Helisæus Ræslin censureth both, with Copernicus (whose Hypothesis de terræ motu, Philippus Lansbergius hath lately vindicated, and demonstrated with solid arguments in a just volume, Iansonius Cæsius hath illustrated in a sphere.) The said Iohannes Lansbergius, 1633. hath since defended his assertion against all the cavills and calumnies of Fromundus his Anti-Aristarchus, Baptista Morinus, and Petrus Bartholinus: Fromundus, 1634. hath written against him again, F. Rosseus of Aberdine, &c. (sound Drummes and Trumpets)

whilest Ræslin (I say) censures all, and Ptolomæus himself as unsufficient: one offends against naturall Philosophy, another against Optick principles, a third against Mathematicall, as not answering to Astronomicall observations: one puts a great space betwixt Saturnus Orbe and the eighth sphere, another too narrow. In his own hypothesis he makes the earth as before, the universall Center, the Sun to the five upper Planets, to the eighth sphere he ascribes diurnall motion, Eccentricks, and Epicycles to the seven Planets, which hath been formerly exploded; and so

Dum vitant stulti vitia in contraria currunt,

as a Tinker stops one hole and makes two, he corrects them, and doth worse himself: reformes some, and marres all.

In the mean time, the World is tossed in a blanket amongst them, they hoyse the earth up and down like a ball, make it stand and goe at their pleasures: One saith the Sun stands, another he moves; a third comes in, taking them all at rebound, and lest there should any paradox be wanting, he findes certain spots and clouds in the Sun, by the help of glasses, which multiply (saith Keplerus) a thing seen a thousand times bigger in plano, and makes it come 32. times neerer to the eye of the beholder: but see the demonstration of this glass in Tarde, by means of which, the Sun must turn round upon his own Center, or they about the Sun.

Fabritius puts onely three, and those in the Sun: Apelles 15. and those without the Sun, floating like the Cyanean Isles in the Euxine Sea. Tarde the Frenchman hath observed 33. and those neither spots nor clouds, as Galileus Epist. ad Velserum supposeth, but Planets Concentrick with the Sun, and not far from him with regular motions.

Christopher Shemer a German Suisser Jesuit, Vrsicâ Rosâ divides them in maculas & faculas, and will have them to be fixed in Solis superficie: and to absolve their periodicall and regular motion in 27. or 28. dayes, holding withall the rotation of the Sun upon his Center; and are all so confident, that they have made skemes and tables of their motions.

The Hollander in his dissertatiunculâ cum Apelle censures all; and thus they disagree amongst themselves, old and new, irreconcileable in their opinions; thus Aristarchus, thus Hipparchus, thus Ptolomæus, thus Albateginus, thus Alfraganus, thus Ticho, thus Ramerus, thus Ræslinus, thus Fracastorius, thus Copernicus and his adherents, thus Clavius and Maginus, &c. with their followers, vary and determine of these celestiall orbs and bodies;

and so whilest these men contend about the Sun and Moon, like the Philosophers in Lucian, it is to be feared, the Sun and Moon will hide themselves, and be as much offended as shee was with those, and send another message to Jupiter, by some new fangled Icaromenippus, to make an end of all those curious Controversies, and scatter them abroad.

But why should the Sun and Moon be angry, or take exceptions at Mathematicians and Philosophers? when as the like measure is offered unto God himself, by a company of Theologasters: they are not contented to see the Sun and Moon, measure their site and biggest distance in a glass, calculate their motions, or visit the Moon in a Poeticall fiction, or a dream, as he saith, Audax facinus & memorabile nunc incipiam, neque hoc sæculo usurpatum prius, quid in Lunæ regno hâc nocte gestum sit exponam, & quo nemo unquam nisi somniando pervenit, but he and Menippus:

or as Peter Cuneus, Bonâ fide agam, nihil eorum quæ scripturus sum, verum esse scitote, &c. quæ nec facta, nec futura sunt, dicam, stili tantum & ingenii causâ, not in jest, but in good earnest these gyganiticall Cyclopes will transcend spheres, heaven, stars, into that Empyrean heaven, soare higher yet, and see what God himself doth.

The Jewish Thalmudists take upon them to determine how God spends his whole time, sometimes playing with Leviathan, sometime over-seeing the world, &c. like Lucians Jupiter, that spent much of the year in painting butter-flies wings, and seeing who offered sacrifice; telling the houres when it should rain, how much snow should fall in such a place, which way the winde should stand in Greece, which way in Africk.

In the Turks Alcoran, Mahomet is taken up to heaven, upon a Pegasus sent a purpose from him, as he lay in bed with his wife, and after some conference with God is set on ground again. The Pagans paint him and mangle him after a thousand fashions; our Hereticks, Schismaticks, and some Schoolmen, come not far behind:

some paint him in the habit of an old man, and make Maps of heaven, number the Angels, tell their severall names, offices: some deny God and his providence, some take his office out of his hand, will binde and loose in heaven, release, pardon, forgive, and be quarter-master with him;

some call his Godhead in question, his power, and attributes, his mercy, justice, providence: they will know with Cecilius, why good and bad are punished together, war, fires, plagues infest all alike, why wicked men flourish, good are poor, in prison, sick, and ill at ease. Why doth he suffer so much mischief and evill to be done, if he be able to help? why doth he not assist good, or resist bad, reform our wills, if he be not the author of sin, and let such enormities be committed, unworthy of his knowledge, wisdome, government, mercy, and providence, why lets he all things be done by fortune and chance?

Others as prodigiously enquire after his omnipotency, an possit plures similes creare deos? an ex scarabæo deum? &c. & quo demum ruetis sacrificuli? Some, by visions and revelations, take upon them to be familiar with God, and to be of privie counsell with him; they will tell how many, and who shall be saved, when the world shall come to an end, what year, what moneth, and whatsoever else God hath reserved unto himself, and to his Angels.

Some again curious phantasticks, will know more than this, and enquire with Epicurus, what God did before the World was made? was he idle? Where did he bide? What did he make the world of? why did he then make it, and not before? If he made it new, or to have an end, how is he unchangeable, infinite? &c. Some will dispute, cavill, and object, as Iulian did of old, whom Cyrill confutes, as Simon Magus is fained to do, in that dialogue betwixt him and Peter: and Ammonius the Philosopher, in that dialogicall disputation with Zacharias the Christian.

If God be infinitely and only good, why should he alter or destroy the world? if he confound that which is good, how shall himself continue good? If he pull it down because evill, how shall he be free from the evill that made it evill? &c. with many such absurd and brainsick questions, intricacies, froth of humane wit, and excrements of curiosity, &c. which, as our Saviour told his inquisitive Disciples, are not fit for them to know.

But hoo! I am now gone quite out of sight, I am almost giddy with roving about: I could have ranged farther yet; but I am an infant, and not able to dive into these profundities, or sound these depths; not able to understand, much less to discuss. I leave the contemplation of these things to stronger wits, that have better ability, and happier leisure to wade into such Philosophicall mysteries: for put case I were as able as willing, yet what can one man do?