of thofe great Stars are like the Sun, and that the Splendor and Light of the Sun, when its Diameter is contracted according to the aforefaid manner, will be only equal to that of the Dog-Star; but whether this be true or no, yet it is beyond all doubt that the fix'd Stars are very great, and that their Greatness and Diftance is not to be determined, fince the manner of inquiring into it can hardly be carried farther, according to the Opinion of great Mathematicians: See Gregory Schol. Prop. 55. Lib. 3. SECT. LIV. Convictions from the foregoing Ob- I HAVE oftentimes moft feriously reflected upon this Impoffibility of determining the Magnitude and Distance of the Stars as an Effect of the adorable Wisdom of their Great Creator; who knowing, that if they were capable of being meafured, how great foever the Extent thereof might be, yet from the Habitude and Cuftom of mentioning the fame, the Wonderfulness thereof would be much diminished: He therefore thought it necessary to make them immenfurable, and to put them out of the Reach of all human Endeavours, and likewife, to the end that those who defpile him might be forced in fpight of all their kicking against it, to confefs a Power to which they could fet no Bounds; and fince all their Learning could never fathom it, to live in a continual Aftonishment at it, as it happens moft commonly inrelation to things that pafs our Understanding. · SECT. LV, and LVI. The Stars Numberless, and Convictions from thence. Ar leaft the Divine Authority of the holy Scriptures is evident from hence, by which, even from the first Ages of the World, the Magnitude of the Stars are determined to be abfolutely infcrutable, and confequently fhewn even then where the Efforts of Men in following Ages fhould find their Bounds, notwithstanding their utmost Endeavours to the contrary. The Places upon which we have our Eye on this Occafion, are the Words of Job, chap. ix. ver. 9, 10. where having firft faid of the fixed Stars in the 9th Verse, which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the Chambers of the South, he continues in the 10th Verse to fay, which doeth great things paft finding out, yea and Wonders without number. From whence not only what has been faid before, of the Infcrutability of the Stars Magnitude may be inferr'd, but likewise, in order to prove the infinite Knowledge of that Spirit, by whofe Infpiration this Word is written, more plainly against all Unbelievers, we find it likewife litterally expreffed, that thofe Stars are not to be number'd, which could not have been irrefragably proved before our Times against any one that would have denied the fame. Befides the above quoted Text, this Innumerability of the Stars has been likewife afferted in feveral other Places of Scripture: Thus God fays to Abraham, in Gen. xv. 5. Look now toward Heaven, and tell the Stars, if thou be able to number them; and he faid unto him, fo fhall thy Seed be. And the Almighty does frequently make use of the fame Comparison to express the infinite Number of the Children of Ifrael, viz. Exod. xxxii. 13. Deut. i. 10.-X. 22. •xxviii. 62. Neh. ix. 23. and several others; befides, that that these thousands of Ifraelites are oftentimes compared likewife with the Sand of the Sea, as in Ifaiah x. 22. Hofeai. 10, &c. from whence it. appears at the same time, that the Number of the Stars is not only made as great, but likewise as innumerable as the Sands of the Sea, in the faid Holy Scriptures. Now it is known to all Aftronomers, that in order to pronounce fuch a great Number of Stars innumerable, or to compare the Number of Abraham's Children thereto, they could not be feen in the Heavens whilft they had no Ufe of Telescopes. Hipparchus, in his Catalogues of Stars, has tranfmitted to Posterity the Number of 1026; which, in our Age, has been increased to 1888, by the great Aftronomer Hevelius; among which are to be reckon❜d 950 that were known to the Ancients, 603 which he calls his, and 335 obferved by Dr. Halley in the Southern Parts of the Heavens, of which Dr. Gregory treats more largely, Lib.11. Sect. 29. but after that the Telescopes had discover'd that the great broad white Streak extending itself round the whole Heavens, and which, upon the Account of its Whiteness, they call the Milky-Way, was formed of a Collection of numberless little Stars, which Dr. Halley likewife teftifies of the Southern Magellanic Little Clouds: See Gregory, Lib. 11. Sect. 22. After that, as it appears from the afore-cited Place of Mr. Huygens, for one Star that we fee with our naked Eyes, feveral others offer themselves to the Telefcope; fo that according to the Remarks of Cherubin d'Orleans, p. 270, and 313, by the Help of the fame, in the only Conftellation of Orion (commonly called the Giant) more Stars, and according to the Obfervations of Rheita, related by Zahn, Fund.111. p. 209. twice as many fhew themfelves, as are feen by the Eye only in the whole Ddd 3 Heavens: Heavens: I fay, fince thefe Telescopical Obfervations, Aftronomers have loft all hopes of ever fixing the exact Number of the Stars, the rather, becaufe the more thofe Telefcopes are improved, the greater Number of Stars are feen; . infomuch, that fome, tho' without Foundation have maintained, that the Number of the Stars is infinite, as Mr. Huygens witneffes of Jordanus Brunus in his Cofmotheoros, p. 138; but to fay nothing more than what is true, this is certain, that the modern Obfervations made by the help of these Inftruments does fufficiently evince, that the Stars are not be counted. See Whifton. Prale. Aftron. p. 23. Now let an Infidel teli us how it is that Mofes and Job, if they had not been Divinely inspired, could in their Times have pronounced the Stars to be innumerable, fince it was fo many Ages after, that this exceffive Multitude upon the difcovery of Telescopes, has been experimentally known to Mankind. SECT. LVII. Whether the Stars differ in Magnitude. Now if we inquire into the Opinions of the greatest Mathematicians concerning the difference of Stars from one another, we find the moft able of 'em ingenuously confeffing, that it is perfectly unknown to them, whether all the Stars are of equal bignefs; infomuch that it is doubtful whether fome of 'em appear fmaller only upon the account of their being farther diftant from the Eye, or whether one Star is really bigger than another. The Apostle Paul does pofitively determine the Matter in thefe Words, 1 Cor. xv. 41. One Star differeth from another Star in Glory; and if I may be allowed to add fomething by which that Saying of the Apostle feems to be verified in fome man ner ner from Nature, I defire the Reader to confider with himself, whether it be not more credible, that one Star is bigger than another, than that they fhould all be of the fame bignefs, and at different Distances; fince we find by the Obfervations of the greatest Aftronomers, that it is certain enough that fome Stars have plainly alter'd their Magnitude, and become smaller : (See an account thereof in Gregory, Lib. II. Sect. 30.) for I cannot believe that any Body will afcribe this only and entirely to their removing to a greater Distance. Yet if fuch a thing could happen, he may be pleafed to pass this Reflection by, tho' otherwife the different Magnitude of the Planets feems in fome manner to lead to fuch an Opinion. SECT. LVIII. Alterations in the Fixed Stars. BEFORE I proceed any farther, I cannot forbear upon occafion of what we have already mention'd, to fay fomething of what has been obferved in the Heavens, with refpect to the Stars about an Age ago, and which has aftonifhed all the Aftronomers. Mr. Whifton in his Pralect, Aftron. p. 47. names it a very great and aftonishing Wonder, that must be tranfmitted or left to following Ages, without our being able to give any Solution thereof. That which is meant here, are thofe Alterations among the fixed Stars, that are ftill unintelligible to us, whereby we find that fome new ones. appear, and others that have been feen, do difappear; and a third fort fhew themfelves one time with more and another time with a leffer Luftre.. Hipparchus is faid to have obferved one; but in the Year 1572, we know that a new one appeared in the Chair of Caffiopea; in 1600 in the Brea Ddd 4 |