TERRA FIRMA:
THE EARTH NOT A PLANET.
PROVED FROM
SCRIPTURE, REASON, AND FACT.
BY
WARDLAW
DAVID
SCOTT,
AUTHOR OF
" Dora MarcelH ; " " The Contrast, and other Poems ;" " Water and the Spirit;
"God Misunderstood;" " The Purpose of the Ages ;"
"Hades and Beyond;" &c.
"
Fot
He
hath founded
it
upon
the seas,
and established
—Psahn xxiv,
it
upon the
floods."
2.
LONDON
SiHFKiN, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent,
CALCUTTA:
Tracker, Spink, &
BOMBAY:
Thacxer & Co.,
*
K'
&
Co.,
Ltd.
|
Co.
'
Y
Ltd.
fgoi.
All rights reserved.
<>'./
^!,',,.'
„
MAP
" In the Beginning
of the
God
WORLD
as a Plane.
created the Heavens and the Earth."—
bounded
'""'"
it
"pon the seos
„i/as/Cw
"Xq
^cf
^
^v^2 «^
0^^^
enesis
i.
i.
A^Sg&Ufi
PREFACE.
am now an
I
had
old man, and,
I consulted
my own
comfort, would never have penned a line of this book,
some years
as for
that
it
So
write.
being
I
have had cataract in both eyes, so
was not without
still
difficulty
that I could read or
appeared to be the need, and
great, however,
anxious to serve
my
generation, I determined
to undertake this work, in order to expose the fallacies
of
Modem
of God,
I
Astronomy, which are so contrary to the
and so conducive to the promotion
do not enter the
Word
of Infidelity.
arrayed in the panoply of Neo-
lists
Science, to fight this great Goliath, but only with a few
pebbles of the brook, yet
I trust that,
the attempt may not be altogether
I
am
so shall
—
well aware that
it
be also
Luke
xvii.
fiis
Coming,
the
it
was in the days of Noe,
in the days of the
Man
Son of
''
we should be ever ready for
not for us " to know the times or
But, while
26.
it
is
which the Father hath put
seasons,
power "
" as
with God's blessing,
fruitless.
—
in
His own
moming
7;
not
thine
hand,
in
the
evening
wFthhold
sow thy seed, and
Acts
i.
and we are exhorted
for thou knowest not
which
shall
" in the
prosper"
Ecc. xi. 6.
may be that these pages may meet the need of some,
who have not altogether been misled by unprovable
fancies, and who will rejoice to find that the Biblical
It
account of Creation
is,
after
all,
be depended upon, and that
its
kindred
theory
of
the only one which can
Modem
Evolution,
that
Astronomy,
like
dangerous
and
degraded form of Buddhist metempsychosis,
is
but " a mockery, a delusion, and a snare."
Thus may
nothing
PREFACE.
the eyes of the understanding be cleared of that obstruc-
which obscures the sight of many otherwise
sound minds, owing to the evil effects produced thereon
tive cataract,
falsely so called "
by " science
—
/
Tim.
20.
vi.
Not being a professional Astronomer, I required
read and think much while writing this book, and had
to
to
weigh every matter in an even balance, so as to make no
statement which
is
not in
strict
conformity with Scripture,
indebted to "
The
Earth (not a Globe) Review," which was the means of
first
Reason, or Fact.
inducing
my
" Zetetic
The Earth
Carpenter's
not a Globe "
would also
I
(not a Globe) Review," who, at
my
manuscript before
and who, on returning
I
is
Cosmogony."
it
its
my
request,
being sent to the
wrote
to be in perfect accordance with so
book."
Mr.
^to
best thanks to " Zetetes," the late Editor of
carefully read
Printers,
Rowbotham's
Dr.
^to
Proofs that the Earth
and to Mr. Winship's
"
especially
me to begin
work—
"Zetetic Astronomy" —
One Hundred
express
am
this
(Parallax)
"
I
—
much
" I
am
that
pleased
in your
is
could not expect him to say more, as
it
rarely
happens that men of independent thought can see everything in exactly the same light.
The
favourable testimony
of such an expert in Astronomic subjects as "Zetetes,"
gives
me
confidence in placing the result of
before the Public, and I sincerely trust that
be "in vain
in the Lord," but that
it
will
my
it
labour
may not
be helpful to
those of
my
truth of
God, as revealed in His works of Creation.
Readers who are desirous of searching out the
D.
25 Trinity Road,
Wood Green, London,
March, 1901.
WARDLAW
SCOTT.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Map of
the
World
as a Plane
Preface
Frontispiece
-
-
CHAPTER
iii
I.
Introductory Rbmarks.
...
SECTION
1.
2.
A few words about
Gravitation
9
...
17
men
3.
Testimonies of some able
4.
Quotations showing some of the Atheistical Results of
Theory
against
Modern Astronomy
The Adamic
J.
The Days
2.
Not two
l<be
Copernican
-
CHAPTER
3.
i
Fundamental difference of opinion among Modern
Astronomers
-
n.
Creation.
of Creation not long periods of time, but Six
Natural Days of twenty-four hours each
races of Adamites
21
...
31
37
Refutation of the Theory of two different authors of
Genesis, from the use of the distinguishing words
Elohim and JEHOVAH-Elohim
4.
No
5.
Primeval Fauna and the Ages
-
-
43
regarding the Adamic Creation,
Discrepancy exists,
in the accounts given in Genesis
and
-
-
6.
Chipped Flints
-
7.
The supposed
-
Glacial Period
I.
-
II.
-
47
50
"57
55
CONTENTS.
v5
CHAPTER
The Nebular Hypothesis:
III.
Examination of three
Alleged Proofs of the World's Globularity.
PAGE
SECTION
1.
The Nebular Hypothesis
2.
The Circumnavigation
-
of the Earth
3.
The Appearance and Disappearance
4.
The Earth's shadow
in
63
-
67
of Ships at Sea
a Lunar Eclipse
CHAPTER
-
-
73
-
77
-
IV.
Remarks on some other Alleged Proofs of the
World's Globularity.
Pendulum Vibrations
85
1.
Variability of
2.
Supposed Manif^tation of the Rotation of the Earth
86
3.
Railways and Earth's Centrifugal Force
89
4.
Declination of the Pole Star
5.
Motion of Stars North and South
6.
The Planet Neptune
-
-
go
-
91
93
-
CHAPTER
The World
-
V.
Circular, but not Globular
;
has immovable
Foundations, therefore not a Planet.
1.
Relative Proportion of
2.
The Compass a
3.
Dangers of Navigation
Land and Water
proof that the Earth
is
-
96
not a Planet
98
World
Southern Seas, caused by the
is Globular
4.
The supposed Revolution
of the Earth around the sun
5.
The Earth
6.
The Earth proved
theory that the
in
proved to be untrue
stretched out
-
.
to
108
.
upon the Waters, which have
an Impassable Circumference
have Immovable Foundations
102
-
m
117
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
vii
VI.
The Horizontality of Land and Water Proved.
SECTION
Railways
-
Rivers
-
Canals
-
....
-
-
-
122
126
127
-
Submarine Cables
The Light
PAGE
-
of Lighthouses seen at a distance
134
135
CHAPTER Vn.
The
Sun, Moon, and Stars, according to
Modern
Astronomy.
1.
2.
3.
The Sun The Moon The Stars -
147
-
-
CHAPTER
The
140
-
-
152
Vlll.
Sun, according to the Scriptures.
1.
Light comes out of Darkness
-
i6j
2.
167
3.
Measurements respecting the Distance and
Diameter of the Sun
Some Particulars respecting the Sun
4.
Scriptural Proofs of the Rising
and Setting of the Sun
180
-
Zetetic
CHAPTER
IX.
The Sun's Path and Work
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
in
the Heavens.
The cause of Day and Night and the Seasons
The reason for gain and loss of time at Sea
The Seasons of the Year The Midnight Sun, and the alternation of Summer and
-
184
-
18&
-
Winter
in
The Sun and
...
the Northern Centre
the Zodiac
-
174.
-
187
190
-
195
CONTENTS.
viii
CHAPTER
Thb Sun standing
X.
still and returning backwards.
PAGE
SECTION
1.
2.
The Sun
The
standing
still
over Gibeon
Shadow turning back
Ahaz
Sun's
of
CHAPTER
-
-
ten degrees on
-
204
the dial
.
2IO
.
XI.
The Deluge— Biblical Account.
and extent of the Deluge
1.
The
2.
God's instructions to
3.
Some
4.
5.
date, cause,
Noah
respecting the
214
Ark
objections against the Deluge answered
-
217
-
219
The Earth not a Planet proved by the waters
their own level above the highest mountains
finding
Subsidence of the waters, and safe debarkation of
and all with him from the Ark
6.
The Noachian Covenant
7.
The Last Judgment on
221
Noah
-
the Earth to be by Fire
226
229
-
-
231
CHAPTER Xn.
The Deluge—Traditional Records.
many
1.
Marks
-
234
2.
The Accadian, or
old Chaldean, account of the Deluge
237
3.
Extracts from old Chaldean Epics, declaring the
revolution of the sun, and the creation of men and
animals
247
4.
Babylonia identified with the Garden of Eden
251
of the Deluge visible in
lands
...
-
-
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
ix
XIII.
The Great Deep a Proof that the Earth
is
not
A Planet.
SECTION
1.
PAGB
The Earth
in solution before the
showing horizontality by
Adamic
The Tides and
3.
The Great Gulf Stream and Currents
4.
The Rivers come from and
the Great
-
its strata
2.
Deep
256
-
25S
Deep
265
-
of the Great
return to the Great
CHAPTER
Creation,
Deep
-
267
XIV.
Fragments Gathered Up.
2.
A 6xed locality
Up and Down
3.
Some
4.
Concluding remarks
1.
-
-
other reasons
272
-
-
-
why the Earth is
SUPFLBMENTAI. INDEX
274
not a Planet
-
-
278
283
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX.
Absurdity of Modern Astronomy shown
the heavenly orbs
in its description of
-
-
Accommodation, The argument
of,
utterly
142, 144. 14S. '54
condemned
I20, 121, 284, 285
Adams, The two contrasted
-
-
-
-
Adventures of Gilmanes, a kind of ancient Hercules
-
...
-
61
-
23S
Ages, referred to in Scripture, before and after this present
world
-
Angels, a different order of beings from
Ark, The,
„
men
shown to be su£Bciently large for
its
-
38
•
requirements 219, 220
now acknowledged
to have been built on the most
approved principles to combine strength, capacity, and
stabiHty
„
53—55
-
a type of Christ
-
-
233
Astronomic Curvature, The law of, unnatural and untrue
„
„
-
123
disallowed by the British Government
T24
method of teaching the young
„
224, 225
-
.
26
-
Axial Motion not in the Earth, proved by the firing of cannons
and other'projectiles
.-
.
.
.
gg_ go,
Babylonian Seal, representing the Temptation in the Garden
of Eden
-
282
252
Bacon, Lord, altogether disapproved of the Copernican Theory
18,
...
the horizon always appears level with the eye,
thus showing the earth to be horizontal
7<j_
Balloon, In
Bera, in
a,
19
75
Hebrew, primarily means to create that which had no
previous existence
-
-
-
Bedford Canal, The, proved by experiments to be level
„
the wager trial respecting
Boldness required in dealing with error
....
it
explained
33
127
— 130
130—133
284, 287
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX.
xi
PAGE
Circumnavigation of the world confessed by Keith
proof that
Clarke's,
a sphere
no
-
69
204
Dr. Adam,
-
letter
-
-
to
his failure to explain that miracle on
„
to be
the Rev. Thomas Roberts
respecting the sun standing still over Gibeon -
it is
Copemican
lines
209
as also that of the sun's
backward on the
dial
shadow turning ten degrees
of Ahaz
Comets not absorbed by the Sun
-
7
Comparison between the old Chaldean and the Biblical account
of the Deluge
245, 246
between the old Chaldean and the modern Evolu„
tionists' idea of
Creation
230, 251
Copernicus admitted that his system of the Earth's revolution
round the Sun was only a supposition
11, 12
Condemned by Pope Urban
,,
Critics,
The so-called Higher,
and not
„
The
late
to
VIII.
at variance
be depended upon
-
at sea in astronomical
misleading
World
-
— 166
of the
15.
Deep, The, thought to be enclosed in a vast rocky basin
Diagrams of ships
49
35—37
...
-
48,
164
light
Modern Astronomers regarding the motion
Sun
Dial, The,
—46
44
Mr. H. L. Hastings's remarks on same
Darkness an entity, and not the mere negation of
Day, various meanings of the word in Scripture
Deceit of
14
-
amongst themselves,
98,
119,
286
120
books are most
-
75
-
— 77
a daily proof of the Sun's revolution round the
.
.
Difference of opinion should be no cause for ill-feeling
.
211
-
288
Discrepancies of Astronomers as to the distance of the Sun
from the Earth 12, 13, 141, 142
Distance, The, round the surface of the world at 45 degrees
N. Latitude being only half of what it is at 45 degrees
S. Latitude, proves that the world
is
Dove's, Rev. John, vindication of the
Modern Astronomy
-
not globular
Scriptures
-
280, 281
against
-
-
27
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX.
xii
PAGE
Earth, The, proved to be horizontal, immovable, and stretched
in
upon the waters therefore it is not a Planet
distinguished from the Seas by the term Dry Land „
Earthquake of Lisbon, its effects on lakes, springs, and rivers
— 113
;
at
a great distance
-
—264
262
-
35
Eclipses are calculated from previous observations and tables,
irrespective of any particular theory as to the shape of the
Earth
....
178
77, 78,
Evolution, a dangerous form of Buddhist metempsychosis,
altogether unscriptural, unnatural, and untrue
iii,
Final
dissolution of the
Heavens and the Earth
Foundations of the Earth proved by Scripture
51, 112, 250, 231
—233
— 119
161, 162, 231
-
-
117
Geological conjectures not to be trusted
50, 51
Globe, The word not mentioned in the Bible at all 113
" Globe, One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is not a," by the
late
W.
Carpenter, quoted
13, 191, 192,
-
Gothe's opposition to the Newtonian hypothesis
—282
278
-
20
19,
Government inconsistent as regards Astronomic teaching
138
Horizon, The line being straight proves the world to be horizontal and not globular
74, 75, 91, 281
Hull, The, of a ship leaving port often restored to sight
telescope, after being lost to the
naked eye
Humboldt's remarks on the colour of the
,.
„
„
...
stars
„
Deluge
„
Level of the Sea
-
•
by the
-
-
.
-
-
75
-
152
235, 236
223
-
Indifference as to the statements of Scripture respecting the
stability of the Earth condemned
284, 285
Infidelity shown to arise from the false theories of Modern
Astronomy
22 25
—
JosEPHDs's testimony as to the
fact of the
Deluge
Laws shovm
to
be erroneous
La Place's "grand conceptibn"
only a myth
236
-
....
Kelvin's, Lord, " wonderful stone "
Kepler's famous
-
-
-
-
jij
4i
5
of the Nebular hypothesis
-
63,
64
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX.
xiii
PAGE
Le
Verrier's
calculations
entirely erroneous
Lunarians,
Men
What
respecting
-
.
the
-
planet
Neptune
.
.
-
the supposed, are supposed to see
-
94
-
147, 148
...
are not fastened to a globular earth like needles to a
spherical loadstone
Mistake,
-
280
The sad, into which some Christian writers have fallen
in calling this world " a globe
-
274,275
Mistranslation of Authorized Version (Genesis i. 20) respecting
the water bringing forth fowl
41, 42
of the Hebrew words for " Sun " and " Moon "
„
by Calmet and Parkhurst with respect
to the
miracle related in Joshua x.
203 207
of Sheol and Hades as " hell " and " the grave "
instead of the place of the dead
275, 276
—
,,
of the
„
word
belimeh as
"fastenings," in /06
Newton,
7
Ocean beds comparatively
a warning to others
— 116
84
15
97,
98
-
.....
means of solving
Ovid's reference to a great deluge
4. 83,
-
flat
Original text, The, often the
difficulties
remark on men's stupidity
„
114
-
.
Sir Isaac, proposed his system only as a supposition
his career should be
„
"nothing" instead of
;i;;ifOT.
Pail of water whirled round the head a
the world revolving round the sun
42
-
236
-
127
false illustration of
i
—
3.
Parkhurst failed in his theory of the motion of the Earth by
116,166,167
means of conflicting ethers
Parallels of Latitude increase in width progressively from
the Northern centre to the Southern circumference, prov-
ing the world not to be globular
Perspective,
The
mers
true law
-
-
of,
disregarded
-
71, 72, 105,
106
by Modern Astrono-
-
-
74, go, 91
David Brewster's argument for, from
analogy shown to be unsound
Mr. W. Bathgate's argument against this from Scrip-
Plurality of Worlds, Sir
,,
ture
-
156,
154
157
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX
jdv
PAGE
Poem, The
Pole,
no South whatever
Star,
„
-
as " Alpha " in
Pre-Adamite
-
255
71. 72.
92
Man shown
Mr.,
200, 201
Ursa Minor
locality of
The North
to
" Pretty
shown to be no proof
loi, 273
-
be an unscriptural myth
Precession of the Equinoxes
Proctor's,
-
-
The, anciently regarded as " Alpha " in Draco, now
shows the
„
world
oldest, in the
-
-
37, 38
201, 202
-
Proof of the Earth's Rotundity,"
73. 74
Ptolomy, in 2nd century, a.d., restored the ancient cosmogony
of the Earth being immovable
13, 14
at all
Pyramid, The Great, and the Sphinx
199
Pythagoras, a Heathen philosopher, first broached the idea of
the Earth revolving round the Sun
13, 143
Qdeen of Heaven,
Astarte or Ashtaroth, the worship
identified with that of the
of,
Romish Virgin Mary
143
Rainfall, The, and exhalations from the Ocean and other
waters of the Earth, are insu£Scient to maintain the flow
of rivers, which must be replenished from the waters of
the Great Deep
270, 271
Refraction, so uncertain in
its action,
as noL usually to be
reckoned in astronomic calculations
137, 212
Rotation of the Earth quizzed by Punch
-
Satan the presumed source of Modern Astronomy
66, 67, 287, 288
Science, Modern, but a development of the old
more
„
real in
88
-
285, 286
the Bible than anywhere else
157, 166, 200, 232, 268, 284
The riddle of the
Storms, The greatest, do not
Sphinx,
-
ninety feet below the surface,
quite
still,
.
jgg
more than about
beneath which the water is
affect the sea
thus proving that the sea does not revolve
round the sun
.
Stratification of the rocks effected
Earth, thus proving
its
by the
horizontality
.
267
dissolution of the
-
33, 34,
256
—258
SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX.
xv
PAGE
Tit-bits from Modern Astronomy
Professor Huxley on the convexity of water
Professor Airy on the Assumptions of
Newton
-
n
-
73
83,
Norman
Lockyer's " to take it as proved " Sir John Herschel's " take for granted "
the late Mr. Proctor's " we find that the earth
is not flat but a globe"
Sir
„
,,
Herschel's " in the disorder of the senses "
Tycho Brahe's testimony
Water, always
finding
84
84
84
84
140,141
against the Copernican system 18, 108, 109
its
own
level,
proves that the Earth is
135, 222
—224
not a Planet
Weather much more
severe in the Southern than in the
Northern Latitudes of the same degree
Wesley's, Rev. John, disbelief of Modern Astronomy
" Witness, The, of the Stars," by the Rev. Dr. BuUinger,
highly recommended, and quoted
71
19
196, 197, 2oi, 202
-
Woodhouse's, Dr., testimony respecting Modern Astronomy
20, 21
World, This, of ours, with the exception of that beyond, the
only one referred to in the Scriptures
153, 154, 157, 158
XisnTHRUs, the name by which Noah
Accadian Tablets
Zetetbs quoted
is called
in the old
iv, 76, 77, 172,
-
" Zetetic Astronomy," by the late Dr.
quoted 71, 80, 103 105, 128
—
,,
...
Rowbotham
—
238
173
(Parallax
—
130, 130
133, 155, 168—170
Cosmogony," by Mr. Thomas Winship, of Durban,
Natal, quoted
-
— 138, 171, 172, 174, 188, 189
136
"
The Earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness
The World, and they that dwell therein
For
He
And
established
hath founded
it
it
upon the
upon the
thereof
seas,
floods."
Psalm
xxiv., i, s.
TERRA FIRMA:
THE EARTH NOT A PLANET,
PROVED FROM
SCRIPTURE, REASON, and FACT.
CHAPTER
I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
section
i.
2.
3.
4.
page
a few
words about gravitation
was
j
...
9
Fundamental difference of opinion among
Modern Astronomers
Testimony of able men against the Cofernican
THEORY
Quotations showing some of the Atheistical
RESULTS OF Modern Astronomy
-
SECTION
A FEW WORDS ABOUT
I
.
.
:
18
21
1.
GRAVITATION.
remember being taught when a boy,
that the Earth
a great ball, revolving at a very rapid rate aromid
the Sun, and,
when
I expressed to
my
teacher
that the waters of the oceans would tumble
told that they were prevented from doing so
my
fears
was
by Newton's
I
off,
great law of Gravitation, which kept everything in
proper place.
I
presume that
have shown some signs of
my
its
countenance must
incredulity,
for
my
teacher
TERRA FIRMA.
2
—
chap,
i.,
sec.
i.
can show you a direct proof of
this; a man can whirl around his head a pail filled with
water without its being spilt, and so, in like manner,
can the oceans be carried round the Sun without losing
immediately added
As
a drop.
this
illustration
settle the matter, I
Had
man,
I
proposed to
such been
answered
would have
I
was evidently intended to
then said no more upon the subject
me
afterwards
somewhat
a
as
follows
as
you have given of
a man whirling a pail of water round his head, and the
oceans revolving round the Sun, does not in any degree
beg to say that the
Sir, I
illustration
confirm your argument, because the water in the two
cases
but,
placed under entirely different circumstances,
is
to be
the conditions in each case
of any value,
must be the same, which here they are
is
a
hollow
which
vessel
holds
The
not.
water
the
pail
inside
whereas, according to your teaching, the Earth
is
a
it,
ball,
with a continuous curvature outside, which, in agreement
with the laws of nature, could not retain any water;
besides, as the Scriptures plainly tell us
the water
is
in the water.
Again, the
circuit,
for,
immediately be
man who
5,
whirls the pail around
good care to hold
his head, takes very
even
2 Pet. Hi.
not contained in the Earth, but the Earth
if
spilt.
he
did
not,
it
the
straight in an
water
would
But you teach us that the Earth
goes upside down and downside up, so that the people
in Australia,
Globe,
being on the other side of the so-called
have their feet exactly
opposite
to
which reason they are named Antipodes.
ours,
We
for
are not
which, by the peculiar conformation of their
like
flies
feet,
can crawl on a
ball,
but
we
are
human
beings,
require a plane surface on which to walk;
who
and how
A FEW WORDS ABOUT GRAVITATION.
we be
could
3
fastened to the Earth whirling, according
to your theory, around the Sun, at the rate of eighteen
The famed law of Gravitation will
though we are told that we have fifteen pounds
miles per second?
not
avail,
of atmosphere
logical, for there are
their
on every square inch of our
pressing
but this does
bodies,
own
appear to be
not
many
athletes
leap nearly
in less than five
and run a mile race
height,
particularly
who can
minutes, which they could not possibly do were they
thus handicapped.
revolution
by the pail of water,
Carpenter
said
outrage upon
of
human
Robert
Sir
utterly worthless,
is
man;
any thinking
convince
your assertion respecting the
Sir,
the world round the sun,
of
Ball,
it
is,
as
never
will
the
astronomical
another
illustrated
as
and
late
theory,
Mr.
"
an
understanding and credulity."
the Astronomer Royal for Ireland,
says, speaking of Gravitation
:
—
" In the case of the sun, and of the planetary system generally,
the mass of the central body enormously exceeds that of any of
his planets.
The
sun, for example,
—the heaviest of the planets
Jupiter
;
is
1047 times as heavy as
while,
if
the luminary were
subdivided into a million equal pieces, the mass of each one of
them would be
greater than the
mass
of the earth.
It,
therefore,
follows that the centre of gravity of the sun and of the earth
lies close to the sun's centre.
" The universal law asserts that every body attracts every other
body, and therefore there
is
attraction not alone between planet
and sun, but also between planet and
attracted
by the sun, and
retaliates
Jupiter also attracts the earth, and
earth.
In like manner there
is
planet.
Jupiter
is
not only
by attracting the sun, but
is
in turn attracted
by the
a mutual attraction between every
pair of planets, the intensity of which
is
measured by the product
TERRA FIRMA.
4
two
of the masses of the
chap,
planets, divided
i.,
sec.
i.
of the
by the square
distance apart."*
So with regard to
celestial things,
and
man
ful law of Gravitation, the
woman
the
flea,
this
attracts the
wonder-
woman, and
the man, the elephant attracts the
attracts
and the
we suppose,
so,
by
with regard to terrestrial matters also;
flea attracts
the elephant, the cat attracts
mouse
the mouse, and the
attracts the cat,
and so on
by the square of the distance,
some appear plausible, were there
only a few particular objects concerned, but, when there
are countless millions of things, both celestial and ter-
ad
Calculation,
infinitum.
might,
restrial,
perhaps,
all
to
would
it
same time
struggling at the
other, such a law,
necessarily
would
create,
absurdity but an impossibility.
self
does not even attempt
of Gravitation
toi
him
Thus he
with
;
tO'
attract
each
from the inextricable confusion which
beginning to end.
Sir
only be an
Newton
himIsaac
not
give one proof of the truth
is
it
only supposition from
says
" But the reason of these properties of gravity I could never
hitherto deduce from
phenomena
hypotheses about them;
phenomena ought
;
and am unwilling to frame
for whatever
to be called
is
not deduced from
an hypothesis, and no sort of
hypotheses are allowable in experimental philosophy wherein
propositions are deduced from phenomena, and not
made general
by deduction."
The famous
laws of Kepler, once considered to be
so helpful in establishing the theory of Gravitation, axt
now found
Professor
*
to have
W.
been only erroneous suppositions, as
B. Carpenter writes in the October, 1880,
" The Cause of a Glacial Age," page 62 Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner
Parliament House, Charing Cross Road, London.
;
& Co.,
A FEW WORDS ABOUT GRAVITATION.
"
No. of the
Modem
Review," from which
5
quote the
I
following extract
"
He
'
took as his guide another assumption no
In order to make this
tances from the Sun.
he was drawn
facts,
densities,
says,
'
which we now know
unless
we assume
be false,
to be utterly
had
untrue
;
for, as
made by Kepler
detected, are
what he considered
deduced from any given
now
law
to explain the
undisputably known to
to be the proof of
it
being only a
result
might be
may now
exclaim,
principle.'
Brute! the Newtonian Caesar
iu,
he himself
Thus, says his Biographer,
mode of false reasoning by which any required
Et
with the
fit
this proposition of the densities, the
three out of the four suppositions
beautiful law he
last
to assume a relation of their respective
of the periodic time will not answer.'
'
less erroneous,
that the masses of these planets increased with their dis-
viz.,
as he falls by the dagger of his old friend Kepler.
Gravitation
a big woid, derived from the Latin
is
adjective gravis, heavy, and heavy, indeed, has been the
trouble which
its
it
has caused to
Modern Astronomers by
made for it by
not acting in obedience to the laws
their Delphic Oracle Sir Isaac
Newton.
It
was
at first
introduced to the public as a mere hypothesis, but, by
degrees,
paid as
became
little
Newton,
as
to
be considered as a law, though
attention to the law
a
propounded
Red Republican does
Moon refused to
country; for the small
great Sun, nor would even a splint of
by an iron mountain.
The
truth
to
for
that
circle
Attraction, Cohesion are only scientific
of
it
by
his
round the
wood be
is
it
attracted
that Gravitation,
names invented
to cover men's ignorance of God's works in nature, pre-
tending to explain
nothing at
all.
facts,
when, in
Far wiser would
it
reality,
they explain
have been to have at
TERRA. FIRMA.
6
once confessed that
only by the Fiat of
is
it
chap,
the substances of things are kept together, for
alone that upholdeth
power
Heb.
power,
He
i.
3.
"
He
hath
"
And
Jer. x. 12.
binds things together now,
their
sec.
God
it
is
i.
that
He
made
the Earth by His
hath established the world by His wisdom,
and by His understanding hath
Heavens
,
by the word of His
things
all
i
separation,
stretched
out the
that Omnipotent God, who
will, in
" the
for
He
His own time,
effect
elements shall be dissolved
with fervent heat, and the earth and the things that are
therein shall be burned
up
"
2
Pet. in. 10.
Speaking of Newton's law of Gravitation, Sir Richard
Phillips said in his "
"
A
Million of Facts,"
waste of time to break a butterfly on a wheel, but, as
It is
Astronomy and
and repulsion,
all
it is
science
is
beset with fancies about attraction
necessary to eradicate them."
Mr. Breach of Southsea remarks
" Newton's supposed law of Gravitation was lost in the Moon.
Newton found
to
perform
that the Moon's perigee ought to require r8 years
its
revolution in the heavens, while observation
showed that the revolution was performed in one-half
He
period.
exhausted
all his skill
and power
to
but died, leaving the problem unsolved.
difficulty,
of this
overcome the
His successor
Clairant also finally abandoned the law of Gravitation as being
incapable of explanation."*
In his article " Nature and Law," which appeared
in the "
W.
Modern Review
"
of October,
1890, Professor
B. Carpenter writes as follows
"
We
have no proof, and, in the nature of things, can never
get one, of the assumption of the attractive force exerted
* "Twenty reasons against Newtonianism, anij
the Earth
Is
an extended Plane "
;
S. Phillips, 3
by the
Twenty Geographical Proofs that
Great Southsea Street, Southsea.
A
FEW WORDS ABOUT
GRAVITATION.
7
Earth, or by any other bodies of the Solar system, upon other
Newton himself
bodies at a distance.
strongly felt that the
impossibility of rationally accounting for action at a distance
through an intervening vacuum, was the weak point of his
system.
All that
we can be
from our own experience.
tion
for
the Earth and
which we learn
that
is
in regard to the Sun's attrac-
we have no
Planets,
certain
experi-
Unless we could be transported to his surface,
ence at all.
have no means
if
we
we
comparing Solar gravity with
of experimentally
Terrestrial gravity, and,
could ascertain
this,
we should be
of his attraction for bodies at a
no nearer the determination
distance.
know
said to
Now,
The doctrine of Universal Gravitation, then,
is
A PURE ASSUMPTION."
If Gravitation in the vast
Sun were a
reality,
why does
body of our Astronomers'
not
it
attract, or even, as it
might be expected to do, absorb such a
Comet, when
long gossamer
it
comes so near
tail
it,
light
body as a
instead of letting
its
Miss Gibeme, in
depart unscathed?
writing of Comets, remarks
"
They obey the
attraction of the Sun, yet he appears to have
the singular power of driving the Comet's Tail
away from him-
For however rapidly the Comet may be rushing round the
self.
Sun, and however long the
to stream in
tail
may
curious,
singular
for
power of
first
Sir Isaac's apple
Moon, and Stars,"
*
not explanatory,
if
Sun
to
are at
have the
attracting
and then repelling the
mode
of Gravitation not per-
mitted to our poor Earth, which,
* " Sun,
almost always found
they suppose the
hapless Comet, a peculiar
down
it is
an opposite direction from the Sun."
Miss Giberne's remarks,
least
be,
from the
p. 73
;
Seeley
Street,
&
it
tree,
is
said,
could draw
but had no power
Co., Limited, 38 Great Russell
London.
TERRA FIRMA.
8
send
to
back
it
to
its
The
again.
stalk
Astronomer on Earth, nor anybody
which
fact respecting Gravitation,
chap,
else,
is
truth
is
knows one
i.
no
single
an unknown and an
unknowable quantity, and the sooner
committed
is
it
more scope
to the grave of oblivion, the
sec.
i.,
will
be given
for
the advancement of true science.
Any
is
object which is heavier than the
air,
and which
unsujyported, has a natural tendency to
fall
hy
own
its
Newton's famous apple at Woolsthorpe, or any
weight.
when
other apple
hold of
ripe, loses
its
stalk,
and, being
heavier than the air, drops as a matter of necessity, to
the ground, totally irrespective of any attraction of the
Earth.
For,
such attraction existed,
if
why does not
Earth attract the rising smoke which
The answer
heavy as the apple?
the smoke
not
fall
lighter than
is
but ascends.
employed by Newton
the
is
—
simple
and,
air,
Gravitation
in his
is
^because
does
therefore,
only a subterfuge,
attempt to prove that the
Earth revolves round the Sun, and the quicker
relegated to the
it
be for
tomb
He
draped
the
thoughtless
alteration of Byron's
is
his idol with
the tawdry tinsel of false science, knowing well
beguile
it
of all the Capulets, the better will
classes of society.
all
the
not nearly so
is
multitude,
famous
for,
with
how
a
to
little
lines, it is still true that
" Mortals, like moths, are often caught by glare.
And
folly wins success where Seraphs might despair."
Gravitation
is
—heads
pocus
a clever illustration of the art of hocus-
I win, tails
and the people
you lose
lost their senses.
;
Newton won
his fame,
DIFFERENCES AMONG ASTRONOMERS.
SECTION
9
2.
FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE OF OPINION AMONG
MODERN ASTRONOMERS.
from
Judging
the
manner
which
in
such
able
champions of Zetetic truth as Rowbotham, Hampden,
and Carpenter, who have passed away, have been
as also
some strong advocates
I have
no
for
it
who
are
treated,
still
great expectation that anything which I
say will have
They may
much
may
on Astronomers themselves.
effect
rather be expected to exclaim, in a
somewhat
Lord with respect to
similar strain as a certain noble
the " old NobiUty
alive,
"—
" Let Scripture, Reason, Fact, and Learning die,
But spare us Newton's grand Astronomy."
Many books have been
but
I
am
afraid that
written
on
Modem
Astronomy,
most of them are planned more as
than as handbooks of useful
tales of sensational fiction
and require to be read not only with one
instruction,
but with many grains of
salt.
I
have been informed,
on good authority, that some of our Astronomers do
already know the Plane truth, and surely it behoves such
no longer to hide their light under a bushel, but to let
it shine before men, so that others may be benefited and
God may be
that
are
still
must
just
glorified
thereby.
If,
however, they
determined to conceal their knowledge,
be
some others
left
will
severely alone.
come
to the front,
We
may hope
who
will
they
that
brush away
the cobwebs of theory, and build upon the granite of
truth.
A
splendid opportunity
is
now
before
such so
TERRA FIRMA.
10
chap,
i.,
sec. 2.
much-needed men, who might enrich the world with
volumes of real value respecting the Heavens, and the
Earth, based upon the lines of Scripture, Reason, and
Fact.
The system
Modern
Universe, as taught by
of the
Astronomers, being founded entirely on theory, for the
truth of which they are unable to advance one single
they have entrenched themselves in a con-
real proof,
and decline to answer any objections
spiracy of silence,
which may be made to
for
Truth
rather resembles
be neither wise nor
to
and must ultimately
great,
is
Such a method
their hypotheses.
me
of defence appears to
the tactics of the
effectual,
prevail.
It
which, in
ostrich,
order to elude his pursuers, hides his head in the sand,
thus leaving the greater part of his body exposed to view.
Lord Beaconsfield wisely
that
not
will
Copernicus
bear
"
discussion
who
himself,
—
said
A
subject
the
revived
system
or
Both
doomed."
is
theory
the
of
heathen philosopher Pythagoras, and his great exponent
Sir
Newton,
Isaac
confessed
that
their
system
a
of
revolving Earth was only a possibility, and could not be
proved by
decorated
It
facts.
it
is
with the
of an " exact science," yea,
according to them, " the most exact of
Yet
Astronomer
one
Royal
for
all
The
tainty,
out of
matter
is left in
and
I shall
it."
What
to be
science "
is
this
!
—nothing known but
on
celestial
said,
system
if
any one can help
a very sad position for an
uncertain
culations
once
Solar
a most delightful state of uncer-
be very glad
in
the sciences."
England
speaking of the motion of the whole
"
who have
only their followers
name
things
me
" exact
Nothing certain but the
the unknown.
Their calare
so
preposterous
and
DIFFERENCES AMONG ASTRONOMERS.
vague that
"no
fella" can understand
Sun's distance from the Earth
be about 92,000,000
The Sun
just look
Modern Astronomic Science
at the following tit-bits of
The
them;
ii
reckoned to
is
miles.
larger than the Earth 1,240,000 times.
is
58,000 Suns would be required to equal the cubic
contents of the Star Vega.
Struve
tells
magnitude,
us that light from Stars of the ninth
with
travelling
the
velocity
12,000,000
of
miles per minute, would require to travel space for 586
years before reaching this world of ours
The
late
Mr.
Proctor
said
—
a moderate
think
" I
estimate of the age of the Earth would
be 500,000,000
years.
The weight
the Earth,
of
according
the
to
same
authority, is 6,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons
And
so on ad nauseam.
Now
what confidence can any man place
a science
in
which gives promissory notes of such extravagance as
these?
They
are simply bankrupt
paper on which they are written.
say,
many
foolish people endorse
them
good, the reason being that they are
for themselves,
bogus notes as
and, to their
strange to
yet,
as
they were
if
toO' lazy
own sad
cost,
to think
accept the
they had been issued by a Rothschild.
if
" True
What
not worth the
bills,
And
'tis
a
pity—pity
a sad illustration
is
'tis 'tis
true."
•
given by the above state-
ments as to the utter worthlessness of
Modem
Astronomy
in the closing days of this boastful Nineteenth Century!
—"
Copernicus wrote
true or even probable
;
It is
it is
not necessary that hypotheses be
sufficient that they lead to results of
calculation which agree with calculation.
.
.
.
Neither
let
any
TERRA FIRMA.
12
chap,
i.,
sec.
2.
one, as far as hypotheses are concerned, expect anything certain
from Astronomy, since that science can afford nothing of the
kind, lest in case he should adopt for truth things feigned for
another purpose, he should leave the science more foolish than
when he came.
was nothing
.
.
The hypothesis
.
of the terrestrial motion
but an hypothesis, valuable only so far as
phenomena not considered with
it
explained
reference to absolute truth or
falsehood."
If
such was the conviction of Copernicus, the reviver
of the old
its
to
Pagan system
chief expounder,
what right have
of the pn-oblem
while Meyer enlarged
it
much
it
In
but in
?
being only three millions,
as
to one hundred and four millions
many
my young
my old it
estimates between these
days
it
was reckoned to be
has been reduced to about
Such discrepancies remind
ninety-two millions of miles.
me
differ so
as regards the very first elements
of miles, and there are
ninety-five,
Astronomers
—the distance of the Sun from the Earth
Copernicus computed
two extremes.
Modem
when they
possibility, is a fact, especially
among themselves even
and of Newton,
which was given only as a
a theory,
that
assert
of Pythagoras,
of the confusion which attended those
who
in olden
days attempted to build the Tower of Babel, when their
language was confounded, and their labour brought to
nought.
all
But no wonder
is it
that their calculations are
wrong, seeing they proceed from a wrong
basis.
They
assumed the world to be a Planet, with a circumference
of 25,000 miles,
and took
their
measurements from
its
supposed centre, and from supposed spherical angles of
measurement on the surface. Again, how could such
measurements possibly be correct while, as we are told,
the Earth was whirling around the Sun faster than a
DIFFERENCES AMONG ASTRONOMERS.
cannon
the rate of eighteen miles per second,
at
ball,
13
a force more than
man, woman,
sufficient to kill every
and child on
its
the Earth
supposed to have various other motions,
is
Then,
surface in less than a minute?
into the discussion of which I need not enter here, and
supposed rotation round
will only notice that of its
imaginary axis at the
miles per
rate, at the
with an inclination
hour,
its
Equator, of a thousand
of
degrees.
23^^
Let me, however, remind our Astronomers of a pertinent
remark
by Captain R.
itiade
Morrison, late Compiler
I.
of Zadkiel's Almanac, who, from the position he held,
ought
be
to
good
a
considered
on
authority
such
subjects
" We declare that this motion is all mere bosh,' and that the
arguments which uphold it are, when examined by an eye that
seeks Truth, mere nonsense and childish absurdity."*
'
How
contrary are
all
teaching of the
plain
founded upon the
—
seas,
these fancied motions to the
that
Scriptures,
the Earth
and established upon the
" is
floods"'
Yea that God's own hand " hath laid
Psa. xxiv. 2.
the foundations of the Earth " Isa. xlviii. 13.
Pythagoras
lived,
who
it
of
Samos, a heathen philosopher,
thought, about 500 years B.C.,
is
taught that the Sun
is
its
headway.
vast
his
opinion did not
it
as
one
make much
In the second century A.D., Claudius Ptolemy
of Alexandria, a
of
But
satellites.
first
the stationary centre of the
Universe, and that the Earth revolved around
of
the
is
who
man
learning
Cosmogony,
that
reported
and
the
among
wisdom,
Earth
is
the Greeks to be
restored
in
the
the
centre
ancient.
of
the
Carpenter's " One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is not a Globe," No. gS
John Williams, 54 Bourne-street, Netherfield, Notts.
j
TERRA FIRMA.
14
Universe,
Stars revolved around
as instruments to give
it,
This system generally prevailed
year
i.,
sec.
2.
immovable, and that the Sun, Moon, and
is
who was bom
Copernicus,
chap,
He
1472.
at
till
Thorn
philosophy
studied
it
light.
the time of Nicolaus
in Prussia, in the
and
medicine
at
Cvacova, and afterwards became Professor of MathemaAfter some years he returned to his native
began
to investigate the various systems
and
country,
tics at
Rome.
He
of Astronomy.
more
after
preferred that of Pythagoras,
than twenty years' study,
of the Universe to the world.
as being so heretical,
that
It
was then condemned
he was imprisoned by Pope
Urban VIII., and only released when he made a
He
tion of his opinions.
and,
he gave his scheme
recanta-
died in 1543, but his system
was followed by Galileo and other able men, and the
introduction of the telescope greatly helped on the cause.
At
last,
1642, Isaac
in
Newton was bom, the son
of
John Newton, a gentleman of small independent
means, at Colesworth, near Grantham, Lincolnshire. At
Mr.
in
uncommon
genius,
and
due time went to Trinity College, Cambridge.
In
an early age he showed signs of
1669,
when only
27 years of age, he was chosen Professor
of Mathematics in the University there,
and
in
1687 he
published his " Principia," confirming and improving the
system of Copernicus,
somewhat
after
the manner in
which the cook in a boarding-school dishes up what the
boys
the
call
same
a " resurrection pie," the chief ingredient being
as
scientifically
it
was previously, but with some spice
added
palate of the day.
tO'
suit
the taste of the more fastidious
This work brought him into great
repute as an astronomer, and afterwards led to his being
made Master
of the Mint and Knighted.
DIFFERENCES AMONG ASTRONOMERS.
15
As years rolled on so did Sir Isaac's fame, and, as
Harry Hotspur bewitched the world with his horsemanship, so has this
much-lauded philosopher beguiled the
But error
multitude with his Astronomy.
and cannot
last for
have honestly examined
to reject
it,
as being utterly
A
think for themselves.
unworthy of
He
Newton.
still,
day
his
belief,
and
when they begin
so,
I
to
sadder instance of the perver-
sion of splendid talents I do not
Sir Isaac
error
have been compelled
his system,
many more may do
trust that
is
and many, who since
ever,
know than
spent a long
the case of
teaching a false
life in
system of Astronomy, unsupported by any fact in nature,
and
in direct contradiction to the plain statements of the
Bible, that priceless
but of
as a
all
mine not only of
May
sound philosophy.
true religion,
all
example serve
his sad
warning to others.
Newton
Pythagoras, Copernicus, and Sir Isaac
sidered the
many
Sun
to
be
years other Astronomers followed
"
A change came
and they now say that
the
world,
" Hercules,"
but
it
does move,
towards
system,
and
it
the
round
constellation
to be journeying
In proof of this most
had
alters the base
been honest,
they
on the discovery, have been
should,
dream,"
which wholly
which,
but
not, indeed,
a jwint in
though some imagine
serious change of opinion,
their
suit,
o'er the spirit of the
towards Alcyone in the Pleiades.
of
con-
stationary, and, in that idea, for
once publicly
at
acknowledged, I beg to give the following extract from
pp. 280, 281 of " Sun,
Giberne,
a
very
* Seeley
&
Moon, and
enthusiastic
Stars "*
by Miss Agnes
on
Astronomical
writer
Co., Limited, 38 Great Russell Street,
London.
TERRA FIRMA.
i6
with
subjects,
a
&c.,
F.R.S.,
by
Preface
laudatory
M.A.,
Pritchard,
chap,
sec. 2.
Rev.
C.
Professor
of
the
Savilian
i.,
Astronomy, in the University of Oxford.
"
is
The
rate of its (the Sun's) speed is not very certain, but
generally believed to be one hundred and
"When
the Sun's movements,
speak of
I
much
Possibly he moves in reality
miles each year.
it
of
little
boats.
From one
of the little boats
judge of the steamer's motion quite as well as
the steamer
him
;
you could
you were on
drift of stars to
the right or left
and the watching can be as well accomplished from
earth as from the
" After
Among
if
wake a
Astronomers can only judge of the Sun's
itself.
motion by watching the seeming
.
of course
as a great steamer in the sea might drag in her
number
of
faster.
must
move with him,
be understood that the earth and planets all
much
it
millions of
fifty
all,
this
Sun
himself.
mode
of judging is
the millions of stars visible
and must be very uncertain.
we only know
tance of ten or twelve, and every star has
which has
to be separated
its
own
the real dis.
real
motion
from the apparent change of position
caused by the Sun's advance.
" It seems
now
pretty clear that the Sun's course
is
towards a certain point in the Constellation Hercules.
directed
If
the
Sun's path were straight he might be expected by and by, after
long ages, to enter that constellation.
orbits of planets, are ellipses,
he
But,
if
will curve
orbits of suns, like
away sideways long
before he reaches Hercules."
Miss Giberne also remarks that a German Astronomer
believes that the
Sun and the
stars in
The Milky Way
are travelling to Alcyone, the chief star in the Pleiades,
but wisely adds " Much stronger proof will be required
before the idea can be accepted."
Now
let
me
—How
seriously ask
can any thoughtful
DIFFERENCES AMONG ASTRONOMERS.
man
such
17
give the slightest credence to a system which holds
and contradictory hypotheses
absurd
Astronomers
tell
place in those
What
us to believe?
who
as
Modem
confidence can
we
deliberately reject, not only the direct
evidence of their senses, as shown by their talk about
"
apparent motions," the reality of which they refuse to
admit, but also the plain testimony of the
and
"
have
turned
Scriptures,
unto vain jangling,
aside
desiring
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what
they say, nor whereof they affirm "
i
Tim.
i.
6, 7.
One
might almost as soon credit the godless aberrations of
the Evolutionist,
who
derives
man from a monad,
after-
wards passing through various gradations, not one of
which has ever yet been discovered, and which are said
occupy millions of years,
to
form of a
he obtains the hairy
till
and
chimpanzee,
then,
after
still
further
developments, comes to the state of a real man,
fitted^
become the honoured
Oh how true is the
President of the Royal Society.
'"
divine Word " The world by wisdom knows not God
as the survival of the
to
fittest,
—
—
I
Cor.
21.
i.
—
craftiness''
^and
.
"
He
again
the wise that they are
taketh
—
^"
vab
He
"
—
the
wise
in
their
owm
knoweth the thoughts' of
/ Cor, in. ig, 20.
SECTION
3.
TESTIMONY OF SOME ABLE MEN AGAINST THE
COPERNICAN THEORY.
It is not surprising that able
men, who have studied
he subject of Modern Astronomy, have rejected with
ontempt the theory of the Earth being a revolving
'
TERRA FIRMA.
i8
me
Planet.
Let
names.
Tycho Brahe, the
who
mer,
chap,
i.,
sec.
3.
a few instances from well-known
cite
distinguished Danish Astrono-
soon
flourished
after
Copernicus,
writes
as
follows
"
The heavy mass
of earth, so
little fit
respect, could not be displaced in the
moved
.a
ways
in three different
for
motion
in every
manner they propose, and
like the Celestial bodies, without
shock to the known principle of physics, even
if
they could set
;aside the express testimony of Scripture."
The
his age,
great
of Astronomy,
his "
Lord Bacon, the profoundest thinker
of
was completely opposed to the Copernican system
Novum
may be
as
seen in several passages of
Organum,'' from one of which
quote the
I
following
" In like manner,
the motion inquired into be that other
let
Motion of Rotation, so celebrated among Astronomers,
and opposed
to the diiirnal motion, viz.,
which the old Astronomers attributed
to the starry heavens, but
Earth ; and
let it
and
Copernicus and his followers to the
be not rather a theory fabricated and
it
for the convenience
and abbreviation of calculation,
to favour that beautiful project of explaining the heavenly
bodies by perfect circles.
may reason
like plain
.
men,
.
.
for
of Astronomers and the schools,
do violence
to
to the senses,
and
And most
certain
;
and we once caused
composed
it
it
is,
a while (dismissing the
whose fashion
to prefer
it is
what
that this motion does appear to the senses as
it
east,
and also
to the planets,
be asked whether any such motion be found in
Nature, or whether
assumed
resisting
from west to
to be represented
is
we
unreasonably
most obscure),
we have
by a
if
fictions
described
sort of
machine
of iron wire."*
* " Essays, Civil
and Moral, Advancement of Learning, Novum Organun," &c.,
Ward, Loclc, Bowden & Co., London.
p. 3Sii edition 189s,
TESTIMONIES AGAINST COPERNICANISM.
19
In his " Confession of Faith," Lord Bacon also says
" I believe that
God
created the heavens and the earth, and
gave unto them constant and perpetual laws, which we
'
Laws
of Nature,' but
call
which mean nothing but God's laws
of
Creation.''
The Rev. John Wesley,
in various parts of his Journal,
expresses his disbelief in the Copemican or Newtonian
theory of the Universe.
For brevity
I
quote only one
passage
"
The more
Astronomy
;
I
I
consider them the more I doubt
all
systems of
doubt whether we can with certainty know either
the distances or the magnitude of any star in the firmament,
why do Astronomers
else
distance of the
(three
immensely differ with regard to the
and others ninety millions
I shall just
"
so
Sun from the Earth? some
It
may be
affirming
to
be only
add the vigorous testimony of Gothe
man be found,
who
could suffer
Newton,
boldly asked where can the
possessing the extraordinary
gifts of
himself to be deluded by such a hocus-pocus,
first
it
of miles'."*
instance wilfully deceived himself?
if
he had not in the
Only those who know
the strength of self-deception, and the extent to which
it
some-
times trenches on dishonesty, are in a condition to explain the
.conduct of
Newton and of Newton's school. To support his
Newton heaps fiction upon fiction, seeking to
-unnatural theory
dazzle where he cannot convince." t
In a Scientific Lecture, delivered in 1878, at Berlin
by Dr. Schcepper, proving that the Earth neither rotates
nor revolves, he quoted the following still stronger protest of
Gothe against the delusions of Modern Astronomy.
Works of Rev. John Wesley, vol ii., p. 39s! Mason, London,
part Hi., p. 353.
t " Proceedings of the Royal Institution," vol. iz.,
*
TERRA FIRMA.
20
" In whatever way or manner
I
must
still
chap,
i.,
sec.
3.
may have occurred this business,
say that I curse this modern theory of Cosmogony,
and hope that perchance there may appear, in due time, some
young
scientist of genius,
who
up courage enough
will pick
to
upset this universally disseminated delirium of lunatics."
I could easily cite other
show
good authorities to
similar
but I think enough have been already given, to
effect,
that the absurdities of
Modem
Astronomy have not
been palmed upon the world without a strong protest
from thoughtful minds, and
may prove
following pages
not
only
exposing
in
sincerely
I
useful to
the
trust
some honest
fallacies
of
this
that
the
thinkers,
chimerical
science, but in showing the true position of the world,
by
as proved
Word
in
facts
nature,
That Word
God.
of
and as unfolded
is
the
in
the only true exponent
which we possess for opening up to us the Wisdom and
the
Power
of
God, as displayed
as well as in the
still
in the
works of nature,
higher revelation of His divine
purposes of grace, in bringing at
last
the whole creation
into complete harmony with Himself.
It gives
me
1893, No. of "
real pleasure to subjoin,
The
from January,
,Earth (not a Globe) Review," the
following extract, written by the late Dr.
Woodhouse,
formerly Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge
"When we
consider what the advocates of the Earth's
stationary and central position can account for, and explain thfr
celestial
phenomena
as accurately to their
own
thinking as
we
can ours, in addition to which they have the evidence of their
SENSES and Scripture and facts in their favour, which
not;
it is
superiority of their system.
appear
in.
we have
not without a show of reason that they maintain the
our
own
.
.
However
perfect our theory may-
estimation, and however simply
and
satis-
QUOTATIONS SHOWING ATHEISTICAL RESULTS.
factorily the
Newtonian hypotheses may seem
ioi all the celestial
to us to account
phenomena, yet we are here compelled
admit the astounding truth,
21
to
our premises be disputed and
if
our facts challenged, the whole range of Astronomy does not
contain one proof of
its
own
accuracy."
SECTION
4.
QUOTATIONS SHOWING SOME OF THE ATHEISTICAL
RESULTS OF MODERN ASTRONOMY.
How
sinful
and
unerring
Word
of
foolish
God
hypotheses of men!
chapter
without
a
for any
is it
for the
unproved and unprovable
do not think
I
few
one to reject the
words
of
I
should close this
serious
but
loving
warning to professing Christians, in the hope that they
at
least
may be
kept'
from
the
snares
of
Modem
Astronomy, Evolutionism, Spiritualism, Ritualism, Demagogism,
and
other
from the cancerous
of
evils
infidelity
the
which
day,
is
arising
chiefly
eating out the very
heart of true religion, preparatory to the revelation of
"the
Man
of Sin, the
Son of Perdition, who. opposeth
and exalteth himself above
is
all
this called God,., or that,
worshipped, so that he, as God, sitting in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is
God "
2 Thess.
ii.
3,4.
There are many ministers of the Gospel,, some, of,
whom I personally know, who teach. things contrary to
Bible truth, but I refrain from giving names, trusting
that they
is
being
may
yet repent.
leavened
with
Indeed the mass of society
the
virus
of
dishonesty
and
TERRA FIRMA.
22
infidelity,
sec. 4.
old landmarks are being rapidly removed;
the very Deluge
is
only a veneer.
is
i.,
not only in this country, but throughout the
The
world.
chap,
Our
repudiated by many.
civilization
have been informed that there are
I
conventicles for the express worship of Satan both in
London and
Demonology and Witchcraft,
Paris.
Men
course under other names, are rampant.
of
think them-
duped on every hand. What
may be applied to this corrupt and
age " The whole head is sick and the
is faint.
From the sole of the foot even
selves very clever, but are
Isaiah said of Israel
vainglorious
whole heart
unto the head, there
is
no soundness
and bruises and putrifying sores
show that
I
am
''
in
it,
Isa.
but wounds
i.
To
6.
5,
using no exaggerated language,
I
beg
to
quote a few specimens out of the many which might be
given.
"
The common notion had been
heaven a
—
^the
little
way above
wicked dead,
if
not
all
the dead
These were ancient ideas, and the
Bible
is
that the Earth
was
flat,
and
the clouds, and the place of the dead
one proof that the Bible
is
—somewhere underneath.
fact that
we
find
them
in the
an ancient book."
A
"Severend" of Cardiff.
" If Moses can be shown to be caught redhanded, in ignorance
and error; what
referred to
him
shall
as
we
think of the Christ
who quoted and
an authority?"
Present
" If
it
shall turn out that
Day
Atheist.
Joshua was superior to La Place,
Moses knew more about geology than Humboldt, that Job
as a scientist was superior to Kepler, that Isaiah knew more than
that
Copernicus, then
I will
admit that
infidelity
must become speech-
less for ever."
IngersolPs Tilt with Talmage.
QUOTATIONS SHOWING ATHEISTICAL RESULTS.
"We
date from the First of January, 1601.
Man
the Era of
M.) to distinguish
(E.
epoch that preceded
to be
This era
its
;
below was the kingdom of the dead,
Then came
the Bible.
called
attendant light, revolving about
Above was Heaven, where God ruled supreme over
and powers
is
from the theological
In that epoch the Earth was supposed
it.
the Sun was
flat,
it
23
the new Astronomy.
it.
all
potentates
hell.
So taught
demonstrated
It
that the Earth is a globe revolving about the Sun, that there is
no
'
up and down
in
'
vanished the old Hell
And when
Church, as
the
;
Vanished
space.
Heaven,
old
the
home
the Earth became the
of
man.
modern Cosmogony came, the Bible and the
infallible oracles,
had
to go, for they
had taught that
regarding the universe which was shown to be untrue in every
particular."
Lucifer, Dec. z^rd, E.
"We
on the eve
are trembling
revolutionize the
whole thought
universal opinion of scientific
M.
z8f ( i88f).
of a discovery,
of the
men
is
that the Planet
inhabited by beings like or superior to ourselves.
have discovered canals cut in
which can only be the work
some
snowfields,
and
it
its
whether sentient beings
this
is
pieces.
wife's
is
face in geometrical form,
only requires a telescope, a
exist in that planet.
They have
little
stronger
mystery as to
to reveal the
If it
be found that
the case, the whole Christian religion will crumble to
The
tale.
story of the Creation has already
Hell
is
become an old
never mentioned in any well-informed
society of clergymen, the Devil has
is
Mars
Already they
of reasoning creatures.
than those already in existence,
which may
The almost
world.
become a myth.
inhabited the irresistible deduction will be that
planets are inhabited.
all
If
Mars
the other
This will put an end to the fable
-prompted by the vanity of humanity, that the Son of God came
on earth and suffered
of
monkeys.
It is
for creatures
who
are the lineal descendants
not to be supposed that the
Hebrew carpenter
TERRA FIRMA.
24
chap.
I.,
went about as a kind of theosophical missionaiy to
sec. 4.
all
the
planets of the Solar system re-incarnate, and suffered for sins of
various pigmies or giants as the case
may be who may
The Astronomers would do well
there.
to us the magnificent secret
to
make
dwell
haste to reveal
which the world impatiently awaits."
Reynolds' Newspaper, 14th August, i8gs.
" There are always enough faddists in this world to afford an
Have we not the
unfailing source of amusement.
and the
The
Zetetic Society?
covered that the earth
It
it.
Theosophists,
body claim
to have dis-
a motionless and circular plane, over
is
which the sun and moon and
above
latter
moderate distances
stars revolve at
would be unnecessary
to take notice of this pre-
posterous theory except to lament that any person of intelligence
upon so gross an absurdity.
should waste his time
capability of the
stration
may be
from the Bible.
members
when
guessed,
Now
of .this Society for scientific
The
demon,
say that they take their science
I
the Old Testament
elementary scientific inaccuracies.
is
Modern
most
full of the
science has proved
over and over again that the writers of the Old Testament knew
nothing about the physical condition of the earth, and certainly
nothing of heaven, which indeed
is
not mentioned."
Reynolds' Newsfafer, i^th
" To speak in plain terms, as far as Science
IDEA OF A PRESENT
late
IS
is
1896.
concerned,
INCONCEIVABLE, as are also
all
the
the
which religion recognizes in such a being."
attributes
The
GoD
May,
Mr. R. A.
Proctor, in "
Our Place
in the Infinities," f. 3.
"While, however, the idea of Government by a God
is
not
excluded by general consent from the dominion of science, the
notion of Government by
Law
has taken
popular thought, but in the minds of
to lead
it,
and
it is
its
place, not only in
many who claim
the validity of this which
I
the right
have now to
call
QUOTATIONS SHOWING ATHEISTICAL RESULTS.
in question.
.
.
.
23
Philosophy finding no God in Nature, nor
SEEING THE NEED OF ANY.
"The advanced Philosophy
iarther, asserting that
Professor
Even
W.
there
is
of the piesent times goes
B. Carpenter, in "Modern Review^' for October, 1880.
Churches onoe reputed
in
false science
for their orthodoxy,
has had a most withering
Thus the
effect.
Moderator of The Free Church of Scotland
last
still
no room for God in Nature."
lately
said
"The
remains that a
fact
in regard to religious truth
restless,
is
uneasy, uncertain feeling
abroad.
.
.
The whole
trouble
has arisen from the mistaken assumption that the opening
chapter of Genesis was meant to be an authoritative account of
the method and order of creative work;
it
is
not prose, but
poetry, the great Creation Hymn.''
A
Professor
the
in
" Studies of Theology
"
Even the myth
represented.
—
it
is,
.
.
in
same Church remarks
which the beginnings
The plain
truth
we do not know the beginnings
we do not know them
the dark,
till
his
of
human
life
are
— and we have no reason to hide
history, of his sin;
cal evidence, and
in
"—
we should be content
science throws what light
it
of man's
to let
of his
life,
historically
on
histori-
them remain in
can upon them."
Quotations such as the above require
no'
comment,
as they speak for themselves, and show to what a debased
state
of
brought,
infidelity
teaching of
God,
Modem
in
have
persons
ii.
broken
12.
Astronomy.
cisterns,
been
already
a great measure to the
They have
" the fountain of living waters,
cisterns,
Jer.
many
attributable
that
false
forsaken
and have hewn out
can hold no water"
Gutta cavat lapidem non vi $ed spepe cadendo.
TERRA FIRMA.
26
How
true
is
this saying
which
I
chap,
i.,
sec. 4,
learned sixty-seven years
—a drop hollows a stone
ago at the Edinboirgh Academy
not by force but by often
to
Modem
falling.
Astronomy.
So
is it
with regard
Children are taught in their
geography books, when too young to apprehend aright
the meaning of such things, that the world
continuously, year by year,
till
a great
is
globe revolving around the Sun, and the story
is
repeated
they reach maturity, at
which time they generally become so absorbed
in other
matters as to be indifferent as to whether the teaching
be true or not, and, as they hear of nobody contradicting
it,
they presume that
it
must be the correct
not to believe at least to receive
it
a
as
thus tacitly give their assent to a theory which,
first
been presented to them
at
thing,
fact.
what are called
had
if it
" years of
they would at once have rejected.
discretion,"
if
They
This
astronomic method of instilling error into young minds,
recalls
my remembrance
to
Pope's apt lines resj>ecting
vice
"Vice
As
is
to
a monster of such hideous mien,
be hated needs but to be seen
But, grown at length familiar with
We
first
its face.
—then pity—then embrace."
abhor
The consequences
of evil-teaching, whether in religion
or in science, are far
more
disastrous than
is
generally
supposed, especially in a luxurious laisser faire age like
our
own.
conscience
shown
in
The
intellect
seared,
as
the results
becomes weakened and the
has,
alas
!
only
too
sadly
been
developed by Modern Astronomy
and Sacerdotal Ritualism.
These delusions are paving
the way for the full-blown infidelity of the last days,
when
the great nations of the Earth will be gathered against
QUOTATIONS SHOWING ATHEISTICAL RESULTS.
Jehovah and His Anodnted
Psa.
it.
—and
2
will
27
be
swept away, "like chaff of the summer threshing-floor"
—Dan.
and
it.
Clearly the Rev.
3$.
esteemed
minister
indignant at the
wroite his " Vindication of the
He
150 years ago.
"Are
saw
when,
this,
Copemican Astronomy, he
of
falsities
John Dove, a learned
Glasgow,
at
Divine Cosmogony,'' about
remarked as follows
faithfully
there any abettors of this heathen philosophy (the
Copemican)
among us?
still
Yes, ten thousand
among our Church
the unlearned, but
scholars and teachers
;
not only
among
dignitaries, our classical
All on account of their ignorance and
!
unbelief.
" What will be the end of these things
but
!
I
am
no conjurer,
easy to determine what will be from what has already
it is
taken place.
It
has been the fate of
all
kingdoms, nations, and
people from the beginning of time, upon their rejecting or perverting the revelation of God, to fall into anarchy, confusion,
and
infidelity.
The
Bible
The
of our liberty.
is,
as
it
deserves to be, the great charter
loss of the Scriptures, or severing
from or
perverting the doctrines or history contained in them, has invari-
ably been attended with discomfiture and ruin, and always will
And
if
their successors continue their resistance, as they
done hitherto,
destroying
cannot
and turning
Modem
it
into a field of blood."
object in writing this book
in these dangerous times,
have
deluge the kingdom with Atheism,
fail to
all social virtue,
my
It is
it
tO'
warn people
and to expose the absurdities
made
apparent,
" surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of
any bird "
of
—Pro.
many
i.
of
Astronomy,
17.
my
entangled in
I
am
for,
afraid
if
these are
it is
more than probable that
Readers may have already been more or
its
less
meshes, but I earnestly hope that now,
TERRA FIRMA.
28
chap,
i.,
sec. 4.
by thinldng for themselves, they may make a resolute
effort to
"
Our
be
soul
fowler;
free, so that
is
the
Fsa. cxxiv.
7.
they
may be
enabled to say
—
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the
snare
is
broken and we are escaped"
29
CHAPTER
II.
THE ADAMIC CREATION.
*
SECTION
1.
PAGE
The days of Creation not long
periods of
...-...-
time, but six natural days of 24 hours
EACH
2.
3.
Not TWO races of Adamites
4.
No
5.
Primeval Fauna and the Ages
6.
Chipped Flints
7.
The supposed Glacial Period
....
43
A
discrepancy exists regarding the Adamic
Creation in the accounts given in
Genesis I. and II.
STRONG
Geologists,
the
effort
-
-
-
50
-
-
-
-
57
-------55
has been
Adamic Creation
Adamite Man,"*
propounding
47
-
made by some Astronomers,
and others to transform the
periods of time.
in
37
-
Refutation of the theory of two different
Authors of Genesis, from the distinguishing words Elohim and JehovahElohim
...
of
31
-
-
The
into
late Mrs.
has, perhaps,
this
six
theory,
six natural
days
long and indefinite
Duncan,
in her " Pre-
been the most successful
and
although
she
apparently written in a reverent manner, she has, to
has
my
mind, permitted imagination to usurp the place of truth.
Being an Astronomer of the
*
James Nisbst
& Co.,
Modem
School, she believed
Ltd., 2Z Berners Street,
London.
TERRA FIRMA.
30
in a Planetary Earth,
chap. u.
and has thereby got into
inextricable
confusion, by supposing the Earth to have turned on
from the beginning, and to have revolved around
the Sun before, according to God's Word, there was
any Sun to revolve around, as that luminary was not
an
axis
formed
until the
Fourth day of creation.
The word " Adam " is usually said to be derived from
the Hebrew word dam, red, because Adam was made
from the dust of the ground, but Mrs. Duncan with, in
my opinion, much more propriety, takes it from the
root dem, likeness, because God said " Let us make man
in our image, ke-demut-nu, after
A
similar expression respecting
who
monkey, and who are
errant
the
if
day or period,
Gen.
i.
26.
at least five other
on purpose to confute those
pedigree through
guilty of very great sin in thus
Word
Duncan imagined her
Mrs.
''
having been formed
trace man's
Evolutionists
daring to travesty the infallible
sixth
man
found in
in this glorious likeness is
passages of Scripture,* as
our likeness
to
God.
of
Prei-Adamites,
of
the
be a genus of Men-Angels
(superior in every respect to us Adamites),
who
lived in
great peace and felicity on the Earth until nearly the
close
of the
seventh or Sabbatic age, when, in con-
sequence of some
terrific
they were brought
rebellion,
Then
to irretrievable ruin.
followed the catastrophe of
made
the supposed Glacial Period, which
completely desolated wilderness of
the
eighth
day or period,
Adamites was created.
leading, I think
the points
*
it
named
Gen.
V. I
;
our
As such
ice,
own
the Earth a
after which,
in
race
of
inferior
ideas
are most mis-
well to offer a few observations
in the heading of this Chapter.
ix.
6
;
i
Cor.
zi.
7
;
Col.
ill.
zo
;
Jam.
lil.
on
DAYS OF CREATION EACH OF
24
HOURS ONLY.
31
In order to make the meaning of certain words clearer
to the general reader,
them from the
know
scholarship, but I
and of Greek,
make no
I
pretensions
quite enough both of
me
to enable
of which I have a
be necessary to explain
will
it
original.
to
Hebrew
to consult the best Lexicons,
my Readers may
good supply, so that
be assured that I shall give the true sense of the words
I prefer reading
referred to in these languages.
Hebrew
without points, as these form no part of the original of
that concise but most expressive tongue.
Hebrew
letters are
read from right to
In the original,
left,
English reader they are printed here from
so as to be in keeping with the
mode
SECTION
but for the
left to right,
of reading English.
1.
THE DAYS OF CREATION NOT LONG PERIODS
OF TIME, BUT SIX NATURAL DAYS OF 24 HOURS EACH.
The
last
clause
the
of
Hebrew
cannot be better translated than
it
text
is
in
Gen.
i.
5,
our Revised
Version
vg-yehe
"and
ve-jehe
oreb
there was
evening
beger
yum
ehhed
and there was morning day one";
the day being thus bounded by an evening and a morningj
including, of course, the intervening hours between these
times,
proves that
it
could only have been a natural
day of twenty-four hours duration;
and
this
limit
is
repeated in every one of the six days of the Adamic
Creation.
Besides,
we
know
that
the
Seventh
or
TERRA FIRMA.
32
chap,
Sabbath Day, in which
God
rested
consisted
hours
only,
of twenty-four
ii.,
sec.
i.
from His warks,
as
shown by the
following passage, proclaimed on the giving of the
Law
at Sinai
"
Remember
the Sabbath
shalt thou labour
is
a.
and do
all
Day
to keep
it
Six days
holy.
thy work, but the Seventh
Sabbath unto Jehovah thy God.
In
it
Day
thou shalt not do
any work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
Jehovah made
that is within thy gates, for in six days
heavens and the earth, the sea and
all that
within them
the
is,
and rested the Seventh Day; wherefore Jehovah blessed the
Seventh Day and hallowed
Now we know
rather of Israel,
Israel,
that
—
"—rSxod. xx. 8
the
//.
Sabbath of the Jews, or
the Jews form only a portion of
as
commenced
it
at
sunset of Friday and
ended
at
sunset of Saturday, a period of twenty-four hours, and
that
as
Sabbath,
as
shown,
has been
is,
as
regards
Adamic Creation,
it follows, things that are equal to the same thing being
equal to one another, that the Sabbath of the Adamic
duration, identified with that of the
Creation
consisted
hours
of twenty-four
each of the six days of Creation
also,
and,
as
evidently of the same
is
length as that of the Sabbath, each being bounded by
an evening and a morning, we are
Scripturally, as well
as logically led to the conclusion, that each of the six
days of the Adamic Creation consisted of twenty-four
hours only.
Another important
that
God
fact
it
is
useful
to
notice also,
created the substance of the Heavens and the
substance of the Earth before the
,
commencement
of
DAYS OF CREATION EACH OF
the
Adamic
The word
Creation.
33-
hera, to create, refers
had no previous
to a creation which
HOURS ONLY.
24
existence, asah
being
generally used to express a re-formation, and proves the
utter
the word, eternal.
Of'
echei zoen en heauto
—John
26,
V.
—
"
life are,
God
The
only
in the strict sense of
can:
it
be said
Father hath
self -existence,
i.e.,
Our immortality
tality.
Bera shows that
the Evolution myth.
of
falsity
neither matter nor created
is
life
ho Pater
in Himself
"
inherent immor-
only derived;
it
a gift,
is
bestowed upon believers through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who
says
—
John xiv.
Verse
Because
"
Bera
ig.
To
i,
is
I
ye
live
also "
live
shall
only used thrice in Genesis
i.
declare the creation of the Heavens and
the Earth.
To express the introduction of life.
To denote the creation of the first
Verse 21,
Verse 27,
Adam
In Genesis
i.
i
we
read,
Be-yashit
bera
" In the beginning
created
When
the
Alehim
God
he-shemihr
at
the substance of
ve-at
he-arets
and the substance of
the earth."
because
This
it
verse of Genesis stands by
itself alone,
and
a creation long anterior to that which followed.
The word
order, so
of knowing,
has not been revealed.
first
refers to
the heavens
beginning of Creation actually commenced
no human being knows, nor has any means
of
man,,
thus proving that there was no' Pre-Adamite man..
;
bera implies creation in the completeness of
we may
some great
justly conclude that,
in consequence
catastrophe, of the cause of which
we
are
not informed, but which might possibly be the introduc3
TERRA FIRMA.
34
chap,
was broken
tion of sin through Lucifer, this first creation
we read
up, for, in the second verse,
hiUh
ve-he-ai-eis
and
without form
jBy giving the true force to the
•of
vehhu
tehu
became
and the earth
word
we
tehu
and
so,
without
Word
of God,
this is corroborated
the Divine Record, where
passage in
"For thus
Jehovah
saith
created
This
is
Gen.
i.
less
it
not without form " (tehu)
the very word that
The
2.
it is
by another
written
that created the heavens.
God, that formed the earth and made
He
see that the
ve-behu,
jform and void, but that, according to the
had become
void.
became instead
hitch,
was, as rendered by our Translators,
•world was not originally created
at
u., sec. i.
is
it;
He
—Isa. xlv.
used for that expression in
it
doubt-
appeared at the time of the Adamic Creation,
referred to
owanoi
e^an
the heavens
were
hoit
hudatos
kai
of water,
and
di'
kai
ge
ex
of old
and
the earth
out
hudatos
to
tau
Them
by
the
Word
of
ekfialai
sunesiosa
by means of water
This condition of things
the
strata
compacted together
logo.
of
God."—2
will,
I
Pet.
iii. 5.
think, account for the
which have so long puzzled
and it goes to prove that the
not a Planet but a " Terra Firma," " founded
Geologists and others,
Earth
is
is
by the Apostle Peter as follows
" That
formation
is
it,
i8.
wrecked world, as
state of the
He
established
upon the
seas
Fsa. xxiv. 2.
and
established
upon
the
floods "
DAYS OF CREATION EACH OF
The
God
Psalmist, speaking of
34
HOURS ONLY.
in
His creative works,
35
beautifully sings
" Who laid the foundations of the earth.
That
should not be moved for ever,
it
Thou
coveredst
it
with the deep as with a vesture
The waters stood above
At Thy rebuke they
At the
voice of
the mountains.
fled.
Thy thunder
they parted away
They went up by the mountains.
They went down by the
valleys.
Unto the place which Thou hast founded
for them."
Psa.
I
5
-civ.
8.
Modem
would mention here a custom, which our
Astronomers have, of calling the dry land and the waters
of the seas collectively under the
one term
'Earth,
when
they refer to their supposed revolution round the Sun.
It looks
very
as
like,
if
they attempted by this
artifice,
to hide the monstrosity of the idea that the waters which,
at the very least,
occupy thrice the extent of the land,
round the Sun, without
are carried millions of miles
being emptied into the
tended
law
distinctly
notwithstanding their pre-
The
Gravitation.
of
mark
air,
Scriptures
the difference between these
—
of Creation, thus
"
God
most
two divisions
said Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one place, and
the dry land appear;
and
it
And God
was sa
let
called
the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the
waters called
He
Seas "
The word "day"
meanings, and
where
it
its
occurs,
Gen.
in
i.
g, 10.
Scripture
has
a variety
of
particular interpretation, in each passage
must be gathered from the
Thus, to give a few
illustrations^
—"For,
in the
context.
day that
TERRA FIRMA.
36
chap,
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"
sec.
ii.,
Gen.
ii.
i.
17,
which threat received its fulfilment on the very day in
which Adam sinned, for he then began to die, this
expression being in exact accordance with the Hebrew,
moot tamut, " dying thou shalt die."
" One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day " 2 Pet. Hi. 8.
This, I think, foreshadows the continuance of this
world in
years
present state for six thousand years from
its
creation,
after
which
be ushered
Sabbath
Millennial
the
of
will
its
the thousand
in
referred
to
in
—
Rev. XX. 2
5.
Sometimes the number of a
number
"
day
"
represents the
of a " year," thus
"After the number of the days in which ye searched the
land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your
iniquities,
even forty years, and ye shall know
promise "
Num.
"As Jonas was
This
being
that
in the heart of the earth "
passage
refers,
expressive
continued
in
the
of
Sheol
Lord
our
breach of
three days and three nights in the belly of
the great sea-monster, so shall the Son of
and three nights
my
xiv. 34.
after
was
of
His
crucified
be three days
Matt.
course,
actual
Man
to
xii. 40.
that
the
Christ
The
crucifixion.
on
days,
literal
time
Friday,
idea,
and
thus only remained a part of three days and three nights
in Sheol,
my
opinion, opposed both to Scripture
criticism.
See the undermentioned pamphlets
is,
and sound
in
on that subject.*
* "
Good Thursday, not Good Friday," by Rev. James Gall Gall &
;
90 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh,
"The Good
New Zealand
;
Inglis,
and 25 Paternoster Square, London.
Friday Problem," by D. Nield, 7 Angus Avenue, Wellington,
Brown & Co., Woodend, East Flnchley, London.
NOT TWO RACES OF ADAMITES.
The Reader
if
37
he pleases can find scores of
tions relative to the specific
meaning
of the
illustra-
"
term
day
"
by reference to Cruden's Concordance under that word.
As a good
illustration as to the
beg to
of Creation, I
refer
my
work
of the six days
"
Readers to
and Answers in the Bible and Nature," by
Lady
They
Blount.
Questions
my
another work by her Ladyship, called " Adrian
—
friend
be found in an Appendix to
will
Galileo,''
—
and 59 68, there are aJsoi some
excellent observations on the Earth being a Plane and
in which, pp. 50
52,
not a Planet.*
There need,
be no doubt resj)ecting the
Days of the Adamic Creation,
therefore,
exact length of the Six
for
no
God
less
than
six
times in the First Chapter of Genesis
—
has called them
each to the Natural
further.
He
—^morning," which
limits
hours;
and,
Evening
Day
of twenty-four
corroborates the fact, by reference to the
Seventh Day,
Exod. XX.
"
10,
"
the Sabbath of Jehovah thy
which we know consisted, and
still
God
"
consists
of twenty-four hours only.
SECTION
2.
NOT TWO RACES OF ADAMITES.
The
Bible never hints at two races of Adamites, but
speaks only of one, that from which
through
our progenitor Adam.
we
are descended,
There has never yet
* Since the above was written Lady Blount has become Kditress of a
small but good Monthly Magazine called " The Earth," to which I beg to
any reader who may be interested in the form of " the world we live
Lady Blount's address is 63 Merton Road, Wimbledon.
refer
in."
TERRA FIRMA.
38
chap,
sec.
ii.,
a.
been found the smallest vestige of a Pre-Adamite man,
or of anything which he tnight be supposed to have left
behind, in any fossil, rock, cave, or excavation in any
part of the whole world.
Like the Evolutionists'
undiscovered "missing link" to connect our
men
own
still
race of
with the monad, tadpole, or monkey, the remains of
have never yet been found, and the
man
Pre-Adamite
myth may be
solution of the
safely left to the time of the
Greek Calends.
Angels are an entirely different order of beings from
men, and, in the Old Testament, are called Bent Elohim,
"
Sons of God,"
we
vrhcy,
of the Earth were
The Poet may imagine
" Angels are
and,
are told,
when the foundations
shouted for joy "
laid, "
Job xxxviii.
7.
that
men
in lighter garments clad,"
under certain particular circumstances, they have
been mistaken for men, but,
in Scripture, the distinction
between them and ourselves has always been
essential,
when redeemed men are
raised from the dead, or changed at the Coming of our
Lord, that they are said to be made isangeloi, equal to
the angels in the respect that " they shall die no more "
and must so continue.
But
Luke XX. 36.
It is only
I
we
are, yet
without
as our
believe that,
Christ took our nature, and was in
all
Lord Jesus
points tempted as
we, through our special union
sin,
with Him, shall form a distinct order for ever.
government
—each
Regal, not Republican
is
rank, not one dead level.
sun,
"
There
own
one glory of the
and another glory of the moon, and another glory
of the stars, for one star differeth
glory
is
God's
in his
—so
1 Cor. XV.
also
4.1,
is
42.
the
from another
resurrection
of
the
star in
dead
"
NOT TWO RACES OF ADAMITES.
39
Angels take an intense interest in man's redemption,
as
we
by
find
their
the Old and in the
many
New
appearances, related both in
Testaments, especially in con-
They
nection with our Lord.
desire to look into the
things pertaining to the Gospel salvation
i
Vet.
12,
i.
doubtless believing that, as our blessed Lord " gave
Him-
a ransom (Jiuper panton) for all, the testimony to be
self
borne in
fitting
when
last arrive,
when
with
—
times "
their
/ Tim.
it.
6,
own formerly
the period will at
lapsed companions,
repentant, will be restored, and, in holy adoration,
all
Name
other created beings bow, not
God being All
20^28 ; Rev. v. 13.
I Cor. XV.
at,
in All
of Jesus,
but in
Vhil.
(en)
ii.
g,
the
10
But, putting altogether aside the idea of Pre-Adamite
not impossible that, before the commencement
Adamic Creation, he who is called " the Anointed
Cherub that covereth " Esek. xxviii. 14, may have held
MAN,
it is
of the
the sovereignty of the pristine world with millions of
angels under
pride,
him; but he
example.
He
was cast out of
his principality,
adhering legions with him, while those
fealty
to God were doubtless removed
habitation.
The world might
which would eventually form the
do not sfwak
we have no
at all positively
direct revelation
who
to
his evil
and his
kept their
some other
then have been destroyed
by the complete dissolution of
I
God through
rebelled against
and induced a vast multitude to follow
its
component
strata in the Great
parts,
Deep.
on these matters, because
on the subject, but there
are certain hints, given here and there in the Scriptures,
from which, perhaps, we might be led to
Satan may have been Lord Paramount of
its
original creation.
infer
this
that
world in
This might account for the cease-
TERRA FIRMA.
4°
chap,
sec. 2.
ii.,
enmity which be has shown against the inhabitants
less
new world from the days of Adam until now,
especially against the Lord Jesus Christ, who,
of this
and more
in the intensity of His matchless love, gave Himself as
a Sacrifice for
the world "
Satan as "
30;
xiv.
"
—even
John
the
of this world "
John
"—2
of this world
Cor.
air,
iv.
the
and
4,
spirit
worketh in the children of disobedience
Eph.
''
only alas
!
ii.
2.
as
all
only
temporal,
for
our
gracious
through His own voluntary death upon the
" to bring
that
Devil>
and might deliver
through fear of death were
bondage
"
cross,
But
Lord,
came
nought him that had the power of death
tO'
the
is,
his
our woe,"
so that, in this sense, he had the power of death.
is
The
now
too successfully
" Brought death into this world and
death
;
man
Lordship of this world, and, by
his successor in the
that
"
that
Doubtless he would have a special antipathy to
lies,
ji
xii.
II, and the Apostle Paul termed him^
xvi.
Prince of the power of the
glozing
of
life
Thrice our Lord speaks of
51.
vi.
The Prince
The God
" for
redemption
ouar
Heb.
ii.
14,
all
all
them,
who
their lifetime subject to
Blessed, indeed, are they
15.
who
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and
that
Name
"
believing
they
"
may have
through His
life
John xx. ji.
Mrs. Duncan's supposition that there were two Adamic
creations will stand the test neither of Scripture nor of
honest criticism.
She says
" In (Genesis, A.V.), Chapter
the
fifth
day God
'
moving creature
verses 20, 21,
we read that on
said, Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the
that hath
life,
I.,
and fowl that may
fly
above the
NOT TWO RACES OF ADAMITES.
earth in the open firmament of heaven.
And God
41
created great
whales and every living creature that moveth which the waters
brought forth abundantly after their kind, and winged fowl
and the evening and the morning were the
after his kind,
day.'
But, in Chapter
account,
'
And
beast of the
unto
Adam
verses 18, 19,
II.,
out of the ground the
field,
to see
and every fowl of
what he would
called every living creature that
The
of
translators
we have
fifth
the following
Lord God formed every
the air,
call
and brought them
them, and what
Adam
was the name thereof."*
our Authorised Version of the
Hebrew of Gen. i. 20,
when they said that the waters brought forth the fowl,
and Mrs. Duncan herself confesses that other translators
have rendered the Hebrew of that verse so as not
Bible gave a Mw-rendering of the
necessarily to imply
more than that the fowl were created
on the same day
as
been more
and not have sought to build a matter
careful,
the fishes,t but she should have
of such vast importance as two
Adamic Creations on
the
mere conjecture that the fowl were brought forth out of
And
the water instead of the ground.
worthy of blame for
of
Hebrew
in
this, as,
Edinburgh,
Scotland, " at the lug
o'
she was the more
being the wife of a Professor
she
was,
as
the law," that
it
said
is
in
in a position
is,
where she could obtain the best information on the
It
subject.
clear
Gen.
on
i.
so happens that the Hebrew text
the matter,
20 and Gen.
is
quite
and makes no discrepancy between
ii.
ig.
Thus, Gen.
i.
20 should be
translated as follows
yeshreisu
he-mim
slierets
nepesh
hheyeh
Let bring forth
the waters
the moving creature
the soul
living
* "
Pre-Adamlte Man," pp.
t Ditto, p.
2.
i,
2 (4th Edition),
TERRA FIRMA.
42
The
ve-oup
youpep
ol
he-arets
and fowl
let fly
above
the earth
late
ii.,
sbc. 2.
ol-ptm
on the face of
yeqio
he-shemim
the firmament of
the heavens.
Robert Young, in
Dr.
chap,
loco,
a similar
gives
rendering, and so does the Revised Version of the Bible
—
"
Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath
life,
and
let
fowl
fly
above the earth
in the firmament of heaven."
It is astonishing what light may be thrown on obscure,
and even app>arently discrepant passages of Scripture,
by consulting the original. That truly would be the
Higher Criticism, and well worthy of
respect,
instead of distorting the Bible with imaginary
would honestly seek to explain
by elucidating the
The Word
of God,
His works of Creation, can bear the
strictest
text
and context from the
like
all
scrutiny, and, the
will
it,
which,
difficulties,
more
the accuracy of
closely
its
meaning be observed.*
Version have
original.
it is
diction,
The
examined, the more
and the depth of
its
translators of the Revised
made some good emendations,
but, in their
desire not to offend the so-called Orthodoxy of the day,
they have not always gone to the root of the matter,
especially
in
their
to the future.
My
rendering of certain words relative
friend,
Mr. Joseph Bryant Rotherham,
The Emphasised New Testament," is now engaged in making a new translation of the Old Testament,
which I sincerely trust may, when published, be found to
Author of
be more
"
literal
and correct than any hitherto undertaken.
* I know of no book where this fact is so clearly and so fully illustrated,
as in the Rev. Dr. Bulllnger's magnificent work, " Figures of Speech, used In
the Bible" it is a veritable mine of Scriptural research and learning. It may
be obtained from Dr. BuUinger, 25 Connaught Street, London.
;
REFUTATION OF TWO AUTHORS OF GENESIS.
SECTION
43
8.
REFUTATION OF THE THEORY OF TWO DIFFERENT
AUTHORS OF GENESIS, FROM THE USE OF THE
DISTINGUISHING WORDS ELOHIM AND
JEHOVAH-ELOHIM.
Some
critics
authorship
used for
God
bring forward an argument for a dual
from
Genesis,
of
in the
term
Elohim being
Chapter, and the words Jehovah-
first
Elohim subsequently.
the
They
call
the one the Elohistic
and the other the Jehovistic account of Creation, and
do
this they
in hopes of setting aside the authority of
Moses, by thus trying to show that not he, but Uuo
other
unknown
The
historians
were the writers of Genesis.
Bible, in the original is
most precise
Tasa graphs Theofneustos,
of proper terms.
ture is God-inspired " or " God-breathed "
"
Thy word
is
true from the beginning
named words
and, instead of the above
signs of
TWO
"
diflferent historians,
in its use
" all Scrip-
2 Tim.
Hi. 16.
Psa. cxix. 160,
exhibiting any
Moses, by the inspiration
In
of God, is found to be the sole Author of Genesis.
the
first
Chapter
God
reveals Himself
by the plural noun
Elohim, expressive of His being the Almighty
God
of
Creation and Judgment, and, in the following as Jehovah-
Elohim,
the
self-existing
creature
Adam.
subject,
I
For a
beg to
refer
God,
full
my
in
covenant with
His
exposition of this interesting
Readers to the able work
TERRA FIRMA.
44
my
mentioned below, by
He
Denniston, M.A.*
chap,
J.
M.
we must remember
that
friend,
late
says, p.
sec. 3.
ii.,
the
Rev.
3
" F6r appreciating the two names
Elohim
is
an ordinary, wide-spread word for Deity; while
Jehovah
is
a special divinely-given word with a meaning which,
was
after a time,
fully
opened up, and a
nected with the Covenant as
we may
from the very
infer that
significance
and value of
own."
which
—
I
First
the
that I
name had a
—
am
Hence
certain
periphrase
^the
name "Alpha and Omega "-^the
means that God is in Covenant with
the great
is
and the Last,
His people, as
when
am
distinct history con-
made with Shem.
first
its
Yaveh, or Jehovah
of
first
will
be seen from the following passage,
was on the point of being delivered from
Israel
the bondage of Egypt
"
And God spake unto Moses and
Jehovah
and
:
unto Jacob as
not
known
him
said unto
—I
am
appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and
I
God Almighty, but by My name Jehovah I was
And I have also established My Covenant
to them.
with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their
sojourning, wherein they sojourned.
And moreover
I
have
whom the Egyptians
remembered My Covenant.
of Israel— I am Jehovah "
heard the groaning of the children of Israel
keep
in
bondage,
and
I
have
Wherefore say unto the children
Exod.
vi.
The
—
2
6.
critics
do not agree among themselves, so that
their testimony is not reliable,
confusion.
They
and only genders
strife
and
are not even consistent in their folly;
**'Elohlm and Jehovah, or the Employment of the divine names from
Genesis 1, to Exodus vi."; Morgan & Scott, 12 Paternoster Buildings, London.
REFUTATION OF TWO AUTHORS OF GENESIS.
for example, while they
45
make Elohim and Jehovah-Elohim
the ground for two different authorships in Genesis, they
pass over in silence other parts of Scripture, especially
where the
in Job,
words,
is
distinction, in the use of these
more marked.
still
Thus, in the
chapters of that wonderful book
and in the
again
last five it is
God, while in the
two
two
first
Jehovah only
is
used,
prominent word for
the:
thirty-five intermediate chapters,
one exception, the word Elohim
To
used.
is
with
the dis-
cerning Christiaii the reason for thus using these two
names
is
Job's
trust
plain
;
in the
first
unshaken, while, in the
he was troubled with
of
God
as
two and the
Covenant
Jehovah's
in
his grievous trial,
Almighty
these learned critics, while they
was
faithfulness
intervening chapters,
thirty-five
the Elohim,
last five chapters,
in
make
and thought only
power.
Further,
use of these words
Elohim, and JEHOVAH-Elohim as the ground for assigning
two different authors to Genesis,
saying that
no book
in
stultify
the Bible
themselves by
more
is
the
clearly
work of one author than Job, where these words are
more forcibly distinguished than in Genesis.
The
reason
why
these so-called Higher-Critics
such a fierce attack on Genesis appears
as
that is the beginning of the
that,
can
if
attempt
wavelets
vain
throw discredit
is
useless;
against
do they
the
on
in vain
all
its
the
make
be because,
they think
authority,
rest.
do they dash
But
try to erase the
Book
name
of
they
their
their frothy
impregnable Rock of Truth.
authorship of that First
facts
Scriptures,
they can raise doubts as to
thus
tO'
far
In
Moses from the
of the Pentateuch, for the
which he unfolded undeniably remain, and his
authority has been endorsed by our Lord Himself over
TERRA FIRMA.
46
and
over
again
2Q—ji
Luke xvi.
John
;
3—g
—
45
xix.
Mar.
;
u., sec. 3.
—p/
2
x.
Let these
47.
v.
among themselves
agree
first
Matt.
chap,
before
they
Critics
venture
to
shoot another arrow
"But no
clearer proof could be given of the truth of our
contention as to the disagreement
among
the
with
Critics
regard to the various theories and opinions than the fact that,
during the space of forty-seven years up to i8gi, the 'Critics'
had propounded no
different theories
!
less
than seven hundred and forty-seven
How many
propounded by the
more
theories
'Critics' since 1891
above given number
(747)
may have
we know
been
not, but the
were found and tabulated and pub-
lished by the late T. M. Marshall, D.D., LL.D., in the year
1891."*
A
more
I think,
suitable
name
for these
Higher
Critics would,
be Hyper-Critics, for their criticism
very far from being high, but
proper criticism,
just
as
evidently
is
goes " over " or " beyond
it
the
Hyper-Calvinist,
in
dogmatic assertions, out-Herods Calvin himself.
like
criticism,
hamartia,
me,
in
sceptics,
the
sin, is "
the
literal
of the foolish
his
Their
meaning of the Greek word
a missing of the mark."
assistance
"
They remind
which they so freely
young lady who,
oflfer
to
in her frantic
desire to help her lover in climbing the steep,
" Flung to
him down her long black
Exclaiming wildly
—
'
and we need not be surprised, therefore,
and
critics
ignominiously
fall
hair.
There, love, there ' "
if
both sceptics
below.
" The Higher Critics and their mistakes," by P.
Brothers, Keswick House, Paternoster Row, London.
&
R. H.
;
Marshall
NO DISCREPANCY REGARDING MAN'S CREATION.
SECTION
47
4.
NO DISCREPANCY EXISTS REGARDING THE ADAMIC
CREATION IN THE ACCOUNTS GIVEN IN
GENESIS I. AND II.
There
no
is
discrepancy,
real
Duncan
Mrs.
as
supposes,* in the account of the creation
of
man
and Genesis
ii.
7
recorded in Genesis
the
i.
—31
26
he was created
states that
first briefly
his
formation,
result of
just
as
a
image
in the
and likeness of God, and the second gives the
as
—25/
details of
might mention the
historian
an important event in one chapter of his book,
and narrate the
particulars respecting
it
in another.
It
was doubtless considered unnecessary to repeat in the
Second Chapter what had already been mentioned a few
verses before in the First, of
in the
man
having been created
image and likeness of God, but to give a circum-
stantial
account of the formation of
Eve.
But,
that
the
man
identical with that of the
on where
it
generations of
is
Adam.
in the likeness of
first,
—
written
"
the
of
is
This
Adam
proved a
is
In the day that
God made He
He them, and blessed
name Adam in the day when
created
and
his wife
Second Chapter
little
is
further
the
book of the
God
created
man
him, male and female
them, and called their
they were
Gen. V. I, 2; after which follows the
Adam's descendants from Seth to Japheth.
created "
generations of
* " Pre-Adamite
Man," Chapter
i.
It is
thus
TERRA FIRM A.
48
chap,
sec.
ii.,
4.
CERTAIN that there were not two separate creations of
Adamites.
Duncan was a
Mrs.
woman
also,
and
clever,
a good
believe
I
but she was misled by the wild chimeras of
and wrote some things which had
Geologists,
better
never have been written, as they only distract without
enlightening
that
value,
it
on
mind.
the
All
criticism,
to
statements,
Biblical
should be accurate and
just,
especially
any
be
of
but,
of late years,
has too frequently become so incorrect and
as to
go beyond
worthless.
It
all
bounds of reason, and
real
diffuse,
therefore,
is,
as Shakespeare speaks of glory
is,
" Like a circle in the water,
Which never
Till
A
good
ceaseth to enlarge
by broad spreading
illustration
writer,
the
itself,
doth come to nought."
of such kind
in the following quotation
Christian
it
of criticism
given
is
from the pen of that excellent
late
H.
Mr.
L.
Hastings
of
Boston, U.S.A.
"We
have had already specimens
of their work,
and a more
amazing tangle of inconsistency and contradiction can hardly
be found in ancient or modern
literature.
The
old dispute
concerning the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey, which
some one summed up
'
were
not written
name and
as being demonstrated, that the
by Homer, but by another man
living at the
when compared with
same time and
place,'
was
poems
of the
same
lucidity itself
the revelations of the Higher Critics con-
cerning the original authorship of the forty-six books of the
Old and New Testaments.
There are plenty of people who may
be unable to judge of the correctness of the position occupied
by any one
of these learned
men, but there can be no possible
NO DISCREPANCY REGARDING MAN'S CREATION.
cannot
dicts all the others, they
common
infallible,
and here
reader to exercise
a
is
little
sense."*
would be well
Bible a
done,
be
all
common
the opportunity of the
It
49
about deciding that, when each one of a dozen contra-
difficulty
than they appear to have
closely
many
in
as,
these learned Critics studied the
if
mare
little
instances,
their
knowledge of that
Book, in comparison with their shameless effrontery in
warping
seems to ba as scanty as
it,
Falstaff's ha'p'worth
In
of bread to the unconscionable quantity of sack.
Moses they
rejecting
Lord Jesus
Christ,
Moses
reject the upholder of
—the
and to them may be applied the
withering reproof administered by our Lord Himself to
—
the
Jews
"
Had
ye
Moses ye would have
believed
believed in Me, for he wrote of Me, but,
not his writings,
John
V.
46,
ye believe
shall
if
My
ye believe
words ?
is,
however,
one
good thing which these
though unwittingly, have done;
some learned and
examination
tO'
earnest
Christians
to
they have led
pay a closer
certain disputed facts mentioned in the
Bible, with the positive result that that blessed
now
rests
"
4.7.
There
Critics,
how
on a stronger
basis than
ever.
Many
Book,
state-
ments, which these' Critics most unwarrantably declared
to be false, have been
now
proved, by the discovery of
ancient monuments, tablets, and other sources of infor-
mation,
to
be
absolutely
permitted, would I give
wonderful
* "
confirmations
true.
some
of
Gladly,
had
telling instances
God's
Word,
space
of these
but
must
Criticism," by the late H. L. Hastings, Boston, U.S.A.
Agents, Marshall Brothers, Paternoster Row, London.
The Higher
TERRA FIRMA.
go
content myself by referring
my
chap,
Readers to
ii.,
sec.
5.
works
tiie
mentioned below* which, are well worthy of their attentive perusal.
SECTION
5.
PRIMEVAL FAUNA AND THE AGES.
The
statements of Geologists, whether Dr.
or Sir Roderick Murchison,
Lyell, Drs.
are
Dick or
Dr.
Buckland or Mantell,
Hugh
Pye Smith
Sir
Miller,
and
Charles
others,
unsatisfactory, because they are only suppositive,
all
having no solid basis on which to build their assertions.
Skertchley himself, in his " Geology," p. loi, remarks
* "Inspiration and Accuracy o( the Holy Scriptures," 8vo, 7/6; and " Modern
Discoveries and the Bible," 8vo, net 6/- both books by the Rev. John Urquhart.
" The Higher Critics and their Mistakes," by P. and R. H.; Special Edition
for gratuitous distribution.
" The Higher Criticism the greatest Apostasy of the Age," 1/6 net, by D. K.
Paton.
" Daniel in the Critic's Den," by Dr. Anderson, 3/6.
Leech's " Is my Bible true ? " 2/6.
" The New Apologetics, or the Down-grade in Criticism," by Dr. Watts, 6/;
How God inspired the Bible," by Dr. J. Paterson Smyth,
The Grand Old Book," by Rev. A. MoCaig, 3/6.
" Many Infallible Proofs," by Dr. A. J. Pearson, s/-
"
2/6.
"
"
3d.
;
Remarks on 'The Mistakes of Moses,'" 4/-; and
both by the late H. L. Hastings, of Boston, U.S.
"The Higher
Criticism,"
A II obtainable from
Marshall Brothers, Keswick House, Paternoster Row, London.
" History of
Babylonia," by the late George Smith, Esq., of the British
Edited by the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 2/-.
;
" Assyria, from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Nineveh," by the late George
Smith, Esq., of the British Museum 3/-.
" Sinai, from the Fourth Egyptian Dynasty to the Present Day," by the late
Henry S. Palmer ; revised by the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. ; with map, a/-.
"Persia, from the Earliest Period to the Arab Conquest," by the late
W. J. W. Faux, M.A. ; a new and revised edition, by the Rev. A. H. Sayce,
Museum
;
;
M.A.;
"
2/-.
The Higher
A. H. Sayce, M.A.
and the Verdict of the Monuments," by the Rev.
Published by
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,
Criticism,
;
The
7/6.
Northumberland Avenue, London.
PRIMEVAL FAUNA AND THE AGES.
51
" So imperfect is the record of the earth's history, as told
we can never hope
in the rocks, that
the gaps in the chain
been well compared
volumes remain
to a history, of
that
autumn
up completely
all
of the rocks has
which only a few imperfect
which we can only
What botanist would but despair of
of wood and field from the dry leaves
restoring the vegetation
has to form
fill
to us, the missing portion of
up by conjecture.
fill
to
The testimony
of. life.
Yet from
scatters?
all his
than this the geologist
less
Can we wonder then
ideas of past flora.
at
"
the imperfection of the geological world?
Yet,
some
notwithstanding
want of proper
with as
much
nessed
the
admitted
this
imperfection,
drawn conclusions, which from
have
geologists
data, are, of course, incapable of proof,
assurance as
formation
Archibald Geikie
if
of
they themselves had wit-
primeval
the
Sir
rocks.
lately said that, in his opinion,
" 100,000,000 years
would
for that portion
suffice
of the
Earth's history which was registered in the stratified rocks of
the crust.
But
if
the Palaeontologists found such a period too
narrow for their requirements, he could see no reason on the
geological side,
why
they should not be at liberty to enlarge
as far as they might find to
it,
be needful for the evolution of
organized existence on the globe."*
From
they
have
appearance
marks,
fossil
discernible,
from
a
constructed
as,
to
some
of
jaw-bone,
use
a
animals
which
tibia
of
an expression
are
scarcely
a
or
such
claw,
grotesque
common
in
my
days, "would be enough
Models of some of these relics of a by-gone age were
made some years ago under the direction of Mr.
to frighten the French."
young
*
'
'Report of the British Association " at Dover, from The Daily Graphic of
September
i8th, i8gg.
TERRA FIRMA.
52
chap,
ii.,
sec. 5.
Hawkins, and have been placed in the grounds of the
say, " are as large as life
With the
God
beginning
by no means
and twice as
verse
first
created the
natural."
and some
Chalmers
Dr.
late
the
that
believe
Bible
the
in
showman
as the
Sydenham, and which,
Crystal PaJaoe,
would
others,
—
" In
I
the
Heavens and the Earth
"
precludes the idea of a creation prior to
the Adamic, though when such creation was
is
it
quite
impossible to tell; but, from the testimony of infallible
and from the records of the past, I myself have
shadow of a doubt that the creation, or if
preferred the re-creation of the world in which we live,
Scripture,
not
the
commenced
at the very
time assigned to
therefore, with perfect equanimity,
discover as
line
&c.,
&c.,
tiles,
many
plesiosauri,
of land,
must be drawn,
and
I
am
tO'
certain
in the
Mosaic
can
afford,
I
of an Earlier
iguanodons,
or water, or
air,
'
pterodac-
but here the
been found,
for there never yet has
that there
Geologists
let the
Fauna
as they can of the
megatheria,
Earth,
it
thousand years ago.
history, less than six
never will be found, the
smallest trace of a supposed Pre-Adamite man, or a single
bone
of
theretoi,
any of Adam's race or of any
any geological
in
of
strata
relics pertaining
the
Earth,
thus
showing that there never was any Pre-Adamite Man, and
that the present world of the
hour older than
it
Adamic Creation
is
not one
represented to be in the Scriptures
is
of Truth.
Such
animals,
no doubt have had
as
those
above
world for man's future habitation, as
in
vain,
for,
that
referred
to,
would
their use in the preparation of the
the world
God makes
nothing
was systematically made
ready for the occupation of man,
is
evident from the
PRIMEVAL FAUNA AND THE AGES.
53
particular stratification of the rocks, the chalk, the lime-
the slate, the building stone, the coalfields, &c.,
stone,
from the position of the metals,
as well as
&c., as also
tin,
from
from
iron,
lead,
and copper, and
gold, silver,
its
diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and other precious
its
a
marvellous
world
and
within
stones.
It
without,
above and below, specially adapted by God's
own wisdom,
"
Oh
that
!
and care for the habitation and use
love,
Well may we exclaim with the
man.
of
truly
is
men would
Jehovah
praise
for
Psalmist
His goodness,
and for His wonderful works unto the children of men
—
"
!
IPsa. cvii. 8.
From
a careful consideration of the aidnes or ages,
which are so often referred to in the Greek of the
but which unfortunately are
Testament,
rendered in our Authorised Version,
there were ages
that
before
the
sO'
New
obscurely
appears certain
it
Adamic
Creation,
as
there will be ages aftet this present dispensation has
passed away.
Let us look
briefly at the two' following
remarkable expressions respecting them.
1.
Sunteleia tou aidnos, the end or completion of the
2.
Chronois aidniois, in age-past times.
age.
1.
Matt.
xiii.
Matt.
xiii.
Matt. xxiv.
what
the
Sunteleia tou aidnos.
$g, " The harvest is the completion of the Age."
40, " So shall it be at the end of the Age.''
3,
"Tell us when shall these things be? and
shall be the sign of
Thy coming, and
of the completion of
Age."
Matt, xxviii. 20, "
And
lo
!
I
am
with you
all
the days even
unto the completion of the Age."
Heb.
ix. 26,
" But
now
once, at the completion of the Ages,
TERRA FIRMA.
54
He
chap,
hath been manifested to put away sin by the
n., sec. 5.
sacrifice of
Himself."
From
will
be
we
the foregoing passages
His people
spirituaJly with
gather
till
tiiat
Christ
the harvest, or
completion of this present age or dispensation, when
He
will again personally apj>ear to
Himself for ever.
for " ages "
it
is
In the
from which
in the plural,
it
would seem
that
there refers to tons aidnas epoiesen, the ages which
had made previous to
—
take them to be with
quoted passage the word
last
"
whom
through
this world, according to Heb.
Rom.
"Now
xvi. 25,
my
hath
made
2
the Ages."
Chronois aioniois.
2.
according to
He
also
He
i.
to
Him who
is
able to stablish yon
and the preaching
gospel,
of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, kep^ in silence
through Age-fast
2 Tim.
i.
9,
but
times,
"
Who
now
is
manifested."
saved us, and called us with a holy
calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given in Christ Jesus before
Age-past times."
Tit.
lie,
i.
2,
" In hope of eternal life
It is evident,
His
which God, who cnnnot
promised before Age-past times."
from the above passages, that God chose
saints of the present age or dispensation, according
to the eternal purpose of
any' actual
were redeemed,
and gold,
"
His
will
existence except in
long before they had
His own mind.
not with corruptible things as
silver
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ,
was
They
foreordained
pro
hatdbole
kosmou,
before
who
the
foundation of the world, but was indeed manifested ep
CHIPPED FLINTS.
55
eschaton ton chronon at the last stage of the times for your
sake"
I Pet.
We
thus
therefore,
world.
am
i.
ig, 20.
see
that
presume
were
there
and we may,
ages,
before that of our
creations,
All that I contend for
is,
and on
Adamic
this point I
immovable, that our present world was not brought
out of the Great Deep of waters, and that there was no
now
creation of man, nor of any of the
existing species
of land animals, before the time indicated by Moses in
Genesds, which period has not yet reached six thousand
years.
The
tance
God
I
study of the ages
is
one of the deepest impor-
towards understanding
the
eternal
purposes
of
with respect to His Creatures, and, with deference,
beg to
refer
any of
my
Readers,
who might
their farther consideration, to a volimie written
mentioned below,* as
I
know
of
desire
by myself,
no other work
in
which
the subject has been so fully treated.
SECTION
6.
CHIPPED FLINTS.
More than half a century ago: there was quite a furor
among Geologists respecting Chipped Flints, which had
recently been
discovered,
and which were
tooi
hastily
described as being arrow heads, spear heads, and axe
heads, according to their
size,
niade by Ante-Diluvians
Hades and Beyond, with some Sidelights by the way," chapters iv., v., ix.,
and xviii. A copy of this work will be forwarded, post free, to
given
address, by sending a postal order for 3/6 to D. Wardlaw Scott,
any
85 Trinity Road, Wood Green, London.
*•
X., xi., xiv., XV.,
TERRA FIRMA.
56
chap,
sec. 6.
ii.,
who
Soberlived in what they called the " Flint-Age."
minded people, however, had very grave doubts about
the
matter,
these
as
different places,
were
flints
and besides
found in
so miany
in localities so unlikely ever
to have been the abode of men,
and also
in such vast
quantities that the supposition of their ever having been
made by human hands was
Mrs.
seriously entertained.
too'
preposterous
Duncan thought
tO'
be
one time
at
that they might be relics of her Pre-Adamites, and in
the
first
How-
Edition of her book, wrote accordingly.
when she
ever
some
afterwards went to examine
of these
had to acknowledge that she had
flints
for herself, she
made
a mistake, and abandoned the idea, as Mr. Jonathan
Oldbuck had to give up his Roman Camp, after the
Eddie Ochiltree. She writes, as follows,
revelations of
in the Preface to the third Edition of her " Pre-Adamite
Man"—
" It seems desirable also to state that the argument (for
Pre-Adamite Man),
is
no respect founded on alleged
in
dis-
coveries of implements in the drift of the Pre-Adamite Age,
which came
to the Author's
knowledge
the work had
after
passed through the printer's hand, and was added by her to the
proof-sheets only as a possible corroboration of her theory
and she begs now
to
add
that,
having since visited
St.
Achiel,
near Amiens, and having obtained some of the alleged Ante-
Diluvian implements on the spot, together with a portion, of
the sand in which they were embedded
;
she has been led to
doubt very much whether these objects after
peculiar appearance to the
hand
of
man.
It is
all
owe
their
remarkable that
the particles of sand, put under a powerful microscope, present
very
much
the same appearance as those larger chipped
flints,
suggesting the idea that the same process of attrition which
THE SUPPOSED GLACIAL PERIOD.
57
shaped the one may have produced the marks of chipping on
At
the other.
events she
all
is
not confirmed by this
rather the reverse, in the belief that she
is entitled
visit,
but
to appeal
to this source as confirmatory of her views, but she does not
believe that her argument will be
stance,
the
substantial
based, as the
title
bears,
much
affected
foundation on which
by the circumrests
it
being
on conclusions derived from Scripture
and Science."
Such
of that "
is
the sad collapse of one of the " side-issues
most exact science
" of
Modem
Astronomy now
under our consideration.
SECTION
7.
THE SUPPOSED GLACIAL PERIOD.
The supposed
and
Glacial Period, of which Mrs.
certain geologists
make so much,
is
Duncan
one of the most
improbable myths that was ever concocted in the human
mind.
Mrs.
Duncan introduced
it
without
even
the
slightest
pretence of pwoof towards the close
of
Sabbatic
Age,
to the
the whole
of
which,
according
her
received meaning of the term Sabbatic, should have been
a period of unbroken
of the
rest
an3 peace, when, on account
rebellion of her Pre-Adamifces,
was suddenly launched upon the world.
thought
it
this catastrophe
The
Geologists
might be a good pretext by which they might
get rid of the UniversaJ. Deluge, but the attempt has
been in
left
vain, for ice could not
by the Noachian Flood.
have produced the
Sir
Robert
Ball,
effects
in
his
TERRA FIRMA.
S8
book, "
The Cause
chap, n., sec.
7.
of an Ice Age," previously mentioned,
has done his best to bewilder people's minds upon this
but he does not appear
subject,
headway even among
work
is
32,
p.
assume the existence
no
assumption,
and the book
very
ill,
and
of
"I have found
several
is
utterly
Indeed
it will
It
is
all
even one Ice
oppvosed
Scripture,
to
poor waif of a theory
not be long before
My
dishonoured grave.
this
For
necessary to
Ages."
Ice
as his
written.
it
real proof being given for
Reason, and Fact.
is
and no wonder,
one of the most unconvincing ever
example, he says,
Age,
Scientists,
have made much
toi
it is
sent to a
remarks may seem severe, but
they are needed.
With
Sir
Robert Ball the Earth
is,
of course, only a
Planetary Ball, rolling round the Sun, land and water
being mysteriously held together, at the Astronomic rate
of
65,000 miles per hour.
Mrs.
Duncan was content
with one Glacial Period for the destruction of the world
of her Pre-Adamites, but Sir Robert thinks there have
been
to
several, with
more
yet to follow
;
considering them
be caused by perturbations in the orbit of the Earth,
Thus he
through the influence of certain planets.
p.
says,
172—
" It has been
my
object to
show the reasons
for thinking
that the planets, especially Jupiter and Venus, have been the
primary agents in the formation of Ice Ages
stantial
;
we have
sub-
grounds for attributing to the agency of the Planets
the familiar indication of glaciation."
With
Sir Robert Ball's theory, the Bible unfortunately
appears to be " an unknown quantity," as it is never
alluded to at
all.
Had he
consulted
it,
he might have
saved himself the trouble of writing his book, for
God
THE SUPPOSED GLACIAL PERIOD.
His covenant with Noah
declares in
"
59
Deluge
after the
While the earth remaineth seedtime and
cold and heat, and
summer and
shall not cease
Gen.
''
22.
viii.
H. H. Howorth,
Sir
harvest, and
and day and night
winter,
in his
work
The
"
Glacial Night-
mare and the Deluge," would, indeed appear
have
to
already given this theory the coup de' grhce ; he writes as
follows
"
One
of the chief objects of this
Glacial theory, as usually taught,
ignores,
and
issue with, laws
is at
of ice, while the geological
to
be equal with
This
it.
work
partially
principal apostles of the Ice theory.
as all
know
it
to
that the
but that
;
that
we
puny experiments, which can be
be explained refuse
They admit
we know
that ice,
it
in the
tested,
and turn from the
potentiality in shape of portentous ice-sheets
and which, we are
of empirical tests,
That
experiments, to a priori
Assuredly this
to the vast
beyond the reach
told, act quite differently
to say, they appeal
is
and
are bidden to put aside our
which can be explained and examined,
to ordinary ice.
it
acknowledged by the
in the laboratory, or ice as
produces different effects
world.
;
acts quite differently to the ice they postulate,
glaciers,
glaciers,
show
which govern the movement
phenomena
is
to
is
not sound
is
from sublunary
arguments drawn from a transcendental
a curious position for the champions
is
of uniformity to occupy.
.
.
.
'
"I hold that the Glacial theory, as ordinarily taught, is
based not upon induction but upon hypotheses, some of which
are incapable of verification, while others can be shown to be
false,
Ages.
it
to
and
it
This
be
has
is
false.
I
the infirmity of the Science of the Middle
all
why
I
have called
it
a Glacial Nightmare holding
hold further that no theory of modern times
has had a more disastrously mischievous
of Natural Science.
.
.
.
effect
on the progress
TERRA FIRMA.
6o
"I not only disbelieve in but
of ice being
chap,
deny the
I utterly
moved over hundreds
n., sec. 7.
possibility
of miles of level countries,
such as we see in Poland and Russia, and the prairies of North
and South America, and distributed
I
further deny
uneven ground.
and
valleys,
capacity to
its
drift as
mount long
we
find
there.
it
slopes or to traverse
the excavation of lakes
I
similarly deny to
I
altogether question the legitimacy of argu-
and
it
ments based upon a supposed physical capacity which cannot
be tested by experiment, and which
hypothesis.
This means
that
entirely based
is
utterly
I
upon
question the prime
postulate of the Glacial Theory itself."*
From the preceding arguments
we may now safely draw
think
in
the
this
Chapter,
I
following
con-
Creation
were
clusions
1.
That
the
days
of
Adamic
the
Natural days of twenty-four hours each.
2.
That there were not two
Adamites, but only
3.
one, that of
That Moses was the
withstanding
all
different
creations
of
our progenitor Adam.
sole
Author of Genesis,
not-
the carpings of the Hyper-Critics.
there is no discrepwmcy regarding the
4. That
Adamic 'Creation in the accounts given of it in Genesis
I.
and
5.
II.
That although there might possibly have been
was no Man created
Adam, at the time assigned by Moses.
That the Chipped Flints were not made by human
creations before the Adamic, there
prior to
6.
hands.
7.
That
the
supposed
Glacial
Period
is
a
myth,
unworthy of true Science.
* " The Glacial Nightmare and the Deluge a Second Appeal to Common
Sense ftom the extravagance of some recent Geology," by Sir H. H. Howorth,
;
K.C.I.E., F.R.S.
THE SUPPOSED GLACIAL PERIOD.
From
the above deductions
accordance with the Infallible
6i
we may be assured, in
Word of God, that the
Earth was emerged from the waters of the Great Deep,
in which
it
has ever since continued stationary, not quite
when
not in existence
as
And
thousand years ago.
six
was not formed
it
occurrence
that the Earth cannot
be a Planet revolving round the Sun;
possibility
the contrary, that the Sun
journeying daily around
regulate
its
There
Earth was so emerged,
the Fourth day after that
until
—consequently
is
it
"The
soul
are, indeed,
to give
is
and heat, and
two Adams, but very different are
man Adam
first
Adam
is
natural (soulical)
Man
light
it
Duncan
in her Pre-
Man
Howbeit, that
matical).
on
times and seasons.
the last
;
by any
but,
only a satellite of the Earth,
they from those described by Mrs.
Adamite
Sun was
further that the
at first the
The
(our
not
;
first
Lord
is spiritual,
afterwards that which
Adam
out of Heaven
"
—
is
living
Jesus Christ) a life-giving Spirit.
which
first
became a
(our progenitor)
but that which
spiritual
is
of the earth earthy;
/ Cor. xv.
is
(pneu-
the Second
45—47-
Blessed are the children of the
first
Adam who
put
their trust in the atoning sacrifice of the Second, even
the Christ who,
" having once for all been offered for the bearing of the sins of
many,
who
shall appear a second time, apart
are ardently waiting for
Him
from
sin,
unto salvation
unto those
"—Heb.
ix. zS.
62
CHAPTER
III.
THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. EXAMINATION OF
THREE ALLEGED PROOFS THAT THE
WORLD IS GLOBULAR.
PAGE
SBCTION
The Nebular Hypothesis
1.
-
3.
The Circumnavigation of the Earth
The appearance and disappearance of
4.
The Earth's shadow
2.
AT sea
was
It
only
-
67
Ships
-
to
in a
be
63
73
Lunar Eclipse
expected
-
-
our
that
77
Modern
Astronomers, in the absence of any real evidence, would
invent
is
some imaginary proofs, tO' show that the world
They have accordingly given several, which
a Planet.
are usually introduced
"With words
of learnfed length
and thundering sound."
Before examining the three referred to at the heading
of this Chapter, which, being thought to
on all
what some
are generally brought forward
I shall give a
specimen of
be
their best,
suitable occasions,
of these gentlemen
consider to be a proof.
Mr. Schiedler, in his " Book of Nature,"
"
By
actual observation
are spherical, hence
so also."
we
we know
says,
that other heavenly bodies
unhesitatingly assert that the eailh
is
THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS.
It
is
63
true that things which are equal to the
same
thing are equal to one another, but Mr. Schiedkr, in his
attempted proof, coolly takes for granted the very
first
premise of the proposition, namely, that the heavenly
bodies and the Earth are the same kind of things, which
even a child knows not to be
tures emphatically deny
well
—
have said
am
therefore I
tainly not
"
An
i
so,
and which the
Cor. xv.
He
4.0.
elephant has ears,
I
Scrip-
might as
have
ears,
an elephant," a fact which would
be proved by
cer-
this halting syllogism, although,
perhaps, from his absurd conclusion that the Earth
spherical, because the heavenly bodies are,
is
some persons
might be led to infer that he does not possess the
reasoning faculty of that sagacious quadruped.
SECTION
1.
THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS.
Many,
is
called
if
La
not most.
Place's "
Modem Astronomers hold what
Grand Conception," namely, The
Nebular Hypothesis, which, as stated by the well-known
writer Figuier,
as follows
is
"The Nebular
theory assumes that the
a mass of incandescent matter
immense expansion and
to all
by
originally
its
attenuation, the exterior rim of vapour
expanding beyond the sphere of attraction
been thrown
Sun was
In consequence of
is
supposed to have
This doctrine
is
applied
the planets, and assumes each to have been in a
state of
off
centrifugal force.
incandescent vapour with a central incandescent nucleus.
As
TERRA FIRMA.
64
chap, m., sec.
the cooling went on, each of these bodies
have thrown
tion of the
may be supposed
to
similar masses of vapour, which, by the opera-
off
same laws, would assume the rotary
satellites revolve
and as
state,
round the parent planet."
This theory, as
underlined,
i_
be seen by the words
will
have
I
one of mere assumption, without one single
is
proof being given as to
must have the
its
He who
truth.
credits
gudgeon, and he
gullibility of the
it
who can
It
it would require the stomach of an ostrich.
makes God's primary creation of the Universe to be
only nehular, and all subsequent creation to be selj-
digest
man
formative, whether land or water,
or gold, grasses or trees.
the
is
observes
Psalmist
no God
"
Psa.
H. D. Brown
on
" Creation," "
" All
4.
or animals, coals
downright Atheism
thoughts
his
" Science
as
axe
such,"
as-
;
—there
as
Mr.
remarks in his excellent pamphlet
knows not God."*
holding this hypothesis had only read aright
If those
the very
x.
truly
—
It is
first
—
verse in the Bible
" In the beginning
created the heavens and the earth
—they
''
God
would have
seen that the derivation of the Earth as a Planet from
a nebulous
incandescent
contrary to
all
mass,
untrue
utterly
is
and
reason, because, according to the above
emphatic declaration, the Heavens and the Earth were
distinctly
created
themselves
Word
into
by
the
God Himself.
fearful
They
position
of
bring
thus
denying
The
of God.
Carrying out the general idea of nebulosity, some
Astronomers imagine the
Moon
to have been
at
one
time a portion of the Earth, while in a state of incandescence.
Mr.
*
Laing,
however,
who
Alfred Holness, 14 Paternoster
p>oses
chiefly
Row, London.
as
a
THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS.
Geologist,
says,
doubts
casts
p.
43
Thought
"—
of
his
"
upon
" In this state of things the
thrown
from the
off
earth.
.
is
Now
.
Thus he
subject.
and
Science
Moon
.
be true or not as regards phases
Silurian period, from which
that
Modem
65
Modem
supposed to have been
these conclusions
may
of the earth's life prior to the
downwards Geology shows unmis-
takably that nothing of the sort, or in the least approaching
it,
has occurred."
It
into
sad to see the absurdities and contradictions
is
which
science leads
false
which rushes with the
trol,
at last
itself,
it
lost all con-
down an
train
a
It is like
votaries.
its
bad locomotive, over which the driver has
ineline,
till
leaves the rails altogether, smashing not only
but drawing carriages with
serious disaster to
The Nebular
many
it
and thereby causing
of the unfortunate
passepgers.
Hypothesis, we are told, requires
many
millions of years for the development of the Universe.
Lord Kelvin
for
the
maturity,
at
world
and,
one time estimated 400,000,000 of years
to
be brought
to
present
its
when some demurred
toi
that
of
state
enormous
he
period, he obligingly struck off 380,000,000, so that
then gave the requisite time as
20,000,000
of years
Apart from revelation we can form no calculation whatever as to the time occupied in creation by God, that
being utterly different from the manufacturing process
of men.
With us both wine and bread take a consider-
able time to be made, but, by Christ, the wine at the
marriage feast of Cana, and the bread with which
fed the multitudes in the wilderness, were
moment.
The
Psalmist
in
describing
the
made
Earth
5
He
in
a
as
TERRA FIRMA.
66
being God's handiwork, says
He commanded,
done.
referring
doubtless
and
—
He
it
was
it
Psa. xxxiii. g,
He
when
time
hi., sec. i.
and
spake,
stood fast "
the
to
"
chap,
the
laid
foundations of the Earth in the waters of the mighty
Deep.
Then, as regards
be
there
The
true
as well
and there was
light,"
Christian
as
rejoices
—
He
light.
simply said
God
of
the thought
;
own weak-
strengthens his faith and enables him, in his
Arms.
He
Christ's
and
ness, to feel the support of the Everlasting
realizes
that
Christ
is
Nature
is
things are his, for he
all
God's
—
Cor.
/
Hi.
opened up to him as
22,
Let
Omnipotent Power
the
in
in the Infinite Love
"
instantaneously.
light
is
The
23.
of
field
Cowper
his possession, as
beautifully sings
" His are the mountains and the valleys His,
And
the resplendent rivers.
With a propriety
But who, with
Pan
And
I
confess
lift
to
that
filial
His
none can
to enjoy
feel,
confidence inspired.
heaven an unpresumptuous eye,
smiling say
that
—
'
My
Father made them
cannot imagine
I
all.'
how any human
being, in his proper senses, can believe that the
stationary when, with his
own
eyes,
"*
he sees
it
Sun
is
revolving
around the heavens, nor how 'he can believe that the
Earth, on which he stands,
of
lightning around
slightest motion.
I
the
is
Sun,
whirling with the speed
when he
feels
not
the
can only account for the delusion,
been introduced by Satan into the minds of
men, who could inoculate those of others with
as having
certain
the poison, his object being to
* "
make
The Task," Book V.
it
appear that God
THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE EARTH.
is
a
liar,
much
and to befool the human
abhors.
which he so
race,
by no means think that
I
Still
67
all
who
hold the Pythagorean fable are not Christians, for I
good men even among Astrono-
believe that there are
who
mers,
are
aware of the source from which
not
and who do not abet the
their theories spring,
to which
and whose
they tend,
And,
their philosophy.
we may be
if
a "
is
are
better
than
the heart be right with God,
sure that the mistakes of science will not
But we must remember
shut the door of grace.
there
lives
infidelity
full
reward "
2 John
8
i.
that
—
for some, who,
as richly-laden galleys, shall enter the Port of Peace
2 Pet.
i.
—
II
^and that there is
a salvation for others,
who, like those who escape from a burning house, are
saved " so as by
We
—
fire "
/ Cor. in. 15.
thus see that the Nebular Hypothesis
myth of the imagination,
by any serious thinker,
Scripture, Reason,
utterly
being
as
is
a meiie
unworthy of acceptance
opposed to
totally
and Fact.
Let us now proceed to consider the three beforementioned alleged proofs of the world's
SECTION
globularity.
2.
THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE EARTH.
Circumnavigation
thing
but
it
like
is
a
loud-sounding
Homer's celebrated
simply means " sailing round."
*
"
Iliad,"
I,
V
term,
poluf-oisboio
34.
some-
thalasses,*
Thus a
yachts-
TERRA FIRMA.
68
man can
at
leave
Ryde
Ryde
Isle of
again,
Wight.
hi., bec. 2.
the morning, and, after a few
in
according to the
hours,
chap,
weather,
the
of
state
arrive
sailing
round the
So a man can circumnavigate
the world
by circumnavigating or
from any outlying port in the extreme South,
say,
for
example, Hobart, and return to the same port again,
always premising that the sailing must be either from
East to West, or from West to East.
Mercator's
map
If
you look
at
a
or even at a pasteboard
of the world,
globe, you wiU at once see the impossibility of a ship
circumnavigating the
North to South, or
Earth from
from South to North, owing to the position of the
Continents, and the great barriers of ice both in the
Northern
and
Southern
equilateral triangle.
of course, take very
is
exactly the
navigating the
A
illustration.
same
Isle
But
regions.
no more proves the world
sailing
such
circular
be a globe than an
tO'
The sailing round the world would,
much longer, but, in principle, it
as
that of the yachtsman circum-
Let
of Wight.
boy wants to
sail
me
give
a simple
his iron toy boat
by
a magnet, so he gets a basin, in the middle of which he
places a soap-dish, or anything else which he
suitable to represent the Earth,
with water to display the
draws
it
by the magnet round his
boat never passes over the rim
as
if
and then
He
sea.
to
fills
may
think
the basin
puts in his boat and
little
sail
world.
But the
under the basin,
that were globular, instead of being simply circular.
So is it
we can
around
in this world of ours;
sail
it,
from the extreme South
from East to West or from West to East
but we cannot
from South to North,
intervening lands,
sail
for
from North to South or
we cannot break through
nor pass the impwnetrable ramparts
THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE EARTH.
of
ice
and rocks which
Hobart
Circumference.
Geographers 40"
ward
by
S.,
famous
"
ledges
that
if
we
barriers
Treatise
the
of
on the use
called
by
thence in a South-
sail
in
his
Earth,
the
of
hitherto accomplished, does not prove
Keith,
Globes," acknow-
of the
circumnavigation
be stopped
last
at
Even
ice.
Southern
great
Latitude
the
in
our voyage would
direction,
impassable
and,
the
enclose
is
69
as
to be a sphere
it
thus he says
"Since that time (Magellan,
1519-1523), the circumnaviga-
tion of the globe has been performed at different times, by
Sir
Lord Anson,
Drake,
Francis
Cook,
Captain
&c.
,
The
voyages of the circumnavigators have been frequently adduced
to prove that the Earth is a sphere
all
;
but,
whep we
reflect that
the circumnavigators sailed westward round the globe (and
not northward and southward, round
it),
they might have per-
formed the same voyages had the Earth been in the form
drum
of
a.
or cylinder."*
The
farthest Southern Latitude yet reached
78", and the written accounts of those
about
sailed
plainly describe the horrors
in Antarctic
Seas,
inhospitable
region.
extracts
is
who have
It
may be
In his
from such.
"
well
to
give
of that
a few
Voyage to the South
Vasco de Gama remarks
"The waves
heaved up
rose
like
to the clouds,
bed of the
oceian.
mountains im height;
ships
are
and apparently precipitated to the
The winds
are
piercing
cold,
and so
boisterous that' the pilot's voice can be scarcely heard, while
n dismal and almost continual darkness adds greatly to the
danger."
* Keith's " Treatise
and improved,
by
on tile use of tlie Globes,"
Thiomas Atkinson, M.A.,
Stationers' Hall Court,
London
p. 43,
a
new
Simpliin,
edition condensed
Marsliall & Co.,
TERRA FIRMA.
70
in., sec. 2.
chap,
writes
R.N.,
Captain Sir James Clarke Ross,
follows in his " Antarctic Voyages "
as
sea quickly rising to a fearful height, breaking over
"The
the loftiest bergs.
.
.
ships were enveloped in an ocean
Our
.
of rolling fragments of ice, as hard as floating rocks of granite,
which were dashing against them with so much violence
masts quivered as
their
blow.
if
The rudders were
they would
destroyed, and nearly torn from their
Hour passed away
stern-posts
that
at every successive
fall
hour without the
after
which we were
least mitigation of the awful circumstances in
placed."
In his
"
Exploring Expedition,"
Commander
Wilkes,
U.S.A., writes
"
The
general health of the crew
is
feel ourselves obliged to report that in
decidedly affected.
We
our opinion a few more
days of such exposure, as they have already undergone, would
reduce the number of the crew by sickness to such an extent
as to hazard the safety of the ships, and the loss of all on
board."
Such scenes of rigour and desolation are unknown
in the Northern regions, in the
which
to
those
as
Southern
seas.
and
extracts
In the Arctic there
Summer, however
of birth
same degrees
above
the
brief,
On
this point
in
the
a Spring and
is
where Nature
loveliness.
of Latitude
refer
asserts her right
Wrangell writes
as follows
" Countless
herds
of
sable and grey squirrels
reindeer,
fill
elks,
black
bears,
the upland forests;
foxes,
stone foxes
and wolves roam over the low ground; enormous
flights of
swans, geese, and ducks arrive in spring, and seek deserts where
they
may
moult, and build their nests in safety.
Eagles, gulls.
THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE EARTH.
and owls pursue
their prey
run in troops among the bushes;
the brooks and in the morasses
little
;
71
ptarmigan
along the sea-coast;
among
snipes are busy
the social crows seek the
neighbourhood of man's habitations; and when the sun shines
may sometimes even hear
in spring, one
the finch, and in
have
I
autumn
the
given
authorities, in order to
exists in the
the
above extracts from
competent
show the vast difference which
same number of degrees of Latitude between
and Antarctic
Arctic
the cheerful note of
that of the thrush."
The
and vegetation.
regions,
with regard
to hfe
reason of the great disparity of the
climate in these two regions cannot be better expressed
than in the words of Parallax
"
Thus
it
light of the
is
a well ascertained fact that the constant sun-
North develops with the utmost rapidity numerous
forms of vegetable
of living creatures.
life,
and furnishes subsistence
for millions
But in the South, where the sunlight never
dwells or lingers about a central region, but rapidly sweeps
over sea and land, to complete in twenty-four hours the great
circle of the
Southern circumference,
and stimulate the
it
has not time to excite
surface, and, therefore, in comparatively
low
Southern latitudes, everything wears an aspect of desolation."*
A
will
glance at the Map, at the beginning of this book,
show that the
verging
towards
Geographers
North
tell
centre
instead of con-
parallels of latitude,
the
South,
as
Astronomers
and
us they do, gradually expand from the
towards
the
boundaries
of
the
great
"Zetetic Astronomy; Earth not a Globe," pp. 116, 117, by Parallax,
published by Day Sc Son, 17 Paternoster Square, London. I regret to say
that this splendid work has for some time been out of print, and a new
edition is very greatly required—meanwhile, perhaps, a stray copy might be
Srocured by applying to Mr. John Williams, Secretary of the Universal
I
etetic Society, 54 Bourne Street, Netherfield, Notts.
heard was paid for the work was £1. The original cost
The last
was 7/6.
price which
TERRA FIRMA.
72
Southern circumference.
chap,
Within the
quite a mania for
there has been
last
hi., sec. 2.
seventy years
expeditions
the
to
North Pole, while the poor South has been shamefully
Is this because
neglected.
us, or
because
it
may be no
friends that there
all
their
fond hopes
" at
Planet would be
"
And
it
is
cxf
one
the
by our Astronomical
South Pole at
so that
all,
Earth being a Globular
swoop
fell
very far away from
so'
secretly feared
is
" dispelled,
like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not a wrack behind "?
The
result
of the Challenger's prolonged cruise,
as
much
to
has been stated, of 70,000 miles, did not do
raise
their
expectations,
hound, that had
for,
a discouraged
like
a passage to the supposed
deer-
she did not discover
lost the quarry,
other
side
the
of
through the ice-bound waters of the South.
world,
Should,
however, our Astronomers consider the problem of a
South Pole to be
still
unsolved, I would advise them,
with the assistance of their good friend, the Government,
to
fit
out
" Challenger,"
another
break the record " of former explorers.
time I confess that
I
" to
and endeavour
At
the
have a strong conviction that
same
their
steamer would be no more able to circumnavigate the
world,
by
forcing
a
passage
through
the
ramparts of the South, than for a balloonist
his course through the
mighty
tO'
steer
Bands of Orion.*
* Since the above was written I have been glad to learn that a British
Antarctic Expedition, assisted by the Government, is now in progress: also
that another nas been promoted by Germany, both being expected to sail
their respective countries in the ensuing summer.
from
APPEARANCE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF
SECTION
SHIPS.
73
8.
THE APPEARANCE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF SHIPS
AT SEA.
The
The
Astronomical argument
hull
of
should at a distance be
shore, but
is not,
it
should be
last seen,
in approaching the
first visible
the masts being
from the shore, the
in sailing
as follows
is
a ship, being larger than the masts,
but
is not,
it
first
hull, for the
Again,
seen.
above reason,
for the masts are
therefore the sea must be globular.
The
Huxley
Professor
late
gave
us
a
tit-bit
of
Astronomic reasoning on the above alleged proof, which
is
so very recherche that
placed
in
the
it
might be gilt-framed and
the Royal
of
hall
Society.
It
is
as
follows
"
We
other
we have no
assume the convexity of water, because
way
to explain the
appearance and disappearance of ships
at sea."
We
assume,
therefore water is convex!
celebrated Scientist should have
known
can be drawn from mere assumption.
may be Huxleyan,
as
but
it
is
certainly not Baconian, and,
he acknowledged that he had no other explanation
to offer for the convexity of water,
for
Surely this
no real proof
The argument
that
what
it is
Some
worth, which
is
simply
we must
just take
it
—Nothing.
years ago the late Mr. R. A. Proctor, a well-
known
writer
articles
in
"
and
lecturer
Knowledge
"
on Astronomy, wrote two
on the above subject, called
TERRA FIRMA.
74
chap,
hi., sec. 3.
But
alas! for
"Pretty proof of the Earth's Rotundity."
" pretty proof," as it
the
at
all,
prove
was soon found to be no proof
and would never have been brought forward to
the supposed convexity of water from the
and disappearance of ships at sea, had
Astronomers been aware of the true law of Perspective.
appearance
This law at the horizon requires the eye of the observer
to see the higher part of an object before he can see
the lower.
The
where the sea and
horizon, or the line
the sky seem to meet,
is
always on a
level
with the
eye,
no matter how high the observer may be above the
This
water's surface.
the
as
is
following extract
of July, 1857, will
"The
evident even from a balloon,
from the
"
London
Journal
show
chief peculiarity of the view
from a balloon,
at
a
considerable elevation, was the altitude of the horizon, which
remained practically on a level with thp eye,
of
two miles, causing the surface
of the
Earth
at
to
an elevation
appear concave
instead of convex, and to recede during the rapidity of ascent,
while the horizon and the balloon seemed to be stationary."
Mr.
Glaisher
writes
in
a
like
manner
as
to
his
experience in a balloon
"
The horizon always appears on a
Mr.
Elliot,
level with the eye."*
an American JEiomsxA, gives a similar
testimony in a letter from Baltimore'
" I don't
may
know
if I
ever hinted heretofore that the aeronaut
well be the most sceptical
Earth.
of the
man about
the rotundity of the
Philosophy impresses the truth upon us, but the view
Earth from the elevation
the deeper part of which
is
is
that of a vast terrestrial iasin,
that directly under one's feet.
* Mr. Glaisher's Report in the " Leisure Hour " of 2zst May, 1864.
As
APPEARANCE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF
we
SHIPS. 73
ascend, the Earth seems to recede, actually to sink away,
while the horizon gradually, and gracefully
away further and further
slope stretching
a diversified
lifts,
to the line that at
Thus, upon
the highest elevation seems to close with the sky.
a clear day, the aeronaut feels as
if
suspended
at
about an equal
distance between the vast blue oceanic concave above and the
equally expanded basin below."
This law of Persjyective meets us on every hand;
and cannot be gainsaid.
If,
on a
observe a row of lamps, which are
we
shall find that,
but,
we
if
we look toward
ourselves approach
get to
if,
who appear
people
will
the farther end;
the nearer
that end,
tO'
©n a straight
frozen lake from a certain
if
size,
the higher proportionately will the lamps
it,
Again,
appear.
we
road,
same
of the
from our standpoint, their height
gradually diminish as
we
straight
all
we approach
we look
line,
distance,
we
shall
skating on their knees,
to be
sufficiently near,
we
forming graceful motions on their
shall see
feet.
a
at
observe
but,
them
Farther,
per-
if
we
look through a straight tunnel, we shall notice that the
roof and
the
roadway below converge
light at the end.
a point of
the horizon, as the observer recedes, which
hills sink, to
explains
to
same law which makes the
It is the
how
the ship's hull disappears in the
would also remark that when the sea
is
offing.
I
undisturbed by
waves, the hull can be restored to sight by the aid of a
good telescope long
naked
eye,
down behind
still
sailing
We
after
it
has disappeared from the
thus proving that the ship had not gone
the watery
on the
level of
hill
of a convex globe, but
a Plane
is
sea.
are generally treated in Astronomical books with
a diagram,
illustrative
of
Proctor's
"Pretty
proof"
TERRA FIRMA.
76
chap,
ih., sec. 3.
three ships on the axe of a circle one being near the
and one toward each end
top,
me now
before
"Joyce's
on
of
69
p.
my memory
some
with
work
by
published
Milner
I got it lately in order to
and Co., Limited, London.
refresh
have one
I
the well-known
Dialogues,"
Scientific
Modern
of the arc.
of
the
of the arc measures three inches, and,
of
curiosities
The
Science, whilst writing this book.
if
curve
were con-
it
the whole circle would be about eight inches,
tinued,
representing the presumed circumference of the world
equal to 25,000 miles at the Equator.
ship
The
length of each
three-eighths of an inch, so that, by the rule of
is
simple proportion, each ship would be about 1,171 miles
Why
long!
are such absurd diagrams given,
not to
if
deceive the eye and warp the judgment of the unsus-
In closing
pecting reader ?
my
" Pretty
remarks on this
proof of the Earth's Rotundity," I beg to subjoin the
asked by " Zetetes
following questions
on
"
" Ships
at
The Earth
Sea," in the October,
in
"
his
article
Number
1893,
of
(not a Globe) Review."*
" In the diagrams of ships at sea, given in Astronomical
works.
Why
is
Why
the
and always
are the ships placed near the top
first
to
"Has any
tively as
it
to descend?
always on
and not under?
why near the
go down afterwards?
ship not placed on ike top,
go up
first,
and then
to
top,
object in Nature ever been seen to rise perspec-
recedes,
and then, remaining
By whom?
ike iop of the
at the
same
When? Where? Is not
Earth? If not, why not?
were a globe, would not the horizon be a tangent
at the point of observation?
descend at once as soon as
it
If so,
If
the Earth
to the sphere
ought not a ship begin to
leaves the observer?
John Williams, 54 Bourne
altitude,
the observer
Why
Street, Netherfield, Notts.
does a
EARTH'S SUPPOSED SHADOW IN LUNAR ECLIPSE.
vessel not suit
because
its
behaviour to the globular theory?
Why
only a theory?
is
it
'
Science
the
are exposed,
'
tricks
the
of
Is
it
do Astronomers violate the
law of Perspective when they make diagrams
And now, when
77
why should
of ships at seal?
so-called
not
all
Astronomical
our readers believe
the plain truth, that the Earth and sea form one vast outstretched and circular plane?"
SECTION
THE EARTH'S SHADOW
The Moon has been a
IN
4.
A LUNAR ECLIPSE.
Modern
sad trouble to our
Astronomers, as she has so often belied their theories
but,
;
being determined to make use of her somehow,
they assert that the globularity of the world
is
proved by
the shadow of the Earth passing over her in a round
form during a Lunar Eclijwe.
Before entering into
this subject,
it
to say a few words respecting Eclipses.
when they
find that
predicted,
are
Modem
so
Eclipses
are
apt to think what
But the truth
mere matters
which have happened
known by
as well
people,
an Eclipse takes place at the time
a wonderful science
Astronomy must be that can
exactly.
may be
Many
is
of
that
foretell
such events
the recurrence of
calculation
from
at certain times before,
experience that such
and
those
it
is
will take place at certaiA
times again.
The Chaldeans
of years agov
and Aristarchus and Ptolemy could predict
calculated
them thousands
THE EARTH STRETCHED UPON THE WATER.
soon put matters
•will
"The Earth
and the theory
straight.
Shakespeare
115
says,
hath bubbles, as the water hath,'
world rushing round the Sun,
of the
impelled by the hypothetic law of Gravitation,
one of
is
the biggest that ever required pricking.
The Hebrew word
support by
" Shall
"
On
means to hang, suspend,
teleh
tree "
hang thee upon a
Gen. xl. ig.
the willows, in the midst thereof
harps "
Psa. cxxxvii.
men
" Will
—Eeek. XV.
we hanged up our
s.
take a pin of
it
to
hang any vessel tbereoni?"
3.
But belimeh, wrongly translated "nothing,"
Our
crucial word.
it
from the noun
tion,
translators
hlee,
the
is
appear to have derived
signifying consiunption or desola-
and the pronoun meh, who, which, what, but the
" nothing,"
meaning
be very
drawn from these words, seems to
Hebrew
far-fetched.
in all probability the
is
a very ancient language,
most ancient of any, and
occurs,
it
however,
right in
is
not
the
doubt,
slightest!
deriving the
xxxii.
" fastenings,"
or
g,
and
exactly
agrees with what
farther
on
"
Whereupon
made to sink,
sockets)
thereof ? "
Job xxxviii.
belimeh
that
" supports,"
and
in,
so used
means
simply
this
interpretation
Jehovah asked Job a
are the foundations
or
6.
who
laid
the
little
{ademeh,
comer-stone
But, while I consider Park-
hurst to be correct as to the rendering of the
belimeh, I believe
I
that
noun belimeh from
the verb belem, to confine,, restrain, or hold
Psa.
belimeh
of course, difficult to test the mieaning.
is,
have myself,
Parkhurst
being
this
the only place in the Bible where the word
in
or
Thus, to give a few instancesi
actteal contact.
him to be wrong
word
as to the strange
TERRA FIRMA.
78
them
Newton
as well as
La
or
chap,
hi., sec. 4.
Mrs. Somerville
Place.
in her " Physical Sciences," p. 46, remarks
No
"
particular theory
of every
required to calculate Eclipses, and
equal accuracy, independent
theory.''
remember a good
I
is
may be made with
the calculations
man who had
story respecting a
been summoned to give evidence in a certain
came
did not appear but a friend
asked the Judge,
"
Lord," replied the man,
a dozen reasons
my
Lord,
friend
is
Why,"
My
"
"
could give your Lordship
why he could not come."
have them, then," said the Judge.
my
"
does Mr. Blank not appear?
" I
He
trial.
in his stead.
"
dead."
" In the
That
"
Let us
first
place,
will do," said his
Lordship, " you can keep your eleven other reasons to
So the Earth having been proved by
yourself."
experi-
no curvature, and is declared by God to
be "founded upon the seas and established upon the
ment
to have
a matter of course, to be a
floods," that fact ought, as
sufiicient
reason
therefore, that
it
why
it
is
would be
not a wandering Planet, and,
as impossible for its
shadow to
cause an Eclipse of the Moon, as for that dead
give evidence in a Court of Law.
be
useful
and
interesting
to
Still,
perhaps,
it
to
may
make a few remarks
respecting this alleged proof, as they will
the great mistakes which our
man
Modem
show some
of
Astronomers have
made.
According to the Newtonian theory,
in a
Lunar Eclipse,
for the
it
is
necessary
Sun to be on the opposite
side of the supposed globular Earth, so that the Earth's
shadow may thus
in
passing be cast
But, as Lunar Eclipses have occurred
upon the Moon.
when both
the
EARTH'S SUPPOSED SHADOW IN LUNAR ECLIPSE.
Sun and the Moon were above the
reason
to
that,
in
such
horizon,
circumstances,
absolutely impossible for the
stands
it
would
it
79
be
shadow of the Earth to
have been the cause of the Eclipse of the Moon.
During an
Eclipse
of
Moon
the
thus
proving that
clearly
its
Eclipse
has
surface
its
repeatedly been seen during the whole time
could
been caused by the shadow of the Earth.
I
lasted,
it
have
not
quote the
following illustration of the fact from what took place
at
CoUumpton, Devonshire, on 19th March, 1848
"
nine
The appearances were
at that period,
;
and
as usual
shadow (umbra)
of an Eclipse, or the
twenty minutes past
till
for the space of the next hour, instead
Earth being the
of the
cause of the total obscurity of the Moon, the whole phase of
that body
became very quickly and most beautifully
and assumed the appearance of the glowing heat
furnace rather than tinged with a deep red.
Moon
of the
being as perfect with light as
The Moon
whatever.
disc during the total Eclipse."*
,
.
.
if
.
.
from the
The whole
disc
there had been no
positively gave
Eclipse
from
its
.
illuminated,
of fire
good
light
Again, the Earth, with a supposed diameter of 8,000
miles,
of
is
about
said to revolve
i,roo
miles
round the Sun, with the velocity
per
minute;
the
Moon
being
reckoned to have a diameter of 2,200 miles, and to go
round the Earth at the
rate of
180 miles per minute,
thus, according to calculation, the Eclipse of the
by the shadow of the Earth passing
four
minutes,
should not take
whereas the usual time
occupied by a
Lunar Eclipse
is
been known
have been extended to
to
Moon,
it,
generally about two hours,
* " Phllosophioal
and
four.
Magazine," No. 220, for August,
184B.
it
has
TERRA FIRMA.
8o
chap,
sec. 4.
hi.,
and quotes
Parallax sums
up the matter as follovsrs,
show that the opinion has
gained ground among Astronomers of note, that
lately
may
cause
several
instances
to
are non-luminous bodies in the heavens which
Moon
an Eclipse of the
"We
have seen that during a Lunar Eclipse the Moon's
self-luminous surface
thing
'
;
that this
'
is
covered by a semi-transparent
something
'
last contact
Moon
with the Moon.
As
'
some-
a definite mass, because
is
has a distinct and circular outline, as seen during
the
there
a,
its first
it
and
Solar Eclipse occurs from
passing before the Sun, so, from the evidence above
collected,
it is
cause.
A
before
the
evident that a Lunar Eclipse arises from a similar
semi-transparent and well defined,
body,
Moon;
or between the Moon's
passing
surface and the
observer on the surface of the Earth.
" That
many such
bodies exist in the firmament
is
almost
a.
matter of certainty, and that one such as that which eclipses
the
is
Moon
no great distance above the Earth's
exists at
a matter admitted by
many
surface,
of the leading Astronomers of
the day."*
It is thus clearly
of a proof that the
evident that there
is
shadow of the Earth
not the shadow
is
the cause of
a Lunar Eclipse,
and therefore no argument can be
drawn from
alleged
this
proof
that
the
Earth
is
a
globular Planet.
I
doubt not that many of
my
Readers know the
famous passage in the ^Eneid
Facilis decensus Averni,
Scd revocare grwtus superasque evaders ad auras,
Hie
labor, hoc opus est.
*
'*
Zetetic Astronomy," pp. 148, 149.
EARTH'S SUPPOSED SHADOW IN LUNAR ECLIPSE. 8r
It is true that Virgil did
not write as an Astronomer,
but as a Poet, yet the thought has occurred to
the
above
lines,
with
a
small
parenthetical
me
that
addition,
might be suitably employed to show the impossibility
of
our
World careering round the Sun, and might,
some of
perhaps, be read with renewed appreciation by
our repentant Astronomers, thus
"
But
(for the
It is
easy to descend to the lower regions,
Earth) to retrace
its
steps
and ascend
skies,
There
is
the difficulty
—this
is
the task."
to the
upper
82
CHAPTER
IV.
REMARKS ON SOME OTHER ALLEGED PROOFS OF
THE WORLD'S GLOBULARITY.
PAGE
SECTION
1.
Variability of Penddlum vibrations
2.
Supposed manifestation of the Rotation of
3.
Railway and Earth's Centrifugal force
4.
Declination of the Pole Star
5.
Motion of Stars North and South
6.
The Planet Neptune
83
THE Earth
After
the
86
collapse
89
90
-
-
of
the
strongest
three
91
93
-
alkged
proofs for the globularity of the world, treated in the
previous Chapter,
it
seems to
me
to be almost unneces-
sary to examine those of less importance, but, as some
of
my
they
Readers may, perhaps,
are, I
like to
beg to name the following
know
at least
what
list.
—Sphericity from
—Spherical Excess
—Theodolite Tangent—^Tangential Horizon—Station and
Distance— Great Circle
— Continued Daylight
the extreme South—^Analogy
favour of Rotundity
Deflection
bodies—Difference of Solar and
Loss of time on
semi-fluidity
—^Degrees
sailing
of
westward
Longitude
sailing
in
of
falling
in
REMARKS ON OTHER ALLEGED PROOFS.
83
time— Station and Retro-gradation
Planets
—Transmission Light—Precession the Equinoxes
—
Pendulum
—Supposed manithe Rotation of the Earth—Railways and
the Earth's Centrifugal
—Declination the Pole
—
Star ^Motion of
North and South —The Planet
Sidereal
of
of
Variability
festations
of
of
vibrations
of
force
of
Stars
Neptune.
It
would take up too much time and occupy more
space in this volume than can be spared, to enter into
a detailed examination of
these alleged proofs, most
all
of
which are of a technical character,
of
my
I
may
Readers care to see them
and,
discussed,
add, fully refuted, in a masterly manner, I beg
them
refer
to
should any
but,
fairly
Astronomy,
tO'
Earth
not
a
Globe,"
mentioned.
already
However, in order to show somewhat of
purpose making a few remarks on the
of those
" Zetetic
the able work of Parallax,
their nature, I
last half
dozen
named, and from these alleged proofs may be
learned the worthlessness of them
Some
all,
as far
as real
them are ingenious, and
show that our Astronomical friends have had their wits
evidence
is
concerned.
sharpened
by the desire
of
to
some
devise
upholding their theory that the Earth
is
their arrows fall short of the mark,
all
aside like a deceitful
The
following
bow"
tit-bit
reasons
being " turned
Psa. Ixxviii. 57.
from Professor Airy
quoting, as showing, in the absence of proof,
our
Astronomers
are
for
a Planet, but
of
Theory,
is
worth
how fond
Supposition,
and
Assumption.
" Newton was the
first
person
who made
calculations of the
figure of the Earth, in the theory of gravitation.
He
took the
following supposition as the only one to which his theory covXd.
TERRA FIRMA.
84
He
be applied.
assumed the Earth to be a
he assumed to be equally dense in every
he supposed the
his theory
manner he
this
chap,
fluid
This
fluid.
part.
.
.
For
.
fluid
trial of
In
Earth to be a spheroid.
inferred that the form
of tfie
spheroid in which the length of the shorter
iv,
Earth would be a
is to
the length of
the longer or equatorial diameter in the proportion of 229 to
230."*
The
following
"
Astronomy
"
You have
Here
"
We
a choice specimen of occult
tit-bit is
Norman Lockyer's work
taken from Sir
reasoning,
is
on.
''
to take it as
proved that the Earth moves."
another from Sir John Herschel
shall take for granted
from the outset the Copernican
system of the world."
These gentlemen do not conHescend to give even
their system is true, and might
one single proof that
with
much
as
granted that the
more
tit-bit
I
have
folly
Moon
said
made
is
—
"
We
for
One
copy from the pen of that redoubtable
champion of Modern Astronomy, the
Proctor, as
take
shall
of green cheese."
late
Mr. R. A.
such a good illustration of the
it is
of Assumption,"
"
Doctrine
"
so frequently set forth in this
most
exact " School of Science
"We
find that the Earth is not flat, but a globe, not fixed,
but in very rapid motion; not
far smaller than the Sun,
"
We
authority?
courts
of
find "
!
indeed,
Where
Law
the
is
much
larger than the
Moon, and
and the greater number of the
but
quo
warranto,
stars."
by
what
the proof of the finding?
prisoner
* Professor Airy's Six Lectures
is
not condemned
on Modern Astronomy, 4th £d.,
till
p. 194.
In
he
VARIABILITY OF
PENDULUM VIBRATIONS.
85
has been proved guilty, so neither, in the courts of Com-
mon
can
Sense,
be
Earth
the
revolving round the Sun,
adjudged
of
guilty
has been proved to have
it
till
committed that preposterous offence.
We
from
see,
Professor Airy's
before
extract
from
given
he acknowledges
even
that
Newton's theory of the globularity of the Earth
that
is
the
Lectures,
Modern
only supposition and assumption, and yet by
Astronomers
it
is
paraded about as
true deduction from exact
" exactness " which Modem
possess is
its "
Word
had been a
experiment.
The
Astronomy
appears
inexactness," for
the Astronomy of the
it
if
God and
to
from
differs toto ccelo
it
of
only
the facts of
Nature.
SECTION
VARIABILITY OF
1.
PENDULUM VIBRATIONS.
The Pendulum was summoned
tion
round
an
imaginary
The
axis.
Pendulum, vibrating seconds
globe,
it
attraction
more
is
The Earth being
argued that
of gravitation,"
it
a
revolu-
of
a
was found
58" N,
it
was
thus assumed to be a
must have " a centre of
and,
as the
Pendulum
falls
rapidly at the North Pole than at the Equator,
the radius must thus be shorter, so
Earth
its
length
at the Equator,
to be 39,027 inches, while at 79° 49'
39.197 inches.
to be
into court
witness for the spheroidity of the World, and
is
it
is
a sphere flattened at the Poles.
said that the
But
all
this
TERRA FIRMA.
86
is
beside the mark, for the very
is
wanting, namely, that the Earth
chap,
first
sec. 2.
element of proof
a globe
is
iv.,
at all.
a well ascertained fact that heat expands while
It is
cold contracts most metals, and
it
was
at last
acknow-
ledged that variations of temperature are quite sufficient
to cause variations in the vibrations of the Pendulum.
Mr. Bailey, in Vol. 7 of Memoirs of the Royal Society,
says that
" the
vibrations
many
places by local attraction of the substratum on which
it is
us,
a
of
pendulum
powerfully
affected
in
swung, or by some other influence at present unknown to
and the
which
effect of
far exceeds the errors of observation."
General Sabine himself
" Captain Foster
lums
are
of precisely
relates,
that
was furnished with two
invariable Pendu-
the same form and construction as those
which had been employed by Captain Kayter and myself. Both
Pendulums were vibrated at all the stations, but, from some
cause
which Mr. Bailey was unable
of one of
them was
to
explain, the observations
so discordant at South Shetland as
to
require
their rejection."*
The Pendulum
for the
declines,
therefore, to stand sponsor
supposed Rotation of the Earth.
SECTION
2.
SUPPOSED MANIFESTAtlON OF THE ROTATION
OF THE EARTH.
In 1851 M. Foucault made a strong
of the
effort, by means
Pendulum, to prove the Rotation of the Earth
* " Figure of the Earth,"
by Johannes Von Gumpach
;
and Edition, pp. ng-iH-
SUPPOSED PROOF OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION.
round
its
imEiginaiy axis,
with
hailed
and the attempt was
by
delight
the
Scientific
87
for
a while
world.
The
following extract, from an article respecting
it,
appeared
in the Literary Gazette of the day.
" Suppose
moving
which
Pendulum
the
in a vertical plane
already
from North
described
to
South
vibrates to ordinary observation,
it
;
set
would appear
M. Foucault, however, has succeeded
be stationary.
be
to
the place in
in
to
showing
that this is not the case, but that the plane itself is slowly
moving round the
fixed point as a centre in a direction con-
trary to the Earth's rotation,
from East
to West.
i.e.,
with the apparent heavens,
His experiments have since been repeated
in the hall of the Observatory, under the superintendence of
M. Arago, and
fully confirmed.
If
a point be attached to the
weight of a Pendulum by a long and fine wire, capable of
turning in all directions, and nearly in contact with the floor
of a room, the line
which
ground, and which
may be
will be
round
on the
this point appears to trace
easily followed
by a chalk mark,
found to be slowly, but visibly and continually moving
like the
hand
Many were
and other
of a dial."
the experiments
halls
of
science
made
in
to test the
the Pantheon
truth
of
this
wonderful experiment, but the indignant Pendulum would
not lend
itself
Earth, for
its
to lure
men
into the belief of a Rotating
vibrations were most variable,
and even
sometimes entirely contrary to what the Newtonians said
they ought to be, so that this marvellous experiment,
which was to convince the public at sight, that the
world is a Rotating Planet, had to be abandoned with
disgust.
rotates
But how could
at
the rate
of
it
be otherwise?
1,000
miles
per
If the
Earth
hour at the
TERRA FIRMA.
88
chap,
iv.,
sec.
2.
Equator, and in the same space of time goes 65,000
on
miles
Pendulum,
be
an
journey round the
its
under
Sun,
how could any
circumstances
disadvantageous
such
ever expected to beat equal vibrations?
It
would be
impossibility.
Hence no proof can be adduced from
the Pendulum that the Earth is a spheroid rotating on
an imaginary
Vunch could not miss the opportunity
axis.
of having a joke at the expense of this rotating
with which I shall close
my
-fiasco,
remarks of the supposed
manifestation of the rotation of the Earth.
" To the Editor
"
of Punch,
Sir,
"Allow me
to the extraordinary
of the Earth,
you
which
to call your serious
and
polite attention
phenomenon demonstrating
I at
the present
moment
the rotation
experience, and
yourself or anybody else, I have not the slightest doubt,
would be
of
satisfied
visible, but I say,
fact.
under similar circumstances.
may doubt
sceptical individuals
that the Earth's
from personal observation,
it
is
line of a tangent
on a spherical
surface, nor axes, nor apsides, nor anything of the sort.
all
rubbish.
All
know
I
coffee-room going round.
naked eye
lant.
is
a positive
I don't care about latitude or longitude, or a vibratory
pendulum, revolving round the
is
Some
motion
I
witness
I
is
That
that I see the ceiling of this
perceive this distinctly with the
—only my sight has been sharpened by a slight stimu-
write after
my
my
sixth go of
brandy and water, whereof
hand.
" SWIGGINS.
"Goose and
"P.S.
Gridiron,
May
5, 1851.
—^Why do two waiters come when I only call one? "
RAILWAYS AND EARTH'S CENTRIFUGAL FORCE,
SECTION
89
3.
RAILWAYS AND EARTH'S CENTRIFUGAL FORCE.
A
Newtonian
says
"Another proof
of the diurnal
motion of the Earth, has
heen made manifest since the introduction of railways.
On
railways running due North and South in the Northern hemisphere,
found that there
is
it
is
a greater tendency in the
carriages to run ofi the line to the right than to the left of a
person proceeding from the North to the South, or from the
South to the North in the Northern hemisphere.
on
the case in all parts of the world
But
this is
lines of railway so placed
whether they are long or short."
It
would be
bounce.
It
is
difficult
to beat this piece of impertinent
not an
argument, but simple assertion
and assumption, and does not
railway
Practical
men
really deserve
an answer.
such a statement as that
treat
above made with contempt, because they know that
never has been found true in experience.
Astronomers
call the axis
to rotate " imaginary,'' as
round which the Earth
it
That the Earth has no
shown by the
firing of
has no existence in
rotation has
it
Well may
is said
fact.
been frequently
a cannon loaded with
ball, fixed
firmly in the ground, in an exactly vertical position.
It
has been found that, after the cannon has been fired
by a slow match, the
ball
on an average took fourteen
seconds to ascend and fourteen seconds to descend, and
that
it
generally
indeed, in
some
fell
within
instances,
it
two feet of the cannon,
actually returned
to the
TERRA FIRMA.
go
cannon's
Now,
mouth.
Earth,
the
if
chap,
iv.,
sec. 4.
stated
as
by
Astronomers themselves, moves from West to East, and
rotates in the latitude of England,
miles per hour,
it
of 600
rate
at the
being estimated at 1,000 at the Equator,
the ball should, by their calculations, have fallen
more
than a mile and a half behind the cannon, instead of
which
is
no
close to
it fell
it,
thus clearly proving that there
rotatory motion in the Earth whatever.
SECTION
4.
THE DECLINATION OF THE POLE
—
STAR.
Our Modem Astronomers have ransacked Creation
the Heavens, Earth, and Sea, to discover some real
proof that this world of ours
as unsuccessful as
a Planet, but have been
is
were the prophets of Baal
—
tO'
bring
down fire on Carmel i Kings xviii. 23 28. One of
the many alleged proofs they have offered, is the
Declination of the Pole Star, as the traveller journeys
They seem
from the North towards the Equator.
unaware that
this
Declination
is
to be
caused simply by the
law of Perspective, which makes an object appear lower
the
further
we recede from
it,
has
as
been already
explained in the disappearance of ships at sea after their
quitting the shore, or of mountains
behind.
The
angle
diminishes the farther
at
when we
leave
under which an object
we recede from
a certain point, the line of
uprising surface of the Earth
sight,
is
them
seen
that object, until,
and the apparently
upon or over which
it
MOTION OF STARS NORTH AND SOUTH.
stands, will converge to the angle
The
horizon
seen,
which constitutes the
beyond which the object
vanishing point,
whether from the level of the
balloon three miles high in the
the Earth
air,
sea,
invisible.
is
always a straight line wherever
is
91
it
or
may be
from a
a certain proof that
a Plane and not a Planet.
is
SECTION
5.
THE MOTION OF STARS NORTH AND SOUTH.
It
has been asserted, as another supposed proof of
the rotundity of the Earth, that, as the Great Bear and
sweep around the Northern Polar
other constellations
Southern Cross and other
Star, so the
a small
star in the South, called
however,
true,
is
stars circle
only assertion, not proof, and even
would not
be seen the Pole
stars in the
This,
if it
affect the question as regards the
From
of the Earth.
round
Sigma Octantis.
were
shape
every meridisui at the Equator can
Star, the
Great Bear and many other
Northern region, but cannot be seen from
the Equator the Southern Cross or the Sigma Octantis,
which ought
tO'
be
visible
there
if
there were a South
Cross tUl
James Clarke Ross did not see the Southern
he was 8" South of the Equator,* and, in their
scientific
voyage to Brazil in
Pole.
Sir
Spix and Carl
"
On
Von
1817
—1820,
the 14th June, in Latitude 14" S.,
*
MM. Von
Martins wrote as follows
" South Sea Voyages," Vol.
i,
we beheld
p. 119.
for the
TERRA FIRMA.
92
chap,
the
which
Cross,
its
perceived
it
Again,
"We
navigators
a token of peace,
is
we
3.
and,
We
position, indicates the hours of the night.
had long wished
hemisphere,
to
sec.
Southern heavens,
first time, the glorious constellation of the
according to
iv.,
for the constellation, as a guide to the other
when we
therefore felt inexpressible pleasure
in the resplendent firmament."
Humboldt
saw
says
distinctly,
for the
the Cross of the
time,
first
South on the nights of the 4th and 5th of July, in the i6th
degree of Latitude.
from time
to time
It
was strongly
among the
inclined,
clouds.
.
.
.
and appeared
The pleasure
of
discerning the Southern Cross was warmly shared in by such
of the crew as
Were
had been
in the Colony."
there such a thing as a South Pole
that the Southern Cross
The
nearest approach
of Sir
tO'
why
is
it
not visible at the Equator?
is
that
ever recorded was that
James Clarke Ross in 8"
S.,
and in Longitude
would be seen
far
above the horizoo,
30' W.
Again,
like the Great
Humboldt saw
inclined,"
it
Bear round the Pole
it
in Latitude
which means that
and joining with the other
it
16°
Star, whereas,
S.,
was
it
when
" strongly
was
rising in the East,
stars in the great
movement
round the Northern heavens.
It is evident,
therefore, that the world is
a Globular Planet than a
Pole
is
shilling
is,
only an unproved assumption of our
Astronomers.
no more
and that a South
Modem
THE PLANET NEPTUNE.
SECTION
93
6.
THE PLANET NEPTUNE.
I
When I was a young man, about half a century ago,
had read a good deal concerning Astronomy and
Geology, and, although a Poet, one of a class usually
allowed to have considerable scope for imagination, I
could never credit the Munchausen fables taught about
the
stars
and
rocks.
confess,
I
however,
that
my
Modern Astronomy was, for a short
time, somewhat shaJcen, when I heard that Dr. Galle of
Berlin had discovered a Planet, whose existence had
some time previously been independently predicted by
M. Le Vender and the late Professor Adams of Camscepticism regarding
bridge.
It
seems
that, for
some
time, perturbations
had been
observed in the Planet Uranus, and these Astronomers
thought that they must have been occasioned by some
planet
beyond
paeans
of
Uranus,
The whole
accordingly.
triumph
appearance of
this
and
made
scientific
sounded
in
calculations
their
world was elated, and
all
directions
newly found planet
And
at
I
the
must
say I was not surprised, for sadly did our Astronomers
need some peg on which to hang a proof of the rotundity
of the world.
long before
as
it
But, unfortunately for them,
this
it
was not
supposed proof died a natural death,
was soon ascertained that Neptune, the
lately
discovered planet, did not at all answer to any of the
TERRA FIRMA.
94
calculations
made
respecting
it,
chap,
sec.
iv.,
6.
as the following extract
from The Times of i8th September, 1848,
show
will
" Paris, September 15, 1848.
"The
Academy
only sittings of the
practical
nth
character,
On
inst.
were
those
the former day
cation respecting the planet
this
29th
the
of
which there
of late in
was anything worth recording, and even
was not
M. Rabinet made a communiNeptune, which has generally
been called M. Le Verrier's planet, the discovery of
as
it
having,
has been said, been made by him, by theoretical deduc-
it
which astonished and delighted the
tions
What M. Le
planets,
least so
of
it
some body which ought
was said
at the time,
communication
Verrier.
Sun equal
of
M. Rabinet, that
He had
was
to exist
by actual
vision.
public.
—at
verified
Neptune was
and the honours
But
Theorist obtained additional lustre.
M. Le
scientific
Verrier had inferred, from the action in other
actually seen by other Astronomers,
the
of a
and the
ult.
of the
appears from a
it
this is not the planet of
placed the planet at a distance from
to thirty-six times the limit of the terrestrial
—Neptune
orbit
of these limits,
revolves at a distance equal to thirty times
which makes
million of leagues!
a.
difference of nearly two hundred
M. Le Verrier had assigned
to his planet
a body equal to thirty-eight times that of the Earth, Neptune
has only one-third of the volume
!
M. Le Verrier had
the revolution of his planet round the
Sun
two hundred and seventeen years, Neptune performs
tion
in
Neptune
one
is
hundred
and
sixty-six
years
not M. Le Verrier's planet, and
regards that planet
falls
find another planet, but
which he had made
Thus we
to the ground.
it
will
stated
to take place in
!
its
Thus,
all his
revoluthen,
theory as
M. Le Verrier may
not answer the calculations
for Neptune.''
see that the supposed prediction respecting
THE PLANET NEPTUNE.
95
the planet Neptune, instead of being a proof of the truth
of
Modern Astronomy, has only been instrumental
in
But even
if
driving
Le
another big nail into
Verrier's
calculations
coffin.
its
had been
right,
might possibly have propped up for a
little
while
they
longer the
tottering fabric of this " science falsely so called," they
could not avert
its
ultimate
fall.
They
of the world's globularity, for there
afford
is no'
no proof
necessary con-
nection whatever between the size and revolution of a
Planet, and the figure and stability of the Earth.
96
CHAPTER
V.
THE WORLD CIRCULAR BUT NOT GLOBULAR;
HAS IMMOVABLE FOUNDATIONS. THEREFORE
NOT A PLANET.
PAGS
SECTION
1.
Relative proportion of Land and Water
2.
The Compass
96
......
98
a proof that the
A Planet
3.
-
Earth
is
not
Dangers of Navigation in Sodthern Seas,
caused by the theory that the World
is Globular
4.
The
5.
The Earth stretched out upon the waters,
revolution of the Earth
ROUND the Sun proved to be untrue
which have an impassable Circumference
6.
102
supposed
The
Earth
proved
Foundations
to
-
have
hi
Immovable
117
-
SECTION
108
1.
THE RELATIVE PROPORTION OF LAND AND WATER.
When
I call
the idea that
as a ball, the
meanings.
the
it is
World
Circular, I
mean
two adjectives having entirely
Again,
to
convey
Circular as a basin, but not Globular
when
I
distinctive
speak of the Earth or dry
RELATIVE PROPORTION OF LAND AND WATER.
land
Homontal,
being
as
absolutely, as its
do
I
so
Mount
tion of its being a perfect Plane.
highest part of the Himalayan range,
about
and a half
five
but this
a mere
is
trifle
extent of the Earth.
is
above the
miles,
in
not
relatively
mountains at once refute the
97
supptosi-
Everest, the
feet, or
29,000
level of the sea,
comparison with the vast
It is estimated
that that portiooi
of the Earth constituting the Continents of Europe, Asia,,
and Africa
about 10,800 miles in breadth, and that
is
the length of North and South America
miles, besides
which there
is
about 8,200
is
the large, but
much
smaller
Continent of Australia, and islands innumerable, of great
The
and small degree.
land above
sfea level is
The whole
average height of the whole-
considered to be about 1,000
feet.
surface of the world is reckoned to be-
about two hundred million square miles, of which threetenths
Some
and others only
the
to
stated
is
authorities
sounded
places
greatest
to
be
of
one-fourth,,
expanse of
any ocean as yet
Pacific,
where in some
over four thousand fathoms, which
more than four and a
appear that the
for the
may be
Professor W.
as
is
from which
half miles,
it
a
little
would
irregularities of the sea are not so great
as those of the land.
that,
land
depth
found to be in the
is
it is
the
one-fifth in proportion to the
The
water.
be land and seven-tenths water.*"
estimate
most
seen
part,
It
has been supposed, indeed,
the great ocean beds are
flat,
from the following quotation from
B. Carpenter's work, "
The Deep Sea and
its contents "
" Nothing seems to have struck the
*
"The
'
Challenger's
'
surveyors
Library Atlas," William Collins, Sons & Co., Limited Glasgow,
London, and Edinburgh.
;
TERRA FIRMA
98
chap,
v., sec. 2.
more than the extraordinary flatness (except in the neighbourof the Earth's crust
hood of land) of that depressed portion
which forms the fioor of the ocean area."
This compaxative
flatness
of the
vast
ocean beds
will account for the calm, regular flow of the immense
currents of the Great
Deep
and proves beyond
doubt
become shallower
•"
where
the
that
It is also
Planetary Globe.
ference,
to be referred to afterwards,
Earth
not
is
a
noteworthy that the oceans
in the vicinity of the Southern Circum-
the
soundings
the
of
"
Erebus
"
and
From
Great Deep
Terror " varied from 400 to only 200 fathoms.*
this it
would appear that the waters of the
are contained in a vast circular rocky basin, and confirms
the Scriptural statement that the Earth "
the seas and established
upon the
SECTION
is
floods "
founded upon
Psa. xxiv.
2.
2,
THE COMPASS A PROOF THAT THE EARTH
A PLANET.
IS
NOT
Our Modem Astronomers have strained every nerve
make p>eople believe that the Earth is a Globulai
Of the many proofs which may be given that
Planet.
to
not,
it is
one of the simplest and
best, after those derived
from Scripture and the incontrovertible fact of the levelness of the sea,
Had
it,
is
obtained from the Mariner's Compass.
the Astronomers, or their disciples, only consulted
they
would soon have been convinced, from the
following reasons, that the Earth
*
"Imperial Gazetteer,"
is
not a Planet but a
article "Antarctic," p. 165.
THE COMPASS PROVES EARTH NOT A PLANET.
The
Plane.
needle of this most important instrument
two ends pointing North and South at the
is straight, its
same
99
time,
consequently the meridians must be straight
lines also;
whereas, on a Globe, they aie semi-circles.
Even
Equator the needle points
at the
straight,
which
would be impossible, were that the mid-way of a vast
convex Globe,
in such case, the one end would dip
as,
towards the North, and the other be pointed towards
Again, the navigator,
the sky.
when he goes
to sea,
takes his observations, and relies on the Comp>ass to
guide him as to the direction in which he wishes to
proceed
;
he does not provide himself with the model of
a Globe, which,
be the
maps or
if
if
the world were a Globe, would surely
him
safest plan for
charts.
Thus, in
to adopt, but he takes
practice,
he
sails his
fiat
ship as
the sea were horizontal, though in theory he had been
erroneously taught that
I
shall
it is
convex.
not enter into a discussion respecting t^e
deviation or declination of the
Compass
in certain places,
especially in very high latitudes, the cause of which has
not yet been satisfactorily explained.
The
late
Astronomer Royal, Sir George B. Airy, says
in his treatise
"
On
on Magnetism
the whole
we must
express our opinion that the general
cause of the Earth's magnetism
still
remains one of the mysteries
of cosmical physics."
Professor
Newmayer remarks
"That without an examination and survey of the magnetic
it was utterly hopeless to
properties of the Antarctic regions,
strive
with any prospects of success at the advancement of the
theory of the Earth's magnetism."
I
do not expect, however, that such examination, which,
TERRA FIRMA.
loo
indeed, should have been
to clear
up the mystery
The
chap,
made long
ago, will
sec. 2.
v.,
do much
of the magnet.
Compass into Europe is of
most probably the first
application of it there was made by Marcus Paulus, a
Venetian, who had travelled in China, and brought back
introduction of the
comparatively
date;
recent
What
the invention from that country in 1260.
this conjecture
is,
as stated under the article "
confirms
Compass
"
in the Encylopsedia Britannica
" That at
first
as the Chinese
they used the Compass in the same manner
still
do,
i.e.,
they
let it float
on a
little
piece of
added that their Emperor
Chiningus, a celebrated Astrologer, had a knowledge of it
on a
cork, instead of
pivot.
It is
1,120 years before Christ."
The
Phoenicians,
and the
their
in
Cassiterides,
long voyages
to
they
and from Tarshish
their three-year expeditions to
and Ophir.*
its use,
when
as also the Israelites in the time of Solomon,
made
Carthage
must doubtless have known
Modems, who deem themselves " so very
many things, mere parvenus
" in science, are, in
advanced
to the Ancients.
Our Astronomers,
as also all
the use of the Compass,
its
tell
who
are acquainted with
when
that,
us,
the
Earth
axis,
is
continuously
twenty-four
turning
North
as they
round
its
Sun upwards
of five
sixty millions of miles every year, it follows,
as a matter of course, that the needle
the
if,
,
thousand miles every day,
well as travelling around the
hundred and
undisturbed,
Now
needle always points to the North.
imaginary
as
know
as being in every part of
heavens, during the time occupied
* I
Kings
X. II, 22; 2
would point out
tJie
circuit of the
by the Earth
Chron.
x. 21.
in
its
THE COMPASS PROVES EARTH NOT A PLANET.
supposed revolutions; so
that, in this case, the
Magnetic
would be a
Pole, instead of being a specific point,
loi
vast
circle.
But the North
does not
leave
that particular locality which
is
under the Pole or North
situate immediately
The Compass,
habitat
its
Star,
carried round with the world, while
its
is
and
being
in
needle would
still
point to the North, would consequently cease to be
of any service whatever in showing the true direction by
land or sea j
for the
whims
its
its
North
of
occupation, like Othello's, would be gone,
not change
will
Modem
God
place was fixed by
—there
it
is
now
—and
heavens be no more
position to suit the
Under the Pole
before the creation of
there
"
it
Job
and the works that are therein
2 Pet
its
Astronomers.
remain "
will
xiv. 12,
and
shall
" the
Star
Adam
till
the
Earth also
be burned up
"
Hi. 10.
Notwithstanding
our Astronomers
this
still
persist
in teaching the Earth's axial motion, and its revolution
round the Sun, theories which,
if
true,
would, for the
reasons above given, result in the utter obliteration of
all
locality,
engulfment of
North,
all
To
one universal chaos.
Jacob
—Gen.
"
O my
xlix.
soul,
To what depths
the Word of God
and West, and the
such I would exclaim with
enter not thou into their secret
for poor Astronomic
Alas!
6.
East,
South,
the distinctive landmarks of nature in
of folly
does
it
for fables.
descend when
The
fact of the
Science!
it
rejects
Compass
needle always pointing to the North, like the fact of
water invariably finding
its
own
level, conclusively
—a
that the Earth is stationary
and not a revolving Planet.
proves
veritable Terra Firma,
TERRA FIRMA.
SECTION
chap,
v.,
sec. 3.
3.
DANGERS OF NAVIGATION IN SOUTHERN SEAS,
CAUSED BY THE THEORY THAT THE
WORLD
Modem
shipping in
IS
GLOBULAR.
Astronomers have caused great danger to
Southern
by inducing the Nautical
Seas,
on the
we look at
Authorities to frame their tables of Navigation
assumption that the world
any globe we see that
at the
of
its
Globular.
is
circumference
middle than at any other
the
world
at
the
part.
Equator
is
Astronomers as being about 25,000
If
is
always greater
The
circumference
by
our
statute, miles,
and
estimated
consequently longitudes decrease contintiously from that
line to
what they
upon the
call
the North and South Poles.
principle, as taught
observation, that the world
is
not a Planet, but consists
of vast masses of land stretched out
"
the
North
But,
by Scripture and common
upon
being the centre of the system,
level
it is
seas,
evident
that the degrees of longitude will gradually increase in
width the whole way from the North centre to the icy
boundary of the great Southern Circumference.
In con-
sequence of the difference between the actual extent of
them by the Nautical
Cape
of Good Hope, has been estimated to amount to a
great number of miles, many Ship-masters have lost their
longitudes and that allowed for
Authorities,
which
reckoning, and
difference, at the latitude of the
many
vessels
have been wrecked.
DANGERS OF NAVIGATION
Parallax,
in
able
his
previously mentioned,
but the whole
shall confine
is
IN
SOUTHERN
" Zetetic
work
SEAS.
103
Astronomy,"
has gone fully into this matter,
too long for
quotation
so
here,
I
myself only to a few of the more important
particulars
"In laying the Atlantic cable from the Great Eastern
steamer in i865 the distance from Valencia, on the South-
Western coast of Ireland, to Trinity Bay, in Newfoundland,
was found
30'
to be 1,665 miles.
The longitude
W., and of Trinity Bay 53° 30' W.
The
of Valencia is 10"
difference of longi-
tude between the two places being 43', and the whole distance
round the earth being divided into 360°-
Hence,
if
43° be
found to be 1,665 nautical or 1942 statute miles, 360° will be
13.939 nautical or 16,262 statute miles
tion
of
i!,556
radius to circumference,
statute
then taking the propor-
;
we have
nautical or
2,200
miles as the actual distance from Valencia in
Ireland to the Polar centre of the earth's surface."
The above reckoning was
p. 91.
corroborated almost exactly
United
States
"the difference of longitude between Heart's Content
station,
by Mr.
Gould,
Coast Surveyor to the
Government, who ascertained
Newfoundland, and that
at Valencia, or in other words, be-
tween the extreme points of the Atlantic cable
—to be
2 hours,
51 minutes, 56.5 seconds."*
"
The Sun passes over
the earth, and returns to the same
point in twenty-four hours.
seconds,
it
If
in 2 hours, 51 minutes, 56.5
passes from the meridian of the Valencia end of the
cable to that of the termination at Heart's Content, a distance
of 1,942 statute miles,
hours?
On making
how
the
far will
calculation,
it
travel in twenty-four
the
answer
* Liverpool Mercury, 8th January, 1867.
is
16,265
TERRA FIRMA.
I04
The
statute miles.
"In
.
Icxjk at
first
Almanac
the Australian
n8
page
process."
which
Sydney
50'
05"
Sydney 33"
S.
51'
Almanac
and longitude 174°
45"
S.,
is
given as 1,315 miles
At
equal to 1,534 statute miles.
is
of the Australian
for 1871, page 126,* the distance
to
H.M.S. Acheron, communicates the
36°
p. 92.
a Southern Longitude
from Auckland (New Zealand)
nautical measure,
v., sec. 3.
result is only three miles greater distance
than that obtained by the
Let US now
chap,
for 1859, Captain Sloper,
latitude
and longitude 151°
;
34'
as
latitude of
The
15" E.
16'
difference in longitude or time distance, is 23°
lating as in the case of Valencia to
Auckland
of
40'' E.
51'
25", calcu-
Newfoundland, we
find that
23° 34' 25" represents 1,534 statute miles, 360° will give 23,400
statute miles as the circumference of the earth at the latitude
of Sydney, Auckland,
and the Cape of Good Hope.
Hence
the radius or distance from the centre of the north to the
is,
in
round numbers, 3,720 miles.
in the same way,
we
find that
above places
Hope
is fully
As
from Sydney
to the
8,600 statute miles."
pp. 93, 94.
Longitudes
farther
regaids
still
Calculating
Cape
of
Good
South Parallax
writes as follows
" Having seen that the diameter of the Earth's surface
taking the distance from Auckland in
and thence
Cape
to the
7,440 statute miles
;
of
we may
New
Good Hope,
inquire
how
Zealand, to Sydney,
as a
far
datum
it is
arc
—
is
from any of
the above places to the great belt of ice which surrounds the
Southern oceans.
Although large ice islands and icebergs are
met with a few degrees beyond Cape Horn, what may be
often
called the solid, immovable ramparts of ice seem to be as far
south as 78 degrees.
*
In a paper read by Mr. Locke before the
Published by Gordon
&
Gotch, London, Sydney, and Melbourne.
DANGERS OF NAVIGATION
SOUTHERN
IN
SEAS.
105
Royal Dublin Society, on Friday evening, November 19th,
i860, and printed in the Journal of that Society, a map is given
representing Antarctic discoveries, on which
posed exploration
route,'
the third paragraph
diagram No.
is
it
traced
is
a.
'pro-
by Captain Maury, U.S.A.; and in
said:
request attention to the
'I
representing an approximate tracing of the
i,
supposed Antarctic continent, and showing the steamer track,
about twelve days from Port Philip, the chief naval station of
the Austral seas, to
ravine,
some available landing
point, bight or
under the shadow of the precipitous
steamer's track
is
map
given on this
The
coast.'
in a dotted line, curving
eastwards from 150 degrees to 180 degrees longitude, and from
Port Philip to 78 degrees south latitude.
of such an arc,
we
If
we
take the chord
shall find that the direct distance
from Port
Philip to jS degrees south would be about nine days'
ten days' from Sydney.
No
ordinary steamer would
sail,
or
sail
in
such latitudes more than 150 miles a day; hence ten times 150
would be
which added
to the previous ascertained
would make the
total radius of the earth,
1,500 miles;
radius at Sydney,
from the northern centre
to the farthest
cumference,
statute
to
be
5,224
known southern
Thus,
miles.
practical data, setting all theories aside,
it is
cir-
from purely
ascertained that
the diameter of the earth, from the Ross Mountains, or from the
volcanic mountains of which
Mount Erebus
same radius distance on the opposite
centre, is
more than
10,400 miles
;
is
the chief, to the
side of the northern
and the circumference, 32,800
statute miles." pp. 97, gf.
In consequence of the difference between
fact
and
theory, as exemplified by the actual extent of longitudes
in Southern seas greatly exceeding the calculations
by
Official Authorities,
tion
that
the world
is
made
which are based on the supposiglobular,
instead
of horizontal,
TERRA FIRMA.
io6
many
chap,
have been
valuable lives and vessels
who have been educated
know not how tO' account for
Ship-captains,
theory,
much
out of their course in
generally put
futile,
it
down
sacrificed.
in the globular
their
getting so
and
Southern latitudes,
but this reason
to currents;
may
although currents
for
v., sec. 3,
and
usually run in opposite directions,
is
they
do not
vessels
are fre-
exist,
Even
quently wrecked, whether sailing East or West.
James Clarke Ross, R.N.,
such an astute navigator as Sir
remarks in his " South Sea Voyages "
" We found ourselves every day from twelve to sixteen miles
by observation
"
By our
in advance of our reckoning."
observations at noon
we found
—
^Vol. I., p. 96.
ourselves fifty-eight
miles to the eastward of our reckoning in two days."
As proof
from
that
much danger
to
great nautical mistake
this
of longitudes
in
Southern
seas,
p. 27.
and property
life
respecting the
I
arises
extent
beg to subjoin the
following testimony from independent sources
" In the Southern hemisphere navigators to India have often
fancied themselves east of the
Cape when
still
west,
and have
been driven ashore on the African coast, which, according to
their reckoning, lay behind them.
This misfortune happened
to a fine frigate the Challenger in 1845."*
"
How came Her
Majesty's ship Congueror to be lost?
have so many other noble
vessels, perfectly
navigated, been wrecked in
manned,
How
perfectly
calm weather, not only in a dark
night, or in a fog, but in broad daylight
and sunshine
—in the
former case upon the coasts, in the latter upon sunken rocks
from being
now have
'
out of reckoning,' under circumstances which until
baffled every satisfactory explanation. "t
"
t "
Tour through Creation," by Rev, Thomas Milner, M.A.
Figure of the Earth," p. ao6, by Von Gumpach,
DANGERS OF NAVIGATION
SOUTHERN
IN
SEAS.
107
"Assuredly there are many shipwrecks from alleged errors
of reckoning,
which may
arise
from a somewhat
false idea of
the general form and measurement of the Earth's surface
a
subject,
cussed."
therefore,
;
such
ought to be candidly and boldly
dis-
*
So long as our Nautical Authorities continue under
the mesmerism of Modem Astronomers, we may expect
but little, if any, change in the Laws of Navigation, and,
as for the Astronomers,
judging from the past, there
much chance
does not seem
not impossible that even from
is
spirits
may
arise,
of amendment.
Still,
it
among them, some brave
common
who, for the sake of our
humanity, will break the bonds of theory by grasping the
sword of
that the
and
fact.
would respectfully and earnestly suggest
I
Government
appoint
a
itself
should take up the matter,
competent
Committee
world
is
Globular or Horizontal.
Committee are honest,
would
who'
as to whether the
thoroughly investigate the subject,
men
If the
of that
and willing to determine the
question by their appeal to facts, corroborated by actual
demonstration, as
slightest
weU
as
doubt that the
by Scripture,
result
I
have not the
of their verdict would
—
be
that the Earth is a Terra Firma, stretched out
the horizontal waters of the Great Deep.
ment
could
then
give
instructions
to
Nautical
the
Authorities at the Board of Trade, to
amend
of Navigation accordingly, just as in
1862, the
of
Lords and
Commons
issued an Order that
their
all
*
The BuUdtr, 90th September
1862,
Laws
Houses
Railways
were to be constructed on a Datum Horizontal
without allowing one inch for curvature.
on
The Govern-
line
TERRA FIRMA.
io8
SECTION
chap,
v.,
sec. 4,
4.
THE SUPPOSED REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH
AROUND THE SUN PROVED TO BE UNTRUE.
Mr. Laing, on page 122 of " Modern Science and
Modem
Thought,"
"The
miles,
tells
us that
distance of the Earth from the
and
its orbit
an
Mid-Winter, in round numbers,
from the spot where
it
was
in
it is
If
it
true
93 million
there
would,
is
altogether fabulous.
by observation, be
covered a difference in the relative position of the
but there
is
in,
186 million miles distant
Mid-Summer."
Such revolution of the Earth
wiere
Sun being
ellipse nearly circular, it follows that
disstars,
This fact was one of Tycho Brahe's
not.
chief objections against the theory of a revolving Earth.
Experiments were tried in
months to
test if there
his
was any
day at intervals of
six
difference, but, after the
keenest scrutiny, none was found, thus proving the Earth
to be stationary.
Tychoi Brahe was not only a great
Astronomer, but an honest man, and dared, in spite of
all
toi speak what he believed to be true.
we had a few more like him now; in such
would soon be a change in Astronomic and
opposition,
Would
that
case there
Geograpliic text-books, as far as regards the figure of
the world.
Mr. Laing attempts an explanation, as follows
"Their
(the
stars)
distance
is
so vastly greater than 186
million miles, that a change of basis to this extent makes no
REVOLUTION OF EARTH SHOWN TO BE UNTRUE.
109
change perceptible to the most refined instruments in their
bearing as seen from the Earth."
Nil
Dicit,
his explanation is simply
presumed measurements of a
stars,
and
hjave
are,
bjeen
—
made on an
entirely erroneotts
therefore, not of the slightest value.
objection against the revolution of the Earth
to
The
^nothing.
few, apparently the nearest,
be as valid now, as when he proved
basis,
Tycho's
is
known
more
truth
its
than 300 years ago, and the subterfuge used to evade
it
is utterly futile.
Our Modem Astronomers were at first of opinion
Sun was the Centre of the Universe, but in later
that the
years, as has
been already observed, most,
if
not
all
of
those whose ideas respecting the infinite have become
now
very considerably enlarged,
subsidiary
itself,
They
Solar system.
mere
although
satellite of
still
still
think the
feel the
motion?
I
like myself,
my
at the
it
Dear Reader, do
trow not, for
would not so quietly be reading
you have been,
to be a
consider the Earth to be a
the Sun, and to revolve around
rate of eighteen miles per second!
you
Sun
the Baal or Lord of the
if
book.
you
I
did,
you
doubt not
on a railway platform when
an express train rushed wildly past at the rate of
per hour, when the concussion of the
sixty-
air
almost
terrible
would
be the shock of the Earth's calculated motion of
five thousand miles per hour, one thousand times
sixty-
five miles
knocked you down.
But how much more
faster
than the speed of the railway express. Astronomers try
to evade the argument that persons would be killed
thereby, by saying that, as the air goes around with the
Sun, the shock would not be felt, but this will not meet
the facts of the case, for thousands of people travel from
no
TERRA FIRMA.
East to West, which
is
chap,
—
—so
that
4.
^from
West
to
such travellers would have to bear the
whole force of the concussion.
deaths,
sec.
directly contrary to the course
which Astronomers say the Earth takes
East
v.,
Happily, however, no
resulting from such a catastrophe, have as yet
been recorded in the columns of The Times or Telegraph,
so that
it
would decidedly seem that the tremendous
revolution of the Earth, whirling round the Sun, were a
mere phantom
What
of the Astronomic brain.
about
"
That
floats
The lazy-pacing cloud,
upon the bosom of the air? "
According to the dictum of science,
it
should, with the
speed of lightning, follow the atmosphere of the Earth
round the Sxm, but
"
it
moves
as.
The boy, with
slowly as
satchel
on
his back.
Creeping like snail unwillingly to school."
What about
the lark which, at early
of luscious
trilling its lays
melody?
mom,
Why
swept away in the tumultuous atmosphere?
soars
aloft,
was
it
But
it still
not
continues singing, in happy ignorance of any commotion
in
the
Summer
heavens.
Who
has not noticed,
on a calm
day, the thistIfr<iowii floating listlessly in the
and the smoke ascending,
straight
as an
arrow,
air,
from
Would not such light things as
smoke have to obey the impulse and
go with the Earth also? But they do not. I am sure that
neither Mr. Coxwell and his companion, nor, indeed, any
other asronauts, would ever have ventured into the car of a
the peasant's cottage?
thistle-do*n and
balloon,
if
they thought they would run the risk of being
carried round
atmosphere
the Sun by the resistless force of the
accompanying
the
Earth.
Yet
such,
THE EARTH STRETCHED UPON THE WATER,
iii
according to the law of science, would undoubtedly be
the case with respect to the balloon, but, whether the
bodies of the unfortunate aeronauts would continue to
be carried round the Sun,
Ixion on the wheel, or
like
whether, becoming melted by the heat, like the wax on
the wings of Icarus, they would
is
a question which
decide,
I
am
and prefer leaving
it
fall
not
into the gulf below,
sufficiently
learned
to
for discussion at an early
meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society.
It is evident, therefore,
there
is
no revolution
from the above reasons, that
of the Earth around the Sun.
SECTION
5.
THE EARTH STRETCHED UPON THE WATERS, WHICH
HAVE AN IMPASSABLE CIRCUMFERENCE.
If the
Reader
will
kindly look at the
Map
at the
beginning of this book, he will see that the centre of this
world
is
at
that part
which our Astronomers
call
the
no very great distance,
Europe,
Asia,
and North America
the Continents of
commence their far-extending masses amid vast oceans
North Pole, around which,
at
towards the great icy barriers of the Southern Circumference, which
no human being has ever
yet passed.
According to the teaching of the Bible, the Earth
is
STRETCHED OUT UPON THE WATERS ItTUgO he arets ol
hi-mim Fsa. cxxxvi. 6. Zeruqo comes from the verb
—
TERRA FIRMA.
112
chap,
hence the noun
re^o, to stretch out, extend, or expand,
expanse of the
reqio, the finnament, or the stretched out
There
no idea whatever of globularity in the
simply means " stretched out " or " spread
heavens.
word,
v., sec. 5.
it
is
This we may see by the following quotations—
They did beat into thin plates the gold " veriqou at pehhe
abroad."
"
—Exod.
htzehheb
xxxix.
He
"
Again
3.
that
spread
abroad the Earth and that whiqh cometh out of
SpeaMng
Isa. xlii. 5.
among
the Temanite, said to Job
measure thereof
is
it
"
of the greatness of God, Zophar,
other similitudes
—
" the
longer than the Earth and broader
than the Sea"
question
Job xi. g, and Jehovah asks Job the
Hast thou considered the breadth of the
—
"
Earth ? "
There
Job xxxviii. 18.
no
is
spheroddity in
measures of length and breadth.
upon the waters
Farther, this stretching out the Earth
was done by God alone
by Myself"
Earth
no
is
re^o
—
—
he arets meati
fortuitous
out the Earth
" that stretcheth
concourse
Isa.
xliv.
of
atoms,
24..
The
as
some
suppose, nor an off-shoot from the Sun, as thought by
others, nor even
metamorphosed from that
when
of
a
Professor Thomson,
Glasgow audience
indeed,
a
most
"
wonderful
Lord Kelvin,
stone," with the mythic account of which.
weak nerves
That was,
shot from some
astonished the
some years
" wonderful
stone,"
ago.
ruptured body in the heavens, containing germs which,
in the course of unfxjdd millions of years,
into varying forms of life
and
were evolved
usefulness, until at last
the " wonderful stone " became this beautiful world of
ours!
With
this
marvellous
great goddess Diana, which,
Jupiter,
it
stone
was
the
image of the
said, fell
down from
was nothing whatever in comparison.
Let us
THE EARTH STRETCHED UPON THE WATER.
hear the
Word
things;
that
of
—
God
am Jehovah
" I
out
stretcheth
maketh
that
heavens
the
113
all
that
aJone,
spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself; that frustrateth
the tokens of the
liars, and maketh diviners mad; that
tumeth wise men backward, and maketh their know-
ledge foolish "
The
waters under
of course,
has,
we
so
it;
read that the
were commanded as follows
Israelites
"
Isa. xliv. 24, 25.
Earth, being thus " stretched upon the waters,"
Thou
shalt not
make unto thee any graven image,
or any
likeness of any thing that is in the Earth beneath, or that
under the Earth"
the waters
shalt not
is
No
waters could
—but
the Earth
in
any
or any likeness of
Heaven above, or on the Earth beneath, or that
in
in the waters beneath the
Planet
is
—"Thou
and again
4.;
make thee any graven image,
thing that
is
Exod. xx.
waters
do
Earth "
—Deut.
v. 8.
under a revolving
possibly exist
exist
under the Earth
—therefore
not a revolving Planet.
is
In Isaiah
xl.
upon or over
Hebrew word
22 God
(pt)
is
" the
poetically described as sitting
circle
of
there used for circle
The
Earth."
the
is
hhoog, a circle or
circumference, not a globe, and the Greek word used to
translate
it
in
the same passage in the
no word
circle
is
fact is that
for " globe " or " sphere " occurs in the Bible
from beginning to end.
read,
Septuagint
The
guros, a circle, not sphaira, a sphere.
Again, in Proverbs
be-hhegoo hhoog ol pent tehoom, "
upon the face
of
the
deep,"
viii.
when
27,
He
referring
we
set a
to
the
impassable ice barriers of the great Southern Circumference.
This
is
—"He
corroborated by Job xxvi. 10
hath described a circumference upon the face of the
8
TERRA FIRMA.
114
unto the boundary
waters,
or,
Young
as Dr.
of
translates it
—
"
The word here used
darkness "
with
light
He
a limit hath
on the waters, unto the boundary of
v., sec. 5.
chap,
placed
light with darkness."
"boundary" or "limit"
for
is
hhoog, the same as described as " circle " or " circumference," as previously noted.
Before
there
leaving
subject
this
Circumference,
the
of
one other passage in the Authorised Version of
is
the Bible to which
made a
would
I
been
like to refer, as it has
pretext for believing the theory of the Earth
round
whirling
Sun.
the
stretcheth out- the
It
North over
empty
tTie
hangeth the Earth upon nothing
"
Hebrew
is
tehoo
belimeh,
the
neteh
tsephoon
proper
ol
translation
follows
as
is
"
The
7.
tehleh
which
He
and
place,
Job xxvi.
of
—
arets
ol
"
He
is
—
spreadeth out the North over the desolate' place (the
abyss
of
waters),
fastenings."
and
am much
I
supporteth
surprised
translators of the Authorised
such a distinguished
upon
Earth
the
that
not
only
scholar as
the late
Dr.
Robert
Young, could have made such a strange mistake,
say that
is
"
so
it
distinctly contradicts
many
as to
hangeth the Earth upon nothing," which
common
the Word
neither a proper rendering nor
which
in
God
the
and Revised Versions, but
sense
of
;
God
besides
which,
other places, declares that the Earth rests
upon Foundations.
There must be a support for any
thing that hangs, and our
Modem
Astronomers were not
long in taking advantage of the above mistranslation by
saying that, as
it
was impossible for such a heavy mass
itself, the passage must mean
Sun by the force of Gravitation.
examination of two words in the original
as the Earth to stand by
that
it
But a
whirls round the
little
TERRA FIRMA.
ii6
application of
"What can
it
chap,
v., sbc. 5.
which he makes when he says
this
mean but
between which the Earth
is
the columns of light and
suspended (comp.
which, like the two leins of a bridle, hold
the expression) the mighty steed within
its
(if
it.
may be
I
spirit,
and
8),
allowed
circular course."*
That Paxkhurst, from the "Record
an excellent man, there
Sam.
/
of his Life," was
every reason to believe, and
is
was a profound scholar we know, but he was
that he
and held peculiar views as to the
movements by means of conflicting ethers, which
he drags in on every possible occasion. I cannot here
a Hutchinsonian,
Earth's
enter
into
his
untenable,
but
examine
to an able
"
The
it
work by Mr.
be quite
J.
A. Macdonald,
a Critique and an
" Analytical
Hebrew and Chaldee
" also gives the
to
bind,
to
and the Bible ;
Argument." f Bagster's
authority,
consider
I
would refer any who might wish to
Principia
Lexicon
which
theory,
bridle,"
meaning
and
I
am
of the verb belem, " to
informed,
on
reliable
that Breslau also derives belimeh from belem
to fasten, but I have not his Lexicon at
hand to
verify
the fact myself.
It
is,
therefore, evident
that the real
God
from the above examination,
meaning of belimeh
supports the Earth
upon
in Job xxvi. y
fastenings,
or,
is
in
that
other
words, upon "foundations," the truth of which will be
fully
will
confirmed in the following Section, in which
be seen that the Earth
is
it
not only stretched out
upon the waters which have an impassable circumference,
but
that
it
has
Immovable Foundations,
therefore
ir
CANNOT BE A PLANET.
* Parkhurst's Hebren Lexicon, p. 65, 8th Edition
Bridge Street, London.
t Judd Sl Glass,
New
;
C.
& J.
Rivington, London,
THE EARTH HAS IMMOVABLE FOUNDATIONS.
SECTION
117
6.
THE EARTH PROVED TO HAVE IMMOVABLE
FOUNDATIONS.
"The
"
—
The foundations
rebuke of Jehovah
"
Declare
if
if
it.
when
it
" The world also
Psa.
xviii. 75.
understanding.
Who
determined
the
sockets
\yestdtK)
it
to sink? or
—
4.
upon the
floods "
upon the
is
made
/06 xxxviii.
it
and estab-
seas,
Psa. xxiv.
established that
who
6.
z.
cannot be moved "
xciii. t and. xcvi. 10.
"Of
Psa.
the
thou knowest? or who stretched the line
He hath founded
lished (yeboeneneh)
at
foundations of the Earth?
I laid the
"
laid the corner-stone thereof?
"
and Psa.
xxii. 16,
Whereupon were the
it?
set
8.
world were discovered
of the
thou hast
measures thereof
upon
/
Sam.
2 Sam.
" Where wast thou
He hath
Earth are the Lord's, and
pillars of the
the Earth upon them "
old hast
cii.
"He
moved
(vetomed)
Earth"—
laid the foundation of the
25.
founded the Earth upon
for ever "
Thou
Thou
Psa.
its
bases that
it
cannot be
civ. 5.
hast established (kunenet) the Earth and
it
abideth"
—Psa. cxix. go.
"Jehovah
by
wisdom
founded
the
(yisti)
Earth"
Pro. Hi. ig-
"
When He
gress His
of the
gave the sea
its
bound, that
it
should not trans-
commandment, when He appointed
Earth "—Pro.
the foundations
viii. eg.
" For the windows on high are open, and the foundations of
the Earth do shake "—Isa. xxiv.
i8.
TERRA FIRMA.
ii8
"Have ye not understood from
Earth?"—/ja. xl. zi.
chap,
v., sec. 6.
the foundations (musduf)
of the
"Yea, mine hand hath laid the foundation of the Earth"
Isa. xlviii. 13.
" If
Heaven above can be measured, and the foundations
the Earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off
seed of Israel for
all
they have done, saith Jehovah"
all that
of
the
—
Jer. xxxi. 57.
O
" Hear,
ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye
enduring foundations of the Earth
"
''
Mic.
foundation (katabole) of the world "
used in
this
vi. z.
things which have been kept secret from the
I will utter
Matt.
xiii. 35.
down," see Heb.
xi.
The word
literally "
passage for foundation means
a casting
Parkhurst in his Greek and English
11.
Lexicon, p. 299,* writes as follows
" If katabole in this expression be understood strictly in this
sense,
seem
will
it
a
laying
kosmou to the Hebrew
which
the Earth,
" Inherit the
is
Hebrew
parallel to the
foundation,
and
the
arets
yesed,
whole
The blood
of all the prophets
foundation of the world "
" For
world "
"
Thou
John
Even
world"
as
lovedst
Me
Luke
tou
Old Testament,"
&o.
for you, pro katabole kosmou,
before the foundation of the world "
"
katabole
laying the foundations of
several times used in the
Kingdom prepared
yesed, founding or
phrase
Matt. xxv. 34.
which was shed from the
xi. 50.
(fro) before
the foundation of the
xvii. 24.
He
Eph.
i.
chose us in
Him
before the foundation of the
4.
" Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of
the
Earth"—H(!i.
i.
10.
" Who was fore-ordained, indeed, before the foundation of the
world"
—
/ Pet.
i.
zo.
* Edition, 1851,
Longman &
Co.,'
London.
THE EARTH HAS IMMOVABLE FOUNDATIONS.
"Whose names
Lamb,
"And
they
that
There
may
of the
on the Earth
dwell
whose names were not written
foundation of the world" Rev.
still
—Granting
wonder,
they
of Life from the
xvii. 8.
that the Earth has foundations,
fixed,
there
for
no
is
water by which the Earth could be firmly
To
—the
answer
I
this
the Earth was fixed
from
Scriptures
—
true
the waters or seas, but that
to
(ol)
other
Bible does not say that
it
upon or over them, which we know
was founded
positively
JRev. xiii. 8.
however, one question which the enquirer
is,
ask
stability in
held?
of Life of the
shall
Book
the
in
what are these foundations
to
Book
world"
are not written in the
from the foundation
slain
119
"
mentioned
previously
be
to
undkr the Earth
What difficulty would there
the
''
waters
Exod. XX. 4; Deut. v. 8.
be for God, who made the strong firmament of the
Heavens above, and with whom
—Mar.
things are possible
all
"
23, except to " deny Himself
ix.
z Tim.
it.
13,
to form such a vast basin of impregnable rocks as would
Great Deep?
contain the whole waters of the
not written
He
Who
estabhshed
hath
Pro. XXX.
the
hath
Upon
4.
Pro.
Sam.
ii.
8,
and the
settled,
25.
"
The
pillars
of the farthest
earth
hills
ix.
6.
The
known Southern
mountains, and other
Seas,
in various parts
may
in all proba-
which girdle the mighty basin of the world's
—
"
which
of the Earth
form the beginning of those impassable
designated by Job as
? "
hath set the world upon them "
lands, which have been already discovered
bility,
it
such a basin the foundations of
He
Job
Is
garment ?
in a
ends of the
the
all
viii.
are Jehovah's, and
/
bound the waters
mountains could be
were of old
—
"
barriers
location,
a circumference upon the face of
TERRA FIRMA.
120
chap,
v., sec. 6.
the waters, unto the boundary of light with darkness"
Joh xxvi.
10.
One more
means could
be asked
still
—by
Word
pathless
God?
becomes
It
"
forest.
"
the Fiat of God,
His Power " Heb.
of
utterly fails in attempting to solve the
Omnipotence.
—By
what
stupendous basin of rocks be upheld?
once
I reply at
things by the
may
question
this
Canst
by
thou
upholding
all
Thought
3.
problem of God's
a
like
lost,
i.
little
child in a
searching
out
find
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfec-
tion?
It
is
high
Deeper than Sheol,
In depths such as
Heaven what canst thou dO'?
what canst thou know " Job xi. 7, 8.
this, the only right way for us is, in
as
humility of heart, like the poor lacemaker,
" Who knows, and knows no more, her Bible true,
A
truth the brilliant
to believe what
—
God
"
Frenchman never knew,"*
who cannot
lie "
Tit.
i.
2
—
"
founded upon
declares to be true, that the Earth is
the seas, and established upon the floods " Vsa. xxiv. 2.
Oiu:
ignorance
will,
through
then,
changed to knowledge, and our
faith
His teaching,
become a
be
citadel
of strength.
I
am
quite aware of the argument of Accommodation,
used by some, especially by
as
scientific parsons, I
a sort of soporific to their conscience,
God knew
states
in
that
the
the
Bible,
goes round
world
that
the
deference to the ignorance
the
Sun,
Sun goes round
of
Such
men who
daily
prevarication
apparently
so
revolving.
appears to
me
to be nothing less than
*
presume
that, of course,
Cowper's "Truth."
but
in
it,
see
as
making a
it
this
liar
THE EARTH HAS IMMOVABLE FOUNDATIONS.
of
Him
of
to lie "
whom
Heb.
it is
the contempt that
it
" It is impossible for
written
God
and requires to be treated with
18,
vi.
121
What a
deserves.
travesty
would
such be in the character of the Holy God, in thus
lending Himself to such a Jesuitical and such a useless
deception
Dear Reader, do not
let
make any mistake
us
matter of such deep importance as
serve
two masters
—
^we
cannot believe that
and Modern Astronomy are both
of the one
A
is diamietrically
writer in "
We
this.
Bible
the
true, for the teaching
opposed
The Earth and
in a
cannot
tO'
that of the other.
Evidences," of October,
its
1888, truly remarks'
"The
attempt to harmonize the Mosaic and the modern or
professional system of the universe,
communion
of light with
darkness.
waited on such incongruous unions
who
!
plainly to attempt the
is
How
But
often has
still
never seem to recognize the hopelessness of the task."
Even the infidel Thomas Paine clearly saw
ago when he wrote in " The Age of Reason "
"
he
failure
some there are
The two
who
beliefs
this
years
cannot be held together in the same mind,
thinks he can believe both, has thought very
little
of
either."
As God
so distinctly declares that of old
the foundations of the Earth
Fsa.
cii.
25,
us be so sinful and foolish as to say that
He
do not
He
laid
let
did not.
Only shame and confusion of face can be exj>ected to
follow those,
of
the
Living
dying men.
who defiantly reject the revealed Word
God for the contradictory theories of
CHAPTER
VI.
THE HORIZONTALITY OF LAND AND WATER
PROVED.
...
SECTION
1.
Railways
PAGE
.
Rivers
122
.
126
-
Canals
-
127
Submarine Cables
134
Th^ light of Lighthobses seen at a distance
133
SECTION
1.
RAILWAYS.
Our Modem
Astronomers
consisting of land
a
little
at the Equator,
orange.
us
tell
that
the
world,
and water, forms a Globe bulging out
somewhat
Geographers follow
suit,
in the
shape of an
and, in illustration of
the theory, have manufactured a -pasteboard globe, on
which are marked the principal places
a North
Longitude,
and
South Pole,
&c.
&c.,
I
parallels
have beside
in the world, with
of
Latitude
me now
and
Keith's
well-known " Treatise on the use of the Globes," which,
I
am
sure,
would
ordinary mortal
try the patience
who may attempt
and the brains of any
to master its pages.
Astronomers have also favoured us with a Globe of the
RAILWAYS.
125
Heavens, made, like a dress-coat, to order, in the most
approved
style
though the
of fashion,
fact is that the
Heavens are no more a Globe than the Earth
written that
is
—
"
is,
for
it
Stretcheth out the Heavens as a
and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in"
curtain,
—
22 ; Zech.
Isa. xl.
shown,
God
called in
is
xii.
The
i.
Hebrew
reqio,
—
firmament, as already
a stretched out expanse,
and Job is asked the question " Canst thou with Him
(God) spread out the sky, which is strong as a molten
mirror ? "
Job xxxvii. 18.
But, as
we
are
now
dealing
with things that are Terrestrial we shall leave those that
are Celestial for the present.
Rational people believe Salisbury Plain to be a Plane,.
Lake
and
Windermere
Astronomers say that
to
be
but
horizontal,
this is all a mistake, that
our
we must
not trust our eyes, when we see these or other such
we should believe
Lake Windermere,
and places upon the
places, as being horizontal, but that
what they teU
as
also
us, that Salisbury Plain,
other plains,
all
lakes,
Earth, as well as the vast Pacific and
are only parts
have a curve;
of a great Globe,
all
and,
other oceans,
therefore,
besides which, mirabile dictu,
must
that
all
rush together round the Sun at the rate of 65,000 miles
per hour
!
Thiey give their law for this fancied curvature,
based on the world being 25,000 miles in circumference
at
the Equator, as being 8 inches for the
first
2 feet 8 inches for the second, 6 feet for the third,
so on, the rule being to square the
number
mile,
and
of miles
between the observer and the object, then multiply that
square by 8 inches and divide by 12 to bring
the
quotient
nately,
being the supposed
it
curvature.
into feet,
Unfortu-
however, for Astronomers this theory does not
TERRA FIRMA.
124
chap,
sec.
vi.,
i.
agree with fact, for this rule of curvature has been fomid
be
to
both on land and water.
utterly fallacious
All
houses have to be built on level ground, but no allowance
whatever
made
is
even
sea
horizontal,
globular, for
if
at the
same time
which incontestably proves that the
at the Equator,
is
and
for the curvature of the Earth,
compasses point North and South
all
and, therefore, that the world
it
not
is
were, one end of the niagnet would
then dip towards the North and the other point to the
Heavens.
Seeing,
law
doubtless,
the absurdity of the Astronomic
and
curvature,
of
the
the Houses of Lords and
.
1862,
made
Commons,
which,
to
difficulties
attempted to be carried out in practice,
it
would
if
lead,
in the Session of
the following Order with regard to Railway
operations
"The
section shall be
drawn
to the
same
horizontal scale
as the plan, and to a vertical scale of not less than one inch to
eveiy one hundred
and
feet,
shall
show the surface
ground marked in the plan, the intended level
of the
of the proposed
work, the height of every embankment, and the depth of every
cutting,
and a datum
horizontal line, which shall be the same
through the whole length of the work; or any branch thereof
respectively,
and
shall be referred to
near either of the termini.
(See line
some
D.D.
fig.
fixed point.
.
.
.
2)."*
Besides the above Government Order for the con-
on a datum horizontal line, we ate
informed in " Theoretic Astronomy," p. 47, as follows
struction of Railways
"
On
plate,
the Royal Observatory wall at Greenwich
is
a brass
mark
is
154 feet
which
*
states that
Vacher
&
a.
certain horizontal
Sons, Broad Sanctuary, Tothill Street, London,
RAILWAYS.
above mean water
125
Greenwich, and 155.7 feet above mean
at
water at Liverpool."
Here our Astronomers
publicly acknowledge that the
water between Greenwich
diflference of the level of the
and Liverpool
their
is
theoretic
only one foot seven inches, while, by
law of curvature, reckoning the
direct
distance as 180 miles, the difference of level between
these two places should be over four miles
completely
own law
their
stultify
of
They thus
!
and
curvature,
expose themselves to ridicule by thus upholding a theory
so contrary to ascertained fact.
In proof of the Astronomic supposed curvature not
being allowed for in the construction of Railways,
me
cite the case of the
let
well-known London and North-
western Railway between London and Liverpool, which
forms a straight line between these two places of 180
The
miles".
highest
point,
Birmingham, which
station of
of the sea at
London and
about midway,
is
at
is
the
240 feet above the level
Liverpool.
If
we suppose the
Earth to be a globe, the chord of the arc between London
and Liverpool, according to Astronomic theory, would
be
to
Birmingham 5,400
at
feet
above sea
which the actual height of the
(240
feet),
height
than
there
a
when
of
thousand
we
would
feet,
5,640
feet
station at
have
level,
the
which' would
above Ben
Nevis,
added
Birmingham
theoretic
be
the
more
loftiest
Britain, which everyone who has been
Birmingham knows not to be the case. Thus it is
mountain in Great
at
clear that thig Astronomic law of curvature fails in actual
practice.
In a long
line,
like that of the
Great Pacific
Railway, extending across North America, the supposed
curvature
would,
of course,
be proportionately
great.
TERRA FIRMA.
iz6
extending to
many
chap,
vi.,
skc.
2.
miles in height, but not one inch was
allowed by the engineers for curvature during the whole
course of the construction of that vast line of Railway.
And,
if
we think
of
how
it,
could
it
be otherwise?
Railway metals must, of necessity, be
straight,
for
All
how
could any engine or carriage run with safety on a convex
surface ?
SECTION
2.
RIVERS.
Let us look at the case of Rivers.
language of Scripture
it
said of
is
with rivers "
cleave the Earth
Hab.
In the grand
God—
"
Thou
in. g, every
didst
one of
which, large or small, a nameless brook or the mighty
Amazon,
flows
downwards,
run into the sea
in
any part of
''
its
Ecc.
i.
as
7.
it
is
written
—
" All rivers
Whoever heard
course flowing uphill?
of a river
Yet
would require to do were the Earth a Globe.
like the Mississippi,
this
it
Rivers,
which flow from the North south-
wards towards the Equator, would need, according to
Modem
Astronomic theory, to run upwards,
Earth at the Equator
is
as
the
said to bulge out considerably
in other words, is higher than at any other
more,
or,
part.
Thus
3,000
miles,
the Mississippi, in
its
immense course
of over
would have to ascend 11 miles before
reached the Gulf of Mexico!
Whereas
it
is
it
described
as
" a rapid desolating torrent, its violent floods from the melting
CANALS.
snow
of the
127
sweeping away whole
in the higher latitudes,
forests."*
Again, in one portion of
long route, the great river
its
Nile flows for a thousand miles with a
foot,
fall
of only one
which, of course, would be a sheer impossibility,
were the Astronomic curvature a
vature
is
Modern
Yet
reality.
acknowledged to be an
still
this cur-
essential part of
Astronoctiic Science, as taught in this tinsel age.
Well might even Ovid exclaim
"Prob Superi! quantum mortalia pectora
cccca
Noctis haieni."
Heavens
and
!
what thick darkness pervades mortal
Jeremiah
might
repeat
his
wail
breasts,
sorrowful
of
reproach
"
A
wonderful and horrible thing
is
come
to pass in the
land, the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule
by
their
will ye
means, and
my
people love to have
do in the end thereof?
"
it
so,
and what
/er. v. 31.
SECTION
8.
CANALS.
We
shall
now
take evidence of the non-curvature of
the Earth from Canals, and
it
may be
well to
commence
with the Bedford Canal, as that some years ago attracted
a good deal of attention among
The
late
Scientific
men.
Mr. John Hampden, of Swindon, Wilts, a
* " Imperial Gazeteer," article " Mississippi,"
Blackle
Edinburgh, and London.
&
Son, Glasgow,
TERRA FIRMA.
128
chap,
vi.,
sec. 3.
great opponent of the Copernican theory of the Earth,
offered to wager ^£500 that the water of the Bedford
Canal was perfectly
and, after
level,
some considerable
time had elapsed, the challenge was ax;cepted by Professor
Alfred Russell Wallace of London.
accompanied by
their
the
friends,
These gentlemen,
late
Mr.
William
Carpenter, then of Lewisham, afterwards of Baltimore,
Mr.
W.
B. Coulcher of
Editor
Walsh,
Downham
Market, and Mr.
J.
H.
The Field, who held thie stakes,
the Bedford Canal on 5th March, 1870,
of
accordingly met at
to decide the question.
It
was originally intended to
test
experiments similar to those which had been made by
Parallax
several
years
before,
but,
unfortunately,
this
moment abandoned, and another
mode of trial adopted, the effect of which Mr. Hampden
did not understand; in consequence of which, much to
plan was, at the last
his disgust,
Parallax,
from
his
he believed he was done out of the wager.
when he heard the decision, was assured
own former experiments on the Canal, that
there must have been something wrong in carrying out
the test of sth March, and accordingly went
afterwards to the Bedford Canal to
proof of the water being
level.
account of an experiment then
21,
22
" Zetetic
He
make
down soon
still
further
gives the following
made by
on pp.
of his excellent work, previously mentioned
Astronomy
—Earth not a Globe
himself,
"
"Although the experiments already described and many
similar ones, have been tried and often repeated,
first
in 1838,
afterwards in 1844, in 1849, in 1856, and in 1862, the Author
was induced
in 1870 to visit the scene of his former labours,
and to make some other (one or more) experiments
character, that
no error
of so simple
a
of complicated instruments, or process
CANALS.
129
He
of surveying could possibly be involved.
Downham
1870,
and arrived
London
(for
remarkably
clear,
The atmosphere was
and the sun was shining brightly on and
On
against the western face of the bridge.
side of the arch, a large notice board
tolls, &c., for
was
the navigation of the Canal).
board was 6
5,
Old Bedford Sluice Bridge about two
at the
miles from the station, at twelve o'clock.
this
left
Market Station), on Tuesday morning, April
feet 6 inches
the right
hand
affixed (a table of
The lower edge
above the water as shown
of
at
B
figure 12.
'
A
empty
train of several
turf boats
had
just entered the
Canal from the river Ouse, and was about proceeding to Romsey
in
'
Huntingdonshire.
Captain
'
An
arrangement was
made with the
to place the shallowest boat the last in the train
on the lowest part of the stern of the boat a good telescope
was
fixed, the elevation
The sun was
being exactly 18 inches from the water.
shining strongly against the white notice-board,
the air was exceedingly
still
and
clear,
and the surface of the
water smooth as a molten mirror, so that everything was
extremely favourable for observation.
As
boats started for Welney.
At
1.15 p.m. the train of
the boat receded the notice-
board was kept in view, and was plainly visible to the naked
eye for several miles; but, through the telescope
tinctly seen throughout the
whole distance of
it
was
six miles.
dis-
But,
on reaching Welney Bridge, a very shallow boat was procured,
and so fixed that the telescope was brought
of the surface of the water;
board was clearly
visible.
and
The
still
to within 8 inches
the bottom of the notice-
elevation of the telescope being
9
TERRA FIRMA.
13°
8 inches, the line of sight
exists, at the distance of
remaining
chap,
would touch the horizon,
vi.,
if
sec. 3.
convexity-
one statute mile; the square of the
by 8 inches, gives a curvature
five miles, multiplied
of 16 feet 8 inches, so that the bottom of the notice-board
6 feet 6 inches atbove the water
—should
2 inches below the horizon, as shown in
FIG.
As
it
may perhaps be
fig.
have been 10
13.
possible that
some persons may
imagine water to be globular, from the decision
still
having been given against Mr. Hampden,
the following
join
who
summary
thoroughly investigated
from which
from
will
it
the
of
it
I
case
beg to subby Parallax,
at the time of occurrence,
be seen that the mishap
the convexity of the
instrument by which
the
feet
13 "
arose,
not
water of the Canal, but from
it
was measured having been
improperly adjusted.
"
On
the 5th of March, 1870, a party, consisting of Messrs.
John Hampden,
of Swindon, Wilts, Alfred Wallace, of London,
William Carpenter, of Lewisham, M. W. B. Coulcher, of Down-
ham
Market, and
J.
H. Walsh, Editor
assembled on the northern bank of the
of
'
The Field newspaper,
Old Bedford Canal,'
repeat experiments similar to those described in
and
5
on pages
11 to 14 of this
need not be referred
intention,
of the
at
to here,
work.
an elevation of
13
at Salter's
feet
z,
to
3, 4,
But, from causes which
they abandoned their original
and substituted the following.
Old Bedford Bridge,
figs,
On
the western face
Lode, a signal was placed
4 inches above the water in the
CANALS.
Canal
;
131
at the distance of three miles a signal post, with a disc
was so
12 inches in diameter on the top,
fixed that
the disc was 13 feet 4 inches above the water line
the centre of
'
'
and
;
at the
distance of another three miles (or six miles altogether), on
the eastern side of the Welney Bridge, another signal was
placed '3 inches above the top
rail of the bridge,
4 inches above the water-line.'*
sented in the following diagram,
and
This arrangement
fig.
13 feet
repre-
is
94.
FIG. 94.
"A,
the signal on the Old Bedford Bridge; B, the telescope
on Welney Bridge
;
The
from each end.
and C, the centre signal
post, three miles
object-glass of the telescope
was
diameter; hence, the centre, or true eye-line, was
higher than the top of the signal B,
On
top of the signal-disc at C.
a
power
of 50,'
and
3^
was,
it
;
inches
inches
inches below the
directing the telescope,
with
'
towards the signal A, the centre of which was
2j^ inches below the centre of the telescope,
below
^%
2%
it
was seen
to
be
but the disc on the centre pole, the top of which
to begin
with,
3%
inches above the centre, or line of sight,
from the telescope, was seen
the signal A.
From which,
to stand considerably higher
than
three of the gentlemen immediately,
but most unwarrantably, concluded that the elevation of the
disc in the field of view of the telescope
was owing
in the water of the Canal, showing convexity
!
nothing more than simply the upward divergence
•which was already
*
3^
to a rise
whereas
it
{of
was
that
inches above the line of sight), produced
Report by Messrs. Carpenter
of
&
March
Coulcher, published in The Fitld,
leth, 1870.
TERRA FIRMA.
132
by the magnifying power
as
of the telescope,
experiment with the lens, on page 267,
"Why
chap,
shown
in the
3^
inches
made by a magnifying power
to appear to stand considerably above the eye-line,
a mere hair's-breadth of dip
detected
—towards
—an
distant
the
Why
for several feet?
was
the centre disc
signal
2%
A? Why,
in
also,
of 50,
and that
amount which could not be
signal
diverging, or dilating all above
up
sec. 3.
fig. 92.
did they omit to consider the fact that
excess of altitude would be
vi.,
it,
would by magnifying,
make
appear to be
it
lifted
did they not take care that the io^ of
a line with the telescope and the distant
was the centre of the
object-glass fixed
inches higher than the centre of the object of observation
at the other
There was no
end?
of the telescope, the top of the
the farthest signal
mark
For
their
straight line.
at the
own
the sake of the cause they
difficulty in placing the centre
middle disc, and the
centre of
same altitude, and therefore in a
sake as gentlemen, as well as for
had undertaken
to champion,
it
is
unfortunate that they acted so unwisely; that they so foolishly
laid themselves
Had
signals.
open to charges of unfairness
was horizontal, and therefore
surface of the water
felt
a.
in fixing the
they already seen enough to prove that the
desire to
do
instinctively
their best to delay as long as they could
the day of general denunciation of their cherished doctrine of
the Earth's rotundity?
Such questions are
relation to conduct so unjust
perfectly fair in
and one-sided.
It is evident that
their anxiety to defend a doctrine
which had been challenged
by others overcame
for
consequences
shadow
' ;
their
desire
'
truth without fear of
and they eagerly seized
of evidence to support themselves.
of invention, a
more
was never drawn;
procedure
is
upon the
veriest
In the whole history
hasty, ill-conceived, illogical conclusion
and
it
is
well for civilization that such
almost universally
denounced.
It
is
scarcely
I
possible to draw a favourable conclusion as to their motives in
CANALS.
departing from their
Why
intention.
first
133
did they not confine
themselves to the repetition of the experiments, an account of
which
had long previously published
I
which the expedition was
test
first
and to
to the -world,
arranged?
That of sending
out a boat for a distance of six miles, and watching
its
progress
from a fixed point with a good telescope, would have completely satisfied
and
water;
them as
as
no
in
engaged must
at
altitude
of
should cling to complication, and prefer
action, is difficult to understand, except
of old,
certain that
for their
truth,
'
many
nor
result,
once have submitted to the simple truth as
developed by the simplest possible experiment.
was said
of the
signals,
have influenced the
peculiarities of instruments, could
all
form of the surface
to the true
irregularity
some love darkness
it
That
men
to simplicity of
on the principle as
better than light.'
it
It is
are ever ready to contend almost to death
mere opinions, who have
however important in
its
little
or no regard for actual
bearings
or
sacred
in
its
character."*
I shall
of which
now
Political world.
Many
to
remind
such,
in the
are fond of speaking of this canal
as a marvellous triumph of
well
Suez Canal, the construction
refer to the
some years ago caused such a commotion
Modern
that
the
Science, so
feat
of
it
may be
joining
the
Mediterranean and Red Seas by means of a Canal, for
the purpose of commercial navigation, had been accom-
Neco, the
plished by the Ancients long, long before.
Pharoah-Nechoh of 2 Kings
monarch who reigned 617
xxiii.
—681
zg—35,
an Egyptian
B.C., was the
first
to
begin the Canal, which, after beng used for centuries,
was
at last
overwhelmed by the sands of the desert in
767 A.D.t
* " Zetetic Astronomy," pp. 268-271,
+ " Egypt, Past and Present," by W. H. Davenport
T. Nelson & Sons, London, Edinburgh, and New York.
Adams
j
pp. 55, 365, 366.
.
TERRA FIRMA.
134
The
distance between the
Mediterranean Sea
chap,
Red Sea
at Suez
vi.,
sec. 4.
and the
100 statute miles, the datum line of
is
the Canal being 26 feet* below the level of the Mediterrar
nean, and
is
continued horizontally the whole way from
sea to sea, there not being a single lock on the Canal,
the surface of the water being parallel with the datum
line.
It
is
thus clear that there
globularity for
the whole
Mediterranean
and
the
no curvature
is
or
hundred miles between the
Red Sea;
had
there
been,
according to the Astronomic theory, the middle of the
Canal would have been 1,666 feet higher than
end, whereas the Canal
is
at either
perfectly horizontal for the
whole distance.
The Great Canal of China, said to be 700 miles in
made without regard to any allowance for
length, was
supposed curvature, as the Chinese believe the Earth to
be a Stationary Plane.
was made for
in
it
I
may
also
the North
add that no allowance
Sea Canal, or
in
the
Manchester Ship Canal, both recently constructed, thus
clearly proving that there is
no
globularity in Earth or
Sea, so that the world cannot possibly be a Planet.
SECTION
4.
SUBMARINE CABLES.
Let us now pass on to the Atlantic Submarine Cable,
which stretches
its
huge length between Valencia on the
west coast of Ireland and Trinity Bay in Newfoundland,
* Its
depth has since then been increased to 28
feet.
LIGHT OF LIGHTHOUSES SEEN AT A DISTANCE.
a
distance
Surely,
it
of
1,665
would be found
it is
nautical
convexity in water
if
in such
simply a case of non
reason that there
must,
miles.
statute
1,942
to be discovered anywhere,
is
a long distance as
est inventus, for
at
It
all.
The
have absconded.
forger,
but
this,
the very good
no curvature to be found
is
bank-note
a
like
or
135
depth of the Atlantic was sounded at about
greatest
the
one-third
of
fathoms;
the
Newfoundland,
from
distance
next
deepest
2,424
was
fathoms,
2,400
part,
about one-third of the way from Valencia, while in the
middle
it
was
less
than 1,600 fathoms, at which place,
according to Astronomic calculation,
about
Facts,
119
it
is
statute
said,
miles
is
no curvature
own
either
level, it is
it
is
end!
thus
and
in the Atlantic,
according to the law of nature,
as,
at
are " stubborn things," and
evident that there
finds its
should have been
it
than
higher
proved that
it
water everywhere
has no globularity
throughout the oceans of the whole world.*
SECTION
5.
THE LIGHT OF LIGHTHOUSES SEEN AT GREAT
DISTANCES.
I confess that
it
appears to
me
to
be almost
as gUding gold or painting the
sary,
evidence that the Earth
is
lily,
not a Planet,
as unneces-
to give further
still,
as
some
people are fond of having assurance made doubly sure,
piling
*
an Ossa up>on a Pelion,
I shall
add another proof
See paper respecting the Atlantic Cable published by the Admiralty,
8th October, 1869.
TERRA FIRMA.
136
no curvature
to the fact that there is
chap,
vi.,
sec.
5.
from the
in the sea,
Light of Lighthouses seen at great distances.
A
glance at "
show
at
visible,
The Lighthouses
of the World,"* will
what great distances some of
which would be
convex, as
Modem
ouir
name a few
The Cardonan
I shall
were the sea
Astronomers pretend
31
to be.
on the Gironde, on the west
light
miles.
If
we make the
usual
invisible, as it
is visible
Astronomic
allowance for the supposed curvature of water,
be quite
it
instances
coast of France, has an altitude of 207 feet, and
statute
are
their lights
utterly impossible
it
should
would, allowing for the height of
the spectator, be about 210 feet below the horizon.
The Madras
light is 132 feet high,
and can be seen
28 statute miles, but, reckoning the Astronomic convexity,
and allowing
as
for spectator's height,
would be ielow
it
The
extracts
following
I
could not be seen,
220
feet.
copy from
pamphlet, lately received, called
written by Mr.
it
the horizon at least
an
" Zetetic
Thomas Winship, Durban,
excellent
Cosmogony,"
Natalt
" Another and an unconscious witness to the horizontality o£
water
is
Mr. Smith of Cape Point, as the following shows
'"A Light from
"
"
was
'
Sir, at
'
To
afar.
the Editor of the Cape Times.
nine o'clock this evening, the Danger Point Light
distinctly visible to the
Cape Point, (about 150
feet
naked
eye,
above sea
from the homestead
level)
;
at
this being the first
occasion, since the erection of the Danger Point Lighthouse, on
which the
flashes of light
had been noticed by myself.
* R. H. Laurie, 35 Minories, London.
+ T. L. CuUlngworth, 40 Field Street, Durban,
Street, Netberfield, Notts.
54 Bourne
Natal
;
The
John Williams,
LIGHT OF LIGHTHOUSES SEEN AT A DISTANCE.
light
must be most powerful
fifty
miles in a clear night.
between three quick
to be seen
from a distance
137
of over
think half a minute interval
I
flashes.
"
•
I
am, &c.,
" A. E. Smith."
'
"According to
this, therefore, if the
light should have been 1,666 feet below
world be a globe,
Mr. Smith's
line
the
of sight."
P-S9" But, says someone, there is
no allowance made
That
tion in any of the foregoing calculations.
for refrac-
quite true,
is
but constitutes no valid objection, in the light of the following
extract from the
'We suppose
on account
'
Encyclopsedia Britannica,' article
'
Levelling.'
the visual rays to be a straight line, whereas,
of the unequal densities of the air
at di£Eerent
distances from the earth, the rays of light are incurvated by
refraction.
The
effect of this is to lessen the difference
between
the true and apparent levels, but in such an extremely variable
and uncertain manner, that
be made for
greater
it
error
any constant or fixed allowance
if
in formula or tables,
than what
it
though the refraction may
it
at
We
and
at other times
have, therefore,
foregoing formulae.' "
"
The
'
Signals at Sea
is
Weekly of the
we have not
In August, 1890, the
it
For,
for about
sometimes exceeds
for refraction in the
p. 62.
imcontestably that the Earth
"Pearson's
obviate.
does not amount to one-fifteenth.
made no allowance
distances which
'Evidently
to
mean compensate
a
one-seventh of the curvature of the Earth,
one-fifth,
will often lead to a
was intended
can be seen prove
December,
agith
1894,
says
got to the bottom of the matter yet.
C Manoeuvre
Artist,
Fleet signalled with Search
The information comes
who was on board at the time.
Light to colliers 70 miles away.
from Mr. F. T. Jane the
'
a motionless Plane.
.
.
.
TERRA FIRMA.
138
According to the Astronomers
chap,
vi., sec. 5.
should have been 3,200
these vessels
on the
feet below the horizon, allowing for a height of 40 feet
signalling vessel,
may add
I
of
impossible
115
is
but
Mail
a
my
any lack of matter, but
so that
it,
Search-light
at
at
a
would be
add many more proofs to
forbear; the fact
am
I
is
difficulty in writing this
condense
November,
course,
of
the riches of evidence that the Earth
and
'
of loth
of
This,
miles!
"
!
!
!
the Earth were a Globular Planet.
if
I
colliers
to have been visible
stated
I could very easily
effect,
on the
representation
Kimberley which
distance
feet
that the Daily
the
gives
1899,
and 26
it
as to
may be
not a Planet,
is
book has not
how
I
similar
embarrassed with
may
arisen frojn
best select and
my
of most use to
Readers,
without omitting anything of real importance.
In closing this Chapter
I
cannot help remarking to
what opposite extremes Inconsistency
leads, and what
makes with Truth. Here we have on the
one hand our Government making a Resolution or Order
sad havoc
it
respecting
the
horizontal
line,
construction
on the
Stationary Plane, and,
of
principle
Railways
that
the
on a datum
Earth
is
a
on the other hand, subsidising
the Astronomical Society and Board Schools which teach
a Whirling Ball.
some honest M.P.,
and possesses
that
it
who
sees the absurdity of such procedure,
the
ability
is
to
propose
the
I wish
remedy,
would have the
courage to bring the matter before Parliament;
I
am
sure he would well deserve the thanks of the Nation.
So long
as our
Astronomers are abetted by the Govern-
ment, so long, I
notes,
and
fear,
they will utter their discordant
flaunt their rags of false science before the
gaping multitude with a pride " that might make angels
LIGHT OF LIGHTHOUSES SEEN AT A DISTANCE.
weep."
light of
No wonder
what
139
who possessed the
when our own country
that the Chinese,
is called Civilization,
was steeped in heathen darkness, should consider us to
be barbarians now
round the Sun.
mon
In
for believing that the world rushes
this
matter they at least have com-
sense upon their side, while we, as a nation, have
abandoned
ours,
and bow the knee to Baal.
140
CHAPTER
THE
VII.
MOON AND STARS ACCORDING TO
MODERN ASTRONOMY.
SUN,
SEC^ON
PAGE
1.
The Sun
2.
The Moon
3.
The Stars
-
-
-
-
140
-
147
132
-
SECTION
1.
THE SUN.
It
truly painful to
is
—
Astronomy
^its
contemplate the results of
of
rejection
the
Word
respect to the revolution of the Sun, and
tendency towards
and
its
teaching
^fiU
real
—
its
its
Modem
God
with
consequent
abandonment of reason,
denial of the proper use of our senses as to the
of
observation
—
infidelity
of
the
proof
—
facts
the
^its
brazen
most
effrontery
ridiculous
in
fallacies
minds of the thoughtful and devout with
sorrow,
beguiled,
actual
without
knowing that so many have been already
and so many are
still
being beguiled under
its
baneful influence.
Herschel, perhaps, in one sense, as
much
as
Newton
THE
make
himself, tried to
following
SUN.
fools of us
141
when he wrote the
tit-bit
" In the disoidei of our senses
of the Earth to the Sun,
we
and the
transfer in idea the
motion
Sun
to the
stillness of the
Earth!"
which statement
own common
if
virtually
means
—Do
not believe your
senses, but take our theories for granted
you do not
feel
any motion in the Earth, imagine that
you do; and
if
you see the Sun circling in the heavens,
suppose that
it
is
was
his
that
it
own
is
the Earth which does so!
senses which were disordered
Truly
it
when he taught
The
Modern Astronomy are nowhere more
the Earth and not the Sun that moves.
absurdities
of
apparent than in the theories respecting the Sun, to a
few of which
It is
I
now beg
to refer.
by the presumed distance of the Sun from the
Earth that Astronomers make their calculations.
"The
determination of the Sun's distance
important problem
general
of
Thus,
"
The Sun
as Mr. R. A. Proctor states in "
Astronomy,
is
but
not only an
it
may be
regarded as the very foundation of all our researches."
As previously stated Astronomers have differed
much respecting its distance, even from three
very
one hundred and four millions of miles,
of necessity, their calculations
Besides,
when
these were
to their theory,
that
it
was
moves, and,
first
that, as
must be
so
to
a matter
radically wrong.
made, the Sun, according
stationary,
now
they acknowledge
since its creation,
has always been
moving, so that their computations cannot possibly be
correct.
among
However, for the present,
themselves,
they
the distance of the
have settled
Sun from the
TERRA FIRMA.
142
chap. vn.. sec.
i.
Earth to be between ninety-one and ninety-two millions
of
miles.
Its
hundred and
its
size
computed to be about twelve
is
forty thousand times larger than our world;
hundred and
diamieter being estimated at eight
fifty
to eight hundred and eighty-two thousand miles, and
entire cubic space at six
hundred and
and
nine
eighteen
thousand
billions,
and
hundred
Credite
miles!!!
of
millions
eighty-six
its
thousand
sixty-eight
posteri!
will
posterity believe that their fc'refathers could ever have
been so foolish as to accept such ridiculous fancies as
And
facts?
yet
this
what grey-haired savants
is
am
Truth, and gushing Journalists who, I
call
inclined to
do not personally know much about the matter,
believe,
write fulsome articles to bolster
One
of the fables
delight in telling us,
Earth and the Sun
is
is
up
the delusion.
which our Astronomers seem to
that the distance between the
great,
soi
that
it
would take an
express train, going at the rate of sixty miles per hour,
one hundred and seventy-three years to reach
wonderful news
could he hear
—Pro-di-gi-ous
wanted to
would exclaim with
it,
What would be
!
times larger than the
preposterous
world,
own
if
fit
act,
room
itself?
for a lunatic
working"
special emphasis
man who
a lamp 1,240,000
Would not
asylum?
his friends
Yet such a
with respect to the lighting of this
who
is
Isa.
is
palmed upon the Jehovah
" wonderful in counsel
xxviii.
2g.
He
doeth
and
excellent in
all
things well,
proportioning the means to the end which
view.
which
not attributed by some Astronomers to their
deity " Natural Law,"
of Hosts,
at
Sampson,
thought of a
light his dining-room with
think him only
it,
doubt not that Dominie
I
He
has in
THE
It
appears to
Catholicism,
The
me
that
SUN.
Modem
143
Astronomy,
Roman
like
an attempt to revive Pagan superstition.
is
former, for temples has observatories, and the latter
Pantheon has the Vatican; for Baal the Astrono-
for the
mers have Newton, and for Astarte, the Queen of Heaven,
Roman
the
lately
Catholics have the Virgin
been
strengthened
adoration of the Virgin
the worship of Astarte
Mary
or
Aylston,
Readers, as
work, " The
H.
A.
to
Leicester,
have
I
that
the
only a continuation of
is
by an admirable
Astaroth,
Lecture delivered by the late Rev. G.
of
Mary.
conviction
the
in
which
W.
Straten, Rector
beg to
I
refer
my
and learned
also
to
Two
Babylons," written by the late Rev.
Hislop
of
that
very
Arbroath,
excellent
both
obtained as mentioned below.*
which may be
of
The
Bible order of the
heavens has been completely subverted by our Astrono-
mers
Sun revolving round the world,
instead of the
;
the world
Planet of
declared to revolve round
is
God gave His own
Blessed Son of
regard
as
a mere
heart's
blood for
its
Angels desire to look into that wondrous
redemption.
sacrifice,
it,
note in Astronomic esteem, although the
little
which
only
Scientists
with
cynical
like
Huxley
scorn,
and
because
Darwin
of
their
ignorance of that in which the highest and truest science
consists.
The Greek heathen
philosopher Pythagoras brought
him from Egypt, where he had
a considerable time, and had been initiated
the Sun worship with
resided for
into
its
mysteries
Astronomy lingered
by
the
His
Priests.
for a while,
till
it
system
of
was supplanted
by that of Ptolemy, and for many centuries seems to
* S.
W.
Partridge
&
Co., Paternoster
Row, London.
TERRA FIRMA.
144
have been forgotten,
phoenix from
has been
modern
vii.,
sec. i.
Copernicus drew the fabled
till
By Newton and
its ashes.
his followers
it
adapted to suit the depraved
idolatry is far from being extin-
taste of
skillfully
idolatry,
chap,
for
guished in Christendom, and
still
flourishes,
in various
forms, in this degenerate age under assumed names.
The Sun
Fabricius, nearly three
has spots.
hundred
among Modem Astronomers to
note them, although they were known to the Chaldeans
Since his time many Astronomers have
in early ages.
their
special study; one in particular is said
them
made
to have observed them for thirty years every day on
which the Sun was visible. They appear and disappear,
and it is yet not really known what they are, but, the
chief deduction drawn from them is, that the Sun turns
upon an axis in about twenty-four days. Some of the
years ago, was the
first
spots observed on the photosphere, or disc of the Sun,
are whiter than iron at a white heat, and
come and go
The
so rapidly, that they are called facula or torches.
edge of the disc
" sierra," or, as
of
is
called the chrotnatmosphere, or the
one has expressed
it,
" a quivering fringe
fire."
As
it
might, perhajK, be thought that, in describing the
I
am
will
be
wonders of the Sun,
myself, I think
it
or two from the works of
who,
if
acting the part of a
safer for
me
Munchausen
to quote a passage
Modern Astronomers
themselves,
sometimes considered prone to exalt their own
importance, should not, as a matter of politeness, be
supposed guilty of exaggerating the marvels of their own
idol.
Sir
Robert Ball says
" Unparalleled in
its lustre,
the planet Venus
is
unexampled in
THE
SUN.
the intensity of the pull with which
swerve from
143
seeks to
revolution around the Sun.
its
magnitude of
it
I
have calculated the
and when expressed
this force,
make the Earth
in tons the figures
that are required ba£Be onr power of comprehension.
the attraction, or rather,
I
Venus are comparable with the miles
is
The
tons in
ought to say, in the disturbing force, of
indeed 130,000,000,000,000 tons "
The
in star distances.
force
!'
Miss Giberne writes as follows
" It sounds to us both grand and startling to hear of jets of
liquid lava from
Mount Vesuvius,
ten thousand feet in height,
or to read of a river of lava from a volcano in Iceland pouring
in one unbroken stream for fifty miles.
"But what
shall be thought of the long flames
to a height of fifty or a
Sun?
of the
enough
What
to
What
mounting
hundred thousand miles above the edge-
shall be thought of a tongue of fire long
fold three or four times .round our solid
Earth?
shall be thought of the awful rush of burning gases
some'
times seen, borne along at the rate of one or two or even three
hundred miles in a
single second across the
What
shall be thought of the
fiery
ocean,
rents
commonly from
thousand miles across,
if
" Fifty thousand miles
Sun's surface?
huge dark rents in
fifty
to
this
one
mighty
hundred
not seldom more?
!
a mere speck scarcely visible without
a telescope; yet large enough to hold seven Earths like ours
flung in together.
The
largest spot
measured was so enormous
that eighteen Earths might have been arranged in a
the breadth of
cavern,
itj
like
and to have
row across
huge boulders of rocks in a mountain
filled
up the
entire
hole
about
one
hundred Earths would have been needed."+
*"The
cause of the Glacial Age," pp.
73, 74;
Kegan Paul, Triibner &
Co.,
London.
t " Sun,
London,
Moon and
Stars," pp. ig, to
;
Seeley
&
Co., 38 Great Russell Street,
TERRA FIRMA.
146
Now
all this,
but
talk,"
Modern Astronomy not
to give statements as facts,
—
been proved to be
first
think that he knoweth
anything,
know"
yet as he ought to
true
Cor.
i
till
man
any
" If
he knoweth nothing
The
2.
viii.
that in this time-state our knowledge
arti di' esoptron en ainugmati, " for
yet through
a mirror
as in
obscurely," or,
In the Great Beyond
"
fact is
very imperfect:
is
blepomm gar
z Cor. xiii. 12.
only
is
it
the votaries of
teach
assumption, and should at least
sec. i.
vii.,
say, is " very tall
Yankee would
as the
amounts to nothing, because
it
they have
chap,
we
we
see' as
a riddle
shall see face
and fully know even as we are fully known."*
to face,
Even such an
enthusiastic
writer
Miss Gibeme
as
confesses
"We
do not know with any certainty whether the Sun
is
through and through one mass of glowing molten heat, or
whether he may have a solid or even a cool body within the
We
other.
flame,
quiet
only
the one and some the
Some have thought
blazing covering.
know
that he
a mighty furnace of heat and
is
beyond anything that we can possibly imagine
little
in our
earth." t
Our talented Authoress must surely, in describing
our Earth as " quiet," have had in her mind the teaching
of
the
Bible,
sitteth still
state
that
and
where
is
it
—
says
at rest"
"
Zech.
Behold
i.
iz,
all
a.
the
Earth
very different
from that which our Astronomers teach, namely,
it is
rushing round the Sun at the rate of
sixty-five
thousand miles per hour, one thousand times faster than
an Express Railway
train.
* Epi'ginosko.
t
"Sun, Moon and Stars,"
p. i8.
THE WOON.
SECTION
147
2.
THE MOON.
Although the Moon
is
Modem
bHe noir of our
ways, she refuses to act
so silvery white, she
Astronomers,
as,
the
is
various
in
as,
according to their theories,
Being the orb nearest the Earth, they
she ought to do.
have taken special pains to
map
mountains and
she had been one of its
bound to confess that it is
seas,
as
if
continents, though they are
her out with so-called
only " the eye of a practised Astronomer
to discriminate
been photographed,
also
"
his " Story of the
is
able
She has
at least after a certain fashion,
as explained by Sir Robert Ball in a note
"
that
between the one and the other.
on
62 of
p.
Heavens "
The photographs were taken by Mr. Nasmyth from models
by him to illustrate the features of the
carefully constructed
Moon.
I
This
is
no doubt a somewhat imaginary
have not the least doubt of
prepared
It is
Moon
—the
it
was so systematically
gulling of the people.
now, however, said to be discovered that the
has neither water nor atmosphere, so that not even
the famous "
the
myself, but it answers
it
the Astronomic purpose for which
sketch.''
Man
in the
Moon
"
once celebrated Crisian Sea
prceterea nihil.
could reside there, and
is
Yet notwithstanding
now, alas! vox
this
want of water and atmosphere, the Author of the
"
Moon," in
"
The
Dictionary of Arts
et
acknowledged
article
and Sciences,"
TERRA FIRMA.
148
chap,
sec. 2.
vii.,
writes as specifically regarding its supposed inhabitants,
as
if
he had obtained
selves
on
from them-
his information direct
the spot, thus
" As the
Moon
illuminates the Earth by a reflex light, so
does the Earth the Moon; but the other phenomena will be
most
different for the
The Earth
"i.
"2.
To
more than
Lunar inhabitants.
one-half of the
least to
part.
will be visible to but a little
who
those
see
the Earth will appear fixed, or at
it,
have no circular motion, but only that which results
from the Moon's
libration.
who
"3. Those
live
in the middle of the
Moon's
visible
hemisphere see the Earth directly over their heads.
"4.
To those who
live in the extremity of that
hemisphere,
the Earth seems always nearly in the horizon, but not exactly
there,
"5.
by reason of the
The Earth
same phases
Moon
is at
libration.
as the
Moon
with a
full face
or half light and half dark;
at the part
"6.
all
the
Thus the Lunarians, when the
has.
E. in the middle of their night, see the Earth as
full or shining
and
month would have
in the coufse of a
between these
The Earth appears
at C.
;
at
A.
it is
and G.
it
it is
dichotomised
wholly dark or new;
is
gibbous.
variegated with spots of different
magnitudes and colours arising from the continents, islands,
oceans, seas, clouds, &c.
" 7. These spots will appear constantly revolving about the
Earth's axis, by which the Lunarians will determine the Earth's
diurnal motion in the same
From
the
intelligence,
that the
we
Earth
imagination, for
above
way
as
we do
interesting
learn that the
is
a Planet!
that of the Sun."
tit-bit
Moon
That
no proof whatever
is
is
is,
of
Astronomic
inhabited,
in
the
and
writer^
tendered that such
THE MOON.
is
the case.
a
little
It is
a pity he did not carry his observations
by
farther,
149
us what sort of beings the
telling
who can manage to exist without water
and atmosphere. Perhaps they may be like Newtonians,
who conceive theories without reason, and draw deducLuiiarians are,
tions without proof.
As the Moon is allowed by our Astronomers to be
"very considerably smaller than the Earth," she ought,
like the Earth, in accordance with Newton's wonderful
law of Gravitation, to revolve around the Sun, as they
say the Earth does from West to East, but, like a
willed maiden, she takes her
own way, and
the Earth from East to West.
Besides,
self-
revolves round
was considered
it
to be her province to control the tides, but such great
diflSculties
have
arisen
in
that
direction,
many
that
Astronomers are now seeking for some other causes to
explain the working of their regular flux and reflux in
the grand economy of nature.
In writing of the Moon, Miss Giberne remarks
" Her
diameter
is
about
diameter, her entire surface
the Earth's surface, her size
is
is
two-sevenths
of
the
Earth's
about two twenty-sevenths of
about two ninety-ninths of the
Earth's size, and her whole weight
is
about one-eightieth of the
Earth's weight."*
The Moon's
distance from the Earth
Astronomers to be 240,000 miles.
be passing strange that
Wisdom
as in
He who
It
is
His Love, should place
was expressly made to
light the
an enormous distance from
*
"The
Sun,
it
is
by our
would
as infinite in
this luminary,
His
which
world at night, at such
as this, and I
Moon and
said,
certainly
Stars," p. 150,
am
sure chat
TERRA FIRMA.
150
their
calculation is
chap,
Some
Moon
estimated the distance of the
be about one thousand times
our Astronomers, that
2.
Zetetics have
from the Earth, to
than that supposed by
only about 240 miles, and this
is
undoubtedly appears to
less
sec.
even as that of
erroneous,
utterly
their fancied distance of the Sun.
vii.,
me
far
more probable than
their
preposterous calculation of 240,000 miles.
Modem
If our
least apvpear
at
Astronomers do not deny God, they
their writings to ignore
by
His Power,
Wisdom, and Superintendence. They despise the true
science of the Bible, and substitute for it the false
They do not seem
theories of their own wayward fancy.
to
be aware that the works of God's creation are
all
—
that
made according
order, adaptation,
and usefulness ate combined
Man
part of the universe.
made "
Tsa. cxxxix. 14.
ably designed,
and measure
to number, weight,
as
is " fearfully
The eye
the mechanism
of a
fly is
the
of
in every
and wonderfully
as admir-
Sun
the
in
Heavens
" For
He
(God) looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth
under the whole heaven, when
wind
;
yea,
He maketh
decree for the rain, a
Job
xxviii.
"
Who
He maketh
the waters by measure,
way
a weight for the
when He made
for the lightning of the
a
thunder "
—26.
Z4.
hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the
dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in
scales,
of
and the
hills in a
balance?
Who
hath directed the
spirit
Jehovah, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?
"
Isa. xl. 12, 13.
Our Astronomers
her
light
also state that the
from the Sun,
which
is
Moon
receives
an unwarrantable
THE MOON.
mistake, for Scripture
us
tells
—
"
151
God made two
great
luminaries, the greater luminary to rule the day, and the
luminary to rule the night"
lesser
Hebrew word here used
instrument, from aur
light,
as well as the Sun,
is
imparting
We
its
own
Gen.
for luminary
i.
The
16.
maur, a noun of
is
Moon,
thus showing that the
an independent light-giver, each
light irrespective of the other.
often see the Sun and the
Moon
same
at the
time in the heavens, the Sun rising in the East, and the
Moon
setting in the West.
Now, were the Newtonian
Moon
receives her light from the
theory true that the
Sun, and, were
it
possible for a sphere, as the
to be, to act as a ref.ector at
all,
Moon
is
said
the Moon, thus facing, the
Sun, ought to grow brighter, instead of which, as Hamlet's
ghost said of the glow-worm as the matin drew nigh
"It 'gins to pale
its ineffectual fire."
Having already shown from Scripture
does
this
that the
Moon
receive her light from the Sun, before closing
riot
Chapter, I shall add a few thoughts from Reason and
Fact, to prove that she: possesses a light of her own,
totally different
The
light
from that of the Sun.
which
is
reflected
must necessarily be of
the same character as that which causes the
but the light of the
Moon
is altogether
diferent from the
light of the Sun, therefore the light of the
reflected
The
from the Sun.
Sun's light
for the table, but the
—the
and
it
to
Moon
is
not
red and hot,
Sun's dries and preserves
fruit,
such as cod and grapes,
Moon's turns such
Sun's will often put out a coal
wUl cause
is
—the
the Moon's pale and cold
certain kinds of fish
reflection,
bum more
fire,
brightly
to putrefaction
while the Moon's
—
^the
rays
of
the
TERRA FIRMA.
152
chap,
vii.,
Sun, fcxjussed through a burning-glass, will set
sec.
3.
wood on
and even fuse metals, while the rays of the Moon,
concentrated to the strongest power, do not exhibit the
fire,
very slightest signs of heat.
I
Moon
that the light of the
is
have myself long thought
Electric, but,
be that as
may, even a Board School child can perceive that
it
its
light is totally unlike that of the Sun.
SECTION
THE
The
STARS.
Moon
Stars are in Scripture associated with the
—
in their rule of the night
by night
rule
3.
of light "
"
" the
Psa. cxxxvi.
Moon and
They
p.
Psa. cxlviii. 3, from which
the Stars to
are called
it
would
—
" Stars
certainly
appear that they have an independent, and not a borrowed
They have
light.
"
By
says
the aid of the telescope have been discovered in the
starry vault in the celestial fields
3f
Humboldt
a variety of colours.
which
corallas of our flowering plants,
light traverses, as in
and in the metallic oxides,
almost every gradation of prismatic colour between the two
extremes of refrangibility. ... In a cluster near the Southern
Cross
—
^red,
green,
telescopes, like
blue,
gems
of
and bluish green
many
colours,
like
—appear
in
large
a superb piece of
fancy jewellery."
Note
also the following Scriptural passages respecting
their light-giving
power
" For the Stars of heaven and the constellations thereof will
THE
not give
forth,
STARS.
153
the Sun shall be darkened in his going
their light;
and the Moon
shall not cause
shine"
hir light to
Isa. xiii. to.
"
The sun and
their shining "
Uu;
Joel
moon
ii.
are darkened, and the stars withdraw
10.
" Thus saith Jehovah, which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ordinances of the
by night "
moon and
of the stars for a light
Jer. xxxi. 55.
Modem
•Our
immense worlds
Astronomers imagine the Stars to be
some
or suns,
them many thousands
of
of times larger than our own, and at an enormous distance.
Robert
Sir
Ball,
in his "
Cause of an Ice-Age,"
—that
of
from us as the Sun —that
says
Sirius
it
"
is
"
is,
a million times as
that
it is
of millions of miles from the Earth!
Stars are in a
more or
less
advanced
p.
77,
distant
ninety-two millions
thought that
It is
state of development,
and that probably some of them may be already inhabited
by beings suited to
their spheres.
Their distance from us
they calculate to be so immense, that, according to Sir
William Herschel, the
light
from some of them
thousand years to reach this world of ours
the Almighty and All-wise
light to this
show
God making a
will take
Just fancy
!
star
to give
world which would take a thousand years
was not thus
first
glimmer there!
acted on the
first
day of the Adamic Creation, when
"
there
to
said
Gen.
i.
its
Let
a
be
light,
and
It
there
was
He
He
light "
3.
We
have neither in Scripture, nor
least hint of
in
nature,
any world except our own and the
the
invisible
one beyond, and we have no other means of information
on the
subject.
show any
The
best
teMscopes have
failed
to
signs of any inhabitant in any star or planet.
TERRA FIRMA.
IS4
Some
years ago
chap,
vii.,
sec. 3.
was fancied that canals were seen in
it
and that, therefore, presumably, it
would be inhabited, but they have since vanished like
a morning dream.
Planet
the
Mars,
David Brewster argued from Analogy that the
and Planets must be inhabited, because the Earth
Sir
Stars
But
is.
this
argument
a
is
begging of the question, for
the Earth
must
it
a mere
principii,
petitio
first
be proved that
a heavenly body, which never has been, and
is
There
never can be proven.
is
a great
diflference, indeed,
between Heavenly bodies, and the body of
this
Earth,
notwithstanding the revelations of the spectroscope.
They
are particularly contrasted in Scripture, thus
" There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but of one
is the glory of the heavenly, and of another kind
the glory of the earthly " / Cor. xv. 40.
kind, indeed,
is
—
Thus,
presumed argument
this
from Analogy
is
nevertheless.
Dr.
argument
his
in
for
Plurality of worlds
one
Henderson
boldly
" Treatise
single
that
great probability is that every Star
own
little
Sun.
.
.
.
native light.
Vega
Star
The
Stars
What
when it is
.
.
be,
.
the
the
for
Green
is
a Sun, far
passing ours in magnitude and splendour; they
their
Yet,
straw.
reproduces
on Astronomy,''
especial benefit of Mr. Verdant
"The
a
not worth
all
a most powerful
sur-
shine by
Sun must
53,937 times larger than our
being thus supposed to be suns,
it
is
extremely probable that they are the centres of other systems of
worlds round which
and
satellites.
may
revolve a numerous retinue of planets
Therefore
(sic)
there
must be a
plurality
of
and a plurality of worlds."
suns
How
sition,
wonderful
but,
is this
unfortunately
argument of analogical suppofor
Modem
Astronomers,
it
THE
the
lacks
smpport
STARS.
Truth,
of
155
therefore
conclusion
its
cannot bring conviction to the thoughtful mind.
No
made
A
revolving body,
we know, was
so far as
ever
permanent residence of any rational being.
for the
few minutes afford quite
sufficient
sensation to the
occupant of a seat in the showman's merry-go-round or
Great Wheel; no one would like to spend a night in
The
either.
Stars,
which Byron so
felicitously
most
habitation, are
useful, not only for giving light
showing us our position by night, but, in
are of service in the
which we
styled,
Heaven," although not designed for human
" the poetry of
all
and
probability,
economy of nature in a manner of
Did not Jehovah ask Job
dream.
little
" Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades ? "
One
Job xxxviii. 31.
Star was especially used to guide
Wise Men of the East to the birthplace of our
the
They
Blessed Saviour.
are
splendid lamps,
the canopy of the sky, to give
light,
blessing to this world of ours, and
placed in
instruction,
we may be
much
certain that, like the lamps of a city, they are very
smaller than the place they were
made
and
positively
to Ulumine.
Instead of the enormous distances attributed to the
Stars
by
Modem
Astronomers, they cannot, from the
position assigned to
them by God, as
Parallax was
Earth, be very far away.
"that
all
light-givers
tO'
the
of opinion
the visible luminaries of the firmament are contained
within a vertical distance of 1,000 statute miles."*
" What
!
will not
one world content thee, atom.
But thou must create more
In thy imagination?
*
**
;
yes,
Where
is
world on world
thy warrant?
Zetetic Astronomy," p. 104.
TERRA FIRMA.
156
And
canst thou prove
it
chap,
from the Word
Must we believe because thou sayest
vii.,
sec. 3.
Truth?
of
it
Without a greater proof?
Make good thy
other sayings, then
we may
Afford thee credit such as thou deserv'st
But the Word
And
this
we
of
God
says no such thing
beyond thy word.
credit far
Consider this one well, and thou wilt want
No
The
other earthly world, but only heaven."
following
remsurks
forcible
•
Mr.
by
William
Bathgate, bearing upon this subject, are well worthy of
attentive consideration.
"Astronomers, and
scientific
men
strenuously
generally,
oppose any comparison between their theories and the Bible,
knowing that they cannot be reconciled.
for
them
Of what use
suns and worlds show forth the glory of God,
men
to
have
less respect for the Bible?
cannot disagree
Sir
:
if
they seem to do so,
Horace Walpole became an
infidel,
and the
it
if
they cause
Revelation and nature
man
is to
blame
for
it.
because he could not
reconcile Christianity with the plurality of worlds, and
discoveries in
is
of innumerable
to say that their magnificent ideas
Modern
Astronomy and Geology with a divine revelation
Thomas
infidel
Paine, and a host of other persons
have based their strongest arguments upon the assumption that
the Copernicau theory
is true,
fort with the infidels for
set forth the glory of
God? In
and
the Bible
which system has been a strong
many
generations.
Do
the heavens
Newton, or do they declare the glory
we
are led to believe that the sun,
stars are subservient to the earth
;
of
moon,
that in consequence of
events having taken place on the earth, these heavenly bodies
were darkened; that God took
*
five
times as long to
Lander's "David and Goliath,"
p. 49.
make
the
THE
He
earth as
STARS.
157
Who
did the heavenly bodies.
man an
that God, in giving to
has a right to say
account of His creation, as
contained in the First Chapter of Genesis, misrepresented the
order and nature of the facts to suit man's capacity?
As
if
man could not have understood them as easily from the Word
of God as he does from the mouths of the Astronomers ?
"
Who
ever heard
of
mechanism
its
of
a person,
after
some
constructing
workmanship, explaining the order and nature
intricate piece of
entirely difierent
from the truth
to suit
the
capacity of his hearers?
"What had
made,
"
if
we
The Bishop
Peterborough says
of
—
'
I
have no fear whatever
that the Bible will be found in the long run to contain
science than
and there
is
was
the earth to revolve round before the sun
are to believe the Newtonian theory?
more
the theories of philosophers put together
all
no doubt that when the earth
is
'
generally believed
to
be a plane, the Bible will be respected more than ever, since
it
will
be found
Creation,
and
to
be
infidelity
literally
will lose
when speaking
true
strongest hold
its
of
the
against
Christianity."*
Our Astronomers
confess that
no human being could
ever dwell in the Stars or Planets, the constitution of
which
entirely
is
If
necessity
be of a
The
Bible
that
* "
The Shape
we
all,
their
occuj>ants
not the slightest hint
we have no other means
while speculation
Scriptures,
at
different order of creation
gives
respecting such
know
opposed to the requirements of our
inhabited
nature.
is
useless.
live in the
with
the
It
is
must of
from ourselves.
of
such,
and
of knowledge,
enough for us to
only world recognized in the
exception,
of
course,
of
ten
of the Earth," by William Bathgate John Parker, Green Lane,
Stoneycroft, Liverpool.
;
TERRA FIRMA.
158
chap,
oikoumenen ten mellousan, the world that
which
through His vicarious
this
left
Lord
believers in the
all
nun
estin,
and a glorious world
it
Word
was
till
sin, but,
to
more than
redeemed
they have
after
now
This world
is.
God—John
of
i.
1—3,
through the entrance
lost
according to promise,
of
go
Sacrifice, will
sec. 3.
to come, to
Jesus Christ,
the world that
was made by Christ—The
is
vii.,
will
it
be restored again
Our Lord,
its pristine loveliness.
in the
depth of His immeasurable Love, gave Himself "for the
of the world "
John vi. 51, and the Apostle Peter
points to the times apokdtastaseos panton, " of the restoralife
tion of all things,
of
all
which God hath spoken by the mouth
His holy prophets since the world began
"
Acts Hi. 21, and, as Dryden sang
" 'Twas great to speak a world from nought
redeem."
'Tis greater to
I
would also remark, while on
this subject, that the
only places in the Bible, where the word " world "
used in the
each
in
of
plural, " worlds," are in
which
the
Heb.
2 and
i.
is
xi. 3,
word has been mistranslated
" worlds " instead of " ages
—thus—
''
"
God
having of old
time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers
portions and in divers manners, hath in the end of these
days spoken to us in His Son, through
aionas epoiesen,
faith
ages
Heb.
He made
we understand
were
xi.
fitted
3.
the ages
katertisthai
together
Thus
there
by
is
whom
—Heb.
"
tous
the
aidnas,
Word
no such
i,
i.
of
thing
also tous
2.
— " By
that
the
God "
as " The
Plurality of worlds,'' in the Astronomic sense of the term,
ever mentioned in the Scriptures.
We
are told in the Bible, that
some of the
Stars will
THE
fall
upon the Earth
but
its destruction
STARS.
159
though not to destroy
to hurt,
it,
would be inevitable were they of such
enormous magnitude
our Astronomers declare them
as
Thus we read
to be.
" There fell from heaven a great Star, burning as a torch,
and
it
fell
upon the
fountains of waters "
"
The
Rev.
Rev.
figs,
when
she
again,
is
as a fig-tree
shaken of a mighty wind "
vi. 13.
any sensible
I ask
man which
stars is the safer to believe
of
And
viii. to.
Stars of heaven fell unto the Earth,
casteth her unripe
'
and upon the
third part of the Earth,
—
account concerning the
Word
of the infallible
^that
men?
God, or the mere theories of erring
may,
I
perhaps, be thought very narrow-minded in thus depriving
the Astronomers of their
many
broadness
my
of
Beyond," but
views
as
but
fanciful worlds,
not think that I can be justly called
so,
expressed
do
I
considering the
in
"
Hades and
have long been an advocate for Truth
I
" according to the Scriptures," having for that sacrificed
much, and, so long as
fear not
The
" fixed,"
I
have them upon
what men may think or
or groups
constellations,
side,
I
of
Stars,
are
called
because they do not change in their relative
position to each other, but this
for they, like the others,
"
the heavens
Sisera "
my
say.
Jud.
The
v.
is
all circle
a misleading
Stars, in their courses,
20.
As
definition,
in faultless oirder
round
fought against
already stated the Stars are
for service to the Earth, with different degrees of size
and
brilliancy,
the
people
They
are
all
for
under
them
the
"
God hath
whole heaven
divided unto
"
Deut.
numbered and named by God, who
iv.
all
ig.
" telleth
TERRA FIRMA.
i6o
He
the number of the Stars;
names " Psa. cxlvii. 4.
The
giveth
chap.
vii..
sbc. 3.
them
all
their
distance attributed to the few Stars, which our
Astronomers have attempted to measure,
beyond
belief;
which
in proof of
I
quotation from Miss Gibeme's " Sun,
is
extravagant
give the following
Moon, and
Stars,"
pp. 91, 92.
"Alpha
"
the second Star which
Centauri,
with success,
is
the nearest of
You have heard how
far the
Alpha Centauii
distance of
is
was attempted
whose distance we know.
all
Sun
is
from the Earth.
The
two hundred and twenty-five
thousand times as much.
"
Can you
picture to yourself that vast reach of space
line ninety-one millions of miles long repeated over
—
and over
again two hundred and twenty-five thousand times.
" But Alpha Centauri
Star whose distance
thousand times as
is
one of the very nearest.
was measured,
far as the Sun,
61 Cygni,
and the
nearly one million times as far as the Sun.
to
show the smallest change
little
The
first
hundred
brilliant Sirius is
Others uttely refuse
of position."
The Modem Astronomer
upon the
is five
is
so fond of expatiating
glories of his starry worlds, that
he thinks but
of his own, like the cloud-soaring eagle,
" Seeming to wonder that a world so dim
Should not have been more beautiful for him."
His mind has become so engrossed with the inconceivable
magnitude of
Sirius,
Vega, and other Staxs, that he
calls
the world in which he lives " an atom of a world," though
that "
atom
of a world," according to his
own
showing,
is
25,000 miles in circumference, quite large enough for
all
the purposes for which
it
is
required,
and the chief
THE
of these purposes
is,
that
STARS.
i6i
by the works of God's Creation,
as well as by the Revelation of His
the Holy Spirit,
God, and Jesus Christ
]ohn
Life Eternal
Word,
we may know Him
whom He
hath sent, for
first
Common
this is
xvii. 3.
The Modem Astronomer appears
the very
by
as taught
as the only true
be
to
deficient in
necessary for useful
principle
enquiry
Sense.
" Like the Chaldean he
would watch the
but he lacks the standpoint of the Chaldean
stars,"
—a stationary
Earth, for that, according to him, revolves around the
Sun
be
it
possible
if
If
him to measure
for
especially such a circling
body as a
how
second; and
at the rate of eighteen miles per
could
anything,,
Star, with accuracy,
handicapped by such a cannon-ball motion as
he would only take the trouble to think
that?"
seriously,.
instead of indulging in wild speculation, he would sooni
see the absurdity of his theoretic calculations.
To
a thoughtful
heavens
is
man
truly solemn,
the contemplation of the starry
when he knows
as
that they,
well as the familiar Earth from which he gazes on them,
shall all pass away, " as
a
would appear, was
mind
in the
tale that is told."
of the Psalmist
Such,
it
when he
exclaimed
" Of old hast
Thou
laid the foundations of the Earth,
the Heavens aie the work of
but
Thou
Thy hands.
shalt endure; yea, all of
them
They
shall
and
shall perish,
wax
old like a
garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall
be changed ; but Thou
no end.
The children
art the
of
same, and
Thy
Thy
years shall have
servants shall continue,
their seed shall be established before
Thee "
Psa.
cii.
and
z^—zS.
TERRA FIRMA.
i62
So
also,
is
chap,
vii.,
sec.
3.
the coming dissolution of the Heavens,
proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah
"The
host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens
shall be rolled together as a scroll,
away
as the leaf falleth
of the fig-tree "
And
from
ofi
and
all their
host shall
fall
the vine, and as a fading leaf
Isa. xxxiv. 4.
the 'inspired Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
quoting from the prophet Haggai, sums up the matter as
follows
"Yet once more
Ibut also the
will I
make
And
Heavens.
this
to tremble not the Earth only
word, yet once more,
signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that
have been made, that those things which are not shaken may
remain.
shaken,
Wherefore,
let
receiving
a
us have grace, whereby
Kingdom
we may
that
pleasing to God, with reverence and awe, for our
suming
fire."
Heb.
xii.
—
26
29.
cannot
be
offer service well-
God
is
a con-
i63
CHAPTER
VIII.
THE SUN ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.
Section
Page
1.
Light comes out of Darkness
2.
Zetetic measurements respecting the
tance AND diameter OF THE SUN
-
4.
dis-
l6j
-
174
Scriptural proof of the Rising and Setting
OF the Sun .
180
Some particulars respecting the Sun
3.
163
-
SECTION
-
1.
LIGHT COMES OUT OF DARKNESS.
It
is
good to pass from
instead of a
cross
the
—
stream
in
to fact
fiction
—
^to
have,
a strong bridge on which to
rotten plank,
lieu
of
panting
in
the
foggy
atmosphere of impossible Theory, to breathe the pure
air of
Let us now, therefore, endea-
heavenly Truth.
vour to learn something of what the Bible
tells
us
concerning the Sun.
"And God
said, let there
be luminaries
(light-givers) in the
firmament of the heavens, to divide the day from the night,
and
let
years;
them be
and
let
for signs
them be
and
for seasons,
and
for
days and for
for light in the firmament of the
TERRA FIRMA.
i64
chap,
heavens, to give light upon the Earth, and
was
it
viii.,
sec.
i.
And God
so.
great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule the
made two
day, and the lesser luminary to rule the night, the Stars also
and God
them
set
firmament of the heavens to give light
in the
upon the Earth, and
to rule over the
and to divide between the
God saw
that
Ah
!
"
the
ig.
must have been
Be not so
days."
left
till
in
with your
fast
Mr. Sceptic; there was light before the Sun's
formation, as there
hereafter.
"
Creation
light "
was
world
the
darkness for three
criticism,
—
14
i.
have been, not to make the Sun
this
day;
fourth
Gen.
the Sceptic, " what a bunghng perfor-
says
manoe must
and between the darkness, and
light
was good, and the evening and the morning
it
were the fourth day "
"
day and over the night,
remarked,
On
God
very
without
first
3, the record of
i.
it
one of the
now, and
day
will
be
Adamic
the
of
Let there be
said,
Gen.
is
is light
the
and there
light,
which, as Longinus
finest instances of the sublime.
Light, strictly speaking, is a formation, not an original
—
God
creation.
said
" I
create (ve-berd) darkness "
form
the
(yuiser)
light,
and I
Great have been
Isa. xlv. 7.
among
the differences of opinion as to light
Scientists,
some advocating the corpuscular and others the undular
Had
tory theory.
much
as
it
womb
neglect, they
may seem
they gone to the Book, which they so
would have learned long ago, strange
to them, that Light is
of Darkness.
Darkness
—but
absence of light
density.
" Darkness
and that
the
Thus we
was upon
"
God
darkness,
is
bom
out of the
not a negation
—a mere
a substance of various degrees of
are
told
that
the face of the
at
the
Deep
"
beginning
Gen.
i.
2,
divided between the light and between
and God called the
light
day,
and the
LIGHT COMES OUT OF DARKNESS.
He
darkness
there
is
—one day
"
a morning
Thus we
Gen.
a
i.
4, 5.
what
Nature, but which, to speak more
God,
correctly, is the Providence of
darkness,
an evening, and
is
find that in the mysterious order of
generally called
is
and there
called night,
165
'
beautiful
light sprang out of
which
of
illustration
the
truth,
Apostle Paul, doubtless with reference to this very
us in spiritual
gives
things
—
"
Ho
For God,
who commanded
skotous phds lampsai,
fact,
eipon ek
light to shine out
of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light
of the knowledge of Himself in the face of Jesus Christ
—2
Cor.
6
iv.
Again,
gar poti skotos nun de phds
ete
en Kurio hos tekna phdtos peripateite, " for at one time
now
ye were darkness, but
are ye fight in the Lord, walk
Eph.
as children of light"
— Unto the upright there
—Fsa.
"
exit.
The
resemble
to
as
sometimes
that
over
is
evolved,
it
is
felt "
as
if
by groping.
unto the thick darkness, where
Milton
—
Again
"
but darkness
perhaps,
some
itself
of
of
Egypt,
of
" that
might
Moses drew near
God was "
writes of " darkness visible," that
is
so gross or
land
the
recorded in Exodus x. 21, the darkness,
be
"
4..
darkness, out of which light
various degrees of density;
thick
8 ; and the Psalmist says
v.
ariseth light in the darkness
is,
Exod. xx. 21.
where nothing
can be seen, an experience, which,
my
one special occasion,
Readers may have known,
I
have myself.
that the opinion entertained
Thus,
it is
as,
on
evident
by most, that darkness
As
is
merely the privation of
light,
comes out
proves that darkness must be
of darkness
it
a veritable entity or substance.
is
erroneous.
light
This may be marvellous
to us, but all God's works axe marvellous, and I
do not
TERRA FIRMA.
i66
know
that
certain
it is
more so than that water is composed of
and hydrogen gases. The
of Creation are inexplicable.
see results, but as to the
"why" and
the "how,"
they are to us hidden as the writing in a sealed
We
must have
God does
faith
possible,
"Know that God
is
the wisest
to
and we
tells us,
is Just,
And, where we can't unriddle, learn to
accordance with
letter.
to believe that everything which
done in the best manner
is
should, as Pamell
He
i.
portions of oxygen
truth is that the marvels
We
chap, vih., sec.
who knows
his Bible best,
There
teaching.
its
trust."
more
is
be found in the Bible, particularly
in
and
lives in
real science
Genesis, Job,
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, than
and Observatories in the
Grand nuggets of true knowledge are embedded
world.
but they are required to be sought for in a reverent
spirit,
in all the Universities
for "
God
humble
O
"
resisteth the
James
iv.
6.
there,
proud but giveth grace unto the
Our Lord
said
—
" I
thank Thee,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
Thou
hast
hid these things from the wise and understanding, and
hast revealed
it
them unto babes, even
seemeth good in Thy sight
"
Matt.
so.
Father, for so
xi. 25, 26.
Parkhurst held strongly the procession of light out
indeed, in one sense,
of darkness;
it
might be called
the basis of his system of the circulation of the celestial
fluids,
which, as he thought, caused the revolution of
the world.
uphold
I
am
his theory,
afraid,
however, that, in his zeal to
he sometimes got an esoteric meaning
from certain Hebrew words to harmonize with
other good lexicographers
it,
which
do not appear to -have found.
ZETETIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUN.
my
in
Still,
approve of
it,
opinion,
his
although
system,
to Newton's
is suj)erior
I
167
cannot
he held that there
;
a plenum in the heavens, which Newton, on account of
is
and he had a
his fancied law of Gravitation, rejected,
reverence for the
Word
of
God which Newton,
theory of the universe, deliberately ignored.
able exponent, Macdonald, in his work, "
in his
Parkhufst's
The
Principia
and the Bible," previously quoted, has some important
remarks on
light,
which
would
to
I
especially in
any of
refer
Chapter
my
of Part II.,
II.
Readers
who may be
interested in that important subject.
SECTION
2.
ZETETIC MEASUREMENTS RESPECTING THE
DISTANCE AND DIAMETER OF THE SUN.
Zetetics,
the
truth
who, as the name implies, seek only to know
as
to
God's wonderful works
of
Creation,
although somewhat differing as regards the exact distance
of the
Sun from the Earth, are all agreed
Those now most in the
comparatively near.
sider
it
that
to be under or about three thousand miles,
they utterly repudiate the estimate of
!
The Sun was made
is
and
Modern Astrono^
—92,000,000 miles —
mers
it
front con-
as being contrary to
all
reason.
to give light and heat to "the Earth,
and what a wasted expenditure of both would there be
at such an
to
enormous
distance.
The
idea
is
too absurd
be attributed to any human Architect, much
less
to
TERRA FIRMA.
i68
chap,
the All-wise Creator of the Universe.
some
ing to
mention
of oair Astronomical
briefly
been taken,
how
Zetetic
these
may be
It
me
to
measurements have
make some
they might then, perhaps,
as
2.
interest-
for
friends,
sec.
viii.,
practical experiments, themselves, and thus be convinced
that the extravagant distances, calculated on the theory
of a Planetary Earth, are altogether erroneous.
Rowbotham's
Dr.
simple
;
own words,
" Zetetic Astronomy,'' pp. 102
"The
experiment
(Parallax)
I shall give it in his
illustration given
was very
as described in
— 104
above (that of measurements by
plane trigonometry), have referred to a fixed object; but the
Sun
not fixed, and, therefore, a modification of the process,
is
but involving the same principle, must be adopted.
of the simple triangle
and plumb
Instead
line represented in
fig.
an instrument with a graduated arc must be employed
two observers, one
must
it
at the
at
57,
;
and
each end of a North and South base
line,
same moment observe the under edge
of the
Sun
as
passes the meridian; when, from the difference of the angle
observed, and the
distance of the
known
length of the base line, the actual
Sun may be
importance.
"The
(Taken 13th July,
of
distance
day
1870.)
is
at the
Bridge,
was found
same moment
to
to
the
50 statute miles.
at 12 o'clock, the altitude of the
London
at
following case
as well as its result and
London Bridge
Brighton, in a straight line,
The
calculated.
will fully illustrate this operation,
be
sea-coast
On
at
a given
Sun from near the water
61 degrees of
of time, the altitude
an
arc, and,
from the sea-coast
at
Brighton was observed to be 64 degrees of an arc, as shown by
fig.
58.
angle at
The base
L
61
line
degrees,
from
L
to B, 50 measured miles, the
and the angle
at
B
64 degrees.
In
addition to the method by calculation, the distance of the
ZETETIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUN.
b.N'o
V5>
vaFIG. 58.
•9
S
6
5
•J
-2
-I
6
5
4
B
169
TERRA. FIRMA.
I70
chap,
viii.,
sec. ^,
under edge of the Sun may be ascertained from these elements
by the method
is,
the
in
L
that
'constructed,'
to
B
drawn
at
an angle of
drawn
at
an angle of 64 degrees.
from
The diagram,
'construction.'
called
above case,
and the
represents 50 statute miles,
61
and the
degrees,
Both
B,
S,
is
are produced
each other at the point
until they bisect or cross
58,
line
line L, S, is
line
lines
fig.
the base
is,
S.
Then,
with a pair of compasses, measure the length of the base line
how many
B, L, and see
the line L, S, or B, S.
sixteen
times the same length
equal to 800
times 50 miles,
measure in the same way the vertical
Hence
found to be 700 miles.
may
be found in
be found to be sixteen times, or
It will
it is
statute
line
D,
S,
Then
miles.
and
it
will
demonstrable that the
tance of the Sun over that point of the Earth to which
be
disis
it
vertical is only 700 statute miles."
Another method of measurement was adopted by the
John Hampden,
below,* from which I quote
late
"
Mr.
The Sun
travels
15 miles a minute,
a Pamphlet mentioned
in
as follows
from east to west on the equator,
just
or goo miles in the 60 minutes, and
enlarges or diminishes
its
orbit just
15 miles
it
every day, or
goo miles every 60 days.
"And
again, precisely the
same
figures
must be employed
to define the width of the twelve or fifteen meridians of longi-
tude from North to South as are used to describe the daily
enlargement of the Sun's orbit from one parallel of latitude to
—that
the next, and the next, occupying 90 days
by iiji from 7J^ and
"The
15
up
to 1,350
Sun's altitude, at
all
seasons,
just equal to a meridian of longitude
June or Northern Solstice
&
is
increases
40j 41.
.
-
only goo miles, or
on the Equator.
vertical at 1,350 miles
In the
from the
the Elementary Principles of Physical Cosmogonv "; ClvU
Publishing Co., 8 Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, London.
*"A Dialogue on
.Service Printing
it is
is, it
and iS7%-" PP-
ZETETIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUN.
Equator
in
;
May and
April and August,
and September,
October,
November
or
is
it
it is
December
"The
July
vertical at 450 miles, north;
it is
crossing
is
it
the
line;
vertical at 900 miles, south
Solstice
1,350 miles
it is
;
;
that of
and
and
in the Southern
from the Equator.
Equinoxial orbit
its
in
in January and
diameter of the Sun's Northern or June orbit
4,200 miles
;
March
in
February
in
south;
vertical at 450 miles,
171
900 miles, north
it is vertical at
is
6,900 miles
;
just
is
and that
of its diameter or Southern orbit 9,600 miles; or a difference
of 2,700 miles between each "
(p. 42).
Thomas Winship
Mr.
of
Durban, Natal, gives his
measurement of the Sun's distance
"When
the
Sun
clination, the angle
distances
on that
as follows
on the Equator, and thus has no de-
is
makes with the Earth and the sea on
it
circle is a right angle.
At an angular
all
dis-
tance of 45 degrees from the Equator, north or south, the
distance of the base line from the observer to the Equator
of necessity the
Earth's Equator.
where the angle
same
as the Sun's vertical distance
That
at the
is
to say, in
any right-angled
apex of the triangle
is
from the
triangle,
45 degrees, the
is
other angle must of necessity be the same, as these two angles
in any
degrees.
such triangle are equal to the right angle,
The angles being equal
equal; therefore the base line
"
Let S
right-angled
and
"
is
O
an
is
equal to the vertical.
E O
at E
;
S the Sun,
the figure
it is
.
.
.
E
the Equator,
north latitude.
evident that 45 degrees
the angular distance of the
north,
90
be a right-angled triangle,
observer at 45 degrees
From
viz.,
the sides, are of necessity
Sun
at 45 degrees
and no other angle can be got in
actual practice (allowing, of course, for such
corrections as height of eye, semi-diameter, &c.)
;
so that the
TERRA FIRMA.
172
chap,
viii.,
sec.
—^from
O
distance on the surface of the Earth to the Equator
Sun
2.
in the heavens
to E, is the
same as from the Equator
—E
Multiplying 45 by 60 (60 Geographical miles equal
I
O
to S.
degree),
to E,
we
to the
get 2,700 Geographical miles as the distance
and thus from
E
to S.
The Sun
MILES DISTANT FROM THE Eaeth.
If
is,
from
therefoee, 2,700
the Sun Were 96,000,000
miles distant from the Earth, our observer at 45 degrees N. or
"»
S. latitude would be that distance from the Equator
!
!
!
Another Zetetic, the late Editor of " The Earth (not
a Globe) Review," known as "Zetetes," has written an
able paper on the distance of the Sun, the whole of which
is
too long for insertion here, so I must content myself
by quoting only the preliminary
is sufficient
be about three thousand miles
"But take
when
the
part,
which, however,
to show that " Zetetes " considers the
Sun
distant
Sun
to
from the Earth.
the time of the vernal and autumnal equinox,
is directly
over the Equator.
We
will also take
the Astronomer's assumption that the light of the Sun travels
in straight lines, except just near the surface of the Earth,
when they sometimes allow
for
what
is
as they have no agreed and definite
and what they do sometimes allow
may
is
termed
refraction.
But
standard of refraction,
we
only a small figure,
at present ignore this for the purpose of simplifying the
problem before
They cannot reasonably
us.
object
to
our
following their lead here.
"Now
it
is
a well-known property that
all
the angles of
any triangle are together equal to two right angles, or 180
degrees.
If,
then,
we
take any right-angled triangle as A, B,
C
having one angle at the base B a right angle, and the other
angle at the base
*
*'
Zetetic
Durban, Natal
C
45 degrees
Cosmogony "
;
we know
that the angle at the
pp. 115, 117; T, L. CuUingworth, 40 Field Street,
Street, Netherfield, Notts.
John Williams, 54 Bourne
ZETETIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUN.
A
apex
must
also be 43 degrees,
equal to the base
"
Now let A
line,
173
and the perpendicular B, A,
B, C.
represent the Sun's position over
B
the Equator on the 21st of March, and
the
place of some spectator on the Equator directly
beneath the Sun when on the meridian say of
Bordeaux, which
and
lef
C
is
almost that of Greenwich,
represent the town of Bordeaux in
France at about 45 degrees N. Lat.
Here, then,
we have some
general data for determining the Sun's distance from the Earth
that
is,
is
equal to the line C, B, or the base
distance between Bordeaux and the point
"
Sun above
the line A, B, or the perpendicular height of the
the Equator at B,
Now
Geographers
the
affirm
geographical or 69^^ statute miles.
by these
B
line,
or
on the Equator.
that
degree
i
equals
60
Then- multiply 45 degrees
and we get the distance, according to the
figures,
Astronomers, that Bordeaux
is
from the nearest point of the
Equator on the same meridian, namely 2,700 geographical
miles,
about
or
3,107
English
or
statute
numbers, then, 3,000 miles proximately
round
the distance of the
is
Sun from the Equator, shown according
In
miles.
terms of the
to the
Astronomers themselves."
With
regard
estimates of
the
to
Modem
Diameter
of
the
Sun,
the
Astronomers vary from 850,000 to
882,000 miles, thus making a difference between themselves of 32,000 miles
These
!
calculations are so pre-
posterously absurd that they only deserve to be treated
Mr. Winship of Natal, who
with contempt.
in nautical matters, asserts that its
an Expert
is
Diameter
is
only 32
geographical miles, as will be seen from the following
extract
from
p.
120
of
his
valuable
Cosmogony," previously mentioned
work,
" Zetetic
TERRA FIRMA.
174
chap,
sec.
viii.,
3.
" If the navigator neglects to apply the Sun's semi-diameter
to his observation at sea,
he
is
16 nautical miles (nearly) out
in calculating the position his ship is in.
A
minute of arc on
the sextant represents a nautical mile, and,
if
the semi-diameter
be 16 miles, the diameter is, of course, 32 miles. And, as
measured by the sextant, the Sun's diameter is 32 minutes of
Let him disprove
arc, that is 32 nautical miles in diameter.
If ever disproof is attempted, it will h€ a literary
this who can.
curiosity, well
worth framing."
Personally I do not feel competent to decide what
is
the exact distance and diameter of the Sun, but, from
testimony
the
appointed by
God
Scripture,
that
to give light
and
reason with regard
convinced that
heat, days
it
previously
Zetetics
allowed for
of
and
it
referred
what might be required for
it
was created.
certain that the vast distance
it
years,
dictates
to,
its
us,
am
and
distance
I
by
and the diameter
by Mr. Winship, are the very extreme
purposes for which
ascribed to
was
the fitness of things, I
tO'
must be comparatively near
consider that the measurements as to
the
luminary
that
and seasons to the Earth, as also from the
signs
of
of
by
Modem
its
performance of the
We may
be
positively
and diameter of the Sun,
Astronomers,
is
only a wild
chimera of the brain, and at complete variance with
Scripture, Reason,
and Fact.
SECTION
8.
SOME PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE SUN.
Let us now look at the following points
I.
In the beginning darkness was upon the face of
the Deep, or vast abyss of waters, in which the Earth,
SOME PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE
before
Adamic
the
Creation,
God
and
"
said
Let
there
17s
was wholly submerged.
God moved upon
Afterwards the Spirit of
SUN.
be
light,
the waters,
and
was
there
light."
God
2.
divided between the light and between the
darkness, from which
would seem
it
consequence
that, in
of this operation, the finer particles were separated from
the grosser, and formed by God's
fiat
The
into light.
Hebrew for light is aur, from the root ar to flow,
we also have yaur, a river, .so called from its
whence
flowing
motion.
On
3.
and
me
God,
who
of
independent
with
light
unknown
only
the
is
all
that these were
combinations
or other product
ether,
of
which are
Stars,
appears to
it
different
God made
the Fourth day of Creation
Moon and
the Sun,
light-givers,
formed from
all
some pervading
Word
by the
to us,
Alchemist
perfect
the
in
universe.
—
The word
4.
aur, light, is occasionally used for fire
" a third part shalt
of the city "
Ezek.
thou
v.
2,
bum
a development of
light,
which,
immense
it
is
said,
in the fire,
whence
it
as exhibited
flames,
in,
seems as
the midst
by the Sun, from
discoverable by the
telescope, proceed.
Light
5.
light is
can
be reconverted into darkness
darkened in the heavens thereof"
"
The Sun
"
Seek
shall
Him
that
be turned into darkness
maketh the seven
were
if fire
—
" the
Isa. v.
"
Joel
—
30
it.
31.
Stars (the Pleiades),
and Orion, and tumeth the shadow of death into the
morning,
Amos
V. 8.
6.
The
and
maketh
light of the
the
day
dark
with
Sun and Moon can
night"
also be
much
TERRA FIRMA.
lyS
—
increased
"
Moreover the
as the light of the Sun,
chap,
Moon
the
light of
and the
light of the
sec.
viii.,
be
shall
Sun
3.
be
shall
as the light of seven days, in the day that
seven-fold,
Jehovah bindeth up the
healeth the stroke of their
hurt
His
of
"
wound
and
people,
The
Isa. xxx. 26.
—"And
heat also of the Sun shall be greatly intensified
the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the Sun,
and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire,
and men were scorched with great heat
7. I
Rev. xvi. 8,
have already proved from Scripture that
existed before the Sun, and I shall
shall
"
come when
now show
at
Speaking of the restoration of God's ancient people,
all.
light
light
—
Isaiah
Israel,
says
"
The Sun
shall
by day, neither for brightness
no more be
thy
Moon
give
shall the
unto thee, but Jehovah shall be unto thee an
everlasting light,
and thy God thy glory"
New
Again, of the
Jerusalem
it
is
it,
God
for the glory of
thereof
is
cerning
the
Hereafter
Lamb"
the
habitation
we read
—
^"
did lighten
Rev.
of
There
xxi.
the
shall
ig.
City
to shine
and the lamp
And,
23.
no'
Ix.
The
^"
Moon
it,
Saints
be
Isa.
—
written
hath no need of the Sun, neither of the
in
a time
that
be required
that luminary will not
g.
light
in
the
con-
Grand
night there, and
they need no light of lamp, neither light of Sun, for
the Lord God shall give them light,
reign for ever and ever " Rev. xxii. 5.
Thus we see
that the
universe, but only an
Sun
Ohed or
is
and they
no Baal or Lord of the
formed by God to
servant,
give light and heat to our world, and to regulate
and seasons as
shall
at present constituted,
its
times
but whose service
can be dispensed with when no longer required.
8.
God made
light
on the
First day,
and what was
SOME PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE
then given was quite
SUN.
177
days of
sufficient for the first three
when vegetable and
He made the Sun, as also
Creation, but, on the Fourth day,
organic
were introduced,
life
Moon and
the
Stars,
such being necessary for the higher
state of existence, for
means
In Genesis
9.
"
God
always admirably adapts the
to the end.
16 we read
i.
literally
Ve-yosh
Alehtim
at
sheni
he-mant
And made
God
the substance
two
the luminaries
he-maw
at
he-gedlim
h-memshelit
he-yum
for the ruling
the day
he-geiel
the greater
the luminary
the substance
the great
he-maur
vt-at
the luminary
and the substance
he-qethen
U-memshelet
the lesser
for the ruling
ve-at
he-liUh
and the
the night
substance.-
ke-hukebim
the stars.
From
are
all
the above passage
independent
we may
bodies of
different chemical combinations or
red and heat-caUsing, the
Moon
Stars of a variety of colours.
that
also,
gather that these
light,
concentrated
affinities;
in
Sun
the
pale and cold, and the
It
may be
well to note
the account of the formation of the
Stars
occupies only four words in the Hebrew, while that of
the Earth and
its
inhabitants takes a great
many more;
whereas, were they the vast bodies which our Astrono^
be, we would naturally expect
made concerning them would have
mers represent thiem to
that
the
been
far
relation
more
fully detailed in the Inspired
Record than
it is.
How
ished,
these luminaries are being continuously replen-
we cannot know with
certainty,
because
we
12
are
TERRA FIRMA.
178
chap,
sec. 3.
viii.,
not told by Scripture, but, from whatever source,
amply
for
sufficient
purpose,
the
as,
their
after
is
it
long
course of well nigh six thousand years, their light
good as
as
still
finite
God
of
are very mysterious to
minds, but, by and bye,
wise and yet
how
The Sun
10.
it
The ways
the heavens.
our
I
might possibly be by their absorbing
of the plenum of space, as they circle round
would suggest that
the entities
is
might hazard a conjecture,
If I
ever.
simple they
is
we
shall
know how
are.
sometimes eclipsed for a short time,
in consequence of the
Moon coming between
observer on the Earth.
it
and the
Such eclipses, as before men-
tioned, are quite independent of any particular theory,
being calculated from those which have been previously
observed.
Thus, as Professor Olmsted remarks
" It is not difficult to form
process of calculating Eclipses.
some general notion
It
may be
of
the
easily conceived
by long-continued observation on the Sun and Moon, the
that,
laws of their revolution
may
be so well understood, that the
exact place which they will occupy in the heavens at any future
time
may
be foreseen and laid down in tables of the Sun's
and Moon's motions ; that we may thus
the tables, the instant
when
ascertain,
by inspecting
these bodies will be together in
the heavens, or be in conjunction."*
" Hippocratus (150 B.C.) constructed tables of the motions
of the
Sun and Moon;
collected accounts of such Eclipses, as
had been made by the Egyptians and Chaldeans, and calculated
all that
11.
were to happen for 600 years to come."t
God made
the Sun and Moon, not only to give
light to the world, but to
* "
t
be for signs and seasons,
Mechanism of the Heavens/' p. 191.
"EncyclopsBdia Londonensis," Vol. 11, p. ^o^.
for
SOME PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE SUN.
179
The Sun is the chronometer of the
and by it all time is regulated by land and by sea.
Through it, by means of Eclipses, Mr. Dimbleby claims
days and for years.
world,
to have calculated the very day
on which the present
Kosmos, or ornamented world, began to be formed.*
the
word Kosmos
in order to distinguish
it
from
I
use
arets,
the
Earth which was without form and void, when Darkness
was upon the face of the Deep.
When
that
unformed
Earth was originally created no human being knows,
and the guesses of Astronomers and Geologists,
its
to
as
possible age, are utterly without value, because they
have no data on which to base their calculations.
In order to
12.
made
the Sun,
it
fulfil
stationary, to revolve
it
gives light
for
is
it
for
Spring,
seasons,
for days,
when man goeth
—and
By
specially
to
means
this
in its various parts,
a sign in the calculation of
different
evening
instead of being
around the world.
and other heavenly motions
eclipses
it,
and heat to the Earth
besides which,
God
the purposes for which
was necessary
—
^for
regulating the
Summer, Autumn, Winter
forth to his labour
distinguish
—and
Seventh day from the others
the
till
the
Sabbath or
for years to
mark
particular occurrences, such as the lives of the Patriarchs,
the date of the Deluge, the call of Abraham, the Exodus,
the Jewish
Captivity,
birth of Christ,
be mentioned
the
Times of the
Gentiles,
the
and other notable events which need not
here.
God, who knows the thoughts and intents of the
heart, was, of course, well aware that
themselves by worshipping the
*" All Past Time,"
pp. 9, 73, I4«,
38 Paternoster
some would debase
and that others
Sun,
by J. B, Dimbleby; E. Nester,
Row, London.
TERRA FIRMA.
i8o
would imagine
in describing, in the
round the world, so that
Scriptures, its daily revolution
men might be
4.
the immovable centre of the
to be
it
been most particular
universe, has
chap, vni., sec.
without excuse as regards either their
idolatry or their ignorance.
Every evening,
various
at
hours, according to the time of the year, and the place
in
which we
are, the
Sun seems
to us to
go down or
set,
but always re-appears at dawn of day,
" Arising,
To mock
In
the
Arctic
when morn beameth on the
region,
however,
the
Sun,
days in Summer, does not visibly set at
seen,
lea,
the doctrine of the Sadducee."
all,
for
certain
but
may be
during the whole twenty-four hours of the day,
performing
its
positive that
regular circle round the heavens, a proof
it is
only a
satellite
of the stationary Earth,
which cannot, therefore, be a Planet.
SECTION
4.
SCRIPTURAL PROOF OF THE RISING AND
SETTING OF THE SUN.
The
passages of Scripture respecting the rising and
setting of the Sun, are so very
numerous that
occupy too much space to record them
all,
mention a few, which, however, axe quite
the purpose; a complete
in
list
it
would
so I shall only
can be found,
sufficient for
if
required,
any good Concordance
"
From
the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great
river, the river
Euphrates,
all
the land of the Hittites, and unto the
SCRIPTURAL PROOF OF RISE AND SET OF SUN.
be your
" Thus spake Joshua to Jbhovah, in the day when
Jehovah
Sea, towards the going down of
border"
Jos.
up
delivered
thou
So
Sun
that
the Amorites before the children of Israel, Sun, stand
stood
still
And
there
fought for Israel "—Jos.
them
let
And
it
"
"
And
is
be
shall
shalt rise early
what
was no day
and
men
the
and hasted not
.
.
go down
it
or after
like that before
Jehovah
voice of a man, for
Him
"^ud.
(Jehovah) be as the Sun when
31.
v.
in the morning, as soon as the
set
.
to
x. 12-14.
that love
he goeth forth in his might
"
in the valley of Ajalon.
in the midst of heaven,
Jehovah hearkened unto the
" But
the
4.
upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon,
still
the
i.
about a whole day.
it
i8i
Sun, shall
Great
upon the
city
"—Jud.
of the city said unto
him
Sun
down,
before the sun went
sweeter than honey, or stronger than a lion? "
So they passed on and went
thou
up,
is
ix. 33.
their way, and
Jud. xiv. 18.
the
sun
went
down upon them, even by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin "
Jud. xix. 14.
"David
sware, saying,
taste bread or
"
ought else
And Hezekiah
Jehovah
will heal
Jehovah the
third
So do God
till
the
Sun
he
said unto Isaiah,
me, and that
day
?
And
to
me and more
down "
what
I shall
— 2 Sam.
shall
also, if I
Hi. 35.
be the sign that
go up to the House of
Isaiah said, This shall be the sign
unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that
hath spoken
(degrees) or go back ten steps ?
And Hezekiah
answered.
light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps, nay, but
return backward ten steps.
Jehovah and He
gone on the dial
"
down
So
"
the
—
He
Shall the shadow (of the Sun) go forward ten steps
Isaiah
the
It is
the
it
had
—2 Kin^sxx. 8-n.
returned ten degrees,
Isa. xxxviii. 8.
a
shadow
Prophet cried unto
brought the shadow ten steps backward on which
ofAhas"
Sun
And
let
by which degrees
it
was gone
TERRA FIRMA.
i82
He
" In them (the heavens) hath
which
viii.,
sbc. 4.
Sm,
as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and refoiceth as a
is
young man
run his
to
and
heavens,
retumeth
to the
And
also ariseth (xeret)
came
it
and
"
place where he arose
to pass
a sultry east wind "^on.
""that ye
heaven, for
His going forth
course.
his circuit unto the end of it
" The Sun
"
chap,
set a tabernacle for the
He
may be
maheth
when
iv
—
—Psa.
Ecc.
the
i.
Sun
xix. 4-6.
Sun
the
down
(6m),
arose, that
God
prepared
the children of your Father which
the
Sun
to rise
on the
"
"
is in
and on the good,
evil
Matt.
Eph.
v. 43.
iv.
26.
no sooner risen with a burning heat but
withereth the grass "—Jam.
and
8.
" Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath
is
goeth
5.
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust
" For the Sun
from the end of the
is
i.
it
11.
Such testimony from the Scriptures that the Earth
is
a Terra Firma, and that the Sun rises arid sets each
day in his journey round the heavens, must be convincing to
every
unprejudiced mind,
and
it
is
really
superfluous to add proof from secular sources, with which
every country teems, and of which I could quote pages.
But what would be the use?
what God declares
what
their
own
—^what
If
people
common
will not credit
sense teaches
—and
eyes behold, further arguments would be
of no avail, and they must just be left in their ignorance.
In the world beyond they
and deeply
and so
will
will
have their sight opened,
they deplore that they were so sinful
foolish as to believe a
Pagan
lie
instead of the
overwhelming evidence, afforded to tfiem during their
sojourn here, of Scripture, Reason, and Fact, that the
Earth
is
not a Planet
i83
CHAPTER
THE
IX.
AND WORK
SUN'S PATH
THE HEAVENS.
IN
PAGE
SECTION
1.
The trde cause of Day and Night and
2.
The reason for Gain
THE Seasons
AT Sea
184
...
and Loss op Time
-
-
186
The Seasons of the Year
3.
187
The Midnight Sun, and the alternation of
Summer and Winter in the Northern
4.
Centre
-
igo
The Sun and the Zodiac
5.
There
of those
the
no
is
-
195
-
subject, with the exception, of course,
which are essentially
human mind
as
the
divine,
right
so ennobling to
contemplation
of
the
The atmosphere
dew the hurricane
wonders of the spacious firmament.
—the
and the
—
—the thunder and the
and the clouds
and
the'
—
lightning
lessons of love
The
rain
hail
majestic Sun, as
it
travels
on
its
path, the silvery
Moon, "walking in brightness," and the variegated
emblazoning,
^teach
and of thankfulness, of pity and of awe.
like
costly
jewels,
the
mantle
draw us from ourselves, and
"Lead from Nature up
to Nature's
God."
of
Stars,
night,
TERRA FIRMA.
i84
How
chap,
sec. i.
ix.,
deeply must the Sweet Singer of Israel have
felt
he exclaimed
this when,
"The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the firmament
unto day uttereth speech, and
Day
showeth His handiwork.
There
night unto night teacheth knowledge.
language where their voice
not heard.
is
the earth, and
out through
all
the world"
Fsa. xix. i
their
no speech nor
is
Their line
gone
is
words unto the end of
—
4..
SECTION
1.
THE CAUSE OF DAY AND NIGHT AND THE SEASONS.
The Path
contracting
easily
Sun
of the
daily
for
is
Concentric, expanding and
months
six
This
alternately.
is
proved by fixing a rod, say at noon on the 21st
of December, so that, on looking along
vision will touch the lower
it,
the line of
edge of the Sun.
of sight will continue for several days pretty
same, but, on the ninth or tenth day,
that the rod will have to
will
it
This
line
much
the
be found
be moved considerably toward
the zenith, in order to touch the lower edge of the Sun,
and every day afterwards
22nd
of June.
Then
it
will
have to be raised
there will be
little
till
the
change for a
few days as before, but day by day afterwards the rod
wiU have
the Sun
to
be lowered
is farthest
dark
there.
Sun's
path
This
till
the zist of December,
when
from the Northern Centre, and
expansion
continues
every
and contraction
year,
and
is
it is
of
the
termed
the
Northern and Southern Declination, and should demon-
CAUSE OF DAY AND NIGHT AND THE SEASONS.
strate to
Modem
World a
the
Astronomers the absurdity of calling
Planet, as
Sun continues
183
circling
remains stationary while the
it
round the heavens.
has been observed, that both the June and the
It
December paths
Sun have for centuries been
of the
gradually receding
the Northern Centre, which
fronj,
may
account for the fact that in Great Britain, as well as in
the remains
other northern countries,
of
tropical
pro-
ductions have been found, thus appearing to show that
these localities were at one time warmer than they are
now.
It
has also been noticed that the inclemency of
the weather in the far Southern latitudes, though stUl
much
greater than
it is
in the North, seems to
were
first
It
same degrees of
in the
be somewhat
less than
when they
discovered.
thus be seen that, in consequence of this
will
expanding and contracting path of the Sun, as
travels
six
latitude
round the world,
months
in
alternately, as
it
from the Northern Centre,
an inner or outer
it
daily
circle, for
advances towards or recedes
or,
as
Geographers
call
it,
the North Pole, are produced the various changes in the
length
of
twilight,
each
the
day and night,
different
seasons
morning and evening
of
the
year,
Spring,
Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and the long periods of
alternate
light
and darkness
in
the
Northern
Centre.
Such was God's purpose when He first made the Sun,
and such was His determination after the whole Earth
had been swept by the Noachian Flood,
in the
Book
for
we read
of books
" While the Earth remaineth seedtime and harvest, and cold
and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall
not cease''
Gen.
viii. 22.
TERRA FIRMA.
i86
SECTION
chap,
sec.
ix.,
2.
THE REASON FOR GAIN AND LOSS OF TIME AT
We
often hear
it
2.
SEA.
stated that the fact of the mariner
gaining or losing a day, in circumnavigating the Earth,
is
evidence that
it
is
it is
a Globe, whereas, on the contrary,
a direct proof that
it is
beg to quote the following
a Plane.
terse
On
this point I
words of the
late Mr.
W. Carpenter of Baltimore, from No. 100 of his "One
Hundred Proofs that the Earth is not a Globe."*
"The
brings
he
'
Sun, as
noon
it
travels
to all places
'
over the surface of the Earth,
on the successive meridians which
crosses, his journey being
made
in a westerly direction,
places east of the Sun's position have had their noon, whilst
places in the west of the Sun's position have
Therefore,
if
Earth where
'put on,' or
hand,
'
we
wc
'
travel easterly,
time
'
is
we may be
we
said 'to gain time.'
travel westerly,
'lose time.'
still
to get
we
arrive at places
But,
if
we
'
If,
where
put back,' and
it
to be
on the other
is still
it
may be
said
travel easterly, so as to cross
a loss there of a day, which will
the i8oth meridian, there
is
neutralize the gain of a
whole circumnavigation, and
travel westerly,
it.
at the part of the
more advanced, the watch has
morning,' the watch has to be
that
and arrive
if
we
and cross the same meridian, we experience
the gain of a day, which will compensate for the loss during
a complete circumnavigation in that direction.
The
fact
of
losing or gaining time in sailing round the world, then, instead
*
John Williams, 54 Bourne
Street, Netherfield, Notts.
THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR.
of being evidence of the Earth's rotundity, as
to be,
in its practical exemplification,
is,
it
187
imagined
is
an evident proof
that the Earth is not a Globe."
SECTION
8.
THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR.
Our Modern Astronomers have found
great diflBculty
in accounting for the alternation of day and night, and
the return of the Seasons of the year, so as to be in
keieping with their theory of the world revolving round the
They
Sun.
upon the expedient of supposing
upon an imaginary axis once in every
at last hit
the Earth to rotate
twenty-four hours to explain day and night, and gave
it
a
degrees, so as to bring in the
peculiar lurch of 23^^
Seasons in their course.
It
was a clumsy device, and,
of course, utterly fallacious, for, as already shown, the
Earth does not rotate
at
all,
but "
and established upon the
seas
their
vain
philosophy,
teaching of the Bible,
founded upwn the
is
Had
floods."
and given heed to
they
the
left
plain
and practical observation, they
would have discovered how simple are the laws
and how
unfailing in their action.
work, as our Astronomers do, for
way
is perfect "
of the Seasons, I
my
Psa. xviii. 30.
do not think
He
—
"
of God,
makes no patch-
As
for
God His
In explaining the cause
that I can
do
better for
Readers than by giving the following extract from
TERRA FIRMA.
i88
124,
pp.
chap,
Natal, who, in the
Thomas Winship
remarks on that subject, from pp.
The nearer the Sun
the higher
rises,
"The
of
17
16,
Stars "
gets to the Pole star,
reaches at noon, and the later
it
of
paragraph, quotes Mr. Russell's
first
Wonders of the Sun, Moon, and
'
3.
125 of "Zetetic Cosmogony,"* a paxticularly
able work, lately published by Mr.
"
sec.
ix.,
the earlier
it sets.
it
This
apparenl independent motion of the Sun, therefore, seems to
account for longer and shorter days, and the whole phenomena
why
of the seasons, but
Sun
the
moves northerly and southerly
lags as described, or
why
at alternate periods, there
ii
it
no
apparent evidence.'
On
the above
paragraph Mr.
Winship remarks as
follows
"
On
the supposition that the world
against the Sun,
a globe rotating
is
and revolving round that luminary,
it
is
impossible to account for what Mr. Russell calls the lagging
movement
known
As
I
of the Sun.
to be, there
is
But, on a
flat surface, like
no assumption needed
have shown the Earth
is
the world
to account for
is
it.
a stretched-out structure, which
diverges from the Central north in all directions toward the
The Equator, being mid-way between
south.
the north centre
and the southern circumference, divides the course
into north
and south
the world which the Sun makes,
greatest southern declination.
circle is contracted.
extremity of
its
* E.
Sun
when
it
has reached
its
Gradually going northward the
In about three months after the southern
Still
pursuing a northerly course as
L. CuUingworth, 40 Field Street,
Street, Netherfield, Notts.
Bourne
is
of the
longest circle round
path has been reached, the Sun makes a circle
round the Equator.
54
The
declinations.
it
Durban, Natal; John Williams,
THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR.
189
goes round and above the world, in another three months the
greatest northern declination is reached,
Sun
is
and
sets later;
going north,
rises earlier
it
when the Sun again
In northern latitudes when the
begins to go towards the south.
each day,
is
higher at noon,
while in southern latitudes, at the same time,
the Sun, as a matter of course, rises later; reaches a lesser
altitude at
noon and
sets earlier.
In northern latitudes during
the southern summer, say from September to December, the
Sun
rises later
each day,
is
while in the south he rises
lower at noon, and sets earlier;
noon, and sets later each day.
Earth daily
reaches a higher altitude at
earlier,
This movement round the
the cause of the alternation of day and night;
is
while his northern and southern courses produce the Seasons.
When
the
Sun
south of the Equator
is
south and winter in the north, and
alternation
of the Seasons
flatly
it
is
summer
in the
The
fact of the
contradicts the
Newtonian
vice-versa.
delusion that the Earth revolves in an orbit round the Sun.
It
'is
said that
summer
Sun, and winter by
its
is
caused by the Earth being nearer the
being farthest from the Sun.
But,
if
the
reader will follow the argument in any text-book, he will see
that according to the theory,
when the Earth
Sun there must be summer
in both northern
latitudes;
Sun
it
and
in like
must be winter
manner when
all
it
is
is
nearest the
and southern
farthest
from the
over the Ecirth at the same time,
because the whole of the globe-earth would be farthest from the
Sun
!
!
!
In short
of the Seasons
and that
it
it is
impossible to account for the recurrence
on the assumption that the Earth
revolves in an orbit round the Sun."
is
globular,
TERRA FIRMA.
igo
SECTION
chap,
ix.,
sbc. 4.
4.
THE MIDNIGHT SUN, AND THE ALTERNATION OF
SUMMER AND WINTER IN THE NORTHERN
CENTRE.
In Winter the
continues
so
for
Northern Centre
some months
again in Summer, and illumines
We
the
till
it
darkened,
is
with
Sun
its
and
returns
brightness.
have then the phenomenon of " The Midnight Sun,"
the following vivid account of which appeared in
The
Brighton Examiner" of July, 1870.
"
The
party referred
to consisted of Mr. Campbell, the United States' Minister
for Norway,
cliff
and some other gentlemen who ascended a
1,000 feet high, overlooking the Arctic Ocean
" It
away
was
late
but
The
sunlight.
still
Arctic
in silent vastness at our feet, the
scarcely reached our airy look-out.
Away
tall
stretched
in the north the
huge old Sun swung low along the horizon,
of the
Ocean
sound of the waves
like the
slow beat
clock in our grandfather's parlour corner.
stood silently looking at our watches.
When
We
all
both hands stood
together at twelve midnight, the full round orb hung trium-
—a bridge
phantly above the waves
of gold running due north
spangled the water between us and him.
silent majesty
•off
our hats
sunrise
which knew no
—no
word was
tains.
•said.
you ever saw, and
gorgeous colouring which
setting.
lit
its
We
There he shone
in
involuntarily took
Combine the most
brilliant
beauties will pall before the
up the ocean, heaven, and moun-
In half an hour the Sun had swung up perceptibly on
its
beat,
MIDNIGHT SUN AT NORTHERN CENTRE.
the colours had changed to those of morning. A
breeze had rippled over the florid sea;
191
fresh
one songster after
—we
had
another piped out of the grove behind us
slid into
another day."
What a
of the
splendid visible proof
Sun revolving round a
is
the above description
stationary Earth!
There,
saw from
in that high
Norwegian
a lofty
the Sun at Midnight passing in his journey,
cliff,
latitude, these travellers
without having set at
and
proclaiming
with
all,
effulgent
" Th' unwearied
And
brightness
the
grand
Thus, as the Poet sings
beneficence of God.
Doth
from one day into another,
its
Sun from day
to day,
Creator's power display.
publishes in every land
The work
of
His Almighty hand."
Had p>oor Proctor been there I think he would never
have written his " Pretty proof of the Earth's rotundity."
Facts, such as those above narrated, are too strong to
be resisted even by
scientific prejudice.
It
would doubt-
less teach a useful lesson, as also afford a pleasant holiday,
to
some of our Astronomic friends, were they to take a
The Land of the Midnight Sun " in one of the
trip to "
steamers advertized for that voyage in the newspapers.
I
think that they would return wiser than before they
went,
with
less
admiration
for
the
Copernicus, with more reverence for the
and with more
Respecting
respiect for
hypothesis
Word
of
of God,
common sense
this matter the late
Mr. Carpenter writes
pithily in Nos. 38 and 39 of his " One Hundred Proofs
before-mentioned, which I beg here to subjoin
"38.
When
the
Sun
crosses the Equator in
"
March and
TERRA FIRMA.
192
chap,
sec. 4.
ix.,
begins to circle lound the heavens in north latitude, the inhabitants of high northern latitudes see
him skimming round
their
horizon and forming the break of their long day in a horizontal
course, not disappearing again for six months,
as he rises
higher and higher in the heavens, whilst he makes his twentyfour hours' circle until June,
goes on
when he begins
to descend, and
he disappears beyond the horizon in September.
till
Thus, in the northern regions they have what the traveller
the
'
Midnight Sun
in the
'
more southern
for one half the year,
latitudes
we may
it is
always midnight.
see for ourselves the
horizontal circles round the heavens,
for the other half,
boundary of our
plane
is
he
is
"39.
We
it
is
If then,
Sun making
presumptive
that,
doing the same although beyond the
This being a proof that the Earth
vision.
a proof that the Earth
daily round
calls
as he sees that luminary at a time when,
is
is
a
not a Globe.
have abundance of evidence that the Sun moves
and over the Earth in
circles concentric with the
northern regions, over which hangs the North Star; but, since
the theory of the Earth being a globe
with the theory of
it
falls to
its
the ground
which we speak, and,
is
is
necessarily connected
motion round the Sun in a yearly
when we
orbit,
bring forward the evidence of
in so doing forms a proof that the Earth
not a Globe."
The
and
foregoing observatdoos, with respect to the path
work
of
the
Sun,
apply
latitudes; in those of the South,
specially
Northern
to
owing to the
differing
circumstances of position, Considerable modifications are,
of
course,
particular
to
be expected.
motion of the
In Southern latitudes the
Sun appears
as
imperfectly known, and further investigation
required.
The South
is
radiated
yet
is
to
be
assuredly
from the Northern
MIDNIGHT SUN AT NORTHERN CENTRE-.
193
Centre, from which proceed vast stretches of land and
water, especially the latter, which, towards the extremity,
have an impenetrable circumference of ice and rocks, de"
scribed by Job as " the boundary of light with darkness
—Job
xxvi. 10.
Since the above was written, I have read a very
interesting
Antarctic
article,
loe,"
in
"
Two
Thousand
May No.
last
Magazine,"* by Dr. Cook,
late
Miles
the
in
"
the
of
Windsor
Surgeon and Ethnologist
in the Belgian expedition to the Antarctic Ocean, from,
which
it
appears that the Midnight Sun
The steamer
that region.
ice-pack, in Latitude 71!*,
is
also seen in
Belgica was imbedded in
22'
S.,
Longitude 84',
55',
an^
W.,
from 4th March, 1898, to 14th February, 1899, so that:
the Explorers had thus ample time for observation. The
Winter long night of darkness and the Summer long day of
light
were
difference,
distinctly
marked, though with somewhat of a
as regards circumstantial surroundings,
those of the Arctic regions.
Thus
Dr. Cook,
from
who had
himself thrice previously visited the North Polar Seas,
and knew by experience what they
are, writes
respecting
the Antarctic as follows
"
I
can imagine nothing more desperate than a storm on the
edge of the pack.
At best
it is
a dull, cold, and gloomy region,
with a high humidity, and constant drizzly fogs.
is
here a rare exception.
Storms, with rain,
Clear weather
sleet,
and snow,
is
the normal weather condition throughout the entire year."
p. 721.
"
in
*
Again
The Aurora
April,
May,
Ward, Lock &
Australis
July,
was in evidence nearly every night
and August.
It
was never
brilliantly
Co., Limited, Waiwicic House, Salisbury Court,
London.
13
TERRA FIRMA.
194
chap,
sec. 4.
ix.,
luminous, or so fantastic in figuie as the Aurora Borealis.
weird form was that of an
arc,
Above and below
South-Western sky.
The
without motion, resting on the
it
were ragged, cloud-like
fragments, which changed in form and brilliancy every few
The colour was
seconds.
was never
faintly yellow,
and the
light emitted
be visibly thrown on the surface snow."
suflScient to
P- 732-
from the foregoing that the Sun, or the
It is evident
Sun's rays, must have a motion over Southern regions
which, as far as
am
I
aware, has never hitherto been
observed by any explorers there, and
I sincerely
hope that
the Antarctic expeditions lately organized by British and
may be
German
enterprise,
on
important subject.
this
able to throw additional light
ocean to the South of Cape
whole
Southern
Not only those parts of the
Hom and Australia, but the
circumference
be
should
carefully
examined, as near the barriers of ice as can be safely
accomplished.
Truth
is
never
afraid
the
of
fullest
investigation.
The Sun
being
visible
at
Midnight
in
Antarctic
regions during a certain period of the year proves that
it
has work to do there which has never heretofore been
properly recognized, but that does not, in the slightest
degree,
show the Earth
to be a Planet, for
it is
found, by
accurate observation, that the waters of the Antarctic form
one complete
all
the
level with those of the Arctic
intervening
seas.
The Earth
generally even platform, stretched out
for,
according
to
the
" founded uf»on the seas,
—Fsa,
xxiv. 2.
infallible
Ocean, and with
is
a vast and
upon
these waters,
Word
of
God,
and established upon the
it
floods
is
"
THE SUN AND THE
SECTION
ZODIAC.
igs
5.
THE SUN AND THE ZODIAC.
The Zodiac
is
that vast circle in the heavens, through
which the Sun passes
in its annual course, or, to
speak
more correctly, in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 48
seconds.
The Zodiac has been known so long that its
origin
is lost
in the mist of antiquity.
by some, and
It has
been thought
I think with very great probability,
that
its
pictures or signs, with their meaning, were revealed
to
Adam
soon
Cassini, in his " History
after the Fall.
of Astronomy," saySi
"
It is
impossible to doubt that Astronomy was invented from
the beginning of the world; history, profane as well as sacred,
testifies to this truth."
The
and other
signs of the Zodiac,
revolution of the
Chaldeans,
the
Sim
in the heavens,
and
earliest
facts regarding the
were known to the
Astronomers,
best
or
Astrologers as they were then called, some himdreds of
years
before
Accadian
the
tablets
Drummond
birth
of
recently
Moses,
as
exhumed,
proved
and
Sir
by the
William
remarks that " the traditions of the Chaldean
Astronomers seem the fragments of a mighty system
fallen
into
ruins."
There
are
still
extant
pictorial
records of the Zodiac in the Egyptian temples of Dendera
and
Esn^
considered to be about 4,000 years old, and
these are supposed to be only copies of others of a
earlier date.
still
TERRA FIRMA.
jge
The
in
chap,
ix., sec. 5.
following axe the signs of the Zodiac in the order
which they have always appeared
T
Aries, the
Ram.
« Taurus, the Bull,
n Gemini, the Twins,
ffi
Cancer, the Crab.
St
Leo, the Lion,
•njj
Virgo, the Virgin.
=e=
Libra, the Balance or Scales.
TTJ,
Scorpio, the Scorpion.
Sagittarius, the Archer.
f
yy Capricornus, the Seagoat.
sx Aquarius, the Water-carrier.
X
The above
ever
to
the
represent;
Pisces, the Fishes.
signs
do not bear any resemblance what-
ConsteHations
which
they
are
said
to
but appear to have been given to declare
the grand purposes of
God
towards man, for the heavens
not only set forth the glory of God, but, like a volume
unrolled, are intended for the instruction of humanity.
The Rev.
Dr. Bullinger, with
whom
I
am happy
to
have some personal acquaintance, published a few years
ago a most interesting work, called " The Witness of
the Stars,"* in which he gives an able exposition of the
Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, and the
with
tions
thirty-six Constella-
which they are connected.
would remark that there may possibly be a
In
passing
to the signs of the Zodiac in Isaiah xiii. 12, where
read
—
* "
^"the
stars
of
heaven
and
the
I
latent allusion
we
constellations
Witness of the Stars," Rev. Dr. Bullinger, as Connaught Street,
London, W.C.
THE SUN AND THE
This book
thereof."
Modem
is
of
and not
for the praise of
its
able here.
Zodiac
not from zao to
Hebrew
Sodi,
of
its
to
and
is
my
itself is
live,
which
To an
God
the glory of
Readers.
Perhaps a brief
may
not be unaccept15
p.
from the Greek Zodiakos, which
but from a primitive root through the
in Sanscrit
used of the
move among
"
^for
teachings
has no connection with living
step,
—
men, and I would strongly
quote the following from
I
"The word
is
Astronomy
perusal to
some
reference to
197
written on the lines of Ancient
and not
recommend
ZODIAC.
way
means a way.
creatures,
etymology
Its
but denotes a
or path in which the
way
or
Sun appears
the Stars in the course of the year.
observer on the Earth the whole firmament, together
with the Sun, appears to revolve in a circle once in twenty-four
But the time occupied by the Stars in going round,'
hours.
from the time occupied by the Sun.
differs
amounts
to
This difierence
about one-twelfth part of the whole circle in each
month, so that when the
circle of the
heavens
is
divided up into
twelve parts, the Sun appears to move each month through one
of them.
Stars
is
This path which the Sun thus makes amongst the
called the Ecliptic."
The Apostle Paul had
of the Stars when,
Gentiles,
evidently learned the lesson
speaMng with regard both to Jews and
he says
" For whosoever shall call upon the
be saved.
How then
not believed?
shall they call
And how
they have not heard?
preacher?
....
And how
name
on Him
shall they believe
And how
of the
Lord
whom
in Him
in
shall
they have
of
whom
shall they hear without a
shall they preach except they be sent?
Have they not heard? Yea, verily, their
SOUND WENT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS UNTO
Ij, 18.
THE END OF THE WORLD." Rotlt. X. 1
But, I say.
—
TERRA FIRMA.
igS
The words
chap,
Psalm
in small capitals are taken from
which beautiful Psalm in verses
"The heavens
i,
ix.,
sec. 5.
xix. 4,
2 testifies that
declare the gloiy of God, and the firmament
Day unto day
showeth His handiwork.
uttereth speech, and
night unto night showeth knowledge."
But Paul, in Romans
20, vindicates the teaching of
i.
God by His works
"For
the invisible things of
Him
from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are
without excuse."
The
twelve signs of the Zodiac are twice referred to
once in 2 Kings
in the Bible (margin),
5 and once
xxiii.
in Job xxxviii. 32, in the latter of which passages the
question
is
"
asked
Canst thou bring forth the Mazzaroth,
The
(the twelve signs of the Zodiac), in their season ? "
Stars are all
lacking"
the Exodus,
Hebrew, and from
is,
—"not one
is
In Job, which, from the ancient
Isa. xl. 26.
style of the
Bible, a
numbered and named by God
its
having no reference to
in all probability, the oldest
book
in the
few of the original names of the Constellations
are given.
Thus
in Job ix. g
Arcturus
{flsh,
Pleiades
{Chimah,
we read
Great Bear),
the
or
Chapter xxxviii. 31,
seven
the
God
asks
—"which maketh
Orion
(Chisel),
and
Again,
stars)."
Job—" Canst
in
thou bind
the sweet influences of Pleiades (Chimah), or loose the
bands of Orion? (Chisel) "
" Seek
Him who maketh
Also in Amos
v.
8 yre read
the seven stars (Chimah, the
Pleiades) and Orion (Chisel)."
The
twelve signs or pictures of the Zodiac form a
vast circumference in the heavens, and, as proverbially.
THE SUN AND THE
a
ZODIAC.
199
circle has neither beginning nor end, the difficulty
is
to find at which sign the story of the Stars commences.
Astronomers have for ages begun the
Ram, but
this unfolds
ever, is of opinion,
no
history.
circle at Aries, the
Dr. BuUinger, how-
from a representation of part of the
Zodiac, on the roof of the portico of the Old Egyptian
temple of Esn^h in Upper Egypt, that
with Virgo, and
is
its
gestive picture, which
we have on
the
left
end with Leo.
is
in the
its
true beginning
In this very sug-
form of a parallelogram,
a delineation of the Lion, and on
the right that of the Virgin, while between them
the figure of the Sphinx, with the head of a
is
depicted
woman and
the body of a lion, with the serpent underneath.
" Sphinx "
The word
is
derived from the Greek word
sphingo, to bind together, and, with the above clue Dr.
Bullinger endeavours to show the conjunction between
the beginning and the end of the wondrous History of
Redemption, unfolding the meaning of the
—
that the Seed of the
Lion of the
tribe of Judah, will
over Sin and death.
forty centuries, as,
is
first
prophecy
would bruise the serpent's
Gen. Hi. 15, and that the Lord Jesus Christ, the
head
last
Woman
be supreme Conqueror at
For considerably more than
from documents
lately discovered, it
proved to be older than the Great Pyramid, has the
Sphinx
lifted
desert, as
if
her calm, solemn face, gazing on the Lybian
peering into the depths of futurity, not far
from the Great Pyramid, that most extraordinary and
enduring work of architecture ever made by man.
The
Sphinx has for ages been an inscrutable mystery to the
world, but,
if
Dr. BuUinger's exposition be correct,
riddle has been solved at
last.
respecting the Zodiac and
its
Of course
all
its
this talk,
teachings, will, to the
man
TERRA FIRMA.
joo
chap,
ix.,
sbc. 5.
of the world, be as " Greek to the gentlemen of the Jury,"
just as the primrose
was to Wordsworth's hind
"A primrose by the river's brim,
A yellow primrose was to him.
And
it
was nothing more,"
the mere Cosmopolitan knows not the witness of
for
the Stars,
" For ever singing as they shine.
The hand
He
made us
is
Divine."
has yet to learn the proper meaning of the words
and " Revelation," and well would
" Creation "
him
ledge of
to
John
be
and accept the pure mathematics of the
—
was well said by Dr. Carson years ago
for,
it
for
to leave the vain babblings of " Science falsely so
called,"
It
that
God
is
the most excellent of
know Him
in
Christ
is
"
true.
The know-
the sciences,"
all
Everlasting
Life
xvii. j.
When
the Sun
first
began his journey
in the Zodiac,
the Pole Star of the heavens was Alpha in the Constella-
From
tion Draco.
the peculiar position of the opening
of a certain gallery of the Great P)rramid, which,
believed, faced the Pole
some conjecture may perhaps be made
this
it
is
Star at the time of erection,
wonderful structure, which was
as to the age of
built,
on the most
exact astronomical and mathematical' lines, by a master-
mind which,
in this department has, I think, never yet
been equalled.
which the
stars
But the Pole Star of the heavens, round
now appear
twenty-four hours,
Ursa Minor,
at
is
to revolve
once in every
not Alpha in Draco but Alpha
some distance from the former
iri
position.
This recession of the Pole Star has been very gradual,
THE SUN AND THE
ZODIAC.
amounting only to about 50 seconds
201
the course of a
iJi
year.
If
the circle of the heavens be divided into twelve,
the Sun appears to travel each month through one of
these
parts
or
degrees, and
divisions,
is
each of which
by a
distinguished
is
about
30
particular representar
tion or picture, the whole of which are called the
Twelve
Signs of the Zodiac, and through the whole of which
It will thus
the Sun travels in the course of a year.
be
seen that the Zodiac has been for well-nigh 6,000 years
a continual proof of the revolution of the Sun around
the world, so that our
Modem
Astronomers are positively
without excuse in calling the Earth a Planet;
and the
sooner they honestly confess their error, the better will
be
it
for themselves as well as for others.
I shall
now
conclude this Chapter with the following valuable note
from Dr. Bullinger's delightful volume,
"
The Witness
of the Stars," pp. 15, 16.
" Besides these monthly differences (between the motion of
the
Sun and that
for at the
to exactly the
year, but
of the Stars), there is also
is
a
same point
little
occurs every year,
the
Sun
cession
of
it
is
in the Sign
behind
it.
so small that
the Equinoxes; i.e.,
If
the Sun
which commenced the
But this
it
to complete this vast cycle,
one years.
an annual diffeience
end of twelve months, the Sun does not come back
difierence,
though
it
will take 25,579 y^^rs for
which
is
called
The Pre-
about one degree in every seventy,
came back
to the precise point at
which
began the year, each sign would correspond always and
regularly, exactly with a particular month, but
constant regression, the Sun (while
it
owing
to the
goes through the whole
twelve signs every year) commences the year in one sign for
only 2,131 years.
In point of fact since the Creation the com>
TERRA FIRMA.
202
mencement
chap,
ix.,
sec.
5.
of the year has changed to the extent of nearly
three of the signs.
When
Virgil sings
" ' The White
Bull with golden horns opened the year,'
he does not record what took place in his own day.
This
is
another proof of the antiquity of these signs.
"The
Ecliptic, or
path of the Sun,
could be viewed
if it
from immediately beneath the Polar Star, would form a com-
and perfect
plete
and
all
circle,
circle,
would be concentric with the Equator,
the Stars and the
Sun would appear
never rising nor setting.
To
to
move
in this
a person north or south of
the Equator, the Stars rise and set obliquely;
while to a
person on the Equator they rise and set perpendicularly, each
star
being twelve hours above and twelve hours below the
horizon.
"The
points where the two circles (the Ecliptic and the
Equator) intersect each other are called Equinoctial
is
the
movement
of these points (which are
points.
It
now moving from
Aries to Pisces) which gives rise to the term Thi Precession of
thi
Equinoxes"
203
CHAPTER
THE SUN STANDING
X.
RETURNING
STILL AND
BACKWARDS.
fags
section
1.
The Sun standing
2.
The
still over Gibbon
-
204
....
Sun's shadow turning back ten degrees
ON THE DIAL OF ABAZ
These two
2IO
miracles are so diametrically opposed to
the idea of the world careering round the Sun, that, for
the most part, our
by
knot
denying
Modem
them
Astronomers cut the Gordian
altogether.
authors,
among whom may be
late Dr.
Adam
miracles,
still
Some
Christian
mentioned the
specially
Clarke, while they wished to uphold the
clung to the theory of a revolving Earth,
and have done
their
best
to
explain
them with
that
was only to be expected,
proviso, although, as, indeed,
they have signally failed in their attempt.
They would
have been wiser, had they treated these miracles in the
manner, as adopted with respect to Joshua's, by the
Dr. Gill,
who
late
wrote
"It was a most wonderful and surprising phenomenon to
see both luminaries standing
still
in the midst of heaven.
this is to be reconciled with the
with
this, I shall
not enquire."
How
Copernican system, or that
TERRA FIRMA.
204
SECTION
chap,
a.,
sec.
i.
1.
THE SUN STANDING STILL OVER GIBEON.
Dr. Clarke was a good and also a learned man, having
LL.D. and F.A.S. tacked to his name, but,
he was sadly tarred with the brush of
Modern Astronomy. When, in writing his Commentary
on the Bible, he came to Joshua x., the famous miracle
the
letters
unfortunately,
of the Sun standing
stared him in the face, and he
on Cop^mican lines. How he
how he failed to succeed, may be
still
hard to explain
tried
succeeded, or rather
it
learned from the following extract from a
letter,
written by
himself at the time, to his particular friend, the Rev.
Thomas Roberts
of Bath
"Joshua's sun and
moon
standing
more vexation than anything
now
I
am
still
I
have ever met with, and even
my own solution
am confident that I have removed
even but about half satisfied with
of all the difficulties, though I
mountains that were never touched before.
am
my work—so
heartily wearied of
thousand times wished
am
have kept me going
That one Chapter has afiorded me
for nearly three weeks.
I
had never written a page
repeatedly purposing to give
Let us now look
Shall I say that I
wearied that
it
of
I
have a
it,
and
I
up."*
at the miracle itself.
After the
fall
of Jericho and Ai, the Gibeonites, being afraid of their
own
destruction should they
resist, craftily
a covenant of peace with the
*
" Life of Di.
Adam
Clarke
Israelites,
"
;
sought to make
in
which they
Mason, London.
THE SUN STANDING STILL OVER GIBEON.
succeeded.
Adoni-zedec,
205
King of Jerusalem, was so
enraged at the Gibeonites for acting thus, that he confederated with four other kings of the Amorites to punish
them
left
severely.
When
Joshua heard of this he immediately-
Gilgal with his ajmy, and, by a forced march, all
night, unexpectedly attacked the
A fierce battle
ensued, in which
banded host next day.
God
assisted the Israelites
—
" There
by sending great hailstones
whom
the
were more died with hailstones than they
upon the Amorites
Children of Israel slew with the sword "
Jos.
x.
11.
Joshua, knowing the immense importance of completely
defeating the Canaanites, and seeing that the day was
nearly done, cried out, doubtless inspired by a divine
afflatus.
Shemesh
TERRA FIRMA.
2o6
Again— "Now
shemtsh."
Joshua arrested,
it
solar light,
'
stood instead of
'
chap,
x., sec. i.
was the shemesh and yareh which
and lunar
light
'
sun ' and
'
should be under-
'
moon,' and the objection in
question will instantly disappear."*
Thus both Calmet and Parkhurst sought
appear that
was only
it
to
make
it
proceeding from the
the light
Sun and Moon which Joshua commanded
to stand
still,
while the bodies of these luminaries were not affected at
all,
so that the Earth might revolve around
the
Moon around
what miserable
I
We
the Earth as before!
shifts
and
its axis,
thus see to
a false science leads.
have turned up the references given by Calmet, and
see nothing whatever in
them
to justify his assertion,
which, I think, would never have been
a person determined,
at
a revolving Earth.
Moreover,
any
made
except by
uphold the theory of
cost, to
have examined every
I
my
passage in which the word shemesh occurs, in one of
best tool-books, "
The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee
Concordance," with
the word shemesh
every
Isaiah
one
of
liv.
12,
the
is
I
result.
with
is
it
the
single
Sun,
namely,
times;
aur
Hebrew
light,
from
of
it
is
There are
occasionally used for the
where
it
is
hhamah, from hham, hot, warm,
hheres, probably
that
exception
translated " windows,"
applied to the " Sun " simply as the " Sun."
three other words in
find
used in the Bible 133 times, in
which,
where
following
hheres, the itch,
mentioned
five
six times;
and
on account of
its
heat, three times.
It is
shemesh
thus evident that in the
is
that which
• "
is
Hebrew
Bible, the
word
used by far the most frequently
Princlpla and the Bible," &c., pp. ia7, is6.
THE SUN STANDING
Sun
for the
and heat,
as a whole, that
STILL OVER GIBEON.
is,
207
in its trinity of body, light,
being ten times to one oftener so used than
it
the other duiee above-named words put together, and that
meaning
to limit the
light proceeding
word shemesh only to
of the
from
the
neither Scriptural, scholarly,
is
it,
nor necessary.
am
I
manner have
Hebrew word yarehh
the
light of the
"
Moon.
Thus inch
"
Moon," as meaning only
Calmet
Moon
from the Moon, and
itself; as Deut. xxxiii.
vant as proof of such a statement.
is
is
14: Isa.
it
to
it,
Moon
" in
mentioned only
thrice.
the
zo."*
totally irrele-
fact
is,
that the
in the
common
Hebrew word
I have
Old Testament
Hebrew Concordance,
occurs twenty-seven times, in
lebneh, the other
:
The
Ix.
in Joshua x. 12, zj, is that
In looking into the
rendered "
term
Moon
commonly applied
Scriptures.
see that
for
the
says,
but the passages here quoted apf>ear to be
word yarehh, used
should
meaning of
restricted the
signifies the light reflected
not the iody of the
which
men
exceedingly sorry that these learned
also in a similar
of
all
which
I
it
acceptation of the
for the
Moon, being
been the more anxious to
expose the uncritical criticism of these learned men, in
giving a wrong rendering to such important words as
"
Sun
"
and
"
Moon," as so many persons are influenced
by great names, and do not take the trouble
to investigate
for themselves as to the correctness of the statements
made.
"
body
Dr.
Besides,
" emitting
how could
it
the " light " stand
still,
if
the
were moving ?
Clarke took the word dum, translated " stand
>
Calmet's Dictionary, Vol.
III., p. 292.
TERRA FIRMA.
2o8
still,"
The terms
conceived him
silent'
round
of the
command
to be
or inactive, that
—
Cockbum
(of
is,
as I understand
be
Edinburgh) expressed
made the huge mass
Dr. Clarke,
it
performing
its
that the
to revolve
Lord
late
as Peebles "
if,
but
;
according to
its axis.
The
truth
Sun did exactly what Joshua commanded
So the Sun
'
" stood still," as narrated in verse
13
it
stood
hasted not to go
still
dum but
'
in the midst of heaven, and
down about a whole
the word used for " stood
still
omed, " stood
of which word there
is
no
Further,
day."
" in the verse last quoted,
still,"
respecting the meaning
difference of opinion whatever,
so that the conjectural criticism about
be dismissed
the
of this world to cease
supposed rotation on
to do, namely,
not
it
inactivity in another
the Sun showed no sign of inactivity,
is
'Refrain thy
it,
as
—even
"
he had
if
word dum may be properly
or even be,
silent,"
matter, " as quiet as the grave
it
as
still,"
its axis.'
"
—
says
are worthy of particular note.
longer act upon the Earth to cause
^no
translated
is,
i.
running his race round the world, but 'Be
willingly grant that the
I
sec.
on the passage
Joshua does not say to the Sun " stand
influence
x.,
Copemican Earth, and
as his defence for a
in his notes
"
chap,
dum may
once
at
as being altogether irrelevant.
The words
bechetse
he^kemim,
" in
thte
midst of
heaven," would have been more properly translated, " in
the partition or division of the heavens," that
horizon, for,
had the Sun been
is,
in the Meridian,
the
there
would have been no necessity for such a miracle, nor
it have been then observed, but, when the Sun
was near the horizon, about setting, the need of longer
would
THE SUN STANDING STILL OVER GIBEON.
209
time was great, and the miracle most apparent and opportune.
Moon
Besides, the
of oaks, shows that
The
it
it
being over Ajalon, the valky
was about the time of evening.
miracle was of the utmost value to the Israelites, for
caused the complete discomfiture of the Amorites, and
led to their further conquests in Canaan.
There
is
an old rhyme.
Si Lyra non
lyrassit
Lutherus non saliassii,
" If Lyra had not piped Luther would not have danced,"
and, with respect to this miracle,
'
Had Newton
may be
it
said
never lived to dupe mankind,
Clarke never had to Joshua's Sun been blind.'
Other
besides the foregoing, have tried
writers,
reconcile this miracle with a revolving Earth, but
The
vain.
last I
have heard of
is
the Rev.
of Liverpool, who, in his Lecture
"
My
belief is that
foe,
God caused
a.
to
im
W. W. Howards
subject, says
Joshua and his men, having marched all
night, as the 9th verse tells us,
but
on the
all
would be
tired next morning,,
among the
great trembling to spread itself
and there was an easy
victory.
When
pursued the Amorites some distance, hailstones
and did much damage;
at the
the
fell
war had
upon them,
approach to Bethoron the
hail-
stones increased in fury, and Joshua seeing the devastation
produced, and being cognisant of the fatigue of his men,
prayed heaven
disaster
was
This
is
to let the hurricane
go on
till
total
and irreparable
inflicted."*
such a very feeble exposition of the miracle
that I marvel
it
was ever attempted
* " Joshua commanding the Sun to stand
Author, 47 Heeman Street, Liverpool.
still,"
at
all.
Joshua did
&e., to be obtained of the
14
TERRA FIRMA.
210
chap,
x.,
sec.
2.
not pray for th£ hurricane to go on, but, inspired by God,
said
—
" Sun, stand thou
still
in the valley of Ajalon,"
over Gibeon and thou, Moon,
and that prayer was immediately
answered, thus proving that day and night are caused by
the actual revolution of the Sun, and not by the supfjosed
rotation of the Earth.
SECTION
THE
SUN'S
The
to
it
2.
SHADOW TURNING BACK TEN DEGREES
ON THE DIAL OF AHAZ.
sun-dial
is
show the time
a very ancient invention, constructed
of the day
by the shadow cast upon
by the Sun's revolution round the world.
of Judea, reigned from 726 to 741 B.C.,
probable that
this dial
was called
after his
Ahaz, King
and
it is
most
name, owing
to
some enlargement or improvement having been made in
it in his reign, as from 2 Kings ix. 13, it would appear
to have been in existence for at least 150 years before,
when Jehu was made King over
Israel.
Chaldea, I have no doubt, was the birthplace of the
dial,
as
it
Calmet says
was of Astronomy, but others
believe,
as
in his Dictionary,
"that this invention came fiom the Phoenicians, and that the
.first
traces of
it
Nesos
are discoverable in
tis
what Homer says
Surie kekleisketai feipon akoneisj,
Oriugies kathaperihein othi tropoi Helioio.
Odyss. XV.
V. 4.0a.
SHADOW RETURNING ON DIAL OF AHAZ.
SUN'S
211
of an island csdled Syriaj lying above Ortygia, where the revolutions of the
Sun
are observed:
i.e.,
they see the returns of
the Sun, the solstices."*
At all events the Dial has been long enough known to
make every Modem Astronomer blush for shame, when it
is
mentioned,
as its
faithful,
though
testimony
silent,
gives daily visible evidence of the revolution of the Sun.
This
is
it
a
summer
fine
day, take a rod
perpendicularly in any quiet spot, a garden
for example, where
day,
On
easily proved.
and place
and watch
can catch the rays of the Sun
it
for about twelve hours.
it
all
Every quarter
of an hour place a small peg at the extremity of the
shadow, and you
shadow
is
a
by the
will find that the line described
curve.
neighbourhood of
At the beginning of May, in the
London, the curve made in twelve
hours will be nearly the half of an
the greater
ellipse,
diameter of which wUl be about thrice the length of the
shorter diameter.
in the
same place
If
you
test this in different places, or
at different times,
you
will get the data
for proving the Sun's particular motion over a stationary
Earth.
From
Sun-dials are of various forms of construction.
the meaning of the Hebrew word molut, translated
steps, or degrees, I
that the dial of
am
stairs,
inclined to think with Dr. Clarke,
Ahaz was made
raised by steps or degrees
for public use,
and was
which recorded, according to
the shadow caused by the Sun, the divisions or hours of
the day.
In his Commentary on 2 Kings
13,
Dr.
Chaldees, the rabbins,
and
ix.
Clarke writes as follows
" On the top of the
stairs.
The
several interpreters, understood this of the public sun-dial;
* Calmet's Dictionary, Vol.
I.,
article—" Dial,"
TERRA FIRMA.
212
chap,
which in these ancient times was formed
each
step seiring to indicate,
of
was no doubt
it,
its
sec. 2.
of steps like stairs,
shadow, one hour, or such
was commonly used in that country.
division of time as
dial
by
x.,
in the
most public
place,
This
and upon the top
or on the platform on the top, would be a very proper
place to set Jehu, while they blew the trumpets and proclaimed
him King.
Chap. XX.
The Hebrew molut
is
the
9, to signify the dial of
same word which
is
used
Ahaz, and this was probably
the very same dial on which that miracle
was afterwards
wrought; and this dial molut, from olak to go up, ascend, was
most evidently made
by a gnomon,
to
show the popular
do
I
of steps, the shadows projected
at the different elevations of the
on which,
Sun, would serve
divisions of time."
not, however, at all agree with Dr.
Clarke, in
attributing to Refraction the miracle of the Sun's shadow
returning ten degrees
on the
dial of Ahaz.
Refraction
is
of
so uncertain and unreliable a nature, that even Astrono-
mers themselves generally omit
besides,
once,
it
it
in their calculations;
had such a remarkable instance
might have happened at other
of
occurred
it
but no
times,
such phenomenon, as that described by. the Scriptures,
has ever been seen or heard of either before or after the
The Doctor has done
days of Hezekiah.
in
his
power to save the theory of a revolving Earth, in
his
all
comments on the Sun's shadow returning ten degrees on
the dial of Ahaz,
as
well
as
on the Sun and Moon
standing stUl at the conunand of Joshua; but neither he,
nor
all
that
"
The
the Astronomers of Christendom, can avert from
hapless
theory
the
contempt which
Scripture cannot be broken
''
John
it
x.
deserves.
35.
The
miracles happened just as they were described to have
done, and no
human
reasoning can explain them away.
SUN'S
SHADOW RETURNING ON DIAL OF AHAZ.
It is as easy for
to stand
still,
213
God, who made the Sun, to cause
or to cause
its
it
shadow to return backwards,
without in any way injuring our stationary Earth, or any
of the rolling orbs of heaven.
With reverence
it
may be
said respecting these miracles what was spoken regarding
an occurrence immeasurably greater
our gracious Lord
—
^the
Resurrection of
" Blessed are they that have not seen
and yet have believed
"
Jokn xx. 2g.
214
CHAPTER
THE DELUGE
:
XI.
BIBLICAL ACCOUNT.
PAGE
SECTION
1.
The date,
Deluge
2.
God's
3.
Some
and
cause,
extent
the
of
214
instructions
to
Noah
respecting
THE Ark
217
objections
against
answered
4.
Deluge
the
-
-
219
The Earth not a Planet, proved from the
waters finding their own level above
the highest mountains
.
-
3.
The subsidence
6.
thf. Ark
The Noachian Covenant
7.
The Last Judgment on the Earth
debarkation
-
.
221
of the
waters, and safe
of Noah and all with him
FROM
226
-
SECTION
229
by Fire
231
1.
THE DATE, CAUSE, AND EXTENT OF THE DELUGE.
It
is
well to
mark the
great precision with which the
inspired writers of the Bible choose their words.
is
This
very apparent in the word used for the Deluge in
Genesis, mebul.
There are no
less
than ten different
DATE, CAUSE, AND EXTENT OF
words for " flood
only one which
" in
THE DELUGE.
the Old Testament, but this
215
the
is
ever applied to the Deluge or Flood
is
of Noah, none of the other words being ever used for
such a catastrophe at
all.
This fact confirms the truth
of Scripture that that was the only Universal Flood which
has ever happened since the Adamic Creation, and that
such would never occur again.
The Deluge
Flood commenced on the Seventh
or
day or Sabbath, the seventeenth day of Bui, the second
month of
the Jewish
which corresponds
year,
civil
part with Octobeor and in part with
How
Calendar.
ask.
I
reply
—
declares
"
do you know
by the
In the
this?
Word
Infallible
of
God which
hundredth year of Noah's
six
in
November of our
may some inquirer
in
life,
the second month, the seventeenth day of the month,
the same day were
all
Deep
the fountains of the Great
(tehoom rabah) broken up, and the windows (arbai, floodgates) of heaven were O'pvened "
of the year
is
Gen.
11.
vit.
The
date
found in the following manner
Year of
the World.,
Gm.
i.
„
V.
Adam
Adam when 130 years
27. Creation of
3.
6.
9.
12.
Seth
Enos
Canaan
-
130
105
„
„
„,
Enos
235
90
„
„
„
Canaan
325
70
„
„
„
Mahalaleel 393
65
„
„
,,
Jared
460
Enoch
622
15.
Mahalaleel
18.
Jared
21.
Enoch
65
„ 23. Methusalah
187
„
,,
,,
Lamech „ 182
Noah was 600
„
„
,,
„ 28.
vii.
6.
o
-
old begat Seth
162
1656
„
„
,,
Methusalah 687
,
,,
Lamech
Noah
874
1056
when the Deluge began 1636
TERRA FIRMA.
ai6
am
I
chap,
xi.,
sbc. i.
aware of the discrepancy which exists between
some of the dates here given and those of the Samaritan
and Septuagint versions, but, after due consideration, I
have no doubt that the above, which are taJcen from the
Hebrew text, are correct.
The Deluge was brought upon the world in consequence of the great depravity of the inhabitants;
"God saw
earth,
man was
wickedness of
that the
great
and that every imagination of the thought of
was only
and Jebovah
evil continually,
man whom
I
and
and the creeping
beast,
said,
will
I
on the
his heart
destroy
have created from the face of the earth, both
and the fowl
things,
man
of the air"
Gen. vi. 6, 7.
The
illicit
connection of Beni ha Aleihm, or Sons of
God, called also ha Nephilim,* the
daughters of
men
Gen.
vi.
—
2
4,
fallen ones, with the
had brought
sin to
a
the people one
climax, but God, in His mercy, gave
hundred and twenty years for repentance.
Noah, a
just
man, and a preacher of righteousness, found grace in
God's
sight.
He
tion," probably
is
also called " perfect in his genera-
because his family had not been mixed
up with the Nephilim, and he
Gen.
"
walked with
God "
vi. q.
"By
as yet,
faith
Noah, being warned of God,
moved with
fear,
of things not seen
prepared an ark to the saving of his
house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir
of the righteousness
which
is
by
faith "
Heb.
xi. 7.
* As to who the Nephilim are conjectured to have been,
Readers to Chapter IV. of " Hades & Beyond," mentioned on
my
I beg to refer
p. 55 of this boolc.
GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS RESPECTING
SECTION
THE ARK.
217
2,
NOAH RESPECTING
THE ARK.
GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS TO
"God
Me;
behold
I will destroy
filled
with violence through them, and
them with the
earth.
Make
thee an ark
make
in the ark,
of gopher-wood;
rooms
and
within and without with pitch.
shalt pitch
it
shalt thou
(nests)
the fashion which thou shalt make
it
of
:
hundred cubits, the breadth of
and the height
of
it
A window
thirty cubits.
to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish
door of the ark shalt thou
second, and third
I,
thou make
flesh wherein is the breath of life
thing that
establish
is
My
in the
it
it
earth
it.
fifty
cubits,
make
above, and the
with lower,
And behold
upon the earth
of waters
this is
shalt thou
set in the side thereof;
stories shalt
do bring a flood
And
the length of the ark
shall be three
even
come before
said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is
for the eaith is
I,
to destroy all
from under heaven, and every
shall
die,
but with thee will
I
Covenant, and thou shalt come into the ark, thou
and thy sons and thy
wife,
and thy
sons' wives with thee.
And
of every living thing of all flesh two of every sort shalt thou
bring into the ark to keep them alive with thee; they shall be
male and female.
Of fowls
after their kind,
and of
cattle after
their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind,
two of every
sort shall
come unto thee
take thou unto thee of all food that
gather
it
to thee,
and
it
is
them
eaten,
Gen. vi. 13^22.
to all that
alive.
And
and thou shalt
shall be for food for thee
Thus did Noah according
did he "
to keep
and
for them.
God commanded him,
so
TERRA FIRMA.
2i8
" And Jehovah said unto Noah,
chap,
Come thou and
all
generation.
sevens
;
Of fowls also
of the air
the female to keep seed alive
upon the
For yet seven days, and
face of all the earth.
to rain
upon the earth
forty days
living substance that I
by
and of beasts that are not
;
clean by two, the msile and his female.
by sevens, the male and
in this
shalt take to thee
Of every clean beast thou
the male and his female
thy house
Me
into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before
sec. 2.
xi.,
cause
I will
it
and forty nights, and every
have made will
I destroy
from
off
the
And Noah did according to all that Jehovah
commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when
the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in,
and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him into
face of the earth.
Of clean
the ark because of the waters of the flood.
and of beasts that are not
clean,
beasts,
and of fowls,
and of
everything that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two
and two unto Noah
into the ark, the
had commanded Noah.
And
it
male and the female, as God
came
days, that the waters of the flood were
six
hundredth year of Noah's
life,
to
pass
upon the
Deep broken
In the
in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day, were
tains of the Great
seven
after
earth.
up, and the
all
windows
the founof
heaven
were opened, and the rain was upon the earth forty days and
forty nights.
In the self-same day entered Noah, and Shem,
and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and
the three wives of his sons with
them into the ark they, and every
;
beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and
every fowl after his kind, every bird of every
went in unto Noah into the
is
the breath of
female of
life.
all flesh, as
And
ark,
two and two
sort.
And
of all flesh
they
wherein
they that went in went in male and
God had commanded him, and Jehotab
OBJECTIONS AGAINST DELUGE ANSWERED.
him
shut
And
in.
the flood was forty days upon the earth,
and the waters increased, and bare up the
up above
219
the earth.
And
ark,
and
was
it
lift
the waters prevailed, and were in-
creased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face
And
of the waters.
earth,
and
all
the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the
the high hills, that were under the whole heaven,
were covered.
Fifteen cubits
upward did the waters
And
and the mountains were covered.
moved upon
and
that
man;
was
all in
whose
nostrils
in the dry land, died.
destroyed, which
and
And
Gen.
of the ground, both
earth,
and
man
and Noah only remained
and they that were with him in the
vii.
earth,
of life, of all
every living substance was
was upon the face
and they were destroyed from the
upon
prevailed
upon the
was the breath
and the creeping thing, and the fowl of the heaven,
cattle,
alive,
prevail,
died that
flesh
the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beast,
of every creeping thing that creepeth
every
all
i—
the
earth
an
hundred
ark.
and
And
the waters
fifty
days "
214.
SECTION
3.
SOME OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE DELUGE
ANSWERED.
Infidels
have long sneered at the Ark, saying that
was not large enough to hold
all
it
the animals, fowls, and
creeping things, with their food for a year; and also that
it
was impossible to gather them
get
them
into the Ark.
tion that has long since
all
With regard
together so as to
to the
first
objec-
been answered, as the dimensions
TERRA FIRMA.
220
chap.
xi..
sec.
3.
Ark being known, and, reckoning even by the
of the
smaller cubit,
Wilkins,*
it
has been geometrically found by Bishop
and other perfectly
have been amply sufScient for
all
reliable
t»
authorities,
the purposes required.
With respect to the second objection, there need not
slightest trouble;
the Deluge itself was un-
be the
doubtedly miraculous, and
attending
it
difficulty
in
many
of
circumstances
the
were so likewise, and there was no more
and other
animals
God's collecting the
creatures together to be placed in the Ark, than there
was previously when
named
Gen.
it.
He
Adam
brought them to
to be
20.
Other objections against a Universal Deluge have
been
raised,
but,
no
as they are of
real value,
it
is
unnecessary to enter into them here; but I would refer
any curious Reader to Dr.
Genesis, Chapters VI.
in his Article
—
^IX.,
Clarke's
Commentary on
and to Calmefs Dictionary
on the Deluge, Vol.
I.
The
fact
that
is,
such objections have been made through mere ignorance
of the circumstances of the case; for example, one says
that " not all the waters of the world, nor
all
marks "All the
air
the rain of
Another
heaven could cause such a catastrophe."
which encompasses the
condensed into vapour, would not make thirty-one
of
water."
raised
first
re-
earth,
if
feet
These objections would never have been
by any one who, in a proper
Chapter of Genesis.
There we
spirit,
had read the
find that,
on the
first
day of the Adamic Creation, the Earth was wholly
SUBMERGED IN WATER,
verses 6
and
and On the second, God
said,
7
" Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and
* See Bishop Wilkin's " Essay towards a Piillosopliical Character
and Language."
WATER'S LEVEL PROVES EARTH NOT A PLANET.
221
And God made
the
let it divide
the waters from the waters.
firmament,
and divided the
wateirs
which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament,
and
it
was
so."
was not
It
the
until
appeared, and,
when
third
it
day that
did appear,
it
that vast abyss of waters out of which
and which, by
—
Deep
" the
inspiration,
(tehooni)
the
had
it
dry land
under
still
both Moses and Jacob called
that
Gen. xlix. 25, Deut. xxxiii. 13.
coucheth
beneath
Above the Earth
as a molten mirror "
Job xxxvii. 18, and on
it
is
''
the
" strong
which Job describes as being
reqio, or firmament,
it
was brought,
rests that
portion of the waters which was divided from the waters
of the Great
It will,
Deep on
therefore,
God
whatever with
the second day of that creatioa
be seen that there was no
difficulty
overwhelming a guilty world with
in
water, for
"All the fountaihs
of the Great
Deep were broken
up, and
the floodgates of the heavens were opened, and the rsdn
upon the Earth
forty days
and forty nights "
SECTION
Gen.
was
vii. 11, iz.
4.
THE EARTH NOT A PLANET, PROVED FROM THE
WATERS FINDING THEIR OWN LEVEL
ABOVE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS.
We
are told
Gen.
vii.
20, " fifteen cubits
upwards the
waters prevailed, and the mountains were covered," from
TERRA FIRMA.
222
which
chap,
xi.,
sec. 4.
understand that the waters rose fifteen cubits
I
above the highest mountains, for in the preceding verse
—
we read
" All the
high
hills that
From
heaven were covered."*
were under the whole
this statement, as it is
we have Divine
level,
completely
assurance
under water.
that
The Jewish
own
the
Earth
was
civil
cubit
was
measured from the point of a man's elbow to the
his
middle
and was reckoned as eighteen
finger,
The Sacred Cubit
handbreadth,
(^zek. xliii.
13)
was
tip of
inches.
a cubit and a
Which
about four inches longer.
or
a
its
primal law of nature for water always to find
of
these cubits was to be taken, in the measurement of the
we
Ark,
are not informed, but,
if
we reckon
we
find
feet
above Mount Everest in Asia, the
that
Now,
the world.
twenty
the waters rose
always find their
loftiest
in Africa,
mountain in
as the waters covered
it,
and, as they
own
as
a matter of
level,
it
follows,
necessity, that they also overspread the
Moon
the lesser,
two and a half
-
Mont Blanc
Mountains of the
Andes
in Europe, the
in
South and the Rocky Mountains in North America, and,
of course,
all
lower elevations
that the Earth
is
;
we have thus
positive proof
not a Planet but a horizontal Terra
Firma.
The
fact of water always finding its
own
level is so
apparent, from the water in the basin in which
in the morning, to the water in the tumbler
drink at night
—
^from the
duckVpond
we wash
which we may
in the village green
to the steamer's bowling-green of the broad Atlantic, that
it
a marvel that our
is
modem
Astronomers are
still
extremely foolish as to uphold convexity in water.
one of these freaks of fashion which they
*
still
See Ray's " Physico-Theologioal Discourses," and Ed., 8vo.,
so
It is
follow,
1693.
WATER'S LEVEL PROVES EARTH NOT A PLANET.
in
223
hopes of getting unthinking people to believe that the
world
is
globular
;
but daily are they " hoist by their
petard," for the levelness of water meets
Even
hand.
in his " Recollections
Henry Holland,
Sir
own
them on every
of a Past Life,'' second edition, p. 305, inadvertently lets
the cat out of the bag,
when he
refers to
and the Moon being above the horizon
He
Moon.
of an eclipse of the
both the Sun
at the occurrence
says
" This experience requires, however, a combination of
cumstances rarely occurring
Western horizon, and an
that of the Sea, or
Mr.
—a
entirely level intervening surface,
as
an African desert."
Darwin, in his " Voyage of a
C.
cir-
Eastern and
perfectly clear
Naturalist,''
made a similar slip when he wrote
am reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres by
p. 328,
" I
the disc of the rising
Sun
seeing
intersected by a horizon, level as the
ocean."
confess I do not understand
I
really
how Humboldt could
have believed in the globularity of the world, when
he penned the following passage, knowing, as a Cosmogonist, that water occupies, at the very lowest computation, at least three times the extent of the surface of the
land
"Among
the causes which tend to lower the
temperature,
level
of the
include the following
I
sea,
" Cosmos," Vol.
Parallax
when not forming
I., p.
326,
believed
water would ultimately
He
Astronomy.
Astronomy,"
p.
362
:
mean annual
—Elevation
above
the
part of an extended plain."
Bohn's Edition.
the
that
lea'd
remarks,
as
to
proved
the
death
levelness
of
of
Modern
foUows, in his " Zetetic
TERRA FIRMA.
224
chap,
xi.,
SEC. 4.
" The great and theory-destroying fact was quickly discovered
was
that the surface of standing water
Here was another death-blow
perfectly horizontal
to the universal ideas
lations of pseudo-philosophers.
Just as the
'
and specu-
universal solvent
could not be preserved or manufactured, and, therefore, the
whole system
of
Alchemy died away, so the necessary proof
of
convexity on the waters of the Earth could not be proved, and,
therefore, the doctrine of rotundity,
The death
worlds, must also die.
is
and of the
now
plurality of
a mere question of
time."
The Ark
however tumultuous they may
made
He
ages to be a clumsy,
have been,
for
waters,
it
was
the instructions of God, and
in accordance with
Himself shut Noah
like the
upon the
floated in perfect safety
in.
The Ark was
considered for
hulk,
strangely-shaj>ed
somewhat
models sold in toy-shops for children, but, for
nearly the last three hundred years, that idea has been
In 1609 Peter Jansen, a Dutch ship-
entirely changed.
builder, determined to construct a ship
for the Ark, and, though
much
on the
lines given
ridiculed at the time, he
succeeded, and found that his ship would safely carry
from
thirty to forty
others,
and
his
per cent, more cargo in proportion to
example was soon followed.
Cyclopaedia, Vol. XIV., Art. " Ship,"
"
It is
remarkable that
its (the
we
In Appleton's
read
Ark's) proportions of length,
breadth, and depth are almost precisely the same, considered
by our most eminent
architects the best for
combining the
elements of strength, capacity, and stability."
A
later writer
" Ship-building
remarks
was
revolutionized,
and the millions that
go on the sea owe the change to the Bible.
Since that the
WATER'S LEVEL PROVES EARTH NOT A PLANET.
223
Cunarders, the Collins, the White Star, and Inman line Companies have built theix ocean steamships after the scientific
Him, whose 'way
pattern of
is
perfect,'
and who designed
Noah's Ark."*
When
the Deluge began, what horroa: of soul must
have been
felt
by those who had for so long heard the
preaching of Noah, but
who had
for repentance,
now
too late to be acted upon.
were
as
safe, while they
refused to listen to his
they saw that his warning was
call
Noah and
those with
were doomed to death.
him
Martin's
famous Picture of the Deluge gives a vivid idea of their
agonizing despair.
Still, praise be to God, the door of
mercy was not shut against these Ante-Diluvians for ever,
we read
Lord
^or
"being put
which
also
that,
after
the crucifixion of our blessed
to death in the flesh, but quickened in
He
spirit,
in
went, and preached unto the spirits in prison,,
which aforetime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering
of
God waited in the
wherein a few, that
—I Pet.
days of Noah,
is,
when the ark was a preparing,
eight souls, were saved through water "
Hi. jg, 20.
" For to this end was the Gospel preached, even to the dead,
that they
flesh,
but
might be judged, indeed, according to
may
live
according to
God
in spirit"
men
—/ Pet.
in the
iv.
6
* "Christianity and Science," by D. S. Taylor, p. 13; Marshall Brothers,
Paternoster Row, London.
Since the above extract was written I have beard that some Atlantic Liners
are now being built with a length nearly nine times their breadth, but such
cannot be expected to have the stability of the Ark.
15
TERRA FIRMA.
826
SECTION
chap, xi., sec.
3.
5.
SUBSIDENCE OF THE WATERS, AND SAFE
DEBARKATION OF NOAH AND ALL WITH HIM FROM
THE ARK.
"And God remembered Noah, and
all the cattle that
wind
was with him
to pass over the earth,
every living thing, and
in the ark;
and God made a
The
and the waters assuaged.
fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were
stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
And
the
waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the
end
of the
hundred and
fifty
days, the waters were abated.
the ark rested in the seventh month,
the month, upon the
mountains of Ararat.
And
decreased continually until the tenth month;
month, on the
first
mountains seen.
it
came
of
the waters
in the tenth
day of the month were the tops
And
And
on the seventeenth day
of the
to pass at the end of forty days,
Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.
And he sent forth a raven which went forth to and fro, until
that
the waters were dried
up from
a dove from him, to see
if
off
Also he sent forth
the earth.
the waters were abated from off the
face of the ground; but the dove found no rest fpr the sole of
.her foot,
and she returned unto him into the
were on the
face of the
^and took her,
whole
ecirth ;
and pulled her in unto him into the
lie stayed yet other seven days;
.dove out of the ark ; and the dove
and
lo,
in her
ark, for the waters
then he put forth his hand
mouth was an
ark.
And
and again he sent forth the
came
in to
him
in the evening,
olive leaf pluckt ofi;
so
Noah
SUBSIDENCE OF WATER AND DEBARKATION.
inew
that the waters were abated from off the earth.
227
And he
stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which
-returned not again to
"And
it
came
him any more.
day
in the first month, the first
up from
.dried
And
4ay
of the
the earth
:
of the
first
year,
month, the waters were
and Noah removed the covering of
looked, and behold the face of the ground
the ark, and
4ry.
off
hundredth and
to pass in the six
was
in the second month, on the seven and twentieth
month was
"And God
the earth dried.
spake unto Noah, saying.
Go
forth of the ark,
thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
Bring forth with thee every living thing that
all flesh, both of
that creepeth
with thee, of
is
fowl and of cattle, and of every creeping thing
upon the
may breed abundantly
earth, that they
in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.
Noah went
And
and his sons, and his wife, and his sons'
forth,
Every beast, every creeping thing, and every
wives with him.
jowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kind,
went forth out of the
"And Noah
ark.
builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of
every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt
offerings on the altar.
and Jehovah
any more
is evil
And Jehovah
smelled a sweet savour,
said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground
for
man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart
from his youth; neither will
everything as I have done.
I,
again smite any more
While the earth remaineth, seed-
time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter,
and day and night
Noah was
shall not cease "
in the
365 days.
Should
:seeing that
Noah
it
Ark
Gen.
—
viii. i
22.
for exactly one Solar yKU' of
—How can
be asked
entered into the
this
Ark on
be correct,
the lyth day
TERRA FIRM A:
228
chap,
sec. 5.
xi.,
of the
month Bui, and did not leave it till the 27th day
same .month in the following year? I reply as
follows
—The Ante-Diluvians were thoroughly acquainted
of the
with the Solar period of revolution in 365 J^ days, but
they reckoned by Lunar time, their year consisting of
354 days
the
only,
days
eleven
of
difference,
called
being adjusted by a method which
" intercallery,"
it
would take too long to enter into here, so that computar
tions by Solar and Lunar time were made exactly to
Noah went
correspond.
into the
Ark on
Saturday, the
Sabbath, the Seventh day of the week, that being the 17th
day of Bui, 1656 A.M., which was the beginning of the
new Solar year, when the people were in the midst of their
" eating
festivities
Matt. xAiv. 38.
and
drinking,"
described
as
in
Counting from that day to Saturday,
the Sabbath or Seventh day of the week, the 27th day of
Bui, in the following year,
precisely 365 days, as the
is
Lunar months intervening consisted only of 30 and 29
days alternately, so that the Solar year terminated on
the 27th day of Bui, 1657; on which day
with him came out of the Ark.
For a
full
Noah and
all
exposition of
this interesting subject,
showing the extreme exactitude
of Biblical Chronology,
I
Mr.
" All
Dimbleby's
below.*
The
book,
objector
may
nate the essence of Truth
" You
my
Readers to
Time,"
mentioned
beg to refer
Past
cavil at, but
as the
;
may break, you may
he cannot elimi-
Bard of Erin
ruin the vase as you will.
But the scent of the roses will hang round
'
All Past
Time,
'
by
J.
H. Dimbleby
;
sings
it still."
E. Nestor, s8 Paternoster
Row, London
THE NOACHIAN COVENANT.
SECTION
229
6.
THE NOACHIAN COVENANT.
On Noah
God made the
all who had been
leaving the Ark,
Covenant with him, and with
following
with him
in that specially prepared rendezvous of safety
"And God
Be
fear of
blessed
Noah and
you and the dread
the earth, and
upon the
of
you
upon every fowl
earth,
hand they
and said unto them,
his sons,
and multiply and replenish the
fruitful
and upon
of the air,
upon
flesh with
the
at the
hand
at the
;
hand
man
of every
will I require the life of
by
man
life
And
thereof shall ye not eat.
will I require
;
thereof,
And
all
that
of
moveth
given you
I
which
is
surely your blood of your lives
at the
man.
all
the blood
of every beast will I require
and
it,
blood of every man's brother
Whoso sheddeth man's
shall his blood be shed, for in the
He man.
the
Every moving thing that liveth shall
are delivered.
But
And
the fishes of the sea; into your
all
be meat for you, even as the green herb have
things.
earth.
upon every beast
shall be
blood,
image of God made
you, be fruitful and multiply ; bring foith abun-
dantly in the earth,
and multiply
therein.
And God spake unto Noah and to his sons with him, saying.
And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your
seed after you;
and with every
living creature that is with
you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with
you ; from
all that
go out of the ark to every beast of the
And
I will establish
flesh
be cut
there any
oft
My
earth.
covenant with you; neither shall
any more by the waters of a flood
more be a flood to destroy the
earth.
;
all
neither shall
And God
said.
TERRA FIRMA.
230
This
you, and every living creature that
generations.
I
do
set
My bow
a token of a covenant between
come
the
chap,
to pass,
bow
I
Me
of all flesh;
is
upon
between
and
I shall
it,
And
that I
And God
said unto
upon the earth "
Such
word
of
all flesh that
Noah, This
Gen. ix. i
—
Me and
upon
all flesh
It is referred to as
Mount
by our Lord Himself.
of
Olives,
New
Testament,
In His address on
shortly before
He
suffered.
spoke as follows to certain of His Disciples,
Him
«\r
77.
bears the stamp of truth.
particularly
asked
My
the token of the
is
an accomplished fact several times in the
the
that
remember
the Biblical account of the Deluge, and every
is
it
shall
the bow shall be in the cloud; and I
may remember the everlasting covenant
covenant, which I have established between
that is
it
earth,
Me and you, and every living creature
between God and every living creature of
the earth.
And
earth.
be for
and the waters shall no more become a flood to
all flesh.
will look
and the
shall
it
bring a cloud over the
:
sec. 6,
with you, for perpetual
is
in the cloud, and
shall be seen in the cloud
covenant, which
destroy
when
xi.,
make between Me and
the token of the covenant which I
is
He
who had
respecting His Coming, and the end of the
age—
" As the days of Noah, so shall also the Coming of the Son
of
Man
be.
For, as in the days that were before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the
day that Noah entered into the
the flood came, and took
Coming
of the
them
Son of Man be "
all
ark,
and knew not
away; so
Matt. xxiv. 37
Whoever, therefore, denies the
till
shall also the
—
^59.
fact of the Universal
Deluge denies the truth of the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and He hath said
" Whosoever shall deny Me
—
LAST JUDGMENT ON EARTH TO BE BY FIRE.
him
before men,
is
in heaven "
will I also
My
deny before
231
Father which
Matt. x. 33.
SECTION
7.
THE LAST JUDGMENT ON THE EARTH TO BE
BY FIRE.
We
learn from the Noachian Covenant that a Univer-
Deluge
sal
will
the
—even
Earth
times
of
quote
of
all
all
Acts Hi. 21.
Rotherham's
being the most
by
Fire,
things,
has told u*
Judgment awaits
terrible
dissolution
its
Restitution
from
more
still
spoken by the mouth of
world began"
God
never occur again, but
His Word that a
in
before " the
which
God
hath
His holy prophets since the
It is written as follows;
Emphasised
Translation,
I
as
literal
" Howbeit the
Day
of the
Lord
will be here as a thief, in
which the heavens with a rushing noise
will pass away, while
elements, becoming intensely hot, will be dissolved, and the
earth and the works that are therein will be discovered.
then that
all
these things are thus to be dissolved, what
of persons ought (ye) all the while to be in holy
Seeing
manner
ways
of be-
haviour and acts of godliness, expecting and hastening the
coming of the Day
fire
will be melted; but
to
God by reason
of
will be dissolved,
of which, heavens being
new Heavens and a new
Earth, according
His promise, are we expecting wherein righteousness
dwell "
s Pet.
—
Hi. 10
on
and elements becoming intensely hot,
13.
is
to
TERRA FIRMA.
23*
Scoffers
may laugh
at this
The
already been.
foretold
This
—
is
Bible, a
as
fulfilled
that
very
xi.,
sec.
7.
prophecy of the Apostle
Peter, just as they did at that of
assuredly
chap,
Noah, but
the
respecting
manner
it
be
will
as
Deluge has
been
of dissolution has
decomposition of what are called elements.
^the
one of those nuggets of knowledge hidden in the
problem which in its own way scientific chemistry
The gases of water
Thames being set on fire
has long been attempting to solve.
will
then be resolved, and the
will
no longer be a mere
Then
fact
—Sic
will
theire
figure of speech,
be a true
but a
terrific
The
the
of
realization
transit of
Venus
will
occupy the attention of Astronomers no more.
They
will
then have discovered that the Stars and planets are
saying
transit gloria mundi.
very different bodies from what they imagined them to
The
be.
Apostle John, who' became in
Commentators
tell us,
on our Sunday,
hemera, in the Lordly day, or, in
—Rev.
there
I
beheld,
was a
the Sixth Seal, and
lo,
became black
as
great earthquake, and the sun
heaven
her untimely
fell
figs,
moon became
as blood,
unto the earth, even as a
when she
is
and the
fig-tree casteth
shaken of a mighty wind.
the heavens departed as a scroll,
when
it
is
And
rolled together,
and every mountain and island were moved out of
And
most
Kuriake
the Day of the Lord
when he had opened
sackcloth of hair, and the
stars of
te
10, thus writes
i.
" And
spirit, not, as
but, en
their places.
the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,
and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-
man and
every freeman hid themselves in the dens and in the
rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks.
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
the throne, and from the wrath of the
Him
Lamb,
that sitteth
for the great
on
day
LAST JUDGMENT ON EARTH TO BE BY FIRE.
who
of His wiath is come, and
—
Sev. vi. 12
It
233
be able to stand?"
shall
77.
may be
well to notice here two statements in the
above passage, which axe at utter variance with the
Modem
teaching of
to
become black
Astronomy.
First,
as sackcloth of hair,
blood, from which
we may
the
Sun
and the
is
said
Moon
as
learn that these luminaries are
entirely independent of each other,
and that the
does not derive her light from the Sun.
declared that the Stars of heaven
fell
Moon
Secondly,
unto
{eis,
it
is
upon)
figs, when shaken
by a great wind, from which we may gather, that the
Stars are at no great distance from the Earth, and are
the Earth, as a fig-tree casts her green
very much smaller than it, instead of their being, as
Modern Astronomers say, untold millions of miles away,
and inMneasurably larger than our world.
The Ark
is
a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Way,
the Truth, and the Life, our only means of salvation.
May we
all
through
and blameless, so
look for "
Him
that,
be found in peace, without spot
with holy expectation, we
New Heavens and
dwelleth Righteousness "
a
New
2 Pet. Hi. 13.
Earth,
may
wherein
a34
CHAPTER
XII.
THE DELUGE TRADITIONAL RECORDS.
:
pagc
sictioh
1.
Marks of
LANDS
2.
3.
...
the
Deluge
visible
in
many
234
.
The Accadian or Old Chaldean account
OF the Deluge
Extracts from Old Chaldean Epics, declar-
237
ing THE Revolution of the Sun, and the
Creation of Men and Animals
4.
247
Babylonia identified with the Garden op
Eden
251
-
SECTION
1.
MARKS OF THE DELUGE VISIBLE IN MANY
LANDS.
Those of our Modem Astranomers, who
discredit
the Biblical account of the Deluge, have not only done
very wrong in denying what
to be true, but they have
in rejecting a
fatct,
God
the traditions concerning which have
been recorded, with more or
different
parts of
has so explicitly stated
shown great want of judgment
the world.
less accuracy, in so
Even
at
many
a late Annual
Meeting of the British Association, the President of that
MARKS OF THE DELUGE
Scientific Society
MANY LANDS.
IN
spoke of the Deluge as
if
and not as an accepted Scriptural
legend,
only
235
a human
Besides,
truth.
the great boulders, and other vestiges of that catastrophe,
which are
still
seen in numerous places, prove the pro-
—
priety of the old adage
those
who
will not see."
" there
In
are none so blind as
my own
and Scotland, especially in the
rambles in England
—^immense
observed such remains
have frequently
I
latter,
isolated
overgrown with moss or heather, lying in
partly
rocks,
positiojis
human hands
they never could have been placed by
which appear to have been denuded of
lofty hills
where
vast masses of water rushing over their tops
soil
by
and down
—
glens and valleys which have been scooped
their sides
out or levelled by torrents of water,
volume and power that of the
far, far
exceeding in
rivers or smaller streams
have flowed through them since the memory of man,
that
which
excavatings
existing,
who has
horn
and
levellings
the
latter,
could never possibly have effected.
Wye, or the Find-
visited the rent courses of the
—the
as now
Any one
levelled expanses of Strathmore or Strathfleet
—the barren steeps of Ben Arkle, or the stony mountains
of Assynt—
acknowledge the truth of my remarks.
^will
And
own Island, are small in
may be witnessed in America,
and many other countries.
these illustrations, from our
comparison of those which
Switzerland,
The
New
Zealand,
learned Humboldt, though a Globist, strongly
believed the fact of a Universal Deluge
"
The ancient
traditions of the
:
human
he says
race which
we
find
dispersed over the surface of the globe, like the fragments of a
vast shipwreck, prevail
blance
that
fills
us
among
with
all nations,
astonishment.
and bear a resemThere
are
many
languages belonging to branches, which appear to have no
TERRA FIRMA.
236
chap, xn., sec.
connection with each other, and these
same
The substance
fact.
i.
transmit to us the
all
tradifions respecting the
of the
destroyed races and the renovation of nature,
about every-
is
where the same, although each nation gives a local colouring."
Deluge would never have been
questioned, but for the fads of certain Geologists, and the
The
universality of the
exigencies
Modem
of
who
Astronomers,
preferred
rejecting the Biblical account of the Flood to abandoning
their
nien
own theory
thoroughly
Christian learned
of a Planetary Earth.
Calmet
like
and
Adam
Dr.
Scriptural statements concerning
it
who had
considered
matter,
the
investigated
Clarke,
be
to
literally
the
true,
still clung to the Copemican system.
how any one who has at all studied the
with the records of past ages now disclosed,
even though they
The marvel
subject,
and the
him,
is
but visible proofs of the catastrophe around
silent
could
ever
believe
otherwise,
but
there
human mind.
gauging the eccentricity of the
is
no
would
It
occupy too much space to enter into the very numerous
national traditions of the Deluge, and I shall give only
—
one
^that
—
the Old Chaldeans
of
^but
that
indeed,
is,
not only the most interesting, but the most ancient of any
with which
I
beg to
my
refer
vi.
—
^ix.,
named below.*
History,t
For other
acquainted.
traditions
I
Readers to Dr. Clarke's Commentary on
Chapters
Genesis,
articles
am
Ovid sung of
Josephus referred to
it
and to Calmet under the
Apolodorus wrote of
it
in
his
it
in his
" Metamorphoses,"!
in his " Antiquities,''§
—"Ammon
and past
* Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible
or no Ammon," " Ark,"
Vol. I.; "Noah" Vol. II.; "Judeac History of Noah and the
"
"
Deluge," see Fragments
Vol. III.; "Plates," "Construction of the Ark,"
"Dagon," &c.—Vol. V.
i Apolodor. Bib. lib. I. Cap. i.
t " Metam." lib. IV., sTo.
S "Antiq." Apion lib.. I. S. 3, ig.
"Deluge"
—
—
«.—
:
ACCADIAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
ages are full of
237
marvels, as Bryant, in his "Ancient
its
Mythology," so clearly shows.
SECTION
2.
THE ACCADIAN OR OLD CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF
THE DELUGE.
The
oldest
and most remarkable Secular account of
the Deluge appears to be that written in the Accadian, or
Old Chaldean, cunedfonn
The
tablets about 4,000 years ago.
translation of these tablets into English
is given in
a small book, called the " History of Babylonia,"* a copy
of which
British
was kindly sent to
Museum,
to
whom
mation on this subject.
these ancient tablets,
I
me by
had
Dr.
Kenyon
of the
written, requesting infor-
some
I shall give
exhumed only
extracts
from
in recent years, as if
purposely to confute the infidelity of
modem
times, for
they not only record the fact of the Deluge, in most
unmistakable language, but also actually refer to several
minute incidental particulars which occurred as stated
in the Biblical account.
The Chaldeans were
the earliest, and the most famoais
Astronomers of antiquity,
their tablets
and,
on the Creation, we
the way, that they did not
in
some fragments of
find,
as side-lights by
demean themselves with
the
idea that they were derived from a monkey, nor did they
* " History of Babylonia," by the late George Smith, Esq., of the British
Museum; edited by the Rev. A. H. Sayoe, M.A., Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, Northumberland Avenue, London.
TERRA FIRMA.
238
chap,
xii.,
sec.
2.
imagine that the Earth was a rolling Planet, but declared
Sun made
that the
its
daily
round
circuit
it,
and
its
These
annual path through the Zodiac of the heavens.
form a portion of a large Epic, discoursing chiefly
tablets
on the Adventures of Gilmanes, a kind of early Hercules.
The Author
of " Babylonia," p. 41, says
" The Chaldean legend of the Flood was in existence at least
2,000 years before the Christian era,
of legends to which
it
and the events
of the series
belongs are ckrved on some of the most
ancient Babylonian seals."
Noah, or Xisuthrus, as he
said
to
is
called in the Epic, was
be the tenth in descent in the mythological
Babylonian period before the Flood, thereby agreeing
with the fact that he represented the tenth generation
from Adam; but the length of the dynasty
is
entirely
legendary, far exceeding the time occupied according to
the Mosaic history.
virtues,
It is stated that,
by reason
of his
he was exalted to dwell among the gods, which
is
probably a warped tradition of the translation of his
ancestor Enoch, "
Gen.
who was
not, for
God
took him
24.
V.
Gilmanes became imwell and determined to
recovery from Noah,
who was
said to
related to
At the request
whom
after
of Gilmanes,
him the account of the Deluge,
which he instructed Nis Ea how to cure him
disease.
seek
be among the gods,
somewhere about the Persian Gulf, and
various adventures he found.
Noah
''
after
of' his
Gilmanes then returned to Erech (now Warka),
the chief city of his dominion, which, with Babel, Accad,
and CaJneh,
is
mentioned in Genesis
x. 10, as
being the
beginning of Nimrod's kingdom, in the land of Shinar.
ACCADIAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
239
would seem, from the following quotation from
It
" Babylonia," pp.
48, 49, that the story of
a latent allusion to certain
much
Science the Chaldeans so
" It
was
to, this
facts of
Gilmanes had
Astronomy, in which
excelled
epoch that the Adventures of
pre-historic
Gilmanes, one of the most celebrated of the Chaldean heroes,
Gilmanes was originally a Solar hero, and the
was assigned.
Great Epic in which his Adventures are described,
The Epic
conscious of the fact.
is
the subject matter of each book corresponding with the
Thus the
a Sign in the Zodiac.
is
still
divided into twelve books,
name
of
story of the Deluge is introduced
book which answers
to Aquarius,
the eleventh Sign of the Zodiac, while the bull slain
by Gilmanes
as an episode in the eleventh
in the
second book
The Adventures
is
Taurus the second Sign
of the Zodiac.
of the hero thus represent the passing of the
Sun through the twelve months
retreat to the ocean,
of the year,
and his
illness
and
which surrounded the world, symbolize
the paling strength of the
Sun
of winter,
and his declension
Through the medium
towards the western ocean.
of
the
Phoenicians or Syrians, the story of Gilmanes seems to have
been carried to Europe,
at all events the
a lesser extent, Perseus,
to
is
Greek Herakles, and,
a reflection of the Chaldean
Gilmanes, being the prototype of Herakles."
Extracts from the eleventh Tablet of the Ishdubae
Legends, giving the Accadian account of the Deluge.*
*******
Column
I.
LINE
8 Xisuthrus speaks to him, even to Gilmanes,
9 Let
me reveal to thee,
• "
The
Gilmanes, the story of
my preservation,
History of Babylonia," pp. 33-40.
TERRA FIRMA.
240
chap,
xii.,
sec. 2.
LINE
10
And
the oracle of the gods let
11
The
city of Surippak, the city
huilt
12 This city
me
tell it to thee.
which as thou knowest,
is
on the Euphrates.
was
cilready ancient
when
the gods within
it
13 Set their hearts to bring on a deluge, even the great gods,
14
As many
as there are
—their father Anu,
15 Their King the warrior Bel,
16 Their throne-bearer Ninup,
17
Their prince the lord of Hades.
18 £a, the lord of
wisdom, conferred with them and repeated
their decree to the
frame,
O
Reed-bed
:
Reed-bed,
20
O reed-bed, and understand, O frame!
O man of Surippak, son of Ubara Tutu
21
Frame
1
O
Reed-bed,
frame,
Hear,
the house, build the ship, leave what thou canst,
seek
life.
22 Resign thy goods, and cause thy soul to live,
23
And
bid the seed of
life
of every kind
mount unto the midst
of the ship,
24 The ship which thou shalt build.
*******
38
....
I will
judge above and below
39 (But as for thee), shut (not) the door
40 (Until) the time come of which I will send thee word.
41 (Then) enter and turn the door of the ship (and)
42 Bring into the midst of
it,
thy com, thy property, and thy
goods,
43
Thy
(fatnily),
thy household, thy concubines, and the sons of
the people,
44 The
(cattle) of
as I
the field, the wild beast of the
would preserve.
field, as
mciny
ACCADIAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
241
LIKE
45 I will send unto thee, and the door of thy ship shall preseive
them.
mouth and
46 Xisuthrus opened his
47
48
49
50
51
53
He
says to
Ea
speaks,
his lord,
(O my lord) no one yet has built a ship (in this
On land to contain the beasts (of the field),
(The plan?) let me see, and the ship (I will build),
On the land the ship (I will build),
.... As thou hast commanded (me).
fashion),
Column II.
5 I
6
made
its
side
and
enclosed
I
divided
I built six storeys, I
7 I divided its interior
it.
saw the rudder, and what was wanting
10 Six sari of
11
passages) seven times.
nine times.
8 I cut (worked) timber within
9 I
it.
(its
Three
bitumen
sari of
I
bitumen
I
added.
poured over the outside,
poured over the
I
inside.
23 I caused the tackle to be carried above
and below.
24 (Then there went into
my
25 All that I
into
had
it)
two-thirds (of
put into
I
it,
household),
all that of silver I
had
I
put
it,
26 All that of gold I
27 All that I
had
28 I brought
up
had
I
put into
it,
of the seed of life I put into
into the ship, all
29
The
30
The season Samas
my
slaves
it.
The whole
and concubines,
cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, the sons of the
people, all of
them did
fixed,
I
bring up.
and
16
TERRA FIRMA.
44*
chap,
xii.,
sec. 2.
LIHS
31
He
"In the night
spake, saying,
will I cause the
heaven
to rain destruction.'"
32 Entei into the midst of the ship and shut the door.
33
The season came round
34
He
(of
which)
spake, saying, " In the night will
I
cause the heaven
to rain destruction."
JS
I
watched with dread the dawning of the day.
Column 111.
I
(The surface) of the land like
J.
(They destroyed)
3 To
battle against
all life
men
4 Brother saw not
they wasted,
(fire)
from the face of the land.
they brought (the waters)
his brother;
men knew
not one another.
In heaven
5
The gods feared
the flood, and
6 Hastened to ascend to the heaven of
*****
Anu
(i.e.
the highest
heaven).
Ic
19 Six days
*
and nights
20
The wind, the
21
The seventh
flood,
day,
and the storm go on overwhelming.
when
it
approached, the flood subsided,
the storm,
22
Which had fought
.23
Was
quieted.
against
The
men
like
an armed
host,
sea began to dry, and the
wind and
flood ended.
;24 I
.25
beheld the sea and uttered a cry,
For the whole
of
mankind was turned to clay;
26 Like trunks the corpses floated.
.27 I
opened the window, and the light sinote upon
.28 I
stooped and sat down,
I
wept.
itty
face,
the
ACCADIAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
243
LINE
39 Over
my
face flowed
my
teais.
30 I beheld a shore beyond the sea
31
A
3a
On
33
The mountains
district rose
twelve times distant.
the mountains of Nizir the ship grotmded,
of Nizir stopped the ship, and
able to pass over
34
The
first
it
was not
it.
day, the second day, the mountains of Nizir stopped
the ship.
35
The
third day, the fourth day, the mountains of Nizir stopped
36
The
fifth
the ship.
day, the sixth day the mountains of Nizir stopped
the ship.
37
The seventh day when it approached
38 I sent forth a dove and
The dove went and
it left.
returned,
and
39
Found no
40
Then
resting place,
I sent forth
and
it
came back.
a swallow and
it left.
The swallow went
and returned, and
41
Found no
resting place,
43 I sent forth a raven
43
and
and
it
came back.
it left.
The raven went and saw the going down
44 It approached,
it
waded,
it
croaked ;
it
of the waters,
and
did not return.
45 I sent (the animals) forth to the four winds, I sacrificed a
sacrifice,
46
I built
an
altar
on the peak
of the mountain,
47 I sent vessels (each containing the third of an ephah), by
sevens.
48 Underneath them I spread reeds, cedar wood, and herbs.
49 The gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the good savour.
50
The gods gathered
51
Thereupon the great goddess
like flies over the sacrifices.
at her
approach
TERRA FIRMA.
244
chap,
sec. 2.
xii.,
LINE
52 Lifted
up the mighty bow, which Anu had created according
to (his) wish.
53
The gods by my necklace never
will I forget.
Column IV.
12
14
his mouth, and he says to the warrior Bel;
Ea opened
13 "
Thou,
O
warrior, art the seer of the gods,
Why, why
didst thou not consider, but caused'st a flood?
15 Let the doer of sin bear his
the doer of wickedness
sin, let
bear his wickedness.
16
May
the just prince not be cut
the merciful that he be
ofi,
not (destroyed).
17 Instead of causing
a flood,
let lions
come and minish men,
18 Instead of causing a flood, let hyenas
come and minish men,
19 Instead of causing a flood let a famine happen, and
let it
(devour) the land.
20 Instead of causing a flood let plagues
come and minish men.
21 I did not reveal the determination of the great gods.
22
To Xisuthrus
alone a dream
I
sent and he heard the deter-
mination of the gods."
23
When Bel had
24
He
25
Even me he bade ascend, he united my wife
26
He
again taken council he went up to the midst of
the ship.
took
my hand and bade me
ascend,
to
my
side.
turned himself to us, and stood between us, he blessed
us (thus)
27 " Hitherto Xisuthrus has been a mortal man,
28 But
now Xisuthrus and
his wife shall be like the gods, even us.
29 Yea, Xisuthrus shall dwell afar
livers.
o£E,
at the
mouth
of the
ACCADIAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE.
24s
LIHB
30
They took us
mouth
afar off at the
of the rivers they
made
us dwell."
The above
Deluge;
from
extracts,
this
ancient
show
Epic,
Chaldeans believed in a Universal
decidedly that the
the very differing in certain points from the
Biblical account, only proving that there
was no
collu-
was impossible, seeing that the Epic
sion; such, indeed,
was written several hundred years before the birth of
The Author was not a worshipper of the one
God Jehovah, but was a polytheist, reverencing Ea, Anu,
Moses.
Ninup,
Bel,
Column
Noah's
III.,
Merodach,
line 50,
sacrifice.
Nergal,
he
says,
and
who,
others,
gathered as
in
around
flies
Again, the Epic speaks of there being
only six days occupied in overwhelming the world with
water, whereas the Bible states fliat the waters prevailed
for
an hundred and
year in the Ark.
him
fifty
days,
says that
Noah took with
into the Ark, not only his family, cattle,
whUe the Bible
people,
wife,
of the
distinctly avers that only
Noah,
persons,
his three sons,
were saved,
animals, clean
things
of
the
and
besides
their wives,
a
certain
and unclean, fowls of the
Earth.
and beasts
and concubines and sons
of the field, but his slaves
his
and that Noah was a whole
The Epic
Again,
in
all
eight
proportion
air
Xisuthrus or
Gilmanes that he belonged to Surippak, a
of
and creeping
Noah
city
tells
on the
Euphrates, not far from the Persian Gulf, whereas the
Bible makes no allusion to it; but this
is
a matter of no
was by no means improbable that
consequence, and
it
Noah came from
there,
as
Mesopotamia was doubtless
the original habitation of the Ante-Diluvians.
Several important and interesting particulars, narrated
TERRA FIRMA.
*46
may be noticed here
of man was the cause
account, some of which
The wickedness
Deluge;
Gen.
compare
sec. 2.
the
of
— 16
with
to build the
Ark;
12
IV.,
vi.
2.
God
of
—45 with Gen.
The preservation
with Gen.
ig—^i and
CoL
Column
Epic,
5—8.
The command
xii.,
mentioned in the Biblical
in the Epic, agree with those
1.
chap,
21
I.
3.
vi.
The
5.
Gen. via.
In
44,
45
the
Ark;
on the Earth;
utter destruction of all life
vii.
21
—
23.
sends forth a raven; CoJ. III. 42
—44 with
7.
Gen. via. 8,
8.
I.
vi. 14..
Noah sends out a dove;
7.
Col.
;
vii. 2, 3.
—26 with Gen.
Noah
6.
16.
bitumen outside and inside
Pouring
Col. II. 10, II with Gen.
Col. III. I
—
of animals, &c.
vi.
4.
Noah
to
14
Col. III.
38,
39 with
g.
Col.
III.
32
—
the
36,
grounded on the mountains of
Ark
said
is
to
have
Nizir, which, it is believed,
are not far from the mountains of Ararat
on which
it
rested, according to Gen. viii. 4.
On
9.
the ground becoming dry
animals, &c., out of the
Gen.
viii.
10.
Gen.
sent forth the
Col. III. 45 with
18, zp.
On
leaving
Col. III. 46
11.
Noah
Ark; compare
—
the
Ark Noah
50 with Gen.
The bow
viii.
in the cloud
offered
sacrifice;
20.
is
set;
Col. III. 52 with
ix. 13.
12.
The world
Col. IV. 17
is
—20 with
to
be destroyed no more by a flood;
Gen.
ix.
15.
After such confirmatory proof s as have
now been given,
I pity any who, either from prejudice or
from want of
CHALDEAN EPICS ON SUN AND CREATION.
mental capacity,
may
a Universal Deluge.
still
Very
grateful shoulcl
able and self-denying men,
and
talents in recovering
relics of antiquity.
of the
works
I
who have
we
Ije
to those
given their time
and deciphering such important
cannot here enter into the story
Monuments, but beg to
I
247
decline to believe the fact of
refer
have already mentioned,
p.
my
Readers
tO'
the
50, in which, with
respect to them, will be found most interesting
and useful
Gradually the statements of Old Testament
information.
history are being corroborated
by the discovery of
tablets
and other memorials of past ages, which are being brought
forward in testimony of Scriptural truth.
would
I
not,
much surprised, were the veritable Ark of
Noah some day discovered among the mountains of
Ararat, and the Ark of the Covenant exhumed from the
indeed, be
ruins of ancient Jerusalem.
SECTION
8.
EXTRACTS FROM OLD CHALDEAN EPICS, DECLARING
THE REVOLUTION OF THE SUN, AND THE
CREATION OF MEN AND ANIMALS.
As bearing on
in
iMs book,
I
certain Astronomic facts contended for
beg to subjoin the accompanying extracts
from some other old Accadian Epics, showing the belief
of the Chaldeans in the Revolution of the
regular Creation.
late
The
Sun and a
following was discovered by the
Mr. George Smith of the British Museum,
who was
TERRA FIRMA.
248
of opinion that
much
wooild yet
chap,
xii.,
sec. 3.
be found, confirma-
tory of the truth of the early histories mentioned
Genesis.
The Epic
in
begins,* pp. 43, 44
" When on high the heavens proclaimed
not,
(And) earth beneath recorded not a name.
Then
the abyss of waters
The chaos
was in the beginning
of the deep (Tianat)
their generator.
was she who bore them
all.
Their waters were embosomed together, and
The
plant was ungathered, the herb (of the field) ungrown.
When the
gods had not appeared, any one
(of
them)
By no name were they recorded, no destiny (had
Then were the (great) gods created
Lakhmu and Lakhamu issued forth (the first).
they fixed).
Until they grew up (and waxed old).
When the
gods Sar and Kisar (the upper and lower firmaments)
were created;
Long were the days
The gods Anu
(Bel,
(until)
and Ea were
created),
Sar (and Kisar created them)."
From
the Fifth tablet
;
fp. 44, 4$.
" (Merodach) prepared the mansions of the great gods.
He
fixed the stars that correspond with them, even the
Twin-
stars.
He
ordained the year, appointed the signs of the Zodiac over
For each of the twelve months he fixed three
From the day when the year
He
it.
stars.
issues forth to its close.
founded the mansions of the Sun-god who passes along
the ecliptic, that they might know their bounds.
That they might not
err, that
they might not go astray in any
way;
* " History of Babylonia," pp. 43, 45.
CHALDEAN EPICS ON SUN AND CREATION.
He
Ea
established the mansions of Bel and
Moreover he opened the gates on either
249
along with himsslf.
side.
He strengthened the bolts on the left hand and on the right.
And in the midst of it he made a staircase.
He illuminated the Moon-god that he might be watchman of
the
night.
And ordained
for
him the ending
of the night, that the
day may
be known.
(Saying),
month by month, without
break, keep watch in (thy) disc.
At the beginning of the month rise brightly at evening
With
On
glittering horns, that the
heavens
may know.
the seventh day halve (thy) disc."
I
quote the following lines from another old
also
Accadian Epic found by Mr. Pinches,
«
«
»
*
»
*
"Merodach bound together the slime
Dust he made, and poured
The gods were made
He
it
p.
47
«
(?)
before the waters,
out with the flood.
to dwell in a seat of joy of heart,
created mankirul
The god Aruru, the seed
He made
mankind, they made with him.
of
the beast of the
field,
and the
living creatures of the
desert
He made
the Tigris and Euphrates and set (them) in (their) place.
Well proclaimed he their name.
The
uisa plant, the ditta plant of the marshland, the reed
and
the forest he made.
He made
The
the verdure of the plain.
land, the marshes,
and the greensward,
also.
Oxen, the young of the horse, the stallion, the mare, the sheep
the locust
Meadows and
forests also
The he-goat and the
gazelle brought forth
(?)
to
him."
TERRA FIRM A.
2J0
chap, xn., sec.
3'
Let US look at a few things in which the Chaldeans
believed,
which we may gather from the foregoing extracts
from these Epics on Creation.
That, before the appearance of the Heavens and
1.
the Earth, there existed a great Abyss or
The
classical reader will doubtless
Deep
remember
and the great Greek philosopher, Thales,
water to be the principle of everything,
of the " Great
Deep "
tions of the Earth
of Scripture, in
were
Homer
also considered
all
confirmatory
which the founda-
laid.
That Merodach made the
2.
of waters.
that
Stars,
ordained the year,
appointed the Signs of the Zodiac, and for each of the
twelve months fixed three Stars (or constellations), and
the path of the Sun in the ecliptic.
That he established the Moon-god
3.
man
as the watch-
of the night, to give light quite independently of
the Sun.
4.
That mankind were created
as
mankind, and not
evolved out of a lower order of being.
5.
their
That beasts and
own
particular
all
other animals were created in
species,
and no hint whatever
is
given of any change or modification in their form or nature.
What a
contrast is this to the statement
made by
Sir
Michael Foster, M.P., President of the British Association,
at the
meeting held at Dover in September, 1899
" That the shifting scenes of embiyonic
life
are hints and tokens
of lives lived
by ancestors in time long past "*
Were
statement
this
!
true
there
would be
a serious
" missing link " in Debrett's Peerage, for the chimpanzee,
* Tkg Birmingham Daily GaiettCt 14th September, 1899.
BABYLONIA IDENTIFIED WITH EDEN.
connection with the "upper ten,"
in its
i$
351
altogether
omitted there.
That men, animals,
6.
were
specially created,
all
mountains, forests, &c.,
rivers,
and did not spring spontaneously
out of debris from a nebulous Sun, as so
many
of our
Astronomers so foolishly imagine.
The Chaldeans were
shipped many gods, but
nature,,
doubtless
idolaters,
and wor-
far
as regards
matters of
they appear to have been
much more
gifted with
common
they saw the Sun in his daily journey
moving round the world, they did not say that
the world that
Moon
moved round
put forth her pallid
be reflected from the
to
own
sense than most of the Scientists of our
When
times.
as
it;
and,
was
it
when they saw
the
they did not suppose
light,
fiery rays of
it
the Sun; nor did
they ever dream, like the night-mared Evolutionist, that
monad could
man
the
a
ever
become a whale,
or the
monkey
I
SECTION
4.
BABYLONIA IDENTIFIED WITH THE GARDEN
OF EDEN.
There
I
would
Eden
—
one other passage in
like to allude
as described
although
so
is
it
—the
by the
"
Babylonia " to which
situation of the
late
Garden of
Mr. George Smith,
does not bear directly on the Deluge,
indirectly,
by
testifying
to
the
veracity' of
it
for,
does
those
TERRA FIRMA.
252
chap,
xii.,
sec. 4.
Scriptures which have so emphatically recorded the fact
of the Deluge.
" The plain or
Field
'
of Babylon
'
old Accadian language, a
was called Edinna
in the
word which was boirowed by the old
Semitic conquerors of the country, under the form of Edinu or
This
Edin.
is
Eden
clearly the
of the
not surprising that the two
it is
Eden
main
Old Testament, so that
rivers of the
Hiddekhel
is
the Accadian
name
in
Eden may have been
now marked by
near the town of Eridu,
of
of the Tigris id idikla, or
The garden planted
stream of Idikla.
Garden
and the Hiddekhel.
are said to have been the Euphrates
,
the ruins of Abu-
Shahrein, in the south of Babylonia, which in the second
millenium before the Christian era stood on the sea shore.
events Eric^lu
all
literature
near
it
;
it
was a
is
is
frequently termed
forest or
identified with the
Another most
'
'
It is
'
the good,' or
garden,' where grew
Tree of
Life.'
'
'
holy,'
"*
exhumed from
this
an engraving on a Babylonian
now
depicted as seated on the right, and
desert
Seal, repre-
Adam
senting the Temptation in the Garden of Eden.t
is
and
the holy palm-tree,'
interesting relic of Babylonian antiquity,
bearing on Eden, has been
land.
At
reckoned as a sacred city in fiabylonian
Eve on
the
left,
with the Tree of Life between them, and an erect Serpent
standing behind Eve.
Here
the Bible account of the Fall
our
modem
"
Some
unto
Him
is
is
a direct testimony that
no myth, as even some of
divines suppose, but a veritable reality.
of the Pharisees
(Jesus),
Master,
from among the multitude said
rebuke Thy disciples.
And He
* " History of Babylonia," pp. 53, 54.
+ A copy of this Seal will be found facing p. 152 of " Babylonian Life and
History," by E, A. Weller Bridge, Esq., M.A., tit the British Museum; Religious
Tract Society, 36 Paternoster Row, London.
BABYLONIA IDENTIFIED WITH EDEN.
answered and said,
you that
I tell
if
peace, the stones would immediately cry out "
And
233
these should hold their
Luke xix.
59, 40.
so the very stones of Babylon cry out against the
infidelity of this pretentious age.
have long sought to throw discredit on the
Infidels
Holy
Scriptures,
and with them the Deluge has been a sub-
Many
ject of special obloquy.
of our
Modern Astronomers,
and Hyper-critics have of
Scientists,
attack against
and
it,
anxious to prove
I have,
its truth,
late joined in the
therefore,
been the more
not only from Sacred, but from
Secular authority, and trust I have been successful.
grieved to say that, such
is
the perversity of the
am
I
human
some Ministers of the Gospel have not
mind, even
scrupled to assert
their
disbelief
example, in The Christian
in
the
World Pulpit
1893, a well-known Minister of Liverpool
Deluge.
For
of 14th June,
is
reported to
have said
"
No
student of science
is
able to believe that any such flood
as that recorded in the eeirly Chapters of Genesis ever took place
in the history of the
human
The
race
flood story is
nothing but a myth."
Seeing, then, the wide-spread mutiny which has arisen
against the Deluge, that just
sinful world,
judgment of God upon a
every, true Christian
should be firm as a
rock in upholding the truth of the Sacred Record.
Let
no one be faint-hearted; the promise has been given
"
When
the
Jehovah
Isa. lix. ip.
of
enemy
shall
—
Jehovah
shall
lift
Let
me
up
come
a
in as
a
standard
flood, the Spirit of
against
him"
remind the gainsayer of the rebuke
TERRA FIRMA.
254
"
Who
is this
chap,
4.
that darkeneth counsel
By words without knowledge?
Who
sec.
xii.,
.
.
shut up the sea with doors.
When it brake forth and issued out of the womb?
When I made the clouds the garment thereof.
And thick darkness a swaddling band for it.
And prescribed for it my decree.
And said, Hitherto shall thou come and no further,
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed "
'
'
Job xxxviii.
Some
of the over-zealous opponents of the
2,
—
8
//.
Book
of
Genesis have stated that the art of writing was unknown
in the days of Moses, and that 700 or 800 years after his
time,
some impostor forged
his
name
to the Pentateuch,
thus seeking, by a side-issue, to overthrow
I
have
not
the
doubt,
slightest
from
its
authority.
the
collateral
evidence afforded by Scripture, that writing was practised
from the time of Adam.
Chaldean
tablets, written
the birth of Moses,
now
But, be that as
it
may, the
some hundreds of years before
stare
such
critics in
witnesses attest the truth of
as
living
we
are told that in the last days " evil
the face, and
Scripture.
men and
But
imposters
wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived "
2 Tint. Hi. 13, so that we need not be surprised if
infidel objections will be continued to the end of time.
Dear Cowper wrote more than a century ago
shall
—
"
The
infidel
has shot his bolts away.
Till his exhausted quiver, yielding none.
He gleans his blunted shafts that have recoil'd.
And aims them at the shield of Truth again."*
» "
The Task," Book VI.
BABYLONIA IDENTIFIED WITH EDEN.
255
Blessed are they who, trusting alone to the finished
work of our Lord Jesus
can look beyond the
Christ,
darkness for
"
A
morning without clouds, when the tender grass springeth
up out of the earth through clear
2 Sam.
shining
after
rain "
xxiii. 4.
" Unto
you that
My
fear
name, saith Jehovah,
shall the
of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings "
Since the above was written,
I
Mai.
Sun
iv. z.
have read in the
Standard of 27th September, 1899, a most interesting
article, headed " The Oldest Poem in the World," with
a reference to which
few
years
I shall
ago Professor
now
close this Chapter.
Peitriei,
while
exploring
A
the
Pyramid at Illahum, discovered a number of papyri, which
were found to give many particulars of ancient Egyptian
life.
Among them was
Usentisen
III.,
a
Royal Ode,
addressied
to
regarding which the writer of the article
says
" Its value lies in its being certainly the oldest
world, nearly fifteen
(?)
also in the wonderful
Poem
in the
centuries before the time of Moses;
way
tive language, the great
in
which
it
and
describes, in most figura-
work that the King had done
in the
expansion of the Egyptian empire."
The work
is
published by Mr. Quaritch, and the auto-
type representations are said to be beautifully executed.
I refer to these pap)Ti, as a corroborative proof of the very
which the art of writing was known, and
show that the Ancients were by no means the
ignorant barbarians which some Modem
Scientists,
early period in
also to
"
dressed in a
sider
them
little
brief authority," so erroneously con-
to have been.
256
CHAPTER
XIII.
THE GREAT DEEP, A PROOF THAT THE EARTH
NOT A PLANET.
SXCTION
I.
PAGE
The Earth
in solction before the Adamic
Creation, showing horizontality by its
STRATA
a.
The Tides and the Great Deep
3.
The Great
...
...
256
-
258
-
Gui-f Stream and Currents of
THE Great Deep
4.
IS
265
-
The Rivers come from and return to the
Great Deep
SECTION
THE EARTH
IN SOLUTION
267
1.
BEFORE THE ADAMIC
CREATION.
The
late Dr.
Woodward was
of opinion that, at the
time of the Noachian Deluge, the substance of the Earth
was completely dissolved.
But
this
could not possibly
have been the case then, because we read
—
" All
the
mountains which were under the whole heaven were
covered "
Gen. vii. /p ; which shows that there were still
mountains in existence; and again, we find that, when the
waters were subsiding, the
Ark
rested
on the mountains of
EARTH DISSOLVED BEFORE ADAMIC CREATION.
257
which range
is,
Ararat
Gen.
viii.
the
4,
loftiest
of
according to the British Almanac for 1900, 19,916 feet
I believe, however, that
in height.*
before the Adamic
Creation, the Earth was in a state of solution, which will
account for the stratification of the different kinds of
most part according to their
rocks, &C., laid for tlie
in Genesis
" without
of the
i.
2,
specific
This idea<is strengthened by the words
gravity or weight.
where the Earth
is said
be
to
tehu vebehu^
form and void," when darkness was on the face
Tehu ^gnifies unformed, confused, and
Deep.
behu, empty, void, loose, just like
expected to be before
it
what the Earth might be
was constituted, by the action of
These
the water, into the level stratification of the rocks.
words, teku, vebehu, occur together in two other
of Scripture, illustrative of their
shall stretch
out upon
Earth, and
no
lo, it
light there "
There
xxxiv.
Isa.
iv.
—
particularly confirms this view
that there were heavens
—
" I
void,
beheld the
and they had
^"
from of
Hi.
"Pet.
For they
old,
Rotherham's
(R.V.)
more emphatic
"
For
5,
which
wilfully forget
and an Earth com-
pacted out of water, and amid water, by the
God."
He
22.
a remarkable verse, 2
is
11
was without f^rm and
]er.
"
meaning, namely
the lines of confusion, and the
it
stones of emptiness "
passages
translation,
Word
in loco, is
of
still
this they wilfully forget, that there
were heavens from of old, and an Earth, on account of
water,
of
and by means of water, compacted by the Word
God."
The Authorised
Version, has missed the full
interpretation of this important passage,
by not giving the
complete meaning of the word sunestosa,
p. 231
;
Charles Letts
&
made
Co., Royal Exchange,
to stand
London.
17
TERRA FIRMA.
258
together.
when
]oh we find
In,
asked
Who
thou hast understanding.
thereof,
line
it
I laid the foundations of the
if
upon
"
"
Where wast thou
Earth?
Declare
if
hath laid the measures
may
refer td the granite bases of
4,
the mountains, and the word mamdiah, in verse
upon them,
for
it
Tnadad to extend or stretch.
the strata are
2.
Or who hath stretched the
Here the word yasadi,
4, 5.
foundations, in verse
strata laid
sec.
xiii.,
]oh xxxviii.
thou knowest?
it ?
chap,
all horizontal,
is
I
5,
to the
derived from the root
would also observe that
with the exception, of course,
of those places where what are called " faults " or dis-
placements occur, which have been caused, either by the
breaking up of
all
the
fountains of the
Great Deep
{tehoom rabah), at the time of the Deluge, or by volcanic
disturbances in the Earth after the strata had been
The
horizontaJity of the layers proves that the
laid.
Earth
never whirled round the Sun, nor any other heavenly body,
for,
had
it
done
so,
the strata would undoubtedly have
been curved, instead of which they are
may add
here I
revolving Planet, but
is
And
all straight.
another proof that the Earth
horizontally fixed
is
not a
on the waters of
the Great Deep, from the fact that on every rock-bound
coast,
where the mark of the tide may be seen, the
traced by the action of the sea
is
found to be
line
straight,
without any curvature whatever.
SECTION
2.
THE TIDES AND THE GREAT DEEP.
The
have for long been considered
by the " attraction " of the Moon, but
tides of the ocean
as being caused
THE TIDES AND THE GREAT DEEP.
has been seriously questioned even by some
latterly this
Modem
of our
259
Astronomers, owing to certain discrepancies
which have been discovered between theory and
fact.
Indeed, the Moon, as has been previously remarked, has
been a source of great trouble to our Astronomers, as she
persists in acting in so
what their theories
himself confessed
many ways
the
that
Sir
explanation
on the Tides was the
action
in direct opposition to
Even
require.
Isaac
of
Newton
the Moon's
least satisfactory part of his
This theory asserts that the larger
theory of Gravitati'On.
object attracts the smaller, and the mass of the
Moon
being reckoned as only one-eighth of that of the Earth,
follows that,
it
if,
by the presumed force of Gravitation,
the Earth revolves round the Sun,
same
reason, should the
which that wilful orb
still
Moon do
much
more, for the
so likewise, instead of
continues to go round our world.
Tides vary greatly in height, owing chiefly to the
different
configurations
Chepstow
it
Dublin Bay
late
of
the
rises to
60
feet, at
but
1 2,
and
it is
at
At
lands.
Wexford only
5 feet.
The
Captain George Peacock of the Royal Navy writes as
—
follows:
"At Holyhaven, near the mouth
is
adjoining
Portishead to 50, while at
actually falling,
moment^
rising.
the river
.
Thames, the
tide
at the same
running up rapidly at London Bridge, and still
There are four high waters and three low waters on
St. Laurence (North America) at the same time, and
is
it
.
of the
and running down rapidly, while,
.
in the river
Amazon
(South America), there are no less than six
high waters and five low waters at the same time, and, in the
dry season, as
the
many
as seven high waters and six
low waters
at
same time have been known."*
* " Is the world Flat or
Round," by Captain George Peacock, R.N., F.R.G.S.;
Bellows, Gloucester.
TERRA FIRMA.
26o
In the Mediterranean the tide
McCheyne
of his hymns, Mr.
expanse a "
tides in
xiii.,
sec. 2.
so small that, in one
poetically called that great
extreme South, the
tideless sea," and, in the
some
parts are scarcely perceptible.
The Earth
"
is
chap,
on
stated,
is
authority,
infallible
be
to
founded upon the seas and established upon the floods
—Fsa. xxiv.
2,
and, in
my
most part caused by the
"
opinion, the Tides are for the
flux
and the
reflux of the waters
of the Great Deep, with which the Earth
assuredly
is
He gathereth the waters of the
heap. He layeth up the depth in
most closely connected
"
sea together as an
storehouses " Psa. xxxiii. 7.
Such a cause of the Tides
was given by Parallax, who did such great service to true
science by exposing the fallacies of
and Mr. Winship of Natal,
Cosmogony,"*
Modem
Astronomy,
in his excellent work, " Zetetic
comes to the same conclusion
p. 131, thus
"Tides are caused by the gentle and gradual
of the Earth
on the bosom
of the mighty deep.
there are no tides, which also proves that the
Earth or water to cause tides
attract the
the Tide-Keeper for the tides, nothing more.
the
Moon
tells
what kind
does not and cannot
'
of a tide
attract
'
may be
rise
and
fall
In inland lakes
Moon cannot
The Moon is
The
'
phase
'
of
expected, but she
either the solid
body
of the Earth
or the waters."
That the Earth
itself
has a slight tremulous motion
be seen in the movement of the
fixed
as steadily
fluctuation
as possible,
may be
spirit-level,
may
even when
and that the sea has a
witnessed by the oscillation of an
anchored ship in the calmest day of summer.
» T. L. Cullingford, 40 Field Street,
Street, Netlierfield, Notts.
Durban, Natal
;
By what
John Wilson, 54 Bourne
THE TIDES AND THE GREAT DEEP.
means the
tides are so regularly affected is at present
conjectured;
only
261
possibly
it
may be by
atmospheric
pressure on the waters of the Great Deep, and perhaps
even
Moon
the
Rowbotham,
or diminishing
and
rise
that
it is
by the
Dr.
late
Of
Him
God
we
this
may be
but of one thing we
sure,
is for
it
suggested
barometric pressure, and indirectly the
its
just as easy for
Tides, as
as
influence the atmosphere, increasing
of the Earth in the waters."
fall
now be
cannot
itself,
may
"
certain,
to adjust the courses of the
to regulate the motions of the
heavenly bodies.
Occasionally the sea coast
Some
a Great TidaJ Wave.
the Sunderabad, a low-ljdng
which caused much
another,
still
more
Japan, by which,
swept by what
is
woody
loss of life to
disastrous,
if
I
is
called
years since such occurred in
district
near Calcutta,
men and
animals; and
happened not long
remember
agO' in
24,000 persons
rightly,
were drowned, and ships were carried about two miles
How
inland.
but
think
I
means
it
these abnormal tides arise
is
is
a moot point,
most probable that they are caused by
by
of Earthquakes displacing the land, and,
means, letting the volume of the sea
roll far
this
beyond
its
usual boundary.
The
great Earthquake, which occurred on the
morning
November, 1755, generally called that of Lisbon,
that city suffered most from its terrible efi^ects, was the
of I St
as
cause of immense loss of
as
by
life
and property by sea
According to the writer of the
land.
article "
as well
Earth-
quake," in the edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
before me,
it
millions of square miles,
in
many
now
extended over an area of at least four
places
and particulars of
it
were noted
from Morocco to Norway, and from
TERRA FIRMA.
262
Antigua to Bohemia.
chap, xm., sec. 2,
With regard to
Lisbon
its effects at
he remarks
"The bed
of the river
Tagus was in many places raised to
Ships were driven from their anchorage, and jostled
the surface.
together with great violence, nor did their masters
A
they were afloat or aground.
know whether
huge new quay sunk
unfathomable depth, with several hundreds of people
upon
was
nor was one of the dead bodies ever found.
it,
at first seen dry
came
rolling in like a mountain,
and about Belein Castle the
notice what great disturbances this
It is interesting to
felt or
not
The bar
instant.''
Earthquake caused at that time in distant
and
an
from shore to shore, but suddenly the sea
water rose 50 feet almost in an
springs,
to
who were
where the shock
rivers,
felt at all.
I
lakes, ponds,
itself
was scarcely
quote a few instances from the
samie writer
"At Loch Lomond,
nine in the morning,
in Scotland,
all of
wind, the water rose against
immediately subsided
it
till
its
it
banks with great rapidity, but
was as low
body then present had ever seen
Instantly
till
minutes after ten
became somewhat short
The
agitation continued at
minutes past ten the same morning,
fifteen
taking five minutes to rise and as
till
many
The
to
subside.
From
eleven the height of every rise
of the immediately preceding, taking
minutes to flow, and as many to ebb,
entirely settled.
two
summer-drought.
returned toward the shore, and in five minutes'
the same rate
five
in appearance as any-
in the greatest
time rolled again as high as before.
fifteen
about half an hour after
a sudden, without the least gale of
the water
was
greatest perpendicular of the swell
was
till
feet four inches."
" At
Loch Ness, about
half an hour after nine a very great
THE TIDES AND THE GREAT DEEP.
was obseived
agitation
of the loch,
About ten the
in the water.
which runs on the north side
was observed
263
river Oich,
of Fort
Augustus into the head
to sink very
much, and run upwards
from the loch with a pretty high wave, about two or three
The motion
above the ordinary surface.
against the wind, and
up
the river.
It
It
the
feet
wave was
proceeded rapidly for about 200 yards
it
then broke on a shallow, and flowed three or
four feet on the banks, after which
the loch.
of
it
returned immediately to
continued ebbing and flowing in this manner for
about an hour without ariy such remarkable wave as at
but, about eleven o'clock a wave, higher than the rest,
first,
came up
and broke with so
much
side of the river,
ran upon the grass about thirty feet from the
it
force on the low ground on the north
bank."
river's
"At Cobham
in Surrey,
between ten and eleven o'clock, a
person was watering a horse at a pond, fed by springs.
While
the animal was drinking, the water suddenly ran away from
him, and moved toward the south with such swiftness that the
bottom of the pool was
impetuosity that the
from
its
"A
left bare.
man
sudden approach.''
very remarkable change was observed in the waters of
Toplitz (Carlsbad),
a.
village in
The waters were discovered
the principal spring of
in the
returned again with such
It
leaped backwards to secure himself
its
baths.
from which time
them had constantly thrown hot water
same quantity, and
of the Earthquake,
Bohemia, famous for
in the year 762,
of the
same
quality.
In the morning
between eleven and twelve of the forenoon,
the principal spring cast forth such a quantity of water, that in
the space of half an hour, all the baths ran over.
About half
an hour before this great increase
the spring
of the water,
flowed turbid and muddy, then, having stopped entirely for a
minute,
it
broke forth again with prodigious violence, driving
TERRA FIRMA.
864
befoie
to
do
2.
a consideikble quantity of reddish ochre.
After that
and flowed pure as before.
continues
it
became
it
chap, xni., sec.
clear,
but the water
so,
It still
in greater quantity, and better than
is
before the Earthquake."
From
above we may learn something
facts such as the
of the great ramifications
which must
exist in
chambers
and channels under the Earth, evidently connected with
the waters of the Great Deep.
Job was asked many questions by Jehovah, which he
was unable to answer, a few of which are as follows
" Where wast thou
Declare
Who
if
when
I laid the
foundations of the earth?
thou hast understanding.
determined the measures thereof,
Or who
stretched the line
upon
thou knowest?
it?
Whereupon were the foundations
Or who
if
thereof
laid the corner-stone thereof?
made
to sink?
....
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began.
And caused the
That
it
dayspring to
know its
place.
might take hold of the ends of the earth?
....
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?
Or
hast thou walked in the recesses of
The Deep? "
Job xxxviii.
Well would
be
it
for
4.
—
6, 12, 13, z6.
our Astronomers,
if,
in con-
sidering such questions, they were brought into the
state of
same
profound humility as that noble Patriarch, when
—
he said to Jehovah
" I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the
ear,
But now mine eye seeth Thee,
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
/oi
xlii. 5, 6.
GULF STREAM AND CURRENTS OF THE DEEP.
SECTION
263
3.
THE GREAT GULF STREAM AND CURRENTS OF THE
GREAT DEEP.
Besides Tides, whose flux and reflux
more than
forty miles
streams or
Ocean Currents, some
to
is
not
felt for
from land, there axe mighty Gulf
of which are from 200
400 miles in breadth, and from 3,000 to 4,000 miles in
length.
They
are deep, calm, and steady, and flow with
an average speed of one and a half to two miles per hour.
The
immense
courses of these
various
opposite
directions
currents,
through
the
which flow in
ocean,
afford
another convincing proof that there cannot possibly be
any globularity there, because courses such as described
could not exist on a convexity.
These are
Ocean
more
the upward
vast
Rivers which cannot flow upvards in their routes, any
than the Rivers of the Earth can do in theirs,
flow of ruiming water being entirely contrary to the laws of
In Psalm xxiv.
nature.
Earth
"
upon the
seas,
2,
we read
that
and established
The Hebrew word here used
" rivers,"
it
God founded
upon the
the
floods."
for " floods " is naharoth,
which
literally
there
must doubtless be those mighty ocean currents,
means
and the
rivers referred to
which so maijesticaJIy flow from the fountains of the Great
Deep.
One
of the
Atlantic
Ocean
most noted of these vast Currents in the
is
the Great Gulf Stream, which flows from
the Gulf of Mexico, where the temperature of the water
is
about 86 degrees;
it
then sweeps through the Straits
TERRA FIRMA.
266
chap,
xiii.,
sec. 3.
of Florida northwards as far as latitude 31 degrees N.,
when
it
takes a north-eastern direction to about latitude
36 degrees N.
;
then crosses the Atlantic, past the
it
western side of the Azore Islands,
of Europe.
When
it
issues
up
to the Western Coast
from the
Straits of Florida it
of a dark blue indigo colour, and can be distinguished
from the green waters of the Atlantic for hundreds of
Its mean breadth is about 350 mUes.
miles.
is
In the same ocean there are other immense currents
—the Equatorial—the North African
Southern Connection—the Southern
Horn—Rennels and Arctic
—the
and Guinea
—
Atlantic
comes from the Polar
some
regions, bearing
of which are 200 feet high, which
immence icebergs,
means a depth of
Many
1,400 feet below the surface of the water.
are left on the west coast of Greenland,
drifted south to
Arctic
Th«'
Currents.
Cape
^the
of these
and others are
warmer regions where they are gradually
dissolved.*
The
Arctic Current, believed to arise at the North
Pole, runs along the east coast of Greenland, and, after
doubling Cape Farewell, flows up the west coast of Greenland to about Latitude 66 degrees N.,
northern end of Newfoundland
it
when
On
south along the west of Labrador.
divides,
it
turns
reaching the
the smaller
portion passing through the Straits of Belle Isle, and the
main body going between the great and outer bank of
Newfoundland,
and
ultimately
joins
the
Gulf
Great
Stream between Latitudes 44 degrees and 47 degrees N.
Whence do these vast currents proceed ? " the cause of
which," as the writer of the article " Atiantic Ocean
* See article " Atlantic Ocean" in "Tlie Imperial Gazetteer"; Blackie
Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London.
" in
&
Son,
RIVERS COME FROM AND RETURN TO THE SEA.
267
the " Imperial Gazetteer," p. 244, confesses, " are but imperfectly
known."
I
am
not at
all
surprised at Geographers
and Astronomers being unable to account for these great
bodies of water flowing through the oceans, so long as
they imagine the Earth to be a whirling Planet, and ignore
the Scriptural declaration that
seas
" is
it
and established upon the floods
own opinion
is
founded upon the
"
Vsa. xxiv.
that these Currents flow from
fountains of the Great Deep, and, like
without use.
Part of that service
all
He
God, are meant for special service, for
do not
may be
the works of
for
In deep soundings
which have not the
promoting
it is
known
disturb the sea deeper
than about 90 feet, below which there
delicate
My
of the
makes nothing
the circulation of the waters of the ocean, for
that the greatest storms
2.
some
shells are
slightest signs
is
a perfect calm.
often taken up,
of abrasion.
These
Currents are also of use in navigation, and are also thought
to have a considerable climatic influence
bourhoods through which they pass.
on the neigh-
Our own
Great Britain and Ireland are believed to owe
their verdant beauty,
and
perature, to their being
Islands of
much
of
their comparatively mild tem-
washed by the waters of the Great
Gulf Stream.
SECTION
4.
THE RIVERS COME FROM AND RETURN TO THE
GREAT DEEP.
It
—
7
was said by Solomon who
Kings
iv.
31
—
"All the livers lun into the
"
was wiser than
all
men
"
sea, yet the sea is not full;
TERRA FIRMA.
a68
There
all
Bcc.
Modem
our
7.
true science taught in this one verse than
more
is
i.
4,
the rivers come, thither they
unto the same place from whence
return again"
chap, xni., sec.
Astronomers have ever known, else they
It unfolds
never would have imagined a Planetary Earth.
to us the fact that the Earth is founded
upon the Great
Deep, part of the waters of which percolate or flow
through
its
in lakes,
body in various channels, forming the springs
hills,
their rise.
and
from which the
valleys,
Rivers have
upward course in any
of their journey to the sea,
piart
thus proving that the Earth
not a Planet.
Perhaps
is
not globular, and therefore
this continual interchange in their
flow from and to the Great Deep,
elements
towards
rivers take
a downward, and never an
all
solving
the
may be one
of the
problem of the Tides.
There are known to be many lakes and
rivers
which have
great springs in them, and even sprudels or fountains of
water, which burst from
them with
great force, notably
There
the hot sprudel in the river Toplitz at Carlsbad.
are also hot springs in
New
Zealand, Iceland, and
many
other parts of the world.
As
the Psalmist sings
"
He
sendeth forth springs into the valleys
They run among the mountains."
Psa.
The working
of mines
civ. to.
and quarries has sometimes to be
altogether abandoned, owing to the influx of water being
much more than the
By sinking Artesian
engine-ptunps are able to carry away.
wells water
parts of the Earth, and, as
may be found
a general
rule,
they are sunk the greater will be their flow.
in most
the deeper
Such waters
RIVERS COME FROM AND RETURN TO THE SEA.
we know, from
cannot be deposited by rain, for
269
carefully
conducted experimients, that even in the most porous
soil,
more than a few feet, so that
must come either from the Great Deep
water does not penetrate
these supplies
direct,
or from reservoirs of water connected with
it
in
caverns of the Earth.
There are also vand caverns or vents
from which the
of the world,
in various parts
air occasionally issues
For example, Mr. Bryden, in
great violence.
in Sicily, says, in the
with
his travels
mountain of Neptune, there
is
" A gulf or crater on the summit, from which at particular times
there issues an exceedingly cold
is dif&cult
wind with such violence that
In the Lake of Geneva there
a
it
to approach it."
subaqueous
current,
is
what
which
is
considered to be
occasionally
makes the
waters to rise like a Tidal wave; and there is a lake of
unknown depth, near Boleston, in Bohemia, which is
sometimes so disturbed that " masses of ice are said to
be thrown up to some height from
Although
its surface."
do not agree with Mr. Macdonald
I
exposition of Parkhurst's
Theory of the Earth, he
in his
is
well
worthy of respect as a Christian and a scholar, and I
have
much
pleasure in quoting the following extract from
his previously
Bible," pp.
taught in Ecc.
the sea
is
mentioned work,
139
not
— 141, as
7— All the
it
"
i.
full
;
"
The
Principia and the
fully corroborates the truth
rivers
run into the
sea, yet
unto the place from whence the rivers
come, thither they return again."
" Varinius
and other competent authorities estimate that each
of the larger rivers pours into the sea, in a single year,
a
quantity of water sufficient to cover the whole surface of the
TERRA FIRMA.
270
chap, xni., sec. 4
But the number of the considerable rivers in the old
earth.
continent amount to 430, and those of the
The comparative smallness
at 140.
amply compensated by the vastness
add
new may be
some
estimated
of the former is
of the latter; to this
if
we
the minor streams, which flow in every quarter of the
all
globe
of
( !
),
we may
safely conclude that a quantity of water is
annually poured into the ocean, which,
cover the earth 570 times.
The
if
would
collected,
grand question then
first
is
Unless the heads of these rivers communicate with a great
whence does
central abyss of water,
water come?
The second question
this prodigious quantity of
is
equally pertinent
Unless
:
the ocean communicates with the same great abyss, and thereby
maintains the circulation of the rivers,
no perceptible variation
immense supply?
by assuming that
tated
upon the earth
is
does
Our philosophers attempt
facts
of water
how
it
happen
that
from
this
in the water level results
rivers are supplied
to explain these
by vapours
in rain, snow, dew, &c.,
precipi-
and that a quantity
exhaled from the ocean by the solar heat equal to
that contributed by the rivers.
The
utter insufficiency of this
explanation, however, will be obvious from the following considerations.
"The
highest estimate of the
mean annual
fall
of rain,
dew, &c., throughout the world in our meteorological
treatises
is
Let
34 inches.
it
now be remembered
the surface of the earth
is
that only one-third of
dry land, so that only one-third of
the quantity of lain that falls would be available for the supply
of the rivers.
sufficient to
This would be a quantity
What
of eleven inches.
volume
which
of water
more than
proportion, then, does this bear to the
thrown into the sea by a single great
is estimated, as
mountains
little
cover the entire surface of the earth to the depth
—not to
we have
seen, to
river,
submerge the highest
mention the aggregate volume from
all
the
RIVERS COME FROM AND RETURN TO THE SEA.
rivers of the globe (!)
the rivers,
it
is
falls
Dobson
upon the land
is sufficient
vessel,
rain measured in another vessel
aperture, during the
same period, was 37.48 inches,
Then
leaving a residue of only 1.30 inches.
M. de la Hire show that a single
leaves,
absorbed
2%
lbs. of
of 3,194 lbs in a year.
series of experiments.
mean annual evaporation
twelve inches in diameter, to be
mean
36.78 inches, while the
same
is
without foreign aid, to
By a
life.
of Liverpool found the
from a cylindrical
of the
suflacient to feed all
from the earth by evaporation, the rain
air
supply the wants of vegetable
Dr.
from being
271
questionable whether, after deducting what
resumed into the
which
So
far
fig-tree,
the experiments of
furnished with 130
water in five hours, or at the rate
With what reason, then, can
it
be
maintained that, after meeting the demands of evaporation and
sustaining vegetable life
and growth, the rain
supply
fall into
all
the rivers that
is
sufficient to
Ray has
the sea?
also well
observed that the tops of the mountains above the sources of
the Rhine, Rhone, Danube, and
Po
of the year constantly covered with
are during the winter half
snow
to a great thickness,
no vapours could touch them, and yet these rivers run
so that
Now
as steadily in winter as in summer.
this is inexplicable
upon any other supposition than that of Solomon,
rivers
draw
their supplies
viz.,
that
from the subterranean abyss into
which they return them again."
sincerely trust that, after considering the evidence
I
which
Reader
has
been brought
Planet, as supposed
real
before
will clearly see that this
by our
him,
the
thoughtful
world of ours
Modem
is
not a
Astrononiers, but a
Terra Firma, founded upon the waters of the Great
Deep,
from which come and to which return,
with
unceasing flow, the rivers of the Earth, in accordance with
the wise and beneficent purpose of our Divine Creator.
272
CHAPTER
XIV.
FRAGMENTS GATHERED
1.
Locality
2.
Up and Dowk
3.
4.
-
UP.
...
...
...
SECTION
-
....
Some other reasons why the Earth
A Planet
Concluding remarks
is
272
274
not
-
SECTION
PACK
278
283
1.
LOCALITY.
Every human being has
"
by which
the
I
Earth
moment
A local habitation and a name,"
mean
that the veriest wanderer
on ihe face of
must occupy some particular place
of his
life,
for
he
is
every
not ubiquitous, and cannot
be in two places at the same time.
The Compass,
except for the variations previously
referred to, which are too unimportant to affect its general
character, always points straight to the
opposite point, wherever
we look from
it
may
be,
North centre, the
bdng
the South.
the North to the South, the East will
If
be on
A FIXED LOCALITY.
our
left
273
hand, and the West on our right, and,
from the South to the North, the East
right
hand and the West on our
When
the dying gladiator
" Butchered to
left
fell in
make a Roman
we look
if
be on our
will
the Coliseum,
holiday,
His thoughts were with his heart, and that was far away,"
but his body remained in the arena
the lions.
till
was sent to
it
disappeared, but the Coliseum
It
is
still
in
Rome, and Rome is still in Italy, and Italy is still in
Europe, and Europe is still in the world, and the world
is still
where
it
has been since the Adamic Creation, with
the Pole Star of the heavens shining over
centre, as
the
desolate
fastenings "
He
written
"
place,
and
Job xxvi.
7.
it is
its
Northern
spreadeth out the North over
supporteth
the
Earth
upon
Since I came to this house some years ago, both by
compass and observation,
does to-day, as
it
it
has not
faced the South, even as
moved one
inch.
But,
it
six
months ago, according to the theory of our Astronomers,
it
should then have looked towards the North, as the
Earth would at that time have performed one half of
journey round the Sun.
since ever I
But, alas
have been here
it
is
windows that the North has been
still
faces
me from
!
its
for the poor theory,
only from the back
visible,
those of the front.
"
and the South
Ah
!
" say
our
Astronomers, " you must not trust your
believe
what our system demands
"
!
own senses, but
They seem to think
we are geese, and would thrust their crude conjectures
down our throats with their theoretic air-pump, as the
What a parody
poulterer crams fowls for the market.
on true science! What a climax to our boasted civiliza18
TERRA FIRMA.
274
chap, xiv., sec.
For myself
tion at the close of the nineteenth centuiy!
I
reject
utterly
Readers may do so likewise.
respect
it is
all
my
high time for
Common
we may
say, with
Surely
innings now.
its
Modern Astronomy,
to
that
False Science has already
kept the wickets too long, and
Sense to have
and
such teaching,
trust
2.
the
as
Poet
sang
of
ancient Ilium, that the day draws nigh,
"When
Must
even thou. Imperial Troy, must bend,
see thy warriors fall
—thy glories end."
Let US even hope, with regard to this barbaric system, that
we may be soon
—Troy
Troja fuit
able to exclaim
been, but exists no more
has
1
SECTION
2.
UP AND DOWN.
Modem
With the
neither "
Up "
nor
"
Astronomer there
Down," though
his assertion, every time
or "
is
down
" to
really to
be
the minds of
by
this
as
" our
he looks " up
Yet
theoretically
"
toi
the heavens
Such aberration of
the ground.
pitied.
is
his experience belies
it is
intellect
painful to find that even
some Christian authors have been so warped
erroneous teaching, that they speak of the Earth
globe
"
with the greatest nonchalance.
particularly struck with this
Olam Haneshamoth,
or
"A
I
was
some years ago when reading
View of the Intermediate
State," written about a century since
the Rev. George Bennet of Carlisle.
by a great
It is
scholar,
a most learned
UP AND DOWN.
and interesting
Bishop
and was highly commended by
woork,
Much
Horsley.
275
useful
information
may be
gathered from the pages of this estimable author, but,
when he speaks
of
place
of the situation of Sheol or Hades, the
departed
spirits,
hampered by the net of
he must
been
have
Modern Astronomy,
as
sadly
may be
seen from the following extract, p. 285
"In
lost;
the boundless regions of space ascent and descent are
these being merely ideas impressed
upon us from our
We
infancy by reason of our union to matter.
earliest
naturally led to annex cheerfulness to ascent,
bright splendour of the firmament above,
are
by reason of the
and gloom to
because of the interminable depth of earth, and
its
descent,
supposed
dark caverns, presenting themselves to the imagination from
below;
yet the skies are
may be
their motion,
everywhere, and
or particular
mode
spirits,
whatever
have
of existence,
nothing to do with the influence of attraction or gravitation,
this
more naturally agreeing with the properties
Now
of body."
good man could never have written
this
thus,
had he not been inoculated as a boy with the virus of
Modern Astronomy.
He
would have been
open to
there is
and a " Down,"
receive the explicit teaching of Scripture, that
an " ascent " and " descent," an "
as
"A
Up "
written
it is
fire is
kindled in Mine anger, and shall
lowest Sheol "
"
As high as heaven what canst thou do?
what canst thou know? " /oi xi. 8.
It is
much
bum
unto
the
Deut. xxxii. 22.
to
Deeper than Sheol,
be regretted that the Translators of our
Authorised Version
made such a
serious mistake as to
TERRA FIRMA.
276
chap,
xiv., sec. 2.
render the words « Sheol" and "Hades," "hell" and
" the grave," instead of giving their proper
—^which
place of the dead
centre of the Earth, as
is situate
may
meaning
—the
somewhere about the
once be seen by comparing
at
the two following passages of Scripture, respecting the
place to which our Lord went at His death
"Thou
suffer
my
wilt not leave
"As Jonah was
nights,
Matt.
en
kardia
te
Fsa. xvi.
Thou
10.
three days and three nights in the belly of
the great fish, so shall the
Son
of
Man
ges^ in
tes
the
be three days and three
heart
earth"
the
of
—
xii. 40.
Sheol
is
thus shown to be in the heart or central part
The
of the Earth.
and deeply
of
soul in Sheol, neither wilt
Thine Holy One to see corruption "
my
study of this subject
interesting,
Readers,
and
who may wish
most important
is
beg to
I respectfully
to consider
refer
to
it,
any
my own
work, " Hades and Beyond," where this matter has been
investigated to the best of
To
prove an "
Up "
my
and a
ability.*
"
Down
" really
seems to
me
a work of supererogation, as the fact of there being such
is
so patent to the perception of
see and judgment to discriminate;
some,
it
may perhaps be
all
who have
eyes to
for the sake of
still,
well to give a few Scriptural
illustrations
" So they, and
into Sheol "
Num.
all that
pertained to them went down alive
xvi. 33.
" Elijah went uf by a whirlwind into heaven "
" If
I
in Sheol,
ascend
up
behold.
to
heaven Thou
Thou
art there "
*
See note on
art there
;
Psa. cxxxix.
p. 55.
z Kings
if I
8.
it.
11.
make my bed
UP AND DOWN.
"
He knoweth
Rephaim
not that the
guests are in the defths of Sheol "
"The way
win
;
yet thou shalt be brought
—Isa.
uttermost parts of the pit
and
Thus
may
depart
I will
be like
—Pro. xv. 24.
ascend above the heights of the clouds
The Most High
"
and that her
are there,
ix. 18.
of life is above to the wise, that he
from Sheol beneath "
"I
Pro.
277
Jerovah,
saith
the foundations
down
;
to Sheol, to the
xiv. 14, 1$.
If the
heaven above can be measured,
of the earth searched out beneath, then will
also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they
—Jer.
xxxi. J7.
"I
made the
nations to shake at the sound of his
I cast
him down
to Sheol,
with them that go down
I
have done "
when
fall,
—
into the pit
Eiek. xxxi. 16.
"
The
strong
among
the mighty shall speak to
him out
of the
midst of Sheol, with them that help him, they are gone down,
they are uncircumcised, slain by the sword "
"Ye men
of Galilee,
This same Jesus which
so come in like
Acts
manner
is
stand ye looking into heaven?
taken
up from you
as ye beheld
Him
going into heaven "
that
He
what
ascended,
is it
save that
He
descended into the lower parts of the earth.
He
who
it is
all
fill
"And
up
into heaven, shall
also first
Eph.
and they went up
to
Come
heaven in the cloud, and their
Rev. xi. iz.
must, indeed, have but a poor understanding,
who
does not see from the foregoing passages, that there
"
He
iv. 9, 10.
they heard a loud voice out of heaven saying
hither;
He
He
that descended
also ascended even above all the heavens, that
things "
enemies beheld them"
an
—
II.
i.
"Now
might
Ezek. xxxii. zt.
why
Up," and that there
is
a "
Down
—
"
that
Heaven
is
is
TERRA FIRMA.
278
and that Sheol
aiove,
No
is
chap, xiv., skc.
beneath the surface of the Earth.
In the book
reasoning mind can question the matter.
of Ecclesiastes alone,
"
the Sun
no
less
"
Solomon uses the expression
under
than twenty-five times, bearing reference
He who
to the Earth, or things pertaining thereto.
wisest
3.
among men could never have been
arrant folly, as to suppose that the Earth
was
guilty of such
was only a Planet,
whirling round the Sun.
SECTION
3.
SOME OTHER REASONS WHY THE EARTH
A PLANET.
In the course of
my
IS
reading and meditations,
NOT
I
have
found other Reasons, besides those previously given, that
the Earth
not a Planet.
is
Those already mentioned
ought, I think, to be quite sufficient to convince any
ordinary
mind
failed to
do
that
so, I
it is
beg
to
not, but, in case they
may have
quote a few other Reasons from
a very able pamphlet,* written by the late Mr. William
Carpenter of Baltimore, in the hope that they
more
successful,
book may be
my
desire being that every
as assured, as I
am
may be
Reader of
this
myself, that this Earth
not a Planet.
is
"II. As the Mariner's Compass points North and South at
the
same time, and as the North,
that part of the Earth
*
54
"One Hundred
Bourne
to
which
where the North Star
Proofs that the Earth
Street, Netherfield, Notts.
is
it is
is
attracted, is
in the zenith,
not a Globe."
it
John Williams,
OTHER REASONS WHY EARTH
follows that there
centre is North,
whole
is
279
'pole,' but while the
a proof that the Earth
As we have seen that there
(or pole),
NOT A PLANET.
IS
no South 'point' or
vast circumference must be South in the
a.
This
extent.
" 12,
is
is
is really
not a Globe.
no South point
but an infinity of points, forming together a vast
circumference
—the
boundary of the known world with
its
battlements of icebergs, which bid defiance to man's onward
—so
course in a Southerly direction
West
morrow
it is
'
!
In fact, as there
is
there can be no East or
can be no 'yesterday' or
just as there
'points,'
one point that
is fixed (the
'to-
North),
East
impossible for any other point to be fixed likewise.
and West
merely directions at right angles with
are, therefore,
a North and South line, and, as the South point of the
shifts
round to
all
parts of the circular boundary (as
Compass
it
may be
and
carried round the central North), so the directions East
West, crossing this line continued form a circle at any latitude.
A
Westerly circumnavigation
Star continually
gation
is
is
a going round with the North
on the right hand, and an Easterly circumnavi-
performed only when the reverse condition of things
is
maintained, the North Star being on the
is
made.
These
facts,
left as
the journey
taken together, form a beautiful proof
that the Earth is not a Globe.
" 13.
the
it
As the Mariner's Compass points North and South
same time, and as a meridian
is
North and South
s.
at
line,
follows that meridians can be no other than straight lines.
But, as the meridians on a globe are semi-circular,
it
is
an
incontrovertible proof that the Earth is not a Globe.
' 14. Parallels of latitude only
—are
the surface of the Earth
sively
—of
circles,
all
imaginary lines on
which increase progres-
from the Northern centre to the Southern circumference.
The mariner's course
in the direction of
any one of these con-
TERRA FIRMA.
28o
chap, xiv., sec.
3.
which increase
centric circles is his longitude, the degrees of
to such an extent beyond the Equator {going Southwards), that
of the false
hundreds of vessels have been wrecked, because
untruthfulness
idea created by the
of
the charts,
and the
globular theory together, causing the sailor to be continually
With a map
getting out of his reckoning.
true form, all this difficulty
of the
Earth in
its
done away with, and ships may
is
This, then, is a
be conducted anywhere with perfect
safety.
very important proof that the Earth
not a Globe."
is
" 16. If the Earth were a Globe the distance round the surface, say at 45 degrees
any greater than
South latitude, could not possibly be
same
at the
latitude North, but, since
it
is
—
to say the least
found by navigators to be twice the distance
of
—or
it
double the distance
globular theory,
it is
a proof that the Earth
"21. Man's experience
like the flies that
with as
much
can
ought to be according to the
it
live
safety as
tells
him
that he is not constructed
and move upon the
on a
not a Globe."
is
ceiling of a room,
floor, and, since the
modern theory
of a planetary Earth necessitates a crowd of theories to keep
company with
it,
and one of these
that inen are really
is
to the Earth by a force which fastens them,
'
like needles
bound
round
a spherical loadstone,' a thing perfectly outrageous, and opposed
to all
known
upon common
experience,
sense,
it
follows that, unless you trample
and ignore the teaching of experience, we
have an evident proof that the Earth
" 24.
When
a
man
speaks
of
a
amongst several things which claim
it is
not a Globe."
is
'
to
most complete
'
thing
be what that thing
is,
evident that they must fall short of something which the
•most complete' thing possesses.
And when
the 'most complete'
failure,
others, all
is
an entire
and sundry, are worthless.
it
it
is
is
known
that
plain that the
Proctor's 'most com-
OTHER REASONS WHY EARTH
plete proof that the Earth
'
fact
is
NOT A PLANET.
IS
a Globe,' lies in
what he
281
calls the
that distances from place to place agree with calculation.
'
But, since the distance round the Earth at 45 degrees South of
the Equator
what
follows that
'
fact
NOT a
is
'
twice the distance
is
'
it
would be on a globe,
the greatest astronomer of the age
fact, that his
'
most complete proof
'
it
'
calls a
is
a most
complete failure, and that he might as well have told us that he
had NO PROOF
Now
to give at all.
since,
the Earth be a
if
Globe, there would necessarily be piles of proof of
us,
it
follows that
when Astronomers, with
are utterly unable to point one out
—to
say nothing of picking
—
that they give us a proof that the Earth
one up
round
it all
all their ingenuity,
is
not a Globe."
" 28. Astronomers are in the habit of considering two points
on the Earth's surface, without,
it
seems, any limit as to the
distance that lies between them, as being in a level, and the
intervening section, even though
The
of water!
matter,
would form a
high
The idea
!
tained by
it
Atlantic Ocean,
hill of
be an ocean, as a vast
in taking this
'
hill
view of the
water more than a hundred miles
simply monstrous, and could only be enter-
is
made up
of
certainly requires
no
whose whole business
scientists,
materials of the same description, and
argument to deduce, from such
it
Science
'
is
as this, a satisfactory
'
proof that the Earth is not a Globe."
" 35. If
'
the thing
fectly
we examine
itself,
straight
we
and
a true picture of the distant horizon, or
shall find
level
it
line.
coincides exactly with
Now,
nothing of the kind on a globe, and
over the Earth,
"41.
'
When
it is
order
that
Astronomers assert that
in
find
a proof that the Earth
allowance for curvature
in
we
their
'
there
since
it is
it
is
to
level
be the case
'necessary' to
cutting
per-
all
not a Globe."
in canal construction,
idea a
a.
could be
it is,
make
of course,
may be had
for
TERRA FIRMA.
282
the
How
water.
selves
level
the curved surface of the Earth
when they say
What more can
!
3.
them-
do they contradict
then,
flagrantly,
chap, xiv., SBC.
true
is
for a canal than a true level?
they want
Since they contradict themselves on such an elementary point
as this,
is
it
an evidence that the whole thing
and we have a proof that the Earth
"42.
and
It is certain
of its mobility
of its immobility
is
is
a delusion,
is
not a Globe.
that the theory of the Earth's rotundity,
must stand or
fall together.
A
proof, then,
Now,
virtually a proof of its non-rotundity.
that this Earth does not move, either
round the Sun, or anything
Earth went through space,
else,
on an
axis, or in
an
easily proven.
is
at the rate of eleven
orbit,
If
the
hundred miles
in a minute of time as Astronomers teach us, in a particular
there
direction,
would unquestionably be a
result of firing off a projectile
difference in the
in that direction,
direction the opposite of that one^
and
in
a.
But, as in fact, there is not
the slightest difference, in any, such case,
it is
clear that any
alleged motion of the Earth is disproved, and that, therefore,
we have a proof
" 44. It
is
that the Earth
in evidence that
not a Globe.''
is
if
a projectile be fired from a
rapidly moving body in an opposite direction to that in which
the body
is
going,
it
will fall short of the distance at
would reach the ground
Now,
since the Earth
is
if
said to
move
direction.
if
overthrow of
all
way
the thing
would make
all
may be
is
not the slightest differ-
done,
we have a
forcible
fancies relative to the motion of the Earth, and
a striking proof that the Earth
Want
it
the gun were fired in an opposite
But, as in practice, there
ence whichever
it
at the rate of nineteen
miles in a second of time, from West to East,
the difference imaginable
which
fired in the direction of motion.
of space forbids
is
my
not a Globe."
giving farther extract.? from
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
this vigorous
who may
pamphlet, to which
unfortunately
Modern Astronomy, though,
conceive how any sane |)ersQn,
can possibly
resist
I
would
cling
still
I
283
refer any
the
to
Reader
theories
must confess,
of
cannot
I
unless mailed in prejudice,
the plain and ample evidence, which
has been previously adduced, to prove that the Earth
is
not
a Planet.
SECTION
4.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
of
I am thankful to have now come to the closing pages
my book, a work which I would never have undertaken,
had
I not
known the urgent
necessity for a strong protest
which has so
against the assumptions of a false science,
greatly tended to foster
day.
Owing
part of
its
and increase the
my
to the badness of
infidelity of the
during a great
sight,
and writing have been
progress, both reading
very trying, and I believe that I never could have done
as I have,
and
If I
had
it
not been as an answer to
I can, therefore, the
more
have made any mistakes,
readily
I
hope
much
prayer,
for its success.
a real
shall consider it
kindness to be corrected, but I have endeavoured to be
very careful, as to the truth of every statement which 1
have made, and every passage which
one thing
I
am
perfectly certain,
not a
proved that the Earth
is
mers of Christendom
will
fact.
I
I
have quoted.
namely, that
Planet,
and
all
I
Of
have
the Astronoi-
never be able to overthrow that
confess that at times I have
felt
sad that the
TERRA FIRMA.
284
chap, xiv., sec.
4.
Stability of the
Earth should ever have required proving
at all, as such
shows into what a low condition sin has
brought the erring intellect of man.
me much pain, arose
made by some Christian
Another matter, which caused
from reading certain attempts,
It
Modem
to reconcile Scripture with
writers,
me
seemed to
lines in "
Oh
if
Christ were again being
Zech. xiii. 6,
!
wounded
and Moore's
Fire-worshippers " rushed into
The
"
as
His friends
in the house of
Astronomy.
my mind
colder than the wind that freezes
Founts that but now in sunshine play'd.
Is that congealing
The
pang which
bosom when
trusting
seizes
betray'd."
Instead of boldly upholding Scripture, which " cannot be
John. x. 35, they coolly speak of this world as
" our globe," as if it were one in reality, and plausibly
broken
''
seek to accommodate the phrase to the teachings of a
false
—a
Astronomy
and
terrible mistake,
utterly useless,
for one might as soon essay to reconcile iron with clay,
as
Scripture
with
Modem
Astronomy.
As a kind
of
soporific to their conscience, they say that Scripture does
not attempt to teach science.
is
taught in the schools, but
Certainly not, as science
never contradicts
it
and, to the true Christian student,
science than
Some
all
it
facts,
teaches more real
the schools and colleges in the world.
foolishly say,
"What
does
it
matter to us whether
the Sun goes round the world, or the world goes round
the Sun ?
"
statements
whether
I take
it
my
It
ought
to matter very
cannot be
be God or
and
much indeed
;
both
it
matters everything
man who does
not speak the truth.
true,
—
stand with Paul and say
"
Let God be found
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
true,
man
but every
liaj "
a
Rom.
285
in. 4.
a matter
It is
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE, and in charity I hope that
those, who ask such a question, do not think of what it
of
involves, for often, as
" Evil
What
lEcc.
Modern Science
It is only the old
—
Solomon says
—
as by want of heart."
there in
is
so proud?
wisely said,
wrought by want of thought,
is
As well
Hood
is
we may be
no new thing under the Sun
Adam, before
g.
i.
There
^"
of which
under another name, for as
the
gave
intuitively
Fall,
"
names, from their inherent properties, to every beast of
the field and fowl of the air
the
'
Flood,
his
Gen.
ig, 20.
it.
—
descendant Jubal was
" the
Before
father
of
every one handling harp and organ," and Tubal-Cain (the
—
Vulcan of heathen mythology), was
every artificer in brass and
could
equal
of
Who
Baalbac?
grandeur
the
halls
pillared
iron "
of
"
Gen.
an instructor of
iv.
20, 21.
Tadmor, or the
What
Temple,
Solomon's
stately
the
columns of
could rebuild the wonderful Rameseion
Medinet Aboo, or the magnificent temples of Luxor
of
and Karnak,
all
memorials of the
—
Scripture*
sang?t
the hundred-gated
Who
Gizeh, with
could
its
now
No
or
No Ammon
of
Thebes of which Homer
reconstruct the Great Pyramid of
Astronomic teachings, and
its
geometric
proportions, or re-design the esoteric adaptations of
its
Mr. Alexander Mclnnes, a member
marvellous interior?]:
o' the Glasgow University Council, in his able pamphlet,
"The
Opposition of Science to Religion,"§ shows that
Nahum
* Ezek 3EXX. 14
t "Iliad," Book ix.
i See Profe!;soi Piazzi
;
iii.
S.
Smyth's most Interesting work, "Our Inheritance in
the Great Pyramid."
S
WllUam Love, «i Argyle
Street,
Glasgow.
TERRA FIRMA.
286
even Electrical Science
only a
is
chap. xiv.. sec.
the
when the statue of Memnon uttered a cry
Sun arose, and wept as it appeared to set
of joy as
—^when
magnetic image of Venus, held suspended in the
—and
Mars
" a very old
image of AjkjIIo
left
now
arts
may be
am
inclined
to think that
than one, the Moderns are only
at
many
now
It
is
useful
nibbling the
cheese which the Ancients
to the
least,
would be well for them to return
and humbly walk
ate.
left
With
Science of the Heavens, our
Astronomers have utterly failed to discern the
it
priests,
learned from the past, and, that in more
parings of the
respect,
by the
supix>rt."
to exalt Neo-Science at the expense of
the old, but I
lessons
lifted aloft
hanging without any visible
fashionable
a
an
air,
when Lucian declared he saw
iron one of
and
a
Magic exhibited of
further development of the Magnetic
old,
4.
or rather
revival,
truth,
and
to the " old paths,"
therein, with as little delay as possible.
Newton said " The Sun is the centre of the
system and is immovable," and on this theoretic
the calculations of Modem Astronomy have been
Sir Isaac
Solar
ba^is,
made.
When
Sir
William Herschel discovered that the
Sun DOES MOVE, as he supposed towards Hercules, and
others followed in his wake, surely in
common
honesty,
our Astronomers were bound to confess that their previous
theory of a stationary Sun was wrong, instead of which
they
still
continued to palm the results of their former
calculations
for
on the public,
any change of opinion.
as
if
there had been no cause
Being a plain
man
I call
such
conduct " deceptive," though, perhaps, the Loyolas of the
day would only consider it to be " smart." Some may
probably imagine that on this point I speak too strongly,
but I think not more so than the occasion demands.
It
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
287
to palaver with error as to soft-soap a
was not with honeyed words that our Lord
rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees, but he boldly exposed
is
as
useless
crocodile.
It
—33.
their hypocrisy
" the
peaceable "
from you
flee
James
"
is
in.
James
Modem Astronomy
absurd
We
Mail, xxiii. 13
wisdom which
from above
17—
iv. 7.
first
are told that
If this
had been done when
introduced,
its
godless and
would never have saturated
theories
with infidelity as they have done
then
pure,
first
the Devil, and he will
" resist
was
is
—
if
had been nipped in the bud when
so'
many
Sacerdotal Ritualism
it
first
appeared, our
now have been shadowed by the upas-tree
Rome.* My dear Reader, for your own sake, as well as
land would not
of
for that of our beloved country,
error
I
and
evil of
be bold and firm against
every kind.
have no hesitation in saying that I believe the real
source of
Modern Astronomy to have been Satan. From
Eve in the Garden of Eden until
his first temptation of
now, his great object has been to throw discredit on the
Truth of
—"Yea,
God
hath
God
eat of every tree of the garden
said that ye shall not
"
Here the Tempter
meanness of God in withholding even one
insinuates the
fruit
?
from man, and, when Eve replied, that they might
eat of every tree except that in the midst of the garden,
which they were not even to touch on the pain of death,
he
at
once gave
not surely die,
God the lie direct by saying
for God doth know that, in
shall eat thereof,
—
"
Ye
shall
the day ye
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and
evil "
Gen.
Hi.
i
—
5.
* For a telling exposure of the evils of Roire and Ritualism, I beg to refer my
Readers to the following excellent work, "A Strong Delusion, a Book for
which may be obtained &om the Author, Mr. Arthur Lee, Dudley,
Worcester.— Post free, «/6.
the Times,"
TERRA FIRMA.
288
that the
corroborate
senses
the
by
Satan,
fact,
teaching, daringly asserts that this fact
Thus again he
the Sun.
is
a
liar,
abounding
seeks to
and many, alas
This
the truth of God.
not true, but
!
matters
it
us believe that
of the chief causes of the
sceptical
this
dear Christian Reader, that
make
trust the lie of Satan before
one
is
in
infidelity
delusive
his
is
and that the world moves round
that our eyes deceive us,
God
4.
when God has so expressly told us in His own
Sun moves round the world, and our own
Just so,
Word
chap, xiv., sec.
Say
age.
not,
to you whether
little
the Sun goes round the world, or the world goes round
the Sun, because the principle
or Satan
is
—^whether God
involved
is
to be believed.
But, while I am, for the reasons already given,
opposed to
Modem
feeling
ill-will
indeed,
of
well
for
all
I
themselves,
the whole world.
Astronomers
our
so
have not the smallest
Astronomers
against
against anyone in
wish
fore
Astronomy,
I
or,
there-
personally,
hoping the best for them in days to come, and trust that
they will forgive any seemingly harsh expressions
have used, kindly remembering that
it
I
may
was not against
themselves, but against their erroneous theories, that
my
remarks have been made.
"
God
of
Each one of us shall
Rom. xiv. 12, and I
my
sincerely
Readers, as well as myself,
have been true and
faithful
leave this book, praying that
our fellow-creatures' good.
account of himself to
give
"
to
it
hope that each one
may be found
Him.
may be
at last to
In His hands
for
His
Amen.
BAINES A SCARSBROOK, PRINTERS, SWISS COTTAQE, N.W.
glory,
I
and
;;lt'.{;4::K^tv5'