Part II. of the Earth. loi 



reprieved for eight or nine hundred 

 years f . The Dominion of Deaxh 

 over him commenced indeed not onlyt Gen.v. 5. 

 the (ame day that Sentence was paft, 

 but the very minute that he tafted the 

 forbidden Fruit : and Mortality went 

 hand in hand with the Tranlgreffion : 

 but 'twas a long time before it had 

 railed any Trophies, or made a final 

 and ablblute Conqueft. 



Why therefore may we not as well 

 fuppofe the other part of the Sentence, 

 the Sterilizing the Earth, was alfb 

 fufpended for fbme time, and deferrM 

 till the Deluge happened, and became 

 the Executioner of it ? Tis certainly 

 very hard to imagine that God fhould 

 deftroy the Work of his hands almoft 

 as foon as he had finifh'd it : that all 

 things fhould be unhinged again by 

 fuch time as they were well ranged 

 and put in order : and that the Fra- 

 grancy and lovely Verdure which then 

 appeared every where, and which had 

 but juft Chewed it felf, fliould be nip'd 

 in the bud, and blafted all of a fiidden. 

 To be fliort, ^tis, I think, mofl: appa- 

 rent, that as on the other part Morta- 

 lity did prefently enter and take place, 

 but got not full pofleffion of many 



H 3 Ages 



