The Hartlib Papers

those shapes of Armes on King bowe: but afterwards in his expresse dissertation de Saturni facie, pag pag 30 in an appendant Scheme Hee does perfectly salve all the Phænomena of Saturne in all changes, & motions, & with such cleare appearances of reasone, That it could not possibly bee refuted by any other meanes, than of a better Telescope. And hence wee may see, That a good Telescope does more than any diligence or skill in Astronomy. And nowe let us provoke the Iesuites to transport the best Telescopes to their Peru, & other Southerne plantations, And from thence to make their discoveryes, [deletion] And from the Æquinocticall Habitations, where the heavens are clearer, or more painted, & the stars more conspicuous, as Mr Ligon tells us from Barbados. From the advantage they had by the serenity of the brighter heavens, The Caldeans & Ægyptians were of old encouraged to bee more skillfull in the stars than other nations; And wee Britaines are by the witty Iulius Scaliger condemnd to the muddy heavens; And the Spanish Embassadour bad buonas nochas to the Sun, when hee was sent for England: Will not the noble Oxonians redeeme us from this Infamy? Non tam aversus equos nostram Sol vertit ab urbe.

And to help this & other Speculations, I would gladly heare from the other pole; Howe the Magnet & needle doe behave themselves there; whether in the changeable variation, They are soe apt to say, Nos fuimus Troes. Is it not possible by exaltation & more universall application of Magneticall [deletion] Instruments of divers sortes to bee at more certainty concerning the inequalytyes of the Terrestriall globe. If I were a ranke penman, to provoke the more severe inquisition, I would take up this paradox. That this globe wanted soe much of a true rotundity, That it did neerer approach to that kind of ovall, which is the delight of the Magnete, & more blunt towards the one pole, than towards the other. Wee doe generally assume it, That in our Northerne pole, wee have more earth, more men, more stars, & more day & (as the Popes were wont to observe) more devills too, for they say, Omne malum ab Aquilone: Whence wee may better infer more good Angells: And Dr Ridley collects, That the Pole of the magnet, which seateth it selfe North, is allwayes the most vigourous & strong pole to all intents & purposes. But, Dr Browne assuring (Paradox lib.2. c.3.) That beyond

the Equator, The Southerne point is Soveraigne, & that therefore man should not accompt the variation by the diversion of the Northerne point, Wee should bee willing to heare on both eares from both the poles. And why should wee presume a more perfect smoothnesse & rotundity in the Earth than can in other Planetary or starry globes? For by the most accurate inspection of Hevelius Selen: pag 267 &c The hills & rockes of our next neighbour the moone are neerer the height of 24 English miles <from the next vale>, Than any of our Terrestriall mountaines of Caucasus, Atlas Atlas et pico &c are to the height of 2 <two> English miles; & their extent of like proportion, which must bee a greate defacement of rotundity, if wee consider howe much our Terrestiall globe is larger than the Lunar globe. And all the Planets, largest stars & the Sun himselfe are discovered to fayle of perfect rotundity; And the obliquity of Mans is notorious. This mee thinkes deserves as much wonder for his constant halfe-orbe, or quoitish semi-circle, as Satarne for his arched elboes. I doubt, whether our comon pebbles, or at least Gafferells Gamahes may not prove as round [left margin:] as the stars, putting the earth in the number of stars & comparing the one with the other all along: For I expect noe more perfect [catchword: lines]

have beene lately found to bee earthlike Masses soe wee shall shortly knowe That Magicians & Witches have contracted their familiarity with spirits earthly, aereall, & minerall, That are of a base alloy, but our Lord hath made his Angels Spirits, & his Ministers a Flame of fire.

so unwilling to allowe some fewe graynes of weight to a well corrected modell of Astrology.

-rituall guardians & agitators of Minerall affayres, have bodyes fit for to negotiate & travayle through the ayre, & amongst Mineralls.

It wilbe called Proiect-money, And that is poysone enough to assault Apollo. But if Newe England should begin the adventure, It will deserve to have the firste fruites of the blessing. I confesse a ielousy & zeale, That it should not fall into their hands, who make too much haste to set up a fifth Monarchy by carnall weapons, & by a carnall attempt against Civill Governement. But surely there is a day in which God will bring gold for brasse, for iron sylver &c.

to bee my best Orator.