ON GRAVITATION. - 115 



wantonly understood a term in its common and onl)- correct Remarks upon 

 acceptation. But it appears to m^, that the passage, which ^'^°^- ^'"^^'^ 

 is the first subject of his critical remarks, admits, beside gravitatioa. 

 the two alternatives which he discusses, a third sense, essen- 

 tially diiferenfc from them both : " the two first terms of the 

 series" may possibly allude to the two first terms of the 

 on/y two series which are to be found in the essay, these two 

 terms having already been mentioned as sufficient for deter- 

 mining the force: and if the author will take the trouble of 

 reperusing the whole of his essay, instead of trusting to his 

 meq^ory for its general tendency, he will probably be aware, 

 that such must have been his original meaning. Two of the 

 four terms thus obtained destroy each other immediately 

 after their birth ; the other pair conspire in the production 

 of a joint issue (p. 18) ; and this their offspring is precisely 

 that which is honoured with a place in the 18th section, as 

 the representative not only of both its parents, but also of 

 the whole of the unfortunate family; for we are expressly 

 and very truly told (p. I9), that the terms omitted are so 

 small, that they could make no sensible alteration in the 

 r<?sult. Let them rest in peace. Let not the same hand 

 Avhich has bestowed on them a decent interment as dead in 

 Philosophy, now drag forth their poor remains to stand iii 

 dumb parade under the banners of Logic. 



The series which Professor Vince now introduces to our His explana- 

 acquaintance, as willing to present us with its two first mem- ^!?^ notaUmis* 

 bers, is not even mentioned in the essay, much less so stated 

 as to make it possible to found any reasoning upon it. If "it 

 was proposed" to take any " second terms" of such a se- 

 ries into consideration, the proposal was wisely confined to 

 the author's breast : for why should they be considered, if 

 they could " make no sensible alteration " in the result ? 



The series j 1- ... mav certainly vary as — , if all 



the Greek letters after the first become inconsiderable, and 

 our author has virtually confessed in his essay, that they do 

 become inconsiderable. 



As to the difficulty of extending the lav/ to the internal Difficulty re- 

 parts of the sun's substance, it is perfectly obvious, that the '"<j^ed. 

 I 2 law 



I 



