Varieties: or, A surveigh of rare and excellent matters necessary and delectable for all sorts of persons. Wherein the principall heads of diverse sciences are illustrated, rare secrets of naturall things unfoulded, &c. Digested into five bookes, whose severall chapters with their contents are to be seene in the table after the epistle dedicatory. By David Person, of Loghlands in Scotland, Gentleman.

SECT. 16.

Copernicus his opinion of the Earths moving, confu∣ted: Archimedes opinion of the world: an Indu∣ction to the following Section.

NExt unto this, I subjoyne the franticke and strange opinion of Copernicus, who taketh on him to demonstrate, speaking of the worlds frame, that the Sunne is immoveable and placed in the Center of the World, and that the Globe of the Earth is moveable,* 1.1 rolling and wheeling about, admitting the change of States to depend upon the Eccentrick of the Earth; so that hee giveth not onely to the said Earth a daily run∣ning about the Sunne in 24 houres, in the space of the day and night, but likewise an annuall revolu∣tion; which opinion how absurd it is, as Nature convinceth it of errour, so authorities of the Lear∣ned shall confound it: for besides that, in Scrip∣ture we have warrant, that the Earth is stablished sure—

—Stat nullo mobilis aevo Terra, super solidae nitens fundaminae molis Pollenti stabilita manu.

Moreover Archimedes the rarest Mathemati∣cian

that erst was or since hath beene, and who caused to be engraven upon his Tombe in Sicilie the Spheare, with this admirable position

—Datun•• pondus movere.

Granted to King Hieron of Siracusa, that there was no weight which he could not move; And that if there were any other earth beside this whereon he might establish his Machin, and Mathematicall Instruments, he durst undertake to move this out of its place, whereon we dwell; By which he would have us know, that the earth budged nor moved not, much lesse in such celeritie to compasse the Sunne, as Copernicke esteemed.

Lastly, I am to evert that ground of some too cu∣rious Astrologers,* 1.2 who upon the change of Tripli∣cities, undertake also to found the change and alte∣ration, which they would prove upon the face of the earth, both in the nature of the ground, and in the qualities of people: But because the Word of Triplicitie is not so usuall as that every one under∣standeth it aright therefore thus much for the intel∣ligiblenesse of it in the following Section.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Copernick his opinion that the Earth did move, reje∣cted.
• * 1.2

  Why the change of Triplicities cannot be a ground for change of States.