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

6048That the Moon may be a World. Nor may we think that the Earth's Shadow
can Cloud the proper Light of the Moon from
Appearing, or take away any thing from her
Inherent Brightneſs; for this were to think a
Shadow to be a Body, an Opinion altogether
misbecoming a Philoſopher, as Tycho grants
in the fore-cited place, Nec umbra terrœ corpo-
reum quid eſt, aut denſa aliqua ſubſtantia, ut Lu-
nœ lumen obtenebrare poſſit, atque id viſui noſtro
prœripere, ſed eſt quœdam privatio luminis ſola-
ris, ob interpoſitum opacum corpus terrœ. Nor
is the Earth's ſhadow any Corporal thing,
or thick ſubſtance, that it can Cloud the
Moons Brightneſs, or take it away from our
Sight; but it is a meer privation of the Suns
Light by reaſon of her Interpoſition of the
Earth's Opacous Body.

3 If ſhe had any Light of her own, then
that would in it ſelf be either ſuch a ruddy
Brightneſs as appears in the Eclipſes, or elſe
ſuch a Leaden Duskiſh Light as we ſee in the
Darker parts of her Body, when ſhe is a little
paſt the Conjunction. (That it muſt be one
of theſe, may follow from the Oppoſite Ar-
guments) but it is neither of theſe; therefore
ſhe hath none of her own.

1. ’Tis not ſuch a ruddy Light as appears in
Eclipſes; for then why can we not ſee the
like redneſs, when we may diſcern the Ob-
ſcure parts of the Moon?

You will ſay, perhaps, that then the near-
neſs of that greater Light takes away that Ap-
pearance.

I Reply, this cannot be; for then why does
Mars ſhine with his wonted Redneſs,

Table of figures

Text layer

Text normalization

Search