'till Wantonnefs and Pride, even in Time of Peace, and among Friends, fhall cause Strife, and hoftile Deeds. Those alfo, who are conquer'd, and enflav'd by War, fhall with their Freedom lofe all their Virtue, and all Fear of GoD; from whom (as they had but a pretended Piety) they found no Affiftance in the fharp Contest of Battle againft Invaders; therefore. grown cool in their. Zeal, they fhall thenceforward practice how to live fecure, either in a worldly or diffolute Manner, upon what their Lords and Conquerors fhall leave them to enjoy: (for the Earth fhall bear much more than enough, for the Trial of Temperance) So, all fhall turn degenerate, all fhall be deprav'd, and Justice, Temperance, Truth, and Faith be forgot; excepting No AH, (p) who fhall be the only Son of Light in that dark Age; he will be good against all bad Example, against all Allurements, Cuftoms, and an offended World: Not standing in Fear of Reproach, Scorn, or Violence, he shall admonish them of their Ways, and fet before them the Paths of Righteoufnefs, fhewing how much more fafe they are, and full of Peace; threatening Wrath to come, if they should remain impenitent; and for this teaching he fhall be derided by them. But the only just MAN alive, being obferv'd by GOD, fhall by his Command build, a wondrous Ark, (as thou haft beheld) to fave himself and his Household, from a World devoted to univerfal Ruin. No fooner fhall he, with those of MANKIND, and all living Creatures felected to preferve the Kind, be lodg'd in the Ark, and fhut in faft; but all the Cataracts of Heaven shall

(p) Noah, or Noach; Heb. i. e. A Reft. Names were given Men in thofe Days, by divine Infpiration: His Name was a Prophecy of Lamech's, that that Child fhould give Reft and Comfort to the new World, and re

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concile God to Man. Not (whom the Tatars call Nui) was born A. M. 1056, and lived 950 Years. Noah is the Ogyges, Deucalion, and Saturn of the Heathens.

be fet open, and pour Rain Day and Night upon the Earth; all the Fountains of the Deep fhall be broke up, and heave the Ocean beyond all its former Bounds; 'till an Inundation rife above the highest Hills. Then this Mount of PARADISE, by the Power of the Waves fhall be mov'd out of its Place, by the Violence of the raging Flood, with all its Verdures spoil'd, and all its Trees adrift down the great River to the main Ocean; and there take Root, and be a bare and falt Ifland, be the Haunt of Fish, aud be fill'd with the Noife of Water-Fowls; to teach thee, that GoD attributes no Holiness to Place, if none be brought thither by MEN, who frequent or dwell in it. And now behold what there is further to come to pafs.

ADAM look'd and faw the Ark floating to and fro upon the Flood, which was now abated; for the Clouds were fled away, driven by a keen NorthWind, that blowing hard and dry, began to leffen the Bulk of the Waters, and the clear Sun fhone hot upon the wide watery Deluge, (q) and drew up confiderably from the Waves; which made their Flowing fhrink, and they ebb'd foftly towards the Deep; whofe Sluices were now ftopp'd, and the Windows of Heaven fhut alfo. The Ark now floats no longer, but feems on Ground, fix'd faft on the Top of fome high Mountain (r) Now the Tops of the Hills began

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(9) Deluge; Lat. i. e. Wafbing or fweeping away; an Inundation or Overflowing of the Earth with Water. There have been several Deluges in different Countries: This was the first, an univerfal one, and the most famous in Hiftory: It was in the 600th Year of Noah, A. M. 1656. The fecond was that of Ogyges King of Thebes, which

to

laid all Attica under Water, A. M. 2185, or 2208, 1020 Years before the firit Olympiad, and in the Days of Jacob. The 3d was that of Deucalion, about 15 Years before the Children of Iƒrael departed out of Egypt. There was a violent one at Pekin, A. D. 1688.

(r) Mountain. This is call'd Ararat in Armenia, Gen. 8. 4. Some

to appear, like Rocks; from whence the rapid Currents drove their furious Tide, with great Noife and Violence, towards the retreating Sea. Forthwith a Raven (s) flies out of the Ark, and after him (what prov'd a furer Meffenger) a Dove, fent forth twice, to fee if he could find green Tree or Ground, whereon to fet her Foot; returning the fecond Time, fhe brings an Olive-leaf pluck'd off in her Mouth, which was a Sign of Peace between GOD and NOAH. After a while the dry Ground appears, and the antient juft Man defcends from his Ark with all his Train: Then, with Hands lifted up, and with devout Eyes grateful to Heaven, behold over his Head a dewy Cloud, and in the Cloud the diftinct Appearance of a Bow, of three Colours variously intermix'd, betokening Peace with GOD, and a new Covenant made with MAN; whereat the Heart of ADAM, which before had been fo fad, rejoic'd greatly, and thus he joyfully cried out :

HEAVENLY Inftructor! who canft represent future Things, as clear as if they were prefent; this last Sight revives me, feeing that it affures me, that MAN with all the Creatures fhall live, and preferve their Seed. I don't lament now for one whole World of wicked Sons being deftroy'd, fo much as I rejoice to fee one MAN fo perfect and fo juft, that GoD vouchfafes from him to raife another World, and to forget

Some call it Lubar, others Baris; fome the Cardyaan, Gerdyaan, Godochian, and others the Carduchian Mountains.

(s) Raven. A rapacious and unclean Bird, Deut. 14. 14. She was fent out firft on the 17th Day of Auguft, and on the firft Day of the Week, and forty Days after the Tops of the Mountains appeared, but did

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not return; because fhe is a ravenous Creature, and fettles upon Carcaffes, or any dirty Grounds, which the Dove doth not; and therefore she went away upon Prey, but this returned to the Ark: She was fent out of the Ark on the 24th of Auguft, and the firft Day of the Week.

all his Anger. But tell me, what mean those colour'd Streaks, that are ftretch'd out in Heaven, and look like the Brow of GOD appeas'd? Or, do they ferve as a flowery Edge, to bind the fluid Skirts of that fame watery Cloud, left it fhould diffolve and fhower down upon the Earth?

To whom the Arch-Angel made Answer: What thou haft guefs'd, is very near to the Purpose; fo willingly doth GOD remit his Anger, though fo lately he repented that he had made MAN, feeing he was become fo much deprav'd; being griev'd at his Heart, when looking down he faw the whole Earth fill'd with Violence, and all Flesh corrupt in the Imagination of their Thoughts: Yet those once remov'd, one juft MAN fhall find fuch Grace in his Sight, that he relents, and determines not to blot out MANKIND, and makes a Covenant, that the Waters fhall never become a Flood, to deftroy the Earth again, nor ever to let the Sea furpass its Bounds, nor Rain to fall fo as to drown the World, with MAN or Beast therein: But, when he brings a Cloud over the Earth, he will fet his Bow in the Clouds, and it fhall be for a Token of a Covenant between GOD and the Earth; Day and Night, Heat and Cold, Seed-time and Harveft, fhall hold their Courfe, and not ceafe; 'till the general Conflagration purge and purify both Heaven and Earth, wherein thenceforward the Juft fhall dwell for ever.

The End of the ELEVENTH Book.

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