Sir Iſaac, riſing by Degrees to Diſcoveries which ſeem'd not to be form'd for the human Mind, is bold enough to compute the Quantity of Matter contain'd in the Sun and in every Planet; and in this Manner ſhows, from the ſimple Laws of Mechanicks, that every celeſtial Globe ought neceſſarily to be where it is plac'd.
His bare Principle of the Laws of Gravitation, accounts for all the apparent Inequalities in the Courſe of the celeſtial Globes. The Variations of the Moon are a neceſſary Conſequence of thoſe Laws. Moreover, the Reaſon is evidently ſeen why the Nodes of the Moon perform their Revolutions in nineteen Years, and thoſe of the Earth in about twenty ſix Thouſand. The ſeveral Appearances obſerv'd in the Tides, are alſo a very ſimple Effect of this Attraction. The Proximity of the Moon when at the full, and when it is new, and its Diſtance in the Quadratures or Quarters combin'd with the Action of the Sun, exhibit a ſenſible Reaſon why the Ocean ſwells and ſinks.
