But to infer from their Appearance only, that they are really Stars, without considering their Nature and Distance; and that nothing but Stars could possibly produce such an Effect, may perhaps be assuming too much, when we have nothing but the bare Credit of the _Belgic_ Glasses to support our Conjectures; and although this may be sufficient for any Mathematician, yet for your greater Satisfaction, I have thought proper to give two or three more evincing Arguments, to confirm these important Discoveries. _Democritus_, as I have said before, believed them to be Stars long before Astronomy reaped any Benefit from the improved Sciences of Optics; and saw, as we may say, through the Eye of Reason, full as far into Infinity as the most able Astronomers in more advantageous Times have done since, even assisted with their best Glasses: And his Conjectures are almost as old as the philolaic System of the Planets itself; the Construction of which, though attempted by many, none have ever yet been able to confute. The Light which naturally flows from this Crowd of radiant Bodies is mixt and confused, chiefly occasioned by the Agitation of our Atmosphere, and from a Union of their Rays of Light, by a too near Proximity of their Beams, altogether they appear like a River of Milk, but more of a pelucid Nature, running all round the starry Regions. [Illustration: Plate XIV.] For in the azure Skies its candid Way Shines like the dawning Morn, or closing Day. There are also many more such luminous Spaces to be found in the Heavens of the same Nature with these, which we know to be Stars; in particular the _Nebulæ_, or cloudy Star in the _Præsepe_ of 36; a cloudy Star in _Orion_ of 21; [AC]a cloudy [AD]Knot not far from this in the same Asterism of 80; in one Degree of the same Constellation 500, and in the whole Form above [AE]2000. All of which are great Confirmations of the Truth of our Assertion, _i. e._ that this Zone of Light proceeds from an infinite Number of small Stars. Here it will not be amiss to observe, that it has been conjectured, and is strongly suspected, that a proper Number of Rays, meeting from different Directions, become Flame; and that hence it may prove not the Sun's real Body which we daily see, but only his inflamed Atmosphere. I begin to be of Opinion, and I think not without Reason, that the true Magnitude of the Sun is not near what the modern Astronomers have made it; and that it may not possibly be much above two Thirds of what it appears to us; I don't mean that this Expansion of the solar Flame is any Part of that dilated Light mentioned by Sir _Isaac Newton_, and conceived to be round all light Bodies in general; but you may consider it as not much differing from it, not of an unlike Nature, only greater in Degree, and peculiar to the Sun and Stars, who are all, as has been before in a manner demonstrated to be actually Globes of Fire. [Footnote AC: Vide _Galilæo_]