learning geography, on which only a few prominent features
of the country are laid down, and the learner is left
to fill in the details as his knowledge advances.
Only in this case the details have already been filled
in by the light of very imperfect knowledge, aided
by a fertile imagination. These we must obliterate
if we would restore the possibility of a faithful
delineation, and we must be careful, in future, to
avoid a similar error. We must put down nothing
as certain which has not been conclusively shown to
be so.
This last caution is specially needed at the present
time, for, proud as we are of our advance in science,
the amount of what is certainly known is probably
very much less than we imagine. A great deal
that was received as certain a few years ago, is now
considered to be doubtful, or even recognized as a
mistake and abandoned. This is especially the
case with Astronomy, which seems to be almost in a
state of revolution. Dependent, as it is almost
entirely, upon mechanical and optical aid, every improvement
and discovery in these departments changes its position,
bringing to light new facts, and modifying the aspect
of those which were previously known. The very
basis of all astronomical calculations, the standard
of time, is now no longer relied upon as invariable.
It is suspected of a change resulting from a gradual
retardation in the rate of the earth’s rotation
on its axis, produced by tidal friction. When
the binary stars were discovered, the discovery was
hailed as a proof of the universal prevalence of the
law of gravitation. Later observations have thrown
doubt upon that conclusion, as many pairs are known
to exist, which, though they have what is termed a
“common proper motion,” or are journeying
through space together, have no relative motion, which
they must show, if they were moving under the influence
of their mutual attractions. The supposed simplicity
of the solar system has given place to extreme complexity.
A century ago, six planets, ten satellites, and a
few comets, were supposed to constitute the whole
retinue of the sun: now, instead of this, we have
two groups of four planets each, the individual members
of each group closely resembling each other in all
points within our knowledge, while in all these points
the groups differ greatly. Between these two
groups lies a belt of very small planets, of which
the 1st was discovered on the first day of the present
century, and the 124th this year, and the number of
known satellites has increased from 10 to 17.
Add to this the meteoric groups, and their suspected
connexion with certain comets, and the perplexing questions
suggested by the Solar Corona and the Zodiacal light,
and it will be seen that our knowledge is in a transitional
state; that with so many problems unsolved, any apparent
contradiction to the sacred record will require a
careful scrutiny to ascertain that the grounds on
which it is brought forward are well established.
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