Dreams Of My Solitude On The Mysteries Of The Heavens

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1879 edition. Excerpt: ... chapter xxiii. growth of the earth. Looking up to the heavens we behold a thousand suns, and in the intervals betwixt them we know that there must be millions of sunlets and worlds which, from their comparative insignificance or opacity, are invisible. The first thought which occurs to the reflective mind, is, How came they there? when and from where? who is their Author? do they only exist for a time, or have they been from eternity? A numerous school of thinkers adopt the latter view, and that they will continue the same without change for ever. There they are, there they always were, and there they always will be. If they are asked, How are they there? Oh! it is chance! What gave them their wonderful motions? It is chance. How is it that all matter has attraction, a universal force which holds the materials of the worlds firmly bound together?--it must be chance. And the mysterious light that is everywhere in the presence of matter, and which continually enlightens the universe with glorious splendour, of course is chance; for it is the common title they give to all nature's productions, both in the heavens and the earth. We see the worlds held within their systems, instead of wandering at will; and the settled order, if broken through, would be universal chaos, yet it is chance. As a converse, the mighty comets, the grand messengers of life to the universe, while they are governed by the same laws as the planets, are held within no systems, but wander interminably. Thus, the same material forces and natural laws which keep the one class of bodies fixed, send the others wandering at random, through infinitely opposing principles equally indispensable for the welfare of the universe, produced by the same operations, yet in these...

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Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.