CHAP. VII.
The place of Paradise cannot be determin'd from the
Theory only, nor from Scripture only; what the
sence of Antiquity was concerning it, both as to
the Jews and Heathens, and especially as to the
Christian Fathers; That they generally plac'd it
out of this Continent, in the Southern Hemisphere.
WE have now prepar'd our work for the last finishing stroaks; describ'd the first Earth, and
compar'd it with the Present; and not only the two
Earths, but in a good measure the whole State and
Oeconomy of those two Worlds. It remains only to
determine the place of Paradise in that Primaval
Earth; I fay, in that Primæval Earth, for we have
driven the point so far already, that the seat of it
could not be in the present Earth, whose Form, Site,
and Air are so dispos'd, as could not consist with the
first and most indispensable properties of Paradise:
And accordingly, we see with what ill success our modern Authors have rang'd over the Earth, to find a
fit spot of ground to plant Paradise in; some would
set it on the top of an high Mountain, that it might
have good Air and fair weather, as being above the
Clouds, and the middle Region; but then they were
at a loss for Water, which made a great part of the
pleasure and beauty of that place; Others therefore
would seat it in a Plain, or in a River-Island, that
they might have Water enough, but then it would be
subject to the injuries of the Air, and foul weather at
the seasons of the Year, from which, both Reason and
all Authority have exempted Paradise. 'Tis like seeking a perfect beauty in a mortal Body, there are so
many things requir'd to it, as to Complexion, Fea
