Foscarini, Paolo Antonio, An epistle to fantoni, 1661

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              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="067/01/015.jpg" pagenum="485"/>
              Therefore the
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              two great Lights
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              are to be underſtood in reſpect of
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              us, and according to vulgar eſtimation, and not according to the
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              true and reall exiſtence of ſuch Bodies. </s>
              <s>Secondly, in the ſpeci­
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              fication of the Propoſition it is ſaid,
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              The greater Light to rule the
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              Day
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              ; hereby denoting the Sun; in which the verbal ſenſe of
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              Scripture agreeth with the Truth of the Thing; For that the Sun
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              is the Greateſt of all Luminaries, and Globes. </s>
              <s>But that which
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              followeth immediately after,
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              And the leſſer Light to rule the
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              Night,
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              meaning the Moon, cannot be taken in the true and real
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              ſenſe of the words: For the Moon is not the leſſer Light, but
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Mercury
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              ; which is not only much leſſer than the Moon, but alſo
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              than any other Star. </s>
              <s>And if, again, it be ſaid, That the Holy
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              Text doth not ſpeak of the Stars, but onely of the Luminaries,
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              for that preſently after they are mentioned apart,
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              And the Stars
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              ;
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              and that what we ſay is true touching the compariſon of the Stars
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              amongſt themſelves, but not in reſpect of the Luminaries, name­
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              ly, the Sun and Moon: This reply doth diſcover a man to be
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              utterly ignorant in theſe Studies, and ſuch who having not the
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              leaſt ſmattering in them, doth conceive an abſurd and erroneous
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              Opinion of the Cœleſtial Bodies. </s>
              <s>For the Moon and Sun, con­
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              ſidered in themſelves, and as they appear to us, if they ſhould
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              be a far greater diſtance from us, than indeed they are, would be
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              no other, nor would appear to us otherwiſe than Stars, as the
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              reſt do in the Firmament. </s>
              <s>But Great Luminaries they neither
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                <arrow.to.target n="marg890"/>
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              are, nor ſeem to be, ſave only
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              in reſpect of us:
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              And ſo, on
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              the other ſide, the Stars, as to themſelves, are no other than ſo
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              many Suns and ſo many Moons; yet are ſo far remote from us,
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              that by reaſon of their diſtance they appear thus ſmall, and dim
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              of light, as we behold them. </s>
              <s>For the greater and leſſer diſtance
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              of heavenly Bodies
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              (cæteris paribus)
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              doth augment and diminiſh
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              their appearance both as to Magnitude and Light. </s>
              <s>And there­
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              fore the words which follow in that place of
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              Geneſis, And the
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              Stars
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              (as diſtinguiſhing the Stars from the Sun and Moon) are
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              to be taken in no other acceptation than that which we have ſpo­
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              ken of, namely,
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              according to the ſenſe of the Vulgar, and the
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              common manner of ſpeech.
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              For indeed, according to the truth
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              of the matter, all Cœleſtial Bodies, being ſhining Globes, are of
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              a vaſt bigneſs, to which if we ſhould be ſo neer as we are to the
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              Moon, they would ſeem to us of as great, yea a greater magni­
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              tude than the Moon: As likewiſe on the contrary, if we were as
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              far diſtant from the Sun and Moon, as we are from them, both
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              Moon and Sun would ſhew but as ſtars to us. </s>
              <s>And yet the
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              ſplendor of the Sun would doubtleſs be greater
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              intenſivè
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              than
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              that of any other ſtar. </s>
              <s>For, although it ſhould be granted that
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              ſome ſtars (as thoſe of the Fixed that twinkle) do ſhine of </s>
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