itself and all others, and hence is motionless as the place in
the universe to which the motion and position of all other stars
is referred.

"Then follows the outermost planet, Saturn, which completes its
revolution around the sun in thirty years; next comes Jupiter
with a twelve years' revolution; then Mars, which completes its
course in two years. The fourth one in order is the yearly
revolution which includes the earth with the moon's orbit as an
epicycle. In the fifth place is Venus with a revolution of nine
months. The sixth place is taken by Mercury, which completes its
course in eighty days. In the middle of all stands the sun, and
who could wish to place the lamp of this most beautiful temple in
another or better place. Thus, in fact, the sun, seated upon the
royal throne, controls the family of the stars which circle
around him. We find in their order a harmonious connection which
cannot be found elsewhere. Here the attentive observer can see
why the waxing and waning of Jupiter seems greater than with
Saturn and smaller than with Mars, and again greater with Venus
than with Mercury. Also, why Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars are nearer
to the earth when they rise in the evening than when they
disappear in the rays of the sun. More prominently, however, is
it seen in the case of Mars, which when it appears in the heavens
at night, seems to equal Jupiter in size, but soon afterwards is
found among the stars of second magnitude. All of this results
from the same cause--namely, from the earth's motion. The fact
that nothing of this is to be seen in the case of the fixed stars
is a proof of their immeasurable distance, which makes even the
orbit of yearly motion or its counterpart invisible to us."[1]