MOTION. 179 
with inconceivable power, evolving vast quantities of heat and light. But these 
atomic oscillations in time weakened, the elements locked in compounds, affinity 
died away, heat waned, and light vanished from smaller orbs. Indeed, waning 
forces must harmonize, cosmic upheavals cease, quiet ensue, heat lose its 
intensity, crusts solidify, air appear and water form, that two refined and inscruta-_ 
ble modes of motion—life and mind, might develop by undisturbed processes of 
evolution from inorganic atoms. Cosmical motion on each planet must nearly 
stop; coarse chemical reactions cease agitating and jarring the elements with 
unrest, before the laboratory of nature can evolve life and mind from material 
elements. Mind only develops ina mature state matter; material structure is 
most complex before it produces its most refined property. Then mind is of 
short duration on cosmic globes; as heat has nearly vanished before thought 
appears. Polar frigidity has already set in when mind awakens from unconsci- 
ous atoms; molecular vibratory motion is much less rapid when mind evolves 
than in previous cosmical history. Coarse movement in molecules must termin- 
ate; or that excessively delicate atomic vibration causing mind could not begin. 
Motion is of two kinds atomic and massive. Atomic motion is known in differ- 
ent modes, as heat, light, electricity, chemical affinity, life and mind, and 
constitutes the vitality of nature. They begin in gravity, pass many mutations, 
culminate in the evolution of mind, wane, become quiescent, leaving lifeless and 
frigid worlds to roll without use in Arctic voids. All these will be dismissed and 
the remainder of this essay be devoted to massive motion or the movement of 
worlds themselves. 
Massive Motion.—All cosmical bodies are in rapid motion. 
Arcturus moves fifty-four, 61 Cygni, forty, and Capella, thirty miles per 
second. Late sidereal astronomy is rich in results relating to binary systems of 
revolving suns. In 1823 one component of Delta Cygni occulted the other; and 
in 1836, 221 Ophiuchi hid its companion. In 1839 and again in 1873 Xi Urse 
Majoris were seen as one star, between these dates, double. In 1873 the double 
star Omega Leonis appeared as one; they are now separating. By an astonish- 
ing generalization of modern research made possible by the spectroscope, it can 
be said, the universe is a Unit. All suns within range of telescopes are composed 
of like material, as is shown by their spectra. Then they are dominated by the 
same laws. Gravity and motion are omnipresent. The motion of sidereal 
systems is observed with the telescope; and the existence of gravity is demon- 
strated, for suns revolve on ellipses. When the primordial gas condensed into 
innumerable liquid balls, destined to be planets and suns, then to become solid, 
cold and dead, they moved by mutual gravity in all directions. They were of 
_all sizes from asteroids to suns like Sirius. They had not assumed orbits, neither 
did the balls rotate on axes, because rotation is complex motion and cannot begin 
until planets commence orbital circuits. "The spheres necessary to make up the 
universe were on hand, but the vast machine had not begun revolution. The 
_ Sole motor to do the work was gravity, and its task was to project the smaller 
_ globes into orbits about the large ones. 
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