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56 THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. 



intervals and the indispensable wants of all organized creatures, can we for a ? 

 moment doubt that the earth was made to turn upon its axis in that particular ] 

 time rather than any other, because it was more conducive than otherwise to 

 the well being of the countless myriads of species, the production of the Divine 

 hand, for whose enjoyment the earth was made ? Had the time of rotation been 

 materially less than it is, our periods of activity and labor would be too short to 

 prepare us for the return of darkness, and had the time of rotation been greater, 

 we should have needed rest before the return of the natural epoch designed for 

 it. As it is, the natural vicissitudes are nicely adapted to our wants ; and yet our 

 organization is in no way connected physically with the rotation of the earth, 

 by any relation of the nature of cause and effect, and to suppose such an 

 adaptation fortuitous, would be an outrage upon all principles of probability. 

 This mutual fitness is, then, another of the many proofs which offer themselves 

 that the earth as a dwelling, and man as a dweller, has been each expressly 

 designed for the other. 



Many practical examples may be given of this correspondence between the 

 time of rotation of the earth upon its axis and the periodical functions of the 

 organized world. Thus, Linnaeus proposed the use of what he termed a flo- 

 ral clock, which was to consist of plants which opened and closed their blos- 

 soms at particular hours of the day. Thus, the day-lily opens at five in the 

 morning, the common dandelion at six, the hawkweed at seven, the ma- 

 rigold at nine, and so on ; the closing of the blossoms marking corresponding 

 hours in the afternoon. Nor was this to be regarded as a specific effect of light 

 upon the plants, for when the flowers were introduced into a dark chamber 

 they were found to open and close their blossoms at the same times. 



The necessity of observing a correspondence between the intervals of activ- 

 ity and repose, the taking of food, &c., and the period of light and darkness, 

 was practically shown in the case of voyages made to the north pole, where 

 navigators attained those latitudes in which the sun never rises for several 

 weeks, in which cases it was found necessary to make the crews of the ships 

 adhere with the utmost punctuality to the habit of retiring at nine o'clock and 

 rising at a quarter before six. Under these circumstances they enjoyed a 

 state of salubrity very remarkable, notwithstanding the trying severity of cli- 

 mate to which they were exposed. 



Seeing then, that the expedient of making the globe of the earth turn upon 

 its axis in twenty-four hours is one productive of such multifarious benefits, 

 and so intimately related to the organized species of our globe, that were it to 

 turn otherwise than it does, in a greater or less time, an entire derangement of 

 the animal or vegetable economy would ensue, it becomes an interesting ques- 

 tion to ascertain whether the other planets are provided with a similar expedi- 

 ent ; and if so, to what extent the application of such expedient corresponds 

 with the case of the earth. We accordingly find that all the planets without 

 exception have a motion of rotation on certain diameters as an axis while they 

 make their periodical revolutions round the sun, and that the diameter in which 

 they so rotate has been selected in such a manner as to secure to each of them 

 regular alternations of light and darkness in every part of their surfaces ; in 

 fact, they, like the earth, have days and nights. But are those days and nights 

 regulated by the same intervals as ours ? for that is an important question ; 

 such intervals being, as we have shown, a key to the organizations and func- 

 tions of the creatures upon them respectively. 



We shall on another occasion show that the planets consist of two groups 

 which, although characterized by common qualities, are still distinct in several 

 particulars. The inner group consists of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Earth; 

 the outer group consists of Jupiter, Saturn, and Herschel. There are circum- ) 



