THOUGHTS ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 59 



contact on matter, proves the ether to be material 

 substance. This is also shown to be the case by the 

 fact that *the ether has mass, since it offers resist- 

 ance to movement. This mass is slight, since the 

 speed of the propagation of light is very great. If 

 there were no mass, the propagation of light would 

 probably be instantaneous. 



We have, therefore, surrounding the earth, an 

 ocean of water, an ocean of air, and an ocean of 

 ether (the ether rilling all unoccupied space, but the 

 air and water occupying only a limited area), all 

 subject to wave motion and material movement. 

 This wave motion in the respective oceans is caused 

 by the motion of the material portions forming the 

 oceans of water, air, or ether. It appears necessary 

 to press this home, simple as it is, because there 

 appears to be with some writers a tendency to obscure 

 the fundamental facts under a cloud of words about 

 the wave theory. The wave is made up of, and 

 is caused by, the movement of many small portions 

 of matter. 



The stellar and planetary bodies, rushing and 

 revolving in their orbits, and interwhirling in them- 

 selves, through the ether, form vortices of immense 

 scope and great power in the ether, that sweep all 

 smaller bodies within their influence towards the 

 path of the star or planet. Corpuscles, atoms, etc., 

 are merely infinitely smaller bodies, all making their 

 smaller vortices in the ether by their movement. 



* Le Bon. Mass is the permanent and fundamental characteristic 

 of matter. No matter without mass, no mass without matter. 



