The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-11-29
MORNING STAR AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER.
Internal Fires of the Earth.

For the Morning Star and Catholic MessenGer.J
The concluding passage of an editorial in
a late number of the New York Freeman's
journal says: "The royal prophet David,
when he told how sThe Heavens declare the
glory of God,' was the wisest of astrono-
mers; and his treatise on the ttScience" is the
most important for men moving about on a
Ball, on fire at ats centre, and constantly burn
And the Picayune of November 22d, in an
article on the "Troublings of tho earth,''
says that "Prof. Loomis, a man of great
reputation, imagines that water has broken
in on the fiery nucleus, and that these con-
vulsions, the earthquakes, are the effects of
the explosive power of the steam thereby
generated" The Pic. further says in the
same article: "This earth is, astronomi-
cally speaking, an extinguished star; that is,
it was originally a globe of molten matter,
which has by radiation of heat cooled off,
and formed the crust on Which we live"
These two opposite theories cannot be
both true. Let us see what probability
there is in either
Some twenty-years ago We attended
mon. The preacher told his hearers
that inside the earth was molten sea-
of fire; that into this fire Core, Dathcn and
Abiron We're cast alive, when they rebelled
against Moses; is related i'll the Book OF
Numbers. The earth broke asunder
under their feet, and opening her mouth,
devoured them with their tents and all
fhair cph hot And fhav down
alive into hell the ground closing upon
them" The preacher gave us the same
theory as Mr.. McMaster does He said the
internal fire was still spreading, and that it
was then, according to the best authorities,
within thirteen miles of the surface of the
earth and that, consequently, we might
look out at any moment for the general
confagration; that Etna, Vesuvius, and
Hecla were so many mouths of this burning
Hell, to which we were ALL hasting, unless
we repented and did penance. We were so
much interested in this remarkable dis
course, and so much alarmed on account OF
the suffering that our own miserable body
would likely be subjected to when this event
occurred, that we took to reading works on
Astronomy, Chemistry and Geology. The
result was that we very soon discovered
that there was a radical and fatal difference
of opinion upon the subject, supposing
either of the theories to bc true. These
opinions are expressed in the extracts given
above. And if Mr.. McMastcr was of the
rash and impetuous character of Calico.
we might expect to see him in our day
going before the Gcumenical Council next
year, and demand that his unproven theory
should be promul gated as an article OF
faith.
Both of these theories are used by geolo-
gists to dsprove the Mosaic account of the
creation, for if we suppose that either OF
these theories is true we must admit thai
the earth has been in existence for count
less ages. But true science disproves boil
theories, as it will always dispreve every
proposition opposed to the revelation made
to us from God. The absurdity of this
imaginary internal liquid-fire, which most
biologists say is gradually cooling down
from the surface, will be ut once apparent
from the following facts THAT at the
point of fusion it is impossible to raise the
heat of crucibe of melted iron, gold, OF
silver one single degree beyond the melt
ing point, as long as bar of the respective
metal is kept immersed in the fluid por'
tons; so in regard to other substances
however great the quantity fused, theil
temperature could not be raised while any
solid portions immersed in them remained
unmelted, every accession of heat being
instantly absorbed during their liquefac
ton; and we all know that so long as /;
fragment of ice remains in water we canno
raise the temperature above 81 degrees.
Lyell, in his geology, says :-"If tho
central heat were so intense represented
there must be circulation of currents tend
ing to equalizc the temperature of the re