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tive Gravities; when vaft Nodules of Flint and Shells with Flint in them, juft near this populous City, where there are abunance of inquifitive Fellows, and 'tis fufpected fome Free-Thinkers, are found lodg'd among the light Shells in Strata of Chalk even to the Surface? Nay, who would have, ventur'd fo much as to have hinted, much lefs affirm'd, that by the Laws of Gravity the uppermoft Cover, or what he calls vegetable Mould, was the uppermost Stratum, form'd by the laft Sediment out of the Water, upon the Surface? when every one, who treads upon the Ground, and can fee, may fee, that in. many Places 'tis full of thofe Nodules; in many others, full of Fragments of Strata of Stone, fome worn and rounded, and fome angular, and in many Places contains both Nodules and Fragments; and fome of those over each Sort of Strata, and particularly over thofe of Chalk; But because much depends upon this, we must adjourn this fupreme or outmoft Stratum. to the fifth Verfe. What Undertaker for Mofes's Writings would have taken an Affertion from thofe who had writ against them, though not with an Intent to be believed, but only to fhew their Skill in Writing; and afferted, with them, that

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the Shell when reform'd, was broke into Pieces by a Force within, alfo against Gravity, to let the Waters go down, form Mountains, Valleys, &c. till it had been confider'd and examin'd, when any one who can draw Lines, or frame Ideas of things he does not fee, will find, that it is impoffible that the broken Parts of fuch a Shell, even of but ten Miles thick, could have their Edges, fome elevated, and fome deprefs'd to fo great a Degree, as many Parts of the Surface of the Earth now are, without falling into the Abyss full only of Air; and if they could fwim, without fhewing the Gaps between the Edges; and that it is alfo impoffible that they could frame the regular Defcents of the Surface, as they now are; and when every Miner, who works under Hills, Dales, &c. between Mountain and Mountain, knows the Strata, are whole, and lie as they are fettled, Cracks only excepted; and when any one may fee many Rivers, in great Vales, run upon entire Strata, and on the SeaCoafts, &c. many other evident Difproofs ? Who would at random have laid down Pofitions in an Affair of fuch Confequence, as it feems, he knew that of Metals and Minerals to be, to mislead all who would follow in the Purfuit of them ; to teach

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them to feek for Strata of Tin and Lead, and fhew the Wisdom of Providence that the Parts of them were not carried away, when there never were any fuch Strata; to fearch for Metals in Fiffures, made at their Difruption, and carried by the Help of Fire and Water into them, after the Waters went down; when 'tis evident by the Shoads torn off the Tops of many Veins, and many other ways to ocular Demonstration, that all the Fiffures were made, and after that all the Metal was lodg'd in them, before the Time of their pretended Difruption, and before the Waters went off the Earth; and that there was no Difruption, nor no Motion of the Waters, to bring and lodge thofe Metalsthere fince? It would be tedious to the Reader to fhew whence he might take his Notions of Fire in the Earth, Water, &c. (As Val. Hen. Volgeri de reb. Nat. "Then the Subterrene Fires began, and befides a certain Fire was then kindled in the Water and in the Earth; altho' its Force be more reftrained, than in those Subterrene Fires, whofe Heat either goes off in Flame or otherwife affects the Senfes too plainly)" of Vapours from the] Abyss for Rain, Springs, &c. as Magn. Bibl. vet.Patr.

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Tom. 4. p. 658. Cæfarii V. C. Dial. 1. or. the various Caufes affigned for Earthquakes, &c. or to fhew how ftrangely he has placed them, or coupled them together, or how his Deductions differ both from the Authors, and from Facts. Whether he pursued his Inftructions, and whether there was some regular Defign in all this Confufion, or he did thefe and all the reft out of his own Head, I know not it was before my time. But it was well for Mofes that Judgment was refpited 'till our Undertaker perform all his Promises.

Next, under Pretence of making a Defence for one thing, which he tranflated, and was true, and needed no defending; and for many other things, which were impoffible to be defended, or meddled with, without making them worse, and of lafhing a poor Gentleman, [Dr. Camerarius] who had only feen things did not fquare with Gravity and quoted from fome others who were under the fame Difficulty; He takes an Opportunity to tell you what impeded his great Work, and the Completion of all his great Promifes. But there were other greater Impediments not mention'd: Shells were to be Evidence of the Diffolution; but here wanted fome other Evidence to prove how the Strata, and the

Bodies in them, were put together again a these things were not to be had for tranflating; a vaft Collection of all other Bodies were made, not for a Raree-fhew ; and a vaft Collection of Obfervations were made, not to fupport Miftakes, but upon other Conditions. But they unluckily, tho' they were twined and bended as much as poffible, difproved every Article he had advanced. He had begun wrong, (which is many a Man's Cafe) would not go backward, fo could not go forward; fo they were committed clofe Prifoners for Life, except there come a general Goal-Delivery. You are to understand, that I have not thought proper to infert Names, and Pages, and cite the very Words of our Undertaker; because he left out all thofe he should have quoted, and in his whole Book did but quote one Author in his own Words, who should only have been flightingly cenfured; because he could not expect to be believed, and because he needed no difproving; and because I have quoted many ancient ones in their own Words; I have not room for mangled Copies, this way of fhort Writing will not allow it. And because these few Lines may come into Hands, who perhaps may never be able to find there were any fuch Books writ; and I am very concise here, about the VOL. I. H other