a wife End in all his Defigns; let him reflect upon what follows, which feems to be capable of removing all farther Uncertainty.

.. It is known to every one that ever div'd under Water with his Eyes open, that one may indeed fee the Light and many Colours of Objects, but that all will appear Confufed and without Diftinction. Now we have fhewn before in Tab. XI. Fig. 2. that the Rays of Light BC and B C coming from a Point B into the Air, continually diverging or spreading wider and wider from each other, meet in the Eye with a watry Humour, thro' which they do not then proceed directly from C, according to gg, but are refracted towards each other at CD; which refraction or bending being repeated again the fecond and third time at Dand E,they both of 'em unite again at the Bottom of the Eye at b; which manner of collecting all the Rays proceeding from B. into this one Point 6, all the Exactness of a good Sight confifts.

in

Let us now fuppofe this Eye, as alfo the Point B, in the Water; then the Rays BC and BC, will come out of the Water upon the Aqueous Humour CC. And fince, in order to be bent or refracted, they must likewife change the Medium thro' which they pafs, thefe Rays therefore remaining in the faid Medium or Water, and paffing to C, will not be broken or bent to D'D; but proceed dire&ly togg, till they meet the Cryftaline Humour S T.. So that altho' they be refracted after the ufual Manner, thro' the fame at D and E, yet failing of the firft Refraction at C, they will not be able to approach near enough to each other, in order to be collected juft at one and the fame Point 6, which is at the Bottom of the Eye: But this Point of their Collection will fall farther behind the Eye, for Inftance, at k; for which reafon every Point, as B, with its Rays, will fill the whole Space

m n

mn at the Bottom of the Eye; which happening in like manner from the other Points of the Object near B, the Rays of thefe feveral Points will be mingled together at the Bottom of the Eye, even in the fame Space between m and n, and fo occafion an entirely distracted or confufed Sight, because each Point B is not seen in a particular Point b; after the fame manner as in a dark Chamber, when you hold the Paper a little too near to the Glafs, the Objects painted upon it are all confufed, whereas by holding it at a due Distance, it reprefents the most accurate Painting that Eye ever beheld.

SECT. XXXIV. To prevent this confused Sight, Fishes are endowed with rounder Eyes.

Now this is the Inconveniency that would happen, and be peculiar to all Fishes, if their Eyes were of the fame Figure with thofe of fuch Creatures, as live in the Air. Now in Cafe any one that fhould doubt of the Wisdom of Go D in the Formation of Fishes, does understand the Laws of Opticks; and if he were to tell us how this Inconvenience in Fishes might be prevented, and how they could be furnished with a distinct Sight; fuch his Skill in Opticks might indeed teach him fome of the Methods whereby the fame might be brought about; as for Inftance, by holding a round Glafs before the Fishes Eyes, as old People do, who find the fame Defect in their Eyes, because they become less round and more flat by Age: but it is plain, that fuch a thing can't be done for the Fishes. The making their Eyes longer, fo that they might be extended not to b but to k, would indeed render their Sight more diftin&t; but then it would bring along with it this Inconvenience, that their Eyes, by lofing fo much of their Roundnefs, could not eafily be turned

to

to all Sides. And, to pass over others, let him tell us, whether he could have thought of a shorter Way, than by making the Crystaline Humour of the Fishes S T rounder, and of a smaller Circumference than the Eyes of thofe Creatures that live in the Air; and he will know, that according to the Rules of Opticks, this will be fufficient to make good the Defect, and caufe the Focus of the Rays to fall fo much nearer upon the Crystaline Humour.

Now this is what we really find in Fishes; in which the faid Humours are fufficiently Convex, and like little Globules, as may be daily observ'd in the Eyes of boiled little Fifhes; and as appears even in the Eyes of great Whales, which are very fmall and round, and which if they were larger, and confequently of a flatter Circumference, would take up a great Part of their Heads for the ufe of their Sight, which now is contain'd in lefs Room.

Now let those felf-conceited, but unhappy Philofophers, who deduce every thing from meer Chance, or from ignorant or neceffary Laws of Nature, retire within themselves, and reflect, whether it can seem probable to them, that it is perfectly accidental, that befides the wonderful and uniform Structure above-mention'd of the Eyes of all Animals, thofe that belong to the Water have their Eyes fo form'd, as to fee and distinguish Objects in that Element; and those that live in the Air, have theirs likewife adapted to this Element. Or let them with all their fancy'd Wisdom, prove to us the Neceffity, according to which they can infer from the nature of the Water, that (unless the Creator had had this End in view) the Eyes of Fishes would have been always rounder than thofe of the Creatures which belong to the Earth or the Air. But as this is not poffible for them to do, let

them

many

them confefs with us, and befides with fo Men famed for Learning, that a God of Wisdom and Goodness extending his Care even to Fishes, does vifibly appear in this matter. Or if they ftill perfevere in their Opinion, they must pardon us, f we fay, we are compell'd to think that they are to be pity'd, as lying under a fecret Judgment of GOD, as well as a natural Blindnefs, efpecially if they go on to affirm, that after having duly weigh'd all things, they ftill remain unconvinced.

I have dwelt a little the longer upon this Subject, because one of my Acquaintance, who being involved in Doubts, and having entertain'd fome Scruples about the most important Truths, by much (but wrong) Philofophizing, happen'd to read thefe Obfervations in Rohault's Phyficks; whereupon he felt great prickings and trouble in his Mind, and prefently own'd that he was now fully and irrefragably convinc'd that the Eyes of all Animals, and especially the diversity in the Form of thofe of Fifh, could not be produced without a manifest view and defign of him who made them: and confequently, that there must be a GOD, who by caufing his Wifdom to appear to all Men by his Works, deferv'd to be fear'd by all his Creatures. May He grant, that all those who fhall read this, and seriously reflect upon it, may likewise be convinced!

SECT. XXXV, and XXXVI. The Fruitfulness and Numbers of Fishes.

THAT we may be more confirmed in the Acknowledgment of a GOD, we need only contemplate the Multiplication and Fœcundity of Fifhes, which happens in many Kinds of them after fo wonderful a Manner, as has been shewn already

upon

upon another occafion; fome of the Females dif charge their Spawn, and the Males their Melt or Seed in the Water near each other, and without any farther Acting of the Fifhes on either fide, both these Seminal Matters being intrusted to the Water, do produce Young Fishes of the fame Kind.

Now can any Body imagine, that this Spawn and Melt of the Males and Females, together with the Water, have the Property of Engenderring Fishes after fuch a manner by meer Chance, and without a wife Defign! The rather, fince we fee that herein is a Direction or Difpofition of propagating the Species of Fishes above all other. Creatures in an infinite Number; for if there were not fome other extrinfical Impediment, every fingle Grain or little Egg that we find in the Spawn, would become a Fifh. So that it is no wonder what fome Travellers relate concerning their Fruitfulness; as for Inftance, that in the Inland called John Fernandez, in the South-Sea, there is fuch a vast Quantity of Fishes, that one Man can in one Day catch enough to feed 200 Perfons.

I have often thought of the Text in Genefis i. 20. And God faid, let the Waters bring forth ABUNDANTLY the moving Creature that hath Life; whereby the two aforefaid particular Properties, concerning the great Encrease of Fishes, are as one may fay, pointed out with the Finger; the rather, because in the 21 Verse it is repeated with the fame ftrong Ephafis, which the Waters brought forth ABUNDANTLY after their Kind.

Now that this has respect to Water, which as a fecond Cause, produces thefe Fishes out of their Spawn, seems to be deducible from hence, That the Procreation of Birds being mention'd in the faid Verses, is not afcribed to the Air, tho' they live and are produced therein, as Fishes in the Wa-

ter;