But what became of these waters, which the tail of the comet and great abyss furnished so liberally? our author is not the least embarrassed thereon. As soon as the earth, continuing its course, removed from the comet, the effects of its attraction, the flux and reflux in the great abyss ceased of course, and immediately the upper waters precipitated back with violence by the same roads as they had been forced upon the surface. The great abyss absorbed all the superfluous waters, and was of a sufficient capacity not only to receive its own waters, but also all those which the tail of the comet had left, because during its agitation, and the rupture of its crust, it had enlarged the space by driving out on all sides the earth that surrounded it. It was at this time also the figure of the earth, which till then was spherical, became elliptic. This effect was occasioned by the centrifugal force caused by its diurnal motion, and by the attraction of the comet, for the earth, in passing through the tail of the comet, found itself so placed that it presented the parts of the equator to that planet; and the power of the attraction of the comet, concurring with the centrifugal force of the earth, caused the parts of the equator to be elevated, and that with the more facility as the crust was broken and divided in an infinity of places, and because the flux and reflux of the abyss drove against the equator more violently than elsewhere. Here then is Mr. Whiston's history of the creation; the causes of the universal deluge; the length of the life of the first men; and the figure of the Earth; all which seem to have cost our author little or no labour; but Noah's ark appears to have greatly disquieted him. In the midst of so terrible a disorder occasioned by the conjunction of the tail of a comet with the waters of the great abyss, in the terrible moments wherein not only the elements of the earth were confused, but when new elements still concurred to augment the chaos, how can it be imagined that the ark floated quietly with its numerous cargo on the top of the waves? Here our author makes great efforts to arrive at and give a physical reason for the preservation of the ark, but which has always appeared to me insufficient, poorly imagined, and but little orthodoxical: I will not here relate it, but only observe how hard it is for a man who has explained objects so great and wonderful, without having recourse to a supernatural power, to be stopt by one particular circumstance; our author, however, chose rather to risk drowning with the ark, than to attribute to the immediate bounty of the Almighty the preservation of this precious vessel.