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with my repeated Thanks and good Wishes, And that the infinite Rewarder of well-doing may give Your Grace a plentiful Reward of these, and Your many other, both Publick and Private Benefactions, is the hearty Wish of,

Your GRACE'S

Mast Humble and Thankful

Son and Servant,

W.DERHAM,

ΤΟ

TO THЕ

RAEDER.

A

S the noble Founder of the LECTURES I bave had the Honour of Preaching, was a great Improver of Natural Knowledge, fo, in all Probality, he did it out of a pious End, as well as in Purfuit of his Genius. For it was his fettled Opinion, that nothing tended more to cultivate true Religion and Piety in a Man's Mind, than a thorough Skill in Philofophy. And fuch Effect it manifeftly had in him, as is evident from divers of his published Pieces; from his conftant Deportment in never mentioning the Name of GOD without a Paufe, and vifible Stop in his Discourse; and from the noble Foundation of his Lectures for the Honour of GOD, and the generous Stipend be allowed for the fame.

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vid. Bp. Burnet's Funeral Serm.p.24..

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And forafmuch as his Lectures were ap pointed by him for the Proof of Vid. Mr. Boyle's the Chriftian Religion against

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Atheists and other notorious Infidels, I thought, when I had the Honour to be made bis Lecturer, that I could not better come up to his Intent, than to attempt a Demonftration of the Being and Attributes of GOD, in what I may call Mr. Boyle's own, that is a Phyfico-Theological, Way. And, befides that it was for this very Service that I was called to this Honour, I was the more. induced to follow this Method, by reafon none of my learned and ingenious Predeceffors in thefe Lectures, have done it on purpose, but only cafually, in a tranfient, piece meal manner; they having made it their Business to prove the great Points of Christianity in ano"ther Way, which they have accordingly admirably done. But confidering what our Ho'nourable Founder's Opinion was of Natural Knowledge, and that his Intent was, that thofe Matters by paffing through divers Hands, and by being treated of in different Methods, fhould take in most of what could be faid upon the Subject, I hope my Performance may be acceptable, although one of the meaneft.:

As for others, who have before me done fomething of this kind; as Merfenne on Genefis; Dr. Cockburne in his Effays; Mr. Ray in his Wifdom of God, &c. and I may add the first of Mr. Boyle's Lecturers, the most Learned Dr. Bently in lis Boyle's Lectures, the eloquent

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eloquent Arch-Bishop of Cambray, (and I bear, the ingenious Monf. Perault hath fomething of this kind, but never faw it:) I fay, as to thefe learned and ingenious Authors, as the Creation is an ample Subject, so I induftriously endeavour'd to avoid doing over what they before had done; and for that Reafon did not, for many Tears, read their Books until I had finish'd my own. But when I came to compare what each of us had done, I found my felf in many Things to have been anticipa ted by fome or other of them, especially by my Friend, the late great Mr. Ray. And therefore in fome Places I fhorten'd my Difcourfe, and referr'd to them; and in a few others, where the Thread of my Difcourfe would have been interrupted, I have made ufe of their Authority, as the best Judges; as of Mr. Ray's, for Inftance, with Relation to the Mountains and their Plants, and other Products. If then the Reader Should meet with any Thing mention'd before by others, and not accordingly acknowledged by me, I hope he will candidly think me no Plagiary, because I can affure him I have along, (where I was aware of it,) cited my Authors with their due Praife. And it is fcarce poffible, when Men write on the fame, or a Subject near a kin, and the Obfervations are obvious, but that they must often hit upon the fame Thing: And frequently this may happen from Perfons making Obfervations about one, and the fame Thing, without knowing what each other bath done; which indeed, when the first Edition of

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my Book was nearly printed off, I found to be my own Cafe, having (for want of Dr. Hook's Micrography being at hand, it being a very fearce Book, and many Tears fince I read it,) given Defcriptions of two or three Things, which I thought had not been tolerably well obferv'd before, but are defcrib'd well by that curious Gentleman.

One is a Feather, the Mechanism of which we in the main agree in, except in his Reprefentation in Fig. 1. Scheme 22. which is fomewhat different from what I have reprefented in my Fig. 18, &c. But I can ftand by the Truth, though not the Elegance of my Figures. But as to the other Differences, they are accidental, occafion'd by our taking the Parts in a different View, or in a different Part of a Vane; and to fay the Truth, (not flattering my felf, or detracting from the admirable Obfervations of that great Man,) I have hit upon a few Things that efcap'd him, being enabled to do fo, not only by the Help of fuch Microfcopes as he made ufe of; but also by thofe made by Mr. Wilfon, which exceed all I ever faw, whether of English, Dutch, or Italian make; feveral of which Sorts 1 have feen and examined.

The other Thing we have both of us figur'd and defcrib'd, is, The Sting of a Bee or Wafp; in which we differ more than in the last. But by a careful Re-examination, I find, that although Dr. Hook's Obferva

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