Abstract
John Wilkins, one of the founders of the Royal Society of London, wrote a brief defense of Noah's Ark in his 1668 book An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language. This defense is consistent with Wilkins's views on natural religion and the use of science to support belief in God. Wilkins relied on Johannes Buteo's pamphlet "De Arca Noe" for basic capacity calculations, although his enumeration of animals on the Ark differs from Buteo's. The entire text of Wilkins's comments on the Ark are transcribed herein.