which the Atheists raise against the Ufe of fo many Rocks and other kinds of Stones, which feem to them entirely unneceffary.

They think they have here met wth fomething which does as it were favour their unhappy Notions; to wit, that if there be a God who has made all things with Wisdom and Goodnefs, to what purpose then has he made fo many ufelefs. Flints, fo many Rocks and Stones that seem to be good for nothing?

But will these miserable Philofophers, fome of whom are otherwife Men of good Senfe, pretend to offer fuch an Argument, that because the Ufe of thofe Stones is hitherto unknown to them, therefore they have none, nor yield any Service to the Creation?

To be convinc'd of the Vanity of fuch an Argument, let them only go into the Shop of any Artificer, and view the numerous Tools he uses in his Trade, most of which feem to be ufelefs, because they don't understand the Defign and End of the Workman; but when they behold the Works produced thereby, they cannot forbear wondering at the Skill by which the faid Tools are adapted to the Service they perform. Now if they obferve fome things upon this great Theatre of the Earth, the Ufe of which is unknown to them, can they indolently go on in denying the Wisdom of him who made them, and still maintain that there is no Service in them? Efpecially, fince following Discoveries have frequently fhown, that things which were thought to be of no kind of ufe, have eminently contributed to render Mankind very happy. It was but a little while ago, that fuch a Philofopher advanced, that Hills and Mountains were not only ufelefs, but prejudicial to our Globe; whereas, if he had receiv'd the Obfervations and jufter Conclufions of wifer Men, he VOL. II.

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must have been convinc'd, that in many places the Earth would not have been habitable at all but by the help of Mountains, because without them the Country would have been burnt up with Heat, and all the living Creatures fuffocated with thirft. And let fuch a Man tell us, whether there be not more Wisdom shown in making a hard Stony Bed for a rapid River, and Rocks to baffle the Rage of the Sea, and to fupply Islands for the advantage of Navigators, than in the moft fruitful Gardens or Meadows?

SECT. XX. Concerning the Loadftone.

He who had never feen a Loadstone before, would according to the Philofophy of Ignorance (for thus we ought to ftile the Philofophy of thofe Men, who, because they cannot discover the Ufe of any thing, do therefore prefently conclude that it is ufelefs) think that this Stone is one of the moft ufelefs things that God has created; to fay nothing, of the contemptible Appearance of it.

But in cafe he were afterwards informed, that this Stone had not only the Property of attracting Iron itfelf, and of rendring that Iron capable to draw other Iron to it; (and this it does in fuch a manner, as even in the prefent Age, after fo many Obfervations, with which whole Books are filled, is confeffed to be ftill unknown by all true and unby affed Philofophers:) Could he then forbear to look upon this defpicable Stone, as wonderful?

But in cafe one fhould difclofe to him afterwards thofe Properties thereof, by which it makes a Needle point to the Northern Parts of the World, and by that Means chalks out a Path in the midst of the Sea for Ships, infomuch, that without it none durft venture to launch out into the great

Ocean,

Ocean, and all Communication between thofe Parts of the World, that are fo remote from one another, would be entirely interrupted : Would he not then, when he faw the Merchandize and Product of other Countries, which are attainable by the help of this Stone, pronounce it' to be one of the most useful things in the World, and own himself, with the utmoft Gratitude, obliged to receive it as a moft valuable Prefent from a generous Benefactor?

SECT. XXI. When the Virtue of the Loadfione was difcover'd.

BUT laftly, when he adds to all this, that the Power of attracting Iron was long ago known to the Ancients, whereas that of finding out the North, and of ferving for a Compafs to Mariners was concealed from them; and that upon this occafion not only Chriftians in general, but among them,likewife great Mathematicians have obferv'd that which is noted by Defchales, in the Preface of his Mathematical World, namely, that about 300 Years ago, it pleased the great GOD to reveal this ufe of the Loadstone, when he had decreed, according to his Divine Providence with respect to Mankind, to reveal his Service and his Son to thofe Nations that were Separated from us by the whole space of the Ocean. Will he judge that the Sentiments of thofe Perfons are fo groundlefs, who acknowledge in this Stone and the Ufe thereof, the Wifdom of GoD, and his wonderful Direction and Rule over all things, at the time of the Discovery of the Properties thereof.

SECT. XXII. The Roundness of the Earth.

If we now pass on from the Matter of the Earth to the Structure of the Globe itself, as it confifts of inhabitable Land and Water, could any Body that furveys with his Eyes the appearing Plane and Flatnefs thereof, have ever admitted it into his Thoughts, that the fame is Round? And not much rather, by what he might conclude from the Motion of heavy Bodies downwards, affirm, with many of the moft Learned of the Ancients, that it is impoffible to ascribe a Globular Figure thereto? Forafmuch as those things that are under us, if they exerted their Gravity after the fame manner, and according to the fame way, would feem to have no Support, but must fall into the Air, which is below them. Whereas, nevertheless, modern Experience teaches us, that the greatest Wisdom cou'd have contriv'd no Figure than that of a Spherical or exactly Round, in order to make of fo fmall a place, fo great and noble a Theatre of numberless Wonders. And can any one then fatisfie himself with the bare Affertion, that this Globe of the Earth has acquired fuch a Figure by Chance, or at leaft without any Understanding?

What various Opinions have there been concerning its Shape in former Ages? With respect to Aftronomical Obfervations, by the Roundness of its Shadow upon the eclipfed Moon, and by the Remarks, that upon the Sea, the Mafts of the Ship are feen before the Ships themselves; and that the Ships may be feen by standing upon an Eminency, beyond the interpofing Convexity of the Earth, which could not otherwise be seen. This render'd the Globular Figure of the Earth very probable, till the fame was afterwards farther

proved and confirmed experimentally, by feveral Voyages round the whole Earth.

If People in thofe dark Times had not fo much relied upon their Understanding and Argumentations as many do at prefent, and if they would have given Credit to what the Great Creator of the Earth has faid himfelf concerning it, they would have long fince been fatisfied of the true Form of the Earth: See Ifaiah xl. 22. It is he that fitteth upon the Circle of the Earth. Can any thing more plainly exprefs the Globular Figure of the Earth?

SECT. XXIII. The Earth is a flattish Bowl.

SINCE we are now fpeaking of the Figure of the Earth, I cannot well pafs by that Text of Jeremiah vi. 22. Thus faith the Lord, behold, a People cometh from the North Country, and a great Nation fhall be raised out of the fide of the Earth: Which words do likewife occur in the faid Prophet, Ch. xxxi. 8. and Ch. 1. 41. according to which the North is ftiled the Sides of the Earth.

Now by the Sides of any thing, for Inftance of a Plank, of a Beam, of a Ship, of a Man, or Beaft, &c. we are wont to underftand thofe Parts of the Circumference thereof, between which the Bodies themfelves are Smalleft or Thinneft, or otherwife between which the fhorteft Diameter thereof lyes.

Wherefore, if we fuppofe that the Earth is not perfectly globular, but that the Axis of it, or a Line drawn from the Northern to the Southern Pole, is fhorter than a Diameter at the Equator; and that all the Diameters of the Earth are longer as you approach the Equator, and forter as you go towards the Poles, the North Mm 3

and