Tre | 
On the Formation of the Universe. 129 
vn 
ual motion of the satellites; and the relative position of the 
orbit of Mercury and the equator of the sun, as well as a va- 
riety of other useful suggestions, I am indebted to Mr. Fish- 
er, the late able Professor of Mathematics and¥Philosophy in 
Yale College; and while with the remembrance of his 
former assistance, I mingle regret that he was not permitted 
privately, as he intended, to lay the following speculations 
before European minds powerful and acute like his own, 
and to aid further in rendering them more lucid and satis- 
factory ; I cannot omit to add, that America, and the world 
have great reason to regret the premature and tragical death 
of this distinguished young man. 
n the examination of the ‘solar and the stellar systems, 
various phenomena occur, which are much too regular to be 
considered the pure effects of accident, while on the other 
hand, they are not sufficiently so to be attributed to the im- 
mediate operations of an intelligent designing agent. To 
such operations they have heretofore been attributed, 
because, on any other ground, they seemed utterly in - 
cable, and the ends aimed atin their existence have been ta- 
ken for granted, although the human mind could discover 
nothing respecting them. Of these phenomena the most ob- 
vious are, : 
1. The primitive parts of the earth, so far as they have 
been examined, are apparently the result of purely chemi- 
eal precipitation. There are sufficient reasons to believe, that 
the quantity of water above their surface has been very great- 
ly diminished. 
2. The sun revolves on its axis, and all the planets in 
their orbits, in the same direction, and nearly in the same 
plane: and likewise all the planets that have satellites, re- 
volve on their axes in the same direction as their satellites in 
their orbits, and nearly in the same plane. 
3. The planets generally revolve on their axes in the same 
direction with the sun; and the satellites, so far as their di- 
urnal motion is known, and probably in most instances, re- 
volve on their axes in the same direction with their prima- 
ries. The most remarkable irregularities are near the sun, 
at the superior extreme of the sun, and probably at the or- 
bits of the asteroids. 
4. The velocity of each planet on its axis, has a general 
~ proportion to its quantity of matter, and distance from 
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