r 254 ] 
but two]. Many of them alfohave been obferved to 
have a proper motion of their own, which with 
feveral other concurrent circumfiances tends to make 
it highly probable, that they are fome of the neareft 
to us. 
Having thus endeavoured to eftablifh the probabi- 
lity, that the Sun is one of a lyftem of liars, placed 
by themfelves in this part of the univerfe, I fhall 
next inquire into fome of the confequences of this 
hypothecs. Now if this is the cafe, and we fuppofe 
the whole number of liars, which belong to this 
fyliem only (excluding thole which belong to others), 
to amount to about 1000, we fhall find it to be an 
even chance, that the parallax of the neareft amongfi 
them does not exceed the parallax of one half that 
number in a greater proportion than that of 9 to 1, 
fuppofing the Earth to be placed in or near the centre 
of the whole fyftem; nor in a greater proportion 
than that of about 1 2 to 1 , fuppofing it to be placed 
very near the edge of the fyfiem ; for fuppofing 1000 
points to be placed within a fphere of any given 
magnitude, and that they are equally indifferent to 
every part of that fphere, if we aflume any one of 
thefe points as a centre, we fhall find, according to the 
known dodtrine of chances, that there is an equal 
degree of probability whether any one of the reft 
fhall or fhall not fall within a fphere, defcribed about 
the point affumed, of about feven ten thoufandths of 
the fize of the whole fphere ; but the radius ol Inch 
a fphere is about ^ or a little lefs than _L of the 
radius of the whole fphere, that is about x of the 
radius of a fphere of half the fize of the greater one j 
and therefore a fphere, of about nine times this ladius. 
