T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, S E P T E M B E R 20, E. M. 300 (1900.;
T h e N eb u lar T heory.
whose gigantic w hirling motion m anity, aw aiting its tim e to sprout
coby—using the colum ns of the
and whose g rad u al com paction in- and spring up and grow into the
P opular Science M onthly for its in­
BY HERMAN W’ETTSTEIN.
to new suns under the presure of beauty of ‘the image of God.’ (As
stru m en t— to deduce “ the p erm a­
g ravitation are all but visable— for us being images of God, I d o n ’t
There is probably no question such are some of the m arvelous see where the credit to th e’ C hrist- nent stab ility of the solar system
from the nebular hypothesis. R eal­
upon which scientific men are shapes and appearances th a t these ian joss comes in.)
izing th a t this theory would give
more “ at sea” than th a t of the neb- photographs show.
Verification for the nebular hy-
the theistica! concept of the world’s
u larh ypothesis. Three distinct a tti­
In one respect p a rtic u la rly the pothesis having thus been obtained
tu d e s seem to be held in regard to latest L ick’s photographs are in- by unquestionable scientific de- “creatiou”[?J the deathblow if it
were verified beyond all reasonable
it: one th a t rejects it, another th at tensely interesting.
F requently m onotration, how can a learned
accep ts it, and one which endorses the question is asked by those gentlem an assert in the face of this doubt, as it now has been by the
Lick photographs, the only re­
it wi th a view to m isconstructing who, although interested in astro ­
verification the “ perm anent s ta b il­ course left to Theists is to question
its inevitable deductions. An il­ nom ical research, have not fol­
ity of our solar system ?” W ith its inevitable im plications. Such
lu stra tio n of the latter class was lowed it closely: ‘H as the famous
the facts before him, as revealed by attem pts would be but iu accord­
recently presented iri an article by nebular hypothesis of the origin of
the Lick photographs, showing, ance with the Jesu itical precept,
Prof. H arrold Jacoby, in the Popu­ the world been exploded by recent
th a t: “ out of a nebula we came; in ­ th a t “ the end justifies the m eans.”
la r Science M onthly, who aired his discoveries?’ How the im pression
to a nebula we shall re tu rn ,’ howcan And th a t all shades of dissenters
views under the heading: “ The th a t it had been exploded became
he m ain tain the position assum ed from the Rom an C atholic Church,
S u n ’s D estination,” (reprinted in so widespread it would be hard to
by him ? W hat can the evidence i. e., of P rotestantism , have adopted
the Torch of Aug. 16th.) says he at say, hut no one studying the p h o ­
presented prove more absolutely this m axim , our d aily experience
the outset: “ Three generations of tographs in question could long
than the transiency of all existing only too forcibly proves. W hat
men have come and gone since the entertain any doubt as to the
things, barring only th eir co n stitu ­ Loyola declared in the above in ­
M arquis de Laplace stood before stan d in g of the nebular hypothesis.
ents, the perm anency of which we junction was generalized by all the
the Academy of France and gave Instead of being exploded by the
are forced to postulate?
churches under the form th a t “ the
his dem onstration of the perm anent progress of discovery, as some over-
T h at “ overzealous ch u rch m en ” integrity of Ecclesiasticism , i. e., of
sta b ility of our solar system .”
A zealous church men have pretend­
attem pted to “ explode” the nebular the theistical concept of the u n i­
m ore u nw arranted utterance was ed, (Prof. W akem an, please take
hypothesis, shows from w hat q u a r­ verse, m ust be preserved at all
never made. Laplace was the one notice H. W .) it has been im ­
ter the opposition em anated. W hy, hazards—by fair m eans or foul.”
who gave distinct form to the neb­ m ensely strengthened,
and the then, should Liberals “ fall iu lin e”
ular hypothesis of the origin of Lick photographs alone would have
with the opposition, if they are u n ­
our solar system and to say th a t given birth to such an hypothesis
able to produce valid argum ents The Nebular H ypothesis vs. The
he dem onstrated its perm anent if the genius of K an t and Laplace
Nebular Theory. Please
against it, which in view of the u n ­
stab ility flies directly in the face had not anticipated it.
Don’t Foreclose the
im peachable confirm ation it has
of the theory of which he was the
“ Out of a nebula we came; into received by the Lick photographs,
Universe.
im m ortal author. N othing can be a nebula we shall re tu rn — is a pro­
is, of course, now en tirely out of
more co n trary to this hypothesis position the first h a lf of which at
the question.
BY T. B. WAKEMAN.
th a n to claim perm anent stability least can be regarded as estab lish ­
Note, also, the following incon­
for our or an y o th er solar system . ed.
There are photographs, for
The Torch is devoted to Liberal
1 hen why m ake such a preposter­ instance, which exhibit as clearly gruous statem ent of Prof. Jacoby,
ous statem en t as th a t the one who as an y th in g possibly could do, the which it is im possible to reconcile education and propaganda. In
proposed the origin of worlds out emergence of suns, planets and s a t­ with the nebular hypothesis, which lengthy discussions over disputed
hypotheses and speculations, the
of a nebulous haze and their event­ ellites out of the nebulous clouds. he to all appearances accepts.
“
And
so
men
asked,”
he
says,
size and purpose of this paper for­
ual return to it, should demon The process is there before your
strate their “ perm anent stability j» «yea. You can n >t dispute it. The “ has this m agnificent solar system bid us to indulge as we often wish
Can a more absurd statem ent be con­ various Htages of w orld-creation been built upon a scale so grand, to do. We stand, for instance, in
ceived of? A nything more c o n tra­ are represented, not all in one been put in operation subject to a A stronom y and Physics ou known
dictory ? E vidently Prof. Jacoby nebula, of course, but m any nebula law sublim e in its very sim plicity facts and laws, like the helio­
don’t know his own m ind concern­ in different stages of developm ent only to change and change un til a t centric solar system , the law of
length it shall lose every sem blance equivalent correlation, and their
ing these m atters, else he would and condensation...................... t 0
never have uttered an y th in g so fla­ doubt th a t the results of the pro­ of its former self, and end perhaps plain consequences. There are other
in chaos and ex tin ctio n ?”
g ra n tly inconsistent.
papers more expressly devoted to
cess t re before us, would be as ir ­
rhis
question
has
been
answ
ered
How do his views of the “ p erm a­ rational as to doubt th a t the grain
explorations and disputations.
most
positively
by
the
Lick
photo­
nent stab ility of our solar system ” of seed in the ground, and the
We p rin t Mr. W ettstein ’s article,
graphs
in
the
affirm
ative,
i.
e.,
th
a
t
coincide, for instance, with the fol­
The Nebular Theory,” therefore,
sprout pushing above the soil, and our solar system and every other
lowing observations m ade by the the full grown stalk with its leaves
not only because it is interesting,
one
th
a
t
makes
up
the
constella­
astronom ers of the Lick O bservato­ and berries, are all bound together
but because when looked 'a t from
tions,
is
bound
“
to
end
iu
chaos
ry, of which a succinct account has as successive phases of one co n tin u ­
the scientific point of view it is
and
extinction,”
or,
as
Prof.
Serviss
recently been given by Prof. S er­ ous process of grow th and evolu­
highly educative, as a little a tte n ­
puts
it,
“Out
of
a
nebula
we
came;
vies in .th e New Y ork J o u rn a l? tion.
tion will show, thus:
into
a
nebula
we
shall
re
tu
rn
.”
(See also The T ruthseeker of Aug.
. 1. Is he rig h t about Prof. H ar­
“ Take the wonderful photo-
There
is
“
chaos
and
ex
tin
ctio
n
”
18th.)
rold Jacoby’s article, which was
Speaking of the Crossley r e fle c tjfe n d y
B ut note how Prof. Ja-
printed in the Torch of August
ing telescope, devoted to the p h o -! journals renrps f
sc,e n tlhc coby m isconstrues the in ev itab le 15th, from the P opular Science
tographine
of the
the c celestial
e le s t in i orbs,
n r h o k<
. • e.n ln ^ 1 e 8 tr'Uîge conclusions to be draw n from the M onthly, which is quite a reliable
tographing of
he > Trifid nebula
in the con stellatio n s
says: “ Especially am ong those S agittarius . . . This curious nehular hypothesis. Says he: “ L a ­ scientific publication?
place was able to answ er confi­
m ysterious and wonderful clouds of
The point oi th a t article was to
dently, No!’ I say, Laplace never show, th a t the d u iab ility of the
asserted a n y th in g of the kind! solar system had been dem on­
exceptional power.
V ast spirals,
strated by La Place in such a way
future
-v
-t
"
"f
"
e
P°
te,'
Cy
°
f
a
Yl£S
exPre8sed
in
auy
proposition
immense gulfs of blackness su r­
as to receive general acceptance by
No m i r f l eiU ° T 'T a ” d W° rl
° r ,he" rJ whatsoever than th a t in-
rounded by lum inous walls, in tri­ s^unTf
" r
:
vnlved in L aplace’s, which argues scientists, and th at such accept­
cate p atterns of nebulous traceries
ance was fully justified by all sub­
7 lH,W7 '
" e',U- *he
of all bodies of
as delicate in stru ctu re as the finest la hok s U
sequent discoveries and observa­
a tte m p t
lacework, beaded with stars, inter* rets and ,7 7 n s " a n d 7 , “ * J ’1’*'’' " ‘“ “ er' And never h«8
tions. The Torch, because the
essences come to my notice from a scientific
linked rings of light, gleam ing like
article was short and good, re­
from which their in h ab itan ts are to
the phosphorescence of the sea, but be com pounded. Once on a time q u arte r th a t so tran sp aren tly seeks printed it.
to pervert what m ust be ap p aren t
each so stupendous in circuit th at
Friend W ettstein says No! For,
this solar system of ours was
c i
, .
—
, 1° I fie most o rdinary mind
the whole solar system and m any . f«»r
says he, this sam e La Place was
nless and chaotic as that I...
p c
i
’ uim a.
sola r system s together m ight be glowing mass of gasses in S a t r i n ' «
1 « e
nothing hut the the great
. . . ..........
advocate, if not the ori
en. .raced by it; orbs of pale fire rius, hut it held the seed o f |,„
l ‘ ° ' en f° ° l t nr
’] "f Ortho- ginator, of the N ebular H ypothesis
of h » ., doxy in the attem pt of Prof. J a - i to the effect .h a , the sun and solai