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
31 19
32 20
33 21
34 22
35 23
36 24
37 25
38 26
39 27
40 28
41 29
42 30
43 31
44 32
45 33
46 34
47 35
48 36
49 37
50 38
51 39
52 40
53 41
54 42
55 43
56 44
57 45
58 46
59 47
60 48
< >
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>