THE LAW OF EQUILIBRIUM 141 



respond. Obviously, my conception of the gyroscopic 

 orbit steers clear of Newton's error and accords perfectly 

 with the protracted character of the phenomenon in ques- 

 tion. 



Having thus carefully studied each feature in detail, 

 let me request the kind reader to station himself again at 

 his old vantage point vertically above (south of) the Cen- 

 trum and take a comprehensive view of the w^hole plan. 

 There you see the sun (more specifically, the center of 

 gravity of the system) pursuing his gyroscopic course 

 exactly along the rim of the cone 's base, in a direction 

 contrary to the motion of the hands of the clock. As thus 

 he travels, his planets continuously revolve around him, 

 the earth in 365% days, and the other planets in their 

 different periods not with the left-hand motion of the 

 sun, but vice versa. Note, also, that the axis of the earth 

 always parallels the sides of the cone, so that, no matter 

 at what point she may be in the big orbit, her axis con- 

 tinually maintains its inclination to the ecliptic or cone- 

 base of 231/2 sensibly unaltered. In thus swinging 

 around a great circle, while all the time pointing to a 

 (relatively) fixed point, to-wit, the Vertex, the latter is 

 projected against the celestial sphere where it outlines the 

 precessional circle, which is, in fact, the base of another 

 cone, reversed, whose apex our Vertex is also. 



So minute is the range of the annual revolution of the 

 earth around the sun relatively to the major orbit of the 

 latter, that you can readily see why the earth's axis, 

 year by year, should remain (almost) parallel to itself, 

 the secret of our change of seasons. The slight departure 

 from parallel that it does, suffer in one such revolution is, 

 of course, according to the new hypothesis, reflected in 

 the alteration of the projected position of the Vertex on 

 the precessional circle traced on the sky. 



Observe, furthermore, that in revolving around the 

 sun, the earth is obliged to pass twice each year across 

 the precise line of his path, once in front of him, when 

 she is on her way out, and the second time behind him, 

 when she is on her way in. The first of these two points 

 is known as the vernal equinox, and the second as the 



