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THE

MOSAIC HISTORY

OF THE

CREATION OF THE WORLD;

ILLUSTRATED BY DISCOVERIES AND EXPERIMENTS DERIVED FROM THE PRESENT
ENLIGHTENED STATE OF SCIENCE; WITH REFLECTIONS, INTENDED TO PROMOTE
VITAL AND PRACTICAL RELIGION.

BY THOMAS WOOD, A. M.

REVISED AND IMPROVED

BY THE REV. J. P. DURBIN, A. M.

PROFESSOR OF LANGUAGES, AUGUSTA COLLEGE, KENTUCKY.

"Every man has a particular train of thought into which his mind falls,
when at leisure, from the impressions and ideas which occasionally
excite it; and if one train of thinking be more desirable than another,
it is surely that which regards the phenomena of nature with a constant
reference to a supreme intelligent author."--_Bacon._

FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION.

NEW-YORK.--M^{C}ELRATH & BANGS.

1831.




[_Entered, according to the Act of Congress, July 27, in the year 1831,
by M^{c}Elrath & Bangs, in the Office of the Clerk of the Southern
District of New-York._]




JOHN T. WEST & CO., PRINTERS.




PREFACE

TO THE SECOND LONDON EDITION.


As God made man with a capacity susceptible of knowledge, so has he
furnished him with the means of acquiring it. The Divine Being is
incomprehensible to all but himself: for a finite capacity can never
fully grasp an infinite object. Neither can he be perceived at all,
only so far as he is pleased to reveal himself. He has given us a
revelation of his nature, perfections, and will; which could never have
been discovered by reasoning and conjecture. He has also favored us
with a revelation of his works, without which the origin, constitution,
and nature of the universe, could never have been adequately known. The
origin, duty, and interest of man, are matters in which we are greatly
concerned. How valuable then are the Sacred Scriptures!

The heathen world by wisdom knew not God. On theological subjects,
the greatest Philosophers and Poets of whom antiquity could boast,
were puerile in their opinions, and absurd and contradictory in their
literary productions. Their progress in many of the sciences, and
the polite arts, was considerable; but in religion they made none:
not because they neglected to investigate the nature of it, as one
observes; for there was not a subject they thought on, nor discoursed
about, more than the nature and existence of the gods; neither was
it for want of natural abilities, nor of learning; for persons who
formed the brightest constellation of geniuses that ever illuminated
the republic of letters, were devoted to the investigation of the
principles and causes of things. Moses, the sacred historian, had
access to the Fountain of knowledge, and has revealed the mystery
that lay hid for ages, because he was taught it by the inspiration of
the Almighty. By the Hebrew Lawgiver we are instructed concerning the
Creation of the World; an illustration of whose account is attempted in
the following pages.

The attention of the reader is called to that era when the elementary
principles of matter were first produced, and the formation of
creatures took place; when vitality was given to a vast variety of
animals, and mind was infused into Man as the peculiar offspring of
God: when motion was impressed on the universe, and the various Planets
began their orbicular revolutions: when Time commenced, and

                    "History, not wanted yet,
    Lean'd on her elbow watching Time, whose course
    Eventful should supply her with a theme."

What a stupendous fabric is Creation! a marvellous display of
omnipotence! It is infinitely diversified, and magnificently grand. Ten
thousand objects strike the attentive eye, and afford inexpressible
delight to a contemplative mind. The blue ethereal arch is highly
illuminated, and richly adorned with sparkling globes of light--whose
number, distances, magnitudes, motions, and influences, elude the most
diligent research: these millions of suns, the glory of other worlds,
are equally the works of the Creator, and, with rays of dazzling
splendor, irradiate the peculiar systems to which they belong: and,
while they celebrate his wisdom and power, form a brilliant canopy
over our heads. That golden globe of light, which is the center of
our planetary system, shines forth in his glory, and spreads abroad
the lucid day: he does not only emit his cheering rays to surrounding
orbs, some of which revolve at immense distances, but, in running his
prescribed course, measures out our time, renders our hours joyful, and
without whose reviving beams we should dwell in perpetual darkness. The
pale silver Moon g