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 a I B R.ARY 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 113 
 
 VJ25& 
 
EVOLUTION THEORY 
 
 ORIGIN OF WORLDS, 
 
 
 The causes which produced the peculiarities 
 
 AND MOTIONS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, IN- 
 CLUDING THE Asteroids, rings of 
 Saturn, moons of Uranus, 
 
 METEORS, AND COMETS, 
 
 CAUSE OF THE SUN’S LIGHT, HEAT AND SPOTS, 
 
 ^LSO 
 
 THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF HEAT AND LIGHT- 
 
 BY 
 
 
 SETH K. WARREN. 
 
 Lake Geneva, Wis., 1888. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie 
 year 1888, by 
 SETH K. WARREN, 
 
 In ilie office of the Librarian of Congress at 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 LAKE GENEVA NEWS JOB PRINT. 
 
-j C O S» 
 
 l\3 
 
 EVOLUTION THEORY. 
 
 This theory accMoints for the foriiiatioii of the 
 sun, for the fonuation of all the [ilaiiets, and for 
 their positions, tt accounts for tlieir revolving 
 around the sun, for their rotating on their axes, 
 and for their orbits being elliptical. It accounts 
 for their motion in their orbits decreasing as they 
 increase their distance from the sun, for their or- 
 bits being nearly on a plane, perpendicular to the 
 axis, and over the sun’s ecjnatoi*, and for their rotat- 
 ing on tlieir axes from west to east. It explains the 
 cause of the sun’s being a cool planet and ac- 
 counts for the sun’s emitting light, and the plan- 
 ets not doing so. It explains the cause of the 
 planets having once been ineited by fervent heat. 
 It explains the cause of the moon having no 
 water, or atmosphere, the cause of the moon not 
 rotating on an axis, and accounts for the incli- 
 nation of the earth’s axis to the plane of its orbit, 
 and for circling of the earth’s poles. It accounts 
 ^ for the moons of rranus revolving from east to 
 
 ^ west contrary to those of all other planets; ac- 
 
 counts for the asteroids; accounts for Sati^im’s 
 rings; accounts for the formation of moons. It 
 explains the cause of the superior planets having 
 less specific gravity than others, and of moons 
 having less specific gravity than their superiors. 
 
 i 
 
 800941 
 
and accounts for the light of the sun, and tlie 
 spots on tlie sun, and for the sun’s rotation. 
 It explains the cause of the oblateness of the pri- 
 mary planets, and of moons being perfect spheres 
 without oblateness. It also accounts for the sun’s 
 corona as seen in total eclipses. It explains the 
 cause of meteors and aerolites, and accounts for 
 the comets and their parabolic and hyperbolic or- 
 bits. It accounts for the zodiacal light. It ac- 
 counts for the creation of all worlds, and ac- 
 counts for nebulae. It explains the cause of heat 
 and light; a cause that will in the course of time 
 bring all created worlds into chaotic nebulae, and 
 in the course of time will reform them into new 
 worlds of light and motion. 
 
1 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 The present theory of the formation of worlds 
 from nehnions matter, was first proposed by Sir 
 W illiam Herseliel; but he only applied it to the 
 stellar systems and suns. He did not speculate 
 on the formation of solar systems by the separa- 
 tion of nebulous globes into rings, which coalesced 
 into planets. 
 
 Nebulse are planetary matter, so expanded by 
 intense heat that the minute particles are dis- 
 solved into atoms, and diffused through space; 
 the ultimate particles being held asunder by the 
 expansion of heat. 
 
 This theory is, that in the beginning, all mat- 
 ter was in nebulae, and was diffused throughout 
 infinite space; and that by cooling and condens- 
 ing, it finally broke up into immense masses; and 
 that each of these masses resulted in a stellar 
 system, and that our stellar system at first was a 
 very irregular nebulous mass, that it subsided 
 into a globe, rotated abandoned rings one hijer 
 another, and that these rings broke up into smaller 
 masses one of which became our solar system. 
 Such a formation of stars as this theory claims, 
 would be an impossible resultant from the laws 
 
and forces of nature, which it is here claimed 
 would produce such an elfect. 
 
 All the stars which we behold in a clear night, 
 belong to our system of stars, which is called a 
 stellar system, or a system of stars. This system 
 of stars is surrounded by immense space; and far 
 away in the immensity of space are other systems 
 of stars, which can only be seen through powerful 
 telescopes. 
 
 The powers and principal forces of nature, 
 which formed and govern the planets, and sys- 
 tems of worlds, are. Gravity, Inertia, Electricity, 
 Heat, Light, Ether and Resistance. 
 
 Gravitation is strictly a conservative power, 
 though many physicists claim that it is also a 
 conversional power. 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton claimed that gravity was not 
 a property of matter, but a force acting mechan- 
 ically on matter from without. This reasoning 
 must have arisen from his supposing that gravity 
 lost its power of attraction when the matter was 
 in nebulse, which state was caused by heat. We 
 know that gravity does not lose any of its at- 
 tractive power by reason of heat. A bar of iron 
 heated to the state of fusion weighs the same as 
 before. 
 
 Gravitation must have been coexistent with 
 
and as indestructible as matter. And ii would be 
 an unwarrantable hypothesis to suppose that one 
 was conserved, while the other was converted, or 
 annihilated. 
 
 Gravity is contained in every atom of matter, 
 and heat only separates the atoms by expansion; 
 it has no other effect. Heat does not repel, it sim- 
 ply expands matter. The attractive power of 
 gravity was the same, while the particles of mat- 
 ter were held asunder by intense heat, as it is to- 
 day, in particles of matter in a condensed form. 
 
 Gravity is a creative power, which underlies all 
 tlie atomic forces of matter, and is the principle 
 of matter. Its power radiates through the realms 
 of space, and its connections extend through the 
 universe of matter, and is a continuous, and never 
 ceasing momentum force to all matter, and is only 
 held in check by the force of resistance. 
 
 Inertia is an essential property of matter, but 
 its only power consists in its resistance to force, 
 and its conservation of force. If matter is at rest, 
 it resists the power to move it, but if the matter is 
 forced into motion, it resists the power to stop it. 
 This negative power is the great regulator which 
 balances and sustains the universe. The universal 
 diffusion of matter throughout all space, caused 
 by intense heat, at the beginning of the creation. 
 
4 
 
 is now lielil to i)e the most reasonabJe theory of 
 creation. 
 
 Let us trace tlie effect that would be produced 
 by the physical powers from matter in this nebu- 
 lous state. All tlie matter contained in all the 
 systems was in an inert state; but, as soon as the 
 heat radiated away, the expanded mass would 
 commence contracting through the force of grav- 
 ity, and this would produce motion throughout 
 the entire mass. And, through a course of time, 
 it would be attracted to the most dense centers, 
 and the masses created by this contracting would 
 separate from each other a long way, probably as 
 far as we are from the nearest fixed star. These 
 masses would, in the course of time, contract 
 down to globes, if their mutual attraction did not 
 bring them to a common center before; and here 
 they must remain until they are finally all drawn 
 together by their own attraction. 
 
 The advocates of this theory claim, that their 
 mutual attraction would sustain them in their 
 positions, the same as it does the sun, planets and 
 stars. But the sun, stars and planets are not held 
 in their positions by universal gravitation alone; 
 they have an equalizing power, which just bal- 
 ances the power of mutual attraction, and which 
 sustains them in their positions. This power is 
 
inertia, and is called the centrifugal force; but 
 t!ie centrifugal force is only inertia, resisting the 
 power of gravity; in mechanics it is its resist- 
 ance to the motive power. 
 
 If all matter was inert at the beginning, the 
 physical forces of nature could never have pro- 
 <luced the motions of the universe. Thousands of 
 star clusters have been discovered, far greater 
 than our system of stars, with an immense space 
 surrounding them; and from our standpoint it ap- 
 pears as though the center was a mass of stars. 
 This of coui'se would be a natural consequence of 
 looking through a cluster of stars in a globular 
 form, but it proves the fact, that mutual attraction 
 alone could not sustain them in such a form; for 
 there is an inside and an outside, and the outside 
 stars could not sustain themselves from the in- 
 side attraction, for there is nothing but space on 
 one side, and millions of stars on the other side of 
 them. 
 
 This is the case with our stellar system. Our 
 sun is near the center, and our system of stars oc- 
 cupy space in the form of a broad ring, and it 
 would be impossible, according to the laws of 
 universal gravity, to sustain them by mutual at- 
 traction. In order to sustain their positions, they 
 must have a great velocity around a central point 
 
v\lnch they could not acquire from such forma- 
 tions through any known powers of nature. 
 
 The advocates of this theory do not attempt to 
 prove their assumptions, in regard to the cause of 
 the rotation of planets. They simply say that, by 
 the attraction of the particles of matter, through 
 cooling and condensing, the nebulous masses ac- 
 quired a rotary motion upon their axes of rota- 
 tion, which was, in their center of magnitude, 
 slow at first; but increasing their velocity as tliey 
 became smaller; and that these rotations com- 
 menced, while the nebulous masses were less 
 dense than hydrogen gas. 
 
 The laws of motion require all moving sub- 
 stances to follow straight lines, unless continu- 
 ally deflected; and as all of the lines of attrac- 
 tion, and condensing are directed to the center, I 
 fail to see how they can produce a curvilinear 
 motion. Again, the attraction and condensing 
 are equal at every radiant, lineal, distant point. 
 Then again, it would be impossible to produce the 
 centrifugal force, in so light a fluid, through and 
 by itself, without some outside power. 
 
 This theory has a chain of inconsistencies 
 from the start to the end. The first assumption 
 is, that in the beginning, all creation was ethe- 
 realized into nebulae, through intense heat, but 
 
tliere is not a word said as to tho origin of this 
 heat. If there existed such an intense lieat, tlnni 
 tliere must have been a cause for this heat. Ky 
 well known physical laws, we know that heat can 
 not produce itself, and can only be produced by 
 force. Then this could not have been the be- 
 ginning. 
 
 The next assumption is, that this intense heat 
 filled all space; but, through tlie course of time, 
 radiated away. Now, if all space was filled with 
 heat, millions of times greater than any heat that 
 we know of, where can a place be found for this 
 heat to radiate to? Heat is only propagated by 
 conduction and radiation, and can only be con- 
 ducted through, or radiated to a cooler place, or 
 thing. 
 
8 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 So far we have been reviewing the theory of 
 the formation of siderial sims. We will now re- 
 view the theory of the formation of the solar sys- 
 tem. La Place and Swedenborg endorsed the tlie- 
 ory of Herschel, and they took for granted that 
 the sim and stars were already formed, and re- 
 volving around their axes of rotation. They as- 
 sumed, that the sun’s mass, by cooling and con- 
 densing, increased its rotation, thereby increasing 
 the centrifugal force at the equator, until the 
 mass formed a ridge over the equator. And when 
 the mass had contracted down to the orbit of Nep- 
 tune, a fluid zone, or ring was detached from the 
 equator, and left revolving in space, by the mass 
 shrinking away from it. And, that the ring broke 
 up and coalesced into a globe, which formed the 
 planet Neptune. And that Neptune, in its turn, 
 formed its satellite, as it was itself formed. The ^ 
 
 sun, after contracting down to the orbit of Uranus, 
 abandoned another ring, and kept contracting 
 down to its present size, leaving a ring for each 
 planet. And the planets that have several moons 
 formed them by a series of rings. 
 
 I will here quote from one of the philosophers, 
 
writing upon this nebular theory. He says, “Onr 
 solar system, when, in the condition of a very rare, 
 nehnlons mass, was not very irregular in shap(‘. 
 Soon it became round, rotated, and abandoned 
 rings. First its rotation was extremely slow; 
 then by degrees it increased its velocity to 12,500 
 miles per hour when the ring forming Neptune 
 was abandoned. Its speed was still increasing 
 under the continued action of gravity, and at 
 last, after parting many rings it reached the enor- 
 mous and almost incredible velocity of 110,000 
 miles an hour. Then the ring resulting in Mer- 
 cury was parted; but no more rings were parted 
 because no greater velocity of rotation was 
 reached. The ring from the nebulous mass giv- 
 ing origin to our earth, broke, like all the other 
 solar rings, and became a contracting, rotating, 
 nebulous globe. This latter nebulous globe was 
 large enough to abandon only a single ring, and 
 that after subsiding into a rotating globe, became 
 our moon.” Again he says, “The sun, when at the 
 planet Neptune, was twelve millions of times 
 lighter than hydrogen gas, and when at Mercury, 
 it was thirty times less dense than hydrogen. 
 
 This unreasonable, and nonsensical theory of 
 the first creation of the universe, with all the 
 various motions and peculiarities, is now being 
 
taught in all of the higher institutions of learn- 
 ing, throughout the civilized world. All that has 
 been written in support of this theory, does not 
 correspond with physical laws, or facts. This neb- 
 ulous mass, though millions of times lighter than 
 our atmosphere, would be drawn to a common 
 center through the attraction of gravity, and as 
 the particles were free t() move, it would take the 
 form of a globe, as this is the only foi in, that has 
 all its surface at an equal distance from its center. 
 
 To produce a curvilinear motion of this fluid 
 matter, there must be an angular motion; and all 
 the motion that this shrinking and contracting 
 fluid mass could have was linear, converging to 
 its center. To produce a rotary motion there 
 must be eccentric matter; which could not hap- 
 pen until the particles cohered together, and co- 
 hesion is not a property of fluid matter. And this 
 eccentric matter must be acted upon by some out- 
 side power. 
 
 To illustrate this law, we will suppose the 
 earth without motion; that is, the earth stood still, 
 and that all of the outside power of attraction 
 was shut off, and that the earth was formed of 
 lead and cork; one side was formed of lead, and 
 the other of cork. The result would be that the 
 earth would not move. It would make no differ- 
 
11 
 
 onro wlietluM- tliis transfoniiatioii was iiistanta- 
 lUMnis, or millions of years in forming. The heavy 
 side con hi not diop, and cause it to turn over, be- 
 cause there vvotild he nothing for it to drop to, or 
 to cause it to dioj). Its center of gravity would 
 he changed to the heavy side, far from its center 
 of magnitude, and its own power of attraction 
 would he exerted tlirough straight lines, toward 
 t!ie center ot* gravity, and no angular lines could 
 he formed, for the power of its own gravity to act 
 upon. Now if we give the earth a linear motion 
 from the sun , of sixty-eight tliousand miles per 
 hour, and open the gates, and let in the outside 
 attraction, the heavy side will at once turn toward 
 the sun, with a momentum that will carry it past 
 the i)oint of resistance, and the earth would spin 
 around on its axis like a top; and its poles would 
 i)e at right angles to its line of direction. If the 
 (‘arth had had no lijjear motion, the heavy side 
 would have turned toward the sun, but would not 
 have had sufficient momentum to have carried it 
 past the point of resistance, and it would have vi- 
 brated like a pendulum. 
 
12 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Tliere is but one power that is stable, un- 
 changeable, the same today, yesterday and for- 
 ever, omnipotent and omnipresent, no beginning, 
 no ending. The Eternal, who was, and is God, 
 the Almighty Architect, Builder, and Ruler of all 
 created beings and things. All else is changeable 
 and unstable. Every thing that had a beginning 
 must have an ending, for such is the law of des- 
 tiny. Infinite space was not open by chance, but 
 was a part of the original design of creation, and 
 all creations are governed by the same laws that 
 produced them. 
 
 I cannot see how universal gravitation could 
 have produced the positions and motions of the 
 universe. Hence I am led to believe that in the 
 beginning, God created space, and filled it with 
 worlds, and placed them in their positions and 
 gave them light and heat, and their motions. And 
 fitted them for vegetable and animal life, suitable 
 to each planet. And, underlying all possible 
 forms of creation, he placed the principle of the 
 never ending change of matter. No one has ever 
 tried to explain what matter is, or how it originat- 
 ed. Ethereal space, we know, is not a vacuum. 
 
then it must be a substance. Therefore, which is 
 tlie more reasonable hypothesis, to suppose that 
 the Creator, after creating matter, melted it into 
 ethereal atoms, which would be against all natural 
 laws; or, that lie should first form it into worlds, 
 with light, heat, and motions. 
 
 But here nature drops the mystic vail between 
 mind, matter, and eternity; and here we must rest 
 contented until the connection is broken, and the 
 mind is freed from matter. Man was the last 
 crowning effort of nature and was formed an in- 
 telligent being that he might understand nature. 
 That his thoughts might wander through eternity 
 and reflect upon the great First Cause, and ad- 
 mire the harmony, grandeur and sublimity of the 
 stupendous work, and love and enjoy the beauties 
 of creation, and love and praise the great De- 
 signer, Architect and Builder, Jehovah. 
 
 We find through all the works of nature, that 
 all matter is in motion. By the laws of gravity 
 and inertia, no matter could remain without mo- 
 tion. The rock of Gibralter, though firmly fixed, 
 is flying through space at the rate of sixty-eight 
 thousand miles per hour. The sun and its at- 
 tendant planets are moving with great velocity 
 through space, in the direction of the constela- 
 tion Hercules, and we know that some of the fixed 
 
14 
 
 stars are moving. In fact if one star moves the 
 whole system must also move; otherwise it would 
 disarrange the power of attraction, and throw the 
 whole system out of balance, and there would be a 
 collision. Many of these stars have been tested, 
 and found to be moving through space; which 
 proves that all planets and nebula are revolving 
 around a common center. 
 
 Now, if it could be proven, that through phys- 
 ical laws, the existing powers could produce these 
 various positions and motions, it would then be a 
 reasonable hypothesis to suppose that, in the be- 
 ginning, infinite space was an atmosphere of 
 atoms without heat. But until some theory is ad- 
 vanced, which can show clearly that these natural 
 powers could produce this effect; or, that they 
 could form solar systems, with all their motions, 
 froai chaos, we would better follow, and teach the 
 biblical account of creation, as it is, even in its 
 literal sense, the most reasonable account of crea- 
 tion that has ever been written. 
 
 The great Spirit of Nature has endowed us 
 with a reasoning power, to separate the true fron) 
 the false, and to sift the good from the bad, and 
 lias written by the wayside, throughout life’s 
 course, in unmistakable language, wondrous facts; 
 and we are required (or the way would not have 
 
l)e(Mi opiMi) to exercise our reason in fartlier in- 
 vestigation. There are many facts wiiich plainly 
 show that the solar system was once in a state of 
 nebula. The main facts are, that different patches 
 of nebulse exist in our circle of stars, and the 
 spectroscope shows that these masses are filled 
 with glowing vapor. And another fact is, that 
 stars are continually passing out of sight, while 
 new ones are discovered, and another fact is, that 
 the earth was once in a state of fusion. 
 
 I will admit the fact that nebula exists in our 
 system, in the same form that the nebular theory 
 claims that all matter existed in the beginning: 
 but there is a cause for this now, which did not 
 exist in the beginning. I shall hereafter show 
 that there is a power at work, which will, after a 
 long time, cause all the planets of the solar sys- 
 tem to fall to the sun; which will cause a heat 
 that will vaporize the whole solar system. And 
 that, after remaining in nebula a certain length 
 of time, will again be reformed into new worlds 
 of heat, light and motion. But this ^^ill be better 
 understood, after showing a cause which could 
 have produced the present formations, and mo- 
 tions of the solar system. I shall assume that all 
 of the primary planets were thrown from the 
 sun’s equator by centrifugal force. 
 
16 
 
 Nebulous matter consists of dense clouds of 
 heavy, glowing vapor, and as soon as the heat ra- 
 diates into space, it soon contracts into a denser 
 form, and, through the course of time, by contin- 
 ually cooling and condensing will result in a sun. 
 
 We will suppose that the sun by continual con- 
 densing from the nebulous state had after a long 
 time arrived at nearly its present state, size and 
 density, and had so increased its velocity, that at 
 the equator its inertia overcame the power of at- 
 traction, and a large mass was detached from the 
 equator, and hurled into space. As the first por- 
 tion thrown off, would be likely to receive the 
 greatest velocity it would form the farthest planet 
 from the sun, which is Neptune. And its course 
 from the sun to its most distant point would be in 
 a winding curvilinear form. It will be readily 
 seen that this mass of material from its start 
 from the sun would be continually bending to 
 the power of the sun’s attraction, which would 
 cause it to circle; and while circling around the 
 sun, it would be continually receding from it, 
 with lessening power and speed. And it would 
 continue in this course until the powers of grav- 
 ity and inertia became balanced, which could not 
 take place before one revolution was made, when 
 both powers would be in equilibrium. But it could 
 
17 
 
 not be sustained by the centrifugal force against 
 the never ceasing power of the sun’s attraction, 
 
 V without increasing its velocity, which it would 
 now do on its returning course, through the con- 
 tinued attraction of gravity, which would draw it 
 from a circle to an ellipse, thereby accelerating 
 its velocity. 
 
 It would be impossible for a planet to be sus- 
 tained in an orbit of a circle by centrifugal force, 
 or any other force, or forces of nature. This fact 
 will be understood when its momentum is com- 
 pared with the force of attraction. The moment- 
 ^ urn of the planet was greater than the attraction 
 
 of the sun, while it had power to recede from it: 
 but when the planet stopped receding from the 
 sun, it was because it had no greater power than 
 the attraction. The instant the planet stopped 
 receding from the sun, was its first moment of 
 equilibrium power and its first revolution. It 
 now had conserved power to move in a straight 
 line forever, with its present velocity, unless it 
 
 V was overpowered or resisted. But it had not the 
 
 ^ power to move, with the same velocity, against 
 
 resistance. And, at the moment of its full power 
 with gravity, it met with the same resistance that 
 it had met at its first start, which had retarded 
 and defiected it from a straight line to a circle. 
 
IS 
 
 and which had coiitimially Jesseiicd its speed; 
 and, unless it could increase its nioinentum it 
 would eventually fall to the sun. 
 
 This power, Neptune acquired on its returning 
 course by being continually drawn towards the 
 sun. This continued drawing towards the sun 
 had the same effect of increasing its velocity, as 
 though the planet had fallen the same distance 
 directly towards the sun. In this way it acquired 
 an accelerated velocity, which resisted the power 
 of gravity, and carried it back to the point of 
 equilibrium power. 
 
 In this same form were all of the planets, 
 which revolve around a superior, placed in their 
 orbits. It will be seen that the farther a planet’s 
 orbit is from the sun, the less will be the sun’s at- 
 tractive power, consequently the slower will be 
 its velocity through its orbit, and that the ellipse 
 is the only form of a permanent orbit. 
 
 Many suppose that all forms of conic sections 
 were adopted by the heavenly bodies for orbits, but 
 it would be impossible for a planet to move in a 
 circle. 
 
 Comets pass around the sun in parabolic and 
 hyperbolic orbits; but never pass around twice in 
 the same path. 
 
 All of the primary planets were thrown from 
 
Ill 
 
 th(^ sun’s (Mjuator by centrifugal force, caused tiy 
 the sun’s increased e(iuat()rial velocity; but witli 
 <lifTerent inonientnin. Their orbital distance from 
 the sun, depended upon the amouiit of force 
 wliich each i)lanet received at the start; and the 
 attraction of tlie sun brought them around with 
 a velocity in proi)ortion to the diameters of their 
 orbits. 
 
20 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 We have now seen how the planets received 
 their several distances from the sun, and how 
 they acquired the elliptic form of orbit, and the 
 increasing orbital velocity, as their orbits were 
 nearer the sun. We will now see how they ac- 
 quired their present form, and rotary motion 
 upon their axes. As all of them received their 
 form and motions from the same source, one de- 
 scription will answer for all. I will describe the 
 earth’s formation and motions, as we are better 
 acquainted with it than the other planets. 
 
 When the snn’s equator threw off this mass of 
 material, it was not thrown in one solid body, but 
 in mountains of chunks and scattering material, 
 for tens of thousands of miles, something in the 
 shape it would be to take a shovel full of earth 
 and chunks of clay, and fling it off; these chunks 
 and material would assume a space fifty times 
 greater than they occupied upon the start. The 
 bursting of a wheel or stone by centrifugal force, 
 shows the tendency it has to scatter material. In 
 fact, it would be against reason to suppose that 
 this matter could be hurled into space by centrif- 
 ugal force in any other shape. At a certain 
 
21 
 
 distance from the sun their own attraction vvouhl 
 he thousands of times greater than the attractive 
 power of the sun. This attraction would be so 
 great that all of the masses and particles of mat- 
 ter would rush together with such force that it 
 would cause the whole mass of matter to be in- 
 stantly melted. 
 
 The masses of matter thrown from the sun’s 
 equator in irregular shape, rushing through space, 
 under so swift a forward motion, against the 
 power of the sun’s attraction, could not help re- 
 volving, and revolve in the direction in which 
 they were moving. The fusion of these masses 
 must have occurred before the earth reached the 
 aphelion of its orbit. Such a transformation of 
 so large a body of matter as the earth and moon 
 contain, coming together, under such a swift re- 
 volving motion, and being instantly melted, and 
 formed into a revolving globe, must have caused 
 some very high prominences over the equator, by 
 reaction of the forces; one of which was thrown 
 off by centrifugal force, and became our moon. 
 
 This intense heat vaporized the water, atmos- 
 phere and gases, and as heat always radiates to a 
 colder place, they were radiated to ethereal space, 
 and held in atoms by the radiation of heat from 
 the earth. The mass that was thrown off from the 
 
22 
 
 earth’s equator, which became the moon, could 
 not have contained any fluids or gases, conse- 
 quently the moon does not contain any water, at- 
 mosphere or gases. Through the power of the 
 earth’s attraction and its conserved momentum, 
 which it received from the earth, it gradually bent 
 to the power of attraction and was sustained in 
 its orbit by centrifugal force. All moons were 
 created in the same way, and the planets would 
 continue to throw them off, until their circumfer- 
 ence was so lessened that it diminished the centrif- 
 ugal force to such an extent that the attractive 
 power was greater than the centrifugal force. 
 
 When the moon was thrown off, from the earth, 
 it was instantly formed into a perfect globe. The 
 manufacture of shot will illustrate this sudden 
 formation. The melted lead is poured into an 
 iron sieve, the diameter of the holes being of the 
 size which they require the shot to be made. The 
 stream of melted lead is at once broken into 
 globules, that almost instantly become perfect 
 spheres. In order that the shot may get cool and 
 hard before reaching the bottom, a high tower is 
 erected. 
 
 The moon does not rotate on an axis.— The 
 moon being formed into a perfect sphere, so 
 quickly after leaving the earth, the attraction was 
 
not sufficient to cause a rotary motion before it 
 formed its center of gravity in its center of mag- 
 nitude, after which it could not revolve. This 
 would always keep one side of the moon toward 
 the earth, while making its revolution around it; 
 the earth being its true center of motion. 
 
 There are Qve other planets that have moons. 
 The names of the planets in their order as they 
 recede from the sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth 
 with one moon, next is Mars with two moons, 
 then come the Asteroids, the next planet is Jupi- 
 ter with four moons, next Saturn with eight 
 moons, next Uranus with four moons, next and 
 last planet from The sun is Neptune with one 
 moon. This makes twenty moons that we know 
 of, and there are probably more. Two of these 
 moons revolve around their superiors in less than 
 one day; one of them revolves in about seven 
 hours, and the others at different times up to our 
 moon, which takes 27 days to make its revolu- 
 tion around its superior. Now that all of these 
 moons should pass around their superiors at dif- 
 ferent times and rotate upon an axis in the same 
 time that it took to make their revolution around 
 their superior would be a coincidence which is not 
 warranted by any of the physical laws of nature. 
 
 We find several peculiarities in the formation 
 
of the solar system, for which no theory has ever 
 been able to give a reasonable cause. The first 
 peculiar formation of planets from the sun is the 
 asteroids, or minor planets. There are probably 
 several hundred of them, two hundred having been 
 discovered. They could not have been thrown 
 from the sun in that form, for the space which 
 they occupy would, if a line were drawn from 
 each one to the sun, bring their lines nearly paral- 
 lel for millions of miles, and their own attraction 
 would have drawn them, to one common center; 
 nor could they be the effect of a planet exploded 
 by combustion, for they revolve from west to east, 
 which they could not do, if caused by combustion, 
 which would have given them a linear moment- 
 um, in all directions, without a central power, ex- 
 cept the sun, to curb their directions. Their po- 
 sitions in space and different forms of orbits, 
 prove the fact that they were thrown into space 
 by the bursting of a planet through centrifugal 
 force. Their orbits are all included in a space of 
 about 150,000,000 miles, and their irregular shape 
 and form of surface, prove that they were the 
 fragments of a broken planet, which had become 
 solidified, and that all their motions are from west 
 to east proves this fact. 
 
 The next peculiar formation is the rings of 
 
Saturn. This pecMiliar formation of rings to a 
 planet must have given rise to the theory of the 
 ahandomnent of eipialorial zones, or rings, to 
 planets, wdiile in a flnid state. Now it is a well 
 known fact that matter of the earth at the equa- 
 tor is lighter than at any other part of its sur- 
 face. It a man should weigh KU) pounds at the 
 earth’s equator and then start toward either pole 
 he would continually grow heavier as he ap- 
 proached nearer to the pole. This is caused by 
 inertia resisting the power of gravity. If tlie 
 earth’s rotating velocity was increased fifteen 
 times, the inertia would so overcome the earth’s 
 power of attraction that the man who started 
 from the equator, and gradually grew heavier as 
 he receded from the equator, would not now, if he 
 returned, weigh one pound, and if the earth’s ro- 
 tation was increased two or three times more, the 
 surface at the equator would be raised up in a 
 ridge, independent of the earth’s attraction, and 
 if its inertia could sustain it, against the whole 
 power of the earth’s attraction, at a few feet, it 
 could sustain itself if the earth contracted and 
 shrank out of existence, and if the earth’s rotary 
 motion was increased a few hundred times it 
 would fly to pieces, as did the planet that once 
 composed the material of the asteroids and tliere 
 
would not be a piece left to mark the spot. 
 
 This is not speculating, not hypothesis, but ac- 
 cording to a law of physics. Saturn is over seven 
 hundred times larger than the earth and has a 
 specific gravity of only one-half the weight of 
 water, while the earth has a specific gravity of five 
 and one-half times the weight of w^ater. When 
 Saturn extended to the outer ring, its diameter 
 was 121,390 miles, which is 34,390 miles greater 
 than the diameter of Jupiter. This is a low esti- 
 mate. Others make the diameter of the outer 
 ring 177,000 miles. Saturn’s present diameter is 
 73,590 miles; distance from planet to inner ring, 
 19,000 miles; width of inner ring, 17,000 miles; 
 space between the rings, 1,800 miles; width of 
 outer ring, 10,000 miles, and it and the rings ro- 
 tate in 10}4 hours. This extremely great equa- 
 torial velocity, of such light material, must have 
 produced great oblateness, and the planet must 
 have been in the form of a double convex lens. 
 This thin ridge over the equator wmuld be the first 
 portion to cool and its particles to cohere. The 
 planet’s power of attraction on this hardened 
 ring was far different from what it would have 
 been if the ring had been in the form of a sphere 
 at the same distance. The planet’s attraction was 
 at every radiant point of the hardened ring. 
 
wliicli bound it like a lioop to a cask. The ring 
 by its great centrifugal force, and th(‘ attraction 
 of the eight moons, which passed around it in 
 times varying from less than one, up to eight 
 days, made it a self sustaining power, before the 
 planet shrank away from it. The planet being in 
 a melted state, was by its centrifugal force, soon 
 formed in the same shape as before, and so aban- 
 doned another hardened and self sustaining ring. 
 It is very probable that the interior ring slopes in 
 its lower part, which gives the appearance of a 
 darker ring underneath. 
 
 The next peculiar formation is the moons of 
 Uranus. They move in orbits with an angle of 
 78‘^58' with the ecliptic, and move towards the 
 west, contrary to all other moons or planets. They 
 could not have been formed by equatorial velocity, 
 and must have been thrown from the planet, when 
 the planet was first formed, and caused by an ex- 
 plosion of confined gas, or steam, in the interior 
 of the planet. This explosion must have been 
 caused by large masses of matter, which were 
 thrown from the sun's] equator, containing gas, 
 or more probably when these large masses came 
 together, they overlapped and surrounded a large 
 quantity of water, which was instantly vaporized 
 into steam, and being confined would have had 
 
28 
 
 the power to have produced this eifect. This ex- 
 plosion must have thrown the material obihjuely 
 across the planet’s equator; which probably oc- 
 curred below and about of the north pole, 
 and the matter thrown in a northeasterly di- 
 rection. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 It has hoen shown liow tfie planets received 
 their rotations in the direction, in which they 
 were m )ving, which brought their poles at right 
 angles to the plane of their orbits, and that the 
 water, atmosphere and gases were expanded into 
 atoms and held in space through the radiation of 
 heal. The earth was then in ethereal vacuum, same 
 as the moon is now, and the elements that radiated 
 away could not have been under the influence of 
 the earth’s rotary motion. As soon as the earth 
 cooled sufficiently to produce precipitation, the 
 water commenced falling; not as the rain falls, 
 but in streams, and without the resistance of the 
 atmosphere; and striking the earth’s rotary mo. 
 tion of over one thousand miles per hour, and 
 covering the whole earth with water, causing tidal 
 and reactive waves of immense heights. This, to- 
 gether with the force to drive the water to the 
 equator, and all the forces, acting upon the ex- 
 treme surface, would have produced a power, un- 
 der the circumstances, of the earth’s surface, to 
 have changed the poles from a perpendicular to 
 an inclination of 23 ^ degrees to the plane of its 
 orbit, and through its oblateness would have 
 
caused the circular motion of its poles. The 
 north pole veers 47^ from the north star, and com- 
 pletes a revolution in 25,868 years. This cycle of 
 time is called the Platonic year. 
 
 It has been stated that a planet could not ac- 
 quire a rotary motion while in a fluid slate, and 
 that it must become solidified in part before it 
 could become a rotating globe. All matter is in 
 motion around centers, and to cause a rotary mo- 
 tion to a globe, the matter must be in an eccen- 
 tric form, which is acted upon by a distant point 
 of attraction. A perfect sphere, of equal density, 
 would not have an angle, to be acted upon, by the 
 distant central power of attraction. This was 
 the case of the moons; they had no protuberance 
 and the attractive power of their superiors was 
 equally balanced through their disks. 
 
 The sun’s material when in nebula was in mo- 
 tion around a central point, and was held by the 
 centripetal force, to this central point of attrac- 
 tion. And when the particles began to cohere, 
 and became solidified, its velocity and attraction 
 turned it upon its axis of rotation, which was not 
 in the center of its magnitude. As the center of 
 gravity was not in the center of magnitude, one 
 side would be of higher altitude than the other; 
 this would give the higher side, greater velocity 
 
than the lower side; and the centrifugal forc(‘ 
 must have fonned a mountain ridge over the 
 equator of the high side, and unsolidified matter 
 must have collected along this long chain of 
 mountains hundreds of thousands of miles higli. 
 This protuberance so increased the velocity that 
 the highest portion became detached and thrown 
 into space, then poi tion after portion became de- 
 tached and thrown, until the high side became 
 on a level with the lower side. The portion 
 farthest from the center of motion would receive 
 the greatest nionientuni and least density. After 
 the first portion was thrown off, it lessened the 
 equatorial distance and centrifugal force and 
 continued lessening as each portion was thrown 
 off. The portions nearer the center that were 
 thrown off must have been of denser material, 
 and thrown with less force. All the masses that 
 were thrown with sufficient momentum became 
 self sustaining bodies, and they must have been 
 thrown in rapid succession until the sun had so 
 decreased its equatorial distance that gravity 
 again became the controling power. These two 
 great opposing forces of nature, gravity and in- 
 ertia, like good and evil, form nature’s paradox; 
 the result is harmony. These forces must have 
 filled planetary spaces with debris of planetary 
 
matter. Many other portions must liave been 
 thrown off at the same time, but not liaving re- 
 ceived sufficient force, feJl back upon the sun, 
 which melted the surface to such an extent that 
 the center of gravity was formed in tlie center of 
 magnitude. 
 
CllAPTEU VI. 
 
 From facts wliieli now exist, ill the solar sys- 
 tem, I am led to believe that in the beginning it 
 was ordained that all solar systems, should be de- 
 stroyed by fervent heat, and that the material 
 matter, after cooling and condensing, should form 
 an irregular globe, and through this irregular 
 formation it should gain a rotary motion, which 
 would so gradually increase its velocity, that 
 through the course of time it would become so 
 great that at the equator the centrifugal force 
 would overpower gravity, and large portions 
 would be thrown into space, which through the 
 powers of heat, gravitation and inertia would be 
 formed into perfect globes, with self sustaining 
 power, of continued revolution around this large 
 planet, which is a sun. These suns after throw- 
 ing off their protuberances would not yet be 
 globes with true centers, and must be partially 
 melted to form a perfect balance, or, through 
 time, they would so increase the centrifugal force 
 that they would break from the center and fly into 
 fragments. In the flrst instance the centrifugal 
 force was only great enough on the high side, to 
 overpower gravity. After the high side was 
 
thrown off, the centers of g^ravity and magnitude 
 were so near together that velocity, when in- 
 creased sufficient to cause the centrifugal force to 
 overcome the power of gravity, it would act near- 
 ly equal upon the whole surface, and when one 
 portion gave way it would cause a breakage to the 
 center. 
 
 The facts which lead to this theory are: First, 
 planets in approaching the sun, so increase their 
 velocity, that the centrifugal force overpowers 
 gravity; second, the earth has been melted, and, 
 from appearances, the moon also; third, stars are 
 coming and going from our view; fourth, nebu- 
 lous matter, in a glowing state of heat, exists in 
 our system of stars; fifth, the asteroids could not 
 have been formed by any known laws or forces of 
 nature, except by the bursting of a planet by cen- 
 trifugal force; sixth, by this theory only can a 
 reasonable cause be given for the formation of the 
 rings and moons of Saturn; seventh, by no known 
 laws or forces of nature, could the moons of Ura- 
 nus liave motions the reverse of all other planets,, 
 except through this theory of the ^formation of 
 planets; eighth, all the planets, except the moons of 
 Uranus, have orbits nearly in the plane of the sun’s 
 equator, which cannot be satisfactorily accounted 
 for by any other theory; ninth, no other theory 
 
:5r> 
 
 can give a clear cause fi)r all the various motions 
 of the solar system; tenth, the moon has no water 
 or atmosphere; eleventh, centrifugal force, grav- 
 ity, ami heat have power to have caused all these 
 formations; twelfth, no other theory can give a 
 reasonable account for meteors and aerolites. 
 
 The oblateiiess, or flattening of the poles of 
 planets, was caused by the centrifugal force being 
 greatest at the equator, and the matter being in a 
 fluid state, was driven to the equator and the 
 amount of depression would depend upon the 
 density of tlie planet and the equatorial velocity. 
 This oblateness of lire planets, sustains the moons 
 in their orbits, from perturbations from the sun 
 and other planets. It will be readily seen that 
 the moon in passing around the earth is one half 
 the time above, and one-half the time below, the 
 earth’s orbit; and in passing around it, makes an 
 angle of over 5^. This moving attraction from 
 above and below the earth’s poles, together with 
 other forces, sustains the poles of the earth in 
 their positions. Matter on the earth’s surface is 
 continually changing places. Large rivers are 
 running through the ocean, thousands of miles 
 long, with currents swifter than the Mississippi, 
 and three thousand times as large. Tides are 
 raised in some places to the height of over seven- 
 
ty feet. And the effect of the earth.’s revolving 
 velocity causes tidal waves which are continually 
 dashing against the eastern shores of continents; 
 and the attractive powers of the sun and moon 
 are continually lifting up and displacing these 
 waters, which counteracts the angular power of 
 attraction caused through the earth’s ohiateness. 
 
87 
 
 ( liAFTP^R VII. 
 
 Il is not snpposable that the material which 
 foil back upon the sun was sufficient to entirely 
 melt so large a globe, as the material must have 
 come back by degrees and most of it in a scatter- 
 ing form, which would be a natural consequence 
 of all material which was not thrown in line of 
 the equator. All water, atmosphere and gases 
 were vaporized into atoms through excessive heat, 
 and radiated into space. 
 
 If the sun had been in a melted state at the 
 time of the formation of the planets, they could 
 not have received any water, atmosphere or gas, 
 for everything of like nature would have been 
 held in ethereal space through the radiation of 
 heat. Then the sun must have contained all of 
 these fluids at the time of their formations, as well 
 as other materials which compose the planets. 
 But we find no evidence in any of the planets to 
 sustain even a reasonable theory of the sun’s 
 brightness. We have proof that the sun contains 
 earth, rocks, minerals, water, atmosphere and 
 gases. It is not supposable that the planets re- 
 ceived a proportional share of the sun’s atmos- 
 phere, or water; and as diminution of pressure facil- 
 
38 
 
 itates evaporation, in like proportion must more 
 pressure sustain it in the form of vapor; and as 
 the pressure at the sun’s surface, is thousands to 
 one at the earth’s surface, its atmosphere must be 
 filled with dense vapor tens of thousands of 
 miles above its surface. Consequently the sun 
 must have another sphere of less density, which 
 causes the brightness. It is well known that 
 there is a substance, which surrounds the sun’s 
 brightness, the nature of which we have no knowl- 
 edge; but it is different from any known substance. 
 It is a material substance, for it reflects light. It 
 could not partake of the revolving motion of the 
 sun’s atmosphere, which it envelopes and it must 
 be an electric substance, which we may call the 
 electrosphere. These two fluids, whose surfaces 
 are united, one of which is under great velocity, 
 and being resisted by the other, which is at com- 
 parative rest, cause great friction producing elec- 
 tricity, which ignites the oxygen of the atmos- 
 phere and bursts into flames of electrical light, 
 which can only be sustained by continual friction. 
 The atmosphere having different heights and cur- 
 rents, caused by local heat and winds, would not 
 cause friction in like amount in all places. The 
 flames depending upon the amount of electricity 
 w^ould be far less in some places than others. 
 
311 
 
 These flames would be in patches of irregular form, 
 and the large ones would create intense liglit and 
 heat, and would pour down upon the clouds be- 
 low, dispelling them and on reaching the sun’s 
 surface would cause great heat on the surface; 
 and winds would ascend with a power that could 
 hurl rocks as easily as the earth’s cyclone could 
 feathers. This would enlarge the opening and 
 the winds would feed the flames, and rushing into 
 this electrosphere would carry up flames to great 
 heights. As there would be more or less friction, 
 extending over the upper surface of the sun’s at- 
 mosphere, it would be covered by patches of elec- 
 tric light, the smallest that could be seen, at the 
 earth’s distance would be over one hundred miles 
 in diameter; and from this size down to sparks, 
 giving a sheen of electric light extending from 
 pole to pole. Such is the photosphere lying between 
 these two fluid spheres, tens of thousands of miles 
 above the sun, and millions of miles below the 
 upper surface of the electrosphere. This electro- 
 sphere is the corona, which is seen surrounding 
 the sun during total eclipses, and has been esti- 
 mated to extend 9,000,000 of miles above the pho- 
 tosphere. These openings through the clouds, to 
 the surface of the sun, when seen from our stand- 
 point, would appear as dark spots upon the surface 
 
40 
 
 of the sun. Sim spots have been estimated to be 
 from 500 to 45,000 miles in diameter. In viewing 
 the sun from the earth, it is not siipposable that 
 spots less than 500 miles in diameter, could be 
 seen, as they are depressions through clouds thou- 
 sands of miles deep. These openings revolve with 
 the sun, but they can not revolve with the same 
 velocity, for the air in the column is constantly 
 acted upon by intense heat. As heat passes to a 
 cooler substance, it is constantly rarefying the at- 
 mosphere and absorbing the clouds, which are 
 driven against the opening by the centrifugal 
 force of the atmosphere. Conseciuently the sun 
 must have far greater velocity than these openings; 
 and from facts which have been stated I believe 
 that the sun revolves in less than throe days, pos- 
 sibly in less than one day. This would cause the 
 light and heat of the photosphere to pass over the 
 surface of the sun with great velocity from east 
 to west, relieving the surface from excessive heat 
 If it should remain stationary a few moments it 
 would melt any known substance. This heat, 
 caused by these openings evaporates the water 
 ami fills the atmosphere with dense clouds of 
 moisture. This will account for the periodicity 
 of solar spots, as no evaporation can take place on 
 the sun. except through extreme heat on account 
 
of the great pressure ot the atmosphere. The 
 eeutrifiigal force of the atmosphere gradually 
 grows less from the equator to the poles, where it 
 is at zero, consequently these openings tlirough 
 the suiTs clouds must move toward the poles, and 
 a body of this electric light, starting at the equa- 
 tor would naturally be carried eight or ten de- 
 grees from the equator before it could dispel the 
 clouds through to the suiTs surface. 
 
 The circumference of the sun at the parallel 
 of is only one-half of the circumference at 
 the equator. This would make a great difference 
 in the amount of friction, and the openings would 
 not be apt to be sustained beyond 40*^ from the 
 equator. 
 
 Professor Faye, in a communication to the 
 French Academy of Science, stated that as the re- 
 sult of his measurements, the sun spots are de 
 pressions beneath the sun’s photosphere, varying 
 from 20,000 to 40,000 miles. This would be a 
 natural result of atnjospheric clouds, which are 
 continually changing in altitude, from local 
 causes. From the evidence of all these facts it is 
 evident that the sun is a far smaller and denser 
 planet than has ever been calculated, and that, at 
 least, it turns on its axis five times faster than all 
 former calculations. 
 
42 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 In viewing the sun fruiii tlie earth our atten- 
 tion is first directed to dark spots on its surface. 
 We see a dark nucleus or umbra surrounded by a 
 penumbra of ligliter color, and surrounding this 
 penumbra is seen a lighter rim of light, called 
 faculse, also faculse mottlings are seen in different 
 forms at various places and here and there are 
 darkish spots which are surrounded by faculse 
 mottlings and scattering over the surface aie 
 grayish spots and patches. 
 
 What was supposed to be nucleus is the sur- 
 face of the sun seen through the openings, and 
 the penumbra was the clouds surrounding the 
 openings. The darkish spots were caused by the 
 heat dissolving the clouds below sending up cur- 
 rents of rarefied air, and if the heat be suflicient 
 it would penetrate through their mass and reach 
 the sun. These darkish spots will be seen after 
 the opening is closed, caused by the lower clouds 
 closing up first. The grayish spots are realiy light; 
 but the contrast between the excessive bright 
 light and the weaker lights gives the appearance 
 of grayish light. This appearance will be seen in 
 two jets of light, one electric, the other gas; the 
 
4 :^ 
 
 fiiculae are the flames. The openings to the sun 
 are at first small, but the winds feeding the flames 
 increase the heat and the openings enlarge rap- 
 idly, but when the friction begins to slacken, the 
 aperture closes very suddenly. 
 
 The heavy, whirling atmosphere is continually 
 driving dense clouds into these openings, which 
 rarefy the cool air, and absorb the dense clouds, 
 through intense heat, caused by electric currents 
 from the photosphere, acting upon the dense at- 
 mosphere and clouds. Hence these openings 
 must be very irregular in form and often crossed 
 l)y clouds and would be subjected to rapid and 
 instant changes. 
 
 If the sun was continually radiating away 
 such an amount of heat as is now claimed by 
 some physicists and scientists, it would have con- 
 sumed all of its material (which would be neces- 
 sary to supply this amount of heat) thousands of 
 years ago, even if it had been composed of solid 
 carbon, or any chemical combination known at 
 the present day. 
 
 Then why suppose that it is a burning mass of 
 fire and flame, or a melted mass of lava, which 
 radiates such an amount of heat, or that this ra- 
 diation of heat could furnish the earth with nec- 
 essary warmth and heat, without first warming 
 
n 
 
 \\\) Hit" space lietween Hie eai Hi and Hie siiii. Then 
 we must seek other causes that could produce this 
 effect of lij^ht and heat, without the radiation of 
 light and heat. 
 
 Infinite space is ungravitattd matter, called 
 ether, and this ether fluid underlies all the atomic 
 fiu’ces and powers of ethereal and material nat- 
 ure. In it floats all the starry hosts of heaven; 
 and through the course of time, it will Hirow% one 
 hy one, all the vast creations into chaos. 
 
 The creation of worlds was the work of de- 
 sign, by infinite intelligence, and all the powers 
 and forces that produced them are now govern- 
 ing them. All creations were for a special pur- 
 pose, and all creations were provided for. Ethe- 
 real nature is far below the temperature of ma- 
 terial life. And, in older to produce warmth nec- 
 cessary for the sustenance of life special forces 
 and powers are at work for the building and sus- 
 taining of organic creations. Countless worlds 
 are filled with material life, and all life depends 
 upon light and heat. Innumerable suns are con- 
 tinually at work giving light and heat to all of 
 these worlds to sustain the life principle given to 
 matter. 
 
 Suns are cool planets, and receive their heat 
 and light, the same as all other planets, through 
 
electric emrcMits from llioir plioti^splioros. The 
 pIi(>tos|)Ii(*r(‘ does not contain heat snfhcient to 
 give the ii(‘eessary warmth to sustain life on tli(‘ 
 sun by radiation of Innit, through its dense at- 
 mosphere and elonds. All the heat that the pho- 
 tosphere contains is from the electric light, which 
 is ])rodnced, and sustained by chemical combina- 
 tion, through the energy of physical forces. 
 
40 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Two physical powers are coiitaine:! in every 
 particle of matter. One has power of uniting all 
 atoms and particles of matter to a common cen- 
 ter, and the other contains the power of dissolv- 
 ing all matter into atoms. These powers are 
 gravitation and ether. They are governed by 
 special laws, which restrict their powers. The 
 fluid ether is the principle of electricity, light and 
 heat. Gravity is a property of matter and is 
 contained in every atom of matter in every possi- 
 ble form, both in nebula and solids; while in the 
 nebulous state it is confined to atoms, each atom 
 being surrounded by this ethereal fluid. Although 
 gravity was overpowered by heat while in nebulse, 
 it still had the same attractive power. 
 
 We find matter in different combinations and 
 forms, which we will designate as solids, liquids 
 and gases which compose ponderable matter and 
 light, heat and electricity as forming imponder- 
 able or ethereal matter. It has been stated that 
 God created space; if matter was created, then 
 space also innst have been created, for space 
 is a substance. There is no such thing in the uni- 
 verse as nothing. Uiiiverse means everything 
 
47 
 
 (*reat(‘(l, evoii iiiind is soniothing and evi^rytliiag 
 has a substance. In si)eaking of matter it is to 
 be considered as ponderable unless otherwise des- 
 ignated. We find in all forms of matter from the 
 diamond to the thinnest gas, infinitesimal inter- 
 stices, wliich are filled with this subtle fluid, 
 which surrounds the most minute atom of the 
 finest particle of all matter, and while in a passive 
 state is the opposite or negative of light and heat. 
 We know of no heat so great, but that it might be 
 increased, and no cold so low, but that it might be 
 reduced still lower. This does not prove that ice 
 contains caloric, or that matter can contain latent 
 heat. It simply shows that all matter is acted 
 upon through the energy of physical forces and 
 that matter is held in temperature according to 
 the degree of the energy of these forces. 
 
 There is no heat in a natural state; then there 
 can be no heat without a cause. It must be con- 
 tinually produced through the physical forces to 
 keep matter in a state of temperature, to sustain 
 the present forms of life. The sun furnishes us 
 with a never ceasing supply of light and heat, 
 through physical and chemical action. 
 
 Heat and* light may be produced by mechanical 
 means. The simplest form to produce fire is to 
 take two pieces of dry wood, and by rubbing their 
 
4S 
 
 surfaces together, for a short time, they will s(M)n 
 ignite and l)iirii . Tiiis friction i)ro(lnces a chem- 
 ical action, it (‘xcites the electric properties of the 
 ether, which cojnhines with the molecules of 
 oxygen of the atmosi)h('re and produces com- 
 bustion. 
 
 The convex lens and concave mirror produce 
 fire, by friction, the same as the rnld)iiig of wood, 
 only in a different form; they C(dlect the electric 
 rays from the snn, and i)ring them to a focal 
 point, which causes friction l»y displacing the 
 atoms of ethereal and material matter, which aie 
 contained in the atmosphere and electric ravs of 
 light, 'the atmosphere will produce fire, ligiit 
 and flames in the same w^ay, through pressnre di- 
 rected to a focal point, and if the iiressnre be 
 great enough it will melt iron, without the assist- 
 ance of any other agent or material. The atmos- 
 phere feeds both the flames of life and fire, and 
 being part consumed, becomes combined with 
 charcoal which is alisorbed by it in the form of 
 carbonic acid. It envelopes the earth for the dis- 
 persion of liglit, heat and sound. Fire and sound 
 cannot be produced without an atmosphere. Con- 
 sequently no fire can exist, or sound be [iroduced 
 or heard on the moon. 
 
 This atmosphere, wliich we breathe, is com- 
 
P(>s(m 1 of oxygiMi, nitrog(‘ii, (‘arboiiic* acid and 
 vap(ns. Oxygon coniposos abont one-(iflb of the 
 atin(»sjdn*ro and is inagnolic*. If it was not for 
 nitrogon vvhitdi dilutes it, it would eonsnine all 
 conibnstible material. The (‘ntire almospliere 
 contains abont one one-tbonsandtli i)art of car- 
 bonic acid. 
 
 The present theory in regard to the sun’s light 
 and heat is, that the smi emits and radiates rays 
 of light and heat to the earth and all the other 
 planets, 'fhis theory, like many others of the 
 l)resent time, is founded upon very insnfhcient 
 reasons, in fact without reason. It is a well 
 known fact that a few miles above onr atmos- 
 phere the temperature is two hundred and forty 
 degrees below zero, and that heat being electric 
 has iiudion and a tendency to diffuse itself equally 
 through all substances, until an equilibrium of 
 temperature is formed. Then how could heat ra 
 diate through millions of miles without diffusing 
 itself through space. Again, physicists say that 
 the atmosphere absorbs a large amount of heat 
 from the sun’s rays in passing through it, or life 
 would not be endurable. If this was a fact then 
 the heat would be greater above than below, 
 whicli is known to be the reverse. 
 
50 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 We have seen that the earth was once in a 
 state of fusion; and we have proof that it has not 
 yet cooled off; then we must receive some heat 
 from conduction and radiation, and we receive a 
 daily heat through the action of the sun; so all 
 matter must be at difierent degrees of temperature 
 above the natural state of nature, caused through 
 the action of physical forces. It is supposable that 
 the sun is still condensing, and as the sun becomes 
 less in magnitude its brightness will be increased 
 as its atmosphere and electrosphere become more 
 concentrated. The sun has been estimated to be 
 less bright than the average of the nearer fixed 
 stars. So as we lose the interior heat of the earth 
 we shall receive more from the increased amount 
 of electricity which would be produced by greater 
 friction of the concentration of its outer spheres 
 and the collection of cometic matter, which will 
 fall to its electrosphere. Heretofore it was stated 
 that the sun’s brightness was an electric light, 
 caused by friction between the swift whirling at- 
 mosphere, which was enveloped by a stationary 
 fluid, the nature of which we have no knowledge. 
 This friction produces electricity, which ignites 
 the oxygen of the atmosphere (which is magnetic) 
 
and this llnid being eleetric* kcM'ps np a c*()ntinnon« 
 conilmstinn; producing electric liglit and currents. 
 Heat is electric and is always prodnced by fric- 
 tion, whether by chemical action or any other 
 means; it displaces the molecnles of matter, and 
 decomposes and separates the ethereal fluid which 
 snrronnds every atom of matter, causing an evo- 
 lution into electricity, which is the principle and 
 cause of heat. Heat batteries have been made 
 for i^rodncing electricity. They are called thermo- 
 eiectric batteries. If two metals are heated, one 
 (►f which is at a lower temperature, and placed 
 near together an electric current will be formed 
 between them, Imt if both are of the same metal 
 and temperature there will be no current for l>oth 
 metals will be positive. This is proof that elec- 
 tricity has but one fluid, which is positive, and 
 that heat is electric. The principle of light, heat 
 and electricity pervades all space and permeates 
 every particle of matter, and through physical 
 forces they are produced, but there is no such 
 thing as latent heat, ddie action of the sun in 
 producing electricity, light and heat, is thnmgh 
 friction, and is governed by the same physical 
 laws, which govern all modes of producing them. 
 There is free electricity contained in a more or less 
 degree in ali material substances; caused by the 
 
inevitable moving of matter, ami when a body re- 
 ceives more than a natural share it becomes 
 charged, and like light and heat it works through 
 media, and is disposed to form an eqnilibrinm 
 witli all matter containing less. 
 
 When a cloiid becomes electrified the elec- 
 tricity will force a passage through the air to a 
 cloud or substance containing less, or diffuse itself 
 tlirongh the atmosphere igniting the oxygen as it 
 passes, producing a coiitinuons chain of electric 
 light. Electricity always passes through media 
 of least resistance, and as the atmosphere contains 
 currents of moist and dry air; the dry being a 
 bad medium or conductor, and the moist good, its 
 course will be in a zig-zag path. Heat in all 
 modes and forms is nothing but electricity under 
 certain conditions of excitation; and same as 
 electricity produces an evolution among ethereal 
 atoms which evolve into light and electric currents, 
 which acting upon the retina of the eye pro- 
 duce the sensation of sight. All lights are pro- 
 duced and goverped by the same laws; phos- 
 phorescent light and all other lights, of every 
 description, are caused by more or less heat and 
 electric excitement. All lights have prismatic 
 colors. Tills theory does not conflict with the 
 laws which govern the spectroscope. The sun is 
 
ail electric iriacliine, and disperses electric cur- 
 rents which radiate through space, its natural 
 niediuin, and when ihese currents come in con- 
 tact with gravitated matter, it causes friction by 
 exciting an evolution among the atoms of ma- 
 terial and ethereal matter, and evolves into light 
 heat, which creates electric currents; and light is 
 the sensation of these currents. Thus do we re- 
 ceive our heat and light through electric currents, 
 which after passing through a space of ninety-two 
 million miles in perfect darkness and at a tem- 
 perature of 240*^ below zero, produce friction by 
 causing excitation among atoms of etherial and 
 material matter, and not through rays of light 
 and heat from the sun. These currents of elec- 
 tricity are continually coming to the earth from 
 the sun, planets, stars and remote nebulae; and 
 produce electric light heat upon the earth’s sur- 
 face and through its atmosphere, in proportion to 
 their energy. This light heat is at every possible 
 point through the atmosphere and earth’s surface, 
 which is in communication through these cur- 
 rents from the sun, planets, stars and nebulae. 
 Heat being electric radiates electric currents from 
 every point and in all directions from the earth’s 
 surface and throughout the atmosphere; this to- 
 gether with the reflection and refraction forms a 
 
54 
 
 solid mass of electric currents through the atmos- 
 phere, which to our visual sensation is sight and 
 illumination. Without an atmosphere we would 
 have no sensation of sight, only in the direction of 
 these worlds of electric light, or directly to an ar- 
 tificial light which is electric. All else would be 
 a night of perfect darkness, and all lights would 
 appear as bright spots on a black background. 
 
 It is supposable that all planetary worlds are 
 similar to our own system. We know that the 
 stars cause light and heat same as the sun, and 
 •we have reason to believe that each one of them is 
 the center of a solar system, similar to our own. 
 Here then are millions of electric powers, contin- 
 ually at work, furnishing electricity to supply 
 heat and light for the sustenance of life. All of 
 the heavenly bodies become magnetic depositories, 
 and receive the electric currents from suns, by 
 which heat, light and sight are produced, and 
 these currents of electricity are continually pass- 
 ing between all worlds same as the attraction of 
 gravity 
 
CHAPTER Xr. 
 
 Fixed stars. They are called tixed stars be- 
 cause their distance from tlie earth is so gjreat 
 that they always occupy the same position in the 
 firmament. Although the earth makes an angle 
 of one hundred and eighty-fonr millions of miles 
 in each revolution around the sun, it does not 
 change their relative positions. Some of these 
 stars have a parallax and their distarrces have 
 been calculated. 
 
 They are classed according to their brightness, 
 the brightest are called stars of the first magni- 
 tude, the next stars in brightness are called stars 
 of the second magnitude and so on up to the sixth 
 nragnitude. These six magnitudes are seen with- 
 out the assistance of the telescope. By the varia- 
 tions in their brightness the telescope finds them 
 so far distant that they are classed as high as the 
 eighteenth magnitude. Other stars that we see 
 are planets of the solar system and revolve around 
 the sun. The apparent size and brightness of the 
 fixed stars is owing to the difference in their 
 distances. 
 
 Sir John Herschel computed the distance of 
 stars at not less than nineteen trillion two him- 
 
(lied billion of miles. The nearest fixed star 
 to us is Alidia Centanri, which is fourteen 
 billion of miles distant. Light from this star 
 would require nearly three and one-half years in 
 reaching us, and Draconis a star that lias a paral- 
 lax would require one linndred and twenty-nine 
 years. Such immense distances are beyond our 
 comprehension, still they are our near neighbors; 
 some of these stars are so far aw^ay that it takes 
 their light five thousand years to reach us. 0, 
 Earth, thou insignificant part of creation, you 
 could not be seen by such eyes as ours from your 
 own brother planet, Jupiter. We have evidence 
 sufficient to form a belief that these stars are as 
 far apart, from each other, as the nearest one is 
 from us. This only comprises our own stellar sys- 
 tem, and thousands of stellar systems have been 
 discovered similar to our own. 
 
 Sir John Herschel published a catalogue of 
 over five thousand different patches of nebulae. 
 Some of these patches of nebulae are so distant 
 that light traveling at nearly 200,000 miles a sec- 
 ond, would be thirty million years in reaching us. 
 Let us stop and consider about this long distance, 
 and see if we can reconcile it with the present 
 theories of the transmission of light and heat. 
 There are two theories of the transmission of 
 
light and heat at the present time. One is the 
 emission theory advocated by Newton and La 
 Place; wliich is, that light consists of intinitesimal 
 particles of matter shot forth from Inrninons 
 bodies. This theory does not accord with onr pres- 
 ent views of force and motion. 
 
 The undnlatory theory is, that light consists of 
 waves, or vibrations, transmitted through the me- 
 dium ether, and that luminons bodies impart a 
 motion of vibration to this ether, which it trans- 
 mits. This is the theory of Hnyghenes, Fresnel, 
 Young, Mains and many others. This theory is 
 now adopted by most ali physicists. Neither of 
 these theories appears very reasonable and, in 
 fact, they look very unreasonable. We have no 
 reason to suppose that matter conld be shot or re- 
 pelled throngh space in every direction with such 
 a velocity; or that waves or vibrations could be 
 so produced as to last even five thousand years, 
 w^hich time is required for light to reach us from 
 some of our own galaxy of stars. 
 
 Again, it is against all knovvn laws, that this 
 light and heat could remain five thousand years 
 instead of 30 , 000 , 000 , in a medium 240 *^ below 
 zero, Fahrenheit. We know of but one agent, or 
 substance that could pass from one planet to an- 
 other with such astonishing rapidity, and that is 
 
58 
 
 electricity. We have proof that electric currents 
 pass between the earth and snn. The periodicity 
 of the large amount of solar spots, causes mag- 
 netic phenomena upon the earth’s surface. They 
 correspond with the variations of the magnetic 
 needle and number of auroras, and it is supposed 
 that they are connected with meteorological phe- 
 nomena. 
 
 What we have been calling nebulae are, in fact, 
 most all of them star systems, similar to our gal- 
 axy of stars. They were once supposed to be neb- 
 ulous matter; but after getting stronger tele- 
 scopes, they were resolved into stars, when more 
 nebulae was found which could not be resolved 
 into stars; but by getting more powerful tele- 
 scopes, they too were all resolved and others 
 found. 
 
 There seems to be no end to worlds. All the 
 so called nebulae found outside of our system of 
 stars only depends upon our ability to resolve 
 them into stars. If one of these stars of the far 
 distant nebulae should be thrown into nebulous 
 matter, we could not perceive it at such a dis- 
 tance. Nebulae is the matter of a dead star system, 
 and not a system of stars, and of course can only 
 be seen in our own system of stars. There are 
 found in our system, stars called nebulous stars. 
 
This nebulosity seen, is either the electrosphere, 
 snrronnding the photosphere, as seen snrroniidiiig 
 onr snn in total eclipses, or more probable me- 
 teorides, same as snrronnd onr snn. 
 
 Onr galaxy of stars is in the form of a broad 
 ring, something of the form of a double convex 
 lens, and is filled from center to rim with stars at 
 equal distances apart, onr snn being near the 
 center. When we view them from onr standpoint 
 we are looking through trillions of miles of space, 
 filled with stars having the appearance of being 
 close together and of different size and bright- 
 ness. This does not agree with the theory of a 
 central snn, but we are not following old theories; 
 we are taking everything as we find it, then rea- 
 soning from analogy and natural laws the most 
 probable effect that would be produced from a 
 natural cause. 
 
 We cannot suppose that there are any central 
 suns. We know that there is no central sun to our 
 galaxy of stars for onr snn is near the center and 
 we know that it is far smaller than many stars 
 that we are acquainted with; then why suppose 
 that other sidereal systems have a central sun, or 
 that there is a grand central sun around which 
 all of these stellar systems revolve. But all sys- 
 tems have common centers, around which they 
 
revolve, and there is a grand central power of at- 
 traction, blit this point is not defined to a material 
 center like a hub to a wheel, but is the unity of 
 power in their central point of gravity which is 
 the most binding form of strength and unity. 
 
 There are among the fixed stars groups of 
 double, triple and quadruple stars which revolve 
 around a common center of attraction; that is, 
 they revolve around each other. These stars were 
 originally a solar system, similar to our own, but 
 far larger, with a sun and planets, and when the 
 system was thrown into nebulous vapors, the ma- 
 terial was diffused to a very great extent before 
 cooling sufficient to re-form, and when partially 
 cooled the particles commenced collecting around 
 dense centers and by their mutual attraction 
 were drawn towards each other and through the 
 laws of gravity, inertia and motion they revolve 
 around their centers of united gravity and as they 
 were the same material they became self lu- 
 minous, or suns. 
 
01 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The powers of gravity acting upon the uni- 
 verse of worlds which holds them in their position 
 cannot be equal; consequently all stellar systems 
 must revolve around centers of motion, as motion 
 is a property of matter, and there can be no grav- 
 itated matter without motion. 
 
 There are stars that show variable lights; this 
 is the case with our sun. This variation of light 
 is caused by sun spots and is periodical. The star 
 Algol is a variable star, but the variations being 
 so regular and often, the variation must be caused 
 by a dark planet revolving between us and the 
 star, partially eclipsing it from our view. In this 
 star, which is a sun, we have proof of the exist- 
 ence of other solar systems. All worlds had a be- 
 ginning and in that beginning was placed ma- 
 terial for their ending. 
 
 In the course of time they will all die, as ever 
 was and ever will be the case with all material 
 beings and things. Only the principle of life can 
 never die. Bright stars have faded from our view 
 while new ones have come. We have watched 
 their bright lights die out from the family of stars, 
 and seen new born worlds. Like trees in the forest 
 
62 
 
 they die out one by one while others are forming 
 to take their place. Thus has it been, and ever 
 will be, from the first creation, a continuous change 
 of matter. 
 
 The ether fiuid which fills ail space has a con- 
 sistency which causes a slight resistance to the 
 moving of planets; this resistance will cause 
 them to move slower in their orbits, but millions 
 of years must come and go before the first frac- 
 tional part of a second could be discovered in 
 their motions. For the last two thousand years 
 the earth has not varied a perceivable fraction of 
 a second in its yearly course around the sun. But 
 this slight resistance, like light drops of water 
 falling upon the hardest rocks, will, in time, cause 
 them to pass away. The effect which would be 
 produced by a planet moving slower in its orbit 
 would be a contraction of the orbit and a nearer 
 approach to a circle. This continuous resistance 
 to the moving of the planets will, through the 
 course of time, bring all their orbits to a circle, 
 which will cause them to fall directly to the 
 sun. It has been stated that Neptune was the 
 first planet thrown from the sun’s equator, and 
 received the greatest momentum; consequently 
 it was the farthest planet from the sun, and now 
 having less momentum moves slower in its orbit. 
 
08 
 
 and as it is of light material it will be the first 
 planet to shovv the effects of decay. 
 
 A heavenly body cannot continue to pass 
 through space only in gn eccentric form, which 
 gives it a fall, causing accelerated momentum, 
 and its inertia sustains it. It will be seen that 
 in the course of time Neptune will be moving 
 with less momentum in its orbit, and it will be 
 continually contracting its orbit and approaching 
 nearer to a circle, and will continue to do so as 
 long as it has a momentum force, which will be 
 expended at the moment it contracts to a circle. 
 This will occur at a point opposite, but nearer to 
 the sun, where it first made a revolution, and then 
 it will fall directly to the sun; like a ball thrown 
 perpendicular into the air, when its momentum 
 is spent, it hesitates a moment, then falls to the 
 power of attraction. When this time occurs all 
 of the planets will be moving with decreasing 
 momentum in their orbits. Uranus and Saturn 
 will have contracted their orbits nearly to a circle, 
 and as Neptune falls through the plane of orbits 
 it will carry all of the planets with it to the sun. 
 This will vaporize the whole solar system to 
 atoms, and another star will be stricken from the 
 galaxy of heaven. But this excessive heat cannot 
 
64 
 
 long remain in nebulse, in space 240*^ below zero, 
 Fahrenheit. In the course of a few thousand 
 years a new star will appear. But it will soon 
 form attendant planets, which will cause its 
 bright light to go out, for a time as was the case 
 with our sun. Thus one by one will all of the si- 
 dereal suns pass through this ordeal of excessive 
 heat, and will again be reformed. This great power 
 of nature, continually exerted in expanding solar 
 systems, and then re-forming them, must give 
 force to motion, or an energy to the force of grav- 
 ity, sufficient to balance this slight resistance, or 
 else through great cycles of time all stellar sys- 
 tems will result in nebulae. 
 
(>5 
 
 ( li APTER XIIL 
 
 i^:ROLITP]S, METKiHiS AND SHOOTING STARS. 
 
 Tlie investigations within the last fifty years 
 prove that planetary matter, in the form of im- 
 mense masses of innumerable small bodies, far 
 too small to be observed by the telescope are re- 
 volving around the sun, near or within the earth’s 
 orbit. The main proof of this is in the fall- 
 ing of meteors, geroiites and shooting stars into 
 the earth’s atmosphere. It is also proved that all 
 of them have a comimm origin, and that their 
 difference is only one of magnitude. Only the 
 larger ones reach the earth’s surface, the smaller 
 ones being consumed through excessive heat in 
 passing through the atmosphere. 
 
 It has been shown that the atmosphere under 
 pressure would melt iron. The pressure of a 
 force of 97 feet per second raises the temperature 
 one degree Fahrenheit, and the increase of tem- 
 perature is always in proportion to the energy of 
 the force, and the force is in proportion to the 
 square of the velocity. Now if these bodies are 
 of the same material, the law of gravity would 
 cause the small bodies to fall through the atmos- 
 phere with the same speed as the larger ones. 
 
They probably fell many ihousands of miles, 
 which would cause great velocities, and the en- 
 ergy of the force would be the same as though 
 they were stationary and the atmosphere was di- 
 rected upon them with the same force. If the at- 
 mosphere was of the same density throughout the 
 upper regions that it has at the earth’s surface it 
 would consume any known substance in passing 
 through it with such great velocity. 
 
 The smallest of these bodies are the shooting 
 stars, which are continually falling nieht and 
 day. They can be seen on any clear night. The next 
 in size are called meteors, and those that are large 
 enough to reach the surface of the earth without 
 being all consumed are called serolites All of these 
 unseen bodies revolving through space are called 
 meteorides. Sometimes these large ones burst 
 with a loud report. In 1860 one of these aerolites 
 burst and fell in Ohio. The explosion was heard 
 seventy-five miles, and at places fifty to sixty 
 miles from the explosion it shook the earth like 
 an earthquake. Several fragments of this aerolite 
 were found, one of which weighed one hundred 
 and three pounds, and struck the earth with suffi- 
 cient force to sink it three feet below the surface. 
 This piece is now in the cabinet of Marietta 
 college. The cause of these explosions is the sud- 
 
(len change from extreme cold to intense heat. 
 It has been estimated through different sources 
 and processes of calculation that the ethereal 
 space above oiir atmosphere is at least 240^ below 
 zero, Fahrenheit. Many kinds of rocks at a low 
 temperature tlirown into a hot fire will explode 
 with a loud report. This then accounts for the 
 explosion of aerolites. 
 
 The earth in its yearly course around the sun, 
 in certain parts of its orbit approaches nearer to 
 the orbits of these masses of meteorides and at- 
 tracts them in larger numbers than it does when 
 in other parts of its orbit. About November 14th, 
 there is always a more briliant display of meteors, 
 also August 10 there are more shooting stars than 
 usual. These small bodies must be continually 
 perturbed by the attraction of the planets as they 
 pass around the sun, and comets must effect them 
 materially, especially if they pass near their line 
 of orbits, and they must be continually changing 
 their orbits. 
 
 It has been observed for some time that in 
 about every thirty-four years there is a far greater 
 display of meteors in November. This fact shows 
 that these small bodies are in a continuous ring 
 revolving around the sun, and at some parts of 
 this ring they are in a greater mass, and that the 
 
earth meets this mass at the same point, once in 
 about thirty-four years. In times of great showers 
 of these meteors they radiatt^ from one point in 
 the sky, and keep their relative position to the 
 fixed stars. This proves that these meteors radi- 
 ate from one mass and move in orbits from west 
 to east. 
 
 It has always been stated that the atmosphere 
 only extended about forty-five miles above the 
 earth’s surface. This calculation was made from 
 the fact that the visible reflection of the sun’s 
 light is only seen at about this distance, but we 
 have evidence that the atmosphere extends six 
 hundred miles at least, and probably far more. 
 During meteoric showers they have been known 
 to ignite at different altitudes from one to over 
 five hundred miles above the earth. Professor 
 Olmstead says of the shower of 1833, they were 
 not less than 2,238 miles above the earth. Most 
 all of them are consumed before they reach the 
 point of reflected light. 
 
 It has never been satisfactorily shown how 
 iron, stone and other subsatnces came into space. 
 It was at first supposed that these bodies were 
 thrown from volcanoes in the moon. It was ad- 
 vocated that a force sufficient to throw them 
 seventy miles would carry them out of the attrac- 
 
tioii of the moon, and they would fall to the (‘arth; 
 that some of the earth’s volcanoes had thrown 
 bodies with sufficient velocity to accomplish this 
 on the moon. But it was afterward found that 
 the moon had no existing volcanoes. The next 
 theory was that they were formed in the atmos- 
 phere from material existing in a sublimated state. 
 This was found objectionable for the reason that 
 gases, when in contact must mix, and gases neces- 
 sary to form these substances, could not remain in 
 the air unmixed. Another theory was that they 
 were fragments of an exploded planet. This theory 
 was .untenable for various reasons, which were 
 soon brought out. They could not possibly have 
 their origin from nebulous matter, for they could 
 not have coalesced in masses of such fine division; 
 then where did they come from? This question 
 has never been answered. 
 
 From all of these facts it is apparent that 
 these November showers of meteors are moving 
 between the earth’s orbit, and that of Venus, and 
 that they are moving in orbits less eccentric than 
 the earth’s, which would cause their velocity to be 
 more uniform through their orbits. As they hold 
 their relative positions, for hours, to the fixed 
 stars, and radiate from one point, it is evident 
 that they are moving in the same direction, that 
 
TO 
 
 the earth moves, and with nearly the same ve- 
 locity at this point of the earth’s orbit. If this 
 radiating point moved in any other direction, or 
 moved slower, it would appear to move west faster 
 than the fixed stars, as the earth at this point of 
 its orbit is moving considerable over 68,000 miles 
 per hour. These bodies moving inside of the 
 circle would not have to move as fast as the earth 
 to hold their positions. The earth in going from 
 its aphelion to perihelion is continually gaining 
 accelerated velocity through its elliptical form of 
 orbit, and as these meteors are moving in orbits 
 less eccentric, they could not gain the accelera- 
 tion that the earth was receiving; consequently 
 in a few hours the earth would leave them behind. 
 It has been shown that planetary matter was 
 thrown from the sun’s equator into planetary spaces 
 before the planets were formed. All the material 
 that did not collect with the large bodies before 
 making a revolution around the sun, became self 
 sustaining bodies. It is not supposable, or even 
 probable, that this planetary matter, in any great 
 extent, extends as far as the orbit of Mars. Within 
 the orbit of Venus these meteorides are in very large 
 numbers, and form a continuous ring around the 
 sun. Their reflection is called the zodiacal light. 
 
71 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Comets are of a different material from any 
 material substance witli which we are acquainted. 
 It is not an unwarrantable hypothesis to suppose 
 that cometary matter is of tlie same material as 
 the sun’s electrospliere, which surrounds the sun’s 
 brightness. When the solar system was in neb- 
 ulae this matter, being of a different material, 
 must have expanded far away and beyond the 
 more dense matter of planetary material, and 
 floated in light, fleecy and feathery clouds, in 
 patches of exceedingly wide spaces. As soon as 
 the heat radiated away, all planetary matter col- 
 lected in one body through the force of attraction, 
 and by condensing soon formed into a solid mass, 
 and by farther cooling and condensing formed the 
 planet sun. These light patches of cometary 
 matter, which did not approach the sun before 
 the planets were formed, became wandering bodies 
 without a fixed and secure path. All of these are 
 under the power of solar attraction, and cannot 
 leave the solar system any more than one of the 
 planets. 
 
 Through a course of time all of these light 
 bodies had contracted to their present density and 
 
form, and commenced falling to the snn. But 
 thousands of these small patches of gas did not 
 reach the sun before the planets were formed. 
 And now all of these bodies in approaching the 
 sun were drawn to one side and prevented from 
 falling to the sun. The law of falling bodies 
 gave these light masses the same velocity that a 
 planet would acquire in falling through the same 
 space. This gave these light bodies of gas, which 
 we know as comets, a momentum force sufficient 
 to carry them back to the point of starting but no 
 farther. 
 
 Comets commenced their , fall to the central 
 power of attraction of the solar system, from an 
 immense distance and their orbits are in propor- 
 tion to their fall, and their angular momentum, 
 which they receive from the planets in passing 
 through the solar system, which draws them to one 
 side and prevents them from falling to the sun; 
 consequently their orbits are very elongated, and 
 are either in the form of the parabola or hyperbola 
 conic sections. This form of orbit is not durable, 
 and cannot always remain in this form. The 
 planets which cause their angular motion from 
 the sun are moving in their orbits, and attract 
 them differently in their approaching and reced- 
 ing to and from the sun, and it is an impossibility 
 
for any comet to pass twice in one [aitli. 
 
 Comets approach tiie solar system from all 
 conceivable directions, from the east, west, north 
 and south, and from above and below'. They are 
 forever receiving great perturbations from th(‘ 
 planets in their course around the sun, both in com- 
 ing and going, which is continually changing their 
 line of direction. This resistance to their fall 
 and the resistance which they receive in passing 
 through the sun’s electrosphere, cause them to 
 shorten their hyperbola orbits, to that of a par- 
 abola, and from the parabola, to that of nearer 
 the form of the ellipse. But they will cease tu 
 exist long before they could revolve in the form 
 of the ellipse, for in every revolution they will 
 move with less momentum, and approach nearer 
 and nearer to the sun, until their inertia is not 
 sufficient to resist the power of attraction and 
 they will fall to the sun. Possibly some may fall 
 to the planets without any apparent or injurious 
 effect. There is no doubt but that comets have 
 fallen to the earth without any injurious effect. 
 
 1{.\S THE EARTH PASSED THROUGH THE TAILS OF 
 COMETS? 
 
 ‘‘It has been asserted by some astronomers that 
 tlie earth has on several occasions passed through 
 
tlie tail of a comet, and in proof of this fact sev- 
 eral cases of a singular or peculiar kind of fog 
 have been noticed at several periods. The first of 
 which any record is made was that of 1783. It be- 
 gan on the 18th of June and at places very re- 
 mote from each other. It extended from Africa 
 to Sweden and throughout North and South Amer- 
 ica. This fog continued more than a month. It 
 did not appear to be carried to different places by 
 the atmosphere; because in some places it came 
 on with a north wind and at others with a south 
 or east wind. It prevailed in the highest Alps as 
 well as in the lowest valleys. The rains which 
 were very abundant in June and July did not ap- 
 pear to disperse it in the least. In Languedoc its 
 density was so great that the sun did not become 
 visible in the morning till it was twelve degrees 
 above the horizon; it appeared very red during 
 the rest of the day and might be looked at with 
 the naked eye. This fog or smoke had a disagree- 
 able smell and was entirely destitute of any 
 moisture, whereas most fogs are moist; besides all 
 this there was one remarkable quality in the fog 
 or smoke of 1783, it appeared to possess a phos- 
 phoric property or a light of its own. We find by 
 the accounts of some observers, that it afforded, 
 even at midnight, a light equal to that of the full 
 
moon, iind wliicli was suffieiont to enablo a [)(*rson 
 to see objects distinctly at a distance of two bun- 
 died yards; and to remove all doubts as to the 
 source of this light, it is recorded tiiat at the time 
 there was a new moon. 
 
 “Another remarkable fog in 1881, which ex- 
 cited the public mind in all quarters of the globe, 
 resembled so much that of 1783, that the descrip- 
 tion given of it, applies to that of 1881. 
 
 “Now let us look at the facts. It must be ac- 
 knowledged by all that these fogs originated from 
 some uncommon cause. Now the next question is 
 to what causes shall we attribute the fogs of 1788 
 and 1881. Some have supposed that they were 
 caused by irruptions of Mount Hecla in Iceland; 
 others have advanced the idea that an immense 
 fire ball in penetrating our atmosphere was there 
 but partially ignited, and that torrents of smoke 
 were deposited in the higher regions of our at- 
 mosphere and finally diffused through it. 
 
 “These explanations are very unsatisfactory. If 
 the fogs were actually produced by the earth’s 
 passing through any portion of a comet, we have 
 no cause of fear from these bodies which have 
 been for centuries a terror and dread to mankind 
 generally. We will concede that these fogs 
 were produced by comets, until we have a better 
 
explanation of their origin/' 
 
 Comets are numbered by hundreds of thou- 
 sands, but the most of them are so small that they 
 can only be seen through the aid of the telescope, 
 and tliousands of them pass above the horizon in 
 the day time, and cannot be seen on account of 
 the briglit retlection of light througli our atmos- 
 phere. Scarcely a mouth iu the year but they 
 are seen. 
 
 It was claimed by Sir Isaac Newton, Sir John 
 Herschel, Professor Nichol and, as far as I know, 
 by all scientists and astronomers that comets of 
 hyperbola orbits never visit our system but once, 
 and then fly off iu straight lines, until they pass 
 out of the attraction of the solar system and go 
 to revolve around suns in the far distant heavens. 
 It is a well known fact that gravitation causes all 
 the motions of the heavenly bodies, and it would 
 be as impossible for a body of the solar system to 
 pass beyond its attraction, as it would be for a 
 body not to obey the law of attraction. This the- 
 ory would recognize that a power would contain a 
 reserved force, which would be greater than itself. 
 These comets receive their motions through the 
 power of ^attraction, which causes them to fall to 
 this power, and through accelerated velocity, and 
 the angular attraction which they receive in pass- 
 
iiig through the system of i)lariets, gives their in- 
 ertia a conservation of force, sufficient to resist 
 the power of gravity, and without further resist- 
 ance to carry them back to nearly the point from 
 which they started. 
 
 Most of the comets are small, some of them are 
 only twenty or thirty miles in diameter, and but 
 a few that have a nucleus over two thousand 
 miles in diameter. Some of these comets have 
 appendages or tails which stream out behind 
 them in their approach, and keep in an opposite 
 direction from the sun while turning in perihelion 
 and going before it, as it recedes from the sun. 
 
 It has alvvays been claimed by all astronomers 
 and physicists, that this light is produced by re- 
 pulsion or expansion of cometary matter in the 
 form of vapor, caused through excessive heat, or 
 repulsion of the sun. I will here quote from the 
 American Science Series on Astronomy, which is 
 now taught in all our schools. 
 
 “The tail of the comet is not a permanent ap- 
 pendage, but is composed of the masses of vapor 
 which we have already described as ascending 
 from the nucleus, and afterward moving away 
 from the sun. The tail which we see on one even- 
 ing is not absolutely the same we saw the evening 
 before, a portion of the latter having been dissi- 
 
pated, wliile new niatt(‘r has taken its place, as 
 with the stream of smoke from a steamship. Tlie 
 motion of the vaporous matter wliich forms tlie 
 tail being always away from the snn, there seems 
 to be a repulsive force exerted by the snn upon 
 it. The form of the comet’s tail, on the supposi- 
 tion that it is composed of matter driven away 
 from the sun with a uniformly accelerated veloc- 
 ity, has been several times investigated, and found 
 to represent the observed form of the tail so near- 
 ly as to leave little doubt of its correctness. We 
 may, therefore, regard it as an observed fact that 
 the vapor which rises from the nucleus of the 
 comet is repelled by the sun instead of being at- 
 tracted toward it, as larger masses are. No ade- 
 quate explanation of this repulsive force has ever 
 been given.” 
 
 This is acknowledging a physical power of 
 which we have no knowledge, which is not admis- 
 sible. It was not my intention, in writing this 
 small effort, to go into details or calculations 
 which would draw the reader’s mind from the 
 main points of facts, and I will only say in regard 
 to the peculiarities of comets, that they are small 
 bodies of very light gas, condensed through ex- 
 treme cold; and are continually changing in dens- 
 ity, motions and appearance, through well known 
 
71) 
 
 l)hysit*ai forcM^s, and ev(*iitiial!y they will, all of 
 them, fall to the sun, without any perceivable 
 effect. 
 
 If the moon were vaporized and thrown into 
 space with a density sufficient to produce a re- 
 flected light e(|ual to the light i)roduced by these 
 comets, it would not cover the space that is occu- 
 l)ied f)y some of these comets’ tails, ddie comet of 
 1S48 appnaiched the sun with a tail 200,000,0()() 
 miles long, and came within one-fourteenth part 
 of the sun’s diameter to its surface and passed its 
 perihelion at the rate of 8d() miles per second. 
 Now if this tail was matter and connected to the 
 comet, the outer portion of this tail would have 
 to swing around with the velocity of light. This 
 could not be done by any known power of nature. 
 Then this matter must have been left behind and 
 forever lost to the comet. Then again, it would 
 take light over sixteen minutes to pass from the 
 comet to the end of the tail. It is not possible 
 tliat the sun could repel such a body of matter, 
 with the velocity of light without diminution 
 of the volume of matter, which it was re- 
 pelling. This comet passed its perihelion around 
 the sun’s semi-diameter in about seventy minutes, 
 and flew into unknown space with its tail of 
 200,000,000 miles long streaming out ahead, as it 
 
80 
 
 receded from the sun without the least apparent 
 diminution of nucleus, coma, or tail. The theory 
 of comets’ tails being composed of matter which 
 reflected light, was the only theory that could be 
 advanced under the present theory of the sun’s 
 emitting light and heat, and the laws that govern 
 light and heat. It was known that the sun’s 
 light did not shine in space, and that there was 
 no reflected light without matter. Then how 
 could tliis light shine in space without its being 
 matter. 
 
 Here is all the evidence necessary to prove my 
 theory of the cause of the sun’s light and heat, 
 and the laws and forces which produce and govern 
 all light and heat. This theory is, that the sun is 
 an electric machine, which radiates electric cur- 
 rents that excite and cause an evolution among 
 ethereal and material atoms, which evolve into 
 heat and light. Electric currents pass from 
 the sun through all cometary matter, and in 
 passing through it cause a certain amount of 
 heat and light, the same as it does in passing 
 through our atmosphere. Some of these com- 
 ets have a nucleus of such transparency and 
 density as to reinforce the energy of these electric 
 currents, sufficient to disturb the latent principle 
 of electricity, which lies dormant in the state of 
 
ualiire. These currents now being doubly charged, 
 cause an excitation among the etliereal atoms, 
 wliich evolve light heat similar to phosphores- 
 cent liglit. Comets are continually changing in 
 form and density, and may form a nucleus that 
 would produce two, three, or more streams of 
 light, or they might be so constituted, as to throw 
 the light to one side of their line direction, and as 
 they are changeable bodies, so must be their light. 
 A straight line of light projected in space, and 
 brought to a focal point of vision, forms a curva- 
 ture in proportion to the convexity of the eye of 
 the beholder. The sky that is brought within the 
 line of vision, converges to the eye, which gives 
 the appearance of the sky as being concave to this 
 point of vision. The rainbow is a straight hori- 
 zontal line of light, caused by the sun’s rays pass- 
 ing through falling rain, and is projected against 
 the background of the sky, which gives it the ap- 
 pearance of an arch. 
 
 Comets whose orbits are near, or within the 
 orbital plane, will not be so much drawn out of 
 their paths, in each revolution around the sun, 
 but that their course, and time of their perihelion 
 may be very nearly calculated. 
 
82 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE OPINIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MEN HITHERTO ON 
 THE CAUSE OF THE MOTIONS OF THE STARS. 
 
 Newton.- “But yet T must profess I know no 
 sufficient natural cause (»f the earth’s diurnal ro- 
 tation. The planets and comets will constantly 
 pursue their revolutions in orbits given in kind 
 and position, according to laws above explained. 
 But though these bodies may indeed persevere in 
 their orbits by the mere laws of gravity, yet they 
 could by no means have at first derived the regu- 
 lar position of the orbits themselves from these 
 laws.” 
 
 Mary Sommerville.— “This highly intellect- 
 ual lady, writing of ‘the primitive cause which 
 determined the planetary motions,’ says, that ‘La- 
 place has computed the probability to be as 4,000,- 
 000 to 1, that all the motions of the planets, both 
 of rotation and revolution, were at once imparted 
 by an original common cause, of which we know 
 neither the nature nor the epoch.’” 
 
 Lardner.— “This author, in speaking of the 
 planets and satellites, says: ‘They obey the laws 
 of gravitation, but they do much more. They 
 all move in ellipses; those ellipses differ but very 
 little from being circles; their orbits increase in 
 distance from the sun nearly in regular progres- 
 sion; those orbits are nearly in the same plane, 
 and their movements are in the same direction. 
 
Accordance so wondrous, and order so adniirahl(‘, 
 could not be fortuitous, and, not being enjoined 
 by the conditions of the law of gravitation, must 
 either be ascribed to tlie immediate dictates of 
 the Omnipotent Architect of the universe above 
 all laws, or to some general laws superinduced 
 upon gravitation, which escaped the sagacity of 
 the discoverer of that principle/” 
 
 Nichol.— “He declares that not one of these 
 remarkable arrangements in the solar system 
 owes its origin to gravity. For instance, gravity 
 cannot account for the fact that all the various 
 orbs, primary and secondary, move in ellipses ap- 
 proaching very nearly to the circular form; nor 
 the fact that all these orbs revolve in the same di- 
 rection around the sun; nor the fact that they all 
 rotate on their axes in the same direction ; nor 
 that equally singular ordinance which has con- 
 fined so many bodies within a brief distance of 
 the plane of the sun’s equator. It appears a neces- 
 sary conclusion, that the cause of the foregoing 
 arrangements is something profounder even than 
 Newton’s principle; perhaps some remotest fact in 
 the history of the universe.” 
 
 Kirkwood.— “In taking the most cursory view 
 of the solar system, we cannot fail to notice the 
 following interesting facts: 
 
 1. The sun rotates from west to east. 
 
 2. The planets move nearly in the plane of 
 the sun’s equator. 
 
 3. The orbital motions of planets and satel- 
 lites are from west to east. 
 
 4. The rotary motions are in the same direction 
 
84 
 
 5. The rings of Saturn move in the same di- 
 rection. 
 
 6. The planetary oi l)its are nearly circular. 
 
 7. Idle cometary orbits have different pecu- 
 liarities, etc. 
 
 None of these facts are accounted for by tlie 
 law of gravitation. The suiTs attiaction can have 
 no influence whatever in determining either the 
 direction of the planet’s motion or the eccen- 
 tricity of its orbit.” 
 
 Mitchell. — “In the outset of this description 
 of the nebular theory, we must clearly distinguish 
 between those phenomena for which the law of 
 universal gravitation is responsible and those 
 other phenomena of the constitution of the solar 
 system in the explication of which this law has 
 never been employed. The solar system once be- 
 ing organized as it now is, all its existent and 
 daily phenomena are susceptible of explanation 
 from the theory of gravity. Here, however, the 
 domain of this law is bounded; or, at least, has 
 hitherto been bounded. There remains a multi- 
 tude of inquiries demanding answers, for which, 
 however, gravitation has not been deemed ac- 
 countable. For example, why do all the planets 
 and satellites revolve in orbits so nearly circular? 
 So far as gravitation is concerned, they might as 
 well have revolved in paraboles or hyperboles. 
 Why do all the planets circulate about the sun in 
 the same direction? How comes it that the planes 
 of the planetary orbits are nearly coincident? 
 Gravitation renders no reply. Again the planets 
 all rotate in the same direction in which they re- 
 volve. The satellites follow the same analogies, 
 and even the sun itself is in like manner found to 
 rotate on his axis in the same general direction.” 
 
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