Oct. 9, 1885.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



of the origin of language, each accounting for it hy one 

 cause and ignoring all other influences. We haVe had 

 the Onomatopcctic, or imitative theory; the Inter- 

 jectioual, which maintains that language is derived 

 from the imitation of interjections ; and, finally. Max 

 Miiller's theory that, as everytliing in Nature produces 

 certain sounds or rings, language has its origin in this. 

 The first two theories have been nicknamed by Max 

 Miiller the Bow-wow and Pooh-pooh theories ; while, in 

 revenge, Prof. Whitney has called the last the Ding- 

 dong theory. These nicknames perhaps show better than 

 anything else the utter contempt in which each party 

 holds the hypotheses of the others, yet each has a certain 

 amount of right on his side, and all might bo reconciled 

 to each other, and from the materials of their own form 

 a theory which would be in accordance with all the facts 

 in our possession if they woiild only be convinced that, 

 into a great and Lv>m|ilir;itia iiiutter like that under dis- 



This tr •• : ' !:■. ■■■;■'! I'i ., , .1 



it has ! . , . ' ' ■■ •■ ' !,• J..,, ',■ ! ! • .!'.• 



preccdill_,' [k'--:!--.' :,'i.1 'if ihr hlli:eiJL'dIll_', wllil'!: 1 ^jll-t'.' : -: 



a model of liberal thought and clear exposition of a diffi- 

 cult point. He continues : — 



" Neither is Plato wrong in supposing that an clement 

 of design and art enters into langun^e. Tlio rrcativc 

 power abating is supplemented liy iimccliaiii.Ml ]avr( ^s. 

 'Languages are not made, but 'jiow ' 1 m tiny ::]%• 

 made as well as grow ; bursting- inlo iifiliki- :i |)l;iin '.v 

 flower, they ■.:vi .i''.-^' (■■i\>:'.'\'^,- ,'\ li-'-, i-ji ■ ! ■■ii- 



proved, and oil'':' ii < I n:.' :, • : ■ '^: • '• ■ '; 



them is effect I'.l i:i . ,■ -i 1 , 1 ■ i ;!..■,:.■ 



improvements; in l;i;rr ;,':vs !.■, .hnmi'., i.- ..; _ ^,llll;ll;i^ 

 and logic, and by the poetical -lu-l i ji mmiv u- ■ of words. 

 They develop rapidly in chiklho,,,!. ;m,| \\li,!i they are 

 full grown and set, they may si ill |iiii I'oi-tli iiiti>11octnal 

 powers, like the mind in flio l- ly ■ ■ ' ■ ■■ ■ — -y 

 say, that the nobler lis.' of l:iri:n ' 



the framework is eoijiplc ,, . I i 

 man in whom t 



He 



of 





maker of woi 

 is the definer or 

 lis the second • 



ages 



them. The 1 



terms into ex 



ture sounds win. -li iv|ir,v-,oni ikiImimI olijrnl^ or |.i-iir.ssns. 



Poetry and pliilosoi>liy llir-n i,\.. m-o ih- i w o yro:it 



formative principles of l:i!i--i! "jo wliin ilny Iimno piissoil 



their first stage, of wli i.li, ns ■ f iln- i't < iii\riitiou of 



the arts in general, wo only ^nio-miii odn j. n mv. Ami 



mythology is a link bet \\ mn i In in o.n. n.nt in :■ tin- vi-iMo 

 and the invislblo, uui 11 m im; ili iln- -.ninn.ni,. oMiiior 

 falls away, and tin- -.nMiMno -f i'-' in- - i '<.'■ ■ ■.,.!• 

 world of the idon ;,nd I In- oli|: i ,,f .^. n-n 1 .- n. mn -, oom- 

 plete. At a l:itor poviod l.nln mid nivnonn.r. -istrr ;ii-ls, 

 preserve and enlarge the decaying instinct of l:inguagc 

 by rule and method, which they gather from analysis 

 and observation." * 



THE ECLIPSED MOON SUNLIT. 

 By RiCHAKD A. Proctor. 



FROM letters which have reached me I find that the 

 illumination of the moon during central lunar 

 eclipse is not understood by many, who yet have read 

 the usual explanation as given by Sir John Herschel and 

 by others. What I did a little time ago in the way of 

 * Vol. I., p. G45. 



was found by some to 

 to them how imperfect 



had been tlifir ]irevioiis knowledge of the matter, and 

 In ■', ini ri;' > *^ Id 1 - - ■ -- f their notions respecting 

 i'. I !: d ': ' 1 this mu.st be .so. For 



lin n -ions which I had pro- 



jM 1 1 to s:ij-, which I had 



the '. ' -rly that the 



gener.il lund the usual 



exjjlaiiit ■■ il mistakes by 



others who might h;ive bnon expected not only to foUow 

 understandingly the correct (but incomplete) explanation 

 given by Sir John Herschel, but to be capalsle of inter- 

 preting the matter for themselves. 



I propose now to consider, not those circumstances 

 which I dealt with before, but the preliminarj^ explana- 

 tion, which I assumed before to have been to some degree 

 ninstered and understood. I deem it a duty to do this, 

 :ind to do it in these closing numbers of the weekly 

 K\-\vi.EDGE, because many seem to imagine that the 

 matter is in some degree in dispute ; whereas the only 

 difficulty there really is in the matter is to make that 

 clear which everyone acquainted with the laws of 

 geometrical and physical optics knows to be true. 



Mr. Williams, indeed, considers that he has been 

 entirely misunderstood by me, a supposition natural 



., 1 s 



.1114.0 



ed. 



I will not endeavour to ascertain from them precisely 

 how those mistaken views arose. In the advocacy of 

 mistaken views there is necessarily confusion often 

 worse confounded than the original mistake). 



I take then the mistaken notion that during total lunar 

 eclipse the moon is lit up only or chiefly by light from 

 our illuminated atmosphere, the ruddy twilight glow in 

 our air, —not by rays which have come fr. i.i tin ~nii 

 himself, in the same way precisely tli ; ; . •, r 1 n- 

 to us from the setting sun. That tlii^ . , s 



originally made by Mr. Williams is olxni;- in two 

 ways : First it was essential to the theory in hand 

 that this misapprehension should be entertained, and 

 secondly the mistake was directly involved in the 

 deduced estimate of the amount of Fiirii-1'+ fdi-r"- 

 on the moon during tot dity. Uniin \ ' 

 and the theory of a self-luiuiiiotis n 

 shown to be superfluous, — and ^throu-1. y ' 1,1 



as impossible as water standing an inch above a goiilet's 



The mistake evidently had its origin in the idea that 

 when the earth lies between the sun and moon, the titmo- 

 sphere of the earth plays the ju I f 



a spherical lens, bringing the s 



the earth and the 

 and I ti 



The 



the sun reach the moon if she is beyond her mean distance, 

 and from nearly every part when she is in perigee (rays 



