<p type="head">
<s>To the Mo&longs;t <lb/> Reverend Father <lb/> SEBASTIANO FANTONI, <lb/> <emph type="italics"/>General of the Order of<emph.end type="italics"/><lb/> CARMELITES.</s></p>
<p type="main">
<s>In obedience to the command of the No­<lb/> ble <emph type="italics"/>Signore Vincenzo Carraffa,<emph.end type="italics"/> a Neapo­<lb/> litan, and Knight of S. <emph type="italics"/>John of Jeru­<lb/> &longs;alem,<emph.end type="italics"/> (a per&longs;on, to &longs;peak the truth, of <lb/> &longs;o great Merit, that in him Nobility of <lb/> Birth, Affability of Manners, Univer&longs;al <lb/> knowledge of Arts and things, Piety <lb/> and Vertue do all contend for prehemi­<lb/> nence) I re&longs;olved with my &longs;elf to un­<lb/> dertake the Defence of the Writings of the New, or rather Re­<lb/> newed, and from the Du&longs;t of Oblivion (in which it hath long <lb/> lain hid) lately Revived Opinion, <emph type="italics"/>Of the Mobility of the Earth, <lb/> and Stability of the Sun,<emph.end type="italics"/> in times pa&longs;t found out fir&longs;t by <emph type="italics"/>Pytha­<lb/> goras,<emph.end type="italics"/> and at la&longs;t reduced into Practice by <emph type="italics"/>Copernicus<emph.end type="italics"/>; who like­<lb/> wi&longs;e hath deduced the Po&longs;ition of the Sy&longs;teme and Con&longs;titution <lb/> of the World and its parts from that Hypothe&longs;is: on which <lb/> Subject I have formerly writ to You, Mo&longs;t Reverend Sir: But <lb/> in regard I am bound for <emph type="italics"/>Rome<emph.end type="italics"/> to preach there by your Com­<lb/> mand; and &longs;ince this Speculation may &longs;eem more proper for a­<lb/> nother Treati&longs;e, to wit, a Volume of <emph type="italics"/>Co&longs;mography,<emph.end type="italics"/> which I am <lb/> in hand with, and which I am daily bu&longs;ie about, that it may <lb/> come forth in company with my <emph type="italics"/>Compendium of the Liberal Arts,<emph.end type="italics"/><lb/> which I have already fini&longs;hed, rather than now to di&longs;cu&longs;s it by it <lb/> &longs;elf, I thought to forbear, imparting what I have done for the <lb/> pre&longs;ent; Yet I was de&longs;irous to give, in the mean time, a brief ac­<lb/> count of this my Determination, and to &longs;hew You, Mo&longs;t Reve­<lb/> rend Father, (to whom I owe all my indeavours, and my very <lb/> &longs;elf) the Foundations on which this Opinion may be grounded, <lb/> lea&longs;t, whil&longs;t otherwi&longs;e it is favoured with much probability, it be <lb/> found in reality to be extreamly repugnant (as at fir&longs;t &longs;ight it
