Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	east_n	motion_n	west_n	1,864	5	9.5519	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A24071	The history of Hai Eb'n Yockdan, an Indian prince, or, The self-taught philosopher written originally in the Arabick tongue by Abi Jaafar Eb'n Tophail ... ; set forth not long ago in the original Arabick, with the Latin version by Edw. Pocock ... ; and now translated into English.; Risālat Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān. English	Ibn Ṭufayl, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Malik, d. 1185.; Pococke, Edward, 1604-1691.; Ashwell, George, 1612-1695.	1686 (1686)	Wing A151; ESTC R19263	86,160	248

so far corrupted by a sharp Cold that it was turned into Snow and that Snow melted again into Water Also as for other Bodies which he had near him he could see none of them which had not its Existence a-new and required some voluntary Agent to give it a Being Wherefore he rejected all these sublunary Bodies and transfer'd his thoughts to the heavenly ones which were above his head And thus far he reached in his Contemplations about the end of the fourth Septenary of his Age viz. when he was now Twenty and Eight years old Now he knew that the Heavens § 45 and all the Stars therein were Bodies as being extended according to the three dimensions of Length Breadth and Thickness and that none of them was void of this Attribute and that whatsoever had it must needs be a Body All these therefore he concluded to be Bodies Then he considered with himself whether they were extended infinitely so that they stretched out themselves to an endless Length Breadth and Thickness or whether they had any Bounds and were confined unto certain limits beyond which they proceeded not But here he stopt a while as in a kind of amazement Yet at length by the quickness of § 46 his apprehension and sagacity of his understanding he found that an infinite Body was an absurd and impossible thing and a notion wholly unintelligible which opinion he was confirmed in by many arguments that came into his mind when he thus argued with himself This heavenly Body is doubtlesly finite on that part which is next me and obvious to my sense seeing I perceive so much by my Eye Then likewise as to that part which is opposite to this and concerning which this doubt ariseth in my mind I know also that it must needs be impossible it should be extended infinitely For if I conceive two Lines beginning at that part which is bounded and thence passing through the thickness of this heavenly Body extend themselves unto an infinite distance and then suppose a great part to be cut off from one of these Lines where its extremity is bounded and the extremity of the remainder of that Line which had part cut off applied to the extremity of that other which had nothing cut off from it and then that Line which had some part thereof cut off placed parallel to that other Line which had nothing cut off the understanding going still along with both Lines to that farther part of each which is said to be infinite either you will find these two Lines to be continuedly extended without coming to any end so that neither will be shorter than the other and consequently the Line which had somewhat cut off from it will be equal to the other which had nothing cut off which is absurd Or in case it go not continuedly along with it but have its progress interrupted and so fail of its being extended together with it throughout that infinite space it will be finite and when that part shall be added a-new to it which was before cut off and therefore must needs be finite the whole Line too will be necessarily finite as consisting of two finite parts Moreover when it is thus made up again and become entire in it self it will be neither shorter than the Line which had nothing cut off from it nor exceed it in length but precisely equal to it Seeing therefore this Line is finite that also must be finite likewise and consequently that Body wherein both those Lines are supposed to be and are thus mathematically designed must needs be finite too For every Body wherein such Lines may be designed is finite and there is no Body wherein they may not be designed Therefore if we determine any Body to be infinite we determine that which is absurd and impossible Now when he was thus assured by § 47 the singular excellency of his Wit which he had awakened to the Consideration of this Subject that the Body of Heaven was finite he desired in the next place to know of what Form it was and in what manner it was bounded with the Superficies that compassed it round about First of all then he contemplated the Sun and Moon and the rest of the Stars and saw that all of them arose in the East and set in the West He saw also that those Heavenly Lights which past directly over his Head described a larger Circle and on the other side that those which declined from the Vertical Point towards the North or South described a less one and that every one of them as it moved at a greater distance from the Vertical Point towards either Pole described a lesser Circle than that which was nearer to it so that the least Circles wherein the Stars moved were those two which were nearest the Poles namely the Circle of the Star Sohail that is Canopus which was nearest the Southern Pole and the Circle Alpharkadain which was next the Northern And whereas he dwelt in an Island situated near the Equinoctial as we before shewed all these Circles were straight towards the Surface of the Horizon and had alike reference to the North and South seeing both the Poles appeared to him at once Withall he observed that when one Star arose in a larger Circle and another in a less so that they arose both together that both of them also set at the same time And this he observed to be alike true and the same in all sorts of Stars and at all times And from hence it was evident to him that the Heaven was of a Spherical Figure Which Truth was also farther confirmed unto him from what he saw of the Return of the Sun Moon and the other Stars to the East after their setting in the West as also in that they all appeared to his Eyes in the same proportion of Magnitude both when they arose and when they set as also when they were got up to the height and midst of the Heavens For if their Motion had been any other than Circular they must needs at some times have been nearer to his sight than at other times and if so their Dimensions and Magnitudes would not always have appeared the same but various seeing that they would have appeared bigger when they were nearer to him than when they were farther off But whenas he saw no such diversity in their appearance he was well assured that the Figure of Heaven was Spherical Then he proceeded onwards to observe the Motion of the Moon and saw that it was carried from the East towards the West or perchance from the West to the East as the other Planets were in like manner So that at length a great Part of Astronomy became known to him It appeared also to him that the Motions of the Planets were in different Spheres all which were comprehended in another that was above them all and which turned about all the rest in the space of a Day and a Night But it were too