Post by richlion on Jun 16, 2015 12:05:54 GMT -8
By John T. Lawson
The circular plane of the earth and ocean an immense sun-dial, witnessing to its own level and immobility.
I The position of the sun in the firmament in relation to his diurnal course indicates the time of day. The meridians are straight lines from the north centre and diverge more and more southwards, are 24 in number, corresponding with the 24 hours of the day. The terrestrial surface is the dial plate. The time of day advances according to the progress of the sun in the firmament. The sun moves from east to west and comes round to the same point in 24 hours, thus completing a circular path above a stationary, planetary earth. A man looks, yes actually sees the sun move in an arc of a circle, and in so watching the progress of the sun his eye-line is something like the finger on the earth-dial. During the summer solstice he sees the sun rise a little north of east, then passes on to east, south-east, then to the meridian, then south by west, south-west, west, next sets a little north of west'. A man watching the sun in its daily course, measures very nearly two-thirds of the circle, both of the earth plane and of the firmamental path of the sun.
The motion of the shadow on the sun dial in some part of a circle or curve around the column is caused by the motion of the sun in an arc of a circle, in the same way as the shadow of a narrow bottle in a kind of curve on a table is caused by moving a light in a circle around the bottle. The motion of the shadow on one side the bottle corresponds with the motion of the light on the other. The light moves in both cases and the surface on which the shadow is cast is stationary in both cases. Our own body may serve as a column to cast the shadow. That the earth is a plane was believed by the ancients. Yes, was believed by men for 5,500 years. Narrien in his history of astronomy says; “ The accounts collected from the most ancient authors concerning the nature of the universe coincide nearly with each other in representing the earth as a plane, bounded on its whole circumference by an ocean of vast extent.
There is more to this but this is all for now. Thanks for reading.