176 COSMICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 



possible to observe the smaller circumstances of 

 his condition. It does not appear at all probable 

 that he has a ring, like Saturn ; but he has at 

 least five satellites which are visible to us, at the 

 enormous distance of 900 millions of miles ; and 

 we believe that the astronomer will hardly deny 

 that he may possibly have thousands of smaller 

 ones circulating about him. 



But leaving conjecture, and taking only the 

 ascertained cases of Venus, the Earth, Jupiter, 

 and Saturn, we conceive that a person of common 

 understanding will be strongly impressed with 

 the persuasion that the satellites are placed in 

 the system with a view to compensate for the 

 diminished light of the sun at greater distances. 

 The smaller planets, Juno, Vesta, Ceres, and 

 Pallas, differ from the rest in so many ways, and 

 suggest so many conjectures of reasons for such 

 differences, that we should almost expect to find 

 them exceptions to such a rule. Mars is a more 

 obvious exception. Some persons might con- 

 jecture from this case, that the arrangement itself, 

 like other useful arrangements, has been brought 

 about by some wider law which we have not yet 

 detected. But whether or not we entertain such 

 a guess, (it can be nothing more,) we see in other 

 parts of creation, so many examples of apparent 

 exceptions to rules, which are afterwards found 

 to be capable of explanation, or to be provided 

 for by particular contrivances, that no one, 



