101 



seems to have been of still more ancient origin. We 

 find traces ofit in the verses of Orpheus, who lived in 

 the time of the Trojan war, and taught that there was 

 a plurality of worlds ; a doctrine which Epicurus also 

 looked upon as very probable* 



8. Origen, in his Philosophumena, treats amply of 

 the opinion of Democritus, saying, " That he taught 

 that there was an innumerable multitude of worlds, of 

 unequal size, and differing in the number of their 

 planets ; that some of them were as large as ours, and 

 placed at unequal distances ; that some were inhabited 

 by animals, which he could not take upon him to de- 

 scribe : and that some had neither animals nor plants, 

 nor any thing like what appeared among us." For 

 that truly philosophic genius discerned, that the dif- 

 ferent nature of those spheres required inhabitants of 

 very different kinds. 



9. It appears that Aristotle also held this opinion, as 

 did likewise Alcinous, the Platonic, and Lewis Ga^Hus 

 tie Rovigo ascribes it to Plotinus; who held b.-sides, 

 that the earth, compared to the rest of the universe, 

 was one ot the meanest globes in it, 



10. It was certainly in consequence of such an idea, 

 that Phavorinus struck out into that re.narkahle con- 

 jecture of his, of the existence of other planets, be- 

 sides those known to us. Ho was astonished how it 

 came to be admitted as certain, that there were no other 

 wandering stars or planets but those observed by the 

 Chaldeans. As for his part, he thought that their 

 number was more considerable than was vulgarly given 

 ouf, though they had hitherto escaped our notice, 

 liere in all likelihood he alludes to the reality of those* 

 satellites, which have since become manifest by means 

 of the telescope. It required singular penetration to 

 be capable of forming this supposition, and of having 

 as it were predicted tills discovery. Seneca make* 



