Of the Heavens and the Earth • 155

ediptic; and going round westward, the fame way as the stars dv;but with a motion fo much siower than the motion of the stars, thatthey will make 366 revolutions about the axis of the fphere, in thetime that the fun makes only 365. During one half of thefe revo-kitions, the fun will be on the north fide of the equinoctial; during theother half, on the fouth; and at the end of each half, in the equinoctial.

If we fuppose the terrestrial globe in this machine to be about one The eartb*inch in diameter, and the diameter of the starry fphere to be aboutfi ve or six feet, a finali infect on the globe would fee only a verylittle portion of its furface ; but it would fee one half of the starryfphere ; the convexity of the globe hiding the other half from itsview. If the fphere be turned westward round the globe, and the The apparentinfect could judge of the appearances which arife from that motion, ™ e ° a tion s of thsit would fee forne stars rifing to its view in the eastern side of the vfphere, whilst others were fetting on the Western : but as all the starsare fixed to the fphere, the fame stars would always rise in the famepoints of view on the east side, and fet in the fame points of view onthe west side. With the fun it would be otherwife, becaufe the funis not fixed to any point of the fphere, but moves flowly along anoblique circle in it. And if the infect fhould look towards the fouth,and call that point of the globe, where the equinoctial in the fpherefeems to cut it on the lest side, the east point ; and where it cuts theglobe on the right side, the west point ; the little animal would fee thefun rise north of the east, and fet north of the west, for 182 ' revo-kitions; aster which, for as many more, the fun would rise fouth ofthe east, and fet fouth of the west. And in the whole 365 revo-lutions, the fun would rise only twice in the east point, and fet twicein the west. Ali thefe appearances would be the fame, if the starryfphere slood still (the fun only moving in the ediptic) and the earthlyglobe were turned round the axis of the fphere east ward. For, as- the infect would be carried round with the globe, he would be quiteinsensible of its motion; and the fun and stars would appear to movewestward.

We are but very fmall beings when compared with our earthly globe,and the globe itfist is but a dimensionlefs point compared with the mag-n itu de of the starry heavens. Whether the earth be at rest, and theheaven turns round it, or the heaven be at rest, and the earth turnsround, the appearance to us will be exactly the fame. And becaufethe heaven is fo immenfely large, in comparifon of the earth, we feeone half of the heaven as well from the earth’s furface, as we coulddb from its center, if the limits of our view are not interceptedby, hilis. X 2 We