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tells us, that the rocks in Egypt bear evident marks 
of having been wafhed by the lea *. 
Thefe are the reafons which induce me to venture 
upon this fuppofition ; and now I will juft conlider 
one or two objebtions, that appear to me amongft the 
mod material which may be made to what I have 
advanced. 
It may perhaps be faid, that we read -J- tc of the 
tc waters returning from off the earth, and of their 
“ being abated at the end of the hundred and fifty 
tf days : and alfo, of the waters decreasing continually 
“ till the tenth month ; and of the tops of the 
<c mountains being then feen.” And it may be 
obje<fted, that we ought from thence to conclude, that 
the waters of the deluge, having covered what was 
before dry ground, afterwards retreated, and left the 
very fame hills and land dry again. 
But this conclufion is by no means neceftary j for 
all that can be inferred from what we find in Genefis 
concerning the decreafe of the waters, is, that they 
gradually fubfided from off the face of what is now 
continent and dry land, as of courfe they would do on 
the elevation of it, agreeable to the foregoing hypo- 
thefis. And indeed, if the deluge was effected in the 
way here fuppofed, we can then give a rational and 
ealy account how all the water came to drain off' the 
ground, and to leave it dry lo foon as is recorded ; 
which otherwife is a circumftance in this piece of 
hiftory very perplexing. It is evident, that fuch a 
violent earthquake, or burfling forth of the Subter- 
raneous fire, as is here fuppofed to have raifed the 
* Norden’s Travels, vol. II. p. 21 . 
f Genefis, ch. viii. 3 — 5. 
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