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

Table of figures

< >
< >
page |< < (96) of 370 > >|
10896That the Moon may be a World. direct Rays may eaſily penetrate.
But ſome may object, that this will not
conſiſt with that which was before deliver'd,
where I ſaid, that the thinneſt parts had leaſt
Light.
If this were true, how comes it to paſs then
that this Air ſhould be as light as any of the
other parts, when as ’tis the thinneſt of all?
I anſwer, if the Light be receiv'd by Re-
flexion only, then the thickeſt Body hath moſt,
becauſe it is beſt able to beat back the Rays;
but if the Light be receiv'd by Illumination
(eſpecially if there be an Opacous Body be-
hind, which may double the Beams by Reſlecti-
on) as it is here, then I deny not but a thin
Body may retain much Light, and perhaps,
ſome of thoſe Appearances which we take
for Fiery Comets, are nothing elſe but a bright
Cloud enlightned;
ſo that probable it is, there
may be ſuch Air about the Moon;
and hence
it comes to paſs, that the greater Spots are
only viſible towards her middle parts, and
none near the Circumference;
not, but that
there are ſome, as well in thoſe parts, as elſe-
where, but they are not there perceivable, by
reaſon of thoſe brighter Vapours which hide
them.
PROP. XI.
That as their World is our Moon, ſo our World is
their Moon.
I Have already handled the firſt thing that I
Promiſed, according to the Method

Text layer

  • Dictionary

Text normalization

  • Original
  • Regularized
  • Normalized

Search


  • Exact
  • All forms
  • Fulltext index
  • Morphological index