New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-11-27
ASTRONOMY OF THE BIBLE
A LECTURE,
By Professor o NJ mitchell or Cincinnati
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cd in the Lecture OF Monday night at Brooklyn,
a sketch Of which will be found in another part OF
this paper. But the close OF last nights lecture
embraced the knotty question Of Joshuas com
mand to the Sun and Moon, and various earlier
portions were so different from Mondays dis
course that we give our notes rather fully at the
risk of some slight repetition. The Lecturer
read portion of the xxxyiiith chapter Of Job,
singular epitome of Astronomy which must have
been entirely unknown to the science OF that day.
Commenting moment upon the vast period that
had ELAPSED from the era of the creation the Pro.
fessor read the verse referring to the inclosng
and controlling Of the ocean When we reflect
upon the large proportion Of the Earth which is
covered by the ocean, and upon its vast and
mighty power, how are we assured that
the time may not come when it will
sweep over the land and destroy all things p
God has arranged the gravity of water and Of
land, and fixed their bounds, so tina! neither may
pass them. Suppose the ocean were poured into
the cavities of the planet Saturn, what wreck
there would be &c Hast thou commanded the
morning since these days ?" Here is an allusion
to two of the most wonderful facts OF astronomy,
the stability of the earths axis and the regularity
of its motions. Were there any instability here,
tie most di.ordered irregularity would follow
But we know that during the last 1000 years
there has not been the change of thousandth
part of a second in the length Of the day. He ex-
blamed the mode Of arriving at this nice precision,
by measurements of the eclipses and the motions
of the Moon. And yet there is no perfect uni
tornity in the motions Of either Earth or Moon in
their orbits; although on their axes they revolve
with perfect certainty. Should there be tho
loss Of an instant in year in these rotations the
time would come when all motion would cease
and all life become extinct On the contrary,
accelerated motion to the amount of g second per
wear would soon break the Universe in pieces.
But God has pledged this necessary perfection of
notion and the day-spring will still visit
There are other references to the stability of the
day and the night, declarations of God which are
unquestioDabe certaintes. Had man been called
upon to point out figure of stability, he might
have named perhaps the North Star, apparently
fixed and well known to the Old World But
we know that this Star is changing aud in
10000 years will fulfill an entire revolution The
taking hold Of light or the dayspring upon the
Earth is a beautiful figure. By the power of
refraction the light is bent and takes hold of us
softly, as it were, and by slow degrees. We're
there no refraction, should be brought from the
darkness of profound night to the full blaze of
the Sun in an instant--a state OF things lntOer
able and uncomfortable. There would be no tw
light soft haze, no beautiful Aurora
The lecturer read further, and explained the
singular propriety OF the question to the birth
place Of light. How is it that the sun flashes for
ever such food of light clothing all thesplanets
in glory He spoke OF the immensely Of the Uni
oc6 eveloDpd NV tho volopityr Of LIGHT A
10000 600 miles in a minute we may be ten years
in reaching the nearest fixed star. But we should
then see the same Universe, as much as one
would see the same audience here, were he to
change places with the person who now sits next
him. Let US travel at the speed of light 5000
years. and arrive at the verge OF our own Uni
verse; let us plunge through the abyss which
separates ours from the next Universe and we
may go on at this rapid pace for hundreds
of thousands of years, and then be no near.
err than when started to the source CT
Light. The telescope has penetrated space
until it was taken in light which must have been
in motion for 30,000,000 of years, at the rate OF
1900 600 miles per minute How Incompetence
sibe then, is this vast complication Of systems
systems innumerablc filling the realms of Space
on every hand until the bOdest Imagination
shrinks exhausted from the effort to comprehend
even the millions OF their number. Prof. NJ. read
further from Job Canst thou bind the sweet
influences of Pleiades, loose the bands OF Orr
on Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his
season or canst thou guide Arcturus with his
sons 2" MIR NJ did not know that this passage
was entirely correct, but so far as the Plelades
were mentioned it was undoubtedly right
The telescope multiplies these seven stars
to seventy times seven, revealing one OF the
most beautiful consultations in the Universe.
The Lecturer spoke OF the Egyptian mode
of marking the beginning OF Spring by the
rising of certain Just before the rising OF the
Sun II the Pleiades opened the Spring at the
time that the Book of Job was written, we know
that they do not now; they did do so 5000 years
ago, and we must conclude that the book was
written at least perhaps more than 5000 years
before our day. The Professor went on 10 eX-
plain the procession of Equinox, motion de-
pendent upon the shape of the Globe. Then the
question asked OF Job implies as much as canst
thou change the motion OF the Earth III It's orbit,
SO that the Spring time Will not come in its sea
son ?" Such a change would destroy all life lite
depends upon certain amount OF heat when any
irregularity would increase or diminish IN fatal
degree Prot NJ next adverted to the term MAJ
zaroth" as meaning the Zodiacal consultations
God has so fixed the appearance OF Orion that at
that period the Northern Hemisphere is bound IN
bands of wiutry ice and no mere man dare loose
the bands of Orion. Compressed within this
Chepter we find series of the most profound IN
auiries. | have endeavored to explain them,
though feel unable to do 30. And we find other
facts which clearly denote inspiration III the Blbll-
cal writers for instance, He hangeth the Earth
mon nothing" Absolutely true but how differ
emf from the mortal knowledge of those early
DAYS. The language of the Book of Job is just
such as we might have anticipated with our pres
emit knowledge, and when we survey the wilder
ness OF worlds by our wonderful telescope, we are
utterly confounded, and led to excam " W hat IS
man that Thou art mindful OF him, or
the son of man that Thou regardest him
Tie 1 ecturer then referred to some of the astro
nomical miracles of the Old Testament, subject
which has staggered many. He was perfectly sat
is6ed in his own mind, but might fail to satisfy
others He saw everywhere evidence OF the
grand design to teach the human mind the attrl-
knowledge. \ far more simple system might
have been made but it would have been easy
70 ii. Anrt all