The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-04-11
+ was cloudy ant
saspea's vaSaries, dc.

IstCihoND, &CS 1910.
Editors Dispatch !: was somewhat sur
prised at first at the space you gave TO John
Jasper's sermon on The earth's motions.
st one time 1 thought it hoax; but it is
really curious thing. It has astonished as
well as amused thousands North and South.
No one dreamed OF such ignorance i'll man
OF sixty years, engaged in teaching others.
Earlier knowledge OF this fact might have
defeated the ssthirteenth" amendment. But
il such ignorance is found with the teach
ers, what OF the masses of the newly-eE-
franchised? How we'll qualified must they
be to Judge Of the abstruse questions Of po-
litical economy!
Or course it is impossible to demonstrate
question in Euclid 10 man who has
never heard OF the aXioms OF geometry,
and hence Jasper's congregation can't cote
in such demonstration. A man can't read
without first learning his letters, yet it
seems to me that some familiar and simple
illustrations may be addressed to them that
may, at least, set them to doubling JaspeTs
logic. Any man who stands on steamer
rs she moves from thewharf will be i'm
pressed with the idea that the wharf is
moving up the river, and not the steamer
down the river; or, il we take the
Fredericksburg cars and go north, the
fences and trees seem to be moving
south. The explanation is simple enough.
The people, chairs, tables. &C., on the
steamer all preserve their relation to each
other, and the only change that does occur
is between the wharf and the steamer, and
hence the eye is cheated into the idea that
the wharf is moving and not the boat. So
Of the cars. The people and all the arrange
ments on the'coach are stationary and retain
their relative places Qike Jasper's house and
the fences near by), and we think the trees
are running and not our car. The same is
true il we look over the sides OF swift
steamer. The water seems to be flying by
us. These motions are always in an oppo-
site direction. The earth rolls on its axis
from aoeSt to east, but it looks to us as If the
sun moved from the east to aCest, though,
like the wharf, he stands still.
Another point OF some importance is that
il the earth stands still it is the only planet
that does. Now, it is among the smallest,
and why should it stand still while multi
tudes of stars, planets, and suns are all in
constant motion? We have only to watch
the stars, and we see that all rise in the
east and set in the west.
But how can the earth rest on nothing :?
It is easy enough to find out that 1t has no
support, because men have gone and con-
tinue to 60 all round it. They travel over
it as fly crawls over an apple. II you start
East and Keep travelling in that direction
you finally come back 10 the place from
where you started. This is positive proof
that the earth is round. Ii it rested on any
thing you could not go round it. But is IS
impossible that any body, however small,
can rest on nothing. The bird in the air will
fall to the ground so soon as he ceases to use
his wings. 1t is motion or motive power that
keeps him from falling; and it is the great
motive power given by God to the earth
that keeps it flying around the sun and roll
ing as it flies. We have the law that God
has fixed to make it fly; but God made the
law, and it is in accordance with this law
that it flies. God has made all his worlds
by one pattern; all are round, and all re-
volye; they have two motions; they turn
over on their own axis, or centre, and they
also go around some other body i'll circle.
/ am glad to see that some members OF
EbeneZer church protest, in your paper to-
day, against these sermons on astronomy.
They will iniure Jasper. A man may be
pretty well versed in the Bible and know
but little about science; but when one pro-
poses to teach the great truths OF religion
and yet shows profound Ignorance Of we'll
settled facts in other branches OF knoWl-
edge, ii will beget doubts in some peoples
minds whether he is safe guide in any
thing. You will doubtless discover from
the character Of this communication that it
is intended for certain class OF your read
ers. Yours, A. 3. G.