152 



THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



named Mare Imbrium, to be as fertile as the 

 Campania. SeeEdin. Phil. Jour. No. 21, for 

 July, 1824. Similar remarks to those now stated 

 will apply to these conjectures of Schroeter. We 

 are too apt to imagine, that the objects we per 

 ceive in the moon must bear a certain resem 

 blance to those with which we are acquainted on 

 the earth ; whereas, there is every reason to be 

 lieve, from the variety we perceive in nature, 

 that no one world resembles another, except in 

 some of its more prominent and general arrange 

 ments. The moon bears a general resemblance 

 to the earth, in its being diversified with moun 

 tains and valleys ; but the positions and arrange 

 ment of these objects in the moon, and the scenery 

 they exhibit, are materially different from what 

 appears on the surface of the terraqueous globe. 



No. V. On the ideas of Magnitude, Motion, 

 and Duration, as expressed by numbers. See 

 pp. 44, 46. 



In the pages referred to, and other parts of 

 this volume, some very large numbers are ex 

 pressed in figures. Some readers have insinu 

 ated, that it would have been better to have ex 

 pressed such numbers in words. The author, 

 however, is of a different opinion ; because to 

 some readers, not much acquainted with nume 

 ration, a thousand trillions would convey nearly 

 the same idea as a thousand nonilions, though 

 the one number contains 58 places of figures, and 

 the other only 22. It is chiefly the number of 

 figures, or ciphers, in such large sums, that leads 

 us to form a comparative estimate of their value 

 or extent. Our ideas of magnitude and exten 

 sion, conveyed by such numbers, must, of course, 

 be very vague and undefined. If we have been 

 accustomed to travelling, we have a tolerable 

 clear conception of a hundred, and even of a 

 thousand miles ; but we have no clear nor ade 

 quate conception of a body, or a portion of space, 

 ten hundred thousand, ten hundred millions, or 

 ten hundred billions of miles in extent. The 

 mind, however, may be assisted in its concep 

 tions, and in its comparative estimate of different 

 numbers, by fixing on some particular number as 

 a standard. If, according to the common reck 

 oning, we suppos-e, that 5828 years have elapsed 

 since the commencement of time, the number of 

 seconds, or moments, in this period, will amount 

 to 183,913,782,212, or one hundred and eighty- 

 three thousand nine hundred and thirteen mil 

 lions, seven hundred and eighty-two thousand, 

 two hundred and twelve, which is less than the 

 fifth part of a billion. If the distance of the 

 nearest stars from the earth be at least 20 bil 

 lions of miles, then this distance may be other 

 wise expressed, by saying, that the number of 

 miles which intervene between us and these bo 

 dies is more than a hundred times g^ealer than 

 the number of moments which have elapsed since 



the creation ; and, by a similar comparison, it 

 will be found that the number of cubical miles 

 within the limits of the planetary system, is 

 130,000,000,000,000,000, or one hundred and 

 thirty thousand billions of times greater than the 

 number of moments in 5828 years. 



It has been computed, that the earth, suppos 

 ing it a solid globe, conlains about 30,000,000,- 

 000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ; 000, or thirty sep- 

 tillions of grains of sand, supposing a hundred 

 grains of sand to be equal in length to an inch, 

 and, consequently, a million of such grains for 

 every cubical inch. If we use this number as 

 a standard for estimating the number of cubical 

 miles contained within the space which inter 

 venes between us and the nearest stars, -^all 

 find that the number of cubical miles compre 

 hended within this space, is more than ten thou 

 sand millions of times greater than the number 

 of the grains of sand contained in the globe on 

 which we dwell. 



Though the human mind can form no definite 

 conceptions of such numbers and magnitivdes, 

 yet it may be useful, occasionally, to ruminate 

 on such subjects ; as it is the only, or, at least, 

 the principal mode by which limited miixis like 

 ours can approximate to an idea of the infinity 

 of the Creator. And if an image of infinity is 

 presented to the mind in the spaces comprehend 

 ed within the limits of our system, how over 

 powering the conception of innumerable systems, 

 to which ours bears no more proportion than a 

 drop of water to the mighty ocean ! How in 

 effably glorious must be the attributes of that 

 incomprehensible Being who pervades every part 

 of this vast universe, and who continually super 

 intends all its minute and diversified movements 



No. VI. p. 91. On a Plurality of Worlds. 



The doctrine of a plurality of worlds is now 

 admitted as highly probable both by philosophers 

 and by enlightened divines. But it has been 

 admitted by many persons on grounds that are 

 too general and vague, and consequently, a full 

 conviction of its truth is seldom produced in the 

 mind. In different parts of the preceding volume, 

 I have all along taken it for granted, because I 

 consider it as susceptible of a moral demonstra 

 tion. The following heads of argument, were 

 they fully illustrated, would go far to carry de 

 monstration to the mind on this subject : namely, 

 That there are numerous bodies in the universe 

 of a bulk sufficient to contain myriads of intelli 

 gent beings, and to afford them enjoyment tha( 

 there appears, in the constitution of many ol 

 these bodies, a variety of arrangements evi 

 dently adapted to this end that, in relation to 

 the planets of our system, there are many cir 

 cumstances which bear a striking resemblance 

 to the constitution of our globe and its appen 

 dages-, they have annual uid diurnal motions, 



