COSMIC PHILOSOPHY 



further to show why in this planet alone the out- 

 ward pressure of the gaseous nucleus should 

 have overcome the resistance of the solidified 

 crust. I believe that the problem is much 

 nearer a solution when we treat it as a case of 

 arrested development ; for on this view the pe- 

 culiar fate of the ancestral ring may be at least 

 partially explained by a reference to the perturb- 

 ing attraction exerted upon it by Jupiter. 



When we reflect upon the immensity of the 

 distances which separate the outer planets from 

 each other, even in conjunction, we perceive 

 that during the earlier stages of nebular con- 

 traction no planet was in danger of being dis- 

 turbed in its formation by the attraction of its 

 next outer neighbour and predecessor. But as 

 the increasing equatorial protuberance of the 

 solar spheroid began to result in the formation 

 of larger and larger planets, and as the forma- 

 tion of planets began, according to the law of 

 Titius, to occur at shorter and shorter intervals, 

 there began to be some danger of such disturb- 

 ance. There was no chance for a catastrophe, 

 however, until the time when the asteroid-ring 

 was detached. The enormous Jupiter-ring was 

 at least 3 70,000,000 miles removed from Saturn, 

 besides which its huge mass, implying powerful 

 gravitative force among its constituent parts, 

 served further to ensure its equilibrium. Hence 

 it ran little risk of incurring disaster in the 

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