successively all
the planets and satellites of the present solar system. The original
diameter of our earth was equal, of course, to the present diameter of
the moon's orbit. In the case of Saturn, the two rings formed around it
happened to be of unusual homogeneity and equal thickness, so that they
were not broken up, but have preserved their primitive shape. A ring was
formed from the sun in the space between the present orbits of Mars and
Jupiter; but when it was broken up, the fragments did not congregate
into one, but spherified separately, so as to form the four smaller
planets which now revolve in that opening.

"We have no means of judging of the seniority of systems; but it is
reasonable to suppose, that, among the many, some are older than
ours. There is, indeed, one piece of evidence for the probability
of the comparative youth of our system, altogether apart from human
traditions and the geognostic appearances of the surface of our
planet. This consists in a thin nebulous matter, which is diffused
around the sun to nearly the orbit of Mercury, of a very oblately
spheroidal shape. This matter, which sometimes appears to our naked
eyes, at sunset, in the form of a cone projecting upwards in the
line of the sun's path, and which bears the name of Zodiacal Light,
has been thought a residuum or last remnant of the concentrating
matter of our system, and thus may be supposed to indicate the
comparative recentness of the principal events of our cosmogony.
Supposing the surmise and inference to be correct, and they may be
held as so far supported by more familiar evidence, we might with
the more confidence speak of our system as not amongst the elder
born of Heaven, but one whose various phenomena, physical and
moral, as yet lay undeveloped, while myriads of others were fully
fashioned and in complete arrangement. Thus, in the sublime
chronology to which we are directing our inquiries, we first find
ourselves called upon to consider the globe which we inhabit as a
child of the sun, elder than Venus and her younger brother Mercury,
but posterior in date of birth to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and
Uranus; next, to regard our whole system as probably of recent
formation in comparison with many of the stars of our firmament. We
must, however, be on our guard against supposing the earth as a
r