་

covered. verf. 24. And the waters prevailed upon the Earth an hundred and fifty days. Chap. 8. verf. 1. And God made a wind to pass over the Earth, and the waters affwaged. verf. 2. The fountains alfo of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was reftrained. verf. 3. And the waters returned from off the Earth continually, and after the end of the hundred and fifty days, the waters were' abated. verf. 5. And the water's decreafed continually until the tenth month. In the tenth' month, on the fifth day of the month were the' tops of the mountains feen!

A

We may obferve from this, that the Scriptures inform us, that the whole Earth was under a Deluge at the fame time, that the waters encreased and prevailed gradually every where for the space of 150 days, that all the high hills under the whole heavens were covered, that all thefe Mountains lay under Water for feveral months, that the Ark fwam and was carry'd up above the Mountains, and when the Waters began to abate, it refted at last upon one of them; that it was the eighth month from the beginning of the Deluge when the tops of the Mountains first began to appear, till which time they lay all of them hid and covered with Water. Now in the Theoriff's imaginary Deluge, it is plain, (as I have already obferv'd) that there was but a twenty third part of the Earth covered with Water at the fame time;

it

it is alfo evident, that the Waters could not encrease gradually in any one place for the fpace of 150 days, fince the whole Earth was to be cover'd over with waters in that time. His fingle Ocean of Water could not stay but the three and twentieth part of that time in one place, and therefore it must have gone off from that place, and left it dry long before the end of thofe days.

Nor is this Idea of a Deluge lefs confiftent with Reason and Philofophy, than it is with Scripture. Is it poffible to conceive moving, wandring Mountain of Water? For Water naturally fettles its felf into a furface concentrical to the Earth; and by whatever force, or however it fhould be rais'd into an heap, it will immediately fpread it felf uniformly upon the furface of the Earth, and defcend by whatever ways it can. If therefore we fhould fuppofe all the waters in the Abyss drawn or forced up to cover the hills of any one place, it will immediately defcend and form it felf into a furface parallel to the Horizon, and fo fpread its felf equally every where upon the Valleys of the Earth, leaving the Mountains quite uncover'd. The Theorist himself acknowledges, that a Mountain of Water is an impoffible thing; and indeed, this notion of a Deluge feems to be fo extravagant, that I can scarce think that any body will be fo credulous as to believe it; and yet it is impoffible that it can be any other ways, if we fuppofe

fuppofe all the Mountains of the Earth to have been cover'd with an Ocean of Water, of no greater dimensions than that affign'd in the Theory, which cannot cover more than the three and twentieth part of the Earths furface.

The Defender in vain alledges, that we are to conceive this Ocean as a mighty rufhing Sea, overflowing and fweeping with its ra ging Waves and Impetuous Fluctuations, all the Mountains; for this will not at all take away the abfurdity, because motion can never multiply any body, nor make it to be at more places than one at a time. Water can only by motion be in many places fucceffively, which will give us the Idea of fuch a moving heap or Mountain of waters, as we have juft now prov'd impoffible. Nor is this notion of a Deluge agreeable to the principles of the Theory. For let us fuppofe the Cruft to have been broken by the force of vapours endeavouring to expand themselves, it must immediately fall down and drive the Water of the Abyfs out of its place, fome one way, and fome another; this Water will ascend with a very confiderable force, let us fuppofe as far as five. Miles perpendicular heighth, after which it will defcend again and fall to the ground; and all this will be by computation in much less time than one day. These waters having acquired a great force by their fall, will defcend very swiftly into the Vallies S

and

and Cavities of the Earth, and leave both Mountains and Upper-grounds quite uncovered. And as the Waters that were raised by the fall of the Cruft, could cover no more than a twenty third part of the Earths furface, fo it is evident it could remain but a very short time upon the tops of thofe Mountains it overflow'd; whereas in Noah's Deluge, all the Mountains of the Earth lay under water for the space of 150 days. Thus I have prov'd, that the Deluge the Defender endeavour'd to explain, is neither confiftent with the holy Scriptures, true Reafon and Philofophy, nor the Principles of the Theory, from whence he pretends to deduce it.

Of the Figure of the Earth.

TH

HO' what the Theorift has faid in relation to the Figure of the Earth, be one of his groffeft and moft palpable errors, and tho' there is a pofitive demonftration that it is of a Figure directly contrary to that he affigns, yet his Defender thinks himself oblig'd to maintain it, and therefore spends more time and paper about it, than upon any other point.

He is not contented with what has been faid by feveral Mathematicians and Philofophers of the prefent Age upon this Subject; tho' one would think that they knew the me

thods

thods to determine the Figure of the Earth much better than either the Theorist or himfelf. He is afraid that they will give it against him, and therefore he appeals from them to fome farther Obfervations, that He and the Theorist point out and direct us to make. As to obferve for inftance, whether the extent of a degree be the fame in different Lati tudes, or whether the fhadow of the Earth in a total Eclipse of the Moon be truly round; as alfo to obferve if towards the Poles, the return of the Sun to their Horizon be according to the rules of a Sphærical Surface of the Earth. These are the Obfervations the The rift would have made to determine the controverfy. Which I will now confider, leav ing the Defenders Obfervations to be examin ed in a proper place.

I noted in the Examination, that I did not think any Obfervations that could be made upon different measures of a Degree in different Latitudes, could be fo nice and exact, as would be neceffary to determine the point in controverfy. For fuppofing that the greatest Diameter of the Earth were to its leaft as 101 to 100, by which one Semidiameter would be very near 40 Miles greater than the other; (a difference which his friend who was fo kind as to write him a Letter, thinks to be much too great) and then the greatest Degree upon the Meridian, would be to the leaft very near in the fame proportion;

'S 2