It would appear
from the position of the satellites of Uranus, two of which, the second and
fourth, have been recently observed with certainty, that the axis of this,
the outermost of all the planets is scarcely inclined as much as 11 degrees
toward the plane of its orbit, while Saturn is placed between this planet,
whose axis almost coincides with the plane of its orbit, and Jupiter, whose
axis of rotation is nearly perpendicular to it.
In this enumeration of the forms which compose the world in space, we have
delineated them as possessing an actual existence, and not as objects of
intellectual contemplation, or as mere links of a mental and causal chain of
connection. The planetary system, in its relations of absolute size and
relative position of the axes, density, time of rotation, and different
degrees of eccentricity of the orbits, does not appear to offer to our
apprehension any stronger evidence of a natural necessity than the
proportion observed in the distribution of land and water on the Earth, the
configuration of continents, or the height of mountain chains. In these
respects we can discover no common law in the regions of space or in the
inequalities of the earth's crust. They are 'facts' in nature that have
arisen from the conflict of manifold forces acting under unknown
p 95
conditions, although man considers as 'accidental' whatever he is unable to
explain in the planetary formation on purely genetic principles.
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