Page:Mathematical collections and translations, in two tomes - Salusbury (1661).djvu/244

 circularly along with the vertigenous diurnal revolution is absolutely natural: against which he objecteth, saying, that according to these mens opinion; Si tota terra, unà cum aquà in nihilum redigeretur, nulla grando aut pluvia è nube decideret, sed naturalater tantùm circumferetur, neque ignis ullus, aut igneum ascenderet, cùm illorum non improbabili sententià ignis nullus sit suprà. [Which I translate to this sense:] If the whole Earth, together with the Water were reduced into nothing, no hail or rain would fall from the clouds, but would be onely naturally carried round; neither any fire or fiery thing would ascend, seeing to these that men it is no improbable opinion that there is no fire above.

The providence of this Philosopher is admirable, and worthy of great applause; for he is not content to provide for things that might happen, the course of Nature continuing, but will shew hic care in what may follow from those things that he very well knows shall never come to pass. I will grant him therefore, (that I may get som pretty passages out of him) that if the Earth and Water should be reduced to nothing, there would be no more hails or rains, nor would igneal matters ascend any longer upwards, but would continually turn round: what will follow? what will the Philosopher say then?

The objection is in the words which immediately follow; here they are: Quibus tamen experientia & ratio adversatur. Which nevertheless (saith he) is contrary to experience and reason.

Now I must yield, seeing he hath so great an advantage of me as experience, of which I am unprovided. For as yet I never had the fortune to see the Terrestrial Globe and the element of Water turn'd to nothing, so as to have been able to observe what the hail and water did in that little Chaos. But he perhaps tells us for our instruction what they did.

No, he doth not.

I would give any thing to change a word or two with this person, to ask him, whether when this Globe vanished, it carried away with it the common centre of gravity, as I believe it did; in which case, I think that the hail and water would remain insensate and stupid amongst the clouds, without knowing what to do with themselves. It might be also, that attracted by that great void Vacuum, left by the Earths absenting, all the ambients would be rarified, and particularly, the air, which is extreme easily drawn, and would run thither with very great haste to fill it up. And perhaps the more solid and material bodies, as birds, (for there would in all probability be many of them scattered up and down in the air) would retire more towards the centre of the great vacant sphere; (for it seemeth very reasonable, that substances that