FOOTNOTES:

[a] Benigna circa hoc Natura, innocua & esculenta animalia fœcunda generavit. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 55.

[] Captain J. Strong gave me this Account, together with a Quill-Feather of the Cuntur or Condor of Peru. On the Coast of Chili, they met with this Bird in about 33° S. Lat. not far from Mocha, an Island in the South-Sea,——they shot it sitting on a Cliff, by the Sea-side; that it was 16 Feet from Wing to Wing extended; that the Spanish Inhabitants told them they were afraid of these Birds, lest they should prey upon their Children. And the Feather he gave me (saith the Doctor) is 2 Feet, 4 Inches long; the Quill-part 5¾ Inches long, and 1½ Inch about in the largest Part. It weighed 3 dr. 17½ gr. and is of a dark brown Colour. Dr. Sloane in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 208.

To this Account, the Doctor, (in a Letter to Mr. Ray, March 31, 1694, with other Papers of Mr. Ray’s, in my Hands,) adds the Testimony of Jos. Acosta, l. 4. c. 7. and Garcilass. de la Vega, who l. 8. c. 19. saith, There are other Fowls, call’d Cuntur, and by the Spaniards corruptly Condor. Many of these Fowls having been kill’d by the Spaniards, had their Proportion taken, and from End to End of their Wings measured 15 or 16 Feet.——Nature, to temper and allay their Fierceness, deny’d them the Talons which are given to the Eagle; their Feet being tipp’d with Claws like a Hen: However, their Beak is strong enough to tear off the Hide, and rip up the Bowels of an Ox. Two of them will attempt a Cow or Bull, and devour him: And it hath often happened, that one of then alone hath assaulted Boys of ten or twelve Years of Age, and eaten them. Their Colour is black and white, like a Magpie. It is well there are but few of them; for if they were many, they would very much destroy the Cattle. They have on the forepart of their Heads, a Comb, not pointed like that of a Cock; but rather even, in the Form of a Razor. When they come to alight from the Air, they make such an humming Noise, with the fluttering of their Wings, as is enough to astonish, or make a Man deaf.

[c] Eccles. i. 4.

[d] The Divine Providence doth not only appear in the Longævity of Man, immediately after the Creation and Flood; but also in their different Longævity at those two Times. Immediately after the Creation, when the World was to be peopled by one Man, and one Woman, the Age of the greatest Part of those on Record, was 900 Years, and upwards. But after the Flood, when there were three Persons by whom the World was to be peopled, none of those Patriarchs, except Shem, arriv’d to the Age of 500; and only the three first of Shem’s Line, viz. Arphaxad, Salah, and Eber, came near that Age; which was in the first Century after the Flood. But in the second Century, we do not find any reached the Age of 240. And in the third Century, (about the latter End of which Abraham was born,) none, except Terah, arriv’d to 200 Years: By which Time the World was so well peopled, (that Part of it, at least where Abraham dwelt,) that they had built Cities, and began to be cantoned into distinct Nations and Societies, under their respective Kings; so that they were able to wage War, four Kings against five, Gen. xiv. Nay, if the Accounts of Anian, Berosus, Manetho, and others, yea, Africanus be to be credited; the World was so well peopled, even before the Times we speak of, as to afford sufficient Numbers for the great Kingdoms of Assyria, Ægypt, Persia, &c. But learned Men generally, with great Reason, reject these as legendary Accounts. If the Reader hath a Mind to see a Computation of the Increase of Mankind, in the three first Centuries after the Flood, he may find two different Ones of the most learned Archbishop Usher, and Petavius; together with a Refutation of the so early Beginning of the Assyrian Monarchy; as also Reasons for placing Abraham near 1000 Years after the Flood, in our most learned Bishop Stillingfleet’s Orig. Sacr. Book III. Chap. 4. §. 9.

[e] That the common Age of Man hath been the same in all Ages since the World was peopled, is manifest from prophane, as well as sacred History. To pass by others: Plato lived to the Age of 81, and was accounted an old Man. And those which Pliny reckons up, l. 7. c. 48. as rare Examples of long Life, may for the most Part be match’d by our modern Histories; especially such as Pliny himself gave Credit unto. Dr. Plot hath given us divers Instances in his History of Oxfordshire, c. 2. §. 3. and c. 8. §. 54. and History of Staffordshire, c. 8. §. 91, &c. Among others, one is of twelve Tenants of Mr. Biddulph’s, that together made 1000 Years of Age. But the most considerable Examples of aged Persons among us, is of old Parre of Shropshire, who lived 152 Years 9 Months, according to the learned Dr. Harvey’s Account; and Henry Jenkins of Yorkshire, who lived 169 Years, according to the Account of my learned and ingenious Friend Dr. Tancred Robinson; of both which, with others, see Lowth. Abridg. Phil. Trans. V. 3. p. 306. The great Age of Parre of Shropshire, minds me of an Observation of the Reverend Mr. Plaxton, that in his two Parishes of Kinardsey and Donington in Shropshire, every sixth Soul was 60 Years of Age, or upwards, Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 310.

And if we step farther North into Scotland, we shall find divers recorded for their great Age: Of which I shall present the Reader with only one modern Example of one Laurence, who married a Wife after he was 100 Years of Age, and would go out to Sea a Fishing in his little Boat, when he was 140 Years old; and is lately dead of no other Distemper but mere old Age, saith Sir Rob. Sibbald, Prodr. Hist. Nat. Scot. p. 44. and l. 3. p. 4.

As for Foreigners, the Examples would be endless; and therefore that of Joh. Ottele shall suffice, who was as famous for his Beard, as for being 115 Years of Age. He was but two Brabant Ells ³⁄₉ high; and his long grey Beard was one Ell ¼ long. His Picture and Account may be seen in Ephem. Germ. T. 3. Obs. 163.

As for the Story Roger Bacon tells, of one that lived 900 Years by the Help of a certain Medicine, and many other such Stories, I look upon them as fabulous. And no better is that of the Wandring Jew, named Joh. Buttadæus, said to have been present at our Saviour’s Crucifixion; although very serious Stories are told of his being seen at Antwerp, and in France, about the Middle of the last Century but one; and before in Ann. 1542, conversed with by Paul of Eitsen, Bishop of Sleswick; and before that, viz. in 1228, seen and convers’d with by an Armenian Archbishop’s Gentleman; and by others at other Times.

If the Reader hath a Mind to see more Examples, he may meet with some of all Ages, in the learned Hakewill’s Apol. p. 181. where he will also find that learned Author’s Opinion of the Causes of the Brevity and Length of humane Life. The Brevity thereof he attributeth to a too tender Education, sucking strange Nurses, too hasty Marriages; but above all, to Luxury, high Sauces, strong Liquors, &c. The Longævity of the Ancients he ascribes to Temperance in Meat and Drink, anointing the Body, the Use of Saffron and Honey, warm Clothes, lesser Doors and Windows, less Physick and more Exercise.

[f] The Proportions which Marriages bear to Births, and Births to Burials, in divers Parts of Europe, may be seen at an easy View in this Table:

Names of the Places.	Marriages to Births: As			Births to Burials: as
England in general.	1	to	4.63	1.12	to	1
London.	1	to	4.	1	to	1.1
Hantshire, from 1569, to 1658.	1	to	4.	1.2	to	1
Tiverton in Devon, 1560, to 1649.	1	to	3.7	1.26	to	1
Cranbrook in Kent, 1560, to 1649.	1	to	3.9	1.6	to	1
Aynho in Northamptonshire for 118 Y.	1	to	6	1.6	to	1
Leeds in Yorkshire for 122 Years.	1	to	3.7	1.07	to	1
Harwood in Yorkshire 57 Years.	1	to	3.4	1.23	to	1
Upminster in Essex 100 Years.	1	to	4.6	1.08	to	1
Frankfort on the Main in 1695.	1	to	3.7	1.2	to	1
Old middle and lower Marck in 1698.	1	to	3.7	1.9	to	1
Domin. of the K. of Prussia in 1698.	1	to	3.7	1.5	to	1
Breslaw in Silesia from 1687 to 1691.				1.6	to	1
Paris in 1670, 1671, 1672.	1	to	4.7	1	to	1.6

Which Table I made from Major Graunt’s Observations on the Bills of Mortality; Mr. King’s Observations in the first of Dr. Davenant’s Essays; and what I find put together by my ingenious Friend Mr. Lowthorp, in his Abridgment, Vol. 3. p. 668. and my own Register of Upminster. That from Aynho Register in Northamptonshire, I had from the present Rector, the learned and ingenious Mr. Wasse: And I was promised some Accounts from the North, and divers others Parts of this Kingdom; but have not yet received them: Only those of Leeds and Harwood in Yorkshire, from my curious and ingenious friend Mr. Thoresby.

[g] The preceding Table shews, that Marriages, one with another, do each of them produce about four Births; not only in England, but in other Parts of Europe also.

And by Mr. King’s Estimate, (the best Computations I imagine of any, being derived from the best Accounts; such as the Marriage, Birth, Burial-Act, the Poll Books, &c. by his Estimate, I say,) about 1 in 104 marry. For he judgeth the Number of the People in England, to be about five Millions and a half; of which about 41000 annually marry. As to what might be farther remarked concerning Marriages, in regard of the Rights and Customs of several Nations, the Age to which divers Nations limited Marriage, &c. it would be Endless, and too much out of the Way to mention them: I shall only therefore, for the Reader’s Diversion, take Notice of the Jeer of Lactantias, Quare apud Poetas salacissimus Jupiter desiit liberos tollere? Utrum sexagenarius factus, & ei Lex Papia fibulam imposuit? Lactant. Instit. l. 1. c. 16. By which Lex Papia, Men were prohibited to marry after 60, and Women after 50 Years of Age.

[h] Major Graunt, (whose Conclusions seem to be well-grounded,) and Mr. King, disagree in the Proportions they assign to Males and Females. This latter makes in London, 10 Males to be to 13 Females; in other Cities and Market-Towns, 8 to 9; and in the Villages and Hamlets, 100 Males to 99 Females. But Major Graunt, both from the London, and Country Bills, saith, there are 14 Males to 13 Females: From whence he justly infers, That Christian Religion, prohibiting Polygamy, is more agreeable to the Law of Nature than Mahumetism, and others that allow it, Chap. 8.

This Proportion of 14 to 13, I imagine is nearly just, it being agreeable to the Bills I have met with, as well as those in Mr. Graunt. In the 100 Years, for Example, of my own Parish-Register, although the Burials of Males and Females were nearly equal, being 636 Males, and 623 Females in all that Time; yet there were baptized 709 Males, and but 675 Females, which is 13 Females to 13.7 Males. Which Inequality shews, not only, that one Man ought to have but one Wife; but also that every Woman may, without Polygamy, have an Husband, if she doth not bar her self by the want of Virtue, by Denial, &c. Also this Surplusage of Males is very useful for the Supplies of War, the Seas, and other such Expences of the Men above the Women.

That this is a Work of the Divine Providence, and not a Matter of Chance, is well made out by the very Laws of Chance, by a Person able to do it, the ingenious and learned Dr. Arbuthnot. He supposeth Thomas to lay against John, that for eighty two Years running, more Males shall be born than Females; and giving all Allowances in the Computation to Thomas’s side, he makes the Odds against Thomas, that it doth not happen so, to be near five Millions of Millions, of Millions, of Millions to one; but for Ages of Ages (according to the World’s Age) to be near an infinite Number to one against Thomas. Vid. Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 328.

[] The foregoing Table shews, that in England in general fewer die than are born, there being but 1 Death to 1¹²⁄₁₀₀ Births. But in London more die than are born. So by Dr. Davenant’s Table, the Cities likewise and Market-Towns bury ⁷⁄₁₀₀ to one Birth. But in Paris they out-do London, their Deaths being 1½ to one Birth: The Reason of which I conceive is, because their Houses are more crowded than in London. But in the Villages of England, there are fewer die than are born, there being but 1 Death to 1¹⁷⁄₁₀₀ Births. And yet Major Graunt, and Dr. Davenant, both observe, that there are more Breeders in London, and the Cities and Market-Towns, than are in the Country, notwithstanding the London-Births are fewer than the Country; the Reason of which see in Graunt, Chap. 7. and Davenant ubi supr. p. 21.

The last Remark I shall make from the foregoing Table, shall be, that we may from thence judge of the Healthfulness of the Places there mentioned. If the Year 1698 was the mean Account of the three Marcks, those Places bid the fairest for being most healthful; and next to them, Aynho and Cranbrook for English Towns.

[k] Quid loquar, quanta ratio in bestiis ad perpetuam conservationem earum generis appareat? Nam primum aliæ Mares, aliæ Fœminæ sunt, quod perpetuitatis causâ machinata natura est. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51.

[l] Altho’ Aristotle held the Eternity of the World, yet he seems to have retracted that Opinion, or to have had a different Opinion when he wrote his Metaphysicks; for in his first Book he affirms, that God is the Cause and Beginning of all Things; and in his Book de Mundo he saith, There is no doubt, but God is the Maker and Conservator of all Things in the World. And the Stoicks Opinion is well known, who strenuously contended that the Contrivance and Beauty of the Heavens and Earth, and all Creatures was owing to a wise, intelligent Agent. Of which Tully gives a large Account in his second Book de Nat. Deor. in the Person of Balbus.

[m] I have before in [Note (g)], observed, that the ordinary rate of the Doubling or Increase of Mankind is, that every Marriage, one with another, produces about four Births; but some have much exceeded that. Babo, Earl of Abensperg, had thirty two Sons and eight Daughters, and being invited to hunt with the Emperor Henry II. and bring but few Servants, brought only one Servant, and his thirty two Sons. To these many others might be added; but one of the most remarkable Instances I have any where met with, is that of Mrs. Honywood, mentioned by Hakewill, Camden, and other Authors; but having now before me the Names, with some Remarks (which I received from a pious neighbouring Descendant of the same Mrs. Honywood) I shall give a more particular Account than they. Mrs. Mary Honywood was Daughter, and one of the Co-Heiresses of Robert Atwaters, Esq; of Lenham in Kent. She was born in 1527, married in February 1543, at sixteen Years of Age, to her only Husband Robert Honywood, of Charing in Kent, Esq; She died in the ninety third Year of her Age, in May 1620. She had sixteen Children of her own Body, seven Sons and nine Daughters; of which one had no issue, three died young, and the youngest was slain at Newport Battle, June 20, 1600. Her Grand-Children in the second Generation, were one hundred and fourteen; in the third two hundred and twenty eight; and nine in the fourth Generation. So that she could say the same that the Distick doth, made of one of the Dalburg’s Family of Basil:

1 2 3 4

Mater ait Natæ, dic Natæ, filia Natam

5 6

Ut moneat, Natæ, plangere Filiolam.

1 2 3

Rise up Daughter, and go to thy Daughter,

4 5 6

for her Daughters Daughter hath a Daughter.

Mrs. Honywood was a very pious Woman, afflicted, in her declining Age, with Despair, in some measure; concerning which, some Divines once discoursing with her, she in a Passion said, She was as certainly damned as this Glass is broken, throwing a Venice-Glass against the Ground, which she had then in her Hand. But the Glass escaped breaking, as credible Witnesses attested.

CHAP. XI.

Of the Food of Animals.

The preceding Reflection of the Psalmist, mindeth me of another Thing in common to Animals, that pertinently falleth next under Consideration, which is the Appointment of Food, mentioned in Verse 27, 28, of the last cited Psalm civ. These [Creatures] wait all upon thee, that thou may’st give them their Meat in due Season. That thou givest them, they gather; thou openest thy Hand, they are filled with Good. The same is again asserted in Psal. cxlv. 15, 16. The Eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their Meat in due Season. Thou openest thy Hand, and satisfiest the Desire of every living Thing.

What the Psalmist here asserts, affords us a glorious Scene of the divine Providence and Management. Which, (as I have shew’d it to concern it self in other lesser Things;) so we may presume doth exert it self particularly in so grand an Affair as that of Food, whereby the animal World subsists: And this will be manifested, and the Psalmist’s Observations exemplified, from these six following Particulars:

I. From the subsisting and maintaining such a large Number of Animals, throughout all Parts of the World.

II. From the proportionate Quantity of Food to the Eaters.

III. From the Variety of Food suited to the Variety of Animals: Or the Delight which various Animals have in different Food.

IV. From the peculiar Food which peculiar Places afford to the Creatures suited to those Places.

V. From the admirable and curious Apparatus made for the gathering, preparing, and Digestion of the Food. And,

VI. and lastly, From the great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out and providing their Food.

I. It is a great Act of the divine Power and Wisdom, as well as Goodness, to provide Food for such a World of Animals[a], as every where possess the terraqueous Globe; on the dry Land; and in the Sea and Waters; in the torrid and frozen Zones, as well as the temperate. That the temperate Climates, or at least the fertile Valleys, and rich and plentiful Regions of the Earth, should afford Subsistence to many Animals, may appear less wonderful perhaps: But that in all other the most likely Places for Supplies sufficient Food should be afforded to such a prodigious Number, and so great Variety of Beasts, Birds, Fishes and Insects; is owing to that Being, who hath as wisely adapted their Bodies to their Place and Food, as well as carefully provided Food for their Subsistence there.

But I shall leave this Consideration, because it will be illustrated under the following Points; and proceed,

II. To consider the Adjustment of the Quantity of Food, in Proportion to the Eaters. In all Places there is generally enough; nay, such a Sufficiency, as may be styled a Plenty; but not such a Superfluity, as to waste and corrupt, and thereby annoy the World. But that which is particularly remarkable here, is, that among the great Variety of Foods, the most useful is the most plentiful, most universal, easiest propagated, and most patient of Weather, and other Injuries. As the herbaceous Eaters, (for Instance) are many, and devour much; so the dryland Surface we find every where almost naturally carpeted over with Grass, and other agreeable wholsome Plants; propagating themselves in a Manner every where, and scarcely destroyable by the Weather, the Plough, or any Art. So likewise for Grain, especially such as is most useful, how easily is it cultivated, and what a large Increase doth it produce? Pliny’s Example of Wheat[], is a sufficient Instance in this Matter; which (as that curious Heathen observes) being principally useful to the Support of Man, is easily propagated, and in great Plenty: And an happy Faculty that is of it, that it can bear either extreams of Heat or Cold, so as scarce to refuse any Clime.

III. Another wise Provision the Creator hath made relating to the Food of Animals, is, that various Animals delight in various Food[c]; some in Grass and Herbs; some in Grain and Seeds; some in Flesh; some in Insects; some in this[d], some in that; some more delicate and nice; some voracious and catching at any Thing. If all delighted in, or subsisted only with one Sort of Food, there would not be sufficient for all; but every Variety chusing various Food, and perhaps abhorring that which others like, is a great and wise Means that every Kind hath enough, and oftentimes somewhat to spare.

It deserves to be reckoned as an Act of the divine Appointment, that what is wholesome Food to one, is nauseous, and as a Poyson to another; what is a sweet and delicate Smell and Taste to one, is fœtid and loathsome to another: By which Means all the Provisions the Globe affords are well dispos’d of. Not only every Creature is well provided for, but a due Consumption is made of those Things that otherwise would encumber the World, lie in the Way, corrupt, rot, stink and annoy, instead of cherishing and refreshing it. For our most useful Plants, Grain and Fruits, would mould and rot; those Beasts, Fowls and Fishes, which are reckoned among the greatest Dainties, would turn to Carrion, and poyson us: Nay, those Animals which are become Carrion, and many other Things that are noysome, both on the Dry-land, and in the Waters, would be great Annoyances, and breed Diseases, was it nor for the Provision which the infinite Orderer of the World hath made, by causing these Things to be sweet, pleasant, and wholsome Food to some Creature or other, in the Place where those Things fall: To Dogs, Ravens, and other voracious Animals, for Instance, on the Earth; and to rapacious Fishes, and other Creatures inhabiting the Waters.

Thus is the World in some Measure kept sweet and clean, and at the same Time, divers Species of Animals supply’d with convenient Food. Which Providence of God, particularly in the Supplies afforded the Ravens, is divers Times taken Notice of in the Scriptures[e]; but whether for the Reasons now hinted, or any other special Reasons, I shall not enquire. Thus our Saviour, Luke xii. 24. Consider the Ravens; for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have Storehouse, nor Barn, and God feedeth them. It is a manifest Argument of the divine Care and Providence, in supplying the World with Food and Necessaries, that the Ravens, accounted as unclean, and little regarded by Man, destitute of Stores, and that live by Accidents, by what falleth here and there; that such a Bird, I say, should be provided with sufficient Food; especially if that be true, which Aristotle[f], Pliny[g], and Ælian[h], report of their unnatural Affection and Cruelty to their Young: “That they expel them their Nests as soon as they can fly, and then drive them out of the Country”.

Thus having considered the wise Appointment of the Creator, in suiting the Variety of Food, to Variety of Animals: Let us in the

IV. Place, Take a View of the peculiar Food, which particular Places afford to the Creatures inhabiting therein.

It hath been already observed[], that every Place on the Surface of the terraqueous Globe, is stocked with proper Animals, whose Organs of Life and Action are curiously adapted to each respective Place. Now it is an admirable Act of the divine Providence, that every Place affords a proper Food to all the living Creatures therein. All the various Regions of the World, the different Climates[k], the various Soils, the Seas, the Waters, nay our very Putrefactions, and most nasty Places about the Globe, as they are inhabited by some or other Animal, so they produce some proper Food or other, affording a comfortable Subsistence to the Creatures living there. I might for Instances[l] of this, bring the great Variety of Herbs, Fruits and Grains on the Earth, the large Swarms of Insects in the Air, with every other Food of the Creatures residing in the Earth, or flying in the Air. But I shall stop at the Waters, because the Psalmist, in the fore-cited civᵗʰ Psalm, speaks with relation to the especial Provision for the Inhabitants of the Waters; and also by reason that many Land Animals have their chief Maintenance from thence.

Now one would think, that the Waters were a very unlikely Element to produce Food for so great a Number of Creatures, as have their Subsistence from thence. But yet how rich a Promptuary is it, not only to large multitudes of Fishes, but also to many amphibious Quadrupeds, Insects, Reptiles, and Birds! From the largest Leviathan, which the Psalmist saith[m] playeth in the Seas, to the smallest Mite in the Lakes and Ponds, all are plentifully provided for; as is manifest from the Fatness of their Bodies, and the Gaiety of their Aspect and Actions.

And the Provision which the Creator hath made for this Service in the Waters is very observable; not only by the Germination of divers aquatick Plants there, but particularly by appointing the Waters to be the Matrix of many Animals, particularly of many of the Insect-Kind, not only of such as are peculiar to the Waters, but also of many appertaining to the Air and the Land, who, by their near Alliance to the Waters, delight to be about them, and by that means become a Prey, and plentiful Food to the Inhabitants of the Waters. And besides these, what prodigious Shoals do we find of minute Animals, even sometimes discolouring the Waters[n]! Of these (not only in the Water, but in the Air and on Land) I have always thought there was some more than ordinary Use intended by the All-wise Creator. And having bent many of my Observations that way, I have evidently found it accordingly to be. For be they never so numberless or minute, those Animals serve for Food to some Creatures or other. Even those Animalcules in the Waters, discoverable only with good Microscopes, are a Repast to others there, as I have often with no less Admiration than Pleasure seen[o].

But now the usual Objection is, that Necessity maketh Use[p]. Animals must be fed, and they make use of what they find: In the desolate Regions, and in the Waters, for Instance, they feed upon what they can come at; but, when in greater Plenty, they pick and chuse.

But this Objection hath been already in some measure answered by what hath been said; which plainly argues Design, and a super-intending Wisdom, Power and Providence in this special Business of Food. Particularly the different Delight of divers Animals in different Food, so that what is nauseous to one, should be Dainties to another, is a manifest Argument, that the Allotment of Food is not a Matter of mere Chance, but entailed to the very Constitution and Nature of Animals; that they chuse this, and refuse that, not by Accident, or Necessity, but because the one is a proper Food, agreeable to their Constitution, and so appointed by the infinite Contriver of their Bodies; and the other is disagreeable and injurious to them.

But all this Objection will be found frivolous, and the Wisdom and Design of the great Creator will demonstratively appear, if we take a Survey,

V. Of the admirable and curious Apparatus in all Animals, made for the Gathering, Preparing and Digestion of their Food. From the very first Entrance, to the utmost Exit of the Food, we find every Thing contrived, made and disposed with the utmost Dexterity and Art, and curiously adapted to the Place the Animal liveth in, and the Food it is to be nourished with.

Let us begin with the Mouth. And this we find, in every Species of Animals, nicely conformable to the Use of such a Part; neatly sized and shaped for the catching of Prey, for the gathering or receiving Food[q], for the Formation of Speech, and every other such like Use[r]. In some Creatures it is wide and large, in some little and narrow: in some with a deep Incisure up into the Head[]~~, for the better catching and holding of Prey, and more easy Comminution of hard, large and troublesome Food; in others with a much shorter Incisure, for the gathering and holding of herbaceous Food.~~

In Insects it is very notable. In some forcipated; to catch hold and tear their Prey[t]. In some aculeated, to pierce and wound Animals[], and suck their Blood. And in others strongly rigged with Jaws and Teeth, to gnaw and scrape out their Food, to carry Burdens[w] to perforate the Earth, yea the hardest Wood, yea even Stones themselves, for Houses[x] to themselves, and Nests for their young.

And lastly, in Birds it is no less remarkable. In the first Place, it is neatly shaped for piercing the Air, and making Way for the Body thro’ the airy Regions. In the next Place, it is hard and horny, which is a good Supplement for the want of Teeth, and causeth the Bill to have the Use and Service of the Hand. It’s hooked Form is of great Use to the rapacious Kind[y], in catching and holding their Prey, and in the Comminution thereof by tearing; to others it is no less serviceable to their Climbing, as well as neat and nice Comminution of their Food[z]. Its extraordinary Length and Slenderness is very useful to some, to search and grope for their Food in moorish Places[aa]; as its Length and Breadth is to others to hunt and search in muddy Places[bb]: And the contrary Form, namely, a thick, short, and sharp-edg’d Bill, is as useful to other Birds, who have occasion to husk and flay the Grains they swallow. But it would be endless, and tedious, to reckon up all the various Shapes, and commodious Mechanism of all; the Sharpness and Strength of those who have Occasion to perforate Wood and Shells[cc]; the Slenderness and Neatness of such as pick up small Insects; the Cross-form of such as break up Fruits[dd]; the compressed Form of others[ee], with many other curious and artificial Forms, all suited to the Way of Living, and peculiar Occasions of the several Species of Birds. Thus much for the Mouth.

Let us next take a short View of the Teeth[ff], In which their peculiar Hardness[gg] is remarkable, their Growth[hh] also, their firm Insertion and Bandage in the Gums and Jaws, and their various Shape and Strength, suited to their various Occasion and Use[ii]; the foremost weak and farthest from the Center, as being only Preparers to the rest; the others being to grind and mince, are accordingly made stronger, and placed nearer the Center of Motion and Strength. Likewise their various Form[kk], in various Animals is considerable, being all curiously adapted to the peculiar Food[ll], and Occasions of the several Species of Animals[mm]. And lastly, the temporary Defect of them[nn], is no less observable in Children, and such young Creatures, where there is no Occasion for them; but they would be rather an Annoyance to the tender Nipples and Breasts.

From the Teeth, the grand Instruments of Mastication; let us proceed to the other ministerial Parts. And here the Parotid, Sublingual, and maxillary Glands; together with those of the Cheeks and Lips, are considerable; all lodged in the most convenient Places about the Mouth and Throat to afford that noble digestive salival Liquor, to be mixed with the Food in Mastication, and to moisten and lubricate the Passages, to give an easie descent to the Food. The commodious Form also of the Jaws, deserves our Notice; together with the strong Articulation of the lowermost, and its Motion. And lastly, the curious Form, the great Strength, the convenient Lodgment and Situation of the several Muscles and Tendons[oo], all ministring to this so necessary an Act of Life, as Mastication is; they are such Contrivances, such Works, as plainly set forth the infinite Workman’s Care and Skill.

Next to the Mouth, the Gullet presenteth it self; in every Creature well-siz’d to the Food it hath occasion to swallow; in some but narrow, in others as large and extensive[pp]; in all exceedingly remarkable for the curious Mechanism of its Muscles, and the artificial Decussation and Position of their Fibres[qq].

And now we are arriv’d to the grand Receptacle of the Food, the Stomach; for the most Part as various as the Food to be convey’d therein. And here I might describe the admirable Mechanism of its Tunicks, Muscles, Glands, the Nerves, Arteries and Veins[rr]; all manifesting the super-eminent Contrivance and Art of the infinite Workman[ss]; they being all nicely adjusted to their respective Place, Occasion and Service. I might also insist upon that most necessary Office of Digestion; and here consider that wonderful Faculty of the Stomachs of all Creatures, to dissolve[tt] all the several Sorts of Food appropriated to their Species; even sometimes Things of that Consistency as seem insoluble[uu]; especially by such seemingly simple and weak Menstruums as we find in their Stomachs: But I shall only give these Things a bare mention, and take more peculiar Notice of the Special Provision made in the particular Species of Animals, for the Digestion of that special Food appointed them.

And in the first Place it is observable, that, in every Species of Animals, the Strength and Size of their Stomach[ww] is conformable to their Food. Such whose Food is more delicate, tender, and nutritive, have commonly this Part thinner, weaker, and less bulky; whereas such whose Aliment is less nutritive, or whose Bodies require larger Supplies to answer their Bulk, their Labours, and waste of Strength and Spirits, in them it is large and strong.

Another very remarkable Thing in this Part, is, the Number of Ventricles in divers Creatures. In many but one; in some two or more[xx]. In such as make a sufficient Comminution of the Food in the Mouth, one suffices. But where Teeth are wanting, and the Food dry and hard, (as in granivorous Birds,) there the Defect is abundantly supply’d by one thin membranaceous Ventricle, to receive and moisten the Food, and another thick, strong, muscular one, to grind and tear[yy] it. But in such Birds, and other Creatures, whose Food is not Grain, but Flesh, Fruits, Insects, or partly one, partly the other, there their Stomachs are accordingly conformable to their Food[zz], stronger or weaker, membranaceous or muscular.

But as remarkable a Thing, as any in this Part of Animals, is, the curious Contrivance and Fabrick of the several Ventricles of ruminating Creatures. The very Act it self of Rumination, is an excellent Provision for the compleat Mastication of the Food, at the Resting, leisure Times of the Animal. But the Apparatus for this Service, of divers Ventricles for its various Uses and Purposes, together with their curious Mechanism, deserves great Admiration[aaa].

Having thus far pursu’d the Food to the Place, where by its Reduction into Chyle, it becomes a proper Aliment for the Body; I might next trace it through the several Meanders of the Guts, the Lacteals, and so into the Blood[bbb], and afterwards into the very Habit of the Body: I might also take Notice of the Separation made in the Intestines, of what is nutritive, (which is received,) and what is feculent, (being ejected;) and the Impregnations there from the Pancreas and the Gall; and after it hath been strained through those curious Colanders, the lacteal Veins, I might also observe its Impregnations from the Glands and Lymphæducts; and, to name no more, I might farther view the exquisite Structure of the Parts ministring to all these delicate Offices of Nature; particularly the artificial Conformation of the Intestines might deserve a special Enquiry, their Tunicks, Glands, Fibres traversing one another[ccc], and peristaltick Motion in all Creatures; and their cochleous Passage[ddd] to retard the Motion of the Chyle, and to make amends for the Shortness of the Intestines, in such Creatures who have but one Gut; together with many other Accommodations of Nature in particular Animals that might be mention’d. But it shall suffice to have given only a general Hint of those curious and admirable Works of God. From whence it is abundantly manifest how little weight there is in the former atheistical Objection. Which will receive a further Confutation from the

VI. and last Thing relating to Food, that I shall speak of, namely, The great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out and providing their Food. In Man perhaps we may not find any Thing very admirable, or remarkable in this Kind, by Means of his Reason and Understanding, and his Supremacy over the inferior Creatures; which answereth all his Occasions relating to this Business: But then even here the Creator hath shewed his Skill, in not over-doing the Matter; in not providing Man with an unnecessary Apparatus, to effect over and over again what is feasible, by the Reach of his Understanding, and the Power of his Authority.

But for the inferior Creatures, who want Reason, the Power of that natural Instinct, that Sagacity[eee] which the Creator hath imprinted upon them, do amply compensate that Defect. And here we shall find a glorious Scene of the divine Wisdom, Power, Providence and Care, if we view the various Instincts of Beasts, great and small, or Birds, Insects and Reptiles[fff]. For among every Species of them, we may find notable Acts of Sagacity, or Instinct, proportional to their Occasions for Food. Even among those whose Food is near at Hand, and easily come at; as Grass and Herbs; and consequently have no great need of Art to discover it; yet, that Faculty of their accurate Smell and Taste, so ready at every turn, to distinguish between what is salutary, and what pernicious[ggg], doth justly deserve Praise. But for such Animals, whose Food is not so easily come at, a Variety of wonderful Instinct may be met with, sufficient to entertain the most curious Observer. With what entertaining Power, and Artifice do some Creatures hunt[hhh], and pursue their Game and Prey! And others watch and way-lay theirs[iii]! With what prodigious Sagacity do others grope for it under Ground, out of Sight, in moorish Places, in Mud and Dirt[kkk]; and others dig and delve for it, both above[lll], and under the Surface of the drier Lands[mmm]! And how curious and well designed a Provision is it of particular large Nerves in such Creatures, adapted to that especial Service!

What an admirable Faculty is that of many Animals, to discover their Prey at vast Distances; some by their Smell some Miles off[nnn]; and some by their sharp and piercing Sight, aloft in the Air, or at other great Distances[ooo]! An Instance of the latter of which GOD himself giveth, (Job xxxix. 27, 28, 29.) in the Instinct of the Eagle: Doth the Eagle mount up at thy Command, and make her Nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the Rock, upon the Crag of the Rock, and the strong Place[ppp]. From thence she seeketh her Prey, and her Eyes behold afar off. What a commodious Provision hath the Contriver of Nature made for Animals, that are necessitated to climb for their Food; not only in the Structure of their Legs and Feet, and in the Strength of their Tendons and Muscles, acting in that particular Office[qqq]; but also in the peculiar Structure of the principal Parts, acting in the Acquest of their Food[rrr]! What a Provision also is that in nocturnal Birds and Beasts, in the peculiar Structure of their Eye[sss], (and we may perhaps add the Accuracy of their Smell too) whereby they are enabled to discover their Food in the Dark? But among all the Instances we have of natural Instinct, those Instincts, and especial Provisions made to supply the Necessities of Helpless Animals, do in a particular Manner demonstrate the great Creator’s Care. Of which I shall give two Instances.

1. The Provision made for young Creatures. That Στοργὴ, that natural Affection, so connatural to all, or most Creatures towards their Young[ttt], what an admirable noble Principle is it, implanted in them by the wise Creator? By Means of which, with what Alacrity do they transact their parental Ministry? With what Care do they nurse up their Young; think no Pains too great to be taken for them, no Dangers[uuu] too great to be ventured upon for their Guard and Security? How carefully will they lead them about in Places of Safety, carry them into Places of Retreat and Security; yea, some of them admit them into their own Bowels[www]? How will they caress them with their affectionate Notes, lull and quiet them with their tender parental Voice, put Food into their Mouths, suckle them, cherish and keep them warm, teach them to pick, and eat, and gather Food for themselves; and, in a word, perform the whole Part of so many Nurses, deputed by the Sovereign Lord and Preserver of the World, to help such young and shiftless Creatures, till they are come to that Maturity, as to be able to shift for themselves?

And as for other Animals (particularly Insects, whose Sire is partly the Sun, and whose numerous Off-spring would be too great for their Parent-Animal’s Care and Provision) these are so generated, as to need none of their Care, by Reason they arrive immediately to their Ἡλικία, their perfect, adult State, and are able to shift for themselves. But yet, thus far their parental Instinct (equivalent to the most rational Care and Fore-sight) doth extend, that the old ones do not wildly drop their Eggs and Sperm any where, at all Adventures, but so cautiously reposit it in such commodious Places (some in the Waters, some on Flesh, some on Plants proper and agreeable to their Species[xxx]; and some shut up agreeable Food in their Nests, partly for Incubation, partly for Food[yyy],) that their young in their Aurelia, or Nympha State, may find sufficient and agreeable Food to bring them up, till they arrive to their Maturity.

~~Thus far the Parental Instinct and Care.~~

Next we may observe no less in the young themselves, especially in those of the irrational Animals. Forasmuch as the Parent-Animal is not able to bear them about, to cloath them, and to dandle them, as Man doth; how admirably hath the Creator contrived their State, that those poor young Creatures can soon walk about, and with the little Helps of their Dam, shift for, and help themselves? How naturally do they hunt for their Teat, suck, pick[zzz], and take in their proper Food?

But for the young of Man, their Parents Reason, joined with natural Affection, being sufficient to help, to nurse, to feed, and to cloath them; therefore they are born helpless, and are more absolutely than other Creatures, cast upon their Parents Care[aaaa]. A manifest Act and Designation of the Divine Providence.

2. The other Instance I promised, is the Provision made for the Preservation of such Animals as are sometimes destitute of Food, or in Danger of being so. The Winter is a very inconvenient, improper Season, to afford either Food or Exercise to Insects, and many other Animals. When the flowry Fields are divested of their Gaiety; when the fertile Trees and Plants are stripp’d of their Fruits, and the Air, instead of being warmed with the cherishing Beams of the Sun, is chilled with rigid Frost; what would become of such Animals as are impatient of Cold? What Food could be found by such as are subsisted by the Summer-Fruits? But to obviate all this Evil, to stave off the Destruction and Extirpation of divers Species of Animals, the infinitely wise Preserver of the World hath as wisely ordered the matter; that, in the first Place, such as are impatient of Cold, should have such a special Structure of their Body, particularly of their Hearts, and Circulation of their Blood[bbbb], as during that Season, not to suffer any waste of their Body, and consequently not to need any Recruits; but that they should be able to live in a kind of sleepy, middle State, in their Places of safe Retreat, until the warm Sun revives both them and their Food together.

The next Provision is for such as can bear the Cold, but would want Food then; and that is in some by a long Patience of Hunger[cccc], in others by their notable Instinct in laying up Food beforehand against the approaching Winter[dddd]. Of this many entertaining Examples may be given; particularly we may, at the proper Season, observe not only the little Treasures and Holes well-stocked with timely Provisions, but large Fields[eeee] here and there throughout bespread with considerable Numbers of the Fruits of the neighbouring Trees, laid carefully up in the Earth, and covered safe, by the provident little Animals inhabiting thereabouts. And not without Pleasure have I seen and admired the Sagacity of other Animals, hunting out those subterraneous Fruits, and pillaging the Treasures of those little provident Creatures.

And now from this bare transient View of this Branch of the Great Creator’s Providence and Government, relating to the Food of his Creatures, we can conclude no less, than that since this grand Affair hath such manifest Strokes of admirable and wise Management, that since this is demonstrated throughout all Ages and Places, that therefore it is God’s Handy-Work. For how is it possible that so vast a World of Animals should be supported, such a great Variety equally and well supplied with proper Food, in every Place fit for Habitation, without an especial Superintendency and Management, equal to, at least, that of the most prudent Steward and Housholder? How should the Creatures be able to find out their Food when laid up in secret Places? And how should they be able to gather even a great deal of the common Food, and at last to macerate and digest it, without peculiar Organs adapted to the Service? And what less than an infinitely Wise God could form such a Set of curious Organs, as we find every Species endowed with, for this very Life? Organs so artificially made, so exquisitely fitted up, that the more strictly we survey them, the more accurately we view them (even the meanest of them with our blest Glasses) the less Fault we find in them, and the more we admire them: Whereas the best polished, and most exquisite Works, made by human Art, appear through our Glasses, as rude and bungling, deformed and monstrous; and yet we admire them, and call them Works of Art and Reason. And lastly, What less than Rational and Wise could endow irrational Animals with various Instincts, equivalent, in their special Way, to Reason it self? Insomuch that some from thence have absolutely concluded, that those Creatures had some Glimmerings of Reason. But it is manifestly Instinct, not Reason they act by, because we find no varying, but that every Species doth naturally pursue at all Times the same Methods and Way, without any Tutorage or Learning: Whereas Reason, without Instruction, would often vary, and do that by many Methods, which Instinct doth by one alone. But of this more hereafter.