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the Sine of the Arch DH and its Cofine: and because the Arches HE, HD, are equal, it is plain the force of the streams of the fluid particles whereby they will endeayour to turn the Circle round its Axis must alfo be equal; but they being contrary one to another will hinder the action of each other in turning the Circle round. Just so whatever is the force of the particles of the fluid which falls upon any point in turning the Circle round from H by E and F there is another force which is equal to it, and endeavours to move the Circle the contrary way from H to D and L, which two forces will hinder each others effect in turning the Circle round; the fame thing is true of all the Circles that are parallel to the Ecliptick; and therefore the motion of the fluid has no fort of effect upon the Sphere to turn it round an Axis perpendicular to the Axis of the Ecliptick. But notwithstanding its own motion and the motion of the fluid, it will remain indifferent to move round any of its Diameters as an Axis, the fluid having no effect in making it turn round one Diameter more than another.

I found fault with the Theorift for faying the Earth was inclin'd to the Ecliptick, it being impoffible to conceive how a Sphere can be inclin'd to a Plane, paffing thro' its Center as the Ecliptick does thro' the Center of the Earth. The Defender endeavours to excufe himself in this matter, telling us, it is e

the

the expreffion of the ancient Philofophers, tho' he thinks it may be properly called an obliquation.

I would not have him raise a scandal on the ancient Philofophers without good grounds, which I fcarce believe he has for his affertion ; yet if they faid any fuch thing, I did not think that the Theorist was fo great an admirer of the old Philofophers, that in complaifance to them he would have spoken nonsense.

He tells me that Situs rectus is another expreffion I quarrel with; really tho' perhaps it is not very proper, I do not remember that I any where found fault with it; and he might have spared himself the trouble of citing a paffage out of Hugens nothing to his purpose, for Monf. Hugens who always fpeaks fenfe, does not fay that Jupiter himself but that his Axis is right to the Plane of his Orbit. But tho' the Defender endeavours to excuse the Theorift for his improprieties of expreffion, yet he paffes over without any excufe the great error which he made in affigning the cause of the fuppos'd change of pofition, which the Earths Axis fuffer'd at the Deluge.

The Theorift faid, that at first the Earth was equally pois'd, and therefore he thought it must keep its Axis fteady and parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick; but at the Deluge it loft the Equilibration as he calls it, and one end or Pole becoming heavier than the other, the heaviest end inclin'd towards the

Sun,

Sun, in which faid pofture he says the Earth has ever fince continu'd. I must acknowledge that I could not read this without fome indignation, and am afham'd to find one who pretends to give a Mechanical account of the Creation, and of the changes the World has fince underwent, difcourfe in fo crude a manner, that it may clearly be feen that he has not fo much as a common infight into that learning, which would have taught him the prefent pofture of the Earth and its Axis. For I fhew'd in the Examination, that every one that understood the Elements of the new Aftronomy, knew perfectly that one Pole of the Earth was not more inclin'd to the Sun than another; and that if fuch a change had really happen'd to the Earth, viz. that one Pole of it had become heavier than the other, that Pole had always inclin❜d to the Sun and made à perpetual Summer in all the places of the Hemifphere, while the other enjoy'd a continual Winter; and because no fuch thing happen'd, but both the Poles were equally inclin❜d to the Sun, it was a demonftration that no fuch change of Gravitation happen'd to the Earth. The Defender is pleas'd to take no notice of this argument, and yet has the confidence to affert that, he thinks the Theorift's reafons very probable for the causes of the fuppos'd change of the pofition of the Earths Axis.

But

But the Theorist in the laft Edition of his English Theory, feems to have found out another caufe which he thinks in fome measure contributed to the change of the Earth's position, and that it is the change of the Direction of the Magnetick particles, which he fays followed upon the diffolution of the Earth. But before we can know if this would do, we must discover what these Magnetick particles are, what their direction is, what it was before the Deluge, what afterwards, how it came to be chang'd, and how this change produced a change in the position of the Earths Axis. And till he pretend to give a Mechanical account of these things, he can no more expect a diftin&t anfwer from me, than if he had faid all this had been done by fome occult quality. For loofe and general Harangues about Effluviums, Particles, fubtle Matter, Modes and Motions, fignify very little more to explain Nature, than the Qualities and Attractions of the old Philofophers, (whom the Theorist upon this account fo often derides) 'tis indeed but another fort of Cant, and affords as little fatisfaction to the mind. Before I proceed any further, I must own I was mistaken when I faid, that the Axis of Jupiter was oblique to the Plane of its Orbit. In reading of Hugen's Syftema Saturninum, I remember'd that this pofition was affirm'd of Saturn, and I thought that I had read there that Jupiter had a like pofition, which I

wrote

wrote down without confulting the Book it felf, which I had not then by me.

The Defender has miftaken my meaning, when he imagines I faid, that according to to the Theorist both Jupiter and Saturn were Antediluvian Planets; for the particle whom in the parenthefis, refers only to Jupiter, tho' in the mean time I own the expreffion is ambiguous, and may refer to both.

At laft the Defender comes to give us a fhort account of the Theorift's Creed as to this point, which he conceives to be thus, The Earth was at firft in an even and parallel pofture with the Axis of the Sun, or (as he explains himself in the 2d. Page of his Refletions) its Axis was not oblique to the Axis of the Sun or the Ecliptick, but lay parallel with the Axis of the Sun, and perpendicular to the Plane of the Ecliptick. Then the Earth had a perpetual Equinox and unity of Seafons, and the Heavens and fixed Stars moved uniformly and concentrically with the Earth; but when the Earth changed its pofture into that which it has now, it had the pofition of its Axis changed into a parallelifm with the Axis of the Equator, and the Heavens feem'd to turn round upon another Axis different from thofe of the Sun or the Earth. I must beg this Author's leave to fay, that he has grofly misreprefented the Theorift, who, fo far as I can discover never expreffed himfelf to any fuch purpose. I thought that there were already errors enough in this Theory, fo that he needed not have made them more

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