Mifcellanea C nth fa. 1 5 



Strength of a Man at that height to carry a Ton 

 weight, as hereon the Surface a iooj. And 

 in the fame Proportion does the Velocities of 

 the fall of Bodies decreafe : For whereas on the 

 Surface of the Earth all things fall 1 6 Foot in 

 a fecond j at one Semidiameter above, this fall 

 is but four Foot, and at three Semidiame- 

 ters, or four from the Centre, it is but is 

 of the Fall at the Surface, or but one Foot in a 

 fecond : And at greater Diftances both Weight 

 and Fall become very fmall, but yet at all given 

 Diftances is ftill (bme thing, tho' the Effect be- 

 come infenfibie. At the diftance of the Moon 

 (which I will fuppofe 60 Semidiameters of the 

 Earth) 3600 Pounds weigh but one Pound, and 

 the fall of Bodies is but of a Foot in a fe- 

 cond, or 1 6 Foot in a Minute ; that is, a Body 

 fo far off defcends in a Minute no more than 

 the fame at the Surface of the Earth would do in 

 a Second of Time. 



As was faid before, the fame force decreafing 

 after the fame manner is evidently found in the 

 Sun, Moon, and all the Planets $ but more e- 

 fpecially in the Sun, whole Force is prodigious ; 

 becoming lenfible even in the immenfe diftance 

 of Saturn t This gives room to fufpect, that the 

 force of Gravity is in the Cceleftial Globes pro- 

 portional to the quantity of Matter in each of 

 them : And the Sun being at lean: ten Thoufand 

 times as big as the Earth, its Gravitation or at- 

 tracting Force, is found to be at lealt ten Thou- 

 fand times as much as that of the Earth, acting 

 on Bodies at the fame diftance. 



This Law of the decreafe of Gravity being 

 demonftratively proved, and put paft contra- 

 diction ; the Author with great Sagacity, in- 

 quires into the neceffary Coafequences of this 



Sup- 



