AN HYPOTHESIS OF THE TERRAQUEOUS GLOBE. 47 



Society of Jesus, which, in a section of the globe, represents it as " full of cavities, and resembling 

 the inside of a pomegranade," the centre being marked with a blazing fire, or "ignis centralist 

 "But now," writes Aubrey in 1691, "Mr. Edmund Halley, R.S.S., hath an hypothesis that 

 the earth is hollow, about five hundred miles thick ; and that a terella moves within it, which 

 causes the variation of the needle ; and in the center a sun." Further on he says, " that the centre 

 of this globe is like the heart that warmes the body, is now the most commonly received opinion." 

 On the subject of subterranean heats and fires the author quotes several pages from Dr. Edward 

 Jorden's " Discourse of Natural Baths and Mineral Waters ; wherein the original of fountains, the 

 nature and differences of water, and particularly those of the Bathe, are declared." (4 to. 1632.) 

 He also extracts a passage from Lemery's " Course of Chymistry," (8vo. 1686,) as the foundation of 

 a theory to explain the heat of the Bath waters. 



The difficulty of reconciling the various opinions that were advanced with the Mosaic account of 

 the Creation, was a great stumbling-block to the progress of geological science at the time when 

 Aubrey wrote. He was not however inclined to read the sacred writings too literally on this subject, 

 for after giving a part of the first chapter of Genesis, he quotes (from Timothy, ch. iii. v. 15) the 

 words, " from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make tliee wise unto 

 salvation : " upon which he observes, " the Apostle doth not say, to teach natural philosophy : and see 

 Pere Symond, where he says that the scriptures in some places may be erroneous ax to philosophy. 

 but the doctrine of the church is right." It is presumed that the above passages, which indicate the 

 general nature of Aubrey's theory, will be sufficient, without further quotations from this chapter. 

 J. B.] 



