The Figures of the Constellations onely fancied
The pictures in the stars are only drawn by us. A surprisingly modern moment.
[p. 20] These are the Stars which scattered o'er the PoleIn different Places fixt complete the Whole;But raise thy thought from sense, nor think to findSuch Figures there, as are in Globes design'd;Nor think that Stars set close compose the Frames,Or that the Signs are all continued Flames.For then we soon should see the World expire,Frail Nature could not bear so great a Fire;Some Places vacant conscious of her StateShe leaves, unable for so vast a Heat.For 'tis her kind intent alone to showBy certain Stars, those Signs that rule below;Such notice give, and such fair hints impart;As Men may take, and may improve to Art:
The Stars mark out the Shapes, the lower BeamsAnswer the high, the middle the extremes.Fansie those parts that lie obscur'd between,For 'tis enough that some of them are seen:But chiefly then when Cynthia's beams are clear,And full, but few, though still the same, appear;And whilst the vulgar fly, their place possess;Nor lose their Light, nor mingle with the Less.Yet these still keep one Course, They still pursueTheir constant track nor vary in a New.From one fixt point they start, their Course maintain,Repeat their whirl, and visit it again:And this is strange, and this doth more surprizeThan all the other wonders of the Skies,That such unwieldy frames their signs should draw,As mov'd by Reason, and confin'd by Law,No change in distance nor in site appear,Though great their Number, long the rolling year.
In the app the old words open a note in the margin when you tap them, the old books read the planets of your own chart, and each book opens where you left it. Free, no account, no email.
14160+ people cast their chart here in the last 30 days.
Keep reading
The text is Thomas Creech's 1697 verse translation, checked word by word between three scans of the same type (the 1697 printing, the 1700 printing and a third copy). The long s is printed as s; every other spelling is Creech's. Pages are cited as the 1697 printing numbers them. The portrait is William Marshall’s engraving of Lilly from the front of the 1659 printing (Wellcome Library, public domain).