Salusbury, Thomas Mathematical collections and translations 1667

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Now to see my whole proceeding, we may begin from these
calculations, which are four, omitted by the Author, perhaps be­
cause they make against him, in regard they place the star above
the moon by many semidiameters of the Earth. The first of
which is this, computed upon the observations of the Landgrave of
Hassia, and Tycho; which are, even by the Authors concession,
two of the most exact observers: and in this first, I will declare
the order that I hold in the working; which shall serve for all the
rest, in that they are all made by the same rule, not varying in any
thing, save in the quantity of the given summes, that is, in the
number of the degrees of the Poles altitude, and of the new Stars
elevation above the Horizon, the distance of which from the cen­
tre of the Earth, in proportion to the semidiameter of the terre­
strial Globe is sought, touching which it nothing imports in this
case, to know how many miles that semidiameter conteineth;
whereupon the resolving that, and the distance of places where
the observations were made, as this Author doth, is but time and
labour lost; nor do I know why he hath made the same, and espe­
cially why at the last he goeth about to reduce the miles found, in­
to semidiameters of the Terrestrial Globe.

SIMP. Perhaps he doth this to finde with such small measures,
and with their fractions the distance of the Star terminated to three
or four inches; for we that do not understand your rules of Arith­
metick, are stupified in hearing your conclusions; as for instance,
whilst we read; Therefore the new Star or Comet was distant
from the Earths centre three hundred seventy and three thousand
eight hundred and seven miles; and moreover, two hundred and
eleven, four chousand ninety sevenths 373807 211/4097, and upon these
precise punctualities, wherein you take notice of such small mat­
ters, we do conceive it to be impossible, that you, who in our cal­
culations keep an account of an inch, can at the close deceive us so
much as an hundred miles.

SALV. This your reason and excuse would passe for currant,
if in a distance of thousands of miles, a yard over or under were
of any great moment, and if the suppositions that we take for
true, were so certain, as that they could assure us of producing an
indubitable truth in the conclusion; but here you see in the twelve
workings of the Author, the distances of the Star, which from
them one may conclude to have been different from each other,
(and therefore wide of the truth) for many hundreds and thou­
sands of miles: now whilst that I am more than certain, that that
which I seek must needs differ from the truth by hundreds of miles,
to what purppse is it to be so curious in our calculations, for fear
of missing the quantity of an inch? But let us proceed, at last,
to the working, which I resolve in this manner. Tycho, as may be