38 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



much more effect as to disturbing the planetary 

 motions, than they now have. While they revolve 

 at so great distances from the rest, they act almost 

 equally on the sun and on the inferior planets ; 



Nothing but a principle acting equally on the crews of all the ves- 

 sels, like gravitation, or hke instinct, could keep them to the terms 

 of the rule if they were all to deviate and to vary in their devia- 

 tions. But that insects should, by some such instinct, be able to 

 perform an operation of this kind seems quite possible. Each bee 

 acts in the construction of its cells in this way ; for it keeps to the 

 rule accurately, and it acts in perfect concert with others ; at least 

 it acts so as to produce the effect of concert. 



The theorem to which we have here alluded, as well as those 

 two similar theorems which make the mean motions and mean 

 longitudes of the three first satelhtes of Jupiter, follow a certain 

 fixed rule, the difference between thrice the motions and longitudes 

 of the second, and the motions and longitudes of the first added to 

 twice those of the third, being an invariable quantity ; (that is, 

 in the case of the motions, and 180 degrees in the case of the lon- 

 gitudes,) are all deducible by strict mathematical reasoning, but 

 from data w^hich are not necessarily true ; for these theorems de- 

 pend, -among other things, upon the motions of revolution through- 

 out the system being in the same direction. Laplace has ex- 

 pressed an opinion, that the relation just mentioned as to Jupiter's 

 satellites was not the same when the motion began, but was es- 

 tablished by the mutual actions of these bodies, which he has 

 shown were sufficient to establish the relation at first, as well as 

 to maintain it afterwards. This may or it may not be; (hat is, it 

 may or it may not be true that those relations were established in 

 the course of the system's action; but no kind of argument arises 

 from hence against the designing power, even if we admit the sup- 

 position of that great mathematician ; for then it would only fol- 

 low that the same principle which was appointed to preserve had 

 also been appointed to create the relation of stability. (See Mic. 

 C6l. liv. ii. c. 8, s. 66; liv. viii. c. 6, s. 15, and c. 10, s. 29. See 

 also Mrs. Somerville's truly profound and admirable work, Me- 

 chanism of the Heavens, b. iv. c. 1, s. 849, et, seq.) 



