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