AN
EPISTLE
Of the Reverend Father
A CARMELITE;
Concerning
The
OF
The Mobility of the
AND
Stability of the
AND
Of the New Sy&longs;teme or Con&longs;titution
OF THE
WORLD.
IN WHICH,
The Authorities of
and
commonly alledged again&longs;t this Opinion,
are Reconciled.
WRITTEN
To the mo&longs;t Reverend FATHER,
SEBASTIANO FANTONI,
General of the Order of CARMELITES.
BY
à Deo.
Sapientiæ 7. ver&longs;u. 7.
Printed by WILLIAM LEYBOURN, MDCLXI.
To the Mo&longs;t
Reverend Father
SEBASTIANO FANTONI,
CARMELITES.
In obedience to the command of the No
ble
litan, and Knight of S.
&longs;alem,
&longs;o great Merit, that in him Nobility of
Birth, Affability of Manners, Univer&longs;al
knowledge of Arts and things, Piety
and Vertue do all contend for prehemi
nence) I re&longs;olved with my &longs;elf to un
dertake the Defence of the Writings of the New, or rather Re
newed, and from the Du&longs;t of Oblivion (in which it hath long
lain hid) lately Revived Opinion,
and Stability of the Sun,
goras,
wi&longs;e hath deduced the Po&longs;ition of the Sy&longs;teme and Con&longs;titution
of the World and its parts from that Hypothe&longs;is: on which
Subject I have formerly writ to You, Mo&longs;t Reverend Sir: But
in regard I am bound for
mand; and &longs;ince this Speculation may &longs;eem more proper for a
nother Treati&longs;e, to wit, a Volume of
in hand with, and which I am daily bu&longs;ie about, that it may
come forth in company with my
which I have already fini&longs;hed, rather than now to di&longs;cu&longs;s it by it
&longs;elf, I thought to forbear, imparting what I have done for the
pre&longs;ent; Yet I was de&longs;irous to give, in the mean time, a brief ac
count of this my Determination, and to &longs;hew You, Mo&longs;t Reve
rend Father, (to whom I owe all my indeavours, and my very
&longs;elf) the Foundations on which this Opinion may be grounded,
lea&longs;t, whil&longs;t otherwi&longs;e it is favoured with much probability, it be
found in reality to be extreamly repugnant (as at fir&longs;t &longs;ight it
received on all hands (which cannot do &longs;o much harm) but al&longs;o
(which would be of far wor&longs;e con&longs;equence) to many Authori
ties of &longs;acred Scripture: Upon which account many at their
fir&longs;t looking into it, explode it as the mo&longs;t fond Paradox and
Mon&longs;trous Which thing pro
ceeds only from an antiquated and long confirmed Cu&longs;tome,
which hath &longs;o hardened men in, and habituated them to Vul
gar, Plau&longs;ible, and for that cau&longs;e by all men (a&longs;well learned as
unlearned) Approved Opinions, that they cannot be removed
one &longs;tep from them: So great is the force of Cu&longs;tome (which
not unfitly is &longs;tiled a &longs;econd Nature) prevailing over the whole
World, that touching things men are rather plea&longs;ed with, de
lighted in, and de&longs;irous of tho&longs;e, which, though evil and obnox
ious, are by u&longs;e made familiar to them, than &longs;uch, wherewith,
though better, they are not accu&longs;tomed and acquainted. So in
like manner, and that chiefly, in
are rooted in the Mind, men &longs;tart at, and reject all others
what&longs;oever; not only tho&longs;e that are contrary to, but even all
that ever &longs;o little di&longs;agree with or vary from theirs, as har&longs;h to
the Ear, di&longs;coloured to the Eye, unplea&longs;ant to the Smell, nau&longs;e
ous to the Ta&longs;t, rough to the Touch. And no wonder: For
Phy&longs;ical Truths are ordinarily judged and con&longs;idered by men,
not according to their E&longs;&longs;ence, but according to the pre&longs;cript of
&longs;ome one who&longs;e de&longs;cription or definition of them gaines him
Authority among&longs;t the vulgar. Which authority neverthele&longs;s
(&longs;ince 'tis no more than humane) ought not to be &longs;o e&longs;teemed, as
that that which doth manife&longs;tly appear to the contrary, whether
from better Rea&longs;ons lately found out, or from Sen&longs;e it &longs;elf, &longs;hould
for its &longs;ake be contemned and &longs;lighted; Nor is Po&longs;terity &longs;o to be
confined, but that it may, and dares, not only proceed farther,
but al&longs;o bring to light better and truer Experiments than tho&longs;e
which have been delivered to us by the Ancients. For the
nius's
pa&longs;s the Wits of our times; &longs;o for the perfecting of Inventions
this Age of ours &longs;eems not only to equal, but far to excell former
Ages; Knowledge, whether in the Liberal or Mechanical Arts,
daily growing to a greater height. Which A&longs;&longs;ertion might be
ea&longs;ily proved, were it not that in &longs;o clear a ca&longs;e, there would be
more danger of ob&longs;curing, than hopes of illu&longs;trating it with any
farther light.
But (that I may not wholly be &longs;ilent in this point) have not the
&longs;everal Experiments of Moderns, in many things, &longs;topped the
mouth of Venerable Antiquity, and proved many of their great
te&longs;t and weightie&longs;t Opinions, to be vain and fal&longs;e? The Doctrine
dome and Learning was held a Paradox no le&longs;s ab&longs;urd than this
Our Opinion of the
that of the
ons, the fir&longs;t was accounted unpo&longs;&longs;ible by many, but the latter
was ab&longs;olutely denyed by the unanimous con&longs;ent of all: But
later Authors (to the great felicity and perpetual Glory of
their Age) have, not &longs;o much by Authority, as by accurate
diligence and indefatigable &longs;tudy to finde out the truth, pro
ved them both to be undoubtedly true. Thus I affirm that
the Antients were deceived, and that in too lightly challenging
Credid and Authority for their Inventions, they di&longs;covered too
much folly. Here for brevities &longs;ake I pa&longs;s by many Dreams
lately detected, both of
&longs;ophers; who in all likelihood if they had dived into the Ob&longs;er
vations of Modern Writers, and under&longs;tood their Rea&longs;ons, would,
by changing their Judgements, have given them the precedency,
and would have &longs;ub&longs;cribed to their manife&longs;t Truth. Hereby we
&longs;ee that we are not to have &longs;o high a re&longs;pect for the Antiens, that
whatever they a&longs;&longs;ert &longs;hould be taken upon tru&longs;t, and that Faith
&longs;hould be given to their &longs;ayings, as if they were Oracles and
Truths &longs;ent down from Heaven. But yet (which indeed is
chiefly to be regarded in the&longs;e matters) if any thing be found out
that is repugnant to Divine Authority, or to the Sacred Leaves,
that were dictated by the Holy Gho&longs;t, and by His In&longs;piration
expounded by the Holy Doctors of the Church, in this ca&longs;e not
onely Humane Rea&longs;on, but even Sen&longs;e it &longs;elf is to &longs;ubmitt:
which, though by all manner of weighty Conditions and circum
&longs;tances it &longs;hould hold forth any thing contrary to Divine Autho
rity, (which indeed is &longs;o plain, that there is no way left to evade
the right un er&longs;tanding of it) yet is it to be rejected; and we
mu&longs;t conclude our &longs;elves deceived by it, and believe that that is
not true which Sen&longs;e and Rea&longs;on repre&longs;ents unto us: For, however
we judge of things, we have, both in this and all other ca&longs;es, a
more certain knowledge, which proceeds from Divine Faith; as
S.
Sen&longs;es he &longs;aw, and perceived the Glory of our Lord in his
Transfiguration, and heard his words manife&longs;ting his great Pow
er, yet neverthele&longs;s all the&longs;e things compared with the Light of
Faith, he adds: ^{*}
Wherefore &longs;ince this Opinion of
entred upon the Stage of the World in &longs;o &longs;trange a Dre&longs;s, and at
the fir&longs;t appearance (be&longs;ides the re&longs;t) doth &longs;eem to oppo&longs;e &longs;un
dry Authorities of Sacred Scripture, it hath (this being granted)
been ju&longs;tly rejected of all men as a meer ab&longs;urdity.
certain, than ei
ther Sen&longs;e or Rea
&longs;on.
1. 19.
But yet becau&longs;e the common Sy&longs;teme of the World devi&longs;ed by
&longs;u&longs;picion is ri&longs;en up among&longs;t all, even
&longs;elves, that there mu&longs;t be &longs;ome other Sy&longs;teme, which is more true
than this of
Bodys may &longs;eem to be generally re&longs;olved by this Hypothe&longs;is, yet
they are found to be involved with many difficulties, and refer
red to many devices; as namely of Orbes of &longs;undry Forms and
Figures, Epicicles, Equations, Differences, Excentricks, andinnu
merable &longs;uch like fancies and Chymæra's which &longs;avour of the
Of which kinde is that of the
not any thing that can be more weakly grounded, and more ea&longs;i
ly controverted and di&longs;proved: And &longs;uch is that conceit of the
^{*} Heaven void of Stars, moving the inferior Heavens or Orbes:
All which are introduced upon occa&longs;ion of the variety of the
Motions of Cele&longs;tial Bodyes, which &longs;eemed impo&longs;&longs;ible, by any
other way, to be reduced to any certain and determinate Rule. So that the A&longs;&longs;ertors of that common Opinion, freely confe&longs;s,
that in de&longs;cribing the Worlds Sy&longs;teme, they cannot as yet di&longs;co
ver, or teach the true Hypothe&longs;is thereof: But that their endea
vours are onely to finde out, among&longs;t many things, what is mo&longs;t
agreeable with truth, and may, upon better and more accomo
date Rea&longs;ons, an&longs;wer the Cele&longs;tial
Mobile.
Since that, the Tele&longs;cope (an Optick Invention) hath been found
out, by help of which, many remarkable things in the Heavens,
mo&longs;t worthy to be known, and till then unthought of, were di&longs;
covered by manife&longs;t &longs;en&longs;ation; as for in&longs;tance, That the Moon is
Mountainous;
Quadricorporeal: Likewi&longs;e that in the
iades,
tho&longs;e of the greate&longs;t Magnitude which are by turns adjacent to
one another; and in the end it hath di&longs;covered to us, new fixed
Stars, new planets, and new Worlds. And by this &longs;ame In&longs;tru
ment it appears very probable, that
move properly about the Earth, but rather about the Sun; and
that the Moon alone moveth about the Earth. What therefore
can be inferred from hence, but that the Sun doth &longs;tand immo
vable in the Centre, and that the Earth, with the other Cele&longs;tial
Orbes, is circumvolved about it? Wherefore by this and many
other Rea&longs;ons it appears, That the Opinion of
phical Principles; yea, that it carryeth with it a great likelihood
and probability of Truth: Whereas among&longs;t the &longs;o many &longs;eve
ral Opinions, that deviate from the common Sy&longs;teme, and devi&longs;e
them of
ent and Modern, there is not one found that is more facile, more
regularly ahd determinately, accommodated to the
and Motions of the Heavens, without
mocentricksAnd this Hypothe&longs;is hath been a&longs;&longs;erted for true, not onely by
men, as namely,
Di&longs;ciples of that Sect,
many more. Among&longs;t whom, tho&longs;e (as we have &longs;aid) that
have attempted the finding out of New Sy&longs;temes (for they refu
&longs;ed both this of
who yet notwith&longs;tanding allowed this Opinion of
carry with it much probability, and indirectly confirmed it; ina&longs;
much as that they rejected the common one as imperfect, defe
ctive, and attended with many contradictions and difficulties. Among&longs;t the&longs;e may be numbered Father ^{*}
ed Je&longs;uite; who, although he refutes the Sy&longs;teme of
yet acknowledgeth the Levity of the common Sy&longs;teme, and he
ingeniou&longs;ly confe&longs;&longs;eth, that for the removal of difficulties, in which
the common Sy&longs;teme will not &longs;erve the turn, A&longs;tronomers are
forced to enquire after another Sy&longs;teme, to the di&longs;covery of
which, he doth very earne&longs;tly exhort them.
rum variet. Lib. 1.
Cap.
1.
Clavins in
ultima &longs;uor. Ope
rum editione.
Now can there a better or more commodious Hypothe&longs;is
be devi&longs;ed, than this of For
dern Authors are induced to approve of, and follow it: but
with much hæ&longs;itancy, and fear, in regard that it &longs;eemeth in their
Opinion &longs;o to contradict the Holy Scriptures, as that it cannot
po&longs;&longs;ibly be reconciled to them. Which is the Rea&longs;on that this
Opinion hath been long &longs;uppre&longs;t, and is now entertained by men
in a mode&longs;t manner, ad as it were with a veiled Face; according
to that advice of the Poet:
Upon con&longs;ideration of which, (out of my very great love to
wards the Sciences, and my ardent defire to &longs;ee the encrea&longs;e and
perfection of them, and the Light of Truth freed from all Er
rours and Ob&longs;curities) I began to argue with my &longs;elf touching
this Point after this manner: This Opinion of the
is either true, or fal&longs;e; If fal&longs;e, it ought not to be mentioned, and
de&longs;erves not to be divulged: If true, it matters not, though it
contradict all, as well Philo&longs;ophers as A&longs;tronomers: And though
for its e&longs;tabli&longs;hment and reducement to u&longs;e a new Philo&longs;ophy
&longs;hould be con&longs;tituted: For the Authority of Sacred Scripture
will not oppo&longs;e it; neither doth one Truth contradict another. If therefore the Opinion of
God hath di&longs;po&longs;ed and dictated the words of of Holy Writ in
&longs;uch a manner, that they may admit an apt &longs;en&longs;e and reconcilia
tion with that Hypothe&longs;is. Being moved by the&longs;e Rea&longs;ons, and
the probability of the &longs;aid Opinion, I thought good to try whe
ther Texts of Sacred Scripture might be expounded according to
Theological and Phy&longs;ical Principles, and might be reconciled to
it, &longs;o that (in regard that hitherto it hath been held probable) it
may in after times, coming without &longs;cruple to be acknowledged
for true, advance it &longs;elf, and appear in publick with an uncover
ed Face, without any mans prohibition, and may lawfully and
freely hold a Sacred intelligence with Holy Truth, &longs;o earne&longs;tly
coveted and commended by good Men. Which de&longs;igne, having hi
therto been undertaken by none that I know, wil, I am per&longs;waded,
be very acceptable to the Studious of the&longs;e Learnings, e&longs;pecially to
the mo&longs;t Learned
mo&longs;t Serene Grand Duke of
Mathematician to his Sacred and invincible Maje&longs;ty, the Empe
rour, and to all that Illu&longs;trious, and much to be commended Ac
cademy of the
Opinion. Although I doubt not but they, and many other
Learned Men might ea&longs;ily have found out the&longs;e or the like Re
conciliations of Scriptural expre&longs;&longs;ions; to whom neverthele&longs;s I
have thought fit (in re&longs;pect of that profe&longs;&longs;ion which I have under
taken, upon the faith of my &longs;oul, and the propen&longs;ity that I have
towards Truth) to offer that of the Poet,
fir&longs;t Theologically
defendeth the
Earths Mobili
ty, approved by
many of the Mo
derns.
And in te&longs;timony of my e&longs;teem to them and all the Learned,
to communicate the&longs;e my thoughts; confidently a&longs;&longs;uring my &longs;elf
that they will accept them, with a Candor equal to that where
with I have written them.
Therefore to come to the bu&longs;ine&longs;s: All Authorities of Di
vine Writ which &longs;eem to oppo&longs;e this Opinion, are reducible to
&longs;ix Cla&longs;&longs;es: The fir&longs;t is of tho&longs;e that affirm the Earth to &longs;tand
&longs;till, and not to move: as 92. He framed the round World
&longs;o &longs;ure, that it cannot be moved104. Who laid the
Foundations of the Earth, that it &longs;hould not be removed for ever
And
of the like &longs;en&longs;e.
The &longs;econd is of tho&longs;e which atte&longs;t the Sun to move, and
19. (b) In them hath be &longs;et a
Tabernacle for the Sun, which cometh forth as a Bridegroom out
of his chamber, and rejoyceth as a Gyant to run his Cour&longs;e. It
cometh forth from the uttermo&longs;t part of the Heaven, and runneth
about unto the end of it again; and there is nothing hid from the
heat thereof.1. The Sun ri&longs;eth, and the Sun go
eth down, and ha&longs;teth to the place where be aro&longs;e: it goeth towards
the South, and turneth about unto the North.
Suns Retrogradation is mentioned as a Miracle,
Sun returned ten degrees.
Sun went backward, and lengthened the life of the King.
for this rea&longs;on it is related for a Miracle, in the Book of
that at the Prayers of that great Captain the Sun &longs;tood &longs;till, its
motion being forbidden it, by him
&longs;till upon Gibeon.
Earth move about it, its &longs;tation at that time was no Miracle;
and if
have been prolonged by the Suns &longs;plendour, he would not have
&longs;aid,
po&longs;uit tabernacu
lum &longs;uum,
ding to the Tran
&longs;lation our Au
thor followeth.
The third Cla&longs;&longs;is is of tho&longs;e Authorities which &longs;ay, that Hea
ven is
of 2. I will &longs;hew wonders
in Heaven above, and &longs;ignes in the Earth beneath,
the like purport. Hereupon Chri&longs;t at his Incarnation is &longs;aid to
cended up into heaven.
the Sun, it would be, as one may &longs;ay, in Heaven, and con&longs;e
quently would rather be And
this is confirmed; For that the Opinion which placeth the Sun in
the Centre, doth likewi&longs;e place
with the Moon, which revolves about the Earth, and therefore
the Earth, together with the Moon, is placed in the third Heaven. If therefore in Spherical Bodies, as in the World,
fies no more than to be neer to the centre, and
approach the Circumference, it mu&longs;t needs follow, that for ma
king good of Theological Po&longs;itions concerning the A&longs;cen&longs;ion
and De&longs;cen&longs;ion of Chri&longs;t, the Earth is to be placed in the cen
tre, and the Sun, with the other Heavens in the Circumference;
and not according to
Order: with which one cannot &longs;ee how the true A&longs;cen&longs;ion and
De&longs;cen&longs;ion can be con&longs;i&longs;tent.
Bodies,
Sur&longs;um
cumference.
The fourth Cla&longs;&longs;is is of tho&longs;e Authorities which make Hell to
be in the Centre of the World, which is the Common Opinion
of Divines, and confirmed by this Rea&longs;on, That &longs;ince Hell (ta
the World, and &longs;ince that in a Sphere there is no part lower
then the Centre, Hell &longs;hall be, as it were, in the Centre of the
World, which being of a Spherical Figure, it mu&longs;t follow, that
Hell is either in the Sun (fora&longs;much as it is &longs;uppo&longs;ed by this Hy
pothe&longs;is to be in the Centre of the World) or el&longs;e &longs;uppo&longs;ing
that Hell is in the Centre of the Earth, if the Earth &longs;hould move
about the Sun, it would nece&longs;&longs;arily en&longs;ue, that Hell, together
with the Earth, is in Heaven, and with it revolveth about the third
Heaven; than which nothing more ab&longs;urd can be &longs;aid or imagi
ned.
centre of the
Earth, not of the
World.
The fifth Cla&longs;&longs;is, is of tho&longs;e Authorities which alwayes op
po&longs;e Heaven to the Earth, and &longs;o again the Earth to Heaven; as
if there were the &longs;ame relation betwixt them, with that of the
Centre to the Circumference, and of the Circumference to the
Centre. But if the Earth were in Heaven, it &longs;hould be on one
&longs;ide thereof, and would not &longs;tand in the Middle, and con&longs;equent
ly there would be no &longs;uch relation betwixt them; which never
thele&longs;s do, not only in Sacred Writ, but even in Common Speech,
ever and every where an&longs;wer to each other with a mutual Oppo
fition. Whence that of
1. In the beginning God created
the Heaven and the Earth115. The Heaven, even
the Heavens are the Lords; but the Earth hath he given to the
Children of men:
&longs;cribeth to us, 6. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in
Heaven:15. The fir&longs;t man is of the
Earth, earthy; the &longs;econd man is of Heaven, heavenly:1. By him were all things created that are in Heaven, and
that are in Earth
Blood of his Cro&longs;&longs;e for all things, whether they be things in Earth
or things in Heaven:3. Set your affections on things
above, not on things on the Earth
like places. Since therefore the&longs;e two Bodies are alwayes mu
tually oppo&longs;ed to each other, and Heaven, without all doubt,
referreth to the Circumference, it mu&longs;t of nece&longs;&longs;ity follow, that
the Earth is to be adjudged the place of the Centre.
Earth are always
mutually oppo&longs;ed
to each other.
The &longs;ixth and la&longs;t Cla&longs;&longs;is is of tho&longs;e Authorities, which (being
rather of Fathers and Divines, than of the Sacred Scripture) &longs;ay,
That the Sun, after the day of Judgment &longs;hall &longs;tand immoveable
in the Ea&longs;t, and the Moon in the We&longs;t. Which Station, if the
the Earth, than to the Sun; for if it be true, that the Earth doth
now move about the Sun, it is nece&longs;&longs;ary that after the day of
Judgment it &longs;hould &longs;tand immoveable. And truth is, if it mu&longs;t
&longs;ub&longs;i&longs;t without motion in one con&longs;tant place, there is no rea&longs;on
ther, or why it &longs;hould rather turn one part of it than another to
the Sun, if &longs;o be that every of its parts without di&longs;tinction, which
is de&longs;titute of the Suns light, cannot choo&longs;e but be di&longs;mal, and
much wor&longs;e affected than that part which is illuminated. Hence
al&longs;o would ari&longs;e many other ab&longs;urdities be&longs;ides the&longs;e.
of Judgment the
Earth &longs;hall &longs;tand
immoveable.
The&longs;e are the Cla&longs;&longs;es, &c.
from which great a&longs;&longs;aults are made
again&longs;t the &longs;tructure of the Pythagorick Sy&longs;teme; yet by that
time I &longs;hall have fir&longs;t laid down &longs;ix Maximes or Principles, as
impregnable Bulwarks erected again&longs;t them, it will be ea&longs;ie to
batter them, and to defend the Hypothe&longs;is of
being attaqued by them. Which before I propound, I do pro
fe&longs;s (with that Humility and Mode&longs;ty which becometh a Chri
&longs;tian, and a per&longs;on in Religious Orders) that I do with reverence
&longs;ubmit what I am about to &longs;peak to the Judgment of Holy
Church. Nor have I undertaken to write the&longs;e things out of
any inducements of Temerity, or Ambition, but out of Charity
and a De&longs;ire to be auxiliary to my neighbour in his inqui&longs;ition
after Truth. And there is nothing in all this Controver&longs;ie
maintained by me (that expect to be better in&longs;tructed by tho&longs;e
who profe&longs;s the&longs;e Studies) which I &longs;hall not retract, if any per
&longs;ons &longs;hall by &longs;olid Rea&longs;ons & reiterated Experiments, prove &longs;ome
other Hypothe&longs;is to be more probable; but yet, until &longs;uch time as
they &longs;hall decide the Point, I &longs;hall labour all I can for its &longs;upport.
My fir&longs;t and chiefe&longs;t Maxime is this; When any thing is at
tributed in Holy Writ, to God, or to a Creature, thats not be
&longs;eeming to, or incommen&longs;urate with them, it mu&longs;t of nece&longs;&longs;ity
be received and expounded one, or more of the four following
wayes; Fir&longs;t, it may be &longs;aid to agree with them
and Proportionally, or by Similitude.
our manner of Con&longs;idering, Apprehending, Conceiving, Vnder&longs;tand
ing, Knowing, &c.
Vulgar, and the Common way of Speaking:
Speech the Holy Gho&longs;t doth very often with much &longs;tudy acco
modate it &longs;elf. Fourthly,
he makes him&longs;elf like unto us.
the&longs;e examples: God doth not walk, &longs;ince he is Infinite and Im
moveable; He hath no Bodily Members, &longs;ince he is a Pure Act;
and con&longs;equently is void of all Pa&longs;&longs;ion of Minde; and yet in
Sacred Scripture, 3. ver&longs;.
the day
cuit of Heaven:
making ha&longs;t is a&longs;cribed to God; and likewi&longs;e Bodily parts, as
Eyes, Ears, Lips, Face, Voice, Countenance, Hands, Feet, Bow
els, Garments, Arms; as al&longs;o many Pa&longs;&longs;ions, &longs;uch as Anger,
What &longs;hall we &longs;ay there
fore? Without doubt &longs;uch like Attributes agree with God (to
u&longs;e the Schoolmens words
Similitude
conde&longs;cendeth to repre&longs;ent him&longs;elf after that manner: as for
in&longs;tance,
is angry: He grievede.
is &longs;orrowful: It repented him that he had made man
med as one that repented.
parativè ad nos,So God is &longs;aid to be in
Heaven, to move in time, to &longs;hew him&longs;elf, to hide him&longs;elf, to
ob&longs;erve and mark our &longs;teps; to &longs;eek us, to &longs;tand at the door,
to knock at the door; not that he can be contained in a bodily
place, nor that he is really moved, nor in time; nor that humane
manners or cu&longs;tomes can agree with him, &longs;ave only according to
our manner of Apprehen&longs;ion: This Conception of ours orderly
di&longs;tingui&longs;heth the&longs;e Attributes in him one from another, when,
notwith&longs;tanding, they are one and the &longs;ame with him: This Ap
prehen&longs;ion of ours divideth al&longs;o his actions into &longs;everal times,
which, neverthele&longs;&longs;e, for the mo&longs;t part, are produced in one and
the &longs;ame in&longs;tant: And this, to conclude, alwayes apprehendeth
tho&longs;e things with &longs;ome defect, which, notwith&longs;tanding are in
God mo&longs;t perfect. For this rea&longs;on doth the Sacred Scripture
expre&longs;s it &longs;elf
to the Earth Ends and Foundations, which yet it hath not; to
the Sea a Depth not to be fathomed; to Death (which is a Pri
vation, and con&longs;equently a Non entity) it appropriates Actions,
Motion, Pa&longs;&longs;ions, and other &longs;uch like Accidents, of all which it is
deprived, as al&longs;o Epithites and Adjuncts, which really cannot
&longs;uit with it: 1 Sam.
15. 32.
ments of Death,7. 14.
Death,84.
23.
8. 9.
18. 13.
not that the whole Hi&longs;tory of the rich Glutton doth con&longs;i&longs;t of
the like phra&longs;es of So
27.
ver&longs;. 11.
fool changeth as the Moon
real truth of the matter no wayes changeth, but abides the &longs;ame
for ever, as
ing alwayes lucid, and the other alwayes opacous. Nor at any
time doth this &longs;tate vary in it, unle&longs;&longs;e
cording to the opinion of the Vulgar.
holy Scripture &longs;peaks according to the common form of &longs;peech u
things, and not according to their true Exi&longs;tence. In like man
ner
the Light is &longs;aid to be made fir&longs;t of all, and yet it followeth in
the Text,
and a little after the &longs;everal Acts of the Creation are di&longs;tingui&longs;hed
and a&longs;&longs;igned to &longs;everal days, and concerning each of them it is
&longs;aid in the Text,
&longs;econd day
many doubts ari&longs;e, all which I &longs;hall propound according to the
common Sy&longs;teme, that it may appear even from the
of that Sy&longs;teme, that the &longs;acred Scripture &longs;ometimes, for the a
voyding of emergent difficulties, is to be under&longs;tood in a vulgar
&longs;en&longs;e and meaning, and in re&longs;pect of us, and not according to
the nature of things. Which di&longs;tinction even
&longs;eemeth to have hinted, when he &longs;aith, ^{*}
intelligible to us; others by nature,
nes Cœli.
ra nobis, alia, no
tiora natura, vel
&longs;ecundum &longs;e,
r &longs;t. lib.
1. Phy&longs;.
Fir&longs;t therefore; If the light were made before heaven, then
it rolled about without heaven to the making of the di&longs;tinction
of Day and Night. Now this is contrary to the very doctrine
of the&longs;e men, who affirm that no Cœle&longs;tial Body can be moved
unle&longs;&longs;e
in a board at the motion of the board.
the Light was created at the &longs;ame time with
to be moved with
oppo&longs;eth the fore&longs;aid common
that Day and Night, Morning and Evening were made, that &longs;ame
is either in re&longs;pect of the Univer&longs;e, or onely in re&longs;pect of the
Earth and us. If &longs;o be that the Sun turning round (according to
the
Night and Day, but only to opacous Bodies which are de&longs;titute
of all other light, but that of the Sun, whil&longs;t in their half part
(which is their
light pa&longs;&longs;eth over but one half of an opacous Body, unle&longs;s a ve
ry &longs;mall matter more in tho&longs;e of le&longs;&longs;er bulk) they are illumina
ted by the Suns a&longs;pect, the other half remaining dark and tene
bro&longs;e, by rea&longs;on of a &longs;hadow proceeding from its own Body. Therefore the di&longs;tinction of dayes by the light of heaven, ac
cording to the de&longs;cription of them in the &longs;acred Scriptures, mu&longs;t
not be under&longs;tood
&longs;elf
con&longs;equently
&longs;ual in &longs;acred Scripture to &longs;peak of things
ly
&longs;e,
And if any one would under&longs;tand the&longs;e Days of &longs;acred Scri
pture, not only
circulations of Cœle&longs;tial Light returning to the &longs;elf &longs;ame point
from whence it did at fir&longs;t proceed; &longs;o as that there needs no
re&longs;pect to be had to Night or to ^{*} Darkne&longs;&longs;e, for which &longs;ole rea
&longs;on we are fain to imbrace the Interpretation of &longs;acred Scripture
&longs;acred Scripture be under&longs;tood to &longs;peak
and &longs;ucce&longs;&longs;ive circulations of light, and not
the&longs;e words
in their natural acceptation denote the Suns habitude to us and to
the Earth: For that the
gins to wax light, and to ri&longs;e above the
and become vi&longs;ible in our
in which the Sun declines in the We&longs;t, and approacheth with its
light neerer to the other oppo&longs;ite
which is contiguous to this of ours. But the word
relative to the word
appeareth, that the&longs;e three words
cannot be under&longs;tood of a Circulation of Light
and
that &longs;en&longs;e indeed the
and
In like manner,
the greater Light to rule the Day, and the le&longs;&longs;er Light to rule the
Night, and the Stars.
&longs;pecification of it, things are &longs;poken which are very di&longs;agreeing
with Cœle&longs;tial Bodies. Therefore tho&longs;e words are in that place
to be interpreted according to the fore&longs;aid Rules; namely, ac
cording to the third and fourth; &longs;o that they may be &longs;aid to be
under&longs;tood
way of &longs;peaking,
apparentiam,
is &longs;aid in the Propo&longs;ition,
meaning by them the Sun and Moon, whereas according to the
truth of the matter the&longs;e are not the Greater Lights; For al
though the Sun may be reckoned among&longs;t the Greater, the Moon
may not be &longs;o, unle&longs;s
tho&longs;e that are ab&longs;olutely the Greater, and a little le&longs;&longs;er than the
Sun (nay in a manner equal to it) and far bigger than the Moon,
we may with great rea&longs;on enumerate
Fixed Stars of the fir&longs;t Magnitude, &longs;uch as
called
the mouth of the
gel
us, and according to vulgar e&longs;timation, and not according to the
true and reall exi&longs;tence of &longs;uch Bodies. Secondly, in the &longs;peci
fication of the Propo&longs;ition it is &longs;aid,
Day
Scripture agreeth with the Truth of the Thing; For that the Sun
is the Greate&longs;t of all Luminaries, and Globes. But that which
followeth immediately after,
Night,
&longs;en&longs;e of the words: For the Moon is not the le&longs;&longs;er Light, but
than any other Star. And if, again, it be &longs;aid, That the Holy
Text doth not &longs;peak of the Stars, but onely of the Luminaries,
for that pre&longs;ently after they are mentioned apart,
and that what we &longs;ay is true touching the compari&longs;on of the Stars
among&longs;t them&longs;elves, but not in re&longs;pect of the Luminaries, name
ly, the Sun and Moon: This reply doth di&longs;cover a man to be
utterly ignorant in the&longs;e Studies, and &longs;uch who having not the
lea&longs;t &longs;mattering in them, doth conceive an ab&longs;urd and erroneous
Opinion of the Cœle&longs;tial Bodies. For the Moon and Sun, con
&longs;idered in them&longs;elves, and as they appear to us, if they &longs;hould
be a far greater di&longs;tance from us, than indeed they are, would be
no other, nor would appear to us otherwi&longs;e than Stars, as the
re&longs;t do in the Firmament. But Great Luminaries they neither
are, nor &longs;eem to be, &longs;ave only
the other &longs;ide, the Stars, as to them&longs;elves, are no other than &longs;o
many Suns and &longs;o many Moons; yet are &longs;o far remote from us,
that by rea&longs;on of their di&longs;tance they appear thus &longs;mall, and dim
of light, as we behold them. For the greater and le&longs;&longs;er di&longs;tance
of heavenly Bodies
their appearance both as to Magnitude and Light. And there
fore the words which follow in that place of
Stars
to be taken in no other acceptation than that which we have &longs;po
ken of, namely,
common manner of &longs;peech.
of the matter, all Cœle&longs;tial Bodies, being &longs;hining Globes, are of
a va&longs;t bigne&longs;s, to which if we &longs;hould be &longs;o neer as we are to the
Moon, they would &longs;eem to us of as great, yea a greater magni
tude than the Moon: As likewi&longs;e on the contrary, if we were as
far di&longs;tant from the Sun and Moon, as we are from them, both
Moon and Sun would &longs;hew but as &longs;tars to us. And yet the
&longs;plendor of the Sun would doubtle&longs;s be greater
that of any other &longs;tar. For, although it &longs;hould be granted that
&longs;ome &longs;tars (as tho&longs;e of the Fixed that twinkle) do &longs;hine of them
light from others (which yet remains undecided and doubtful)
and borrow not their light from the Sun; Neverthele&longs;s &longs;ince the
brightne&longs;s of none of the &longs;tars may be compared with the Suns
&longs;plendour, which was created by God fir&longs;t, and before all other
Luminaries, in the highe&longs;t kind of Light, it would therefore
notwith&longs;tanding follow, that none of tho&longs;e &longs;tars, although pla
ced in the &longs;ame proximity to us with the Sun, and therefore ap
pearing to us of the &longs;ame Magnitude as the Sun, can be&longs;tow up
on us &longs;o much Light as we receive from the Sun: As on the
contrary, the Sun, at the &longs;ame remotene&longs;&longs;e from us as they are,
would indeed, as to its Magnitude, appear to us as one of tho&longs;e
&longs;tars, but of a &longs;plendour much more
So that, now, the Earth is nothing el&longs;e but another Moon or &longs;tar,
and &longs;o would it appear to us, if we &longs;hould behold it from a con
venient di&longs;tance
variety of Light and Darkne&longs;s which the Sun produceth in it by
making Day and Night) the &longs;ame difference of A&longs;pects that are
&longs;een in the Moon, and &longs;uch as are ob&longs;erved in tricorporate
nus
be di&longs;cerned in other Planets, which &longs;hine by no light of their
own, but by one borrowed from the Sun. What ever there
fore may touching the&longs;e matters be delivered in the &longs;acred Leaves
or the common &longs;peech of men, di&longs;&longs;enting from the real truth, it
ought (as we have &longs;aid before) ab&longs;olutely to be received and un
der&longs;tood
concipiendi &longs;tylum.
the great Lights
in Heaven.
and Stars are one
& the &longs;ame thing.
nother Moon or
Star.
And &longs;o, to return to our purpo&longs;e, if, all this con&longs;idered, the
&longs;ame Rule, to reconcile the authority of &longs;acred Scriptures with
it, however they &longs;eem to oppo&longs;e it, and in particular tho&longs;e of the
fir&longs;t and &longs;econd Cla&longs;&longs;is,
tho&longs;e places the holy Records &longs;peak according to our manner of
under&longs;tanding, and according to that which appeareth in re&longs;pect
of us;
Di&longs;cour&longs;e; So that the Earth appears as if it were &longs;tanding &longs;till
and immoveable, and the Sun, as if it were circumambient about
her.
Vulgar way of &longs;peaking; becau&longs;e in re&longs;pect of our &longs;ight, the
Earth &longs;eems rather to &longs;tand fixed in the Centre, and the Sun to
circumvolve about it, than otherwi&longs;e: as it happens to tho&longs;e that
are putting off from the Banks of a River to whom the &longs;hose
&longs;eems to move backwards, and go from them: but they do not
perceive (which yet is the truth) that they them&longs;elves go forwards.
&longs;igned by the Opticks; upon wich, as being &longs;trange to, and be
&longs;ides my purpo&longs;e, I will not &longs;tay) and on this account is
brought in by
&longs;eemeth to us to
move, & not the
Earth.
But it will not be ami&longs;s to con&longs;ider why the &longs;acred Scripture
doth &longs;o &longs;tudiou&longs;ly comply with the opinions of the Vulgar, and
why it doth not rather accurately in&longs;truct men in the truth of the
matters, and the &longs;ecrets of Nature. The Rea&longs;on is, fir&longs;t, the be
nignity of Divine Wi&longs;dome, whereby it &longs;weetly accomodates it
&longs;elf to all things, in proportion to their Capacity and Nature. Whence in Natural Sciences, it u&longs;eth natural and nece&longs;&longs;ary cau
&longs;es, but in Liberal Arts it worketh liberally, upon Generous
Per&longs;ons after a &longs;ublime and lofty manner; upon the Common
People, familiarly and humbly; upon the Skilful, learnedly;
upon the Simple, vulgarly; and &longs;o on every one, according to
his condition and quality. Secondly, becau&longs;e it is not its In
tention to fill our mindes in this life with vain and various curi
o&longs;ities, which might occa&longs;ion our doubt and &longs;u&longs;pen&longs;e. For the
truth is,
Moreover it did not only permit, but even decree, thatth e
World &longs;hould be very much bu&longs;ied in Controver&longs;ies and Di&longs;pu
tations, and that it &longs;hould be imployed about the uncertainty of
things; according to that &longs;aying of
&longs;et the World in their heart; &longs;o that no man can find out the work
that God maketh from the beginning unto the end.
tho&longs;e doubts, God will not permit that they &longs;hall be di&longs;covered
to us before the end of the World:
bring to light the hidden things of darkne&longs;&longs;e:
&longs;cope in the &longs;acred Scripture is to teach men tho&longs;e things which
conduce to the attainment of Eternal Life; which having ob
tained,
Priori
cal Que&longs;tions, which in this life,
riori,For this
cau&longs;e the Wi&longs;dome of God, revealed to us in the &longs;acred Leaves,
is not &longs;tiled Wi&longs;dome ab&longs;olutely, but
Its onely end being to lead us to &longs;alvation. And S.
ing to the
with&longs;tanding he was thorowly in&longs;tructed, and profoundly learned
he profe&longs;&longs;eth that it was his de&longs;ire to teach them no more but the
way to Heaven. Hence is that which God &longs;peaketh to us by
thy God which teacheth thee profitable things:
&longs;ary
us, Whether the
be the &longs;ame; nor Whether
bles, or whether it be divi&longs;ible
Elements are formally
Spheres, and their Orbs are; Whether there be Epicycles or
Eccentricks; nor the Vertues of Plants and Stones; nor the Na
ture of Animals; nor the Motion and Influence of the Planets;
nor the Order of the Univer&longs;e; nor the Wonders of Minerals,
and univer&longs;al Nature: but only [
wit, his Holy Law ordained to the end, that we being put into
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ion of Ble&longs;&longs;edne&longs;s, might at length be made capable of all
perfect knowledge, and the vi&longs;ion of the whole Order and ad
mirable Harmony, as al&longs;o the Sympathy and Antipathy of the
Univer&longs;e and its parts,
things &longs;hall mo&longs;t clearly and di&longs;tinctly, then, appear to us, which
mean while, in this life, he hath remitted (as far as its ability
reacheth) to humane &longs;earch and enquiry: But it was not his
purpo&longs;e to determine any thing, directly or indirectly, touching
the truth of them. Becau&longs;e as the knowledge thereof would lit
tle or nothing profit Us, but might in &longs;ome ca&longs;es prove prejudi
cial; &longs;o the ignorance thereof can doubtle&longs;s be no detriment,
but may in &longs;ome ca&longs;es be very beneficial to us. And therefore
by his mo&longs;t admirable Wi&longs;dome it comes to pa&longs;s, that though all
things in this World are dubious, uncertain, wavering, and per
plexed; yet his Holy Faith alone is mo&longs;t certain; and although
the opinions about Philo&longs;ophical and Doctrinal points be divers,
there is in the Church but one Truth of Faith and Salvation. Which Faith, as nece&longs;sary to Salvation, is &longs;o ordered by Divine
Providence, that it might not only be indubitable, but al&longs;o un
&longs;haken, &longs;ure, immutable, and manife&longs;t to all men: the infallible
Rule of which he hath appointed the Holy Church, that is wa&longs;h
ed with his precious Blood, and governed by his Holy Spirit, to
whom belongs our Sanctification, as being his work. This there
fore is the Rea&longs;on why God would have Speculative Que&longs;tions,
which nothing conduce to our Salvation and Edification, and why
the Holy Gho&longs;t hath very often conde&longs;cended to Vulgar Opini
ons and Capacities, and hath di&longs;covered nothing that is &longs;ingular
or hidden to us, be&longs;ides tho&longs;e things that pertain to Salvation. So that con&longs;equently it is clear by what hath been &longs;aid, how and
thorities to the determining of Controver&longs;ies of this Nature; as
al&longs;o with what Rea&longs;on from this fir&longs;t
the fir&longs;t and &longs;econd Cla&longs;&longs;e are ea&longs;ily an&longs;wered, as al&longs;o any other
Authority of &longs;acred Scripture produced again&longs;t the
and
1. v.
ult.
3. v.
4. v.
13. v.
12.
3. v.
2.
13. v.
12.
15. 3
2. v.
48. v.
4.
And the Authorities of the &longs;econd Cla&longs;&longs;e in particular by
this &longs;ame Maxime,
things as they appear to us, and after the common way of &longs;peak
ing,
an Agent is commonly, and not improperly &longs;aid to move, (though
it have no motion) not becau&longs;e it doth indeed move, but
trin&longs;ick denomination,
the motion of the Subject; the Form and Quality infu&longs;ed to
the Subject by the &longs;aid Agent doth likewi&longs;e move. As for ex
ample, a Fire burning in a Chimney is an immoveable Agent,
before which a man oppre&longs;t with cold &longs;its to warm him&longs;elf who
being warmed on one &longs;ide, turns the other to the Fire, that he
may be warmed on that &longs;ide al&longs;o, and &longs;o in like manner he holds
every part to the Fire &longs;ucce&longs;&longs;ively, till his whole body be warm
ed. 'Tis clear, that although the Fire do not move, yet at the
Motion of the Subject, to wit the Man, who receiveth the heat
and action of the Fire, the Form and Quality of its Heat doth
move
alwayes &longs;eeketh out a new place: and &longs;o, though the Fire do
not move, yet by rea&longs;on of its effect, it is &longs;aid to go round all
the parts of the Mans body, and to warm it, not indeed by a
true and real motion of the Fire it &longs;elf, &longs;ince it is &longs;uppo&longs;ed (and
that not untruly) not to move, but by the motion to which the
Body is excited, out of a de&longs;ire of receiving the heat of the Fire
in each of its parts. The &longs;ame may be applied to the Illumina
tion impre&longs;&longs;ed &longs;ucce&longs;&longs;ively on the parts of any Globe, which
moves Orbicularly at the a&longs;pect of a &longs;hining immoveable
Light. And in the &longs;ame manner may the Sun be &longs;aid to ri&longs;e and
&longs;et, and to move above the Earth, although in reality he doth
not move, nor &longs;uffer any mutation; that is to &longs;ay, Ina&longs;much as
his Light (which effect is the Form and Quality proceeding from
him, as the Agent, to the Earth as the Subject) doth &longs;en&longs;ibly
glide forwards, by rea&longs;on of the Orbicular motion of the Earth;
and doth alwayes be take it &longs;elf to &longs;ome new place of her &longs;urface;
upon which ground he is truly &longs;aid
nem)
Sun doth move, (for by this Opinion we affirm the Earth to
move, that it may receive the Sun one while in one, another
while in another part of it) but that at the motion of the Earth
pre&longs;&longs;ed upon her by the Sun, namely the Light of the Day is
moved, which ri&longs;eth in one part of her, and &longs;ets in another con
trary to that, according to the nature and condition of her motion;
And for this rea&longs;on the Sun it &longs;elf by con&longs;equence is &longs;aid to ri&longs;e
and &longs;et, (which notwith&longs;tanding
ble) and that no otherwi&longs;e then
as hath been &longs;aid.
After this manner the command of
by him, may be &longs;o under&longs;tood, as that not the Solar Body pro
perly, but the Suns &longs;plendour upon the Earth &longs;tood &longs;till; &longs;o that
not the Sun it &longs;elf, (being of it &longs;elf before that time immovea
ble) but the Earth that receiveth its &longs;plendour, &longs;tayed her Mo
tion; which, as &longs;he ince&longs;&longs;antly pur&longs;uing her ordinary Motion to
wards the Ea&longs;t, ^{*} called up the Light of the Sun in the We&longs;t, &longs;o
&longs;tanding &longs;till, the Suns light impre&longs;t upon it likewi&longs;e &longs;tood &longs;till.
After the &longs;ame manuer pioportionally is that Text of
plained, touching the Suns going ten degrees back ward upon the
Dial of
Hand being moved about the flame of a burning Candle that
&longs;tands &longs;till, the Light moveth on the Hand, that is to &longs;ay, the
&longs;aid Hand is illu&longs;trated now in one part, anon in another, when
as the Candle it &longs;elf all the while removes not out of its place:
whereupon
be affirmed to ri&longs;e and &longs;et upon the Hand, namely, by the &longs;ole
motion of the &longs;aid Hand, the Candle it &longs;elf never moving all the
while. And let this &longs;uffice for the explanation of my fir&longs;t Prin
ciple or
nary weight required &longs;ome prolixity in the handling of it.
10.
ver.
38. v.
My &longs;econd Maxime is this, Things both Spiritual and Cor
poreal, Durable and Corruptible, Moveable and Immoveable,
have received from God a perpetual, unchangeable, and inviola
ble Law, con&longs;tituting the E&longs;&longs;ence and Nature of every one of
them: according to which Law all of them in their own Na
ture per&longs;i&longs;ting in a certain Order and Con&longs;tancy, and ob&longs;erving
the &longs;ame perpetual Cour&longs;e, may de&longs;ervedly be &longs;tiled mo&longs;t Stable
and Determinate. Thus Fortune (than which there is nothing
in the World more incon&longs;tant or fickle) is &longs;aid to be con&longs;tant
and unalterable in her continual volubility, vici&longs;&longs;itude, and in
con&longs;tancy, which was the occa&longs;ion of that Ver&longs;e,
And thus the motion of Heaven (which by the con&longs;tan Law
and immoveable, and the Heavens them&longs;elves to be immovea
bly moved, and Terrene things to be immutably changed, be
cau&longs;e tho&longs;e never cea&longs;e moving, nor the&longs;e changing. By this Prin
ciple or Maxime all difficulties belonging to the fir&longs;t Cla&longs;&longs;is are
cleared, by which the Earth is &longs;aid to be &longs;table and immoveable,
that is, by under&longs;tanding this one thing, That the Earth, as to its
own Nature, though it include in it &longs;elf a local Motion, and that
threefold, according to the opinion of
nal, with which it revolveth about its own Centre; Annual,
by which it moveth through the twelve Signes of the Zodiack,
and the motion of Inclination, by which its Axis is alwayes op
po&longs;ed to the &longs;ame part of the World) as al&longs;o other Species of
Mutation, &longs;uch as Generation and Corruption, Accretion and
Diminution, and Alteration of divers kinds; yet in all the&longs;e &longs;he
is &longs;table & con&longs;tant, never deviating from that Order which God
hath appointed her, but moveth continually, con&longs;tantly and im
mutably, according to the &longs;ix before named Species of Motion.
of the Earth ac
cording to
nicus.
My third Maxime &longs;hall be this; When a thing is moved ac
cording to &longs;ome part of it, and not according to its whole, it
cannot be &longs;aid to be
dens,
with the &longs;ame. As for example, if a Barrel or other mea&longs;ure of
Water be taken out of the Sea, and transferred to another place,
the Sea may not therefore
ved from place to place; but only
quid,
ply) we &longs;hould &longs;ay that the Sea cannot be carried or moved out of
its proper place,, though as to its parts it be moved, and transfer
red to & again. This Maxime is manife&longs;t of it &longs;elf, and by it may
the Authorities be explained which &longs;eem to make for the immo
bility of the Earth in this manner; namely, The Earth
ab&longs;olutè
neither generated nor corrupted neither increa&longs;ed nor dimini&longs;hed;
neither is it altered
Now it plainly appears, that this is the genuine and true Sen&longs;e of
what is a&longs;cribed to it out of 4. One Generation
pa&longs;&longs;eth away, and another Generation cometh, but the Earth abideth
for ever
parts, doth generate and corrupt, and is liable to the vici&longs;&longs;itudes of
Generation and corruption, yet in reference to its Whole it never
generateth nor Corrupteth, but abideth immutable for ever:
Like as a Ship, which though it be mended one while in the Sail
yard, another while in the Stern, and afterwards in other parts
it yet remains the &longs;ame Ship as it was at fir&longs;t. But tis to be ad
but of Mutations of another nature; as in the very &longs;ub&longs;tance,
quantity or quality of the Earth it &longs;elf. But if it be &longs;aid, that
it is to be under&longs;tood of a Local Motion, then it may be ex
plained by the in&longs;uing Maxime, that is to &longs;ay, a re&longs;pect being had
to the natural Place a&longs;&longs;igned it in the Univer&longs;e, as &longs;hall be &longs;hewed
by and by.
cundum Totum
Immutable,
though not Immo
vable.
The fourth Axiome is this; That every Corporeal thing, mo
veable or immoveable from its very fir&longs;t Creation, is alotted its
proper and natural place; and being drawn or removed from
thence, its motion is violent, and it hath a natural tendency to
move back thither again: al&longs;o that nothing can be moved from
its natural place,
mi&longs;chiefs would follow from that perturbation of things in the
Univer&longs;e. Therefore neither the whole Earth, nor the whole
Water, nor the whole Air can
ced out of their proper place, &longs;ite, or Sy&longs;teme in the Univer&longs;e,
in re&longs;pect of the order and di&longs;po&longs;ition of other mundane Bodies. And thus there is no Star (though Erratick) Orb or Sphere that
can de&longs;ert its natural place, although it may otherwi&longs;e have &longs;ome
kind of motion. Therefore all things, how moveable &longs;oever,
are notwith&longs;tanding &longs;aid to be &longs;table and immoveable in their
proper place, according to the fore&longs;aid &longs;en&longs;e, &longs;ecundum to
tum
&longs;ome waymove; which motion &longs;hall not be natural, but violent. Therefore the Earth, although it &longs;hould be moveable, yet it
might be &longs;aid to be immoveable, according to the precedent
Maxime, for that its neither moved in a right Motion nor out of
the Cour&longs;e a&longs;&longs;igned it in its Creation for the &longs;tanding Rule of its
motion; but keep within its own &longs;ite, being placed in that
which is called the Grand Orb, above
and being in the middle betwixt the&longs;e (which according to the
common opinion is the Suns place) it equally and continually
moveth about the Sun, and the two other intermediate Planets,
namely
Earth, but Ætherial, as
lo&longs;ophers, will have it) about it &longs;elf. From whence, ina&longs;much as
&longs;he per&longs;i&longs;teth uniformly in her Cour&longs;e, and never at any time
departeth from it, &longs;he may be &longs;aid to be &longs;table and immoveable:
and in the &longs;ame &longs;en&longs;e Heaven likewi&longs;e, with all the Elements,
may be &longs;aid to be immoveable.
not
tum,
its Natural Place.
Place of the Earth.
Ætherial Body.
The fifth Maxime followeth, being little different from the
former. Among&longs;t the things created by God, &longs;ome are of &longs;uch a
nature, that their parts may be
parated from them&longs;elves, and di&longs;-joyned from their Whole;
ri&longs;hable, but the&longs;e perpetual. The Earth therefore &longs;ince it
is reckoned among&longs;t tho&longs;e things that are permanent, as hath
been &longs;aid already, hath its parts, not di&longs;&longs;ipable, nor
&longs;eparable from its Centre (whereby its true and proper place is
a&longs;&longs;igned it) and from its whole, taken collectively: becau&longs;e ac
cording to its whole it is always pre&longs;erved, compact, united, and
cohærent in it &longs;elf, nor can its parts be &longs;eperated from the Cen
tre, or from one another, unle&longs;s it may &longs;o fall out
and violently in &longs;ome of its parts; which afterwards, the ob&longs;tacle
being removed, return to their Natural Station &longs;pontaneou&longs;ly,
and without any impul&longs;e. In this Sen&longs;e therefore the Earth is
&longs;aid to be Immoveable, and Immutable: yea even the Sea, Aire,
Heaven, and any other thing (although otherwi&longs;e moveable) &longs;o
long as its parts are not di&longs;&longs;ipable and &longs;eperable, may be &longs;aid to
be Immoveable, at lea&longs;t taken
or Maxim differeth from the precedent only in that this referrs
to the parts in order to
tre keepeth it in
its Natural Place.
From this Speculation another Secret is di&longs;covered.
For hence
it is manife&longs;t wherein the proper and genuine formality of the
Gravity aad Levity of Bodyes con&longs;i&longs;teth; a point which is not &longs;o
clearly held forth, nor &longs;o undeniably explained by the Peripate
tick Phylo&longs;ophy.
the Principles of this new Opinion, than a certain power and ap
petite of the Parts to rejoyn with their Whole, and there to re&longs;t
as in their proper place. Which Faculty or Di&longs;po&longs;ition is by
Divine Providence be&longs;towed not only on the Earth, and Ter
rene Bodies, but, as is believed, on Cœle&longs;tial Bodies al&longs;o, name
ly the Sun, Moon, and Starrs; all who&longs;e parts are by this Impul
&longs;ion connected, and con&longs;erved together, cleaving clo&longs;ely to each
other, and on all &longs;ides pre&longs;&longs;ing towards their Centre, until they
come to re&longs;t there. From which Concour&longs;e and Compre&longs;&longs;ion a
Sphærical and Orbicular Figure of the Cæle&longs;tial Orbes is produ
ced, wherein by this occult Quality naturally incident to
each of them they of them&longs;elves &longs;ub&longs;i&longs;t, and are alwayes pre&longs;er
ved. But
nuo&longs;e and thin Body from the Commerce of one more Solid and
den&longs;e, that is Heterogeneal to it, by vertue of Heat. Where
upon, as the Motion of Grave Bodies is
tion of Light Bodies is
to dilate and rarify tho&longs;e things to which it doth apply, conjoine
and communicate it &longs;elf. And for this rea&longs;on we find Levity
and Gravity not only in re&longs;pect of this our Tere&longs;trial Globe, and
the Bodies adjacent to it, but al&longs;o in re&longs;pect of tho&longs;e Bodies
which are &longs;aid to be in the Heavens, in which tho&longs;e parts which
Grave, and tho&longs;e that incline to the Circumference Light. And
&longs;o in the Sun, Moon, and Starrs, there are parts as well Grave as
Light. And con&longs;equently Heaven it &longs;elf that &longs;o Noble Body,
and of a fifth E&longs;&longs;ence, &longs;hall not be con&longs;tituted of a Matter diffe
rent from that of the Elements, being free from all Mutation in
it's Sub&longs;tance, Quantity, and Quality: Nor &longs;o admirable and
excellent as
Body, and impermeable; and much le&longs;&longs;e (as the generality of
men verily believe) of an impenetrable and mo&longs;t obdurate Den
&longs;ity: but in it (as this Opinion will have it) Comets may be ge
nerated; and the Sun it &longs;elf, as tis probable, exhaling or attract
ing &longs;undry vapours to the &longs;urface of its Body, may perhaps pro
duce tho&longs;e Spots which were ob&longs;erved to be &longs;o various, and irre
gular in its
hath mo&longs;t excellently and mo&longs;t accurately &longs;poken; in&longs;omuch,
that though it were not be&longs;ides my pre&longs;ent purpo&longs;e, yet it is con
venient that I forbear to &longs;peak any thing touching tho&longs;e matters,
lea&longs;t I &longs;hould &longs;eem to do that which he hath done before me: But
now if there be found in the Sacred Scriptures any Authority
contrary to the&longs;e things, it may be &longs;alved by the fore&longs;aid Argu
ments Analogically applyed. And further more it may be &longs;aid,
that that Solidity is to be &longs;o under&longs;tood,
vacuum, cleft, or penetration from whence the lea&longs;t vacuity might
proceed
Creatures, &longs;o it is likewi&longs;e repugnant to Heaven it &longs;elf, being
indeed a Body of its own Nature the mo&longs;t Rare of all o
thers, and tenuo&longs;e beyond all Humane Conception, and happly
hath the &longs;ame proportion to the Aire, as the Aire to the
Water.
vity of Bodies,
what it is.
dies have Gravity
and Levety.
tion, proper to
Gravity; the Ex
ten&longs;ive, to Levity.
compo&longs;ed of a fift
E&longs;&longs;ence differing
from the matter of
inferior Bodies.
or den&longs;e Body but
Rare.
&longs;olarj.
fimplicis, unus e&longs;t
motus &longs;implex, et
huic duæ &longs;pecies,
Rectus & Circu
laris: Rectus du
plex à medio, &
ad medium; pri
mus levium, ut A
eris & Ignis: &longs;e
cundus gravium,
ut Aquæ & Ter
ræ: Circularis,
quie&longs;t circa medi
um competit Cœlo,
quod neque e&longs;t
grave, neque leve.
Ari&longs;t.
Lib. 1.
It is clear al&longs;o from the&longs;e Principles how fal&longs;e the&longs;e words of
fold, from the medium, and to the medium; the fir&longs;t of Light Bo
dyes, as the Aire and Fire: the &longs;econd of Grave Bodyes, as the
Water and Earth: the Circular, which is about the medium, be
longeth to Heaven, which is neither Grave nor Light
Philo&longs;ophy is now for&longs;aken, and of it &longs;elf grown into di&longs;-e&longs;teem;
for though it be received for an unque&longs;tionable truth in this new
Opinion, that to a &longs;imple body appertains one only &longs;imple Moti
on, yet it granteth no Motion but what is Circular, by which alone
a&longs;imple body is con&longs;erved in its naturall Place, and &longs;ub&longs;i&longs;ts in its
Unity, and is properly &longs;aid to move
it comes to pa&longs;s that a Body for this rea&longs;on doth continue to move
in it &longs;elf, [
moveable. But right Motion, which is properly
place]
naturall place, being far from union with one another, and from
unity with their whole, yea that are &longs;eperated and divided from
it: Which being that it is contrary to the Nature and forme of
the Univer&longs;e, it nece&longs;&longs;arily followeth, that right Motion doth in
&longs;hort &longs;ute with tho&longs;e things which are de&longs;titute of that perfection,
that according to their proper Nature belongeth to them, and
which by this &longs;ame right Motion they labour to obtaine, untill
they are redintigrated with their Whole, and with one another,
and re&longs;tored to their Naturall place; in which at the length,
having obtained their perfection, they &longs;ettle and remaine immove
able. Therefore in right Motions there can be no Uniformity,
nor &longs;implicity; for that they vary by rea&longs;on of the uncertaine
Levity or Gravity of their re&longs;pective Bodyes: for which cau&longs;e
they do not per&longs;evere in the &longs;ame Velocity or Tardity to the end
which they had in the beginning. Hence we &longs;ee that tho&longs;e things
who&longs;e weight maketh them tend downwards, do de&longs;cend at fir&longs;t
with a &longs;low Motion; but afterwards, as they approach neerer
and neerer to the Centre, they precipitate more and more &longs;wiftly. And on the other&longs;ide, tho&longs;e things which by rea&longs;on of their light
ne&longs;s are carryed upwards (as this our Terre&longs;triall fire, which is no
thing el&longs;e but a &longs;moak that burneth, and is inkindled into a flame)
are no &longs;ooner a&longs;cended on high, but, in almo&longs;t the &longs;elf-&longs;ame mo
ment, they fly and vani&longs;h out of fight; by rea&longs;on of the rare
faction and exten&longs;ion, that they as &longs;oon as they acquire, are freed
from tho&longs;e bonds which violently and again&longs;t their own Nature
kept them under, and deteined them here below. For which
rea&longs;on, it is very apparent, that no Right Motion can be called
Simple, not only in regard that (as hath been &longs;aid) it is not
^{*} even and uniforme, but al&longs;o becau&longs;e it is mixt with the Circu
lar, which lurketh in the Right by an occult con&longs;ent,
rea&longs;on of the Natural affection of the Parts to conforme unto
their Whole. For when the Whole moveth Circularly, it is re
qui&longs;ite likewi&longs;e that the Parts, to the end that they may be uni
ted to their Whole, (howbeit
moved with a Right Motion) do move (though not &longs;o appa
rently) with a Circular Motion, as doth their Whole. And thus
at length we have evinced that Circular Motion only is Simple,
Uniform and ^{*} Æquable, and of the &longs;ame tenor [
it is never de&longs;titute of its interne Cau&longs;e: whereas on the contra
ry, Right Motion, (which pertains to things both Heavy and
Light) hath a Cau&longs;e that is imperfect and deficient, yea that ari
&longs;eth from Defect it &longs;elf, and that tendeth to, and &longs;eeketh after
that Grave and Light Bodies, when once they have attained their
proper and Natural Place, do de&longs;i&longs;t from that Motion to which
they were incited by Levity and Gravity. Therefore: &longs;ince Cir
cular Motion is proper
Parts,
to call one Motion Right, another Circular, as if they were not
con&longs;i&longs;tent with one another: For they may be both together, and
that Naturally, in the &longs;ame Body; no le&longs;&longs;e than it is equally
Natural for a Man to participate of Sen&longs;e and Rea&longs;on, &longs;eeing
that the&longs;e differences are not directly oppo&longs;ite to one another. Hereupon Re&longs;t and Immobility only are oppo&longs;ed to Motion;
and not one Species of Motion to another. And for the other
differences
&longs;tingui&longs;hed not
Superficies, none of which can be without the other two, or
without a Body. Hence it appears, that in as much as this Phy
lo&longs;ophy differs from that of
New Co&longs;mographical Sy&longs;tem vary from the Common one, that
hath been hitherto received. But this by the way, upon occa&longs;ion
of explaining the Fifth Maxim: For as to the truth or fal&longs;hood
of the&longs;e foregoing Po&longs;itions (although I conceive them very pro
bable) I am re&longs;olved to determine nothing at pre&longs;ent, neither
&longs;hall I make any farther enquiry into them.
cum de Revolutio
nibus Cœle&longs;t.
peculiar to only
Simple Bodies.
belongeth to Im
perfect Bodies, and
that are out of
their natural Pla
ces.
cannot be Simple.
ever mixt with
the Circular.
tion is truly Sim
ple and Perpetual.
tion belongeth to
the Whole Body,
and the Right to
its parts.
Right Motion co
incedent, and may
con&longs;i&longs;t together in
the &longs;ame Body.
The Sixth and La&longs;t Maxim is this.
Every thing is Simply deno
minated &longs;uch as it is in compari&longs;on of all things, or of many
things which make the greater number of that kinde, but not in
re&longs;pect of a few which make but the le&longs;&longs;er part of them. As,
for in&longs;tance, a Ve&longs;&longs;el &longs;hall not be called ab&longs;olutely Great be
cau&longs;e it is &longs;o whil&longs;t it is compared with two or three others: but
it &longs;hall be &longs;aid to be great ab&longs;olutely, and will be &longs;o, if it ex
ceed in magnitude all indivials, or the greater part of them. Nor
again &longs;hall a Man be &longs;aid to be ab&longs;olutely Big, becau&longs;e he is big
ger than a Pigmey; nor yet ab&longs;olutely Little, becau&longs;e le&longs;&longs;e than
a Gyant: but he &longs;hall be termed ab&longs;olutely Big or Little in com
pari&longs;on of the ordinary Stature of the greater part of Men. Thus
the Earth cannot ab&longs;olutely be &longs;aid to be High or Low for that it
is found to be &longs;o in re&longs;pect of &longs;ome &longs;mall part of the Univer&longs;e; nor
again &longs;hall it be ab&longs;olutely affirmed to be High, being compared
to the Centre of the World, or &longs;ome few parts of the Univer&longs;e,
more near to the &longs;aid Centre, as is the
but it &longs;hall receive its ab&longs;olute denomination according as it &longs;hall
be found to be in compari&longs;on of the greater number of the
Spheres and Bodies of the Univer&longs;e. The Earth therefore, in
compari&longs;on of the whole Circuit of the Eighth Sphære which in
Mars,
compari&longs;on of other Bodies, (if any &longs;uch there be) above the
Eighth Sphere and e&longs;pecially the Empyrial Heaven, may be truly
&longs;aid to be in the lowe&longs;t place of the World, and almo&longs;t in the
Centre of it; nor can it he &longs;aid to be above any of them, except
the
name of an Infime and Low, but not a Supreme or Middle Body. And &longs;o to come down from Heaven, e&longs;pecially the Empyrian, to it
(as it is accepted in the De&longs;cent of Chri&longs;t from Heaven to his Holy
Incarnation) and from it to go up to Heaven (as in Chri&longs;ts return
to Heaven in his Glorious A&longs;cention) is truly and properly to
from the parts which are neare&longs;t to the Centre of the World
to its utmo&longs;t Circumference. This Maxim therefore may ea&longs;ily
and according to truth explain Theologicall Propo&longs;itions: and
this is &longs;o much the more confirmed, in that (as I have ob&longs;erved)
almo&longs;t all Texts of Sacred Scripture which oppo&longs;e the Earth to
Heaven, are mo&longs;t conveniently and aptly under&longs;tood of the Em
pyrial Heaven (being the Highe&longs;t of all the Heavens, and Spiritual
in re&longs;pect of its end) but not of the inferiour or intermediate Hea
vens, which are a Corporeal, and were framed for the benefit of
Corporeal Creatures: and thus when in the Plural Number
Heavens are mentioned, then all the Heavens promi&longs;cuou&longs;ly and
without di&longs;tinction are to be under&longs;tood, as well the Empyrian
it &longs;elf as the Inferiour Heavens. And this Expo&longs;ition indeed any
man (that doth but take notice of it) may find to be mo&longs;t true. And &longs;o for this Rea&longs;on the Third Heaveu into which St.
was wrapt up, by this Maxim may be taken for the Empyrean:
if for the the Fir&longs;t Heaven we under&longs;tand that immen&longs;e Space of
Erratick and Moveable Bodies illuminated by the Sun, in which
are comprehended the Planets, as al&longs;o the Earth moveable, and
the Sun immoveable, Who like a King upon his Augu&longs;t Tribu
nal, &longs;its with venerable Maje&longs;ty immoveable and con&longs;tant in
Centre of all the Sphæres, and, with his Divine Beames, doth
bountifully exhilerate all Cœle&longs;tial Bodies that &longs;tand in need of
his vital Light, for which they cravingly wander about him; and
doth liberally and on every &longs;ide comfort and illu&longs;trate the Thea
tre of the whole World, and all its parts, even the very lea&longs;t, like
an immortal and perpetual Lamp of high and un&longs;peakable va
lue. The Second Heaven &longs;hall be the Starry Heaven, common
ly called the Eighth Sphære, or the Firmament, wherein are all
the Fixed Starrs, which according to this Opinion of
is (like as the Sun and Centre) void of all Motion, the Centre
and utmo&longs;t Circumference mutually agreeing with each other in
And the Third &longs;hall be the Empyrean Heaven, that
is the Seat of the Ble&longs;&longs;ed. And in this manner we may come to
explain and under&longs;tand that admirable Secret, and profound My
&longs;tery ænigmatically revealed by
about the &longs;econd, and Third things about the Third
God being the Centre of Spiritual things, the Sun, of Cor
poreal, Chri&longs;t, of tho&longs;e that are Mixt, or made up of both, things
do doubtle&longs;&longs;e depend of that of the&longs;e three Centres that is mo&longs;t
corre&longs;pondent and proportionable to them, and the Centre is
ever adjudged to be the nobler and worthier place: and therefore
in Animals the Heart, in Vegitables the Pith or Kernell wherein
the Seed lyeth that con&longs;erveth their perpetuity, and virtually in
cludes the whole Plant, are in the Mid&longs;t, and in the Centre: and
thus much &longs;hall &longs;uffice to have hinted at, &longs;ince there may another
occa&longs;ion offer it &longs;elf for a larger Explication of the&longs;e things. By
this Maxim the Authorities and Arguments of the Third Fourth
and Fifth Cla&longs;&longs;es are re&longs;olved.
what &longs;en&longs;e it may
ab&longs;olutely be &longs;aid
to be in the lowe&longs;t
part of the World.
Incarnation tru
ly de&longs;cended from
Heaven, and in
his A&longs;cen&longs;ion tru
ly a&longs;cended into
Heaven.
c.
12. v.
3.
body or out of the
body, I cannot tell,
The Sun is King,
Heart and Lamp
of the World him
&longs;elf being
dent.
Plato.
um Regem &longs;unt
omnia. & Secun
da circa Secun
dum, et Tertia
circa Tertium:
Videde
Græc. affect.
curat.
lib.
2. Steuch.
lib.
de Parennj.
Phi
lo&longs;o.
It may be added withall, that even the
nus
the Univer&longs;e, yea and al&longs;o ab&longs;olutely, they are
&longs;on is, becau&longs;e in re&longs;pect of the Earth they alwayes appear above
its Surface: and although they do not environe it, yet by the
Motion of the &longs;aid Earth they behold one while one part, another
while another part of its Circumference. Since therefore tho&longs;e
things which in a Sphærical Body are nearer to the Circumfe
rence and more remote from the Cenrre are &longs;aid to be
tho&longs;e that are next adjoyning to the Centre are &longs;aid to be
it clearly followeth that whil&longs;t the
not only turned towards the Surface and Circumference of the
&longs;aid Earth, but are at a very great di&longs;tance without it, &longs;ucce&longs;&longs;ively
turned about it, and every way have a view of it, and are very
far remote from its Centre, they may, in re&longs;pect of the &longs;aid Earth,
be &longs;aid to be
re&longs;pect of them may be &longs;aid to be
trary, in re&longs;pect of the Univer&longs;e, the Earth in reality is much
higher than they. And thus is &longs;alved the Authority of
on the Eeath in the&longs;e words,
true Sen&longs;e wherein it is &longs;aid, That we are
der the Moon,
name of
c.
1. 2. 3.
out.
&longs;unt &longs;ub &longs;ole.
The Sixth Cla&longs;&longs;is threatneth a difficulty which is common as
are both alike concerned in the &longs;olution of it: But &longs;o far as it
oppo&longs;eth that of
Maxim.
But that which is added in the Fourth Cla&longs;&longs;e, That it follow
eth from this Opinion, that Hell (for that it is included by the
Earth, as is commonly held) doth move circularly about the
Sun, and in Heaven, and that &longs;o Hell it &longs;elf will be found to be
in Heaven; di&longs;covers, in my judgment, nothing but Ignorance
and Calumny, that in&longs;inuate the belief of their Arguments ra
ther by a corrupt &longs;en&longs;e of the Words, than by &longs;olid Rea&longs;ons
taken from the bo&longs;ome of the Nature of things. For in this
place Heaven is no wi&longs;e to be taken for Paradice, nor according
to the Sen&longs;e of Common Opinion, but (as hath been &longs;aid above)
according to the
Pure&longs;t Aire, far more tenuous and rare than this of ours; where
upon the Solid Bodies of the Stars, Moon, and Earth, in their
Circular and Ordinary Motions, do pa&longs;&longs;e thorow it, (the Sphære
of Fire being by this Opinion taken away.) And as according
to the Common Opinion it was no ab&longs;urdity to &longs;ay, That Hell
being demerged in the Centre of the Earth and of the World it
&longs;elf, hath Heaven and Paradice above and below it, yea and on
all &longs;ides of it, and that it is in the middle of all the Cœle&longs;tial
Bodies (as if it were po&longs;ited in a more unworthy place) &longs;o, nei
ther in this will it be deemed an Error, if from the other Sy&longs;tem,
which differeth not much from the Vulgar one, tho&longs;e or the like
things follow as do in that. For both in that of
the Vulgar Hypothe&longs;is, Hell is &longs;uppo&longs;ed to be placed among&longs;t the
very dreggs of the Elements, and in the Centre of the Earth it
&longs;elf, for the confinement and puni&longs;hment of the damned. There
fore we ought not for want of Rea&longs;ons to trifle away time in
vain and impertinent &longs;trife about words, &longs;ince their true Sen&longs;e
is clouded then with no ob&longs;curity, and in regard that it is very
clear to any man indued with a refined Intellect, and that hath
but an indifferent judgment in the Liberal Arts, and e&longs;pecially
in the Mathematicks, that the &longs;ame, or not very different Gon
&longs;equences do flow from both the&longs;e Opinions.
ing to Copernicus
is the &longs;ame with
the mo&longs;t tenuous
Æther; but dif
ferent from Para
dice, which &longs;ar
pa&longs;&longs;eth all the
Heavens.
By the&longs;e Maxims and their Interpretations it appears, that
the
po&longs;&longs;ible it may exceed even the
&longs;ince there may be deduced from it a mo&longs;t ordinate Sy&longs;teme, and
a mroe admirable and my&longs;terious Hypothe&longs;is of the World
than from that of
and Theological Tenents in the mean while not oppo&longs;ing it, be
ing opportunely and appo&longs;itely (as I have &longs;hown how they may
nomena of all the Cœle&longs;tial Bodies are mo&longs;t readily &longs;alved, but
al&longs;o many Natural Rea&longs;ons are di&longs;covered, which could not o
therwi&longs;e, (but with extream difficulty) have been found out:
And &longs;ince it, la&longs;t of all, doth open a more ea&longs;y way into A&longs;tro
nomy and Phylo&longs;ophy, and rejecteth all tho&longs;e &longs;uperfluous and
imaginary inventions produced by A&longs;tronomers to the end only,
that they might be able by them to render a rea&longs;on of the &longs;o ma
ny and &longs;o various Motions of the Cœle&longs;tial Orbs.
And who knows, but that in that admirable compo&longs;ure of the
Candle&longs;tick which was to be placed in the Tabernacle of God, he
might out of his extraordinary love to us have been plea&longs;ed to
&longs;haddow forth unto us the Sy&longs;teme of the Univer&longs;e, and more
e&longs;pecially of the Planets?
his Shaft, and his Branches, his Bowls, his Knops, and his
Flowers (b) &longs;hall be of the &longs;ame.
Shaft of the Candle&longs;tick in the midle, the Branches on the &longs;ides,
the Bowls, the Knops and the Flowers. And &longs;ince there can be no
more Shafts but one, the Branches are immediatly de&longs;cribed in
the&longs;e
three Branches out of the one &longs;ide, and three Branches out of the
other &longs;ide:
the &longs;lowe&longs;t and mo&longs;t remote of all, fini&longs;heth his cour&longs;e about the
Sun thorrow all the twelve Signes of the Zodiack in thirty Years:
nearer than him, in two Years: The
than he, doth perform the &longs;ame Revolution, together with
the Orbe of the
Months:
And la&longs;t of all
of all, accompli&longs;heth its whole conver&longs;ion about the Sun in eighty
Dayes. After the de&longs;cription of the &longs;ix Branches, the &longs;acred
Text proceeds to the de&longs;cription of the Bowls, the Knops, and
the Flowers, &longs;aying,
with a Knop and a Flower in one Branch; and three Bowls made
like Almonds in the other Branch, with a Knop and a Flower: this
&longs;hall be the work of the &longs;ix Branches that come out of the Shaft. And in the Candle&longs;tick &longs;hall be four Bowls made like unto Al
monds, with their Knops and their Flowers: there &longs;hall be a knop
under two branches of the &longs;ame, and a Knop under two Branches
of the &longs;ame, and a Knop under two Branches of the &longs;ame; which
together are &longs;ix Branches, proceeding from one Shaft.
is, the &longs;hallowne&longs;&longs;e of my under&longs;tanding cannot fathome the
di&longs;po&longs;ure of things: neverthele&longs;&longs;e being amazed, and tran&longs;ported
with admiration, I will &longs;ay; Who knows but that tho&longs;e three
Bowls like unto Almonds to be repre&longs;ented on each of the
Branches of the Candle&longs;tick may &longs;ignifie tho&longs;e Globes which are
apter (as is this our Earth) for the receiving than emitting of Influ
ences? Perhaps al&longs;o they denote tho&longs;e Globes of late di&longs;covered
by the help of the Optick Tele&longs;cope, which participate with Who knows likewi&longs;e, but that there may be &longs;ome occult propor
tion between the&longs;e Globes and tho&longs;e My&longs;terious Knops and
Lilies in&longs;inuated unto us in the &longs;acred Scriptures? But this
&longs;hall here &longs;uffice to bound humane Pre&longs;umption, and to teach us
to ex&longs;pect with an Harpocratick &longs;ilence from Time, the Indice of
Truth, a di&longs;covery of the&longs;e My&longs;teries:
Candle&longs;ticks by the &longs;ame Patern of
on one hand and five on another, in the Temple erected by him
in honour of the mo&longs;t High God; which very thing doth al&longs;o,
without all que&longs;tion, contain mo&longs;t ab&longs;tru&longs;e &longs;igni&longs;ications. More
over, that Apple of the Knowledg of Good and Evil prohibited
our fir&longs;t Parents by God is not without a My&longs;tery; which &longs;ome
&longs;ay was an Indian Figg. In which the&longs;e things are to be ob&longs;erv
ed: Fir&longs;t, That it is replete with many Kernels, every one of
which hath a particular Centre. Secondly, Though of it &longs;elf it
be hard and &longs;olid, yet about its Circumference it is of a more rare
and tenuou&longs;e &longs;ub&longs;tance; herein re&longs;embling the Earth, which
though in its Centre, and tho&longs;e parts which are neare&longs;t to it, it
be &longs;tony, Metallick, and compact, yet the nearer one approacheth
to the Circumference, its parts are &longs;een to be the more rare and
tenuou&longs;e: and withall it hath another body, more rare than its
own, namely the Water, above which there is yet another, more
&longs;ubtil than all the re&longs;t of inferiour Bodyes, that is to &longs;ay,
the Aire,
25. 31.
following the vul
gar Tran&longs;lation,
which hath an E
ligance in &longs;ome
things beyond ours,
cites the words
thus,
delabrum ducti
le de auro mun
di&longs;&longs;imo, Ha&longs;tile
ejus, & Calamos,
& Sphærulas, ac
Lilia, ex ip&longs;o pro
cedentia.
Authour &longs;peaketh
here po&longs;itively of
nine Months,
greed about the pe
riod of this planet,
nor that of
ry,
at large in
lus, Almage&longs;t. nov.
1. part 1. l.
7. &longs;ect.
3. cha.
11.
num. 11. page 627.
where he maketh
Venus
mate her Revolu
tion in neer 225
dayes, or 7 1/2 Mon. and
bout 88 dayes, or 3
Months: in which
he followeth
nom. p.
4.
The &longs;ame Repre&longs;entation with that of the Indian Figg is held
forth to us by the
innumerable poly centrick Stones or Kernels, all which in the parts
more remote from their Centre, and nearer approaching towards
the Circumference, are of a &longs;ub&longs;tance &longs;o &longs;ubtil and rare, that being
but lightly compre&longs;&longs;ed, they in a manner wholly convert into a
mo&longs;t tenuo&longs;e Liquor or juice: Of which fruit it plea&longs;ed Divine
Wi&longs;dom to make mention, and ordained that its Figure &longs;hould be
imbroidered and wrought with a needle in the
of
round about the border thereof; and Bells of gold between them
pomegranate, upon the hem of the Robe round about.
was a My&longs;tical Repre&longs;entation of the Worlds Effigies, is averred
by
had on was the (l) whole World; and in the foure rows of the &longs;tones
28. 33,
34, & 39. v. 24,
25, 26.
c.
18. v.
24.
c.
28.
v. 6, 9. 17, 36.
bis Terrarum,
the vulgar Tran&longs;
lation hath it.
The &longs;ame likewi&longs;e is &longs;ignified to us by the Grape, and in like
manner by all other Fruits; but e&longs;pecially the Figg, Grape, and
Pomegranate: whence the&longs;e three are almo&longs;t alwayes placed to
gether in the Sacred Scriptures. So
el complain again&longs;t
where there can grow no Seed, neither is there either Figgs, or
Vines, or PomegranatesIntimating that the&longs;e kinds of Fruits
were preferred by them for their excellency before all others. And in
even all the Trees of the field are withered; becau&longs;e joy is wither
ed away from the Sons of Men.and hath as yet the Vine and the Fig-tree,
and the Pomegranate, and the Olive-tree brought forthIn like
manner in
be And in the
Structure of the Temple undertaken by
&longs;piration the
ral rowes of Pomegranates: which particular is mentioned, not
in one but many places of Holy Writ. Yea and &longs;ometimes acci
dentally and occa&longs;ionally the Holy hath Gho&longs;t ænigmatically re
pre&longs;ented this mo&longs;t admirable and Mo&longs;t Wi&longs;e Sructure of the
World, the Order of the Heavens, and the di&longs;po&longs;ure of Crea
tures Spiritual and Corporeal by Emblems, Parables, and Figures,
lea&longs;t they &longs;hould be as it were dazled and blinded, by the reful
gent &longs;plendor of &longs;o excellent an Object. Hence we &longs;ee, that in
the&longs;e Doctrinal & Dubious Points we may di&longs;cour&longs;e in &longs;uch man
ner by help of the Holy Scripture as is meet for the under&longs;tanding
of the Prophets; which &longs;eeing they are very ob&longs;cure, they &longs;hall be
fully under&longs;tood, and may be aptly applyed only then when they
&longs;hall be fulfilled, and not before: So al&longs;o when once the true
Sy&longs;teme of the Univer&longs;e is found out, then, and not till then, the
meaning of the&longs;e Figures, and Ænigma's &longs;hall be made known
unto us: Thus before the coming of the Son of God had di&longs;co
vered unto us the My&longs;tery of the Holy Trinity, none were able
to comprehend or imagine what was concealed under tho&longs;e
that they did not &longs;ee how the Noun Plural
as to &longs;ay
of Per&longs;ons in God being revealed, it was pre&longs;ently known, that
the Singular Number,
&longs;ence, (in regard that the Works of the Trinity
divi&longs;ible) and the Plural, Who, I pray,
in elder times could have found out this My&longs;tery? And thus the
Name of God is thrice repeated in 67. (s) God, even our
&longs;eem a Pleona&longs;me, and &longs;uperfluous repetition; but afterwards it
was evident that
veral Per&longs;ons implyed, to wit, the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&longs;t. Innumerable Examples of the like kind may be found in the Sa
cred Leaves. Therefore, to conclude, I will &longs;ay with ^{*}
are very deep: an unwi&longs;eman knoweth not, and a fool doth not
under&longs;tand the&longs;e things.
v. 5.
1. v.
12.
v. 19.
v. 20. & 2 Kings
c. 25. v. 17. &
2 Chro. c. 3. v. 15,
16. & c. 4. v.
12.
13. & Jerem. c.
52. v. 21, 22.
7.
The&longs;e are the particulars that I have thought fit to offer, as
a Divine, concerning the not-improbable Opinion of the Mobili
ty of the Earth and Stability of the Sun: which I hope will be
acceptable to you, Reverend Sir, out of the love and diligence
wherewith you per&longs;ue Virtue and Learning. But (to the end
that you may al&longs;o receive an account of my other Studies) I
hope very &longs;hortly to publi&longs;h in Print my Second Tome ^{*}
Arts, as I have already &longs;ignified in that
me heretofore put forth, and publi&longs;hed under your Name. The
other five following Tomes by me promi&longs;ed (which &longs;hall treat of
Phylo&longs;ophy and Theology) are not altogether &longs;o forward, ne
verthele&longs;s they will be &longs;peedily fini&longs;hed. In the mean time there
will come forth my Book
gether with a Treati&longs;e ^{*}
pledge thereof, I &longs;end you at this time annexed to this Epi&longs;tle a
Tract ^{*}
ral Progno&longs;ticks, and Pre&longs;ages of the Changes o&longs; Weather, and
other things which fall within the compa&longs;&longs;e of Natue. God grant
you all Happine&longs;&longs;e.
omnium Doctri
narum.
ne artificio&longs;a.
ne Naturali Co&longs;
mologica.
of the 6. 1615.
FINIS.
JOANNES LONGUS
Neap.