90 From Matter to Man. 



however, for gravitation would then be, what it is 

 not, a law of indiscriminate attraction between all 

 bodies, mutually manifested and of equal intensity. 

 What are the facts ? * 



(i) Those instances of magnetic attraction in which 

 iron attracts iron. But as these are solely cases of 

 like material attracting like material, they furnish no 

 evidence of indiscriminate, but discriminate attraction. 



(2) Those instances of bodies falling to the earth ; 

 those very facts, indeed, which suggested the law of 

 gravitation to Newton — the apple falling from the 

 tree and the tile from the roof. But careful investiga- 

 tion demonstrates that these phenomena also occur 

 by discriminate, not indiscriminate attraction. True 

 enough, the testimony superficially is affirmative, for 

 the earth attracts all bodies equally and indiscrimin- 

 ately. But the earth itself is an indiscriminate body 

 composed of all elements ; hence, as no known ter- 

 restrial or universal body consists of dissimilar 

 elements to the earth, the earth naturally attracts all 

 bodies indiscriminately and with equal intensity, 

 because all are equally its like. 



(3) Huxley illustrates gravitation by saying that 

 " if there were only two drops of water in the universe, 

 no matter how far apart, they would attract each other 

 and meet."f Doubtless for two reasons : — 1st. Because 

 two drops of water are alike in substance and pro- 



* In fact, gravitation has been, what Huxley always deprecated, 

 dragged out of its true position as a tentative theory, and exalted into 

 an unquestioned and unquestionable scientific creed. 



f Introductory Science Primer, p. 25. 



