374 COSMIC MIL080P1IY. [pt. n. 



of the central spheroid in such a way as to reduce to a 

 minimum its power of eliminating further rings ; I will 

 not pretend to say. It seems to me better to leave the 

 problem with this clear and definite statement, rather than 

 to encumber it with hypothetical explanations which are 

 quite likely to prove purely gratuitous. Of the various ex- 

 planations which have occurred to me, none seem at all 

 satisfactory ; and I will gladly resign, into abler hands, the 

 task of solving the problem. What we may regard, how- 

 ever, as fairly established, is this : that while, after the 

 formation of Jupiter, the detachment of rings followed the 

 same law of progression as before, there was nevertheless 

 some newly-introduced circumstance present which affected 

 the whole series of detachments in common. But while the 

 non-explanation of this newly-introduced circumstance leaves 

 a serious gap in the argument, it is to be noted that all the 

 facts, so far as collated, are in harmony with the nebular 

 hypothesis, — the existence of the zone of asteroids, in par- 

 ticular, furnishing powerful evidence in its favour. 



If we pass from this complicated problem to the much 

 simpler one of the distribution of the satellites, we shall 

 find evidence in behalf of nebular genesis so remarkable as 

 almost to amount to demonstration. Whoever has read the 

 favourite speculations of theologians concerning the " plu- 

 rality of worlds," will doubtless remember how strikingly the 

 divine goodness is illustrated in the law that in general the 

 remoter planets have the greater number of satellites. Here 

 however, as in so many cases, observes Mr. Proctor, " the 

 scheme of the Creator is not so obvious to human reasoning 

 as some have complacently supposed." The " contrivances " 

 for lighting Saturn are by no means what they ought to be, 

 according to this teleological hypothesis. The illumitiating 

 power of our moon is (from its greater proximity to the sun) 

 sixteen times greater than that of all the eight ujuons of 

 Saturn combined ; while if that planet were habxcable, his 



