Wesley Corpus

(1) 'The Earth is spherical, opaque, enlightened by the Sun, casting a shadow opposite thereto, and revolving round it in a time exactly proportioned to its distance. The other planets resemble the Earth in all these particulars. Therefore they likewise are inhabited.' I cannot allow the consequence. (2) 'The Earth has a regular succession of day and night, summer and winter. So probably have all the planets. Therefore they are inhabited.' I am not sure of the antecedent. But, however that be, I deny the consequence. (3) 'Jupiter and Saturn are much bigger than the Earth.' Does this prove that they are inhabited (4) 'The Earth has a moon, Jupiter has four, Saturn five, each of these larger than ours. They eclipse their respective planets, and are eclipsed by them.' All this does not prove that they are inhabited. (5) 'Saturn's ring reflects the light of the Sun upon him.' I am not sure of that. And, till the fact is ascertained, no certain inference can be drawn from it. (6) 'But is it probable God should have created planets like our own and furnished them with such amazing apparatus, and yet have placed no inhabitants therein' Of their apparatus I know nothing. However, if all you assert be the probability of their being inhabited, I contend not. (7) 'They who affirm that God created those bodies, the fixed stars, only to give us a small, dim light, must have a very mean opinion of the divine wisdom.' I do not affirm this; neither can I tell for what other end He created them: He that created them knows. But I have so high an opinion of the divine wisdom that I believe no child of man can fathom it. It is our wisdom to be very wary how we pronounce concerning things which we have not seen. Remark 3. 'Suppose some intelligent beings in one of the planets, who were Slaves to no sect, who sought no private road, But looked through nature up to nature's God, [Pope's Essay on Man, iv. 331-2.] viewed the Earth from thence; they would argue it must be inhabited, as we argue the other planets are. But the superstitious would oppose this doctrine, and call it mere uncertain conjecture.'