The Writings of Thomas Paine — Volume 4 (1794-1796): The Age of ReasonPaine, Thomas
Religion
The Writings of Thomas Paine — Volume 4 (1794-1796): The Age of Reason
Paine, Thomas
Philosophy and religion; Political science; Rationalism
The space, therefore, in the air, or in the immensity of space, that
our solar system takes up for the several worlds to perform their
revolutions in round the Sun, is of the extent in a strait line of the
whole diameter of the orbit or circle in which Saturn moves round the
Sun, which being double his distance from the Sun, is fifteen hundred
and twenty-six million miles; and its circular extent is nearly five
thousand million; and its globical content is almost three thousand
five hundred million times three thousand five hundred million square
miles. [NOTE by Paine: If it should be asked, how can man know these
things? I have one plain answer to give, which is, that man knows how
to calculate an eclipse, and also how to calculate to a minute of time
when the planet Venus, in making her revolutions round the Sun, will
come in a strait line between our earth and the Sun, and will appear to
us about the size of a large pea passing across the face of the Sun.
This happens but twice in about a hundred years, at the distance of
about eight years from each other, and has happened twice in our time,
both of which were foreknown by calculation. It can also be known when
they will happen again for a thousand years to come, or to any other
portion of time. As therefore, man could not be able to do these things
if he did not understand the solar system, and the manner in which the
revolutions of the several planets or worlds are performed, the fact of
calculating an eclipse, or a transit of Venus, is a proof in point that
the knowledge exists; and as to a few thousand, or even a few million
miles, more or less, it makes scarcely any sensible difference in such
immense distances.—Author.]
But this, immense as it is, is only one system of worlds. Beyond this,
at a vast distance into space, far beyond all power of calculation, are
the stars called the fixed stars. They are called fixed, because they
have no revolutionary motion, as the six worlds or planets have that I
have been describing. Those fixed stars continue always at the same
distance from each other, and always in the same place, as the Sun does
in the center of our system. The probability, therefore, is that each
of those fixed stars is also a Sun, round which another system of
worlds or planets, though too remote for us to discover, performs its
revolutions, as our system of worlds does round our central Sun. By
this easy progression of ideas, the immensity of space will appear to
us to be filled with systems of worlds; and that no part of space lies
at waste, any more than any part of our globe of earth and water is
left unoccupied.
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