Fixed Stars are above a thousand times bigger than it Now is it not more likely that the Earth moves than that these vast Bodies move from Place to Place I answer No the thing is not at all likely for the vaster these Bodies are the more easy is their Motion This is plain because where there are the more parts in Motion there the impulse is stronger and more vehement And where there is this Vehemency the Motion must needs be facile it being put on with so much Strength and Vigour especially if we remember that God impress'd this Motion at the very first and so it is natural and consequently is easy This I think sufficiently proves that they who argue from the Bigness of the Sun and other Heavenly Bodies to the Stability and Rest of them have no ground in Reason and Philosophy No they talk after a popular manner and because they see that Bulky Persons do not stir about with that nimbleness which is observ'd in others of a lesser Size they think it is so with the Sun and Stars or that they are idle and lazy and loth to bestir themselves Or it may be they proceed on that Vulgar Maxim viz. That great Bodies move slowly And because that those of the Heavens are very great they will not suffer them to move at all forgetting in the mean time that it is their very Nature to move and that their Make and Constitution prompt them to it Secondly The Copernican Opinion seems to confront a higher Principle than that of Reason If we will speak like Men of Religion and such as own the Bible we must acknowledg that their Assertion is against the plain History of the Holy Book for there we read that the Sun stood still in Ioshua's time and went back in King Hezekiah's Now this Relation is either true or false it must be one of them If it be the latter then the Inspired Scripture is false which I take to be as great an Absurdity as any Man can be reduced to If it be the former i. e. if the Relation be really true then the Sun hath a Diurnal Motion about the Earth for the Sun 's standing still could not be a strange and wonderful thing as it is here represented unless its general course was to move This any Man of Sense will grant And so likewise the Sun 's going back doth necessarily imply that it went forward before And if it did so surely it moved This I think no Man can deny and consequently it is evident that the Sun hath a Progressive Motion and goes from one part of the Heavens to the other If it be said as it is suggested by some that the Sun only seemed to stand or to go backward then farewell all Miracles for they may be only seeming Ones according to this Answer Which is as much as to say There are no such things in Truth and Reality If it be said as I know it is that this manner of speaking is only in compliance with the Speech and Notion of the Vulgar I grant indeed that the Scripture speaks so very often as I have elsewhere shew'd from several Instances both in the Old and New Testament yea even when it makes mention of some of the Heavenly Bodies the Expressions are according to the Capacity and common Apprehension of Men and not according to the Accuracy of the Thing So that I do not think that a Body of Natural Philosophy or a System of Astronomy is to be composed out of the Bible this being design'd for a far greater and higher Purpose Yet this I say that whenever the Scripture speaks after the foresaid manner concerning these things and several others it doth it in that manner that we may plainly see that the Words are not to be taken strictly and properly but only in a popular way as might be shew'd in abundant Instances But it is not so here for in the forenamed Places we have Matter of Fact plainly and directly set down we are told what Prodigious Things happen'd in those Days viz. that upon the Request of Ioshua the Sun stood still as well as the Moon stayed And that we might not think that this is spoken popularly and meerly according to the common Notion of Men the very same words are repeated and others are added to convince us that they must be meant in the plain and proper Sense of them So the Sun stood still yea in the midst of Heaven and hastned not to go down about a whole Day All this is said to let us know that it was a Reality and not an Appearance that what is here said is spoken properly and not in conformity to a receiv'd Opinion And if it should be said that the Hebrew word used in the former of these places is dum which signifies to be silent as well as to stand still any one that is not prejudiced may see that it is here of the latter Signification For in the next Verse gnamad stetit is the word and is apply'd to the Moon and immediately after to the Sun And the Seventy translate it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so in the other place it is in plain and intelligible Terms related that the Sun returned ten degrees by which degrees it was gone down Than which there can't be more perspicuous Terms to assure us that the Sun it self really moved backward Though vulgar Expressions are used at other times by the Sacred Writers which is readily acknowledged yet in such a Case as this when there is a plain Narration of what happened and when it is a Supernatural and Extraordinary Occurrence even a Miracle that is spoken of we cannot reasonably bring our selves to believe that they merely conform to the Apprehensions of others but we must needs be perswaded that they speak according to the Nature of the Things themselves The upshot then is this that the Sun moves round in a Diurnal Motion or else we must hold that the standing of it and its going back were no Miracles This to me is a very considerable Argument and I suppose will be thought so by those who reverence the Holy Scriptures and believe the Historical part of them to be true Thirdly Men do not frame right Notions concerning this lower World and the Nature of it whilst they defend the other Hypothesis For I find that they have a very mean Opinion of this Terrestrial Habitation such indeed as is both unworthy of God and of Themselves the chief Inhabitants of it For tho the Earth be a dull Sediment in respect of the Bodies of the Sun and Stars and though it be a shrivel'd Point in comparison of those vast Globes yet this is to be remembr'd that i◠far surpasses all those Celestial Regions and whatever is in them because it is made the Seat of Man of whom God hath so great a Care and to whom he bears so ineffable a Love What are the Heavens in
Day runs about the Earth Though I know according to some late Philosophers this Globe of the Earth is daily moved about its own Axis as well as yearly through the Zodiack These Men have taken pity of this part of the World which was thrust into the Center of it and have set it up higher And the Sun as if it were some malicious Spy and Betrayer of Secrets is detruded by them into the lowest part of the World the Earth's former place And accordingly they tell us that the Earth turning round its own Axis in 24 Hours from West to East makes Day and Night Day in that part which being turn'd toward the Sun it receives the Rays thereof Night in that part which is turn'd from the Sun And the Earth besides this Diurnal Motion hath an Annual one they say that is in 12 Months time it goes round about the Sun and hereby it is that the Sun seems to be joined with or opposed to such and such Stars But though I dislike no modest and sober Assertions of Philosophick Heads and I reject no Hypothesis merely because it is New though I must needs say that Pythagoras and one or two more of the Antient Philosophers speak as if they had believ'd such a thing yet I find little reason to embrace this notwithstanding Copernicus hath so many Disciples of late yea though Iacob Behmen that this piece of Philosophy might be even Iure Divino tells us that he received the Doctrine of the Earth's turning round from the Spirit by Revelation I do not lay any stress as some I find have done on such Passages of Scripture as that in Psal. 104.5 He laid the Foundations of the Earth that it should not be moved for ever and other Places which have Expressions that denote the Stability and Fixedness of the Earth though I must needs say we ought to have regard to the very Phraseology of the Holy Writings There is no absolute proof from these Texts no more than there is on the other side for the Rotation of the Earth from such places of Scripture that mention the moving of the Earth or from the Etymology of the Hebrew word Eretz Terra which some derive from rutz currere To which might be opposed the Derivation of Vesta which is one of the Names of the Earth Stat vi Terra suâ vi stando Vesta vocatur The Earth which is the same with Vesta hath its Denomination from its standing Which by the way shews what was the Sentiment of the Antients concerning this matter they verily thought and believ'd that the Earth stands still But to pass this by I am induced to disbelieve the Circular Motion of the Earth after the rate that the Copernicans assert it for these following Reasons 1. This supposes the Sun and the other Heavenly Bodies to be without Motion or to have a very inconsiderable one For the grand Reason you must know why they assert the rolling about of the Earth is because they would free those vaster Bodies of the Sun and Stars from this troublesome Motion They would save them the labour of such long Journeyings and Postings It is more fitting and reasonable they say that this Terrestrial Spot should be in perpetual Agitation than that the huge and spacious Orbs of the Sun and Stars should wheel constantly about Yea some of them have founded it upon a Culinary Maxim viz. That the Meat which is to be roasted turns round with and upon the Spit its Axis before the Fire But we do not see that the Fire turns round about the Meat Just so the Earth turns it self round to the Sun to roast it self and who would expect any other thing They are the very Words of a great Astronomer This is their Kitchin-Astronomy and they talk more like Cooks than Philosophers If we would speak like these latter we must confess that this Rest which they suppose of those great Firy Bodies is against the very Nature of them which is Active and Stirring and tends to a Circumgyration Therefore it is an Unphilosophical Thought to imagine that the vast Bodies of the Heavens stand still seeing their very Nature is to be in continual Motion The Etherial part and especially the Globes of Light are made for Agitation yea their Essence consists in it for Fire is nothing else but fine and subtile Matter in motion Wherefore if we conceive aright of Things we shall apprehend it very reasonable to believe that the Celestial Bodies are in perpetual Motion and that they move not only about their Center but sally out into a Progressive Motion and constantly remove from one Place to another at least in respect of the other Bodies that are about them or are in other Spheres or Orbits For we do not now go upon the Notion which Des Cartes hath of Local Motion according to whom the Earth doth not properly move but only its Vortex in which it swims whilst the Earth it self is all the time in perfect rest because it changes not its Place but continues in the same Space it was in at first But we deal not now with the Cartesians but the Copernicans who hold that the Heavens properly speaking stir not out of their Place but may be said to stand still or however in comparison of the Body of the Earth they may be said to have but an inconsiderable Motion For this is one Argument which is used by them for their Opinion viz. That it is not likely that such huge vast Bodies as these and so many of them should be set a moving whenas the Earth is of a small Bulk in respect of them and might soon be turned about and besides it is but one single Body This hath been the constant reasoning if I may so call it of those that adhere to the Copernican System Galilaeus argues after this manner in his System of the World and so Kepler infers the Motion of the Earth from its Smallness and the Greatness of the Heavenly Bodies Another great Mathematician uses this Comparison The Earth is more easily moved saith he than the Celestial Luminaries as a Mother with more ease can take her Children and set them at the Fire to warm them than she can remove the Fire to them Thus they all along fancy that it is a very troublesome thing for these huge Globes to remove from place to place They conceit that the greatness of these Bodies makes them uncapable of moving with ease But this is Unphilosophical and therefore we may justly look upon the Argument drawn from it as so too What Man of unprejudiced Thoughts can perswade himself that Varenius who sums up in brief the Sense of all the Copernicans discourses closely when he saith It will appear that the Earth moves about its Axis if we consider the vast Magnitude of the Stars in respect of the Earth The Sun is above two hundred times bigger than the Earth and the
comparing the Almighty to Nebuchadnezzar upon whom all Things must wait to whom all Things must be subservient I delight not in quoting such Passages as these but there is a kind of necessity of doing so that Mens Minds may not be corrupted and debauch'd by such ill Language which I hope may be in part prevented by my cautioning against it And here by the way seeing I now have and shall frequently afterwards have occasion to mention some Opinions of this Ingenious Gentleman and to argue against them I do here once for all declare that nothing of this Nature is done by me from a Principle of Contradiction or a delight to oppose this or any other Author's Assertions No I most solemnly profess and acknowledg that I bear a due regard to the Wit and Invention of his Hypotheses which are very diverting and entertaining But because I am verily perswaded that they are defective as to Truth I on that account offer a Refutation of them But I would not be thought to say any thing out of pique or so much as an Inclination to reflect with Contempt or Disgrace on any Man's Person or Undertakings and particularly those of the Ingenious and Learned Theorist It is wholly from a just and deep sense of their opposition to that great Standard of Truth in this kind viz. Moses's Writings that I appear against them And I think it is a good and justifiable Employment to assert and defend the Mosaick Verity and whilst I am about this Work I reckon I am in an Honourable Post. That the World is made for Man is no such daring Proposition as some pretend it is The Heavens above him and the Earth beneath him are for his Sake Even those former the Heavenly Bodies are made for him or else you can never make Sense of the Psalmist's Words Psal. 8.3 4. When I consider thy Heavens the Work of thy Fingers the Moon and Stars which thou hast ordained then I say What is Man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of Man that thou visitest him Whence it is evident that these glorious Creatures so bright so beautiful so remarkable were created and provided for the use and benefit of Man and that God sheweth how mindful he is of him and how he delights to visit him i. e. to discover an extraordinary Kindness to him above all other Creatures by providing the World and all Things in it for him It is true the Heavens are made for the Angels as well as Man but yet we know that even these excellent Beings though they be of higher Nature that he are Ministring Spirits and employed for the good of Mankind especially of the choicest part of them the Heirs of Salvation So that not only the Heavens but the Inhabitants thereof are for Man's sake But it is enough for my present purpose that the Sublunary World and the Heavens of which we are to treat serve Man and were made for him This the Stoicks were great assertors of and particularly Tully who was a Friend to that grave Sect defends it Man is as it were the Center of the World in respect of Final Causes saith a profound Philosopher of our own And though this be denied by Des Cartes and some of late who would pretend to imitate him in that as well as in some other Things yet till there be assigned better Arguments for their Opinion than we hitherto find we have reason to hold fast our Proposition that the World was made for the Sake of Man Even Inanimate Creatures are accommodated to his use and service and the whole Creation some way or other is for his Good Yet it is certain that they have no Knowledg or Foresight no Consultation or Deliberation and consequently can understand nothing of this End which they are made and continually act for Wherefore we must necessarily grant that there is an Omniscient Principle that acts them there is a wise and understanding Being that directs and governs them It must be ascribed to this and this alone that irrational and dumb Creatures yea such as have no sensitive Perception act so orderly and with a tendency to an End And this they do not seldom but constantly and perpetually We see and observe that there is an uninterrupted Course of the Sun and Moon and other Heavenly Bodies in order to our Welfare which could not possibly be procured without them And we see and are convinced that other Senseless Creatures are directed to an End and miss it not All Natural Agents of what kind soever have a regular and fixed Tendency to what is profitable for the Universe The short is any Man that is not wilfully blind may see that there is Design and Contrivance in the World's Creation and in all the Parts of it and that there is an End pursued even by those Beings which have no Sense or Reason Whence we cannot but conclude that seeing these are void of all Counsel and consequently do not act thus by any Counsel of their own therefore they do it by another's There is some Intelligent Agent and Principle there is some wise over-ruling Cause that directs and governs them and purposely produced them for such Ends and Uses Will not any understanding and considerate Man grant that this Director and Governour is God who as he is the Ruler so was the Author and Architect of the World It was he that first endued them with such a Nature and Instinct whereby they tend to their particular Good and End and also to the universal Good of the World Yea those things which are contrary to one another conspire in one common End We must be forced to give our Suffrage to what one of the Antients said There is God who hath commodiously framed and ordered all the Parts of the Universe for the advantage of the Whole As they have their Existence from him so they are actuated by him And it is utterly impossible to conceive that they can be able to act as they do i. e. for certain Ends and Purposes unless there were an higher Agent to direct them The End and Contrivance of things undeniably prove the Divinity and confute blind Chance and Fortune yea and Necessity too which latter is held by Spinosa and accordingly he asserts that God himself hath no certain End or Design in what he doth Thus whether you respect the Order and Beauty of the Creatures or the End and Design of them it is evident that they are Arguments of a Deity The whole Frame of Nature cries out that there is a God All the Creatures confess that they are not of themselves but from an Other In vain hath the French Philosopher attempted to prove that we may give an account of all the Phaenomena of the visible World from Matter and meer Mechanical Motion I say in vain was this Attempt made though I deny not that the Noble Author of it hath shewed a great deal
of Wit and Art in the Prosecution of it and hath said more than any other Man ever did or perhaps could in Defence of this Hypothesis But any Impartial Judg that hath perused what the Learned Dr. More hath offer'd against it will pronounce it to be a vain Enterprize and indeed utterly Unphilosophical He hath demonstrated that there is not any necessary Causality in Matter whereby such Effects are produced that there is no such immutable Law implanted in it no such original and independent Power but that it is derived wholly from a higher Principle By sundry Arguments he irrefragably baffles the Notion of solving all Things by Mechanick Principles but by no Topick more effectually than that which I have propounded viz. the wise Contrivances in the Works of Nature Mere Motion is no Designer no Contriver therefore it can't be the Cause of those Things which we daily see We must then rationally as well as necessarily infer an All-wise Being from the Operations of the Creatures for we see that they are directed to some End And as to what Des Cartes saith that the Ends of the creating of things are not known to us unless God be pleased to reveal them I refer the Reader to the Honourable Mr. Boyl who hath professedly writ against this Doctrine and hath with undeniable Demonstrations confounded it that is he hath most clearly and convincingly shew'd that the Ends and Designs of God in the Works of the Creation are manifestly known and in abundant Instances he shews that they are most obvious and apparent He denies not that in some of God's Works the Ends designed are somewhat obscure and seem to be beyond our reach but then it is as true that in most of them the Ends and Uses are manifest and the exquisite fitness of the Means is conspicuous And as he observes by this way of ordering and managing Things the most wise Author of them doth both gratify our Understandings and make us sensible at the same time of the Imperfection of them Indeed this must be said that Cartesius's Opinion viz. that the Consideration of Final Causes hath nothing to do in Philosophy is consistent enough with his own Principles for if all that we see in the Bodies of Animals and elsewhere in the World be merely Mechanical then there is no Contrivance no Art because he holds all to be the natural Result of Matter and consequently there is no End and which follows from that there is no Signature of Divine Wisdom in the framing of them But this Conceit of his of Mechanism hath been justly exploded by all the great Masters of Reason who have handled this Subject and the excellent Person before-named hath for ever silenc'd that Opinion if Convictive Arguments can silence it Therefore Des Cartes's denial of Final Causes falls to the Ground because it hath nothing to support it now since that Foundation is removed Mr. Boyl hath observed well not only like a Philosopher but a Christian that this French Wit by his throwing aside Final Causes hath thereby deprived his Disciples of the chief End of Natural Philosophy which is to set forth the Praises of God and to admire his Goodness and Wisdom in the Fabrick of the Universe But if we will truly Philosophize we must by no means shut out the Consideration of the Ends of the Creation but we must with great diligence and study enquire into them and acquaint our selves with them And then by seeing and observing the World we shall learn to know a God we shall be brought to acknowledg and adore an infinitely wise Author who appointed all things their Ends as well as gave them their Beginning And now having thus spoken in General I will descend to Particulars and consider the whole visible Structure and System of the World as to its several Parts Here we will contemplate 1. The Heavens 2. Those things which are observable between the Heavens and the Earth 3. The Earth 4. The Sea 5. The Inhabitants that belong to these several Regions Aerial Terrestrial Aquatile All these proclaim a God an Omnipotent Supream Being a Wise and Provident Governour CHAP. II. The Author proceeds to a Particular Proof of the Divine Existence and Providence from the Consideration of the Heavenly Bodies The unrivall'd Beauty of the Sun The Vniversal Vsefulness and Benefit of it It s vast Dimensions The trascendent Swiftness of its Motion It s Regular Course through the Heavens Where is largely discuss'd the Copernican Hypothesis concerning the Earth's Motion and is proved to be precarious because 1. It is grounded on this Vnphilosophical Notion that it is difficult and troublesome to the vast Heavenly Bodies to be continually journeying and posting and therefore the Copernicans would free them of this great Trouble by laying it upon the Earth which they fancy can bear it better 2. It confronts that Historical part of the Bible Jos. 10.13 Isa. 38.8 In such a plain Narration of Matter of Fact and that of a Miracle it is not to be supposed that Words are spoken any otherwise than according to the real Nature of the Thing and the Propriety of Speech 3. It proceeds upon an erroneous and mistaken Apprehension concerning the Nature of the Earth and the chief Inhabitant of it Man For both of them are far greater than the Heavens in real worth and value 4. We may as well imbrace the Doctrine of Transubstantiation which is an absolute Defiance to our Senses as this Opinion Objections and Evasions framed from Custom and the moving in a Ship answered 5. If the Trembling of the Earth may be felt as all grant then the violent Whirling of it about must needs be more sensible Objections against this answered Demonstrations which depend on the Eye-sight are fallible and have been questioned by the best Artists The Modishness of the Copernican Notion tempts most Men to follow it This is no Temptation to the Author who for the Reasons premised holds that the Heavens continually roll about the Earth from that effectual Impulse which they at first received from the Almighty Hand I Begin with the Heavens that immense Space where the Sun and Stars are placed that vast Expansum which contains the Great and Glorious Luminaries of the World for I speak not any thing of Angels the Blessed Inhabitants of this upper part of the Creation as afterwards when I shall treat of Man I shall say nothing of his Soul because I have design'd to discourse only of the visible World These Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work Psal. 19.1 they tell aloud who was their Author even the same who is the Infinite and Bountiful Source of all Things He framed this Molten Looking-Glass Job 37.18 this Solid and Bright Mirrour of his own Majesty that we might behold Him and his Perfections in it And yet He stretched out the Heavens like a Curtain Psal. 104.2 as a Vail to shrowd as it were
the amazing Excellency of the Divine Glory from Mortal Eyes although from thence he distributes all the Tokens of his Liberality and Kindness to us There is nothing more evident than that the Heavenly Bodies were made for the good of Mankind i. e. to influence on the Earth to shine to give Rain from the Clouds to yield Heat and Moisture c. Which is expressed by their hearing the Earth in that fore-mentioned Place Hos. 2.21 where God is likewise said to hear them for they do as it were by their natural Frame and Disposition desire of God to be beneficial to the Earth and the Inhabitants of it And he doth hear or as 't is in the Hebrew answer and fulfil the natural Inclinations of these Celestial Bodies which have a tendency to Man's Good and Advantage And that the End and Use of them is to be serviceable to Mankind is clear from the first Institution and Appointment of them God made two great Lights the greater Light to rule the Day the lesser Light to rule the Night He made the Stars also Gen. 1.16 viz. to rule the Night And what can we imagine this Government of Day and Night to be for but to serve the Necessities of Man Of these Celestial Bodies I will speak particularly and first of the Sun that great and vast Source of Light that glorious Eye of the World which penetrates into the darkest Recesses on Earth and lays them open and visible Though such is its Sovereign Majesty that it will let nothing be seen in the Heavens but It self it blots out all the Stars with its redundant and unrivall'd Lustre yea such is its radiant Glory that it will not suffer us to gaze upon it That which is the Cause of seeing all things will scarcely be look'd upon it self This is the Prince of the Heavenly Luminaries as Arnobius speaks by whom all Things are array'd and deck'd with the Robes of Light This is emphatically call'd the Light or the Fire for Vr signifies both because it not only illuminates but warms the World with its powerful Rays Unto the former Quality we are beholden for our Ability to see how to dispatch our Business and Work Our Bodily Eyes would be useless without this of the World for they would serve us to no purpose of Life And the whole Earth would be but one dark Dungeon And it is not only for Necessity but Pleasure that this Light is given us for to it we owe the several beautiful Colours which ravish our Sight for these are the various Modifications of its Light and Splendour From the latter Quality with which this glorious Body is endued the Earth receives all its Fecundity and Fruitfulness and all Animals their Vigour and Activity For the Sun is the grand Cherisher of all Things the Common Parent of Life the Foster-Father of the World Because of this transcendent Excellency the Pagans ascribed Divine Nature to it Yea others both Iews and Christians though they went not so high yet were of Opinion that the Sun is an Intelligent Being This was the Apprehension of Maimonides and of Manasseh ben Israel And Origen long before these held the same Which Extravagancy we can attribute to nothing but their very high Esteem which they had of this glorious and beneficial Gift of the Creator Next to its Beauty and Usefulness we might consider its stupendous Magnitude which calls for our Admiration and commands us at the same time to admire with a most profound reverence the Divine Immensity from whence it had its Original It is some thousand times greater than the Moon and a hundred and forty others say a hundred and sixty others say eightscore and odd times bigger than the Earth for the Opinions of Authors are different about the Dimensions not only of the Sun but of the Moon Stars and Earth their Computations varying because their Hypotheses of the Heavenly System and the Distances of these Bodies from one another are disagreeing but 't is acknowledged by all that the Body of the Sun is of a wonderfully vast Bigness they all agree that it is much above a hundred times larger than the whole Earth and they unanimously reject and explode Epicurus and that Philosopher of the Italian Sect who held the Sun is no bigger than it appears to us to be Again the admirable Motion and Course of this glorious Luminary require and deserve our Contemplation And here we shall plainly observe the Footsteps of an Extraordinary and Divine Power First the Constancy of its Motion is matter of Admiration Whence it was as Plato thought that the Heavenly Bodies and this more especially were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if their never-failing Course argued them to be Divine And it appears from Macrobius likewise that they had that Denomination from their incessant Running as if this were a stamp and impress of Divinity Secondly not only the Perpetuity of the Sun's Motion but the Swiftness of it is remarkable which is very elegantly express'd to us by the inspired Poet Psal. 19.5 He rejoiceth as a strong Man to run a Race he resembles some celebrated Athletick that is famous for his Nimbleness of Feet and always outruns those whom he strives with and wins the Prize from them This Celestial Racer as the skilfullest Mathematicians inform us runs 15 Degrees in an Hour and seeing a Degree in the Heavens is 15 German Miles i. e. 60 Italian or English ones we may infer that he measures about 1000 Miles in an Hour Though this Illustrious Body be of that huge Bulk and Magnitude which I before mentioned yet this is its marvellous Speed and Career Because of this great Celerity Wings are attributed to the Sun Mal. 4.2 but applied in a Spiritual manner to the Sun of Righteousness he flies rather than runs And in allusion to this is the Psalmist's Expression If I take the Wings of the Morning Psal. 139.9 i. e. if I make as much haste as the Sun doth when it sets out in the Morning and flies from the East to the West in a few Hours or if I hasten as fast as the Sun-beams do when at its rising they spread themselves over the Horizon The Rapid Motion of the Sun the swift and sudden passage of its Light are its Wings The like manner of Expression is used by Lycophron who speaking of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aurora attributes Pegasus's Wings to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It flew over a certain Promontory with the swift Wings of Pegasus And for this reason perhaps Pegasus is said by the Greeks to be the Son of Aurora But Thirdly The Regularity of the Sun's Motion is that which I shall chiefly insist upon and thence demonstrate that there is a higher Cause and Author that gave it this orderly Progress As it hath a Monthly Motion through a twelfth part of the Zodiack and passes through the whole every Year so it every
comparison of this Glorious Creature What is the Brightest Constellation in respect of the Organiz'd Fabrick of Humane Bodies What is the Sun if compar'd with the Rational Soul of Man God hath signally honoured and dignified the Earth with making it the Receptacle and Dwelling Place of this his most Beloved Favourite I say most Beloved for the Singularity of Divine Love was shew'd in restoring Mankind when the like Favour was denied to the Apostate Angels The very Glorified Saints above are but a Colony of this Earth transplanted hence to those Superior Habitations Yea the Angelical Spirits next to their attending on the Divine Majesty and enjoying his more immediate Presence were made to be Servants to this Darling of his Love He that considers this and whoever doth not reflects not on the Prerogative of his Nature must be forced to acknowledg that Man outshines all the World besides and is crowned with Glory and Honour above all other created Beings and that the Place of his Abode is a Palace a Paradise For it is made such by so Noble so Divine an Inhabitant dwelling there He therefore forms a wrong Notion of this Terrestrial World who doth not prize it for the sake of the choicest Creature in it and because of the peculiar Privileges and Honours conferr'd upon it The Earth was purposely made by God to be the Residence of Man who is the Glory of the Creation it was appointed to be the Scene of all Humane Actions to be the delightful Resort of Angels and Arch-Angels to be the happy Ground on which the Holy JESUS God and Man was to tread and to be the Stage whereon the Blessed Millennium shall be celebrated The Earth thus considered is not inferiour to the Sun Moon and Stars yea it far excels them And though it be much Lesser in Space and Quantity yet in these forenamed respects it is far Greater and Nobler than they Therefore those who prefer these to that in the Latitude wherein I have represented it esteem things by their Bulk and Magnitude and not by their real Worth Of this number was our Countreyman Gilbert else he would not have said It is ridiculous that the Heavens should move for our sake and for the sake of the Earth which is so small a Globe And yet observe the rashness of this Writer and of others who talk after this rate Man is less than the Earth that I suppose they will not deny why then is the Earth according to them moved about for his sake So they plainly confute themselves by this Argument from the Bulk of the Bodies Therefore let this be never mentioned again When we behold a King incircled with his whole Court and attended on by Officers and Guards and a numerous Retinue we can't but acknowledg that all these take up a great deal more room and make a greater shew than He doth Yet they were all of them design'd but to be his Attendants and to be serviceable to him i. e. to his Royal Person and Government Just so it is here Man is the King and Monarch of this Inferiour World God hath made him to have Dominion over the Works of his Hands He hath put all Things under his Feet All Sheep and Oxen yea and the Beast of the Field The Fowl of the Air and the Fish of the Sea and whatsoever passeth through the Paths of the Seas Thus God hath placed him here to Rule and Govern and all the spacious Heavens round about him are but his Attendants and Ministers they are the Train of this Great Prince whom God out of his Immense Bounty and Philanthropy hath made so in this Terrestrial World And this Beloved of God this Minion of Heaven is fitly seated in the middle of the whole World in the Heart of the Universe and is environ'd with Stars and enclosed and protected with a shining and flaming Guard The Glorious Furniture of the Heavens is for his Service as well as State and Royalty Those vast Luminaries shine those lofty Flambeaus burn to give him light Those Globes of Fire are to warm and chear him and they all keep their constant Rounds for that very purpose It is true they are larger and more splendid than Man or whatever we see on the Earth yea than the Earth it self But yet it is certain that they were all made for the use of this Lower Region and Center of the World they were design'd by God to be serviceable yea tributary to it and therefore they continually move and act and are restless in their Service whilst the Earth stands unmoveable to receive their Influence and whilst Man sits still and is waited upon by them I know it will be said that the Earth is of the same Make and Constitution with the Moon and the other Planets because they are Opake Bodies as this is and therefore this must be reckoned as one of them and consequently deserves not that Character which I have given it But the Answer is easy namely that though we allow the Earth to have Affinity with the Planets in respect of its Opacity yet it follows not thence that they are equal to it in other regards If they could prove that Mercury and Venus or the Moon it self are inhabited by Mankind then indeed they might have something to alledg to the purpose but this they are never able to do and those who have attempted it have been laught at for their pains The Voyage to the World in the Moon was a wild Conceit and it is a sign the Moon had an influence on the Author There is but one Stock of Mankind and there is but one Earth that receives them and is the Place of their Abode This Dark Spot then if you will so call it is a Peculiar it is not to be likened to any other part of the Universe for it is the Only Habitation of the Sons of Men who were so entirely beloved of God that he himself became Man Nay it surpasses all the Planets in other respects for they are not stock'd with Vegetables of all sorts they are not enrich'd with Metals and Minerals they abound not with Animals of various kinds There are no such Things there as these which I have named and he that saith the contrary let him prove it There is therefore a great mistake in the foresaid Allegation or Objection for though our Earth may be said to be another Moon if we speak of it as a dark and a solid Body yet there is no Likeness or Equality between them if we consider the particular Honour done by the Almighty to this part of the World above all others besides in making it the Treasury of those things which I last mentioned and also the Dwelling-place of those choice Creatures who have the happy Privilege of being loved and honoured by him above all other Beings in the World This is the Notion I have of this Matter and though I were not absolutely and infallibly
Difference between a Motion of a part of the Earth as in the usual Shakings of it and of the whole as in the present Case Yes I grant a Difference but it makes against them for the the moving of the whole Terrestrial Mass is a more sensible thing than the Motion of a part of it only Therefore if we feel this latter we may feel the former i. e. we may feel it if there be any such thing But it is evident there is no such thing because we have no Sense at all of it For this and other Reasons I take the Immobility of the Earth to be an unshaken Verity I hold it a consistent and rational System that the Earth is the Steady Center of the Material World and that the Sun and Fixed Stars with their innate Light and the Planets with their borrow'd one wheel about this Beloved Spot and as it were dance round the Lord and Owner of it who is the Glory of this Visible World and the Image of the Supream Deity To conclude having thus offered my Own Thoughts on this Controverted Point I commend the Reader to that Accomplished Mathematician and Astronomer Ricciolus who hath in his Almagestum Novum several Demonstrative Arguments against the Copernican Hypothesis which if they be well weigh'd will be found to have great Force in them However this must be said that there is no certain Proof there is no Demonstration of the Contrary For tho there is a Great and Celebrated Experimenter in Philosophy one whose profound Insight into all Mathematical Secrets is well known to the World and whose Integrity and Faithfulness in discovering what he hath found out are not to be question'd in the least though there is I say such an Excellent Person who hath offer'd something to demonstrate the Earth's Diurnal Circuit for he found that there was a sensible Parallax of the Earth's Orb among the Fixed Stars and particularly that Fixed Star which is in the Dragon's Head yet no Man knows better than himself that Demonstrations that depend upon Eye-sight are fallible and uncertain witness the Disputes that have been between the Learnedst Mathematicians about Parallaxes and several other matters which are to be judged by Sense And this Gentleman himself declares that he was not fully satisfied with the Observation which he made because by reason of inconvenient Weather and some other Causes he could not make it exactly Therefore with all Deference and Respect paid to this Learned Gentleman and other Great Philosophers of our own Nation I look upon the Motion of the Earth as an Ingenious Conjecture only And so some of the most Judicious Writers have granted it to be But since several Persons of Eminency have appear'd in its behalf and have espous'd it as a true Hypothesis it hath been taken up for a modish piece of Philosophy for there is a Mode in Philosophy as well as in Clothes or any thing else and it hâ—th been thought ridiculous by some not to conform to it He is not reckon'd a Virtuoso who makes not this one of the Articles of his Philosophick Creed I am verily perswaded that most become tame Proselytes to this Opinion merely in Compliment to some considerable Persons who vouch it This is one of the chiefest Reasons why the Copernican Notion is so prevalent The other Doctrine held by the Old Peripatetick Gentlemen and others heretofore is grown out of Fashion and therefore is rejected I speak not this as if I were against any Ingenious Discovery or Invention be it never so New as I have already declared or against any Philosophick Liberty justly so called but then I would have it bottomed on some good Foundation something that a Man can have some Notice of by Sense or some other plain way But such is not the Doctrine of the Earth's Circumrotation Therefore it is so far as I have hitherto discern'd a precarious and groundless Opinion and is the vain result of Copernicus's Gigantick Attempt to raise up the Earth into the place of the Heavens I will only add this one thing more That seeing Copernicus's System begins to be Vulgar and Common I thence expect its Declination for very few Opinions of this Nature are long-lived when they come to be generally received For the Great and Ambitious Wits disdain what is Common and much more that which is Old and accordingly will bethink themselves of some New System or perhaps will retrieve the Old One which will seem New and Fresh at first especially from those Colours which they may give it Thus the Opinions concerning the Earth go round when That stands still For my part I keep my Ground and presume to proceed upon the Antient Hypothesis Which yet is not altogether so neither for that Great Soul of Astronomy Tycho Brahe hath maintain'd it making the Earth the Moveless Center of the World About this moves the vast Machin of the Heavens being set into Motion by the Almighty Architect and Framer of them But especially the Motion of the Sun in so constant and regular a Course is to be taken notice of by us with Religious Admiration If its Revolution were stopt in any one part of Heaven that side of the Earth which is next to it would be scorch'd and burnt up and the opposite side would be all frozen and by that means the whole Earth become useless which may give us some account of the great Blessing which we enjoy by the Circular Progress of the Sun CHAP. III. The Oblique Course of the Sun being the cause of the Vicissitudes of Day and Night of Winter and Summer which are so beneficial to Mankind is an Argument of the Divine Care and Providence The Powerful Influence of the Moon evidences the same So do the Planetary Stars and Fixed Ones Which latter are eminent for their Magnitude Number Beauty and Order Regular Course Vse and Influence all which set forth the Wisdom and Goodness of the Beneficent Creator The Study of the Stars leads us to God Astronomy Vseful BUT more particularly and signally the Course of it in that Oblique Line which it mâ—kâ—s is most remarkable and is a Proof of a Wise Being who order'd it so at first for the Good of the World For I listen not here to what a Modern Author suggests that the Heavens before the Deluge in Noah's time had not the same Course they now have As if the Eruption of the Flood had reach'd to the Celestial Orbs and had wash'd the Sun Moon and Stars We read that God threatned to send a floud of Waters on the face of the Earth Gen. 6.7 13 17. but there is not a word of the Heavens being concern'd in the Inundation But this Learned Writer tells us that not only the Earth but the Heavens are not the same that they were at first but that they have another Form and State and particularly he saith that the Situation of the Earth in respect of the Heavens
is not what it was at the beginning The Earth was not saith he Oblique to the Sun or the Axis of the Ecliptick as it is now But this is mere surmise because it is apparent that the present Situation of these Bodies is most convenient and useful and would well become the Paradisiacal State For it is this and this only that causes an Inequality of Heat and Cold from which proceeds a Variety of Seasons Hence are Spring and Autumn when the Sun touches the Equinoctial and makes the Days and Nights of an equal length twice a Year Hence are Summer and Winter when the Sun visits the Tropicks and its Rays either fall perpendicularly upon the Inhabitants or when it is removed at the greatest distance from them This is the effect of the Oblique Posture of the Sun to the Earth whereby this latter is kept in good temper and made serviceable for the use of all Creatures that proceed from it or inhabit on it It is this Vicissitude of Seasons that makes the Earth pregnant and fruitful and gives Life and Increase to all Vegetables and Animals Whereas a continual Winter or Summer would be destructive to them If the Motion of the Sun were streight and direct through the Equator Heat and Cold would be disproportion'd they would be either too much or too little and consequently the generation and growth of all Fruits and of all living Creatures would be hindred and infinite Inconveniencies would follow Of which I shall have farther occasion to speak when I come to treat distinctly of the Earth Wherefore we are oblig'd to take notice of the singular Care and Providence of God in this present disposition and posture of the Heavens We have reason to applaud the Divine Wisdom in the Language of the Psalmist Thou hast made Summer and Winter Psal. 74.17 This is a plain and sensible Demonstration of a Divine Superintendency There were some of old who fancied that the Gods substracted their Influence in the cold part of the Year And particularly it was the Conceit of the Phrygians that God slept in Winter but awaked in Summer This was the effect of their gross Ignorance and Inconsideration for it is certain that to an Intelligent and Considerate Man it will appear that Winter hath its Conveniencies proper to it and those no less than what the Summer hath Both are requisite for the Good of Mankind because thence proceeds the Alternate Diversity of Seasons which is of so great use This excellent Order and Succession of Times which are distinguish'd by a constant Variety were alledged by the Antient Christians as an undeniable proof of a God And the Gentile World was forward to own and celebrate that Wise Benefactor Qui mare terras variisque mundum Temperat horis Now we cannot deny that these Different Seasons depend wholly upon that Position and Motion of the Sun which I have been speaking of If this Bright Luminary should leave the Ecliptick and make its Course in another Line without Obliquity these would presently cease and thereupon this Lower World would soon be in Disorder and Confusion Wherefore a Wise and Observing Writer thought he had reason to spend a Chapter in setting forth the Wisdom of God in the Site and Motion of the Sun The orderly Succession of Day and Night which is from the Diurnal Motion of this Lamp of Heaven doth no less argue the Divine Wisdom and Conduct Once in four and twenty Hours all People in the World excepting a few toward the Poles have a Day and a Night And this latter which is the Shadowing of the Earth when the Sun is gone from us is as useful and necessary as the former For as a Great Naturalist speaks were it not for Darkness and the Shadow of the Earth the Noblest part of the Creation had remained unseen and the Stars in Heaven as invisible as on the Fourth day when they were created above the Horizon with the Sun and when there was not an Eye to behold them Again Night is not only for Rest and Cessation of Labour which is absolutely requisite for Mankind and other Creatures except those wild Ones those Beasts of the Forest Psal. 104.20 who creep forth when it is dark and lay them down in their Dens when the Sun ariseth and so turn Night into Day and Day into Night but for the cooling and refreshing of the Air and moistning the Earth and for receiving the proper Influences of the Moon and other Planets and of the Fixed Stars which as they shew themselves so they exert their Vigour most strongly in the Absence of the Sun Wherefore the Royal Psalmist joins both these together as equal Instances of God's Power and Providence The Day is thine the Night also is thine Psal. 74.16 And to the same purpose again Psal. 65.8 Thou makest the outgoings of the Morning and Evening to rejoice i. e. both these do praise and celebrate the Honour of their Maker and do as 't were rejoice in it There is not certainly a more convincing Argument of the wise Direction of an Almighty Being than this Daily Progress of the Sun in so much that he is said to know his going down Psal. 104.19 i. e. by the guidance of an All-knowing Actor he sets and rises in that place and at that time where and when we see he doth By the same Superintendency its Monthly and Annual Motion is performed By this it takes up its several Mansions and Lodgings as it were in the Signs through which it passes By this it compleats its Course through its several Stages in its Circuit about the World Which is thus expressed by the Psalmist His going forth is from the end of the Heaven and his circuit to the ends of it Psal. 19.6 He travels just so many Degrees toward the North and as many toward the South every Year and is bounded on both sides by the Tropicks beyond which he never stirs Therefore from this tekuphah which we render Circuit this stinted Revolution the Iewish Masters call the Tropicks Tekuphoth Who is there that doth not find himself as 't were forced to believe a God when he considers these things which cannot possibly be without an Intellectual Guide without a Principle that acts from Wisdom and Counsel Yea after all if the Copernican Hypothesis should be true i. e. if the Earth rolls about on its Center and so turns it self to the Sun in its various Positions yet still there are the same Effects of this that there were of the other Revolution the Good and Benefit of Mankind are promoted and the Power and Goodness of the Great Benefactor are declared Secondly The Moon though it be the lowest of all the Planets and about 40 times less than the Earth yet it is a Faithful Witness in Heaven of those foresaid Perfections of the Deity It is but an Opake Body it is but the Sun Reflex'd it is no other than a
Celestial Earth or an Earthly Star as some Philosophers of old stiled it Though this is to be said that it is not properly an Earth i. e. it seems not to be a Body wholly Dark as is evident in the Eclipses which it is incident to for then we may discern its whole Body Therefore it is not altogether destitute of Light it hath an intrinsick Glimmering of its own But because this is very faint the Lunar Body may be reckon'd as Opake But notwithstanding this which the more signally advances the wondrous Power of the Creator it hath a mighty Influence on this Inferiour World and all things in it So that we could no more be without this than without the Sun And this powerful Influx which is of such use yea of absolute necessity to us is increas'd or diminish'd either of which are requisite accordingly as there is occasion by its Different Postures and Figures in which it appears to us For in its going round our Earth by Copernicus's leave it turns it self variously to the Sun whence it is necessary that according to its various access to or recess from that Luminary more or less of its enlightned half be turn'd toward us and that it appear in divers Phases and Shapes by which means its Virtue is communicated in a manner proportionable to our several needs Especially when this Lunar Body is in the Full i. e. when all that part which is toward us is replenish'd with Light all Plants and Animals the Air the Earth and the whole Ocean which is observ'd to swell at that Season feel its Power and Vigour Whence as you read of the precious Fruits brought forth by the Sun so also of the precious Things put forth by the Moon Deut. 33.14 Some of the choicest and most valuable Products of Nature are from the particular Influence of this Second-Hand Sun which most officiously supplies the place of the Other and makes some amends for his absence by being a Remedy as Pliny speaks against the Night's Darkness in several parts of the World And to that purpose it dispatcheth its Course through the Zodiack every Month without fail Thirdly The Stars both Planetary and Fixed attest a Divine Numen The former of these are distinguish'd from the latter by their particular Colour Motion Size and Distance from us Venus is clear and bright and goes through the Zodiack in a Year and is less than the Earth 6 times And yet is the biggest next to the Sun and Moon as to appearance Mars is of a Firy Hew it passes through the 12 Signs in the space of 2 Years and is less than the Earth 13 times Iupiter is fair and coruscant is bigger than the Earth 14 times and is many Years making its Passage through the Zodiack Mercury dispatcheth his Revolution in a Year and is 19 times lesser than the Earth and is the least Planet as to sight Saturn is of a pale Colour this slow-paced Planet is 30 Years performing its Course and is 22 times Larger than the Earth Some of these Planets as Venus and Mercury are Pages or Lackeys to the Sun and never go far off from it But the rest as Mars Iupiter and Saturn are not so tied to attendance on their Illustrious Master They can go farther off and ramble six Signs from the Sun and so be Opposite to it And as there are these Primary Planets so there have been Secondary ones discovered of late viz. four about Iupiter and two about Saturn which have their peculiar Motion about their Primary and Central Planets And both of them are situated and govern'd by Him that gave them their Nature But as to the Situation of these Planets with respect to the Earth and as to their Motion and Magnitude there is a great disagreement between the Ptolomaeans and the Copernicans And Tycho differs from both these and then comes Des Cartes and disagrees with them all Therefore what hath been said before as to any of these must be submitted to those that are able to judg of these Hypotheses Then as to the Fixed Stars which in the Inspired Book are justly call'd the Stars of God Isa. 14.13 because of their Greatness and Height for in the Sacred Stile God's Name is frequently used to express what is Great and Excellent And such are these Heavenly Bodies which are so many Suns at a distance from us for those Firy Globes are of the same Make with the Solar Body And if they were as near to us as this they would appear not inferiour in Bulk and Brightness to it These Vast Lights are so remote from us that Telescopes which magnify the Planets after a great rate make these seem no bigger to us or very inconsiderably And this is one cause of their Scintillation they are so far off that their Rays are much more refracted than those of the wandering Luminaries They quake and tremble because of the different Mediums they appear through Though this Twinkling may arise also from the greater Fulgor of these than that of the Planets which causeth a more vehement Vibration on the Eye The Least of these is far greater than the whole Earth and one of the Largest Size is a hundred times bigger And so this Globe of the Earth and its whole Vortex are inconsiderable and shrink into nothing if compared with those innumerable Orbs above us This stupendous Magnitude argues the Greatness yea the Immensity and Incomprehensibleness of their Maker And if it be ask'd Whence is that Fewel for those vast Fires which continually burn Whence is it that they are not spent and exhausted How are those Flames fed None can resolve these Questions but the Almighty Creator who bestowed upon them their Being who made them thus Great and Wonderful that in them we might read his Existence his Power his Providence Nor is their Number less admirable which exceeds our mean Arithmetick And therefore to tell the Stars is mention'd as an insuperable Task Gen. 15.5 God promis'd to make Abraham 's Seed as the Stars of Heaven Gen. 26.4 which if compared with Gen. 13.16 will be found to be of the same import with making his Seed as the Dust of the Earth which is innumerable It is true the Constellations a certain numer of Fixed Stars which are together and seem to make up several particular Figures or Representations are but sixty four viz. twelve in the Zodiack twenty nine in the Southern Hemisphere and twenty three in the Northern One But if we speak of the Fixed Lights which belong not to any Constellation they are not so easily reducible For though there are not above one thousand and four hundred of these visible to the Eye according to the largest Accounts given us by Astronomers who likewise tell us that our Northern Hemisphere is the most remarkable for them for as there is more Earth in this part of the World than in the other so there are more Stars yet it is granted by
we might abate the Pythagorical Musick of the Spheres the seven-fold Pipe of Pan and the strange Cryptography of Gaffarel in his Starry Book of Heaven Lastly In the great Vsefulness of the Stars we may see the Footsteps and Impressions of the Beneficent Creator As he giveth the Sun for a Light by Day so he appointeth the Ordinances not only of the Moon but of the Stars for a Light by Night Jer. 31.35 And these Ordinances shall not depart from before him ver 36. they are of perpetual use for affording Light in the Night-Seasons and they are on other accounts unspeakably beneficial to Mankind The Fruitfulness of the Earth the alternate Succession of the Seasons of the Year our Bodily Constitutions and in part the Dispositions of our Minds our Health our Life depend upon the Influence and Vertue of the Stars Sir W. Rawleigh hath suggested very excellent things on this Subject Our Divine Poet expresses his Sentiments in this Matter thus And if an Herb have Power what have the Stars Doubtless our Plagues and Plenty Peace and Wars Are there much surer than our Art is sure It is not to be doubted that the Ministry of these Heavenly Bodies is made use of in the Government of this Inferiour World They act continually upon it and nothing is done without their Influence God hath set the Dominion of the Heaven in the Earth Job 38.33 Which is an irrefragable Text to prove that the Celestial Bodies have a Virtue and Power on all Things Below Both those which are Animate and Inanimate do someways feel the Operation of them Which proves the First and Original Disposer of them to be a Rational and Intellectual Agent This is he that maketh Arcturus Orion and Pleiades and the Chambers of the South Job 9.9 This is he that made and therefore as himself saith Iob 38.31 32. is able to bind the sweet Influences of the Pleiades the Seven Stars whose Influence is felt in the Spring and to loose the Bands of Orion which is most predominant in the Winter and produces Storms c. and to bring forth Mazaroth in his Season the same perhaps with Mazzaloth Planetae 2 Kings 23.5 for Lamed and Resh are often changed for one another but the Rabbins call the Twelve Signs by the name of Mazzaroth and to guide Arcturus with his Sons i. e. the Constellation call'd Septem Triones the Wain the Bear together with the other Stars and Constellations of this Southern Hemisphere which are call'd his Sons And in Amos 5.8 He that maketh the Seven Stars and Orion is the Periphrasis of God And we are bid there to seek him who doth this we are to worship God because of the Works of the Heavens His making them and together with them constituting the Seasons of the Year invites us to acknowledg and seek him The Heathens went too far and wildly asserted these Heavenly Bodies to be Gods But then we rightly use them when we argue a God from them And this we may easily do because they set forth the Wisdom of God and the other Excellent Attributes belonging to him This is the work of Astronomy rightly improved It points at the Creator and conducts us to him as the Wise Men of old were led to our Saviour by a Star I speak not of that vain Pretence to the knowledg of all sorts of future Events by Inspection into the Stars which some Impostors talk much of and would make us believe is a Real Science This hath been exploded by all the Wise and Sober Heads in every Age. And it might be observ'd that those who have been most addicted to this Iudiciary way of consulting the Stars and have confided in it have felt the Folly of it most signally Their giving credit to it did procure their Ruine as we see in Iulius Caesar Pompey Nero Iulian the Apostate and several others that might be named of a meaner Figure Their fond trusting to this Science falsly so call'd prov'd fatal to them and render'd their Ends unfortunate But the Study of the Stars is not to be blamed the Astronomical Art is harmless and innocent yea 't is useful and advantageous For by help of this we climb the Heavens and scale the Ethereal Battlements but with a Success different from that of the Antient Giants because they fought the Gods as the Poets talk but we find out the True One by contemplating the Starry Bodies We come acquainted with the great Nomenclator of the Stars He that calls them all by their Names and enabled Adam as a very Learned Man thinks at the same time that he gave Names to the Creatures here Below to do the same to these Above by which Names they were wont to be call'd by the Patriarchs some of which remain in the Bible as Gnas Chesil Chimah Job 5.9 Amos 5.8 but most of them are lost We step from Orb to Orb and measure the vast Heavens and rifle the several Vortices and make new Discoveries in those Celestial Regions and thereby frame fresh Arguments of Divine Wisdom in contriving the World and we extort an acknowledgment of a Deity even from the Irreligious and such as are most averse to the Notion of a God For from our Enquiries that Assertion of the Learned Philo is made good Whatever is contained in the Heavens is made and fitted with the greatest Reason and Congruity There is nothing but what is founded on the most rational Grounds And we arrive to the Determination of that Wise Roman What can be more plain and evident when we behold the Heavens and all Things belonging to them than that there is a Numen of a most excellent Understanding by whom these Things are order'd and govern'd And a little after he comes to this Final Result That there is therefore a God is so plain that for my part I look upon the Man that denies it to be out of his Wits For the Frame and Contrivance of the Heavens which is the Subject I have been insisting upon and now am finishing are sufficient to perswade any Man of a sound Mind of the Existence of an Invisible but Wise Being who is the Author and Contriver of this excellent System of the Upper World So little reason had Alphonsus X. K. of Leon and Castile Author of the Astronomical Tables that bear his Name to utter those blasphemous Words as we find related by Lipsius and Spondanus and others that he could have mended the Fabrick of the World if he had assisted at the Creation especially he could have order'd things better in the Heavens This was that Alphonsus as Lipsius observes who was deposed from his Throne expell'd his Kingdom and died hated of all Men. Mariana saith he ran mad being reproved by an Hermite for uttering the forementioned Words but whether that be true or no as there may be some Ground to question it it is agreed that he was a most
visible Footsteps of a Godhead are easily to be traced The Frame of this Spatious Round for this Figure of it is proved from its Shadow cast upon the Moon in an Eclipse which shews that the Earth and Sea make one round Body for the Shadow renders the true Form of the Body which causeth it the Frame I say of this Spatious Globe is excellent and astonishing if we contemplate the Hills Valleys Lakes Rivers Rocks Promontories Woods Islands Peninsula's Continents of which 't is composed the Mixture of which renders it not only useful but beautiful Nature proceeds not always in the same Track and Path but as Philo observes delights in the Variety and Diversity of its Artificial Works And the wonderful Skill and Art of the Author who framed them thus are to be admired But more especially the Diversity of the Situation and Position of the Earth is remarkable It was the Wise Contrivance of the Creator to place it in that Oblique Posture that it is now in it being most convenient for the Good of Mankind He that made of one Blood all Nations of Men to dwell on all the Face of the Earth hath determined the Bounds of their Habitation Acts 17.26 Hence there are Different Zones as they are call'd into which the Earth is divided There is first that which is call'd the Torrid Zone because the Influence of the Sun is very vehement and active in this Part of the World but this is no Hindrance to its being Inhabited as some of old vainly fancied This is all that Space of Earth which is between the two Tropicks But there is a great Latitude as to the Inhabitants of this Zone for some of them live directly under the Equator And these only of all the Dwellers on the Earth have a Right Sphere and always have an Equinox i. e. their Days are exactly 12 Hours in length and so are their Nights neither more nor less They have the peculiar Privilege to see both the Poles at the same time And all the Fixed Stars rise and set to them They have 2 Summers and 2 Winters in a Year the Sun going directly over their Heads twice a Year i. e. when he is in Aries and when he is in Libra so that their 2 Summers are then and their Winters are when the Sun is in Cancer and Capricorn Thus are situated some parts of the East Indies and some part of America and the Islands of Sumatra And though they are so liable to the Perpendicular Rays of the Sun yet by the special Providence of Heaven it happens that the Inhabitants of these Hot Countries have Cool Briezes that constantly fan and refresh them in the Afternoons and their Nights are both long and cool which makes amends for the excessive heat of the Day Other Inhabitants of this Zone are seated between the Equinoctial and the Tropicks and these likewise have a double Summer and Winter only their Days and Nights are more unequal than those under the Equinoctial Line Thus are situated the Philippine and Molucca Islands part of East India in Asia Ethiopia in Africk Mexico in the North of America and Peru Brasil Guinea in the South of it And it is well known that there is not a more temperate Region than Peru in the World the Nights cold tempering the Days heat and Rains being frequent and cool Winds blowing constantly Again there are others of this Zone that live right under the Tropicks These have but one Summer and one Winter in a Year and their Situation is very convenient and upon several accounts desirable Before I leave the Torrid Zone I will take notice of a very Remarkable Thing which Travellers of good Credit inform us of viz. That in most Places belonging to it there are vast Exhalations constantly from the Earth which are condens'd into moist Vapours and though they seldom fall in Rain-Showers yet they affect the Region of the Air which is under them and render it very moist in the Day-time and in the Night very cool and fresh And this abundant Mass of Vapours caus'd by the excessive heat of those Countries affords matter for Dews which are exceeding plentiful and copious so that they serve instead of Rain-Waters and are of great use for the Fertility of the Ground and Plants But Secondly There are 2 Temperate Zones which lie between the Tropicks and the Polar Circles the one between the Tropick of Cancer and the Artick Circle the other between the Tropick of Capricorn and the Antartick It is the peculiar Lot of the People that dwell in these parts of the World to have 2 Solstices and 2 Equinoxes in a Year but one Summer and one Winter and the Sun is never vertical over their Heads They have an Oblique Sphere as all have besides those that live under the Equator We in England are situate in this Parallel so is all Europe yea the greatest part of the habitable World is in the Northern Temperate Zone It was the pleasure of the Great Founder of the World that this part of the Earth should be the Principal Stage of Action It was his Will and Appointment that this should be the Seat of the greater and better part of Mankind There are also two Frigid Zones the one between the Artick Circle and the North Pole the other between the Antartick Circle and the South Pole The Inhabitants are of three sorts 1. Those who live under either of the Polar Circles Those that inhabit under the Artick Circle have one Summer and one Winter in a Year When the Sun is in Cancer their Day is 24 Hours long and they have no Night And when the Sun is in Capricorn their Night is 24 Hours long Under this Parallel are Lapland Finmark part of Russia Iseland c. And here it might be observ'd as a Testimony of a singular Providence that these Countries which are extreme Cold are furnish'd with the largest Wood and the most and best Furs 2. Those that dwell between the Polar Circles and the Poles have sometimes continual Day and no Night From the Sun's being in Cancer their Day is in some places a Month long in others two and the farther they live toward the North the longer are their Days till you come under the North Pole where it is half a Year long without Night In the other half of the Year beginning when the Sun is in Capricorn the Nights exceed proportionably and last a Month two Months c. In this part of the World is Nova Zembla Green-land c. 3. Those that live right under the Poles and these only of all the Dwellers on the Earth enjoy a Day that continues six Months compleat which is succeeded with a Night that lasts as long So that they may be said to have but one Day and one Night in a Year By reason of this latter the Countrey is so cold and dark that it is not inhabited in this part of the Year But as for
delightful Colours on purpose to entertain the Eyes of Men and thereby to affect their Hearts with the Sense of their Munificent Master whose Livery they wear Of these our Saviour speaks in Mat. 6.27 telling us that they spin not and yet they are very richly clothed even with more than Royal Apparel for Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these ver 28. Hence it was that a Pious Man whose Name is well known being invited by an Honourable Person to go and see a stately Building the Master-piece of English Architecture in those Days saith my Author desired to be excused and to sit still gazing on a Flower which he had in his Hand For in this Flower saith he I can see more of God than in all the Beautiful Buildings in the World Yea here is not only most exquisite Beauty to delight the Eye but here is a most fragrant Smell to please Nostrils and chear the Brain Both which Gifts and Properties seem to be peculiarly bestowed upon Flowers as a Recompence of their frail Nature and sudden withering which they are incident to above all the other Works of the Creation Their excessive Sweetness and their glorious variety of Colours make amends as it were for their Short Life Their great Number and Variety are also worthy of our Consideration There are some Plants that are of a lower and imperfect Rank as those which grow in the Sea viz. Corals some of which are Red some Black others White Spunges Alga's c. and some on the Land as Mushrooms Mosses and several Vegetable Excrescencies But the more perfect Ones such as have Seed and Flower as they are the most Numerous so they are of the greatest Virtue and Use. These you will find rank'd in their several Divisions and distinctly and accurately set down by Mr. Ray in his History of Plants And yet so vast is the number of these Vegetable Bodies in the World that there are many more than you meet with in the Exactest Botanist For there are Plants peculiar to particular Countries and Regions as is confessed and therefore in America and other parts of the World which are yet undiscovered there is doubtless a considerable number of Simples which we have no knowledg of The difference of Plants is very great in respect of the Soil and Air which so much differ and from whence they derive their Nature And tho I cannot subscribe to the Rabbins who as we are told very confidently assert that there is not an Herb which grows on the Earth that hath not its peculiar Star to influence it yet I doubt not but their Difference is much caused by the peculiarity of that Influx and Virtue which they partake of from the Heavenly Bodies i. e. from their various Aspects and Operations They are commonly by the Masters of Medicks distinguish'd according to their degrees of Heat some having a moderate Warmth corresponding to the natural Heat of our Bodies others exceed the native temperate Heat of a Man and accordingly as this Excess prevails in them they are said to be hot in the 2 d 3 d or 4 th Degree Some are Strong and Robust others are very Week and Feeble as Vines Hops c. But this is to be remarked that such infirm Plants are provided with Tendrels to lay hold on or twine themselves about other Trees or Poles or any thing near them to sustain them Some make a Distinction of Sexes among Plants as the Palm-tree Lavendar Speedwell or Veronica Piony Fern Southern-Wood c. but especially the Palm-tree which Galen as well as Pliny and others takes notice of And they being Male and Female thence follow Love and Wedlock and accordingly Pliny tells us that if the Female Palm be far removed from the Male it becomes barren and bears no Fruit and such is the Conjugal Affection between them that if the Male hath the Boughs broken the Female droops and withers But though this be the Dream of some Amorous Botanists yet the most sober Naturalists acknowledg upon good Philosophical Accounts that there is a Correspondence between certain Plants of the same Species and by their Proximity or Distance this is sometimes discern'd And so among Vegetables of a different Species there is as some Philosophers and Physicians have observ'd a Sympathy and Antipathy by which if they mean that some Plants agree and grow well together as the Lilly and Rose Vine and Olive Rose and Garlick Vine and Elm and that others disagree in their Natures and will not grow and thrive by one another as the Vine and Coleworts the former shuns the latter and twines about every thing else but that whence perhaps the old Notion viz. that Coleworts are an Enemy to Drunkenness and are good to prevent it first had its Rise Hemlock and Rue Rose and Onion the Vine and Laurel If this I say be all that they mean that some Vegetables prosper and others do not according to their Position and Situation to other Plants I do not see but that it is a Rational Assertion and if the grounds of it were well examined and look'd into they might yield matter for a devout and serious admiring of the Works of God There is such a thing as an Agreement and Consent between the Natures of Beings There may be observ'd a mutual League and Confederacy among them And other things are at Variance and Discord and there seems to be an open Hatred and Enmity between themâ— Some have observed this in Animals as the Toad and Spider the Stork and Bat the Elephant and Hog the Lion and Cock c. which maintain a mutual Aversion to one another from certain natural Principles as some Learned Enquirers have thought tho this is rejected by others It is further remarkable that Plants of a contrary Nature and most different Quality receive Nourishment from the same spot of Earth Or which is equally admirable in that one spot of Earth there are contrary Nourishments which those Plants draw to them according to their several Natures This is a noble Contemplation and is worthy of our most accurate Disquisitions As to the Difference and Variety of the Nature of the greater Vegetables and of their Vse also which I am now coming to speak of they are thus in part represented by our English Homer as he is deservedly stiled The sailing Pine the Cedar proud and tall The Vine-prop Elm the Poplar never dry The Builder Oak sole King of Forests all The Aspine good for Staves the Cyprus Funeral The Lawrel meed of Mighty Conquerors And Poets sage the Fir that weepeth still The Willow worn of forlorn Paramours The Eugh obedient to the Benders will The Birch for Shafts the Sallow for the Mill The Warlike Beech the Ash for nothing ill The fruitful Olive and the Plantane round The Carver Holme c. It is endless to go through the whole Vegetable Dominion and assign the Properties of every part of it