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CONVERSATIONS ON THE
Plurality of Worlds.
B Y
M. DE F ON TENELLE.
TRANSLATED
From the lad Edition of the French. «
ILLUSTRATED
With NOTES, collcdcd from the mod: approved Writers ; and containing all the late
Difcoveries in Alh-onomy.
TOGETHER
With COPPER-PLATE S.
Tihe Worlds ivere framed hy the Word of God. Heb. xi. 3.
DUBLIN: Printed for P e t e r W i l s o n, in D.i?ne-Jlreet.
M,DCC,LXI."
CONTENTS. F ' ^ Page
JDREFACE by the Editory concerning the ^re- fent edition, \
hy the Author
y
vij
Milton i Hymn to the Creator
y
XV
Verfes to a young Lady, xvii
Jntrodudiony xix
FIRST EVENING. That the earth is a planety nvhich turns on itfeify
and round the fun, I
SECOND EVENING. That the moon is an habitable ivorldy ^o
THIRD EVENING. Particulars concerning the loorld in the moony and
proofs of the other planets being hahilnhlcy 71
FOURTH EVENING. Particulars of the ivorlds of Fcnus, of Mercury
y
of Marsy of Jupitery and of Saturn
y
lOl
FIFTH EVENING. Shelving that the fixed fiars are fo many funs,
€<very one of luhich gives light to a %vorldy 1 49
SIXTH EVENING. Neiv obferuations confirming the preceding ones.
And fome farther difcoveries made in the hea- <vensy 1 86
ADDITIONS. Spedator, No. 420. 215 • No. 465. 220
A 2 A L I S T
A L I S T of the Figures, which have been added to this edition, to iiluftrate the
work. P L A T E L
Fig. I. The Copernlcan fyftem. 2. The earth's orbit round the fun.
. 3. The centrifugal and centripetal motions explaia- ed.
4. Saturn's Ring, with the Anfas open.
5. The Ring appearing as a belt on his furface. 6. The different Phafes of the moon.
7. The Ring of Saturn appearing cufpcd.
PLATE II. Fig- I . The New fyftem.
2. The Ptolemaic {yfteoi.
3. Defcartes's lyftem.
4. The Tychonic fyftem.
PLATE III.
Fig. I. A Map of the Moon, according to Hevelius.
PLATE IV.
Fig. I . The Phenomena of Saturn's Ring, as they ap-
pear to his Inhabitants.
2. The fame further explained.
3. Jupiter and his Belts.
4. The Seafons explained by the apparent motloij
of the fun.
5. The fame, explained by the real modon of the
earth.
6. The Reprefentation of a Comet, with its Tail,
as feen through a telefcope by Dr. Hook.
PREFACE
\;
PREFACE. Ey tlie Editor of ihis Diillin Edition.
/\ S a new trandrition of Fontenelle's Plurality -^ ^ of Worlds has lately appeared in London, it feems neceffary to k,ive our rcafon?, why it was
not thought proper rather to re-print the fame
here, than to be at the i rouble of preparing ano-
ther for the prefs.
Upon a careful perufal of that work, the flile
was obferved to be, in general, mean, and fpi«
ritlefs : and though it came nearer (o the (^\\(q,
of the original, in feveral places, than the former
tranflations ; yet, in the above-mentioned refpecls,
it was found to be much inferior to them ; and, therefore, lefs proper for the perufal of young
perfons, Befides, though the editor had taken in
many omilfions, which were in the old tranflati- ons
; yet he had made fome himfelf, particularly
Fontenelle's defcription of the Tychonic fyftem, at the end of the firft evening's converfation,
which the author refers to in a fubfequent one.
A 3 The
ii The EDITOR'S PREFACE. The additions, which, in the title page, are faid to be exti-afted from the befl: authors, were found
to be equally as proper, for the moft part, to be
added to any other work of natural philofophy, as to this ; many of them being too fpeculative and mathematical for the generality of the rea-
ders, for whom Fontenelle defigned thefe dif- courlcs : and as they are injudicioufly placed, as
^o many feparate digrefllons, at the end of each evening's converfation, without any immediate
t'onnection with the work, or order among them- fclvcs ; they only fcrve to fwell the volume to little
purpofe, and rather to break in on the chain of
reafoning ufed by the author in the text, than to
illu (irate his meaning, or afford the reader a re-
prefentation, in one view, of the difference be-
tween the Cnrtefian hypothefis and the true fyf-
tcin of our iUuilrious Newton. We fhall fay no more of this performance ; but, for a furtlier ac- count of it, refer our readers to the Monthly
Review for July, 1760. The prefcni edition has been carefully com-
pared with the laft one publilhed in Fiench, which
had been revifed by the author ; the omilhons and
deficiencies of the former tranllations have been
added ; and the fenfe corrected, in fome hundreds
ol places, from the original ; as may be feen, by any perfon, who will be at the pains of compar- ing the prefent and former tranllations with the
original French.
Befides, in order to illuflrate the work, the
modern difcoveries, in natural philofophy and af- tronomy.
The EDITOR'S PREFACE. iii tronomy, are placed in oppofitlon to the Cartefian
fyllem maintained by the author ; a number of
notes, in imitation of thofe of Dr. Clarke on Ro-
haiilt's phyfics, are fubjoined, at the bottom d each page ; and, for their further explication, fe-
veral figures, engraved in copper, have been ad-
ded ; an account of which may be feen at the end of the table of contents. There are alfo annexed,
a complete index, two papers of Mr. Addifon on the fubje6t of this work, and Milion's Hymn to the Creator ; thefe three lafl being judged very
proper leffons for young perfons. The notes are chiefly collet^ed from the fol-
lowing writers ; the figures fhew where they are
cited in this v/ork.
St. Ambrofe, page 88.
Anthony Maria Schyrleus
de Rheita i 30.
Apollonius Mindiu3 1 70. Ariofto 57, & feq.
Calfini icj, 104, 11 S, 120,
121, 122, 133, !34,i35,-
'47-
Clarke 146, 168.
Copernicus 20.
Ariftotle 7, 9, 14, 165, Derham 34, 56, loi,
169, 210.
St. Auguftine 69, 8S.
Bacon, Roger, 66.
St. Bafil 89.
Bayerus 166.
Bianchini 200.
158, 159.
Defcartes 4, 1 5, 29, 210.
Dryden 64.
St. Epiphanius 89.
Euftachio 122.
Fabricius 167.
Boerhaave 34, no, 1 1 1
.
Flamftead 1 1 8 , x 66, 1 70.
Boetius 88. Francifco Lana 66.
M. Bouillaud 167. Galileo 36, 114, 142, 194. Bradley 96. Gaubian Nauda 131. Boyle 34. GaiTendus 109, 131, 200. Campani 104, 222, 147. Gotinges 122.
A 4 Gravefandc
Iv The EDITOR'S PREFACE. Gravefande 34, 45, 78. Milton 85, 89, 99, 115, Oregory 1 04, 119, 121,
1 22.
Grimaldus 87.
Haliey 108, 140, 166,
170, 172, 178.
Harris 97.
Hervey 35, 44, 82, 96. Hevellus 56, 87, 141,
167.
De la Hire 104, 1 39. Hoffman 212.
Honiberg 1 1 1.
Hooke 45, 67, 1 18, 1/8. Huygem 5,101, 139,141,
142, 147, 143, 149,
T50, 200.
Hjpaiclms 1 66.
f:t. Irencus 89.
U. Ifodore 88.
Kepler 112, I2F,
1^7-
Al Montanere 168. Newentyt 45. Newton, Sir IfaaC, 8, 29,
45, 106, 116, 122, 168,
169.
Ovid 167. Philo Judaeus 88.
Philof TranCR. S. 94, 168,
179, 201.
Plato 69, 88.
Pliny ^o, 166.
Plutarch 70, 112.
Pope I, 57. Ptolemy 166.
Ricciolus 87, 132, 166, 194.
M. Sauinon 1 27. Scheinerus 1 14.
Seneca i 70.
Shakefpeare ?9.
166, 167, )69, 180. Thomlbn 95 Kell 29, 42, 54, 56, 82, Tycho Brahe 38, 166, 167.
Don Jo!)n de Ulloa 77. UlughBeiglii an Arabian 1 66.
'39»
167.
Mead 54. ^lenioirs of the French
Academy 12-.
^Icmoires de Mathem. & de Phyfique 204
Whifton 146, 172, 201.
Wijkins 67.
William, Prince ofHefTe 1 66-
Woodward 2ro. Memoires de Trevous 20c. Yoiing 152.
The editor would endeavour to recommend this little work to thofe, whofe province it is to
undertake the education of youth. Much may be fcund in the original, and, he will venture to fay,
not
The EDITOR'S PREFACE. v not a few things alfo in the notes, to inlarge their ideas, and inform their minds : For, as a celebra- ted poet fays.
There diuelh a noble pathos in the JkieSy Which ivarms our pajfionsy profelytes our hearts.
Night Thoughts, Numb. IX.
To which permit him to fubjoin, a more an- tient authority, he means Cicero, who requires, in his perfea orator, " fome fkill in the nature
of tlie heavenly bodies ; becaufe, his mind will '* become," fays he, " more extenfive and un-
confined ; and when he defcends to treat of
** human affairs, he will both think and write in " a more exalted and magnificent manner.'* The frothy performances, which daily fall ijito
the hands of youth of both fexes, and which have been publifhed, in fuch numbers, for years pafl, mud have had very ill effeds, both on their minds and manners : for the generality of our modern romances, novels, and even too many of our thea- trical entertainments, are commonly calculated to inflame a wanton fancy ; or, if conducted with fo
much moderty, as not to debauch the affedions, they pervert the judgment, and corrupt the taflc. By their incredible adventures, their extravagant parade of gallantry, and their chara6ters, widely
different from truth and nature ; they infpire fool- ilh conceits, beget idle expedations, introduce a difguCl of genuine hiflory, and indifpofe their ad-
mirers to acquiefce in the decent civilities, or to
rclilh the fober fatisfaclion of common life. A 5 To
vi The EDITOR'S PREFACE. To induce youth to defplfe fuch kinds of enter-
tainments, nothing can contribute more, than in-
ftruiSting them in the knowledge of fome of the
magnificent works of nature ; and, indeed, it ought
to be the defign of every perfon, to whofe care
their education is committed, to take every me-
thod, to cultivate in them a diflike of fuch unim-
proving reading ; and, at the fame time, to lay be-
fore them fuch books, as are moft proper to form
their minds, and which, treafured up in their me-
mory, will always afford them fuch fublime know-
ledge, as they mufl refle6t upon with new plea-
fure and fatisfa6tion, every time they indulge them"
felves to purfuc fuch rational entertainments.
1 H E
THE
Author's Preface.
I AM nearly In fuch a fituation as Cicero was, when he attempted to difcourfe of phi-
lofophical fubjeds in the Latin language, which
till then, had been only treated of in the Greek.
He informs us, that it was faid his works would
be wholly ufelefs, becaufe thofe who loved philo-
fophy, would, with pleafure, give themfclves the
pains to fearch for her in the Greek treatifes, ne-
glecting afterwards fnch Latin books as treated
on that fubjc6t, becaufe they were not originals ; and, that thofe who had not a tafle for philofophy, would not fearch for her either in Latin or Greek
authors.
To this he anfwers, that the contrary would happen ; that thofe who were not philofopher:^, would be tempted to become fuch by the facility
of reading Latin books ; and that thofe who were already fuch by reading Greek authors, would be dcfirous of feeing how the fame fubjeds were exe- cuted in Latin.
CfCEP.C^
vlli PREFACE. Cicero had reafon to argue thus : the excel-
lency of his genius, and the great reputation that
he had before acquired, warranted to him the fuc-
cefs of thofe new forts of works, which he gave
to the public ; but as for me, I am far from hav- ing the fame reafons to be confident of gain-
ing fame by a defign fimilar to his. I have been
defirous to treat of philofophy in a ftile that is not
philofophical : I have endeavoured to come up
to a certain point, without appearing too for-
mal for people of fafhion, or too trifling for
the learned. But, if it fhould be obje6ted to me as to Cicero, that fuch a work is neither proper
for the learned, as it can teach them nothing new
;
nor for thofe who are ignorant, as they will not
be taught ; nor yet for people of pleafure, v/ho
have not any defire to learn ; I lliall not chufe to
anfwer in the manner he did. It may very eafdy
happen, that in fearching for a medium, where-
in philofophy might pleafe all the v/orld, I have
found out one which will not fuit with any bo-
dy ; a proper medium is very difficult to pre-
krve ; and, I believe, I fhall never defire to give
myfelf a fecond trouble of this kind.
I ought to inform thofe who read this work,
and who have fome knowledge of natural philo-
fophy, that I have, by no means, attempted to
inilrud them, but only to divert them, by pre-
fenting them, in a manner fomething more a-
greeable and pleafing, that which they already
knew, and have fecn in a graver drefs ; and I in-
form thofe to whom thefe fubje6\s are new, that I thought.
PREFACE. ix I thought, by this means I might inflru6t and di-
vert them at the fame time. The firft will aQ: contrary to my intention, if they fearch here merely for utiHty ; and the fecond, if they expect
only the agreeable and pleafmg.
I fhall not farther amufe myfelf by faying, that
I have chofen in all philofophy, a fubje6t: the mofl
capable of exciting the curiofity of the reader.
To me it appears, that nothing ought more to in- tereft us, than to know how this world is made which we inhabit ; and whether there be other worlds like this, which are alfo inhabited : but,
after all, every one may carry their enquiries as far as they pleafe. Thofe who have thoughts to lofe, may throw them away upon thefe forts of fubjedls ; but every body is not properly qualifi- ed to fpend them on thefe kind of enquiries.
I have introduced into thefe difcourfes a lady to be intruded, who is fuppofed had never be- fore any acquaintance with thefe fubjeds. I ima- gined fuch a tidion would ferve me, and render the work far more agreeable, and encourage la- dies to read, by the example of one of their own fex, who being wholly unacquainted with the fci- ences, yet cafily undcrftood that which was faid, and arranged in her mind the ideas of vortexes *, and worlds without confufion. Why fliould there not be women who might as readily conceive the meaning of fuch things as this imaginary Mar-
chionefs,
* The term vortex, as here ufed, Is explained in the fucceeding notes.
X PREFACE. chionefs, whofe conceptions were only natural, and
fuch as fhe could not well avoid having ?
Indeed, fhe applied herfelf a little to the fub-
jGd: ; but, what is the application here required ?
It is not by the force of meditation to penetrate
into an obfcure fubjefi, or one obfcurely explained.
It is only not to read further v<^ithout firft forming
a diftin6l idea of the thing read. I only demand
of the ladies, for all this fyftem of philofophy,
the fame application that they would give to the
romance of the princefs of Cleves, if they would
underftand the plot, and know all the beauty of it.
It is true, that the ideas of this book are lefs
familiar to many of the fair fex than thofe of the
princefs of Cleves ; but they are not more ob-
fcure; and, I am certain that, on a fecond read-
ing, there are very few things therein will efcape
any one of the fex.
As I have not pretended to build a fyftem in
the air without any foundation, I have employed
true philofophical reafoning, and I have made ufe
of as much of it as was neceffary : it falls out ve-
ry happily, that the philofophical notions, belong-
ing to this fubjeft, are of themfelves very agree-
able and entertaining ; and, at the fame time, that
they fatisfy our reafon, they prefent to the ima-
gination, images which pleafe as much as if they
were exprefly formed for pleafing only.
When I have found fome fragments, which were not wholly of this kind, I have given them
a pecuhar drefs. Virgil hath made ufe of fuch
*rts in his Georgics, where he orn,iments his fub-
jea.
PREFACE. xi jec^, which is always dry, with frequent digrefli-
ons, and thofe are always very agreeable. Ovid
hath even done as much in his Art of Love, al-
though his fubjeQ: was far more pleafing, than any
thing it was poflible for him to introduce. In
fa61;, he thought it would be very tirefome, al-
ways to treat of one and the fame thing, though
the fubje6t was precepts of gallantry. But, for
my part, though I had more occafion than he of afl'i fiance from digreffions, yet, however, I have
made ufe of them but fparingly : I have authori-
fed them, by the natural liberty of converfation :
I have only inferted them in thofe places where
they might be naturally expe61:ed ; I have put the
greateft part of them in the beginning of the
work ; becaufe, at firft the mind is not fufficient-
ly acquainted with the principal ideas which are
prefented to it : in a word, I have taken them
from the fubject itfelf, or as near to it as I poill-
bly could.
I have not been willing to form any imaginati-
on concerning what kinds of inhabitants exift in
thofe other worlds of which I write, becaufe it
was intirely impoiTiblc, and would have been only
chimerical. I have endeavoured to fay all that
we may reafonably think ; and even the vifions which I have added hereto, have fome foundation
in reality. The true and the falfe are here blend- ed together ; but fo, as they are always very eafy
to be diftinguiflied. I attempt not to juftify a
compofition fo flrange and fantaftical ; that, in-
deed, fliould be the moft important article of the
work ;
xii PREFACE. work
; and yet it is the only one for which I cannot give a proper reafon.
There only remains one thing to be mentioned in this preface, which is, to excufe myfelf to a fort of perfons who are perhaps very difficult to fatisfy, not but that excellent reafons might be given them ; but as they have the privilege of not fubmitting to very good ones, if they pleafe, con-
fcquently the beft will not content them. Thefe
are thofe fcrupulous people, who may imagine that religion is in fome danger, by placing inha-
bitants elfewhere than on the earth. I refpect
even their excelhve delicacy on the fubjc6t of re-
ligion ; and that refpect I carry fo far, as not wil-
lingly to fhock it on this article in the following
work. If it was even contrary to my private fen- timents ; but that which will appear more fur-
prlfing Is, I fpeak not only of inhabitants In this
fyftem, /. e. the fyflem of our univerfe, or col-
le6:ion of planetary bodies : but, I have mention-
ed an infinite number of other worlds that are In-
"hablted. It may he efleemed at moft but as a lit-
tle wandering of the imagination. When we fay, that the moon Is Inhabited, we Immediately form
to ourfelves the image of men made like us ; and
then. If you are ever fo little of a divine, you
find in the idea Infinite difficulties. The pofterity
of Adam have never extended themfelves fo far as the moon, nor have we ever fent colonies into
that country ; confequently the inhabitants who dwell in the moon are not the children of Adam, Now, in theology, it is an cmbarralling point,
that
PREFACE. xiii that there fhould be men any where who have not defcended from him. There is not any occa-
fion to fay more, every imaginable difficuky is
reduced to this point, nor would it be confiftent
to proceed, as the terms that we mull employ in
a longer explication, are too worthy of refpect to
be ufed in a work wherein there is fo little fe-rious
as in this. The objecSlion turns therefore whol- ly on the men in the moon ; but it is thofe who make thofe objections that put men in the moon ; for my part, I have not placed any there. I have mentioned inhabitants in the moon, but
they are not faid to be men like us. I have not
feen them, nor^have I fpoke of them as if I had
feen them ; nor ought this to be looked upon as a
finelTc, v.'hich I have niide ufc of for eluding the
cbjedion, to fay thai there are not men in the moon, you v^ill fee that it is impolllble there
fliould be fuch people formed as we are, accord-
ing to the ii!ea th.?; f have of the infinite diver-
fity wliich appeals in all the works of nature.
This afl'ertion runs ihrougli the whole book, nor
can it be contradicted by any philofopher ; fo
that, I believe, it will be eafily underflood, that I
have made this objection only to thofe who may fpeak of thefe diicourles without having read them.
But is this fufficient to infure me fuccefs ? No, it is, on the contrary, to be feared, that many more
objections may be made to feveral other parts
of the work.
[The following is the purport of what the au-
thor fays of this new edition.] The
xiv PREFACE. The reader will find, in this new edition, a great
many additions interfperfed throughout the whole book ; the diftances, magnitudes, and revolutions
of the celeflial bodies are herein exprefled more
precifely than in the former editions, and accord-
ing to the calculations of our moft eminent aflro-
nomers ; and, in general, all the phasnomena of
the heavens, conformable to the moft exafit ob-
fervations f . I will aflure the readers, that upon
all thefe points, as much dependance may be pla- ced on this book, fuch as it is now prefented to them, as if it was more learned and more pro-
found. To this work the reader may add that new treatife on the Plurality of Worlds, compo- fed by Mr. Huygens, a celebrated mathematici- an, which will afford very great pleafure to thofe
who read it.
•f- All thefe particulars the reader will find again cor-
je£^ed in the notes, where the newefl. obfervations and
dilcoveries, relative to thefe niatt«rs, are fet down.
Milton\
J^///o/?'s HYMN T O T H E
CREATOR. THESE are thy glorious works, Parent of good,
Almighty, thine this univerfal frame,
Thus wondrous fair ; thyfelf how wondrous then !
Unfpeakable, who fii'ft above thefe Heavens
To us invifible, or dimly (ken In thefe thy loweft works ; yet thefe declare
Thy goodnefs beyond thought, and pow'r divine. Speak ye who belt can tell, ye fons of light.
Angels ; for ye behold him, and Vvith fongs
And choral fymphonies, day without night, Circle his throne rejoicing
; ye in Heaven,
On earth join all ye Creatures to extol Him firft, him laft, him midft, and without end. Faireil of ftars, latl in the train of night,
If better thou belong not to the dawn.
Sure pledge of day, that crown'ft the fmiling morn
With thy bright circlet, praife him in thy fphere,
While day arifes, that fweet hour of prime.
Thou Sun, of this great world both eye and foul. Acknowledge him thy greater, found his praife
In thy eternal courfe, both when thou climb'ft, And when high noon haft gain'd, and when thou falPft*
Moon,
xvi MILTON'S HYMN. Moon, that now meet'ft the orient fun, now fly'ft, With the fix'd ilars, fix'd m their orb that flies. And ye five other wand'ring fires that move In myftic dance, not without Tong, refound
His praife, who out of darknels call'd up light.
Air, and ye Elements, the eldeft birth
Of Nature's womb, that in quaternion run Perpetual circle, multiform ; and mix
And nourifh all things ; let your ceafelefs change Vary to our great Maker ftiil new praife.
Ye Mills and Exhalations that now rife
From hill or (learning lake, dufky or gray,
7 ill the fun paint your fleecy I"kirts with gold, In honour to the world's great Author rife,
Whether to deck with clouds the uncolor'd llcy.
Or wet the thirfly earth with falling fliowers,
Rifing or falling flill advance his praife.
His praife ye Winds, tliat from four quarters blow,
Breathe foft or loud ; and wave your tops, ye Pinei,
With every plant, in fign of worfliip wave.
Fountains and ye, that warble, as ye flow.
Melodious nuirnmrs, warbling tune his praife.
Join voices all ye living fouls ; ye Birds,
That fmging up to Heaven gate afcend.
Bear on your wings and in your notes his praife.
Ye that in waters glide, and ye that walk
The earth, and (lately tread, or lowly creep ; Witnefs if I be filent, morn or even.
To hill, or valley, fountain, or frefli (hade
Made vocal by my long, and taught his praife.
Hail univerfal Lord, be bounteous (lill
To give us only good j and if the night
Have gather'd ought of evil or conceal'd,
Difperfe it, as now light difpels the dark.
Paradije Lofty Lib. V.
T O
[ xvii ]
T O
A YOUNG LADY, WITH
Fontenllle's Plurality of Worlds.
IN this fmall wor^, all nature^s wonders fee, The foften'd features of phllofophy.
In truth, by eafy fteps, you here advance,
Truth as diverting, as the heft romance.
Long had thefe arts to fages been confin'd,
None faw their beauty, 'till by poring blind ; By Itudying fpent, like nicn that cram too fulJ,
From wifdom's feaft they rofe, not chear'd, but dull. The gay and airy fiiiil'd to fee them grave, And fled from wifdom, like Trophonius' cave : Juftly they thought they might thofe arts defpife.
Which made men fullen, ere they could be wife. Brought down to fight, with eafe you view them here
;
The' deep the bottom, yet the ftream is clear.
Your fiutt'ring iex, dill, valued fcience lefs ;
Carelefs of any but the arts of drefs.
Their ufelels time was idly thrown away
On empty novels, or fome new-born play. The befb, perhaps, a few loofe hours might fpare For fome unmeaning thing, mifcalfd a pray'r.
In vain the glittering orbs, each ftarry night,
With mingled blazes Ihed a flood of light :
Each nymph, with cold indiff 'rence, faw them rife ^ And, laught by fops, to them preferr'd her eyes.
None
[ xviii ]
None taught the ftars were funs fo widely Town,
None dream'd of other worlds, befides our own
Well might they boaft their charms, when ev'ry fair
Thought this world all, and her's the brighteft here.
Quit not the lofty thoughts this book infpires
For thole vain trifles which your fex admires ; Alfert your claim to fenfe, and fliew mankind,
That reafon is not to themfelves confin'd.
The haughty Belle, whofe beauty's awful Ihrine 'Twere facrilege t' imagine not divine.
Who thought fo greatly of her eyes before, Bid her read this, and then be vain no more.
How poor ev'n you, who reign without controul, If we except the beauties of your foul
!
Should all beholders feel the fame furprize
;
Should all who fee you, fee you with my eyes j Were no fick blafl:s to make that beauty lefs ; Should you be what I think, what all confefs j
'Tis but a narrow fpace thofe charms engage j
One ifland only, and not half an age !
INTRO-
[ xix ]
INTRODUCTION.
To Monsieur L***.
Y^U are defirous, Sir, that I fhould give '' you a particular account of the manner in which I fpent my time in the country with ma- dam the marchionefs of G * * * : But, do you know that this relation will make a volume, and, what is worfe, that it will be a volume of phi- lofophy ? You expea to hear of fcafls, parties of play, or of hunting, ^c. when, on the contra- ry, you will only be entertained with converfa- tions on the planets, and on other worlds, i^c, there is fcarce any thing elfe mentioned. Hap- pily, you are a philofopher, and will not ridicule me fo much as fome others. Perhaps, you may even be pleafed that I have drawn the marchio- nefs into our philofophical party. We cannot make a more confiderable acquifition
; for, I think, that beauty and youth are far more valu- able to us than any thing elfe. Don't you think, that if wifdom came to prefent herfelf to man- kind with fuccefs, Ihe would do right to appear under a form nearly refembling that of the mar- chionefs ? Above all, if her converfation was to be, in every refped, fo very agreeable, I am per-
s fuadcd
XX INTRODUCTION. fuaded that the whole world would follow wif-
dom. You are not, however, to expetl won- ders, when I relate to you the converfations that I have had with this lady ; one muft have as much wit as fhe hath to repeat all flie hath faid, and in
the manner fhe delivered it. You will only fee fomething of that vivacity and underflanding,
which, you know, fhe pofleires. For me, I efleem
her learned, becaufe of the extreme facility with
which fhe comprehended every thing. She wants
nothing but to have read proper books ; this is
fcarce any thing : for there are many people who have read all thein lives, to whom I would re- fufe, if I durft, the name of learned. As to the
reft, you will be under an obligation to me for communicating it. I know, before I enter into a
detail of thofe converfations I have had with the
marchionefs, I fhould do right in defcribing to
you the feat where (he retired to pafs the autumn.
Defcriptions of palaces, ^'<-. liavc been given on
lefs occafions ; but I will fave both you and my-
felf that trouble. It is fufhcient to inform you,
that when I arrived in the country, I did not find
any company with her ; an agreeable circumftance
which did not difTatisfy me. The two firll: days
not any thing remarkable happened ; they were
pafled in exhaufting the news of Paris, from
whence I came : but, in the end, the difcourfes
that 1 am going to relate, employed a part of our time. I fhall divide them into evenings ; becaufe
that, in fa6t, we liad thefe converi^tions only in
the evening.
CON-
CONVERSAT IONS ON T H E
Plurality of Worlds,
The First Evening.
That the earth if a planet^ lubich turns on itfelfy
and round the fun.
^N E evening, after fupper, we went to take a turn in the park ; the air, from
the heat of the preceding clay, which
greatly fatigued us, was extremely refreshing ; the
(i) moon had been rifen, perhaps, about an hour, B and
( I ) Tl^e ifioon hoci been rifen, perhaps, about an hour.] Fontenelle introduces his converfations with a beautiful defcription of the night, fomewhat refembJing that by- Homer, which, Mr. Pope fay?, exhibits, in the origi- nal, the fineft night-piece in poetry ; and as it can- not fuffer any great difadvantage from the pen of that admirable tranflator, wc iliall here tranfcribe it.
As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night f O'er heav'n's clear azure fpreads her facred lights When not a breath difturbs the deep ferene, And not a cloud o'ercafc the foleinn fcene;
Around
2 CONVERSATIONS on the and her luflre, which darted between the branches
of the trees, made a moft agreeable mixture of light and Ihade ; the ftars were arrayed in all
their glory ; they appeared like pure and fhining
gold, which was yet relieved by the blue arch in
which they w^ere fet ; and not a cloud appeared
throughout the hemifphere to obfcure the lead of
them, I was mufing on this awful profpeft, and
loft myfelf in a kind of refverie ; and, had it not
been for the marchionefs, I might not have
awaked from it for a long time ; but who can
long contemplate on the moon or ftars in the
company of a charming woman ? I am much miftaken if that be a proper time for contempla-
tion. Well, madam, lays I, to the marchionefs,
is not the night rather more pleafant than the
day ? The day, replied flie, like a fair beauty, i«
clear and dazzling ; but the night, like a brown
one, is more foft and moving. You are very ge-
nerous, madam, anfwered I, to give this prefer-
ence to the brunetts, you who have all the
charms that belong to the fair : but, is there any
thing more beautiful in nature than the day ? the
heroines of romances, which are the produce of
the fineft imaginations, are made generally fair.
Tell
Around her throne the vivid planets roll,
And ftars unnumber'd gild the glowing pole. O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure flied,
And tip withfilver ev'ry mountain's head; Then ihlne the vales, the rocks in profpefts rife,
A flood of glory burfts from all the flcies : The confcious fwains, rejoicing in the light, Eye the blue vault, and blefs the uf^ful light.
Iliad viii.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 3 Tell me not, fays flie, of perfect beauty ; no- thing can be fo that is not affecting. Acknow- ledge, that the faired day hath never thrown you
into fo pleafing a refverie, as that into which I faw
you ready to fall but a moment fince. I agree, anfwered I ; but a fair one, like you, can caft me into a refverie, fooner than the fined night in the
world, with all its embrowned elegance. This is
an affair I fhall not now contend about, replied fhe ; I would have the day (becaufe the fair ought
to be in its interefts) have the fame effe(5l. But
fmce you talk of romances, why do lovers, in their fongs and elegies, addrefs themfelves to the
night ? It is the night, madam, replied I, that crowns their joys, and therefore deferves their
applaufe. But it is to the night, anfwered fhe,
they make all their complaints ; and how comes it to pals, the day is fo little trufted with their
fecrets ? I confcfs, madam, fays I, I can hardly account for it; mcthinks the night has fomewhat a more melancholy air than the day, and fills them with plaintiff and gloomy complaints : they fancy the ffars revolve more filently than the fun ; and their thoughts then wander with more liberty, whilft they think all the world at reft but them- felves : bcfidcs, the day is more uniform ; we fee nothing but the fun, and one blue vault in the fir-
mament ; whilft the night fhews us a variety of objeds, and hangs out ten thoufand ftars, difpofed into a multitude of figures, which infpire us with as many pleafing ideas. She replied, what you fay is true, I love the ftars ; there is fomewhat charming in them ; I could almoft be angry with
B 2 the
4 CONVERSATIONS on the the fun for effacing them. And I cannot, fays I, pardon him for keeping (2) all thofe Worlds from my fight. What Worlds, fays fhe, looking cirneftly upon me, do you mean ?
I beg your pardon, madam, replied I ; you have
caufed me to be guilty of folly, and I begin to rave. V/hat folly, anfwered fhe ; I difcover none ? Alas fays I, I am quite afliamed, if you fhould oblige me to confefs it : I have long had a flrong fancy that every ftar may probably be a fun, to enlighten other worlds : I will not, however, fwear that it
is true, but muft think fo, bccaufe it is fo pleafant
a fancy
• (2^ All //'o/^ Worlds from rny ftght.'] The term World is commonly uftd to figiiify this earth, or terieflrial globe ; or, according to our author, any planet refembling it, which receives light and heat from a fun. Here it may be neceifary to obferve. That though Fontenelle profefles the fyftem of Def- cartes, yet, contrary to the Cartefians, he maintains
the doclrine of a plurality of worlds, the negative of which was fupported by them, upon thefe principles: That it is a contraditlion to fay there are feveral worlds exifting at the fame time, fmce this implies feveral uni-
verfes of created beings, the world being the to ttuv.
That if there were feveral worlds, they muft be either at a diflance from each other, or contiguous ; but neither
can be faid -, for, were they contiguous, they would
only conftitute one j and were they diilant, there muft
be fomething between. But, fay the Cartefians, what
can be betv/een .'' If it be extended, it is corporeal ; and,
jnilead of feparatlng the feveral worlds, will connect
them into one. But this is confounding the term world with the term univerfe, which is a collcdive name, fig-
nifying the ailemblage of heaven and earth, with all
things therein; and which the Cartefians, and other
philofophers, imagine to be iiiRnite,
Be fides
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 5 a fancy to believe it : it is an idea come into my head, which is very entertaining. If ycur folly
be fo very diverting, fays the marchionefs, pray
make me fenfible of it : provided I find a pleafure in it, I will believe as much of the liars as you
would have me. I fear, madam, replied I, it is
an entertainment you will not relifh ; it is not hke
feeing a reprefentation of one of Moliere's plays ;
this is a pleafure rather of the fancy than of the
judgment. I hope, anfwered fhe, you do not
think me incapable of it ; teach me your dottrine of the flars, I will convince you of the contrary.
No, no, fays I, it fhall never be faid, by way of re-
proach to me, that I was talking philofophy in a
wood, at ten o'clock at night, to the moil ami-
able creature in the univerfe. You muft fearch for your philofophers fomewhere elfe.
I had refolution enough to defend myfelf for
fome time, in that manner ; but vain were my excufes ; who ccuM refift fuch charms ? I was forced to yield. I made her promife, for my honour, that fhe would keep the fecret ; and
B 3 yet,
Befides our author, the celebrated Mr. Huygens, in his Cofmotheoros, has endeavoured to prove a plurality of worlds : that is, that all the planets are habitable globes, like our earth ; and that the fixed ftars are funs, which ferve (in the fame manner as our fun) to warm and enlighten other globes, or planets, revolving round them. This, indeed, affords a very magnificent Idea of the immenfity of the univerfe, and of the wifdom and power of Its omnipotent creator ; and is called the New Syfteni of the Univerfe. However, by the word Syftem, a number of planetary bodies Is only meant, which move about one common centre or point j and fuch a fyftem is alfo fometlmes called a world.
6 CONVERSATIONS on the yet, when every objection was removed, I knew not where to begin ; for to a perfon who under- ftands not any thing of natural philofophy, one
muft go a great way about to prove, that the earth may be a planet ; that the planets may be fo many earths ; and all the ftars fo many funs, which enlighten other worlds. However,
to give her a general notion of philofophy, at
laft I refolved on this method.
Madam, fays I, all philofophy is founded upon thefe two propofitions, i. * That our minds are * curious ;' and, 2. * That our eyes are bad j' for
if our eyes v/ere better than they are, we could not difcover whether the flars were funs that en-
ligbten other worlds, or not ; and if, on the other
hand, we were lefs curious, we fhould not care whether it were fo or otherwife ; which, I think,
is much to the fame purpofe. But the difficulty is, we have a mind to know more than we can
fee : and again, if vv^e could difcern thoroughly
well what things we do fee, they would become
too familiar to us ; but we fee things quite other-
wife than they are. So that your true philofo-
phers will not believe what they do fee, and are
always conjecturing at what they do not ; which,
I think, is a life not much to be envied : upon
this occafion I fancy to myfelf, that nature very
much refembles an opera ; where you Hand, you
do not fee the theatre as it really is formed, but
as it is placed with advantage, and all the wheels
and movements are hid, to make the reprefenta-
tion, at a diilance, the more agreeable : nor do
you trouble yourfelf how, or by what means the
maciunes
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 7 machines are moved, though certainly a machinift,
hid in the pit, is afFefted with what does not touch
you : he is pleafed with a flying motion, and is
demonftrating to himfelf on what it depends, and
how it was performed. This engineer is Hke a philofopher, though the difficuhy is greater on
the philofopher's part, the machines of the the-
atre being not near fo curious as thofe of nature,
who difpofes her wheels and fprings fo milch out of fight, that we have been a long while guefling. at what caufes the motions of the univerfe. Let us imagine all the ancient fages to be at an opera,
the Pythagoreans, Platonifls, Ariftotelians, and
all the wife men who have made fuch a noife in the world, for thefe many ages : we will fuppofe them at the reprefentation of the flight of Phae- ton, where they fee the afpiring youth lifted up by the winds, but do not difcover the cords by which he mounts, nor know they any thing of what is done behind the fcenes. One tells you. Phaeton is drawn up (3) by an hidden fecret virtue^ no matter where it lies : another fays. Phaeton
B 4 is
(3)^y^^ hiddenfecret ^virtue, no matter 'where it lies.'] Our author here feems to attack the Newtonian doarine of attraaion, as well as the magnetifm or fympathy of Ariftotle
; and, indeed, the generality of foreign philo- fophers declare againft this principle, for no other rea- fon, than becaufe they cannot conceive how a body fhould aa on another at a diftance. Philofophy, it is certain, allows of no adion, but what is by immediate con- taa and impulfion
; for how can a body exert any aaive power, where it does not exifl ? yet we fee efFeas, with- out feeing any fuch impulfc -, and where there are effeas,
we
8 CONVERSATIONS on the (4) is compofedof certain numbers that make him mount
: (5) a third tells you. Phaeton has a fecret
love
we can eafily infer there are caufes, whetlier we fee them or not. But a philofopher may confider fuch ef- feds without entering into the confideration of the caufes
;
for to exclude a number of phaenomena, v/hlch we do fee, will be to leave a great chafm in the hiltory of nature; and to argue about adions, which we do not fee, will be to build caftles in the air. It follows, there- fore, that the phenomena of attraftion, are matter of phyfical confideration, and, as fuch, are intided to a
Ihare in a fyllem of phyfics ; but that the caufes thereof will become fo, only when they appear to be the effects of fome higher caufes ; for a caufe Is no otherwife feen than as itfelf is an etfed ; fo that the firfc caufe muft, from the nature of things, be invifible. We are, therefore^ at liberty, to fuppofe the caufes of attraction v/hat we pleafe, without any injury to the effefls. Sir Ifaac Newton himfelf feems a little irrefolute as to the caufe ; inclining, fometimes, to attribute gravity to
the action of an immaterial caufe. Optics, p. 543, &c.
and, fomedmes, to that of a material one, ?^. p. 525. In his philofophy, the refearch into caufes is the laft
thing ; and never comes in turn, till the laws and phs;-
nomena of the effeft be fettled ; it being to them that the caufe is to be accommodated. The caufe of th$ frolTeft and moft fenfible adion is fcarcely known, e. g. ow motion is communicated from body to body con-
founds the deepeft philofophers. They fay, it is by im- pulfe or percuffion, which terms are not only univerfally
received into philofophy, but into mathematics ; yet
they are but mere terms ; and the caufes which produce
thefe effe6ls are as little known as thgfe of attraction, which term the followers of Defcartes fo much cavil at.
{^\)h compOi dofcertain numbers- that make him jiiount.'] This alludes to the Pythagorean Syftem, that the planets
were retained in their fpheres by the power of the har-
mony of numbers.
(5) A third tellsyou ^ PhtietQU has a fecret- k^je for the tQp.
P L U R A L I TY of WOR L D S. 9 love for the top of the theatre, and cannot be at
reft elfewhere : a fourth, that Phaeton was not
formed for flying, but that he would rather fly,
(6) than permit the top of the theatre to be void ; with an hundred fuch extravagant fancies, that a
man mufl: wonder why thefe old fages fhould fo long preferve their reputation : but now comes Defcartes, with fome of the moderns, and they tell
you Phaeton afcends, becaufe he is drawn up by
cords, and that a greater weight than he. defcends ;
(o that now we do not believe a body can move, unlefs it is puflied and drawn by another body,
and that nothing can rife or h\\ but by the means
of a counterpoife ; to fee nature then, as flie
really is, one mufl: fl:and behind the fcenes at the
opera. I perceive, fays the lady, philofophy is
now become very mechanical. Yes, madam, replied I, fo mechanical, that I fear we fliall quickly be afhamed of it ; they will have the
world to be in large, what a watch is in little,
that it is very regular, and depends only upon the
B 5 juH:
top of the theatre.] Our author here alludes to the do6lrine of fympathy, by which, and its contrary, hidden caufe, called antipathy, the followers of Ari- ftotle endeavoured to account for many of the phseno- mena of nature.
(6) Than permit the top ofthe theatre to he 'void.] Na- ture's abhorrence of a vacuum, that is, of a fpace where there is no kind of matter or body, was another rea- fon given by the Peripatetics for explaining feveral effeds, fuch as the rlfing of water in pumps, the fwelling of ficlh in a cupping-glafs, &c. which are now univerfall/ nfcribed to the p.relfure of the atmofphere.
to CONVERSATIONS on the juft difpofition of the feveral parts of the move-
ment. But, pray tell me, madam, had you not
formerly a more fublime idea of the univerfe ? Do not you think, that you honoured it then more
than it deferved ? for mofl people have the lefs
efleem for it, after they have been acquainted with
it. I am not of their opinion, fays (he ; I value it the more, fmee I knov/ it refembles a watch ;
and the more plain and eafy the whole order of
nature feems, to me it. appears to be the more ad^ mirable.
I do not know, anfwered I, who has infpirei you with fuch folid notions, but I am certain there are few who have them befides yourfelf : people generally admire what they do not comprehend ;
they have a veneration for obfcurity, and look^
upon nature as a kind of magic, while they do
not underftand her, and defpife her when once they are acquainted with her : but I find youy
madam, fo well difpofed to enter with fpirit into
my argument, that I have nothing toido but to draw up the curtain, and fhew you the world.
That noble expanfe which appears farthefl: from
the earth, where we refide, is called the heavens ;-
that azure firmament, where the flars are faftened
like fo m.any golden flud§, and are called fixed,
becaufe they feem to have no other motion than
that of their heaven, which carries them with it-
felf from.eaft, to weft. Between the earth and
this great vault, as I may call it, hang, at differ-
ent heights, the fun and the moon, with the
other, five ftars, which are called planets^ Mer-,
cury.
PLURALITY of WORLDS, u ctiry, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Thefe
planets, not being fixed in one and the fame hea-
ven, and having very unequal motions, have di-
vers afpects and pofitions, with refped to each
other : whereas, the fixed ftars, in refpe6l to one
another, are -always in the fame fituation : for
example, (7) the chariot, which, you fee, is com-
pofed of thefe feven ftars, has been, and ever will
be, as it now is ; but the moon is fometimes
nearer to the fun, and fometimes farther from it
;
and the reft of the planets move in like manner.
Thus things appeared to the old Chaldaean fhep-
herds, whofe great leifure produced the firft ob-
fervations, which have fince been the foundation
of aftronomy ; which fcience had its birth in
Chaldasa, as geometry fprung from Egypt, where
the inundation of the Nile confounding the bounds
of the fields, occafioned their inventing more ex-
aft meafures, to diftinguifh every one's land from
that of his neighbour. So that aftronomy was
the daughter of idlenefs, geometry the daughter
of intereft ; and if we did but examine poetry,- we ftiould certainly find her to be the daughter of •
love.
I am
(7) The chariot ivhichyoufee.] That is, the feven ftars of the Great Bear, which revolve round the North Pole, every twenty- four hours, called alfo, by us, the Plough, or Charles's Wain ; and, by the French, le Chariot. Thefe ftars have always had the fame fituati- on, in refped to each other, though the moon is fome- times nearer to the fun, and fometimes further from it,: as: in the text.
II CONVERSATIONS on the I am glad, fays the lady, I have learned this
genealogy of the fclences, and am convinced I muft flick to aftronomy ; my foul is not mercena- ry enough for geometry, nor is it lender enough
for poetry ; but I have as much time to fpare as
aftronomy requires ; befides, we are now in the
country, and lead a kind of paftoral hfe, all which
fuits beft with aflronomy. Do not deceive your- felf, madam, replied I, it is not a true fhepherd's
life to talk of the fixed ilars and planets : they
do not pafs their time fo in Aflraea. That fort
of fhepherd's-craft, anfvvered fhe, is too dange-
rous for me to learn : I Icve the honeft Chaldaeans^, and you muft teach me their rules, if you would have me improve in their fcience. But let us proceed : when they had placed the heavens in
the difpofition you tell me, pray, what is the next
point in queftion ? The next, fays I, is the difpo-
fing the feveral parts of the univerfe, which tlie
learned call making a fyflein ; but before I ex-
pound the firil: fyftem, I would have you cbferve,.
we are all naturally like the Athenian idiot, who.
fancied all the fliips that came into the Pirseus
belonged to him : nor is our foliy lefs ex-
travagant, wc believe all things in nature are alfo
defigned for our ufe ; and do but afk a philofo-
pher, to what purpofe v/as that prodigious com—
/pany of fixed ftars created, when a far lefs num-
ber would perform the fervice they do us ? He anfwers coldly, they were made to pleafe our
fight. Upon this principle they imagined the
earth refled in the centre of the univerfe, while
PLURALITY of WORLDS, jj all the celeftial bodies (which were made for it)
took the pv^ins to turn round to give Hght to it.
They placed the Moon above the Earth, Mercury- above the Moon, next Venus, then the Sun, after
him Mars, then Jupiter, and laftly Saturn ; above
all thefc they fet the Heaven of fixed Stars : The earth was placed juft in the middle of thofe cir-
cles which the planets defcribc, and the greater
the circles were, they were the farther diflant
from the Earth, and by confequence the farthefl
planets took up the moft time in finishing their
courfe ; which, in effect, is true. But why, fays
the marchioncfs (interrupting me) do you feem
to diflike this fyllem : it appears to me very clear and intelligible. However, replied 1, ma-
dan), I have made it plainer to you than it really
is ; for fhould I give it to you as it came from Ptolemy its author, or fome others who have fince fludied it, I fhould frighten you, I fancy,
inftead of diverting you. Since the motions of
the planets are not fo regular, but that fometimes
they appear to go fafler, fometimes flower, fome-
times are nearer the Earth, and fometimes farther
from it ; the ancients invented, I do not know hov/ many orbs or circles, involved one within another, which they thought would folve all ob-
je(5t:ions. This ccnfuficn of circles v>^as fo great,
that at the time when they knew no better, a certain King of Caftile, a great mathematician,
(but not much troubled with religion) faid, that, * had God confulted him when he made the ^ world, he. would have told him how to have
' framed.
14 CONVERSATIONS on the * framed it better.' This faying favoured too
much of the Hbertine, but, at the fame time^ it was pleafant enough ; for this fyllem was then
the-occafion of fin, becaufe it was very confufed
;
and, no doubt, the inftruQ:ions he would have given
the Almighty, were the fuppreffmg thofe circles
with which he had clogged the celeftial motions,
and the taking away two or three fuperfluous
heavens, which were placed above the fixed ftars
;
for thefe philofophers, to explain the motion of
the celeftial bodies, formed, beyond the laft hea-^
ven that we fee, an heaven of cryflal, which im-.
prefled this motion on the inferior heavens ; and
where-ever they heard of another motion, they
prefently clapped up a cryftal heaven, which cod
them nothing. But why, fays the lady, mud.
their heaven be of cryftal, would nothing elfe.
ferve as well ? No, no, replied I, nothing fo well
;
for the light is to come through them, and yet
they are to be folid. Ariflotle would have it fo ; he
had found folidity to be one of their excellencies,
and when he had. once faid it, no body would be
fo. rude as to queftion him. (8) But it feems there
were comets which appeared much higher thaa
the old philofophers ever had expeded, which
broke thefe cryrtal heavens by pafilng through
them, and .confounded the univerfe... This obliged
them
(8) But it feems there ivere comets that broke the cryf-
tal Heavens.] The comets have not only contributed
to overturn the Ptolemaic fyftem, which our author
h^ very exadly defcribed, but alfo that of his favourite philofopher
.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 15 them to make the heavens fluid ; and by the ob-
fervations of thefe latter ages, it is now out of
doubt, that Venus and Mercury turn round the
fun, and not round the earth, according to the
ancient fyftem which is every where explod-
ed. But that fyftem which I am going to la/
down, will be quite fatisfa£lory, and very fmr-
ple, and is fo clear, that the king of Caftile him-
felf may fpare his advice. Methinks, anfwered
the marchionefs, your phllofophy is like- work
propofed to undertakers, and he that offers to do it
cheapefl:, carries it from all the reft. This, fays
I, is very true, nature is a great houfewife, fhe.
always makes ufe of what ccfts leaft, let the dif-
ference be ever fo inconfiderable ; and yet this
frugality is accompanied with an extraordinary>
magnificence, which fhines through all her works ;
that is, file is magnificent in the defign, but fru^
gal in thje execution ; and. what can be more
praife*-
phllofopher Defcartes, who maintained, that the pla- nets moved round the fun in vortices or whirlpools of matter moving in circles the fame way : for as the num- ber of comets is very confiderable, and their motions perfectly regular, obferving the fame laws as the planets,
»
and moving in conical orbits that are exceedingly excen- tric J and as they move every way^ in all dire<5lions> and to all parts of the heavens, pervading and pafling through the planetary regions, and going frequently' contrary to them, which would be impolfible, were there fuch vortices as
. thofe of Defcartes ; thefe whirlpools
would carry them along with them in their courfe, and prevent their palling towards the Sun, and their return •
from it, which it is well known they freely do. The' Cartefian doctrine of vortices is further expatiated upon* ia^ fubfequent note.
15 CONVERSATIONS on tHe praife-worthy, than a great defign accompHfhed
v/ith a little expence. But in our ideas we turn things topfy-turvey, we place our thrift in the defign, and are at ten times mere charge in workmanfliip than it requires ; which is very ri-
diculous. I Ihall be very well pleafed if the fyf-
tem you are going to fpeak of fiiall clearly imi- tate nature in her frugality, replied Ihe ; it will
then give me little trouble to comprehend you. Madam, fays I, fear it not, we have done with our ufelefs embarafTments. Imagine to yourfel£
the idea of a German, called Copernicus, con- founding every thing, tearing in pieces the- be-
loved circles of antiquity, and fhattering their
cryflal heavens like fo many glafs windows-; feiz- ed with the noble entliufiafm cf agronomy, he
took up the earth from the centre of the univerfe,
fends her far from thence, and places the fun in
the centre, to whom this honour did more juftly belong
; (9) the planets no longer turn round the
Earth as their centre, nor is (he inclofed in it by
the:
(9) The planets no longer turn round the earth.'] The planets are celeftial bodies, that revolve round .the Sun
as a centre, and are condauaily changing their pofition,
with refpetl to the other ftars. They are dlitinguifhed. into primary, and feccndary. The firft move round the Sun as their proper centre in the following order.
Next to the Sun is Mercury, who revolves round hhn in 87 days, 23 hours. Venus is next, and performs
her revolution in 224 days, 17 hours. The third planet in order from the Sun is our earthly globe, v^hole periodi-
cal revolution is performed in 365 days, 5 hours, 51 mi-
nutes. Without the Earth is Mars, who goes round the
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 17 the circles they dcfcribe ; if they give us light, it?
is but by chance, and as they meet us in their
way :
the Sun in 686 days, 2^ hours. Jupiter, the largeft of all the planets, revolves round the Sun In 4332 days, 12
hours. Laftly Saturn, who is the nioft diilant planet from the Sun, performs his revolution in 10759 days, 7 hours. This planet is encoinpaffed v/ith a ring, not vi-
fible, but with glall'es. See plate I. fig. 4, 5, 6.
The fecondary planets are fuch as move round fome primary planet, as their rcfpec^ive centre, in the fame
manner as the primary do round the Sun j fuch are the
Moon, moving round our Earth, which fhe does in 27. days, and 7 hours ; befides 4 that move round Jupiter, and 5 round Saturn, which ferve thofe planets alfo as moons. None of thefe fecondary planets, belonging to Jupiter or Saturn, are vifible without a telefcope.
The French aftronomers have, according to the me- moirs of their academy, lately difcovered a moon, or fecondary planet, attending alfo on Venus. Aftronomers.
alio call them Satellites. While they move round their refpeftive primaries, they are alio carried with them round the Sun. This difpofition of the planets is called the Copernican fyftem, which is reprefented plate I. fig. I. They will be all feverally treated of more parti- cularly in the notes to the fourth evening's converfatlon.
The proportionable diftances of the planets, together with the true proportion of their magnitudes, c?ai never be fhew^n in any one machine, fuch as an Orrery or planetarium, much lefs upon paper; yet they may be reprefented by different machines and fchen es ; for if the body of the planet Saturn be reprefented in a pla- netarium or fcheme of the fize of a nutmeg, or y'^ of an inch in diameter, Jupiter will be about an inch In dia-
meter ; Mars the fize of a common pin-head, or j-l^. parts of an inch diameter ; the Earth about the iize of a larger pin-head, or -/^ of an inch diameter ; Venus a little lefs ; and Mercury Hnaller than the head of a minikin pin ; and yet the Sun muft be reprefented by a ball, or circle of more than 8 inches diameter, of the
f«Q
i8 CONVERSATIONS on the way : all now turn round the fan, even the Earth herfelf; and Copernicus, to punifh the Earth for
her former lazinefs, makes her contribute all
he can to the motion of the planets and heavens ;
and now flripped of all the heavenly equipage, with
which
fi'ze of a large cannon ball. Thefe proportions may be placed near each other ; and fhew how fmall a figure Jupiter, the largeft of ail the planets, makes to the Sun, nftz. as a blue plumb to a large cannon ball of 8 inches diameter, and our earth is fcarcely vlfible near it. The diftances of the planets are not yet fo exadly known as they will be after May 1761, when Venus will ap- pear on the Sun's face, which will aflift aftronomers ta determine the dillance of the Sun and planets with great accuracy. However, fuppofing their magnitudes to be as above reprefented, no machine or fcheme would fhew their true diftances : for In proportion to thefe magnitudes
of a pin-head to reprefent the earth, and a cannon ball
of more than eight inches diameter the fun, their diftances in a machine muft be 18 feet, and that of
Saturn 800 from the fun ; fo that the orbit of Saturn would be more than a mile in circumference ; and con- jfequently no planetarium can ever be made to exprefs the proportion of diftances and magnitudes at the fame
time ; and if it could be made fo large, would be of little ufe, as we muft walk from one part to another to view the feveral bodies ; and Mercury, Venus, the
Earth, and Mars, would be all of them by much too fmall to be (een from Saturn, without the help of a
telefcope ; nor indeed could the three firft be feen from
Jupiter without one. If we fuppofe an Orrery of a mile circumference, to reprefent the proportionable dif-
tances of the planets, together with their magnitudes -
in our folar fyftem, the Earth will be but almoPc a point
or fize of a pin-head in this circumference of a mile ; confequently (he bears no greater a proportion to the
orbit of Saturn in the folar fvftem, which again fmks in-
to a point, when cojipared.to the. expanfe and dlftancc of the. fixed ftars.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 1-9 which fhe wavS fo glorloufly attended, {he has no-
thing kft her but the Moon, which dill turns
round about her.^ Fair and foftly, fays the mar-
chionefs, I fancy you yourfelf are feized with the
noble fury of aflronomy ; which makes you ex-
plain things fo pompoufly, that, I believe, I have
not perfe6i:ly comprehended you. The Sun, you affirm, is in the centre of the univerfe, and is
immoveable ; what follows next ? It is Mercury,
fays I ; he turns round the Sun, fo that the Sun is
nearly in the centre of the circle wherein Mercu-
ry moves.; above Mercury is Venus, who turns alfo round the Sun ; after comes the Earth, which
being placed higher than Mercury and Venus,
makes a greater circle round the Sun than either
of them ; at lafl: come Mars, Jupiter and Saturn,
in the fame order I name them ; fo that Saturn
has the greateft circle round the Sun, which is the
reafon he is longer in making his revolution than
any of the other planets. You have forgot' the Moon, fays the marchionefs. We fhall quickly find her again, replied I ; the Moon turns round the Earth, and does not leave her, but as the Earth
advances in the circle, which flie defcribes about
the Sun ; the Moon follows her, always revolv- ing round her, and if fhe turns round the Sun,
it is becaufe fhe will not quit the earth. I un-
derhand you, anfwered fhe, and I love the Moon for flaying with us when all the other planets a- bandon us ; nay, I fear, your German would have willingly taken her av/ay too if he could ; for in
all his proceedings, I find he had no great regard
for.
20 CONVERSATIONS on the for the Earth. It was well done of him, fays. I, to lefien the vanity of mankind, who had taken up the befl place in the univerfe ; and it pleafes
me to fee the earth among the number of the planets. Sure, anfwered Hit, 3^ou do not think
the vanity of mankind extends itfelf fo far as to af-
tronomy ! Do you beheve you have humbled me, in telling me the earth goes round the fun ? For my part, I do not think myfelf the worfe for it. I confefs, madam, replied I, it is my belief, that a fair lady would be much more concerned for her place at a ball, than for her rank in the uni-
verfe ; and the precedency of two planets will
not make half fuch a noife in the world, as that of two ambaffadors ; however, the fame inchna-
tion which makes us deiirous of the mofl honour-
able place at a ceremony, governs in a fyftem
;
and if you love the uppermofl place in the one,
the philofopher defu'es the centre in the other
;
he flatters himfelf that all things were made for
him, and he infenfibly becomes interefled in a
matter of pure fpeculation. Freely confefs that
this is a calumny, fays flie, you have invented
againft mankind ; why did they receive this fyf- tem, if it was fo humbling ? I know not, an-
fwered I, but I am fure Copernicus himfelf dif- trufted the fuccefs of his opinion ; it v/as a long
time before he would venture to publilli it ; nor
had he done it then, without the importunity of
his friends. But do you know what became of
him ? The very day they brought him the firft
copy of his book, he died ; he could not bear all
the.
PLURALITY cf WORLDS. 21 the objeCions he forefav/ would be made to his
opinion, and therefore very wifely ilipt out of the
way. / We fhould do juftice to all the world, fays the lady, but it is hard to fancy we move, and
yet find v/e do not change our place ; we perceive
ourfelves in tlie morning where we lay down at
night : perhaps you will tell me that the whole earth moves. Yes, certainly, adds I ; it is the
fame thing as if you fell afleep in a boat upon the
river, when you wake you find yourfelf in the
fame place, and the fame fituation^ in refpe6t to
all the parts of the boat. It is true, replied fhe,
bur there is a great difference, when I wake I find
another fhore, and that fliews me, my boat has changed its place. But it is not the fame with
the Eartji, I find all things as I left them. No,
no, madam, fays I, the fliore is alfo changed
;
you know that beyond the circles of the planets are the fixed flar«, there is our fhore, I am. upon
the Earth, and the Earth makes a great circle round
the Sun ; I look for the centre of the circle and
fee the Sun there ; then I dirett my fight beyond the fun in a right line, and lliould certainly difco-
ver the fixed flars v/hich n.nfwer to the Sun, but
that the light of the fun effaces them : but at night I eafily perceive the ftars that correfpond-
ed with him in the day, which is exa6lly the
fame thing : if the earth did not change place
in her orbit or the circle where flie is, I fhould fee
the Sun always againft the fame fixed flars ; but
when the Earth changes place, the Sun mufl
anfwer
%2 CONVERSATIONS on the anfvver to fome other fixed ilars, and there again is our ihore, which is always changing. And feeing the Earth makes her circle in a year round the Sun, I fee the fun likewife in the fpace of a
year anfwer fucceffively to a whole circle of the
fixed ftars, which circle is called the (lo) Zodiac; I
will
(id) Called the Zodiac] The Zodiac is a broad cir- cle, whofe middle is called the ecliptic, in which the Sun feems to move, but in reality the earth. It is divided into twelve parts called figns, which were named from certain conftellations (i. e. clufters of ftars) through which this circle pafTes. Thefe twelve are called Aries the ram, Taurus the bull, Gemini the twins, Cancer the crab, Leo the lion, Virgo the maid. Libra the ballance, Scorpio the fcorpion, Sagittarius the Centaur,
Capricornus the goat, Aquarius the water bearer, and Pifces the fifhes. When the Sun feems to be in Aries, or in that part of the heavens occupied by the ftars in
that conllellation, the Earth is then in Libra, which is exadly oppolite to Aries ; and when the Sun feems to be in Cancer, the Earth is in Capricorn, as will be per-
ceived by Fig. 2. Plate I.
The names of thefe conftellations were originally in- vented by the Egyptian priefts, who marked the feveral months of the year, by the moft remarkable incidents
that happened in each. Thus, when the Sun entered Aries, which he does in March, the fheep bring forth
their young j when he enters Taurus in April, the oxen do the fame ; antlently the conftellation Gemini,
or the twins, was reprefented by tv/o kids (tho' after-
wards by Caftor and Pollux) which conftellation the Sun
enters in May, the time that goats bring forth. In June the Sun enters Cancer, or the crab ; he then begins to
defcend, or, like the crab, to go backwards. His en-
tering Leo, or the lion, in July, denotes the raging heat
of fummer. Virgo is reprefented on the fphere as a
woman, with a wheaten ear in her hand, to denote an har-
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 23 will drav/ you the figure of it, if you pleafe, on
the fand ? It is no matter, replied the lady, I
can do well enough without it : befides, it will
give an air of learning to my park, which I would not have in it : for I have heard of a certain phi-
lofopher, who being ihipwrecked upon an un- known ifland, feeing feveral mathematical figures
traced on the fea-fhore, cryed out to thofe who followed him, * Courage, my companions, the ifle is inhabited, behold the marks of men.' But
you may fpare your figures, fuch footfteps are not neceflary here.
I confefs, madam, added I, that, in fa8:, tlie footfteps of lovers, would better become this
place ; that is, I would have your name and cy-
pher
harveft gatherer, which is performed in Auguft. He enters Libra, or the ballance, in September, which points out the equality of day and night in that month. Scor- pio, or the fcorpion's fting, denotes the unheahhlnefs of Odlober, an autumnal month, which was very fickly in Egypt. Sagittarius, or the Centaur (by which the Egyptians denoted a man on horfeback) furniflied with a bow and arrows, points out the hunting feafon, in November. Capricornus, or the mountain goat, into ^which fign the Sun entered in December, denotes his beginning to afcend or climb again up the heavens, which he ceafed to do lince he palTed the fign Cancer in June. Aquarius in January, denotes tlie rainy month ; and laftly Pilces, or the fifties, points out the time for filhing in February.
Thcfe figns are diftingullhed by the following cha- racters,
Aries <r, Taurus « , Gemini n, Cancer 55 ^ Leo Sit Virgo WR, Libra ^y Scorpio rix, Sagittarius f, Capricornus IcP, Aquarius ;;r, Pifces K-
24 CONVERSATIONS on the pher be carved on tuefe trees, by the hands of
your adorers. Tell me not, lays fiie, of levers and adorers, fpeak of the Sun. I underiland very
.well the reafon why we imagine, that the Sun de- icribes a circle which we ourfelves defcribe, and that this is completed in one year ; but
there is another that the Sun defcribes every
day over our heads, hov/ is that performed ? Did
you never, replied I, obferve a bov/1 on the
green to have two motions ? It runs towards the
jack, and, at the fame time, turns very often
round itfelf ; fo that the parts which were above
are below, and thofe which were below are above :
juft fo it is with the Earth, at the fame time that
fhe advances on (i i) the circle, which, in a year's
fpace, fhe makes round the Sun, every 24 hours flie
turns round herfelf j fo that in 24 hours, nearly,
every
(11) The circle^ ivhich, in ayear'sfpace^Jhe makes round
the Suny e<very 24 hours fhe turns round herfelf. ^ The different inequalities of day and night throughout the
year will be eafiiy comprehended by Fig. 4. Plate IV.
which reprefents an oblique fphere, in which the great circle P H R QJW D, is the meridian, on which the Sun's rays T .^ V fliine every day at i 2 of the clock. T R reprefents the tropic of Capricorn, or cir- cle the fun makes round the earth In June on the longell
day in the year ; that part of it from X to R, reprefents the twilight during that feafon. The aiquator, or equi- no6lial circle, Is reprefented by M. Q^one half of which is above the horizon O H, and the other half Is below the fame, which reprefents equal day and night to all parts of fhe earth ; this happens In March and Sep- tember. V W reprefent the tropic of Capricorn, or
circle
P L U R A L I T Y of W O R L D S. 25 every part of the Earth lofes the Sun, and recovers
him again, and as it turns towards the Si:n, he
C fecms
circle the fun makes round the earth, on the (liorted
day in December, V Z reprefents the Ihortnefo of the day, and Z \V the length of the night at that fealbn. O H A R reprefents the bounds of the twilight, and a b the courfe of the fun. P D the poles on which the earth turns. It is further evident by the
following figure (Plate IV. Fig. 5.) that the annual mo- tion of the earth round the ecliptic, will nuke the Uin appear to us as if it had fuch a motion j and the variety of days and nights, and feafons of the year, may be alfo folved by the annual motion of the earth. 'I'hus, let the circles A QJ3 E reprefent the earth. A B will be the extremities of the axis or poles on which it turns every 24 hours. B repreients the north pole which points up- wards, and A the fouth pole pointing downwards
;
between thefe poles, each point of the earth, by Its daily revolution defcribes a circle, of which that which is in the very middle between the poles is the greateft, and is called the equinodlal or sequator, denoted by E Q^ becaufe when the fun Ihines perpendicularly on it, it is then equal day and night all over the earth ; and did this circle aniwer to, or run along under the ecliptic, there would be equal day and night, throughout the year, all over the globe j but as the acquaror crofles the ecliptic, hence it is equal day and night only twice in the year j namely, when the fun appears in the firll degree of Aries, and of Libra in March and September. Befides the a:quator, there are 4 other cir- cles, 'viz. the two tropics, and the two polar ones. The firll are the two circles the fun feems to deicribe when he is farthell from the equator north or fouth. One of thefe is called the tropic of Cancer, becaufe the fun appears to be then, in the beginning of Cancer
;
and for the fame reafon, the fouthern is ib'led the tropic of Capricorn. Ihefe are mai'ked T C M N. The two polar circles are as far diftant Ixom the poles, as the tropics from the equator, 'viz. 25 degrees and
a half,
26 CONVERSATIONS on the feems to rife ; and in proportion as it turns from
him, he feems to fet. It is very pleafant, fays
Ihe,
a half; they are reprefented by R I F G. Thefe po- lar circles bound the limits of day and night for 6 nionths of the year, each in its turn.
It only remains to obferve, that the fiin will appear
vertical, or direftly over that part of the earth, where a right line drawn fxom its centre to the centre of the earth cuts the earth's furface. Thus, when the earth is in the beginning of Capricorn or at l/j-y the fun v/ill appear to be vertical to the tropic of Cancer T C, becaufe a right line drawn from the center of the fun, will croft the furface of the earth at P. So when the earth is in <Y^, the fun will appear vertical to the terreftrial aequator
E C^ Thefe particulars being Vv'ell underllood, fup- pofe then the earth to be at Libra :£>z, the fun will ap-
pear at 'r Aries, and fo in one of the equinoftial points,
and in the middle between the two poles A and B, and confequently, will enlighten from pole to pole that
half of the earth which is oppohte to it. Whence half of the terr<fftrial gequator E Q^ and of every circle pa- rallel thereto, will be enlightned by the fun, and half
will be in the dark, confequently the days and nights
will then be equal.
The earth being arrived from d^ Libra to Vf Capri- corn, the fun will appear in gs Cancer. The folar rays now reach beyond the north pole to L, confequent- ly all the Dorth polar circle has then conftant day, and
at the foutfe pole they reach only to F, whence the fou-
thern polar circle hath then conllant night. It follows
hence aUb, that ail that part of the earth between the
a:quator and north polar circle, have longer days than
thofe parts fouth or the sequator j and it is confequently
fummer on the north fide, and winter on the fouth fide
of the equator at that time. The earth moving from Vf Capricorn to "y Aries, the fun will feem to move
from Sx) Cancer to €1= Libra, and {o will appear in the
sequator, and make day and night equal, as when the
earth was at the oppoiite point rLn Libra, for the above reafons.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 17 {he, that the Earth takes all upon hertelf, and the
Sun does nothing ; ^nd when the Moon, the other
planets, and the fixed flars feem to go over our
heads every 24 hours, you will fay, that too is
only the eflFe6l: of fancy. Mere fancy, madam,
which proceeds from the fame caufe ; for the pla-
nets only compleat their courfes round the Sun at
unequal times, according to their different diflan-'
ces ; and that planet which to-day we fee anfwer
to a certain point in the Zodiac, or circle of fixed
ftars, to-morrow will anfwer at the fame hour to
another point, becaufe it is advanced on its ovvn
circle, as well as wc are advanced upon ours ; wc move, and the other planets move too, bat with more or lefs rapidity than we do : this puts us in different points of fight in refpe6t to them,
and makes us think their courfes arc irrcrular i but there is no occalion for difcourfing to you o?i
that head ; it is fufHcient to inform you, that v/hat
feems irregular in the planets, proceeds only from
C a our
reafons. In like manner the earth moving from <y» Avki to gs Cancer, the fun v/IJl fsem to move from non Libra to Vf Capricorn, where it is in its greateft foUthern de- clination, and confequently, at this time oi' the year, the like phasnomena will happen to the inhabitants 011 the fouth fide of the equator, a.5 happened to thofe on the north fide, when the earth was in >^ Capricorn -, and the like phsenomena will be in the north fide of the aequator, as was before on the fouth fide. The reader is to obferve that the axis of the earth*
in every part of its orbit, is always^ parallel to itfcif As A B, A B, A B, A B, in the four pofitions of the earth reprefented in fig. 5. and every other polition what- foever are always parallel.
28 CONVERSATIONS on the our motion, when, in truth, they are all very re-
gular. I will fuppofe them fo, fays the lady, but
I would not have their regularity put the earth
to fo great trouble ; methinks they exa61: too
much a6tivity from fo ponderous a mafs. But, fays I, had you rather that the fun and all the
flars, which are vail great bodies, fhould in 24 hours make a prodigious tour round the earth
;
and that the fixed ftars, v/hich are in a circle
of infinite extent, whofe movement is always
extreme, fhould run in a day, twenty-feven thou-
fand fix hundred and fixty times two hundred
millions of leagues, as they needs mull do, if
the earth did not turn round itfelf every 24 hours?
To fay the truth, it is much more reafonable to think, that fhe fhould make the tour, which at
mofl is not above nine thoufand leagues ; you
perceive plainly, that to fet nine thoufand leagues,
againfl the number I have juft mentioned to you,
is no trifling difference. Oh, fays fhe, the fun
and the ftars are all compofed of fire, their mo-
tion cods them nothing : but the earth, I fancy,
is a little too unweildy to move. That, repli-
ed I, fignifies nothing; for would you fuppofe
that a firft rate fhip, if you had not known it,
which carries 100 guns, and above 1000 men,
befides great quantities of merchandize, could
be moved by one puff of wind, which you fee
fets her a failing, becaufe the water is" liquid, and
being eafily feparated, it very little refills the
motion of the fiiip ; or if fhe failed in the middle
of a river, fhe would without difficulty drive with
the
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 29 the ftream, becaufe there is nothing to oppofe
her courfe; (o (12) the earth, tho' never fo weigh-
ty, is as eafily borne up by the celeftial matter,
C 3 which
(12) T/pe earth is as eafily home up hy the celejlial mat^ ter.'] The Carteiians hold, that the matter of this world was, at its firft formation, divided Into innumerable little
equal particles, each endowed with an equal degree of motion, both about its own centre, and feparately fo as to conftitute a fluid.
Several fyftems, or colle<5Hons of this matter, they further hold, to be endowed with a common motion about certain points, as common centres, placed at equal dirtances ; and that the matters moving lound thefe, compofed fo many vortices, or whirlpools of matter, in wliich the planets are carried about the fun. But not only the phaenomena of comets has contributed to fet afide this hypothetical fyftem (as is mentioned in a foregoing note, page 1 4) but there are many other un-r anfwerable obje<I^ions againft it. One Is, that if it were granted that feveral vortices were contained In the fame fpace, they muft penetrate each other, particularly the vortex which carries the moon round the earth, mull penetrate the vortex of the earth's annual orbit -, and fo of the other fecondary planets, and confequently dif- turb the regularity of their motions ; and it may be afked, how they fhould have been preferved entire fo many ages, and not be difturbed and confounded by the adverfe actions and fhocks of fo nmch matter as they muft meet withal }
Befides, the planets are not carried round the fun in cir- cles, but in ellipfes (or long ovals) which have the fun in one of their foci : an oval is a very improper figure for a whirlpool or vortex to afiume ; nor can any vortex, as the illuftrlous Sir Ifaac Newton has oblerved, [Schol. prop. ult. Lib. 2. princip.] carry the planets fo as to defcribe areas proportionable to the dmes of their revo- lutions. Again, Dr. Keil has proved, in his examination of Burnet's theory, that if the earth were carried In a vor- tex, it would move fafter, in the proportion of three to
two^
30 CONVERSATIONS on the which is a thoufand times more fluid than the water, and fills all that great fpace where
planets
tv70, when It is in Virgo, than when it is in Pifces j which all experience proves to be falfe.
But we have another principle which accounts for the fame phjenomena, much more fatisfa^lorily than this of vortexes, and which has an actual exiftence in the nature of things ; and this is gravity, or the weight of bodies, [fee the note on attradion, p. 7.] which gives them a natural tendency or inclination towards their centre. To account for the motion of the planets round the fun, there needs nothing but to fuppofe, a uniform motion firft imprelfed upon them, which would caufe them to move in ftrait lines, and the power of gravitation, fuch as we obferve in all the great bodies of our fyftem. For a body, Plate I. fig. 3. proceeding uniformly along the line A B, Vv^ill, by the intervention ot the attracting body C, be every moment diverted from proceeding in a right line, and bent into a circular path. If then the projectile motion (i. e. it's firft motion
in a ftrait line) be perpendicular to a line C A, drawn from the attracting body C, and its velocity (quicknels
of its motion) be (b proportioned to the force of attrac- tion of A, as that both thefe powers are equal, or ba- lance each other, the body will move in a circular orbit A b c d c. If the planet's motion in a right line A B, be not in proportion to the fun's attraction at C, the orbit defcribed will be an elliofis, or oval, not a
circle i and the fame would happen if the firft direction
A B, was oblique and not perpendicular to C A. The motions of the planets are not equable, that is, they
do not run through the fame quantity of fpace always
in the fame time. The caufe of this is, the fun is not in their exaCt centre, but in one of their foci, which is that
part ot the eil'pfis or oval, wherein the rays or right lines,
drawn from all parts of fuch a courfe, do concur and
meet. A point well known to mathematicians but not fo reacii y to be defcribed to perfbns unacquainted with
conic feCtions, for whofc fake thefe notes were drawn up. Hence,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 31 planets float ; for how would you have the earth
faftened to refift the motion of the celeftial mat-
ter, and not be driven away by it ? You may as
well fancy a little bowl of wood can withiland
the current of a river. But pray, fays fhe, how
can the earth, with all its weight, be borne up
by your celeftial matter, which muft: be very
light, becaufe it is fo fluid ? It does not argue,
anfwered I, that what is fluid, is light: for what
think you of the great fhip I mentioned jutl now,
which, with all its burthen, is yet lighter than the
water it floats on ? I will have nothing to do
with the great fhip, fays fhe, with fome warmth ; but alRire me now, is there not any thing to ap- prehend, upon fuch a light whirligig as you have
made of the earth. There is no danger, replied
I ; but, madam, if your fears increafe, we will have the earth fupported by four elephants, as the
Indians believe it to be. Hey day, cryed llie, here
is another fydem ; however, I love thofe people
for taking care of themfelves, they have a good
foundation to truft to, while^ on the contrary, we Copernicans are a little too adventurous to fwim
on this celeftial matter ; and yet I fancy, if the
Indians thought the earth in the leaft danger of
moving, they would double their number of ele- phants.
This deferves praife, fays I, laughing at her
C 4 fancy
;
Hence, the planets move fometlines flower, fometinies fafter, as they are nearer or further from the fun j but yet thefe irregularities are all certain, and fucceed each other according to an immutable law of nature.
32 CONVERSATIONS on the fancy ; they would not fpare elephants to fleep in fafety
; and if you have occafion for them to night, we will put as many as you pleafe in our fyftem, we can take them away again by degrees, as you grow better confirmed in the opi- nion of your fafety. I do not think them very neceffary, replied fhe, I have courage enough
to venture to turn. You fhall yet go further and turn with pleafure, madam, fays I, and you fhall find delightful ideas in this fyftem. For example,
fometimes I fancy myfelf fufpended in the air,
without any motion, while the earth turns round
me in 24 hours ; I fee I know not how many different faces pafs under me, with which the
globe is peopled, fome white, fome black, and
fome tawny ; at firfl I fee hats, then follow tur-
bans ; now heads with hair, and then bald pates;
here I fee cities with fleeples, others with fpires
and crefcents, fome with towers of porcelane ; and again, great countries with nothing but huts
;
here I fee vafl oceans, and there mod horrible deferts ; in fhort, I difcover the infinite variety
v/hich is upon the furface of the earth.
I confefs, fays fhe, 24 hours would thus be very
well beflowed, fo we were in the place where we
are nov/, I do not mean in this park, but we will
fuppofe ourfelves fufpended in the air immediately
over it, other people continually paffing by, who
take up our place, and at the end of 24 hours we
return to it again.
Copernicus himfelf, anfwered I, could not have
comprehended it better : firfl then we might fee the
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 33 the Englifh palfing by us, who, perhaps, reafon
on poUtics with more gravity, than we reafon on
philofophy ; then follows a great fea, and there
we may fee perhaps fome veflel, not quite in that eafy tranquillity as we are in at prefent ; then come fome of the Iroquois going to eat a prifoncp of war for their breakfafl:, who feems as little con- cerned as his devourers. After appear the women of the land of JefTo, who fpend all their time in dreHlng provifions for their hufbands, and
painting their lips and eye-brows blue, only to
pleafe the greatefl brutes in the world. Then the Tartars going devoutly on pilgrimage to their
grand priell:, who never comes out of a gloomy apartment all hung with lamps, by the light of which they pay their adoration to him : then the fair CircaiTians, who make no fcruple of granting every thing to the firil comer, except what they think effentially belongs to their hufbands : then
the inhabitants of little Tartary, who are going to (leal concubines for the Turks and Perfians : and at laft, come our own dear countrymen, in
, fome points, probably, as ridiculous as the befl of 'em.
This, fays the marchionefs, is very pleafant,, to imagine what you tell me
; yet tho' I were above, and faw all this, I would have the liberty to haften or retard the motion of the earth, ac- cording as objeas pleafed me more or lefs ; and I aflure you, I fhould quickly fend packing the poli- ticians and man-eaters, but fhould have a great curiofity to retard the fair CircafTians, who have
^5 a cuf-
34 CONVERSATIONS on the a cuftom (o very particular. But I have a diffi- culty to folve, and you muft be ferious. If the earth turns round, the air changes every moment, fo we breathe the air of another country. Not St all, replied I ; for (13) the air which encompafles the earth, does not extend above a certain height,
perhaps
(13) T^e air -whkh encompnjfes the earth.'] Flere Fon- teneile means the whole niafs, or afTemblage of ambient air, which furrounds this globe that we inhabit. Among the more accurate writers that part of it which is next to the earth is called the atmofphere, which receives vapours and exhalations ; and is terminated by the re- fraftion of the fun's light. The further or higher fpaces, though perhaps not altogether delHtute of air, are fup- pofeci to be pofiefled with a finer fubitance called sther.
Philofbphers have invented a great many inftrumentg for ir.eafuring the alterations of the atmofphere, as its v^'eight by the barometer, its moifture and drynefs by the hygrometer, and its different degrees of heat and cold by the thermometer, of all which inftruments there iare various kinds.
To give an adequate account of the nature, conftitu- tion, properties, and ufes of the air and atniofphere, would lead us far beyond the bounds of thefe notes, and even of this volume ; w^e (hall therefore refer the reader to Gravefande, Boyle, Boerhaave, Derham, and other writers on this fubjedt.
Conlidering the inmienfe quantity of all kinds of fewel and combuftible matters, that are daily confum-
ed and evaporate in the air ; confiderlng the numberless
fteams and clouds of fmoak that continually overwhelm
populous cities ; the noifome exhalations that arife from
thionged infirmaries, and loathfome gaols ; from ftag-
nating waters, putrid fens, and the vaft perfpiration of
trees and vegetables; and the variety of offenfive and
unwholcfome effluvia, that proceed frorh other cau-
fc*! ;— it is a very remarkable inftance of a providence, 5»t oEce ttnderly kind, and infinitely powerful, that man-
kind
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 35 perhaps 20 leagues ; it follows us and turns with
us ; have you not feen the labours of the filk-
worm, the fhells which thofe little infe6ts im-
prifon themfelves m, and weave with lo much
art and clofenefs ; but yet their covering is of a
down very loofe and foft : fo the earth which is
folid enough, is covered from the furface 20 leagues
upwards with a kind of down, which is the air,
and like the fiiell of the filk-worm turns at the
fame time. Beyond the air is the celellial mat-
ter, incomparably more pure and fubtle, and much more agitated than the air.
Your comparifon, fiys fhe, is fomewhat dtf- picable, and yet what labours are wrought, what
Wars, what changes are effetled in this little fhcll,
"whilfl fuch an agitation reigns on all fides. It
is true, replied I, but nature takes no notice of
fuch minute particulars, but drives us along with
the general motion, as if flie were at bov/ls.
Methinks, fays (lie, it is very ridiculous to be
upon a thing that turns, and give ourfelves per-
plexity, and yet we are not well aflured that it does turn : and to tell you the truth, nothing ap-
pears to me to move; and from the many precau- tions
kind is not fufFocated with ftench ; that the air is not choaked with filth. The air is the conimon fewer, into which ten thoufand times ten tlioufand nuifances are* inceflantly difcharged j and yet is preferved fo tho- roughiy clear, as to afford the moft traafparent medium for vifion j fo delicately undulatory, as to tranfmit, with all imaginable diftindnefs, every diverfity of found
;
fo perfedly pure, as to be the conftant refiner of fluids in every animal that breathes. Hervefs contemplati^ »ns 9tt the night.
36 CONVERSATIONS on the tions taken to prevent the perceudng this motion,
I fufpe^t it ; (14) why iTioiild we not be fenfible ©f the motion of the earth ; for is it poffible there
fhould not be fome little mark left, by which we might perceive it ?
All
• (14) ll'^yJhould ive not he fenfible of the motion of the earth .^] Our author has given very proper reafons why we are not fenfible of this motion j and as that of Galileo anfwers all, or moft of, the objeflions made to it, we lliall here give it to the reader. " Shut," faith he, * yourfelf up u'ith your friend in the great cabbin of a * fhip, together with a parcel of gnats and flies, and ' other little winged creatures. Procure alfo a great ' tub of water and put tifhes therein. Hahg alfo a bot- * tie of Vt^ater up, to empty itfelf drop by drop into a- * nother fuch bottle, placed underneath with a narrow ' neck. Whilft the fhiplies ftill, diligently obferve how ' thefe little creatures fly with the like fwiftnefs towards * every part of the cabbin ; how the filhes fwim in- ' differently towards all fides ; and how the defcending * drops all fall into the bottle underneath. And if ' you throw any thing to your friend, you need ufe no ' more force one way than another, provided the dif- * tances be equal. And if you leap you will reach as * far one way as the other. Put the fhip in motion, fo * as to fail fmoothly on, you Ihall not perceive any al- * teration in the aforefaid effefts, neither can you con- * elude from them whether the Ihip moves or not: * and if you burn incenfe, and make a little fmoak, * you will perceive that the cloud will move indif- * ferendy every way. The caufe of which corref- ' pondence of the efl^efls, is, that the fhip's motion is * common to all things contained in it, and to the air
alfo ; I mean when thefe things are ihut up in the
cabbin : but when they are above deck in the open
air, and not obliged to follow the fhip's courfe, dif-
ferences more or lefs may arife among the forenamed
eflfefts." Thus Galileo has aniwered moft of the objedlona
PLURALITY of WORLDS, 37 All motions, replied I, the more common and
natural they are, are the lefs perceptible ; and this
holds
obje^lions made agalnft the earth's motion. The chief of which are, That a ball ihot wellward, ought to have a farther range than one fhot eaftward, if the earth
moved from W. to E. or if ihot N. or S. it would mifs the mark ; or if perpendicularly upward, it would fall to the weft of the gun : that a weight dropped from the top of a tower, would not fall perpendicularly to the bottom as it now does : that birds flying towards the E. would be hindered in their flight, but forwarded in flying weftward, with much more to the fame pur- pofe. With what amazing fpeed this vefTel our earth (if I may carry on Galileo's allufion) filled with a mul- titude of nations, and freighted with all her poflelfions,
makes her way through the aetherial fpace ? During the diurnal revolution, the earth whirls about at the rate
of 1043 miles in an hour: for her diameter being
7967.7 miles, the circumference thereof is 25031.4 miles, which, divided into 24 hours, makes the revolu- tion to be 1043 miles each hour. And as the great or- bit, which it defcribes annually round the fun, is rec- koned at 540 millions of miles, it muft travel near a million and a half each day. What an amazing force mull be requifite to protrude fo vaft a globe ; and wheel it on at fuch a prodigious degree of rapidity I It furpafles human conception ! How natural, how per- tinent, after fuch an obfervation, is the acknowledge-
ment made by holy Job, * I know that thou can'lt da * every thing, and that no thought can be withholden * from thee. Chap. xlii. 2.
Beiides Galileo's experiment on fliip-board, that in a common windmill may be added, to convince any body of the deception of vifion. If the mill be turned round,
to a perfon in the mill, an apparent motion will appear
in the centre or fwlvel poft on which the mill turns, whilft the mill will feem at reft ; when in reality there is no motion in the poft, but in the uiill, which caufes
that furprizing appearance in the poft. Confequently,.
the
38 CONVERSATIONS on the holds true even in morality; the motion of felf-
love is (o natural to us, that for the moft part we are not fenfible of it, and we believe we a£t by other principles, when it is only that which actuates us. Ah ! fays the marchionefs, now are you mora- lizing, to a queftion of aftronomy, which is run-
ning wide of the argument : but enough, this
lecture is fufficient for the firft time ; let us now depart and meet here again to-morrow, you with
your fyftems, and I with my ignorance. In returning back to the caille, that I might fay
all I could on the fubjeO:, (i 5) I told her of a third
fyftem, invented by Tycho-Brahe, who infifted on
the earth may appear to be at reft, and yet really move ; and the daily motion of the fun and other heavenly
bodies, may not be real, but apparent. {ir^) I told her of a thirA fyftem iwented hy Tycho-
Brahe.] We have given a reprefentation of this fyilem Plate II. fig. 4. It takes its name from the author, and is called the Tychonic fyftem. He was a nobleman of Denmark ^ and the greateft aftronomer of the age he liv- ed in. He had an obfervatory in an ifland called Veena, in the found of the Baltic Sea, which was erected on
the top of a caftle, named Uranibourgh, and well fiirnifhed with inftrunients for obferving the courle and
motions of the heavenly bodies. It was finiihed in i 58c,
and did not fubfift above \ 7 years. Tycho being obli- ged to abandon his country, thofe to whom the ifiand was given demoliihed the obfervatory ; part of the ruins
were difperfed into divers places, the re(t ferved to
build Tycho an handfome houfe on his antient eftate, which ilill bears the name of Uranibourgh : it was at
this laft place he coaipofed a catalogue of tiie fixed
ftars.
But to return to his fyftem. He, with Ptolemy,
pkces the earth immoveable in the centre, round which the
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 39 on the Earth's behig immoveable ; and had fixed
her in the centre of the world, turned the fun
round the earth, and the reft of the planets round
the fun ; for fince the new difcoveries, there was
no way left to have the planets turn round the
earth. But the lady, with the quickeft appre-
henfion, replied, flie thought that too affeaed
a fyftem, that among fo many great bodies, the
earth only fliould be exempted from turning
round the fun ; that it was improper to make the
fun turn round the earth, when all the planets
turned round the fun ; and that tho' this fyftem
was to prove the immobility of the earth, yet fhe
thought it very improbable : fo we refolved to
ftick to Copernicus, whofe opinion we thought
moft uniform, probable, and diverting. In a
word, the fmiplicity of his fyftem convinces us,
and the boldnefs of it furprizes with pleafure.
The
the fun and moon revolve In orbits, refpe6ling the
fame as a centre ; but the other five planets are
fuppofed, with Copernicus, to revolve round the fun
as their centre ; fo that the orbits of the three fuperior
planets Include the earth, but not thofe of the Inferior
ones, becaufe they are nearer to the fun than the earth
is.
Accordingly, he fuppofes the heavens to be fluid,
and to Gonfill of three different orbs or fpheres ; the
firft moveable, fuppofed to make a revolution In 24 hours ; the fecond the fphere of the planets ; and the
third the fphere of the firmament, or region of the
fixed flars-
[ 40 ]
r^M^"^
The Second Evening,
That the M o o N is an Habitable World, nr^HE next morning, as foon as any one could
-*- get admittance, I fent to the marchionefs's
apartment, to know how Ihe had refled, and whether the motion of the earth had not dif- turbed her ? She returned for anfwer, that fhe
began to be accuftomed to it, and that Coperni-
cus himfelf had not flept better. Soon after,
there came a crowd of vidtors to dinner, who ftaid with her till the evening, according to a tirefome
cuftom that prevails in the country ; and they
were very obliging even in going then ; for the
country cufloms likewife give them a privilege
of extending their vifits to the next morning, if
they are fo difpofed, and have not the complai-
fance to break up. The lady and myfelf, find- ing ourfelves at liberty, in the eve^ning, went a-
gain to the park, and immediately our difcourfe
turned upon our fyftems : fhe had fo well retain-
ed what I told her, the night before, that fhe
difdained to fpeak again of it, and defired I would
proceed, without any repetition to fomething new.
Well, madam, fays I, fince the fun, which is
now immoveable, has left off being a planet,
and the earth which turns round him is now
become one,, you will not be furprized when you
hear
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 41 hear (i) that the moon is an earth too, and an ha-
bitable world. I confefs, fays fhe, I have often
heard
(i) That the moon is an earth.] The different ap- pearances of the moon are termed her phafes ; to con- ceive the caiife of which, fee Plate I. fig. 6. where S reprefents ihe fun j K L a part of the earth's orbit, or path round him ; A B C D F G H I the orbit of the moon revolving round the earth E, in the fpace of a lunar month, advancing from eaft to weft. Draw right lines from the centre of the fun, to that of the moon, as
S A, SB, S C, S D, &c. which lines will reprefent the fblar rays illuminating that fide of the moon which is turned towards the fun. Draw other right lines from the centre of the earth E, to the verge of the moon's
limb, as E A, E T, &c. thefe will Ihew that part of the moon which is turned towards the earth, in all her diffe- rent iituations, and the quantity of light fhe prefents to
a fpeftator on the earth. Thus, at A, a'l the enlight- ened fide of the moon is turned tovv'ards the earth, in which cafe Ihe is, in refpeft of us, at the full, and ihines
the whole night ; and with refpeft to the fun, fhe is faid to be \n oppofition, in regard the fun and moon are then (f^an in oppofite parts of the heavens. When the moon appears at 13, the whole illuminated face is not turned towards the earth ; fo that the vifible illumination will
then be lef^ than a circle, and the moon is then called gibbous, or bunched out. When fhe reaches C, then only one half of the diminifhed face is turned towards
the earth, and then we obferve an half moon. In this fituation, the fun and moon being but a fourth part of a circle from each other, the moon is faid to be in her qua- drature. Arriving at D, only a fmall part of her illumi- nated fide is turned towards the earth, for which reafon the fmall part that fhines upon us will feeni horned. At laft, the moon arriving at F, ihews no part of her illu- minated face to the earth ; this pofition is the new moon, and fhe is then faid to be in conjunction with the fun. At this time folar eclipfes always happen, when flie is direct- ly between the fun and earth, fo as to obfcure his light
;
but
42 CONVERSATIONS on the heard talk of the world in the moon ; but I always looked upon it as vifionary, and mere fancy. And, replied I, it may be fo ftill ; I am in this cafe, as people in a civil war, where the uncertainty of
what may happen, makes them hold intelligence with the oppoiite party, and correfpond with their
very enemies ; for though I believe the moon is inhabited, I live civilly with thofe who do not be- lieve it ; and I am flill ready to embrace the pre- vailing opinion ; but till the unbelievers have a
more confiderable advantage, I fhall give you my reafon^ why I declare for the inhabitants of the jTiOon.
^uppofe there had never been any communica-
tion between Paris and St, Dennis, and one, who was never beyond the walls of this city, faw
St. Dennis from the towers of Notre-Dame ; you
a(k him if he believes St. Dennis is inhabited as
Paris is ? he prefently anfwers boldly, no ; for,
fays he, I fee very well the people at Paris, but
thofe
but as fhe is generally higher or lower than the fun, at the time of new moon, folar eclipfes rarely happen. As fhe advances towards G, Ihe refumes her horns, and, as before in the new moon, the horns were turned weft- ward, fo now they look eailward. When ihe comes to H, file is again in her quadrature, and becomes an half moon i in I, flie becomes more round or gibbous ; and, laftly, in A full again ; where, if the earth and (he be in a right line with the fun, a lunar eclipfe happens, which muft be at the time of full moon ; but as fhe is generally higher or lower than the earth's fhadow at the time of being full, fhe commonly efcapes being eclipfed thereby. Keil, in his Ie£lures, p. 121, fays, that the moon's leaft
diflance from the earth is 56 femidiameters of the earth.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 43 thofe at St. Dennis I do not fee at all, nor did I
ever hear them fpeak : it is true, you tell him,
that from the towers of Notre-Dame he cannot
perceive any inhabitants of St. Dennis, becaufe of
the diftance ; but all that he does difcover of St.
Dennis, very much refembles what he fees at
Paris, that St. Dennis has fleeples, houfes and
walls, fo that it may very well be inhabited as
Paris Is. All this fignifies nothing, my Parifian
ftill maintains that St. Dennis is not inhabited,
becaufe he fees no body there. The moon is our
St. Dennis, and every one of us is like this Parifian
citizen, who never went "out of his own city.
You are too fevere, fays (he, upon your fellow
citizen ; we are not all fure fo fiily ; fince St.
Dennis is juil like Paris, he is a fool if he does
not think it inhabited : but the moon is not formed
at all like the earth. Take care what you fay.
Madam, replied I, for if we prove that the moon
refembles the earth, in every refpe<^, you will be
under a neceffity to believe it inhabited. If it be
fo, fays file, I own I cannot be difpenfed from be-
lieving it ; and you feem fo confident of it, that I
fear I mulT:, whether I will or no. It is true, the
two motions of the earth (which I could never
imagine till now) do a Uttle ftagger me as to all
the reft ; but yet, how is it polTible the earth
fhould enhghtenas the moon does, v/ithout which
they cannot be alike ? If that be all, added I, to
be luminous, is not fo great a thing as you ima-
gine ; for it is only the fun which is the fole foun-
tain of light; that particular quality proceeds
only
44 CONVERSATIONS on the only from him ; and if the planets give light to us,
it is becaufe they firft receive it from the fun ; the
fun fends light to the moon, and fhe re{le6ts it back
on the earth ; (2) the earth, in the fame manner,
receives light from the fun, and fends it to the
moon;
{2) ^he earthy in the fame manner^ recei<ves light from the fun.] As the moon illumines the earth by a light refie(^ed from the fun, fo is flie reciprocally illumin- ed by the earth j which being i 5 times larger, returns I 5 times more light to the moon, than ihe receives from the earth. At new moon, the illumined fide ofthe earth is turned fully tov/ards the moon, and will then fully il- lumine the dark fide of the moon
i and then the lunar
inhabitants, if fuch there be, will have a full earth, as we, in a fimilar fituation, have a full moon. And this is the caufe of that dim light obferved in the old and new moon ; whereby, befides her bright horns, we perceive more of her body behind them, but obfcurely. In fhort, the earth will prefent all the fame diiferent phafes to the^ moon, as fhe does to the earth.
If the moon was of herfelf a luminous body, fhe could never be eclipfed by the interpofition of the earth, between her and the fun ; confequently all her light is borrov/ed from him.
Before we conclude this note, we mufl beg leave to add a fQ\u words from Mr. Hervey's contemplation on the night, relative to this luminary. " If," fays he, ** we choofe to prolong our journey after the fun is gone " down ; the moon, during her whole increafe, is ready ** to a6t in the capacity of a guide. If we are inclined *' to fet out very early in the morning ; the moon in her ** decreafe, prevents the dawn, in order to offer her af- *' fiftance And, becaufe It is fo pleafing a thing, for the *' eyes to behold the light, the moon, at her full, by a *' courfe of unintermltted waiting, never fails to give us, " as it were, a double day. How apparently has the ** divine wifdom interefted itfelf, in providing even for " the pleafurable accommodation of man
!"
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 45 moon ; for the diiLance is the fame between the
earth and the moon, as between the moon and
the earth.
But, fays the marchionefs, is the earth as fit
to fend back the hght of the fun as the moon is ? You are aUof^ether for the moon, laid I ; fhc is much obliged to you; but you muft know that
(3) hght is made up of certain httle balls, which re-
bound
(3) Light is made up of certain little halls.] This hypothefis, how ingenious foever, is now dilcarded, fince the great difcoveries made by Sir Ifaac Newton, on the nature of light. He fays, the rays of light are fmall corpufcles or bodies, emitted with exceeding celerity
from the luminous body, with a force fufficient to enable them to move, at the inconceivable rate of io,ooo,coo miles in a minute. The wonderful divifi- bility of the particles of matter is no where more appa- rent, than in the minutenefs of the particles of light. Dr. Nieuwentyt has computed, that an inch of candle becomes divided into 269,6 J7,04o±2. parts. The ex- panfion and extenfion of any portion of light is incon- ceivable. Dr. Hooke fliews, it is as unlimited as the univerfe
; proving it from the immenfe diilance of fome
of the fixed ilars, the light of which becomes fenfible to the eye, by means of a telefcope, when not vifible with-? out one. Nor, adds he, is it only the great bodies of the fun and liars, that are thus able to difperfe their light thro' the vail expanle of the univerfe ; but the fmallell Ipark of a lucid body mull do the fame, even one llruck from a flint by ileel.
Dr. Gravefand alTerts, a lucid body to be that which emits or gives fire a motion in right lines ; and makes the diiFertnce between light and heat to conliil in this, that to produce the former, the fiery particles muft enter the eye, in areftilinear motion, which is not required in the latter : on the contrary, an irregular motion feems the moll proper for it, as appears Irom the rays coming di-
re^tl/
46 CONVERSATIONS on the bound from what is foHd, and return obHquelyi
but pafs thro' what admits of an entrance in a
right line, as air or glafs : fo that what makes the
moon enhghten us, is, that fhe is a firm and foUd body, from which the Uttle balls rebound ; and
we muft deny our fenfes, if we will not allow the earth the fame folidity : admire, therefore, what
it is to be advantageoufly fituated : becaufe the
moon is at fo vafl a diftance from us, we can only difcover her to be a body of light, and do
not perceive that fhe is a great mafs, altogether
like the earth : whereas, on the contrary, becaufe
we are fo near the earth, we know her to be a great mafs, proper for the furnilhing provifion for
animals ; but do not difcover her to be a body of
light, for want of being placed at a due diftance
from her. It is juft fo with us all, fays the lady ;
we are dazzled with the quality and fortune of
thofe who are above us ; when, if we did but ex-
amine things nicely, we fhould find the whole to
be extremely alike.
It is the very fame thing, fays I ; we would
judge of all things, but yet ftand in the wrong
place ; we are too near to judge of ourfelves, and
too far off to know others : fo that the true way to
redly from the fun, to the tops of mountains, which have
not near that effeft with thofe in the valley, agitated with
an irregular motion, by feveral reflexions. But whe-
ther or no there be always light where there is fire, is
difputed among authors ; as alfo, whether or no there
be any luminous body without heat. To give the reader an account of the different arguments on each fide»
would tranfgrefs the limits o( thefe notes.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 47 to fee fhings as they are, is to ftand between the
moon and the earth, and to be a mere fpe6tator
of this world, and not an inhabitant. I fhall ne-
ver confole myfelf, fays fhe, for the injuftice we
do the earth, and the too favourable opinion we
have of the moon, till you aflure me, that the
inhabitants of the moon are as little acquainted
with their own advantages as we are with ours ; and that they take our earth for a planet, without
knowing theirs is one too. Do not doubt it, an- fwered I ; we appear to them to perform very re- gularly our functions of a planet : it is true, they
do not fee us make a circle round them, but that
is no great matter. Obferve how this is done : that half of the moon which was turned towards us at the beginning of the world, has been turned
towards us ever fuice ; and thofe fpots in her, which
we have fancied look like a face, with eyes, nofe and mouth, are flill the fame ; and if the other
oppofite half fhould appear to us, with other
fpots, differently arranged, we fliould, no doubt, fancy fome other figure : not but that the moon turns upon herfelf, and in the fame time that fhe
turns round the earth, that is, in a month ; but while file is making that turn upon herfelf, and that fhe fhould hide a cheek, for example, of this
pretended vifage, and appear fomewhat elfe to us, fhe makes, exactly, a like part of her circle
round the earth, and ftill prefents to us the fame cheek ; fo that, if the moon, in refped of the fun and ftars, turns round upon herfelf, in refped
of u«, fhe does not turn on her axis at all : they
alio
48 CONVERSATIONS on the alfo feeni to her to rife and fet in the fpace of fifteen
days ; but for our earth, it appears to her to be
fufpended in the fame place of the heavens. It is
true, this apparent immobiHty is not very agree-
able to a body v/hich fhould pafs for a planet
;
but this is not altogether perfe6l ; (.|) the moon has
a kind of libration or trembling, which caufes a
little corner of her face to be fometimes hid from
us, and a little corner of the oppofite half appears;
but then, upon my v/ord, fhe attributes that trembling to us, and fancies that we have in the heavens the motion of a pendulum;, whicli vi-
brates to and fro.
I find,
(4) The moon has a kind of lihratkn or tremhling.']
This motion of the moon, gives her the appearance of wavering upon her axis, fometimes from eaft to weft, 'and fometimes from weft to eaft. Hence it is, that fbme parts of the moon's margin, or weftern limb, at one time
recede from the center of the difk \ and at another
move towards it : by w^hich means, fome of thofe parts which were before vifible, fet and hide tliemfelves in the
invifible fide of the moon, and afterwards become again
confpicuous.
This libration Is owing to her equable rotation round
her axis, and her unequal motion In the perimeter (or cir-
cle) ofher orbit : for if flie moved In an exa6t circle, whofe center coincided with the center of the earth, and turn-
ed round on her axis in the preclfe times of her period
round the earth j the plane of the fame lunar meridian
would alv/ays pafs through the earth, and the fame face
ofthe moon would be conitantly and exadUy turned to us. But fmce the real rnodon ot the moon is an ellipfis or oval, in whofe focus is the earth, and the motion about
the earth Is equable, or, v/hich is the fame thing, every
meridian of the moon, by the rotation, defcribes angles,
proportional to the times ; the plane of no one meridian
will conftantly pafs through the earth.
P L U R A L li Y of Vv OR L D S. 49 I find, fays the marchionefs, the planets are
juft like us ; we caft that upon others which is
only in ourfelves. Says the earth, ' It is not I
* that turn, it is the Sun.' Says the Moon, * It * is not I that tremble, it is the Earth.' The world is full of error : but I would not advife
you, madam, to undertake the reforming it ; you
had better proceed to convince yourfelf of the
entire refemblance of the earth and the moon : imagine then thefe two great globes fufpended in
the heavens ; you know that the fun always in-
lightens the one half of a body that is round, and
the other half remains in the fhadow ; there is
then one half of the earth, and one half of the
moon, which are inlighten'd by the fun ; that is,
one half, v/hich is day, and the other half, which
is night. Obferve alfo, that as a ball has lefs force
and quicknefs after it has been flruck againft
a wall, and rebounds on the other fide, fo is
light weakned when it is reflected by another
body. The pale light, which comes to us from
the moon, is the very light of the fun, but it
. cannot come to us from the moon, but by reflexi-
on : it has, therefore, lofl; much of the force and luftre it had when it came diredly from the fun
upon the moon ; and that bright light, which
ihines direOilv upon us from the fun, and which
the earth reflects upon the moon, is a pale and
weak light when it arrives there ; fo that the light
which appears to us in the moon, and inlightens
our nights, proceeds from that part of the moon
which has day ; and that part of the earth which
D has
50 CONVERSATIONS on the has day, when it is oppofite to the part of the moon which has night, gives Hght to it alfo. (5) All
depends upon the manner how the moon and the
earth behold one another. At the beginning of
the month v^e do not fee the moon, becaufe fhe is
between the fun and us ; and fhe, in the day,
proceeds with the fun. It mufl neceffarily hap-
pen then, that half of her which has day, is
then turned towards the fun ; and that half which
has night, is turned towards us ; we cannot fee it
then, becaufe it has no light upon it ; but that
half of the moon which has night, being turned to that half of the earth which has day, fees us,
without being herfelf perceived, and we then appear to them, juft as the full moon does to us ; fo that, as I may fay, the inhabitants of the moon have then a full earth ; but the moon, being ad-
vanced upon her circle of a month, comes from
under the fun, and begins to turn towards us a
little corner of that half which is light, and ap-
pears m the form of a crefcent ; then, alfo, thofe parts tof the moon which have night, begin to lofe part of that half of the earth v/hich has
day ; and we are then in the wain to them, or
decreafing.
I underftand you perfectly, fays the marchio-
nefs, without hefitation ; there is no occafion to
fay any more on this head ; I can comprehend the
reft at pleafure, and I have nothing to do but think
a moment,
(5) All depends upon the manner hoiu the moon and
the earth behold one another!] See this amply explained
in a foregoing note, page 41.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 51 a moment, and lead the moon through her circle of a month. I fee, in general, that the inhabi- tants of the moon have a month quite contrary to us ; when we have a full moon, their half of the moon which is light, is turned to our half of the earth which is dark ; and when they do not fee us at all, they have then a new earth ; this is plain. I would not fland the reproach of requiring a long exphcation of fo eafy a point. But now tell me, how come the eclipfes ? You may eafily guefs at that, madam, replied I. When it is new moon, flie is between the fun and us, and all her dark half is turned towards us who have light
; (6) that obfcure fhadow is caft upon us : if the moon be dire6\Iy under the fun, the lliadow hides him from us, and, by that means, obfcures a part of that half of the earth which is light ; this is feen by that half of the moon which is dark : here then is an eclipfe of the fun to us during our day, and an eclipfe of the earth to the moon during her night. When It is full moon, the earth is between her and the fun, and all the dark half of the earth is turned towards all the light half of the moon
; the ihadow then of the earth cafls itfelf towards the moon, and if it falls on the moon, it obfcures that light half which we fee, which then has day, and hinders the fun from fliiningon it • here then
D 2
. C^) "^^^i oh/cure JJjadoiv is cajl upon us.] A fhadow
IS not any real thing ; it is only a privation of hVht, oc« cafioned by any folid body, which is not tranfparent, in- tercepting the rays of light, and not permitting them to pafs any farther.
^ 6 ^
52 CONVERSATIONS on the is an eclipfe of the moon to us during our night, and an eclipfe of the fun to the moon during her day : but the reafon that we have not ecHpfes every time that the moon is between the fun and the earth, or the earth between the fun and moon,
is, becaufe thefe three bodies are not exa6tly
placed in a right line, and, by confequence, the
body which fhould otherwife make the eclipfe,
eafts its fhadow a Uttle befide that which fhould
be obfcured.
I am greatly furprifed, fays the marchionefs, that there Ihould be fo little myftery in eclipfes,
and that the whole world fhould not know the
caufe of them. Ah 1 truly, anfv/ered I, there are many people in the world, who, in the man-
ner they take things into their underftandings, will
be a long time before they can guefs at it. In the
Eafl: Indies, when the fun and the moon are in
eclipfe, they believe a certain dsemon, who has
very black claws, is feizing on thofe planets with
his talons ; and during that time, the rivers are
covered with the heads of Indians, who are up to
the neck in water, becaufe they eileem it a very
devout pofture, to implore the fun and moon to defend themfelves well againfl this daemon. In
America, they are perfuaded that the fun and
moon, when eclipfed, are angry : and what is it
they will not do to be reconciled v/ith them ? The Greeks, who were fo refined a people, for a long
time, believed the moon was then inchanted, and
that the magicians forced her to defcend from
heaven, and fhed a malignant juice on the plants ;
nay, what a panick were we in, not many years ago.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 53 ago, at an eclipfe of the fun that happened, when people hid themfeh/es in cellars, and all the
philofophers, who treated of its caiife, could not perfuade them to come out till the eclipfe was over ?
In good truth, fajs the lady, it is fcandalous for men to be fuch cowards ; there ought to be a law made to prohibit the difcourfing of eclipfes, that we might not perpetuate the memory of fuch follies, as have been occafioned thereby. Your law then, fays I, mufl alfo abolifli even the me- mory of every thing, and forbid us to fpeak at all
; for I know nothing in the world which is not a monument of the folly of man, in fome fort or other.
But what do you think, adds fhe, of the inha- bitants of the moon ; are they as fearful of an eclipfe as we are ? it would be a very good jeft to fee the Indians there up to the neck in water
;
that the Americans fhould beheve the earth angry with them
; the Greeks fancy we were bewitched, and would poifon their plants ; in fhort, that we fhould caufe the fame confternation among them, as they do among us. Why not, madam, I do not at all doubt of it ; why fhould the people in the moon have more wit than we ? what right have they to fright us, and not we them P for my part, continued I, laughing, I believe, that fmce a prodigious company of men have been, and fliU are, fuch fools to adore the moon, there certainly are people in the moon who worfhip the earth, and that we are reciprocally upon our knees, the
^ 3 one
54 CONVERSATIONS on the one to the other. But fure, fays (he, we do not pretend to fend any influences to the moon, (7) and to give a crifis to her fick ; if the people have
any wit in thofe parts, they will foon deilroy the
honour v/e flatter ourfelves with, and, I fear, we fhall have the difadvantage.
Madam, fays I, pray fear not any thing ; it is
not probable that we are the only fools of the
univerfe ? is it not common for ignorance to fpread itfelf every v/here ? it is true, we can only guefs
at the folly of the people in the moon, but I no
more doubt of it than I do the moft authentic
news that comes from thence. What authentic news comes from thence, fays fhe ? That which
the learned report, replied I, who travel thither
every day v/idi their telefcopes ; they will tell you
of their difcoveries there, (8) of lands, feas, lakes,
high mountains, and deep abyflfes. You furprife me, indeed, anfwered fhe ; I fancy they may dif-
cover
(7) Jnd to gi've a crifis to her fick.] On this head, the learned reader is referred to the late Dr. Mead's work,
intituled, De Imperio Solis l^ Limce.
(8) Of lands J feas, lakes, high mountains, and deep ahyjjes.'] The majority of the learned do not now al- low of feas and lakes in the moon. Keil obferves, that
if the furface of the moon was plain and fmooth, like
a looking-glafs, it would not refledl light but only in one
point ; but being uneven, it diifufes the light by refledl-
ing it to all fides. Befides thefe inequalines, there are
upon her furface prodigious high mountains and deep
vallles ; for when a half moon is viewed through a good
glafs, we do not find that the dark and light fides are di-
vided by a flrait line, but, on the contrr.ry, thrs line is
indented and cut very irregularly ; and even in the dark
part,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 55 cover mountains and abyfTes in the moon, becaufe
of the remarkable inequaUties in her ; but how-
do they diftinguifh lands and feas ? Very eafily.
Madam ; for the waters letting part of the Hght pafs through them, fend back but a very little, (o
that they appear afar off like fo many dark fpots
;
whereas the lands, being folid, refletl the whole
light, and appear to be more bright and fhining.
The illuftrious monfieur Cafllni, a moft complete aftronomer, has difcovered in the moon fomething which divided into two parts, then reunited, and
feemed to be funk in a kind of well : we mav, very probably, fuppofe this was a river. Nay,
they pretend to be fo well acquainted with the
feveral places, that they have given them all
names from the learned ; one place they call Co-
pernicus, another Archimedes, and a third Gali-
D 4 leo ;,
part, near the lucid (urface, there are (een feme fmall pla- ces enlightened by the fun's beams ; and upon the fourth day after new moon, fome bright points, like rocks or iflands, may be perceived (hining within the dark body of the moon. Now it is impoflible this fhould be, un!e(s thefe fliining points were higher than the reft of the fur- face, fo that the light of the fun may reach them. Thele then are the tops of mountains, which rifing far above the other parts of the furface, are fooner reached by the fun's beams, and remain longer In the light, than the reft of the parts do which are lower. Befides thefe, v/e fee many dark fpots in the illuminated part of the moon, which feeni to be only caverns, or deep hollows ; on which the fun fhining very obliquely, and touching only their upper ec%e with his light, the deeper places re- main dark ; but as they turn towards the fun, they re- ceive more light, and the dark fhadows grow ihorter, till the fun comes to flilne dlre(5lly down into them ; and
:
thea-
56 CONVERSATIONS on the leo
; there is the promontory of dreams, a Tea of tears, a Tea cf neaar ; in fliort, they have publiih- ed fuch exaa defcriptions of the moon, that if one of the learned v/as there, he would be no more at a lofs to feek his v/ay, than I am in Paris.
I muO: own then, fays the marchionefs, they . are very exad ; but what do they fay to the inter- nal part of the country ; I v/ould very fain know? That is impciTible, replied I ; for even the gentle- men of the Obfervatory cannot inform you. You muft alk Aftolfo this queflion, who was carried into the moon by St. John. I am going to tell you one of the agreeable follies of Ariofto, which,
I am furc, you will be pleafcd to hear. I mull confefs he had better have left St. John alone, whofe
name is fo worthy of refpeft ; but it is only a poe- ical licenfe, and, on that account, may be allowed. The poem, which is called Orlando Furioso, is dedicated to a Cardinal, and a great Pope has
honoured it with his approbation, which is pre-
fixed
then the whole cavity will be Illuftrated, and thefe ob-
fcure parts will look as bright as the tops of the moun- tains. Thefe are vaftly higher than our earthly moun-
tains. Geometers can take the height of them as eafily
as they can find the altitude of a mountain on the earth.
For the method, thofe who are verfed in geometry, may apply to Keil, Left x. p. 107, and to Derham's Ailro-
theology, p. 120. Lond. 1721.
We have given a reprefentation of the face of the full moon in plate III. as reprefented by Hevelius, whofe
lunar geography is juftly the mofl foHowed. The ap- pearance of the moon's edge, or ilrait line, which di-
vides the enlightened from the dark part foon after the
quadrature, i? very rough and Indented, when examin-
ed with an ordinary te^efcope ; and conf rms v/hat ha.s
been faid above concerning the unevenef:. of her furlace.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 57 fixed to feveral editions of the work : this is the
Argument. * Orlando, nephew to Charlemagne, runs mad,
becaufe the fair AngeHca prefers Medorc to him.
Aflolfo, a knight-errant, finding himfelf one day
in the Terreftrial Paradife, which was upon the
top of a very high mountain, where he was carried by his flying horfe, being half horfe and
half griffin, meets St. John there, who tells him if he would have Orlando cured, he mud make a voyage with him into the Moon. Aftolfo,
' who had a great mind to fee^new countries, did not ftand much uponintreaty ; there immediately came a fiery chariot, which carried the Apoflle and the Knight-errant up into the air : Aftolfo, being no great philofopher, was furprized to find the moon fo much bigger than it appeared to him when he was upon the earth : he was yet much more furprized, to fee other rivers, other lakes, mountains, cities, forells ; nay, what would have furprized me too, nymphs hunting in thofe foreils; but that which appear- ed mod remarkable, was a valley (9) where you might find any thing that was loft in our world,
E) 5 ' oi
(9) /F/'<?r^ jou mayfind any thing that nvas loft in 9ur IvorId.] Mr. Pope, in the Rape of the Lock, canto j, has^ made an excellent ufe of this notion of Ariollo, which feems much more proper for a mock-heroic po- em, than for a true epic.
Some thought it mounted to the lunar fphere, Since all things loft on earth are treafur'd there.
There
58 CONVERSATIONS on the * of what nature foever ; crowns, riches, famCj * and an infinity of hopes : the time we fpend in * play, and the ahns we give after our death ; the * verfes we prefeni to princes, and the fighs • of: ' lovers.'
I do not krxowr, fays the marchionefs, what be-.. came of the fi'ghs of lovers in Ariofto's time, but^ I fancy there are very few of them.afcend to the
moon in our days. Ah, madam, replied I, how many does your ladyfhip fend thither every day ? I aflure you, the moon keeps all fafe that is loil here below : yet I muft inform you, Ariofto, tho'
he does but whifper it, tells «s that every thing i^
there, even the donation of ConfLantine (the Popes
'
having pretended to be mafters of Rome and Italy, by virtue of a donation which the Emperor
Conflantine made to Pope Silvefter ; and the truth
of it is, no body knows v/hat is become of it ;) but what do you think that thing is, which is not-
to be found in the moon ? Folly. All that
ever was upon the earth is kept there ; and, in
Heu of the want of it originally, it is not to be
imagined how many wits (if I may fa call them)
that are loft here, are got up into the moon.
They are fo many phials full of a very fubtile liquor,^
There heroes' wits are kept in pond'rous vafes,
And beaus' in fnuif-boxes and tweezer-cafes.
There broken vows, and death-bed alms, are found,
And lovers' hearts with ends of ribband bound.
The courtiers' proir.ifes, and fick men's pray'rs,
lieYmiles of harlots, and the tears of heirs.
Cages for gnats, and chains to yoke a flea, ^
Dry'd butterflies, and tomes of cafuiftry.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 59 liquor, which evaporates immediately, if it be
not well flopped ; and upon every one of thefe
phials the names are written of the perfons to
whom the wits belong : I think Ariofto has heaped them upon one another a little confufedly, but,
for order's fake, we will fancy them placed upon fhelves in a long gallery ; Aftolfo wondered to
fee feveral phials full, infcribed with the names of
perfons whom he thought confiderable for their wifdom. To confefs the truth, I begin to fear, fince I have entertained you with thefe philofophi-
caL and poetical vifions, mine there is not very
empty ; hov/ever, it is fome confolation to me, that while you are fo attentive, you have a little glafs full in the moon as well as your humble fervant : the good Knight found his own wits among the reft, and with St. John's leave, fnuffed it all up his nofe, like fo much Hungary-water
;
but Ariofto faid he did not carry it far, it returned again to the moon, through a folly he had com- mitted a little after.
Well, he did not forget Orlando's phial, which was the occafion of his voyage ; but he was cur- fedly plagued to carry it ; for thefe heroes' wits '
were naturally very heavy, and there did not want one drop of it : to conclude, Ariofto, according to his laudable cuftom of faying whatever he pleafes, addreffes himfelf to his millrefs in beauti-
ful verfes, whofe purport are as follow. ' Who fhall afcend to the heavens, my fair
* one, to recover thofe fenfes your charms have * deprived me of ? I ihall not complain of this *^lofs, provided it goes no further 5 but, fhould
< things
^o CONVERSATIONS on the * things continue in the fame manner they have * begun, I have nothing more to expc(5l, but that ' I fliall become myfclf fuch a Furiofo as I have * defcribed Orlando.
• I do not, however, believe, that to reftore
* me to fenfe, there is any occafion for me to * make a voyage through the air, or go (o far as to * the moon. My fcattered wits are not lodged fo * high ; they are wandering on your eyes and on * your mouth ; and, if you will permit me to re- * cover them, fuffer me to collect them together * from thence, with my lips.' (lo)
Is not this very fine ? for my part, to reafon like Ariofto, I think, the fafeft way of lofing our
wits, is, to be in love ; for you fee they do not go
far from us ; we may recover them again at our lips ; but when we Icfe them by other means, as
we at prefent, for example, by philofophizing,
they are flown into the moon, and there is no
coming at them again when we would. How-
ever, fays the marchionefs, our phials fhall have
an honourable rank among the philofophers
;
when, on the contrary, had they been wandering
here, they might have fixed upon fome object un-
v^rorthy of them : but to take away mine entirely,
pray tell me very ferioufly, if you believe there
are men in the moon ; for, methinks, hitherto,
on that article, you have not been very pofitive.
For
(lo) The author has given the above in prole, which we have alfo chofen to do, rather than the very bad verfification of Sir John Harrington inferred in the for-
mer tranflation.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 6<t Tor my part, fays I, I don't believe there are any men in the moon : do but obferve how much the
face of nature is changed between this and China;
other vifages, fliape^, manners ; nay, almoft other
principles of reafoning ; and, therefore, between
us and the moon the alteration mud be much more confiderable. When we arrive in certain lands that have been lately difcovered, we can fcarce call the inhabitants men, they are rather animals
in human fhape, and that too fometimes very im- perfect, almoft without human reafon ; he there- fore who will travel to the moon, muft not ex- pe6l to find men there. What fort of people are they then, fays the
lady, with an air of impatience ? In good faith,.
Madam, replied I, I do not know ; for, put the cafe that we ourfelves inhabited the moon, and were not men, but rational creatures ; could we imagine, do you think, fuch fantaftical people to
dwell upon the earth, aS mankind are ? is it pofTible
we fhould have an idea of fo ft range a compofi-
tion, a creature of fuch foolifh paftlons, and fLch:^
wife reflections ? allotted fo fmall a fpan of life,
and yet purfuing views of fuch extent ? fo learned
in trifles, and fo ftupidly ignorant in matters of
the greateft importance ? fo much concerned for li- berty, and yet have fuch great inclinations to fervi-
tude ? fo defirous of happinefs, and yet fo very
incapable of attaining it ? The people in the moon muft be wife, indeed, to fuppofe all this of us.
But do not we fee ourfelves continually, and yet we cannot fo much as guefs how v/e were made ?
fo
62 CONVERSATIONS on the fo that fome have gone fo far as to fay, the
Gods, when they created us, were drunk with
nefitar ; and when they were fober again, could
.
not chufe but. laugh at their own handy-work. Well, well, fays the marchionefs, then we are. fafe enough ; the inhabitants of the moon can never guefs at us, but I could wifh we were a. little better acquainted with them ; for it troubles
me that we fhould fee the moon above us, and yet not know what is done therein. Why, fays I, are not you as much concerned for that part of the earth called Terra Auftralis, which is not
yet difcovered ? what creatures inhabit it, and
what they do there ? for we and . they are aboard
the fame fhip ; they poflefs the prow, and we the
poop, and yet there, is no manner of communica-
tion between us ; they know not at one end of the
vefiel, who lives there, or what is done at the
other ; and you would know what pafles in the
moon, which is another great fhip, failing in the
heavens at a valt diftance from us.
.
Oh, fays fhe, as for the. inhabitants of the Tcr-r
ra Auftralis, I reckon them all as good as difco-
vered, and can guefs at thefe people, though I
never heard a word of them. It is -certain, they
all muft very much refemble us, and we may know
them better whenever we pleafe. They muft al-
ways ftay where, they are, and cannot efcape from
us : it is only going to fee tliem when we will
;
but we cannot get into the moon, if we would ;
fo that I defpair of knowing what they do there.
You will laugh at me, fays I, if I fliould anfwer #
you J
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 6^ you ferioufly ; perhaps I may deferve it, and yer, I fancy, I can fay a great deal in defence of a
whim that is jiift now come into my head ; which has an air of probabihty that furprizes me. I
know not from whence it has taken its rife, it is fo impertinently odd. But I will lay a wager that
I'll make you own, in fpite of your reafon, that one of thefe days there may be a communication opened between the earth and the moon. Do but confider the fituation the inhabitants of America
were in, before it was difcovered by CohimbuSj how profoundly ignorant were thofe people ; far from being acquainted with the fciences, they did
not know the moft fimple and mofl: neceiTary arts
;
they went naked, had no other arms but bows,
and did not apprehend that men might be carried by animals ; they looked upon the fea as a wide fpace, that men were forbid to pafs ; but thought it was joined to .the heavens, and beyond it was nothing : it is true, that after having fpent whole years in hollowing the trunk of a great tree, with
fharp ftones, they put themfelves to fea in this
trunk, and floated from land to land, as the wind and waves drove them-; but how often was their canoe overfet, and they forced to recover it again by fwimming ? fo that, except v/hen they were on land, it might be faid they wxre continually fwim- ming; and yet, had any one but told them of ano- ther kind of navigation, incomparably more perfeQ; and ufeful than their own, that would eafily convey them over that infinite fpace of water, to any I>art, and in ai!y manner that theypleafed; that
they
64 CONVERSATIONS on the they might ftop in the middle of the waves, and,
in fome fenfe, command the winds ; in ihort, that
this vaft ocean (hould be no obftacle to their con-
verfing with another different people beyond the
fea ; do you think they would have believed you ?
and yet at laft the day is come, when an unheard
of, and moft furprizing fight appears ; enormous
bodies, which feem to have white wings, are
feen to fly upon the fea ; to vomit fire from all
parts ; and to caft on their fhores an unknown
people, fcaled over with iron ; who difpofe and
govern monfters as they pleafe, carry thunder in
their hands that deftroys whoever refills them
:
from whence came they ? who hath brought them over the fea ? who gave them the difpofal of th's.
fire? are they gods ? are they the offspring of the
fun ? for certainly tlicy are not men. (i i)
Do
(i i) We think ourfelves obliged, in jufllce to the me- mory of monfieur Fontenelle, to obferve in this place, that Mr. Dryden's celebrated defcriptlon of a fhip was
taken from our author ; the Plurality of Worlds being written by him, and tranilated by Mrs. Behn, fome years
before the Indian Emperor was brought upon the ftage. Compare the above defcription of Fontenelle with
Dryden's, as it here follows.
The obje£l I could firft diftindly view, Was tall ftrait trees which on the waters flew ; Wings on their fides, inftead of leaves, did grow, Which gather'd all the breath the winds could blow. And at their roots grew floating palaces, Whofe out-blow'd bellies cut the yielding feas. All turn'd their fides, and to each other fpoke.
I faw their words break out in fire and finoke.
Sure 'tis their voice that thunders from on high,
Or thefe the younger brothers of the fky.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 65 Do but confider with me, madam, the furprize
and wonder of the Americans ; fure there can be
nothing greater ; and after this, I will not fwear
hut there may be a communication, in time, be-
tween the moon and the earth. Did the Ameri-
cans believe there would ever be any between
them and Europe ? a country they never heard of!
It is true, that we muft pafs this great fpace of
air, and part of the heavens, which is between
the earth and the moon ; but did not thofe vaft
feas feem at firft as impalTible to the Americans ?
You rave, I think, fays (he? Who denies it,
Madam, faid I. Nay, but I will prove it, replies
{he ; I do not care for your bare owning it : did
you not own the Americans were fo ignorant that
they had not the leaft conception of croffing the
fea ; but we, who know a great deal more than
they, can imagine and fancy a method of going
through the air, if we were affured it was to be
done.
It is fomewhat more than fancy to fuppofe it
pofTible ; we already begin to fly a little, replied
I ; for feveral people have found the fecret of faf-
tening wings to themfelves, which bear them up
in the air, to move them as they pleafe, and to
fly over rivers. I cannot fay, indeed, they have
yet made an eagle's flight, or that it does not coft
now and then a leg or an arm to one of thefe new
birds ; but this may ferve to reprefent the firft
planks that were laid on the water, and which
were the beginning of navigation ; there were no
vefTels then thought of to fail round the world in,
and
66 CONVERSATIONS on the and yet you fee what great fhips are grown, by lit-
tle and Httle, from thofe rude planks. (12) The art of flying is but newly invented ; it will improve
by degrees, and in time grow perfe6t ; then we may fly as far as the moon. We do not yet pre- tend to have difcovered all things, or that what we have difcovered can receive no addition ; and there-
fore, pray let us agree, there are yet many things to be done in the ages to come. I will never con-
fent to this, faid fhe, that mankind will carry the
art of flying to that perfection, but that they will
immediately break their necks. Very well, an- fwered I ; if you infift upon it, that mankind will
be always fuch bad flyers, they may fly better in the moon ; it is no great matter whether we go to them, or they come to us ; we fhall then be like the American?, who knew nothing of navigation^
and
(12) T/}e art of fying is but neivly in'uerjted] This art is one of the great things wanted in mechanics, at- tempted in divers ages ; the difcovery whereof might prove of great fervice and diflervice to mankind. No- body ever bid Co fair for this invention as the famous fryar Bacon, who lived more than 500 years ago. He not only affirms the art feafibie, but aflures us, he himfelf
knew how to make an engine, in which, a man fitting,, might be able to carry himfelf through the air, like a bird ;, and affirms, that there was another perfon, who had ac- tually tried it with luccefs. The fecret confifted in a couple of large thin hollow copper globes, exhaufted of air J which being much lighter than air, would fullaia a. chair whereon a perfon might fit. Father Francifco Lana, in his Prodromo, propofes the fame thing, as his own thought ; he computes, that a round velfel of plate- brafs, 1 4 feet in diameter, weighing 3 ounces the fquare
foot,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 6-] and yet there were very good (hips at the other end
of the world. Were it fo, fays fhe, in a fort of a pafTion, the inhabitants of the moon would have been here before now. All in good time, fays I
;
the Europeans were not in America till about the
end of 6000 years ; fo long were they in improv-
ing navigation to the point of crofTmg the ocean.
The people in the moon may have already made fome fhort voyages in the air ; they may be now exercifing continually, and by degrees will be
more expert, and when we fee them, God knows how we fhall be furprized. It is unfufierable, fays fhe, you (hould pufh things fo far, and juftify
your ridiculous fancy by fuch falfe reafoning. I
am going to demonftrate, fays I, that you re- proach me very unjuftly : confider, madam, that
the
foot, will only weigh 1848 ounces; whereas a quan-
tity of air of the fame bulk, will weigh 2 1 5c;-| ounces
:
fo that the globe will not only be fuftained in the air, but
will carry with it a weight of 373 ounces; and by in-
creafing the bulk of this globe, without increafing the
thicknefs of the metal, he adds, a vefTel might be made to carry a much greater weight. But the fallacy is ob- vious ; a globe of the dinienfions he defcribes, Dr. Hooke fhews, would not fuftain the preffureof the air, but be crufhed inwards. Befides, in whatever proportion the
bulk was increafed, in the fame proportion muft the thicknefs of the metal be increafed likewife ; and con-
fequently the weight alfo : fo that there would be no advantage in fuch augm.entation.
The fame author defcribes an engine for flying, in- vented by the Sieur Befnier, a fmith of Sable, in the
county of Maine, in France. [See Hookes Philofoph, QoUe^ions, No. 1.] Biihop Wiikins, in his Mathematir
C.al,
68 CONVERSATIONS on the the knowledge of the world is unfolded by de-
grees ; for the ancients were very pofitive, that
both the torrid and frigid zones were not habit-
able, by reafon of their exceflive heat and cold ;
and in the time of the Romans, the general map of the world was but very little extended beyond
that of their own empire ; which, though, in one refpe<St, it expreiTed much grandeur ; in another, fenfe, was a fign of as great ignorance : however,
there were men found both in very hot and in very cold countries ; fo that you fee the world is already
increafed. After this, it was thought that the
ocean covered the whole earth, except what was
then difcovered ; (13) there was no talk of the an-
tipodes,
cal Magtc, has given an ample account of the various attempts of mankind to carry on this art, to which work the reader is referred for many curious particulars rela-r tive thereto.
Our author feems to have fpoken rather by way of amufement, than in earneft, as to flying to the moon
:
for he himfelf has afterwards, in the third converfation,
given an unafwerable objection to it ; ^viz. the different
quality of our air, and the atmofphere of the moon, if 4he has any ; for we cannot exift at the top of an high mountain, v^here the air is very fubtlle. Befides, by gravity we naturally tend towards the earth ; and we do not fee how it is poflible to get beyond the power of its attraftion ; and ifwe did, an heavy body would then tend towards the fun, whofe power may, beyond the fphere of the earth's attradlion, be far fuperior to that of the moon. The height which large birds fly to, is but inconfiderable, when compared to that of the at- mofphere ; nor is it to be fuppofed, that the thin air or aether of the upper regions, hath fufiicient energy even to fupport a fmall fowl.
(13) There ivas no talk of the antipoJes.'\ Thefe are people
PLURALITY of V/OxRLDS. 69 tipodes, nor ib much as a thought of them; for who could fancy their heels at top, and their h^ads at bottom ? and yet, after all their fine rea-
foning, the antipodes were difcovered : here is
now another half of the world ffarts up, and a new reformation of the map. You well under- fland me, madam ; thefe antipodes have been dif- covered, contrary to expectation : ought we to be under the leafl apprehenfion that we are arrived at the ultimate point of human knowledge ? the world will unfold itfelf, perhaps, more to us here-
after ; v,e know the road to the moon, but we are not yet got there ; all things m.ufl: be done in
order, the whole earth muil be fir'il difcovered ;
and till we are perfectly acquainted with our o^vn habitation, we Ihall never know that of our neigh- bours, the people of the moon. Without fool-
ing, fays the marchionefs, looking earneftly upon
me, you are fo very profound in this point, that I
begin
people on oppofite fides of this globe, whofe feet are towards ours ^ and their heads, relative to us, downwards. The centre is, in reality, the lowermoit point of the earth, which, could we dig fo far, v/e could defcend no fbrther ; for to proceed, we muft from that point afcend. And was it poilible to bore an hole through the globe, from furface to furface, a ftone dropped*^ in at either end, v/ould at length reft at the centre. In the fame manner every perfon and thing, on any part of this globe, gravitates towards the centre.
Plato is faid to have firft ftarted the notion of the an- tipodes ; and indeed, as he conceived this globe to be a fphere, it was eafy for him to infer, that there muft be antipodes. Laftantius and St. Auguftine, laughed at this notion. Boniface, archbifhop of Mentz, and legate
Of
70 CONVERSATIONS on the &c. begin to think you are in earneft, and that you be-
lieve all you fay on this fubje6t. Not fo, neither,
fays I ; but I would fliew you, madam, how eafy it is to maintain a chimerical notion, that may per- plex perfons of underflanding, but never convince
them ; there is not any argument fo perfuafive as
truth, which has no Jieed to exert all its proofs.
Truth enters fo naturally into the mind, that
when we learn any thing for the firft time, it ap-
pears as if we only remembered the thing learned,
or exerted the faculty of our memory. I thank
you then, fays flie, for impofing on me no longer; for I confefs your falfe reafoning difturbed me, but
now I fhall fleep very quietly, if you will be fo
obliging as to retire for to-night.
The
of pope Zachary, in the 8th century, declared a blfliGp
of that time, one Virgillius, an heretic, for maintaining
this do6trine. Hiftory alfo informs us, that Spigeiius,
bifliop of Upfal, fufFered martyrdom at the ftake, for
defending the notion of the antipodes. And, indeed,
the chriftian fathers were not the only perfons that dif-
puted this truth, which every failor is now convinced of. Lucretius has done it long before them, at the end of
his firft book, v. 1063. &c. See alfo Plutarch, lib.de
fade in orhelun^ ; and Pliny, who endeavours to refute this opinion, lib. n. cap. 6^.
[ V 1
The Third Evening.
Pcirticulars concerning //&^ World in the MoON, and proofs of the other Planets being habitable,
THE marchionefs would fain have engaged me, during the next day, to proceed where
I left off; but I told her, fince the moon and ftars
were become the fubjefl of our difcourfe, we
fliould trufl our refveries with nobody elfe ; at
night, therefore, we went again into the park,
which was now wholij^ dedicated to our learned
converfations.
Well, madam, fays I, I have great news for
you ; that which I told you laft night, of the
moon^s being inhabited, according to all appear-
ances, may be otherwife now. There is a new fancy got into my head, which puts thofe people in great danger. I cannot, fays her ladylhip, fuf-
fer this. Yeilerday you were preparing me to re- ceive a vifit from the lunarians, who might one day come here ; and now you would infmuate there are no fuch folks. You mufl not trifle with me thus
; you have made me believe the moon
was inhabited ; I furmounted the difficulty I had
to imagine it, and do now believe it. You are a little too quick, replied I j we ought to referve
half
72 CONVERSATIONS on the half of our aflent free and difengaged, that we may admit of a contrary opinion, if there fhould be occafion. I am not fatisfied with this, fays fhe ; muft we not reafon concerning the moon as a Parifian might about St. Dennis ? No, fays I, the moon does not fo much refemble the earth, as St. Dennis does Paris : the fun draws
vapours from the earth and exhalations from the
water, which mounting to a certain height in
the air, do there affemble, and form clouds ; thefc
fufpended clouds are driven irregularly round the
globe, fometimes fhadowing one country, and
foraetimes another ; he tlien who beholds the earth from afar off, will fee frequent alterations
upon its furface, becaufe a great country, over-
caft with clouds, will appear dark or light, as
the clouds ftay, or pafs over it ; he will fee fpots
on the earth, which often change their place,
and appear or dlfappear as the clouds remove ;
we fhould fee therefore thefe changes wrought
upon the moon, if there were any clouds about
her ;
yet on the contrary, all her fpots are fixed,
and her light parts continue alv/ays the fame,
here lies the difficulty ; for by this reafon, we
know the fun never draws any exhalations or
vapours above the moon ; fo that it appears fhe
is a body infinitely more hard and folid than the
earth ; whofe fubtle parts are eafily feparated
from the reft, and mount upwards as foon as
heat puts them in motion : hence, we neceflarily
conclude that the moon muft be a heap of rock
and marble, where no evaporation can arife ; be-
fides.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 73 fides, exhalations fo naturally and neceflarilj arifc
wjiere there is water, that there can be no wa-
ter at all, where there is no exhalation ; and
what fort of inhabitants muft thofe be, whofe
country affords no water, is all rock, and pro-
duces nothing ? This is very fine, fays the mar-
chionefs ; you have forgot fince you afiured me,
that the learned from hence diftinguifli feas in
the moon. All conje6lure, madam, replied I, though for your ladyfhip's fake, I am very forry for it ; for thofe dark places we took to be feas, may perhaps be nothing but large cavities ; it is hard to gucfs right at fo great a dlftance. But
will this fuffice then, fays fhe, to extirpate the
people in the moon ? Not altogether, replied I, we will neither determine for nor againft them. I mufl: own my weaknefs, (if it be one) fays fhe, I cannot be fo perfe6lly indifferent as you would have me to be, but mufl: believe one way or other ; therefore, pray fix me quickly in my opi- nion, as to the inhabitants of the moon
; pre-
ferve or annihilate them, as you pleafe ; and yet methinks, I have a fl:range inclination for them, and would not have them deflroyed, if it were pofflble to fave tliem. You know, fays I, ma- dam, I can deny you nothing ; the moon fhall be no longer a defart, but, to give you pleafure, we will re-people her. Since to all appearance the fpots in the moon do not ever change, I can- not conceive there are any clouds about her, that fometimes obfcure one part, and fometimes another
j yet this does not hinder, but that the
^ moon
74 CONVERSATIONS on the moon fends forth exhalations and vapours. The clouds, which we fee in the air, are nothing but exhalations and vapours, which, at their coming
out of the earth, were feparated into fuch minute
particles, that they could not be difcerned ; but
as they afccnd higher, they are condenfed by the
cold, and by .the re-union of their parts, are
rendered vifible ; after which they become great
clouds, which fluctuate in the air, their proper
region, till they return back again to us in rain :
however, thefe exhalations and vapours fome-
times keep themfelves fo difperfed, that they are
imperceptible ; or if they do aflemble, it is (i)
in forming fuch fubtle dews, that they cannot be
difcerned to fall from any cloud. Now, as it feems incredible the moon fhould be fuch a mafs,
that all its parts are of an equal folidity, all at
reft one with another, and all incapable of any
alterations from the efficacy of the fun ; I am fure we are yet unacquainted with fuch a body : marble itfelf is of another nature, and even that
which is moft folid, is fubjecSt to change and al-
teration, either from the fecret and invifible mo-
tion it has within itfelf, or from that which it re-
ceives from without : it may fo happen that the
vapours which iflue from the moon, may not af-
femble round her in clouds, and may not fall
back again in rain, but only in dews. It is fuffi-
cient
(i) In forming fuchJuhtile deivs.'] Dews, in a great
meafure, afcend from the earth, as is now generally fuppofed J and as, in fo«ie fort, is vifible after an hot
4iay.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 75 cient for this purpofe, that the air with which
the moon is furrounded (is particular to her, as
well as that of the earth is to it) (hould fome
what vary from our air ; and the vapours of the
moon be a little different from thofe of the earth,
which is very probable. Hereupon the matter
being otherwife difpofed in the moon than on
the earth, the effeds mufl be very different
;
though it is of no great confequence whether
they are or no; for from the moment we have
found an inward motion in the parts of the moon,
or one produced by foreign caufes, here is enough
for the re-appearance of its inhabitants, and a
fufficient and neceffary fund for their fubfiflencc.
This will furnifh them with corn, fruit, water
and what elfe we pleafe to allow them ; I mean according to the cuflom or manner of the moon,
which I do not pretend to know ; and all pro- portioned to the wants and ufes of the inhabitants,
with whom, I own, I am little acquainted. That is to fay, replied the marchionefs, you
know all is very well fupplied, without knowing how it is fo ; which is a great deal of ignorance, founded upon a very little knowledge ; however,
I comfort myfelf, that you have reftored the
moon her inhabitants again, and have enveloped her in an air of her own, without which a planet would feem to me but very naked.
It is thefe two different airs, madam, that hin- der the communication of the two planets ; if
it was only flying, as I told you yeflerday, who know^s but we might improve it to perfection
E 2 hereafter?
76 CONVERSATIONS on th« hereafter ? Though, I confefs, there is but little hopes of it ; the great diftance between the moon and the earth is a difficulty not eafily to be fur-
mounted ;
yet were the diflance but inconfide-
rable, and the two planets almofl contiguous, it
would be flill impoffible to pafs from the air of
the one, into the air of the other : water is the
air of fifhes, they never pafs into the air of birds,
nor the birds into the air of fifhes ; and yet it is
not the diflance that hinders them, but both are
imprifoned by the air they breathe in ; we find our air confifls of thicker and grofTer vapours than
the air of the moon. So that one of her inha-
bitants, arriving at the confines of our w^orld, as
foon as he enters our air, will inevitably drown
himfelf, and we fliall fee him fall dead on the
earth.
I fhould rejoice, fays the marchionefs, to fee
atfhip^^wreek of a good number of thefe lunar
people ; how pleafant would it be to behold them lie feattered on the ground, where we might con-
fider, at our eafe, their extraordinary figures ?
But, replied I, fuppofe they could fwim on the
outward furface of our air, and be as curious to
fee us, as you are to fee them ; fliould they an-
gle, or caft a net for us, as for fo many fifh,
would that pleafe you ? Why not, fays fhe, fmil- ing ? For my part, I would go into their nets of my own accord, were it but for the pleafure of feeing fuch flrange fifhermen.
Confider, madam, you would be very Tick,
when jou were drawn to the top of our air ; for there
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 77 there is no refpiration in its whole extent, (2) as
is the cafe on the tops of fome very high moun-
tains : and I admire that they, who have the fol-
ly to believe that thofe Genii, whom they allow
to be corporeal, and to inhabit the moft pure
and refined air, do not tell us, that the reafon
why they pay us fuch fhort and feldom vifits, is,
that there are very few among them who can
dive ; and thofe that can, if it be polTible to get
through the thick air where we are, cannot ftay
long below.
E 3 Here
(2) As is the cafe, on the tops of fame "very high moun- tains.'] Concerning the furprifing effeds the rarefadi-
on of the air hath upon human bodies, efpccially on the tops of very high mountains, pardcularly on the
Cordilleroes, part of the Andes in Peru, efteemed the higheft mountains in the world, the reader is defired
to confult a late account pubiilhed by Don John de Uiloa, who pafTed over them j and who informs us, that tra- vellers are, on their tops, frequently feized with bleed- ing at the nofe, vomiting, vertigoes, fainting, and other dangerous fymptoms.
The loftieft fummits of hills, and the moft enor- mous ridges of mountains, are no real objection to the globular form of the earth. Becaufe, however they may render it to our limited fight, vadly uneven and protuberant
; yet, they bear no more proportion to the intire furface of the terraqueous bail, than a particle of duft, cafually dropt on the mathematician s globe, bears to its whole circumference. Confequently the round figiXre is no more dcftroyed in the one cafe than in the other. And if fuch bad eifefts are produced at fo very fmall an elevation as our higheft mountains are, in re- fpe6t of the rotundity of the earth, what muft be the confequence, if we could poffibly, by any contrivance,, raife ourfelves higher in the air ?
78 CONVERSATIONS on the Here then are the natural barriers, which de-
fend the paffage out of our world, as well as
the entrance into the moon ; and as we can only guefs at that world, let us fancy all we can of it. For example, I will fuppofe that they muft there
fee the firmament, the fun, and the flars, of a-
nother colour than what we fee them ; all thefe appear to us through a kind of natural optic glafs,
which changes and alters the objects. This is
our air, mixed with vapours and exhalations, and
which extends itfelf very high. Some of our modern philofophers pretend, that of itfelf it is blue, as v.eli as the water of the fea, and that
this colour neither appears in the one nor in the
other, but at a great depth ; the firmament, fay
they, where the fixed ftars are placed, has no
peculiar light of its own, (3) and by confequence
mufl appear black ; but we fee it through the air,
(3) And hy confequence muji appear black.] Des. Grav. V. II. p. 161, fays, The heavens are nothing but an immenfe fpace v/hich cannot be feen, and would ap- pear black, if innumerable rays of light, flowing from
the heavealy bodies, did not continually penetrate our
atmofphere j nioft of them come to us from thefe bo- dies in right lines, yet a great many fulfer various reflec- tions in the atmofphere, and enlighten it all ; which is the reafon that, in the day, bodies are enlightened
even without the reflection of the clouds, to which
the folar rays cannot come diredlly. Fontenelle might have drawn a kind of comparifbn
from our torrid zone to have fatisfied the marchionefs
:
there the air Is fo much rarlfied by the fun's heat, that the flnelt iky we ever fee in our northern climates, can never equal the fplendor and beauty of the heavens,
elpeciaiiy at night, in hot comitries.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 79 air, which is blue, and therefore to us it appears
blue ; which if fo, the beams of the fun and
flars cannot pafs through the air without being
tinged a little with its colour, and lofing as much
of their own ; yet, were the air of no colour, it
is very certain, that through a great mifl, the light
of a flambeau, at feme diflance, appears red,
though it be not its true natural colour. Our air is nothing but a great mifl, which changes the
true colour both of the (ky, fun, and flars ; it be-
longs only to the celeflial matter to bring us the
light and colours as they really are, in all their
purity ; fo that fmce the air of the moon is of a- nother nature than our air, it is either in itfelf
tinged with another colour, or at beft is another
kind of mifl, which varies the colours of the ce-
leflial bodies ; in fhort, as to the people of the
moon, their medium, through which they fee
every thing, is changed.
If it be fo, fays the marchionefs, I prefer this a-
bode before that of the moon ; I cannot believe the celeflial colours are fo well adjufled there as
they are here ; for inflance, let us put green flars
on a red fky, they cannot be fo agreeable as
flars of gold on an azure firmament. One would think, madam, you was chufing a petticoat, or a fuit of ribands ; but, believe me, nature does not want fancy ; leave it to her to chufe colours for the moon, and I will engage they fliall be well forted ; flie will not fail to vary the profpe^l of the univerfe, at every different point of fight,
and the alteration fliall always be very agreeable.
E 4 I know
8o CONVERSATIONS on the I know very well, fays the marchionefs, her
fkill in this point ; llie is not at the charge of
changing the objeas, but only the glafles, and
has the credit of this great variety, without be-
ing at any additional expence : with a blue air,
fhe gives us a blue firmament ; and perhaps with
a red air, fne gives to the inhabitants of the
mf.on a red firmament, and yet it is always but
the fame firmament ; nay, I am of opinion, flie lias placed fpe6iacles in our imagination, through
which we fee all things, and which to every par- ticular man change the objects, Alexander look- ed on the earth as a fine place, fit to eflabUlh a
great empire ; it feemed to Celadon a proper refi-
dence for AdrcLd. ; and it appeared to a philcfopher,
a great planet travelling through the heavens,
• covered with fools ; I do not believe the appear-
ances of things vary more between the earth and the moon, than they do between the fancies of
two different men.
This change in our imaginations, fays I, is
very furprifing ; for they are ftill the fame ob-
je6ts, though they appear different ; v/hen in the
moon, we may fee other obje6ts we do not fee
here, or, at leafl, not fee all there, we do fee
here ;
perhaps, in that country they know not
any thing of the dawn and the twilight, before
the fun rifes, and after the fun fets ; the air
which encompafleth, and is above us, receives the
rays, fo that they cannot ftrike on the earth ;
and, being grofs, flops fome of them, and fends
them hither, though indeed they were never na-
turally
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 8i turally defigned us ; (4) fo that the aurora and
the twihght, are favours which nature beilows
on us : they are Hghts which do not fall to our
lliare, and which fhe gives us over and above
our due ; but in the moon, where the air is
apparently more pure, and therefore not fo pro-
per to fend down the beams it receives from
the fun before his rifmg, and after his fetting,
thefe poor wretches have not that light of grace
(as I may call it) which, growing flronger by
degrees, does more agreeably prepare them for
E 5 " the
(4) So that the durora and ttmlight., are fa-oours ivhich nature befloivs.] Befides many other advanta-
ges we have from the atmofpherc, it makes the face of the heavens to appear bright while the fun (hines ; for if no atmofphere furrounded the earth, only that
part of the heavens would be enlightened where we favv the fun ; and if we turned our backs to him, we Aould fee the other parts of the fky as black as at night, and the finallell: flars would appear at noon day : then there would be no fubftance to reflect the folar rays to our eyes, and all the rays which did not fall on the earth's furface, pafTmg by us, would either illuminate the planets and Itars, or fpreading themfelves out into -
infinite fpace, would never be reflected back to us. But the atmofphere reflects the folar rays back upon us ; and makes the whole heavens to Ihine fo llrongly, that it obfcures the ftars, and renders their faint light invifible.
If there was no atmofphere, the moment after fun- fet, it would be as dark as at midnight ^ fo quick a cJiauge would be very inconvenient to us. But, by means of the atmofphere, our evenings and mornings are prolonged, and the darknefs and light come on by infenfible degrees : for the atmofphere being higher than the earth, is illuminated by the fun, though it be belov/ the horizon, as the tops of gditicea and high mountains,
arc
32 CONVERSATIONS on the the arrival of the fun ; and (5) which, growing weaker and weaker, and diminifhing by degrees, does infenfibly prepare them for the fun's depar- ture : but they are in a profound darknefs, where a curtain (as it were) is drawn all on a fudden
;
their eyes are immediately dazzled with the whole light of the fun, in all its glory and brightnefs
;
fo hkewife, they are on a fudden enveloped with
utter darknefs ; the night and the day have no
medium between them, but they fall in a mo- ment from one extreme to another. The rain- bow likewife is not known to the inhabitants of
the
are enlightened by him in the fame manner ; and it la
the atmofphere that refledls the fun's light, both before
he is rifen, and after he is gone down ; but when he is 18 degrees lower than the horizon, he no longer en-
h'ghtens our atmofphere, and then ail that part thereof
that is over us becomes dark. During part of the fum-
mer, in which the fun is not 1 8 degrees below the ho-
rizon, there is a continual twilight from fun-fetting to fun-
rifmg.
If we have the time of the beginning of twilight in the morning, or the end of it at night, we may find the height of the air that reflects the light ; for then the
tv;ilight ends, v^hen a ray of light touches the globe
of the earth, and is by the highefl: air reflected to our
eyes ; having the time, we can find the depreiJion of
the fun belov/ the horizon, and from thence the height
of the air. Vide Keii's kdures, p. 23$.
(5) JVhkh graving nveaker and -vjeaker, and dlmi-
nijhing by degrees^ does infenfibly prepare them for the
fun's departiere.] Mr. Hervey, in his contemplations on
the night, has very beautifully defcribed the gradual ap-
proach of darknefs. " The light of heaven, fays he, *' has almoil finlfned his daily race, and haftens to the
** goal. He defcends lower and lower, till his chariot ** wheels
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 83 the moon ; for if the dawn is an effect of the
groffnefs of the air and vapours, the rainbow is
formed in the clouds, and from whence the rain
falls; fo that the mod beautiful things in the world, are produced by thofe things which have
no beauty at all. Since then there are no va-
pours thick enough, nor no clouds of rain about
the moon, farewel the blufhes of aurora, and the
vivid colours of the rainbow : what mull lovers
do for fimiles to compare their miftrelVes to, in
that country, when fuch an inexhauftible fund
of fimiles is taken from them ?
Nay, I fhall never lay the lofs of their funiles
much to heart, fays the lady, and I think them well enough rccompenfcd for the lofs of our
dawn, and rainbow ; for by the fame reafon,
they have neither thunder nor lightning, both
which arc formed in the clouds : how glorious are
" wheels feem to hover on the utmoft verge of day. *' And what is fomewhat remarkable, his orb, upon the ** point of fetring, grows broader : the ihadows, juft " before they are loft in undiftinguifhed darknefs, are " furprizingly lengthened.
" The radiant globe, is now, half-immerfed beneath " the dufky earth. He Is taking leave of our hemif- *' phere, and gilds the plains with a languid luftre.
" But, could I view the Tea, at this juncture, it " would yield a moft amufing and curious Ipectacle. " The rays, ftriking horizontally, on the liquid ele- " ment, give it the appearance of floating glafs ; or " reflefted in many a different diredion, form a beaud- " ful multiplicity of colours.
" A ftranger, as he walks along the fandy-beacii, " and, loft in penfive attention, liftens to the murmur-
ings-
54 CONVERSATIONS on the are their days, the fun continually {hining ? How pleafant their nights, when not the leaft ftar is hid from them ? They never hear of florms or tempefts, nor any of thefe things, which feem
to us the plain effects of the wrath of heaven.
Do you think then they fland in need of our pity ? You are defcribing the moon, fays I, like an inchanted ifland ; but do you think it is fo plea-
fant to have a fcorching fun always over our headsj^
" mgs of the reftlefs flood, Is agreeably alarmed by " the gay decorations of the fiirface. With entertain- " ment and with wonder, he fees the curling waves,, *' here gliiiering with white, there glowing v/ith pur- " pie i in one place wearing an azure tincture ; in ano- " ther, glancing a caft of undulating green ; In the " whole, exhibiting a piece of fluid fcenery, that may ** vie with yonder pencil tapeibles, though wrought *' In the loom, and tinged with the dyes of heaven.
" But, while I am tranfported by fancy to the ihores ** of the ocean, the great luminary is funk beneath the •' horizon, and total]y difappears. The whole face of *' the ground is overfpread v/iih ihades ; or with what *' one of the fined painters of nature calls, a dun ob- ** fcurlty. Only a few very fu perior eminencies are *'"
tipt with ftreaming filver. 1 he tops of groves, and " lofty towers, catch the lafb fmiles of day ; are (llll " irradiated by the departing beams. But oh ! how ^* tranfient is the dllllntliori! how momentary the gift I " like all the blelfings, which mortals enjoy belov/, it is ** gone, almoft as foon as granted. See ! how lan- *' guilhingly it tiernbles on the leafy fpire j and glim- " mers with a dying faintnefs on the mountain's brow^ " The little vivacity that remains, decays every miO- *' ment. It can no longer hold It's ftation. While I ** fpeak, it expires; and reSgns the world to the gra-
" dual approaches of night,.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 85 heads, where the days are fifteen times as long as
ours, and not the leaft cloud to moderate its heat ?
Though I fancy it is for this reafon that nature
has made great cavities in the moon, we can
difcern them eafily with our telefcopes ; for they
are not fei.*, but fo many caverns or vaults
in the middle of a plain ; and how can we tell but
N^oiv Twilight ^^r<?y,
Has in her foher li<vry all things clad. Miltont.
" Since the fun is departed, from whence can it pro- " ceed that I am not involved in pitchy darknefs ? ** Whence, thofe remainders of dimiiiilhed brightnefs } " which, though fcarcely forming a refulgence, yet " fmooth the rugged brow of night. I fee not the " fliining orb, and yet am chcared with a portion of his " foftened fplendor.
*' Does he remember us in his progrefs through other " climes j and fend a detachment of his rays to efcort *' us, in our further motions ; or cover (if I may ufe " the military term) our retreat from the fcene of action } ** Has he bequeathed us a dividend of his beams^ " fufficient to render our circumftances eafy, and our " fituation agreeable ? Till deep pours it's foft opprelli- " on on the organs of fenie ; till it fii^pends all the " operations of our hands ; and intirely liiperfedes any *' more occafion for this light.
" The gracious author of our being, has {q difpofed " the coiieclion of ciicuiuambient air, as to make .it ** productive of this fine and benehcial eifect. The " fun-beams falling on the higher parts of the aerial " fluid, inftead of palling on in fliait lines, are bent " inward and refleded to our fight. Their natural *' courfe is over- ruled, and they are bid to wheel about j ** on purpfife to favour us with a welcome and falutary " vifit. By which means, the blelfmgs of light, and *' the feafon of bufmefs, are conliderably prolonged. ** And what is a .very indearing circunillance, proloug-
$6 CONVERSATIONS on the but (6) the inhabitants of the moon, being con- tinually broiled by the excelTive heat of the fun retire into thofe great caverns
; perhaps, they
live no where elfe, and it is there they build them cities ; for we ftill fee in the ruins of old Rome that part of the city which was nnder ground was almoil as large as that which was above. We need but take that part away, and the reil would remain like one of thefe lunar towns ; the
whole people refide in wells, and from one well
to another there are fubterraneous paffages for
the communication of the inhabitants. I per-
ceive,
** ed moft confiderably ; when the vehement heats of " fummer, incline the lludent to poftpone his walk, till ** the temperate evening prevails.
" The darknefs comes not, with a blunt and abrup^ ** mcivllity, but makes gentle and refpettful advances. " A precipitate traniitlon from the fplendors of day, to ** all the horrors of midnight, would be both incon- " venient and frightful. It would bewilder the tra- *' veller in his journey i it would ftrike the creatioa " with amiazement ; and perhaps, be pernicious to the ** organs of fight. Therefore, the gloom rnlhes not ** upon us inftantaneoufly, but increafes by flow de- " grees ; and fending twilight before as its harbinger, " decently advertifes us of its approach. By this means, " we are neither alarmed nor incommoded, by the " change ; but are able to take ail fuitable and timely ** meafures for its reception. Thus, fays the author, ** gracioufly has providence regulated, n-3t only the ** grand vicillitudes of the feafons, but alfo, the com- " mon interchanges of light and darknefs, with an ap- " parent reference to our comfort."
(6) The inhabitants of the moon retire into thefe great
ca'verns.] Whoever obferves the face of the moon with a good teiefcope, will difcern it diftinguilhed with
aa
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 87 ceive, madam, you laugh at my refveries, and
you are v/elcome ; but to be free with your lady-
(liip, the ridicule turns more againft you than
me : for you believe the people in the moon
muft live upon the furfiice of their planet, be-
caufe we d6 fo upon ours, but the contrary
is evident ; for as we dwell upon the fuperficies
of our planet, they may not dwell upon the fu-
perficies of theirs ; if things differ fo much in
this world, what muft they do in another ? All
thingso
an admirable variety of fpots, fome like rocks of dia-
monds, of a very bright iuftre, ftrongly reflecting the fun's light. Other parts look dark ; thefe have been flippofed to be feas, lakes, and fens ; but, with good glafTes, they appear to be great caverns and empty pits, whofe fhadou's fall within them, w^hlch can never be in
a fea or liquid body : and within thefe dark fpots, we obferve fome bodies of a brighter light, wherev/ith they out-lhine the reft. There Teem to be no clouds or va- pours in the moon, from Vv'hence rain may be gene- rated ; for fuch clouds would fometlmes cover the face of the moon, and hide fome of its regions from our fight, which we never obferve them to do. But In the moon there is a conftant ferenity, wIthouL any dark weather ; and when there are no clouds in our air, the moon conftantly appears with the fame Iuftre. If the moon has an atmofphere, (v, hich Is as yet undetermined) it is very thin ; for the planets and ftars, which are fometlmes feen very near its edge or limb, have not their light refra<5led, as it is when It paftes through our atmofphere.
Aftronomers have drawn the face of the moon, ac- cording as It Is feta with the beft telefcopes ; for which we are obliged to the labours of Langrenus, Hevelius of Dantzick, Grimaldus, and Ricclolus, Italians ; who have taken care to note all the ibining parts of the moons face, and even to give names to every part. See the foregoing note, p. 54, &c.
88 CONVERSATIONS on the things may be very different there, from what
they are here.
It is no matter, fays the lady, I can never
fuffer the inhabitants of the moon to Uve in per-
petual darknefs. You will be more concerned for
them, madam, when I tell you that one of the
ancient philofophers long fmce difcovered the
moon to be the refidence of bleffed fouls depar-
ted out of this life, and that all their happinefs
confifted (7) in hearing the mufic of the Ipheres,
which is made by the motion of the celeftial bo-
dies : and that philofopher, pretending to know
exa6tly all they do there, tells you, that when
the moon is obfcured by the fhadow of the
earth, they no longer hear the heavenly harmo-
ny, but howl like fo many fouls in purgatory ;.
fo that the moon, taking pity on them, makes
Sill the hafle fhe can to get into the light again.
Methinks
(7) In hearing the muftc of the fpheres.^ This kind
of niufic is fpoken of by many of the philofophers
and fathers, fuppofed to be produced by the regular,
fweetly tuned motion of the ilars and planets. Plato,
Phllo Judeus, S. Auguftlne, S. Ambrofe, S. Ifodore,
Boethius, and many others, are ftrongly poffeiTed with
the opinion of this mufic, v^^hich they attribute to the
various proportionate imprelfions of the heavenly bo-
dies upon one another, which acting under proper in-
tervals, form an harmony. It is impoffible, fay they,
that fuch fpacious bodies, moving with fo much rapidi-
ty, fhould be iilent ; on the contrary, the atmofpbere,
continually impelled by them, muft yield a fet of founds,
proportionate to the impuliions it receives : confequent-
ly, as they do not all run the fame circuit, nor with one
and the fame velocity, the. different tones arifing from
the
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 89 Methinks then, fays the marchionefs, we fhould
now and then fee fome of thefe blefied fouls ar-
rive here from the moon ; for certahily they are
fent to us; and between the two planets, fome
think, there is a fufficient provifion made for the
fehcity of fouls, by their tranfpcrtatlon into a
new world. I confcfs indeed, i^iys I, it would
be very pleafant to fee new worlds ; fuch a voy-
age, though but in imagination, is very delight-
ful ; but what would it be in reality ? It would
be much better certainly than to go to Japan,
which, at befl, is but crawling from one end of
the globe to the other, and, after ail, to fee no-
thing but men. Well then, fays fhe, let us tra-
vel over the planets as fafl: as v/e can ; what fhould
hinder us ? Let us place ourfelves at all the dif-
ferent points of view, and from thence confider
the
the diverfity of motions, direded by the firft caufe,
form an admirable fymphony or concert. S. Ireneus, St.
Bafil, and S. Epiphanius, have controverted this notion,
in itfelf fufficiently chimerical. Yet Milton, in his
hynm to the creator, Paradlfe Loft, Book V. alludes to
it.
And ye five other wand'ring fires that move In myftic dance, not without fong refound.
And Shakefpear, fpeaks of it more fully in his Mer- chant of Venice, AS. V.
Look how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patterns of bright gold :
There's not the fmalleft orb that thou beholdeft.
But in his motion, like an angel fings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim,
Such harmony Is In Immortal fouls!
But while this muddy vefture of decay, Doth grofsly clofe us in we cannot hear It.
90 CONVERSATIONS on the the univerfe. But firft, have we any more to fee in the moon ? Yes, madam, repHed I, our de- fcription of that world is not entirely exhaufted ; you cannot but remember that the two move- ments, which turn the moon on herfelf and about us, being equal, the one always prefents to our
eyes that part, of which the other muft confe-
quently deprive us ; and fo fhe always to us wears
the fame face : we have then but one half of her which looks on us ; and as the moon mud be fuppofed not to turn on her own centre, in refpect to us, that half which fees us always, and
that which never fees us, remains fixed in the
fame point of the firmament. When it is night with her, and her nights are equal to fifteen of
our days, fhe at firfl: fees but a little corner of the
earth enlightened, after that a larger fpot, and
fo almoft by hourly gradations, fpreads her hght
till it covers the whole face of the globe ; where-
as thefe fame changes do not appear to us to af-
fect the moon, but from one night to another,
becaufe we lofe her a long time out of our fight*
I would give any thing that I could polTibly fa-
thom the aukward reafonings of the philofophers
of their world, upon our earth's appearing im-
moveable to thern, when all the other celeftial bo-
dies rife and fet over their heads, within the com-
pafs of fifteen days. It is probable they attribute
this immobility to her bulk, for flie is fixty
times larger than the moon ; and when their
poets have a mind to extol indolent princes, I
doubt not but they take care to compare their
inactivity
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 91 Inaaivity to this majeftic repofe of the
earth.
However, this opinion is attended Vv^ith one dif-
ficulty ; they muft very fenflbly perceive in the
moon, that our earth turns upon her own cen-
tre. For inllance, imagine that Europe, Afia,
and America prefent themfelves, one after another,
to them in miniature, and in different fhiapes and
figures, almoft as we fee them upon maps. Now
this fight muft be a novelty to fuch travellers,
as pafs from that half of the moon which ne-
ver fees us, to that which always does. Kow
cautious would they be of believing the relation
of the firft travellers, who fliould fpeak of it
after their return to that great country, to which
we are fo utterly unknown ? Now I fancy, fays
the marchionefs, that they make a fort of pilgri-
mage from one fide of the country to the other,
for their difcoveries in our world ; and that there
are certain honours and privileges affigned to fuch,
as have once in their lives had a viev/ of our great
planet. At leaft, replied I, thofe who have had
this view, obtained the privilege of being better
lighted, during their nights ; the refidence in the
other half of the moon muft of neceflity be much
lefs commodious in that refped. But let us con-
tinue the journey we propofed to take, madam,
from one planet to another; for we have now
had a pretty curious furvey of the moon.
As we leave the moon, on that fide next the
fun, we fee Venus, which puts me again in mind
of my former reafoning about St. Dennis. Venus turns
92 CONVERSATIONS on the turns upon herfelf, and round the fun, as well as
the moon ; they likewife difcover by their telef- copes, that Venus, like the moon (if I may fpeak after the fame manner) is fome times new, fome-
times full, and fometimes in the wane, according
to the different fituations fhe is in, with refpe6t
of the earth.
The moon, to all appearance, is inhabited ; why fhould not Venus be fo too ? You are fo full of your whys, and your wherefores, fays the mar-
chionefs, interrupting me, that I fancy you are
fending colonies to all the planets. You may be certain, madam, that is my intention, and I fee no reafon to the contrary ; we find that all the planets are of the fame nature, all obfcure bodies,
which receive no light but from the fun, and
then fend it to one another ; their motions are
the fame, fo that hitherto they are alike ; and yet,
if we are to believe that thefe vaft bodies are not inhabited, I think they were made, but to little
purpofe : why fhouid nature be fo partial, as to
except only the earth ? But let who will fay the contrary, I mufl believe the planets are peopled
as well as the earth. I find, fays the lady, from
feveral inflances, you are very obflinate in your
opinion. It was but fome moments fince, that
the moon vvas a defart, and you were in no con-
cern at it ; and at this inflant, I fee you would be
in a paffion, if any one fhould prefume to fay, that
all the planets are not as well flocked with inhabi-
tants as the earth. It is true, madam, at the in-
ftant you furprifed me with your objeclions, if
you had not oppofed my argument for the inha- bitants
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 93 bitants of the planets, I fhould not only have
maintained their exiftence, but perhaps hkewife
have treated on their formation. We have our feafons of credulity, and I never believed thefe
things more firmly than at that jundure : and
even now, when my fenfes are fomewhat cooler
on the matter, I cannot help thinking it would be
flrange that the earth fliould be To well peopled,
and the other planets not inhabited at all : for do
you believe we difcover (as I may fay) all the in-
habitants of the earth ? There are as many kinds
of invifible, as vifible creatures ; we fee from
the elephant down to the pifmirc, beyond which
our fight fails us ; and yet counting from that mi-
nute creature, there are &n infinity of lefler ani-
mals, to which the ant is an elephant, which
would be imperceptible without the aid of glaffes.
We fee with magnifying glafies, that the leaftdrop of rain-water, vinegar, and all other liquids, are
full of little fifties or fcrpents, which we could
never have fufpeded there ; and philofophers
believe, that the acid tafte of thefe liquids, proceeds
from a fliarpnefs iffued through the forked flings
of thefe animals lodged under their tongues-
Mix certain things with any one of thefe liquors,
and cxpofe them in the fun, or let them fland and
corrupt, they will produce a new fpecies of little
animals.
(8) Som.e even of the moil folid bodies, are
nothing but an immenfe fwarm of imperceptible
infefbs,
(8) Some even ofthe moft folid hodies.'] Late difcove-
ries have confirmed this aiTertlon. All the coralls, coral-
lines
94 CONVERSATIONS on the infciSls, who find for their rerpe6i:Ive motions as much room and liberty as they require. A mul- berry-leaf is a little world, inhabited by multi-
tudes of thefe inviiible worms, which, to them,
is a country of vaft extent. What mountains, what abyfles are there in it ? the infe6ls on one
fide of this leaf, know no more of their fellow creatures on the other, than you and I can tell
what they are now doing at the antipodes : does it not appear therefore more reafonable, that a
great planet fhould be inhabited ? In the hardeft
ftoneS, for example, in marble, there are an in-
finity of worms, which fill up the vacuums, and
feed upon the fubilance of the flone ; fancy then
millions of living creatures to fubfifl many years
on a grain of fand ; fo that were the moon but one continued rock, I would fooner allow her to
be gnawed by her inhabitants, than not be inhabited
:
in Ihort, all is full of life, every thing is a,mmated ; imagine
lines, madrapores, and many fea produ£lIons, are found
to be the nefts and work ofanimals. [See in the philofo-
phical tranfadtions, An. 1755, &c. Mr. Ellis's curious
account of this fubjeft.] And indeed almoft every liquid is, by many of the modern philofophers, found to be re- plete with living creatures ; and experiments made with
microfcopes Ihew, that the leaves of trees, their excref-
cences> and various kinds of fruit, abound with them.
A very celebrated poet, in a beautiful paragraph on this fubje^t, informs his readers, that all nature fwarms
with life. In fubterranean cells, the earth heaves with
vital motion. Even the hard Hone, in the very inmoft
recelfes of it's impenetrable citadel, holds multitudes of
animated inhabitants. The pulp of mellow fruit, and all the produftions of the orchard, feed the invifible
nations. Each liquid, whether of acid tafte, or milder reliih,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 95 imagine then thofe animals which are yet undifco-
vered, and add them and thefe which are but lately
difcovered, to what we have always fcen, and
you will find the earth fwarms with inhabitants,
and that nature has fo liberally furnifhed it with
animals, that flie is not at all concerned for our
not feeing above one half of them : why then
fhould nature, which is fruitful to an excefs here,
be fo very fterile in the reft of the planets, as to
produce no living things in them ? I muft own,
fays the marchionefs, you have convinced my rea- fon, but )ou have confounded my fancy, with fuch variety, that I cannot imagine how nature, which abhors repetition, fhould produce fo many different kinds. There is no need of fancy, ma- dam, do but truft your eyes, and you will eafiiy perceive how nature diverfifies her works in thefc feveral worlds.
Ail
relifli, abounds with various forins of fenfitive exlilence. Nor are the pure dream, and tranfparent air, without their colonies of unfeen people. In which conftitution of things, we have a wonderfiil Inftance, not only of the divine goodnefs to thefe minute beings, in giving them a capacity for animal gratifications ; but of his tender care for mankind in making them imperceptible to our fenfes.
Thefe concealed By the kind art of forming heaven efcape The groffer eye of man : for, if the worlds. In worlds inclofed, fhould on his fenfes burfl
;
From cates ambrofial, and the nedar'd bowl, He'd turn abhorrent ; and, in dead of night, When filence fleeps o'er all be-ftunn'd with noife.
Thomfon's Summer,
When
96 CONVERSATIONS on the All human faces, in general, are of the fame
model ; and yet the Europeans and the Africans
have two particular fhapes, nay, commonly every family has a different arpe6t ; what fecret then
has nature to fhew lo much variety in the fmgle
face ? Our world, in refpeQ: of the univerfe, is but a little family, wherein the feveral faces have fome
refemblance to each other ; in another planet
there is another family, whofe faces have a dif-
ferent air and make ; the difference too increafes
with the diftance ; for whofoever fhould fee an in-
habitant of the moon, and an inhabitant of the
earth, would foon perceive they were of different
worlds, yet nearer neighbours than one of the
earth and one of Saturn : Here, for example,
we have the ufeof fpeech ; in another world they may
When, fays Mr. Hervey, in his Contemplations on the Starry Heavens, I ftretch my thoughts to the innu- merable order of beings which inhabit all thofe fpacious
fyftems, from the loftieft feraph, that furrounds the
throne, to the puny nations which tinge with blue the
furface of the plum, * or mantle the Handing pool with
green : O how various are the links in this immenfe chain ! how vaft the gradations in this univerfal fcale of exiftence ! yet all thefe, however vaft and various,
are the work of God's hand, and are full of his pre-
fence.
* Ev'n the blue down the purple plum-furrounds
A living world, thy failing fight confounds. To HIM a peopled habitation Ihevvs, Where millions tafte the bounty God beftows.
From a Poem, called, DEITY. Mr. Bradley, in his Treatife on Gardening, mentions
aninfeft, which, after accurate examination, he found
to be a thoufand times lefs than the lead vifible grain of
fand.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 97 may fpeak by figns ; and, (9) at a greater diitance
they may not fpeak at all : here our reafon is
formed by experience ; in the next world, ex-
perience contributes but httle towards reafon ;
and, in the next to that, old men know no more
than children. Here we are more troubled with
what is to come than with what is pad ; in the
next world, they may be more troubled for what
is pad, than what is to come ; and tarther off, they
may not be concerned about either, which, by the
bye, I think is much better. Here, it is thought, we
want a fixth fenfe, that would teach us many things
of which we are now ignorant ; this fixth fenfc F is
fand ; at the fame time declaring, that fuch an Animal- cule, though quite imperceptible to the naked eye, is a bulky being, compared with others, almoft infinitely more minute, difcovered by Mr. Lewenhoeck.
If then wc confider the feveral limbs which compole (if one may be allowed the expreflion) fuch an organized particle ; the different fprings which aduate fuch a fet of limbs ; the flow of fpirits inexprellibly more attenua- ted, which put thefe fprings in motion ; the various fluids that circulate ; the difl^erent fecretions that are performed ; together with a proportionable minutenefi of the folids, before they arrive at their full growth
;
not to mention other more aftonilhing modes of dimi- nution
J fure we ihall fee the utmoft occafion to ac-
knowledge, that the adored maker is, Mnximus in mini-' mis
; greatly glorious, even in his fmalleil works.
(9) ylt a greater dijlance they may not [peak at a//.] As we may reafouably fuppofe the inhabitants of the other planets to be rational, fo we mayjultly imagine them to be focial beings. If fo, our author does not feem to be ferious in this article : For as Mr. Harris, in his Hermes, fays, with regard to us, " If men by nature had *' been framed for folitude, they had never felt an
" impulfe
98 CONVERSATIONS on the is apparently in another world, where (lo) thef
may v/ant one of the five which we enjoy ; nay, perhaps there is a much greater number of fenfes, but in the partition we have made of them with the mhabitants of the other planets, there are
but five fallen to our fhare, with which we are well contented, for want of being acquainted with
the reft. Our fciences have bounds, which the wit of man could never pafs ; there is a point where they fail us on a fudden ; the reft is referved
for C'hi^r worlds, where fomewhat which we
know may be unknown to them. This planet enjoys the pleafures of Love, but lies defolated in
feveral places by the fury ^ of war ; in another
planet they may enjoy perpetual peace, yet in
the midft of that peace, may not know any thing of love, and time may lie heavy on their hands ; in a word, that which nature prattifes here in
little, in diftributing her gifts among mankind,
fhe
" impulfe to converie with one another ; and if, like ** lower animals, they had been by nature irrational, " they would not have recognized the proper fubje6ts " of difcourfc."—And " That fpeech is the joint energy " of our bell and nobleft faculties (that is to fay, of our ** reafon and fecial affeftion) being withal our peculiar ** diflindion and ornament, as men." So the planetary
inhabitants n;ir/nt as well be irrational as have no fpeech ; as focial beingb they could not.be, unlefs they have a
peculiar method of perception, fomewhat like what the
fchool-men cc.1 intuition, of which we have no idea. (lo) ^hey may iioant one of thejive. '\ "With regard
to our fenfes, we may be faid to have but one, viz. feeling, all our fenits may be reduced to this one, and the other four are onlv fubdivifions of it.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 9^ (lie may praCtife at large in other worlds,where Ihc makes ufe of that (11) admirable fecret Ihe has to
diverfify all things, and, at the fame time, makes
tiiem equal, by compenfating for the inequahty.
But is it not time, madam, now to be ferious,
have I given you enough of chimaera ? Trouble
not yourfelf, fays fhe ; fancy is a great traveller ;
I already comprehend all tliefe worlds, and form
to myfelf their different charaOers and cuftoms ; fome of them, I affure you, are very extraordi-
F 2 nary
;
(11) Admirahlefecret Jbe has to di'verfify all things.
\
Our author's imagination is lively j yet his various changes are, and niuil neceflarily be made according to the idea we have, as deri\'ed from {^n'iQ.y that being the origin of our ideas ; and the whole is only guefs or fancy : for as to the inhabitants of the other worlds, we cannot know any thing of them with certainty, and can only draw conclufions from a chain of reafoning con- cerning them. Allowing the author's opinion jult, as to the various and different perfedlions the inhabitants of ditferent planets may enjoy, we may carry our imagina- tion a degree farther, and fuppofe there is a world, or ftate, where every perfedilion may be united, and the beings thereofmay have attained that ultimate point, to which immortal beings are, by their great Creator, deilined to arrive. We would be here underltood to mean fuch a perfeilHiion, as reafonable, yet created, beings, may be fuppofed to enjoy.
Milton thinks, that the inhabitants of the moon are either tranllated faints, or fpirits of a middle nature b> tween angels and Men.
Thofe argent fields m.ore likely habitants, Tranllated faints, or middle fpirits hold
Betwixt th' angelical and human kind.
Par. Loft. B. ili. v. 460.
But
100 CONVERSATIONS, &c. nary ; I fee at this moment, a thoufand various figures, though I cannot well defcribe them.
Leave them, fays I, to your dreams ; we {hall know to-morrow whether they reprefent the mat- ter faithfully, and what they have taught you, in
relation to the inhabitants of any of the planets.
But it Is gready to be queftloned whether his notion
be juft ; for as the moon is certainly lefs confiderable in herfelf than our earth, it is not likely that her inhabitants
ihould be fo much more confiderable.
[ lOl ]
The Fourth Evening,
Particulars of the worlds of Venus, of Mercuryy of
Mars, of Jupiter, and of Saturn.
THE dreams of the marchionefs were not very fuccefsful ; they flill reprefented to
her the fame obje<5t8 we are acquainted with here
on earth, and I had room to reproach her lady-
fhip, as thofe people do us at the fight of our re-
gular pidures, who themfelves make only wild and grotefquc paintings. ^ Well,' fay they, * this
* is only an imitation of men, there is no manner * of fancy in it.' We were therefore forced to conclude ourfelves ignorant, (i) what fort of inha-
bitants all thefe planets had, and content ourfelves
F 3 only
(i) What fort of inhabitants all thefe planets had.'\ This, fays Derham, in his Aftro-Theology, is a difficul- ty not to be refolved without a revelation, or far better
inftruments than the world hath hitherto been acquainted with. But if the reader fhould have a mind to amuie himfelf with probable gueffes about the furniture of the planets of our folar fyftem, what countries it is probable are there, what vegetables are produced, what mine- rals and metals are afforded, what animals live there, what parts, faculties and endowments they have, with much more to the fame purpofe ; he may find a plea- fant entertainment enough in the great Mr. Chrillian Huygens's Cofmotheoreos, (befides our author) and o- thers that have written on the fubjedt.
102 CONVERSATIONS on the only to giiefs at them, and continue the voyage
we had begun through thefe feveral worlds. We were come to (2) Venus, and I told her
that planet certainly turned on itfelf, though no
body could tell in what time, and confequently
were ignorant how long her day lafted ; but her year was compofed of eight months, becaufe it
is in that time fhe turns round the fun ; and fee-
ing Venus is once and a half larger than the
earth, the earth appears (to them in Venus) to
be a planet of the fame fize as fhe appears to us
;
the different magnitudes of both being infenfible
at fo great a diftance. I am contented, faid the marchionefs, for the earth to be to Venus the
ftar of the fhepherds, and the mother of the
loves, as Venus is to us ; but thefe names can
only agree to a little planet, which is very brifk,
gay, and lliining, and which l^^th a very gallant
air. I allow all this, anfwered I ; but do you
know what it is that renders Venus fo pleafing at that
(2) We nvere come to Fefius.] Venns is eafily ^iftinguiflied by her brightnefs and whitenefs, which
exceeds that of all the other planets, and which Is fo
coniiderable, that, in a dufky place, fhe cafts a con-
fiderable fliadow. Her place, (as Is mentioned in a for-? nier note, p. 16,) is between the earth and Mercury.
She is never feen farther from the Cun. than 47 degrees,
which is litde more than a fourth part of the circle he
makes above the horizon ; when ftie goes before the fun, that is, rifes before him, which fhe cannot do ion-,
ger than 3 hours 8 minutes, but at any time lefs, ihe is
then called Phofphorus, Lucifer, or the morning ftar ; and when ihe follows him, that is, fets after him, Hef- perus, Vefper, or the evening ftar , and retains the fame
diftance
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 103 that diftance ? It is becaufe fhe is
very frightful
at a nearer view. When we fee her with the
affiftance of our telefcopes, Ihe appears to be an
heap of mountains, much higher than ours, ve-
ry fharp pointed, and, in appearance, very dry
:
by this difpofition, the furface of a planet is
formed, in the moft proper manner, for refle6l:-
ing Ught, with great fplendor and vivacity. Our
globe, which, in refped of Venus, is very plain
and fmooth, and covered over with feas in many
parts of it, cannot afford a brilliant appearance
at fuch a diftance. So much the worfe, replied
the lady ; for it mud certainly be fome advantage and pleafure for her to prefide over the amours of
the inhalMtants of Venus ; the people there ought
to be well verfed in gallantry. O doubtlefs, fays I, the very common people of Venus are all
F 4 Celadons
diftance of time and place after him, as flie did before
him. She fometimes pafles over his limb, and is then
feen like a fpot in his face, which fhe will do in June
1761,3 phasnomenon that rarely happens. Her diame- ter is 7096 Englilh miles, and is to that of the earth as 10, to 19. Her diftance from the fun is 59,000,000 tniles, and is -t^V^ of the earth's diftance from him.
Her excentricity 5, the inclination of her orbit 3^ 23', Her periodical courfe round the fun is already mention- ed (p. 16.) her motion round her axis, or her day, is performed in 23 hours. Her gfeateft diftance from the earth, according to Caftini, is 38,000 femi-diameters of the earth, and her fmalleft 6000. Her parallax is 3 minutes ; by this her diftance from us is difcovered. When viewed through a telefcope, Ihe is never {een quite round, but gibbous, or horned, like the moon ; and her illumined part conftantly turned towards the fun,
i. e*.
104 CONVERSATIONS on the Celadons and Sylvanders, and their mod trivial difcourfes are infinitely finer than any in Clelia. Their very climate infpires love. Venus is much nearer than the earth is to the fun, from whence ihe receives a more vigorous and a6live influence and heat. She is fituated about two thirds of the diftance from the fun to the earth.
I find, fays the marchionefs, it is eafy enough to guefs at the inhabitants of Venus ; they re- femble what I have read of the Moors of Gra- nada, M'ho were a little black people, fcorched
with the fun, witty, full of fire, very amorous,
much inclined to mufic and poetry, and ever in- venting mafques and tournaments in honour of
their midrefTes. Pardon me, mad im, fays I, you are little acquainted with this planet ; Granada
in all its glory, was a perfe6t Greenland to it
;
and your gallant Moors, in comparifon with that
people, were as flupid as fo many Laplanders.
But
i. e. towards the eafl when (he is the morning flar, and towards the well when the evening one. M. De la Hire, in 1700, through a telefcope of 16 feet, difco-
vered mountains in Venus, which he found to be higher
than thofe in the moon ; and CafTini, and Campani, in 1 665 and 1 666, difcovered fpots in her face ; from
the appearances of which, they afcertained her motion
round her axis. In 1672, and 1686, Calfini, with a
telefcope of 34 feet, thought he faw a fatellite moving round this planet ; and diftant from it, about one fifth
of Venus's diameter. It had the fame phafes as Ve- nus, but without any determinable form ; and it's dia-
meter fcarcely exceeded one fourth of that of Venus.
Dr. Gregory thinks it more than probable, that this
was a fatellite or moon, and fuppofes the reafon why it is
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 105^ But what do you think then of the Inhabitants
of Mercury ? They are yet nearer to the fun
than Venus, and, with refped to us, they are
nearer in the proportion of 32 to 81, and are fo
full of fire, that they are abfclutely mad ; I
fancy they have not any memory at all, no more
than moft of the Negroes, who make no re-
flexions ; and what they do is by fudden flarts,
and perfeO: hap-hazard ; in fhort. Mercury is
the bedlam of the univerfe ; the fun appears to
them fix times greater than it does to us, becaufe
they are much nearer to it than we ; it fends
to them fo bright and ftrong a light, that the moft
glorious day here, would be no more with them,,
than a declining twilight : I know not, whether
they can diftinguifli objefts ; but the heat, to
which they are accuftomed, is fo excefTive, that
they would be ftarved with cold in our torrid
F 5 zone
;
is not ufually feen, to be the unfitnefs of Its furface,
to reflect the rays of the fun's light ; as Is the cafe of the fpots In our moon. For if the moon was Intireiy fmooth, that planet probably could not be feen as far
as Venus. The French aftronomers have alfo preten- ded of late, to have feen this fatelllte. The Inhabitants, if there be fuch In Venus, never fee Mercury In oppo- iitlon to the fun, no more than we can fee Venus In, that pofulon, which Is occafioned by Mercury's never removing more than 28 degrees, or thereabouts from It. The fun appears to them by half larger in his diame- ter, and above twice as large In his circumference, as he does to us : and by confequence affords them twice as much light and heat. When our earth Is on the other fide of the fun from Venus, it appears larger and^ lighter to.her than ihe does to us, and her inhabitants..
10^ CONVERSATIONS on the zone ; then farther, it is certain, our iron, our
gold, our filver, &rc. would melt with them, an4
"we fhould fee them only liquid, as we commonly fee water here, although when frozen it is a very folid body. The people of Mercury fufpe61: not,, that, in another world^ thofe liquids are the^.
har.deil: bodies we know, though perhaps their r^lyers s^y-e formed of them. Their year is but
three months, and w^ knQw not the exa<Sl: length of their day, becaufe (3) Mercury is fo little,,
ajid. fo near the fun, it is (as it were) loft in hi&
rays, and is very rarely tiifcovercd by the afl.ro-
nomers ; fo that they cannot obferve how it moves on its centre ; but becaufe it is fo fmall,
they
may alfo fee oyr nioop. She is probably furrounded by an atmofphere fo denfe, that it is capable of refledtr
ing the lun's light as far as to the earth.
(3) Mercury is fo little^ and fo near the fun.] He is the fmallell of the priiriary planets, and as far as we know, the next to the fun, though there may be allch others, unknown to us, between him and the flin, lYhich v/e cannot difcover, as they rnay be loft in the
folar rays. His mean diftance from the fun is to that^ of our earth from the fun as 387 to 1000 ; It's excen-
trlcity 8 deo;rees. The inclination of its orbi:, that is, the angle formed by the plane of its oibit to the plane^
of the ecliptic, is faid to be 6 deg. 52 min. Its dif-
tance from the fun is 32,000,000 Englilh miles. Hfs-
periodical time or year, is 87 days, 23 hours, 16 mIn-.
His diameter is bat 4240 miles, and i"- to that of the
earth as 3 to 4 ; and therefore his globe is to that of
the earth as 2 to 5. According to Sir Ifaac Newton,
the heat and light of the fun, on the furface of Mer-
cury, is 7 times as intenfe as on the furface of our earth
in the middle of fummer > which, as he found by ex- periments
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 107 they fancy it compleats its motion in a little time ;
fo that by confequence, the day there is very fhort,
and, with regard to its inhabitants, it is necef-
fary that it fhould finifh this tour in a very fhort
time ; for they mud be continually wilhing for night, as they are actually burning, near a great
and ardent fire fufpended over their heads : and
during their night, Venus and the earth (which
mufl appear confidcrably large) give light to them.
As for the other planets which are beyond tlie
earth, towards the firmament, they appear lefs
to the inhabitants of Mercury, than they do to
us here, and they receive but little light from-
them.
What
periments made for that purpofe by a thermometer, is fuificient to make water boil, and fet all our dry plants on fire ; confequently what Fontenelle fays about melt- ing metals, &c. in that planet is falfe. However, fuch a degree of heat, muft render Mercury uninhabitable to creatures of our conftitution. And if bodies on its furface be not inflamed, and fet on fire, it mull be, be- caufe their degree of denfity mult be proportionably^ greater, than that of fuch bodies are with us. The force of gravity on the furface of Mercury, is 7 times as ilrong as on the furface of the earth ; its denfity, and confequently the gravitation of bodies towards the cen- tre, cannot be accurately determined ^ but no doubt it muft exceed that of our earth, by reafon of the e^icefs of heat there. Mercury changes its phafes like th« moon, in regard to its feveral pofitions to the fun and earth. It appears full in fuperior conjunctions with the fun, becaufe we can fee the whole illumined hemifphere ; but in its lower conjundion, we only fee the obfcure or unillumined hemifphere. In his approach tov/ards the
fiiii, his light is falcated or horned.
TIi«
io8 CONVERSATIONS on the What fignifies this, fays the lady ; I pity them
for the exceflive heat they endure ; let us give
them feme reUef, and fend Mercury a few of thofe cool and refrefhing fhowers, which con- tinue, fometimes, four months together, in the hotteft countries, during their greateft extremi-
ty. Your fancy is good, madam, replied I, but v/e will relieve them another way. China is extremely hot by its fituation
; yet, in July and
Auguft fo cold, that the rivers are frozen ; the
reafon is, this country produces great quantities
of falt-petre, the exhalations proceeding from this fait are very cold, Avhich being raifed in great
abundance, by the excefiive heat of the fun>
makes a perfect winter at midfummer. We will fill
The fituations of Venus and this planet prove evi- dently, that the Ptolemaic iyilein is falfe ; for both the(e
planets are obferved betwixt the earth and fun, and
fometimes beyond the fun ; bur the earth is never found
between them and the fun, which however mud: hap- pen, if the fpheres of all the planets incompafled the
earth as a centre, according to that fcheme. See Plate II.
In the years 1736, 1743, '7>3» and 1756, Mercury was fcen like a black fpot In the fun ; and will be again fo feen in 1769, 1776, 1782, and 1 789, in October
;
and in 17S6, and 1799, ^'" April, he will pafsover the fun's difk, according to Dr. Halley's predictions.
Venus will, In like manner, crofs over the fun in
1 76 1, 1769, 1996, 2004, in June each of thefe years; and In 1874, 2019, 21 17, in December ; at which times ihe will appear a black, but beautlfulj fpot in the fun.
The diameter of the fun, viewed from Mercury, would appear three times as large, as It appears from the earth, the fun being thrice as near him as we are ;
and
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 109 fill this little planet with falt-petre, and let the
fun fhine as hot as he pleafes, himfelf Ihall pro-
duce a remedy for the evil he may otherwife
caufe them. And yet after all, who knows but
the inhabitants of Mercury may have no occa-
fion either for rain, or falt-petre r If it is a cer-
tain truth, that nature never gi\ts life to any
creature, but where that creature may live ; then,
through cullom, and ignorance of a better life>
thole people may live happily.
After Mercury, comes the fun ; but there is
no polubllity of peopling it, ncr any room left for a wherefore. By the earth, which is inhar bited, we judge that other bodies of tlie fame nature may be likewife inhabited,: but the fun
is
and therefore the fun's diik would appear 7 times as large as it appears to us. As we can never fee him more than 28 degrees from the fun, he is very feldom feen by us, being either lofl in the fun's light, or, when re- moteft from the fun, in the tv/ilight. The bt ft time for obferving him, is Vvhen he is on the fun's difk j for in its iov/er conjunflion it palTes by the fun like a fpot, eclipfmg a fiuall part of him, like a patch upon a lady's face, only obfervable with a telefcope. The firft ob- fervation of this kind was made by GafTendi in 1632. To an inhabjrant of Mercury, the folar fpots will ap- pear to traverfe his difk, fometimes in a right line from eaft to weft, and fometimes ellipiicalJy. As the other five planets are above Mercury, they will appear nearly there as they do with us. Venus and the earth, when in oppofitlon to the fun, will Ihine on Mercury with full orbs, and afford a glorious light to that planet.
Its inhabitants rauft have the fame opinion of us that we have of Saturn, that we muft be intolerably cold
j
and have little or no light, we are fo far from the fun.
no CONVERSATIONS on the is a body not like the earth, or any of the pla-
nets ; (4) the fun is the fource or fountain of
light, which, though it is fent from one planet
to another, and receiyes feveral alterations by the
way, yet it all originally proceeds from the fun ;
they may make, as we may fay, exchanges a- mong themfelves, but they cannot produce light. He draws from himfelf that precious fubflance which he emits with rapidity on all fides, and
which reflects when it meets with a foiid body,
and fpreads from one planet to another thofe
long and vaft trains of light, which crofs, ilrike
through, and intermingle in a thoufand different
ways-,
(4) 'The fun is the fource or fountain of light.]
Boerhaave fays, it is probable, that in the aftion of
fire obferved among us, the fun does not emit any iiery
matter to which fuch action may be attributed j but
that this luminary has only a povver of direding the
fire, already exiiling in any place, into parallel right
lines, from whence the fame quantity of fire b^ing agaiij
collected out of its parallelifm by relleclion or refradion,
.
and united ilill clofer, acquires new powers ; and thus
is able to produce all its effects. To illuftrace this, by an eafy experiment ; fuppofe an hollow brafs cube, up-
wards of 3 inches fquare, and clofed every way, ex-
cept that one fide being taken oiT, it is left open tliere;,
and fuppofe this cube direfdy oppofed by its open fide
to the fun, only covered with a white paper ; in the
cavity of it apply Farenheit's tender thermometer,
which confifts of a moveable fpirit j while the paper
prevents the fun's rays from penetrating the cavity of the -
cube, if the weather be cold, we fhali find an intenfe cold in the whole vacant fpace of tlfe cube 5 take away the paper at once, and at the moment the cavity of the cube is illuminated by the fun, there immediately
riles
PLURALITY of WORLDS, in ways, and form (if I may fo fay) the richeflr
tiffues in the world. The fun is placed in the
centre, from whence, with moft "convenience, he
may equally dillribute his light, and animate the
whole planetary world by his heat ; it is then a
particular body, but what kind of body, has of-
ten puzzled better heads than mine. It was^
thought formerly to be a body of pure fire, and'
that opinion pafled current till the beginning of
this age ; when aftronomers perceived feveral'
fpots on its furface. A little after this they difcovered new planets, (v\ hich we iliall prefently
hoar
rifes a confiderable heat, indicated by the tbcrmoineter..
It may be faid, that this heat was fent with an incon- ceivable velocity from the fun's body : to me (fays he) it rather appears, that the fun has only done now what it did before, and which it always does, •viz. determine what we call fire, into right lines, which can now reach the opaque body without any obtlacle, and thus drives the fire, which before, while the paper interpofed, was equally diffuled through the fix containing fquares ; drives it, we may fay, without altering its quantity in right lines againd one fide oppofite to the open one, and thus heats the whole cavity, but efpecially fuch fide by. meerly diieding the rays, and not by any increafe of their number. I'his opinion of fire, that it is origi- nally fuch, formed by the creator himfelf at the begin- ning of all things, and not produceable by any motion or alteration of other bodies ; and that neither the fire produced by the collliion of a flint and fteel, nor by a burning glafs, appears to owe any thing of its matter to the lun, is maintained by Homberg, Boerhaave, the younger Lemery, Gravefande, &c. But Sir Ifaac New- ton, and after him moft of the Englilh writers, affert, that it is mechanically producible from other bodies, by inducing feme alteration in the particles thereof;
and
112 CONVERSATIONS on the hear of) (5) thefe fpots fome philofophers cal- led planets ; for thole planets moving over the- fun, when they turned their dark half to us,, mull necelTarily hide part of it ; the learned
with thefe pretended planets made their court
to moft of the princes in Europe, giving the
name of this prince to one, and of that prince
to another planet. I believe they would have
quarrelled who fhould be mailer of thefe fpots,
that they might have named them as they plea-
fed, had it not been otherwife determined.
I cannot approve their notion ; it was but the
other day, fays f!ie, you were defcribing the
moon, and called feveral places by the names
of the moll famous adroncmers. I was pleafed
with the fancy ; for fuice the princes have feiz-
ed
and that fire is fuch merely by motion, and not exiiling
from the beginning. His opinion that the fun is a body
of fire, may be feen in the next note but one.
(5) Thefefpotsfome philofophers calledplanets.'\ The fpots in the fun are only vifible through a telefcope :-
fom.e diftinguifh them into maculae or dark fpots, and-
faculse or bright ones, but there feems little foundation
:
for this divifion. Thefe fpots are very changeable, as
to number, form, &c. they are fometimes in a multi-
tude, and at other times, none are to be feen. Some-
fear, that they may become fo numerous as to hide the fun's face, at leall the greateft part of it ; and to this-
afcribe what Plutarch tells us, 'viz. that in the firft
year of the reign of Auguftus, the fun's light was fo-
faint and obfcure, that one n)ight look fteadily at it with
the naked eye. To which Kepler adds, that in 1547, the fun appeared reddilh, as when viewed through a-
thick mill ; and hence he conje(^ures that the folar
Ipots
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 113 ed on the earth, it is fit the philofophers (who
are as proud as the beft of them) fhould referve
the heavens for themfelves, without any compe-
titors. O, anfwered I, trouble not yourfelf, the
philofophers make tlie beft advantage of their
territories, and if they part with the leaft ftar,
or a part of the moon, it is upon very good
terms ; but the fpots on the fun are fallen to
nothing ; it is now difcovered, that they are not
planeis, but clouds, fteams, or drofs v/hich ri-
fes upon the fun, fometimes in a great quantity,
fometimes in a lefs ; fometimes they are dark,
fome-
fpots are only a kind of dark clouds or finoke, floating
©n its furface. It is therefore probable, they are opaque
bodies, in manner of crulls, formed like the feu ins on
the furface of liquors.
However, thefe fpots demonftrate the fun's motion
round his axis, like that of the earth, whereby the
natural day is meafured, only flower. Some of thefe
fpots have made their firft: appearance near the edge
or margin of the fun, and have been feen fometime after
on the oppofite edge ; whence, after a fl:ay of about four-
teen days, they have re-appeared in their firfl: place, and
taken their lame courfe again, finlfhing their intire cir-
cuit in twenty feven days time ; which is hence deduced
to be the period of the fun's rotation round its axis.
This motion of the fpots is from weft to eaft ; whence
we conclude, that of the fun to which the other is owing, to be from eaft to weft. Sometimes thefe fpots
ftay three days longer behind the fun, than they fpend
in pafling over this flde of it ; confequently that they
do not adhere to the furface of the fun, but are at
fome diftance therefrom. This gave rife to the con-
jedlure of their being planets that revolved round it.
But as they frequently are feen to rife and vanifli, even
in the midft of the fun's face, and undergo feveral
changes.
114 CONVERSATIONS on the fometimes clear ; fometimes they continue a grdat .while, and fometimes they difappear as long.
It feems the fun is a Hquid matter, fome think .0f melted gold, which appears to boil over con- tinually, and by the force of its motion, cafts the fcum or drofs on its furface, where it is con- fumed, and more arifes. Imagine then, what vafl bodies thefe are, when feme of them are feventeen hundred times as large as the
earth, which is more than a million of times
lefs
clianges, both in regard to figure, bulk, and denfity ; It follows, that they frequently rife, from the fun's in- terior part, and are again diflipated. Hence they are not planets, but are formed from the fun's body j and
as they arife to a certain height, it is evident there is
fbme fluid encompafling the flin, to urge them to afcend j. and this fluid mufl: be thicker or denfer at bottom, and rarer at top, like our atmofphere. Since they frequent-
ly are feen to difappear in the middle of the fun's face
or diik, they fall back again into the fun. As their revolution is regular, it ihews, as they are at fome di(^
tance from it, that they do not move round the fun, but are carried with it in his atmofphere and vv^ith him-
felf That their diftance is not great from the fun, is proved from their being (Qen near half the time of their
period on the face of the fun ; for if their diftance
was confiderable, the time in palling over the fun's body,
would be very fiiiall in proportion to the remaining time taken lip in their rotation round him. After Galileo,
Scheinerua obferved thefe fpots more accurately, and publilhed a large volume about them ; when he obferved them, there were vifible in the body of the fun no leis than fifty of thefe fpots. From the year 1650 to 1670, there were rarely feen above one or two together ; but many have been obferved fince that time. However, there does not feem to be any period of time, or law for
their appearing, or diflblution.
Miltoa
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 115 iefs than the fun. Judge by this, what a vaft
quantity muft there be of this melted gold, and
what muft be the extent of (6) this great Tea of
hght and fire which they call the fun ? Others
fay, and with great appearance of reafon, that
the fpots, or, at leaf!:, the greater part of them,
are not new productions, that diiTipate them-
felves at the end of a certain time ; but great
folid mafles, of very irregular figures, that al-
ways exift, which fometimes float upon the li-
quid body of the fun ; at other times bury them-
felves intirely, or in part, and prefent to us dif-
ferent points or eminences, according as they are
more or Iefs plunged in the liquid fubflance of
the
Milton makes the Devil, in his vagabond flight through
our fyftem, light on the fun, and compares him to a fpot
on his furface
There lands the Fiend, a fpot like which perhaps
Aftronomer in the Sun's lucid orb,
Thro' his glaz'd optic tube, yet never faw.
The fun, though commonly fuppofed to be at reft in the centre of the foiar fyftem, has belides Its motion
round Its axis, alio a fecond motion round a certain
point, which is the true or common centre of all the planetary motions j and this point is at moft not quite a
diameter of the fun diftant from its centre. About this point the fun therefore moves, but in what time is un- certain.
Though the fun appears round or fpherical, it is real- ly fpheroidical, higher under its equator than about the
poles, that is, its diameter, drawn through the a;quator, js greater than that drawn through the poles.
(0) This great fea of light and fire ivhich they call the fun.] In the iaft note but one, we have giv^n Bperhaave's do«^rine of the fun, that it does not emit
any
ii6 CONVERSATIONS on the the fun ; and that they turn towards us different
fides. Perhaps, they make part of fome great
foUd mafs of matter, which ferves as aUment
to the fire of the fun. But let the fun be what
it will, it cannot be at all proper for habitation ;
and what pity that is ; for how pleafant would it be ? You might then be at the centre of the univerfe, where you would fee all the planets
turn regularly about you ; but now we are only pofleffed with extravagant fancies, becaufe we do not ftand in the proper place ; there is but one
place in the world where the fludy or knowledge
cf the ftars may be eafily obtained, and what pi- ty it is there is no body there. You forget your- felf fure fays flie, were you in the fun, you would,
fee nothing, neither planets nor fixed ftars ; does
not the fun efface all ? So that could there be
any
any fiery matter. But the Englifli philofophers, after
Sir Ifaac Newton, affert, that the fubftance of the fun is fire, which they thus endeavour to prove. He fliines, and his rays, collected by concave mirrors, or convex lens's, burn, confume, and melt the mofl iblid
bodies, or elfe convert them into afhes, or glafs. Where- fore, as the force of the folar rays is diminifhed by their
divergency, in a duplicate ratio of the diftances reci-
procally taken ; it is evident their force and effect is the
fame, when collected by a burning lens or mirrour, as if we were at fuch diftance from the fun, where they were equally denfe. The fun's rays, therefore, in the neighbourhood of the fun, produce the fame effects as
might be expe6led from the moft vehement fire ; con-
fequently the fun is of a fiery fubllance. Hence it follows, that his fubftance is every where fluid, that
being the condidon of flame. But whether the whole body
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 117 any inhabitants, there, they might juftly think
themfelves the only people in nature.
I own my miftake, madam ; I was thinking of the fituation of the fun, and not of the efFeQ:
of its hght : I thank you for your corredion ;
but mufl: take the freedom to tell you, that you
are alfo in an error ; for were there inhabitants
in the fun, they would not fee at all, either they
could not bear the ftrength of its light, or for
want of a due diftance, they could not receive it
;
fo that things well confidered, all the people
there Tnuft be ftone blind ; which is another rea-
fon why the fun cannot be inhabited : but let us
purfue our voyage through the other worlds.
V/e are now arrived at the centre, which is al-
ways the bottom, or lowed place of what is
round ; if we go on, we mufl; travel thirty-three
millions of leagues, we mufl; return the fame way
we came, and afcend ; then we fliall find Mer-
curv, Venus, the earth, the moon, all thefe pla-
nets
body of the fun be fluid as feme think, or folid as o-
thers, is not determined : yet as there are no marks to
diftinguilh fire from other bodies, but light, heat, a
power of burning, confuming, melting, calcining, and
vitrifying ; it is difiicult to conceive the fun to be any
thing but a globe of fire inverted with flame. That he
is that great fea of light, from whence all the planets
draw theirs, is univerfally acknowledged ; which truth
is thus juftly, as well as poetically, deicribed by Milton.
Hither, as to their fountain other fl:ars
Repairing, in their golden urns draw light.
Par. Loft, B. VII. 1. 364.
li8 CONVERSATIONS on the nets we have already vifited
; (7) the next Is
Mars, who affords nothing curious that I know of; his day is rather more than half an hour longer than ours, but his year is twice as long,
wanting about a month and near an half. He is
(7) The next is Mars.] Fontenelle hurries over this planet, as he could not draw much from him, re- lative to his fubjed. However, the curious reader will undoubtedly be pleafed to be informed of fuch par- ticulars, as are worthy his regard, concerning this planet. His fituation is between the earth and Jupiter ; his mean diftance from the fun is 1524 of thele parts, where- of the diftance of the earth from the fun is icoo» or more accurately 123,000,000 Englifh miles. Its ex- centricity 141 ; the angle formed by the plane of its orbit, to the plane of the ecliptic, or the inclination of its orbit, 1 deg. 5 2 min. The periodical time in which he revolves round the fun, is 686 days, 23 hours. Its day is much the fame length as ours j for he revolves on his own axis in 24 hours, and 40 minutes. Its diameter is 4444 Engliih miles. According to Hook and Flamftead, its parallax is fcarce 30 feconds. When he is in oppofition to the fun, he is found then to be twice as near the earth as the fun ; which is a phseno- menon that hath alfo difcredited the Ptolemaic fyftem, In 1665, ^^' Hook obferved feveral fpots in Mars, which having a motion, he concluded him to turn round his centre. M. Cafhni obferved feveral fpots in the two faces or hemifpheres of Mars, which, by continuing his
observations very diligently, he found to move, by de-
grees, from eaft to weft; and to return in 24 hours, 40 niin. to their former ftation. He always appears red- dilh, and with a troubled light ; whence, it is concluded
to be encompafTed with a thick cloudy atmofphere,
which, by difturbing the fun's rays in their palTage and
re-paffage through it, occafions that appearance. In
revolving round the fun, it has its increafe and decreafe
like the moon ; it may be obferved almoft divided into tVfO
PLURALITY of WORLDS, ixg is about four times lefs than the earth, and the
fun feems. not altogetlier fo large and fo bright
to him, as it appears to us. But let us leave
Mars, he is not worthy our flay : but what an
agreeable
two by the light and dark fides ; but is never horned at Venus, Mercury, and the moon are. As his diftance from the fun, is to the dillance from the earth and fun
as li to I, a fpettator placed in him would lee the fun's
diameter lefs by ^ than it appears to us ; and confequent-
ly, the degree of light and heat which Mars receives from the fun, is lefs by -j than that received by the earth.
This proportion, however, will admit of a lenfible va-
riation on account of the great excentricity of this pla-
net, i. e. his moving in an oval, not in a circular, orbit.
TlK)ugh his year be twice as long as ours, and his day
is almolt in all parts of him equal to his night j yQt^ it appears, that in one and the fame place on his furface,
there will be but very little variety of feafons, fcarce
any difference of fununer and winter. And the reafon is, that the axis of his daily rotation is nearly at right
angles with the plane of his orbit. It will be found notwithftanding, that places fituated in different latitudes,
that is, at ditlerent diftances from the equator, will have very diiferent degrees of heat, on account of the differ-
ent inclination of the fun's rays to the horizon, as it is with us, when the fun is in the equinoxes. From this confideration, Dr. Gregory endeavours to account for the appearance of the fafciae, which are certain fwathes or belts leen in this planet, and placed parallel to his xquator : for, among us, the fame climate has, at dif- ferent feafons, very different degrees of heat ; but in Mars it is not fo, the fame parallel having always a pretty equable degree of heat : it follows, that thefe belts may be formed in his atmofphere, as fnow and clouds are in ours, 'zjiz. by the conftant different inten- tions of heat and cold in the different parallels ; and fat come to be extended in circles or belts parallel to his
aequator,
120 CONVERSATIONS on the greeable object is (8) Jupiter with Tiis four moons,
or fatellites ? They are four little planets which turn round him, whilft Jupiter revolves round
the fun in twelve years, as our moon turns round us.
sequator, or the circle of his diurnal revolution. And this fame principle may perhaps folve the caufe of the fame appearance on the body of Jupiter alfo, that pla- net, like Mars, having a perpetual equinox.
Befides his red colour, there is another argument of his being encompafled with an atmofphere, and it is this i that when any fixed ftar is {een near his body, it appears much obfcured, and almoit extlndt. This denfe atmofphere muft prevent a fpedator, placed in Mars, from ever feeing Mercury, unlefs, perhaps, in the fun, at the dme of conjunction, when Mercury palTes over his difk. A fpedator in Mars will fee Venus about the fame diftance from the fun, as Mercury appears to us j and the earth about the fame diilance from the fun, that
Venus appears to us. And when the earth is found in conjundion with and very near the fun, he will fee from Mars, what Caflini obferved from the earth of that planet, 'viz. the earth horned or falcated, and its at-
tendant the moon of the fame figure ; and her utmoft diftance from the earth not above i 5 minutes of a de-
gree. He is lefs than Venus, nor has he a moon to attend him ; and in that he is our inferior, as well as
Mercury and Venus. However, he appears at different times of very differ-
ent magnitudes, being obferved fometimes to be almoil
as large as Jupiter j and at others fo fmall, as not to be
diftinguiihed from a fixed liar, but by his motion and
red colour. Thefe various changes are owing to his
different diflances from the earth, which are very con-
(iderable.
(8) yuftlet-y nvitb his four moons.'] Jupiter is the
largefc of all the planets, nay larger than all the others
put together, his diameter being 81155 Engillh miles,
which ii to that of the fun, as appears by altronomlcal
pbfervations, as 1077 ^^ ^^ 10000 ; to that of Saturn,
as
PLURALITY of WORLDS, 121 us. But why, fays the marchionefs, interrupt-
ing me, muft there be planets to turn round
G other
as 1077 to 889 ; to that of the earth, as 1077 to 104. The force of gravity on his furface is to that on the (iirface of the fun, as 797>J5 is to 10,000 ; to that of Saturn, as 797 is to S 34^3 57 » ^^ ^^^^ o^ the earth, as
797,15 to 407,832. The denfity of its matter is to that of the fun, as 7404 to 10,000 ; to that of Saturn, as 7404 to 6011 ; to that of the earth, as 7404 to 3921. The quantity of matter contained in his body, is to that of the fun, as 9,248 to 10,000 ; to that of Saturn, as 9,248 to 4>2 23 ; to that of the earth, ag
9,248 to 0,0044. The mean diftance of Jupiter from the fun is 5201 of thofe parts whereof the mean dif- tance of the earth is 1000 ; that is, he is 424,000,000 Englifh miles from the fun. Kepler makes him not more than 5196 of thofe parts. M. Calhni calculates Jupiter's mean diflance from the earth to be 115,000 femi-diameters of the earth. Gregory computes the diftance of Jupiter from the fun to be above five times as great as that of the earth from the fun j whence he gathers, that the diameter of the fun to an eye placed in Jupiter, would not be a fifth part of what it appear* to us J and therefoie his dillc would be twenty-five times lefs, and his light and heat in proportion.
Jupiter is fituated between Mars and Saturn j he revolves round his axis in 9 hours, 56 min. and his pe- riodical revolution round the fun is In 4332 days, 12 hours, 20 mill. 9 feconds. The Inclination of his or- bit, that is the angle formed by his orbit to the plane of the ecliptic, is 1 deg. 20 min His eccentricity is 250* and Huygens computes his furface to be 400 times lar- ger than that of the earth. Kis dillance from us is Co great, that it has no fenfible proportion to the dia- meter of the earth. Hence this planet has no paral- lax.
Though it be the grcatell of the planets, yet its re- Tolution about its axis is the fwifteft ; its polar axis is obferved to be fliorter than its a;quatorial diameter j and
Sir
122 CONVERSATIONS on the other planets, that are no better than themfelves ?
I fhould think it would be more regular and uniform.
Sir Ifaac Newton determines the difference to be as 8 to 9 J fo that its figure is a fpheroid, and the fwiftnefs
of its rotation occafions this figure to be more feniible
than in any other of the planets.
Jupiter' appears almoft as large as Venus, but is not
altogether fo bright : he is eclipfed by the moon, by
the fun, and even by Mars. Hevellus once, as it is
faid, obferved Jupiter's diameter as large as 7 inches,
and that it had inequalities like the moon. He has three appendages like zones, or belts, which Sir Ifaac thinks
are formed in his atmofphere. In thefe are feveral fpots,
from whofe motion, that of Jupiter round his axis is
faid to be determined. The difcovery of which is con- troverted betvvcen Euftachio, P. Gotignies, Calhni, and
Campani. See Plate iV. fig. 3.
The day and night in Jupiter are of the fame length all over his furface ; ^nz. five hours each ; the axis of
his diurnal rotation being nearly at right angles to the
plane of his annual orbit. Though there be four pri- mary planets below Jupiter, yet an eye placed on his
furface, would never perceive any of them ; unlefs,
perhaps, as fpots palTmg over the fun's diik, when they
happen to come between the eye and the fun. The parallax of the imw, viewed from Jupiter, will fcarce be
fenfible, no more than that of Saturn, neither being
much above 20 feconds -, fo that the fun's apparent
diamettr in Jupiter, will not be above 6 minutes. His
outermofc fateliite will appear almoll as big as the moon
does to us, ^iz. five times the diameter, and twenty-five
times the diih of the fun. Dr. Gregory adds, that an
afcronoiiier in Jupiter would eafily diltinguilh two kinds
of planets, four nearer him, <viz. the fatellites ; and
two, 'viz. the fun and Saturn, more remote. The fa-
tellites,. however, will fail vailly Ihort of the fun in
brif^htnefs, notwithftanding the g eat difproportions of
the'^cirLances and apoaf'^nt 'nngnitudes. From thefe four
diirerent moons, the inbaLitants of Jupiter vvill have
four
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 123 uniform, that all the planets,, fmall and great,
without any cliftin6tion, fhould have one and the
fame motion round the fun.
G 2 Ah,
four different kinds of months, and the number of lu-
nations in their year will not be lefs tha.n 4,500. Thefe
moons will appear eclipfed in Jupiier, as often as, being
in oppofitlon to the fun, they fall vvithin the iLadow ot
Jupiter ; and again, as often as being in conjun-ition with
the fun, they projett their fhadows to Jupiter, they
make an eclipie of the fun, to an eye placed in Jupiter, where the fhadow falls.
But in regard their orbits are in a plane, which is
inclined to, or make an angle with the plane of Jupi- er's orbit, their eclipfes become central, when the fim
is in one of the nodes of thefe fateliites ; and when out of this pofition, the eclipfes may be total, though not central, becaufe the breadth of Jupiter's iliadow, is
nearly double to that of the breadth of any of the l*a-
tellites i and the apparent diameter of any of thefe
moons, is nearly live times that of the apparent diameter
of the fun. It is owing to this remarkable inequality
of diameters, and the fmall inclination the plane of the
orbits of the fateliites has to the plane of Jupiter's or-
bit, that in each revolution there happen eclipfes both
of the fateliites and the fun ; though the llin be at a confiderable diltance from the nodes. Further, the in-
ferior among the fateliites, even when the fun is at its greatell diilance iTom the nodes, will occafionally eclipfe and be eclipfed by the fun, to an inhabitant of Jupiter; though the remoteft of them, in this cafe, efcapes fal- ling into Jupiter's fhadow, and Jupiter into his, for two years together. To this it may be aided, that one of thefe fateliites fometimes eclipl'cs another, where the phalis mull be dilferent, nay frequently oppofite to thac of the fatellite falling into the body of Jupiter juil: men- tioned ; for in this the eaftern limb immerges firil:, and the weftern limb immerges laft ; but in the others it is juil the reverfe. I'he fhadow of Jupiter, though it reaches beyond his fateliites, yet falls fhort of any other planet ; nor could any other planet, Saturn alone ex-
cepted,
124 CONVERSATIONS on the Ah, madam, fays I, (9) if you did but know
what Defcartes's whirlpools or vortexes were
(whofe name is (o terrible, but their ideafo pleafant)
you would not be of that opinion. Why, fays fhe, fmiling, mufl: my head turn round to com- prehend them ? It mufl be pleafant to know what
thefe vortexes are ; Compleat my folly, I can no longer forbear, nor do I know when or where
to flop, as philofophy is the fubje6;. Well, let
the world fay what it will, go on v/ith your
vv^hirlpools. I will, fays I, and you fhall find
that they are worthy of thefe tranfports. What
we call a whirlpool, or vortex, is a mafs of mat-
ter, whofe parts are feparated, or detached from
one another ; yet they all have one uniform mo-
tion ; and, at the fame time, every particle is
allowed to have a particular motion of its own,
pro-
cepted, be immerged In it, even though it were Infinite.
Indeed Jupiter's Ihadow could not reach Saturn, unlefs
Jupiter's diameter were half that of the fun ; whereas
in fad It is not one ninth of it. If there were any
fuch thing as navigation on the globe of Jupiter, the
ccurfes of his fateilltes would render It very fure and
eafy, as they would conftantly give the longitude. Even
we, at this Immenfe diftance, can make a very good
ufe of them ; thofe eclipfes being Ibund one of tiie bell
means for determining the longicude at fea. Further
particulars relative to thefe moons, as they appear from
our globe, will be given In a fucceeding note.^ If we
reafon from the analogy of things, the inhabitants of
Jupiter exceed ours in ilaiure as much as his globe ex-
ceeds ours In bulk. If fo, they are at leaft fixty feet high.
(9) If you did hut knoiv ivhat Defcartess ^whirlpools
§r vortexes ivsre.] Concerning thefe vortices, fome ac-
count
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 125 provided it follows the general dire6tion ; thus
a vortex of wind, or a whirlwind, is an infini-
ty of little particles of air, which turn round
all together, and bear away whatever they meet
with. You know the planets are borne up by
the celeftial matter, which is very fubtle and
a6tive ; fo that this great mafs, or ocean of ce-
leffial matter, which flows as far as from the
fun to the fixed (lars, turns round, and bears
the planets alfo with it, making them all turn
after the fame manner round the fun, who pof-
fefles the centre ; but in a longer, or a fliorter
time, according as they are at a farther or nearer
didance to it : there is not any planet, not even
the fun himfelf, but what turns round its axis :
and this the fun performs, becaufe he is juft in
the middle of this celeflial matter ; and were the
earth in his place, it muft turn on itfelf, as the
fun does. This is the great vortex, of which
the fun is lord ; yet, at the fame time, the pla-
nets make little peculiar vortexes, in imitation G 3 of
count has been already given in the preceding notes, page 14 and 29. An artificial vortex may be made, by turning a (lick brilkly, in a cylindrical velTel, filled nearly with water, M^hlch is put into a pretty rapid circular motion, and rifes to the edge of the veflel ; and when there ar- rived, ceafes to be further agitated. This water forms an hollow in the middle, which is caufed by its centri- fugal force
J for the motion of the water being circular,
it refpeds a centre taken in the axis of the veffel, or that of the vortex. The fame velocity being imprefled on all the water, a circle lefs remote from the axis, has a greater centrifugal force, than another which is great-
er
126 CONVERSATIONS on the oi that of the fun ; each of them in turning round the fun, does, at the fame time, turn round i^felf, and makes a certain quantity of celeflial matter turn round it hkevvife, which is always prepared to follow the particular motion which the planet gives it, provided it is not diverted from its general motion ; this then is the par- ticular vortex of the planet, which puflies it as far as tlie flrength of its motion reaches : and it by chance a lefler planet falls into the vor- tex of a greater planet, it is immediately borne
away by the greater, and is indifpenfably forced to turn round it, though, at the fame time, the
great planet, the little planet, and the vortex
which enclofes them, all turn round the fun : it was thus at the beginning of the world, when we compelled the moon to turn round us, becaufe file was then within the fphere of our vortex,
and therefore wholly at our difpufal. Jupiter
was
er or niore remote from thic axis. The fmaller drives the greater towards the fides of the vefl'el ; and from
this impulfe, which all the circles receive from the
fmaller ones that precede them, and convey to the great-
er ones that follow them, arifes that elevation of the
water along the fides of the veflel to the top, where
we fuppoie the motion to ceale. Our reafon for men- tioning this experiment, is to inform the reader, that
one JVi. Saunion in France, made divers experiments of this fort, with artificial vortices, by putdng feveral bodies
therein, to acquire a fnnilar circular motion, with in-
tent to dlfcover which of them, in making their feveral
revolutions round the axis of the vortex, approached
towards or receded from it, and with what velocity.
The reluh was, that ftill the heavier the body, the great- er
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 127 was ftronger, or more fortunate than we ; he
had four Httle plane'.s in his neighbourhood, and
he brought them all four under his fubjedion ;
and no doubt, we, though a prnicipal planet,
would have fliared the fame fate, had we been
within the fphere of his adivity ; he is a thoufand
times larger than the earth, and would certain-
ly have fwallowed us into his vortex ; we had
then been no more than a moon among his at-
tendants, but now we liavc one to wait on us ; fo that you fee the advantage of fituaiion, often
decides all our good fortune.
But pray, fays flie, wlio can affure us we fliall
continue as we do nov/ ? If we fliould be fuch
fools as to go near Jupiter, or he fo ambitious
as to approach us, what v/ill become of us ? For
if (as you fay) the celeflial matter is continually
under this great motion, it mufl needs agitate
G 4 the
er was its recefs from the axis. His view v/as, to fliew
how the laws of mechanics produce the celeilial moti- ons ; and that it is probably to thole motions that the
gravity of bodies is owing. But unhappily, the expe- riments ihew juft the contrary of what they were in- tended, 'VIZ. to contirm the Cartefian doctrine of gra-
vity ; and this he acknowledged to the French royal academy, of which he was a meuiber.
In fact, a denfe fluid can ferve for no purpofe in the
heavens but to dillurb the morions of the planets, and make the frame of nature languilh : if the heavens were filled with a fluid, how fubril foever, without any vacuum, the refiflance would be confiderablc. A folid globe, in fuch a fluid, would lofe above half its motion, while it moved thrice the length of its own diameter ; and a globe, not perfedly Ibiid, fuch as the planets, would lofe more. See the fyflem, or vortexes of DeC* cartes, reprefented Plate II. fig. 3.
128 CONVERSATIONS on the the planets irregularly; fometimes make them approach each other, and at other times make them recede farther. Luck is all, we may win as well as lofe, fays I; and who knows, but we might bring Mercurj and Mars under our go- vernment
; they are little planets, and cannot re-M us ; but, in this particular, madam, we need
neither hope, nor fear ; for the planets keep •withm their own bounds, and are obliged, as the kings of China were formerly, not to undertake nev/ conquers. Have you not feen, when you put water and oil together, the oil fwims a-top
;
and if to thefe two liquors you add a body ex- tremely light, (as reaified fpirit) the oil bears it up, and it will not fmk to the water : put an heavier liquor, of a juft weight, and it will pafs through the oil, which is too weak to fuftain it, and fink till it comes to the water, v/hich is llrcng enough to bear it up ; fo that in this li- quid, compofed of two hquors, which do not mingle, two bodies of unequal weight, will na- turally aflume two different places ; the one will never afcend, the other wqll never defcend ; if we put ilill other liquors, which do not mingle, and throw other bodies on them, it will be the fame thing : fancy then that the celeftial matter which fills this great vortex, has feveral parts or places, one by another, whofe weights or gravity are different, like that of oil, water, and other liquors ; the planets too are of a different weight, and confequently every planet fettles in that part of the celeftial matter, v/hich has a jufl flrength
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 129 to fuflain and keep it in a proper equilibrium ;
fo, you fee it is impoflible it ftiould ever go be-
yond its true fphere.
I very well apprehend, fays the marchionefs,
that thefe different gravities keep their ftations
regularly. Would to God, our world were as
well regulated, and every one among us knew
their proper place. I am not now in any fear of being over-run by Jupiter ; and fmce he lets us
alone in our vortex, with our moon, I do not
envy him the four which he has. If you envied
him, replied I, you would do him wrong ; for he
has no more than what he has occafion for. He is removed from the fun five times farther than we are ; he is one hundred and fixty five millions of
leagues diflant, confequently his moons receive,
and fend him, but a very weak light ; their
number fupplies the little effe<5t of each. It is
true, that as he turns upon him(elf in ten hours,
his nights, by confequence, are but five hours
long ; fo one would think there is no great occa-
fion for four moons. The moon which, in re- gard to Jupiter, is neareft to him, finifhes its
courfe about him in forty-two hours ; the fecond
in three days and an half; the third in feven
;
and the fourth in feventeen ; and by the inequa-
lity of their motions, they all contribute to give
him the moft agreeable profpedls ; for fometimes
they rife all four together, and then feparate ac-
cording to the inequality of their courfes ; fome-
times they are all in the meridian, ranged one
above another j fometimes you fee them all four G 5 at
I30 CONVERSATIONS on the at equal diftances in the heavens; fometlmes when two rife, the other two go down. Oh, how I fhould hke to fee (lo) their perpetual play of eciipfes ; for there is not a day pafles, but they eclipfe the fun, or one another ; and they
are fo accuilomed to thefe eciipfes in that pla-
net, that they are certainly objeds of diverfion,
and not of fear, as v/ith us.
Well, fays the marchionefs, I hope you will
people thefe four moons, though you fay they
are but little fecondary planets, appointed to give
light to another planet during its night. Do not doubt it, replied I ; thefe planets are not
lefs worthy to be inhabited, for being obliged to
turn rourd another planet of greater confequence.
I would have then, fays fhe, the people of thefe
four moons, to be fo many colonies under Ju- piter's
( t o) Their perpetual play of eciipfes.'] Thefe fatel-
litcs q\' Jupiter were firft obferved by Simon Marius,
iiiathcmatician to the EIe<5lor of Biandenburgh, about
the end of Noven)ber 1609, who took notice of three little ilars moving round Jupiter's body, and proceeding
along with him j and in January following difcovered
a fourth.
In January 1610, Galileo alfo obferved the fame in
Italv ; and that year publiihed his obfervations. In ho-
nour of his patron, the Grand Duke of Tufcany, he called them Ajlra Medicein^ Medicsean ftars : Marius,
the firll difcoverer, called that next Jupiter, Mercurius
Jo<vialis, Jupiter's Mercury ; the fecond, Jupiter's Fe-
nui ; the third, Jupiter's Jonje ; and the fourth, Jupiter's
Saturn. One Anthony Maria Schyrlaeus de Rheita, a capuchin of Cologn, imagined, that befides thefe four,
he had difcovered live otiiers, on the 29th of December
1642,
I
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 131 piter's government ; they (hould, if it were pof-
fible, receive their laws and cuftoms from him,
and confequently pay him a kind of homage,
and not view this great planet without deference.
Would it not be convenient too, fays I, that they
fhould fend deputies with addrcffes to him, to
take an oath, and to afiiire him of thpir fidelity;
yet, I doubt, if he has certainly a mere abfolute
command over his moons, than wc have over
ours ; his power, after all, is but imaginary,
and confifts chiefly in making them afraid ; for
that moon, which is neareft to him, fees that he
is fixteen hundred times larger than cur moon
appears to us ; for, in truth, he is fo much lar-
ger than her ; fo that this formidable planet
hovers continually over their heads, at a very
little diftance ; and if the Gauls were afraid here-
tofore,
1642 ; and in honour of Urban VIII, the Pope then reigning, denominated them Sydera Urbanadorurn. But
upon Nauda's communication to Gaffendus, who had
obferveu Jupiter on the fame day, he icon perceived,
that the monk had millaken tive fixed Aars in the eifu-
fion of the water of aquarius, marked in Tycho's ca-
talogue 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28, for facelHtes of Jupiter:
whence it is no wonder they Ihcuid appear to the dif-
coverer to move a contrary way to that of the rell, •viz..
from well: to eatl. See Epiji. Gajjend. ad Gab. Naud.
de Konjem Stellis circa "Jo^em tnfis.
The principal pha:nomena or" thefe fatellires are as follov/. Firtt, they all' difappear in a cie-u (ky, when
Jupiter intcrpofts between them and the fun ; that is,
are eclipfed by him : thefe happen almoll every day.
Flamftead and Cailini have publilhed tables, wherein
tlieir immerfions into Jupiter's ihadow, and emerfion? a-
.gain
13a CONVERSATIONS on the tofore, that the heavens would fall on them-,,
and crufh them to pieces, I think the inhabitants
of thefe moons may well be apprehenfive that Jupiter will, at fome time or other, over-whelm
them. I fancy, fays the lady, they are pofTefled
with that fear, which is given them becaufe they have no eclipfes : every one has their peculiar
folly ; we are afraid of an eclipfe, and they, that Jupiter will fall on their heads. It is very true,
fays I, the inventor of the third fyftem I told
you of the other night, the famous Tycho-Brahe,
(one oi the greateft aftronomers that ever lived)
did not apprehend the lead danger from an e-
clipfe ; he pad his whole life in contemplating
them, and never fliewed any dread, when every body elfe was under the greateft confternation ;. but what apprehenfions do you think he enter-
tained inflead of them ? This great man was fo unaccount-
galn are computed to hours and minutes. A fecond" kind of eclipfes they undergo, are called occultations,
rather than obfcurations ; wherein the fame fatelHtes
coming too^near to Jupiter's body, are loft in his light j which Ricciolus calls, occider.e zeuftace^ fettmg joi>iaJ/y.
In which cafe, Jupiter's neareft fatellite exhibits a third
kind of eclipfe, being obferved like a macula or dark,
round fpot, palling over Jupiter's difk, with a motion con-
trary to that of the fatellite ; juft as the moon's (hadow
projected on the earth will appear to do to the lunar in-
habitants.
Thefe eclipfes of Jupiter's fatellites furnifli the beft
means of finding the longitude of places ; and if ob-
fervations of them could be readily taken at fea, they
would prove of infinite fervice for this purpofe. It is
faid, that one Mr. Irwin, a gentleman of Ireland, has
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 133 unaccountably fuperftitious, that if an hare did
but crofs him, or an old woman bolt upon him.
at his firft coming out, he inftantly thought his
journey would be unfortunate ; he fhut himfelf
up for that day, and would not be concerned in
the lead bufinefs. It would be very unreafona-
ble, replied {he, fince fuch a man could not free
himfelf from the fear of eclipfes, without fal-
ling into fome other whimfy as troublefome, that
the inhabitants of thofe moons of Jupiter, where-
of we were juft fpeaking, fliould efcape upon
eafier terms : but we will give them no quarter
;
they fhall come under the general rule, and if
they are free from one error, they fhall fall into
another, as an equivalent : but as I cannot pique
myfelf in being able to guefs, pray clear up one
more difficulty to me, which has given me fome pain
lately invented an apparatus for cbferving thefe eclipfes on iLip- board, which prevents the motion of the l>.ip fi-oin difiurblng tlie operation. Certain it is, that ech'p-
fes of the firft fatellite, are much furer than thofe of the moon ; and withal happen much oftner, there being generally tu^o of thofe eclipfes in three days 3 befide, the manner of applying them is very eafy, the dif- ference of time on which they happen, as fet down m the tables, from that of obferving the pha:nomenon, gives the difference of longitude from the meridian of the place the tables were calculated for, to the place of obfervation.
Both Calfmi and Maraldi have frequently obferved very furprifing changes in the apparent magnitudes of the fatellites, when there was nothing in their diftance, cither from the earth, fun, or Jupiter, to occafion fuch variations. For example, the fourth fatellite>. which is
frequent-
134 CONVERSATIONS on the pain for feveral minutes. Tell me, if the earth be fo little in comparifon of Jupiter, ' whether
his inhabitants do difcover us ? I fear, we are wholly unknown to them ! Indeed, I believe not, fays I ; for if we appear to him one hundred times lefs than he appears to us, judge you if there be
any polTibility of his feeing us : yet this we may reafonably conjecture, that there are aftronomers
in Jupiter, who, after they have with great pains
made the moft curious telefcopes, and taken the
cleared nights for their obfervations, may have difcovered a little planet in the heavens, which
they never faw before ; if they publifii their dif-
covery in the journal of the learned in that coun-
try,
frequently obferved to be the leafl of all, fometimes
appears the largeft, rometiines only appears equal, and
fometimes lefs, than any of the' reft. As they are il- lumined by the fun, even when immerged in the light of Jupiter, and yet, notwith (landing this, they fome-
times appear dark, and fometimes difappear, there muft
be fome changes in their atmofpheres, to prevent the
equable reflection of the fun's rays, from the feveral
parts of the atmolphere. To the fame caufe it is ow- ing, that their fliadows on the dilk of Jupiter, are fome-
times feen larger than themfelves. Their periods are
found from their conjundion with Jupiter, after the
fame manner as thofe of the primary planets are found
from their oppofitions to the fun.
By this method Caffini found the periods of the fe-
veral faiellites to be as follow.
Seconds.
36
40 06
As
Days. Hours. Min Firft fatellite I 18 28
Second 3 13 18
Third 7 3 59 Fourth 16 16 OS
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 135 try moft people know not
what they mean, or
laugh at them for fools ; nay, the philolophers
themfelves will not believe them, tor fear ot de-
ftroying their own opinions ; yet iome few ra-
tional people may be a little curious, and hearken
to it ; they continue their obfervations, difcover
the little planet again, and at length are affured it is
no vifion ; then they rufpe6t it has a motion
round the fun, and after a thoufand obfervations,
find that it ccmpleats this motion in a year ; and
at laft (thanks to the learned) they know in Ju-
piter that our earth exifts in the univerfe ; every
curious body runs to peep at it at the end of a
telefcope, though it appears fo fmall, as to be
fcarcely difcernible. ^
As in the primary planets with regard to the fun, fo
with the fatelHtes with regard to the primaries, the
fquares of their periodical times are in a triplicate ratio
of their ditlances therefrom. To determine their dif-
tances by obfervation, they meafure them with an in-
ftrument, called a micrometer, in femi diameters of Ju-
piter. Thefc diftances, according to Caffini, are as foi-
Diflance from Jupiter s centre.
The firft fatellite is 5* ) The fecond 9 C Semi-diameters
The third 14 f of Jupiter.
The fourth 25t 3
Hence, as the femi diameter of Jupiter, is equal to
27 ", femi diameters of the earth, the diftance of the
firft fatellite from the centre of Jupiter is 166 lemi-
diameters of the earth ; that of the fecond 249 and a
half; that of the third, 388 j and that of the fourth,
884. All thefe moons are parallel to the plane of the
ecliptic ; and confequently they feem to move backward
and forward in a right line.
136 CONVERSATIONS on the If it was not, fald the marchlonefs, that it is
a Httle mortifying to know, that in Jupiter we are not difcovered without their beft telefcopes
;
it muft be plcafant, to fee the aftronomers of
both planets, levelUng their tubes at one another,
and mutually alking. What world is that ? What people inhabit it ? Not fo faft neither, replied I;.
for though they may from Jupiter difcover our earth, yet they may not know us ; that is, they do not in the leaft fufpefit it is inhabited ; and
fhould any one there chance to have fuch a fancy,
he might be iufficiently ridiculed, if not profe-
cuted for it ; for my part, I believe they have work enough to make dii'coveries on their own
planet, not to trouble their heads with ours. It
is fo large, that if they have any fuch thing as
navigation, their Columbus's could never want
employment j why, I warrant you, they have
not yet difcovered the hundredth part of their
planet. But, on the contrary, Mercury is fo
fmall, they are all. (as it were) near neighbours,
and it is but taking a walk to go round that pla-
net. But if we do not appear to them in Jupiter,.
they cannot certainly difcover Venus and Mercu-
ry, which are much lefs than the earth, and at
a greater diflance ; but in recompence for this
lofs, they fee Mars, their own four moons, and
Saturn with his ; this, I think, is work enough
for their aftronomers ; and nature has been fo
kind to conceal, from them the reft of the uni-
Ycrfe.
Do
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 137 Do you think it a favour then, fays fhe ? Yes
eert-ainly, replied I, for there are fixteen planets
in this great vortex : nature, to fave us the trou-
ble of liudying the motions of them all, fhews
us but feven, which, I think, is very obliging,
though we knew not how to value her kindnefs
;
for we have difcovered the other nine which were
hid from us, and fo we have rendered the fcience
of agronomy much more difficuU than nature de- figned it.
If there are fixteen planets, fays the marchio-
nefs, Saturn muft have five moons. It is very
true, replied I, and with much more juftice, as he is thirty years in going round the fun ; and
there are confequently in him fom.e countries,
where th^ir night is fifteen years long. For the
faifie feafon, that upon the earth, which revolves
round the fun in one year, there are nights fix
months long at the poles. But Saturn being
twice as far from the fun as Jupiter, and con-
fequently ten times farther than us, doth his five
moons give him fufricient light ? No, he hath be-
fides a very remarkable refource, and the only
one in all the univerfe. Nature has encompafTed
him round with a great circle or ring ; this be- ing placed beyond the reach of the fhadow,
which the body of that planet eafts, reflects the
light of the fun continually on thofe places where
they cannot fee the fun at all, and reflects it near-
er, and with more force, than all the five moons,
becaufe it is lefs elevated than the loweft of them.
I proteilj
138 CONVERSATIONS on the I protefr, fays the marchionefs, this is very i
furprifing, and yet all is contrived with fuch great '
order, thjit it is impoiribic not to think, but
nature took time to confider the neceflities of
fome animated beings, and that the diflribution
of thefe moons was not a work of chance ; for they are only divided among thofe planets which are farthed dillant from the fun, Jupiter and
Saturn ; indeed it was not worth while to give
any to Mercury or Venus, they have too much hght already ; and they efteem their nights (as
fhort as they are) a greater blelTing than their
days. But pray, why has not Mars a moon too ? It feems he has none, though he is much farther than the earth from the fun. It is very true,
fays I, no doubt but he has other helps, though
we do not know them. You have feeu phof- phorus, both liquid and dry, how it receives and imbibes the rays of the fun, and what a great
light it will caft in a dark place ; perhaps Mars
has many great high rocks which are fo many
natural phofphorufes, which, in the day-time, take
in a certain provifion of light, and return it again
at night ; what think you, madam, is it not a ve-
ry pleafant fight, when the fun is down, to lee
thofe lighted rocks, like fo many glorious illumi-
nations, made without any art, and which can do
no manner of hurt by their heat ? Befides, there
is a fpecies of birds in America, which reflect
fuch a light, that you may read by it in the dark-
eft night ; and who knows but Mars may have
great flocks of thefe fowl, that, as foon as it is
night.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 139 night, difperfe themfelves into all parts, and fpread
from their wings a new day ?
I am not at all contented, fays fhe, either with your rocks or your birds ; I confefs, it is a pretty
fancy, but it is a fign that there fliould be no
want of moons in Mars, fince nature has given
fo many to Saturn and Jupiter ; yet if all the other worlds that are diftant from the fun have
moons, why fhould Mars only be excepted ? Ah, madam, fays I, if you mix philofophy with all
your refearchcs, you will find exceptions in the
very bcfl fyilem ; there are always fome things
that agree extremely well, but then there are
others which do not match at all ; thofe you
mufl: leave as you found them, if ever you intend
to make an end ; we will do fo by Mars, if you pleafe, and fay no more of him ; (11) but to re-
turn to Saturn. We {hould be greatly aftonifh- ed
(11) But to return to Saturn.] Saturn is fituated
far theft from the earth and fun of all the planets. H^ Ihines but with a feeble light, becaufe of his great dif-
tance, on which account, though very large, he appears
the fmalleft of the planets. He revolves round the fun, according to Kepler, in 29 years, 1 74 days, 4 hours,
58 minutes, 21;; feconds, and 30 thirds ^ whence his di- urnal motion muft be*^ min. o lee. 3O thirds, though De la Hire makes his motion 2 min. 1 fecond. I'he inclination of his plane to that of the ecliptic is 3 i deg.
and upwards. His mean diilance from the fun is 326925 fenfi diameters of the earth, or 777,000,000 Englifli miles; and from the earth 21,000 of the earth's femi-
diametcrs. Accordiiie to Huygens, his fmalleft diameter is 30 feconds : the proportion ot his diameter to that of
the earth, as i to 8000, that of Saturn being 67870 miles.
140 CONVERSATIONS on the ed if we were in that planet, to fee fufpended over our heads, during the night, this great ring,
in the form of a femi-circle, that reaches from one end of the horizon to the other, which, re-
fle(£l:ing the Hght of the fun, performs the office of a continual moon. And mufl we not inhabit this ring too, fays fhe, fmiling ? I confefs, fays I,
in the humour I am in, I could almoft fend colonies every where ; and yet I cannot well plant any there, it fecms fo irregular an habita-
tion ; but for the five little moons, I cannot avoid
peopling them ; though fome think this ring is a circle of moons, which follow clofe to one ano-
ther, and have an equal motion ; and that the
five little moons have efcaped out of this circle ;
if fo, how many worlds are there in the vortex of Saturn ? But let it be how it will, the people
in
miles. Dr. Halley obferves, in his preface to the cata-
logue of the fixed ftars, that he has found Saturn to have a flower motion, than is afligned him in the tables. It is doubted, whether, like the other planets, he re-
volves on his axis ; it does not appear from any ob-
fervations ; and there is one circumflance which feems to argue the contrary, <viz. that whereas the earth, and other planets, w^hich we know do revolve on their axes, have their greater diameter at the equator, not at the
poles ; but nothing like this is obfervable in Saturn.
His ditlance from the fun being ten times greater
than that of the earth from the fame, it is found that
the apparent diameter of the fun, feen from him, will
not exceed 3 minutes, which is but little more than twice the diameter of Venus. The fun's difk, there- fore, to an inhabitant of Saturn, will appear one hun-
dred tiiues lefs than it does to us, and both its light and
heat
PLURALITY oF WORLDS. 141 in Saturn live very miferably, even with the af-
fiftance of this ring. It is true, it gives Hght to
them, but it muil be a very poor one, when the
fun feems to them but a little pale flar, whofe
light and heat cannot but be very weak at fo great a diftance, it appearing to them one hun-
dred times lefs than to us ; they fay Greenland
is a perfect bagnio, in comparifon of this planet,
and that they would expire with heat in our
coldell countries ; if they had our water, it would
not be water with them, but a polifhed ftone, or
marble ; and fpirit of wine, which here never
freezes, would there be as hard as our diamonds.
You give me, fays Ihe, fuch an idea of Sa- turn, as makes me fliivcr v/ith cold ; and that of Mercury, puts me into a fever. It cannot be otherwife, replied I ; for tl\e two v/orlds, which
are
heat be diminidied in the fame proportion. His appear- ances or phafes, are very various and extraordinary, and have long perplexed the allronomers, who could not di- vine the meaning of fuch an irregularity : thus Hevelius obferved him to coniill fometimes of one circle or fphere, fometimes of three, fometimes of a fphere with handles, fometimes of an oval with the fame, and fometimes of a circle with cufps or points. But Huygens plainly Ihewed, that all thefe appearances were owing to the hnperfedion of the glalfes which that author had ufed. Huygens, upon obferving him attentively, with much better glalfes, reduced all tliel'e phales to three principal ones, 'viz. round, handled, and armed. All thefe are owing to a piece of amazing turnlture peculiar to this planet, ^iz. a ring which furrounds his middle like an arch, or the wooden horizon of a g!oi)e, at a dillance therefrom. The diameter ther-^of more than
double
142 CONVERSATIONS on the are the extremities of this great vortex, mufl: be
oppofite in all things. They mud then, fays Ihe, be very wife in Saturn ; for you told me they were all fools in Mercury. If they are not
wife, fays I, yet they have all the appearances of
being very phlegmatic ; they are people that know-
not what it is to laugh ; they take a day's time
to anfvver the lead: queftion you can alk them;
and are fo very grave, that were Cato living
among them, they would think him a merry- andrew.
A fancy
double of the planet, which it encompaHeth, the for-
mer containing 45 diameters of the earth, the latter only 20. "When raifed enough to he out of the Ihadow of the body of Saturn, it refiefts the light of the fun
very ftrongly. The thicknefs of this ring, Keil ob- ferves, takes up one half of the fpace, between its out-
er or convex furface, and the furface of the planet.
This ring is found to be a folid, opaque, but fmootli
and even body. It was Galileo that hrft difcoveied
that the figure of Saturn was not round ; but it was
Huygens that firtt found, that it's inequality was in the form of a ring, the difcovery of which he puhlilhed In
1659, '^^ ^^^^ Syjiema Saturnianum. 1 he plane ot the ring is inclined to that of the ecliptic in an angle of 29"-'. 30 minutes. By fome fpots diibovered in this ring,
it is found to turn round Saturn. A thing that the people oi that planet mud fee ; alio its being bilghter on the infiue than on its outiide ; for we can perceive it fo at this Immenle diilaace. The inhabitants of Saturn within his polar circles CAD, E B F. Plate IV. fig. i. can never (c^ this ring. But from all other parts of his
bcdy, they ccntinualiy fee it for fourteen years and nine
months oi our tlire, being half of his year, and the
other half it is hid from their fight. Thofe that dv/ell
between the pohr circles CD, ii F, and the asquator, T V,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 143 A fancy has entered inio my head, fays flie,
that the inhabitants of Alercury are all life, and
the inhabitants of Saturn quite the contrary
;
but among us, fome are brifk, and fome are dull
;
it is, I fuppofe, becaufe our earth is placed in
the middle of the other worlds, and fo we par- ticipate of both extremes ; there is no fixed or
determinate character among us ; fome are made like the inhabitants of Mercury, others like thofe
of Saturn ; and we are a mixture of the feveral
kinds which are found in the reft of the planets.
I own,
T V, all the time the fun enlightens that part oppofite to them, have every night a fight of a piece of it N I, N K, refembling a ihining bow, rifing from the horizon, exceeding bright from eail to weft, but darkened in the
middle by Saturn's fliadow at N, which extends com- monly to its outermoft rim. After midnight this fhadow, to thofe on the north fide of the ^equator, moves flovv^Iy to the right hand, but to the left to thofe in thefouthern
hemifphere. In the morning it groups paler like the moon, leaving behind it, indeed the appearance of a bow, but at length it is loft in the furrounding atmofphere.
Under the ring between T I, and VQ^ there is always a dark Ihadow or belt which furrounds the body of Sa- turn, as the ring prevents the fun to Ihine on that part,
for a confiderable time, and hides part of the iixed ftars
from it befides. It muft bean amazing thing to lofe the fun's light in a moment, v/ichout knowing the caufe, all which diriC, their five moons are their only comtbrt. The other half of their year, the other hemifphere, un- dergoes the fame ecHpf^ alio, as the firft did. At the equinoxes, when the fun is in the fame plane with the ring, the Saturnians cannot well perceive it ; no not
even with our glaflef^, becaufe of the then darknefs of the inward edge.
Plate IV. Fig. 2. reprefents, how the ilng ap- peari
144 CONVERSATIONS on the T own, fays I, that I approve of the idea. Me- thinks, it is f>leafant to be compofed of fuch a fantaftical afiembly, that one would think we were colle6led out of different worlds ; we need not travel abroad, when we fee the other worlds in epitome at home.
I am
pears to the inhabitants of Saturn, who dwell between the arftic circles, and the equinodial of that planet j it being a projedion of Saturn upon the plane of the equinoctial, the pole being at S, and the equinodlial the outward limit of that planet.
H O, The horizon both of the ring and body of the planet.
H R, OR, The illuminated parts of the ring above the horizon of Saturn.
D D, The upper part of the ring, obfcured by the body of Saturn, as it muft appear at midnight, after v/hich this dark part moves flowly to the right hand to thofe on the north fide of the sequator, and to the left
to thofe on the oppofite fide.
T, The fun, illuminating the ring, and lower hemif- phere of Saturn, except that part diredly under the
ring V.
The inhabitants of this planet muft enjoy a very fniall portion of folar light and heat, ninety times lefs
than ours. So that our poles are actually warmer th.m
his torrid zone. Yet it is polfible it may have creatures formed accordingly, proper to bear this intenfe cold. For
we have animals here, that, in the fevereft winter, bear cold without any concern. Nay, Ibme have been put
into freezing mixtures, compoled of nitre and fnow,
which is fo very cold, that our fingers cannot bear the
touch of it ; others have been frozen up in a cylinder of
ice for the fpace of half an hour, and yet it has not
killed them. Therefore it is only a conllitution fitted
to the nature of the element, that is neceflary for the
enduiing any degree of heat or cold.
The
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 145 I am fure, fays the marchionefs, we have one
great convenience in the fituation of our world :
it is not fo hot as Mercury and Venus, nor fo
cold as Jupiter or Saturn ; and our country is fo
temperately placed, that we have no excefs either
of heat or cold. I have heard of a philofopher,
who gave thanks to nature that he was born a
man, and not a bead ; a Greek, and not a Bar-
barian ; and for my part, I render thanks that I am feated in the mildeft planet of the unviverfe,
H and
The plane of Saturn's ring is mofl of all open to the view of a fpedator on the earth, when he is in about the 20th degree of Sagittarius ; which place he pofleiTed
about the end of the year 1752 ; and then fliewed near-
ly the whole body of the planet within the ring. See Plate I. fig. 4.
As he moves on nearly at the rate of 1 2 degrees in a year, the ring keeps always parallel to itfeli, and be-
comes more and more eliptical or ihaped of a long oval, till he arrives at the nth degree of Aquarius; pro- ceeding from thence to about 10 degrees of Pifces, the
ring feems little more than as a line that lies over the planet, and at a fmall diilance at either fide, fee Plate L fig. 7. and thus it appeared in the beginning of 1799. Soon after which it intirely difappears, as in fig. 5. And in the beginning of this prefent year 1760, it arrives to
the place of the nodes of the ring, which is In about 20 degrees of Pifces. Then the plane palling through the eye of the fpeftator, prqjcds the edge or the ring
into a iV.ait line, juil over the middle of the diik of the planet ; confequently no part of the ring appears for the firft fix months of this year, but in a ftrait line; nor will it appear to be curved until he enters Aries, which will he in the year 1761, when the other, or fouthern fide of the ring, will be enlightened by the fun. Tnus every fuccellive year, the phafes of the ring vvIJr.lU'n
a<^
i;46 CONVERSATIONS on the and in one of the mofl: temperate regions of that
planet. If you will believe mc, madam, you have more reafon, fays I, to give thanks that you are young, and not old ; that you are young
and handfome, not young and homely ; that you
are young, handfome, and a French woman, and not young, handfome, and an ItaUan ; thefe are
more proper fubjefits for your thanks, than the
fituation of your vortex, or the temperature of
your country.
Pray,
again, till feven years are completed, when the ring will he again moft open to the telefcopic view of the fpetta-
tor, which will be in the latter end of the year 1767 ; and the fame variety will again appear during the re-
maining half of his orbit. All which phsenoniena are 4pioft curioufly reprefented by an Orrery. Mr. Whiilon,
In his memoirs of Dr. Clarke, fays, that the Dodlor's
father once faw a ftar through one of the opens of Sa-
turn's ring.
The fummer and winter of Saturn is more different tiian ours, as their axis declines above 31 degrees, and
ours not more than 23 and a half
Upon this account, his five moons mud decline very much from the path that the fun feems to move in, and his inhabitants can never fee any of them at full but juft
at the equinoxes, two of which fall out in thirty of
Uur years. It is this pofition too of its axis, that is the
caufe of thole moft delightful appearances, and won-
derful profpedts that it's inhabitants enjoy, occafioned by
its ring, as already mentioned.
The fatellltes always turn the fame face to Saturn, as our moon does to us, and as thofe of Jupiter do alfo to
him ; the length of day and night, in thele moons, is al-
ways equal to the time of their revolution. For exam-
ple, the fifth moves round Saturn in 74 days, and the
days and nights there are equal to I'] of ours ; both
their fummer and winter, as Saturn moves round the fun
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 147 Pray, fir, fays flie, let me give thanks for all
things, even for the very vortex in which I am planted : our proportion of happinefs is fo very
fmall, that we fhould not lofe any, but improve continually what we have, and be grateful for every thing, though ever fo common or incon- fiderable. If nothing but exquifite pleafure will
ferve us, we mull; wait a long time, and be fure to pay too dear for it at laft. You will promife me then, replied I, that, if I entertain you with thefe
lively pleafures, when you think of vortexes, yoii will not forget an humble fervant of your lady-
H a fhip's*
fun in 30 years, are i 5 years long. Therefore, it is impoinble but that their way of living mufl: be very different from ours ; having fuch tedious winters, and (uch long watching and fleeping times.
Mr. Huygens dilcovered the firft of thefe moons in 1655, with a twelve foot telefcope. Caflini found out the other four (he called them Lodovicean ftars, in ho- nour of Lewis XIV.) 'viz. the two innermoft in 1684, by the help of Campani's glaffes, of 100, and 136 feet long; the third in 1672, by another telelcope of 3^ feet ; and the fifth (that of Huygens being the fourth) in 1 67 1, by a telefcope of 17 feet. All the phsenome- na mentioned to belong to Jupiter's moons, in a fore- going note, probably belong alfo to thefe. Thus the/ are ieen larger and fmaller ; the fifth is alio fometimea found ccHpfed, &c.
The periodical times of the fatellites of Saturn, ac- cording to M. Cailini, are as follow :
Days. Hours. Min. Sec. Firft Satellite I 21 18 3' Second 2 »7 41
•J
27 Third 4 13 47 16 Fourth ^5 22 4« 6 Fifth 74 7 53
'^Their
14^ CONVERSATIONS on the fhip's. I eileem it only a pleafure, anfvvered the
lady^ v/hile it diverts me with fomething new, but no longer. I will engage for doing it to-mor-
row at leaftj replied I ; for the fixed ftars are fu-
perior to whatever you have yet feen or heard.
Their dircances from the centre of Saturn, according 2lKo to Caflini
:
. Firft Satellite 4^ Second 54/ Semi-dia- \ * ! / Diamet. Third 8 > meters of <4 4 > of Saturn's Fourth 1 8 \ Saturn, or / 4 \ ring. Fifth 54 J The great diftance betv/een the fourth and fifth fatel-
lite, gave occalion to Hu};gens to fufpedt that there
might be fome intermediate one ; or elfe that the fifth
might have fome other fatellite moving round it as its
centre.
Thefe do not, like the moons of Jupiter, always ap-
pear in a ftrait line eaft and weft to us, becaufe the edge
of the orbits of Jupiter's moons, lie right before the eye,
or are nearly in the plane of the earth's orbit. Where- as, thofe of Saturn are inclined thereto in an angle of 31
degrees ; and appear to us to move round him in a long oval or eliplis.
-*^ ^tfS -'»tog-^
PLURALITY of W O R L D S. 149
The Fifth Evening,
Shewing that the fixed Stars are fo many SunSy
every one of which gives light to a M^orld,
THE marchicnefs was very Impatient to know what would become of the fixed ftars ; are
they peopled, fays fhe, as the planets are, or are
they not inhabited at all, or, in (hort, what do
you make of them ? You may foon guefs, fays I, (i) the fixed ftars cannot be lefs didant from the
earth than 27650 times the diftance from this to
the fun ; nay, if you anger an aftronomer, he
will fet them farther. The diftance from the fun to Saturn the fartheft planet, is only 330 millions
H 3 of
( I ) The fixed Jiars cannot he lefs dijlant from the
tarth.^ Let us take one of the fixed Rars, fuppofed to be the neareft to us, as being the brightell and hrgeil, namely Syrius, or the Dog-rtar. Now this, by accu- rate obfervation (fee Mr. Huygens in his Cofmotheoreos, p. 137.) hath been found to be in appearance 27664 times lefs than the fun j and confequently he is as much farther from us than the fun, as his apparent diameter is lefs than the fun, which will amount to above two millions of millions of Engiifii miles. And if {0^ what an immenfurable fpace is the firmament ? wherein a great number of ftars, lelTer and lelTer, and confequently farther and farther off", are feen with our naked eye, and many more difcovered with glalles j and ftill mul-
titudes
1^50 CONVERSATIONS on the of leagues ; this is nothing in comparifon of the
diftance from the fun, or from the earth to the
iixed ftars, it is almofl beyond arithmetic. You fee their Hght is bright and fliining, and did they
.receive it from the fun, it muft needs be very weak,
after fo long a paflage ; then judge how much it jnufl: be again wailed by refjexion ; for if the flars
returned it back to us at fuch an immenfe dif-
tance, and if it were reflected, it is impoiTible it
jhould be fo clear and flrcng as the light of a
fixed flar is, v/hich cannot but proceed originally
from itfelf ; fo that, in a word, all the fixed flars
afe luminous bodies in thcmfelves, and fo many funs.
I perceive, fays the marchionefs, where yoU
would carry me ; you are going to tell me, that
if the fixed ftars are fo m^ny funs, and our fun
the centre of a vortex which turns round hirn,
why may not every fixed ftar be the centre of a vortex that turns round it ? Our fun enlightens
the
titudes of others with better glafles ; and, in all proba-
bility, many others that efcape the reach of our utmoft art to defcry j which may confequently be as far diftant from thofe we fee, as they are from us. Thus the fix- ed ftars, no lefs in magnitude, in all probability, than the
fun, degenerate into fo many points, yea, efcape our eye, on account of their immenfe diftance ; nay, more than
this, it caufeth even the great orbit which our earth def-
cribes about the fun, to fink almoft into a point, or, at
leafl:, into a circle of but a few feconds diameter.
When we reflect, that there are, in all probability, ftars vaftly more remote than thofe which appear to
our unaided fight , ftars whofe effulgence, though tra-
tfelling eveii fince tha cre?\tiQn, is not yet arrived, ac-
. Qord'
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 151 the planets that belong to .him ; why may not
every fixed flar alfo have planets to which they
give light ? I will not contradiQ: you, replied I ;
I fhall make no other anfwer but that of Phaedms
to Enone, * It is thou who liaft named it.'
But I fee the univerfe fo large, fays fhe, that
I know not where I am, or what will become of
me ; what, is it all to be divided into vortexes
thrown confufedly one among another ? • Is every
ftar to be the centre of a vortex, as large as ours ?
Is that vafl: fpace which comprehends our fun
and planets, but an inconfiderable part of the
univerfe ? And are there as many fuch fpaces,
as there are fixed ftars ? I proteft it is dreadful,
the idea confounds and overwhelms me. And
for my part, replied I, it gives me fiitisfa6tion j when the heavens appeared to me as a little blue
H 4 vault,
cording to the faroe Mr. Huygens, on our coafts, al-
though the motion of light is fo furprlzingly fwift, as to
pafs through ten millions of miles in a lingle minute.
How vad then ! and beyond all reckoning, and beyond all menfuration mull the fpaces of the univerfe be !
While the mind Is diftended with the grand Idea ; or, rather, while (lie is difpatching her ablell powers of
piercing judgment, and excurfive fancy, and linds them all drop fliort, all batHed by the amazing fubje£t ; per-
mit us to apply that beautiful exclamation and nobl«
remark of a favourite poet.
Say, proud arch.
Built with divine ambition ; In difdain
Of limit built ; built In the tafte of heav'n
!
Vaft concave ! ample dome ! waft thou defigned A meet apartment for the Deity ? Not fo : that thought alone thy ftate impairs ;
Thy
152 CONVERSATIONS on the vault, fluck v/ith flars, methought the univerfc
was too ftralt and clofe, I was almoft flifled for
want of air ; but now it is enlarged in heigh th and breadth, and a thoufand and a thoufand vor-
texes taken in, I begin to breathe with more freedom, and think the iiniverfe to be incom-
parably more magnificent than it was before.
Nature has fpared no co{i, even to profufenefs
;
and (2) nothing can be fo glorious, as to fee fuch
a prodigious number of vortexes, whofe feveral
centres are poiTeP/ed by a particular fun, which
caufes divers planets to turn round it. The in- habitants of a planet of one of thefe innumer-
able vortexes, behold on all fides thefe luminous
centres of the vortex, with which they are en-
compafTed
;
Thy lofty finks : and iliallows thy profound ; And ftreightens thy diffulive.
Night-Thoughts, No. IX.
Which thought is founded on thefe words of facred writ, Who is able to build Him an houfe, feeing the hewven^ and hea^ven of hea'vensy cannot contain him ?
2 Chron. ii. 6. and 1 Kings, viii. 27.
(2) Nothing can be fo glorious^ as to fee fuch a pro-
digious number of 'vortexes.] Concerning vortexes, we have faid enough already, in the foregoing notes, to fhew
their abfurdity, and the impofTiblllty of their exiftence.
But if, inftead of vortexes, we may read fvftems, that is, a number of bodies, moving round a common centre, our author's idea is indeed very noble ; that fuch a num- ber of fyftems, or M'orlds, may exift M'ithout the aid of vortexes, is certain from the Newtonian philofophy, of
which we have aheady given a fketch, p. 30, &c. This infinite number of worlds is called, to dirtinguifh it from
the reft, the neijo fyftem, which is the fame as the Coper-
nican, in regard to the fituation of the fun and the planets
revqly^
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 153 compafTed ; but they do not fee the planets, who,
receiving but a faint Hght from their refpe<Slive
funs^ cannot fend it beyond their own vortex.
You prefent me, fays llie, with a profpeCt of
fo vaft a length, that no eye can reach to the
end of it : I only faw at fiifl the inhabitants of
the earth, but you have made me difcover thofe who dwell in the moon, and in the other planets
of our vortex : thefe inhabitants^, indeed, I cap
perceive pretty plainly, though not fo clearly as
I do thofe of the earth : after thefe, we come to
the inhabitants of the planets which are in the
other vortexes, but they are placed at fo vaft, fo
infinite a diftance, that though I do all I can to
fee them, yet I muft confefs, I can hardly per-
ceive them ; by the expreiTions you were obliged
to make ufe of in mentioning them, they feem
to be almoft annihilated ; you have been obliged
to call them, the inhabitants of one of thofe pla-
H 5 nets,
revolving round him. But whereas the Copernican hy-
pothecs fuppofes the fiimament of the fixed ftars to be
the bounds of the univerfe, and to be placed at equal diilance from its centre the fun ; the new ^yfteai iup- pofeth there may be many other fyrtenis of funs and planets, befides this in which we refide ; namely, that every fixed ftar is a tun, and encompaiied with planets, both primary and fecondary, as well as ours. Thefe feveral fyllems of the fixed ftars, as they are at a great and fufficient diftance from th? fun and us ; fo they are imagined to be at as due and regular diftances from one another. By which means it is, that thefe multitudes of fixed ftars appear to us of different magnitudes ; the neareft to US large, thofe farther and farther lefs and lefs..
154 CONVERSATIONS on tlic nets, belonging to one of thofe vortexes, whofe
ioumber is infinite : we ourfi^lves, for whom the fame exprefficn may ferve, mufi: confefs, that we fcarce know v/here we are, in the midft of fo ma- ny worlds ; for my own part, I begin to fee the earth fo minutely fmall, that I believe, from henceforward, I ihall never be concerned at all
for any thing : one caufe why we fo eagerly de- ft re to make ourfelves great, why we are always defigning, abA^ays troubung and haraiTing ourfelves,
is certainly becaufe we are ignorant of thefe' vor- texes ; but nov/, I hope, my new lights will in part jufdfy my lazinefs, and when any one re- proaches me with my indolence, I v/ill anfwer, * Ah, did you but know what the fixed flars are !'
It was not fit, fays I, that Alexander fhculd know
what they were, for a certain author [Huygens]
who maintains that the moon is inhabited,, very gravely tells us, that Anllotle (from whom no truth could be- Icng concealed) muft neceflarily
have been of an opinion, backed with fo mmch
reafon ; but yet he never durft acquaint Alexan-
der with the fecret, left he fhould run mad with
defpair.
This fyftem is by far the moft magnificeRt of any^
Snd worthy of an infinite creator ; whofe power and
wifdom, as they are without bounds and meafure, fa
may, in all probability, exert themfelves In the creation of
many fyftems as well as one. And as myriads of fyf- tems are far more for the glory of the Defty, and more
d^monfirate his attributes than one j fo it is no lefs pro-
bable than poifible ; confequently there may be many
befides this which we have the privilege of living in.
See a reprefentation of the new fyltem, Plate II. fig. i.
PLU{IALITY of WORLDS. 155 defpair, when he knew there was another "world
which he could not conquer. But with much more reafon was this myftery of vortexes and
fixed ftars, kept fecret in Alexander's time ; for
if they had been known in thofe days, it had been
but an ill way of making one's court, to have
faid any thing of fo many other worlds to that ambitious prince ; for my part, I that know them, am not a little troubled to find, that I can- not draw any utility from all the knowledge I have
of them ; the moft they do, according to your
way of reafoning, is but to cure people of their ambition, and their unquiet refllefs humour, whidli
are difcafes I am not at all troubled with ; I con- fcfs, I am guilty of fo much weaknefs, as to be in love with what is beautiful ; that is my dif- temper, and I am confident that vortexes can never cure it : though the other worlds may ren- der us fhort fighted, they cannot fpoil fine eyes,
or a pretty mouth ; their value is ftill the fame, in fpite of all the worlds that can poiTibly exifl.
This love, replied the marchionefs, laughing,
ys a ftrange thing ; let the world go how it will, it is never in danger ; there is no fyftem can do
it any harm. But, tell me freely, is your fyltem true ? Pray, do not conceal any thing from me ; I will keep your fecret very faithfully ; it feenis
to have for its foundation, but a flight probabi-
lity, which is, that if a fixed ftar be in itfelf a
luminous body, like the fun, then by confequence,
it muft, as the fun is, be the centre and foul of a
world, and have its planets turning round about
it :
156 CONVERSATIOKS^on tlie it. But is there an abfolute necelllty that it muff
be fo ? Hear me, madam, fays I ; fince we are in the humour of mingling the follies of gallantry with philofophy, I mufl: tell you, that in love
and the mathematics, people reafon much alike : allow ever fo little to a lover, yet prefently af-
ter you muft grant him more ; nay, more and more ; and he will at lafi: go a great way : in like manner, grant a mathematician but one
minute principle, he immediately drav/s a con-
fequence from it, to which you mufl necefTarily
afi'ent ; and from this confequence another, till
he leads you fo far (whether you will or no) that
you have much ado to believe all he has proved, and what you have already alTented to. Thefe
two forts of people, levers and mathematicians,
will always take more than ycu give them. You grant, that when tv/o things are like one another
in ail vifible refpecls, it is poffible they may be
like one another in thole refpecls which are not
vifible, if you have not fome good renfon to be-
lieve otherwife : new this way of arguing have I
made u(e of. The moon, fays I, is inhabited,
becaufe fhe is like the earth ; and the other pla-
nets are inhabited, becaufe they are like the-
moon ; I find the fixed ftars refemble our fun
;
therefore I attribute to them what is proper to
him : you have gone too far to be able to retreat,
therefore yoii ouifl: go forward with a good grace.
But, fays the lady, if you build upon this refem-
blance, or iikenefs, which is between our fun and'
the nxed ilars, then, to the people of another
great
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 15,7 great vortex, our fun muft appear no larger than
a fmall fixed ftar, and can be feen only when it is
night with them. Without doubt, madam, fays I,
it muft be fo : our fun is much nearer to us, than
the funs of other vortexes, and therefore its Hght
makes a much greater imprelTion on our eyes than
theirs do : we fee nothing but the hght of our
own fun ; and when we fee him, it darkens and hinders us from feeing any other ; but in ano-
ther great vortex, there is another fun, which
rules and governs ; and, in his turn, extinguifhes
the light of our fun, which is never fecn there
but in the night, with the reft of the other funs,
that is, the fixed ftars j with them our fun is fuf- pcnded in the great arched roof of heaven, where it makes a part of fomc conftelktion : the pla- cets which turn round, about it, (our earth for
example) as they are not feen at fo vaft a diftance,
fo no body will fo much as dream of tlicm. All the funs that are*day-funs in their own vortexes, are but night-funs or fixed ftars in other vortexes :
in his own world or Ijhere, every fun is fingle, and there is but one to be feen ; but every where elfe they ferve only to make up a number of ftars. May not thefe worlds, replied fhe, notwithftand- ing this great refemblance between them, differ
in a thoufand other things ; for though they may be fomewhat alike in tliis one particular, they may greatly differ in others.
It is certainly true, fays I ; but tlie difHculty
is to know wherein they differ. One vortex may have many planets that turn round about its fun,
another
158 CONVERSATIONS on the another may have but a few : in one there may be inferior or lefler plaiTets, which turn about thofe that are greater ; in another, per-
haps, there may be no inferior planets ; here all the planets are got round about their fun, in
form of a little fquadron ; beyond which may be a large void fpace, which reaches even to the
neighbouring vortexes : in others, the planets may make their revolutions towards the extremity of
their vortex, and leave the middle void. I doubt
not, but that there may be vortexes alfo quite
void, without any planets at all ; others may have their fun not exactly in their centre ; and
that fun may fo move, as to carry its planets
along with it : fome m.ay have planets, which, in
regard of their fun, rife and fet aci_ording to
the change of their equilibrium, which keeps
them fufpended. In fliort, what farther variety
can you wifli for ? But, I think^I have faid enough
for a man that was never out of his own vortex.
You have not faid too much, replied the mar- chionefs, confidering what a multitude of worlds
there are ; what you have faid is fcarce fufficient
for five or fix ; and from hence I fee thoufands,
I may fay, of millions.
V/hat would you fay, madam, if I fhould tell
you, there are many more fixed ftars than thofe
you fee ? (3) And what an infinite number are
difcovered with glades, which are not perceptible
to
(3) And luhat an infinite number are difcotyered 'with glaj[es.'\ Says Mr. Derhanij in viewing the planets
with.
PLURALITY of WORLDS, i^c^ to the naked eye ; and that in one fingle conftella-
tion, where perhaps we count twelve or fifteen,
there are as many more to be found with a telef-
cope as ufually appear in the whole hemifphere.
I fubmit, fays Ihe, and beg your pardon : you
quite confound me with worlds and vortexes. O,
madam, I have a great deal more to tell you,
replied I ; (4) you fee that whitcnefs in the iTcy,
which fome call the milky-way ; can you ima-
gine what that is ? Why, it is nothing but an infinity of fmall flars, not to be feen by our eyes,
becaufe they are fo very little ; and they are fown
fo thick, one by another, that they feem to be
one continued whitenefs : I wiili you had a glafs,
to
with my longer glafles (efpecrally the planets of a weak- er light) it often mils out, that divers of the fixed ilars,
and Ibnie of them very fmall, preient themfelves at the fame tir/iC within the glafs, notwithftanding it's area is not fuificient to contain both Jupiter and his mod dif- tant fatellitcs ; by u'hich means, it is fometimes difficult
to diitingiiilh, between thofe fixed ftars and the fatellite of the planet. Thus, I have been fometimes ready to fancy, that I faw one or more fateljites near Mars, until by future obfervations, I perceived th^y were only fome cf the telefcopic fixed ftars lying in the way of Mars. So about Saturn, I have often difcovered the likenefs of many fatcllites ; but I am not fure I ever (avv^ above three. From hence it is manifeft, that there are, in all parts of the heavens, many ftars, which prefent them- felves to our eye through our long glaifes, that are otherwife invifible to us. And this has been further confirmed fmce the difcovery of making large reletting telelcopes.
(4) Tou fee that ivhitenefs in the Jhy^ nuhichfome call the milkj^-^jjay.'] Mr. Derham is of opinion, that the
whitenefs
i5o CONVERSATIONS on the to fee this ant's neft of flars, and this clufter of worlds, if I may fo call them : they in fome fort refemble the Maldivia-iilands ; which are twelve
thoufand little iflands or banks of land, feparated
only by narrow channels of the fea, which a
man may almoft leap over : the vortexes of the milky-way are fown fo thick, that I prefume,
the people in one world, may talk, and iliake hands with thofe of another ; at leaft, I believe
the birds of one world may eafily fly into the other ; and that pigeons may be trained up to carry letters, as they do here in the. Levant.
Thefe licile worlds leem to vary IVom the gcr-
neral rule, by v/hich one fun, in his own vortex,
as foon as he appears, efF:Kes the light of all o-
ther foreign funs : if you were in one of thefe little
vortexes of the miiky-way, your fun there would
not be much nearer to you, and confequently, would
whitenefs of tBe galaxy or milky-way, Is not caufed by
the great number of fixed liars in that place, as hath
commonly been thought, but partly by their light, and
partly (if not chiefly) by the refiedion of their planets j.
which fl:op and refle(!n;, intermix and blend the light of their refpectiy^ ilars or funs, and fo caufe that whitenefs
the galaxy prefents us with ; which hath rather the co-
lour of the refieftea light of our moon, than of the primary light of our fun. And that there are planets enough for this purpofe, " I fufpeft (fays he) becaufe I have fome reafon to imagine, that there are many more new fl:ars in the m>ilky-way fall which, I take to be a. kind of planetary globes) than have ever yet been ob-
ferved, and that many of thofe prodigious number of telefcopic ilars vilible there, are of the number of new ftars or planets, and not of fixed liars only. This fuf-
picion^
PLURALITY of WORLDS. i6i would not make a much more fenfible impreflion
on your eyes, than a hundred thoufand other funs
of the neighbouring Httle vortexes : you would
therefore fee your heaven fhine bright with an
infinite number of fires, clofe to one another, and
but at a Uttle diftance from you ; fo that though
you fliould lofe the fight of your own particular
fun, yet there would fiill remain vifible funs fuf-
ficient befide your own, to make your night as
light as day, at leaft the difference v/ould hardly
be perceptible ; for the truth is, you would ne-
ver have any night at all : the inhabitants of
thefe v/orlds, accuftomed to perpetual brightnefs,
would be firangely aficniflied, if they fiiould be
told that there is a miferable fort of people,
who where they live, have very dark nights,
and
picionlhave for fometime had, butefpeclally lately from
my views of the new ftar that now begins to difappear
in the fwan's neck ; which gave me occafion to nifpea
fome other parts of that conftellation, mod parts of
which are well repleniihed with a numerous tram of
fmall ftars. Amongft which, fometimes methought,
more have prefented themfelves through one and the
fame glafs, and fomefimes I have miffed fome that I
thought I faw before : and fometimes I imagined I faw
them nearer to, and fometimes farther off thofe ftars that
did conftantly prefent thenifelves/' Thefe obfervations,
the reverend author earneftly recommended to be far-
ther enquired into j and for the doing of which, he
advifes that an area of the heavens may be taken m,
containing as much as falls within the compafs of the
telefcope made ufe of, and that a map be taken of all
fuch ftars as fall within this area, which will Ihew when
^ny variations happen..
i62 CONVERSATIONS on the and when it is day with them, they never fee more than one fun ; certainly they would think nature had very little kindnefs for us, and would
tremble with horror, to think what a fad condi- iion we are in.
I do not aik you, fays the marchionefs, whe- ther in thofe worlds of the milky-way, there are
any moons j I fee they would be of no ufe to thofe principal planets which have no night, and
move in fpaces too flrait and narrow to embar- rafs themfelves with a train of fuhaltern planets :
yet pray take notice, that by your liberal mul-
tiplication of worlds, you have ftarted an ob-
jection not eafily anfwered : the vortexes whofe
funs we fee, touch the vortex in which we are ; and if it be true, that vortexes are round, how then can fo many vortexes, all touch a fingle one ? I would fain know how this may be done, but cannot reconcile it to myfelf.
Madam, fays I, you fhew a great deal of pene- tration in raifing this doubt, and likewife in not
being able to refolve it ; for in itfelf, the thing feems
extremely difficult , and, as j'Ou flate the quef-
tion, no anfwer can be given to it ; and be mufl:
be
In feme parts of the heavens we perceive a kind of white mifty fpot, which at firft glance leems a ftar ; however, we can make little of it by the naked eye
;
but with a telefcope thefe fpots appear to be a duller
of ftars filling moil of the glafs. They are called by aflronomers nebulous Jiarsy and of thefe there are about
fix or feven, to be feen in the heavens. They are pla- ced on all celellial globes, where their fituation may be regularly found at any time.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 163 be a fool who gees about to find anfv/ers to
obje6tions which are unanfvverable. It our vor-
tex had the torm of a 6yQ, it would have fix
fquares, or flat furfaces, and would be far frorh
being round ; and (5) upon every one of thefe
fquares, might be placed a vortex of the farrie
figure ; but if, inftead of thefe fix fquares, it had
twenty, fifty, or a thoufand ; then might a thou-
fand vortexes be placed upon it, one upon every
flat ; and, you may very well conceive, that the more flat faces any body has on its outfide, the nearer it approaches to a round figure, jufl as a
diamond cut on every fide into a great number
of faces ; if the faces be very many and little, it will look nearly as round as a pearl of the
fame fize : it is in this manner, that the voN texes are round ; they have an infi.nite number
of faces on their circumference or external fur"
face, and every one of them is joined to anothec
vortex J
(5) Upon cjery one of thefe fqiiares^ might he placed
a njortex.] This is an ingenious contrivance of our author, to folve the lady's difficulty, why the vortexes do not intermingle and confound each other ; but as no fuch vortexes fubfift, there is no neceliity for this fo-
lution. The fa6l is, it is Impoffible for us to determine how the fixed ftars, which are fuppofed to be funs in the centres of fo many fyltems, are (ituated in refpetl; to one another. But they appear to us, who can have no regular profpe£t of their pofitions, to be placed without
any order or regularity, like as we Ihould judge of a regular plantation in a large park at a diftance, which would alio appear to us in a confufed manner, until we came near and had a diftind: profpeft of them, which we then (hould find would all form one regular defign.
S Q
i64 CONVERSATIONS on the vortex ; thefe faces are not all equal and alike;
but here, fome are greater, and there fome lefs
:
the Icaft faces of our vortex, for example, an^
fwer to the milky-way, and are joined to all thofe
little worlds. When two vortexes which are joined to two neighbouring faces, or leave beneath
any void fpaces between them, as it muft often
happen, nature, who is an excellent manager,, and will not fuffer any thing to be ufelefs, pre-
fently fills up this void fpace with a fmall vortex
or two, perhaps with a thoufand, which never
incommode the others, and become one, two, or a thoufand worlds or more ; fo that there may be many more worlds than our vortex has flat furfaces to bear them. I will lay a wager,
that though thefe little worlds were made only
to be thrown into the corners of the univerfe,
which
So doubtlefs, if we could have fuch an advantageous proipedl of the fixed ftars, we fhould find them very commodioufiy fet in the firmament in regard to one another. And this we have great reafon to conclude from that conftant harmony and fimilitude, obfervable in all the works of the creation, which fall under our cognizance ; this is particularly evident in this region
of the univerfe to which we belong, and which we have a better profpe^l of, and can fuivey with our jnftruments, I mean the folar lyftem. In this we find every body placed in good order, and at a due diftance, according to the niceil rules of proportion. And if the great Creator hath thus wifely modelled this part of the univerfe, no doubt can be made, but that he hath
done the fame in all the other iyftems likeu^ife, and that
they are fet at due diftances from each other, and every body in each fvftem at its proper diftance alfo. from ka
fun or fixed ftar.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 165 which otherwife would have been void and ufe-
lefs ; and though they are unknown to other
v/orlds which they touch, yet they are well fa-
lisfied with being what they are : thefe are the
little worlds, whofe funs are not to be difcovered
but with a telcfcope, and u^hofe number is pro-
digious : in faft, all thefe vortexes are joined to
one another in fo admirable a manner, that every
one turns round about his own fun, without changing place ; and every one has fuch a proper
motion given to it, as is mofl eafy and agreeable
to its own lituation : they may take hold of one another, like the wheels of a watch, and mutu-
ally help each other's motion : and yet it is cer-
tain, that they alfo aci contrary to one another.
Every world, as we may fay, is like a foot-ball, which would extend itfelf, if it were not prevent-
ed. But this fwelling world being preiTed by
the next to it, returns to its firfl: figure ; then
fwells again, and is again depreifed by the neigh-
bouring worlds ; and feme philofophers affirm,
that the reafon why the fixed ftars give a twink- ling and trembling light, and (6) fometinies fcem
not to iTiine at all. Is becaufe ihcir vortexes -)er-
petually prefs our vertex, and ours again conti-
nually repulfes theirs.
I am
(6) And fomettmes fcem not io f!jine nt all ] The alterations that have happened in the fixed liafs are very confiderable ; contrary to the opinion ot the anuents,
u'ho held, that the heavens, and heavenly bodies, y/ere incapable of any change. And, in eftcdl, it \'*'as near Two hundred years after the tiaie of Ariilode, before any
aiteratjon
1 i66 CONVERSATIONS on the
I am in Icve with thefe fancies, fays the mar-^^j ckionefs, and am pleafed with the foot-balls, ^ which fwell every moment, and fink again ; and
with thefe worlds which are always combating :
butj.
alteration was obferved. The firfl was in the year 125, before the incarnation, when Hipparchus, a celebrated
,
aftrononier of Rhodes, difcovered a new flar to appear
;
on which account, he began to make a catalogue of the fixed ftars, that pofterity might perceive any future changes of the like kind.
Pliny fays, that in this " Hipparchus dared to under- " take a thing, which feemed to furpafs the power of
;
** the Gods." His catalogue contained 1022 ftars. Ptolemy, the Egyptian aftronomer, only enlarged this
catalo^gue with 4 ftars.
After hhn, Ulugh Beighi, the grandfon of Tamerlane the great, made a catalogue of i o i 7 ftars.
Next to him the noble Dane, Tycho-Brahe, already mentioned, p. 38. determined the places of 777 ftars
;
and reduced them all to catalogue.
Kepler produced the next catalogue of 1 163 ftars.
After thio, William, prince of Helfe, computed the places of 400 ftars, by the help of his mathematicians.
Sometime afterwards, the famous jefuit Ricciolus, en- larged Kepler's catalogue to the number of 1 468 ftars.
It is aifo faid, that Bayerus made a catalogue of 1725 ftars.
The late incomparable aftronomer royal, Dr. Edmond Halley, undertook a voyage to the ifland of St. Helena,
to obierve the ftars in the fouthern hemifphere ; and at
his return, pubillhed a catalogue of 373 of them.
And lailly, the moft compleat catalogue was that publifhed by the late Mr. Flamltead, in his Cele/iial Hif- loryy which contains about 30CO ftars, of which by far
the greater part, are only to be feen by the telefcope.
Thus the fiiuation, as to ladtude and longitude, of the fmalleft vifible fixed ftar, is much better known than of many cities on this globe, through which travellers daily pafs.
But
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 167 but, above all, I am pleafed to fee how this con- teft keeps up the reciprocal commerce of light,
which is certainly the only one that is between
them. No,
But, to return to new ftars. In the year i 572, Tyclio- Brahe obferved another new flar in the conftellation Calfiopeia, which was, like HIpparchus, the occafion
of his making a new cataiogue. Its nugnitude at firft exceeded that of the largeft of our ftars, Syrius and
Lyra j it even equalled that of Venus, when neareft the earth, and was f^en in fair day light. It continued
16 months; towards the latter part whereof, it began
to dwindle, and at laft totally dii'appeared, without any
change of place in all that time.
Leovicius tells us of another appearing in the lame
conftellation, about the year 905, v/hich refembled
that of 1572; and quotes another antient obfervation, whereby it appears that a new ftar was alfo feen in the fame place in 1264. Thefe Dr. Keil thinks were all the fame ftar ; and does not know but it might make it's appearance again.
Fabricius difcovered another ftar in the neck of the Whale, Vv^hich appeared and dilappeared feveral times in 1648, and 1662. It's courfe and motion are defcri-
bed by M. Bouillaud. Simon Maiius difcovered ano- ther in Andromeda's girdle, in 16:2, and i(:)»3, though
M. Bouillaud lays, it had been fcen before in the 13th century. Another was obferved by Kepler in Serpenta- rius Another of the third magnitude in the Swan, near
the bill, in i6oj ; which difappcared in 1626, and was obferved again, by Hevelius, in 1659, till 1661 j and a- gain in i6(>6 and 1671, as a ftar of the fixth magnitude.
It is certain from the old catalogues, that many of the antient ftars are now invifible. This is particularly notorious in the Pleiades, or U^vqii ftars, whereof only fix are now vifible to the eye ; a thing long ago obferv- ed by Ovid ; witnefs the verfe,
^iie fepiem did, fex tamcn e£efoUt7t.
M. Men-
16-8 CONVERSATIONS on the No, no, madam, fays I, light is not their fole
commerce ; the neighbouring worlds fometimes
pay vifits to us, and that in a very magnificent and fplendid manner : (7) comets arrive from thence, adorned with bright fhining hair, vene-
rabli^ beards, and majeftic tails ; thefe, fays the
marchlonefs^ are ambailadors, whofe vifits may be
M. Montanere, in his letter to the royal foclety, in 1 670, obferves, that there are now wanting in the hea- vens, two ftars of the fecond magnitude, in the ftern of the fhip Argo and it's yard j which had been feen in the year 1O64. When they firft difappeared is not known ; but he afTures us, there was not the lead glimpfe of
them in 1668. He adds, that he has obferved many more changes in the fixed ftars, even to the number of an hundred.
The appearance of new ftars (fays Dr. Clarke) is much better accounted for, from the theory of comets, than from their being incrufted over with an opaque
matter, which being gradually undermined and burnt
down, thefe ftars Ihine out afrelh : for though fome of
the fixed ftars may be fo very remote from us, as not to be feen by the help of our beft glaffes ; yet, as they
are fiery bodies like the fun, if any new matter or fewel be added to them, they may on a fudden blaze out, Co as to be feen by the naked eye brighter than any other
ftar ; and as this fewel is devoured, they may diminilh in their brightnefs, and, by degrees, return to their firft
invifible ftate. And that comets might probably fupply them with this fuel j fee Sir Ifaac NewtonV Principiay Book III. p. 4S1.
(7) Comets nrri've from thence. '\ The antients had very wild and confufed notions of comets ; fome imagin-
ed them to be a vaft aiiemblage of little ftars, which
met together, by reafon of the inequality of their dif-
ferent notions, and iralted together into one mafs, that
became vifible, v/hich muft again difappear as thole
ftars feparated, and each pioceeded in its courle.
This
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 169 be well fpared, fince they ferve only to fright
us. They can only fcare children, fiiys I, with
their extraordinary train ; but, indeed, the num-
ber of fuch children is now a-days very great.
Comets are nothing but planets which belong to
a neighbouring vortex, they move towards the
outfide of it ; but, perhaps, this vortex being dif-
ferently preflbd by thefe vortexes which encom-
pafs it, it is rounder above than below, and the
lowefl flat part is flill towards us. Thefe planets
which have begun to move in circles above, are I not
This opinion Arirtotle eaftly overturned j and he Tub-
ilituted another equally falfe in it's Head. Acccording
to him, comets were only a kind of tranfient fires, or meteors, confifting of exhalations, raifed to the upper region of the air ; and there fet on fire, far below the moon's courfe. But that philofopher, here confounded comets with meteors, which lall have frequently ap- peared in the upper regions of the atmolphere ; but they are, by no means, to be accounted comets, whofe dillance from the earth is fo immenfe, that they have no fenfible parallax ; and are confequently far above either the place of the moon, or fome of the fuperior planets. Hevelius gives it as his opinion, that comets were formed out of the exhalations of the fun's body ; in which he nearly agrees with Kepler, who maintains, that comets are generated in the aether, like filhes in the ocean, though they do not always become vifible, be- caufe of their fmallnefs, or becaufe they lay a long time under the horizon.
But Sir Ifaac Newton has ihewn the fallacy of this hypothefis, by proving, that the comet of 1680, in it's paflage near the fun, would have been diffipated, had it been made up of exhalations from the fun and planets
:
for on December 8th, the dillance of that comet from the fun was obferved to be, in proportion to the earth,
as
I170 CONVERSATIONS on the not aware, that below their vortex wilt fail
them, becaufe it is, as it were, broken. There-
fore, to continue their circular motion, it is ne-
ceflary that they enter into another vortex, which
we will fuppofe is ours, and that they cut through the extremities of it. They appear to us very high, and are probably much higher than Saturn
.
and, according to our fyftem, it is abfolutely ne-
ceflary tliey fhould be fo high, confidering the
prodigious diflance of the fixed ftars. From Sa- turn
IS 6 to 1000 ; confequently the fun's heat in the comet,
at that time, was to his heat with us at midfuminer, as io,GOCoo to 36, or twenty eight thoufand times greater
than with us at that time. And again, finding that boil- ing water is but little more than three times the heat of our dry earth, when expofed to the fummer's fun, and alTuming the heat of red-hot iron to be about three times
as great as boiling water, he concludes, that the body
of the comet, when neareft the fun, muft be 2000 times as hot as red-hot iron.
The fame author fays, that a globe of red-hot iron* as large as the earth, would be fcarce cool again in
50,000 years. If then the comet be fuppofed to cool
100 times as fail as red-hot iron ; yet, fmce its heat was
2000 times greater, fuppofmg it of the fize of the earth,
it would not be cool in a million of years.
Apollonius Myndius was the firft Vv^ho took comets
to be regular liars; and ventured to foretell, that one
dav the periods and laws of their motion would be dif-
covered. Allronomers however are dill divided on that
head. Newton, Flamftead, Halley, and the other Englifli
aftronomers, feem fatisfied of the returns of comets :
Caffini, and others of the Frcxich, think, it highly pro-
bable i but De la Hire and others oppofe it. Seneca fays, *' I cannot afTent to our phllofophers, nor
" think the comets are fires fuddenly kindled, which ap- " pear
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 171 turn downwards to the extremity of our vortex,
there is a large void fpace without any planets.
Our adverfaries often afk us, to Avhat parpofc this void fpace ferves ? But let them not trouble
thcmfelves any more, I have found a ufe for it.
It is the apartment of thofe ftrange planets, which
come into our world.
I underftand you, fays fhe, we do not fufFcr them to come into the heart of our vortex, to mix themfelves among our ow^n planets, but we
I 2 receive
" pear a-while, and are again extlnguiflied ; but I rec- " icon them among the eternal v/orks of nature. And " why," fays he, *' fhouid we wonder that comets (fuch " a rare fpedacle in the world) fhould not be reftrided by " certain laws ; nor have the times of their appearing or " difappearing known, as they take their courfes through ** fuch prodigious intervals of fpace. The time will " come, when a day fhall bring to light, and the diligence " of a future age difcover, thofe things which now lie " hid. The time will come, in which pofterity will " wonder, why we were ignorant of things fo very plain. " A perfon fhall one day arife, who (hall demonftrate " Into what regions the comets wander, why they move " fo feparately from the reft of the planets, and how " large, and what kind of bodies they are."
Dr. Halley, by fearching into their hlftorles, and comparing the obfervatlons made about them, has given a table of as many as he could find well enough defcribed to afford foundation for determining their orbits. This number Is 24 ; all which have appeared within thefe 4C0 years in Europe, Three had their orbits and clr- cumftances fo much alike, ^ which, as well as the ex- aQ times of their periods, Is neceffary to denominate them to be the fame,) and twice two others had their orbits and circumftances fo very much alike alfo, that Dr. Halley concluded, the former three were one and the
fanie
172 CONVERSATIONS on the receive them as the Grand Seignior does the am- bafTadors who are fent to him ; he will not fhew them fo much refpeCt: as to let them refide with- in the walls of Conftantinople, but configns them
one of the fuburbs of the city. Madam, fays I, we and the Ottomans agree likewnfe in this, that as they receive ambaffadors, but never fend
any, fo we never fend any of our planets into the
worlds that are next us.
By
fame, In all probability j and that the others, were feve-
rally alio one and the fame comet ; the lirft returning
after 75 years, the fecond after 81, and the laft after
1 29 years. Sir Ifaac Newton alfo difcovered, and. In the new edi-
tion of his Principia^ publifhed his difcovery, that the
comet of 1680 and 1681, towards the end of its appear-
ance, bent its courie fo much inward from a parabolic line, as to ihew Its real trajedory to be elliptical ; and
this in fueh proportion, that it's period in returning muft
be more than 500 years. V/hifton imagined this was the
comet that caufed the deluge -, guefled it's period to be
575 or 504 years, according asJt had made either 7 or
8 revolutions fmce that time ; and drew up tables upon
both thefe hypothefes, when the fame comet mull have appeared afterwards ; but, fays he, not having either He-
velius's or Luvienetz's hiftories of comets by me, I could
not then confirm this hypothefis further.
In a little time after. Sir Ifaac Newton and Dr. Hal-
\&y completed what he wanted, and difcovered, that
juft fuch a comet had appeared the 44th year before
the chriftian sera, the year that Julius Caefar was killed.
As alfo An. Dom. 531 or 532, and again A. D, 1 106, and laftly in 1680, i68i, and this ftill, after the fore-
mentioned Interval of about 575 years; and they ac-
cordingly did juftly conclude it to be the very fame co-
met that appeared in thofe fev«ral years: fo that, fays Whifton,
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 173 By this, fays fKe, it appears that we are very
proud ; however, I do not yet very well know
what I am to beUeve. Thefe foreign planets,,
with their tails and their beards, have a terrible
menacing countenance, it may be they are fent
to affront us ; but ours that are of another make,
if they fliould get into other worlds, are not fo
proper to make people afraid.
Neither their beards, nor tails, madam, fays I,
are real, but only mere phantoms. Thefe foreign
planets differ in nothing from ours ; but in en-
I 3 tering
Whillon, we have only the orbits of 21 comets, and the periods, at moft, of only 4 of them yet known.
The firft of thefe three, having a period of 7 9 years, appeared probably in i 304and 1456, but more certainly in
1531, 1607 and 1682, and was expected in 1758 ; and
confequently every 75 years after. In 1758, a fmall
comet was obferved, and a fecond in the beginning of
1759, owing probably to the watchfulnefs of aitronomers on this occafion : but it is not certain, whether either of thefe was the predi6ted comet, as their lizes were much fmaller ; which might be owing to the earth being in a. different part of its orbit from what it was when they appeared before, and they might be feen therefore at a greater diftance, and confequently appear fmaller.
The fecond comet, whofe period is fuppofed to be known, appeared probably In 1475, 1556, 17 18, and may not improbably be expelled in 1 799. The third appeared A. D. 1 582, and not improbably 'm
1661, and may be expeded in 1789, and 191 8; and fo every 129 years afterwards. The fourth, having lafl; appeared in 1680, 1681, and
having its period no lefs than 575 years, cannot return till A. D. 225
(J. As to the reft of the comets, as there
are no exadt hlllorles and obfervatlons relating to them, their determination muft be Icfc to the indufhy of futurq ages.
174 CONVERSATIONS on the tering into our vortex, (8) they feem to us to
have tails or beards, by a certain fort of illumi-
nation ; which their atrnofpheres receive from the fun, and which has not been yet well explained.
But it is certain, that it is but a kind of illumi-
nation; and when I fhall be better informed, I will tell you how it is done.
I fhould like, fays fhe, that our planet Saturn
would go take a tail and a beard in another vor-
tex, and fright all the inhabitants of it. Then I would have him come back again, leaving his terrible accoutrements behind him, and, taking
his
(8) They feem to us to ha^oe tails or heards^ hy a certain fort of illumination^ ivhich is not yet ivell ex-
plained?^ Sir Ifaac Newton ihews, that the atrnofpheres of comets will furnilh vapour fufficient to form their
tails : this he argues from that wonderful rarefadtion
obferved in our air, at a diftance from the earth : a
cubic inch of common air, at the diftance of half the earth's diameter, or 40CO miles, would expand itfelf fb, as to fill a fpace larger than the whole region of the
fixed ftars. Since then the air, or atmofphere of a
comet, is ten times higher than the furface of the folid
part, counting from the centre thereof j the tail afcend-
mg much higher, muft needs be immenfely rare : lb that it is no wonder the ftars ftiould be vifibie through
it. Now, the afcent of vapours into the tail of the comet, he fuppofes, is occafioned by the rarefaClion of
the matter of the atmofphere at the time the comet Is
next the fun. Smoke, it is obferved, afcends the chim-
ney by the impulfe of the air wherein it floats ; and air,
rarified by heat, afcends by the diminution of its fpe-
cific gravity, taking up the fmoke along with it : why then lliould not the tail of a comet be fuppofed to be
raifed after the fame manner by the fun ? ibr the fun
beams do not aft on the medium they pafs through, any
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 175 his ufual place amongft our other planets, fall to
his ordinary bufincfs. It is better for him, fays I,
not to go out of our vortex. I have told you
how rude and violent the fhock is, when two
vortexes juflle one another, a poor planet mud needs be terribly fhaken, and its inhabitants in
no better condition. We think ourfelves very unhappy when a comet appears ; but it is the
comet itfelf which is unfortunate. I do not be-
lieve that, fays fhe, it brings all its inhabitants
with it in very good health j there can be nothing
I 4 fo
any otherwife than by refle£lion and refra6lion. The rcfledting particles then being warmed by the adlion, will again warm the aether wherewith they are com- pounded ; and this, rarified by heat, will have it's fpe-
cific gravity, whereby it before tended to defcend, di-
minifhed by the rarefaftion j fo as to afcend and carry
along with it thole refleding particles whereof the tail
of the comet is compofed. 'I'his alfent of the vapours
will be promoted by their circular motion round the
fun ; by means whereof, they will endeavour to recede from the fun, while his atmofphere, and the other mat- ter in the celeftial fpaces, are either at reil, or nearly
fo ; as having no motion but what they receive from the fun's circumrotation. Thus are the vapours raifed into the tails of comets in the neighbourhood of the
fun, where the orbits are moft curve ; and where the comets being within the denfer atmofphere of the fun>
have their tails of the greateft length. The tails thus produced, by preferving that motion, and, at the fame time, gravitating towards the fun, will move round his body in elHpfes, in like manner as their heads j and by this means will ever accompany, and freely adhere to their head. In effect, the gravitation of the vapours
towards the fun, will no more occafion the tails of co- mets to forfake their heads, and fall down towards the
fun,
Ji6 CONVERSATIONS on the fo diverting as to change vortexes. We that ne- ver go out of our own fphere, lead but a tire- fome life
; if the inhabitants of a comet had but the wit to forefee the time when they are to come into our world, they who had already made the voyage, could tell their neighbours before-
hand v/hat they would fee, and could Inform them, that they would difcover a planet with a great ring about it, meaning our Saturn ; they would alfo fay, you fliall fee another planet which has four little ones to attend on it ; and, perhaps,
itane of them, refolving to obferve the very mo- ment
fHn, tlian the gravitation of their heads will occafion them to fall off from their tails ; but by tlrelr common gravitatioii, they will either fall down together to thq ftin, or be together fufpended or retarded. This gra- vitation, therefore, does not at all hirrdcr, but that the heads and tails of comets, may receive and retain an^r pofition towards each other, which either the above- jiientioned caufes or any other may occafion. The tails thus produced, when comets are ip. their
perihelion, that is neareft the fun, will go off with their
head into remote regions ; and, either return thence, together with the comets, after a long feries of years j or rather, be there loft, and vanifh by little and little, and the comet be left bare ; tiil, at it's return, defcend-
ing towards the fun, fome little ihort tails, be gradually
and flowly produced from the heads ; which, after-
wards, when neareft the fun, defcending down into his atmofphere, will be immenfely increafed.
The vapours, thus rarified, dilated and diffufed through- t)Ut all the celeftiai regions, Sir Ifaac obferves, may pro- bably, by degrees, by means of their own gravity, be attra(Sted down to the planets, and become intermingled with their atmofpheres. He adds, that for the con- jfefvation pf the welter, md aiQifture of the planets, co*
met*
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 177 ment of their entrance into our world, would
prefently cry xDUt, * A new fun, a new fun,' as failors ufe to cry, * Land, L:ind.'
We have no reafon then, fays I, any longer to pity the inhabitants of a comet ; yet I fuppofe
you will think their condition lamentable, who
inhabit a vortex whofe fun comes in time to be
^uite extinguifhcd, and confeqaently who live for
€ver after in eternal night. How, cried the mar-
chionefs, can funs be extinguiftied ? Yes, with-
out doubt, fays I ; for people fome thoufand yearis^
ago faw fixed flars in the fky, which are now no
more to be fccn : thefe were the funs which have
loft their light, and certainly there muft be a
ftrange defolation in their vortexes, and a general
I 5 mor^
iticts feem abfolutely necefiary, from v/hofe condenfed
vapours and exhalations, all that moifture which is fpent
in vegetations, and putrefadions, and turned into dry
earth, &c. may be fupplied and recruited ; for all vege- tables grow, and increafe wholly from fluids : and, a-
gain, their greateft part turns, by putrefaftion, into earth,
an earthy lllme being perpetually precipitated to the
bottom of putrifying liquors. Hence, he thinks, the
quantity of dry earth muft continually increafe, and-
the moifture of the globe decreafe, and, at laft, be quite
evaporated, if it have not a continual fitpply from fome
part or other of the univerfe. And, I fufpefl, adds our
great author, that the fpirit which makes the fineft,^
fubtleft, and heft part of our air, and which is abfolute-
ly requifite for the life and being of all things, comes
principally from the comets. On this principle there feems to be fome foundation for the popular opinion of
.prefages from comets, fmce the tail of a comet, thus
intermingled with our atmofphere, may produce chan- ces very fenfible in animal and vegetable bodies.
0/
175 CONVERSATION S^on the ftiortality over all the planets ; for what can peo-
ple do v/ithout a fun ? This is a difmal profpe6k,
fays the lady ; I would not, if I could help it,
let the idea of it come into my head. I will tell you, if you pleafe, replied I, what the opinion of
learned aftronomers is as to this particular : they
think that the fixed ilars which have difappeared,
are not quite extinguiihed, but that they are half
funs, that is, they have one half dark, and the
other half light, and turning round upon their
own axis or centre, they femetimes fhew us their light fide, and afterwards turning to us their dark
one, we fee them no more. According to all appearances, the fifth moc-n of Saturn is thus
made ; for during one part of its revolution, we
abfolutely lofe fight of it, and the reafon is not,
that it is then farther diftant from the earth ; on
the contrary, it is at fome of thefe times nearer
than
Of all the comets, none came fo ne?j the earth as that of i 680 ', for, by calculation, Dr. Halley found that
November 1 ith. about 6 minutes pad one of the clock in the afternoon, that comet was not above one femi-
diameter of the earth, to the northv/ards of the v/ay of
the earth j at which time, had the earth been in that
part of its orbit, the comet would have had a parallax
equal to that of the moon : what might have been the confequence of fo near an approach, no body knows
;
fome think a ihock or ccntad, Mr. Whifton fays a de-
luge.
Plate IV. fig. 6. is the reprefentation of the lowed:
part of the tail of a comet, near its perihelion, or ap-
proach to the fun, with the purer part of its atmofphere,
winding itfelf into the tail, and the cloudy part of the
fame placed round about the central folid, as it appear-
ed to Dr. Hook through a telefcope.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 179 than it is at others when we fee it. And though
this moon is not a planet, from which any con-
fequence relative to a fun can be drawn, we may^ very well imagine a fun, which may, in part, be,
covered with fixed fpots ; when, on the contrary,,
ours hath only moveable temporary ones. To oblige you, madam, I will be of this opinion,
becaufe it is not fo harfli as the other, though I
cannot make it good but in relation to fome cer-
tain ftars, becaufe, as Huygens has lately obfcrved,
(9) thofe liars liave their regulated times of ap-
pearing, and dilapjiearing, otherwife there could,
be no fuch thing as half-funs. But what Ihall,
we fay of ftars, which totally diiappear, and ne- ver (hew themfelves again, after they have taken
a fufficient time for their courfe of turning round
upon their ov/n axis ? You are too juft, madam, to oblige me to believe that thefe flars are half funs. However, I v/ill try once more what I
can do in your favour : thefe funs are not extin-
guifhed,
(9) Thofe Jtnrs hanje their regulated times of appear- ing and difappeariug.'] The liars which appear and , difappear by turns, being always found to increafe in magnitude at their firft appearance, and to decreafe as they begin to difappear ; and being jikewife ilill vifible through telefcopes, for fome time after they are loft to the naked eye, (of which we have various inftances in the phiiofophical tranfaflion-: ) feem to be no more than planets performing their periods about the fixed ftara, as their refpedive funs, which periods are very long, even of more duration than that of Saturn, though per- haps we are not always properly fituated to obferve their returns.
Kepler>
iSo CONVEkSAT'IOKS on th« grilled ; they are only funk fo low into the irti-
menfe depth of heaven, that we cannot pofTibly fee them ; rn this cafe, the vortex follows its fiin, and all is well again. It rs true, that the
greateft part of the fixed ftars have not this
motion, by which they remove themfelves fo far
from us, becaufe at other times they might re-
turn again nearer us, and we fhould fee them fometimes larger, atid fometimes fmaller, which
never happens. Biit we will fiippofe that none bu^t the little, light, and moft a6live vortexes,
which flip between rhc others, make certain voy-^
a[ges, after which they return agaiii^ while the
main body of vortexes remains unmoved. It is
likewife very flrange, that fome fixed ftars fhew
themfelves to us, and take up a great deal of
time in appearing and difappearing, and, at laH:,^
totally and entirely difappear. Half-funs would
appear
-Kepler, it is true, denies that each ftar can have it's
fyfteni of planets as our fun has ; and takes tliem all to>
be fixed in the fame fwfface or fphere ; urging, that were
one twice or thrice as remote as another, it would ap-
pear twice or thrice as fir.all, fiippofing thjeir real mag-
nitudes equal ; vvhereas there is no diirerence in their
apparent magnitudes, juiily obferved, at all. But to
this may be anfwered, that Huygens has not only fhewn,
that fires and flames are vifible at dlftances, where other
bodies comprehended under equal angles difappear ; but
it fhould likewife feem, that the optic theorem about the
apparent diameters of objects being reciprocally propor-
tionable to their diftances from the eye, does only hold
w'hile the diameter of the obje<5t, has fome-fenfible pro-
portion to the diftance..
Thofe
PLURALITY of WORLDS. i§r appear again at their fixed and regulated time.
But funs, which fhould be funk low into the-
depths of heaven, would difappear but once, and
not appear again for a vaft fpace of time.
Now, madam, declare your opinion boldly :
muft not thefe ftars, of neceiTity be funs, which
are fo much darkened as not to be vifible to U5 ; yet afterwards re-kindle again, and, at lalT, be-
come wholly extin 61 ? How can a fun, fays the marchiohefs, be dark-
ned and quite extinguiilied, when it is in its own nature a fountain of light ? It may be done, ma- dam, fays I, with all the eafe in the world, if
Defcartes's opinion be true, thai our fun has
fpots ; now, whether thcfc fpots be fciim, or
thick mifts, or what you pleafe, they may thick- en and unite, till, at lall, they cover the fun with
a crufl which daily grows thicker, and then fare-
wel fun. If the fun is a. hre attached to a folid
matter, whicli nourifner. it, we are not better off; folid matter will in time be confimicd : it is
faid, we have already had a fine efcape ; (lo) it
is reported, that the fun for fome whole vears
together has looked very pale ; for example, the
year
Thofe temporary ilars, which, upon difappearing, were never found to return again, are probably conjedured to be in the number of the comets, which make long ex- Gurfions from their funs, or the centres of the upper planetary fyftems ; i. e. from the fixed flars, returning too ieldom to have their returns perceived.
(lo) // is reportedy that thefun forfome ^vcholejears together has looked very pale7\ See a foregoing note,
p. 112.
i82 CONVERSATIONS on the year after Caefar's death ; it was this cruft that
then began to grow, but the force of the fun
broke through, and it was dilTipated ; had it con-
tinued, we had been all a loft people.
You make me tremble, replied the lady ; and now I know the fatal confequences of the fun's
palenefs, I believe, inftead of going every morn-
ing to the glafs, to fee how I look myfclf, I fhall
caft my eyes up to heaven, to fee whether or no the fun looks pale. O ! lady, fays I, there is a great deal of time required to ruin a world.
I grant it, fays fhe ; yet, it may be done at laft,
nothing but time that is required. I confefs it,,
madam ; all this immenfe mafs of matter, which compofes the univerfe, is in perpetual motion,
no part of it is excepted ; and fmce every part is
moved, you may be fure that changes muft hap-
pen fooner or later ; but ftill in times proportion-
ed to the effecSb.
(ii) The ancients were pleafed to imagine, that
the celeftial bodies m ere, in their own nature, un-
changeable, becaufe they obferved no alteration
in them ; but they did not live long enough to
confirm their opinion by their own experience ; they were young philofophers in comparifon of
us. Give me leave, madam, to explain mvfelf by an allegory : if rofes, v/hich laft but a day,
could write hiftories, and leave memoirs one to
another ; and if the firft rofe fhould draw an ex-
ad
(ll) The antients ivere pleafed to imagine^ i^c-l The reader is referred to the tbregoing notes on. this head, particularly p. 165, & feq.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 183 a6t pi6\ure of his gardener, and, after fifteen thou-r
fand rofe-ages, it fhould be left to other rofes,
and fo on ftill to thofe that fhould fucceed, with-
out any change in it ; fhould the rofes hereupon
fay, ' We have feen every day the fame garden- < er, and in the memory of rofes, none ever faw * any gardener but this ; he is ftill the fame he
* Was, and therefore certainly he will not die as
* we do ; for there is no change at all in him.'
Would not thefe rofes, madam, talk very fool-
ifhly ? And yet there would be more reafon in
their difccurfe, than there was in what the ancients
faid concerning the celeftial bodies ; and though
even to this very day there fhould appear no vi-
fible change in the heavens, and the matter of
which they are made, fliould have all the figns
of an eternal duration, without any change ; yet
I would not believe them unchangeable, till I had
the experience of many more ages. Ought we,
whofe lives are but a fpan long, to make our
ccntinuancc the mcnfurate duration of any other
being ? Shall it be faid, that that which hath ex-
ifted an hundred tJioulUnd times longer than we,
is to endure for ever ? It is not fo eafy a matter
to be eternal : a thing mufl; have lafted many ages
of men, one after another, for beginning to give
a fign of immortahty. Truly, fays the marchio-
nefs, I find thefe v/orlds are far from being able
to pretend to it ; I will not do them fo much
honour, as to compare them to the gardener, who
lived fo much longer than the rofes : I begin to
think them like the rofes themfelves, which blow
one
i84 CONVERSATIONS on tRe one day in a garden, and ^ie the next : for I un-
derflood, that if old ftars difappear, new ones come in their room, beoiufe every fpeeies muft
preferve itfelf.
No fpeeies, madam, fays I, can totally perifh y fome, perhaps, will tell you, that fuch new ftars are funs, which return to our fight again, after
they have been a long time hid from us, in the
profundity of heaven : others may tell you, they are funs, cleared from that thick cruft wbicli
once covered them : this is poffible, yet I like-
wife believe, that the iiniverfe may be framed in
fuch a manner, that, from time to time, it may
produce new funs ; why may not that matter which is proper to make a fun, be difperfed here
and there, and gather itielf again at laft into one
certain place, and lay the foundation of a new
world ? I am very much inclined to believe fuch new productions, becaufe they fuit with that glo-
rious and admirable idea which I have of the
^orks of nature. Can we think, that all-wife
nature knows no more, than the fecret of making
herbs and plants live and die by a continual re-
solution ?
I am verily perfuaded, and are not you fo too,
madam, that nature, without much coft or pains,,
can put the fame fecret in praftice upon the
worlds ? But we have on this fubject more than
fimple conjedures. The faft is, that after the
expiration of near an hundred years, we have feen,.
with our telefcopes, an heaven entirely new, and
unknown to the zmcients y there are not many
conflel--
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 185 conftellations in which fome fenfible diange has
not happened ; and it is in the milky-way that
we have remarked the moft ; as if in this Ant's neft of worlds, there reigned more motion and relllefsnefs than elfewliere. I now find, fays fhe, the worlds, the heavens and celeflial bodies, fo
fubjeiSl to change, that I am come to myfelf a- gain. To recover yourfelf the better, repHed I, let us fay no more of thcfe matters. V/e are arrived at tjie very upper regions of all the hea- vens ; and to tell you whether there be any flars beyond it, you mufl have a more able aflronomer than I am ; you may place worlds there, or not, as you pleafe : it is the philofopher's empire to defcribe thofe vaft and invifible countries, which are, and are not, or are fqch as he pleafes to make them : it is enough for me to have carried your mind, as far as you can fee with your eyes.
Well now, fays the marchionefs, I have the whole fyftem of the univerfe in my head ; how learned am I become ? Indeed, madam, fays I, you have had reafoning enough, and with this advantage, either of believing, or difbelieving any thing I have faid, but what you may think pro- per ; all the recompence I defire for the pains I have taken, is, * that you would never look upon < the fun, the heavens^ or the ftars, withoyt tbinkr^ < ing of m^,'
i86 CONVERSATIONS on the
Jifter I had given thefe converfations to the pub-
lic^ I thought I ought not to conceal any thing
from them on thisfuhjt^^. J have publij}jed a new
converfation, which happened a long time after
the others ^ but which is exaSily of thefame kind :
it bears the name of an Evening one, becaufe th^
others arefo called, and that it feemed much bet-
ter to give them all the fame title,
" " '
' " -'
The Sixth Evening.
l^ew obfervaiions confirming the preceding met.
Andfomefarther difovcries made in the heavens.
IT is fo long fince the marchionefs of G**** and I, had any dircourfe concerning the pla-
netary worlds, that we began even to forget whe-
ther we had ever any on that fubje6t. When I went one day to vifit her, I came in jiift as tv/o
very polite gentlemen had taken their leaves of
her. Well ! fays llie, the very moment flie
perceived me, you fee who have honoured me
with a vifit ; and, I protefl:, it has given me fome
room to fiifpe^t, that you have impofed upon my judgment. I fliould be very proud, replied I, if I
could flatter myfelf v, ith fuch a power over you,
becaufe
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 187 becaufe I look upon it to be the hardeft ic.ik any-
one could attempt. As hard as it is, fays fiie, I
am afraid you have done it. I do not know how- it came about, but our converfation turned upon
the plurality of worlds with my tv^o friends v. ho are jufl gone : I am not certain, but tliey might havc
introduced the difcourfe witli a malicious defign.
I made no fcruple to tell them directly, that all
the planets were inhabited ; one of them replied,
he was very well fatisfied I did not believe a word
of it ; and I, with all the fimplicity imaginable,
maintained, that it was my real opinion ; he faid, that he ftill looked upcn it as a piece of diffimu-
lation, defigned to divert the company : and I have
fmce thought, what made him fo pcfitive that
I did not believe my own fentiments, was, that he had too high an opinion of me, to conceive
that I could entertain fo extravagant a notion.
As for the other gentleman, who had not altoge-
ther that efteem for me, he took me at my word. For God's fake, why did you put a thing in my head, which people that value me cannot think I maintain ferioufly ? Nay, madam, fays I, but
why would you attempt to maintain any ferious pofition among a fet of people, who, I am fare, never entered into a way of reafoning which
had the leafl: caft of ferioufnefs ? v/e fliould not
affront the inhabitants of the planets fo highly
by expofing them to fuch perfons ; but content
ourfelves with being of a little (eleti number of advocates for them, and not communicate our
myfleries to the vulgar, llvw, fays the march!-
oncfs.
i88 CONVERSATIONS on the onefs, do you call my two iaft vifitants the vul- gar ? They may have wit enough, fays I, but they never reafon at all. And your reafoners, who are a fevere fet of people, will not make any difficulty of forting them with the vulgar. On the other fide, thefe men of fire revenge themfelves by ridiculing the reafoners ; and think it is a very juft principle
in nature, that every fpecies defpifes what it wants.
It were right, if it was poflible, to conform our^
felves to every fpecies ; and it had been much better for you, to have railed on the inhabitants
of the planets, with your two friends, becaufe
they are better at raillery than reafoning, which
they never make ufe of : you had then come off
with their joint efleem ; and the planets would
not have loft a fingle inhabitant by it. Would you have had me facrifice the truth to a jeft } fays fhe. And is that all the confcience you have ? I own, anfwered I, that I have no great zeal
for thefe kinds of truths, and I will facrifice them
with all my foul to the leafl conveniencies of fociety.
For inftance, I fee what is, and always will be^
the reafon, why the opinion of the planets being
inhabited, is not thought fo probable as it really
is : the planets always prefent themfelves to our
view as bodies which emit light ; and not at all
like great countries, and large meadows. We fhould readily agree, that plains and meadows
were inhabited ; but for luminous bodies to
be fo too, there is no fufficient ground to believe
it, Reafon may come and tell us, over and over,
that
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 189 that there are plains and meadows in thefe planets
;
but realbn comes a day too late ; the firft glance of our eyes has had its effc6l upon us before her, we will not hear a word fhe fays, the planets muft be only luminous bodies, and what fort of inhabi- tants fhould they have, our imagination of courfe would prefcntly reprefent their figures to us ? It is what file cannot do, and the (horteft way is to believe there are no fuch beings.
Would you have me, for the eftablifhment of thefe planetary people, whofe intereds are far from affeding me, go to attack thofe formidable powers, called fenfe and imagination ? it is an enterprise would require a good flock of courage to undertake it, and we cannot eafily prevail on men, to fubftitute their reafon in the place of their eyes. I fomctimes meet with reafonablc people enough, who are willing, after a thoufand demon- flrations, to believe that the planets are fo many earths
: but their belief is not fuch as it would
be, if they had not feen them under a different appearance
; they flill remembered the firfl idea they entertained, and they cannot weU recover themfelvcs from it. It is this kind of people, who, in believing our opinion, think they do us a courtefy, and only favour it for the fake of a certain pleafure which its fingularity gives them.
Well, fays the marchionefs. Interrupting me, and is not this J'ufHcient for an opinion, which is but barely probable ? You would be very much furprized, fays I, if I fhould tell you, probability
is
190 CONVERSATIONS on the is a very mcdeft term. Is It fimply probable
that there ever was fuch a man as Alexander the Great ? yen hold it very certain that there was,
and upon what is this certainty founded ? becaufe
you have all the proofs which you could defire in
a like matter ? and there does not the leaft fubje6t
for doubt prefent itfelf, to fufpend or alter your
determination ; for you never faw this Alex-
ander, and you have not one mathematical de-
monftration that there ever was fuch a man.
Now, what would you fay if the inhabitants of
the planets were almoft in the very fame cafe •
we cannot pretend to make you fee them, and
you cannot infill upon the demonftration here, as
you would in a mathematical queftion ; but you
have all the proofs you could defire in fuch a cafe.
The entire refemblance of the planets with the
earth, which is inhabited ; the impoffibility of con-
ceiving any other ufe for which they were created ; the fecundity, and magnificence of nature ; the
certain regards fhe feems to have had to the ne-
cclTities of their Inhabitants, as in giving feveral
moons to thofe planets remote from the fun, and
more moons flill to thofe yet more remote ; and,
what is ftill very material, there are many things
to be faid in favour of one fide, and nothing on
the other ; and you cannot comprehend the leaf!
fubjecl for a doubt, unlefs you will take the eyes
and underftanding of the vulgar. In fhort,
fuppofing that thefe Inhabitants of the planets
were certainly known to us, they could not de-
clare themfelves by more fenfible marks ; and,
after
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 191 after this, you are to confider whether you arc
willing not to take their cafe to he more than
purely probable. But you would not have me,
fays fhe, look upon this to be as certain as that
there was fuch a man as Alexander ? Not altoge- ther, madam, faj's I ; for though we have as many proofs touching the inhabitants of the pla- nets, as we can have in the fituation we are, yet the number of thefe proofs is not very great.
I am going to renounce thefe planetary inha- bitants, fays her ladyfhip, interrupting me ; for I cannot conceive how to rank them in my ima- gination ; there is no abfohite certainty of them and yet there is more than a probability ; fo that I am confounded in my notions. Ah, madam, fays I, never put youricif out of conceit with them for that ; the moil common and ordinary- clocks rtiew the hours ; but it is thofe that are
wrought with more art and nicety which fhew the minutes. Jurt fo your ordinary capacities are fenfiblc of the difierence betwixt a fimple pro-
bability, and an evident certainty ; but it is only
your people of fupcrior underllanding that can difcern the exad proportions of certainty or pro- bability, and can mark. If I may ufe the phrafc, the minutes in their fentirnents. Now place the inhabitants of the planets a little below Alexan- der, yet above many other hlftorical fads which are not fo clearly proved ; I believe this fituation
will do.
I love order, fays fhe, and you oblige me In thus ranging my ideas for me : but pray, why
did
192 CONVERSATIONS on the did not you take this care before ? Becaufe, fays I,
fhould you credit the inhabitants of the planets
either a little more or lefs than they deferve,
there will be no great damage in it. I am fure that you do not believe the motion of the earth
fo fully as it ought to be believed ; and have you
much reafon to complain on that fcore ?
O ! for that matter, replied flue, I have dif- chargcd myfelf very well, you have nothing to
reproach me with on that account, for I firmly believe that the earth turns. And yet, fays I,
madam, I have not given you the ftrongefl rea-
fons in proving it. Ah ! traitor, Ihe cried, this is deceiving me, to make me believe things up-
on feeble proofs : then you did not think me wor-
thy of believing upon fubflantial reafons ? I only
proved things, fays I, upon little plaufible reafons,
and fuch as were adapted to your peculiar ufe :
fhould I have conjured up as ilrong and folid
arguments, as if I had been to attack a do<Stor in
the fcience ? Yes, fays fhe ; pray take me for a do6tor fpom this moment, and let me have your full demonftrations of the earth's motion.
With all my heart, fays I, madam, and I own the proof pleafes me greatly, perhaps, becaufe I think it was my own difcovery ; yet it is fo jufl and natural, that I muil: not prcfume pofitively to
have been the inventor of it : it is moH: certain,
that if a learned man was defired to make repli- cations to it, he would be obliged to declaim at
large, which is the only metliod in the world to
confound
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 193 confound a learned man. (i) We mnil grant, that either all the celeftial bodies, in twenty-four
hours, turn round the earth, or that the earth,
turning on itfeif, makes us attribute its motion
to all the celeftial bodies. But that thcv really
have this revolution in twenty-four hours round
the earth, is a matter which has not the leaft
probability in the world, though the abfurdity
does not prefcntly appear to our view. All the
planets certainly make their great revolution
about the fun ; but thefe revolutions of theirs
are unequal, according to the diftanccs of the re-
fpe6live planets from the fun ; for the moft re-
mote ones make their courfe in a longer time, which is moft agreeable to nature : the fame or-
der is obferved among the little fecondary planets in turning about a great one. The four moons
K of
( I ) JVe muft grants that either all the celejiial bodies^
in t'wenty-fQur hours^ turn round the earth.] We have, in the courfe of the foregoing notes, ihewn many rea- fons why the Ptolemaic fyilem is incompatible with the appearances of the heavenly bodies. For the fake of fuch of our readers as may be unacquainted with it» we will inform them, that, by this fydem, the earth and waters are fuppofed to be in the centre of the univerfe
;
next to them, is the element of air, and next above that is the element of fire ; next that the orb of Mer- cury, then that of Venus, next that of the fun ; and above the fun's orb, thofe of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
;
and above them all, the firmament or orb of the fixed ftars ; then the chryitalline orbs, and, ialljy, the Coeluin Empyreuniy or Hea^ven of Heavens. All thofe maHy orbs, and vafl: bodies born by them, are, in this fyllen), fuppofed to move round the earth once in twenty-four
hours i
194 CONVERSATIONS on the of Jupiter, and the five of Saturn, make their circles in more or lefs time round their refpe6i:ive primary planets, according as they are more or lefs remote. Befides, it is certain, that the pla-
nets have motions upon their own centres, and thefe motions likewife are unequal ; we cannot well tell how to account for this inequality, whe- ther it proceeds from the different magnitudes of
the planets, or to their different folidities, or to
the different fwiftnefs of the particular vortexes
which inclofe them, and the liquid matter in
which they are fuflained ; but, in fnort, the in-
equality is mod undoubted ; and fuch is the or- der of nature in general, that whatever is com-
mon to many things, is found, at the fame time, to vary in fome ditferent particulars.
I under-
hours ; and befides that, in fome other certain periodical
times. For the effecting ofwhich motions, the antients v/ere
forced to contrive fuch circles as they called excentrics
and epicycles, crolfmg one another with great perplexity
and confufion. And this fyftem is univerfally maintain- ed by the peripatetick philofophers, who have ftlll many followers in Spain, Italy, and other countries, where ig-
norance in more material matters alfo prevails. ^ The ce- lebrated Galileo, for not giving abfolute credit to this
liypothefis, and for embracing the Copernican fyftem,
was (by theiil-wiii and inftigction of Pope Urban VIII, as it is fuppofed) fent to the prilbn of the Inquifition,
fell under the cenfure of that tribunal, had his Coperni-
can I'enets condemned by them, and was forced to ab-
jure them. The particulars of which, if the reader has a mind to fee, he may Hnd in Ricciolfs Almagefly
lib. 9. fed. 4. cap. 40. We have given a reprefentati- on of the Ptolemaic fyilem, Plate II. fig. 2.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 195 I underftand you, fays the marchioners, inter-
rupting me, and I think, there is a great d^al or
reafon in what you fay ; I am entirely of your mind ; if the planets turned about the earth, they
would do it in unequal fpaces cf time, accord-
ing to their diftances, as they do about the fun ;
is not that the meaning of what you were fay-
ing ? Exa6tly, madam, fays I, their unequal dif- tances, with refpect to the earth, their different
folidities, and the different rapidity of the par-
ticular vortexes inclofmg them, fliould confe-
quently produce differences in their pretended mo-
tion round the earth, as well as in all their other
motions. And as to the fixed flars, which arc
at fuch a prodigious dillance from us, and fo
much elevated above every thing that can take a general motion round us, at leafl they are fitu-
ated in a place where this motion mufl be very
weak ; is there not a very great probability, that
they do not turn at all about us in twenty-four
hours, as the moon feems to do, which is fo near us ? And fhould not comets, which are ilrangers
in our vortex, and which run courfes fo different
one from the other, and with fuch unequal rapi-
dity, be excufed from turning round us in the
fame fpace of twenty-four hours ? But no mat-
ter, planets, fixed, ifars, and comets, all are made to turn round the earth in twenty-four hours ;
yet, if there \\ere fome minutes difference in
thefc motions, we might be cojitented ; and yet they all mull make them with the moft exa6t
equality, or rather the only exad equality which
K 2 is
196 CONVERSATIONS on the is in the world, and not one minute more or lefs
mud be allowed. In reality, this matter is flrange- iy to be furpe6ted.
O, fays the lady, it is poiTible that this grand
equality only exiils in our imagination, I am en- tirely convinced it is derived only from thence.
I am very well pleafed, that any pofition, which is aeainft the genius of nature, fliould fall entire-
ly upon ourfelves, and that flie fhould fland dif-
charged, though at our expence. For my part, fays I, I am fuch a foe to a perfefit equality, that I cannot even allow all the turns, which
the earth every day makes on herfelf, fliould be
precifely in twenty-four hours, and always equal
one to another ; I fliould be very much inclined
to think that there are variations. Variations !
cried the lady, why (2) do not our pendulums
mark an entire equality ? O, fays I, to your pen-
dulums
^2) Do not our pendulums mark an entire equality. ^^
The inequality of time is thus accounted for : the natu- ral or folar day is meafured, not properly by one intire
revolution of the earth in twe.nty-four hours ; but -by
the time which palles while the plane of our meridian,
palling through the centre of the fun, does, by the earth's
rotation round its axis, return again to the fun's centre ;
which is the time between our mid-day and the next.
Now, had the earth no other motion but that round its axis, all the days would be precifely equal to each other,
and to the time of the earth's revolution. [Note, both
dav and night are here undertlood, or twenty-four hours
to be comprehended in a day.] But the cafe is other-
wife ; for\vhi!e the earth is turning round it's axis, it is
likewife proceeding lorward in its orbit ; fo that when a
nieiidian is compkating a whole revolution from the
fun's
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 197 dulums I muft objea, for they cannot be alto-
gether jull: ; and fometimes when they lliew us
that one circuit of twenty-four hours, is longer
or lliorter than another, we (hould rather be in-
clined to believe them irregular, than to fufpeQ:
the earth of any irregularity in her revolutions.
V/hat a ccmplaifant refpca is this we have for
her ! I would no more depend on the earth, than
on a pendulum ; and the very fame cafualties aU
moil, which will diforder the one, v/ill make the
other irregular ; only, I believe, there mud be more time allowed for the earth, than a pen-
dulum, to be vifibly put out of order ; and that
is all the advantage we can give on her fide. But
might flie not, by degrees, draw nearer to the fun ?
And there finding lierfelf in a fituaticn, where
the matter is more agitated, and the motion more.
rapid, fhe would, in lefs time, make a double re-
K 3 volution
fun's centre, its plane Is not yet arrived at the fun's cen-
tre again. Hence it appears, that the folar days are all longer than the time of one revolution of the earth
round it's axis. However, if the earth proceeded in its orbit with an equable motion, all the folar days would equal each other, and the real and apparent time would agree, but this is not the cafe ; for the earth does not
proceed in it's orbit with an equable motion, but at its
greatelT: diftance from the fun defcribes a lefs arch, and at its neareft diftance a greater one : (for its orbit is not a circle but an ellipfis) beiide, the planes of the meridians are not perpendicular to the ecliptic, but to the a^qua- tor J confequently, the time of the diurnal revolution, or from one meridian's oppofition to the fun until it ar- rives to it again, is not ahvay's of the fame quantity. The fauie thing will hold true, if, inftead of the earth's
motion,
i98 CONVERSATIONS on the volution both about the fun and herfelf ; con- fequently her years and days will be fhortned,
but net to be perceived, becaufe we mufl ftill go on to divide the year into three hundred and
iixty-five days, and the days into twenty-four
hours : fo that, v/ithout living longer than we now do, v/e fhall live more years ; and, on the other hand, if the earth withdraws from the fun, men may live fewer years than we do now, and yet have lives of the fame extent as ours. There is a great deal of probabiliiy, fays fhe, that when-
ever it falls cut thus, long fucceihons of ages will
iiiake but a very little variation. I agree with you,
madam, replied I, the conduct of nature is very nice, and ilie has a method of bringing about all
things by degrees, which are not fenfible, but in
very ob\ ions and eafy changes ; v/e are fcarce
able to perceive the chanjje of the feafons ; and
tor fomc others that are made remarkably flow,
they
motion, we cunfider the apparent one of the fun in lieu thereof, as being what we nito.fure lime by. On this principle we obferve, that the day not only includes the lime of one turn of the globe on Its axis, but is increafed
by fo much as anfwers to that part of the fun's motion performed in that dme : for v/hen that part of the equi- noctial, v/hlch, with the fun, was at the meridian yef-
terday at noon, is come thither again to day, It Is not yet noon ; the fun not being now at the place that he yefterday was, but gone forward, near a degree more
or lefs. And this addition above the twenty-four equi- no6lial hours Is upon a double account unequal, Firft,
becaufe the fun being nearer to, or farther from, the earth
at different times of the year, does not go through an
equal part of the ecliptic in one day, but more in De- cember
P L U R A L I T Y of W O R L D S. 199 they do not fail to efcape our obfervance. How-
ever, all is in a perpetual rotation, and confe-
quently the whole undergoes fome change ; and
(3) the lady's face in the moon, which was dif-
covered with telefcopes, v.iuhin thefe forty years,
is grown conriderably old. She had a good toler-
able countenance ; but now her checks are funk,
her nofe is grown long^ and her chin avid forehead
meet ; fo that all her graces are vaniftied^ and age
has r.iiide her a terrible fpectacle.
What a f^ory do you tell, fays the lady, inter- rupting me 1 It is only a piece of drollery, ma- dam, replied I ; they have perceived in the moon
a particular figure, v/hich had the air of a wo-
man's head jutting out of rocks, and it is owing
to fortie changes that have happened there. Some
pieces of mountains have mouldered away, and
left us to difcover three points, which can only
ferve to make up the forehead, nofe and chin, of K 4 an
cenii>er than in June. Secondly, though he even fliould
do fo, yet equal parts of the ecliptic do not in all parts of the circle anfwer to equal parts of the equator, be-
caufe fome parts thereof, near the fu miner and winter folllices, lie nearly more parallel to the equinodial than others, as may be feen in a common map of the earth. The apparent motion of the fun to the ealf then being unequal, the natural and apparent days are no ways pro- per to be applied to meafure the celelli'l motions, which have no dependance on the fun. Hence altronomers have invented others for the ufe of their calculations
;
and on this account tables of equation have been form- ed.
(3) The laciysfac-e in the moon is gronvn conftderahly old.] What our author has aflirmed, concerning thofe
char-ges
200 CONVERSATIONS on the an old woman. Well, fays fhe, but do not you think fome malicious deiliny had a particu- lar fpite to beauty, to make choice of this fe- male-head, to attack above all the reft of the
mCqn ? Perhaps, in recompence, replied I, the changes wliich happen upon our earth, drefs out
fome face, which the people in the moon fee ; I mean fomething like what we conceive to be a face in the moon ; for every one beflows on obje6ts thofe ideas of which they themfelves are full.
Our aflronomers fee, in the furface of the moon, the faces of women ; it may be, that the ladies there make their fpeculations, and difcern the phyfiognomy of fine men in our earth. For my part, m.adam, I do not know whether I iliould not fancy your ladyfiiip's charms there. I pro-
tell:, fays file, I could not help being obliged to
any one Avho fhculd find me there. But to come back to what you were mentioning jufl now ; do
any
changes in the face of tiie moon, is not to be abfoiutely
depended tipon ; yet M. Bianchini, in the Memoires de I'revous for June 1729, relates, that on the 25th of Au- guft 1725, tiiey diicovered in her at Rome, in the pre- ience of cordinai Polignac, a new and very confiderable brightnefs in that part, which they called Plato ; (for, in
honour of the great philofophers, aftronomers thought
.fit to give their names to divers countries of the moon,
as Fontenelle hvs before obferved) they alfo faw the
iame illumination in this planet September 22, 1727.
It feemcd to pofTefs the 33d part of the diameter of the
moon. See Ohfernjations de In Planete de Venus, par
M. Bianchini. {Mem. de Tre'v. p. 1039. 1040. luin.] Our author has all along followed the opinion, of Mr.
Huygens, who, in his Cofmotheoreos^ p. 115. concludes the
P L U R A L I T Y of WO R L D S. 201 any confiderable changes afFe£i the earth ? In
all appearance they do, replied I ; feveral very
high mountains, which are far diflant from the
fea, have great beds of fhells, which fcem ab-
folutely to fliew that the water hath formerly
covered them. Sometimes, farther yet from the
fea, they find flones, in which are petrified filhes.
Who could have put them there, if the fea had not been there ? Old fables tell us, that Hercules
fplit afunder with his hands, the two mountains,
called Calpe and Abila, which Hood betwixt Afric
and Spain, and flopped the ocean from flowing
there ; and that immediately the fea rufhed with
violence over the land, and made that great gulph
which we call the Mediterranean. Now, this is not intirely fabulous, but a hiflory of thofe re-
K 5 mote
the moon to have no atmofphere, becaufe we fee its limb fo clearly and accurately defined, and becaufe he
thouijht there were no Teas nor rivers in the moon. But he, as well as Fontenelle, were miitaken in regard to the conciuiion, and part of their premiffes ; for in the folar eclipfe, Mny i-, « 706, which, in Switzerland, was total, they could manifeftly perceive the moon's atmof-
phere, as may be Ccqu in the accounts given in the Fln- Icfophical 'TrunfaLlions^ No. 306. And fuice that, in the eciipfe of the fun, April 22, 171 5, the moon's at- mofphere was very difcernible, appearing in the form of a curious ring of vapours, encompairmg the moon all the ti:iie of total darknefs ; of which fv^e tho. accounts in the Pbilcfophical TranfudionSy and Air. Whiilon's. It this be true, that fhe has an atmolphere, v/e need feek no farther for fuch changes on her furtace as our au- thor mentions ; for vapours, though ex.remely rare, will reflect light at immenfe diilances. \¥itnefs our Aurora B(>realisy through which the liars are common- ly fcea.
202 CONVERSATIONS on the mote times, which has been difguifed, either
from the ignorance of the people, or through a
love they had for the marvellous, two of the
mofl: ancient frailties of mankind. That Her-
cules fliould feparate two mountains, with his
liands, is abfolutely incredible ; but that in the
time ot one Hercules, or another, for there
w^ere fifty of that name, the ocean might have
forced down two mountains, not fo llrong as others in the world, perhaps through the aflif-
tance of fome eartiiquake, and fo take its courfe
betwixt Europe and Afric, gives me no manner of pain to believe. What a notable fpot might the lunar inliabitants, all of a fudden, then dif-
cover on our earth ; for you know, madam, that
the Teas are fpots. It is no lefs than the common opinion, that Sicily was feparated from Italy,
and Cyprus from Syria : there are fometimes
new illands formed in the fea : earthquakes have
fwallowed up mountains, others have rofe and
altered the courfe of rivers. The philofophers
give us apprehenfions, that the kingdoms of Na^
pies and Sicily, which are countries founded up-
on great fubterranean vaults, full of fulphur, that
will in time be ccnfumed, will one day fink in,
when thofe vaults fhall no longer be able to refift
the flames which they contain, and which, at this
time, exhale at thofe vent-holes the mouths of
Vefuvius and ^tna. Is there not here caufes e-
i-iGi;gh to diverfify the profpe6t which we afford
to the people in the moon ? I had
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 203 I had much rather, fays the marchionefs, that
we had difgufled them by always affording the fame obje6t, than diverted them by the fwallow-
ing up of provinces.
This is nothing in comparifon, repHed I, to
that which pafles in Jupiter. There appears on
his furface fomething hke bands or bchs, with
which he appears to be furrounded ; and they
diitinguiili the one from the other, either by cer-
tain intervals which are between them, or by
different degrees of light and obfcurity. Thcfe
are lands and feas, or great tra(9;s on the furface
of Jupiter diff"erent among themfelvc?. Some- times thcfe bands decreafe, and fometimcs grow
broader ; fometimcs the}' fcem to break, at other
times to unite; they form tlicmfeKes anew in divers places, and often are efiaced ; and all thcfe
changes, which are only to be obferved by our
befl: telefcopcs, are in themiclves much more con- fiderable, than if our cccan o\crfiowed all tjie
firm land, and left in its place new continents. Unlefs the inhabitants of Jupiter are amphibi-
ous, and that they live equally v.yon the earth,
and in the water, 1 know not \\ ell how this can be. We fee alfo on the iiuface of Mars iijreat changes, and even from one month to another.
In as little time feas cover great continents, or
retire by a flux or- re-flux infinitely more violent
than ours ; or, at leail, it is fomething equivalent
to this. Our planet is very tranquil compared to thcfe, and we have great reafon to be thank- ful for it
J and yet more fo, if it is true, that
within
204 CONVERSATIONS on the within this little time, feveral provinces have
been burnt up in Jupiter. What, provinces burnt up in Jupiter ? cries flie, upon my word, that would be confiderable news. Very confiderable,
fays I, madam : (4) we have remarked thefe twenty years in Jupiter, a long train of light,
far more bright than the reft of that planet's
body. We have, here, had deluges but rarely
;
perhaps they may have fufFered great conflagra- tions in Jupiter, exclufive of deluges, which are
not common there. How do we know to the contrary ? But however it is, this light of Jupi-
ter
(4) We ha^je remarked thefe tnventy years in Jupiter
^
m long train of light. '\ What Fontenelle here menti- ons of this planet, having feveral provinces, &c. burnt
up, is by no means probable. M. Callini, who longer obferved Jupiter than any body elfe, mentions his light-
er and darker parts ; his belts and fpots darker than the
reft of his difk. Thefe he takes to be canals, contain-
ing fonie fluid matter or water, that more weakly re- flect the fun's rays, than the other parts of the planet
GO, and that they have fome refemblance with what
appears here upon earth : for if, faith he, {Nowvelles
Decou%ertes de Jupiter^ par M. Cajjlni^ in the Me^ moires de Mathem. l^ de Fhyfique, for January, 1692] ** One from on high in the heavens, Ihould fee the ** earth in forae particular fltuations, the fea, which en- " compafleth the earth, would appear very like the " grtat fouthern belt, that encompalTeth the whole *' globe of juplter. The Mediterranean fea would make ** an appearance, not unlike thole belts which are in- ** terrupted or broken, which we fee in this planet ; the *• other Teas would make thofe great black fpots, which ** never alter at all : the continents and Ifles would feem " like thofe bright fpots that are alfo permanent: the ** flbores would make thofe brilliant parts, that from
*• time
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 205 ter is, by no means, comparable to another, which,
in all probability, is as ancient as the world, and
yet we have never feen it till lately. How can
a light be concealed, fays fhe ; there muft be
fome fingular addrefs to compafs that point.
(5) This light, replied I, never appears but at
twilight, which is often ftrong enough to drown
it ; and even when twilight lufl'crs it to appear,
either the vapours of the horizon rob us of it,
or it is lb very faint, and hardly to be perceived,
that, for want of exadnefs in our knowledge, we
miftake it for the twilight. But, in fliort, after
thirty years obfervation, they have of late years,
- ,
with
" time to time, difappear : the flux and reflux of the " ocean, and thofe great inundations that happen fome- *' times here, would occafion other fpots to appear and " difappear : the moon would refemble one of Jupiter's " fatellites : in fine, the clouds of our atmofphere would ** refemble thofe broken interrupted belts, and thofe *' tranfitory fpots, which often change their fize and " figure, and have motions of different velocities."
Sir Ifaac Nev/ton is of opinion, that the belts and fpots of Jupiter are intlrely formed in his atmofphere.
The belts are fometimes broader, and fometimes nar- rower, and do not conftantly take up the lame places in his d'lik. Thefe zones, or belts, are more lucid than the reft, and are terminated by parallel lines. Thefe appearances give the greateft reafon to fuppofe, that
they are intirely owing to clouds in the atmofphere of this planet, which always keep parallel to the equinoc- tial, and revolve conftantly with it in that diredion, as our clouds do between the tropics, where the wind blows the whole year round, from one and the fame point of the compafs.
(15) This light ne'ver appears hut at t'voilight.'] M. Callinl difcovered a light which follows the fun, always
extended
2o6 CONVERSATIONS on the with much certainty, diftinguifhed it ; and it has been for fome time the delight of the aftrono-
mers, whofe curiofity wanted to be roufed by
fome novelty ; and they could not well have been
more furprifed, if they had difcovered fome new fecondary planets. The two latter moons of Sa- turn, for inftance, did not furprize them to that
degree, which the guards or moons of Jupiter at
firft did ; for they were fully accuftomed to fuch
things ; we fee, one month before and after the
vernal equinox, when the fun is fet, and the
twilight over, a certain whitilTi light, refembling
the tail of a comet. We fee the fame before fun-rife, and before the twilight, towards the au-
tumnal equinox ; and towards the winter folilice,
we
extended upon the zodiac, and which only appears
when the fun is below the horizon, always obfcured by the light of the nicon, and without that, alnioft con-
tinually by the twilights, which do not permit it to
appear but when they are very fhort. This light, he thinks, may be cauled by fome matter which ilfues out of the poles of the fun, like the magnetic effluvia from
the poles of the earth and loadllone, or out of the
whole globe of the fun, like exhalations from the earth ; and, as Ai. Cafnni feems to have fuppofed, after eleven
years obfervations, ditfufed in form of an atmoi'phere
round the fun to a certain diilance, proportionally thick-
er, as it is nearer this luminary ; and capable of reflect-
ing its rays towards us, when they cannot come any longer diredlly to us. Some think, that the luminous garland, which has been obferved in total eclipfes of the
lun, as mentioned in the laft note but one, (p. 201 .) is only
a light reflected by this fpecies of atmofphere, with which
the fun h furrounded ; and not any atmofphere belong- ing to the moorj^ Dtcowo. de la lum. Cel. i^c. p. 3. liec.
deiferi!. p. 68.
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 207 we fee it night and morning, except at
thefe times
that it cannot, as I but now obferved, difengage
itfelf from the twihghts, which are too ftrong
i^nd lafling for it to appear ; for we fuppofe^ it
to be a continued Hght, and in all probability it
is fo. We have begun to conjedure, that it is produced from iome prodigious quantity of mat-
ter crouded together, which furrounds the fun
to a certain extent from it : the greater part of
his rays pierce through this matter which fur-
rounds it, and come down to us in right lines ;
but there are fomc, which, in pafllng from the
fun, flrJke againft the internal furface of this
matter, and are by it reflcaed towards us, and
arrive at our globe in the morning, before the
dirca rd)s can reach us, and in the evening, after
we arc out of the reach of the fun's direa rays.
Now, as ihcfe reflcaed rays come from a greater
height tlian thofe which are direa, we mufl: con-
fequcntly have them fooner, and keep them lon-
ger. .
On this account, I muft retra6l v/hat I have
already mentioned, that the moon mufl have no
twilight for want of being furrounded by fuch a
grofs air as the earth. But fhe can be no lofer ;
her twilights will proceed from that kind of grofs
air which furrounds the fun, and refleas his rays
on places which his direa ones cannot reach.
But pray, let me know, fays the marchionefs,
are not there twilights formed thus for all the
planets, who will not need every one to be cloth-
ed with a diftina grofs air, becaufe that which
furrounds
2o8 CONVERSATIONS on the furrounds the fun alone, may have one general
efFe£l for all the planets in the vortex ? I am mighty wiUing to think, that nature, agreeable
to that inclination which I know fhe has to ceco-
nomy, iind good management, fhould make that
fuigle means alone anfwer her purpofe : yet, re-
plied I, notwithflanding this fuppoled ceconomy,
Ihe has given, with refpe6l to our earth, two
caufes for twilight ; one whereof, which is the
thick air about the fun, would be wholly ufclefs,
and can only be an objedl of curiofity for the
ftudents of the obfervatory ; but it is polTible,
that only the earth may fend out from herfelf vapours and exhalations grofs enough to produce
twilights, and that nature had reafon to prov^ide,
by one general means, for the neceiTities of all
the other planets, whofe fubilance may be ot a
purer mould, and their evaporations confequently
more fubtle. V/e are, perhaps-, among all the
inhabitants of the worlds in our vortex, the only
perfons who required to have a more grofs and
thick air criven us to breathe in. With what
contempt would the inhabitants of the other pla-
nets ccnhder us, if they knew this ?
They would be out in their reafoning, fays the
marchionefs, we are not to be defpifed for be-
ing enveloped with a thick air, fmce the fun him-
felf is fo furrounded. Pray, tell me, is not this
air produced by certain vapours, which you have
before told me ifl'ued from the fun ; and does it
not ferve to break the firil force of his rays,
which had elie probably been too bright ? I con-
ceive
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 209 ceive, that the kin may be veiled by natune, to
be in a better manner adapted to cur ufe. Well,
madam, replied I, this is ibme fmall introduction
to a fyitem which you have very happily Part-
ed. We may add, that thefe vapours produce a kind of rain, which falling back upon the fun,
may cool and rcfrefh it, as we fometimes throw
water into a forge, when the fire is too fierce.
There is not anv thing but what we may ima-
gine from nature's addrefs ; but flie has another
kind of addrefs very particular, which is to con-
ceal herfelf from us, and we fliould not willing-
ly be too confident, that we have found out her
method of ading, or her defigns in it : in cafe of
making new difcoveries, we {liould not be too importunate In cur reafonlngs, though we are al-
ways fond enough to do it ; and your true phi-
lofophers are like elephants, v/ho, as they go, ne-
ver put their fccond foot to the ground, till their
firk be well fixed. The comparifon feems more rational vo me, fays ll^e, than the merit of thofe
two fpecies of animals, elephants and philofophers,
no way confifcing in exterior agreements. I am wilHn.g; to imitate the judgment of both ; now
teach me fume of the Litter difcoveries, and I promife you not 10 make any rafli fyftems.
I have told you, madam, replied I, all the
news I know from the firmament, and, I believe
the frefheH: advices you can have. I am forry, they are not as furprizing and wonderful, as fome
obfervations which I read the other day, in an
abridgment of the Chinefe annals, written in
latin.
210 CONVERSATIONS on the in latin, (6) Thofe people fee thoufands of ftars at a time, fall from the fky into the fea, with a
prodigious noife, or are diflblved, and melt into rains ; and thefe are things which have been feen
more than once in China. This obfervation is made at two ieverai periods, pretty diftant from each other ; ihey then go eaftward, and burft like
a gun, always with a great ncife. It is great pity
that thefe lands of phsenomena fliould be referv-
ed for China only, and that our part of the globe
fliould
(6) Thofe people fee thoufands of flars fall into the
fea.'\ Thele could be no real ftars, but meteors gene- rated in our atmofphere. Defcartes has wrote an ex-
prefs treatlfe on the formation of meteors. Arillode and
GafTendus have alio treated of the fame fubjefl. Dr.
Woodwarde's opinion is, that the matter of meteors is of a minera] nature ; that the mineral particles contain- ed in the ftrata of the earth, are raifed by the fubter-
raneous heat, together with the vapours afcending from
the abyfs, and pervading thofe ftrata ; efpeclally at fuch
times as the fun's heat is fufficient to penetrate the ex-
terior parts ot the earth, and to make room for their efcape into the atmofphere. Thus fulphureous, nitrous, and other active, and volatile mineral particles, form
various meteors, according to the various faie they meet
with in the air. Hence balls of fire, lightning, thun- der, &c.
Concerning the action of the air in the bowels of
the earth, Boerhaave has the following remark. Chy-
mifts, fays he, will, perhaps wonder, to hear me alledge, that air is neceffary in the ceconomy of folfils, whofe
great fimpHcity of matter, feems only to require the acti-
on of fire to enable them to act, or undergo every thing
that belongs to this fpecies of things ; but the Ikilful
inquirers into nature have long ago difcovered, that fol-
fils, even in the deepeft mines, generate, multiply, and
are driven upwards ; all which is performed by fome peculiar
PLURALITY of WORLDS. 211 fhoiild never have their lliare of thefe fights. It
is not long fince all our philofophers were of
opinion, tliat they might affirm on good grounds,
that the heavens, and all the celedial bodies, were
incorruptible, and therefore incapable of change ;
and yet, at the fame time, there were fome men
in the other part of the earth, who faw the ftars
diifolve by thoufands, which muft produce a ve-
ry different opinion. But, fays the marchionefs,
have we not always heard that the Chinefe were
great aflrcnomers ? It is true, fays I ; but the
Chinefe
peculiRr pov/er of the fubterraneous fire ; but then, it
is ah.j evident, that the fubterraneous fire, as perpetual
as it is, is only retained, collefted and applied, in iiich
places, by means of the air
Our atmofphere may properly be confidered as an univcrfal chaos, confifdng of almoll all kinds of cor-
pufclcs, confufediy jumbled together, and conRituting
one ni^k ; fo that there is, perhaps, not a more hetero-
geneous body in the world.
The phlogiilic or inflammable principle, of which, with the vitriolic acid, fulphur is formed, may be, and is ex- alted into the air, in fuMicient quantities to form fulphur
in our atmoiphere ; witnefs the fuiphurous fmell, that
remains upon bodies ftruck with lightning. Sulphur con- tains, according to the chymilb, not more than a fixteenth part of this inflauimable principle to fifteen of the cor-
rofive vitriolic acid, which acid is railed from the earth, in great quantities, into the atmofphere, not by the fubter-
raneous heat alone, but it is alfo volatilized by the action
of the air ; for in extra(Sting this acid from mineral bo-
dies by vehemence of heat, it is well known to chymifls, that if the leall crack or fiflure be in the veffels, fo as to
admit air, that, inllead of an heavy concentrated acid,
not exhaleable in the air, an extremely volatile liquor is
produced, emitting pungent and almoft futfocadng va-
pours
212 CONVERSATIONS on the Chinefe have the fame advantage from being di-
vided from us, by fuch ? prodigious tra6b of earth, as the Greeks and Romans, by being fo much prior to us by a long courfe of ages. Diflances
of every fort pretend a right of impofmg on us. In reahty, I think flill more and more, that there is a certain genius which has never yet been out of the hmits of Europe, or, at lead, not much beyond them
j perhaps, he may not be permitted
to
pours into the air ; and which will totally arife in ditlil- lation, with an heat fcarcely too hot for the hand to bear.
Hoffman and others make no queftion but that ful- phur exifts in the air; and that from hence, thunder, lightning, and other fiery meteors , are produced ; the vitriolic acid and the infiainmabie principle, the ingredients with which art can produce fulphur, are unqueilionably ditFuled through the atmofphere. However, we mult acknowledge that art cannot produce fulphur but from the ftrong concentrated acid j and how infinitely, on the other hand, is the aerial acid divided and diluted. Be- fides, fulphur cnnnot be produced by art Vv'ithout fire j but if we reflect, that nature every day forms fubftances without the afliilance of chemical furnaces, which art cannot do, and operates upon matter quite in another manner than we can have any conception of, it is no wonder therefore, that fulphur, or at lealt the principles of it, are found in the atmofphere, which are united, and perhaps formed into fulphur, by the electrical fire,
the moment the lightning happens. Others object, that the effeds of fulphur and of light-
ning, are by no means fimilar ; this we grant ; but if the effedfs of lightning and gun-powder be compared, a great
limilarity between them will be obferved. And that ni- tre abounds in our atmofphere (a principal ingredient in
gun-powder) is notorious, as all animal and vegetable fub-
Ifances contribute to the production of nitre, fo far as
they are fufceptible of putrefaClion. Nitre is dilfipated
from
PLU RALITY of WORLDS. 213 to fpread over any great extent of the earth at
once, and that fome fatahty prefcribes him very
narrow bounds. L-ct us enjoy him whilft wc have him ; the befl of it is, he is not Hnked to the
fciences and dry fpeculations, but launches out
with as much fuccefs into fubje6ls of pleafure, in which point I queftion whether any people
equal us. (7) Thefe are fuch topics, madam, as
ought to employ you and give you entertainment
;
and
from earthy fubftances impregnated with it, by the fun's heat ; hence nitre works are made to face the north, and the largeft quantities of nitre are found on the north, fides of walls ; therefore it may exift in the air. Be- fides, there is another principle exifting in the atmof- phere, which greatly contributes to form thefe meteors
;
I mean the eledrical fire, which is probably the caufe of the air's elafticity, from which property of the air all its effects, performed either by lightning or gun-powder, are deducible.
(7) Thefe are fuch topics ^ inadam^ as ought to employ you.'] The topics which ought to employ, according to our author, the marchionefs, give her entertainment, and complete her whole fyicem of philofophy -, arlfe from our fuperior advantage, in being born in a part of the globe, where not only the true knowledge of nature is cultivated, but alfo other fubje6ts of more imnort to mankind are revealed.
While Galileo lifts his tube, and difcovers tlie prodi- gious magnitude of thofe radiant orbs, that adorn the heavens ; while Newton meafures their amazino- diltan- ces, and unites the whole fyil:e»n, in harmonious order, by the fubtle influences of attraction ; let us not ftop here, by barely admiring the heavens, or the genius and penetration of thole who have explored their order and harmony to us; but let us pioceed to admire vhe mao-- nihcent fcene, not only with an eje of realon, but alio with one of devotion ; and as we have, with the one, tra-
ced
214 CONVERSATIONS, ^c and which fhould complete your whole lyftem of
philofophy.
ced an infinity of worlds ; let us, with the other, keep
their great creator in our view, and join with the royal
Pfalmill in that folemn hymn, fo fuitable to this divine
occafion, that I cannot forbear clofing thefe notes with
It, as it has been transferred into our language, by one
of the higheft and happiell efforts of the celebrated
Mr. Addifon. I.
The fpacious firmament on high.,
With all the blue ethereal fy. Andfplangled hea-v'ns^ a Jhining framey Their great original proclaim :
Th' univeariedfuHy from day to day^
Does his creators ponxfr difplay^
And puhlifoes to e'very landy
The ivork of an almighty hand.
II.
^Qon as the e<vening Jhades prevail^
The moon takes up ths ^ivondrous tale^
And^ ^^ightfyy to the lijining earthy '
Repeats the fory of her birth :
JVhilfl all the jlars that round her hum.,
And all the planets in their tuniy
Confirm the tidings as they roily
Andfpread the truth from pole to pole.
III.
What though^ in folemn flcnce^ all
Mo've round the dark terrefrial ball:
What tho' nor real <voice nor found
Amid their radiant orbs be founds^
In reafon^s ear they all rejoice^
And utter forth a glorious 'voicey
For e^er ftngingy as thty jhiney
" The hand that made us is divine''
Spett. No. 465.
r 215 ]
Itijlead of Mr. Addlfon^s oration, in defence of the
new pbilofopby, fpoken in the theatre at Oxford,
July 7, 1693, '^^'^^ wj/ printed at the end cf the old tranjlation of this work ; it was thought
more advifeable to add the two following Spe^a^
tors of his on the fame fubje^ ; as being more per-
tinent to Fontenelle^s deft^n, and more fully ex-
plaining the ufefulnefs of this kind of reading, than
the abovementioned juvenile performance.
Spectator, No. 420.
•
—
^locumque volunt mentem Auditoris agunto. Hor.
AS the writers in poetry and fi6i:lon borrow their fcvcral materials from outward ob-
jcds, and join them together at their own plea- fure, there are others who are obhged to follow nature more clofely, and to take entire fcenes out of her. Such are hiftorians, natural philofophers,
travellers, geographers, and, in a word, all who defcribe vifibie objects cf a real exiflence.
It is the moft agreeable talent of an Inflorian,
to be able to draw up his armies and fight his battles in proper expreHions, to fet before our
eyes the divifions, cabals and jealoufies of great
men, and to lead us ftcp by ftep into the fcveral adions and events of his hiftory. We love to fee the fubje6t unfolding itfelf by jufl degrees, and
breaking
[ 2l6 ] breaking upon us infenfibly, that To we may be kept in a pleafing fufpence, and have time given
lis to raife our expectations, and to fide with one
of the parties concerned in the relation. I con-
fefs this fhews more the art than the veracity of
the hifiorian, but I am only to fpeak of him as he is quahfied to pleafe the imagination. And in
this refpeCt Livy has, perhaps, excelled all who ever went before him, or have written fince his
time. Fie defcribes every thing in fo lively a
manner, that his whole hiflory is an admirable
picture, and touches on fuch proper circumflan-
ces in every ftory, that his reader becomes a kind
of fpefitator, and feels in himfelf all the variety
of paflions v/hich are correfpondent to the feveral
parts of the relation.
But among this fett of writers there are none
who more gratify and enlarge the imagination, than the authors of the new philofophy, whether
we confider their theories of the earth or hea-
vens, the difcoveries they have made by glaiTes,
or any other of their contemplations on nature.
We are not a liltle plealld to fi.nd every green leaf fwarm with millioni of animals, that at their
largeft growth are not vifible to the naked eye.
There is fomething very- engaging to the fancy,
as well as to cur reafon, in the treatiies of me-
tals, minerals, plants and meteors. But when
we furvey the whole earth at once, and the fe- veral planets that lye within its neighbourhood,
v/e arc filled with a pleafing aiionifliment, to fee
fo many v/orlds hanging one above another, and
fiiding
[ 217 ]
Hiding round their axles in fuch an amazing pomp
and folemnity. If, after this, we contemplate thofe
wide fields of rether, that reach in height as far
as from Saturn to the fixt ftars, and run abroad
almoft to an inSnitude, our imagination finds its
capacity filled with fo immenfe a profpec^, as puts
it felf upon the ilretch to comprehend it. But
if we yet rife higher, and confider the fixt ftars
as fo many vafl oceans of flame, that are each of them attended with a different fet of planets,
and ftill difcovcr new firmaments and new lights
that are funk farther in thofe unfathomable depths
of nether, fo as not to be feen by the ftrongeiT:
of our telefcopes, we are loll: in fuch a labyrinth of funs and worlds, and confounded with the irn-
menfity and magnificence of nature.
Nothing is more pleafant to the fancy, than to
enlarge it felf by degrees, in its contemplation of
the various proportions which its feveral objects
bear to each other, when it compares the body of man to the bulk of the w^hole earth, the earih to the circle it defcribes round the fun, that circle
to the fphere of the fixt flars, the i| here of the
fixt ftars to the circuit of the whole creation,
the whole creation it felf to the infinite fpace that is every where difFufed about it ; or when the imagination works dov/nv/ard, and confiuers the bulk of a human body, in refpeft of an ani- mal an hundred times lefs than a mite, the parti- cular limbs of fuch an animal, the different fprim^s
which actuate the limbs, the fpirits which fet thefe fprings a going, and the proportionable minutenefs
L of
[ 2.8 ]
of thefe feveral parts, before they have arrived
at their full growth and perfeQiion. But if, after
all this, we take the leaft particle of thefe animal fpirits, and confider its capacity of beiiig wrought
into a world, that fliall contain within thofe nar-
row dimenfions a heaven and eartji, ftars and pla-
nets, and every different fpecies of living creatures,
in the fame analogy and proportion they bear to
each other in our own univerfe ; fuch a fpecula- tion, by reafon of its nicety, appears ridiculous
to thofe who have not turned their thoughts that way, though at the fame time it is founded on no
lefs than the evidence of a demonftration. Nay,
we might yet carry it farther, and difcover in the fmalleft particle of this little world a new inex-
haufled fund of matter, capable of being fpun out
into another univerfe.
I have dwelt the longer on this fubject, becaufe
I think it may fnew us the proper limits, as well
as the defe£tivencfs, of our imagination ; how it
is confined to a very fmall quantity of fpace, and
immediately ftopt in its operations, when it en-
deavours to take in any thing that is very great,
or very little. Let a man try to conceive the dif-
ferent bulk of an animal, which is twenty, from
another which is a hundred times lefs than a mite,
or to compare, in his thoughts, a length of a thou-
fand diameters of the earth, v/ith that of a mil-
lion, and he will quickly find that he has no dif-
ferent meafures in his mind, adjufted to fuch ex-
traordinary degrees of grandeur or minutenefs.
The underilanding, indeed, opens an infinite fpace on
[ 219 ]
on every fide of us, but the imagination, after a
few faint efforts, is immediately at a ftand, and
finds her felf fwallowed up in the immenfity of
the void that furrounds it : our reafon can purfue
a particle of matter through an infinite variety of
divifions, but the fancy foon lofes fight of it, and
feels in it felf a kind of chafm, that wants to be
filled v/ith matter of a more fenfible bulk. We can neither widen, nor contrad: the faculty to the
dimcnfions of either extreme. The obje6t is too big for our capacity, when we would comprehend
the circumference of a world, and dwindles into
nothing, when we endeavour after the idea of an
atom.
It is poflible this defe61: of imagination may not be in the foul it felf, but as it a£ls in conjunction
with the body. Perhaps there may not be room in the brain for fuch a variety of imprefiions, or
the animal fpirits may be incapable of figuring
them in fuch a manner, as is necefl'ary to excite
fo very large or very minute ideas. However it
be, we may well fuppofe that beings of a higher nature very much excel us in this refpe6t, as it is probable the foul of man will be infinitely more
perfed: hereafter in this faculty, as well as in all
the reft ; infomuch that, perhaps, the imagination
will be able to keep pace with the underftanding,
and to form in it felf diftinfit ideas of all the dif-
ferent modes and quantities of fpace.
L 2 No. 565,
[ ZIO ]
No. c^S,^, Friday^ July g.
^~ . . ' Deum namqve ire per omncs
Terrafqne^ tradlufque marisy coelumque profundmn.
Virg.
Was yefterday about fun-fet walking in the open fields, ''tii! the nig^ht infenribly fell upon
me : I at firil amufed myieif with all the richnefs and variety of colours, which appeared in the wef-
tern parts of heaven : in proportion as they faded
away and went out, feveral flars and planets ap-
peared one after another, 'till the whole firma-
ment was in a glow. The bluenefs of the aether was exceedingly heightened and enlivened by the
feafon of the year, and by the rays of all thofe
luminaries that palTed through it. The galaxy
appeared in its mofl beautiful white. To com-
plete the fcene, the full moon rofe at length in
that clouded rnajefty, which Milton takes notice
of, and opened to the eye, a new picture of na-
ture, wdiich was more finely fhaded, and difpofed
among foFter lights, than that v/hich the fun had
before discovered to us.
As I was furveying the moon walking in her
brightnefs and taking her progrefs among the con-
ftellations, a thought rofe in me which I believe
very often perplexes and diilurbs men of ferious and
[ 221 ]
and contemplative natures. David himfelf fell in-
to it in that refledion, * When I confider the hea- ' vens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the ' ftars which thou haft ordained, what is man * that thou art mindful of him, and the fon of
' man that thou regardeft him !' In the fame
manner when I confidered that infinite hoft of
ftars, or, to fpeak more philofophically, of funs,
which were then finning upon me, with thofe in-
numerable fets of planets or worlds, which were
moving round their refpc6tive funs ; when I flill
enlarged the idea, and fuppofed another heaven
of funs and worlds rifing ftill above this which
we difcovered, and thefe ftill enlightned by a fu- perior firmament of luminaries, which are plant-
ed at fo great a diilance, that they may appear to the inhabitants of the former as the ftars do to us. In fhort, whilil: I purfued this thought, 1:
could not but reflcft on that little infignificant fi-
gure which I my felf bore amidit tjie immenfity ol God's works.
Were the fun, which enlightens this part of the creation, with all the iiofl: of planetary worlds
that move about him, utterly extinguiflied and annihilated ; they would not be miffed more than
a grain of fand upon the fea-Hiore. The fpace they poflefs is fo execdingly little in cornparifon
of the whole, that it would fcarce make a blank' in the creation. The chafm would be impercep- tible to an eye, that could take in the whole com- pafs of nature, and pafs from one end of the crea-
L 3 tion
[ 222 ] tion to the other ; as it is poirible there may be fuch a fenfe in our felves hereafter, or in crea- tures which are at prefent more exalted than our felves. We fee many ftars by the help of glafies, which we do not difcover with our naked eyes
;
and the finer our telefcopes are, the more flill are our diicoveries. Huygenius carries this thought fo far, that he does not think it impcffible there may be ftars whofe light is not yet travelled down to us, fmce their firft creation. There is no quef- tion but the univerfe has certain bounds fet to it
;
hut when we confide r that it is the work of infi- nite power, prompted by infinite goodnefs, with
an infinite fpace to exert it felf in, how can our imagination fet any bounds to it ?
To return therefore to my firft thought, I could not but look upon myfelf with fecret horror, as
a being that was not worth the fmalleft regard of
one who had fo great a work under his care and
fuperintendency. I was afraid of being overlook-
ed amidft the immenfity of nature, and loft among
that infinite variety of creatures, which in all pro-
bability fwarm through all thefe immeafureable
regions of matter.
In order to recover myfelf from this mortifying
thought, I confidered that it took its rife from
thofe narrow conceptions, which we are apt to
entertain of the divine nature. We our felves can- not attend to many different objects at the fame
time. If we are careful to infped fome things,
we muft of courfe neglect others. This imper-
fection which we obferve in our felves, is an im- perfedion
[ 223 ]
perfection that cleaves in fome degree to creatures
of the higheft capacities, as they are creatures,
that is, beings of finite and Hmited natures. The
prefence of every created being is confined to a
certain meafure of fpace, and confequently his ob-
fervation is ftinted to a certain number of objects.
The fphcre in which we. move and a6t, and un- derftand, is of a wider circumference to one crea-
ture than another, according as we rife one above
another in the fcale of exigence. But the wideft
of thefe our fpheres has its circumference. When therefore we reflect on the divine nature, we are
fo ufed and accullomed to this imperfection in our
felves, that we cannot forbear in fome meafure
afcribing it to him in whom there is no fhadow of imperfection. Our reafon indeed aflures us that his attributes are infinite, but the poornefs
of our conceptions is fuch, that it cannot forbear
fetting bounds to every thing it contemplates, till
our reafon comes again to our fuccour, and throws
down all thofe little prejudices which rife in us unawares, and are natural to the mind of man.
We iliall therefore utterly extinguifli this me- lancholy thought, of our being overlooked by our
maker in the multiplicity of his works, and the inanity of thofe objects among which he feems to be incciTantly employed, if we confider, in the firfl place, that lie is omniprefent ; and, in the fecond,
that he is omnifcient.
If we confider him in his omniprefence : his being pafTes through, aduates, and fupports the
whole
[ 224 ] whole frame of nature. His creation, and every
part of it, is full of him. There is nothing he
has made, that is either fo diilant, fo little, or fo
inconfiderable, which he does not eflentially inha-
bit. His fubftance is within the fubftance of eve-
ry being, whether material or immaterial, and as
intimately prefent to it, as that being is to it felf
It would be an imperfection in himlelf, were he
able to remove out of one place into another, or
to withdraw himfelf from any thing he has crea-
ted, or from any part of that fpace which is dif-
fufed and fpread abroad to infinity. In fhort to
fpeak of him in the language of the old philofo-
pher, he is a being whofe centre is every where,
and his circumference no where.
In the fecond place, he is omnifcient as well as
omniprefent. His omnifcience indeed necelfarily
and naturally flows from his omniprefence ; he
cannot but be confcious of every motion that arifes
in the v/hole materal world, which he thus effen-
tially pervades, and of every thought that is ftir-
ring in the intellectual world, to every part of
which he is thus intimately united. Several mo-
raliils have confidered the creation as the temple
of God, which he has built with his own hands,
and which is filled with his prefence. Others
have confidered infinite fpace as the receptacle, or
rather the habitation of the Almighty : but the
nobled and mofl exalted way of confidering this
infinite fpace is that of Sir Ifaac Newton, who
calls it the fenforium of. the Godhead. Brutes and
men
[ 225 ] men have their fenforiola, or little fenforiums, by which they apprehend the prefence and perceive
the actions of a few objects, that He contiguous
to them. Their knowledge and obfervation turns
within a very narrow circle. But as God almigh- ty cannot but perceive and know every thing in which he refides, infinite fpace gives room to in- finite knowledge, and is, as it were, an organ to
omnifcience.
Were the foul feparate from the body, and with one glance of thought fliould flart beyond the bounds of the creation, lliould it for millions of years continue its progrefs, through infinite fpace with the fame adivity, it would ftill find it felf within the embrace of its creator, and encompaf- fed round with the immenfity of the Godhead. Whilfl we are in the body he is not lefs prefent with us, becaufe he is concealed from us. * O that I knew where I might find him, fays Job. Behold I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he does work, but I can-
* not behold him : he hideth himfelf on the right * hand that I cannot fee him.' In fliort, reafon as well as revelation aflures us, that he cannot be abfent from us, notwithftanding he is undifcover- ed by us.
In this confideration of God almighty's om- niprefence and omnifcience every uncomfortable thought vanifhes. He cannot but regard every thing that has being, efpecially fuch of his crea-
tures
f 226 ] tares who fear they are not regarded by him. He is privy to all their thoughts, and to that an- xiety of heart in particular, which is apt to trou-
ble them on this occafion : for, as it is impoiTible
he fhould overlook any of his creatures, fo we
may be confident that he regards, with an eye of
mercy, thofe who endeavour to recommend them-
felves to his notice, and ia an unfeigned humility
of heart think themfclves unworthy that he fliould
be mindful of them.
ji^^imih
INDEX. A.
TT^QUATOR, or Jj l^A Equlnodial, what
25
Air, fee Atmofphere,
Alphonfo king of Cadile,
ridicules the Ptolemaic
(yftem 1
3
Americans, their furprize
on feeing ihips 63 to 65. Fontenelle's defcription
copied by Dryden 64 Animals infinitely fmall,
93 & feq. Antipathy of the Peripate-
tics 9 Antipodes, what 68 Aftronomy, its origin 1
1
Atmofphere, what 34. Ef- fects of its rarefadion
77. An heterogeneous fluid 34. P^ollows the
earth's motion ibid. Is
the caufe of twilight 81
Atmofphere of the moon 87, 201, 206. Of the fun 206
Attraction, what 7, 8, 30. Its caufe unknown ibid.
Axes, or poles of the earth
25, 27.
C.
Caufesnot to be fought for till all the efl"e(SLS are dif-
covered 8
Celeiiial bodies, changes in
them 1 82
Celeiiial matter of Defcar-
tes 29 Centrifugal, and centripetal
forces 30 Chalda^ans, the firft aftro-
nomers 1
1
Chinefe allronomers, fome account of them q 2, 2 1 o
Circles, polar 25. Tropi-
cal, &c. ibid.
Cold, its imperceptible ef-
fe<5ls on ibme creatures
1 44. Intenfe in Saturn
ibid.
Comets, Ariftotle's notion of them 169. Newton's opinion of them ibid. The author's ibid Have overturned the Ptolema-
ic fyfiem i 4. And Def- cartes's ibid. Their na-
ture 16S. When difco- vered to be periodical
1 70. Heat of one ibid. Seneca foretold their pe-
riods would be difcover- ed ibid. Their hiftory
171 & feq. Periods of fome 173. Tails, what i73> ^74> '7^- Ap- proach to the earth 178.
Conitcilations, of the zodi-
ac 22 Copernicus, fome account
of him 20. Died before the publication of his book ibid.
Copernican
I N D Copernican fyftem i6
Corals and coralines, nefts
of infects 94 Cryftalline fpheres, their
abfurdity 14, 193 D.
Days, their inequah'ty ex-
plained 24. See equati-
on of time.
Dews, how formed 74 E.
Earth, its place in the uni-
verfe 16. Not in the centre 17. Its periodi-
cal revolution ibiJ. 22,
196. Its annual 22.
Why its motion is im- perceptible 21, 36. Its
motion explained 25.
Reafons to prove it 193.
Is not carried in a vortex
^50. Appearances on its
furface to a fpedtator at
adi11ance32, 33. Chan-
ges thereon 201. Is a
moon to the moon 44, i:;c. Is globular 77
Eclipfes CI. Americans,
their notion of them 53. Chineie, their notion of
them ibid. Greeks, their
opinion of them 53 EcliDtic, what 25 Equation or time 1 00
F.
Fire, Boerhaave"s doflrine
of it I I o. Sir Ilaac
Newton s account of it
• Firmament, its colour 78,
79 FIxt Rars, their magnitude
E X. 1 49. Diftance ihid. Arc innumerable ibid. Are funs ibid. Have planets revolving round them 15s. flailing ones 210
Flying attempted 65, 66.
Objections againft it 68,
76. To the moon im- prafticable 77> 7^
Forces, centrifugal and cen-
tripetal 30 G.
Galaxy, or milky-way i 5
1
Galileo's experiment 36 Gravitv, its ufe xo
' H. . Harmony of the fpheres 8,
88, & feq. Heavens, what ']%. Their
immenfity 151. Their
colour in the torrid zone
78 Heavenly bodies, changes
in them 182 Heat, how caufed 1 1 o,
115. Its effefts in the
planet Mercury 106 I.
Indians, fancy the earth is
fupported by elephants
Inequaliiy of time 106 inhabitants of the planets,
fee moon and planets. Jupiter, his fituation 1 7,
1 20. Periodical revolu-
tion ibid. Magnitude 120. Largeft of the
planets ibid. His orbit
121. Inclination i 22.
Diameter ibid. Force
of gravity ibid. Denfi-
INDEX. ty ibid. Quantity of
matter ibid. Diftance
from the fun ibid, and
129. From the earth 121. How the fun ap- pears from him ibid. Length of his day 122. Of his year ibid. Ex- tent of his furface ibid.
Changes thereon 203. TraQs on his furface burnt up 204, Hath no parallax 12?. His fhape ibid. Is eclip-
fed by the moon, &c. ibid. His belts 122,
203, & feq. . How his Inhabitants fee the other
planets 1 36. Do not fee the earth ibid. Their flature 124. Their dif- ferent kinds of months 128, &c. His moons I 20. By whom difco- vered 1 30. Their eclip- fes 123, 130, 131. Their life to U3 and him 124, 132. Their diftance from him 135. Periods
129, 134. Magnitudes
133
Light, the doftrinc thereof
explained 45, &c. 49.
M.
Machine, none can be made to reprefent the propor-
tions and dirtances of the
planets at once 17
Magnitude of the planets
in proportion to each 0-
ther 17 Magnus Orbis, but a pomt
150 Mars, his fituation 16, 118.
Periodical revolution 16-
Diftance from the fun 1 18. From the earth ibid. Excentricity of-his
orbit ibid. Inclination
thereof ?(^/V/. Length of
his year ibid. Of his day ibid. His diameter
ibid. Parallax ibid. Spots
on him ibid. His colour ibid. Atmofphere ibid- and 1 20. Phafes ibid.
Quantity of light and
heat 1 1 9. Sealons ibid-
Belts ibid. Appears of different niagniiudes i 20.
Hath no inoon ibid. How that want may be fuppHed I 38. His in-
habitants fee Venus, but not Mercury i2o
Mercury, his great heat 1 06. His diftance from the fun ibid. Excentri-
city ibid. Inclination of his orbit ibid. Lc-igth
of his year ibid. Dia- meter ibid. Size ibid. Force of gravity on his furface 107. Phafes f/^///.
His iituation proves the Ptolemaic lyftem falfe 108. Times of his paf- fmg over the fun 108. Is rarely feen 109. When beil obferved ibid. His M inhabitants
INDEX. Inhabitants 105. See the
fun feven times as large
as we do 108. Their notion of us 1 09
Meteors,how generated 2 1 o Milky-way, what 1 59 Moon, moves round the
earth 1 9. Turns always
the fame face to us 47, 90. Refembles the earth
4 1 , &c. Her phafes ex- plained 41, 49. Her magnitude 44, 90. Her life 44. Her libration explained 48. Eclipfes
52. Her influence 54. Hath lands, lakes, feas, and mountains 54, 56. Seas in her difputfd 54, 72. Inequalities on her
furface 55, 85, 87.
Changes on her face
55. Her geography ihiJ. By whom delcribed 56. Length of her day and night 90. Ariollo's poe-
tical defcriptlon of her
56 to 61. The fame, imitated by Pope 57. Hath a conftant ferenity 87. Her atmofpheie doubted by fome 80, 87. Maintained by others
2Ci,2o6. Suppofed to bave no tv/ilight 8c.
Nor 'rainbow 82. Nor thunder, rain, &c. 83.
How Ihe may have a twilight 207. Suppofed
to be inhabited 6 1 , &c.
Objedions agalnil it 72.
Pieafure of htr inhabi-
tants, fuppofed to confift
in hearing the mufick of the fpheres 88. How the earth appears to them 91. Is vilible only to
one half of them ihid- Milton's notion of them
99. Conjedures about
a communication with
her 63 &c.
Mountains, terreftrial 77 Mufick of the fpheres 88,
& feq. N.
Nature's works, compared to an opera 6, 7
New (yftem of the univerfe
O. Orbits of the planets, fee
the refpedlive planets.
Philofophy, on what foun.- ded
^ 6
Planets, what 16. Prima-
ry and fecondary ibid:
Their names, order, fi-
tuation, and periodical
times ibid. Motions de-
fcribed 27, 29,30. Their
irregularity accounted for
26, 30. How they may have twilights without
atiiiofpheres 208. Sup-
pofed to be inhabited 5.
Nature of their inhabit
tants uncertain 99, loi,
&c. May be diiferent ill different planets 96.
How they may vary 97,
Ptolemaic
INDEX. Ptolemaic fyftem defcribed
193. Inconfiftent ibid.
Overturned by comets
14. And by other phae- nomena 15, 108. Ridi- culed by a King of Caf-
tile 13
Pythagoras, his fyftem of
the univerfe, the fame as
the Copernican, which fee. Believed the planets
were held up by harmo- ny 8
R.
Rapidity of the earth's mo- tion 28. Of the heaven- ly bodies according to
Ptolemy ibid.
Rome, its fubterranean dwellirrg places, compar- ed to the cavities of the
moon 87 S.
Satellites, what they are 1 7. Of Jupiter 123, 129, 130. Of Saturn 146. & feq. Eclipfes of them 123, 147. The moon one to our earth 19 &
feq.
Saturn, his fituation 1 7.
Periodical revolution ib.
137, 139. Diurnal mo- tion I 39. Diilance from the fun and from the earth ibid. His weak light ibid. Inclination
of his orbit ibid. His diameter ibid. Magni- tude ibid. Intenfe cold
141. Seafons 146. His
ring, and the diiferent
appearances of It 137, 140, 141 to 146. His moons 137, 146 & feq. How his inhabitants fee the fun 140. Conjec-
tures about them 141 to
143 Secondary planets, fee moon
and fatellites. Shadow, only a privation of
light 5
1
Signs of the zodiac, by whom and for what in^ vented 2z
Sky, its colour account- ed for 78, &-C.
Speech, neceffary to ratio-
nal beings 97 Spots in the fun 1 1
1 , 112,,
•&c.
Stars fixed, are funs 1 49, 150 to 159. Immenfe diftance 149. Ajnazing number 158. Placed in a regular manner 163. Changes among them 165. New ftars 167, 168. Catalogues ofthem 166. Have planets to attend them 151. Ap- pear, and difappear 177, 179. Falling ones 210
Sun, is placed in the centre
of all the planets 19. Not inhabited 109. Is the fountain of light and heat 1 10, 117. Boer- haave's do(Strine of the folar heat 1 1 0. Newton's opinion of it 115. His different appearances 1 1 2.
His pale colour at times
181.
r N D E X. i^'I. His atmofphere
2c6
S^ftems, what 5, 12. Syf-
tem of Copernicus 16.
Ptolemaic '3. Tycho- nic 38. New one 5, 152
T.
Time, equation of 1 06
Tropics, what 24, &c. Twilight, caufes of it, and
advantages 81. Lunar
one 81, 206. A fecon- dary one 205
TychoBrahe, fome account
of him, and his fyfteni
38. His fuperftition 132 V.
Venus, her fituation 16.
Revolution round the
fun ibid. On her axis 102. How to be known ibid. Always feen near
the fun ibid. Her dlf- tance from him 103. Paffes over the fun ibid.
Her diameter ibid- Her cxcentricitv ibid. Her
parallax ibid. Is always
feen horned ibid. Hath fpots 1 04. Suppofed to
have a moon ibid. Hath an atmofphere 10 1;. Sup- pofed to be inhabited 92, 1 04. How the fun ap- pears to them 105. Hath '
mountains 103, 104.
Her different names 102 Univerfe, what 10. Its
immenfity i 51, 152, 153 Vortexes, their dodrine o-
verturned 15,29. Def-
- cribed 124, &c. 163.
An artificial one 1 24 W.
World, what 4. Plurali- ty of them ibid. Deni- edby the Cartefians ibid. Maintained by Huygens and others 5
Z.
Zodiac, what 22. Divi-
ded into twelve parts,
called figns 27
The END.\
Direnions to thi.. I: Q<jk -hinder.
Place the Cuts, in the ci der tiiey are numbered. To as to fold out at- the end of tlic Book.
.4
1
