NATURAL HISTORY OF CREATION. 19 



them, the Earth inckided, must henceforth be regarded 

 as members." * 



Connecting what has been observed of the series of 

 nebulous stars Avith this wonderful relationship seen to 

 exist among the constituents of our system, and further 

 taking advantage of the light afibrded by the ascertained 

 laws of matter, modern astronomers have suggested the 

 following hypothesis of the formation of that system. 



Of nebulous matter in its original state we know too 

 little to enable us to suggest how nuclei should be estab- 

 lished in it. But supposing thatj from a peculiarity in 

 its constitution, nuclei are formed, we know very well 

 how, by virtue of the law of gravitation, the process of 

 an aggregation of tlie neighbouring matter to those 

 nuclei should proceed, until masses more or less solid 

 should become detached from the rest. It is a well- 

 known law in physics that, when fluid matter collects 

 towards or meets in a centre, it establishes a rotatory 

 motion. See minor results of this law in the whirlwind 

 and the whirlpool — nay, on so humble a scale as the 

 water sinking through the apertui-e of a funnel. It thus 

 becomes certain that when \xq arrive at the stage of a 

 nebulous star, we have a rotation on an axis commenced. 



Now, mechanical philosophy informs us that, the 

 instant a mass begins to rotate, there is generated a 

 tendency to fling off its outer portions — in other words, 

 the law of centrifugal force begins to operate. There 

 are, then, two forces acting in oj)position to each other, 

 the one attracting to, the other throwing from, the 

 centre. While these remain exactly counterpoised, the 

 mass necessarily continues entire; but the least excess 

 of the centrifugal over the attractive force would be 



*■ " Astronomy " : Lpa\Incr's " CycloproJla." 



