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
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
61 49
62 50
63 51
64 52
65 53
66 54
67 55
68 56
69 57
70 58
< >
page |< < (40) of 370 > >|
5240That the Moon may be a World.
For the better Illuſtration oſ this, we may
conſider ſeveral ways whereby divers Bodies
are enlightned.
Either as Water, by admit-
ting the Beams into its Subſtance;
or as Air
and thin Clouds, by Tranſmitting their Rays
quite thorow their Bodies;
or as thoſe things
which are of an Opacous Nature, and ſmooth
Superficies, which reflect the Light only in
one place;
or elſe, as thoſe things which are
of an Opacous Nature, and Rugged Superſi-
cies, which by a kind of Circumfluous Re-
flexion, are at the ſame time Diſcernable in
many places, as our Earth, and the Moon.
2. It is Compact, and not a Spungey and
112 Porous Subſtance.
But this is denyed by (a)
Diogenes, (b) Vitellio, (c) Reinoldus, and ſome
22a Plut. de
pla. phil.
l. 2. c. 13.
b Opt.lib.4.
c Com. Pur-
bac. Theo.p.
164.
other, who held the Moon to be of the ſame
kind of Nature as a Pumice-Sone;
and this,
ſay they, is the reaſon why in the Suns Eclipſes
there appears within her a duskiſh ruddy Co-
lour, becauſe the Sun Beams being Refracted
in paſſing through the Pores of her Body, muſt
neceſſarily be Repreſented under ſuch a Co-
lour.
But I Reply, if this be the Cauſe of her
Redneſs, then why doth ſhe not appear under
the ſame Form when ſhe is about a Sextile Aſ-
pect, and the Darkned part of her Body is
Diſcernable?
for then alſo do the ſame Rays
paſs through Her, and therefore in all likely-
hood ſhould produce the ſame Effect;
and
notwithſtanding thoſeBeams are then diverted
from us, that they cannot enter into our Eyes
by a ſtraight Line, yet muſt the Colour ſtill
remain Viſible in her Body.
And beſides,

Text layer

  • Dictionary

Text normalization

  • Original

Search


  • Exact
  • All forms
  • Fulltext index
  • Morphological index