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T may be proper to acquaint the Reader,
that we have in this Edition added, in the
Margin, References to the Englijh Tranfiation
of the Principia lately publihed, direl:ing to
the feveral Pages in that Tranfiation, where
the Things here treated of are proved : And
that the Afterisk in the Margin is defigned to
hew how far the Difcourfe in the Principia is
tbe fame with wbat is found in this Treatife.
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A
O F T HE
O F T HE

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e
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Tranfiated into E N G LIs H.
The T H I n. D E o I T IoN.

LO N ZJ O N:
Printed for B. M o T T E :md C. B A 'l' H u R '.r,
at the Middle Cf'emple-Gate,in fleelpflreet.
M DCC XXXV ll.
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rom Sir IsAAc EwToN's
athematical Principies,
Lib. 111. 1ntrod.
N the preceding books 1 ha ve
laid down the princjples of
philofophy ; principies, not
phiiofophical, but tnathetnatical;
fuch, to wit, as we tnay build our
reafonings upon in philofophical
enquiries. , Thefe principies are
the laws and conditions of certain
tnotions, and powers or forces,
which chiefly have refpel: to phi-
lofophy. But left they fuould
ha ve appeared of thetnfelves dry
and barren, 1 have illuftrated
then1 here and there with fotne
philofophical giving
an . account of fu eh things as
are of tnore generalnature, and
which philofophy feetns chiefly
to be founded on ; fuch as the
denfity and the refiftance of bo-
dies, fpaces void of all bodies,
A 3 and
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and the tnotion of light _ and
founds. It that frotn
the fatne principies 1 now detnon-
ftrate the fran1e of the S Y s TE M
oftheWoRLD. Upon this fub-
I had indeed cotnpofed the
third book in a popular tnethod>
that it might be read by :
but afterwards confidering that
fuch as had not fufficiently en-
tered into the could
not eafil y difcern the ftrength
of the confequences_, nor la y afide
the prejudices to which they had
been tnany years accuftotned;
therefore to prevent the difputes
which tnight be raifed upon fu eh
1 chofe to reduce the
fubftance of that book into the
fonn of propofitions (in the n1a-
thetnatical way) which fhould be
read by thofe who had fi.rft
n1ade thetnfelves tnafters of the
principies eitabliihed in the pre-
ccding books.
. '
THE
T HE

-
H AT the matter of the Heavens
is fluid Page :l
The principie of circular motion itJ free
baus 4
The ejftfs of cetztripetal forces 5
The certainty of the argument 7
What follows from the foppofod diurnat
motion of the Star s 8
The i11congruous. cottfoquences of this
fitppo.fiti01t. 9
That there is a ce1ttripetal force realb di-
refed to the center ofevery ptanet 10
Tbat tbofo cetttripetat forces decreaft i1z
the dttplicate proportiott ofthe dijlattces
from the t'C1tter of every ptauet I:z..
Tbat the fitperior pla1tets are rcvotved
ahottt tbc Sun, mtd by radii drawtt to
thc Stm, dcftri6c arca' s proportio1tal
to the times 15
A 4 Tbat
'







The CON'TENTS.
That -the force which governs the
our P lanet.r is direled, not to the
Earth, hut to the Sutz Page 18
That the circumfolar force throughottt
a JI the regions of the P lanets de-
creaftth in the dttplicate proportimt of
the dijlances fr.om the Sun 19
That the circum-'lfrrejtrial force decrea.-
fts in the duplicate proportion of the
dijlances from the Earth proved in
the hypothejis ofihe Earth's heing at
. rejf
The fome proved in the hypothefis of the
Earth's motion 2.3
The decrement of the forces in the
dttp_licaie roportion of the
from the arth and Planets, proved
from the eccentricity of the P Janets,
and the very jlow motion of their
apfts . 24
The quantity of the forcu tettding to-
. wards the ftveral Plattets. The cir-
cumfolar very great z;
The circum-terrejlrial force very fmall 2.7
The apparent diameters of the P lam:ts
. . . 28
The corrc1io11 of thc apparettt diame-
ters 29
Wh thc dcnjity is grcatcr itt fome of the
. fotces
'
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The CONTENTS.
- {orces in att are as their. quantities
of matter . Page 3 2.
:.Another analogy between the forces and
bodies, proved i1t the celejliat odies 34
Proved in terreflrial bodies 3 5
The a.ffinity of thoft anatogies 3 7
And coincidence !bid.
That the forces of fmalt bodies are inftn-
jibte 39
Which notwithflanding, there are forcu
tending towards alt. terreflriat bodies
p r o p o r t i o t t ~ to their quantities of
matter 41
Proved that the fome forces tend to-
wards the celejlial bodies 42..
That from the forfaces of the Planets,
reckoning outward, their forces de-
creaft in the dupticate ; but, reckon-
ing inward, in the fimple proportion
ofthe dijla1zces from their t:enters 43
The quantities ofthe forces and of the
motio1ts arijing in the ftverat e ajes 44
That att the Ptanets revolve a/;out the
Sun 45
That the common e en ter of gravity of alt
the Ptanets is qteieftent. That the
Sttn is agitated with a very jlow mo-
tion. This motio1t defi1ted 49
TIJat the Plattets 11everthelefl are re-
- volved in eltipfts, having thcit foci

m
The CONTENTS .

in the S un ; and hy radii drawn to the
S un deflribe arca' .s proportionat to the
mes Page 50
Of tbe dimenjio1ts of the orhits, ofthe
motions of their apheliotts and no des 5 r
.Att the moti01ts of the Moon that have
hitherto been obftrved by ajlronomers,
derived from the foregoing princi-
pies 53
As alfo fome other U1tequahle
that hitberto have 110t been obftrved
55
.And the diflance of the Mo011 from the
Earth to at':)' give1t time 56
The motiotts of the fotetlites of Jupiter
a1td Saturn, derived from the motions
of ottr ]I;Joon . 57
That tbe Planets, t reJPeEf ofthe fixed
Stars, are revolved by eqttable motion.r
a6out their _propet axes. ..And that
(perhaps) thoft motiotts are the mojl
jit for the eqttatiott of time 58
That the Moon lik.ewije is revolved by a
dittr11at motio1t abottt it-s axe, mtd that
its tihratio1t does tbtmce arift 59
Of the precej{to1t of tbe eqttiltoxes, attd
of the tib'ratory motio1t of the axes of
the Earth audPJam:ts 6o
That the ji:tt twice to jlow, a1td
tuicr,. to ebb e1;ery da_v ; that tbe
highcjt
'
'fhe CO:N'TENTS.
highejt water mujl fatt out in the
third hour after the appulfl of the
tuminaries to the meridian of the
place. Page 61
That the greatefl tides happen in the
J.Yzygies of the tuminaries, tbe lenjt
in their quadratttres: a1td that, at the
third hour after the appulfe of the
Moott to the meridian of the place.
But that out of the J.Yzygies and qua-
, dratures thoft greateft and leajl tides
deviate a tittte from that third hour
towards the third hour after the ap-
pulfe of the Sun to the meridian. 62.
That the tides are greatejf when the lu-
minaries are i?t their perigees 64
That the tides are greatefi about the
equi1toxes Ibid.
- That out of the equator the tides are
greater a1td left alter1tateJy 6)
Tbat by the conflrvation of the impref-
fld motio1z, the di.fference of tbe tides
is dimi1tijhed: a1td that he1tce it may
happe1t that the reatejl me1flrttat tide
wittbe the t.hir .a_fter the J.Yzygy 68
That the motions of the fta may be re-
tarded by impedime1tts i1t its chan-
1tels 69
Tbat from tbe impedime1tts of chamret.r
a1td fhores, various. do
arift,



. t The CONTENTS.

arift, as that the fta may j!ow ut
once every day Page 71
That the times of the tides within the
channels of rivers are more unequat
than in the ocean 73
That the tides are greater in greater
and deeper Seas; greater on the fhores
of cotttinents than of ijla1zds in the
middte of the Sea; and yet greater
i1t fhaltow bays that open with wide
inlets to the Sea . 7>
-The force of the Sun to dijtur the mo-
tions of the Moon, computed from the
foregoing principies 78
The force of the Sutt to move the Sea
computed 79
The height of the tide under the equator,
ariji1zg from the force of the S un, com-
puted So
The height of the tides tender the parai-
Jels, a'rifing from the S tul s force, com-
puted 82
The proportion of the tides tmder the
equator, j1t the Jjzygies a11d quadra-
~ t t r e s arijing .from the joint joras of
6oth Sten a1td Moo11- 8.f
Thc force of thc Moott to excite tides,
and the beight o.f thc water thc1zce
flri(i11 .. cr,, commted 8;
That
-
The CONTENTSJ
That thofo forces of the Sun and Moo11
are ftarce fhtjlble by any other effefl
bejide the tides which they raift in
the fta . . Page 87
That the body of the Moon is about 6
times more dntft tha1t the body of the
Sun . 88
'I'hat the Moott is more de11fo tha11- the
Earth in a ratio of about 3 to 7-
Ibid .

Of the dijlance of the fixed Stars 90
That the Comets as often as they be-
come vijible to tts, are nearer than
.1ttpiter. Proved from their paral-
lax in longittt:de 9 3
The fome proved from their paraila:x:
i7t Jatitude 9-'f
Tf?e fome proved otherwife by the pa-
rallax 9>
From the light of the Comet.s heads it is
proved that they deftettd to the orbit
of Satttn, . 96
./11td alfo betow the orb of Jupiter,
a11d fometimes below the orb of the
Earth 99
Tbe Jame proved from the extraordi1tary
.l}le11dottr of tbeir tails whe1t they are
11ear tbe Smt 102..
Tbc J!tmc proved fi.om the- t ~ r h t of
tbetr bead.r, as b c t t ~ r greater cretcris
paribus

The CONTENTS.
paribus when they come near to the
Sun Page 107
The fome confirmed by the g1eat number
of Comets foen irt the region of the
Sun 110
This alfo confirmed, by the greater m g ~ .
nitttde and JP!endour of the taits after
the conjztnilion of the heads with the
S un, than before 11 1
That the taits arift from the atmo-
./}heres of the Comets 112.
That the air and vapour in the ce!efliat
./}aces is of an immenft rarity : and
that a fmatt quantity of vapour may
he .fu.fficient to exptain att the phteno-
mena of the taits of Comets 1 17
.After what manner the taits of Comets
may arift from the atmo./}heres of
their heads 120
That the taits do indeed ari.fe from thoft
atmoj}heres, proved from ftverat of
their phtettomena 121
The Comets do fometimes de.fcend below
the orbit of Mercury, proved from
their taits 12.4
That the Comt!ts. move in conic ftilions,
having one foctts in thc center of the
Sun, a1td by radii draw1z to that c e t t ~
ter du de.fcribe are a s proportio1ta! to
the times . 12.8
Tbat
The CONTENTS.
That thoft conic Jelions are near to
parabotas, proved from the velocity
of the Comets Page 12.8
In what fPace of time Comets deftribing
parabotic trajelories paft through the
JPhere ofthe orbis magnus 130
.At what time Comets enter into and
pafs ottt of the JPhere of the orbis
magnus 3 ~
With what vetocity the Comets of 168o
paffed through the fPhere of the orbis
magnus !bid.
That the.fe were not two, but one and
the fome Comet. In what orbit and
with what vetocity this Comet was
carried through the heavens.de.ftribed
more exalty 134
With what vetocity Comets are carried,
jhewed by more examptes 136
The invejligati01t of the trajelory of
Comets propoftd 138
Lemma' s premiftd to tbe foltttion of the
probtem 141
The Problem re.folved 148

O .F
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O F T HE

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O F T HE


T was the ancient opinin of
not a few in the That the matter of
earlieft ages of phi- the Heavens is fluid,
lofophy, That the fixed Stars .
ftood immoveable in the
higheft parts of the world; that under
the Fixed Stars the Planets were carried
about the Sun ; that the Earrh, as one of
the Planees, dcfcribed an annual courfe
about thc Sun, whilc by a diurna! mo
tion it was in the mean time revolved
about its own axe ; and that the Sun, as
thc common firc which ferved to warm
thc wholc, was fixcd in the center of the
Univcrfc.
B This


.,
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OF THE SYSTEM
-

This was the philofophy taught of
old by Philo!aus, .Ariflarchus of Sa-
f.l:ot.Lib.2.mos, Plato in his riper years, and the


whole fea of the Pythagoreans. And
Lib.
3
le this was the judgment of .Anaximander,
more ancient than any of them, and of
Ph/of. eJJ' l r. k' 11.T
in Numa. tlat-Wite mg of the Romans, .J.'ILUma
Pompilius; who, as a fymbol of tb.e
figure of the W orld with. the S un in the
centcr, eretcd a temple in honour of
Vefla, of a round f-orm, and ordained per-
petual fire to .be kept in the middle of it.
The Egyptians were early obfervers
of the hea vens. And from them pro-
bably this philofophy was fpread abroad
among other nations. For from them
it was, and the nations about th.em, that
the Greeks, a people of themfelves more
additcd to the l:udy of philology than
of nature, derived their firl:, as well as
ioundeft, notions of philofophy. And
in the 'vcftal ceremonies wc may yct
trace the ancicnt fpirit of the Egyptians.
For it was their way to deliver thcir .
myl:eries, that is, their philofophy of
things abovc thc vulgar way of th.ink-
ing, under the veil of religious ritcs and
hicroglyphick fymbols.
It is not to be dcnicd but that Anax-
ngoras, Vemocritus and othcrs did now
and thcn l:art up, who would. have it
that thc Earrh poifeficd thc ccmcr of
rhc
,
O F T H E W O R L D.
the W orld, and that the Stars of all forts
were revolved towards the weft, about
the Eanh quiefccnt in the cenrer; fome
at a fwifter, others at a lower rate.
Howevcr, it was agreed on both fidcs,
that the motions of the celeftial bodics
were performcd in fpaces altogether free,
and void of rcfiftancc. The whim of
folid orbs was of a larer date, introdu-
ced by Eudoxus, Calippus and Ariflotle;
when the ancient philofophy bcgan to
. decline, and ro give place to the new
prcvailing fil:ions of the Greeks.
But above all things, the phamomena
of Comets can by no means confil: with
ihe notion of folid orbs. TheCha!deans;
the mol: lcarned al:ronomers of their
time, looked upon the Comets (which
of ancient times beforc had bcen num-
bercd among the cclcftial bodics) as a
particular fort of plancts, which, dcfcri-
bing vcry ecccntric orbits, prefcmcd
thcmfclvcs to our vicw only by. turns,
viz. once in a rcvolution, when rhey
dcfcendcd imo the lower parts of thcir
orbits.
And as it was thc unavoidable con/C.
qucncc of thc hypothcfts of folid orbs,
\vhilc it prcvailcd, that thc Comcts 1hould
be thruft down bclow thc Moon ; fo no
fooner had thc late obfcrvations of al:ro-
nomcrs rdl:orcJ thc Cornees to thcir an-

B .2 ClCnt







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OF THE SYSTEM
cient places in the higher heavens,. but
thefe celeftial fpaces were at once
of the incumbrance of folid orbs, which
by thefe obfervations werc broke into
pieces and difcarded for ever
The principle of cir- W HE N CE it was that the
cular motion in free Planets carne to be retained
fpaces. within any certain bounds in
thefe free fpaces, and to be drawn off
from the retl:ilinear courfes, which, left
to themfelves, they hould have purfued, .
into regular revolutions in curvilinear
orbits, are queftions which we do not
know how the ancients explained. And
probably it was to give fome fort of fa-
tisfatl:ion to this diffi.culty, that folid orbs
were introduced.
P. 2.6:z..
Vol. I.
Princip.
The later philofophers pretend t ac-
for it, either by the atl:ion of cer-
tain vorticcs, as Kepler and Ves Cartes;
or by fome othcr principie of impulfe
or attral:ion, as Boretli, Hook, and others
of our nation. For, from the laws of
motion, it is moft crtain that thefe ef-
fcl:s muft proceed from thc al:ion of
fome fotce or othcr.
But our purpbfe is only to trace out
the quantity and propertics of this force
from the phrenomena, and to apply what
we difcovcr in fome fimple cafes, as
principies, by in a rnathematical
way,
-
O F T H E W O R L D.
way, we may eftimate the effel:s there-
of in more involved cafes. For it would
be eqdlefs and impoffible to bring every
particular to direl: and immediate ob-
fervation.

We faid, in a mathem4tical way, to
avoiq all queftio.ns abopt the nature or
quality of this which we would
not be underftood to determine by any
hypothefis; and therefore call it by the
general name of a entri petal force, as
it is a force which is direl:ed towards
fome center ; and as it regards more par-
ticularly a body in that cemer, we call
it circum-folar, circum-terreftrial, circum-
jovial, and in like manner in of
other central bodies.
' ' . .
T HA T by mcans of centripetal

5
the Planets may be retained The effetls of
in certain orbits, we may eafily tripetal forces,
underftand, if we confider the motions
of proje4ilcs. For a ftone prpjel:ed is P. 4d 6.
by dw preifure of its own weight forccd Vol.
1

01,1t of the path, which by che
alone it fhould have purft,1cd,
and made to dcfcribe a curve line in the
. "
air; and through that crooked way is a.t
brought down to the grouad,. .t\nd
the greater the velocity is wicl:l. which it
is projc4c4, the farchcr jc gocs before it
falls to Earth, W e may thcre-
B 3 forc


6



OF THE SYSTEM

fore fuppofe the velocity to be fo en ...
creafed, that it would defcribe an are of
1, z, 5, 10, Ioo, Iooo miles before it

arrived at the Earth, till at lafl: exceeding
the limits of the Earth, it fhould pafs
quite by without touching it.
Let AFB reprefent the furfaee of the
Earth, C its eenter, VD, VE, VF, the

curve lines whieh a body would de-
fcribe, if projel:ed in an horizontal di-
rel:ion from the t:op of an high moun.,
tain, fueeeflively with more and more
Vid.vol.II. velocity. beeauie the celeftial mo.,
Princip. tions are fearcely retar:ded by the little
f

or no refiftance of the fpaees in whieh

they are perforrried ; to keep up the pa-
rity of -cafes, let us fuppofe either that
there is no air about the Earth, or at
leaft that it is endowed with little or no
power of refifting. And for the fame
reafon that the body projetl:ed with a
: lefs velocity, deferibcs the lefer are VD,
and with a greater veloeity, the greater
are VE, and augmenting the velocity,.
it gocs farthcr and farther to F and G;
if the vclocity was ftill more and more
augmented, it would reaeh at laft quite
bcyond thc eircumfcrcnee of the Earth,
and rcturn to thc moumain from whieh
t was projctl:cd .
.And ftnec the area's, which by this
rnotion it dcfcribcs by a radius drawn
to
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O F T H E W O R L D.
...
to the centcr of thcEarth, are (by Prop. I.
Book I. Princip. Math.) proportional
to the times in which they are defcribed;
its vclocity, whcn it returns to the moun-
tain, will be no lefs than it was at firft ;
and rctaining the fame velocity, it will
defcribe the fame curve over and ovcr,
by the fame Iaw.
But if we now imagine bod.ies to be
projetl:ed in the diretions of lines pa-
rallel to the horizon from greater heights,
as of 5, I o, I o o, I ooo or more miles, ,
or rather as many fcmi-diameters of thc
Earth ; thofe bodies, according to their
differcm velocity, and the differem force
of gravity in different hights, will de-
fcribc ares either concemric with the
Earth, or variouO.y excentric, and go on
revolving through the heavens in thofe
trajetl:ories, juft as the Planets do in thcir
orbs.
As whcn a l:one is projetl:ed obliquely,
7
-
that is, any way but in the pcr- The certainty oftbe
pendicular dirctl:ion, the per- argument.
pctual dcflel:ion thereof towards the
Earth from thc righ.t line in which it
was projcl:ed, is a proof of its gravi-
tation to thc Earth, no lcfs ccrtain than
its direl: defcent when only fuffcrcd to
fall frccly from refi; fo thc dcviation of
bodics, moving in free fpaccs, from rcl:i-
.13 4 lincat
-
OF THE SYSTEM
linear paths, and pe.rpetual
towards any place, is a fure
indication of the exiftence of fome force,.
wlch from all quarters impells thofe
bodies towards that place .
.t\nd as from the fuppofed exifi:ence
of gravity, it necefarily follows that all
. bodies about the Earth mufi: prefs down- -
wards, and therefore rnuft either de-
fcend direilly to .the Earth, if they are
let fall from reft, or at leafi: perpetually
deviate from right lines towards the
if they are projeled i
fo the fuppofed exiftence of a force
any center, it will follow by
the like that all bdies, upon
which this force aas, muft either de-
fcend direlly to that center, or at leaft
deviate towards it from right
lines, if otherwife they fhould have
moved obliquely in thefe right lines.
And how from the motions given we
infer thc forces, or from thc forces
given wc may determin':! the is
fbewp in thc two tirO; Bpoks of 9,ur
Philofophy.
I F thc Earth is to ftand fi:ill,
"What follows from and the fixed Stars to be rcvol-
the furpofed diurna! ved in free fpaccs, in the fpace
mouon of the fiai'S. of 24 hours, it is ccrtain the
forces by which the fixed Stars ar'?
taincd
,
O F T H E W O R. L D.
tained in their orbs, are not diretl:ed to
Earth, hut to the centers of the feveral
orbs, that is, of the feveral arallel cir.,
eles, which the fixed Stars, eclining to
one fide and the other from the Equator,
defcribe daily. Alfo that by radii drawn
to the centers of thofe orbs, the fixed
Stars area's exally proportional
1:0 the tim.:s of defcription. Then be-
the periodic times are equal, it B'J Cor. 3:
follws that the ce.q.tripetal forces are
tJw radii of the feveral OJ:bs ; and that
they will perpetUally revolve in the fame
orbs. And the like may
P!= (irawn f.rom t4e fuppofed diurna! mo-
tion of the planets.

T HA T forces fhould be direled to no
' . .
Bocly on wJ:lich they phyfically depend,
but to innumerable imaginary The incongruous
points in the axe of the Earth of thi:o
_is an hypothefis too incongru- fuppofiuon.
'Tis more incongruous . ftill thaJ:
thofe fo.rces fbould increafe exally in
proportion of the diftances from this
axe. For this is an indication of an

increa"fe to imme.q.fity, or rathcr to infi-
nity ; whereas tqe forccs of natural
commonly decrcafe in reccding
thc fountain from which thcy
flow. Bqt what more abfurq,
are thc arca's, dcfcribcd by thc


..
IO

Cor. z.
Prop. :loo

OF THE SYSTEM
{ame Star, proportional to the times,
nor are its revolutions performed in the
fame orb. For as the Star recedes from
the neighbouring polc, both area's and
orb increafe ; and from the increafe of
the area, it is demonfrrated that the forces

are not direl:ed to the axe of the Earth.
And this difficulty arifes from the two-
fold motion that is obferved in the fixed
Stars, one diurna! round tite axe of the
Earth, the other excceding low, round
the axe of the ccliptic. And the ex-
plication thereof requires a compofition
of forces fo perplexed and fo variable,
that it is hardly to be reconciled with
any phyfical theory .

T HA T there centripetal forces
That the
1
e
5
a cen- al:ually direted to the bodies
tripera! force eally of the Sun, of the Earth, and
Jired:ed to the cen other Planets thus 1 infer.
ter of every planet. '
The Moon revolves about

our Earth, and by radii drawn to its
1'. ccnter, dcfcribcs area's ncarly proportio-
nal to thc times in which they are dc-
fcribed ; as is evidcnt from its v.elocity
comparcd with its apparent diameter.
For its motion is flowcr, whcn its da-
meter is (and thercforc its difrancc
grcatcr) and its motion is fwifter W'hen
its diametcr is grcatcr.

'
'
The
O F T H E W O R L D. t t
The revolutions of the fatellits of
Jupiter about that planet are more re- P. 1.o6.-
gular. For they defcribe circles concen-
trc with Jupiter by equable rnotions, as
exaHy as our fenfes can dill:inguiih.
And fo the fatellits of Saturn are re-
volved about this planet with motions P. 2.os.
nearly circular and equable, fcarcely
difturbed by any eccentricity hitherto
obferved.
That Venus and Mercury are revol-
ved about the Sun, is demonftrable from
their Moon -like appearances. When P.
they fhine with a full face, they are in
thofe parts of their orbs which in refpel:
of the Earth le beyond the Sun ; when
they appear half full, they are in thofe
parts which le over againft .the Sun;
when horned, in thofe parts which lie
between the Earth and the Sun, and
fometimes they pafs over the Sun's difc,
when direl:ly interpofed between the
Earth and the Sun.
And Venus, with a motion almoft
uniform, defcribes an orb nearly circu"
lflr and concentric with the Slm.
But Mercury, with a more eccentric
motion, rnakcs remarkable approachcs
to the Sun, and goes off again by turns ;
but it is always fwiftcr as it is near ro
dw and by a drawn
tQ


'





OF THE SYSTEM

to the Sun, ftill defcribes area's propor-
tional to the times .
Laftiy, that the Earth defcrbes about
the Sun, or the S un about the by a
radius from the to the other, arcas ex..,
atl:ly proportional to the times, is demon-
from the appar-ent diameter of thc
Sun compared with ts apparent motion.
Thefe are aftronornical experiments,
from which it follows, by Prop. 1, 2, 3,
in the firft Book of our Principies,
1'.
21
3> and their Coro!!aries, that thcre are ccn ...

21
s. tripetal forces, al.ually dircl:cd ( eithct
accurately or without confide.,-able er.,.
2.14 2.19
rour ) to the centel"S of the Earth, of
upiter, of Saturn, and of the Sun. In
ercury, Venus, Mars, and the lefer
planets, where experiments are wanting,
the arguments from analogy muft be al-
lowed in their place.
T HA T thofe forces dccreafe in the
That rhofe centl'ipe- duplicate proportion of the di-
tal forccs deceafe in fiances from thc ccnter of cvcry
the duplicare r.opor- l b r p
tion of the d1ftances p anct, appcars Y vOr.6. rop. +
from thc cemer of Book 1. For thc periodic times
, every planet. of thc fatcllits of J upitcr are, onc
P. :to6, to another, in the fcfquiplicatc propor-
"07" tion of thcir diftanc;cs from thc
of this planct.
This proportion has bcctl, long ago ob-
inthofc f.ltcllits. And Mr. F!am-
fleed,
...
O F T H E \V O R L D.
jfeed, who had oftcn meafurcd their
diftances from Jpiter by the microme-
ter, and by the eclipfes of the fatellits,
\vrote to me, that it holds to all the ac-
curacy that poffibly can be difceri1ed by
our fenfes. And he fent me the dimen-
fions of their orbits takcn by the mi-
crometer, and reduccd to the mean di-
ftance of J upiter from the Earth, or
from the Sun, togcther with the times
of their revolutions, as follows :
~ h greateft elonga-
tion of the fatellits
from the center of
]upiter as feen from
the Sun.
1
rjl. J
zd. 3
3d. 4
4th. 8
, ,
48 or roS
or or 181
46 or 286
13!- or 4931
The periodic times of
their revolutions.
d. h.
1 18
3 . l3
7 3
r6 J 8
1
28
17
59
5
"
Whence the fcfquiplicate proportion
may be eafily feen. For example, the
16 d 1 8 h o 5
1
1 3
11
is ro the time d.
1 s h 2 8
1
3 6
11
as 49 31
11
X v
1
49 3 ~ '' to
1 os
11
X 1 os
11
, neglel:ing thofe fmall
fral:ions which, in obferving cannot be
certainly determined.
Beforc thc invention of the microme-
ter, thc famc diftanccs wcrc dctcrmined
in fcmi-diamctcrs of Jupitcr, thus:
Di-

13
:t4 O F T H E S Y S TE M
1

Diftance of the rjl.
3d. 4fh.
By Galilteu
6 10 16 28
6
26 Simon Marias
10 16
.
Ca.flini
8
5
13 23
Borclli more
51 8)
14 2+-}
exal:Iy. .)
T

After the invention of the microtnetr.
------------------------
By 'Townlcy
. Flanylccd
More accurately 7
by the eclipfesS
5,51 8,78 13,47
531 8,85 13,98
5
,
57
8 8,8
7
6

24,72
24,23
24,90j
And thc pcriodic times of thofe fa-
tellits, by the obfervations of Mr. Flam-
fleed, are 1 d r sh 28
1
36
11
1 3d r7h 17'
5 4
11
1 7d 3 h 5 9
1
3 6
11
1 I 6d 1 gh 5
1
I 3
11
as above.
And the diftances thencc computcd
are 5,578 1 8,878 1 14,168 1 24,9681
accurately agrceing with the diftanccs by
obfcrvation.
Cajfi'ni affutcs us that thc famc pro-
portien is obfcrved in thc circum-f..'ltur-
nal planets. But a longcr courfc of ob-
fcrvations is rcquircd bcforc wc can
have a ccrtain and accurate thcory of
t}ofe plancts.
111

O F T H E W O R L D."
In the circum-folar planets, Mercury
and Venus, the fame proportion holds
with great accuracy, accordiilg to the
dimenfions of thcir orbs, as dctermined
by the obfervations of the bel: Al:ro-
non1ers .

ts

b h
P. 1.09,
T HA T Mars is revolved a out t e 1.11, 1.12.
Sun, is dcmonl:rated from the
phafes which it ihews, and the
proportion of its apparent dia-
meters. For from its appcar-
ng full ncar conjw1l:ion with
the Sun, and gibbous in its qua-
That the fuperior
planets are revolved
about the Sun. and
by radii dl'awn to the
Sun, defcribe area's
proportional to the

tunes.
dratures, it is certain that it furrounds
the Sun.
And fince its diametei appears about
five times greater, when in oppofition
to the Sun, than when in conjunl:ion
thercwith, and its difi:ance from the
Earth is rcciprocally as its apparcnt da-
meter, that difrance will be about five
times Jcfs, whcn in oppofition to, than
whcn in conjunl:ion wirh, thc Sun. But
in both cafcs its dilancc from thc Sun
will be ncar about thc fame with the
d.iHancc which is infcrrcd from its gib-
bous appcarancc in thc quadraturcs.
And as it cncompaffcs the Sun at almoft
cqual difiances, but in rcpcl: of thc
~ n h is vcry uncqually difiant; fo by
radii drawn to thc Sun, it Jcfcribcs
'
arcas
!6


OF THE. SYSTEM
'
area's nearly uniform; but by radii drawrl
to the Earth, it is fometimes fwift, fome-=
times ft;tionary, and fometimes r t r o ~
grade.
That Jupiter, in a higher orb than
Mars, is likewife revolved about the
Sun, with a motion ncarly equable, as
well in diftance as in che area's defcribed;
I infer thus :
Mr. F!am:fteed afured me by letters7
that all the eclipfes of tlu: innermoft fa-
tellite, which hithcrto have been well
obferved, do agree with his theory fo
nearly, as never to differ therefrom by
two minutes of time ; that in the out-
moft, the errour is little grcater ; in the
outmoft but one, fcarccly tluee times
greater ; that in the innermoft but one;
the differcncc is indccd much greater;
yet fo as to agrec as nearly with his
computations, as the. Moon docs with
the common tables. And that he corn-

putcs thofe eclipfes only from the mean
motions correl:ed by thc equation of
light difcovercd and introduccd by Mr.
Romer. Suppofing thcn that the thcory
ditfcrs by a lefs crrour thati that of 1..'
from thc motion of the outmoft fatellite

as hitherto dcfcribed ; and taking as thc

pcriodic time 1 6 d 1 8 h 5
1
1 3
11
to 2
1
in time, fo is thc wholc circlc or 3 q ~ 40
thc are 1
1
48
11
; thc crrour of Mr. F.am ..
fleed's
-
'
O F T H E W O R L D.
fleed's computation rcduced to thc fatcl-
- lite's orbit, w ill be lcfs rhan r
1
4-8
11
; rhat
is, thc longirude of rhe fatcllitc, as fcen
from rhc cenrer of upiter, will be de-
ternned wirh a les crrour than r
1
4-8
11

l3ut when rhe fatcllite is in the middle of
the rhat longirude is the fame
wirh the hclioccmric longitudc of Ju-
pitcr. And thcreforc thc hypothcfts
which Mr. F!amfleed follows, 'Viz. thc
Copernican, as improved by Kepler, and
(as ro the motion of. Jupiter) _ lately
corrcted by himfelf, nghtly
tl1at longirude within a lefs errour rhan
1
1
4-8
11
But by this longirude, roge-
ther with rhe geocentric longirude, which
is always eafily found, the diftance of
upitcr from the Sun is determined :
- hich mufl: therefore be the very fame
wirh that which the hypothcfis cxhibits.
For that errour of r
1
48
11
rhat
can happen in thc hcliocentric longitudc
is almofl: infenfiblc, and quite ro be ncg-
lcted, and perhaps may arife from fome
yct undifcovcrcd ccccntricity of the_ fa-
tcllite. But fince both longitudc and
diftance are rightly dctcrmincd, it fol-
lows of nccd1ity, that ]Upitcr, by radii
drawn ro thc Sun, dcfcribcs arca's fo
conditioncd as rhc hypothcfis requircs,
that is, proportional ro thc times.
'
e And

17


-
'
'
tS O F T HE S Y S TE M

And the fame thing may be
dcd of Saturn from his fatellite by the
obfervations of Mr. Htt:ygens and Dr.
Ha/ley ; though a longer feries of obfer-
vations is yet wanting to confirm the
thing, and to bring it under a fufficiently
exal: computation.
P. :u r. F o R if Jttpiter was viewed from the
Th h
""
1
. h Sun, it would never appear re-
at t e rorce w uc d .11.
governs the fuperi- trogra e 110! uat1011ary, as 1t lS
our Planets is dil'el:- feen fometimes from the Earth,
ed, not to the Eanh, b l .e: d h
but to the sun. ut a ways to go .torwar Wlt
a motion nearly unifonn. And
from the vcry grcat inequality of its ap-
parcnt geoccntric motion, we infer (by
Prop. 3. Cor. 4) that the force by which
Jpiter is turned out of a rcl:ilinear
courfe, and made to revolve in an orb,
is not dircl:ed to the center of the Earth.
And thc f-ame argumcm holds good in
Mars and in Sarurn. Anothcr center

of thcfc forccs is therefore to be lookcd
for (by Prop. 2 and 3, and the Coro!!a-
ries of thc lattcr) about which the area's
dcfcribcd by radii intcrvcning, may be
cquablc. And that this is thc Sun, wc
havc provcd alrcady in Mars and Satura
ncarly, but accuratcly cuough in Jnpitcr.
[ O)(d It may be allcdgcd that thc Sun and
are impcllcd by fome othcr force,
cquall y and in thc dirctlion of para lid
lincs .


O F T H E W O R L D.
lines. But by fucha force (by Cor. 6.
of the Laws of Motion) no change would
happen in the fituation of the Planets
one to another, nor any fenfiblc effett
follow; but our bufinefs is with thc
caufcs of fenfible effctts. Let us thcrc-
fore ncglett every fuch force as imagi-
nary and precarious, and of no ufe in
the phrenomena of the heavens ; and the
Whole remaining force by which Jupitcr
is impelled, will be dirctted (by Prop. 3.
Cor. r.) to the center of thc Sun.
T H E diftanccs of the Planets ftom the

I9
Sun come out the farne, whe- That the circum-
ther, with Tjcho, we place the foJa force through-
E h
tl t f th r.. out all the rcgions of
art 111 lC cen er C
1
Y- thc Plancts dccreaf-
frem, or the Sun with Coper- eth in rhe duplicare
nictt$: . and we have already proportion of thc di-
il:a!H:es from the S un.
proved that thefe difranccs are
true in Jupiter.
Kepler and Bttllialdt!s have, with great P.
21
o.
carc, dctermincd thc difranccs of thc
Plancts from the Sun. And hcncc it
is that thcir tablcs agrcc bdl: with thc
hcavcns. And in all thc Planets, in
Jupitcr and Mars, in Saturn and thc
Earth, as wcll as J1 V cmts and. Mcrcury, th'\:
cubcs of thcir dil:anccs are as rhc
of thcir pcriodic times ; and
(by Cor. 6. 'Prop. + ) thc ccntripctal
e 2 drcum-
1,


20


OF THE SYSTEM

drcum-folar force, throughout all the
planetary regions, decreafes in the du-
plicate proportion of the diftances from
the Sun. In examining ths proportion,
wc are to ufe the mean diftances, or the
tranfvcrfe femi-axes of thc orbits (by
Prop. r 5.) and to neglel: thofe little
frattions, which, in defining the orbits,
may have arofe from the infenfible er-
rours of obfervation, or may be afcribed
to other caufes, which we hall after-
wards explain. And thus we hall al-
ways find the faid proportion to hold
exattly. For thc diftances of Saturn,
Jupiter, Mars, the Earth, Venus and
Mercury from the S un, dra wn from the
obfervations of Aftronomcrs, are, ac-
cording to the computation of I(epler,
as the numbers 9 s rooo,s r 96 so, r S 2 3 so,
I 00000,7 2400, 3 8 806; by the C01!WU-
tatOll of Bullia!dtts, as thc numbcrs,
9 S4I 98,5 22S 20,1 S 2 3 so, !00000,723 98,
3 8 5 8 s ; and from the periodic times
thcy come out 9S3806,S20ir6,I52399,
1 ooooo, 7 2 3 3 3 ' 3 8 7 ro. Thcir diftanccs,
according ro Kep!er and Btt!lialdtts,
fcarcely diffcr by any fenllble quantity,
and whcrc thcy diffcr moft thc diftanccs
drawn from thc pcriodic times fall in
bctwccn thcm.
THAT

O F T H E W O R L D.'
21
T HA r the circum-terrefirial forcelike-
wifc decreafes in the duplicare
1

. f h d'fi T 1at the cacum-ter-
proportiOn O t e 1 ances, reftrial force decrea-
thus I infer. fes in the duplicare
TI d
'fi of th proportion of thc di-
le mean 1 an'-- e ftances fiom theEarth
Moon from the center.of thc proved in rhe hypo-
Earth is in femi-diameters of of the Eanh's
' . bcmg at reft.
the Earth, accordmg to Pto-
lomy, Kepler in his Ephemerides, Bzt!- P. :u;,
lii:IJdzts, Hevelius and Ricciolus 59; ac-
217

cording to Flamfteed 59 t' according to
Tycho 5 6h to Vende/in 6o, to Coperni-
cus 6ot, to Kircher 62 i.
But TYcho and all that follow his ta-
v
bles of refral:ion, making thc rcfrati-
ons of the Sun and Moon (altogethcr
againfi thc naturc of light) to cxceed
thofe of thc fixed Stars, and that by a-
bout four or five minutes in thc hori-
.zon, did thereby augmcnt the horizon-
tal parallax of the Moon, by about the
likc number of minutes; that is, by about
thc 1 zth or 1 ;th part of thc whole pa-
rallax. Corrcl: this crrour, and thc di-
fiancc will bccomc 6o or 61 fcmi-diamc--
tcrs of the Earth, nearly agrccing with
what othcrs ha ve dctcrmincd.
Lct us then afume thc mean dil:ancc
of thc Moon, 6o fcmi-diamctcrs of thc
Earth, and its pcriodic time in rcfpea;
of thc fixcd Stars, 27 d 7 h 43 ', as
Ai.lronomcrs havc dcrcrmincd it. And
e (b
. 3 y
-
'

'
;.z. O F T HE S Y S T. E M
(by Cor. 6. Prop. 4) a_ body revolved in
our air, near the furface of theEarth fup-
pofed at reft, by means of a centripetal
force, which ihould be, to the fame force
at the diftance of the Moon, in the reci-
proca! duplicare. proportion of the di-
fiances from the centcr of the Earth, that
is, as 3 6oo to I, would ( fecluding the
reftftance of the air) compleat a rcvolu ..
tion in I h 24
1
27
11

Suppofc the circumfcrcnce of the
Earth to be I 2 3 249 6oo P aris feet, as
has becn detcrmincd by the late mcnfu,.
ration of the French ; thcn the fame bo-
dy, deprived of.its circular motion, and
falling by the im pul fe of the fame cen-
trpeta! force as bcfore, would, in one
fccond of time, defcribc I 5 A P aris
tcet. .
This we infcr by a calculus formed up-
on Prop. 3 6, and it agrces with what We
obfcrve in all bodics about thc Earth .

For by thc cxpcrimcnr:; of pendulums,
md a computation raifcd thereon, Mr,
has dcmonftratcd that
falling by all that centripctal force, with
which (of whatcvcr naturc it is) thcy
impcllcd ncar thc furf.1cc of thc Earth,
q.o, in one fccond of time, defcribc
J5 , P(lrjs fccr,
O F T HE W O R L D. .23
B u T if the Earth is fuppofed to move,
the Earth and Moon together The f.'lme proved in
(by Cor. 4 of the Laws of Mo- the hrpothe_fis 9f the
t
. d p ~ f J
7
) 'll b Earth s motlon.
ton, an ror. 5 Wl e
revolved about their common center of
gravity. And the Moon (by Prop. 6o.)
will in thc fame periodic time, 27 d 7 h
43 ', with the fame circum-terrefirial
force, diminifbed in the duplicare pro-
portion of the diftance, defcribe an or-
bit, whofe femi-diameter is to the femi-
diamcter of the former 01bit, that is, to
6o fcmi-diarneters of the Earrh, as the
fum of both the bodies of the Earrh and
Moon to the firfi: of two mean proporti-
onals between this fum and the body of
the Earth; that is, if we fuppofe thc
Moon ( on account of its man apparent
diamctcr 3 I Y ) to be about
4
J_z of the
Earth, as 4 3 to" V 42 -1- 4 3 ~ or as about
I 2 8 to I 27. And thcrcforc the femi-
diamctcr of thc .mbit, that is, the di-

fiance bctwcen the ccnters of thc Moon
and Earth, will in this cafe be 6o t fcmi-
diamctrs of thc Earth, almofi: thc une
with that a:!ligned by Copernictts, which
thc Tychonic obfcrvations by no means
difprovc. And thcrcforc the duplicare
proportion of thc dccrcmcnt of thc force
holds good in this difi:ancc. I havc ncg-
kl:cd thc incremcnt of thc orbit, which
arifcs from thc al:ion of thc Sun, as in-
e 4 'onfidc-



Z4 O F T H E S Y S T E M

confiderable. But if that is fubdutl:ed
the true dil:ance will remain, about 6o
[ * J femidiameters of the Earth .
P. 214. Bu T further, this proportion of thc
The dc.crement of decrcment of the forces S .con-
the torces in the du- firmed fron1 the eccentricity of
plic;ltc proportion of 1 Pl d th . f1 N'
the dil:anccs rom the t lC ancts, an C Ver y 0\
and Planees, motion of thcir apfcs. For (by
ft-om thc ec:- the Corollaries of Pro. 45 .) in
centnctty of the Pla- . :r
nets, and the very no other proporuon, could the
low motion of thcir ciJ;cum-folar planets, once in
. 1 . d /'. d
evcry revo uuon e1cen to
their lcaft, and once afcend to their
grcatcft dil:ance from thc Sun, and thc
placcs of thofe dil:anccs remain immo-
vablc. A fmall crrour from the dupl.-
catc proportion, would produce a lUO-
tion of the apfes, conftderablc in cvcry
[ *] .rcvoh,Ition, but inmany enormous.
But now aftcr innumerable rcvolu_-
tions, hardly any fuch has becn
pcrccivcd in the orbs of thc circum-fo-
lar plancts. Somc Aftronomcrs affirm"
that thcrc is no fuch motion, others rcck-
on it no grcatcr thaQ. what may caftly
arifc from thc caufcs hcrcaftcr to be af-
11gncd, and is of no momcnt in thc prc-
;fcnt qucl:ion:
W e may cvctl ncglcl: thc motion of
thc Moon's apfc, which is far grcatcr
.
r.han in thc ci.:ctun-folar plancts, amou!u-
mg
'
O F T H E W O R L D .

ing in every revolution to tl1rcc dcgrees.'
And from this motion it is demonftra-
blc, that the circum-terreftrial force de-
crcafes in no lefs thn the
but far lcfs than the triplicare proporton
of thc diftance. For if. the duplicate
proportion was gradually changed into
the triplicate, the motion. . of the apfe
would thereby incrcafe to infinity ; and
thereforc, by a vcry fmall mutation, .
would cxcced the motion of the Moon's
apfe. This ilow motioa. arifes from the
al:ion of the circum-folar force, as we
fball. afterwards cxplain. But fecluding
this caufe, the apfe or apogeon of the
Moon will be fixed, and the duplicare
proportion of the decreafe of the cir-
cum-terreftrial force in different diftances
from the Earth, will accurately take
place.
N o w that this proportion has becn P. ur.
cfiablifhed, wc may compare The quantity of
thc forccs of thc fcvcral planets thc forccs tcnding to-
1
.r. wards thc fcvcral pla-
a111011g t lClTI1clVCS. ncts. Thc chcuru-
ln thc mean diftancc of J n- folar vc1y grcat.
pitcr from the Earth, thc grcatcft clon-
gation of thc outmoft fatcllitc from J u-
pitcr's ccntcr (by thc obfcrvations of
Mr. Flam.fleed) is 8
1
1 3
11
And thcrc-
forc thc dibncc of thc fatcllitc from thc
ccntcr of Jupitc.r, to thc mean dilancc
of
'
'
OF THE SYSTEM

of Jupiter from thc center of the Sun,
as 124 to 52012, but to the mean di-
fl:ance of Venus from the center of the
S un, as r 24 to 7 2 3 + And their perio-
dic times are r 6 id and 2 24 t d. And
fromhence (accordingto Cor. 2. Prop.
4) dividing the difiances by the fquares
of the times, we infer that the force by
which the fatellite is impcllcd towards
Jupiter, is to thc force by which Ve-
nus is impelled towards thc Sun, as 442
to 143. And if wc diminiih the force,
by which the fatcllite is impelled, i11
the duplicare proportion of the difiance
I 24 to 7 2 3 4-, we ihall ha ve the circum-
jovial force, in the difiance of Venus
from the Sun, to the circum-folar force
by which Venus is impclled, as l-Jo to
143, or as 1 to r roo. Wherefore at
cqual difianccs, thc circum-folar force
is I 1 oo times grcatcr than the circum-
jovial.
And by thc likc computation, from
thc pcriodic time of thc f..1.tcllitc of Sa-
turn r 5 d 2 2 h and its grcatdl: clonga-
tion from Saturn, whilc that planet is
in its mean difiancc from ns, 3
1
20
11

jr follows that thc dilancc of this .C1.tcl-
litc from Saturn's ccntcr, is to thc di-
fl:ancc of V cnus fwm thc S un, as 92 } ro
7 2 3 +; and from thcncc that thc abk)-
lutc circurn-folar force is z 3 6o times
grcatcr
O F T H E \V O R L D.
greater than the abfolute circum-fatuv
ni al.

F Ro M the regularity of the heliocen-
trie and irregularity of the geo- The circum-terre.
e en trie m.otions of Venus, of ftrial force vcry fmall.
Jupiter, and the other planets, it is evi-
dent (by Cor. 4 Prop. 3.) tln the cir-
cum-terrdl:rial force, compared with the
circum-folar, is very fmall.
Ricciolus and Vende/in havc fcverally
tried to determine the Sm parallax,.
from thc Moon's dichotomies obfervcd
by the telefcope, and they agree that it
does not excecd half a minute.
Kepler, from Tycho's obfervations and
his own, found the parallax of Mars
infcnfible, even in oppofition to the Sun,.
when that parallax is fomething greater
than thc Sun's.
Flamfleed attemptcd thc famc paral-
lax with thc micrometcr in thc perigeon
pofition of Mars, but nevcr found it
abo ve 2 5
11
; and. thcnce concludcd thc
Sm parallax at mol: 1 o''.
Whcnce it follows, that the difiancc
of the Moon frorn thc Earth bears no
grcater proportion to thc difiance of thc
Earth from thc S un, than 2 9 to 1 oooo ;
nor to thc dibncc of Venus from thc
~ ~ m than ~ 9 to 723 .
. .
. '



.zs O F T H E S Y S T E M
-From which diftances, together with
the periodic times, by the method above
explained it is eafy to infer, That the
abfolute circum-folar force is greater than
thc abfolutc circum-terreftrial force at
leaft 2 2 9400 times.
And though \ve were only certain,
from the obfervations of Riccio!us and
Vende/in, that the Sm prallax was
le.fs than half a minute, yet from this it
will follow, that the abfolute circum-
.fular force excecds thc abfolute circum-
[ olf:] terreftrial force 8 5o o times.
B Y the like Computations I happcn-
Thc apparent dia- cd to difcovcr an analogy that
meters of the pla- is obferved betwcen the forces
ners. and the bodics of thc Planets.
Eut befo re I explain this analogy, thc
apparent diametcrs of the Plancts in
. thcir mean diftanccs from the Earth,
mul be firft dctcrmincd.
P. 207. Mr. F!amfleed, by the micromctcr,
mcaiitrcd rhc diamctcr of Jpiter 40
11
or
41 ", thc diamctcr of Satnrn,s ring so", and
f*] thc diamctcr of thc Sun aboul 3 2
1
13
11

1'. 209. Eut thc diamctcr of Saturn is to thc
diamctcr of thc ring, according to Mr.
and Dr. llal/e_y, as 4 to 9; ac-
cording to Ga!lttitts, as 4 to 1 o; and.
according to l:look (by a tclclcopc of o
.tl:ct) as 5 to r 2. And from thc mean
- rro-,

n
..






'

e
- --: ...
-- -----
..
..


'



''Jj'l'
. ,/ '1' ,,,/,,
.;/,' :', '/ ,'1,
: ,///
1
1/l/:'1
,'1,.1
1 ' '
' / ,1,:1:,,.
. ' .
' 1 1 i ,' ,'
\
'' ' '
'
'





,
-
l

(
N



i

'
'
1
' 1
' 1




O F T H E \V O R L D.
29

proportion. 5 to 12, the diamcter of Sa-
tun bod y is infcrred about 2 r " [ :rd
S u e H as we have faid are the appa-
rcnt 1agnitudcs. But bccaufe Thc corrctl:ion of
of the uncqual refrangibility of thc apparent diame-
light, all lucid points are dila- tcrs.
ted by the telefcope, and in the focus of
the objetl:-glafs poifcfs a circular fpace,
whofe breadth is about the soth part of
thc aperture of the glafs.
It is true, that towards th.e circumfe-
rcnce, the light is fo rare as hardly to
move the fenfc ; but towards the i l e ~
where it is of greater denfity, and is
fenfible enough, it makes a fmall lucid
circle, wh.ofe breadth varies according to
the fplendour of the lucid poim, but is
generally about the 3d, or 4-th, or 5th
part of the breadth of thc whole.
Let ABD rcprcfent the circlc of the
whole light, PQ.. rhc finall circle of the
dcnfcr and clearcr light, e thc ccntcr of
both; CA, CB fcmi-diamctcrs of the
grcater circle containing a right anglc
at C; ACBE thc fquarc comprehcndcd.
undcr thcfe femi-diametcrs, AB thc dia-
gonal of that fquarc ; EGH an hypcr-
bola with. thc ccntcr e and afymptotcs
CA, CB ; PG a perpendicular crclcd
from any point P of thc linc BC, and
111ccting thc hypcrbola in G, and the
. rinh.t
o

'
-
so O F T H E S Y S T E M
right lines AB, AE in K and F : and
the den:fity of the light in any place Pj
will, by my compuration, be as rhe line
FG, and rherefore at rhe cemer infinire,
bur near the circumference vcry fmall.
And rhc wholc light with.in rhe fmall
circle PQ_ is ro rhc whole wirhour, as
the arca of rhc quadrilarcral figure CAKP
to the triangle PKB. And we are ro
underftand the fmall circle PQ_ to be
thcre terminated, where FG, the dcnfiry
of the lighr, begins ro be lefs rhan what
is tequircd to move rhe fenfe.
Hence it was thar at the diftance of
1 9 r 3 8 2 feer, a fire of 3 feet in diamcrer,
through a telefcopc of 3 feer, appeared
to Mr. Picart of 8., in brcadrh, when ic
fhould have appearcd only of 3
11
14"'
And hcnce it is that rhc brighrcr fixed
Srars appear through thc telcfcope, as
of 5
11
or 6
11
in diamcrcr, and rhat wirh a
good full lighr; but with a fainrcr light
thcy appcar to run out ro a grearcr
brcadth. Hcnce likcwifc ir was rhat
Hevelius, by diminihing thc apcrture of
thc relcfcopc, did cut off a grcat part of
the light towards thc circumfcrencc, and.
brought thc difc of thc Star to be more
difiinl:ly dcfincd, which though lwrcby
diminifhcd, did. yct appcar as of 5
11
or
6
11
in diamctcr. But Mr. only
by clouding rhc cyc-glafs with a lirtlc
ilnoalc,

O F T H E W O R L D: 3 t
finoak, did fo effel:ually extinguih this
fcattered light, that the fixed Stars ap-
peared as meer points, void of all fenft-
. ble breadth. Hence alfo it was that
Mr. Ht!)'gens, from the breadrh of bo-
dies interpofed to intercept the whole
light of the Planets, reckoned their dia-
mcters grs;!ater than others havc meafu-
red them by the micrometer. For the
fcattered light, which could not be feen
before for the ftronger light of the Pla-
net, when the Planct is hid, appears
every way further fpread. La1l:ly, from.
hence it is that the Pbncts appear [o
fmall in the difc of the Sun, being lcf-
fened by the dilated light. For to He-
velius, Galletitts, and Dr. Ha/ley; Mcr-
cury did not feem to cxceed 12
11
or 1 s".
And Venus appcared to Mr. Crabtrie
<>nly 1
1
3
11
, toHorrox but 1
1
12
11
, though
by the mcnfurations of Hevelius and
Httgenitts, without thc Sm difc, it
ought to havc bccn fecn at lcal: 1
1
24".
Thus thc - a pparent diametcr of thc
Moon, which in 1 6 84, a few days both
bcforc and aftcr thc Sun's cclipfe, was
. meafurcd at thc obfcrvatory of P aris
3 1' 30
11
; in thc cclipfe it felf did not
fe cm to cxcccd 3 o' or 3 o' o 5
11
And
thcreforc thc diamcrcrs of the Plancts
are to be diminifhed, whcn without thc
Sun, and t0 be augmcmcd when within
1 it

OF THE SYSTEM
it by fome feconds. But the errours
fe cm to be lefs than ufual in thc mcnfu-
rations that are madc by the mcrome-
tcr. So from thc diamcter of the iba
dow, determined by the eclipfes of the
fatdlites, Mr. F!amfleed found that the
femi-diameter of Jupiter, was to the
greatdl: elongation of the outmol: fatcl-
lite as I to 24,90 3. Wherefore ftnce that
elongation is 8
1
1 3 ", the diameter of Ju-
piter will be 3 9i
11
; and rcjeling the
fcattered light, the diametcr, found by
the micrometer 40
11
or 41
11
, will be re-
duced to 3 9!
11
And the diamctcr of Sa-
turn 2 I
11
;, is to be diminifhed by the
like correl:ion, and to be reckned 2o'
1
or fomething lefs. But ( if I am not
miftaken) the diameter of thc Sun, be-
t:aufe of its ftronger light, -is to be dimi-
nifbed fomething more, and to be reck-
oncd about 3 2
1
or 3 2
1
6
11

'
P. 1.2
9
T HA T bodics fo diffcrcnt in magni-
tude ihould come fo ncar to an
Why thc denfity is
greatcr in fome ofthc analogy with their forccs, is
Plancts, and lcfs in not without fon1e 111yftery.
othcrs ; but thc for-
ccs in all are as thcir It may be that the remeter
of mattc1. Plancts, for want of heat, havc
not thofc mctallic fubftanccs and pon-
derous mincrals with which our Earth
abounds ; and that thc bodics of V cnus
md Mcrcury, as thcy are more cxpofcd
to
O F T H E W O R L D.
ro the Sun's heat, are alfo harder baked
and more compafr.
For from the. experiment of the burn-
ing-glafs, we fee that the heat increafes
wirh the d<.mfity f light. And this
d.enfity increafes in the teciprocal du-
plicate proportion of the diftahce from
the Sun. . From whence the Sm heat
in Mercury is proved to be feven-fold
its heat in our fummer feafons. But
with this heat our water boils ; and
thofe heavy fluids, quickfilver and the
. fpirit of vitriol; gently evaporare, as 1 .
have tried by the thei"mometer. And
therefore th.ere can be no fluids in Mer-
cury, but what are heavy, and able to
bear a great heat, and from which. fub-
ftances of great denfiry ma y be nourif.hed.
And why not ? if God has placed
different bodies at ditferent diftances
from the Sun, fo as the denfer bodies
al ways pofefs the nearer placcs, and
each. body enjoysa degrcc ofheatfuitable
to its cm1dition, and proper for its nou-
riihmcnt. From this confidcration it will
bdl: appcar that die wcights of all the
Plancrs are one ro anothcr as thcir forccs.
But I f1 1ould be glad the di:unctcrs
of the Pl:mets wcrc more accuratcly
mcafurcd. And that may be done, if a
lanip_, fct at a grcat dil:ance, is madc to
h i n ~ through a circular hok, and both
D the





'
'

'
1
OF THE SYSTEM
the hole and the light of the lamp are
fo diminihcd that the fpel:rum may ap-
pear through the telefcope juft like the
Planet, and may be defined by the fame
meafure : Then the dia.meter of the hole
will be to its diftance from the ob;ea:ive
glafs, as the true diameter of the Planet
to its diftance from us. The of the
lamp may be diminiihed by the interpo-
:fition either of pieces of cloth, or of
fmoaked glafs.
P. ut, O F kin to the analogy we have been
n3. defcribing, there is another obferved be-
Another an,logy tween and t!te_bodies
between the fo1ces attral:ed. S1nce the ahon of
and in the centdpctal force upon the
the ccleihal bodles. Planets decreafes in the dupli-

cate proportion of the diftance, and the
periodic time increafcs in the fcfquipli-
cate thereof, it is evident that the ations
of the centripetal force, and therefore
the periodic times, would be cqual in
cqual Plancts, at cqual diftanccs from
thc Sun; and in cqual diftanccs of une-
qual Plancts, the total al:ions of the cen-
tripetal force would be as thc bodics of
thc Planets. For if thc alions wcre
not proportional to the bodics to be
moved, thcy could not cqually rctral:
thc1c bodies from thc tangents of thcir
orbs, in cqual times : Nor could thc
2. motions
O F T H E W O R L D. 3 .s
.
motions of the fatellites of Jupiter befo
regular, if it was not that the circum-
folar force was equally exerted upon Ju-
piter and.all its fatellites in proportion of
their feveral weights. And the fame
thing is to be faid of Saturn in refpel:
of its fatellite? and of our Earth in re-
fpel: 9f the Moon, as appears from Cor.
2. and 3. Prop. 6 5. And there"fore at
. equal diftances, the al:ions of the cen-
tripetal force is equal upon all the Pla-
nets, in proportion of their bodies, or
of the quantities of matter in their fe-
veral bodies : and for the fame reafon
muft be the fame upon all the particles
of the fame :fize, of. which the planet is
compofed. For if the al:ion was greatei",
upon fome fort of particles than upon
others, than in proportion to .their quan-
tity of matter, it would be alfo greater
or lefs, upon the whole Planets, not in
proportion of the quantity only, but
likewife of the fort of the matter more
copiouO.y found in one, and o r ~ fpa-
ringly in another.


IN fuch bodics as are found on our P. no,
Earth of very diffcrcnt forts, I cxamin- u
1

cd this analogy wirh grcat ac- Pl'ovcd in tcl'l'clri.ll
curacy. hodics.
lf thc al:ion of thc circumtcrrcftrial
force is proportional ro rhc bodics to be
. D ~ moved)






OF THE SYSTEM

moved, it will (by the fecond Law of
Motion) move them with equal velocity
in equal times, and will make all bodies
let fall to defcend through equal fpaccs
in equal times ; and all bodies hung by
equal threads, to vibrate in equal times.
lf the aUion of the force was greater, the
times would be lefs: lf that was lcfs,

thefe would be greater.
But it has been long ago obferved by
others, that (allowance being made for
the fmall refifiance of the Air) all bodies
defcend through equal fpaccs in equal
times. And, by the help of
that equality of times may be dillinguih-
ed to great exaanefs.
'1 tried the thing in gold, filver, lead,
glafs, fand, common falt, wood, wat_er
and wheat. l provided two equal wood-
en boxes. 1 filled the on.e with wobd,
and fufpended an equal weight of gold
(as cxaUly as 1 could) in the center of
ofcillation of the other. Thc boxes,
hung by cqual threads of 1 1 fcct, madc
a couplc of pendulums pcrfel:ly equal in
wcight and figure, and cqually cxpofcd
to thc rcftfiancc of thc air : And placing
thc onc by thc othcr, 1 obfcrvcd thcm to
play togcthcr, forwards and backwards,
for a long whilc, with cqual vibrations.
And thcrcforc (by Cor. 1 and 6. 'Prop. 24.
Book 11) thc quantity of mattcr in the
gold
O F T HE W O R L D."
gold was to the quantity of matter in the
wood, as the al:ion of the motive force
u pon all the gold, to the ation of the fame
u pon all the wood, that is, as the weight
of the one to the weight;of the other.
And by thefe experimcnts, in bodics
of the fame weight, l could have dif-
covered a difference ofmatter, lefs than
37
the thoufandrh part of the whole. [*]

SI N e E the. ation of the centripe-
tal force u pon the bodies at- The affinity of thofe
trated, is, at equal diftances, analogies.
proporcional to rhe quantities of mar-
ter in thofe bodies, reafon requires that it
fhould be alfo proportional to the quan-
tity of rnatter in the body attrating.
For all al:ion is mutual, and (by the P. 20, 37:
third Law of Motion) malees the bodics
1

mutually to approach one to the other,
and thercfore muft be the am e in both
bodies. It is true that we m a y confidr onc
body as attral:ing, anothcr as attratcd :
But this diftinl:ion is more inathem.atical
than natural. The attrattion is
common of cither ro othcr, ;:md thcrc-
fore of the fame lcind in both. [ * J

A N D hcnce it is that thc attral:ivc
force is found in both. Thc Sun d . .
1
.
. . "'n <:OlllCil ene c.
attrafrs Jupitcr and thc othcr
flapcts. Jupitcr attratts its :fi1tdlitcs. .
D 3 . And







38 OF THE SYSTEM

And for the fame reafon, the fatellites
al as well one upon another as upon Ju-
piter, and all the Planees mutually one
upon another.
And though the mutual ations of two
Planets may be difringuiibed and confi-
dered as two, by which cach attrats the
othcr; yct as chofe ations are interme-

diate, thcy do not make two, but one
opcration betwecn two terms. Two bo-
dies may be mutually attratcd, cach
to the other, by the comration of a
cord imerpofed. There is a double
caufe of atio11, to wit, the difpofition
of both bodies, as well as a double ati-
on in fo far as the ation is confidered as
u pon two bodies : But. as betwixt two
bodies it is but one fingle one. lt is
not one ation by which the S un attrats
Jnpiter, and another by which Jupiter
attrats thc Sun : But it is onc al:ion
by which the Sun and Jupiter mmually
cndcavour to approach cach thc othcr.
By thc ation with which the Sun at-
trats Jupitcr, Jupitcr and the Sun en-
. . dcavour to come ncarer togcther (by
thc tbird Law of Motion) and by thc
ation, with which Jupitcr atfra_ls thc
Sun, likcwfc Jupitcr aud thc Sun cn-
dcavour to .come ncarcr togct:hcr: But
thc Sun is not attrah:d towards Jupitcr
by a two-to.ld ac1ion, nor Jupitcr by
a


O F T HE W O R L D. 39
a two-fold al:ion towards the Sun : but
it is one ftngle intermcdiate al:ion, by
which both approach nearertogether.
Thus iroti draws the load-ftone, as P. 37 V(!l.
weH as the load-ftone draws the iron :
1
'
For all iron in the ncigh.bourhood of the
load-ftone d.raws othcr iron. But the
al:ion betwixt tbe load-ftone and iron
is ftngle, and is conftdered as ftngle by
the philofophers. The al:ion of ron
upon the load-ftone is indeed the ation
of tlie load-ftone betwixt itfelf and the
'
iron, by which both endeavour to come
nearer together ; and fo it manifcfily
appears : For if you remove the load-
ftone, the whole force of the iron almoft
ceafes.
In this fenfe it is that we are to con-
ceive one ftngle al:ion. to be exerted bc-
twixt two Plancts, arifing from the con-
fpiring natures of both. And this al:ion
ftanding in the fa111e relation to both,
. if it is proportional to thc quantity of
matttcr in thc one, it will be alfo pro-
porcional to thc quantity ofmattcr in thc
othcr .


PE R HA P s it may be objcl:cd, that P. :u.6.
according to this philofophy That the fol'ccs of
all bodics fhould mutually at- fmall bodics are iu-
trafr onc anothcr, contrary to fcnible.
thc cvidcncc of cxpcrimcnts in tcrrc-
D 4 ftrial







o
40 OF THE SYSTEM
o
-
o
o
ftrial bodies. But 1 anfwer, that the
expcriments in terreftrial bodies come to
no account. For the attral:ion of ho-
mogeneous fpheres near their furfaces,
are (by Prop. 7 2) as their
Whence a fphere of one foot in diame-
ter, an.d of a like nature to the Earth,
would attral: a fmall body placed near its
furface with a forc;e 2ooooooo times lefs,
than the Earth would do if placed near

its furface. But fo fmall, a force could
produce no fenfible effel:. If two fuch
fpheres were diftant but by! of an inch,
they would not even in fpaces void of
refifl:a,n.ce, come together by the force of
their mutual attral:ion in: lefs than a
. .
months tin1e. And lefs fphcres will
come togethcr ata rate yet 1lower, viz.
in thc proportion. of their diameters,
N ay, whole mountains willn.ot be fuffici-
ent to produce any fcn.fible effcl:. i\.
mountain of an hcmifpherical figutc, tl1rce
miles high, and fix broad, will not, by its
attral:ion, draw the pendu.lum 2 rninutes'
out of the truc perpendicular : And it is
only in thc grcat bocHes of thc Plancts
that thcfc forccs are to be pcrccivcd, un-
lcfs wc may reafon about .hallcr bqdfes
h1 manner following.
Lf:T
OF THE W O RLP,


D


1

L E r ABCD reprefent the globe of ::/
7
i.
tbe Earth, cut, by any plane Which notwhhland
AC, into tWO parts A e B ing, there are forces
d ACD Tl ACB
' tending towards all
an . le part terreftrial bodies,
bcaring upon the part ACD proportional to their
prefcs it with its whole weight : of
Nor can thc part ACD fuftain this
prefure and continue upmoved, if it is
not oppofcd by an cqual comrary pref-
fur,e. And therefore the parts equally
prefs cach other by thcir weights, that
is, equall y attral: cach according
to thc third Law of Motiqn; and if fc-
and lct go, would fall towards
cach othcr with vclocitics reciprocally
as thc bodics. All which wc rnay rry
and fcc in thc load-l:onc, whofc attral:-
cd.




4-z O F T H E S Y S T E M
ed part docs not propel the part attrafr-
ing, but is only ftopped and {ufrained
thereby.
Suppofe now that ACB reprefents fome
:inall body on the Eartl furface; then
becaufe the mutual attrattions of this
particle and of the remaining part ACD
of the Earth towards each other, are
equal; but the attrattion of the partid e
towards the Earth ( or its weight) is as
the matter of the particle (as we have
proved by the experiment of the pendu-
lums ) the attral:ion of the Earth to-
wards the particle, will likewife be as
the matter of the particle. And tltere-
fore the attral:ive forces of all terreftrial
bodies will be as their feveral quantities
of matter .
1'. T HE forccs, which are as the mattcr
Proved that the r.
1
me in tcrreftrial bodies of all forms,
tcnd rowards and thcrcfore are not mutable
tite cclcftial bodies. with thc forms, muft be found
in all f9rts of bodics whatfocvcr, celeftial
as wcll as tcrrcftrial, and be in all pro-
portional to thcir quantities of mattcr,
bccaufc among all thcrc is no diffcrencc of
fub:lhmcc, but of modcs and forms on-
[ *] ly. But in thc cclcftial bodics, thc famc
thing is likcw ifc ptovcd thus. W e ha ve
fhcwcd, that thc atl:ion of thc circum-
Jlar force u pon all thc l)lancts ( rcdu-
ced


O F T H E W O R L D.
ced to equal difianccs) is as the m:cltter of
the Planets; That the al:ion of the cir-
cumjovial force upon the fatellites of Jn-
piter obferves the fame law ; and the
fame thing is to be faid of the attratl:ion
of all the Planets towards every Planet :
But thenceit follows (by Prop. 69) that
their attra:tive forces are as their feveral
quantities of matter .

A s the parts of the Earth mutually at-

43
tra:t one another, fo do thofe That from the fm-
of all the Planets. If Jupiter and faces of the Planers.
r. ll' . b l reckoning outward.
ltS 1ate 1tes Were roug lt toge- their forces decreafe
ther, andformedinto one globe, in rhe
without doubt they would con- reckonmgmward,. m
the fimple proponron
tlllUC mutually tO attra\: OllC of the difiances from
another as before. And on the rheir centers.
othcr hand, if the body of Jupitcr was
brokc into more globcs, to be fu re, thefe
would no lcfs attral: onc another than they
do the fatellitcs now. From thcfe attra-
tions it is that the bodics of the Earth,
and all the affel: a fpherical figure,.
and that their parts coherc, and are not
.difpcrfcd through the.iEthcr. But we have
bcforc proved that thefc forccs arife from
thc univcrf.: naturc of mattcr, and that P. :u6.
thcrcforc thc force of any wholc globc is
madc u p of thc fcvcral forccs of all its
parts. And from thcncc it follows ( by
Cor. 3. Prqp. 74) that rhc force of cvcry
. par-

-
~
. -
44
'

'
OF THE SYSTEM
particle decreafes in the duplicate pro..:
porrion of the d.iftance from that parti-
cle ; and (by Prop. 7 3 and 7 5 ) that the
force of an entire globe, reckoningfrom
the furface outwards, decreafes in the
duplicare, but reckoning inwards, in the
ftm pie proportion of fhe diftances, from
thc centers, if thc matter of thc globe
be uniform. And though the matter of
the globe, reckoning from the center to-
wards the furface, is not uniform, yet
the decreafe in the duplicare proportion.
of the diftance outwards would e by
Prop. 76) take place, provided that dif-
formity is fimilar in places round about. at
cqual diftances from the center. And
two fuch globes will (by the fame Pro-
pojition) attral: one the other with a
force dccreafing in the duplicare pro-
portion of thc diftance bctwccn thcir
ccntcrs.

W HE RE F oRE thc abfolute force of
Thc quantitics of cvcry globe is as thc quantity
thc forccs and of thc of mattcr wllich thc globc con-
motions ar.ifing in thc tains: Dut thc 1 1 1 t i ~ e force by
(cvcral cales. .

wl11ch cvcry globc is attralcd
towards anothcr, and which, in tcnc-
firial bodics, wc commonly call. thcir
wcight, i ~ as thc contcnt undcr thc quan-
titics of mattcr in both globcs applicd
fO thc fllllarc of thc difiaqcc bctWl:CI,l
thci!;
0 F T H E W O R L D.'
their centers (by Cor. + Prop. 76.) to
which force the quantity of motion, by
whi.ch each globe in a given time will be
carricd towards .the other, is proporti-
onal. And the accelcrative force, by
which every globe according to its
tity of matter is attral:ed towards ano-
ther, is as the quantity of matter in that.
other globe applied to the fquare of the
difi:ance between the centers of thc two
(by Cor. 2. Prop. 76.) to which
the velocity, by which the attral:ed globe
will, in a given time, be carricd towards
the othcr, is proportionaL And from
thefe prnciples well underftood, it will
be now eafy to determine the motions of
the celdlial bodies amohg themfelves.
F Ro M comparing thc forces of the
+S.


Planets one with another, we That all the Planets
ha ve above fccn that the cir- l'cvolve about the S un

cumfolar docs more than a thouf.1nd

times excccd all the refl:. But by the
al:ion of a force fo great, it is unavoid-
able but that all bodics within, nay and
far bcyond, thc bounds of thc planetary
fyftcm, mufi: ddccnd dircl:ly to thc Sun;,
unlcfs by othcr motions thcy are im-
pclled towards othcr parts: Nor is our
Earth to be cxcludcd from thc numbcr
of fuch bodics. ccrtainly thc Moon
is a body of thc fa me namrc w ith rhc



<


46 O F T H E S Y S T E M

P. S
l.
Pla.1,1ets, and fubjed: to the faine attrali-
ons with the other Planets, feeing it is
by the circumterreftrial force that it is
retained in its orbit. But that the Earth
<
and Moon are equally attraled towards
the S un, we have above proved : W e
have likewife before proved, that all bo-
dies are fubjel to the faid common laws
of attratl:ion. Nay, fuppofing any of
thofe bdies to be deprived of its circular
motion about the Sun, by having its di-
llanee from the Sun we may find (by
Prop. 3 6) in what fpace oftime it would,
in its defcent, arrive at the Sun ; to wir,
in half that periodic time in w hich the
body might be revolved at one half of
its former diftance; or, in a fpace of
time that is to the periodic time of the
p l a n ~ t as r to 4V 2 . As that Venus in
its defcent would arrive at the Sun in
the fpace of 40 days, Jupiter in thc fpacc
of. two years and one month ; and thc
Earth and Moon togethcr in the fpacc
of 66 days and 19 hours. But fince no
fuch thing happens, it muft nceds be
that thofe bodies are movedtowards othcr
Yol. parts. Nor is evcry motion ftlfncicm
for this purpofc. To hindcr fucha de-
fcent, a due proportion of vclocity is
rcquircd. And hcncc dcpends thc force
of thc argumcnt drawn from thc. retar- ..
dation of thc motions of thc Plancts.
. Unlcfs
O F T H E W O R L D:
U nlefs the circumfolar force decreafed
in the duplicare Tatio of their increafing
flownefs, the excefs thereof would force
thofe -bodies to defcend to the Sun. For
inftance, if the motion ( pari-
lms) was retarded by one half, the pla-
nct would be retained in its orb by one
fourth of the former circumfolar force,
and by the exccfs of the other three
fourths would defcend ro the Sun. And
rherefore the Planets (Saturn, Jpiter,
Mars, Venus, and Mercury) are not re-
ally retarded in their perigees, nor be-
come really ftationary, or with
flow motions. All thefe are but appa-
rent, and the abfolute motions, by which
the Planets continue to revolve in their
orbirs, are always direl: and nearly equa-
ble. But that fuch motions are perform-
ed about the Sun, we have already pro-
ved ; and thcrefore the Sun, as thc cen-
ter of thc abfolute motions, is quief-
cent. For we can by no mcans allow
quicfcencc to thc Earth, left thc Planets
in thcir pcrigccs ihould indced be truly
rcrardcd, and bccome truly ftationary and
rcgreffivc, and fo for want of motion

ihould defcend to the S un. But furthcr,
fince thc Plancts (V cnus, Mars, Jupitcr
and thc rcft) by radii drawn to thc Sun
dcfcribe regular orbits, and arca's (as
we havefhcwcd) ncarly and ro fcnfc pro-
portional
'
- '



41 . O F T li E S Y S T E M
portional ro the times, it follows ( by
Prf!P. 3, and Cor. 3, Ptop. 6 5 ) that
the Sun is moved with no notable force;
unlefs perhaps with fuch as all the Pla-
nets are equally moved with, according
to thei.r feveral quantities of matter,. in
parallellines, and fo the whole fyftem
is transferred fn right lines. R'ejet rhat
tranfiation of the whole fyftem, and the
Sun will be almoft quiefcent in the cen-
ter thereof. lf the S un was revolved
about the Earth, and carried the othe.r
Planets round about itfelf, the Earth .
ought ro attrat the Sun with a great
force, but the circumfolar Planets wirh
no force producing any fenfible effet,
which iscontrary to Prop. 3, Cor. 65
Add to this, that if hitherto the Earth,
becaufe of the gravitation .. of its parrs,
has been placed by moft authors in thc
lowcrmofi region of thc U niverfe ; now
for bettcr reafon, the Sun p o f ~ f d of a
ccntripetal force cxceeding our terreftrial
gravitation a thouf.1nd times and more,
ought to be dcprdfed into the lowcr-
moft place, and to be hcld for the ccntcr
of thc fyftem. And thus thc tr.uc dif..
pofition of t he wholc fyftem will be
more fully and more cxatly undcrftood


BE CAUSE

O F T H E W O R L D.
49
BE e A usE the fixcd Stars are quicf- P. 2.;2..
1". .n.. f h 2. B
ccnt one 111 o anot er, we may
confider the S un, Earth, and Pla- Tlm the common
nets as one fyftem of bodies center of graviry of
carricd hither and thither by all the Ptanets is qui-
efcem. That rhe Sun
various 1110tions arnong thcm- is agirared with a ve-
felves; and the COffiffiOll centcr ry fl?W morion. This
f
. ( motwn defincd.
o gravuy of all by Cor. 4 of
the Laws of motion) will either be quief-
cent, or m ove uniforml y forward in a right
linc : In which cafe the whole fyftem.
will likcwife movc uniformly forward
in right lincs. But this is an hyporhe-
fis hardly to be admittcd. And rhcre-
fore fetting it a:fi.de, that common cen-
ter will be quiefcent:. And from ir the
Sun is never far removed. The com-
mon center of gravity of the Sun and
Jupiter falls on the furface of the Sun.
And though all the Planets wcre placcd
towards the famc parts from the Sun
with Jpiter, thc conunon ccntcr of
the Sun and all of them would fcarce-
ly recede twice as far from thc SUi ccn-
ter. And thercforc though the Sun, ac-

cording to thc various fituation of thc
Planets, is variouly agitatcd and always
wandering to and fro with a low moti-
.._
on of libration, yct it ncvcr rcccdcs onc
cntirc diametcr of its own body from
thc quieccnt ccntcr of thc wlwlc fy-
ftcm. Bnt .om thc wci!2hts of thc S un [ J

E and
so

OF THE SYSTEM
and Planets above determined, and the
fituation of all among themfelves, their
common center of gravity may be o u n ~
and this being given, the Sun's place to
ay fuppofed time may be obtained.
'
.1'. 2.34 ABo u T the Sun thus librated the
That the Planets other Planers are revolved in
neverthelefs are re- elliptic orbits_, and, by radii
volved in ellipfes,ha- drawn to the Sun, defcribe a-
ving their foci in the
Sun; and by radii rea's nearly proportional to thc
t:hawn to the Sun de- times, as is expl:,1ined in Pron.
fcribe area's pro- T
portional to the 6 5. If the S un was quiefcent,
times. and the other Plancts did not
afr mutually one upon anothe1, their
orbits would be .elliptic, and the area's
exafrly proportional to the times. (by
Prop. I I, and Cor. I. Prop. I 3.) But
the ations of the Planets among them-
felves, compared with thc afrions of the.
S un on the Planets,, are of no mo-
ment, and produce no fcnfi.ble errours.
And thofe errours are lefs in revoluti-
ons about the Sun agitatcd in thc man-
ner but now dcfcribcd, than if thofc rc-
volutions wcre made about thc Sun qui-
cfccnt (by Prop. 66, and Cor. Prop. 68}
cfpccially if thc focus of cvcry orbit is
placcd in thc common ccnter of gravi-
ty of all thc lowcr includcd Plancts ;
viz. thc focus of thc 01bit of Mcrcury,
in thc ccntcr of thc Sun ; thc focus of
. ilic
O F T HE \V O R L D.
the orbit of V cnus, in thc common cen-
ter of gravity of Mercury and the Sun ;
the focus of thc orbit of the Earth, in
rhe common centcr of gravity of V e-
nus, Mcrcury and the Sun; and fo of
thc refr. And by this thc foci
of thc orbits of all thc Plancts cxcept
Saturn, will not be fenfibly removed
from the ccnter of thc Sun, nor will
the focus of thc orbit of Saturn recede,
fenfibly from thc common center of
gravity of Jupiter and the Sun. And
therefore aftronomcrs are not far from.
the truth, whcn they reckon the Sun's
the common focus of' all the ph-
netary orbits. In Saturn it felf, the er-
rour thcnce arifing does not cxceed r'.
45'' And if its orbit, by placing the
focus thereof in thc common ccntcr of
gravity of Jupiter and the Sun ihall hap-
pcn to agrec bettcr with thc phxnom.c-
na, from thcnce all that wc ha ve faid.
5I
will be farthcr confirmcd. [ * J
I F thc Sun was quicfccnt and thc
Planets did not al: t:>nc on an-
othcr, thc aphclions and nodcs
of thcir 01birs would likcwifc
(by Prop. 1. r 1, and Cor. Prop.
or the dimcnfions
of the .IIHI of
thc mot<lllS o!- rhcir
aphclions and nodcs.
r 3 ) be quicfccnt. And the longcr ax-
cs of thcir clliptic orbits would (by Prop.
1 5 ) be as thc cnbic roots of thc ft1narcs
E z of
'

' .
52




OF THE SYSTEM
of their periodic times : And thcrefore
from the given periodic times would be
alfo given. But thoc times are to be
mcafured not from the cquinol:ial points,
which are moveable, but from the firft
Star of Aries. Pm thc femi-axe of the
Earth's orbit I ooooo, and the femi-axes
of the orbits of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,
Venus and Mercury, from their pcriodic
times will come out 9 53 8o6,5 zou 6,
I 5 2399,723 3 3,3 87io refpetively. But
from the Sun's motion evcry femi-axc is
encreafed ('by Prop. 6o) by about onc
third of the diftance of thc Sun's center
from the common ccnter of' gravity of
the Sun and Pbnct. And from thc ati-
ons of the exterior Plancts on the inte-
riour, the pcriodic times of thc interi-
our are fomething protral:ed,. though
fcarccly by any fenftble quantity; and
thcir aphelions are transferrcd (by Cor.
6 and 7. Prop. 66) by vcry Dow mo-
tions in corljeqttentia. And on thc likc
account thc pcriodic tim.cs of all, efpe-
cially of thc extcriour Plancts, will be
prolongcd by thc aetions of thc comets,
if any fuch therc are, wirhout thc orb
of Saturn, and thc aphc1ions of all will
be thcrcby carricd forwards in con:fc-
tptC1ltia. But fi-om thc progrcfs of thc
aphclions, thc regrc(<> of thc nodcs fol-
lows (by Cor. I I, I 3. ProjJ. 66.) . And
if
O F T H E W O R L D.
if the plain of the Ediptic is quiefcent,
the rcgrcfs of thc nodes (by Cor. I 6.
Prop. 66) will be to thc progrcfs ofthc
aphelion in cvery orbit, as thc regrefs of
thc nodcs of thc Moon's orbit to the
progrefs of its apogxon nearly, that is,
as about 1 o to 2 1. But aronomical
obfervations feem to confirm a vcry low
progrefs of the aphelions, and a regrcfs
of the nodes in refpel: of the fixed Stats.
And hence it is probable that there are
comets in the regions beyond thc Pla-
nets, which revolving in vcry cccentric
orbs, quickly fly through their pcriheli-
on parts, and by an exceeding low mo-
tion in their aphelions, fpend almoft
their whole time in the regions beyond
the Planets ; as we ihall afterwards ex-
plain more at large.
T H E Plancts thus revolved about P. ::.p .
53

thc Sun , may at thc fame 2.53, 2.54.
time carry othcrs revolving a-. All rhc motions of
l 1
r. l S ll' thc Moon that have
)OUt t lClll1C ves as ate ltCS or hirhctro bccn ob-
Moons, as appcars by Prop. 66. fervcd afin?no-
But frln the al:ion of thc Sun l11Cl'S,
, ' thc forcgotn" prm-
our Moon m.ul: move With ciplcs. o
greatcr velocity, and, by a radi-
us dra wn to thc Earth, dcfcribc an arca
greatcr for thc time ; it mul: havc its or-
bit leis curve, and thcrcforc approach
ncarcr to thc Earth, in thc iyzygics than
E 3 in


S+
OF THE SYSTEM
in the quadratures, except in fo far as
the motion of eccentricity hinders thofe
effel:s. For the ecccntricity is
whcn the Moon's apog;:eon is in the fy-
zygies, and lcafl: when the fame is in the
quadratures ; and hence it is that the peri-
geon-Moon is fwifter and to us,
but the apogreon-Moon O.ower and far-
ther from us, in the fyzygies than . in the
quadratures. But further, the
has a progreili ve, thc nodes a regref-
:five motion, both unequable. For the
'apogxon is more fwiftly progreflive in
its fyzygics, more O.owly regrelive in its
quadraturcs, and by the cxcefs of its pro-
grefs above its regrefs is yearly
red in con;.{eqttentia : but the nodes are
quicfccnt in their fyzygics, and mofl:
fwiftly regrelive in thcir quadratures.
But further fl:ill, thc grcatefl: latitude of
thtr Moon isgreatcr in its quadraturesthan
in its fyzygies ; and the mean motion
fwiftcr in thc aphdion of the Earth
in its pcrihclion. More incqualities in
thc Moon's motionhavc nothithcrto bcen
takcn notice of by afironomcrs : But
[ * J all thcfc follow from our principies in
Cor. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, s, 9,'1 10, 1 r, 1 3
Prop. 66. and are known rcally to cxifl:
in thc hcavcns. And this may be fccn
in that mofl: ingcnious, and, if I m ifiakc
por, of all thc mofl: accuratc, hypotlw-
.fis
O F T H E W O R L D.
:fis of Mr. Horrox, which Mr. Flamfleed
has fiti:ed to the heavens. But the aftro-
nomical hypothefes are to be correl:-
cd in the motion of the nodes. For
the nodes admit the greateft equation.
or proftha pha!refis in their ol:ants, and
this inequality is moft
when the Moon is in the nodes, and
therefore alfo in the ol:ants, and hence it
was that Tycho, and others after
referred this inequality to the ol:ants
of the Moon, and made ir menftrual.
But the reafons by us adduced prove
that it ought to be referred to thc
ol:ants of the nodes, and to be made
annual.
55
BEs ID E thofe incqualities taken no- P.
1
B,
tice of by aftronomers, there are yet
299
to


fome others, by which the As alfo fome othcr
Moon,s n1otions are fo difturbcd, uncquable motions
that hithcrto by 110 la\V could that hithcno ha ve not
bccn obfervcd.
they be reduced to any certain
rcgulation. For the velocities or horary
motions of the apogee and nodcs of thc
Moon, and their cquations, as wcll as
the diffcrcnce betwixt the greatcft cccen.-
tricity in thc fyzygies and the lcaft in the
quadraturcs, and that incquality which
wc call thc variation, in thc progrcfs of
the ycar are augmentcd and diminifhcd
(by Cor. 14, Prop. 66) in thc triplicare
.E t ratio

5 O F .T H E S Y S T E M
ratio of the Sun's apparent diameter .
Befide that, the variation. is mutable near-
ly in the duplicare ratio of the time be-
tween the quadratures (by Cor.r and 2,
Lemm. ro) and Cor. r6, Prop. 66.)
And a:ll thofe inequalities are fomething
greater in that part of the orbit which
refpets the Sun, than in the oppofite
part, but by a difference that is fcarcely or
[ *] not at all perceptible.

P.
26
7 . B y a computation, which for bre-
And rhe difiance vities fake 1 do not defcribe, I
of thc .Moon from alfo find that the arca which
rhe ~ t h ro any gi- thc Moon by a radius drawn
ven tune.
to the Earth, defcribes m thc
.fcveral equal moments of time, is nearly
as the fu m of the number 2 3 7
1
o and ver-
fed fine of the doublc diftancc of thc
Moon from the neareft quadrature in a
circle whofc radius is unity ; and thcre-
fore that the fquare of thc Moon's di-
fiance from the Earth, is as that fum di-
vided by thc horary motion of the Moon.
Thus it is whcn th.c variation in thc
otants is in its mean quantity. But if
thc variation is greatcr or lcfs, that ver-
.fed fine muft be augmentcd or diminih-
cd in thc .famc ratio. Lct aftronomcrs
try how cxally the difianccs thus found
wjll agrcc with the Moon's apparcnt di-
r ')(: J amete-s,
'
'
O F T H E W O R L D.-
57
FROM themotions of ourMoon we P. :z.;...
may derive the motions of the
Moons or Satellites of. Jupiter The I?otions o_f
the fatei!Jtes of J upl-
and Saturn. For the meantno- ter and Saturo, deri-
tion of rhe nodes of the out- ved from the motions
fi
-
11
. f J . . of our Moon.
mo ate 1tc o uplter 1s to
the 111C811 inotion of the ndes of our
Moon in a proportion compounded of
the duplicare proportion of the periodic
time of the Earth about rhe Sun, to the
periodic rime. of J upiter about the S un,
and the fimple proportion of the pcrio-
dic time of the fatellite about Jupitcr to
thc pcriodic time of our Moon about
the Earth (by Cor. r 6, Prop. 66.) And
therefore thofe nodes, in the fpace of an
hundred years, are carried 8 o 2+' back-
wards, or in antecedentia. The mean
motions of the nodcs of the inner fatel-
litcs are to the (mean) motion of ( the
nodcs of) the outmol: as rheir periodic
times ro the periodic time of this, by the
fame corollary, and are thcnce givel'l.
And thc motion of the apfis of every fa-
tcllitc in con:.fequentia is to thc motioi1
of its nodes in antecedentia, as thc mo-
ton of the apogce of our Moon, to the
motion of its nodes (by thc famc corol-
lary) and is thcnce givcn. Thc grcatdl:
. cquations of thc nodcs and linc of thc
apfcs of cach tcllitc are to thc grcatcft
cquations of thc nodes and thc linc of
thc


s

-
OF THE SYSTEM
the apfcs of the Moon refpel:ively, as
the motion of the nodes and line of the
apfes of the fatellites in the time of one
revolution of the firft equations, to the
motion of the nodes and apoga:on of the
Moon in the time of one revolution of
the laft equations. The variation of a
fatellite fecn from Jupiter is to the
ation of our Moon, in the fame propor-
tion as the whole motions of their nodes
refpel:ively, during thc times in which
the fatellite and our Moon ( aftcr parting
from ) are revolved ( again ) to the Sun
by the fame corollary ; and thercfore in
the outmoft ltellite thc variation does
not exceed 5
11
12
111
Fron1 the finall quan-
tity of thofe inequalitics, and the fiow-
nefs of the motions, it happcns that thc
motions of thc fatcllites are found to be
fo regular, that thc more modcrn aftro-
nomcrs either dcny all motion to the
nodes, or a:ffirm thcm to be very fiowly
rcgreflivc.
P.:..; s. \V H 1 LE the Plancts are thus revolved
Th;1t rhc
11
in orbits abont remotc ccntcrs,
rcpct of thc fixcd in thc mean time thcy malee
St;Jl'S, ;li'C rcvo!vcd thcir fcveral rotations about thcir
by cc1u;blc motlons
1bom rhcir propcr propcr axcs; thc Sun, 111 26
axcs. J\n,! rh;r (pcr- days; ]upitcr in 9h 56'; Mars,
htps) tho(c motwns . 1 1 V 1 f
:\I'C thc 11100: flt fot 111 24. ; l i ClllJS, 111 2 3 l ; a11(
rhc c'luttion oftimc. that in plains not much inclincd
r to



O F T H E W O R L D.
to the plain of the Ecliptic, and accord-
ing to the order of the ftgns, as aftrono-
mers determine from the fpots or macul<\!,
that by turns prefcnt themfelves to our
[tght in their bodics. And there is a like
revolution of our Earth performed in
2+h And thofe motions are neither ac-
cderated nor retarded by the al:ions of
thccentripetal forccs, as appears py Cor.
22, Prop. 66. And therefore of all
others they are the moft equable and
moft fit for thc menfuration of time.
But thofe revolutions are to be reckoned
equable, not from their return to the
Sun, but to fome fixed Star : For as the
pofttion of the Planets to the S un is unc-
quably varied, the revolutions of thofc
Planets from Sun to Sun are rendered un-


59

IN likemanner is thc Moon Ibid.
about its axe by a n1otion n1ofi That the Moon
in t"efpcl: of the fixed likewife is cvolvcd
Stars, viz. in 27d 7h 43', that by a diurna! motion
about its axe, and
is, in thc fpacc of a fydereal that its libration docs
month; fo that this diurna! mo- thcncc arife.
tion is cqual to thc mean motion of the
Moon in is orbit. U pon which account,
rhc famc facc of the Moon always re-
fpcl:s thc ccntcr about which this mean
motion is pcrformcd, that is, the cxrc-
focus of thc Moon's orbit ncarly.
Aud

'
6o O F T H E S Y S T E M


And hence arifes a defiexion of the
Mooz face from the Earth, fometimes
towards the caft, and othcr times to-
wards thc weft, according to the pofition
of the focus which it rcfpcts; and this
defiexion is equal to thc equation of the
Moon's orbit, or to thc diffcrcnce be-
twixt its mean and true motions. And
this is the Moon's libration in longitude.
But it is likewife affe\:cd with a libration
in latitude ari:fing from the inclination
of the Moon's axe to the plain of the
01bit in which the Moon is revolved
about the Earth. For that axe rctains
the fame pofition to the fixed Stars
nearly, and hence the poles prefent
themfelves to our view by turns : As
we may undcrftand from the cxample
of the motion of the Earth, whofc poles,
by reafon of the inclination of its axe to
thc plain of die Ecliptic, at:c by turns
illuniinatcd by thc Sun. To determine
exa\:ly thc pofition of thc Moon's axe to
the fixcd Stars, and thc variation of this
pofition, is a problem worthy of an afiro-
nomcr.
BY rcafon of thc diurnal rcvolutions
Of the prcccffion of of thc Planets, thc mattcr which
thc :111d thcy contain cndcavours to rc-
ol' thc IIbratory mo. d f l ,. f l .
tion
0
thc axcs of\hc CC C t0111 t 1C aXl:S O . t liS
Earth and l'lancts. on; and hcncc thc fhud parts n-
fing
O F T HE W O R L D. 61

fing higher towards the equator than about P.
2
39
the poles, would la y the folid parts about .
the equator under water, if th.ofe parts
did not rife alfo. U pon wh.ich account P. 239,
thc Planets are fomething thicker about Z4f, z45 ..
2 5 ,
the equator than about the poles, and
their equinolial points thence become P. 2p..
regrefiive, and their axes by a motion
of nutation, twice in every revolmion.
librare towards their ecliptics, and twice
return again to their former inclination,
as is explained in Cor. 1 8, Prop. 66.
And hence it is that Jupiter, viewed
through very long telefcopes, doe:; not
appear altogether round, but having its P.
24
+-
diameter that lies paralkl to the Ecliptic,
fomething longerthan thatwhich isdrawn.
from north to fouth.

A N n from the diurnal motion :md P. 2
55
u
the attrations of the Sun and Moon,
2
6o.
our Sea ought twicc to rife and That rhc fea ought
twice to bll cvcry day as well tw!cc to flow, and
' twrcc to ebb cverv
Lunar as Solar (by Cor. I 9, day; rhat thc highcil:
20, Pro p. 66) and thc o-rcat- water mu!l: fall out in
11. l . l l t:> l thc third honr aftcr
Cu 1Ctg 1t of t 1C Water tO 1ap- thc appulfc of thc lu-
pcn bctorc thc fixth hour of n ~ i n r i c s to thc mcri-
cithcr da y, ::ind aftcr the twclfth dran of thc phw:.
hour prcccding. By thc ilowncfs of
thc diurnal motion, rhc flood is rctral-
cd ro thc rwclfth hour, and by thc force
of thc motion of red procation iris pro-
tl'atcd

6z.




OF THE SYSTEM
tral:ed and deferred till a time nearcr to
thc fixth hour. But till that time is more

certainly determined by the pha!nome-
na, choofing the middle betwecn thofc
extremes, why may wc not conjcl:ure
the greateft height of thc water to hap-
pen at the third hour ? for thus the
ter will rife all that time in which the
force of the luminaries to raife it is
greater, and will fall all that time in
which their .force is lefs; viz. from the
ninth to thc third hour w hcn that force is
greater, and from. the third to the ninth
when it is lefs. The hours I reckon from
the appulfe of each luminary to the me-
ridian of the place, as well under as
abo ve the horizon; and by tfle hours of
the lunar day I underfiand the
fourth parts of that time which thc
Moon fpends beforc it comes about
again by its apparent diurnal motion to
the meridian of the place, which it left
thc day bcforc.
BuT
Tlt:u thc grcatcll:
tidcs happcn in thc
fyzy"ics of thc lumi-
thc lcall: in
the two motions which thc two
luminarics raifc will not appcar
difiinguiihcd, but will makc a
ccrtain mixt motioh. In thc con-
thcit <uadtatmcs: nnd that, at rhc thhd hom aftct thc nppulc of
thc Moon to thc mcridian of thc place. But that out of thc f):.o:v-
gics and quaclraturcs thofc grc:ucfl and lcafl lides <lcviarc a litt'f.:
liom t har rhird hum tow;tnls thc third hout ali:tt' thc :1 ppullc of' tire;
Suu to thc mcl'idian.
j unl:i on.
OF THE \VORLD.
junl:ion or oppofition of thc 'luminaries,
their forces will be conjoined and bring
on the grcatcft ft.ood and ~ ~ - -In the
quadratures the Sun will raife the wa-
tcrs w hich the Moon deprcfeth, and. de-
prcfs the waters which the Moon rai-
fcth, and from the diffcrence of their for-
ccs, rhe fi11alldl: of all tides will follow.
And bccaufe (as expcrience tells us) rhe
force of the Moon is grcarer than that
of the Sun, the grcateft hcight of the
water will happen about the third lunar
bour. Out of the fyzygics and qua-
dratures the grcatcfi: tidc, which by the
:fingle force of the Moon ought to fall
out at the third lunar hour, and by the
:fingle force of the Sun at the third fo-
lar 'hour, by the compound forces of
both mufi: fall out in an intermediare
time that approaches nearer t the third
hour of thc Moon thnn to that of
thc Sun: And thereforc while thc Moon
is paffing from the fyzygics to the qua-
dratures, during which time the 3d hour
of thc S un precedes thc 3d of thc Moon,
thc greatcft tidc will precede the 3d lunar
hour ; and that b y ~ thc greatcfi: intcrval a
littlc after thc otl.ants of thc Moon ; and
by like intcrvals, thc greatefi: tidc will fol-
low thc 3d lunar hour, whilc thc Moon
is pallng from thc qtKldr;.turcs to thc
1yzygics.
Bur




OF THE SYSTEM
B u T the effel:s of the luminaries
That the tides are
greateft when the lu-
minaries are in their

pertgees.
depend upon their diftancs
from the Earth. For when
they are lefs difi:ant, their ef-
fel:s are greater, and when
more difi:ant their effel:s are lefs, and
that in the triplicate proportion of their
apparent diameters. Therefore it is that
the Sun in the winter time, being then
in its perigee, has a greater effel:, and
makes the tides in the fyzygies fome-
thing greater, and thofe in the quadra-
tures fomething lefs:. Ctl!teris paribus, than
in the fummer feafon ; and every month
the Moon, while in the perigee> raifeth
greater tides than at the difi:ance of r 5
days before or after, when it is in its
apogee. Whence it comes to pafs that
two higheft tides do not follow one the
other, in two immediately fucceeding
fyzygies.
T H E effel: of either luminary doth
That the tides are likewife depend upon its decli-
greatefl: about the e- nation or difi:ance from the e-

qumoxes. quator. For if the luminary
was placed at the pole, it would con-
ftantly attral: all the parts of the wa-
ters, without any intenfion or rernilion
of its al:ion, and could caufe no rcci-
procation of motion. And thereforc as
the luminarics decline fi'om the cqua-
tor
A "


'



O F T HE W O R L D. 65

tor towards either pole, they will by de-
grees lofe their force, and on this account
wiii excite leifer tides in the folfl:itial than
in the equinol:ial fyzygies. But in the
folftitial quadratures, they will raife great-
er tides than in the quadratures about
the equinoxes ; becaufe the effel: of the
Moon, then fituated in the equator, moft
exceeds the effel: of the Sun. There-
fore the greatefl: tides fall out in thofe
fyzygies, and the leaft in thofe quadra-
tures, which happen about the time of
both equinoxes. And the greateft tide in
the fyzygies is always fucceeded by the
leafr tide in the quadratures, as we find
by experience. But becaufe the Sun is
lefs diftant fiom the Earth in winter than
in fummer, it comes to pafs that the
greateft and leafl: tides more frequently
appear before than after the vernal equi-
nox; and more frequently after, than be-
fore the autumnal. ~
MoR E ovE R, the effel:s of the Iu ..
minaries depend upon the lati- TI f ti
1at out o 1e
tudes of places. Lec ApEP equator thc tiJcs are
rcprefent the Earth, on all fides geare
1
and Jers al-
d
. 1 l e . ternatcly.
covcrc wn 1 e ccp warcrs; tts
center ; P, p i rs polcs ; A E thc eqnator ;
F any place without thc cquator; F f thc
parallcl of thc place; D d thc corrcfpon-
dcnt parallcl on thc orher fidc of thc
cquator 5 L thc place which thl: o o t ~
F poi-
'

66 O F T H E S Y S T E M
'
K







N








p



'

porefed three hours before ; H the place
of the Earth direHy under it ; h the op-
poftte place; K, k the places at 90 de-
grees difi:ance ; e H, e h the greateft
heights of the Sea from the center of the
Earth, and e K, C k, the leaft heights :
and if with the axes H h, K k, an ellipfe
is dcfcribed, and by thc revolution of that
ellipfe about its longer axe H h, a fphcroid
H P K h p k is formcd; this fpheroid wiU
nearly reprefent the figure of the Sea ;
and e F, C f, e D, e d, will re refent
the Sea in the places F, f, D, But
further, if in the faid revolution of the
ellipfe any point N defcribes the circle
N M, cutting the parellels F f, D d in
any places R, T, and the equator A E in
. S; e N will reprefent thc height of thc
Sea in all thofe laces, R, S, T, fituated
in this cirdc. W 1creforc ht the diurilal re-
volution



O F T HE W O R L D.'

volution of any placeF, the gn:;ateftflood
will be in F, at the third Hour after rhe
appulfe of the Moon to the meridian above
the horizon ; and afterwards the greateft
ebb in Q_ at the third hour after the fet-
ting of the Moon, and then the greateft
.fiood in f, at the third after the appulfe
of the Moon to the meridian under the
horizon, and lafily the greateft ebb in Q.z
at the third hour after the rifing of the
Moon ; and the latter flood in f, will be
Iefs than the preceding flood in F. For
the whole Sea is divided in.to two huge and
hemifpherical floods, oue in the hemi-
fphere K H k C, on the north fide, the
other in the oppoftte hemifphere K H k C;
which we may therefore call the northern
and the fouthern floods. Thefe floods be-
ingalways oppfite the one to the other;
come by turns to the meridians of all
places after the interval of twelve lunar
hours. And feeing the northern coumries
partake more of the northern flood, and the
fouthern countries more of the fouthern
flood, thence arife tides alternately greater
and lefs in all places without the equator,
in w hich the luminaries rife and fe t. llu t thc
greater tide will happen whcn the Moon
declines towards thc vertex of thc place,
about the third hour aftcr the appuH(; of
the Moon to the meridian ahovc the hori-
zon; and when the Moon changcs its de
~ .z. clination,


OF THE SYSTEM
clination, that which was the greater tide
will be changed into a lefer, and the
greateft difference of the fl.oods will fall
out about the times of the folftices, efpe-
cially if the afcending node of the Moon
is a bout the firft of Aries. So the morn-
ing tides in winter exceed thofe of the
evening, and theeveningtidesexceed thofe
of thc morning ii1 fummer ; at P lymouth
by the height of one foot, but atBriflolby
the height of 1 5 inches, according to the
obfervations of Coleprefl and Sturmy.
B u T thc motions which we have
That by the confer- been defcribing fuffer fome alte-
vation of the impref- ration from that force of reci-
fed motion, th_e i ~ procation which the waters [ha-
ference of the u des ts . .
diminifhcd: and that vmg once receiVed] reta1n a lu-
hcnce it may happen tle while by their vis i1ifita.
that thc <>reareltncn.- Wh r. h
firual dae will be rhc ence lt comes to pa1s t at
third after the fyzy- the tides may continue for fome
gy. time, though thc al:ions of thc
luminaries bould ceafe. This powcr of
rctaining the impreffed motionlefens thc
differcncc of the alternte tides, and
makes thofc tides which immcdiately fuc-
ceed afrcr thc fyzygics greatcr, and thofe
which follow ncxt after thc quadraturcs
lefs. And hcnce it is that thc alternare
tidcs at P(ymottth and Briflol, do not
diffcr nmch more onc from thc othcr,
than by thc hciglu of a foot, or of 1 5
inches,


OF T HE W O RL D.

inches, and that the greateft tides of all
at thofe ports are not the firft but rhe third
after the fyzygies.
And beftdes, all the motions are retard-
ed in their pafage through fhallow chan-
nels, fo that the grcateft tidcs of all in
fome ftreights and mouths of rivers,
are the fourth, or even thc fifth after the
fyzygies. [ *]
I T may alfo happen that the greateft
tide may be t!le fourth or fifth That the motions
. after the fyzygics, or fall out yet of the fea may be
later, becaufe the motions of .by impedi-
h S d d
mcnts Ullts channels.
t e ea are retar e m pa 1ng
through fhallow places towards the fhores.
For fo the tide arrives at the wdl:ern
coaft of lre!an.d at the third lunar hour,
andan hour or two after, at thc ports in
thc fouthern coaft of the fame iOand, as
alfo at the iilands CaJ!iterides commonly
Sor!ings; then fuccef11vcly at Falmottth,
P(ymouth, Portla11d, the iDc of lf/ight,
Winchefter, 'Dover, thc mouth of the
Thames, and LondO?t-Bridge, fpending
rwelvc hours in this But further
the propag;;:ttion of thc tidcs may be ob-
ftrul:cd cven by the channcls of the
occan itfclf, whcn thcy are not of dcpth
enough; for thc flood luppcns at thc
third 1 un:1r hm1r in thc Cmltll'Y lt1ands,

and ar all thoic wch:rn co,ls thar Jic
3 to-
OF THE

towards the Atl;mtic oc(!an, as of
!and, France, Spain, and all to
the cape of Good-hope, except in fome.
fhallow places, where it is impeded, and
falls out later; and" in the ftreights of
Gibraltar, by reafon of a motion
propagated from the Sea
it flows fooner. But pafling from thofe
coafts over the breadth of the ocean tQ
the coafts of .America, the flood arrives
prft at the moft eaftern fhores of Brajile,
about the fourth or fifth lunar pour, then
lt the n1outh of the river of the .Ama-
zons, at the ftxth hour, but at the neigh-
bouring iflands, at the fourth. hour; af-
terwards at the iflands of Bermudas at
the feventP, hour, and at port St. .Att-
guflin in Florida at feyen and a half. And
'thcrcfore the tide is through
the occan with a. flower motion than it
fhould be according to the courfe of the
Moon ; and this retardation is vcry ne
7
celary, that the Sea at the fame time
may fall betwcen Brrifileand N,ewFrance,
and rife at the Canary Iflands, and on the
coafts of Ettrope and .Africa, and vice
1Jerfo: For the Sea cannot rife in onc
place but by falliJ1g in anothcr. Ar.d it is
. probable that the P acific Sea is agitated
hy thc f'iunc laws. For in the coafts of
Chili and Perlt, thc highcft flood is faid
ro happcn at thc tllird hopr.
with

OF THE
W ORLD."
with what velocity iris thence propagated
to rhe eaftern coafts of :Japan, the Phi-
lippine and orher ilands adjacent ro Chi-
na, I ha ve not yet learned.
71
. FA R TH E R it may happen, that the P. :z.Go.
tidemay be propagaredfrom the
ocean through different chan-
nels towards the fame port, and
may pafs quicker through fome
channels than through others,
in which cafe the fame tide, di-
That from the im-
pediments of chan-
nels and lhores, va.
ribus ph::enomena do
arife, as that the fea
may flow but once
every day.
vided into two or more fucceeding one
another, may compound ncw 111otions
of different kinds. Let us fuppofe one
tide ro be divided into tw equal tides;
the former whereof precedes the other
by the fpace of fix hours; and happens
at thc third or twenty-fcvcnth hour from
the appulfe of thc Moon to the meridian
of rhe port. If the Moon at the time
of this appulfc to the meridian was in
the equator, every ftx hours altcinatcly
there would arife cqual floods, which
meeting with as many cqual cbbs, would
fo balance one thc othcr, that for that

da y the water would fiagnatc and rcmain
uiet. If the Moon thcn dcclined from
t e equator, the tides in the occan would
be altcrnatcly greater and lefs as was f.'lid.
And from hcnce two grcater and rwo
lcfih tidcs would be alcernatcly propa-
F + gatcd,
1



OF THE SYSTEM
gated towards that port. But the two
greater floods would make the greateft
height of the waters to fall out in the
middlc time betwixt both, and the great
er and ldfer floods would rnake the wa-
ters to rife to a mean height in the mid-
""
dlc time between and in the mid-
dle time betwecn thc two lelfer floods
the waters would rife to their leafi: height.
Thus in the fpace of the
waters would not twice, but once
only to their greateft, and once only to
their lcaft height; and thcir greatcft height,
if the Moon declined towards the eleva-
red pole, would happen at the :fixth or
thirtieth hour after the appulfc of the
Moon to the meridian, a11d whcn thc
.Moon changcd its dcclination this flood
would be changcd into :.m'ebb.
Of all which we have an cxample in
Tnmf N 1 f B 'rt. l k' d

t 1e port o atJIJam, m t 1e mg on1
of Tunqztin, in the latitude of zoo 50
1
norrh. In that port on thc day which
follows aftcr thc paifc'lgc of the Moon
ovcr thc cquator thc watcrs il:agnatc :
Whcn thc Moon declines to thc north,
tlicy bcgin to flow and cbb, not twicc
as in othcr ports, but once only evcry
day, and. thc flood happcns at the fct-
ting, and thc grcatcft ebb at thc rifing
of thc Moon. This tidc cncrcafcth wirh
thc dcclination of thc Moon, till thc fe-
vcnrh

O F T H E 'V O R L D. 7 3

venth or eighth day ; then for the feventh
or eighth day following, it decreafeth at
the fame rate as it had increafed before,
and ceafeth when thc Moon changeth its
declination. After which the flood is
immediatel y changed into an ebb ; and
thenceforth the ebb happens at rhe fet-
ting, and thc fiood at the rifing of the
Moon ; till the Moon again changes its
dcclination.. There are two inlets from
the ocean to this port ; one more dhel:
and hort betwcen the iland Hainan

and the coaft of J.,!tantung, a provincc
of China ; the othcr round about be-
twcen the fame iland and the coaft of
Cochim : And through the iborter paf-
fage the tide is fooncr propagated to
Batjham. .

IN the channcls of rivcrs, the influx
and reflux depcnds upon thc
That thc times of
currcnt ofthc rivcrs, which ob- thc tidcs within thc
firuts the ingrcfs of the waters channclsoh'ivers are
from rhc Sea and pronlotcs ~ O I C unequal thall
1 m thc occan.
thcir egrcfs to the Sea, making
thc inu;rcfs latcr and fiowcr, and. thc
...
cgrcfs iooncr and taftcr. And hencc it
is, that thc rcflux is of longcr durat\on
than thc influx, cfpecially fi.1r up thc ri-
vcrs, whcrc thc force of thc Sea is lcfs.
So Sttermy tdls us, that in thc rivcr
.dvon duce mili.:11 bclow Brijto!, thc wa-
ter

74


OF THE SYSTEM
ter flows only five hours, but ebbs feven.
And without doubt the difference is yet
gr,ater above Brij!o!, as at Carejham or
the Bath. This difference does likewife
depend upon the quantity of the flux and
reflux. For the more vehement motion
of the Sea near thc fyzygies of the lu-
minaries more eaftl y overcoming the re-
fiftance of the rivers, will make the in-
. grefs of the water to happen fooner and
to continue longer, and will therefore
-
dimini!h this difference. But while the
Moon is approaching to the fyzygies,
the rivers will be more plentifully filled,
their currents being ob:ftmt:ed by the
greatnefs of the tides, and therefore will
fomething more retard the reflux of the
Sea a little after, than a little bcfore the
fyzygies. U pon which account the 1ow-
eft tides of all will not happen in the
fyzygics, but prevent them a little. And
I obferved abovc, that thc tidcs before
thc fyzygics wcre alo retarded by thc
force of thc S un. And from both caufcs
conjoined, thc retardation of thc tidcs
will be both greatcr and fooncr bcforc
.....
thc fyzygics. All which 1 ind ro be fo,
by thc tidc-tablcs which F!amjleed has
compofed t'i:om a grcat 1any obfcrva-

uons .

llY

O F T H E W O R L D.
75
BY the laws wc have been defcribing,
thc times of the tides are go- Thar rhe tides are
verned : But the greatnefs of reaterin greater and
::;, on thc fhores of con-
nefs of the Seas. Let C repre- rinents thatt ot ilands
fent the center of the Earth, in the middle of the
EADB l 1 fi
f th
Sea ; and yer greater
t le ova gure O e in fhallow bays t h ~
Sea, CA the longer femiaxe of open wirh wide inlers
this. oval, CB the ihorter inftft- ro the Sea.
ing at right angles upon the former, D
. . ... . .. .. .. ..



'













the middle point bctwccn A and E, and
ECF or eCf thc anglc at thc centcr of
thc Earth, fubtcndcd by the brcadth of
the Sea that terminares in thc fhorcs E, F,
ore, f. Now fuppofing that thc poim
A is in thc middlc betwccn thc points
E, F, and thc point D in the middlc bc-
rwecn thc points e, f; if thc diffcrcncc
pf the hcights CA, CB rcprcfcnt rhc
quantity of rhc fidc in a vcry dccp Sea
fur-

'


76 O F T H E S Y S T E M
furrounding the whole Earth; the ex..:
cefs of the height CA above the height
CE or CF, will reprefent the quantity of
the tide in thc middle of the Sea EF
terminated by the fhores E, F: and the
excefs of the heightC e above the height
e f, will nearly reprefent the quantity
ofrhe tideon thehorcs,f, ofthe ame Sea.
Whcnce ir appears that the tides are far
lefs in the middle of the fea, than at the
fhorcs ; and that the tidcs at the fhores
are nearly as EF thc breadrh of the Sea,
not exceeding a qu.a.drantal And
hence it is that near the equator, where
the Sea between Africa and America is
narrow, the tides are far lcfs tha. to-
wards either fide in the ten1perate Zones,
whcre the Seas are extended wider, or
on almol: all the ihores of the P acijic Sea,
as well towards America as towards

China, and within as wcll as wirhout
the tropicks ; and that in ibnds in che
middlc of thc fea thcy fcarcc rife highcr
than two or thrcc feet, but on the ihorcs
of grcat contincnts are tlu-cc or tour times
grcatcr and abovc, dpccially if the mo-
tions propagatcd from thc occan are by
dcgrccs contratl:cd into a narrow fx1.cc,
. and the water, to fill and cmpty the
bays altcrnatcly, is forcCL{ to flow and
cbh with grcat violcncc throHgh hallow
placcs ; "PIJ'mouth and C/.Jl1llow-

.. :>

O F T H E W O R L D.' 77
Bridge in Eng!and, at the mount of
St. Michael and town of Avranches in
Normandy, and at Camb;ja and Pegu
in the Eafl Indies. In which places,
the fea hurried in and out with grcat
violence, fometimes lays the ihores un-
der water, fometimes leaves them dry
for many miles. Nor is the force of
the infiux and cffiux to be broke till it
has raifed or depreffed the water to forty
or fifty feet and more. Thus alfo long
and fhallow ftreights that open to the
fea with mouths wider and deeper
than the refr of their channcl, ( fuch as
thofe about Britain, and the Mage!tanic
Streight:s at the eaftern enrry) will ha ve
a greater fl.ood and ebb, or will more
intcnd and remit thcir courfe, and there-
fore will rife higher and be deprcffed
lowcr. On the coal:s ofSouth .Ame- [*]
rica, it is faid that thc P acijit Sea in its
refiux fomcrimes retreats two miles, and
gets out of ftght of thofc that l:and on
fhorc. Whencc in thcfc placcs, thc
floods will be alfo highcr. But in dccp-
cr watcrs thc vclocity of infiux and ct:
flux is always lcfs, and thcrcforc the a1:
ccnt and dcfccnt is fo too. Nor in fttch
placcs is thc ocean known to afccnd to
more th::m fix, cight, or ten fcct. Thc
quantity of thc afceni: I compute in thc
following m::mncr.
1 LET


O F TH E
. -
SYSTEM
L E T S reprefent the Sun, T the
Earth, P the Moon, P AGB the Moon,s
L

..
S
T
.M
G
The force of the orbit. In SP take SK equal t<1
S unto difl:urbthe m o- h d
tions of the Moon, ST and SL to SK 111 t e up 1-
compmed tioin the cate ratio of SK to SP. Pa--
tolegoing prinCipies. rallel to PT draw LM ; and
fuppofing the mean quantity of the cir--
cum-folar force direl:ed towards the
Earth to be reprefented by the diftancc
ST or SK, SL will reprefent thc quami..:
ty thereof direted towards the Moon.
But that force is compounded of the
parts SM, LM; of which the force
LM, and that part of SM which is re ...
prcfentcd by T M do difturb the motion
of the Moon (as appcars from Prop. 66,
and its Corollarics.) Itt fo far as thc
Earth and Moon are revolved abour thcir
common ccnter of gravity, the Earth
will be liablc to the al:ion of the likc
fmccs. But wc may rcfcr thc fums as
wcll of thc forccs as of thc motions to
thc Moon, and rcprcfcnt thc fums of thc
fon:cs


'
'
O F T H E W O R L D. '79
forces by the lines TM and ML, whi.t:h
are proportional to thcm. The force
.LM, in its mean quantity
7
is to the force
by which the Moon may be revolved in
an orbit, about the Earth quiefcent, at the
diftance PT, in the duplicare ratio of rhe
Moon's pcriodic time about the Earrh t<>
the Earth's periodic time about thc Sun
(by Cor. 17, Prop. 66) that is, in the
duplicateratioof 27d7h 43
1
to 365d 6h
9', oras 1000 to 178725, or r ro 178;f:g.
The force by which rhe Moon may be
revolved in its orb about the Earth in
reft, at the diftancc PT of 6o; femi-
diameters of thc Earth, is to the force
by which it may revolve in the fame time
at the diftance of 6o emi-diameters as
6o to 6o ; and this force is ro the force
of gravity wirh us as 1 ro 6o X 6o
nearly. ' And thcrefore the mean force
ML is ro rhc force of gravity ar rhe furface
of theEarrh as 1 X 6ot to 6o X 6o X 6o
X 178 ;f:Z, or r to 63 8092,6. Whence
thc force T M will be alo givcn from the
proportion of rhc lnes TM, ML. And
thcfe are the_ forces of the S un, by which
the Moon's motions are difiurbcd.

I F from the Moon's orbit wc dcfcend P. 3 0 ~
to the Earth's furfitcc, thofc Thc force of the
forccs will be diminifhcd in the Sun ro movc thc fe;
ratio of thc diftanccs 6o 1 and r ; computcd.
and

so O F T H E S Y S T E M
and therefore the force LM will then
become 3 8604600 times Icfs than the
force of gravity. But this force atl:ing
equally every where u pon the Earth, will
fcarcely effea: any change on the motion
of the Sea, and thcrefore may be neglel:-
cd in th explication of that motion.
The other force T M, in places where
the Sun is vertical or in their nadir, is
triple the quantity of the force ML, and
therefore but 1 2 8 6 8 2 o o times lcfs than the
[ * ] force of gravity. .

S u P Pos E now ADBE to reprefenc
The height of the the fpherical furface of the
tide the equa- Earth a D bE the furface of the
tor, anfing from the , . .
force of the Sun,com- water over-fpread1ng lt,. C the
puted. center of both, A the place to
which the Sun is vertical, B the place


h:B
;
\










E





....



':.





:a

















oppofltc;
o
O F T HE W O R L D. SI
oppofite; D, E, places at 90 degrees di-
ftance from the formcr; A e E m 1 k a
right angled cylindric canal pa1ling
through the Eartl ccnter. The force
TM in any place is as h difiance of rhe
place from the plain DE, on which a line
from A to e inftfis at right angles, and
thereforc in thc part of thc canal which is
rcprcfentcd by E etm, isofnoquantity;.
but in the other partA e 1 k, is as the gra-
vicy at the feveral heights. For in de-
fcending towards the center of the Erth,
gravity is (by Prop. 7 3 .) every whcre as
thc height. And thcrefore thc force T M
<lrawing the water upwards will diminilh
ts gravity in the legA el k of the canal
in a given ratio ; upon which account
the water will afccnd in this leg, till its
defetl: of gravity is fupplicd by its grcater
hciglu, nor will it refi in an equilibrium,
till its total gravity becomcs cqual ro the
total gravity in E e! m thc othcr lcg of
thc canal. Bccaufe thc gravity of cvcry
particlc is as ics difiance from che Eard
center, the wcight of the wholc water
in eithcr lcg will increafe in thc duplicare
radoofthc hcight;and thcrcforethc hcight
of the water in the lcg A e t k will be to
thch cight thcreof in thc leg C 1m E in
thc fubduplicate ratio of thc number
12868201 to 128682oo, or in che ratio
of thc numbcr 2j623053 co chcnum-
G bcr




'


OF THE SYSTEM

ber 25623052, and theheight ofthewa ...
ter in the leg E C 1m to the difference
of the heights, as 25623052 to 1. But
the height in the leg E C 1m is of
19615 soo Paris feet, as has been latc-
ly found by the menfuration of the
French. And therefore by the preccding
analogy, the difference of the heights
comes out 9f inches of the Paris foot;
and the Sun's force will make the height
of the Sea at A to exceed the height of
the lame atE by 9 inches. And though
the water of the canal A C E m 1 k be fup-
pofed to be frozen into a hard and folid
confifience, yet the heights thereof at A
and E, and all other intermediate places,
would ftill remain the fame.
L E T A a (in the following figure) re-
The hei,.ht of the prefent that excefs of height of
tides un.der'the paaal- nine inches at A, and h f the
lels. anfing from the excefs of height at any othcr
Sun's force, compu-
ted. place h ; and upon DC lct fall
the perpendicular fG, meeting
the globe of the Earth in F. And be-
caufe thc difiance of the Sun is fo grcat
that all the right lines drawn thcrcto
may be confidered as parallel, the force
TM in any place f, will be to the famc
force in thc place A, as the ftne FG to
thc radius A C. And thcrcforc fin ce thofc

forccs tcnd ro the Sun in the direl:ion
of
' '

OF THE WORLD. SJ


'
e
of parallel lines, they will generate the
parallel F f, A a in the fame
to; and therefore the figure of the wa-
ter D fa e b will be a fpheroid by
the revolution of an ellipfe about its
longer axe a b. And the perpendicular
height f h will be to the oblique height
FfasfG tofC, orasFG toAC: and
therefore the height fh is to thc height
A a in the duplica te ratio of F G to A C,
that is, in the ratio of the verfed fine
of double the angle D C f to double the
radius, and is thence given: And hcnce
to thc feveral moments of the apparent
revolution of the Sun about the Earth,
wc may infcr the proportion of the af-
CCllt and defcent of rhe watcrs at any
given place under thc cquator, as well as
G of


OF THE SYSTE'M
of the diminution of that afcent and de-
fcent, whether arifing from the latitude
of places or from the Sun's declination;
rviz. That on account of the latitude of
places, the afcent and defcent of the fea
is in. all places diminifbed in the dupli-
cate ratio of the co-fines of latitude;
and on account of the Sm declina-
tion; the afcent and defcent under the
equator is diminifhed in the duplicate
ratio of theco-fine of declination. And
in places without the equator, the half
fum of the morning and evening af..
cents ( that is, the mean afcent) is
diminifbed nearly in the fame ra-

ti O.
LE T S and L refpcl:ively reprefent
TI
. f the forces of the Sun and Moon
1e proporuon o .
the tides under the placed In the equator, and at
equator. in the fyzy- their mean diftances from the
'gies and quadatures, E
1
R
1
d" d h
ariungfromthe oint art 1;, t 1era ms, Tan V t e
forces of both Sun verfed fines of double thc com-
and Moon. plcments of the S un and Moon's
dcclinations to any given time, D andE
the mean apparent diametcrs of the Sun
and Moon: And, fuppofing F and G to
be thcir apparent diameters to that
given time, thcir forces to raife the
tides undcr the cquator will be, in the
. VG
3
TF
3
S, in the
quadra
O F T HE W O R L D. 85

VGJ TF
1

quadratures,
2
RE J L
2
R
0
, S. And
if the fame ratio is likewife obfcrved u n ~
der the parallcls, from obfervations accu-
rately made in our northern climatcs we
may determine the proportion pf the
forces L and S; and thcn by means of this
rule predil: the quantities of the tides to
every fyzygy and quadrature.
A T the mouth of the ri- P. ~ o 6
3
o
1
,
3
os,
3
o
9

ver .V01h three miles below Bri- . The force of the
ft
ol in .iprig and autmnn the Moon to e:cdte tides.
' ' and the heght of the
whole afcent of the water In water thence a1ifino-.
the conjunl:ion or oppofition of computed. .,
the luminaries (by the obfervation of
Sturmy) is about +5 fcet
1
but in the
quadratures only 2 5. Bc,a\lfe the appa-
rent diameters of the luminaries are not
here determined, let us afume them in
their mean quantities, as well as the
Moon's declination in the cquinoUal
quadraturcs, in its mean uanrity, that
is, 2 3 .
0
; and the vcrfcd me of double
its complement will be 1682, fuppoftng
thc radius to be 1 ooo. But thc declina:-
tions of thc Sun in thc cquinoxcs and of
thc Moon in the fyzygies are of no quan-
tity, . and the vcrfcd fines of doublc the
complcmcnts are cach zooo. Whencc
thofe forccs bccomc L +S in .thc ryzy..:
. d I
682
L S. h .. d .
g1cs, an m t e qua ratures,
zooo
' '
o ~
re-




.
86 O p T H E S Y S T E M


refpel:ively proportional to the heights
of the ti des of 4 5 and 2. 5 feet, or of 9
and 5 paces. 'And therefore multiply-
ing the extremes and the means we have
.s L + 5 S
1
5
1
3
8
L 9 S, or L
2.000

z8ooo S
5 ~ S.
5138
But further, I remember ro ha ve been
told, that in fummer the afcent of the
fea in the fyzygies, is to the afcent there-
of in the quadratures as about 5 to 4
In the folftices themfelves iris probable
that the proporrion may be fomething
lefs, as about 6 to 5 ; whence it would
follow that L is 5 ! S. [For then the
1682. 1682.
proporuon 1s -L + S : L -
2.000 2000 .

I682 .
--S :: 6: 5.] Till we can more cer-
.2ooo
tainly determine the proportion from oh-
fervation, ler us afume L 5 t S ; and
:ftnc thc heights of the tides are as the
forces which excite them, and thc force
of thc S un is able to raife thc tidcs to the
height of ninc inches, the Moon's force
will be fufficient to raifc the famc to the
height of four fcet. And if wc allow
that this height may be doublcd, or pcr-
haps triplcd by that force of reciproca-
tion which wc obfcrvc in thc motion of

thc watcrs, and by which thcir motion

once

O F T HE W O R L D. 87
once begun is kept up for fome rimel'
thcre will be force enough to generare
all that quantity of tides, which we
really find in the ocean.
T H u s we ha ve feen that thefc forces P.
3
ro.
are fufficicnt to move thc fea.
But, fo far as 1 can obfervc, That thofe f01ces
of the S un and Moon
they will not be able to pro- are fcarce fenfible by
duce any other effel: :nftble any other effetl: be-
E
h F. ft h fide the tides which
on. our art . o; t e they raife in the fea.
wetght of one gram m 4000
is not fenfible in the niceft balance ; and
the force to move the tides is
-I 2 8 6 8 2 o o lefs than the force of gravity ;
and the fum of the forces of both Moon
and Sun, exceeding the Sun's force only
in the ratio of 6 t to 1, is ftill203 2890
times lefs than the force of gravity; it is
evident that botn forces together are s oo
times lefs than what is required fenfiblyto
increafe or diminifh the weight of any
body in a balance. And therefore they
will not fenfibly move any fufpended bo-
dy ; nor will they produce any fcnfible
effcl: on pendulums, barometers, bodies
fwimming in ftagnant water, or in the
likc ftatical experimcnts. In thc atmof- [ * J
phcrc indeed thcy will excite fuch a flux
and reflux as they do in the fea, but with
fo fmall a motion that no fcnfiblc wind
will be thencc produccd.
G4
IF


-
88
OF THE SYSTEM

P. 3 tr.

That the b
0
dy of the
Moon is about6 times
mo1e denfe than the
body ot the S un.
1 F che effel:s of both Moon
and Sun in rai:fing the tides, as
well as _their apparent diameters,
were equal .among themfelves,
their abfolute forces would ( by
Cor. 14. Prop. 66.) be as their magni-
tudes. But the effel: of the Moon is to
the effea: of the S un as about 5 f to I ; and
the Moon' s diameter lefs than the Sun's

in the ratio.of.3 I ! to 3 2 t or of 45 to 46.
Now the force, of. the Moon is to be in-
crcafed in the ratio of the effel: direl:ly,'
and in the triplicare ratio of the diameter
inverfely. Whence the force of the Moon
compar'd withits magnitudewillbe tothe
force ofthe Sun compar'd with its magni-
tude in the ratio compounded of 5 t to I,
and che triplicateof 4-5 to 4-6 inverfely, that
is, in the ratio of about 5 ia to I. And
therefore the Moon in refpetl: of themag-
nitude of its body, has an abfohite cen-
trip.ctal force grearer than rhe Sun in re-
fpetl: of rhe magnitudeof its body, in the
ratio of 5 ~ to 1, and is therefore more
denfc in the famc ratio.
1 N the time of 27 d 7 h 43
1
in which
TI t ti M
. thc Moon makcs irs revolution
1:1 lC oon 1s
more denfe than thc about the Earrb, a Planct may
:Earth in a ratio of a- be revolved. about rhe Sun at the
bout 3 to l. d'l: f d' . f
1 ance o 18,9 54 Iametcrs o
the Sun from che Sun's center, fuppo-
_ftng
O F T H E W O R L D." !9
fmg the mean apparent diameter of the
S un to be 3 2 t' And in the fame time
the Moon may be revolved about t ~
Earth at reft, at the diftance of 3 o of
theEarth's diameters. If in both cafes the
number of diameters was che fame, che
abfolute circum-terreftrial force would (by
Cor. 2. Prop.72)beto theabfolutecircum-
folar force as the magnitude of che Earth
to the magnitude of the Sun. Becaufe
the number of che Earth's. diameters is
greater in the ratio- of 3 o to 1 8,9 54, the
body of the Earth will be lefs in the tri-
plicare of that ratio, that is, in the ra.
tio of 3 1: to I. Wherefore the Earths
force, for the magnitude of its body, is
to the Sun's force, for the magnitude of
its body, as 3 H to 1, and confequently
the Earth's den:fity to the Sun's will be
in the fame .ratio. Sin ce then the Moon' s
denfity is to the Suns dcnfity as 5 lo to
I, the Moons denftty will be to the
Earth's denfity as 5 ,:z" to 3 H, or as 2 3
to I 6. Whcreforc fin ce the Moons
magnitudc is to the Earth's magnitudc
as about r to 41 {, the Moon's abfolute
ccntripctal force will be to thc Earrhs
abfolute centripetal force as about I to
29, and thc quanticy of matter in the
Moon to the quanticy of mattcr in the
.Earth in the f:une ratio. And hcnce the
common

fiO O F T H E S Y S T E M
r ~
common center of gravity of the Earth
and Moon is more exal:ly determined
than hirherto has been done. From the
knowledge of which we may now infer
the Moo.n,s diftance from the Earth with
greater accuracy. But I would rather
wait till the proportion of the bodies of
the Moon and Earth one to the other is
more exal:ly defined from the phreno-
mena of the tides, hoping that in the
mean time the circumference of the Earth
may be meafured from more difi:ant ftati-
ons than any body has yet employed for
this purpofe

T Hu s I have given an account of
the fyftem of the Planees. As
Of the difl:ance of h fix d S h fi ll r..
the fixed Stars. to t e e tars, t e n1a llCJ.S
of their annual parallax proves
them to be removed to immenfe dil:ances
from the fyl:em of the Plancts. That
this. parallax is lefs rhan' one minute is
mol: certain ; and from thence it follows
that the diftance of the fixcd Stars is above
3 o times grcarcr than the diftancc of
Saturn from thc Sun. Such as reckon
thc Earth onc of the Planets and thc S un
one of . thc fixcd Stars, may rcmove thc
fixcd Stars to yct grcater dil:ances by thc
following argumcnts. From thc annual
motion of thc Earth dtcrc would happcn
an apparcnt tranf pofition of the fixcd Stars,
onc
O F T H E W O R L D.
one in refpel: of another, almoft equal
to their double paraUax. But the grearer
and nearer Stars, in refpel: of the more
remote, which are only feen by the te-
Iefcope, have not hitherto been obferved
to have the leaft motion. If we fhould
fuppofe that motion to be but lefs than
2o'', the diftance of the nearer fixed
Stars would exceed the mean diffance of
Saturn by above zooo times. Again,
the difc of Saturn, which is only 1 7''
or 1 8
11
in diameter, receives but about
1
of the Sun's light. For fo
2!00000000
much lefs is that difc than the whole
fpherical furface of the orb of Saturn.
Now if we fuppofe Saturn to reflel: a-
bout :4: of this light, the whole light re-
fleled from its illuminated hemifphere
will be about
1
of thc wholc
4-200000000
light emitted from the Sun's hemifphere.
And therefore :fince light is rarefied in
the duplicare ratio of the dillance from
thc luminous body, if the Sun was
. 1 oooo V' 42 times more diftant than Sa-
turn, it would yct appear as lucid, as
Saturn now does without its ring, that
is, fomcthing more lucid than a fixed Star
of the firft magnitude. Let us thercforc
fuppofc that the diftance from which thc
Sun would fhinc as a xed Star cxcceds
that

91




gz O F T H E S Y S T E M

that of Saturn by about 1 oo,ooo times-
and its apparem diameter will be 7v 1 6vi,
and its parallax atiftng from the annual
motion of thc Earth I 3
1111
A na fo great
will be the difiance, the apparcnt diarile-
ter, and the parallax of the fixed Stars
of the firfi magnitude in bulk and light
. cqual . to our Sun. Some may perhaps
imagine that a great part of the light of
the fixcd Stars is intercepted and lofi in
its pafage through fo vaft fpaces, and
upon that account pretend to place the
fixed Stars at nearer diftances. But ar
this rate the remoter Stars could be fcarce
fccn. Suppofe for example rhat t of the
light perifh in its pafiage from the neareft
fixed Stars to us ; then t will twice periib
in its pafiage through a double fpace,
thrice through a triple, and fo forth.
And therefore the fixed Stars that are at
a double diftance will be I 6 times more
obfcure, viz. 4 times more obfcure on
account of the diminiihcd apparcnt dia-
mcter ; and again, 4 times more on c ~
count of the 1oft light. And by thc'famc
argumcnt, the fixed Stars at a triple di-
fiance, will be 9 X 4.X + or 1 44- times
more obfcurc, and thofc at a quadruple
dil:ancc will be 1 6 X 4 X 4 X 4 or 1024
times more obcurc. But fo grcat a dimi-
nution of Jight is no ways confificnt with
thc phrenomena and with that hypothe-
~ fis
O F T HE W O R L D.' .93
fiS which places the fixed Stars at different
difrances.
T H E fixed Stars being therefore at P. pJ,
fuch vafr difrances from one another, can P.-4-
neither attrafr each other fenfi-
bly, nor be attrafred by our S un. That the Comets as
often as chey become
But the Comets muft unavoid- vifible co us,are ne:a-
ably be al:ed on by the circum- er than Jupiter. Pro-
r. 1 v ~ from their pa
.10 ar force. For as the Comets rallax in longitude.
were placed by aftronomers a.:
hove the Moon, becaufe they were found
1:0 ha ve no diurnal parallax; fo their an-
nual parallax is a convincing proof of
their defcending into the regions of the
Planets. For all t:heComets whch move
in a direl: courfe, according ro the or-
der of the figns, about the end of their
appearance become more than ordinarily
flow, or retrograde, if the Earth is between
them and the S un; and more than ordi-
narily fwift, if the Earth is approaching
ro a helioccntric oppo.fition with them.
Whereas on thc other hand, thofe which
movc againt: the ordcr of the .figns, to-
wards the end of thcir appearance, ap-
pear fwifter than thcy ought ro be if the
Earth is bctween thcm and thc Sun ;
and flower, and pcrhaps retrograde, if
the Earth is in the other fide of its
mbit. This is occa.fioncd by the mo-
tion of thc Earth in d.itfercnt fttuari-
ons.

9+ OF THE SYSTEM

crts. If rhe Earth go the fame ~ y
with the Comet, with a fwifter morion,
rhe Comet becomes retrograde; if with
a flower motion, the Cornet becomes
flower however; and if the Earth move
the contrary way, it becomes fwifter.
And by collel:ing the differences between
the flower and fwifter motions, and the
fums of the more fwift and retrograde
rnotions, and cornparing them with the
:fituation and motion of the Earth from

whence they arife, 1 found, by means of
this parallax, that the diftances of the
Cornets at the time they ceafe to be vifi-
ble to the naked eye, is always lefs than
the diftance of Saturn ; and generally
even lefs than the diftance of Jupiter.
P. 3l.So T H E fame thing rnay be collel:ed
The f:une proved from the curvature of the w_ay
from their parallax of the Comets. Thefe bodtes
in latitude. go on nearly in great circles

while their motion continues fwift ; but
about the cnd of their courfe, whcn that
part of their apparent rnotion, which a-
rifes frorn the arallax, bears a greater
proportion to t eir wholc apparent rno-
tion, they commonly dcviate from thofe
circles; and when the Earth goes to onc
ftde, they dcviate to the other. And
this dcflexion, becaufe of its corrcfpond-
ing with thc motion of thc Earrh, muft
arifc
O F T H E W O R L D.

91

arife chiefly from the parallax ; and the
'
quanticy thereof is fo confiderable? as .
by my computation, to place the dif-
appearing Comets a good dcal lower
than Jupicer. Whence it follows, chat
when chey approach nearer to us in their
perigees and periheli9ns, they ofcen de-
fcend below the orbics of Mars and the
inferiour Planees.
[*]
M oRE o vE R., this nearnefs of the
Comets is confirmed by che an- The fame proved
nual parallax of che orbic, in fo otherwife by the pa-
far as che fame is preccy nearly rallax.
colletl:ed by che fuppofition chac the
Cornees move uniformly in right lines.
The method of collel:ing the diftance of
a Comet according. to this hypothefis
from four obfervations, ( firfr attempted
by Kep!er, and pe,rfetl:ed by Dr. Wa!li.r
and SirChriflopher Wren) iswellknown.
And che Comets reduced ro this regu-
laricy generally pafs through che niiddle
of the planerary region. So the Comets
of the ycars r 607 and 1 61 s, as their mo-
tions are defined by Kep!er, pafed be-
rween the Sun and thc Earth ; that of
thc year 1 664 below the orbit of Mars;
and that in r 68o bclow che orbic of Mer-
cury, as its motion was defincd by
Sir Chriflopher !Yren and ochers. By
a like rcttilincar hypothcfis, Hevditts
placed

-

-


96 O F T H E S Y S T E M
all the Comets aborit which we
any obfervations, below the orbit
upiter. 'Tis a falfe notion therefore,.
an contrary to aftronomical calculation,
which fome have entertained, who from
the regular motion of the Comets, either
remove them into the regions of the fixed
Stars, or den y the motion of the Eanh ;
whereas their motions cannot be reduced
to perfel: regularity, unlefs we fi1ppofe
them to pafs through the regions near
the Earth in motion. And thefe are
the arguments drawn from the parallax,.
fo far as it can be determined without
an cxaa: knowledge of the orbits and
motions of the Comets.
P. p.6, to T HE near approach of the Comets is
3
19
'
1 1
h further confirmed from the light
From t 1e 1g t of fth . h d F h h f
theComets heaas it is O Clr ea S. Ot t e Ig t O
proved that theY. de. a celeftial body, illuminated by
fcend to the orblt of the S un and receding to remo te
Sawm. '
. parts, is diminifhed in the q u ~
druplicate proportion of the diftance,
to wit, in one duplicatc proportion on
account of the increafc of the diftance
from the S un ; and in another duplica te
proportion, on. account of the dccrcafe
of thc apparcnt diameter. Hcnce it may
be infcrred, that Saturn being at a dou-
ble dil:ancc, and having its apparcnt
diamctcr ncarly half of that of Jupitcr,
mufi appear about I 6 times moreobfcure;
and

O F T HE W O R L D.".

ahd that if its diftance were 4 times
grearer, its light would be. 2 56 times
lefs; and therefore would be hardly per
ceivable to the naked eye. But now the
Comets often equal Saturn's light, with-
our exceeding him in their a pparent
diameters. So the Comet of the year
1668, according to' Dr. Hook's obferva-
tions, equalled in brightnefs the Hght of
a fixed Star of the firft magnitude, and
its head, or the Star in the middle of the
coma, appeared, through a telefcope of
I 5 foot, as lucid as Saturn near the hori-
zon. But the diameter of the head was
only 25'
1
; that i!l) almoft the fame with
the diameter of a circle equal to Saturn
and his ring. The coma or hair fur-
rounding the head was about ten times
as broad; namely, 4! min. Again, the
leaft diameter of the hair of the Comet
of the year 1682, obfervcd by Mr. F!am
fteed with a tu be of r 6 foot, and meafu
red with the micrometer, was 2
1
o
11

But the nucleus, or ftar in the middle,
fcarce pofefcd the tenth. pan? of this
brcadth, and. was therefore only r r " or
12 '' broad. But the light and clearnefs
of its head cxceeded that of the ycar

1 68o, and was cqual to that of the Stars
of the firft or fccond magnitude. More-
over, the Comct of the year r 66 5 in
April, as Hevelius. informs us, excccd-
H ed

97 . .
-

_. 98 O F T H E S Y S T E . .M


ed almoft all the fixed Stars in fplendor;
and even Saturn it felf, as being of a
much more vivid colour. .For this Co-
met was more lucid than that which ap-
peared at the end of the foregoing year,
and was compared to the Stars of the
f.irft magnitude. The . diameter of the
coma was about 6 ,. 5 but the nucleus,
compared with the Planets by means of
a telefcope, was plainly lefs than Jupiter,
and was fometimes thought lefs, fome-
times equal to the body of Saturn with-
in the ring. T o this breadth add that
of the ring, and the whole face of Sa-
turo will be twice as great as that of the
Comet, with a light not at all more in-
tenfe : and therefore the Comet was
nearer to the Sun than Saturn. From
the proportion of the nucleus to the
whole head fonnd by thefe obfervations,
and from its breadth, which feldom ex-
ceeds 8 ' or 1 2 ', it appears that the Stars
of the Comets are moft commonly of
the {ame apparent magnitude as the
Planets ;' but that their light may be
comparcd oftcntimes with that of Sa
turn, and fometimes excccds it. And
'tis ccrtain that in their perihclia
their difi:ances can fcarce be than
that of Saturn. At twice that diftance,
the 1 ight would be four times lefs, which
befides by its dim palcncfs .would be as
m u eh
O F T H E W O 1t L 1>. 99
tnuch inferiottt to the light of Sat11rn, as
the light of Saturn is to the fplendour of
Ju iter : But chis difference would be
e tly obferved. At a diftance ten times
greater their bodies muft be greater than
that of the Sun ; but their light would
be I oo times fainter than that of Saturn.
And at diftances ftill greater their bodies
would far exceed the S un : but being in
fuch dark regions, they inuft be no lon-
ger vifible. So impoffible is it ro place
the Comets in the middle regions be-
tween the Sun and :fu:ed Stars, -account
ing the Sun as one of the fixed Stars.
For certainly they would receive no more .
light there from the Sun, than we do
from the greateft of the fixed Stars.

..
So far we ha ve gone without d lf b
1 1
. An a o e ow t 1e
conftdermg that obfcurauon orb of Jupitcl', and
which Comets futfer from that fomerimes tha
. plenty of thick fmoak which en- orb of the Earth,
compatfeth their heads, and through
which the heads always fhew dull as
through a cloud. For by how much
the more a body is obfcured by this
by [o rriuch the more near it
muft be allowed to come to the Sun,
that it may vie with the Planets in
the quantity of light which it reflctl:s.
Whence it is probable that the Comets
defcend far below che orbit of Satul'll, as
H z we





roo OF THE SYST:f:M

we proved before from their parallax.
:But above all, the thing is evinced from
th.eir tails, which muft be owing either
to the Sm light reflea:ed from a fmoak
arifing from them and difperfing it felf
through the lEther, or to the light of
their own heads.
In the former cafe we mul: ihorten.
the diftance of the Comets, lel: we be
obliged to allow that the fmoak arifmg
from their heads is propagated through
fuch a vaft e ~ t e n t of fpace, and with
fuch a velocity of expanfion. as will
feem altogether incredible. In the lat-
ter cafe the whole light of both head
and tail muO: be afcribed to the central
nucleus. But then if we fuppofe all this
light to be united and condenfed within
the difc of the nucleus, certainl y the
nucleus will by far exceed Jupiter it
felf in fplcndour, efpecially whcn it e-
rnits a very large and lucid tail. If
therefore under a lcfs apparcnt diameter
it reflea:s more light, it muft be much
more iHumina ted by the S un, and therc-
forc much nearer to it. So thc Comct
that appcared CJJec. r 2. and 1 5. O. S .
.Anno 1679, at the_timc it cmitted a vcry
fhining tail, whofc fplcndour was cqual
to that of many Stars like Jpiter, ifthcir
light wcrc dilatcd and fpread through
fo grcat a fpacc, was, as to thc magni-
. tude
'

.

OF THE W OR L D.

tude of its nucleus, lefs than Jupiter, (as
Mr. Flamfteed obferved ) and therefore
was much nearer to the Sun : Nay, it
was even lefs than Mercury. For on
the 17th of that month when it was
nearer to thc Earth, it appeared to Caf-
fini through a telefcope of 3 5 foot a lit-
tle lefs than the globe of Saturn. On
the 8th of this momh, in the. morning,
Dr. Ha/ley faw the tail, appearing broad
and very hort, aild as if it rofe from the
body of the S un it felf, at that time
very near its rifing. Its form was like
that of an extraordinary bright cloud ;
nor did it difappear till the Stin it felf
began to be feen above the horizon. Its
fplendour therefore exceeded the light
of the clouds till the Sun rofe, and far
furpaffed that of all the Stars together,
as yeldi1:1g only to the immediate bright-
ncfs of the Sun it felf. Neither Mcrcu-
ry, nor Venus, nor the Moon it felf
are fecn fo near the rifing Sun. Imagine
all this dilated light collel:ed together,
and to be crouded into the orbit
of the Comct's nucleus which was
lefs than Mcrcury ; by its fplendour
thus increafcd, bccoming fo much more
confpicuous, it will vafily cxcccd Mer-
cury, and. thcreforc mnl: be ncarcr to.
thc Snn. On the 12th and. rsth of
thc ~ m month this tail extcnding it
H ~ fdf
.
IOI

'
'


toz O F T HE S Y S TE M

felf over a much greater fpace, appeared
more rare; but its light was ftill fo v ~
gorous as to become vifible when the
fixed Stars were hardly to be feen, and
foon after to appcar like a fiery beam
hining in a wonderful manner. From
its length, which was 40 or 50 degrees,
and its breadth of 2 degrees, we may
compute what the light of the wholc
muft be.
T H 1 s near approach of the Comets
to d1e Sun is confirmed from
The fame proved h .r. h fc
from rhe extraordi- t e ntuat10.1;1 t ey are een 111
nary !plendour of when their tails appear moft re-
then ta1ls when they. iplcndent. For when the head
11re Jlear the Sun.
pafes by the Sun and hes h1d
under the folar rays, very bright and
hining tails, like fiery beams, are faid to
ifue from the horizon ; but afterwards
whcn thc head begins to appear, and is
got fanher from the Sun, that fplcndour
always decreafes and turns by degrces
into a palenefs like to that of the milky
way, but much more fenfible at firft;
after thar vanibing gradually. Such was
that moft refplendent Comet defcribcd
by .Ariffot!e, Lib. 1. Meteor. 6. 'The
' hcad thcreof could not be fccn becaufc
"it fet bcfore thc Sun, or at lcaft was hid
~ undcr thc Sun's rays ; lmt the ncxt day
' it was fccn as wcll as might be ; for ha ..
~ ving lcft thc Sun bur a vcry littlc way, it
' fct
O F T H E W O R L D. 103
e fet immediately after it. And the fcat-
, tered light of the head obfcured by the
e too great fplendour (ofthetail) did not
'yet appear. But afterwards (fays .Ar.i-
c ftotle) w hcn the fplendour of the tail
e was nw diminihed, (the head of) the
e Comer recovered its brightnefs.
e And the fplendour of its tail reached
e now to a third part of the heavens' ( that
is to 6oo.) ' lt appearcd in the winter
e feafon, and fing to Oriorts Girdle_, ( *]
e there vanHhed away.' Two Comets of
the fame kind are defcribed by
lib. 3 7. which according to bis account
e hined fo bright that the whole heaven
e feemed to be on fire ; and by their grcatw
f nefs filled up a fourth part of the hea-
' vens, and by their fplendour excecded
' that of thc S un: By which laft words a
near pofirion of thefe bright Comets and
the rifing or fetting Sun is intimated. P. 373
We may add to thefe the Comet of the
3
7-+
year 1101 or 1 106, 'thc ftar of which
e was fmall and obfcure ( Iike that of
' I 68o) but the fplendour arifing from it
'extremely bright, reaching like a fiery
'beam ro the Eal: and Norrh,' as 1-Ieve-
lius has it from Simeon thc monk of
'Durham. lt appearcd at thc bcginning
of Februar_y about thc cvening in the
fouth-wcft. From this and from thc .fi-
tuation of rhc tail wc may int\:r that the
H 4 hcad







104-


OF THE SYSTEM
head was near the S un. Matthew P aris
fays, ' it was about one cubit from the
e: Sun; from the third' [or rather the
fh:th] ' to the ninth hour fending out a
[ * ] e: long ftream of light: The Comet of
1 2 64- in Ju!y, or about the folftice, pre-
ceded the rifing Sun, fending out its
beams with a great light towards the
weft as far as the middle of the heavens.
And ar the beginning it afcended a little
above the horizon ; but as the S un went
forwards it retired . every day farther
from the horizon, till it pafed by the
very middle of the heavens. lt is faid
to have been at the beginning large and
bright, having a large coma, which d-
cayed from day to day. lt is defcribed
in Append. Matth. Pari.f. Hifl. Ang.
after this manner. An. Chrifli I 2 6 5;,
' there appeared a Comet fo wonderful,
' that nonc then living had ever fcen the
' like. For rifing from the eaft with a
e: grcat brightncfs, it extended it felf with
' a grcat light as far as the middle of the
' hemifphere towards thc wcft: The La-
tn original bcing fomcwhat barbarous
and obfcure, it is herc fubjoincd. A6
oriente enim cttm magno ftt/gore .furgens;,
ad medium hemffPhtt!rii verfits oc-
cidlntem, omnia per!ttcide pertrahe6at.
' In thc 14-01 or 14-02, thc Sun be-
.' ing got bclow thc thcrc ap-
.' .pcarcd

6 F T H. E W O R. L o:'
. peared in the weft a bright and fbin-
. e ing Comer, fending out a ral upwards
e in fplendour like a fiame of fue, and
e in form like a fpear, darting its rays
e from weft to eaft. When the Sun
e was funk below the horizon, by the
e luftre of i ~ s own rays it enlightned
c all rhe borders of the Earth, not per-
c mitting the other Stars to fbew their
~ light, or the !hades of night to darken
f the air, becaufe its light exceeded that
e of the others, and extended it felf to
e the upper part of the heavens; fla-
c ming, &c. Hift. Byzant. Vuc. Mich.
Nepot. From the fituation of the tail
of this Comet, and rhe time of its firft
appearance, we may infer that the head
was then near the Sun, and went farther
from him every da y. For that Comet
continued three months. In thc year
I 5 7 Attg. 1 1, about four in the morn-
ing, therc was feen almoft throughout
Ettrope, a terrible Comct in Leo, which
continucd flaming an hour and a quar-
ter cvcry day. lt rofe from thc caft,
and afccndcd to thc fouth and wdl to a
prodigious lcngth. lt was moft confpi-
cuous ro thc north, and its clond (rhat
is its tail) was vcry terrible ; having,
according to thc fancics of the vulgar,
thc form of an arma littk bcnt, holding
'
a fword of a yal: magnitude. In rhc
ycar






106 O F T H E S Y S T E M
yea:r I 61 8, in the end of Novemer,
there begana rumour, that thereappear-
ed abouc Sun-tifing a bright beam, which
\Vas the tail of a Comer, whofe head
was yet concealcd within the brightnefs
of the folar rays. On Nov. 24, and
time, the Comer it felf appeared
with a bright light, its hcai and tail be-
ing extremely refplendcnt. The length
of the tail, which was at firft 20 or 3 o
deg. increafed till 'December 9, when it
arofe to 7. 5 deg. but wirh a light much
more faint and dilute than at the begin-
ning. In the year 1668, March s.
N. S. about fevcn in the evening P. Va-
/ent. Eflancius being in Braji/e, faw
a Cornee near the horizon in the fouth-
weft. Its head was fmall, and [caree
difcernible, but its tail extremdy bright
and refulgent, fo rhat the reflexion of it
from the fea was eafil y fcen by thofc
who ftood upon the hore. This grcat
fplendour laftcd but threc days, decrea-
ftng very remarkably from that time.
The tail at the beginning extended it
felf from wcft to fouth, and in a fituati-
on almofi: parallel ro thc horizon, ap-
pearing likc a thining beam 2 3 dcg. in
length. Aftcrwards thc light dccreaf1ng,
its magnitudc increafcd. till thc Comer
ccafed to be vifiblc. So that Ca.fllni at
Bo!ognafaw it(A1ar.ro, 11, 12.) rifing
from
O F T H E W O R L D. 107
from the horizon 3 z deg .. in Iength. In
Portugal it is faid to have taken up a
fourth part of the heavens, (that is, 45
deg.) extending it felf from we.ft to eaft
with a notable brightnefs; though the
whole of it was not feen, becaufe the
.head in this part of the world always
lay hid below the horizon. From the
inc;reafe of the tail it is plain that the
Jiead receded from the Sun, and was
peare.ft to it at the beginning when the
tail appeared brighte.ft. [ * J
To all thcfe we may add the Comet
of 1 68o, whofe wonderful fplendour at
the conjunl:ion of the hcad with the
Sun was above defcribed. But fo great
a fplendour argues the Comcts of this
kind to have rcally pafe.d nearthe foun-
tain of light; efpecially fince the tails
nevcr fbine {o much in their oppo:fition
to the Sun ; nor do we read that ficry
beams have ever appeared there.
LAs T L Y, the fa me thing is infcrrcd

from the light of thc hcads in- P.
318
to
330
,
.creaftng in thc recefs of thc Co- Thc f.1mc woved
mets fron1 the Earth towards from the lif!.ht ol
d ft
thcil bcads, ~ b c i n ~
the Sun, and cerea mg 111 thcir grc:ltCI' c.<tcris parilms
return. fro1n the Sun to\Vards wher1 thcv come nc.1r
thc E::trth. For fo thc lal Co- ro thc suil.
mct of rhc ye::tr 1 6 6 5, (by thc obferva-
dop of Hevdius) from thc time that ir

was
. . '
"ios O F T H E S Y S T E M

'

was firfl: feen, was alwys lofing of its p ~
parent motion, and. therefore had airea-
d y paifed its perigee, yet the fplendour
of its: head \vas daily increafing, till be.:.
ing hid by the Sun's rays, the Comet:
ceafed to a ppear. , The Comet of the
year 1 6 8 3, (by the obfervation of the
fame Hevelius) about the end of Ju(y,
when it firft appeared, moved at a v.ery
flow rate, advancing only about 40 or
45 minutes in its orbit in a day's time .
But from that time its diurna! motion
was coni:inually upon the increafe till
September 4, when it arofe to about 5
degrees. And therefore in all this inter;.
val of time the Comet was approaching
to the Earth. Which is likewife proved
from the diameter of its head meafured
with a micrometer. For A11gu.ft the 6th
Hevelitts found it only 6
1
5
11
including
. the coma; which September 2-, heobfer-
ved 9
1
7
11
And thcrcforc its head a p-
. pcared far lcfs about the beginning than
towards thc cnd of its motion, though a-
bout the beginning, becaufe nearcr to thc
Sun, it appcarcd far more lucid than to-
wards thc end, as the flme Hevelius
declares. \Vhcreforc in all this intcrval
of time, on acc'ount of its rece[<> from
rhc Sun, it dccrcacd in fplcndour, not-
with:fbnding its acccf.<> towards rhc
Earth. Thc Comct of thc year 161 s,
about

O F T HE W O R LD.
about the middle of 'December, and that.
of the year r 68o, about the end of the
fame month, did both move with t 'ir
greateft velocity, and were there ore
then in their perigees. But the greateft
fplendour of their heads was feen tWo
weeks before when they had juft got
clear of the Sun's rays. And the great-
eft fplendour of their tails a litde mm:e
early, when yet nearerto the Sun. The
head of the former Comet, according to
the obfervations of Cyfotus, Vec. r,
appeared greater than the Stars of the
firft magnitud e; and Vec. r 6, (being
then in its perigee) of a fmallmagnitude,
and the fplendour or clearnefs was much
diminihed. :Jan. 7. Ke ler being uncer-
tain about the head, eft off obferving.
CJJec. r 2. the head of the laft Comet
was fcen and obfcrved by Flamfleed at
the dihlnce of 9 degrecs from the Sun ;
which a Star of the third magnitude
could hardly have been. Vecember r 5
and r 7, the fame appeared like a Star
of the third magnitude, its fplcndour be-.
ing diminifhcd by thc bright clouds near
the fctting Sun. 'Dec. 26, whcn it:
moved with thc grcatcft fwiftncfs, . and
was almoft in its pcrigec, it was infcriour
to Os a Star of thc third mag-
nitudc. .'Jan. 3, it appcarcd likc a Star
of thc fourrh. :Jan. 9, likc a Star ofthc
fifth .

.
109



uo O .F T HE S Y S TE M
fth. Jan. 1 3, it difappeared by reafon
of the brightnefs of the Moon which was
then in its increafe. Jan. 2 s, it was
fcarce equal to the Stars of the feventh
magnitude. If we take equal times on
each hand of the perigee, the heads placed
at remote diftances would have ihined
equally before and after, becaufe of their
equal diftances frorn the Earth. That
in one cafe they fhined very bright, and
in the other vaniihcd, is to be afcribed
to the nearnefs of the Sun in the firft
cafe, and his diftance in the other. And
from the great difference of the light in
thefe two cafes, we infer its great near-
nefs in the firft of them. For the light
of the Comets ufes to be regular, and to
appear greateft when their heads move
the fwifteft, and are therefore in their
perigees; excepting in fo far as it is i n ~
creafed by their nearnefs to the Sw1.
F R o M thefe things I at laft difcover-
Thc f.1me con- ed why the Comets frequentfo
flnned by the great much the region of the Sun. If
numbe1 of Comets th be .r. h
fccn in the region ey were to ~ n 111 t e re-
of thc Su11. gions a great way beyond Sa-
turn, they muft appear oftner in thofe
parts of the heavens that are oppofi.te to
the S un. For thofe which are in that fi-
tuation would be ncarcr to the Earth ;.
and the intcrpofition of the Sun would
obfcme




O F T H E W O R L
obfcure the others. But looking over
the hiftory of Comets, I find that four
or five times more have been feen in the
hemifphere toward the Sun, than in the
oppofite hemifphere ; befides, without
doubt, not a few which have been bid
by the light of the Sun. For Comets
defcending into our parts neither emit
tails, nor are fo well illuminated by the
Sun as to difcover themfelves to our
naked eyes, till they are come nearer to
us than Jupiter. But the far greater
part of that fphrerical fpace, which is de-
fcribed about the Sun with fo fmall au
interval, les on . that fide of the Earth
which regards the Sun, and the Comets
in that greater part are more firongly il-
luminated, as being for the moft part
nearer to the Sun. Befides, from the
remarkable eccentricity of their orbits
it comes to pafs that their lower apftdes
are much nearer to the Sun than if thei.r
revolutions wcre performed in circles
concentric to thc Sun.
llt

H E N e E alfo we undcrftand why the
tails of the Comets,. while their This alfo con-
hcads are dcfcendmg towards fini1ed. by che grcar-
the Sun always appcar 1hort cr
' fplendour of thc t:ul'
and rarc, and are feldo1n fiud to aftcr che o:on;untl:ion
ha ve cxccedcd 1 5 or .:.o dcg. in of thc hcads with rhc
1 1 b
. l r. f l Sun than beto1c.
cngt 1; ut m t 1e rccc1s o t 1c
1 hcads


IU

-
-OF THE SYSTEM

heads from the S un often 1hine like fiery'
beams, and foon after reach to 40, 5o,
6o, 70 deg. in length, or more. This
great fplendour and length of the tails
arifes from the heat which the S un com-
municates to the Comet as it pafes
near it. And thence I think it may be
concluded that all the Comets that have
had fuch tails have pafed very near the
S un.

:P. ; 6 ~ to H E N e E alfo we may collel: that
3
64
the tails arife from the atmofpheres of
the heads. But we have had
That the tails a- three feveral opinions about the
rife from the atmof- .
1
f fc . l
pheresoftheComets. tal S o Comets. For ome wtl
have it, that they are nothing


'

elfe but the beams of the Sun's light
tranfmitted through thc Comets heads,
which they fuppofe to be tranfparent :
others, that they procccd from the re-
fral:ion which light fuffers in paffing
from the Comets head to the earth : and
lafily, others, that they are a fort of
clouds or vapour confiamly riftng from
the Comets hcads, and tcnding towards
the parts oppofttc to the Sun. The
firft .ls the opinion of fuch as are yet un-
acquaintcd with opticks. For thc bcams
of the Sun are not fccn in a darkned
room, but in confequence of the light
that is reflel:ed from them, by thc litdc

parn-



O F T H E W O R L O. II 3
particles f duft and fmoak which are
always flying about in the air. And
hencc it is, that in air impregnaced witli
thick fmoak they ppear with greater
brightnefs, and are more faintly and
more difficuldy feen in a finer air. But
in the heavens, where tltere is no mar-
ter to refle:l: che light, they are not to
be feen at all. Light is not feen as ir is
in the beams, but as it is therice rcfle:l:-
ed to our eyes. For vifion is not made
I?ut by rays falling u pon the eyes; and
therefore there mufi be fome refle:l:ing
matter in chofe pares where the tails of
Cornees are feen ; and fo the argument
turns upon the third opinion. For that
refle:l:ing matter can be no where found
but in the place of the tail, becaufe
orherwife, fince all the celeftial fpaces
are equally illminated by the Sun's
light, no pare of the heavens could ap ...
pcar with more fplendour than anmher.
The fecond opinion is liable to many
difficulties. The cails of Comets arene.:.
ver fecn varicgated with thofe colours;
which ever ufe to be infeparablc from
refral:ion. And the difiin:l: tranfmifiioti
of the light of rhc fixcd Stars and Pla-
ncts to us, is a dcmonl:ration. that the
.I:Ether or cclcO:ial medium is not cndow ...
cd with any rcfratl:ivc powcr. For as
ro what is allcdgcd that thc fixcd Srars
1 have






O F T H E S Y S T E M

have been fometimes feen by the Egyp-
tians, environed with a coma or capil-
litium, becaufe that has but rarely hap- .
pened, it is rather to be afcribed to a
cafual refral:ion of clouds, as well as
the radiation and fcintillation of the fix-
ed Stars to the refral:ions both of thc
cyes and air. For upon applying a te-
lefcope to the eye, . thofe radiations and
fcintillations immediately difappear. By
the tremulous agitation of the air and
afcending vapours, it happens that the
rays of light are alternately turned aftde
from the narrow fpace of the pupil of
the eye ; but ~ fuch thing can have
place in the much wider aperture of the
objel:-glafs of a telefcope. And hence
it is, that a fcintillation is occafioned
in the formcr cafc, which ceafes in rhe
latter. And this ceffation in the latter
cafe is a demonfiration of the regular
tra.nfmiflion of light through the hea-
vens withour any fenfible refral:ion.
But to obviare an objel:ion that may be
madc from thc appearing of no tail in
fuch Comets as fhinc but with a faint
light, as if rhc fecondary 1ays wcre rhen
too weak to affcl: the cycs, and for this
reafon it is that the tails of the fixed
Srars do not ap ear ; we are to con-
fidcr, that by t e means of relefcopes
the light of thc fixcd Stars may be aug-
mentcd


O F T HE \V O R L D .

mented above n hundred fold, and yet
no tails are feen. That the light of tbe
Planets is yet more copious without any
i:a.il, bt that Comers are feen fome-
times with huge tails, when che light of
their heads is bur faint and dull. For
fo it happened in the Comet of the year
1 68o, when in the monrh of Veccmber
it was fcarcely equal in light ro the
Stars of the fecond magnitude, and yet
emirted a notable tail, extending to d1e
length of 4oo, soo, 6oo, or 70o, and
upwards; and afterwards on the 27th
and 28th of :January, the head ap-
peared but as a Star of the 7th magni-
tude ; but the tail (as was faid above)
with a light that was fenfible enough
though faint, was ftretched out ro 6 or
7 degrees in lengrh, and with a languifh-
ing light, that was more difficultly feen,
even to r 2 and upwards. But on the
9th and 1oth of Fcbruary,- when to thc
naked eye the head appearcd no more,
I faw through a telefcope, the tail of
:2 in length. But furthcr, if the tail
was owing to the refral:ion of the ce-
Ieftial mattcr, and did dcviate from the
oppofition of the Sun, according as
the figure of the hcavens rcquircs ;
that dcviation, in thc f.'lmc places of the
hcavcns, ihould be always dirc\:ed to-
wards the famc parrs. llut the Comet
l 2 of
rrs
116
o
o
1
1 1
OF THE SYSTEM

of the year 1 6So, Vecember 28 d 8! h
P. M. at London was (een in Pifces
8 41' with latitude north 28 6
1
, while
the Sun was in Capricorn 18 26
1
And
the Comet of the year 1 5 77, CJJecem-
ber 29, was in Pifces 8 4-1', with la-
titude north 28 4-o', and the Sun as be-
fore in about Capricorn 18 26
1
In
both cafes the fituation of the Earth
was the fame, and the Comet appeared
in the faine place of the heavens ; yet
in the former cafe the tail of the Co-
met ( as Wctll by my obfervations as
by the obfervations of others ) devi-
ated from the oppofition of the Sun
towards the o north by an angle of 4;
degrees, whereas in the latter there
was ( according to the obfervation ot
Tycho) a deviation of 21 degrees to-
wards the fouth. The refraa:ion tllere-
fore of the heavens being thus difpro-
ved, it rema,ins that the phrenomena of
the tails of Comets mufi: be derived from
fome refletl:ing matter. That va ours
fufficient to fill fuch immenfc paces
may arife from the Comets atmofphercs,
may be eafily undcrfi:ood by what fol-
lows.
Ir
o
o
OF THE WORLD.
II7
I T is well known rhat rhe air near the P. 366.
furface of our Earth poffeffesa fpaceabout
I 200 times greater rhan water That the air and
of the fame weight. And therc- in rhe
l' d l f al fpaces is of an
ore a cy 111 nc co umn o atr immenfe rai"ty : and
I 200 feet high
7
S of equal that a fmall quantity
weight with a cylinder of wa- ofvapourmaybefuf-
6cient to explain all
ter of the fame brcadth7 . and the phrenomena of
but one foot high. But a cy- rhe tails of Comers.
linder of air reaching to the top of the
atmofphere is of equal wcighc wich a
cy linder of water a bout 3 3 foot high ;
and chercfore if from che whole cylin-
der of air che lower part of r 200 fooc
high is takcn away, thc.remaining up-
per part will be of equal wcighc with a
cylindcr of water 3l. foochigh. Where-
fore at the highc of r 200 feet, or two
furlongs, the weighc of che incumbem
. air is lcfs
7
and confcquemly thc rarity
of the compreffed air grcatcr rhan ncar
the furface of the Earth in thc ratio of
3 3 to 3 2.. And having this ratio, wc
may compute the rarity of thc air in all
places whatfocvcr (by the hclp of Cor.
Prop. 2. Book 11.) fuppofing the expan-
:fion thereof to be rcciprocally propor-
tional ro its comprclion; and this pro-
portiqn has proved by thc cxpcri-
mcnts of Hook and others. Thc rcfulc
of thc computation 1 havc fet down in
r]lc following rabie, ll the irfi: column
l 3 of


rrs OF THE SYSTEM
-


of w hich yo u ha ve the hight of the air
in miles; whereof 4-000 make a femi-dia-
meter of the Earth ; in the fecond the
comprefllon of the air, or the incumbent
weight ; in the third its rarity or ex-
panfion, fuppofmg gravity to decreafe
in the duplicare ratio of the difi:ances
from the Earth's center. And the Latin
numeral charaters are here ufed for cer-
tain numbers of cyphers, as o,xvii 1 2 24
for o,ooooooooooooooooor 224, and
26956xv for 26956ooooooooooooooo.
A 1 R' S.
-
Hight. Compreffion. Expanfion.
o
33
I

5
17,8515
1,8486
IO
9,6717 3,415 I

'
20 2,85 2 I 1,571
40
0,2 52 5 I 3 6,8 3

26956 XV
400
o,xvu 1224
4000
o,cv 4465

73907 Cll

202 6 3 clxxxix 40000
o,cxcn 1 6 2 8
400000 o,ccx 7895 41798ccvii
..

4000000 o,ccxu 9 8 7 8
3 3414 CClX
Infinite.
..

o,ccxu 6041 54622 CCIX
But from this rabie ir appcars that thc
air, in procccding upwards, is rarified in
tl.tch manner, that a }1hcrc of that air
which is nearcfi: to thc :Earth, of but onc
inch
O F T H E W O R L D. 1 I 9
inch in diameter, if dilated with that
rarefal:ion which it would have at the
hight of one femidiameter of the Earth,
would fill all the planetary regions as far
as the fphere of Saturn, and a great way
beyond ; and at the hight of ten femi-
diameters of the Earth would fill up
more fpace than is conrained in the
whole heavens on chis ftde the fixed Stars,
according ro rhe pre_ceding computation
of their diftance. And though by r e a ~
fon of the far greater thicknefs of the at-
mofpheres of Cornees, and che great quan-
tity of rhe circumfolar centripetal force,
it may happen that the air in the celeftial
fpaces, and in the tails of Comers, ~ s not
fo vafily rarified ; yet from this compu-
rarion ir is plain, that a very fmall quan-
tity of air and vapour is abundantly fuffi-
cient to produce all the appearances of rhe
tails of Comets. For that they are indeed
of a very notable rarity appears from the
fbining of rhe Srars through them. The
:umofpherc of the Earth, illuminated by
the Sun's light, though but of a few miles
in thicknefs, obfcures and exringuifbes the
lighr, not only of all thc Stars, but even
of rhe Moon itfelf; whcreas the final1eft
Stars are feen to fhine through the im-
mcnfe thicknefs of rhe tails of Comers,
likewife illuminated by the Sun, without
the leaft diminution of thcir fplendor. [ i ~
I 4 K E "P-

'
qp O F T H E S Y S T E M

P. 369, K E P LE R afcribes the afcent of
the tails of Comets to the at-
.Afterwharmanner .r. h f h h d d
the tails of Comets ffi01p .eres O t e1r ea s, an
may arife from th.e. their rowards the parts
atmofphees of the1r oppofite tp rhe Sun, to the al:i-
. hcads. . f h f 1' h
. on o t e rays o 1g t carry-
ihg along with them rhe matrer of the
Comers tails. And without any great
incongruity we may fuppofe thar, in fo
free fpaces, fo fine a matreras that of
che ..tErher may yield to the al:ion Qf
the rays of the Sun's light, though rhofe
rays are not able fenftbly to move the
grofs fupfiances in our parts, whkh are
clogged with fo palpable a refifiance..
Another author thinks rhat there may be
a fort of' particles of matter endowed wirh
a principie ()f levity as well as others are
with a power of gravity ; that the mar-
ter of the tails of Comers may be of
the former fort, apd rhat its afcent from
the Spn may be owing ro its lcvity.
But confidering the graviry of terrefirhll
bodies is as the matter of the bodies,
'
and therefore can be ncithcr more nor
lefs th. fume quantity of matter, 1
am inclined to bdieve rhat this afcent
may r.ther proecd from the rarefation
of the matter of the Comcts rails. The
' . '
afcent of finoak a chimney is owing
to thc impulfe of thc air, with which
it is The air rarificd by hcn,t


'
O F T H E W O R L D. t :tt
.afcends, bccaufc its fpccifi.ck gravity is
diminifhed, and in its afcent carries
with it thc fmoak with which it
is ingaged. And why may not the tail
of a Comet rife from the Sun after the
(ame manner? For the Sun's rays do not
al: ;:my way upon the mediums which
they pervade; but by reflel:ion and re-
fration. And thofe reflel:ing partcles
heated by this atimJ,, heat the matter of
the 1Ether which is with them.
That matter is rarcfied by the heat
which ir acquires, and becaufe by this
rarefation the fpecifick gravity, with
whi_ch it tended towards the Sun
is diminihed, it will a(cend therefrom
lil}e a ftream, and carry along with it
the refletiqg of which the tail
of tP.e Comct is cpmpofed; the impulfe ( *
of the Sun's light, as have faid,
promoting the afccnt.
'
Bu T that thc tails of Comets do arife
from thcir heads and tend to-
thc parts oppofitc to thc
Sun, is furthcr confirmcd from
the lawll which the tails ob-
ferve. For lying in the plains
That the tails do in-
dccd a rife from thofe
atmofpho1cs, pwved
hom fevcral of their-
ph:rnomcna.
of thc Cornees mbits which pafs through
the Sun, thcy conftantly dcviatc from
the oppofition of thc Sun, towards thc
parts which Comets hcads in thc\r
progrcfs



122 O F T H E S Y S T E M

progrefs along thofe orbits have lefr.
And toa fpetlator placed in thofe plains
7
they appear in the parts direl:ly oppo:fite
to the Sun. Bur as the fpetl:ator re-
cedes from thofe plains, their deviation
begins to appear, and daily becomes
greater. And the deviation t e t e r ~ s
paribus appears lefs, when the tail is
more oblique to the orbit of the Comer,
as well as when the hcad of the Comet
approaches nearer to the S un ; efpecial.
ly if the angle of deviation is eftimated
near the head of the Comet. Farthcr,
the tails which have no deviation appear
ftreight, but the tails which deviate are
likewife hended into a certain curvature.
And this curvature is greater when thc
deviation is greater ; and is more fen-
fible when the tail cteteris aribus is
longcr : for in the fhortcr tai s the cur-
vature is hardly to be perceived. And
the angle of deviation is lefs ncar the
Comct's hcad, but greater towards thc
other end of the tail, and that becaufe
the lowcr fidc of thc tail regards thc
parts fiom which thc dcviation is madc,
and which lie in a right linc, drawn

out infinitcly from thc Sun through thc
Comct's hcad. And the tails that are
longer and broadcr, and fhinc with a
ftrongcr light, appcar more rcf)lcndcnt
and more cxatly defincd on thc convcx
than
'
b F T HE W O R L D. I23"
than on the concave :fide. Upon which
accounts it is plain that the phrenornena
of the tai1s of Comets depend upon the
motons of their hcads, and by no means
upon the placcs of the heavens in which
their hcads are fcen ; and that therefore
the tails of the Comets do not proceed
from the refration of the heavens, but
from their own hcads, which furnifh
the matter that forms the tal. For as
in our air the fmoak of a heated body
afcends either perpendicularly, if the body
is at reft, or obliquely, if the body is
moved obliquely ; fo in tl1e heavcns,
where all the bodies gravitare toW"J.rds
the Sun, fmoak and vapour muft (as we
ha ve airead y faid) afcend from the S un,
and either rife pcrpendicularly if the
fmoaking body is at rcft, or obliqueJy if
the body, in the progre.fs of its motion,
is always leaving thofe places from which
rhe upper or higher parts of the vapours
had rifen before. And that obliquity
will be lefs, where thc vapour afcends
wirh more velocity, to wit, near thc
fmoaking body when tbat is near the
Sun. For thcrc the force of rhe Sun by .
which the vapour afcends is :l:rongcr.
Bur bccaufe the obliquity is varied, the
column of vapour will be incwrvatcd ;
and bccaufc thc vapo1.1r in the prcccding
2. fidc

I .z+ O F T H E S Y S T E M
:fide is fomeclling more recent, that is,
has afcended fomething more latdy from
the body, it will therefore be fomething
more denfe on that fide, and muft on
that account rcflctl:: more light as well
as be bettcr defined; the vapour on the
other languifhing by dcgrees and
r * ] vanifhing out of ftght.
Bu T it is none of our prefent bufinefs
Th e d
to explain the caufes of the ap-
at omets o
fometimes defcend be- l?earances of nature. Let thofe
low che orbit of Met- things which we ha ve laft faid
cury, provcd from 'b .C-11: h 1 ft
their tails. e true or 1.aue; we ave at ea
made out in the preceding dif-
courfe, that the rays of light are
ly propagared from the tails of Comets
in right lines through the heavens, in
which thofe tails appear to the fpel:ators
w herc-ever placed ; and confequcntly
the tails muft afcend from the heads of
thc Comets towards the parts oppoftte
to the Sun. And from this principie
wc may determine anew the limits of
their difl:ances in manner following,
Lci S reprcfcnt the Sun, T thc Earth,
STA thc elongation of a Comer from
thc Sun, and. A T B rhc apparcnt length
of its tail. And bccaufc the light is
propagared from thc cxtremity of the tail
in thc direlion of the right line
that

o F T H E W O R L D.
that extremity muft le fomewhere in
the line TB. $uppofe it in D, and join
DS cutting T A in C. Then becaufe
the tail is always ftretched out towards
the parts nearly oppo:fite to the Sun ;
and therefore the Sun, the head of the
Comer, and the extremity of the ral lie
in a right line, the Comefs head will be

found in C. Parallel to TB draw SA,



meeting the line T A in A, and the Co-
met's head C muft necefiarily be found
between T and A , becaufe thc cxtre-
mity of thc tail les fomcwhcre in the
infinitc linc TB ; and all the lines SD
which can poffibly be drawn from the
poinr S to the line TB, muft cut the
line TA fomcwhcre bctwccn T andA.
Where-
. -
125
'

'tz6 O F T H E S Y S TE M

Wherefore the diftance of rhe Comet
from the Earth cannor exceed the inter-

val T A, nor its diftance from the Sun
the interval SA beyond, or ST on this
ftde the Sun. For inftance, the elonga-
tion oftheComet of r68o from theSun
CZJec. 12. was 9 and the length of its
tail 3 5o at leaft. If therefore a triangle
TSA is made, whofe angle T is equal to
the elongation 9 and anglc A equal to
A TB, or. to the length of the _ tail, viz.
3 5 then SA will be to.ST, -that is, the
limit of the greateft pbffible diftance of
che Cornee from the Sun, to 'the femi-
diamcter of the orbis magnus, as the
fine of the angle T to thc fine of che
angle A, chat is, as about 3 to r r. And
therefore the Comer at that time was
lefs diftant from the Sun than by ,\- of
the Earth,s diftance from thc Sun, and
confequently eithcr was within thc orb
of Mcrcury, or bctwcen that orb and
the Earth. Again, 'Dec. 2 r. thc clon-
gation of thc Cornee from the Sun was
3 2;f, and the lcngth of ics tail 70o.
Whereforc as the fine of 3 Y ~ to thc
fine of 70o, that is, as 4 to 7, [o was the
limit of the Comct's dil:ance from thc
Sun to the diftance of the Earth from
che Sun, and confcquently thc Comct
had not thcn got without thc orb of
Venus.

O F T H .E W O R L D. t;tz
Venus. 'Dec. 28. the elongation of the
Comet from the S un was 55 and the
length of its tail 5 6. And therefore the
limit of the Comet's diftance from the
Sun was not yet equl to the diftance
of the Earth from the fame, and confe-
quently the Comer had not then got
without the Earth's orbit. But from its
parallax we find that its egrefs from the
orbit happened about Jan. 5, as well ~
that it had defcended far within the or-
bit of Mercury. Let us fuppofe it to
have been in its perihelion 'Dec. the 8th
when it was in conjunaion with the
Sun, and it will follow that in the jour-
ney from its perihelion to its exit out
of the Earth's orbit, it had fpent z 8
days ; and confequently that in the z6
or 27 days following, in which it ceafed
to be further feen by the naked eye, it
had fcarce doubled its"diftance from the
Sun. And by limiting the diftances of
other Comcts by the like arguments, we
come at lafr to this concl ufion:o That all
Cornees during the time in which they
are vifible by us, are within the com-
pafs of a fphcrical fpacc dcfcribed about
thc Sun as a cemer, with a radius dou-
ble, or at moft triple of the diftancc of
thc Earth from the Sun .

AND








128 -O F T H E S Y S T E M

A N o hence it follows that the Co-
Tbat the Comets mets, during the whole time o
move in conic fet1:i- their appearance unto us beino-
0115, having one fo- . l . h r: h f .n' . t>f
cus in the center of Wlt 1111 t e 1p ere O O
the Sun, and by ra- thecircum-folar force, and there-
dii drawn that cen- fore agitated by the impulfe of
ter do defcnbe area's
proporcional to the that force, Wlll ( by Cor. I.
times. Prop. r 3. for the fame reafon
as the Planees ) be made to move in conic
fetl:ions that ha ve one focus in the centcr
. of the Sun, and, by radii drawn to the
Sun, to defcribe area's proporcional to
f * J the times. For that force is propagated
to an immenfe diftance, and will govern
the tnotions of bodies far beyond the
orbit of Saturn. ,

P. 332.. T HE RE are thrce hypothefes. about
That thafe conic Comets. For fome will have
feaions are near to it that they are o-enerated and
parabola's, ptoved 'h f1 .
0
l
fram the velociry of pert , ns o ten as t 1ey ap"'
the Comets. pear and vanifh ; dthers, thae
they come from the regions of the fix ..
ed Stars, and are feert by us in their
pafiage through thc fyftcm of our
ncts ; and laftly, othcrs that thcy are
bodies perpctually revolving about thc
Sun in vcry ecccntric orbits. In the firft
cafc, the Comcts, according to thcir
diffcrent vclocitics, will movc in conic
fctl:ions of all forts ; in thc fccoml thcy
will
O F T HE W O R L D. 129
will defcribe hyperbola's, and in either
of the two will frequent indifferently
a11 quartcrs of che hcavens as well
thofe about the poles as thofe towards
the Ecliptic ; in the third their motions
will be performed in ellipfes vcry ec-
cemric and very nearly approaching to
parabola's. But ( if the law of the Pla-
nets is obfcrved) their orbits will not
much decline from the plain of che
Ecliptic. And fo far as I could hitherto
obferve the rhird cafe obtains. For the
Comets do indeed chiefly frequent rhe
zodiac and fcarce ever attain to a helio-
centric latitude of 40. And thar rhey
move in. orbits very nearly parabolical,
I infer from their velocity. For the ve-
locity with which a parabola is defcri-
bed, is every where to the velocity with
which a Comer or Planet may be revol-
ved about the Sun in a circle at the
fame difrance, in che fubduplicate ratio
of 2 to 1. (by Cor. 7 Prop. r 6.) And
by my computation the velocity of
Comets is found to be much about the
fame. I examincd thc thing by infer-
ring nearly thc vclocitics from thc di-
ftances, and thc dibnccs both from thc
parallaxes and thc pha;nomcna of the
tails, and ncvcr found thc errours of
excefs or dcfcl: in thc velocitics grcatcr
than what might have arofc from the
K errours


130 O F T H E S Y S T E M

errours in the diftances colletl:ed after
that manner. But 1 likewife made ufe
of the reafoning that follows.
S u PP os 1 N G the radius of the orbis
In what fpace of magnus to be divided into I ooo
time Comets parts : Let the numbcrs in the
bing parabolic traje- fi ft 1 f h .e 11
l:ories pafs throuah l CO Umll O t C 10 OWing
the fphere of the table reprcfent the diftance of
bis magnus. the vertex of the parabola from
the Sun's center, exprefied by thofe
parts ; and a Comet in the times ex-
prefed in Col. 2. will pafs from its pe-
rihelion to the furface of the fphere
which is defcribed about the Sun as a
center with the radius of the orbis mag-
nus; and in the times exprefed in Col.
3, 4, and 5, it will double, triple, and
quadruple that its diftance from the
S un.
TAllLE

O F T HE W O R L D.'
T A B L E I.
The di-
l:ance of
The time of a C..Jmet's patfage from its pe-
rihelion to a dil:ance from the Sun equal to
a
perihelio o
ti-om the Thc rad.
Sun's cen- ot the or.
bis mag.

To 1ts
double,
To its
triple.
To irs
quadruple.
ter. ...,
d. h. '
S '-7 r6 07
10 '"7 '"' 00
d. h
1

d. h.
' d. h.
'

zo o6 40 144 03 19 o8 5+
40 01 32 79 23 34
160 33 o; '-9
3'2.0 37 13 46
uso
S6 10 z6 153 16 oS 232 rz
93 38
106 o6 35 zoo o6 43 297 03 46
147 22. 31 300 o6 03
[ This table, he re correll:ed, is made on the fuppofi-
tion that the Earth's diurna! modon is jul: s9',
and the mcafmc of 011e minute loofcly
il1 rcfpcll: of the radius 1 ooo. lf thofe mcafurcs
:uc taken ti'Uc, thc uuc numbcts of the tablc will
all come out lcfs. But the dilfcrencc, cvcn whcn
grcatcl:, and ro the quadtuplc ofthe Earth's dil:ance
lrom thc Sun, amounu only to 16 h, H']

K 2 THE
'
132. O F T HE S Y S TE M
T H E time of a Comet's i n ~
At what time Comets
cnter into and pafs grefs into the fphere of the or-
out of the fphere of bis magnus ' or of itS: egrefs
the Ol"bis magnus, ftOffi the fame may be inferred
nearly from its parallax, but with more
expedition by the following
T A B LE II.
lts dill:ance from
The apparent
lts apparent diur- t he Eanh in pares,
elongation of nal motion in its whereofthe radius
a Comet from
own orbit. of the 01bis mag-
the S un.
6o
0
6;
'
70
72.
74-
76
78
So
82.
84
86
88
90
THE
\IV ith what velocity
the Comcts of 16So
pafTcd through thc
fphere of the orbis
magnus.

nus con:ams 1 ooo.
'
Di re l:, Retrog.
2.0 SI
oo
0
2.0
1
JOOO
2.
33
00
H
84)
2.
H
00
i7
684-
3 07 01
09 618
3 Z3
01
~
5P
3 43
01
H 484
4
JO 02. 12.
416
4 57
02.
49 347
~ 45 03
47
278
7
18
o; 20
:1.09
10
27
o8
19 140
8
37
16
39 70
I nfinite
Infinitc 00
ingrcfs of a Comct into the
fphcrc of thc orbis magnus, or
its egrcfs from thc fame happcns
at the rime of its clongation
from thc Sun, cxprcffcd in Col.
1. againfl: its diurna! motion.
So
O F T H E W O R L D. 1 3 3
So in the Comet of I 68 r, :Jan. 4 O. S.
the apparent diurnal motion in its orbt
was about 3 5
1
and the correfpond-
ing elongation 7 I V . And the Comet
had acquired this elongation from the
Sun Jan. 4, about ftx in the evening.
Again, in the year r 6 8 o, November r r
the diurna! motion of the Comet that
then appeared, was about 4

and the
correfponding elongation 79 t happened
Nov. 1 o, a little before mid-night. Now
at the times named thefe Comets had
arrived at an cqual difiance from the
Sun with the and the Earth was
then almofi: in its perihelion. But the
firfi tablc is fitted to the Earth's mean
difiance from the S un aililmed of r ooo
parts ; and this difiance is greatcr by
fuch an cxcefs of fpace as the Earth
might defcribe, by its ammal motion,
in one day's time, or the Comet, by its
motion, in 16 hours. To reduce the
Comct to this mean difiance of 1 ooo
parts we add thofc I 6 hours to thc for-
mer time, and. fubdul: thcm from the
lattcr ; and thus thc formcr bccomes
.'1an. 4cl I oh after noon, the latter
Nov. I o, about :fix in the morning. But
..._
from thc tcnour and progrcfs of t!1e
diurnal motions it appears that both Co-
mcts wcrc in conjunl:ion wirh thc Sun
bctwcen 'Dec. 7. and 'De c. 8. And
K 3 from



134- OF THE SYSTEM
from thence to Jan. 4-d Ioh afrernoon
on one :fide, and to Nov. 1od h of
the morning on the other, thcre are
about 2 8 days. And fo many days
( by Table 1. ) the morions in parabolic
trajclories do require .
B u T th.ough we have hitherto con-
fidered thofe Comets as two,
That thefe were not yet from the coincidence of
two, but one and 'h .J
the f:une Comet. In thetr pen e Ions anll agreement
what orbit a!ld wi:h of rheir velociries, it is proba-
what velomy t!11S ble that in effet they were but
Comet was carned ' .
the heavens one and the fame. And 1f fo,
dewbed more ex- th.e orbit of rhis Comet rnuft
all:l Y h . h b b 1
eit e een a para o a or
at leaft a conic fetion very little differ-
ing from a parabola, and at vertex
almofi in contat with the furface of the
Sun. For by Tab. 2. the diftance of the
Comer from the Earrh Nov. 1 o, was a-
bour 3 o parts, and .'Jan. 4, a bout -53 o.
From which difi:ances, rogethcr wirh its
longitudes and latitudes, we infcr thc di-
ftancc of the placcs in wbich the Comer
was ar thofc times, ro !uve been about
280: thc half of which, viz. 140 is an
ordinatc to rhe Comcr's orbit, cutting
off a portian of its axc ncarly equnl to
thc radius of rhe orbis mngnus, that is to
r ooo parts. And thcrcf()rc dividing the
fi1uarc of thc ordinatc l40 (Jy 1 ooo thc
. fccrmcnt
o

O F T H E W O R L D. 1 3 5
fegment of the axe, we find the latus re-
tum 19,1 6, or in a round number 20 ;
the fourth part whereof 5 is the di-
ftance of the vertex of the 01bit from
the Sun,s center. But the time corrc-
fponding to the diftance of _ 5 parts in
Tab. r. is 27d 1 6h 7
1
In which time,
if the Comer moved in a parabolic or-
bt, it would have been carried from
its perihelion to the furface of the fphere
of the orbis magnus defcribed with the
radius rooo, and would havc fpent the
double of that time, viz. 5 5d .8 ;l:h in
the whole courfe of its motion within
that fpherc : And fo in fal: it did. For
from Nov. r od 6h of the morning,
the time of thc Comct's ingrefs into the
fpherc of thc orbis magnus, to Jan. 4d
1 oh aftcr noon, the time of its cgrcfs
from the famc, thcrc are 5 5 d r 6h. Thc
fmall diffcrcncc of 7 'i h in this rudc
way of computing is ro be ncgletcd,
and perhaps may arifc from the Comet's
motion being fome finall matter lower,
as it mul: havc becn if rhc truc 01bit
in whkh ir was c11-ricd cllipie,
Thc middlc time bctwccn its ingrds
and cgrds was 'JJecember gd 2-h of rhc

morning. .And thcrefore at.: this time
thc Comct to havc b(:Cll .'l its
L-
pcrihclion. A nd accordingly rhat vcry
rlay, jul: bcforc Sun-riilng, Dr. IId!e_y
K + (as


OF THE SYSTEM
(as we faid) faw the t;ail hort and broad,
but very bright, rifing perpendicular! y
from the horizon. From the pofition
of the tail, it is certain that the Comet
had then crofied over the Ecliptic, and
got inro north-latitude, and therefore had
pafed by its perihelion whkh lay on the
other fide of the Ecliptic, though it had
not yet come into conjunl:ion with the
more of S un. And the Comet, being at this
th1Sfamous b 'h 1" d
comet time etween Its pen an 1ts con-
Jrom Pag. junl:ion with the Sun, muft have been
144 !o in its perihelion a few hours before. For
vof. in fo near a diftance from the Sun it
muft have been carried with great velo-
Pnncp. d h 1 d fc "b d 1
clty, an ave apparent y e en e a-
moft half a degree every hour.
By like computations I find that the
With what velocity
Comets are can+ed,
fhewed by more ex:-
am pies.
Comct of 1 6 1 8 entercd the
fphcre of the orbis magnus 'De-
cember 7, towards Sun-fctting.
But its Conjuntion with thc
S un was Nov. 9, or I o, about 2 8 days
intcrvening, as in thc prcceding Comct.
For from the :fizc of thc tail of this, in
which it was equal to the prcccding, it
is probable that this Comct likcwifc did
come almoft into a contat with the
Sun. Four Comcts werc fcen that year,
of which this was thc laft. Thc fecond,
which madc its firl appcarancc Otla-
ber
O F T HE W O R L D. 137
ber 3 r , in the neighbourhood of the.
rifing Sun, and was foon after hid under
the Sm rays, 1 fufpel to have been
the fame with the fourth, which emer-
ged out of the Sun's rays about Nov. 9-
To the.fe we may add the Comet of
1 607, which cntered the fphere of the.
orbis magnus Sept. 14. O S. and arrivcd
at irs perihelion-diftance from the Sun
about Otober 19, 3 5 days intcrvening.
lts perihelion-difrance fubtende.d an ap-
parcnt angle at the Earth of about 2 3
degrees, and was therefore of 3 90 parts.
And to this number of parts about 3 +
days correpond in Tab. I. Furthcr,
thc Comet of r 66 5 cmered the fphcrc of
the orbis magnus about March r 7, and
carne to its perihelion about April 1 6,
3 o days intervening. Its perihclion-
difrance fubtended an angle at the Earth
of about feven degrecs, and therefore
was of I 22 parts : and corrcfponding
to this numbcr of parts, in Tab. 1. we
find 3 o days. Again, thc Comer of
r 6 8 2 cntcrcd the fphcrc of thc 01bis
ma!!nus about Aurr. 1 1, and arrivcd at
'-'
its pcrihclion. about Sept. 16, bcing thcn
dil.mt from rhe Stm by about 3 5o
parts, to which, in Tab. 1 bclong 3 3 i
d.1ys. L:,ftly, that memorable Comer
of Re,e;iomolJ.ttl?ms, which in r +7 2 was
carricd through thc circum-polar p ~ r t s
of


138 OF THE SYSTEM
of our northern hcmifphere with fuch
rapidity as to defcribe 40 dcgrces in one
day , entered the fphere of the orbis
magnus an 2 r. about thc time that it
was pa mg by thc pele, and hafl:ening
from thence towards thc Sun, was hid
under the Sm rays about the end of
February. Whence 'tis probable that
3 o days or a few more werc fpent be-
tween its ingrefs into the fphere of the
mbis magnus and its perihelion. N or
did this Comct truly move with more
vclocity than other Comets, but owed
the greatnefs of its apparent velocity
to its paffing by the Earth at a near
diftancc.
Pagc 540. I T appears thcn that the vclocity of
Thc invcl:io-ation Con1cts
7
fo far as it can be de-
o rhc rrajel:gry of tcrmincd by thefc rndc ways of
Comets propofed. computino is that vcry velo-
O'
city with which parabola's, or cllipfes
near ro parabola's, ought to be defcri-
bed. And thcrcfore the difi:ance betwecn
a Comer and thc Sun being given, thc
velocity of thc Comer is ne:.uly given.
And hcnce arifcs this problc::m.
PRO-
'
O F T H E W O R L D. 1 3 9
PROBLE
The relation betwixt the velo-
city if a Come t, and it s di-
ance rom the Sun's center
being }ven, the Comet's tra-
jetory is required.
I F this problem was refolved, we
fhould thence have a method of deter-
mining the trajetories of Comets to thc
greateft accuracy. For if that relation
be twice affiuned, and from thence the
trajetory be twice computcd, and thc
errour of each trajctory be found from
obfcrvations, thc alhmption may be
corrctcd by thc Rule of Falfe, and a
third. trajctory may thcncc be found
that wiil cxally agrec with the ohfer-
vations. And by dctcrmining; thc tra-
jcl:ories of Comets after this mcthod,
wc may come at lafi to a more cxal:
knowledge of thc parts through which
thofc bodics travcl, of thc velocitics
with which they are carricd, what fort
of thcy dc..:fcribe, and what
are thc truc and forms of

thcir lails to thc various di-
bnces of tlu.:ir lKads from rhc Sun ;
1 whcthcr
140 O F T H E S Y S T E M
whether after certain imervals of time;
the fame Comets do return again, and
in what periods they compleat their
feveral revolutions. But the problem.
may be refolved by determining firft the
hourly motion of a Comet to a given
time from three or more obfervations,
and then deriving the trajefrory from
this motion. And thus the invention
of the traj efrory, depending on one ob-
fervation and its hourly motion at the
time of this obfervation, will either con-
fum or difprove it felf. For the con-
clufion that is drawn from the motion
only of an hour or two anda falfe hy-
pothefis, will never agree with the mo-
tions of the Comets from beginning to
end. The method of the whole compu-
tation is this.
O t T H E W O R L D.
LE A l.
To cut two right line s O R, TP
gi'Ven in ptljition, by L ,
h
. d . h
1
. Rrt> emma.s pre-
a t zr rzg t zne r, mifed to the folu-
0 as TRP may be a tion of the pro-
. h 1 d blem
rzg t angte, an , z
another right line SP is
drawtt to any gi'Ven point S,
the olid contained under
this line SP and the quare
o the rigbt.line OR termi-
nated at a given point O,
may be o a gi'Ven mag-
nitude.
It is done by linear defcription, thus.
Let die given magnitude of the folid be
~ X N. From any point r of the right
line OR eret the perpendicular rp
meeting TP in p. Then thmugh the
points Sp draw the line Sq equal to
M
2
XN
0
r2 . In like manner draw three or
more right lines S2q, S3q, &c. And
a regular line qzq3q drawn through all
rl1e points q2q3q, &c. will cut thc
right




OF THE SYSTEM
right line TP in the point P, from
which the perpendicular PR is to be
let fall. Q. E. F.
o

By trigonometry thus. Afuming the
right line TP as found by. the preceding
method, the perpendiculars TR, SB in
the triangles TPR, TP S will be thence
given, and the fide SP in the triangle
M"xN
SBP, as well as the errour OR" - SP.
Let this errour, fuppofe D, be toa new
errour, fuppofc E, as the errour 2p2q
+ 3p3q to the errour 2 'l3P; or as the
errour 2p2q + D to t e errour 2pP ;
and this ncw crrour addcd to or fub-
dul:ed from the length TP will give the
corrcl: length TP E. The infpel:ion
of the figure will i11ew wbether we are
to
O F T HE W O R L D. 143
to add or to fubtral:. And if at any
time there fhould be ufe for a further
correl:ion, the operation may be re-
peated.
By arithmetic thus. Let us fuppofe
the thing done, and let TP + e be
the correl: length of the right line
TP as found out by delineation ; and
thence the correl: lengths of the lines
TR
OR, BP and SP will be OR- TP e,

BP + e, and ySP" + .2 BPe + ee
M:z.N
OR" + 20R + TR + TR:z.
TP e TP" ee.
Whence by the method of converging
. BP SB:z.
[enes, we have SP + SPe + zSPl ee, &c.
M:z. N 2 TR M:z. N
= OR:z. + TP -X OR
3
e+ TP:z. X
M" N
OR
4
ee, &c. For the given co-e:fficients
M
2
N 2 TR M
2
N BP, 3TRz
OR". SP, TP X .SP TP:z. X
M
2
N SB
2
F F F
OR
4
2SPl ' puttmg ' G' GH' and
carefully obfcrving the figns , wc find
F F ee
F + ue+wee o, ande+ H =--G.


14+ O F T HE S Y S TE M
,
Whence , neglel:ing the very fmall
ez
term H' e comes out equal to G.
z
If the
e

errour
IS
H'
not defpicable_,
take G
G"
e.
H
And it is to be obferved, that here a
general method is hinted at for folving
the more intricate fort of problems, as
well by trigonometry as by arithmetic,
without thofe perplexed computations
and refolutions of affel:ed equations,
which hitherro have been in ufe .

LE .r A II.
To cut three right lines given
in po ztion by a ourth right
line that ./hall pa through
a point a igned in any ofthe
t h r ~ and o as its inter-
cepted parts all be irt a
g)'vert ratio one to the other.
Let AB. AC, BC be thc right lincs
givcn in pofition) and fuppofc D to be
thc:

O F T H E W O R L D.
the given point in the line AC. Parallel
to AB draw DG meeting BC in G. And.,


taking GF to BG in the given ratio,
draw FDE ; and FD will be to DE as
FG to BG. Q:. E. F.
By trigonometry thus. In th.e trian-
gle CGD, all the angles and the fide CD
are given, and from thence its remain-
ing fides are found; and from th.e given
ratio's, the lines GF and BE are alfo

giVen.
LE A 111.
To . nd and repre ent by a
linear de cription the hour!J'
motion o a Comet to any
given time. .

From obfervations of the beft crcdit,
let duce longitudes of the Cmet be
given, and fitppofing ATR, RTB to be
their diffcrcnces ; let the hourly motion
be rcquircd ro the time of thc middle
L obJer-

o
..



1 ~ O F T HE S Y S T E M

obfervation TR. By Lem. II. draw the
right Jine ARB, to as its intercepted
parts AR, RB may be as the times be-
tween the obfervations. And if we
fuppofe a body in the whole time to
defcribe the whole line AB with an
T
equal motion, , and to be in the mean
rime viewed from. the place T, the ap-
parent motion of that body about the
point R, will be tiearly the :'une with
that of the Comet at thc time of the
obfcrvation T R.

The .fame more accttrately .
Let T a, T!J be two longitudes given
at a grcater difiance on onc fidc and on
the orher; and by Lem. II. draw the
right line a R b (o as its interceptcd parts
aR, Rb may be as thc times hetween
thc

O F T H E W O R LD. 147
the obfervations .aTR, RTb. Sup-
pofe this ro cut the lines T A, TB in D
and E. And becaufe the errour of thc
inclination TRa increafes nearly in the
duplicare ratio of the time benvecn the
obfervations, draw FRG, fo as either the

angle DRF may be to the angle ARF,
or the line DF to the line AF, in the
duplicare ratio of the whole time be-
tween the obfervations aTB to the
whole time between the obfervations
A TB, and ufe the line thus found FG
in place of the line AB found above.
It will be convenient that the angles
ATR, RTB, aTA, BTb be no lefs
than of ten or fifteen degrees, the times
correfponding no greater than of eight
or twelve d.ays_, and thc longitudes ta-
ken when the Comer moves with the
greateft velocity. For thus the errours
of the obfervations will bear a lefs pro-
portian to the differenccs of the longi-
tudes.
I_J E 1
A IV.
To. 'nd the rif. a Co-
met to any given ttmes. .
lt is done by taking, in the line FG,
the dibnccs Rr, Rp proponional to
the times, and. drawing thc lincs Tr,
Tp. Thc way of working by trigono-
mctry is manifdl:.
L 2
LEM-
I4S O F T H E S Y S TE M
LE
To
A V.
latitudes.
On as at right
angles erel: F f, RP Gg tangents of
the obferved latitudes ; and parallel to
fg draw PH. The perpendiculars
meeting will be the tangents of
the fought latitudes to Tr and Tp as
radius's .

PROBLE
. l.
From the a umed ratio o the
The problem velociry to determine the
rcfolved. trajefory if a Comet.

Let S reprefent the three
places of the Earth in its orbit at equal
o
dibnccs, p,P ,"GJ" as m::tny correfponding
placcs of thc Comet in its trajel:ory, fo
as the difianccs intcrpofed bctwixt place
and
o

O F T H E W O R L D. 14-9
and place may anfwer to the motion of
one hour; pr, PR, o perpendiculars
let faJl on the plain of the ecliptic, and
r ~ the veftige of the trajel:ory in
this plain. Join Sp, SP, S'liT, SR, ST,
tr, TR, 'Tf, TP ; and let tr, -rp meet
in O, TR will nearly converge to the
fame point O, or the errour will be in-
confiderable. By the premifed lemmas,
the angles rOR, RO are given, as
well as the ratio's pr to tr, PR to TR,
and 'liTf to 'Tf The figure tT 'TO is
likewife given, both in magnitude and
pofition, together with the diftance ST
and the angles STR, PTR, STP. Let
us afume the velocity of the Comet, in
the place P, to be to the velocity of a
Planet, revolved about the Sun in a cir-
cle, at the fame diftance SP, as V to r,
and we fhall have a line pPw to be de-
termined, of this condition, that the
fpace p-w, defcribed by the Comet in
two hours, may be to the fpace V X t-r
that is, to the fpace which the Earth
defcribes in the fame time multiplied by
the number V) in the fubduplicate ratio
of ST, the diftance of the Earth from
the Sun, to SP the diil:ance of the Comer
from the Sun ; and that the fpace pP,
defcribed by the Comet in the firl: hour,
may be to the fpace p . .., defcribed by the
Comet in the fecond hour, as the velo-

ctty

-

-
. -
x,;._ro



O F THE SYSTEM
city in p, to the velocity in P, that .ls,
in the fubduplicate ratio of the diftance
SP to the Sp, or in the ratio
of 2Sp, to SP + Sp. For in this whole
work 1 neglec1: frnall frations that can
produce no fenfible errour.
In the firft place then, as matherna-
ticians in the refolution of affeted equa-
tions, are wont, for the firft effay, ro
afume the root by con;eture, fo, in
this analytical operation, . I ;udge of the
fought diftance TR, as I beft can by
con;eture. Then by Lem. II. I draw
rp, firft fuppofing rR equal to Rp, and
again ( after the ratiQ of SP to Sp is
difcovered) fo as rR may be to Rp, as
2 SP to SP + Sp, and 1 find the ratio's
of the lines pw, rp and OR one ro the
orher. Let M .be to V X tT as OR to
pw ; and becaufe the fquare of pw is
to the fquare of V X tT, as ST to SP,
we fhall have ex teqtto ORz to Mz as
ST to SP, and rherefore rhe folid ORz
X SP equal to thc given folid Mz X ST.
Whence ( fuppofi.ng the rriangles STP,
PTR to be now in the fame
plain) TR, TP, SP, PR will be givcn
by Lem. l. All this Ido, firft by de-
lineation in a rude and hafty way, rhen
by a new dclincation with grcater care,
and laftly, by an arithmetical compu-
tation. Thcn 1 procced to determine .
:z. thc

O F T H E \V O R 'L D.
the pofition of the lines rp, p'tir . with
the greateft accuracy, together wth the
nodes and inclination of the plan S .;
to the plain of the ecliptic ; and in at
plain Spw, I defcribe the trajel:ory in
which a body let go from the place P in
the direl:ion of the given right line
would be carried with a velocity that is
to the velocity of the Earth, as p11r to
V X t-r. Q:. E. F .

PROB LE 11.
To corre/ the a umed ratio
o the 1Jelocif)' and the tra-
jeEtory thence ound.
Take an obfervation of the Comet
about the end of its appearance, or any
other obfervation at a very great di-
ftance from the obfervations ufed before,
and find the interfetion of a right line
drawn to the Comet, in that obferva-
tion, with the plain Sp'Zll', as well as
the Comet's place in its trajel:ory to
thc time of the obfervation. lf that in-
terfetion happens in this place, it s a
proof that the trajetory was right de-
termined. If othcrwife, new number
V is to be affumed, and a ncw trajcl:ory
to be found, and thcn the place of thc
Comct in this trajcl:ory ro thc time of
that
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that . probatory -obfervatiop, and the in:.
' .. f(:rfetion, of a right line .4rawn to the
Comet, with the plain of the trajetory,
are to be determined as before. And by
comparing the variation of the errour
with the variation of the other quan-
tities, we may conclude, by the Rule
of Three, how far thofe other quantities
ought to be varied or correl:ed, fo as the
errour may become as frnall as
And by means of thefe correl:ions we
may have the trajetory exal:Iy, pro-
viding the obfervations, upon which the
putation was founded, were exat,
and that we did not err much ip. the af-
fumption of the quantity V; for if we
did, the operation is to be repeated till
the trajel:ory is exal:ly enough deter-
mined. F .
FINIS .