274 FROM NEBULA TO NEBULA 



of axial rotation prior to its encounter with the strange 

 star, and that both this old and the new rotation imposed 

 by the encounter persist together ; while the latter attri- 

 butes the phenomenon to the inf all of meteoric matter. 



The explanation that I submit is this: Under the 

 principle of equilibrium as hereinbefore expounded, the 

 sun is the king-pin of the self -balancing, rotating machine 

 known as the solar system. As a member of that system, 

 he is obliged to aid in this balancing process to the extent 

 imposed upon him by Nature. Between him and the 

 planets, however, there is this fundamental distinction, 

 namely, that whereas the planets have but one way open 

 to them orbital movement whereby they can comply 

 with the equilibristic law, the sun, being in the very center 

 and astride the fulcrum, has two ways, to wit; first, by 

 axial rotation and, secondly, by oscillating or " see-saw- 

 ing" to and fro across the fulcra! point. Now, we all 

 know that, however complex and multifarious her oper- 

 ations, Nature never forgets herself or becomes confused, 

 but carries all her processes along automatically and con- 

 currently in perfect harmony. Accordingly, the sun does 

 not choose either of the balancing methods open to him 

 to the total exclusion of the other, but pursues both of 

 them consistently. Is it not obvious, then, that, on this 

 theory, the equatorial rim of the sun being farthest from 

 the center should partake more of the orbital nature of 

 movement, while the more central parts, being closer to 

 the fulcrum, should seek the more direct course of 

 shuttling? Of course, were the sun a rigid solid, he would 

 necessarily rotate as a whole ; but he is far from answer- 

 ing this description, being, on the contrary, fluid through- 

 out, so that all his parts are measurably free to follow 

 their respective equilibristic impulses. 



Pursuing this train of reasoning further, let us con- 

 ceive the sun severed in half on the line of his equator 

 and then study his internal evolutions, fixing our atten- 

 tion now, not on his structure, which will be specially 

 treated later, but on the torsional stresses that intesti- 

 nally afflict him. To aid in clarifying the explanation, 



