COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



case : the moon is deflected thirteen feet in each 

 minute, and thus was revealed a discrepancy be- 

 tween the order of conceptions and the order 

 of phenomena. It must ever be regarded as a 

 truly sublime illustration of the exalted scientific 

 character of Newton's intellect, that in an age 

 when the inexorable requirements of scientific 

 method were generally so little understood, he 

 laid aside for many years his brilliant and plau- 

 sible conjecture, as being a hypothesis which ob- 

 servation refused to verify. It was thirteen years 

 after this first abortive effort had been made, that 

 Picard's careful measurement of an arc of the 

 meridian revealed the fact that the length of the 

 earth's radius, and consequently the distance of 

 the moon, had hitherto been inaccurately esti- 

 mated. Thus Newton was enabled to resume 

 his calculations, and by introducing the correc- 

 tions now rendered necessary, to ascertain that 

 the amount of the moon's deflection, caused by 

 the earth's attractive force, should be on the 

 average thirteen feet per minute, as observation 

 had shown to be the case. Thus, by the patient 

 application of the objective method, the hypo- 

 thesis of gravitation was verified, and became an 

 expression of the observed order of phenomena. 

 I have dwelt at some length upon this con- 

 crete example, because it furnishes such mani- 

 fold illustration of the difference between the 

 metaphysical and the scientific modes of pro- 

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