STUDY IV. 211 



arid purfued the direflion of one of the Meridians 

 which pafles through the middle of the Atlantic 

 Ocean and of the South-Sea. In this courfe he 

 heated only a Zone of water, frozen as well as 

 lluid, which, through the greatefl part of the cir- 

 cumference has a breadth of four thoufand five 

 hundred leagues. He extraded long belts of land 

 and fea fogs, which accompany the melting of 

 all ices, of. the chain of the Cordeliers, of the 

 different branches of the icy mountaints of Mexico, 

 of Taurus, and of Imai'is, which like them run 

 South and North ; of the fides of Atlas, of the 

 fummits of Teneriff, of Mount Jura, of Ida, of 

 Lebanon, and of all the mountains covered with 

 fnow, which lay expofed to his dire<5t influence. 



He quickly fet on lire, with his vertical flame, 

 the Conftellation of the Bear, and that of the 

 Crofs of the South; and, prefently, the vaft cupo- 

 las of ice, on both Poles, fmoked on every fide. 

 All thefe vapours, united to thofe which arofe out 



*' fo that a general conflagration was apprehended." The re- 

 fait, on the contrary, was a deluge which inundated the whole 

 of China. The epoch of this Chinefe deluge, and that of the 

 Univerfal Deluge, are in the fame century. Taiis was born 

 2307 years before Christ, and the Univerfal Deluge happened 

 2348 years before the fame epoch, according to the Hebrew 

 computation. The Egyptians, likewife, had traditions refpeding 

 thefe ancient alterations of the Sun's courfe. 



P 2 of 



