32 



' The fundamental laws of GOT modern astronomy 

 are projection and attraction : one the all-combining 

 cement, the other the ever-operative spring of the mighty 

 iraine. In the beginning God impressed a proper degree 

 of motion on each of the whirling orbs. This, if not 

 controlled, would have carried thers on in strait lines, 

 till they were lost in ihe abyss of space ; but the prin- 

 ciple of gravitation being added thereto, determined 

 their course to a circular form. And how necessary 

 for the conservation of the universe, is both the one 

 and the other? Were the projectile power to cease, all 

 the luiUaoniously-moving spheres would fall into the 

 central lire. Were they gravitating, they would exor- 

 bitate into wild confusion, or by their rapid whirl be 

 dissipated into atoms. But the impulsive and attractive 

 energy, being nicely attempered to each other, the va- 

 rious globes persevere in their radieut course, without 

 any interruption or diminitiou.* 



" How extensive, and how diversified is the force of 

 tXls single principle of attraction ? (Understanding by 

 the word, that of cohesion, as well as of gravitation !) 

 It penetrates the very essence of all bodies, and diffuses 

 itself to the utmost limits of the mundane system. By 

 this all those vast worlds of matter hang self-balanced 

 on their centres. And to this is owing an effect of a 

 very different nature, the pressure of the atmosphere, 

 which, though a yielding and expansive fluid, yet by 

 virtue of an attracting energy surrounds the whole 

 globe of earth, and encloses every creature thereon, as 

 it were with a tight bandage: an expedient absolutely 

 tecessarv to preserve the texture of our bodies, and 

 indeed of every animal. Urged by this, the rivers cir- 

 culate with a never-failing current, along the veins of 

 the earth. Impelled by the same mysterious force, the 

 nutritious juices are detached from the soil, and, as* 

 ceding the trunks of trees, find their way through 

 millions of the finest meanders, in order to convey ve- 

 getate life into the smallest branches. This confines 

 * AH this is spoken on the Newtonian Hypothesis. 



