Population of the Ancient World.
465
That London will be at its highest growth, and eight times as great as now, Anno 1800.Now, when the People of London shall come to be so near the People of all England, Then it follows, That the Growth of London must stop before the said Year 1842, as aforesaid, and must be at its greatest height Anno 1800, when it will be eight times more than now, with above four Millions for the Service of the Countrey and Ports, as aforesaid.
Of the afore-mentioned vast difference between 10 Years and 1200 Years for doubling the People, we make this use, viz. To justifie the Scriptures and all other good Histories concerning the Number of the People in Ancient Time. A digression of the use of the vast difference between 10 and 1200 Years of doubling.For supposing the eight Persons who came out of the Ark, Increased by a Progressive doubling in every 10 Years, might grow in the |20| first 100 Years after the Flood from 8 to 8000, and that in 350 Years after the Flood (when abouts Noah dyed) to one Million, and by this time 1682, to 320 Millions (which by rational conjecture, are thought to be now in the World) it will not be hard to compute, how in the intermediate Years, the Growths may be made, according to what is set down in the following Table, wherein making the doubling to be 10 Years at first, and within 1200 Years at last, we take a discretionary liberty, but justifiable by Observations and the Scriptures for the rest, which Table we leave to be Corrected by Historians, who know the bigness of Ancient Cities, Armies, and Colonies in the respective Ages of the World, in the meantime affirming that without such difference in the Measures and Periods for doubling (the extreams whereof we have demonstra-|21|ted to be real and true) it is impossible to solve what is written in the Holy Scriptures and other Authentick Books. For if we pitch upon any one Number throughout for this purpose, 150 Years is the fittest of all round Numbers; according to which, there would have been but 512 Souls in the whole World in Moses's time (beingde la République des Lettres, Janvier, 1685, Oeuvres, i. 212—214. See the chapter on the "Historische Entwickelung der Versuche, die Gesammt-bevölkerung der Erde zu schätzen," in Behm and Wagner, Die Bevolkerung der Erde, ii. 3—8, Petermann's Geogr. Mittheilungen, Ergänzungsband, viii. nr. 35.
