As for the manner of the A&tion, we fuppofe it may be rank'd under the Claffis of Voices, Appearances, Raps with invifible Wands upon the Wall, &c. which God Almighty may Commiffionate his Angels or Spirits to do, in order to give his Creatures Notice of their Change, and to make Preparation for it, or for other Reasons best known to himself. Q. I have to maintain my wicked Extravagancies wronged a certain Perfon who is now dead, both of Money and other Things, for which being very fenfible of the Heinoufnefs of my Offence against Almighty God, I'm now refolv'd to make a full and fpeedy Reftitution to the Widow of the deceas'd: But the Shame of owning myself guilty of fuch a Fait, makes me very unwilling to put my Name to a Letter I fhall fend with the Money ;pray your Opinion, whether the Satisfaction won't be fufficient without difcovering who I am to the Perfon I fend it to: Tur Speedy Answer is earnestly defired, because I can bave no reft till it be done? A. This might have been fooner answer'd, but that 'tis without a Date; and befides, we have already reply'd to feveral Cafes fo very near it, as wou'd have given the Querift Satisfaction, had he taken the Pains to turn over our Indexes. How. ever, in particular we think, that fuppofing the Perfon to whom he intends Satisfaction be difcreet and pious, he'd do very well to take Shame to himfelf, and either put his Name to his Letter, or in Perfon wait upon her, and acknowledge the Injury. But this we find moft Divines think he's not oblig'd to do, if the Perfon to whom he's to make Reftitution has not those Characters, but is fuch a one as wou'd endanger his Reputation, or Life, if trufted with a Secret of that Nature. Q. Do Fifbes fmell, taste, and hear? A. If we were not affur'd by Matter of Fact that Fishes fmell, common Reafon wou'd teach us that they do; for fince Nature does nothing in vain (perhaps I need not add) at least ordinarily, it wou'd never have bestow'd Noftrils upon Fishes to no ufe: If it be objected that Water is too thick a Medium for the Conveyance of Smells, it wou'd be answer'd,. that Water is the proper Element of Fishes, and therefore it might as well be faid, 'tis impoffible that Man fhould fmell in fo thin and fubtil a Medium as Air, for both are equally ridi-" culous. As for their Tafting, the fame Argument holds good, having provided them with a Tongue and Palat, or else they would be often cheated in their feeding, fince their Eye could not always exactly distinguish their Food, efpecially in the Night-time, which is the chief Time of feeding for the largeft Sort of Fish, I mean in our com mon Rivers, especially where a Way lies along the Water-fide: 'Twou'd be needless to add, that feveral ingenious Fishermen prepare their Baits with the Tincture' of Afper, and other Oils, to allure that Senfe, and fuccessfully too, as they will tell you. As for Hearing, we have already anfwer'd it in a Question by it felf, and fhew'd it impoffible, both from the Structure of their Organs, they having ho Ears, Ears, nor any thing else that fupplies the office of that fenfe, as alfo from Matter of Fact, Fish being terrified by the leaft Motion when they lye funning themfelves, but by no noife whatever, unless it be fuch a Noife as fhake their Element, and the Earth too, as the Shot of a Cannon, &c. and then 'tis not the Noife but the Motion that affects them. Q. Whether if the Punishment of Criminals (except for Treafon and Murder) were changed from being Capital to perpetual or temporary Slavery, according to the Nature of the Crime, it would ut probably be more effectual? A. This Queftion is a little to generally put; befides Treafon and Murder there are Rapes, Buggery, Houfe burning, and other abominable Crimes that deferve Death and can no otherwife be effectually punished. We fhall confine the answer therefore to Theft and Robbery, and then we believe that Slavery is a better and more effectual Funishment than Death. In the more Ancient Times all Of fences were punished by Fine and Imprifonment, except Treafon: As the Nation grew populous, the laws were changed and made more fevere; but then a Malefactor might have had his Clergy feveral times, and there were San&tuaries, as alfo the Liberty of abjuring the Realm for any Felony before the Coroner. The Clergy being reftrained to one time and not allowed in fome Cafes, as the ftealing of Horfes, &c. and all Privileges of Sanctuary being taken away by the 21ft of Jam. I. c. 28. the Privilege of Abjuration fell with it. Yet the Populoufnefs of England, enabled them at that time to fpare those that thus fell by the Hands of Justice; and befides we had then no Foreign Plantations to take off them that were fpar'd, and it was thought dangerous to keep them at home. In the Reign of Charles the II. there were feveral Statutes made for the allowing Transportation when defired, but none to inflict it as a Punishment: And Experience has fhewn that many of thofe that were thus tranfported, have become very honeft and industrious Men, and have helped to fill thofe Colonies; and England has been as well freed from their Depredations by Tranfportation, as it could be by their Death. Two things are the Causes of Theft, Lazinefsand Pride, and the Effe& of thefe, Want; force thefe Wretches to Industry, and abate their Pride by Slavery, and then pro vide for them, and they will be cured of their Thievith Difpofition; and this might be done in England, as well as beyond the Seas, in our Plantations; for it there were a Brandset upon them, and they were then fold to him that would give moft for them, and the Money paid to them they had injur'd, the Purchafer having an abfolute Power of Lite and Death over thefe Slaves, would keep them in order and awe,which for want of this Power others cannot now do. When a Malefactor is once hanged, he is foon forgetten; but every living Example of Justice is a Monitor to all others not to do the fame thing for fear of the fame Punishment, as often as they look upon him. And befides this, thewant of Servants and People would be fupplied in many Places where they are now want ing, or at least Western Plan tations are able to take off all the Thieves that are convicted in England; and it were much better to fend them thither, than to cut them off by the Hand of Juftice, to the Ruin perhaps of Body and Soul, and the depriving the Nation of fo many ftrong, young, and able Bodies that are wanted both at home and abroad, but can be made ufeful by nothing but Slavery; for no Man will run the hazard or take the Pains that are needful to cure them; nor can he do it if he would, except he has a Power of Life and Death over them. Q. In reading a late Book, &c. I fnd therein a moft dreadful Relation of a Man that lay at an Inn where the Ghost of his Landlord appeared to him, defiring him to bring his Wife, Sifter and Hofler to Punishment, for having murther'd him; which the Man having done, the Ghost promis'd upon the Min's requeft, to tell him of his Death an hour before he was to dye, which accordingly he did, and it fell out to be true. Now your Thoughts are defired, Whether Spirits de know the time of Perfons Death before it come to pass? and whether it might be limited to that Spirit? A. That there are fuch things as Spirits, we have not only Scripture to prove it, but there are very late matters of Fact; tho' there are feveral that have writ upon this Subject and have made undoubted Collections of fuch faithful Inftances, we fhall only mention a late Author in his World of Spirits, lately publifhed, which will abundantly fatisfie all fuch as doubt hereof, as we are certain there are feveral that do fo. As VOL. III. for the Relation in the Question, it is not our bufinefs to find out the Truth of fuch a thing: But upon Suppofition that the Spirit fhou'd make fuch a Promife to the Traveller, and perform it, we anfwer, that Spirits, Angels, Souls, Devils, Witches, or Men, know nothing to come farther than they gather from Predictions in Divine Revelation, or a particular Revelation unto them, or from a Probability, as fuch and fuch Caules have produc'd fuch and fuch Effects formerly; and these Causes being again in agita tion, it's more than probable they will have the fame Effects again. An abfolute foreknowledge is the proper attribute of God Almighty, and which he himself makes ufe of against Prognofticators, Soothfayers, and the Pretended Predictions of the Hea-. then Gods, in thefe Words, Tell me things that are to come, and bereby I shall know that ye are Gods. Poffibly this Spirit might have an immediate Commiffion, when he was made the Minister of Justice, to promife and perform fo much to the Traveller; or elfe, which indeed appears more probable, Spirits when they leave our Bodies, have certainly a clearer Notion of the Caufes and Effects of things than before. A Skilful Phytician can in many Cafes tell, whether fuch and fuch a Diftem. per will immediately kill or no; and a Spirit no doubt is better acquainted with the Frame and Na. ture of the Body than any Man, becaufe being capable of moving a Body, it's capable of knowing how that Motion is perform'd, which no Man alive knows; and therefore we may fairly conclude, Θα he may know every thing elfe appertaining to the Body, and by confequence might eafily promife and perform what is above related, especially having promifed for fo finall time before his Death, which it's probable might not be unknown to thofe about him. Q. What's the Reason that when we move a Fire-ftick swiftly round, there appears to be a Circle of Fire, alth' the Fire is but in one place at a time? A. The Image of things are imprefs'd upon the Brain by the Optick Power, and fo long as that Impreffion remains, we believe we lee fuch an Image, altho' we fee it not at all. Thus if we fix our Eyes a confiderable time upon a Window, and immediately turn 'em towards fome darker place, we may plainly distinguish the Quarries, Lead, &c. which is nothing else but the Image in the Brain: Now the Brain being purely paffive, it's impoffible it hould not take thefe Impreffions, whether from real or apparent Objects, as 'tis impoffible for a Glafs not to take Reflections. Thus the Fire appears Circular as in the Queftion, because it moves Circular, fuppofe through three hundred Points, the Eye ftrives to catch it in every one of thefe Points, and at every one of 'em the Brain receives the aforefaid Impreffion, which Impreffion is circular according to the Motion of the Fire, and the Fire moving quick, and repeating thefe points feveral times, the Impreffion is more fenfible, and not loft till renewed again, which therefore appears to us as one continu'd Circle. Q. I've been just now reading Ι Dr. Heylin's Hiftory of the Sabbath, wherein he justifies publick Sports and Paftimes on Sundays. I defire your Fudgment whether Plays, &c. be equally allowable on that and other Days? Whether the Lord's Day, which we now celebrate, be of Divine Inftitution and obliging femper & ad femper? A. All the World knew Dr. Heylin was a warm Man, and his Temper might often carry him too far, which was the most moderate thing that can be said of him, who hardly ever fpake moderately of any Man. For Sports and Plays on Sundays, we think it exprefly contrary to our Acts of Parliament and Homilies, and are fure they must be very inconvenient, if not abfolutely unlawful, by the Chriftian Doctrine; for if it's fo eafie to be diverted from that Piety and Devotion with which we ought to fill up that Day, fo difficult to remember and confider what we have heard, and perform all the Christian Offices then required of us, tho' we endeavour it never fo ftrongly; much more may we expect the fame, if we immediately run into fuch Recreations and Diverfions, as must neceffarily unfit the Mind for things of that Nature; tho' on the other fide, as we dare not rafhly condemn thofe many learned Perfons in the Foreign Churches of a different Opinion, much lefs wou'd we thofe of our own. For the Morality of the Chriftian Sabbath, it's too large and difficult a Controverfy to be decided in a few Lines. Suffice it at prefent, that we think it at least of Apoftolical, and therefore of Divine Institution. AN AN ALPHABETICAL INDEX. Giving a ready Direction to every Question. Quest. A A. I 2 3 Page 5 20 23 28 Apparitions in the Air, &c. what 67 him to't? 240 ib. 249 ib. habited before the Discoveries Oo 2 252 ibid. Aphan |