The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1852-05-26
EVERY DAY MYSTERIES.

80 oeisefe nothiuS th&t do not un-
derstsnd, Is the favorife - wing of ii r.
Pettipo Dsrperliag, gentleman who
very much prides himself on his intel,
Ieesaal per<pie.eity. Yet ask Mr,
P~ttipo Il he understands how Il il that
he ~sgs his little finger, and he can
give no reasonable account az 1t. lie
will tell you-for he has read book !
and |" studied snatomy-th the little
finger consists of 50 many jointed bones,
that there are tendons attached to them
before and behind. which belong. 10
certain muscles. and that when these
muscles are made To contract. the an
ger wags. And this is nearly ali that
Mr.. Pettipo knows about it, How il
Is that the voIition. acts on the mus
cles, what volition is, what the viii is
MIR. Pettipo knows not. lie knows
quite, as little about the sensat,on
which resides in the skin Of that little
fnger-how il is that il feels and ap-
preciates forms and sufficiently II
detects heat and cold, in what way its
papilea erect themselves, and its pores
open and close-about all this he IS en-
tirely in the dark. And vet Mr.. Petit
po is under the necessity Of believing
that his little finger wags and that It
is endowed with the gift Of sensation,
though he in fact knows nothing what
ever Of the why or the wherefore.
We must believe thousand things
that we cannot understand. Matter
and its combinations are q grand nys-
tery-how much more so life and its
manifestations Look at those far-oII
worlds majesticaIly wheeling in their
appointed orbits millions Of miles of;
or look on this earth on. which we live,
performing its diurnal motion upon its
own axis, and its annual circle round
the sun What do, we understand Of
the causes OF such motions : What
can we ever know about them, beyond
the facts that such things are soi To
discover and apprehend facts is much,
aud it is nearly our limit. TouItimate
causes we can never ascend. But to
have an eye open to receive iacts and
spprehend their relative value-that is
a great deal-that is our duty; and
not to reject, or refuse TO accept them,
because they happen to clash with our
preconceiyed nolion, or like Mr.. Petit
po DapperIing because we cannot
understand" them. -
/" Oh! my dear Kepler," writes Ga
lileo to his friend, show | wish that
we could have one hearty laugh to-
gether! Here at Padua is the princi-
pal Professor Of Philosophy, whom l
have repeatedly and urgently reques-
ted to look at the moon and planets
through my glass, which he pertinaci-
.ously refuses to do. Why are you not
here ! What, shouts of laughter we
should have at this glorious folly! And
to hear the Professor of Philosophy at
Pisa lecturing before The Grand Duke
with logical arguments, as if with magi-
cal incantations to charm the new pla-
nets out of the sky !" s.., s, 49,
Rub a, stick of wax against your coat
sleeve, and il emits. sparks hold it
near to light, acecy particles Of wool or
cotton, and it first attracts, then It re-
pels them, What do you understand
about that, Mr.. Pettipo. except merely
that it isl Stroke the cats back be-
fore the fire and you will observe the
same phenomena. Your own body will
in like manner emit sparks in certain
states, but you know nothing about
why it is so. ~.
Pour solution of muriate of lime
into one Of sulphate of potash-both
clear fluids; but no sooner are they
mixed together than they become near
ly solid. How is that You tell me
that an ingredient Of the one solution
combines with an Ingredient Of the
!, other, and an insoluble sulphate of
lime is produced. Well, you tell me
fact; but YOU do not account for it by
saying that the lime has greater at.
traction for the sulphuric acid then the
potash has; you do not undersfand how
it is-you merely see that it is 50,
You must believe it. FV
But when You come TO life, and its
wonderful manifestations, you are more
in the dark than ever. You under
stand less about this than you do even
of dead matter. Take an ordinary
every day fact !: you drop two seeds,
! whose component parts are the same,
. into the same soil. They grow up Sc
} close together that their roots minglt
and their stalks intcrtwine. The one
! plant produces long slender leaf, the
j other short fat leaf; the one bring.
, forth beautiful flower, the other al
i ugly scruff; the one sheds abroad
delicious fragrance. the other is en-
tirely inodorous.s The hemloek, the
wheatstalk and the rose tree, out Of tht
, same chemical ingredients contained
: i'm the soil, educe,. the one deadly poi
son, the other wholesome food, th'
third bright consummate flower. Cal
you tell me, Mr.. Pettipo, how is this
DO you understand the secret by which
the roots Of these plants accomplish 81
much moro than all your science cal