298 
Mr. upcu 
cer’s Sell 
e x i s t i n 
Flocculi. 
I- motion in them will be moved to like degrees in the same 
g direction” (p. 481); which of course is quite true; and 
consequently all the assumptions, that one initial force acting 
on homogeneous matter would or could divide itself and the 
matter into different kinds of forces and matter, are mere 
nonsense, and have been refuted by himself. 
Yet, in the face of those two true statements of the only 
possible effects of a uniform force acting on homogeneous 
matter, either all in parallel lines or all towards one centre 
of gravity, he coolly says that “the first stage of nebular 
condensation would be the precipitation into flocculi of denser 
matter previously diffused through a rarer medium ” (p. 225). 
But how did the denser matter get previously diffused through 
a rarer medium in a homogeneous mass ? And previously to 
what ? We begin with the homogeneous mass, which is 
also inconceivable (he says) without gravity. Then the first 
stage necessarily must be (as he rightly said in the other 
place) motion of all the atoms in like degrees towards the 
centre ; that is, the density must have increased in uniform 
spherical shells. How, then, was the precipitation or diffusion 
of denser matter through the rarer medium to begin ? In 
all this reasoning of his, every cart and its horse are made 
to change places just as they are wanted. Flocculi are 
the denser matter, and yet the denser matter could not 
possibly get into flocculi or clouds, which are (relatively to 
the rest) lumps, under the action of gravity or uniform com- 
pression. But flocculi are wanted, and therefore flocculi 
must come. The Spencerian philosophy can make greater 
things than these come when they are called. 
The next thing to be conjured into automatic existence is 
the spirality of the contracting nebula of homogeneous matter, 
and that feat is performed thus : “ The tractive forces which 
would of themselves carry the matter in a straight line to the 
centre of gravity are opposed by the resistent forces of the 
medium through which it is drawn. The direction of move- 
ment must be the resultant of these, which, in consequence of 
the unsymmetrical form of the flocculus, must be a curve, 
directed, not to the centre of gravity, but towards one side of 
it” (p. 228). But towards which side? And which of all 
the infinity of axes through the centre of gravity is to be the 
axis of rotation ? And how are all the flocculi throughout the 
universe to conspire to send resultants of gravity from every 
direction all into one direction round one axis when it has 
been discovered ? And how did any unsymmetrical flocculus 
begin by means of uniform attraction moving homogeneous 
