been a blind one, without contrivance or design, the sun would have been a body of the same kind with Saturn, Jupiter, and the earth; that is, without light and heat. Why there is one body in our system qualified to give light and heat to all the rest, I know no reason but because the Author of the system thought it convenient.” *

The great expounder of modern science, Humboldt, is equally explicit in enumerating the decisive marks of will and choice in the construction of our solar system; and in contemptuously dismissing the notion of creation by natural law or development, from the halls of science: "Up to the present time we are ignorant, as I have already remarked, of any internal necessity—any mechanical law of nature—which (like the beautiful law which connects the square of the periods of revolution with the cube of the major axis) represents the above-named ele. ments the absolute magnitude of the planets, their density, flattening at the poles, velocity of rotation, and presence or absence of moons-of the order of succession of the individual planetary bodies of each group in their dependence upon distances. Although the planet which is nearest to the sun is densest-even six or eight times denser than some of the exterior planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune-the order of succession in the case of Venus, the Earth, and Mars is very irregular. The absolute magnitudes do, generally, as Kepler has already observed, increase with the distances; but this does not hold good when the planets are considered individually. Mars is smaller than the earth: Uranus smaller than Saturn; Saturn smaller than Jupiter, and succeeds immediately to a host of planets which, on account of their smallness, are almost immeasurable. It is true the period of rotation generally increases with the distance from the sun; but it is in the case of Mars slower than in * Optics, iv. p. 438.

that of the earth; and slower in Saturn than in Jupiter." "Our knowledge of the primeval ages of the world's physical history does not extend sufficiently far to allow our depicting the present condition of things as one of development.'

4. Herschel's discoveries of the nebula, with their varied forms and spiral motions, and his speculation that they might possibly be the materials of worlds in process of condensation, give no support to the theory.

In the first place, Herschel never assumed any such absurdity as the existence of homogeneous matter as the materials of heterogeneous worlds like ours. He sup

posed his nebula to contain all the materials of worlds in the form of gas. This was the very reverse of the atheist's nebulæ, which must necessarily be homogeneous (or of only one kind of matter), as we shall presently see.

In the second place, the process of condensation, if such a process be in operation, has not generally resulted in the divergence of planetary systems with rings and satellites, as must have been the result of a physical law; but on the contrary, in the general formation of globular systems of mutually encircling and revolving suns, as contrary as possible to the requirements of the hypothesis. Sir John Herschel thus marks the difference between the fact and the theory: "If it is thus to be regarded as receiving the smallest support from any observed numerical relations which actually hold good among the elements of the planetary orbits, I beg leave to demur. Assuredly it receives no support from the observation of the effect of siderial aggregation, as exemplified in the formation of globular and elliptic clusters, supposing them to have resulted from such aggregation. For we see this cause working out in thousands of instances, to have resulted, not in the formation of a single large central body *Cosmos,.iii. p. 28; and iv. p. 425.

surrounded by a few smaller attendants, disposed in one plane around it, but in systems of infinitely greater complexity, consisting of multitudes of nearly equal luminaries, grouped together in a solid globular or elliptic form. So far, then, as any conclusion from our observations of nebulæ can go, the result of agglomerative tendencies may indeed be the formation of families of stars of a general and very striking character, but we see nothing to lead us to presume its further result to be the surrounding of those stars with planetary attendants.”*

It thus appears, from the testimony of the most eminent astronomers, that so far from the facts of our solar system giving any support to this theory, they are utterly opposed to it; neither the positions, magnitudes, densities nor revolutions of the planets, could by any possibility, have resulted from any such arrangement as La Place proposed. As to the other clusters in the heavens, which are supposed to have originated from condensing nebulæ, they have an entirely different appearance, and a construction as much the reverse of that of our solar system as it is possible to have in a system of rotation. Supposing the existence of a nebulous fluid, and the possibility of its rotation as proposed, the present solar system. could not have been produced by it. The friends of the Nebular Theory have, therefore, been obliged to reverse its arrangement, recently, to make it conform to the progress of science.

NEBULAR THEORISTS CHANGING BASE.

5. The theory as now advocated by Spencer, Comte, Helmholtz, Tyndall, and all its modern friends, is exceedingly different from that originally proposed by La Place. Its main features are thus presented in the American Cyclopædia: "Assuming, for the sake of the argument, a rare,

* Address to the British Association, 1845.

homogeneous, nebulous matter, widely diffused through space, the following successive changes will, on physical principles, take place in it: (1) Mutual gravitation of its atoms; (2) atomic repulsion; (3) evolution of heat, by overcoming this repulsion; (4) molecular combination, at a certain stage of condensation, followed by (5) sudden and great disengagement of heat; (6) lowering of the temperature by radiation, and consequent precipitation of binary atoms, aggregating into irregular flocculi, and floating in the rarer medium just as water when precipitated from air floats into clouds; (7) each flocculus will move toward the common centre of gravity of all, but being an irregular mass in a resisting medium, this motion will be out of the rectilineal, that is to say, not directly toward the centre of gravity, but toward one or the other side of it; and thus (8) a spiral movement will ensue which will be communicated to the rarer medium through which the flocculus is moving; and (9) a preponderating momentum and rotation of the whole mass in some one direction conveying its spirals toward the common centre of gravity."*

This, it will be seen, is just the reverse of La Place's action. He began with a red-hot nebula, and derived his power from its cooling; they begin with a cold nebula and proceed to heat it up by the power of gravitation. How immense the interval must be between a heat which originally held gold, and iron, and granite, not only melted but in vapor, and the cold of a nebula which required the compression of millions of miles to produce heat enough to keep water from freezing, we have no means of estimating; but that is the difference between the original inventors and the modern improvers of the nebular hypothesis. La Place's fire-mist cooled and condensed in the cooling, and so he made his last-formed planets, and the sun, the most condensed bodies of the system; * American Cyclopædia-Article, Nebular Hypothesis, xii. p. 158.

mi a few smaler attendants, disposed in one eri & systems of infinitely greater comMESSI: males of nearly equal luminaTrina sud globalar or elliptic form. Is y endinsion from our observations of

De la of agglomerative tendencies

De farmacon of families of stars of a gena miery scing haracter, but we see nothing to PAL & TASHe is fer res to be the surroundSU VÌ NY attendants.”*

I is versin de restiny of the most emiPers from the facts of our solar - Nga † support to this theory, they are utterly ONLY Cler de postos magnitudes, densiAs the pets, cold by any possibil

1

label from My such argement as La Place 718-4 3s 7 The scler tasters in the heavens, which SLOVÈ Tie irvanal from condensing nebulæ, ho has goner difere appearance, and a con

dhe ref that of our solar system Saste of rotation. SupANING IM FUN If a Tedious fil, and the possibilCASTS sed the present solar system The hare heat trained by The friends of the Nebular Theory have, therefore, been obliged to reverse its arrangement, recently, to make it conform to the

ILAR THEORISTS CHANGING BASE.

advocated by Spencer, Comte, Helmall its modern friends, is exceedingly originally proposed by La Place. Its bus presented in the American Cyclo

for the sake of the argument, a rare,