him who flew his Brother; for of whom do they make fuch general Slaughter, but of their Brethren; MEN of MEN? But who was that juft MAN, whom, had not Heaven refcued him, had been loft in and for his Righteousness?

To whom MICHAEL replied thus: These are the Product of thofe ill-mated Marriages which thou faweft; where the Good are match'd with the Bad; who of themselves abhor to join; and being imprudently mix'd, produce prodigious Births of Body or Mind. Such thefe Giants fhall be; Men of exceeding high Renown; for in thofe Days, Power only fhall be admir'd, and call'd Valour and heroick Virtue: It fhall be held the highest Pitch of human Glory to overcome in Battle, and fubdue Nations, and bring home Spoils with infinite Manflaughter; and this done only for the Glory of Triumph, to be ftil'd great Conquerors and Patrons of MANKIND, and be called Gods and Sons of Gods; when they much more properly might be called Destroyers and the Plagues of MEN. Thus Fame and Renown fhall be atchiev'd upon Earth; and that which most deferves Fame, fhall be hid in Silence. But he, the feventh from thee, whom thou beheld'ft the only righteous one in a perverfe World; and therefore hated, therefore fo furrounded with Foes, for daring fingly to be juft, and utter difagreeable Truth, "That GOD "would come to judge them with his Saints." Him, the most HIGH did, as thou faweft, take up to Heaven; for he was carried fuddenly away, to walk with GOD, high in Salvation and the Regions of Blifs, being exempted from DEATH; to fhew thee what Reward attends the Good, and to the Evil what Punishment; which now caft thy Eyes forward, and thou fhalt foon fee:

ADAM look'd, and he faw the Appearance of Things quite chang'd: The Trumpets, that founded

fo

fo loud in the Battle, ceas'd; all was now turn'd to Game and Jollity, to Luxury, Riot, Feaft, and Dance, marrying or proftituting, juft as it happened; committing Adultery, or even Rapes, where any Degree of Beauty allur'd them: To thefe Vices they added Drunkenness, and contentious Broils. At length there came a reverend Sire among them, and declar'd great Diflike of their wicked Actions, teftifying against their Ways; he often frequented their Affemblies, going wherefoever they met, whether at Triumphs or Festivals; and preach'd to them Conversion and Repentance, as to Souls that were in Bondage to Sin, and under imminent Judgment; but it was all in vain: Which when he faw, he left off contending, and remov'd his Tents far off from theirs: Then hewing tall Trees on the Mountains, he began to build a Veffel of large Bulk, meafur'd by Cubits, Length, Breadth, and Height; fmear'd round with Pitch; and in the Side he contriv'd a Door, and laid in a large Store of Provifion, both for Man and Beast: When behold a ftrange Wonder! there came every Beaft, and Bird, and little Infect, by Sevens and Pairs, and enter'd in, as taught their Order; laft the reverend Sire and his Wife, and his three Sons with their Wives enter'd in alfo; and GOD fhut them in. Mean while the South-Wind arofe, and blowing fiercely, drove together all the Clouds from under Heaven; the Hills fent up to fill them Vapours and moist Exhalations: And now the thicken'd Sky was all overcaft; the impetuous Rain rufh'd down, and it continued raining 'till the Earth was feen no more: The floating Ark (0) fwam upon the Water, and feD d curely

(o) The Ark of Noab. It was the first Ship in the World; God gave the Form and Meafures, and Noah was the Mafter Builder of it; and from it Men

took the Hint of Navigation. It was made of Cedar or Cyprus, which hath a bitter Sap in it, therefore no Worms touch it, and it doth not rot; for this ve

sy

curely floated over the Waves: All other Dwellings the Flood overwhelm'd, and with them rowl'd all their Pomp deep under the Water, one Wave following upon another: The Sea was without Shore, and the Palaces, where Luxury reign'd lately, became the Habitation of Sea-Monfters; all that was left of MANKIND, lately fo numerous, embark'd in one small Bottom. How then, AD AM, didst thou grieve, to behold the End of all thy Offfpring, and fo fad an univerfal Difpeopling of the World! another Flood of Tears and Sorrow drown'd thee alfo, and funk thee like thy Sons; 'till gently rais'd up by the Angel, thou at laft ftood'ft upon thy Feet, though comfortlefs; as when a Father mourns for his Children, which are deftroy'd all at once in his Sight. He had fcarce Power to utter to the Angel this Complaint:

ry End, that it might be a lasting Monument to future Generations, both of their Sin, Punishment, and miraculous Deliverance. Jofephus and Epiphanius affirm, that the Remains of it were to be seen in their Times, and that was about 3000 Years after the Building of it. In it

Noah continued a whole Year and I Days. "In the fix "hundredth Year of Noah's

Life, in the fecond Month, "the feventeenth Day of the "Month, the fame Day were "all the Fountains of the great "Deep broken up, and the . Windows of Heaven were o"pened. And the Rain was upon the Earth forty Days "and forty Nights. And in "the fecond Month, on the

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feven and twentieth Day of "the Month, was the Earth

dried." The clean Beafts, or thofe that were appointed for Sa

WHAT

crifices, went into the Ark by Sevens; that Noah might have wherewith to atone the Deity for his miraculous Deliverance which he did, Gen.8 20. " And "Noah builded an Altar unto “the Lord, and took of every "clean Beaft, and of every "clean Fowl, and offered "Burnt-offerings on the Altar." Of the unclean Sort there were only two, the Male and the Female, to preferve and propagate every Species afterwards: For he made no Ufe of the Flesh of any of thefe; that was not granted 'till the Flood was over, Gen. 9. 3, 4. "Every moving

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Thing that liveth fhall be "Meat for you; even as the

green Herb have I given you "all Things: But Flesh with "the Life thereof, which is the "Blood thereof, shall you not "eat."

WHAT Vifions of Ill do I forefee! How much better had it been for me, to have liv'd ignorant of what was to happen hereafter! So I had born only my own Part of Evil, that of each Day being fufficient for the Day; now all thofe that were diftributed and divided, to be the Burthen of many Ages, by my Fore-knowledge light at once upon me; gaining an untimely Birth to torment me, before their Being, with the Thoughts that they muft be. Henceforward, let no MAN defire to be foretold what fhall befall him or his Children; for he may be affur'd before-hand, that it will be Evil; which his Fore-knowing can in no wife prevent; and as for the future Evil, he fhall feel it, not only actually, but full as much in Apprehenfion; how grievous is that to bear! But that Care is past now, there are no MEN to give Warn→ ing to; thofe few who have efcap'd Famine and Anguish, will at last be loft, wandering upon the barren Waters. I had conceiv'd Hope, that when Violence and War would have ceas'd upon Earth, that then all would have gone well; that Peace would have crowned the Race of MAN with Length of happy Days: But I find, that I was greatly deceiv'd! for, now I perceive that Peace corrupts as much as War waftes. Unfold to me, thou who art a Guide from Heaven! how comes it, that thefe Things are fo? And tell me, whether the Race of MANKIND will end here?

To whom MICHAEL made Answer thus: Thofe, whom thou faweft laft in Triumph and luxurious Wealth, are they who will firft be feen in Acts of eminent Valour and great Exploits, but will be deftitute of true Virtue; who having fpilt much Blood, and made a greaft Devastation in fubduing Nations, and having thereby obtain'd in the World Fame, high Titles, and rich Prey; fhall change the Courie of their Lives to Pleafure, Eafe, Surfeit, and Luft; Dd 2 'till

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

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

be

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