" [Footnote:
Lecky, _Rationalism in Europe_, Vol. I, pp. 276-8.] It is clear
that he knew exactly what was expected of him, for he based all his
conclusions on the Scriptures as he read them. It appears, then, that
the world is a flat parallelogram, twice as broad from east to west as
it is long from north to south., In the center is the earth surrounded
by ocean, which is in turn surrounded by another earth, where men
lived before the deluge. This other earth was Noah's port of
embarkation. In the north is a high conical mountain around which
revolve the sun and moon. When the sun is behind the mountain it is
night. The sky is glued to the edges of the outer earth. It consists
of four high walls which meet in a concave roof, so that the earth is
the floor of the universe. There is an ocean on the other side of the
sky, constituting the "waters that are above the firmament." The space
between the celestial ocean and the ultimate roof of the universe
belongs to the blest. The space between the earth and sky is inhabited
by the angels. Finally, since St. Paul said that all men are made to
live upon the "face of the earth" how could they live on the back
where the Antipodes are supposed to be? With such a passage before
his eyes, a Christian, we are told, should not 'even speak of the
Antipodes.'" [Footnote: _Id._]
Far less should he go to the Antipodes; nor should any Christian
prince give him a ship to try; nor would any pious mariner wish to
try.
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