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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5442That the Moon may be a World. the Body of the Moon can never Totally co-
ver the Sun.
However in this he is ſingular,
all other Aſtronomers (if I may believe Kep-
lar) being on the Contrary Opinion, by Rea-
ſon the Diameter of the Moon does for the
moſt part appear Bigger to us than the Di-
ameter of the Sun.
But here Fulius Gœſar once more puts in to
11De phœ-
nom. Lunœ
c. 11.
hinder our Paſſage.
The Moon (ſaith he) is
is not altogether Opacous, becauſe ’tis ſtill
of the ſame Nature with the Heavens, which
are incapable of total Opacity:
and his Reaſon
is, becauſe Perſpicuity is an inſeparable Acci-
dent of thoſe purer Bodies;
and this he thinks
muſt neceſſarily be granted;
for he ſtops there,
and Proves no further;
but to this he Defers
an Anſwer, till he hath made up his Argument.
We may frequently ſee, that her Body
does ſo Eclipſe the Sun, as our Earth does
the Moon.
And beſides, the Mountains that
are obſerv'd there, do caſt a Dark Shadow
behind them, as ſhall be ſhewed afterwards.
22Prop. 9. Since then the like Interpoſition of them both,
doth produce the like Effect, they muſt ne-
ceſſarily be of the like Natures, that is, alike
Opacous, which is the thing to be ſhewed;
and
this was the reaſon (as Interpreters gueſs) why
Ariſtotle Affirmed the Moon to be of the
33In lib. de
animalib.
Earths Nature, becauſe of their Agreement
in Opacity, whereas all the other Elements,
ſave that, are in ſome meaſure Perſpicuous.
But, the greateſt Difference which may
ſeem to make our Earth altogether unlike
the Moon, is, becauſe the one is a Bright
Body, and hath Light of its own, and

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