Wilkins, John, A discovery of a new world : or a discourse tending to prove, that 'tis probable there may be another Habitable World in the Moon ; with a discourse concerning the Probability of a Passage thither; unto which is added, a discourse concerning a New Planet, tending to prove, that 'tis probable our earth is one of the Planets

Page concordance

< >
Scan Original
191 11
192 12
193 13
194 14
195 15
196 16
197 17
198 18
199 19
200 20
201 21
202 22
203 23
204 24
205 25
206 26
207 27
208 28
209 29
210 30
211 31
212 32
213 33
214 34
215 35
216 36
217 37
218 38
219 39
220 40
< >
page |< < (74) of 370 > >|
    <echo version="1.0RC">
      <text xml:lang="en" type="free">
        <div xml:id="echoid-div107" type="section" level="1" n="36">
          <pb o="74" file="0086" n="86" rhead="That the Moon may be a World."/>
          <p>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1110" xml:space="preserve">Before I proceed to the next Poſition, I ſhall
              <lb/>
            firſt anſwer ſome Doubts which might be
              <lb/>
            made againſt the generality of this Truth,
              <lb/>
            whereby it may ſeem impoſſible that there
              <lb/>
            ſhould be either Sea or Land in the Moon;
              <lb/>
            </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1111" xml:space="preserve">for ſince ſhe moves ſo ſwiftly as Aſtronomers
              <lb/>
            obſerve, why then does their nothing fall from
              <lb/>
            her, or why doth ſhe not ſhake ſomething out
              <lb/>
            by the celerity of her Revolution; </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1112" xml:space="preserve">I anſwer,
              <lb/>
            you muſt know that the Inclination of every
              <lb/>
            heavy Body to its proper Centre, doth ſuffici-
              <lb/>
            ently tye it unto its place; </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1113" xml:space="preserve">ſo that ſuppoſe any
              <lb/>
            thing were ſeparated, yet muſt it neceſlarily
              <lb/>
            return again. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1114" xml:space="preserve">And there is no more danger of
              <lb/>
            their Falling into our World, than there is
              <lb/>
            Fear our falling into the Moon.</s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1115" xml:space="preserve"/>
          </p>
          <p>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1116" xml:space="preserve">But there are many Fabulous Relations of
              <lb/>
            ſuch things as have dropped thence. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1117" xml:space="preserve">There is
              <lb/>
            a Tale of the Nemean Lyon that Hercules ſlew,
              <lb/>
              <note position="left" xlink:label="note-0086-01" xlink:href="note-0086-01a" xml:space="preserve">Vide Guli.
                <lb/>
              Nubrigenſ.
                <lb/>
              de rebus.
                <lb/>
              Anglicæ.
                <lb/>
              lib. 1.</note>
            which firſt ruſhing among the Herds out of
              <lb/>
            his unknown Den in the Mountain of Gytheron
              <lb/>
            in Bæotia, the credulous People thought he was
              <lb/>
            ſent from the Goddeſs the Moon. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1118" xml:space="preserve">And if a
              <lb/>
            Whirlwind did chance to ſnatch any thing up,
              <lb/>
            and afterwards Rain it down again, the igno-
              <lb/>
            rant multitude were apt to believe that it
              <lb/>
            dropt from Heaven. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1119" xml:space="preserve">Thus Avicenna relates
              <lb/>
            a Story of a Calf which fell down in a Storm,
              <lb/>
            the Beholders thinking it a Moon-Calf, and
              <lb/>
            that it fell thence. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1120" xml:space="preserve">So Gardan Travelling up-
              <lb/>
            on the Apennine Mountains, a ſudden Blaſt
              <lb/>
            took off his Hat, which if it had been car-
              <lb/>
            ryed far, he thinks the Peaſants, who had per-
              <lb/>
            ceiv'd it to fall, would have ſworn it had
              <lb/>
            Rained Hats. </s>
            <s xml:id="echoid-s1121" xml:space="preserve">After ſome ſuch manner, </s>
          </p>
        </div>
      </text>
    </echo>
Impressum