282 Mr. herschel on the proper Motion 
“ ilium explicare non pofle per motum totius fyftematis fo- 
46 laris, et fi nec impoffibile fit, folem, ut ejufdem cum fixis 
44 naturae, inftar harum quartrndam in fpatio mundano pro- 
moveri. Nam fi fol et cum ipfo planetae omnes noftrumque 
64 domicilium terra, redla ten derent verfus plagam aliquam, uni- 
44 verfas fixae, quae in ea plaga adparent paullatim a fe invicem 
44 difcedere, et quae funt in oppofita parte coeli coire viderentur ; 
44 non fecus ac. per filvam ambulanti arbores, quae ante viam 
44 funt, disjungi videntur, quae a tergo, congredi.” Now, if 
we recolledt what has been laid of the motion of the flars, we 
find, that thofe, towards which I fuppofe the lolar fyftem to 
move, do really recede from each other: for inftance, Ar£turus 
from a Lyras ; a, Aquilas and a Aquarii from a Serpentarii and e 
Urfae majoris ; and, on the contrary, thofe in the oppofite part 
of the heavens do really come nearer to each other ; as Sirius 
to Aldebaran ; Procyon to a. Arietis ; Caffor, Pollux, Regulus, 
ike. to cc Ceti, cs Perfei, ct Andromedas, &c. All this agrees 
with what mayer fays ought to happen, if the folar fyftem 
was to have a motion towards a certain part of the heavens ; 
which, by the bye, I find this admirable aftronomer mentions 
as a very poffible thing*. However, when he fays that all 
the Jiars in thofe parts towards which the fun might be fup- 
pofed to move, fhould recede from each other, and vice verfd ; 
I muff add, that this would only take place under the reflric- 
tions of my frit, fecond, and third theorems, and therefore it 
is not to be expected, that we fhould immediately fee the effect 
of this parallax in any but the ffars that are neareft to us. But 
as we have at prefent no other method of judging of the rela- 
tive diftance of the fixed flars than from their apparent bright* 
* This paper, De Motu Fix arum, was read at Gottingen in January 1760. 
