e necessity" to which I refer. In a subsequent
Lecture, however, Dr. N. appears in some manner to have gotten
the better of the necessity, and does not quite _renounce_ the
theory, although he seems to wish that he could sneer at it as
"a purely hypothetical one." What else was the Law of Gravity
before the Maskelyne experiments? and who questioned the Law of
Gravity, even then?

Many of my readers will no doubt be inclined to say that the result of
these new investigations _has_ at least a strong _tendency_ to overthrow
the hypothesis; while some of them, more thoughtful, will suggest that,
although the theory is by no means disproved through the segregation of
the particular "nebulae," alluded to, still a _failure_ to segregate
them, with such telescopes, might well have been understood as a
triumphant _corroboration_ of the theory:--and this latter class will be
surprised, perhaps, to hear me say that even with _them_ I disagree. If
the propositions of this Discourse have been comprehended, it will be
seen that, in my view, a failure to segregate the "nebulae" would have
tended to the refutation, rather than to the confirmation, of the
Nebular Hypothesis.

Let me explain:--The Newtonian Law of Gravity we may, of course, assume
as demonstrated. This law, it will be remembered, I have referred to the
reaction of the first Divine Act--to the reaction of an exercise of the
Divine Volition temporarily overcoming a difficulty. This difficulty is
that of forcing the normal into the abnormal--of impelling that whose
originality, and therefore whose rightful condition, was _One_, to take
upon itself the wrongful condition of _Many_. It is only by conceiving
this difficulty as _temporarily_ overcome, that we can comprehend a
reaction. There could have been no reaction had the act been infinitely
continued. So long as the act _lasted_, no reaction, of course, could
commence; in other words, no _gravitation_ could take place--for we have
considered the one as but the manifestation of the other. But
gravitation _has_ taken place; therefore the act of Creation has ceased:
and gravitation has long ago taken place; therefore the act of Creation
has long ago ceased. We can no more expect, then, to observe _the
primary processes_ of Creation; and to these primary processes the
condition of nebulosity has already been explained to belong.

Through what we know of the propagation of light, we have direct proof