in the line of Seth nominates but ten persons, are they to be conceived all that were of this generation. The Scripture singly delivering the holy line, wherein the world was to be preserved, first in Noah, and afterward in our Saviour. For in this line it is manifest there were many more born than are named, for it is said of them all, that they begat sons and daughters. And whereas it is very late before it is said they begat those persons which are named in the Scripture, the soonest at 65, it must not be understood that they had none before, but not any in whom it pleased God the holy line should be continued. And although the expression that they begat sons and daughters, be not determined to be before or after the mention of those, yet must it be before in some; for before it is said that Adam begat Seth at the 130th year, it is plainly affirmed that Cain knew his wife, and had a son, which must be one of the daughters of Adam, one of those whereof it is after said, he begat sons and daughters. And so, for ought can be disproved, there might be more persons upon earth than are commonly supposed when Cain slew Abel, nor the fact so heinously to be aggravated in the circumstance of the fourth person living. And whereas it is said, upon the nativity of Seth, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, it doth not imply he had no other all this while; but not any of that expectation, or appointed (as his name implies) to make a progres sion in the holy line, in whom the world was to be saved, and from whom he should be born, that was mystically slain in Abel.

Now our first ground to induce the numerosity of people before the flood, is the long duration of their lives, beyond seven, eight, and nine hundred years. Which how it conduceth unto populosity, we shall make but little doubt, if we consider there are two main causes of numerosity in any kind or species, that is, a frequent and multiparous way of breeding, whereby they fill the world with others, though they exist not long themselves; or a long duration and subsistence, whereby they do not only replenish the world with a new annumeration of others, but also maintain the former account in themselves. From the first cause we may observe examples in creatures oviparous, as birds and fishes; in vermiparous, as flies, locusts, and gnats; in animals also vivi

CHAP. VI.]

THE EARTH BEFORE THE FLOOD.

141

parous, as swine and conies. Of the first there is a great example in the herd of swine in Galilee, although an unclean beast and forbidden unto the Jews. Of the other a remarkable one in Athenæus, in the Isle Astipalea, one of the Cyclades, now called Stampalia, wherein from two that were imported, the number so increased, that the inhabitants were constrained to have recourse unto the oracle of Delphos, for an invention how to destroy them.

Others there are which make good the paucity of their breed with the length and duration of their days, whereof there want not examples in animals uniparous. First, in bisulcous or cloven-hoofed, as camels and beeves, whereof there is above a million annually slain in England. It is also said of Job, that he had a thousand yoke of oxen, and six thousand camels; and of the children of Israel passing into the land of Canaan, that they took from the Midianites threescore and ten thousand beeves; and of the army of Semiramis, that there were therein one hundred thousand camels. For solipeds or firm-hoofed animals, as horses, asses, mules, &c., they are also in mighty numbers; so it is delivered that Job had a thousand she asses; that the Midianites lost sixty-one thousand asses. For horses, it is affirmed by Diodorus, that Ninus brought against the Bactrians two hundred eighty thousand horses; after him Semiramis five hundred thousand horses, and chariots one hundred thousand. Even in creatures sterile, and such as do not generate, the length of life conduceth much unto the multiplicity of the species; for the number of mules which live far longer than their dams or sires, in countries where they are bred, is very remarkable, and far more common than horses.

For animals multifidous, or such as are digitated or have several divisions in their feet, there are but two that are uniparous, that is, men and elephants, who, though their productions be but single, are notwithstanding very numerous. The elephant, as Aristotle affirmeth, carrieth the young two years, and conceiveth not again, as Edvardus Lopez affirmeth, in many years after, yet doth their age requite this disadvantage, they living commonly one hundred, sometime two hundred years. Now although they be rare with us in Europe, and altogether unknown unto America, yet in the

two other parts of the world they are in great abundance, as appears by the relation of Garcias ab Horto, physician to the Viceroy at Goa, who relates that at one venation the king of Siam took four thousand, and is of opinion they are in other parts in greater number than herds of beeves in Europe. And though this, delivered from a Spaniard unacquainted with our northern droves, may seem very far to exceed, yet must we conceive them very numerous, if we consider the number of teeth transported from one country to another, they having only two great teeth, and those not falling or renewing.

As for man, the disadvantage in his single issue is the same with these, and in the lateness of his generation somewhat greater than any; yet in the continual and not interrupted time hereof, and the extent of his days, he becomes at present, if not than any other species, at least more numerous than these before mentioned. Now being thus numerous at present, and in the measure of threescore, fourscore, or an hundred years, if their days extended unto six, seven, or eight hundred, their generations would be proportionably multiplied, their times of generation being not only multiplied, but their subsistence continued. For though the great-grandchild went on, the petrucius* and first original would subsist and make one of the world, though he outlived all the terms of consanguinity, and became a stranger unto his proper progeny. So, by compute of Scripture, Adam lived unto the ninth generation, unto the days of Lamech, the father of Noah; Methuselah unto the year of the flood, and Noah was contemporary unto all from Enoch unto Abraham. So that although some died, the father beholding so many descents, the number of survivors must still be very great; for if half the men were now alive which lived in the last century, the earth would scarce contain their number. Whereas in our abridged and septuagesimal ages, it is very rare, and deserves a distich† to behold the fourth generation. Xerxes' complaint still remaining, and what he lamented in his army, being almost deplorable in the whole world; men seldom arriving unto those years whereby Methuselah ex*The term for that person for whom consanguineal relations are accounted, as in the Arbor civilis.

† Mater ait natæ, dic natæ filia, &c.

ceeded nine hundred, and what Adam came short of a thousand, was defined long ago to be the age of man.

Now, although the length of days conduceth mainly unto the numerosity of mankind, and it be manifest from Scripture they lived very long, yet is not the period of their lives determinable, and some might be longer livers than we account that any were. For, to omit that conceit of some that Adam was the oldest man, in as much as he is conceived to be created in the maturity of mankind, that is, at sixty, for in that age it is set down they begat children, so that adding this number unto his 930, he was 21 years older than any of his posterity; that even Methuselah was the longest liver of all the children of Adam we need not grant, nor is it definitively set down by Moses. Indeed of those ten mentioned in Scripture, with their several ages, it must be true, but whether those seven of the line of Cain and their progeny, or any of the sons' and daughters' posterity after them outlived those, is not expressed in Holy Scripture, and it will seem more probable that of the line of Cain some were longer lived than any of Seth, if we concede that seven generations of the one lived as long as nine of the other. As for what is commonly alleged that God would not permit the life of any unto a thousand, because, alluding unto that of David, no man should live one day in the sight of the Lord, although it be urged by divers, yet is it methinks an inference somewhat rabbinical, and not of power to persuade a serious examiner.

Having thus declared how powerfully the length of lives conduced unto the populosity of those times, it will yet be easier acknowledged if we descend to particularities, and consider how many in seven hundred years might descend from one man; wherein considering the length of their days, we may conceive the greatest number to have been alive together. And this, that no reasonable spirit may contradict, we will declare with manifest disadvantage: for whereas the duration of the world unto the flood was above 1600 years, we will make our compute in less than half that time. Nor will we begin with the first man, but allow the earth to be provided of women fit for marriage the second or third first centuries, and will only take as granted, that they might beget children at sixty, and at an hundred years have twenty,

allowing for that number forty years. Nor will we herein single out Methuselah, on account from the longest livers, but make choice of the shortest of any we find recorded in the text, excepting Enoch, who, after he had lived as many years as there be days in the year, was translated at 365. And thus from one stock of seven hundred years, multiplying still by twenty, we shall find the product to be one thousand three hundred forty-seven millions, three hundred sixty-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty.

Now, if this account of the learned Petavius will be allowed, it will make an unexpected increase, and a larger number than may be found in Asia, Africa, and Europe; especially if in Constantinople, the greatest city thereof, there be no more than Botero accounteth, seven hundred thousand souls. Which duly considered, we shall rather admire how the earth contained its inhabitants, than doubt its inhabitation; and might conceive the deluge not simply penal, but in some way also necessary, as many have conceived of translations,3 if Adam had not sinned, and the race of man had remained upon earth immortal.

Now, whereas some to make good their longevity, have imagined that the years of their compute were lunary, unto these we must reply; that if by a lunary year they understand twelve revolutions of the moon, that is, 354 days, eleven fewer than in the solary year; there will be no great difference, at least not sufficient to convince or extenuate the question. But if by a lunary year they mean one revolution of the moon, that is, a month; they first introduce a

3 translations.] That is, that after some terme of yeares they should not dye, but have been translated as Henoch was, into Heaven.—Wr.