78 



The discovery of the bones of elephants at the 

 bottom of some of our English bogs, seems a convincing 

 proof that the earth has undergone some very extraor 

 dary alterations. For the remains of animals of quite 

 different climates, which in the present situation of the 

 world could never possibly come over hither, mus 

 imply their having been originally here, or that Englam 

 was once joined to the continent. But since we fine 

 these creatures only in the very hot countries, it i 

 highly probaole they were not originally here, unless we 

 suppose the temperature of our climate to have been 

 greatly altered. And without such a supposition, we 

 cannot suppose they would have wandered hither 

 though all parts of the globe had been contiguous. Bu 

 what changes have happened to our earth no human 

 wisdom can find out. Suppose only the axis thereof to 

 have been shifted, at any time but a few degress, wha 

 convulsions in nature, what an universal change in the 

 face of things must have ensued ! What inundations o 

 water bearing every thing before them ! What breache 

 in the earth, what hurricanes and tempests must hav 

 attended such an event ! For the waters must have 

 rolled along till an equipoise was produced ; and a] 

 parts of the world must acquire different degrees o 

 'heat and cold from what they had before. Seas woul< 

 be formed where continents had been ; continents torn 

 in pieces, or split into islands. Such would have been 

 the fate of inanimate things. And as to living creature 

 they must have been destroyed and buried in the ruin 

 of the world, as perhaps these elephants were. 



