FIELD AND STUDY 



physical forces, but how radically unlike any mech- 

 anism we know among the bodies on the surface of 

 the earth! With all our science and our mastery 

 over the physical forces we cannot reproduce on any 

 scale such a mechanism as that of the moon revolv- 

 ing around the earth, or as that of the earth 

 around the sun, or as the revolution of the earth 

 upon its axis. Every ball we project into space, by 

 whatever means, spins on its axis, but it sooner or 

 later stops spinning and falls to the earth; still the 

 globe spins on through the ether forever. But to 

 cause one ball to revolve around another without 

 any tangible connection, as the moon revolves 

 around the earth, is far beyond the reach of any 

 mechanics we possess. We name two forces to ac- 

 count for the phenomenon, centripetal and cen- 

 trifugal, but these names only cover a mystery. If 

 there are two such forces at work, why cannot we 

 invoke them in our mechanisms? Cosmic forces and 

 cosmic laws transcend terrestrial forces and laws. 

 They control the spheres and not the bodies on their 

 surfaces. Perpetual motion is impossible among 

 tangible bodies on the globe, but it is the rule in 

 celestial mechanics. Our great cosmic poet, Walt 

 Whitman, saw this: "There is no stoppage," he 

 says, "and never can be." The whirl and dance of 

 worlds and systems go on forever. The perpetual 

 movement in the molecules of matter, in the infin- 

 itely little, goes on among the orbs of heaven, the 



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