The various Appearances of the Planets themselves to us at the Earth, may also well enough be had, if through Glasses analagous to their respective Distance and Magnitude, we look at the Moon, particularly all the Phases of Venus, and even of Mercury, and the Gibosity of Mars, &c. may be justly and beautifully represented at different Ages of the Moon, as those Planets appear through the largest and best Telescopes.
This Way you may convince even your Friend * * *, who you tell me has reasoned all his Senses useless, and yet continues so great an Atheist in Astronomy, as not to believe the World turns round upon its Axis, though he gives no better Reason for it than that of his not being giddy.
After all these Arguments, I hope no new Difficulties will arise to retard your Belief, or deprive the Stars of their solar Nature, so justly due to them: This Point gained, the next Thing to be considered is, whether all those glorious Bodies, the far greater Part of whom being invisible to the naked Eye, were made purely and purposely for the sole Use of this diminitive World, our little trifling Earth.
——Men, conceited Lords of all,
Walk proudly o'er this pendent Ball,
Fond of their little Spot below,
Nor greater Beings care to know,
But think those Worlds, which deck the Skies,
Were only form'd to please their Eyes.
The very Supposition not only implies a profound Ignorance of the Divine Attributes, but is as impious, and full of Vanity, as it is erroneous and absurd, and even a Blindness sufficient of itself, were there no other Cause for it, to introduce Idolatry in the Minds of Mortals, by sinking the divine Nature so near to the human.