Conati; tum fphæram onerabunt mille figuris,
Multiplicefque operofi infcribent orbibus orbes,
His mundi centro appofitis, variantibus illis.
Hoc mihi jam facit augurium vox ista rogantis
Talia, (quem proles quondam ventura sequetur)
Credentifque nefas, quòd tantæ maxima lucis
Corpora corporibus reliquis, nec mole nec æquis
Lumine, fervitium præftent; cœlumque perenni
Ufque viam repetat curfu, dum pigra laborum
Terra capit fructus. Sed me jam difce magiftro,
Mole neque ingenti, claro nec lumine, rerum
Metiri pretium: tibi quanquam angufta videtur,
Si cœlum juxta afpicias, nec fplendida, tellus;
At folidi plus fortè boni frugifque beatæ
Ipfa tenet, quam fol fterili fplendore corufcans:
In fe folis enim poterit nil vivida virtus,
At lato terræ in gremio; jubar, inde vigorem
Concipiens, fovet omniparenti in corpore fœtus.
With centric and eccentric, fcribl'd o'er,
Cycle and epicycle, orb in orb.
Already by thy reasoning this I guess,
Who art to lead thy off-spring; and fuppofeft,
That bodies bright and greater, should not serve
The lefs not bright, nor heav'n fuch journeys
Earth fitting ftill, when fhe alone receives
The benefit. Confider firft, that great,
Or bright, infers not excellence: the earth
(Though, in comparison of heav'n, so small,
Nor gliftering,) may of folid good contain
More plenty than the fun, that barren fhines ;;
Whofe virtue on it self works no effect,
But in the fruitful earth: there first receiv'd,,
His beams (unactive elfe) their vigor find..
His neque luminibus jactet se terra; tibi alto
Terræ habitatori dona officiofa miniftrant.
Tum mentem patris augustam atque opera ampla loquatur Ambitus ille ingens cœli, cui linea tantis
Ufque adeò fpatiis in vaftum extenditur orbem.
Hinc fe difcat homo fua non habitare; domofque
Sufpiciat, quarum & mimimam vix parvulus implet
Incola particulam: reliqua adveneretur in ufus
Decreta arcanos, folus quos noverat auctor.
Quinetiam innumeris, cœlo quot confpicis, aftris
Præbuit hos rapidos illa Omnipotentia motus,
Quæ vel corporeis rebus fcit numine celfo
Ipfam animæque fugam atque alienas addere pennas.
Me neque enim lentum credis, qui mane recenti
Egreffus fuperâ arce, Dei penetralibus altis,
Ante diem medium Edeni loca læta tenebam,
Immemorabile per fpatium: his te vincere dictis
Yet not to earth are thofe bright luminaries
Officious; but to thee, earth's habitant.
And for the heav'n's wide circuit, let it speak
The Maker's high magnificence; who built
So fpacious, and his line ftretch'd out fo far;
That man may know he dwells not in his own;
An edifice too large for him to fill,
Lodg'd in a small partition; and the reft
Ordain'd for ufes to his Lord best known.
The swiftnefs of thofe circles attribute,
(Though numberlefs) to his Omnipotence,
That to corporeal fubftances could add
Speed almoft fpiritual. Me thou think'ft not flow,
Who fince the morning-hour fet out from heav'n,
Where God refides; and e'er mid-day arriv'd
In Eden: diftance inexpreffible
By numbers that have name! But this I urge,
Admitting motion in the heav'ns; to fhew
Aggredior, cœlum dubites ne poffe moveri.
Nec tamen id certum affirmo, fi tale videtur
Fortè tibi, has fedes terreftriaque arva colenti.
Sancta volens decreta humanos fallere fenfus
Omnipotens, cœlum amovit terreftribus oris
Longiùs: unde acies hominum, fublimia captans,
Erraret denfis nil profectura tenebris.
Quid, magno fi fol centrum se præbeat orbi,
Stellarumque aliæ, folis virtute fuâque
Attractæ, varios volvant circum undique gyros;
Jamque humiles, jamque evectæ fublime, vagentur,
Jam lateant; tum progreffæ, verfæ-ve retrorsum,
Aut fixæ ftatione fuâ? fex cernere tales
Eft tibi. Quid fi adeò feptenus terra planeta
Tergeminos, ftabilis quanquam atque immota videtur,
Haud tibi perceptos triplici rotet ordine motus;
(Quos aliter fphæris variis, hinc inde, neceffe eft
Ascribas, flexu obliquo in contraria raptis)
Invalid, that which thee to doubt it mov'd;
Not that I fo affirm, though fo it seem
To thee who haft thy dwelling here on earth,
God to remove his ways from human sense,
Plac'd heav'n from earth fo far, that earthly fight,
If it prefume, might err in things too high,
And no advantage gain. What if the fun
Be centre to the world; and other ftars
(B_y his attractive virtue, and their own,
Incited) dance about him various rounds?
Their wand'ring courfe now high, now low, then
hid,
Progreffive, retrograde, or ftanding ftill,
In fix thou feeft: and what if sev❜nth to these
The planet earth (fo ftedfast though the feem)
Infenfibly three different motions move?
Which else to several spheres thou must ascribe,
Mov'd contrary with thwart obliquities;
Sit labor ut foli nullus,`fuga nulla diurni
Nocturnique orbis, fine fine volubilis orbis,
Qui longe arcanâ fuper omnia fingitur astra
Evolviffe rotâ lucem alternafque tenebras ?
Quin pofcunt minus ista fidem, si sedula terra
Nocte diem petat ipfa, plagas dum tendit eoas;
Parte fuî & folem fugiat nocti obvia, clarum
Parte aliâ jubar atque objectos imbibat ignes.
Quid, fi lux purum hinc jaculata per aera lunæ
Terreftri ftellare jubar transmittat, & illi
Dona die referat, nocturnis quanta tenebris
Ipfa fibi trahit; haud incommoda dona vicissim,
Si fit ibi tellus, arva, arvorumque magiftri.
At lunæ in facie maculas, ceu nubila, lustras;
Nubila ferre imbres poffunt, imbrefque fovere
Mollito in gremio fruges, alimenta colonis
Indigenis. Solefque alios lunasque miniftras
Fors etiam afpicies; & luminą largius illos
Or fave the fun his labor, and that swift
Nocturnal and diurnal rhomb fuppos'd,
Invifible elfe above all stars, the wheel
Of day and night: which needs not thy belief,
If earth, industrious of her felf, fetch day
Travelling eaft; and with her part averfe
From the fun's beam, meet night: her other part
Still luminous by his ray. What if that light,
(Sent from her through the wide transpicuous air)
To the terreftrial moon be as a star,
Inlightning her by day, as she by night
This earth? reciprocal, if land be there,
Fields and inhabitants. Her spots thou feest
As clouds, and clouds may rain, and rain produce
Fruits in her foften'd foil, for some to eat
Allotted there: and other funs perhaps,
With their attendant moons, thou wilt descry,
Mafcula, fœminea has cernes dare: nam duo fexus
Ingentes animant corpus mundi omne, repleti
Fortè fuper varios variis viventibus orbes.
Namque vacare adeò populis spatia undique tanto
Vasta finu, tractus longè latèque jacentes,
Scilicet ut niteant tantùm; dum fingulus orbis
Vix tenuem mittat radium lucisque minutæ
Pallidulum jubar his terrai habitabilis oris,
Quæ lucem haud aliam reddit, non credere par est.
At quocunque ferant hæc fe ordine, solne fupremus
Tellurem, tellus folem-ne eat impigra circum;
Inchoet hic vultu radianti orientis ab oris
Flammeum iter; curfus-ne filentior illa ferenos
Hefperiis progreffa plagis intendat, & almis
Paffibus illabens, mollique volubilis axe
Te quoque cum tacitis furtim circumferat auris:
Ne fcrutare arcana. Deo fua rite remittas;
Communicating male and female, light:
Which two great sexes animate the world;
Stor'd in each orb, perhaps with fome that live.
For fuch vaft room in nature un-poffefs'd
By living foul, desert and defolate,
Only to shine, yet scarce to contribute
Each orb a glimpfe of light, convey'd fo far
Down to this habitable, which returns
Light back to them, is obvious to difpute.
But, whether thus these things, or whether not;
VOL. II.
Whether the fun, predominant in heav'n,
Rife on the earth; or earth rise on the fun :
He from the eaft his flaming rode begin;
Or fhe, from weft her filent course advance,
With inoffenfive pace (that fpinning fleeps
On her foft axle, while fhe paces ev'n,
And bears thee foft with the smooth air along)
Sollicit not thy thoughts with matters hid;
Leave them to God above; him serve, and fear!
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