Chap. XV.] REFUTATION OF OBJECTIONS. 17.3 



inertiaa does or does not exist in tlie ocean is, there- 

 fore, not affected at all by such considerations as 

 those which have been urged against it. The real 

 questions at issue are : what is the nature of the 

 forces which move the earth, and what the manner 

 in which they act ? And, therefore, in the absence 

 of definite knowledge on these points, the question as 

 to whether vis-inerti^e acts on the ocean and atmo- 

 sphere or not must be decided by observing what the 

 actual movements of those fluids are, and whether 

 movements in accordance with what may be shown to 

 be the natural action of vis-inertiae, and which cannot 

 be regarded as effects of any other reasonable cause, 

 do or do not exist in those fluids. 



The displacement of the ocean from the poles 

 towards the equator, alluded to in the first book, suf- 

 ficiently indicates that vis-inerti£e does act on the 

 ocean ; and the arguments contained in the five sub- 

 sequent books show that it tends to cause a system of 

 circulation closely according with the most marked 

 and constant features of that which actually exists in 

 the ocean. ^ 



' Throughout The Neio Principles of NaHtral Philosophy 

 further refutations of objections are given on points not discussed 

 in this volume. 



