§yo Sir ISAAC N E W T O N’s Book IV.

Reason why it should not likewise take place in the mere sub -tile and abstruse phænomena and motions of the system.

- - 7

15. It has been demonstrated by ingenious men, that greatrevolutions have happened in former times on the surface of theearth, particularly from the phænomena of the Strata ; whichsometimes are found to lie in a very regular manner, and some-times to'be broken and separated from each other.to very con-siderable distances, where they are found again in the fameorder ; from the impressions of plants left upon the hardest'bodies dug deep out of the earth, and in places where suchplants are not now found to grow ; and from bones of animalsboth of the land^ind sea, discovered some hundreds of yardsbeneath the present surface of the earth, and at very great dis-tances from the sea. Some philosophers explain these changesby the revolutions of comets, or other natural means: but asthe Deity has formed the universe dependent upon himself, soas to require to be altered by him, tho’ at very distant periodsof time ; it does not appear to.be a very important question toenquire whether these great changes are produced by the inter-vention of instruments, or by the fame immediate influenceswhich first gave things their form.

16. We cannot but take notice of one thing, that appearsto have been designed by the author of nature : he has madeit impossible for us to have any communication from this earthwith the other great bodies of the universe, in our presentstate ; and it is highly probable, that he has likewise cut offall communication betwixt the other planets, and betwixt thedifferent systems. We are able, by telescopes, to discover veryplainly mountains, precipices and cavities in the moon : butwho tread those precipices, or for what purposes those greatcavities (many of which have a little elevation in the - middle)

serve,