which will never go down with me: For Mofes then feems to make the whole World to be ftocked with one Pair of Animals of each Sort, or to be fure he makes but one Man and one Woman to people all the Earth, which is monftrously abfurd: For any common Observer of Nature may take Notice, how careful fhe is for the Propagation of Kinds; that she is rather guilty of a Superfœtation, than a Parfimony this Way. How many Millions of Acorns doth one fingle Oak produce, during the Time of its Standing, any one of which is capable of renewing its Species? Not to mention the Polypodium, and fuch other fuper-abundantly fruitful Plants, there is not an Apple, or a Pear-Tree, but what produces ten thoufand Times more Kernels, than what is abfolutely neceffary. And if the Hypothefis of Mr. Lewenhoeck be true, as I never faw any good Reason to the contrary, that the Fatus is produced from an Animalcule in the Sperm of the Male, what Myriads of these are produced every Concoction? Therefore whereas Nature is fo over and above careful in the Propagation of Kinds, when she is in a manner profufe in the Production of Seeds, that the may be fure to obviate all Manner of Contingencies and Lets which could poffibly happen; how can we fuppofe, that fhe acted by fuch contrary Methods, in the firft Formation of Things? If there were but Two of a Sort created, upon what miferable Uncertainties did the Perfection of the Univerfe depend? If any one Male or Female had died before it had produced its Kind, there had been a Species loft for ever. Nay, a Lion, a Bear, or a Wolf, might have eaten up half a Score of fome Species, for a Breakfast. If Adam had been as much a Villain as his Son Cain, he might have ferved his Wife as Cain did his Brother. They might each or both, have been devoured by fome wild Beast, they might have fell from a Tree, or a Precipice, or into a River, they might have been poifoned by fome venomous Plant, or Animal, or laftly, Eve might have died in her firft Child-Birth. Now if any of thefe Things had happened, the Deity had been put the Trouble of a new Creation. Moft certainly, there

fore

fore, fince God Almighty does take fuch abundant Care for the Propagation of each fingle Individuum, he would never leave a whole Species to fuch a Number of Cafualties. If fuch a Number of fuperfluous Animalcules are produced for the Formation of one Fatus, when Nature takes fuch mighty Care to produce with the more Certainty one fingle Effect; how can we suppose, that she fhould leave the whole human Species liable to be deftroyed by fo many Accidents? This is not at all reasonable, Credentius, let your Bibles fay what they will. Befides, I cannot imagine, how all the World should be peopled by these Two. How could their Progeny get into America, whofe Inhabitants feem coæval with the Land it felf? How could the Blacks and Whites have one common Parent? They feem to be diverfe Kinds of Men, and a White can no more beget a Black, than a Bull can beget a Boar. Pray, Sir, afford us a Caft of your Subtilty, to evade thefe Difficulties.

Cred. I confefs, Philologus, there is in this Argument a philofophical Prettinefs, and that is all; fuch as will take with fome of the Virtuofo Part of the World, who prefer an Experiment to a Revelation, but it does not fo with me; for I have learned to make my Philosophy strike Sail to my Faith, and to think that Omnipotency can do that, which ordinary Nature is at a Lofs for. But, as I have obferved before, you philofophical Gentlemen do not arGod acted gue juftly, when you argue from the ordinary and confervative, to the creative Power of God; that God muft have done fo and fo in the Formation of the World, becaufe he does fo in the Confervation of it: For the Reafons of both these are very different. Then Omnipotence chiefly employ'd it felf, but here is the Province for Wifdom: then God acted abfolutely by an uncontrollable Power, but now he has in fome Meafure given the Reins out of his own Hand, he has in many Degrees made over his original Power to his Creatures, and left it to the Determination of Free-will, and oftentimes to the Lets and Impediments of what we call cafual Events. So that it was very wifely contrived of the Deity, after the Aliena

Methods in the Creation than

now.

took an im

tion of this original Power, to be more abundantly cautious in the Production of Species, when the Power of Production was delivered up to other Hands. Whilft God Almighty made all Things by his abfolute creative Power, his Almighty Fiat could not but produce a neceffary Effect; but when he delivered this over to fecond Caufes which acted but weakly, and fometimes corruptly, there was then Need that he fhould make more ample Provision for the Propagation of Species, and for the Prevention of Miscarriages in their Production, when the immediate Caufes were not omnipotent. To make this plainer yet to you, by a familiar Inftance. You know, Sir, you have the Happiness to be an exquifite Mathematician, and particularly you understand the Art of Gun- He then nery, fo as you can, unless fome extraordinary Chance mediate does intervene, hit, or come very nigh the Mark you fhall Care of the defign, by the Difcharge of a Piece of Ordnance. Now Species. you being fo excellent this Way, you would not perhaps provide for your felf more than one fingle Ball for this Purpofe; but if you was to order a young Practitioner, or one perfectly ignorant of this Art, to do this, one that knew nothing of the Bore, or the Length of his Piece, or the Strength of his Powder; one that could make no Eftimate of the Distance or Heighth of the Object, or the Renitency of the Medium; you must allow him a far larger Quantity of Ball and Powder, that he by random Shots may effect that, which you do at once by Demonftration. The Application is eafy. Oros wulge, God is the Mathematician; he in the firft Creation of the World, acted himself in lieu of Nature, till Nature came to be fettled, and was able to fhift for it felf; his omnipotent uncontrollable Power did not withdraw it felf, but continued with a particular over-ruling Providence, to take Care of the Species, till fuch Time as, by their Numbers, they were able to encounter with extraordinary Contingencies. And this is evident from the great Care God took of the firft Pair of Mankind, Adam and. Eve, by placing them before the Fall in a Garden fo delicately adorned, and afterwards by providing them Coats

of

Americans

Coats of Skins, Gen. iii. 21. Now when God Almighty defigned to take fuch particular Care of the Archetypal Pair, he might easily enough fecure their Productions from all Cafualties, and stock the World as well by one Pair, as by ten Thousand; but when he thought fit to withdraw this peculiar Providence, and leave Generation to fecond Caufes, there was then a more efpecial Need of a fuperfecundity, than there was before. But after all, it is no Way apparent from the Mofaick Relation, that God produced but one Pair of all Kinds of living Creatures, befides Man; the Scripture fays, Male and Female created he them; but how many Males and how many Females is uncertain. It does not follow they were but two, because Mankind were no more; for there might be very weighty Reafon in the divine Fore-knowledge relating to our Redemption, why Mankind should proceed from one Original; which does no Ways hold as to Brutes. Therefore to deduce Abfurdities from what Mofes does not fay, is to do great Injury to the Character of his facred Perfon, without any the leaft Ground.

2. As to what you object, concerning the Americans, I of the fame cannot fee why that fhould be any more an Argument Stock, tho' black, with against the common Parentage of Mankind, than the Inthe rest of habitants of Britain, Madagascar, or any other Islands are. the World. For I fuppofe the Inhabitants came thither in Ships and

Boats, as they did into Islands more adjacent to the Shore. I think there is no Need, with the learned Mr. Fuller in his Miscellanies, to allow the Ancients the Knowledge of the Compafs, fo that the firft Colonies might have a more eafy and ready Voyage thither; for it's plain, this is a very modern Invention, and it is poffible enough that People might get into America from any Part of the Continent, without this Art. It is probable, that the How Inha- Northern Part of America, at leaft, was peopled (as Grobitants get tins fuppofes) by Colonies from the Northern Parts of into Ame- Europe, by Way of Ifeland and Greenland; the Weft, and fome Part of the South, as California, Peru, Chili, &c.

rica.

had its Inhabitants from the Eaft-Indies, the many intermediate Islands facilitating their Paffage, without any great Skill in Navigation; the remaining Part might be stocked from Spain and Africa, by Way of the Canaries, Azores, or Hefperides. To think it impoffible for any fuch Voyage to be made without the Help of the Compass, is very abfurd, for the Ancients made many as difficult ones, fome Thousands of Years before that Inftrument was thought of. For I look upon Navigation to be an Art rather revived than improved in these two laft Centuries. It was the Roman Conqueft throughout the World, that put a Stop to this noble Art; for the Phoenicians and Carthagi nians were more expert in this, than ever the Romans could pretend to. Nor did they ever indeed in good Earnest bend their Minds to this Art; for their chiefeft Aim was to advance their Empire in the Continent; and the Fleets they fitted out were chiefly Tranfports for their Forces, except once or twice, when they were forced to Naval Fights by fome potent Enemies at Sea; but they rarely, or never employ'd Ships for foreign Negotiations and Discoveries. So that it is no Wonder, we should have been deprived of all Intercourfe with America, during the Power of that Empire, and thofe Ages of Barbarity which enfued it. But long before Cafar, the Phoenicians made Voyages for Tin and Lead into Britain, which is fo vast a Distance from your Country, whence the British Isles got the Name of Caffiterides. The Navigations and the Periplus of Hanno the Carthaginian are fufficiently famous, who coafted round Africk by the Order of the Carthaginian Senate; and he lived confiderably before the Time of Darius Nothus, as Ifaac Voffius has made appear. It is plain, that the Ancients failed up the African Sea, as far as Madagascar, called Menuthias, or the Greater Cerne, as fome will have it; but I believe, as far as Ceylon or Sumara; for 'tis moft probable, that Pliny means one of those Islands, and not Madagascar, by the Name of Cerne. For he defcribes Cerne an Iland over against the Bay of Perfia, off from Ethiopia, whofe Greatness and Distance is not manifeft from the Continent. But Madagascar is a vast Distance,