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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: An original theory or new hypothesis of the Universe</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Thomas Wright</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 8, 2023 [eBook #69983]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Tim Lindell, T Cosmas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ORIGINAL THEORY OR NEW HYPOTHESIS OF THE UNIVERSE ***</div> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" id="cover" style="width: 268px;"> - <img src="images/cover.png" width="268" height="401" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">- i -</span></p> - - -<div class="tdc"> -<span class="vsmall">AN</span><br> -<span class="caption2 gesperrt">ORIGINAL THEORY</span><br> -<span class="vsmall">OR</span><br> -<span class="caption3 gesperrt">NEW HYPOTHESIS</span><br> -<span class="vsmall">OF THE</span><br> -<h1 class="gesperrt">UNIVERSE,</h1> -<span class="vsmall">Founded upon the</span><br> -<span class="caption2 gesperrt">LAWS of NATURE</span>,<br> -<span class="vsmall">AND SOLVING BY</span><br> -<span class="caption2 gesperrt">MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES</span><br> -<span class="vsmall">THE</span><br> -<span class="vsmall">General <span class="smcap">Phænomena</span> of the <span class="smcap">Visible Creation</span>;</span><br> -<span class="vsmall">AND PARTICULARLY</span><br> -The <span class="caption3 gesperrt">VIA LACTEA</span>.<br> -<span class="smaller">Compris'd in Nine Familiar <span class="smcap">Letters</span> from the <span class="smcap">Author</span> to his <span class="smcap">Friend</span>.<br> -And Illustrated with upwards of Thirty Graven and Mezzotinto Plates,<br> -By the Best <span class="smcap">Masters</span>.</span><br> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2>By <span class="gesperrt">THOMAS WRIGHT</span>, - of <span class="smcap">Durham</span>.</h2> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="tdc"> -One <i>Sun by Day, by Night</i> ten Thousand <i>shine,<br> -And light us deep into the</i> <span class="smcap">Deity</span>.        Dr. <span class="smcap">Young</span>.<br> - -<i><span class="gesperrt">LONDON</span></i>:<br> - -Printed for the <span class="smcap">Author</span>, and sold by <span class="smcap">H. Chapelle</span>, in <i>Grosvenor-Street</i>.<br> - -MDCCL.<br> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">- iii -</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_piii" style="width: 535px;"> - <img src="images/img_piii.png" width="535" height="107" alt=""> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak gesperrt" id="PREFACE">THE<br> - -<span class="gesperrt">PREFACE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 127px;"> - <img src="images/img_txt_t.png" width="127" height="130" alt="T"> -</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span>HE Author of the following Letters having been -flattered into a Belief, that they may probably prove of -some Use, or at least Amusement to the World, he has -ventured to give them, at the Request of his Friends, -to the Publick. His chief Design will be found an Attempt -towards solving the Phænomena of the <i>Via Lactea</i>, -and in consequence of that Solution, the framing of a -regular and rational Theory of the known Universe, before unattempted -by any. But he is very sensible how difficult a Task it is to advance any -new Doctrine with Success, those who have hitherto attempted to propagate -astronomical Discoveries in all Ages, have been but ill rewarded for their Labours, -tho' finally they have proved of the greatest Benefit and Advantage -to Mankind. This ungrateful Lesson we learn from the Fate of those ingenious -Men, who, in ignorant Times, have unjustly suffered for their superior -Knowledge and Discoveries; they who first conceived the Earth a Ball, -were treated only with Contempt for their idle and ridiculous Supposition, -as it was called; and he who first attempted to explain the <i>Antipodes</i>, lost his -Life by it; but in this Age Philosophers have nothing to fear of this sort, -the great Disadvantages attending Authors now, are of a widely different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">- iv -</span> -Nature, rising from the infinite Number of Pretenders to Knowledge in -this Science, and much is to be apprehended from improper Judges, tho' -from real ones nothing; for nothing is more certain than this, as much as -any Subject exceeds the common Capacity of Readers, so much will the -Work in general be condemned; the Air of Knowledge is at least in -finding Fault, and this vain Pretence generally leads People, who have no -real Foundation for their Judgment to argue from, to ridicule what they -are too sensible they do not understand. Thus the same Disadvantages too -often attend both in publick and private an exceeding good Production -equally the same as a very bad one: But the Author is not vain enough to -think this Work without Faults, has rather Reason to fear, from the -Weakness of his own Capacity, that there may be many; but he hopes -the Design of the Whole will, in some measure, plead for the Imperfection -of the Parts, if the Merits of the Plan should be found insufficient for his -full Pardon, in attempting so extensive a Subject.</p> - -<p>In a System thus naturally tending to propagate the Principles of Virtue, -and vindicate the Laws of Providence, we may indeed say too little, but -cannot surely say too much; and to make any further Apology for a Work of -such Nature, where the Glory of the Divine Being of course must be the -principal Object in View, would be too like rendering Virtue accountable to -Vice for any Author to expert to benefit by such Excuse. The Motive -which induces us to the Attempt of any Performance, where no good Reason -can be supposed to be given for the Omission, or Neglect of it, will always -be judged an unnecessary Promulgation, and consequently every Attempt -towards the Discovery of Truth, the Enlargement of our Minds, and -the Improvement of our Understandings will naturally become a Duty. If -therefore this Undertaking falls short of being instrumental towards the advancing -the Adoration of the Divine Being in his infinite Creation of higher -Works, and proves unable to answer all Objections that may possibly -arise against it, yet will its Imperfections appear of such a Nature to every -candid Reader, as to afford the Author a sufficient Apology for producing -them to the World: And it is to be hoped farther, that where a Work is -entirely upon a new Plan, and the Beginning, as it were, of a new Science, -before unattempted in any Language, the Author having dug all his Ideas -from the Mines of Nature, is surely entitled to every kind of Indulgence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">- v -</span></p> - -<p>To those who are weak enough to think that such Enquiries as these -are over-curious, vain, and presumptive, and would willingly, suitable to -their own Ignorance and Comprehension, set Bounds to other People's -Labours, I answer with Mr. <i>Huygens</i>, "That if our Forefathers had -been at this Rate scrupulous, we might have been ignorant still of the -Magnitude and Figure of the Earth; or that there was such a Place as -<i>America</i>. We should not have known that the Moon is enlightened by -the Sun's Rays, nor what the Causes of the Eclipses of each of them -are; nor a Multitude of other Things brought to Light by the late -Discoveries in Astronomy; for what can a Man imagine more abstruse, -or less likely to be known, than what is now as clear as the Sun."</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Had we still paid that Homage to a Name,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which only God and Nature justly claim;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The western Seas had been our utmost Bound,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where Poets still might dream the Sun was drown'd;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And all the Stars that shine in Southern Skies,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Had been admir'd by none but savage Eyes.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Dryden.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>Besides the Nobleness and Pleasure of these Studies, <i>Wisdom</i> and <i>Morality</i> -are naturally advanced, and much benefited by them, and even Religion -itself receives a double Lustre, "to the Confusion of those who -would have the Earth, and all Things formed by the shuffling Concourse -of Atoms, or to be without Beginning." In Astronomy, as well as in -natural Philosophy, though we cannot positively affirm every thing we say -to be Facts and Truth, yet in so noble and sublime a Study as that of <i>Nature</i>, -it is glorious, as Mr. <i>Huygens</i> says, even to arrive at Probability.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding then the Disadvantages which ever have attended all -new Discoveries, either thro' the Ignorance of the Age, or the universal Passion -of Ridicule in such contented Creatures, as can't comprehend, yet ever attacking -with a fool-hardy Resolution, the advancing Ensigns of Knowledge, -if Ignorance was Virtue, and Wisdom Vice; I say, regardless of this noisy -Shore, it is sure our Duty to spring forward, and explore the secret -Depths of Infinity, and the wonderful hidden Truths of this vast Ocean -of Beings. But how the heavenly Bodies were made, when they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">- vi -</span> -made, and what they are made of, and many other Things relating to -their Entity, Nature, and Utility, seems in our present State not to be -within the Reach of human Philosophy; but then that they do exist, have -final Causes, and were ordained for some wise End, is evident beyond a -Doubt, and in this Light most worthy of our Contemplation.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">He who thro' vast Immensity can pierce,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">See Worlds on Worlds compose one Universe,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Observe how System into System runs,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What other Planets, and what other Suns;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What varied Being peoples ev'ry Star;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">May tell why Heav'n made all Things as they are.<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><br></div> - </div> -</div> -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Pope.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>To expect that so new an Hypothesis should meet with universal Approbation, -would be an unpardonable Vanity; nor is it reasonable every -Reader should think the Author obliged to remove all his Prejudices and -Partialities, so far as to give him the perfect Picture of the Universe he -likes best. In many Cases it would be so far from being better for the -World, if all Men judged and thought alike, that Providence seems rather -to have guarded against it as an Evil, than any how to have promoted it -as a general Good: But the following Theory regards the Whole rather -than Individuals: And the many worthy Authors cited in the Work, who -have all greatly favoured this extensive Way of Thinking, will, I hope, -be a sufficient Excuse for forming these obvious Conjectures into a Theory, -especially where so great a Problem is attempted as the Solution of the <i>Via -Lacteal</i> Phænomenon, which has hitherto been looked upon as an insurmountable -Difficulty. How the Author has succeeded in this Point, is -a Question of no great Consequence; he has certainly done his best; another, -no Doubt, will do better, and a third perhaps, by some more rational -Hypothesis, may perfect this Theory, and reduce the Whole to infallible -Demonstration: The first System of the solar Planets was far from a true -one, but it led the Way to Perfection, and the last we can never too -much admire. It is well known, that the first System of the Planets was -also but a Conjecture, yet none will deny that it was an happy one.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">- vii -</span></p> - -<p>The Discovery of the Magnet Poles; the Government of the Tides; -proportional Distance and Periods of the Planets, <i>&c.</i> have all their Uses, -and undoubtedly were designed to be known. Ignorance is the Disgrace -of Mankind, and sinks human Nature almost to that of Reptiles. Knowledge -is its Glory and the distinguishing Characteristic of rational Creatures.</p> - -<p>To Enquiries of this sort, then sure we may say with <i>Milton</i>, That</p> - -<p class="tdc smcap" style="font-size: 1.25em">God's own Ear listens delighted.<br> -</p> - -<p>The Subject is, no Doubt, the noblest in Nature, and as such, will always -merit the Attention of the thinking Part of Mankind. Men of -Learning and Science, in all Ages, have ever made it their peculiar Study. -Towards the latter End of the Republic, and afterwards in the more peaceable -Times of <i>Trajan</i> and the <i>Plinys</i>, we have no Reason to doubt but -that Astronomy was in the highest Reputation: And notwithstanding -<i>Greece</i> had been the chief Seat of the Philosophers, yet may we suppose -<i>Rome</i> in those Days little inferior in the Knowledge of the Stars, when we -find Men<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> of the first Figure in Life become Authors upon the Subject.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> <i>Cicero</i> translated the Phænomena of <i>Aratus</i> into Latin Verse. <i>Julius Cæsar</i>, as <i>Pliny</i> -relates, wrote of Astronomy in <i>Greek</i>, and is said to have left several Books of the Motion of -the Stars behind him, derived from the Doctrine of the <i>Egyptians</i>. <i>Ant. Chris.</i> 45. He with -<i>Sosigenes</i> reformed the <i>Roman</i> Year, which was first invented by <i>Numa Pompilius</i>. <i>Germanicus -Cæsar</i> also translated <i>Aratus's</i> Phænomena into <i>Latin</i> Verse <i>Anno Dom.</i> 15. <i>Tiberius</i> -and <i>Hadrian</i> are also said to have wrote on Astronomy.</p> - -</div> - -<p>We have many Instances to shew, that Astronomy was in the greatest -Repute amongst the Antients of all Ranks, and almost every where looked -upon as one of the greatest, if not as one of the first Qualifications of -their best Men. As a Confirmation of which, we find in the historical -Accounts of the <i>Argives</i>, a very warm Contest betwixt the two Sons of -<i>Pelops</i> 1205 Years before <i>Christ</i>, thus testified by <i>Lucian</i>: When the <i>Argives</i>, -by publick Consent, had decreed that the Kingdom should fall to -him of the two, who should manifest himself the most learned in the -Knowledge of the Stars, <i>Thyestes</i> thereupon is said to have made known to -them, the Constellation, or Sign of the <i>Zodiack</i> call'd <i>Aries</i>: But <i>Atreus</i> at -the same time discovering to them the Course of the Sun, with his various Rising -and Setting, demonstrating his Motion to be <a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a>contrary to that of the -Heavens, or diurnal Motion of the Stars, was thereupon elected King.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[B]</a> Hence arose the Fable of the Sun's going backwards in the Days of <i>Atreus</i>, as if struck -with Abhorrence of his bloody Banquet. <i>Vide Ovid's</i> Metamorphosis.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">- viii -</span></p> - -<p>To recite more of the most eminent Patrons and Professors of this kind -of Learning here, will carry me too far from my present Purpose; for farther -Information therefore, I shall refer the inquisitive Reader, to that curious -Catalogue in <i>Sherburn's</i> Sphere of <i>Manilius</i>, where so many ruling <a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a>Men -of all Ages and Nations swell, and illustrate the Number.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[C]</a> Seven Emperors, nine Kings, and as many sovereign Princes. <i>Charlemagne</i> wrote <i>Ephemerides</i>, -and named the Months and Winds in <i>High Dutch</i>, 770. <i>Rich.</i> II. <i>&c.</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>In a Word, when we look upon the Universe as a vast Infinity of Worlds, -acted upon by an eternal Agent, and crowded full of Beings, all tending -through their various States to a final Perfection, and reflect upon the -many illustrious Personages, who have, from time to time, thought it a -kind of Duty to become Observers, and consequently Admirers of this -stupendous Sphere of primary Bodies, and diligent Enquirers into the general -Laws and Principles of Nature, who can avoid being filled with a -kind of enthusiastic Ambition, to be acknowledged one of the Number, -who, as it were, by thus adding his Atom to the Whole, humbly endeavours -to contribute towards the due Adoration of its great and divine Author.</p> - -<p>I judge it will be quite unnecessary to say any thing about the Order of -the Work, since that would be only a Repetition of the Table of Contents, -to which the Reader is referred, as to the properest Account that can -here be given.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_pviii" style="width: 277px;"> - <img src="images/img_pviii.png" width="277" height="198" alt=""> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">- ix -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak gesperrt" id="CONTENTS">THE<br> - -<span class="gesperrt">CONTENTS.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div> -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the FIRST.</div> - -<i>Concerning the Opinions of the most eminent Authors whose Sentiments upon -this Subject have been published in their Works.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">Page 1</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the SECOND.</div> - -<i>Concerning the Nature of Mathematical Certainty, and the various Degrees -of Moral Probability proper for Conjecture.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_THE_SECOND">9</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the THIRD.</div> - -<i>Concerning the Nature, Magnitude, and Motion of the Planetary Bodies -round the Sun.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_THIRD">18</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the FOURTH.</div> - -<i>Of the Nature of the heavenly Bodies continued, with the Opinions of the -Antients concerning the Sun and Stars.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_FOURTH">27</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the FIFTH.</div> - -<i>Of the Order, Distance, and Multiplicity of the Stars, the</i> Via Lactea, <i>and -Extent of the visible Creation.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_FIFTH">37</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the SIXTH.</div> - -<i>Of General Motion amongst the Stars, the Plurality of Systems, and Innumerability -of Worlds.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_SIXTH">48</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the SEVENTH.</div> - -<i>The Hypothesis, or Theory, fully explained and demonstrated, proving the sidereal -Creation to be finite.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_SEVENTH">58</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the EIGHTH.</div> - -<i>Of Time and Space, with regard to the known Objects of Immensity and -Duration.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_THE_EIGHTH">67</a></div> - -<div class="caption3 gesperrt">LETTER the NINTH.</div> - -<i>Reflections, by way of</i> General Scolia, <i>of Consequences relating to the Immortality -of the Soul, and concerning Infinity and Eternity.</i> -<div class="tdr"><a href="#LETTER_the_NINTH">77</a></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">- x -</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Directions_for_placing_the_PLATES"><span class="gesperrt"><span class="smcap">Directions</span></span> for placing the <span class="gesperrt">PLATES</span>.</h2> -</div> - - -<table> -<tr> - <td> -<table class="tblcont"> -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><i>Plate.</i></td> - <td class="tdc"><i>Page.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_i">I.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_i">10</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_ii">II.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_ii">11</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_iii">III.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_iii">16</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_iv">IV.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_iv">20</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_v">V.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_v"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_vi">VI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_vi">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_vii">VII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_vii"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_viii">VIII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_viii"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_ix">IX.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_ix">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_x">X.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_x">23</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xi">XI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xi">35</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xii">XII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xii">38</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xiii">XIII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xiii"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xiv">XIV.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xiv">40</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xv">XV.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xv">42</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xvi">XVI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xvi"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -</table> - </td> - <td>    </td> - <td> -<table class="tblcont"> -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><i>Plate.</i></td> - <td class="tdc"><i>Page.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xvii">XVII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xvii">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xviii">XVIII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xviii">52</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xix">XIX.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xix">56</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xx">XX.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xx"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxi">XXI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxi">62</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxii">XXII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxii">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxiii">XXIII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxiii">64</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxiv">XXIV.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxiv"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxv">XXV.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxv">64</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxvi">XXVI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxvi"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxvii">XXVII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxvii">64</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxviii">XXVIII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxviii">65</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxix">XXIX.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxix"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxx">XXX.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxx">70</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxxi">XXXI.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxxi">83</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#plate_xxxii">XXXII.</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#plate_xxxii"><i>ibid.</i></a></td> -</tr> -</table> - </td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Some_of_the_Principal_ERRATA"><i>Some of the Principal <span class="gesperrt">ERRATA</span>.</i></h2> -</div> - - -<table style="width: 35em;"> -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdc"><i>Line</i></td> - <td class="tdl2"><i>the Words</i></td> - <td class="tdl2"><i>Read.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">2</td> - <td class="tdr2"><i>ult.</i></td> - <td class="tdl">to cease relating</td> - <td class="tdl">ceasing to relate</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">4</td> - <td class="tdr2">3</td> - <td class="tdl">Phænomenon</td> - <td class="tdl">Phænomena</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">16</td> - <td class="tdr2">15</td> - <td class="tdl">incomsible</td> - <td class="tdl">incomprehensible</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">21</td> - <td class="tdr2">12</td> - <td class="tdl">comprehend</td> - <td class="tdl">comprehending</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">33</td> - <td class="tdr2">28</td> - <td class="tdl">compared</td> - <td class="tdl">is compared</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">34</td> - <td class="tdr2">37</td> - <td class="tdl">form</td> - <td class="tdl">from</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">43</td> - <td class="tdr2">20</td> - <td class="tdl">volving</td> - <td class="tdl">revolving</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">49</td> - <td class="tdr2">24</td> - <td class="tdl">immoveable</td> - <td class="tdl">moveable</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">61</td> - <td class="tdr2">19</td> - <td class="tdl">much</td> - <td class="tdl">much as</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">62</td> - <td class="tdr2">28</td> - <td class="tdl">XXIII.</td> - <td class="tdl">XXI.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">65</td> - <td class="tdr2">4</td> - <td class="tdl">where</td> - <td class="tdl">any where</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">67</td> - <td class="tdr2">15</td> - <td class="tdl">also</td> - <td class="tdl">all so</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr2">69</td> - <td class="tdr2">29</td> - <td class="tdl">one</td> - <td class="tdl">our</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="tdc"><i>Plate</i> X. read the Characters of the Planets in this Order ♃ ☿ ♄ ♂ ♀</p> - -<p class="tdc">[Note: Transcriber made the corrections above in the text.]</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">- xi -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="A"><span class="vsmall">A</span><br> - -<span class="gesperrt">LIST</span><br> - -<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br> - -<span class="gesperrt">SUBSCRIBERS</span>.</h2> -</div> - - -<p> -A.<br> -<br> -<i>Lord</i> Anson.<br> -<i>Hon. Mr.</i> Archer.<br> -Charles Ambler, <i>Esq</i>.<br> -<br> -B.<br> -<br> -<i>Duke of</i> Beaufort.<br> -<i>Duke of</i> Bedford.<br> -<i>Dutchess of</i> Beaufort.<br> -<i>Lord</i> Berkely, <i>of</i> Straton.<br> -Miles Barne, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Lancelot Barton, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Hon.</i> Antoine Bentinck.<br> -<i>Hon.</i> John Bentinck.<br> -Norbone Berkely, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -John Brown, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -—— Blaman, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Thomas Brand, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -J. Bevis, <i>M. D.</i><br> -<i>Rev.</i> T. Bonney, <i>A. M.</i><br> -<br> -C.<br> -<br> -<i>Countess of</i> Cunengesby.<br> -<i>Lord</i> Cornwallis.<br> -<i>Lady</i> Cornwallis.<br> -Edward Cave, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -John Chamock, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Hon. and Rev. Dr.</i> Cowper.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Richard Chad.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Henry Chapell.<br> -Is. Colepepper.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> George Conyers.<br> -<br> -D.<br> -<br> -<i>Rev.</i> John Dealtary, <i>A. M.</i><br> -<i>Mr.</i> Samuel Dent.<br> -<br> -F.<br> -<br> -Charles Fitzrea Scudamore, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Kean Fitzgerald, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Thomas Fonnerau, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Robert Rakes Fulthorpe, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Samuel Farrant.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Paul Fourdrinier.<br> -<br> -G.<br> -<br> -<i>Marchioness</i> Grey.<br> -<i>Lord</i> Glenorchy.<br> -Francis Godolphin, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Roger Gale, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -James Gibbon, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Ralph Goward, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Ralph Gowland, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Ralph Gowland, <i>Junior</i>, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Dr.</i> Gregory.<br> -<i>Dr.</i> Griffith.<br> -<i>Rev.</i> John Griffith, <i>A. M.</i><br> -<i>Rev.</i> Middlemore Griffith.<br> -<br> -H.<br> -<br> -<i>Lord</i> Hardwick, <i>Lord High Chancellor of</i> Great-Britain.<br> -<i>Hon.</i> James Hamilton.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Thomas Heath.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Thomas Holt.<br> -John Hughes, <i>Esq</i>;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">- xii -</span><br> -<br> -J.<br> -<br> -<i>Earl of</i> Jersey.<br> -Richard Jackson, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Rev. Mr.</i> Jones.<br> -<br> -K.<br> -<br> -—— Knowles, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Dr.</i> Kendrick.<br> -<i>Mrs.</i> Kennon, 4.<br> -<br> -L.<br> -<br> -<i>Lady Vicountess</i> Limerick.<br> -<i>Sir</i> William Lee, <i>Bart.</i><br> -William Lester, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Rev. Dr.</i> Long, <i>Master of</i> Pembroke-hall, Cambridge.<br> -William Lloyd, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Andrew Lawrence.<br> -<br> -M.<br> -<br> -R. J. Mead, <i>M. D.</i><br> -Richard Meyrick, <i>M. D.</i><br> -Owen Meyrick, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Pierce Meyrick, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<br> -N.<br> -<br> -<i>Duke of</i> Norfolk.<br> -<i>Lord</i> North.<br> -<i>Lord Bishop of</i> Norwich.<br> -Richard Nicholls, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mrs.</i> Norsa.<br> -<br> -P.<br> -<br> -<i>Duke of</i> Portland.<br> -<i>Earl of</i> Pembroke, <i>&c.</i> 2.<br> -<i>Countess of</i> Pembroke, <i>&c.</i><br> -<i>Lady</i> Palmerston.<br> -Robert Money Penny, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Sir</i> Francis Pool.<br> -<i>Sir</i> John Pool.<br> -John Probyn, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Rev.</i> Mr. Pierce.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Dominick Pile.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Powel, <i>of</i> Cambridge.<br> -<br> -R.<br> -<br> -<i>Dutchess of</i> Richmond, <i>&c. &c.</i><br> -James Ralph, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Allan Ramsey, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -William Read, <i>Esq</i>; 2.<br> -Henry Reveley, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -William Reveley, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<br> -S.<br> -<br> -<i>Sir</i> George Savile.<br> -—— Serle, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Rev. Dr.</i> Smith, <i>Master of</i> Trinity College, Cambridge.<br> -<i>Miss</i> Stonehouse.<br> -William Symonds, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mr.</i> James Scot.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> James Stephens.<br> -<br> -T.<br> -<br> -<i>Lord Viscount</i> Townshend.<br> -John Temple, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -James Theobald, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Charles Townshend, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mrs.</i> Mary Trevor.<br> -<i>Mr.</i> James Thornton.<br> -<br> -V.<br> -<br> -<i>Lord Viscount</i> Villiers.<br> -<br> -W.<br> -<br> -<i>Lady Frances</i> Williams.<br> -<i>Miss</i> Williams.<br> -<i>Miss</i> Charlotta Williams.<br> -<i>Rev.</i> Thomas White, <i>A. M.</i><br> -—— White, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -Charles Louis Wiedmarkter, <i>Esq</i>;<br> -<i>Mr.</i> Ward.<br> -<br> -Y.<br> -<br> -<i>Hon.</i> Philip York.<br> -<i>Dr.</i> Arthur Young, <i>Preb. of</i> Cant.<br> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">- 1 -</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_p001" style="width: 491px;"> - <img src="images/img_p001.png" width="491" height="191" alt=""> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_THE_FIRST"><span class="gesperrt">LETTER the FIRST.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Opinions of the most eminent Authors whose Sentiments on the following Subject -have been published in their Works.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,<br></p> - -<div class="figleft" id="img_txt_r" style="width: 122px;"> - <img src="images/img_txt_r.png" width="122" height="122" alt="R"> -</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">R</span>eflecting upon the agreeable Conversation of -our last Meeting, which you may remember chiefly -turned upon the Stars, and the Nature of the planetary -Bodies; a Subject, which is generally allowed to give -true Pleasure to all those who take Delight in mathematical -Enquiries; and having not a little Regard to -the repeated Request in your late Letters, I have at -length undertaken to explain to you, as far as I am able, my Theory of -the <i>Universe</i>, and the Ideas I have form'd of the known Creation.</p> - -<p>The Hypothesis upon which this new Astronomy is founded, and -now reduced into a regular System, was the result of my Astronomical -Studies<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> full fifteen years ago, hence I hope you will allow, I have more -than observed <i>Horace's</i> celebrated Aphorism,</p> - -<p class="tdc" lang="la"> -<i>Nonumque prematur in annum.</i><br> -</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[D]</a> The first Scheme of this Hypothesis was plann'd in the Year 1734, representing in a Section -of the Creation, eighteen Feet long and one broad, several thousand Worlds and Systems, -and a great Number of emblematical Figures, now in the Author's Possession, together -with a Scheme of the entire Creation, completed since, nine Feet long and six broad, more -fully illustrating upon the same Construction the Innumerability of Systems and Worlds.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">- 2 -</span></p> - -<p>The Subject, I have often observed, you have listened to with a pleased -Attention, and I am the more incouraged to explain it at large to you, -as I am perswaded you don't want to be convinced of its valuable Uses -and Importance.</p> - -<p>I remember you have often told me, that to apply ourselves to the Study -of Nature, was the surest and readiest Way to come at any tolerable Knowledge -of ourselves, however difficult the Task might prove either in the -Attempt, or the attaining it, and the less to be neglected, as it never fails -to introduce a proper Knowledge of the <span class="smcap">Divine Being</span>, as a certain Consequence -along with it, and such a Knowledge, as will naturally make every -Man, who has but a tolerable Share of common Sense, and is not a Slave to -another's Reason, without any other Evidence or Motive, in all Stations, -and under all Circumstances, <span class="smcap">Act justly</span>, <span class="smcap">Live chearfully</span>, -and <span class="smcap">die</span> full of Hope in the Expectation of a happy Sequel, in Futurity.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>Eternity</i> is written in the Skies:<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Mankind's Eternity, nor <i>Faith</i> alone;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>Virtue</i> grows there ——<br></div> - </div> - -<span style="margin-left: 15em;"> -Dr. <span class="smcap">Young</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>A learned Author on the Attributes, recommending these Studies as a -reasonable and moral Service, says, "Sure, it is most becoming such imperfect -Creatures as we are, to contemplate the Works of God with this -Design, that we may discern the Manifestations of Wisdom in them; -and thereby excite in ourselves those devout Affections, and that superlative -Respect, which is the very Essence of Praise."</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Who turns his Eye, <i>on Nature's Midnight Face</i>,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>But must enquire</i> —— what Hand behind the Scene,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What <span class="smcap">Arm Almighty</span>, put these wheeling Globes<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">In Motion, and wound up the vast Machine?<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The enchanting Idea <i>Milton</i> had of the Subjects of Astronomy whose -truly sublime Way of thinking and writing perhaps was never so nearly -equalled, or attempted before this Reverend Author's <i>Night-Thoughts</i>, appear'd -is finely shewn in the Eighth Book of his <i>Paradise Lost</i>, where he -makes his <i>Adam</i>, so earnestly attentive to the Angel <i>Gabriel</i>, as to -ceasing to relate the Mysteries of Creation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">- 3 -</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The Angel ended, and his <i>Adam's</i> Ear<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">So charming left his Voice, that he awhile<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thought him still speaking; still stood fix'd to hear.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p><i>Milton's</i> own Ideas of the Universe too, which no doubt he had gathered -from astronomical Authors, and had reconciled himself to, we are -fully made acquainted with in the same Book, where the Arch-angel says, -in answer to <i>Adam's</i> Enquiries.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">——Other Suns perhaps<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">With their attendant Moons thou wilt descry<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Communicating Male and Female Light,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which two great Sexes animate the World,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Stor'd in each Orb, perhaps with some that live:<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">For such vast Room in Nature, unpossest<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">By living Soul, desert and desolate,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Only to shine, yet scarce to contribute<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Each Orb a Glimpse of Light, convey'd so far<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Down to this habitable, which returns<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Light back to them, is obvious to Dispute.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>But before I presume to plan my own Discoveries and Conjectures into a -Theory, both in Justice to those who have in some measure been in the -same Way of Thinking, and also as a Defence of myself for producing so -new an Hypothesis to the World, which otherwise (though any Apology -made to you I know will be unnecessary) may appear to too many but an -idle <i>Chimera</i> of my own. I judge it will be highly proper, by way -of strengthening my own Arguments, and adding more Weight to what -I shall myself advance in the following Letters, to give you in this -the Opinions of the most able Writers, whose Works I have read -upon the Subject. I mean so far as relates to the now general received -Notion, that the Stars are all Suns, and surrounded with planetary Bodies, -with which I shall set out; and shew you, it is not a Thing merely taken -for granted, but has ever been the concurrent Notion of the Learned of all -Nations, as shall be further shewn, in its proper Place, and as nearly as -Possibility will admit of, demonstrated to be Truth.</p> - -<p>The following is an Extract from Mr. <i>Toland</i>, in his Account of the -Works of</p> - - -<div class="caption2 gesperrt"><span class="smcap">Jordanus Bruno.</span></div> - -<p>"The Divine Efficacy (says this Author in his infinite Creation) cannot -stand idle, without the Want of Will or Power; but any Imbecility in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">- 4 -</span> -such a Being argues Imperfection, and since any finite Produce compared -with Infinity is as nothing, or rather as the Beginning of Good, -it must be no less idle, and invidious in producing a finite Effect, than in -producing none at all.</p> - -<p>"Hence, as all Finites, singly considered, are but as Commencements -of something more to be expected.</p> - -<p>"Omnipotence, in making the Creation finite, will appear to be no -less blameable for not being willing, than for not being able, to make it -otherwise; <i>i. e.</i> infinite, as being an infinite Agent upon a finite Subject, -which is repugnant to Reason."</p> - -<p>It follows then that, Creation must be not only extensively, but intensively -indefinite, and beyond the Reach of the human Understanding to -comprehend; and that the one is as necessary as the other, <i>i. e.</i> an infinite -Expanse is as reconcileable to our Reason, as infinite Parts are to our -Senses.</p> - -<p>All the Attributes of the Divine Being are, as any one of them, incomprehensible -to his Creatures; why should our Imagination then be supposed to -extend beyond the divine Activity?</p> - -<p>"Thus, adds the above Author, the Excellency of God is adequately -magnified, and the Grandeur of his Empire made manifest; he is not -glorified in one, but in numberless Suns; not in one Earth, or in one -World, but in ten thousand thousand of infinite Globes."</p> - -<p>An infinite Representation of an infinite Original, and a Spectacle befitting -the Excellency and Eminence of him, that can neither be fully conceived, -imagined, or comprehended.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">What read we here? the Existence of a <span class="smcap">God</span>?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Yes, and of other Beings, Man above,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Natives of Æther! Sons of higher Climes!<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -Dr. <span class="smcap">Young</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>"If the Existence of this one World be good or convenient, it is not -less good or convenient that there be infinite others like it.</p> - -<p>"The infinite efficient Cause would be absolutely defective, without an -infinite Effect; and besides, by conceiving the Infinity of the Universe -and innumerable Beings, the Understanding rests satisfied, and is reconciled -with the Idea of an Eternity; whereas, by asserting the contrary, -it is unavoidably plunged into innumerable Difficulties, and unsolvable -Inconveniencies, Paradoxes, and Absurdities."</p> - -<p>Again, says the same Writer, "Did we but consider and comprehend -all this, oh! to what much further Considerations and Comprehensions -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">- 5 -</span> -should we be carried! as we might be sure to obtain that Happiness -by virtue of this Science, which <i>in other Sciences is sought after in vain</i>.</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">This Prospect vast, what is it? weigh'd aright,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">'Tis Nature's System of Divinity,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And every Student of the Night inspires.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -Dr. <span class="smcap">Young</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">'Tis elder Scripture, writ by <span class="smcap">God's</span> own Hand;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Scripture authentic! uncorrupt by Man.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>"This then is that Philosophy, which opens the Senses, which satisfies -the Mind, which enlarges the Understanding, and which leads Mankind -to the only true Beatitude, whereof they are capable according to -their natural State and Constitution; for it frees us from the sollicitous -Pursuit of Pleasure, and from the anxious Apprehensions of Pain, making -us to enjoy the good Things of the present Hour, and not to fear -more, than we hope from the future; since that same Providence, or -Fate, or Fortune, which causes the Vicissitudes of our particular Being, -will not let us know more of the one, than we are ignorant of the -other."</p> - -<p>And farther, "From these Contemplations, if we do but rightly consider, -it will follow, that we ought never to be dispirited by any strange Accidents, -through Excess of Fear or Pain, nor ever be elated by any prosperous -Event, through Excess of Hope or Pleasure; whence we have -the Path to true Morality, and following it, we shall of course become -the magnanimous Despisers of what Men of weak Minds fondly -Esteem, and be wise Judges of the History of Nature, which would be -written in our Minds, and consequently be chearful and strict Executioners -of the divine Laws, which would thus be ingraved in the Center -of our Hearts. Seeking, as it were, in ourselves, an Approbation of -our own Action, which alone is capable of true Content and Happiness."</p> - - -<div class="caption2 gesperrt"><span class="smcap">Christopher Huygens</span>,</div><a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[E]</a> The Pendulum Clock; the first Discovery of <i>Jupiter's</i> Satellites, and <i>Saturn's</i> Ring.</p> - -</div> - -<p>To whom the World is much indebted for many curious Inventions, and -Discoveries, says in his <i>Planetary Worlds</i>, "I must be of the same -Opinion with all the great Philosophers of our Age, that the -Sun is of the same Nature with the fix'd Stars; and this will give us a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">- 6 -</span> -greater Idea of the World than all other Opinions can. For then -why may not every one of these Stars, or Suns, have as great a Retinue, -as our Sun, of Planets, with their Moons to wait upon them? Nay, -there is a manifest Reason why they should; for, if we imagine ourselves -placed at an equal Distance from the Sun and fix'd Stars, we -should then perceive no Difference at all betwixt them.</p> - -<p>"Why then may we not make use of the same Judgment that we -would in that Case; and conclude, that our Star has no better Attendance -than the others? So that what we allowed the Planets upon the -Account of our enjoying it, we must likewise grant to all those Planets -that surround that prodigious Number of Suns. They must have their -Plants and Animals, nay, their rational Creatures too, and those as great -Admirers and as diligent Observers of the Heavens as ourselves; and -must consequently enjoy whatever is subservient to, and requisite for -such Knowledge.</p> - -<p>"What a wonderful and amazing Scheme have we here of the magnificent -Vastness of the Universe! So many Suns, so many Earths, and -every one of them stock'd with so many Herbs, Trees, and Animals, -and adorned with so many Seas and Mountains! And how must our -Wonder and Admiration be increased, when we consider the prodigious -Distance and Multitude of the Stars?"</p> - - -<p class="caption3"><i>The Opinion of Sir</i> <span class="smcap">Isaac Newton</span>.</p> - -<p>This great Author, in his grand <i>Scholia</i> to the <i>Principia</i>, says:—"The -most beautiful System of the Sun, Planets, and Comets, could only proceed -from the Counsel and Dominion of an intelligent and powerful -Being: And if the fix'd Stars are the Centers of other like Systems, these, -being form'd by the like wise Counsel, must be all subject to the Dominion -of One; especially, since the Light of the fix'd Stars is of the -same Nature with the Light of the Sun, and from every System Light -passes into all the other Systems. And least the Systems of the fix'd -Stars should by their Gravity fall mutually on each other, he (the Divine -Being) hath placed those Systems at immense Distances from one -another."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">- 7 -</span></p> - - -<p class="caption3"><i>The Opinion of Dr.</i> <span class="smcap">Derham</span>, <i>in his</i> Astro-Theology.</p> - -<p>"The new System, says he, supposeth there are many other Systems -of Suns and Planets, besides that, in which we have our -Residence; namely, that every fix'd Star is a Sun, and incompassed -with a System of Planets, both primary and secondary, as well as ours.</p> - -<p>"These several Systems of the fixed Stars, as they are at a great and -sufficient Distance from the Sun and us; so they are imagined to be at -as due, and regular Distances from one another: By which means it is -that those Multitudes of fixed Stars appear to us of different Magnitudes, -the nearest to us large; those farther and farther, less and less; and -that some, if not all of those vast Globes of the Universe, have a Motion, -is manifest to our Sight, and may easily be concluded of all, from -the constant Similitude and Consent that the Works of Nature have -with one another."</p> - -<p>To this we may add, that this System of the Universe, as it is physically -demonstrable, is far the most rational and probable of any. <i>Because</i>,</p> - -<p>"It is far the most magnificent of any, and worthy of an infinite -<span class="smcap">Creator</span>, whose <i>Power</i> and <i>Wisdom</i>, as they are without Bounds and -Measure, so may they, in all Probability, exert themselves in the Creation -of many Systems as well as one. And as Myriads of Systems are more -for the <i>Glory</i> of <span class="smcap">God</span>, and more demonstrate his <i>Attributes</i> than one; -so it is no less probable than possible, there may be many besides this -which we have the Privilege of living in." And as the strongest Confirmation -of this, "we see it is really so, as far as it is possible it can be -discerned by us, at such immense Distances as those Systems of the fixed -Stars are from us; and we cannot reasonably expect more."</p> - -<p>"Since the Sun and fix'd Stars, says Dr. <i>Gregory</i>, are the only great -Bodies of the Universe that have any native Light, they are justly -esteemed by Philosophers to be of the same Kind, and designed for the -same Uses; and it is the Effect of a Man's Temper that sets a greater -Value upon his own Things than he ought, that makes him judge -the Sun to be the biggest of them all."</p> - -<p>That, as an elegant<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> Writer observes, which we call the Morning, or -the Evening Star, is, in reality, a <i>Planetary World</i>; which, with the four -others, that so wonderfully, as <i>Milton</i> expresses it, "vary their mystick -Dance, are in themselves dark Bodies, and shine only by Reflection; -have Fields and Seas, and Skies of their own; are furnished with all -Accommodations for animal Subsistence, and are supposed to be the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">- 8 -</span> -Abodes of intellectual Life. Again, The Sun, with all its attendant Planets -is but a very little Part of the grand Machine of the Universe. Every -Star—is really a vast Globe, like the Sun, in Size and in Glory, no less -spacious, no less luminous, than the radiant Source of our Day; so that -every Star is the Center of a magnificent System, has a Retinue of -Worlds irradiated by its Beams, and revolves round its active Influence; -all which are lost to our Sight in immeasurable Tracts of Æther.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[F]</a> Contemplations on the starry Heavens.</p> - -</div> - -<p>"Could we, says the same Author, wing our Way to the highest apparent -Star—we should there see other Skies expanded, other Suns, -that distribute their inexhaustible Beams of Day; other Stars, that gild -the alternate Night; and other perhaps nobler Systems established; -established in unknown Profusion, through the boundless Dimensions -of Space. Nor does the Dominion of the great Sovereign end <i>there</i>, -even at the End of this vast Tour, we should find ourselves advanced -no farther than the Frontiers of Creation; arrived only at the Suburbs -of the great <i>Jehovah's</i> Kingdom."</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">O for a Telescope his Throne to reach!<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Tell me ye Learn'd on Earth! or Blest above!<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ye searching, ye <i>Newtonian</i> Angels! tell,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where your great Masters Orb? His Planets where?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Those conscious Satellites, those Morning Stars,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">First-born of <i>Deity</i> from central Love.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -Dr. <span class="smcap">Young</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>Many other Authorities might be produced from Writers of great Repute, -were it necessary to trouble you with them<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a>; but I believe those -above will be abundantly sufficient for the present Purpose, if even an -Apology were wanting for my own Conjectures. I shall therefore conclude -this Letter with the following Passage out of <i>Pope's Universal Prayer</i>, -and in my next shall proceed in the Work I have undertaken.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Yet not to Earth's contracted Span,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thy Goodness let me bound;</span><br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Or think thee Lord alone of Man,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">When thousand Worlds are round.</span><br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[G]</a> Particularly from <i>Fontenelle</i>, &c.</p> - -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">- 9 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_THE_SECOND"><span class="gesperrt">LETTER the SECOND.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Concerning the Nature of Mathematical Certainty, and the various -Degrees of Moral Probability proper for Conjecture.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,</p> - -<div class="dropcap">Y</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">Y</span>ou know how much I am an Enemy to the taking of any thing -for granted, merely because a Person of reputed Judgment, has -been heard to say, <i>it absolutely is so</i>; an <i>Ipse dixit</i>, and implicit -Faith in some Cases, may be both necessary and useful; but here, in Astronomy, -I mean, every Man's Reason, by the Help of a very little -Mathematicks, is able to bring wonderful Truths to Light without them; -and Truths not only of the highest Importance to every Individual, but -of a great and common Consequence to all Mankind: And as such, in -all Ages of the World, have been judged worthy to be enquired into, by -the best and wisest of Philosophers.</p> - -<p>You are likewise very sensible how far the human Understanding is -even at the best, from being infallible, and don't want to be told, how -difficult it is in a Subject of this Nature to arrive at any tolerable Degree of -Certainty, which before the Days of the sagacious <i>Euclid</i>, and the penetrating -<i>Archimedes</i>, was a Thing not to be expected. And many things -which were then but barely Objects of Conjecture and Probability, have since -been demonstrated to be infallibly true. Time and Observation will undoubtedly, -at last, discover every thing to us necessary to our Natures, and -proper for us to know. As a Proof of which, we see human Wisdom -daily increases; and while a Capacity continues to make ourselves still -more acquainted with the manifest Wisdom and Power of <span class="smcap">God</span> in the -Works of his Creation, who is to tell us where to stop our Enquiries? -Or who is so impious to set Bounds to a Science, which so evidently -spreads through all Infinity, the Attributes of God, and an eternal Basis -for future Hope?</p> - -<p>This Branch, or rather Body of Astronomy, I believe you will find -to be quite new; and though evident Truths, are the principal Thing to -be regarded in it, yet as being in its infant State, where lineal Demonstration<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">- 10 -</span> -fails, as in some Cases it cannot be otherwise, I hope you will -give me Leave to make use of a weaker Way of Reasoning, to convince -you of the Point in Dispute, I mean of that by the Analogy of known -and natural Things.</p> - -<p>I shall be extremely unwilling to affirm any thing for a <i>Fact</i>, or Truth, -without hearing, if not the real Evidence, at least a plausible Reason, next -to a Conviction, or moral Certainty, along with it; and therefore I will -here endeavour to explain to you what I mean by moral Certainty and -also by mathematical Proof.</p> - -<p>Mathematical Proof, or Certainty, proper for Conjectures, may, to -almost every Capacity, be illustrated as follows:</p> - -<p>Suppose you had accidentally found a very small Part of a visibly -broken Medallion, with nothing more express upon it, than what is represented -at <i>Fig.</i> 1. <i>Plate</i> I. a Person totally unacquainted with the mathematical -Sciences, we may naturally conclude, would not be able to make -any thing of it, or in the least comprehend what it originally was, or -meant; but if an Astronomer should chance to see it, who of course we -are to suppose knew the Order and Proportion of the planetary Orbits, -he would immediately conclude, and with great Probability, on the Side -of his Conjectures, that it might be Part of a Medal representing the Solar -System. In such a Case may we not very naturally suppose he would -reason thus?</p> - -<p>The Arches A and B seem to be Portions of the respective Orbits of -<i>Saturn</i> and <i>Jupiter</i>, and what may lead us to believe, that they are really -so, and Part of the Solar System, is the oblique Curve C, which looks -not unlike the Trajectory of a Comet.</p> - -<p>This surely would be far from an irrational Conjecture, and consequently -in some Degree probable: But this is not sufficient you'll say; To -prove it we must have farther recourse to the Mathematicks, and a Mathematician -would immediately thus demonstrate it to be true.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_i" style="width: 512px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate I.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_i.png" width="512" height="611" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_ii" style="width: 544px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate II.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_ii.png" width="544" height="551" alt=""> -</div> - -<p>First, by compleating the Circles geometrically from the fourth Book -of <i>Euclid</i>, by the Assistance of any three Points E. F. G. the original -Figure will be restored, as at <i>Fig.</i> 2. And secondly, by assuming any -two Points, as F, E in the Curve C, if admitted a Parabola, by a well-known -Problem in Conic Sections the Heliocentric Portion X. Y. Z. will -easily be projected and shewn, as in <i>Fig.</i> 3. Lastly, join this in Position -to the former, and it will justly supply the Orbit, or Path of some one of -the Comets; and if required, even what Comet may be discovered by -comparing the Perihelion Distance Y. S. with their general Elements or -Theories, in Dr. Hally's <i>Synopsis</i> of the Motion of these Bodies. And if -a farther Confirmation of the Truth of these Conjectures were wanting, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">- 11 -</span> -the small concentric Circles at D would now be allowed beyond a Contradiction, -to represent the secondary Orbits of <i>Saturn</i>; and thus the -first Presumption being carried thro' several corroborating Degrees of Probability, -almost past a Dispute, would become a mathematical Certainty; -and the above imperfect Piece of Medallion, would evidently appear beyond -a Contradiction to be Part of a Representation of the said solar System, -and such as is shewn in <i>Plate</i> II. Q. E. D. Thus in many Cases, it often happens, -that from a very small Part of <i>orbicular Things</i>, we are able to determine -the Form and Direction of the Whole: And hence you may -conceive it no very difficult Task to a Mathematician, to describe the Orbits -of all the Planets in the solar System, though he had never observed -them but in one and the same Sign of the <i>Zodiack</i>; thus far I have thought -it would not be amiss to explain to you the Nature of those Steps, by -which we arrive at moral Certainty, and where the Subject will admit of -it, Mathematical Conviction, which will not a little contribute to strengthen -many of the Arguments hereafter made use of, and in some Degree -serve to supply the Place of Proof, where infallible Demonstration cannot -from the Nature of the Thing be discovered.</p> - -<p>But besides the indisputable Principles of Geometry, the universal -Law of Analogy and Similitude of things, have a Privilege to assist us, -in Conjectures relating to the heavenly Bodies, and though not of equal -Force with the former, is often as conclusive as the Subject requires. This -sort of probable Evidence (as Dr. <i>Butler</i> observes,) is essentially distinguished -from "Demonstrative by this, that it admits of Degrees; and -of all Variety of them, from the highest moral Certainty to the very -lowest Presumption; and that which chiefly constitutes Probability, is -expressed in the Word <i>Likely</i>, or Natural Likeness, as to State or Being." -This general Way of arguing, I think, is allowed to be evidently natural, -just and conclusive, and unquestionably to have its Weight in various Degrees, -towards determining our Judgment: For Instance, should any ignorant -Person, endowed with rational Principles, cut open a <i>Pomegranate</i> -of the natural Growth of <i>England</i>, and finding it full of small Globules, or -Kernels, upon being presented with an every way similar Fruit, said to be -the Produce of <i>Italy</i>, doubt of its being of the same Nature, and composed -of like globular Seeds within; here indeed would be no mathematical -Evidence to assist the Judgment, the Object of Proof being invisible, -but sure from the external Similitude, the strongest Probability of their -being also internally the same. Again,</p> - -<p>Is it natural to suppose, that the first Person who found a <i>Lark's</i> Nest, -and in it several of the Female's Eggs, should have any Apprehensions of -finding none in the <i>Nightingale's</i>, only because he had never seen one before, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">- 12 -</span> -I believe the most illiterate Person of the earliest Ages, who had Curiosity -enough for such a Search, would be greatly disappointed in such a Case, -and far from concluding that the <i>Nightingale</i> had none. Farther, should -any one who had seen several Sorts of Fish taken out of the River <i>Thames</i>, -or out of the <i>Nyle</i>, have any sort of Suspicion that he should find no such -Creatures in the <i>Seine</i> or the <i>Ganges</i>, though it should be allowed that he -had never seen any such Creatures that were known to come from thence. -Ocular Demonstration, in such a Case, would sure be unnecessary, and an -Evidence of the first, I believe would be abundantly sufficient to convince -us of what we ought to look for at least in the last: But then the Fishes -of different Seas, and of Rivers are not of the same Species you'll say; -but as it were infinitely diversified through all the aqueous World, this is, -and must be granted, and alike Variety of <i>Species</i> must also be granted, in -the former Case of the Birds: But no Objection can possibly arise from any -such Diversity, since we don't pretend to say, nor is it at all necessary, that -the Beings in the sidereal Planets should be every where the same with -these of our solar System, a Variety must every where be admitted, and will -always be admired, where the Work is Nature's, and the Design <span class="smcap">God</span>'s.</p> - -<p>All then that I here pretend to argue for, is a Universality of rational -Creatures to people Infinity, or rather such Parts of the Creation, as from -the Analogy and Nature of Things, we judge to be habitable Seats for -Beings, not unlike the mortal human.</p> - -<p>Every Animal, and every Vegetable, that, as it were, naturally exists -by the Virtues, Properties, or Laws of the mineral Kingdom, has something -of a secondary Nature, depending upon it as a Principle; and to -say that the Stars, which are a certain visible sort of Cotemporaries in Space -with the Sun, have no like planetary Bodies with ours moving round them, -because we cannot possibly see them, is no less absurd and ridiculous, than -to argue, that we can have no Reason to expect to find, in the proper -Season, Grapes upon every Vine—Figs upon every Tree—Roses upon -every Bush—only because some of them are at such a Distance, that -neither Rose, Fig or Grape, can be discovered by the Eye.</p> - -<p>This sort of Reasoning, though some perhaps may neglect it, I am -perswaded you will look upon as abundantly sufficient for Things out of the -Reach of Science to determine; and that the collective Body of Stars -have not been discovered, to be together a proper Subject for such Conjectures -before, can surely only proceed from the Want of Time, necessary -to compleat the Observations proper for a Foundation to build such an -Hypothesis, or Theory upon. This is the great Article in which the Moderns -have so much, and ever will have, an Advantage over the Antients. -And hence it will appear, That</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">- 13 -</span></p> - -<p>The Improvements and Discoveries of latter Ages are not at all owing -to the greater Capacity of the Moderns, but from the Advantages received, -or arising from the Inventions and Progress made by the Ancients. We -at first in a manner walked by their Leading-strings, and though many of -them now are broke, or useless, none can deny, but that formerly they -were of great Advantage in promoting and directing philosophical Enquiries.</p> - -<p>In an Assembly of the most eminent Men of all Ages, if we may suppose -such a Conference amongst the illustrious Dead, on Purpose to deliver -their several Sentiments familiarly together, on the most interesting Subjects -of natural Knowledge, who would not lament the Disadvantages, -poor old <i>Thales</i>, an <i>Hipparchus</i>, or a <i>Ptolomy</i>, would lie under, who had nothing -but the Eye of Reason to direct them, in Opposition to the Judgment -of a <i>Brahe</i>, or a <i>Galilæus</i>, who reaped so much Benefit from their -compound Opticks? But on the other hand, perhaps if the solar System, -was the Topic of Discourse, a <a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a><i>Pythagorean</i> might very pertinently say -to a <i>Newtonian</i>, "You have not gone much farther in the Light with our -Direction, than we did in the Dark alone; for you are still roving -round the same Circles." Much might be said upon this Head; but -I believe it would be a difficult Matter to do Justice to all Parties: So here -I intend to leave them, only must observe, that Posterity will always have -the Advantage over their Predecessors; and that After-ages, in all Probability, -will reap so great a Benefit from the Invention and Improvement -of Fluxions, that scarce any thing, which is the immediate Object -of such Enquiry, will long lie concealed from a true mathematical -Genius.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[H]</a> The true System of the Planets have been discovered above two thousand Years.</p> - -</div> - -<p>For this, in which he has surpassed all the Antients, and greatly advanced -the philosophical Sciences, the World is indebted to Sir <i>Isaac Newton</i>.</p> - -<p>But as many of his Discoveries, such as relate particularly to the Laws -of the planetary System, are but as so many Confirmations of the Conjectures -and Imaginations of Astronomers and Philosophers before him, it -perhaps will not be amiss to acquaint you a little with the Astronomy of -the Antients concerning the Universe. And before I proceed to those of -my own, shew you in the first Place how far their Speculations in the visible -Creation have been carried; and with these I shall conclude this preparatory -Epistle.</p> - -<p>The Universe, or mundane Space, by which the Antients comprehend -all Creation, has, from time to time, according to the Progress of Science, -come under a sort of Necessity of being variously modell'd agreeable to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">- 14 -</span> -Opinion of the several Authors, who have judged themselves wise -enough to write upon it with a mathematical Foundation: And the cosmical -System, by which is meant the Co-ordination of its constituent -Parts has undergone almost as many Changes as its Elements are even capable -of; every Age of the World, as Knowledge has increased, either -from improved Imagination, or repeated Observations, producing something -new concerning it.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Milton</span>, no doubt, had all this Diversity of Opinions in View, as -appears from his supposed Pre-knowledge of <i>Raphael</i>, in the following -Passage, <i>Book.</i> VIII.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Hereafter, when they come to model Heaven,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And calculate the Stars, how they will weild<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The mighty Frame! how build, unbuild, contrive<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">To save Appearances, how gird the Sphere<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">With centric and eccentric scribbl'd o'er;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cycle, and Epicycle, Orb in Orb.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>But the following Synopsis, I believe, will abundantly convince you -that from certain Observations only, we ought to form all our Notions of -it, if we either hope to arrive at Truth, or expect our Ideas should be -supported by Reason.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Aristotle</span> was of Opinion, that the Universe, or Heaven, was all -one World, and St. <span class="smcap">Chrysostom</span>, <span class="smcap">Tertullian</span>, St. <span class="smcap">Bonaventure</span>, -<span class="smcap">Tycho Brahe</span>, <span class="smcap">Longomontanus</span>, <span class="smcap">Kepler</span>, <span class="smcap">Bulialdus</span> and <span class="smcap">Tellez</span>, -were of an united Opinion, that this one Heaven, or Universe, was all -sidereal and fluid. But <span class="smcap">Aegidius</span>, <span class="smcap">Hurtadus</span>, <span class="smcap">Cisalpinus</span>, and <span class="smcap">Aversa</span>, -believing the same Heaven with them to be all one World, and that -sidereal, yet on the contrary held it to be solid.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Clemens</span>, <span class="smcap">Acacius</span>, <span class="smcap">Theodoret</span>, <span class="smcap">Anastasius</span>, <span class="smcap">Synaita</span>, <span class="smcap">Procopius</span>, -<span class="smcap">Suidus</span>, <span class="smcap">S. Bruno</span>, and <span class="smcap">Claudianus Mamertus</span>, supposed -the universal mundane Space as divided into two Heavens, namely,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The Empyræum created the first Day,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And the Firmament created the second Day.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>Two Heavens were also held by <span class="smcap">Justin Martyr</span>, the one sidereal, -and the other aerial. The first supposed by St. <span class="smcap">Gregory Nyssene</span>, to be -that of the fixed Stars, and the last, that of the Planets. But <i>Mastrius</i> -and <i>Bellutus</i>, though agreeing in the Number of Heavens, calls one the -<i>*Primum Mobile</i>, and the other, the Starry Heaven.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">- 15 -</span></p> - -<p>Farther, St. <span class="smcap">Basil</span>, St. <span class="smcap">Ambrose</span>, <span class="smcap">Damascene</span>, <span class="smcap">Cassiodorus</span>, <span class="smcap">Genebrardus</span>, -<span class="smcap">Suarez</span>, <span class="smcap">Tannerus</span>, <span class="smcap">Hurtadus</span>, <span class="smcap">Oviedus</span>, <span class="smcap">Tellez</span>, -and <span class="smcap">Borrus</span>, distinguished the Universe as divided into three Portions, -or Heavens.</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">Or, as<br><i>Cajetan</i>.</td> - <td class="tdc"><i>Tho.<br>Aquinas.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The first called the Empyræum,</td> - <td class="tdl">Watery,</td> - <td></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The second supposed Sidereal,</td> - <td class="tdl">Sidereal,</td> - <td class="tdl">Watery,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">And the last of all, Aerial.</td> - <td class="tdl">Aerial,</td> - <td class="tdl">Sidereal.</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>Again, St. <i>Athanasius</i> adds to those of the fix'd Stars, the Planets, and -the Air, that of the <i>Empyræum</i>, and makes in all four Heavens.</p> - -<p>But as the Number of the Heavens thus increases, and will become -subdivided in the subsequent Account of them, to give you a better Idea -of the Order of these celestial Portions of the mundane Space, it will -not be amiss to form what remains of them into regular Sections of their -proper Spheres and Systems.</p> - -<p>See <i>Plate</i> III. in which Figure, the first represents a Section of the -cosmical Theory of <i>Oviedus</i> and <i>Ricciolus</i>: Both consisting of five Heavens, -<i>viz.</i></p> - -<table style="width: 25em;"> -<tr> - <td> -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">By <i>Oviedus</i>,<br>sidereal and solid.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The fixed Stars,</td> - <td class="tdc">A</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Saturn</i>,</td> - <td class="tdc">B</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Jupiter</i>,</td> - <td class="tdc">C</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Sol</i>, with ♂ ☿ and ♀ included,</td> - <td class="tdc">D</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Moon.</td> - <td class="tdc">E</td> -</tr> -</table> - </td> - <td> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">By <i>Ricciolus</i>,<br>sidereal and fluid.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Empyræum</i>,</td> - <td class="tdc">G</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Water,</td> - <td class="tdc">F</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The fixed Stars,</td> - <td class="tdc">A</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Planets,</td> - <td class="tdc">H</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Air.</td> - <td class="tdc">I</td> -</tr> -</table> - </td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><i>Fig.</i> II. represents that of venerable <i>Bede</i> and <i>Rabanus</i>, <i>viz.</i> of Seven -Heavens.</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">And according to <i>Bede</i><br>composed of</td> - <td class="tdc">But by <i>Rabanus</i>,</td> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Air,</td> - <td class="tdc">P</td> - <td class="tdl">The Atmosphere,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Æther,</td> - <td class="tdc">O</td> - <td class="tdl">The upper Air,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Olympus</i>,</td> - <td class="tdc">N</td> - <td class="tdl">The inferior Fire,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Element of Fire,</td> - <td class="tdc">M</td> - <td class="tdl">The superior Fire,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Firmament,</td> - <td class="tdc">A</td> - <td class="tdl">Sphere of the fixed Stars,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Angelical Region,</td> - <td class="tdc">L</td> - <td class="tdl">The Crystalline Heaven,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Realm of the Trinity.</td> - <td class="tdc">K</td> - <td class="tdl">The <i>Empyræum</i>.</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">- 16 -</span></p> - -<p>Fig. III. Represents the Hypotheses of <i>Eudoxus</i>, <i>Plato</i>, <i>Calippus</i>, <i>Cicero</i>, -<i>Riccius</i>, <i>Philo</i>, <i>Remigius</i>, <i>Aben-Ezra</i>, <i>Carthusianus</i>, <i>Lyranus</i>, <i>Tostatus</i>, <i>Brugensis</i>, -<i>Orontius</i>, <i>Cremoninus</i>, <i>Philalethæus</i>, <i>Amicus</i>, and <i>Ruvius</i>; also the -<i>Babylonians</i> and <i>Egyptians</i>.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -Consisting of Eight Heavens,<br> -</p> - -<p>All Sidereal, <i>viz.</i> The Sphere of the fix'd Stars, and those of the Seven -Planets.</p> - -<p>Fig. IV. is that of <i>Macrobius</i>, <i>Haly Alpetragius</i>, <i>Rabbi-Josue</i>, <i>Rabbi -Moyses</i>, <i>Scotus</i>, <i>Abraham Zagutus</i>, <i>Sacroboscus</i>, <i>Claromontius</i>, <i>Avigra</i>, -and <i>Arraiga</i>.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -All of Nine Heavens,<br> -</p> - -<p>Comprehend a <i>Primum Mobile</i> Q, or, according to <i>Arriaga</i>, a solid -<i>Empyræum</i>. The Sphere, of fixed Stars A, and the seven Regions of the -solar Planets.</p> - -<p>Fig. V. is that of the great <i>Alphonsus</i>, <i>Fernelius</i>, <i>Regiomontanus</i>, <i>Amicus</i>, -<i>Maurolycus</i> and <i>Langius</i>; also of <i>Azabel</i>, <i>Thebit</i>, and <i>Isaac Israelita</i>; -and likewise of <i>Gulielmus Parisiensis</i>, and <i>Johannes Antonius -Delphinus</i>.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -Consisting of Ten Heavens, made up of<br> -</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A <i>Primum Mobile</i></td> - <td class="tdc">S</td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Empyræum</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A Sphere of <i>Tripidation</i> in Longitude</td> - <td class="tdc">R</td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Primum Mobile</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The Sphere of the fixed Stars</td> - <td class="tdc">A</td> - <td></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">And those of the seven solar Planets within.</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><i>Note</i>, Some Authors place the Sphere of <i>Tripidation</i> in Longitude below -that of the <i>Aplain</i>, or Eighth Sphere.</p> - -<p>Lastly, Fig. VI. is the Heaven of <i>Petrus Alliacensis</i>, the College of <i>Conimbra</i>, -<i>Martinensis</i>, (and sometime) of <i>Clavius</i>; and also <i>Johannes Warnerus</i>, -<i>Leopoldus de Austriâ</i>, <i>Johannes Antonius Maginus</i>; and lastly, of <i>Clavius</i>.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -In all Eleven Heavens containing,<br> -</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">T</td> - <td class="tdl">A <i>Primum Mobile</i>, or, as others say, an <i>Empyræum</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">V</td> - <td class="tdl">A Sphere of Libration in Latitude.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">W</td> - <td class="tdl">A Sphere of Libration in Longitude.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">A</td> - <td class="tdl">The Sphere of the fixed Stars, and those of the Planets.</td> -</tr> -</table> - - - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_iii" style="width: 584px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate III.</span><br> - <img src="images/plate_iii.png" width="584" height="549" alt=""> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>Thus you see how many various Opinions have from time to time -been embraced concerning the Fabric and Formation of the visible Universe; -all of which are now and have long been exploded; and although -at first advanced by Men of the greatest Learning, and of the deepest Penetration -in natural Knowledge, it does not appear from any one of their -Opinions, that they had any the least Notion of infinite Space, but as it -were confined the Divine <span class="smcap">Being</span> to their limited Notions, as one may -say in an Egg-shell. If therefore what I shall hereafter advance, extend so -far without the known Creation, that you can possibly conceive no Bounds -to the Works of infinite Wisdom and Power, I hope you will be in no -Danger of looking upon it as more ridiculous, or absurd, than what so -many of the wisest Men of every Age have thought proper to attempt, -and have judged worthy of their Attention so long before me. If any thing -less so, I shall think myself happy enough in having broke, or rather passed -the narrow Limits to which the Creation has for so many Years -been confined, in hopes of tempting Men of greater Talents to look up -wards, and pursue so noble a Subject as far as the human Understanding -is capable of comprehending it.</p> - -<p>To the Opinions above might be added many more, particularly that -of <i>Johannes Baptista Turrianus</i>, and <i>Fracastorius</i>, who increased the Number -of Heavens to fourteen, <i>viz.</i> seven on each Side the <i>Aplané</i>.</p> - -<p>But of this I have said enough; in my next I shall proceed to Matter -better grounded,</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>And am</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_p017" style="width: 132px;"> - <img src="images/img_p017.png" width="132" height="113" alt=""> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">- 18 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_THIRD"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the THIRD.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Concerning the Nature, Magnitude, and Motion of the Planetary Bodies -round the Sun</i>, &c.</p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,</p> - -<div class="dropcap">T</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span>he younger <i>Pliny</i>, if I remember right, somewhere says, that -there is, or ought to be, a wide Difference betwixt writing to a -Friend, and writing to the Publick: I have indeed pleased myself -with the one, but am far from thinking myself qualified for the other; -I must therefore rather intreat you, though perhaps you cannot possibly -overlook all my Faults as an Author, to excuse them at least in the Friend, -and by such kind of unlimited Indulgence, you will give me a much greater -Chance to do the Subject some Justice, though I own I despair in this -first Attempt, to reconcile every thing I advance to your more cool and -impartial Reasoning. But to the Business:</p> - -<p>As I have no Ambition to have the Substance of my Theory more admired -by you than understood, which is too often the Case in Works of -this Nature, I must beg leave to repeat to you Part of a former Discourse, -which will refresh in your Ideas the principal Laws of the System -of our Sun, and make you properly acquainted with such Things as are -necessary to be known in the now-established Astronomy of <a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a><i>Copernicus</i>, -&c. before I proceed to any new Matter.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[I]</a> <span class="smcap">Nicolaus Copernicus</span>, stiled by <i>Bulialdus</i>, <i>Vir absolutæ subtilitatis</i>, was a Native -of <i>Thorn</i> in <i>Polish Prussia</i>, and Canon of the Church of <i>Frawenburgh</i>; he was Scholar to <i>Dominicus -Maria</i> of <i>Ferrara</i>, to whom he was Assistant in his astronomical Observations at <i>Bologne</i>, -and Professor of the Mathematicks at <i>Rome</i>, in his noble Work, <i>De Revolutionibus Orbium Cælestium</i>; -he fortunately revived, happily united, and formed into an Hypothesis of his own, the -several Opinions of <i>Philolaus</i>, <i>Heraclides Ponticus</i>, and <i>Ecphantus Pythagoreus</i>, <i>viz.</i> after -the Opinion of <i>Philolaus</i> he made the Earth to move about the Sun, as the Center of its annual -Motion; and according to <i>Heraclides</i> and <i>Ecphantus</i>, he likewise gave it a diurnal Rotation -round its own Axis: Which System has withstood all Opposition; and as <i>Ricciolus</i>, -(though a Dissenter from it) observes, <span lang="la"><i>Per damna, per cædes, ab ipso sumit opes, animumque -ferro.</i></span></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">- 19 -</span></p> - -<p>The Sun, you are not to learn, is the reputed Center of our <i>Planetary -System</i>, and may remember, that the Earth on which we live, and these -five following <i>Erratic Stars</i>, viz. <span class="smcap">Saturn</span>, <span class="smcap">Jupiter</span>, <span class="smcap">Mars</span>, <span class="smcap">Venus</span> and -<span class="smcap">Mercury</span>, have been demonstrated to move round him in the Order -and Manner following.</p> - -<p><i>Saturn</i> is found to complete one Revolution round the Sun in twenty-nine -Years, one hundred and seventy-four Days, six Hours, and thirty-six -Minutes; at the Distance of about seven hundred and seventy-seven -Millions of Miles. <i>Jupiter</i> performs a like Revolution in about eleven -Years, three hundred and seventeen Days, twelve Hours, and twenty -Minutes; distant from the Sun about four hundred and twenty-four Millions -of Miles. <i>Mars</i> compleats his Circuit in one Year, three hundred -and twenty-one Days, twenty-three Hours, and twenty-seven Minutes; -and his mean Distance is about one hundred and twenty-three Millions of -Miles.</p> - -<p>These three are called superior Planets, as being farther from the Sun -than the Earth, and circumscribing its Orbit.</p> - -<p>The Earth circumambulates her Orbit in one solar Year, <i>viz.</i> in three -hundred and sixty-five Days, five Hours, forty-eight Minutes, and fifty-seven -Seconds; at the mean Distance of eighty-one Millions of Miles.</p> - -<p>The Radius of <i>Venus's</i> Orbit is about fifty-nine Millions of Miles; and -that of <i>Mercury</i> nearly thirty-two Millions, <i>ditto</i>.</p> - -<p>The Heliocentric Revolution of <i>Venus</i>, is made in two hundred and -twenty-four Days, sixteen Hours, forty-nine Minutes, and twenty-seven -Seconds; and that of <i>Mercury</i>, in eighty-seven Days, twenty-three Hours, -fifteen Minutes, and fifty-four Seconds. These two last Planets are called -inferior Ones, as being circumscribed by the Earth.</p> - -<p>The Diameter of the Sun being demonstrated to be nearly seven hundred -and sixty-three thousand Miles:</p> - -<p>The proportional Magnitudes of all the above Planets will be found -nearly as follows, <i>viz.</i></p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td colspan="3">The Diameter<br>of the Globe,</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">Of <i>Mercury</i></td> - <td class="tdr">4,240</td> - <td rowspan="6"><div class="figcenter" id="bracer_160" style="width: 11px;"> - <img src="images/bracer_160.png" width="11" height="160" alt=""> -</div></td> - <td rowspan="6">Miles</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Venus</i></td> - <td class="tdr">7,900</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">the Earth</td> - <td class="tdr">7,970</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Mars</i></td> - <td class="tdr">4,440</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Jupiter</i></td> - <td class="tdr">81,000</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">and <i>Saturn</i></td> - <td class="tdr">61,000</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">- 20 -</span></p> - -<p>Thus much I have thought proper to premise, and for your immediate -Inspection, have added the following Schemes, that nothing may be wanting -to give a general Idea of the Order of the celestial Bodies in our own -System, before I attempt to lead you through the neighbouring Regions of -the Stars to the more remote Tracts of Infinity.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> IV.</h3> - -<p>Is a true Delineation of the solar System, with the Trajectories of three -of the principal Comets, whose Periods and Orbits have been accurately -determined, and are represented in their true Proportion and Position to -one another, and the Order of the Planets round the Sun, marked with -their respective Characters, <i>viz.</i> ♄, for <i>Saturn</i>, ♃, <i>Jupiter</i>, ♂, <i>Mars</i>, ♁, -the Earth, ♀, <i>Venus</i>, and ☿, <i>Mercury</i>. The Scale being nearly five hundred -and eighteen Millions of Miles to an Inch.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> V.</h3> - -<p>Is a true Projection of the System of the known Comets; in which are -represented nine of the chief Trajectories, from their <i>Aphelii</i> to their <i>Perihelii</i>, -all in just Proportion and Position to the Orbits of <i>Saturn</i> and <i>Jupiter</i>, -which are also represented by the two concentric Circles, supposed -to be drawn round the Sun as their Center.</p> - -<p>The Ellipsis, or Trajectory, marked A, shews the Position and Path -of the Comet which appeared in the Year 1684, whose Period is supposed -to be about fifty Years, and has been observed within the Region of the -Planets once.</p> - -<p style="padding-left: 4em;"> -That mark'd B, is the Way of the Comet of 1682;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period conjectured to be about seventy-five</span><br> -<span style="padding-left: 4em;">Years and a half, and has been observed thrice.</span><br> -  C, Way of the Comet of 1337;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 100 Years, observed once.</span><br> -  D, That of the Comet of 1661;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 129 Years, observed twice.</span><br> -  E, Tract of the Comet of 1618;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 160 Years, observed once.</span><br> -  F, Way of the Comet of 1677;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 200 Years, observed once.</span><br> -  G, Way of the Comet of 1744;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 300 Years, observed once.</span><br> -  H, Way of the Comet of 1665;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 400 Years, observed once.</span><br> -  I, Way of the Comet of 1680;<br> -<span style="padding-left: 3em;">The Period about 575 Years, observed thrice.</span><br> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_iv" style="width:650px; padding: 2em 0;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate IV.</span></div> - <a href="images/plate_iv_lg.png"><img src="images/plate_iv.png" width="650" height="419" alt=""></a> - <span class="smaller">Click on image to view larger.</span> -</div> - - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_v" style="width: 582px; padding: 2em 0;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate V.</span></div> - <a href="images/plate_v_lg.png"><img src="images/plate_v.png" width="582" height="342" alt=""></a> - <span class="smaller">Click on image to view larger</span> -</div> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">- 21 -</span></p> - -<p>The Scale of this System is equal to one Third of the former.</p> - -<p>Here I must observe to you, as a Thing I judge may prove of great Consequence -with regard to the System of Comets, which is as yet very imperfect: -That I am strongly of Opinion, that the Comets in general, -through all their respective Orbits, describe one common Area, that is to -say, all their Orbits with regard to the Magnitude of their proper Planes, -are mathematically equal to one another; which, if it once could be proved, -and confirmed by Observation, the Theories of all the Comets that have -been justly observed, might easily be perfected, and their Periods at once -determined, which now we can only guess at, or may wait whole Ages for -more Certainty of. What leads me to believe, that this may prove to -be really the Case is this.</p> - -<p>I find by Calculation, that the Orbits of the two last Comets, whose -Elements have been most corrected by Sir <i>Isaac Newton</i> and Dr. <i>Hally</i>, are -to one another, according to their Numbers, nearly as <a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a>13 to <a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a>17, -notwithstanding one of them is one of the most erratick that ever came under -our Observation; and the other one of the most neighbouring to the -Sun.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[J]</a> 1316539,968282 Comet of 1680.</p> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[K]</a> 1708155,4644 Comet of 1682.</p> - -</div> - -<p>But it is well known to all Mathematicians, that the first of these Comets -moved in so eccentric a Trajectory, that the least Error in its almost -incredible Proximity to the Sun will produce a very sensible Difference -in the Area of the Orbit: And accordingly, if we moderate the Perihelion -Distance of this Comet, by making it but 1000 instead of -<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a>612, which is but increasing it a 1/35000th Part of the great Radius -of the Orbit, (which is an Error every Astronomer will readily -grant is very easily made) and we shall find the Orbits of the said two -Comets to be exactly equal.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[L]</a> The Number in Dr. <i>Hally's</i> Synopsis.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Further, I must inform you, that the Comet of 1682, which the above is -compared with, seems to have been so accurately observed, that it does -not appear to have altered its Perihelion Distance half a 68th Part in one -intire Revolution. Now, if we can with any Show of Reason, and a -Probability on our Side, bring the Areas of these two extream Comets, -as I may call them, to an <i>Equality</i>, sure we may conclude, it is a Subject -highly worthy to be more considered and enquired into.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">- 22 -</span></p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> VI.</h3> - -<p>Is a true Representation of the satellite Systems, proportionable to one another, -and to the Orb of the Sun's Body, that a just Idea of the Distances -of those secondary Planets, may be easier had from their respective primary -ones.</p> - -<p>S represents the solar Body with its Atmosphere. <i>Fig.</i> 1. is the System -of <i>Saturn</i> from the same Scale. <i>Fig.</i> 2. that of <i>Jupiter</i> from -<i>ditto</i>. And <i>Fig.</i> 3. the Orbit of the Moon round the Earth, in the same -Proportion.</p> - -<p>But as you can have but a very imperfect Idea of the Magnitude of these -last Circles, with regard to the Body of the Earth or Moon,</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> VII.</h3> - -<p>Is a true Projection of their real Globes, at their proper Distance from -each other, with their common Center of Gravity, and the Point and -Line of equal Suspension betwixt them, <i>viz.</i></p> - -<p class="p0" style="margin-left: 4em;"> -A, represents the Globe of the Earth.<br> -B, that of the Moon.<br> -C, Point, and C D, Line of equal Suspension betwixt them.<br> -E, Common Center of Gravity, which describes the <i>Orbis Magnus</i>.<br> -E, F, and B, G, is the Orbit of the Moon.<br> -</p> - -<p>Farther, that nothing may be wanting to give a true Notion of the -whole together,</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> VIII.</h3> - -<p>Is a proportional Drawing of all the primary and secondary Planets together, -distinguished by their Characters, proper to attend a Globe of -twelve Inches Diameter, such a one being supposed to represent the Sun.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> IX.</h3> - -<p>Is an exact Scheme of the principal known Comets, in just Proportion, -to the Globe of the Earth represented at A, with the Nucleus, and Part of -the Tail of the Comet of 1680, B, as it was observed in its Assent from the -Sun, <i>viz.</i> <i>a a</i> the Comet's natural Atmosphere, <i>z z z</i>, the <i>Denser Matter</i> -winding itself into the Axis of the Train <i>x x</i>, the inflam'd Atmosphere and -Tail dilated near the Sun. C, represents the Ball of the Comet of 1682, -D, that of 1665, E, that of 1742, and F, the Head of the Comet of -1744.</p> - -<p>And again, that you may have some Notion of the apparent Magnitudes -of all these Planets and Comets, <i>&c.</i> as they appear at the Earth,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_vi" style="width: 468px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate VI.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_vi.png" width="468" height="643" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_vii" style="width: 615px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate VII.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_vii.png" width="615" height="777" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_viii" style="width: 509px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate VIII.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_viii.png" width="509" height="792" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_ix" style="width: 504px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate IX.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_ix.png" width="504" height="796" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_x" style="width: 494px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate X.</span></div> - <img src="images/plate_x.png" width="494" height="789" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xi" style="width: 636px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate XI.</span></div> - <a href="images/plate_xi_lg.png"><img src="images/plate_xi.png" width="636" height="327" alt=""></a> - <div class="smaller">Click on image to view larger sized.</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">- 23 -</span></p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> X.</h3> - -<p>Represents the Sun and Moon in the just Proportion of their mean Diameters, -with two of the Comets A and B, and the five erratick Planets, as -they are observed at the Earth, in a middle State of their Distances from it.</p> - -<p>For a more full and particular Description of all the Parts of the solar -System, and of the home Elements of Astronomy in general, I refer you -to my <i>Clavis Cœlestis</i>, &c. where every thing concerning the Planets, Comets, -and Stars; and their real and apparent Motions, are at large represented, -explained, and accounted for, for the Benefit of such as have not made -the Mathematicks their regular Study.</p> - -<p>Now, to convince you that the Planets are all in their own Nature no -other than dark opaque Bodies, reflecting only the borrowed Light of -the Sun, I must recommend to your Observation, this natural and simple -Experiment, which almost any Opportunity of seeing the <i>Moon</i> a little -before the Full, will put into your Power to make; but best and easiest -when the Sun is in any of the North Signs, <i>i. e.</i> in <i>Summer</i>.</p> - -<p>At such a time, the Sun being near setting, the Moon will appear in -the eastern Hemisphere; and if there be any bright Clouds northward, -or southward near her, you will plainly perceive, that the <i>Light</i> of the -one is of the same Nature with that of the other; I mean the Light of -the Moon, and that of the Cloud. To me there never appeared any Difference -at all; and I am perswaded, were you to make but two or three -Observations of this kind, which is from Nature itself, a sort of ocular -Demonstration, you cannot fail of being convinced, that the Moon's -Light, such as it is, without Heat, can possibly proceed from no other -Cause than that which illumines the Cloud: For if the Clouds, whose -Composition we know to be but a thin light Fluid, formed of condensed -Vapours only, is capable of remitting so great a Lustre, how much more -may we not allow the Moon, which, Length of Time, and many other -Circumstances, have long confirmed to be a durable and solid Body.</p> - -<p>The Increase of her Lustre, indeed, during the Absence of the Sun -from us, to a less penetrating Genius than your's, may possibly afford -some trifling Ground of Objection to the above Conclusions, as being -drawn from the Phænomena of Day-light only; by reason in the Night, -we have no Clouds in equal Circumstances to compare with her.</p> - -<p>But this I need not tell you, is all owing to her being seen through a -darker Medium, and not to any real Increase of natural Light emitted -from the Sun. As a Proof of which, were it necessary, you need only, -shut out the Rays of the Atmosphere, by the Help of a sufficiently -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">- 24 -</span> -long Tube; and the Moon, or any other celestial Body, will appear -through it, as bright in the Day-time as in the Night.</p> - -<p>Thus all light Bodies of inferior Lustre, whether shining by their own -natural Radiences, or by a borrowed Reflection, partake of the same Advantage, -when removed from the more potent Influence of a superior one; -and hence it is, that the <a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a><i>Aura Ætherea</i> shines out most manifest, when -the Body of the Sun himself is hid, the Stars, and the <i>Via Lactea</i> most -lively and numerous in the Absence of the Moon, and those Exhalations, -or Meteors, vulgarly called Falling-stars, become only visible (like -Glow-worms) in the Night.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[M]</a> An <i>Helios</i>, or golden Light, always attending the Sun, and supposed to spread itself all -round his Body in the Direction of his Equator, was very visible during the total Darkness of -the Eclipse of 1715, and may be always seen about the Autumnal Equinox.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Here it may not be improper to tell you, that the Clouds are to us in -effect no other than as so many Moons, whereby we have our artificial -Day prolonged to us several Hours after the Sun is set, and likewise produced -as much sooner before he rises; and were they to ascend by still -stronger Power of Exhalation to an Elevation, all round the Atmosphere, -so as to form a Sphere equal to four Times the Globe of the Earth, there -would then be no such Thing as real nocturnal Darkness to any Part of -the World.</p> - -<p>The lunar Light then we may very justly conclude, proceeds originally -from the Sun: And notwithstanding many more Arguments might be -drawn from the Demonstration of her Phases, Eclipses, &<i>c.</i> to prove it, -yet none of them need here be added, to what has been already said, to -convince you of the Truth of it. This being granted, let us now consider -what Effect this, or a like Quantity of borrowed Light, would have, -when removed to a much greater Distance.</p> - -<p>I may, I think, suppose, that you know so much of Opticks as to understand, -that all visible Objects apparently decrease in Magnitude, as their -Distance from the Eye increases. Consequently, that, if the Moon's Orbit -was placed as far again from the Earth as it really is, her Globe, or rather <i>Disk</i>, -would then seem to be but half as big as to us she now appears to be, and -of course still farther, were she placed at ten times the Distance she is -known to revolve at, her apparent Diameter would be reduced to a tenth -Part only of what it now appears to be in her present Orbit, that is, one -hundred Times less in visible Magnitude than her neighbouring Disk is -found to be where it now is seen. And such, but something less, the two -Planets <i>Venus</i> and <i>Jupiter</i>, which are frequently, in their Turns, our -Morning and Evening Stars, appear to be through a common Telescope.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">- 25 -</span></p> - -<p>Now these two Planets, together with the other three, which we find -moving in regular Orbits round the Sun, are all found subject to the same -<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a>Changes of <i>Phænomena</i>, in their various Aspects with the Sun; and who -can doubt but that they are all of the same or like Nature? But you'll say, -perhaps, how are we sure that <i>Venus</i> and <i>Jupiter</i> have no native Light of -their own, since many of the ancient Philosophers, and in particular -<i>Anaximander</i>, allowed even the Moon to have some; and besides, in Philosophy, -as well as in Logick, I think you hold there is no proving a Negative, -at least at such a Distance.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[N]</a> <i>Venus</i> and <i>Mercury</i> in every Heliocentrick Revolution, perform all the Changes of our -Moon in a like Gradation and Defection of Light, both horned and gibos'd.</p> - -</div> - -<p>To make you conceive the Impossibility of such a Light, and next to a -Demonstration, convince you of the Unnaturalness of such a Supposition, -I must put you in mind, that some time ago, when I was last in the Country -with you, I think it was about the latter End of Autumn, near the -Winter Solstice, as we were walking one Evening, I bid you take notice -of the Moon, which was then near setting, and about two Days old. -You may remember, her whole Globe appeared to us very conspicuously -within a manifest Circle. You immediately told me, that that kind of Phænomenon -the Country People called a <i>Stork</i>, or the old Moon in the new -one's Arms. This I then endeavoured to explain to you, and I think -made you sensible it was intirely an Effect of the Earth's, and an Appearance -always to be expected at that Time of the Year. The Earth being -then in the State of a Full-Moon to that Part of the lunar Orbit, and near -her Perihelion, at which time, the Earth sends back a Reflection to the -<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a>Moon twenty-five times more potent than that of the Moon to us.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[O]</a> Their Diameters being nearly as 1 to 5.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Now the Planet <i>Venus</i>, from undeniable Principles of Geometry, is -allowed to be nearly such another Globe as the Earth is; and since the -Earth, as I have just now related, is found to reflect much more Light to -the Moon, by reason of her superior Magnitude, than the Moon can possibly -reverberate to Earth again; and since also 'tis plain, the Earth has no -Light of its own, why then should we imagine <i>Venus</i> to be endowed with a -Lustre, which we can prove to be no more than a similar Body, and governed -by the same Laws as the Earth is?</p> - -<p><i>Anaximander's</i> Mistake, in supposing the Moon in some small Degree -a radiant Body of itself, lay, in not considering, that the faint Illumination -here described, and visible all over her Globe, soon after almost every -Conjunction with the Sun; and probably in Eclipses, also proceeded from -the Earth; but the thing I think is too evident to expect any sort of Contradiction, -therefore I hope you will admit it as a Truth, and consequently -take it for granted, that the planetary Bodies in general, are meer terrestrial, -if not terraqueous Bodies, such as this we live upon; which is -the Thing I have chiefly in this Letter attempted to demonstrate, or -have rather explained; and now I hope, for the future, you will receive -the Idea of a Plurality of Worlds more favourably, and look upon astronomical -Conjectures in a less ridiculous Light than you used to do, especially -since you must allow, they give our unlimited Imaginations a like all -endless Field of Contemplation, not only full of the wonderful Works of -Nature, but also of a visible Providence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">- 26 -</span></p> - -<p>I think I cannot conclude this Letter to you more properly, than with -the following fine Lines of Mr. <i>Addison's</i> from the <i>Spectator</i>, Vol. VI. -No. 465, which I hope you are not so polite as to look upon as an unfashionable -Quotation.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The spacious Firmament on High,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">With all the blue ethereal Sky,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And spangl'd Heav'ns, a shining Frame,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Their great Original proclaim:<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Th' unwearied Sun, from Day to Day,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Does his Creator's Pow'r display,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And publishes to ev'ry Land<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Work of an Almighty Hand.<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Soon as the Ev'ning Shades prevail,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Moon takes up the wond'rous Tale,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And nightly to the list'ning Earth,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Repeats the Story of her Birth:<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Whilst all the Stars that round her burn,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And all the Planets in their Turn,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Confirm the Tidings as they roll,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And spread the Truth from Pole to Pole.<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What though, in solemn Silence, all<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Move round the Dark terrestrial Ball?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What tho' nor real Voice nor Sound<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Amid their radiant Orbs be found?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">In Reason's Ear, they all rejoice,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And utter forth a glorious Voice,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">For ever singing, as they shine,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">"<i>The Hand that made us is divine</i>."<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="tdc"><i>And am</i>, &c.<br></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">- 27 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_FOURTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the FOURTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Of the Nature of the heavenly Bodies continued, with the Opinions of the -Antients concerning the Sun and Stars.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,<br></p> - -<div class="dropcap">Y</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">Y</span>ou tell me you begin to be a tolerable good <i>Copernican</i>, and -would now be glad to have my Opinion further upon the Nature -of the Sun and Stars, with regard to the Suggestion of their being -like Bodies of Fire. This you say will go a great Way towards confirming -you in the Notion you have begun to embrace of a Plurality of Systems, -and a much greater Multiplicity of Worlds than our little solar System -can admit of. Besides, shewing in a very evident Light, that the -Authorities cited in my first Letter are founded upon the clearest Reason.</p> - -<p><i>Anaxagoras</i>, you say, believed the Sun to be a Lump of red-hot Iron; -<i>Euripides</i> thought it a Clod of Gold; and others still more ridiculously -have imagined it to be a dark Body, void of all Heat. That the Sun is -a vast Body of blazing Matter, notwithstanding the various Opinions of -those primitive Sages, will, I think, hardly admit of a Question: Since the -known Warmth of his prolifick Beams, and the visible Effect of the Burning-glass, -puts it quite out of the Power of our present Set of Senses, at -least to argue against it; and how reasonably we may imagine the Stars to -be all of the same or like Nature, will sufficiently appear from these following -Considerations: First, it is well known to all Mathematicians, that -any visible Object of any determined Magnitude may be reduced to the -Appearance of <a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a>a physical Point, by removing the Eye of the Observer to -a proper or proportionable Distance from it, within the finite View: And -that the apparent Diameter of every luminous celestial Body, will always -be diminished reciprocally, in Proportion to the Distance from the Eye, -till they become altogether imperceptible.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[P]</a> What is here meant by a physical Point, is a Point visible to the naked Eye, which human -Art cannot divide; and so far it partakes of the Property of a mathematical one, which is -only to be conceived, and not seen.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">- 28 -</span></p> - -<p>Thus the Disk of the Sun, which appears to us at Earth under an Angle -of about half a Degree, if seen from the Planet <i>Saturn</i>, would appear not -much bigger than the Planet <i>Venus</i> or <i>Jupiter</i>, in their most neighbouring -Vicinity does to us; and consequently to an Eye placed in the Aphelion -Point of the Orbit of the great <i>Comet</i> of 1680, his apparent Diameter -would be so reduced as to seem but little bigger than the largest of the -Stars; and by the same Analogy, or Way of Reasoning, admitting Space -and Distance infinite, which I humbly apprehend is not to be disputed, -were all the Matter in the Universe united, and conglobed in one Mass, -with respect to ocular Sensation, it might be diminished so near to a mathematical -Punctum, as to be almost adequate to our Ideas of Nothing.</p> - -<p>This to any tolerable Optician, must be an evident Conviction of the -Truth of the modern Astronomy, which now universally allow all those -radiant Bodies the Stars to be of the same Nature with the Sun; and that -as certainly they are no other than vast Globes of blazing Matter, all undoubtedly -shining by their own native Light.</p> - -<p>But as you have often objected to what has been said of the Distance of -the Stars in general, and may possibly from a Supposition, that they are, or -may be, much nearer to us, infer, that their Light, like that of the Planets, -may be also borrowed from the Sun, or from some other radiant Body, -which, from the Nature of the Supposition, must of Consequence be invisible -to us, I judge it will not be amiss to throw a few demonstrative Arguments -in your Way, in order to lead you a little out of the Path of -an early Prejudice, and draw you as it were by Degrees through the Dawn -of astronomical Reasoning, out of your original Error, and rescue your -Imagination from the false Notions imbibed from Phænomena only in -your younger Years. This I guess cannot fail of reconciling you to this -more rational Way of Thinking, and make you acquainted with -Truths of much Consequence, which perhaps you have yet been an intire -Stranger to. The grand <i>Deceptio Visus</i>, which I must first endeavour to -remove, and which as a sort of Paradox in Nature, has, as I may say, imprisoned -the Understanding of many superficial Reasoners, and in general -all incurious Men, is this.</p> - -<p>Most People are too apt to think originally, that as the Heavens appear -to be a vast concave Hemisphere, that the Stars must of course, as of -Consequence, be fixed there, like so many radiant Studs of Fire, of various -Magnitudes; and take it for granted, chiefly designed for no other -Purpose than to deck and adorn the Canopy of our Night. This was long -ago the Opinion of <i>Thales</i> the <i>Milesian</i>, and wants not the Authority of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">- 29 -</span> -many of the Antients to back it. Others, in particular <a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a><i>Ptolomy</i> of <i>Pelusium</i> -in <i>Africa</i>, who from his Experience in this Science, is called by -some the Prince of Astronomers, believed them to be Loop-holes in the -vast solid celestial Firmament, emitting the Light of the Crystalline Heaven -through it to all within it. The famous <i>Diogenes</i>, Cotemporary -with <i>Plato</i>, conceived them to be of the Nature of Pumice-stones, and inclined -to an Opinion, that they were the <i>Spiracula</i>, or Breathing-holes of -Heaven. <i>Anaxagoras</i> thought them Stones snatched up from the Earth -by the Rapidity of its Motion, and set on Fire in the upper Regions -above the Moon.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[Q]</a> <i>Ptolomy</i> supposed two Heavens above that of the fixed Stars, which he called the eighth; -<i>viz.</i> a ninth, the Crystalline, and a tenth the <i>Primum Mobile</i>. See Letter the second.</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The sacred Sun, above the Waters rais'd,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thro' Heav'ns eternal, brazen Portals blaz'd;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And wide o'er Earth diffus'd his chearing Ray,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">To Gods and Men to give the golden Day.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Homer</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>But how ridiculous and absurd all these Opinions and Conjectures really -are, will easily appear, if we but once consider the Nature of an unbounded -Æther, and the amazing Property of infinite Space.</p> - -<p>This, with what has been said before, will not a little assist your Imagination -towards conceiving the Reasonableness of the Notion modern -Astronomers are now confirmed in, of their being absolutely so many -burning Balls, and which was no doubt, many Years ago, the Opinion -of <i>Manilius</i>, as is evident from these Lines in his Poem of the Sphere.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">For how can we the rising Stars conceive<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">A casual Production; or believe<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of the chang'd Heav'ns the oft renascent State<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>Sol's</i> <a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a>frequent Births, and his quotidian Fate.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Sherburne.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>And again, in the same Poem:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The fiery Stars, and Æther that creates<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Infinite Orbs, and others dissipates.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[R]</a> <i>Xenophanes</i> believed the Stars to be no other than Clouds set on Fire, quenched in the Day-time, -and rekindled in the Night.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">- 30 -</span></p> - -<p><i>Zoroaster</i>, the first of all Philosophers we read of who studied the Stars, -is reported to have believed them of a fiery Nature. <i>Empedocles</i> judged -them to be Fire æthereal, struck forth in its Secretion, and blazing in the -upper Regions. <i>Plato</i> thought them Fire, with the Mixture of other Elements -as Cements. <i>Heraclides</i> Worlds by themselves, of <i>Earth</i>, <i>Air</i>, and -<i>Fire</i>; and <i>Aristotle</i>, simple Bodies of the Substance of Heaven, but more -condensed.</p> - -<p>But that I may not take up too much of your Time with Opinions -that has been imbibed in the Infancy of Astronomy, and has long ago -been exploded, I shall attempt but one Thing more to confirm your Sentiments -in this new Doctrine.</p> - -<p>First, that the Stars are all at a Distance, not to be determined by the -utmost Perfection of human Art, is manifest from their having very little, -or no sensible <a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[S]</a>Parallax; and consequently, that any one of them is absolutely -bigger or less than another, from the simple Laws of Opticks, cannot -possibly come under our Observation to be ascertained; but that they all of -them may be nearly of the same Size or Solidity, is as impossible, with any -Shew of Reason to deny, since it is a known Principle in Geometry, that all -visible Objects naturally diminish, as has been said before, or are magnified -in a certain Proportion to their Distance from the Eye; and hence we may -conclude, and not without Reason in its strongest Light to support us, -that the smallest Stars, to the very least Denomination, are only removed -respectively more distant from the Observer's Station; and that at least this -we may be certain of, that they are all together undoubtedly an Infinity -of like Bodies, distributed either promiscuously, or in some regular Order -throughout the mundane Space: And, as <i>Marino</i> says,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Resplendent Sparks of the first Fire!<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">In which the Beauty we admire,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And Light of those eternal Rays,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The uncreated Mind displays.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[S]</a> Mr. <i>Bradley</i>, Astronomer-Royal, has, in a great measure, proved that the Aberration -of the Stars hitherto mistaken for a Parallax, may arise from, and indeed seems to be no other -than the progressive Motion of Light, and Change of Place to the Eye, arising from the -Earth's annual Motion and Direction.</p> - -</div> - -<p>It remains now I think to shew, and endeavour to prove, that the Stars -are not only light Bodies of the Nature of the Sun, but that they are really -so many Suns, all performing like Offices of Heat and Gravity, in a regular -Order, throughout the visible Creation, in opposition to an Opinion -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">- 31 -</span> -you have formerly hinted at, of their being in another Sense of a secondary -Nature.</p> - -<p>All Objects within the sensible Sphere of the Sun's Attraction, or Activity, -are in some measure magnified by a good Telescope: But the -Stars are all placed so far without it, that the best Glasses has no other -Effect upon them than making them appear more vivid or lively, but all -innate opaque Bodies, reflecting only a borrowed Light from some primary -one, contrary to this Property, are all observed to lose their Light, in the -same Proportion, as they are magnified, and through all Glasses become -more dull than otherwise they appear to the naked Eye: And hence we -may infer, without any further Evidence, that the Stars are all light Bodies -endowed with native Lustre; and that Bodies, like the known Planets, -from the same Reasoning, it is as clear they cannot be, because their -Distance, though uncertain as to the Truth of the whole, yet such a -Part of it as cannot be denied, would render them all in such a Case invisible.</p> - -<p>A Proof of this will plainly present itself, if we consider the Course of -the known Comets, who all of them, without Exception, become imperceptible, -and intirely disappear; though most of them much bigger -than the Earth, or any of the lesser Planets, long before they arrive at -their respective Aphelions.</p> - -<p>But we are under a kind of Necessity to believe them either Suns or -Planets, that is either dark or light Bodies; and since I have shewn the -Improbability; nay, I may venture to say, the Impossibility of their being -the first, it is natural sure to conclude, that they must be of the last -Sort; and I am persuaded, if you but once consider how ridiculous it is to -imagine so vast a Number of Bodies, all rolling round a Number of invisible -Suns, which must otherwise be the Case, since they are seen on all -Sides of ours, and cannot possibly be enlightened by him, or any, how all -of them, by any one else, you cannot possibly have any sort of Difficulty -in this Determination: But that no Arguments may be wanting to enforce -your Belief of what is here concluded, it will not be amiss to put you in -Mind of an optical Experiment or two, which cannot fail of convincing -you of the vast Probability of what is here asserted of them; and next to a -moral Certainty, demonstrate the Truth of what so many of the best Astronomers -have advanced, as before namely, that the Stars are all, or most -of them, Suns like ours.</p> - -<p>Place any concave Lense before your Eye, and you will find all visible -Objects will appear through it, as removed to a much greater Distance -than they really are at, and reciprocally as much diminished. Now, if -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">- 32 -</span> -you look upon one of these Glasses of a proper Concavity, opposed to -the Sun or Moon, you will respectively have the Appearance of a real Star -or Planet, the first exhibited by the Body of the Sun, the other by the -Moon, and either more or less diminished in Proportion to the Surface of -the Sphere the Glass is ground to.</p> - -<p>For Example, a double Concave, or Glass of a negative Focus, ground to -a Sphere of about three Inches Diameter, will if opposed to the Sun's Disk -at a proper Distance from the Eye, help you to a very good Idea how the -Sun appears to the Planet <i>Jupiter</i>; and if a proper Regard be had to the -Distance of the Planet <i>Saturn</i>, a Lense still more concave may be formed -to give a just Idea of the Sun's Appearance to <i>Saturn</i>. Again, one much -more concave than the former, proportioned to the Orbit of <i>Mars</i>, will -naturally exhibit the solar Body, as seen from that Planet.</p> - -<p>To the Planet <i>Venus</i> and <i>Mercury</i>, the Sun appearing much larger than -to us at the Earth, to have any tolerable Notion of his varied Phænomena -to them, it will be necessary to procure Glasses of a suitable Convexity, -ground to reciprocal Concaves, which may easily be done to any Focus, -so as to shew how the Sun, naturally appears to the Inhabitants of those -two Planets.</p> - -<p>The various Appearances of the Planets themselves to us at the Earth, -may also well enough be had, if through Glasses analagous to their respective -Distance and Magnitude, we look at the Moon, particularly all -the Phases of <i>Venus</i>, and even of <i>Mercury</i>, and the Gibosity of <i>Mars</i>, -&<i>c.</i> may be justly and beautifully represented at different Ages of the -Moon, as those Planets appear through the largest and best Telescopes.</p> - -<p>This Way you may convince even your Friend * * *, who you tell me -has reasoned all his Senses useless, and yet continues so great an Atheist in -Astronomy, as not to believe the World turns round upon its Axis, though -he gives no better Reason for it than that of his not being giddy.</p> - -<p>After all these Arguments, I hope no new Difficulties will arise to retard -your Belief, or deprive the Stars of their solar Nature, so justly due -to them: This Point gained, the next Thing to be considered is, whether -all those glorious Bodies, the far greater Part of whom being invisible to -the naked Eye, were made purely and purposely for the sole Use of this -diminitive World, our little trifling Earth.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">——Men, conceited Lords of all,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Walk proudly o'er this pendent Ball,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Fond of their little Spot below,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Nor greater Beings care to know,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>But think those Worlds, which deck the Skies,</i><br></div> - <div class="verse indent0"><i>Were only form'd to please their Eyes</i>.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Duck.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">- 33 -</span></p> - -<p>The very Supposition not only implies a profound Ignorance of the Divine -Attributes, but is as impious, and full of Vanity, as it is erroneous -and absurd, and even a Blindness sufficient of itself, were there no other -Cause for it, to introduce Idolatry in the Minds of Mortals, by sinking -the divine Nature so near to the human.</p> - -<p>It being granted that the Stars are all of the same Kind, I think it may -be agreed, that what we evince of any one may be allowed to be true of -any other, and consequently of all the rest. This <i>Postulata</i> gained, I -shall next proceed to enquire what the real Use and Design of so many radiant -Bodies are, or may be made for.</p> - -<p>The Sun we have justly reduced to the State of a Star, why then in Reason -should he have his attendant Planets round him, more than any of the -rest, his undoubted Equals? No Shadow even of a Reason can be given -for such an Absurdity.</p> - -<p>May we not with the greatest Confidence imagine, that Nature as justly -abhors a <i>Vacuum</i> in Place, as much as Virtue does in Time? Surely yes: -And by supposing the Infinity of Stars, all centers to as many Systems of -innumerable Worlds, all alike unknown to us; how naturally do we -open to ourselves a vast Field of Probation, and an endless Scene of Hope -to ground our Expectation of an <i>ever</i>-future Happiness upon, suitable to -the native Dignity of the awful Mind, which made and comprehends -it; and whose Works are all as the Business of an Eternity?</p> - -<p>If the Stars were ordained merely for the Use of us, why so much Extravagance -and Ostentation in their Number, Nature, and Make? For a -much less Quantity, and smaller Bodies, placed nearer to us, would every -Way answer the vain End we put them to; and besides, in all Things -else, Nature is most frugal, and takes the nearest Way, through all her -Works, to operate and effect the Will of God. It scarce can be reckoned -more irrational, to suppose Animals with Eyes, destined to live in eternal -Darkness, or without Eyes to live in perpetual Day, than to imagine -Space illuminated, where there is nothing to be acted upon, or brought -to Light; therefore we may justly suppose, that so many radiant Bodies -were not created barely to enlighten an infinite Void, but to make their -much more numerous Attendants visible; and instead of discovering a -vast unbounded desolate Negation of Beings, display an infinite shapeless -Universe, crowded with Myriads of glorious Worlds, all variously -revolving round them; and which form an Atom, to an indefinite Creation, -with an inconceivable Variety of Beings and States, animate and fill the -endless Orb of Immensity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">- 34 -</span></p> - -<p>That the sidereal Planets are not visible to us, can be no Objection to -their actual Existence, and being there, is plain from this; it is well -known, that the Stars themselves, which are their Central, and only radiant -Bodies, are little more to us at the Earth, than mathematical Points. -How ridiculous then is it to expect, that any of their small opaque Attendance, -should ever be perceived so far as the Earth by us; and besides, to -show the Impossibility of such a Discovery, we need only consider, what is, -and what is not to be expected, or known in our own home System. All the -Planets in this our sensible Region, every Astronomer knows, is far -from being visible to one another, in every individual Sphere; for to an -Eye at the Orb of <i>Saturn</i>, this Earth we live upon, which requires Years -to circumscribe, and Ages to be made acquainted with, and is far from -being yet all known, cannot possibly from the above Planet be seen: -And further, since <i>Saturn</i> and <i>Jupiter</i>, two of the most material and considerable -Globes we know of, except the Sun himself, are Bodies apparently -of the same kind, and are observed to have each a Number of lesser -Planets moving round them; why may we not expect with equal Certainty -and Propriety, that all other Bodies, under the same Circumstances, -are in like manner attended; that is, seeing the Sun is found to be the -Center of a System of Bodies, all variously revolving round him? where lies -the Improbability of his fellow Luminaries, the Stars, being surrounded in -like sort, with more or less of such Attendance.</p> - -<p>I shall offer but one Thing more to your Consideration in this Affair, -and which I am in great Hopes will be sufficient to make you think these -natural Suggestions a good deal more than probable, and that is this:</p> - -<p>The modern Astronomers having, in a great measure, proved that the -Stars are, in all respects, vast Globes of Fire like our Sun. Let us suppose -a new-created Mind, or thinking Being, in a profound State of Ignorance, -with regard to the Nature of all external Objects, but fully endowed with -every human Sense and Force of Reason, suspended in Æther, exactly in -the midway, betwixt <a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[T]</a><i>Syrius</i> and the Sun; in which Case, both of these -Luminaries would equally appear much about the Brightness of the largest -of our Planets. Now should such a Being, determined either by Accident -or Choice, arrive at this our System of the Sun, and seeing all -the planetary Bodies moving round him, I would ask you what you think -he would imagine to be round <i>Syrius</i>? Your Answer, I think I may venture -to say, would not be <i>nothing</i>; and methinks I already hear you say, -Why Planets such as ours.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[T]</a> A Star of the first Magnitude in the greater <i>Dog</i>, and the most neighbouring to our Sun.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">- 35 -</span></p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XI.</h3> - -<p>Is designed as a geometrical Scale to all the primary Parts of the visible -Creation, with regard to the Distance of Orbits compared with the Globe -of the Sun; by which at once may be conceived, and justly measured in -the Mind, not only the mean Distance of the Planets with regard to one -another, but also that of the Comets, and even the comparative Distances -of the nearest of the Stars, which will, I guess, greatly help you to form -an Idea of the vast Extent of Space necessary to comprehend the whole -Creation.</p> - -<p><i>Fig.</i> 1. Is a Radius of the Orbit of <i>Mercury</i>, in true Proportion to the -Body of the Sun represented at S, shewing at the same time a small Portion -of the opaque Planet's Orbit, and the real Length of its Shadow at P.</p> - -<p><i>Fig.</i> 2. Is a Radius of the whole System of the Planets as far as the -Orbit of <i>Saturn</i> in Proportion to a compleat Orbit of <i>Mercury</i>, much less -than the former; the former serving as a better known Scale to consider -the amazing Distances of the more remote Planets by.</p> - -<p>Lastly, <i>Fig.</i> 3. Is a Representation of the least possible Distance of -<i>Syrius</i> and the Sun, proportionable to the Magnitude of the Sphere of our -Comets, &<i>c.</i> represented at S, whereby it evidently appears, that as all the -Planets of <i>Syrius</i> must be included within the small Sphere represented in -the Center P, none of them could possibly be seen at the Sun, not only by -reason of the Smallness of the Angle of Sustension, or Elongation, but also -as being lost in the superior Light of <i>Syrius</i> himself, in so minute an -Orb of Vicinity.</p> - -<p>Consequently (as you must perceive) no Arguments can possibly be -drawn to deny the Existence of such Bodies, with any Shew of Reason, -from their not having been seen by us.</p> - -<p>Here I must observe to you, that you cannot consider this Scale of Orbits -too much before you look upon Plate XVII.</p> - -<p>To conclude, it evidently seems to be the End and Design of Providence, -by this visible Variety of Beings, to lift the Minds of Men above -this narrow Earth, in Search of that powerful Being upon which we are -all so much dependant; and the <i>Creator</i>, no doubt, in this vast Display of -his Wisdom and Power, designed the amazing Whole, as the adequate -Object of every Part, and as such equally open on all Sides, to the penetrating -Progress of human Minds, and through the most extensive -Faculty of Sense, the <i>Sight</i>, to draw our Reason and Understanding by -Degrees, from finite Objects into Infinity; and as the last Result of celestial -Contemplations place within our Reach, a certain Evidence of a -future State, <i>and the manifest Mansions of Rewards and Punishments, suited -no doubt most equitably to all Degrees of Virtue, and to every Vice</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">- 36 -</span></p> - -<p>"When I consider (says Mr. <i>Addison</i>, speaking as having taken particular -notice of a fine Evening) that infinite Host of Stars, or to speak more -philosophically of Suns, which were then shining upon me, with those -innumerable Sets of Planets or Worlds, which were then moving round -their respective Suns; when I still enlarge the Idea, and supposed another -Heaven of Suns and Worlds rising still above this which we discovered; -and these still enlightened by a superior Firmament of Luminaries, -which are planted at so great a Distance, that they may appear -to the Inhabitants of the former as the Stars do to us; in short, -whilst I pursued this Thought, I could not but reflect on that little -insignificant Figure which I myself bore amongst the Immensity of -God's Works:" This Reflection, I judge, as you are an Admirer of the -Author, you will not look upon as impertinent in this Place, especially as -it must enforce what I have endeavoured to shew you, namely, the Reasonableness -of a Plurality of sidereal Systems, and their Multiplicity of -Worlds; which, if you are yet in Doubt of, I hope you will at least forgive -so well designed an Attempt with your usual Candour.</p> - -<p>I am now prepared to proceed in the chief Design of this Undertaking, -which is to solve the Phænomena of the <i>Via Lactea</i>; and propose in my -next to answer more fully your farther Request.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_p036" style="width: 161px;"> - <img src="images/img_p036.png" width="161" height="112" alt=""> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">- 37 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_FIFTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the FIFTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Of the Order, Distance, and Multiplicity of the Stars, the</i> Via Lactea, <i>and -Extent of the visible Creation</i>.</p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,<br></p> - -<div class="dropcap">W</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">W</span>E are told, and, if I remember right, it is also your Opinion, -that three of the finest Sights in Nature, are a rising Sun at Sea, -a verdant Landskip with a Rainbow, and a clear Star-light -Evening: All of which I have myself often observed with vast Delight -and Pleasure. The first I have frequently beheld, and always with an -agreeable Surprize; the second I have as often taken notice of, with no -small Degree of Admiration; but the last I shall never look up to without -an Astonishment, even mixed with a kind of Rapture. The Night -you last left us, this admirable Scene was in its full Beauty; and, as <i>Milton</i> -says,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Silence was pleas'd: now glow'd the Firmament<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">With living Saphirs; <i>Hesperus</i> that led<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The starry Host rode brightest.——<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>I found it was impossible to look long upon this stupendious Scene, so -full of amazing Objects, and particularly the <i>Via Lactea</i>, which (the -Moon being absent) was then in great Perfection, without being put in -Mind of my Task. This surprizing Zone of Light being the chief Object -I have undertaken to treat of and demonstrate.</p> - -<p>This amazing Phænomenon which have been the Occasion of so many -<i>Fables</i>, idle Romances, and ridiculous Opinions amongst the Antients, -still continues to be unaccounted for, and even in an Age vain enough to -boast Astronomy in its utmost Perfection.</p> - -<p>What will you say, if I tell you, it is my Belief we are so far from the -real Summit of the Science, that we scarce yet know the Rudiments of what -may be expected from it. This luminous Circle has often engrossed my -Thoughts, and of late has taken up all my idle Hours; and I am now in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">- 38 -</span> -great Hopes I have not only at last found out the real Cause of it, but also -by the same Hypothesis, which solves this Appearance, shall be able to demonstrate -a much more rational Theory of the Creation than hitherto has -been any where advanced, and at the same Time give you an intire new -Idea of the Universe, or infinite System of Things. This most surprizing -Zone of Light, which have employed successively for many Ages past, -the wisest Heads amongst the Antients, to no other Purpose than barely -to describe it; we find to be a perfect Circle, and nearly bisecting the celestial -Sphere, but very irregular in Breadth and Brightness, and in many -Places divided into double Streams.</p> - -<p><a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[U]</a>The principal Part of it runs through the <i>Eagle</i>, the <i>Swan</i>, <i>Cassiopea</i>, -<i>Perseus</i>, and <i>Auriga</i>, and continues its Course by the Head of <i>Monoceros</i>, -along by the greater <i>Dog</i> through the Ship, and underneath the <i>Centaur's -Feet</i>, till having passed the <i>Alter</i>, the <i>Scorpion's Tail</i>, and the Bow of -<i>Aquarius</i>, it ends at last where it begun.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[U]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">——Carried toward the opposed <i>Bears</i>,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Its Course close by the <i>Artick</i> Circle steers,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And by inverted <i>Cassiopea</i> tends;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thence by the <i>Swan</i> obliquely it descends<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Summer Tropick, and <i>Jove's</i> Bird divides;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Then cross the Equator, and the Zodiack glides<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">'Twixt <i>Scorpio's</i> burning Tail, and the left Part<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of <i>Sagitarius</i>, near the fiery Dart;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Then by the other <i>Centaur's</i> Legs and Feet,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Winding remounts the Skies (again to meet)<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">By <i>Argos'</i> Topsail, and Heav'ns middle Sphere,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Passing the <i>Twins</i>, t' o'ertake the Charioteer;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thence <i>Cassiopea</i> seeking thee does run,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">O're <i>Perseus</i> Head, and Ends where it begun.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 15em;"> -<span class="smcap">Sher.  Manilius.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -</div> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XII, and XIII.</h3> - -<p>Represents the two Hemispheres, where its true Tract is distinguished -amongst the principal Stars, and may easily be conceived by them to circumscribe -and bisect the whole Heavens.</p> - -<p>This is that Phænomena I am about to explain and account for; but -before I proceed farther, I judge it will be no <i>improper Precognita</i>, to give -you the Thoughts of the Antients upon it; the Relation perhaps may require -some Patience; but I guess, that after reading such wild and extravagant -Notions concerning it, you will naturally judge more favourably of -the Conjectures of the Moderns upon it, and particularly of what is concluded -in the succeeding Pages.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xii" style="width: 618px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xii.png" width="618" height="623" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xiii" style="width: 617px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XIII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xiii.png" width="617" height="626" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">- 39 -</span></p> - -<p><i>Theophrastus</i><a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[V]</a> was of Opinion, that the Hemispheres, which, by many -of the Antients were imagined to be solid, was joined together here; and -that this was the soldering of the two Parts into one. <a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[W]</a>Diodorus -thought it celestial Fire, of a dense and compact Nature, seen through the -Clifts or Cracks of the parting Hemisphere: But as <i>Manilius</i> says,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Astonishment must sure their Senses reach,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">To see the World's wide Wound, and Heav'n's eternal Breach.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[V]</a> <i>Macrobius</i>, lib. i. cap. 15.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Or meets Heaven here! and this while Cloud appears<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Cement of the close-wedg'd Hemispheres!<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[W]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The sacred Causes human Breasts enquire,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Whether the heavenly Segments there retire,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The whole Mass shrinking, and the parting Fame<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thro' cleaving Chinks admits the stranger Flame.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Oenopides</span><a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[X]</a> believed it the ancient Way of the Sun, till frighted at the -bloody Banquet of <i>Thyestis</i>. <a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[Y]</a><span class="smcap">Eratosthenes</span> supposed it <i>Juno's</i> -Milk, spilt whilst giving Suck to <i>Hercules</i>. <a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[Z]</a><span class="smcap">Plutarch</span> makes it the -Effect of <i>Phaeton's</i> confused Erratication; but I think it is plain <a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[AA]</a><span class="smcap">Ovid</span> -judged them to be Stars, and the ancient <i>Ethnicks</i> believed them to be -the blissful Seats of valiant and heroic Souls.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">——Valiant Souls, freed from corporeal Gives,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thither repair, and lead æthereal Lives.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Manilius</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[X]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Or seems that old Opinion of more Sway,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">That the Sun's Horses here once run astray,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And a new Path mark'd in their straggling Flight,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of scorching Skies, and Stars adusted Light.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[Y]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Nor must that gentle Rumour be supprest,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">How Milk once flowing from fair <i>Juno's</i> Breast<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Stain'd the celestial Pavement, from whence came<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">This milky Path, its Cause shewn in its Name.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[Z]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">When from the hurried Chariot Light'ning fled,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And scatter'd blazes all the Skies o'erspread;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">By whose Approach new Stars enkindled were,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which still as Marks of that sad Chance appear.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Manilius.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[AA]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">A Way there is in Heaven's expanded Plain<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which when the Skies are clear, is seen below,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And Mortals by the Name of <i>Milky</i>, know,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Ground-work is of Stars——<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<i>Ovid's</i> Met. lib. i.<br> -</span> -</div> - - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">- 40 -</span></p> - -<p>But <a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[AB]</a><span class="smcap">Democritus</span> long ago believed them to be an infinite Number of -small Stars; and such of late Years they have been discovered to be, first by -<i>Gallaleo</i>, next by <i>Keplar</i>, and now confirmed by all modern Astronomers, -who have ever had an Opportunity of seeing them through a good Telescope.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[AB]</a> <i>Plutarch (in Placitis Philosoph.)</i></p> - -</div> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XIV.</h3> - -<p>Is from an Observation I made myself, of a bright Part of this Zone near -the Feet of <i>Antinous</i>; which, (by a Mistake of the Engraver) is, as it appears -through a Tube of two convex Glasses. I saw it through a very -good Reflector, and formed the Plan by a Combination of Triangles.</p> - -<p><i>Milton</i> takes notice of this Zone in a most beautiful Manner, where he -describes the Creator's Return from his six Day's Work to Heaven, he introduces -it as a Simile to express his Idea of the eternal Way, or Road to -the celestial Mansions.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">——A broad and ample Road, whose Dust is Gold<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And Pavement Stars, as Stars to thee appear,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Seen in the <i>Galaxie</i>, that Milky Way,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which nightly as a circling Zone thou seest<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Powder'd with Stars.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>But to infer from their Appearance only, that they are really Stars, without -considering their Nature and Distance; and that nothing but Stars -could possibly produce such an Effect, may perhaps be assuming too -much, when we have nothing but the bare Credit of the <i>Belgic</i> Glasses to -support our Conjectures; and although this may be sufficient for any Mathematician, -yet for your greater Satisfaction, I have thought proper to -give two or three more evincing Arguments, to confirm these important -Discoveries. <i>Democritus</i>, as I have said before, believed them to be Stars -long before Astronomy reaped any Benefit from the improved Sciences of -Optics; and saw, as we may say, through the Eye of Reason, full as far -into Infinity as the most able Astronomers in more advantageous Times -have done since, even assisted with their best Glasses: And his Conjectures -are almost as old as the philolaic System of the Planets itself; the -Construction of which, though attempted by many, none have ever yet -been able to confute.</p> - -<p>The Light which naturally flows from this Crowd of radiant Bodies is -mixt and confused, chiefly occasioned by the Agitation of our Atmosphere, -and from a Union of their Rays of Light, by a too near Proximity -of their Beams, altogether they appear like a River of Milk, but -more of a pelucid Nature, running all round the starry Regions.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xiv" style="width: 488px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XIV.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xiv.png" width="488" height="786" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">- 41 -</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">For in the azure Skies its candid Way<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Shines like the dawning Morn, or closing Day.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>There are also many more such luminous Spaces to be found in the -Heavens of the same Nature with these, which we know to be Stars; in -particular the <i>Nebulæ</i>, or cloudy Star in the <i>Præsepe</i> of 36; a cloudy Star -in <i>Orion</i> of 21; <a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[AC]</a>a cloudy <a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[AD]</a>Knot not far from this in the same Asterism -of 80; in one Degree of the same Constellation 500, and in the whole -Form above <a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[AE]</a>2000. All of which are great Confirmations of the Truth -of our Assertion, <i>i. e.</i> that this Zone of Light proceeds from an infinite -Number of small Stars. Here it will not be amiss to observe, that it has -been conjectured, and is strongly suspected, that a proper Number of Rays, -meeting from different Directions, become Flame; and that hence it may -prove not the Sun's real Body which we daily see, but only his inflamed Atmosphere. -I begin to be of Opinion, and I think not without Reason, -that the true Magnitude of the Sun is not near what the modern Astronomers -have made it; and that it may not possibly be much above two -Thirds of what it appears to us; I don't mean that this Expansion of the -solar Flame is any Part of that dilated Light mentioned by Sir <i>Isaac Newton</i>, -and conceived to be round all light Bodies in general; but you may -consider it as not much differing from it, not of an unlike Nature, only -greater in Degree, and peculiar to the Sun and Stars, who are all, as has -been before in a manner demonstrated to be actually Globes of Fire.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[AC]</a> Vide <i>Galilæo</i></p> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[AD]</a> Betwixt the Sword and Girdle of <i>Orion</i>.</p> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[AE]</a> Vide <i>Reitha</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>This, tho' I presume to call it at present only meer Hypothesis, will in a -great measure account for the excessive Changes in the Constitution of our -Air and Atmosphere, which we often find very unnatural to the Season; -also be a Means perhaps of reconciling the vast Disproportion so very remarkable -betwixt the Sun and the lesser Planets, and many other Circumstances -in the System of no small Consequence in Astronomy: One of -which Particulars you have frequently expressed a great Mistrust and -Disapprobation of, as suspecting some kind of a Fallacy in the Computation; -and the other is Matter of general Complaint, being by many attributed -to a Change in the Direction of the Earth's Axis<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[AF]</a>; and by some, -especially the Vulgar, to too near an Approximation of the Earth to some -one of the celestial Bodies. But all this will very naturally be accounted -for by the Levity, or expanding Quality of the Sun's circumambient -Flame, or Atmosphere; and hence, according to its various State, being -more condensed, or rare, we may have Heat or Cold in the greatest Extream, -and alternately so, in a perpetual Vicissitude.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">[AF]</a> Which, through Ignorance of the true Case, is commonly called a Shock, a Brush, or -Shove.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">- 42 -</span></p> - -<p>The Truth of this Doctrine will evidently appear from the Observations -of the Sun's Diameter through the Year 1660, by the indefatigable <i>Mouton</i>: -And, I must own, I am not a little surprized to find that no Conclusions -have been drawn from them of this Kind. I am perswaded, if you once -compare those Numbers, you will be very far from thinking this an -improbable Suggestion. But this Digression has led me a little too far -from the <i>Via Lactea</i>, and too near home again; I must now think of returning -to the Stars, and my next Endeavours must be to give you some -Idea of the Number of them. Through very good Telescopes there -have been discovered in many Parts of this enlightened Space, and even -out of it, several thousand Stars in the Compass of one square Degree; in -particular near the Sword of <i>Perseus</i>, and in the Constellations of <a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[AG]</a><i>Taurus</i> -and <i>Orion</i>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">[AG]</a> <i>Galilæo</i> in one cloudy Star of this Constellation, discovered no less than twenty-one, -and in that of the <i>Præsepe</i> thirty-six.</p> - -</div> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XV.</h3> - -<p>Represents the <i>Pleides</i>, a well known Knot of Stars in the Sign <i>Taurus</i>, -as they appeared to me thro' a one Foot reflecting Telescope: And -<i>Plate</i> XVI. is a View of the <i>Persides</i>, another surprizing Knot of Stars -in the Constellation <i>Perseus</i>, exactly as they appear through a Tube of -two convex Glasses. There are also other luminous Spaces in the starry -Regions, not unlike the Milky Way, which I have had no Opportunity -of observing; such as the <i>Nebeculæ</i>, near the South Pole, called by the -Seamen <i>Magellanic</i> Clouds; and which likewise viewed through Telescopes, -present us with little <i>Nebulæ</i>, and small Stars interspersed: One of -these Kind is situated between <i>Hydrus</i> and <i>Dorado</i>; and another, something -less than this, betwixt <i>Hydrus</i> and the <i>Toucan</i>.</p> - -<p>Now admitting the Breadth of the <i>Via Lactea</i> to be at a Mean but -nine Degrees, and supposing only twelve hundred Stars in every square -Degree, there will be nearly in the whole orbicular Area 3,888,000 Stars, -and all these in a very minute Portion of the great Expanse of Heaven. What! -a vast Idea of endless Beings must this produce and generate in our Minds; -and when we consider them all as flaming Suns, Progenitors, and <i>Primum -Mobiles</i> of a still much greater Number of peopled Worlds, what less than -an Infinity can circumscribe them, less than an Eternity comprehend them, -or less than Omnipotence produce and support them, and where can our -Wonder cease?</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xv" style="width: 493px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XV.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xv.png" width="493" height="776" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xvi" style="width: 489px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XVI.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xvi.png" width="489" height="782" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">- 43 -</span></p> - -<p>In this Place perhaps I ought not to pass over the astonishing Phenomenon -of several new Stars, <i>&c.</i> which have frequently appeared, and -soon again vanished, in the same Point of the Heavens. But as the Business -of this Theory is rather to solve the general, than any particular -Phænomenon, I shall only here by way of Note subjoin a Table of such -as has been regularly observed, and by whom they were first discovered.</p> - - -<p class="tdc"><i>A Table of several new Stars</i>, Nebulæ, <i>and double Stars</i>, &c.</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><i>Nomina Stellarum.</i></td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc"><i>Observationum.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Septima Pleiadum</i></td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Lost after the burning of Troy, but now returned; see Ricciolus.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star appeared in <i>Cassiopea</i>, nearly<br> - in the same Place with that of 1572.</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Anno Dom. 945, bright as <i>Jupiter</i>; see <i>Ricciolus</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">The new Star in <i>Cassiopea</i>'s Chair.</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl">Bright as <i>Venus</i>, from <i>November</i> 1572 to <i>March</i> 1574.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in <i>Collo</i> Ceti.</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Of the 3d Magnitude, is said to have appear'd periodically, - seven Times in six Years, <i>i. e.</i> every three hundred and - thirteen Days: It was first observed in August 1596, for - two Months, by <i>D. Fabricius</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in the Swan's Neck.</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Observed by <i>Kepler</i> in 1600, of the third Magnitude, till - the Year 1659; then gradually decreasing; in 1661 it - disappeared; in 1666 it became visible again, and is - yet to be seen of the sixth Magnitude.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in the Right Foot of <i>Serpentarius</i>,</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Bright as <i>Venus</i> from <i>October</i> 1604 to <i>October</i> 1605: see <i>Kepler</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in <i>Andromeda's</i> Girdle,</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl">Seen by <i>Simon Marius</i> and <i>Fabricius</i>, <i>Anno</i> 1612.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in <i>Antinous</i>,</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl">Seen by <i>Justus Byrgius</i>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star seen in the Whale,</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">In 1638, by <i>John Procyclides Holuarda</i>, of the third Magnitude, - which disappeared periodically, every three - hundred and thirty Days.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in the Fox's Head,</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">Of the third Magnitude, seen by <i>Hevelius</i> in <i>July</i> 1670, - and till <i>August</i> 1671, also from March 1672 to <i>September</i> 1672.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">A new Star in the Swan's Neck.</td> - <td>{</td> - <td class="tdl">This appear'd periodically every four hundred and four - Days, and about six Months at a Time; it was seen at - its brightest, <i>September</i> 10, 1714.</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdc"><p class="caption3"><i>Of the Nebulæ, or Cloudy Stars.</i></p> - -<i>Nebulose</i> in <i>Orion's</i> Sword. - -<i>Nebulose</i> in <i>Andromeda's</i> Girdle. - -<i>Nebulose</i> in the Bow of <i>Sagitarius</i>, Small, but very luminous. - -<i>Nebulose</i> in <i>Centaurus</i>, Never seen in <i>England</i>. - -A <i>Nebulose</i> preceding the right Foot of <i>Antinous</i>, Obscure, but with a Star in the Middle of it. - -<i>Nebulæ</i> in <i>Dorso Herculis</i>, Discovered by <i>Dr. Hally.</i></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Besides the <i>Nebulæ</i>, and new Stars, it appears from the ancient Catalogues of <i>Hevelius</i>, &c. that -some of the old ones have intirely vanished; in particular, one in the left Thigh of <i>Aquarius</i>, the -contiguous one preceding in the Tail of <i>Capricorn</i>; the second on the Belly of the Whale; the first -of the unformed ones after the Scales of <i>Libra</i>, and several others. Many of the Stars also appear -to be double, as the first Star of <i>Aries</i> and <i>Castor</i>; others triple, as one in the <i>Pleiades</i>; and the -middle one in <i>Orion's</i> Sabre; and others again, quadruple, <i>&c.</i></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">- 44 -</span></p> - -<p>I would now willingly help you to conceive the indefinite mutual Distance -of the Stars, in order to give you some small Notion of the Immensity -of Space; but as this will be a Task merely conjectural, I shall -only desire you to believe it as far as your Reason will carry you, safely -supported by an obvious Probability.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it may be necessary here to acquaint you, that all the Stars are -so far apparently of different Magnitudes, that no two of them are to be -found in the whole Heavens exactly the same, either in Bigness or Brightness<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[AH]</a>. -The largest we have sufficient Reason to believe is the nearest to us; -the next in Bigness and Brightness more remote; and so on to the least we -see, which we judge to be the most remote of all.</p> - -<p>The first Degree, or that of the largest Magnitude, we give to Syrius, -the second to <span class="smcap">Arcturus</span>, the third to <span class="smcap">Aldebaran</span>, the fourth to <span class="smcap">Lyra</span>, -the fifth to <span class="smcap">Capella</span>, the sixth to <span class="smcap">Regulus</span>, the seventh to <span class="smcap">Rigel</span>, the -eighth to <span class="smcap">Fomahaunt</span>, and the ninth to <span class="smcap">Antarus</span>: These are all said -to be of the first Class; and besides which, there are at least, within the -Reach of our latest improved Opticks, nine more Denominations within -the Radius of the visible Creation.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">[AH]</a> A very little Knowledge in Opticks will render this indisputable, and has been in a great -measure demonstrated before; 1. in the Great Dog; 2. in Bootes; 3. in the Bull; 4. in the Harp -of <i>Apollo</i>; 5. in <i>Auriga</i>; 6. in the Lion; 7. in <i>Orion</i>; 8. in the Southern Fish; 9. at the -End of <i>Erridanus</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Now, by the certain Return of the Comets, which we find are all governed -by the Laws of this System, and supposed to be undisturbed by -any of the others, we cannot avoid concluding, if we consider them at -all to the Purpose, that the nearest Stars cannot be less distant than twice -the Radius of the greatest Orbit belonging to the Sun. Most Mathematicians -think this a great deal too near, as it must of course make all the -Systems join, as in Contact; and I think we may safely add, to separate -their Spheres of Attraction, at least one Half of this Distance more, which -will make in the Whole about four hundred and twenty Semi-orbits of the -Earth, or 33,600,000,000 Miles. This even the ingenious Mr. <i>Huygins</i> -endeavours to prove still much too little, and his Arguments are such as -cannot easily be refuted. His Principle is grounded upon the known Laws -of Analogy, as considered in the Proportion of light Surfaces, and is as -follows. Having reduced the Sun's Disk to the Appearance of the Star -<span class="smcap">Syrius</span>, by the Help of a small Hole at the End of his Telescope, and -comparing this Part of his Surface to the whole Disk of the Sun, he infers -that the Stars Distance to that of the Sun must be as 27,664 to 1. Hence -<i>Syrius</i> from us will be nearly (avoiding Units) 2,213,120,000,000 Miles: -But this I take to be as much too large as the former is too little; yet, as -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">- 45 -</span> -Mr. <i>Bradley</i> has, with some Shew of Reason, banished all the Stars out -of the Sphere of Parallax, the last is the only Method we can possibly -make use of with any kind of Confidence; and Sir <i>Isaac Newton</i> endeavours -to recommend it with great Force of Argument, as the only probable -Means by which we can give any tolerable Guess at these immense -Measurements of Space.</p> - -<p>To moderate the Matter then if you please, allow me but to make use of -a Mean betwixt the two fore-mentioned Numbers; and we may take it for -granted, a Distance sufficiently exact, to suit all our Wants in the present -Case, namely, to give a very tolerable Idea of the Extent of the visible -Creation, which is all I propose in this Place to attempt; but I mean to -be much more exact in another.</p> - -<p>Now as the Distance from the Sun to the Earth is so small in Proportion -to the Distance of the Stars from us, and from one another, we may very -well consider the Sun as the Center of our Station, or Position in the general -System or Frame of Nature. And as the Stars are very visible thro' good -Telescopes, to the ninth or tenth Magnitude, if we multiply the primary -Distance of <i>Syrius</i>, or of any other of his Class, by this Number of common -intermediate Spaces, the Product will be equal to the Radius of the -visible Creation to the solar Eye; which, by this Rule, you will find in -capital Numbers to be <a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[AI]</a>nearly 6,000,000,000,000 Miles, taking in a Star -of the sixth Magnitude, and to a Star of the ninth, 9,000,000,000,000 -Miles: But this Computation supposes a mean common Distance of the -Stars in a sort of Syzygia, or Direction of a Right Line, which is not the -real Case; for the Stars cannot be supposed to diminish in a proportional -Magnitude by any mathematical <i>Ratio</i>, but by some geometrical, or rather -musical one; for Instance, if the Distance of a first be 3, that of a -second should be about 5, and of a proportional Third 8,333, <i>&c. -ad infinitum</i>: But as their true proportional Distance is unknown, the above -will be sufficient for our present Purpose; which is only to shew, without -Exaggeration, the Space we now are truly sensible of.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">[AI]</a> If the Distance of the Sun and Earth is found too much, which I must own I have a violent -Suspicion of, these Numbers must be reduced in like Proportion.</p> - -</div> - -<p>This I have here considered more extensively, to obviate all Objections -that you may make to the Probability of the general Motion of the Stars, -by shewing no Difficulty can possibly arise from their apparent Proximity, -Number, or irregular Distribution: Their Distances being so immensely -large, no Disorder or Confusion can be supposed in any Direction of them, -or Motion whatever. The greatest Distance of the Planets, which all -move undisturbed round the Sun, is about three hundred and fifty-three -Million of Miles: But the least Distance of one Star from another, is -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">- 46 -</span> -upwards of two thousand eight hundred and thirty-two Times that Distance, -or one Million of Millions of Miles: And as no sensible Disorder -can be observed amongst the solar Planets, what Reason have we -to suppose any can be occasioned amongst the Stars, or that a general Motion -of these primary Luminaries round a common Center, should be any -way irrational, or unnatural?</p> - -<p>What an amazing Scene does this display to us! what inconceivable -Vastness and Magnificence of Power does such a Frame unfold! Suns -crowding upon Suns, to our weak Sense, indefinitely distant from each -other; and Miriads of Miriads of Mansions, like our own, peopling Infinity, -all subject to the same Creator's Will; a Universe of Worlds, all -deck'd with Mountains, Lakes, and Seas, Herbs, Animals, and Rivers, -Rocks, Caves, and Trees; and all the Produce of indulgent Wisdom, to -chear Infinity with endless Beings, to whom his Omnipotence may give a -variegated eternal Life.</p> - -<p>The astonishing Distance of the starry Mansions undoubtedly was design'd -to answer some wise End: One Consequence is this, and probably is not -without its Use: To every Planet of the same System, the same sidereal -Face of Heaven appears without the least Degree of Change; and as the -remotest Regions upon Earth see the same Moon and Planets, so also the -Inhabitants of the most distant Planets in ours, or in any other System, see -the same Forms and Order of the Stars in common with the rest. The -whole Sphere of Heaven being common and unchangeable through all -their various Revolutions.</p> - -<p>Thus those (the People) in the Planet <i>Venus</i> will see the Constellation -of <i>Orion</i> just as we do, and the People in the Planet <i>Saturn</i>, much farther -still removed, alike will view this Constellation in all respects the same; -here then, (in the System of the Sun) the Eye removed from us must only -hope to find a new Earth surrounded with the same sort of Sky: But Beings -in another System, behold not only a new Heaven above, but also new -Earths below; and all the Frame of Nature to them puts on a new Dress, -new Signs, new Seasons, and new Planets roll, and a new Sun renews -the Day.</p> - -<p>The Heathen Fables here are all erased with all the Immortality of their -vain earthly Gods and Heroes; <i>Perseus</i> and <i>Alcides</i> are no more, and both -the <i>Bears</i> are vanished; the <i>Pleiades</i> and the <i>Hyads</i> join, and shining Leo, -though boasting two Stars of the first Magnitude with us, there no where -can be found, lost in the common undistinguished Herd. But still Astronomy -will exist, and new-framed Forms may fill the varied Scene.</p> - -<p>Perhaps you may expect that I should here give you my Conjectures of -what sort of Beings may be supposed to reside in the <i>Ens Primum</i>, or <i>Sedes -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">- 47 -</span> -Beatorum</i> of the known Universe, whether mortal, immortal, or Creatures -partaking in some Degree of the Properties of both; as such may be conceiv'd -to change their Natures and States, without a total Dissolution of their Senses -by Death: And farther, it may possibly be judged unpardonable in me not -to point out every blessed Abode, suited to the Virtues, and all the various -States an immortal Soul may be translated to; but this is a Task above -the human Capacity, or is the pure Province of Religion alone; the -Business of a Revelation rather than Reason to discover. Besides, it is -enough for the present Purpose, to prove, that Miriads of celestial Mansions, -are to be discovered within our finite View, and by a kind of ocular -Revelation, which visibly extends the human Prospect, as it were, far beyond -the Grave. It matters not whether a Race of Heroes fill these -Worlds, or a Tribe of happy Lovers people those; whether a Peasant in -the Realms of Orion shall ever become a Prince in the Regions of <i>Arcturus</i>, -or a Patriarch in <i>Procion</i>, a Prophet in the <i>Precepæ</i>. Not to mention -all the Stages human Nature may, or have been destined to in any one -World, as believ'd by the ancient Philosophers, besides the final Coalition -of all Beings much more naturally to be expected in the <i>Sedes Beatorum</i>.</p> - -<p>I say, whatever our Case may be with regard to these <i>Queries</i> and -Futurity, the Plan and Principles of this Theory will not be at all changed -by it, since what it is chiefly founded upon may be clearly demonstrated, -so clearly and incontestably, that, with the Reverend Dr. <i>Young</i>, we may -justly conclude,</p> - -<p class="tdc" style="font-size: 1.25em;"> -Devotion! Daughter of Astronomy!<br> -</p> - -<p>and affirm with him also, That,</p> - -<p class="tdc" style="font-size: 1.25em;"> -An indevout Astronomer is mad.<br> -</p> - -<p>But I find what I at first proposed will prove too long for this Letter. -However, I will endeavour to reward your Patience in my next, and -continue, &<i>c.</i></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">- 48 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_SIXTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the SIXTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Of General Motion amongst the Stars, the Plurality of Systems, and Innumerability -of Worlds.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,</p> - -<div class="dropcap">S</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">S</span>ince my last, you'll find by this, speaking in the Stile of <i>Kercher</i>, -that I have been very far from home, round almost the visible -Creation. I have indeed applied myself very closely to transcribe -my Thoughts to you upon the old Subject the <i>Milky Way</i>, which my -former Letter left imperfected. To return then to the Theory of the -Stars, and that yet unreconciled Phænomenon; let us reason a little upon -the visible Order of the Stars in general, and see what Conclusions can -be drawn from what every Astronomer knows of them, and cannot be -disputed.</p> - -<p>First then, that the Stars are not infinitely dispersed and distributed in -a promiscuous Manner throughout all the mundane Space, without Order -or Design, is evident beyond a Doubt from this vast collective Body of -Light, since no such Phænomenon could possibly be produced by Chance, -or exhibited without a designed Disposition of its constituent Bodies.</p> - -<p>If any regular Order of the Stars then can be demonstrated that will -naturally prove this Phænomenon to be no other than a certain Effect -arising from the Observer's Situation, I think you must of course grant -such a Solution at least rational, if not the Truth; and this is what I propose -by my new Theory.</p> - -<p>To a Spectator placed in an indefinite Space, all very remote Objects -appear to be equally distant from the Eye; and if we judge of the <i>Via -Lactea</i> from Phænomena only, we must of course conclude it a vast Ring -of Stars, scattered promiscuously round the celestial Regions in the Direction -of a perfect Circle.</p> - -<p>But when we consider the explanick Position of many other Stars, all -of the same Nature, and not less numerous, together forming the great -Sphere of Heaven, we generally find ourselves quite at a Loss how to reconcile -the two apparent Classes; and I know none who have ever been -successful enough to reduce them to any one general Order.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">- 49 -</span></p> - -<p>You'll say probably how shall we make this chaosic Disposition of the -primary Luminaries agree with the secondary Laws, and the just Harmony -observed in the third <a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[AJ]</a>Creation, &<i>c.</i></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">[AJ]</a> The Moon, Satellites of <i>Saturn</i> and <i>Jupiter</i>, &c.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The Work now you see is undertaken, and chiefly at your own Request, -therefore I have a Right to expect you'll be very indulgent to the -Author, and pass over all his Faults, and allow him free Argument in -Pursuit of these important Truths, which will in the End open perhaps a -much wider Field of Contemplation to us, than at first could be supposed -to be intended by the <i>Genesis</i> of <i>Moses</i>.</p> - -<p>That Description of the Beginning of Nature is not without its Beauty -and Nobleness, suitable to the Dignity both of the Author and Subject. -But should we even in this knowing Age of the World pretend to account -for the Original of Things, as <i>Moses</i> to support his believed divine -Legation, was obliged in some measure to do, we should soon be -reduced to talk in the same Stile, and perhaps with less Probability, than -then at least appeared in his elegant Account of the Origin of the Universe, -especially if we do but consider, that what he wrote, was only to the -Senses of a People who had not yet learnt to make use of their Reason -any other way, but from the Appearance of Things, and upon a Subject -too sublime for vulgar Capacities in any Age, and had only been attempted -in the deepest Learning of <i>Egypt</i>, which, he though well acquainted -with, the Generality of them were totally Strangers to.</p> - -<p>In the first Place it must be granted, that the Stars being all of the -same Nature, are either all moveable, or all fixed, that is all governed -by one and the same Principle.</p> - -<p>Now to suppose them all fixed, and dispersed in an endless Disorder -thro' the infinite Expanse, which has long been the Opinion of many very -able Astronomers amongst the Antients, and even now received by too -many of the Moderns, implies an Inactivity in those vast and principal -Bodies, so much the Reverse of what may be expected, and what we -daily observe through all the rest of their Attendants, namely, their own -respective Satellites, that we cannot possibly upon any rational Grounds, -advance one single Argument to support so much as a Conjecture towards -it, without betraying the greatest Simplicity, and next to an Affirmation -reduce the whole Frame of Nature, and all corporeal Beings to a wild -unmeaning Chance, arising from an unnatural Discord and Confusion.</p> - -<p>For upon the Principles of Locality and Materiality, you having allowed -me the Use of my Senses and Reason, as absolutely necessary towards -conceiving any Idea of our present State, or of Futurity: Upon -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">- 50 -</span> -these Principles I say, unless our Faculties are useless, if there are no other -Bodies or Beings in the Universe than what we see, and are now sensible -of, we must now at the Height of this our present State, be as near Perfection -as we can reasonably expect, and as such ourselves the supreme Beings -of all Beings. To what End then do we form Ideas of a succeeding -Life, where a more exalted State cannot be hoped for.</p> - -<p>How absurd and impious this is I leave to your own Reason and Reflection: -This is the fatal Rock upon which all weak Heads and narrow -Minds are lost and split upon, consequently ought to be the most carefully -avoided, not only as the Nurse of Atheism, but as the dreadful Father of -Despair: "For, say they, these unhappy Wretches, to be always the -same, is inconsistent with a Change; and to be less than what we are, -any where hereafter, is full as difficult to conceive as to be more." -Thus, unless we admit of superior Seats and much more glorious Habitations -than these we are sensible of, we strike at the very Root of a fair -flourishing Tree of Immortality, and must become Authors of our own -Despair. I have often wonder'd how thinking Men could possibly fall into -so gross an Error, as that of a Spirit's Annihilation; and I should be glad -to ask one of those fruitless Students, whether, upon the Evidence of our -present Being, it is not much more rational, to hope for a future, than to -expect a <i>Ne plus ultra</i> upon no Evidence at all. The Affirmative is certainly -much more natural to be conceiv'd than the Negative. But if Chance were -the Case, and that Chance produced all these regular and wondrous Works, -'tis to be wished at least, that Chance might do the same again; and if not -Chance, of course an eternal Direction: But Chance only can effect -Disorder, Discord, and Confusion; <i>ergo</i>, the visible Harmony and Beauty -of the Creation declare for a Direction; and this must of Consequence, -from its perfect Nature, proceed from the Wisdom and Power of an eternal -Being, <i>God of Infinity</i>, the Author of all Ideas: And if this primitive -Power produced us his Creatures from nothing, nothing can be wanting -to revive our Frames again; and if from something, that something -must remain to establish us in a future Life. But to return, how absurd it is -to suppose one Part of the Creation regular, and the other irregular, or a -visible circulating Order of Things, to be mixed with Disorder, and circumscribing -Part of an endless Confusion, is obvious to the weakest Understanding, -and consequently we may reasonably expect, that the <i>Via -Lactea</i>, which is a manifest Circle amongst the Stars, conspicuous to -every Eye, will prove at last the Whole to be together a vast and glorious -regular Production of Beings, out of the wondrous Will or Fecundity of -the eternal and infinite <i>one</i> self-sufficient Cause; and that all its Irregularities -are only such as naturally arise from our excentric View: To demonstrate -bsolutely and incontestibly, we shall only want this one <i>Postulata</i> -to be granted, <i>viz.</i> <i>That all the Stars are, or may be in Motion</i>: This, if -one may be allowed to judge of the Whole by the Similitude and Government -of its Parts, I am perswaded you will think a very reasonable Assumption; -but that you may imbibe a good Opinion of this Assumption, -and entirely come into this much better to be wished Hypothesis, I would -have you consult these following Arguments.</p> - -<p>First, it is allowed, as I have endeavoured to shew, by all modern Philosophers, -that the Sun and Stars are all of the same or like Nature; consequently, -that the Stars are all Suns, and that the Sun himself is a Star.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xvii" style="width: 486px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XVII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xvii.png" width="486" height="770" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">- 51 -</span></p> - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XVII.</h3> - -<p>Represents a kind of perspective View of the visible Creation, wherein -A represents the System of our Sun, B, that supposed round <i>Syrius</i>, and -C, the Region about <i>Rigel</i>. The rest is a promiscuous Disposition of all -the Variety of other Systems within our finite Vision, as they are supposed -to be posited behind one another, in the infinite Space, and round every -visible Star. That round every Star then we may justly conjecture a -similar System of Bodies, governed by the same Laws and Principles with -this our solar one, though to us at the Earth for very good Reasons invisible<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[AK]</a>. -Secondly,</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">[AK]</a> <i>Anaximines</i> believed the Stars to be of a fiery Nature; and that there were certain terrestrial -Bodies that are not seen by us, carried together round them. <i>Stob. Ecl. Phys.</i> cap. 25. -<i>Pythagoras</i> affirmed, that every Star is a World, containing Earth, Air, and Æther.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The Sun is also observed to have a Motion round his own Axis in about -twenty-five Days. Now, since all the other <a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[AL]</a> Planets which move in -Orbits round him, and are within our Observation, are found to have a -like Rotation round their Axis, may we not as reasonably imagine, that -that Power which was able to give the Sun a Motion round his Axis, -could and would at the same time, with adequate Ease, give him also an -orbitular one? and why not, since no progressive Mutability can either -take from, or disturb the boundless Property of an Infinity; and besides, -seeing to imagine him at rest, is to impose such an unnatural Stagnation -upon the eternal Faculty, quite repugnant to that imparable Power -which we suppose stands in need of neither Sleep nor Rest?</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">[AL]</a> <i>Saturn</i>, <i>Jupiter</i>, <i>Mars</i>, <i>Venus</i>, the Earth, Moon, and <i>Mercury</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>'Tis true, the Sun may be said to be the Governor of all those Bodies -round him; but how? no otherwise than he himself may be governed -by a superior Agent, or a still more active Force; and methinks it is not a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">- 52 -</span> -little absurd to suppose he is not, since we have discovered by undoubted -Observations, that the same gravitating Power is common to all; and that -the Stars themselves are subject to no other Direction than that which -moves the whole Machine of Nature.</p> - -<p>Thirdly, From many Observations of the polar Points, and the Obliquity -of the Earth's Equator to the Plane of her solar Orbit compared together, -the Sun is very justly suspected to have changed his sidereal Situation; -and this must either arise from a Change in the Position of the Earth's -diurnal Axis, or from a Removal of the Sun himself, out of the primitive -Plane of the <i>Orbis Magnus</i>. I believe you are so much of a Mathematician, -as to know that if either of these Facts be allowed, the Consequence I -want will follow. I shall not therefore here enter into any farther Dispute -about it; but I think it will be necessary to submit some Observations to -your Consideration, that may convince you that there is a Motion somewhere -to be thus discovered, and whether in the Sun, or in the Stars, or -in both, I leave to your own Determination, but to assist your Imagination, -I refer you to</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XVIII.</h3> - -<p>The Globe S is here supposed to represent the Sun, having changed its -Situation by a local Motion from A to C, and B represents the Globe of -the Earth in a permanent Position, with its principal Points and Circles, -respecting the primitive Plane A, B, K. Now in Consequence of the -Angle of Variation, A, B, C, it evidently appears that a new ecliptic Plane, -will be produced, as C, B, and also a Variation in the greatest Declination -of the Sun, North and South from the Line of the <i>Equator</i> D, L. Hence, -as in this Figure, the Obliquity of the Poles P, N, and G, F, will naturally -decrease, and is shewn in Quantity by the Line of Aberration -H, I.</p> - -<p>Here follows a Table of the Change observed in the Obliquity of the -Ecliptic by Astronomers of different Ages.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xviii" style="width: 659px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XVIII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xviii.png" width="659" height="423" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">- 53 -</span></p> - - -<p class="tdc"><i>A Table of the Obliquity of the Ecliptic.</i></p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td><i>Ante Christi</i></td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">°</td> - <td class="tdc">′</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">124</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Arato</span></td> - <td class="tdc">24</td> - <td class="tdc">00</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hiparchus</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">51⅓</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">127</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Eratosthenes</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">51½</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">140</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ptolomy</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">51⅓</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">749</td> - <td class="tdl"> <span class="smcap">Abategnius</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">35½</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1070</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Airahel</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">34</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1140</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Alomean</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">33</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1300</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Profatiograd</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">32</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1458</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Purbacchio</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">29½</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1490</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Regiomontaus</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">30</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1500</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Copernicus</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">28½</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1592</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tycho Brahe</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">21½</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc">1656</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Cassini</span></td> - <td class="tdc">23</td> - <td class="tdc">29½</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>Now sure, if we consider this continual Decrease of the Sun's Declination, -which can proceed from no other Cause than that of his having -moved out of the primitive Plane; we need make no great Difficulty thus -far, to think our Conjectures not irrational.</p> - -<p>The following is a Citation from Dr. <i>Edmund Hally</i>, Astronomer-Royal. -See <i>Philosophical Transactions</i>, N<sup>o</sup>. 355. p. 736.</p> - -<p>"But while I was upon this Enquiry (<i>of the Obliquity of the Ecliptic</i>) -I was surprized to find the Latitudes of three of the principal Stars in the -Heavens, directly to contradict the supposed greater Obliquity of the Ecliptic, -which seems confirmed by the Latitudes of most of the rest; they -being set down in the old Catalogues, as if the Plane of the Earth's Orbit -had changed its Situation amongst the fixed Stars, about 20′ since the -Time of <i>Hipparchus</i>, particularly all the Stars in <i>Gemini</i> are put down, -those to the Northward of the Ecliptic, with so much less Latitude -than we find, and those to the Southward, with so much more -southerly Latitude; and yet the three Stars <i>Palilicium</i>, <i>Sirius</i>, and -<i>Arcturus</i>, do contradict this Rule: For by it, <i>Palilicium</i>, being in -the Days of <i>Hipparchus</i>, in about 10 gr. of <i>Taurus</i>, ought to be about -15′ more southerly than at present, and <i>Sirius</i> being then in about 15 gr. -of <i>Gemini</i>, ought to be 20′ more southerly than now; yet <i>Ptolomy</i> places -the first 20′, and the other 22′ more northerly in Latitude than we now -find them: Nor are these the Errors of Transcribers, but are proved to -be right by the Declination of them set down by <i>Ptolomy</i>, as observed by -<i>Timocharis</i>, <i>Hipparchus</i>, and himself; which shew, that these Latitudes -are the same as those Authors intended. As to <i>Arcturus</i>, he is too near the -Equinoctial Colour, to argue from him concerning the Change of the Obliquity -of the Ecliptic; but <i>Ptolomy</i> gives him 33′ more North Latitude -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">- 54 -</span> -than he is now found to have; and that greater Latitude is likewise confirmed -by the Declinations delivered by the abovesaid Observations: So -then these three Stars are found to be above half a Degree more southerly -at this Time than the Antients reckoned them. When, on the contrary, -at the same time, the bright Shoulder of <i>Orion</i>, has, in <i>Ptolomy</i> almost a -Degree more southerly Latitude than at present, what shall we say then? -It is scarce to be believed, that the Antients could be deceived in so plain -a Matter, three Observers confirming each other. Again, these Stars being -the most conspicuous in Heaven, are in all Probability the nearest to -the Earth; and if they have any particular Motion of their own, it is -most likely to be perceived in them, which in so long a Time as eighteen -hundred Years, may shew itself by the Alteration of their Places, though -it be intirely imperceptible in the Space of one single Century of Years: -Yet, as to <i>Syrius</i>, it may be observed, that <i>Tycho Brahe</i> makes him 2 Min. -more northerly than we now find him; whereas he ought to be above as -much more southerly from his Ecliptic (whose Obliquity he makes 2′½ -greater than we esteem it at the present) differing in the Whole 4′½.</p> - -<p>One Half of this Difference may perhaps be excused, if Refraction were -not allowed in this Case by <i>Tycho</i>; yet 2 Min. in such a Star as <i>Syrius</i>, is -somewhat too much for him to be mistaken in.</p> - -<p>But a more evident Proof of this Change is drawn from the Observation -of the Application of the Moon to <i>Palilicium</i>, <i>An. Chris.</i> 509. <i>Mar. 11.</i> -when, in the Beginning of the Night, the Moon was seen to follow that -Star very near, and seemed to have eclipsed it, <span lang="el">ἐπέβαλλε γὰρ ὁ ἀστηρ τῳ πᾶρα την -διχοτομίαν μέρει τῆς κυ'ρτυς περιφειας τõυ πεφωτισμένου μερους</span>, <i>i.ve.</i> <span lang="la"><i>Stella apposita -erat parti per quam bisecabatur limbus Lunæ illuminatus</i></span>, as <i>Bullialdus</i>, to -whom we are beholden for this ancient Observation, has translated it. Now, -from the undoubted Principles of Astronomy, this could never be true at -<i>Athens</i>, or near it, unless the Latitude of <i>Palilicium</i> were much less than -we at this Time find it<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[AM]</a>."</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">[AM]</a> Vide <i>Bulialdi Astr. Philolaica</i>, p. 172.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The <a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[AN]</a>Motion of <i>Arcturus</i> seems further confirmed, from the Observations -of <i>Tycho Hevelius</i> and Flamstead; for <i>Hevelius</i> sets down the Distance -of that Star from <i>Lyra</i> 4′ greater than <i>Tycho</i> had observed it seventy-two -Years before him, and <i>Flamstead</i> twenty-two Years after measured -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">- 55 -</span> -the Distance betwixt the same two Stars, still 3′ greater than <i>Hevelius</i> -found it; so that if <i>Lyra</i> had stood still all that while, there was an Appearance -of <i>Arcturus's</i> having gone 7' out of his Place in the Space of -an hundred Years. See Dr. <i>Long's</i> Astronomy, p. 274.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">[AN]</a> These are the nearest and greatest of the fixed Stars, the Motion of the others not having -been observed, or being at too great a Distance, are either imperceptible, or have not been -taken notice of.</p> - -</div> - -<p>It is further to be observed, in Confirmation of the Motion of one of -these Stars, that <i>Flamstead</i> found the Distance of <i>Arcturus</i>, from the Head -of <i>Hercules</i> 3′ greater than it is set down by the Prince of <i>Hesse</i>; and that -his Distance from the <i>Lion's Tail</i> was a little decreased with 5½′ less Latitude -than <i>Tycho</i> had observed. Hence, to make these Observations agree, -one or both of them must have moved together equal to 7′. This Change -of Place, which is quite contrary to all known Causes proceeding from the -Earth, must therefore be occasioned either by the Motion of the Sun, or by -a particular Motion of their own; but if, amongst themselves, they must all -move, and if all be in Motion, the Sun must also move.</p> - -<p>If these Observations, delivered down to us by very able Astronomers, -be either true or near it, as great Allowances have been made for -the Ignorance of the Ages in which they were taken, and the Inaccuracy -of the Instruments, we may naturally conclude, that these Stars must have -a Motion; and if they move, as has been before observed, the Sun -must also; hence he cannot now be in the original Plane of the -Earth's annual Direction, or at least in the same identical Place he was at -first possessed of: And if so, the Stars must also have the like Motion, -though in different Directions, and all may thus be governed by the same -impulsive Power.</p> - -<p>To illustrate this primitive Motion of the Stars, and at the same time to -show that the Variety which appears in the Quantity of Motion can be no -Objection to it,</p> - -<h3>See <span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XVIII. <i>Fig. 2.</i></h3> - -<p>Where A represents the Eye of an Observer, and B, E, F, H, various -Systems, moving in different Directions thro' the mundane Space; it is evident -that the Sphere B, having moved from C, and that of E, not having -appeared to move at all, there must be a sensible Change in the new -Position of these two Systems to one another, and so of the rest; and tho' -the apparent Motion of H, be much more than that of F, from the -Point A, yet from C, they will appear less different, and from B, they -will appear nearly equal. And farther, as the Direction from H, is in the -Line I, H, and that of F, in the Line K, G, those two Systems will appear -to approximate, and the Magnitude of the Star in the first will be increased, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">- 56 -</span> -and in the latter diminished. Thus, many of the Stars in the -oldest Catalogues, which were said to be of the second Magnitude, are now -become of the first, and several of the first are now judged to be of the second, -&c.</p> - -<p>But as this apparent Motion of the Stars at the Earth, must, from its -Nature, be very small, so as scarce to be discovered in some of them in -less than an Age, with any Instrument by the nicest Observer, I judge it -will be extremely proper in this Place to propose some Method, by which, -in process of Time, the Truth of the Theory may be ascertained. The -Way I think most likely to succeed is this.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XIX.</h3> - -<p>Is a Plan of the principal Stars that form the <span class="smcap">Pleiades</span>, correctly taken -by a Combination of Triangles, as in the Figure, from whence it will naturally -follow, all the whole Form being comprehended in much less than -one Degree. That the most minute local Motion in any one of those Stars in -a very few Years, will be made sensible to an Eye at the Earth. For -Instance, if any of the Stars that form the Letter A, or T, within the -Term of ten or twenty Years, be found in the least to deviate from the -Lines of their present Position and Direction, it will be evident beyond a -Contradiction, that they have a Motion amongst themselves, and since at -such a Distance they cannot possibly be affected by the Earth, it must be -a Motion of their own; and thus if any one can be proved, to change its -Situation, with regard to the rest, we can have no new Difficulty in concluding -that they all may do the same.</p> - -<p>Thus if any of the regular Triangles M B Z, Z P H, A Z M, -Y A Γ, or Π Ο I, &<i>c.</i> in due Time be carefully noted, we may venture -to say with great Safety, that the thousandth Part of a Degree will be -plainly discovered.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XX.</h3> - -<p>Is a true Plan and Combination of the principal Stars that form the <span class="smcap">Persedes</span>, -in which other Observations may be made in a different Part of -the Heavens, and perhaps with an Opportunity of being still more exact, -the Areas of these Triangles, particularly that of Θ I K, and those of -ρ and δ, being much less than the former, where the least Alteration possible -must render them sensibly distorted. But here it must be considered, -that the real Motion of the Stars, as well as their apparent, may be, and in -all Likelihood, is extreamly slow, for the most minute, visible, local Motion, -will answer all the Purposes we know in Nature, and the greatest -seems to be that of the projectile, or centrifugal Force, which not only -preserves them in their Orbits, but prevents them from rushing all together, -by the common universal Law of Gravity, which otherwise, as -a finite Distribution of either regular or irregular Bodies, they must at length -do by Necessity.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xix" style="width: 315px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XIX.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xix.png" width="315" height="541" alt=""> -</div> - - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xx" style="width: 322px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XX.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xx.png" width="322" height="582" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">- 57 -</span></p> - -<p>I must now inform you, that the above Observations were compleated -in the <span class="smcap">Autumn Season</span>, 1747, and were taken by myself; the Letters -A, T, in <i>Plate</i> XIX, and the W in the XXth, as you may see, having -a very near Resemblance, or Similitude, to the Order these Stars are found -to be in, together with the <i>Greek</i> Alphabet, I judged necessary, by way -of <i>Asterism</i> and <i>Nomenclatura</i>, in case such should be wanted, as <i>Data</i> in -future Discoveries.</p> - -<p>I come now to the principal Point in Question, which is to find a regular -Disposition of the Stars amongst themselves, which will naturally solve -both their general and particular Phænomena, especially the <i>Nebula</i> -and <i>Milky Way</i>.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am now</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_p057" style="width: 242px;"> - <img src="images/img_p057.png" width="242" height="161" alt=""> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">- 58 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_SEVENTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the SEVENTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>The Hypothesis, or Theory, fully explained and demonstrated, proving the -sidereal Creation to be finite.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,<br></p> - -<div class="dropcap">I</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">I</span> KNOW you are an Enemy to all Sorts of Schemes where they -are not absolutely necessary, and may possibly be avoided; and for -that Reason I have purposely omitted many geometrical Figures, and -other Representations in this Work, which might have been inserted and -in some Places, especially here I might have introduced Diagrams, perhaps -more explicit than Words; but as you have frequently observed, they are -only of Use to the few Learned, and contribute more to the taking away -the little Ideas and Knowledge the more ignorant Many may be endued -with, by a prejudicial Impression of imperfect Images, rather than the -adding any new Light to their Understanding, I have purposely avoided, -as much as possible, both here and every where, all such complex Diagrams -as might be in Danger of betraying any the least such conscious -Diffidence in you, arising from the Want of a proper <i>Precognita</i> in the -Sciences.</p> - -<p>This Imperfection, much to be lamented, as greatly to the Disadvantage -of all mathematical Reasoning, I would willingly always prevent, in my -Readers, and to chuse in my Friend; I shall therefore content myself with -referring you to a few orbicular Figures, concave and convex, as may best -suggest to your Fancy the simplest Way, a just Idea of the Hypothesis I -have fram'd, and naturally enough I hope, render my Theory so intelligible, -as to help you sufficiently to conceive the Solution aimed at, of the important -Problem I have attempted.</p> - -<p>As I have said before, we cannot long observe the beauteous Parts of -the visible Creation, not only those of this World on which we live, but -also the Myriads of bright Bodies round us, with any Attention, without -being convinced, that a Power supreme, and of a Nature unknown to us, -presides in, and governs it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">- 59 -</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The Course and Frame of this vast Bulk, display<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">A Reason and fix'd Law, which all obey.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Sher. Manilius</span>.<br> -</span> -</div> - - -<p>And notwithstanding the many wonderful Productions of Nature in this -our known Habitation, yet the Earth, when compared with other Bodies -of our own System, seems far from being the most considerable in it; -and it appears not only very possible, but highly probable, from what has -been said, and from what we can farther demonstrate, that there is as -great a Multiplicity of Worlds, variously dispersed in different Parts of the -Universe, as there are variegated Objects in this we live upon. Now, as -we have no Reason to suppose, that the Nature of our Sun is different -from that of the rest of the Stars; and since we can no way prove him superior -even to the least of those surprising Bodies, how can we, with -any Shew of Reason, imagine him to be the general Center of the whole, -<i>i. e.</i> of the visible Creation, and seated in the Center of the mundane -Space? This, in my humble Opinion, is too weak even for Conjecture, -their apparent Distribution, and <a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[AO]</a>irregular Order argue so much against -it.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">[AO]</a> See the Zodaical Constellations, you'll find that in some Signs there are several Stars of -the first, second, and third Magnitude, and in many others none of these at all.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The Earth indeed has long possessed the chief Seat of our System, and -peaceably reigned there, as in the Center of the Universe for many Ages -past; but it was human Ignorance, and not divine Wisdom, that placed -it there; some few indeed from the Beginning have disputed its Right to -it, as judging it no way worthy of such high Eminence. Time at length -has discovered the Truth to every body, and now it is justly displaced -by the united Consent of all its Inhabitants, and instead of being thought -the most majestick of all Nature's lower Works, now rather disgraces the -Creation, so much it is reduced in its present State from what it had -Reason to expect in the former.</p> - -<p>Now it is no longer the only terrestrial Globe in the Universe, but is -proved to be one of the least Planets of the solar System, and surprizingly -inferior to some of its Fellow Worlds. The Sun, or rather the System, -has almost as long usurped the Center of Infinity, with as little Pretence -to such Pre-heminence; but now, Thanks to the Sciences, the Scene begins -to open to us on all Sides, and Truths scarce to have been dreamt of, -before Persons of Observation had proved them possible, invades our Senses -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">- 60 -</span> -with a Subject too deep for the human Understanding, and where our -very Reason is lost in infinite Wonders. How ought this to humble every -Mind susceptible of Reason!</p> - -<p>In this Place, I believe, you will pardon a Digression; which, in Answer -to Part of your last Letter, I judge will not be very impertinent, tho' -perhaps just here I cannot so well justify it.</p> - -<p>Your late Conversation with our Friend Mr. * * *, I am perswaded, -must have been very entertaining; but I cannot help thinking his Reflections -upon the Wonders of Nature and the Wisdom of Providence, though -I must allow them all to be very just and curious, instead of elevating -the Mind to the Pitch he would have it, rather as considered above, depress -it below the proper, nay I might say necessary, Standard of human -Ideas.</p> - -<p>This, probably, you'll say is an odd Turn, and may want some Explanation, -since every Object in the Chain of Nature, must of Force be -granted, a Subject worthy of our Speculations, being all together made, -as in the Maximum of Wisdom: But what I mean is this, since nothing is -more natural for Beings in every State in search after their own Advantages, -and the Enlargement of their Ideas to look upward, sure it may be -presumed, that Time may be mispent, if not lost in inspecting too narrowly -Things so little benefical in States below us; as Mr. <i>Pope</i> says,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Why has not Man a microscopic Eye?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">For this plain Reason, Man is not a Fly.<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Say what the Use, were finer Opticks given,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">To inspect a Mite, not comprehend the Heav'n.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<i>Essay on Man.</i><br> -</span> -</div> - - -<p>Amusement alone can never be supposed to be the sole End of human -Life, where even true Happiness is a Thing we rather taste than enjoy. The -Mind we find capable of much more rational Pleasure than can possibly -fall within the Reach of human Power, either to promise or procure it; -but then this very Defect in our present State of Existence affords us no -less than a moral Assurance, that some where in a future, we may, if we -please, be entitled to the very <i>Plenum</i> of all Enjoyments.</p> - -<p>The peculiar Business then of the human Mind naturally precedes its -Amusements, as evidently ordained to soar above all the inferior Beings of -this World; and however our Natures may, thro' Indolence, or thro' -Ignorance, degenerate, that of the Man can never be supposed to sink into -the Mole.</p> - -<p>The properest Way then sure for Men to preserve their Pre-heminence -over the Brute Creation, is to make use of that Reason and Reflection, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">- 61 -</span> -which so manifestly distinguishes their natural Superiority. A right Application -of which, must of course then direct us to a forward, rather than -a backward Search in the vast visible Chain of our Existence, which clearly -connects all Beings and States as under the Direction of one supreme Agent.</p> - -<p>This is all I would have understood by the foregoing Position, which, -in one Word, implies no more than that the sublime Philosophy ought -in all Reason to be preferred to the Minute; but I hope you will not infer -from this my seeming Partiality for the celestial Sciences, that I mean to -insinuate, that the Study of terrestrial Physicks is not a rational Amusement.</p> - -<p>Mr. ***, you say, seems to lament the Taste of Mankind in general much -in the same Degree as you do his I readily grant you; a Man who can talk -so well upon an Ant, might make a more entertaining Discourse upon the -Eagle; but I beg his Pardon, and though we are all too ready, and most -apt to condemn all such Pleasures as vain or trifling, which we have no -Share in, or Taste for ourselves; yet I don't think it follows, that those ingenious -Labours of his are useless. The Pleasures arising from natural -Philosophy are all undoubtedly great ones, whether we consider Nature in -her highest, or in her lowest Capacity; the Beauties of the Creation are -every Day varied to us below, as much as they are every Night above, and in -both Cases, through every Object, the Creator shines so manifest, that we -may justly consider him every where smiling full in the Face of all his -Creatures, commanding as it were an awful Reverence, and Respect, due -not only to his Omnipotency, but also to his infinite Goodness and endless -Indulgencies. This is the only Return our Gratitude can make for all those -Blessings he daily bestows upon us, and to this great Author of her Laws; -Nature herself cries aloud through Myriads of various Objects, and after -her own expressive and peculiar Manner, seems to command us with an -attractive Grace, to observe her Sovereign, and admire his Wisdom. The -Majesty, Power, and Dominion of <span class="smcap">God</span> is best displayed in the external -Direction of Things, his Wisdom and visible Agency in the internal: -Hence, by proper Objects, selected from both, attended with just Reflections, -we may certainly raise our Ideas almost to the Pitch of Immortals; -but how far the human Imagination may possibly go, or how much -Minds like ours may be improved, is a Question not easily determined; -but as natural Knowledge evidently increases daily, and astronomical Enquiries -are the most capable of opening our Minds, and enlarging our -Conception, of consequence they must be most worthy our Attention of -all other Studies. But of this I have said enough, and think it is now -more than Time to attempt the remaining Part of my Theory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">- 62 -</span></p> - -<p>When we reflect upon the various Aspects, and perpetual Changes of -the Planets, both with regard to their[AP] heliocentric and geocentric Motion, -we may readily imagine, that nothing but a like eccentric Position of -the Stars could any way produce such an apparently promiscuous Difference -in such otherwise regular Bodies. And that in like manner, as the -Planets would, if viewed from the Sun, there may be one Place in the Universe -to which their Order and primary Motions must appear most regular -and most beautiful. Such a Point, I may presume, is not unnatural to be -supposed, altho' hitherto we have not been able to produce any absolute -Proof of it. See <i>Plate</i> XXV.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">[AP]</a> Not to mention their several Conjunctions and Apulces to fixed Stars, &<i>c.</i> see the State -of the Heavens in 1662, <i>December</i> the first, when all the known Planets were in one Sign of -the Zodiac, <i>viz.</i> <i>Sagittarius</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>This is the great Order of Nature, which I shall now endeavour to -prove, and thereby solve the Phænomena of the <i>Via Lactea</i>; and in order -thereto, I want nothing to be granted but what may easily be allowed, -namely, that the <i>Milky Way</i> is formed of an infinite Number of small -Stars.</p> - -<p>Let us imagine a vast infinite Gulph, or Medium, every Way extended -like a Plane, and inclosed between two Surfaces, nearly even on -both Sides, but of such a Depth or Thickness as to occupy a Space equal -to the double Radius, or Diameter of the visible Creation, that is to take -in one of the smallest Stars each Way, from the middle Station, perpendicular -to the Plane's Direction, and, as near as possible, according to our -Idea of their true Distance.</p> - -<p>But to bring this Image a little lower, and as near as possible level to every -Capacity, I mean such as cannot conceive this kind of continued Zodiac, -let us suppose the whole Frame of Nature in the Form of an artificial Horizon -of a Globe, I don't mean to affirm that it really is so in Fact, but -only state the Question thus, to help your Imagination to conceive more -aptly what I would explain<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[AP]</a>. <i>Plate</i> XXI. will then represent a just -Section of it. Now in this Space let us imagine all the Stars scattered -promiscuously, but at such an adjusted Distance from one another, as to -fill up the whole Medium with a kind of regular Irregularity of Objects. -And next let us consider what the Consequence would be to an Eye situated -near the Center Point, or any where about the middle Plane, as at the -Point A. Is it not, think you, very evident, that the Stars would there appear -promiscuously dispersed on each Side, and more and more inclining to -Disorder, as the Observer would advance his Station towards either -Surface, and nearer to B or C, but in the Direction of the general Plane -towards H or D, by the continual Approximation of the visual Rays, -crowding together as at H, betwixt the Limits D and G, they must infallibly -terminate in the utmost Confusion. If your Opticks fails you before -you arrive at these external Regions, only imagine how infinitely -greater the Number of Stars would be in those remote Parts, arising thus -from their continual crowding behind one another, as all other Objects -do towards the Horizon Point of their Perspective, which ends but with -Infinity: Thus, all their Rays at last so near uniting, must meeting in the -Eye appear, as almost, in Contact, and form a perfect Zone of Light; this -I take to be the real Case, and the true Nature of our <i>Milky Way</i>, and -all the Irregularity we observe in it at the Earth, I judge to be intirely -owing to our Sun's Position in this great Firmament, and may easily be -solved by his Excentricity, and the Diversity of Motion that may naturally -be conceived amongst the Stars themselves, which may here and there, in -different Parts of the Heavens, occasion a cloudy Knot of Stars, as perhaps -at E.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxi" style="width: 480px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXI.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxi.png" width="480" height="605" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxii" style="width: 522px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxii.png" width="522" height="677" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">- 63 -</span></p> - -<p>But now to apply this Hypothesis to our present Purpose, and reconcile -it to our Ideas of a circular Creation, and the known Laws of orbicular -Motion, so as to make the Beauty and Harmony of the Whole consistent -with the visible Order of its Parts, our Reason must now have recourse to -the Analogy of Things. It being once agreed, that the Stars are in Motion, -which, as I have endeavoured in my last Letter to shew is not far from -an undeniable Truth, we must next consider in what Manner they move. -First then, to suppose them to move in right Lines, you know is contrary -to all the Laws and Principles we at present know of; and since there are -but two Ways that they can possibly move in any natural Order, that is, -either in right Lines, or in Curves, this being one, it must of course be -the other, <i>i. e.</i> in an Orbit; and consequently, were we able to view them -from their middle Position, as from the Eye seated in the Center of <i>Plate</i> -XXV. we might expect to find them separately moving in all manner of -Directions round a general Center, such as is there represented. It only now -remains to shew how a Number of Stars, so disposed in a circular Manner -round any given Center, may solve the Phænomena before us. There are -but two Ways possible to be proposed by which it can be done, and one -of which I think is highly probable; but which of the two will meet -your Approbation, I shall not venture to determine, only here inclosed I -intend to send you both. The first is in the Manner I have above described, -<i>i. e.</i> all moving the same Way, and not much deviating from the -same Plane, as the Planets in their heliocentric Motion do round the -solar Body. In this Case the primary, secondary, and tertiary constituent -Orbits, &<i>c.</i> framing the Hypotheses, are represented in <i>Plate</i> XXII, and the -Consequence of such a Theory arising from such an universal Law of Motion -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">- 64 -</span> -in <i>Plate</i> XXIII. where B, D denotes the local Motion of the Sun in -the true <i>Orbis Magnus</i>, and E, C that of the Earth in her proper secondary -Orbit, which of course is supposed, as is shewn in the Figure to change its -sidereal Positions, in the same Manner as the Moon does round the Earth, -and consequently will occasion a kind of Procession, or annual Variation -in the Place of the Sun, not unlike that of the Equinoxes, or Motion of all -the Stars together, from West to East round the Ecliptic Poles, and probably -may in some Degree be the Occasion of it. This Angle is represented, -but much magnified, by the Lines F, C, G, and the Unnaturalness, -or Absurdity of a right Line Motion of the Sun by the Line I, H.</p> - -<p>The second Method of solving this Phænomena, is by a spherical -Order of the Stars, all moving with different Direction round one common -Center, as the Planets and Comets together do round the Sun, but -in a kind of Shell, or concave Orb. The former is easily conceived, from -what has been already said, and the latter is as easy to be understood, if -you have any Idea of the Segment of a Globe, which the adjacent Figures, -will, I hope, assist you to. The Doctrine of these Motions will perhaps -be made very obvious to you, by inspecting the following Plates.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XXIV.</h3> - -<p>Is a Representation of the Convexity, if I may call it so, of the intire -Creation, as a universal Coalition of all the Stars consphered round one -general Center, and as all governed by one and the same Law.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XXV.</h3> - -<p>Is a centeral Section of the same, with the Eye of Providence seated -in the Center, as in the virtual Agent of Creation.</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XXVI.</h3> - -<p>Represents a Creation of a double Construction, where a superior Order -of Bodies C, may be imagined to be circumscribed by the former one -A, as possessing a more eminent Seat, and nearer the supream Presence, -and consequently of a more perfect Nature. Lastly,</p> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XXVII.</h3> - -<p>Represents such a Section, and Segments of the same, as I hope will -give you a perfect Idea of what I mean by such a Theory.</p> - -<p><i>Fig.</i> 1. is a corresponding Section of the Part at A, in <i>Fig.</i> 2. whose -versed Sine is equal to half the Thickness of the starry Vortice A C, or -B A. Now I say, by supposing the Thickness of this Shell, 1. you may -imagine the middle Semi-Chord A D, or A E, to be nearly 6; and consequently -thus in a like regular Distribution of the Stars, there must of course be at -least three Times as many to be seen in this Direction of the Sine, or -Semi-chord A E, itself, than in that of the semi-versed Sine A C, or -any where near the Direction of the Radius of the Space G. Q. E. D.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxiii" style="width: 592px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXIII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxia.png" width="592" height="818" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxiv" style="width: 520px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXIV.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxiv.png" width="520" height="503" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxv" style="width: 575px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXV.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxv.png" width="575" height="520" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxvi" style="width: 471px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXVI.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxvi.png" width="471" height="654" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxvii" style="width: 532px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXVII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxvii.png" width="532" height="828" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxviii" style="width: 514px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXVIII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxviii.png" width="514" height="807" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxix" style="width: 407px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXIX.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxix.png" width="407" height="646" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">- 65 -</span></p> - -<p>But we are not confined by this Theory to this Form only, there may -be various Systems of Stars, as well as of Planets, and differing probably -as much in their Order and Distribution as the Zones of <i>Jupiter</i> do from -the Rings of <i>Saturn</i>, it is not at all necessary, that every collective Body -of Stars should move in the same Direction, or after the same Model of -Motion, but may as reasonably be supposed as much to vary, as we find -our Planets and Comets do.</p> - -<p>Hence we may imagine some Creations of Stars may move in the Direction -of perfect Spheres, all variously inclined, direct and retrograde; -others again, as the primary Planets do, in a general Zone or Zodiack, or -more properly in the Manner of <i>Saturn's</i> Rings, nay, perhaps Ring within -Ring, to a third or fourth Order, as shewn in <i>Plate</i> XXVIII. nothing -being more evident, than that if all the Stars we see moved in one vast -Ring, like those of <i>Saturn</i>, round any central Body, or Point, the general -Phænomena of our Stars would be solved by it; see <i>Plate</i> XXIX. <i>Fig.</i> 1. -and 2. the one representing a full Plane of these Motions, the other a Profile -of them, and a visible Creation at B and C, the central Body A, being -supposed as <i>incognitum</i>, without the finite View; not only the Phænomena -of the <i>Milky Way</i> may be thus accounted for, but also all the cloudy -Spots, and irregular Distribution of them; and I cannot help being of -Opinion, that could we view <i>Saturn</i> thro' a Telescope capable of it, we -should find his Rings no other than an infinite Number of lesser Planets, inferior -to those we call his Satellites: What inclines me to believe it, is this, -this Ring, or Collection of small Bodies, appears to be sometimes very excentric, -that is, more distant from <i>Saturn's</i> Body on one Side than on the other, -and as visibly leaving a larger Space between the Body and the Ring; which -would hardly be the Case, if the Ring, or Rings, were connected, or -solid, since we have good Reason to suppose, it would be equally attracted -on all Sides by the Body of <i>Saturn</i>, and by that means preserve every -where an equal Distance from him; but if they are really little Planets, -it is clearly demonstrable from our own in like Cases, that there may be -frequently more of them on one Side, than on the other, and but very -rarely, if ever, an equal Distribution of them all round the <i>Saturnian</i> -Globe.</p> - -<p>How much a Confirmation of this is to be wished, your own Curiosity -may make you judge, and here I leave it for the Opticians to determine. -I shall content myself with observing that Nature never leaves us without -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">- 66 -</span> -a sufficient Guide to conduct us through all the necessary Paths of Knowledge; -and it is far from absurd to suppose Providence may have every -where throughout the whole Universe, interspersed Modules of every -Creation, as our Divines tell us, Man is the Image of God himself.</p> - -<p>Thus, Sir, you have had my full Opinion, without the least Reserve, -concerning the visible Creation, considered as Part of the finite Universe; -how far I have succeeded in my designed Solution of the <i>Via Lactea</i>, -upon which the Theory of the Whole is formed, is a Thing will hardly -be known in the present Century, as in all Probability it may require some -Ages of Observation to discover the Truth of it.</p> - -<p>It remains that I should now give you some Idea of Time and Space; -but this will afford Matter sufficient for another Letter.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="img_p066" style="width: 250px;"> - <img src="images/img_p066.png" width="250" height="178" alt=""> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">- 67 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_THE_EIGHTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER THE EIGHTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Of Time and Space, with regard to the known Objects of Immensity and -Duration.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,</p> - -<div class="dropcap">T</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span>he Opportunity you gave me in your last Visit, of shewing you -my general Scheme of the Universe, I find, besides the Pleasure -it then gave, is now attended with many useful Advantages.</p> - -<p>I now not only hope to be better understood for the future, but have -reason to expect what I now write will merit your Attention more, and -have some Title to your Approbation. The Ideas I have fram'd of -Time and Space, will now more gradually fill your Imagination both -with Wonder and Delight, before they can arise so high as to be lost in -an Eternity and the Infinity of Space. And I am fully perswaded your farther -Inquiries into these vast Properties of the Deity, will here be answered -intirely to your Satisfaction. You must allow me now to be in some -measure a Judge of what I think will please you most, from the Observations -you have made upon my general System, or otherwise you would have -reason to think me perhaps too presuming: But I flatter myself the great -Difficulty is now over; and what remains to be said, will all so naturally -follow from what has gone before, that this Letter, I guess, will go near -to furnish you with all the Ideas you wish to form upon the Subject. -To what you have said of my having left out my own Habitation in my -Scheme of the Universe, having travell'd so far into Infinity as both to lose -sight of, and forget the Earth, I think I may justly answer as <i>Aristotle</i> did -when <i>Alexander</i>, looking over a Map of the World, enquir'd of him for the -City of <i>Macedon</i>; 'tis said the Philosopher told the Prince, That the -Place he sought for was much too small to be there taken Notice of, and -was not without sufficient Reason omitted.</p> - -<p>The System of the Sun compar'd but with a very minute Part of the -visible Creation, takes up so small a Portion of the known Universe, that -in a very finite View of the Immensity of Space, I judg'd the Seat of the -Earth to be of very little Consequence, could I have possibly represented -it, as not only being one of the smallest Objects in our Regions, but in a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">- 68 -</span> -manner infinitely less than even her own annual Orbit, and had nothing to -do with my main Design, which was to represent all our planetary Worlds -as one collective Body, and begin my comparative Scale of Magnitude -from the Sun only and his Sphere of activity; as the smallest Object I -could with any Propriety pretend to express in such a Plan.</p> - -<p>In some Measure to convince you that I have committed no Error -in this, I will try by some less mathematical Method than that of meer -Numbers, to imprint an Idea in your Mind of the true Extent of the solar -System, and the Magnitude of all its moving Bodies, by natural Objects -most familiar to your Senses. When we endeavour to form any Idea -of Distance, Magnitude, or Duration, by Numbers only, we so soon exceed -the Limits of Conception, that this way we find our Faculties of -reasoning as finite as our Senses; and no doubt 'tis right it should be so, -Providence, as it were, having ordain'd that the first should only attend -the last, in such an adequate Degree to a determin'd Distance; but what -Distance or Degree of Knowledge is destin'd to human Nature, none -but the Power that gave it can tell. 'Tis certain that beyond the third or -fourth Place of our Nomenclator, we receive but very faint Impressions -of the thing exprest, and can frame scarce any Notion at all of either -Number, Distance, or Magnitude, signified beyond it: Hence Astronomers -are frequently oblig'd to have recourse to mixt Ideas, and make -Things of different Natures and Properties assist each other, to excite -more adequate Ideas of what they would have conceived. Thus to express -immense Distances and Magnitude, they frequently apply themselves -to Time and Motion; and <i>vice versa</i>, to signify a long Duration, they -have often recourse to Distance and Matter, removing, in Imagination, -Worlds of Sand, Grain after Grain, to some remote known Region.</p> - -<p><i>Hesiod</i>,<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[AQ]</a> to express his Idea of the Distance from his highest Heaven -to Earth, and from Earth to Hell, or <i>Tartarus</i>, supposes an Anvil to be -let fall from one to the other, which he says in nine natural Days would -reach the Earth from Heaven, and in the same time would fall from the -Earth to Hell. <a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a><i>Homer</i> makes his <i>Vulcan</i> fall from Heaven to the Island -of <i>Lemnos</i> in much less Time, not exceeding one full artificial Day.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">[AQ]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">From the high Heaven a brazen Anvil cast,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Nine Nights and Days in rapid Whirls would last,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And reach the Earth the Tenth, whence strongly hurl'd;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The same the Passage to th' infernal World.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Cooke.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">[AR]</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Hurl'd headlong downward from th' etherial Height;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Toss'd all the Day in rapid Circles round,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Nor till the Sun descended touch'd the Ground.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Pope.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">- 69 -</span></p> - -<p>Modern Astronomers have made use of the swiftest Velocity of a Cannon-Ball -as continued thro' the Space they would so describe, and in this -Light, the Distance to the Sun has been by many compar'd to twenty-five -Years Motion of a Cannon-Ball, supposing it to travel at the Rate of -100 Fathom in a Moment, <i>i. e.</i> <i>the Pulse of an Artery</i>; and that a Journey -so performed to one of the nearest fix'd Stars, would take the same -Body at least 100,000 Years before it could arrive there. But the Method -I have chose to convey my Ideas of the Magnitude of the planetary Bodies, -and the Extent of the visible Creation to you, I am willing to hope -you will find still more familiar, comprehensive, and easy: And it only -depends upon your Remembrance of a very few known Objects, and their -neighbouring Distances, which may be presumed you are, or have been, -very well acquainted with. You have not only very lately but very often -been in <i>London</i>, and must, I think, retain some Idea of the Dome of St. -<i>Paul's</i>, tho' I own I ought not to be sorry if you should chance to have -forgot it, provided it might prove a Means of making your Visits more -frequent. The Diameter of the Dome of this Church is 145 Feet: Now -if you can imagine this to represent the Surface of the Sun, a spherical -Body 18 Inches diameter, will justly represent the Earth in like Proportion; -and another of only five Inches diameter, will represent the Moon. -The Truths of these Proportions I have shewn in my <i>Clavis Cœlestis</i>; and -the Reason why I have here fixt upon the Dome of this Church for my -first Object of Comparison, will naturally appear from what follows.</p> - -<p>From the Magnitude of the Earth on which we live, as from a known -Scale with respect to its Parts compar'd with our own Bodies, we naturally -frame our first Ideas of Extent, and fix our Rationale of Remoteness; -by which we are sufficiently enabled to judge of all other sensible Distances -within one finite View. And hence by the undoubted Principles -of Geometry, having first given the Measurement of the Earth in any -known Proportion with any other Quantity most familiar to our Senses, -and the Angle of Appearance, or Parallax to any perceivable Object, we -can easily find in homogenial Parts its true Distance from the Eye. And -thus allowing for some small tho' unavoidable Errors, that may possibly -arise from the Difficulties of Observation (especially small Angles and minute -Quantities) we can always determine to a sufficient, and very frequently -to a just Exactness, the relative Distance of all visible Bodies, remote -or near, such as the Planets, Comets, and the Sun.</p> - -<p><a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[AS]</a>In this Manner Astronomers having procur'd a comparative Standard, -reduc'd to some known Measure, as <i>English</i> Miles, Leagues, Semi-Orbs or -Orbits, with all the Force of analogical Reasoning, clearly can demonstrate -the Place and Distance of any Object within the Reach of Observation, -and judge of Distances almost indefinite.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">[AS]</a> Parallax is the changeable Position of Bodies to different Situations of the Eye. First -having found the Quantity of a Degree (<i>i. e.</i> a 60th Part of the Circumference) upon the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">- 70 -</span> -Earth's Surface, <i>Aratosthenes</i> discover'd that the Magnitude of the whole was easily known; -and then from the Moon's horizontal Parallax having given the Radius of the Earth, the Distance -of the Moon is soon determined; next by the menstrual Parallax of the Lunar Orbit, -the Distance of the Sun is found; and by the Elongation of the inferior Planets, their mutual -Distance from each other; and, lastly, from the annual Parallax of the Earth's Orbit, all -the other Orbits of the superior Planets are easily found.</p> - -</div> - - -<h3><span class="gesperrt">PLATE</span> XXX.</h3> - -<p>Will help you to very correct Ideas of the real Magnitude of the Globe -of the Earth, compar'd with the just Extent of the Island of <i>Great-Britain</i>, -which you will find with <i>Ireland</i>, and the rest of its Islands, seated near -the Center of the Projection. This as a Standard will enable you to judge -of all other Distances more perfectly; and first I shall consider that of -the Sun.</p> - -<p>The Sun is found to be mean distant from the Earth nearly 81 Millions -of Miles, or 6877,5 Diameters of the Earth; and <i>Saturn</i>, the remotest -Planet from him is at his greatest Distance from us about 858 Millions -of Miles: Yet these Distances are but the beginning of Space, and -only serve to open our Ideas for farther Search.</p> - -<p>The great Comet of 1680, as I have some where said before, was -found to move in so vast an excentrick Orbit, that in its aphelion Point -it would be 14,4 Times as far from the Sun, as the Orbit of <i>Saturn</i>, and -hence at least eleven thousand and two hundred Millions of Miles from us. -Now since the wise Creator hath so dispos'd all the independent Parts of -the Creation, such as the several Systems of primary and secondary Planets, -&<i>c.</i> at so great a Distance from each other, that the Laws of any one -in no wise shall interfere, disturb, or interrupt the Principles of another; -this Comet, which we can easily prove belong'd to our own Sun, we -may well imagine came not near any other; and tho' at that vast Distance -from the solar Body, yet still there must have remain'd a Space sufficient -to divide or seperate the sensible activity of neighbouring Systems, that -they may not rush upon each other. Hence we may reasonably suppose, -that the nearest Star can be no nearer than a triple Radius of its active -Sphere; and provided they are all in regular Order, and much of the same -Magnitude with one another (which no Arguments can possibly contradict) -this Radius we may justly make 2000 times the Distance of our -Earth. For admitting the utmost Limits of the Sun's Attraction to exceed -this Sphere of the Comets, as far as the Sphere of the Comets -exceeds that of the Planets, which is nearly 14,4 times, the Radius of the -solar System will be extended every way 200 Radius's of the Orbit of <i>Saturn</i>, -and consequently the Distance from Star to Star will not be less -than 6000 times the Radius of our <i>Orbis Magnus</i>, and consequently upwards -of 480,000,000,000 Miles. That this is even less than the real -Truth, and may be defended as a very moderate Computation, grounded -upon Reason, we have infallible Demonstration to witness, and make -appear as thus.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxx" style="width: 687px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXX.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxx.png" width="687" height="676" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">- 71 -</span></p> - -<p>We know from the Nature of Distance and Motion that the Stars may -have an annual Parallax, but it is so very small, that the very best Astronomers -have never yet been able to assign what the Quantity really is. Yet it is -allow'd by universal Consent, that it can't possibly be more that one Minute -of a Degree, and may probably be much less. Mr. <i>Flamstead</i>, by repeated -Observations, made it in some of them upwards of 40″; but Mr. -<i>Bradley</i> has endeavour'd to prove it is every where too small to be determined, -and assigns this Angle to another Cause. This way then we -cannot make their Distance less; and to prove that it is something more -than I have said it is, let us even increase the doubtful Parallax of 40″ to -the most it possibly can be, <i>viz.</i> to 60″ or 1′; and by the Solution of -the Triangle, we shall find that the nearest Star is 6875 times the Radius -of the Earth's Orbit from the Sun: And this tho' more than any other -Proportion makes them, is still undeniably less than the Truth, which -every Mathematician will of course be convinc'd of; and you yourself of -force must believe, when you are told, that the smaller the Angle of Parallax -is, the farther the Body is remov'd from us. By which Rule, according -to Mr. <i>Flamstead's</i> Observations, the Distance must be still greater: -By the optical Experiment of <a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[AT]</a>Mr. <i>Huygins</i>, greater still than this; and -according to Mr. <i>Bradley</i>, so much more as not even too be determin'd.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">[AT]</a> 27664 Radius's of the <i>Orbis Magnus</i>, equal to the Distance of <i>Syrius</i>, whose Parallax -should be to answer it but 14″ 48‴.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Now if the rest are in general from each other, allowing the same -Extent of System, and as much to part the like Extreams of active Virtue, -be in such Proportion of aerial Space, it will appear, that to pass -from any one Star to another, we must fly thro' so vast a Tract of pure -Expanse or Ether, that to visit any one of the most neighbouring Systems, -could we travel even as fast as the swiftest Eagle flies, for Instance, 500 Miles -<i>per</i> Day, yet should we be 3,000,000 of Years upon our way before we -could arrive there; and if continuing on to view the Regions of the rest -within the known Creation, Myriads of Ages would be spent, and yet -we could not hope to see the whole of but the smallest Constellation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">- 72 -</span></p> - -<p>But what Idea of Distance can you receive from this sort of Estimation, -where Numbers arise so very high. I own to you mine are soon -quite lost by this Method of counting, either, Distances or Duration. -I believe few People can range their Ideas with such Perspicuity, as to -arrive at any adequate Notion of any Number above a thousand.</p> - -<p>To give you therefore a clearer Idea of Distance, and impress the Proportions -of Space more strongly and fully in your Mind, let us suppose -the Body of the Sun, as I have said before, to be represented by the Dome -of St. <i>Paul's</i>; in such Proportion a spherical Body eighteen Inches Diameter, -moving at <i>Mary-le-bone</i>, will justly represent the Earth, and another -of five Inches Diameter, describing a Circle of forty-five Feet and -a half Radius round it, will represent the Orbit and Globe of the Moon. -A Body at the <i>Tower</i> of 9,7 Inches, will represent <i>Mercury</i>; and one -of 17,9 Inches at St. <i>James's</i> Palace will represent the Planet <i>Venus</i>; <i>Mars</i> -may be supposed at a Distance, like that of <i>Kensington</i> or <i>Greenwich</i>, 10 -Inches Diameter: <i>Jupiter</i>, imagined to be at <i>Hampton-Court</i>, or <i>Dartford</i> -in <i>Kent</i>; and <i>Saturn</i>, at <i>Cliefden</i>, or near <i>Chelmsford</i>: The first represented -by a Globe 15 Foot 4 Inches Diameter, the latter by one of 11 Feet ¾ Inches -and his Ring four Feet broad: These would all naturally represent the -planetary Bodies of our System in their proper Orbits and proportional -Magnitudes, as moving round the Cupola of St. <i>Paul's</i>, as their common -Center the Sun. And preserving the same natural Scale, the Aphelion -of the first Comet would be about <i>Bury</i>, the second at <i>Bristol</i>, and the -third near the City of <i>Edinburgh</i>. But if you will take into your Idea -one of the nearest Stars; instead of the Dome of St. <i>Paul's</i>, you must -suppose the Sun to be represented by the gilt Ball upon the Top of it, and -then will another such upon the Top of St. <i>Peter's</i> at <i>Rome</i> represent one -of the nearest Stars.</p> - -<p>The whole System exhibited in the above Proportion, would be nearly -as follows:</p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">Diameter of the</td> - <td class="tdl">Sun</td> - <td class="tdl">145 Feet.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td rowspan="3"></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Saturn</i></td> - <td class="tdl">11,587, his Ring 27,54, its Breadth 4.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Jupiter</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl">15,39.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Mars</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl">10,15 Inches.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">the</td> - <td class="tdl">Earth,</td> - <td class="tdl">18,125.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td rowspan="2"></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Venus</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl">17,98</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Mercury</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl">9,715</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">and</td> - <td class="tdl">the Moon,</td> - <td class="tdl">4,93</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">- 73 -</span></p> - -<table> -<tr> - <td class="tdr"><a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[AU]</a>Distance of</td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Saturn</i> from the Sun,</td> - <td class="tdl2">27 Miles, and 1700 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td rowspan="5"></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Jupiter</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl2">15 Miles, and 458 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Mars</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl2">4 Miles, and 751 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl">the Earth,</td> - <td class="tdl2">2 Miles, and 1632 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Venus</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl2">2 Miles, and 217 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><i>Mercury</i>,</td> - <td class="tdl2">1 Mile, and 267 Yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="3">and of the Moon, from us, 45 Yards and a half.</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">[AU]</a> Of the Satellites of <i>Saturn</i> in the above Proportion.</p> - -<pre> -The 1 } would be { 27,96 } Feet distant from his<br> Center.<br> - 2 } { 35,52 - 3 } { 50, - 4 } {114, - 5 } {341,9 -</pre> - -<p>And those of <i>Jupiter</i>.</p> - -<pre> -The 1 } would be { 28,51 } Feet distant from him.<br> - 2 } { 69,177 - 3 } { 110,224 - 4 } { 190, -</pre> - - -</div> - -<p>That of the most distant Comet 390, and the nearest of the Stars not -less than 6875,<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[AV]</a> Radius's of the <i>Orbis Magnus</i>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">[AV]</a></p> - -<pre> -<span style="margin-left: 9.5em;">°  ′  ″</span><br> -Radius, or Sign of 89 59 30 —— —— 10,0000000<br> -Sine substract of 0 0 30 —— —— 6,1626961<br> -<span style="margin-left: 19.5em;">—————</span><br> -Hence the Distance 6875,5 —— —— 3,8373039<br> -</pre> - - -</div> - -<p>Now, if like Creations crowd the vast Depths of Infinity, and if each -are adapted to receive Beings of different Natures, where must our Wonder -and Ideas have end?</p> - -<p>As it is evident in the Sign <i>Taurus</i>, in <i>Perseus</i>, and <i>Orion</i>, that we -can plainly perceive Stars to the sixth and ninth Magnitude, the former -with our naked Eye, the other by the Help of Telescopes, the visional -ocular Creation cannot be less than 4,320,000,000,000 Miles in semi Diameter, -and admitting a regular Distribution of those primordial Bodies -amongst themselves, the Depth, or most remote Limits of the <i>Vortex -Magnus</i> from Side to Side, cannot be less than 8 m, m, 640 thousand of -Million of Miles, admitting it is no more than what we see; and lastly, -supposing our System to be situated nearly in the Middle of the <i>Vortex -Magnus</i> (which, from the visible Order of the Stars, we may justly conjecture, -with the highest Probability of Truth) the nearest Distance of the -<i>Ens Primum</i>, in the Realms of eternal Day, will rise to 30,000,000,000,000 -Miles, but more probably to 100,000,000,000,000 Miles, making -the Confines of Creation from Verge to Verge in the first Case, upwards -of 68 Million of Millions of Miles, Diameter, and by the last above 200′. -But, if we compute the Distance of the Stars after the Manner of <i>Huygens</i>, -for his Distance of <i>Syrius</i> from the Sun, the Distance of the Region -of Immortality without exceeding Probability may rise to near -1,000,000,000,000,000 Miles.</p> - -<p>Now to pass by any progressive Motion from the outward Verge, or -Borders of the Creation, thro' the starry Regions of Mortality, if I may call -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">- 74 -</span> -them so, as far as the Center of the <i>Ens Primum</i>, or <i>Sedes Beatorum</i>, according -to <i>Homer</i>, or <i>Milton's</i> Manner of measuring Space, a Body falling, or -a Being moving with a Velocity but of 1000 Feet <i>per</i> Minute, <i>i. e.</i> at the -Rate of 20,000 Yards <i>per</i> Hour, or about 300 Miles <i>per</i> Day, would be at -least 300,000,000 Years upon its Journey thither, if not 1,000, m, and -perhaps much more, without offending Probability; but even three Million -Centuries, or Ages, sure is enough to be employ'd, in passing from one Place -to another; therefore, we may conclude, the Soul must have some other -Vehicle than can be found in the Ideas of Matter to convey it so far, at -least at once. Hence we may truly infer, that the Soul must be immaterial, -and that in all Probability there may be States in the Universe so much -more longer lived than ours, that, compared with the Age of Man, the -Age of such Beings may be almost as an Eternity, or rather, as that of -the human Species to that of a Sun-born Insect.</p> - -<p>Again, if there are still Stars beyond all these of other Denomination, -which we do not here perceive, how vastly must these Numbers be increased, -to express, almost without Idea, the amazing Whole of this one -visible Creation; but what has been already said, I judge will be sufficient -to show the Immensity of Space, and help you to conceive the stupendious -Nature of an endless Universe; every where the home Possession, -Production, and instantaneous Care, of an infinite good Being, perfectly -wise, and powerful, of whom we can have no Idea more, than a Being in -dark Privation can have of Light, but through the Lustre of his own resplendent -Attributes.</p> - -<p>Thus, having attempted to enlarge your Ideas of the Creation in general, -and in some measure having considered the Indefinity of Space, I shall in -the next Place proceed to give you some Account of my Notions of Time.</p> - -<p>As Distance is the Measure of Magnitude and of all Extent, and helps our -Imagination to the Ideas of Space, so are progressive Moments the Measure -of Velocity, and makes us sensible of Duration: And as Space may be extended -through all Infinity, so Time may be continued as to Eternity. This -Succession of temporal Ideas impressed, or excited in the Mind, as an -Effect of Matter in Motion, producing a perpetual Change, both of Objects -earthly and celestial, enables us not only to reflect upon past Vicissitudes -of Nature, but from their regular Courses, known Order and Returns, -predict Phænomena to come, and prove the periodical Effects of Nature's -constant Laws so just and certain, that Time may be said with -Truth, to co-exist with Motion.</p> - -<p>Measure being a certain Quantity of Sensation interwove with our Ideas -of Distance and Duration, proceeding from a Reflection of what is impressed -upon the Mind by some external Object, I must again return to -our Mother of Ideas the Earth, and from thence, as I did, of Distance, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">- 75 -</span> -frame the original Images best suited to the Understanding, proper for our -Judgment of Duration.</p> - -<p>Time takes its first Denomination from the diurnal Rotation of the -Earth upon its Axis, which we call a natural Day, and this for obvious -Reasons we subdivide in twenty-four Parts or Hours. This diurnal Motion -having been successively repeated, and the Day renewed three hundred -and sixty-five Times, we find that all the vegetable World has gone -through all its Variegations, and Nature has again put on the same Face, -adapted to the Season; during which Time, and indeed which occasions -this general Change and Repetition, the Earth is found to make one intire -Revolution round the Sun. This Space, or Period of Time, we call a -solar, or rather a natural Year; and from our Sensibility of this, and its constituent -Parts, both horary and diurnal, we form our general Judgment -of Duration.</p> - -<p><i>Saturn</i>, the most remote, and most regular Planet in our System, as has -been said before, performs one Revolution round the Sun in about twenty-nine -of the above solar Years: The great Comet of 1680 makes but one -periodical Return in five hundred and seventy-five of those Years, and the -general Motion of the Stars, arising from the Procession of the Equinoxes, -altogether continually changing their Aspect, or Position, at the Rate of -50″ <i>per</i> Year round the ecliptic Poles, compleats but one Revolution in -25920 Years; in which Time the whole sidereal Frame of Heaven -has changed, and every Star returned to the same Point of the solar Sphere -it set out from. This is by many called the great <i>Saturnian</i> Year: Concerning -which, Mr. <i>Addison</i> has thus translated an eminent Author.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">When round the great <i>Saturnian</i> Year has turn'd,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">In their old Ranks the wandering Stars shall stand,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">As when first marshall'd by the Almighty's Hand.<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<span class="smcap">Addison.</span><br> -</span> -</div> - -<p>Now, if this sidereal Revolution, arising from a secondary Cause, require -this Number of Years to perfect one Rotation, what must their primitive -Orbits take to circumscribe the <i>Vortex Magnus</i>.</p> - -<p>It has been observed, that the biggest Star to us scarce moves a Minute -in an hundred Years, and the most remote as insensibly for Ages, from -whence and what has been already said of the imagined Distance of the general -Center, we may frame this probable and well-grounded Guess, that the -mean Revolution of a Star near the Middle of the <i>Vortex Magnus</i>, cannot be -made in less than a Million of Years, and though to us imperceptible, our -Sun in his own orbicular Direction, may be moving many Miles <i>per</i> Day. -Besides, if local Motion can be proved amongst the Stars, what less than an -Eternity can again restore them to their original Order and primitive State. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">- 76 -</span> -Such vast Room in Nature, as <i>Milton</i> finely expresses it, cannot be without -its Use; and nothing but absolute Demonstration is wanting (which -from their Nature and Distance cannot be expected) to confirm the grand -Design, so suited to the Deity's infinite Capacity, and of eternal Benefit -to all his Creatures, especially Beings of a rational Sense, and in particular -Mankind.</p> - -<p>Of these habitable Worlds, such as the Earth, all which we may suppose -to be also of a terrestrial or terraqueous Nature, and filled with -Beings of the human Species, subject to Mortality, it may not be amiss in -this Place to compute how many may be conceived within our finite -View every clear Star-light Night. It has already been made appear, that -there cannot possibly be less than 10,000,000 Suns, or Stars, within -the Radius of the visible Creation; and admitting them all to have each -but an equal Number of primary Planets moving round them, it follows -that there must be within the whole celestial Area 60,000,000 -planetary Worlds like ours. And if to these we add those of the secondary -Class, such as the Moon, which we may naturally suppose -to attend particular primary ones, and every System more or less of them -as well as here; such Satellites may amount in the Whole perhaps to -100,000,000, or more, in all together then we may safely reckon -170,000,000, and yet be much within Compass, exclusive of the Comets -which I judge to be by far the most numerous Part of the Creation.</p> - -<p>In this great Celestial Creation, the Catastrophy of a World, such as -ours, or even the total Dissolution of a System of Worlds, may possibly -be no more to the great Author of Nature, than the most common Accident -in Life with us, and in all Probability such final and general Doom-Days -may be as frequent there, as even Birth-Days, or Mortality with us -upon the Earth.</p> - -<p>This Idea has something so chearful in it, that I own I can never look -upon the Stars without wondering why the whole World does not become -Astronomers; and that Men endowed with Sense and Reason, should neglect -a Science they are naturally so much interested in, and so capable of -inlarging the Understanding, as next to a Demonstration, must convince -them of their Immortality, and reconcile them to all those little Difficulties -incident to human Nature, without the least Anxiety.</p> - -<p>Such a Prothesis can scarce be called less than an ocular Revelation, not -only shewing us how reasonable it is to expect a future Life, but as it were, -pointing out to us the Business of an Eternity, and what we may with the -greatest Confidence expect from the eternal Providence, dignifying our -Natures with something analogous to the Knowledge we attribute to Angels; -from whence we ought to despise all the Vicissitudes of adverse -Fortune, which make so many narrow-minded Mortals miserable.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am now, &c.</i><br> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">- 77 -</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_the_NINTH"><span class="gesperrt smcap">LETTER the NINTH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p><i>Reflections, by Way of</i> General Scolia, <i>of Consequences relating to the Immortality -of the Soul, and concerning Infinity and Eternity.</i></p> - - -<p class="p0"><span class="gesperrt"><i>SIR</i></span>,<br></p> - -<div class="dropcap">T</div> - -<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span>his my last Letter to you, I mean my final astronomical -one, I propose as a <i>General Scolia</i> to the rest, the principle -Matter being Reflections upon what is gone before, with some -Conclusion naturally following or appendant to what has been already said; -but which, I could not in any other Place, so properly remark to you.</p> - -<p>The Probability of the foregoing Conjectures, chiefly built upon very -distant Observations, shew an apparent Necessity for some other kind of -Doctrine permitted by Providence, to give Mankind a Knowledge of -their Immortality and Dependance upon it, in the first Ages of the -World.</p> - -<p>And for the same Reason it evidently appears, that the ancient Philosophers -had it not in their Power to prove a supream <i>Being</i> and Director -of all Things this Way.</p> - -<p>And yet, as by a Sort of Instinct, or natural Reason, and Consciousness -of a <i>good Principle</i>, we see how many noble Steps they made towards -it, and was convinc'd at last of this <i>great Truth</i>, that since there was a -<i>Mind</i> in so imperfect a Creature as Man, the <i>perfect Universe</i>, which -comprehended all Things, could not possibly be without one; and as -Sir <i>Isaac Newton</i> has justly observed in his <i>Principia</i>, "If every Particle -of Space be <i>always</i>, and every individual Moment of Duration -<i>every where</i>; surely the Maker and Lord of all Things, cannot be <i>never</i> -and <i>no where</i>."</p> - -<p>To make manifest the infinite Empire and Agency of God, from celestial -Motion, became the Task, but of very late Years; and I can't help -being of Opinion, that by means of these primary Bodies, only, we shall -at length be able to trace the greater Circulations, and Laws of Nature, to -their real original and fountain Head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">- 78 -</span></p> - -<p>These, were any thing wanting, besides the <i>Miracle ourselves</i>, to convince -us of a divine Origination, are all infallible Proofs, that the Universe -is governed by an intelligent and all-powerful Being, whose Existence is too -nearly related to a self-evident Truth to be more clearly demonstrated, than -it is manifest of itself, both from the particular Laws of Nature, and the general -Order of Things. An Argument which has been thought of no small -Force, and well worth observing in the Infancy of <i>Christianity</i>. <i>The invisible -Things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the Things that -are made, even his eternal Power and Godhead.</i> Rom. i. 20.</p> - -<p>But 'tis now high time to look back upon my Theory, and tell you -it is a vain Supposition, to imagine I shall ever be able to convince every -Reader, either of the Truth or Probability of what I have advanced to -you: Mathematical Assistance not being to be expected, where perhaps -it has never been thought of; and I allow you, it is much more reasonable -to expect, that fifty Persons will read these Letters without perceiving -the Reasonableness of them, than that five should consider them -with proper Judgment.</p> - -<p>I must ingenuously confess to you, that nothing is wanting to convince -me intirely of the Certainty of what I here advance by way of Conjecture -to you. But this you must only look upon as an happy Partiality, -which generally attends all Authors, and always will be the chief Support -of their tedious Labours. I assure you, I have neither Hopes nor Expectation, -no, not the weak Breath of a Wish, to be admitted a proper -Judge of my own Works. But I shall always take their Imperfection to be -rather, (like my own Faults) to be too near me to be seen; I therefore -trust all to my Friend, and if I am so fortunate as to excite his Approbation, -I shall think myself very happy in a very favourite Point; which is, -The advancing nothing which a rational Reader would willingly overlook, -or be ignorant of.</p> - -<p>But if I have been so happy as to come so near the Mark, as to border -upon Truth, I believe you will allow me to carry my Conjectures a little -further, and point out some farther pleasing Consequences, which I begin -to perceive may naturally follow.</p> - -<p>Should it be granted, that the Creation may be circular or orbicular, -I would next suppose, in the general Center of the whole an intelligent -Principle, from whence proceeds that mystick and paternal Power, productive -of all Life, Light, and the Infinity of Things.</p> - -<p>Here the to-all extending Eye of Providence, within the Sphere of its -Activity, and as omnipresently presiding, seated in the Center of Infinity, -I would imagine views all the Objects of his Power at once, and every -Thing immediately direct, dispensing instantaneously its enlivening Influence, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">- 79 -</span> -to the remotest Regions every where all round. I know you'll say Astronomers -are never to be satisfied, and I must own where there is so much -rational Entertainment for the human Mind, and so suitable to the -true Dignity of God, and most worthy of Man, it is not easy to -know where to stop in such a Scene of Wonders.</p> - -<p>Having, I say, once granted that all the Stars may move round one -common Center, I think it is very natural to one, who loves to pursue -Nature as far as we may, to enquire what most likely may be in that -Center; for since we must allow it to be far superior to any other Point -of Situation in the known Universe, it is highly probable, there may be -some one Body of siderial or earthy Substance seated there, where the divine -Presence, or some corporeal Agent, full of all Virtues and Perfections, -more immediately presides over his own Creation. And here this primary -Agent of the omnipotent and eternal Being, may sit enthroned, as -in the <i>Primum Mobile</i> of Nature, acting in Concert with the eternal -Will. To this common Center of Gravitation, which may be supposed -to attract all Vertues, and repel all Vice, all Beings as to Perfection -may tend; and from hence all Bodies first derive their Spring of Action, -and are directed in their various Motions.</p> - -<p>Thus in the <i>Focus</i>, or Center of Creation, I would willingly introduce -a primitive Fountain, perpetually overflowing with divine Grace, from -whence all the Laws of Nature have their Origin, and this I think would -reduce the whole Universe into regular Order and just Harmony, and -at the same time, inlarge our Ideas of the divine Indulgence, open our -Prospect into Nature's fair Vineyard, the vast Field of all our future -Inheritance.</p> - -<p>But what this central Body really is, I shall not here presume to say, -yet I can't help observing it must of Necessity, if the Creation is real and -not merely Ideal, be either a Globe of Fire superior to the Sun, or -otherwise a vast terraqueous or terrestrial Sphere, surrounded with an -Æther like our Earth, but more refined, transparent and serene. Which -of these is most probable, I shall leave undetermined, and must acknowledge -at the same time, my Notions here are so imperfect, I hardly dare -conjecture. 'Tis true, I have ventur'd to think it may be one of these, -and since so glorious a Situation can hardly be supposed without its proper -Inhabitants, 'tis most natural to conclude it may be the latter. In -the first Case, besides our having no Idea of Beings existing in Fire, it -would not, notwithstanding its Distance, be so easy to account for its being -invisible; and since the Lustre of the Stars are all innate, they could -receive no Benefit from it, and consequently such a Nature as a solar Composition, -must in this Place be render'd useless; but in the latter Supposition -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">- 80 -</span> -of its being a dark Body, we have no Difficulty attending us, -having several Instances of like Bodies, moving round an opaque one. -Now when we consider, that all those radient Globes, which adorn the -Skies, those bright ætherial Sparks of elemental Fire, thick strewed like -Seeds of Light all round our Hemisphere, are each to us the Embrio -of a glorious Sun; how awful and stupendious must that Region be, -where all their Beams unite and make one inconceivable eternal Day?</p> - -<p>Though the Deity, says a learned Writer "be essentially present thro' -all the Immensity of Space, there is one Part of it in which he discovers -himself in a most transcendent and visible Glory. This is that Place -which is mark'd out in Scripture, under the different Appellations -of <span class="smcap">Paradice</span>; <i>the third Heaven</i>; <i>the Throne of</i> <span class="smcap">God</span>, <i>and the Habitation -of his Glory</i>."</p> - -<p>This continues the same Author, is "that Presence of God, which -some of the Divines call his glorious, and others his majestick Presence."</p> - -<p>It is here, and here only, as in the Center of his infinite Creations, -where he resides in a sensible Magnificence, and in the midst of those -Splendors, which can Effect the Imagination of his Creatures; and though -the most sacred and supreme Divinity be allowed as essentially present in -all other Places as well as in this, as being a <span class="smcap">Being</span> whose Center is every -where, and Circumference no where; yet it is here only, or in such -Sensorium of his Unity, where he manifests his corporeal Agency, -as in the Foci of his infinite Empire over all created Beings. It is to -this majestick Presence of <span class="smcap">God</span>, we may apply those beautiful Expressions -of Scripture, "<i>Behold even to the Moon and it shineth not; yea the Stars -are not pure in his Sight</i>."</p> - -<p>"The Light of the Sun, and all the Glories of the World, on which -we live, are but as weak and sickly Glimmerings, or rather Darkness -it self, in Comparison of those Splendors, which encompass this -Throne of <span class="smcap">God</span>."</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Here Heav'ns wide Realms an endless Scene displays,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And Floods of Glory thro' its Portals blaze;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Sun himself lost in superior Light,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">No more renews the Day, or drives away the Night:<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Moon, the Stars, and Planets disappear,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">And Nature fix't makes one eternal Year.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>Here and here alone center'd in the Realms of inexpressible Glory, we -justly may imagine that primogenial Globe or Sphere of all Perfections, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">- 81 -</span> -subject to the Extreams of neither Cold nor Heat, of eternal Temperance -and Duration. Here we may not irrationally suppose the Vertues of the -meritorious are at last rewarded and received into the full Possession of -every Happiness, and to perfect Joy. The final and immortal State ordain'd -for such human Beings, as have passed this Vortex of Probation thro' all -the Degrees of human Nature with the supream Applause.</p> - -<p>What vast room is here, for infinite Power and Wisdom to act in, and -that so visibly takes Delight to bless all his Beings with his Bounty. And -endless as his Prescience, Attributes, and Goodness, are undoubtedly all -those natural and apparent Joys with which he manifests his Love to all -his Creatures, a Multiplicity of Objects not to be enumerated. For wheresoever -we turn our Eyes, and follow with our Reason, we may meet with -Worlds of all Formations, suited no doubt to all Natures, Tastes, and -Tempers, and every Class of Beings.</p> - -<p>Here a Groupe of Worlds, all Vallies, Lakes, and Rivers, adorn'd with -Mountains, Woods, and Lawns, Cascades and natural Fountains; there Worlds -all fertile Islands, cover'd with Woods, perhaps upon a common Sea, -and fill'd with Grottoes and romantick Caves. This Way, Worlds all -Earth, with vast extensive Lawns and Vistoes, bounded with perpetual -Greens, and interspersed with Groves and Wildernesses, full of all Varieties -of Fruits and Flowers. That World subsisting perhaps by soft Rains, this -by daily Dews, and Vapours; and a third by a central, subtle Moisture, -arising like an Effluvia, through the Pores and Veins of the Earth, and -exhaling or absorbing as the Season varies to answer Nature's Calls. -Round some perhaps, so dense an Atmosphere, that the Inhabitants may -fly from Place to Place, or be drawn through the Air in winged Chariots, -and even sleep upon the Waves with Safety; round others possibly, -so thin a fluid, that the Arts of Navigation may be totally unknown to it, -and look'd upon as impracticable and absurd, as Chariot flying may be -here with us; and some where not improbably, superior Beings to the human, -may reside, and Man may be of a very inferior Class; the second, -third, or fourth perhaps, and scarce allow'd to be a rational Creature. -Worlds, with various Moons we know of already; Worlds, with Stars -and Comets only, we equally can prove is very probable; and that there -may be Worlds with various Suns, is not impossible. And hence it is -obvious, that there may not be a Scene of Joy, which Poetry can paint, -or Religion promise; but somewhere in the Universe it is prepared for -the meritorious Part of Mankind. Thus all Infinity is full of States of -Bliss; Angelic Choirs, Regions of Heroes, and Realms of Demi-Gods; -Elysian Fields, Pindaric Shades, and Myriads of inchanting Mansions, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">- 82 -</span> -not to be conceived either by Philosophy or Fancy, assisted by the strongest -Genius and warmest Imagination.</p> - -<p>All harmoniously crowded and provided with every Object of Beatitude, -that Friendship, Love, or Society can inspire, the Muses or the -Graces Frame; and all as permanent and perfect, that is destin'd to a -Duration, suited to the Nature of their Existence and Degree of Cognisance; -for as a very learned Writer observes upon this same Subject:</p> - -<p>"How can we tell, but that there may be above us Beings of greater -Powers, and more perfect Intellects, and capable of mighty Things, -which yet may have corporeal Vehicles as we have, but <i>finer</i> and -<i>invisible</i>? Nay, who knows, but that there may be even of these -many <i>Orders</i>, rising in Dignity of Nature, and Amplitude of Power, -one above another? It is no Way below the Philosophy of these Times, -which seems to delight in inlarging the Capacities of Matter, to assert -the Possibility of this."</p> - -<p>From these amazing Ideas of Space in general, and from the particular -Distance of the Stars, which separates as it were, one System of -Bodies from another, and by so prodigious an extent, as scarce to be -suppos'd a temporal Task. I think it naturally follows, had we no other -Way to prove it, or any other Reason to believe it, that the Soul must of -Necessity be immaterial; for as this Space seems so impassible to Matter, -as not to be undertaken and performed without the Loss of Ages, in a -State only of Transmigration, we may well imagine, that Change of -Place is not effected this Way, but by some other Virtue or Property, -more immediate, if not instantaneous.</p> - -<p>I own next to <i>Annihilation</i> is the State of Oblivion, and this Way we -may solve all Difficulties with regard to our being sensible of such a Loss -of Existence; but if we allow the Soul to be immaterial, it no longer -has any thing to do with Space, but as operating by Reflection only, or -the Faculty of Thinking; it may be like the Imagination where it pleases -in a Moment.</p> - -<p>Objects of the Mind abstracted from the Senses of the Body, has no -real or comparative Magnitude; that is, I would say, an Inch, a Foot, -a Yard, a Mile, or a Million of Miles are all equally indefinite, and is -thus prov'd; every finite Line is formed of an infinite Number of Points, -and no finite Line can be solv'd into more. Thus if you will allow me -the Expression, the Mind being magnified as all Objects are diminished, -what seems impracticable in the natural State of Things, in an Ideal one, -becomes very possible; that is, to make myself more intelligible, though -we can hardly conceive, how any Being can pass from <i>Syrius</i> to the Sun, by -natural Laws in their proper State, yet if proportionally reduced by a -new Modification of Ideas, to the Bigness of a Ball 6 Feet Diameter, -and to be only 680 Miles asunder; the Thing is very comprehensive -and easy.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxxi" style="width: 497px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXXI.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxxi.png" width="497" height="791" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" id="plate_xxxii" style="width: 507px;"> - <div class="figcaption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> XXXII.</div> - <img src="images/plate_xxxii.png" width="507" height="797" alt=""> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">- 83 -</span></p> - -<p>Hence Vision, Light, and Electrical Virtue, seem to be propagated -with such Velocity, that nothing but God can possible be the Vehicle; -and hence we may justly say with St. <i>Paul</i>, <i>Acts</i> xvii, 28. <i>In him we -live, in him we move, in him we have our Being.</i></p> - -<p>It will further appear, from the foregoing Letters, that all the Stars -and planetary Bodies within the finite View, are altogether but a very -minute Part of the whole rational Creation; I mean that vast collective -Body of habitable Beings, which I have endeavoured to demonstrate, are -all govern'd by the same Laws, though variously revolving round one -common Center, in which Center we may not impertinently venture -to suppose the prime Agent of our Natures; or otherwise, the most -perfect of all created Beings, illimitable in his Ideas and Faculties of -Sensation particularly preside.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">But tho' past all diffus'd, without a Shore<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">His Essence; <i>local</i> is his Throne, (as meet)<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">To gather the disperst, (as Standards call<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">The listed from afar) to fix a Point;<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">A central Point, collective of his Suns,<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Since finite ev'ry Nature, but his own.<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -Dr. <i>Young</i>.<br> -</span> - -<p>And farther since without any Impiety; since as the Creation is, so is -the Creator also magnified, we may conclude in Consequence of an Infinity, -and an infinite all-active Power; that as the visible Creation is -supposed to be full of siderial Systems and planetary Worlds, so on, in like -similar Manner, the endless Immensity is an unlimited Plenum of Creations -not unlike the known Universe. See <i>Plate</i> XXXI. which you may if you -please, call a partial View of Immensity, or without much Impropriety -perhaps, a finite View of Infinity, and all these together, probably diversified; -as at A, B and C. in <i>Plate</i> XXXII. which represents their Sections, -if all may be a proper Term for an infinite or indefinite Number, we may -justly imagine to be the Object of that incomprehensible Being, which -alone and in himself comprehends and constitutes supreme Perfection.</p> - -<p>That this in all Probability may be the real Case, is in some Degree -made evident by the many cloudy Spots, just perceivable by us, as far -without our starry Regions, in which tho' visibly luminous Spaces, no one -Star or particular constituent Body can possibly be distinguished; those in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">- 84 -</span> -all likelihood may be external Creation, bordering upon the known one, -too remote for even our Telescopes to reach.</p> - -<p>With the raptur'd Poet may we not justly say</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">O, what a Root! O what a Branch is here!<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">O what a Father! what a Family!<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Worlds! Systems! and Creations!<br></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>And in Consequence of this</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">In an Eternity, what Scenes shall strike?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">Adventures thicken? Novelties surprize?<br></div> - <div class="verse indent0">What Webs of Wonder shall unravel there?<br></div> - </div> -</div> - -<span style="margin-left: 20em;"> -<i>Night Thoughts.</i><br> -</span> -</div> - - -<p>So many varied Seats where every Element may have its proper Beings -and all adapted to partake of every thing suited to their Natures, argue -such Maturity of Wisdom, and the vast Production such mysterious -Power; 'tis hardly possible for Mortals not to see divine Intelligence -preside, and that every Being somewhere must be happy.</p> - -<p>A Universe so well designed, and fill'd with such an endless Structure -of material Beings, and all the Result of Prescience and infinite reflected -Reason, flowing from a Mind all perfect, full of all Ideas, could never -be designed in vain; and tho' our narrow Bounds of Reason limited, -by finite Senses, cannot directly see the Consequence dependant on a Sequel, -yet from what we do see, great Room we have to hope the next Stage of -Existence will be more lasting and more perfect; and it is highly probable, -the noblest Suggestion of the most luxuriant Fancy may fall infinitely -short of what we are designed for.</p> - -<p>But here, even in this World, are Joys which our Ideas of Heaven can -scarce exceed, and if Imperfection appear thus lovely, what must Perfection -be, and what may we not expect and hope for, by a meritorious Acquiescence -in Providence, under the Direction, Indulgence, and Protection -of infinite Wisdom and Goodness, who manifestly designs perfect Felicity, -as the Reward of Virtue in all his Creatures, and will at proper Periods -answer all our Wishes in some predestined World.</p> - -<p>All this the vast apparent Provision in the starry Mansions, seem to promise: -What ought we then not to do, to preserve our natural Birthright to -it and to merit such Inheritance, which alas we think created all to gratify -alone, a Race of vain-glorious gigantick Beings, while they are confined -to this World, chained like so many Atoms to a Grain of Sand.</p> - -<p class="tdc"> -<i>I am</i>, &c.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="caption3">Transcriber Note</p> - -<p>Spelling conventions used in the book were retained. On <a href="#Page_5">page 5</a>, there is an unattached footnote. -As it refers to The Pendulum Clock and Huygens wrote a book whose -title includes these words, the assumption was made that the footnote -belongs after his name. On <a href="#Page_30">page 30</a>, the missing anchor for the footnote -about Parallax was placed before the term in paragraph three. The same -situation occurs on <a href="#Page_54">page 54</a> where a footnote about Motion had no -anchor and was linked to the term in the last paragraph. On <a href="#Page_72">page 72</a>, -there is a measurement "11 Feet ¾" to which "Inches" was added.</p> - - -<p><a href="#plate_xxiii">Plate XXIII</a> was mislabeled as Plate XXI. 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