unanimous confpiring to promote and carry on the Publick Good, are evident Demonftrations of His Sovereign Wisdom.

Laftly, They ferve to ftir up and increase in us the Affections and Habits of Admiration, Humility, and Gratitude. Pfal. viii. 3. When I confidered the Heavens the Work of Thy Fingers, the Moon and the Stars which Thou haft ordained: What is Man that Thou art mindful of him, or the Son of Man that Thou vifiteft him? And to thefe Purposes the Holy Pfalmift is very frequent in the Enumeration and Confideration of thefe Works, which may warrant me doing the like, and justify the denominating fuch a Difcourfe as this, rather Theological than Philofophical.

Note That by the Works of the Creation, in the Title, I mean the Works created by God at firft, and by Him conferved to this Day in the fame State and Condition in which they were at first made; for Confervation, according to the Judgment both of Philofophers and Divines, is a continued Creation.

THE

THE

CONTENTS

OF THE

FIRST PART.

T

HE Multitude of Creatures an Argument of

the Wifdom and Power of God Pag. 18 and 26

That the fix'd Stars are innumerable, agreed

on all fides, as well by fuch as embrace the

New Hypothefis,

That they are as fo many Suns placed at

unequal Diftances, and each having its Pla-

nets moving about it, furnished with their In-

habitants, like the Earth; as by thofe that adhere to the old,

That they are all fituate in the fame Spherical Superficies 18,19,20

A

A Guefs at the Number of Terrestrial Bodies, 1. Inanimate, as
Stone, Earths, concrete and inconcrete Juices, Metals, and Mi
nerals. 2. Animals, Birds, Beafts, Fijhes, and Infects. 3. Plants,
Herbs, and Trees
21, 22, 23, 24
Working the fame Effect by divers Means and Inftruments, an Ar-
gument of Wisdom. And that God doth this in the Works of the
Creation, proved by feveral Examples

Pag. 29, 39

30, 31

34, 35, 36, 37

25, 26, 27, 28
That the material Works of God are wifely contrived and adapted
to Ends both general and particular
The Ariftotelean Hypothefis, That the World was Co-eternal with
God, condemned
The Epicurean Hypothefis, That the World was made by a cafual
Concurrence, and Cobefion of Atoms, rejected 31, 32, 33. Their
Declination of Atoms justly derided, and their whole Hypothefis
ingeniously confuted by Cicero

The Cartefian Hypothefis, That fuppofing God had only created

Matter, divided it into a certain Number of Parts, and put it

into Motion, according to a few Laws, it would of itself have

produced the World without any more ado, confuted in Dr. Cud-

worth's Words

37, &c. to 46

Des Cartes his Affertion, That the Ends of God in any of his

Works are equally undifcovered by us, cenfured and reproved

38, 39, 40, 41

of the Heart

His Opinion concerning the Caufe of the Motion

45, 46, 47

48, 49, 50

The Honourable Mr. Boyle's Hypothesis confidered, and pleaded a-
gainst
The Author's Miftake concerning the Hypothefis of Mr. Boyle, ac-
knowledged

59

The Parts of the Body formed, and fituated contrary to the Laws

of Specifick Gravity

52,53

SI
A Plastick Nature under God, fuperintending and effecting natural
Production's
Their Opinion that hold the Souls of Brutes to be material, and
the whole Animal Body and Soul to be a meer Machine, not a-
greeable to the general Senfe of Mankind

54,55,56

Of the vifible Works of God, and their Divifion 57, 58. The Ato-

mick Hypothefis approved

59

59, 60

The Works of Nature far more exquifitively formed than the Works
of Art

The various Species of inanimate Bodies to be attributed to the di-

vers Figures of their Principles, or minute component Particles 60

That thefe Principles are naturally indivisible, proved ibid. They

are not very numerous

61

Of the heavenly Bodies 61. That the whole Univerfe is divided

into two forts of Bodies, viz. thin and fluid; denfe and con-

ffent, ibid. That this last fort are endued with a twofold

Power:

Power:

1. Of Gravity. 2. Of Circular Motion, and why 62.

The heavenly Bodies moved in the most regular, facile, and con-

venient manner

63,64

Of the Sun, bis Ufes, and the Convenience of his Situation and

Motion

65

66

Of the Moon, and its Ufes

Of the rest of the Planets, and Fix'd Stars; the Regularity and

Conftancy of their Motions; whence Cicero rationally inferrs,

that they are governed by Reafon

Eclipfes useful to Settle Chronology, and determine Longitudes

68

67

72,73

Of terrestrial inanimate fimple Bodies, as Elements commonly fo

called. 1. Fire, its various Ufes 69, 70. Of Air, its Ufe and

Neceffity for Breathing, to all forts of Animals, Aquatick as

well as Terreftrial; nay, in a fort to Plants themselves 71, 72,

73. The Effects and Ufes of its Gravity and Elaftick Qua-

lity

That the Foetus in the Womb hath a kind of Refpiration, and

whence it receives the Air
73, 74, 75

That the Air infinuates itself into the Water for the Refpiration of

Fishes 76, and even into fubterraneous Waters, whence it clears

the Mines of Damps 76, 77. A Plaftick Nature necessary for

putting the Diaphragm and Mufcles for Respiration into Motion

at first

Of Water, its Ufes 78. Of the Sea, and its Tides 79. An Ob-

jection concerning the Needlefnefs of fo much Sea of no Ufe to

Mankind, anfwered. And the Wisdom of God in thus unequally

dividing Sea and Land, manifefted and afferted 80, 81. The

Ufe of Floods

-77

82, 83

84, 85

That the Winds bring up more Vapours from the Sea, than they

carry down thither

That the Motion of the Water levels the Bottom of the Sea 85. The

Reafon why the Sea-Plants grow, for the most part, flat, like a

Fan, and none in the Great Depths

86

Of Springs and Rivers, Baths and Mineral Waters. Simple Wa-

ter nourisheth not

Of the Earth, its Ufes and Differences

87

87

Of Meteors, or Bodies imperfectly mix'd. And, 1. Of Rain 88.

Of Wind, and its various Ufes

2.

90

Of inanimate mix'd Bodies. Stones, their Qualities and Ufes
91, 92, 93. Particularly of the Loadftone, its admirable Pha-

nomena, Effects, and Ufes 95. 2. Metals, their various Ufes,

of great Importance to Mankind, as Iron, without which we

could have had nothing of Cultures or Civility: Gold and Sil-

ver for the coining of Money, which bow many ways useful is

Shewn out of Dr. Cockburn's Effays

96, 97

That

1

That the Minute compotent Particles of Bodies are naturally in-

divifible, proved
98,99

Of Vegetables, or Plants, their Stature and Magnitude, Figure,

Shape, and Site of Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits, and their

Parts all determined, as alfo their Age and Duration 100, 101.

The admirable Complication of the Seminal Plant 101, 102.

The Ufes of the feveral Parts of Plants, Roots, Fibres, Vessels,

Barks, and Leaves 103, 104. The Beauty and Elegancy of

the Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits of Plants 105. That there

is fuch a thing as Beauty and Comeliness of Proportion, proved

106

The Ufes of Flowers 107. Of Seeds, and their Teguments, and

Obfervations concerning them 108, 109. Their lafting Vitali-

ty, or Foecundity 110. The Pappous Plumage of Seeds 110.

The Tendrels and Prickles of Plants, of what Ufe

III

That Wheat, the best of all Grains, is patient both of Heat and

Cold, and Scarce refufeth any Climate, and that scarce any

Grain is more fruitful

Of the Signatures of Plants

112

113

Of Animals, the Provifion that is made for the Continuance of Spe-

cies 114. That Females have within them from the Beginning,

the Seeds of all the Young they shall ever bring forth 115. An

Obfervation of Cicero's about Multiparous Creatures 116. Why

Birds lay Eggs, ibid. Of what Ufe the Yolk of the Egg is to the

Chicken

117

Birds that cannot number, yet omit not any one of their Young in

feeding of them 117. Though they cannot number, yet that they

can diftinguish many from few, proved 118. The Speedy Growth

of the young Birds in the Neft 119. The Process of building

their Nefts, and Incubation 120. Feeding, breeding, and de-

fending their Young, and the admirable Eropyn, ibid. The

due numerical Proportion between Males and Females, in all

kinds of Animals, kept up conftantly 121. The Convenienty of

the Time of the Year, when the feveral forts of Animals are

brought forth 122. Why Birds Swallow Pebble Stones 130.

The Provifion of Nature for keeping of Birds-Nefts clean 132,

133. Various strange Instincts of Animals 125, 126, 127, &c.

As, that Animals should know where their natural Weapons

are fituate, and how to make use of them. That the Weak

and Timorous fhould be made fwift of Foot or Wing, for Flight.

That they should naturally know their Enemies, and fuch as

prey upon them, though they had never seen them before. That

as foon as they are brought forth, they should know their proper

Food. That Ducklings, though led by a Hen, fo foon as they fee

Water, Should venture into it, the Hen in vain endeavouring