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S T A F F O R D , JU L Y , 1872.

No. I.
CONTENTS.
A d d re ss to th e H eader.
A F e w W o rd s ab o u t th e ScientificT h e B ed fo rd L e v el Experim entB ;L e tte r to A lfred B. W allace,
Esq., F.E.G .S.
P ro o fs th a t E a r th is a P lan e.
N o .Lones id e ,w il lbeu n ju stinr e s o l u t i o n . ” ---- L O C K E .

Epitonae of N ew s.
C orreepondence.
H isto ry of C osm ography.
T h e T heories of N ew ton.
N ew to n ia n A stronom y. M ode of
C om putation.
T h e A ccred ited B a te of C urvature.

A D D R E SS TO T H E R E A D E R .
I f any explanation were necessary for the appear­
ance of The Zetetic in the ranks of journalism, it
might be found in the fact that'-while almost every
phase of scientific, political, and social problems has
its own particular organ, and medium of commu­
nication, those who have been led to believe in theprinciples of Zeteticism have been hitherto totally
Mftrepresented; and, owing to the partiaKty andintolerance of the press, frequently nizsrepresented.
B ut the growing interest with which this all-im­
portant question of the shape and mobility of
E arth is being I’egarded, and the numbers th at are
daily espousing the cause which we advocate, seem,in themselves, a sufficient guarantee for the belief
that the time cannot b e 'fa r distant when public
opinion will unanimously demand its speedy andfinal settlement. No one, who has, for a single
moment, directed his attention to the subject, canfail to see its importance. Astronomy, Geology,
Navigation, and all the arts and sciences which
follow in their train, essentially depend upon aknowledge of the true figure and condition of ourworld. Zeteticism affirms that it is not a Globe hut aPlane— vast, irregular^and immoveaUe, '■'■founded on

O ne H a lf p e n n y .

the seas, and established in the floods
that the celes­
tial bodies are not worlds and mighty globes, but lights
subordinate to, and created fo r the service o f Earth ;that there is but one material world in the universe—
the one on which we live and have our being; that there
is an inseparable connection between Theology and
Science ; and that order and simplicity are the chief
characteristics o f the tuorhs o f God.
On the contrary, Newtonian Astronomy divests
the E arth of its attribute of fixity, and conceives it
as a rapidly-moving globe—possessing three sepa­
rate and distinct motions, and influenced by otherdisturbing causes— a mere speck or atom amidst theendless congeries of suns, systems, and revolving
worlds, which, from their very nature, become“ ghostly from infinite.” The following represen­tation, given by a German philosophical poet, of thepath of a m ortal called by God (ivho coidd not exist
i f this Newtonian theoi'y luere true) to view thedimensions of his realms, fully describes this hypo­thetical doctrine :—“ W ithout measures were thearchitraves, past number were the archways, be­yond memory the gates. W ithin were stairs thatscaled the eternities below ; above Was below—be­
low was above, to the man stripped of gravitating
bo dy: depth was swallowed up in height insur­
mountable, height was swallowed up in depth un­
fathomable. Suddenly, as thus they rode from in ­finitude to infinitude— suddenly, as thus they tilted
over abysmal worlds, a mighty ciy arose,— t h a t
systems more mysterious, th a t worlds more billowy

THE ZETETIC.
— other heights and other depths— were coming, crowned with success, and when your labours, now
were nearing, were a t hand—^for end there is none, disregarded, will receive their reward.
to the universe, and lo ! also there is no beginning.”“ Truth crush’d to earth, shall rise again,—
The eternal years of God’s are hers ;W e read th a t the man sighed, and stopped, shud­
But
Error, vanquished, ivrithes in pain,
dered, and w e p t; th at his spu’it ached with this in­
And dies amid her worshippers.”
finity. So we have universe after universe, systemafter system, in countless throngs, for ever succeed­
A F E W W O E D S A B O U T T H E S C IE N T IF IC
ing one another in the endless realms of space.
W A G ER .*G randeur, but without order; complication, mys­
In the month of Januaiy, 1870, the following
tery, and confusion ! Reader ! this is Newtonian challenge was published by Mr. J . H am pden:—
Astronomy. Who but the most infatuated dreamer, “ The undersigned is willing to deposit from £60 towho but the most bewildered enthusiast, could £500, and defies all the philosophers, divines, andscientific professors in the United Kingdom to provecredit a theory like this ? In ages past, various the rotundity and revolution of the world from.
speculations were raised. Bubble after bubble was Scripture, from reason, or from fact. H e wiU
created, existed for a moment, and burst. Some acknowledge th at he has forfeited his deposit if hiso^oponent can exhibit, to the satisfaction of any in­sought for the philosopher’s stone, others for the telligent referee, a convex railway, river, canal, or
charm th a t would di-ive away death and all the Uls lake.— J o h n H a m p d e n . ”
A fter some little delay, M r. A lfred R. Wallace, aof life. Superstition produced many fancies, but
Fellow of the Royal Geogi’aphical Society, offered
never was dream so mad, so foolish, so self-arrogant to comply with the requisite conditions, and to proveas tliis ! The persecutive spirit w ith which it was by ocular demonstration the convexity of a length
originally m et, the mysteries attached by the igno­ (six miles) of inland water. A n agreement wasentered into by both parties ; M r. J . H . Walsh,ra n t to its founders in those dark epochs of theeditor of the Fields was chosen as referee for Mr.
w orld’s history, served only to attract for it an a t­ W allace, and JNIr. W . CaqDenter fo r M r. Hampden.
tention, which otherwise it would never have gained. A t the suggestion of Mi\ W allace, th at portion ofInfidelity eager for support took it up ; men of abil­ the “ Old Bedford,”! between Old Bedford Bridge
and W elney Bridge— a distance of six mUes—was
ity, who found it close a t hand, adopted it un­ selected as the place for observation. On the 16th
questioned. To-day it is the modern D iana which February Mr. Wallace proposed the following ex­
its votaries abjectly venerate. But, be it as it may, periment which was at once assented to by his
opponent, who expressed his satisfaction w ith it,
it will be oiu’ endeavora’, to the best of our humble and his belief th at “it could not fail to be thoroughly
convincing one w ay or the other —ability, to resist it.
In conchision, we would ask oiu’ readers to con­sider the question w e ll; to study, examine, and totest for themselves. I t is not a problem of little
importance— a problem to be left “ for others tosolve.” I t is one which demands immediate andcareful inquiry. I t concerns equally the atheist,
Christian, and man of science. A nd we would bid
those who are preparing to take a p art in the struggle
to dibregai’d the ridiciile and abuse of the world.
You have to stem the tide of prejudice and error ;to check the progress of that torrent of infidelity
which is now flooding the length and breadth of theland. Of this you may rest assui’ed, th at the timeis rapidly approaching when your efforts will be“ The test I am going to use is very simple and conclu­
sive. I hare prepared half-a-dozen signal posts, each 6 feetlong, and with red and black circles attached to them, so as
to be distinctly seen at a long distance. I shall set these
up a mile apart on the ivate>-’s edge and then look along them■with a powerful telescope. If the water-line is straight andflat, the top of these poles will of course be straight and flatto o ; but it the earth and water has a curvature of 4000
miles radius, then the tops of the poles will be equally convex,
and they will be secnrisinghigher andhigher to themiddlepoint,
and then sinking lower and lou'er to the furthest one.”

On Monday, February 2Sth, Messrs. Wallace andCarpenter set out for the Bedford Canal, and on
the following day the signal posts were duly set up.
Subsequently they were found inconvenient, andMr. Wallace expressed Ms opinion that “ a good
* T h e above ca re fu lly p rep are d s ta te m e n t o f fa c ts ia n o t in te n d e dto p re ju d ic e tlie m in d s of o u r re a d e rs, l)ut sim p ly to explain th e critic­
ism s, w h ich m ay , a t an y fu tu re tim e, b e m ad e u p o n th e ex p erim en ts
to •which th e y re fe r.—E d. Zetetict T h e Old B ed fo rd ” is a n artificial riv e r o r ca n al, som e 20 m iles ia
le n g th , w h ich p asses in a s tr a ig h t lin e th ro u g h t h a t p a r t of th e re ria
ca lle d th e “ B ed fo rd LeveL”

THE ZETETIC.
signal at each end, and one tlie same height in thecentre, would answer every pui-pose.” Accordingly“ an oblong signal, 6ft. by 3ft. was placed on Old
Bedford Bridge, its centre being 13ft. 4in. above
the water. A t tlu-ee miles distance along the canala staff was erected, having a red disc of wood 1ft.
in diameter affixed thereto, the centre of which was
also 13ft. 4in. above the w ater; and on Welneybridge, three miles further, a third signal wasplaced, reaching the top of the bridge, 13ft. 4in.
likewise above the water. “B ut although three signals
were erected, it must nevertheless be remembered
th at the telescope, being placed cibove the first, only
exhibited the apparent position of tw o! On thecentre signal staff there was a red disc already a t­tached, which was allowed to remain 9ft. 4in. above
the water, or 4ft. lower than the other. The obser­
vations were made by means of a large telescope(4 in. object glass), and also to and fro, according
to agreement, by means of a level, by Stanley, Holborn, and were carried out from bridge to bridge
the full six miles.” Commenting upon the arrange­ments, the editor of the Field (March 5th, 1870)
says“ The experiment, which is now in course of trial on the
Bedford Level in Norfolk, is carried out by fixing three
discs at equal distances (12 feet) from the surface of thislevel, one being at each end, and the tliird in the middle.
According to the received theory, the middle disc ought torange 5 feet (in round numbers) above the level of the ter­minal discs; while Mr. Hampden risks his £300 on theassumption that the three will range in a straight line.
W e have satisfied ourselves by ocular inspection that the
instruments and the locality are sufficiently well adapted tobring out a true issu e ; and we hope next week to lay be­fore our readers the decision of the referees.”

Pi’evious to this, and while the experiments werebeing conducted, Mr. W alsh was compelled to re­turn to London, and Mr. M. W . B. Coulcher, a
local surgeon, was appointed in his stead. A fter
the experimentation was concluded, this gentlemandeclared “ on o a th ” th at Mr. Wallace had demon­
strated the convexity of the water, but as his coreferee, Mr. Carpenter, was of the opposite opinion,
Mr. W alsh was appointed umpire, and on the 18thof March he decided that, “ taking into considera­tion the theory of the earth’s rotundity,” Mr. W al­lace was entitled to the stakes, which were duly
handed over to that gentleman on the 1st of April,
1870.
T H E “ B E D rO R D L E V E L ” E X P E R IM E N T S .
To Alfred Bussell Wallace, Esq., FeUow of
the Royal Geographical Society, &c.
SiE—Although some two years have now elapsed
since your celebrated experimentation on the ‘‘Old
Bedford” Canal attracted so much attention in thescientific w orld; although Mr. W a l s h as an intel­
ligent “ referee ” awarded you, on the 1st of April,

1870, the sum of £1000 for having proved to his
satisfaction “ the cm’vature to and fro ” of the“ Bedford Level River,” between Welney Bridge andWelche’s Dam, in Canrbridrje, and Dr. Coulcher as
an “ umpire ” declared “ on o a th ” that by the same
experiment, the convexity of w ater between Welney
Bridge and the “ Old Bedford” Bridge, in Xorfollc,
had been proved entirely to his satisfaction; al­though Mr. Westlake, in his endeavours to justify
the award, mathematically demonstrated th at Euclid
was a blunderer; yet, strange to say, Zeteticism
progresses. The ?)3se dixit of an umpire is after all
merely the expression of an individual opinion ; andit is only by a careful and dispassionate review ofthe exper’iments themselves, and of the appearances
they presented, that their true bearing on the c[uestion of the shape of standing water—and thereforeof the earth— can be ascertained. The importanceof this question, and the courage you have invari­
ably exhibited in your efforts to prevent the pro­
gress of Zetetic opinions, induce me to express ahope that you will not reject an opportunity of dis­cussing it, and therefore of dispelling the cloudwliich has hitherto rested over your experimenta­
tion. The questions to be decided might thus beexpressed;—W hat were the appearances presented?
Were they consistentwith ahorizontal, or inconsistentw ith a convex, surface of the w ater ? or vice versa.
I say, “ consistent with a horizontal surface of
the w a te r;” because, although if it can be shownth at they were inconsistent with the opiposite sup­position, it follows that the decision was faulty, aud
the question still undecided, yet it is necessary, fromthe position I take, th at I should be prepared todemonstrate the former proposition; and this I will
endeavour to do.
I f we erect on a horizontal surface, three or moresignals, of equal lengths, and a t equal distances
apart, and place a telescope, accurately levelled,near to the first, we shall find the tops of the three
to range in a perfectly straight line. So in the“ Old Bedford” experiments; if the conditions, pre­viously agreed on, had been carried out, and the sur­face of the w ater was flat, “ the tops of the poles
would have been level and flat also.” Of this there__n be no doubt. But this was not done. The
signal which should have been placed near the tele­scope was omitted. Hence the appearances pre­sented were necessarily changed; the telescopic
view was altered; and we have the signals appear­
ing lower and lower, the nearer apparently higher
than the one more remote. B ut methinks I hear
you say, “ place three objects at equal distances
apart in a true straight line (three oranges on theparapet of W aterloo Bridge, for instance), and thenw ith the telescope at either end, in place of one ob­
ject, make the centre object considerably raised
above the distant one.” Probably you may not doTHE ZETETIC.
go, for tlie simple reason th at tlie distance referred
to is inappreciable, and that they rest immediately
upon a continuous surface. Make the conditions
analagous, and the appearances referred to are pre­sented. Hence, then, I faU to see the slightest ob­
jection to the belief th a t the smiace of standing
w ater is perfectly horizontal.
A nd here I am constrained to conclude without
alluding as I intended to the inconsistency between
the appearance referred to and the suj^position th at
the surface of the Bedford Canal is an arc of a cii'cleof the accredited dimensions.
B. CH A S. B E O U G H .
PEOOFS TH A T E A E T H IS A PLA N E.
No. 1.
The marine horizon, from whatever position it
is viewed, always ajipears to be, and is, in fact, ajjerfeotly level line, and since this appearance isth e same in all parts of th e world, its surface must
fee le v e l; and therefore th e E a rth is a Plane.
This may be proved to be the case, by erecting
at a suitable elevation on the sea shore, a dulylevelled board, or a string—at right angles to aplum b-line— tig h tly stretched between two v erti­
cal poles. On looking towards the sea, the hori­zontal line for a distance of 20 miles may be easily
observed, and throughout its entire length it wall
be found to coincide w ith the straight-edgo, or
string: but if the earth were a globe, the horizontal
line would form an are ©f tw enty miles in length,
curvating both, ways fro n i'th e centre, at the rateof eight inches, m ultiplied by the square of the
distance. Hence the horizontal line at either endof the distance ought to be depressed some 66 feetbelow the horizon in th e centre. B ut as no suchappearance is ever presented, it necessarily follows
th a t the earth cannot be a globe, or other than aplane. In om next we propose to examine theobjections urged against the above arg-ument.
T H E T H E O E IE S OF NEW TON.
W hen the claims of any man to infallibility are
set up and th e prestige of his name constantly madeuse of by those who have adopted his views, it is
not inappropriate to enquire w hether the whole ofhis scientific opinions have been accejited. New­ton founded his philosophy on definitions, most, if
not all, of which have been disputed by those who
hold th e same general notions as himself. H e as­serted that each ray of lig h t consists of seven pri­m ary colours, but it has since been demonstrated
th at it consists of two only, and “ scientific ” menare sceptical as to the existence of two. His know­
ledge of the sun’s distance was of the most hazydescription; “ it didn’t m atter w hether it was 28

or 54 millions of mUes, for either would do w e ll!”“ it wasn’t w orth while to alter his figmes.” H is
opinion of the exact shape of the eaiih is different
from th at of his followers of the present day. H ebelieved th a t comets existed for the purpose of
sujjpljing the sun w ith heat, and this belief hepersistently climg t o ; biit w hat Ne-wtonian astron­omer believes it now ? H e predicted th a t thecomet of 1680 would fall into the sun and renderits heat so gi-eat that the earth icould inevitably heconsumed. H e attemj^ted to account for the orbital
motion of the earth on the suj^position th a t “ theCreator thi-ew the p>lanets iato space, and th a t theywould have moved on for ever by such propulsion,in a straight line, but for the attraction of the sun,which force, acting in another direction, prevented
the planet from moving in either, and so produced
a curvilinear path.” Do astronomers believe this
now-a-days ? H e invented a chronological system
which is oijposed to th at of everyone else. H is
opinion of the Divine authority was of the mostirreverent nature. H e openly disavowed his belief
in the epistles of St. John and St. Paul, and inother parts of the Bible. As regai-ds the form er,
he suggested th a t verses had been cut out, others
m utilated or changed, and m any added thereto.
A t his death, many of his MSS. were found to beof such an infidel description, th a t they w ere sup­pressed as being im fit for publication. T heirnames are the follow ing;— Church History—Pro­
phetic Style— Temple o f Solomon— The Sanctuai'y—■CorriqMons o f Scripture— Paradoxical questions con­cerning Athanasius— Worhing o f the Mystery o f In ­iquity— Theology o f the Heathen— Account o f theContest between the Hosts o f Heaven and the Trans­
gressors o f the Covenant— History o f the Prophecies.
D’Holbach, the atheist, sj>eaks of th e “ chiLdishness ” of some of his theological views, b u t openly
praises him for others. I n an early portion of hiBlife he was deranged for a year, and frequently
issued the most absurd orders, such as asking his
servants to carry out a red-hot stove I His biogi-apher, M. Biot, states, th at a misfortune at theage of fortjr-five brought on madness, from which,he never recovered. The misfortune consisted ofthe destruction of a num ber of his papers by his dog
Diamond, which knocked do\ra a lighted candle
amongst them. This dog could scarcely have beena “ diamond of the first w ater,” or instead of p u t­ting fire into Newtonian philosophy, he would
have attem jjted to exting-uish it. I5ut it would be
an endless task to adduce all his scientific failings;
and we conclude w ith this remark, th a t the con­duct of his followers in relying on his n a s i b is es­
sentially short-sighted. His claims to t r u e gi-eatness depend upon the correctness of his view s;
and the putting him forward as an infallible being is
simply a species of begging the question. E very

THE ZETETIC.
system has its own followers. Alchemy can dis­play a long roll of great names, and amongst themstands th a t of Newton himself. Atheism can point
to men of undoubted ability and eru d itio n ; andgo can every speculative opinion. T hat the founderof the Newtonian philosophy was a great man, in
the ordiaary sense of the word, is adm itted on allhands ; but in m any of his views he was mistaken,
and if in some, w hy not in others ? L e t us accord
him the praise which belongs to him ; but it should
fee remembered, th a t but for him Atheism would
probably have become a th in g of the past. He
should not be disfignired by pretensions to which
no man can aspire. His epitaph vwould best de­scribe him as“ A vision throned as a solemn markOf the fraility of h u m a n greatness.”

THE ZETETia

Three “ new ” planets have been recently discovered.
They belong to the Asteroids, a group wljich contains some
116 of these “ miniature bodies.” These are the “ broken
bits ” of a world that is said to have “ burst.” Our astro­
nomical friends will probably forgive us when we say thatit must have been a tolerably large one.
In reply to certain wicked persons who object to the“ nothings” which “ disinterested "astronomers obtain, thethree following resolutions have been passed by the occu­
pants of Flamstead House :— 1. Resolved that the earth is
the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. 2. Resolved tiiat the
Lord has given His inheritance unto the saints. 3. Resolved,that we are the saints.
Eddowe’s Shrewsbury and Salopian Journal, in a favour­
able report of a recent debate, informs its readers that weare an “ attorney’s clerk.” AVe are indebted to our con­temporary for the compliment it pays us although it isquite undeserved. The statement would create some sur­prise in our mind did we not know that it was made at thesuggestion, and on the inspiration, of a ci-devant schoolusher, whose statements are always as destitute of truth as
they are of even the commonest politenesss.

SLetterd tu tftc iSaitffr,

JU LY , 1872.
W H A T IS TH E FORM OF TH E EAR TH ?
The Office o f T h e Z e t e t i c is a t Castle Ten'ace, Staffoi'd, vshcre all
Comnmnications should he addressed.

TO EEA D EK S A N D CORRESPONDENTS.
I n o u r n e x t issue w ill "be com m cnced a s e rie s of a rtic le s on “ Z o tetie
A s tr o n o m y - Its O rigin a n d ProgresB,” byitB foundm * “ P a ra lla x .”O.D., A W e l l - w i s h e b , a n d otliers, a r e of opinion th a t T u b Z e t e t i c
Bhould b e issu ed fo rtn ig h tly , in s te a d of, as a t p re s e n t, on th e firstof e a c h m onth,
JOHN T a y l o r , F .IL S . (S h re w 8 b u iy )-W e h a v e b ee n favoured w ith aco u rteo u s com m unication fro m th is g en tlem an , w ho is good eno u g h
to in f o r m n s th a t w e a re “ a r a n k a n d vile im p o sto r,” “ fo u U g n o ram iis,” “ a n a r ra n t a n d b o astin g sw a g g e re r,” “ a sn eerin g u p s ta rt,”a n d “ a ca n d id a te for th e Old B ailey,” &c., &c. T h e se poUte ex p res­s io n a re fuUowcd by a so m ew h at v ague th r e a t of p erso n al violence,a n d a s ta te m e n t to “ r o o t ” u s out, “ to o th a n d b ra n c h .” "We th a n k
th is soi-disant “ g e n tle m a n by b irth , ed u catio n , a n d positio b ,” for his
c o m p lim entary, le tte r, a n d beg o f n im to be m e rcifu l to w a rd s us.
W e c a n n o t call M r. T a y lo r a n “ u p s ta r t,” because ho is so low a s tor e n d e r a n y o th e r id e a th a n th a t of h is h av in g jo u rn e y e d b ac k w ard s
q u ite in a p p ro p riate . B u t a s h e is s a id to be th o ro u g h ly w ell v e rse d in
“ im p u d en ce,” an d “ b o astin g ,” &c., w o ca n n o t ex p ress o u r a la rm a t
th e r e s t of h is ex cathedra den u n ciatio n . T h e o n ly favour w e w ould
a s k of Ml*. T. ia, th a t h e w ill express h is fu tu re ep istles (if h e w ill
com pel us to receive th e m , by se n d in g fro m various localities, a n d a d ­d re s s e d in h a n d w ritin g o th e r th a n h is ow n) in a m o re g ram m aticala n d in telligible form , a n d th a t w h en n e x t h e a tte m p ts th e p ro d u c­tio n of a n ugly p ic tu re h e w ill s ta n d in som e o th e r p o sitio n th a n inf r o n t of h is V en etian m irro r.

EPITOM E OF NEW S.
Barnum is after the earth’s rotundity ! "We hope he may
get it.
A drunken man, on being told the world was round, said
that it was probably the cause of ills rolling so.
The elevation of the Astronomer-Eoyal to the dignity of
K.C.B. is officially notified in the London Gazette.
It now appears certain that the iiiformation received
relative to the safety of Dr. Livingstone, the great African
explorer, is tolerably authentic.
The Wellington Journal has the following :— “ Our Shrop­
shire savans are getting exercised in their minds as to therotundity of the earth. Too much importance, we fear, hasbeen attached to the arguments adduced by the nonrevolving pianist, 5Ir. Brough, of StafiEord.”

SiK,—In this enlightened nineteenth century, such aq^uestion as “ W hat is the form of the Earth ? ” may wellarrest the attention of every one ; not only of the learned
but also of the ilhterate man, who depends upon his moreeducated brother for the solution of problems which are toa
difficult for his untutored mind. But what if the former
be deceived ? W hat if owing to the false representationsof “ those who know b e s t” (1) he is led to believe thatwhich is untrue ? And what if the pomt upon which he ismisled be one of vital importance for him to know ? Space
would forbid me here to enlarge upon the duty which every
man owes to himself to be fully determined in his own mind
as to the above question.
Ninety-nine people out of a hundred would give the sameanswer to the interrogation; and that same answer would
be to the effect that “ the earth is a globe whicli revolves
round the sun.” The ninety-nine who makes this reply
would do it because they “ k n o w it is the case.” (!!!)“ H o w do they know it ?” Let this cxuestion be put tothem, and th ey will bestow upon you a withering smile ofpity at what they conceive to be an imbecihty of mind on
your part, and answer you in something like the following
style : “ It always has been so. W e learnt it at school.
Clever men say so ; and look how astronomers can foretell
eclipses •" and then lose their temper at “ the very idea ”
of the globular theory being incorrect, and a haughty“ there can’t be a doubt about it,” will close aU they haveto say on the subject. Now, if the ears of these ninetyand-nine could only be gained, they would be she\vn in anirresistible manner that the piiilosophy wliich would speakof a round and revolving world was a false piiilosophy. For
the planar system is fast gaining ground. Men begin toturn again to the old theory which was taught before thetime of Copernicus, when astronomers’ calculations were ascorrect as at the present d a y ; thus proving clearly thatastronomy does not depend upon any theory of the shapef the earth.
W ith false suppositions to start with, what fanciful ideas
suggest themselves to the mind ! Alas ! for the pluralityof worlds! Alas ! for many other “ learned ” ideas in re­lation to the works of God which doubtless were “ foolish­
ness with Hion.” The Zetetic school would fain check the
infidel tendencies of science if improperly applied to theTHE ZETETIC.
Tvorks of the Almighty. It is doing this, and from theman}' publications anyone may gather the true philosophy
respecting the form of the Earth. The latter is shoivn tobe a plane, and that it “ shall never be m o r e d t h a t it is“ stretched out upon the w a t e r s t h a t it is standing inand out of the w a t e r s t h a t the centre of tliis vast planeis the magnetic or North Pole, towards which the magnetic
needle alwaj'S points in a straight line; and that it is sur­rounded by a barrier of ice wluch no navigator has hither­to been able to approach.
B ut the system will be fully explained in your paper, andI trust that many will flock to the standard of the pianists.
Tor m y own part, it lias ever been m y desire, during thepast eighteen months, in all m y writings on the subject, notonly to bring the public to think on the matter, but to in­duce the philosophical societies to crush (if it be possible)
this flagrant scandal on their most treasured science.
Yours, &c.,
E dward H. E iches , LL.D., E.E.A.S.
EXPEEIM EN T versus THEOEY.
D eak S ik,—I t is needless for me to assure you of theintenseinterest and satisfaction with which I regard your deter­
mination more openly to take up the work I was compelled
to abandon two years ago. It is nothing else than areligious duty for every truly Christian man to uphold youin the strife in which you are engaged. I do not think you
will meet with the disgraceful oppositionwhieh attended myefforts when first I attempted to establish a monthly peri­
odical in refutation of the Newtonian theory. But, ofcourse, you are prepared to receive your full share of ridi­
cule and abuse for daring to maintain the teachings ofScripture against man’s poor puny reason. Yet it is aglorious work, and one on whieli we can ask God’s especial
favour, which our opponents dare not do ! I will not now
intrude oh your space further than by saying to those who
would gladly see you retire at the end of the first threemonths, that they may most effectually accomplish their
purpose, and cover us all with the most insupportable con­fusion, by succeeding in demonstrating to us, or any honest
men they choose to select, a portion of water having theprescribed curvatiire of eight inches per mile multiplied by
the square of the distance. The entire Newtonian theory
depends upon this. A five-pound note will pay for it, andsix hours suffice to place this question beyond dispute. Thisis the one single experiment ou which hangs the whole oftheir boasted theory. Let them imderstand clearly what
they have to do—To choose any ten, twenty, or fifty milesof water, and from the centre to show a continuous incline
and decline such as can be shown on every globular body.
When they can do this to the satisfaction of any honest
man, I, for one, will certainly promise never to put a baton
m y head, or shoes on my feet, again, as long as I live.—
Yours, &c.,
J ohn H asipden .
ASTEONOMY OE THE B IB L E ?
S ib ,—If error is opposed to truth, if darkness is opposed
to light, then I ivill show that, in spirit and in letter, mod­e m astronomy and the Bible are opposed to each other.
The mfidel knows this as a fact, and plumes Mmself uponit. But it is logically maintained that the truths of science,
if pursued upon purely zetetic principles, and the truths of
the Bible do not controvert each other, but, side by side,
like telegraph wires, they run in parallel lines. B ut it isasked by some, “ W hat has astronomy to do with the
Bible ?” This extraordinary question is answered th u s:
Inasmuch as astronomy treats of God’s creation, by so muchthe Bible claims the right to criticise astronomical teach­ing. The Book of Genesis states that the earth was
created in the “ deep.” Psalm xxiv says, that it was“ founded upon the seas and established upon the floods.”
Psalm civ. declares that it “ should not be removed forever.” And the second epistle of Peter, c. iii., v. 5. speaksof it as “ standing out of the water and in the water.” On
the contrary, Newtonian astronomy conceives the earth a
globe, and hurls it out into infinite space, there to .tf5,velround the sun at a rate of over a thousand miles a minute I
Now, since these two classes of ideas are contradictory ofeach other, it is evident they cannot both be true. And
Satan uses these conflicting statements to damage simple
souls ; to agitate their minds ; to diminish their comfort,
and to shake if not destroy, their accustomed confidence in
the Word of God. And here I cannot help deeply regret­ting and expressing surprise that really pious and intelli­gent Christians should be so mistaken as to countenance .
a theory—a declared ignorance of which is made the sub­ject of attack upon the personal divinity of their Lord him­self. To show that this is so, I give a quotation, from a
lecture delivered in the Masonic Hall, Birmingham (andreported in the D aily Gazette, May 2nd, 1871). Tha
lecturer sa y s:—“ A being so necessarily unacquainted m th
the laws of Nature as Christ was, could not have been the
Lord of N ature; and one that did not even know that theearth was a globe could scarcely have been its Omnipotent
Creator.” Such sentiments as these, to say the least ofthem, shock the sensibilities of that divine nature which
every tn ie Christian possesses, Psalm exxxvi., v. 6, de­clares that, “ the Lord stretched out the earth above thewaters.” And this language is inconsistent with the notionof the earth being a revolving globe, but it is quite con­sistent with the idea of it being a motionless i:lane. Whichthen, gentle reader, will you decide for—Astronomy or the
Bible ?—Yours, &c.
June 10th, 1872.
E. P.
A VOICE FEOM TH E P A S T !
S ir ,—U nderstanding from one of our principal spiritual
intelligences or “ mediums,” commissioned to report mun­dane proceedings to departed spirits, that it is your inten­tion to promulgate the theory of a motionless and planar
earth,—of which earth, be it observed, I am no longer adenizen—in a new monthly periodical, under the above title,
I should like to know upon what tack you intend steering toarrive safely at the port for which you have taken yourdeparture.
Since going to D avy Jones’s Locker there appears tohave been such a precious rumpus kicking up on earth, thatit brings to m y ghostly recoUeetion the racket on deck of asqually night, caused by all hands being piped up to shorten

THE ZETETIC.
sail, or close-reef topsails, so that I cannot rest quietly inthe hammock in which m y mortal remains were committed
to the deep.
You must know, by way of premise, that I serycd his
Majesty, King W illiam the Fourth, of glorious and pious
memory, for a period of more than 35 years, m all parts of
the world, in the capacity of Navigation Master of theKoyal Navy, on board the Seramis, Racehorse, Echo, Express,
Curacoa, and Sea-Gull, and other craft, a post for which I
could not have been qualified unless thorouglily versed in
the science of nautical astronomy, as well as in practicalnavigation and seamanship; and therefore, during' my long
period of service, it was inevitable that I should acquire avast amount of experience in every branch connected withm y profession, as also a knowledge of the causes of various
terrcstial and celestial phenomena— such as tides, moon’schanges, evolutions of heavenly bodies, &c., &c., Ac. A t
first I never for a moment entertained a doubt of the motionof the earth, for the simple reason of its being taken for
granted without any critical examinafion ; but as I becameacquainted with many things that an orbital revolution
round the sun could not possibly account for, I became so
sceptical as to the truth of the Copernican theory, that atlast I arrived at the conclusion, from which there was noescape, that the said orbital revolution was a complete
myth, which I shall illustrate in a future paper, and thatthe earth, whether a sphere or a plane, was the largest bodyin creation ; that the sun, moon, and stars were all subser­
vient to its existence, created exclusively for the service ofthe earth by the great Arcliitect of the Umverse; that thesun, instead of being 95 miUions of miles distant, was notmany thousand miles from u s ; and that, in short, the N ew­
tonian theory was utterly false and untenable, as I shall en­
deavour to prove in the sequel.
I t would be quite useless for me to endeavour to give you
any idea of m y present impressions of modern scientific sub­jects, since it is not permitted to disembodied spirits to un­
fold any mysteries to mortals, the knowledge of which, as
spirits, they may hare become possessed since their depar­
ture from earth. B u t it is not prohibited to state the im­pressions wluch were produced when in the b o d y ; and I
therefore purpose, occasionally, to give you a few of mynautical experiences, as they occurred in m y earthly career
as a Master of the Koyal Navy of Great Britain. B ut as
the “ watch ” is now being summoned for duties wliich canneither be divulged to mortals, nor postponed, I am com­pelled to close this prehminary yarn, and to sign myself

The ancients, it may be asserted with no degreeof inaccuracy, universally adopted the planar system.
In the Scriptural writings, whenever and whereverallusion is made to the earth, it is always spoken of
as a perfectly motionless plane, and this rem ark ap­
plies equally to the New, as well as the Old, Testa­
ment. The Mosaic cosmogprahy is correct only onsuch a supposition ; and the numerous instances ofmira.culous interference with the laws of natureare entirely dependent upon the planar system.
Josephus ascribes to Seth and his posterity aconsiderable degree of cosmographical and astro­
nomical knowledge. A nd it is evident th at thegreat length of life before the flood was eminently
conducive to the progress of cosmography; forwhich purpose, says the Jewish historian, that
longevity was bestowed upon them. The inspired
David, Solomon—the wisest of men, the'A postles,
and the majority of the Christian Fathers such as
Lactantius, St. Augustine, &c., together w ith suchmen as Homer and Herodotus, adopted the ideaof a planar earth. Pythagoras, a Greek philos­
opher was the first to start, some 500 years before
the bu’th of Christ, in a crude form, the globulir
theory. Aristarchus of Samos, Plato, Archimedes,
and Philolaus are said to have adopted and im­proved upon i t ; but othei^'notions were started in
opposition and it soon became disregarded. The
idea of a cylinder was suggested, and espoused by
Anaximander, Leucippus, and others. Ptolemy
originated the idea of a fixed globular body. H emade the heavenly bodies revolve round the earth,and his system was adhered to until the time ofCopernicus, who boldly asserted th at the earth isone of the planets which revolve round the sun.
H e was followed by T^cho Brahe, a Danish noble­man, who to a certain extent revived the Ptolomaic
system, but conceived the sun, which itself moved
round the earth, as the centre of the planetaiy
system. Galileo, Kepler, Laplace, Newton, andothers, improved the Copernican theory. A t thecommencement of the eighteenth century, the Cas­sini attempted to prove that the earth was ob­
long. Bernouilli and De M airan adopted similarviews. These supported their opinions by geo­
metrical demonstrations, and several measurements
T h e G h o s t o f Tom H e d se c o o k ,of degrees made both at the time and since, haveHades.
Late Master R.N.
favoured them. Tlie Tychonean system has again
been set up, but has received but little attention.
The Copernican theoiy is fast tottering to theground, and the old planar system, which, during
H IST O R Y O F COSM OGRAPHY.
the six thousand years of the world’s history
The subject of Cosmography, for obvious reasons, has never been discarded, is again being con­is one th at has naturally attracted the attention of sidered, and bids fair to become the acceptedman from the earliest ages, and it may possibly in ­ theory.
terest some of onr readers to trace out a fe-w of the
speculations which have arisen as to the shape andmobility of E arth.

■ THE ZETETIC.

8N E W T O N IA N A S T E 0 N 0 5 IY .

lax—from 9 seconds to 32, or from 26 millions ofmiles to 95. From such opposite extremes thegeneral result is found. W e have no means bywhich we can rectify these mistakes ; and they all
tend to confute the random assertions th a t thesegreat calculations are denaonstrable by the powers
of a most rigid and infallible geometiy.

M O D E O F C O M l’ U T A T IO N .

(From Modern Science and the .BiWe, published by E. Banks.)

By a true knowledge of tlie sun’s distance fromthe earth, we might acquii-e the supposed dimen­
sions of the solar system. B ut who can remain(To be contimued in our next.')
satisfied with the mode by which this angle of par­allax is obtained. The ease with which such
TH E A C C EEDITED E A T E OF CTJRVATUEE.
“ If a line which crosses the plumb-line at right angles bemeasurements are received by different astronomers
continued for any considerable length it will rise above theshows the credulity of the human mind upon those earth’s surface (the earth being globular), and this risine;
things which are agreeable to preconceived hypo­ will be as the square of the distance to which the said rightline is produced ; that is to say, it is raised 8 inches, very
thesis. I have given this subject much considera­ nearly, abore the earth’s surface at 1 mile distance ; four
tim es as much, or 32 inches, at the distance of 2 m iles; ninetion, arid among the most eminent authorities can times as much, or 72 inches, at the distance of 3 miles, &c.,
. .
find .nothing like satisfaction. I f you will give &c.” ,“ The preceding remarks suppose the visual ray to be ayourself the trouble to make a fair examination of straight line, whereas on account of the unequal densities
the air at different distances from the earth, the rays ofthe case, I think your doubts will increase in exact oflight are incurvated by refraction. The effect of this is to
proportion to the extent or, depth of your inquiiies. lessen the difference between the true and apparent levels,
but in such an extremely variable and uncertain manner
T he mode of obtaining the angle of parallax must that if any constant or fixed allowance is made for it inbe liable to continual variations from known and formula or tables, it will often lead to a greater error thanwhat it was intended to obviate. For though the refraction
unknown causes; and this is agreeable to fact and may at a mean compensate for about a seventh of the cur­vature of the earth, it sometiines. exceeds a fifth, and at
experiment. The process wiU not bear a strict ex­ otlier times does cot amount to a fifteenth. W e have there­
amination. I t is exposed to every puff of wind, fore made no allowance for refraction in the foregone forvrm\!e.”—Encyclopcedia Brittanica, article, ’ “ Levelling
se 0
and to every change in thfeTattnosphere, and some­ also “ Encycl<mcedia Londinensis” p. '695, vol. 12,'; and“ C^ayniers’.-Mathematicdl Tables,’’ p. 36 ; &c., &c.
times made dependant upon the distance of the eyefrom the glass of the telescope. You will pleaseto observe th at the measurement of this angle re­ W ill be ready on Ju ly Ifith, 1872, Second Edition, greatly
Enlarged and profusely illustrated, price, 7s. 6d.
quires great delicacy, and very few persons can or^E
T E T IC ^STR O N O M Y ,wUl undertake it. A ^ngle second makes a differ,ence of about twelve million miles. You wUl ob­ A n Experimental E n q u i^ in to the True Figure and Condi­of the Earth, proving it a Plane without orbital orserve likewise the twofold motion of the earth, and tion
axial motion, its comparatively recent formation, and rapidly
according'to Dr. Chalmers, it is moving at the in­ approachiug Destruction by Fire ; w ith all the logical Con­
sequences. .
. '‘ ■conceivable velocity of a million and a half mUes
B Y “ P A E A L L A X .”a day. You recollect also , that the body upon Author of Several Scientific Works, and Founder of the'which the angle of parallax terminates is exposed Modern Zetetic Philosophy.
Also preparing for the Press, by the same Author,
to a similar m^otion. . Add to these difficulties theh e L IF E A N D T E A C H IN G Schanges in the atmosphere, of light and heat, and
OF JESU S CH RIST Z e t e t i o a l l y C o n s i d e r e d .
refraction and aberration, and then endeavour to Shewing the Foundations of Religion and the Eealities ofChristianity.
persuade yourself, if possible, th at such an angle
can be taken with anything like tolerable accuracy. W ill shortly appear, Tliird Edition, Eevised and Enlaaged,• Price Threepence.
I f we, however, appeal to fact and experiment, the
H A T IS T H E S H A P E O F T H E
cause is at once decided. Instead of being demon- :E A E T H .,strated as certain and infallible, it is ever changing,
B Y B. CHAS. BEOUGH.
according to the caprice or skill of different astro­
Printed and Published by S a m u e l P a l m e r , 335, Strand,
nomers, Such as been the state of the s u i^ :P ^ % London, W .C —Ju ly 1, 1872.

TW

I 1 7 N O 73