them all to be not only precarious, but impoffible, his whole Hypothefis must fall with them. Perhaps many of his Readers will be forry to be undeceived, for as I believe, never any Book was fuller of Errors and Mistakes in Philofophy, fo none ever abounded with more beautiful Scenes and furprising Images of Nature; but I write only to thofe who might perhaps expect to find a true Philofophy in it. They who read it as an Ingenious Romance will still be pleased with their Entertainment. SOME SOME REMARKS ON Mr. WHISTON'S Theory of the Earth, T HO' I think it impoffible to give a that great Deluge of waters which once overflowed the Face of the whole Earth, it being a work not to be performed without the extraordinary contrivance of the Divine power; yet I cannot but acknowledge that Mr. Whifton the Ingenious Author of this new Theory of the Earth, has made greater difcoveries and proceeded on more Philofophical Principles than all the Theorists before him have done. In his Theory there are fome very ftrange coincidents which make it indeed probable, that a Comet at the time of of the Deluge paffed by the Earth. It is furprizing to obferve the exact correfpondence between the Lunar and Solar year, upon the fuppofition of a circular Orbit, in which the Earth moved before the Deluge. It cannot but raise admiration in us, when we confider that the Earth at the time of the Deluge was in its Perihelion, which would be the neceffary effect of a Comet that paffed by at that time, in drawing it from a Ĉircular to an Elliptical Orbit. This together with the confideration that the Moon was exactly in fuch a place of its Orbit at that time, as equally attracted with the Earth, when the Comet paffed by, feems to be a very convincing Argument that a Comet really came very near, and paffed by the Earth, on the day the Deluge began. But notwithstanding this, I believe it will be evident by the following confiderations, that a Comet could never have produced thofe various effects that Mr. Whifton has attributed to it; and it will also further appear that the Deluge was the immediate work of the Divine power, and that no fecondary. causes without the interpofition of Omnipotence, could have brought fuch an effect to pafs. But first I will make fome Remarks on the Origin of the Primitive Earth, and method by which Mr. Whiston supposes it was formed. Mr. Mr. Whifton's first Hypothefis is, that the antient Chaos, the Origin of our Earth was the Atmosphere of a Comet; but this fuppofition, tho' he endeavours to prove it by feveral Arguments, doth not feem probable for the reafons following. Firft the Scriptures represent the Primitive Antient Chaos as a very dark and obfcure Body; for they fay, that it was without form, and Void, and that Darkness was upon the face of the Deep: this will further appear by the next verfe, where God is faid to have made light upon the first day of the Creation, which is a clear proof that there was none before that time, but that the whole Chaos was originally a dark and confufed heap of Bodies. Now it is certain, by the Teftimonies of all thofe who have made any Obfervations about Comets, that their Atmospheres are very bright and luminous Fluids through which the beams of the Sun diffuse themfelves very freely, and many of them are again reflected back to us: and indeed, if we confider their pellucidness, and the vast quantity of Light which paffes through them, without reflection, it is not eafy to imagine how they fhould appear fo lucid to our Eyes. Nor do I believe that it is poffible to find among all the pellucid Bodies of our Earth any one, which being placed at the fame distance from us, as the Atmosphere of Comets are, would appear fo bright, or reflect the light fo fo ftrongly as they do. For it is easy to be obferved, that diaphanous Bodies are not fo luminous, nor do they reflect light in such a quantity as it is reflected from opake Bodies. It cannot be faid that the light by which we perceive a Comet, is only reflected from the top of its Atmosphere, and that it doth not pass through the Body of it to illuminate all the other parts of it, which are therefore involved in thick darkness; for it is evident that light paffes clearly through the whole Body of the Atmosphere, and illuminates the central folid, which strongly reflects the light to us back again. I know Mr. Whifton fuppofes, that this great darkness mentioned in the Scripture, proceeded from the fubfiding of the vast Denfe and heavy Fluid, or large Abyfs, which he fays encompaffed the central folid, and was it felf covered over with a collection of Earthly, Watery, and Airy particles, intercepting and reflecting all the Rays of light which fell upon it: but this I think doth not well agree with the tenour of Scripture, which reprefents the Chaos in its very Original state, as involved with darkness and obfcurity. It is also repugnant to all the ancient Traditions we have about it, which reprefent it as a dark and confufed heap of Bodies, from the very beginning of its exiftence, till the time of the Creation or Formation of the Earth. It is plain also that the Abyss |