The philosopher Leucippus, who was also a Grecian, taught that "the universe was infinite; that it was in part a plenum and in part a vacuum—that the plenum contained innumerable corpuscles or atoms of various figures, which, falling into the vacuum, struck against each other; and hence arose a variety of curvilinear motions, which continued till at length atoms of similar forms met together, and bodies were produced. The primary atoms being specifically of equal weight, and not being able, on account of their multitude, to move in circles, the smaller rose to the exterior parts of the vacuum, whilst the larger (entangling themselves,) formed a spherical shell, which revolved about its centre and which included within it all kinds of bodies. This central mass was gradually increased by a perpetual accession of particles from the surrounding shell, till at last (says Leucippus) the EARTH was formed. In the mean time the spherical shell was continually supplied with new bodies, which, in its revolution, it gathered from without. Of the particles thus collected in the spherical shell, some in their combination formed humid masses, which, by their circular motion, gradually became dry and were at length ignited and became STARS. The SUN was formed in the same manner in the exterior surface of the shell; and the moon in its interior surface. In this manner the universe was formed."—Such a jargon of learned nonsense requires no comment; yet Leucippus had for a time the reputation of possessing superior wisdom!
Epicurus adopted the idea of Leucippus as to the atoms, and imagined that they moved obliquely, and Democritus bestowed on them animation. Gassendi contended for atoms and a void, and Descartes asserted a plenum and a subtle matter, which revolving in vortices was under the direction of an intelligent being.
Hippasus and Heraclitus maintained that the being who was the author of all things was fire.
Many of the ancient philosophers believed this world to be eternal—among these may perhaps be ranked Pythagoras, Aristotle, Socrates and Plato.
Zeno advocated with great zeal the theory of "two principles," spirit and matter, one active and the other passive.
Mahomet maintained that the world was created in two days, and the mountains were afterwards placed upon it; and that during these and two additional days the inhabitants were formed; and in two more the seven heavens were created.
The waters of the deluge are ridiculously represented by him as being poured out of an oven. The Alcoran says that all men were drowned except Noah and his family; and that at an appointed time God said, "O earth swallow up the waters!" "and thou, O heaven, withhold thy rain!" and immediately the waters abated. Is it not surprising that so many thousands should have adopted this theory.
Mr. Thomas Burnet was a man of genius and taste, a learned divine and a philosopher; but he suffered his imagination to take the lead of his judgment. He was the friend and object of admiration of Addison. His work is entitled, "The sacred theory of the earth, containing an account of the origin of the earth and of all the general changes which it hath already undergone or is to undergo till the consummation of all things." He taught that originally the earth was a fluid mass, composed of various materials; that of these the heaviest descended to the centre, and formed a hard and solid body—that the waters took their station round this body—and that all lighter fluids rose above the water, forming first a strata of oily matter and next a strata of air—that the air was then impure, containing great quantities of earthy particles, which gradually subsided and composed a crust of earth and oil—that this crust was the first habitable part of the earth and abode of man and other animals—that the surface was uniform, no mountains nor seas nor other inequalities were to be seen—that in this state it remained about sixteen centuries; by which time the heat of the sun gradually drying the crust, produced cracks or fissures, which gradually penetrating deeper and deeper, finally perforated the entire crust—that in an instant the whole split in pieces and fell into the great abyss of water. This (says Burnet) was the UNIVERSAL DELUGE!—That with these masses of earth were carried vast quantities of air, and the masses dashing violently against each other, accumulated and divided so irregularly, that great cavities filled with air were left between them—that the waters gradually opened passages into these cavities. In proportion as they were filled with water, the surface of the earth began to discover itself in the most elevated places, till at last the waters appeared no where but in those extensive valleys which now contain the ocean—that islands and sea rocks are small fragments, and continents are large masses of this ancient crust.
His theory was attacked and pretty roughly handled by his cotemporaries Erasmus Warren, John Keill and McFlamstead, the astronomer royal.
How Burnet could imagine that man and other land animals could have inhabited an earth which had a plane surface, it is difficult to conceive. If these animals resembled those that at present inhabit this planet, they could not have subsisted without water; and if this element was supplied by rain, and the earth had no inequalities of surface, the whole earth must have been covered by a sea or at least been a swamp. It was perhaps this reflection that generated the idea of Demailet, that man was originally a fish.