122 



DISCOVERY 



en. 



of Copernicus, nothing seemed more obvious than that 

 the sun actually moved round the earth every day ; for 

 " seeing is believing " was considered as cogent an 

 argument then as it is now. But every one knows in 

 these days that the conclusion was incorrect, and that 

 the apparent daily motion of the sun is an effect produced 

 by the real motion of the earth upon its axis, the sun 

 being practically a fixed body as regards the earth. To 

 inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, unfamiliar 

 with the cause of the seasons, it is perhaps natural to 

 conclude that the earth is nearer the sun in the northern 

 summer than in winter, whereas the earth is three 

 million miles nearer the sun at the beginning of January 

 than it is at the beginning of July. 



Most of these facts are known to all observant people, 

 but judging from statements commonly made in news- 

 papers not only in daily papers but also in weekly 

 periodicals in which greater accuracy might reasonably 

 be expected there are few literary people who have a 

 knowledge of natural objects and phenomena equivalent 

 to that of children in the State schools. It is scarcely 

 too much to say that, omitting signed articles written 

 by experts, few newspapers make any announcement 

 relating to a scientific subject without committing a 

 mistake. Either terms are wrongly used, or a matter 

 of common knowledge among men of science is 

 regarded as a remarkable discovery, or observations of 

 a sensational kind are presented to the public as if they 

 were established truths, though they await confirmation 

 from the scientific world, and are mostly unworthy of 

 serious consideration. 



Almost every newspaper report of a volcanic eruption 

 contains a reference to " flames and smoke " issuing 

 from " the burning mountain," though this description 



