58 ON MATTER, FORCE, AND MOTION IN SPACE. 



verse, on suns and atoms of matter, as a solitary mys- 

 tery, unapproachable by the reason of man. Yet, if 

 transmitted at all, some medium must be concerned in 

 the transmission ; and we may best invoke the aid of 

 that which brings to us the light of sun and stars, and 

 interpenetrates all matter around us. The problem is 

 a sublime one, whether ever to be solved or not. 



Eesearch has been so largely given to the pheno- 

 mena of magnetism, that some more complete theory 

 might have been expected of its relations to space. But 

 though experiments tell us of lines and curves of mag- 

 netic force, in proximity to the bodies from which it is 

 obtained, we cannot yet carry direct evidence to spaces 

 beyond. Speculation, however, as to magnetic con- 

 nexions of the sun and earth has been sanctioned 

 by various recent observations, which are still in pro- 

 gress. The phenomena observed are in part at least of 

 periodical character, and so blended with terrestrial 

 magnetism, that time and a very copious average of 

 observations are required to sift and verify the results. 

 Assuming, however, the bare fact of electric relations 

 existing between distant bodies in space and the as- 

 sumption is fairly warranted and knowing this element 

 to have mensurable motions in time, closely akin to 

 those of light, we are again brought to our hypo- 

 thetical ether as the medium of transmission adding 

 thereby to the complexity of its functions, yet em- 

 barrassing the reason less than would the hypothesis 

 of another agent of transmission. 



It is a grand conception, or rather conclusion, 

 of modern science, which thus makes ether an 



