ii^ The Statural Hijiory 



i o i. Yet granting too that in the Primitive Times there were 

 fuch ftrange Earthquakes, or elfe that there was fome time or o- 

 ther fuch a Flood, that did cover our highefi bills, and which 

 might be fo violent, as to bring Jbells out of the great deep, and 

 place them on the tops of Mountains ; yet that our formed ft ones, 

 at leaft the moft of them, were notfalhion'd in fuch molds, but 

 are Lapides fui generis, maybe ftrongly fufpe&ed from the fol- 

 lowing reafons. 



102. Firft, becaufe I have found fome of them that refemble 

 Jhell-fijh that always ftick to rocks, and cannot well be prefumed 



to have come away with the greateft Flood, unlefs fo violent as to 

 have brought the Rocks too: and fuch is that engraven Tab. 5. 

 Fig. 7. which whether it beft reprefent the Echinus quintus of 

 Ariflotle, or fome fort of Lepas or Patella, equally makes for my 

 purpofe, neither of them leaving the rock, they ftick too, being 

 Univalves, and having the rock, it felf inftead of the other. 



103. Secondly, becaufe there are many Jbells, and other tefta- 

 ceous and bony fubftances belonging to Fifb, that rauft alfo have 

 been left behind upon the ebb of fuch a Flood as well as the reft, of 

 which we have no ftones that refemble them at all. Such are the 

 bones of If hales, Sea-horfes, and the bones of all thefquammeous 

 kind ; the greztflells of the Buccina, Murices, Concha Venerts,an<l 

 Solenes ; the fword of the Xiphias or Sword-fifi, and almoft all 

 the cruftaceou* kind, fiich as Crabs, Congers, Lobfters,(src. which 

 laft having locomotion, I (hould much rather expe&ed to have 

 found petrified on the tops of Mountains, than any of the teftace- 

 ous kind, and yet of theft we meet the feweft of any. 



1 04. Thirdly, becaufe there are many Stones formed indeed 

 in the manner of Bivalves,istc which yet refemble no fpecies of 

 fiell-ftfi now to be found, whereof feveral are above -mention'd. 

 And this is ingenioufly confefs'd by Fabiws Columnar ', though one 

 of the Adverfaries of this my prefent opinion : Addemus (fays 

 he) Pe&unculorum imagines, quarum quafdam non nifi lapideas vi- 

 dimus, of which that he calls his Mytulo-petlunculm rarior Berbe- 

 roides, is one. If it be faid, that poflibly thefe Species may be 

 now loft, I (hall leave it to the Reader to judge, whether it be 

 likely that Providence which took fo much care to fecure the 

 works of the Creation in Noah's Flood, fhould either then, or 



Acjuatil. <& Terrejlr. oifervat. cap- 21. 



fince, 



