§ 3. They say, that there lay, not far from this our Island, another Great Island very fertile and well peopled; which was then govern'd by a Prince of a Proud and Jealous Disposition: he had a Sister of exquisite Beauty, which he confin'd and restrain'd from Marriage, because he could not match her to one suitable to her quality He had a near Relation whose Name was Yokdhân, that courted this Princess, and Married her privately, according to the Rites of Matrimony then in use among them; it was not long before she prov'd with Child, and was brought to Bed of a Son; and being afraid that it should be discovered, she took him in the Evening, and when she had Suckled him she put him into a little Ark which she closed up fast, and so Conveys him to the Sea shore, with some of her Servants and Friends as she could trust; and there with an Heart equally affected with Love and Fear, she takes her last leave of him in these Words, O God, thou form'dst this Child out of nothing, and didst Cherish him in the Dark recesses of my Womb, till he was compleat in all his parts; I fearing the Cruelty of a Proud and unjust King, commit him to thy Goodness, hoping that thou who art infinitely merciful, will be pleas'd by thy gracious Providence to protect him, and never leave him destitute of thy Care.
§4. Then she set him afloat, and that very Night the Tide carried him ashore on that Island we just now mention'd; it fortun'd that the Water being high, carried the Ark a great way on shore, farther than it would have done at another time, (for it rises so high but once a Year) and cast the Ark into a little shady Grove, thick set with Trees, a pleasant place, where he was secured both from Wind and Sun; when the Tide ebb'd, the Ark was left there, and the Wind rising blew an heap of Sand together between the Ark and the Sea, sufficient to secure him from any future danger of such another Flood.
§ 5. The Violence of the Waves had loosned the Joints of the Ark; the Boy was Hungry and Cry'd. It happen'd fortunately at that Juncture of time, that a Roe wandring about the Island in search of her Fawn, which straying was devoured by an Eagle, heard the Boy cry, and following the voice (imagining it to have been her Fawn) came up to the Ark, which she immediately attack'd, and what with her beating it with her hoofs without, and the Boy's struggling within, at last between 'em both they loosned a board: as soon as she saw him she shew'd the same natural Affection to him as if he had been her own, Suckled him and took care of him. This is the account which they give, who are not willing to believe that a Man can be produced without Father or Mother.
§ 6. On the other hand, those who affirm that Hai Ebn Yokdhan was produced in that Island without Father and Mother[18], tell us, that in that island, in a piece of Low ground, it chanc'd that a certain Mass of Earth was so fermented in some period of Years, that the four qualities, viz. Hot, Cold, Dry, Moist, were so equally mix'd, that none of 'em prevail'd over the other; and that this Mass was of a very great Bulk, in which, some parts were better and more equally Temper'd than others,and consequently fitter for Generation; the middle part especially, which came nearest to the Temper of Man's Body. This Matter being in a fermentation, there arose some Bubbles by reason of its viscousness, and it chanc'd that in the midst of it there was a viscous Substance with a very little bubble in it, which was divided into two with a thin partition, full of Spirituous and Aerial Substance, and of the most exact Temperature imaginable. That the Matter being thus dispos'd, there was, by the Command of God, a Spirit infus'd into it; which was join'd so closely to it, that it can scarce be separated from it even so much as in thought; which did as constantly influence this Mass of matter as the Sun do's the World. Now there are some Bodies from whence we perceive no Reflection of Light, as the thin Air: others from which we do but imperfectly; such are thick Bodies which are not smooth (but there is a difference in these, and the difference of their Colours arises from the different manner of their Reception of the Rays); and from others we receive the Reflection in the highest degree, as from Bodies which are smooth and polish'd, as Looking-Glasses and the like; so that those Glasses when ground after a particular manner will Collect so much Light as to kindle a Fire. So that Spirit which comes by the Command of God, do's at all times act upon all Creatures, in some of which notwithstanding, there appears no Impression of it, but the reason of that is, because of their Incapacity into whom it is infus'd; of which kind are things inanimate which are fitly represented in this similitude, by the thin Air. There are another sort again; in which there does appear something of it, as Vegetables and the like, which are represented by the thick Bodies we mention'd, which are not polish'd. And then lastly, there are others, (represented by those Glasses, in our last comparison) in which the impressions of this Spirit are visible, and such we reckon all sorts of Animals. But then, as these smooth and polish'd Bodies which are of the same figure with the Sun [i.e. Spherical] do receive the Rays in a more plentiful manner than any other whatsoever, so also do some Animals receive the Influence of that Spirit more than others, because they are more like to that Spirit and are form'd after his Image: such is Man particularly, which is hinted before where 'tis said that God made Man after his own Image[19].
§ 7. Now, when this Form prevails to such a degree that all others are nothing before it, but it remains alone, so as to consume, with the glory of its Light, whatsoever stands; in it's way; then it is properly compared to those Glasses, which reflect Light upon themselves, and burn every thing else; But this is a degree which is peculiar to the Prophets.
§ 8. But to return, and speak something more fully concerning the Opinion of those who account for this kind of generation; They tell us, that as soon as this Spirit was join'd to the Receptacle, all the other powers immediately, by the Command of God, submitted themselves to it. Now, opposite to this Receptacle, there arose another Bubble divided into three Receptacles by thin membranes, with passages from one to the other, which were fill'd with an aerial substance, not much unlike that which was in the first Receptacle, only the first was something finer; and in each of these three Ventricles,which were all taken out of one, were plac'd some of those Faculties, which were subject to this governing Spirit, and were appointed to take care of their respective Stations, and to communicate every thing, both great and small, to that Spirit, which we told you before was plac'd in the first Receptacle. Right against this Receptacle, opposite to the second, there arose another third Bubble, fill'd with an aerial substance, which was grosser than that which was in the other two; this was made for the Entertainment and preservation of some other of the inferior Faculties.
§ 9. Thus these three Receptacles were made in the same order which we have describ'd, and these were the first part of that great Mass which was form'd; now they stood in need of one another's assistance; the first wanted the other two as Servants, and they again the assistance and guidance of the first, as their Master and Director; but both these Receptacles, tho' inferior to the first, were nevertheless superior to all those Members which were form'd afterwards. The first Receptacle, by the power of that Spirit which was joyn'd to it and its continual flaming Heat, was form'd into a Conical figure, like that of Fire, and by this means that thick Body, which was about it, became of the same figure, being solid Flesh cover'd with a thick Membrane. This is what we call the Heart. Now considering the great expence of Moisture, which must needs be where there is so much Heat, 'twas absolutely necessary, that there should be some part form'd, whose Office it should be continually to supply this defect; Otherwise it would have been impossible to have subsisted long. 'Twas also necessary that [this forming Spirit] should have a Sense both of what was convenient for him, and what was hurtful, and accordingly attract the one and repel the other. For these Services there were two parts form'd, with their respective Faculties, viz. the Brain and the Liver: the first of these presided over all things relating to Sense, the latter over such things as belong'd to Nutrition: both of these depended upon the Heart for a supply of Heat, and the recruiting of their proper Faculties. To establish a good Correspondence between all these, there were Ducts and Passages interwoven, some bigger, some lesser, according as necessity requir'd; and these are the Arteries and Veins.
Thus much for a Taste; they that tell the Story go on farther, and give you a particular account of the Formation of all the parts, as the Physicians do of the Formation of the Foetus in the Womb, omitting nothing till he was compleatly form'd, and just like an Embryo ready for the Birth. In this account they are forc'd to be beholding to this vast Mass of Earth, which you are to suppose was of a most exact mixture, and contain'd in it all manner of materials proper for the making Man's Body, and those Skins, &c. which cover it; till at last, when he was Compleat in all his parts, as if the Mass had been in labour, those Coverings, which he was wrapp'd up in, burst asunder, and the rest of the Dirt dry-d and crack'd in pieces. The Infant being thus brought into the World, and finding his Nourishment fail him, cry'd for want of Victuals, till the Roe which had lost her Fawn heard him. Now, both those who are of the other Opinion and those who are for this kind of generation, agree in all the other particulars of his Education: and what they tell us is this.
§ 10. They say that this Roe liv'd in good Pasture so that she was fat, and had, such plenty of Milk, that she was very well able to maintain the Child; she took great care of him, and never left him, but when hunger forc'd her: and he grew so well acquainted with her, that if at any time she staid away from him a little longer than ordinary, he'd cry pitifully, and she, as soon as she heard him, came running instantly; besides all this, he enjoy'd this happiness, that there was no Beast of prey in the whole Island.