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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19616That the Earth may be a Planet.
’Tis reported of Clavius, that when lying
upon
his Death-bed, he heard the firſt News
of
thoſe Difcoveries which were made by
Gallilæus
his Glaſs, he brake forth into theſe
words
:
Videre Aſtronomos, quo pacto conſtituen-
di
ſunt orbes Cœleſtes, ut hœc Phœnomena ſalvari
poſſint
:
That it did behove Aſtronomers to
conſider
of ſome other Hypotheſis, beſide that
of
Ptolomy, whereby they might ſalve all thoſe
new
appearances.
Intimating that this old
one
, which formerly he had defended, would
not
now ſerve the turn:
And doubtleſs, if he
had
been informed how congruous all theſe
might
have been unto the Opinion of Coper-
nicus
, he would quickly have turned on that
ſide
.
’Tis conſiderable, that amongſt the
followers
of Copernicus, there are ſcarce any,
who
were not formerly againſt him;
and
ſuch
, as at firſt, had been throughly
ſeaſoned
with the Principles of Ariſtotle;
in
which
, for the moſt part, they have no leſs
skill
, than thoſe who are ſo violent in the
defence
of them.
Whereas on the contrary,
there
are very few to be found amongſt the
followers
of Ariſtotle and Ptolomy, that have
read
any thing in Copernicus, or do fully un-
derſtand
the Grounds of his Opinion;
and I
think
, not any, who having been once ſetled
with
any ſtrong aſſent on this ſide, that have
afterwards
revolted from it.
Now if we do
but
ſeriouſly weigh with our ſelves, that ſo
many
ingenious, conſidering Men, ſhould
reject
that Opinion which they were nurſed
up
in, and which is generally approved as

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