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finds, in all its Circumftances? Let him view with this Knowledge, a Sparrow, a Finch, a Canary-bird, or any other of thofe little Creatures, and then ask himself, whether it be conceivable, that in the little quantity of Matter of fo small an Animal, fuch numberlefs Inftruments were found by chance; of which fome of them ferve for Eating, for Digesting their Food, in a word, for Nourifhment; others for Generation; fome for Walking; others for Flying, and all of them fo exactly adapted to their particular Ends, that the most learned Mathematicians and Naturalifts of this Age, that have taken the trouble to enquire into the fame, have very often expreffed themselves thereupon with Wonder and Aftonishment.

SECT. XXIII. The Prefervation of Birds.

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No w, as the Wisdom of the Creator fhines forth in the Structure of the Birds, fo likewise his Providence and Goodnefs in preferving many of them, is not lefs clearly manifefted. The great Saviour of the World, endeavouring to diffuade his Difciples from taking too great care for Food and Raiment, mentions thefe Creatures for a Proof of what he would have them understand thereby These are his Words: Matth. vi. 25, 26. Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; Behold the fowls of the air; for they fow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: Are ye not much better than they? Could the greateft Logicians have used any ftronger Arguments in the world, to fhew fo palpably the Care and Providence of a GOD? In cafe he had spoke of Tame Creatures, one might prefently have anfwered, that Men who make ufe of them, provide them with Focd, as in the Cafe of Horses,

Kine,

Kine, Sheep, and the like. And as for the Wild ones, it might likewise be said, that they are able to fall upon what they meet with, and convert it to Food, fuch as Lions, Bears, Tygers, and the reft. If he fhould fpeak of Fishes, no body can fhew that they ever fuffer Want in the Waters: If of Ants or Bees, these gather their Food against the proper Season: If of Caterpillars, Silk-worms, and fuch other Infects, it may be anfwer'd, that in order to continue their Species, tho' their Lives are mostly limited to one Summer, their Eggs reft in the Winter, in order to produce their little Ones with the approaching Warmth, against the time that their Food is ready for them. But that for Ravens, and other Birds that live in defart places, and that would otherwife perifh for Hunger in a few Days, their Food fhould always be fo feafonably provided; and that for other defenceless, fearful little Animals, that run away from every thing, fuch as Sparrows and the like, their Food fhould be provided even at fuch times when they feem to be deprived of all Means of meeting with the fame in the midst of a hard Winter, and when no Man himself, tho' never fo ingenious and laborious, could inftruct them how to find it (and much less meer Chance.) All this, I fay, is a most manifeft Proof of a great and adorable Preferver, as it is likewife of the Truth of the following Text; Matth. x. v. 29. Are not two Sparrows fold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Or, as it is expreffed in Luke xii. v. 6. not one of them is forgotten before God. I leave it then to an Atheist himself, to judge, whether he can afcribe the Manner after which these little Birds, contrary to all Appearance, are kept alive every Year, with a fafe Confcience, to Chance only.

SECT.

SECT. XXIV. Tranfition to the Fishes.

ASK now the Beafts, and they shall teach thee; and the Fowls of the Air, and they fhall tell thee; or Speak to the Earth, and it shall teach thee; and the Fishes of the Sea fhall declare unto thee: Who knoweth not in all thefe, that the hand of the Lord both wrought this? In whofe hand is the Soul of every living thing, and the breath of all Mankind. These were formerly the Emphatical Words which Job, ch. xii. v. 7, 8, 9,10. made ufe of against those that doubt, whether there be a Wife and Powerful GOD. I do not produce 'em here to convince an Atheist whilft he has no refpect for this Holy Word, but only, that these miserable Men may once again filently examine themselves, whether what has been faid before about the Birds, cannot move 'em to obferve the Truth and Wisdom of thofe Expreffions; and if that will not entirely fatisfie them, let them pass on with us to the Contemplation of the Fishes.

SECT. XXV. The Miracle of Fishes living under Water; and Convictions from thence.

WE fhall not here repeat what has been faid concerning the Fishes in the Contemplation of WATER, nor prove more fully from thence the Goodness of the Creator, who has filled those mighty Caverns of Seas and Rivers with all Kinds of Fishes,to the end, that thofe vaft Spaces fhould not remain useless; which Fishes in fome Countries ferve for Bread, in others for Dainties; and by their variety, are fitted to gratify the different Palates of Mankind. Now let one of these most Conceited Philofophers, that thinks every thing is made without Wisdom, tell us, whether he could

ever

ever have believed, if he had not known it, that there were fuch things as Fishes, and that any one fpoke Truth to him that fhou'd give him an account, that in Water, in which other Creatures can remain alive but a very fhort time, there was found a particular Kind of Animals that could live, move, procreate, and perform other Animal Functions: And upon feeing a Fifh perform all this in the Water, whether he could help taking it for a Miracle. And, which is more, whether he could, tho' his Life were at Stake, and tho' he had confulted all the wifeft Men in the World, tell how a Fith must be formed, to be able to preserve itself in Water, and what would be the Difference between its Blood and other Humours, and those of Animals that live in the Air.

SECT. XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII. How Fishes balance themselves in and against the Water, illuftrated by feveral Experiments.

BUT not to dwell upon fuch general and wellknown Reflections; let us pafs on to fome Particulars; to enumerate all would be impoffible: How a Bird, only by the great Force and Motion of his Wings, does at the fame time fupport itself, and fly forwards in the Air, has been lately fhewn; but can any one obferve, without Amazement, how a Fish raises its Body up to the Superficies, and again fubfides to the Bottom of the Water, with hardly any vifible Motion, or floats in any Part of it, without either rifing or falling.

If there were in Fifhes a fettled and unchangeable Gravity, not much differing from that of Water, when they pafs from Lighter to Heavier, that is to fay, from frefh to falt Water, they would emerge, even in fpight of themfelves; and on the contrary, paffing from Salt to Fresh, they would

fubfide

fubfide in the fame manner, juft as we fee that an Egg will fink in fresh Water, and fwim or float in fait Water or a ftrong Pickle, as is known even tỏ the Women. So that to render the rifing and finking, and continuing in the fame place in the Water, practicable to Fifhes, without using the Force of any External Motion, it feems neceflary, that according to particular Circumftances, their Gravity, with refpect to an equal Bulk of Water, fhould be augmented and diminished; the rather, because the feveral Waters in which they are found, are oftentimes render'd lighter or heavier, not only by more or lefs Salt, but alfo by the mixture of other foreign Bodies.

Now let a Sceptical Philofopher ask himself, whether he can imagine, that it is without Defign, that the Structure of moft Fishes do compofe the most wonderful and proper Hydroftatical Machines; whereby, according as they have a mind to emerge or fubfide, or according as the Water is lighter or heavier, they may diminifh or increase their relative Gravity?

To be fatisfied herein, we need only open the Bellies of a Carp, a Bream, a Roach, an Eel, and many other forts of Fishes, and we fhall find therein a little Bladder, like BD (Tab. XVII. Fig. 5.) which is ferviceable to them in all the aforefaid Purposes.

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To give any one a Notion thereof, who reads this only for the first time; let him fuppofe a Fish MC (Tab. XVII. Fig. 6.) lying in the Water; the Bladder whereof DB appears in its Belly at q; and is fo far expanded by the Air within it, that the Fish and it together, are just as heavy as an equal Bulk of Water E F; by which he will know, if he underftands any thing of the Principles of Hydroftaticks, that this Fifh will ftand ftill in whatever Part of the Water it is plac'd, VOL. II. without

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