in others much diminished in fertility, so that the general productiveness of the globe must have been considerably diminished, and the permission to eat flesh must have been extremely useful in increasing the amount of food, and diminishing that of labour. Such a change having taken place, both in the heavens and the earth, and vast countries being essentially altered both in the temperature of the atmosphere, from whatever cause, and the productions of the soil, the extinction of many of the original animal forms, that were extra-tropical, or at least were inhabitants of high latitudes, and were incapable of bearing the changes, whether it was ante-diluvial or post-diluvial, would necessarily follow; and again as man was become by his nature prone to sin, he as necessarily was made subject to evil. Hence he became exposed, from the new constitution of the earth and atmosphere, to various diseases and sundry kinds of death, the term of his existence was shortened, and it was chequered with days of darkness as well as of light: and he was infested by various animals, either newly created, or then first let loose against him and his property.

All these things indicate a change in the mechanical as well as other original powers set and kept in action by the Creator, and a certain dependence of two distinct classes of events upon each other. If a great alteration generally takes

place in the moral condition of man, a corresponding change affects his physical one; and this alternation and conflict between good and evil, in this double series, after a long and arduous struggle, will finally be determined by the destruction of this diluvial earth and heavens, which we are assured will, in the end, be replaced by "New Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."

CHAPTER II.

·Geographical and Local Distribution of Animals.

HAVING Considered the first creation of the animal kingdom, and the larger features of its history to the time of the Deluge, bringing us to that era when our globe had assumed its present general characters, and its population was in those circumstances that led to their present habits and stations: the next subject to be discussed is their geographical and local distribution.

What had taken place in this respect before the Deluge we have no means of ascertaining. That the original temperature of the earth was once more equal than it is now, seems to be the general opinion of men of science, however they

may differ as to its cause. If this was the case, as it probably was, any individual species might have been located in any country, north or south, and suffer no inconvenience from unaccustomed heat or cold, so as to interfere with its complete naturalization: the only other requisite would be a kind of food suited to its nature; and it is singular and worthy of particular attention, that a large proportion of the plants, as well as animals, that are found in a fossil state in our northern latitudes are of a tropical type or character.

After their creation, and perhaps the expulsion of the first pair from Paradise, we may suppose that the various animals of the antediluvian world were guided to those regions in which it was the will of Providence to place them, by a divine impulse upon them, which caused them to move in the right direction. Probably before the Deluge took place, the world was every where peopled with animals: and perhaps, as Professor Buckland has suggested, the sudden change of temperature that destroyed the northern animals might be one of the predisposing causes of that

event.

Under the present head, the geographical distribution of our postdiluvian races of animals, the first thing to be considered is the means by which,

1 See above, p. 17, &c.

after quitting the ark, they were conveyed to the other parts of the globe. The disembarkation of the venerable patriarch and his family, followed by all the animals preserved with him in the ark, a scene of universal jubilee to man and beast, such as the world till that day had never witnessed, took place on Mount Ararat: the stream of interpreters, ancient and modern, place this mountain in Armenia; but Shuckford, after Sir Walter Raleigh, seems to think that Ararat was further to the east, and belonged to the great range anciently called Caucasus and Imaus, which terminates in the Himmaleh mountains to the north of India. This opinion seems to receive some confirmation from Scripture, for it is said, "As they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar." Now the Armenian Ararat is to the north of Babylonia, whereas the Indian is to the east. Again, as the ark rested upon Ararat more than ten weeks before the tops of the mountains were seen, it seems to follow that it must have been a much higher mountain than the generality of those of the old world. The modern Ararat (Agri-Dagh) is not three miles above the level of the sea, whereas the highest peak of the Himmaleh range, Dhawalagiri, is five, and the highest mountain in the known world: so that the tops of a great number of mountains would have appeared previously had the ark rested upon the former Ararat, but not so if upon the latter.

The traditions also of various nations, given by Shuckford, add strength to this opinion. In addition to these, the following lines, quoted in a late article on Sanscrit poetry, in the Quarterly Review, shew what was the creed in India on this subject

In the whole world of creation

None were seen but these seven sages, Menu and the fish;
Years on years, and still unwearied, drew that fish the bark along,
Till at length it came where reared Himavan-its loftiest peak;
There at length they came, and, smiling, thus the fish addressed

the sage :

Bind thou now thy stately vessel to the peak of Himavan-
At the fishes' mandate, quickly to the peak of Himavan:
Bound the sage his bark, and even to this day that loftiest peak
Bears the name of Naubandhana.

Both these opinions have their difficulties, which I shall not further discuss, but leave the decision of the question to persons better qualified than myself to direct the public judgment: I shall only observe, that perhaps the Indian station was more central and convenient for the ready dispersion of men and animals than the Armenian one. Every naturalist is aware that there are many animals that, in a wild state, are to be found only in particular countries and climates. Thus the Monkey and Parrot tribes usually inhabit a warm climate, the Bears and Gulls with many other Sea-birds, for the most part a cold one. The Kangaroo and Emu are only found in New Holland ;