fluid, wherein an innumerable company of Stars and Suns lie floating here and there, not chain’d down to any Place, (thus far he’s in the right) and deſcribing in the Space of a Day theſe prodigious Circles round the Earth. He forgets here, if there were ſuch a Motion, with what an incredible ſwiftneſs they would fly off from every part of their Orbits. But I ſuppoſe the Intelligences that he has plac’d in them are to take care of that, thoſe Angels that preſide over, and regulate their Motions. And in that he follows a company of Doctors that harbour’d that idle fancy of Ariſtotle upon no Account or Conſideration. But Copernicus has freed thoſe Intelligences of all that Labour and Trouble, only by bringing in the Motion of the Earth: which, if upon no other Account, every one that is not blind purpoſely, muſt own to be neceſſary upon this. I dare ſay Kircher, if he had dar’d freely to ſpeak his Mind, could have afforded us better ſort of Things than theſe. But when he could not have that liberty, I think he might as well have let the whole Matter alone. But enough of this; let’s have have done with this famous Author: And now that we have ventur’d to place Spectators in the Planets, let us examine each of them, and ſee what their Years, Days, and Aſtronomy are. [The Syſtem of the Planets in Mercury.] To begin with the innermoſt and neareſt the Sun: We know that Mercury is three times nearer that vaſt Body of Light than we are. Whence it follows that they ſee him three times bigger, and feel him nine times hotter than we do. Such a degree of Heat would be intolerable to us, and ſet afire all our dry’d Herbs, our Hay and Straw that we uſe. And yet there is no doubt but that the Animals there, are made of ſuch a Temper, as to be but moderately warm, and the Plants ſuch as to be able to endure the Heat. The Inhabitants of Mercury, it’s likely, have the ſame opinion of us that we have of Saturn, that we muſt be intolerably cold, and have little or no Light, we are ſo far from the Sun. There’s reaſon to doubt, whether the Inhabitants of Mercury, tho’ they live ſo much nearer the Sun, the Fountain of Life and Vigour, are much more airy and ingenious than we. For if we may gueſs at them by what we ſee here, we ſhall not be obliged to grant it. The Inhabitants of Africa and Braſil, that have got for their Share the hotteſt Places in the Earth, being neither ſo wiſe nor ſo induſtrious as thoſe that belong to colder and more temperate Climates; they have ſcarce any Arts or Knowledge among them; and thoſe of them that live upon the very Shore, underſtand little or no Navigation. Nor can I be willing to make all that vaſt number that muſt inhabit thoſe two large Planets, Jupiter and Saturn, and have ſuch noble Attendance, mere dull Blockheads, or without as much Wit as our ſelves, tho’ they are ſo far more diſtant from the Sun. The Aſtronomy of thoſe that live in Mercury, and the appearance of the Planets to them, oppoſite at certain times to the