288108That the Earth may be a Planet.
The reaſon of ſuch deceit may be this:
Motion being not a proper Object of the
Sight, nor belonging to any other peculiar
Senſe, muſt therefore be judged of by the
ſenſus communis, which is liable to miſtake
in this reſpect; becauſe it apprehends the
Eye it ſelf to reſt immovable, whilſt it does
not feel any Effects of this Motion in the
Body: As it is when a Man is carried in a
Ship; ſo that Senſe is but an ill Judg of Na-
tural Secrets. ’Tis a good Rule of Plato,
EIS Τ ν{ου}ν ἀφορᾶνδ{εῖ} ΦιλόοοΦον {καὶ}μὴεις τ{ὴυ}
ὅψν A Philoſopher muſt not be carried
away by the bare appearance of things to
ſight, but muſt examine them by reaſon. If
this were a good Conſequence, The Earth
does not move, becauſe it does not appear
ſo to us; we might then as well argue, that
it does move when we go upon the Water;
according to the Verſe:
Motion being not a proper Object of the
Sight, nor belonging to any other peculiar
Senſe, muſt therefore be judged of by the
ſenſus communis, which is liable to miſtake
in this reſpect; becauſe it apprehends the
Eye it ſelf to reſt immovable, whilſt it does
not feel any Effects of this Motion in the
Body: As it is when a Man is carried in a
Ship; ſo that Senſe is but an ill Judg of Na-
tural Secrets. ’Tis a good Rule of Plato,
EIS Τ ν{ου}ν ἀφορᾶνδ{εῖ} ΦιλόοοΦον {καὶ}μὴεις τ{ὴυ}
ὅψν A Philoſopher muſt not be carried
away by the bare appearance of things to
ſight, but muſt examine them by reaſon. If
this were a good Conſequence, The Earth
does not move, becauſe it does not appear
ſo to us; we might then as well argue, that
it does move when we go upon the Water;
according to the Verſe:
Provebimur portu, terræque, verbeſq; recedunt.
Or if ſuch Arguments would hold, it were
an eaſy matter to prove the Sun and Moon
not ſo big as a Hat, or the fixed Stars as a
Candle.
an eaſy matter to prove the Sun and Moon
not ſo big as a Hat, or the fixed Stars as a
Candle.