Archimedes Texts

109
with the same charge, and at the same elevation or disport towards
the West, the range towards the West should be very much grea
ter then the other towards the East: for that whil'st the ball goeth
Westward, and the Peece is carried along by the Earth Eastward,
the ball will fall from the Peece as far distant as is the aggregate of
the two motions, one made by it self towards the West, and the
other by the Peece carried about by the Earth towards the East;
and on the contrary, from the range of the ball shot Eastward you
are to substract the space the Peece moved, being carried after it.
Now suppose, for example, that the range of the ball shot West
were five miles, and that the Earth in the same parallel and in the
time of the Bals ranging should remove three miles, the Ball in this
case would fall eight miles distant from the Culverin, namely, its
own five Westward, and the Culverins three miles Eastward: but
the range of the shot towards the East would be but two miles
long, for so much is the remainder, after you have substracted
from the five miles of the range, the three miles which the Peece
had moved towards the same part. But experience sheweth the
Ranges to be equal, therefore the Culverin, and consequently the
Earth are immoveable. And the stability of the Earth is no lesfe

confirmed by two other shots made North and South; for they
would never hit the mark, but the Ranges would be alwayes wide,
or towards the West, by meanes of the remove the mark would
make, being carried along with the Earth towards the East, whil'st
the ball is flying. And not onely shots made by the Meridians,

but also those aimed East or West would prove uncertain; for
those aim'd East would be too high, and those directed West too
low, although they were shot point blank, as I said. For the
Range of the Ball in both the shots being made by the Tangent,
that is, by a line parallel to the Horizon, and being that in the di
urnal motion, if it be of the Earth, the Horizon goeth continually
descending towards the East, and rising from the West (therefore
the Oriental Stars seem to rise, and the Occidental to decline) so
that the Oriental mark would descend below the aime, and there
upon the shot would fly too high, and the ascending of the West
ern mark would make the shot aimed that way range too low; so
that the Peece would never carry true towards any point; and for
that experience telleth us the contrary, it is requisite to say, that
the Earth is immoveable.

Which is confir
med by the experi
ment of a body let
fall from the round
top of a Ship.

The third argu
ment taken from
the shots of a Can
non, towards the
East, and towards
the West.

This argument
is confirmed by two
shots towards the
South and towards
the North.

And it is like
wise confirmed by
two shots towards
the East, and to
wards the West.

SIMPL. These are solid reasons, and such as I believe no man
can answer.

SALV. Perhaps they are new to you?

SIMPL. Really they are; and now I see with how many ad
mirable experiments Nature is pleased to favour us, wherewith to
assist us in the knowledge of the Truth. Oh! how exactly one