NEWTON'S THEORY OF PLANETARY MOTIONS 97 



a later chapter). They find, for example, that the plan- 

 ets, in their revolutions around the sun, do not follow 

 their courses without regard to what the others are doing, 

 but, on the contrary, rhythmically swing in and out from 

 their aphelion to perihelion in such a way that, no matter 

 where a particular planet may be in its orbit, whether 

 going fast at perihelion or slow at aphelion, the aggregate 

 momentum of the group continues unchanged: just as 

 though there were an understanding among them, or as if 

 they were controlled by some guiding hand. Now, 

 astronomers do not make any pretense of understanding 

 this mystery; all they know is that it is a fact of observa- 

 tion. Unfortunately, however, they presume to build 

 upon it, construing it not as the manifestation of an un- 

 known physical cause but as a sort of teleological ordina- 

 tion transcending natural law. 



It is upon this abstract, metaphysical, arbitrary, un- 

 understood "law" that the world of science has erected 

 its proudest generalization, the doctrine of the conserva- 

 tion of energy, alias, the persistence of force, correlation 

 of forces, transmutation of energy, mechanical equiva- 

 lents etc. high sounding phrases that all alike decree the 

 death of Nature. In the following pages I shall peremp- 

 torily challenge this doctrine as absurd and unworkable, 

 and a mill-stone around the neck of Science. "Beware of 

 him of whom all men speak well, ' ' exhorted the ancient 

 seer. Beware, say I, of this doctrine of conservation 

 which all the world extols. I expect to prove to you, dear 

 reader, that this mysterious conservation of moment of 

 momentum is as simple a physical phenomenon in essence 

 as the rotating of a top ; also, that the molar movements 

 of the heavenly bodies are not accomplished without the 

 expenditure of power, but with a power, GRAVITATION, that 

 is at once creative and coordinating. 



To sum up, the planetary theory of Newton holds, in 

 effect : That the planets are revolving around the sun by 

 reason of certain original rectilinear motions having 

 miraculously belonged to them under some pre-existing 

 order of nature ; that they travel through a medium pos- 



