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 |< < (38) of 370 > >|
21838That the Earth may be a Planet. therefore uſes a popular phraſe: ſo as ordi-
nary
People, without the help of Arts and
Learning
, might eaſily underſtand him.
And in another place, Non fuit Spiritus
Sancti
concilium Aſtrologiam docere :
'It was
11Comment.
in
P1. 136.
not the purpoſe of the Holy Ghoſt to teach
us Aſtronomy :
but being to propound a
Doctrine, that concerns the moſt rude and
ſimple People, he does (both by Moſes
and the Prophets) conform himſelf unto
their phraſes and conceits :
leſt any ſhould
think to excuſe his own ignorance with the
pretence of difficulty;
as Men commonly
do in thoſe things which are delivered af-
ter a learned and ſublime manner.
Thus
Zanchy
likewiſe, Moſes majorem 22De ope-
ribus
Dei,
par
. 2. li.6.
cap
. 1.
habuit noſtri humanique judicii, &
c. 'When
Moſes calls the Moon a Great Light;
he
had a more eſpecial reference to Mens Opi-
nions of it, than to the truth of the thing
it ſelf, becauſe he was to deal with ſuch,
who do judg uſually, rather by their Senſe,
than by their Reaſon.
Nor will that di-
ſtinction
of Fromondus, and others, avoid
this
interpretation, when he tells us of Mag-
nus
Materialis;
which refers to the bulk and
quantity
of the Body:
and Magnum Formale,
which
imports the greatneſs of its Light.
For we grant, that it is really unto us a
greater
Light than any of the Stars, or than
all
of them together;
yet there is not any
one
of them, but is in it ſelf a bigger Light
than
this:
And therefore, when we ſay this
ſpeech
is to be underſtood according to

Text layer

  • Dictionary

Text normalization

  • Original
  • Regularized
  • Normalized

Search


  • Exact
  • All forms
  • Fulltext index
  • Morphological index