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

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22949That the Earth may be a Planet.

But of this only by the way. However,
certain it is, that the Holy Ghoſt does fre-
quently in Scripture ſet forth the ſeveral
Coaſts of Heaven by thoſe relative terms of
right hand and left hand, & c. which ex-
preſſions do not denote any real intrinſecal
difference between thoſe places, but are ra-
ther fitted for the apprehenſion of thoſe
Men, from whoſe fancy it is that they have
ſuch denominations. And though Ariſtotle
11De Cælo,
lib. 2. c. 2. concludes theſe ſeveral Poſitions to be natu-
ral unto the Heavens, yet his Authority in
this particular is not available, becauſe he
delivers it upon a wrong ground, ſuppoſing
the Orbs to be living Creatures, and aſſiſted
with Intelligences. We may obſerve, that the
meaning of theſe Coaſts, by the relations of
right hand and left hand, & c. is ſo far from
having any ground in the nature of thoſe ſe-
veral places, that theſe relations are not on-
ly variouſly applied unto them by divers Re-
ligions (as was ſaid before) but alſo by
divers Arts and Profeſſions. Thus, becauſe
Aſtronomers make their Obſervations towards
the South parts of the Horizon, where there
be moſt Stars that riſe and ſet; therefore do
they account the Weſt to be at their right
hand, and the Eaſt their left. The Coſmo-
graphers, in taking the Latitude of Places,
and reckoning their ſeveral Climates, muſt
look towards the North Pole; and there-
fore, in their phraſe, by the right hand, is
meant the Eaſt; and by the left hand, the
22De pla-
cit. Philoſ.
lib. 2. c. 10. Weſt: And thus (ſaith Plutarch) are

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