And that this noble Creature of God is of this Extent,[g] is manifest from our seeing some of the farthest distant Objects, the heavenly Bodies, some with our naked Eye, some with the help of Optical Instruments, and others in all Probability farther and farther, with better and better Instruments: And had we Instruments of Power equivalent to the Extent of Light, the luminous Bodies of the utmost Parts of the Universe, would for the same Reason be visible too.
Now as Light is of greatest Use to impower us to see Objects at all, so the Extension thereof is no less useful to enable us to see Objects afar off. By which means we are afforded a Ken of those many glorious Works of the infinite Creator, visible in the Heavens, and can improve them to some of the noblest Sciences, and most excellent Uses of our own Globe.
FOOTNOTES:
[a] It is not worth while to enumerate the Opinions of the Aristotelians, Cartesians, and others, about the Nature of Light, Aristotle making it a Quality; Cartes a Pulsion, or Motion of the Globules of the second Element, Vid. Cartes Princip. p. 3. §. 55, &c. But with the Moderns, I take Light to consist of material Particles, propagated from the Sun, and other luminous Bodies, not instantaneously, but in time, according to the Notes following in this Chapter. But not to insist upon other Arguments for the Proof of it, our noble Founder hath proved the Materiality of Light and Heat, from actual Experiments on Silver, Copper, Tin, Lead, Spelter, Iron, Tutenage, and other Bodies, exposed (both naked and closely shut up) to the Fire: All which were constantly found to receive an Increment of Weight. I wish he could have met with a favourable Season to have tried his Experiments with the Sun-beams as he intended. Vid. Boyl Exp. to make Fire and Flame ponderable.
[] Astro-Theol. Book 7.
[c] Gen. i. 3. And God said, Let there be Light, and there was Light.
[d] It may not be ungrateful to the Curious, to take notice of the Velocity of these two Things.
According to the Observations of Mersennus, a Bullet-shot out of a great Gun, flies 92 Fathom in a Second of Time, (Vid. Mersen. Balist.) which is equal to 589½ Feet English, and according to the Computation of Mr. Huygens, it would be 25 years in passing from the Earth to the Sun. But according to my own Observations made with one of her Majesty’s Sakers, and a very accurate Pendulum-Chronometer, a Bullet, at its first Discharge, flies 510 Yards in five half Seconds, which is a Mile in a little above 17 half Seconds. And allowing the Sun’s Distance to be, as in [the next Note], a Bullet would be 32½ Years in flying with its utmost Velocity to the Sun.
As to the Velocity of Sound, see [Book 4. Chap. 3. Note 28.] according to which rate there mentioned, a Sound would be near 17½ Years in flying as far as the distance is from the Earth to the Sun. Confer here the Experiments of the Acad. del Ciment. p. 140, &c.
[e] Mr. Romer’s ingenious Hypothesis about the Velocity of Light, hath been established by the Royal Academy, and in the Observatory for eight Years, as our Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 136. observe from the Journ. des Scavans; our most eminent Astronomers also in England admit it: But Dr. Hook thinks with Monsieur Cartes, the Motion of Light Instantaneous, Hook Post. Works, pag. 77. And this he endeavours to explain, pag. 130, &c.