GASEOUS CONDITION OF THE UNIVERSE. 321 
on the ground of mathematical and astronomical facts, was 
put forward in 1755 by our critical philosopher Kant,” 
and was later more thoroughly established by the celebrated 
mathematicians, Laplace and Herschel. This cosmogeny, or 
theory of the development of the universe, is now almost 
universally acknowledged; it has not been replaced by a 
better one, and mathematicians, astronomers, and geologists 
have continually, by various arguments, strengthened its 
position. 
Kant’s cosmogeny maintains that the whole universe, in- 
concewable ages ago, consisted of a gaseous chaos. All the 
substances which are found at present separated on the 
earth, and other bodies of the universe, in different con- 
ditions of density—in the solid, semi-fluid, liquid, and elastic 
fluid or gaseous states of aggregation—originally constituted 
together one single homogeneous mass, equally filling up the 
space of the universe, which, in consequence of an extremely 
high degree of temperature, was in an exceedingly thin 
gaseous or nebulous state. The millions of bodies in 
the universe which at present form the different solar 
systems did not then exist. They originated only in con- 
sequence of a universal rotatory movement, or rotation, 
during which a number of masses acquired greater density 
than the remaining gaseous mass, and then acted upon the 
latter as central points of attraction. Thus arose a separa- 
tion of the chaotic primary nebula, or gaseous universe, into 
a number of rotating nebulous spheres, which became 
more and: more condensed. Our solar system was such a 
gigantic gaseous or nebulous ball, all the particles of which 
revolved round a common central point, the solar nucleus, 
The nebulous ball itself, like all the rest, in consequence 
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