well received by the learned world. As to which reception hear the great Mr. John Lock, who speaks thus in his Letter to Mr. Molyneaux, concerning this my New Theory, foon after it was published: dated from Oates, Feb. 22, 1696. "You "defire to know what the opinion of the ingenious "is concerning Mr. Whifton's book. I have not "heard any one of my acquaintance speak of it, but "with great commendations, as I think it deferves, " and truly I think he is more to be admired that he has laid down an hypothefis whereby he has "explained fo many wonderful, and before inexpli"cable things in the great changes of this globe, "than that fome of them fhould not eafily go down "with fome men; when the whole was intirely new "to all. He is one of those fort of writers that I ડેટ always fancy fhould be most efteemed and en"couraged; I am always for the builders, who "bring fome addition to our knowledge, or, at "leaft, fome new thing to our thoughts." And tho' that great geometrician, Mr. John Keill, foon wrote fomewhat againft it twice, yet was it not till after fuch fair conceffions as defeated, in great measure, his own pretended confutations. However, I immediately reply'd twice; and the fubftance of thofe replies is inferted in their proper places, in the later editions: tho', indeed, the third edition had, by far, the greateft improvements: fince which, I have made very few alterations that are confiderable. In the New Theory, fifth edition, Lem. xii. page 13. read 3 innermoft fatellities-him. And the 4th is but a small matter eccentrical. Lem. xiii. in the figure, the letters tt at the focus, and at the end of the axis are wanting. Lem. xx. Corol. 4. read Saturn, and of Jupiter's Fourth planet about him. But his three innermoft fatellities revolving C4 Lem! Lem. xxx. Scholium 2. instead of the greatest part of that Scholium, read thus: but as to the fixed ftars, which are not reprefented in the figure, they are ftill fo vaftly more remote from the fun, that it is hardly certain that they are subject to any fenfible parallax at all, even not to that of the annual orbit itself. For altho' the great Hugenius, by a new and no very improbable method of conjecturing their distance in his Cofmotheorus, page 137, computed, that the nearest of them could not well be at a lefs diftance from the fun or from us then 27664 femidiameters of the Magnus Orbis, each of which femidiameters cannot well be much less than eighty millions of English ftatute miles, as we shall fee prefently. So that by this calculation, the neareft of the fixed ftars must be about 2,240,784,000, of miles from us: and altho' Dr. Hook's, and Mr. Flamstead's attempts to discover that parallax, did produce fomewhat more than one third of this diftance of thofe three ftars they tried; yet has Mr. Molyneaux's, and Dr. Bradley's much nicer, and more certain obfervations determined such annual parallax, to be hardly more than one fecond, which is fo very small a quantity, as to leave us in doubt, whether it is to be esteemed as at all fenfible, and to make us certain that the distance of thofe fixed ftars, which they tried cannot be less than 30,000,000,000,000 English miles: an amazing diftance this! and were not the evidence for it undeniable, as I think it is plainly incredible! but then, as to the nature of the fixed ftars. Lem. xxxii. Schol. inftead of its latter part, read, as Sir Ifaac Newton alfo did in his latter writing of this nature, I mean the Theory of the Moon, publifhed by Dr. Gregory; and has fuppofed the fun's parallax, 10"; and from this hypothefis I made thefe and the following calculations. Which therefore cannot be far from truth; tho' at laft he used Mr. Mr. Pound's and Mr. Bradley's mean quantity of 10, which would diminish the earth's distance from 81,000,000 to 77,000,000 miles, and the reft in proportion. But many of thefe and the following numbers may be ftill a fmall matter corrected from Dr. Smith's Opticks. Lem. lxxxii. Add in the margin, fig. 7, after Hypoth. IV. add. N. B. [Since my discovery of fome other ancient apocryphal fragments, or remains of ancient traditions, I have determined the place of Paradife more nicely, as near to the city of Damafcus_itself. See Authentic Records, page 883, 884, 885.] : Hypoth. VII. 6. page 131. read, That three of the four little planets, &c. After Hypoth. IX. 2. add. N. B. [When I re-examined the old chronology, and found that there was about 600 years more between the flood and Abraham, than the maforete Hebrew allows, I was forced to place Fobi, much later than the days of Noah, See Six Differtations, page 195-211.] Hypoth. XI. page 222, dele the latter half of the corollary, and read thus in its ftead; I formerly fuppofed the year before the flood to be only 360 days long, as it was in many places after the flood, and on that hypothefis have here made a calculation of the quantity of earth or water, that proceeded from the comet; which then amounted to a vaft magnitude. If any prefer the teftimony of Enoch, preferved by Syncellus, from Alexander Polybifter, Authentic Records, page 268, 269, which affures us that the year before the flood was juft 365 days; the calculation must be altered accordingly, and the quantity received from the comet will not be a 20th part of the former, or will be to that as 5h. 49m. 349. to 5d. 5h. 49m. 7549 only. In Corollary (3.) change the note, as directed page 452. Solut, Solut. LXXI. Coroll. 3. dele the latter 4 lines. Now to return a little backward; while I was refident at Cambridge, which I was in all about 17 years, I obferved great defects and diforders in the conftitution of our college of Clare-Hall; as alfo in that of the university in general. And I accordingly drew up two papers, the one under the title of Emendanda in Collegio, the other of Emendanda in Academia; the former paper, which was of less confequence, I have not preferved, but the latter of greater confequence I have by me, and, as improved a little afterward, ftood thus Verbatim. Emendanda in Academia. (See Parfons advice to a Roman catholick king of England.) All old ftatutes to be repealed: yet fo that their ufeful parts be taken into the new statutes; and the defigns of the founders preserved, as much as may be. The new ftatutes to be Few in number: Plain in words: Practicable in quality: No more than one civil oath, that of allegiance, to be impofed. Penalties, and not oaths, to be fecurities in all other cafes. No more than one ecclefiaftical fubfcription to be impofed, that to the original baptifmal profeffion; with the owning the facred authority of the books of the Old and New Testament; and this only on students in divinity. Civil authority and courts to be put into the hands of proper perfons, diftinct from the univerfity with one appeal to the judges, and all to be governed by the common law, Vifitors Vifitors to be appointed where there are none; but ftill with one appeal to the judges. Expences to be limited within certain bounds. Particular tutors in colleges to be appointed by the mafter, and to unite in common for the teaching that particular fcience they are best acquainted with. Public profeffors to confent to the mafter's appointment; and to be overfeers to all thofe tutors and pupils in their own faculties; and to examine the scholars ever year, to see what proficiency they have made the foregoing year. Rewards or privileges to be allotted to the best scholars upon fuch examination, and the grofly idle, ignorant, and vicious not to advance in ftanding, till they have made fome competent proficiency. All elections into scholarships and fellowships to be after open examination and trial, as to learning; as well as full teftimony as to morals. And the times for fuch election to be known long beforehand, and fixed in the ftatutes. Visitors may openly examine again upon complaints; and in notorious cafes may alter the election. Defert for learning and morals; fitness for the duty; and cæteris paribus, want the only qualifications for free elections, viz. in all fuch cafes as are without propriety. No perfons to interpofe to hinder the freedom of elections. And the procurers of letters from great men to be incapable. No prefent poffeffors to be difplaced; [upon a vifitation of the univerfity:] otherwise than according to their former ftatutes, or thofe of the realm, Fellowships to be annually diminished, if not vacated, after a certain number of years; excepting [heads of colleges] tutors, and pro feffors. |