LUCRETIUS His Six Books OF Epicurean Philosophy: AND MANILIUS His Five Books, Containing a SYSTEM OF THE Ancient Astronomy AND ASTROLOGY.  
Together with The Philosophy of the STOICS.  
Both Translated into English Verse with Notes, By Mr. THO. CREECH.  
To which is Added The Several Parts of LUCRETIUS, Englished by Mr. DRYDEN  
LONDON, Printed, and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster. MDCC   


THOMAS CREECH.    

THE PREFACE.  
TO consider the Genius of Lucretius, if he was not of the best Age of Roman Poetry, he was at lest of ●●at which preceded it; and he himself re●i●●d it to that degree of Perfection, both in the language and the Thoughts, that he left an ●●sie Task to Virgil; who, as he succeeded 〈◊〉 in time, so he copied his Excellencies: 〈◊〉 the Method of the Georgics is plainly ●●riv'd from him. Lucretius had chosen a subject naturally crabbed; he therefore adorned 〈◊〉 with Poetical Descriptions, and Precepts of morality, in the beginning and ending of his ●ooks. Which you see Virgil has imitated ●ith great Success in those four Books, ●hich in my Opinion are more perfect in their ●nd, than even his Divine▪ Aeneids. The ●●rn of his Verse he has likewise followed, in ●ose Places which Lucretius has most laboured, ●nd some of his very Lines he has transplanted in●● his own Works, without much Variation. If 〈◊〉 am not mistaken, the distinguishing Character of Lucretius; (I mean of his Soul and Genius is a certain kind of noble Pride, and positive a●● sertion of his Opinions. He is every where con●fident of his own Reason, and assuming an a●●soluts command, not only over his vulgar Reader but even his Patron Memmius. For he is anyways bidding him attend, as if he had the Ro●● over him; and using a Magisterial Authority▪ while he instructs him. From his time to our● I know none so like him as our Poet and Phi●losopher of Malmsbury. This is that perpetu●al Dictatorship, which is exercised by Lucreti●us; who though often in the wrong, yet seem● to deal bonâ fide with his Reader, and tell● him nothing but what he thinks; in which plai● sincerity I believe he differs from our Hobbs▪ who could not but be convinced, or at lest doubt of some eternal Truths which he has opposed▪ But for Lucretius, he seems to disdain all manner of Replies, and is so confident of his Cause● that he is beforehand with his Antagonists▪ Urging for them what ever he imagined they could say, and leaving them, as he supposes, without an Objection for the future. All this too, with so much Scorn and Indignation, as if he were assured of the Triumph, before he entered into ●●e Lists. From this sublime and daring Genius of his, it must of necessity come to pass, that 〈◊〉 Thoughts must be Masculine, full of Argumentation, and that sufficiently warm. From ●●e same fiery Temper proceeds the loftiness of ●is Expressions, and the perpetual torrent of ●is Verse, where the Barrenness of his Subject ●oes not too much constrain the quickness of his ●ancy. For there is no doubt to be made, but ●hat he could have been every where as Poetical ●s he is in his Descriptions, and in the Moral ●art of his Philosophy, if he had not aimed more ●o instruct in his Systeme of Nature, than to de●●ght. But he was bend upon making Memmi●s a Materialist, and teaching him to defy an invisible Power: In short, he was so much an Atheist, that he forgot sometimes to be a Poet. ●hese are the Considerations which I had of that Author, before I attempted to translate some ●arts of him. And accordingly I laid by my natural Diffidence and Scepticism for a while, ●o take up that Dogmatical way of his, which as ● said, is so much his Character, as to make him ●hat individual Poet. As for his Opinions concerning the Mortality of the Soul, they are so ab●surd, that I cannot if I would believe them. ● think a future state demonstrable even by natu●ral Arguments; at lest to take away Reward and Punishments, is only a pleasing Prospect to Man, who resolves beforehand not to live mo●rally. But on the other side, the thought 〈◊〉 being nothing after death is a Burden unsupport●able to a virtuous Man, even though a Hea● than. We naturally aim at Happiness, and can●not bear to have it confined to the shortness o● our present Being, especially when we consider that Virtue is generally unhappy in this World and Vice fortunate. So that 'tis hope of Futu●rity alone, that makes this Life tolerable, in expectation of a better. Who would not commi● all the Excesses to which he is prompted by his natural Inclinations, if he may do them with security while he is alive, and he uncapable of punishment after he is dead! if he be cunning and secret enough to avoid the Laws, there is no band of Morality of restrain him: For Fame and Reputation are weak Ties; many Men have not the lest sense of them: Powerful Men are only awed by them, as they conduce to their Interest, and that not always when a Passion is predominant; and no Man will be contained within the bounds of Duty, when he may safely transgress them. These are my Thoughts abstractedly, and without entering into the Notions of our Christian Faith, which is the proper Business of Divines.  
But there are other Arguments in this Poem (which I have turned into English) not belonging to the Mortality of the Soul, which are strong enough to a reasonable Man, to make him lesle in love with Life, and consequently in lesle apprehensions of Death. Such as are the natural Satiety, proceeding from a perpetual Enjoyment of the same things; the Inconveniences of old age, which make him incapable of corporeal pleasures; the Decay of Understanding and Memory, which tender him contemptible and useless to others; these and many other Reasons so pathetically urged, so beautifully expressed, so adorned with examples, and so admirably raised by the Prosopopeia of Nature, who is brought in speaking to her Children, with so much Authority and Vigour, deserve the pains I have taken with them, which I hope have not been unsuccesful, or unworthy of my Author. At lest I must take the liberty to own, that I was pleased with my own endeavours, which but rarely happens to me, and that I am ●ot dissatisfied upon the review▪ of any thing I have done in this Author.  
'Tis true, there is something, and that of some moment, to be objected against my Englishing the Nature of Love, from the fourth Book of Lucretius: And I can lesle easily answer why I translated it, than why I thus translated it. The Objection arises from the Obscenity of the Subject; which is aggravated by the too lively, and alluring dilicacy of the Verses. In the first place, without the lest formality of an excuse, I own it pleased me: and let my Enemies make the worst they can of this Confession; I am not yet so secure from that Passion, but that I want my Author's Antidotes against it. He has given the truest and most Philosophical account both of the Disease and Remedy, which I ever found in any Author: For which reasons I translated him. But it will be asked why I turned him into this luscious English, (for I will not give it a worse word:) instead of an answer, I would ask again of my supercilious Adversaries, whether I am not bound when I translate an Author, to do him all the right I can, and to translate him to the best advantage? If to mince his meaning, which I am satisfied was honest and instructive, I had either omitted some part of what he said, or taken from the strength of his expression, I certainly had wronged him; and that freeness of thought and words, being thus cashiered in my hands, he had not longer been Lucretius. If nothing of this kind be to be read, Physicians must not study Nature, Anatomies must not be seen; and so ●ewhat I could say of particular passages in Books, which to avoid profaneness I do not name: But the intention quali●ies the act; and both mine and my Authors were to instruct as well as please. 'Tis most certain that barefaced Bawdry is the poorest pretence to wit imaginable: If I should say otherwise, I should have two great Authorities against me: The one is the Essay on Poetry, which I publicly valued before I knew the Author of it, and with the commendation of which, my Lord Roscomon so happily gins his Essay on Translated Verse: The other is no lesle than our admired Cowley; who says the same thing in other words: For in his Ode concerning Wit he writes thus of it; 
Much lesle can that have any place  
At which a Virgin hides her Face:  
Such dross the fire must purge away; 'tis just  
The Author blush, there where the Reader must.   
Here indeed Mr. Cowley goes farther than the Essay; for he asserts plainly that obscenity has no place in Wit; the other only says, 'tis a poor pretence to it, or an ill sort of Wit, which has nothing more to support it than barefaced Ribaldry; which is both unmannerly in itself, and fulsome to the Reader. But neither of these will reach my Case: For in the first place, I am only the Translator, not the Inventor; so that the heaviest part of the Censure falls upon Lucretius, before it reaches me: In the next place neither he nor I have used the grossest words; but the cleanliest Metaphors we could found, to palliate the broadness of the meaning; and to conclude, have carried the Poetical part not farther, than the Philosophical exacted. There is one mistake of mine which I will not lay to the Printers charge, who has enough to answer for in false pointings: 'tis in the word Viper; I would have the Verse run thus, 
The Scorpion, Love, must on the wound be bruised.  There are a sort of blundering half-witted people, who make a great deal of noise about a verbal slip; though Horace would instruct them better in true Criticism: Non ego paucis offendor maculis quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parùm cavit natura. True judgement in Poetry, like that in Painting, takes a view of the whole together, whether it be good or not; and where the beauties are more than the Faults, concludes for the Poet against the little judge; 'tis a sign that malice is hard driven, when 'tis forced to lay hold on a Word or Syllable; to arraign a Man▪ is one thing, and to cavil at him is another. In the midst of an ill natured Generation of Scribblers, there is always justice enough left in Mankind, to protect good Writers: And they too are obliged, both by humanity and interest, to espouse each others Cause, against false Critics, who are the common Enemies. This last consideration puts me in mind of what I own to Mr. Creech the Ingenious and Learned Translator of Lucretius; I have not here designed to rob him of any part of that Commendation, which he has so very justly acquired by the whole Author, whose Fragments only fall to my Portion. What I have now performed, is no more than I intended above twenty years ago: The ways of our Translation are very different; he follows him more closely than I have done; which became an Interpreter of the whole Poem. I take more liberty, because it best suited with my Design which was to make him as pleasing as I could. He had been too voluminous had he used my Method in so long a Work, and I had certainly taken his, had I made it my business to Translate the whole. The preference than is justly his; and I join with Mr. Evelyn in the confession of it, with this additional advantage to him; that his Reputation is already established in this Poet, mine is to make its Fortune in the World. If I have been any where obscure, in following our common Author, or if Lucretius himself is to be condemned, I refer myself to his Mr. Creech's excellent Anotations, which I have often read, and with some always with some new pleasure.  
John Dryden▪   

SEVERAL PARTS OF ●UCRETIUS, Englished By Mr. DRYDEN.  

The Beginning of the FIRST BOOK OF LUCRETIUS.  
DElight of Human kind, and Gods above;  
Parent of Rome; Propitious Queen of Love;  
Whose Vital Power, Air, Earth and Sea supplies;  
And breeds whate'er is born beneath the rolling Skies:  
●or every kind, by thy prolifique Might,  
spring's, and beholds the Regions of the Light:  
Thee Goddess, thee, the Clouds and Tempests fear,  
And at thy pleasing Presence disappear:  
For thee the Land in fragrant Flowers is dressed,  
For thee the Ocean smiles, and smooths her wavy Breast;  
And Heaven itself with more serene and purer Light is blest.  
For when the rising Spring adorns the Mead,  
And a new Scene of Nature stands displayed,  
When teeming Budds, and cheerful Greene's appear,  
And Western Gales unlock the lazy Year,  
The joyous Birds thy Welcome first express,  
Whose native Songs thy genial Fire confess:  
Than savage Beasts bound o'er their slighted Food,  
Struck with thy Darts, and tempt the raging Flood  
All Nature is thy Gift; Earth, Air and Sea,  
Of all that breathes, the various Progeny,  
Stung with delight, is goaded on by thee.  
O'er barren Mountains, o'er the flowery Plain,  
The levy Forest, and the liquid Main  
Ext●nds thy uncontrolled and boundless reign.  
Through all the living Regions dost thou move,  
And scatter'st, where thou goest, the kindly Seeds of Love:  
Since than the race of every living thing,  
Obeys thy power; since nothing new can spring  
Without thy Warmth, without thy Influence bear,  
Or beautiful or lovesome can appear,  
Be thou my Aid: my tuneful Song inspire,  
And kindle with thy own productive Fire;  
While all thy Province Nature I surveyed,  
And sing to Memmius an immortal Lay  
Of Heaven, and Earth, and every where thy wondrous power display.  
To Memmius, under thy sweet influence born,  
Whom thou with all thy Gi●t, and Graces dost adorn.  
The rather than assist my Muse and me▪  
Infusing Verses worthy him and thee.  
Mean time on Land and Sea let barbarous discord cease,  
And lull the listening World in universal Peace▪  
To thee, Mankind their soft Repose must own,  
For thou alone that Blessing canst bestow;  
Because the brutal Business of the War  
Is managed by thy dreadful Servant's Care:  
Who often retires from fight Fields to prove  
The pleasing Pains of thy eternal Love:  
And panting on thy Breast, supinely lies,  
While with thy heavenly Form he feeds his famished Eyes:  
Sucks in with open Lips thy balmy Breath,  
By turns restored to life, and plunged in pleasing death.  
There while thy curling Limbs about him move,  
Involved and fettered in the links of Love,  
When wishing all, he nothing can deny,  
Thy Charms in that auspicious moment try;  
With winning Eloquence our P●ace implore,  
And Quiet to the weary World restore.   

The Beginning of the SECOND BOOK OF LUCRETIUS.  
Suave Mari magno, etc.  
'TIS pleasant, safely to behold from shore  
The rolling Ship; and hear the Tempest roar▪  
Not that another's Pain is our delight;  
But Pains unfelt, produce the pleasing sight.  
'Tis pleasant also to behold from far  
The moving Legions mingled in the War:  
But much more sweet thy labouring Steps to guide,  
To Virtue's heights with Wisdom well supplied,  
And all the Magazines of Learning fortified:  
From thence to look below on human kind,  
Bewildered in the Maze of Life, and blind:  
To see vain Fools ambitiously contend  
For Wit and Power; their lost endeavours bend  
T'outshine each other, waste their time and health,  
In search of Honour, and pursuit of Wealth.  
O wretched Man! in what a mist of Life,  
Enclosed with Dangers and with noisy Strife,  
He spends his little Span: And over-feeds  
His crammed Desires with more than Nature needs:  
For Nature wisely stints our Appetite,  
And craves no more than undisturbed Delight;  
Which Minds unmixed with cares and fears obtain;  
A Soul serene, a Body voided of pain.  
So little this corporeal Frame requires;  
So bounded are our natural Desires,  
That wanting all, and setting Pain● aside,  
With bore privation Sense is satisfied.  
If Golden Sconces hung not on the Walls,  
To light the costly Suppers and the Balls;  
If the proud Palace shines not with the state  
Of burnished Bowls, and of reflected Plate,  
If well-tuned Harps, nor the more pleasing Sound  
Of Voices, from the vaulted Roofs rebound;  
Yet on the Grass beneath a poplar Shade,  
By the cool Stream, our careless limbs are laid,  
With cheaper Pleasures innocently blest,  
When the warm Spring with gaudy flowers is dressed  
Nor will the raging Fever's fire abate,  
With Golden Canopies and Beds of State:  
But the poor Patient will as soon be sound,  
On the hard mattress, or the Mother ground.  
Than since our Bodies are not eased the more▪  
By Birt●, or Power, or Fortune's wealth store,  
'Tis plain, these useless Toys of every kind  
As little can relieve the labouring mind:  
Unless we could suppose the dreadful sight  
Of marshaled Legions, moving to the Fight  
Could with their sound, and terrible Array  
Expel our fears, and drive the thoughts of death away;  
But since the Supposition vain appears,  
Since clinging Cares and trains of inbred Fears,  
Are not with Sounds to be affrighted thence,  
But in the midst of Pomp pursue the Prince,  
Not awed by Arms, but in the presence bold,  
Without respect to Purple, or to Gold;  
Why should not we these Pageantries despise,  
Whose worth but in our want of reason lies?  
For Life is all in wand'ring errors led;  
And just as Children are surprised with Dread,  
And tremble in the dark, so riper years  
Even in broad daylight are possessed with fears▪  
And shake at Shadows fanciful and vain,  
As those which in the breasts of Children reign▪  
These Bugbears of the Mind, this inward Hell,  
No Rays of outward Sunshine can dispel;  
But Nature and right Reason, must display  
Their beams abroad, and bring the darksome Soul to day.   

THE Latter Part of the Third Book OF LUCRETIUS; Against the Fear of Death.  
WHat has this Bugbear Death to frighten Man,  
If Souls can die, as well as Bodies can?  
For, as before our Birth we felt no pain  
When Punic arms infested Land and Main,  
When Heaven and Earth were in confusion hurled  
For the debated Empire of the World,  
Which awed with dreadful expectation lay,  
Sure to be Slaves, uncertain who should sway:  
So when our mortal Frame shall be disjoined,  
The lifeless Lump, uncoupled from the mind,  
From sense of grief and pain we shall be free;  
We shall not feel, because we shall not Be.  
Though Earth in Seas, and Seas in Heaven were lost,  
We should not move, we only should be to●t.  
Nay, even suppose when we have suffered Fate,  
The Soul could feel in her divided state,  
What's that to us, for we are only we  
While Souls and bodies in, one frame agreed?  
Nay, tho' our Atoms should revolve by chanc●,  
And matter leap into the former dance;  
Thou time our Life and Motion could restore,  
And make our Bodies what they were before,  
What gain to us would all this bustle bring,  
The new made man would be another thing;  
When once an interrupting pause is made,  
That individual Being is decayed.  
We, who are dead and gone, shall bear no part  
In all the pleasures nor shall feel the smart,  
Which to that other Mortal shall accrue,  
Whom of our matter Time shall mould anew.  
For backward if you look, on that long space  
Of Ages past, and view the changing face  
Of Matter, tossed and variously combined  
In sundry shapes, 'tis easy for the mind  
From thence t' infer, that Seeds of Things have been  
In the same order as they now are seen:  
Which yet our dark remembrance cannot trace,  
Because a pause of Life, a gaping space  
Has come betwixt, where memory lies dead,  
And all the wand'ring motions from the sense are ●led.  
For who so ' ere shall in misfortunes live  
Must Be, when those misfortunes shall arrive;  
And since the Man who Is not, feels not woe.  
(For death exempts him, and wards of the blow,  
Which we, the living, only feel and bear)  
What is there left for us in death to fear?  
When once that pause of life has come between,  
'Tis just the same as we had never been.  
And therefore if a Man bemoan his lot,  
That after death his mouldering limbs shall rot,  
Or flames, or jaws of Beasts devour his Mass,  
Know he's an unsincere, unthinking Ass.  
A secret sting remains within his mind,  
The fool is to his own cast offals kind;  
He boasts no sense can after death remain,  
Yet makes himself a part of life again,  
As if some other He could feel the pain.  
If while he live, this thought molest his head,  
What Wolf or Vulture shall devour me dead,  
He wastes his days in idle grief, nor can  
Distinguish 'twixt the Body and the Man▪  
But thinks himself can ●till himself survive;  
And what when dead he feels not, feels alive.  
Than he repines that he was born to die,  
Nor knows in death there is no other He,  
No living He remains his grief to vent;  
And o'er his senseless Carcase to lament.  
If after death 'tis painful to be torn  
By Birds and Beasts, than why not so to burn,  
Or drenched in floods of honey to be soaked,  
Embalmed to be at once preserved and choked;  
Or on an airy Mountain's top to lie  
Exposed to cold and Heaven's inclemency,  
Or crowded in a Tomb to be oppressed  
With Monumental Marble on thy breast?  
But to be snatched from all thy household joys,  
From thy chaste Wife, and thy dear prattling Boys,  
Whose little Arms about thy Legs are cast,  
And climbing for a Kiss prevent their Mother's haste,  
Inspiring secret pleasure through thy Breast,  
All these shall be not more: thy Friends oppressed,  
Thy Care and Courage now no more shall free:  
Ah Wretch, thou criest, ah! miserable me,  
One woeful day sweeps Children, Friends, and Wife,  
And all the brittle Blessings of my life!  
Add one thing more, and all thou sayest is true;  
Thy want and wish of them is vanished too,  
Which well considered were a quick relief,  
To all thy vain imaginary grief.  
For thou shalt sleep and never wake again,  
And quitting life, shall quit thy living pain.  
But we thy friends shall all those sorrows found,  
Which in forgetful Death thou leav'st behind,  
No time shall dry our tears, nor drive thee from our mind.  
The worst that can befall thee, measured right,  
Is a sound slumber, and a long good night.  
Yet thus the fools, that would be thought the Wits,  
Disturb their mirth with melancholy fits,  
When Healths go round, and kindly brimmers flow,  
Till the fresh Garlands on their foreheads glow,  
They whine, and cry, let us make haste to live,  
Short are the joys that human life can give.  
Eternal Preachers that corrupt the draught,  
And palls the God that never thinks, with thought,  
Idiots with all that thought, to whom the worst  
Of death, is want of drink, and endless thirst,  
Or any fond desire as vain as these.  
For even in sleep, the body wrapped in ease,  
Supinely lies, as in the peaceful grave,  
And wanting nothing, nothing can it crave.  
Were that sound sleep eternal it were death,  
Yet the first Atoms than, the seeds of breath,  
Are moving near to sense, we do but shake  
And rouse that sense, and strait we are awake.  
Than death to us, and death's anxiety  
Is lesle than nothing, if a lesle could be.  
For than our Atoms, which in order lay,  
Are scattered from their heap, and puffed away,  
And never can return into their place,  
When once the pause of Life has left an empty space.  
And last, suppose Great Nature's Voice shall call  
To thee, or me, or any of us all,  
What dost thou mean, ungrateful wretch, thou vain,  
Thou mortal thing, thus idly to complain,  
And sigh and sob, that thou shalt be no more?  
For if thy life were pleasant heretofore;  
If all the bounteous blessings I could give  
Thou hast enjoyed, if thou hast known to live,  
And pleasure not leaked through thee like a Seive,  
Why dost thou not give thanks as at a plenteous Feast,  
Crammed to the throat with life, and rise and take thy rest?  
But if my Blessings thou hast thrown away,  
If indigested joys passed through and would not stay,  
Why dost thou wish for more to squander still;  
If Life be grown a load, a real ill,  
And I would all thy cares and labours end,  
Lay down thy burden fool, and know thy friend.  
To please thee I have emptied all my store,  
I can invent, and can supply not more;  
But run the round again, the round I ran before.  
Suppose thou art not broken yet with years,  
Yet still the self same Scene of Things appears,  
And would be ever, couldst thou ever live;  
For▪ life is still but Life, there's nothing new to giust▪  
What can we pled against so just a Bill?  
We stand convicted, and our Cause goes ill.  
But if a wretch, a man oppressed by fate,  
Should beg of Nature to prolong his date,  
She speaks aloud to him with more disdain,  
Be still thou Martyr fool, thou covetous of pain.  
But if an old decrepit Sot lament;  
What thou (She cries) who hast outlived content!  
Dost thou complain, who hast enjoyed my store?  
But this is still th' effect of wishing more!  
Unsatisfied with all that nature brings;  
Loathing the present, liking absent things:  
From hence it comes thy vain desires at strife  
Within themselves have tantalised thy Life,  
And ghastly death appeared before thy sight  
ere thou hadst gorged thy Soul, and senses with delight.  
Now leave those joys unsuiting to thy age,  
To a fresh Comer, and resign the Stage.  
Is Nature to be blamed if thus she chide?  
Not sure; for 'tis her business to provide  
Against this ever changing Frames decay,  
New things to come and old to pass away.  
One Being worn, another Being makes;  
Changed but not lost; for Nature gives and takes:  
New matter must be found for things to come,  
And these must waste like those, and follow Nature's doom.  
All things, like thee, have time to rise and rot;  
And from each others ruin are begot;  
For life is not con●●n'd to him or thee;  
'Tis given to all for use; to none for Property.  
Consider former Ages past and gone,  
Whose Circles ended long ere thine begun,  
Than tell me Fool, what part in them thou hast?  
Thus may'st thou judge the future by the past.  
What horror seest thou in that quiet state,  
What Bugbear dreams to fright thee after Fate;  
No Ghost, no Goblins that still passage keep,  
But all is there serene, in that eternal sleep.  
For all the dismal Tales that Poets tell,  
Are verified on Earth, and not in Hell.  
Not Tantalus looks up with fearful eye,  
Or dreads th' impending Rock to crush him from on high:  
But fear of Chance on earth disturbs our easy hours:  
Or vain imagined wrath, of vain imagined Powers.  
Not Ti●yus torn by Vultures lies in Hell;  
Nor could the Lobes of his rank Liver swell  
To that prodigious Mass for their eternal meal.  
Not tho' his monstrous bulk had covered o'er  
Nine spreading Acres, or nine thousand more;  
Not tho' the Globe of earth had been the Giant's floor.  
Nor in eternal torments could he lie;  
Nor could his Corpse sufficient food supply.  
But he's the Tityus, who by Love oppressed,  
Or Tyrant Passion preying on his Breast,  
And ever anxious thoughts is robbed of rest.  
The Sisyphus is he, who● noise and strife  
Seduce from all the soft retreats of life,  
To vex the Government, disturb the Laws,  
Drunk with the Fumes of popular applause,  
He courts the giddy Crowd to make him great,  
And sweats and toils in vain to mount the sovereign Seat.  
For still to aim at power, and still to fail,  
Ever to strive, and never to prevail,  
What is it, but in Reasons true account  
To heave the Stone against the rising Mount;  
Which urged, and laboured, and forced up with pain,  
Recoils, and rowls impetuous down, and smokes along the Plain.  
Than still to treat thy ever-craving Mind  
With every blessing, and of every kind,  
Yet never fill thy ravening Appetite,  
Though years and seasons vary thy delight,  
Yet nothing to be seen of all the store,  
But still the Wolf within thee barks for more:  
This is the Fables Moral, which they tell  
Of fifty foolish Virgins damned in Hell,  
To leaky Vessels, which the Liquor spill;  
To Vessels of their Sex, which none could ever fill.  
As for the Dog, the Furies and their Snakes,  
The gloomy Caverns and the burning Lakes,  
And all the vain infernal Trumpery,  
They neither are, nor were, nor e'er can be.  
But here on Earth the guilty have in view  
The mighty Pains to mighty Mischiefs due:  
Racks, Prisons, Poisons, the Tarpeian Rock,  
Str●pes▪ Hangmen, Pitch, and suffocating Smoke,  
And last, and most, if these were cast behind,  
Th' avenging Horror of a conscious Mind,  
Whose deadly Fear anticipates the Blow,  
And sees no end of Punishment and Woe:  
But looks for more at the last Gasp of Breath:  
This makes an Hell on Earth, and Life a Death.  
Mean time, when thoughts of death disturb thy Head;  
Consider, Ancus great and good is dead;  
Ancus thy better far, was born to die,  
And thou, dost thou bewail mortality?  
So many Monarches with their mighty State,  
Who ruled the Worled, were overruled by Fate.  
That haughty King who Lorded o'er the Main,  
And whose stupendous Bridge did the wild Waves restrain,  
(In vain they foamed, i● vain they threatened wreck,  
While his proud Legions marched upon their back:)  
Him Death, a greater Monarch, overcame;  
Nor spared his Guards the more for their immortal Name.  
The Roman Chief, the Carthaginian Dread,  
Scipio, the Thunderbolt of War, is dead,  
And like a common Slave, by Fate in triumph led.  
The Founders of invented Arts are lost;  
And Wits who made Eternity their boast;  
Where now is Homer, who possessed the Throne?  
Th' immortal Work remains, the mortal Author's gone.  
Democritus perceiving Age invade,  
His Body weakened, and his Mind decayed,  
Obeyed the Summons with a cheerful Face;  
Made haste to welcome Death, and met him half the race.  
That Stroke, even Epicurus could not bar,  
Though he in Wit surpassed Mankind, as far  
As does the midday Sun, the midnight Star.  
And thou, dost thou disdain to yield thy Breath,  
Whose very Life is little more than Death?  
Moore than one half by lazy Sleep possessed;  
And when awake, thy Soul but nods at best,  
Day-Dreams and sickly thoughts revolving in thy Breast.  
Eternal Troubles haunt thy anxious Mind,  
Whose Cause and Cure thou never hop'st to found;  
But still uncertain, with thyself at strife,  
Thou wanderest in the Labyrinth of Life▪  
O, if the foolish Race of Man, who found  
A weight of Cares still pressing on their mind,  
Could found as well the Cause of this Unrest,  
And all this Burden lodged within the Breast,  
Sure they would change their course; nor live as now,  
Uncertain what to wish, or what to vow.  
Uneasy both in Country and in Town,  
They search a Place to lay their Burden down.  
One restless in his Palace, walks abroad,  
And vainly thinks to leave behind the Load.  
But strait returns; for he's as restless there;  
And finds there's no relief in open Air.  
Another to his Villa would retire,  
And spurs as hard as if it were on fire;  
Not sooner entered at his Country Door,  
But he gins to stretch, and yawn, and snore;  
Or seeks the City which he left before.  
Thus every Man o'erworks his weary Will,  
To eat himself, and to shake of his ill;  
The shaking fit returns, and hangs upon him still.  
No prospect of Repose, nor hope of Ease;  
The Wretch is ignorant of his Disease;  
Which known, would all his fruitless Trouble spare;  
For he would know the World not worth his care:  
Than would he search more deeply for the cause;  
And study Nature well, and Nature's Laws:  
For in this Moment lies not the Debate;  
But on our future, fixed, eternal State▪  
That never-changing state which all must keep,  
Whom Death has doomed to everlasting sleep.  
Why are we than so fond of mortal Life,  
Beset with Dangers and maintained with Strife.  
A Life which all our Care can never save;  
One Fate attends us, and one common Grave.  
Besides we tread but a perpetual round,  
We ne'er strike out; but beaten the former ground,  
And the same mawkish joys in the same tract are found.  
For still we think an absent Blessing best;  
Which cloys, and is no Blessing when possessed;  
A new arising Wish expels it from the Breast.  
The feverish Thirst of Life increases still;  
We call for more and more, and never have our fill:  
Yet know not what to morrow we shall try,  
What dregss of Life in the last Draught may lie.  
Nor, by the longest Life we can attain,  
One Moment from the length of Death we gain;  
For all behind belongs to his eternal Reign.  
When once the Fates have cut the mortal Thread,  
The Man as much to all intents is dead,  
Who dies to day, and will as long be so,  
As he who died a thous●●d years ago.   

THE FOURTH BOOK OF LUCRETIUS Concerning the Nature of Love.  
Beginning at this Line,  
Sic igitur, Veneris qui telis accipit ictum, etc.  
THUS therefore, he who feels the fiery Dart  
Of strong Desire transfix his amorous Heart,  
Whether some beauteous Boy's alluring Face,  
Or lovelier Maid with unresisted Grace,  
From her each part the winged arrow sends,  
And whence he first was struck, he thither tends.  
Restless he roams, impatient to be freed,  
And eager to inject the sprightly Seed.  
For fierce Desire does all his mind employ,  
And ardent Love assures approaching Joy.  
Such is the nature of that pleasing Smart,  
Whose burning Drops distil upon the Heart,  
The Fever of the Soul shot from the fair,  
And the cold Ague of succeeding Care.  
If absent, her Idea still appears;  
And her sweet Name is chiming in your Ears:  
But strive those pleasing Phantoms to rem ●●ove,  
And eat th' Aerial Images of Love  
That feed the Flame: When one molests thy mind  
Discharge thy Loins on all the leaky kind;  
For that's a wiser way than to restrain,  
Within thy swelling Nerves, that hoard of Pain.  
For every Hour some deadlier Symptom shows,  
And by delay the gathering Venom grows,  
When kindly Applications are not used;  
The Viper Love must on the Wound be bruised.  
On that one Object 'tis not safe to stay,  
But force the Tide of Thought some other way:  
The squandered Spirits prodigally throw,  
And in the common Glebe of Nature sow.  
Nor wants he all the Bliss that Lovers feign,  
Who takes the Pleasure, and avoids the Pain;  
For purer Joys in purer Health abound,  
And lesle affect the sickly than the sound.  
When Love its utmost Vigour does employ,  
Even than 'tis but a restless wand'ring Joy:  
Nor knows the Lover, in that wild Excess,  
With Hands or Eyes, what first he would possess:  
But strains at all; and fastening where he strains,  
Too closely presses with his frantic Pains:  
With biting Kisses hurts the twining Fair,  
Which shows his Joys imperfect, unsincere:  
For stung with inward Rage, he slings around,  
And strives t'avenge the Smart on that which gave the Wound.  
But Love those eager Bi●ings does restrain,  
And mingling Pleasure, mollities the Pain.  
For ardent Hope still flatters anxious Grief,  
And sends him to his Foe to seek Relief:  
Which yet the nature of the thing denies;  
For Love, and Love alone of all our Joys  
By full Possession does but ●●n the fire;  
The more we still enjoy, the more we still desire.  
Nature for Meat and Drink provides a space;  
And when received, they fill their certain place:  
Hence Thirst and Hunger may be satisfied,  
But this Repletion is to Love denied:  
Form, Feature, Colour, whatsoe'er Delight  
Provokes the Lover's endless Appetite;  
These fill no Space; nor can we thence remove  
With Lips, or Hands, or all our Instruments of Love:  
In our deluded Grasp we nothing found,  
But thin aerial Shapes that fleet before the Mind.  
As he who in a Dream with Drought is cursed,  
And finds no real Drink to quench his Thirst,  
Runs to imagined Lakes his heat to steep,  
And vainly swills and labours in his Sleep:  
So Love with Phantoms cheats our longing Eyes,  
Which hourly seeing, never satisfies;  
Our Hands pull nothing from the Parts they strain,  
But wander over the lovely Limbs in vain:  
Nor when the youthful Pair more closely join,  
When Hands in Hands they lock, and Thighs in Thighs they twine,  
Just in the raging Foam of full Desire,  
When both press on, both murmur, both expire,  
They gripe, they squeeze, their humid Tongues they dart,  
As each would ●orce their way to tother's Heart:  
In vain; they only cruize about the Coast,  
For Bodies cannot pierce, nor be in Bodies lost:  
As sure they strive to be, when both engage  
In that tumultuous momentany Rage;  
So tangled in the Nets of Love they lie,  
Till Man dissolves in that excess of Joy.  
Than, when the gathered Bag has burst its way,  
And ebbing Tides the slackened Nerves betray,  
A Pause ensues; and Nature nods a while,  
Till with recruited Rage new Spirits boil;  
And than the same vain Violence returns,  
With Flames renewed, th' erected Furnace burns.  
Again they in each other would be lost,  
But still by adamantine Bars are crossed:  
All ways they try, successless all they prove,  
To cure the secret Sore of lingering Love.  
Besides—  
They waste their Strength in the venereal Strife,  
And to a Woman's Will enslave their Life:  
Th' Estate runs out, and Mortgages are made,  
All Offices of Friendship are decayed;  
Their Fortune ruin'd, and their Fame betrayed.  
Assyrian Ointment from their Temples flows,  
And Diamond Buckles sparkle at their Shoes.  
The cheerful Em'rald twinkles on their Hands,  
With all the Luxury of Foreign Lands:  
And the blue Coat that with Imbroi●●'ry shines,  
Is drunk with Sweat of their o'er-laboured Loins.  
Their frugal Father's Gains they mis-employ,  
And turn to Point, and Pearl, and every female Toy.  
French Fashions, costly Treats, are ●heir Delight;  
The Park by Day, and Plays and Balls by Night.  
In vain:—  
For in the Fountain where the Sweets are sought,  
Some bitter bubbles up, and poisons all the Draught.  
First guilty Conscience does the Mirror bring;  
Than sharp Remorse shoots our her angry Sting,  
And anxious Thoughts within themselves at strife,  
Upbraid the long misspent luxurious Life.  
Perhaps the fickle Fair One proves unkind,  
Or drops a doubtful Word, that pains his Mind;  
And leaves a rankling Jealousy behind.  
Perhaps he watch's close her amorous Eyes,  
And in the Act of ogling does surprise;  
And thinks he sees upon her Cheeks the while,  
The dimpled Tracks of some foregoing Smile;  
His raging Pulse beats thick, and his penned Spirits boil.  
This is the Product, even of prosperous Love,  
Think than what Pangs disastrous Passions prove!  
Innumerable Ills; Disdain, Despair,  
With all the meager Family of Care.  
Thus, as I said, 'tis better to prevent,  
Than flatter the Disease, and late repent;  
Because to eat th' Allurement, is not hard,  
To Minds resolved, forewarned and well prepared:  
But wondrous difficult, when once beset,  
To struggle through the Streights, and break th' involving Net.  
Yet thus ensnared, thy Freedom thou may'st gain,  
If, like a Fool, thou dost not hug thy Chain;  
If not to Ruin obstinately blind,  
And wilfully endeav'ring not to found  
Her plain Defects of Body and of Mind.  
For thus the Bedlam Train of Lovers use,  
T' enhance the Value, and the Faults excuse.  
And therefore 'tis no wonder if we see  
They dote on Dowdies and Deformity:  
Even what they cannot praise, they will not blame,  
But veil with some extenuating Name:  
The Sallow Skin is for the Swarthy put,  
And Love can make a Slattern of a Slut:  
If Cat-eyed, than a Pallas is their Love;  
If freckled, she's a particoloured Dove:  
If little, than she's Life and Soul all o'er;  
An Amazon, the large two-handed Whore:  
She stammers, o, what grace in Lisping lies;  
If she says nothing, to be sure she's wise.  
If shrill, and with a Voice to drown a Choir,  
Sharp-witted she must be, and full of Fire.  
The lean consumptive Wench with Coughs decayed,  
Is called a pretty, tied, and slender Maid.  
Th' overgrown a goodly Ceres is expressed,  
A Bed-fellow for Bacchus at the lest:  
Flat Nose the Name of satire never misses,  
And hanging blobber Lips but pout for Kisses.  
The Task were endless all the rest to trace:  
Yet grant she were a Venus for her Face,  
And Shape, yet others equal Beauty share;  
And time was you could live without the Fair.  
She does no more in that for which you woe,  
Than homelier Women full as well can do.  
Besides, she daubs, and stinks so much of Paint,  
Her own Attendants cannot bear the Scent;  
But laugh behind, and by't their Lips to hold.  
Mean time excluded, and exposed to Cold,  
The whining Lover stands before the Gates,  
And there with humble Adoration waits,  
Crowning with Flowers the Threshold and the Floor,  
And printing Kisses on th' obdurate Door:  
Who, if admitted in that nick of time,  
If some unsavoury Whiff betray the Crime,  
Invents a Quarrel strait, if there be none,  
Or makes some slight Excuses to be gone;  
And calls himself a doting Fool to serve,  
Ascribing more than Woman can deserve.  
Which well they understand like cunning Queans;  
And hid their Nastiness behind the Scenes  
From him they have allured, and would retain,  
But to a piercing Eye 'tis all in vain:  
For common Sense brings all their Cheats to view,  
And the false Light discovers by the true:  
Which a wise Harlot owns, and hopes to found  
A Pardon for Defects that run through all the kind.  
Nor always do they feign the Sweets of Love,  
When round the panting Youth their pliant Limbs they move;  
And cling, and heave, and moisten every Kiss;  
They often share, and more than share the Bliss:  
From every part, even to their inmost Soul,  
They feel the trickling Joys, and run with Vigour to the Goal.  
Stirred with the same impetuous Desire,  
Birds, Beasts, and Herds, and Mares, their Males require:  
Because the throbbing Nature in their Veins  
Provokes them to assuage their kindly Pains:  
The lusty Leap th' expecting Female stands,  
By mutual Heat compelled to mutual Bands.  
Thus Dogs with lolling Tongues by Love are tied;  
Nor shouting Boys, nor Blows their Union can divide:  
At either End they strive the Link to lose;  
In vain; for stronger Venus holds the Noose.  
Which never would those wretched Lovers do,  
But that the common Heats of Love they know;  
The pleasure therefore must be shared in common too.  
And when the Woman's more prevailing Juice  
Sucks in the Man's, the Mixture will produce  
The Mother's Likeness; when the Man prevails,  
His own Resemblance in the Seed he seals.  
But when we see the new begotten Race  
Reflect the Features of each Parent's Face,  
Than of the Father's and the Mother's Blood,  
The justly tempered Seed is understood:  
When both conspire, with equal Ardour bend,  
From every Limb the due proportion sent,  
When neither Party foils, when neither foiled,  
This gives the blended Features of the Child.  
Sometimes the Boy the Grandsire's Image bears;  
Sometimes the more remote Progenitor he shares;  
Because the genial Atoms of the Seed  
Lie long concealed ' ere they exert the Breed:  
And after sundry Ages passed, produce  
The tardy Likeness of the latent Juice.  
Hence Families such different figures take,  
And represent their Ancestors in Face, and Hair, and Make.  
Because of the same Seed, the Voice, and Hair,  
And Shape, and Face, and other Members are;  
And the same antique Mould the Likeness does prepare.  
Thus often the Father's Likeness does prevail  
In Females, and the Mother's in the Male.  
For since the Seed is of a double kind,  
From that where we the most Resemblance found,  
We may conclude the strongest Tincture sent,  
And that was in Conception prevalent.  
Nor can the vain Decrees of Powers above  
Deny Production to the Act of Love,  
Or hinder Fathers of that happy Name,  
Or with a barren Womb the Matron shame;  
As many think, who stain with Victims Blood  
The mournful Altars, and with Incense load:  
To bless the show'ry Seed with future Life,  
And to impregnate the well-laboured Wife.  
In vain they weary Heaven with Prayer, or fly  
To Oracles, or magic Numbers try:  
For Barrenness of Sexes will proceed,  
Either from too condensed or wat'ry Seed;  
The wat'ry Juice too soon dissolves away,  
And in the Parts projected will not stay:  
The too condensed, unsould, unwieldy Mass  
Drops short, nor carries to the destined Place;  
Nor pierces to the Parts; nor, tho' injected home,  
Will mingle with the kindly Moisture of the Womb.  
For Nuptials are unlike in their Success,  
Some Men with fruitful Seed some Women bless;  
And from some Men some Women fruitful are;  
Just as their Constitutions join or jar:  
And many seeming barren Wives have been,  
Who, after matched with more prolific Men,  
Have filled a Family with prattling Boys:  
And many not supplied at home with Joys,  
Have found a Friend abroad to ease their Smart,  
And to perform the sapless Husband's Part.  
So much it does import, that Seed with Seed  
Should of the kindly Mixture make the Breed:  
And thick with thin, and thin with thick should join,  
So to produce and propagate the Line.  
Of such concernment too is Drink and Food,  
TO incrassate or attenuate the Blood.  
Of like importance is the Posture too,  
In which the genial Feat of Love we do:  
For as the Females of the four-foot Kind  
Receive the Leaping of their Males behind;  
So the good Wives, with Loins up-lifted high,  
And 〈◊〉 on their Hands, the fruitful Stroke may try:  
For in that Posture will they best conceive:  
Not when supinely laid, they friskings and heave;  
For active Motions only break the Blow,  
And more of Strumpets than of Wives they show;  
When answering Struck with Stroke the mingled Liquors flow.  
Endearments eager, and too brisk a Bound  
Throws of the Ploughshare from the furrowed Ground.  
But common Harlots in Conjunction heave;  
Because 'tis lesle their Business to conceive  
Than to delight, and to provoke the Deed;  
A Trick which honest Wives but little need.  
Nor is it from the Gods, or Cupid's Dart,  
That many a homely Woman takes the Heart;  
But Wives well-humoured, dutiful, and chaste,  
And clean, will hold their wandering Husbands fast,  
Such are the Links of Love, and such a Love will last.  
For what remains, long Habitude and Use,  
Will Kindness in domestic Bands produce:  
For Custom will a strong impression leave;  
Hard Bodies, which the lightest Stroke receive,  
In length of time will moulder and decay,  
And Stones with Drops of Rain are washed away.   

From the FIFTH BOOK OF LUCRETIUS.  
Tum porro puer, etc.  
THus like a Sailor by the Tempest hurled  
A shore, the Babe is shipwrecked on the World:  
Naked he lies, and ready to expire;  
Helpless of all that human Wants require:  
Exposed upon unhospitable Earth,  
From the first Moment of his hapless Birth.  
Straight with foreboding Cries he fills the Room,  
(Too true Presages of his future Doom.)  
But Flocks, and Herds, and every savage Beast  
By more indulgent Nature are increased.  
They want no Rattles for their froward mood,  
Nor Nurse to reconcile them to their Food  
With broken Words; nor Winter Blasts they fear,  
Nor change their Habits with the changing Year:  
Nor, for their Safety, Citadels prepare;  
Nor forge the wicked Instruments of War:  
Unlaboured Earth her bounteous Treasure grants,  
And Nature's lavish Hands supply their common Wants.  
FINIS.    

  

Titus Lucretius Carus His Six Books OF Epicurean Philosophy: Done into ENGLISH VERSE, WITH NOTES  
The Fifth Edition.  
— Demetri, Teque Tigelli  
Discipulorum inter jubeo plorare Cathedras;  
I, Puer, atque meo citushaec subscribe libello.  
LONDON, Printed for T. Braddyll, and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster. 1700.   

TO His Highly Esteemed Friend George Pitt Junior, of Stratfield-Sea, Esq  
SIR,  
THis hath had the good Fortune to wait on you so often, that it must now be grown somewhat familiar and acquainted, which will excuse you from a considerable part of the trouble of being told what it is, and why it presumes on your Protection. And certainly, Sir, you had been wholly freed, if it were not pleasant, now I am safe on Shore, to look back, and smile at the impotent Malice of that Sea that tossed me, and gratefully acknowledge his Goodness to whom I stand principally indebted for my Safety. Envy, Sir, according to the usual description, bears a very frightful Figure; Thin, Pale, Meager is her Face, and Whips and Snakes her Ornaments; such the Painters draw, such the Tragedians represent her; and who than, Sir, would be acquainted with so ghastly a Vice? who in love with Deformity itself? Not, we must guests from her general influence on Mankind, that this Picture shows but one side, the other is smooth and gay, smiling and as well dressed as Flattery. As it carries the Poison of a Serpent, so it hath the shining of its Scales, and creeps with as little Noise. I could point out some, were it safe, whom you must acknowledge sat for this very Draught, who threw a Snake or two to envenom every Line, and than cried out against it as noxious in itself, and full of its own Poison; but that design failing, a thousand little Stories came abroad, and innumerable personal Reflections; each Man clapped together what he thought was worst, and made a more ridiculous Composure than Horace's Painter could have contrived from all the various Parts of the Creation: So that when I looked upon myself as I came from their Hands, Heavens! How much was I changed from your old Acquaintance! Some should be mentioned, could I perpetuate their Folly without injury to myself; but there is so close a Connexion, that I cannot venture them but in such private Entertainments as you are pleased now and than to divert yourself withal: These were pretty sure Cards, but they wanted Art to Play the Game, and therefore the other Face was turned, and all seemed fair and pleasant to look upon: Fame attended me forsooth, and my flying Daphne was presently changed into a Laurel: And this, Sir, ●ad almost enticed me to a Precipice; till your judgement discovered, and your Kindness showed me the Danger; till I received Instructions how to avoid the present and prevent future Practices; till you were pleased, to innumerable others, to add this Obligation of my safety, and preserve me in condition to be entirely,  
Wadham College, August the 12th, 1683. Your Humble Servant Thomas Creech.   

THE LIFE OF LUCRETIUS.  
THE present design doth not require an exact search into the rise of Philosophy, nor a nice Enquiry, whether it began amongst the Brachmans', and thence (as 
* In Fugitivis.  Lucian ranks the Countries) visited Ethiopia, Egypt, Scythia, Thrace and Greece; or whether Curiosity or Necessity was the Parent; the advantageousness of the Plains invited the Chaldeans to Astronomy, and the overflowing of Nile, forced the Egyptians to be curious in the Properties of Figures: But I shall take it for granted, that it came from the East; and This (not to mention 
† In Praefat.  Laertius his weak oppositions) the Travels of Thales, and Pythagoras, of Democritus, Plato, and others sufficiently evince: And the Egyptians affirm These men's several Methods of Philosophy to be their notions disguised, dressed after a Greek fashion, and in that Garb proposed to their Admirers: And thus 'tis probable Democritus received his Notions from the Phaenician Moscus, or the Priests of Egypt, whose Ambition for Antiquity made them embrace some of those absurd Opinions, or if he traveled further he might have learned the whole System of his Philosophy, the Fortuitus beginning of the World, and the Origine of Man, from the Indians, That being now the Opinion of the Principal Philosophers in 
* Hist. Mars.  China, whether the learning of all India long ago retired; This Hypothesis, though commended to men as the strongest Expedient against Cares, and the exactest Method for obtaining Tranquillity, yet found not many Admirers, till Epicurus by infinite Volumes endeavoured to illustrate, and commend it, adding Declination to an Atom, that being (as Plutarch assures) the only improvement he made in the Hypothesis: What this Man was in his Morals is hard to imagine; for sometimes he seems to be so Temperate and Modest, that Seneca often uses his Sentences as Ornaments in his most serious Epistles: Sometimes his Books declare him a most lose and dissolute Voluptuary, and 
† Athenaeus ●. 12. c. 12. De fin. l. 2. Sect. 7.  Tully makes such a confident appeal to Mankind for the sincerity of his quotations, that we cannot but be amazed at the unsettled humour of the Man. But He dying, though in his Will he made great provision for the perpetuity of his Sect, His Opinions were but coldly received, and the School decayed, till C. Memmius, a Man of an Ancient Nobility, restored the Garden, and designed to raise a public 
* Cicero Epist. Lib. 13.  Building for the advancement of Epicurism: His same and authority drew many after him, and we found registered at once as famous, Velleius, Patro, and Lucretius; of this man Antiquity hath left us very few Memoires, perhaps for the same reason that 
† Lib. 2▪ Cap. 23.  Aelian refuseth to make mention of Diagoras 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: But in his own testimony assures us He was a Roman, and his Name directs us to the noble and ancient Family of the Lucretii▪ which being divided into a great many branches, gave Rome Consuls, Tribunes, and Praetors, great Supports and Ornaments of the Common wealth: 'Tis uncertain from which branch our Lucretius sprang, and the time of his Birth is almost as doubtful, some placing him in one year, some in another, and in this, as in most Things else, making good that inverted taunt of 
* De Mort▪ Claudii.  Seneca: Citius inter Horologia quam Authores conveniet: Eusebius brings him forth in the 171 Olympiad. Domitius Ahenobarbus, and Cassius Longinus than Consuls V C. 657. Lydiat leaves it doubtful, whether these were Consuls the first year of the 871, or, the fourth of 170 Olympaid, but Vossius makes him born in the second year of the 171, whilst others place him in the 172: So that difference is not very great, and his Age certain; we therefore supposing him to be nobly descended, and a Man of a sprightly Wit it is an easy inference, that he received a suitable Education, that he studied at Athens, and heard Zeno the Master of the Gardens: And how he spent his Time, how studiously improved it let this Book speak. Thus fitted for the best Company, He grew intimate with 
* Cor. Nepos vit. Attici.  Pomponius Atticus, ann Memmius, and no doubt with Tully and his Brother, who made such honourable mention of him: And if we look into his Morals we shall found him a Man suitable to the Epicurean Principles, dissolved in Ease and Pleasure, flying public Employment, as a derogation to Wisdom, and a disturber of Peace and Quietness; avoiding those distractive cares which he imagined would make Heaven itself uneasy: As most of the other Poets, He had his share in sensual Pleasures; nor can the poor Excuse of Catullus, make me think better of him when I view his fourth Book: And the account some give of his Death strengthens this Opinion; for as Eusebius relates it, he died by his own Hands in the Forty Fourth year of his Age, being dementated by a Philtrum given by his Mistress, though others place his Death in the Twenty Sixth year, and believe his madess, proceeded from the Cares and Melancholy, that oppressed him after the Banishment of his beloved Memmius: The only remains this great Wit hath left us are his Six Books of the Nature of Things; an exact System of the Epicurean Philosophy, read and admired by the Ancients; and if Ovid could presage, 
Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti  
Exitio terras cùm dabit una dies:  These were written, as Eusebius declares, in his lucid Intervals, when the strength of Nature had thrown of all the disturbing Particles and his mind (as 'tis observed of Mad men) was sprightly and vigorous: Than in a Poetical rapture he could fly with his Epicurus beyond the flaming limits of this World, frame and dissolve Seas and Heavens in an instant, and by some unusual sallies, be the strongest argument of his own opinion; for it seems impossible that some things which he delivers, should proceed from Reason and judgement, or any Cause but Chance, and unthinking Fortune. Tully (for Lambine brings but very weak reasons against the assertion of Eusebius) corrected these writings. Virgil eagerly studied them, as Macrobius and Gellius witness; the latter also calling him Poetam ingenio & facundiâ praecellentem: And Cornelius Nepos hath placed him inter Elegantissimos Poetas. Wherhfore if some great Divines have given him the ill Name of Canis, it was not for any rudness in his Verse, but due rather to his Graecian Master: The Eternity of Matter, and the like absurd Assertions, corrupting most of the Philosophies of Athens.   

Ad T. C. amicum suum ex paucis ingeniique perpoliti.  
DOctus es interpres Chrechi, castusque piusque  
Et Caro quicquid carius esse potest?  
Ut nocet ingeniis non docti mos Epicuri,  
Vita tui vatis morsque inhonesta probant.  
E. Bernardus.   

TO Mr. CREECH.  
On His accurate Version of Lucretius.  
'TIs true, persuaded that there was rich Ore,  
I boldly Launched, & would new Worlds explore:  
Deep Ours I saw, and hidden Wealth to lie  
In Rocky Entrails, and in Si●●ras high:  
I saw a fruitful Soil, by none yet trod,  
Reserved for Hero's, or some Demy-God;  
And urged my Fortune on;—  
Till rugged Billows, and a dangerous Coast  
My venturous Bark, and rash Attempt had Crossed;  
When Landing, unknown Paths, and hard Access,  
Made me despond of Preconceived success;  
I turned my Prow, and the Discovery made,  
But was too Weak, too Poor myself to Trade,  
Much lesle to make a Conquest and Subdue;  
That glorious Enterprise was left for You.  
Columbus thus, only discovered Land,  
But it was Won by Great Corteze's hand:  
As with rich Spoils of goodly Kingdoms fraught,  
The immense Treasure to Iberia brought;  
So You the rich Lucretius (unknown  
To th' English world (bravely have made Your Own,  
And by just Title, You deserve the Crown.  
J. Evelin. White-Hall Decemb. 15. 82.   

To Mr. CREECH upon his Translation of Lucretius into English.  
HOw happy had our English Tongue been made  
Were but our Wit industrious as our Trade?  
Would we from hence to distant Countries go?  
What Greece or Rome e'er yields in England sow  
And teach th' Unlearned what the Learned know.  
In this the French Excel, but we take Care  
Not what they writ, but only what they wear;  
Vain though they be, in them lesle Care we found  
To dress the Body than adorn the Mind.  
There, to know all, you only French shall need;  
And the World's Learning in one Language read.  
Why should our Isle be by her Sons denied;  
What if obtained, would prove her greatest Pride?  
Should some Object our Language will not bear,  
Let 'em but read thy Book, 'tis Answered there.  
Thou above all seem'st for this Task designed;  
Charming thy Pen, and Matchless is thy Mind;  
With all youth's Fire, and Ages judgement blest,  
Learning itself is seated in thy Breast:  
Thou hast Lucretius Englisht—  
Nor has it suffered by the Change of Tongue,  
We read, and found Lucretius all along.  
Thee sure the God of Poets did inspire,  
And warmed thy Breast with his peculiar Fire;  
Picked from his several Sons thy happier Hand  
To bless with Foreign Wit thy Native Land.  
Thy Pen might make Theocritus appear  
In English Dress, and Wound the listening Ear.  
The Heavenly Virgil here has suffered Wrong,  
Taught by unskilful Hands the English Tongue:  
He begs thy Aid, for him the Land beside,  
Can all these ask, and can they be denied?  
Horace we have in Paraphrastick Dress,  
(They who enlarge his Poems, make 'em lesle)  
Thomas balked before would see us once again,  
And Courts th' Assistance of thy juster Pen:  
On these, and such as these, if such there are,  
Employ those hours Convenience lets thee spare.  
For this in Wadham's peaceful Walls reside,  
Books be thy Pleasure, To do well thy Pride.  
Believe me, Youth, for I am read in Cares,  
And bend beneath the weight of Fifty Years;  
Dear bought Experience told me what was true,  
And Friendship bids me tell those Truths to you.  
Quit not for public Cares thy College Life,  
Nor take, that sort of Settlement, a Wife.  
Trust not the glittering Court, or noisy Town  
Hung not on this Fool's Laugh, nor that Knaves Frown.  
But as thou art, Lord of thyself appear,  
Thy hour's thy own, not clogged with hopes or fear.  
Thus we may every Year expect to see  
Things we shall wonder at, and worthy Thee.  
London, Jan. 25. 1682.   

To his Ingenious FRIEND Mr. CREECH: On his Excellent Translation of Lucretius.  
'TWas Bold for Youth Lucretius Heights to storm,  
But Youth alone had Vigour to Perform.  
The stately Fabric stood by all admired,  
But none to Copy the vast Frame aspired:  
All owned some sacred Power the Work did guide,  
Aids which our Author to the World denied.  
What to attempt did so much Wonder raise,  
Performed so well must challenge greater Praise:  
With thine thy Country's Fame thou here dost show,  
What British Wit and British Speech can do.  
Lucretius Englisht! 'Tis so rich a Prize,  
We gaze upon't and scarce believe our Eyes.  
We read, and see the Roman Genius shine,  
Without allay in each Bright Page of thine;  
Than pause, and doubting still, again repair,  
Again we found the Learned Lucretius there.  
Thy pains oblige us on a double score,  
True to thy Author, to Religion more.  
Whilst Learnedly his Errors thou dost note,  
And for his Poison bring'st an Antidote.  
From Epicurus Walks thus weeding Vice,  
Not more the Garden but a Paradise.  
N. Tate. London, December, 29. 82.   

To Mr. CREECH.  
Upon his Translation of Lucretius.  
SIR,  
WHen your Book the first time came abroad,  
I must confess I stood amazed and awed;  
For, as to some good Nature I pretend,  
I feared to read left I should not commend.  
Lucretius Englisht! 'twas a Work might shake  
The power of English Verse to undertake.  
This all Men thought, but you are born, we found,  
T' outdo the Expectations of Mankind;  
Since you've so well the noble Task performed,  
Envy's appeased and prejudice disarmed:  
For when the rich Original we peruse,  
And by it try the Metal you produce;  
Thomas there indeed the purest Ore we found,  
Yet still in you it something seems refined:  
Thus when the Great Lucretius gives a lose,  
And lashes to her speed his fiery Muse;  
Still with him you maintain an equal pace,  
And bear full Stretches upon him all the Race;  
But when in rugged way we found him r●in  
His Verse, and not so smooth a Stroke maintain;  
There the Advantage he receives is found,  
By you taught Temper, and to choose his ground.  
Next his Philosophy you've so expressed  
In genuine Terms, so plain, yet neatly dressed,  
Those Murderers that now mangle it all day  
In Schools, may learn from you the easy way  
To let us know what they would mean and say:  
If Aristotle's Friends will show the Grace  
To wave for one their Statute in that Case.  
Go on than, Sir, and since you could aspire,  
And reach this Height, aim yet at Laurels higher:  
Secure great injured Maro from the wrong  
He unredeemed his laboured with so long,  
In Holbourn Rhyme, and jest the Book should fail,  
Exposed with Pictures to promote the Sale;  
So Tapsters set out Signs, for muddy Ale.  
You only able to retrieve his Doom,  
And make him here as famed as once at Rome:  
For sure when julius first this Isle subdued,  
Your Ancestors than mixed with Roman Blood;  
Some near Allied to that whence Ovid came,  
Virgil and Horace, those three Sons of Fame;  
Since to their Memory it is so true,  
And shows their Poetry so much in You.  
Go on in Pity to this wretched Isle,  
Which ignorant Poetasters do desile,  
With lousy Madrigals for Lyric Verse;  
Instead of Comedy with nasty Farce.  
Would Plautus, ●erence ere have been so lewd  
T' have dressed Jackpudding up to catch the Crowd?  
Or Sophocles five redious Acts have made  
To show a whining Fool in Love betrayed  
By some false Friend or slippery Chambermaid,  
Than e'er he hangs himself bemoan his Fall  
In a dull Speech, and that fine Language call?  
Not, since we live in such a fulsome Age,  
When Nonsense Loads the Press, and Chokes the Stage;  
When Blockheads will claim Wit in Nature's spite,  
And every Dunce, that starves, presumes to writ,  
Exert yourself, defend the Muse's Cause,  
Proclaim their Right, and to maintain their Laws  
Make the dead Ancients speak the British Tongue;  
That so each chattering Daw who aims at Song,  
In his own Mother-Tongue may humbly read  
What Engines yet are wanting in his Head  
To make him equal to the mighty Dead.  
For of all Nature's Works we most should scorn  
The thing who thinks himself a Poet born,  
Unbred, Untaught he Rhymes, yet hardly spells,  
And senslesly, as Squirrels Jangle Bells,  
Such things, Sir, here abound, May therefore you  
Be ever to your Friends, the Muses, true:  
May our Defects be by your Powers supplied▪  
Till as our Envy now, you grow our Pride.  
Till by your Pen restored, in Triumph born  
The Majesty of Poetry return.  
London, Jan. 10. 82. Tho. Otway.   

To the unknown Daphnis on his Excellent Translation of Lucretius!  

THou Great Youngman permit among the Crowd  
Of those that Sing thy mighty Praises Loud,  
My humbler Muse to bring her Tribute too;  
Inspired by thy vast Flights of Verse  
Methinks I should some wondrous thing Rehearse  
Worthy Divine Lucretius, and Diviner You!  
But I of feebler Seeds designed,  
While the slow moving Atoms strove  
With careless Heed to form my Mind,  
Composed it all of softer Love:  
In Gentle Numbers all my Songs are dressed;  
And when I would Thy Glories Sing,  
What in Strong Manly Verse should be expressed  
Turns all to Womanish Tenderness within;  
Whilst that which Admiration does Inspire  
In other Souls, kindles in Mine a Fire.  
Let them Admire thee on— whilst I this newer way  
Pay thee yet more than They,  
For more I own, since thou hast taught Me more  
Than all the Mighty Bards that went before.  
Others long since have palled the vast Delight,  
In Duller Greek and Latin satisfied the Appetite:  
But I unlearned in Schools disdain that Mine  
Should treated be at any Feast but Thy.   

Till now I cursed my Sex and Education,  
And more the scanted Customs of the Nation,  
Permitting not the Female Sex to tread  
The Mighty Paths of Learned Heroes Dead:  
The Godlike Virgil and great Homer's Muse  
Like Divine Mysteries are concealed from us;  
We are forbidden all grateful Themes,  
No ravishing Thoughts approach our Ear;  
The Fulsome Jingle of the Times  
Is all we are allowed to Understand, or Hear.   

But as of old when Men Unthinking lay,  
ere Gods were worshipped, or e'er Laws were framed  
The wiser Bard that taught 'em first 'tis obey,  
Was next to what he taught Adored and Famed;  
Gentler they grew, their Words and Manners changed:  
And Savage now no more the Woods they ranged;  
So Thou by this Translation dost advance  
Our Knowlenge from the State of Ignorance;  
And Equal'st Us to Man! O how shall We  
Enough Adore, or Sacrifice enough to Thee!  
The mystic Terms of rough Philosophy  
Thou dost so plain and easily Express,  
Yet Deckest 'em in so soft and gay a Dress,  
So Intelligent to each Capacity,  
That they at once instruct and charm the Sense  
With heights of Fancy, heights of Eloquence;  
And Reason over all unfettered Plays,  
Wanton and undisturbed as Summer's Breeze  
That gliding murmurs o'er the Trees,  
And no hard Notion meets, or stops its ways;  
It Pierces, Conquers and Compels  
As strong as Faith resistless Oracles,  
Faith the Religious Souls content,  
Faith the secure Retreat of Routed Argument.  
Hail Sacred Wadham! Whom the Muses Grace,  
And from the rest of all the Reverend Rile  
Of Noble Palaces, designed thy Space  
Where they in soft retreat might Devil.  
They Blessed thy Fabric, and they said— do Thou  
Our Darling Sons contain;  
We Thee our Sacred Nursery ordain,  
They said, and Blessed, and it was so.  
And if of old the Fanes of Sylvian Gods  
Were worshipped as Divine Abodes;  
If Courts are held as Sacred Things,  
For being the Awful Seats of Kings:  
What Veneration should be paid  
To thee that hast such wondrous Poets made?  
To Gods for fear Devotion was designed,  
And safely made us bow to Majesty:  
Poets by Nature Aw, and Charm the Mind,  
Are born, not made or by Religion, or Necessity.  
The Learned Thirsis did to thee belong,  
Who Athens Plague has so divinely Sung;  
Thirsis to wit, a Sacred Friendship true  
Paid mighty Cowley's memory it's due.  
Thirsis, who while a greater Plague did reign  
Than that which Athens did depopulate  
Scattering Rebellious Fury o'er the Plain,  
That Threatened Ruin to the Church and State,  
Unmoved He stood and feared no Threats of Fate;  
That ●oyal Champion for the Church and Crown  
Still did his Sovereign's Cause espouse,  
And was above the Thanks of the mad Senate-House.  
Strephon the Great, whom last you sent abroad,  
Who Writ, and Loved, and looked like any God.  
For whom the Muses mourn, the Lovesick Maids  
Are languishing in Melancholy shades,  
The Cupids flag their Wings, their Bows untie,  
And useless Quivers hung neglected by;  
And scattered Arrows all around them lie:  
By murmuring Brooks the Careless Deities are laid,  
Weeping their Rifled Power now noble Strephon's Dead.  
Ah Sacred Wadham! Couldst thou never own  
But this Delight of all Mankind and thine,  
For Ages past of Dulness this alone,  
This charming Hero would atone,  
And make thee glorious ●o succeeding time.  
But thou like Nature's self disdainest to be  
Stinted to singularity.  
As fast as she▪ thou dost produce,  
And over all the sacred Mystery dost infuse,  
Not sooner was famed Strephon's Glory set,  
Strephon the soft, the Lovely, Gay and Great,  
But Daphnis rises like the Morning Star,  
That guides the wand'ring Traveller from afar;  
Daphnis, whom every Grace and Muse inspires,  
Scarce Strephon's ravishing Poetic Fires  
So kindly Warm, or so divinely Cheer.  
Advance Young Daphnis as thou hast begun,  
So let thy mighty Race be run;  
Thou in thy large Poetic Chase  
Beginnest where others end the Race,  
If now thy grateful Numbers are so strong,  
If they so Early can such Grace's show  
Like Beauty, so surprising, whilst so Young:  
What Daphnis, will thy riper judgement do,  
When thy unbounded Verse in their own Streams shall flow?  
What wonders will they not produce,  
When thy immortal fancy's lose,  
Unfettered, Unconfined by any other Muse?  
Advance Young Daphnis than, and mayst thou prove  
Still happy in thy Poetry and Love.  
May all the Groves, with Daphnis Songs be Blest,  
Whilst every Bark, is with thy Distiches dressed:  
May timorous Maids, learn how to love from thence,  
And the Glad Shepherd Arts of Eloquence:  
And when to Solitudes thou wouldst retreat,  
May their tuned Pipes, thy Welcome celebrated;  
Whilst all the Nymphs strew Garlands at thy Feet,  
May all the purling Streams, that murmuring pass  
The shady Groves, and Banks of Flowers,  
The low reposing Beds of Grass,  
Contribute to thy softest Hours,  
Mayst thou thy Muse and Mistress there Caress,  
And may one heighten t' others happiness;  
And whilst thou thus Divinely dost converse,  
We are content to know, and to admire thee in thy Verse.   
London, jan. 25. 1682. A. Behn.   

To Mr. CREECH on his Translation of Lucretius.  
ACcept this Praise, and so much more your Due,  
From one that envies and admires you too.  
I thought indeed before I heard your Fame,  
No Laurels grew but on the Banks of Cham;  
Where Chaucer was by sacred Fury fired,  
And everlasting Cowley lay inspired.  
Where Milton first his wondrous Vision saw▪  
And Marvel taught the Painter how to Draw:  
Besides an Issue which we Blush to own,  
Most of the Scribblers that infested the Town,  
Lay at our Doors exposed; tho' after Times  
Shall have the Pleasure not to heat their Rhimes.  
But now my pious Error I condemn,  
A Prophet's Born out of jerusalem.  
And yet I wish Learned Youth, I wish thee ours,  
Your vain Antiquity, your boasted towers,  
Your stately Walls that Shelden's Pomp express,  
Nay, Bodley's sacred Offerings move me lesle:  
Hail wondrous Poet full of excellence,  
That readest in every Language, Wit, and Sense;  
Thou great Lucretius; how I'm pleased to see,  
That so corrupt an Age can relish thee?  
And thou his equal, greater Friend to Truth,  
Who kindly dost instruct our lazy Youth,  
And tak'st this easiest way their Souls to fire,  
To make 'em understand, and yet admire,  
All Hail,—  
Let me at lest thy Piety commend,  
And own a kindness that you've done my Friend,  
Revived anew; so when drop reg've met before  
An old Acquaintance on a foreign shore,  
With pleasing doubt, his Person I review,  
And scarce believe my Senses tell me true!  
Are you than he whom I so dearly loved?  
But, Lord, how much you're changed, how much improved?  
Your Native Roughness all is left behind,  
But still the same good Man though more refined.  
Here than our former friendship we restore,  
And talk of wonders that we did before.  
King's Coll. Camb. Jan. 1. 1682. I. A.   

To Mr. CREECH on his Translation of Lucretius.  
WHat to begin would have been madness thought,  
Exceeds our Praise when to perfection brought;  
Who could believe Lucretius lofty Song  
Can have been reached by any modern Tongue▪  
Of all the Suitors to immortal Fame  
That by Translations strove to raise a Name,  
This was the Test, this the Ulysses Bow,  
Too Tough by any to be bend but you.  
Carus himself of the hard Task complains  
To fetter Graecian thoughts in Roman Chains,  
Much harder thine in an unlearned Tongue  
To hold in Bonds, so easy yet so strong,  
The Greek Philosophy and Latin Song.  
If than he boasts that round his sacred head  
Fresh Garlands grow, and branching Laurels spread,  
Such as not all the mighty Nine before  
e'er gave, or any of their Darlings wore,  
What Laurels should be thine, what ●rowns thy Due,  
What Garlands, Mighty Poet, should be graced by you?  
Thomas deep, though wondrous deep his Sense does flow▪  
Thy shining stile does all its Richeses show;  
So clear the Stream, that thro' it we descry  
All the bright Gems that at the bottom lie,  
Here you the troublers of our Peace remove.  
Ignoble Fear, and more Ignoble Love:  
Here we are taught how first our race began,  
And by what steps our Fathers climbed to Man;  
To Man as now he is— with Knowledge filled  
In Arts of Peace and War, in Manners skilled,  
Equal before to his fellow Grazers of the field.  
Nature's first state, which well transposed; and owned,  
(For Owners in all Ages have been found)  
Has made a Modern Wit so much renowned,  
When Thee we read, we found to be no more  
Than what was Sung a Thousamd Years before.  
Thou only for this Noble Task wert fit,  
To shame thy Age to a just Sense of Wit,  
By showing how the Learned Romans writ.  
To ●each fat heavy Clowns to know their Trade  
And not turn Wits, who were for Porters made,  
But quit false Claims to the poetic Rage,  
For Squibs and Crackers, and a Smithfield Stag●,  
Had Providence e'er meant that in despite  
Of Art and Nature, such dull Clods should writ  
Bavius and Maevius had been saved by fate  
For Se●●●e and for Shadwel to Translate,  
As it so many Ages has for Thee  
Preserved the mighty Work that now we see.  
Cambridge, Decemb. 18. 1682. R. Duke.   

To Mr. CREECH on his Translation of Lucretius.  
WHat all Men wished, though few could hope to see,  
We are now Blest with, and obliged by Thee.  
Thou from the Ancient Learned Latin Store,  
Giv'st us one Author, and we hope for more.  
May they enjoy thy Thoughts— let not the Stage  
The Idl'st Moment of thy hours engage.  
Each Year that Place some wondrous Monster breeds,  
And the Wit's Garden is overrun with Weeds.  
There Farce is Comedy, Bombast called Strong,  
Soft words, with nothing in 'em, make a Song.  
'Tis hard to say they steal 'em now adays,  
For sure the Ancients never wrote such Plays.  
These scribbling Infects have what they deserve,  
Not Plenty, nor the Glory for to starve.  
That Spencer knew, that Tasso felt before,  
And Death found surly Ben. exceeding poor.  
Heaven turn the Omen from their Image here,  
May he with joy the well placed Laurel wear:  
Great Virgil's happier fortune may he found,  
And ●e our Caesar, like Augustus, kind.  
But let not this disturb Thy tuneful head▪  
Thou writ'st for thy Delight, and not for Bread.  
Thou art not cursed to writ thy Verse with care▪  
But art above what other Poet's fear.  
What may we not expect from such a Hand,  
That has, with Books, Himself at free Command?  
Thou knowst in Youth, what Age has sought in Vain,  
And bring'st forth Sons without a Mother's Pain:  
So easy i● thy Sense, thy Verse so sweet,  
Thy words so proper, and Thy Phrase so ●it,  
We read, and read again, and still admire  
Whence came this Youth, and whence this wondrous fire.  
Pardon this Rapture, Sir, But who can be  
Cold and unmoved, yet have his thoughts on Thee?  
Thy goodness may My several faults forgive,  
And by your help these wretched Lines may live:  
But if when viewed by your severer sight,  
They seem unworthy to behold the Light;  
Let 'em with speed in deserved flames be thrown,  
They'll sand no sighs, nor murmur out a groan,  
But dying silently Your justice own.  
London, Feb. 6. E. W.   

Ad Thomam Creech, De versione Lucretii.  
UT nos dum legimus Lucre●î nobile Carmen  
Angliaco sermone, stupemus!  
Vt ●um Roma suum jactat scelerata Poetam  
Sancta suum magis Anglia jactat!  
Foelix! Bis Foelix Adolescens divite venâ  
Ac studio cultissime Vatum!  
Haud Te Vulgus ●●ers Scriptorum robore juncto  
P●o merit● laudare valemus,  
Cui Terrae-motus, cui Voce Tonitrua saeuâ,  
Cui Fulmen, nec Inane profundum  
Pegaseum remorentur iter, magnoque Britannam  
Avertant molimine Musam,  
Infinitum intras spatium, & Cunabula rerum  
Scrutaris, Vacuumque Atomosque  
Mente piâ citus inspectas, & millia difficultatum  
quam plurima pennis  
Scandens aethereis, jam tandem erroris apertâ  
Dispellis ratione tenebras:  
Metrum, Lector, habes Adamante perennius ipso,  
Dulce Me●●um, & sublimius Astris.  
De Calle Equino Aug. 30. 1683. E. L.   

To Mr. CREECH on his Translation of Lucretius into English Verse.  
THere's scarce a Paltry Dauber in the Town,  
(So much like Apes we dote on what's our own)  
But will pretend t' express the Air, and Grace  
Of each great Monarch and Admired Face.  
See how the dull neglected Trifles lie,  
And scarce can gain a glance from passers by:  
Unless we reckon the unthinking Fry  
Who glare in Shoals at gaudy drapery;  
But when with charming Strokes and Powerful Lines  
Some curious Titian the great work designs;  
The lively Figures all our Passions move,  
And as if Real, we obey, and love:  
The Envious, pleased on force, here gazing stands  
Whilst all true Artists wondering clap their Hands:  
Each Novice may the likeness grossly hit,  
He only Paints with Genius and with Wit,  
That finds, or mak●s all Beautiful that ●it,  
No Scar, or Faults of Nature do appear,  
Yet something that resembles them is there,  
Strangely by● wondrous Art made tempting fair.  
Such is the Genius, Creech, such is thy Art,  
We have Lucretius like in every Part,  
Yet no decays of Age, no roughness shown,  
'Tis Masterly, and Great, the Beauty's all thy Own.  
London, Feb. 10. 82.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE FIRST BOOK.  

KIND Venus, Glory of the best Abodes,  
Parent of Rome, and joy of Men and Gods;  
Delight of all, comfort of Sea and Earth;  
To whose kind Powers all Creatures own their Birth.  
At thy approach, Great Goddess, straight remove  
What e'er are rough, and Enemies to Love;  
The Clouds disperse, the Winds do swiftly wa●t,  
And reverently in Murmurs breathe their last:  
The Earth with various Art (for thy warm Powers  
That dull Mass feels) puts forth their gaudy Flowers:  
For Thee doth subtle Luxury prepare  
The choicest stores of Earth, of Sea and Air;  
To welcome Thee she comes profusely Dressed  
With all the Spices of the wanton East;  
To pleasure Thee even lazy Luxury toils;  
The roughest Sea puts on smooth Looks, and Smiles:  
The well● pleased Heaven assumes a brighter Ray  
At thy approach, and makes a double Day.  
When first the gentle Spring gins t'inspire  
Melting Thoughts, soft Wishes, gay Desire,  
And warm Favonius fans the Amorous fire;  
First thro' the Birds the Active Flame doth move;  
Who with their Mates sit down, and Sing, and Love; 

WE need not look far for a reason for the Invocation; the Practice of the Poets is obvious, and the Wantonness of the Epicureans is as notorious. Epicurus is observed by Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, to fill his Book with Oaths and Adjurations: 
* Euseb. Praep. lib. 14. cap. 27.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. He inserts many Oaths and Adjurations in his Books, swearing often and adjuring his Readers by Jupiter and all the Gods: And we may found Lucretius too sometimes of this humour: But I rather believe, that like a Poet, and according to the Principles of his Philosophy, he applies himself to Venus, that is, the common natural appetite to Procreation; which nevertheless he treats as a Goddess, and gives her all her Titles, as if really he expected some assistance: yet even here he shows his Spite to Religion, and scatters bitter reflections on the than Fashionable Devotion. And had he stopped here, had he not proposed Principles of Irreligion drawn from the Happiness of the Deity, which therefore must be universal, and against all Religion under whatsoever denomination; he might have been read with much Profit, and Satisfaction, as an excellent Satirist against the Heathen Worship, for he severely scourges the Mad Zeal of Men-sacrificers: and though perchance he hath not proposed a true Instance in Iphigenia, yet Histories, both Sacred and Profane, of former and present Ages, give us too many sad Relations of such Cruelties. But since he openly declares that the Design of his Writing is to free Men from the Fears of that Heavenly Tyrant, Providence, and induce perfect Serenity, that boasted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Epicurus, and in pursuit of this, endeavours to maintain the great Dictate of his Master, Nihil beatum, nisi quod quietum; Nothing is happy but what is supinely idle and at ease: I shall examine his vain Pretensions, and in order to it present you with a Summary of the Epicurean Religion.  
If any Man considers the Inconsistences that are in the Epicurean Notion of a Deity, how the Attributes disagree, and how the very Being thwarts all their other Philosophy, he will easily agreed with Yully, and admit his Censure to be true, Verbis ponunt, Re tollunt Deos: In Words they assert, but in Effect they deny a GOD: which is seconded by Dionysius in Eusebius, 
Eusebius lib. 15.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 'Tis evident that after Socrates was put to death, being afraid of the Athenians, that he might 〈◊〉 seem what really he was, an Atheist; he fashioned some empty shadows of fantastical Deities: But since Antiquity hath but three Atheists on record, why should we increase the Catalogue? He therefore asserts a Divine Nature, and proves it from the common consent of Mankind; which doth not 〈◊〉 from any Innate Ideas, as Gassendus phrases it, those being altogether strangers to his Hypothesis: for every Idea is a Mode of Thinking, and no Thought can arise, according to the Epicurean Principles, but from a previous Image; and therefore Lucretius makes the Cause of this General Consont to be the constant deflux of Divine Images, 
a Plutarch de Placitis Phil. lib. 1. cap. 7.  which strike the Mind: And Atticus the Platonist 
b Eusebius praep. li●. 25.  asserts it to be the common Doctrine of the Garden, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That the good Emanations from the Gods bring great Advantages to those that receive them: To this Democritus his Prayer, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That he might receive good Images, and 
c De Nat. Deorum lib. 1. sect. 107.  Cicero agrees, and I hope Gassendus his bore denial cannot stand in competition with all these. This Divine Nature is branched out into many, his Gods are numerous, and even exceed the Catalogue of Apollodorus; and this he gathers from that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which must be in the Universe, Si enim mortalium tanta multitudo, immortalium non minor, & si quae interimant, item quae conservent, Infinita, Their Substance is not immaterial; and Velleius reprehends Plato for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as inconsistent with Sense, Prudence and Pleasure, and yet he cannot allow it to be a Coalition of Atoms, for that would destroy their necessity of Being, and infer Discerpibility; but they have quasi corpus, and quasi sangui●em, a Fancy perchance received from Homer, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉;  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

They drink no Wine, they eat no common Food,  
And therefore named Immortal, voided of Blood.    
They are of the Figure of a Man, That seeming the most beautiful, and the only receptacle of Reason, without which the Gods cannot be virtuous, nor happy: Their Knowledge infinite, and boundless; for Velleius in Tully, to confute Pythagoras, boldly inquires Cur quidquam ignoraret Animus Hominis, si esset Deus? Easie and quiet is their Life; and therefore unconcerned with the affairs of the World; for being full of themselves, why should they look on others, or trouble their Minds with the consideration of lesle Perfection, when they can expect no advantage nor addition to their Happiness: yet these Glorious Being's are to be reverenced for the excellency of their Nature. Our Piety and Religion must be Heroical, not forced by Fear, or raised by Hope: Interest must not bribe, nor Terror affright us to our Duty; but our Devotion must be free, and unbiased by the solicitations of the One, or the impulse of the Other. These, in short, are Epicurus his Deities, and this is the Sum of his Religion: A sufficient Instance, that Men may dream when they are awake, and that absurd Fancies are not only the consequents of Sleep. Let ●s look on the Favourers of these Opinions, and what ●re they but exact Images of Timon's Philosophers? 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Men, Casks of vain Opinion full.   For, as Tully long ago observed, 'tis their usual Custom to avoid Difficulties by proposing Absurdities; ●hat the lesle may not be discerned, whilst all men's Eyes are on the greater. For first, not to require ●n Explication of their unintelligible quasi corpus, ●nd quasi sanguis, it is very easy to be proved, and ● direct Consequence from their established Principles, that the Matter of the Deities is perfectly like ●●at of our Bodies, and so discerpible; nor can ●●ey found any secure retreat for their Gods, beyond ●●e reach and power of troublesome Atoms, which ●●attering every where must disturb their ease, destroy their quiet, and threaten a dissolution. For ●●nce the Images that flow from them, move the ●ind, which they assert Material, those must be ●ody, Tangere enim & tangi sine corpore nulla potest 〈◊〉. And since 'tis the Nature of Body to resist, the ●reater and heavier the Atoms are, the stronger and ●●e more forcible will be the stroke on the Divine ●●bstance; and consequently in this dissolution of world's, in these mad whirls of Matter, unless ●●ey remove them beyond the infinite Space, their deities must be endangered: for they are not perfect Solids, and above the power and force of Impulse, such combinations being unfit for Sense, or Animal Motion. And thus the Epicureans must necessarily fall into that absurdity, for which Velleiu● lashes Anaximander, Nativos esse Deos, & longis intervallis orientes & occidentes. But since they offer as a reason, that Immateriality is inconsistent with Sense and Prudence, I shall consider that in its proper place▪ and now examine how Omnisciency can agreed with their Gods. Lucretius in his Fifth Book asks the question, How the Gods could have those Ideas of Man, Sun, Moon and Stars, before they were formed? From whence 'tis easily concluded, that they imagine the Divine Perception arises from the same Causes that Man's doth, viz. from some subtle Images that flow from the surfaces of Things, and enter at the Senses. Now it had been an attempt worthy the soaring Wit of our Poet, to have described the passages of these Images; how they reach the Happy Seats entire, how these light Airy things are undisturbed by the rapid whirls of Matter, and how at last they should all conveniently turn round, and enter at the Eyes of the Deity. For if ours can ascend thither, why not the Forms of these things, that lie scattered through the infinite Worlds reach us? Not, their Gods must be as senseless, as they are careless; no intruding Images must disturb their thoughts, or turn them from the contemplation of their Happy Selves; no doubt their Ease will scarce agreed with such troublesome agitations, and like the soft Sybarite, should the Image of a Man digging encroach upon them, they must necessarily undergo a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
As for the Figure they please to allow them, we must needs acknowledge it a wondered chance, that Man (for that's the most proper Opinion) should 〈◊〉 much resemble the Divine Nature; but I had ●ather believe all the Adulteries in the Poets, than that Man was made after the Image of the Deity without his Direction. Besides, what need of all these Members? Why must they have Eyes, unless they have a Looking▪ glass in their Hands? Why Mouth, ●nd Teeth, which will never be employed? and why doth not that fancied 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Universe, require Immortal Men, and Immortal Beasts? for that would make the Equability more perfect. These ●re absurdities fit for the Credulity of an Epicurean, beyond imagination had not these Men abetted ●hem, and made good to the utmost that severe Re●lection of Tully, Nihil est tam absurdum quod non al●●uis è Philosophis asserat.  
Now I come to consider, whether Providence is ●nconsistent with the happiness of the Deity.    
They gratefully their tuneful Voice employ  
At thy approach, the Author of their Joy.  
Each B●ast forgets his R●ge, and entertains  
A so●ter Fury, thro' the flowery Plains,  
Thro rapid Streams, thro' Woods and silent Groves  
With wan●on▪ Play they run to meet their Loves.  
Whole Nature yields unto your Charms: The ways  
You lead, she follows, and eagerly obeys.  
Acted by those kind Principles You insu●e  
Each Bird and Beast endeavours to produce  
His kind, and the decaying World renews.  
Thee, Nature's powerful Ruler, without whom  
Nothing that's lovely, nothing gay can come  
From darksome Chaos deep and ugly Womb;  
Thee, now I sing of Nature, I must choose  
A Patron to my Verse, be thou my Muse;  
And make my Lines, whilst I to Memmius writ,  
Thy choice, thy most deserving Favourite:  
Inspire my Breast with an unusual Flame,  
Sprightly as his Wit, immortal as his Fame.  
Let Wars tumultuous noise and labours cease,  
Let Earth and Sea enjoy a solid Peace:  
Peace is thy Gift alone: For furious Mars,  
The only Governor and God of Wars,  
Tired with heat and toil doth often resort  
To taste the pleasures of the Paphian Cou●t;  
Where on thy Bosom he supinely lies,  
And greedily drinks Love at both his ●yes;  
Till quite o'ercome he snatches an eager kiss,  
And hastily goes on to greater Bliss.  
Then'midst his strict embraces clasp thine Arms  
About his Neck, and call forth all thy Charms;  
Caress with all thy subtle Arts, become  
A Flatterer, and beg a Peace for Rome.  
For'midst rough Wars how can Verse smoothly flow,  
Or'midst such Storms the learned Laurel grow?  
How can my Memmius have time to read,  
Who by his Ancestors famed Glory led  
To noble Actions must espouse the Cause  
Of his dear Country's Liberties and Laws?  
And you my Memmius, free from other cares,  
Receive right Reason's Voice with well purged Ears,  
Jest what I writ and sand you for your Good,  
Be scorned and damned, before well understood.  
I treat of things abstruse, the Deity,  
The vast and steady Motions of the Sky;  
The rise of Things, how curious Nature joins  
The Various Seed, 
The Subject of the Poem.  and in one Mass combines  
The jarring Principles: What new supplies,  
Bring Nourishment and Strength: How she unties  
The Gordian knot, and the Poor Compound dies:  
Of what she makes, to what she breaks the frame,  
Called Seeds or Principles; though either Name  
We use promiscuously, the Thing's the same.  
For whatsoever's Divine must live in Peace, 

And here the Epicureans are pressed with the Con●ent of Mankind, there being no Nation but hath ●ome shadow of Piety, which must be founded on the Belief of Providence, That being the Basis of all Natural Religion. The Stoics took the Notion of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, their Intelligent and ●iery Spirit, from the excellent▪ order and disposition of the Universe. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mind of Anaxagoras is sufficiently known. Nor was Aristotle an Enemy to Providence, though, as 'twas generally thought, and as Atticus the Platonist words it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, confining Providence within the Moon'● Orb, he leaves nothing below to his direction, and compares him to Epicurus; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. For 'tis the same thing to us to have nò Dèity at all, as to have such a 〈◊〉 with whom 〈◊〉 can have no Communication. And Athenagoras delivers it as the Doctrine of the Peripatum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: That Providence takes care of nothing below the Sky: And Origen, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Aristotle 's Opinions concerning Providence were somewhat lesle impious than those of Epicurus: But Authority will prevail little with a proud Epicurean, whose Talon it is to scoff at all beside his own Sect, and undervalue every Man that is not delighted with the weeds of his Garden.  
And here it must be observed, That as Epicurus circumscribed the Deity with the Finite Figure of a Man; so he measured all his Actions by the same Model, and thought and intermeddling with the Affairs of the World, would bring cares, trouble and distraction; because he sometimes observed a necessary Connexion betwixt these two, in those little intervals of Business that disturbed his Ease and quiet. A fond Opinion, directly contra●y to the Consent of the World, his own Principles and Practice. For what trouble can it be for that Being, whom a bore Intuition (for he grants him Omniscient) acquaints with all the springs and wheels of Nature; who perfectly knows the frame, and with a nod can direct and rule the Automation: For Self-existence necessarily infers Omnipotence. For what can determine the mode of Existence in that Being. what confine its Power, what circumscribe it, since it depends on nothing but itself? And since the Deity is the most excellent of Being's, how can it want that Amiable Attribute Benevolence? Will not an Epicurean commend it in the Master of the Garden? Will he not be prodigal in his Praises, and call the Athenian a God for his Philosophy, and make his numerous Books (Laer●ius calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) an argument for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉? And are all these commendations bestowed on him, because he made himself unhappy? Or must the Deity be deprived of that perfection, which is so lovely in Man, and which all desire he should enjoy; because when dangers press, they seek for relief to Heaven; and passionately expect descending succour? Which sufficiently declares that the belief of the Providence, is as Universal, as that of the happiness of the Deity, and founded on the same reason; for, as Tully argues, fac imagines esse quibus pulsentur animi, species quaedam duntaxat objicitur, num etiam cur beata sit? cur aeterna? And consequently, the same Reason dictating that Providence is an Attribute, requires as strong an assent, as when it declares Happiness to be one, since neither can be inferred from the bore impulse of the Images. For suppose the stroke constant, yet what is This (as Lucretius would have it) to Eternity? And why may not any thing we think upon, be esteemed immortal on the same account? Suppose the Impulse continual, yet what conexion between that and Happiness? So that the Epicurean's Argument recoils against himself, and he is foiled at his own Weapons.  
And now who can imagine such absurd Principles proper to lead any rational Enquirer to Serenity? Will it be a comfort to a good man to tell him as 
a In Nebulis.  Aristophanes speaks, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, instead of Jupiter a Whirlwind rules, when 'tis his greatest interest that there should be a merciful Disposer who takes notice of, and will reward his Piety. It will be an admirable security no doubt for his honesty, to assure his malicious enemies, that nothing is to be feared but their own discovery: And unless their Dreams prove treacherous, or their Minds rave, they are secure in their villainies, and may be wicked as often as they can fortunately be so; as often as Occasion invites, or Interest persuades. When Commonwealths may be preserved by breaking the very Band of Society, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as 
b Hist. lib. 6. Cap. 54.  Polybius calls Religion? when Treasons may be stifled by taking of from Subjects all obligations, but their own weakness, to Duty; and when a Democles can sit quietly under his hanging Sword; than the denial of Providence, than the belief of a World made, and upheld by chance, will be a remedy against all Cares, and a necessary cause of that desired 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, serenity of Mind.    
In undisturbed and everlasting Ease:  
Not care for U●, from fears and dangers free,  
Sufficient to it's own Felicity:  
Naught here below, Naught in our Power it needs;  
ne'er smiles at good, ne'er frowns at wicked Deeds.  
Long time Men lay oppressed with slayish Fear,  
Religion's Tyranny did domineer,  
Which being placed in Heaven looked proudly down,  
And frighted abject Spirits with her Frown.  
At length a mighty one of Greece began  
T'assert the natural Liberty of Man,  
By senseless Terrors and vain Fancies led  
To slavery; straight the conquered Phantoms fled.  
Not the f●m'd stories of the Deity,  
Not all the Thunder of the threatening Sky  
Can stop his rising Soul; thro' all be passed  
The strongest Bounds that powerful Nature cast▪  
His vigorous and active Mind was hurled  
Beyond the flaming limits of this World  
Into the mighty Space, and there did see  
How things begin, what can, what cannot be;  
How all must die, all yield to fatal force,  
What steady limits bound their natural course;  
He saw all this and brought it back to us.  
Wherhfore by his success our Right we gain,  
Religion is our Subject and we Reign.  
If you shall start at these bold Truths, and fly  
These Lines as Maxims of Impiety,  
Consider, that Religion did, and will  
Contrive, promote and Act the greatest Ill  
By that, Diana's cruel Altar flowed  
With innocent and Royal Virgins Blood.  
Unhappy Maid! With Sacred Ribbons bound,  
(Religion's Pride,) and holy Garlands crowned,  
To meet an undeserved untimely Fate,  
Led by the Graecian Chiefs in Pomp and State;  
She saw her Father by, whose Tears did flow  
In streams, the only pity he could show:  
She saw the ●ra●ty Priest conceal the Knife  
From him, blessed and prepared against her Life;  
She saw her Citizens with weeping Eyes  
Unwillingly attend the Sacrifice:  
Than dumb with Grief her Tears did pity crave,  
But 'twas beyond her Father's power to save;  
In vain did Innocence, Youth and Beauty pled,  
In vain the first Pledge of his Nuptial Bed;  
She fell, even now grown ripe for Nuptial joy,  
To bribe the Gods, and buy a Wind for Troy:  
So died the innocent, the harmless Maid,  
Such Devilish Acts Religion could persuade!  
But still some frightful Tales some furious Threats  
By Poets formed, those grave and holy Cheats,  
May bias thee; Even I could easily found  
A thousand Stories to distracted thy Mind;  
Invent new Fears, whose horrid looks should Fright,  
And damp thy Thoughts, when eager on Delight.  
And reason good. But if it once appear  
That after Death, there's neither Hope nor Fear,  
Than Men might freely Triumph, than Disdain  
The Poet's Tales, and scorn their fancied Pain▪  
But now we must submit, since Pains we fear  
Eternal after Death, we know not where.  
We know not yet, how our Soul is produced,  
Whether by Body Born, or else Infused;  
Whether in Death breathed out into the Air,  
She doth confusedly mix and perish there;  
Or thro' vast Shades, and horrid Silence go  
To visit Brimstone-caves, and Pools below,  
Or into Beasts retires—  
As our famed Ennius Sings, upon whose Brow  
The first and freshest Crowns of Laurel grow,  
That ever Learned Italy could show;  
Thou he in lasting numbers doth express  
The stately Acherusian Palaces,  
Which neither Soul nor Body e'er invades,  
But certain pale and melancholy Shades,  
From whence he saw old Homer's Ghost arise,  
An August Shade, down from whose reverend Eyes,  
Whilst his learned Tongue Nature's great secrets told,  
Whole streams of Tears in mighty numbers rolled.  
Therefore I'll sing, to cure these wanton Fears,  
Why Sun and Moon meet out the circling Years,  
How Bodies first begin; but chief this,  
Whence comes the Soul, and what her Nature is:  
What frights her waking Thoughts, what cheats her Eyes,  
When sleeping or diseased she thinks she spies  
Thin Ghosts in various shapes about her Bed,  
And seems to hear the Voices of the Dead.  
I'm sensible the Latin is too poor  
To equal the vast rich Graecian store: 
The difficulty.   
New matter various Nature still affords,  
And new Conceptions do require new Words:  
Yet for respect of You with great delight  
I meet these dangers, and I wake all Night,  
Labouring sit Numbers and fit Words to found,  
To make Things plain, and to instruct your Mind,  
And teach her to direct here curious Eye  
Into coy Nature's greatest privacy.  
These Fears, that Darkness that o'respreads our Soul's  
Day can't disperse, but those Eternal Rules  
Which from firm Premises true Reason draws,  
And a deep insight into Nature's Laws.  
Well than, let this as the first Rule be laid,  
Nothing was by the Gods of Nothing made. 
For the confirmation of his absurd opinions concerning the Deity, he gins his Philosophy with the denial of Creation; and here he is copious in his Arguments, but not one reaches his design: For though All things now rise from proper Seeds, and grow by just degrees; though they spring only at convenient Seasons of the Year, yet how doth this evince that these Seeds were not the production of the Almighty Word? But to confute his impious Opinion, and demonstrate that 'tis impossible, Matter should be self existent, that it cannot be 
a Hierocles de Fato & Provide. p. 10.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sister to the Deity, as the Platonists imagine; 'tis sufficient to look abroad into the World, and see that Stones and Mud, are not Being of Infinite Perfection: For whatsoever is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Scaliger calls the Deity, can have no bounds set to his excellency. For what can hinder the utmost perfection in 〈◊〉 Being which depends only on itself?   
For hence proceeds all our distrust and fear,  
That many things in Earth and Heaven appear,  
Whose Causes far remote and hidden lie  
Beyond the ken of vulgar Reason's eye,  
Therefore ascribed unto the Deity.  
But this once proved, it gives an open way  
To Nature's Secrets and we walk in Day:  
How things are made, and how preserved we'll prove  
Without the trouble of the Powers above:  
If Nothing can be fertile, 
Nothing made out Nothing.  what Law binds  
All Being's still to generate their own kinds?  
Why do not all things variously proceed  
From every Thing? What use of similar Seed?  
Why do not Birds and Fishes rise from Earth?  
And M●n and Trees from Water take their Birth?  
Why do not Herds and Flocks drop down from Air?  
Wild Creatures and untamed spring every where?  
The same Tree would not Rise from the same Root,  
The Cherry would not blush in the same Fruit;  
Naught fixed and constant be, but every Year  
Whole Nature change, and All things All things bear.  
For did not proper Seeds on all things wait,  
How than could this thing still arise from that?  
But now since constant Nature all things Breeds  
From Matter 〈◊〉 joined with proper Seeds,  
Their various Shapes, their different Properties,  
Is the plain cause why All from all can't rise.  
Besides, why is ripe Corn in Summer found?  
Why not bald Winter with fresh Roses Crowned?  
Why not his Cups o'erflow with new-pressed Wine,  
But sweaty Autumn only treads the Vine?  
But because Seeds to vital Union cast  
Spring and appear but whilst the Seasons last;  
Whilst Mother Earth hath warmth and strength to bear,  
And can safely trust her Infant-fruits to the mild Air.  
Things made of Nothing would at once appear,  
At any time and Quarter of the Year;  
Since there's no Seed whose Nature might remit,  
And check their growth until the Seasons fit.  
Beside, no need of time for things to grow,  
For that would be a measure even too slow;  
But in one instant, if from Naught began,  
A Shrub might be a Tree, a Boy a Man.  
But this is false; each mean Observer sees  
Things grow from certain Seeds by just degrees,  
And growing keep their Kind; and hence we know  
That Things from proper Matter rise, and grow  
By proper Matter Fed, and Nourished too.  
Again; the Earth puts forth no gaudy Flowers,  
Unless impregnated with timely showers;  
And living Creatures too, that scarce receive  
Supplies of Food, nor can Beget, nor Live.  
Wherhfore 'tis better to conclude there are  
Many first common Bodies every where,  
Which joined, as Letters Words, do Things Compose,  
Than that from Nothing any Thing arose.  
Besides, why doth weak Nature make such small,  
Such Puny Things for Men? Why not so Tall,  
That while they wade through Seas and swelling Tides,  
Th' aspiring Waves should hardly reach their Sides?  
Why not so strong, that they with ease might tear  
The hardest Rocks, and throw them through the Air?  
Why cannot she preserve them in their Prime,  
Above the power of devouring Time?  
Why wanton Childhood ends in Youthful rage,  
And Youth falls swiftly into doting Age?  
But because Things on certain Seeds depend  
For their Beginning, Continuance, and End.  
Therefore unfruitful Nothing, nothing breeds,  
Since all things own their Life to proper Seeds.  
Besides, Experience tells us, that wild Roots,  
Bettered by Art and Soil, bear noble Fruits:  
Whence we conclude, that Seeds of Bodies lie  
In Earth's cold Womb, which set at liberty  
By breaking of the Clods in which they lurk,  
Spring briskly up and do their proper Work.  
For were there none, though we no help afford,  
Things would be bettered of their own accord.  
Besides, as Nothing Nature's power creates,  
So Death Dissolves, but not Annihilates: 
No Annihilation.   
For could the Substances of Bodie● die,  
They presently would vanish from our Eye;  
And without force dissolving perish all,  
And silently into their Nothing fall:  
But now since Things from Seeds eternal rise,  
Their parts well joined and fitted, Nothing dies  
Unless some force break of the natural ties.  
Besides, if o'er whatever Years prevail,  
Should wholly perish, and its Matter fail,  
How could the Powers of allkind Venus breed  
A constant Race of Animals to succeed?  
Or how the Earth eternally supply  
With proper Food each their necessity?  
How could the Springs and Rivers run so far,  
And fill a Sea? How the Air feed each Star?  
For whatsoever could into Nothing waist,  
That infinite space of Time already past  
Had quite consumed—  
But if those Bodies which compose this All  
Can for so many Ages passed endure,  
They are Immortal, and from Death secure,  
And therefore cannot into Nothing fall.  
Again, the same force every thing would break,  
Were not the Union made more strong or weak  
By the Immortal Seeds; nay, more than that,  
One single touch would be the stroke of Fate▪  
For things, where no Eternal Seeds are found,  
Would straight dissolve, and die with any Wound▪  
But since the Seed's Eternal, and the frame,  
Of Bodies and their Union not the same,  
Things may secure and free from Danger stand,  
Until some force, driven by an envious hand,  
Proportioned to the Texture, breaks the band:  
Thus Death dissolves alone, she breaks the Chain,  
And scatters Things to their first Seeds again.  
Lastly, when Father Aether kindly pours  
On fertile Mother Earth his seminal showers,  
They seem to Perish there; but straight new juice  
Ferment, and various Herbs and Trees produce,  
Whose Trunks grow strong, and spreading Branche● shoot,  
Look fresh and green, and bend beneath their Fruit:  
These nourishment to Man and Beast do prove,  
Hence our Towns fill with Youth, with Birds each Grove,  
Who sit and sing, and in a numerous throng  
With new fledged Wings clap and applaud their Song▪  
These fat our Cattles, which distended lie  
On fertile Banks, their sprightful Young ones by  
Revelling on Milk, which their swollen Udders yield,  
Grow gay and brisk, and wanton o'er the field:  
And therefore Bodies cannot fall to Naught,  
Since one thing still is from another brought  
By provident Nature; who lets Nothing rise,  
And Be, unless from something else that dies.  
Now since we have by various Reasons taught,  
That nothing rises from, or falls to Naught,  
Jest you descent, because these Seeds must lie  
Beyond the ken even of the sharpest Eye;  
Know, 
There are Seeds, though undiscerned.  there are Bodies which no Eye can see,  
But yet from their effects must grant to Bebritia  
For first the Winds disturb the Seas and tear  
The stoutest Ships, and chase Clouds thro' the Air:  
Sometimes thro' humble Plains their violent course  
They take and bear down Trees with mighty force:  
Sometimes they rise so high, their strength so great,  
With furious Storms they lofty Mountains beaten,  
And tear their Woods—  
These must be Bodies, though unseen they be,  
Which thus disturb Heaven, Earth, Air and Sea;  
Which hardest Oaks and Rocks, and all things tear,  
And snatch them up in whirlings thro' the Air:  
They all rush on as headlong Rivers flow,  
Swollen big with falling showers, or melting Snow;  
Those Rocks and Trees overturn, and weighty Beams,  
And whirl their conquered Prey in rapid streams:  
Not Bridge can check, no force the stream control,  
It grows more wild and fierce, and beats the Mole:  
Ruin and Noise attend where e'er it flows,  
It rowls great Stones, and breaks what dare oppose:  
So rush the Blasts of Wind, which like a Flood,  
Which way so ere they tend, drive Rocks and Wood,  
And All before them; sometimes upwards bear  
In rapid turns, and whirl them in the Air:  
'Tis certain than, these Winds that rudely fight,  
Are Bodies, though too subtle for our sight;  
Since they do work as strong, as furious grow  
As violent Streams, which all grant Bodies, do.  
Those numerous Odours too, whose Smells delight  
And please the Nose, are all too thin for sight.  
We view not Heat, nor sharpest Colds, which wound  
The tender Nerves, nor can we see a Sound.  
Yet these are Bodies, for they move the Sense,  
And straight sweet pleasures, or quick pains commence;  
They shake the Nerves▪ Now whatsoever doth touch,  
Or can be touched, that must be granted such.  
Besides, fresh clothes expanded near the Main  
Grow wet, the same by th' Sun are dried again:  
Yet what Eye saw when first the Moisture sat,  
Or when it risen, and fled before the Heat?  
Therefore we must conclude the Drops t' have been  
Dissolved to parts, too subtle to be seen.  
Besides, 'tis certain, every circling Year,  
The Rings which grace the Hands diminish there:  
Drops hollow Stones; and whilst we plough, the Share  
Grows lesle; the Streets by often treading wear.  
The brazen Statues that our Gates adorn  
Show their right hands diminished and worn  
By th' touch of those that visit or pass by.  
'Tis certain from all these some parts must fly,  
But when those Body's part, or what they be,  
Envious Nature denies the power to see.  
Lastly, none, not the sharpest Eye e'er sees  
What parts to make things grow by just degrees  
Nature doth add, nor what she takes away,  
When Age steels softly on, and Things decay;  
Nor what the Salt, to set the Waters free,  
Frets from the Rocks and beats into the Sea:  
'Tis certain than that much which Nature does,  
She works by Bodies undiscerned by us.  
Yet Bodies do not fill up every place:  
For besides those there is an empty Space,  
A Voided; this known, 
There is a Voided.  this Notion framed aright  
Will bring to my Discourse new strength and light,  
And teach you plainest Methods to descry  
The greatest secrets of Philosophy.  
A Voided is space intangible: Thus proved. 

The two Principles of Epicurus are Body, and Voided; that the former is Sense sufficiently declares; and the latter is here evidently proved by two (for the others are easily eluded) Arguments: The first is drawn from motion; the second, from the parting of two flat smooth Bodies.  

b De Placitus Philosophorum, lib.  Plutarch roundly tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All the natural Philosophers from Thales to Plato denied ● Vacuum. But 
c In his Life.  Laertius declares, that Diogenes Apolloniates, who lived in the time of Xerxes pronounced, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Voided space is infinite. For the Antiquity of that Opinion I shall not be solicitous, though the Reasons are strong, and obvious enough to make it ancient; for what is more obvious than motion? And how necessarily this infers a Vacuum, is very easily discovered. Motion is change of Place, which change is impossible in a Plenum; for whatever endeavours to change its place must thrust out other Bodies; and so if the Full be infinite, the Protrusion must be so; if finite, the Endeavour is in vain; and therefore all must be fixed in eternal rest, and Archimedes himself with his Engine would not be able to move the lest Particle of Matter. 
a In the second Part of his Principles.  Cartes proposes a sol●tion, much applauded by his admirers, but a little attention will found it vain, and weak, and contradictory to his own settled Principles. For when any Body moves in a straight line, it must give the Body that lies before it, the same determination with ●t self; and how this determination should altar, and the Motion prove circular, neither Cartei, nor his followers, have condescended to explain. But grant (though the former reason hath proved i● impossible) that there may be such an attending Circle of Ambient Air, yet unless it be perfectly Mathematical, (a thing very hardly supposed) each Particle will require another attending Circle, and so not the lest Fly stin her wing, unless the whole Universe is troubled. To this may be added, that 'tis unconceivable how the most solid Matter (for such is his first Element) can so soon altar its figure, or be so easily dissolved and fitted to the different spaces that lie between the little Globules. We see Gold and Adamant resist the roughest stroke, 'tis Pains and constant Labour that must dissolve them; how than can we imagine this Element will yield? But indeed ●artes proposes his Ambient attending Circle as the only way to solve the Phenomenon of Motion in a Full, which he thought he had sufficiently before evinced: But his Arguments are weak and sophistical. For in the first of his Meditations, he never takes notice of Impenetrability, in which the very Essence of Matter consists; and in the second Part of his Principles, he mistakes the notion of a Voided, and confounds Substance and Body: Take his own Words. Vacuum autem Philosophico more sumptum, h. e. in quo nulla planè sit substantia dari non posse manifestum est; ex e● quod extensio Spati● non differt ab extensione Corporis: Nam cùm ex eo solo quòd Corpus sit extensum in longum, latum, & profundum, rectè concludamus illud esse Substantiam, quia omnino repugnat ut nibili sit aliqua extensio: Idem etiam de Spatio, quòd Vacuum supponi●ur, concludendum est; quòd nempe cùm in eo sit extensio, necessariò etiam in ipso sit substantia: For Voided doth not exclude all Substance, but only Body; and Substance and Body, are not convertible in the full latitude of an universal Proposition.  
Secondly, 'tis evident, that when two smooth flat Bodies are separated by a perpendicular Force, the ambient Air cannot fill all the space at once, and therefore there must necessarily be a Voided, and this 
In the 3d of Ten Dialogues.  Mr. Hobbs a great Plenist, freely confesseth would follow, if the Bodies were infinitely hard; but since Nature knows no such, any Bodies though perfectly smooth, may be separated by a force that overcomes their solidity, and yet no Vacuum ensue. A pretty Invention, but extremely agreeable to the Phaen●menon; for in the exhausted Receiver, where there is no prop of Under-Air left to sustain it, the lower Marble falls in by its own weight. Mr. Hobbs adds another Argument, which is of no force against the Vacuist, but overthrows his own Notion of a Material Deity: These are the Words. He that created Natural Bodies, is not a Fancy, but the most real Substance that is; who being infinite, there can be no place empty where he is, nor full where he is not.  
Now the other reasons of Lucretius are insufficient: For that drawn from the different weight of Bodies, would infer immense vacuities in the Air, which is two thousand times 
Glisson▪ de substantia, c. 26.  lighter than Gold; and that from Rarefaction, and Condensation, is not cogent, though 'tis the most rational opinion, and more agreeable to the mind of Aristotle, than that which is commonly proposed as his. 
b In Categoria Qualitatis  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That is Dense between whose parts there is a closer; That Rare between whose Particles there is a loser connexion.    
For were there none, no Body could be moved;  
Because where ere the pressing Motion goes,  
It still must meet with Stops, still meet with Foes,  
'Tis natural to Bodies to oppose.  
So that to move would be in vain to try,  
But all would fixed, stubborn and moveless lie;  
Because no yielding Body could be found  
Which first should move, and give the other ground.  
But every one now sees that things do move  
With various turns in Earth and Heaven above;  
Which, were no Voided, not only we'd not seen,  
But th' Bodies too themselves had never been:  
ne'er generated, for Matter all sides pressed  
With other Matter would for ever rest.  
Thou free from Pores, and Solid Things appear,  
Yet many Reasons prove them to be Rare:  
For Drops distil, and subtle Moisture creeps  
Thro hardest Rocks, and every Marble weeps:  
Juice drawn from Food unto the Head doth climb,  
Than falls to th' Feet, and visits every Limb: 
' This though particularly designed against those who take Accidents into the number of real Being's, yet hath a farther reach, and endeavours to overthrew the belief of immaterial Substances; for an Epicurean perception being nothing else but Imagination, as arising from the stroke of a piece of Matter, he had no way left to get a notice of any such Being, but by some deduction from those appearances, of which his Senses had assured him; thus from Motion ●e infers that there is Space; and that being once settled, he proceeds to the Solidity of Atoms: Now though the very same method with lesle attention had forced him to acknowledge substances immaterial, and to have made the Universe more complete by another kind of Being's; yet 'twas hard to thwart the Genius of his Master, to start new fears that might disturb his soft hours, and amaze himself with melancholy thoughts of a future State: and therefore to silence the Clamours of his Reason, (for he could not but see such plain Consequences) he secures Motion as a property of Matter neeessarily resulting from Weight, and this I take to be the Basis of the Epicurean Atheism, which once removed, that Tower of Babe● which now rises so proudly as to brave Heaven, must be ruined and overthrown: For if Matter as such ●s destitute of that power, the inference is easy that ●here must be some other Being to bestow it; this cannot be space, and therefore another kind of Substance is required; and hence follows all that train of Consequences of which the Epicureans are so afraid: For he that first moves the Matter hath no reason to cease from his operation, and so must still govern and direct it. And Providence is nothing else but an orderly preservation of that frame which it first raised: And if there is such a director, how easily it follows that He would discover his pleasure unto Man, and prescribe rules how he may be Happy? And this makes a fair way for revealed Religion, and that necessarily infers a future State: This methinks is a considerable advantage of Natural Philosophy, that it can proceed from such sensible Things, and plainly shows us the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the invisible Things of God, in these his visible operations; now that weight is not a Property of Atoms, will be afterwards demonstrated, and so another sort of Being's proved against the Epicureans.   
Trees grow and at due Seasons yield their Fruit,  
Because the Juice drawn by the labouring Root  
Doth rise i'th' Trunk, and thro' the Branches shoot:  
Sounds pass thro' well closed Rooms and hardest Stones,  
And rigorous Winter's Frosts affect our Bones.  
This could not be, were there no empty Space,  
Thro which these Movables might freely pass.  
Besides, why have not Bodies equal weight  
With those whose Figure is but just as great?  
For did as many equal Bodies frame  
Both Wool and Lead, their weight would be the same;  
For every part of Matter downward tends,  
By Nature heavy, but no Voided descends:  
Wherhfore those lighter Things of equal size  
Do lesle of Matter, more of Voided comprise:  
But by the heavier more of Seeds enjoyed:  
And these convincing Reasons prove a Voided.  
But some object, 
Objection.  The Floods give Fishes way,  
Who cut their passage thro' the yielding Sea,  
Because they leave a space where ere they go,  
To which the yielding Waters circling flow;  
And hence by an Analogy they prove,  
That though the World was full, yet things may move:  
But this is weak—  
For how could Fishes ply their Natural Oars?  
How cut the Sea, 
Answer.  and visit distant shores,  
Unless the Waves gave way? How those divide,  
Except the Fish first part the yielding Tide?  
Well than, fight Sense, deny what that will prove,  
Discard all motion, and the power to shove;  
Or grant a Voided, whence things begin to move.  
Let two broad Bodies meet and part again,  
The Air must fill the space that's left between;  
Yet though supposed it flies as swift as thought,  
Even common sense denies it can be brought  
O'er all at once; the nearest first possessed,  
And thence 'tis hurried on, and fills the rest.  
But now should some suppose these Marbles part,  
Made firm by Nature, and polite by Art▪  
Because the Air's condensed; they err: 'Tis plain  
That a wide Voided is made, and filled again:  
Nor can the Air condensed be thus employed,  
Or if it could, yet not without a Voided  
Can all the parts contract to shorter space,  
And be combined with a more close embrace:  
Thus though you Cavil, yet at last o'ercome,  
You must ignobly grant a Vacuum.  
Nor are these all, ten thousand Reasons more  
Clear, firm, convincing, yet ne'er heard before,  
Might be produced: But these (my Curious Youth)  
Will guide thy searching Mind to farther Truth:  
For as Hounds once in trace do beaten about,  
Pursue the Scent, and found the Coverts out;  
So you, my Memmius, may from one thing known  
To hidden Truths successfully go on;  
Pursue coy Truth with an unerring sense  
Into her close recess, and force her thence:  
Go bravely on, and in such things as these  
Never doubt, I'll promise' Thee deserved success:  
And my full Soul is eager to declare  
So many secrets, that I justly fear,  
ere I shall prove but one particular,  
The Reasons flow in such a numerous throng,  
That Age, or hasty Death, will break the Song.  
But to go on—  
This All consists of Body and of Space, 
Nothing besides Body and Voided.   
This moves, and that affords the Motion place:  
That Bodies are, we all from Sense receive,  
Whose notice if in this we disbelieve,  
On what can Reason fix, on what rely?  
What Rule the truth of her deductions try  
In greater secrets of Philosophy?  
Suppose no Voided, as former Reasons prove,  
No Body could enjoy a Place, or move.  
Besides these two there is no third degree  
Distinct from both; naught that hath power to Bebritia  
For if 'tis Tangible, and hath a Place,  
'Tis Body; if Intangible, 'tis Space:  
Besides, whatever is, a Power must own▪  
Or fit to Act, or to be acted on,  
Or be a Place in which such things are done.  
Now Bodies only suffer and act, and Place  
Is the peculiar gift of empty Space:  
Well than, a different Third in vain is sought,  
And not to be discovered by sense or thought.  
For whatsoever may seem of more degrees, 
Of Events and Properties.   
Are the Events or Properties of these:  
Which to explain; We call those Properties,  
Which never part except the Subject dies:  
So weight to Stones, so Moisture to the Sea,  
So Touch to Body is, and to be free  
From Touching is to Voided. But Peace, and Wealth,  
War, Concord, Slavery, Liberty and Health,  
Whose presence or whose absence nor prevents,  
Nor brings the Subject's ruin, are Events.  
Time 
Time.  of itself is Nothing, but from Thought  
Receives its rise, by labouring Fancy wrought  
From things considered, whilst we think on some  
As present, some as past, or yet to come.  
No Thought can think on Time, that's still confessed,  
But thinks on Things in ●otion, or at rest.  
Yet whilst the Sons of Fame their Songs employ  
On Helen's Rape, or mourn the ●all of Troy,  
Take heed, nor fancy from such Tales as these  
That Actions are, that they subsist confess:  
Since all those whose Events they were, War's rage  
Long since destroyed, or more devouring Age:  
For Action, or what e'er from Action springs,  
Is called th' Event of Countries or of Things.  
Lastly, suppose no Frame, no Seeds had been  
To act these Things, nor Space to act them in;  
No gentle Fire had warmed kind Paris breast,  
No flames from Beauteous Helen's Eyes increased,  
And kindled dreadful War; no teeming Horse  
Brought forth in one short night so great a force  
As ruin'd stately Troy: Which plainly show  
That Actions not subsist, as Bodies do,  
Neither as Voided, but as Events alone  
Of Places where, and Things by which they're done.  
But farther, Bodies are of different kind,  
Or Principles, or made of those combined:  
The Principles of things no force can break, 

Sextus Empiricus declares, that Epicurus hated the Mathematics, and we may believe Lucretius follows his Master; since in his Disputes concerning the indivisibility of Atoms, he proposes the populat argument against the known and demonstrated property of Quantity, infinite Divisibility: For a● long as Mathematics can boast any certainty, th● must be acknowledged to be such.  
I shall not engage in this unnecessary Controversy, (though I believe those common Arguments against infinite Divisibility are empty Sophisms, and a little attention (as whoever considers the method in which they are proposed must observe) will found them full of contradictions, and founded on absurdities:) for the indivisibility of an Atom, proceeds not from the littleness, but the Solidity: for since the Atoms are of different figures, some Triangular, some Square, etc. 'Tis absurd to imagine, that the Mind (by which only Atoms are perceived) cannot fancy a Diagonal in the Square, or a Perpendicular erected to the Basis of the Triangle: yet from this Mental to the Physical Divisibility of an Atom (as Cartes proceeds) is extremely weak and deficient. That there are some solid Particles, Lucretius hath evidently proved: These Democritus called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, first Magnitudes, Epicurus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Atoms from their indissoluble Solidity, but as 
a Eusebius Prap. lib. 14. cap. 7.  Dionysius observes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: they so widely disagreed that Epicurus made all his Atoms to be leasts, and therefore insensible, but Democrit●s supposed some of his to be very great: Heraclides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: but none of all his reasons prove them unchangeable. For if Solidity, i e. immediate Contact were a necessary cause of indivisibility, it would follow, that no piece of Matter could be divided, because the parts that are to be separated, enjoy an immediate Contact, and that Contact must be between S●rfaces as large as Atoms, or, at lest, some of their fancied Parts. Besides, let two hard Bodies perfectly smooth be joined together in a common Superficies, parallel to the Horizontal Plain, and certain Experience will assure us, that any force that is able to overcome the resistance of the supporting Air, will easily divide them. His other Arguments are all unconcluding: for suppose the Se●ds not eternal, i e. divisible, 'tis a strange inference, Therefore Being's rise from nothing, since any Body, and therefore one of these solid Particles, is not reduced into Nothing by division, but only into smaller parts: And the weakness of the rest is so obvious, that I shall not spend time in declaring it.  
The rest of the first Book, contains a successful Dispute against Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, and others, and concludes with the immensity of the All, where though he hath scattered many things, (as the Motion, and Weight of Atoms, etc.) which deserve examination, I shall not disturb him in the midst of his Triumphs, but only take notice that, p. 31. l. 18. he overthrows his own Opinion, concerning the Nature of the Deity, and makes it subject to the same dissolution with other Compounds    
They are too Solid, and all strokes too weak;  
Thomas such can hardly be believed; for Voice,  
Or Thunder's Sound, or every louder noise,  
Breaks thro' our Walls, which yet remain entire.  
So Iron glows, and Rocks dissolve in Fire:  
Strong Flames divide the stubborn Gold and Brass,  
And to a Liquid Substance break the Mass:  
Thro Silver Heat and Cold; and each disdains  
And scorns a Prison, though in precious Chains.  
This Sense perceives, for hold a Silver Cup,  
And pour some Water gently in at top;  
Th' imprisoned Heat or Cold straight break the●● bands▪  
Grow fierce, fly thro', and warm, or i'll the hands,  
These instances are strong; these seem t' explain,  
That Being's in their vast extent contain  
No perfect Solids: Creatures of the Brain.  
But yet attend my Muse; she briefly sings,  
Because right Reason, and the Frame of Things  
Such Seeds require) attend, she sweetly shows,  
And proves, that Things from perfect Solids rose.  
Two sorts of Being's Reason's Eye descried,  
And proved before, 
Perfect Solids.  their difference vastly wide;  
Body and Voided, which never could agreed  
In any one Essential Property;  
For Body, as 'tis Matter, is from Place  
Distinct, and Voided from Body, as 'tis Space;  
Both these distinct subsist: And thus 'tis proved  
That Seeds are Solid, and from Space removed.  
But farther on; since Things of S●ed composed  
Hold Voided, that Thing by which that Void's enclosed  
Is perfect Solid, for what else employed  
Can hold a Space, or what contain a Voided?  
Now what can Sense, what searching Reason found,  
To hold this Voided, but solid Seeds combined?  
This solid Matter must for ever last,  
Eternally endure, whilst Compounds waste.  
So grant no Voided, no Spaces unpossest,  
Than all would solid be, and all at rest.  
And grant no Solids which fill up that Place,  
They do possess, all would be Empty Space.  
Well than, Seeds mixed with Voided compose the Whole,  
Not All is empty Space, not All is Full:  
And solid Seeds exist, which fill their Place,  
And make a difference between Full and Space.  
These, 
Seeds Eternal.  as I proved before, no active Flame.  
Not subtle Cold, can pierce and break their Frame,  
Thomas every Compound yields; no powerful blow,  
No subtle Wedge divide, or break in two.  
For nothing can be struck, no part destroyed▪  
By powerful blows, or cleft without a Voided.  
And those that hold most Voided, when strokes do press▪  
Or subtle wedges enter, yield with ease.  
Now if these Seeds are Solid, they must endure  
Eternally, from force, from stroke Secure.  
Besides, were Seeds not Eternal,—  
All than would rise from Naught, and All return  
To Naught, Nothing would be both Womb, and Vrn.  
But since my former Reasons clearly taught,  
That Nothing rises from, or sinks to Naught;  
Those various Things eternal Seeds compose,  
And Death again dissolves them into those:  
And thence new things were framed, new Creatures risen;  
Than Seeds are Solid, else how could they last?  
How things repair, so many Ages past?  
When Nature things divides, did she go on  
Dividing still, and never would have done;  
The Seeds had been so small, so much refined,  
That nothing could have grown mature, no Mass combined,  
For things are easier far dissolved than joined;  
Than Nature which thro' all those Ages past  
Hath broke those Seeds, and still goes on to waste,  
Can scarce contrive, though numerous years remain,  
To fit, unite, and join them close again.  
But now 'tis plain, by strictest reason tried,  
That Nature doth not infinitely divide,  
Since Things are made, and certain years endure,  
In which they spring, grow and become Mature.  
But more: 
Whence Softness.  Thomas Seeds are hard thro' all their frame,  
A Compound may be soft; as Water, Flame,  
What e'er it is, or whence soe'er it Springs,  
Because we grant a Voided commixed with Things:  
But were they soft, no reason could be shown,  
How hardened Iron's framed, or harder Stone,  
For Nature than would want fit Seeds to work upon:  
Than solid Seeds exist, whose numerous throng  
Closely combined, makes Compounds firm and strong.  
But more: Since Things have time for life and growth  
Prefixed, and certain terms are set for both:  
Since bounds are set, o'er which they cannot go,  
And Laws speak what they can, and cannot do:  
Nor things are changed, for all the Kind's that fly,  
Are clothed with plumes of the same curious Dye;  
The Matter must be firm, the Seeds must be  
Unchangeable, from alteration free.  
For grant the Seeds may change, we could not know  
What things would be produced, or when, or how:  
How great their Power would rise, how far extend,  
How long they'd live, or when their actions end:  
Nor should we found the same Delights pursued,  
Nor Parents Natures in the Young renewed.  
Besides, those Parts of Things that u●most lie,  
Are something, though too subtle for the Eye;  
And these are Leasts: They never break the Chain,  
And by themselves subsist, nor ever can:  
For they are Parts, whose both Extremes the same,  
And such like Placed in Order Bodies frame.  
Since these subsist not in a separate State,  
Their Union must be strong, too firm for Fate;  
And Struck and Wedge may try their Strength in vain,  
No force can lose the Tie, or break the Chain.  
Than Seeds are simple Solids, their Parts Combined  
By strongest Bands; but not of others joined.  
These Nature keeps entire, these Seeds supply  
For future things, repairing those that die.  
Besides, 
Atoms.  suppose not Lest, than Seeds refined,  
Too small for Sense, nay scarce perceived by Mind,  
Would still be full, still numerous Parts contain,  
No End, not Bound, but Infinite the Train:  
And thus the Greatest and the Smallest Frame  
Would both be equal, and their Bounds the same;  
For though the All be infinite, each single Grain  
And smallest Seeds as numerous Parts contain.  
But that's absurd by Reason's Laws con●est,  
And therefore Nature must admit a Lest,  
Not framed of others, which no Parts can show,  
And that is Solid, and Eternal too.  
Beside, did Nature not resolve to Lest,  
Her Power quite Spent, her Works long since had ceased▪  
Her Force all gone, no Being's raised anew,  
Nor Things repaired; for no Composures show  
What Seeds must have, those Catholic Qualities,  
Nature's great Instruments, Weight, Motion, Size.  
Lastly, grant Nature infinitely divides,  
And never ceases; You must grant besides,  
That still some Seeds exist, which never broke,  
Remain secure, free from the Power of stroke.  
But 'tis absurd frail Seeds should bear the rage  
Of strokes unhurt, nor yield to powerful Age.  
Those grossly err, who teach All rise from Fire,  
As Heraclitus 
Against Heraclitus.  whom vain Greeks admire  
For dark expression; But the Sober Few,  
Who seek for, and delight in what is true,  
Scorn and contemn; for only Fools regard  
What seems obscure, and intricate, and hard.  
Take that for Truth, whose Phrases smooth appear,  
And dancing Periods charm the wanton Ear.  
For how could Bodies of so different frame,  
So various rise from pure and real Flame?  
Nor can you clear the doubt by fond pretence,  
That Fire is made more rare, or else more dense:  
This Changes not the Fire, 'tis still the same,  
If Dense, a strong; If Rare, a weaker Flame.  
Yet this is all that can be said▪—  
Who can believe that Nature's various Pride  
Can spring from Flame condensed, or rarifyed?  
'Tis true, did These admit an Empty Space,  
Than Flame made rare might fill a larger Place,  
Or Dense, combine with a more strict Embrace:  
But since they think that hard, and Voided oppose,  
Fearing the difficult, the right they loose;  
Nor yet perceive, that banish Voided alone,  
All Bodies would be Dense, and All be one;  
From which no Seeds could fly, no Parts retire,  
As Smoak, and Heat, and vigorous Light from Fire.  
This proves a Voided commixed.—  
But if by any means, however strange,  
The Flame could perish, and its Parts could change,  
If this could once be done, than all its Heat  
And it's whole Nature would to Naught retreat;  
And therefore Bodies would from Nothing rise;  
For what is changed from what it was, That dies.  
But after Change some Seeds must still remain,  
Jest All should sink to Naught, and thence return again.  
Now since our former Reasons clearly show  
Some Seeds, and those of constant Nature too;  
Whose presence, absence, or whose different Range  
Of Order makes the Things themselves to change;  
We certainly conclude, they are not Flame,  
For than 'twould Naught import, what newly came,  
What changed its Order, or what did Retire,  
Since all would be of the same Nature, Fire.  
But this is my Opinion:—  
Some Seeds exist, from whose Site, Figure, Size,  
Concussion, Order, Motion, Flames arise;  
And when the Orders changed, the Parts of Fire  
Their Nature loose, and silently Expire;  
The disunited Bodies fly from thence,  
Not Flame, nor any Object of the Sense.  
But now to think, as Heraclitus tells,  
That All that is, is Fire, and nothing else,  
'Tis fond, and certainty of Sense overthrows.  
From which alone that Flame exists he knows:  
In this he Credit gives, but fears t'afford  
The like in things as plain; and that's absurd:  
For what can judge, and what our search Secure,  
Like Sense, Truth's great Criterion? What so sure?  
Besides, why should We rather All disclaim,  
Reject All else, and fancy only Flame,  
Than Fire deny, and all things else receive,  
Both which 'tis equal madness to believe?  
Well than, all those that teach Things took their birth  
From simple Fire, or Water, Air, or Earth,  
Lie under palpable Mistakes; and Those  
That teach from doubled Elements they risen,  
As Air and Fire, as Earth and Water joined;  
Or all four, Earth, Air, Water, Fire, combined.  
Thus Sung Empedocles— 
Things are not made of four Elements. Empedocles.   
In fruitful Sicily, whose crooked sides  
The Ionian washeses with impetuous Tides,  
And a small Frith from Italy divides;  
Here Scylla raves, and fierce Charybdis roars,  
Beating with boisterous Waves, the trembling Shores;  
Here pressed Enceladus with mighty loads,  
Vomits revenge in Flames against the Gods;  
Thro Aetna's jaws he impudently threats,  
And thundering Heaven with equal thunder beats:  
This Isle, who with such wondrous sights as these  
Doth call forth Traullers, and the Curious please;  
Is rich with Men and Fruit, hath rarely shown  
A thing more Glorious than this single One.  
His Verse composed of Nature's Works declare  
His Wit was strong, and his Invention rare;  
His Judgement deep and sound, whence some began,  
And justly too, to think him more than Man.  
Yet He, with all the meaner Other's named.  
Thomas for some rare Inventions justly famed,  
(Which they have left as Oracles, more sure  
Than from the Tripod spoke, and lesle obscure  
Than those the Ancients from the Pythia heard)  
Ith' Principles of Things have greatly Erred.  
That things may move, or may be soft, or rare  
Without a Voided, as Water, Flame, or Air,  
They all affirm; that Nature never rests  
In breaking Bodies, and admits no Leasts;  
When yet we see that Part that topmost lies  
Is th' Lest that is presented to our Eyes;  
From whence that That's a Lest we may conclude  
Which Utmost is, too little to be viewed.  
Besides, their Seeds are soft, which can be born,  
And die; than All would rise, and All return  
To Naught; Nothing would be both Womb and Vrn.  
Beside, since they are Contraries, and at jars  
Amongst themselves, engaged in Civil Wars,  
They perish when they meet, or scattered waste  
As wind, and showers, crossed by an adverse blast.  
Lastly, if from four Elements all this rose,  
And All again by Death dissolved to those;  
What reason we should rather fond deem  
Those Principles of Things, than Things of them?  
For they alternately are changed, and show  
Each other's figure, and their Nature too.  
But if you think that Earth is joined with Fire,  
With Water, Air, their Nature still entire,  
Nothing could first be made, or made Increased;  
Nor Tree, nor Man, nor tender Fruit, nor Beast:  
For each Component in the various Mass  
Would keep its Nature, and be what it was:  
And we should view confusedly joined and fixed  
Thin Air with Earth, and Fire with Water mixed.  
But Principles of Things must be unknown,  
Of Nature undiscerned; jest any One  
Rising above the Other should appear,  
And show that Things not truly Compounds are.  
Besides, they all these Four from Heaven derive,  
And first, that Flame is turned to Air, believe;  
Thence Water, and thence Earth, and so retire  
From Earth to Water, thence to Air and Fire:  
Their change ne'er ceaseth, but about they're driven,  
From Heaven to Earth, from Earth again to Heaven:  
But Seeds can never change their natural state,  
They must endure free from the Power of Fate,  
L●ft all should sink to Naught, and thence arise;  
For what is changed from what it was, That dies.  
Now since these four can die, since these can fail,  
Of other Seeds, o'er which no strokes prevail,  
They must be framed, jest all should rise, and all return  
To Naught, and Nothing be both Womb and Urn.  
Than rather grant Seeds such, that did they frame  
A single Body, as, for instance Flame;  
Yet take away or add some new to those,  
Their Site or Motion changed would Air compose:  
And so of other things,—  
But you'll object 
Objection.  and say; 'tis manifest  
From Earth rise Trees, are nourished, and increased:  
And if the Seasons prove not kind and good,  
Moisture and soaking Showers corrupt the Wood:  
And did not Phoebus shed enlivening heat,  
No Fruit or Beasts could grow, look fair and great:  
And We, unless upheld by Meats, should die,  
Swallowed by treacherous Mortality:  
Life loosed from Nerves and Bones long since had fled,  
And left the wasted Carcase pale and dead:  
For We, from certain things our strength receive,  
And other things from certain others live:  
For various common Principles are fixed  
In every thing, and all confused and mixed;  
And therefore Nature knows no general good,  
But different things must have their different food:  
And thus it matters to the grand Design,  
How, or with what, the various S●eds combine,  
What Site, and what Position they maintain,  
What Motion give, and what receive again.  
For the same Seeds compose both Earth and Seas,  
The Sun and Moon, and Animals, and Trees,  
But their contexture, or their motion disagrees.  
So in my Verse are Letters common found  
To many words unlike in sense and sound;  
Such great variety bore Change affords  
Of order i'th' few Elements of Words.  
Now since Things Seeds are more, from those may rise  
Moore different shapes, and more varieties.  
Now let's examine with a curious Eye  
Anaxagoras his Philosophy, 
Against Anaxagoras.   
By copious Greece termed Homaeomery:  
For which our Latin Language, poor in words,  
Not one expressive single voice affords.  
Yet by an easy short Periphrasis  
We plainly can discover what it is.  
For this it means: That Bones of minute Bones,  
That Flesh of Flesh, and Stones of little Stones,  
That Nerves take other little Nerves for food,  
That Blood is made of little drops of Blood;  
That Gold from parts of the same nature risen,  
That Earth's do Earth, Fires Fire, Airs Air compose,  
And so in all things else alike to those.  
But He admits no Voided, He grants not Lest,  
And therefore errs in that with all the Rest.  
Besides, too weak, too feeble Seeds he chose,  
If they are like the Bodies they compose,  
And liable to death as well as those:  
For which of all these Being's could endure  
The violent jaws of Death, from Death secure?  
Can Fire, could Air, could Water, Blood, or Bone?  
Which of all These? In my opinion none:  
Since All would be as liable to die,  
Subject to powerful Mortality,  
As those which Force destroys before our eye.  
But former Arguments have clearly taught,  
That Things nor perish to, nor rise from Naught.  
Besides, since by our meat our Bodies grow,  
Are nourished and increased, we plainly know  
That Bones, and Blood, and Veins, and Nerves are made  
Of parts dissimilar, in Order laid:  
But if the Meat in perfect form contains  
Small parts of Nerves, of Blood, of Bones, and Veins,  
Than Meat and Drink would in themselves preserve  
Dissimilar parts, as Blood, Bone, Vein, and Nerve.  
Besides, if all those Things that spring from Earth,  
Before they risen, before they showed their Birth,  
Lay hid within; the Clods must needs comprise  
As proper Parts those various Things that rise.  
Now change the subject, keep the terms the same:  
In Wood, if Smoke lies hid, if Sparks, and Flame,  
It must consist of parts of different frame.  
But there's a little shift, a slight excuse,  
Which Anaxagoras 
Anaxagoras his Answer.  his Scholar's use.  
Thomas such lie mixed in All, that part alone  
Appears, that only to the sense is shown,  
Which in the composition doth comprise  
The greatest part, and on the surface lies.  
But this is false; or thro' the weighty Mill,  
From broken Corn would bloody drops distil,  
Or some such parts as in our bodies grow;  
From herbs and flowers a milky juice would flow;  
In broken clods each searching Eye might see  
Some lurking scattered herb, or leaf, or tree?  
And in cloven wood, and broken sticks admire  
Smoak, ashes, flame, and little sparks of fire:  
But since on strictest search no Parts appear,  
We must not fond fancy they are there▪  
That Bodies are composed of such combined,  
But Common Seeds in various order joined.  
But you will answer thus: 
Objection.  'Tis often known  
That stately Trees on lofty Mountains grown,  
When beaten by a furious Southern blast,  
Grow warm, and hot, and so take Fire at last.  
All this we grant—  
Yet there's no actual fire, but Seeds of Heat,  
Which dashed together all this flame beget;  
For if i'th' wood such actual flame was held,  
How could it for one moment be concealed?  
It straight would show its mighty force, and burn,  
And Shrubs, and Trees, and all to ashes turn.  
And hence, as we discoursed before, we found  
It matters much with what first Seeds are joined;  
Or how, or what Position they maintain,  
What Motion give, and what receive again:  
And that the Seeds remaining still the same,  
Their order changed, of Wood are turned to Flame.  
Just as the Letters little change affords  
Ignis and Lignum, two quite different words.  
Besides, if you suppose no frame would spring,  
Unless the Principles were like the Thing,  
The same in Nature, Seeds are lost; for than  
Some Seeds would laugh, and weep, and laugh again.  
With violent Grin distorted their little face,  
And presently drop briny tears apace.  
Now what remains observe, distinctly mark,  
I know 'tis hard, 'tis intricate, and dark,  
Yet powerful hope of Praise still spurs me on,  
(I'm eager, and 'tis time that I were gone,)  
I feel, I rising feel Poetic heats,  
And now inspired trace o'er the Muse's seats  
Untrodden yet; 'tis sweet to visit first  
Untouched and Virgin streams, and quench my thirst:  
'Tis sweet to crop fresh flowers, and get a Crown  
For new and rare Inventions of my own;  
So Noble, Great, and Generous the Design,  
That none of all the Mighty Tuneful Nine  
Shall grace a Head with Laurels like to Mine.  
For first I teach Great Things in Lofty Strains,  
And lose men from Religion's grievous Chains.  
Next, though my Subject's da●k, my Verse is clear,  
And sweet, with fancy flowing every where:  
And this designed. For as Physicians use  
In giving Children Draughts of Bitter Juice,  
To make them take it, tinge the Cup with sweet,  
To cheat the Lip: this first they eag●r meet,  
And than drink on, and take the bitter Draught,  
And so are harmlessly deceived, not caught:  
For by this cheat they get their health, their ease,  
Their vigour, strength, and baffle ●he Disease.  
So since our Methods of Philosophy  
Seem harsh to some, since most our Maxims ●●ie,  
I thought it was the fittest way to dress  
These rigid Principles in pleasing Verse,  
With fancy sweetening them; to bribe thy mind  
To read my Books, and lead it on to found  
The Nature of the World, the Rise of Things,  
And what vast profit to that knowledge brings.  
Now since my former various Reasons show  
That Seeds are solid, and eternal too,  
Let's next inquire, if infinite or no:  
Likewise if Voided and Space do somewhere end,  
Or without bounds to immensity extend.  
The All is every way immensly wide, 
The All is ●●finite.   
Or else it would have Bounds on every side.  
Now what can be a Bound, but that which lies  
Beyond the Body, whose Extreme it is?  
That Nought's beyond the All, even common sense  
Declares, therefore the All must be immense:  
Thus stand on any quarter of the Space,  
That's nothing, 'tis immense from every place.  
But grant it infinite—  
Suppose a man on the extremest part,  
Suppose him stand, and strive to throw a Dart:  
The Dart would forward fly, or hindered stay,  
Choose which you will, the Reason's good each way,  
And firm: For if some farther Space admit,  
Or some resistance stops its hasty flight,  
That's not the End; so place the utmost part  
Where e'er you will, I'll follow with the Dart:  
And by this single Argument deface  
(For still the Voided will give a further place)  
Those feigned Extremes and Bounds you fix to Space.  
Again,—  
Suppose the All had Bounds, suppose an End,  
Than Bodies which by nature must descend,  
And from Eternity pursued the race,  
Had long ere this time reached the lowest place:  
Whence nothing could in decent order rise,  
There could not be a glittering Sun or Skies;  
For all the Seeds must lie confusedly mixed  
In a vast Chaos, immovable, and fixed.  
But now the Seeds still move, because the Space  
Is boundless, and admits no lowest place;  
No End, which heavy Seeds by Nature pressed  
Might seek below, and settle there and rest:  
Now all from parts of Matter moved arise,  
Which the vast Mass eternally supplies.  
But lastly, Things to Things still Bounds appear▪  
So Air to lofty Hills, and Hills to Air,  
So Earth the Seas, and Seas the Earth control,  
But there is Nothing that can bound the Whole.  
Wherhfore 'tis such, that did swift Lightning fly  
Thro the vast Space to all Eternity,  
No utmost part, no End would e'er be found,  
So vastly wide it is, and without bound.  
Again, Nature's eternal Laws provide,  
That the Vast All should be immensly wide,  
Boundless, and infinite, because they place  
Body as bound to Voided, to Body Space,  
By mutual bounding making both immense.  
For did they not each other bound, but One  
Were infinite: for instance, Space alone,  
Nor Man, nor Earth, nor Heaven, nor could the Sea,  
Nor bodies of the Gods one moment be;  
For Seeds of Things, their Union all destroyed,  
Would fly dissolved and scattered thro' the Voided,  
Or rather into Things had scarce combined,  
Because once parted they had never joined;  
For sure unthinking Seeds did ne'er dispose  
Themselves by counsel, nor their order chose,  
Nor any compacts made how each should move,  
But from Eternal thro' the Vacuum strove,  
Variously moved and turned; until at last  
Most sorts of Motion and of Union past,  
By chance to that convenient order hurled,  
Which frames the Being's that compose the World:  
And these same Seeds now orderly maintained  
In those convenient 〈◊〉 they have gained,  
Is a sufficient cause why 〈◊〉 Earth  
By Sunbeams quickened gives new fruits their birth:  
Why Rivers still the greedy Deep supply,  
Why Beasts increase, why Sun and Moon ne'er die:  
Which could not be, unless supplies still came  
From the vast Mass, and propped the sinking frame.  
As Beasts deprived of Food, so Things must die,  
As soon as Matter fails of just supply.  
Nor can eternal strokes preserve the Whole,  
Sometimes they may the hasty flight control  
Of some small part, till others come and join,  
And taking hold, into one Mass combine;  
But oftentimes they must rebound, and than  
The Principles of Things may break the Chain,  
And get their former liberty again.  
Nay that these strokes might be, this lasting fight,  
The Mass of Matter must be infinite:  
'Tis certain than that there must come supply  
From the vast Mass, repairing Things that die.  
But scorn their dreams who fond can believe, 
Bodies do not strive to the Middle.   
And teach, that all things to the middle strive,  
And by that natural pressure this whole frame  
Might be maintained, it's order still the same,  
Without external impulse; high and low  
Would always be as firmly joined as now.  
And their own site, their different place possess,  
Since All unto one common Centre press.  
They farther teach, 
Antipodes.  that ponderous weights below  
Unto their resting places upwards go;  
And as our shadows in smooth streams appear,  
So feet to feet some Animals walk there;  
Yet can no sooner fall into those Skies  
That lie beneath, than We to Heaven can rise:  
When Phoebus climbs their East, the feeble light  
Of Stars peeps forth, and beautifies our Night.  
But this ridiculous Dream, this fancy springs  
From dark Ignorance i'th' Principles of Things.  
For since the Voided is infinite, the Space  
Immense, how can there be a middle place?  
Or grant there were,—  
Yet why not Bodies end their tedious race, 
No Centre.   
And stop, as well in any other place  
As there? For every part of Empty-Space  
Of Midst, or not, must equally allow  
To ponderous Movents easy passage thro':  
For there's no place, to which by Nature pressed  
Seeds loose their force of weight, and freely rest:  
Nor empty Space can prop the Seeds, nor stay  
Their Motion, 'tis its nature to give way:  
Jest Heaven dissolved like swiftest flames should fly  
Thro the vast Space, the Fabric of the Sky  
Confusedly falling lower Buildings meet,  
The faithless Earth forsake our trembling feet,  
And all the Things in Heaven and Earth destroyed,  
Confusedly scatter thro' the boundless Voided,  
And in one moment every thing deface  
But unseen Atoms, and vast empty Space▪  
For wheresoever the Fabric doth begin  
To fail, there greedy Death will enter in;  
And thro' the ruinous breach the violent course  
Of rapid Matter rush with mighty force.  
Besides, they grant not all, but only Those  
Which heavy Water, and dull Earth compose,  
Strive to the Centre, but that Two retire  
Endeavouring from it, as light Air and Fire:  
Whence Stars, those feeble Ornaments of Night,  
Are nourished, and gay Phoebus' fiercer Light:  
Because the Flame which from the Midst retires,  
When got on high, combines its scattered fires.  
How Beasts get grass, how leaves on branches bud,  
If Earthy parts risen not, and gave them food?  
In Bodies than there lies no fond desire  
To seek the Midst, which keeps this Frame entire.   

This known, 'tis no uneasy task to know;  
I'll lead Thee farther on, and clearly show  
The Pride of Nature and Philosophy,  
Her greatest Works, and please thy Curious eye:  
The walk is pleasant, 'tis an easy way,  
All bright and clear, for Things do Things betray  
By mutual light; and We from one Thing known  
To hidden Truths successfully go on.   
The End of the First Book.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE SECOND BOOK.  
'TIS pleasant, when the Seas are rough, to stand  
And view another's danger, safe at Land:  
Not 'cause he's troubled, but 'tis sweet to see  
Those Cares and Fears, from which ourselves are free:  
'Tis also pleasant to behold from far,  
How Troops engage, secure ourselves from War.  
But above all, 'tis pleasantest to get  
The top of high Philosophy, and sit  
On the calm, peaceful, flourishing head of it;  
Whence we may view, deep, wondrous deep below,  
How poor mistaken Mortals wand'ring go,  
Seeking the path to Happiness: Some aim  
At Learning, Wit, Nobility, or Fame;  
Others with Cares and Dangers vex each hour,  
To reach the top of Wealth, and Sovereign Power.  
Blind, wretched Man! In what dark paths of strife  
We walk this little journey of our Life!  
Whilst frugal Nature seeks for only ease,  
A Body free from pains, free from disease,  
A Mind from cares and jealousies at peace.  
Now little is required to maintain  
The Body sound in health, and free from pain;  
Not Delicates, but such as may supply  
Contented Nature's thrifty Luxury;  
She asks no more. What though no Boys of Gold  
Adorn the Walls, and sprightly Tapers hold;  
Whose beauteous rays scattering the gaudy Light,  
Might grace the feasts and revels of the Night?  
What though no Gold adorns, no music's sound  
With doubled sweetness from the roofs rebound?  
Yet underneath a loving Myrtle's shade,  
Just by a purling Stream supinely laid,  
When Spring with fragrant flowers the Earth hath spread,  
And sweetest Roses grow around our Head,  
Envied by wealth and power, with small expense  
We may enjoy the sweet delight of Sense.  
Who ever heard a Fever tamer grown  
In Clotheses Embroidered o'er, and beds of Down,  
Than in corpse Rags? Since than such toys as these  
Contribute nothing to the Body's ease,  
As honour, wealth, and nobleness of blood;  
'Tis plain, they likewise do our Mind no good.  
If when thy fierce imbattell'd Troops at Land  
Mock-fights maintain, or when the Navies stand  
In graceful ranks, or sweep the yielding Seas;  
If than before such Martial shows as these,  
Disperse not all black Jealousies and Cares,  
Vain dread of Death, and superstitious fears,  
Nor leave thy Mind: but if all this be vain,  
If the same cares and dread, and fears remain,  
If Traytor-like they seize on even the Throne,  
And dance within the Circle of a Crown;  
If noise of Arms, nor Darts can make them fly,  
Nor the gay sparklings of the Purple Die;  
If they on Emperors will rudely seize;  
What makes us value all such Things as these,  
But Folly and dark Ignorance of Happiness?  
For we, as Boys at Night, at Day do fear  
Shadows, as vain too and senseless as those are.  
Wherhfore that darkness that o'respreads our Soul's  
Day can't disperse, but those Eternal Rules,  
Which from Premises true Reason draws,  
And a deep insight into Nature's Laws.  
But now I'll sing, do you attend, how Seed  
Doth move to make, and to dissolve things made.  
What drives them forward to their tedious race,  
What makes them run thro' all the mighty Space.  
'Tis certain now no Seed to Seed adheres,  
Unmoved, and fixed; for every thing appears  
Worn out and wasted by devouring Years;  
Still wasting, till it vanishes away,  
And yet the Mass of things feels no decay.  
For when those Body's part, those Things grow lesle,  
And old, and those do flourish and increase  
To which they join, thence too they fly away;  
So Things by turns increase, by turns decay;  
Like Racers, bear the Lamp of Life and live, 
21. he alludes to the 
a Casaubon in Persium, Sat. 6.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Race of Torches, of the Athenians, where the Racers carried a Lamp, and when they had performed their Courses delivered it to the ●ext; from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used to signify, to deliver successively, and in order. Thus 
(b) lib. 6. de Legib●s:  Plato: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Begetting ●nd breeding Children, as it were delivering the Lamp of Life.   
And their Race done, their Lamp to others give:  
And so the Mass renews, few Years deface  
One kind, and straight another takes the place.  
But if you think the Seeds can rest, and make  
A Change by Rest, how great is the mistake?  
For since they thro' the boundless Vacuum rove,  
By their own weight, or others struck they move.  
For when they meet and strike, that furious play  
Makes each of them reflect a different away;  
'Cause both are perfect Solids, and naught lies  
Behind, to stop their Motion as they rise.  
But that you may conceive how thus they move, 
The Motion of the Seeds.   
Consider that my former reasons prove,  
That Seeds seek not the Midst, and that the Space  
Is infinite, and knows no lowest place,  
And therefore Seeds can never end their race;  
But always moved, and in a various round,  
Some when they meet, and rudely strike, rebound  
To a great distance; others when they jar,  
Those part too, and rebound, but not so far.  
Now those small Seeds, that are more closely joined  
And tremble in a little Space confined,  
Stopped by their mutual twine, Stones compose,  
Iron or Steel, or others like to those.  
But those that swim in a wide Voided alone,  
Or make their quick and large rebounds, or run  
Thro a large space, compose the Air, and Sun.  
Beside these two there is another kind,  
Bodies free from all Union, unconfined.  
With others ne'er in friendly motions joined.  
Of these there's a familiar instance.—  
For look where ere the glittering Sunbeams come,  
Thro narrow chinks into a darkened room,  
A thousand little Bodies straight appear  
In the small beams of Light, and wander there;  
For ever fight, reject all shows of peace,  
Now meet, now part again, and never cease.  
Whence we may estimate how Atoms strove  
Thro the vast empty Space, and how they move:  
Such knowledge from mean Images we get,  
And easily from small things rise to great.  
But mark this Instance well, and learn from thence,  
What motions vex the Seeds, though hid from Sense,  
For here you may behold, by secret blows  
How Bodies turned, their line of motion loose;  
How beaten backward, and with wanton play  
Now this, now that, and every way.  
All have these motions from their Seeds, for those 
When 
c Plutarch. de plac●tis Philosophorum, lib. ●.  Democritus had given only two Properties to Atoms, Bulk, and Figure; Epicurus bestowed a third, Weight: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'Tis necessary that Bodies should be moved by their Weight, otherwise they would not be moved at all: And beside this, he endowed his Atoms with other Motions, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. of inclination, and of stroke, wh●ch two last, though pressed with a thousand peculiar Difficulties, yet because they depend on the other Motion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, downwards, which proceeds from the Weight, are likewise liable to all those exceptions that may be made against that. First than, that Weight is not a property of Atoms, is evidently proved from the difference of Weight in Bodies: For take a Cube of Gold, and hollow it half thro', and weigh it against a solid Cube of Wo●d of the same dimension; that Gold, though it hath lost all its Matter, and consequently half its Weight by the hollow, is twenty times heavier than the Wood: from whence the Consequence is natural, and easy. For if Weight were a property of Matter, it would be impossible that that hollow piece of Gold should outweigh the Wood, because the Wood cannot contain a ten times greater vacuity than that Hollow. And this Argument, if applied to the Air, more strongly concludes, because that is lighter, especially if we consider that the Air is a Continuum, and not a Congeries of Particles, whirled about without any union, and connexion; for innumerable Experiments almost in all Fluids' evince the contrary. I shall pass by those Dr. Glisson hath proposed, and content myself with one concerning the Air, which may be deduced from the faithful Trials of the Honourable boil. The 38th of his Continuation of his Physico Mechanical Experiments, sufficiently evinces, that the exhausted Receiver is quite voided of all Particles of Air, which evidently proves (as little attention to the Experiment will discover) that there is Motus Nexûs, as Bacon calls it, in the Air, which cannot be but in a Continuum: The same may be proved in Water from Refraction; for why are not the Rays disturbed, if the Parts are in motion? when Experience tells us, that a little stirring with the Finger troubles them. Not to mention, that this notion of Fluidity, though embraced by the Plenists, is inconsistent with their Hypothesis, an ambient attending Circle being not to be found in Nature for each moving Particle; and to pass by the Difficulties that press their Opinion, who fancy Rest to be the Cause of Continuity, since two smooth Bodies, whose Surfaces touch, and eternally rest, will never make one Continuum; my next Argument against the Eipcureans is drawn from their own Principles. For suppose Weight a property of Atoms, 'tis impossible the World should be framed according to their Hypothesis, for how could the higher Atom descend, and touch the lower, when the Motions of both were equal? Nor can that little declination, that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (which the Epicureans are so bold to assume, contrary to all sense and reason, and which 
a De 〈◊〉 Procreatione, ex Ti●aeo.  Plutarch declares as the great Charge against Epicurus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as asserting a new Motion without a Cause) lessen the Difficulty; for, as Tully argues, if all Atoms decline, than none of them will ever stick together, if only some, hoc esset quasi Provincias Atomis dare, quae rectè, quae obliquè serantur. But grant there could be a Combination, and grant that Combination (which is impossible) should stop in some parts of the Space, yet from the very Nature of Weight, and Motion, it follows that the World, according to their Hypothesis, could not be made in that order we now perceive it. For suppose this quiet Frame; the Atoms that fall on it, as the Laws of Motion in solid Bodies require, must l●●p backward; but meeting with other descending Atoms, their Resilition is soon stop●, and so they must descend again, and than striking, return, but not to so great a distance as before, because the velocity of the descent was lesle: and so the distance still decreasing, the Atoms in a little time must rest, and only a vast heap of Matter, close, and moveless, must lie on that supposed quiet Frame as its Basis.   
Move of themselves, and than with secret blows  
Strike on the small Moleculae, they receive  
The swift impression, and to greater give;  
So they begin from the first Seeds, and thence  
Go on by just degrees, and move our sense.  
For look, within the little beam of Light  
You see them strike, but what blow makes them fight  
That's undiscerned, and hidden from our sight.  
And yet how swift the Atom's motions are, 
Their Swiftness.   
This following Instance will in short declare,  
For when the Morning climbs the Eastern Skies,  
And tuneful Birds salute her early rise,  
In every Grove and Wood with joy appear,  
And fill with ravishing sounds the yielding Air;  
We see how swift the beams of th' Rising Sun  
Shoot forth; their race is finished when begun;  
From Heaven to Earth they take their hasty flight,  
And gilled the distant Globe with gaudy Light:  
But this thin vapour, and this glittering ray  
Thro a mere Voided make not their easy way,  
But with much trouble force a passage thro'  
Resisting Air, and therefore move more flow.  
Nor are they Seeds, but little Bodies joined,  
And adverse Motions in small Space confined:  
And therefore from without resisting force,  
And inbred jars, must stop their eager course.  
But solid Seeds, that move thro' empty Space,  
And all whose parts do seek one common place,  
Whom nothing from without resists, than Light  
And beams more swift, must make their hasty flight,  
And in that ●ime a larger distanc● fly,  
Whilst the Sun's lazy 〈…〉 thro' our sky:  
For they by counsel 〈…〉 slow,  
Or stop to make enquiry, and to know  
How they must work, on what design they go.  
But some dull Souls think Matter cannot move  
Into fit shapes without the Powers above,  
Nor make the various Seasons of the Year  
So fit for Man, nor Fruit nor Bushes bear,  
Nor other things which Pleasure, prompts could do;  
Pleasure that Guide of Life, and Mistress too;  
That we should seek Love's Generous embrace,  
And thence renew frail Man's decaying race;  
And therefore fancy, that the Gods did make,  
And rule this All. How great is that mistake!  
For were I ignorant whence Things arise,  
Yet many Reasons from the Earth, the Skies,  
From every thing deduced, will plainly prove  
That this imperfect World—  
Was never made by the Wise Powers above.  
This I'll explain hereafter, now go on  
To finish what I have begun.  
And here I think 'tis a fit place to prove, 
All Things 〈◊〉 turally descend.   
That nothing of itself can upward move:  
Jest when you see th' ambitious Flames aspire,  
You think 'tis natural force bears up the Fire:  
For every Tree doth rear its lofty head,  
Each tender Ear and Shrub doth upward spread,  
And all to draw their nourishment from below,  
And yet all Weights by Nature downward go.  
So when the subtle flame, and shining streams  
Of fire arise, and waste the upper beams;  
'Tis some force drives them up. So from a wound  
Our Blood shoots forth, and sprinkles all around.  
Again, who sees not that a quiet flood  
Throws back with mighty force immersed wood?  
For when we strive in deeper streams to drown,  
And scarce with all our force can press it down,  
The Waves wi●h double vigour throw it up,  
And make it strongly leap above the top;  
And yet who doubts all th●se would downwards tend,  
If placed in Voided, and naturally descend?  
So rising Flames by th' Air are upward born,  
Although their natural weights press a return:  
Besides, we all behold how every Night,  
The falling Mereors draw long trains of Light,  
Where ever Nature gives a passage thro';  
We see Stars fall, and seek them here below.  
The Sun too from above, his vigour yields  
To us below, and cherisheth our Fields.  
Therefore it's Fire descends; swift Lightning flies,  
Now here, now there, betwixt the parted Skies;  
And fight thro' the Clouds their place of birth,  
The broken sulphurous flames descend to Earth.  
Now Seeds in downward motion must decline, 
Seeds decline.   
Thomas very little from th' exactest line;  
For did they still move straight, they needs must fall  
Like drops of Rain, dissolved and scattered all,  
For ever tumbling thro' the Mighty Space,  
And never join to make one single Mass,  
If any one believe the heavier Seed,  
In downright motions, and from hindrance freed  
May fall o'th' lighter, and fit motions make  
Whence things may rise, how great is the mistake?  
'Tis true, when Weights descend thro' yielding Air,  
Or Streams, the Swiftness of the fall must bear  
Proportion to the Weights, and reason good,  
Because the fleeting Air, and yielding Flood  
With equal strength resist not every course,  
But sooner yield unto the greater force:  
But now no Voided can stop, no Space can stay  
The Seeds, for 'tis its Nature to give way:  
Therefore thro' Voided unequal Weights must be  
As swift in Motion, all of like degree.  
Nor can the heavier Bodies overtake  
The lighter falling Seeds, and striking make  
The Motions various, fit for Nature's use,  
By which all-powerful She may things produce:  
'Tis certain than and plain, that Seeds decline,  
Thomas very little from th' exactest line:  
But not obliquely move, that fond pretence  
Would fight all Reason, nay, even Common Sense;  
For every body sees a falling weight  
Makes its descent by lines direct, and straight.  
Besides, did all things move in a direct line,  
Did still one Motion to another join  
In certain order, and no Seeds decline,  
And make a Motion fit to dissipate  
The well-wrought chain of Causes, and strong Fate;  
Whence comes that perfect Freedom of the Mind? 

Since the Epicureans acknowledge the Liberty of the Will, we may take it as a Supposition already granted, and without any farther proof make use of it in our Disputes against them: But because it is of great Consequence, and is the Foundation of Seneca's and Plutarch's Discourses, Cu● Bonis malè, & Malis benè, it deserves some Confirmation. The Liberty of the Will is a power to choose, or refuse any thing after that the Understanding hath considered it, and proposed it as good, or bad. This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Epictetus, and, as he calls it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: free, not subject to Hindrance or Impediment, and Adrian deliver● it as his Doctrine, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: our Will not Jupiter himself can fetter: Epicurus calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; and that such a power belongs to every Man, is evident from the general Consent of Mankind, for every Man finds such a Power in himself, and thence proceeds this Agreement; 'tis the Foundation of all Laws, of all Rewards and Punishments. For it would be very ridiculous for a Prince to command a Stone not to fall, or break it for doing so. Origen declares, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: and Lucian ingeniously makes Sostratus baffle Minos, after he had granted, that all Men act according to the determination of Fate, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which ordains every Man's Actions as soon as he is born; and the Compassionate Philosopher, who would have all Offences forgiven▪ produceth this Argument: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for none sin willingly, but are forced. But more, this may receive a particular Confirmation from every Man's Experience: for let him descend into himself, he will found as great Evidence for the Liberty of his Will, as for his Being, as Cartes delivers; though he is extremely mistaken, when he ●ells us in a Metaphysical Ecstasy, A quocunque si●●us, & quantumvis ille sit potens, quantumvis fal●ax, hanc nihilominus in nobis libertatem esse ex●erimur, ut semper ab iis credendis quae non planè ●erta sunt & explorata, possimus abstinere, atque 〈◊〉 cavere, ne unquam erremus: for what doth 〈◊〉 in this, but determine he extent of that Power, of whose bounds he is altogether ignorant? and playeth this Cogitation beyond his reach, whose power to deceive his infinite, and his Will equal to his Ability. But let us all consider our usual Actions, and we shall found every one a Demonstration. For let a thousand Men think on any thing, and propose it to my choice, I will embrace, or reject it according to their desire, which necessarily proves my Liberty; unless these Thousand or perhaps the whole World, were determined to think on the same think I was to act. For my part, if any one would take the Bi● and Bridle of Fate, I shall not envy him the honour; nor be very willing to blind myself, to have the convenience of a Guide. Let Velleius think it a Commendation for Cato to be good, quia al●ter esse non potuit, and Lucan agreed with him in his Sentence; I should rather be freely so.  
This is opposed by those who imagine the Soul material, and therefore all her Actions necessary; because Matter once moved, will still keep the same Motion, and the same Determination which it received, which must needs destroy all Liberty, and evidently proves the Epicurean Hypothesis to be inconsisteut with it. Others urge Prescience, and think themselves secure of Victory, whilst the Deity is on their side. The weakness of the former Opinion will hereafter be discovered; and Cartes hath said enough to silence the latter Objection: His difficultatibus not expediemus, si recordemur mentem nostram esse finitam, Dei autem potentiam, per quam non tantum omnia, qu● sunt, aut esse possunt, ab aeterno praescivit, sed etiam, voluit, ac praeordina●it esse infinitam, ideoque banc quide● à nobis satis attingi, ut clarè & distinctè percipiam●s ipsam in Deo esse; non autem satis comprehendi, ut usdeamus quo pacto liberas ●ominum actiones indesermin●tas relinquat; libertatis autem satis comprehendi, ut 〈◊〉 deathus quo pacto liberas hominum actiones indeterminatas relinquat. Libertatis autem, & indifferentiae quae in nobis est, nos ita conscios esse ut ●ihil sit quod evidentiùs & perfectit●is comprehendamus. Absurdum exim asset, propterea quòd non comprehendimus unam rem, quam scimus ex natura sua nobis debere esse incomprehensibilem, de alia dubitare quam intimè comprehendimus, atque apud nosmet ipsos experimur.   
Liberty of the Will.   
Whence comes the Will so free, so unconfined,  
Above the power of Fate, by which we go  
When e'er we please, and what we will we do?  
In Animals the Will first moves, and thence  
The Motions spread to the Circumference,  
And vigorous action thro' the Limbs dispense.  
For look, and see, when first the Barrier's down,  
The Horse, though eager, cannot start so soon  
As his own Mind requires, because the force,  
And subtle Matter that maintains the Course,  
Must be stirred thro' the Limbs, than fitly joined,  
Obey the eager Motions of his Mind:  
Which proves these Motions rise within the Heart  
Begun by th' Will, thence run thro' every part.  
But now 'tis otherwise, when 'tis begun  
From Force, for than our Limbs are hurried on  
By violent strokes, no power of our own,  
Until the Will by her own natural sway  
Shall check the force, or turned another way:  
Wherhfore 'tis plain, though Force may drive them on,  
And make them move their Limbs, and make Men run;  
Yet something lies within that can oppose  
The violent stroke, and still resist the blows:  
At whose command a subtle Matter flies  
And bends thro' all our Limbs, our Arms, our Thighs,  
And checked again, and all the Vigour dies.  
Well than, we must confess, as these things prove,  
There is another Cause by which Seeds move  
Beside dull Weight and Stroke; from hence is wrought  
This Power; for Nothing can arise from Naught:  
For Weight forbids that things be only joined  
By Stroke, and outward Force; and jest the Mind  
Should be by strong Necessity confined,  
And evercome, endure Fate's rigid Laws,  
This little Declination is the Cause.  
Nor was this Mass of Matter, 
The All-Eternal.  the whole Frame,  
Ever more lose or close, but still the same;  
For it can never fail, or greater grow:  
Wherhfore the Seeds still moved even just as now,  
And the like Motions ever will maintain,  
What things were made, will be produced again  
In the same way; look fair, grow strong and great,  
And live as long as Nature's Laws permit.  
Nor is there any Force can change this All,  
For there's no place from which strange Seeds may fall  
And make disturbance here, no Space doth lie  
Beyond the Whole, to which the Seeds may fly,  
And leave the mighty All to waste and die.  
But more, 'tis nothing strange that every Mass  
Seems quiet and at rest, 
Why the Parts of Compounds seem to rest.  and keeps i●'s place,  
Thomas every little part moves here, and there:  
For since the Principles too subtle are  
For sight, their Motion too must disappear;  
Nay, Objects fit for Sense, which distant lie,  
Conceal their Mo●●ons too, and cheat our Eye.  
For often on a Hill the wanton Sheep  
At distance placed, o'er flowery Pastures creep  
Where e'er Herbs crowned with pearly Dew invite,  
And kindly call their eager Appetite;  
The Lambs, their bellies full, with various turns  
Play o'er the field, and try their tender Horns:  
Yet all these seem confused at distance seen,  
And like a steady White spread o'er the Green.  
Besides, when two embattled Armies rage,  
Throughout a spacious Plain, at last engage,  
When all run here and there, the furious Horse  
Bea● o'er the trembling Fields with nimble Force,  
Strait dreadful sparklings from the Arm● appear,  
And fill with a strange Light the wondering Air;  
Th' Earth groans beneath their feet, the Hills around  
Flattering the noise, restore the dreadful found;  
And yet 'twould seem, if from a Mountain shown,  
A steady Light, and a continued one.  
Now learn what manner of things first Bodies are, 
Seeds of different Figures.   
What different Figures, Shapes or Forms they bear;  
For though the Shape to many is the same,  
Yet all agreed not in one common frame;  
Nor is this strange, or to be wondered at:  
For since the Numbers are so vastly great,  
And know no bound nor end, it cannot be  
That all in the same Figures should agreed.  
Besides, consider Men, or Beasts, or Trees,  
Or silent Fish that ●ut the yielding Seas,  
Or Birds, or those that wanton o'er the Floods,  
O● fill with tuneful sounds the listening Woods;  
Consider each particular, you'll found,  
How different Shapes appear in every Kind:  
Else how could Dams their tender Young, or how  
The newborn Young their distant Mother know,  
Which all perform as well as Men can do?  
For often when an Innocent Heifer dies,  
To angry Gods a Spotless Sacrifice,  
When all around she sheds atoning Blood,  
And stains the Altars with a purple flood,  
Her Dam beats o'er the Fields in wild Despair,  
And wounds with loud complaints the tender Air:  
Now here, now there d●th run, and still complain,  
Now leaves her Stall, and than returns again  
Mad for her Young she every Field doth trace.  
With passionate eyes she visits every place;  
No Streams, no Flowers, her former great delight,  
Can raise or quicken her dead Appetite,  
Alloy her Grief, or else divert her Care:  
And though a thousand Heifers should appear,  
Moore fat, more fair than Hers, she passes by,  
And looks on none, or with a slighting eye.  
●o plain it is, she looks for something known  
And viewed before, she only seeks her own.  
Besides, the tender Kids, and wanton Lambs  
Know all the voice and bleating of their Dams:  
And all, as natural Instinct prompts them on,  
When Hunger calls, to their own Mothers run.  
Besides, what various Shapes in Corn appear?  
A different Size to every Grain and Ear:  
And so in Shells, where Waters washing o'er  
With wanton Kisses bathe the Amorous Shore:  
And therefore Seeds, since they from Nature came,  
Not made by Art, after one common frame,  
Must not be all alike, their shapes the same.  
And hence a Reason's given, why Lightning flies  
With keener force thro' Stones, thro' parted Skies,  
Than those blunt Flames which from our Fires arise;  
Because it's little parts more loosely joined  
Moore subtle far, an easy passage found  
Thro such small Pores as stop the blunter Flame,  
Which parts of heavy Oil or Timber frame.  
Thro Horn the Sunbeams pass and strike our Eye,  
But Water on the Surface stays; and why?  
Because the parts of Light are lesle than those  
That make up Water, and dull Streams compose.  
So thro' the Streiner Wines with ease do flow,  
But heavy Oil or stops, or runs more slow:  
The Reason's this, 'cause 'tis of parts combined  
Far greater, or more hooked, and closely twined,  
Which therefore cannot be disjoined as soon,  
And thro' each little passage singly run.  
From tasted Honey pleasing Thoughts arise,  
And in delightful Airs look thro' our Eyes:  
When Rue or Wormwood's touched, flies every grace,  
And violent distortions screw the Face:  
Whence you may easily guests those round and smooth,  
That with delightful touch affect the Mouth;  
But those which we more rough and bitter found,  
Are made of parts more hooked, and closely twined,  
Which wound the Organ as they enter in,  
And force a passage thro' the injured Skin.  
In short, what things are good for Sen●e, what bade,  
Of Seeds of different Shape and Size are made:  
Nor must you fancy Bodies that compose  
The harsher Sounds of Saws, as smooth as those  
That form the sweetest Airs that Viols make  
When gentle strokes the sleeping Strings awake.  
Those Seeds have different Figures, Form, and Size,  
That from all rotting Carcases arise,  
From those that new pressed Saffron ●ields, or rear  
●rom incensed Altars sweetening all the Air.  
And so in Colours too, that gaudy Dye,  
That pleases and delights the curious Eye,  
A different Form, a Shape, and Figure bears,  
●rom that which wounds the Sense, and forces Tears,  
●r mean and ugly to the Sight appears.  
●or whate'er please the Sense, their Seeds are smooth;  
What hurt, their Seeds are rough, or hooked, or both.  
But besides these there other Bodies are,  
●or perfect smooth, nor hooked, but angular,  
With little corners butting every where,  
Which tickle more than hurt the Sense, such join  
To make the Acid taste of palling Wine.  
Lastly that Heat and Cold formed different ways  
●ffect the Organs, even our Touch betrays.  
For Touch, 
Touch.  that best, that chiefest Sense is made,  
When Str●kes from things without the Nerves invade,  
●r something from within doth outward flow,  
●nd hurts, or tickles, as it passes thro';  
●s 'tis in Venery; or when the Seed  
●emain within, and strange confusions breed,  
stirred up by violent stroke: for strike a blow  
●n any Limb, and you will found 'tis so.  
Wherhfore those Seeds must be of different Size,  
Of different Shapes, and Figures, whence arise.  
●n Sense so great, so strange variety's. 
Fluid. Firm.   
●astly, what things seem hard and thick, are joined  
Of parts more hooked and firm, and closely twined,  
As Iron, Flints, Brass, Steel, and Diamonds,  
Gems free from power of strokes, secure from wounds:  
But Fluids are composed of smooth and round;  
For their small parts, by no strong Union bound,  
Are very easily disjoined, and move  
Or here or there at every little shove.  
Lastly, whatever's soon dissolved or broke,  
As Morning Mists, or yielding Flames, or Smoak;  
If all its little Bodies be not smooth,  
Or round in figure, form, or shape, or both;  
Yet are they not all twined, all have not hooks,  
And so may pass thro' Stones, and hardest Rocks:  
Nor must you think it strange the sa●e should be  
Fluid and bitter ●oo, 
How the same both Fluid and Bitter.  as is the Sea.  
For Fluids are of smooth and round combined,  
To these are little pungent Bodies joined,  
Yet there's no need they should be hook● or twined;  
For they may globous be, though rough, and thence  
Are fitted both to move, and hurt the Sense.  
But to convince you with a clearer proof,  
That acid Fluids have smooth joined with rough,  
They may be separated with ease enough:  
For when Salt streams thro' winding caverns pass,  
They rise up sweet, and bubble o'er the Grass;  
Because those pungent parts they rolled before,  
Now stay behind, and lodge in every Poor.  
Well than this proved, 
Variety of Shapes finite.  I'll next go on to show  
These various shapes are finite, and but few.  
For grant them infinite, it follows thence,  
That some amongst the Seeds must be immense:  
And how can numerous sorts of Shapes appear  
In such small Bodies as the Atoms are?  
For think that some minutest parts compose  
The Seed, add two or three, or more to those;  
Now when the top-most parts are placed below,  
The right are turned to left, you'll plainly know,  
By changing every way their former Pla●e,  
What Figure each position gives the Mass▪  
But if you'd m●ke it capable of more,  
You must subjoin new Par●s to those b●fore,  
And so go on if you would vary those;  
Thus with the Shapes the Body greater grows:  
Wherhfore 'tis downright Folly to admit  
That this Variety is infinite,  
Unless you grant some Seeds immensly great.  
Besides, Embroidered stuff, and Purple dye,  
Or gaudy Peacock plumes that court our Eye,  
Excelled by finer Colours would s●em lesle bright,  
And loose their wont Power to Delight;  
So Things more Sweet than Honey would appear,  
And Sounds more soft than Swans, salute the E●r.  
Nay, music's sweetest Airs would cease to please,  
Because there might be better than all these;  
And so o'th' contrary, we still might fall  
From bad to worse, but never to worst of All.  
For still in Nature something worse may rise,  
Still more offensive to our Ears, our Eyes,  
O●r Smell, our Tast. But now since ' ●is confessed,  
That some things are in Nature worst, some best,  
And we can fear not higher▪ 'tis likewise true,  
These various Shapes are finite, and but few.  
Lastly, in Fire and Snow, the Heat and Cold's 〈◊〉▪  
The utmost Qualities that strike our Sense,  
These two a● Bounds the middle 〈◊〉 control,  
Which rise by just degrees, and make ● whole:  
●Tis certain than that these varieties  
Are finite; and that 〈◊〉 Extremes 〈◊〉,  
On this side melting Flames, on that s●de 〈◊〉▪  
This proved, it follows that th●se Se●ds whose 〈◊〉  
●s perfectly alike, the shapes the 〈◊〉,  
Are infinite; 
Seeds of every Shape are infinite.  for since these Reasons teach 

The rest of this Book is spent to prove, that the Figures of Atoms are very various, that those of each shape are infinite; and this last is the greatest absurdity imaginable. For infinite Atoms must fill all the space that is: For if there is any place that can receive another, there may be conceived an addition to the former Number, and therefore to say it was infinite is absurd: And this proves, that the infinite Atoms of Epicurus can be nothing else but a vast heap of dull moveless Matter, coextended with the infinite Space. And how than the World could be made, how these various alterations of Bodies, all which proceed from motion, 'tis difficult to be conceived: and this likewise presseth the Hypothesis of Cartes. and his indefinite Matter, as a little application will discover.  
His next design is to free his Atoms from all sensible Qualities, which he convincingly performs; and 〈◊〉 of late seconded by so many Experiments of the Homourable Boil, that 'tis now past all doubt. And if we can believe our Senses, we must forsake Forms and Qualities, and allow what we formerly called such, to be only Phantasms arising from the stroke of external Bodies on our Organs. There is no need to discourse of his infinite Worlds, or the decay of th●; those Opinions depending on his absurd fortuitous Concourse and falling with it, only we may bid any Man that is fond of these, to look on the face of the World as it is painted in Histories down from the Trojan Wars, (for I press not more ancient infallible Records) about which time Society first began, and he will see it look as young Now as Than, and its Vigour still as great.  
Another fancy of his is this. Animals, those things of Sense, can spring from Senseless Seeds, and there is no need of any Superior Principle to Matter, but a fit Combination of Atoms can Think, Will, or Remember; and this is endeavoured to be proved, in order to his design in his Third Book, where he imploies all his Forces against the Immortality of the Soul, and therefore shall be examined with it. And after that I shall take of his exceptions against Providence, discover the absurdities that abound in his explication of th● Beginning of the World, the Origine of Man, and the Rise of Societies. But to examine his accounts of the particular Phaenomena, would swell into a Volume. And though I have made pertinent Collections for it, it will be an unnecessary Task, his absurd Opinions being so palpable, and easy to be discovered, and the others being excellently confirmed by the modern Philosophers and agreeable to common Observation.    
That those varieties of Shapes ne'er reach  
To infinite, there must be infinite of each.  
Or else, what I before successfully opposed,  
The All is finite, 'tis in bounds enclosed.  
This taught, my Labouring Muse next sweetly sings  
That proper Seeds for every Kind of Things  
Are infinite; that these preserve the Mass,  
And Kind's of Things, by constant strokes in every place. 
How the Kind's of Things are preserved.   
For though some Kind's of Beasts we rarely view,  
As if unfruitful Nature bore but few,  
Yet other Countries may supply our wants:  
Thus India breeds such troops of Elephants,  
As fight their Wars, and usually o'ercome,  
So numerous are they there, though few at Rome.  
But grant in Nature such a single one,  
The like to which nor is, nor was e'er known,  
Yet were its proper Seeds but finite; how  
Can it be made, or when 'twas made, could grow?  
For think the Seeds of any single Mass  
Being finite, scattered thro' the mighty Space,  
Where, how, or when, what Force or what Design,  
Amidst such different Seeds could make them join?  
For 'tis not Reason prompts them to combine;  
But as in Wrecks the Seats, the Masts, the Oars,  
Confusedly scattered, fill the neighbouring Shores,  
That Men might learn by such sad Sights as these,  
The force and cruel treacheries of the Seas,  
And still distrust, though with perfidious smile  
Becalmed, it tempts them on to further toil:  
So finite Seeds would in the Space be tossed,  
And in the Whirls of different Matter lost;  
So that they ne'er could join, or be at Peace,  
Nor yet preserve their Union, nor increase;  
But now 'tis plain, and even our Senses show,  
That things are made, and made, increase and grow.  
'Tis certain than the Seeds of every Kind  
Are infinite—  
Nor can destructive motions still prevail,  
And bring an universal Death on all;  
No● motion's which compose, or else increase,  
Preserve Things made for ever, but sometimes cease:  
So these two Contraries do always jar  
With equal force, and still maintain the War.  
Now these, now those prevail, and Infants moans  
Are always mixed with others dying Groans.  
And every day and night the tender cry  
Of new born Babes, join with their sighs that Die.  
Now you must further mark, that Nought's combined,  
Composed, or made of Seeds all of one kind;  
But things of different Powers and Faculties,  
Do equal different sorts of Seed comprise.  
The Earth doth in itself such parts contain,  
As make up Springs which feed the greedy Main.  
And such Seed too, as fiercest Fire can frame,  
For many parts, like Aetna, vomit flame;  
And such, whence Trees and tender Shrubs do shoot,  
And grass for Beasts, for Man sweet Corn, and Fruit▪  
Hence termed the Mother of the Gods, confessed  
The common Parent too of Man and Beast.  
The Poets sing, that thro' the Heaven above, 
The fable of Cybele.   
She Chariots, drawn by yoked Lions, drove,  
And riding to and from she wanders there;  
Teaching by this, that in the spacious Air  
Hangs the vast Mass of Earth, and needs no prop  
Of any lower Earth to keep it up.  
They yoke such Beasts, to show that every Child,  
Thomas formed by Nature fierce, untamed, and wild,  
Softened by care, and love, grows tame, and mild.  
Her lofty head a Mural Garland wears,  
Because she Towns and stately Castles bears;  
And thus adorned with gaudy Pomp and Show,  
Goes thro' our Towns, and as she passes thro',  
The Vulgar fear, and all with Reverence bow.  
Concerning h●r, fond Superstition frames  
A thousand odd Conceits, a thousand Names,  
And gives her a large Train of Phrygian Dames;  
Because in Phrygia Corn at first took Birth,  
And thence was scattered o'er the other Earth.  
They Eunuch all her Priests, from whence 'tis shown,  
That they deserve no Children of their own,  
Who or abuse their Sires, or disrespect,  
Or treat their Mothers with a cold neglect;  
Their Mothers whom they should adore.—  
Amidst her Pomp fierce Drums and Cymbals beaten,  
And the Hoarse Horns with rattling notes do threat:  
The Pipe with Phrygian Airs disturbs their Souls,  
Till Reason overthrown, mad Passion rules:  
They carry Arms, those dreadful signs of War,  
To raise i'th' impious Rout Religious fear:  
When carried thus in Pomp thro' Towns she goes,  
And Health on all she silently bestows;  
With offered Money they bestrew the Plain,  
And Roses cover her, and all her Train.  
Here some in Arms dance round among the crowd  
Look dreadful gay in their own sparkling Blood,  
Their Crests still shaking with a dreadful Nod.  
These represent those armed Priests, who strove  
To drown the tender cries of Infant Jove;  
By dancing quick they made a greater sound,  
And beaten their Armour as they danced around,  
Jest Saturn, should have found, and eat the Boy,  
And Ops for ever mourned her prattling Joy:  
For this her Train is armed; or else to show,  
They'll serve their Country, and enlarge it too,  
When ever danger or when Honour calls;  
All which, though well contrived, is fond, and false.  
For every Deity must live in Peace,  
In undisturbed and everlasting Ease:  
Not care for us, from Fears and Dangers free,  
Sufficient to his own Felicity.  
Naught here below, Naught in our Power he needs,  
ne'er smiles at good, ne'er frowns at wicked deeds,  
The Earth wants Sense, but yet contains the Seeds  
And therefore Trees and living Creatures breeds:  
Now those that would their wanton Fancies please,  
And use the Name of Neptune for the Seas,  
Ceres for Corn, or Bacchus for the Vine,  
Rather than speak the plainer terms of Wine,  
Such Men may call, and strength of fancy show,  
The Earth the Mother of the Gods below  
And those above although she is not so;  
The Sheep, the warlike Horse, and Bull in food  
Agreed, and all drink of the same cold flood;  
Yet they are different, and each delights  
In's proper Motions, Manners, Appetites;  
Such different Seeds in every Herb do grow,  
Such different Seeds in every Water flow.  
Now though Blood, Humour, Nerves and Vein, and Bone,  
Are parts of An●nal, and make up one,  
Yet what varieties their Forms divide?  
How all unlike? Their difference vastly wide.  
So all Combustibles, though not the same  
In other things, have part of such a frame,  
As make gay Sparkles, Ashes, Light, and Flame;  
And so consider every thing you'll found  
Each made of different Seeds in Shape and Kind.  
Lastly, we all confess some Objects please  
The Smell and Taste at once:—  
Now Seeds of different Shapes must make up these.  
For Taste and Smell do different Organs strike,  
Therefore their figures cannot be alike;  
So that each Mass doth different Shapes enclose,  
And every Body different Seeds compose.  
A pregnant proof of this my Verse affords:  
For there are Le●ters common to all Words,  
Yet some of different Shapes and Figures join  
To make each different Word, each different Line;  
Not but that many are in Shape the same,  
But all agreed not in one common Frame.  
And so of other things, though Thing are made  
Of many common Seeds in order laid,  
Yet may the Compounds widely disagree,  
And we may justly guests that Stone, and Tree,  
Or Animal kind, as Bird, and Beast, and Man,  
From Seeds of different shapes and kinds began.  
Yet all join not with all; for thence would rise  
Vast Monsters, 
All Seeds do not agreed with all.  Nature's great absurdities:  
Some things half Beast, half Man, and some would grow  
Tall Trees above, and Animals below:  
Some joined of Fish and Beasts, and every where  
Frightful Chimaeras breathing flames appear.  
But since we see no such, and Things arise  
From certain Seeds of certain Shape and Size,  
And keep their Kind as they increase and grow,  
There's some fixed reason why it should be so.  
For see, our Limbs receive from all their food  
Agreeable Parts, which turned to Flesh and Blood  
Accept the vital Motions; but for those  
That disagree with her, s●me Nature throws  
Thro open passages away, but more  
By secret impulse fly thro' every Poor;  
For they could never join, but still at strife  
Obstruct all Motions that are fit for Life.  
Now these are Catholic Laws, these Rules do bind  
Not Animals alone, but every Kind:  
For since all in their Nature different be,  
The Figures of their Seeds must disagree;  
Not but that many are in Shape the same,  
But all agreed not in one common frame.  
Now since the Seeds are different, thence will grow  
A difference in their Weight, and Motion too,  
Their Stroke, Connection, Concuss. Now by these,  
Not Animals alone, but Heaven, Earth Seas,  
Are placed in their own proper Species.  
Now further learn, what I with toil and Pain,  
With many a careful Thought and labouring Brain  
Have sought to teach thee, jest you should mistake,  
And think the Seeds of Black Composures Black;  
Of White things White, or other Bodies wear  
Those different colours that their Seeds did bear;  
For Seeds are colourless, 
Seeds are Colourless.  without a die,  
Or like or unlike those that seem to lie  
On Bodies surfaces, and strike our Eye.  
Now if you think such Seeds are things unfit  
To be conceived, how fond is the conceit?  
For since that Men born Blind, whose Natural Night  
Was never scattered by one beam of Light,  
Know things by touch, he's foolish that denies  
That any notices of things can rise,  
Unless from Colours entering at our Eyes.  
So when we feel i'th' dark, and form from thence  
Some Images, what Colours strike our Sense?  
But this Position stronger Reasons show,  
For Seeds of things ne'er change, though Colours do:  
For somewhat must survive each change, and be  
Essentially immutable, and free;  
Jest all should sink to Naught, and thence arise;  
For what is changed from what it was, That dies.  
Therefore Seeds colourless, unfit for view  
Or grant, or grant Annihilation true.  
Beside,—  
If Seeds are colourless, and free from Dyes.,  
But formed of different Figures, whence may rise  
The numerous Colours, gay Varieties?  
And since, as we Discoursed before, we found  
It matters much with what first Seeds are joined,  
What Figure, what position they maintain,  
What Motions give, and what receive again,  
'Tis straight resolved, why things as Black as Night  
Can change so soon, and put on Virgin White  
And scatter all around their vigorous Light.  
As in the Sea, when the mad Ocean raves,  
And white Curls rise upon the foaming Waves;  
For thus it is, that which seemed Black before,  
By losing little Parts and taking more,  
Their Number, Motion, Order, Station, Site,  
Position changed, from Black are turned to White.  
But if the Sea were ●ing'd with Natural Sky,  
What force, what art could make it change the die?  
For change its frame, and change and change again,  
Yet still the Native Tincture would remain,  
And never put on White; but if the Seed,  
Painted with different Colours, all agreed,  
To make one White, as little parts that bear  
Quite different Figures can compose one square;  
Than it would follow, as in squares there lie  
Such different Figures naked to our Eye,  
Just so in one pure Whiteness we should view  
A thousand Colours mixed, and different too.  
Besides, look over those different shapes, for there  
No hindrance in their Natures doth appear,  
Why all may not agreed to make one Square.  
But neither Sense, nor Nature's Laws permit,  
That different Colours should compose one white.  
Besides, the only cause that all propose  
For coloured Seeds, this Fancy overthrows:  
For he●e, from white, white Bodies do not rise,  
Nor black from black▪ but Seeds of various Dyes.  
Now colourless Seeds will sooner make a white.  
Than black, or any other opposite.  
Beside, since Colours are alone by Day,  
And own their Being's to the glittering Ray, 
Of Colours.   
But Seeds of Things do not exist alone  
By Day; 'tis plain that they are tinged with none:  
For how can Colours be i'th' darkest Night,  
Since they all change, and vary with the Light,  
According as the Ray's obliqne or right?  
So Plumes that go around the Pigeon's head,  
Sometimes look brisker with a deeper red;  
And than in different Position seen,  
Show a gay Sky all intermixed with Green:  
And so in Peacock's tails, all filled with Light,  
The Colour varies with the change of Site.  
Now since these Colours rise from beams of th'Sun  
Reflex, they cannot be when those are gone;  
And since the Eyes a different stroke receive  
From white, from that which black, or others give;  
And since it matters not what Colour's worn  
By things we touch, but what fit Shapes are born;  
We easily infer Seeds want no Dyes,  
Those the variety of Shapes supplies,  
And thence those different sorts of Touch may rise.  
Beside, since certain Colours don't agreed  
To certain Shapes, and any Dye may be  
In any Shape, than tell me why we found  
Such Colours still belong to such a Kind?  
Why cannot Crows their usual Dye forsake,  
And put on white? why not Swans mourn in black?  
Again, break any thing, we found at last,  
The lesle the Parts, the more the Colours waste.  
For Instance, shave but Gold, the gaudy Read,  
Which thro' the whole Composure once was spread,  
Is lost and gone, the Parts unheeded lie,  
Nor with their tempting Purple court our Eye.  
Which shows, that Bodies are from Colours freed,  
Before they come to be as small as Seed.  
Besides, since some ne'er touch the Ear, or Nose,  
With Sound or Smell, we naturally suppose  
That neither Sound nor Smell belongs to those.  
So likewise, since 'tis nonsense to deny  
Some Seeds too small and subtle for our Eye,  
Those free from Colour we must all conceive,  
As well as those from Sound, and Taste believe,  
Whose Sound, nor Taste, our Tongue, nor Ears perceive,  
And yet the Mind can comprehend as well  
These voided of Dye, as those of Sound and Smell.  
Beside, 
Seeds are Inodorous.  not only Colour is not found  
In Seed, but neither Smell, or Taste, nor Sound:  
They not brisk Odours in Effluviums sand  
Or to delight our Nose, or to offend;  
But voided of Odours all. So Artist chose  
An inodourous Liquor to compose  
Their rich Perfumes, jest they infect, and spoil  
Their Odours with the native Smell of Oil.  
Well than, as all these former Reason's show,  
The Seeds on compound Bodies ne'er bestow  
Their Sound, 
Seeds have no Qualities.  their Taste, or Smell; for they have none,  
No proper Sound, or Odour of their own;  
Nor Heat, nor Cold, nor any Quality;  
For those are subject all to change, and die,  
Even such as viscous, brittle, hollow are,  
All which arise from putrid, soft, and rare;  
For either these cannot to Seeds agreed,  
Or Seeds are not immortal all, and free  
From change, and therefore things may fall to naught:  
All which, 
Sensibles from Seeds voided of Sense.  how fond, my former Reasons taught.  
Now farther, those Composures that perceive,  
Ennobled all with various Sense, derive  
Their Being's from Insensible, and live.  
This every Common Generation shows,  
And rather proves this truth, than overthrows.  
For look, what numerous swarms of Worms, and Flies  
From putrid and fermenting Clods arise,  
When Seminal Rain descends in softening Dew,  
And makes the wearied Earth bring forth anew.  
Besides, Leaves, Water, Grass, do make up Beast,  
And Man too feeds on those, and is increased;  
Their Flesh is turned to ours, and so again  
The Birds and Beasts increase by eating Men.  
All which doth prove, that any sort of food  
Nature can turn to proper Flesh, and Blood:  
Whence Animals, those things of Sense, she frames,  
As out of Wood she raiseth Fire and Flames.  
And hence, as we discoursed before, we found  
It matters mu●h with what first Seeds are joined;  
What Site, and what Position they maintain,  
What Motions give, and what receive again:  
But what confirms, 
Objection  what prompts thee to believe  
That things endowed with Sense can ne'er derive,  
Their Being's from Insensibles, and live?  
Perchance, as common Observation shows,  
Because Earth, Stone, Wood, various things compose,  
And yet there's neither Life, nor Sense in those.  
But here you must consider, neither I,  
Nor any Master of Philosophy  
Affirm, that every Being may commence  
A Sensible, and show the acts of Sense:  
But that those Seeds, when Sensibles arise,  
Must all have a convenient Shape, and Size,  
Position, Motion, Order: now not one  
Of these appears in Earth, or Wood, or Stone.  
Yet these fermented by a timely Rain,  
Grow fruitful, and produce a numerous train  
Of Worms, because the little Bodies leave  
Their former Site, and union, and receive  
New Motion, into new Position fall  
And Order, fit to make an Animal.  
Besides, those that contend that things commence  
Sensibles, from Seeds endowed with Sense,  
Must grant those Seeds are soft; for Sense doth ●oyn  
To tender Gut alone, or Nerve, or Vein,  
All which are soft, and easily dissolved.  
But grant they could eternally endure,  
Suppose them all from fatal Change secure,  
Yet other Doubts occur. For further see,  
If all those Seeds have Sense, that Sense must be,  
Or of one single Member, or of All;  
And so be like a Perfect Animal:  
But now the parts in a divided state  
Enjoy no Sense: The Hand, if separate,  
Can feel not more, nor any Member live  
Divided from the Body, nor perceive.  
Well than, each must be like an Animal,  
Each single Seed contain the Sense of All  
But if like Animals; than tell me why,  
As well as Animals, they cannot die?  
And why Immortal all? But grant them so;  
Yet what could all their Combinations do,  
But make some Animals? and what increased  
But Sensibles?—  
As Man gets only Man, and Beast gets Beast.  
But if the Seeds in Mixture loose their own,  
And take another Sense, when theirs is gone,  
What need of any? why should we suppose  
They ever had that Sense, which they must loose?  
Beside, since, as I urged before, 'tis true  
That Birds are made of Eggs; since softening Dew  
Ferments the Clods to Worms, we know from thence  
That Sensibles rise from Seeds voided of Sense.  
If any grants the thing, 
No Sense before the Animal.  that Sense can rise  
From Senseless Seeds, if he consents to this;  
But says, That it is formed, and fashioned all  
By Change i'th' Seeds, before the Animal,  
As any other things are born, and grow:  
For his Conviction, I shall only show,  
That NaturesNatures fixed, and steady Laws decreed,  
That nothing should be changed, that Naught should breed  
Without a combination of the Seed.  
And thus without the Limbs no Sense can rise,  
It cannot be, before the Body is;  
Because the Seeds lie scattered every where,  
In Heaven, in Earth, and Water, Flame, and Air;  
Not yet combined to make an Animal,  
Nor Sense, that Guide, and Governor of all.  
Beside, when strokes too strong for Nature fall  
And mighty pressures crush an Animal,  
It's Sense and Vital Powers are scattered all.  
For than the little Seeds do separate,  
And all the vital Powers are stopped by Fate.  
At length the Motion scattered thro' the whole,  
Breaking the vital ties of Limbs and Soul,  
Expels and drives it out at every Poor:  
For what can Force, for what can Stroke do more,  
Than disunite those Seeds that joined before?  
But when the Force is weak, more light the blows,  
The small remains of Life with ease compose  
Those violent Motions of approaching Fate,  
And call back all things to their former state;  
Expel usurping Death, that seemed to obtain  
An Empire there, and settle Sense again:  
Else why should living Creatures, that arrive  
So near the gates of Death, return, and live,  
Rather than enter in, when come so nigh,  
And end their almost finished Race, and die?  
Beside, since we feel Pain, when outward Force  
Diverts the Atoms, from their Natural Course,  
And shakes them o'er the Limbs, but when they obtain  
Their Natural Motion, and their place again,  
A quiet Pleasure straight succeeds the Pain.  
It follows, that the Seeds are things unfit,  
Or to be touched with Pain, or with Delight;  
Because they are not made of other Seed,  
Whose Change of Motion, or of Site may breed  
Vexing Pain, Pleasure, or Delight; and hence  
It follows too, that they are voided of Sense.  
But further now: If we must needs believe,  
That Seeds have Sense, because the Things perceive;  
What sort of Seed must form the Human Race?  
Can violent Laughter screw their little Face?  
Or can they drop their Briny Tears apace?  
Can they or laugh, or weep? Can they descry  
The greatest Secrets of Philosophy?  
discourse how thing are mixed? Or comprehend  
●n what firm Principles themselves depend?  
●or things which do enjoy the Faculties,  
And Powers of perfect Animals; must rise  
From other Seeds, and those must be begun  
From others, and so to infinitum on.  
For thus I'll urge: Whatever can perceive,  
discourse, laugh, reason, flatter, weep, or grieve,  
Must be compounded, and must own their frame  
●o proper Seeds, which can perform the same.  
But if this seem absurd; and dull, morose,  
And heavy Seeds can laughing things compose;  
●f wise, or if discursive things can rise  
From Seeds, that neither reason, nor are wise;  
What hinders than, but that a Sensible  
May spring from Seeds, all voided of Sense, as well?  
Lastly, we all from Seed Celestial rise  
Which Heaven, our Common Parent, still supplies.  
From Him the Earth receives enlivening Rain,  
And straight she bears Bird, Tree, and Beast, and Man,  
And proper food for all, by which they thrive,  
Grow strong, and propagate their Race, and live;  
Thence justly all the name of Mother give,  
And so each part returns when Bodies die,  
What came from Earth, to Earth; what from the Sky  
Dropped down, ascends again, and mounts on high.  
For Death doth not destroy, but disunite  
The Seeds, and change their Order, and their Site:  
Than make new combinations, whence arise  
●n Bodies all those great Varieties;  
Their Change in Colour, Shape, and Frame; and thence  
Some for a while enjoy, than loose their Sense.  
From whence, as we observed before, we found  
It matters much with what first Seeds are joined;  
What Site, and what Position they maintain,  
What Motion give, and what receive again,  
And that the Seeds of Bodies ne'er contain  
Such fragil transient things, as seem to lie  
On Bodies surfaces, and change, and die▪  
It matters much, even in these ruder Lines,  
How, or with what, each single Letter joins;  
For the same Letters, or almost the same,  
Make Words to signify Earth, Sun, and Flame,  
The Moon, the Heaven, Corn; Animals and Trees,  
And Sea; but their Position disagrees,  
Their Orders not alike. In Bodies so:  
As their Seeds, Figure, Order, Motion do,  
The Things themselves must change, and vary too.  
But now attend, 
Many Worlds.  I'll teach thee something new;  
'Tis strange, but yet 'tis Reason, and 'tis true.  
Even what we now with greatest Ease receive,  
Seemed strange at first, and we could scarce believe;  
And what we wonder at, as Years increase,  
Will seem more plain, and all our wonder cease.  
For look, the Heaven, the Stars, the Sun, and Moon,  
If on a sudden unto Mortals shown,  
Discovered now, and never seen before,  
What could have raised the People's wonder more?  
What could be more admired at here below?  
Even you had been surprised at such a show.  
But now all cloyed with these, scarce cast an Eye,  
Or think it worth the pains to view the Sky.  
Wherhfore fly no Opinion, 'cause 'tis new.  
But strictly search, and after careful view,  
Reject, if false; embrace it, if 'tis true.  
Now I have proved before, this mighty Space  
Is Infinite, and knows no lowest place,  
Nor uppermost; no bounds this All control,  
For that's against the Nature of the Whole.  
Now since thro' this Vast Space Seeds always move  
With various turns, and from Eternal strove;  
Who can imagine there should only rise  
Our single Earth, our Air, and our Skies;  
Whilst all the other Matter scattered lies?  
Especially, since these from Chance arose;  
When the unthinking Seeds by various blows,  
Now this now that way moved, at last was hurled  
Into the decent Order of this World;  
And made fit combinations: whence began  
The Earth, the Heaven, the Sea, and Beast, and Man.  
'Tis proved, and certain than, that otherwhere  
The busy Atoms join, as well as here;  
Such Earth's, such Seas, such Men, such Beasts arise,  
All like to those enclosed by our Skies.  
Again: When there can be no hindering Cause,  
But Place and Seed enough; by Nature's Laws  
Things must be made: Now if the Seeds surmount  
The u●most stretch of Numbers vast account  
And the same Nature can compose a Mass,  
As once in this, in any other place;  
It plainly follows, that there must arise  
Distinct and numerous Worlds, Earth, Men, and Skies,  
In places distant, and remote from this.  
Now farther add: Not Species hath but one,  
Which is begun, increased, and grows alone;  
But every Kind doth certainly contain  
Of Individuals a numerous train,  
As Bird, and silent Fish; as Beast, and Man;  
Therefore the Species of the Sun, and Moon,  
Of Heaven, and Earth, must needs have more than one.  
For every one of these is made, and grows  
By the same Nature's Catholic Laws with those,  
Whose spacious Kind's do numerous trains enclose.  
If this you'll understand, you'll plainly see,  
How the vast Mass of Matter, Nature free  
From the proud Care of th' Meddling Deity,  
Doth work by her own private strength, and move,  
Without the trouble of the Powers above.  
For, how, good Gods, can those that live in peace,  
In undisturbed and everlasting Ease,  
Rule this vast All? their labouring thoughts divide  
'Twixt Heaven and Earth, and all their Motions guide,  
Sand Heat to us, the various Orbs control,  
Or be immense, and spread o'er all the Whole?  
Or hid the Heaven in Clouds, whence Thunder thrown  
Does beaten their own aspiring Temples down?  
Or thro' vast Deserts breaks the innocent Wood,  
Nor hurts the Bad, but strikes the Just and Good?  
Now the Infinite Mass sends new supplies  
Into the World already formed; whence Skies  
And this vast Ball of Earth, 
The World receives new Seeds.  and boisterous Seas,  
And spacious Air, grow bigger and increase:  
For all to their own proper Kind's retire,  
To Earth the earthy, fiery parts to Fire,  
To Water, watery, till they grow as great  
As Nature's fixed and steady Laws permit.  
For as in Animals, when every Vein  
Receives no more than what flies of again,  
Those can increase not more; such means secure  
Those things from farther growth, when once mature.  
For that which looks so fair, 
Augmentation.  so gay, and young,  
Climbs to Maturity, grows great, and strong;  
That many parts receives, and still retains,  
And spends but few; because thro' all the Veins  
The little nourishing parts with ease diffused,  
Are there in little Space confined, and used  
For growth; but few fly of, and break the chain,  
And get their former liberty again.  
For though things loose their parts, 
Diminution.  when those are gone,  
Some new supplies of other Seed● come on,  
And more than they have lost: Thus things endure,  
Look gay, and young, until they grow mature.  
Thence by degrees our Strength melts all away,  
And treacherous Age creeps on, and things decay.  
For Bodies now grown big, and large, which cease  
From their continued growth, nor more increase,  
Those spend the more, their parts disperse with ease.  
The Nourishing parts come slowly on, and few,  
Too small decaying Nature to renew;  
The Stock is largely spent, no new supply  
Sufficient to make good those parts that die:  
Therefore they needs must fall, ●hir Nature broke  
By Inward wasting, or External stroke;  
Because the the stock of nourishment decays  
As Age creeps on; 
The World grows old.  and still a thousand ways  
The little Enemies without oppose,  
And strive to kill them by continual blows:  
And so the World must fall, though new supply  
The Mass affords, to rai●e those things that die.  
Yet all in vain; for Nature cannot give  
Supplies sufficient, nor the World receive.  
Even now the World's grown old; even that she bore  
Such mighty bulky Animals before,  
Now bears a Puny Insect, and no more.  
For who can think these Creatures, framed above,  
The little business of some meddling jove?  
And thence to people this inferior Ball,  
By Homer's golden chain let gently fall?  
Nor did they rise from the rough Seas, but Earth,  
To what she now doth feed at first gave birth.  
Beside, she Corn, and Wine, and Oil did bear,  
And tender Fruit, without the Tiller's care.  
She brought forth Herbs, which now the feeble Soil  
Can scarce afford to all our pain and toil.  
We labour, sweat, and yet by all this strife,  
Can scarce get Corn and Wine enough for Life.  
Our Men, our Oxen groan, and never cease,  
So fast our Labours grow, our Fruits decrease,  
Nay, often the Farmers with a sigh complain,  
That they have laboured all the Year in vain,  
And looking back on former Ages, bless  
With anxious thoughts their Parent's Happiness;  
Talk loudly, how that Pious they were filled,  
Content with what the willing Soil did yield,  
Thomas each Man than enjoyed a narrower Field:  
But never think, fond Fools, that Age will waste  
This mighty World, and break the frame at last,  
The End of the Second Book.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE THIRD BOOK.  

THee, who hast Light from midst thick Darkness brought,  
And Life's advantages and pleasures taught, 
Praise of Epicu●u●.   
Thee, chiefest glory of the Graecian State,  
〈◊〉 strictly trace; willing to imitate,  
Not contradict: For how can Larks oppose  
The vigorous Swans? they are unequal Foes:  
Or how can tender Kids with feeble Force  
Contend in Racing with the noble Horse?  
Thou, Parent of Philosophy, hast shown  
The way to Truth, by Precepts of thy Own,  
For as from sweetest Flowers the labouring Bee  
Extracts her precious Juice; Great Soul, from Thee  
We all our Golden Sentences derive;  
●olden, and fit Eternally to live.  
For when I hear thy mighty Reasons prove  
This World was made without the Powers above,  
All fears and terrors waste, and fly apace.  
Thro parted Heavens I see the mighty Space,  
The Rise of Things, the Gods, and Happy Seats,  
Which Storm or violent Tempest never beats;  
Nor Snow invades, but with the purest Air,  
And gaudy Light diffused, look gay and fair:  
There Bounteous Nature makes supplies for Ease,  
There Minds enjoy an undisturbed Peace;  
But that which senseless we so grossly fear,  
No Hell, no sulphurous Lakes, no Pools appear;  
And thro' the Earth I can distinctly view  
What underneath the busy Atoms do.  
From such like thoughts I mighty pleasure found,  
And silently admire thy strength of Mind;  
By whose one single force, to curious Eyes  
All naked and exposed whole Nature lies.  
Since than drop reg've taught, what Seeds of Bodies are,  
And how they move, what different Shapes they bear,  
And how from these all Being's first may spring:  
Next of the Mind, 
The Subject.  and of the Soul I'll sing,  
And chase that dread of Hell, those idle Fears,  
That spoil our Lives with Jealousies and Cares,  
Disturb our Joys with Dread of pains beneath,  
And fully them with the black Fear of Death.  
For though some talk, 
●ear of Death the cause of all 〈◊〉.  they should lesle fear to die,  
Than live in a Disease, or Infamy;  
That they know well the Soul consists in Blood,  
And our Philosophy can do no Good;  
Observe, they talk thus rather out of love  
To empty Praise, than what they say approve:  
For the same Men, to chains or banishment,  
Condemned to th' Galleys, or to Prison sent,  
Thomas infamous by horrid Crimes they're grown,  
Yet still endure, and patiently live on;  
Nay, more than that, where e'er the Wretches come,  
They sacrifice black Sheep on every Tomb,  
To please the Manes; and of all the rout,  
When Cares and Dangers press, grow most devout.  
Well than to know men's Souls, and what they are,  
View them beset with Dangers, and with Care:  
●or than their Words will with their Thoughts agreed,  
●nd, all the Mask pulled of, show what they be.  
Beside, all blind Ambition, all fierce Lust  
Of Avarice, those Parents of unjust,  
Which make Men plunge through sins, and vex each hour  
With Cares and Pains, to climb to Wealth, or Power;  
This shame, these great disturbers of our Breath,  
Are chief nourished by the Fear of Death.  
For Infamy, Contempt, and Poverty,  
●o seem so near the Gates of Death to lie;  
That whilst by senseless Fears Men frighted strive  
As far removed as possible to live,  
By Civil Wars endeavour to get more,  
And doubling murders, double their vast store;  
●augh o'er their Brother's graves; and timorous Guests  
All hate, and dread their nearest Kinsman's Feasts.  
From the same cause the meager Envious rise,  
And look on others Wealth with troubled Eyes;  
Complaints they make, and passionately repined,  
That some with Power, and some with Honour shine,  
Whilst they lie mean and low, and without Fame;  
And thus they die for Statues, and a Name.  
When some this Dread strikes deep, even Life they hate,  
And their own Hands prevent the stroke of Fate:  
Yet still are ignorant, that this vain Fear  
Breeds all the trouble, jealousy and care;  
Makes Men unkind, unchaste and break their trust;  
In short, destroys whate'er is good, and just.  
So some their Parents, and their Country cell,  
To free themselves from Death, and following 〈◊〉:  
For We i'th' Day, as Boys i'th' Night, do fear  
Shadows as vain too, and senseless as those are.  
Wherhfore that Darkness that o'respreads our Souls,  
What can disperse, but those Eternal Rules,  
Which from firm Premises true Reason draws,  
And a deep insihgt into Nature's Laws?  
First than, the Mind, 
The Mind is ● Substance.  in which the Reason lies,  
Is part of Man, as Hands, and Feet, and Eyes  
Are parts of Animals; though some have taught,  
And those Philosophers, that Sense, and Thought,  
Do no particular Seat, and part control,  
But is a Vital Habit of the Whole;  
In Greek called Harmony, and that from thence  
Flows all our Reason, Life, and Thought, and Sense▪  
But 'tis no Part. So Health, and Strength belong  
To Man, yet are no Parts of him that's strong.  
But this is false.—  
Foroften when these visible Limbs do smart, 
Not Harmony.   
Brisk Joys still-seated in some unseen Part.  
And so o'th' contrary: when Minds oppressed  
Sink under Cares, their Bodie● are at rest.  
So often whilst the Hand or Foot complains,  
The Head is vigorous, and free from pains.  
Beside, when charms of Sleep have closed our Eyes,  
Languid, and voided of Sense the Body lies;  
Yet even than, some other Part appears  
Disturbed with Hope, with Joy, and empty Fears.  
But further, to convince you that the Soul  
Is Part, and not the Harmony of the Whole:  
For though some Limbs are lost, Life keeps her Seat;  
But when few Particles of Vital Heat,  
And our last Breath goes out, Life likewise flies:  
And the Forsaken Carcase wastes, and dies:  
Which proves our Lives not equally depend,  
For their beginning, continuance, and end,  
On every Part; but chief Heat and Air,  
Make Life within us, and preserve it there:  
Than both these Two are there; but swiftly gone,  
And leave our Limbs, as treacherous Death comes on.  
Now since the Nature of the Mind and Soul  
Is fully found, and proved a Part of th' W●ole,  
Let those that call it Harmony, and please  
Their Fancies to derive s●●h Words as these  
From Music's Sounds, or whensoe'er it came,  
Applied to that which had no proper Name,  
Take back their Term again; 'tis here o'erthrown,  
And useless proved: Let us go farther on.  
Next than, I must affirm the Soul and Mind 
The Mind and Soul are one.   
Make up one single Nature closely joined,  
But yet the Mind's the Head and Ruling Part  
Called Reason, and ' its seated in the Heart;  
For there our Passions live, our Joy, and Fear,  
And Hope, which proves the Mind must needs be there;  
But the Inferior Part, the Soul, confined  
To all the Limbs, obeys the Ruling Mind,  
And moves as that directs; for only that  
Can of itself rejoice, or Fear, or Hate;  
Passion and Thought belong to that alone,  
For Soul and Limbs are capable of none.  
As when the Eye, or Head, or Hand complains,  
All the whole Body is not vexed with Pains;  
So often whilst the labouring Mind oppressed  
Sinks under Cares, the Soul enjoys her rest:  
But when the Mind a violent Passion shakes,  
Of that disturbance too the Soul partakes;  
Cold sweats bedew the Limbs, the Face looks pale,  
The Tongue gins to falter, Speech to fail,  
The Ears are filled with noise, the Eyes grow dim,  
And feeble shake seize on every Limb▪  
Beside, on sudden Frights Men often swoon;  
A strange Effect: from which 'tis plainly known,  
The Mind and Soul are joined, and make but one;  
For here the Mind's force strikes the Soul, 
The Mind is material.  and so  
The stroke goes on, and strikes the Body too.  
But, to en●●rge the Instance more, this proves  
The Mind material too, because it moves,  
And shakes the Limbs, makes them look pale and wan;  
In short, directs, and governs the whole Man:  
All which is done by Touch, and what e'er touch  
Are Bodies, than the Mind and Soul are such.  
The Mind proved Body, 
The Mind is composed of Seeds small and round.  I'll go on to found  
What sort of Body 'tis that makes the Mind.  
First than, it is a small and subtle one,  
Because no Action is so swiftly done  
As what the Mind gins. This Instance proves  
The Mind, than other things more swiftly moves;  
But what thus easy to be moved is found,  
Of very little Seed, and very round  
Must needs be framed; so that the weakest shove  
May push them forward on, and make them move.  
Water by lightest strokes is moved and flows,  
'Cause small and slippery Parts the Streams compose;  
But Honey, and thick Liquors stubborn prove  
Moore dull, and heavy, and unapt to move;  
For all their Parts more joined, and closer fall,  
Because they're not so round, so smooth, and small.  
So heaps of Poppy-seed, so Sand disjoined,  
Is scattered by the softest breath of Wind;  
But massy Stones, or Darts together cast,  
Stand firm against, and scorn the roughest blast:  
Which proves, that Seeds small, smooth, and round are best  
For vigorous Motion, rough and great for Rest.  
Now since the Nature of the Mind is found  
So apt to move, of Bodies small and round,  
It must be framed: Which Knowledge (lovely Youth)  
Will lead thee on to undiscovered Truth.  
For hence by easy Inference you may guests,  
How subtle all its Parts, what small recess,  
If crushed together, it would all possess.  
For when the stroke of Fate invades the Heart, 
How small the Soul.   
And the affrighted Mind and Soul departed,  
The Weight and Bulk remain; contented Death  
Leaves all secure, but Vital Sense, and Breath;  
Therefore those Seeds that frame this Soul, thro' all  
Our Limbs diffused, are subtle thin, and small:  
Because when that's all gone, each Limb retains  
The former Bulk, the former Weight remains.  
So when the brisker Spirits leap from Wine,  
And Parts from Odours from the Air combine;  
When from our Limbs a subtle Humour flows,  
Of the same Weight and Bulk, the Body shows,  
Because small Seeds all Juice, all Smells compose.  
'Tis certain than, those Seeds that frame the Mind,  
Are thin and small, and subtle, and refined:  
For when the Mind is gone, their former weight  
Each Limb retains, the Bulk remains as great.  
And yet 'tis mixed; for when Life's Powers decay, 
The Mind consists of four Parts.   
A gentle Breeze with Vapour flies away.  
This Vapour likewise shows that Air is there,  
All Heat hath Air; for Heat by Nature rare  
Must still be intermixed with Parts of Air.  
Well than, we know the Mind and Soul comprise  
Three Things, yet from all these no Sense can rise,  
No Vigorous Thought from such a frame as this,  
Than we must add a Fourth unto this Frame,  
A Fourth something, but without a Name,  
Whose Parts are smooth, small, subtle, apt to move,  
When pressed or troubled by the weakest shove.  
From this comes Sense, This the first stroke receives,  
And than the impulse to the Vapour gives;  
Than to the unseen Wind, than to the Air,  
Thence thro' our Limbs 'tis scattered every where;  
The Blood with troubled motion strikes the Heart,  
And a quick Sense runs thro' each inward Part:  
Than thro' the Marrow, than thro' every Bone,  
Whether it be a sharp, or pleasing one:  
But violent Passions, as strong Grief or Fear,  
Scarce enter far, and make Disturbance there;  
But strange Convulsions run our Bodies over,  
And Life and Soul fly out at every Poor:  
But often the Motion on the surface plays,  
Stops there, and that's the reason that Life stays.  
Next, how these four are mixed, I would rehearse,  
How fitly joined; but now my flowing. Verse  
The Latin Language's poverty doth check;  
Yet briefly, and as that permits, 
The four Parts are confusedly mixed.  I'll speak.  
They all confusedly move, no different Space  
To each allotted, and no proper Place  
Where this divides from that, and lies alone,  
But all their Powers conjoned, arise as One.  
So generally in every piece of Meat  
Our Sense discovers Odours, Sapours, Heat,  
Yet 'tis the same Flesh; so Heat, and Air, and Wind,  
Make up one Nature mixed, and closely joned,  
With that quick Force which makes them move, and whence  
Thro all the Body's Parts springs vigorous Sense.  
This Nature's deeply hid, this doth possess  
The Inward'st Space, the most remote Recess.  
As in our Limbs the Soul's removed from View,  
Because his Seeds are thin, and small, and few;  
So this Fourth Nameless Force within the Soul  
Lies hid, it's chiefest Part, and rules the Whole.  
So likewise must the Heat, the Air, and Wind,  
Be in convenient Place, and Order joined:  
This must be uppermost, that lower fall,  
To make it seem One Nature framed of all;  
Jest Heat and Air, placed separately, distracted  
The Power of Sense, and make it cease to act.  
Heat in the Mind is shown, when Passions rise,  
And Anger burns; it sparkles thro' the Eyes:  
And when the trembling Body shakes for Fear,  
And Blood grows cold, we know that Wind is there.  
In those the Power of Air is chief seen,  
Whose Heart's untroubled, and their Look serene:  
Those have most Heat, by Nature most inclined  
To Rage, such is the Lion's furious Mind,  
Who roaring bursts with generous Disdain,  
Nor can his Breast his violent Rage contain.  
Most Parts of Wind compose the Deer's cold Soul,  
From whence a trembling Chill runs thro' the Whole▪  
The peaceful Ox contains most Parts of Air,  
Not subject unto too much Rage, nor Fear,  
A Temper ' midst the Lion and the Deer.  
So Mens Minds differ too, though Moral Rules  
And Arts do polish, and reform our Souls;  
Yet still some Seeds remain, they still appear  
Thro all the Masks and Vizors we can wear:  
Some small Remainders of the Primitive Mind,  
Some evil Passions will be left behind;  
Whence some are prove to Rage, some to Distrust,  
Some Fearful are, and some more Mild than Iust  
A thousand more Varieties they show,  
Each different Mind hath different Manners to●,  
Whose hidden Causes I shall ne'er explain,  
Or Names sufficient, and expressive feign,  
For all these infinite Varieties  
Of Shapes, whence all these different Manners rise:  
Yet this methinks might be affirmed as true,  
Those tracts of Nature are so weak, so few  
Which Learning leaves, that we in spite of these,  
May rival even the Gods in Happiness.  
This Nature thro' the Limbs spreads every where,  
And Life and Health preserves with provident Care;  
For they are joined, and each on each depends,  
And the lest separation Death attends.  
As if from grains of Myrrh you force away  
The ravishing Smell, their Natures too decay;  
So part the Soul and Limbs, you both destroy,  
So close they join, and Common Life enjoy.  
Nor can the Soul and Body separate,  
Perceive, or think in their divided state;  
For the first stroke is by the Nerves conveyed,  
And Sense, from the joint motions of both, made.  
Besides, the Body is not born alone,  
Nor grows, nor lives, when Mind and Soul are gone;  
For th● the Water heated o'er the Fire,  
May loose some Vapours, yet remain entire;  
The Limbs, when Mind and Soul are fled, submit  
To the same fate and die, and rot with it:  
Nay more, before the Infants see the Light,  
Before they pass the confines of the Night,  
Whilst yet within their Mother's Womb they lie,  
If these two separate, 
The Body us well as Soul perceives.  they fail and die:  
Whence learn, that since the Cause of Life's combined,  
And lies in both, their Natures too are joined.  
Farther, who to the Limbs all Sense denies,  
And says the Soul, which thro' the Body lies,  
Is subject of that Motion we call Sense,  
He fights against the clearest Evidence.  
What need of Arguments, what need of Words?  
The strongest Proof the thing itself affords:  
Yet every Limb wants Sense, when the Soul's gone,  
And loseth much as feeble Age comes on.  
That Eyes no Objects see to Sight exposed,  
But that the Soul, as thro' wide Doors unclosed,  
Looks thro' them is plain Nonsense: 'Tis refelled  
Even by their Sense, who this wild Fancy held;  
This seems so plain, 'tis brought so near our Eyes,  
That he is blind, or shuts them, that denies;  
Chief when fulgid Objects viewed, the Sight  
Grows dim, and dazzled, by too great a Light;  
For Doors unclosed no harm nor danger know,  
Whatever Body 'tis that passes thro'.  
Were the Eyes Doors thro' which the Soul did look,  
Viewed all around, and her fair Prospect took,  
Our Sight, would stronger, quicker, better prove,  
If these plucked out, we all the Bars remove.  
And now to solve these Doubts must not be brought,  
As learned Democritus his School hath taught, 
Against Democritus.   
That Souls and Limbs are equal, o'er the Whole  
To every Limb an equal Part of Soul.  
For, first the Seeds of Soul are lesle than those,  
Which all the Body's Grosser part compose;  
Neither in Number, nor in Bulk so great,  
And o'er the Limbs in distant Spaces set.  
So that as few, and little, as suffice  
For that weak Motion, whence our Senses rise,  
So few, so little, we must all confess  
Those different Spaces, which those Seeds possess.  
For often falling dust we scarce perceive,  
Nor Dew by Night, nor what the Spiders wove,  
When o'er our Limbs the subtle chains are spread,  
Or the decaying Web falls o'er our head;  
Nor Plumes, nor Chaff, nor such light thing as these,  
Nor the soft Motion of the wand'ring Fleas:  
So that a strong Impression must be made,  
And the quick stroke to many parts conveyed,  
Before the little Bodies of the Soul  
Can feel, and thro' those distant spaces roll;  
Meet, strike, and part again, and thus perceive,  
Be pleased with the soft Objects stroke, or grieve.  
The Mind's 
The Mind the chiefest Part.  the chiefest Part of all the Whole,  
Life more depends on that, than on the Soul;  
When that departs, no Soul can longer stay  
But servilely attends, and flies away,  
Expires, and vanishes in the same Breath,  
And leaves the Limbs in the cold hands of Death.  
But he still lives, whose Mind remains alone,  
Although his Limbs lopped of, the Soul is gone.  
So let Ingenious Tyrant's Malice strive,  
Of many Limbs, though not of all deprive,  
And so divide the Soul, the Man will live.  
Thus leave the Pupil sound, but cut the White,  
We still enjoy the Noble Power of Sight;  
But that once hurt, though all the Parts around  
Be left entire, and firm, and free from Wound,  
The Power decays, and an eternal Night,  
And frightful Darkness all overspreads the Sight;  
Darkness, where e'er the wounded Eyeballs roll;  
And like these two in this are Mind and Soul.  
Now than, 
The Soul mortal.  my Lovely Youth, to let thee know  
That Souls and Minds are born, and mortal too,  
I'll writ such Verse, as shall appear to be  
By curious labour wrought, and worthy Thee:  
Do You take both expressed by either Name,  
(Both Words in this Dispute express the same:)  
So that, for Instance, when the Soul you found  
Proved Mortal, think I likewise mean the Mind,  
Since Both do make but One, two Natures joined.  
First than, 
First Argument.  since I have proved the Soul consists  
Of smaller Parts than Water, Smoak, or Mists,  
(Because than all these three more apt to move, 
First Argument.   
And take Impression from a weaker shove;  
For by the Images of Smoke and Streams,  
And thinnest Mists 'tis moved, as when in Dreams  
From fansyed Altars smoky Cloud● arise,  
And in dark rolls are scattered thro' the Skies,  
Those thoughts are raised by subtle Images)  
And since you see, that when the Vessel's broke,  
The Water runs away, and the thin Smoke  
By every Tempest scattered thro' the Air,  
Confusedly mix with it, and perish there;  
Conclude the thin Contexture of the Mind,  
An easier Prey to every rougher Wind,  
With ease dissolved, when from the Body gone;  
'Tis tossed i'th' Air, all naked, and alone.  
For since the Limbs, that Vessel of the Soul,  
Can not contain its Parts, and keep it whole,  
When bruised or drained of Blood, how can the Air  
A Body, than our Flesh, our Blood, more rare?  
Besides, 'tis plain, that Souls are born and grow, 
Second Argument.   
And all by Age decay as Bodies do.  
To prove this truth; In Infants, Minds appear  
Infirm and tender as their Bodies are:  
In Man, the Mind is strong; when Age prevails,  
And the quick Vigour of each Member fails,  
The Mind's Powers too decrease, and waste apace,  
And grave and reverend Folly takes the place:  
'Tis likely than the Soul and Mind must die,  
Like Smoke in Air its scattered Atoms fly:  
Since all these Proofs have shown, these Reasons told,  
'Tis with the Body born, grows strong and old.  
Besides, as violent Pains, and strong Disease 
Third Argument.   
Torment the Limbs, and all the Body seize;  
So Grief and Trouble Mind and Soul surprise;  
'Tis likely therefore that That also dies.  
Sometimes when violent Fevers vex the Brains.  
The Mind grows mad, and raves with equal pains:  
Sometimes when dull and deathlike Lethargy,  
And lasting sleep sits heavy on the Eye,  
The Soul is lulled; and neither knows, nor hears  
His Friends kind voice, nor sees their falling tears,  
Whilst they with Pious Care about him weep,  
And strive to rouse him from his Death of sleep.  
Since than the Limbs Disease affect the Mind,  
That must be mortal too: for still we found  
By thousand Instances Diseases wait  
On Death, as the sad Messengers of Fate  
Besides, 
Fourth Atgument.  when Wine's quick force hath pierced the brain,  
And the brisk heat's diffused thro' every Vein,  
Why do the Members all grow dull and weak?  
The Tongue not with its usual swiftness speak?  
The Eyeballs swim, the Legs not firm and straight,  
But bend beneath the bodies natural weight;  
Unmanly Quarrels, noise and sobs deface  
The powers of Reason, and usurp their place?  
How could this be, did not the precious Juice  
Affect the Mind itself, and spoil its use?  
Now things that can be thus disturbed, that cease  
From usual actions, by such Lets as these,  
Would die, suppose the force or strokes increase.  
Oft-times with violent Fits a Patient falls, 
Fifth Argument.   
As if with Thunder struck, and foams, and bawls,  
Talks madly, shakes, moves here and there, breathes short,  
Extends and tires his Limbs with Antic sport:  
Because the Venom, scattered o'er the whole,  
Makes such strange stirs and motions thro' the Soul;  
As boisterous Storms which o'er the Ocean rave,  
And raise white Curls upon the foaming Wave:  
He groans, because when pained, the seeds of Voice  
Break forth in a confused and troubled Noise;  
He's mad, because the parts of Soul and Mind  
Are by the poison's violence disjoined.  
Disturbed, and tossed; but when the Causes cease,  
The black malignant Humours, and Disease  
In some convenient Vessel lurk in peace;  
His weakness wears, and he forgets his pain,  
His Strength, his Life, and Sense return again.  
Now since Diseases can this Soul divide,  
Whilst strengthened by, and to the Members tied;  
Who can believe, this tender Substance, Mind,  
When from the Body loosed, can brave the Wind?  
And since our Minds as well as Bodies feel  
The powers of Medicines, 
Sixth Argument.  that change, or heal,  
They must be mortal, for to change the Soul  
You must, or change the order of the Whole;  
Take of some old, or add some parts anew.—  
Now what's Immortal, common sense hath told,  
Can gain not one new part, nor loose one old;  
For whatsoever suffers change, unties  
Its Union, is not what it was, but dies:  
Therefore the Mind or by Diseases grieved,  
Or by the power of Medicines relieved,  
Shows herself mortal; Such plain Evidence,  
Drawn from the strongest Reason, surest Sense,  
Doth all their specious Sophistry oppose,  
And either way confutes and overthrows.  
Besides, Experience shows, 
Seventh Argument.  that Patients die  
By piece-meal, thro' the Toes, than Legs, than Thigh  
Creeps treacherous Death; thence thro' the rest it moves  
By slow degrees: and this one instance proves  
The Soul mortal, since Death doth slowly spread,  
And some parts are alive at once, some dead.  
But if you think the Soul, by Fat● oppressed,  
Can to one Limb retire, and leave the rest;  
That part, where so much Soul hath residence,  
A greater must enjoy, and quicker sense;  
But since none such appears, 〈◊〉 plain it flies  
By piece meal thro' the Air, and therefore dies.  
But grant what's false; the Soul can backward fly,  
And huddled up within one Member lie,  
Yet this infers the Soul's Mortality.  
For what's the difference, if by latest breath  
Expelled or huddled up, 'tis crushed to death?  
Whilst from the Limbs the Senses steal away,  
And by degrees the Powers of Life decay.  
And since the Soul is part, and since it lies  
Fixed in one certain place, as Ears or Eyes;  
So like as those when from the Body gone,  
Perceive not, nor endure, but perish soon;  
The Mind can't live divided from the Whole,  
The Limbs which seem the Vessel of the Soul,  
Or somewhat if you please more nearly joined,  
Because these Two the closest Ties do bind.  
Lastly, 
The Soul separated hath no Sense.  both Soul and Body joined, perceive,  
Exert their natural Powers, endure, and live;  
Nor can the Soul without the Limbs dispense  
Her vital Powers, nor Limbs without the Soul have sense:  
For as the Ey● grows stiff, and dark, and blind,  
When torn from of her seat; so Soul and Mind  
Loose all their Powers, when from the Limbs disjoined;  
Because 'tis spread o'er all, and there preserves  
Her life, by vital Union with the Nerves.  
Nor could the little seeds of Soul commence  
Those shor● Vibrations that are fit for sense,  
Were the space great, which strictly all enclosed  
They well performed; but from the Body loosed,  
And to the wide unconstant Air exposed,  
Can ne'er enjoy, because the Air and Mind,  
Can never, as the Soul and Limbs be joined:  
For could the thin unconstant Air control.  
And keep in order too the fleeting Soul,  
And That those Motions too of sense maintain,  
Which now it doth thro' every Nerve and Vein,  
And all our Limbs; than we might justly call  
The Air a Body, and an Animal.  
Well than, the Soul all naked, and alone,  
When from the Body loosed, her Covering gone,  
Must die, both Soul and Mind, for both are one.  
Besides, since when the Mind and Soul are fled, 
Another Argument.   
The Carcase stinks, and rois as soon as dead,  
How canst thou doubt, but that, the Union broke,  
The scattered Soul flies thro' the Limbs like Smoke;  
And therefore must the Body's Fabric fall,  
Because the Soul that did preserve the All,  
Upheld and strengthened it, is now not more,  
But fled thro' every Passage, every Poor:  
Which shows the Soul, as all her Powers decay,  
Her parts dissolved, she scattered flies away.  
Nay more, whilst yet i'th' Limbs, as Death comes on, 
Another Argument.   
Her parts are all dissolved before she's gone.  
Nay when she's yet alive, some strokes prevail,  
And shake the Soul, her Powers begin to fail,  
The Members tremble, and the Face looks pale,  
As if 'twere real death; this happens when we swoon,  
Than than the Mind and Soul are almost gone,  
The Ties of Union almost all undone:  
For than the Mind's assaulced, and would bow  
To Fate, it shaken by a stronger blow,  
Than who can think that from the Members gone,  
Exposed to th' Air, all naked, and alone,  
It may but one short moment be secure,  
Much lesle as long as Time, as Years endure?  
Besides, 
Another Argument.  what Patient e'er perceived the Soul  
Forsake the dying Members safe and whole?  
Or that by slow degrees it seems to rise  
First thro' the Throat, than higher jaws, than flies,  
But every Sense in's proper Organ dies?  
And were the Soul immortal, 
Another Argument.  why doth the Mind  
Complain of Death, why not rejoice to found  
Herself let lose, and leave this Clay behind?  
As Snakes, when e'er the circling Year returns,  
Rejoice to cast their Skins, or Dear their Horns.  
Again,—  
Why's not the Soul produced in any part,  
I'th' Head, i'th' Hands? Why only in the Heart?  
But ' cause each Being hath it's proper seat,  
And there gins, there grows mature and great;  
Thus flames ne'er rise from waves, nor cold from heat.  
And if the Soul's immortal, 
Another Argument.  if she lives  
Divided from the Body, if perceives,  
She must enjoy five Senses still; for who  
Can fancy how the Soul can live below,  
Unless 'tis thus endowed? Thus Painters please,  
And Poets too, to draw their Souls with these.  
But as without the Soul, nor Eye, nor Ear,  
Nor either Hand, can touch, or see, or hear;  
So neither can this Soul, this Mind perceive,  
Without these Hands, these Eyes, these Ears, nor live.  
Besides, 
The Soul divisible.  our vital Sense is spread o'er all;  
The whole Composure makes one Animal:  
So that if sudden violent strokes divide  
This whole, and cast the parts on either side;  
The Soul and Mind too suffer the same Fate,  
And part remains in this, and part in that.  
Now what can be divided, what can lie  
And waste in several parts, can likewise die,  
So Chariots armed on every side to wound,  
When fiercely drove, bring Death to all around;  
And yet the wounded Man, so quick's the blow,  
Is scarce disturbed, scarce seems to feel, or know  
His Wound; and now but half a body grown,  
Still hasts to fight, still eagerly goes on,  
Nor misses he his Arm or Shield,—  
Thomas by the Chariot torn, dragged o'er the field:  
Others that loose those Hands that climb the Wall,  
Reach on, or fall, and wonder at their Fall;  
Others, their Legs lopped of, attempt to rise,  
Whilst the poor Foot lies trembling by, and dies.  
And when the Head's lopped of, the Eyes and Face  
Still keep their natural, still their vital Grace;  
The Look is vivid still, nor seems like dead,  
Till every Particle of Soul is fled.  
So likewise chop a venomous Serpent's Train,  
You'll see each single part is vexed with pain,  
Each turns, each bleeds, and sprinkles all the ground  
With boys ' nous Gore, each wriggles at the Wound.  
What than? Hath every part it's proper Soul?  
This were to place a Thousand in one Whole.  
Well than the Soul, by the same fatal blow,  
That chopped the poisonous Tail, is cut in two;  
Therefore 'tis mortal, subject unto Fate,  
Because 'tis divisible as well as that.  
Besides, 
Another Argument.  were Souls immortal, ne'er began,  
But crept into the Limbs to make up Man,  
Why cannot they remember what was done  
In former Times? Why all their Memory gone?  
Now if the Mind's frail powers so far can waste,  
As to forget those numerous actions passed,  
'Tis almost dead, and sure can die at last.  
Well than the former Soul must needs be dead,  
And that which now informs us, newly made.  
But when the Body's made, 
Another Argument.  when we begin  
To view the Light, if than the Soul crept in,  
How is it likely it should seem to grow,  
Increase and flourish, as the members do?  
Not, it would live confined to her close Cage,  
With powers as great in Infancy, as Age.  
Well than 'tis proved, 
Another Argument.  the Soul is born and dies,  
Beside, suppose it framed without, what Ties  
Can knit this Soul so close, how could this Mind,  
As Sense assures, with every Limb be twined?  
For now 'tis knit to every Nerve and Vein,  
To every Bone, that even the Teeth feel pain;  
As when with sudden chop they grinned a Stone,  
Or when cold Water chills the heated Bone.  
Since than 'tis joined so close, how can this Soul,  
Loosed from the Limbs, fly of secure, and whole?  
But now suppose the Mind was framed before, 
Another Argument.   
And than infused; grant this, I'll ask not more:  
This proves 'tis mortal too, for whilst the Soul,  
Insinuates her substance o'er the Whole,  
It's Parts must be dissolved, the natural Tie  
Of Union loosed, therefore the Soul can die.  
As Mea●s diffused thro' all the Members loose  
Their former Nature, and different things compose;  
So Minds, though safe and whole they first begin  
To enter, are dissolved in entering in:  
Because those subtle parts this Soul contains,  
Must be diffused thro' all the Nerves and Veins;  
And that whichentred, rules the Body now,  
Is the same Soul, that died in passing thro':  
And therefore Souls are born and perish too.  
Besides, 
Another Argument.  from Carcases some Part alone,  
Or the Whole Substance of the Soul is gone:  
If only Part, 'tis dead, its Seeds disjoined;  
For some do fly away, some lurk behind:  
But if all goes, why than do Troops of Flies,  
Why numerous Infects from the Bodies rise,  
Swarm over the Members? what's the cause of this?  
But grant you can believe a Proper Soul  
For every Worm, descends secure and whole;  
Nor think it strange, that when the former's gone,  
A Thousand little Souls should come for One;  
Yet still 'tis doubtful, whether every Mind  
Hunts carefully for S●eds of proper Kind.  
And fashions it's own Case; or else doth wait,  
Until the Limbs are perfect, all complete,  
And than goes proudly in, and takes her Seat.  
For what should prompt the Soul to all this Pains,  
What make her work? since freed from slavish chains  
Of Matter; Hunger, Cold, no sharp Disease,  
No anxious Cares her happy Substance seize:  
From the United Limbs she suffers these.  
But grant 'twas good for Minds to put on Clay,  
How are these Bodies formed, what curious way,  
How, in what Manner is the Action done?  
Souls cannot, therefore do not, frame their own.  
And did they enter perfect Frames, what Art  
Can subtly twine the Soul with every Part?  
That this should act on that, so nearly joined;  
The Mind affect the Limbs, the Limbs the Mind?  
Besides, why Lions Fury, why the Deer  
From their cold Sires derive their Natural Fear;  
Why Foxes Craft, why proper Powers adorn  
Each different Kind, unless the Souls are born?  
For were the Souls Immortal, could the Mind  
Fly of, 
No Transmigration.  and leave his former Case behind,  
And take another of a different Kind;  
What change in Animals Manners must appear?  
The Tyger-dog will fly pursuing Deer;  
The Hawk forget his Rage, and learn to fear,  
Trembling at every little Dove that flies;  
Men would be foolish all, and Beasts be wise.  
For 'tis absurd, that this Immortal Mind,  
Should change according to the different Kind  
Of Body, unto which the Soul's confined.  
For things thus Changeable, the Natural Tie  
Of Union broke, the scattered Parts can fly  
Dispersed, disordered, and themselves can die.   

But if they say, that Souls expelled by Fate,  
To other Bodies of like Kind retreat;  
Than tell me why, Why doth the wisest Soul,  
When crept into a Child, become a Fool?  
Why cannot Newborn Colts perform the course,  
With equal Cunning as a Full grown Horse?  
But that the Souls are born, increase, and grow,  
And rise mature, as all their Bodies do.   

Perchance they'll, say, Weak Minds, and Tender Sense  
Belong to tender Bodies. Poor Defence!  
This yields the Cause, this grants that Minds are frail,  
Whose former Life and Powers can change and fail.   

Beside, come tell me why a Soul should grow,  
And rise mature, as all the Members do,  
If 'twere not born; When feeble Age comes on,  
Why is't in haste, and eager to be gone?  
What doth it fear, it makes such haste away,  
To be imprisoned in the stinking Clay?  
What doth it fear the aged Heap's Decay?  
Or that 'twill fall, and crush the Mind beneath?  
Fond Fear! Immortal Being's are free from Death.  
'Tis fond tot hink, that whilst wild Beasts beget,  
Or bear their Young, a Thousand Souls should wait,  
Expect the falling Body, fight, and strive,  
Which first shall enter in, and make it live.  
Or is't agreed, do previous Leagues declare here,  
That 'tis her lawful Right, who first comes there,  
To enter in, and so no need of War?  
Beside, 
The Soul cannot be made without the Body.  no Trees in Heaven, no Stars below,  
The Hills no Fish, the Stones no Moisture know,  
Each hath its proper Place to live and grow.  
So neither Souls can live without the Blood,  
And Nerves, and Veins, and Bones; for grant they could,  
Than thro' one single Part, as Arm, or Head,  
'Twould first be framed, thence o'er the others spread;  
As Water into Vessels poured, doth fall  
First to one Part, than rise and cover all.  
But since 'tis certain, that a Proper Place  
Is settled for the Life, and the Increase  
Of Mind and Soul; 'tis folly to believe  
They can be made without the Limbs, or live.  
Well than, the Soul spread o'er the Limbs must fail,  
And die with those, as Years and Death prevail.  
For that Immortal Being's should lie confined  
To Mortal ones, their different Powers be joined,  
And act on one another, is absurd,  
Plain Nonsense: what more fond can Dreams afford,  
Than Mortal with Immortal joined in one,  
Should feel those Harms 'twas free from, when alone?  
Beside, 
Another Argument.  what is Immortal must be so,  
Because 'tis solid, above the Power of Blow;  
Whose Parts no Wedge divides, which knows no Poor,  
And such are Seeds, as I explained before:  
Or else because, like Empty Space, 'tis such  
As is secure from Stroke▪ and free from Touch;  
Or else because it can admit no bound,  
'Tis Infinite, and knows no place beyond,  
To which the Seeds may sink; this makes the All  
Eternal: there's no place whence Seeds may fall,  
And breed Confusion there: no- Space doth lie  
Without the Whole, to which the Parts may fly,  
And leave the Mighty All to waste, and die.  
Now 'tis not perfect solid; every Mass  
Between the Seeds contain some empty Space:  
Nor is't like Voided, untouched: for subtle Wind,  
With rapid Storms, can hurry on the Mind,  
Or take one Part, and leave the rest behind.  
Besides, there's space enough, to which, the Tie  
Of Union loosed, the scattered parts may fly.  
Well than, the Mind is Mortal, and can die.  
But if you think't Immortal, free from Wound,  
Because it's Substance is encompassed round,  
Fenced from destructive Causes; or that such  
Can very seldom, if at all, approach;  
Or if they should, fly of, before they make  
Confusion there; this is a Grand Mistake.  
For, not to mention how Diseases vex  
The Soul, what Fear of future Ills perplex,  
When guilty Conscience shall affright the Mind  
For Sins, strike deep, and leave Despair behind;  
'Tis mad, forgetful; sometimes Lethargy,  
And Death like sleep sits heavy on her Eye:  
Well than, what's Death to us, since Souls can die?  
For as we neither knew, nor felt those Harms,  
When dreadful Carthage frighted Rome with Arms, Against Fear of Death.  
And all the World was shaken with fierce Alarms;  
Whilst undecided yet, which part should fall,  
Which Nation rise the Glorious Lord of all:  
So after Death, when we shall be not more,  
What though the Seas forsake their usual Shore,  
And rise to Heaven? what though Stars drop from thence?  
Yet how can this disturb our perished Sense?  
But now suppose the Soul, when separate,  
Can live, and think, in a divided state:  
Yet what is that to Us, who are the Whole,  
A Frame composed of Body joined with Soul?  
Nay, grant the scattered A●●es of our Urn  
Be joined again, and Life and Sense return;  
Yet how can that concern Us, when 'tis done,  
Since all the Memory of past Life is gone?  
Now we ne'er joy, nor grieve, to think what We  
Were heretofore, nor what those things will be,  
Which framed for Us, the following Age shall see.  
When We revolve, how numerous Years have run,  
How often the East beheld the Rising Sun  
ere We began, and how the Atoms move,  
How the Unthinking Seed for ever strove;  
'Tis probable, and Reason's Laws allow,  
These Seeds of Ours were once combined as now:  
Yet now who minds, who knows his former state?  
The Interim of Death, the Hand of Fate,  
Or stopped the Seeds, or made them all commence  
Such Motions, as destroyed the former Sense.  
He that is Miserable, must perceive,  
Whilst he is so, he than must be, and live;  
But now since Death permits to feel not more  
Those cares, those troubles, which we felt before,  
It follows too, that when we die again,  
We need not fear; For he must live, that lives in Pain:  
But now the Dead, though they should all return  
To Life again, should grieve not more, nor mourn  
For Evils passed, than if they ne'er were born.  
Now when you hear a Man complain, and moan,  
And mourn his Fate, because when Life is gone,  
His Limbs must waste, and rot i'th' Earth, or feast  
The greedy Flames, or some devouring Beast;  
All is not well: He, by strong Fancy led,  
Imagines Sense remains among the Dead.  
Nor can I think, though he Himself denies,  
And openly declares the whole Man dies,  
But that from strong Conceits he still believes,  
Fond Fool, that He himself Himself survives:  
For now, even whilst he breathes, even whilst he lives,  
And thinks he must be torn or burnt, he grieves;  
Thinks still the Carcase must be He, and thence  
His wanton Fears infer there must be Sense:  
And hence he grieves that He was born to die,  
Subject to treacherous Mortality;  
But never thinks, Fond Fool, that when kind Death  
Shall close his Eyes in Night, and stop his breath,  
Than nothing of this Thinking Thing remains  
To mourn his Fate, or feel sharp Grief and Pains.  
But if 'tis miserable to be torn  
By Beasts when dead, why is't not so to burn?  
If thats an Ill, why not as great an one  
To be oppressed with Earth or Marblestone?  
Or dipped all o'er in Honey, or be rolled  
O'er boisterous Waves on Cliffs exposed to Cold?  
Aye, but he now is snatched from all his Joys:  
Not more shall his chaste Wife, and prattling Boys  
Run to their Dad with eager haste, and strive  
Which shall have the first Kiss, as when alive.  
Aye, but he now no more from Wars shall come,  
Bring Peace and Safety to his Friends at Home.  
Wretched, O wretched Man! One fatal Day  
Hath snatched the vast Delights of Life away!  
Thus they bewail, but go not further on,  
And add, that his Desires and Wants are gone:  
Which if they thought, how soon would all give o'er  
Their empty causeless tears, and weep no more?  
'Tis true thou sleepest in Death, and there shalt lie  
Free from all Cares to vast Eternity:  
But we shall mourn thee still; no length of Years  
Shall overcome our Grief, and dry our Tears.  
Now I would gladly know, Come tell me why,  
Why dost thou pine with Grief, and weep, and sigh?  
Why dost thou vex thyself, why beaten thy Breast,  
Because thou once must sleep in Death, and rest?  
So when the jolly Blades, with Garlands crowned,  
Sat down to drink, whilst frequent Healths go round,  
Some looking grave, this Observation make;  
All those Delights are short we Men can take:  
Now we enjoy; but gone, we wish in vain,  
In vain desire to call them back again.  
As if the greatest Ill i'th' Grave they fear  
Were Thirst, or to want Wine, or Garlands there,  
Or any other thing they fancy here.  
Fools! even in common Sleep, what Cares molest?  
What thoughts for Life or Health disturb our Rest?  
For Men eternally might still sleep on,  
Free from such Cares, their Rest disturbed with none:  
Yet than the Mind is well, 'tis whole, and lives,  
And aptly moves, nay, and almost perceives,  
Small strokes will wake the Man, and he revives.  
Than Death, if there can be a lesle than Lest,  
Is troubled lesle with Anxious Cares, than Rest:  
Because in Death, few parts of Mind remain;  
And he that sleeps in Death, ne'er wakes again.  
But now if Nature should begin to speak,  
And thus with loud Complaint our Folly check:  
Fond Mortal, 
A Pro●opopoeia of Nature.  what's the matter thou dost sigh?  
Why all these Tears, because thou once must die,  
And once submit to strong Mortality?  
For if the Race thou hast already run  
Was pleasant, if with joy thou saw'st the Sun;  
If all thy pleasures did not pass thy Mind  
As thro' a Sieve, but left some Sweets behind:  
Why dost thou not than like a Thankfuul Guest,  
Rise cheerfully from Life's Abundant Feast,  
And with a quiet Mind go take thy Rest?  
But if all those Delights are lost and gone,  
Spilt idly all, and Life a Burden grown;  
Than why, fond Mortal, dost thou ask for more,  
Why still desire t' increase thy wretched Store,  
And wish for what must waste like those before?  
Not rather free thyself from Pains and Fear,  
And end thy Life, and necessary Care?  
My Pleasures always in a Circle run,  
The same Returning with the Yearly Sun:  
And thus though thou dost still enjoy thy Prime,  
And though thy Limbs feel not the rage of Time,  
Yet I can found no New, no Fresh Delight;  
The same Dull Joys must vex thy Appetite,  
Although thou couldst prolong thy wretched Breath  
For numerous Years, much more if free from Death.  
What could we answer, what Excuses trust?  
We must confess that her Reproofs are just.  
But if a Wretch, if one oppressed by Fate,  
Mourns coming Death, and begs a larger Date,  
Him She may freely chide: Forbear thy Sighs,  
Thou Wretch, cease thy Complaints, and dry thine Eyes.  
If Old; Thou hast enjoyed the mighty store  
Of gay Delights, and now canst taste not more;  
But yet, because thou still didst strive to meet  
The absent, and contemndst the present Sweet,  
D●ath seems unwelcome, and thy Race half run▪  
Thy course of Life seems ended when begun;  
And unexpected hasty Death destroys,  
Before the Greedy Mind is full of Joys.  
Yet leave these Toys, that not befit thine Age;  
New Actors now come on; resign the Stage.  
If thus she chides, I think 'tis well enough,  
I think 'tis nothing but a just Reproof;  
For Rising Being's still the Old pursue,  
And take their place, Old die, and frame the New:  
But nothing sinks to Hell, and sulphurous Flames,  
The Seeds remain to make the future Frames:  
All which shall yield to Fate as well as thou,  
And Things fell heretofore even just as now.  
And still Decaying things shall New produce;  
For Life's not given to possess, but use.  
Those Ages that in long procession ran,  
And measured hasty Time ere we began,  
What all to Us? From this think farther on,  
And what is Time to Us when Life is gone?  
Beside, what dreadful Things in Death appear,  
What tolerable Cause for all our Fear?  
What sad, what dismal thoughts do bid Us weep?  
Is't not a Quiet state, and soft as Sleep?  
And all which We from Poet's Tales receive,  
As done below, We see even whilst alive.  
Not wretched Tantalus (as Stories go)  
Doth vainly dread the Hanging Stone, below;  
But heavy weights of superstitious Care  
Opppress the Living, they disturb us here,  
And force us Chance and Future Evils fear▪  
Not Titius there is by the Eagle 〈◊〉,  
No new supplies of Liver still are born:  
For grant him big enough, that all the Nine,  
Those Poet's Acres, his vast Limbs confine  
To narrow bounds, but let him spread o'er all,  
And let his Arms clasp round the Watery Ball;  
Yet how could He endure Eternal Pain,  
And how his eaten Liver grow again?  
But he is Titius here, that lies oppressed  
With vexing Love, or whom fierce Cares molest;  
These are the Eagles that do tear his Breast.  
He's Sisyphus, that strives with mighty Pain  
To get some Offices, but strives in vain;  
Who poorly, meanly begs the People's Voice,  
But still refused, and ne'er enjoys the Choice,  
For still to seek, and still in Hopes devour,  
And never to enjoy desired Power,  
What is it, but to roll a weighty Stone,  
Against the Hill, which straight will ●umble down?  
Almost at top, it must return again,  
And with swift Force roll thro' the humble Plain.  
Lastly, since Nature feeds with gay delight,  
And never fills the greedy Appetite;  
Since every Year, with the Returning Springs,  
She new Delights, and Joys, and Pleasures brings;  
And yet our Minds, amidst this mighty store,  
Are still unsatisfied, and wish for more:  
Sure this they mean, who teach that Maids below  
Do idle Pains, and Care, and Time bestow,  
In pouring Streams into a leaky Urn,  
Which flow as fast again, as fast return.  
The Furies, Cerberus, black Hell, and Flames,  
Are Airy Fancies all, mere empty Names.  
But whilst we live, the Fear of dreadful Pains  
For wicked Deeds, the Prison, Scourge, and Chains,  
The Wheel, the Block, the Fire, affright the Mind,  
Strike deep, and leave a Constant sting behind.  
Nay, those not felt; the guilty Soul presents  
These Dreadful shapes, and still herself torments,  
Scourges, and Stings; nor doth she seem to know  
An End of these, but Fears more fierce below,  
Eternal all. Thus fancied Pains we feel,  
And live as wretched here, as if in Hell.  
But more, to comfort thee:—  
Consider, 
Another Comfort against Fear of Death.  Ancus perished long ago,  
Ancus, a better Man by much than Thou,  
Consider, Mighty Kings in Pomp and State,  
Fall, and ingloriously submit to Fate.  
Consider, even He, that Mighty He,  
Who laughed at all the Threaten of the Sea;  
That chained the Ocean once, and proudly led  
His Legions o'er the fettered Waves, is dead.  
Scipio, that scourge of Carthage, now the Grave  
Keeps prisoner, like the meanest Common Slave.  
Nay, the greatest Wits, and Poets too, that give  
Eternity to others, cease to live:  
Homer, their Prince, that Darling of the Nine,  
(What Troy would at a second Fall repined,  
To be thus sung?) is nothing now but Fame,  
A lasting, far-diffused, but empty Name.  
Democritus, as feeble Age came on,  
And told him that 'twas time he should be gone,  
(For than his Mind's brisk Powers grew weak) he cried,  
I will obey thy summons, Fate, and died.  
Nay, Epicurus Race of Life is run,  
That Man of Wit, who other Men out-shon,  
As far as meaner Stars the Midday Sun.  
Than how darest Thou repined to die, and grieve,  
Thou Meaner Soul, thou dead, even whilst alive?  
That sleepest and dreamest the most of Life away:  
Thy Night is full as rational as thy Day;  
Still vexed with Cares, who never understood  
The Principles of Ill, nor use of Good,  
Nor whence thy Cares proceed, but reel'st about  
In vain unsettled thoughts, condemned to doubt.  
Did Men perceive what 'tis disturbs their Rest,  
Whence rise their Fears, and that their thoughtful Breast  
Is by the Mind's own natural weight oppressed;  
Did they know this, as they all think they know,  
They would not lead such Lives as now they do;  
Not know their own Desires, but seek to found  
Strange Places out, and leave this Weight behind.  
One tired at Home, forsakes his Stately Seat,  
And seeks some Melancholy close Retreat,  
But soon returns; for pressed beneath his load  
Of Cares, he finds no more Content abroad:  
Others, with full as eager haste, retire,  
As if their Father's House were all on Fire,  
To their small Farm; but yet scarce entered there,  
They grow uneasy with their usual Care,  
Or seeking to forget their Grief, lie down  
To thoughtless Rest, or else return to Town:  
They all do strive to eat themselves; in vain  
For troublesome he sticks close, the Cares remain,  
For they ne'er know the Cause of all their Pain:  
Which if they did, how soon would all give o'er  
Their fruitless toys, and study Nature more?  
That is a noble Search, and worth our Care;  
On that depends eternal Hope, or Fear;  
That teaches how to look beyond our Fate,  
And fully shows us all our future state.  
Our Life must once have end, in vain we fly  
From following Fate, even now, even now we die.  
Life adds no New Delights to those possessed:  
But since the absent Pleasures seem the best,  
With winged Desire and Hast with those pursue,  
But those enjoyed, we strait-ways call for new.  
Life, Life we wish, still greedy to live on;  
And yet what Fortune with the following Sun  
Will rise, what Chance will bring, is all unknown.  
What, though a Thousand Years prolong thy Breath,  
How can this shorten the long state of Death?  
For though thy Life shall numerous Ages fill,  
The state of Death shall be eternal still.  
And he that dies to Day, shall be not more,  
As long as those that perished long before. 

Lucretius grants the Soul to be a Substance, distinct from these visible Members, and divides it into two Parts, the Soul, properly so called, and the Mind, which is the governing and ruling Part, and takes ●he Heart for its proper seat, whilst the Soul is diffused over the whole Body: But these two are but one Nature, and united, because the Mind can act on the Soul, and the Soul on the Mind; and therefore both are material, Tangere enim & tangi sine corpore nulla ●otestres, and no Action can be without Touch. This Substance of the Soul is a congeries, of round smooth Atoms, and consists of four Parts: Wind, Vapour, Air, and a fourth a Nameless thing, which is the principle of Sense. This Soul is not equal to the Body, as Democritus imagined, but its parts are set at distance, and when pressed by any external Objects, mee●, and jumble against one another, and so perceive. This is the description of the Epicurean Soul, and ●he manner of its acting: And all the Arguments ●hey propose against its Immortality, endeavour likewise to evince it material, and that too from the mutual acting of the Soul and Body on one another.  
To examine each particular, I shall first grant it material, and than consider the validity of that consequence; secondly prove it immaterial, and show that an immaterial Being can act on a material, and than discourse on the validity of that Consequence which infer●it to be immortal, because 'tis Immaterial.  
And here I shall admit the distinction between Soul and Mind, taking one to be the principle of Life and the other of Sense, but cannot allow them to be one nature because of their mutual acting, unless the Body too on the same account be but one nature with the Soul, which Lucre●ius himself denies. This Mind is seated in the Brain, a thousand Experiments assuring us, that when there happens any obstruction in the Nerves, the Animal feels not though you cut the part that lies below the stoppage, and yet the lest prick above it, raiseth the usual pains and convulsions. Now suppose this Mind material, and consider that it hath been already proved, that Matter is not self-existent, and therefore depends on another Substance for its Being; now I suppose any Man will grant, that 'tis as easy to preserve, as to make a thing; for Preservation is only a continuing that Being, which is already given: And therefore though the Soul were material, yet the Consequence is weak. And thus t●e Stoics, though they acknowledge nothing but Body, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. And affirm the Soul to be generated and corruptible; yet it is not destroyed as soon as divided from the limbs, but remains some time in that state; the Soul of the vicious and ignorant some few years, but those of the wise and good till the general Conflagration of the World.  
Secondly, that the Sold is immaterial, is evident from its operations, for when any external object presseth on the Organ, it can only move it: Now let this motion be inward, arising from the pressure of the external Object; or let it be an endeavour outward, proceeding from the resistance of the Heart, as Mr. Hobbs imagines; or else a little trembling of the minute parts, as the Epicureans deliver; yet what is either of these motions to Sense? For strike any piece of Matter, there ariseth presently that pressure inward, and the endeavour outward; and yet I believe no man accounts a Workman cruel for breaking a Stone, or striking a piece of Timber, though according to this Opinion, he may raise as quick a Sense of pain in these, as in a Man. Nor must any one object the different figures and contrivances of Stones, and Nerves, for those only make the motion more or lesle ●asie, but cannot altar the nature of the Pressure. Besides, let us take several round little Balls, and shake them in a bag that they may meet, strike and reflect, who can imagine that here is any perception? That ●hese Balls feel the motion and know that they do so. And indeed the Epicureans grant what we contend for, since they fly to a fourth nameless thing, i e. they cannot imagine any Matter under any particular schematism fit to think or perceive. But grant that ●imple apprehension co●ld belong to Matter, yet how could it unite two Things in a Proposition, and pronounce them agreeable? How after this conjunction, consider them again, and collect, and form a Syllogism? ●or there is no Cause of either of those two Motions, and therefore they cannot be in Matter. For suppose too things proposed to consideration, and let their ●imple pressure on the Organs raise a Phantasm; this ●s the only motion that can be caused by the Objects. now let these be removed, and any Man will found himself able to consider the Nature of these Objects, compare their properties, and view their agreement, which must be a distinct Motion from the former; and this too can be done several Hours, Months, or Years, after the first pressure of the Objects, and after the Organs have been disturbed with other Motions, and consequently the first quite lost: And after all this he can join these▪ two Objects, thus compared with a third, and compare them again, and after that bring the two Extremes into a Conclusion; and all this by the strength of his own judgement, without the help, the pressure, or direction of any external impulse. Besides, the Epicureans grant they have a Conception of Atoms, voided and infinite, of which they could never receive any Image and consequently no cause of their Conception; Matter being not to be moved, but by material Images, and those too of equal bigness with the Corpuscles that frame the Soul. Other Reasons may be produced from the disproportion of the Image of the Object to the Organ, it being impossible that any thing should appear bigger than the Organ, if Sense were only the Motion of it, or of some part● contained in it; because it would be able to receive not more Motion, than what came from some part of the Object of equal dimensions to it. But I hasten to show, that an immaterial Being can act on a material. And here we must mind again, that the sublunary Matter is not self-existent, and therefore depends on something that is so: Now this Being cannot be Matter, for all Matter is divisible, and therefore inconsistent with necessary existence; now this Substance, as He created, so he must move Matter, for Motion is not a necessary Mode of it, as every Man's Senses will evince. And 'tis the same thing to created and preserve a Being, with such and such a Mode or Accident, as it is barely to created it. And this infers that He can act on Matter as much as the Soul now doth, and this Action is not any thing distinct from his Will; the same Power that created, moves it; and that this may be easily conceived every Man hath a secret Witness in himself, and may be convinced from his own Actions. But let us consider a little farther, and we shall found Motion as difficult to be conceived as this mode of Acting; for those that define Motion to be only a successive Mode of Being in respect to Place, only tell us the Effect of it, when we inquire after its Nature: I shall therefore take it for a Physical Being, and distinct from Matter, as its transitions out of one Body into another sufficiently evince; and any Man may easily observe how full of contradictions Cartes is, when he treats of this Subject, having determinned Motion to be only a mode of Matter. Now all the definitions of the Philosophers prove, that we have no Idea of this but from its effects; and therefore its manner of Acting, of Transition, etc. is as hard to be conceived, as the mode of Action in an immaterial Substance, and yet no Man doubts it.  
Thirdly, there is a great contest about Brutes, some allowing them perception, others asserting them to be nothing but Machine's, and as voided of all Sense as an Engine. This latter Opinion is irreconcilable to their Actions, and to that experience we have of their Docility, and the relations of their Cunning, even from those men's Mouths, which are great sticklers for this Fancy: And this arises from a common Opinion, that if they grant Brutes immaterial Souls (as they must do if they allow them perception) the Consequence will be unavoidable, Therefore they are Immortal. But to speak freely, I could never perceive any strength in this Argument; and if I had no stronger convictions, I could subscribe to Sene●a's Opinion.  

a Sen. Epist. 19●.  Iuvab●t de Animae ●eternitate qu●erere, imò mebercule credere; credebam enim facilè opinion●bus magnorum virorum rem gravissimam promittentium, magis quàm probantium. For Immateriality doth not infer necessity of Existence, or put the thing above the Power of him that framed it: And therefore Immortality is a gift of the Creator, and might likewise have been bestowed on Matter; and therefore Beasts may be allowed Substances capable of Perception, which may Direct, and Govern them, and Die, and be Buried in the same Grave with their Bodies. But we have such great evidence for the immortality of the Mind of Man, both from the Dispensations of Providence, and infallible promises, that I could not give a firmer assent, nor have a stronger ground for my Opinion, if the Proofs could be reduced to Figures, and proposed in Squares, and Triangles.  
Besides the general, he produces many particular Arguments, from the different operations of the Soul in the several stages of our life. He had observed (and who can be ignorant of that) that though both in Childhood, Youth, and old Age the notices of external Objects are equally clear and perfect, yet at first our apprehensions and our memories are weak, our Judgement and reason little and very different from the accurate perception of riper Years: and that decays again, and extreme old Age slowly 〈◊〉 us back to our Swaddling clothes and our Cradles: To these he adds the various Distempers that are incident to Man; how sometimes the Mind is ●ulled into a Lethargy, and than waked again into a Frantic fit; and how at last Death steals in upon our Life, and wins inch by inch, till it becomes Master of the whole: And hence he infers the increase and decay or the Mind, and that it is born and dies: Now these Arguments cannot stantle any one that considers the Immortality of the Soul is not to be inferred from any Attribute of its own Substance; but the will and pleasure of the Author of its Being; and therefore did it really suffer all those disturbances he imagines, yet who doubts but a tormented Thing may be kept in Being, since the Torment itself is not Death: But Natural Philosophy will accounted for these distractions. If we consider what Life is, and how the Soul must depend on the Body as to its operations: if we distinguish Life from ●ense, 'tis nothing else but a due Motion, and digestion of the Humours; and this agrees to Plan●● as well as Sensibles. They are nourished, grow and ●ive alike; and an Animal dies because some of ●hese are either lost, or depraved; for were her habitation good and convenient, the Soul would ne●er leave it, she hath no such reluctancy to Matter, ●or is so afraid of its pollutions, as the Platonists ●ancy, that she should be eager to be gone; but when the Body fails, and is unfit for those Animal Motions, over which it was her office to preside, she must retire from the Lump of Clay, and go to her appointed place: So that the Soul suffers nothing when the Limbs grow useless, as even common observation testifies, for a Palsy in the Arm or Leg, doth not impair the Judgement; and often when the Limbs are feeble, and the Body sunk to an extremity of weakness, the Mind is vigorous and active, and very Unequal company for the decaying Matter. And as for the Pain and Torture that accompany Death, and make the Targedy more solemn, 'tis evident, that suppose the Soul immortal, 'tis impossible it should be otherwise; so that this can be no Argument for the Epicureans, which, admit the contrary supposition, can be so easily explained: And here we must conceive the Mind as the chiefest Part of Man, a judging Substance, but free from all Anticipations and Ideas; a plain Ras● Tabula; but fit for any impressions from external Objects, and capable to make Deductions from them; in order to this, she is put into a Body curiously contrived, fitted with Nerves and Veins, and all necessary Instruments for Animal Motion; upon these Organs External Objects act by pressure, and so the Motion is continued to the Seat of this Soul, where she judges according to the first impulse, and that Judgement is called either Pain or Pleasure; so that the Action of the Soul is still uniform and the same; and the various Passions arise only from the variety of the Objects she contemplates: But now because she has Memory, and from these Notices once received can make Deductions; she is capable of all those Affections which are properly called Passions, as Grief, Joy, etc. All which are Acts of Reason, and are compatible to Brutes too, according to their degree of Perception: And besides, since the Mind makes use of the Body in her most Intellectual Actions, as is evident from that weariness that is consequent to the most abstracted Speculations; the disturbance she receives proceeds from the unfitness of the Organs, but she works as rationally ●n a Mad man as in a Sober, in a Fool as in the most Wise, because she acts according to the utmost Perfection her Instruments will permit.  
But because this Notion of a Rasa Tabula will not agreed with those, who are fond of some I know not what innate speculative, and Practical Ideas; it will be necessary to consider the Instances they produce. The first is that of many Geometrical Figures, for Instance a Chiliagon of which we can make perfect Demonstrations which presuppose an Idea of the Sub●ect, though we can have no Image nor Representation of it from our Fancy: But in proposing this Instance, they do not attend that these Properties ●elong to a Chiliagon: because it contains so ma●y Triangles, which is a Figure obvious enough to ●ense. The second is that of a Deity, upon which ●artes his whole Philosophy depends; and here he grants this to be imperfect, i e. really none at all, because not agreeable to the Object whose Idea it ●retends to be; yet this is enough to guide us in ●ur Religion, because the highest our Minds can ●each: But even this we have from Sense; from ●he Consideration of the Imperfections of all things with which we are conversant, we rise to the knowledge of an All perfect; so that all the Attributes we 〈◊〉 conceive are just in opposition to what we discover here, and therefore according to the different apprehensions that Men have entertained of ●uch Things so various have been their Notions of ●he Deity, as is evident from the Heathen World: And this makes way to discover how we got all those particular Notions which we call the Law of Nature, and are said to be written in our Hearts: For when Man was first created in his perfect State, without any prejudice of Infancy or Education, he had as much Knowledge as was designed for that order of Creatures in the Universe●▪ the Notions of all things were clearly represented, and Good and Evil appeared naked, and in their proper shapes: These Notions have been delivered down to us, and from these once made plain, the Mind necessarily infers such practical rules as are called the Law of Nature: And this Explication will give an account of the diversity of Manners and Opinions amongst Men, and the various Interchanges of Barbarity, and Civility thro' the World.     
The End of the Third Book.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE FOURTH BOOK.  
I Feel, I rising feel Poetic Heats;  
And now inspired, trace o'er the Muse's Seats  
Untrodden yet: 'tis sweet to visit first  
Untouched and Virgin Streams, and quench my Thirst:  
I joy to crop fresh Flowers, and get a Crown  
For new and rare Inventions of my own;  
So noble, great, and generous the Design,  
That none of all the Mighty Tuneful Nine  
e'er graced a Head with Laurels, like to mine.  
For first I teach Great Things in lofty strains,  
And lose Men from Religion's grievous Chains:  
Next, though my Subject's dark, my Verse is clear,  
And sweet, with Fancy flowing every where.  
And this designed: For as Physicians use,  
In giving Children Draughts of bitter Juice,  
To make them take it, tinge the Cup with Sweet,  
To cheat the Lip: This first they Eager meet,  
And than drink on, and take the Bitter Draught,  
And so are harmlessly deceived, not caught;  
For by such Cheats they get their Strength, their Ease,  
Their Vigour, Health, and baffle the Disease.  
So since our Method of Philosophy  
Seems harsh to some, since most our Maxims fly;  
I thought it was the fittest way to dress  
These rigid Principles in pleasing Verse;  
With Fancy sweating them, to bribe thy Mind  
To read my Book, and lead it on to found  
The Nature of the World, the Rise of Things,  
And what vast profit too, That Knowledge bring.  
Now since 'tis shown, what things first Bodies are,  
What different Forms, what various Shapes they bear;  
And how they move, how join to make one Whole,  
And what's the Nature of the Mind and Soul;  
Of what composed, how Fate doth break the Chain,  
And scatter it into its Seeds again.  
Next (for 'tis time) my Muse declares and sings, 
Of Images.   
What those are we call Images of Things,  
Which like thin Films from Bodies rise in Streams,  
Play in the Air, and dance upon the Beams,  
By Day these meet, and strike our Minds, and fright  
And show pale Ghosts, and horrid shapes by Night: 

After he had copiously discoursed of the Nature of the Soul, and endeavoured to prove it Mortal, he goes on here, and pretends to solve One Argument, which still seemed to press his Opinion, and that is drawn from the various Apparitions that sometimes present the Image of our deceased Friends, and makes so lively and vigorous impression on the Fancy, that we cannot but think them real, and something beside naked Imagination: But because he intermixes this with his Discourse of the Senses, and makes it depend on the Epicurean explication of Vision, I shall be obliged briefly to consider his Doctrine, and that being overthrown, discourse of the Strength of the Argument: Well than, not to trouble him about his other Senses, concerning Vision he delivers this; Thin subtle Images constantly rise from the surfaces of all Bodies, which make an Impression on our Organs, and than the notice ●s communicated to the Soul. To confu●e this, we need look not farther than his own Principles, and consider that he hath made Weight a Property of Matter, and an Endeavour Downward a Necessary Adjunct: And therefore all Motion Upward is violent, and proceeds from External Pressure, or Impulse.  
Now any Man knows that the Species are propagated any way with equal Ease, and we see as well when the Object is placed below our Eye, as when above it: But there is no Force to make these Imag●● rise, and therefore 'tis impossible they should. Their own Nature opposes, the Air (as all must grant) that lies behind the Object, is unfit to give this Impulse to the solid parts of the upper Surface, that on the side, to drive it upward: And I believe none will think these Images are raised by the Air that is perpendicular to the Superficies; And this Argument more strongly concludes, if we consider his Explication of Distance, for there he requires that these Images should drive on all the Air between the Object and the E●●, though it often resists and beats furiously against them, which cannot be done, but by a considerable Force, and a greater Strength than can be allowed these subtle Forms, though rising from any Body in the most convenient Position, and when their Weight can assist their Motion: But more; If such Images arose, it must be granted that the Object must seem changed every Minute; and it would be impossible to look upon a Cherry for the space of an hour, and still perceive it blush with the same Colour; because every Image that moves our Eye, cannot be above one hundred times thinner than the Skin of that Fruit; for I believe any Man will freely grant, that this Skin so divided will be too transparent to be perceived: or if it may still be seen, let the Division proceed, and at last the Absurdity will press, and follow too fast, and too closely to be avoided: I shall not mention, that contrary Winds must disturb their Images, break their lose Order, and hinder their passage; but only take notice, That 'tis impossible such Images, should enter at the Eye, and represent an Object as great as we perceive it: For ●hese Images rising from the Surface, must proceed by parallel Lines; and their Parts maintain as great a distance as the parts of the Body whence they sprang; because they come from every part of the Object, and 〈◊〉 commensurate to it; and therefore cannot be ●ressed closer without Penetration or Confusion. But ●ppose Vision might be thus explained, grant every ●ne, like the Man in Seneca, had his own Image still ●alking before him, yet Imagination and Thought have ●heir peculiar difficulties.    
These break our sleep, these check our gay delight.  
For sure no Airy Souls get lose, and fly  
From Hell's dark Shades, nor flutter in our Sky:  
For what remains beyond the greedy Urn,  
Since Soul and Body to their Seeds return?  
A Stream of Forms from every surface flows,  
Which may be called the Film or Shell of those:  
Because they bear the Shape, they show the Frame,  
And Figure of those Bodies whence they came.  
The dullest may perceive, and know 'tis true:  
For Bodies big enough for Sense to view,  
●o often rise; some more diffused, and broke:  
Thus Fire, thus heated Wood doth breath forth smoke;  
And some more close, and joined; when Heats begin,  
Some Infects seem to sweated, and cast their Skin,  
The Heifers cast the Membranes of their Horns,  
Snakes leave their glittering Coats among the Thorns,  
A glittering Coat each Tree, each Bush adorns.  
We see with Pleasure, what we fled before;  
We handle now the Scales, and fear not more.  
This proves, that numerous trains of Images  
(For why can these, and not more thin than these?)  
From every surface flow. For first they lie  
Unchained, and lose, and ready for our Eye:  
They soon will slip, and still preserve their Fran●e,  
Their ancient Form, and tell from whence they came:  
Nay more, they're thin, they on the surface play,  
And so few Chains to break, few Stops to stay  
Their course, or hinder when they fly away.  
For now 'tis certain that a numerous store,  
Not only from the Middle Parts, as 'twas before  
Observed, but even from the surface rise,  
As Colours often loosened strike our Eyes.  
Thus when pale Curtains, or the deeper Read,  
O'er all the spacious Theatre are spread,  
Which mighty Masts and sturdy Pillars bear,  
And the lose Curtains wanton in the Air;  
Whose Streams of Colours from the top do flow,  
The Rays divide them in their passage thro',  
And slain the Scenes, and Men, and Gods below:  
The more these Curtains spread, the pleasing Dye  
Rides on the beams the more, and courts the Eye;  
The gaudy Colour spreads o'er every thing,  
All gay appear, each Man a Purple King.  
Since Curtains than their loosened Colours spread,  
Since they can paint the Under Scenes with read;  
Than every thing can sand forth Images:  
Those fly from surfaces as well as these.  
'Tis certain than, that subtle Forms do fly,  
And dance and frolic in our lower Sky,  
Which single, are too subtle for our Eye.  
But now the Odours, Vapours, and thin Smoke,  
Fly scattered and confused, their order broke;  
Because whilst they from inward Parts do flow,  
And thro' straight winding Pores, and turn go,  
They are disordered in their passing thro':  
But now these subtle Films of loosened Dyes  
What can disorder, as from things they rise,  
Since each upon the utmost surface lies?  
Thus Forms, which Glass, which limpid Streams restore,  
Bearing that Shape, that Dye, the Body wore,  
Must be composed of fleeting Images  
That rise from Things; for why with greater Ease  
Can these Forms rise, than some more thin than these?  
Than there are subtle Shapes, like those that Streams,  
Or Glass restore on the returning Beams;  
In Figure like, but Airy, thin, and light,  
And single each, too subtle for our Sight;  
Yet coming thick, and in a numerous train,  
Reflected from the polished Specular Plain,  
Can make us see; and that's the reason why  
The Forms return again, in Shape, and Dye  
So like the Things, and please the curious Eye.  
Next learn how subtle and how thin these are. 
The Subtlety of the Images.   
First than, since Seeds of Things are finer far  
Than those that first begin to disappear:  
But now to clear this, to confirm the more  
The Subtleness of Seeds explained before,  
And add new Reasons, to the former store;  
How many Animals, whose whose middle part,  
The sharpest Eye, with all the Help of Art  
Can't see? Dull Art may throw her Glasses by:  
How subtle than the Guts, the Heart, the Eye?  
How thin each Little Member of the Whole,  
How Infinitely small the Seeds that frame the Soul?  
But more—  
Opoponax, or Rue, that strike the Nose  
With strongest Smells, or others like to those,  
If shaken, thousand Parts do fly from thence,  
A thousand ways, but ●eak, nor move the Sense:  
And yet how subtle, if compared with these,  
How thin, what Nothings are the Images?  
How vast the Disproportion 'twixt these two?  
'Tis more than Thought can think, than Words can show.  
But now, besides those subtle Forms that rear  
From Bodies, Thousand new are framed in Air,  
Fashioned by Chance; and these, when born on high,  
Do change their Shapes, and wanton in the Sky;  
Than join in various Forms, grow thick, and move  
Like Clouds combined, and darken all above:  
Hence Prodigies, 
Prodigies.  hence some Gigantic War  
Marshaled i'th' Air, looks dreadful from afar,  
And shadows all: Hence Mountains seem to fly,  
And scattered Rocks cut thro' the wounded Sky;  
Hence other Clouds do frightful Creatures show;  
We stare amazed, and wonder at below.  
Next learn—  
How soon these Forms fly of, how swift they rise:  
For something still on every Surface lies,  
Just ready to departed, and please our Eyes;  
This, when on Rare and Thin Composures tossed,  
For Instance clothes, 
Reflection.  it enters and 'tis lost:  
On Rocks and Woods 'tis broke; those ne'er restore  
The Forms, the Image than appears no more:  
But if 'tis thrown on dense and smooth, as Glass,  
It must return, those things it cannot pass  
As clothes, nor break, because the thing's polit●;  
Hence Forms return from such, and please the Sight:  
And hence the polished Glass, what e'er you place  
Before, as swift as thought returns the Face:  
Which proves, that numerous trains of Forms arose,  
And such, as the Reflecting Mirror shows,  
Thin subtle Images, all like to those,  
Each moment spring; and ●ence 'tis justly said,  
Their Rise is quick, these Forms are quickly made.  
As numerous Rays must every Minute flow  
From th' Sun, to keep all full of Light below;  
So numerous Images from things must rear,  
Each Minute rise, and wander thro' the Air:  
Because let hasty Hand the Mirror place,  
This way or that, yet still we view the Face,  
The Colour, Shape, returning from the Glass,  
So often when the Heavens serene, and bright,  
Look gay and clear, and smile with gaudy Light;  
A horrid Cloud straight hides its glorious: Face,  
As if the shades of Hell had left their place,  
And filled the arched Skies; so thick the Night,  
So dark the Clouds appear, so much affright:  
And yet how subtle, if compared to these,  
How thin, what Nothings are the Images?  
How vast the Disproportion, 'twixt these two?  
'Tis more than Thought can think, than Words can show.  
Now next, 
The swiftness of the Images.  how fast they move, how quick thy fly,  
Parting with swiftest wings the yielding Sky;  
How they outstrip dull Time where e'er they go,  
How quick, how swift they are in passing thro';  
In few, but sweetest Numbers, Muse, rehearse:  
My few shall far exceed more numerous Verse.  
Thus dying Swans, though short, yet tuneful Voice,  
Is more delightful than a World of Noise.  
First than, Experience tells, that thin and light,  
And subtle things are fit for hasty Flight;  
Such is the Ray, that Vapour of the Sun,  
How swift? its Race is finished when begun:  
For they are thin Composures, almost Seed,  
And cut the parted Air with greatest speed;  
Not Letts to stop, but when one part is gone,  
Another flows, and drives the former on:  
The Rays still rise in a continued stream,  
The following lashes on the lazy Beam.  
So far the Reason holds; the Airy Race  
Of Images must pass a mighty space  
Each point of Time: for first some force behind  
Still drives them on t'out-strip the lingering Wind;  
Their Texture is so thin, their Frame so rare,  
That they can freely enter any where,  
And even penetrate the middle Air.  
Besides, if these Composures from Above,  
So swiftly thro' the Lower Regions move,  
If in one Point of Time the glorious Ray  
Swiftly descends, and shows approaching Day;  
From Heaven to Earth can take its hasty Flight,  
And gilled the distant Globe with gaudy Light;  
If this so swift, than swifter those that lay  
On surfaces of Things, which naught could stay,  
No stops could hinder as they fly away:  
Those larger space in that shor● time must fly,  
Whilst the Sun's lazy Beams creep thro' our sky.  
Another Instance of their Swiftness this:—  
In Bowls of Water set abroad by Night,  
We know that Stars do shed their feeble Light,  
So quick the glorious Ray descends from far,  
And we look downward to behold the Star;  
Which shows these Images with eager haste  
From Heaven reach distant Earth; they move so fast,  
Before the present single Now is past:  
Slow Time admires, and knows not what to call  
The Motion, having no Account so small.  
Well than, these Images that strike our Eyes,  
And make us see, from real things must rise: ●  
Thus Odours rise from Gums, a gentle Breeze  
From Rivers flows, and from the Neighbouring Sea●  
Sharp Salts arise, and fret the Shores around;  
Thus all the Air is filled with murmuring sound;  
And whilst we walk the Strand, and pleased to view  
The wanton Waves, or squeeze and mingle Rue,  
Or Salt or bitter Tastes our Tongues surprise;  
So certain 'tis, that Subtle Parts arise  
From All, and wander in the Lower Skies;  
These never cease to flow, because the Ear,  
And Eye, and Nose, still smell, or see, or hear.  
So feel by Night, our Touch will soon betray  
The Shape, like that the Sight beheld by Day.  
Well than, the cause whence Touch and Sight must rise  
Is one; the same affects the Hands and Eyes.  
For thus, if when i'th' Dark we feel a Square,  
The Touch informs what shape the thing doth bear:  
What is it makes us see the Light by Day,  
But the Square Imag● riding on the Ray?  
Well than, these Images are cause of Sight,  
Sans These, all would be dark, all hid in Night.  
But now these Images, these subtle Streams  
Are scattered all around, 
How we know the Distance of Objects.  on all the Beams;  
And therefore wheresoever we turn our Eye  
(In that alone the Power of Sight doth lie)  
These Images appear, and quickly show  
The Colour, Shape, and tell the Distance too:  
For these arising from the Object seen,  
Drive forward all the Air that lies between;  
This stream of Air unto the Eye doth flow,  
And gently grates the Ball, and passes thro';  
This shows the Distance.—  
For as the stream of Air that passes by  
Is long, or short, as tha● doth strike the Eye,  
So far or near the Objects seem to lie:  
And this is quickly done, at once we view  
The Distant Thing, and know the Distance too.  
But more; No wonder that the Eye descries  
The Things themselves, although the Forms that rise  
Are single far too subtle for our Eyes:  
For Winds molest, Cold makes the Members smart,  
And yet what Sense perceives each single Part,  
What Sense each Atom of the Cold and Wind?  
None feels the single Force, but all conjoined;  
Than we perceive the stroke, than Pains commence,  
As if External Force did wound the Sense.  
In Flints we press the utmost Part alone,  
Yet feel not that, that is to Touch unknown;  
We feel the Inward hardness of the Stone.  
Now learn, 
Why the Image● seems beyond the Glass.  ●'le sing why each reflected Face  
Is seen, as if removed byond the Glass;  
For so it seems: as when the hindering Door  
Imprisons up the longing Eye not more,  
But opened wide, permits the eager Sight  
O'er Objects placed without to take their Flight,  
View all around, and revel with Delight.  
The Object than by double Air is shown,  
The Air that lies within the Gate is one  
And than the Gate itself is placed between,  
Than th' outward Air, and than the Object seen.  
Thus when the Image of the Glass doth rise,  
And makes its passage forward to our Eyes,  
It drives before it all the Air between,  
So that is felt before the Glass is seen:  
And when we see the polished Specular Plain,  
Our Form flies to it, and returns again,  
Still driving on the Air that lies between,  
So that is felt before the Face is seen:  
And that's the cause why each returning Face  
Seems far removed, and placed beyond the Glass.  
But more, Returning Forms, that reach the Sight,  
Transpose 
Why Transposed.  the Parts, and turn the Left to Right:  
Because the Forms that strike the Polished Plain,  
Are not restored, the same unchanged again;  
But striking strong, are turned a different way.  
This Instance clears it: Take a Form of Clay,  
Not yet grown dry, and dash it on a Seat:  
Now if the Forms entire, the Fron● retreat,  
And come behind, the Par●s preserve their Site,  
The Right will seem the Left, the Left the Right.  
But more, Returning Forms do often pass, 
Images from one Glass to another.   
And fly from one into another Glass.  
Thus from one Single thing these Plains restore  
Six Images, and often Ten, or more:  
Thus let the thing be hid i'th' farthest Cell▪  
Yet place the Plains by Art, and set them well,  
The flitting Images to All will com●,  
And all the thing appear in every Room:  
But more; The Shapes Transposed by th' former Plain,  
Which pass to others, there are turned again.  
But convex Glass' show the Body's site,  
Restoring Left as Left, and Right as Right;  
Because the Image is reflected twice,  
From Glass to Glass, 
Convex Glasses.  and after strikes our Eyes▪  
Or else 'tis turned about; for that the Face  
Is turned about; as it doth backward pass,  
We learn even from the Figure of the Glass▪  
But further on; The Image 
Why the Image moves.  seems to wait  
On all our Steps, and imitate our Gate:  
For when we move, and leave some Parts o'th' Glass,  
The Parts thus left no more return the Face;  
For Nature doth by steady Laws ordain,  
That when a Form comes on, and turns again,  
The Lines make equal Angles with the Plain.  
The sight a Fulgid Object hates, 
Fulgid Objects hurtful.  and flies;  
The Sun even blinds the bold and prying Eyes:  
Because the Rays are strong, and swiftly fly,  
And with repeated strokes disturb the Eye;  
Thro pure and unresisting Air they fall,  
And break the Texture of the injured Ball.  
Besides, all Objects that are glaring bright  
Do hurt, and burn the Eye, and spoil the Sight;  
For Flames a thousand hurtful Parts contain,  
Which strike the tender Eye, and raise a Pain.  
Besides, whatever jaundice 
Why things seem yellow to those that have the jaundice.  Eyes do view,  
Look pale as well as those, and yellow too:  
For lurid Parts fly of with nimble wings,  
And meet the distant coming forms of Things;  
And others lurk within the Eyes, and seize,  
And slain with Pale the Entering Images.  
Moore; though our Eyes are all enclosed in Night, 
Why we see Objects placed in the Light.   
They see those Objects that are placed in Light;  
Because though first the nearer darker Air  
Doth creep into the Eyes, and settle there,  
Straight comes with vigorous Force the shining Ray  
To cleanse the Pores, and drive the shades away;  
For 'tis more subtle, and more strong than they:  
When this hath cleansed, and opened every Poor,  
Which the dark heavy Air had stopped before,  
The Forms of Things come in, they swiftly fly,  
And strike, and raise a Motion in the Eye,  
But now when We ourselves are placed i'th' light,  
The Objects in the dark ne'er move the sight;  
Because a thicker Air doth still come on,  
A darker, as the former dark is gone,  
And stops the Pores; and thus no Forms can rise,  
None move, and found a passage to our Eyes.  
Now farther, 'tis by sure Experience found,  
A Square, 
Why squares seem round.  when seen at distance, seems a Round:  
Because all Angles seem, when seen from far,  
Obtuse; or rather, not at all appear:  
For as thro' flitting Air the Forms do fly,  
They're struck and blunted in the lower Sky,  
And so grow weak, and never move the Eye:  
Thus all the Angles hid, the Things appear  
All Round, (though each may be a perfect Square,)  
Yet not like perfect Rounds, and seen when near.  
And Shadows seem to move, 
Why Shadows seem to move.  to turn, and stay  
As Bodies do, and servilely obey:  
Now how can Air only deprived of Light,  
For shadow is not more, a sudden Night,)  
On all the Members various motions wait,  
And turn, and imitate her body's gate?  
But thus it happens, when we walk by day,  
Our Bodies stop the passage of the Ray;  
But when we leave the place, they farther flow,  
And their warm Kisses on the Earth bestow.  
And thus the Shadow seems to move, to bend,  
As Bodies do, and all their Walk attend;  
For still new Rays spring from the glorious Sun,  
The former dying when their Race is run:  
And therefore Earth is soon deprived of Light,  
And Rays as soon come on, and chase the Night:  
The Negro-darkness washed becomes a White. 
The Eye not deceived▪   
And yet here's no deception of the Eye,  
For 'tis its Office only to descry  
Or how, or in what place the Shadow is;  
It must not pass the narrow bounds of this:  
But if the Shadowss are the same, or not,  
Whether they die, or, as the Body, go;  
'Tis not the office of the Buy to know:  
'Tis Reason's office That, for that's designed  
Things nature, and Philosophy to found;  
Than fix not on the Eye the failures of the Mind.  
Thus Ships, though driven by a prosperous Gale,  
Seem fixed to Sailors, those seem under sail  
That lie at Anchor safe; and all admire,  
As they row by, to see the Rocks retire.  
Thus Stars seem fastened to the steady Pole,  
Thomas all with daily constant motion roll;  
For after they have climbed the ●edious East,  
Pass t●ro the Sky, fall headlong down the West.  
And so the Sun and Moon seem fixed above,  
Yet sure Experience tells us they must move.  
And Rocks i'th' Seas, that proudly raise their head,  
Thomas far disjoined, though Royal Navies spread  
Their Sails between; yet if from distance shown,  
They seem an Island, all combined in One.  
And Boys that whirl around, than cease to move,  
Think all the Pillars dance, and Roofs above;  
So strong the thought, they dread the tottering Wall,  
And fear the Roof should crush them with the fall.  
Thus when kind Nature shows her infant Day,  
And the new Sun peeps forth with trembling Ray,  
And loathe or fearful to begin the Race,  
Looks o'er the Mountains with a blushing face;  
That Hill, o'er which the humble Beams appear,  
Scorching with neighbouring flames, is often ●ear,  
And we might touch the Sun if we were there,  
When yet the real space is vastly wide,  
Great tracts of Land, and many a swelling Tide,  
The distant Sun, and that near Hill divide.  
Thus little Puddles that in Streets do lie,  
Thomas scarce Inch-deep, admit the searching Eye,  
To view as large a space, as Earth and Sky.  
Thus when in rapid streams my Horse hath stood,  
And I looked downward on the rolling Flood;  
Thomas He stood still, I thought he did divide  
The headlong streams, and strive against the Tide,  
And all things seem to mov● on every side.  
Thus Courts, though equal wide, yet seem to bend,  
And grow more narrow at the distant End;  
The Roof depressed, the sides seem joined in One,  
The wearied sight lost in a darksome Cone.  
The Sun from Sea to Sailors seems to rise,  
And set, for they see only Seas and S●ies.  
Thus All seem to oppose, thus All commence  
Strong proofs against the certainty of Sense.  
Thus Ignorants, when placed on steady Shores,  
Think feeble Ships are rowed with broken Oars;  
The Rudders shattered and the Planks appear;  
And they are loathe to trust their safety there:  
Because that part, that lies above the Flood,  
Seems firm, and straight, and regular, and good;  
But that below seems broke, and turning up,  
Ascends again, and reaches near the top.  
And when by Night the Clouds are whirled above,  
The Moon and glittering Stars do seem to move,  
As driven forward by a secret force  
A different way from their own Natural Course.  
If any presseth underneath his Eyes,  
Strait all the Objects doubled seem ●o rise:  
Two Lamps appear, when only One is brought,  
His Wealth seems doubled, and He's rich in Thought;  
Each man appears increased in Form and Grace,  
Almost Geryon with a double Face.  
And lastly, when the Eyes with sleep oppressed,  
And all the Body lies dissolved in rest,  
The Members seem awake, and vigorous still:  
Now o'er a Plain, now Flood, or shady Hill,  
They seem to move; and even in darkest night  
They think they see the Sun diffuse his light;  
They see him chase the frighted Shades away,  
And clear a passage for approaching day:  
They seem to hear a Voice, though all around  
Deep Silence stands, nor bears the weakest Sound.  
Ten thousand such appear, ten thousand Foes,  
To certainty of Sense, and all oppose:  
In vain, 'tis judgement, 
judgement errs, not the Sense.  not the Sense mistakes,  
Which fancied Things for real Objects takes.  
He that says, 
Against 〈◊〉 Sceptic.  Nothing can be known, overthrows 

He that would establish a Criterion, is certain to have the Sceptic for his Enemy, and what is more uncomfortable, to be unable to confute him: He is an Animal uncapable of Conviction, his folly may be exposed, but to endeavour to bring him to Sense and Reason is as wild a design, 
— ut siquis Asellum  
In campum doceat parentem currere froenis.   
Pyrrho would venture on a Precipice in spite of his Senses; and though the more Sober are careful of their Lives, yet they are as proof against Convictions; a perverse sort of Creatures, born to contradict, and instructed in all the studied Methods of Foolery: Scepticism according to their own definition is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; its effect, is Freedom from Assent, and its end Sererenity. The Principle of the Sect is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, yet this is not proposed as a Dogma, for that is an Assent, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, nor is it laid down as so in its self, and a real Truth; but only in appearance, and therefore Empiricus prefaceth his discourse with these words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. And yet they ●ollow their natural Appetite for their preservation, seek the good and profitable, and fly the bad and hurful according to appearance, for they do not deny but that they may be warm and cool, and are capable of pain, and pleasure; yet none, like a dogmatist, affirms it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Law of their Country, is the Rule of Just and Right, and the Custmo of the Nation determines their Religion.  
This is the Face of a Sceptic as it is drawn by his own Hand, and since we found it condemned to diffidence, there are some Reasons sure of this unsettledness, this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: and some propose Ten, others Fifteen, and others increase the number; but one will comprehend them all, and that is enough to ruin every Science in the World; 'Tis taken from the variety of Opinions about the same things: for there can be no appeal for a decision, because he that would judge, acts by the same Faculties that those do that are at strife, and so he that loses the Cause will be still dissatisfied, and to invert Seneca, Citius inter Horologia quam Philosophos convenit. This difference riseth from the various Tempers of Man's Bodies, the Dispositions of their Organs, and Situation of the Object: Thus Melancholy and Sanguine take different notices from the same Impression; Young and Old, Sick and Healthy, Drunk and Sober do not agreed: nor is it enough to answer that some of these are indisposed, whilst the others are in order; for since that Change is nothing but an alteration of the Humours, they demand a Reason why such and such a Disposition should be more capable of receiving Impresses from Objects that are agreeable to the nature of the things, than another: Besides, they observe, that the Complexions of Animals are various, and the Texture of their Organs different: so that there cannot be the same refractions in their Eyes, the same wind in their Ears; and therefore not the same notices from the same Objects: And indeed did the Sceptics proceed no farther than Sensible Qualities, we must acknowledge them to be very happy in the discovery; for 'tis certain that those are Phantasms alone, and those that think Hony sweet, and those that think it bitter have equally true representations of the Object, because the little parts of Hony act upon both their Organs according to their figure.  
Hence they proceed to deny all first Principles, and so are put beyond all possibility of Conviction, for still demanding proof after proof, they must reel on to eternity without satisfaction: But this is too long a Journey, and too fruitless a trouble to pursue, and so we must take our leaves of these contradicting Animals; who have no other reason to deny the clear light of Science, but because some men's Eyes are too weak to look steady upon it.    
His own opinion, for he Nothing knows,  
So knows not that: What need of long dispute?  
These Maxims kill themselves, themselves confute.  
But grant this might be known, and grant he knew;  
Yet since He hath discovered nothing true,  
What mark, and what Criterion than can show,  
Or tell what 'tis to know, or not to know?  
Or how could He what Truth, what Falsehood learn?  
How, what was Doubt, what Certainty discern?  
From Sense, 
Sense cannot err.  all Truth and Certainty infer;  
In vain some strive to prove that those can err;  
For that which would convince, which would oppose  
The Senses, must be surer far than those;  
Now what is more to be believed than Sense,  
What? false and erring Reason raised from thence?  
Errors in Parent sense can Reason show,  
Errors, which she from Sense alone can know;  
So that if Sense be false, than Reason too.  
What, can the Ears convince the Ey●s? Can those  
Convince the Hand, the Palate, or the Nose?  
Tell them when e'er they err, when e'er they miss,  
And give fal●e notices? Fond fancy this:  
For each a proper Use and Power enjoys,  
A proper Object every Sense employs.  
Thus Heat and Cold, and other Qualities  
Affect the Touch, whilst Colours strike the Eyes,  
Odours the Smell, Sapours the Taste, but none  
Invades another's Right, usurps his Throne,  
All live at peace, contented with their own.  
Well than, from what the other Senses show,  
In vain we seek to prove one Sense untrue;  
Or from itself:—  
For still we must an equal. Credit give  
Unto the same, still equally believe.  
'Tis truth, whatever 'tis that Sense declare,  
Thomas Reason cannot tell thee, why a Square  
Should seem a perfect Round, when seen from far:  
Better assign a false, than this pretence  
Should overthrew the certainty of Sense,  
Question its truth, rather than that should fall,  
On which depends our Safety, Life, our All.  
For now, not only Reason is o'erthrown,  
Unless we trust our Sense, but Life is gone:  
For how can Man avoid the bad, or choose  
What's good for Life, unless they follow those▪  
Well than, those pompous Reasons some afford  
Against our Sense, are empty, and absurd.  
But lastly, as in Building, if the Line  
Be not exact, and straight, the Rule Decline,  
Or Levelly false, how vain is the Design!  
uneven, an ill-shaped and tottering Wall  
Must rise, this part must sink▪ that part must fall,  
Because the Rules were false that fashioned All.  
Thus Reason's Rules are false, if all commence  
And rise from failing and from erring Sense.  
But now my Muse, 
Hearing.  how proper Objects please  
The other Senses sing; 'tis told with ease.  
First than, we Sounds, and Voice, and Noises hear,  
When seeds of Sound come in, and strike the Ear.  
All Sound is Body, for with painful force  
It moves the Sense, when with an eager course  
It scrapes the Jaws, and makes the Speaker hoarse:  
The crowding Seeds of Sound, that strive to go  
Thro narrow Nerves, do grate in passing thro':  
'Tis certain than that Voice, that thus can wound,  
Is all material; Body every Sound.  
Besides 'tis known, to talk a tedious day,  
How much it weakens, what it take● away  
From all the Nerves, how all the Powers decay;  
But chief if 'tis loud, and spoke with noise:  
And therefore little Bodies frame the voice,  
Because the Speaker loseth of his own,  
His weakness tells him many parts are gone.  
But more; 
Whence the difference in Sounds.  the Harshness in a voice proceeds  
From rough, the Sweetness from the smother Seeds;  
Nor are the Figures of the Seeds alike,  
Which from the Grave and murmuring Trumpet strike  
To those of dying Swans, whose latest breath  
In mou●●●ul strains laments approaching Death.  
This Voice, when rising from the Lungs, it breaks  
Thro Jaws and Lips, and all the Passion speaks;  
The Tongue forms into Words, with curious Art,  
The Tongue and Lips do fashion every part;  
And therefore if the Speaker be but near,  
If distance fit, you may distinctly hear  
Each Word, each Air, because it keeps the frame  
It first received, its figure still the same:  
But if the space be great, thro' all the Air  
The sound must fly diffused, and perish there:  
And therefore though we hear a murmuring noise,  
No words; the Air confounds, and breaks the voice.  
Besides, one Sentence, when pronounced aloud  
By strong-lunged Criers, fills the listening Crowd,  
Breaks into many; for it strikes them all,  
To every single Ear it tells the Tale.  
But some parts of the Voice, that miss the Ear,  
Fly thro' the Air diffused, and perish there:  
Some strike on solid Buildings, and restored  
Bring back again the Image of the Word.  
This shows thee why, 
Echo▪  whilst men thro' Caves and Groves  
Call their lost Friends, or mourn unhappy Loves,  
The pitying Rocks, the groaning Caves return  
Their sad Complaints again, and seem to mourn:  
This all observe, and I myself have known  
Some Rocks and Hills return six words for one:  
The dancing words from Hill to Hill rebound,  
They all receive, and all restore the sound.  
The Vulgar, and the Neighbours think, and tell,  
That there the Nymphs, and Fauns, and Satyrs devil;  
And that their wanton sport, their loud delight  
Breaks thro' the quiet silence of the Night:  
Their Music's softest Airs fill all the Plains,  
And mighty Pan, delights the listening Swains▪  
The Goat-faced Pan, whilst Flocks securely feed,  
With long hung lip he blows his Oaten Reed;  
The horned, the half-beast God, when brisk and gay  
With Pine-leaves crowned, provokes the Swains to play.  
Ten thousand such Romants the Vulgar tell,  
Perhaps jest men should think the God● would devil  
In Towns alone, and from their Plains, and Cell:  
Or somewhat; for Man, credulous and vain,  
Delights to hear strange things, delights to feign.  
Nor is it strange, that things which still deny  
An easy passage to the sharpest Eye, 
The motion of Sound.   
Thro such the smallest Voice and Sound can come;  
As when we whisper in a well-closed Room.  
Voice can pass crooked Pores, but Rays reflect,  
Unless the Pores be open, all direct,  
And every passage straight; as 'tis in Glass,  
Thro which all sorts of Species freely pass.  
But farther now, Voices and Sound divide,  
And scatter thro' the Air on every side;  
One breaks to many, as in darkest Nights  
One shaken Spark will make a thousand lights;  
And therefore all the numerous Voids around  
Receive the Voice, and each is filled with Sound:  
But now the visive Rays scarce ere decline,  
They still proceed by the exactest Line,  
So Sounds can pass, where never Ray can shine.  
But yet such Sounds, before they reach the Ear,  
Grow weak, and we for Words soft Murmurs hear.  
We taste 
Tast.  (that's soon explained) when Sapours wrung  
From Meats by crushing Teeth, immerse the Tongue;  
When Juices flowing from the tender Meat  
(The tender Food oppressed doth seem to sweated)  
Bedew the Palate, when they spread all o'er  
The spongy Tongue, and stand in every Poor.  
These juices, if their Seeds be round and smooth,  
Tickle, seem sweet, and pleasing to the Mouth;  
But if the Seeds are rough, as they descend  
They hurt the Nerves, seem bitter, and offend.  
The Sapours please within the Mouth alone;  
For when the Food's descended farther down,  
We taste not more, and all the Pleasure's gone;  
So when 'tis in the Veins, when every Poor  
Is filled, we feel not, we are pleased no more:  
So that it matters not what sorts of Food  
Increase the Limbs; and make the Flesh and Blood,  
If 'tis digestive, if for Stomach good.  
Now I'll explain, why different sorts of Meat  
Please different Men; 
The difference of Tastes.  why that which one will eat,  
Another loathes; why things yield sweet repast  
To one, but bitter to another taste.  
Nay more, so vast the difference, that which proves  
Strong Poison unto Me, another loves,  
And eats, and lives: Thus Hemlock Juice prevails,  
And kills a Man, but fattens Goats and Quails.  
To know the Cause of this, come search thy Mind,  
(Some scattered Notions must remain behind)  
And look how strongly former Reasons show,  
That Things, that Bodies are composed and grow  
From various Seeds; their Mixture various too.  
Besides, as Animals in outward size  
And Frame are various, Seeds, from whence they rise,  
Have various shapes; from different shapes, there springs  
An equal difference in the Pores of Things;  
So some are Great, some Small, and others Square,  
Or Round, or Polygons, or Angular:  
For as the Shapes are various that compose  
The frame, so are the Pores, their Shapes depend on those.  
It follows than,—  
That when one Object yields a sweet repast  
To one, but bitter to another Taste;  
He that accounts it sweet, perceives the smooth  
Round Parts that tickle, and that please the Mouth;  
But he that thinks i● bitter, rough alone  
And hooks doth feel, the smooth slide gently down;  
But those with pointed hooks, as they descend,  
Strike thro', and lance the Organ, and offend.  
These Rules applied, each Single Case explain,  
For Instance, when a Man is torn with Pain,  
(Whether from inbred Gall the Fever came,  
Or putrid Air begot the hurtful Flame,)  
The Organ's changed; so those which pleased before,  
Are loathsome now, now they delight not more,  
Their Figures disagree with every Poor▪  
But those do most agreed, those fit the Part,  
Which fret the injured Nerves, and 'cause a smart;  
For, as I said before, Seeds rough and smooth  
Lie hid in every thing, in Money both,  
Or to offend, or to delight the Mouth.  
Now next for Smell. 
Smell.   
First than 'tis certain, Streams of Odours rise  
From every Thing; but for their different Size,  
And Figures, they do differently agreed  
To Animals. Thus Honey strikes the Bee,  
Thomas far removed the Vulture smells the slain;  
The Hound with faithful Nose pursues the Train;  
And Geese, Rome's Saviour's once, perceive a Man.  
Thus Beasts preserve their Lives, they know their Food  
By Smell, and fly the Bad, but choose the Good.  
Odours are dull, 
The Motion of Odours.  and those of swiftest wings  
(Not to propose the Images of things)  
Scarce fly so far as feeble Sounds, but tossed  
By angry Wind in flitting Air, are lost.  
For first, the pleasing Odour slowly flows  
From inmost Parts: for that it comes from those,  
Even Commonsense assures; for Heat, or press,  
For bruise, or break the Gums, the Smells increase▪  
Besides,—  
Its Parts are greater far than Parts of Voice,  
(This makes its flight more slow, and short than Noise,)  
Because thro' Walls it cannot freely go,  
Thomas Sounds can found an easy passage thro'.  
And thus 'tis hard to found an Object out  
By single Smell, but we must trace about;  
Because the Odours, wand'ring in the Air,  
Grow dull and weak, and loose their Briskness there,  
Nor quickly lead us to the thing that's sought,  
And therefore Hounds are often at a fault.  
Not only Sounds, and Tastes, but Images,  
And Colours different Eyes offend, and please.  
Thus when the Cocks 
Why Lions are afraid of Co●ks.  call forth the Morning Light,  
The fiercest Lions cannot bear the Sight,  
Their Courage sinks, and they prepare for flight,  
For subtle pointed Particles, that lie  
In Cocks, sent forth, offends the Lion's Eye;  
These Pains straight force him turn his Head, and fly.  
Yet these not hurt our Eyes, they 'cause no Pain,  
For they ne'er enter, or return again  
Thro proper Pores, and so the Skin preserves  
Her Texture whole, they never lance the Nerves.  
Now farther, (my Delight) my Muse will show  
What things do move the Mind, and whence they flow.  
First than, thin Images 
The cause of Imagination  fill all the Air,  
Thousands on every side, and wander there:  
These, as they meet in various dance, will twine  
As threads of Gold, or subtle Spider's line;  
For they are thin, for they are subtler far  
Than finest things that to the Sight appear:  
These pass the Limbs, no narrow Pores Control, 
Tully examining this Opinion, says, Tota Res, Vellei▪ ●●gatoria est, and adds farther, Quid est quod minùs ●●obari potest, quàn omnium in me incidere Imagines, Homeri, Archilochi, Romuli, Numae, Pythagorae, ●latonis, nec câ formâ quâ illi fuerint? quomodo ergo 〈◊〉? Let us consider our Dreams, where the powers of 〈◊〉 and Imagination are most observable. These our ●oet explains by Entering Images, which pass thro' ●he Body, and strike the Soul: How deficient this is ●ny one may be satisfied from his own Observation, for ●hat will tell him, That he dreams of things at a vast distance, and not thought on for some Months: What ●hen? Can the Image pass thro' those large Tracts of ●ir whole and undisturbed? Are they not as thin a substance as the Epicurean Soul, and as easily dissolved? Can they enter the Pores of the Body, and still preserve their Order, and the Mind be accounted Mortal for the same way of passage, and this be used as ●n Argument against its Infusion? Strange power of Prejudice! that can blind the sharpest Eyes, make them dull and unfit to be moved by these thick, and almost palpable Errors, but perchance there is no Image of an Absurdity, and therefore we must excuse the Epicurean: Beside, some things are presented to our Imaginations, of which there can be no Image; a Har● seems to sound when it lies silent in the Case, when there is no brisk Vibration of the Strings to compel the ambient Air, and created a Sound; for Sound doth not consist of parts that fly from the Body, (as Lucretius imagines) 'tis only an Agitation of the rigid parts of the Air, as a Thousand Experiments can evince, but Two may suffice; One is taken from Common Observation: For touch the sounding Wire of Viginals at one end, and the Noise ceases, though the Touch cannot hinder the flux of Atoms, from any part, but that which it immediately presseth: The Other is known to all, who have heard that a Bell will not sound in the Exhausted Receiver, though the parts might there fly of with greater ease, they being not troubled with any ambient resisting Air.   
They enter thro', and strike the Airy Soul.  
Hence 'tis we think we see, and hence we dread  
Centaurs, Scylla's, and Cerberus monstrous Head,  
And many emp●y Shadows of the Dead:  
For various Images fly every where,  
Some rise from Things, and some are formed in Air  
By chance, and some from these combined appear.  
The Image of a Centaur never flew  
From living Centaurs, never Nature knew,  
Nor bred such Animals: but when by chance  
An Image of a Man in various dance  
Did meet an Horse, they both combined in one,  
And thus all monstrous 
Why we think on Monsters.  Images are shown;  
These Airy Images, extremely thin,  
Pass thro' the Limbs, and strike the Soul within▪ xs  
They move't with Ease, the Soul is apt to move,  
And takes Impression from the weakest shove.  
That thus 'tis done, is certain.—  
Because the Objects still appear the same  
To Mind, and Eye, in Colour, and in Frame:  
But now the Eye receives some thin, refined,  
And subtle Forms; so likewise must the Mind;  
For 'twixt these two this only Difference lies,  
The Mind sees finer Objects than the Eyes.  
Thus often, 
Why these Fancies seem real.  whilst the Body lies oppressed  
With heavy Sleep, the Mind seems loosed from Rest;  
Because those Images do strike and shake  
The Airy Soul, as when we were awake;  
The Stroak's so lively, that we think we view  
The absent Dead, and think the Image true.  
This Cheat must be, because the Sense is gone,  
Bound up by Sleep; for by the Sense alone  
Fancied from Real, True from False is known.  
Besides, the Memory sleeps, soft Rest doth seize  
That Ruling Power, and charms it into Ease;  
It lies unactive, dull, nor can control  
The Errors of the Mind, nor tell the Soul  
That these are dead, whom her vain Thoughts believe  
From cheating Images to see alive.  
Besides, no wonder that these Forms should seem  
To move, as often in a vigorous Dream  
They seem to dance; for when the first is gone,  
And straight another rises, straight comes on,  
The former's Site seems changed; 'tis quickly done  
So swift, so numerous are the Forms that rise,  
So quickly come, so vast the new supplies.  
A thousand weighty Queries more remain,  
Ten thousand more, which we must all explain▪  
Ten thousand more, or else our Search is vain.  
First than, 'tis asked, 
Why we can think on what w● william.  Why Men with so much Ease,  
Can think on any Object, what they please.  
For what? Are the Obedient Forms at Hand,  
And wait what our Imperious Wills command,  
And straight present what e'er the Will desires,  
Whether 'tis Heaven, or Earth, or Seas, or Fires;  
Wars, Senates, Battles, Fights, or Pomp, and State?  
Doth Nature these, as she commands, created?  
Since fixed in one, one constant place, the Mind  
Can think on Various things on Different kind.  
And why the Images with wanton pace  
Can see to move and dance? Why's every Grace  
And Measure kept, why do they clasp their Arms▪  
And toss their Legs, and show a thousand Charms▪  
What have these Wantoness skill, they thus delight▪  
To show their Fairy Tricks, and dance by Night?  
Or rather, cause each Part, each single now  
Of Running Time, as Reason seems to show,  
Hath numerous Parts, and so in shortest space  
Ten thousand Forms may fly thro' every place,  
Different, and various, here and there may rove,  
So numerous are they, and so swift they move.  
But since these Forms are subtle and refined,  
They are too thin to be perceived by Mind,  
Unless she sets herself to think, and pry, 

It being demanded why any Man could think on what he pleased, the Answer is; That Images are constantly at hand, but being very thin and subtle, they cannot be perceived, unless the Mind endeavours; which though pressed by all the difficulties proposed concerning Images, yet may receive a farther Examination. For first, The Mind must think on the Object before this Endeavour, else why should she strive, why apply herself particularly to that? and that this Argument is strong against the Epicureans, is evident ●rom that question which Lucretius proposeth in his ●ifth Book, about the beginning of Ideas in his Deities, which I have already reflected on. But more▪ This Endeavour of the Mind is a Motion, Nothing being to be admitted in the Epicurean Hypothesis but what ●ay be explained by Matter variously figured and agitated: Now Epicurus hath settled but Three kinds of Motion, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and the two latter necessarily suppose the ●ormer, and therefore if that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot be●ong to the Soul, 'tis absurd to conclude this Endeavour to be either of the latter: And here it must be considered, that the Epicurean Soul is Material, and ●herefore Weight is a Property of all its parts, which ●ill necessitate this Soul, to subside in all the Vessels of the Body, as low as possible; and therefore it cannot actually enjoy this motion, and consequently ●o Endeavour.  
Here I might be copious (for 'tis an easy task) ●n laying open the weakness of the Arguments by which he endeavours to prove that our Limbs were not made and designed for proper Offices and Employments; it would be an endless trouble to pursue ●im thro' all the Absurdities which lie in his Opinions concerning Sleep, and Spontaneous Motion, for every Man hath his own constant Experience to confute ●hem, and therefore as Lactantius thinks a loud ●aughter the only suitable reply to the former, let ●he others be contented with the same answer; nor ●inder me in the prosecution of the proposed Argument.  
And here it must be confessed, that a Thousand of these Sories are the genuine productions of Fear and Fancy: Melancholy and Inadvertency have not been unfruitful; and we own many of them to Superstition, Interest, and Design: but to believe all sergeant because some are so, is unreasonable, and shows a perverseness, as faulty as the greatest Credulity. For when such are attested by multitudes of Excellent Men, free from all Vanity, Design or Superstition▪ who had the Testimony of their Senses for their Assurance, and would not believe it till after curious search, and trial; we must assent, or sink below Scepticism itself, for Pyrrho would fly a threatening Dog▪ and make his excuse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'tis hard to put of the whole Man: And that there are such Stories delivered with all the marks of Credibility, I appeal to the Collection of M. Glanvil. Let any one look on that which is recorded by the Learned Dr. Gale in his Notes upon the fifth Chapter of the Third Section of jamblichus de Mysteriis, and than I shall give him leave to use his Atoms and his Motion to the greatest advantage, but for ever despair of an explication: The Story speaks thus in English." In Lambeth lives one Francis Culham, an honest man, and of good credit, this man lay in a very sad condition Four Years, and Five Months: The first Symptom was unusual Drowsiness and a Numbness for three days, which forced him to take his bed: In the first Month he took little or no meat or drink; the second, he fasted Ten days, and often afterwards Five, or Seven: He fed on Raw and Boiled Meat with equal greediness, never moved himself in his Bed, and waked constantly for the first years, at last never closed his Eyes, but kept them fixed and steady. He made not Articulate Sound, nor took any notice of his Wife, and Children, nor seemed to feel the Knives and Lances of the Surgeons. At last given over by all, he thus unexpectedly recovered: In the Whitsun-Week 1675. He seemed to be wakened out of a very sound Sleep, and (as he relates it) his Heart, and Bowels grew warm, and his Breast freed from that Weight which before oppressed it, and he heard a Voice which bid him go to Prayers, and than he should be well: Paper and Ink being brought, with a trembling Hand he writ these words, I desire that Prayers may be made for me. Two Ministers came, and when they had sufficiently examined the matter, and found it free from all cheat, they began those Prayers which the English Liturgy appoints for the Sick, and when they were come to Glory be to the Father, etc." The Sick man spoke with a loud voice, Glory be to God on high. And in two days time, his Feet, Hands, and other Limbs, were perfectly restored: but he could not remember any thing that was done to him during all the Four Years: and this Relation I assert to bevery true: Now though such as ●hese do not directly prove the Immortality of the Soul, ●et they sufficiently take of all pretensions of the ●picureans against it; since they evidently prove, ●hat there are some subtle unseen Substances permanent, ●nd durable, and consequently Immaterial, for they cannot imagine that any Material Substance thin●er than Smoke or Air, can be lesle subject to dissolution than those; though they contradict themselves, ●nd grant the Eternal Bodies of their Deities to be ●uch.    
Contracting close her Intellectual Eye;  
But this not done, the fleeting Images,  
Unseen, unthought on, and unheeded, cease.  
But when she seeks to know, contracted close,  
She pries upon the thing, and therefore knows▪  
Thus when the curious Eye designs to view  
An Object subtle, and refined, and new,  
Unless contracted close she strictly pries;  
In vain she strives; the Object escapes the Eyes.  
Nay even in plainest Things, unless the Mind  
Takes heed, unless she sets herself to found,  
The Thing not more is seen, not more beloved,  
Than if the most obscure, and far removed.  
What wonder than, if Mind the Rest should loose,  
And only what she strives to know, she knows?  
And often too, a Form of different Kind  
From what it seemed before, affects the Mind,  
And strikes the Fancy. Thus the Form that came  
A Man before, is changed; in different Frame  
Presents a Woman now to our Embrace,  
Or shows some other Change in Age, or Face.  
Yet 'tis not strange, that monstrous Forms commence  
I'th' Fancy, when soft Sleep hath lulled the Sense  
And Memory; so that Neither can control  
The Erring Thoughts, Neither direct the Soul.  
But now avoid their gross Mistakes, that teach  
The Limbs were made for 
The Limbs not made for proper ●ses.  Work a Use for Each;  
The Eyes designed to See, the Tongue to Talk,  
The Legs made strong, and knit to Feet, to Walk;  
The Arms framed long, and firm, the Servile Hands  
To work, as Health requires, as Life commands:  
And so of all the rest, what e'r● they feign,  
What e'er they teach, 'tis None-sense all, and vain,  
For Proper Uses were designed for none,  
But all the Members framed, each made his own.  
No Light before the Eye, no Speech was found  
Before the Tongue, before the Ears no Sound.  
In short, the Working Seeds each Limb created  
Before its Use; so 'tis not framed for That.  
We knew to Fight before the help of Art,  
To bruise and wound, before we framed a Dart;  
And Nature taught us to avoid a Wound,  
Before the Use of Arms and Shields was found.  
Before a Bed even Nature threw us down  
To Rest, we drunk before a Cup was known.  
These various things Convenience did produce,  
We thought them ●it, and made them for our Use,  
Thus these, and thus our Limbs and Senses too  
Were formed, before that any Mind did know  
What Office 'twas that they were fit to do.  
Well than, 'tis fond to think that these began,  
For proper Uses made, bestowed on Man.  
What wonder is't, 
Thirst and Hunger.  that Bodies ask for Meat,  
That Nature prompts an Animal to eat?  
For I have taught before, how thousand ways  
Small Parts fly of, and every thing decays;  
But more from Labouring Animals retreat,  
Moore inward parts fly of in Breath and Sweat;  
And so the Body wastes, and Nature fails,  
The Strength decays, and Grief and Pain prevails;  
And therefore Meat's required, a new Supply,  
To fill the Places of the Parts that die,  
Recruit the Strength, alloy the ●urious Pain,  
And stop each gaping Nerve, each hungry Vein!  
The Cooling Drink to every part retreats  
That wants the Moisture; and the numerous Heats  
That burn, and fire the Stomach, fly before  
The coming Cold, and we are sco●cht no more.  
Thus Drinks descend, and thus they wash away  
Fierce Thirst; thus Meats do Hunger's Force alloy.  
And next I'll sing, why Men can move, can run  
When e'er they please; 
Why Men can move when they please.  what force the Members on;  
What move the dull unactive weight, and bear  
The Load about; you with attention hear.  
First than, the subtle Forms, extremely thin,  
Pass thro' the Limbs, and strike the Mind within;  
That makes the Will: 
The William.  for none pretends to do,  
None strives to act but what the Mind doth know.  
Now what the Mind perceives, it only sees  
By thin, and very subtle Images:  
So when the active Mind designs to move  
From place to place, it gives the Soul a shove,  
The Soul spread o'er the Limbs; ('tis quickly done,  
For Soul and Mind are joined, and make up one,)  
That strikes the Limbs, so all is carried on.  
But more than this, the Body than grows rare,  
The Pores are open, and the flitting Air,  
As 'tis in Motion still, must enter there:  
This spreads o'er all, and both these things combined  
Force on the Limbs, as Ships both Oars and Wind.  
Nor is it strange such Little Parts should shove  
The heavy Mass of Limbs, and make them move,  
And turn them; for unseen and subtle Gales  
Drive forward heavy Ships with labouring Sails;  
And yet when these rush on with mighty Force,  
One Hand may turn the Helm, and change the Course;  
And Engine's Pulleys too with ease can rear  
The greatest weights, and shake them in the Air.  
Now how soft Sleep 
Sleep.  o'er all spreads thoughtless Rest,  
And frees from anxious cares the troubled breast,  
In few but sweetest Numbers, Muse rehearse;  
My few shall far exceed more numerous Verse.  
Thus dying Swans, though short, yet tuneful voice,  
Is more delightful than a world of Noise.  
You entertain my words with willing mind,  
And listening ears; jest what my Muse designed  
Should seem absurd, impossible to be,  
And Truth be slighted, whilst the fault's in Thee,  
And wilful blindness will not let thee see. First than,  
When the divided Soul flies part abroad,  
And part oppressed by an unusual Load,  
Retiring backward, closely lurks within,  
Than Sleep comes on, and Slumbers than begin:  
For than the Limbs grow weak, soft Rest doth seize  
On all the Nerves; they lie dissolved in Ease.  
For since Sense rises from the Mind alone,  
And all the Sense is lost as sleep comes on;  
Since heavy Sleep can stop, dull Rest control  
The Sense, it must divide, and break the Soul;  
Some parts must fly away, but some must keep  
Their seats within, else 'twould be Death, not Sleep▪  
For than no subtle Atoms of the Mind,  
No little substance would be left behind;  
As Sparks in Ashes, which might well compose  
Restored Sense, as flames arise from those.  
But now I'll sing what 'tis that breaks the Soul, 
How the Soul is dissolved in Sleep.   
What spreads enfeebling Rest o'er all the Whole,  
And why the Bodies lie dissolved in ease.  
Great things! You carefully attend to these.  
First than, the Surfaces of things must bear  
The constant impulse of the neighbouring Air,  
Still vexed, still troubled with external blows;  
And therefore Shells, or Rinds, or Films enclose,  
Or Skin, or Hair, on every Body grows.  
Besides, our Breath when drawn, in that short stay  
Grates of some inward parts, and bears away  
In its return again its conquered prey.  
Since than our Limbs receive, and since they bear  
These strokes within, without, and every where;  
Since some creep thro' the Pores, and strive to breed  
Confusion there, and disunite the Seed;  
The Body's strength must fail by just degrees,  
It's vigour weakened by enfeebling Ease,  
Some Soul they drive away, and some they press,  
Drive deeper in, and shut in close Recess;  
Some parts spread o'er the Limbs, not more combine,  
Nor with the others in friendly motion join,  
For Nature stops the passages between.  
Now since the Atoms different ways are tossed,  
And loose their usual course, their sense is lost;  
And when that prop is gone, the Lids must fall,  
The Limbs grow dull, and weakness spread o'er all.  
Thus after Meals we sleep, because the food,  
Spread thro' the Veins, and mingled with the Blood,  
Doth only what the Air did use to do;  
For That doth press the Soul, and break it too.  
So after labour, or with toil oppressed,  
Or Bellies full, we take the sounder Rest:  
For than the Atoms of the Mind retreat  
The farther in, and take the deeper seat,  
And more fly of, more substance of the Soul,  
And those within to distant spaces roll,  
Moore scattered and divided o'er the Whole.  
But more, 
Dreams.  what Studies please, what most delight,  
And fill men's thoughts, they dream them o'er a● Night;  
The Lawyers pled, make Laws, the Soldier's fight;  
The Merchant dreams of Storms, they hear them roar▪  
And often shipwrackt leap, or swim to Shore:  
I think of Nature's powers, my ●ind pursues  
Her Works, and even in Sleep invokes a Muse:  
And other Studies too, which entertain  
Mens waking thoughts, they dream them o'er again▪  
So those that with continued sport and play  
Make the dull troublesome time fly fast away;  
The Objects, though removed, yet leave behind  
Some secret Tracts and Passage thro' the Mind,  
And fit for Images of the same kind:  
Before their waking Eyes those sports appear,  
They see the Wantoness dance, and seem to hear  
The speaking strings breathe forth the softest Ayr.  
The same Companion still, the same Delight,  
And the same painted Scenes still please the sight,  
So strong is Use, such Custom's power confessed;  
And not in thoughtful Man alone, but Beast▪  
For often, 
Beast's dreams.  sleeping Racers pant and sweated,  
Breath short, as if they ran their second Heat;  
As if the Barrier down, with eager pace  
They stretched, as when contending for the Race.  
And often Hounds, when Sleep hath closed their Eyes,  
They toss, and tumble, and attempt to rife:  
They open often, often snuff the Air,  
As if they pressed the footsteps of the Deer;  
And sometimes waked pursue their fancied prey,  
The fancied Deer, that seems to run away,  
Till quite awaked, the followed Shapes decay.  
And softer Curs, that lie and sleep at home,  
Do often rouse, and walk about the Room,  
And bark, as if they saw some Strangers come.  
But now, those Images, 
Frightful Dre●m●.  whose Forms comprise  
Rough Seeds, from such the frightful Dreams arise.  
Thus Birds will star●, and seek the Woods by night  
When ere the fancied Hawk appears in sight,  
When e'er they see his wing, or hear him fight.  
Besides, what raise Heroic Thoughts in Men?  
Even such are often raised in Dreams: For than  
They fight, are taken Captive, and rebel,  
They shout, and groan, as if the Victor fell:  
Some strive, some weep, some sigh, and often afraid  
Pursued or t●rn by Beasts, cry out for aid:  
Some talk of State Affairs, and some betray  
Those Plots, their treacherous minds had framed by day:  
Some fly from following death, and others thrown  
From lofty Pinnacles, sink headlong down;  
But waking, though they know themselves abused,  
Ye are their Powers, their Spirits so confused,  
They lie half dead in deep amaze, remain  
Thoughtless, and scarce recover Sense again.  
Others, when Thirsty, fancy purling streams,  
Sat down, and quaff the River of in Dreams:  
And those, whose Blood boils high, whom vigorous Age  
Hath filled with Seed, and fired with lustful Rage,  
If pleasing Dreams present a beauteous Face,  
How hot his Blood, how eager to embrace!  
Nay often, as in the Fury of the Joy,  
The flowing Seed pollutes the Amorous Boy.  
Love rises than, 
'Cause of Love.  when from a beauteous Face  
Some pleasing Forms provoke us to embrace  
Those Bawds to Lust, when with a tickling Art  
They gather turgent seed from every part,  
And than provoke it: Than rise fierce desires,  
The Lover burns with strong, but pleasing fire●;  
Those often are pursued by following Care,  
Distracting Thoughts, and often deep Despair.  
Nay though the pleasing Object is removed,  
Although we do not view the Thing beloved,  
Yet Forms attend; or if we chance to hear  
Her Name, Love enters with it at the Ear.  
But 'twill be wise, and prudent to remove, 
A caution against Love▪   
And banish all incentives unto Love,  
And let thy Age, thy vigorous Youth be thrown  
On All in Common, not reserved for One:  
For That breeds cares and fears, That fond disease,  
Those raging Pains, if nourished, will increase:  
Unless you fancy every one you view,  
Revel in Love, and cure old wounds by new.  
Nor do those miss the joy, who Love disdain,  
But rather take the sweet without the pain;  
Nay they have greater Sweets, whilst Lovers A'rms  
Shall clasp their Dears, whilst they behold their Charms.  
Straight Doubts arise, their careful▪ Mind's employed,  
Which Sweets must first be rifled, which enjoyed:  
What they desired, they hurt; and ' midst the bliss  
Raise pain; when often with a furious Kiss  
They wound the balmy Lip; this they endure  
Because the Joys not perfect, 'tis not pure:  
But still some sting remains, some fierce desire  
To hurt what ever 'twas that raised the fire:  
But yet the pains are few, they quickly cease,  
The mixed delight doth make the hurt the lesle.  
Perhaps they hope, that She that struck the same,  
Can heal, that she that raised can stop the flame.  
Fond fancy this in Love! We ne'er give o'er;  
The more we know, and have, we wish the more,  
'Tis true, because the Meat and Drink's conveyed  
To proper Vessels, Thirst and Hunger's stayed:  
But now from Beauty, now from Forms that please,  
What comes but thin and empty Images?  
Even such as He enjoys, that drinks in Dreams,  
His Thirst increaseth ' midst the fancied streams:  
So Love deludes poor men, their covetous Eye  
What long, what frequent sights can satisf●e!  
What from the tender limbs with wanton play,  
And amorous touch, poor Lovers bring away?  
Nay even in the Embrace, whilst both employ  
Their strength, and Bodies feel the coming joy;  
Thomas than they twine, and bill like loving Doves,  
Thomas ardent breathe fire each other's Loves;  
In vain, fond Fools, they cannot mix their Souls,  
Although they seem to try, in amorous Rolls  
So strictly twined, till all their powers decay,  
And the lose airy Pleasure slips away:  
Than a short pause between, and than returns  
The same fierce lust, the same fierce fury burns;  
Whilst they both seek, whilst they both wish to have  
What e'er their wanton fancies, wanton wishes crave.  
For this no cure, for this no help is found;  
They waste, and perish by a secret wound.  
Besides, they waste their strength, their vigour kill,  
And live poor Slaves unto another's William.  
Debts they contract apace, their Money flies;  
Their Fame, their Honour too grows sick, and dies.  
Rich Shoes, and jewels set in Gold, adorn  
The Feet, the richest Purple Vests are worn:  
The Wealth their Fathers toiled, and fought to gain,  
Now buys a Coat, a Mitre or a Chain.  
Great Shows, and Sports are made, and Royal Feasts,  
Where choicest Meats and Wines provoke the Guests;  
Where gaudy Tapestry, and Odours spread  
O'er all the Room, and Crowns grace every Head.  
In vain: for still some bitter Thought destroys  
His fancied Mirth, and poisons all his Joys▪  
Perhaps some doubtful Word torments his Mind,  
Sinks deep, and wounds, and leaves a sting behind:  
Perhaps he thinks his Mistress wanton Eyes  
Glote on his Friend, perhaps faint Smiles he spies:  
Such mischiefs hap even in prosperous Love.  
But those that cross and adverse Passion prove,  
Those wretched Lovers meet ten thousand more,  
(Ten Thousand scarce can measure the vast store)  
So obvious all, that with the strictest Care  
'Tis good to keep my Rules, and eat the Snare;  
'Tis easier to avoid, than break the Chain,  
When once entrapped, or be redeemed again,  
The Nets are strong, and we may strive in vain.  
Nay though securely caught, you may be free  
Again, unless you are resolved to be  
A willing Slave; and from your thoughts remove  
The faults in Mind and Face of her you love:  
For often, Men quite blind by fond desire,  
First think their Love's great Beauties, than admire:  
Their powerful working Fancy still supplies  
With borrowed shapes, and flattering disguise,  
The meaner Beauty's great necessities,  
Hence 'tis that ugly Things in fancied dress  
Seem gay, look fair to Lovers Eyes, and please.  
The Black seems Brown▪ the Nasty, Negligent,  
●wl eyed like Pallas, and my Heart 's content;  
The little Dwarf is pretty, Grace all o'er;  
The vast, surprising, and we must adore;  
The stammering, lisps, the Lover thinks he hears  
The broken sounds breathed forth in softest Airs:  
She's Modest if she's Dumb, and naught can say;  
The fierce and prattling Thing is brisk and gay▪  
She's Thin, if Hectic, and but one remove  
From Death; the Meager is my slender Love:  
The great and swelling Breast like Ceres is,  
The big and hanging Lip a very Kiss.  
Ten thousand such: but grant the sweetest Face,  
Grant each part lovely, grant each part a Grace,  
Yet others equal Beauties do enjoy,  
Yet we have lived before without this Toy:  
Yet she is base, yet she perfumes, to hid  
Her natural smell, her Maids on every side  
Stand of, and smile, and waggishly deride.  
Nay, though a Lover, when denied the bliss,  
Stands long, and, waits, and warms with softening Kiss,  
The lesle obdurate Gate, though than he pours  
His Ointments on, and Crowns the Gates with flowers:  
Yet when admitted, when, not longer coy,  
The Miss provokes the eager fool to joy;  
Than every thing offends, he fancies none,  
But seeks some fit excuses to be gone,  
Than he forgets the Stories he Designed,  
Nor tells how much her Coldness vexed his Mind,  
Nor sighs, and why my Dear was you unkind?  
Than grieves, he gave to her that awful Love,  
He only owed to the great Powers above.  
And this our Misses know, and strive to hid  
Their faults from those (the covering decent pride)  
Whom they would cheat, and bind to an Amour;  
Thomas foul behind, they look all bright before.  
In vain: for thou canst understand the cheat,  
Discover, and know their Wiles, and gross deceit:  
Nay if she's free, if not designs to vex  
Nor cross thy Courtship, or thy thoughts perplex,  
She'll show the common failures of her Sex.  
The Child still bears the form, 
Why the Child like the Parents.  whose Seed prevails;  
If Mothers, Hers; if Fathers, than the Males:  
But those that show a part of either Face, 
Why like the Grandfathers.   
Are made of Seeds, whose friendly Powers embrace,  
When neither this nor that prevails, and forms the Mass.  
And often with Joy indulgent Fathers viewed  
The Grandsire's Image in their Sons renewed;  
Because the little Mass of Seed remains  
Entire and whole within the Father's Veins,  
Which from the Grandsire fell; this Venus takes,  
Of this a likeness in the shapes she makes;  
She imitates the Grandsire's Voice, or H●ir,  
His Smile, or some peculiar Grace, and Air▪  
For these on proper Seeds depend, and rise  
From proper Shapes, as well as Hands or Eyes.  
The Males and Females Seed agreed to make  
The tender Young, of both the Young partake;  
But yet that Sex the Young resembles most,  
That hath more powerful Seed, more Vigorous Lust.  
Nor do the God's Decree, 
Of Barrenness.  nor Thoughts employ,  
Which Mortal shall, which shall not get a Boy,  
As some believe; and therefore sacrifice,  
Whilst Clouds of▪ Incense from the Altars rise,  
Make Vows, and Prayers, Temples, and Altars build,  
To please the angry Gods, and beg a Child.  
Fond fooling this to Court the Powers above,  
They sit at Ease; and never mind our Love.  
But Male and Female, though they often embrace,  
In vain endeavour to increase their Race,  
If either Seed's too subtle, thin, and fine,  
Or else too gross and dull for that design:  
For if too thin, the Vessels ne'er retain  
The Seed received, it straight flows out again;  
And all the kind Endeavour is in vain;  
But if too gross and dull, it moves but slow,  
And little Pores refuse to ●et it thro',  
Or it lies sullen there, unfit to breed,  
Nor kindly mixes with the Female Seed:  
For All not fit with All. Thus some do prove  
Unfruitful after many Years of Love,  
Thomas they have often proved the Nuptial Joy,  
And strove, but all in vain, to get a Boy:  
Yet by a Second Husband's apt Embrace  
They quickly bear a fair and numerous Race,  
And the Decaying Families Increase;  
They see their Sons grow strong with Youthful Rage,  
The Joy and Comfort of their feeble Age.  
The End of the Fourth Book.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE FIFTH BOOK.  

WHAT Verse can soar on so sublime a Wing,  
As reaches his Deserts? What Muse can sing  
As He requires? What Poet now can raise  
A stately Monument of lasting Praise, 
The Praise of Epicurus.   
Great as His Vast Deserts, who first did show  
Those useful Truths, who taught us first to know  
Nature 's great Powers? 'Tis more than Man can do.  
For if we view the Mighty Things He showed,  
His Useful Truths proclaim, He was a God;  
He was a God, who first reformed our Souls,  
And led us by Philosophy, and Rules,  
From Cares and Fears, and melancholy Night,  
To Peace, to Joy, to Ease, and showed us Light.  
For now compare what other Gods bestow.  
Kind Bacchus first the pleasing Vine did show,  
And Ceres Corn, and taught us how to plough:  
Yet Men might still have lived without these two,  
They might have lived as other Nations do.  
But what content could Man, what Pleasure found,  
What Joy in Life, whilst Passions vex the Mind?  
Well than, That Man is more a God than these,  
That Man, that showed us how to live at Ease,  
That Man that taught the World Delight and Peace.  
His useful Benefits are raised above  
Alcides' Acts, that greatest Son of jove.  
For tell me how the fierce Nemean Roar  
Can fright us now? How could th' Arcadian Boar,  
The Cre●an Bull, the Plagues of L●rna's Lakes.  
The poisonous Hydra with her numerous Snakes?  
How could Geryon's Force, or triple Face,  
How Diomed's fiery Horse, those Plagues of Thrace?  
How could the Birds▪ that o'er Arcadian Plains  
With crooked Talons tore the frighted Swains,  
Offend us here? Whom had the Serpent struck,  
Mighty in Bulk▪ and terrible in Look,  
That armed with Scales, and in a dreadful Fold  
Twined round the Tree, and watched the growing Gold,  
Removed as far as the Atlantic Shore,  
Deserts untrod by us, or by the Moor?  
Those others too that fallen, and raised his Fame,  
That gave him this diffused and lasting Name,  
And made him rise a God from O●ta's Flame  
Had they still lived, what mischief had they done?  
Whom had they torn, whom frighted? Surely none.  
For now, even now, vast Troops of Monsters fill  
Each thick and darksome Wood, each shady Hill▪  
Yet who complains, yet who their jaws endure?  
For Men may eat their Dens, and live secure.  
But had not His Philosophy began,  
(What had not Man endured, ingrateful Man?)  
And cleansed our Souls, what Civil Wars, what Cares  
Would fierce Ambition raise; what pungent Fears?  
How Pride, Lust, Envy, Sloth, would vex the Mind?  
Well than, that Man, who thus reformed our Souls,  
That slew these Monsters, not by Arms, but Rules.  
Shall We, ingrateful We, not think a God?  
Especially since He Divinely showed  
What Life the Gods must live; and found the Cause  
And Rise of things, and taught us Nature's Laws.  
His steps I trace, and prove, as Things begun,  
By the same Laws and Nature they live on,  
And fail at last, lose all their Vital Ties;  
But chief, that the Soul is born, and dies;  
And that those shadows, which in Dreams appear,  
And forms of Friends, and perished Heroes bear,  
Are but lose shapes, by Fancy wrought in Air.  
Now I must ●each, the World, as Years prevail,  
Must die, this Noble Frame must sink and fail;  
And how at first 'twas formed, what various blows  
Made Seed, Earth, Seas, Sun, Heaven, and Stars compose,  
What living Creatures did, what never risen:  
How Leagues, and how Society began,  
What civilised the savage Creature Man;  
Whence sprang that mighty Dread of Powers above,  
That Reverence, that Awful Fear and Love,  
Which first Religious Duties did engage,  
And now secures their Holy things from rage,  
How towards both Poles the Sun's fixed journey bends  
And how the Year his crooked walk attends;  
By what just steps the wand'ring Lights advance,  
And what Eternal Measures guide the Dance;  
Jest some should think their Rounds they freely go,  
Scattering their servile Fires on things below,  
On Fruits and Animals to make them grow;  
Or that some God doth whirl the circling Sun,  
And fiercely lash the Fiery Horses' on:  
For even those few exalted Souls, that know  
The Gods must live at Ease, not look below,  
Free from all meddling Cares, from Hate and Love;  
If they admire, if view the World above,  
And wo●der how those glorious Being's move,  
They are entrapped, they bind their slavish Chain,  
And sink to their Religious Fears again;  
And than the World with Heavenly Tyrants fill,  
Whose Force is as unbounded as their William.  
Deluded Ignorants! who ne'er did see  
By Reason's Light what can, what cannot be;  
How every thing must yield to fatal Force,  
What steady Bounds confine their Natural Course.  
But now to prove all this: 
The World mortal.  First cast an Eye,  
And look on all below▪ on all on high:  
The solid Earth, the Seas, and arched Sky;  
One fatal Hour (Dear Youth) must ruin all,  
This Glorious Frame, that stood so long, must fall.  
I know that this seems strange, and hard to prove,  
(Strong hardened Prejudice will scarce remove)  
And so are all things new, and unconfined  
To Sense, nor which thro' that can reach the Mind;  
Whose Notice Eye, nor Hand, those only ways  
Where Science enters, to the Soul conveys.  
And yet I'll sing: Perchance the following Fall  
Will prove my Words, and show ' ●is Reason all:  
Perhaps thou soon shalt see the sickening World  
With strong Convulsions to Confusion hurled;  
When every Rebel Atom breaks the Chain,  
And all to Primitive Night return again.  
But Chance avert it! Rather let Reason show  
The World may fall, than Sense should prove it true.  
But now before I teach these Truths more sure  
And certain Oracles, and far more pure  
Than what from trembling Pythia reached four Ears,  
I'll first propose some Cure against thy Fears:  
Jest Superstition prompt thee to believe,  
That Sun and Moon, that Seas and Earth must live,  
Are Gods Eternal, and above the rage,  
And powerful Envy of devouring Age▪  
And therefore those whose impious Reasons try  
(Moore bold than those fond Fools that stormed the Sky)  
To prove the World is Mortal, and may die,  
That Orbs can fall, the Sun forsake his Light,  
And buried lie, like meaner things, in Night,  
Calling that Mortal which is All Divine,  
Must needs be damned for their profane Design.  
For these are so unlike the Gods, 
The World not an Animal.  the Frame  
So much unworthy of that Glorious Name,  
That neither lives, nor is an Animal;  
That neither feels; dull things, and senseless all.  
For Life and Sense, the Mind and Soul refuse  
To join with all: their Bodies must be fit for Use.  
As Heaven does bear no Trees, no Stars below;  
As Stones no Blood not, Fishes Mountains know,  
But each hath proper place to rise and grow:  
So neither Souls can rise without the Blood,  
And Nerves, and Veins, and Bones; for grant they could,  
Than thro' one single Parts, as Arms, or Head,  
'Twould first be framed, thence o'er the other spread:  
As Water into Vessels poured doth fall,  
First to One part, than rise and cover All.  
But since 'tis certain, that a Proper place  
Is settled for the Life and the Increase  
Of Mind and Soul; 'tis Folly to believe  
That they can rise without fit Limbs, or live;  
Or be in flitting Air, or chilling Seas,  
Or Earth, or scorching Flames. Fond Fancies these▪  
Well than, they are not Gods, their Sense Divine,  
For they are far unfit for that Design,  
Since none with Minds in Vital Union join.  
Nor must we think these are the blessed abodes,  
The quiet Mansions of the happy Gods, 
Heaven not the Seat of the Gods.   
Their Substance is so thin, so much refined,  
Unknown to Sense; nay; scarce, perceived by Mind.  
Now since their Substance can't be touched by Man,  
They cannot touch those other things that can;  
For what e'er touched, those must be touched again.  
Well than the Mansions of those Happy Powers  
Must all be far unlike, distinct from ours;  
Of subtle Nature, suitable to their own;  
All which by long Discourse I'll prove anon.  
But now to say this spacious World began  
By bounteous Heaven, 
The World not made for Man.  contrived to pleasure Man;  
And therefore this vast Frame they toiled to raise,  
And fit for Us, should meet with equal Praise;  
Or be esteemed Eternal, all secure,  
From Ruin, or the Teeth of Time endure;  
And that 'tis impious to design to prove,  
What was contrived by the wife Powers above,  
And fixed Eternal for the Man they love,  
That this can die, that this to Fate can bow,  
And with bold Reason strive top overthrow,  
And make that Mortal they designed not so:  
'Tis fond. For what could Man return again?  
What profit to the Gods for all their pain,  
That they should work for him? why break their Rest,  
In which they lived before secure and blessed?  
What coming Joy, what Pleasure could they view,  
To leave their former Life, and seek a new?  
For those delight in New, whose former state  
Was made unhappy by some treacherous Fate.  
But why should those that lived in perfect Ease,  
Who ne'er saw any thing but what did please,  
Be tickled thus with love of Novelties?  
Perhaps they lay obscure, and hid Night, 

PAG. 144. Here gins hi● Impiety anew, and he endeavours to raise a dust, and blind men's Understandings; and to secure his former Opinion prebends Objections intermixed with Scoffs, against all those, ●ho upon sober Principles, and a strict search into the ●●der and disposition of Things, were forced to con●●ss this Frame to be the contrivance of some Intelligent ●eing, and the Product of Wisdom itself. And here, agreeable to the Epicurean Principles, he supposeth Inter●t to be the cause of all good nature, and the only Spring 〈◊〉 Action, and than peremptorily demands, what suitable ●turns Man could make the Gods for all their labour, or ●hat additional happiness they could receive? Where he ●akes another wild Supposition, which will never be ●anted, viz. That to created, or dispose, is toil, and trou●● to Omnipotence, for such I have proved every eternal and self existent to be. Now let us look a little on 〈◊〉 immediate Praises he bestows on his Epicurus, ●d ask him what Rewards could Posterity give him 〈◊〉 his Philosophy, how could he receive any benefit 〈◊〉 their praises, and Commendations? What than was his God Epicurus a Fool, who lost his own Ease, opposed himself to so many Philosophers, and laboured to writ almost infinite Volumes, when he had no motive to engage himself in all this trouble? Not, Lucreti● highly esteems him for the Benefits he bestowed o● Mankind; and thus answers himself, whilst he allows single Benevolence to be a strong motive to Action: And this is allowed by general Consent, he being hated who looks only on his own Interest, and makes that the measure of all his designs. And that the De●ty is benevolent in the highest degree, is as evident 〈◊〉 that it is a perfection to be so: For 'tis already proved, that infinite perfection is a necessary consequen●● of self-existence. But when he endeavours to prove, that to Be is no good to Man, what but laughter ca● be returned to such an idle opposition of commo● Sense? For if, to be continued in Being is so great ● Good, and so desirable, as all Man's Wishes an● Endeavours sufficiencly evince, than surely to best●● that Being, is at lest an equal Blessing. And to answer his impudent Question, How the Deity could have his Knowledge? 'tis sufficient to return, th●● his Method of Knowing is not to be measured by ours● that he is Omniscient, that being a Perfection, need not any external impulse from Images.  
But leaving this, he finds fault with the Contrivance itself, and, like that proud King of Arrage could no doubt have mended the Design. And her● though 'tis unreasonable to demand a particular Cau● and Motive for every Contrivance, since we 〈◊〉 not of the Cabinet Council of Nature, nor assistant at her Project, yet his Exceptions (not doubt the 〈◊〉 his labouring Wit could invent) are so weak, so 〈◊〉 answered, and so easily (on Principles grounded on certain History, and infallible Record) to ●e accounted for, and there is no need to frame a particular Answer, and no fear that any, the meanest Reader, can ever be surprised with such Trifles.  
Having, as he imagined, freed the Deity from all care and trouble, and kept him in ease and quiet, whilst the World was making, he proceeds to deline●ate the Order. And here I cannot imagine a Man could act more agreeable to his Principles or describe Chance better, resolving all Philosophy, all our search, and enquiry into these Matters, into a ●aked May be; nay often scarce standing within the comprehensive bounds of Possibility. But to pass ●y all the Contradictions that lie in the very Principles, and beginning of his Hypothesis, of which I have before discoursed; let us suppose these infinite Atoms moving in this infinite Space, and grant ●hey could strike and take hold, and squeeze out the ●esser and more agile parts into Seas, Heaven, Moon, Stars, etc. I shall first demand, why this weighty Mass of Earth, as its nature requires, doth not constantly descend? Why fixed and steady? If it's answered (as Lucretius) that it lies in congeneal Matter, and therefore presses not, the Question still returns, Why not this congeneal Matter fall, since it hath Weight, the Epicurean property of Atoms hath that other fit Matter spread below it? The Demand constantly returns. Besides, this Matter wa● squeezed out of the Earth by the descending heavier Particles, and therefore the Mass may press and descend thro' it. Well than if this Earth cannot be framed, neither any of the other Elements, since, according to his description, the latter depends on the former; and since he refuses to stand to any one cause of the Motion of the Sun, or Stars; it would be endless to pursue this flying Bubble, and follow him thro' all the Mazes of Conceit, and Fancy.    
Till Things began, and Day produced the Light▪  
Besides, what harm, had the Sun idly ran,  
Nor warmed the Mud, and kindled it to Man,  
What harm to us if we had ne'er began?  
True, those that are in Being once, should strive,  
As long as Pleasure, will invite, to live;  
But those that ne'er had tasted Joys, nor seen,  
What hurt to them, suppose they ne'er had been? Beside,  
Whence had the Gods their notice, whence their Mind?  
Those fit Ideas of the Human Kind?  
What Image of the Work they than designed?  
How did they understand the power of Seed,  
That those by change of Order Things could breed,  
Unless kind Nature's powers at first did show▪  
A Model of the Frame, and taught them how to know?  
For Seeds of Bodies from Eternal strove,  
And used by stroke, or their own weight, to move;  
All sorts of Union tried, all sorts of Blows,  
To see if any Way would Things compose;  
And so no wonder they at last were hurled  
●nto the decent order of this World;  
And still such Motions, still such ways pursue,  
As may supply decaying Things by new.  
For were I ignorant how Being's rise,  
How Things begin; yet reasons from the Skies,  
From every Thing deduced, will plainly prove  
This World ne'er framed by the wise Powers above, 
The World not made by an Intelligent Being.   
So ●oolish the Design, contrived so ill.  
For first: ●hose Tracts of Air what Creatures fill?  
Why Beasts in every Grove, and shady Hill?  
●ast Pools take part, and the impetuous Tide,  
Whose spreading Waves the distant Shores divide:  
Two parts in three the Torrid Zone doth burn,  
Or Frigid chill, and all to Deserts turn:  
And all the other Fields, what would they breed,  
If let alone, but Briars, Thorns, and Weed?  
These are their proper fruits, this Nature would,  
Did not laborious Mortals toil for food,  
And tear, and plough, and force them to be good;  
Did they not turn the Clods with crooked Share,  
By frequent torments forcing them to bear?  
Not tender Fruits, none of their own accord  
Would rise to feed proud Man, their fancied Lord:  
Nay often too, when Man with pains and toil  
Hath ploughed and conquered the unwilling Soil;  
When flowers put forth, and budding branches shoot,  
Look gay and promise' the desired Fruit;  
The scorching Sun, with his too busy beams,  
Burns up the fruits, or clouds do drown with streams;  
Or chilled by too much Snow they soon decay,  
Or Storms blow them, and all our hopes away.  
But further, why should Parent-Nature breed  
Such hurtful Animals, why cherish, feed  
Destructive Beasts? Why should such Monsters grow,  
Did the kind Gods dispose of Things below?  
Why Plagues to all the seasons of the Year belong?  
And why should hasty Death Destroy the Young▪ Again,  
A Man, when first he leaves his primitive Night,  
Breaks from his Mother's womb to view the Light,  
Like a poor Carcase tumbled by the flood,  
He falls all naked, but besmeared with blood,  
An Infant, weak, and destitute of food;  
With tender cries the pitying Air he fills,  
A fit presage for all his coming Ills:  
Whilst Beasts are born, and grow with greater ease;  
No need of sounding Rattles Those to please;  
No need of tattling Nurses busy care;  
They want no change of garments, but can wear  
The same at any Season of the Year;  
They need no Arms, no Garrison, or Town,  
No stately Castles to defend their own;  
Nature supplies their wants, what e'er they crave,  
She gives them, and preserves the Life she gave.  
But now since Air, and Water, Earth, and Fire, 
The Elements cangeable.   
Are Bodies all produced, and all expire,  
Since these are such, these that compose the Frame,  
The Nature of the Whole must be the same;  
For those whose parts the strokes of Fate control,  
If those are made, and die, so must the Whole.  
Now since the members of the World we view,  
Are changed, consumed, and all produced anew;  
It follows than, for which our proofs contend,  
That this vast Frame began, and so must end.  
But jest you think, I poorly beg the Cause,  
And that it disagrees with Nature's Laws,  
That Water, Air, that Fire and Earth should cease,  
And fail; that they can die, or else increase;  
Consider Earth, when parched with busy beams,  
And trodden much, flies up in dusky streams,  
And little clouds of thickening dust arise,  
Dispersed by wind● thro' all the lower skies;  
And gentle Rivers too, with wanton play  
That kiss their rocky banks, and glide away,  
Take somewhat still from the ungentle stone,  
Soften the Parts, and make them like their own. But more:  
By what another Thing is fed, and grows,  
That Thing some portion of its own must loose.  
Now since all spring from Earth, and since we call,  
And justly too, the Earth the Source of all;  
Since All, when cruel Death dissolves, return  
To Earth again, and She's both Womb and Urn:  
The Earth is changed, some Parts must sometimes cease,  
And sometimes new come on, and she increase.  
Besides, that Seas, that Rivers wast, and die,  
And still increase by constant new supply,  
What need of proofs? This streams themselves do show,  
And in soft murmurs babble as they flow.  
But jest the Mass of Water prove too great,  
The S●● drinks some, to quench his natural heat:  
And some the Winds brush of, with wanton play,  
They dip their wings, and bear some parts away:  
Some passes thro' the Earth, diffused all o'er,  
And leaves its salt behind in every Poor;  
For all returns thro' narrow channels spread,  
And joins where ere the fountain shows her head;  
And thence sweet streams in fair Meanders play,  
And thro' the Valleys ●ut their liquid way:  
And Herbs, and Flowers on every side bestow,  
The Fields all smile with Flowers where ere they flow.  
But more, the Air thro' all the mighty Frame  
Is changed each hour, we breathe not twice the same:  
Because as all things waste, the par●s must fly  
To the vast Sea of Air; they mount on high,  
And softly wander in the lower sky.  
Now did not this the wasting things repair,  
All had been long ago dissolved, all Air.  
Well than, since all things waste, their vital chain  
Dissolved, how can the frame of Air remain?  
It rises from, and makes up things again.  
Beside, the Sun, that constant spring of Light,  
Still cuts the Heaven with streams of shining White,  
And the decaying Old with New supplies;  
For every portion of the beam that flies.  
Is but short-lived, it just appears, and dies.  
As thus 'tis proved.—  
For when an envious Cloud stops up the stream,  
The constant stream of Light, and breaks the beam,  
The lower part is lost, and dismal shade  
O'●espreads the Earth, where e'er the Clouds conveyed:  
Well than, there must be constant streams of Rays,  
Since every portion of the Beam decays:  
Nor should we see, but all lie blind in Night,  
Unless new streams flowed from the spring of Light.  
So from our Lights, our meaner fires below,  
Our Lamps or brighter Torches streams do flow,  
And drive away the Night; they still supply  
New Flames, as swiftly as the former die;  
New beams still tremble in the lower Sky:  
No space is free, but a continued Ray  
Still keeps a constant, though a feeble Day;  
So fast, even Hydra like, the fruitful fires  
Beget a new beam, as the old expires.  
So Sun and Moon with many a numerous birth  
Bring forth new rays, and sand them down to th' earth;  
Which die as fast, jest some fond fools believe  
That these are free from fate, that these must live.  
Lastly, the strongest Rocks, and Towns do feel the rage  
Of powerful Time, even Temples wast by age:  
Nor can the Gods themselves prolong their Date,  
Change Nature's Law, or get reprieve from Fate.  
Even Tombs grow old and waste, by years o'erthrown;  
Man's Graves, before, but now become their Own.  
How often the hardest Rock dissolves, nor bears  
The strength but of a few, though powerful Years?  
Now if that Rock for infinite Ages past  
Stood still secure, if it was free from Waste,  
Why should it fail, why now dissolve at last?  
Lastly, look round, view that vast tract of Sky,  
In whose Embrace our Earth and Waters lie,  
Whence all things rise, to which they all return,  
As some discourse, the same both Womb and Urn;  
'Tis surely mortal all: For that which breeds,  
That which gives birth to other things, or feeds,  
Must loose some parts; and when those things do cease,  
It gets some new again, and must increase.  
But grant the World Eternal, grant it knew  
No Infancy, 
The World had a beginning.  and grant it never new;  
Why than no Wars our Poet's Songs employ  
Beyond the Siege of Thebes, or that of Troy?  
Why former Heroes fell without a Name?  
Why not their Battles told by lasting Fame?  
But 'tis as I declare; and thoughtful Man  
Not long ago, and all the World began:  
And therefore Arts, that lay but rude before,  
Are polished now, we now increase the store,  
We perfect all the old, and found out more.  
Shippings improved, we add new Oars and Wings;  
And Music now is found, and speaking strings.  
These Truths, this rise of Things we lately know;  
Great Epicurus lived not long ago.  
By my assistance young Philosophy  
In Latin words now first gins to cry.  
But if you think successive Worlds, the same  
They now appear, but Earthquakes shook the Frame,  
Or Fire destroyed, or Floods swept all away;  
Grant only This, and you the Cause betray,  
This strongly proves the World will once decay.  
For what can sicken thus, can waste, and fail,  
And perish all, if stronger strokes prevail.  
For thus, since we can feel the same disease,  
Same harms, that other perishing things do seize,  
We think that we shall die as well as these.  
Besides, what ever's immortal, must be so,  
Because 'tis solid, above the power of Blow,  
Whose parts no Wedge divides, which know no poor▪  
And such are Seeds, as I explained before:  
Or else because like empty Space, 'tis such  
As is secure from Stroke, and free from touch;  
Or else because it can admit no bound,  
'Tis infinite, and knows no place beyond,  
To which the Seeds may sink: This makes the All  
Eternal, there's no place whence Seeds may fall,  
And breed confusion here; no space doth lie  
Without the Whols, to which the parts may fly,  
And leave the mighty All to waste and die  
But now the World's not solid, every Mass  
Contains between the Seeds some empty space;  
Nor is't like Voided, for thousand Things, if hurled  
With mighty force, can strike and break the World:  
Seeds rushing on may bear some parts away,  
Like violent streams, and so the World decay.  
Beside, there's Space beyond, to which, the Tie  
Of Union loosed, the scattered parts may fly:  
Well than, these Heavens and Earth can waste and die,  
And therefore once began; for what can fail,  
And waste, o'er what the strokes of Fate prevail,  
Must be unable to endure the rage  
Of infinite past Time, and power of Age.  
But lastly, since the Elements are at jars,  
Still fight, and still engaged in Civil Wars,  
Cannot their Battles cease, their Wars be done,  
And all the other parts submit to One?  
The Fire prevail, and with destructive beams  
Dry Seas, The Thirsty Sun drink up the Streams?  
Which now He seems to try, but all in vain.  
For Rivers still bring new supplies again,  
So fast, so great, as if designed to raise  
A Flood, and o'er the Centre spread the Sea●.  
But that's in vain, the Waters still decay,  
The Winds brush of, and bear some parts away▪  
The Sun drinks some, the Stars take some for Food,  
And seem to threaten more a drought than stood.  
Thus still they fight, with equal force maintain  
The War, now conquer, and now yield again.  
Yet Fire (as stories go) did once prevail, 
The World may be burnt.   
And once the Water too was spread o'er all.  
The Fire prevailed when the Sun's furious Horse,  
Disdaining Pha●ton's young feeble force,  
Ran thro' the Sky in an unusual course;  
And falling near the Earth burned all below,  
Till angry jove did dreadful Thunder throw,  
And quenched the hot-brained fiery Youth in PO.  
But Phoebus gathered up the scattered Ray,  
And brought to Heaven again the falling Day:  
The Hores too, that ran thro' Heaven's wide Plain,  
He caught, and harnessed to the Coach again;  
They ever since with due obedience drew  
The flaming Carr. This Greece reports as true;  
Yet 'tis absurd: But all may yield to Flame,  
If great supplies of rapid Matter came  
From the vast Mass: for than those Seeds must fail,  
And sink again, or Fire must ruin all.  
Seas once prevailed, 
●r drowned  nor could the Towns withstand  
The raging waves; they spread all o'er the Land:  
But when the numerous Seeds the mighty Mass  
Supplied, were turned from this into another place,  
The Water ceased, and the continual Rain,  
And Rivers ran within their Banks again.  
Now next I'll sing, how moving Seeds were hurled,  
How tossed to Order, how they framed the World: 
How the World began.   
How Sun and Moon began, what steady Force  
Marked out their walk, what makes them keep their Course:  
For sure unthinking Seeds did ne'er dispose  
Themselves by Counsel, nor their Order chose,  
Nor any Compacts made how each should move,  
But from Eternal thro' the Vacuum strove;  
By their own weight, or by external blows,  
All Motions tried to found the best of Those,  
All Unions too, if by their various play  
They could compose new Being's any way:  
Thus long they whirled, most sorts of Motion past,  
Most sorts of Union too, they joined at last  
In such convenient Order, whence began  
The Sea, the Heaven, and Earth, and Beasts, and Man.  
But yet not Glittering Sun, Not Twinkling Star,  
No Heaven, no roaring Sea no Earth, no Air,  
Nor any thing like these did than appear.  
But a vast Heap; and from this mighty Mass  
Each part retired, and took his proper place;  
Agreeing Seeds combined, each Atom ran  
And sought his like, and so the Frame began.  
From disagreeing Seeds the World did rise,  
Because their various Motions, Weight, and Size,  
And Figure, would not let all them combine  
And lie together, nor friendly Motions join:  
Thus Skies, and thus the Sun did raise his Head,  
Thus Stars and Seas o'er proper places spread.  
For first, 
How the Earth wa● made.  the Earthy parts, a heavy Mass,  
And closely twined, possessed the Middle place;  
Now as these heavy parts combined more close,  
Descending still they vexed with constant blows  
The lurking parts of Sea, of Stars, and Skies,  
And Sun, and squeezed th●m out, and made them rise;  
Because, those Seeds are subtle, more refined,  
And round, and smooth, and of a lesser kind  
Than those of Earth, and so can freely pass  
The subtle Pores of the descending Mass.  
And thus the parts of Heaven 
How Heaven.  did first retire,  
And bore up with them numerous Seeds of Fire.  
As when the Sun gins his early Race,  
And views the joyful Earth with blushing Face,  
And quaffs the Pearly Dew spread o'er the Gras●,  
From Earth he draws some Mists with busy Beams,  
From wand'ring Waters some, and running Streams:  
These thin, these subtle Mists, when raised on high,  
And joined above, spread Clouds o'er all the Sky:  
Just so the parts of Heaven did upward move,  
The subtle Aether thus combined above;  
And vastly wide, and spread o'er every place,  
Contains the rest within her kind Embrace,  
Thus Heaven: than risen the Moon,  
and Stars, and Sun,  
Which thro' the Sky with constant Motions run;  
Because their Seeds were all too light to lie  
In Earth, not light enough to rise on high,  
And pass the utmost limits of the Sky;  
But placed between them both, the midst control,  
Certain, but moving portions of the Whole;  
Just as in Man, some parts refuse to cease  
From Motion, some still lie dissolved in Ease.  
The Things retired, the heavier parts of Clay  
Sank farther down, and made an easy way  
For flowing Streams, and Caverns for the Sea:  
And as by constant blows the vigorous Sun  
Did strike the upper parts, and press them down,  
Moore Moisture rose, and than did Streams increase,  
Moore Parts were still squeezed out, and swelled the Seas;  
Moore Aether than, of Air more Parts did rise,  
And born on high, there thickened into Skies:  
The Mountains raised their Hands, the humble Field  
Sank low, the stubborn Stones refused to yield;  
The Rocks did proudly still their Height maintain,  
Nor could all sink into an equal Plain.  
Thus Earth at first was framed, and thus did fall  
The lowest, as the Sediment of all:  
Thence Seas, thence Air, thence Aeth●r, every Mass  
Distinct from others, took its proper place;  
All Fluids, and All differently ●ight,  
And therefore reached the l●ss, or greater Height.  
Than Liquid Aether did the farthest rear,  
And lies on softest Beds of yielding Air;  
But yet its parts ne'er mix, whilst Winds do blow,  
And rapid Storms disturb all here below;  
Than undisturbed move round the steady Pole,  
And Sun and Stars with constant Motion roll:  
For that by constant turns the Sky may move,  
The constant Motions of the Waters prove,  
This thing the mighty Mass the Ocean shows,  
For that at settled Hours still ebbs and flows.  
Now learn what moves the Stars, 
Why the Stars more.  what mighty Force  
Doth drive them on, what Laws confine their course.  
First, if the Orb is moved, and whirls, or draws  
The Sun about, than this may be the Cause;  
Vast Tracts of Air, the distant Skies do bound,  
And with a close embrace encircle round;  
The upper part of that drives down the Skies  
From East to West, the under makes them rise;  
And so the Whirl's performed. Thus of a Flood  
Turns round a Wheel, and whirls the weighty Wood  
Or else the Orbs may lie at rest above,  
Steady and fixed, and only Stars may move;  
Because the Fires, confined to little Space,  
Grow fierce and wild, and seek a larger place,  
And thus thro' the vast Heaven begin their Race.  
Or else external Air, or subtle Wind  
May whirl them round; or they may move to found  
Their Nourishment, and run where Food invites,  
And kindly calls their Eager Appetites.  
For now what single Force makes Stars to rise  
And set, what governs these our single Skies,  
'Tis hard to tell.—  
And therefore I, how Stars may move, propose  
A thousand ways, and numerous as those;  
And what may whirl the Sun, and palefaced Moon  
In all the Worlds, but cannot fix on One,  
Although but One rules here; but which that is  
'Tis hard to point, it may be That or This.  
And that the heavy parts should end their Race.  
And rest, and Earth, 
Why the Earth doth not fall.  possess the middle place.  
It's weight decayed, that Power did weaker grow,  
Because convenient things were placed below,  
That risen with it, to which 'tis closely joined;  
By Natural Ties, and strongest Bands confined;  
And thus it softly rests, and hanging there  
Grows light, nor presseth down the lower Air.  
Just as in Man, the Neck the Head sustains,  
The Feet the Whole, yet neither part complains  
Of pressing weight, neither is vexed with pains;  
Yet other weights imposed we strait perceive,  
Thomas lighter far, contract our Limbs, and grieve.   

So Earth was fashioned in its proper place,  
Not made, than thrust into the strange embrace  
Of different Air, but with the World began,  
A certain part of it, as Limbs of Man.  
Besides, the shaking Earth doth often move  
The Upper Air, disturbing all above:  
Which could not be, unless the strongest Tie  
Did closely join the Earth, the Air, and Sky.  
Thin subtle Souls, 'cause closely joined, do prop  
The mighty weight of Limbs, and bear it up.  
What raise the Limbs in Leaping, what control,  
And guide their Motion, but the subtle Soul?  
Which shows the mighty Force of Things refined,  
When tied to others of a grosser kind,  
As Air to Earth, to our gross Limbs the Mind.  
But farther on: The Sun 
The Sun not bigger than it shows.  and Moon do bear  
No greater Heats, nor Figures than appear;  
Because that Space, thro' which the Rays can fly,  
The Heat can reach our Touch, the Light our Eye  
Can lessen nothing, nor contract the Frame,  
Nor make the Fire appear a milder Flame:  
Now since the vigorous Rays do freely flow  
As far as us, and visit all below;  
Their Fires and Figure are the same they show,  
Nor greater all, nor lesle▪ And thus the Moon,  
Whether with borrowed Rays, or with her own  
She views the World, doth bear no larger Size,  
Not fiercer Flames than those that strike our Eyes.  
For Objects far removed, at distance seen,  
When too much hindering Air is placed between,  
No certain Figure show: Not Eye can trace  
Each Line, each Figure of the distant Face:  
But since the Moon presents a certain Size,  
A certain Shape, and Figure to our Eyes,  
'Tis plain that it appears as great as 'tis  
But farther on: Since all our Flames 
The Stars somewhat greater or lesle.  below  
At distance seen, do various Sizes show;  
Now lower sink, now raise their lofty Head,  
And now contracted seem, now farther spread;  
We may conclude the Stars, when seen from far,  
Or somewhat greater than their Figures are,  
Or somewhat, though but little lesle, appear.  
But more: Not wonder, 
Ho●● so much Light comes from the Sun.  that such vast supplies,  
Such streams of Rays from this small Sun should rise,  
As cherish all with Heat, and fill the Skies▪  
For we may fancy this the Spring of Fire,  
To which the Vapours of the World retire;  
There gather into Streams, and thence they fall  
As from the Fountain's Head, and spread o'er all:  
Thus have we seen a little Fountain yield  
Vast spreading Streams, and flow all o'er the Field.  
Or else the Sun might kindle neighbouring Air,  
And raise surprising Heat, and Fervour there.  
Perchance the Air is of convenient Frame,  
And may be kindled by a little Flame;  
As often in Straw and Corn fierce Flames prevail  
From one poor falling Spark, and spread o'er all:  
Or else the Sun hath secret stores of Heat,  
Dark and unshining stores, but vastly great;  
And these increase the Warmth, these move the Sense,  
And these united make the Heat intense.  
How towards both Poles, 
The cause of the Sun's Motion.  the Sun's fixed journey bends,  
And how the Year his crooked walk attends;  
Why from the Summer's height he soon declines,  
And falls to visit the cold Winter Signs,  
And than returns; and why the nimble Moon  
Doth drive her Chariot faster than the Sun,  
And in one Month thro' all the Zodiac go,  
Whilst the grave Sun's a Year in walking thro';  
For these a Thousand Reasons may be shown,  
But 'tis unsafe, and hard to fix on One.  
For first, Democritus hath found the cause  
Perhaps, and rightly settled Nature's Laws;  
For thus he says: Great Orbs are whirled above,  
And by that Whirl the lower Circles move;  
And so the distant Orbs, that lie below  
Far from this Spring of Motion, move but slow,  
Because the Power still lessens. Thus the Sun  
Is far outstripped by nimble Stars that run  
In higher Rounds; much more the lower Moon:  
Now since she's placed so low, since weak the Force,  
She cannot have an equal nimble Course  
With Stars; so those may overtake the Moon,  
And pass beyond her, oftener than the Sun:  
Thus she may seem to move, her Walk appear  
Thro all the Signs, 'cause they return to her.  
Besides, by turns a constant stream of Air  
At fixed and certain Seasons of the Year,  
Might rush from either part, make th' Sun decline,  
And fall from Summer to the Winter Sign;  
Or drive it up again, and bring the Rays  
And Heat to us, and show us longer Days.  
And thus the Moon, thus other Stars may rise  
And sink again into the Winter Skies,  
Driven by these two constant streams of Air—  
For Clouds in storms two different ways do move,  
The lower opposite to those above:  
What wonder than the Sun with Vigorous Beams,  
And Stars, are driven by th●se two constant Streams?  
And Day may end, 
Of Night and Day,  and tumble down the West,  
And sleepy Night fly slowly up the East;  
Because the Sun, having now performed his Round,  
And reached with weary Flames the utmost bound  
Of finite Heaven, he there puts out the Ray,  
Wearied and blunted all the tedious Day  
By hindering Air, and thus the Flames decay:  
Or else, that constant Force might make it move  
Below the Earth, which whirl it round above;  
And so the constant Morning still may ●ise,  
And with pale Fires look th●o the lower Skies;  
Because the Sun rolls round with constant Ray,  
And rising upward shows approaching Day:  
Or else because the Fires dissolved at Night,  
There join again, and scatter vigorous Light.  
Thus when the Morning-Sun gins to rise,  
It's Flames lie scattered o'er the Eastern Skies,  
Than gathered to a Ball; and this we view  
From Ida's top, this Fame reports as true.  
Nor is it strange, that numerous Seeds of Fire  
Should to the Eastern quarter still retire,  
Still every Day return, and make a Sun,  
Because a thousand other things are done  
At set and constant Times, and than alone.  
Thus Trees at certain Times, thus Shrubs do shoot  
At certain Times, and bud, and bear their Fruit;  
Thus Teeth in Boys begin, and thus they fall;  
Thus Beards in Youth, at certain Seasons all:  
Thus Thunder, Snow, and Storms, and Wind appear  
At fixed and certain Seasons of the Year:  
As Things first happened, they continued on,  
The Course, that Chance first gave them, still they run.  
The Days may longer grow, and vigorous Light.  
Unwillingly give place to drowsy Night; 
Why Days or Nights l●ng than.   
And sometimes sleepy Night may longer stay,  
And slowly wake before approaching Day▪  
Because the Sun might walk the constant Rounds  
In Crooked Paths, and in uneven Bounds;  
Nor into Equal Parts the Globe divide,  
Now longer here, and now on t'other side,  
Until it comes, and warms with Neighbouring Rays  
The Line, and measures equal Nights and Days:  
The Line lies just between the North and South.  
And leaves and equal distance unto both;  
Because the Zodiac is obliqne,—  
Thro which the Sun his yearly Walk doth go,  
And views obliquely all the World below.  
Thus teach Astronomers, and This confessed  
A fair Opinion; probable at lest.  
Or else the Air is thick, and stops the Ray,  
Nor gives the Sun a free and easy way.  
And this prolongs the tedious Winter-night,  
The Darkness slowly yields to lingering Light.  
Or else at certain seasons of the Year  
The Flames meet slowly in the Eastern air,  
And frame the Sun, and make the Day appear.  
But more: the Moon may shine with borrowed Rays,  
Her various light increasing with the Days,  
As she the further from the Sun retires,  
And with full Face receives his scorching Fires: 
The Phases of the Moon.   
When full, opposed, she climbing up the East,  
Views him below fall headlong down the West:  
And so her light decrease, as she goes on  
Thro different Signs, approaching near the Sun.  
And thus the Phases are explained by all  
That think her Shape is round, the Moon a Ball,  
And place her Circling Orb below the rest.  
A fair Opinion, probable at lest.  
Besides,  
Thomas proper Light the Moon's pale face should fill,  
Yet it might show the different Phases still;  
Because as that bright Body rolls above,  
Another dark, unseen, thick thing might move  
Beneath▪ and stop the Rays, divert the streams  
Of falling light, and turn away the Beams.  
Or else, if like a Ball, half-dark, half-bright,  
Rolled round its Axis, may affect the sight  
With different Phases, and show various light:  
Now turn that half, which the full light adorns,  
A Quarter now, now dwindle into Horns:  
And this the later Babylonian Sect  
Doth hold, and the Chaldean Schemes reject:  
As if it could not either way be done,  
But powerful Reasons fixed our choice on One.  
But why the Moons a Monthly Round 
Why the Moon endures a Month.  pursue?  
Why one so long, not every day a new?  
Why are they framed, endure, and always cease  
At this set time? The cause is told with ease:  
Since other things at certain times appear,  
And only than, Thus th' Seasons of the Year:  
First Spring, and Venus kindest Powers inspire  
Melting Thoughts, soft Wishes, gay Desire,  
And warm Favonius fans the Amorous fire:  
Than Mother Flora, to prepare the way,  
Makes all the Field look glorious, green, and gay,  
And freely scatters with a bounteous Hand  
Her sweetest, fairest Flowers o'er the Land.  
Next Heat, and dusty Har●est takes the place,  
And soft Etesias fan the Sunburnt face.  
Than sweaty Autumn treads the Noble Vine,  
And flowing bunches give immortal Wine;  
Next roars the strong-lunged Southern blast, and brings  
The infant Thunder on his dreadful Wings.  
Than Cold pursues, the North severely blows,  
And drives before it chilling Frost and Snows.  
And next deep Winter creeps, grey, wrinkled, old,  
His Teeth all shatter, Limbs all shake with Cold.  
Well than; no wonder sure, the Moon should rise  
At certain times, and that again she dies.  
At certain times; since thousand things are shown  
At fixed and constant times, and the● alone.  
Eclipses 
Eclipses.  may be solved a thousand ways:  
For if the Moon can stop descending Rays  
By thrusting her dark self between, and so  
Bring sudden night, and shade on all below;  
Than give me Reasons, why there cannot be  
Another thing, too dark for us to see,  
And fit to stop the Rays as well as she:  
Or why the Circling Sun, in passing by  
Some venomous places of the neighbouring Sky,  
May not grow sick, and pale, and almost die?  
Those past, grow well, recover his former light,  
Thus sometimes make us day, and sometimes night?  
And whilst the Moons their Monthly courses run  
Within the reach of Earth's dark shadowing Con●,  
If than revengful Earth can stop the light,  
If she can hid the sickening Moon in Night:  
Why cannot other things divert the streams,  
The falling streams of Light, and stop the Beams?  
Or if the Moon shines with a natural Ray,  
As thro' infectious Air she cuts her way,  
Why may not she grow sick, her flames decay?  
Now since drop reg've taught the motion of the Stars above,  
How Sun, and Moon, and by what cause they move;  
And how Eclypsed they force their gaudy light,  
And spread o'er all an unexpected Night,  
As if they winked, and than with open Eyes  
Viewed all again, and cheered the lower Skies:  
Now let's descend again, to newborn Earth,  
And found to what she gave the soon Birth;  
What sort of Being's, which of all the Kind's  
The first durst venture to the faithless Winds.  
First than, green Herbs, 
Herbs firs●.  and Flowers she first did yield,  
And spread a gaudy Green o'er all the field.  
And next, the Tree 
Than Trees.  with spreading branches shoots,  
But closely fixed, and bound with steady roots.  
As Bristles, Hairs and Plumes, are first designed  
O'er limbs of Beasts, and o'er the winged Kind,  
So new born Earth with Herbs and Trees began,  
And than by various ways bore Beast, and Man;  
For Heaven 'tis certain did not fashion all,  
Than let the various Creatures downwards fall;  
Nor Seas produce an Earthly Animal.  
And therefore Parent-Earth doth justly bear  
The name of Mother, since All rose from Herald.  
She now bears Animals, when softening Dew  
Descends, when Sun sends Heat she bears a thousand new.  
Well, who can wonder than, if than she bore  
Far stronger bulky Animals, and more,  
When both were young, when both in Nature's pride,  
A lusty Bridegroom He, and She the Bride?  
The first of Animals, 
Birds the first Animals.  i'th' teeming Spring,  
The feathered Kind peeped forth, and clapped their wing;  
As even now, our tender Infects strive  
To break their bags, get forth, and eat, and live.  
Next Beasts, and thoughtful Man received their Birth,  
For them much vital heat in Mother Earth  
Much Moisture lay; and where fit place was found  
There Wombs were formed, 
The Origin of Man.  and fastened to the ground:  
In these the yet imperfect Embrio's lay,  
Thro these, when grown mature, they forced their way,  
Broke forth from Night, and saw the cheerful Day:  
Than Nature fashioned for the Infant's use  
Small Breasts in Earth, and filled with milky Juice,  
Such as in women's Breasts she now provides  
For future Infants; thither Nature guides  
The chiefest parts of Food, and there they meet  
Fit Ferment, there they grow both white and sweet:  
Earth gave the Infant's Food, than Mists were spread  
For clothes, the grassy Meadows gave a Bed.  
The Earth, when new, produced no raging Cold,  
No Heats, nor Storms: these grew, as she grew old.  
Well than, our Parent Earth deserves to bear  
The name of Mother, since all rose from Herald.  
Thus for a certain time Mankind she bore,  
And Beasts, that shake the Woods with dreadful Roar,  
And various kinds of Birds; and as they flew,  
The Sun with curious Skill the figures drew  
On all their Plumes; he well the Art did know,  
He used to paint the like on his own Bow:  
But wearied now, and tired by length of time,  
Grows old, and weak, as Women passed their Prime.  
Time changes all; and as with swiftest Wings  
He passes forward on, He quickly brings  
A differents face, a different sight of Things.  
And Nature altars; this grows weak, this strong,  
This dies, this newly made is firm and young.  
Thus altering Age leads on the World to Fate,  
The Earth is different from her former state;  
And what in former times with ease she bore,  
Grown feeble now, and weak, she bears no more,  
And now doth that she could not do before.  
Besides, 
The Earth bore Monsters.  the Earth produced a numerous train  
Of Monsters, Those her labour wrought in vain;  
Some without Hands, or Feet, or Mouth, or Eyes,  
Some shapeless Lumps, Nature's Absurdities;  
Dull, moveless things, and destitute of Food,  
Which could not fly the bad, nor choose the good.  
A thousand such in vain arose from Earth;  
For Nature frighted at the ugly Birth,  
Their Strength and Life to narrow bounds confined,  
Denied them Food, or to increase their Kind.  
For that one power a thousand things requires,  
Almost as many as it's own desires;  
There must be Food, and Seed, and Organs fit  
For flowing Seed, whilst all the happy night  
The Body lies dissolved in soft delight.  
That Male and Female might their Powers employ,  
They must have Organs fit for mutual Joy.  
But more, 
Why some Kind's are lost.  these Years must numerous kinds deface,  
They could not all preserve their feeble race:  
For those we see remain, and bear their Young,  
Craft, Strength, or Swiftness hath preserved so long.  
Many their Profit, and their Use commends;  
Those species Man preserves, kind Man defends.  
Wild Beasts and Lion's race, their Native Rage  
Preserves secure, thro' all devouring Age.  
Swiftness preserves the Deer, and Craft the Fox:  
The vigilant faithful Dog, the Horse, the Ox,  
We Men defend, we keep the tender Flocks;  
They eat wild Beasts, they fly the dreadful Wood,  
They seek for peace, and much and easy Food,  
Gotten without their toil; and this we give  
For the vast Profits we from them receive.  
But those to whom their Nature gave no force,  
No courage, strength, or swiftness to the course;  
Whom neither Profit could, nor Use commend,  
Those Man refused to feed, or to defend;  
Thus doomed by chance, they lived an easy prey  
To all, and thus their Kind's did soon decay.  
But never Centaurs, 
Not Centaurs.  these were never known,  
That two such Natures should combine in one,  
Such disagreeing powers; absurd, and vain,  
Plain Nonsense! These are Creatures of the Brain,  
A Fool knows this: For Horses often enjoy  
Full growth at three years old; not so a Boy,  
He scarce forgets his Teat, and often at rest,  
As Dreams present, he seeks his Nurse's Breast,  
Than, when the Horse grows old, his Limbs decay,  
And loosened Life gins to fly away,  
The Boy grows strong, he feels the pride of growth,  
A sturdy, vigorous, gay, and bearded Youth:  
Jest you should think such Monsters apt to grow,  
A thoughtful Man above, a Horse below:  
Or S●yllas, whom a numerous train entwines  
Of half Seadogs, and barks above her Loins:  
Or such that live, nor grow an equal time,  
And which at equal years not reach their prime;  
Whom equal years not fill with youthful rage,  
Nor loose their strength again at equal age;  
Whom neither the same Kind's of Beauty fire,  
Nor raise soft thoughts, gay wishes, warm desire;  
Or those that seek, and live by different Food;  
Thus Hemlock kills a Man, for Goats 'tis good.  
Beside, since flames will scorch the Lion's breast,  
And burn, as well as any meaner beast;  
How could Chimeras rise, 
No Chimaera.  or how contain  
Three Kind's, a Lion's head, a Serpent's train,  
A Goat the middle of the fancied frame,  
And still with scorching Nostrils breathing flame?  
Than he that thinks the new made Heaven and Earth,  
Did give to such prodigious Monster's Birth,  
Yet brings no cause to prove the fancy true,  
But still relies on the poor shift, 'twas new,  
May fancy too, that streams enriched the Seas  
With golden Waves, that jewels grew on Trees;  
That Man of such vast Force and Limbs did rise,  
That he could stride the Ocean, whirl the Skies,  
Or any thing mad Fancy can device.  
For though much Seed lay hid, when thoughtful Man,  
And all the various Kind's of Beasts began;  
Yet nothing proves that things of different Kind,  
That disagreeing Natures should be joined,  
Since now the Grass, and Trees, and all that grows,  
And springs from Earth, are never joined like those;  
But each arising from its proper cause  
Remains distinct, and follows Nature's Laws.  
Than Man was hard, 
The state of Man.  as hard as Parent-stones,  
And built on bigger and on firmer Bones;  
The Nerves, that joined their Limbs, were firm and strong,  
Their Life was healthy, and their Age was long.  
Returning Years still saw them in thei● Prime.  
They wearied even the Wings of measuring Time.  
Not Colds, nor Heats, no strong Disease did wait,  
And tell sad news of coming hasty Fate:  
Nature not yet grew weak, not yet began  
To shrink into an Inch, the larger span:  
Like Beasts they lay in every Wood and Cave,  
Gathering the easy Food that Nature gave.  
Not impious Ploughman yet had learned to tear  
His Parents Bowels with the crooked Share;  
None planted fruitful Trees, none dressed the Vine,  
None pruned decaying Boughs, none pressed the Wine;  
Contented they with the poor easy store  
That Sun and Earth bestowed, they wish not more.  
Soft Acorns were their first and chiefest Food,  
And those read Apples that adorn the Wood,  
And make pale Winter blush; such Nature bore  
Moore numerous than, beside a thousand more,  
Which all supplied poor Man with ample store.  
When thirsty, than did purling streams invite  
To satisfy their eager Appetite:  
As now in murmurs loud, the headlong Floods  
●nvite the thirsty Creatures of the Woods.  
Besides, by Night they took their rest in Caves,  
Where little Streams roll on with silent Waves,  
They bubble thro' the Stones, and softly creep,  
As ●earful to disturb the Nymphs that sleep,  
The Moss spread o'er the Marbles seems to weep,  
Whilst other Streams no narrow bounds contain,  
They break such Banks, and spread o'er all the Plain.  
They knew no use of Fire to dress their Food,  
No clothes, but wandered naked o'er the Wood  
They lived to shady Groves, and Caves confined,  
●eer shelter from the Cold, the Heat, and Wind.  
Not fixed Society, no steady Laws,  
No public Good was sought, no common Cause;  
But all at War, each ranged, each sought his Food,  
By Nature taught to seek his private Good.  
Than to renew frail Man's decaying Race,  
Or mutual Lust did prompt them to embrace,  
Or else the greater Vigour of the Male,  
Or some few treacherous Presents did prevail;  
Some Acorns, Apples some, some Pears bestow:  
The thing the same, the price was lesle than now.  
Than strong and swift they did the Beasts pursue,  
Their Arms were Stones and Clubs, and some they slew,  
And some they fled; from those they feared to fight.  
They ran, and owned their Safety to their flight.  
When drowsy Night came on, they naked lay  
Spread o'er the Ground like Bears, and rough as th●y;  
Their sleep was sound, they waked not all the Night,  
Nor wandered here and there, whilst shades affright,  
Nor viewed the East with longing Eyes for Light;  
But all dissolved in sweetest slumbers lay,  
Till the bright Sun arose, and brought the Day.  
For since they had beheld, e'er since their Birth,  
They Day and Night by turns spread o'er the Earth,  
They never feared the Sun should loose his Light,  
And all lie buried in eternal Night:  
The most they dreaded was the furious Beast,  
For those i' th' dead of Night did often molest,  
And lengthen into Death their slumbering Rest.  
Sometimes they left their Caves by Night, and fled,  
Roused from their sostest sleep, all pale, half dead,  
Whilst Boars and Lions came, and seized their Bed.  
Yet lesser died than now; for singly than  
Each caught within the limits of the Den,  
Whilst the Beast tore the Living trembling Food,  
And revealed in full draughts of reeking Blood,  
With dreadful cries he filled each Wood and Cave,  
To see his Limbs go down a Living Grave:  
Others that 'scaped with Life, but wounded, groaned,  
Holding their Hand on the corrupting Wound,  
Whilst trembling Echoes did restore the Sound:  
Not skilled in Herbs, and now grown desperate,  
With horrid cries they called on lingering Fate,  
Till Worms increased, and eating thro' the Clay,  
Made passage for the Soul to fly away.  
But than no Armies fell at once, no Plain  
Grew read, no Rivers swelled with Thousands slain;  
None ploughed the Floods, none ship wracked made their Graves  
I' th' Sea, none drank cold Death among the Waves:  
But often the furious Ocean raged in vain;  
No mischief done, the Waves grew mild again:  
Not Ships were found, nor could the treacherous smile  
Of smooth-faced Waves tempt one poor Man to ●oil.  
Than Want, now Surfeits bring a hasty Death,  
Our Bellies swell so much they stop our Breath.  
Than poisonous Herbs, when plucked by chance, did kill,  
Now Poysoning's grown an Art, improved by skill.  
But when they built their Huts, when Fire began,  
And Skins of murdered Beasts gave clothes to Man;  
When One to One confined in chaste Embrace,  
Enjoyed sweet Love, and saw a numerous Race;  
Than Man grew soft, the Temper of his Mind  
Was changed from rough to mild, from fierce to kind.  
For used to Fire, his Limbs refused to bear  
The piercing sharpness of the open Air:  
And Lust enfeebled him; beside, the Child,  
Softened by Parent's Love, grew tame and mild.  
Than Neighbours, by degrees familiar grown, 

Those that endeavour to disgrace Religion, usually represent it as a trick of State, and a Politic invention to keep the credulous in Awe; which however absurd and frivolous, yet is a strong argument against the Atheist, who cannot declare his Opinions, unless he be a Rebel, and a disturber of the Commonwealth: The Cause of God, and his Caesar are the same, and no affront can be offered to one, but it reflects on both; and that the Epicurean Principles are pernicious to Societies, is evident from the account they give of the rise of them. First than we must imagine Men springing out of the Earth, as from the Teeth of Cadmus his Dragon, (fratres fungorum, & tuberum, as Bias called the Athenians, who counted it a great glory to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,) and like those too, fierce, and cruel; but being softened by natural decay, and length of Time, grew mild; and weary of continual wars, made leagues, and combinations, for mutual defence and security; and invested some Person with power to overlook each man's actions, and to punish, or reward those that broke, or kept their Promises. Now if Societies began thus, 'tis evident that they are founded on Interest alone, and therefore self-preservation is the only thing that obliges Subjects to Duty; and when they are strong enough to live without the protection of their Prince, all the bonds to Obedience ●re canceled, and Mutiny and Rebellion will necessarily break forth; for we all know, how ambitious ●very Man is of Rule, how passionately he desire's it, ●nd eagerly follows, though ten Thousand difficulties attend the pursuit: What it he breaks his promise, recalls his former consent, and acts against the Law ●hat was founded on it? Why need he be concer●ed, if he hath got the longest Sword, and is above the ●ear of Punishment; will not a prospect of a certain ●ofit lead him on to Villainy? And why should his conscience startle at wickedness, that is attended ●ith pleasure? since all the Epicurean Virtues are ●othing but Fear, and Interest, and the former is removed, and the latter invites. 'Tis true, as Lucre●us says, strange discoveries have been made, and Plu●arch gives us very memorable Instances: Plots have ●een defeated, but as many proved successful: And how ●eak that single pretence, how insufficient to secure government, is evident from the daily Plots, and ●ontrivances, Murders and Treasons, that disturb us; ●o all the Terrors of Religion join with these ●ears and endeavour to suppress them. And therefore these Opinions are dangerous, and destructive of society's, and, as Origen says of his Purgatory fires, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 others though pretending to better Principles than tho●e of ●picurus, yet are altogether as faulty in stating the rise of Power; and more absurd: For his Opinion is agreeable to his other Positions, but theirs contradict the Creation they assert, and the Providence they allow; I mean those that declare the People to be the spri●● and fountain of Power, and that from their consent all the Authority of the Governor is derived: Su●● 〈◊〉 Men never considered the relation betwixt 〈◊〉 and his Creatures; and what an absolute dominion he hath over those to whom he first gave, and still continues Being. But let us look on Man under that circumstance, and than how naked, how devested of all power will he appear? How unable to dispose of himself, and submit to the Laws of his fellow free Agent? unless he endeavours as muc● as is possible to disown the Right of the Deity, and turns Rebel against the Author of his Being. For ho● can any one submit himself to another, without the express permission of him that hath absolute domini● over him? And where is that Permission? Is it founded on Reason or Scripture? Doth Benevolence, or Self-preservation, the two proposed motives to Society, spea● any such thing? And doth not Scripture expressly oppose this Opinion? Well than, all Power descends fro● above; 'tis the gift of that Being to whom it Principally belongs, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kings are fro● God, is true both in the account of the sober H●● than, and good Christian: And therefore every King that ever was, or is, whether he obtains the Crow● by Succession, or Election, (except the jewish must be acknowledged Absolute: Liberty and Prope● of the Subjects depend on his Will, and his Pleasu● is Law; for none can confine or limit that Po●● which God bestows, but himself: And therefore ● prescribe Laws to the Governor, to choose or refu●●im on certain conditions, is to invade the Prerogative of Heaven, and rebel against the Almighty. Thus when God designed to limit the Power of the ●ewish Monarchy, he described Laws himself; but ●ince he hath not fixed any to other Princes, every King, as such, (for I do not respect their particular Grants to the People, which they are bound to observe) is Absolute.  
To free this from all exception, it must be considered that the Discourse is concerning the Origine of Power, which is now settled in some Persons, ●nd by which Communities are governed. The Epi●ureans act very agreeably to their impious Principles, when they make fear and distrust the only motives to Agreement, and the pacts to which the scattered multitude agreed to be the foundation of the Power of the Prince: It being impossible for them, who had excluded Providence, to found any other Original: But this Opinion as delivered by them, de●ending upon their other absurd and impious Philosophy must be weak and irrational; yet still this ●otion is embraced, though not upon the same motives; Faction and Ambition propagate that Error, which was nothing else but innocent Ignorance in the Ancients: They considered Man as Single, unable to live with Security or Comfort, because his fel●ows, either out of Pride, Lust, or Covetousness, would endeavout to rob him of his Enjoyments, and ●his Life too, if it hindered them in the prosecution of their wishes: Thus they saw a necessity of Government, and because it proceeded from Man's natural Imperfections, they thought him, that by his Wisdom or his Strength was most fitted for the defence and preservation of others, was as it were a Lord by Nature, and Born a Sovereign: Thus Plutarch, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 'Tis the first and most fundamental Law, that He that is able to protect, is a King by Nature to him that needs Protection: Thus Historians make the Election of the first Kings to be for their Strength, their Wisdom or their Beauty: And Aristotle peremptorily determines that the Barbarians are slave● by Nature to the Greeks: This was innocent enough in them, but how can we be excused who have such perfect knowledge of a Creation, who hea● Wisdom proclaim that by Her King's Reign, who made it an Article in Edward the 6th's time, and now every day in our Public Prayers profess that God is the only Ruler of Princes? From whence 'tis necessarily inferred that he only bestows the Power, for if it came from the multitude, what is more evident than that they could make what Conditions they pleased, subject them to an High Court of justice, and call them to an account if th●y act contrary to their pleasure? It being certain, and confirmed by Common Practice that he that voluntarily parts from his right, may do it on what terms he thinks fit: Now if it is certain (and demonstration proves i●) that God is the alone giver of Power, if the Prince is, as Plutarch and Menander say, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a living Image of the Deity; if, as Pliny, qui vic● Dei erga hominum Genus fungeretur, and every King whether Elective or Successive, Rules by the sam● Authority, as 'tis certain they do, because Bo●● have Power, and the People can give them none; than what is more certain than that all Kings which ●ay soever they are enthroned before they have ●ade any grants to their People, are Absolute? And ●at their Pleasure is Law, for otherwise there ●●uld be none, that Liberty and Property depend ●●on their William. 
Nam propriae Telluris herum neque me, neque illum,  
Nec quenquam statuit Natura—   
●or doth Nature provide more Privileges for one ●an another: And if the Principles are true, and ●e inference naturally follows, as it doth, because ●e People that cannot bestow the Power have no ●ght to make conditions for its Exercise, and set limits how far it shall extend, and make such and such ●greements for the admission of the Prince; what ●rm is there in this innocent Truth? For we discourse ●●ly of Kings as they first are, without any reference 〈◊〉 such and such particular Communities, where ●ey have been pleased to limit themselves; to grant ●iviledges to their Subjects, and settle Property; and infirmed all this with Oa●hs, and engaged their ●oyal Word and Promise before God and Man for ●eir performance.  
I suppose it is granted on all hands that the King ●supreme, that upon any pretence whatsoever it is ●eason to resist; and so there can be no fear of ●nishment, no tye upon the King but his own Con●ence; sufficit quod Deum expectet ultorem; yet ●o the Law cannot Punish, it can direct: Thomas it is ●t a Master, it is a Guide, and such a one, as, bemuse of his Oath, he is bound to follow: For though ●e People cannot, He can limit himself; for being Rational ●reature, and entrusted with Power, without any particular Rules for the Guidance of it; his Reason is to be his director, and therefore according to the tempers and particular humours of the People, he may make Laws, settle Maxims of Government, and oblige himself to make those his measures, because his Reason assures him that this is the best Method for the preservation of the Society, the maintenance of Peace, and obtaining those ends for which he was entrusted with this Power.  
And since Princes must die, and Government being necessary, Succession is equally so, and therefore it may seem that every Prince owing his Power only to the same Original from which the first derived it, is at liberty to confirm such and such Privileges and immunities which his Predecessors have granted; yet upon a serious view of the premised reason, no such consequence will follow; for since the Predecessors have found these Laws agreeable to the tempers of the People, and the only way to preserve Peace, 'tis evident that those are Rational; and since he is to use his power according to Right reason, there is an antecedent Obligation on him to assent to those Laws; and make those the measures of his Government; unless some extraordinary Case intervenes which requires an alteration of these Laws, and than that Method of abrogating old, and making new Ones is to be followed, whic● constant experience hath found Rational: And since 〈◊〉 Prince cannot be bound by any ties but those of Conscience, this Opinion leaves all the Obligations possible upon him.    
Made Leagues, and Bonds, and each secured his own:  
And than by Signs and broken Words agreed,  
That they would keep, preserve, defend, and feed  
Defensless Infants, and the Women too,  
As Natural Pity prompted them to do.  
Thomas this fixed not an Universal Peace,  
Yet many kept their Faith, and lived at Ease;  
Or else almost as soon as it began,  
The Race had fallen, this Age ne'er seen a Man.  
Kind Nature power of framing Sounds affords  
To Man, 
How Words were found.  and than Convenience taught us Words.  
As Infants now, for want of Words, device  
Expressive Signs, they speak with Hands and Eyes;  
Their Speaking Hand the want of Words supplies:  
All know their Powers, they are Nature shown.  
Thus tender Calves with naked Fronts will run,  
And fiercely push before their Horns are grown:  
Young Lions show their Teeth, prepare their Paws,  
The Bears young Cubs unsheathe their crooked Claws,  
Whilst yet their Nails are young, and soft their jaws.  
The Birds straight use their Wings, on them rely,  
As soon as Dangers press, they strive to fly.  
Besides,—  
That One the various Names of Things contrived,  
And that from Him their Knowledge All derived,  
'Tis fond to think: for how could that Man tell  
The Names of Things or lisp a Syllable,  
And not another Man performed as well?  
Besides, if others used not Words as soon,  
How was their Use, and how the Profit known?  
Or how could he instruct the Other's Mind,  
How make them understand what was designed?  
For his, being single, neither Force nor Wi●,  
Can conquer many Men, nor they submit  
To learn his Words, and practise what was fit.  
How he persuade those so unfit to hear?  
Or how could savage They with Patience bear  
Strange Sounds and Words, still rattling in their Ear?  
But now since Organs fit, since Voice and Tongue,  
By Nature's Gift bestowed, to Man belong,  
What Wonder is it than, that Man should frame,  
And give each different thing a different Name?  
Since Beasts themselves do make a different Noise,  
Oppressed by Pains and Fears, or filled with Joys.  
This plain Examples show: When Dogs begin  
To bend their Backs, and show their Teeth, and grin,  
When hollow Murmurs show deep Rage within:  
Their Voice is different when they bark aloud,  
And with strong Roar fright the trembling Crowd:  
And when they lick their Whelps with tender Tongue,  
Or when they play, and wanton with their Young;  
Now seem to by't, but never chop their Jaws,  
Now spurning, but with tender fearful Paws:  
Than Flattering, soft and tender is their Voice,  
Far different from that grating howling Noise  
They make, when shut alone, or creeping low,  
Whine, as they strive to eat the coming blow.  
Beside,  
The Horse with different Noises fills the Air,  
When hot and young he neighs upon his Mare,  
Roused by strong Love; or when by fierce Alarms,  
He snorts, and bears his Riders on to Arms.  
Thus Birds, as Hawks, or those that cut the Flood,  
Make different noises as they eat their Food;  
Or when they fiercely fight, or when pursue  
Their trembling Prey; each Passion hath a new.  
Sometimes at change of Air they change their Voice:  
Thus Daws, and Ominous Crows, with various Noise  
Affright the Farmer's▪ and fill all the Plain,  
Now calling for rough Winds, and now for Rain.  
Well than, since Beasts, and Birds, though dumb commence  
As various Voices, as their various Sense;  
How easy was it than for Men to frame,  
And give each different thing a different Name?  
Now for the rise of Fire: 
How Fire began.  Swift Thunder thrown  
From broken sulphurous Clouds, first brought it down;  
For many things take Fire, when Lightning flies,  
And sulphurous Vapours fill the lower Skies;  
And Trees, when shaken by a Southern Blast,  
Grow warm, than hot, and so take Fire at last;  
Their Branches mingling with a rude Embrace,  
Burst into Flames.—  
And thus our Fires might rise from either Cause.  
The Sun first taught them to prepare their Meat;  
Because they had observed his quickening Heat, 
Why they dress their Fo●d.   
Spread o'er the Hills, and every shady Wood,  
Did ripen Fruits, and make them fit for Food.  
Hence various Methods they did still pursue,  
And changed their former Life to take a new.  
The Wiser and the Wittier left the Field,  
And Towns for safety did begin to build;  
By Nature, Kings.— 
Division of Lands.   
Than Cattles too was shared, and steady Bounds  
Marked out to every Man his proper Grounds;  
Each had his proper share, each what was fit,  
According to his Beauty, Strength, or Wit;  
For Beauty than, and Srength, had most command,  
Those had the greatest share in Beasts and Land.  
But when once Gold was found, the powerful Ore  
Saw Light, and Man gaped after g●●tering store,  
Than Wit and Beauty were esteemed not more:  
But Wealth enjoyed their Honour, seized their place,  
The Wise and Beauteous botv to Fortune's Ass.  
But if Men would live up to Reason's Rules,  
They would not scrape and cringe to wealth Fools:  
For 'tis the Greatest Wealth to live content  
With little, 
Against Ambition.  such the greatest Joy resent;  
And bounteous Fortune still affords supply  
Sufficient for a Thrifty Luxury.  
But Wealth and Power Men often strive to gain,  
As that could bring them Ease, or make a Chain  
To fix unsteady Fortune, all in vain.  
For often when they climb the tedious way,  
And now i' th' reach of top where Honours lay,  
Quick strokes from Envy, as from Thunder thrown,  
Tumble the bold aspiring Wretches down;  
They found a Grave, who strove to reach a Crown.  
And thus 'tis better, than proud Sceptres sway,  
To live a quiet Subject, and Obey.  
Those former Kings now murdered, they o'erthrown,  
The glory of the Sceptre, and the Crown  
Decreased: The Diadem, that sign of State,  
Now wept in drops of Blood, the Wearer's Fate,  
Spurned by the Common Feet, who feared not more:  
'Tis sweet to spurn the things we feared before.  
Thus Monarchy was lost.—  
That Sun once set, a thousand little Stars  
Gave a dim Light to jealousies and Wars, 
Commonwealths.   
Whilst each among the many sought the Throne,  
And thought no Head like his deserved the Crown.  
This made them seek for Laws, this led their choice  
To Rulers; Power was given by public voice.  
For Men worn out, and tired by constant strife,  
At last began to ●ish an Easy Life,  
And so submitted of their own accord  
To rigid Laws, and their Elected Lord.  
For when each single Man, led on by Rage,  
Grew bloody in Revenge, and strove t'engage  
His Enemy, 'twas an unpleasant Age.  
Hence Men grew weary of continual Wars,  
Which soured the sweet of Life with constant Fears:  
Because diffusive wrong can spread o'er All,  
No state secure; nay, of● the wrongs recoil  
With double Force on the Contriver's Fall:  
Nor can those Men expect to live at Ease,  
Who violate the common Bonds of Peace.  
Thomas now they lie concealed from Man and God,  
They still must fear 'twill sometimes come abroad;  
Since some diseased, and some by Night betray  
The wicked Actions they have done by Day;  
Thomas hid in Night, scarce Hell so deep as They.  
Now sing, my Muse, for that's my next Design,  
Why All do bow to somewhat as Divine,  
Why every Nation hath its proper Shrine?  
Why All do Temples build, why Altars raise?  
And why all Sacrifice on Sacred Days?  
How this diffused, 
Why Men think there are Gods.  this lasting Fame was spread  
Of Powers above? Whence came that awful Dread,  
That Parent of Religion thro' the Rout,  
Which forceth them to bow, and grow devout?  
This is an easy Task: For Newborn Man  
Just sprang from Earth when first this Frame began:  
Divine and Glorious Forms descending came,  
And struck his Mind by Day, by Night the same;  
But than increased, their working Fancies showed  
Great Limbs and Strength, and fit to make a God.  
And these they thought had Sense, because they shook  
(As Fancy told) their Limbs, and pro●●●y spoke,  
Their words were all Majestic as their Look.  
Eternal too, because, a new supply,  
A constant Stream, where e'er they turned their Eye.  
Of Forms came in, and showed the Deity,  
Nor could they think such Mighty things could fail,  
Or Powerful Blows on so much strength prevail.  
And Happy too; because no Fear destroys,  
No Dread of sullen Death corrupts their Joys:  
Beside, in Dreams they often seemed to do  
A thousand various things, and Wonders show;  
Yet never weary they, but vigorous still,  
Their Strength as much unbounded as their William.  
Besides, they saw the Heavens in Order roll,  
Their various Motion round the steady Pole;  
The Seasons of the Year by constant Laws  
Run round, but knowing not the Natural Cause:  
They therefore thought the Gods must rule above,  
(Poor shift!) and all at their Direction move.  
In Heaven they plac'● their Seat, their sta●ely Throne;  
For there the Sun, the Stars, and various Moon,  
And Day, and Night, their constant Courses run.  
And Hail, and Rain, and thro' a broken Cloud  
Swift Lightning flies, and Thunder roars aloud.  
Unhappy Man, who taught, the Gods engage  
In these, that they are subject unto Rage,  
A Curse to Theirs, to Ours, and future Age.  
What Grief they brought themselves, to us what Fears,  
To poor Posterity what Sighs, what Tears?  
Alas, what Piety! Alas, 'tis none  
To bend all covered to a senseless Stone,  
Lie prostrate, or to visit every Shrine,  
Or with spread Arms invoke the Powers Divine  
Before their Temples, whilst the Altar flows  
With Blood of Beasts, and we make Vows on Vows.  
But sure 'tis Piety to view the Whole, 
What is Piety.   
And search all Nature with a quiet Soul.  
For when we view the Heavens, and how the Sun,  
And Moon, and Stars, their constant Courses run;  
Than Doubts, that lay oppressed with other Cares,  
Begin to raise their head, and bring new Fears.  
We doubt; What are there Gods that rule above,  
At whose Direction the bright Stars do move?  
For Ignorance in Causes troubles Man,  
And hence we doubt if e'er the World began,  
If it e'er shall end, how long the Orbs shall roll,  
How long the Stars run round their steady Pole;  
Or if preserved by Gods, can stand the rage  
And powerful Envy of devouring Age.  
Besides,  
What Mind's unshaken, and what Soul not awed,  
And who not thinks the angry Gods abroad,  
Whose Limbs not shrink, when dreadful Thunder hurled  
From broken Clouds shakes the affrighted World?  
What? do not Cities, do not Nations fear,  
And think their dismal Dissolution near?  
Why do not Tyrants than, and Mighty Lords,  
Recall their wicked Deeds, and boasting Words,  
And fear that now Revenge is surely come?  
Do not they tremble at approaching Doom?  
Besides, when Winds grow high, when Storms increase,  
And scatter warlike Navies thro' the Seas;  
When Men for Battle armed, must now engage  
A stronger Foe, and fight the Water's rage:  
Doth not the trembling General prostrate fall,  
And beg a Calm o'th' Gods, or prosperous Gale?  
In vain, the Storms drive on, not Offering saves;  
All Shipwrecked drink cold Death amongst the Waves.  
And hence we fancy unseen Powers in things,  
Whose Force and Will such strange Confusion brings,  
And spurns, and overthrown our Greatest Kings.  
Besides, when Earthquakes shake this mighty Ball,  
And tottering Cities fall, or seem to fall;  
What than if Men, defensless Men despise  
Their own weak Selves, and look with anxious Eyes  
For present help, and Pity from the Skies.  
What wonder if they think some Powers control,  
And Gods with Mighty Force do rule the Whole?  
But farther: Powerful Gold, first raised his head, 
How Metals were found.   
And Brass and Silver, and ignoble Lead,  
When shady Woods on lofty Mountains grown,  
Felt scorching Fires, whether from Thunder thrown,  
Or else by Man's Design the Flames arose,  
Who burned the Neighbouring Woods to fright their Foes:  
Or else delighted all with fruitful grounds,  
They sought more Meadows, and enlarged their Bounds;  
Or greedy to increase their Store of Food,  
And take the Beasts, they fired the sheltering Wood;  
For thus Men hunted, whilst no Nets were found,  
Nor Forests trembled at the barking Hound:  
What ever 'twas that gave these Flames their Birth,  
Which burned the towering Trees, and scorched the Earth.  
Hot Streams of Silver, Gold, and Led, and Brass,  
As Nature gave an hollow proper place,  
Descended down, and formed a Glittering Mass.  
This when unhappy Mortals chanced to spy,  
And the gay Colour pleased their Childish Eye;  
They dug the certain Cause of Misery.  
And than observing that it showed the Frame  
And Figure of the Hollow whence it came;  
They thought, these melted would with ease receive  
Whatever shapes the Artist pleased to give;  
Or drawn to breadth, or take the keenest Edge,  
And so the Hook be framed, or subtle Wedge,  
Or other Instruments, all apt, and good  
To cut, or cleave, or scrape, or hollow Wood  
But Gold they tried in vain, the Metal Broke,  
Or the soft Edge was turned at every stroke;  
This they contemned, the blunted Gold despised,  
And feeble Silver; Brass alone was prized.  
But now the feeble and the useless Ore  
Gets all the Honour, Brass is prized no more.  
Thus Time doth change the Dignity of Things:  
For some He bears away with swiftest Wings,  
And hurls into Contempt; brings others forth,  
And gets them new, and still preserves their worth.  
Whilst Cruelty was not improved by Art,  
And Rage's not furnished yet with Sword nor Dart;  
With Fists, or Boughs, or Stones the Warriors fought,  
These were the only weapons Nature taught:  
But when Flames burnt the Trees, and scorched the Ground▪  
Than Brass appeared and Iron fit to wound.  
Brass first▪ was used because the softer Ore,  
And Earth's cold Veins contained a greater store:  
Thus Brass did plough, and Brazen Trumpets sound,  
Their Weapons Brass, and Brass gave every wound;  
Thus armed, athey did invade their Neighbour's Field,  
And took his Beasts; to Armed the Naked yield.   

At last, they melting down the rigid Mass,  
Made Iron Swords, and than despised the Brass:  
Than they began to plough with Iron Shares,  
And Iron Weapons only used in Wars.   

Thus Men first learned to ride a single Horse,  
And whilst their steady Left hands ruled the Course,  
Their stronger Right-hands fought; before they knew,  
Or brought to Wars a Chariot drawn by Two:  
Than Four were joined, and than the armed Cars,  
And Castled Elephants were brought to Wars;  
The Moors first taught them to endure the Blows,  
And break the Ranks and Orders of the Foes.  
Thus Rage invented still new Arms for Fight;  
New dreadful Weapons still, and fit to fright.   

Some trained the furious Bull, and some the Boar;  
Before the Parthian Ranks did Lions roar,  
With armed Guides sent out to s●our the Plain,  
And fright their Foes; but these Designs were vain:  
Because when hot in Fight, they fiercly fall  
On either side, and Common Foes to All,  
Confusedly Enemy's, or Friends engage;  
Shaking their dreadful Heads, and fired with Rage.  
The Horses frighted with the dreadful Roar,  
Ran o'er the Plain and would obey not more;  
The Beasts leapt on their Friends, and tore their Face;  
Or seized behind, and with a rude embrace,  
They bore their wondering frighted Friends to Ground,  
Whilst Teeth and cruel Paws did doubly wound.  
The Bulls grew wild, and with destructive Force  
They tossed, or trod the Men, and gored the Horse.  
Whole Ranks and Troops fell by the furious Boar,  
Their Arms, yet whole, blushed with their Master's Gore:  
For though the Horses turned, though often did rear,  
And stand aloft, and pawed the yielding Air;  
Yet all in vain they strove to eat the wound,  
Their Nerves all cut they struck the shaking Ground.  
Thus what seemed tame at Home, grew wild again,  
And fierce, when scouring o' re the warlike Plain,  
Their Rage was fired by Tumult, Wounds and Noise,  
Refused to hear their former Master's Voice,  
But fled, much mischief done, as furious Bulls,  
When the weak Axe descends, nor breaks their Skulls,  
They start, and fright the Priest, and bellowing loud,  
Run frantic round, and gore the Pious Crowd.  
'Tis safer far to say, that this was done  
〈◊〉 some of all the Worlds, than fix on One:  
Yet I can scarce believe but that they knew,  
Before their sad Experience proved it true,  
The Ills of these: but that the weaker side  
The various Methods of Confusion tried,  
Not hoping to subdue; but bring fierce woes,  
And Grief, and Pains upon their stronger Foes.  
But more, the Garments 
How Garments.  by the Ancients worn,  
Were sewn with tender Twigs, or pinned with Thorn,  
Before they learned to wove: the Wheel, the Round,  
Whilst rigid Iron lay within the Ground,  
Were all unknown; those things did first begin  
When that appeared, and Men learned first to Spin:  
because the Wits of Men are finer far,  
●nd fit to invent than women's are;  
Till laughed and jeered at by the ruder Swains,  
They taught the Women, and manured the Plains,  
And hardened all their Limbs with rougher Pains.   

Nature first taught them how to plant and sow; 
How Men sowed.   
For they observed that falling Seeds did grow;  
They saw them fixed, and bound to steady Roots,  
Than rise, and spread, and promise' Noble Fruits:  
Than some began to grafted, and till the Field,  
And found the Trees a better burden yield,  
When dressed with Care, and in a richer Soil;  
The Fruits increased, and did reward their Toil:  
They forced the cumbring Wood to narrow bounds,  
Enlarging still their Corn, and Pasture Grounds:  
The Tyrant Wood, that all the Plains did fill,  
Was now confined unto the barren Hill;  
And left the Vales to Olive, Corn, and Wine,  
Thro which smooth Streams in fair Meanders twine;  
Now kiss the tender Roots with wanton play,  
Now flow again, enriching all their way;  
Such beauteous Pride did all the Valleys show,  
So taking pretty, as our Gardens now,  
Where Fruitful Trees in decent Order grow. 
How Singing.    

Thro all the Woods they heard the charming Noise  
Of chirping Birds, and tried to frame their Voice,  
And imitate. Thus Birds instructed Man,  
And taught them Songs, before their Art began:  
And whilst soft Evening gales blew o'er the Plains,  
And shook the sounding Reeds, they taught the Swains;  
And thus the Pipe was framed, and tuneful Reed;  
And whilst the tender Flocks securely feed,  
The harmless Shepherds tuned their Pipes to Love,  
And Amaryllis sounds in every Grove.  
Thus Time, and thus sagacious Men produce  
A thousand things, or for Delight, or Use.  
These charmed the Swains, and these were want to please,  
When Feasts were done, for than all seek for Ease.  
Than underneath a loving Mirtle's shade,  
Close by a purling Stream supinely laid,  
When Spring with gaudy Flowers the Earth had spread,  
And sweetest Roses grew around their Head,  
Envied by Wealth, and Power, with small Expense  
They often enjoyed the vast Delight of Sense:  
Than laughing merry jests, and Country-play,  
And Tales began, as Once upon a Day:  
Than pleasant Songs they sang, and wanton grown  
Each plucked, and bound his Flowers, and made a Crown,  
And with uneven steps they danced around;  
Their heavy Leaps still shook the trembling Ground;  
Whilst all the idle Crowd, that flocked to view,  
Laughed much, because the Tricks seemed strange, and new:  
and thus they passed the Day in gay Delight,  
And watched, and fed their tender Flocks by Night;  
No need of Sleep, that want the Songs supply,  
The Noise chased Morpheus from their willing Eye.  
These now our wantoness use, with Toil and Pain,  
They learn to dance in Measure; all in vain.  
For these can reap no joy, not more Content  
Than what these Earthborn Swains did first resent:  
For whilst we know not better, but possess  
A present Good, it doth extremely please;  
The later Good our varying Thoughts employs,  
And we contemn the Gust of former Joys.  
Thus Man despised their ancient easy Food,  
Their Acorns, and their Apples of the Wood:  
When clothes were found, and other Cover spread,  
They scorned their Skins of Beasts, and Grassy Bed;  
The Skins of Beasts, which sure the first that found,  
Not long enjoyed, but by a treacherous wound  
He fell; so highly than, the now despised,  
Contemned, neglected Skins of Beasts were prized.  
Thus Men did fight for Skins, those raised their Cares,  
But Gold and Purple now are cause of Wars:  
The fault is ours, for they could only found  
These Skins as clothes against the Cold and Wind;  
But now what harm, if none go proudly dressed  
In Cloth of Gold, or an embroid'red Vest,  
Since me●ner Garments yield as much defence  
Against Wind and Cold, as much preserve the Sense?  
Than wretched Man's Endeavours are in vain,  
They fruitlessly consume their Years in Pain,  
Not knowing how to use, nor how to measure  
Their boundless Wish, nor height of real Pleasure:  
This drives them on into a Sea of Cares,  
And the destructive Rage, and storms of Wars.  
The Sun still running round his Yearly Race.,  
Showed all the Seasons turned by constant cause,  
By certain Order ruled, and steady Laws.  
Some lived in Castles than, some built a Town,  
And Land divided, each enjoyed his own.  
Than mighty Ships, driven by the labouring Wind,  
Flew o'er the Seas, and distant Nations joined,  
Whilst Leagues and Bonds the Neighbouring Towns combined:  
Than Letters found, and the Poetic Rage  
First told the Noble Actions of the Age:  
But all beyond lies hid in dismal Night,  
And only seen by searching Reason's Light.  
Thus Ships, thus clothes, thus Wine, and Oil began,  
And Towns, the comforts and support of Man;  
But bettered all, to due Perfection brought.  
By searching Wits from long Experience taught.  
Thus Time, and thus sagacious Men produce  
A thousand Things, or for Delight, or Use;  
For one thing known, doth vigorous Light impart  
For farther Search, and leads to Height of Art.   
The End of the Fifth Book.   

LUCRETIUS.  
THE SIXTH BOOK.  
AThens first gave us Laws, 
The Praise of Epicurus.  and changed our Food,  
For Acorns tender Fruit and Corn bestowed  
On wretched Man; each was a mighty Good.  
But than she taught us how to live at Ease,  
She taught the Joys of Life, and showed us Peace,  
When Epicurus risen, when He began,  
That Oracle of Truth, that more than Man:  
The fame of whose Inventions still survived,  
And raised an everlasting Pyramid,  
As high as Heaven the Top, as Earth the Basis wide:  
For He observing some, that could supply  
Contented Nature's Thrifty Luxury;  
Happy in Honours, and in Wealth's Embrace,  
And doubly happy in a Noble Race;  
Still groaned at home, with Cares, and Fears oppressed  
Each found a sad Disturber in his Breast;  
Imagined straight some Fault lay hid in Man,  
Whence this Corruption of the Joys began:  
Because his Wish is boundless, vast his Mind;  
The Goods ran thro', and left no Sweet hehind;  
Or else some ill Opinion still destroys  
The entering Good, and still sours all his Joys:  
Than He, the Mighty He, by powerful Rules,  
And true Philosophy reformed our Souls;  
He purged away all vain and empty Care,  
And taught what Man should hope, what Man should fear;  
The End at which our Actions aim, He showed,  
And taught an easy way to found the Good:  
What we from Chance, or Nature's force may fear,  
And taught us how t'avoid, or how to bear,  
And proved that Man is fond vexed with Care.  
For we, as Boys at Night, at Day do fear  
Shadows, as vain too, and senseless as those are;  
Wherhfore that Darkness that o'respreads our Souls,  
Day can't disperse, but those eternal Rules,  
Which from firm Premises true Reason draws,  
And a deep insight into Nature's Laws.  
And therefore I'll proceed. Now since the Sky,  
And all that is, or can be framed on high,  
Is mortal, once was made, and once must die;  
Since this is proved, now I'll go farther on,  
And finish this so happily begun.  
The various wonders of the lower Air  
Perplex men's doubtful thoughts with vexing Care,  
And make the Wretches bent with slavish Fear:  
For Ignorance of Causes heaves the Mind  
To Powers above; as Birds fly high when blind:  
We see Effects: But when their Causes lie  
Beyond the ken of vulgar Reason's Eye,  
They are ascribed unto the Deity.  
For even those few exalted Souls that know  
The Gods must live at Ease, not look below;  
If they look up, and view the World above,  
And wonder how these glorious Being's move,  
They are entrapped, they bind their slavish Chain.  
And sink to their Religious Fears again.  
And than the World with Heavenly Tyrants fill,  
Whose Force is as unbounded as their William.  
Deluded Ignorants! who ne'er did see  
By Reason's Light, what can, what cannot be;  
How All at last must yield to fatal Force,  
What steady Bounds con●ine their Natural Course;  
And therefore Err. If You refuse to fly  
Such thoughts, unworthy of the Deity;  
But think th●y act such things as break their Ease,  
And opposite to joy, and Happiness;  
Than thou shalt surely smart, and fancying still  
The Gods are angry, fear a coming ill:  
Thomas no revengeful Thoughts their Minds employ,  
No Thirst to punish Man disturbs their Joy;  
Yet thou dost think their happy quiet Age  
Still vexed with waking Cares, and violent Rage.  
Nor shalt thou visit on the Sacred Days  
Their shrines with quiet Mind, or sing their Praise.  
Besides, the Images, the Forms that rise  
From their pur● Limbs, and strike they Reason's Eyes,  
And constantly present the Deities,  
Those Images will still disturb thy Mind,  
Strike deep, and wound, and leave Despair behind:  
And than how sad thy Life? what pungent Cares  
Will vex thy wretched Soul? what anxious Fears?  
But now to chase these Phantoms out of Sight  
By the plain Magic of true Reason's Light,  
Thomas I have sung a Thousand Things before,  
My Labouring Muse must sing a Thousand more, 
●he Subject.   
How Thunder, Storm, and how swift Lightning flies,  
Singeing with ●iery Wings the wounded Skies;  
Jest Superstitious You observe the Flame,  
If those quick Fires from lucky Quarters came,  
Or with sad Omen fell, and how they burn  
Thro closest Stones, and waste, and than return.  
And you, my sweetest Muse, come lead me on,  
I 'meager, and 'tis time that I was gone;  
Come lead me on, and show the Path to gain  
The Race and Glory too, and Crown my Pain.  
First than, the Dreadful Thunder 
Of Thunder  roars aloud,  
When fight Winds drive heavy Cloud on Cloud,  
For where the Heaven is clear, the Sky serene,  
No Dreadful Thunder's heard, no Lightning seen;  
But where the Clouds are thick, there Thunders rise,  
The furious Infant's born, and speaks, and dies.  
Now Clouds are not so thick, so close combined  
As Stones, nor yet so thin, and so refined  
As rising Mists, or subtle Smoke, or Wind;  
For than the upper Clouds, like weighty S●one,  
Would fall abruptly, and come tumbling down;  
Or else disperse like Smoke, and ne'er enclose  
The hanging drops of Rain, nor Hail, now Snows:  
They give the Crack, as o'er a Theatre  
Vast Curtains spread are ruffled in the Ai●  
Or torn, (for such a Sound is often known  
From Thunder's crack) they give a mighty Groan;  
Or as spread clothes, or Shee●s of paper fly  
Before the Wind, and ra●tle o'er the Sky.  
But Clouds meet not directly still, but slide,  
And rudely grate each other's injured side;  
And hence that buzzing Noise we often hear,  
That with harsh Murmurs fills the lower Air;  
Continues long, but with a softer Sound,  
At length it gathers strength, and breaks the Bound.  
But more; the Thunder armed wi●h pointed Flame,  
May seem to shake the World, and break the Frame;  
When e'er a fierce, a strong, and furious Wind,  
In narrow, thick, and hollo● Clouds confined,  
Breaks thro' the Prison with a mighty Noise,  
And shouts at Liberty with dreadful Voice:  
Nor is this strange, when one poor Breath of Air,  
That starts from broken Bladder●, ●ounds so far.  
But more; ' ●is Reason too that Noise should rise,  
When violent Storms rage o'er the lower Skies;  
For Thousand Clouds appear, rough, close combined,  
And thick, and able to resist the Wind:  
Thus Noise must rise; as when the Woods they wound  
The injured Boughs sigh forth a mournful sound:  
These Winds do ●ut the Clouds, and passing thro',  
With murmuring Sound fill all the Air below:  
For that the Winds may break the Clouds, and fly  
Thro all Resistance in the lower Sky,  
'Tis easy to discover, since they break,  
And twist our Trees; yet here their Force is weak.  
Besides, vast waves of Clouds seem rolled above,  
And in confused, and tumbling Order move;  
These meeting strike, and break, and loudly roar,  
As Billows dashing on the trembling Shore.  
Or else hot Thunder falls on Rain, or Snow,  
And dies, or hisses as it pass●s thro':  
As when we quench a glowing Mass, the Fires  
Fly of with Noise, with Noise the Heat expires.  
But if the Cloud is dry, and Thunder fall,  
A crackling Blaze do●h rise, and spread o'er all;  
As when fierce Fires, pressed on by Winds, do seize  
Our Laurel Groves, and waste the Virgin Trees,  
The Leaves all crackle: She that fled the Chase  
Of Phoebus' Love, still flies the Flames embrace.  
Or else vast Hills of Hail, and Rocks of Ice  
May break, and tumbling rattle thro' the Skies:  
For when rough Storms conjoin the parts of Hail,  
Or scattered Ice, their weight must make them fall.  
Quick Lightning 
Lightning.  flies when heavy Clouds rush on,  
And strike, as Steel and Flint, or Stone and Stone,  
For than small sparks appear, and scattered Light  
Breaks swiftly forth, and wakes the sleepy Night:  
The Night amazed gins to haste away,  
As if these Fires were Beams of coming Day.  
And first we see the Light, 
Why we see the Light before we hear the Sound.  and than we hear  
The Noises, those but slowly reach the Ear;  
Because the Images of things do fly  
Moore swift than Sounds, and quickly strike the Eye:  
One Instance clears it; for observe, and see  
When e'er a cruel Axe doth wound a Tree,  
The Tree straight sighs, but if at distance shown,  
We see the Stroke before we hear the Groan:  
So whilst the Noise moves slow, the winged Light  
Flies swiftly on, and strikes the distant Sight:  
Thomas both arose at once, that moves the Eyes,  
Before the slow tongued Thunder speaks, and dies.  
But more; a Cloud seems fired, a Tempest brings  
Swift trembling Flames upon his dreadful Wings,  
When shut within a Cloud, it scorns the bound,  
and strives to break, and whirls, and tumbles round;  
And whirling hollows out the Watery Frame,  
At last grows hot, takes Fire, and breaks in Flame:  
For Motion causes Heat; thus Balls of Lead,  
From Engines thrown, have melted as they fled:  
This Wind grown hot, when loosed from cold embrace  
Of pressing Clouds, and ge●s a larger place,  
It scatters sparks of Fire, which swiftly fly,  
And spread quick Lightnings o'er the lower Sky:  
Than the grave Murmur comes, the Light appears,  
Before the heavy Sound can reach our Ears.  
Now this is done, when Cloud lies heaped on Cloud, 
Clouds 〈◊〉 thick.   
Thence Lightning flies, and Thunder roars aloud;  
Nor must you think this false; because the Eye  
When placed below, sees Clouds more broad than high:  
For look, and see the labouring Winds do bear  
Vast Mountain Clouds, and whirl them thro' the Air,  
Than labouring Winds do move but slowly on,  
And as oppressed with burdens, sigh and groan:  
Or when upon a Mountain's lofty head,  
We see the higher Clouds o'er lower spread;  
And though the Winds all hushed, they cease to move,  
Yet still the low are pressed by those above:  
Than you may guests their Bulk, how high they rea●,  
How vast these real Castles built in Air:  
How great, how strong their Hollows, where the Wind  
Shut up, grows fierce, and scorns to be confined,  
But roars thro' all the Clouds; as Beasts disdain  
The Den's Confinement, and the slavish Chain;  
And roar to get their Liberty again:  
And seeking way rolls round the watery Frame,  
And gathers numerous Seeds of subtle Flame;  
And these it whirls, until the shining Streams  
Break thro' the Cloud, and show their feeble Beams.  
But more; these gla●ing Fires, these Flames may rise▪  
And fall to Earth thro' all the Spacious Skies;  
Because the Clouds hold numerous parts of Light:  
For if they're dry, their Colour's fiery bright;  
For they must catch, and hold descending Rays,  
And thus look fiery Read, and often blaze:  
These pressed by Winds, to narrow place retire,  
And scatter Seeds that frame the Glaring Fire.  
But farther; often Lightning seem● to glide  
When Clouds grow rare; for as the Winds divide,  
The Clouds must loose their Seeds, those show the Fire▪  
But without Thunder silently expire.  
But now, what Seeds the Thunder's 
Thunder is Fire.  parts compose.  
●heir Stroke, their Marks, and sulphurous Odour shows,  
●or These are signs of Fire, not Wind, or Rain:  
●ay often they burn our Towns, and Men complain  
●f Heavenly Fires and angry Gods in vain.  
●ow these Celestial fires are framed above,  
●f Parts refined, and Thin, ●●nd apt to move:  
●oo strong to be opposed, they scorn a bound,  
●nd pass thro' closest Walls, as Voice, and Sound:  
●hey fly with ease thro' Stone, thro' Gold, and Brass;  
●nd in one instant melt the stubborn Mass.  
●ay often the Cask entire, the Liquors flow,  
because the pointed flames with secret blow  
●o widen all the Pores in passing thro':  
●hich yet the Sun with all his beams, and rage,  
●nd all his fires can't do within an Age:  
●o quick these parts must move, so swift they run▪  
●o much excel in forc● the vigorous Sun.  
Now how this force gins, How Thunder 
Why Thunder is so strong.  flies  
●ith that quick strength, whence these fierce Motions rise  
●hat break our Towers, and our Towns infested,  
demolish Houses, ruin Man and Beast:  
●hat split our Trees, and rage o'er all the Wood,  
●e now explain; and make my Promise good.  
First than, 'tis certain Thunder seems to fly  
●rom dark, thick Clouds, and those built vastly hig●:  
●or when the smiling Heav'en's serene and clear,  
●r thinly Clouded, we no Thunder hear:  
●ut now even Sense assures, no smiles adorn,  
●o Skie's serene, whilst mighty Thunder's born,  
●ut a thick Cloud o'respreads Heavens threatening fa●●,  
●s if the shades of Hell had left their place,  
●nd filled the arched Skies, so thick the Night▪  
So dark the horrid Clouds, and so affright.  
Besides, at Sea dark Clouds do often fall,  
As str●am● of flowing Pitch, and spread o'er all,  
F●r from the darkened Sky; and swollen with Rain,  
And Storms, they draw behind a dreadful Train  
Of Thunder-cracks, which rage o'er all the Main:  
Even we on Earth do shake, with terror awed;  
We seek for shelter all, nor p●ep abroad.  
Well than, these Clouds, that spread o'er all the Sky;  
Must needs be thick, and all built vastly high;  
For else they could not stop descending Light,  
Nor check the Rays, and bring so thick a Night;  
Nor such great Floods, nor so much Water yield,  
As ●well our Streams, and spread o'er every field.  
These Winds, and Fires, when spread o'er all the Skies,  
Thence Thunder roars, and winged Lightning flies.  
For I have taught before, that ●louds contain  
A mighty store of fire, and much they gain  
From the Sun's heat, and the descending Rays:  
These when the Wind hath forc'● to narrow place,  
And squeezed some sparkles from the watery frame,  
And closely mixes with the gathered flam●,  
It whirls, and than within the Cloud retires,  
And tumbling fo●ges there, and points the fires:  
This by the rapid whirl, or neighbouring Ray  
Is fired, for flame is raised by either way.  
Thus when the Wind grown hot still whirls around,  
Or when the furious Flame breaks o'er the bound,  
Then Thunder fit for birth dissolves the Cloud,  
And shew● the glaring Fires, and roars aloud;  
The Heaven's crack, as if the Orbs would fall,  
And feeble fear and tremble seize on all:  
Than Showers, as if the Air was changed to Rain,  
Fall swiftly down, and threaten Floods again;  
So great the Thunder Storms, as if they came  
From the revengeful Clouds to quench the Flame.  
Sometimes External Winds the Clouds divide,  
And break wide Caverns in their injured side;  
Thro these the Infant Thunder makes its way,  
These Winds call forth the Flames, and They Obey.  
And sometimes too a Wind unkindly flies,  
But kindles in its passage thro' the Skies;  
Losing some heavy parts it used to bear,  
Which could not swiftly cut the middle Air;  
And gathering others of convenient frame,  
Which join, and fly with them, and raise the Flame:  
As Balls of Lead, when shot with mighty force,  
Their stubborn, their ungentl● parts divorce,  
And softened melt i'th' middle of their Course.  
Sometimes the fury of the Stroke may raise  
Quick sparks of fire, and make a mighty Blaze;  
For by the Stroke small streams of Light may spring  
Both from the striking, and the injured Thing:  
As from cold Flint and Steel bright Sparks appear,  
They fly the blow, and leap to open Air:  
And thus the Clouds, if of convenient frame,  
May well be kindled, and dissolve in flame;  
Nor can the Winds be cold, because they move  
Thro such vast space, still tumbling from above;  
For if not kindled by the Flames they meet,  
Yet sure they must come warm with mingled heat.  
The Thunder's force comes thus: 
The force 〈◊〉 Thunder:  For whilst it lay  
Confined in Clouds, it strove to break away;  
At last prevails, and flies with mighty force,  
And hence so great the strength, so swift the course:  
As mighty weights from strong Balista thrown,  
Which break the Walls, and shake the frighted Town.  
Besides, its parts are small, and quick the blows,  
And therefore meets with Naught that can oppose;  
No stops can hinder, and no lets can stay,  
The closest Pores will yield an open way:  
And hence it flie● with such a mighty force;  
And hence, so great the strength, so quick the course.  
Besides, all Weights by Nature downward go;  
But when that Motion is increased by blow,  
The Swiftness and the Force must needs increase,  
And break whatever dares resist, with ease.  
Lastly, since they so large a Space do run,  
Their Swiftness must increase in tumbling down;  
For Motions still increasing run their race,  
And all by odd proportions mend their pace:  
Or all the Seeds direct their violent course,  
And strike one part with their united force:  
Or else, as thro' the Air they swiftly rove,  
Meet parts which strike, and make them swifter move.  
And when the Pores receive the subtle fire, 
Why Thunder melts ●●rd Bodies.   
The force flies thro', the thing remains entire;  
But when it strikes the Substance, than the Mass,  
Is broken; thus it melts strong Gold, and Brass:  
Because its parts are thin, and swiftly fly,  
And enter in, and soon dissolve the Tye.  
Now Spring and Autumn frequent Thunders hear, 
Why Thunder frequent in Spring and Autumn.   
They shake the rising and the dying Year:  
For Winter yields not Heat enough, the Wind  
Flies Cold: In Summer, Clouds are too refined.  
But in these middle Quarters all concur,  
All causes join to make the Thunder roar:  
Because these Seasons Heat and Cold engage,  
Both necessary Things for Thunder's rage;  
That parts may disagree, and raise a War,  
And Fires, and rapid Whirls disturb the Air.  
For first, the Spring within its bounds doth hold  
The coming Heat, and the retiring Cold;  
And therefore these two parts thus opposite,  
When joined. and mixed, must strive, and fiercely fight.  
But than in Autumn Summer's flames retreat,  
And coming Winter fights the flying Heat.  
These are the troubled Seasons of the Year,  
The times that Elements go forth to War:  
What wonder than, if frequent Thunder flies,  
●f frequent storms disturb the lower Skies?  
Since fight all in doubtful wars engage;  
Here Heat, and Flames, there Cold, and Water's rage.  
And Hence we know the nature of the Flame,  
And how it works, and whence the fury came.  
But not by reading Tuscan Books inquire  
The God's design by this Celestial fire;  
Observe the moving flame, and thence presage  
The Kindness of the Gods, or coming Rage;  
Or if the Clouds in lucky Quarters swell,  
And Thunder breaks, or with sad Omen fell.  
And hence we know, how its quick force doth pass  
Thro closest Stones, and melt, or break the Mass;  
What drives swift Lightning on, what makes it flow,  
And all the harm Celestial flames can do.  
For if these Bolts were thrown by Gods above,  
Or if they were the proper Arms of jove,  
Why do the daring Wicked still provoke,  
Why still sin on secure from Thunder's stroke?  
Why are not such shot thro', and placed on high,  
As sad Examples of Impiety,  
That men may sin not more, not more defy?  
And why doth heedless Lightning blast the Good, 

The last Exceptions which he brings against Providence, are drawn from that common Observation; Good Men are oppressed with trouble, and misery, subject to all the rage and violence of the Wicked; whilst the Impious swell with the Glories, and revel in the Delights of Life: This hath been the subject of many solicitous Disquisitionss. Disputes have been multiplied; and some have been as industrious ●o vindicate the Methods of Providence from all seeming Irregularities as others to defame them. Some have sent us to look for Retribution in another World, and indeed this is an easy way of solving the Difficulty, and with little pains deducible, from the Immortality of the Soul, which I have already asserted. But because to look beyond the Grave, requires a sharp and steady Eye, I shall observe the Reasons of the Philosophers, and propose what Plutarch hath excellently delivered. And here we must take notice, That only that part of the Objection, which concerns the Prosperity and Impunity of the Wicked, seems formidable, and concluding; for all those Men we generally call Good, as their own Conscience will ●ell them, deserve those Aflictions which the most Miserable have endured. And upon this the Poets, Orators, and Historians have bean very copious. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

I dare to say, No Gods direct this Whole,  
For Villains prosperous distracted my Soul,   says Aristophanes: and Diagor●s resolved to be an Atheist, as Epicurus delivers, because he did not see Vengeance fall presently on the perjured Person, and consume him: Velleius Paterculus produceth the long and quiet Reign of Orestes, as a convincing proof that the Gods directed him ●o murder Pyrrhus; and approved the Action: And Martial hath contracted all the Force of the Argument into one Epigram: 
Nullos esse Deos, inane Coelum  
Affirmat Selius, probatque quod se  
Factum, dum negat haec, videt beatum.   
Seneca in his Treatise, Cur malis benè & Bonis ma●●um sit Providentia, talks much of the Privilege of Sufferings, that to afflict argues Care, and Kindness; and in short, thinks this a great Commendation of Virtue,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— Th' Immortal Powers have sweat near Virtue 〈◊〉.  
But this is not the way to answer the demands of an Epicurean, to satisfy his doubts, who had rather be accounted an happy Servant, than a miserable Son of the Deity, who would not be fond of Torments, that he might show spectau●um jove dignum, virum fortem cum malâ fortunâ compositum: who cannot think that Fears and Jealousies are the necessary Products of irreligious Opinions; but makes such the only Means of obtaining Happiness, and perfect Serenity of Mind: who is most delighted with the most pleasing Physic, and would think him cruel who makes use of ●aws and Lances, when a gentle Cordial would restore the Patient to his Health; we must therefore ●ook for other Answers, and Plutarch presents us with enough, some of which have a peculiar Force ●gainst the Epicureans; who confess Man to be a free Agent, and capable to be wrought on by Example ●nd Precept.  
First than, Quick Vengeance doth not blast the ●icked that they themselves might learn Lenity, and be ●ot greedy to revenge Injuries on Others: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 'tis the end of good Men 〈◊〉 be like God, says Plato; and Hiero●les places the ●ie of the Soul in this Imitation: Here God sets ●●rth himself an Example, and any Noble and Generous Mind would rejoice to have the Most Excellent for a Pattern of his Actions: Lucretius followed Epicurus, because he thought him so, and the rest 〈◊〉 the Admirers make his fancied Virtues the ground 〈◊〉 their respect. This taken by itself, I confess, 〈◊〉 but a weak Answer, since one Thunderbolt would scure them from doing mischief, whilst Mercy and forbearance often exasperated; and because God ●olds his tongue, they think he is even such a one as themselves; but if we consider it as a Consequent of another reason that is drawn from the Goodness and Kindness of the Dei●y, than it proves strong, and satisfactory.  
The second Reason follows, God doth not presently Punish wicked Men, that they may have time to become better; and here Plutarch brings Examples of such whose Age was as glorious as their Youth infamous: if Miltiades, saith he, had been destroyed whilst he acted the part of a Tyrant: if Cimon in hi● Incest, or Themistocles in his Debaucheries, what had become of Marathon, Erymedon and Dianium, what of the glory and liberty of the Athenians? for as the same Author observes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, great Spirits 〈◊〉 nothing mean, the active Principles that compose them will not let them lie lazily at rest, but toss them as i● a Tempest before they can come to a steady and settled temper.  
Thirdly, the wicked are sometimes spared to be Scourges to others, and execute just judgement on M●● of their own Principles, this is the Case of Tyrant● and outrageous Conquerors; such was Phalanx to the Agrigentines, such Pompey and Caesar to the Romans, when Victory had made them swell beyond their due bounds, and Pride and Luxury fled from other Countries upon the Wings of their Triumphing Eagles: Such Alexander to the Persian Softness; and if we look abroad ten thousand Instances occur, and press upon us; Cedrenus Pag. 334▪ tell● us, that when a Monk enquired of God, why ●e suffered cruel Phocas, treacherous to his Emperor Mauritus, and an implacable Enemy of ●he Christians, to obtain the Empire, and enjoy Power as large as his Malice: a Voice, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, gave this Answer to his Demand, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: because I could found none worse to scourge the wickedness of the Citizens: and Alaricus declared, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'tis not of my own accord that I attempt this, but something will not let me rest, but ●urges me on, and cries, Go sack Rome: and this requires that they should not be only free from Punishment, but likewise enjoy Wealth, and Power, and all the Opportunities and Instruments of Mischief: and this Answer is equal to the Objection in its greatest Latitude, and gives Satisfaction to all those numerous ●ittle doubts which lie in the great Objection as it was proposed.  
Fourthly, The impious are not presently consumed, that the Method of Providence may be more remarkable in their Punishment. The History of Bessus and Ariobarzanes in Curtius is an excellent instance of this; and amongst others our Author gives us a memorable one of Belsus, who having killed his Father and a long time concealed it, went one night to Supper to some Friends; whilst he was there, with his Spear he pulled down a Swallow's Nest, and killed the Young ones, and the reason of such a strange action being demanded by the Guests, his Answer was, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: do not they bear false Witness against me, and cry out that I killed my Father? Which being taken notice of, and discovered to the Magistrate, the Truth appeared, and he was executed.  
A great many other reasons are usually mentioned, but these are the Principal, and suppose the Liberty of the Will; for if▪ a man follows Fate blindly, he is driven on, not persuaded to act; if he is an Au●omaton, and moves by Wheels and Springs, bound with the chain of Destiny, 'tis evident that Fate is the Cause of all his miscarriages, and the Man not more to be blamed for wicked actions, than a Clock for irregular strikings whe● the Artist designs it should do so. No Example can prevail on him, no promise entice, no threaten affright him; being as unfit to rule himself, or determine his own actions, as a Stone in its descent; and a piece of Iron may be said to act as freely as a man, if he is led on by Fate, and its motion as spontaneous, if Liberty consisted in a ba●e absence of Impediments.    
And break his bones, or cruddle all his blood?  
Why good and pious men these Bolts endure,  
And Villains li●e, and see their fall secure?  
Why do they throw them o'er a desert Plain,  
Why thro' the empty Woods, and toil in vain?  
What? is't to try their strength, or is't in play  
The Wantoness sport, and throw Jove's Bolts away?  
Or why the senseless Rocks they idly wound,  
Why blunt their Father's Bolts against the ground?  
Why doth he suffer this; why not prepare,  
And keep his useful Arms for times of War?  
●est some Gigantic Impious Rebels rise,  
And unprovided He shoul● loose the Skies.  
Why, when the Heave● is clear, no Thunder flies?  
What, when thick heavy Clouds, spread o'er the Skie●  
Doth he descend to take the surer aim  
At nearer distance than, and dart the flame?  
Why strike the Floods? what mean such Bolts as theses  
What, is't to check the Fury of the Seas?  
Poor weak design! The troubled Waters roar,  
And vexed by Whirling Flames they rage's the more:  
Beside: This jove is willing Men should fly  
These Bolts, or not: If willing tell me why  
The Thunder is too subtle for our Eye:  
If not, why doth he show the threatening light,  
And why o'erspread the Heavens with Clouds, and Night  
And make a noise, and give us time for flight?  
Beside: How can these Flames at once be thrown  
To different parts? Or is it never done?  
Doth Iov● at once throw but a single one?  
Fond Fancy! For as Rain, so Lightning flies  
To many parts at once, and breaks the Skies:  
Besides, why doth he beaten the Temples down,  
Those of his fellow Gods, and of his own,  
Why doth He hurt and break the Sacred Stone?  
Why break the curious Statue, spoil the Grace,  
And wound with fiery Bolts the Sacred face?  
Why doth he seldom strike the humble Plain?  
But blunt● his fires on Hills and Rocks in vain?  
And hence 'tis known how fiery Whirlwinds rise, 
Fiery Whirlwinds.   
How they descend, and cut the threatening Skies;  
For often dark and heavy Clouds increase,  
And Pillar-like descend and reach the Seas,  
Whilst all around the troubled Ocean raves,  
Fierce Winds still blow, and raise the boiling Wave●:  
And all the Ships in reach of danger tossed,  
Are whirled with rapid turns, and wracked and lost:  
This happens when the tumbling Winds that lay  
Confined in Clouds, too weak to force away,  
Did drive it down, for than by slow degrees  
As if some Hand, or Arm above did press,  
The Pillar Clouds descend, and reach the Seas:  
When this divides, the rushing Winds engage  
The Flood, and make the Waters boil, and rage:  
For than the Whirling Winds descend, and bear  
The thick, tough, heavy Cloud thro' all the Air:  
But when they reach the Sea, they break their bound,  
And mingle with the Waves, and Whirling round  
With dreaful noise, the furious Billows rise,  
And light the Waters with a mighty blaze. 
Whirl-Wind●   
Sometimes the whirling Wind might whisk the Air  
And gathering parts of Clouds that wander there,  
Might hollow out itself a watery frame,  
All like a Prester, but without the flame,  
From these as Wombs, fierce Whirlwinds take their birth,  
And Impiously torment their Parent Earth:  
But since at Land the Hills must stop their way,  
These Storms are oftener seen at open Sea.  
Now Clouds combine, 
Clouds.  and spread o'er all the Sky,  
When little rugged parts ascend on high,  
Which may be twined, though by a feeble tye,  
These make small Clouds, which driven on by Wind  
To other like and little Clouds are joined,  
And these increase by more, at last they form  
Thick heavy Clouds, and thence proceeds a Storm.  
And thus the lofty Hills may seem to yield  
Moore Mists and Vapours than the humble field,  
Because when thin and little Mists arise  
Not thickened yet, and wander o'er the Skies,  
〈◊〉 too refined, and subtle for our Eyes;  
The Winds do drive them to the Mountain's head,  
And there the thin and airy Covering spread,  
Which thickening round the Top, there first appear,  
And seem to rise from that, and fill their Air.  
But farther on, the Seas give vast supplies,  
From those the greatest stores of Vapours rise;  
For clothes grow wet expanded near the Shore,  
The drops arise, and stand in every Poor;  
And therefore from the deep and spacious Floods.  
Great stores of Mists may rise, and frame the Clouds.  
Besides, the Earth, and Rivers, urged by heat,  
Do breath soft Mists, and numerous Vapours sweated,  
Which join, and make thick Clouds, and stop the light,  
And slain the Glorious Skies with sudden night.  
Beside, the vigorous Rays with constant blows  
Still beaten them on the back, and press them close.  
Beside, external Matter gives supplies,  
And seeds of Clouds, which spread o'er all the Skies:  
For I have proved the Mass immense, the Space  
Is infinite, and knows no lowest place;  
And how the Atoms thro' the Vacuum rove,  
How quick they measure Space, and how they move;  
Slow time admires, and knows not what to call  
The Motion, having no Account so small.  
Well than, no wonder sudden Storms should rise,  
And hasty Night spread o'er the lower Skies,  
Since from the Mass still vast supplies are hurled  
Thro every Poor, and Passage of the World,  
And linger here, and join; or break the Chain,  
And fly thro' the divided Skies again.  
Now sing, my Muse, how Rain 
Rain.  is spread o'er all,  
How watery Clouds are joined, and Showers fall.  
First, with the Clouds moist Streams of Vapours rise  
From every Thing, and spread o'er all the Skies,  
And, as in Man, the Moisture, Sweated, and Blood,  
Grows with the Limbs, increasing with the Cloud:  
And often as Winds do whirl them o'er the Main,  
The Clouds, like Wool, d● dip themselves in Rain,  
To shake their Fleeces o'er the Earth again.  
The Rivers, Lakes, and Pools, when stirred by Heat,  
Breath forth soft Mists, and numerous Vapours sweated;  
These rise, and set in Clouds; and there combined,  
Or by the ambient Cold, or driving Wind,  
And than descend, because the Winds divide;  
Or else the Clouds contract their injured side,  
Or else the upper Clouds press those below,  
And squeeze the Water out, and make it flow.  
And when the Wind makes thin the watery Frame,  
Or Rays cut thro' they with a vigorous Flame,  
The Rain breaks forth, the injured Cloud appears  
Like melted running Wax, and drops in Tears. 
Storms.   
But when the Wind with higher Clouds agrees,  
And their united Force gins to squeeze,  
When Both do press the Cloud swollen big with Rain,  
Than Storms descend, and beaten the humble Plain.  
Than constant Showers when watery Clouds that lie  
One on another's back, 
Constant Showers.  receive supply  
From every quarter of the lower Sky:  
And when the thirty Earth hath drunk the Rain,  
And throws it up in Vapours back again.  
And when the adverse Sun's bright Beauties flow, 
Rainbow▪   
And strike thick Clouds, they paint the gaudy Bow.  
And how the other Meteors rise and fall,  
What stamps the figured Snow, and moulds the Hail,  
And why the Water's Pride and Beauty's lost,  
When rigorous Winter binds the Floods with Frost,  
'Tis easy to conceive; if once we know  
The Nature of the Elements, or how  
Their fight Powers must work, or what they do.  
And next of Earthquakes. 
Earthquakes. —  
First than, you must suppose the Earth contains  
Some Seeds of Winds, spread o'er its hollow Veins;  
And there, as well as here, fierce Vapour reigns;  
And many Lakes, and Pools, and spacious Caves,  
And secret Rivers there roll boisterous Waves;  
For Nature's Laws Command, and Reason's prove  
The parts below resemble those above.  
These things supposed; when those vast Caves below  
Shall fail, the Upper ●arth must tremble too;  
For Hills must sink, and from the mighty fall  
Quick tremble must arise, and spread o'er all:  
Not wonder this, whilst Carts go slowly on,  
Or swifter Coaches rattle o'er the Stone,  
Although the weight's not great, the Houses feel,  
And shake at every jumping of the Wheel.  
Or else from arched Caves great Stones may fall,  
And strike the under-waves, and trouble all,  
Those agitate, and shake th' Enclosing Ball:  
For when the Liquor, as Experience proves,  
Is troubled, all the Vessel shakes and moves.  
Besides, when Winds below with mighty Force  
Against resisting Caves direct their Course,  
The Earth that way inclines; than fixed before  
Our Houses nod, the higher nod the more;  
The hanging Beams start from the tottering Wall,  
We fly our Houses, and we dread the fall.  
And yet some think the World will ne'er decay,  
The scattered Seeds dissolved fly all away;  
Thomas these few fight Winds with ease displace  
The heavy Earth, and turn the weighty Mass.  
For did these still rush on, no Force could stay  
The coming ruin, all would soon decay:  
But since they press but now and the●, their Course  
Now here, now th●r●, now fly with mighty Force,  
And than repelled, return with weaker wings;  
The Earth often threatens ruin, seldom brings,  
inclining only from its usual Plain,  
Than turns, and settles in its Seat again:  
And therefore Houses nod, and seem to fall,  
High, most; low, lesle; the lowest, lest of all.  
But more; the Earth may shake, when Winds begin  
(Or raised without in Air, or bred within,)  
To rage's thro' hollow Caves, and whirling round  
Endeavour still to force the narrow Bound,  
At last break thro', and leave a gaping wound.  
Thus Aegae, thus Phoenician Towns did fall,  
The greedy Earth gaped wide, and swallowed all:  
Besides a thousand Towns, a thousand Isles,  
Whilst cruel Eddies dimpled into smiles,  
Have fallen, all swallowed by the greedy Main,  
And poor Inhabitants strove for Life in vain.  
But if the Vapour's cold, too weak the Wind  
To force a Way, if by strong bounds confined,  
It spread o'er all the Pores the Earth contains,  
And brings a shivering Cold thro' all the Veins;  
As when Frost comes, it brings a trembling Chill,  
And makes our Members shake against our will;  
Than Men begin to fear, and wisely dread,  
And fly the Towers that nod their threatening Head;  
Or else they think the Earth will fail, the Ground  
Will gape, and all sink thro' the mighty Wound.  
Even those, who think the World must still endure,  
Eternal still, from Fate and Age secure,  
Yet often wakened by the present Fear,  
Start all, and think the Dissolution near;  
They fear the Earth will sink, the World will fall,  
And Ruin and Confusion spread o'er all.  
Now I must sing, 
Why the Seas not increase.  my Muse, why greedy Seas  
Devour Water still, yet near increase:  
For it seems strange, that Rivers still should flow,  
And run for numerous Years as much as now;  
And though they daily bring a mighty Store,  
The spacious Ocean should increase not more,  
But still be bounded with the former Shore:  
And yet it is not strange: for these, the Rain,  
And all the Moisture that the Clouds contain,  
Scarce seem a Drop, compared to Spacious Seas:  
Not wonder than the waves do ne'er increase.  
Besides, the Sun draws much, the fiery Ray  
Descends and forces many parts away:  
For Sense assures, that when the busy beams  
Press moistened clothes, the Vapours rise in streams;  
Therefore from Spacious Seas the Rays must bear  
Moore watery parts, and scatter thro' the Air;  
But now, though here and there few parts arise,  
Yet a vast spacious Mass of Water flies  
From the whole Sea, and spreads over all the Skies.  
Besides, the Winds take some, with wanton play  
They dip their Wings, and bear some parts away:  
This Sense declares; for often after Rain  
In one short Night, if Winds sweep o'er the Plain,  
The Dirt grows hard, the Ways are dried again.  
Besides, as Winds drive on the low-●ung Clouds,  
And make them skim the Surface of the Floods,  
They take some drops away; and these compose,  
And fall to Earth in Hail, in Rain, and Snows.  
And since the Earth is rare, 
Fountains.  and full of Pores,  
And Waves still beaten against the Neighbouring Shores,  
As Rivers run from Earth, and fill the Main,  
So some thro' secret Pores return again:  
These loose their Salt, and thro' small Channels spread,  
They join where ere the Fountain shows her head;  
Hence Streams arise, and fair Meanders play,  
And thro' the Valleys cut their liquid way.  
Now next, why Aetna burns, 
Why Aetna burns.  and why the Flame  
Breaks forth in Whirls, and whence the Fury came:  
For sure 'tis fond to think these Flames arise  
Directed by the angry Deities  
To waste fair Sicily, and burn, and spoil  
The Farmer's Hopes and Fruits of all his Toil;  
Whilst all the Neighbouring Nations stood amazed,  
Oppressed with anxious Fear, and wildly gazed:  
The Heaven all spread with Flames they flocked to view,  
And wondered what 'twas Nature meant to do.  
Well, look about thee than on every side,  
Consider, that the Wholes immensly wide;  
Than view the arched Skies, and see how small,  
And mean a Portion of the spacious All,  
How little Man, compared to Earth's vast Ball;  
This done, you'll found your Fears and Cares decrease,  
Your jealousies, and Admiration cease.  
For who admires to see a Patiented sweat,  
Or hear him groan, when scorched by Fever's Heat,  
Or when the Foot, or Eye is vexed with Pains,  
Or any hot Disease spreads o'er the Veins?  
And this, because there lie vast stores of Seed  
In Heaven, and Earth, all fit, all apt to breed  
Such strange and ●exing Pains: or else increase  
The noxious Flame, and feed th● strong Disease:  
So you may think the Mass sends great supplies,  
And stores of Seed thro' all our Earth and Skies,  
Sufficient to raise Storms, and shake the Frame,  
Raise Aetna's Fires, and cover Skies with Flame;  
For That appears, when Seeds of Flame combine,  
As Rain, and Clouds, when drops of Water join.  
Aye, but the Fire's too strong, the Flame too great.  
A vain Objection this, and Fancy's cheat:  
Thus he that views a River, Man, or Tree,  
Or else what ever 'tis He chance to see,  
Straight thinks them great, because perhaps he knows  
No larger Streams, not greater Things than those;  
Yet these, and all the spacious Skies control,  
Are small, and nothing to the mighty Whole.  
Now why the Flames break forth:— 
Why Flame breaks out.   
First than, this Aetna's Caves a mighty one,  
A spacious Hollow, and all arched with Stone:  
This swells with Winds, which whirl, and tumble there:  
(For Wind is nothing else but troubled Air,)  
When These by whirling round the arched Frame  
Grow hot, and from the Flints strikes sparks of Flame,  
Than proud and furious too, and rising higher,  
Break forth at top, in Smoke and Sparks of Fire:  
By the same Force even weighty Mountains rise,  
And whirling Rocks cut thro' the wounded Skies.  
But more; this hollow fiery Mountain's side  
The Sea still washes with impetuous Tide,  
And passing thro' the Pores, the Flame retires,  
The pressing Waters drive the yielding Fires,  
And force them out; these raise large Clouds of Sand,  
And scatter Stones, and Ashes o'er the Land.  
And thus my Muse a store of Causes brings,  
For here, as in a Thousand other things,  
Thomas by one single Cause th' Effect is done,  
Yet since 'tis hid, a thousand must be shown,  
That we might surely hit that single one.  
As when a Carcase we at distance view,  
We all the various means of Death must show,  
That in the number we may speak the true:  
For whether he was killed by strong Disease,  
Or Cold, or Sword, though 'twas by one of these,  
We cannot tell, and thus it must be done  
In other things; a thousand Reasons shown,  
When Sense determines not our Choice to one.  
In Summer Nile overflows, his Streams do drown  
The fruitful Egypt's Fields, 
Of the overflowing of Nile.  and his alone:  
Because the Mouth of that wide River lies  
Opposed to North; for when the Etesia's rise  
From heavy Northern Clouds, and fiercely blow  
Against the Streams, those stop, and rise, and flow:  
For Northern Winds blow full against the Streams,  
Their Spring is South, it boils with Midday Beams,  
Than cuts its way thro' Sunburnt Negroes Land,  
And hisses passing o'er the fiery Sand.  
Or else the troubled Sea, that rolls to South,  
Brings heaps of Sand, and chokes the River's Mouth:  
These stop the headlong Floods, they strive in vain  
To force a way, but wearied turn again,  
And break their Banks, and flow o'er all the Plain.  
Or else Rain makes it swell, the Etesia's bear  
The Northern Vapours thro' the Southern Air,  
There thickened round the Hills the Rain compose;  
Or else the Sun melts Ethiopian Snows,  
These swell the River, and the Water flows.  
Next of Averni sing, 
Of Averni.  and whence the Name,  
And whence the Rage, and hurtful Nature came.  
So called because the Birds that cut the Sky,  
If o'er those Places they do chance to fly,  
By noxious Streams oppressed, fall down, and die:  
Death meets them in the Air, and strikes them dead:  
They fall with hanging Wing, and bended head;  
And strike the poisonous Lake, or deadly Field:  
Such Vapours boiling Springs near Cuma yield.  
In Athens, where Minerva's Temple stands,  
There never Crow, or boding Raven flies,  
Not, though the Fat, and Oily Sacrifice  
Doth tempt his Smell, and call his willing Eyes:  
Not that he fears Minerva's vain Pretence!  
Or banished from her Train for an Offence;  
Not, 'tis the noxious Vapour drives him thence.  
A place (as Stories tell) in Syria lies,  
Which if a Horse goes o'er, he groans, and dies;  
As if by sudden stroke, and violent blow,  
He fell a Sacrifice to Gods below:  
Yet these Effects agreed with Nature's Laws,  
And strict Observers, may discern the Cause:  
Jest you should fancy these the Gates of Hell,  
That there the Smutty Gods, and Manes devil;  
And thro' these places draw the wand'ring Souls,  
As Deer suck Serpents from their lurking holes:  
But that's absurd, irrational, and vain,  
Come, understand the Cause, for I'll explain.  
First; Seeds do lie (as I have proved before)  
In Earth, of every shape a mighty store;  
Some Vital parts to Men, prolong their Breath;  
Some apt to breed Disease, and hasten Death:  
To other Animals some parts are good,  
Some hurt, some kill, and some give wholesome Food●  
And all these different Effects arise,  
From different Motion, Figure, Shape, and Size.  
A thousand hurtful parts thro' Ears descend,  
A thousand pass the Nostrils, and offend;  
A thousand hurt the Touch, a numerous store  
Disturb the Eye, the Taste a thousand more;  
Besides, on Man a thousand Atoms wait,  
And hurtful all, and carry hasty Fate.  
Thus often under Trees supinely laid,  
Whilst Men enjoy the Pleasure of the Shade,  
Whilst those their loving Branches seem to spread  
To screen the Sun, they noxious Atoms shed,  
From which quick Pains arise, and seize the Head.  
Near He●●con, and ro●●d the Learned Hill  
Grow Trees, whose Blossoms with their Odour kill  
And all these hurtful things from Earth arise,  
Because the Parent Earth's vast Wombs comprise  
Those different Stores and Kind's of Poisonous Seed,  
Which fitly joined these hurtful Nature's breed.  
The Snuff of Candles, (this is often known)  
Offends the Nose with stench, and makes us swoon.  
Besides, a thousand other Things that seize  
The Soul within, they make their way with ease,  
And shake the Vital Powers with strong Disease.  
So when the Belly's full, go sit, and stay,  
And wanton in hot Baths, straight flies away  
Thy Life, thy Strength, and all thy Powers decay.  
From Char-coal, deadly smells the Brains engage,  
●f draughts of Water not prevent their Rage.  
To those whom Fevers burn, the piercing smell  
Of vigorous Wine is grievous, Death, and Hell.  
Besides, observe what parts the Earth contains,  
And how much poisonous Sulphur fills her Veins:  
Besides, whilst Men pursue the hidden store,  
And dig in Ours of Gold, or Silver Ore,  
What hurtful Damps, what noxious Vapours rise?  
The wretched Miner o'er the Metal dies.  
What noxious parts from Golden Ours exhale?  
How soon they seize, and make the Miners pale?  
With what quick Force they kill the wretched Slaves?  
How soon they bury them in precious Graves?  
Well than, these noxious parts must often r●ar,  
And scatter Poison thro' the Upper Air.  
Thus hurtful Parts from the Averni rise,  
And with strong Poisons fill the Lower Skies;  
And These, as Birds cut thro' the Liquid way,  
Seize them, and than some Parts of Life decay;  
Thus they amazed on the Averni fall,  
And there the Poisons work, and ruin all.  
For first they make them giddy, than their wing  
Grows weak, they fall into the Poison's Spring,  
There die, there leave their Soul in deep despair,  
Because the Poison's fierce, and stronger there:  
Or else the constant rising Streams displace  
The Neighbouring Air, and leave an empty space:  
Where when the Birds are come with nimble Force,  
And still endeavour to pursue their Course,  
Deceived, they fall, they clap their Wings in vain;  
For no resisting Airy Parts sustain  
Their weight doth force them on the poisonous Plain:  
And whilst they helpless in the Vacuum lie,  
Breath out their Soul thro' every Poor, and die.  
In Summer Springs are cold, 
Why Wells cold in Summer.  for Earth contains  
Some Seeds of Heat within her hollow Veins;  
But when the Heats increase, and vigorous Ray  
Doth cut a passage thro', they fly away;  
Thus as the Summer comes, and Rays begin  
To cleave the Earth, the Streams grow cold within:  
But Cold contracts the Pores to lesser space,  
And binds the Seeds of Heat with strict embrace;  
●nd those squeezed from the Pores, with nimble wings  
●ass into lower Wells, and warm the Springs.  
Near Ammon's Shrine, as Fame hath loudly told,  
● Spring runs hot by Night, 
Of the Spring at Ammon's Temple.  by Day 'tis cold:  
●his Men 〈◊〉, and think, when Night hath spread  
Her blackest Curtains o'er our sleepy Head,  
The Sun below doth cast his vigorous Beams,  
And pierces thro' the Earth, and warms the Streams.  
Absurd and vain! For since the furious Ray,  
When rolled above, it makes our warmest Day,  
And bea●s the open surface of the Sea,  
Can raise but little warmth; when rolled below  
How pierce the Earth, and heat in passing thro'?  
Since Sense assures, that when the Rays do beaten,  
Our Houses yield us a secure retreat,  
We lie within, and scorn the Summer's Heat.  
Than what's the Cause? 'Tis this; a spungy ●round;  
And filled with fiery Seeds, lies all around;  
This when cold Night's contract, the Seeds of Fire  
Squeezed out, fly of, and to the Spring retire,  
And make it hot: but when the vigorous Ray  
Peeps forth, and opens them an easy way,  
They leave the cold embrace, and soon retreat  
To Earth again, and take their former Seat;  
And thus by Day it loses all its Heat.  
Besides, the Water grows more rare by Day,  
It's part divided by the piercing Ray,  
So loose their Fire: as when the Beams arise  
And warm the frozen Streams with softening kiss,  
They melt in the Embrace, and loose their Ice.  
And some Cold Springs light Flax held o'er the Streams,  
The Flax takes Fire, and scatters feeble Beams:  
A Torch is kindled too, the Flames appear,  
And nod at every little Breath of Air; 
Springs that light a Torch.   
Because the Water Seeds of Heat contains,  
And many rise from Earth's capacious Veins;  
And cut the Body of the Streams, and flow,  
Too weak to warm the waves in passing thro':  
Beside, their own quick Force will make them move,  
And pass the yielding Waves, and join above:  
As little Streams that cut their secret way,  
And rise up sweet i'th' Bottom of the Sea,  
Beaten of the Salt, and the resisting Flood  
To thirsty Sailors prove a mighty good:  
Just so these Seeds of Fire might rise, and flow,  
And cut the yielding Waves, and passing thro'  
Straight strike, and kindle oily Torch, or Tow:  
Because these parts are of convenient Frame,  
Hold Seeds of Fire, and fit to raise a Flame:  
Thus 〈◊〉 a Torch but lately dead, and strive  
To light the Snuff again, and make it live,  
It kindles long before it comes to touch;  
And sure Experience shows a thousand such,  
Which light at distance, ere they reach the Flame:  
And thus this Fountain acts, the Cause the same.  
Now sing, 
Of the Loadstone.  my Muse, for 'tis a weighty Cause;  
Explain the Magnet, why it strongly draws;  
And brings rough Iron to it's fond embrace:  
This Men admire, for they ●ave often seen  
Small Rings of Iron, Six, or Eight, or Ten,  
Compose a subtle Chain, no tye between:  
But held by this, they seem to hung in Air,  
One to another sticks, and wantoness there;  
So great the Loadstone's force, so strong to bear.  
In order to the Cause, must first be proved  
A Thousand Things, a Thousand Doubts removed,  
And long Deductions made; do You prepare  
A strict observing Mind, and listening Ear,  
First than, from Objects seen thin Forms arise,  
In constant subtle Streams, and strike our Eyes:  
Thus Odours fly from Gums, a gentle Breeze  
From Rivers flows, and from the Neighbouring Seas  
Sharp Salts arise, and fret the Shores around.  
Thus all the Air is filled with murmuring Sound,  
And whilst we walk the Strand, and pleased to view  
The wanton Waves, or squeeze, and mingle Rue,  
Or Salts, or bitter Taste our Tongues surprise;  
So certain 'tis that subtle parts arise  
From all, and wander in the lower Skies:  
And never cease to flow, because the Ear  
And Eye and Nose, still smell, and see, and hear.  
Next I'll repeat what I have proved before,  
Not Compound's perfect solid, free from Poor:  
For though 'tis useful to direct our Eye  
Thro all the secrets of Philosophy,  
To prove that Solid Seeds can never join  
Unless some empty space is left between;  
Yeted hath its proper Force in this Design:  
Than first, in Caves the subtle Moisture creeps  
Thro hardest Rocks, and every Mar●le weeps:  
And sweated from every labouring Member flows,  
And stubborn hair o'er all the Body grows:  
And Nature drives our Food with curious Art  
Thro all the Limbs, increasing every part;  
Strong Flames divide the rigid Gold, and Brass,  
And to a liquid substance break the Mass:  
Thro Silver, Heat, and Cold; and each disdains  
And scorns a Prison, though in precious Chains:  
This Sense assures; into a well-closed Room  
The parts of Odours, Sounds, and Heat will come,  
And often, as our sickly Soldiers feel,  
The moist and subtle Air, creeps thro' their Steel:  
Well than, 'tis certain, as I proved before,  
No Compounds perfect Solid, free from Poor: Besides,  
The Parts that rise from things, not all alike,  
Nor equally agreed to what they strike;  
For first, the Beauteous Sun with vigorous Ray  
Melts S●ow, and Ice, and Wax, and hardens Clay;  
Thus Leather shrinks in Fire, but Gold and Brass  
Dissolve, Flames soften all the rigid Mass:  
Thus Water strengthens Steel grown weak by Heat,  
But gently soften Skins, and boiling Meat:  
Leaves of wild Olives yield a sweet Repast  
To Goats, to Man a rough and bitter Taste:  
Thus Pigs fly sweetest Odours, those that please  
And tickle Man, offend and poison these;  
Yet they will roll in Dung, in Filth delight,  
Thomas squeamish Man can scarce endure the ●ight:  
Besides, we must remember,—  
Since Things Composed do numerous Pores comprise,  
Those must have different Shape, and different Size:  
In Animals are various Organs found,  
And each the proper Objects gently wound;  
One Taste, another Smell, another Sound;  
Some things thro' Stones or Silver, Gold or 〈◊〉,  
Some move thro' Wood alone, and others 〈◊〉:  
And those that pass the same, not always 〈◊〉  
With equal ease, and cut their passage thro',  
And this depends on the Varieties  
And Difference of Pores in shape and size,  
Which Things of different Texture still comprise:  
These things thus pro●●d, come now I'll sing the Cause,  
Explain the Magnet, show thee why it draws,  
And brings rough Iron to its fond embrace:  
First; From the Magnet numerous parts arise,  
And swiftly move, the Stone gives vast supplies;  
Which springing still in constant Streams displace  
The Neighbouring Air, and make an Empty space;  
So when ●he Steel comes there, some parts begin  
To leap on thro' the Voided, and enter in:  
But since they're twined, the foremost parts must bring  
The latter on, and so move all the Ring:  
For parts of Steel are very strictly joined,  
Scarce any Compounds are so closely twined.  
No wonder than that when the foremost strove,  
The other parts should stir, and all should move;  
Which still they do, they still press farther on,  
Until they reach and join the willing Stone:  
The Steel will move to seek the Stone's embrace,  
Or up, or down, or unto any place,  
Which way soever lies the Empty Space;  
Not that the heavy Steel by Nature flies,  
But Blows without will force, and make it rise:  
Because the Air before the Steel is rare,  
And emptier than it was, and weaker far;  
And therefore all the Air that lies behind,  
Grown strong, and gathering like a subtle Wind,  
Must force it on; for still the Ambient Air,  
Endeavours, still contends to drive it near,  
But than alone can move it, when the space  
Is free, and fit to ●ake the coming Mass:  
This fills the Pores, and than with subtle Gales  
Drives on the Steel, as Winds great Ships, and Sails,  
Besides all Compounds hold some parts of Air,  
For every Compound is by Nature rare;  
This lurking Air, no doubt, with nimble wing,  
And constant turns still whirls, and beats the Ring:  
But once determined forward, keeps the Course  
It first received, and that way bends its force:  
But more than this, ●oy Steel will sometimes move  
And fly the striving Stone, and cease to love.  
And thus Steel Filings I have often known,  
In ●●ttle Brazen Pots held o'er the Stone,  
Will strive, and leap, as eager to be gone;  
Because the little Brazen parts that rare,  
Fill all the Steel's small Pores, and settle there;  
And so the other rising Streams that come  
From Magnets, found no way, no open room,  
And therefore strike; thus flying thro' the Brass  
They rudely beaten, and drive away the Mass,  
Which otherwise they'd take to their embrace.  
Besides, no wonder This alone should feel  
The Loadstone's Power, and That move only Steel;  
For some their weight secures, as Gold, and some  
Their Pores, they give the Streams too large a room,  
And so they found an easy passage thro',  
And thus the Substance n●'re endures the blow.  
But Steel when brazen parts fill every Poor,  
And settle there, when it can take not more;  
Than 'tis prepared to take the subtle shove  
The Loadstone's Streams can give, and fit to move.  
Nor is there Friendship 'twixt these two alone,  
A thousand things beside, but One to One,  
Agreed: Thus Lime will fas●●n only Stone.  
Thus Glue hard Board's, and we may often view  
The solid Table break before the Glue;  
Thus pure and Fountain-streams will mix with Wine,  
But Oil and heavy Pitch refuse to join:  
The Purples Blood gives Wool so deep a stain  
That we can never wash it out again,  
Not, pour on all the Sea, 'tis all in vain:  
Soldier ignobly weds the Golden Mass  
To Silver, proper Soldier Led to Brass:  
Besides these mentioned, there's a Thousand more.  
But stay, what need of such a numerous store▪  
Why should I wast my time, and trouble thee?  
Take all in short: Those Things whose parts agreed,  
Whose Seeds opposed to Pores securely lie,  
The Union there is strong, and firm the Tie:  
Others by Rings and Hooks are joined in one,  
This way combine the loving Steel and Stone.  
Now next I'll sing, what Causes Plague's created, 
Of Plagues.   
What drives a Pestilence, swollen big with Fate,  
To waste, and lay a Nation desolate.  
drop reg've proved, that numerous vital parts do fill  
The Air, so likewise numerous those that kill:  
These Poisons (whether from the threatening Skies  
Like Clouds they fall, or from the Earth arise,  
When she's grown putrid by the Rains, or sweats  
Such noxious Vapours pressed by scorching heats,)  
Infect the lower Air, and hence proceed  
All raging Plagues, these all Diseases breed.  
A Traveller, for every Place he sees,  
Or hazards, or endures a new Disease,  
Because the Air or Water disagrees.  
How different is the Air of th' British Isle  
From that which plays upon the wand'ring Nile?  
What different Air doth Pontus' Snows embrace,  
From that which fans the Sunburnt Indians face?  
Besides, Mens Shape or Colour disagrees,  
And every Nation hath its own Disease.  
The Lepers only are to Egypt known,  
Those Wretches drink of Nilus' streams alone:  
Athens, the Muse's Seat, and chief delight,  
Offends the Feet, Achaia hurts the sight:  
And thus in every Land a new Disease,  
New Pains on all the other members seize,  
And different Air i● still the Cause of these.  
Thus often when one Country's Air is blown  
Into another, and forsakes it's own;  
It spoils the wholesome Air where ere it goes,  
And makes all like itself unfit for Us:  
Thence Plagues arise, and these descend and pass  
Into our Fountains, tender Corn, or Grass,  
Or other food, or hung within the Air  
Held up by fatal wings, and threaten there;  
So whilst we think to live, and draw our breath,  
Tho●e parts must enter in, and following Death:  
Thus Plagues do often seize the labouring Ox,  
And raging Rots destroy our tender Flocks.  
And thus the Thing's the same, if Winds do bear  
From other Countries an unusual Air,  
And fit to raise a Plague, and Fever here,  
Or if we travel all, and suck it there.  
A Plague thus raised laid learned Athens waste, 
The Plague of Athens.   
Thro every Street, thro' all the Town it past;  
Blasting both Man and Beast with poisonous Wind,  
Death fled before, and Ruin stalked behind.  
From Aegypt's burning Sands the Fever came,  
Moore hot than those that raised the deadly flame;  
The Wind that bore the Fate went slowly on,  
And as it went was heard to sigh and groan.  
At last the raging Plague did Athens seize,  
The Plague, and Death attending the Disease▪  
Than Men did die by heaps, by heaps did fall,  
And the whole City made one Funeral.  
First, fierce unusual heats did seize the Head,  
The glowing Eyes with Bloodshot beams looked read,  
Like blazing Stars approaching Fate foreshowed;  
The Mouth and jaws were filled with clotted Blood,  
The Throat with Ulcers, the Tongue could speak not more,  
But overflowed and drowned in putrid gore,  
Grew useless, rough, and scarce could make a Moan,  
And scarce enjoyed the wretched power to groan.  
Next thro' the jaws the Plague did reach the Breast,  
And there the Heart, the Seat of Life, possessed;  
Than Life began to fail, strange stinks did come  
From every putrid Breast, as from a Tomb;  
A sad presage that Death prepared the Room:  
The Body weak, the Mind did sadly wait,  
And feared, but could not fly approaching Fate:  
To these fierce pains were joined continual Care,  
And sad complain, groans, and deep despair;  
Tormenting, vexing Sobs, and deadly Sighs,  
Which raised Convulsions, broke the vital Ties  
Of Mind and Limbs, and so the Patient dies.  
Yet touch the Limbs, the warmth appeared not great,  
It seemed but little more than natural heat;  
The Body read with Ulcers, swollen with pains,  
As when the 
* St. A●thonie's fire:  Sacred fire spreads o'er the Veins;  
But all within was fire, fierce flames did burn,  
No clothes could be endured, no Garments worn;  
But all (as if the Plague, that fi●'d their Blood,  
Destroyed all Virtue, Modesty, and Good,)  
Lay Naked, wishing still for cooling Air,  
Or ran to Springs, and hoped to found it there:  
And some leapt into Wells, in vain; the Heat  
Or still increased, or still remained as great.  
In vain they drank, for when the Water came  
To th' burning Breast, it hissed before the flame;  
And thro' each mouth did streams of Vapours rise,  
Like Clouds, and darkened all the ambient Skies;  
The pains continual, and the Body dead,  
And senseless all, before the Soul was fled;  
Physicians came, and saw, and shook their Head:  
Not Sleep, the pained and wearied Man's delight;  
The fiery Eyes, like Stars, waked all the night.  
Besides, a thousand Symptoms more did wait,  
And told sad news of coming hasty Fate:  
Distracted Mind, and sad and furious Eyes,  
Short breath, or constant, deep and hollow sighs;  
And buzzing Ears, and much and frothy sweat  
Spread o'er the Neck; and Spittle thin with heat,  
But salt and yellow, and the Jaws being rough,  
Can hardly be thrown up with violent Cough:  
The Nerves contracted, strength in Hands did fail,  
And Cold crept from the Feet and spread o'er all:  
And when Death came at last, it changed the Nose,  
And made it sharp, and pressed the Nostrils close;  
Hollow the Temples, forced the Eye▪ Balls in,  
And chilled, and hardened all, and stretched the Skin.  
They lay not long, but soon did Life resign,  
The Warning was but short, Eight days, or Nine.  
If any lived, and scaped the fatal day,  
And if their Looseness purged the Plague away,  
Or Ulcers drained, yet they would soon decay;  
Their weakness killed them; or their Poisoned blood,  
And strength, with horrid pains thro' Nostrils flowed.  
But those that felt no Flux, the strong Disease  
Did often descend and wretched Members seize;  
And there it raged with cruel pains and smart,  
Too weak to kill the Whole, it took a Part:  
Some lost their Eyes, and some prolonged their breath  
By loss of Hand; so strong the fear of Death.  
The Minds of some did dark Oblivion blot,  
And they their Actions, and themselves forgot.  
And though the scattered Bodies naked lay,  
Yet Beasts refused, the Birds fled all away,  
And used their Wings to eat their easy Prey,  
They fled the stench; whom Tyrant hunger pressed,  
And forced to taste, he proved a wretched Guest,  
The price was Life, it was a costly Feast.  
Few Birds appeared, no wing could serve for flight;  
The Beasts scarce dared to trust themselves to Night;  
The Plague walked thro' the Woods, in every Den  
They lay and sighed, and groaned, and died like Men.  
The faithful Dogs did lie in every Street,  
And died at their expiring Masters feet.  
Disordered Funerals were hurried on,  
No decent Mourners, and no friendly groan:  
Neglecting others Fates all wept their Own.  
Not common Remedy did Health impa●t  
To all, Physic was grown a Private Art:  
For that which gave to One fresh vigour, ease,  
And health, and strength, and conquered the disease▪  
Even the same thing, with equal Art applied.  
Another took, and by the Physic died.  
All the Infected lay in deep despair,  
Expecting coming Death with constant fear;  
Pale Ghosts did walk before their Eyes, and fright,  
No dawning Hopes broke thro' their dismal Night,  
No thoughts of Help. This was a grievous Ill,  
This sharpened the Plague's rage; these fears did kill▪  
Besides, the fierce Infection quickly spread,  
When one poor Wretch was fallen, to others fled;  
One killed, the Murderer did cast his Eye  
Around, and if he saw a Witness by  
Seized him for fear of a Discovery.  
Those Wretches too, that greedy to live on,  
Or fled, or left Infected friends alone,  
Straight felt their punishment, and quickly found  
No flight could save, no place secure from wound;  
A strong Infection all their walk attends,  
They fall as much neglected as their Friends;  
Like rotten Sheep they die in wretched state,  
And none to pity, or to mourn their Fate.  
Those whom their Friends complaints, and piteous cries  
Did force to come, and see their miseries,  
Received the fatal and infectious breath,  
An innocent Murderer He that gave 'em Death.  
This kind of Death was best; so Men did choose  
(A wretched choice) this way their Life to loose!  
Some raised their Friends a Pile, that Office done,  
Returned, and grieved, and than prepared their own:  
A triple mischief this, and no Relief,  
Not one but suffered Death, Disease, or Grief.  
The Sheperd midst his flocks resigned his breath,  
Th' infected Ploughman burnt, and starved to Death;  
By Plague and Famine both the Deed was done,  
The Ploughman was too strong to yield to One.  
Here dying Parents on their Children cast,  
There Children on their Parents breathed their last.  
Th' infected Ploughman from the Country came,  
He came, and brought with him additional flame.  
Men flocked from every part, all places filled;  
Where th' Crowd was great, by heaps the Sickness killed.  
Some in the Streets, some near the Fountains lay,  
Which quenched their flame, but washed their Souls away:  
And some in public, half alive, half dead,  
With filthy Cover o'er their Members spread,  
Did lie and rot; the Skin, the poor Remains  
Of all the Flesh, the starting Bones contains,  
All covered o'er with Ulcers, vexed with Pains.  
Death now had filled the Temples of the Gods,  
The Priests themselves, no Beasts no Altar loads,  
Now no Religion, now no Gods were feared,  
Gre●ter than All the Present Plague appeared▪  
All Laws of Burial lost, and all confused,  
No solemn Rites, no decent Order used;  
But as the State of Things would than permit,  
Men burnt their Friends, nor look on just, and fit:  
And Want and Poverty did often engage  
A thousand Acts of Violence, and Rage.  
Some (O imperious Want!) a Carcase spoil,  
And burn their Friend upon another's Pile;  
And than would strive, and fight, and still defend,  
And often rather die, than leave their Friend;  
The Other lost his Pile by pious Theft,  
A poor possession; All that Fate had left.  
The End of the Six Books of LUCRETIUS.   


NOTES UPON the First Book.  
WE need not look far for a reason for the Invocation; the Practice of the Poets is obvious, and the Wantonness of the Epicureans is as notorious. Epicurus is observed by Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, to fill his Book with Oaths and Adjurations: 
Euseb. Praep. lib. 14. cap. 27.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. He inserts many Oaths and Adjurations in his Books, swearing often and adjuring his Readers by Jupiter and all the Gods: And we may found Lucretius too sometimes of this humour: But I rather believe, that like a Poet, and according to the Principles of his Philosophy, he applies himself to Venus, that is, the common natural appetite to Procreation; which nevertheless he treats as a Goddess, and gives her all her Titles, as if really he expected some assistance: yet even here he shows his Spite to Religion, and scatters bitter reflections on the than Fashionable Devotion. And had he stopped here, had he not proposed Principles of Irreligion drawn from the Happiness of the Deity, which therefore must be universal, and against all Religion under whatsoever denomination; he might have been read with much Profit, and Satisfaction, as an excellent Satirist against the Heathen Worship, for he severely scourges the Mad Zeal of Men-sacrificers: and though perchance he hath not proposed a true Instance in Iphigenia, yet Histories, both Sacred and Profane, of former and present Ages, give us too many sad Relations of such Cruelties. But since he openly declares that the Design of his Writing is to free Men from the Fears of that Heavenly Tyrant, Providence, and induce perfect Serenity, that boasted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Epicurus, and in pursuit of this, endeavours to maintain the great Dictate of his Master, Nihil beatum, nisi quod quietum; Nothing is happy but what is supinely idle and at ease: I shall examine his vain Pretensions, and in order to it present you with a Summary of the Epicurean Religion.  
If any Man considers the Inconsistences that are in the Epicurean Notion of a Deity, how the Attributes disagree, and how the very Being thwarts all their other Philosophy, he will easily agreed with Yully, and admit his Censure to be true, Verbis ponunt, Re tollunt Deos: In Words they assert, but in Effect they deny a GOD: which is seconded by Dionysius in Eusebius, 
Eusebius lib. 15.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 'Tis evident that after Socrates was put to death, being afraid of the Athenians, that he might 〈◊〉 seem what really he was, an Atheist; he fashioned some empty shadows of fantastical Deities: But since Antiquity hath but three Atheists on record, why should we increase the Catalogue? He therefore asserts a Divine Nature, and proves it from the common consent of Mankind; which doth not 〈◊〉 from any Innate Ideas, as Gassendus phrases it, those being altogether strangers to his Hypothesis: for every Idea is a Mode of Thinking, and no Thought can arise, according to the Epicurean Principles, but from a previous Image; and therefore Lucretius makes the Cause of this General Consont to be the constant deflux of Divine Images, 
Plutarch de Placitis Phil. lib. 1. cap. 7.  which strike the Mind: And Atticus the Platonist 
Eusebius praep. li●. 25.  asserts it to be the common Doctrine of the Garden, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That the good Emanations from the Gods bring great Advantages to those that receive them: To this Democritus his Prayer, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That he might receive good Images, and 
De Nat. Deorum lib. 1. sect. 107.  Cicero agrees, and I hope Gassendus his bore denial cannot stand in competition with all these. This Divine Nature is branched out into many, his Gods are numerous, and even exceed the Catalogue of Apollodorus; and this he gathers from that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which must be in the Universe, Si enim mortalium tanta multitudo, immortalium non minor, & si quae interimant, item quae conservent, Infinita, Their Substance is not immaterial; and Velleius reprehends Plato for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as inconsistent with Sense, Prudence and Pleasure, and yet he cannot allow it to be a Coalition of Atoms, for that would destroy their necessity of Being, and infer Discerpibility; but they have quasi corpus, and quasi sangui●em, a Fancy perchance received from Homer, 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉;  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

They drink no Wine, they eat no common Food,  
And therefore named Immortal, voided of Blood.    
They are of the Figure of a Man, That seeming the most beautiful, and the only receptacle of Reason, without which the Gods cannot be virtuous, nor happy: Their Knowledge infinite, and boundless; for Velleius in Tully, to confute Pythagoras, boldly inquires Cur quidquam ignoraret Animus Hominis, si esset Deus? Easie and quiet is their Life; and therefore unconcerned with the affairs of the World; for being full of themselves, why should they look on others, or trouble their Minds with the consideration of lesle Perfection, when they can expect no advantage nor addition to their Happiness: yet these Glorious Being's are to be reverenced for the excellency of their Nature. Our Piety and Religion must be Heroical, not forced by Fear, or raised by Hope: Interest must not bribe, nor Terror affright us to our Duty; but our Devotion must be free, and unbiased by the solicitations of the One, or the impulse of the Other. These, in short, are Epicurus his Deities, and this is the Sum of his Religion: A sufficient Instance, that Men may dream when they are awake, and that absurd Fancies are not only the consequents of Sleep. Let ●s look on the Favourers of these Opinions, and what ●re they but exact Images of Timon's Philosophers? 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉   

Men, Casks of vain Opinion full.   For, as Tully long ago observed, 'tis their usual Custom to avoid Difficulties by proposing Absurdities; ●hat the lesle may not be discerned, whilst all men's Eyes are on the greater. For first, not to require ●n Explication of their unintelligible quasi corpus, ●nd quasi sanguis, it is very easy to be proved, and ● direct Consequence from their established Principles, that the Matter of the Deities is perfectly like ●●at of our Bodies, and so discerpible; nor can ●●ey found any secure retreat for their Gods, beyond ●●e reach and power of troublesome Atoms, which ●●attering every where must disturb their ease, destroy their quiet, and threaten a dissolution. For ●●nce the Images that flow from them, move the ●ind, which they assert Material, those must be ●ody, Tangere enim & tangi sine corpore nulla potest 〈◊〉. And since 'tis the Nature of Body to resist, the ●reater and heavier the Atoms are, the stronger and ●●e more forcible will be the stroke on the Divine ●●bstance; and consequently in this dissolution of world's, in these mad whirls of Matter, unless ●●ey remove them beyond the infinite Space, their deities must be endangered: for they are not perfect Solids, and above the power and force of Impulse, such combinations being unfit for Sense, or Animal Motion. And thus the Epicureans must necessarily fall into that absurdity, for which Velleiu● lashes Anaximander, Nativos esse Deos, & longis intervallis orientes & occidentes. But since they offer as a reason, that Immateriality is inconsistent with Sense and Prudence, I shall consider that in its proper place▪ and now examine how Omnisciency can agreed with their Gods. Lucretius in his Fifth Book asks the question, How the Gods could have those Ideas of Man, Sun, Moon and Stars, before they were formed? From whence 'tis easily concluded, that they imagine the Divine Perception arises from the same Causes that Man's doth, viz. from some subtle Images that flow from the surfaces of Things, and enter at the Senses. Now it had been an attempt worthy the soaring Wit of our Poet, to have described the passages of these Images; how they reach the Happy Seats entire, how these light Airy things are undisturbed by the rapid whirls of Matter, and how at last they should all conveniently turn round, and enter at the Eyes of the Deity. For if ours can ascend thither, why not the Forms of these things, that lie scattered through the infinite Worlds reach us? Not, their Gods must be as senseless, as they are careless; no intruding Images must disturb their thoughts, or turn them from the contemplation of their Happy Selves; no doubt their Ease will scarce agreed with such troublesome agitations, and like the soft Sybarite, should the Image of a Man digging encroach upon them, they must necessarily undergo a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
As for the Figure they please to allow them, we must needs acknowledge it a wondered chance, that Man (for that's the most proper Opinion) should 〈◊〉 much resemble the Divine Nature; but I had ●ather believe all the Adulteries in the Poets, than that Man was made after the Image of the Deity without his Direction. Besides, what need of all these Members? Why must they have Eyes, unless they have a Looking▪ glass in their Hands? Why Mouth, ●nd Teeth, which will never be employed? and why doth not that fancied 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Universe, require Immortal Men, and Immortal Beasts? for that would make the Equability more perfect. These ●re absurdities fit for the Credulity of an Epicurean, beyond imagination had not these Men abetted ●hem, and made good to the utmost that severe Re●lection of Tully, Nihil est tam absurdum quod non al●●uis è Philosophis asserat.  
Now I come to consider, whether Providence is ●nconsistent with the happiness of the Deity.  

p. 3. l. 21. For whatsoere's Divine, must live in peace.  
And here the Epicureans are pressed with the Con●ent of Mankind, there being no Nation but hath ●ome shadow of Piety, which must be founded on the Belief of Providence, That being the Basis of all Natural Religion. The Stoics took the Notion of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, their Intelligent and ●iery Spirit, from the excellent▪ order and disposition of the Universe. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mind of Anaxagoras is sufficiently known. Nor was Aristotle an Enemy to Providence, though, as 'twas generally thought, and as Atticus the Platonist words it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, confining Providence within the Moon'● Orb, he leaves nothing below to his direction, and compares him to Epicurus; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. For 'tis the same thing to us to have nò Dèity at all, as to have such a 〈◊〉 with whom 〈◊〉 can have no Communication. And Athenagoras delivers it as the Doctrine of the Peripatum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: That Providence takes care of nothing below the Sky: And Origen, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Aristotle 's Opinions concerning Providence were somewhat lesle impious than those of Epicurus: But Authority will prevail little with a proud Epicurean, whose Talon it is to scoff at all beside his own Sect, and undervalue every Man that is not delighted with the weeds of his Garden.  
And here it must be observed, That as Epicurus circumscribed the Deity with the Finite Figure of a Man; so he measured all his Actions by the same Model, and thought and intermeddling with the Affairs of the World, would bring cares, trouble and distraction; because he sometimes observed a necessary Connexion betwixt these two, in those little intervals of Business that disturbed his Ease and quiet. A fond Opinion, directly contra●y to the Consent of the World, his own Principles and Practice. For what trouble can it be for that Being, whom a bore Intuition (for he grants him Omniscient) acquaints with all the springs and wheels of Nature; who perfectly knows the frame, and with a nod can direct and rule the Automation: For Self-existence necessarily infers Omnipotence. For what can determine the mode of Existence in that Being. what confine its Power, what circumscribe it, since it depends on nothing but itself? And since the Deity is the most excellent of Being's, how can it want that Amiable Attribute Benevolence? Will not an Epicurean commend it in the Master of the Garden? Will he not be prodigal in his Praises, and call the Athenian a God for his Philosophy, and make his numerous Books (Laer●ius calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) an argument for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉? And are all these commendations bestowed on him, because he made himself unhappy? Or must the Deity be deprived of that perfection, which is so lovely in Man, and which all desire he should enjoy; because when dangers press, they seek for relief to Heaven; and passionately expect descending succour? Which sufficiently declares that the belief of the Providence, is as Universal, as that of the happiness of the Deity, and founded on the same reason; for, as Tully argues, fac imagines esse quibus pulsentur animi, species quaedam duntaxat objicitur, num etiam cur beata sit? cur aeterna? And consequently, the same Reason dictating that Providence is an Attribute, requires as strong an assent, as when it declares Happiness to be one, since neither can be inferred from the bore impulse of the Images. For suppose the stroke constant, yet what is This (as Lucretius would have it) to Eternity? And why may not any thing we think upon, be esteemed immortal on the same account? Suppose the Impulse continual, yet what conexion between that and Happiness? So that the Epicurean's Argument recoils against himself, and he is foiled at his own Weapons.  
And now who can imagine such absurd Principles proper to lead any rational Enquirer to Serenity? Will it be a comfort to a good man to tell him as 
In Nebulis.  Aristophanes speaks, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, instead of Jupiter a Whirlwind rules, when 'tis his greatest interest that there should be a merciful Disposer who takes notice of, and will reward his Piety. It will be an admirable security no doubt for his honesty, to assure his malicious enemies, that nothing is to be feared but their own discovery: And unless their Dreams prove treacherous, or their Minds rave, they are secure in their villainies, and may be wicked as often as they can fortunately be so; as often as Occasion invites, or Interest persuades. When Commonwealths may be preserved by breaking the very Band of Society, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as 
Hist. lib. 6. Cap. 54.  Polybius calls Religion? when Treasons may be stifled by taking of from Subjects all obligations, but their own weakness, to Duty; and when a Democles can sit quietly under his hanging Sword; than the denial of Providence, than the belief of a World made, and upheld by chance, will be a remedy against all Cares, and a necessary cause of that desired 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, serenity of Mind.   

p. 6. l. 25. Nothing was by the Gods of Nothing made.  
For the confirmation of his absurd opinions concerning the Deity, he gins his Philosophy with the denial of Creation; and here he is copious in his Arguments, but not one reaches his design: For though All things now rise from proper Seeds, and grow by just degrees; though they spring only at convenient Seasons of the Year, yet how doth this evince that these Seeds were not the production of the Almighty Word? But to confute his impious Opinion, and demonstrate that 'tis impossible, Matter should be self existent, that it cannot be 
Hierocles de Fato & Provide. p. 10.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sister to the Deity, as the Platonists imagine; 'tis sufficient to look abroad into the World, and see that Stones and Mud, are not Being of Infinite Perfection: For whatsoever is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Scaliger calls the Deity, can have no bounds set to his excellency. For what can hinder the utmost perfection in 〈◊〉 Being which depends only on itself?   

p. 12. l. 29. A Voided is Space intangible.—  
The two Principles of Epicurus are Body, and Voided; that the former is Sense sufficiently declares; and the latter is here evidently proved by two (for the others are easily eluded) Arguments: The first is drawn from motion; the second, from the parting of two flat smooth Bodies.  

De Placitus Philosophorum, lib.  Plutarch roundly tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All the natural Philosophers from Thales to Plato denied ● Vacuum. But 
In his Life.  Laertius declares, that Diogenes Apolloniates, who lived in the time of Xerxes pronounced, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Voided space is infinite. For the Antiquity of that Opinion I shall not be solicitous, though the Reasons are strong, and obvious enough to make it ancient; for what is more obvious than motion? And how necessarily this infers a Vacuum, is very easily discovered. Motion is change of Place, which change is impossible in a Plenum; for whatever endeavours to change its place must thrust out other Bodies; and so if the Full be infinite, the Protrusion must be so; if finite, the Endeavour is in vain; and therefore all must be fixed in eternal rest, and Archimedes himself with his Engine would not be able to move the lest Particle of Matter. 
In the second Part of his Principles.  Cartes proposes a sol●tion, much applauded by his admirers, but a little attention will found it vain, and weak, and contradictory to his own settled Principles. For when any Body moves in a straight line, it must give the Body that lies before it, the same determination with ●t self; and how this determination should altar, and the Motion prove circular, neither Cartei, nor his followers, have condescended to explain. But grant (though the former reason hath proved i● impossible) that there may be such an attending Circle of Ambient Air, yet unless it be perfectly Mathematical, (a thing very hardly supposed) each Particle will require another attending Circle, and so not the lest Fly stin her wing, unless the whole Universe is troubled. To this may be added, that 'tis unconceivable how the most solid Matter (for such is his first Element) can so soon altar its figure, or be so easily dissolved and fitted to the different spaces that lie between the little Globules. We see Gold and Adamant resist the roughest stroke, 'tis Pains and constant Labour that must dissolve them; how than can we imagine this Element will yield? But indeed ●artes proposes his Ambient attending Circle as the only way to solve the Phenomenon of Motion in a Full, which he thought he had sufficiently before evinced: But his Arguments are weak and sophistical. For in the first of his Meditations, he never takes notice of Impenetrability, in which the very Essence of Matter consists; and in the second Part of his Principles, he mistakes the notion of a Voided, and confounds Substance and Body: Take his own Words. Vacuum autem Philosophico more sumptum, h. e. in quo nulla planè sit substantia dari non posse manifestum est; ex e● quod extensio Spati● non differt ab extensione Corporis: Nam cùm ex eo solo quòd Corpus sit extensum in longum, latum, & profundum, rectè concludamus illud esse Substantiam, quia omnino repugnat ut nibili sit aliqua extensio: Idem etiam de Spatio, quòd Vacuum supponi●ur, concludendum est; quòd nempe cùm in eo sit extensio, necessariò etiam in ipso sit substantia: For Voided doth not exclude all Substance, but only Body; and Substance and Body, are not convertible in the full latitude of an universal Proposition.  
Secondly, 'tis evident, that when two smooth flat Bodies are separated by a perpendicular Force, the ambient Air cannot fill all the space at once, and therefore there must necessarily be a Voided, and this 
In the 3d of Ten Dialogues.  Mr. Hobbs a great Plenist, freely confesseth would follow, if the Bodies were infinitely hard; but since Nature knows no such, any Bodies though perfectly smooth, may be separated by a force that overcomes their solidity, and yet no Vacuum ensue. A pretty Invention, but extremely agreeable to the Phaen●menon; for in the exhausted Receiver, where there is no prop of Under-Air left to sustain it, the lower Marble falls in by its own weight. Mr. Hobbs adds another Argument, which is of no force against the Vacuist, but overthrows his own Notion of a Material Deity: These are the Words. He that created Natural Bodies, is not a Fancy, but the most real Substance that is; who being infinite, there can be no place empty where he is, nor full where he is not.  
Now the other reasons of Lucretius are insufficient: For that drawn from the different weight of Bodies, would infer immense vacuities in the Air, which is two thousand times 
Glisson▪ de substantia, c. 26.  lighter than Gold; and that from Rarefaction, and Condensation, is not cogent, though 'tis the most rational opinion, and more agreeable to the mind of Aristotle, than that which is commonly proposed as his. 
In Categoria Qualitatis  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That is Dense between whose parts there is a closer; That Rare between whose Particles there is a loser connexion.   

Pag. 13. Vers. 15. This all consists of Body and of Space.  
' This though particularly designed against those who take Accidents into the number of real Being's, yet hath a farther reach, and endeavours to overthrew the belief of immaterial Substances; for an Epicurean perception being nothing else but Imagination, as arising from the stroke of a piece of Matter, he had no way left to get a notice of any such Being, but by some deduction from those appearances, of which his Senses had assured him; thus from Motion ●e infers that there is Space; and that being once settled, he proceeds to the Solidity of Atoms: Now though the very same method with lesle attention had forced him to acknowledge substances immaterial, and to have made the Universe more complete by another kind of Being's; yet 'twas hard to thwart the Genius of his Master, to start new fears that might disturb his soft hours, and amaze himself with melancholy thoughts of a future State: and therefore to silence the Clamours of his Reason, (for he could not but see such plain Consequences) he secures Motion as a property of Matter neeessarily resulting from Weight, and this I take to be the Basis of the Epicurean Atheism, which once removed, that Tower of Babe● which now rises so proudly as to brave Heaven, must be ruined and overthrown: For if Matter as such ●s destitute of that power, the inference is easy that ●here must be some other Being to bestow it; this cannot be space, and therefore another kind of Substance is required; and hence follows all that train of Consequences of which the Epicureans are so afraid: For he that first moves the Matter hath no reason to cease from his operation, and so must still govern and direct it. And Providence is nothing else but an orderly preservation of that frame which it first raised: And if there is such a director, how easily it follows that He would discover his pleasure unto Man, and prescribe rules how he may be Happy? And this makes a fair way for revealed Religion, and that necessarily infers a future State: This methinks is a considerable advantage of Natural Philosophy, that it can proceed from such sensible Things, and plainly shows us the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the invisible Things of God, in these his visible operations; now that weight is not a Property of Atoms, will be afterwards demonstrated, and so another sort of Being's proved against the Epicureans.   

Pag. 17. l. 1. The Principles of Things no Force can break.  
Sextus Empiricus declares, that Epicurus hated the Mathematics, and we may believe Lucretius follows his Master; since in his Disputes concerning the indivisibility of Atoms, he proposes the populat argument against the known and demonstrated property of Quantity, infinite Divisibility: For a● long as Mathematics can boast any certainty, th● must be acknowledged to be such.  
I shall not engage in this unnecessary Controversy, (though I believe those common Arguments against infinite Divisibility are empty Sophisms, and a little attention (as whoever considers the method in which they are proposed must observe) will found them full of contradictions, and founded on absurdities:) for the indivisibility of an Atom, proceeds not from the littleness, but the Solidity: for since the Atoms are of different figures, some Triangular, some Square, etc. 'Tis absurd to imagine, that the Mind (by which only Atoms are perceived) cannot fancy a Diagonal in the Square, or a Perpendicular erected to the Basis of the Triangle: yet from this Mental to the Physical Divisibility of an Atom (as Cartes proceeds) is extremely weak and deficient. That there are some solid Particles, Lucretius hath evidently proved: These Democritus called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, first Magnitudes, Epicurus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Atoms from their indissoluble Solidity, but as 
Eusebius Prap. lib. 14. cap. 7.  Dionysius observes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: they so widely disagreed that Epicurus made all his Atoms to be leasts, and therefore insensible, but Democrit●s supposed some of his to be very great: Heraclides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: but none of all his reasons prove them unchangeable. For if Solidity, i e. immediate Contact were a necessary cause of indivisibility, it would follow, that no piece of Matter could be divided, because the parts that are to be separated, enjoy an immediate Contact, and that Contact must be between S●rfaces as large as Atoms, or, at lest, some of their fancied Parts. Besides, let two hard Bodies perfectly smooth be joined together in a common Superficies, parallel to the Horizontal Plain, and certain Experience will assure us, that any force that is able to overcome the resistance of the supporting Air, will easily divide them. His other Arguments are all unconcluding: for suppose the Se●ds not eternal, i e. divisible, 'tis a strange inference, Therefore Being's rise from nothing, since any Body, and therefore one of these solid Particles, is not reduced into Nothing by division, but only into smaller parts: And the weakness of the rest is so obvious, that I shall not spend time in declaring it.  
The rest of the first Book, contains a successful Dispute against Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, and others, and concludes with the immensity of the All, where though he hath scattered many things, (as the Motion, and Weight of Atoms, etc.) which deserve examination, I shall not disturb him in the midst of his Triumphs, but only take notice that, p. 31. l. 18. he overthrows his own Opinion, concerning the Nature of the Deity, and makes it subject to the same dissolution with other Compounds    

NOTES UPON The Second Book.  

PAG. 37. l. 21. he alludes to the 
Casaubon in Persium, Sat. 6.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Race of Torches, of the Athenians, where the Racers carried a Lamp, and when they had performed their Courses delivered it to the ●ext; from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used to signify, to deliver successively, and in order. Thus 
lib. 6. de Legib●s:  Plato: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Begetting ●nd breeding Children, as it were delivering the Lamp of Life.   

p. 39 l. 1. All have their Motions from their Seeds.—  
When 
Plutarch. de plac●tis Philosophorum, lib. ●.  Democritus had given only two Properties to Atoms, Bulk, and Figure; Epicurus bestowed a third, Weight: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'Tis necessary that Bodies should be moved by their Weight, otherwise they would not be moved at all: And beside this, he endowed his Atoms with other Motions, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. of inclination, and of stroke, wh●ch two last, though pressed with a thousand peculiar Difficulties, yet because they depend on the other Motion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, downwards, which proceeds from the Weight, are likewise liable to all those exceptions that may be made against that. First than, that Weight is not a property of Atoms, is evidently proved from the difference of Weight in Bodies: For take a Cube of Gold, and hollow it half thro', and weigh it against a solid Cube of Wo●d of the same dimension; that Gold, though it hath lost all its Matter, and consequently half its Weight by the hollow, is twenty times heavier than the Wood: from whence the Consequence is natural, and easy. For if Weight were a property of Matter, it would be impossible that that hollow piece of Gold should outweigh the Wood, because the Wood cannot contain a ten times greater vacuity than that Hollow. And this Argument, if applied to the Air, more strongly concludes, because that is lighter, especially if we consider that the Air is a Continuum, and not a Congeries of Particles, whirled about without any union, and connexion; for innumerable Experiments almost in all Fluids' evince the contrary. I shall pass by those Dr. Glisson hath proposed, and content myself with one concerning the Air, which may be deduced from the faithful Trials of the Honourable boil. The 38th of his Continuation of his Physico Mechanical Experiments, sufficiently evinces, that the exhausted Receiver is quite voided of all Particles of Air, which evidently proves (as little attention to the Experiment will discover) that there is Motus Nexûs, as Bacon calls it, in the Air, which cannot be but in a Continuum: The same may be proved in Water from Refraction; for why are not the Rays disturbed, if the Parts are in motion? when Experience tells us, that a little stirring with the Finger troubles them. Not to mention, that this notion of Fluidity, though embraced by the Plenists, is inconsistent with their Hypothesis, an ambient attending Circle being not to be found in Nature for each moving Particle; and to pass by the Difficulties that press their Opinion, who fancy Rest to be the Cause of Continuity, since two smooth Bodies, whose Surfaces touch, and eternally rest, will never make one Continuum; my next Argument against the Eipcureans is drawn from their own Principles. For suppose Weight a property of Atoms, 'tis impossible the World should be framed according to their Hypothesis, for how could the higher Atom descend, and touch the lower, when the Motions of both were equal? Nor can that little declination, that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (which the Epicureans are so bold to assume, contrary to all sense and reason, and which 
De 〈◊〉 Procreatione, ex Ti●aeo.  Plutarch declares as the great Charge against Epicurus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as asserting a new Motion without a Cause) lessen the Difficulty; for, as Tully argues, if all Atoms decline, than none of them will ever stick together, if only some, hoc esset quasi Provincias Atomis dare, quae rectè, quae obliquè serantur. But grant there could be a Combination, and grant that Combination (which is impossible) should stop in some parts of the Space, yet from the very Nature of Weight, and Motion, it follows that the World, according to their Hypothesis, could not be made in that order we now perceive it. For suppose this quiet Frame; the Atoms that fall on it, as the Laws of Motion in solid Bodies require, must l●●p backward; but meeting with other descending Atoms, their Resilition is soon stop●, and so they must descend again, and than striking, return, but not to so great a distance as before, because the velocity of the descent was lesle: and so the distance still decreasing, the Atoms in a little time must rest, and only a vast heap of Matter, close, and moveless, must lie on that supposed quiet Frame as its Basis.   

p. 42. l. 18. Whence comes that Freedom, etc.  
Since the Epicureans acknowledge the Liberty of the Will, we may take it as a Supposition already granted, and without any farther proof make use of it in our Disputes against them: But because it is of great Consequence, and is the Foundation of Seneca's and Plutarch's Discourses, Cu● Bonis malè, & Malis benè, it deserves some Confirmation. The Liberty of the Will is a power to choose, or refuse any thing after that the Understanding hath considered it, and proposed it as good, or bad. This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Epictetus, and, as he calls it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: free, not subject to Hindrance or Impediment, and Adrian deliver● it as his Doctrine, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: our Will not Jupiter himself can fetter: Epicurus calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; and that such a power belongs to every Man, is evident from the general Consent of Mankind, for every Man finds such a Power in himself, and thence proceeds this Agreement; 'tis the Foundation of all Laws, of all Rewards and Punishments. For it would be very ridiculous for a Prince to command a Stone not to fall, or break it for doing so. Origen declares, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: and Lucian ingeniously makes Sostratus baffle Minos, after he had granted, that all Men act according to the determination of Fate, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which ordains every Man's Actions as soon as he is born; and the Compassionate Philosopher, who would have all Offences forgiven▪ produceth this Argument: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for none sin willingly, but are forced. But more, this may receive a particular Confirmation from every Man's Experience: for let him descend into himself, he will found as great Evidence for the Liberty of his Will, as for his Being, as Cartes delivers; though he is extremely mistaken, when he ●ells us in a Metaphysical Ecstasy, A quocunque si●●us, & quantumvis ille sit potens, quantumvis fal●ax, hanc nihilominus in nobis libertatem esse ex●erimur, ut semper ab iis credendis quae non planè ●erta sunt & explorata, possimus abstinere, atque 〈◊〉 cavere, ne unquam erremus: for what doth 〈◊〉 in this, but determine he extent of that Power, of whose bounds he is altogether ignorant? and playeth this Cogitation beyond his reach, whose power to deceive his infinite, and his Will equal to his Ability. But let us all consider our usual Actions, and we shall found every one a Demonstration. For let a thousand Men think on any thing, and propose it to my choice, I will embrace, or reject it according to their desire, which necessarily proves my Liberty; unless these Thousand or perhaps the whole World, were determined to think on the same think I was to act. For my part, if any one would take the Bi● and Bridle of Fate, I shall not envy him the honour; nor be very willing to blind myself, to have the convenience of a Guide. Let Velleius think it a Commendation for Cato to be good, quia al●ter esse non potuit, and Lucan agreed with him in his Sentence; I should rather be freely so.  
This is opposed by those who imagine the Soul material, and therefore all her Actions necessary; because Matter once moved, will still keep the same Motion, and the same Determination which it received, which must needs destroy all Liberty, and evidently proves the Epicurean Hypothesis to be inconsisteut with it. Others urge Prescience, and think themselves secure of Victory, whilst the Deity is on their side. The weakness of the former Opinion will hereafter be discovered; and Cartes hath said enough to silence the latter Objection: His difficultatibus not expediemus, si recordemur mentem nostram esse finitam, Dei autem potentiam, per quam non tantum omnia, qu● sunt, aut esse possunt, ab aeterno praescivit, sed etiam, voluit, ac praeordina●it esse infinitam, ideoque banc quide● à nobis satis attingi, ut clarè & distinctè percipiam●s ipsam in Deo esse; non autem satis comprehendi, ut usdeamus quo pacto liberas ●ominum actiones indesermin●tas relinquat; libertatis autem satis comprehendi, ut 〈◊〉 deathus quo pacto liberas hominum actiones indeterminatas relinquat. Libertatis autem, & indifferentiae quae in nobis est, nos ita conscios esse ut ●ihil sit quod evidentiùs & perfectit●is comprehendamus. Absurdum exim asset, propterea quòd non comprehendimus unam rem, quam scimus ex natura sua nobis debere esse incomprehensibilem, de alia dubitare quam intimè comprehendimus, atque apud nosmet ipsos experimur.   

p. 50. l. 1. Are infinite, etc.  
The rest of this Book is spent to prove, that the Figures of Atoms are very various, that those of each shape are infinite; and this last is the greatest absurdity imaginable. For infinite Atoms must fill all the space that is: For if there is any place that can receive another, there may be conceived an addition to the former Number, and therefore to say it was infinite is absurd: And this proves, that the infinite Atoms of Epicurus can be nothing else but a vast heap of dull moveless Matter, coextended with the infinite Space. And how than the World could be made, how these various alterations of Bodies, all which proceed from motion, 'tis difficult to be conceived: and this likewise presseth the Hypothesis of Cartes. and his indefinite Matter, as a little application will discover.  
His next design is to free his Atoms from all sensible Qualities, which he convincingly performs; and 〈◊〉 of late seconded by so many Experiments of the Homourable Boil, that 'tis now past all doubt. And if we can believe our Senses, we must forsake Forms and Qualities, and allow what we formerly called such, to be only Phantasms arising from the stroke of external Bodies on our Organs. There is no need to discourse of his infinite Worlds, or the decay of th●; those Opinions depending on his absurd fortuitous Concourse and falling with it, only we may bid any Man that is fond of these, to look on the face of the World as it is painted in Histories down from the Trojan Wars, (for I press not more ancient infallible Records) about which time Society first began, and he will see it look as young Now as Than, and its Vigour still as great.  
Another fancy of his is this. Animals, those things of Sense, can spring from Senseless Seeds, and there is no need of any Superior Principle to Matter, but a fit Combination of Atoms can Think, Will, or Remember; and this is endeavoured to be proved, in order to his design in his Third Book, where he imploies all his Forces against the Immortality of the Soul, and therefore shall be examined with it. And after that I shall take of his exceptions against Providence, discover the absurdities that abound in his explication of th● Beginning of the World, the Origine of Man, and the Rise of Societies. But to examine his accounts of the particular Phaenomena, would swell into a Volume. And though I have made pertinent Collections for it, it will be an unnecessary Task, his absurd Opinions being so palpable, and easy to be discovered, and the others being excellently confirmed by the modern Philosophers and agreeable to common Observation.    

NOTES UPON The Third Book.  
Lucretius grants the Soul to be a Substance, distinct from these visible Members, and divides it into two Parts, the Soul, properly so called, and the Mind, which is the governing and ruling Part, and takes ●he Heart for its proper seat, whilst the Soul is diffused over the whole Body: But these two are but one Nature, and united, because the Mind can act on the Soul, and the Soul on the Mind; and therefore both are material, Tangere enim & tangi sine corpore nulla ●otestres, and no Action can be without Touch. This Substance of the Soul is a congeries, of round smooth Atoms, and consists of four Parts: Wind, Vapour, Air, and a fourth a Nameless thing, which is the principle of Sense. This Soul is not equal to the Body, as Democritus imagined, but its parts are set at distance, and when pressed by any external Objects, mee●, and jumble against one another, and so perceive. This is the description of the Epicurean Soul, and ●he manner of its acting: And all the Arguments ●hey propose against its Immortality, endeavour likewise to evince it material, and that too from the mutual acting of the Soul and Body on one another.  
To examine each particular, I shall first grant it material, and than consider the validity of that consequence; secondly prove it immaterial, and show that an immaterial Being can act on a material, and than discourse on the validity of that Consequence which infer●it to be immortal, because 'tis Immaterial.  
And here I shall admit the distinction between Soul and Mind, taking one to be the principle of Life and the other of Sense, but cannot allow them to be one nature because of their mutual acting, unless the Body too on the same account be but one nature with the Soul, which Lucre●ius himself denies. This Mind is seated in the Brain, a thousand Experiments assuring us, that when there happens any obstruction in the Nerves, the Animal feels not though you cut the part that lies below the stoppage, and yet the lest prick above it, raiseth the usual pains and convulsions. Now suppose this Mind material, and consider that it hath been already proved, that Matter is not self-existent, and therefore depends on another Substance for its Being; now I suppose any Man will grant, that 'tis as easy to preserve, as to make a thing; for Preservation is only a continuing that Being, which is already given: And therefore though the Soul were material, yet the Consequence is weak. And thus t●e Stoics, though they acknowledge nothing but Body, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. And affirm the Soul to be generated and corruptible; yet it is not destroyed as soon as divided from the limbs, but remains some time in that state; the Soul of the vicious and ignorant some few years, but those of the wise and good till the general Conflagration of the World.  
Secondly, that the Sold is immaterial, is evident from its operations, for when any external object presseth on the Organ, it can only move it: Now let this motion be inward, arising from the pressure of the external Object; or let it be an endeavour outward, proceeding from the resistance of the Heart, as Mr. Hobbs imagines; or else a little trembling of the minute parts, as the Epicureans deliver; yet what is either of these motions to Sense? For strike any piece of Matter, there ariseth presently that pressure inward, and the endeavour outward; and yet I believe no man accounts a Workman cruel for breaking a Stone, or striking a piece of Timber, though according to this Opinion, he may raise as quick a Sense of pain in these, as in a Man. Nor must any one object the different figures and contrivances of Stones, and Nerves, for those only make the motion more or lesle ●asie, but cannot altar the nature of the Pressure. Besides, let us take several round little Balls, and shake them in a bag that they may meet, strike and reflect, who can imagine that here is any perception? That ●hese Balls feel the motion and know that they do so. And indeed the Epicureans grant what we contend for, since they fly to a fourth nameless thing, i e. they cannot imagine any Matter under any particular schematism fit to think or perceive. But grant that ●imple apprehension co●ld belong to Matter, yet how could it unite two Things in a Proposition, and pronounce them agreeable? How after this conjunction, consider them again, and collect, and form a Syllogism? ●or there is no Cause of either of those two Motions, and therefore they cannot be in Matter. For suppose too things proposed to consideration, and let their ●imple pressure on the Organs raise a Phantasm; this ●s the only motion that can be caused by the Objects. now let these be removed, and any Man will found himself able to consider the Nature of these Objects, compare their properties, and view their agreement, which must be a distinct Motion from the former; and this too can be done several Hours, Months, or Years, after the first pressure of the Objects, and after the Organs have been disturbed with other Motions, and consequently the first quite lost: And after all this he can join these▪ two Objects, thus compared with a third, and compare them again, and after that bring the two Extremes into a Conclusion; and all this by the strength of his own judgement, without the help, the pressure, or direction of any external impulse. Besides, the Epicureans grant they have a Conception of Atoms, voided and infinite, of which they could never receive any Image and consequently no cause of their Conception; Matter being not to be moved, but by material Images, and those too of equal bigness with the Corpuscles that frame the Soul. Other Reasons may be produced from the disproportion of the Image of the Object to the Organ, it being impossible that any thing should appear bigger than the Organ, if Sense were only the Motion of it, or of some part● contained in it; because it would be able to receive not more Motion, than what came from some part of the Object of equal dimensions to it. But I hasten to show, that an immaterial Being can act on a material. And here we must mind again, that the sublunary Matter is not self-existent, and therefore depends on something that is so: Now this Being cannot be Matter, for all Matter is divisible, and therefore inconsistent with necessary existence; now this Substance, as He created, so he must move Matter, for Motion is not a necessary Mode of it, as every Man's Senses will evince. And 'tis the same thing to created and preserve a Being, with such and such a Mode or Accident, as it is barely to created it. And this infers that He can act on Matter as much as the Soul now doth, and this Action is not any thing distinct from his Will; the same Power that created, moves it; and that this may be easily conceived every Man hath a secret Witness in himself, and may be convinced from his own Actions. But let us consider a little farther, and we shall found Motion as difficult to be conceived as this mode of Acting; for those that define Motion to be only a successive Mode of Being in respect to Place, only tell us the Effect of it, when we inquire after its Nature: I shall therefore take it for a Physical Being, and distinct from Matter, as its transitions out of one Body into another sufficiently evince; and any Man may easily observe how full of contradictions Cartes is, when he treats of this Subject, having determinned Motion to be only a mode of Matter. Now all the definitions of the Philosophers prove, that we have no Idea of this but from its effects; and therefore its manner of Acting, of Transition, etc. is as hard to be conceived, as the mode of Action in an immaterial Substance, and yet no Man doubts it.  
Thirdly, there is a great contest about Brutes, some allowing them perception, others asserting them to be nothing but Machine's, and as voided of all Sense as an Engine. This latter Opinion is irreconcilable to their Actions, and to that experience we have of their Docility, and the relations of their Cunning, even from those men's Mouths, which are great sticklers for this Fancy: And this arises from a common Opinion, that if they grant Brutes immaterial Souls (as they must do if they allow them perception) the Consequence will be unavoidable, Therefore they are Immortal. But to speak freely, I could never perceive any strength in this Argument; and if I had no stronger convictions, I could subscribe to Sene●a's Opinion.  

Sen. Epist. 19●.  Iuvab●t de Animae ●eternitate qu●erere, imò mebercule credere; credebam enim facilè opinion●bus magnorum virorum rem gravissimam promittentium, magis quàm probantium. For Immateriality doth not infer necessity of Existence, or put the thing above the Power of him that framed it: And therefore Immortality is a gift of the Creator, and might likewise have been bestowed on Matter; and therefore Beasts may be allowed Substances capable of Perception, which may Direct, and Govern them, and Die, and be Buried in the same Grave with their Bodies. But we have such great evidence for the immortality of the Mind of Man, both from the Dispensations of Providence, and infallible promises, that I could not give a firmer assent, nor have a stronger ground for my Opinion, if the Proofs could be reduced to Figures, and proposed in Squares, and Triangles.  
Besides the general, he produces many particular Arguments, from the different operations of the Soul in the several stages of our life. He had observed (and who can be ignorant of that) that though both in Childhood, Youth, and old Age the notices of external Objects are equally clear and perfect, yet at first our apprehensions and our memories are weak, our Judgement and reason little and very different from the accurate perception of riper Years: and that decays again, and extreme old Age slowly 〈◊〉 us back to our Swaddling clothes and our Cradles: To these he adds the various Distempers that are incident to Man; how sometimes the Mind is ●ulled into a Lethargy, and than waked again into a Frantic fit; and how at last Death steals in upon our Life, and wins inch by inch, till it becomes Master of the whole: And hence he infers the increase and decay or the Mind, and that it is born and dies: Now these Arguments cannot stantle any one that considers the Immortality of the Soul is not to be inferred from any Attribute of its own Substance; but the will and pleasure of the Author of its Being; and therefore did it really suffer all those disturbances he imagines, yet who doubts but a tormented Thing may be kept in Being, since the Torment itself is not Death: But Natural Philosophy will accounted for these distractions. If we consider what Life is, and how the Soul must depend on the Body as to its operations: if we distinguish Life from ●ense, 'tis nothing else but a due Motion, and digestion of the Humours; and this agrees to Plan●● as well as Sensibles. They are nourished, grow and ●ive alike; and an Animal dies because some of ●hese are either lost, or depraved; for were her habitation good and convenient, the Soul would ne●er leave it, she hath no such reluctancy to Matter, ●or is so afraid of its pollutions, as the Platonists ●ancy, that she should be eager to be gone; but when the Body fails, and is unfit for those Animal Motions, over which it was her office to preside, she must retire from the Lump of Clay, and go to her appointed place: So that the Soul suffers nothing when the Limbs grow useless, as even common observation testifies, for a Palsy in the Arm or Leg, doth not impair the Judgement; and often when the Limbs are feeble, and the Body sunk to an extremity of weakness, the Mind is vigorous and active, and very Unequal company for the decaying Matter. And as for the Pain and Torture that accompany Death, and make the Targedy more solemn, 'tis evident, that suppose the Soul immortal, 'tis impossible it should be otherwise; so that this can be no Argument for the Epicureans, which, admit the contrary supposition, can be so easily explained: And here we must conceive the Mind as the chiefest Part of Man, a judging Substance, but free from all Anticipations and Ideas; a plain Ras● Tabula; but fit for any impressions from external Objects, and capable to make Deductions from them; in order to this, she is put into a Body curiously contrived, fitted with Nerves and Veins, and all necessary Instruments for Animal Motion; upon these Organs External Objects act by pressure, and so the Motion is continued to the Seat of this Soul, where she judges according to the first impulse, and that Judgement is called either Pain or Pleasure; so that the Action of the Soul is still uniform and the same; and the various Passions arise only from the variety of the Objects she contemplates: But now because she has Memory, and from these Notices once received can make Deductions; she is capable of all those Affections which are properly called Passions, as Grief, Joy, etc. All which are Acts of Reason, and are compatible to Brutes too, according to their degree of Perception: And besides, since the Mind makes use of the Body in her most Intellectual Actions, as is evident from that weariness that is consequent to the most abstracted Speculations; the disturbance she receives proceeds from the unfitness of the Organs, but she works as rationally ●n a Mad man as in a Sober, in a Fool as in the most Wise, because she acts according to the utmost Perfection her Instruments will permit.  
But because this Notion of a Rasa Tabula will not agreed with those, who are fond of some I know not what innate speculative, and Practical Ideas; it will be necessary to consider the Instances they produce. The first is that of many Geometrical Figures, for Instance a Chiliagon of which we can make perfect Demonstrations which presuppose an Idea of the Sub●ect, though we can have no Image nor Representation of it from our Fancy: But in proposing this Instance, they do not attend that these Properties ●elong to a Chiliagon: because it contains so ma●y Triangles, which is a Figure obvious enough to ●ense. The second is that of a Deity, upon which ●artes his whole Philosophy depends; and here he grants this to be imperfect, i e. really none at all, because not agreeable to the Object whose Idea it ●retends to be; yet this is enough to guide us in ●ur Religion, because the highest our Minds can ●each: But even this we have from Sense; from ●he Consideration of the Imperfections of all things with which we are conversant, we rise to the knowledge of an All perfect; so that all the Attributes we 〈◊〉 conceive are just in opposition to what we discover here, and therefore according to the different apprehensions that Men have entertained of ●uch Things so various have been their Notions of ●he Deity, as is evident from the Heathen World: And this makes way to discover how we got all those particular Notions which we call the Law of Nature, and are said to be written in our Hearts: For when Man was first created in his perfect State, without any prejudice of Infancy or Education, he had as much Knowledge as was designed for that order of Creatures in the Universe●▪ the Notions of all things were clearly represented, and Good and Evil appeared naked, and in their proper shapes: These Notions have been delivered down to us, and from these once made plain, the Mind necessarily infers such practical rules as are called the Law of Nature: And this Explication will give an account of the diversity of Manners and Opinions amongst Men, and the various Interchanges of Barbarity, and Civility thro' the World.   

NOTES UPON The Fourth Book.  

PAG. 103. l. 19 And show pale Ghosts, etc.  
After he had copiously discoursed of the Nature of the Soul, and endeavoured to prove it Mortal, he goes on here, and pretends to solve One Argument, which still seemed to press his Opinion, and that is drawn from the various Apparitions that sometimes present the Image of our deceased Friends, and makes so lively and vigorous impression on the Fancy, that we cannot but think them real, and something beside naked Imagination: But because he intermixes this with his Discourse of the Senses, and makes it depend on the Epicurean explication of Vision, I shall be obliged briefly to consider his Doctrine, and that being overthrown, discourse of the Strength of the Argument: Well than, not to trouble him about his other Senses, concerning Vision he delivers this; Thin subtle Images constantly rise from the surfaces of all Bodies, which make an Impression on our Organs, and than the notice ●s communicated to the Soul. To confu●e this, we need look not farther than his own Principles, and consider that he hath made Weight a Property of Matter, and an Endeavour Downward a Necessary Adjunct: And therefore all Motion Upward is violent, and proceeds from External Pressure, or Impulse.  
Now any Man knows that the Species are propagated any way with equal Ease, and we see as well when the Object is placed below our Eye, as when above it: But there is no Force to make these Imag●● rise, and therefore 'tis impossible they should. Their own Nature opposes, the Air (as all must grant) that lies behind the Object, is unfit to give this Impulse to the solid parts of the upper Surface, that on the side, to drive it upward: And I believe none will think these Images are raised by the Air that is perpendicular to the Superficies; And this Argument more strongly concludes, if we consider his Explication of Distance, for there he requires that these Images should drive on all the Air between the Object and the E●●, though it often resists and beats furiously against them, which cannot be done, but by a considerable Force, and a greater Strength than can be allowed these subtle Forms, though rising from any Body in the most convenient Position, and when their Weight can assist their Motion: But more; If such Images arose, it must be granted that the Object must seem changed every Minute; and it would be impossible to look upon a Cherry for the space of an hour, and still perceive it blush with the same Colour; because every Image that moves our Eye, cannot be above one hundred times thinner than the Skin of that Fruit; for I believe any Man will freely grant, that this Skin so divided will be too transparent to be perceived: or if it may still be seen, let the Division proceed, and at last the Absurdity will press, and follow too fast, and too closely to be avoided: I shall not mention, that contrary Winds must disturb their Images, break their lose Order, and hinder their passage; but only take notice, That 'tis impossible such Images, should enter at the Eye, and represent an Object as great as we perceive it: For ●hese Images rising from the Surface, must proceed by parallel Lines; and their Parts maintain as great a distance as the parts of the Body whence they sprang; because they come from every part of the Object, and 〈◊〉 commensurate to it; and therefore cannot be ●ressed closer without Penetration or Confusion. But ●ppose Vision might be thus explained, grant every ●ne, like the Man in Seneca, had his own Image still ●alking before him, yet Imagination and Thought have ●heir peculiar difficulties.   

Pag. 123. l. 31. These pass the Limbs, etc.  
Tully examining this Opinion, says, Tota Res, Vellei▪ ●●gatoria est, and adds farther, Quid est quod minùs ●●obari potest, quàn omnium in me incidere Imagines, Homeri, Archilochi, Romuli, Numae, Pythagorae, ●latonis, nec câ formâ quâ illi fuerint? quomodo ergo 〈◊〉? Let us consider our Dreams, where the powers of 〈◊〉 and Imagination are most observable. These our ●oet explains by Entering Images, which pass thro' ●he Body, and strike the Soul: How deficient this is ●ny one may be satisfied from his own Observation, for ●hat will tell him, That he dreams of things at a vast distance, and not thought on for some Months: What ●hen? Can the Image pass thro' those large Tracts of ●ir whole and undisturbed? Are they not as thin a substance as the Epicurean Soul, and as easily dissolved? Can they enter the Pores of the Body, and still preserve their Order, and the Mind be accounted Mortal for the same way of passage, and this be used as ●n Argument against its Infusion? Strange power of Prejudice! that can blind the sharpest Eyes, make them dull and unfit to be moved by these thick, and almost palpable Errors, but perchance there is no Image of an Absurdity, and therefore we must excuse the Epicurean: Beside, some things are presented to our Imaginations, of which there can be no Image; a Har● seems to sound when it lies silent in the Case, when there is no brisk Vibration of the Strings to compel the ambient Air, and created a Sound; for Sound doth not consist of parts that fly from the Body, (as Lucretius imagines) 'tis only an Agitation of the rigid parts of the Air, as a Thousand Experiments can evince, but Two may suffice; One is taken from Common Observation: For touch the sounding Wire of Viginals at one end, and the Noise ceases, though the Touch cannot hinder the flux of Atoms, from any part, but that which it immediately presseth: The Other is known to all, who have heard that a Bell will not sound in the Exhausted Receiver, though the parts might there fly of with greater ease, they being not troubled with any ambient resisting Air.   

Pag. 126. l. 3. Unless she sets herself to think, etc.  
It being demanded why any Man could think on what he pleased, the Answer is; That Images are constantly at hand, but being very thin and subtle, they cannot be perceived, unless the Mind endeavours; which though pressed by all the difficulties proposed concerning Images, yet may receive a farther Examination. For first, The Mind must think on the Object before this Endeavour, else why should she strive, why apply herself particularly to that? and that this Argument is strong against the Epicureans, is evident ●rom that question which Lucretius proposeth in his ●ifth Book, about the beginning of Ideas in his Deities, which I have already reflected on. But more▪ This Endeavour of the Mind is a Motion, Nothing being to be admitted in the Epicurean Hypothesis but what ●ay be explained by Matter variously figured and agitated: Now Epicurus hath settled but Three kinds of Motion, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and the two latter necessarily suppose the ●ormer, and therefore if that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot be●ong to the Soul, 'tis absurd to conclude this Endeavour to be either of the latter: And here it must be considered, that the Epicurean Soul is Material, and ●herefore Weight is a Property of all its parts, which ●ill necessitate this Soul, to subside in all the Vessels of the Body, as low as possible; and therefore it cannot actually enjoy this motion, and consequently ●o Endeavour.  
Here I might be copious (for 'tis an easy task) ●n laying open the weakness of the Arguments by which he endeavours to prove that our Limbs were not made and designed for proper Offices and Employments; it would be an endless trouble to pursue ●im thro' all the Absurdities which lie in his Opinions concerning Sleep, and Spontaneous Motion, for every Man hath his own constant Experience to confute ●hem, and therefore as Lactantius thinks a loud ●aughter the only suitable reply to the former, let ●he others be contented with the same answer; nor ●inder me in the prosecution of the proposed Argument.  
And here it must be confessed, that a Thousand of these Sories are the genuine productions of Fear and Fancy: Melancholy and Inadvertency have not been unfruitful; and we own many of them to Superstition, Interest, and Design: but to believe all sergeant because some are so, is unreasonable, and shows a perverseness, as faulty as the greatest Credulity. For when such are attested by multitudes of Excellent Men, free from all Vanity, Design or Superstition▪ who had the Testimony of their Senses for their Assurance, and would not believe it till after curious search, and trial; we must assent, or sink below Scepticism itself, for Pyrrho would fly a threatening Dog▪ and make his excuse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'tis hard to put of the whole Man: And that there are such Stories delivered with all the marks of Credibility, I appeal to the Collection of M. Glanvil. Let any one look on that which is recorded by the Learned Dr. Gale in his Notes upon the fifth Chapter of the Third Section of jamblichus de Mysteriis, and than I shall give him leave to use his Atoms and his Motion to the greatest advantage, but for ever despair of an explication: The Story speaks thus in English." In Lambeth lives one Francis Culham, an honest man, and of good credit, this man lay in a very sad condition Four Years, and Five Months: The first Symptom was unusual Drowsiness and a Numbness for three days, which forced him to take his bed: In the first Month he took little or no meat or drink; the second, he fasted Ten days, and often afterwards Five, or Seven: He fed on Raw and Boiled Meat with equal greediness, never moved himself in his Bed, and waked constantly for the first years, at last never closed his Eyes, but kept them fixed and steady. He made not Articulate Sound, nor took any notice of his Wife, and Children, nor seemed to feel the Knives and Lances of the Surgeons. At last given over by all, he thus unexpectedly recovered: In the Whitsun-Week 1675. He seemed to be wakened out of a very sound Sleep, and (as he relates it) his Heart, and Bowels grew warm, and his Breast freed from that Weight which before oppressed it, and he heard a Voice which bid him go to Prayers, and than he should be well: Paper and Ink being brought, with a trembling Hand he writ these words, I desire that Prayers may be made for me. Two Ministers came, and when they had sufficiently examined the matter, and found it free from all cheat, they began those Prayers which the English Liturgy appoints for the Sick, and when they were come to Glory be to the Father, etc." The Sick man spoke with a loud voice, Glory be to God on high. And in two days time, his Feet, Hands, and other Limbs, were perfectly restored: but he could not remember any thing that was done to him during all the Four Years: and this Relation I assert to bevery true: Now though such as ●hese do not directly prove the Immortality of the Soul, ●et they sufficiently take of all pretensions of the ●picureans against it; since they evidently prove, ●hat there are some subtle unseen Substances permanent, ●nd durable, and consequently Immaterial, for they cannot imagine that any Material Substance thin●er than Smoke or Air, can be lesle subject to dissolution than those; though they contradict themselves, ●nd grant the Eternal Bodies of their Deities to be ●uch.   

Pag. 116. l. 18.  
He that would establish a Criterion, is certain to have the Sceptic for his Enemy, and what is more uncomfortable, to be unable to confute him: He is an Animal uncapable of Conviction, his folly may be exposed, but to endeavour to bring him to Sense and Reason is as wild a design, 
— ut siquis Asellum  
In campum doceat parentem currere froenis.   
Pyrrho would venture on a Precipice in spite of his Senses; and though the more Sober are careful of their Lives, yet they are as proof against Convictions; a perverse sort of Creatures, born to contradict, and instructed in all the studied Methods of Foolery: Scepticism according to their own definition is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; its effect, is Freedom from Assent, and its end Sererenity. The Principle of the Sect is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, yet this is not proposed as a Dogma, for that is an Assent, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, nor is it laid down as so in its self, and a real Truth; but only in appearance, and therefore Empiricus prefaceth his discourse with these words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. And yet they ●ollow their natural Appetite for their preservation, seek the good and profitable, and fly the bad and hurful according to appearance, for they do not deny but that they may be warm and cool, and are capable of pain, and pleasure; yet none, like a dogmatist, affirms it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Law of their Country, is the Rule of Just and Right, and the Custmo of the Nation determines their Religion.  
This is the Face of a Sceptic as it is drawn by his own Hand, and since we found it condemned to diffidence, there are some Reasons sure of this unsettledness, this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: and some propose Ten, others Fifteen, and others increase the number; but one will comprehend them all, and that is enough to ruin every Science in the World; 'Tis taken from the variety of Opinions about the same things: for there can be no appeal for a decision, because he that would judge, acts by the same Faculties that those do that are at strife, and so he that loses the Cause will be still dissatisfied, and to invert Seneca, Citius inter Horologia quam Philosophos convenit. This difference riseth from the various Tempers of Man's Bodies, the Dispositions of their Organs, and Situation of the Object: Thus Melancholy and Sanguine take different notices from the same Impression; Young and Old, Sick and Healthy, Drunk and Sober do not agreed: nor is it enough to answer that some of these are indisposed, whilst the others are in order; for since that Change is nothing but an alteration of the Humours, they demand a Reason why such and such a Disposition should be more capable of receiving Impresses from Objects that are agreeable to the nature of the things, than another: Besides, they observe, that the Complexions of Animals are various, and the Texture of their Organs different: so that there cannot be the same refractions in their Eyes, the same wind in their Ears; and therefore not the same notices from the same Objects: And indeed did the Sceptics proceed no farther than Sensible Qualities, we must acknowledge them to be very happy in the discovery; for 'tis certain that those are Phantasms alone, and those that think Hony sweet, and those that think it bitter have equally true representations of the Object, because the little parts of Hony act upon both their Organs according to their figure.  
Hence they proceed to deny all first Principles, and so are put beyond all possibility of Conviction, for still demanding proof after proof, they must reel on to eternity without satisfaction: But this is too long a Journey, and too fruitless a trouble to pursue, and so we must take our leaves of these contradicting Animals; who have no other reason to deny the clear light of Science, but because some men's Eyes are too weak to look steady upon it.    

NOTES UPON The Fifth Book.  

PAG. 144.  
Here gins hi● Impiety anew, and he endeavours to raise a dust, and blind men's Understandings; and to secure his former Opinion prebends Objections intermixed with Scoffs, against all those, ●ho upon sober Principles, and a strict search into the ●●der and disposition of Things, were forced to con●●ss this Frame to be the contrivance of some Intelligent ●eing, and the Product of Wisdom itself. And here, agreeable to the Epicurean Principles, he supposeth Inter●t to be the cause of all good nature, and the only Spring 〈◊〉 Action, and than peremptorily demands, what suitable ●turns Man could make the Gods for all their labour, or ●hat additional happiness they could receive? Where he ●akes another wild Supposition, which will never be ●anted, viz. That to created, or dispose, is toil, and trou●● to Omnipotence, for such I have proved every eternal and self existent to be. Now let us look a little on 〈◊〉 immediate Praises he bestows on his Epicurus, ●d ask him what Rewards could Posterity give him 〈◊〉 his Philosophy, how could he receive any benefit 〈◊〉 their praises, and Commendations? What than was his God Epicurus a Fool, who lost his own Ease, opposed himself to so many Philosophers, and laboured to writ almost infinite Volumes, when he had no motive to engage himself in all this trouble? Not, Lucreti● highly esteems him for the Benefits he bestowed o● Mankind; and thus answers himself, whilst he allows single Benevolence to be a strong motive to Action: And this is allowed by general Consent, he being hated who looks only on his own Interest, and makes that the measure of all his designs. And that the De●ty is benevolent in the highest degree, is as evident 〈◊〉 that it is a perfection to be so: For 'tis already proved, that infinite perfection is a necessary consequen●● of self-existence. But when he endeavours to prove, that to Be is no good to Man, what but laughter ca● be returned to such an idle opposition of commo● Sense? For if, to be continued in Being is so great ● Good, and so desirable, as all Man's Wishes an● Endeavours sufficiencly evince, than surely to best●● that Being, is at lest an equal Blessing. And to answer his impudent Question, How the Deity could have his Knowledge? 'tis sufficient to return, th●● his Method of Knowing is not to be measured by ours● that he is Omniscient, that being a Perfection, need not any external impulse from Images.  
But leaving this, he finds fault with the Contrivance itself, and, like that proud King of Arrage could no doubt have mended the Design. And her● though 'tis unreasonable to demand a particular Cau● and Motive for every Contrivance, since we 〈◊〉 not of the Cabinet Council of Nature, nor assistant at her Project, yet his Exceptions (not doubt the 〈◊〉 his labouring Wit could invent) are so weak, so 〈◊〉 answered, and so easily (on Principles grounded on certain History, and infallible Record) to ●e accounted for, and there is no need to frame a particular Answer, and no fear that any, the meanest Reader, can ever be surprised with such Trifles.  
Having, as he imagined, freed the Deity from all care and trouble, and kept him in ease and quiet, whilst the World was making, he proceeds to deline●ate the Order. And here I cannot imagine a Man could act more agreeable to his Principles or describe Chance better, resolving all Philosophy, all our search, and enquiry into these Matters, into a ●aked May be; nay often scarce standing within the comprehensive bounds of Possibility. But to pass ●y all the Contradictions that lie in the very Principles, and beginning of his Hypothesis, of which I have before discoursed; let us suppose these infinite Atoms moving in this infinite Space, and grant ●hey could strike and take hold, and squeeze out the ●esser and more agile parts into Seas, Heaven, Moon, Stars, etc. I shall first demand, why this weighty Mass of Earth, as its nature requires, doth not constantly descend? Why fixed and steady? If it's answered (as Lucretius) that it lies in congeneal Matter, and therefore presses not, the Question still returns, Why not this congeneal Matter fall, since it hath Weight, the Epicurean property of Atoms hath that other fit Matter spread below it? The Demand constantly returns. Besides, this Matter wa● squeezed out of the Earth by the descending heavier Particles, and therefore the Mass may press and descend thro' it. Well than if this Earth cannot be framed, neither any of the other Elements, since, according to his description, the latter depends on the former; and since he refuses to stand to any one cause of the Motion of the Sun, or Stars; it would be endless to pursue this flying Bubble, and follow him thro' all the Mazes of Conceit, and Fancy.   

p. 171. l. 14. Than Neighbours, etc.  
Those that endeavour to disgrace Religion, usually represent it as a trick of State, and a Politic invention to keep the credulous in Awe; which however absurd and frivolous, yet is a strong argument against the Atheist, who cannot declare his Opinions, unless he be a Rebel, and a disturber of the Commonwealth: The Cause of God, and his Caesar are the same, and no affront can be offered to one, but it reflects on both; and that the Epicurean Principles are pernicious to Societies, is evident from the account they give of the rise of them. First than we must imagine Men springing out of the Earth, as from the Teeth of Cadmus his Dragon, (fratres fungorum, & tuberum, as Bias called the Athenians, who counted it a great glory to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,) and like those too, fierce, and cruel; but being softened by natural decay, and length of Time, grew mild; and weary of continual wars, made leagues, and combinations, for mutual defence and security; and invested some Person with power to overlook each man's actions, and to punish, or reward those that broke, or kept their Promises. Now if Societies began thus, 'tis evident that they are founded on Interest alone, and therefore self-preservation is the only thing that obliges Subjects to Duty; and when they are strong enough to live without the protection of their Prince, all the bonds to Obedience ●re canceled, and Mutiny and Rebellion will necessarily break forth; for we all know, how ambitious ●very Man is of Rule, how passionately he desire's it, ●nd eagerly follows, though ten Thousand difficulties attend the pursuit: What it he breaks his promise, recalls his former consent, and acts against the Law ●hat was founded on it? Why need he be concer●ed, if he hath got the longest Sword, and is above the ●ear of Punishment; will not a prospect of a certain ●ofit lead him on to Villainy? And why should his conscience startle at wickedness, that is attended ●ith pleasure? since all the Epicurean Virtues are ●othing but Fear, and Interest, and the former is removed, and the latter invites. 'Tis true, as Lucre●us says, strange discoveries have been made, and Plu●arch gives us very memorable Instances: Plots have ●een defeated, but as many proved successful: And how ●eak that single pretence, how insufficient to secure government, is evident from the daily Plots, and ●ontrivances, Murders and Treasons, that disturb us; ●o all the Terrors of Religion join with these ●ears and endeavour to suppress them. And therefore these Opinions are dangerous, and destructive of society's, and, as Origen says of his Purgatory fires, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 others though pretending to better Principles than tho●e of ●picurus, yet are altogether as faulty in stating the rise of Power; and more absurd: For his Opinion is agreeable to his other Positions, but theirs contradict the Creation they assert, and the Providence they allow; I mean those that declare the People to be the spri●● and fountain of Power, and that from their consent all the Authority of the Governor is derived: Su●● 〈◊〉 Men never considered the relation betwixt 〈◊〉 and his Creatures; and what an absolute dominion he hath over those to whom he first gave, and still continues Being. But let us look on Man under that circumstance, and than how naked, how devested of all power will he appear? How unable to dispose of himself, and submit to the Laws of his fellow free Agent? unless he endeavours as muc● as is possible to disown the Right of the Deity, and turns Rebel against the Author of his Being. For ho● can any one submit himself to another, without the express permission of him that hath absolute domini● over him? And where is that Permission? Is it founded on Reason or Scripture? Doth Benevolence, or Self-preservation, the two proposed motives to Society, spea● any such thing? And doth not Scripture expressly oppose this Opinion? Well than, all Power descends fro● above; 'tis the gift of that Being to whom it Principally belongs, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kings are fro● God, is true both in the account of the sober H●● than, and good Christian: And therefore every King that ever was, or is, whether he obtains the Crow● by Succession, or Election, (except the jewish must be acknowledged Absolute: Liberty and Prope● of the Subjects depend on his Will, and his Pleasu● is Law; for none can confine or limit that Po●● which God bestows, but himself: And therefore ● prescribe Laws to the Governor, to choose or refu● ●im on certain conditions, is to invade the Prerogative of Heaven, and rebel against the Almighty. Thus when God designed to limit the Power of the ●ewish Monarchy, he described Laws himself; but ●ince he hath not fixed any to other Princes, every King, as such, (for I do not respect their particular Grants to the People, which they are bound to observe) is Absolute.  
To free this from all exception, it must be considered that the Discourse is concerning the Origine of Power, which is now settled in some Persons, ●nd by which Communities are governed. The Epi●ureans act very agreeably to their impious Principles, when they make fear and distrust the only motives to Agreement, and the pacts to which the scattered multitude agreed to be the foundation of the Power of the Prince: It being impossible for them, who had excluded Providence, to found any other Original: But this Opinion as delivered by them, de●ending upon their other absurd and impious Philosophy must be weak and irrational; yet still this ●otion is embraced, though not upon the same motives; Faction and Ambition propagate that Error, which was nothing else but innocent Ignorance in the Ancients: They considered Man as Single, unable to live with Security or Comfort, because his fel●ows, either out of Pride, Lust, or Covetousness, would endeavout to rob him of his Enjoyments, and ●his Life too, if it hindered them in the prosecution of their wishes: Thus they saw a necessity of Government, and because it proceeded from Man's natural Imperfections, they thought him, that by his Wisdom or his Strength was most fitted for the defence and preservation of others, was as it were a Lord by Nature, and Born a Sovereign: Thus Plutarch, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 'Tis the first and most fundamental Law, that He that is able to protect, is a King by Nature to him that needs Protection: Thus Historians make the Election of the first Kings to be for their Strength, their Wisdom or their Beauty: And Aristotle peremptorily determines that the Barbarians are slave● by Nature to the Greeks: This was innocent enough in them, but how can we be excused who have such perfect knowledge of a Creation, who hea● Wisdom proclaim that by Her King's Reign, who made it an Article in Edward the 6th's time, and now every day in our Public Prayers profess that God is the only Ruler of Princes? From whence 'tis necessarily inferred that he only bestows the Power, for if it came from the multitude, what is more evident than that they could make what Conditions they pleased, subject them to an High Court of justice, and call them to an account if th●y act contrary to their pleasure? It being certain, and confirmed by Common Practice that he that voluntarily parts from his right, may do it on what terms he thinks fit: Now if it is certain (and demonstration proves i●) that God is the alone giver of Power, if the Prince is, as Plutarch and Menander say, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a living Image of the Deity; if, as Pliny, qui vic● Dei erga hominum Genus fungeretur, and every King whether Elective or Successive, Rules by the sam● Authority, as 'tis certain they do, because Bo●● have Power, and the People can give them none; than what is more certain than that all Kings which ●ay soever they are enthroned before they have ●ade any grants to their People, are Absolute? And ●at their Pleasure is Law, for otherwise there ●●uld be none, that Liberty and Property depend ●●on their William. 
Nam propriae Telluris herum neque me, neque illum,  
Nec quenquam statuit Natura—   
●or doth Nature provide more Privileges for one ●an another: And if the Principles are true, and ●e inference naturally follows, as it doth, because ●e People that cannot bestow the Power have no ●ght to make conditions for its Exercise, and set limits how far it shall extend, and make such and such ●greements for the admission of the Prince; what ●rm is there in this innocent Truth? For we discourse ●●ly of Kings as they first are, without any reference 〈◊〉 such and such particular Communities, where ●ey have been pleased to limit themselves; to grant ●iviledges to their Subjects, and settle Property; and infirmed all this with Oa●hs, and engaged their ●oyal Word and Promise before God and Man for ●eir performance.  
I suppose it is granted on all hands that the King ●supreme, that upon any pretence whatsoever it is ●eason to resist; and so there can be no fear of ●nishment, no tye upon the King but his own Con●ence; sufficit quod Deum expectet ultorem; yet ●o the Law cannot Punish, it can direct: Thomas it is ●t a Master, it is a Guide, and such a one, as, bemuse of his Oath, he is bound to follow: For though ●e People cannot, He can limit himself; for being Rational ●reature, and entrusted with Power, without any particular Rules for the Guidance of it; his Reason is to be his director, and therefore according to the tempers and particular humours of the People, he may make Laws, settle Maxims of Government, and oblige himself to make those his measures, because his Reason assures him that this is the best Method for the preservation of the Society, the maintenance of Peace, and obtaining those ends for which he was entrusted with this Power.  
And since Princes must die, and Government being necessary, Succession is equally so, and therefore it may seem that every Prince owing his Power only to the same Original from which the first derived it, is at liberty to confirm such and such Privileges and immunities which his Predecessors have granted; yet upon a serious view of the premised reason, no such consequence will follow; for since the Predecessors have found these Laws agreeable to the tempers of the People, and the only way to preserve Peace, 'tis evident that those are Rational; and since he is to use his power according to Right reason, there is an antecedent Obligation on him to assent to those Laws; and make those the measures of his Government; unless some extraordinary Case intervenes which requires an alteration of these Laws, and than that Method of abrogating old, and making new Ones is to be followed, whic● constant experience hath found Rational: And since 〈◊〉 Prince cannot be bound by any ties but those of Conscience, this Opinion leaves all the Obligations possible upon him.    

NOTES UPON The Sixth Book.  

PAG. 196. l. 29. And why doth heedless Lightning, etc.  
The last Exceptions which he brings against Providence, are drawn from that common Observation; Good Men are oppressed with trouble, and misery, subject to all the rage and violence of the Wicked; whilst the Impious swell with the Glories, and revel in the Delights of Life: This hath been the subject of many solicitous Disquisitionss. Disputes have been multiplied; and some have been as industrious ●o vindicate the Methods of Providence from all seeming Irregularities as others to defame them. Some have sent us to look for Retribution in another World, and indeed this is an easy way of solving the Difficulty, and with little pains deducible, from the Immortality of the Soul, which I have already asserted. But because to look beyond the Grave, requires a sharp and steady Eye, I shall observe the Reasons of the Philosophers, and propose what Plutarch hath excellently delivered. And here we must take notice, That only that part of the Objection, which concerns the Prosperity and Impunity of the Wicked, seems formidable, and concluding; for all those Men we generally call Good, as their own Conscience will ●ell them, deserve those Aflictions which the most Miserable have endured. And upon this the Poets, Orators, and Historians have bean very copious. 

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   

I dare to say, No Gods direct this Whole,  
For Villains prosperous distracted my Soul,   says Aristophanes: and Diagor●s resolved to be an Atheist, as Epicurus delivers, because he did not see Vengeance fall presently on the perjured Person, and consume him: Velleius Paterculus produceth the long and quiet Reign of Orestes, as a convincing proof that the Gods directed him ●o murder Pyrrhus; and approved the Action: And Martial hath contracted all the Force of the Argument into one Epigram: 
Nullos esse Deos, inane Coelum  
Affirmat Selius, probatque quod se  
Factum, dum negat haec, videt beatum.   
Seneca in his Treatise, Cur malis benè & Bonis ma●●um sit Providentia, talks much of the Privilege of Sufferings, that to afflict argues Care, and Kindness; and in short, thinks this a great Commendation of Virtue,  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— Th' Immortal Powers have sweat near Virtue 〈◊〉.  
But this is not the way to answer the demands of an Epicurean, to satisfy his doubts, who had rather be accounted an happy Servant, than a miserable Son of the Deity, who would not be fond of Torments, that he might show spectau●um jove dignum, virum fortem cum malâ fortunâ compositum: who cannot think that Fears and Jealousies are the necessary Products of irreligious Opinions; but makes such the only Means of obtaining Happiness, and perfect Serenity of Mind: who is most delighted with the most pleasing Physic, and would think him cruel who makes use of ●aws and Lances, when a gentle Cordial would restore the Patient to his Health; we must therefore ●ook for other Answers, and Plutarch presents us with enough, some of which have a peculiar Force ●gainst the Epicureans; who confess Man to be a free Agent, and capable to be wrought on by Example ●nd Precept.  
First than, Quick Vengeance doth not blast the ●icked that they themselves might learn Lenity, and be ●ot greedy to revenge Injuries on Others: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 'tis the end of good Men 〈◊〉 be like God, says Plato; and Hiero●les places the ●ie of the Soul in this Imitation: Here God sets ●●rth himself an Example, and any Noble and Generous Mind would rejoice to have the Most Excellent for a Pattern of his Actions: Lucretius followed Epicurus, because he thought him so, and the rest 〈◊〉 the Admirers make his fancied Virtues the ground 〈◊〉 their respect. This taken by itself, I confess, 〈◊〉 but a weak Answer, since one Thunderbolt would scure them from doing mischief, whilst Mercy and forbearance often exasperated; and because God ●olds his tongue, they think he is even such a one as themselves; but if we consider it as a Consequent of another reason that is drawn from the Goodness and Kindness of the Dei●y, than it proves strong, and satisfactory.  
The second Reason follows, God doth not presently Punish wicked Men, that they may have time to become better; and here Plutarch brings Examples of such whose Age was as glorious as their Youth infamous: if Miltiades, saith he, had been destroyed whilst he acted the part of a Tyrant: if Cimon in hi● Incest, or Themistocles in his Debaucheries, what had become of Marathon, Erymedon and Dianium, what of the glory and liberty of the Athenians? for as the same Author observes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, great Spirits 〈◊〉 nothing mean, the active Principles that compose them will not let them lie lazily at rest, but toss them as i● a Tempest before they can come to a steady and settled temper.  
Thirdly, the wicked are sometimes spared to be Scourges to others, and execute just judgement on M●● of their own Principles, this is the Case of Tyrant● and outrageous Conquerors; such was Phalanx to the Agrigentines, such Pompey and Caesar to the Romans, when Victory had made them swell beyond their due bounds, and Pride and Luxury fled from other Countries upon the Wings of their Triumphing Eagles: Such Alexander to the Persian Softness; and if we look abroad ten thousand Instances occur, and press upon us; Cedrenus Pag. 334▪ tell● us, that when a Monk enquired of God, why ●e suffered cruel Phocas, treacherous to his Emperor Mauritus, and an implacable Enemy of ●he Christians, to obtain the Empire, and enjoy Power as large as his Malice: a Voice, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, gave this Answer to his Demand, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: because I could found none worse to scourge the wickedness of the Citizens: and Alaricus declared, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: 'tis not of my own accord that I attempt this, but something will not let me rest, but ●urges me on, and cries, Go sack Rome: and this requires that they should not be only free from Punishment, but likewise enjoy Wealth, and Power, and all the Opportunities and Instruments of Mischief: and this Answer is equal to the Objection in its greatest Latitude, and gives Satisfaction to all those numerous ●ittle doubts which lie in the great Objection as it was proposed.  
Fourthly, The impious are not presently consumed, that the Method of Providence may be more remarkable in their Punishment. The History of Bessus and Ariobarzanes in Curtius is an excellent instance of this; and amongst others our Author gives us a memorable one of Belsus, who having killed his Father and a long time concealed it, went one night to Supper to some Friends; whilst he was there, with his Spear he pulled down a Swallow's Nest, and killed the Young ones, and the reason of such a strange action being demanded by the Guests, his Answer was, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: do not they bear false Witness against me, and cry out that I killed my Father? Which being taken notice of, and discovered to the Magistrate, the Truth appeared, and he was executed.  
A great many other reasons are usually mentioned, but these are the Principal, and suppose the Liberty of the Will; for if▪ a man follows Fate blindly, he is driven on, not persuaded to act; if he is an Au●omaton, and moves by Wheels and Springs, bound with the chain of Destiny, 'tis evident that Fate is the Cause of all his miscarriages, and the Man not more to be blamed for wicked actions, than a Clock for irregular strikings whe● the Artist designs it should do so. No Example can prevail on him, no promise entice, no threaten affright him; being as unfit to rule himself, or determine his own actions, as a Stone in its descent; and a piece of Iron may be said to act as freely as a man, if he is led on by Fate, and its motion as spontaneous, if Liberty consisted in a ba●e absence of Impediments.     

INDEX.  

A.  
AETna, Page 205.  
Accidents, 16.  
action, 16.  
●naxagoras, who taught all things were composed of little parts of the same nature, refuted. 26.  
〈◊〉 Annihilation, 9  
augmentation, 66.  
〈◊〉 Antipodes, 32.   

B.  
BArrenness, 137.  
Beast's dream, 131.  
●hen Birds began, 164.  
〈◊〉 Body as well as the Soul perceives, 78.   

C.  
NO Centre, 32.  
Centauris, 166.  
dimera, 168.  
●ouds, 199.  
●ouds very thick, 192.  
●lours not real qualities, 57  
Commonwealth, 175.  
Creation, 7.  
The Fable of Cybele, 51.  
Why Children like their Parents, 136.   

D.  
OF Day and Night, 159.  
Why Days lengthen and shorten, 160.  
Distance, 109.  
Democritus, his Opinion of the Soul refuted, 79.  
Whence comes the Notion of the Deity, 176.  
Diminution, 67.  
Dreams, 130.  
Frightful Dreams, 131.  
Fear of Death the cause of all Evil, 70.  
Against the fear of Death, 92.   

E.  
EMpedocles that taught the four Elements were the Principles of Bodies refuted, 23.  
Epicurus praised, 69, 139, 186.  
Echo, 119.  
Elements changeable, 147.  
Why the Earth hangs in the Air, 156.  
Earthquakes, 202.   

F  
FIRM, Fluid, 47.  
How Fire began, 173.  
How Food first dressed, 173.  
Fountains, 205.   

G.  
GArments, 181.   

H.  
HEraclitus who taught fire was the first Principle of Bodies, refuted 21.  
Hearing, 118.  
Hunger, 127.  
Herbs first brought forth, 163.   

I.  
IMages, 103.  
Images, very swift, 107.  
Why the Image seems beyond the Glass, 110.  
Why transposed, 111.  
Why right in Conve● Glasses, 111.  
Why the Image seems 〈◊〉 move, 112.  
Imagination, 123.   

L.  
WHy Lions are afraid of Cocks, 123.  
Limbs not made for 〈◊〉 use, 126▪  
Love, 132.  
Caution against Love▪ 133  
Lightning, 191  
Why seen before the noise 〈◊〉 heard, 191.  
Poisonous Lakes, 207  
Loadstone, 21●   

M.  
MOtion, downw●● natural, 4●.  
Motion of declination 4●.  
The Mind a Substance 7●  
The Mind the chief par● the Soul, and seated the heart, 7●  
The Mind material, 〈◊〉 posed of small round Seeds, 74.  
The Mind composed of four things, 75.  
The Mind mortal, 80.  
The Mind in a separate state must be senseless, 84.  
Mind divisible, 86.  
●o Transmigration, 90.  
●hy Men can move whem they please, p. 128.  
●hases of the Moon, p. 161.  
●hy the Moon changes, 162.  
●he Origine of Man, p. 164.  
●onsters, p. 165.  
●ate of the first Man, 168.  
monarchy the first sort of Government, p. 174.  
●●w Metals were found, 178.   

P.  
●Rroperties, p. 16.  
Prodigies, 106.  
●●wing and Sowing, 182.  
●gues, 217.  
ague of Athens, 218.   

R.  
NOthing at Rest p. 44.  
Reflection, 106.  
Rain, p. 201.  
Rainbow, p. 201.   

S.  
HOW Speech began, 171.  
Singing, 182.  
Storms, Constant Showers, p. 201.  
Why the Seas do not increase, p. 204.  
Of the Spring near Ammon's Temple, p. 211.  
Fiery Springs▪ 211.  
Seeds though undiscerned, p. 10.  
Seeds perfect Solids, p. 17.  
Seeds incorruptible, p. 18.  
Softness, p. 19  
Seeds indivisible, p. 20.  
The Motion of the Seeds, 37.  
Their Swiftness, 39  
Seeds of different Figures▪ 45.  
Saltness of the Sea, 48.  
Variety of the Shape in Seeds finite, 49.  
Of each shape Seeds infinite, p. 50.  
Seeds colourless, 55.  
Seeds inodorous, 58▪  
Seeds have no qualities, 59  
Sensibles from Seeds voided of Sense, p. 59  
Sense not before the Animal, 61.  
Why bright things hurt the Sight, p. 112.  
Why Objects placed in the light only seen, p. 112.  
Why Squares seem round, 113  
Why Shadows seem to move, 113.  
Sense infallible, p. 113.  
Sceptics confuted, p. 116.  
Sound is Body, 118.  
The difference of Sounds, 118  
The Motion of Sounds. 120.  
Smell, p. 122.  
Sleep, p. 128.  
The cause of the Motion of the Stars, p. 155.  
The Sun not bigger than it shows, p. 157.  
How so much light comes from the Sun, 158.  
The cause of the Sun's Motion, p. 158.   

T.  
TIme and Accident, p. 17.  
Touch, 47.  
Taste, 120.  
Why we can Think on wha● we will, p. 125.  
Thirst, 127.  
Trees, 164.  
Thunder, 189.  
Thunder is Fire, 193.  
Why Thunder is so strong▪ 193.  
Melts hard Bodies, 196.  
Why frequent in Spring and Autumn, 196.   

V  
Voided, p. ●  
Universe consists ●  
Body and Space, p. 1●  
Universe Infinite, p. 30  
Universe Eternal, p. 43   

W.  
LIberty of Will, p. 4●  
Many Worlds, 6●.  
The World nourished, 6●  
The World grows old, 6●  
●ill; 128.  
●he World mortal, 142.  
●he World no Animal, 143.  
●ot made for Man, 144.  
●ot made by any Intelligent Being, 146.  
●he World had a Beginning, p. 150.  
The World may be burnt, or downed, p. 152.  
How the World was made, 153.  
Whirlwinds, 199.  
Fiery Whirlwinds, 199.  
Why Wells grow cold in Summer, p. 210.   
FINIS.   

  

The Five BOOKS OF M. MANILIUS, Containing a SYSTEM OF THE Ancient Astronomy AND ASTROLOGY: Together with The Philosophy of the STOICS.  
Done into English Verse with Notes. By Mr. THO. CREECH.  Nunc autem quid est sine his cur vivere velimus? Mihi vero cum his ipsis vix: His autem detractis, ne vix quidem. Cicero ad Var. 
LONDON, Printed, and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster. 1700.   

AN ACCOUNT OF MANILIUS.  
SIR,  
THE Campaign being over, and Councils not yet begun, the World is very much at quiet; nor can I found News enough to fill a Letter: But to keep up our usual Correspondence, I sand you an Account of an old Latin Poet, very little known, tho' as worthy your Acquaintance, as many of those who are in Credit. He lay buried in the Germane Libraries, not heard of in the World, till Poggius' Published him from some old Manuscripts found there; and tho' 
1 Vid. Not. ad Lucianum.  Bird Cotzus, thinks Lucian consulted this Poet when he wrote his little Treatise of Astrology; tho' julius Firmizus is 
2 By Scaliger and Huetius.  accused as an ungrateful Plagiary, for not acknowledging from whom he Transcribed the chiefest parts of his Books; yet there is no good Evidence, that any one Writer mentioned this Author before Poggius. Pliny is supposed to speak of him as a 
3 Nat. Hist. lib. 36. cap. 10.  Mathematician, and Gerbertus, as an 
4 Gerbertus Rhemensis Bishop of Ravenna, and afterwards Pope of Rome, Epist. 130. Age verò, T●solo conscio, ex tuis sumptibus fac mihi scribantur Marcus Manilius de Astrologia, Victorinus de Rhetorica, etc.  ginger; but concerning the Poet, there is as dead a silence as if he had never been; nor can his greatest Admirers found any Character of him in old Writers.  
Yet it must be owned, that he is an Author of some considerable Age; for the Manuscripts which Poggius, Bonincontrius, Scaliger, and Franciscus junius used, were ancient: Tanaquil Fa●er, Spanhemius, and the severest Critics allow him to be as old as Theodosius the Great, and pretend to found some particular Phrases in him, which are certain Characters of that Time.  
Others, who believe they have very good Reasons to place him higher, found it very difficult to accounted for this universal silence: What they offer, is either bore May-be and Shift, and scarce ever amounts to a tolerable Reason: 'Tis true, they say, he is not mentioned by Ovid in his 
5 De Ponto, lib. 4. Ep. 16.  Catalogue of Poets, and no wonder, since he did not begin to writ before the 
6 This Huetius affirms, but is undoubtedly mistaken.  Banishment of Ovid, and Published nothing before his Death; Perhaps he was one of those Young Men, 
— 
7 Ovid. ibid.  Quorum quod inedita cura est  
Appellandorum nil mihi juris adest.  or his Fame did not reach so far as Pontus: Otherwise they are confident there are too many Graces in his Poem to be neglected; at lest, the singularity of his Subject would have deserved to be taken notice of, as well as that of 
8 Aptaque venanti Gratius ●rma dedit. Ovid. ibid.  Gratius. But why Quintilian doth not propose him to his Orator, tho' he encourages him to 
9 Instit. lib. 10. Cap. 1.  read Macer and Lucretius, and 
1 Instit. lib. 1. cap. 10.  affirms, that a competent skill in Astronomy is necessary to make him perfect in his Profession? Why the following Philologers never use his Authority, tho' it might very often have been pertinently cited by Gellius and Macrobius? Why the Grammarians and Mythologists, seem to be altogether unacquainted with his Writings? They confess these are Questions not easy to be answered.  
Of this Poet, who is acknowledged by all Parties to have lain very long unknown, and about whom, since he first appeared in the World, so many Controversies have risen, I am now to give you an account.  
His Name is commonly said to be Marcus Manilius, which in some Copies of his Poem is shortened into Manlius, in others softened into Mallius: This variation is inconsiderable, and the common fault of unaccurate Transcribers; but 
2 Praef.  Bonincontrius affirms; that the Title of his very Ancient Copies was, C. Manilii Poetae illustris Astronomicon; and that he had seen a Medal, in which was the Figure of a Man, but in a Foreign Habit, with a Sphere placed near his Head, and this Inscription, C. MA●NILI. 
3 Lib. de Poet. Hist. dial. 4.  Lilius Gyraldus mentions another of the same stamp; But that these Medals belonged to this Poet, may be as easily denied, as 'tis affirmed, or rather, as 'tis conjectured: However all Parties agreed, that the most Ancient Copies constantly bear the Title of Manilius; but whether the Books of Poggius and Bonincontrius, which call him Caius, or those of Scaliger and others, in which we found Marcus written, are to be followed, is submitted to every Man's Discretion; the Matter is not of any Consequence, nor a fit Subject for Dispute, because impossible to be determined: Thou if Conjecture may be admitted, I should fancy that it is more probable a Transcriber may err, when he puts M. before Manilius, than when he writes a C. because in the former case, the Sound of the following Word, which is the most considerable in the Title, and consequently the chiefest in his Thoughts, may pervert him; but in the latter, He hath no temptation to mistake. This M. or C. Manilius, was born a Roman, and lived in Rome when Rome was in her Glory; commanding the biggest part of the known World, and full of the greatest Men that ever any time produced: For the same Age that saw Manilius enjoyed Varro, Lucretius, Cicero, Caesar, Virgil, Varius, Horace, and (to close the Catalogue) Augustus. In the beginning of this Astronomical Poem that Emperor is 
4 Lib. 1. v. 7.  invoked, that very Emperor who was the 
5 Lib. 1. v. 10.  adopted Son of julius Caesar, who 
6 Lib. 1. v. 906.  beaten Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, 
7 Lib. 1. v. 918.  overthrew Pompey the Great's Son, 
8 Lib. 4. v. 763.  who sent Tiberius to Rhodes, 
9 Lib. 1. v. 896.  who lost three Legions in Germany under the Command of Varus; who 
1 Lib. 1. v. 912.  routed Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium, and saved the Roman Empire by turning that overgrown dissolute Republic into a well regulated Monarchy. Here are so many Characters, that the Person cannot be mistaken, not one of them agreeing to any but the first Great Augustus. So that this Author ●iv'd in that Age to which He prebends by so many very particular Circumstances, or else He is a most notorious Cheat, and one of the greatest impostors in the World.  
It seems 
2 Not. in Lib. 6. Lucretij.  Tanaquil Faber thought him to be so, since without giving any Reason He brings him down as ●ow as the time of Theodosius: 
3 De Arte Gram. lib. 2. cap. 26.  Vossius was once of the same Opinion, having observed, as He than thought, some Measures, Words and Phrases peculiar to that Age, and therefore He concludes against Scaliger, that julius Firmicus did not follow Manilius, but Manilius wrote in Verse what Firmicus had published in Prose under the Reign of Constantine the Great: But upon second Reading this 
4 Lib. de Poet. Lat.  Critic altered his first Sentiments, and allows him to be as ancient as the Poet himself desires to be thought 
5 Phys. Sect. 2. lib. 6. cap. 2. Ptolomaeus, Fir●micus, Manilius primarij hujus Artis Scrip●●r●● vid. etiam p. 717. & pag. 740.  Gassendus often quotes him, and always sets him after Firmicus, as may b● seen in many places of his Writings▪ but gives no reason why he constantly observes that order: But Gevartius▪ who had studied and designed to pub●lish Notes upon this Author, says i● a Letter to Mr. Cambden, 
6 vid. Cambd● Epist. p. 260. " I have been long acquainted with this Wri●ter, and know him well, but can●not, with Scaliger and other learne● Critics, allow him to be as anci●ent as Augustus, for in my Notes will demonstrate that he lived in th● Age of Theodosius ● and his Sons Ar●cadius and Honorius, and that h● was the same with Manlius Theodorus, upon whose Consulship Claudian writes a Panegyric, in which he mentions his Astronomicon. The ●ame thing he asserts in his Comments ●pon 
7 Vid. Not. in Statij. lib. 3. Syl. Carm. 3.  Statius, and promises to do Wonders in his 
8 His Electa were almost finished A. D. 1618. vid. Cambd. Epist. p. 259.  Electa upon this subject; what his performance was do not found taken notice of by any ●f the Critics, nor am I concerned ●or it, being certain that he failed in ●is Attempt, because it was ridiculous ●nd rash: Yet the learned Ezechiel Spanhemius endeavours to support this Conjecture of Gevartius, 
9 De praestantia & Vsu Numismatum. pag. 643.  and tells us, that sub Armis, a Phrase familiar ●o Manilius, as lib. 1. v. 795. 
— Matrisque sub Armis  
Miles Agrippa suae—  Lib. 4. v. 656. 
— Regnum sortita sub Armis.  And in another place, 
— Quumque ipsa sub Armis  
Pax agitur—  was used in the time of Theodosius, as appears by the following passage in that emperor's Code, 
1 Cod. Theod. l. 38. ●. 1. de Decur.  Quicunque sub Armis Militiae munus Comitatense subierunt. Scaliger himself unwarily gave a very great advantage to this Opinion, when he 
2 Not. ad Manil.  affirmed, that the word Decanus, which Manilius uses, was brought from the Camp, and that a Sign which governed ten Degrees was called Decanus, because ●n Officer who commanded ten Men ●n the Army had the same Title: But 
3 Sal. de An. Climact. p. 560.  Salmatius, who discovered the Mistake, (for Decanus was not heard ●f in the Roman Camp before ●he time of Constantine the Great) ●ath so well corrected it, 
4 Not. ad lib. 4. v. 298.  or rather 〈◊〉 Huetius hath given so good an Account of that Word, that tho' an Argument drawn from it may be strong against the Critic, it will never be of any force against the Author. It is almost needless to mention the Exceptions of those Critics who think his Style impure, or, as they please to speak, too barbarous for the Age he pretends to; Indeed 
5 Lib. de Poet. 3. Dial. 4.  Gyraldus endeavours by this very Argument to prove he was no Roman born: But 
6 Scal. Pro●leg. in Manilium. p. 3.  Scaliger▪ laughs at him for his Attempt, tells him that he does not d●●stinguish between Idiotisms and Ba●●barisms, and that Vitruvius (〈◊〉 whom he should have added Lucre●tius) might be called barbarous a● well as he: 
7 Praef. ad Not.  Franciscus junius com●mends the propriety of his Language 
8 Not. ad Aug. script.  Salmatius and 
9 Vid. Not. in Manil.  Huetius have approved many passages which lesser Critics thought to be impure; And the accurate Vossius, 
1 De Poet. Lat.  after he had studied and considered him well, found nothing in him inconsistent with the Age of Augustus, and the Politeness of his Court. Indeed most of th● Instances that are produced upon this head, do not fasten on the Author himself, but on the Transcribers and Publishers of his Writings. There aught to be a new Edition of his Astronomicon, and I do not despair of seeing ●●ne which will have a pure genuine Text, and free that Text from many ●f his Interpreters Comments, especially from the Notes of the miserable wretched 
2 The Editor of Manilius in usum Delphini.  Fayus.  
You see, Sir, I have brought this diffused Controversy within a very ●arrow Compass; Tanaquil Faber and Gassendus keep their (if they had any) Reasons to themselves. Their Authority I confess had been persuasive, ●ad they considered, and after a fair ●earing determined the Controversy; ●ut an incident declaration, and an unweighed Sentence concerning the Age of any Writer aught not to be submitted to, but appealed from: And therefore if I can show the Observation of Spanhemius to be unconcluding, and refute the bold Conjectures of Gevartius, I shall leave Manilius in possession of that Age▪ which he so often, and with 〈◊〉 much assurance claims. And her● I am sure we should not have been troubled with Spanhemius' Observation, had he been pleased to consider, that sub Armis, and sub●Armis Militiae, being very different from one another, might be used in very different Ages of the Empire; and that he argues very ill, who says, the one was known in the Time of Theodosius, and therefore the other was not common in the Court of Augustus: 'Tis certain tha● it was, for Virgil (whom Manilius often imitates) hath 
— Sedet circum castella sub Armis,  
— Equitem docuere sub Armis  
Insultare solo—  And in another place, 
— Ludunt Belli simulachra sub Armis.  And this Virgil himself borrowed from Ennius, who says, 
●Ter me sub Armis malim vitam cernere.  could produce more Authorities, ●ere not these sufficient to secure Ma●ilius from Spanhemius' Observation.  
But Gevartius, as he is bolder, so ●e is much more unhappy in his Conjectures; he fixes upon the Man, ●nd says this Manilius is Mallius Theo●orus, celebrated by the Poet Claudian; ●or the Author of this Astronomicon, is 〈◊〉 many of the old Copies called Mallius, and this Mallius Theodorus, was a good Astronomer, and a Writer of great Industry and Reputation: But did Gevartius ever meet with the Astronomicon, under the Title of Fl. Mallius Theodorus? Or of Fl. Mallius and not always of C. or M. Manlius, Mallius or Manilius? Doth Claudian commend the Poetry of his Consul, or mention his Acquaintance with the Muses? or could a Poet forget, or not celebrated that Talon which he himself must look upon as a very great Perfection, and the Age would have highly valued, had he been the Author of this Poem? Doth he say he wrote Books of Astronomy, knew the Depths of Astrology, and was admitted into the Councils of the Stars? Here was a large Field for that luxuriant Wit to have wantoned in, and it cannot be thought he would have concealed the deserts of his Patron when he studied to commend him: But instead of this he praises his Justice, Integrity, Clemency and Honour; he extols his Eloquence, and prefers the sweetness ●f it before all the delicate Charms ●f Poetry and Music.  


3 De Mallii Theod. Consul. v. 251.  Ut quis non sitiens Sermonis Mella politi  
Deserat Orpheos blanda Testudine cantus?  ●nd tho' all the Muses are concerned for 〈◊〉, and busy in his Service, yet he 〈◊〉 devoted to none of them but Ura●●, who assisted him in his Astronomic Diversions.  


4 ibid. 74.  Uranie redimita comas, quâ saepe Magistra  
Mallius igniferos radio descripserat Axes.  〈…〉 well observes that thi● 〈…〉 

5 ibid. v. 126.  Invenit aetherios signantem pulvere cursus  
〈…〉  
〈…〉 polum, qua● certus in Astris  
Error: Quis tenebras Soli causisqu●●meantem  
Defectum indicat numerus. Quae lin● Ph●eben  
〈◊〉, et excluso pallentem fratr● relinquat  That he published some admired Book 

6 ibid. v. 332.  Consul per populos, idemque graviss●●mus Author  
Eloquij, duplici vita subnixus in aevu●●  
Procedat, libris pariter, 〈◊〉 legendus.  But how doth it appear that Astronomy was his Subject, when Claudian himself tells us it was the Origine and Constitution of the World? He represents him as well versed in all the several Hypotheses of the Natural and Moral Philosophers, acquainted both with the Physics and Ethics of the Greeks, and able to discourse of their Opinions very properly, and very elegantly in Latin. 
Ibid. v. 65.   


7 ibid.▪ v. 84.  Graiorum obscuras Romanis floribus Arts  
Irradias'—  But when he speaks of his Writings he says he described the Origine and Disposition of the World, and gave veryn convincing proofs of his own Wit, Capacity, and Judgement, by his exact account of the beautiful Order, and regular Contrivance of that wondered Machine. 

8 Ibid. v. 253.  Qualem te legimus teneri Primordia Mundi.  
Scribentem, aut Partes Animae per Singula, Talem  
Cernimus, et similes agnoscit Pagina mores.  From these Verses and other passages in Claudian, as 
— 
9 ibid. v. 101.  Quae vis animaverit Astra,  
Impuleritque Choros, quo vivat Machina motu;  it may be inferred that this Consul● Mallius, was as to Natural Philosophy a Stoic, and built his World according to the Hypothesis of that Sect, and therefore wrote something very like what we found at large in the first Book, and hinted at in several passages of the other Books of Manilius. But this being the lest part of our Author, and subservient to his greater and general design, it must not be supposed that Claudian should enlarge only upon this, and leave his whole Astrology untouched; unless we think Claudian as ridiculous as that Painter would be, who being to fill his Canvas with a noble Family should draw a single Servant, or paint only a Finger or a Nail when he had a large beautiful Body to represent.  
I have been the more particular in this matter, because Gevartius pretends to demonstration, tho' to confute his conjecture it had been sufficient only to observe, that it is the most ridiculous thing in the World to imagine that Mallius a Man well known both for his personal Endowments and public Employments, who had been Governor of several Provinces▪ and at last Consul should publish a Treatise under his own Name, and yet in almost every Page of the Book endeavour to persuade his Readers it was written four hundred years before. For it must be granted that the Prince whom he 
1 Lib. 1. v. 7.  invokes in the beginning of his Poem, who is styled Patriae Princepsque Paterque, who is deified whilst 
2 lib. 1. v. 9 et 924.  alive, and (not to repeat the other particulars I have already reckoned up) whose 
3 lib. 2. v. 509.  Horoscope was Capricorn, was the first Great Augustus, and therefore there is no need of calling in the Authorities of 
4 Car. lib. 1. Od. 2. Hic ames dici Pater atque Princeps.  Horace, 
5 Virg. Ec. 1. et Georg. 1.  Virgil, and 
6 〈◊〉. in Aug. cap. 94.  Suetonius to prove it.  
This last Character puts me in mind of another Objection that may be drawn from F. Harduin's 
7 de Num. Herod. p. 9  Observation, for he says that Suetonius was himself deceived, and hath deceived all those who have thought Capricorn was concerned in the Nativity of Augustus: For if this be true all the Pretences of Manilius are ruin'd; but since that Writer doth not back his Assertion with any Reasons, I shall not submit to his bore Authority, nor waste my time in guessing what Arguments he may rely on, being not bold enough to conjecture what the daring Author may produce. Having thus fixed the Age of this Author, and proved him to have lived in the time of Augustus Caesar, 〈◊〉 shall venture farther to affirm that h● was born under the Reign of tha● Emperor, not only a Roman, but o● illustrious Extraction, being a branch of that noble Family the Manilij, who so often filled the Consul's Chair, and supplied the best and greatest Offices in the Roman Commonwealth. And here I must oppose many of the Critics, and be unassisted by the rest: For 
8 Proleg. in Manil. p. 2.  Scaliger confesses, that from his own Writings, it cannot be known what Countryman he was, and n● other Authors give us any Information. Bonincontrius and Gyraldus endeavour to prove from the Medal already mentioned, that he was no Roman; the Learned 
9 Vid. Sir Edward Shirburn 's Preface to the Sphere of Manilius.  Isaac Vossius thinks he was a Syrian, and all who ●ook upon him to be the same with ●hat Manilius mentioned by Pliny, Nat. Hist. lib. 35. cap. 17. say he was a Slave: Only Petrus Crinitus 〈◊〉 
1 De Poet. Lat.  affirms, he was Nobly Born, and Mr. Tristan will 
2 Hist. Com. Tom. 1.  have him to be ●hat Manilius, of whom Pliny gives a ●ery Honourable Character, in the Tenth Book and Second Chapter of ●is Natural History; where he says, He was of Senatorian Dignity, an excellent Scholar, and (if we believe Mr. Tristan) a very good Astronomer. But ●nce Crinitus doth not prove what ●e says, and Mr. Tristan but conjectures at best, and upon Examination, will be found to be very much mistaken in his Conjectures, therefore I cannot expect any assistance ●rom either of these Authors. Now 〈◊〉 is not certain that the Gentleman whom Pliny speaks of in the Secon● Chapter of his Tenth Book wa● named Manilius. Copies differ, an● in the M. SS. of Salmasius 
3 Vid Salmatium ad Solinum, p.  he i● called Mamilius: Pliny doth not say one word of his skill in Astronomy he only 
4 Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. 10. cap. 2.  affirms," That he was the first of all the Romans who wrote concerning the Phoenix, that never any Man saw it feed, that in An●bia it is Sacred to the Sun, that i● lives 660 Years, and that with the Life of this Bird is consummated the Conversion of the Great Year, in which the Stars return again to their first points, and give significations of the same Seasons as at the beginning:" And all this any one may writ who is in an entire Ignorance of the Courses and Influence of the Stars: But when Mr. Tristan ●arther observes that Pliny insinuates, besides a particular respect, a kind of intimacy and Acquaintance between ●his Manilius and himself, he gives us a very convincing Argument against his own conjecture: for there is good ●eason to believe this Manilius the Po●●t died before Augustus, and therefore ●ould not be intimate with Pliny.  
To set this whole matter in its due ●light, I shall, as the learned and ingenious Sr. Edward Shirburn hath already done in his Preface to the Sphere of Manilius take a view of those, who have been by the name of Manilius delivered down to Posterity as Men of Letters, and than consider which of all those, or whether any one of them was this Manilius the Poet.  
Of that Manilius whom Pliny mentions in the second Chapter of his tenth Book I have already said enough; and about that Manilius, whom Varro 
5 De Li●g. Lat. lib. 4. et ●.  citys, I shall not be concerned▪ there being no ground to think he was the Author of this Poem. 
6 Sir Edward Shirburn's pref. " Pliny lib. 35. cap. 17. tells us of one Manilius surnamed Antiochus, who with Publius Syrus, and Staberius Eros were brought to Rome, all three of Servile Condition, but persons of good Literature. His words are these, Pedes Venalium trans mare advectorum [Creta] denotare instituerunt Majores; Talemque Publium [Syrum] mimicae Scenae conditorem, et. Astrologiae consobrinum ejus Manilium Antiochum▪ item Grammaticae Staberium Erotem, eadem navi advectos videre Proavi. Our Ancestors used to mark with Chalk the Feet of those Slaves who were brought over from beyond Sea to be sold; And such an one was Publius [Syrus] the Founder of the Mimic Scene, and his Cousin German Manilius Antiochus of Astrology, and Staberius Eros of Grammar; whom our great Grandfathers saw in that manner brought over in one and the same Ship: This Manilius Laurentius Bonincontrius (who near two ages ago commented on our Author) conceives the same with Manilius who wrote this Astronomical Poem, to confirm which opinion he produces the evidence of a Silver Medal in his possession whereon was the figure of a Man, in an Exotic Habit with a Sphere placed near his Head, and this Inscription MANILI: The same is affirmed says Lilius Gyraldus by Stephanus Dulcinus, and the said Gyraldus farther assures us that a familiar Friend of his, one Nicolaus Trapolinus, had another Medal of the like Stamp and Inscription."  
" But against this opinion of Bonincontrius and Gyraldus, Scaliger opposes a double Argument, one drawn from the seeming inveracity of tha● supposed Evidence; no such Meda● being at this day to be found in th● Cabinets of any, not not the mos● curious Antiquaries; the other from the reason of Time, for Manilius Antiochus being brought to Rome in the beginning of Sylla's days (for he was brought in the same Ship with Staberius Eros, who opened his Grammar School in Rome whilst Sylla wa● alive) must needs, if he were th● Author of this Poem have been 120● Years old when he began to writ this piece being written in the latte● years of Augustus. Besides, the Author in the Proem of this work wishe● for long life to complete his intended Poem, and therefore certainly h● was not of that Age, it being ridiculous for a Man to wish for long life, when he is at the Extreme already."  
" The same Pliny, lib. 36. cap. 10. speaks of one Manilius a Mathematician, who when the Obelisk which Augustus erected in the Campus Martius for finding out the Hours of the day by the Shadow of the Sun, with the Increase or Decrease of the Days and Nights, placed a guilded Ball, Cujus Vertice Umbra colligeretur in se●netipsam, alia atque alia incrementa ja●culantem Apice, ratione (ut ferunt) à ●apite hominis intellecta, says Pliny, who commends the design."  
" To this Person Scaliger conceives ●his work may with fairer probability ●e ascribed than to the former; which Opinion is by divers other judicious Men embraced."  
" The excellently learned Isaac Vossius conceives yet, that the Manilius Antiochus, and the Manilius Mathematicus before mentioned are not two distinct Persons, but one and th● same under different Titles and Appellations, and the very Author o● the Poem we now publish, whose particular Sentiments upon this Subject, and Arguments confirming the same, he was pleased not long since to impart to me, by his most obliging Letter, in answer to some Queries by me propounded in one of mine to him upon occasion of my intended publication of this piece, which for the Readers satisfaction, I shall here make public, tho' not in his own words, yet as near as may be in his own Sense."  
" And first in answer to Scaliger's Argument drawn from Reason to Time, against Manilius Antiochus, upon the supposition of Staberius Eros (one of the Three before mentioned) set open his Grammar School in the time of Sylla ninety five years before the death of Augustus; and that therefore Manilius could not probably be (according to Scaliger's Computation) lesle than 120 Years old at the time when this Poem was written; he urges by way of reply, that Suetonius (from whom Scaliger takes the ground of his Argument) doth not say that Staberius Eros opened his School in Sylla's time, but that he taught gratis the Children of those who in Sylla's time were proscribed. The Words of Suetonius are these, Sunt qui tradunt tanta eum (Staberium) honestate praeditum, ut temporibus Syllanis Proscriptorum liberos gratis, et sine mercede ulla in Disciplina receperit. How long that was after the times of Proscription will be needless here to declare; and that Manilius was not so old as Scaliger conceives, when this piece was written, may be made out from this, that he was the Cousin German of Publius Syrus, who that he was brought a young Boy to his Patron, Macrobius affirms, from whom likewise, and from the Verses of Laberius it may be collected that he was but a Youth when he came upon the Stage against Laberius, which was but a little before the death of julius Caesar and Laberius also; to whom he succeeded on the Mimic Stage in the second year of 184 Olympiad, that is in the Year of Rome 711, as Eusebius testifies▪ And therefore seeing it is, manifest that Manilius published this Poem soon after the Varian Defeat, which happened in the Year 762 of Rome, it is as evident likewise that between the Youth or Adolescence of Manilius, and the time wherein he wrote this piece, there could not pass above one and fifty Years, and consequently there is no reason to assign so great an Age to Manilius, as Scaliger here doth, since perhaps he was not seventy years old when he had finished this his Astronomical Poem."  
" As to what Scaliger subjoins touching Manilius his wish for long life together with a cheerful old Age, and the Inference he thence makes that he could not reasonably be thought to be old than, who wished he might live to be so. The Argument is but weak, for Senium is one thing, and Senium Annosum is another; Nor doth he simply wish for Vitam Annosam, but Vitam Annosam quae conjuncta sit cum molli Senecta, which may be wished for even by those who are very old."  
" As for the name of Antiochus, he seems to have taken it from the famous Philosopher Antiochus Ascalonita, often mentioned by Cicero, Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, and others, whose School not only Cicero, but Varro, Brutus, and divers others are said to have frequented, and in all probability this our Manilius also, as being not only of the same Nation▪ but happily born in the same Town (Ascalon.) So that it may seem no wonder if after the manner of those times, he took upon him the Name of his worthy Tutor and Instructor▪ For that he was a Syrian is not only manifest from his Consanguinity with Publius Mimus, but may likewise be collected from the Title o● Inscription of this work, which is a● ancient and excellent Manuscript in the Possession of Vossius is this, M● MALLII POENI ASTRONO●MICON DIVO OCTAVIO QU●● RINO AUG. That the Phaenician were by the Romans called POEN● is manifest out of Horace, Cicero apu● Nonium, and our Author in this very Poem; he concludes therefore tha● this our Manilius, or (as he is rather pleased to call him) Manlius was a Phaenician, and in all probability Native of the same Town as Antiochus his Tutor, whose name he assumed."  
" From this Dedication of his Work to Augustus, by the Name of Quirinus, as the Inscription shows, will appear the Error of those, who who imagine the same to be Dedicated to Tiberius, or some later Roman Emperor: And the Reason of attributing the Name of Quirinus to Augustus, may be made clear from the Words of Suetonius, Censentibus quibusdam Romulum appellari oportere quasi et ipsum conditorem Urbis, etc. Dion likewise tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That Augustus Caesar extremely desired to be called Romulus: and joannes Philadelphensis (Scripto de Mensibus in Aug.) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Octavianus Son of Octavius was after hi● great Victories honoured with diver● Names, for by some he was called Quirnus, as another Romulus, etc."  
" As to that Manilius styled by Pliny Mathematicus, he conceives that titular distinction to make no difference in the Person, but that he is the same with the former, further adding, Omnino existimo et illum quoque de nostro● Manilio accipi debere. And whereas● Salmasius affirms that the name Manlius or Manilius is not to be found in that place of Pliny in any ancient Manuscripts, he makes it appear that Salmasius is extremely mistaken by the testimony of several ancient Manuscript Copies of Pliny in his Possession, one of which was written above 8 or 900 Years ago, in all which the Word Manlius is found, though with some small difference in writing of the name. Nor doth he think the name of Marcus prefixd to Manilius aught to be scrupled at, upon the Account that none of the Manlian Family after the 360th Year from the building of Rome could or● did use that Praenomen, seeing the prohibition as Cicero intimates is only to be understood of the Patrician Race, Now that this Manilius, or (as he calls him) Manlius was before his Manumission a Slave, not only the place of Pliny already cited, but the very Agnomen of Antiochus sufficiently demonstrates, for as much as a Greek Agnomen joined to a Roman Name is always a most certain Token of a Servile Condition."  
Thus far Sir Edward Shirburn, who is very much inclined to rest satisfied with this rational discourse of the incomparable Vossius, and thinks others should be so too; but upon examination it will appear that Scaliger's Objections are still in force, and that Vossius' his reasonings are all to little purpose. It must be granted that the Agnomen Antiochus proves that Manilius to be of Servile Condition, tho' there i● no need of this Argument, since Pliny in very express Terms asserts that he is so: 'tis likewise true that that Manilius was a Syrian, being a near Kinsman to Publius Syrus, and brought to Italy in the same Ship with him: But that that Manilius the Syrian was the same with Manilius the Poet, is a Question that still returns, and will not, I fear, be determined by the Title of that ancient and excellent Manuscript of Vossius: For if instead of M. MALLI● POENI, we read M. MALLI● POETAE, which is found in other Manuscripts, (and every body knows there is so little difference in the ●raits of the Letters of those two words ●n ancient Copies, that they may ve●y easily by Ignorant Transcribers be mistaken for one another) than the Evidence drawn from this Inscription ●s lost: Besides that Title is not to ●e regarded, it not being written by ●he Author but affixed by some heedless Copyer of the Poem: For it is Divo Octavio, whereas Augustus was never styled Divus though often Deus before ●is Death, and the Writer of the Astro●omicon, as will by and by appear, ●y'd before Augustus.  
To speak out what I think will not ●e denied, Manilius the Author of ●his Poem was young when he wrote ●t, and died young; and therefore cannot be that Manilius Antiochus whom Scaliger reckons to be 120, and Vossi●s is forced to confess was 70 years of Age about the time Varus was defeated by the Germane. The first part of this Assertion may be demonstrated from almost all the Pages of his Book, in which we meet with many things that are not to be accounted for on the Hypothesis of Sixty: He is too fierce and fiery for that Age, and bounds every Step he takes: In a Man of years when we found a Warmth we feel it to be regular, he never starts▪ his Pace is equal, and seldom varies but when his Subject forces him to a more than ordinary quickness.  
Judgement appears all through, and a strength well governed: When he rises he doth not affect to climb but to walk, like a sober Traveller, who knowing his own force seeks the easiest ascent, when his Ground is uneven, or he is obliged to take the advantage of a Prospect. But 'tis not so in Youth whose Fancies as well as Passions are impetuous; that pleases them most which is most daring, finding they have strength they use it to the utmost, and when at last they sink they seem rather worn out, than tired. I cannot compare the Spirit of Poetry possessing a Youth, of a strong generous Imagination and vigorous Constitution, to any thing better than to a Flame seizing on the Body of a Meteor, the whole Mass blazes, and mounts upon a sudden; but its motion is all the way uneven, and it quickly falls in a despicable Jelly: He that looks on the Latin of Manilius will see that I do him no Injury when 〈◊〉 compare him to this Meteor, for even when he is obliged to give rules, and is tied almost to a certain form of words, he struggles against those necessary Fetters, he reaches after the strongest Metaphors, uses the boldest Catachresis, and against all the rules of ●ecency labours after an obscure Sublime, when he should endeavour to be plain, intelligible and easy: But as soon as he hath room to get lose, how wildly doth he rove? he is not free but licentious, and strives to err greatly. 'Tis needless to produce particulars, since they are so visible in the Prefaces, Fables, and Descriptions through his Books: And upon the whole it may be affirmed, there are so many boldnesses scattered through his Poem, and so much of Toysomness just by them, that a Man may read his Youth in his writings, as well as his Contemporaries could do it in his Face.  
I would mention and enlarge upon his conspicuous Vanity, and from thence endeavour to support the Judgement I have already passed; but that I consider that fault when it hath once possessed a Man is not to be cooled by all the Frost and Snow of Age: Yet from the Vanity of Manilius I think a particular Argument may be drawn to prove him to be young, for he had a design to rival or perfect the inimitable Virgil. This is evident from the Preface to his third Book: 
— 
7 Lib. 3. v. 22.  Romanae Gentis Origo,  
Totque Deuces Orbis, tot bella, tot otia, et omnis  
In Populi unius leges ut cesserit Orbis Differtur—  For here it is plain he had this mighty project in his head, and after he ●ad prepared himself by this Astronomical Poem, raised his Fancy and got 〈◊〉 good turn of Verse, was resolved to prosecute it with his utmost vigour; ●e saw the vastness of the design 
— 
8 Lib. 3. v. 21.  Spatio majore canenda  
Quam si tacta loquor—  Yet he hoped to live to finish it, though in the beginning of this Poem he wishes for old Age that he might complete the Work he than had in hand; yet having gone through the most difficult part of it sooner, and with more ease than at first he thought he should have done; he sets up for new Schemes and thinks he shall have years enough before him prudently to begin, and Strength successfully to carry on so great an Undertaking. In this very Preface he reckons up a great many other Subjects fit to employ a Poet, but in express terms lays them all aside. 
Colchida nec referam, etc.  
Non annosa canam, etc.  But the Roman History is in his Thoughts tho' he will not begin to writ, till his greater leisure gives him opportunity to do it.  
These two Observations persuade ●me, that Manilius was Young when ●he began this Poem, and that he ●dy'd Young, and did not live to finish his design, or accurately Revise what he had written, will I think ●e very evident from what follows: ●t cannot be denied, that this Poet ●ad advanced very far in his Work, whilst Tiberius was at Rhodes, for in ●is fourth Book, he gives this Character of that Island: 

9 Lib. 4. v. 761.  Virgin sub casta felix Terraque Marique,  
Et Rhodos, Hospitium recturi Principis Orbem,  
Tuque domus verè solis, cui tota sacrata es,  
Cum caperes lumen magni sub Caesare Mundi.   
Now 
1 Dion Cassius, p. 634.  Tiberius retired to Rhodes, when C. Antistius and L. Balbus, were Consuls; he continued there Seven 
2 Vell. Pat●rculus, lib. 2. cap. 99  Years▪ and returned in the Consulship of P. Vinicius and P. Alfinius Varus; and yet in the first Book we meet with the 
3 lib. 1. v. 894.  Description of the Prodigies that appeared before the defeat of Varus in Germany which happened when Poppaeus Sabinus and Q. Sulpicius Camerinus were Consuls, about eight years after the Return of Tiberius from Rhodes: What shall we say than? was the fourth Book written and published before the first? or would the Poet have strained for that Compliment to Rhodes after the Varian Defeat? with what Propriety could that Island be called Hospitium recturi Principis Orbem, or with what Truth could it be said to contain the most glorious Luminary next to Caesar, when that imagined Star had not for many years been in that Horizon, and now shone in other quarters of the World? Not, this had been Banter and inexplicable Riddle: But if we suppose Manilius to have had this Work under his hand several years, to have revised it, and added what he thought would adorn his Po●em, than we can easily give an account why his fourth Book should appear to be eight years younger than ●is first: A little before Tiberius' re●urn from Rhodes he wrote his fourth Book, after that he compossed his fifth, and sixth which is now lost; ●hen at several times revising his Work, and about the time of the Va●ian Defeat being upon the end of his first Book, he added to his discourse of Comets a short Account of those prodigious Meteors that than appeared, and which Historians 
4 Dion Cassius, lib. 56.  tell us were the most amazing that were ever seen: Soon after this he died before he had corrected the fourth Book, as appears from the Character which in that Book he gives the Island Rhodes, and which his last and finishing hand could not have left there.  
These Observations will help us to give some tolerable account of the other difficulties relating to this Author, for to any one who inquires why the first Book is more correct than the rest? why the Impurities of Style the Critics charge upon him are for the most part picked out of the four last Books? I would answer, we have only the first and rude Draughts of them; and that as Poets and Painters are said to be very near allied, so they agreed in nothing more than they do in this, that though in their Scetches we see the Master, yet we may found something that the Finisher would correct: To him who asks why there is ●o mention of this Poet in any of the Ancients, I would reply, That Mani●ius having left an unfinished Piece, his Family was studious both of his Credit and their own, they carefully preserved the Orphan, but would not expose it: In that Age when Poetry was raised to its greatest height, it had argued the utmost Fondness or the extremest Folly in a Noble Family to have published a crude uncorrect Po●m, and thereby engage their Honours ●o defend it.  
Besides▪ Augustus who was infinitely jealous of his reputation 
(— Si palpere recalcitrat undique tutus,  says Horace who knew his Temper very well) would not have born the too officious Compliment of being invoked, unless the Poem had been as correct as Virgil's Georgics, and fit for his Genius to inspire. Lucan afterwards suffered for the like Compliment, though indeed upon a far different account: He lost his Life for pretending to be inspired by Nero, when he made better Verses than the Emperor himself; his Flattery to Nero was too great, as this of Manilius to Augustus had been too little, and a Defect in such Addresses was as dangerous under the wise, as an Excess in them was under the vain Emperors of Rome.  
You are sufficiently tired, I fear, with this long Discourse about Manilius full of guesses and conjectures, yet I cannot dismiss this Subject without adding something concerning his Quality, and place of Birth. His Quality he carries in his name, the Manilij being one of the best Families in Rome, which so often filled the Consul's Chair, and was employed in the greatest Offices of that Commonwealth. Indeed some have affirmed that he was of Servile Condition, and being made free, according to Custom, took the name of his Patron: But since I have already proved, that he was not the Manilius Antiochus in Pliny, there is no reason left for any one to say he was a Slave; he himself very expressly, I think, declares himself to be a Roman born, for in his fourth Book he shows a Concern for ●he Interests of the Roman Commonwealth down as low as the Age of Hannibal. 

5 Lib. 4. v. 40.  Speratum Hannibalem nostris cecidisse catenis:  which he could not with any Propriety have done, had his relation to that State commenced so lately, or had his Ancestors had no Interest in the than Losses or Victories of Rome. And seeing he was born a Roman, and of the Family of the Manilij, we may farther from some other Evidences conclude that he sprung from a very considerable, if not one of the noblest Branches of it; for if we reflect that tho' he died young, yet he had been well instructed in the several Hypotheses of the Ancient Philosophers, accurately taught the Doctrine of the Stoics, led through all the intricate mazes ●nd Subtleties of Astrology, that he was acquainted with the Mathematics, knew ●ll the Mythology of the Ancients, and ●ad run through the Greek Poets, we shall ●ind in him all the signs of a very li●eral and costly Education, and consequently of a considerable Quality, ●●r at lest a great Fortune. But if we ●eflect farther that he was conversant at Court, and acquainted with the mo●ish, and nicest Flattery of the Palace, ●at he made his Compliments in the ●●me Phrase that the most intimate ●nd finished Courtier ever used, we may ●aise another probable Argument ●at his Quality was great: Now this ●eflection may be supported by one observation made on the Compliment ●e pays Tiberius when at Rhodes: He ●iles him 
6 Lib. 4. v. 764.  Magni Mundi Lumen, using the very same Word● which we mee● with in Velleius Paterculus, who wroten all Court Language, upon the very same occasion. 
7 Lib. 2. cap. 99  Alterum Reipublic●● Lumen is Tiberius, and he retired to● Rhodes, ne Fulgor suus orientium juvenum, C. et L. Caes. obstaret initiis, say● that Historian.  
As to his place of Birth, since we● found him at Rome when he wrote thi● Poem, 

8 Lib. 4. v. 775.  Qua genitus cum fratre Remus ha●● condidit Urbem:  and no Author settles him any whe● else, it may with some show of Probability be concluded, that he wa● born in that City, in which we a●● certain he both studeid, and led h●● ●●fe: But if we consider farther that ●e takes all occasions to show his ●espect for Rome, that with Zeal he ●●entions those extravagant Honours ●hich the Flattery 
9 Italia summâ, quam r●rum maxima Roma Imposuit terris, Coeloque adjungitur Ipsa. ●b. 4. v. 692.  of Asia, and the ●anity of her own Citizens had put ●pon her, we shall found so much Veneration in his Writings, that it could ●ot well rise from any other Spring ●an that Piety which Men of generous Sense and Spirit always retain for ●●e Places of their Birth.  
To close this Discourse, I have ●●ov'd this Author was not the Mani●●●s Antiochus mentioned by Pliny, Nat. ●ist. lib. 35. cap. 17. Nor that Manili●● lib. 10. cap. 2. and that both Vossius ●●d Mr. Tristan are very much mista●en in their Conjectures. There remains another Manilius whom the same 
1 Lib. 36. cap. 10.  Pliny, commends for his Skill in Mathematics; this Mathematician Scaliger thinks to be the same with the Poet, because he lived in the time of● Augustus, and was conversant in the same Studies with our Author▪ These I must own are not convincing proofs; but as there are no good Arguments for, so there are no Objections against his pretences, and therefore he still stands fairest for the Person.  
This Manilius of a Noble Family, born in Rome, and living in the Age of Augustus, had a liberal Education suitable to his Quality and the time in which he lived: his Writings show him to be well acquainted with the Principles of the several Sects of Philosophers, but addicted to the Stoics, whose Hypothesis in all its out-lines ●ears a very near resemblance to some of the Theories that are now in Fashion. The Modern Philosophers ●uild Worlds according to the Models of the Ancient Heathens, and Ze●o is the Architect.  
The Stoics Principles were in short ●●ese: They say there is one Infinite, ●ternal, Almighty Mind, which being diffused through the whole Universe of ●ell ordered and regularly disposed ●atter, actuates every part of it, and 〈◊〉 as it were, the Soul of this vast Bo●●y: The Parts of this Body they say ●re of two Sorts, the Celestial, viz. the planet's and the fixed Stars, and the Terrestrial, viz. the Earth, and all the o●●er Elements about it: The Celesti●● continued still the same without any Change or Variation; but the whole sublunary World is not only liable to Dissolution, but often hath been, and shall again be dissolved by Fire: From this Chaos which, because it is made by Fire, they call Fire, they say another System would arise, the severa● particles of it settling according to thei● respective Weights: Thus the Earth would sink lowest, the Water would be above that, the Air next, and the Fire encompass the other Three: Bu● because all the Earthy parts are not equally rigid, nor equally dispersed through the Chaos, therefore there would be Cavities and Hollows in some places fit to receive the Water, and to be Channels for Rivers: In other places Hills and Mountains would rise, and the whole System appear in that very form and figure which it now bears. They farther add, that this Infinite Mind hath made one general decree concerning the Government of the lower World, and executes it by giving such and such Powers to the Celestial Bodies, as are sufficient and proper to produce the designed Effects: This Decree thus executed they call Fate, and upon this Principle their whole System of Astrology depends: That some things happened in the World which were very unaccountable ●very days Experience taught them; ●hey learned also or pretended to have earned from very many accurate, and ●ften repeated Observations, that there was a constant Agreement between ●hose odd unaccountable Accidents and ●uch and such Positions of the Heavenly Bodies, and therefore concluded that those Bodies were concerned in ●hose Effects: Hence they began to ●ettle Rules, and to draw their scattered Observations into an Art; And his was the State of the Hypothe●s and Astrology of the Stoics, (I must ●all it so for distinction sake, tho', neither the Hypothesis itself, nor the Astrology built upon it was invented by Zeno, but delivered down to him and his Scholars by the Chaldeans and other Philosophers of the East) till the Greeks ambitious of making i● appear their own, endeavoured to establish support and adorn it with their Fables, and by that means made that which before seemed only precarious, (as all Arts which are drawn from bore Observation and not from any settled Principles in Nature must appear to be) ridiculous Fancies, and wild Imaginations: But I do not design an Account, nor a defence of the Astrology of the Ancients: You know, Sir, it hath been spoken against and derided on the one Hand, and supported and applauded on the other by Men of great Wit, Judgement, Piety, and Worth: and he who shall take a View of it, will always found enough in it to divert his ●eisure, if not to satisfy his Curiosity's, and raise his Admiration.  
This is the Hypothesis which Mani●us endeavoured to explain in La●in Verse: Had he lived to revise 〈◊〉, we had now had a more beautiful and correct piece; he had a Ge●●ius equal to his Undertaking, his ●ancy was bold and daring, his skill in the Mathematics great enough for his Design, his Knowledge of the History, and Acquaintance with the Mythology of the Ancients general: As he is now, some of the Critics place him amongst the Judicious and Elegant, and all allow him to be one of the useful, instructive, profitable Poets: He hints at some Opinions which later Ages have thought fit to glory in as their own Discoveries. Thu● he defends the Fluidity of the Hea●vens against the Hypothesis of Aristo●tle.  
He asserts that the fixed Stars ar● not all in the same concave Superficles of the Heavens, and equally distant from the Centre of the World. He maintains that they are all of the same Nature and Substance with the Sun, and that each of them hath a particular Vortex of his own; and lastly he affirms that the Milky Way is only the undistinguished Lustre of a great many small Stars, which the Moderns now see to be such, through the Glass of Galileo: In short, we do not give him too great a Character, when we say he is one of the most discerning Philosophers that Antiquity can show.  
In my Version I have endeavoured to tender this Author intelligible and easy, and therefore have been sometimes forced to take a larger Compass than a strict Tra●●slation would allow; and have ●●dded some Notes to make him 〈◊〉 obscure: Amongst those Notes y●u will found one relating to the T●●ory of the Earth, which I must desire you to lay aside, it being written and printed several years ago, and before I had well considered the weak unphilosophical Principles, and pernicious Consequences of that vain Hypothesis.  
And now, Sir, you are near ●e End of this long Letter, give me ●ave to tell you, that I have not tired ●ou half so much, as at first ● designed to do; having left unsaid a great many things relating both to the Author and his Writings: Those perhaps will appear at the Head of a Latin Edition of his Works, which I shall think myself obliged to undertake, unless a very learned Gentleman, from whom I have long expected it, frees me from that trouble, and obliges the World with his own Observations.  
I am Your Humble Servant, T. C. All-Souls, Octo. 10th. 96.   

MANILIUS.  

The First Book.  
After a short Account of his Design, and a complimental Address to Augustus, he gins, 1. With the Rise and Progress of Astronomy, and other Arts: 2. Discourseth of the several Opinions concerning the Beginning of the World: 3. Describes the Order of it: 4. Proves the Earth to be the Centre of the World: 5. Proves it to be round: 6. Asserts the Soul of the World: 7. Reckons up the Signs of the Zodiac: 8. Describes the Axis: 9 The Northern Constellations: 10. The Constellations between the Tropics and the South-pole: 11. Explains the Figures of the Constellations: 12. Asserts Providence against Epicurus: 13. Discovers the Bigness of the World: 14. Treats of the movable and immovable Circles: 15. Makes a long description of the Milky-way: 16. Reckons up the Planets: 17. Discourseth of Comets and Meteors, and concludes that they presage.  
STars conscious of our Fates and Arts 
1 Whether Divinas is to be rendered Divining or Divine is not yet agreed by the Interpreters of the Poet; by rendering it Divine, Manilius is freed from a redundancy of Words, and the Origine of Astronomy, which he so often inculcates in other places, is hinted at: beside, Divinus seldom signifies Divining, but when a Substantive follows which determines it to that sense, as Divina imbrium, and the like, and in that case I found Milton venturing at it in his Poem: — Divine of future Woe.  Divin●,  
The wondrous work of Heaven's first wise design,  
In numerous Verse I boldly first enclose;  
Too high a Subject, 
The Subject of the Poem.  and too great for Prose.  
At what the Ancients with a wild amaze  
And ignorant wonder were content to gaze,  
My Verse brings down from Heaven, designed to show  
Celestial secrets to the World below:  
What yet the Muse's Groves ne'er heard, I sing,  
And bring unusual offerings to their spring.  
Rome's Prince and Father, 
The Invocation.  Thou whose wide command  
With awful sway is stretched o'er Sea and Land,  
Who dost deserve that Heaven thy Love bestowed  
On thy great Father, Thou thyself a God,  
Now give me Courage, make my Fancy strong,  
And yield me vigour for so great a Song.  
Nor doth the World this curious search refuse,  
It kindly courts the daring of my Muse,  
And will be known; whilst You serenely reign,  
Instruct our Labour, and reward our Pain.  
Wings raise my Feet, I'm pleased to mount on high  
Trace all the Mazes of the liquid Sky,  
Their various turn, and their whirls declare,  
And live in the vast regions of the Air:  
I'll know the Stars, which yet alone to gain  
Is knowledge mean, unequal to the Pain;  
For doubts resolved it no delight affords,  
But fills soft empty heads with rattling words:  
I'll search the Depths, the most remote recess,  
And flying Nature to Confession press;  
I'll found what Sign and Constellation rule,  
And make the difference 'twixt the Wise and Fool;  
My Verse shall sing what various Aspect reigns  
When Kings are doomed to Crowns and Slaves to Chains.  
I'll turn Fate's Books, there read proud Parthia's doom,  
And see the sure Eternity of Rome.  
Two Temples raised with sacred Incense shine, 
The Difficulty.   
● bow at Nature's and the Muse's shrine;  
Both aids I need, for double Cares do throng,  
And fill my Thought; the Subject and the Song:  
And whilst I'm bound to Verse with Orbs immense  
The World rolls round me, and distracts my sense;  
Vast is my Theme, yet unconceived, and brings  
Untoward words scarce loosened from the Things.  
Who first below these wondrous secrets knew?  
Who stole that knowledge which the World withdrew?  
Whose soaring mind those Airy mazes trod  
And spite of Heaven desired to seem a God  
Open the Skies, and teach how Stars obey,  
And run their race as Nature marks the way,  
Their Power and Influence, what directs their Course  
What whirls them round, and what confines their force.  
First Mercury disclosed these mysteries, 
The Rise and Progress of Astronomy.   
By Him we view the Inside of the Skies,  
And know the Stars, and now Mankind admires  
The Power, not only Lustre of their Fires:  
By Him all know how great▪ how just and wise,  
And good is the Contriver of the Skies;  
At whose Command the Stars in order met,  
Who times appointed when to rise and set;  
That HeavensHeavens great secrets may lie hid not more,  
And Man instructed gratefully Adore.  
Nature disclosed herself, and from her Springs  
Pure streams derived overflowed the Minds of Kings▪  
Kings next to Heaven, who o'er the East did sway,  
Where swift Euphrates cuts his rapid way,  
Where 
2 It seems very plain that this whole description respects only the Eastern Kings, and therefore Manilius must be reckoned amongst those who believed the head of Nile to be in the East; and jest he might be thought to have forgotten the Egyptians, I am inclined to think he includes them under the Priests, to whose care Astronomical Observations were peculiarly committed.  Nile overflows, and whence the Whirl restore●  
The Day to Us, and passing burns the Moors.  
And next o'er Priests, whose constant Cares employed  
In public service did oblige the God,  
His Presence did their holy minds inspire  
With sacred flames, and raised their fancies higher▪  
Till by degrees to due perfection wrought  
He made himself the Object of their thought:  
Such were those wondrous Men who first from fa●  
Looked up, and saw Fates hanging at each Star:  
Their thoughts extended did at once comprise  
Ten thousand revolutions of the Skies,  
They marked the Influence, and observed the Power  
Of every Sign, and every fatal Hour;  
What Tempers they bestowed, what Fortunes gave,  
And who was doomed a King, who born a Slave;  
How Aspects vary, and their change creates,  
Though little, grea● variety in Fates.  
Thus when the Stars their mighty Round had run,  
And all were fixed whence first their Race begun,  
What Hints Experience did to search impart  
They joined, and Observation grew to Art;  
Thus Rules were framed, for by Example shown  
They knew what would be, from what had bu● done;  
They saw the Stars their constant Round maintain▪  
Perform their Course, and than return again;  
They on their Aspects saw the Fates attend,  
Their change on their Variety depend;  
●nd thence they ●ixt unalterable Laws,  
●ettling the same Effect on the same Cause.  
Before that time Life was an artless State  
●f Reason voided, and thoughtless in debate:  
●ature lay hid in deepest Night below,  
●one knew her wonders, and none cared to know:  
upward men look, they saw the circling light,  
pleased with the Fires, and wondered at the sight:  
●he Sun, when Night came on, withdrawn, they grieved,  
●s dead, and joyed next Morn when He revived;  
●ut why the Nights grow long or short, the Day  
● changed, and the Shades vary with the Ray,  
●●orter at his approach, and longer grown  
●t his remove, the Causes were unknown:  
●or Wit lay unimproved, the desert plains  
●ere unmanured, nor fed the idle Swains:  
even Gold dwelled safe in Hills, and none resigned  
●heir lives to Seas or wishes to the Wind;  
consigned their search, they knew themselves alone,  
●nd thought that only worthy to be known:  
●ut when long time the Wretch's thoughts re●in'd,  
●hen Want had set an edge upon their Mind;  
●hen Men increased, and Want did boldly press,  
●nd forced them to be witty for redress;  
●hen various Cares their working thoughts employed,  
●nd that which each invented all enjoyed.  
Than Corn first grew, than Fruit enriched the grounds,  
●nd barbarous noise was first consigned to sounds:  
through Seas unknown the Sailer than was hurled,  
●nd gainful Traffic joined the distant World:  
●hen Arts of War were found, and Arts of Peace,  
●or Use is always fruitful in increase.  
New hints from settled Arts Experience gains,  
Instructs our Labour, and rewards our Pains:  
Thus into many Streams one Spring divides,  
And through the Valleys rolls refreshing Tides.  
But these were little things compared, they knew  
The voice of Birds, in Entrails Fates could view;  
Burst Snakes with charms, and in a Bullock's blood,  
See Rage appeased, or fear an angry God.  
They called up Ghosts, moved deepest Hell, the Sun  
Can stop, and force a Night upon his Noon;  
Than make him rise at Night, for all submit  
To constant Industry, and piercing Wit.  
Nor stopped they here, unwearied Industry  
Risen boldly up and mounted through the Sky,  
Saw all that could be seen, viewed Nature's Laws,  
And young Effects still lying in their Cause.  
What wings the Lightning, why from watery Cloud●  
The Thunder breaks, and roars the wrath of Gods  
What raiseth Storms, what makes the Winds to blow●  
Why Summer Hails more stiff than Winter's Snow  
What fires Earth's Entrails, what doth shake the Ball  
Why Tempests rattle, and why Rain doth fall:  
All this she viewed, and did their modes explain,  
And taught us to admire not more in vain.  
Heaven was disarmed, mad Whirlwinds ruled above  
And Clouds and Vapours thundered instead of jove.  
These things explained, their hidden Cause known,  
The Mind grew strong, and ventured boldly on;  
For raised so high, from that convenient rise  
She took her flight, and quickly reached the Skies;  
To every Constellation Shapes and Names  
Assigned, and marked them out their proper frame●  
Than viewed their Course, and saw the Orbs were moved  
As Heaven did guide, and as the World approved;  
That Chance was baffled whilst their Whirls created  
The interchanged Variety of Fate.  
This is my Theme, ne'er yet in Numbers wrought,  
Assist me, Fortune, and improve my thought;  
●qual my Mind to my vast task; prolong  
My life in ease, smooth as my flowing Song;  
That while my Muse is working o'er the Heap,  
And forms this Chaos to a pleasing shape,  
● may with equal care, and equal heat,  
●eclare the Little and disclose the Great.  
But now since Fate and Verse do jointly flow  
From Heaven, and both rule equally below.  
First let my Muse whole Nature's Face design,  
●ts Figure draw, and finish every Line.  
Whether from Seed it ne'er 
3 This was the Opinion of Xenophanes, Melissus, Aristotle and others; and Pliny thus concludes in the second Book cap. 1. of his Natural History: 'Tis reasonable to believe that the World is a Deity▪ eternal and immense, that never had a beginning, and never shall have an end. As absurd an Opinion as ●ever was proposed, and repugnant to all the Appearances of Nature; look upon the Rocks on the Sea shore, and having observed their continual wearing, consider how few thousands of years they must have stood: direct thy eye to Heaven, and view the several changes in that which was thought impassable; and in short, reflect on the essential vileness of matter, and its impotence to conserve its own being; and than I believe you will found reason to put this Opinion amongst those absurdities which Tully hath allotted to one or other of the Philosophers to defend.  began to be,  
Secure from Fate, 
Different Opinions about the beginning of the World.  and from Corruption free;  
Knew no Beginning, and no Ending fears,  
But was, and will be, as it now appears.  
Or huddled 
4 This blind fancy we own to the Phoenicians, who (if Philo Biblius' Sancuniathon may be trusted) taught that the Principles of the Universe were a Spirit of dark Air, and a confused Chaos; this Spirit at last began to Love, and joining with the Chaos, produced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or slime, and thence fashioned the World. And hence likely the more sober part of the Greek Philosophers, (for they were but borrowers of Learning) who required two eternal principles, the one active and the other passive, such as Plato, Anaxagoras, etc. took their notions, and having added some few new ornaments, vented them for their own.  Chaos by a wondrous Birth  
Arched the vast Sky and fixed the solid Earth;  
And when this shining World once raised its Head  
To Shades Infernal banished Darkness fled.  
Or whether unseen 
5 The Philosophy of Epicurus is too well known to need any explication.  Atoms blindly thrown  
Composed it, and as Years whirl nimbly on,  
●t must dissolve, and as it first was wrought  
●rom almost Nothing, fall to almost Naught.  
Or risen from working 
6 The Opinion of Heraclitus, concerning which see the first Book of Lucretius.  Fire's enlivening Rays,  
Which form Heaven's Eyes, and live in every Mass,  
●n Thunder roar, and in the Lightning blaze.  
Or whether 
7 Thales the Milesian endeavoured to establish this by Arguments drawn from the Origine and Continuation of most things: The seminal Principle of Animals is humid, Plants are nourished by mere Water; Fire itself cannot live without Air, which is only water rarefied, and the Sun and Stars draw up vapours for their own nourishment and support. These were the considerations upon which he grounded his Opinion; and hence 'tis easy to guests that he kept up the credit of his School rather by those richeses which he gained by his lucky conjecture at the scarcity of Olives, than by the strength of argument and reason.  Water which combines the Frame  
Composed, and keeps it from the loosning Flame.  
Or whether 
8 The Assertion of Empedocles, agreeable to which Ovid sings, Quatuor aeternus genitalia Corpora Mundus Continet—.  Water, Air, and Flame and Earth  
Knew no beginning, no first seeds of Birth;  
But first in Being from themselves arose,  
And as four Members the vast God compose;  
In which Thin, Thick, Hot, Cold, and Moist and Dry,  
For mutual Actions mutual parts supply.  
From whose agreeing disagreement springs,  
The numerous odd Variety of Things.  
These Qualities to act provoke the Seed,  
Make Vital Elements and Bodies breed.  
What 'twas at first, 
The Order of the Frame.  and whence the All began  
Is doubted, and the Doubt too deep for Man;  
And let it be, but whencesoe'er it came  
It's Face is certain, 'tis an ordered Frame.  
Upward the 
9 
There is something in this scheme of Manilius so like the ingenious conjecture of the excellent Author of the Theory of the Earth, that what reflects on the one must have an influence on the other, and when the fiction is confuted the serious discourse will found itself concerned: The Stoics held the material part of their Deity to be changeable, and that too as often as the fatal Fire prevailed, and reduced the Elements into one Chaos; in such a confusion the Poet supposeth the first matter of his World, and than makes the different parts separate, and take proper places, according as they were light or heavy: agreeable to this Opinion the Theory of the Earth supposeth a Chaos, which he defines to be a Mass of Matter, fluid, consisting of parts of different sorts and sizes, blended together without any union or connexion. The solid and heavyer parts of this Chaos descend to the Centre, by their own weight, and there fixing and growing hard, compose the inward Body of the Earth; the lighter parts fly upward, and being continually agitated, make that Body which we call Air; the middle sort being somewhat heavyer, and not so much agitated, cover over the solid interior Body of the Earth; and its fat and oily parts rising, and swimming on the surface, stop and detain those heavyer particles which upon the first separation were carried up by the Air, and afterwards according to their several degrees of Gravity fell back again toward the Centre: These particles sticking in this oily matter, made a soft crust, which in time being hardened by the Sun and those breezes which always attend its motion, became the habitable Earth. This Earth thus formed was solid, and without Caverns, nor had it any inequalities on its surface; as to its site, its Axis was parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptic, both its Poles being equally inclined to the Sun; and as to its figure it was Oval. These are the few easy principal parts of that excellent Hypothesis, settled on the obvious notions of Gravity and Levity, and on the acknowledged Nature, and allowed Motion of a Fluid. And from these so many curious propositions are naturally deduced, so many difficulties concerning Paradise and the Flood happily explained, and all set of with that neatness and aptness of expression, and that variety of curious thought, that I am very much inclined to believe that Nature was never so well dressed before, nor so artificially recommended. And it is pity that the first acknowledged Principles of Philosophy will not allow it to be true. Inherent Qualities are now generally exploded, as unphilosophical, not to be understood, and unfit to explain the Phaenomena of Nature. The Acceleration of a heavy Body in its descent (beside a thousand other Arguments) quite overthrows Gravity both as an accident of Aristotle, and as essential to Matter, according to the fancy of Epicurus; so that this motion proceeds only from external impulse, and depends upon the present order of the World. So that Philosophy will not allow the supposition of Gravity or Levity in a confused Chaos, since it can sufficiently demonstrate that they are neither inherent qualities, nor essential to matter, and that it is in vain to look after them, before the system of the World was settled in the present order. From this hint it is easy to infer that the supposed Chaos would have still continued such, the solid Parts would have been agitated this or that way indifferently by the restless particles of the Fluid, but there could have been no orderly separation, because no Principle of it.  
But suppose such a separation, why must the outward Crust of the Globe be without Caverns in its Body, and Inequalities on its Surface? What Law of Nature doth necessarily prove that in such a confusion the solid parts must be equally dispersed through the Body of the Air? If we trust our Eyes, and look upon a Dust raised by the ruin of a House, or only consider what Confusion is, it will be very hard to found such a regular and orderly disposition. And since these solid Bodies may be unequally dispersed, and every one of them tends to the Centre by a direct Line, whenever they settle, the Body which they compose must be unequal in its surface.  
Yet to let this Difficulty pass, its Figure according to this Hypothesis will be much more Oval than common observation will allow, for since it is said to be Oval because the Motion of the Aequator is swifter than that of the Polar Circles, the figure must be almost as much Oval, as the Circle of the Aequator is bigger than the Circle of the Pole; there being nothing to hinder the utmost effect of this motion but the weight of the Fluid endeavouring to reduce itself to a Level, which of what moment it will be in this Case I leave to be considered.  
And as for its site, that renders the torrid and the frigid Zones unhabitable; intolerable Heats still burning the former, and the continual gathering and dropping of the vapours making the others too cold and moist to entertain either Man or Beast. And this one concession, I am afraid, spoils most part of the Contrivance; for these portions of the Crust could never grow hard, being continually moistened by the Vapours, and so little exposed to the Sun, or that breeze which attends its motion: And therefore, whenever Vapours were drawn from the Abyss in the Torrid Zone, these parts of the Arch being not firm enough to sustain themselves, must sink in; and those Vapours that were imprisoned between the surface of the Abyss and the solid part of the Crust of the Earth, might have found an easy passage through this soft portion of the Crust, and therefore could not contribute to the general dissolution of the Frame. Besides, from such a muddy Fountain what could be expected but streams unwholesome and corrupted, and unfit for that end for which they were designed, and for that use, to which sacred Scripture tells us they were employed?  
A great many other inconveniences in Nature may be observed to follow this Contrivance; but because this Hypothesis was not set up for its own sake, but to give an intelligible account of Noah's Flood; I shall close these reflections with a few considerations upon that.  
And first the Author pleads for an universal Flood, it being inconsistent with the demonstrated Nature of a Fluid, that Water should stand up in Heaps fifteen Cubits above the tops of the highest Mountains. This I am willing to admit, though there is no reason why Omnipotence might not be immediately concerned in this, since he himself confesseth, that the forty days Rain cannot according to his Hypothesis be explained by any Natural Cause that he can found out.  
Secondly, He compares the height of the Mountains and the Depth of the Sea, and having as to both made allowable suppositions (though the Course of the longest River, even the Nile itself, will not prove its head to be above three foot higher than its mouth) he infers that eight Oceans will be little enough to make an universal Deluge: The Waters above the Firmament are exploded; the Rain would afford but the hundredth part of such a Mass of Water, unless the showers were continual, and over the face of the whole Earth, and the Drops came down ninety times faster than usually they do. (Though here a Man would be apt to think from the expressions in Genesis, The Windows of Heaven were opened, that there was somewhat very extraordinary in this Rain, and that all those required conditions were observed.) The Caverns of the Earth, if they threw out all the Water they contained, could afford but little in comparison of the great store that was required; And if the whole middle region of the Air had been condensed, still there had not been enough, because Air being turned into Water filleth only the hundredth part of that space which it formerly possessed. Though all the other ways by which some have endeavoured to explain the Flood, were demonstrably insufficient, yet this last which gives an account of it from so natural and easy a Cause as the condensation of the Air deserved to be considered a little more; but it is the Art of a Disputer to touch that lest which presseth most on that Opinion which he would advance. For it being allowed that Air by natural Causes may be changed into Water, and a Vacuum in this very Chapter being excluded, it necessarily follows, that as much Air as riseth fifteen Cubits higher than the tops of the Mountains is sufficient to make such a Deluge as is described to have been in Noah's time. Because where there is no Vacuum, there can be no contraction into a lesle space, and every particle of Matter, whatever form of schematism it puts on, must in all conditions be equally extended, and therefore take up the same Room. But suppose a Vacuum, or (as it happens in our imperfect condensations) that a hundred cubical feet of Air would make but one foot of Water, yet sure the Region is large enough to make amendss for this disproportion: Now since Nature is sufficient for condensation, and since its powers may be considerably invigorated for the execution of the Almighty's wrath; why must it be thought so difficult to explain a Deluge? and why should an excellent Wit waste itself in fashioning a new World, only to bring that about which the old one would permit easily to be done? It is above the Province of Philosophy to make a World, let that be supposed to have been formed as it is revealed, it is enough for us to search by what Laws it is preserved; and a system erected on this foundation will be agreeable both at Reason and to Religion.   Flame on active Pinions fled,  
To Heaven's high Arch it raised its shining Head,  
There stopped as weary grown, and round the Frame  
For Nature's Bulwark rolled a Wall of Flame.  
Than liquid Air spread through the empty space  
Lesle light and active took the second place.  
But next the Flame the lightest parts aspire  
To waste themselves, and feed the greedy Fire.  
The heavyer Water makes an humbler Claim,  
And lies the third in order in the Frame;  
That Vapours rising may, like Seed, repair  
What Fire destroys, and feed decaying Air:  
Weight sank round Earth to the remotest place,  
And floating Sand in clinging Muds embrace  
Stuck fast, whilst Seas squeezed out flowed o'er the Mass:  
As those grew limpid, and diffused the Waves,  
Through spacious Hollows and descending Caves  
Rocks started forth, their Heads the Mountains reared▪  
And Earth surrounded by the Flood appeared.  
Lowest of all, and in the midst it lies  
Compassed by Seas, and covered by the Skies.  
The Place doth fix it, for still rising higher  
The other Elements equally retire,  
And that by falling stops its farther fall,  
And hangs the midst and lowest of them all,  
It's parts to one fixed point press jointly down,  
And meet, and stop each other from moving on.  
For did not Earth hung midst the airy space▪  
How could the Sun perform his constant race? 
The Earth lies in the midst of th● World.   
Drive on the Day, fall headlong down the West,  
Force up the Stars, and rise again at East?  
How could the Moon her usual Round maintain,  
Rise, set, and rise near the same point again?  
Or He that leads the Stars at Night return  
To East again, and usher forth the Morn?  
But since Earth did not to a Bottom fall,  
But hangs, and yielding Air surrounds the Ball,  
The way is open, and no stop to force  
The Stars return, or to impede their course.  
For who can think that when the 
10 He explodes the Opinion of Xenophanes, and the Fancy of Epicurus. Vid. Lucretius' fifth Book.  Sun doth rise  
He's born anew, or when He sets He dies?  
That when one Day He hath displayed his Light  
His Race is finished, and goes out at Night?  
Since He the same doth every Morn appear,  
And as He drives a Day He whirls a Year.  
From the same East He comes with equal pace,  
To the same West He still directs his Race;  
And not one Change is seen in Nature's Face.  
The same Moon shines, and at a certain Day,  
Her light increases, and Her Horns decay.  
The tract she made Nature doth still pursue,  
Nor like a Novice wanders in a new.  
Phoebus still warms those signs where first he shone,  
And Day goes round with one eternal Sun.  
Thus proved: because by just Degrees the Hours  
In different Countries are the same with Ours.  
The Eastern Nations view the rising Fires  
Whilst Night shades us, and lazily retires.  
And as to distant West we nimbly run,  
That still removes, nor can we reach the Sun.  
No East gins, no West his race doth bound,  
But he drives on in one continued Round.  
Nor is it wondrous that one single Ball  
Should hung, since 'tis the Nature of the All.  
No prop supports, but as their motions prove,  
The whole World hangs, and all that whirls above.  
The Sun doth drive his Race through yielding Skies,  
Wheel round the liquid Bound, and set and rise.  
Through Aether, Moon and Stars direct their Race,  
Like these Earth unsupported keeps its place,  
Though not fixed Bottom props the weighty Mass.  
Well than, 
The Earth is round.  the Earth hangs midst the yielding Air  
Not stretched into a Plain, but every where  
It rises and declines into a Sphere.  
In other Parts this Figure Nature drew,  
The Sun and Stars, if we exactly view,  
Seem round, the Moon is varied every Night,  
Nor with an equal Face receives her Brother's Light.  
This proves her round since different rays adorn,  
Now shape, now bend, now fill her borrowed Horn.  
This Forms Eternal and may justly claim  
A Godlike Nature, all its parts the same;  
Alike and equal to its self 'tis found,  
No End's and no Beginning in a Round.  
Naught can molest its Being naught control,  
And this ennobles and confines the Whole.  
Hence every Country sees not every Sign, 
First Argument.   
What Sailer views the bright 
11 Canopus is a Star in the Southern Keel of the Ship Argo, of the first magnitude: These particulars as to the Appearance of the two Stars are not mathematically true, yet serve well enough for the Poet's design, sufficiently proving the roundness of the Earth.  Canopus' shine  
O'er Egypt's Shores, and when its Rays appear  
Who sees the little Circles of the Bear?  
For Earth still rising to a Round denies,  
A larger Scene, and bounds our feeble Eyes.  
This Truth the 
12 This Argument being taken from the Eclipse and not from the increase or decrease of the Moon, the Poet must be understood, not as to divers moments of Time, for the Moon at the same instant is seen Eclipsed by all to whom she appears above the Horizon, but as to the diversity of Hours at which the Eastern or Western People reckon the Eclipse to begin or end.  Moon confirms when deep in Night  
Earth interposes, 
Second Argument.  and diverts her Light,  
She doth not all the World at once surprise,  
But now seems dark to these, now other Eyes.  
The Eastern Parts first view her darkened Face,  
Than o'er the South she rolls her broken Rays;  
And than still pressed by the obscuring shade,  
She hears the Western Brass resounding to her Aid.  
Now if the Earth were flat the darkened Moon  
Would seem to all Eclypst as well as one.  
At once presenting to the common view  
Her gloomy looks, and prove this fancy true.  
But since its Figure's round, dim Cynthia's beams  
By just degrees must visit the Extremes;  
Not all at once; she must divide the Skies,  
And while she sets to some, to others rise.  
For in the mighty Concave whirled above  
She rising must, and must declining move;  
Now climb this rising, and her Glories show,  
Than sink again, and scatter Beams below.  
This proves (nor shall the subtlest Wits escape  
These twining Reasons) the disputed Shape.  
By various Animals this Globe's possessed,  
The Common House of Man, of Bird, and Beast;  
The Northern 
13 This is to be understood in respect of those who inhabit the Northern Hemisphere, to whom the North Pole is still elevated.  parts rise high, the Southern fall  
Beneath our Fee, the Adverse of the Ball.  
Yet as it lies its surface seems a Flat.  
Though false, its bigness doth improve the Cheat,  
And take the Roundness of, though every where  
It riseth and declines into a Sphere.  
Hence when with setting Beams the Sun withdrawn  
Beholds our East, they see the Morning dawn;  
And when their Toils He with his Light restores,  
Sleep sits on Us, and gently easeth Ours.  
The Sea 
14 It was the Opinion of the ancient Poets, and some others, that the Sea was as a Girdle to the Earth, that it ran round it as an Horizon, and divided the upper Hemisphere from the lower.  runs round, and with its circling Waves  
The Flood at once divides, 
God the Soul of the World.  and joins the Halves.  
To this vast Frame in which four parts conspire  
Of different form, Air, Water, Earth and Fire,  
United 
15 Release this Soul from that union which the Stoics foolishly assigned, and than to hold a Soul of the World and Providence is all one.  God the World's Almighty Soul  
By secret methods rules and guides the Whole;  
By unseen passes He himself conveys  
Through all the Mass, and every part obeys.  
To proper Patients He kind Agents brings  
In various Leagues binds disagreeing Things.  
Makes some Powers act, and some receive their Force;  
And thus whilst Nature keeps her Vital Course,  
Though different Powers the several Things divide,  
The World seems One, and all its parts allied.  
Now Constellations, Muse, and Signs rehearse,  
In order, 
The Signs of the Zodiac.  let them sparkle in thy Verse.  
Those which obliquely bound the burning Zone,  
And bear the Summer and the Winter Sun,  
Those first: than those which roll a different way  
From West: nor Heaven's Diurnal whirl obey:  
Which Nights serene disclose, and which created  
The steady Rules, and fix the Laws of Fate.  
First Aries, glorious in his Golden Wool,  
Looks back, and wonders at the mighty Bull,  
Whose backparts first appear: He bending lies  
With threatening Head, and calls the Twins to rise,  
They clasp for fear, and mutually embrace;  
And next the Twins with an unsteady pace  
Bright Cancer rolls: Than Leo shakes his Mane:  
And following Virgo calms his Rage again:  
Than Day and Night are weighed in Libra's Scales,  
Equal a while, at last the Night prevails,  
And longer grown the heavyer Scale inclines  
And draws bright Scorpio from the Winter Signs:  
Him Centaur follows with an aiming Eye  
His Bow full drawn and ready to let fly:  
Next narrow Horns the twisted Caper shows,  
And from Aquarius Urn a flood overflows.  
Near their loved Waves cold Pisces take their Seat,  
With Aries join and make the Round complete.  
Now view the point where turn the shining Bears,  
And from their height look down on other Stars. 
The axis.   
Which never set but only change their Sites  
To the same point; and whirl the meaner Lights;  
Thither the Axis runs, whose adverse Poles  
Bears the poised World, and Heaven about it rolls;  
No solid substance that the weight might bear  
But an imagined Line stretched through the Air;  
Begun from either Pole the Line extends  
Earth's Centre through, and in the other ends.  
For since the frame turns round, that fancied Line  
Which cuts the middle, too minutely thin  
By turning round itself to measure space,  
But still consigned to one imagined place,  
Is called the Axis; cause unapt to move  
It sees Stars whirl, the shining Planets rove,  
And swiftly measure the vast space above.  
Fixed near the Pole appear those friendly Stars  
Well known to wretched greedy Mariners; 
The great Bear.   
Which guide their Sails, and which direct their Oars,  
When mad for gain they fly to foreign Shores.  
(Whilst Heaven itself befriends their Avarice,  
What Pleas may wretched Mortals make for Vice?)  
Seven equal Stars adorn the greater Bear,  
Which measure larger Circles of the Sphere,  
And teach the Graecian Sailors how to steer.  
The smaller Bear, 
The little Bear.  though lesle in size and light  
In narrower Circles she commands the Night,  
Yet Tyre prefers, for through the Ocean tossed  
They sail by her and found the foreign Coast;  
These stand not front to front, but each doth view  
The others Tail, pursued as they pursue.  
Betwixt and round these two the Serpent twines, 
The Serpent.   
At once divides, and to their place confines;  
Secure from meeting they're distinctly rolled,  
Nor leave their Seats, and pass the dreadful fold:  
These keep the Vertex, but betwixt the Bear  
And shining Zodiac where the Planets Err,  
A Thousand Figured Constellations roll,  
Some near the Zodiac, some placed near the Pole:  
Whose differing Powers by tempering Skies combined  
Make Seasons fruitful, and refresh Mankind.  
First near the North, 
Hercules.  as conscious of his shame  
A Constellation knelt without a Name;  
And next Boötes comes, 
Bootes.  whose ordered Beams  
Present a Figure driving of his Teams.  
Below his Girdle, near his Knees, He bears  
The bright Arcturus, 
A●●●●rus.  fairest of the Stars.  
Behind his Back the radiant Crown is viewed, 
The Crown.   
And shines with Stars of different magnitude;  
One placed i'th' front above the rest displays  
A vigorous light, and darts surprising rays.  
This shone since Theseus first his faith betrayed,  
The Monument of the forsaken Maid.  
Nor far from these distended Lyra lies, 
The Harp.   
Well strung, the sounding glory of the Skies.  
This Orpheus struck when with his wondrous Song  
He charmed the Woods, and drew the Rocks along;  
When Hell obeyed, when Death resigned her Chain,  
And loosed his dear Eurydice again;  
This gained it Heaven, and still its force appears,  
As than the Rocks it now draws on the Stars.  
The Planets dance, and to the tuneful sound  
The Heaven consents, and moves the fatal Round.  
Next Ophiuchus 
Ophiuchus.  strides the mighty Snake,  
Untwists his winding Folds, and smooths his Back,  
Extends its Bulk, and o'er the slippery Scale  
His wide stretched Hands on either side prevail:  
The Snake turns back his Head, and seems to rage,  
That War must last where equal Powers engage.  
Next view the Swan, whom jove advanced above, 
The Swan.   
That Forms reward by which He caught his Love.  
When shrouded in the fair deceitful shape,  
He cheated trusting Leda to a Rape:  
Now graced with Stars his Wings stretched o'er the Skies.  
And next the Swan the shining Arrow flies: 
The Arrow.   
The towering Eagle next doth boldly soar, 
The Eagle.   
As if the thunder in his Claws he bore:  
He's worthy jove, since He, a Bird, supplies  
The Heaven with sacred Bolts, and arms the Skies.  
Next raised from Seas the Dolphin's 
The Dolphin.  Tail appears,  
The Glory of the Flood and of the Stars.  
Whom while the Horse 
The Horse.  (one radiant Star doth grace  
His generous Breast) pursues with eager pace,  
His Legs before, as running, He extends,  
But closed in fair Andromeda 
Andromeda.  he ends.  
Her Perseus 
Perseus.  joins, her Foot his Shoulder bears  
Proud of the weight, and mixes with her Stars.  
Five splendid Stars in its unequal Frame  
Deltoton bears, 
The Triangle.  and from the shape a Name;  
But those that grace the sides dim Light display  
And yield unto the Basis brighter Ray.  
Next with her Cepheus Cassiopeia 
Cepheus and Cassiopeia.  shines,  
Her posture sad, and mourns amongst the Signs;  
She sees her Daughter chained, the rolling Tide  
The Monster spout, and curses her old Pride:  
She fears that Perseus will inconstant prove,  
And now in Heaven forget his former Love;  
But He attends, and bears the Gorgon's head,  
His Spoil, and witness of a coming aid.  
Near the bend Bull a seat the Driver claims, 
Heniochus.   
Whose skill conferred his Honour and his Names,  
His Art great jove admired, when first he drove  
His rattling Carr, and fixed the Youth above.  
Next stormy Hoedi 
The Hoedi.  shine which shut the Main,  
And stop the Sailors hot pursuit of gain.  
Than shines the Goat, 
The Goat.  whose Brutish Duggs supplied  
The Infant jove, and nursed his growing Pride.  
From that wild Food He did to Heaven aspire,  
Fierce Thunder throw, and dart the blasting Fire.  
Than mindful of her Care the grateful God  
Repaid her with those Skies which she bestowed.  
Than Pleiades and Hyadeses 
The Pleyades and Hyadeses.  appear,  
The sad Companions of the turning Year.  
Born by the Bull they lead they Tempests forth,  
And close the Constellations of the North.  
Farewell cold North, thy Ice benumbs my Muse,  
〈◊〉 from Thee, and warmer Regions choose;  
betwixt the Tropics of the Travelling Sun,  
●'ll trace the Signs that burn the torrid Zone,  
●hen pass those bounds and view the Stars that roll  
between cold Caper and the lower Pole.  
First next the Twins, see great Orion 
Orion.  rise,  
●is Arms extended stretch o'er half the Skies:  
●is stride as large, and with a stately pace  
●e marches on, and measures a vast space.  
●n each broad Shoulder a bright Star's displayed,  
●nd three obliquely grace his hanging Blade.  
〈◊〉 his vast Head immersed in boundless spheres  
●hree Stars l●ss bright, but yet as great, he bears.  
●ut farther of removed, their Spl●ndor's lost,  
●hus graced and armed He leads the Starry Host.  
Next barks the Dog, 
The Dog-star.  and from his Nature flow  
●he most afflicting Powers that rule below,  
●eat burns his Rise, Frost chills his setting Beams,  
●nd vex the World with opposite Extremes.  
●e keeps his Course, nor from the Sun retreats,  
●ow bringing Frost, and now increasing Heats:  
●hose that from Taurus view this rising Star,  
●u●ss thence the following state of Peace and War,  
●ealth, Plagues, a fruitful or a barren Year.  
●e makes shrill Trumpets sound, and frightens Peace,  
●hen calms and binds up Iron War in Ease.  
●s he determines, so the Causes draw,  
●is Aspect is the World's suprem●st Law.  
This Power proceeds from the vast Orb He runs,  
●is Brightness ●quals or exceeds the Sun's.  
●ut far removed he through the distant space  
●arts feeble splendour from his Azure face.  
Yet others He excels, not fairer Light  
Ascends the Skies, none sets so clear a bright.  
Next protion view, 
protion. The Hare.  and next the nimble Hare,  
Than Argo 
Argo.  sailing through the liquid Air;  
Advanced from all the Dangers of the Tides,  
Which first she stemmed, she now securely rides.  
Heaven is her Port, and now she rules the Floods,  
A Goddess made for saving of the Gods.  
Close by the Serpent 
The Serpent.  spreads; whose winding Spires  
With ordered Stars resemble scaly Fires.  
Next flies the Crow, 
The Crow. The Cup.  and next the generous Bowl  
Of Bacchus flows, and cheers the thirsty Pole.  
The Centaur next in double shapes expressed,  
A Human Body joins a Horse's Breast.  
The World's great Temple next, and Altar 
The Altar.  lies  
Graced with the Gifts of conquering Deities,  
When Earthborn Giants did the Skies invade,  
The lesser Gods implored the greater's Aid;  
His Power jove doubted when he viewed from far  
The threatening force of the unequal War.  
When He inverted Nature's Frame beheld,  
That Earth risen upward, and that All rebelled.  
That Hills on Hills heaped, raised their threatening  
Head,  
And frighted Stars approaching Mountains ●led;  
When impious Armies at a monstrous Birth  
Broke through the Bowels of the gaping Earth,  
Of disagreeing Forms, and frightful Makes,  
Vast Human Bodies twisted into Snakes.  
E'er this no Danger and no fear was known,  
And wanton jove sat idly in his Throne.  
But jest some greater Power (soft ease betrayed  
His Mind to doubt) should yield the Rebel's aid,  
He raised this Altar, and the Form appears  
With Incense loaded, and adorned with Stars.  
Next on his Belly floats the mighty Whale 
The Whale.   
He twists his Back, and rears his threatening Tail;  
He spouts the Tide, and cuts the foaming Way,  
Wide gapes his Mouth, as eager on his Prey;  
Such on Andromede He rushed, and bore  
The troubled Waves beyond their usual shore.  
Next Swims the Southern Fish, 
The Southern Fish.  which bears a Name  
From the Southwind, and spreads a feeble Flame.  
To him the Floods in spacious windings turn, 
The Floods.   
One Fountain flows from cold Aquarius Urn;  
And meets the other where they join their Streams  
One Channel keep, and mix the Starry Beams.  
Betwixt th' Eclipctic and the latent Bears  
Whose creaking Axis turns the rolling Spheres,  
Those stranger Skies are painted with these Stars.  
Which ancient Artists in their wondrous Lines  
Transmit to Fame, and call the Southern Signs.  
The other part lies hid, the vast abode  
Of unknown Nations, by our Feet untrod.  
From the same Sun they take their common Light,  
But different Shades: in an inverted site,  
Their Signs o'th' left Hand 
16 Manilius is not constant in his Position; most commonly as a Poet he turns his face to the West, and than the North is on his right hand, and the South on the left: sometimes as an Astronomer he turns his face to the South, and this is the position in this place.  set, and rise o'th' right.  
Their Skies as large, their Stars as splendid run,  
Equal i'th' rest, but are excelled by One,  
By Caesar's Star which doth o'er us preside,  
Earth's present joy, and Heaven's future pride.  
For that the lower Pole 
The Southern Pole.  resemblance bears  
To this Above, and shines with equal Stars;  
With Bears averse, round which the Draco twines,  
At once divides them, and at once confines,  
That there as many Constellations move,  
We must believe from what we found above.  
For Fancy, which decaying Sense supplies,  
Not only feigns a Vertex like to This,  
But all resembling Beauties of the Skies.  
These are the Stars which scattered o'er the Pole  
In different Places fixed complete the Whole; 
The Figures of the Constellations only fancied.   
But raise thy thought from sense, nor think to found  
Such Figures there, as are in Globes designed;  
Nor think that Stars set close compose the Frames,  
Or that the Signs are all continued Flames.  
For than we soon should see the World expire,  
Frail Nature could not bear so great a Fire;  
Some Places vacant conscious of her State  
She leaves, unable for so vast a Heat.  
For 'tis her kind intent alone to show  
By certain Stars, those Signs that rule below;  
Such notice give, and such fair hints impart;  
As Men may take, and may improve to Art:  
The Stars mark out the Shapes, the lower Beams  
Answer the high, the middle the extremes.  
Fancy those parts that lie obscured between,  
For 'tis enough that some of them are seen:  
But chief than when Cynthia's beams are clear,  
And full, but few, though still the same, appear;  
And whilst the vulgar fly, their place possess;  
Nor loose their Light, nor mingle with the Lesle.  
Yet these still keep one Course, They still pursue  
Their constant tract nor vary in a New.  
From one fixed point they start, their Course maintain  
Repeat their whirl, and visit it again:  
And this is strange, and this doth more surprise  
Than all the other wonders of the Skies,  
That such unwieldy frames their signs should draw,  
As moved by Reason, and confined by Law;  
No change in distance nor in site appear,  
Though great their Number, long the rolling year.  
A most convincing Reason drawn from Sense,  
That this vast Frame is moved by Providence. 
Providence against the Epicureans.   
Which like the Soul doth every Whirl advance;  
It must be God, nor was it made by Chance;  
As Epicurus dreamt, He madly thought  
This beauteous Frame of heedless Atoms wrought,  
That Seas and Earth, the Stars and spacious Air  
Which forms New Worlds, or doth the Old repair,  
First risen from these, and still supplied remain,  
And All must be, when Chance shall break the Chain,  
Dissolved to these wild Principles again.  
Absurd and Nonsense! Atheist use thine Eyes,  
And having viewed the order of the Skies,  
Think, if Thou canst, that Matter blindly hurled,  
Without a Guide should frame this wondrous World.  
But did Chance make, and Chance still rule the Whole  
Why do the Signs in constant order roll?  
Observe set Times to shut and open Day,  
Nor meet, and justle, and mistake their Way?  
Perform their Course as if by Laws confined,  
None hasten on, and leave the rest behind.  
Why every Day doth the discovering Flame,  
Show the same World, and leave it still the same?  
Even than when 
17 Alluding to the two Verses in Homer's sixth Iliad, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   Troy was by the Greeks o'erthrown,  
The Bear opposed to bright Orion shone;  
She near the Pole in narrow Rounds did move,  
He faced her than, and measured the vast space above.  
And even at Night when Time in secret flies,  
And veils himself in Shades from human Eyes;  
They by the Signs could know how fast He fled,  
And in the Skies the hasty Minutes read.  
How many Towns have fallen, what well-built States,  
Since Troy, have sunk below oppressing Fates?  
How many Times hath sporting Fortune hurled  
The Chance of Rule and Slavery through the World?  
How hath she now reversed Troy's ancient Doom,  
And built her Relics greater up in Rome?  
Revived old Ilium doth new Spoils enjoy,  
And Greece now bends beneath the Fate of Troy.  
Why should I count how often the Earth hath mourned  
The Sun's retreat, and smiled when he returned?  
How often he doth his various Course divide  
'Twixt Winter's Nakedness and Summer's Pride?  
All Mortal Things must change. The fruitful Plain,  
As Seasons turn, scarce knows herself again;  
Such various forms she bears: large Empires too  
Put of their former Face, and take a new.  
Yet safe the World, and free from Change doth last,  
No Years increase it, and no Years can waste;  
It's Course it urges on, and keeps its Frame,  
And still will be, because 'twas still the same.  
It stands secure from Time's devouring Rage,  
For 'tis a God, nor can it change with Age.  
And that the Sun ne'er drives the rising Day  
From North to South, nor leaves the beaten way;  
That weary grown He still falls down the West  
At Night, nor turns his Horses to the East;  
That Light by just Degrees the Moon adorns,  
First shows, than bends, than fills her borrowed Horns,  
And that the Stars in constant order roll,  
Hung there, nor fall, and leave the liquid Pole;  
'Tis not from Chance; The Motion speaks aloud  
The wise and steady conduct of the God.  
These equally disposed in Order lie,  
Make various Shapes, and chequer all the Sky.  
Above them naught; To the World's Top they risen,  
Painting the Roof of Nature's Common House;  
Which in a wide Embrace doth all contain,  
The spacious Air, the Earth, and raging Main;  
These Set in order, and in order Rise,  
As West drives down, or East brings up the Skies.  
But now how vast the Arch, how next immense  
The Zodiack's Round, 
The bigness of the World.  though far removed from Sense,  
Plain Reason shows; whose Active Force can pierce,  
The deep Recesses of the Universe.  
Not Bars can stop it, through the World it flies,  
And Heaven itself lies open to its Eyes.  
As great a space as Earth, and humble Seas  
From Heaven divide, so great two Signs possess.  
The World's 
18 Demonstrated by Archimedes in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Prop. 3. That the Circumference of every Circle exceeds three times the Diameter thereof by a part that is lesle than 1/7th, and greater than 10/70.  Diameter by Art is found,  
Almost the third Division of the Round.  
Therefore as far as four bright Signs comprise,  
The distant Zenith from the Nadir lies.  
And two thirds more almost surround the Pole,  
The Twelve Signs measure, and complete the Whole.  
But since the Earth hangs midst the spacious All,  
The Solid Centre of the Liquid Ball,  
Therefore as far as e'er our Eyes can pass  
Upward, or downward, could they pierce the Mass,  
Till bounding Sky the wearied Sight confines,  
Is equal to the distance of two Signs.  
And six such spaces the vast Round complete  
Where All the Signs their constant Whirls repeat,  
And each lies distant in an equal Seat.  
Nor must you wonder such Varieties  
Of different Fates from the same Stars should rise.  
Since great their Empire, and unlike their force,  
Their Seats so large▪ and so immense their Course.  
Thus far advanced my towering Muse must rise,  
And sing the Circles that confine the Skies,  
D●scribe the tract, and mark the shining Way,  
Where Planets Err, and Phoebus bears the Day.  
One towards the North●sustains the Shining Bear  
And lies divided from the Polar Star; 
The Northern Polar Circle.   
Exactly 
19 Eudoxus divided the Sphere into sixty parts, and this division Manilius follows, and according to that describes the Position of the Celestial Circles.  six divisions of the Sphere.  
Another drawn through Cancer's Claws confines,  
The utmost Limits of the Fatal Signs;  
There when the Sun ascends his greatest height  
In largest Rounds He whirls the lazy Night.  
Pleased with his Station there He seems to stay,  
And neither lengthens nor contracts the Day.  
The Summer's Tropic 
The Tropical Ci●●le of Cancer, or Summer Solstice.  called.—  
It lies the fiery Sun's remotest Bound,  
Just five Divisions from the other Round.  
A third twines round, 
The Equinoctial.  and in the midst divides  
The Sphere, and see the Pole on both its sides.  
And there when Phoebus drives, He spreads his Light,  
On All alike, and equals Day and Night.  
For in the midst, He doth the Skies divide,  
And cheers the Spring, and warms the Autumn's Pride,  
And this large Circle drawn from Cancer's Flame,  
Just four Divisions parts the Starry Frame.  
Another Southward drawn exactly sets  
The Utmost Limits to the Sun's retreats; 
The Tropic of Capricorn.   
When hoary Winter calls his Beams away,  
Obliquely warms us with a feeble Ray,  
And whirls in narrow Rounds the freezing Day.  
To Us his Journey's short, but where He stands  
With Rays direct, He burns the barren Sands.  
To wished-for Night he scarce resigns the Day,  
But in vast Heats extends his hated Sway.  
The last drawn round the Southern 
The Southern Polar Circle.  point confines  
Those Bears, and lies the Utmost of the Lines.  
Wise Nature constant in her Work is found:  
As five divisions part the Northern ●ound;  
From the North point, This Southern Round appears  
Just five Divisions distant from its Bears.  
Thus Heaven's divided, and from Pole to Pole  
Four Quadrants are the Measure of the Whole.  
The Circles five, by these are justly shown,  
The Frigid, Temperate and the Torrid Zone.  
All these move Parallel, they set, they rise,  
At equal Distance moving with the Skies;  
Turned with the Orbs the common Whirl repeat,  
Are fixed, nor vary their allotted Seat.  
From Pole all round to Pole two Lines expressed,  
Adversely drawn, 
The Colour.  which intersect the rest  
And one another; They surround the Whole,  
And crossing make right Angles at each Pole:  
These into four just parts, by Signs, the Sphere  
Divide, and mark the Seasons of the Year.  
One drawn from Heaven's high top descends from far, 
The Aequinoctial Colour.   
And cuts the Serpent's Tail, and the dry Bear:  
The Equinoctial Scales, the Snake's Extremes,  
And next the Southern Centaur's middle Beams;  
Than thwarts the Adverse Pole, and next divides  
The mighty Whale, and parts its scaly sides;  
Bright Aries point, and splendid Trigon passed,  
The fair Andromeda below the Waste,  
And next her Mother's Head it cuts, and than  
The Pole, and closeth in itself again.  
Cross this, 
The Solsticial Colour.  and from the Pole doth first appear  
The Other, through the forefeet of the Bea●,  
And through its Neck; (which when the Sun retires  
First shines, and spreads black Night with feeble Fires)  
Than parts the Twins and Crab, the Dog divides,  
And Argo's keel that broke the frothy tides.  
And than the Pole and other Circle crossed  
To Caper turns contracted in his Frost:  
The Eagle cuts, and the inverted Lyre,  
Black Draco ●s folds—  
The hinder Paws o'th' Bear, and near the Pole  
It's Tail, and closing there completes the Whole.  
These Rounds immovable, their site the same,  
Here Seasons fix, nor vary in the frame.  
Two more are movable: 
The Meridian.  one from the Bear  
Described surrounds the middle of the Sphere,  
Divides the Day, and marks exactly Noon  
Betwixt the rising and the se●ting Sun:  
The Signs it changes as we move below,  
Run East or West, it varies as You go;  
For 'tis that Line, which way soever we tread,  
That cuts the Heaven exactly o'er our head,  
And marks the Vertex; which doth plainly prove  
That it must change as often as we move.  
Not one Meridian can the World suffice,  
It passes through each portion of the Skies;  
Thus when the Sun is dawning o'er the East  
'Tis their sixth hour, and sets their sixth at West:  
Though those two hours we count our days extremes,  
Which feebly warm us with their distant Beams.  
To found the other Line cast round thine Eyes, 
The Horizon.   
And where the Earth's high surface joins the Skies,  
Where Stars first set, and first begin to shine,  
There draw the fancied ●mage of this Line:  
Which way soever you move 'twill still be new,  
Another Circle opening to the view;  
For now this half, and now that half of Sky  
It shows, its Bounds still varying with the Eye.  
This Round's Terrestrial, for it bounds contains  
That Globe, and cut the middle with a Plain;  
'Tis called the Horizon, the Round's design,  
(For 'tis to bond) gives title to the Line.  
Two more Obliqne, 
The Zodiac.  and which in adverse Lines  
Surround the Globe, Observe: One bears the Signs  
Where Phoebus drives and guides his fiery Horse  
And varying Luna follows in her Course.  
Where Planets err as Nature leads the Dance,  
Keep various measures undisturbed by Chance;  
It's highest Arch with Cancer's beams do glow,  
Whilst Caper lies, and freezes in the low:  
Twice it divides the Equinoctial line,  
Where fleecy Aries, and where Libra shine.  
Three Lines compose it, and th' Eclypticks found  
Ith' midst; and all decline into a Round.  
Nor is it hid, nor is it hard to found,  
Like others open only to the Mind;  
For like a Belt with studs of Stars the Skies  
It girds and graces; and invites the Eyes:  
To twelve Degrees its Breadth, to thrice sixscore  
It's Length extends, and comprehends no more:  
within these bounds the wand'ring Planets rove,  
Make Seasons here, and settle Fate above.  
The other Round from Bears opposed begun  
Runs adverse to the Chariot of the Sun, 
The Milky way.   
It leaves the Pole, and from its Round retires,  
And cuts inverted Casiopeia's Fires:  
Thence still descending and obliquely drawn  
It passes through the Body of the Swan,  
Than Cancer's fires, the headlong Bird of jove,  
The Line and Zodiac where the Planets rove:  
And thence in various wind turns to meet  
The other Centaur, and entwines his feet:  
And thence to mount through Argo's Sails gins,  
The Line, and lowest portion of the Twins;  
Than joins the Driver, and from thence ascends  
O'er Perseus, and to Cassiopeia tends,  
There 'tis received in her inverted Chair,  
In her the Round gins, and ends in Herald.  
Twice cuts the Tropics, Zodiac and the Line,  
And is as often cut by those again.  
Nor need we with a prying Eye surveyed  
The distant Skies to found the Milky way,  
It must be seen by All, for every night  
It forcibly intrudes upon our sight,  
And will be marked for shining streaks adorn  
The Skies as opening to let forth the Morn.  
And as a beaten Path that spreads between  
A trodden Meadow, and divides the Green.  
Or as when Seas are ploughed behind the Ship,  
Foam curls on the green surface of the Deep.  
In Heaven's dark surface such this Circle lies,  
And parts with various Light the Azure Skies.  
Or as when Iris draws her radiant Bow  
Such seems this Circle to the World below.  
It all surpriseth, our enquiring sight  
It upward draws, when through the Shades of Night  
It spreads its Rays, and darts amazing Light.  
Fond Men the sacred Causes strive to found,  
And vainly measure with a feeble Mind:  
And yet they strive, they madly whirl about  
Through various Causes, still condemned to Doubt.  
Whether the Skies 
20 The Opinion of Diodorus.  grown old, 
Various Opinions about the Milky way.  here shrink their Frame,  
And through the Chinks admit an upper Flame.  
Or whether here the Heavens two Halves are joined  
But oddly closed, still leave a Seam behind:  
Or here the parts in 
21 Macrobius reports Theophrastus to be the Author of this Fancy.  Wedges closely pressed,  
To fix the Frame, are thicker than the Rest,  
Like Clouds condensed appear, and bound the Sight,  
The Azure being thickened into White.  
Or whether that old 
22 From Plutarch we learn that Metrodorus and others asserted this, and Achilles Tacius ●ixes this foolish Opinion on Oenopides Chius.  Tale deserves our Faith,  
Which boldly says, that this was once the Path  
Where Phoebus drove; and that in length of Years  
The heated tract took Fire and burnt the Stars.  
The Colour changed, the Ashes strewed the Way,  
And still preserve the marks of the Decay:  
Besides, Fame tells, by Age Fame reverend grown,  
That Phoebus gave his Chariot to his Son,  
And whilst the Youngster from the Path declines  
Admiring the strange Beauty of the Signs;  
Proud of his Charge, He drove the fiery Horse,  
And would outdo his Father in his Course.  
The North grew warm, and the unusual Fire  
Dissolved its Snow, and made the Bears retire;  
Nor was the Earth secure, each Country mourned  
The Common Fate, and in its City's burned.  
Than from the scattered Chariot Lightning came,  
And the whole Skies were one continued Flame.  
The World took Fire, and in new kindled Stars  
The bright remembrance of its Fate it bears.  
Thus Fame, nor must the softer Fable die  
That Juno's Breast overflowing stained the Sky,  
And made that Milky way, which justly draws  
It's Name, the Milky Circle from its Cause.  
Or is the spacious bend serenely bright  
From little Stars, which there their Beams unite,  
And make one solid and continued Light?  
Or Souls which loosed from the ignoble Chain  
Of Clay, and sent to their own Heaven again,  
Purged from all dross by Virtue, nobly rise  
In Aether wanton, and enjoy the Skies.  
Great Atreu● Sons, Tydides' fixed above,  
And stout Achilles equal to our jove;  
With three-aged Nestor: He that bravely stood  
The Dangers of the Land and of the Flood.  
Ulysses, Nature's Conqueror, enjoy  
The Skies deserved; with all the Chiefs at Troy.  
Jove's Son Sarpedon, He that Lycia swayed:  
The black Merione, the Martial Maid,  
Had Fate stood Neuter, Troy's securest Aid.  
With all those Kings that Greece or Asia bore,  
Or Pella 
23 The learned Mr. Hayns dislikes Scaliger's reading, which I have followed, and thinks that he meant that Pella was a Woman; a more solemn foppery was never met with, and this Note, beside a great many others, may serve to credit the Dauphin Editions of the Classic Authors.  greatest in her Conqueror.  
Next these the grave and prudent Heroes rise,  
Whose solid Richeses lay in being Wise;  
There good Zeleucus, stout Lycurgus shine,  
Solon the just, and Plato the Divine.  
His Master next, whose Blood unjustly spilt  
On Athens still reflects a real Gild.  
Next Persia's Scourge who strewed the joyful Flou●  
With Xerxes' fleet, and checked the growing God:  
Who broke his Force, when Neptune bore the chain,  
And proved his juster Title o'er the Main.  
Here Romans joined, the greatest Crowd, reside,  
The Kings, e'er Tarquin stained the Throne with Pride.  
The Horace's our Army in our Wars,  
The Town which he defended, Cocles bears;  
Next Clelia rides, the brightest Maid in Fame,  
And Scevola more glorious by his Maim.  
Than He on whom the Helping Crow bestowed  
A Name, and in the Figure brought in a God.  
Camillus who the Stars deserved to gain  
For saving jove, when Thunder roared in vain;  
Patient of wrongs, and whilst alive adored,  
The Founder of that Rome that He restored.  
Next Brutus sits, and next, unlearned in Fear,  
The fierce Revenger of the Pyrrick War,  
Papyrius shines; The Decii, o'er their Foes  
In Triumphs Equal, Rivals in their Vows.  
Fabritius, Curius, for their Country bold,  
Alike in Courage, and too great for Gold.  
Marcellus, Sword of Rome, the third that bore  
A Royal spoil, and Cossus graced before:  
Next Fabius sits, who left the Common way  
To Victory, and Conquered by Delay.  
Livy and Nero glorious for the fall  
Of haughty Carthage in her Asdrubal.  
The Scipio's Africks' Fate both joined in One,  
The latter ending what the first begun.  
Pompey by Thrice the Conquered World adored,  
Before God Caesar stooped to be our Lord:  
The famed Metelli; Tully, Rome's defence,  
Deserving Heaven for precious Eloquence.  
The Claudian Race, and the Emilian Line  
With Fortune's Conqueror great Cato shine.  
But Venus julian race, who drew their rise  
From Heaven, return again and fill the Skies;  
Where great Augustus, with his partner jove  
Presides, and views his Father fixed above.  
Quirinus joins him, and is pleased to see  
The Caesars grow Rome's Founders more than Herald  
The highest Arch contains the greater Gods,  
The Godlike Heroes fill these next Abodes;  
Those generous Souls, that ran an equal race  
In Virtue's Paths, and claim a second place.  
Thus far my Muse hath with success been crowned,  
Or found no stops, or vanquished those she found.  
And thus encouraged now she boldly dares  
To sing the Fatal compacts of the Stars.  
But stop thy flight, sing all the Fires that shine  
And influence too, and finish thy design.  
Seven Fires refuse the World's Diurnal force, 
The Planets.   
From West to East they roll their proper Course.  
Cold Saturn, jove, fierce Mars, the fiery Sun,  
With Mercury 'twixt Venus and the Moon.  
Some swift▪ some slow, they measure different Years,  
And make the wondrous Music of the Spheres.  
But these are constant, these adorn the Night,  
Whilst Others seldom shine and than affright. 
Meteor's.   
For few have viewed a Comet's dreadful train,  
Which Wars foretells, and never shines in vain,  
Soon catch on Fire, and die as soon again.  
The Reason's this; when days serenely fair  
Have chased the Clouds, and cleansed the lower Air,  
And mists breathed out from Earth rise through the Sky,  
The moister parts are conquered by the Dry.  
And Fire enticed by the Convenient Mass  
Descends, and lights it with a sudden blaze:  
But since the Body's thin, the Parts are rare  
And Mists, like smoke, lie scattered through the Air;  
As soon as e'er begun, the feeble fire  
Must waste, and with the blazing Mass expire.  
For did they long exist, their constant Light  
Would seem to bring new Day upon the Night;  
Whole Nature's Course would change, and from the Deep  
The Sun would rise, and found the World a-sleep.  
But since in various Forms the Mists must rise, 
Several sorts of Meteors.   
And shine in the same Figures o'er the Skies,  
These sudden Flames thus born by Chance at Night,  
Must show as much variety of Light.  
Some equally diffused, 
Stella Crinita.  like flaming Hair,  
Draw fiery Tresses through the Liquid Air.  
And straight the Mass that fiery Locks appeared  
Grows short, 
Barba●a.  and is contracted to a Beard.  
Whilst some in even and continued streams,  
Are round like Pillars, 
Trabs.  or are squared like Beams.  
And some with Bellied Flames large Tuns present, 
Pithetes.   
Alike in shape, and equal in extent.  
Some tied in knots like hairy Curls are spread, 
Bostruchias.   
A narrow Covering o'er the Comets Head.  
The Meteor Lamp in parted Flames appears, 
Lampadias'.   
The Sheaf uneven shakes her bended Ears.  
But still when wand'ring Stars adorn the Night, 
Stipulae ardentes.   
The falling Meteors draw long trains of Light. 
Stella cadens.   
Like Arrows shot from the Celestial Bow,  
They cut the Air, and strike our Eyes below: 
Acontiae.   
Fire lies in every thing, in Clouds it forms  
The frightful Thunder, and descends in storms.  
It passes through the Earth, in Aetna raves,  
And imitates Heaven's Thunder in its Caves.  
〈◊〉 hollow vales it boils the rising Floods,  
〈◊〉 Flints 'tis found, and lodges in the Woods,  
●or tossed by storms, the Trees in Flames expire,  
●o warm are Nature's parts, so ●ill'd with Fire.  
Therefore when Mists, which wand'ring Flames retain,  
●●rsue and catch, and leave as soon again,  
Blaze o'er the Skies when through the parted Frame  
The Meteors break in one continued Flame,  
Or when midst Rain, or through a Watery Cloud  
Quick Lightning flies, or Thunder roars aloud,  
Wonder not more; for o'er the spacious All  
Is fire diffused, and must consume the Ball.  
When eating Time shall waste confining Clay,  
And fret the feeble Body to decay.  
Thus far through paths untrod my Muse has gone,  
Found different Causes, but not fixed on One,  
Such various Flowers in Nature's field invite  
Her gathering Hand, and tempt her greedy sight;  
That drawn by many she scarce one enjoys,  
Lost in the great Variety of Choice.  
For Earthy Mists involving Seeds of Flame  
May rise on high, 
Different Opinions about Meteors.  and fiery Comets frame;  
Or little Stars by Nature joined in One  
May shine, though undiscovered when alone.  
Or they are constant Stars, whose Natural Coarse  
The Sun o'er powers by his prevailing Force,  
Draws from their Orbs, and shadows by his Light▪  
Than frees again, and opens to our sight.  
Thus Mercury, thus Venus disappears,  
Than shines again, and leads the Evening Stars.  
Or God in pity to our Mortal state  
Hangs out these Lights to show approaching Fate; 
Comets presage.   
They never idly blaze, but still presage  
Some coming Plague on the unhappy Age.  
No Crop rewards the cheated Farmer's toil,  
He mourns, and curses the ungrateful Soil;  
The meager Ox to the successless Blow  
He yokes, and scarce dares make another Vow.  
Or wasting Plagues their deadly Poisons spread,  
Increasing the large Empire of the Dead.  
Men die by Numbers, and by heaps they fall,  
And mighty Cities make one Funeral.  
On groaning Piles whole huddled Nations burn,  
And Towns lie blended in one Common Urn.  
Such Plagues Achaia felt, 
The Plague of Athens.  the fierce Disease  
Laid Athens waste, and spoiled the Town in Peace.  
It bore the helpless Nation to the Grave,  
No Physic could assist, no Vows could save;  
Heaps fell on Heaps, and whilst they gasped for Breath,  
Heaps fell on those, and finished half their Death.  
None nursed the Sick, the nearest Kinsmen fled;  
None stayed to bury, or to mourn the Dead.  
The Fires grown weary died beneath their Spoils,  
And heaped-up Limbs supplied the place of Piles.  
Vast Emptiness and Desolation reigned,  
And to so great a People scarce one Heir remained.  
Such are the Plagues that blazing Stars proclaim,  
They light to Funerals their unlucky Flame.  
They show not only private Plagues to come,  
But threaten Mortals with the Day of Doom.  
When Piles Eternal Heaven and Earth shall burn,  
And sickly Nature fall into her Urn.  
They sudden Tumults, and strange Arms declare, 
Wars.   
And when close Treach'ry shall start up to War.  
When faithless Germane did of late rebel,  
And tempt their Fate, when Generous Varus fell,  
And three brave Legions blood the Plains did drown,  
O'er all the Skies the threatening Comets shone.  
Even Nature seemed at War, and Fire was hurled  
At Fire, and Ruin threatened to the World.  
These things are strange, but why should these  
surprise,  
The Fault is Ours, since we with heedless Eyes  
View Heaven, and want the Faith to trust the Skies.  
They Civil-Wars foretell, and Brother's rage,  
The Curse and the disgraces of an Age.  
Never more Comets drew their dreadful Hair  
Than when Philippi saw the World at War.  
Scarce had the Plains drunk up the former Blood,  
On scattered Bones and Limbs the Romans stood  
And fought again; disdaining meaner Foes,  
(A wretched Conquest where the Victors loose)  
Our Empire's power did its own self oppose;  
And great Augustus o'er the slaughtered Heaps  
Pursued bright Victory in his Father's steps.  
Nor did the Rage end here, the Actium fight,  
That bloody dowry of a wanton Night,  
Remained, and raised by Cleopatra's Charms  
The headlong Nations ran again to Arms.  
The Chance for the whole World was thrown again,  
And the Skies Ruler sought upon the Main,  
Than War obeyed a Woman, Timbrels strove  
With Thunder, Isis with the Roman jove.  
Nor stopped it here, but the degenerate Son  
Stained all the Glory that his Father won.  
The Seas great Pompey freed He seized again,  
His Pirates lay like Tempests on the Main.  
The Relics of the Wars, the Impious Slaves  
Were armed for fight, and ravaged o'er the Waves.  
Till the torn fleet died all the Seas with Blood,  
And Asia's Chains revenged the injured Flood.  
Let this, O Fates! suffice; Let Discord cease,  
And raging Tumults be confined by Peace.  
Let Caesar triumph, let the World obey,  
And long let Rome be happy in his Sway.  
Long have him here, and when she shall bestow  
A God on Heaven enjoy his Aid below.  
The End of the First Book.  

1 Whether Divinas is to be rendered Divining or Divine is not yet agreed by the Interpreters of the Poet; by rendering it Divine, Manilius is freed from a redundancy of Words, and the Origine of Astronomy, which he so often inculcates in other places, is hinted at: beside, Divinus seldom signifies Divining, but when a Substantive follows which determines it to that sense, as Divina imbrium, and the like, and in that case I found Milton venturing at it in his Poem: 
— Divine of future Woe.   
2 It seems very plain that this whole description respects only the Eastern Kings, and therefore Manilius must be reckoned amongst those who believed the head of Nile to be in the East; and jest he might be thought to have forgotten the Egyptians, I am inclined to think he includes them under the Priests, to whose care Astronomical Observations were peculiarly committed.  
3 This was the Opinion of Xenophanes, Melissus, Aristotle and others; and Pliny thus concludes in the second Book cap. 1. of his Natural History: 'Tis reasonable to believe that the World is a Deity▪ eternal and immense, that never had a beginning, and never shall have an end. As absurd an Opinion as ●ever was proposed, and repugnant to all the Appearances of Nature; look upon the Rocks on the Sea shore, and having observed their continual wearing, consider how few thousands of years they must have stood: direct thy eye to Heaven, and view the several changes in that which was thought impassable; and in short, reflect on the essential vileness of matter, and its impotence to conserve its own being; and than I believe you will found reason to put this Opinion amongst those absurdities which Tully hath allotted to one or other of the Philosophers to defend.  
4 This blind fancy we own to the Phoenicians, who (if Philo Biblius' Sancuniathon may be trusted) taught that the Principles of the Universe were a Spirit of dark Air, and a confused Chaos; this Spirit at last began to Love, and joining with the Chaos, produced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or slime, and thence fashioned the World. And hence likely the more sober part of the Greek Philosophers, (for they were but borrowers of Learning) who required two eternal principles, the one active and the other passive, such as Plato, Anaxagoras, etc. took their notions, and having added some few new ornaments, vented them for their own.  
5 The Philosophy of Epicurus is too well known to need any explication.  
6 The Opinion of Heraclitus, concerning which see the first Book of Lucretius.  
7 Thales the Milesian endeavoured to establish this by Arguments drawn from the Origine and Continuation of most things: The seminal Principle of Animals is humid, Plants are nourished by mere Water; Fire itself cannot live without Air, which is only water rarefied, and the Sun and Stars draw up vapours for their own nourishment and support. These were the considerations upon which he grounded his Opinion; and hence 'tis easy to guests that he kept up the credit of his School rather by those richeses which he gained by his lucky conjecture at the scarcity of Olives, than by the strength of argument and reason.  
8 The Assertion of Empedocles, agreeable to which Ovid sings, 
Quatuor aeternus genitalia Corpora Mundus Continet—.   
9 There is something in this scheme of Manilius so like the ingenious conjecture of the excellent Author of the Theory of the Earth, that what reflects on the one must have an influence on the other, and when the fiction is confuted the serious discourse will found itself concerned: The Stoics held the material part of their Deity to be changeable, and that too as often as the fatal Fire prevailed, and reduced the Elements into one Chaos; in such a confusion the Poet supposeth the first matter of his World, and than makes the different parts separate, and take proper places, according as they were light or heavy: agreeable to this Opinion the Theory of the Earth supposeth a Chaos, which he defines to be a Mass of Matter, fluid, consisting of parts of different sorts and sizes, blended together without any union or connexion. The solid and heavyer parts of this Chaos descend to the Centre, by their own weight, and there fixing and growing hard, compose the inward Body of the Earth; the lighter parts fly upward, and being continually agitated, make that Body which we call Air; the middle sort being somewhat heavyer, and not so much agitated, cover over the solid interior Body of the Earth; and its fat and oily parts rising, and swimming on the surface, stop and detain those heavyer particles which upon the first separation were carried up by the Air, and afterwards according to their several degrees of Gravity fell back again toward the Centre: These particles sticking in this oily matter, made a soft crust, which in time being hardened by the Sun and those breezes which always attend its motion, became the habitable Earth. This Earth thus formed was solid, and without Caverns, nor had it any inequalities on its surface; as to its site, its Axis was parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptic, both its Poles being equally inclined to the Sun; and as to its figure it was Oval. These are the few easy principal parts of that excellent Hypothesis, settled on the obvious notions of Gravity and Levity, and on the acknowledged Nature, and allowed Motion of a Fluid. And from these so many curious propositions are naturally deduced, so many difficulties concerning Paradise and the Flood happily explained, and all set of with that neatness and aptness of expression, and that variety of curious thought, that I am very much inclined to believe that Nature was never so well dressed before, nor so artificially recommended. And it is pity that the first acknowledged Principles of Philosophy will not allow it to be true. Inherent Qualities are now generally exploded, as unphilosophical, not to be understood, and unfit to explain the Phaenomena of Nature. The Acceleration of a heavy Body in its descent (beside a thousand other Arguments) quite overthrows Gravity both as an accident of Aristotle, and as essential to Matter, according to the fancy of Epicurus; so that this motion proceeds only from external impulse, and depends upon the present order of the World. So that Philosophy will not allow the supposition of Gravity or Levity in a confused Chaos, since it can sufficiently demonstrate that they are neither inherent qualities, nor essential to matter, and that it is in vain to look after them, before the system of the World was settled in the present order. From this hint it is easy to infer that the supposed Chaos would have still continued such, the solid Parts would have been agitated this or that way indifferently by the restless particles of the Fluid, but there could have been no orderly separation, because no Principle of it.  
But suppose such a separation, why must the outward Crust of the Globe be without Caverns in its Body, and Inequalities on its Surface? What Law of Nature doth necessarily prove that in such a confusion the solid parts must be equally dispersed through the Body of the Air? If we trust our Eyes, and look upon a Dust raised by the ruin of a House, or only consider what Confusion is, it will be very hard to found such a regular and orderly disposition. And since these solid Bodies may be unequally dispersed, and every one of them tends to the Centre by a direct Line, whenever they settle, the Body which they compose must be unequal in its surface.  
Yet to let this Difficulty pass, its Figure according to this Hypothesis will be much more Oval than common observation will allow, for since it is said to be Oval because the Motion of the Aequator is swifter than that of the Polar Circles, the figure must be almost as much Oval, as the Circle of the Aequator is bigger than the Circle of the Pole; there being nothing to hinder the utmost effect of this motion but the weight of the Fluid endeavouring to reduce itself to a Level, which of what moment it will be in this Case I leave to be considered.  
And as for its site, that renders the torrid and the frigid Zones unhabitable; intolerable Heats still burning the former, and the continual gathering and dropping of the vapours making the others too cold and moist to entertain either Man or Beast. And this one concession, I am afraid, spoils most part of the Contrivance; for these portions of the Crust could never grow hard, being continually moistened by the Vapours, and so little exposed to the Sun, or that breeze which attends its motion: And therefore, whenever Vapours were drawn from the Abyss in the Torrid Zone, these parts of the Arch being not firm enough to sustain themselves, must sink in; and those Vapours that were imprisoned between the surface of the Abyss and the solid part of the Crust of the Earth, might have found an easy passage through this soft portion of the Crust, and therefore could not contribute to the general dissolution of the Frame. Besides, from such a muddy Fountain what could be expected but streams unwholesome and corrupted, and unfit for that end for which they were designed, and for that use, to which sacred Scripture tells us they were employed?  
A great many other inconveniences in Nature may be observed to follow this Contrivance; but because this Hypothesis was not set up for its own sake, but to give an intelligible account of Noah's Flood; I shall close these reflections with a few considerations upon that.  
And first the Author pleads for an universal Flood, it being inconsistent with the demonstrated Nature of a Fluid, that Water should stand up in Heaps fifteen Cubits above the tops of the highest Mountains. This I am willing to admit, though there is no reason why Omnipotence might not be immediately concerned in this, since he himself confesseth, that the forty days Rain cannot according to his Hypothesis be explained by any Natural Cause that he can found out.  
Secondly, He compares the height of the Mountains and the Depth of the Sea, and having as to both made allowable suppositions (though the Course of the longest River, even the Nile itself, will not prove its head to be above three foot higher than its mouth) he infers that eight Oceans will be little enough to make an universal Deluge: The Waters above the Firmament are exploded; the Rain would afford but the hundredth part of such a Mass of Water, unless the showers were continual, and over the face of the whole Earth, and the Drops came down ninety times faster than usually they do. (Though here a Man would be apt to think from the expressions in Genesis, The Windows of Heaven were opened, that there was somewhat very extraordinary in this Rain, and that all those required conditions were observed.) The Caverns of the Earth, if they threw out all the Water they contained, could afford but little in comparison of the great store that was required; And if the whole middle region of the Air had been condensed, still there had not been enough, because Air being turned into Water filleth only the hundredth part of that space which it formerly possessed. Though all the other ways by which some have endeavoured to explain the Flood, were demonstrably insufficient, yet this last which gives an account of it from so natural and easy a Cause as the condensation of the Air deserved to be considered a little more; but it is the Art of a Disputer to touch that lest which presseth most on that Opinion which he would advance. For it being allowed that Air by natural Causes may be changed into Water, and a Vacuum in this very Chapter being excluded, it necessarily follows, that as much Air as riseth fifteen Cubits higher than the tops of the Mountains is sufficient to make such a Deluge as is described to have been in Noah's time. Because where there is no Vacuum, there can be no contraction into a lesle space, and every particle of Matter, whatever form of schematism it puts on, must in all conditions be equally extended, and therefore take up the same Room. But suppose a Vacuum, or (as it happens in our imperfect condensations) that a hundred cubical feet of Air would make but one foot of Water, yet sure the Region is large enough to make amendss for this disproportion: Now since Nature is sufficient for condensation, and since its powers may be considerably invigorated for the execution of the Almighty's wrath; why must it be thought so difficult to explain a Deluge? and why should an excellent Wit waste itself in fashioning a new World, only to bring that about which the old one would permit easily to be done? It is above the Province of Philosophy to make a World, let that be supposed to have been formed as it is revealed, it is enough for us to search by what Laws it is preserved; and a system erected on this foundation will be agreeable both at Reason and to Religion.  
10 He explodes the Opinion of Xenophanes, and the Fancy of Epicurus. Vid. Lucretius' fifth Book.  
11 Canopus is a Star in the Southern Keel of the Ship Argo, of the first magnitude: These particulars as to the Appearance of the two Stars are not mathematically true, yet serve well enough for the Poet's design, sufficiently proving the roundness of the Earth.  
12 This Argument being taken from the Eclipse and not from the increase or decrease of the Moon, the Poet must be understood, not as to divers moments of Time, for the Moon at the same instant is seen Eclipsed by all to whom she appears above the Horizon, but as to the diversity of Hours at which the Eastern or Western People reckon the Eclipse to begin or end.  
13 This is to be understood in respect of those who inhabit the Northern Hemisphere, to whom the North Pole is still elevated.  
14 It was the Opinion of the ancient Poets, and some others, that the Sea was as a Girdle to the Earth, that it ran round it as an Horizon, and divided the upper Hemisphere from the lower.  
15 Release this Soul from that union which the Stoics foolishly assigned, and than to hold a Soul of the World and Providence is all one.  
16 Manilius is not constant in his Position; most commonly as a Poet he turns his face to the West, and than the North is on his right hand, and the South on the left: sometimes as an Astronomer he turns his face to the South, and this is the position in this place.  
17 Alluding to the two Verses in Homer's sixth Iliad, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
18 Demonstrated by Archimedes in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Prop. 3. That the Circumference of every Circle exceeds three times the Diameter thereof by a part that is lesle than 1/7th, and greater than 10/70.  
19 Eudoxus divided the Sphere into sixty parts, and this division Manilius follows, and according to that describes the Position of the Celestial Circles.  
20 The Opinion of Diodorus.  
21 Macrobius reports Theophrastus to be the Author of this Fancy.  
22 From Plutarch we learn that Metrodorus and others asserted this, and Achilles Tacius ●ixes this foolish Opinion on Oenopides Chius.  
23 The learned Mr. Hayns dislikes Scaliger's reading, which I have followed, and thinks that he meant that Pella was a Woman; a more solemn foppery was never met with, and this Note, beside a great many others, may serve to credit the Dauphin Editions of the Classic Authors.    

MANILIUS.  
The Second Book.  
Manilius takes care frequently to tell his Reader that he is the first that ever ventured on an Astrological Poem; He seems mightily pleased with his undertaking, hugs it as his Firstborn, and the Son of his strength, and is very troublesome in acquainting us with the pains which he suffered at its Birth; and than reckons up the Beauties of the Child, and what great hopes he conceives of it: If ever he deserved Scaliger's Character, that he knew not when to leave of, it must be acknowledged that this is the Case in which it may be chief applied: We need look not farther than the beginning of this Book to be satisfied in this matter; He spends about sixty Verses in reckoning up the chief Subjects of Homer, Hesiod, Theocritus and others; all which being laid aside, he declares his design to be wholly new; and than gins, 1. To prove the World to be one Animal: 2. The Influence of the Heavens: 3. He Describes the several species of the Signs. 4. The various configurations or aspects of the Signs; and tells us what are Trines, what Quadrates or Squares; what Hexagons or Sextiles; and what are Right and Left in each of these. 5. What Signs are said to be conjoined, what not, and what opposed; to what Sign each part of Man's body is appropriate; what Signs are said to hear, what to see one another; what are friendly, and what not. 6. The friendly and unfriendly aspects of the Signs, and the various aspects of the Planets in the Signs. 7. The Twelfths or Dodecatemoria of the Signs and Planets. 8. The twelve Celestial Houses, and assigns to each its proper Planet.  
IN lasting Verse the mighty Homer sings  
The Trojan Wars, 
Horner.  the King of fifty Kings,  
Stout Hector's brand, the bloody dreadful Field,  
And Troy secure behind the Hero's Shield:  
Ulysses' wander, and his travelling years,  
In time and glory equal to his Wars:  
How twice with conquering Fleets he ploughed the Main,  
Whilst Scylla roared, and Neptune raged in vain.  
And how at Home he fixed his tottering Throne,  
Redeemed his honour, and secured his Son:  
Usurping Wooers felt his thundering Sword,  
And willing Nations knew their Native Lord.  
His Subjects these, and from his boundless Spring   

MANILIUS.  
The Second Book.  
Manilius takes care frequently to tell his Reader, that He is the first who ventured on an Astrological Poem: He seems mightily pleased with his Undertaking, hugs it as his Firstborn, and the Son of his Strength: He at large acquaints us with the Pains which He suffered in bringing it to Perfection, and than reckons up the Beauty of the Child, and what great Hopes He conceives of it: If ever he deserves Scaliger's Character, That he knew not when to leave of, it must be principally than when He speaks of himself and his own Performance. We need look not further than the Beginning of this Book to be satisfied in this matter: He spends about Sixty Verses in reckoning up the chief Subjects of Homer, He●iod, Theocritus, and other Poets, all which being laid aside, He declares his Design to be wholly new, and than gins, 1. To assert, that the whole Word is Animate, and God the Soul of it 2. The Influence of the Heavens. 3. He reckons up the several kinds of sorts of Signs, as, 4. Male and Female Signs: 5. Human and Brute Signs. 6. Single and Double Signs. 7. Pairs. 8. Double Signs made up of different Species. 9 Signs Double by Place, viz. Those that immediately precede the Four Tropic Signs. 10. Signs of Natural or Unnatural Postures. 11. Day and Night Signs. 12. Earth and Water Signs. 13. Fruitful and Barren Signs. 14. Signs of different Postures. 15. Maimed and entire Signs. 16. Season Signs. 17. He sings the various Configurations or Aspects of the Signs: As, 18. Trines. 19 Quadrates or Squares; shows what are to be accounted Right and what Left in these Figures: And, 20. Adds several Cautions concerning Squares and Trines. 21. He describes the Intercourse or Agreement of Trines and Quadrates. 22. Of Hexagons or Sextiles, of which he gives a particular Account. 23. Of Contiguous Signs. 24. Of Unequal Signs. 25. Of Opposites. 26. He shows what Gods are the Guardians of each Sign. 27. The Signs for the several parts of the Body▪ 28. What Signs See, Hear, Love, or Hate each other. 29. He makes a short Digression about Friendship. 30. He treats of the Friendly and Unfriendly Aspects. 31. Of the Dodecatemoria, or Twelfths. 32. Of the Dodecatemoria of the Planets, and proposes two ways to found them. 33. He describes the Celestial Houses, assigning them their Proper Charges and their Titles, together with the Planets which presided in them; and than concludes this Second Book.  
THE mighty Bard in lasting Numbers sings  
Ilium's long Wars, 
Homer.  the King of fifty Kings;  
Brave Hector's Brand, the bloody dreadful Field,  
And Troy secure behind the Hero's Shield.  
He sings Ulysses, and his wand'ring Years  
●n Time and Glory equal to his Wars:  
He sings how twice He conquering ploughed the Main  
Whilst Scylla roared, and Neptune raged in vain,  
And how at Home He fixed his tottering Throne,  
Redeemed his Honour, and secured his Son:  
●surping Woe●● felt his thundering Sword,  
●nd willing Nations knew their Native Lord.  
His Subjects these, from whose 
1 Manilius having mentioned the chief Arguments of Homer's Poems, concludes with a high Character, styling him the Fountain of all Poetry. Ovid. Am●r. lib. 3. El. 8. to the same purpose, 
A quo, ceu Fonte perenni,  
Vatum Pieriis ora rigantur Aquis▪  And Longinus (de sublim. Sect. 13) says not only Stesichorus and Archilocus, but Herodotus the Historian, and Plato the Philosopher, own their chiefest Beauties to that Poet.  abundant Spring  
●●cceeding Poets draw the Songs they sing;  
●●om Him they take, from Him adorn their Themes,  
●nd into little Channels cut his Streams,  
●ich in his store—  
Next Hesiod sings the God's Immortal Race, 
Hesiod.   
●e sings how Chaos bore the Earthy Mass;  
●ow Light from Darkness struck did Beams display,  
●nd Infant-Stars first staggered in their way:  
●ow Name 
2 Several Poems of Hesiod are lost, and Scaliger with other Critics conjecture, That Manilius refers us to those lost Poems: But I think this and the preceding Verse aught to be Corrected, (of this Correction perhaps I may give an account in a Latin Edition of this Author) and than they will be found in those pieces of Hesiod that are now extant.  of Brother veiled an Husband's Love,  
●nd juno bore unaided by her jove:  
●ow twice-born Bacchus burst the Thunderer's Thigh,  
●nd all the Gods that wander through the Sky.  
Hence He to Fields descends, manures the Soil,  
Instructs the Ploughman, and rewards his Toil:  
He sings how Corn in Plains, how Vines in Hills  
Delight, how Both with vast Increase the Olive fills:  
How Foreign Graffs th' Adulterous Stock receives,  
Bears stranger Fruit, and wonders at her Leaves:  
An useful Work, when Peace and Plenty reign,  
And Art joins Nature to improve the Plain.  
The Constellation's Shapes 
3 Eratosthenes a Greek Poet, flourished in the time of Ptolemy Euergetes, about the 138 Olymp. He wrote of the Stars and Constellations, and gave an account of all the Fables relating to them: I have not time to explain all these Fables and therefore shall only direct where they may be found. Concerning Perseus, Andromeda, her Father Cepheus, and her Mother Cassiopeia, vid. Ovid. Metam. lib. 4 ver. 665. Concerning calisto, or the great Bear, Ovid. lib. 2. ver. 405. The Fable of the Little Bear may be found in Diodorus Siculus, lib. 4. Of the Swan in the First Book of Manilius. Of the Go●t in the First Book of Manilius, and in Casaubon's Animadversions on Athenaeus: The Maid or Erigone, is said to be the Daughter of I●arus, who upon the Death of her Father, hanged herself. The Nemean Lion being slain by Hercules, was placed amongst the Stars for his shining Skin. The Crab for pinching Hercules when he fought the Hydra: The Scorpion for Killing Orion, or rather, for assisting the Gods against the Giants. The Stories of Venus taking the shape of a Fish when she fled from the Giant▪ Typho, and of the Ram who swum over the Hellespont with Phryxus and Helle on his Back, are well known, and may be found in Manilius, and Selden de Diis Syris.  some make their Themes, 
Eratosthenes.   
Sing whence they came, and how adorned with Beams,  
Andromeda enjoys kind Perseu's Aid,  
The Sire unbinds, the Mother mourns the Maid:  
calisto ravished now the Pole surveys,  
Nor grieves to change her Honour for her Rays:  
The Little Bear that rocked the mighty jove,  
The Swan whose borrowed Shape concealed his Love  
Are graced with Light, the Nursing Goat's repaid  
With Heaven, and Duty raised the Pious Maid;  
The Lion for the Honours of his Skin,  
The squeezing Crab, and stinging Scorpion shine  
For aiding Heaven, when Giants dared to brave,  
The threatened Stars; and Thunder failed to save:  
And now the Fish ignoble Fates escape  
Since Venus owed her Safety to their Shape:  
The Ram having passed the Sea, serenely shines,  
And leads the Year, the Prince of all the Signs.  
Thus whilst by Fables They the Stars advance,  
They vainly make the Heaven one large Romance;  
Earth fills the Sky, the Mass ignobly reigns,  
And Heaven's upheld by that which it sustains:  
Fables absurd, which Nature's Laws reject,  
To make the Cause depend on the Effect.  
The sweet Theocritus with softest Strains  
Makes piping Pan delight Sicilian Swains; 
Theocritus.   
Through his smooth Reed no Rustic Numbers move,  
But all is Tenderness, and all is Love;  
As if the Muses sat in every Vale,  
Inspired the Song, and told the melting Tale.  
Some Birds, some Wars of Beasts, 
Macer.  or Serpents writ,  
Snakes in their Poems hiss, and Lion's sight:  
Some Fate in Herbs describe, 
Nicander.  some Sovereign Roots,  
Or see gay Health spring up in saving Fruits:  
One breaks through Nature's stubborn Bars, invades  
The rest, 
Some old Poet who described Hell.  and sacred Silence of the Shades,  
Turns up the inside of the World, and Night,  
And brings Eternal Darkness into Light.  
Of every Subject now the Muses sing,  
And Floods confused come tumbling from their Spring,  
Yet dry as fast, nor can Parnassian Streams  
Suffice the Throngs that crowd to common Themes.  
I seek new Springs which roll refreshing Waves  
Through Plains untrod, and Purls in hidden Caves,  
Kept pure for Me, which Birds did ne'er profane,  
And thirsty Phoebus often hath sought in vain:  
My Verse shall be my Own, not stolen, but wrought;  
Mine, not the Labour of Another's Thought.  
My Vessel's trimmed, tho' never launched before,  
I spread my Sails, and boldly leave the Shore:  
I'll sing how God the World's Almighty Mind  
Through All infused, and to that All confined, 
The World an Animal, and God the Soul of it.   
Directs the Parts, and with an equal Hand  
Supports the whole, enjoying his Command:  
How All agreed, and how the Parts have made  
Strict Leagues, subsisting by each others Aid;  
How All by Reason move, because one Soul  
Lives in the Parts, diffusing through the whole.  
For did not all the Friendly Parts conspire  
To make one Whole, and keep the Frame entire;  
And did not Reason guide, and Sense control  
The vast stupendous Machine of the whole,  
Earth would not keep its place, the Skies would fall,  
And universal Stiffness deaden All;  
Stars would not wheel their Round, nor Day, nor Night,  
Their Course perform, be put, and put to flight:  
Rains would not feed the Fields, and Earth deny  
Mists to the Clouds, and Vapours to the Sky;  
Seas would not fill the Springs, nor Springs return  
Their grateful Tribute from their flowing Urn:  
Nor would the All, unless contrived by Art,  
So justly be proportioned in each part,  
That neither Seas, nor Skies, nor Stars exceed  
Our Wants, nor are too scanty for our Need:  
Thus stands the Frame, and the Almighty Soul  
Through all diffused so turns, and guides the whole,  
That nothing from its settled Station swerves,  
And Motion altars not the Frame, but still preserves.  
This God or Reason, which the Orbs doth move,  
Makes Things below depend on Signs above; 
The Influence of the Heavens.   
Thou far removed, tho' hid in Shades of Night,  
And scarce to be descried by their own Light;  
Yet Nations own, and Men their Influence feel;  
They rule the Public, and the Private Will:  
The Proofs are plain. Thus from a different Star  
We found a fruitful, or a barren Year;  
Now Grains increase, and now refuse to grow;  
Now quickly ripen, now their growth is slow:  
The Moon commands the Seas, she drives the Main  
To pass the Shores, than drives it back again:  
And this Sedition chief swells the Streams,  
When opposite she views her Brother's Beams;  
Or when she near in close Conjunction rides  
She rears the Flood, and swells the flowing Tides;  
Or when attending on his yearly Race  
The Equinoctial sees her borrowed Face.  
Her Power sinks deep, it searches all the Main,  
Testaceous 
4 This was a Fancy of the Ancients, which some are not ashamed, after Experience hath so often Confuted it, to maintain still.  Fish, as she her Light regains,  
Increase, and still diminish in her Wain:  
For as the Moon in deepest Darkness mourns,  
Than Rays receives, and points her borrowed Horns,  
Than turns her Face, and with a Smile invites  
The full Effusions of her Brother's Lights;  
They to her Changes due proportion keep,  
And show her various Phases in the Deep.  
So Brutes, 
5 The Elephants do so, if we believe Pliny: Nat. Hist. lib. 8. cap. I.  whom Nature did in sport created,  
Ignorant both of themselves, and of their Fate,  
A secret Instinct still erects their Eyes  
To Parent Heaven, and seems to make them wise:  
One at the New Moons ' rise to distant Shore's  
Retires, his Body sprinkles, and adores:  
Some see Storms gathering, or Sereneses foretell,  
And scarce our Reason guides us half so well.  
Than who can doubt that Man, the glorious Pride  
Of All, is nearer to the Skies allied?  
Nature in Man capacious Souls hath wrought,  
And given them Voice expressive of their Thought;  
In Man the God descends, and joys to found  
The narrow Image of his greater Mind.  
But why should all the other Arts be shown,  
Too various for Productions of our own?  
Why should I sing how different Tempers fall,  
And Inequality is seen in All?  
How many strive with equal Care to gain  
The highest Prize, and yet how few obtain?  
Which proves not Matter sways, but Wisdom rules,  
And measures out the Bigness of our Souls:  
Sure Fate stands fixed, nor can its Laws decay,  
'Tis Heaven's to rule, and Matter's Essence to obey.  
Who could know Heaven, unless that Heaven bestowed  
The Knowledge? or found God, but part of God?  
How could the Space immense be e'er confined  
Within the compass of a narrow Mind?  
How could the Skies, the Dances of the Stars,  
Their Motions adverse, and eternal Wars,  
Unless kind Nature in our Breasts had wrought  
Proportioned Souls, be subject to our Thought?  
Were Heaven not interessed to advance our Mind,  
To know Fate's Laws, and teach the way to found,  
Did not the Skies their kindred Souls improve,  
Direct, and lead them through the Maze above;  
Discover Nature, show its secret Springs,  
And tell the Sacred Intercourse of things,  
How impious were our Search, how bold our Course,  
Thus to assault, and take the Skies by force?  
But to insist on tedious Proofs is vain,  
The Art defends itself, the Art is plain;  
For Art well grounded forces to believe,  
It cannot be deceived, nor can deceive;  
Events foretold fulfil the Prophecy,  
What Fortune seconds, how can Man deny?  
The Proofs are Sacred, and to doubt would be  
Not Reason's Action, but Impiety.  
Whilst on these Themes my Songs sublimely soar,  
And take their Flight, where Wing ne'er beaten before;  
Where none will meet, none guide my first Essay,  
Partake my Labours, or direct my way,  
I rise above the Crowd, I leave the Rude,  
Nor are my Poems for the Multitude.  
Heaven shall rejoice, nor shall my Praise refuse,  
But see the Subject equalled by the Muse;  
At lest those favoured few, whose Minds it shows,  
The Sacred Maze, but ah! how few are Those!  
Gold, Power, soft Luxury, vain Sports, and Ease  
Possess the World, and have the luck to please:  
Few study Heaven, unmindful of their state,  
Vain stupid Man! but this itself is Fate.  
My Subject this, and I must this pursue,  
This wondrous Theme, though read, and praised by few;  
And first the Signs in various Ranks dispose,  
As Nature prompts, or their Position shows:  
Six Male from Aries, 
Male and Female Signs.  from the Bull comprise  
(See how he rises backward in the Skies)  
Six Female Signs; but intermixed they fall  
●n order turned, 
6 

Aries is Male.  
Gemini M.  
Leo M.  
Libra M.  
Sagittarius M.  
Aquarius M.   

Taurus' Female.  
Cancer F.  
Virgo F.  
Scorpius F.  
Capricornus F.  
Pisces F.    one Female, and one Male.  
Some Signs bear 
7 The Human Signs are Gemini, Libra, Virgo, Aquarius. The Brute, Aries, Taurus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Leo, Cancer, Scorpius, Pisces.  Human Shapes, some Signs expressed  
●n single Figures bear the Form of Beast: 
Human and Brute Signs.   
These Shapes direct us, and from those we know  
How each inclines, what Tempers Signs bestow;  
Their Figures will not let their Force escape,  
Their Tempers are agreeing to their Shape.  
These Signs are Single, now observe the 
8 Of Double Signs some are Pairs, as Gemini, and Pisces: Others are made up of two different Species, such as Sagittarius and Capricornus.  Pairs,  
Double Shapes confess a double Force in Stars: 
Single and Double Signs.   
And each Companion still in each creates  
A Change, and vast Variety in Fates:  
Ambiguous Force from both expressed combines,  
No Single Influence flows from Double Signs.  
What Powers, or good or bad, one Part displays,  
They may be altered by the others Rays:  
Two of this kind in all the round of Sky  
Appear, 
Pairs.  the Pisces and the naked Gemini:  
These different Powers, though both Pair Signs, possess,  
Because their Parts Position disagrees;  
For tender Gemini in strict embrace  
Stand closed, and smiling in each others Face:  
Whilst Pisces glide in two divided Streams,  
Nor friendly seem, nor mix agreeing Beams.  
Thus● though in Both two parts compose the Frame,  
In Form alike, their Nature's not the same.  
These Pairs alone an equal Frame can boast,  
Not stranger parts are mixed, 
Double Signs of different Species.  no parts are lost  
From their due Form; whilst other Pairs are joined  
Of Nature's disagreeing in their kind;  
Such is the Goat, he twists a Scaly Train,  
The Centaur such, half Horse, and half a Man.  
Observe this well, in these Mysterious Arts  
Whether the Signs are framed of different parts,  
Or only Pairs, it much imports to know,  
For hence comes great Variety below.  
Midst double Signs the Pious Maid may claim  
A place, not from the Figure of her Frame, 
Double Signs by Place.   
But 'cause in Her the Summer's Heats decay,  
And gentler Autumn spreads a weaker Ray.  
But to be short; the same account defines  
That Double still precede the Tropic Signs, 
9 The Tropic Signs are Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.   
Because in those two Seasons mixed unite  
Their Powers, and make them double by their Site.  
Thus of the Twins the one the Bull requires,  
The other feels the Crab's unruly Fires;  
One sees the fading Flowers, and Spring decline,  
The other Boy leads on the hottest Sign:  
But naked both, for both feel scorching Rays  
As Summer comes, or as the Spring decays.  
Thy Face, bright Centaur, Autumn's Heats retain,  
The softer Season suiting to the Man;  
Whilst Winter's shivering Goat afflicts the Horse  
With Frost, and makes him an uneasy Course.  
Thus thou midst double Signs mightst doubly claim  
A place, both from thy Seat, and from thy Frame:  
The like in Pisces is observed, one brings  
The Winter's end, the other leads the Springs;  
In them Spring's Dews, with Winter's Rage combine,  
Both moist, and both agreeing to the Sign:  
How wise, and how obliging in her Grants  
Is Nature's Bounty suited to our Wants!  
With Moisture she the Watery Signs supplies,  
And they enjoy their Ocean in the Skies.  
But there is War, Sign disagrees with Sign,  
And Three rise adverse to the other Nine:  
Bull's Back, 
10 Their Position is unnatural; but this, as well as the foregoing Differences, will be easily understood upon view of the Signs upon a Globe.  Twins Feet, 
Signs of natural or unnatural Postures.  Crab's Shell do first appear,  
And stop the progress of the rising year;  
Whilst others in their usual Postures rise,  
Nor show unnatural Figures in the Skies:  
Since than through adverse Signs the Summer's Sun  
Makes way, no wonder that he drives so slowly on.  
How vast this Knowledge, and how hard to gain,  
The Subject still increasing with the Pain;  
Yet my swift Muse, like Larks on towering Wings  
Mounts to the Skies, and as she mounts she sings:  
She sees Signs various in her Airy Flight 
Day Signs and Night Signs.   
Some Signs of Day, and other Signs of Night:  
Not so 
11 Concerning Day and Night Signs, there are different Opinions: Some fancy that Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, are the Days, and the other six the Nights. Others teach that the Male and Female are the same with the Day and Night Signs. But the Opinion that Manilius follows is this. Aries is a Day Sign, Taurus, Gemini, Night. Cancer, Leo, Day. Virgo, Libra, Night. Scorpius, Sagittarius, Day. Caper, Aquarius, Night. Pices Day. So that begin with Pisces, and than you found two Day Signs together, and than two Night Signs, and so in Order.  distinguished 'Cause those Signs maintain  
Those times distinctly, and than choose to reign:  
For than as Years roll round, the Circling Lights  
Would all be of one kind Day's all, or all the Night's.  
But 'cause wise Nature in her first Designs  
By Laws Eternal fixed them to these Times:  
The Centaur, Lion, and the golden Ram,  
Fish, Crab, and Scorpio with his venomed Flame  
Or near in Site, or in an equal space  
By two alike divided, are the Day's:  
The rest the Night's. But who can hope to see  
Opinion join, or found the World agreed!  
Some with the Ram begin, and thence convey  
The Five in Order following to the Day.  
The rest from Libra are to Night confined:  
Whilst others sing Male Signs affect the Light,  
And Female safely wanton in the Night.  
But others, this is plain from common sense, demand  
Some Signs for 
12 The Water Signs are Pisces and Cancer. The Earth Aries, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Gemini, Sagittarius, Libra, Virgo: Capricornus and Aquarius belong to both Earth and Water.  Sea, and other Signs for Land: 
Earth and Water Signs.   
Thus watery Pisces, and the Crab retain  
Their proper Nature, and respect the Main:  
The Bull and Ram possess their old Command,  
They led the Herds, and still they love the Land,  
Thou there the Lion's Force their Rest invades,  
And poisonous Scorpio lurks in gloomy Shades;  
The Danger is despised, the Ram, the Bull  
Keep Land, so powerful is the Lust of Rule:  
The Twins, the Centaur, and the Scales dispose  
In the same Rank; and join the Maid with those.  
Of middle Nature some with Both agreed,  
One part respects the Land, and one the Sea:  
The double Goat is such, whose wild Command  
Now Sea affects, and now enjoys the Land:  
And young Aquarius pouring out his Stream  
Here spreads a watery, there an Earthy Beam.  
How small these things, yet they reward thy pain,  
Reason's in All, 
Fruitful and Barren Signs.  and nothing's framed in vain:  
The Crab 
13 The fruitful Signs are Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. The Barren are Leo, Virgo, Aquarius. The remaining six are partly Barren, partly Fruitful.  is fruitful, and a numerous Brood  
Fierce Scorpio yields, and Pisces fill the Flood;  
The Lion's barren, and no Vows can gain  
The Maid; Aquarius spends his Youth in vain,  
Ah too removed, too far disjoined to prove  
The fruitful Pleasures of increasing Love!  
●Twixt these two kinds a Third nor fruitful Beams  
Nor Barren spreads, but joins the two Extremes:  
The Goat all Beast above, and Fish below,  
The Centaur glorious in his Cretian Bow,  
The Scales that Autumn's Equinoctial rule,  
The Twins, and Ram, to whom we join the Bull.  
Nor must you think it undesigned, a Cast  
of busy Nature as she wrought in haste;  
That some show running 
14 The Running ●●gns are Leo, Sagittarius, Aries: The standing o● Erected Signs, Aquarius, Gemini, Virgo. The Crouching Signs, Taurus, Cancer, Libra, Scorpius, Caper, Pisces.  Postures in their frame, 
Signs of different Postures.   
The Lion, Centaur, and the turning Ram;  
Erected some, Aquarius rears his Head,  
The Twins are upright, and the pious Maid:  
Some crouching Signs a lazy Posture show,  
Thus Taurus bends, as wearied by the Plough;  
The Scales pressed down appear, and Cap●r lies  
By his own Frost contracted in the Skies:  
The Crab and Scorpio flat are found, they show  
The Postures there which they maintain below,  
Whilst watery Pisces low, and gently glide  
In Streams divided, always on their side.  
But search minutely, and you found a 
15 The Maimed signs, Taurus, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Cancer.  Maim  
In many Signs, 
Maimed and entire Sig●●.  the mighty Bull is lame,  
His Leg turns under, Scorpio's Claws are lost  
In Libra's Scales, nor can the Centaur boast  
A Form complete, tho' we distinctly found  
One Eye, the other's lost, and Cancer's blind.  
Thus Heaven to wretched Mortals sends Relief  
By these Examples it corrects our Grief,  
Since Signs, on which our Fates depend, do share  
The like Misfortunes, which we grieve to bear.  
The different 
16 The Season signs are Pisces, belonging to the Spring. Gemini to Summer. Virgo to Autumn; and Sagittarius to Winter.  Seasons likewise share the Signs,  
From Pisces Spring, 
Season Signs.  and Summer from the Twins,  
From Centaur Winter, Autumn from the Maid gins:  
Each hath three Signs, and as the Seasons fight  
In the Years Round, so these lie opposite.  
Nor is't sufficient that my Muse defines  
The Kind's, 
The various Configuration● or Aspects.  and Figures of the Single Signs,  
They work by Compact, they their Beams unite  
To mutual Aid determined by their site.  
From Aries rightways draw a Line, to end  
In the same Round, 
Tri●es.  and let that Line subtend  
An equal Triangle; now since the Lines  
Must three times touch the Round, and meet three Signs,  
Where e'er they meet in Angles those are 
17 Suppose in the Zodiac Circle Twelve Signs, and in every Circle 360 Parts or Degrees, and 30 of these Degrees to belong to each of the Twelve Signs. Begin at any of the Signs, for instance, Aries; and in this Circle inscribe a Triangle, all whose sides are equal; it is evident that the Arch of the Circle which each of these sides subtends, contains 120 Parts or Degrees; and therefore between that Sign from which you begin to draw each side of this Triangle, and that to which you draw it, there must be Three Signs. But see Fig. 1st.  Trines. 
See Fig. 1.   
Because they are at equal distance seen  
On either side, and leave three Signs between.  
Thus Aries sees on either side below  
The Lion roar, and Centaur draw his Bow:  
The Bull with Caper and the Maid are found  
In Trine: Thus fix the others of the Round.  
Signs Left and 
18 To show what Signs are to be accounted Right, and what Left, the Poet mentions only the Trine of Taurus: Yet it is sufficient, upon View of Fig. 1st. direction for all the rest.  Right are in the Trines agreed,  
The Left still follow, and the Right precede;  
The Maid is Left, and Caper to the Bull  
Is Right: Thus fix the others by this Rule▪  
 
But more, in Quadrates, not in Trines alone  
Signs Right and Left are by Position shown; 
Quadrates.   
In 
19 To know the Quadrate, begin from any sign, and in the Circle inscribe a Square, all whose sides are equal; the Angles show the Signs, and what are Right or Left, you may found that in Quadrates, as you did in Trines.  Quadrates: which to know, 
See Fig. 2.  the Round divide  
By Squares exactly equal on each side;  
Where Angles close the Perpendiculars  
There lie the Signs agreeing in the Squares.  
To give an Instance than, observe the Site,  
The narrow Goat sees Libra on the Right,  
Oth' Left the Ram, at equal distance lies  
The Crab, and on the Left sees Libra rise,  
To make a Square agreeing in the Skies.  
This single Instance all the rest declares,  
And shows that twice ●ix Signs compose three Squares.  
But now should any 
20 The meaning of all these Cautions concerning Trines and Quadrates, is in short, this, You must reckon by Degrees, and not by Signs; for if you reckon by Signs, the Figures, as Manilius ●hews at large in each particular, will not ●e equilateral. See Fig. 1st. and 2d.  think their Skill designs  
The Squares aright, 
Cautions concerning Squares and Trines.  and well describes the Trines,  
And that they hit the Rule when ere they give  
Four Signs to Squares, to Trines allotting Five;  
And thence presume to guests what mutual Aid  
The Signs afford, they'll found their Work betrayed:  
For though on every side five Signs are found  
To make the several Trines that fill the Round,  
Yet Births in each Fifth Sign no Fates design  
To share th'united Influence of the Trine.  
They loose the Thing, though they preserve the Name,  
For Place and Number still oppose their Claim:  
For since the Round where Phoebus guides his Reinss  
Three hundred, and thrice twenty parts contains,  
One third of those, as we the Round divide  
By Trines, to every Trine must make one side;  
But Sign apply to Sign, not Part to Part,  
This Number's lost; and therefore false the Art.  
For though Three Signs appear to interpose  
Between the Two in which the Angles close;  
Yet take the Scheme as 'tis exposed to sight,  
And join the utmost parts of Left and Right;  
Than count the number; on the slightest view  
You'll quickly found it much exceeds the true:  
Thrice fifty parts it holds, and thus one Line  
Defrauds the other, and destroys the Trine;  
And therefore though the several Signs retain  
The Name of Trines, they claim the Parts in vain.  
The like Mistake, when you design a Square,  
Thy Art may baffle, and elude thy Care;  
For as the Round we by Degrees divide  
To every Quadrate Ninety make one side:  
Now from the first from which gins the Line,  
Tothth' last degree of the succeeding Sign  
If you count on, twice sixty parts prepare  
To crowd upon thee, and deform the Square▪  
Or from preceding Signs last parts descend  
To Signs succeeding, let the Reckoning end  
I'th' first Degree of those: the space confines  
But sixty parts, the number of Two Signs;  
Thus count from Fourth to Fourth, Degrees too few,  
Or else too many will thy Work pursue,  
Elude thy Skill, and prove the Scheme untrue.  
Than take Advice, nor from my Rules departed,  
Nor think thy Figures well designed by Art,  
'Cause Four in Squares, Three equal Lines in Trines  
In Angles meeting there divide the Signs;  
For in all Trines the single sides require  
Sixscore Degrees to make the Scheme entire  
Squares ninety ask: but more or lesle proclaim  
The Figure faulty, and destroy the Frame.  
And where the several Lines in Angles close,  
They there the Trines, or else the Squares dispose▪  
 
These mutual Aid by Nature's Laws convey,  
And jointly act with an agreeing Ray.  
And therefore every Birth, that Squares or Trines  
Enjoys, not always carries all the Lines;  
And tho' the Signs the name of Squares may gain,  
Or Trines, they never shall their Force obtain:  
They cannot jointly act, their Rays unite,  
Thomas Trines they seem, and show like Squares to sight:  
For wide the difference, whether those Degrees,  
The Line takes up, which to it Art decrees;  
Or from the Numbers, which the Circle fill,  
Detracting somewhat, it eludes thy Skill:  
For than of Signs too many or too few  
It will possess; and make the Scheme untrue.  
Thus far of these: But now expect to share  
Moore vigorous Influence from the Trine than Square;  
For Lines that measure Squares remotely tend, 
The Intercourse of Trines and Squares.   
And almost close with the Celestial Bend;  
But those that make up Trines to Earth repair,  
Downwards they shoot, 
See Fig. 3.  from Signs the Influence bear,  
And with a nearer Ray infect our Air.  
From Signs Alternate little Friendship's due,  
Asquint they look, 
Of Seztile●  and with a partial view;  
The Line that measures them obliquely drawn,  
Through various Angles goes not freely on; 
See Fig. 4.   
Many its stops, in every other Sign  
The Angle closing still diverts the Line;  
Forward it darts, but soon it meets a Bound,  
And six times broke, it leisurely creeps round:  
From Taurus stretched to Cancer, thence it bends  
To Virgo's Sign, and thence to Scorpio tends;  
Cold Caper meets it next, and thence it goes  
To Aries, upward than to Taurus flows,  
Where, whence it first began, we found the Figure close.  
The Other, for the Round contains no more,  
Meets all the Signs the Second missed before;  
Than passing those already sung, go on,  
To all the Others let the Lines be drawn,  
And equal Angles make the other Hexagon.  
You see their Site, and thus Obliqne they lie,  
And view each other with a squinting Eye,  
Too near, because thus placed, for mutual Aid,  
Which freely flows in Lines direct conveyed.  
High in the Concave Signs Alternate lie,  
The Lines that mark them almost touch the Sky;  
And therefore far from Earth through distant way  
They dart their Influence with a feeble Ray.  
And yet some Intercourse in these we found,  
For Signs Alternate are alike in Kind;  
In the first Hexagon six Males are found,  
With Females only is the Second crowned:  
Thus Nature works, and, when the Place denies,  
Sex makes Agreement, and unites the Skies.  
In Concord no Contiguous Signs agreed, 
Of Contiguous Signs.   
For what can love when 'tis denied to see?  
They to themselves, which they behold alone,  
Their Passion bend, and all their Love's their own▪  
Alternately of different Kind's they lie,  
One Male one Female fill the Round of Sky.  
From Signs unequal any way remove  
All Thoughts of Union, 
Of Unequal Signs.  they're averse to Love:  
Thus never think between the Sixths to found  
An Intercourse, nor hope to see them kind;  
Because the Lines, by which we mark their place,  
In length unlike stretch through unequal space.  
For take the Zodiac, from the Ram begin, 
See Fig. 4.   
And thence on either side extend the Line  
To meet the Sixth from Aries, than dispose  
A Third, and let the Three in Angles close;  
Between the Two first Lines Four Signs are found▪  
The Third includes but One, for that fills up the Round.  
But more, the Signs opposed in Site, that lie  
With Beams directly darting through the Sky; 
Of Opposites.   
Thou much removed they seem, yet mix from far  
Their friendly Influence, or declare for War;  
As the Sun's Aspect and the Planet's Fire  
For Peace determine, or to Rage inspire.  
These Signs 
21 The Signs which have an Opposite aspect are, 

Aries.  
Taurus.  
Gemini.  
Cancer.  
Leo.  
Virgo.  
Libra.  
Scorpius.  
Sagittarius.  
Capricornus.  
Aquarius.  
Pisces.    adverse would you distinctly note?  
Let Summer's Crab oppose the Winter's Goat.  
The Scales the Ram where Day and Night appear  
Equal in adverse Seasons of the Year: 
See Fig. 4▪   
The Fish oppose the Maid, the watery Urn  
With adverse Fires sees raging Leo burn.  
When Scorpio fills the highest Arch of Skies,  
Than bending Taurus in the lowest lies,  
And when the Centaur sets the Twins arise.  
Yet though in Site opposed these roll above,  
Yet joined by Nature or by Sex they love:  
Thus Males to Males strict Leagues of Friendship bind,  
And Female Signs to their own Sex are kind.  
The Fish and Maid opposed are friendly Signs,  
For Nature couples what the Place disjoins:  
But Nature sometimes yields, the Trines prevail,  
And Females Females fight, and Males the Male:  
Thou Female both the Goat the Crab defies  
Winter in this, in that the Summer lies;  
Here Snow makes white, and Frost binds up the Fields;  
There Sweated overflows, and Winter's Rigour yields;  
Here Day exults, there Night extends her Sway,  
And Winter's Darkness equals Summer's Day:  
Thus Nature fights, nor must we hope to found  
The Signs of disagreeing Seasons kind.  
Thou differing Seasons hold the Scales and Ram,  
They are half Friends, and mix agreeing Flame:  
In this gay Flowers the painted Beds adorn,  
This fills the Plains, and stores the Barns with Corn;  
Their Days and Nights in equal Balance meet,  
Not vexed with too much Cold, nor too much Heat:  
They Summer's Wars and Winter's Rage compose,  
Nor will these Seasons let their Signs be Foes.  
Thus are the several Aspects taught—  
These things considered, press not more Divine,  
And know the Gods the Guardians of each Sign 
The Guardians of the Signs.   
Whom Nature ordered to control their Course,  
Direct their Influence, and assist their Force:  
Great Powers are Godlike, we at lest assign  
Gods to great Powers, to make them seem Divine▪  
For where Things want, high Titles there bestow  
Admired Worth, and makes them great in show.  
Pallas the Ram 
22 
The Guardians of the Signs. 

Of Aries. Pallas.  
Taurus.  
Gemini.  
Cancer.  
Leo.  
Virgo.  
Libra.  
Scorpius.  
Sagittarius.  
Capricornus.  
Aquarius.  
Pisces.  
Pallas.  
Venus.  
Phoebus.  
Mercurius.  
jupiter.  
Ceres.  
Vulcan.  
Mars.  
Diana.  
Vesta.  
juno.  
Neptune.    
The Reasons of this Assignment are to be taken out of the Old Fables.  , and Venus guides the Bull,  
The Twins share Phoebus, and enjoy his Rule;  
The Crab is Mercury's, and jove divides  
His Mother's Servant, and the Lion guides:  
Ceres the Maid, for this her Sheaf declares,  
And fight Scorpio owns the God of Wars:  
juno pours out the Urn, and Vulcan claims  
The Scales, as the just Product of his Flames:  
The Frozen Goat kind Vesta's Aid requires,  
She cheers his cold, and warms him with her Fires  
Diana draws the hunting Centaur's Bow,  
And mighty Neptune now is proved to know  
The Fish above, which He had fed below.  
And now that Reason guides, that Gods do move  
The various Orbs, and govern all above,  
Must needs erect thy Mind, it must impart  
Strong Inclinations to pursue the Art;  
Since Man securely may his Thoughts advance,  
And hope to found, when undisturbed by Chance.  
Now learn what Signs the several Limbs obey, 
Signs for the several parts of the Body.   
Whose Powers they feel, and where Obedience pay.  
The Ram defends the Head, the Neck the Bull,  
The Arms, bright Twins, are subject to your Rule:  
I'th' Shoulders Leo, and the Crab's obeyed  
I'th' Breast, and in the Guts the modest Maid:  
I'th' Buttocks Libra, Scorpio warms Desires  
In Secret Parts, and spreads unruly Fires:  
The Thighs the Centaur, and the Goat commands  
The Knees, and binds them up with double Bands.  
The parted Legs in moist Aquarius meet,  
And Pisces gives Protection to the Feet.  
But Stars have proper Laws, and Signs maintain  
An Intercourse, and Compact in their Reign;  
Some Hear each other, 
Signs that See, Hear, Love, or Hate.  some each other See,  
Some fight and Hate, whilst some in Leagues agreed:  
Some Foreign Passions cautiously remove,  
But make Themselves the Object of their Love.  
Thus Signs in Sex by Nature closely joined  
Are Foes, whilst Signs in Sex opposed are kind;  
And Signs, whose opposite Position tends  
To Disagreement, breed the greatest Friends.  
When God ordained this mighty Frame to rise,  
He settled these Affections in the Skies,  
That some might Hear, and some each other See,  
Some Hate and fight, and some in Leagues agreed;  
Some Love themselves alone; All this appears  
In Men, who take their Tempers from the Stars.  
The Ram, as it becomes the Prince of Stars,  
Is his own Council, 
See Fig. 5, 6, 7, and 8.  and Himself he hears;  
He Libra sees, but unsuccessful proves  
In loving Taurus, for in vain he Loves;  
Taurus (for Aries finds but cold returns  
For all those Fires with which he freely burns;  
Nay more, by Treachery all his Love's repaid)  
Sees, Hears the Fishes, and adores the Maid:  
Thus from the Tyrian Pastures lined with jove  
He bore Europa, and still keeps his Love:  
The Twins see Leo, and they hear the Urn  
Pouring out his Streams, but for the Fishes burn.  
The Crab (as Caper adverse in the Skies)  
First makes himself the Object of his Eyes;  
He loves Aquarius Urn, and than repays  
The friendly Goat by harkening to his Rays.  
The Lion sees the Twins embracing Fires,  
He hears the Centaur, and the Goat admires:  
Mischief the Maid for Sagittarius brews,  
She hears the Scorpion, and the Bull she views.  
But Libra hears herself, her Mind applies  
To following Scorpio, to the Ram her Eyes:  
The Scorpion sees the Fish, the Maid he hears;  
To Leo Sagittarius bends his Ears;  
To young Aquarius he his Eyes resigns,  
His Love prefers the Maid to other Signs.  
The Goat admires, and loves himself alone,  
(For since at 
23 Whether Capricorn was in the Horoscope of Augustus, when he was Born, or when he was Conceived, Is disputed: However 'tis certain, Augustus took Capricorn for his Sign, and many times its Figure is found upon his Coins. vid. Sueton. vit. Aug. cap. 94. and Spanhemius de Nummis. p. 210.  Caesar's Birth Serene he shone;  
What Glory can be greater than his own?  
 
He hears the Crab: Aquarius hears the Twins,  
And sees the Centaur, and amidst the Signs  
The towering Crab alone his Mind can move,  
And is the only Object of his Love.  
Whilst Pisces to the Bull their Ears apply,  
And view the Scorpion with a longing Eye.  
These Powers the Tempers of their Births define,  
Each carries the Affection of his Sign;  
These love to See and love to Hear created,  
And all the Intercourse of Love and Hate:  
Hence some embrace, and some as oddly fly  
Each other; Love and Hate, but know not why.  
Thus far of single Signs: But Trines engage  
With Trines, and all the Heaven is full of Rage:  
Signs War in Bodies, and in Parties fight,  
As adverse in their Manners, as in Site:  
The Ram, Lion, Centaur joined in Trine oppose  
The Heavenly Scales, and to their Trine are Foes.  
And this on two Accounts; Three Signs to Three  
Shine opposite, and who can hope to see  
Two differing Natures, 
24 See the Figures of these Signs on a Globe.  Man and Beast agreed?  
For he that holds the Scales Celestial, bears  
A Human Shape, a Brute the Lion wears,  
And therefore yields, for Reason's Force controls  
Brute Strength, and Bodies still submit to Souls.  
The Lion conquered to the Skies was thrown,  
And fleecy Aries flayed before he shone;  
The Centaur's Forepart still commands the rest,  
So much the Human Form exceeds the Beast.  
No wonder therefore that with great Success  
The Scales fight Aries, and his Trine oppress.  
But this we may in one short rule comprise,  
For view the Signs that fill the round of Skies,  
And those that are in Human Forms expressed  
Are conquering Foes to all the shapes of Beast.  
But yet their Hate not equally extends,  
Signs have their proper Foes, as well as Friends;  
The Ram's Productions Friendly Leagues refuse  
To all the Fishes, Maid, or Scales produce:  
What Scorpio, Cancer, Pisces, Scales created  
Are Foes to Taurus, and his Births they hate:  
Whilst those Productions that the Twins design  
Are Enemies to Aries, and his Tr●ne.  
Against the Crab and Bull the Goat declares,  
And Virgo too, and Libra feel● his Wars:  
Nor shall (could I writ curious Verse, my Muse  
To show her Art in Precepts would refuse;  
I teach an Art, and 'tis by all confessed  
Instruction when 'tis plainest than 'tis best:)  
The furious Lion roused with desperate Rage  
With lesser Enemies than the Ram engage.  
The double Centaur with his threatening Bow  
Affrights the Maid, the Bull that bends his Brow,  
With Caper, and with Pisces is her Foe.  
O'er Libra's Sign a Crowd of Foes prevails,  
The Icy Goat, the Crab which square the Scales,  
With those of Aries Trine consent to hate  
The Scales of Libra, and her Rays rebate.  
Nor doth the Sign of fiery Scorpio found  
Foes lesle in number, or of better Mind;  
The Urn, Twins, Lion, Bull, the Scales, the Maid  
He frights; and they of him are equally afraid:  
Nor can the Centaur's Bow his Peace defend,  
The Twins, Urn, Virgin force his Sign to bend  
By Nature's Law, nor are the Scales his Friend.  
The same oppress thy Sign with equal Hate  
Contracted Caper, and thy Force rebate.  
Whilst those that are in Brutal Forms expressed  
Afflict the Urn, and all his Trine molest.  
The neighbouring Fish the Urn with Hate pursues,  
And those the Maid, and those the Twins produce.  
And those that own the Centaur's angry Star  
He treats as Foes, and still afflicts with War.  
These Rules are true, but somewhat else defines  
The Friendship and the Enmity of Signs:  
Thus Thirds are Foes, for with a squinting Ray  
They view each other, and their Hate convey:  
Signs opposite, whatever place they fill  
Averse to Peace, and are unfriendly still:  
Thus Sevenths their adverse Sevenths are doomed to loathe,  
And Thirds from both, and which are Trines to both:  
Nor is it strange that Trines unfriendly prove  
When Kin to Signs that are averse to Love.  
So many sorts of differing Signs dispose  
men's Tempers, 
A short digression concerning Friendship.  and produce such Crowds of Foes;  
Look o'er the World, see Force and Fraud increase,  
Rapine in War, and Treachery in Peace;  
But look for Truth and Faith, the Search were vain,  
No Mind is Honest, and no Thoughts are plain:  
What bulky Villainies bestride the Age!  
What Envy pusheth on Mankind to rage!  
Envy not to be dispossessed, her Throne  
Is firmly fixed, and all the World's her own▪  
Friends kill their Friends, a Husband stabs his Wife,  
Sons cell their Father's and their Mother's Life;  
Bold Atreus feasts, and at the barbarous sight  
The Sun retires, and leaves the World to night.  
Whilst Brother's poison, with a smiling Face  
They mix the Cup, and kill where they embrace:  
Not place is safe, no Temple yields Defence  
Against secret Stabs, or open Violence;  
And many a slaughtered Priest profanely dies  
On the same Altar with his Sacrifice.  
Those most betray who kindness most pretend,  
And Crowds of Villains skulk behind the Name of Friend.  
The World's infected, Wrong and Fraud prevails,  
Whilst Honesty retires, and Justice fails;  
Nay Laws support those Crimes they checked before,  
And Executions now affright not more.  
For disagreeing Stars that Men produce,  
Their Tempers fashion, and their own infuse:  
Hence Peace is lost, pure Faith we seldom found,  
Kind Leagues are rare, and than but feebly bind;  
For as the Signs above, so Things below  
Do differing Minds and Inclinations show;  
They form Man's Thoughts, and the obedient Clay  
Takes disagreeing Tempers from their Ray.  
Hence 'tis that Friendship is so thinly sown,  
It thrives but ill, nor can it last when grown;  
Rare its Production: and the World pretends  
To boast but one poor single pair of Friends:  
One Pylades and one 
25 Pylades and Orestes being taken Prisoners, Orestes was condemned to Die, but was allowed to go and settle some Affairs, upon Condition that Pylades would stay behind, and engage his Life for his return: Pylades becomes Surety: Orestes goes, settles his Affairs, and returns at the Day appointed.  Orestes name,  
And you have all the Instances of Fame;  
Once Death was striven for, 'twas a generous Strife,  
Not who should keep, but who should loose a Life  
Was their Dispute, contending to deny  
Each other the great Privilege to die.  
The Surety feared his guilty Friend's return,  
The Guilty Friend did his own Absence mourn;  
Careless of Life, impatient of Delay,  
He broke through hindering Friends that choked his way,  
And ran to Danger: Here they disagreed,  
One hoped to free, One feared to be so freed.  
But now if you would know what Signs dispose  
To Leagues, and Peace, and friendly Thoughts disclose;  
The Ram's bright Births you may securely join  
As Friends to the Productions of his Trine:  
But the Ram's Births are more sincerely plain,  
They give more Love than they receive again  
From thine fierce Leo, or than his can show  
That strides through Heaven, and draws the Cretan Bow:  
For 'tis a Sign of thoughtless Innocence,  
Exposed to Harms, unpractised in Defence;  
Unused to Fraud or Wrong, but gentle, kind,  
And not more soft in Body than in Mind.  
The others carry Fierceness in their Ray,  
Their Nature's brutish, and intent on Prey;  
Ungrateful still, nor can they long retain  
A sense of Kindness, and unjust for Gain:  
But tho' by Nature these are both inclined  
To frequent Quarrels, yet expect to found  
Moore Force in that which is of double kind,  
Than in the Single Lion: Hence increase  
Some sudden Heats, but intermixed with Peace.  
The Bull and Goat are equally inclined  
To mutual Friendship, both alike are kind;  
The Bull's Productions love fair Virgo's Race,  
Yet frequent Jars disjoin their close Embrace.  
The Scales and Urn one friendly Soul inspire,  
Their Love is settled, and their Faith entire;  
To both their Births the Twins productions prove  
The surest Friends, and meet an equal Love.  
The Crab and Scorpion to their Births impart  
A friendly Temper, and an open Heart;  
Yet Scorpio's (Fraud amongst the Stars is found)  
Thou Friends they seem, yet give a secret Wound.  
But those whom Pisces watery Rays created,  
Are constant neither in their Love, nor Hate;  
They change their Minds, now quarrel, now embrace,  
And Treachery lurks behind their fawning Face▪  
Thus Signs or Love, or Hate: and These bestow  
Their differing Tempers on their Births below.  
Nor is't enough to know the Signs alone,  
The Planets Stations must be justly known, 
The friendly and unfriendly Aspects.   
And all Heaven's parts, because the Site and ●in●  
And Aspect change the Influence of the Sign▪  
Thus when Opposed the Signs this Influence 〈◊〉,  
In Trine a different they are known to shar●,  
In Sextile this, another when in Square  
And thus the Sky now gives, now takes 〈◊〉  
The Influence, now it points, now blunts the 〈◊〉  
Here Hate infects them, when they thence remo●●  
They loose that Hate, or change the Rage to Love.  
For Signs, or when they rise, or culminate,  
Or set, sand down a different sort of Fate.  
To Hatred Signs opposed in Site incline,  
The Quadrates Kinsmen aid, and Friends the Trin●;  
The Reason's obvious: The Celestial Round  
Observe, 
See Fig. 1.  there Signs of the same kind are found  
In each fourth place: In each fourth Sign appear  
The several Seasons that command the Year;  
Thus Aries gives the Spring, flat Cancer glows  
With Summer's Heat; the generous Bowl overflows  
In Libra, Caper scatters Winter's Snows.  
Besides, by Signs in double Forms expressed  
Each fourth Celestial place is found possessed,  
Two Fishes glide; two smiling Boys embrace,  
A double Figure we in Virgo trace,  
The Centaur's double with a single Face.  
Next Simple Signs with their refulgent Stars  
Fill each fourth space, and still are found in Squares.  
Without a Rival Taurus fills his Throne,  
The dreadful Lion shakes his Mane alone,  
Th' 
26 So called, because in the Sign Scorpius we see nothing but the Claws.  unbodied Scorpion no Companion fears,  
And still the Urn a simple Sign appears.  
Therefore to each fourth place the Stars assigned  
In Time agreed, in Number, or in Kind;  
This makes them Kindred Signs, and these preside  
O'er Kinsman's Minds, and their Affections guide.  
But those four Signs on which the Hinges move  
Belong to Neighbours, and direct their Love.  
The other Square with all its Stars attends  
On Guests, Acquaintance, and remoter Friends.  
Thus all the Signs as they are placed obtain  
Their Rule, and with unequal Vigour reign.  
For tho' the Site and Form of Squares they bear,  
They work not like the other Signs in Square;  
For whilst the Cardinals more Force confess,  
The rest, which we from Number named express  
Double or Simple Signs, still work with lesle.  
The Line extended through the larger space  
With Trines 
Trines.  determines, and makes out their place,  
Presides o'er Friends, 
See Fig. 1.  whose mutual Faiths supply  
The room of Blood, and draw a closer Tie:  
For as it measures a long space, to join  
The distant, stretching out from Sign to Sign.  
So those, whom Nature doth in spite remove,  
It brings together; and knits in Bands of Love.  
And these before the others most commend,  
For tho' the nearest Kinsmen often pretend  
Deluding Kindness; who deceives a Friend?  
No Sign nor Planet serves it seif alone,  
Each blends the others Virtues with its own.  
Mixing their Force, and interchanged they reign,  
Signs Planets bound, and Planets Signs again.  
All this my Muse shall orderly reveal,  
And keep the Method she begun so well;  
She'll sing what Parts the several Signs require,  
In what the Planets spread commanding Fire;  
This must be shown, if in your search for Fate  
The Signs of Love you'd know from those of Hate.  
Now with expanded Thought go on to know  
A Secret great in Use, 
Do●ecat●morion.  tho' small in show;  
For which our scanty Language, poor in words,  
No single ●it expressive Term affords,  
But Greek supplies, a Language born to frame  
Fit Words, and show their Reason in the Name.  
'Tis Dodecatemorion 
27 The Dodecatemorion is the Twelfth part, or two Degrees and an half of a Sign. Every Sign containing Thirty Degrees; for Twelve times two and an half make Thirty. Scaliger gives this Instance. Let the proposed Degree be the Thirteenth Degree of Gemini, multiply Thirteen by Twelve, the Product is one hundred fifty six: Of these give Thirty to Gemini the proposed Sign, Thirty to Cancer, Thirty to Leo, to Virgo Thirty, and Thirty to Libra: There remain Six, and therefore the Dodecatimorion of Gemini is in the Sixth Degree of Scorpius▪ But this instance doth not seem to agreed with the Doctrine of Manilius. , thus described—  
Thrice ten Degrees with every Sign contains  
Let Twelve exhausted, that not one part remains;  
It follows straight that every Twelfth confines  
Two whole, and one half Portion of the Signs:  
These Twelfths in Number, as the Signs, are Twelve,  
And these the wise contriver of the Frame  
Placed in each Sign, that all may be the same.  
The World may be alike, each Star may guide,  
And every Sign in every Sign preside;  
That all may govern by agreeing Laws,  
And friendly Aids be mutual as their Cause.  
And therefore Births; o'er which one Sign aspires,  
In Powers are various, different in Desires;  
Males follow Females, and from Man depressed  
Weak Nature sinks, and errs into a Beast:  
For all on Signs depend, in which succeed  
The different Twelfths, and vary in the Breed.  
Now whose, and how disposed, the Muse must sing,  
And draw deep Knowledge from its secret Spring;  
Jest this unknown you should from Truth decline,  
Mistaking the changed Influence of the Sign:  
Each Sign's first Twelfths is by its self possessed,  
The others shared in Order by the rest;  
Each hath its Twelfth, they take their equal Shares,  
(Ambition is a Vice too mean for Stars)  
Thus every Sign hath for its proper Throne  
Two whole, and one half Portion of its own;  
Of other Signs that roll in order on  
Each takes as much, till all the thirty parts are gone.  
But there are many sorts, to found the true  
Wise Nature orders we must all pursue;  
This is her Will: Thomas partial Search may fail,  
Yet He's secure of Truth who seeks for All.  
For Instance, grant it were thy great Concern  
To know the 
28 Scaliger affirms, that Manilius proposeth two ways to found the Dodecatemoria or Twelfths of the Planets; Hu●tius says he gives but one: This Dispute will be best determined by observing the Poet himself, and illustrating his Doctrine by two Instances: Let the Moon be in the Sixth Degree of Aries, multiply six by Twelve, the Product ●s Seventy two: Out of this Seventy two give the first Thirty to Aries, the second to Taurus, and ●hen there remain Twelve; and therefore the Dodecatemorion of the Moon is in the Twelfth Degree of Gemini, that is, in the Second of the Five half Degrees of the Dodecatemorion of Gemini.  Planet's Twelfths; 
The Dodecatemoria of the Planets.  securely learn;  
I'll show the Method: As you count the Signs,  
First mark that Sign's Degree where Phoebe shine  
And views the newborn Child; that multiply  
By Twelve: (because Twelve Signs adorn the Sky)  
Observe the Product, and from thence assign  
To those gay Stars where Ph●ebe's found to shine  
Thrice ten Degrees: Than go in Order on,  
Assigning Thirty till the Number's done;  
And where the Number ends there fix the Moon:  
That is her Twelfth. The following Planets lie  
In following Twelfths, and there enjoy the Sky.  
Another Method claims my next Essay,  
Another differing from the former way;  
This too I must explain, its Rules impart,  
And fix the subtle Niceties of Art▪  
First take the 
29 To this Method Scaliger applies this Example: Let the Sun be in the Thirteenth of Gemini, the Moon in the Twenty Third of Scorpius, the Arch of the Zodiac between the two Planets, contains one Hundred and Sixty Degrees: In this Number there are five Thirty, which being taken away there remain Ten; divide these Ten by Twelfths, or two and an half, the Quotient is four Twelfths, or Dodecatemoria; of which give one to Scorpius, another to Sagittarius, a third to Capricorn, and the fourth falling in Aquarius, shows the Moon's Dodecatemorion to be in the twenty third Degree of that Sign.  Sun's true place, and that confessed,  
Observe the Portion by the Moon possessed:  
Count those Degrees the middle Space contains,  
Take all the Thirties thence, and what remains  
Dividing into Twelfths, from thence assign  
To those gay Stars in which the Moon does shine  
One Twelfth: To Signs that orderly come on  
Apply their Twelfths, till all the Number's done,  
And where the number ends there fix the Moon.  
That is her Twelfth. The following Planets lie  
In following Twelfths, and there enjoy the Sky.  
The Task's not done: The Muse must next unfold  
A nicer thing, in lesser Numbers told:  
Which lesle in show and in extent appears,  
Yet than the Greater more of Force it bears:  
In every 
30 The third sort of Dodecatemorion is this▪ In every Dodecatemorion or Twelfth, there are five half Degrees, and the Planets (which the Ancient Astrologers counted but five, not reckoning the Sun and Moon amongst the Planets) have in each Dodecatemorion or Twelfth, one half Degree assigned to every one of them.  Twelfth a Twelfth the Planets claim,  
The Thing is different though we use the Name;  
'Tis thus described. Five half Degrees do lie  
In every Twelfth, Five Planets grace the Sky,  
And every Planet in its proper Course  
One half Degree possessing there exerts its Force.  
'Tis useful therefore to observe the Sign,  
And mark the Twelfth in which the Planets shine;  
For where the Planets, as they roll their Course,  
A Twelfth possess, they there exert their Force.  
These must be jointly sung: yet these belong  
To future Thoughts, and claim another Song:  
'Tis now enough that I have clearly shown  
Things hid before, and made their Uses known;  
Let it suffice, that I have brought the Muse  
Materials proper, and prepared for Use:  
When all is ready, let her build the Frame,  
And raise a lasting Monument of Fame:  
The single Elements distinctly known  
She sees her Way, and may go safely on;  
And all the Parts described the Verse will roll  
With freer Force, and orderly erect the whole▪  
For as to Boys at School we first propound  
The Letters, show their Form, and teach their Sound,  
And than go on, instruct them how to Spell,  
And join their Letters in a Syllable;  
Than to frame Words, and thence their Fancies raise,  
To bind these words in Verse, and reach the Bays.  
And as the Boys proceed, they found their past,  
And first Acquirements useful to their last;  
For Precepts without Method got by pain,  
Prove empty, and the labour is in vain:  
So since my Songs Fate's dark Intriqus rehearse,  
Their Influence show, and bind the Stars in Verse;  
Since they mount high, and from the Signs above,  
Bring down the God, and open hidden jove:  
All must be taught, and I must first impart  
The Elements peculiar to this Art;  
That thence, as she proceeds, my labouring Muse  
May draw Materials, and go on to Use.  
And as wise Builders, who design a Town,  
First clear the Field, and cut the Forest down,  
And straight new Stars behold as new a Sun:  
From Ancient Seats, and Hospitable Glades  
The Beasts are forced, and Birds forsake their Shades.  
Some Stones for Walls, some Marble square for Shrines,  
And suit Materials to their great Designs;  
And when they have provided ●it Supplies  
For future Art, the Piles begin to rise;  
Nor doth the interrupted work disgraced  
By any stop, accuse their foolish haste:  
So I, that raise this mighty Work, must choose  
Materials proper to employ my Muse,  
Bore fit Materials; and not build one part  
Till all lies ready to complete the Art;  
Jest whilst my Thoughts the noble work pursue,  
As all Materials lay exposed to view,  
They start surprised, and stop amazed with new.  
Be careful than, 
XXXIII.  and with a curious Eye, 
The Celestial Houses.   
Observe the 
31 From this Verse to the end of this Book, Manilius treats of the Twelve Celestial Houses, which he divides into the Four Cardines or Hinges, and the Eight Spaces that lie between these Hinges: The Hinges are the Eastern Point, the Middle Point, the Western Point and the lowest point of Heaven: The Spaces, etc. but see Fig. 10.  four fixed Hinges of the Sky;  
One constant point their settled place defines,  
Although they vary in their moving Signs:  
One sixth i'th' 
The Hinges. See Fig. 10.  East, where with a gentle Ray  
The Sun views half the Earth on either way,  
And here brings on, and there bears of the Day.  
One in the West, from whose declining steep  
The Sun falls headlong, and enjoys the Deep:  
The Third in Heaven's high point, where mid ●●he Course  
Bright Phoebus' stops, and breathes his weary Horse  
He stands a while, and with an equal Ray,  
Views East and West, and than drives down t●● Day.  
Opposed to this, the Fourth securely lies,  
The immovable Foundation of the Skies;  
●he lowest point, to which with steady Rein  
●he Stars descend, and whence they mount again:  
These Points in Fate the greatest Interest claim,  
because they settle, and support the Frame;  
● these fixed Points were not the Quarters tied.  
●th ' Top, o'th' Bottom, and on either side,  
●he Ball would cleave, the whirls would dissipate  
●he agitated parts; and break strong Fate.  
Now different Powers these several Hinges grace  
●nd vary with the dignity of Place; 
The Medium Coeli.   
The chiefest that which on the Top doth lie,  
●nd with a narrow limit parts the Sky,  
●here Glory sits in all her Pomp and state,  
●he highest place requires the highest Fate;  
●hence Places, Dignities, Preferments flow,  
●nd all that Men admire and wish below;  
●igh Honours, Offices, in Suits success,  
●ght to make Laws, and Power to give Peace;  
●hence Sceptres, and supreme Command accrue,  
●nd Power to give them, where Rewards are due.  
The next, 
The Imum Coeli.  (tho' lowest and contemned it lies)  
●he sixth, and sure Foundation of the Skies,  
●reat in effect, altho' it seems but small;  
●governs Wealth, and Wealth's the stay of all:  
● rules Estates, it shows what Ours contain,  
●hat secret Treasures we may hope to gain,  
without this Power the other Fates were vain.  
As great in Power is that where Beams display  
●heir rising lustre, 
The Horoscope. or Eastern Point.  and renew the Day;  
●he Greek (no other scanty Tongues afford  
●single proper and expressive Word)  
●●mes this the Horoscope.  
●is governs, Life, and this marks out our Parts,  
●●r Humours, Manners, Qualities, and Arts;  
This when and where the Birth is born declares▪  
And guides the various Virtues of the Stars:  
By this they are settled, and as this defines  
The Birth, enjoys the influence of the Signs.  
The Last, the Point, 
The Western Point.  whence Stars descendi● fall,  
And view the lower surface of the Ball;  
This rules the Ends of things, this Point declare  
The Period, and Result of all Affairs;  
This governs Marriage, and on this depends  
Religion, Recreation, Death, and Friends.  
These Points considered, Their Powers distinctly seen,  
Observe the Spaces that are placed between;  
The Points are little, but the Spaces large,  
And every space has a proportioned Charge.  
First than the Space that rising from the East  
Mounts upward, 
The intermediate Spacers.  is by Infancy possessed,  
There Childhood plays: From thence the Western space  
Gay Youth demands, and fills the second place.  
Next from the Western Point a space descends, 
●●e Fig. 9   
Through under Heaven, and in the Lowest ends;  
There Manhood, having passed the various Maze  
Of Infancy and Youth, completes its Race:  
To finish this; The space that upward tends,  
And creeping slowly o'er the steep Ascends  
To join the Round at East, is made the way  
Of feeble Age and flitting Life's decay.  
But more all Signs, whatever Form they bear,  
The several Virtues of their Stations wear;  
With good or hurtful Powers those points their Ray,  
The Places govern, and the Signs obey:  
 
They turn the Round, and as they wheel their  
〈◊〉 Course,  
●he Place now gives, and now takes of their 〈◊〉 Force;  
●or as the Planets through the stations Err,  
●hose Places their own Ifluence transfer;  
●nd force them, whilst within their bounds, to  
take  
●heir ruling Virtues, and their own forsake.  
●ence now they smile, and now severely frown  
●ith Foreign Influence that Commands their own:  
●ere sovereign sand, there shower malignant Rays,  
●nd spread the fatal Venom of their Place.  
That station which above the East doth lie, 
The Twelfth and Sixth Houses.   
●●e Third in order from the middle Sky,  
●an unhappy Seat; destructive still  
●o all Events, and too replete with iii.  
●or is this bad alone, the Seat that lies  
●low the Western Hinge opposed to this,  
like it: Nor doth this that Seat surpass,  
〈◊〉 Virtue of its Dignity of Place,  
〈◊〉 near the nobler Hinge: But both decline, 
See fig 9th.   
●om both begin a wretched Round of time,  
〈◊〉 Labour full, for here you fall, and there you climb.  
Nor is the World with better stations blest  
●ove the West, 
The Seco●d and Eighth Houses.  nor yet below the East,  
●at hangs above, this downward seems to bend,  
●is in the neighbouring Hinge still fears an end,  
●at unsustained is eager to descend.  
●happy Seats! 
See fig. 9th▪  Here Typho rules alone  
●d fills a dark inhospitable Throne:  
●is Typho Earth produc'●, when Giants strove  
〈◊〉 Conquer Heaven, and shook the Throne of jove.  
When Monsters risen, and at a wondrous Birth  
In bigness equal to their Mother Earth,  
Vast Sons broke forth: But Thunder stopped their Course,  
And tumbling Mountains dashed the Rebel's Force.  
Typhorus fallen: Earth was too weak to save,  
And War and He lay buried in one Grave;  
Yet now he heaves in his Aetnean 〈◊〉,  
And Earth still fears new struggle in her Womb▪  
That Next Heaven's topmost point, 
The Eleventh house  which ri●seth high,  
Almost it's equal in the middle Sky  
With fairer Hopes, and better Fortune blest,  
Erects its Head, and much excels the rest;  
Placed near the highest Hinge, it riseth higher,  
This Empire's Seat, and almost fills desire:  
It's Title, the exalted Place may claim  
A glorious Patron, and as great a Name,  
Is Happy; Happy, if that word can ●ill  
The Greek Expression and commend my skill.  
Here jove presides in all his Pomp and State, 
See fig. 9th.   
And to this ruling Fortune trust thy Fate.  
Opposed, 
The fifth House. See fig. 9th.  and next the bottom of the Ball  
There lies a Seat as wearied with its fall;  
And yet prepared, tho' with a world of Pain  
For other Labour, and to mount again:  
About to bear, and destined to obey  
The Hinge's Power, submitting to its sway;  
Yet pressed not by the World, it gives a Scope  
To haughty Thoughts, and still permits to hop●  
In Greek Demonie: But our scanty Tongue  
Affords no proper word to grace my Song:  
Yet mind this station, it thy Thoughts may clai●  
Observe its Patron, nor forget the Name:  
Thou troublesome it seems, no toil refuse  
The Labour's great, but equalled by the Use.  
Ith' Ninth, 
The third and ninth Houses.  and Third gay strength and health Delight,  
Or Sickness arms its venomed Darts for fight;  
Why Contraries should thus these Seats possess  
'Tis hard to found, but Phoebus' aids my guess;  
The mighty Patrons, whom these Seats obey, 
See fig. 9   
In one determined time bear different sway  
And Day succeeds the Night, and Night and Day.  
That Seat which next: 
The ninth House.  the Highest Hinge doth lie  
The first declining from the middle Sky  
The Sun possesses: From his Rays we draw  
Our state of Health, He gives our Body's Law:  
It's Title God.  
Opposed to this, 
The third House.  which first gins to rise  
From Heaven's low bottom, and brings up the  
Skies,  
A Seat appears just tipped with Light, and guides  
The Starry Night, in this the Moon presides.  
The Moon that fees her Brother's adverse Ray,  
That looks up to him as he guides the Day.  
And imitates his Influence the wrong way:  
She rules our Bodies, but her Face derives  
Moist rotting Powers, and wastes the Health He gives.  
It's Title Goddess: But how mean these words  
Compared with those, expressive Greece affords?  
But as for Heaven's high top, 
The tenth House. See fig. 9  the utmost point  
Of Rising, and beginning of Descent,  
Where 'twixt the Eastern rise, and Western fall  
jove hangs the Beam at which He weighs the Ball;  
This Venus graceth, here she seats her Throne,  
And in the World's high Face erects her own;  
That Face, whose awful force Mankind ●dmires,  
And yields Obedience to her pleasing Fires:  
Her Charge is Marriage, for what else can prove  
The Office of the beauteous Queen of Love?  
Pleasure's her aim, yet she forgets her Ease,  
And puts on Providence on design to please.  
Fortune's the station's Name; observe the Place;  
My Muse grows weary, and contracts her pace,  
Refusing to expatiate in her Race.  
But now go on, 
The fourth House.  the lowest point of all  
The fixed Foundation of the solid Ball,  
Which looking upward, sees the circling Light,  
And lies itself immersed in deepest Night,  
Is Saturn's Seat; 
See fig. 9  tho' once he ruled above,  
Enjoyed that Power, and filled the Throne of jove;  
But thence thrown down, he makes his last retreat  
To this low place, and fills this humble Seat:  
Himself a Father, He pretends to bear  
Respect to Fathers, and makes Age his care:  
This only station double Cares enlarge,  
For Sons and Father's Fortune are its charge:  
Severe and thrifty; This the Greeks proclaim  
Demonium, its power expressing in its Name.  
Now turn thine Eye, 
T●● 〈◊〉 House.  and view the Eastern Plain,  
The space whence Stars renew their Course again;  
Where moistened Phoebus from the Floods retires,  
Climbs up, and shakes the Water from his Fires,  
Than gathers Beauties, whose enlivening Heat▪  
First strike thee, 
See fig. 9  Mercury, and refresh they Seat.  
O happy Seat, on whom the Art that sways  
O'er Heaven itself, bestown its 
32 Manilius in the beginning of his first Book tells us Mercury was the Inventor of that Art, which he intended for the Subject of his Astrological Poem▪  Author's rays!  
The Fates of Children this is doomed to bear,  
And all the Hopes of Parents are its care.  
One Seat remains, 
The seventh House.  from whose declining steep,  
The Stars fall headlong, and enjoy the Deep,  
Which turns the World, and now can only trace  
The back of Phoebus, that once viewed his Face:  
Not wonder Nature doth this Seat bequeath  
To Pluto, and inexorable Death;  
For here the Day expires, this draws the light  
From all the World, and buries Day in Night,  
Nor is this all its care, on this depends,  
Faith, solid Constancy, and Friends,  
So great that Place's power, which waste the Ray,  
Which takes in Phoebus, and puts out the Day.  
The stations these, to which in constant Course  
The Stars arriving give and take new Force,  
Where Planets touching as they wheel their round,  
Mix foreign Powers, and with their own confounded:  
Admitted once they make the Seat their own,  
And turn Usurpers in another's Throne.  
But this, if Fate my Life and Health prolong,  
Shall make the 
33 Either the Poet never finished this Part which he here promises, or it is now lost.  subject of a future Song:  
Now ends the Book, which hath described at large  
The Heavenly Houses, Guardians, and their Charge;  
For which the Masters of the Art have found  
A proper Name, but of a foreign Sound;  
'Tis Octotopos.  
With mighty labour I these Rules prepare,  
Forgetting Pleasure, and possessed with Care:  
So hard it is in numerous Verse to close  
Unwieldy Words, and smooth uneven Prose.  
The End of the Second Book.  

1. Manilius having mentioned the chief Arguments of Homer's Poems, concludes with a high Character, styling him the Fountain of all Poetry. Ovid. Am●r. lib. 3. El. 8. to the same purpose, 
A quo, ceu Fonte perenni,  
Vatum Pieriis ora rigantur Aquis▪  And Longinus (de sublim. Sect. 13) says not only Stesichorus and Archilocus, but Herodotus the Historian, and Plato the Philosopher, own their chiefest Beauties to that Poet.  
2. Several Poems of Hesiod are lost, and Scaliger with other Critics conjecture, That Manilius refers us to those lost Poems: But I think this and the preceding Verse aught to be Corrected, (of this Correction perhaps I may give an account in a Latin Edition of this Author) and than they will be found in those pieces of Hesiod that are now extant.  
3. Eratosthenes a Greek Poet, flourished in the time of Ptolemy Euergetes, about the 138 Olymp. He wrote of the Stars and Constellations, and gave an account of all the Fables relating to them: I have not time to explain all these Fables and therefore shall only direct where they may be found. Concerning Perseus, Andromeda, her Father Cepheus, and her Mother Cassiopeia, vid. Ovid. Metam. lib. 4 ver. 665. Concerning calisto, or the great Bear, Ovid. lib. 2. ver. 405. The Fable of the Little Bear may be found in Diodorus Siculus, lib. 4. Of the Swan in the First Book of Manilius. Of the Go●t in the First Book of Manilius, and in Casaubon's Animadversions on Athenaeus: The Maid or Erigone, is said to be the Daughter of I●arus, who upon the Death of her Father, hanged herself. The Nemean Lion being slain by Hercules, was placed amongst the Stars for his shining Skin. The Crab for pinching Hercules when he fought the Hydra: The Scorpion for Killing Orion, or rather, for assisting the Gods against the Giants. The Stories of Venus taking the shape of a Fish when she fled from the Giant▪ Typho, and of the Ram who swum over the Hellespont with Phryxus and Helle on his Back, are well known, and may be found in Manilius, and Selden de Diis Syris.  
4. This was a Fancy of the Ancients, which some are not ashamed, after Experience hath so often Confuted it, to maintain still.  
5. The Elephants do so, if we believe Pliny: Nat. Hist. lib. 8. cap. I  
6. 

Aries is Male.  
Gemini M.  
Leo M.  
Libra M.  
Sagittarius M.  
Aquarius M.   

Taurus' Female.  
Cancer F.  
Virgo F.  
Scorpius F.  
Capricornus F.  
Pisces F.    
7. The Human Signs are Gemini, Libra, Virgo, Aquarius. The Brute, Aries, Taurus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Leo, Cancer, Scorpius, Pisces.  
8. Of Double Signs some are Pairs, as Gemini, and Pisces: Others are made up of two different Species, such as Sagittarius and Capricornus.  
9 The Tropic Signs are Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.  
10. Their Position is unnatural; but this, as well as the foregoing Differences, will be easily understood upon view of the Signs upon a Globe.  
11. Concerning Day and Night Signs, there are different Opinions: Some fancy that Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, are the Days, and the other six the Nights. Others teach that the Male and Female are the same with the Day and Night Signs. But the Opinion that Manilius follows is this. Aries is a Day Sign, Taurus, Gemini, Night. Cancer, Leo, Day. Virgo, Libra, Night. Scorpius, Sagittarius, Day. Caper, Aquarius, Night. Pices Day. So that begin with Pisces, and than you found two Day Signs together, and than two Night Signs, and so in Order.  
12. The Water Signs are Pisces and Cancer. The Earth Aries, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Gemini, Sagittarius, Libra, Virgo: Capricornus and Aquarius belong to both Earth and Water.  
13. The fruitful Signs are Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. The Barren are Leo, Virgo, Aquarius. The remaining six are partly Barren, partly Fruitful.  
14. The Running ●●gns are Leo, Sagittarius, Aries: The standing o● Erected Signs, Aquarius, Gemini, Virgo. The Crouching Signs, Taurus, Cancer, Libra, Scorpius, Caper, Pisces.  
15. The Maimed signs, Taurus, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Cancer.  
16. The Season signs are Pisces, belonging to the Spring. Gemini to Summer. Virgo to Autumn; and Sagittarius to Winter.  
17. Suppose in the Zodiac Circle Twelve Signs, and in every Circle 360 Parts or Degrees, and 30 of these Degrees to belong to each of the Twelve Signs. Begin at any of the Signs, for instance, Aries; and in this Circle inscribe a Triangle, all whose sides are equal; it is evident that the Arch of the Circle which each of these sides subtends, contains 120 Parts or Degrees; and therefore between that Sign from which you begin to draw each side of this Triangle, and that to which you draw it, there must be Three Signs. But see Fig. 1st.  
18. To show what Signs are to be accounted Right, and what Left, the Poet mentions only the Trine of Taurus: Yet it is sufficient, upon View of Fig. 1st. direction for all the rest.  
19 To know the Quadrate, begin from any sign, and in the Circle inscribe a Square, all whose sides are equal; the Angles show the Signs, and what are Right or Left, you may found that in Quadrates, as you did in Trines.  
20. The meaning of all these Cautions concerning Trines and Quadrates, is in short, this, You must reckon by Degrees, and not by Signs; for if you reckon by Signs, the Figures, as Manilius ●hews at large in each particular, will not ●e equilateral. See Fig. 1st. and 2d.  
21. The Signs which have an Opposite aspect are, 

Aries.  
Taurus.  
Gemini.  
Cancer.  
Leo.  
Virgo.  
Libra.  
Scorpius.  
Sagittarius.  
Capricornus.  
Aquarius.  
Pisces.    
22. The Guardians of the Signs. 

Of Aries. Pallas.  
Taurus.  
Gemini.  
Cancer.  
Leo.  
Virgo.  
Libra.  
Scorpius.  
Sagittarius.  
Capricornus.  
Aquarius.  
Pisces.  
Pallas.  
Venus.  
Phoebus.  
Mercurius.  
jupiter.  
Ceres.  
Vulcan.  
Mars.  
Diana.  
Vesta.  
juno.  
Neptune.    
The Reasons of this Assignment are to be taken out of the Old Fables.  
23. Whether Capricorn was in the Horoscope of Augustus, when he was Born, or when he was Conceived, Is disputed: However 'tis certain, Augustus took Capricorn for his Sign, and many times its Figure is found upon his Coins. vid. Sueton. vit. Aug. cap. 94. and Spanhemius de Nummis. p. 210.  
24. See the Figures of these Signs on a Globe.  
25. Pylades and Orestes being taken Prisoners, Orestes was condemned to Die, but was allowed to go and settle some Affairs, upon Condition that Pylades would stay behind, and engage his Life for his return: Pylades becomes Surety: Orestes goes, settles his Affairs, and returns at the Day appointed.  
26. So called, because in the Sign Scorpius we see nothing but the Claws.  
27. The Dodecatemorion is the Twelfth part, or two Degrees and an half of a Sign. Every Sign containing Thirty Degrees; for Twelve times two and an half make Thirty. Scaliger gives this Instance. Let the proposed Degree be the Thirteenth Degree of Gemini, multiply Thirteen by Twelve, the Product is one hundred fifty six: Of these give Thirty to Gemini the proposed Sign, Thirty to Cancer, Thirty to Leo, to Virgo Thirty, and Thirty to Libra: There remain Six, and therefore the Dodecatimorion of Gemini is in the Sixth Degree of Scorpius▪ But this instance doth not seem to agreed with the Doctrine of Manilius.  
28. Scaliger affirms, that Manilius proposeth two ways to found the Dodecatemoria or Twelfths of the Planets; Hu●tius says he gives but one: This Dispute will be best determined by observing the Poet himself, and illustrating his Doctrine by two Instances: Let the Moon be in the Sixth Degree of Aries, multiply six by Twelve, the Product ●s Seventy two: Out of this Seventy two give the first Thirty to Aries, the second to Taurus, and ●hen there remain Twelve; and therefore the Dodecatemorionof the Moon is in the Twelfth Degree of Gemini, that is, in the Second of the Five half Degrees of the Dodecatemorion of Gemini.  
29. To this Method Scaliger applies this Example: Let the Sun be in the Thirteenth of Gemini, the Moon in the Twenty Third of Scorpius, the Arch of the Zodiac between the two Planets, contains one Hundred and Sixty Degrees: In this Number there are five Thirty, which being taken away there remain Ten; divide these Ten by Twelfths, or two and an half, the Quotient is four Twelfths, or Dodecatemoria; of which give one to Scorpius, another to Sagittarius, a third to Capricorn, and the fourth falling in Aquarius, shows the Moon's Dodecatemorion to be in the twenty third Degree of that Sign.  
30. The third sort of Dodecatemorion is this▪ In every Dodecatemorion or Twelfth, there are five half Degrees, and the Planets (which the Ancient Astrologers counted but five, not reckoning the Sun and Moon amongst the Planets) have in each Dodecatemorion or Twelfth, one half Degree assigned to every one of them.  
31. From this Verse to the end of this Book, Manilius treats of the Twelve Celestial Houses, which he divides into the Four Cardines or Hinges, and the Eight Spaces that lie between these Hinges: The Hinges are the Eastern Point, the Middle Point, the Western Point and the lowest point of Heaven: The Spaces, etc. but see Fig. 10.  
32. Manilius in the beginning of his first Book tells us Mercury was the Inventor of that Art, which he intended for the Subject of his Astrological Poem▪  
33. Either the Poet never finished this Part which he here promises, or it is now lost.    

MANILIUS▪  
The Third Book.  
Manilius gins this Third Book as he did the Second, reckoning up and slighting the several Subjects which have employed other Poets, and declaring his Design to be new and difficult: Than he proceeds to show, 1. That the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac are the chief Disposers, and principal Governors of Fortunes. 2. That there are Twelve Lots belonging to these Twelve Signs. 3. He names and describes these Lots: The first is Fortune: The Second Warfare and Travelling: The Third, Civil Employments: The Fourth, Plead, and all the concerns of the Bar: The Fifth, Marriage Acquaintance, Guests: The Sixth, Plenty, Wealth, and the means of preserving it. The Seventh, Dangers: The Eighth, Nobility, Honour, Reputation: The Ninth, Children, Education. The Tenth, Manners, Institution, Family. The Eleventh, state of Health, Physic: The Twelfth, Wishes, and the ends of them. 4. He teaches how to suit these Lots, Labours, or Athla to the several Signs, when the Birth belongs either to Day, or Night. 5. He proposeth Rules how to found the Horoscope. 6. Refuting the Method prescribed by the Chaldaeans. 7. And showing how to found the different lengths of Days and Nights, together with the several Rise and Setting of the Signs in order to found the Horoscope. 8. He resumes the Dispute against the Chaldaeans, and subjoins an Account of the several lengths of Days and Nights, in the three different Positions of the Sphere, Direct, Obliqne, and Parallel. 9 He proposes another way to found the time of the Signs Rising and Setting. 10. He particularly Discourses of the Days Increase from Capricorn to Cancer. 11. He shows what are the proper Years▪ Months, Days, and Hours of the Signs, an● Confutes the Opinion of some Astrologers concerning them. 12. He sings how many Year● belong to each Sign, and station. 13. An● Concludes the Book with an Account of th● Tropic Signs.  
I am not to Answer for the Astronomy it is enough if I have made the Poet spea● intelligible English.  
WHilst I new ways attempt my grovelling Name  
To raise from Earth, and wing my Flight for Fame;  
Through Woods untrodden whilst I take my way,  
Ye Muses lead; for I extend your Sway  
To larger Bounds, and make the World obey.  
No Heaven's besieged, no Thunder thrown from far  
Entombs the Giants, and concludes the War:  
Not fierce Achilles tells brave Hector's Spoil,  
Nor Priam bears the Hero to his Pile.  
Not barbarous 
1 This and the seven following Verses relate to the several particulars of Medea's story.  Maid betrays her Father's trust,  
Nor tears her Brother to secure her Lust.  
Not Bulls breath Fire, no Dragons guard the Prize▪  
Nor from the poisonous seed Armed Harvests rise:  
Not Youth returning here renews the Old,  
Nor treacherous Presents carry Flame in Gold.  
Nor will I sing the Babes Medea bore,  
Got by much Gild, but ah! destroyed by more.  
The Theban Siege, the highest Pride of Fame,  
Nor how the Town by Thunder saved from Flame  
Lost whilst it 
2 I use this Interpretation rather than that of Scaliger and others, because I think Manilius speaks only of that famous Siege of Thebes, when the seven Generals attacked it; and as the Story says, Capaneus had almost ruin'd the Town before he was struck with Thunder.  conquered; nor how Spartans fought  
Round old Messana, shall enlarge my thought.  
Not Sons 
3 Oedipus Married his own Mother jocasta, and had Children by her; so that each Son was Brother to the Father, and Grandchild to the Mother.  and Brothers shall be joined in one,  
Nor Mother bear a Granchild in a Son;  
Not Murdered Babes 
4 This respects the Story of Atreus and Thyestes.  shall feast their injured Sire,  
Nor Days break of, and frighted Suns retire.  
None shall defy the Sea, the Floods enslave,  
Sail o'er the Mountains 
5 Xerxes is said to have dug a Channel round Mount Athos, and to have made a Bridge over the Hellespont. , and walk o'er the Wave:  
No Asian Kings. And thee, O mighty Rome,  
Thy Arms, thy Conquests, and thy World o'ercome  
Thy Laws, thy Wars, thy Leagues my Verse refuse,  
Those claim the leisure of a greater Muse.  
Smooth Seas the Artless Sailer safely tries,  
And Flowers undressed in fruitful Gardens rise;  
He works securely, who in Gold designs,  
When even the rude unpolisht Metal Shines;  
On specious Subjects common Wits compose,  
For where the Matter takes, the Fancy flows;  
And every vulgar Author writes with ease,  
Secure of Credit, where the Themes can please.  
This way some take to Fame: Through Words unknown,  
And things abstruse my Muse goes boldly on,  
Observes all Interchange of Times, compares  
The fatal turns, and views the Leagues of Stars,  
Things so remote, so intermixed, and wrought  
With Parts in Parts; they are too fine for thought.  
To know them is too much, but to explain  
How great! to bind in Verse shows more than Man.  
Than come, who e'er thou art that bring'st a Mind  
To know high Truth, and patiented Thoughts to found;  
Hear solid Reason, and go on to gain  
True serious Knowledge, but neglect the vain:  
Not Kings at Aulis sworn, no tales of Troy  
With Priam's tears, or Helen's fatal Joy,  
Nor hope sweet Verse, and curious turns to found,  
I'll leave thy Passions, and instruct thy Mind:  
And tho' some Words of foreign Stamp appear,  
Seem harsh, untuned, uneasy to thy Ear;  
This is the Subjects not the Writer's fault,  
Some things are stiff, and will not yield to thought;  
I must be plain: And if our Art hath found  
Expressions proper, it neglects the Sound.  
Thy Mind well purged from vainer Cares compose,  
For now my Muse is eager to disclose,  
The nicest Secrets; which observed, impart  
Fate's Laws, and prove the surest Guides to Art.  
When Nature ordered this vast Frame to rise,  
Nature, the Guardian of these Mysteries,  
And scattered Lucid Bodies o'er the Skies;  
When she the Concave, whence directly fall  
Straight Lines of Influence round the solid Ball,  
Had filled with Stars; and made Earth, Water, Air,  
And Fire, each other mutually repair;  
That Concord might these differing parts control,  
And Leagues of mutual Aid support the whole;  
That nothing which the Skies embrace might be  
From Heaven's supreme Command and Guidance free,  
On Man the chiefest Object of her Cares  
Long time she thought, than hung his Fates on Stars;  
Those Stars, which placed i'th' Heart of Heaven, display  
The brightest Beams, and share the greatest sway;  
Which keep a constant Course, and now restrain  
The Planet's Power, now yield to them again;  
Thus sometimes ruling, sometimes ruled, created  
The strange and various Intercourse of Fate.  
To these her Powers wise Nature's Laws dispense  
Submitting all things to their Influence: 
The twelve Lots of the twelve Signs.   
But than as Emperors their Realms divide,  
And every Province hath its proper Guide,  
So 'tis in Signs; they have not equal Shares  
Of common Power, each Fortune claims its Stars.  
Our Studies, Poverty, Wealth, Joy and Grief,  
With all the other Accidents of Life  
She parcels out; to proper Stars confines  
The Lots in number equal to the Signs.  
These graced with proper Names and Place contain  
The various Fortune's incident to Man,  
Yet so contrived, that they are always found  
In the same 
6 Thus, for instance, in whatever Sign the Lot of Fortune is placed, the next that belongs to the next Sign, is the Lot of Warfare: Civil Employments must be given to the third, etc.  Order, in the fatal Round.  
Yet are not Lots thus fixed to Signs to lie  
Possessing the same 
7 For the Lot of Fortune being in all Nativities that belong to Day to be accounted for from the Sun, and in all Nativities that belong to Night from the Moon; and those two Planets not always possessing the same place in every Nativity, and the other Lots following the disposition of that of Fortune; it is very evident that the same Lot is not to be always applied to the same Sign.  Station in the Sky;  
And from one place directing down to Earth  
An equal Influence work on every Birth;  
But still the Time of every Birth confines  
These Lots to Seats, and makes them change their Signs,  
That every Lot from every Sign may flow,  
And vary the Nativity below.  
But jest Confusion too much Change produce,  
And make the Art too intricate for Use;  
'Tis ordered thus:—  
That when the Birth's first Minute hath decreed  
The first Lot's Station, than the rest succeed  
In following Signs; each Fortune takes its Seat  
In proper Order, till the Round's complete:  
Take these short Rules till flowing Verse dilate,  
Unfolding all the Mysteries of Fate.  
These Lots which thus decreed to Signs contain  
The various Fortune's incident to Man;  
As Planets join with a malignant Ray,  
Or Kind; or as the rolling Skies convey  
To different Hinges, so the Fortune spreads,  
And well or ill the whole Design succeeds:  
Their Names and Kind's obliging Muse rehearse,  
And sing their Titles in no vulgar Verse,  
That late Posterity with Joy may throng  
To Themes unknown, and crowd to learn my Song.  
FortunesFortunes the first: This Name our Art bestows, 
First Lot.   
And what it signifies the Title shows.  
 
Here House is found, with all that may conduce  
To House, 
Vid. Fig. 11  either for Ornament or Use:  
What train of Servants, what extent of Field  
Shall aid the Birth, or give him room to build:  
When large Foundations may be safely laid,  
Or Houses roofed; if Friendly Planets aid.  
Warfare's the next: 
Second Lot.  And 'tis in This decreed  
How every Native shall in Arms succeed:  
What Dangers wait them when abroad they roam,  
To pick up Follies which they miss at home.  
Civil Employments in the Third we found, 
Third Lot.   
Thomas those too justly may be styled a kind  
Of Warfare; when two different Interests jar,  
Opposed in sides, and make a sort of War.  
Here's Patronage, and here our Art descries  
What breaks its bands, what draws the closer ties,  
Shows what Rewards our Services may gain,  
And how too often we may court in vain:  
All this as Planets friendly Aids conspire,  
Or temper Signs with their unlucky Fire.  
Proceed, 
Fourth Lot.  my Muse, for in the next appear  
The Court Concerns, and Fortunes of the Bar,  
The pleading Patron with the fearful Throng  
Of trembling Clients hanging on his Tongue.  
The smooth Persuader who shall teach the Laws,  
And settle Right, whilst Truth supports the Cause;  
For from this Lot the Planets Rays dispense  
The various Powers of winning Eloquence.  
The Fifth to Marriage Sacred yet pretends  
To Guests, 
Fifth Lot.  Acquaintance, Company, and Friends;  
Here we discern the Common League that binds  
The Equal Souls, and joins agreeing Minds.  
But in the sixth, 
Sixth Lot.  rich Plenty takes her Throne,  
With Preservation: And from this 'tis known  
What stores of Wealth shall come, how long their stay,  
As Planets tamper with their ruling Ray:  
The Seventh in horrid Dangers shall engage  
The Birth, 
Seventh Lot.  if Planets not correct its Rage.  
The Eighth Nobility pretends to claim, 
Eighth Lot.   
Where Honour sits with her attendant Fame;  
Where Family erect maintains her Place,  
And smiling Favour with her winning Face.  
The Ninth the doubtful Lot of Children bears  
With all the Pious Parent's hopes and Fears, 
Ninth Lot.   
The Tutor's Industry, and Guardian's Cares.  
The next to this the Act of Life contains, 
Tenth Lot.   
And shows how far a good Example reigns:  
How by their Masters formed Slaves take their way  
To Tasks assigned, and cheerfully Obey.  
The following is a Lot of high concern, 
Eleventh Lot.   
For hence the state of strength and Health we learn,  
When grieved, we live obnoxious to Disease,  
Or free from Sickness, and consigned to Ease:  
Let none who value Health, this Lot refuse,  
When they would time for wholesome Physic choose;  
For hence we are with most exactness taught  
To gather Drugs, or mix the saving Draught.  
The Last, 
Twelfth Lot.  and which the Round concludes, contains  
The End of all our Wishes and our Pains,  
Shows if to what our several Aims address  
Obtained, shall crown our Studies with Success;  
Whether with fawning Arts we court the Great,  
Or shunning Crowds, to Privacy retreat;  
Whether we Pled at the Contentious Bar,  
Or Plough the Sea, and gather Wealth from far;  
Or tear the Earth, to crowd our stores with Grain,  
Or bring unruly Bacchus to the Press again.  
For these, if Planets prospero the Effect,  
You may fit moments, and ●it Days expect  
From this one Lot, and all the rest neglect.  
These Planets 
8 The Poet never finished this part, or it is now lost.  Powers, and how their Rays infuse,  
Or Good, or Bad, shall than engage my Muse,  
When their Effects she Sings—  
But now jest huddled things confusedly wrought,  
Distracted thy Mind, and discompose thy Thought;  
Let Verse in Method orderly impart  
The single naked Elements of Art;  
And since my venturous Muse hath bound in Rhyme,  
The various Labours of the Round of Time,  
(What Greece calls Athla, happy Greece in Song,  
Are now called Labours in a meaner Tongue)  
Which to Twelve Lots conveniently assigned  
Determine all the Fortune of Mankind:  
Her Theme pursuing, she will next comprise  
The several Signs with which the Labours rise; 
How the Lots are to be suited to the Signs.   
For to one Seat they are not always tied,  
Nor from one Sign at every Birth preside;  
They change their station, as the Round they move,  
Yet still their Order is the same above.  
But jest you should imperfect Schemes complete,  
Nor justly suit each Labour to its Seat;  
First found the place by Fortune's Lot possessed,  
(Fortune the first, and Leader of the rest)  
That done, to following Signs in order join  
The Lots, and give each Labour to its Sign:  
And to secure they search for Fortune's place  
Two Rules shall guide thee, and enfold the Maze.  
The moment known when first the Birth began, 
When the Birth belongs to Day.   
The Planets joined to Signs to form the Plan,  
And Scheme erected for the future Man;  
If than the Sun with an exalted Ray  
Above the East and West commands his way,  
Than safely fix, and give the Birth to Day:  
But if through lower Skies he wheels the Light,  
The Day resigns, and yields the Birth to Night.  
This settled, if the Birth belongs to Day,  
The Rule is short, and not obscure the Way;  
From that Degree, where than the 
9 For instance, let the Sun be in the 20th Degree of Aries, the Moon in the 10th Degree of Libra; from the 20th Degree of Aries (counting through the following Signs Taurus, Gemini, &c) to the 10th Degree of Libra; are 170 Degrees: Let the Horoscope be the 10th Degree of Cancer; from that 10th Degree of Cancer, count through the following Signs, viz. Leo, Virgo, etc. and you will found the Number 170 to end in the 10th Degree of Capricorn: Therefore in the 10th Degree of Capricorn place the Lot of Fortune: This I take to be the meaning of Manilius.  Sun presides,  
To that Degree where gloomy Luna rides:  
Count through the following signs, and as you pass,  
Exactly mark what Numbers fill the space:  
Thence from the Eastern point, which artful Greece  
Hath styled the Horoscope, an equal number of Degrees,  
Following the circling Zodiac as it bends,  
Count through the Signs; and where the Number ends,  
There fix the Seat of Fortune; thence confine  
In order, every Labour to its Sign.  
But if when Night her sable Wings hath spread,  
The Birth starts forward from his Genial Bed; 
When to Night.   
In different manner, than thy Numbers range,  
With Nature's Order, let thy 
10 Suppose the Sun to be in the 21, 49 of Leo, the Moon in the 26, 31 ' of Virgo; the Horoscope in the, 1, 0 ' of Leo; The Moon is distant from the Sun 325, 18 ', which number being distributed amongst the Antecedent Signs, viz. Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, etc. ends in the 5, 42 ' of Virgo, that there is the place of the Lot of Fortune.  Method change;  
The Moon, who imitates her Brother's Light,  
And governs in her own Dominion, Night,  
Observe: Thence through the Signs in order run,  
To found how far she's distant from the Sun.  
The Native's Horoscope be next thy Care,  
And from that Point, begin to count as far  
As those Degrees permit thy Thoughts to pass;  
And where they stop, there settle Fortune's place.  
And than to following Signs the rest confine  
In order, every Labour to its Sign.  
Perhaps these Precepts may appear too nice,  
For who can found the Horoscope 
How to found the Horoscope  in Skies  
Immense, still circling with impetuous force,  
In Motion restless, and so swift in Course?  
Yet this not rightly fixed, our Art can boast  
No certainty, and all our LaboursLabours lost:  
As wretched Travellers are doomed to stray,  
When those mistake, who should direct the Way.  
Because the Points which all the rest control,  
Misplaced at first, must influence the whole,  
And since the rolling Skies move swiftly on,  
A different Face is every moment shown,  
The Scheme must be uncertain, and the Birth unknown.  
Yet tho' of greatest Use, 'tis hard to gain  
This Knowledge; and our Search is often in vain:  
For who can in his narrow Breast comprise  
The World immense, and who observe the Skies,  
Which with eternal Revolutions move,  
And Circling, measure the vast Orb above?  
What Diligence can e'er describe its Face,  
What Art can fix in so immense a space?  
Those Points where East and West exactly fall,  
Which Crowns the Top, and which supports the Ball?  
I know the Method, the 
11 To explain this Method which the Chaldeans used to found the Horoscope, Scaliger gives this instance: Let the Sun's place be the 13, 25 ' of Libra, let the Birth be at the end of the Seventh Hour of the Day: Now because every Sign hath thirty Degrees, and fifteen Degrees make one Hour, these Seven Hours are three Signs and an half, or one Hundred and five Degrees: Now reckon those Degrees through the following Signs, viz. Scorpius, Centaurus, etc. The Number ends in the 28125 ' of Capricorn, and therefore that is the Horoscope.  Chaldaean 
The Chaldaeana refuted.  Schools  
Prescribe, but who can safely trust their Rules?  
To each ascending Sign, to found their Powers,  
They equal time allow, that time two Hours:  
And than from that Degree, from which the Sun  
Gins to start, his daily Course to run,  
Two Hours to each succeeding Sign they give,  
Still thus allowing, till their search arrive  
At the Degree and Sign they seek, for where  
The Number ends, the Horoscope is there.  
But false the Rule; Obliqne the Zodiac lies,  
And Signs as near, 
The first Argument ● against the Chaldaeans.  or far removed in Skies,  
Obliquely mount, or else directly rise:  
In Cancer, so immense his Round, the Ray  
Continues long, and slowly ends the Day;  
Whilst Winter's Caper in a shorter Track  
Soon wheels it round, and hardly brings it back:  
Aries and Libra, equal Day with Night,  
Thus middle 
12 Sic media extremis, etc. The middle Signs here are Aries and Libra, and these are said to be opposite to the Extremes, Cancer and Capricorn, because in them the Days are equal, but in the others unequal to the Nights: This I take to ●e the meaning of the Poet, rather than what Scaliger and other Interpreters pretend.  Signs to the Extremes are opposite  
And Signs Extreme too, vary in their Light.  
Nor are the Night's lesle various than the Days  
Equal their measure, only Darkness sways,  
In Signs 
13 Thus in Cancer the Days are longest; in Capricorn, which is a Sign adverse to Cancer, the Nights are of the same length, that the Days were of in Cancer: The like holds in Leo, and Aquarius, and so in the rest.  adverse to those that bore the Rays:  
Than who can think when Days and Nights are found,  
In length so differing through the Yearly Round,  
There should be given to every Sign in Skies,  
An equal Space, an equal Time to rise?  
But more than this: 
The Second Argument.  The 
14 The Italians divided all the time betwixt the Rising and Setting of the Sun into Twelve Hours, and all the time between the Setting and Rising of the Sun into Twelve Hours: And therefore, those times being various and unequal, the Hours must likewise be unequal.  Hours no certain space  
Of time contain, but vary with the Days:  
Yet every Day in what e'er Sign begun,  
Beholds six Signs above the Horizon,  
Leaves six below; and therefore Rules despise,  
Because the Hours no equal time comprise,  
Which give two Hours to every Sign to rise.  
The Hours in number Twelve divide the Day,  
And yet the Sun with an unequal Ray  
Now makes a shorter, now a longer stay▪  
Nay farther, tho' you many ways pursue  
To found their length you'll never meet the true,  
But thus: 
How to found the different lengths of Days and Nights, and to found the Horoscope.  Take all that space of time the Sun  
Meets out, when every daily Round is Run,  
Let equal Portions next● that time divide;  
And than those Portions orderly applied  
To Days, will show their length, from thence appears  
Their varying Measures through the rolling Years.  
The Standard this, by which our Art Essays  
Winter's slow Nights, and tries the Summer's Days.  
This must be fixed, when from th' Autumnal Scales,  
The Day declines, and Winter's Night prevails:  
Or in the Ram whence Winter's Nights retire  
The Hours restoring to the Summer's Fire:  
In those two Points, the Day and Night contain  
Twelve equal Hours. For with an even rein  
The Sun than guides, and whilst his Care doth roll  
Through Heaven's mid Line, he leans to neither Pole:  
But when removed, he to the South declines,  
And in the 
15 According to the Opinion of some Ancient Astronomers, who placed the Winter Solstice in the Eighth Degree of Capricorn, the Summer Solstice in the Eighth Degree of Cancer, and the Equinox in the Eighth Degrees of Aries and Libra: Thus in the End of this Book, Has quidam vires octava in parte reponunt.  Eighth Degree of Caper shines,  
The WintersWinters hasty Day moves nimbly on,  
Nine 
16 Eudoxus wrote of the Sphere at the 36th Degree, Elevation of the Pole, and Manilius follows him.  Hours and half; so soon the Light is gone.  
But Night drives slowly in her gloomy Carr,  
Takes fourteen Hours and half for her unequal share;  
Thus twice twelve Hours in Day and Night are found,  
●o fill the natural Measure of the daily Round.  
Thence Light increases still, as Night's decay,  
Till Cancer meets her in the Fiery way,  
And sets sure bounds to her encroaching sway.  
Than turns the Scene, and Summer's day descends  
Through Winter's Hours, still losing as it bends:  
And than the Days of equal length appear,  
With Nights, ' th' adverse Season of the Year,  
And Nights with Days: For by the same Degrees  
That once they lengthened, now the Times decrease,  
These Times our Art can show, but these belong  
To future Rhimes, and claim another Song.  
Thus measure those, who live where fruitful Nile,  
With Summer Torrents swollen overflows the Soil;  
Whose seven large Mouths, the Skies can boast no more  
Of Planets, 
The rising and Setting of the Signs first. By Stadia: and Hours.  vomit with impetuous Roar,  
And beaten the Ocean from the foaming Shore.  
Now learn what 
17 A Stadium in Manilius is half of a Degree, and therefore in the whole Zodiac there are 720 Stadia. In the Zodiac are 360 Degrees, to every Hour we reckon▪ 15 Degrees, therefore every Hour is equal to 30 Stadia, and for the same Reason, each Hour containing 60 Minutes, every Stadium is equal to two Minutes.  Stadia, learn what times in Skies  
Signs ask to Sett, and what they claim to Rise:  
Observe, short rules my Muse, but full she brings▪  
And Words roll from Her, crowded up with Things.  
For Aries, Prince of all the Signs comprise  
Full forty Stadia, for his time to rise,  
But Eighty give him when He leaves the Skies:  
One Hour, and one third part his rise completes,  
This space of time, He doubles when He sets.  
The following Signs to Libra rising, claim  
Eight Stadia more, and Setting loose the same.  
And thus in order following Signs require  
Still sixteen Minutes more to raise their Fire,  
And loose as much, when setting they retire:  
Thus signs to Libra, 
18 The rising and Setting of the Signs according to Manilius. 
Rising.  
Rising.  
Setting.  
Setting.   as they rise increase;  
And thus they loose when they descend to Seas:  
For all the Signs that do from Libra range,  
Take equal measures, but the Order change;  
For Signs adverse to equal times engross,  
But setting Gain, and still arise with loss.  
Thus Hours and Stadia which bright Aries gets  
When rising, Libra loseth when she sets;  
And all the time, which when He leaves the Skies,  
The Ram possesses, Libra takes to rise:  
By this Example, all the rest define,  
The following imitate the leading Sign.  
This rightly fixed, if you these Rules pursue,  
The Horoscope lies open to thy view;  
Securely work, since you can fix in Skies  
The times, and Stadia, for the Signs to rise:  
From that Degree and Sign, in which the Sun  
Gins to start, his daily Course to run,  
Count fairly on, and all the work is done.  
Another method, if you this refuse,  
Shall lead thee right, 
Another Method.  and be as plain to use:  
For if the Horoscope you seek by Day,  
Observe these Rules, which show the surest Way;  
First found what 
19 Let the Child be born in the Fourth Hour of the Day, add five to four, the Sum is 9, Multiply 9 by 10, the Product is 90. Let the Sun be in the 10th Degree of Gemini, add 10 to 90, the Sum is 100, of this 100 give 30 to Gemini, the Sign in which the Sun is, 30 more to the following Sign Taurus: 30 to the next Aries, 10 remain, therefore the 10th Degree of Pisces is the Horoscope.  Hour, the Birth is born, and than  
Add five to that, and multiply by Ten:  
Add five, for every Hour the Signs ascend  
Thrice five Degrees, in the Celestial Bend:  
This done, take that Degree in which the Sign  
Than rolls the Sun, and to this Number join;  
From this whole Sum, one Thirty parts applied  
To the Sun's Sign, nor to the rest denied,  
As following they in order lie, will show  
The thing you sought for, and design to know:  
For where the Number ends, that Sign and Part  
Is Horoscope: Thus speak the Rules of Art.  
By Night your search demands a different way;  
To the Night's Hour, 
20 Let the Birth be in the Seventh Hour of Night, add to that the Twelve Hours of the Day, and that Seventh Hour will be the Nineteenth, from the Suns Rising: Than add, multiply, and work, as in the former Method.  add all the twelve of Day,  
From this whole Sum the Thirty parts apply  
To following Signs as they in order lie;  
And where the Number ends, that Sign and Part  
Is Horoscope: Thus speak the Rules of Art.  
Thus you may found the Horoscope in Skies,  
And tho' Obliqne the Circling Zodiac lies,  
This Point determined, you may fix them all,  
What Crowns the Top, and what supports the Ball:  
The Signs true Setting, and true Rising trace,  
Assign to each their proper Powers and Place,  
And thus what stubborn Nature's Laws deny,  
Our Art shall force, and ●ix the rolling Sky.  
Nor is o'er all the Earth, the length of Night,  
And Day the same; 
Third Argument against the Chaldaeans.  they vary with the sight;  
Nor, would the Ram alone and Scales agreed,  
In Day and Night; in every Sign would be  
The Equinox, if as these Rules device,  
Two Hours were given to every Sign to rise.  
In that Position where Directs the Sphere, 
The length of Days and Nights in a Direct Sphe●e.   
And in the Horizon both Poles appear;  
The Day maintains an equal length ●● Night,  
And that Usurps not on the others Right:  
Not Inequality in Skies is found,  
But equal Day, and equal Night goes round.  
Those Days and Nights which Spring and Autumn bear,  
They see unvaryed through the rolling Year,  
Because the circling Sun in every Sign  
Runs round, and measures still an equal Line;  
Whether through Cancer's height he bears the Day,  
Or through the Goat opposed He bends his way,  
The Day's alike, nor do the Night's decay.  
For tho' Obliqne the Zodiac Circle lies,  
Yet all the Zones do at right Angles rise  
Still Parallel; and whils● the Sphere is Right  
Half Heaven is Hid, and half exposed to sight.  
Hence take thy way, 
In an Obliqne Sphere.  and o'er Earth's mighty Bend  
From this midst Region move to either End,  
As weary Steps convey thee up the Ball  
By Nature rounded and hung midst the All  
To either Pole; whilst you your way pursue  
Some parts withdraw, and others rise to view.  
To you thus mounting as the Earth doth ri●e  
So varies the Position of the Skies,  
And all the Signs that risen Direct before  
Obliquely mount, and keep that Site not more;  
Obliqne the Zodiac grows, for whilst we range,  
Thomas fixed its place, yet ours we freely change;  
'tis therefore plain that here the Days must prove  
Of different Lengths, since Signs obliquely move,  
●ome nearer roll, whilst some remoter rove,  
And measure still unequal Rounds above.  
As nearer to the Arctic Round you go  
●he Hours increase, 
On this side the Arctic Circle.  and Day appears to grow;  
The Summer Signs in ample Arch invade  
Our Sight, the Winter ●●e immersed in Shade;  
The more you Northward move, the more your Eyes  
Their Lustre loose; they set as soon as rise:  
But pass this Round, 
Beyond the Arctic Circle.  as you your way pursue,  
Each Sign withdraws with all its parts from view,  
Than Darkness comes, and chases Light away,  
And thirty Nights excludes the Dawn of Day:  
Thus by degrees Day wastes, Signs cease to rise,  
For bellying Earth still rising up denies  
Their Light a Passage, and confines our Eyes.  
Continued Nights, continued Days appear,  
And Months not more fill up the rolling Year.  
Should Nature place us where the Northern Skies  
Creak round the Pole, 
In an erect or parallel Sphere.  and grinned the propping Ice;  
Midst Snows eternal, where th' impending Bear  
Congealed leans forward on the frozen Air;  
The World would seem, if we surveyed the whole,  
Erect, and standing on the neither Pole.  
It's sides, as when a Top spins round, incline  
Nor here nor there, but keep an even Line,  
And there Six Signs of Twelve would fill the sight  
And never setting at an equal Hight,  
Wheel with the Heavens, and spread a constant Light.  
And whilst through those the Sun directs his way  
For long Six Months with a continued Ray  
He chases Darkness, and extends the Day.  
But when the Sun below the Line descends  
With full Career, and to the lower bends,  
Than one long Night continued Darkness joins,  
And whilst he wanders through the Winter's Signs  
The Arctic Circle lies immersed in Shade,  
And vainly calls to feeble Stars for Aid:  
Because the Eyes that from the Pole surveyed  
The bellying Globe, scarce measure half the way,  
The Orb still rising stops the Sight from far,  
And whilst we forward look, we found a Bar:  
For from the Eyes the Lines directly fall,  
And Lines direct can ne'er surround the Ball;  
Therefore the Sun to those low Signs confined  
Bearing all Day and leaving Night behind,  
To those that from the Pole survey denies  
His cheerful Face, and Darkness fills their Eyes:  
Till having spent as many Months, as past  
Through Signs, he turns, and riseth to the North at last:  
And thus, in this Position of the Sphere  
One only Day, one only Night appear  
On either side the Line, and make the Year.  
What different sorts of Days and Nights are known  
In all Positions thus my Muse hath shown;  
Her Work goes on, and she must next comprise  
What Signs appear, what Times they claim to rise  
In all Positions of the moving Skies:  
That when you follow Art, and boldly press  
To found the Horoscope, a just Success  
May meet thy search, and into knowledge raise thy guess.  
But who can all their various times rehearse?  
Compute so much, and state Accounts in Verse?  
Therefore this part let general Rules define,  
Let those that follow my advanced Design  
Apply them right, but let the Rules be mine.  
wherever placed▪ by these few Rules proceed,  
By Nature settled, 
Another way to found the Trine the Signs Rising and Setting by Hours.  and by Art decreed;  
First count how many 
21 
Let the longest Day in Cancer be of 16 Hours, the shortest Night of 8: Divide those 16 Hours into 6 parts, each part contains 2 Hours 40 Minutes: Therefore allow Leo 2 Hours 40 Min. for his Rising time: Divide likewise the 8 Hours of Night into 6 parts, each part will contain 1 Hour 20. m. and that is the rising time of Taurus. The Differece between the Rising Times of these two Signs is 1 Hour 20 Min. Divide this Difference into three equal parts, each part will contain 26 Min. 40 Sec. Add these 26 Min. and 40 Sec. to the Rising time of Taurus, and the whole Sum makes up the Rising time of Gemini, viz. 1 Hour, 46 Min. 40 Sec. To this add another third part to make up the Rising time of Cancer, viz. 2 Hours 13 Min. 20 Sec. And so of the rest, as in the following Scheme.  
But it must always be observed, that the Southern or Winter Signs are opposed to the Northern or Summer Signs. The Rising-time of the Summer is the Setting-time of the Winter; and the Setting-time of the Summer the Rising-time of the Winter Signs.   Hours complete the Night  
Or Day, when Cancer in the Summer's height  
Bears Phoebus, and short darkness bounds the light.  
Day's Hours by Six divide, one sixth device  
To following Leo as his time to rise:  
Night so divided too one Sixth bestow  
On Taurus, that his rising time will show:  
But than observe the difference of the time  
Which Leo takes, and which the Bull to climb,  
That into Three divide, and thence apply,  
Beside the time which Taurus takes to mount the Sky,  
One single Third to Naked Gemini.  
The like to Cancer, and the like Account  
To fiery Leo as his time to mount;  
Than reckon all, you'll found the Sum the same  
Which from the first Division to Leo came,  
When one sixth part of Day was given to raise his Flame.  
By the same Method Virgo's time define:  
But this Condition runs through every Sign,  
The following keeps those Hours the Sign before  
Obtained to rise, and vulgarly adds more:  
As these an orderly Increase maintain,  
So Signs from Libra still decrease again:  
But different Order they observe in Skies,  
The Hours these claim to Set, those take to Rise.  
But if you count by Stadia, 
By Stadia.  change the Name,  
But keep the Method, for the Rule's the same:  
Seven Hundred Twenty Stadia fill the Round,  
Not more in Day, not more in Night are found:  
Hence take as many as complete the Night,  
When glowing Cancer in the Summer's height  
Bears Phoebus, and short darkness bounds the light.  
The rest by Six divide, one Sixth device  
To fiery Leo as his time to rise;  
Night's Stadia so divide, one Sixth bestow  
On Taurus: Take the Difference twixt the Two,  
That Sum divide by Three, and thence apply,  
Beside the Stadia Taurus takes to mount the Sky,  
One single Third to naked Gemini.  
Thus to the rest proceed, but still confine  
To following Signs the Stadia of the former Sign,  
With one Third Part's Increase; till Libra's Ray  
This Reckoning stops, and shows another way:  
For Signs from Libra different Rules comprise,  
A different Order they observe in Skies,  
The Stadia others claim to Set they take to Rise.  
Those Stadia too in which the rest ascend  
These Winter Signs in slowly setting spend.  
Thus having fixed the Stadia, now pursue  
The Horoscope, 'tis open to thy view;  
From that Degree in which the Sun doth mount  
Observe my Method, and begin to count;  
Give proper Hours to every Sign to rise,  
And proper Stadia to ascend the Skies,  
Work by those Rules which I have shown before,  
Securely work, for you can err not more.  
By what advance the Winter Months increase,  
(For they advance not by the same Degrees  
Through every Sign, 
How Days increase from Capricorn ● Cancer.  till on the Ram they light,  
Which equals Time, and Day adjusts to Night)  
Must next be shown to all that press to learn,  
Short are the Rules, but yet of great Concern.  
First take the measure of the shortest Day  
And longest Night, when with unequal Ray  
Through Caper Phoebus drives the narrow way.  
Than count the 
22 The Example which Manilius himself gives, sets this Doctrine in its true Light. Let the longest Night in Capricorn be of 15 Hours, the Day consequently must be of 9 Thus the Night exceeds the Day by 3 Hours. Divide these 3 Hours into 3 Parts, give one Part, that is, 1 Hour to the Middle Sign, viz. Aquarius, and thence conclude that in Capricorn the Day increases half an Hour, and in Pisces an Hour and half; Aquarius being the Middle Sign in which the Days increase one Hour.  Hours which Day must yield to Shade,  
And in three Portions let the Sum be laid;  
One of these Parts to th' Middle Sign applied  
Shows the Increase of Day on either side:  
For as the First is by the Midst surpassed  
One Half, so that's exceeded by the last.  
Thus through Three Signs the Day's Increase is shown,  
The following taketh what to the Last was grown,  
And adds an equal Portion of its own.  
For Instance: To the Conquest Night assign  
Full Fifteen Hours, and give the Day but Nine:  
Three Hours the difference. Now the Goat hath Power  
To lengthen Day the space of half an Hour,  
One Hour Aquarius adds, the Fishes join  
As much as Both, and with the rest combine;  
Thus three Hours filled, adjusted Time they bring  
To Aries; and he equals Day and Night in Spring.  
The Sixth part of the Time, or more or lesle,  
whate'er it proves, is the first Sign's Increase;  
The Second doubles what the First surpassed,  
And gives it to be trebled by the last.  
But from the 
23 According to the Doctrine of Manilius (let the Example be the same with that in the preceding Note) in Aries the Day increases one Hour and half, in Taurus one Hour, in Gemini half an Hour.  Equinoctial point the Day  
Receives increase, but in another way;  
For Aries takes as many Hours from Night,  
As Pisces seized before in their own Right;  
And to complete the Rapine Taurus▪ joins  
One Hour, one Half is added by the Twins;  
Thus whilst these Signs the Time to Day restore,  
Night justly loses, as it gained before.  
From Caper thus Decreasing Nights appear,  
And Heaven turns up the right side of the Year;  
The Day proceeds to lengthen all the way,  
Till high in Cancer raised it finds a Stay;  
The Solstice than: when Day and Night are found  
Equal to Night and Day that drove the Winter round.  
Than by the same degrees again the Light  
Decreasing, what it took returns to Night.  
Thus far advanced in Art my Verse defines  
The proper Years, 
The Years, Months, Days, and Hours of Signs.  Months, Hours, and Days of Signs:  
These must be shown; for Signs have Days & Hours,  
And Months, and Years when they exert their Powers.  
First than, that Sign in which the Sun appears,  
Because the Sun measures out the time in Years,  
Claims the first Year: On following Signs bestow  
The following Years as they in Order go.  
And so the Moon, for as she rounds the Skies,  
She measures Months, to Signs the Months applies.  
Of Days and Hours the Horoscope possessed  
Of the first parts, to following Signs commits the rest.  
This Nature orders, all her Months and Years,  
And Days, and Hours, she parcels out to Stars;  
That as they run their Course they all may ●ind  
The different Signs, and vary in their kind.  
This Nature order too; and hence there springs  
That various Discord that is seen in Things;  
In one continued Stream no Fortune flows,  
Joy mixes Grief, and Pleasures urged by Woes:  
Inconstancy in every part appears,  
Which Wisdom never trusts, but Folly fears.  
Thus Years from Years, and as they roll the round  
The Months from Months, and Days from Days are found  
To differ: no returning Hours restore  
That sort of Fortune which they brought before:  
Because the Times, as round their Course they run,  
Meet different Signs, and are not bound to One;  
The Days and Hours their ruling Signs obey,  
The Month's the influence which they give convey  
And temper all things by their fatal Ray.  
Some Author's Write, 
Some Astrologers Opinion. concerning the Years, Months and Days of Signs.  (for who can hope to see  
Opinions join, or found the World agreed?)  
That from the Horoscope our Art defines  
The Days, the Hours, the Years, and Months of Signs;  
From that alone let the Account begin,  
And all the rest will orderly fall in:  
And whilst the others, as before 'twas shown,  
Three Heads of reckoning ask, the Moon, the Sun,  
And Horoscope, these still demand but One:  
Yet still as great, their difference must appear,  
Month disagrees with Month, and Year with Year,  
And Hours and Days: For with uneven pace,  
Thou starting all together, they run the Race,  
And never make Returns in equal space:  
Twice to the Signs each 
24 There being 24 Hours belonging to each Day, and but 12 Signs, more than 24 Days in each Month, and 12 Months in every Year.  Hour the Days restore  
Twice every Month, brings round the Days, and more:  
Once every Year the Months to Signs are born,  
And when Twelve Years are run, the Years return.  
'Tis hard to think, 
Refuted.  and Nature's Laws reject  
One single Time, so differing in effect:  
That when one Sign for Years and Months appears,  
Bad Fate should clog the Months, Good Crown the Years:  
Or that the Sign which through the Months conveys  
Bright Fortune, should with Black infested the Days:  
Or that the Star, which with afflicting Power,  
The Day oppresseth, should exalt the Hour.  
Vain therefore their attempt, who fond hope,  
The Times to reckon from the Horoscope,  
And think because with an unequal Date,  
They come to Signs, that these Returns created  
Their different, odd varieties of Fate.  
Absurd Opinion! which with fruitless pain,  
They strive to prop with mighty Names in vain,  
It sinks, and falls with its own stupid weight again.  
This sung, and Times to Signs applied, the Muse  
Would beg release, 
How many Years belong to each Sign and Station.  and further Task refuse;  
But lo the Subject grows: The next must show  
What length of Times the several Signs bestow:  
This must be known when in your search for Fate  
You measure Life, and fix the gloomy Date.  
Ten Years and One, but one third part withdrawn,  
The 
25 A Table of the Years and Months that belong to each Sign.  Ram extends the wretched Life of Man;  
Poorly he gives, as frugal of his Store,  
Whilst Taurus adds two Years to these; the Twins two more.  
Full sixteen Years Eight Months, from Cancer flow,  
But two Years more the Lion's rays bestow.  
From Virgo twenty Years, eight Months conveyed,  
Enlarge the Birth: The Scales give equal to the Maid:  
Scorpio's as much as Leo's Rays dispense,  
The Centaur equals Cancer's influence:  
Of Years, twice seven, eight Months the Goat conveys;  
Though young Aquarius shines with feebler rays,  
Four Years he trebles, and doubles six score Days.  
To the same space, with which the Ram began,  
The Fish placed, next extend the Age of Man.  
But farther yet, 'tis not enough to know  
The length of time which single signs bestow;  
For you may Err, when in your search for Fate,  
You measure Life, and fix the gloomy Date;  
Because the Heavenly Stations claim their share,  
As Planets intermix their Force declare,  
In this Contrivance, and make Life their Care.  
To single stations now what Years belong,  
(With Planets joined, they claim 
26 This was never finished by the Poet, or is now lost.  another Song)  
In well wrought Numbers let the Muse impart,  
And teach the simplest Elements of Art;  
This done, these things prepared and fitly joined,  
With greater Ease, she'll raise the Work designed▪  
If when the Moon is in the Hinge at East,  
The Birth breaks forward from its native rest;  
Full Eighty Years, if you two Years abate,  
This Station gives, and long defers it Fate:  
But if in heavens midst point, this large Decree  
She shortens, giving lesser Years by three:  
With Eighty Courses in the Zodiac Round,  
Substracting Four, the Western Hinge is Crowned▪  
The lowest Hinge on all its Births, derives  
Years sixty two, and than concludes their Lives.  
The ninth, 
Vid. Fig. 9  which makes upon the Right the Trine,  
Gives sixty Years, and bats but One of Nine.  
The Fifth o' th' Left, as frugal of its store,  
Gives sixty three, and can enlarge not more;  
Th' Eleventh station, that which rises high,  
Almost an equal of the Middle Sky,  
Yields six score Springs, and jest that Gift should be  
Too scanty, lengthens that vast Sum by Three.  
The Third which lies at equal space below  
The Eastern point, doth fifty Years bestow,  
Mean is the station, and its Gift is so.  
The second Forty Courses of the Sun,  
And two bestows, and when that term is done,  
The Man goes of, e'er half his race be run.  
The Twelfth gives twenty three, than hasty Death,  
Comes on, and in his Bloom, the Youth resigns his Breath.  
The Eighth next o'er the Western Hinge can bring  
But fourteen Years, nor adds another Spring.  
The sixth but Twelve bestows, than Death destroys  
The Parent's Hopes, and crops the growing Boys;  
Diseases following, from their Birth created  
A feeble Frame, and fit the Prey for Fate.  
Now nicely view the Tropic Signs that lie  
Opposed in the four Quarters of the Sky;  
Called Tropic Signs, 
The Tropic Signs  because when these appear,  
The World than Turns the Seasons of the Year:  
Thus Spring in Cancer, in Autumnal Scales  
The Summer turns, in Caper Autumn sails;  
Thence shivering Winter creeps congealed with Frost,  
Yet melts again; and in the Ram is lost:  
These lose the Seasons, to their full Career,  
And make the Course of the Revolving Year;  
And these being Hingers of the World, created  
New Powers in Stars; and fix new Rules for Fate.  
In Heaven's high Arch, 
Cancer.  and on the utmost Line  
Of Summer progross, Cancer seats his Sign:  
There stretches out the greatest length of Day,  
And than declines, and makes it soon decay;  
But all the time which, as he bears the Light  
He takes from Day, He still conveys to Night.  
Than Corn grows yellow on the fruitful Soil,  
And lusty Reapers bore their Limbs for toil:  
Than Seas grow warm, the Floods forbear to roar,  
And Billows languish on the quiet Shore.  
Than Mars goes forth, nor is the Scythian Coast  
From Roman Arms defended by her Frost:  
And whilst their Pools and Marshy Grounds are dry,  
Fearing our Force, the conquered Germane fly:  
Than Nile overflows, and Egypt's fruitful Plain,  
Rich Harvests yields, nor needs the aid of Rain.  
Thus lies the World, when with exalted Ray,  
I'th' Summer Solstice Phoebus bears the Day  
Through Cancer's Sign, and drives the highest Way.  
Opposed the Goat in narrowest rounds of Light,  
Wheels Winter on, 
Capricorn  but long extends the Night;  
Yet soon Ascending, He contracts the Shade,  
To Day returning all the waste he made;  
The Fields unwrought, than lie, unploughed the Seas,  
And Mars in Quarters, lies consigned to Ease:  
Rocks cleave with Frost; and by ●he Cold, oppressed,  
All Nature's Powers, are stiffened into Rest.  
The next in Power are those two Signs that rise  
With equal Revolutions of the Skies;  
Which times of Day and Night adjust, 
Aries.  and bring  
The Autumn on, or else advance the Spring.  
The Sun returning in his Yearly Race,  
To Cancer's Sign meets Aries midst the Space,  
Seated between the Point, from whence he bends  
His upward Course, and that in which he ends.  
There placed as Umpire in the midst o'th' way,  
Contracted Night, he well adjusts to Day.  
And as through him the Sun goes on to climb  
The Heavenly steep, He makes a change in time;  
For Day, that shortened in the Winter bend,  
The Ram first leng●●ens; and the next extend,  
Till raised in Cancer, to the utmost height  
Of Summer's pitch, He wheels the longest Light.  
Than Seas lie hushed: Than Earth grows bold to bear,  
And trusts young Flowers to the serener Air:  
Than Beasts in Fields, and Birds in every Grove,  
Press on with Fury to consummate Love.  
With joyful Songs the vocal Forests Ring,  
And various Leaves adorn the gaudy Spring:  
With such brisk Powers are Nature's parts possessed,  
When waked, she rouses from her WintersWinters Rest.  
Opposed to Aries, Libra's 
Libra.  Stars appear  
With the like power to sway the rolling Year,  
She equals Day and Night: But soon the Scale  
O'repoised by Darkness, let's the Night prevail;  
And Day, that lengthened in the Summer's height,  
Shortens till Winter, and is lost in Night.  
Than from the burdened Elms, the generous Vine  
Descends, and Presses overflow with Wine:  
Than Wheat is sown, whilst Autumn's heats remain  
To lose the Clods, and millifie the Grain.  
These have their Powers, and as these Signs created  
A turn in Seasons, so they do in Fate:  
From Tropic Signs (for by their name, we guests  
Their turning Natures) who can hope for lesle?  
But wide in their mistake, who think to see  
These Powers spread equally in each Degree;  
Not every Portion of the Tropic Signs  
Turns Seasons, 
What Degrees in the Tropic Signs are to be considered.  and the Planets force confines,  
But one Day only, in the blooming Prime  
Of Spring, in Autumn One adjusts the Time,  
One Day in Aries doth to Time restore  
Equality, and Libra boasts not more;  
One Longest Day in Cancer's Sign is born,  
One Night of equal length in Capricorn:  
The other Days roll on with different Light,  
Now gaining from, now losing time to Night.  
Thus One Degree in Tropic Signs creates  
A change in Heaven, and turns the Rules of Fates;  
No fixed Decrees secure, their boundless sway,  
Extends to all, and makes the Stars obey.  
But which that is that governs, Fate's Decree,  
There Authors differ, nor can Art agreed;  
For some the Eighth, and some the Tenth assign,  
The First Degree— is only Thy,  
Thy, but the Muse with scorn, forbears the Name;  
Unworthy mention, and too mean for Fame.  
The End of the Third Book.  

NOTES.  
1. This and the seven following Verses relate to the several particulars of Medea's story.  
2. I use this Interpretation rather than that of Scaliger and others, because I think Manilius speaks only of that famous Siege of Thebes, when the seven Generals attacked it; and as the Story says, Capaneus had almost ruin'd the Town before he was struck with Thunder.  
3. Oedipus Married his own Mother jocasta, and had Children by her; so that each Son was Brother to the Father, and Grandchild to the Mother.  
4. This respects the Story of Atreus and Thyestes.  
5. Xerxes is said to have dug a Channel round Mount Athos, and to have made a Bridge over the Hellespont.  
6. Thus, for instance, in whatever Sign the Lot of Fortune is placed, the next that belongs to the next Sign, is the Lot of Warfare: Civil Employments must be given to the third, etc.  
7. For the Lot of Fortune being in all Nativities that belong to Day to be accounted for from the Sun, and in all Nativities that belong to Night from the Moon; and those two Planets not always possessing the same place in every Nativity, and the other Lots following the disposition of that of Fortune; it is very evident that the same Lot is not to be always applied to the same Sign.  
8. The Poet never finished this part, or it is now lost.  
9 For instance, let the Sun be in the 20th Degree of Aries, the Moon in the 10th Degree of Libra; from the 20th Degree of Aries (counting through the following Signs Taurus, Gemini, &c) to the 10th Degree of Libra; are 170 Degrees: Let the Horoscope be the 10th Degree of Cancer; from that 10th Degree of Cancer, count through the following Signs, viz. Leo, Virgo, etc. and you will found the Number 170 to end in the 10th Degree of Capricorn: Therefore in the 10th Degree of Capricorn place the Lot of Fortune: This I take to be the meaning of Manilius.  
10. Suppose the Sun to be in the 21, 49 of Leo, the Moon in the 26, 31 ' of Virgo; the Horoscope in the, 1, 0 ' of Leo; The Moon is distant from the Sun 325, 18 ', which number being distributed amongst the Antecedent Signs, viz. Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, etc. ends in the 5, 42 ' of Virgo, that there is the place of the Lot of Fortune.  
11. To explain this Method which the Chaldeans used to found the Horoscope, Scaliger gives this instance: Let the Sun's place be the 13, 25 ' of Libra, let the Birth be at the end of the Seventh Hour of the Day: Now because every Sign hath thirty Degrees, and fifteen Degrees make one Hour, these Seven Hours are three Signs and an half, or one Hundred and five Degrees: Now reckon those Degrees through the following Signs, viz. Scorpius, Centaurus, etc. The Number ends in the 28125 ' of Capricorn, and therefore that is the Horoscope.  
12. Sic media extremis, etc. The middle Signs here are Aries and Libra, and these are said to be opposite to the Extremes, Cancer and Capricorn, because in them the Days are equal, but in the others unequal to the Nights: This I take to ●e the meaning of the Poet, rather than what Scaliger and other Interpreters pretend.  
13. Thus in Cancer the Days are longest; in Capricorn, which is a Sign adverse to Cancer, the Nights are of the same length, that the Days were of in Cancer: The like holds in Leo, and Aquarius, and so in the rest.  
14. The Italians divided all the time betwixt the Rising and Setting of the Sun into Twelve Hours, and all the time between the Setting and Rising of the Sun into Twelve Hours: And therefore, those times being various and unequal, the Hours must likewise be unequal.  
15. According to the Opinion of some Ancient Astronomers, who placed the Winter Solstice in the Eighth Degree of Capricorn, the Summer Solstice in the Eighth Degree of Cancer, and the Equinox in the Eighth Degrees of Aries and Libra: Thus in the End of this Book, 
Has quidam vires octava in parte reponunt.   
16. Eudoxus wrote of the Sphere at the 36th Degree, Elevation of the Pole, and Manilius follows him.  
17. A Stadium in Manilius is half of a Degree, and therefore in the whole Zodiac there are 720 Stadia. In the Zodiac are 360 Degrees, to every Hour we reckon▪ 15 Degrees, therefore every Hour is equal to 30 Stadia, and for the same Reason, each Hour containing 60 Minutes, every Stadium is equal to two Minutes.  
Rising.  
Rising.  
Setting.  
Setting.  
19 Let the Child be born in the Fourth Hour of the Day, add five to four, the Sum is 9, Multiply 9 by 10, the Product is 90. Let the Sun be in the 10th Degree of Gemini, add 10 to 90, the Sum is 100, of this 100 give 30 to Gemini, the Sign in which the Sun is, 30 more to the following Sign Taurus: 30 to the next Aries, 10 remain, therefore the 10th Degree of Pisces is the Horoscope.  
20. Let the Birth be in the Seventh Hour of Night, add to that the Twelve Hours of the Day, and that Seventh Hour will be the Nineteenth, from the Suns Rising: Than add, multiply, and work, as in the former Method.  
But it must always be observed, that the Southern or Winter Signs are opposed to the Northern or Summer Signs. The Rising-time of the Summer is the Setting-time of the Winter; and the Setting-time of the Summer the Rising-time of the Winter Signs.  
22. The Example which Manilius himself gives, sets this Doctrine in its true Light. Let the longest Night in Capricorn be of 15 Hours, the Day consequently must be of 9 Thus the Night exceeds the Day by 3 Hours. Divide these 3 Hours into 3 Parts, give one Part, that is, 1 Hour to the Middle Sign, viz. Aquarius, and thence conclude that in Capricorn the Day increases half an Hour, and in Pisces an Hour and half; Aquarius being the Middle Sign in which the Days increase one Hour.  
23. According to the Doctrine of Manilius (let the Example be the same with that in the preceding Note) in Aries the Day increases one Hour and half, in Taurus one Hour, in Gemini half an Hour.  
24. There being 24 Hours belonging to each Day, and but 12 Signs, more than 24 Days in each Month, and 12 Months in every Year.  
26. This was never finished by the Poet, or is now lost.    

MANILIUS.  
The Fourth Book.  
After a short Reflection on the vain Cares of Mankind, he brings several Arguments to prove Fate: 1. Several unaccountable passages in the Roman and Graecian Histories: 2. Sudden Death, and unexpected Recoveries, contrary to all the powers of Art and Physic: 3. The difference between the Children of the same Parents: 4. The fewness of Worthy Men, and the certainty of Death: 5. The ill successes of Wise and Good Men, and the prosperity of Knaves and Fools: 6. Monstrous Births: 7. Prophecy: And than endeavours, 8. to take of some Objections that might be rationally proposed against this Doctrine: Than, 9 He shows what Tempers and Inclinations the twelve Signs singly considered do bestow, and to what Arts they incline: 10. Under the Ram, are born all sorts of workers in Wool, Brokers, Men of unsettled Fortunes, fearful, inconstant, and covetous of Praise: 11. Under the Bull, Plowmen, Aspiring, Reserved, Strong, and Amorous: 12. Under the Twins, Musicians, Songsters, Men of merry Te●pers, and Astronomers: 13. Under th● Crab, Covetous Fellows and Usurers: 14. V●der the Lion, Hunters, Beast-keepers, Plain, Open-hearted, easily provoked, and easily appeased: Under the Maid, Philosophers, Orators, Notaries, shamefaced and indifferently good: 16. Under the Scales, Measurers, Gagers, Accountants, Lawgivers, Lawyers, and judges: 17. Under the Scorpion, Hunters, Gladiators, Men of Warlike and Military Dispositions: 18. Under Sagittarius, Chariot-Racers, Horsebreakers, Tamer's of Wild Beasts, Men of acute Understandings, and strong and nimble Bodies: 19 Under the Goat, Miners, Coiners, Goldsmiths, Bakers, Brokers, Inconstant and Lascivious in their Youth: 20. Under Aquarius, Men skilled in making Aqueducts, and Water-works, and Spheres, and Globes, tractable and prodigal: 21. Under Pisces, Mariners, Pilots, Shipwrights, Rowers, Fishers, Fruitful but Inconstant: 22. He Discourses of the Tenths of each Sign, and what Sign is Lord of each third part of every Sign: 23. He encourages his Scholar to go on, th● the Task seems to grow upon him, and to be very difficult, because 'tis a Noble Study, and the Object truly great: 24. He shows what degrees of each Sign are hurtful, what not: 25. He Teaches, that the Tempers of those that are Born when the Sign riseth, are different from those that are Born at other times: 26. He draws a Map of the Earth and Seas, and Teaches what Signs govern particular Countries: 27. He shows what Signs are called Eccliptick, and why: 28. He proposeth such Objections as are made to deter Men from this curious search, and answereth them.  
WHy should our Time run out in useless 
Short Reflections on the Cares of Men.  years,  
Of anxious Troubles and tormenting Fears?  
Why should deluding Hopes disturb our ease,  
Vain to pursue, yet eager to possess?  
With no Success, and no Advantage crowned,  
Why should we still tread on th' unfinished Round?  
Grown grey in Cares, pursue the senseless strife,  
And seeking how to Live, consume a Life?  
The more we have, the meaner is our Store;  
The unenjoying craving Wretch is Poor:  
But Heaven is kind, with bounteous Hand it grants  
A fit supply for Nature's sober wants:  
She asks not much, yet Men press blindly on,  
And heap up more, to be the more undone:  
By Luxury, they Rapine's Force maintain,  
What that scrapes up, flows out in Luxury again▪  
And to be squandered, or to raise debate,  
I● the great only use of an Estate.  
Vain Man forbear, of Cares, unload thy Mind,  
Forget thy Hopes, and give thy Fears to Wind;  
For Fate rules all, its stubborn Laws must sway  
The lower World, and Man confined obey.  
As we are Born we Dye, our Lots are cast,  
And our first Hour disposeth of our last.  
Than as the influence of the Stars ordains,  
To Empire's Kings are doomed, and Slaves to Chains.  
Than Poverty, that common Fate comes down,  
(Few Stars are Regal, and design a Crown)  
What make a Wit, a Knave, a Saint, or Dunce,  
Are huddled than together, and fixed at once.  
The Ills that are ordained we must endure,  
From not Decreed how fatally secure?  
Prayers are too weak to check fixed Destinies,  
And Vows too slow to catch the Fate that flies.  
Whether with Glory raised, or clogged with Scorn,  
The State, that than is settled, must be born.  
For did not Fate preside, 
The first Argument for Fate.  and Fortune lead,  
Had parting Flames the good 
1 The Poet did not think of the Palladium as Scaliger imagines, but only of the Fire at Troy, which parted to let Aeneas go through with his Father, and his Household Gods.  Aenaeas fled?  
Had Troy's sunk Fortune been sustained by 
2 Manilius makes only short Reflections on History, and therefore is frequently obscure: He says here, that it was impossible one single Aeneas should have raised the Glory and Reputation of ruin'd Troy, and made it than conquer, when it was overthrown, by building Rome which subdued the whole World; for Rome risen out of the Ruins of Troy; unless some overruling Power and Fate had ordained it should be so.  one?  
And only Conquered than, when overthrown?  
And did not Stars the rise of States dispose,  
Had mighty Rome from such beginnings risen?  
Had 
3 Romulus; and Remus, the Founders of Rome, were but Shepherds.  Shepherds built, or Swains without control  
Advanced their 
4 I choose to read Auxissent Culmina rather than vexissent, or duxissent Fulmina, and tender Culmina a Cottage.  Cottage to a Capitol?  
Placed on whose heights, our Caesar's now surveyed  
The lower Earth, and see the World obey?  
From their 
5 If Manilius be supposed to keep the Order of Time in his Historical Reflections, I must own I have not hit his meaning in this place; for no doubt he had an Eye upon the Wars between the Sabines and Romulus: but than I cannot imagine what those Words Captus & à Captis Orbis foret mean: I cannot think with Soaliger and Huetius that he runs back to Troy, which he had left several Verses before, and therefore apply this passage to the taking and burning of Rome, and the besieging the Capitol by the Gauls: And 'tis certain the Poet in his following Reflections neglects the Order of Time very much.  burnt Nest, had Conquering Eagles flown,  
And the World yielded to a ruin'd Town?  
Had jove been stormed; or 
6 The Stories of Mutius Scaevola, Horatius Cocles, the Virgin Claelia, and the Combat between the three Horatij on the Roman, and the three Curiatij on the Alban side, are well known.  Mutius safe returned  
From baffled Flames, or vanquished whilst he burned?  
Our Towns and Bridges guard, had 
6 The Stories of Mutius Scaevola, Horatius Cocles, the Virgin Claelia, and the Combat between the three Horatij on the Roman, and the three Curiatij on the Alban side, are well known.  Cocles stood,  
Or the weak Virgin swum rough Tiber's Flood?  
Had one 
6 The Stories of Mutius Scaevola, Horatius Cocles, the Virgin Claelia, and the Combat between the three Horatij on the Roman, and the three Curiatij on the Alban side, are well known.  Horatius our sunk hopes restored,  
Or Three have fallen beneath a single Sword?  
O Glorious Victory! what Arms before,  
e'er won so much, none ever fought for more;  
Rome and her hopes of Empire hung on One,  
His o'er matched Lot was Hers, a Yoke or Throne.  
Why should I 
8 Short Reflections on the great Accidents in the Second and Third Carthaginian Wars, together with the Death of Hannibal.  Cannae's bloody Plains relate,  
And Africk's Ensigns threatening at our Gate,  
How Thrasimene Drowned Flaminius' Shame,  
And after Fabius, wise Retreats o'ercome,  
The Conquered Carthage shone with Roman flame?  
How Hannibal on the Campanian Plains,  
Rome's Terror once, than destined to our Chains;  
Whilst waiting on his Proud Bithynian Lord,  
Stole a base Death, and scap't our Nobler Sword?  
But turn and view the 
9 He goes on with the Roman History, the unaccountable Fortunes of the Great Marius.  Civil Wars of Rome,  
There opens wide a various Scene of Doom:  
See Marcus ride with Cimbrian Laurels Crowned,  
Than in the Dungeon stretched upon the grouned;  
Now Slave, now Consul, Consul, Slave again,  
His Curule Chair, succeeded by a Chain;  
Now a mean Ruin on the Lybian Sands  
Despised he lies, and straight the World Commands;  
Like Thunder from low Earth exhaled, he risen  
From the Minturnian Pools,  
And scattered Vengeance on his haughty Foes.  
These wondrous Changes Fate and Stars advance,  
O mighty turns, and much too great for Chance!  
Who 
10 Pompey the Great, was a very notable Example of the variety of Fortune, being on a sudden raised to the highest, and as soon thrown down to the lowest Condition in the World.  Pompey could (that saw thy Conquering Fleet  
Regain the Seas, and Kings beneath thy Feet,  
Proud Pontus yield, fierce Tyrants make thy Train,  
And crowding Monarches beg thy leave to Reign,  
That saw Victorious Laurels Crown thy Head,  
And Worlds in thy repeated Triumphs lead;  
And all that Glory which thy Sword had won,  
Fixed and supported by as great a 
11 Cumjam etiam posses alium cognoscere Magnum: I hope I have given this Verse a better Sense, than the other Interpreters have done.  Son)  
Have thought that Thou, upon a Foreign Sand,  
Shouldst steal a Burial from a common Hand;  
That shattered Planks, the Sea's dishonest spoil  
Should hiz beneath thy Trunk, and be thy Pile?  
That Thou, the mighty Thou, shouldst want an Urn,  
What Power, but Fate, could work so strange a turn?  
Even 
12 Caesar is said to be sprung from Heaven, because he was descended from Aeneas the Son of Venus: After his Murder an unusual Star appeared, which the Flatterers of Augustus said was the Soul of his Father Caesar.  Caesar sprung from Heaven, and now a Star,  
Thou midst the dangers of the Civil War,  
Secure He stood, and careless of Repose,  
Was ne'er surprised by his most watchful Foes;  
Yet Crowned with Peace, in all his Pomp and State  
He fell a Victim to overruling Fate:  
Not dark suspicions, but bright hints were brought,  
He knew what Cassius spoke, and Brutus thought;  
How far advanced, how far they meant to go,  
And saw the minute of the fatal Blow:  
Yet dark Oblivion did his Memory blot,  
He all his warnings, and Himself forgot;  
And in the Senate, whilst his Right Hand held  
The faithful Bill, which all the Plot revealed;  
To prove that Fate will sway, and Stars control,  
He fell, and with his Blood defaced the Scroul:  
O mighty power of Fate, and proved too well!  
The Best, the Wisest, and the Greatest fallen.  
Why should I mention Kings 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  and Empires falls,  
Show Conquering 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  Cyrus on the Sardian Walls?  
Or Croesus shrinking at the rising Flame?  
Or 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  Priam's Trunk, a thing without a Name?  
Unhappy Prince! the Beasts and Vultur's spoil,  
His Troy was burnt, but Priam wants a Pile.  
The Wreck of 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  Xerxes, who would scourge the Gods,  
A Wreck, much greater than the threatened Floods?  
Or 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  Tullus' Reign, who by the power of Fate,  
Was born a Slave, yet Ruled the Roman State?  
Or show 
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  Metellus snatch the Vestal Fire,  
And as he passed, prophaner Flames retire?  
How often do sudden Deaths the Healthy seize,  
Without the formal warning of Disease? 
Second Argument.   
And yet how often from the Piles retire,  
Even 
14— Mortes seque ipsae rursus fugiunt, errantque per Ignes.  fly themselves, and wander through the Fire?  
Thus some have from their Graves returned, and known  
Two Lives, whilst others, scarce enjoy but One.  
A small Disease destroys, whilst greater spare,  
Good Methods fail, and Men are lost by Care.  
Some temperate Diet, with Diseases fills,  
And Poison's Innocent, when Physic Kills.  
Some Children prove a mean degenerate Race,  
Some show their Father's Mind, as well as Face; 
Third Argument.   
In One, their Virtue, and their Fortune rise  
To greater height, and in Another dies.  
One 
15 To reconcile the different Interpreters, I have hinted at both Paris, (or rather Hercules) and Leander.  mad in Love, to Troy will carry War,  
Or swim the Flood, and view the Torch from far,  
The Other is determined to the Bar.  
A 〈◊〉 his Father, Father kills the Son  
On mutual Wounds two head long Brothers run;  
These Combats prove the force of ruling Powers,  
For they are too unnatural to be Ours.  
That every Age no new Camilh's breath,  
The 
16 Furius Camillus was the restorer of Rome, after it had been taken and burnt by the Gauls: Of the Family of the Deccis there were Three, who voluntarily devoted themselves to Death, for the Good and Prosperity of their Country: Cato Vticensis, who killed himself that he might not survive the Liberty of Rome.  Deci● dye, or 
16 Furius Camillus was the restorer of Rome, after it had been taken and burnt by the Gauls: Of the Family of the Deccis there were Three, who voluntarily devoted themselves to Death, for the Good and Prosperity of their Country: Cato Vticensis, who killed himself that he might not survive the Liberty of Rome.  Cat●o conquer Death, 
Fourth Argument.   
'Tis not but that the Seed can still receive  
As noble Stamps, but Fates refuse to give.  
To lesser Days they do not cramp the Poor,  
Nor bribed by Wealth, enlarged the Rich with more;  
There Richeses loose their force, the shining Years  
Of glorious 〈◊〉 must be turned in Tears;  
They dig a Grave for Kings, and fix the Day;  
How great must be that Power which Crowns obey!  
Successless Virtue sinks whilst Vice prevails,  
And Folly wins the Prize when Prudence fails: 
Fifth Argument.   
He argues ill that from the Fortune draws  
The goodness or the badness of a Cause:  
Success or Morit do not always Crown,  
Midst good and bad Men they are blindly thrown,  
Without Respect, fixed fatally on One.  
For some superior Power's impetuous force  
Marks out our way, and still directs the Course;  
The Years that we must run, the length, the pace,  
And all the various turn of the Race.  
Besides, 
Sixth Argument.  what Monstrous Births, the Nurse's fear  
And Mother's shame, half Man, half Beast appear?  
Such wondrous Creatures ne'er from Seed began,  
For what hath Beast that's common to a Man?  
And what mean Soul would with his Lust comply,  
And Sin on purpose for a Prodigy?  
Not; Stars dispose, they Sergeant a Rape,  
And mix a Monster of amazing shape.  
Besides, were not Events by Fates enrolled,  
How can their certain Order be foretold? 
Seventh Argument.   
How can the Prophets Sing of future Doom,  
And in the present read the Age to come?  
To this there's one Objection; Fate denies  
Rewards to Virtue, 
An Objection answered.  and must pled for Vice:  
Absurd; for who lesle hates a Poisonous Weed  
Because 'tis bred from Necessary Seed?  
Or who loves Corn the lesle; who hates the Vine.  
Because by Nature raised, and not Design?  
Thus Virtuous Minds deserve the greater Love,  
Since Heaven consents, and all the Stars approve;  
And we should hate those more whom Fates have sent  
To commit Crimes and suffer Punishment;  
For how, or whence these noxious faults begin  
No matter, since each is certainly a Sin.  
Nay this Opinion settled by Debate,  
'Tis Fate that we should thus dispute of Fate.  
This settled, I must now attempt to climb  
Celestial steps, 
The Influence of the Signs.  and run the Round of Time,  
The Zodiac travel, go through every Sign,  
Their Powers rehearse, and sing how all incline.  
First Aries shines, and as he often doth loose  
His Fleece, 
Of Aries.  and than as frequently renews,  
'Twixt sudden Ruin, and a fair Estate  
He fixes the variety of Fate;  
He gets, than loseth, than returns to Gain,  
Than Loss steals in, and empties all his pain;  
He rears new Lambs, he doth increase the Fold,  
And makes the Rams to shine in native Gold;  
Betters the Wool, and whilst the Subject grows  
He forms men's Minds to use what he bestows;  
To Pick, to Card, to Spin, and Wove, to deal  
In Cloth with gain; to Buy, Exchange, and cell:  
All useful Arts, whose constant Works supply  
men's real Wants, not only Luxury:  
This 
17 Alluding to the Trial of skill between Pallas and Arachne, described by Ovid, in the Sixth Book of his Metamorphosis.  Pallas owns, nor doth disdain to claim  
Arachne's conquest as her greatest Fame.  
These are the manners, these the various Arts  
Which Aries Rays, and secret force imparts;  
To anxious fears he troubled Minds betrays  
And strong Desires to venture all for Praise.  
Dull Honest Plowmen to manure the Field  
Strong Taurus bears, 
Of Taurus.  by him the Grounds are tilled:  
Not gaudy things he breeds, no Prize for worth,  
But Blesseth Earth, and brings her Labour forth:  
He takes the Yoke, nor doth the Plough disdain,  
And teacheth Farmers to manure the Plain:  
He's their Example, when he bears the Sun  
In his bright Horns, the noble toil's begun:  
The useful Plowshare he retrieves from Rust,  
Nor lies at ease, and wants his strength in Dust.  
To him the 
18 M. Curius Dentatus and Serranus were both fetched from the Plough, to Command the Roman Armies, fought bravely, and Triumphed.  Curij, and to him we own  
The brave Serrani, he i'th' Fields did Rods bestow,  
And sent a great Dictator from his Blow.  
Reserved, aspiring Minds, Limbs slow to move  
But strong in Bulk his powerful Rays improve,  
And on his 
19 For this the Poets fancied to be the Bull that carried Europa into Crete.  Curled Front sits wanton Love.  
Soft Gemini to easier Arts incline  
For softer Studies fit an Infant Sign. 
Of Gemini.   
They tune rough Words, or they incline to Sing,  
To stop the Pipe, or strike the speaking String;  
Through Reeds they blow the Natural Sound in Measure,  
Gay their delight, and even their Pains are Pleasure;  
Wars they avoid, Old Age they chase with Song,  
And when late Death o'ertakes them they are Young.  
Sometimes to Heaven they mount, and trace the Stars,  
Than fix in Globes, or turn the Signs in Spheres:  
Their Wit reigns o'er their Nature, and refines  
It's Powers; This is the Influence of the Twins.  
But glowing Cancer (where the Summer Sun  
With fiery Chariots bounds the Torrid Zone, 
Of Cancer.   
Drives fiercely up, than with a bending Rein  
Sinks down, and runs in lower Rounds again.)  
As close in's Shell he lies, affords his Aid  
To greedy Merchants, and inclines to Trade:  
His Births shall sail, through Seas and Dangers tossed  
To reap the Richeses of a Foreign Coast.  
What thrifty Nature hath but thinly sown  
In Many Countries, they shall bring to One;  
Intent on gain ne'er heed the Poors complaint  
But thrive on Scarcity, and live on Want:  
For Wealth undaunted gather every Wind,  
Out-sail good Fame, and leave Repute behind,  
And when their greedy Hands have seized the Store  
Of this, search other Worlds, and seek for more.  
Or else at home prove griping Usurers,  
Complaining at the slowness of the Years,  
Wish swifter Suns, and set too vast a rate  
On Time itself, to raise a quick Estate:  
Their Bodies shall be Strong, inur'd to Pain,  
Their Wits Contriving, and intent on gain:  
What Inclinations Leo's Rays dispense  
Is quickly known, 
Of Leo.  'tis plain to Common Sense,  
He gives his Own; for he the Woods infests  
The mighty Terror of the meaner Beasts:  
He lives on Rapine, ranges all the Day,  
And sullenly at Night groans o'er his Prey.  
Hence he inclines men's Minds to Hunt, and fills  
Our Nobles spacious Halls with grinning spoils;  
There Skins and Horns do spread a dismal grace,  
And stand as certain Heralds of their Race;  
This Beast was mine, and that my Father's Game,  
They cry, these are the Annals of their Fame:  
That generous Youth which France and Spain did fear  
Now prove the Humble Terror of a Deer.  
Nay some in 
20 Scaliger thinks Manilius means such as keep Beasts for public Shows, and to fight in the theatres; and this Interpretation I rather follow than that of Huetius, who fancies the Poet means by this pompous Description not more than innocent, honest Butchers.  Towns pursue this wild delight,  
There barbarous grow, and breed up Beasts to fight;  
Than bring them out for sight in theatres,  
And feast their Luxury with Brutish Wars;  
Cruel in Sport: Their Posts are graced with Spoil,  
And they get shameful Honour without Toil:  
He makes Men warm, their Passions quickly raised,  
Like Boys soon angry, and as soon appeased:  
But Plain and Honest all their Thoughts sincere;  
Pure as the Sun, and like the Water clear.  
But modest Virgo's Rays give polished parts,  
And fill men's Breasts with Honesty and Arts; 
Of Virgo.   
No tricks for Gain, nor love of Wealth dispense,  
But piercing Thoughts, and winning Eloquence;  
With words persuasive, and with Rhetoric strong  
They rule, and are even Monarches by their Tongue.  
Through Nature's Secrets too, they boldly press,  
Thou deeply hid, and meet a just success;  
In Shorthand skilled, where little Marks comprise,  
Whole words, a Sentence in a Letter lies;  
And whilst Obedient hands their Aid afford,  
Prevent the Tongue, and Fix the falling Word.  
But bashful Modesty, casts down their Eyes,  
The best of Vices, yet 'tis still a Vice,  
Because it stifles, checks, or nips like Frost  
A blooming Virtue, and the Fruit is lost.  
Besides, though strange such Influence should come  
From Virgo's Rays, she gives a fruitful Womb.  
Libra, whose Scales, when Autumn turns the Signs,  
And ruddy Bacchus treads the juicy Vines; 
Of Libra.   
In equal Balance, poi●e the Night and Day,  
Teach how to measure, and instruct to weigh:  
And Rival 
21 Palamedes is said to be the first Man amongst the Greeks, who invented Ciphers, and taught Men to cast Account: I have enlarged his Character, and taken notice of his invention of Letters.  Palamed, (who Numbers sound,  
And into Letters framed unpolisht found;  
To Him the Art of Words, and Speech we own,  
Till than Men only Spoke, but knew not how.)  
Besides, He'll know the Niceties of Law;  
What guard the Good, and what the Guilty awe,  
What Vengeance wait on Crimes, with Skill declare,  
His private Chamber, still shall be the Bar.  
What He determines, that for Right shall stand,  
As justice weighed her Balance in his Hand.  
This Ruled at 
22 Servius Sulpitius, the Great Lawyer, and Acquaintance of Cicero.  Servius' Birth, who first did give  
Our Laws a Being, rather than Revive;  
The Tables seemed Old, Reverend Senseless Lines,  
Mere waxed Things, and fit to serve Designs,  
As Fools mistake, or Crafty Knaves would draw;  
Till He infused a Soul, and made them Law.  
Bright Scorpio Armed, with poisonous Tai● prepares,  
Mens Martial Minds, 
Of Scorpio.  for Violence and Wars;  
His Venom heats, and boils their Bloods to Rage,  
And Rapine spreads o'er the unlucky Age.  
Yet, when the Sun drives there, Men tear the Earth,  
And cast their Seed to an increasing Birth,  
As if he led mistaken Men to toil,  
And sweated for Matter for a future spoil.  
Yet 'tis not Prey they seek, as much as Blood,  
For even in Peace they fiercely trace the Wood,  
O'er Forests range, and every Plain infested,  
Now Fight with Man, and now Engage with Beast▪  
To please the Crowd, they unprovok'd engage,  
And cell their Lives, to the dishonest Stage;  
And when calm Peace doth Public Rest bestow,  
Yet still to Fight, each seeks himself a Foe.  
They spend their leisure Hours in fierce Alarms,  
And all their Recreation is in Arms.  
The double Centaur different Tempers breeds,  
They break the Horse, 
Of Sagittarius.  and tame the fiery Steeds;  
They love the sounding Whip, the Race, the Rein,  
And whirl the Chariot o'er the dusty Plain:  
〈◊〉 is their Humour to the Fields confined,  
They range the Woods, and tame the Savage Kind;  
Young Bears they break, and Tiger's heats assuage▪  
And hear Young Lions roaring without Rage.  
Discourse the 
23 Of the Docility of Elephants, we meet with numerous Examples: Seneca mentions one, that played at Ball: Another, that would Dance on a Rope, etc. The Travellers in the East are full of strange Stories concerning those Animals; and Lipsius in his Epistles, will furnish any Man with more Stories than he will readily believe.  Elephant, and Teach the Mass  
A mimic Action, and a decent Grace;  
To Act in Plays, or raise th' unweildly load,  
To Dance, and be the Darling of the Crowd.  
For in the Frame, in double forms expressed,  
The Man is uppermost, and rules the Beast;  
His Bow full drawn implies, his Rays impart,  
strength to the Limbs, and Vigour to the Heart.  
Quick active Motions, full of warmth and heat,  
Still pressing on, unknowing to retreat.  
But Sacred Vesta guards thy fatal Fire,  
And thence 'tis guessed, 
Of Capricorn.  what Minds thy Rays inspire,  
Contracted Goat; by thee that Art's infused,  
Which Fire assists, and where a Flame is used;  
By thee the Miners burn the Womb of Earth;  
And see the place of Metals fatal Birth:  
By thee they melt; by thee they work the Mould,  
Refine, and Stamp it into mighty Gold:  
By thee, the Silver, Iron, Gold, and Brass,  
The Forge dissolves, and forms the easy Mass:  
By thee, the Ovens heat, and Baths acquire,  
And Happy 
24 If Alchemy was more Ancient than Manilius, as Huetius himself grants, I see no Reason why the Poet might not speak of the Alchemists: The Interpretation I have given, I am sure, sounds better than that of Huetius.  Chemists blow enriching Fire:  
Thy Cold (for thou o'er Winter Signs dost reign,  
Pullest back the Sun, and send'st us Day again)  
Makes Brokers Rich, for whilst you spread your Ice,  
Their Wares go of, and they enhance the Price:  
From thee our Youth unconstant Tempers prove,  
And eagerly pursue unlawful Love,  
'Cause Goat above; but these the Fish behind  
Corrects in Age, and fixes the soft Mind.  
Aquarius pouring out his Urn, imparts  
An useful Knowledge in resembling Arts, 
Of Aquarius.   
To found out Springs, and with new Streams supply  
The Barren Countries, and refresh the dry;  
To raise in Pipes, or to extend in Beams,  
And in high Rooms imprison Foreign Streams;  
Affronted the Sea, for State, not use, restrain  
The Waves with Moles, and kerb the raging Main;  
Or Engines raise, whence Waters mount above,  
And mix the lower, with the higher jove.  
A thousand other Arts, which Waters sway,  
As Channels lead, or else as Pipes convey,  
Depend upon the influence of his Ray.  
And to his Births the World obliged shall own  
Spheres, Cycles, Orbs, and turn new Skies below.  
Soft, easy Tempers, loving Coin for use,  
Not fordid, but inclined to be profuse;  
Not pinched, nor yet too swelling in Estate;  
Thus flows the Urn, and fixes this for Fate.  
Last double Pisces, from their shining scale,  
Spread watery influence, 
Of Pisces.  and incline to Sail;  
To trast their Lives to 〈◊〉, to blow the Deep,  
To 〈…〉, or to build a Ship.  
In short▪ what 〈◊〉 can for a Fleet be framed,  
A thousand Arts, too numerous to be named.  
Be●●de to 〈◊〉 observe the Stars, and guide  
As 〈◊〉 direct, and ne●●r loose the Tide▪  
To know the Coasts, the Winds, the Ports, and Shores;  
To 〈…〉 Helm, or ply he bending Oars;  
To sweep smooth Seas with Nets, to drag the Sand,  
And draw the leaping 〈◊〉 to the Land,  
Lay 〈◊〉 Wires, or with unfaithful bait,  
The Hook conceal, and get by the deceit:  
To fight 〈◊〉 Sea, to 〈◊〉 the Waves with blood,  
Whilst War lies floating on th● unstable flood:  
Fruitful their Births, of Pleasure fond, engage  
In Lov● are quick, but changing with their Age.  
Thus rule the Twelve, these Powers they singly own, 
The Tenths and the Lords of the third part of each sign.   
And these would give if they could work alone.  
But none rules All its own degrees, they join  
Their friendly forces with some other Sign,  
As 'twere compound, and equal parts receive  
From Other Signs, as they to Others give:  
Thus each hath Thirty parts, and each resigns  
Two Thirds of those degrees to other Signs:  
We call these portions (Art new words will frame,)  
The Tenths, 
25 The Tenths: This is a new word, but answers to Decanioa in Manilius: Decanica signifies Ten Degrees, and the Decanus is Lord of Ten Degrees: The several Lords are these, 

In Aries  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Gemini  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Leo  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Libra  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Taurus  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Cancer  
Capricor.  
Aquarius  
Pisces   

In Virgo  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Scorpius  
Capricor.  
Aquarius  
Pisces   

In Sagittar.  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Aquarius  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Capricor.  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Pisces  
Aries  
Taurus  
Pisces    the Number doth impose the Name:  
So hid is Truth, so many Vails are spread  
Coy Nature's Face, and hid her Gloomy Head,  
So many are the little Niceties,  
So intricate, and puzzling are the Skies,  
Not easy to be read by common Eyes.  
For one appearance in another lies,  
Conceals its Powers, and Acts in disguise;  
And that which Lurks, and subtly interferes  
Hath different Powers from that which than appears.  
Not Day, but piercing Thought must clear this Sky,  
The Labour of thy Mind, not of thy Eye;  
Press bravely on, and pass the Gloomy Cloud,  
Enter, and view the inside of the God;  
The Path is dark, and jest thy Mind should stray  
I'll boldly lead, and show the nearest way;  
I'll Sing what League the different Parts combines,  
And show how others Rule in other Signs.  
For instance, 
Of Aries.  Aries shakes his shining Fleece,  
And governs the First Ten of his Degrees:  
But next the Bull, and next the Twins do claim  
The second, and third Portions of the Ram:  
Thus three times Ten Degrees the Ram divide,  
And He, as many others as preside  
In his Degrees, so many Fates affords  
His proper Powers being tempered by his Lords.  
Thus lies the Ram, 
Of Taurus.  next view the threatening Bull,  
His case is different, he hath none to Rule:  
For in his First Ten Parts the Crab's obeyed,  
I'th' Second Leo, and i'th' Third the Maid.  
Yet he seems stubborn, and maintains his Throne,  
And all Their Powers he mixeth with his Own.  
The feeble Twins just Libra's Scales possess, 
Of Gemini.   
Than Scorpio, and the rest of their Degrees  
Bold Sagittarius subjects to his flame,  
With Bow full drawn, as to defend his claim.  
An equal share in Empire all maintain,  
But keep not the same order in their Reign.  
For Cancer's Sign, 
Of Cancer.  as in the Goat he sways,  
Resigns his first third Portion to His Rays:  
For when he bears the Sun opposed in site,  
His Day is equal to the Others Night:  
This is the Reason why these Two combine,  
And each hath the same Portion in each Sign.  
His second part the V●n with watery Beams  
Overflows, and Pisces rule in the Extremes.  
The Lion minds his Partner in the Trine, 
Of Leo.   
And makes the 〈◊〉 first Ruler in his Sign;  
And than the Bull, with whom he makes a Square,  
I'th' Second Reigns; His Sextile Twins declare  
Their Third pretence, and Rule the other share.  
The Crab is chief Honoured by the Maid, 
In Cancer.   
The first place his, and there his Sway's obeyed;  
The next is Leo's, and the last her own,  
She Rules unenvied in her petty Throne.  
The Ram's Example Libra takes, 
In Libra.  and bears  
A likeness in this Rule, as in the Years;  
For as He in the Spring, Her Scales do weigh  
In Autumn equal Night with equal Day:  
The first She Rules herself, next Scorpio's placed,  
And Sagittarius Lords it o'er the last:  
In Scorpio's first Degrees the Goat presides, 
In Scorpio.   
Next Young Aquarius pours his flowing Tides;  
Next Pisces Rules, for they in Waves delight,  
The Flood pursue, and claim an easy Right.  
The grateful Goat doth Cancer's Gift repay, 
In Capricorn.   
His First Third part resigning to his Ray;  
I'th' next the Lion shakes his flaming Mane,  
The last feels modest Virgo's gentle Rein.  
The Young Aquarius Libra's Scales command, 
In Aquarius.   
Restrain his Youth, and check his turning Hand;  
The next Ten parts bright Scorpio's Rays enjoy,  
Than Sagittarius Rules the giddy Boy:  
Pistes comes last, 
In Pisces.  and sheds a watery flame,  
It's First Degrees resigning to the Ram:  
The Bull's the next, his own the last are found,  
Content with the last Portion of the Round.  
This thing considered well thy Mind prepares 
The usefulness of this Doctrine of the Lords.   
To know the secret guidance of the Stars;  
They interchange their Powers, they mix their Laws,  
And all agreed to make one Common Cause;  
For these Divisions do unite the Sky,  
The more they part the closer is the Tye.  
But now, jest Error should thy Mind surprise,  
Believe not the Appearance of the Skies;  
They make a show, they spread a Glaring Light  
To lead thee on, but never guide thee right;  
Let Active Thought assisting Sense pursue  
Goy Truth's retreat, and take an open view:  
What ever Things are born, their Minds receive  
The fatal Temper which that Sign can give  
That governs in the Tenths, the Foreign Ray,  
Tempers the Mass, and forms the easy Clay.  
A Thousand Reasons for this Truth appear  
From different Births belonging to One Star;  
Of all those Creatures, that at once do see  
The Light, scarce Two can perfectly agreed;  
But different Tempers all the shapes adorn,  
As various as the Bodies that are born:  
For though one Chief Rules, yet others join  
And change the proper influence of that Sign:  
These Interchanges all our Thoughts distracted,  
We think on other Signs, whilst others Act.  
Thus neither singly will the Ram bestow  
A Love to Clothing, nor the Bull to Plough;  
To Hunt the Lion, nor the Crab to Trade;  
Learning the Twins, nor Eloquence the Maid;  
The Scales to weigh, to measure, and to gauge,  
Nor Poisonous Scorpio arm unhappy Rage;  
The Fish to Sail, nor the Youth's Urn inspire  
To work in Water, nor the Goat in Fire.  
But many join, and these mixed Signs bestow  
Mixed Inclinations on the Births below:  
A subtle and surprising Task is shown,  
Much have I passed, 
Encouragenients to this Study.  yet still you lead me on;  
These things seem dark whilst I the rest explore,  
Enjoy my Precepts, and complain not more.  
'Tis God you search for, by my Aid you try  
To climb, and view the inside of the Sky;  
Confined by Fate, you search its boundless sway,  
And seek to know the Laws you must Obey:  
The narrow Bounds of your own Breast you pass,  
Enjoy the World, and rove in the vast space:  
Painful, but always noble things are hard,  
Great is the Task, but equal the Reward:  
Nor let the various Maze thy Thoughts repress,  
Enter, and you are certain to possess.  
Is Gold thy Aim? What mighty Pains attend?  
Mountains are levelled, and the Ours descend  
Through Earth's deep Centre; though she hides her Store  
We tear her up, and reach the hidden Oar:  
For shining Gems we cut the burning Zone,  
Such Dangers are the value of a Stone:  
The fearful Farmer makes his Yearly Vow,  
And Pain still presseth the deceiving Blow:  
In War no Danger's shunned, we fight for Spoil,  
Even lazy Luxury leads us on to Toil;  
For Food▪ and clothes from East to West we run,  
And Spendthrifts often sweated to be undone.  
Are perishing Goods worth so much Pains and Cost,  
Hard to be got, and in enjoyment lost?  
Than what must Heaven deserve? 
26 Quantum est quo veniat Omne, I have followed the Interpretation of Scaliger; but do not reject the Opinion of Huetius: Though of lesle force than Scaliger's.  That Gold, that buys  
The rest, how disproportionate a Price!  
It asks a higher value, and to gain  
The God, lay out thyself, The Price is Man:  
Thus Fate's disposed, but yet the Work's not done; 
The Good and Bad Degrees of each Sign.   
For though the Powers of all the Signs are known,  
And how they join, how each rules every part,  
The Skill is small, and incomplete the Art:  
Observe the numerous parts of the Degrees  
What Heat doth scorch or what the Cold doth frieze,  
(Unfruitful both) where too much Moisture flows,  
Or Drought doth drain, and various Fates dispose:  
For different Qualities in Signs control,  
There's naught all-over-equal in the whole.  
For view the Earth, the gliding Streams, or Flood,  
Faults are on all sides, Bad is mixed with Good.  
Thus Barren Seasons midst the Best appear,  
And a small Turn blasts all the Blooming Year.  
A Port turns Shelf, and the inglorious Sand  
Forfeits that Praise which once its Safety gained.  
Now Streams through Plains in smooth Meanders play,  
Than Roar o'er Rocks, and force a rugged way.  
Such Inequality above appears,  
And thus the Sky is varied in the Stars;  
As Sig● from Sign, so from itself the same  
Doth disagree, and spread unequal Flame;  
And Signs, whose Sovereign influence Births do found  
In One Degree, are in the next unkind:  
Those things these parts o'errule▪ no Joys shall know  
Or little Pleasure over-mixt with Woe▪  
These parts, 
The difficulty of putting this Doctrine into Verse.  if such can be to Verse confined,  
My Muse must Sing, and ease my troubled Mind;  
For though 'tis various, yet the Subject's bound  
To words but few, and all of equal sound;  
So that it must be mean, it must refuse  
The turn of Verse, though fashioned by a Muse.  
And that, though laboured, Line must bald appear  
That brings ungrateful Music to the Ear.  
But since I must the Laws of ●ate rehearse  
The settled Matter must direct my Verse;  
No Room for Fiction, I must things declare,  
Not as they may be feigned, but as they are.  
It is enough the God is barely shown,  
Rich in himself he shines, and great alone▪  
Nor should the World be so to Words betrayed  
As to be thought ennobled by their Aid:  
This spurs me on, and I forget my Ease,  
The World must be obliged, and I must please;  
I must, if plainly I these parts comprise;  
Than learn the noxious portions of the Skies.  
The Fourth, 
The hurtful Degrees in Aries.  and the Sixth Portions of the Ram  
Are hurtful parts, and spread unlucky flame; 
27 The Hurtful Degrees. 

In Aries  
4. 6. 12.  
14. 17. 18.  
21. 25. 27.   

In Gemini  
1. 3. 7.  
15. 19 21.  
25. 27. 29.   

In Leo  
1. 4. 10.  
15. 22. 25.  
28. 30.   

In Libra  
5. 7. 13.  
18. 24. 27.  
29. 30.   

In Sagittar.  
4. 8. 12.  
16. 20. 24.  
26. 28. 30.   

In Taurus  
9 13. 17.  
22. 24. 26.  
28. 30.   

In Cancer  
1. 3. 6.  
8. 11. 15.  
17. 20. 25.  
27. 29.   

In Virgo  
1. 6. 11.  
14. 18. 21.  
24. 30.   

In Scorpio  
1. 3. 6.  
10. 15. 22.  
25. 28. 29.   

In Capric.  
7. 9 13.  
17. 19 25.  
26.   

In Aquarius  
11. 13. 15.  
19 21. 25.  
29.   

In Pisces  
3. 5. 17.  
11. 17. 25.  
27.     
Nor doth the Seventeenth or the next display  
A kinder face, or shed a milder Ray:  
The Twenty First, Fifth, Seventh spread noxious Beams  
The Twelfth, and Fourteenth leaning to Extremes.  
The Bull's Ninth portion, 
In Taurus.  did the Sign depend  
On me, should never shine upon a Friend:  
Add Three to Ten, or double Ten and Three,  
Take Two from Thirty, all these parts agreed;  
Twice Twelve, and twice Eleven count, and join  
The Seventeenth part as noxious in this Sign,  
Nor is the Thirtieth better than the Rest.  
The Twins First part doth hurtful Rays dispense, 
In Gemini.   
Nor doth their Childhood prove their Innocence;  
They're froward, pettish, and unused to smile,  
Their Third, and Seventh Degrees agreed in Ill:  
The Fifteenth equals these, and Twenty sees  
Close on each side immoderate Degrees:  
To Twenty reckon Seven, or Five, or Nine,  
And all are hurtful portions of this Sign.  
Should Cancer boast a kind and gentle Reign, 
In Gancer.   
The First, and Third, and Sixth would pled in vain;  
The Eleventh, Fifteenth, and the Eighth Degrees,  
The Twentieth too could hope no more success:  
The Twenty Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, severely sway,  
The Seventeenth too with a malignant Ray  
Rules o'er the Birth, and stamps the easy Clay.  
The flaming Lion in the First we fear, 
In Leo.   
Nor doth the Fourth a milder Image bear;  
The Twenty Second, the Fifteenth, Tenth presage  
With th' Eight and Twentieth an unhappy Age.  
With hurtful Powers the Twenty Fifth is Cursed,  
The Thirtieth too as noxious as the First.  
The First, 
In Virgo.  and the Eleventh of the Maid,  
The Sixth, the Fourteenth, Eighteenth parts are bad:  
The Twenty First, and Fourth this Sign disgrace,  
Nor can the Thirtieth show a better Face.  
Next view the Scales, 
In Libra.  the Seventh, and Fifth degree  
Is bad, add Eight to Ten, or Ten to Three;  
To Ten twice told add Seven, or Four, or Nine,  
All like the Thirtieth hurtful in this Sign.  
〈…〉, 
In Scorpio  and Tenth black Scorpio ' ss 〈◊〉  
And in 〈…〉 make Malignant Laws;  
The Twenty 〈◊〉 Eighth, Fifth, and Ninth betray  
His 〈…〉 R●ge in an unhappy Ray:  
Would 
In Sagittarius.  〈…〉 thee choice, forbear to choose  
The 〈…〉 Degree, the Eighth refuse;  
The 〈…〉 parts portend  
A wretched 〈◊〉 and an untimely End:  
The Twenty Fourth, Sixth, Eighth Degrees molest,  
Nor is the Thirtieth better than the Rest.  
The 〈◊〉 of the Goats contracted Star,  
Nor Seventh, 
In Capricorn.  nor Ninth shall be my earnest Prayer;  
Nor that which Twenty doth of One deprive,  
Or Three, or adding gives it Six or Five.  
To Ten add One, 
In Aquarius.  or Five, or Nine, or Three  
And you are sure to found a bad Degree:  
Add One, Five, Nine to Twenty, hurtful Streams  
Flow from the Urn, and spread unlucky Beams.  
The Fishes close the Signs▪ 
In Pisces.  their parts confessed  
As noxious, and as guilty as the Rest;  
For Three, Five, Seven, or Ten when joined with Seven,  
Or One, mark hurtful Portions of the Heaven.  
Five multiplied by Five is hardly cleared,  
And Seven to Twenty addeds to be feared:  
All these are noxious Portions of the Sky,  
Too Hot, or Cold, or else too Moist, or Dry.  
This known, 
How the Signs Act when they rise.  the Work is not completely done,  
The Labours still increase as you go on;  
The Time makes difference, as they Rise, new force  
They gain, and after loose it in their Course.  
Thus when the Ram ascends, 
Aries.  and proudly turns  
His bending backward Neck before his Horns  
To Mortal Eyes, the wretched Births are Cursed  
With Ravenous Tempers, and inflamed with Lust:  
All Modesty shall be to Gold betrayed,  
Nor Parents Care secure the easy Maid:  
These Tempers are his own; as Fancy leads  
He roves, and wantoness o'er the flowery Meads:  
Forward to push, and as the Grass renews  
His wasted Strength, he Courts the willing Ewes.  
To Travel he inclines through Lands unknown,  
He Ploughs new Seas, and makes the World his own:  
This he prefigured when his Back conveyed  
Young Phryxus safe, and lost the falling Maid.  
The Bulls bright part that first appears, 
Taurus.  creates  
Vile Pathics scandals to the other Fates.  
The Cause, if it be fit to search for one  
When Nature works, may easily be shown;  
His Backpart first appears, in that he bears  
The narrow Cloudy Train of Female Stars:  
And thus the Posture, and the Sex combine  
To show the Influence of the rising Sign:  
He bends to Blow, and o'er the Fruitful Plains  
The Labouring Ox grows Fat upon his Pains.  
But when their Feet the rising Twins do show, 
Gemini.   
And half appear above, half lie below,  
The Births are happy, all their Parts refined,  
And Arts every the Treasures of their Mind▪  
Ready their Wit, persuasive is their Tongue,  
In Music skilled, and excellent in Song:  
These are the Powers their rising Rays dispense,  
They Wit bestow, and fix that Wit with Sense.  
When rolling Cancer riseth veiled in Clouds, 
Cancer.   
I'th' Skies as deeply hid as in the Floods,  
〈…〉 deprived of Light;  
The 〈…〉 vain for ●ight;  
By Fates a V●rse condemned to double Death,  
Dead whilst Alive, and Buried whilst they breathe:  
But when the Lion shows his ravenous Jaws  
Prepared for 〈◊〉, 
Leo.  and unsheaths his Paws,  
A 〈…〉 who minds himself alone,  
He wrongs his Father, and he cheats his Son;  
His Race in vain with expectation wait,  
For in himself he buries his Estate;  
So vast his Gluttony, his Lust so wild  
That he devours himself, yet is not ●ill'd:  
And whilst his Appetite proceeds to crave  
He eats his 〈◊〉 and he spends his Grave.  
When Virgo rises, 
Virgo.  (who whilst Right prevailed  
Ruled here below▪ retreating when it failed)  
To awful Honours all the Births must rise  
Profoundly skilled in Sacred Mysteries:  
Good, Pious, 〈◊〉, Devout, unused to Rage  
And great Examples to the loser Age:  
But when Autumnal Seals do first appear  
Happy the Birth, 
Libra.  he shall be known from far,  
The Glory of the Bench, and of the Bar;  
He justest Laws shall make, and Life and Death  
Depend upon the Issues of his Breath;  
Him Towns shall ●ear, the Earth observe his Nod,  
And after Earth the Heaven enjoy a God.  
Thus Act these Signs, 
Scorpio.  but Scorpio's Tail displays  
A double Influence from his Forked Rays;  
For when that first appears, the Peaceful Child  
Shall Cities Raise, and be inclined to build;  
The World shall see him with his 
28 Alluding to the Custom of the Romans, who, when they designed to build a City, took a Blow, and made Furrow a where the Walls were to stand.  Blow surround  
The place designed, and mark the fatal Bound;  
Or he shall waste what others Pains did raise,  
Where Populous Cities stood, there Beasts shall graze,  
Or Harvests grow; He leads to these Extremes,  
And Power agreeing wai●s upon his Beams.  
Bold Sagittarius, 
Sagittarius.  when he first appears,  
Heats the gay Birth, and makes him famed for Wars;  
In Triumphs great, the Wonder of the Crowd,  
By Captives carried, he almost a God  
Shall climb the Capitol, bright Fame pursue,  
Old Cities raze, or grace the Earth with New:  
But ill suc●●ess, (his Forehead's wreathed with Frowns)  
Shall waste his Fame, and blast his gathered Crowns.  
Thus Conquering Hannibal, by this Sign betrayed  
Before his flight perceived his Wreaths to 〈◊〉,  
He paid for Trelia's and for Cannae's fame,  
And recompensed our Losses by his shame.  
But when the narrow Goat erects his Tail  
He drives to Sea, 
Capricornus.  and much inclines to Sail,  
Ignoble Trade than Ploughs the dangerous Main,  
And precious Life is meanly staked for Gain▪  
The Good, the Pious, and the Just are born  
When first Aquarius 
Aquarius.  pours out his Vrn.  
But could I rule, could I the Fates design,  
The rising Fishes 
Pisces.  ne'er should govern mine;  
They give a Hateful, Prattling, Railing Tongue,  
Still full of Venom, always in the wrong;  
That blows up Jealousies▪ and heightens Fears,  
By mutterring Poisonous Whispers in men's Ears.  
Faithless the Births, and full of wild desire;  
Their Faith is Treachery, and their Love is Fire.  
For when the Skies grew weak, when Giants strove,  
And snaky Typhon shook the Throne of jove;  
Fair 〈…〉 and in a 〈◊〉 shape  
(This 〈◊〉 knows) 〈◊〉 her mean eseape;  
Than did she through the Scaly Kind inspire  
New 〈◊〉, and with the Ocean mixed her Fire.  
No sing●● Births, for when this Sign gins,  
Twins shall he Born, or those that shall have Twins.  
Now 〈◊〉 what Sign● o'er different Lands 〈◊〉  
But first take this short figure of the whole:  
〈…〉 
The winds called 〈◊〉  and 〈◊〉, and South, on either side,  
These Quarters lie opposed, the World divide:  
As many Winds from the●e four Quarters file,  
And fight and rattle, through the empty sky▪  
Rough 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 North, bears Frost and Snows,  
And from the East, the gentle Eurus blows.  
Wet Auster from the 〈◊〉 South is thrown,  
And pleasing 〈◊〉 cools the setting Sun.  
'Twixt these two other Winds their Seats do claim, 
The Collateral winds.   
Alike in Nature, different but in Name.  
Around the Earth the liquid Ocean plays,  
The Ball enclosing with a soft Embrace;  
But yet on many parts, Earth's bending sides,  
Or open ●ays receive the flowing Tides.  
The Sea admitted from the Western Shores, 
The Mediterranean Sea and and the several parts of it.   
Doth on the Right Hand wash the swarthy Moors;  
And Lybia's Sands, where once great Carthage stood,  
Than o'er the Syrteses whirls the rapid Flood;  
And thence to Egypt it directly flows,  
Where what dry Heaven denies, the Nile bestows.  
The Left Hand Sea by Spain and France extends,  
And follows Conquering Italy as it bends;  
Till into Streights the burking Sylla draws,  
And whirls it round Charybdis greedy Jaws;  
Loosed from these Streights, the Floods spread wide again,  
And freely flow in the Ionian Main:  
Than on the left they turn, and winding flow,  
Fair Italy surround, and drink the Po.  
Than make rough Adria's Gulf; the other side  
Illyrium washes with a gentle Tide,  
Sees Epire's Cliffs, and Corinth's lofty Towers,  
Than winds round plain Morea's open Shores.  
Thence Northward into vast recesses tossed  
The Sea confines the Learned Achaia's Coast:  
Thence North and Eastward the unwilling Flood  
Confined by Streights, and stained with Helle's Blood  
To famed Byzantium cuts its winding way,  
And joins Propontis to the Euxine Sea;  
Behind whose back the Lake Meotis lies  
Receives full Tanais, and the Sea supplies.  
Hence when the Circling Waves return again  
The weary Sailer to the Open Main,  
He cuts th' Icarian, and th' Aegaean Tide  
By Asia's Coasts, and wonders at their Pride:  
And whilst the left hand Course he still pursues  
As many Trophies, as he places views;  
A thousand Nations, 
29 Vossius, In his Observations on Catullus, P. 204. Reads, 
— Taurumque minantem  
Fluctibus.—   Taurus mount, that threats  
The Floods, the Bay that from the Sea retreats  
Parched Syria's Plains, and the Cilician Seats,  
Till he at last to Egypt turns his Oars  
And sees the Waves die on the swarthy Shores.  
Thus ruling Nature draws her bounding Lines,  
Checks midland Seas, and all their Rage confines.  
Yet midst this Sea a thousand Islands rise; 
The Islands of the Mediterranean.   
●hap'd like a Foot the low Sardinia lies  
Near 〈…〉 with Fires,  
But just 〈…〉,  
And 〈…〉.  
Jove's 〈◊〉- place Crete appears, a goodly Isle,  
And Cyprus 〈◊〉 by the adverse 〈◊〉  
A 〈…〉 these Seas,  
Rhodes, Delos, 〈…〉  
〈…〉, and by Sardinia's side  
Lies Corsica, and 〈◊〉 the coming Tide;  
Near the 〈…〉 the Baleares Reign,  
And 〈…〉 Main.  
Ten 〈…〉 disperse,  
Too little to be 〈◊〉 too mean for Verse.  
No● 〈…〉 but one single way  
Attempt the Earth, 
The Caspian Sea.  and force an open Bay,  
It tries on every side, But Mountains bond  
Insulting Billows, and preserve the Ground;  
For 'twixt the Summer 〈◊〉 and Northern Pole  
Through 〈◊〉 Channels secret Water's roll,  
Till spread at last upon the open Plain  
They make the Caspian like the Euxine Main.  
Southward encroaching Waters doubly press, 
The Persian Gulf.   
O'erflow the Earth, and in a vast recess  
One part more East runs on, and breaks a way  
Through Persi●'s Banks, and makes the Persian Bay:  
Moore West the other soft Arabia beats  
Where Incense grows, 
The Arabian Gulf.  and pleasing Odour sweats,  
Which sends up Gums soft Luxury to please,  
And reconcile the angry Deities:  
Strange that the same, when differently applied,  
Should calm the Rage of Heaven, and serve our Pride.  
This Bay is called th' Arabian Gulf, the Name  
The Country gives it, and 'tis great in Fame.  
Thus lie the Seas; 
Africa.  Earth midst this mighty Flood  
Contains, first afric, where proud Carthage good;  
Once great in Arms, and whose extended sway  
O'er Libya stretched, and made the Spain's obey:  
When Hannibal wrapped Alban Towns in flame,  
And eternised the bloody Trebia's Name;  
When led by ●ate he Marched to overcome,  
And poured his swarthy Libya upon Rome:  
When gasping Consuls groaned on every Plain,  
And Canna's Fields were burdened with the slain.  
Here Nature angry with Mankind prepares  
Strange Monsters, Instruments 
30 Pyrrhus' made use both of Elephants and Snakes, in his Wars against the Romans.  of future Wars;  
Here Snakes, those Cells of Poison, take their Birth,  
Those living Crimes and grievance of the Earth;  
Fruitful in its own Plague's, the Desert shore  
Hears Elephants, and frightful Lions roar;  
Serious it seems in all thess Monstrous shapes,  
But sports in the lewd Limbs of Mimic Apes.  
The Country's large, the Barren Plains extend  
A mighty space, and than in Egypt end.  
Thence Asia spreads, 
Asia.  a fruitful Soil, the Streams  
Roul Golden Sand, the Ocean shines with Gems;  
The Trees drop Balsom, and on all the Boughs  
Health sits, and makes it Sovereign as it flows.  
Thence India lies, a Land more large than thought,  
The Parthians often, though not securely fought;  
They flying still delude Rome's firmer Powers,  
And yet Command a different World from Ours.  
These Taurus bounds, whose threatening Mountains rise  
To awful Heights, and wound the lower Skies;  
A thousand Nations lie by Tanais flood  
Which cuts the Scythia's stained with human blood;  
By Lake Meotis, and the Euxine Tide  
Which Nature sets as bounds to Asia's Pride.  
Europe 
Europe.  remains, which first the Beauteous load  
Received, and where the Bull confessed the God;  
Hence came its Name, in that the grateful jove  
Hath Eternised the Glory of his Love:  
Here Greece is seen, with Ruined Ancient Troy,  
And showed what Fates attend unlawful joy:  
A Country Rich in Men of wondrous parts,  
The place of Learning, and the Seat of Arts:  
Here Ath●ns stands, which makes the best pretence  
To Sovereignty in Wit and Eloquence:  
For Courage Sparta, and for Deities  
Famed Thebes, whose Heroes People half the Skies:  
Epirus, Thessaly, whose lasting Praise  
One single Pyrrhus, and Achilles raise.  
To these Illyrium joins, and Warlike Thrace,  
The Seat of Mars, and breeds a stubborn Race.  
Thence 
31 Germany, which comprehends all the Northern tract of Land beyond Thrace.  Germany, a mighty Country runs,  
And wonders at the vastness of her Yellow Sons.  
Thence South and Westward in a fertile Plain  
Lies France, for Tribute famed, for Battels Spain:  
But Italy Crowns all, whom Rome hath given  
Command of Earth, and joins 
32 Rome had Temples Dedicated to her, and was looked upon to be a Goddess.  herself to Heaven:  
These Bounds the Earth, 
What Signs govern each Country.  and these the Seas confine,  
And God allots to every part a Sign;  
No Land is free, no stately Town denied  
The kind Protection of a Starry Guide:  
For as in Man, the work of Hands Divine,  
Each Member lies allotted to a Sign;  
And as the Body is the common care  
Of all the Sings, each Limb enjoys a share:  
(The Ram defends the Head, the Neck the Bull,  
The Arms bright Twins are subject to your Rule;  
I'th' Shoulders Leo, and the Crab's obeyed  
I'th' Breast, and in the Guts the modest Maid,  
I'th' Buttocks, Libra, Scorpio warms desires  
I'th' secret parts, and spreads unruly fires:  
The Thighs, the Centaur, and the Goat Commands  
The Knees, and binds them up with double bands.  
The parted Legs, in cold Aquarius meet,  
And Pisces gives protection to the Feet.)  
So in the greater World, the Members share  
Celestial Rulers, and enjoy their Care:  
Hence different Men, 
Why different countries' bear Men of different Shapes and Colours.  in different Climes we view,  
They vary in their shape, or in their Hue;  
The Matter's common, and in all the same,  
But private Stamps, distinctly mark the Frame.  
Vast Yellow Offsprings are the German's Pride,  
Whilst Neighbouring France is not so deeply died:  
But hotter Climates narrower Frames obtain,  
And low-built Bodies are the growth of Spain:  
Hesperia mixeth sweet with many Grace,  
And tempered Mars appears in every Face:  
Whilst active Greece produceth finer parts,  
Their looks betray their Exercise and Arts:  
Short Curled up Hair the Sons of Syria grace,  
Whilst Ethiopia's Blackness stains the Face,  
With Horrid Shapes she does her Sons expose,  
Distends their swelling Lips, and f●ats their Nose:  
Lesle India blackens, lesle it Crusts the Mass,  
And mixeth Colours in the Tawny Face:  
But Egypt's slimy Plains affect the sight  
With brighter Colours, and approach to White.  
Parched Lybia burns her Sons, the vilest Shapes  
She shows, and scarce divides her Men from Apes:  
Whilst Mauritania doth disgust the Eye,  
(Her Name betrays it) with the blackest Dye.  
Thou each Speech Organs framed alike employs,  
How many Languages confounded the Voice?  
How different Virtue's Reign, how different Crimes?  
men's Manners are as various as the Climes.  
Like Trees transplanted by the Farmer's Toil;  
Vice turns to Virtue, in another Soyl.  
Thou Seed the same, yet different Fruits are born,  
Thus Yellow Ceres varies in her Corn.  
Nor doth the Vine on every Hill produce  
Like Grapes, nor Bacchus press an equal Juice.  
Rich Cinnamon, not every Country bears,  
Nor are all Fields bedewed with Myrrha's Tears.  
Nor is this great variety expressed  
In Man, and Fruits alone, but it divides the Beast:  
Here Lions roar, and there in dreadful Wars  
The high-built Elephant his Castle rears;  
Looks down on Man below, and strikes the Stars.  
As many parts, so many Worlds appear,  
For every part is subject to a Star;  
They spread their Influence, and the countries' play  
A due compliance to the Fatal Ray.  
Placed midst the pleasing Vernal Signs, 
What Countries are governed by Aries.  the Ram  
Commands the narrow Straight o'er which he swum;  
When from the Mother's Rage, his Fleece conveyed  
The Brother's safe, and dropped the falling Maid;  
Content he swum, and with his Burden pleased,  
He mourned his Loss, and grieved to be so eased:  
The near Propontis too his Beams obeys,  
And Syria feels the Influence of his Rays:  
The lose Garbed Persians', know his gentle Rule,  
Their Garments bear Relation to his Wool:  
With Nile that swells at Fiery Cancers Beams,  
And Egypt drowned by its o'erflowing Streams,  
Cold Scythia's Rocks, Arabia's wealth Groves, 
By Taurus.   
And powerful Asia, Taurus' Empire proves,  
Rich in their Corn, and wanton in their Loves.  
The boisterous Euxine, 
By Gemini.  bend like Scythian bows,  
Beneath the Twins subjection gladly s●ows,  
And they of Ganges infant Streams dispose.  
The swarthy Indians Fiery Cancer sways, 
By Cancer.   
His Rule the Blackness of their Hue betrays,  
And Ethiopia's heated with his Ray.  
The Phrygian Plains the large Bithynian Woods  
The 
33 The Poets feigned that Cybele, the Mother of the Gods, road in a Chariot drawn by two Lions.  Servant of the Mother of the Gods,  
The Lion own, 
By Leo.  the Cappadocian Shoar  
With fierce Armenia, hear the Lion Roar.  
And Macedon, that all the World subdued,  
Submits to the Great Monarch of the Wood  
In happy Rhodes the gentle Maids adored, 
By Virgo.   
Rhodes, the retirement of our future 
34 Tiberius' being under the displeasure of Augustus, was sent to the Island Rhodes, and lived there some time.  Lord:  
Blessed Island truly Sacred to the Sun,  
ere since in thee the Glorious Caesar Shone,  
The World's great Light, whom with expecting Eyes;  
Mankind desires, and longs to see him rise.  
The Doric Plains, the rich Ionian Towns,  
Arcadia Rival to the waning Moons:  
With Warlike Caria high in Ancient Fame  
Own all Subjection to her modest Flame.  
What Sign, 
By Libra.  could you dispose the Signs, should fall  
To Latium's share, but that which poizeth all;  
To which by Nature, it must needs belong  
To value things, and separate Right from Wrong.  
In which the Times are weighed, and Day with Night  
Are met, the Darkness equal to the Light:  
The Scales rule Italy, where Rome Commands,  
And spreads it Empire wide to Foreign Lands:  
They hung upon her Nod, their Fates are weighed  
By her, and Laws are sent to be obeyed:  
And as her powerful Favour turns the Poise,  
How low some Nation's sink and others rise:  
Thus guide the Scales, and than to fix the Doom,  
They gave us 
35 Vossius out of his Ancient Manuscript Reads, Qua genitus Caesarque meus qui hanc condidit urbem.  Caesar, Founder of our Rome.  
The following Sign rules Carthage Conquered Towers, 
By Scorpio.   
Subject they lie, to Scorpio's Scaly Powers;  
With Lybia's Sand, and Egypt's fruitful Soil,  
The slimy 
36 I know Donata Regna may bear another Sense, but this will do as well.  Gift of the o'erflowing Nile.  
Large Bounds, but yet too narrow to confine  
The vast Ambition of this craving Sign;  
He claims the Isles of the Italian Main,  
And low Sardinia's subject to his Reign.  
To Crete the Centaur makes an hateful claim, 
By Sagittarius.   
And still keeps up the Memory of its shame:  
It bore a Centaur once, and that confines  
The Isle to the same Figure in the Signs:  
To him their Skill and Darts, the Cretans own,  
And imitate the sureness of his Bow.  
Trina●ria follows, Crete's Example draws  
Her Sister Isle, and yields it to his Laws;  
And Latium's Shores, which narrow Friths disjoin,  
Here baffle Nature, and in him combine,  
Nor would be differenced by another Sign.  
The West, 
By Capri●o●nus.  and Northern Parts, rich France and Spain,  
Contracted Goat, are subject to thy Reign,  
And Germany, since 
37 Whom, in the time of Agustus, the Germane destroyed, and cut of all the Legions he Commanded.  Varus stained thy Shore,  
A Seat for Beasts, and fit for Man not more:  
This monstrous Sign hath variously engrossed,  
(He Rules at Sea and Land) thy doubtful Coast,  
Now Earth appearing, now in Water lost.  
But Young Aquarius with his watery Fires, 
By Aquarius.   
From Egypt to the Clydae Isles retires;  
The stout Cilicians, and the Neighbouring Plain  
With Sailing Tyre are subject to his Reign.  
When Heaven grew weak, 
By Pisces.  and a successful fight  
The Giants raised, and Gods were saved by flight;  
From Snaky Typhon's Arms, a Fishe's shape  
Saved Venus, and secured her from a Rape:  
Euphrates hide her, and from thence his Streams  
Own all Obedience to the Fish's Beams.  
Wide Parthia's Plains confined by mighty Rocks,  
The Nations round, long bend unto its Yokes  
With Tigris Streams, the Red-Sea's shining Shores  
Are Subject to the Heavenly Fish's Powers.  
Thus Earth's divided, 
What Influence these Signs have in the seveveral Country's subject to their Rule.  these the Signs that sway  
It's Portions, and the Parts their Beams obey;  
These Signs the Tempers of their Empire's show,  
The Parts above, directing those below,  
Their Powers infuse: And thus as Ruling Signs  
Are now Opposed, and now agreed in Trines,  
Or other Site maintain, which Site directs  
Their Fatal Influence, various in Effects;  
So Towns with Towns, and roaring Seas with Seas,  
And Land with Land, or differs or agreees.  
And as these Signs direct, so Men should choose  
This Town, this Country, or that Seat refuse;  
Here Hate expect, there surest Friendship prove,  
As Heaven directs, and Stars decree above.  
But now attend, 
What Signs are Eccliptick.  for Signs Eccliptick claim  
Thy Care, and learn the Reason of the Name:  
For some, as wearied in their tedious Race,  
Grow restiff, dull, nor keep their usual pace.  
Nor is this strange, for through the mighty Frame  
There's nothing that continues still the same:  
As Years wheel round, a change must needs ensue,  
Things loose their former State, and take a new.  
Now tired with Births, the Fields refuse to bear,  
Now unmanured, prevent the Till●r's care.  
Dilated Vapours ●ear the solid Earth,  
Strong the Convulsions at the Fatal Birth;  
Vast Mountains sink: And now his large Command  
Neptune extends, and Seas o'erspread the Land,  
Contemning Shores: Thus were the Towns o'erflowed  
When Mankind's single Heir Deu●alion stood  
On steep Parnassus, to repair the Stock,  
The spacious World possessing in one Rock.  
And when bold Phaeton, with unequal force  
The Chariot filled, and drove the Flaming Horse;  
The Earth took Fire, Heaven saw the Stars recoil,  
And frighted Nature feared one common Pile.  
So much as Years roll round, the mighty Frame  
Is changed, yet still returns to be the same:  
And so the Stars, whilst they revolve their Course,  
Now loose their Power, and now regain their force.  
The Reason's plain, 
Why called Eccliptick.  for when deprived of Light,  
The Moon Eclipsed, lies veiled in sudden Night;  
Whilst hindering Earth diverts her Brother's Ray,  
These Signs Eccliptick feel the same decay;  
They feeble grow, they hung their bending Head,  
And mourn, and pine, as if the Moon were dead.  
Now Signs Eccliptick (see the Name betray  
Unusual Languor, and a weak decay,)  
Grow weak by Pavis, and those not Neighbouring Signs,  
But Opposite; for thus our Art defines,  
Because the Moon than only feels decay,  
When Opposite unto her Brother's Ray.  
Nor is this Languor, nor these Times of Grief  
Alike to All, some quickly found relief;  
Some Languish long, and e'er their Mourning's done,  
The Sun goes round, and all the Year is run.  
But when their Grief is o'er, 
In what Order the Eccliptick succeed one another.  the next in turn  
Begin to Languish, and prepare to Mourn;  
The next in turn, that are in Order placed  
On either side, the Two that Languished last:  
To speak distinctly, 
38 Thus when Aries and Libra are Eccliptick, the two next Eccliptick are Pisces and Virgo.  those two Signs that view  
And leave the Earth before the former two.  
Not that the Earth doth noxious Powers dispense,  
Or Subject Heaven to its dull Influence;  
But since the World turns round, the Orb obeys,  
And Signs abate the vigour of their Rays,  
Not by Earth's Influence, but by their place.  
But what avail my Songs, if all refuse  
The proffered Aid of my obliging Muse? 
This Art tho' difficult, yet may be obtained.   
If puny fear forbids our Hopes to rise,  
To enter boldly, and enjoy the Skies?  
What Nature hides, (for thus Objections teach)  
Is deeply hid, too deep for Man to reach.  
Vast the Recess! Though stubborn Fate should Reign,  
And we know this, yet all the search were vain,  
Since none can found the Links that make the Chain.  
Fond Mortals! why should we ourselves abuse?  
Nor use those Powers which God permits to use?  
Basely detract from the Celestial mind,  
And close our Eyes, endeavouring to be blind?  
We see the Skies, than why should we despair  
To know the Fatal Office of each Star?  
To open Nature, to unveil her Face,  
Go in, and tread the Order of the Maze?  
Why should we not employ the Gifts bestowed  
By Heaven, in knowing the kind Author of the Good?  
Our Work grows short, we may surround the Ball,  
Make the whole World our own, and live in all:  
Through what remains, we now with Ease may pierce,  
Take, and enjoy the Captive Universe:  
Our Parent Nature we, her parts, descry,  
And Heavenborn Souls affect their Father Sky:  
For who can doubt that God resides in Man,  
That Souls from Heaven descend, and when the Chain  
Of Life is broke, return to Heaven again?  
As in the Greater World aspiring Flame,  
Earth, Water, Air, make the Material Frame;  
But through these Members a Commanding Soul  
Infused, directs the Motions of the whole;  
So 'tis in Man, the lesser World, the Case  
Is Clay, unactive, and an Earthly Mass;  
Bloods Circling Streams the Purple Soul convey,  
The Ruling Mind uniting to the Clay:  
Than who can wonder that the World is known  
So well by Man, since he himself is One?  
The same Composure in his Form is showed,  
And Man's the little Image of the God.  
Now other Creatures view, how mean their Birth,  
The Rubbish, and the Burdens of the Earth:  
Some hung in Air, some float upon the Waves,  
Born for our use, and bred to be our Slaves.  
All their Enjoyments are consigned to Sense,  
The easy Works of wary Providence.  
But since they Reason want, their Tongues are mute,  
How mean, how low a Creature is a Brute?  
Not Mysteries disclosed, commend their Parts,  
Nor are they Subjects capable of Arts;  
How hard the Labour, yet how often vain  
To bring them foolishly to Ape a Man?  
But ruling Man extends his larger sway  
Beyond himself, and makes the World obey;  
Wild Beasts are tamed, The Fields are forced to bear,  
And Recompense the Labours of the Share.  
In vain the Sea disjoins the distant Shores,  
His Sails the Winds command, the Floods his Oars.  
Alone erect his Form doth nobly rise,  
Up to the Stars he lifts his Starry Eyes,  
And takes a nearer Prospect of the Skies:  
He searches jove, and whilst his Thoughts do trace  
His kindred Stars, in them he finds his Race.  
No outside Knowledge fills his vast Desires,  
The more he riseth, he the more aspires.  
We think it Reason that in Augury  
We should on Birds, and slaughtered Beasts rely▪  
And can the Fates be lesle in Stars expressed,  
Than in a Bird, or Entrails of a Beast?  
When God his Mind in meaner things declares,  
Should he neglect the Glory of the Stars?  
Besides, the World is eager to be known,  
Our search provoking still; for rolling on  
It shows us all its parts, displays its Light,  
And constantly intrudes upon our Sight:  
His Face unveiled, God doth so plainly show,  
That if we will but look, we needs must know:  
He draws our Eyes, nor doth our search forbidden;  
What Powers he hides not, he would not have hid:  
Than who can think it impiously bold  
To search what we're encouraged to behold?  
Nor think thy force too small, too weak thy Mind  
Because to Clay unequally confined;  
It's Power is wondrous Great; how small a Mass  
Of Gold or Gems, exceeds vast Heaps of Brass?  
How little is the Apple of the Eye?  
And yet at once, he takes in half the Sky:  
Nor dreads the disproportion to the Sense,  
The Organ small, the Object is immense:  
And from the narrow limits of the Heart,  
The Active Soul doth vigorous Life impart  
To all the Limbs, its Sway the Members own,  
Wide is its Empire from its petty Throne.  
Man know thy Powers, and not observe thy Size,  
Thy noble Power in piercing Reason lies,  
And Reason conquers all, and rules the Skies.  
Nor must you vainly doubt that Man's allowed  
To know Heaven's mind, since Man can make a God:  
A Star 
39 Alluding to julius Caesar, Deified by Augustus.  new raised, the Sky enlarged contains,  
And Heaven must still increase whilst Caesar Reigns.  
The End of the Fourth Book.  

NOTES.  
1 The Poet did not think of the Palladium as Scaliger imagines, but only of the Fire at Troy, which parted to let Aeneas go through with his Father, and his Household Gods.  
2 Manilius makes only short Reflections on History, and therefore is frequently obscure: He says here, that it was impossible one single Aeneas should have raised the Glory and Reputation of ruin'd Troy, and made it than conquer, when it was overthrown, by building Rome which subdued the whole World; for Rome risen out of the Ruins of Troy; unless some overruling Power and Fate had ordained it should be so.  
3 Romulus; and Remus, the Founders of Rome, were but Shepherds.  
4 I choose to read Auxissent Culmina rather than vexissent, or duxissent Fulmina, and tender Culmina a Cottage.  
5 If Manilius be supposed to keep the Order of Time in his Historical Reflections, I must own I have not hit his meaning in this place; for no doubt he had an Eye upon the Wars between the Sabines and Romulus: but than I cannot imagine what those Words Captus & à Captis Orbis foret mean: I cannot think with Soaliger and Huetius that he runs back to Troy, which he had left several Verses before, and therefore apply this passage to the taking and burning of Rome, and the besieging the Capitol by the Gauls: And 'tis certain the Poet in his following Reflections neglects the Order of Time very much.  
6 The Stories of Mutius Scaevola, Horatius Cocles, the Virgin Claelia, and the Combat between the three Horatij on the Roman, and the three Curiatij on the Alban side, are well known.  
8 Short Reflections on the great Accidents in the Second and Third Carthaginian Wars, together with the Death of Hannibal.  
9 He goes on with the Roman History, the unaccountable Fortunes of the Great Marius.  
10 Pompey the Great, was a very notable Example of the variety of Fortune, being on a sudden raised to the highest, and as soon thrown down to the lowest Condition in the World.  
11 Cumjam etiam posses alium cognoscere Magnum: I hope I have given this Verse a better Sense, than the other Interpreters have done.  
12 Caesar is said to be sprung from Heaven, because he was descended from Aeneas the Son of Venus: After his Murder an unusual Star appeared, which the Flatterers of Augustus said was the Soul of his Father Caesar.  
13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus, the Famous wealth King of Lydia, who was taken by Cyrus; on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduced; on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes; on the Advancement of Servius Tullus, who was the Son of a Bondwoman, and yet came to be King of Rome, and on the Conduct of Metellus, who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire, and brought out the Image of the Goddess.  
14— Mortes seque ipsae rursus fugiunt, errantque per Ignes.  
15 To reconcile the different Interpreters, I have hinted at both Paris, (or rather Hercules) and Leander.  
16 Furius Camillus was the restorer of Rome, after it had been taken and burnt by the Gauls: Of the Family of the Deccis there were Three, who voluntarily devoted themselves to Death, for the Good and Prosperity of their Country: Cato Vticensis, who killed himself that he might not survive the Liberty of Rome.  
17 Alluding to the Trial of skill between Pallas and Arachne, described by Ovid, in the Sixth Book of his Metamorphosis.  
18 M. Curius Dentatus and Serranus were both fetched from the Plough, to Command the Roman Armies, fought bravely, and Triumphed.  
19 For this the Poets fancied to be the Bull that carried Europa into Crete.  
20 Scaliger thinks Manilius means such as keep Beasts for public Shows, and to fight in the theatres; and this Interpretation I rather follow than that of Huetius, who fancies the Poet means by this pompous Description not more than innocent, honest Butchers.  
21 Palamedes is said to be the first Man amongst the Greeks, who invented Ciphers, and taught Men to cast Account: I have enlarged his Character, and taken notice of his invention of Letters.  
22 Servius Sulpitius, the Great Lawyer, and Acquaintance of Cicero.  
23 Of the Docility of Elephants, we meet with numerous Examples: Seneca mentions one, that played at Ball: Another, that would Dance on a Rope, etc. The Travellers in the East are full of strange Stories concerning those Animals; and Lipsius in his Epistles, will furnish any Man with more Stories than he will readily believe.  
24 If Alchemy was more Ancient than Manilius, as Huetius himself grants, I see no Reason why the Poet might not speak of the Alchemists: The Interpretation I have given, I am sure, sounds better than that of Huetius.  
25 The Tenths: This is a new word, but answers to Decanioa in Manilius: Decanica signifies Ten Degrees, and the Decanus is Lord of Ten Degrees: The several Lords are these, 

In Aries  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Gemini  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Leo  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Libra  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Taurus  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Cancer  
Capricor.  
Aquarius  
Pisces   

In Virgo  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Scorpius  
Capricor.  
Aquarius  
Pisces   

In Sagittar.  
Aries  
Taurus  
Gemini   

In Aquarius  
Libra  
Scorpius  
Sagittar.   

In Capricor.  
Cancer  
Leo  
Virgo   

In Pisces  
Aries  
Taurus  
Pisces    
26 Quantum est quo veniat Omne, I have followed the Interpretation of Scaliger; but do not reject the Opinion of Huetius: Though of lesle force than Scaliger's.  
27 The Hurtful Degrees. 

In Aries  
4. 6. 12.  
14. 17. 18.  
21. 25. 27.   

In Gemini  
1. 3. 7.  
15. 19 21.  
25. 27. 29.   

In Leo  
1. 4. 10.  
15. 22. 25.  
28. 30.   

In Libra  
5. 7. 13.  
18. 24. 27.  
29. 30.   

In Sagittar.  
4. 8. 12.  
16. 20. 24.  
26. 28. 30.   

In Taurus  
9 13. 17.  
22. 24. 26.  
28. 30.   

In Cancer  
1. 3. 6.  
8. 11. 15.  
17. 20. 25.  
27. 29.   

In Virgo  
1. 6. 11.  
14. 18. 21.  
24. 30.   

In Scorpio  
1. 3. 6.  
10. 15. 22.  
25. 28. 29.   

In Capric.  
7. 9 13.  
17. 19 25.  
26.   

In Aquarius  
11. 13. 15.  
19 21. 25.  
29.   

In Pisces  
3. 5. 17.  
11. 17. 25.  
27.    
28 Alluding to the Custom of the Romans, who, when they designed to build a City, took a Blow, and made Furrow a where the Walls were to stand.  
29 Vossius, In his Observations on Catullus, P. 204. Reads, 
— Taurumque minantem  
Fluctibus.—   
30 Pyrrhus made use both of Elephants and Snakes, in his Wars against the Romans.  
31 Germany, which comprehends all the Northern tract of Land beyond Thrace.  
32 Rome had Temples Dedicated to her, and was looked upon to be a Goddess.  
33 The Poets feigned that Cybele, the Mother of the Gods, road in a Chariot drawn by two Lions.  
34 Tiberius being under the displeasure of Augustus, was sent to the Island Rhodes, and lived there some time.  
35 Vossius out of his Ancient Manuscript Reads, Qua genitus Caesarque meus qui hanc condidit urbem.  
36 I know Donata Regna may bear another Sense, but this will do as well.  
37 Whom, in the time of Agustus, the Germane destroyed, and cut of all the Legions he Commanded.  
38 Thus when Aries and Libra are Eccliptick, the two next Eccliptick are Pisces and Virgo.  
39 Alluding to julius Caesar, Deified by Augustus.    

MANILIUS.  
The Fifth Book.  
Having explained the general influence of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, and given a particular account of their interchanges with one another, and how they incline when they rise; after a short Preface, in which he magnifies his own Industry, and unwearyed diligence in this Subject: He goes on, 1. To show what Constellations rise with the several Degrees of the Twelve Signs, and than what Tempers they bestow, and to what Studies they incline: For instance, 2. The Northern Rudder of the Ship, riseth with the fourth Degree of Aries, and those that are than Born, shall be inclined to Sail, and prove good Pilots: 3. Orion riseth with the same Degree of Aries, and those that are Born under his Influence, shall be Men of busy, active Tempers, Solicitors, cringing Parasites and Flatterers: 4. Heniochus or the Driver, riseth with the fifteenth Degree of Aries, and makes Charioteers, Horse-Racers, and Men skilled in all sorts of Horsemanship: 5. With the Twentieth Degree of Aries, the Hoedi or the Kids rise, and those, being wanton Stars, produce nothing that is Virtuous or Noble: Their Births are wanton, light, and lustful, and never Courageous, but in pursuit of some shameful lewd Pleasure; some of their Births, are peculiarly delighted in feeding and keeping Goats: 7. With the Twentyseventh Degree of Aries, rise the Hyadeses: And their Births are always turbulent and Seditious, prove to Factions, restless fanatics, or else, they give their Minds to Country Affairs, feed Cattles, or turn Waggoners: 7. With the Thirtieth Degree of Aries, the Goat riseth; and those that are Born under that influence, shall be fearful, jealous, suspicious, and inconstant, or else inclined to Travel: 8. He says the Pleyades rise with the sixth Degree of Taurus; and the Men that are than Born, shall be gay, and humorous, witty, but too effeminate and soft, minding nothing but Dress, Gate, and Love: 9 The Hare riseth with the seventh Degree of Gemini or the Twins; and her Births are active and nimble, fit for all sports, all feats of activity, and slight of hand: 10. The Asses rise with the first Degree of Cancer; and those that are Born under their influence, shall be employed in all sorts of Hunting and Fishing: 11. With the twentyseventh Degree of Cancer, protion or the little Dog rises, and that produceth such as wove Nets, make Spears, and all other Instruments of Huntsmen: 12. The Great Dog riseth with Leo, and being himself a Constellation of excessive heat; those that are Born under his influence, shall be full of Passion, Hate, jealousy, and ungovernable suspicion, and given to excess in Wine; their Heat shall lead them on to to dangers, and engage them to hunt wild Beasts. 13. With the last Degree of Leo, the Bowl appears, and inclines to plant and dress Vines; the Births shall be somewhat intemperate, inclined to Merchandise, and to trade in those Commodities, which cannot be brought to perfection without moisture: 14. With the fifteenth Degree of Virgo, the Crown of Ariadne riseth, and than the Births shall be Florists; they shall delight in making and perfuming Garlands, be Gay; Amorous, and affect neatness in their Habit. 15. The Sheaf riseth with the tenth Degree of Virgo, and inclines Men to look after Corn, to build Barns, to Grinned and Bake Grain, and make it useful: 16. With the eighth Degree of Libra, the Arrow rises, and than are Barn expert Darters, and good Bowmen, such as Philoctetes, Teucer, and Alcon. 17. The Goat or Hoedus, riseth with some part of Libra, and produceth Tempers quick and active, fit for Business, and covetous of Employment: somewhat lose, but honest to their Country, and Enemies to Knaves. 18. The Harp rising with some part of Libra, breeds Songsters and Musicians; such as affect to Sing in Company, and are always humming to themselves. 19 The Altar rising with the eighth Degree of Scorpio, breeds Priests, Servants in Temples, and such as take care of and consult Oracles. 20. The Southern Centaur rising with the twelfth Degree of Scorpio, breeds Horsemen, Charioteers, and Farriers. 21. With the fifth Degree of Sagittarius, Arcturus appears, and breeds Collectors of Customs, Treasurers for Kings, or Stewards for private men's Estates. 22. With the thirtieth Degree of Sagittarius, the Swan rises; and than are Born all kinds of Fowlers; such as Teach Birds to speak, to sing, or to decoy, etc. all their Employments shall be about Birds. 23. With some part of Capricon, Ophieuchus, or the Snake-holder riseth, and produceth such as are skilled in curing poisoned Persons, and such as cannot be poisoned themselves. 24. With the last Degrees of Capricorn, the Southern Fish rising, breeds Anglers, Divers, Fishers for Pearls, etc. or at lest, Traders for Fish and Pearls. 25. With some part of Capricorn the Harp, (or rather the Strings of it, for of the Shell Manilius hath already spoken) riseth, and produceth subtle Accusers, justices that shall examine nicely, and determine justly; or such as shall torture, and force the Guilty to Confession. 26. With some Degree of Capricon, the Dolphin riseth, and breeds all sorts of Swimmers, such as are nimble and active, and perform feats of activity, either in the Water, or on Land. 27. Cepheus rising with some Degree of Aquarius, breeds Men of Morose Tempers, such as are designed for Guardians, or Tutors, Tragic Poets, and sometimes Comedians, Stage-Players, Pantomimes, and all sorts of Actors. 28. With the twelfth Degree of Aquarius, the Eagle riseth, and breeds Men of the most violent Tempers, headstrong, and bloody, greedy of spoil, and destroying every thing that opposeth them; under-Officers in an Army, and Armor-bearers to a General. 29. Cassiopeia rising with the twentieth Degree of Aquarius, breeds Founders in Metals, Goldsmiths, jewellers, etc. 30. With the twelfth Degree of Pisces, Andromeda riseth, and breeds Gaolers, and all sorts of Ex●cutioners, cruel, pitiless and bloody. 31. With the twenty-first Degree of Pis●es, the Horse riseth, and breeds strong, vigorous, active Men, excellent Horsemen, either for the Race or War, Farriers, and ●h●sitians. 32. With the thirtieth Degree of Pisces, the kneeling Constellation, or Hercules appears; and his Births are Lewd, Treacherous Villains, given to no useful Arts, at best jugglers and Rope-dancers. 33. With the same Degree of Pisces, the Whale riseth, and produceth Fishers, Fishmongers, makers of Salt, etc. 34▪ The Bears (Manilius tells us, what he means by their rising) are joined with Leo and Scorpio, and breed such as are employed in breeding Beasts, and particularly Bears. 35. There follows a fragment, in which the Poet Treats of the several magnitudes or sizes of the Stars, that make up the several Constellations.  
It is confessed that Manilius shows no great exactness in the Astronomical part of this Book▪ but the Astrology is perfect and▪ may for the most part be applied to the most correct Astronomy.  

HEre at the Signs, 
The design of the Fifth Book.  those Paths of yearly light,  
Weak Minds would stop; nor dare a farther flight:  
But through the Planets Orbs would take their Course  
At one full stoop from Heaven, and mark their force;  
What Mercury designed, what Mars did dare,  
Or Luna thought on in her Gloomy care:  
What Sol would work, how Saturn looked on jove,  
And Venus managed her Intriegue of Love:  
Not farther would their feeble Thoughts aspire,  
And other Stars had roul'd unheeded Fire.  
But since I'm once on wing, and raised on high,  
I'll boldly soar, and compass all the Sky;  
I'll visit every Star, and strive to know  
Their proper Powers, and how they Rule below:  
Avoid no labour, and no toil refuse,  
Whilst constant Industry can aid my Muse.  
Here vast Orion Heaven's great part, 
The Southern Constella●●ons.  the Streams,  
Whose Spacious Wind mix agreeing Beams;  
The Hero's Ship which now midst Stars doth Sail,  
The frightful Centaur, and the gaping Whale,  
The Dog, whose Fires o'er all the World are rolled,  
The watchful Keeper of the growing Gold;  
And Heaven's high Altar graced with Gifts invite  
My eager Muse to take a larger flight.  
There where the Serpent twines betwixt the Bears, 
The Northern Constellations.   
Where rolls the Driver, and still minds his Cares:  
Where slow Boötes drives his lingering Teams,  
Or Ariadne's Crown spreads Heavenly Beams:  
Where Perseus soars with Gorgon's Spoils above,  
And wields his Falchion to secure his Love:  
Where wretched Cepheus and his Wife beside  
The fair Andromeda still Curse their Pride;  
Or where 
1 
— Celerique Sagittae  
Delphinus certans—  We may read,— Celerique Sagitta Delphinus certans— and interpret the words, not as others do, The Dolphin seated opposite to the Arrow: But The Dolphin of equal swiftness with the Arrow.  opposed the scaly Dolphin lies  
To the swift Shaft, or where the Eagle flies,  
Or Starry Horse still runs, my Muse must move,  
And boldly visit every Star above.  
These I must Sing, their proper Powers explain,  
How when they rise, how when they set they Reign:  
And what Degrees they claim from every Sign,  
And what extend their force, and what confine:  
For when the World was Framed, the Mighty Cause  
These Powers bestowed, and did Enact these Laws;  
How Signs should singly work, how Stars agreed,  
And ●ettled all things by a firm Decree.  
First Golden Aries Shines, (who whilst he swum  
Lost part of's Freight, 
What Constellations rise with Aries.  and gave the Sea a Name:  
Whose 
2 The Ram having a Golden Fleece, as the Poets fancied, the King of jolcos' killed him that he might enjoy the Treasure, and jason being sent to fetch this Golden Fleece carried away Medea the King's Daughter.  Skin destroyed himself, whose Golden Spoil  
Forced fierce Medea, from her Native Soil;  
Than Magic Arts to Colchis Shores confined  
First Sailed abroad, and Poison swelled the Wind:)  
And now as Victor o'er the Conquered Deep  
He keeps his Power, 
The Ship.  and still Commands the Ship:  
For when the 
3 The Ship hath two Rudders, a Northern, and a Southern Rudder.  Northern Rudder rears its Flame,  
And in the fourth Degree, first joins the Ram:  
Who ever's born, shall be to Sail inclined,  
He'll Blow the Ocean, and he'll tempt the Wind;  
He o'er the Seas shall Love, or Fame pursue;  
And other Months, another 
4 A River of jolchos, whither jason with the Argonauts, first Sailed.  Phasis view:  
Fixed to the Rudder, he shall boldly Steer,  
And pass those Rocks which 
5 Typhis, the Pilot to the Argonauts, who in his Voyage steered through the dangerous moving Rocks called the Symplegadae.  Tiphys used to fear.  
Had not such Births been born Troy's Walls had stood,  
No 
6 The Grecian Navy lay Wind-bound till Iphigenia was Sacrificed, and appeased the anger of Diana.  Wind-bound Navy, bought a Gale with Blood;  
Not 
7 Vossius, in his Observations on Catullus, Reads— Invehet undis Persida— The Expression is bold, and therefore proper for the Poet. That Xerxes dug a new Channel, and made a Bridge over the Hellespont, are known stories.  Xerxes Persia o'er the Ocean roul'd,  
Dug a new Sea, nor yet confined an old.  
Not Athens sunk by 
8 Manilius mentions several notable defeats at Sea, such was that of the Athenians near Syracuse, which brought the Athenians very low: such were those of the Carthaginians by the Romans: And that of Antony by Augustus near Actium.  Syracusian Shores,  
Nor Lybia's Seas been choked with Punic Oars,  
Nor had the World in doubt at Actium stood,  
Nor 
9 Heaven's great Fortune: Because the Conqueror was to be deified.  Heaven's great: Fortune floated on the Flood:  
Such Births as these their hopes to Seas resign,  
Ships spread their Sails, and distant Nations join,  
The World divided, mutual Wants invite  
To close again; and Friendly Ships unite.  
But when Orion on the left doth rise,  
Orion 
Orion.  
10 Orion is a very large and bright Constellation, and deserves this pompous Description.  the large Portion of the Skies;  
At whose appearance Day the Night invades,  
And frighted Darkness folds her Gloomy Shades:  
One fit for Business, quick of Mind is wrought,  
Of Body nimble, and of Active Thought:  
As if he were the 
11 Instar erit Populi: This is one of Manilius' bold Expressions, which my English cannot reach.  People, all the Town  
He shall inhabit, every House his own:  
And one Salute, when 
12 Alluding to the officious Salutations, which the Clients amongst the Romans carried early every Morning to their Patrons.  Morning peeps, extend  
Through every Street, to All a Common Friend.  
But when the Ram first shows thrice five Degrees,  
The Driver rears his Chariot from the Seas; 
Heniochus, or the Driver.   
And climbs that Steep, whence blustering Boreas brings  
His North-East Blasts, and shakes their freezing Wings.  
He keeps his old Concern, and thence bestows  
Those various Arts which here on Earth he chose.  
To drive the 
13 Manilius is very accurate in describing the particular Niceties observed in the Roman racing: Those are not now observed amongst us, and therefore we must be content with such Expressions as our Language will afford.  Chariot, to direct the Course,  
And hung with forward Lashes on the Horse;  
Now press directly, now wheel nimbly round,  
Outstrip the Wind, nor raise the dusty Ground;  
Or cross athwart, and force the rest to yield,  
Disperse the Crowd, and clear the gapeing Field:  
And tho' outstripped, yet scorn to stoop to Fear,  
But, drive on Hope, and leave behind Despair.  
Or midst the Race from 
14 An Exercise much used amongst the Romans; the Horseman road one Horse, and led another, and in the midst of the Race would throw himself on the led Horse, and so back again as often as he was required; or else would stand upon the Horses back, and in that posture ride the Course.  Horse to Horse to leap,  
Sport o'er their Backs, and fix the dangerous step:  
Or Singly mounted break the Foaming Jaws,  
Throw well the Dart, and force a just applause.  
Hence influenced at his Birth 
15 Salmoneus built a Bridge of Brass, and driving Chariots over it fancied he Thundered: This he did to procure himself divine Honours, but was killed by a Thunderbolt for his impious attempt.  Salmoneus strove  
To vie with Lightning, and to Rival jove;  
His Brazen Bridge, and Chariots fiercely hurled  
Must roar like Thunder, and must shake the World.  
Vain the attempt: But yet his Pride was high,  
And now he thought he had brought down the Sky:  
Proudly he road, but winged Bolts pursue,  
And his feigned Thunder's noise provoked the True;  
He fell, and by his sad Example showed  
'Twas Fate son Man, to be esteemed a God.  
The famed Bellerophon first viewed the Light 
16 The Poets fancied Bellerophon road upon the flying Horse Pegasus.   
When this appeared, and took his Airy Flight:  
O'er Seas and Land he fled, and first began  
Through pathless Skies, a way unknown to Man.  
But when the Ram twice Ten Degrees doth show, 
The Hoedi, or the Kids.   
Where on the Right rough Boreas' Tempests blow;  
The Kids appear: But never hope to found  
Severe in Manners, nor correct in Mind  
Their Births; from them no Censuring Cato's come  
To settle Virtue, and adorn their Rome.  
Not temperate Scipio's, whose obliging Charms  
The Spaniards Conquered, and excelled their Arms:  
Too great a work for them, their Rays inspire  
Soft Love, than heat that Love to fierce Desire:  
Still urging on, they boil that Lust to Rage,  
And Lust, not Courage, make the Youth engage:  
By Death base Pleasure is ignobly bought,  
And the Misfortune heightened by the Fault:  
By them are some to keeping Goats inclined,  
The Kids being always mindful of their Kind:  
Thence Goatherds rise, whose Pipes in every Vale  
Soft Love inspire, and tell the moving Tale.  
But when the Ram hath doubled Ten Degrees,  
And joined seven more, than rise the Hyadeses; 
The Hyadeses.   
Whose Births delight in Tumults, hate soft Peace,  
Seditions seek, and live averse to Ease:  
The Desks the 
17 A Family amongst the Romans, famous for their seditious Harangues, which they made to the People of Rome out of the Desks, or Rostra, standing in the Market place.  Gracchis, Soldiers crowd the Town  
They love to see, and scorn the peaceful Gown.  
They seek Contention, and when none appears  
They heighten Jealousies, and nourish Fears.  
Or meanly bend, they o'er the fruitful Plain  
Their Cattles feed, or drive the lazy Wain:  
Such Minds these give, such Tempers these bestow,  
Cursed Influence! raised too high, or bend too low.  
But when the Ram hath trebled Ten Degrees,  
Shines all above, 
The Goat.  excluded all from Seas;  
The Goat (whose Brutish Dugs did once improve  
The mighty Babe, and nursed the growing jove;  
Who gave him strength to Thunder) first appears,  
Breeds timorous Births, and fills their Breasts with Fears.  
On slight Occasions, they with Doubts are Cursed,  
Suspicious, jealous, fearing still the worst.  
Or Travellers bend on foreign Lands they breed;  
Thus o'er the Rocks Goats wander as they feed:  
Now seek this Plain, and than as fast pursue  
What tempts their ●ight, leave old, and seize the new.  
Thus far the Ram's concerned, and next the Bull  
Joyns other Stars, 
What Constellations rise with Taurus.  and varies in its Rule:  
For mounting upward in his backward rise  
When Six Degrees appear, and grace the Skies,  
He shows the Pleyades: 
The Pleyades.  Whose Rays incline  
To Joys of Venus, and the Charms of Wine:  
Feasts their delight, where witty biting Drolls  
Raise Mirth, and Health swims round in flowing Bowls.  
Such are these Stars gay Births; their Face, their Dress  
They chief mind, and 'tis their work to please:  
Offended with their Sex, their Manly Hair  
With Pumice kill, and Curse those Limbs that bear.  
Female they seem; now borrowed Curls must raise  
Their Heads, and Love must play in every Maze:  
Now Gems must bind them up, now lose behind  
Their Locks must flow, and wanton in the Wind:  
Affected in their Gate, grow Fops by Rule,  
And with great study, finish Nature's Fool.  
Yet high Ambition, and a Thirst to please  
(The Name of Virtue covers the Disease:)  
Still fire their Breasts, nor from their Souls remove,  
They would not only Love, but would be known to Love.  
The Twins succeed, and when their Seventh Degree  
Swims rising o'er the Surface of the Sea; 
What Constellations rise with the Twins.   
The Hare appears, 
The Hare.  whose active Rays supply  
A nimble force, and hardly Wings deny:  
The Whirlbats falling Blow they nimbly eat;  
And win the Race, ere they begin to run.  
Let Feasts unbend the Clowns, let Labour yield  
To Sport and Mirth, and Pastime Crown the Field;  
None give so sure▪ and none avoid the Fall  
So well; or catch and turn the flying Ball.  
To vigorous stroke their active Arms command,  
Or with their Foot supply the place of Hand.  
Or when in Sport they shall the 
18 Amongst the Romans one Man would take several Balls, and toss them, sometimes behind, and sometimes before, now on this hand, and now on the other, so that some of them should be always up in the Air: And this feat of Activity Manilius Describes.  Balls divide  
From Hand to Hand▪ and toss on every side;  
Now throw the flying Globes, and now retain,  
Or play them back upon themselves again:  
Now back, now forward, round▪ and every way  
O'er all their Limbs the active Balls shall play,  
As taught to know their meaning, and obey.  
Whilst Crowds admire, and think the constant cares  
Of Art effect what is the work of Stars.  
Waked whilst asleep, they tame by active Pleasure cares  
Their growing Troubles, and Sports employ their leisure.  
Thus those agree. And next my Songs comprise  
Stars near the Crab, 
What Constellations rise with Cancer. The Asses.  with whom the Asses rise:  
Than Births appear, whose Skill infests the Woods,  
Lay Snares for Beasts; nor do they spare the Floods:  
On all they Pray, they boldly search the Caves;  
Nor are the Fish secure in deepest Waves:  
Than 
19 The Story of Meleager runs thus: At his Birth his Mother heard one of the Destinies say, the Child should live till the stick that than lay in the Fire was burnt: The Mother snatched the stick out of the Fire, and preserved it. When Meleager was grown a Man, he with a great many others went to hunt a Wild Boar; at the same time Atalante a Nymph of extraordinary Beauty came into the Field, and had the good Fortune to wound the Boar first: Meleager fell in Love with Atalante, and having killed the Boar presented the Head to her: His two Uncles who were present at the Hunting thought themselves injured, and would not suffer a Woman to carry of their Spoil. Meleager in defence of Atalante kills his two Uncles: Meleager's Mother, to revenge the Death of her two Brothers, puts the stick into the Fire, as that burnt Meleager wasted.  Meleager risen, whose fatal Brand,  
And Life too wasted in his Mother's Hand;  
Unhappy Noble Youth! who must atone  
Her wretched Brother's Slaughter by thy own!  
Half buried whilst alive! Whom Love betrayed  
To give the Hero's Honours to the Maid;  
To rob thy jealous Uncles of their Fame,  
And by their Death secure the Beauty's claim.  
Than Atalante risen, who pressed for Fame  
Through thickest Woods, and saw and overcame;  
Her Dart first reached the Boar, and won the Prize,  
She Conquered with her Arrow, and her Eyes;  
The Monster groaned, and Meleager found  
As much disquiet, and as deep a Wound.  
Some pitch strong Nets, and some the Woods surround  
With 
20 Formidine Mortis: Huetius Reads Formidine Pennae: For when they Hunted, they used to set stakes in the ground, to which they tied Feathers which frighted the Deer, and made them keep within that compass, or take that way the Hunters thought most convenient for their sport.  fear of Death, or slip the faithful Hound:  
Some dig the treacherous Pits, some spread the Toils,  
Or hunt with Spears, and Grace their House with Spoils.  
Another puts to Sea, infests the Lakes,  
Draws monstrous Fish, and starts at what he Takes.  
Whilst some through Nets the wand'ring Waters strain,  
Their Game they follow through the pathless Main,  
Where no Scent lies, yet seldom Hunt in vain.  
As if the Earth were not profusely stored,  
They fly to Seas, they search what Floods afford,  
And Nereus from his Waves supplies the Glutton's Board:  
But when the Crab hath doubled Ten Degrees,  
And reared seven more, bright protion leaves the Seas: 
protion, o● the lit●●● Dog.   
His Influence mean; But tho' his feeble Flame  
No Hunters breeds, yet it supports the Game:  
Inclines to Wove strong Nets, to Train the Hound,  
To know the Breed, and to improve the Sound.  
To shave the Spear, and follow every Trade,  
That Love of Sport, and Hope of Gain persuade.  
But when the Lion's 
What Constellation● rise with the Lion. The great Dog.  gaping Jaws aspire,  
The Dog appears, and foams unruly Fire.  
In Caves scorched Neptune mourns contracted Floods,  
Herbs die, and Beauteous Greenness leaves the Woods;  
To other Climates Beasts and Birds retire,  
And Feverish Nature burns in her own Fire.  
So vast the Heat, such Flames increase the Sun,  
As if all Heaven's great Fires were joined in one.  
Air's turned to Dust, the Earth's low Entrails burn,  
And dying Nature fears one common Urn.  
When this appears, his rising Beams presage  
Ungovern'd Fury, and unruly Rage;  
A flaming Anger, universal Hate  
With Jealousy make up his Births unhappy Fate:  
Each little Cause doth scorching Thoughts inspire,  
Their Soul's inflamed, and Words break out in Fire:  
Yet crowd so fast, they justle as they rise,  
And part flies out in Sparkles through their Eyes.  
Their Tongue's on Foam, and with their Teeth they break  
Their Words, and Bark when they design to Speak.  
Besides, excess in Wine inflames their Fire,  
And Bacchus makes their Fury blaze the higher.  
They fear no Rocks, nor Woods, but love to Gore  
The furious Lion, and the Foaming ●oar;  
They dread no Beasts, but with blind Warmth engage,  
And to their natural strength infuse their Rage:  
Nor is it strange that from his Beams should rise  
Such Tempers; for above through yielding Skies  
Averse to Peace, he cuts his furious way,  
And hunts the Hare, intent upon his Prey.  
The Lion mounts, and with his last the Bowl  
Studded with Stars comes up, 
The Bowl.  and cheers the Pole:  
And than who e'er are born, their Minds incline  
To water Meadows, and to dress the Vine.  
To Hills, Lakes, Rivers: To what ere produce  
The generous Liquor, and improve the Juice:  
Now Bridegroom Elms they shall in order place,  
And bring the blushing Brides to their embrace;  
Entwine their Boughs: Or when the Stock's displayed  
Without support, nor needs a Foreign Aid,  
In Branches lead it; and uncurious grown  
Trust reeling Bacchus to himself alone.  
Or from the Stock, the hopeful Tendrils tear,  
Plant them anew, and teach the Twigs to bear.  
Use all improving ways that Art hath sought,  
By long Experience, or wise Nature taught:  
When ripe their Bowls the generous Wine shall Crown,  
Soften their Cares, and all their Wishes drown;  
They largely shall enjoy their Fruits, nor spare  
The pleasing Recompenses of their Care:  
Happy this State; but Stars still force them on,  
And urge their greedy Minds to be undone:  
For Corn, and Foreign Stores which moisture yields,  
They'll Blow the Ocean, and forsake their Fields  
Till tossed by Storms, they midst the Waves resign  
Their baffled Hopes: And thus the Bowl inclines.  
Next Shines the Maid, and when the Maid ascends  
Thrice Five Degrees, 
What Constellations rise with Virgo.  the glorious Crown attends.  
The Crown, 
The Crowns  since Theseus first his Faith betrayed,  
The Monument of the forsaken Maid:  
They give Soft Arts, for here the Virgin Shines,  
And there the Virgin's Crown, and each combines  
Soft Beams agreeing in the same Designs.  
Births influenced than shall raise fine Beds of Flowers,  
And twine their creeping Jasmine round their Bowers;  
The Lilies, Violets in Banks dispose,  
The Purple Poppy, and the blushing Rose:  
For Pleasure shades their rising Mounts shall yield,  
And real Figures paint the gaudy Field:  
Or they shall wreathe their Flowers, their Sweets entwine,  
To Grace their Mistress, or to Crown their Wine:  
The Odours fair Arabia's Groves dispense  
Sovereign for Health▪ or grateful to the Sense,  
Shall bathe these Wreaths; for when the Sweets unite,  
The new Adultery heightens the delight.  
Besides they'll study Neatness, learn to dress,  
Affected grow, and think it Art to please:  
The present Pleasure's Court, and gay desires;  
For this the Virgin's Age▪ and this the Crown requires.  
When with her Tenth Degree, the Sheaf appears, 
The Sheaf.   
Shows her full Corn, and shakes her loaden Ears:  
The Fields may fear, for those that shall be born  
Shall Plough the Ground, and be intent on Corn:  
They'll trust their Seed to Clods, whose large produce  
Shall yield the Sum, and give increase by Use.  
Build Barns for Grain, for Nature those contrives,  
And in the Ear itself a Pattern gives;  
In that the Corn lies safe, her Laws ordain  
A proper different Cell for every Grain:  
How blest the World, had this been only known,  
Had Gold lain hid, and Corn been born alone!  
Than Men were rich, when they could Want suffice,  
And knew no Baits for Lust, and Avarice.  
Yet had they still employed their Cares on Corn  
Alone, those Arts would have been slowly born,  
Which make Grain useful, and for Common good  
Grinned, Mould, and Bake, and work it up to Food.  
Now Southward bend, and see in Southern Skies  
With Libra's Eighth Degree the Arrow rise: 
What Constellations rise with Libra.   
Their Beams are strong: They curious Arts bestow,  
To dart the Javelin, and to draw the Bow;  
Or sling the Bullet; from the lofty Clouds  
Swift Birds shall drop, nor shall the deepest Floods  
Secure their Fish: But both shall surely feel  
The fatal force of the unerring Steel:  
What powerful Stars but these drew here below  
Brave 
21 Philoctetes was Servant to Hercules, and when Hercules burned himself, he left his Bow and Arrows to Philoctetes: Without these Arrows Troy could not be taken: Now it happened that Philoctetes, either by a contrivance of Ulysses, or because, being wounded by one of the Poisoned Arrows, he became offensive to the Graecian Camp, was sent away to Lemnos: But the Siege going on slowly, he was fetched back again: With his Arrows he killed the chiefest of the Remaining Commanders, and so Troy was taken.  Philoctete's and sure 
22 Teucer was Brother to Ajax, and he with his Bow beaten back Hector when he came to burn the Graecian Navy.  Teucer's Bow?  
One Hector's Flames repelled, the angry Fire  
Did fear his Shafts, and sullenly retire;  
The other bore Troy's Fate, more dreadful far,  
He sat Exiled, than all the Greeks in War.  
He owned those Stars, 
23 The following Verses relate to Alcon the Cretan, who shot a Snake that lay twisted round the Head of his Son, and did not touch the Boy.  who when the Serpent lay  
Twined round his Child, and Sucked the Bleeding Prey;  
Ventured to shoot: The pious Arrow fled  
As sent by Fate, and pierced the Dragon's Head:  
To be a Father than was Art, and Love  
By Stars unaided, had but vainly striven;  
They drew the Bow, restored the flying Breath  
To the lost Boy, and waked the Youth from Death.  
But when the heedless Goat 
24 This Goat or Hoedus Scaliger could not found, but Huetius says, the Single Hoedus is put by Manilius for those two H●edi that are in the left hand of Heniochus, or the Driver. Thus Horace. 
— Archeri cadentis  
Impetus, aut orientis Haedi,  and Propertius 
●Purus & Orion, purus & Hoedus erit.   
The Goat.  Exalts his Beard,  
Alone, as straggling from the other Herd;  
Than Tempers quick, and piercing Minds are wrought,  
With Cares unwearyed, and of active Thought:  
They scorn that Rest, which private Minds enjoy,  
But fawn upon the Crowd, and Court Employ;  
That's their delight, and they're enlarged by Fate  
To serve the Many, and be Slaves of State.  
Whilst they survive, smooth Knaves shall fear to Cheat.  
In hopes of scapeing, or of growing Great;  
They shall espouse their injured Country's Cause,  
And be severe, yet not exceed the Laws;  
Imprison Cheats, or else with rigorous Fines  
Break their Estates, and kerb their lewd Designs.  
Happy this Temper, would they still pursue  
These useful Pleasures, and affect the True;  
But they'll from Business, and from Court retire,  
(Lose are their Words, and loser their Desire;)  
Lewd Love and Wine indulge, and waste their Age  
In Mimic Dancing, or affect the Stage.  
Next shines the Harp, 
The Harp.  and through the Liquid Skies  
The Shell as lightest, first gins to rise;  
This when sweet Orpheus struck, to listening Rocks  
He Senses gave, and Ears to withered Oaks;  
Parched Pluto's 
25 The Poets fancied Orpheus went down to Hell, charmed Pluto and the Destinies, and brought back his Wife Eurydice.  Cheeks grew moist, and Death resigned  
Her Spoil, and unrelenting Fates grew kind.  
These skill in Music, and in Songs impart;  
How Sound is varied into Notes by Art  
Their Births shall know: Their Mouths shall Pipes inspire  
With voice; Their Hands shall strike the speaking Lyre:  
At merry Feasts they shall the Guests delight,  
Smooth Wine with Songs, and stay the flying Night.  
Nay even when Troubles, and when Cares oppress,  
Their Mournful Lays, shall give their Sorrows Ease.  
Low Murmurs shall employ their warbling Tongue,  
And their own Ears shall always hear a Song:  
Below fierce Scorpio, 
What Constellations rise with Scorpio.  when his Eighth Degree  
Appears, the Altar 
The Altar.  riseth from the Sea:  
Not Lightning armed Jove's Hand, no Thunder roared  
Till here as Priest he stood, and first adored;  
Than Powers unknown assisted, Clouds did swell  
With Fire, and the Devoted Giants fell:  
And who should than be born, but those that wait  
On Sacred Temples, and converse with Fate?  
That Hymn in Holy Quires, know what's to come,  
Are almost Gods, and can dispose of Doom?  
With Twelve Degrees the Centaur's Form appears, 
The Centaur.   
And gives a Temper form the shape he bears;  
For he that than is born, and feels his force,  
Shall harness Mules, or he shall drive the Horse;  
Or he shall proudly mount the rattling Car,  
Or Arm the Steed, and lead him forth to War;  
Or he shall study what Disease infests,  
And Ease apply to uncomplaining Beasts;  
Or he shall keep them sound, his Art be shown  
In sure Prevention, nor expect a Groan.  
Next Sagittarius 
What Constellations rise with Sagittarius▪  mounts with threatening Bow,  
Whose Fifth Degree doth bright Arcturus 
Arcturus.  show:  
And he that than is born shall ne'er be Poor,  
To him rich Fortune shall entrust her Store;  
King's Treasures he shall keep, and Reign alone,  
Whilst those sit only higher in the Throne:  
Or if a Private House confine his Care,  
Blessed he shall live, and see the thriving Heir  
In Wealth increased; Or he shall still defend  
The People's Right, and be a Common Friend.  
But when this Centaur hath advanced his Fire  
Thrice Ten Degrees, and shows his Horse entire;  
The Swan 
The Swan.  displays his Wings; And than by Fate  
The Birds for an Enployment, and Estate  
Are given to every Birth: Nor can the Skies  
Make better claim to every Fowl that flies;  
And hence to seize their own, they often declare  
Against the Sky itself an open War;  
They take them flying, or they set their Toils  
On Boughs or Fields, and catch the Feathered Spoils.  
Sometimes besiege their Nestswith treacherous Reed,  
Or draw the Net, and take them whilst they feed:  
Thus Luxury toils; bold Luxury ventures far  
To Foreign Lands, and Travels more than War:  
Numidia's Plains, and Cholcos' Woods afford  
Delicious Tribute to the Glutton's Board.  
Or Nature's stubborn Laws their Art shall break,  
Enlarge Converse, and teach the Birds to speak.  
The 
26 Alluding to the Fable, which says jupiter Courted Leda in the shape of a Swan.  Swan still shrouds a God, 'tis more than Fowl,  
The Feathered part confines a noble Soul;  
And when cold Death comes on, the God dilates  
His Powers, and softly murmurs o'er his Fates.  
Or they on Doves shall all their Cares employ,  
To make them Thrive, or teach them to decoy,  
Or carry Messages; the Birds convey  
Their Master's Orders, nor mistake their way:  
They know this Star, and they Influence own,  
Who carry sportive Birds about the Town;  
Who with one Sparrow wretched Life maintain;  
These are his Powers, and thus inclines the Swan.  
When Ophieuchus 
With Capricorn riseth Ophieuchus.  mounts, and joins the Goat,  
Those that are born shall live an Antidote  
To strongest Poison; they may safely take  
The frightful Serpent, and the Venomed Snake  
Into their Bosom: Whilst the Monster's Cling  
About their Bodies kills their fiercest Sting.  
When the South Fish 
The South Fish.  doth leave the Floods, and rise  
To Airy Seats, and swims in Liquid Skies;  
Those that are born in every Shore shall lay  
Their Lines and Hooks, and catch the hanging Prey;  
No Fish in their own Shells shall safely live  
By Nature fortified, whilst these can dive,  
All shall be dared; and they immersed shall rove  
Through Depths, despaired, and lost to those above;  
Till with their dancing Prey they mount again;  
So small is the reward of all this Pain!  
Or Fish for Pearls, for Avarice cheats the Mind  
By valuing Things not for their Worth, but Kind.  
Vile Shells, which Nature midst the Floods hath laid,  
Ashamed of the mean work that she hath made;  
When drawn up hither equal Provinces;  
Nor can the Land now bear the Richeses of the Seas:  
Such are the Tempers, and Success that waits  
On these Stars Influence, and completes their Fates.  
Or free from danger they incline to gain  
By Merchandise, what others get by Pain.  
Before I sung the Harp's 
The Strings of the Harp.  Commanding Powers,  
And taught the Influence of its fatal Hours;  
Back to the same my Muse doth now retire,  
Pleased with the sounding Virtues of the Lyre:  
For when its gay Harmonious Strings appear,  
Let Sin grow Pale, and Villains learn to fear:  
For subtle Judges, whose Demands shall draw  
Pale skulking Gild within the reach of Law,  
Shall than be born; or else the Births shall dare  
To screw the Rack, and make the Wretch his Sin declare;  
Steeled against Pity, and averse to spare.  
All Pains inflict, be Cruel without Hate,  
And make stern Justice wield the Sword of Fate:  
Or if soft Methods can prevail, the Cause  
They gravely shall determine by the Laws:  
As Wisdom gave the Sentence, Strife shall cease,  
Both sides be pleased, at lest consent to Peace.  
But when the Dolphin's 
The Dolphin.  Fires begin to rise  
With Stars like Scales, and swim in Liquid Skies;  
It shall be doubtful which shall most Command  
The Inclination for the Sea or Land:  
Both shall conspire, and in one Mass combined,  
Now this way draw, now that way force the Mind:  
For as the Dolphin mounts, now dives again,  
Now turns, now leaps, and figures all the Main:  
So those that shall be born shall now divide  
With wide stretched Arms, and beaten the swelling Tide;  
Now thrust them downward, and with secret Oars  
Their Body's row, and visit Foreign Shores;  
Now tread the Water, with their Feet maintain  
Themselves Erect, and wade the deepest Main,  
As 'twere a shallow; like the firmest Field,  
The Floods shall bear them, and refuse to yield:  
Now on their Backs or Sides securely keep  
One constant place, and lie upon the Deep:  
Not Oar to Boy them up; but Floods forget  
Their natural yielding, and sustain the Weight:  
Or they shall dive, through boundless Oceans go,  
And visit Nereus, and the Nymphs below;  
Or take up Shipwrecks, Merchants Spoils restore,  
And rob the greedy Ocean of its Oar,  
To these join those, who from an 27 Engine tossed  
Pierce through the Air, and in the Clouds are lost;  
Or poise on Timber, where by turns they rise  
And sink, and mount each other to the Skies:  
Or leap through Fire, and fall on hardest Ground  
As on soft Seas, unhurt, and safe from Wound:  
Thou voided of Wings, their Bodies boldly rear,  
And imitate their Dolphin in the Air.  
Or if they want the skill, yet Nature's part  
Performed, they shall be nimble without Art:  
Not run, but rather fly, be swiftly born  
O'er Fields of Wheat, nor bend the standing Corn.  
When with Aquarius Cepheus mounts, 
What Constellations rise with Aquarius. Cepheus.  require 
27 Several Feats of Activity amongst the Romans, in which they equalled if not excelled all the following Ages.   
No sportive Tempers from so grave a Fire:  
But stiff, morose, severe, affected Fools,  
With Looks as starched, and heavy as their Souls:  
Whose Guardian's roughness, or an Uncle's force  
Praise, and in Cato's Sentences Discourse:  
Designed for Tutors, whom the noble Heir,  
Although he keeps them, shall be forced to fear;  
Shrink at their Nods, and of their Looks afraid,  
Worship th' Imperious Idol he hath made.  
Or Tragic Poets; Those whose Style must slay  
In Paper, and be Barbarous in a Play:  
Who must kill Heroes to delight the Crowd,  
And seek to please with Horror, and with Blood:  
Antigone 
28 The common Subjects upon which Sophocles, Euripides, and other Tragedians amongst the Ancients wrote their Plays.  must fall the Tyrant's Spoil,  
And Brothers disagree upon their Pile:  
Thyestes eat his Babes, the Sun retire,  
And jealous Rage the made Medea Fire;  
Her Father, Brother, Sons must Murdered lie,  
Whilst Dragons bear her through the Guilty Sky:  
Or she must Youth renew; such Themes as these  
Shall raise their Thoughts, and make them strive to please.  
But than if softer Themes their Fancies move  
In Comedy, the heated Youth shall Love;  
The Maid be stolen, the witty Slave defeat  
The covetous Father, and enjoy the Cheat.  
Thus famed 
29 A famed Comedian, who flourished in the hundred and fourteenth Olympiad.  Menander in immortal Rhymes  
Exposeth Humour and instructs the Times;  
Nature to him her Parts might safely trust,  
His Words expressive, and his Thoughts were just;  
And when he copied her, she hardly knew  
Her own Original; he wrought so true.  
But if unequal to a Poet's Rage  
They cannot Writ, yet they shall serve the Stage.  
Their graceful action and their voice shall raise  
The native value of another's Plays;  
The School's Simplicity, the Court's Address,  
The Soldiers Huff so decently express;  
As if they acted not fewer part;  
And all was simple Nature, and not Art.  
In one short view they shall present to sight  
Whole Crowds, make Kings engage, and Armies fight:  
Before the pleased Spectators Troy shall lie  
In ruins, and the wretched Priam dye.  
But now the Eagle 
The Eagle.  must my Songs employ,  
He shines upon the left hand of the Boy,  
Whom first from Earth he did to Skies convey,  
And now with wide stretched Wings hovers o'er his Prey.  
This Bird, the Armour-bearer of the Skies,  
Brings back thrown Thunder, jove with Arms supplies,  
And with the YouthsYouths twelfth part gins to rise.  
And than shall spring a violent ravenous Brood,  
Eager to rob, and purchase Spoil with Blood:  
On Men and Beasts with equal Lust they seize,  
Nor make a difference between War and Peace.  
Their Friends and Enemies alike they awe,  
They every thing to wild contention draw,  
Their Will their Ruler, and their Sword their Law.  
But if their Violence aright they place,  
Their Vice turns Virtue; conquered Spoils shall grace  
Their happy Country; when in Arms they dare,  
Success shall wait, and Victory crown their War.  
But since the Eagle is employed above  
Not to throw Thunder, but to wait on jove,  
And bring him Arms, they hope in vain to bear  
The highest Office, and Command in War;  
They must be meaner, equal to their Star:  
Wait on a General, bear his ponderous Shield,  
And serve him bravely in the dangerous Field.  
When mourning Cassiopeia, 
Cassiopeia.  graced with Stars,  
Upon the left hand of the Youth appears,  
And joins twice ten Degrees, her Beams impart  
In Metals skill, and fill the Births with Art:  
The precious Matter they shall nobly mould,  
And raise the native value of the Gold;  
Hence shine our Temples, and our Roman jove  
Fills here a Heaven as bright as that above;  
Happy this Art employed on things Divine,  
To frame a Statue, or adorn a Shrine;  
But now how low her Head she strives to hid,  
Whilst chained to Luxury, and a Slave to pride!  
Now precious Metals common Roofs enfold,  
Rival the Temples, and we feast in Gold.  
But great Augustus doth its state maintain,  
Shows its old worth, and makes it rise again;  
His Temples shine, and now such Works are wrought  
As Mithridates lost when Sylla fought;  
The Sun's outshone, and Caesar's glorious Gems  
Excel the native lustre of his Beams:  
And hence with joy we view that wondrous Prize,  
The Monuments of 
30 Po●pey having conquered Mithridates, brought to Rome more valuable Jewels than ever had been seen there: And from that time, as Pliny in the first Chapter of his 37th. Book complains, the Romans began to value and admire Jewels.  Pompey's Victories;  
Though those did first a Lust for Gems inspire,  
Which still burns new? and spreads a growing fire;  
The Ornaments of Kings now serve to grace  
A shape, and raise the value of a Face;  
Now Neck, Feet, Hands are decked, and every Dress  
Shines with the Spoils of groaning Provinces;  
Yet 'tis the Lady's Sign, their wants supplied  
Advance its worth, they love what decks their Pride:  
Jest want of Matter should the Work restrain,  
The Art grow idle, and the Sign be vain,  
By the same Powers are wretched Men decoyed  
To dig for Oar, and work to be employed;  
To turn the Globe to search where Metals breed,  
And see young Gold first blushing in its Seed;  
Harmless it lies, till the mistaken worth  
Deludes poor Man, and brings the Monster forth.  
And jest Temptations too obscure should lie,  
Too far removed from every common Eye,  
Mixed with the Sands they shine on every Shore,  
These he shall gather, and extract the Oar,  
Or dive for Jewels, and intent on Gain,  
Pierce thro' the Floods, and search the deepest Main;  
Draw Gold and Silver from the Waves embrace,  
And work them singly, and adorn the Mass;  
Or in Electrum both ignobly join:  
These are the Powers and Tempers of this Sign.  
Next shines Andromeda; 
What Constellations rise with Pisces. Andromeda.  she leaves the Sea,  
And on the Right joins Pisces twelfth Degree.  
Bright she appears, and gay with sparkling Fires,  
As when young Perseus first felt warm desires.  
Unhappy Maid! exposed to rage's Divine,  
A faultless Victim for her Mother's Sin:  
When Seas let lose o'erflowed the fruitful Plain,  
And Earth now feared its ruin from the Main;  
Naught could appease, but to the injured Flood  
The Maid resigned, to quench its rage with Blood.  
This was her Bridal, in her Robes of State;  
But not provided for so sad a Fate,  
Glorious she looked, and like the setting Sun,  
Greater, though not so ●ierce, her Beauty shone.  
Not joyful Torch its ominous Flames did spread,  
No Vows were heard to crown her fruitful Bed;  
But Groans and Tears, ere Death pronounced her doom  
The Maid was born alive to her own Tomb.  
Hence fly my Muse, and on the naked Shore  
Leave the poor Maid, and dare to look not more;  
'Twill melt thy Song to turn again to view,  
The weeping Parents bid their last adieu;  
To see her fettered, and exposed to pain,  
Designed by Nature for another Chain:  
To see her hung on Rocks, and by her side  
Grim Death appear, and point to the swollen Tide.  
Yet turn, and view how she her Shape retains,  
How fair she looks, and glorious in her Chains:  
With what becoming fear her ●iowing Vest  
Forsakes her Limbs, and leaves her naked Breast:  
What hidden Beauties are exposed to sight,  
Like Lightning glare, but must be lost in night.  
By her the Halcyons mourned, and round the Coast,  
That so much Beauty should in vain be lost,  
The Nymphs repined; and Nereis from the Deep  
Bewailed her Fate, and did consent to weep:  
The gentle Breeze that fanned her golden Locks,  
Turned into Sighs, and murmured to the Rocks:  
All Nature seemed concerned, despairing Grief  
Was general, but too weak to yield relief.  
Than Perseus, glorious with the Gorgon's Spoil,  
By Love directed to a nobler Toil,  
Kind Fortune brought; and at the wondrous sight  
He checked his Horse, and stopped his airy flight;  
His Hand scarce held his Spoil, Medusa's Eyes  
He bore, but now grew stiff at this surprise;  
The Chains that held her, and the burth, ned Stone  
He happy called, and envied joys unknown.  
Amazed a while he hung, her Form surveyed,  
Than heard the Story from the weeping Maid;  
Straight in his Breast high generous thoughts were bred,  
To spoil the Ocean to adorn his Bed:  
And should a thousand frightful Gorgon's rise▪  
He would oppose them for so vast a Prize:  
Fixed on these Thoughts he leaves the mournful Shore,  
Her Parents cheers, and bids them weep not more,  
For Aid was come: And their Consent desired  
Was granted soon, and nobler warmth inspired.  
Back he returns: Now teeming Seas did roar,  
Waves fled the Monster, and o'ref●ow'd the Shore;  
High raised his Head, he spouts the Floods around,  
All Nereus echoes, and the Shores resound:  
Wide gapes his Mouth, and as on a vast Rock  
Dashed on each Tooth the foaming Billows broke:  
His winding Tail o'er half the Main was spread,  
The Ocean groaned, Rocks feared, and Mountains fled:  
Unhappy Maid! though such an Aid was near,  
What was thy Mind, and how surprised with fear?  
How pale thy Look? and how thy Spirit fled  
In a deep sigh, and hovered round thy Head?  
How bloodless all thy Limbs, when from deep Caves  
The Monster rushed, and bore the foaming Waves  
And Fate along? and all designed for thee  
A Prey how little, for so vast a Sea!  
But Perseus nimble Aid descends, and hides  
The Gorgon's Falchion in his scaly Sides;  
He twists upon the Wound, than strives to rear  
His head, and shoots up forward thro' the Air:  
Perseus retires, and still deludes his Foe,  
Hangs in the Sky, and aims a surer Blow:  
He presses on, and casts his Jaws around,  
Bites at the Air, but bites without a Wound.  
Than tosses Seas to Heaven, spouts purple Floods  
At his high ●●oe, and drowns him in the Clouds.  
The Maid beheld this Fight, and, grateful grown,  
Feared for his danger, but forgot her own;  
Doubtful which way the various Fate inclined,  
In Body lesle suspended than in Mind:  
Her doubt not long; for now Success did prove  
The great advantage, and the force of Love;  
The Monster groaned, and from his Wounds there flowed  
A mighty Stream, and stained the Seas with Blood.  
Down deep he sinks, but soon he floats again,  
And his vast Carcase covers all the Main;  
Breathless he lay, yet than his shape did fright;  
Thomas dead, he was too dreadful for her sight.  
Now big with Conquest, from the cleansing Flood  
Bright Perseus' rose, and more August he stood;  
Than to the Rocks with eager haste he flies,  
Unbinds the Virgin, and enjoys the Prize.  
And hence Andromeda now shines a Star,  
The Cause, and the Reward of such a War,  
As freed the Ocean, and restored the Main  
To Neptune's sway, and fixed him in his Reign.  
And he that sees her rising Beams, shall draw  
The Sword of justice, and shall smite by Law;  
Dungeons shall be, and Whips and Racks his care,  
Steeled against Pity, and averse to spare.  
At his stern feet shall wretched Wives complain,  
And weeping Mothers tell their grief in vain:  
Though late at night to kiss a parting Son,  
And draw his flying Soul into his own;  
A Father sues, in unrelenting Ears  
His Prayers are lost, nor shall he yield to Tears.  
Or lean pale Hangmen shall her Beams created,  
Those solemn Murderers and Slaves to Fate:  
Who on the Curses of the pitying Crowd  
Ignobly thrive, and live on shedding Blood.  
But he that sees her chained to Rocks, shall found  
A meaner Fortune, though as fierce a Mind;  
A Gaoler he shall be, secure for pains  
Poor Slaves, and be a 
31 The Romans did not only put Notorious Malefactors in Chains, but likewise chained them to their Keepers; and this Custom the Poet hints at.  partner of their Chains.  
With Pis●es twenty first Degree to fly  
The Horse gins, 
The Horse.  and beats the yielding Sky;  
His Births shall Health, and vigorous Strength enjoy,  
For Action quick, and nimble for employ.  
They in thick rounds shall rein the managed Steed,  
Or sweep the Plain, deceiving with their speed:  
Or proudly mounted they shall boldly dare  
Heroic Acts, and lead the Crowd to War:  
Or else be nimble Messengers, and move  
With greater swiftness th●n a flying Dove;  
Sand both with like Advice, the one shall bring  
Returns, whilst t'other lags with lazy Wing.  
Or they shall study Herbs, and strength impart  
To Beasts, and even to Man enlarge their Art.  
But now go on; with Pisces last Degrees,  
The humble Constellation on hi● Knees  
O'th' Right appears: 
●ercules, or the Kneeling Constellation.  And those that than are born  
No virtuous Powers, nor useful Arts adorn,  
But they're for treachery, mischief, spoil designed,  
Guilt's in their looks and Rapine in their mind.  
Or if to Arts he shall incline the Breed,  
Such, where the Danger doth the Skill exceed,  
They chief follow; 'tis their only scope  
To mount a Precipice, or dance a Rope;  
Tread 
32 Vossius out of his Ancient Manuscript reads, 
Et Coeli meditatus iter Vestigia perdet,  
Et Perna pendens populum suspendet ab ipsa.   Airy steps, and whilst thro' Clouds they reel,  
Draw up the Crowd, and hung them at their heel.  
But on the Left is opened to our view  
The Wh●●e, 
The Whale  who now doth thro' the Skies pursue  
With eager haste, as through the injured Flood  
The fair Andromeda, and still thirsts for Blood.  
And He that than is born shall be inclined  
To spoil the Sea, and kill the Scaly Kind,  
No Fish shall swim secure whilst Nets can sweep  
The troubled Ocean, and confine the Deep:  
Those that but now could wanton o'er the Main  
Shall lie fast bound, and wonder at their chain;  
Till with a touch He shall the Cords command,  
And draw the Dancing Captives to the Land.  
Or whilst He shoals expects even midst the Flood  
Destroy, and slain the Ocean with their Blood.  
Yet than his works not ceafe, or pains decay,  
His various Arts increasing with his prey:  
For on the Shore He shall his spoil divide  
For different uses. This when lightly dried  
Is better Meat; and that when moist is good,  
Whilst other parts are hardened into Food.  
Can Gluttons see, they would not bear the sight  
Of preparations for their Appetite,  
Whilst Blood and Guts in a polluted Mass  
Lie mixed, and are corrupted into Sauce;  
Till all in filthy Gore distils to treat  
The fashionable Palate of the Great.  
Or if to meaner Arts his Thoughts incline,  
Than Salts his care; he shall the Floods confine  
In narrow Pitts, and to the Beams expose,  
Till what was liquid now a solid grows,  
Than lay the crusted froth with careful hand  
In heaps, and cleanse it, and divide the Sand.  
And thus the brackish and unwholesome Flood  
Proves vital Salt, and poison's turned to Food.  
The Great and Lesser Bear which still maintain  
One constant Round, and never touch the Main,  
Scarce know a Rise; yet when each front appears,  
Take that to be the rising of the Bears. 
The rising of the two Bears.   
The First with Leo, and the last is joined  
With Scorpio, and prove friendly to their kind.  
For those that than are born to Beasts shall bear  
Kind tempers, and oblige them by their Care;  
Give Law to Lions, with a Panther play,  
Teach Tigers peace, and make a Wolf obey;  
Maintain Converse, and give them Arts unknown,  
And such as Nature never thought her own.  
But yet their thoughts to Bears shall most incline,  
And there improve the Kindred of their Sign.  
Or ride the Elephant, his Bulk command,  
And make the Monster tremble at their Wand.  
Base the submission, where such strength in vain  
Possess't must tamely yield to feeble Man:  
***************  
***************   

The third sized Stars the Pleiad's form do grace, 
The several imagnitudes of the Stars.   
They shine with virgin blushes in their face:  
Four in the Dolphin are observed to rise,  
And in Deltoton Three of equal size:  
The same the Eagle, and the Bear display,  
Nor can the Draco boast a greater ray;  
Of size the Fourth and Fifth securely take  
A measure from the others of the Snake.  
But yet the greatest part we spare to note,  
Too small to be discerned, or too remote:  
There lie obscure, and seldom spread their light,  
But when the Moon's withdrawn to lower Night,  
When great Orion from the Skies retires,  
Plunges in Waves, and quenches his bright Fires;  
Or when gay Phoebus doth his sway resign  
To shades, than They have a short leave to shine,  
Than Heaven with little Lights is spangled o'er,  
That not the Sand upon the crooked Shore,  
That not the Billows in Tempestuous Floods,  
That not the leaves when Autumn shakes the Woods,  
Can equal the great Train; they all surmount,  
Even Number is too short for the account.  
And as in Cities, where in ranks decreed  
First 
33 These were the several Orders in the Roman Commonwealth.  Nobles go, and than the Knights succeed,  
The next in order may the People claim;  
The Rabble next, a Crowd without a Name:  
So is the Heaven by different ranks possessed;  
Some like the Nobles with more rays are dressed,  
Some shine with lesle, the numerous crowd with lest:  
Were these endowed with a proportioned heat,  
Were they in Power, as they're in number great;  
They long ago must have dissolved the Frame,  
Nor could the world have born so fierce a Flame.   
The End of the fifth Book.  

NOTES.  
1. 
— Celerique Sagittae  
Delphinus certans—  We may read,"— Celerique Sagitta Delphinus certans—" and interpret the words, not as others do, The Dolphin seated opposite to the Arrow: But The Dolphin of equal swiftness with the Arrow.  
2. The Ram having a Golden Fleece, as the Poets fancied, the King of jolcos' killed him that he might enjoy the Treasure, and jason being sent to fetch this Golden Fleece carried away Medea the King's Daughter.  
3. The Ship hath two Rudders, a Northern, and a Southern Rudder.  
4. A River of jolchos, whither jason with the Argonauts, first Sailed.  
5. Typhis, the Pilot to the Argonauts, who in his Voyage steered through the dangerous moving Rocks called the Symplegadae.  
6. The Grecian Navy lay Wind-bound till Iphigenia was Sacrificed, and appeased the anger of Diana.  
7. Vossius, in his Observations on Catullus, Reads— Invehet undis Persida— The Expression is bold, and therefore proper for the Poet. That Xerxes dug a new Channel, and made a Bridge over the Hellespont, are known stories.  
8. Manilius mentions several notable defeats at Sea, such was that of the Athenians near Syracuse, which brought the Athenians very low: such were those of the Carthaginians by the Romans: And that of Antony by Augustus near Actium.  
9 Heaven's great Fortune: Because the Conqueror was to be deified.  
10. Orion is a very large and bright Constellation, and deserves this pompous Description.  
11. Instar erit Populi: This is one of Manilius' bold Expressions, which my English cannot reach.  
12. Alluding to the officious Salutations, which the Clients amongst the Romans carried early every Morning to their Patrons.  
13. Manilius is very accurate in describing the particular Niceties observed in the Roman racing: Those are not now observed amongst us, and therefore we must be content with such Expressions as our Language will afford.  
14. An Exercise much used amongst the Romans; the Horseman road one Horse, and led another, and in the midst of the Race would throw himself on the led Horse, and so back again as often as he was required; or else would stand upon the Horses back, and in that posture ride the Course.  
15. Salmoneus built a Bridge of Brass, and driving Chariots over it fancied he Thundered: This he did to procure himself divine Honours, but was killed by a Thunderbolt for his impious attempt.  
16. The Poets fancied Bellerophon road upon the flying Horse Pegasus.  
17. A Family amongst the Romans, famous for their seditious Harangues, which they made to the People of Rome out of the Desks, or Rostra, standing in the Market place.  
18. Amongst the Romans one Man would take several Balls, and toss them, sometimes behind, and sometimes before, now on this hand, and now on the other, so that some of them should be always up in the Air: And this feat of Activity Manilius Describes.  
19 The Story of Meleager runs thus: At his Birth his Mother heard one of the Destinies say, the Child should live till the stick that than lay in the Fire was burnt: The Mother snatched the stick out of the Fire, and preserved it. When Meleager was grown a Man, he with a great many others went to hunt a Wild Boar; at the same time Atalante a Nymph of extraordinary Beauty came into the Field, and had the good Fortune to wound the Boar first: Meleager fell in Love with Atalante, and having killed the Boar presented the Head to her: His two Uncles who were present at the Hunting thought themselves injured, and would not suffer a Woman to carry of their Spoil. Meleager in defence of Atalante kills his two Uncles: Meleager's Mother, to revenge the Death of her two Brothers, puts the stick into the Fire, as that burnt Meleager wasted.  
20. Formidine Mortis: Huetius Reads Formidine Pennae: For when they Hunted, they used to set stakes in the ground, to which they tied Feathers which frighted the Deer, and made them keep within that compass, or take that way the Hunters thought most convenient for their sport.  
21. Philoctetes was Servant to Hercules, and when Hercules burned himself, he left his Bow and Arrows to Philoctetes: Without these Arrows Troy could not be taken: Now it happened that Philoctetes, either by a contrivance of Ulysses, or because, being wounded by one of the Poisoned Arrows, he became offensive to the Graecian Camp, was sent away to Lemnos: But the Siege going on slowly, he was fetched back again: With his Arrows he killed the chiefest of the Remaining Commanders, and so Troy was taken.  
22. Teucer was Brother to Ajax, and he with his Bow beaten back Hector when he came to burn the Graecian Navy.  
23. The following Verses relate to Alcon the Cretan, who shot a Snake that lay twisted round the Head of his Son, and did not touch the Boy.  
24. This Goat or Hoedus Scaliger could not found, but Huetius says, the Single Hoedus is put by Manilius for those two H●edi that are in the left hand of Heniochus, or the Driver. Thus Horace. 
— Archeri cadentis  
Impetus, aut orientis Haedi,  and Propertius 
●Purus & Orion, purus & Hoedus erit.   
25. The Poets fancied Orpheus went down to Hell, charmed Pluto and the Destinies, and brought back his Wife Eurydice.  
26. Alluding to the Fable, which says jupiter Courted Leda in the shape of a Swan.  
27. Several Feats of Activity amongst the Romans, in which they equalled if not excelled all the following Ages.  
28. The common Subjects upon which Sophocles, Euripides, and other Tragedians amongst the Ancients wrote their Plays.  
29. A famed Comedian, who flourished in the hundred and fourteenth Olympiad.  
30. Po●pey having conquered Mithridates, brought to Rome more valuable Jewels than ever had been seen there: And from that time, as Pliny in the first Chapter of his 37th. Book complains, the Romans began to value and admire Jewels.  
31. The Romans did not only put Notorious Malefactors in Chains, but likewise chained them to their Keepers; and this Custom the Poet hints at.  
32. Vossius out of his Ancient Manuscript reads, 
Et Coeli meditatus iter Vestigia perdet,  
Et Perna pendens populum suspendet ab ipsa.   
33. These were the several Orders in the Roman Commonwealth.  
FINIS.     

INDEX.  

A.  
AStronomy, its rise and progress, part 1. p. 3.  
Axis of the World, part 1. p. 13.  
Plague of Athens, part 1. p. 34.  
Aspects, part 1. p. 60.  
Aspects friendly and unfriendly, part 1. p. 74.  
Aries' Influence, part 2. p. 9 et 24.  
Aquarius' Influence, part 2. p. 15. et 27.  
Astronomy to be studied, part 2. p. 39  
Aries' Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 56.  
Aquarius' Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 72.  
The Fable of Andromeda, part 2. p. 76.   

C.  
Northern Constellations, part 1. p. 14.  
Southern Constellations, part 1. p. 17.  
Figures of the Constellations not real, part 1. p. 20.  
Northern Polar Circle, part 1. p. 24.  
Tropical Circle of Cancer, part 1. p. 24.  
Equinoctial Circle, part 1. p. 24.  
Tropic of Capricorn, part 1. p. 24.  
Southern Polar Circle, part 1. p. 25.  
The Colours, part 1. p. 25.  
Comets presage, part 1. p. 34.  
Chaldeans refuted, part 1. p. 106. and 110.  
Cancer's Influence, part 2. p. 11 et 25.  
Capricorn's Influence, part 2. p. 14. et 27.  
Countries governed by particular Signs, part 2. p. 36.  
The Influence of Cancer joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 61.  
Capricorn's Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 70.   

D  
Dodecatemorion, part 1. p. 76.  
Dodecatemoria of the Planets, part 1. p. 77.  
Day Births, part 1. p. 104.  
Bad and good Degrees of Signs, part 2. p. 21.   

E.  
Earth the Centre of the Universe, part 1. p. 9  
Earth round, part 1. p. 10.  
Geographical description of the Earth, part 2. p. 28.  
Eccliptick Signs, part 2. p. 38.   

F.  
Friendship, part 1. p. 72.  
Fortune's Lot, part 1. p. 103.  
Fate, part 2. p. 4.   

G.  
Guardians of the Signs, part 1. p. 66.  
Gemini's Influence, part 2. p. 10. et 25.  
The Influence of Gemini when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 60.   

H.  
Horizon, part 1. p. 26.  
Influence of the Heavens, part 1. p. 51.  
Signs hear and see, love and hate each other, part 1. p. 67.  
The Celestial Houses, part 1. p. 80.  
Horoscope part 1. p. 105.  
Hours various, part 1. p. 106.   

L.  
Twelve Lots of the twelve Signs, part I p. 99  
Leo's Influence, part 2. p. 11. et 26.  
Libra's Influence, part 2. p. 13. et 26.  
Leo's Inssuence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 63.  
Libra's Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 66.   

M.  
Meridian part 1. p. 26.  
Milky way, part 1. p. 27.  
Various Opinions about the milky way, part 1. pag. 29.  
Meteors, part 1. p. 32.  
The several Magnitudes of the Stars, p. 2. p. 82.   

N.  
Night Births, part 1. p. 104.   

P.  
Southern Pole like the Northern, part 1. pag. 19  
Providence asserted against Epicurus, part 1. pag. 21.  
Planets, part 1. pag. 32.  
Pisces' Influence, part 2. p. 15. & 27.  
Pisces Influence joined with other Constellations, part 2. pag. 76.   

Q.  
Quadrates, part 1. pag. 61.   

S.  
Soul of the World, part 1. p. 12. & 51.  
The several kinds or sorts of Signs, part 1. p. 55.  
Sextiles, part 1. p. 63.  
Stadia, part 1. p. 108,  
The several positions of the Sphere, part 1. p. 110.  
Scorpio's Influence, part 2. p. 13. et 26.  
Sagittarius Influence, part 2. p. 14. et 27.  
Sagittarius Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 69.  
Scorpio's Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 68   

T.  
Trines part 1. p. 60.  
Taurus' Influence, part 2. p, 10. et 25.  
Tenths, or Lords of the Signs, part 2. p. 16.  
The Influence of Taurus joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 60.   

V  
Virgo's Influence, part 2. p. 12. et 26.  
Virgo's Influence when joined with other Constellations, part 2. p. 65.   

W.  
Different Opinions about the Beginning of the World, part 1. p. 7.  
The order of the World, part 1. p. 8.  
The bigness of the World, part 1. p. 23.  
The World animate, part 1. p. 51.  
Wind's cardinal and collateral, part. 2. p. 28.   

Z.  
Signs of the Zodiac, part 1. p. 13.  
Zodiac, part 1. p. 27.    

ERRATA.  

Part I  
PAg. 5. lin. 7. read looked. pag. ● 2. l. 2. r. fe●t. p. 15. l. 27. r. stretch. p. 16. l. 33. r. the Tempests. p. 19 l. 15. r. their starry. p. 24. l. 15. r. Light. l. 18. r. Summer's Solstice. l. 22. r. sees. p. 46. l. 19 r. Fayus. p. 47. last line r. World. p. 49. l. 6. r. preside. p. 51. l. 22. r. Purls. p. 53. l. 2. r. draws. p. 59 l. 13. r. Cretan. p. 65. l. 31. r. Times. p. 66. l. 17. r. to more. p. 70. l. 16. r. than. p. 75. l. 26. r. which, and marks. p. 76. l. 21. r. which. p. 77. l. 10. r. Twelfth. p. 82. l. 32. r. point. p. 83. l. 6. r. Influence. p. 84. l. 6. read Typheous. l. 16. r. 'tis. p. 86. l. 17. r. the. p. 97. l. 9 r. s●lls. p. 100 l. 27. r. speeds. p. 104. l. 4. r. unfold. p. 107. l. 23. r. Carr. p. 109. l. 8. r. do equal. p. 110. l. 26. r. site. p. 114. in the margin blot out the ●rine l. 24. r. regularly. p. 116. l. 13. r. longest. p. 119. l. 15. r. she. p. 121. l. 28. r. fails. p. 124. l. 8. r. is.   

Part II.  
PAg. 4. lin. 24. read Marius. p. 8. l. 10. r. enlarge. l. 19 r. Successes. p. 10. l. 18. r. wastes. p. 16. l. 28. r. o'erspread. p. 17 l. 2. r. in a Disguise. p. 26. l. 3. r. averse. p. 31. l. 2. r. stood. p. 32. l. 7● r. which. p. 33. l. 21. r. manly▪ l. 28. r. ●●ats. p. 39 l. 7. r. Pairs. p. 55. l. 9 r. Carr. l. 30. r. Cars. p. 59 l. 6. r. makes. p. 67. l. 18. r. growing. p. 70. l. 18. r. kiss. p. 72. l. 33. r. who. p. 83. l. 22. r. nor.