144 On the Formation of the Universe. 



jection cannot be deemed insuperable. The comets may 

 be supposed to have been formed from the lingering por- 

 tions, that did not come in soon enough to be combined with 

 the system ; and with this supposition their characteristics 

 perfectly agree. They would be liable to come equally 

 from all directions, and their eUiptic orbits must have been 

 produced principally by percussion on the solar wheel. 

 Aa;reeably to this, the planes of the planetary orbits about 

 the perihelia of the comets, are the most irregular. The 

 plane of Mercury's orbit and that of the solar equator make 

 nearly the same angle with the ecliptic, and it is reasonable 

 to conclude, from the motion of Mercury's nodes, that at 

 the time the system may have come into existence accord- 

 ing to the theory, the plane of Mercury's orbit about coin- 

 cided with that of the solar equator. 



If the matter in the solar system has once been diffused 

 about hair way to the nearest fixed stars, there is good rea- 

 son to believe, that the milky way at least, and perhaps the 

 whole or a great portion of the universe, was at that time 

 in one vast aerial ocean ; and that it began to separate and 

 form into clustres and systems, as soon as it was created, 

 on account of an immediate tendency to such a result ', or 

 that it remained in a quiescent state for some time at least, 

 till by the arrival of a disturbing force, such a result was ef- 

 fected. It is a well known fact, that the component par- 

 ticles of matter may be in such a state, as to remain separate 

 while quiet, when the least disturbance would produce in- 

 stant concretion. Keeping this in mind, it will be easily 

 seen, that if the ocean of matter were finite, and so cjreated 

 that it would concrete without a disturbing force, the con- 

 cretion would commence throughout all parts at once, and 

 the collective forms of the clusters must be principally or 

 wholly accidental, if we except the tendency which they 

 might have, to become spherical : -For though a regular 

 principle of formation into parallel strata, would proceed 

 from the exterior through the interior, in case the inner stars 

 in the mean time remained perfectly stationary ; yet on ac- 

 count of its dilatory progress, most of the ocean of stars, if 

 left to unrestrained mutual attraction, would have acquired 

 accidental forms too decided to be broken up by so weak a 

 regulating force. But if the finite ocean required a disturb- 

 ing force to effect its concretion, it would evidently begin to 



