Quæst. Nat. iii. 27., which contains a commentary on St. Peter's expression, "Like a thief in the night:"—
"Nihil, inquit, difficile est Naturæ, ubi ad finem sui properat. Ad originem rerum parcè utitur viribus, dispensatque se incrementis fallentibus; subitò ad ruinam et toto impetu venit ... Momento fit cinis, diu silua."
Compare Sir T Browne's Rel. Med. s. 45.
Seneca, Hercul. Œt. 1102.
Ovid. Metamorph. lib. i. s. viii.
Diplilus as quoted by Dr. H. More, Vision. Apoc. vi. 9.
Cicero, Acad. lib. ii. 37. "Somn. Scipionis."
—— de Nat. Deorum. lib. ii. 46.
Pliny, Nat. Hist. lib. vii. cap. 16.
These are the opinions of writers before Christ; whether they were derived from Scripture, it is not now my purpose to discuss. See also Lipsii Physiologia. On the agreement of the systems of the Stoics, of the Magi, and of the Edda, see Bishop Percy's Notes to Mallet's Northern Antiquities, vol. ii.