New-York daily tribune., 1858-06-30

tjon We shall aecolSt iof these uonoos oy cup
po,ir, ,b,t which can h,rdh bedenied that th. pao
eta have certain appetite for untiog them'e'ses
with The globe arou,d which tie, resoye, and that
,b.y really tend With al their ,f1tts "a approach
TO ,ueh el be, the planets or instance 70 the sue,
the NJ. dicean ,tus (satell tes) 10 Jupiter. 1t 10
certain also that circular mo. on gives as lively
teudsrcy 70 recede from the eent-r OF suca revcd-
tiou a. We find in . ~hrel or stone whIred 10 a
,lipg Let Us supp De, then, the planet TO en-
dssyor TO approach the sun; since, 10 the me,a
time. il requires, by The circular motion, force 20
rec. de- from The same central body, it CONES t.
pa.s that When these tSo opposite forces Are
equal each coupeDssses the other and the planet
c.ppot 90 pearer TO the sun nor further fcon hin
than certain determiuste space, aud thus appears
balanced and floating about him."
This il uDqusshonably n DR.. Wheweu OBJ
teIyes, q remarkable pasage-s lucid statement
Of what was yst TO be demonstrated.
The question ~ss thus distinctly and Drcisly
put, but where 10 the prss@iDent genius th1 can
ransste il from the reslm of plausible conjecture
o that Of exact knoWledg-; that can convert the
probable guess ipto certain denomination. Tois
was the knot 1t which many fumbled, but which
Newton uotied; the barred door 1t which many
iLoeked and pried, but which Newton forced; fof
by the established ethics Of science Re alone the
true dissorersr Who fr,t opens the pathway OF
proof BY which al may pass to the demonstrated
truth. TIE idea Of cOsmicd sravtsron occ.rred
70 Newton at the aye "a. "As he sat alone N .
garden (the historians We observe, are sey OF
the popular apple ,,Ory,) "he fell mo 'peeoi'e0n
On the power Of gravity; that as nI' power Il nut
found ,epsbDy diminished at the remotest distance
f,om tho crntre Of the earth TO shch We can rise,
neither q. the tops of the loftess oni'oiog'' nor
even 90 the summiss sf the hishe't MOUNTAINS "
.ppesred 70 him reasonable TO conclude saat this
pswer must extend much further than was usually
thought Why not as high ~ the moon sAd ne
to binself and If 80, her motion must he Influenced
by 1t; pernsps she il retained in her orbit thereby.
Blu, hat il the strength of the earths attraction
at the moobl On the b.ss Of KepIer's results
Newton was led n assume that the attractive force
decreased according TO the inverse square OF the
distance But is then the magnitude aud distance
Of tho earth sufficient to hold the moon IN her
couse' Proct edicg to the calculation, he found that
the moon is turned from straight line ('an5snt)
into her oibical path shrous distance OF thirteen
feet per minute Bus oy noticing the space through
which bodiss fail in minute at the earths sorface
snd suppOsiDg this 10 be dimiDi'bcd in the ratio oil
the inverse square, it sppeared that gravity would
1t the moon 9 orbit, dfs. . body through more
| than fiissn feet. Tho difference Was smsu, the
prospect encouraging, sud Shc tnuOry 'pUS~us;
but Newton at once laid is aside - dnproved.
| Afer time, however, the measurements OF the
earths magnitude were revised, and as the terres'
tal rsdu. furnish ed the base for determining the
moons distance Newton tired the problem again
~hh the amended data, aud found the former dis
crtpancy Cancelled, theory and observation agreeing
with remarkable accuracy. From tais point New
ton pressed stesdry forward TO the mathematical
estbhshuept of the theory Of universal grAVitston
"a theOry which not only accounts for all the
varied and complex planetary movements, but CO.
ordinstes Terrestrial and celestial moton' aud de-
fDrs tho grand law Of reciprocal bfueooe BY
which all the psrecles of tho material crestion are
related. Numerous questions at Gree arose in'olV-
ng gigantic dficul,es respecting inequalities oi
motion, perurbston, comes, &C.; but they wero
succe ,sivey !, coDced A. Lsp place observed, the
lot Of this srsst discovery Of grsvtaslon s no ess
than this: that every apparent exception becomes
proof; every difficulty q Lew occasion of triumph.
With still greater emphasis my this reOaoA De re-
pested, ,ince the last splendid v.r6ea'ion OF the
Nswtonlsn theory BY Levsrner in working out, oS
its formulas, tie actual discovery Of new planet.
In Ibis gradual way, By laborious stps Of ssoent,
by rshs from part cdlsrs TO generals, feom one gen.
ersalon t. another was the pOint reac he'd to ward
which mems minds hsd been jOurneylng for two
thousand years, the great NestoLiAn IUdactoa oi
Uhiversal GfayIssti ,n-oey ond question tae gre "
e,t scientific discovery ever 20: made. But DO
man suspects we have reached termmation. In
the course Of discovery, gfsvitation itself VIII un-
dCubteoly be swallowed up In some o. II more con-
prehsDsise law, for the wstch~ord OF science I"
progress forever 1t is ouly in poiics that we have
fx4htus-prrDciples 30 eternaly settled every lew
years that they c,p Dc'efmore oe DISTURBED
DR.. wbesell's WORK hss . purpose beyond the
mere narration Of the course Of scienth; events
This is thaiowed forth LII the following passage
from Bacon: "A just story Of learning, c'ns'nins
the antiquities sSd originals Of KNowLEDGEs, and
their iects; their Inventions their diverse sduais-
tra,iops and naCsg,nss; their hoarisaiDgs,
oppositions, decays depressions, alliances,
remover; with the causes aud occA''on'
Of them, AID al other events concernlns
l.srnug throughout all ages Of the world, may
uuly affirm iv be waning. Toe Use sud end Of
~h ch work do lot 20 much desgo for curiosity,
Or satisfaction Of those WHO are the lovers Of learn
! I'M hut eh,sar for a more o. rInus and grave pur.