The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

416 THE THEORY OF THE FIRMAMENT.
society, it often happens in the ordinary course of ness in heaven," it is also said that'" generations
things, that the borders of two adjacent kingdoms pass away, but the earth abideth for ever." And
are wasted with a perpetual succession of inroads that both are transitory is a doctrine contained in
and affrays, while the interior provinces of either the same oracle of God, namely, that'" heaven
kingdom enjoy continued and profound tranquillity. and earth shall pass away, but the word of the
And none who bestows a proper attention on Lord will not pass away."
the subject will make an objection of religion. These things we have noted, not from any
For it was only a heathen flourish to ascribe to a ambition of novelty in opinion, but because, not
material heaven the quality of being impregnable in ignorant conjecture, but instructed by examples,
to decay. The sacred Scriptures ascribe eternity we foresee that these fantastical divorces, and
and destructibility equally to heaven and earth, distinctions of objects and of regions, beyond
though they assign to them a different glory and what truth admits, will prove a serious impedian unequal reverence. For if it be recorded, that ment to true philosophy and the contemplation of
"6 the sun and moon bear faithful and eternal wit- nature. WV. G. G.
THE
THEORY OF THE FIRMAMENT.
BUT as so many foiling inconveniences are bodies that are simple and perfect, not of such as
found to spring up on all sides, it should be are compounded and imperfectly mixed,) are
deemed satisfactory if any thing can be avouched clearly those two bodies, air and flame. But
less revolting. these are to be propounded as bodies utterly
Let us, therefore, construct a scheme of the heterogeneous, not, as is commonly supposed,
universe, according to that measure of history that flame is nothing else than air set on fire. To
hitherto known to us, reserving for our future these correspond, in the higher regions, the
judgment all new lights, after history, and through ethereal and sidereal nature, as, in the inferior,
history, our philosophy, by induction, may have water and oil, and in the still deeper parts, merreached a maturer age. But we will, in the out- cury and sulphur, and generally crude and fat
set, premise some points that have reference to bodies, or, in other words, bodies that have a
the matter composing the heavenly bodies, whence repugnance to, and such as are susceptible of,
their motion and formation may be better under- flame; (for salts are of a compounded nature,
stood; afterwards setting forth our thoughts and consisting of crude and at the same time also of
ideas of that motion itself, the chief subject under inflammable parts.) It is now to be seen by what
discussion. compact these two great families of things, air
Nature, then, in the separating of matter, seems and flame, shall have occupied by far the greater
to have drawn an impassable bar between the part of the universe, and what are those parts
rare and dense, and to have assigned the globe of they hold in the system. In air nearest to the
the earth to the order of the dense; but every earth, flame lives but a momentary life, and
thing, from the very surface of the earth, and its utterly perishes. But after the air has begun to
waters, to the utmost extremity of the firmament, be more depurate from the effluvia of the earth
to that of the rare or volatile, as it were, to twin and well rarefied, the nature of flame through
classes of first principles, not indeed of equal but various* adventures explores its way, and tries to
uf suitable portions. Nor indeed does either the take its station in the air, and after a time acquires
water clinging to the clouds, or the wind pent up some duration, not from succession, as with us,
in the earth, disarrange this natural and appro- but in identity;t which takes place for a time in
priate position of things: but this difference, be- some of the feebler comets, which are in a manner
tween rare or volatile, and dense or tangible, is of an intermediate nature between a successive
entirely primordial or essential, and is what the and a fixed flame; the fiamy nature, however, is
system of the universe chiefly has recourse to. It not fixed or established, before its arrival at the
proceeds from a state of things the most simple body of the moon. There the flame lays down
possible-this is from the abundance and scarce- * Per varios casus, per tot discrirnina reruin, Virg. XEn. iii
ness of matter, in proportion to its extension. 208.'Per varios casus tentat et experitur,' may be transW' hat belong to the order of subtile or volatile, as lated,'after various adventurous efforts tries,' or,' adventurous through many casualties tries.'
tfound here among us, (we are speaking of those f Identitus: quevis actio repetita.