Page:Mathematical collections and translations, in two tomes - Salusbury (1661).djvu/94

 passible, immortal,&c. they must needs be absolutely perfect; and their being absolute perfect, necessarily implies that there is in them all kinds of perfection; and consequently, that their figure be also perfect, that is to say, spherical; and absolutely and perfectly spherical, and not rough and irregular.

And this incorruptibility, from whence do you prove it?

Immediately by its freedom from contraries, and mediately, by its simple circular motion.

So that; by what I gather from your discourse, in making the essence of the Cœlestial bodies to be incorruptible, inalterable, &c, there is no need of rotundity as a cause, or requisite; for if this should cause inalterability, we might at our pleasure make wood, wax, and other Elementary matters, incorruptible, by reducing them to a spherical figure.

And is it not manifest that a ball of Wood will better and longer be preserved, than an oblong, or other angular figure, made of a like quantity of the same wood.

This is most certain, but yet it doth not of corruptible become incorruptible, but still remains corruptible, though of a much longer duration. Therefore you must note, that a thing corruptible, is capable of being more or lesse such, and we may properly say this is lesse corruptible than that; as for example, the Jasper, than the Pietra Sirena; but incorruptibility admits not of more, or lesse, so as that it may be said this is more incorruptible than that, if both be incorruptible and eternal. The diversity of figure therefore cannot operate: save onely in matters capable of more or lesse duration; but in the eternal, which cannot be other than equally eternal, the operation of figure ceaseth. And therefore, since the Cœlestial matter is not incorruptible by figure, but otherwayes no man needs to be so solicitous for this perfect sphericity; for if the matter be incorruptible, let it have what figure it will, it shall be alwayes such.

But I am considering another thing, and say, that if we should grant the spherical figure a faculty of conferring incorruptibility, all bodies of whatsoever figure, would be incorruptible; forasmuch as if the rotund body be incorruptible, corruptibility would then subsist in those parts which alter the perfect rotundity; as for instance, there is in a Die a body perfectly round, and, as such, incorruptible; therefore it remaineth that those angles be corruptible which cover and hide the rotundity; so that the most that could happen, would be, that those angles, and (to so speak) excrescencies, would corrupt. But if we proceed to a more inward consideration, that in those parts also towards the angles, there are comprised other lesser bals of the same matter;