Xll PREFACE. 



" Caesar, lie saw fit to find it in the mouth of a fish ? 

 " These are all of them so many mysteries and sacra- 

 " ments, that oblige you in a more particular manner 

 " to the praises of your Creator. 



" It is from God, my beloved fish, that you have 

 " received being, life, motion, and sense. It is He that 

 " has given you a compliance with your natural incli- 

 " nation, the whole world of waters for your habitation. 

 " It is He that has furnished it with lodgings, chambers, 

 " caverns, grottoes, and such magnificent retirements 

 " as are not to be met with in the chambers of kings, 

 " or in the palaces of princes. You have the water for 

 " your dwelling a clear, transparent element, brighter 

 " than crystal. You can see from its deepest bottom 

 " everything that passes on its surface. You have the 

 " eyes of a lynx, or of an Argus. You are guided by a 

 " secret unerring principle, delighting in' everything 

 " that may be beneficial to you, and avoiding every- 

 " thing that may be hurtful. You are carried on by a 

 " hidden instinct to preserve yourselves, and to propa- 

 " gate your species. You obey, in all your actions, 

 " works, and motions, the dictates and suggestions of 

 " Nature, without the least repugnancy or contradiction. 

 " The colds of winter and the heats of summer are 

 " equally incapable of molesting you. A serene or 

 " clouded sky are indifferent to you. Let the earth* 

 " abound in fruits or be cursed with scarcity, it has no 

 " influence on your welfare. You live secure in rains 

 " or thunders, lightnings and earthquakes. You have 



