Hillsdale Whig standard. (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1846-1851, 1850-07-02
ImmensI,y Of the Un,yerse.

of stare Ia the heavens. Ii we suppose escI
star To be = sun. and attended BY ten plaDsles
(ieaving comets out Of the cslcnlalion,) W,
have len thousand millions Of globes like ,h,
earth within what are considered the bound
Of the known universe. As there are suos &
give light throughout all these systems. vi
may infer that there are eyes also To beholS
IL, and beings, whose nature in this que ian
portant particular. IL analogous To our own
To form an idea of the infinitely small pro
portion which our earth bears 10 this yost az.
gregste Of systems, LEI us suppose five thou
sand blades OF grass to grow upon sqaate
yard, from which we ind. by calculation, thai
a meadow one mile loog by two-lhirds Of a
mile ia width. will contain len thousand mill
Ions OF blades of grass. Lat Ds then imagine
such meadow stretched out To the length
oi mile before us; and the proportion which
single blade Of grass bears 10 The whoIs
heibsge on ils surface, will express the rela-
tiou which our earth bears 10 the known uni
verse
But eveu this is exclusive, prob ably, OF
millioos OF sons, bosOined IN the Daknown
depths Of space, aud placed forever beyond
our Ken, OF the light oi which mag 0ot have
had time 10 travel down 10 US since the peri
Cd OF this creation A"
10 US, who are not astronomers the fore.
gong ailicle appears TO be rather d feeble
end unsatisfactory illustration OF the ,nmen-
sity aud the msgnihcence OF the universe
considering that II comes from so eminent
astronomer lie surely might have dooe
and ought to have done better. What arc bis
one thousand millions uf stars aud zen thou.
sand millions OF globes when compared with
the uncempre hendeJ and incomprehensible
nm hef hal -
thing. Hardly begianing Of a calculation,
ii things inhnite IN number aod infinite ia
extent we'e subjects of enumeration, which
the stars OF the and the glubcs are not,
iol they are iEDuneIaDe
The best definition OF the universe, and one
ihat can never be improved, bas been given
by PASCAL, whose fame is SD great aud go
well deserved as s0 able, eloquent, aud in
uipid advocate OF moral and religious truth,
against error, Intolerance. and impostu,e that
as man PROFOUND IN science aud in thc lear
mug OF his day as he was, he is comparative
ly title known. His oefoition is, that the
center cf the uniUerse Is eUery s0heye and the
circumference of a. n0lchere; which Is at once |
sstronomically exact and unimproyably COZ
else and elegant. We will proceed t0 Illus |
tfate this: Our planet the earth, fOT instance I
IS a center. according to PASCAL; then we |
VIII imagiue point so remote from us that 4
a telegraPhlc despatch conveyed at the rate
OF nearly Two hundred thousand miles PEI
second, would not reach II in less than ten
ml'Il0ns oi biiiIuoS of years. expressed ia liz
ufes thus: 10000. 900. 0OO. 600 000. 200. Now
this ,neoOcevSbly remote poiul would be a
center also. and apy other point 4 million
tunes as remote; bot the circumference isl
DOT even approached 10 aUy degtoe for there
is none.
To speak Of one blade ofgrass bearing the
sane proportion TO ten thousand mili,oos of
blades hat our earth bears TO the 'kuuwn
Is speaking little at random we
think What Is The known universe! How
lar does our Knowledge of II eAtendl Not
very Tar, 10 our opinion. when the wllule ex
enl is considered, aud the ablest astronomer
Is best sble TO appreciate the nclhiugness OF
ms knowledge compared wih what certainly
'xis's. And besides, though one blade vi
srass Dets some proportion 10 ten thousand
millions OF blades, II Is very certain that our
'arth, though IT cus no small figure in ouI |
yes, wlih The whole solar system to boot.
0rms no apprecidble portion OF the universe I
ma can therefore bear 40 proportion what
'VeF TO ~. The reason OF which IL, thar
h'Dgs infinite and things huite are iucom- |
measurable, there beng 20 common standard /
II measure or computation. No matter what {
nay be The magnitude OF thing finite 10 us q
Iatute. and ciTcumscrbe1 by limits and I
netes and bounds, IL canuot constitute even {
"a atomic portion of what Is IN its nature IB-
nlIe, aud which II crcumsGribed by 40 im.
IS. Therefore the whole solar system, or
he whole of the universe itself. as lar ss the =
eloscope has reached 1t. will not bear as
aut m.
5 one drop OF water would bear TO all the
'ater, fresh aud silI, on ourglObc. c
Baron Jdch. or his commentator, saws that o
here are suns placed so far beyond our ken v
nat the ligh, Of them NAV not have had time y
!, travel down to Us since the period OF their i
reatiOn.'
To this we subscribe, omittIng the wo,d ,i
o,on which is not sslronomcaIy used, for !,
here is 40 up nor dowu ~ the case. The =,
uns afe as much doiUa TO Us as we are TO u
hem. And we wilt add, that whilst there are 5
lars or suns whose light have not yet reach c
d US, there are stars whose hgbi never eau b
bach us, snpposlng 90 obstacle to it's trans Il
lISsIon except distance. u
To illustrate further the total absence of .
ny kind Of proportions or relatiOs between =
lings finite aud things infinite, II may be OBJ = =
'rved, that a million Of billions OF years, ~
hich would bo period OF time utterly in o'
'neeivable by bunsu faculties, is certainiy ~
Dt the smallest spp,eciabie or cOnceivsbls b.
id of eierni'y--the proof Of which, that an ei
nmorta being having arrived at the end OF h
si term. would be no nearer the end of =,
ernity than he was at the beginniog of the -
rm. He would have made no prog,ess ~
hsteveT, nor eau any be made. VI
Washington Giobe. "
Enormous Lump OF Gold. nj,
We yesterday had tho pleasure Of axsmin- na