And as the Planets in our world (of which The sun’s the heart and kernell) do receive Their nightly light from suns that do enrich Their sable mantle with bright gemmes, and give A goodly splendour, and sad men relieve With their fair twinkling rayes, so our worlds sunne Becomes a starre elsewhere, and doth derive Joynt light with others, cheareth all that won In those dim duskish Orbs round other suns that run. 25 This is the parergon of each noble fire Of neighbour worlds to be the nightly starre, But their main work is vitall heat t’ inspire Into the frigid spheres that ’bout them fare, Which of themselves quite dead and barren are. But by the wakening warmth of kindly dayes, And the sweet dewie nights they well declare Their seminall virtue in due courses raise Long hidden shapes and life, to their great Makers praise. 26 These with their suns I severall worlds do call, Whereof the number I deem infinite: Else infinite darknesse were in this great Hall Of th’ endlesse Universe; For nothing finite Could put that immense shadow unto flight. But if that infinite Suns we shall admit, Then infinite worlds follow in reason right. For every Sun with Planets must be fit, And have some mark for his farre-shining shafts to hit. 27 But if he shine all solitarie, alone, What mark is left,? what aimed scope or end Of his existence? wherefore every one Hath a due number of dim Orbs that wend Around their centrall fire. But wrath will rend This strange composure back’d with reason stout And rasher tongues right speedily will spend Their forward censure, that my wits run out On wool-gathering, through infinite spaces all about. 28 What sober man will dare once to avouch An infinite number of dispersed starres? This one absurdity will make him crouch And eat his words; Division nought impairs The former whole, nor he augments that spares. Strike every tenth out, that which doth remain, An equall number with the former shares, And let the tenth alone, th’ whole nought doth gain, For infinite to infinite is ever the same. 29 The tenth is infinite as the other nine, Or else, nor they, nor all the ten entire Are infinite. Thus one infinite doth adjoyn Others unto it and still riseth higher. And if those single lights hither aspire, This strange prodigious inconsistencie Groweth still stranger, if each fixed fire (I mean each starre) prove Sunnes, and Planets flie About their flaming heads amid the thronged skie. 30