upon by some cause
adequate to give it new action and arrangement. No sun, no stars or
planets could spontaneously emanate from an inert vapour any more than
from nothing. To meet this, his first difficulty, the author supposes
that there were certain _nuclei_, or centres of greater condensation,
analogous to those still remarked in the nebulae of the heavens, and that
these nuclei, by their superior attractive force, consolidated into
spheres the gaseous matter around them:--

"Of nebulous matter," says he, "in its original state we know too
little to enable us to suggest _how nuclei should be established in
it_. But supposing that from a _peculiarity_ in the constitution
nuclei are formed, we know very well how, by the power of
gravitation, the process of an aggregation of the neighbouring
matter to these nuclei should proceed until masses more or less
solid should be detached from the rest. It is a _well-known law in
physics, that when fluid matter collects towards, or meets in a
centre, it establishes a rotatory motion_. See minor results of
this law in the whirlpool and the whirlwind--nay, on so humble a
scale as the water sinking through the aperture of a funnel. It
thus becomes certain, that when we arrive at the stage of a
nebulous star we have a rotation on its axis commenced."

Up to this, however, the author has proved nothing. The existence of the
fire-mist and nuclei are assumptions only, and the way by which he tries
to account for rotatory motion is clearly erroneous. The aggregation of
matter round the nuclei by gravitation would have no such tendency; no
more than a perfect balance would of itself have a tendency to move
about its fulcrum, or a falling stone to deviate from its vertical
course. Gravitation would indeed compress the particles of matter, but
its tendency and entire action is towards the nucleus; it compresses
them no more on one side of the line of their direction to the centre of
force than on any other side; and hence no _lateral_ or _rotatory
motion_ would ensue. Rotation, therefore, is yet unaccounted for; though
the author says _it is a well-known law in physics_ that when fluid
matter collects towards, or meets in a centre, it establishes a rotatory
motion; and then for illustration refers to a whirlwind or whirlpool. No
such effect would follow the conditions stated, and an entire ignorance
is betrayed of the laws of