LAW OF GRAVITATION. 221 



masses of the system, and of which the mechanism 

 is, that it arises from the action of the particles 

 of the system, should lead us to the same law for 

 the action of these particles : there is a striking 

 prerogative of simplicity in the law thus adopted. 



The law of gravitation actually prevailing in 

 the solar system has thus great and clear advan- 

 tages over any law widely different from it ; and 

 has moreover, in many of its consequences, a 

 simplicity which belongs to this precise law 

 alone. It is in many such respects a unique 

 law : and when we consider that it possesses 

 several properties which are peculiar to it, and 

 several advantages which, so far as we can see, 

 may be peculiar to it, and which are certainly 

 nearly so ; we have some ground, it would appear, 

 to look upon its peculiarities and its advantages 

 as connected. For the reasons mentioned in the 

 last chapter, we can hardly expect to discern 

 fully the way in which the system is benefited 

 by the simplicity of this law, and by the mathe- 

 matical elegance of its consequences : but when 

 we see that it has some such beauties, and some 

 manifest benefits, we may easily suppose that our 

 ignorance and limited capacity alone prevent our 

 perceiving that there are, for the selection of this 

 law of force, reasons of a far more refined and 

 comprehensive kind than those which we can 

 distinctly apprehend. 



4. But before quitting this subject we may 



