Chapter I: Front Matter

PHYSICO-THEOLOGY

=Transcriber’s Note:= Due to the age of this book, spelling, grammar, hyphenation, capitalization etc do not conform to modern standards, and in many cases are not even consistent within the text itself. Text has been retained as printed. Exceptions were made for a few extremely obvious printer’s errors (such as RAEDER for READER in the heading TO THE READER, and confusion between similar-looking Hebrew letters).

Italic text is denoted _like this_; upright text within italic passages ~like this~; bold text =like this=.

_PHYSICO-THEOLOGY_:
OR, A
DEMONSTRATION
OF THE
BEING and ATTRIBUTES of GOD,
FROM HIS
_Works_ of _Creation_.

Being the Substance of
Sixteen SERMONS
Preached in St. _Mary-le-Bow-Church, London_;
At the Honourable Mr. _BOYLE_’s LECTURES,
in the Years 1711, and 1712.

With large NOTES, and many curious OBSERVATIONS.

By W: DERHAM, Canon of _Windsor_, Rector
of _Upminster_ in _Essex_, and F. R. S.

_Mala & impia consuetudo est contra Deos disputare, sive animo id
fit, sive simulatè._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 2. fine.

_The FIFTH EDITION, more Correct than any of the former._

_LONDON_: Printed for W. and J. INNYS, at the
_Prince’~s~-Arms_ the West End of St. _Paul_’s. 1720.

TO THE

Most Reverend Father in GOD,

_THOMAS_,

Lord Archbishop of CANTERBURY.

Primate of all _ENGLAND_, &c.

The Surviving TRUSTEE of the Honourable Mr. _BOYLE_’s LECTURES.

_May it please Your Grace_,

I may justly put these LECTURES under your Graces Patronage, their Publication being wholly owing to You: For having the Honour to be a Member of the ROYAL SOCIETY, as well as a _Divine_, I was minded to try what I could do towards the Improvement of _Philosophical_ Matters to _Theological_ Uses; and accordingly laid a Scheme of what I have here published a Part of, and when I had little else to do, I drew up what I had to say, making it rather the diverting Exercises of my _Leisure Hours_, than more serious _Theological Studies_. This Work, (although I made a considerable Progress in it at first, whilst a Novelty, yet) having no Thoughts of Publishing, I laid aside, until your Grace, being informed of my Design by some of my Learned Friends, both of the Clergy and Laity, was pleased to call me to the unexpected Honour of Preaching Mr. _Boyle_’s LECTURES: An Honour I was little aware of in my Country-Privacy, and not much acquainted with Persons in high Stations, and not at all, particularly, with your Grace. So that therefore as it pleased your Grace, not only to confer an unsought profitable Honour upon me (a Stranger) but also to continue it for Two Years, out of Your good Opinion of my Performance, in some measure, answering Mr. _Boyle_’s End; so I can do no less than make this publick, grateful Acknowledgment of your Grace’s great and unexpected Favour.

But it is not my self alone; but the whole LECTURE also is beholden to your _Grace_’s kind and pious Endeavours. It was You that encouraged this noble Charity, and assisted in the Settlement of it, in the Honourable _Founder_’s Life-time; and since his Death, it was You that procured a more certain Salary for the LECTURERS, paid more constantly and duly than it was before[a].

These Benefits as I my self have been a Sharer of, so I should be very ungrateful should I not duly acknowledge, and repay with my repeated Thanks and good Wishes And that the infinite Rewarder of well-doing may give Your _Grace_ a plentiful Reward of these, and Your many other, both Publick and Private Benefactions, is the hearty Wish of,

_Your GRACE’s
Most Humble and Thankful
Son and Servant_,

W. DERHAM.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It may not only gratify the Reader’s Curiosity, but also be of Use for preventing Encroachments in Time to come, to give the following Account of Mr. _Boyle_’s Lectures.

Mr. _Boyle_, by a Codicil, dated _July 28. 1691._ and annexed to his Will, charged his Messuage or Dwelling-House in St. _Michael_’s _Crooked-Lane, London_, with the Payment of the clear Yearly Rents and Profits thereof, to some Learned Divine in _London_, or within the Bills of Mortality, to be Elected for a Term not exceeding Three Years, by his Grace the present _Lord Archbishop_ of _Canterbury_ (then Dr. _Tenison_), Sir _Henry Ashurst_, Sir _John Rotheram_, and _John Evelyn_, Esq; The Business he appointed those Lectures for, was, among others, _to be ready to satisfie real Scruples, and to answer such new Objections and Difficulties, as might be started: to which good Answers had not been made_. And also, _To Preach Eight Sermons in the Year, the first ~Monday~ of ~January~, ~February~, ~March~, ~April~ and ~May~, and of ~September~, ~October~ and ~November~._ The Subject of these Sermons was to be, _The Proof of the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels, ~viz.~ Atheists, Theists, Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans, not descending lower to any Controversies that are among Christians themselves_. But by Reason the Lecturers were seldom continued above a Year, and that the House sometimes stood empty, and Tenants brake, or failed in due Payment of their Rent, therefore the Salary sometimes remained long unpaid, or could not be gotten without some Difficulty: To remedy which Inconvenience, his present _Grace_ of _Canterbury_ procured a Yearly Stipend of 50_l._ to be paid Quarterly for ever, charged upon a Farm in the Parish of _Brill_, in the County of _Bucks_: Which Stipend is accordingly very duly paid when demanded, without Fee or Reward.

TO THE READER.

[Sidenote: _Vid. Bp. ~Burnet~’s Funeral Serm. p. 24._]

_As the noble ~Founder~ of the LECTURES I have had the Honour of Preaching, was a great Improver ~of Natural Knowledge~, so, in all Probability, he did it out of a pious End, as well as in Pursuit of his ~Genius~. For it was his settled Opinion, that nothing tended more to cultivate true Religion and Piety in a Man’s Mind, than a thorough Skill in Philosophy. And such Effect it manifestly had in him, as is evident from divers of his published Pieces; from his constant Deportment in ~never mentioning the Name of GOD without a Pause, and visible Stop in his Discourse~; and from the noble Foundation of his Lectures for the Honour of GOD, and the generous Stipend he allowed for the same._

[Sidenote: _Vid. Mr. ~Boyle~’s Will._]

_And forasmuch as his Lectures were appointed by him for the ~Proof of the Christian Religion against Atheists and other notorious Infidels~, I thought, when I had the Honour to be made his Lecturer, that I could not better come up to his Intent, than to attempt a Demonstration of the ~Being~ and ~Attributes of GOD~, in what I may call Mr. ~Boyle~’s own, that is a ~Physico-Theological~, Way. And, besides that it was for this very Service that I was called to this Honour, I was the more induced to follow this Method, by reason none of my learned and ingenious Predecessors in these Lectures, have done it on purpose, but only casually, in a transient, piece-meal manner; they having made it their Business to prove the great Points of Christianity in another Way, which they have accordingly admirably done. But considering what our ~Honourable Founder~’s Opinion was of ~Natural Knowledge~, and that his Intent was, that those Matters by passing through divers Hands, and by being treated of in different Methods, should take in most of what could be said upon the Subject, I hope my Performance may be acceptable, although one of the meanest._

_As for others, who have before me done something of this kind; as ~Mersenne~ on ~Genesis~; Dr. ~Cockburne~ in his ~Essays~; Mr. ~Ray~ in his ~Wisdom of God~, &c. and I may add the first of Mr. ~Boyle~’s ~Lecturers~, the most learned Dr. ~Bently~ in his ~Boyle~’s ~Lectures~, the eloquent Arch-Bishop of ~Cambray~, (and I hear, the ingenious Mons. ~Perault~ hath something of this kind, but never saw it:) I say, as to these learned and ingenious Authors, as the Creation is an ample Subject, so I industriously endeavour’d to avoid doing over what they before had done; and for that Reason did not, for many Years, read their Books until I had finish’d my own. But when I came to compare what each of us had done, I found my self in many Things to have been anticipated by some or other of them, especially by my Friend, the late great Mr. ~Ray~. And therefore in some Places I shorten’d my Discourse, and referr’d to them; and in a few others, where the Thread of my Discourse would have been interrupted, I have made use of their Authority, as the best Judges; as of Mr. ~Ray~’s, for Instance, with Relation to the Mountains and their Plants, and other Products. If then the Reader should meet with any Thing mention’d before by others, and not accordingly acknowledged by me, I hope he will candidly think me no Plagiary, because I can assure him I have along, (where I was aware of it,) cited my Authors with their due Praise. And it is scarce possible, when Men write on the same, or a Subject near a-kin, and the Observations are obvious, but that they must often hit upon the same Thing: And frequently this may happen from Persons making Observations about one, and the same Thing, without knowing what each other hath done; which indeed, when the first Edition of my Book was nearly printed off, I found to be my own Case, having (for want of Dr. ~Hook~’s ~Micrography~ being at hand, it being a very scarce Book, and many Years since I read it,) given Descriptions of two or three Things, which I thought had not been tolerably well observ’d before, but are describ’d well by that curious Gentleman._

_One is a ~Feather~, the Mechanism of which we in the main agree in, except in his Representation in ~Fig. 1. Scheme 22.~ which is somewhat different from what I have represented in my ~Fig. 18, &c.~ But I can stand by the Truth, though not the Elegance of my Figures. But as to the other Differences, they are accidental, occasion’d by our taking the Parts in a different View, or in a different Part of a Vane; and to say the Truth, (not flattering my self, or detracting from the admirable Observations of that great Man,) I have hit upon a few Things that escap’d him, being enabled to do so, not only by the Help of such Microscopes as he made use of; but also by those made by Mr. ~Wilson~, which exceed all I ever saw, whether of ~English~, ~Dutch~, or ~Italian~ make; several of which Sorts I have seen and examined._

_The other Thing we have both of us figur’d and describ’d, is, ~The Sting of a Bee or Wasp~; in which we differ more than in the last. But by a careful Re-examination, I find, that although Dr. ~Hook~’s Observations are more critical than any were before, yet they are not so true as mine. For as to the ~Scabbard~, (as he calls it,) I could never discover any Beards thereon; and I dare be confident there are none, but what are on the two Spears. And as to the Point of the ~Scabbard~, he hath represented it as tubular, or bluntish at the Top; but it really terminates in a sharp Point, and the two Spears and the Poyson come out at a Slit, or longish Hole, a little below the Top or Point. And as to the Spears, he makes them to be but one, and that the Point thereof lies always out of the Scabbard. But by a strict Examination, they will be found to be two, as I have said, and that they always lie within the Scabbard, except in stinging; as I have represented them, in ~Fig. 21.~ from the transparent Sting of a Wasp. And as to the Spear being made of Joynts, and parted into two, as his ~Fig. 2. Scheme 16.~ represents, I could never upon a Review, discover it to be so, but imagine, that by seeing the Beards lying upon, or behind the Spears, he might take them for Joynts, and by seeing the Point of one Spear lie before the other, he might think the Spear was parted in two. But lest the Reader should think himself imposed upon both by Dr. ~Hook~ and my ~Self~, it is necessary to be observ’d, that the ~Beards~ (or ~Tenterhooks~ as Dr. ~Hook~ calls them) lie only on one Side of each Spear, not all round them; and are therefore not to be seen, unless they are laid in a due Posture in the Microscope, ~viz.~ sideways, not under, or atop the Spear._

_The last Thing (which scarce deserves mention) is the Mechanism of the ~Hair~, which Dr. ~Hook~ found to be solid, like a long Piece of Horn, not hollow, as ~Malpighi~ found it in some Animals. And I have found both those great Men to be in some Measure in the Right, the Hair of some Animals, or in some Parts of the Body being very little, if at all tubular; and in others, particularly ~Mice~, ~Rats~ and ~Cats~, to be as I have represented in my ~Fig. 14.~ &c._

_And now if my Inadvertency in other Things hath no worse Effect than it hath had in these, namely, to confirm, correct, or clear others Observations, I hope the Reader will excuse it, if he meets with any more of the like kind. But not being conscious of any such Thing (although probably there may be many such) I am more sollicitous to beg the Reader’s Candour and Favour, with Relation both to the ~Text~ and ~Notes~: In the former of which, I fear he will think I have much under-done, as in the latter over-done the Matter: But for my Excuse, I desire it may be consider’d, that the textual Part being Sermons, to be deliver’d in the Pulpit, it was necessary to insist but briefly upon many of the Works of GOD, and to leave out many Things that might have been admitted in a more free Discourse. So that I wish it may not be thought I have said too much rather than too little for such an Occasion and Place. And indeed, I had no small Trouble in expunging some Things, altering many, and softening the most, and, in a word, giving in some measure the Whole a different Dress than what I had at first drawn it up in, and what it now appears in._

_And as for the ~Notes~, which may be thought too large, I confess I might have shorten’d them, and had Thoughts of doing it, by casting some of them into the Text, as an ingenious, learned Friend advis’d. But when I began to do this, I found it was in a Manner to new-make all, and that I should be necessitated to transcribe the greatest Part of the Book, which (having no Assistant) would have been too tedious for me, being pretty well fatigu’d with it before. I then thought it best to pare off from some, and to leave out others, and accordingly did so in many Places, and would have done it in more, particularly, in many of the ~Citations~ out of the ~Ancients~, both ~Poets~ and others, as also in many of the ~anatomical Observations~, and many of my own and others Observations: But then I consider’d as to the First, that those Citations do (many of them at least) shew the Sense of Mankind about God’s Works, and that the most of them may be acceptable to young Gentlemen at the Universities, for whose Service these Lectures are greatly intended. And as to the anatomical Notes, and some others of the like Nature, most of them serve either to the Confirmation, or the Illustration, or Explication of the Text, if not to the learned, yet to the unskilful, less learned Reader; for whose sake, if I had added more, I believe he would forgive me. And lastly, as to the Observations of my self and some others, where it happens that they are long, it is commonly where a Necessity lay upon me of fully expressing the Author’s Sense, or my own, or where the Thing was new, and never before Publish’d; in which Case, it was necessary to be more Express and Particular, than in Matters better known, or where the Author may be referr’d unto._

_In the former Editions I promised ~another Part I~ Had ~relating to the Heavens~, if I was thereunto encouraged. And two large Impressions of this Book, having been sold off, so as to admit of a Third before the Year was gone about; and hearing that it is translated into two, if not three Languages; but especially being importuned by divers learned Persons, both known and unknown, I have thought my self sufficiently engaged to perform that Promise; and have accordingly published that Part._

_So that I have now carry’d my ~Survey~ through most Parts of the visible Creation, except the ~Waters~, which are for the most Part omitted; and the ~Vegetables~, which, for want of Time, I was forced to treat of in a perfunctory Manner. And to the Undertaking of the former of these, having receiv’d divers Sollicitations from Persons unknown as well as known, I think my self bound in Civility to own their Favour, and to return them my hearty Thanks for the kind Opinion they have shewn of my other Performances, that they have encourag’d me to undertake this other Task. And accordingly I have begun it, and (as far as my Affairs will permit) have made some Progress in it: But Age and Avocations growing upon me, I begin to fear I shall scarce be able to finish it as I would, and therefore must recommend that ample and noble Subject to others, who have more leisure, and would do it better than I._

_As to ~Additions~, I have been much sollicited thereto by divers curious and learned Persons, who would have had me to insert some of their Observations, and many more of my own: But in a Work of this Nature, this would have been endless; and although the Book would thereby be render’d much better, and more compleat, yet I could by no Means excuse so great an Injustice to the Purchasers of the former Editions. And therefore (except in the second Edition, where it was not easy to be avoided) few Additions or Alterations have been made, besides what were Typographical, or of small Consideration. Only in the third Edition I amended the first Paragraph of ~Note (a). Chap. 5. Book 1.~ concerning ~Gravity~; and in the Fourth, ~Page 16.~ and ~18.~ I inserted two Passages out of ~Seneca~, that were inadvertently left out, and corrected many Things, that upon a careful Review, seem’d to want amendment._

_And lastly, as to the following ~Analysis~, it was added at the Request of some of my learned and ingenious Friends; and although it might have been contracted, they would not suffer it to be so._

AN

ANALYSIS

OF THE

Following BOOK.

The Works of the Creation relating to our Terraqueous Globe, are such as are visible in the

Outworks or Appendages of the Globe, _viz._ these three:
1. The Atmosphere
Composed of Air and Vapours, _Page_ 4.
Useful to
Respiration and Animal Life 5.
Vegetation of Plants 9.
Conveyance of
The winged Tribes.
Sound 11.
The Functions of Nature.
Reflecting and Refracting Light 12.
Containing the
Winds, which are of great Use and Necessity
To the Salubrity and Pleasure of the Air 14.
In various Engines 18.
In Navigation.
Clouds and Rain: Of great Use to the
Refreshment of the Earth and the things therein 20.
Origine of Fountains, according to some 23.
2. Light. Its
Fountain 26.
Wonderful Necessity and Use.
Improvement by Glasses 28.
Velocity.
Expansion 29.
3. Gravity.
Its great Benefit 33.
Cause of _Levity_, which is of great Use in the World 35.

Terraqueous Globe it self. Of which I take a View in General of.
Its Spherical Figure, which is the most commodious in regard of,
Light 40.
Heat.
Lodgment of the Waters.
The Winds 41.
Its Bulk 43.
Its Motion _ibid._
Annual.
Diurnal.
Its Place and Distance from the Sun, and other heavenly Bodies 46.
Its Distribution, so as to cause all the Parts of the Globe to
Balance each other 48.
Be helpful to one another.
The great Variety and Quantity of all things serving for Food,
Physick, Building, and every Use and Occasion of all Ages,
Places, and Creatures 53.
An Objection answered 55.

Particular of the Earth: of its Constituent Parts, _viz._ Its
Soils and Moulds, necessary to the
Growth of various Vegetables 61.
Various Occasions of Man, and other Animals 62.
Various Strata or Beds, affording Materials for
Tools.
Firing.
Building.
Dying, and thousands of other things 64.
Conveyance of the sweet Fountain-Waters 65.
Subterraneous Caverns and Vulcano’s; of great Use to the
Countries where they are 67.
Mountains and Valleys, which are not rude Ruins, but Works of
Design, inasmuch as this Structure of the Earth is
The most beautiful and pleasant.
The most Salubrious: to some Constitutions, the Hills; to some,
the Valleys 71.
Best to skreen us, and other things 72.
Beneficial to the
Production of various Vegetables.
Harbour and Maintenance of various Animals 73.
Generation of Minerals and Metals 75.
Absolutely necessary to the Conveyance of the Rivers; and in
all probability to the Origine of Fountains _ibid._
Conclusion against blaming GOD 81.

Its Inhabitants; which are either _Sensitive_ or _Insensitive_.

Concerning the Sensitive, some things are
Common to all the Tribes, particularly these Ten:
I. The five Senses and their Organs; the 85.
Eye, an admirable Piece of Mechanism in regard of its
Form, for the most part Spherical, which is best for
The Reception of Objects.
Motion of the Eye 90.
Situation in the most commodious part of the Body of every
Creature.
Motion, in some Animals,
Every way.
Fixed; and the excellent Provision in that case 91.
Size: which is in
All Creatures, according to their Occasions.
Such as live abroad in the Light; larger.
Such as live under ground, less.
Number, in some Animals:
Two 94.
More: Together with the wise Provision to prevent double
Vision.
Parts; some of which are viewed
Transiently, the Arteries, Veins, and some of the Muscles
and Tunicks.
More strictly some of the
Muscles, and the excellent Provision made for their
peculiar Uses, Equilibration, _&c._ 96.
Tunicks: Among which the various Apertures, Forms, and
Positions of the Pupil are particularly noted 99.
Humours, especially the prodigious Finery and
Composition of the Crystalline, according to
Mr. _Lewenhoeck_.
Nerves 105.
Optick.
Motory.
Guard and Security, provided for by
The Reparation of the Aqueous Humour.
Covering of the Eye Lids.
Strong and curious Bones.
Hard and firm Tunicks.
Withdrawing them into their Heads 109.
Of erect Vision 111.
Hearing. Its
Organ, the Ear, 113.
Double, enabling us to hear every way, and a good Provision
for the Loss or Hurt of one.
Situated in the very best place for Information, Security,
and near the Eye and Brain.
The Fabrick of the Outward Ear, which is in
All Creatures formed, guarded, placed, and every way
accoutered according to their various Places and
Occasion 115.
Man suitable to his erect Posture; and all its Parts,
the _Helix_, _Tragus_, _Concha_, &c. admirably suited
to the Reception and Melioration of Sounds, and the
Security of the Part.
Inward Ear: In which I take a View of the 121.
Auditory Passage, curiously tunnelled, tortuous and
smooth and being always open, is lined with the
nauseous Ear-wax for a Guard.
Tuba Eustachiana 122.
Bone, particularly hard and context for Guard, and
to assist the Sound.
Tympanum, and its Membrane, Muscles, and four little
Bones to correspond to all kinds of Sound.
Labyrinth, Semicircular Canals, Cochlea; all made with
the utmost Art 127.
Auditory Nerves, one of which is ramified to the Eye,
Tongue, Muscles of the Ear, and to the Heart;
whence a great Sympathy between those Parts 128.
Object, Sound. Under which I consider,
The Improvements thereof by the Wit of Man 129.
Its great Necessity, and excellent Uses 132.
Its Pleasure, and the Power of Musick 134.
Smelling. In which sense these things are remarkable; the
Nostrils, always open, cartilaginous, and endowed with
Muscles 137.
Laminæ, serving for
A Guard against noxious Things 138.
The spreading of the Olfactory Nerves.
Prodigious Use of it in all, especially some of the
Irrationals 139.
Taste. The Things most remarkable in which Sense are, the
Nerves spread about the Tongue and Mouth, with their Guard.
The Papillæ, neatly made 140.
Situation thereof to be a Centinel to the Stomach and Food.
Consent thereof with the other Senses, by some Branches of
the fifth Pair 141.
Feeling. 142.
Whose Organ is the Nerves 143.
Which is dispersed through every Part of the Body, and the
admirable Benefit thereof.
II. Respiration the grand Act of Animal Life 145.
Ministering to the Circulation of the Blood and Diastole of
the Heart.
The Parts concerned therein are
The Larynx, with its great Variety of Muscles, _&c._ for
Respiration, and forming the Voice 148.
Trachea and Epiglottis, exquisitely contriv’d and made.
Bronchi and Lungs, with their curious Arteries, Veins and
Nerves 150.
Ribs, Diaphragm, and the several Muscles concerned.
Its Defects in the
Fœtus in the Womb 153.
Amphibious Creatures 157.
Some Animals in Winter.
III. The Motion of Animals: Concerning which I consider
Transiently the
Muscles, and their Structure, their Size, Fastening to the
Joynts, Motions, _&c._ 158.
Bones, and their curious Make.
Joynts, with their Form, Bandage and Lubricity 161.
Nerves, and their Origine, Ramifications and Inosculations.
More particularly the Loco-Motive Act it self, which is
Swift or slow, with Wings, Legs many or few, or none at all,
according to the various Occasions and Ways of Animals
Lives. As particularly in
Reptiles, whose Food and Habitation is near at hand.
Man and Quadrupeds, whose Occasions require a larger Range,
and therefore a swifter Motion 164.
Birds, and Insects, whose Food, Habitation and Safety
require yet a larger Range, and have accordingly a yet
swifter Motion and direct Conveyance.
Geometrically and neatly performed by the nicest Rules.
Well provided for by the
Due Equipoise of the Body 165.
Motive Parts being accurately placed with regard to the
Center of the Body’s Gravity, and to undergo their
due Proportion of Weight and Exercise.
IV. The _Place_ allotted to the several Tribes of Animals to
live and act in. Concerning which I observe that
Their Organs are adapted to their Place 167.
All Places habitable are duly stocked.
Various Animals have their various Places; and the Wisdom
thereof 168.
V. The Balance of Animals Numbers, so that the World is not
Overstocked by their Increase.
Depopulated by their Death.
Which is effected in
The several Tribes of Animals by a due Proportion in the
Length of their Life 169.
Number of their Young, in
Useful Creatures being many.
Pernicious few.
Man very remarkably by the
Different Length of his Life.
Soon after the Creation 171.
When the World was more, but not fully peopled 171.
When it was sufficiently stocked, down to the present
time.
Due Proportions of Marriages, Births and Burials 174.
Balance of Males and Females 175.
VI. The Food of Animals. In which the Divine Management and
Providence appears in the 179.
Maintaining such large Numbers of all kinds of Animals on
the Land, in the Seas, and divers Places too unlikely
to afford sufficient Food.
Adjustment of the Quantity of Food to the Number of Devourers,
so that
There is not too much, so as to rot, and annoy the World 181.
The most useful is most plentiful, and easiest propagated _ibid._
Delight which the various Tribes of Animals have to the
Varieties of Food, so that what is grateful to one, is
nauseous to another: Which is a wise means to cause
All Creatures to be sufficiently supplied.
All sorts of Food to be consumed.
The World to be kept sweet and clean by those means 183.
Peculiar Food, that particular Places afford to the Creatures
residing therein 184.
Curious Apparatus in all Animals for Gathering, and Digestion
of their Food, _viz._ the
Mouth, nicely shaped for Food, _&c._ In
Some, little and narrow 189.
Some, with a large deep Incisure.
Insects very notable to catch, hold and devour Prey; to
carry Burdens, to bore and build their Habitations 190.
Birds as notable, Horned in all. In some
Hooked for Rapine, climbing, _&c._ 192.
Sharp and strong to pierce Trees, _&c._
Long and slender to grope.
Long and broad to quaffer.
Thick and sharp edged to husk Grain.
Compressed to raise Limpets, _&c._
Teeth, which are peculiarly hard, firmly inserted in the
Jaws, variously shaped in the same, and different
Animals, deficient young Creatures, _&c._ 194.
Salival Glands, commodiously placed for Mastication and
Deglutition 196.
Muscles and Tendons, serving to Mastication, strong and
well lodged.
Gullet, sized according to the Food; with curious Fibres,
_&c._ 196.
Stomach; 197.
Which hath a curious Mechanism of Fibres, Tunicks, Glands,
Nerves, Arteries and Veins.
Whose Faculty of Digestion by such seeming weak Menstruums
is admirable.
Whose Size and Strength is conformable to the Nature of
the Food, or Occasions of Animals.
Which is in
Tame Animals but one.
Ruminants, Birds, _&c._ more.
Guts, whose Tunicks, Glands, Fibres, Valves, and Peristaltick
Motion deserve Admiration 201.
Lacteals, together with the Impregnations from the
Pancreas, Gall, Glands, and Lymphæducts.
Sagacity of all Animals in finding out, and providing Food. In
Man less remarkable for the sake of his Understanding 202.
Inferiour Creatures. In such as are
Come to mature Age, and are able to help themselves, by their
Accurate Smell 203.
Natural Craft.
Hunting and groping out of Sight.
Seeing and Smelling at great Distances 205.
Climbing; the strong Tendons and Muscles acting therein.
Seeing in the dark.
Helpless. As 207.
Young Creatures.
Man, born the most helpless of any, the Parents Reason,
Hands and Affection sufficing.
Irrationals: For whose Young the Creator hath made a
sufficient Provision partly by the
Parent-Animal’s own
Στοργὴ, and Diligence in Nursing and Defending them 207.
Sagacity and Care in repositing their Eggs and Young,
where Food and all Necessaries are to be found 209.
Ability of the Young themselves to shift for, and help
themselves, with the little Helps of their Dams 210.
Creatures destitute of Food at some Seasons, or likely to
want it, who
Are able to live long without Food 211.
Lay up Food before-hand.
VII. The Cloathing of Animals, which is 214.
Suited to the Place and Occasions of all. In
Man, it is left to his own Reason and Art, joined with
sufficient Materials: Which is best for him,
Because he may sute his Cloathing to his Quality and
Business 218.
For Perspiration and Health sake.
To exercise his Art and Industry.
To excite his Diligence in keeping himself sweet and clean.
In being the Parent of divers Callings 219.
Irrationals: Who are either
Ready furnished with proper Cloathing.
On the dry Land with Hair, Fleeces, Furrs, Shells, hard
Skins, _&c._ 220.
In the Air with Feathers, light, strong and warm.
In the Waters with Scales, hard for Guard; smooth for
Passage; or with strong Shells to guard such as move
more slowly 223.
Provide for themselves by their Textrine, or Architechtonick
Art. Of which under the next Branch.
Well garnished, being all Workman-like, compleat, in its kind
beautiful, being 224.
Adorned with gay, various and elegant Colours.
If sordid, yet with exact Symmetry, and full of curious
Mechanism.
VIII. The Houses and Habitations of
Man, who is abundantly furnished with
Contrivance and Art to build and garnish his Habitations 226.
Materials of all sorts to effect his Works.
Irrationals, whose marvellous Instinct is manifested by the
Convenience of their Nests and Habitations for the
Hatching and Education of their Young 228.
Guard and Defence of themselves and their Young.
Fabrick of their Nests, scarce imitable by Man, and shewn by
their Contrivance and Make, being exactly suitable to
their Occasions, and made by
Putting only a few ugly Sticks, Moss, Dirt, _&c._ together 231.
Building Combs according to the best Rules of Mathematicks.
Weaving Webs, and making Cases. For which Service the Parts
of their Bodies, and Materials afforded by them are very
considerable.
IX. Animals Self-Preservation. For which there is always a Guard
in proportion to the Dangers and Occasions of their State.
Which is observable in
Man, whose Reason and Art supplies the Defect of Natural
Armature.
Irrational Creatures; who
As they are on one Hand sufficiently guarded by their
Shells, Horns, Claws, Stings, _&c._ 239.
Changing their Colours.
Wings, Feet, and Swiftness.
Diving in, and tinging the Waters.
Ejecting Juices out of their Body.
Accurate Smell, Sight and Hearing.
Natural Craft 243.
Uncouth Noise, ugly Gesticulations, and horrid Aspect.
Horrible Stink and Excrements.
So on the other Hand can by their Strength, Sagacity,
or natural Artifices entrap and captivate, what is
necessary for their Food and other Occasions.
X. Animal’s Generation.
Equivocal, is denied 244.
Univocal, Which of
Man, is οὐ πρέπειας ἕνεκα, passed wholly by
Irrational Creatures, which is remarkable for their
Sagacity in chusing the fittest Place for their Eggs
and Young: Where it is observable what a
Compleat Order they observe.
Neat Apparatus their Bodies are provided with for this
purpose 248.
Natural Venom they inject with their Eggs into Vegetables
to pervert Nature, and produce Balls, and Cases 250.
Making use of the fittest Seasons, either
All Seasons 251.
When Provisions are most plentiful and easiest had.
Due Number of Young 252.
Diligence and Concern for their Young, in point of
Incubation 253.
Safety and Defence 254.
Faculty of Nursing their Young, by
Suckling them. In which it is observable
How suitable this Food is.
How willingly parted with by all, even the most savage.
What a compleat Apparatus in all Creatures of Dugs, _&c._
Putting Food in their Mouths, with their proper Parts
for catching and conveying Food 255.
Neither way, but by laying in Provisions before-hand 256.

Having in the Fourth Book thus dispatched the Decad of Things in
common to the _Sensitive Creatures_, I take a view of their
particular Tribes, _viz._ of
_Man_; whom I consider with relation to his
Soul. Concerning which having cursorily mentioned divers things,
I insist upon two as shewing an especial divine Management,
the
Various Genii, or Inclinations of Men, which is a wise
Provision for the Dispatch for all the World’s Affairs,
and that they may be performed with Pleasure 263.
Inventive Faculty, In which it is remarkable that
Its Compass is so large, extending to all things of Use, and
occasioning so many several Callings.
Things of greatest Necessity and Use were soon and easily
found out; but things less useful later, and dangerous
things not yet. Here of divers particular Inventions,
with an Exhortation to exercise and improve our Gifts.
Body. In which the things particularly remarked upon are the
Erect Posture 282.
The most convenient for a Rational Being.
Manifestly intended, as appears from the Structure
of some particular Parts mentioned 285.
Nice Structure of the Parts ministring thereto.
Equilibration of all the Parts 286.
Figure and Shape of Man’s Body most agreeable to his Place
and Business 287.
Stature and Size, which is much the best for Man’s State 288.
Structure of the Parts, which are
Without Botches and Blunders.
Of due Strength.
Of the best Form.
Most accurately accommodated to their proper Offices.
Lodgment of the Parts, as the
Five Senses 297.
Hand.
Legs and Feet,
Heart.
Viscera.
Several Bones and Muscles, _&c._ 298.
Covering of all with the Skin.
Provision in Man’s Body to
Prevent Evils by the
Situation of the Eyes, Ears, Tongue and Hand 300.
Guard afforded all, especially the principal Parts.
Duplication of some Parts.
Cure Evils by means of
Proper Emunctories 301.
Diseases themselves making Discharges of things more
dangerous 303.
Pain giving Warning, and exciting our Endeavours.
Consent of the Parts, effected by the Nerves, a Sample
whereof is given in the Fifth Pair, branched to the
Eye, Ear, _&c._
Political, sociable State. For the Preservation and Security
of which the Creator hath taken by variety of Mens.
Faces 308.
Voices.
Hand-writing.
_Quadrupeds._ Of which I take no notice, but wherein they differ
from Man, _viz._
Prone Posture, which is considerable for
The Parts ministering to it, especially the Legs and Feet,
sized and made in some for
Strength and slow Motion 315.
Agility and Swiftness.
Walking and Running.
Walking and Swimming.
Walking and Flying.
Walking and Digging.
Traversing the Plains.
Traversing Ice, Mountains, &c.
Its Usefulness to
Gather Food 317.
Catch Prey.
Climb, Leap and Swim.
Guard themselves.
Carry Burdens, Till the Ground, and other Uses of Man.
Parts differing from those of Man.
Head, wherein I consider
Its Shape, commonly agreeable to the Animal’s Motion 319.
The Brain, which is,
Lesser than in Man 319.
Placed lower than the Cerebellum.
The Nictitating Membrane 321.
Carotid Arteries, and Rete Mirabile.
Nates.
Neck.
Answering the Length of the Legs 322.
Strengthened by the Whitleather.
Stomach, 324.
Corresponding to the several Species.
Suited to their Proper Food, whether Flesh, Grain, &c.
Heart: Its
Ventricles in some
One only 325.
Two.
Three, as some think.
Situation nearer the midst of the Body, than in Man.
Want of the Fattening of the Pericardium to the Midriff 327.
Nervous kinds. A Sample of which is given in the different
Correspondence between the Head and Heart of Man and Beast
by the means of the Nerves. 329.
_Birds._ Concerning which I take a View of their
Body and Motion; where I consider
The Parts concerned in their Motion 333.
The Shape of the Body, made exactly for swimming in, and
passing through the Air.
Feathers, which are
Most exactly made for Lightness and Strength.
All well placed in every Part, for the Covering and
Motion of the Body.
Preened and dressed 334.
Wings, which are
Made of the very best Materials, _viz._ of _Bones_
light and strong; _Joynts_ exactly opening, shutting,
and moving, as the Occasions of Flight require; and
the _Pectoral Muscles_, of the greatest Strength of
any in the whole Body.
Placed in the nicest point of the Body of every Species,
according to the Occasions of Flight, Swimming or
Diving.
Tail, which is well made, and placed to keep the Body
steady, and assist in its Ascents and Descents 337.
Legs and Feet, which are made light for Flight, and
incomparably accoutred for their proper Occasions of
Swimming 338.
Walking.
Catching Prey.
Roosting.
Hanging.
Wading and Searching the Waters.
Lifting them upon their Wings.
Motion it self.
Performed by the nicest Laws of Mechanicks.
Answering every Purpose and Occasion.
Other Parts of the Body, _viz._ the
Head, remarkable for the commodious
Shape of it self 341.
Forms of the Bill.
Site of the Eye and Ear.
Position of the Brain.
Structure of the
Larynx.
Tongue.
Inner Ear.
Provision by Nerves in the Bill for tasting and
distinguishing Food 344.
Stomachs, one to
Macerate and prepare 345.
Grind and digest
Lungs incomparably made for
Respiration 346.
Making the Body buoyant.
Neck, which is made
In due Proportion to the Legs.
To search in the Waters, and
To counterpoise the Body in Flight.
State. Of which I take notice of three Things, _viz._ their
Migration remarkable for
The Knowledge Birds have of
Their Times of Passage 348.
The Places proper for them.
Their Accommodation for long Flights by long or else
strong Wings.
Incubation, which is considerable for
The Egg, and its parts 351.
Act itself; that these Creatures should betake themselves
to it, know this to be the Way to produce their Young,
and with delight and Patience fit such a due Number
of Days.
The Neglect of it in any, as the Ostrich, and the wonderful
Provision for the Young in that Case 354.
Nidification. Of which before.
_Insects._ Which, altho’ a despised Tribe, doth in some Respects
more set forth the infinite Power and Wisdom of the Creator,
than the larger Animals.
The things in this Tribe remarked upon are their
Body 359.
Shaped, not so much for long Flights, as for their Food,
and Condition of Life.
Built not with Bones, but with what serves both for Bones
and Covering too.
Eyes, reticulated to see all ways at once 360.
Antennæ, and their Use 361.
Legs and Feet made for
Creeping 363.
Swimming and Walking.
Hanging on smooth Surfaces.
Leaping.
Digging.
Spinning and Weaving Webs and Cases.
Wings, which are
Nicely distended with Bones 365.
Some incomparably adorned with Feathers and elegant
Colours.
Some joynted and folded up in their Elytra, and distended
again at pleasure.
In Number either
Two, with Poises.
Four, without Poises.
Surprizing Minuteness of some of those Animals themselves,
especially of their Parts, which are as numerous and
various as in other Animal Bodies 367.
State: which sets forth a particular Concurrence of the
Divine Providence, in the wise and careful Provision
that is made for their
Security against Winter, by their
Subsisting in a different, _viz._ their Nympha or Aurelia
state 369.
Living in Torpitude, without any Waste of Body or Spirits 370.
Laying up Provision before-hand.
Preservation of their Species by their
Chusing proper Places, to lay up their Eggs and Sperm, so
that the
Eggs may have due Incubation 373.
Young sufficient Food.
Care and Curiosity in repositing their Eggs in neat Order,
and with the proper Part uppermost 382.
Incomparable Art of Nidification, by being endow’d with
Parts proper for, and agreeable to the several Ways of
Nidification, and the Materials they use in it.
Architectonick Sagacity to build and weave their Cells,
or to make even Nature herself their Hand-maid 384.
_Reptiles._ Which agreeing with other Animals in something
or other before treated of, I consider only their
Motion, which is very remarkable, whether we consider the
Manner of it, as
Vermicular 394.
Sinuous.
Snail-like.
Catterpillar-like.
Multipedous.
Parts ministring to it.
Poison, which serves to
Scourge Man’s Wickedness 398.
Their easy Capture and Mastery of their Prey.
Their Digestion.
Watery Inhabitants considerable for their
Great Variety 401.
Prodigious Multitudes.
Vast bulk of some, and surprizing minuteness of others 403.
Incomparable Contrivance and Structure of their Bodies.
Supplies of Food.
Respiration.
Adjustment of their Organs of Vision to their Element.
Poise and Motion of the Body every Way 402.

Insensitive Inhabitants. Among which having mentioned Fossils
and others, I insist only upon _Vegetables_, and that in a
cursory manner upon their
Great Variety for the several Uses of the World 404.
Anatomy.
Leaves 407.
Flowers and their admirable Gaiety.
Seed, remarkable for its
Generation.
Make.
Containing in it a compleat Plant 408.
Preservation and Safety in the Gems, Fruit, Earth, &c.
Sowing, which is provided for by Down, Wings, Springy Cases,
carried about by Birds, sown by the Husbandman, &c. 412.
Growing and Standing: Some by
Their own Strength 417.
The Help of others, by clasping about, or hanging upon them.
Remarkable Use, especially of some which seem to be provided
for the Good of
All Places 420.
Some particular Places, to
Heal some Local Distempers.
Supply some Local Wants.

Practical Inferences upon the whole are these Six, viz. That
GOD’s Works.
1. Are great and excellent 425.
2. Ought to be enquired into, with a Commendation of such as
do so 427.
3. Are manifest to all, and therefore Atheism unreasonable 428.
4. Ought to excite Fear and Obedience 431.
5. Ought to excite Thankfulness 432.
6. Should move us to pay God his due Homages and Worship,
particularly that of the Lord’s Day: which is an
Appointment
The most ancient 438.
Wisely contrived for Dispatch of Business, and to prevent
Carnality.
Whose proper Business is, to cease from Worldly, and to
follow Spiritual Employments; the chief of which is
the Publick Worship of GOD.

A

SURVEY

OF THE

Terraqueous Globe.

_INTRODUCTION._

In _Psal._ cxi. 2. The Psalmist asserts, That _the[a] Works of the Lord are great; sought out of all them that have Pleasure therein_. This is true of all _God’s Works_, particularly of his _Works of Creation_: Which, when _sought out_, or, as the _Hebrew_ Word [b] signifieth, when _heedfully_ and _deeply pried into, solicitously observ’d and enquir’d out_, especially when clearly discovered to us; in this Case, I say, we find those Works of GOD abundantly to deserve the Psalmist’s Character of being _Great_ and Noble; inasmuch as they are made with the most exquisite Art, [c] contrived with the utmost Sagacity, and ordered with plain wise Design, and ministring to admirable Ends. For which reason St. _Paul_ might well affirm of those Ποιήματα of God, [d] That the _invisible Things of God, even his eternal Power and Godhead, are understood by them_. And indeed they are the most easy, and intelligible Demonstrations of the _Being_ and _Attributes_ of God;[e] especially to such as are unacquainted with the Subtilties of Reasoning and Argumentation; as the greatest part of Mankind are.

It may not therefore be unsuitable to the Nature and Design of Lectures[f] founded by one of the greatest Vertuoso’s of the last Age, and instituted too on purpose for the Proof of the Christian Religion against Atheists and other Infidels, to improve this occasion in the Demonstration of the _Being_ and _Attributes_ of an infinitely wise and powerful Creator, from a Cursory Survey of the Works of _Creation_, or (as often called) of _Nature_.

Which Works belong either to our _Terraqueous Globe_, or the _Heavens_.

I shall begin with our _own Globe_, being nearest, and falling most under our Senses. Which being a Subject very various and copious, for the more methodical and orderly proceeding upon it, I shall distribute the Works therein:

I. Into such as are not properly Parts, but _Appendages_ or _Out-works_ of the Globe.

II. The _Globe_ it self.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] It is not unlikely that the Psalmist might mean, at least have an Eye to, _the Works of the Creation_ in this Text, the Word מעשה being the same that in _Psal._ 19. 1. is translated _God’s Handy-work_, which is manifestly applied to the Works of _Creation_, and properly signifieth _Factum_, _Opus_, _Opisicium_, from עשה _Fecit_, _Paravit_, _Aptavit_. And saith _Kircher_, _significat talem affectionem, quâ aliquid existit vel realiter, vel ornatè, velut non sit in pristino statu quo fuit._ Concord, p. 2. col. 931.

[b] דרש _Quasivit_, _perquisivit_, _sciscitatus est_, Buxtor. in verb. _Et simul importat curam, & solicitudinem._ Conrad. Kirch. ib. p. 1. col. 1174.

[c] _Quod si omnes mundi partes ita constitute sunt, ut neque ad usum meliores potuerint esse, neque ad speciem pulchriores; videamus utrùm ea fortuita sint, an eo statu, quo cohærere nullo modo potuerint, nisi sensu moderante divinâque providentia. Si ergo meliora sunt ea quæ Naturâ, quàm illa, quæ Arte perfecta sunt, nec Ars efficit quid sine ratione; ne Natura quidem rationis expers est habenda. Qui igitur convenit, signum, aut tabulam pictam cùm adspexeris, scire adhibitam esse artem; cumque procul cursum navigii videris, non dubitare, quin id ratione atque arte moveatur: aut cùm Solarium, &c. Mundum autem, qui & has ipsas artes, & earum artifices, & cuncta complectatur, consilii & rationis esse expertem putare? Quod si in Scythiam, aut in Britanniam, Sphæram aliquis tulerit hanc, quam nuper familiaris noster effecit Posidonius, cujus singulæ conversiones idem efficiunt in Sole, &c.——quod efficitur in cœlo singulis diebus & noctibus; quis in illâ barbarie dubitet, quin ea Sphæra sit perfecta Ratione? Hi autem dubitant de Mundo, ex quo & oriuntur, & fiunt omnia, casune ipse sit effectus,—an Ratione, an Mente divinâ? Et Archimedem arbitrantur plus valuisse in imitandis Sphæræ conversionibus, quàm Naturam in efficiendis, præsertim cùm multis partibus sint illa perfecta, quam hæc simulata, solertius, ~&c.~_ Cic. de Nat. l. 2. c. 34, 35.

[d] And a little before he saith of _Nature_ it self, _Omnem ergo regit Naturam ipse ~[Deus]~ &c._

[e] _Mundus codex est Dei, in quo jugiter legere debemus_, Bernard. Serm.

_Arbitror nullam gentem, neque Hominum societatem, apud quos ulla Deorum est religio, quidquam habere sacris Eleusiniis aut Samothraciis simile: Ea tamen obscurè docent quæ profitentur: Natura verò opera in omnibus animantibus sunt perspicua._ Galen. de Us. Part. l. 17. c. 1.

[f] _Philosophia est Catechismus ad Fidem._ Cyril. 1. contr. Jul.