"The sun, the fountain of _fire_, 'Of this great world both eye and
soul,' was situated at the most exact distance from the earth, so as to
yield a sufficient quantity of heat, (neither too little nor too much)
to _every part of it_. God had not yet 'Bid his angels turn askance this
oblique globe.' There was, therefore, then no country that groaned under
'The rage of Arctos, and eternal frost.' There was no violent winter, or
sultry summer; no extreme either of heat or cold. No soil was burned up
by the solar heat: none uninhabitable through the want of it.

"There were then no impetuous currents of air, no tempestuous winds, no
furious hail, no torrents of rain, no rolling thunders or forky
lightnings. _One perennial spring was perpetually smiling over the whole
surface of the earth._"

Speaking of vegetable productions, he says,

"There were no weeds, no plants that encumbered the ground. Much less
were there any _poisonous_ ones, tending to hurt any one creature."

Referring to the living creatures of the sea, he says,

"None of these then attempted to devour, or in any wise hurt one
another. All were peaceful and quiet, as were the watery fields wherein
they ranged at pleasure."

Referring to insects, he adds,

"The spider was then as harmless as the fly, and did not then lie in
wait for blood. The weakest of them crept securely over the earth, or