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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22949That the Earth may be a Planet.
But of this only by the way. However,
certain
it is, that the Holy Ghoſt does fre-
quently
in Scripture ſet forth the ſeveral
Coaſts
of Heaven by thoſe relative terms of
right
hand and left hand, &
c. which ex-
preſſions
do not denote any real intrinſecal
difference
between thoſe places, but are ra-
ther
fitted for the apprehenſion of thoſe
Men
, from whoſe fancy it is that they have
ſuch
denominations.
And though Ariſtotle
11De Cælo,
lib
. 2. c. 2.
concludes theſe ſeveral Poſitions to be natu-
ral
unto the Heavens, yet his Authority in
this
particular is not available, becauſe he
delivers
it upon a wrong ground, ſuppoſing
the
Orbs to be living Creatures, and aſſiſted
with
Intelligences.
We may obſerve, that the
meaning
of theſe Coaſts, by the relations of
right
hand and left hand, &
c. is ſo far from
having
any ground in the nature of thoſe ſe-
veral
places, that theſe relations are not on-
ly
variouſly applied unto them by divers Re-
ligions
(as was ſaid before) but alſo by
divers
Arts and Profeſſions.
Thus, becauſe
Aſtronomers
make their Obſervations towards
the
South parts of the Horizon, where there
be
moſt Stars that riſe and ſet;
therefore do
they
account the Weſt to be at their right
hand
, and the Eaſt their left.
The Coſmo-
graphers
, in taking the Latitude of Places,
and
reckoning their ſeveral Climates, muſt
look
towards the North Pole;
and there-
fore
, in their phraſe, by the right hand, is
meant
the Eaſt;
and by the left hand, the
22De pla-
cit
. Philoſ.
lib
. 2. c. 10.
Weſt:
And thus (ſaith Plutarch) are

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