AND THEORY OF THE HEAVENS. Ill 



enough perceived by the telescope has subjected them 

 to the necessity of somewhat altering the original position 

 of their axes. But this alteration has its limits so that it 

 may not diverge too far. As already mentioned, the in- 

 equalities of the surface are produced more in the 

 neighbourhood of the equator of rotating globes than at 

 a distance from it; at the poles they almost entirely 

 disappear, the causes of which are reserved for discussion 

 in another connection. Hence the masses which tower 

 highest above the common plane will be met with near 

 to the equinoctial circle ; and as these masses tend to 

 approach that circle from the excess of their impulsion or 

 swing, they will be able to raise the axis of the heavenly 

 body out of the position perpendicular to the plane of its 

 path at most only by a few degrees. In consequence of 

 this, a heavenly body which has not yet completed its 

 formation will still have this perpendicular relation of the 

 axis to its orbit, which it will perhaps alter only after long 

 centuries. Jupiter seems still to be in this state. The 

 preponderance of its mass and magnitude, and the light- 

 ness of its matter, have forced it to overcome the fixed 

 repose of its constituent matter some centuries later than 

 other heavenly bodies. Perhaps the interior of its mass 

 is still in motion carrying down the parts of its composition 

 to the centre according to the state of their gravity, and, 

 by separation of the thinner kinds from the heavier, 

 bringing about the state of solidity. Under such con- 

 ditions things cannot yet appear at rest upon its surface. 

 Upheavals and wreckage prevail upon it. The telescope 

 itself has assured us of this. The form of this planet is 

 constantly altering, whereas the Moon, Venus, and the 

 Earth maintain the same shape unchanged. We may also 



