I have seen that Simplicius taketh pleasure with certain subtilties to puzzle his companions, I’ll demand of him whether, supposing for this time that the Earth standeth nonetheless, and the piece erected upon it perpendicularly, directed to our Zenith, he do in any respect query that to be the true perpendicular shot, and that the ball in departing, and in its return is to go by the identical right line, still supposing all external and accidental impediments to be eliminated? And thus, in the other argument, not contemplating that whil’st the stone is upon the Tower, it doth, as to transferring or not moving, the same that the Terrestrial Globe doth, as a result of you will have concluded together with your self, that the Earth stands nonetheless, you always discourse touching the fall of the stone, as if it were to depart from relaxation: whereas it behooveth to say, that if the Earth standeth still, the stone departeth from rest, and descendeth perpendicularly; but if the Earth do transfer, the stone likewise moveth with like velocity, nor doth it depart from rest, but from a motion equal to that of the Earth, wherewith it intermixeth the supervenient movement of descent, and of those two composeth a third which is transversal or side-methods.
It must be replied, that the goal altereth not at all, for if the mark doth stand nonetheless, the Piece additionally doth stand nonetheless, and if it, being transported by the Earths motion, doth transfer, the Piece doth additionally transfer at the same fee, and, the aim maintained, the shot proveth all the time true, as by what hath been stated above, is manifest. Sagr.Stay a little bit, I entreat you, Salviatus, until I’ve propounded a sure conceit touching these shooters of birds flying, whose proceeding I believe to be the identical which you relate, and believe the effect of hitting the hen doth likewise comply with: but yet I cannot think that act altogether conformable to this of taking pictures in nice Guns, which must hit as effectively when the piece and mark moveth, as once they each stand still; and these, for my part, are the particulars by which they disagree.
East; now it seemeth, that the ball must fall a like distance from the peice towards the West; the which doth not happen: subsequently the peice without having been moved did stay expecting the identical. But in case the Earth should transfer round, and consequently carry the piece together with it, in the time that the ball pushed out of the piece shall transfer along the cylinder, the piece being carried by the Earth, shall passe into the scenario DE, and the ball B, in going off, would be on the cornish D, and the motion of the bals centre, would have been in response to the line BD, now not perpendicular, but inclining in direction of the East; and the ball (as hath been concluded) being to proceed its movement through the air, in line with the route of the movement made in the piece, the said motion shall proceed on according to the inclination of the line BD, and so shall now not be perpendicular, but inclined in the direction of the East, to which part the piece doth also move; whereupon the ball may comply with the motion of the Earth, and of the piece.
If he would however do thus, he should see, first, that it might go in a direct line towards that time of the bottom of the vessel, whither it might tend, if the boat ought to stand still; & to his eye, and in relation to the vessel, that motion would seem most straight and perpendicular, and yet he couldn’t say, however that it can be composed of the best movement downwards, and of the circular in regards to the element of water. And now from this discourse allow us to come to grasp the explanation of a Venatorian Problem, of those Fowlers who with their guns shoot a fowl flying; and since I did imagine, that in regard the bird flieth a great pace, subsequently they should goal their shot removed from the bird, anticipating its flight for a sure house, and more or less in accordance with its velocity and the distance of the bird, that so the bullet hasting on to the mark aimed toward, it’d come to arrive at the self similar time in the identical level with its movement, and the bird with its flight, and by that means one to encounter the opposite: and asking certainly one of them, if their practise was not so to do; He advised me, no; but that the slight was very easie and sure, and that they took purpose just in the same method as if that they had shot at a bird that did sit still; that’s, they made the flying hen their mark, and by moving their fowling-piece they followed her, keeping their aim nonetheless full upon her, until such time as they let fly, and on this method shot her as they did others sitting nonetheless.