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CHAPTER VII.

THE IMAGINARY MOTION OF THE EARTH IN AN ORBIT, CONTRADICTED BY SIGHT, REASON AND SCRIPTURE;-THE TENTH CHAPTER OF JOSHUA, AND THE THIRTY-EIGHTH OF ISAIAH, TROUBLESOME OBSTACLES TO PHILOSOPHERS;-ELABORATE ATTEMPTS OF BISHOP WILKINS, KEPLER, AND OTHERS, TO EXPLAIN AWAY CERTAIN PASSAGES;-CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE HEBREW NAMES OF THE SUN, MOON, AND OTHER HEAVENLY ORBS;-SEARCHES IN HEAVEN FOR CONFIRMATION OF THE OBLATE FIGURE OF THE EARTH; -DISAGREEMENT AMONGST THE NEWTONIANS CONCERNING THE APPARENT FORMS OF THE PLANETS.

KING SOLOMON, in the beginning of his book called THE PREACHER, affirms, that all things are in motion excepting the earth; that generation succeeds generation; that the sun moves about the earth; that the wind perpetually whirls about to the south, and from the south to the north, according to its circuits; that the rivers flow from their sources into the sea, and thence return to their sources: but the earth, says he, stands still for ever.* The same philosophical truths are corroborated by other passages of Scripture as well as by the certain

* But as some may think that this might be translated "remains or continues for ever;" it may be proper to notice another passage or two. "He laid the foundation of the earth that it should not be moved for ever." Psal. civ. 5. "Thou hast established the earth and it standeth." Psal, cxix, 90.

evidence of our senses. Newtonians, of the utter insufficiency of all their elaborate arguments and boasted experiments to produce a direct and manifest proof, or any proof at all, to invalidate the divine assertion, that they are constrained to declare, that "were it not for the fixed stars, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to prove the motion of the earth. We should suppose that the planets made a complete revolution between any two similar situations with respect to the sun, because the places of elongation are similarly described, and are in quantity the same, whether the earth be in motion or not. It is from the apparent motion of the sun with respect to the fixed stars, that we conclude that the earth describes an orbit in about three hundred and sixty-five days." Posterity will, I believe, read with astonishment, that the men of this age, by looking at the sun in motion, supposed it to stand still! As there is no appearance, even according to their own admission, and consequently no proof, of the earth's motion; why not draw the natural and obvious conclusion, that the sun really describes the orbit which he appears to do? That, however, would not suit their purpose, and therefore they go on to assert, that "the strongest objection that can be made against the earth's motion round the sun, is, that in opposite points of the earth's orbit, its axis, which always keeps a parallel direction, would point to different fixed stars, which is not found to be the fact. But this objection is easily removed by considering” (not by experiment,) "the immense distance of the fixed stars, in respect of the diameter of the earth's orbit, the latter being no more than a point when compared with the former." Thus they consider a thing as they would have it, and then they positively assert that it is so!

And so well satisfied are the

In order to make this objection, respecting the poles, go down "easily," it is necessary to believe, that although two opposite points of the earth constantly coincide, to a single second, with two opposite points in the heaven: (which points, are not perpendicular to the plane of the supposed orbit of the earth, but to the centre of the plane of the equinoctial;) I say, that, notwithstanding the well-known fact that these four points, the celestial and terrestrial poles, are, according to the nicest observations made with the most perfect instruments, immutably fixed in the same right line; we are required to believe, or be stigmatized "the worst of heretics," that the globe moves one hundred and forty one times faster than a ball shot from the mouth of a cannon unperceived by us on its surface! Further, we are required to believe, that in December, we are about 200,000,000 of miles from the place we left in June, though we cannot possibly discover, by the most exact observation of the polar star, that we have moved one inch!

This unchangeable coincidence of the poles of the world is so decisive a proof that the earth does not move, that, in order to set it aside, it was necessary for the masters of the Newtonian school to astound and overwhelm the understandings of their disciples with an assertion which, in the whole annals of romance, was perhaps never outdone. O, say they, it is easy to remove this objection, "because from what we know of the immense distance of the fixed stars the nearest of them is 32,000,000,000,000 of miles, which is further than a cannon ball would fly in seven millions of years!” Reader, look at this fine row of figures and reflect upon the assertion! That amazing stretch was no doubt intended as a finishing stroke to the hint given by

the great Dr. Wallis about one hundred and sixty years ago. Noticing the "parallax of the earth's annual orbit to prove the Copernican system; if," says he, "it can be observed, it proves the affirmative; but if it cannot be observed it doth not prove the negative, but only proves that the semidiameter of the earth's epicycle is so small" (95,000,000 of miles!) "as not to make any sensible parallax." You will perceive, reader, by this, that the Doctor was pre-determined to receive evidence only in support of the Copernican hypothesis, but not a word against it; otherwise I conceive that it would have been more consistent with fairness and candour to have expressed himself to this effect. "If it can be discovered that the declinations of what are termed the fixed stars, are manifestly different in June from what they are in December, such difference may be received as an argument in favourof the Copernican system; but if, by the most diligent and careful observations made with the best instruments, not the smallest difference can at any time possibly be discovered, it may then be fairly inferred that the earth is firmly and perpetually at rest.

Now the result of all observations made to ascertain this point has been, that the declinations of the fixed stars are every day in the year the same to a hair's breadth; (for the change in one year by the precession of the equinoxes cannot be discerned,) and therefore in order to render nugatory the evidence which so fully confirms the revealed system in Genesis, the followers of Newton are called upon to credit the enormous tale, that a cannon ball with its greatest velocity, if that velocity were continued for seven millions of years, would not reach the nearest of the fixed stars!!!

Oh how these philosophers have tortured their imaginations and exercised their ingenuity to invent plausi

bilities to support their system! Mr. Romer and Mr. Huygens pretended to calculate the motion of light reflected from the small stars which move along with the planet Jupiter, in order to render the idea of an annual motion a little feasible: but Mr. Cassini and Mr. Miraldi after examining the hypothesis, by a great number of observations, expressed an opinion that those philosophers were completely mistaken. What Mr. Bradley wrote about the motion and aberration of light was of about equal importance and merited just the same attention, as is evident from Dr. Maskelyne's remarks upon the uncertainty attending such nice observations; for, when he attempted to ascertain the parallax of Sirius with a ten feet sector, he found, by the friction of the plummet line upon the pin, by which it was suspended, that an error of ten to thirty seconds could not well be avoided. Upon the whole then it is abundantly evident, that no annual parallax has ever been discovered; and that therefore there exists not even the shadow of a proof, that the sun is stationary and the earth in rapid motion.

He who revealed his own system has not left his people to doubtful aberrations or uncertain glimmerings of light, but has illustrated and confirmed his account with such decisive clearness, and by such infallible proofs, as will I trust in time to come effectually defend it against the sophisms of the academics; the petty experiments of mathematical mechanics; or the deceptive mediums of opticians; for, with the manifestations of his boundless power, he has, on certain memorable occasions been pleased to combine such demonstrations of his moral and natural truths, as ought to secure the credit of his system against the misrepresentations of careless ignorance or the vain manoeuvres of insidious opposition. The people heard from the top of Sinai

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