286 



Again ; the moon, suppose her present distance from 

 the eavth to be her original one, could never, by means 

 of the weak connection of gravitaiiou, correspond with 

 their projection of the earth. Suppose the moon at her 

 present distance, and behind the earth, just in the course 

 of the earth's projection; in this situation, suppose the 

 moon advances toward the earth, at the rate of sixteen 

 feet in a minute, while the earth projected away from 

 the moon near a thousand miles in the same time : can 

 any one suppose, that this imperceptible motion of the 

 moon toward the earth, would draw the moon with the 

 iorce of the earth's absolute motion? This supposition 

 is attended with the same manifest impossibilities, in 

 whatever part of her circle the moon is considered, at 

 the moment of projection. Suppose her in her first 

 quadrature : then the gravitation between them and the 

 projection of the earth lying nearly in the same direc- 

 tion, nothing could prevent their collision in a few hours : 

 and till they had met, their mutual gravitation could 

 have no effect in communicating the absolute motion of 

 the earth to the moon. Yet supposing that the projec- 

 tion of the moon round the earth, commenced at the- 

 same instant with the projection of the earth, does not 

 help ; for as it is not that projection which gives the moon 

 her absolute motion, the whole impossibility remains, 

 yea, and is renewed every month in every supposable 

 circumstance. For it is as impossible her absolute 

 motion can be maintained by such means, as that it 

 shouldco mmence by them. 



It is no less impossible, that the moon's absolute 

 motion can be owing to a projection given to herself, 

 than that it should be owing to her gravitation toward 

 the earth : for this plain reason ; because she has a pro- 

 jectile motion quite different from this, namely round 

 the earth* For nothing is more impossible, than for a 

 body to move in two directions at the same t!*ie. If 

 five hundred projections, all in different directions, were 

 applied at the same time, the projectile would fall into 

 one course, common to them all. 



Add to this, that if there can be no real motion, man, 



