BOOK II. 



THE SOLAR WORLD. 

 CHAPTER I. 



THE SUN". 



THIS flaming star, to use the beautiful metaphor of Theon 

 of Smyrna, is the heart of the universe, vivifying every- 

 thing with its pulsations. Of all those lights that gravitate 

 in the immensity of the heavens, the dazzling splendor of 

 the sun first captivates the attention. Yet, great as may 

 be its apparent size, and vivid as may be its light, it is still 

 only one in those myriads of stars which form the Milky 

 Way. But for us it is the centre of a system, or of a fam- 

 ily of globes, of which it was the cradle, and which, after 

 being separated from it, revolve eternally round their com- 

 mon parent. Like a sovereign seated on his shining throne, 

 it sits in the centre of its satellites; its invisible power 

 upholds them in space, directs their regulated course, and 

 disseminates everywhere movement and life. 



For if its light were extinguished, eternal night would 

 envelop the globe, and with that w r ould come the destruc- 

 tion of all created things, which its rays alone protect from 



