270 A Defence of the )ie-Jo Theory of the Tides. 



it at an angle of 45° from the perpendicular ; and upon the 

 same principle, a magnet may be able to disturb the equilibrium 

 of a suspended weight of iron, though it has no power to lift it 

 up. If Mr. Russell meant to found any argument upon this 

 fact, he should first of all have shown that the particles of water 

 are not supported from beneath, but are suspended by some in- 

 visible power above ; for otherwise there can be no analogy in 

 the two cases. 



Mr. Russell asks, Whether I mean to be understood that, be- 

 cause the moon has no power to lift a handful of water, it has 

 no power over it whatever ? I answer, that the effect of the 

 moon's attraction is to take off a portion of the gravity or weight 

 of every particle of water, and thereby produce an expansion 

 upwards of every one of these particles, and consequently a 

 rise of the waters equal to the sum of the expansion of the 

 ivhole. As Mr. Russell lias not made good his hypothesis, the 

 question still remains as it was, and I again challenge those phi- 

 losophers who deny the fact, to account for the rising of the 

 tides, without supposing that the waters are lifted up by tlie 

 expansion of their own particles. 



Here I must take the liberty of hinting to Mr. Russell, that 

 nothing betrays the weakness of a cause so much as the put- 

 ting a meaning into the mouth of an adversary which never was 

 intended. Mr. Russell could not possibly have imagined, that 

 I supposed it was the opinion of philosophers that the power of 

 the moon's attraction was equal to the earth's ; because all my 

 arguments are founded on the direct contrary supposition. So 

 far, m fact, was Ifrom supposing any thingof the kind, that Iwas 

 even apprehensive that they would not allow me my own posi- 

 tion, that the power of the moon's attraction was equal to the 

 24-OOth part of the earth's ; for, if I could have hoped they would 

 have admitted it, I would willingly have estimated the power of 

 the moon's attraction at the 500th * part of the earth's, (which 

 I believe is much nearer the truth,) and then I should not have 

 required a greater depth of ocean than five-and-twenty or thirty 

 miles. 



How far the satisfaction I derive from the falling of a drop of 

 water may be enviable, is what I am very indifferent about ; but 

 the argument possesses all the force I wished it to have. If the 

 moon's attraction has no power to prevent a drop of water from 

 falling, it certainly can have no power to lift it up ; and conse- 

 quently the waters must either be raised by the expansion of 

 their own particles, or they must be pushed upwards in the 



* In the course of the month I iiiteiul to publish a very small pamphlet 

 on this subject, which will dear up a great many difficulties that were not 

 satisfactorily explained in my former theory. 



A 



