CHAP. III.The Motions of the Terraqueous Globe.
The Motions of the Terraqueous Globe.
The Motions the Terraqueous Globe hath, are round its own Axis, and round its Fountain of Light and Heat, the Sun[a]. That so vast a Body as the Earth and Waters should be moved atall[b], that it should undergo two such different Motions, as the Diurnal and Annual are, and that these Motions should be so constantly and regularly[c]performed for near 6000 Years, without any the least Alteration ever heard of (except some Hours which we read of inJosh.x. 12, 13. and inHezekiah’s Time, which, if they cannot be accounted for some other way, do greatly encreasethe Wonder[d]; these Things, I say,) do manifestly argue some divine infinite Power to be concerned therein[e]: But especially, if to all this we add the wonderful Convenience, yea absolute Necessity of these Circumvolutions to the Inhabitants, yea all the Products of the Earth and Waters. For to one of these we owe the comfortable Changes of Day and Night; the one for Business, the other for Repose;[f]the one for Man, and most other Animalsto gather and provide Food, Habitation, and other Necessaries of Life; the other to rest, refresh, and recruit their Spirits[g], wasted with the Labours of the Day. To the other of those Motions we owe the Seasons of Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumn, together with the beneficial Instances and Effects which these have on the Bodies and State of Animals, Vegetables, and all other Things, both in the Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid Zones.
FOOTNOTES:[a]With theCopernicans, I take it here for granted, that the Diurnal and Annual Revolutions are the Motions of the Terraqueous Globe, not of the Sun,&c.but for the Proof thereof I shall refer the Reader to the Preface of myAstro-Theology, andB. 4. Chap. 3.[b]Every thing that is moved, must of Necessity be moved by something else; and that thing is moved by something that is moved either by another Thing, or not by another Thing. If it be moved by that which is moved by another, we must of Necessity come to someprime Mover, that is not moved by another. For it is impossible, that what moveth, and is moved by another, should proceedin infinitum. Aristot. Phys. l. 8. c. 5.Solum quod seipsum movet, quia nunquam deseritur à se, nunquam ne moveri quidem definit; quinetiam cæteris quæ moventur, hic fons: hoc principium est movendi. Principii autem nulla est origo: nam ex principio oriuntur omnia; ipsum autem nullâ ex re aliâ nasciepotest: nec enim esset id principium, quod gigneretur aliunde.Cicer. Tusc. Quest. l. 1. c. 23.Cogitemus qui fieri possit, ut tanta magnitudo, ab aliquâ possit naturâ, tanto tempore circumferri? Ego igitur assero Deum causam esse, nec aliter posse fieri.Plato in Epinom.[c]Among the Causes whichCleanthesis said inTullyto assign for Men’s Belief of a Deity, one of the chief is,Æquabilitatem motûs, conversionem Cœli, Solis, Lunæ, Siderumque omnium distinctionem, varietatem, pulchritudinem, ordinem: quarum rerum aspectus ipse satis indicaret, non esse ea fortuita. Ut siquis in domum aliquam, aut in gymnasium, aut in forum venerit; cùm videat omnium rerum rationem, modum, disciplinam, non possit ea sine causâ fieri judicare, sed esse aliquem intelligat, qui præsit, & cui pareatur: multo magis in tantis motibus, tantisque vicissitudinibus, tam multarum rerum atque tanrarum ordinibus, in quibus nihil unquam immmensa & infinita vetustas mentita sit, statuat necesse est ab aliquâ Mente tantos naturæ motus gubernari.Cir. de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 5.Homines cœperunt Deum agnoscere, cùm viderent Stellas, tantam concinnitatem efficere; ac dies, noctesque, æstate, & hyeme, suos servare statos ortus, atque obitus.Plutarch de placit. l. 1. c. 6.[d]We need not be sollicitous to elude the History of these Miracles, as if they were only poetical Strains, asMaimonides, and some others fancyJoshua’s Day to have been,viz.only an ordinary Summer’s Day; but such as had the Work of many Days done in it; and therefore by a poetical Stretch made, as if the Day had been lengthened by the Sun standing still. But in the History they are seriously related, as real Matters of Fact, and with such Circumstances as manifest them to have been miraculous Works of the Almighty; And the ProphetHabakkuk, iii. 11. mentions that ofJoshuaas such. And therefore taking them to be miraculous Perversions of the Course of Nature, instead of being Objections, they are great Arguments of the Power of God: For inHezekiah’s Case, to wheel the Earth it self backward, or by some extraordinary Refractions, to bring the Sun’s Shadow backward 10 Degrees: Or inJoshua’s Case, to stop the diurnal Course of the Globe for some Hours, and then again give it the same Motion; to do, I say, there Things, required the same infinite Power which at first gave the Terraqueous Globe its Motions.[e]Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebarConsilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveriSidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igneCompleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undisLittora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.[f]Diei noctisque vicissitudo conservat animantes, tribuens aliud agendi tempus, aliud quiescendi. Sic undique omni ratione concluditur, Mente, Consilioque divino omnia in hoc mundo ad salutem omnium, conservationemque admirabiliter administrari.Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 53.[g]The acute Dr.Cheyne, in his ingeniousPhilos. Princ. of Natural Religion, among other uses of Day and Night, saith, the Night is most proper for Sleep; because when the Sun is above the Horizon, Sleep is prejudicial, by reason the Perspirations are then too great. Also that Nutrition is mostly, if not altogether, performed in Time of Rest; the Blood having too quick a Motion in the Day: For which Reason, weak Persons, Children,&c.are nourished most, and recruit best by Sleep.
[a]With theCopernicans, I take it here for granted, that the Diurnal and Annual Revolutions are the Motions of the Terraqueous Globe, not of the Sun,&c.but for the Proof thereof I shall refer the Reader to the Preface of myAstro-Theology, andB. 4. Chap. 3.
[a]With theCopernicans, I take it here for granted, that the Diurnal and Annual Revolutions are the Motions of the Terraqueous Globe, not of the Sun,&c.but for the Proof thereof I shall refer the Reader to the Preface of myAstro-Theology, andB. 4. Chap. 3.
[b]Every thing that is moved, must of Necessity be moved by something else; and that thing is moved by something that is moved either by another Thing, or not by another Thing. If it be moved by that which is moved by another, we must of Necessity come to someprime Mover, that is not moved by another. For it is impossible, that what moveth, and is moved by another, should proceedin infinitum. Aristot. Phys. l. 8. c. 5.Solum quod seipsum movet, quia nunquam deseritur à se, nunquam ne moveri quidem definit; quinetiam cæteris quæ moventur, hic fons: hoc principium est movendi. Principii autem nulla est origo: nam ex principio oriuntur omnia; ipsum autem nullâ ex re aliâ nasciepotest: nec enim esset id principium, quod gigneretur aliunde.Cicer. Tusc. Quest. l. 1. c. 23.Cogitemus qui fieri possit, ut tanta magnitudo, ab aliquâ possit naturâ, tanto tempore circumferri? Ego igitur assero Deum causam esse, nec aliter posse fieri.Plato in Epinom.
[b]Every thing that is moved, must of Necessity be moved by something else; and that thing is moved by something that is moved either by another Thing, or not by another Thing. If it be moved by that which is moved by another, we must of Necessity come to someprime Mover, that is not moved by another. For it is impossible, that what moveth, and is moved by another, should proceedin infinitum. Aristot. Phys. l. 8. c. 5.
Solum quod seipsum movet, quia nunquam deseritur à se, nunquam ne moveri quidem definit; quinetiam cæteris quæ moventur, hic fons: hoc principium est movendi. Principii autem nulla est origo: nam ex principio oriuntur omnia; ipsum autem nullâ ex re aliâ nasciepotest: nec enim esset id principium, quod gigneretur aliunde.Cicer. Tusc. Quest. l. 1. c. 23.
Cogitemus qui fieri possit, ut tanta magnitudo, ab aliquâ possit naturâ, tanto tempore circumferri? Ego igitur assero Deum causam esse, nec aliter posse fieri.Plato in Epinom.
[c]Among the Causes whichCleanthesis said inTullyto assign for Men’s Belief of a Deity, one of the chief is,Æquabilitatem motûs, conversionem Cœli, Solis, Lunæ, Siderumque omnium distinctionem, varietatem, pulchritudinem, ordinem: quarum rerum aspectus ipse satis indicaret, non esse ea fortuita. Ut siquis in domum aliquam, aut in gymnasium, aut in forum venerit; cùm videat omnium rerum rationem, modum, disciplinam, non possit ea sine causâ fieri judicare, sed esse aliquem intelligat, qui præsit, & cui pareatur: multo magis in tantis motibus, tantisque vicissitudinibus, tam multarum rerum atque tanrarum ordinibus, in quibus nihil unquam immmensa & infinita vetustas mentita sit, statuat necesse est ab aliquâ Mente tantos naturæ motus gubernari.Cir. de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 5.Homines cœperunt Deum agnoscere, cùm viderent Stellas, tantam concinnitatem efficere; ac dies, noctesque, æstate, & hyeme, suos servare statos ortus, atque obitus.Plutarch de placit. l. 1. c. 6.
[c]Among the Causes whichCleanthesis said inTullyto assign for Men’s Belief of a Deity, one of the chief is,Æquabilitatem motûs, conversionem Cœli, Solis, Lunæ, Siderumque omnium distinctionem, varietatem, pulchritudinem, ordinem: quarum rerum aspectus ipse satis indicaret, non esse ea fortuita. Ut siquis in domum aliquam, aut in gymnasium, aut in forum venerit; cùm videat omnium rerum rationem, modum, disciplinam, non possit ea sine causâ fieri judicare, sed esse aliquem intelligat, qui præsit, & cui pareatur: multo magis in tantis motibus, tantisque vicissitudinibus, tam multarum rerum atque tanrarum ordinibus, in quibus nihil unquam immmensa & infinita vetustas mentita sit, statuat necesse est ab aliquâ Mente tantos naturæ motus gubernari.Cir. de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 5.
Homines cœperunt Deum agnoscere, cùm viderent Stellas, tantam concinnitatem efficere; ac dies, noctesque, æstate, & hyeme, suos servare statos ortus, atque obitus.Plutarch de placit. l. 1. c. 6.
[d]We need not be sollicitous to elude the History of these Miracles, as if they were only poetical Strains, asMaimonides, and some others fancyJoshua’s Day to have been,viz.only an ordinary Summer’s Day; but such as had the Work of many Days done in it; and therefore by a poetical Stretch made, as if the Day had been lengthened by the Sun standing still. But in the History they are seriously related, as real Matters of Fact, and with such Circumstances as manifest them to have been miraculous Works of the Almighty; And the ProphetHabakkuk, iii. 11. mentions that ofJoshuaas such. And therefore taking them to be miraculous Perversions of the Course of Nature, instead of being Objections, they are great Arguments of the Power of God: For inHezekiah’s Case, to wheel the Earth it self backward, or by some extraordinary Refractions, to bring the Sun’s Shadow backward 10 Degrees: Or inJoshua’s Case, to stop the diurnal Course of the Globe for some Hours, and then again give it the same Motion; to do, I say, there Things, required the same infinite Power which at first gave the Terraqueous Globe its Motions.
[d]We need not be sollicitous to elude the History of these Miracles, as if they were only poetical Strains, asMaimonides, and some others fancyJoshua’s Day to have been,viz.only an ordinary Summer’s Day; but such as had the Work of many Days done in it; and therefore by a poetical Stretch made, as if the Day had been lengthened by the Sun standing still. But in the History they are seriously related, as real Matters of Fact, and with such Circumstances as manifest them to have been miraculous Works of the Almighty; And the ProphetHabakkuk, iii. 11. mentions that ofJoshuaas such. And therefore taking them to be miraculous Perversions of the Course of Nature, instead of being Objections, they are great Arguments of the Power of God: For inHezekiah’s Case, to wheel the Earth it self backward, or by some extraordinary Refractions, to bring the Sun’s Shadow backward 10 Degrees: Or inJoshua’s Case, to stop the diurnal Course of the Globe for some Hours, and then again give it the same Motion; to do, I say, there Things, required the same infinite Power which at first gave the Terraqueous Globe its Motions.
[e]Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebarConsilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveriSidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igneCompleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undisLittora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.
[e]
Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebarConsilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveriSidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igneCompleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undisLittora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.
Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebarConsilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveriSidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igneCompleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undisLittora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.
Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebarConsilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveriSidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igneCompleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undisLittora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.
Nam cùm dispositi quasissem fœdera Mundi,
Præscriptosque Maris fines, Annique meatus,
Et Lucis, Noctisque vices: tunc omnia rebar
Consilio firmata Dei, qui lege moveri
Sidera, qui fruges diverso tempore nasci,
Qui variam Phœben alieno jusserit igne
Compleri, Solemque suo; porrexerit undis
Littora; Tellurem medio libraverat axe.
Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.
Claudian in Rufin. L. 1. initio.
[f]Diei noctisque vicissitudo conservat animantes, tribuens aliud agendi tempus, aliud quiescendi. Sic undique omni ratione concluditur, Mente, Consilioque divino omnia in hoc mundo ad salutem omnium, conservationemque admirabiliter administrari.Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 53.
[f]Diei noctisque vicissitudo conservat animantes, tribuens aliud agendi tempus, aliud quiescendi. Sic undique omni ratione concluditur, Mente, Consilioque divino omnia in hoc mundo ad salutem omnium, conservationemque admirabiliter administrari.Cicer. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 53.
[g]The acute Dr.Cheyne, in his ingeniousPhilos. Princ. of Natural Religion, among other uses of Day and Night, saith, the Night is most proper for Sleep; because when the Sun is above the Horizon, Sleep is prejudicial, by reason the Perspirations are then too great. Also that Nutrition is mostly, if not altogether, performed in Time of Rest; the Blood having too quick a Motion in the Day: For which Reason, weak Persons, Children,&c.are nourished most, and recruit best by Sleep.
[g]The acute Dr.Cheyne, in his ingeniousPhilos. Princ. of Natural Religion, among other uses of Day and Night, saith, the Night is most proper for Sleep; because when the Sun is above the Horizon, Sleep is prejudicial, by reason the Perspirations are then too great. Also that Nutrition is mostly, if not altogether, performed in Time of Rest; the Blood having too quick a Motion in the Day: For which Reason, weak Persons, Children,&c.are nourished most, and recruit best by Sleep.