7 o A TrCAtife of BODIES. Chap, 3. 



time of one entire circulation of it, be the fixtietli part of a mi- 

 nute ; of which minutes, there arc 60. in an houre fo that in 

 a whole day, there will be but 86400. of thofe parts of time. 

 Now the diameter of the wheel of fire being but of three foot, 

 the whole quantity of fpace that it movcth in that atome of 

 time will be at the moft i o, foot; which is three paces and a 

 foot : of which parts, there are near eleven millions in the 

 coinpafle of the earth : fo that if the earth be moved round in 

 24, hours, it muft go near 1 30. times as faft as the boyes ftick 

 doth, which by itsfwifc motion deceiveth our eye. But if we 

 allow the funne, the moon, and the fixed ftarres to move ; 

 how extreme fwift mutt their flight be, and how imperceptible 

 would their motion be in fuch a compafle as our fight would 

 reach unto ? And this being certain, that whether the earth or 

 they do move, the appearances to us are the fame ; it is evident, 

 that as now they cannot be perceived to movef as peradvea- 

 turc they do not ; ) fo it would be the very fame in fhew to us, 

 although they did move. If the funne were neai us, and gal- 

 loped at that rate ; furely we could not diftingtiifh between 

 the beginning and ending of his race: but there would 

 appear one permanent line of light from Eaft to Weft, 

 without any motion at all : as the torch feemcth to make, with 

 fo much a flower motion, one permanent immovcable wheel of 

 fire. 



But contrary to this erfeil, we fee that the funne and 

 ftarres by onely being removed further from our eye?, do 

 cofcn our fight fo groilely that we cannot difcern them 

 to be moved at all. One would imagine that fo rapide and 

 fwift a motion, fliould be perceived in fome fort or other, 

 (which, whether it be in the tarth, or in them, is all one 

 to this purpofe. ) Either we ftiould fee thm change. their 

 places whiles we look upon them, as arrows and birds do 

 when they fly in the aire : or clfe, they fhould make a ftream 

 of light bigger then themfelves, as the torch doth. But none 

 of all this happeneth : let us gaze upon them fo long and 

 fo attentively that our eyes be dazeled with looking and 

 all that while they feem to ftand immovable : and 

 our eyes can give us no account of their journey till it 

 be ended. They difcern it not whiles it is in doing : 



fo 



