D UKE UNIVERSIT Y 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 The Glenn Negley Collection 
 of Utopian Literature 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 "^^ in 2010 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/conversationsonOOfont 
 
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 
 JDREFAC E by the Editor y 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 Jupiter y 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. 
 Huy gem 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 of HefTe 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^^ hidden fecret ^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 do f certain 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 tells you ^ 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 of the 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 difpo fed 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 herf elf. ^ 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'^y Jhould 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 weft ward, 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 fy ilem 
 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 of the 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) of her 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 
 of the 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 may find any thing that nvas loft in 
 9ur Ivor Id.] 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 if we 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 Mo ON, 
 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 fuch Juhtile 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 depar tier e.] 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 
 
 things 
 
 o 
 
 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. 
 
 Me thinks ■ 
 
 (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 of the mo ft 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 of animals. [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 may jultly 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 the jive. '\ "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) Admirahle fecret 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 thereof may 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 Mercury y 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) Thefe fpots fome philofophers called planets.'\ 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 fur face 
 
 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 Urban ad or urn. 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 
 to fore, 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, not with (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 : 
 . Fir ft 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 - '» to g- 
 
 ^ 
 
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^ nuhich fome 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 
 
I 
 
 170 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 feme times 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 ex tin 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 the fun for fome ^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 
 prefer ve 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 the fame kind : 
 it bears the name of an Evening one, becaufe th^ 
 others are fo 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. 
 And fome farther 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 of which 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. 
 
 And fplangled 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 
 And fpread 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 of them 
 
 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