Stones of them, in the Compofition of which he found, as in the Flint-beds, tho' Iefs frequently, the Bones of Sea-fifhes, and Shells. After this bethought he had no Reafon to doubt, but that thefe {mall ~arries were the Work of the Waters of the Sea, as well as the Flint-beds. From this he con-

cluded, Hosted by Coog I e

30 TEL L I A M ED: Or,

eluded, that the Sea had beat a long time on the Parts where the Quarries were Iituated, fince it had been able to form fimilar Collections, and confequently had been dirninifhed by all the Elevation obferved from its Surface to thefe Qparries. The Mountains in our Neighbourhood are intermixed with Pertifications of this Kind all of Marble. There are alfo a great many of them in Europe, both of Marble and Stone. There are Petrifications of this Kind in fome Places in Provence, and even thefe confiderably high, fince they are found in the Neighbourhood of St. Baume, There are alfo others in France. There are many of them in Spain, efpecially in the Perinean Mountains; in Flanders; in Larrain ; In the States of Geneva; in Switzerland; and

'\ in Sicily. There are fome of them very beautiful in Ajia, but always at the Foot of Mountains, and of the fame Colour with their Subfrance. When this Kind of Petrification is Marble, it is very agreeable to the Eye, by the Variety' obfervable in it on account of the Cement tinged in a hundred different Manners, and [erving to unite the Pieces of which it is compcfed. This Marble is the Matter of a great many Pillars, with which' your Churches are adorned, efpecially in Italy. Tables are alfo made of it, and Decorations for Chimnies in Houfes and Palaces.

Of Rock Two other Kinds of Petrification neat the

and Pu- h

mice- Surface of the Mountains, and w ich may be

Ilene, reduced to one, fince they are of the fame Kind, were alfo the Objects of my Grandfather's Reflections; I mean the Rock-ftone and the Pumice, which hardly differ in the Pofition of their fmall Qgarries, and but very

G rlittle

Hosted by 008 e

Difcourfes 012 the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 3 t littI,e 1n the Subftances of which they are com-

pofed. The Pumice is only lefs folid than

the Rock-ftone , it is alfo more porous, and

lefs equal in its Compofition.

In order to know the Reafon of this Difference, it is to be obferved, that the Bottom of the Sea furnifhes a great deal more Impurities in fome Places than in others. It is fuller of thefe Impurities on the Co aft, where Rivers and Torrents difcharge themfelves, than at a greater Diftance from the Shore. In a Word, there are much fewer Impurities in Bottoms which are Sand or Mud, than on the Shores, which are often embarraffed with Rocks, where thefe Impurities are collected, and to which they adhere. Thus, when in a Tempeft the Billows of the Sea have torn from thefe Rocks and fhallow Places, the Vifcofities, Mofs, Snails, Shells, and a thoufand other Impurities, which are proper to them, as may be diftinguifhed by the Eye, in Bottoms of this Kind, they are carried to the Shore with the Sand and fmall Flints. There with the Cement of the Froth and the Salt of the Water, the Sea fixes all thefe Subfrances to the Surfaces of the Shores, which fhe frill wafhes with the Extremity of her Waves, and makes of the whole a Compofition as unequal in Hardnefs, as the Natures of the Subftances employed in its Formation are different. The Holes contained in this Pumice are the Cavities formed by a little Mofs, the Vifcofity of Snails, or other bulky Subftances, without a due Confiilence, which have entered the original Compofition. Thefe Subftances have been confumed by Time, which reduced them to a little Duft or Earth,

w-hich I

Hosted by ~oog e '

32 TEL L I A IVl E ID: Or;

which is to be found in thefe Cavities. On the contrary, when the Sea by its Billows throws-en Shore more equal Subflances, and fewer Vifcofities and Mofles, fhe compofes a lees rough, and a better formed Stone; which is called Rock-Ilene. The mouldering of certain Mountains alfo contributes to the Cornpofition of this Stone, becaufe the Sand and fmall Gravel which are detached from them, and which are carried to the Sea by a gentle Declivity, are re-united by the Waves·· at the Foot of thefe Mountains, with the other Subfiances which they convey thither ..

My Grandfather, who had Itudied the various Works performed in the Bottom of the Sea. efpecially on the Coafts, eafily difcovered this Truth: He found in thefe two Kinds of Stone, the fame Compofition 'which the Sea daily produces, almoft every Moment, in fixing to Itony Bottoms or fmall Rocks, which it frill wafhes with the Extremity of its Waves, the Subflances which its Waters contained, or which were carried to them from the adjacent Mountains. The Pofition of thefe ~arries of Pumice and Rock-Hone, had the fame AfpeCt as thofe Places where the Sea had formed fimiJar ones upon the Coafts, Thus the fuperficial Qparries in the large Mountains, which he had found very near their higheft Summits, were to him pew Proofs, both of the long Continuance of the. Sea in fuch elevated Places, and of the prodigious Diminution of her Water, if we. form an Eflimate of this Affair from her iprefent Boundaries, and the Elevation of thefe Places.

Thefe .two Kinds of Qgarries are however much lefs frequent and thick near the Tops

I of

Hosted by Coog I e

Difcourfes on the Diminution oj the Sea, &c. 33

of high Mountains, than about the Middle;

and frill lefs fo about their Middle, than

at their Feet, and in Places at prefene near

the Sea, The Reafon of this is obvious;

the Rock and Pumice Stones are compofed

of the Wrecks of certain Mountains, of fmall

Scones which the Sea detaches from them,

of [mall Flints which file' contains, of Shells

and Impurities which fhe brings along with.

her. Now nothing of all this exifted at the

Time of the Difcovery of the firfr Soils. The

Sea could not break them, nor convey their

Wrecks to their Feet, till after they had ap-

peared: Its Waters at firfl contained but very

few Shells, finee thefe are only found near

the Shores, which were but of a [mall Extent

at firft, The Sea-water was not then full of

all the I mpurities which the Rain-water, and a

certain Slime it brings along with it, pro-

duce and nourifh in the Bofom of the Sea;

fince the firfr Grounds were of a [mall Ex-

tent, had not as yet been rnouldered by the

Injuries of the Air, and only furnifhed the

Sea with fome Veins of Water, or at leafb

with [mall Rivulets. As yet their Waters

mufl have been very pure, fince they only

wafhed Rocks without Earth, without Herbs,

and without Shrubs. All thefe Circumil:ances

are changed by the longer Duration of Grounds, by the Lofs which the Rocks have fuflalned of a Part of their Subftance, by the Multiplication of Herbs and Leaves, by the Abundance of turbid Waters which the Sea

has fince received, and by the Adherence of

Shells, and all the Impurities which fhe has contracted. Thefe Works were alfo aug-

mented in Proportion as our Grounds were

\ D un-

Hosted by Coog I e

34

TEL L I A M ED: Or, uncovered, the Subftances which the Sea employs in her Labours being increafed according to the Diminution of her Waters. Hence it happens, that all Kinds of Stone or Marble in the Surfaces of.Mountains, of the Wrecks of which they have been form'd, are much lefs frequent and deep in high, than in lowlying Places, becaufe in thefe laft, the Sea has found more Materials to work uppn.

In general, my Grandfather, in this Petrification in the Surface of our Soils, found nurnberlefs Shells, fame known, others abfolutely unknown, or fuch as are very rare on the adjacent Coafls. He found in particular a great many Corneamons, which are very frequent in the Stones of Fra11Ce, tho' none of them are found on the Coafbof France. He alfo obferved that the unknown Shells were more deeply funk. in thefe Cornpofitions, whereas thofe which are frequent on our Coafts were Iituated nearer their Surfaces. In fearching for the Reafon of this Difference, he judged that it proceeded from this, that the Shells unknown on out Shores, which he had found in certain Bottoms, had been petrified in thefe Bottoms, with the Mud, before it could be uncovered by the Water; that afterwards this Petrification approaching to the Surface of the Sea, or being already at it, another Kind of Shells, fuch as we fee on our Coafts, and fuch as love the Air more than the former, had com pored a Cruft on this firft Stone, as it was common for the Sea to cloath the Rocks it ftill wafhed, with them, before it left thefe Rocks; and that confequently thefe laft Shells muft be found in the external Parts of the

Mafs,

Hosted by Coog I e

Difcourfes 011 the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 35 Mars, before we arrive at the internal Parts;

where the firft mentioned Shells are included.

My Grandfather afterwards difcovered W a other Petrifications deeper and larger than the M:;~e9 former, but which were not of a very great . Extent. Thefe were certain [mall Mountains feparated from the large ones, and generally

plac'd at their Foot, or at a Irriall Diflance,

moft frequently at the Entry of large Vallies,

or in Places not far from them. Thefe fmall Mountains, I call them fa in Com pari fan of

the Height and Extent of the other Mountains,

are the fame, and in the fame Pofition with

the Qgarries of Slate. or of certain tender Marbles, fuch as the black, the agate- colour-

ed, thofe mixed of red and green, and of yel-

low and white, and fame other Species. In examining the Variegation of thefc Marbles,

my Grandfather difcovered that there were

two Kinds of them ; the firft is the EffeCt of

certain Waves which are principally found in

the agate-coloured, the redifh, the green, and

fuch as approach to thefe Colours. A great

deal of this Kind is employed in the Houfes

of Paris. The accidental Variegation con-

fifts in certain Streaks, generally white or yellow, which are found in thefe Marbles,

and in feveral Qgarries of Stone.

He judged that thefe Waves obfervable in certain Marbles, proceeded from certain ftrong Impulfes, which their Subftance, as yet almoft liquid and without Confiftence, could not refift , that the greenifh Colour with which fome of thefe Stones are ting'd, could proceed from nothing elfe but Herbs inferted ill their Compofition, into which they could not enter, except when the Matter was foft; and

, D 2 that

Hosted by Coog I e

TEL L rAM ED: - Or,

that the Vvaves obfervable in their Subflance was an undoubted Proof of this Truth:

Thefe \V" aves, in a Word, fuppofed the fame State of thefe Subftances, without which the Mixtures of (he different Slimes of which thefe Marbles were cornpofed, could not have been made. The Eafinefs with which thefe Marbles were reduced to Scales or Flakes, convinced him that they were only compofed of Mud and Slime indurated. In a Word, confidering their Pofition, he concluded that fuch Collections were natural in thefe Places, and rnuft have been formed there by the Slime of the Rivers and Torrents, which flow'd from the Vallies into the Sea, at the Time when fhe was fuperior to thefe Quarries, Thus, in his Obfervations on the daily Labour of the Sea, he knew, that firnilar Collections, were at prefent made in her, near the Difemboguernenrs of Rivers or Torrents which fall into her. This appeared fufficiently evident to him from the various Bones of Sea and and River Fifh which he found in feveral of thefe Quarries, fince with their Waters and their Slime, thefe Rivers mutt have carried to the Sea fome of the Fifh they contained, either dead or alive.

As for the Streaks with which alrnoft all thefe Marbles are variegated, at leaft on their Surfaces, he knew that they were an Effect pofterior to the Appearance of there! [mall Hills above the Waters of the Sea, that being formed of a muddy Matter which is eafily warp'd, and that being acted upon by the Air, the Sun and Froft, they had been divided into Clefts, into which receiving the Rain and Sea Waters which Iometirnes cover-

ed

Hosted by Coog I e

· DifcoUlfes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. ed them, they had contracted thefe Variegations, according to the Earths and Slimes contained in thefe Waters, this Matter, which may be looked upon as a Kind of Glew or Cement, having ferved to reunite the different Pieces or Flakes into which their Surfaces were already divided.

In order to fupport this Sentiment he obferved, that thefe Streaks were of the fame Colour with the various Slimes of the Sea, by which the Quarries were wafhed, or with the Earth on their Summits; and that where the Earth was whiteifh, the Streaks of the Marble were equally fo, Such is the Variegation of feveral Quarries of black Marble, found in Switzerland and fome other Parts. Such alfo is the Variegation of feveral Stones dug up in '.tufcany, with which the Streets of Leghom are pav'd; and of a hundred other Kinds of Stones. whofe Subflances, tho' folid, is yet eafily warp'd and fiffur'd, He found on the contrary, that in the Places where the Earth on the :~'ummit of thefe Qparries was yellowifh, as in the We before Portovenere; whence black Marble, rnark'd with yellow Streaks approaching to a Gold Colour" is dug, the Stones were variegated with the fame Colour. This was a new Proof that the Variety of Streaks common to fa many Marbles, has no other Origin than that now mentioned. We alfo fornetimes fee in the fame

Piece of Marble, ~treaks of a white, and others of a yellow Colour. Whence proceeds this Difference? if not from this, that fame of them are the Work of a Vein of Water, ting'd yellow with an Earth of that Colour which it imbib'd , and others, that of il W ater which had run thro' a white Earth.

D 3 Hosted by Go~~1jlj:

37

3 s TEL L I A 1\1 EO: Or,

That thefe Streaks reall y proceed from the Warping and Fiffures of thefe Stones and Marbles after the Sea has left them, my Grand-

, father found another Ienfible Proof, which is, that if the Foot of thefe Qgarries is frill wafhed by the Waves, we do not at their Bottom find the Variegations to be obferved at their Summits; that they are of an equal Colour, Or at leaft wav'd and varied without any Mixture of thefe Streaks; and even in the Places where there Quarries are far from the Sea, their internal Part which is Ihelrered from the Wind, the Cold and the Sun prefents none of thefe Variegations. This I myfelf have obferved in feveral Quarries of your Europe, efpecially that fituated before Porto-uenere, whofe Variegations are diminifhed in Proporlion as we go farther from the Surface, and at Iaft totally difappear. In a Word, he found in the Matter of thefe Streaks, Flies and various other Land Infects, which could not enter into it, if thefe ~treaks had not been pofte'rior to the Fabrication of the Subflance of thefe Stones, and to their appearing above the Waters of the Sea. Frequently alfo, feveral of thefe Streaks were marked with green, which proceeded from the Leaves or Herbs, which being convey'd into thefe Clefts or Fiffures by the Rain-water, had tinged the Mud which they touch'd.

The Nature of thefe Quarries, and their Pofition, were, to my Grandfather, prepared by the Obfervations he' had made on the Works of the Sea, near the Difemboguernents of Rivers' and Torrents, new Proofs of the Diminution of her Waters. At the Foot of thefe Quarries, whofe Surface is eafiJy warp'd and reduced to Flakes, there are generally

Hosted by GOCQJlfer~J

DifcourJes 012 the Diminution 'of tbe Sea, &c. 39 others, efpecially on the fteepeft Coafbs. Thefe

have been form'd of the \Vrecks of the Sub-

france of the others, reunited by the Sand or

l\1ud of the Sea into which they had fallen

when it was frill at the Foot of them; and

this Affemblage alfo fubject '0 warp, and by

that Means Iufceptible of Variegations, com-

pores a Kind of Ipeckled or Mofaicl: \\7 ork,

very agreeable to the Eye, and of which we

find fame Ornaments in the Houfesof Paris.

The Pieces of which thefe Qparries are form-

ed, are generally very fmall. In this they

differ from thofe I have mentioned, the Sub-

france of which is net fo eafily broken; but

the Quallty of the Marble, Sand and Mud,

which com pofe thefe fmall Qparries, the Sea-

fhells inferred in them, and their Pofition,

are, as well as in the others, certain Proofs of

the State of the Water of the Sea, at the Time

of their Formation, and confequently of the Diminution which has Iince happened to that

\Vater.

After the Examination of thefe various Pe- Of th¢ trifications on the Surface of the large Moun- large rains, of which we might fay the former arc M,011n.

I D I G df I ['. d tOlm ••

t ie aug iters, my ran rat ter rc olvc to

ufe nil his Application in examining the Compofition and Origin of thcfe alfo. With this View he ordered deep Pits to be dug in Jeveral Parts, even in the rnofl lofty ~ummits of thefe Mountains, as far as their lowefl Entrails. He vifited the Quarries whence Stones were dug in the Places where the Mountains were higheft, or he went to thefe Places where the Mountains were either Iplit, undermined by Time, cut, penetrated, or razed to a level, in order to make Roads, raife Fortifi-

P +- cations1

Hosted by GOog 1 e

TEL L I A M ED: Or,

,

Cations, or afford Paffages for Rivers. He carefully interrogated rhefe who had the Charge of thefe Works, the Diggers of the Stones, thofe who cut them, and thele employed in digging the fits. He with no lefs Attention examined the Mountains or little Hills of hard Sand, which are never Io high as Mountains of Stone, neither have they been

. formed till long after them out of their Wrecks, Befides they are in fuch a Situation, that the Agitation of the 'Naves which wafhed the Parts where thev are, the Qpality of the Sands which compofe them, and the Mixture of the Irefh Water, have not permitted them to be petrified. My Grandfather Ipent feveral Years in this Occupation, and after long Meditations on the internal and external Parts of all Mountains, he, with my deceafed Father, who imitated him in this Study, and whom he conducted every where with him, made a Collection ofObfervations, the Subflance of which is as follows:

That all Mountains or Soils are originally but Sand or Stone; that ~ tone is cornpofed of indurated Sand or Mud, or of a Mixture of both, or formed of Clay and thefe other Depofitions of the Water of the Sea, which

• are found in its Bottom by Means of the Plummet, or by Diving.

That the Diverfity of Colour in Stones pro~ ceeds from the Diverfity of the Grain, and of the Subftances which have entered into their refpective Petrifications.

That all primitive Mountains of Stone, "and even of hard Sand not petrified, are cornpofed of Beds arranged over each other, almofb always horizontally, thicker or thinner, and

often Hosted by Coog I e

Difi:ourfts C1Z tbe Diminution of the Sea, &e. 4- t often of an unequal Colour and Hardnefs,

which can only proceed from the " fucceffive Arrangement of the different Mutters of which

thefe Collections are formed.

That thefe Arrangements are found from the Tops of the higheit Mountains, to their profoundeft Abyffes, and even till we arrive at Water. That when we go beyond the Water, we only fearch with little Certainty, and can diftinguifh nothing with ref pea to the Arrangement of the Subftances found there.

That- it is not poflible to imagine, that the Arrangement of thefe Matters different in Qgality, Subftance, Colour, and Hardnefs, which we find in the Beds of all large Mountains, could be produced otherwife than in the Sea, and by the different Matters which its Waters contain during the Time neceffary to the Fabrication of thefe prodigious Collections ; nor that the other Petrifications adhering to them, and formed of their Wrecks, were formed by another Caufe, than the Affiflance of the Sea, acting fucceffively upon them.

That for a Proof of this Truth, the Sea on her Bottom frill continues the fame Labour, as may be prov'd by diving into her; that along her Shores, we find the fame Arrangement of Beds of different Matters, as yet not indurated, at leail in feveral Places; and that we aIfo find upon the Coafts, Collections of the fame Matters which are employed in the Petrifications, adhering to the Surface of all large Mountains.

That befides thefe obvious Proofs that all large Mountains have been formed in this Manner, they alfo contain a great many others

2 which

Hosted by Goog le

42

TEL L I A M ED: Or,

which admit of no Reply. In a Word, that even in Places moft diftant from the Sea, they are to this Day covered in a thoufand Parts of their Surfaces, with a prodigious Number of Shells; and that on the Summits of the higheft Mountains, we find feveral Rocks entirely compofed of Shells; that the internal Parts of Mountains a1fo include an infinite Number of the fame Shells,- and of all Kinds of Sea Fifh, the largeft not excepted; that whole Banks of Oyfters are found inferred in their Bofoms, and a furprifing ~antity of extraneous Bodies all arranged in the fame Manner; that from this we ought to conclude, that thefe Bodies could only enter into thefe enormous Maffes, and be included in them, becaufe at the Time of the Fabrication of thefe Mountains, they have been thrown to - thefe Parts, and buried at the Height where we find them, as are the Materials of a Wall which we fee built.

. That the Difference of Qpaliry and Colour, of one Bed of the fame Stone, from another, proceeds from this, that the Currents proper to the Waters of the Sea, as the Winds are to the Air which we breathe, after having paffed thro' certain Places with Rapidity, and carried off the Matter with which they are impregnated, find Matter of another Kind which they alfo convey fucceffively to the Places where they terminate; that they there form, by the Depofition of all thefe Matters, Beds as different in Subftance, as the Slimes are which

they contain. .

That there are Sea-Ihells, and a much larger Quantity of other extraneous Matter in the Subftance of certain ~arries, and that in

'. G I COn-

Hosted by 008 e ' .

Difcourfes 011 the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 43 confidering the Difpofition of the Places where

they are Iituated, it is evident that we ought

not to feek for any other Reafon for there

Facts, than that there Quarries have been

forrn'd in the Bottom of a Gulph, or in Parts

where Currents mull: naturally convey fuch Things, rather than to other Places.

That thefe extraneous Bodies, efpecially Shells, and the Bones of Sea-fifh, are very rare at the Bottom of Quarries, lefs rare at their Middle, and more frequent towards their Surface, which proceeds from this, that the Waters of the Sea mull: naturally contain few 'Fifh, and almoft no Shells, when they covered the Tops of our Mountains; that in a. Word, there was nothing in the Bottom of the Sea proper for the Nourifhment of either, fo that they have not been multiplied nor perhaps forrn'd, except when the firft Summits of our Mountains were ready to appear, becaufe in order to be brought to Life, they required the Affiftance of the adjacent Air.

In order, Sir, continued our PhiIofopher, Primitive to give you a general Idea of the primitive State of State of our Globe, and to conduct you in- our Globe. fenfibly to a Knowledge of the Cornpofition

of our Soils, imagine to you rfel f, as I have

begun to prove to you, that the Sea has been

a great many Cubits higher than the higheft

of all our Mountains.* The precife Eleva-

tion

lJ 'Tis under this Image that O<vid reprefents the Earth in the Chaos,that is, before the Ground began to appear.

I:Z.!!cclJue crat & tellus, illic & pontus & aero

Metam, Lib I.

This is alfo the Idea Mofes gives of it in Ge», i. 2. And DadmrJi 'Uta/lIpon the Fa" of the Dup.

Hosted by ~oog I e

44

TELLIAMED:

Or

)

tion of its Waters above their Summits, is unknown to us, and the Meafure of it Cannot be afcertained. But we cannot doubt, after the Proofs I am to advance, but there has been a Time w hen the Waters covered thefe Mountains. and that they did not begin to be dirninifhed till after they had form'd the laft Beds of them

Whatever might have been the Elevation of the Waters above our Mountains, -thev did not then contain Shells and Fifh, It is at leaft certain, that they contained vcry few of the Ie, becaufe there were then no Grounds near the Surface of the Water, which alone are able to fupply them with proper Nourifhrnenr , and that long after the firft Diminution of the Waters, the Fifh and Shells were very few. A Proof of what I advance, is, that at prefent there are very few Fifh in fuch Seas as are either far from the Shore, or very deep. . For this Reafon, inftead of finding indifferently in all the Quarries of our Globe, Fifh-bones, Shells, or other extraneous Bodies, we find in fame nothing but a fimple and u~iform Subftance ; fuch is that obfervable in primitive Mountains, I mean thefe high and large Mountains which furpafs all thofe round them, and which we muftcarefully diftinguifh from thefe laft which were form'd pofterior to them, and of their W reeks. Now 'tis principally in thefe Iaft, that we find extraneous Bodies, Bones of Fifh and Shells, which are very rare in the others) or which are only difcovercd on their Surfaces.

By

Hosted by Coog I e

DifcourJes Oil the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 45 By what I have faid, Sir, you may eafily Rearo~ of

h d h R f fl' D' ~ the Dlffe-

COn1?re en t e eaton 0 t us ruerence, renee ob-

In a Word, while the Waters of the Sea co- fervable in vered the Summits of the higheft Moutains, ounMounthat is, while they were employed in forming tams. them, there could nothing but Sand or Mud

enter their Compofition, fince the Sea con ..

tained nothing elfe which. {he could ufe for

that Purpofe ; as fhe then nourifhed but very

few Shell-fifh, we muft but rarely meet

with Shells in thefe fidl: Collections. The Currents employed in this Work, containing

only Sand or Slime, which they detached from

certain Bottoms, or which they had contract-

ed in the Manner I Ihall afterwards mention;

had as yet no other Materials to work upon.

But when the Summits of thefe primitive Mountains were ready to appear above the

Waters, the Herbs began to grow upon the Eminences next to the Air. At the fame time

the Fifh and the Shells were multiplied, and

began to enter into the new Compofitions,

which the Sea continued to form at the Sides of

the great Mountains, on their Declivities, or

at the Intervals which her Currents had made

between them.

It was in thefe Mountains pofterior to the others, that Plants, Leaves of Trees, Fifhbones, and Sea-Ihells, began to be found. If in thefe laft, we alfo find fome other extraneous Bodies, fuch as Flints and others different from their own Subftance, the Reafon for this is very natural: The Summits of the' firftMountains having appeared, were atrack'd by the Impetuofity of the Winds and of the Waves natural to the Surface of the Sea. Their Subflance being as yet tender, was. by

them

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46

...

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them broken and mouldered in feveral Parts. Heat and Cold aided the Billows, which were alfo aflifted by the Rivers and Torrents which the Rains forrn'd. Every thing which was by this Means detach'd from the Subflance of the firfl Grounds, began to enter into the new Labours of the Sea: Of thefe new Collections, the next to the ~l1mmits 'of the firf] Mountains were attack'd and broken in their Turn, in proportion as they appeared above the Surface of the Waves , and their Wrecks were in the fame manner employed in the Compofition of Iirnilar Works, which the Sea form'd below them.

The Ruins of thefe three, afterwards ferv'd the fame End, and lower Mountains were form'd of them; thefe generated others, and thefe Works will continue as long as there are Seas, which the fuperior Mountains Ihall, with their Wrecks, fupply Materials to the Waves and Currents, to cornpofe new ColIections at their Feet, as long as the Rains, the Rivers, and the Torrents 1hall convey Subfrances thither, and as long as the Impetuofity of the Winds 01a11 carry thither the Sand and Duft, which it has blown from the Land. This' is the Reafon, why in the Subftance of feveral Marbles, we find fo many Stones and Flints of a Nature abfolutely different. In a Word, an infinite Number ofthefe heterogeneous Bodies has peahaps already ferv'd [0 the Fabrication of five or fix other different Quarries, from which they have' been fucoeflivelydetach'd. 'Tis alfo for-this Reafon,that Ierne of thefe Pieces are Itreaked with white and yellow, tho' thefe ';treaks are not common to other contiguous Pieces,

. whkh

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DiJcOltrflS 011 the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 47 which certainly proceeds from this, that be-

fore entering into thefe lafl Cornpofirions, thefe

Pieces making a Part of the Surface of a Moun-

tain anterior to this, had there been cloven and re-united in the Manner above explained.

Herbs, the Leaves of Trees, Fruits, Infects, Animals, and feveral other Things which

the Earth produces, and which are inferted

in the white or yellow of thefe Streaks, are

evident Proofs of their Origin.

'Tis then principally Iince the uncovering of the Tops of the higheft Mountains, and in the manner I .have explained to you, that extraneous Bodies, Fifh-bones, and Shells, have entered into the Works of the Sea ; then the Wrecks of thefe Mountains multiplying, contributed to the Multiplication of new Works, which lengthened the Riling-grounds, By the Extent of her Shores, the Sea nourifhes in her Waters a greater number of Fifh and Shell-fifh , and thefe are more and more multiplied in her, in proportion as her Diminution becomes more confiderable, We have not only found in the Subftance of thefe Works, pofierior to the primitive Mountains, Shells, and Fifh-bones ; but: alfo, whole Fifh of all Kinds i. their deepeft Entrails. Thefe are to be found in OEarries of Marble, Slate, and Stone, though more frequently in fome than in others. There are no kinds of Animals either on the Earth, or in the Sea, which are not found in them. As for Sea-Ihells, there are in thefe Qgarries avail: Number of them, the Species of which are entirely unknown to us.

At this Part of our Converfation, I began

to relifh the Obfervations of our Philofopher ; but

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but we were interrupted by the coming of an Indian Chriftian ; he came to beg me to go immediately, and be a Witnefs to the Death of an Indian Merchant, who was a Chriftian as well as hi mfclf.

Though I had no Connection with there Indians; yet my Religion did not permit me to neglect fo favourable an Opportunity of doing Good. I beg'd 'I'dliamed to defer the reft of his Converfation till next Day, and ran to the Merchant whom I found at the Point of Death. I {hall not give you an Account of every thing I raw in that Place. 'What Iurpriz'd me mofl, was a Baron near the dying Perfon, full of a thick and greenifh Liquor, with which they fprinkled him now and then: I at firft took it for fome Compofition proper to Ilrengthen and comfort him, but having afked what it was, I was to my great Surprize, told that it was Holy- Water, in which Cow's Dung had been fteep'd. You know, Sir, the ftupid RefpeCl: which the idolatrous Indians retain for that Animal, t but I could not have thought to findfo grofs and ridiculous a Piece of Super-

ftition

t One of the greatef Marks of this fuperfiitious Refpea, is, that the illdiam can think of no greater Happinefs than that of holdinz a Cow's Tail in their Han+, when they -are dying. 0 As thefe People believe. the Tranfmigration of Souls, they imagine that by this Means the Soul will pafs direcHy into the Body of that 1- nimal ; and they think they cannot wifh for a more agreeable ,\ bode. The ufe which they make of the Excrements of this Animal, in their· blutions and Purifications, is fufficienrly known. Though they have committed the moll: atrocious Crimes, they believe thernfelves fanetified as foon as they are rubb.d with it from Head to .Foot.

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