470 On Mental Education. [1855. 



the square of the distance. Newton showed, that by this law, 

 the general condition of things on the surface of the earth is 

 governed ; and the globe itself, with all upon it, kept together 

 as a whole. He demonstrated that the motions of the planets 

 round the sun, and of the satellites about the planets, were 

 subject to it. During and since his time, certain variations in 

 the movements of the planets, which were called irregularities, 

 and might, for aught that was then known, be due to some cause 

 other than the attraction of gravitation, were found to be its 

 necessary consequences. By the close and scrutinizing atten- 

 tion of minds the most persevering and careful, it was ascer- 

 tained that even the distant stars were subject to this law ; 

 and at last, to place as it were the seal of assurance to its 

 never-failing truth, it became, in the minds of Leverrier and 

 Adams (1845), the foreteller and the discoverer of an orb 

 rolling in the depths of space, so large as to equal nearly sixty 

 earths, yet so far away as to be invisible to the unassisted eye. 

 What truth, beneath that of revelation, can have an assurance 

 stronger than this ? 



Yet this law is often cast aside as of no value or authority, 

 because of the unconscious ignorance amidst which we dwell. 

 You hear at the present day, that some persons can place their 

 fingers on a table, and then elevating their hands, the table 

 will rise up and follow them ; that the piece of furniture, though 

 heavy, will ascend, and that their hands bear no weight, or are 

 not drawn down to the wood ; you do not hear of this as a con- 

 juring manoeuvre, to be shown for your amusement ; but are ex- 

 pected seriously to believe it, and are told that it is an import- 

 ant fact, a great discovery amongst the truths of nature. Your 

 neighbour, a well-meaning, conscientious person, believes it ; 

 and the assertion finds acceptance in every rank of society, 

 and amongst classes which are esteemed to be educated. Now, 

 what can this imply but that society, speaking generally, is not 

 only ignorant as respects education of the judgment, but is also 

 ignorant of its ignorance. The parties who are thus persuaded, 

 and those who are inclined to think and to hope that they are 

 right, throw up Newton's law at once, and that in a case which 

 of all others is fitted to be tested by it ; or if the law be erro- 

 neous, to test the law. I will not say they oppose the law, though 

 I have heard the supposed fact quoted triumphantly against 



