410 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



zation of the sun. It was formerly supposed to consist of liquid fire, 

 exhaustless in its nature ; which by constantly emitting rays in every 

 direction, imparted a cheering influence to every part of the system. 

 By modern astronomers this theory has been found untrue. They 

 have supposed, with more plausibility, that it is a solid body, sur- 

 rounded by a luminous atmosphere. It is estimated that the atmos- 

 phere with which the sun is surrounded, extends to the distance of 

 two thousand miles from its surface ; and, that its density is at least 

 eighty times greater than that which environs the earth. Herschel 

 supposes that the density of the luminous solar clouds need not be 

 greater than that of our aurora borealis, to produce the effects with 

 which we are acquainted. Euler makes the light of the sun equal to 

 6500 candles at a foot distance. 



The sun is a spherical body, and has a diameter of about 880,000 

 miles : being more than equal to 100 diameters of the earth. So 

 great is the power of gravitation upon its surface, that a body weigh- 

 ing one pound at the surface of the earth, will there weigh about thirty 

 pounds. Thus a common sized man removed to the surface of the 

 sun would weigh between two and three tons. On different parts of 

 the sun's disc may be seen dark spots, called maculae. These consist 

 of a nucleus, which is much darker than the rest, surrounded by a 

 mist or smoke ; arid they are so changeable as frequently to vary dur- 

 ing the time of observation. Some of the largest of them seem to 

 exceed the bulk of the whole earth, and are often seen for three months 

 together. They were first observed by the celebrated Galileo. 



SUNDAY. The first day of the week ; thus called by our idola- 

 trous ancestors, because set apart for the worship of the sun. It is 

 sometimes called the Lord's Day, because kept as a feast in memory 

 of our Lord's resurrection on this day ; and also Sabbath-day, because 

 substituted under the new law instead of the Sabbath in the old law. 

 Some are of opinion that the Lord's day, mentioned in the Apocalypse, 

 is our Sunday ; which they believe was so early instituted by the 

 apostles. Be this as it will, it is certain a regard was had to this day 

 even in the earliest ages of the Church, as appears from the first 

 Apology of Justin Martyr, where he describes the exercise of the day 

 not much unlike to ours. But it was Constantine the Great, who 

 first made a law for the proper observation of Sunday ; and who, 

 according to Eusebius, appointed it should be regularly celebrated 

 throughout the Roman empire. Before him, and even in his time, 

 they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday ; both to satisfy 

 the law of Moses and to imitate the apostles who used to meet together 

 on the first day. By Constantine's laws, made in 321, it was decreed, 

 that for the future the Sunday should be kept a day of rest in all 

 cities and towns ; but he allowed the country people to follow their 

 work. In 538, the council of Orleans prohibited country labor ; but 

 because there were still many Jws in Gaul, and the people fell into 



