Eureka: A Prose Poem — Edgar A. Poe, 1848 — reading text

probable ; that all the comets of the system will be absorbed, is more than merely possible \ but, in such case, the principle of absorption must be re ferred to eccentricity of orbit — to the close approximation to the Sun, of the comets at their perihelia ; and is a prin ciple not affecting, in any degree, the ponderous spheres, which are to be regarded as the true material constituents of the Universe. — Touching comets, in general, let me here suggest, in passing, that we cannot be far wrong in looking upon them as the lightning-flashes of the cosmical Heaven, The idea of a retarding ether and, through it, of a final agglomeration of all things, seemed at one time, however, to* be confirmed by the observation of a positive decrease in the orbit of the solid moon. By reference to eclipses recorded 2500 years ago, it was found that the velocity of the satellite's revolution then was considerably less than it is now ; that on the hypothesis that its motions in its orbit is uniformly in accordance with Kepler's law, and was ac curately determined then — 2500 years ago — it is now in THE UNIVERSE. 133 advance of the position it should occupy, by nearly 9000 miles. The increase of velocity proved, of course, a diminu tion of orbit ; and astronomers were fast yielding to a be lief in an ether, as the sole mode of accounting for the phae- nomenon, when Lagrange came to the rescue. He showed that, owing to the configurations of the spheroids, the short er axes of their ellipses are subject to variation in length ; the longer axes being permanent ; and that this variation is continuous and vibratory — so that every orbit is in a state of transition, either from circle to ellipse, or from el lipse to circle. In the case of the moon, where the shorter axis is decreasing, the orbit is passing from circle to ellipse and, consequently, is decreasing too ; but, after a long series of ages, the ultimate eccentricity will be attained ; then the shorter axis will proceed to increase, until the orbit be comes a circle ; when the process of shortening will again take place ; — and so on forever. In the case of the Earth, the orbit is passing from ellipse to circle. The facts thus demonstrated do away, of course, with all necessity for sup posing an ether, and with all apprehension of the system's instability — on the ether's acount. It will be remembered that I have myself assumed what we may term an ether. I have spoken of a subtle influence which we know to be ever in attendance upon matter, although becoming manifest only through matter's hetero geneity. To this influence — without daring to touch it at all in any effort at explaining its awful nature — I have re ferred the various phenomena of electricity, heat, light, mag netism ; and more — of vitality, consciousness, and thought — in a word, of spirituality. It will be seen, at once, then, 134 EUREKA. that the ether thus conceived is radically distinct from the ether of the astronomers ; inasmuch as theirs is matter and mine not. With the idea of a material ether, seems, thus, to have departed altogether the thought of that universal agglom eration so long predetermined by the poetical fancy of mankind : — an agglomeration in which a sound Philosophy might have been warranted in putting faith, at least to a certain extent, if for no other reason than that by this poetical fancy it had been so predetermined. But so far as Astronomy — so far as mere Physics have yet spoken, the cycles of the Universe are perpetual — the Universe has no conceivable end. Had an end been demonstrated, how ever, from so purely collateral a cause as an ether, Man's instinct of the Divine capacity to adapt, would have rebell ed against the demonstration. We should have been forced to regard the Universe with some such sense of dissatisfac tion as we experience in contemplating an unnecessarily complex work of human art. Creation would have affect ed us as an imperfect plot in a romance, where the denou- ment is awkwardly brought about by interposed incidents external and foreign to the main subject ; instead of spring ing out of the bosom of the thesis — out of the heart of the ruling idea — instead of arising as a result of the primary proposition — as inseparable and inevitable part and parcel of the fundamental conception of the book. What I mean by the symmetry of mere surface will now be more clearly understood. It is simply by the blan dishment of this symmetry that we have been beguiled into the general idea of which Madler's hypothesis is but a part THE UNIVERSE. 135 — the idea of the vorticial indrawing of the orbs. Dismiss ing this nakedly physical conception, the symmetry of prin ciple sees the end of all things metaphysically involved in the thought of a beginning ; seeks and finds in this origin of all things the rudiment of this end ; and perceives the impiety of supposing this end likely to be brought about less simply — less directly — less obviously — less artistically — than through the reaction of the originating Act. Recurring, then, to a previous suggestion, let us under stand the systems — let us understand each star, with its attendant planets — as but a Titanic atom existing in space with precisely the same inclination for Unity which char acterized, in the beginning, the actual atoms after their irra diation throughout the Universal sphere. As these original atoms rushed towards each other in generally straight lines, so let us conceive as at least generally rectilinear, the paths of the system-atoms towards their respective centres of aggregation : — and in this direct drav/ing together of the systems into clusters, with a similar and simultaneous drawing together of the clusters themselves while under going consolidation, we have at ler/gth attained the great Now — the awful Present — the Existing Condition of the Universe. Of the still more awful Future a not irrational analogy may guide us in framing an hypothesis. The equilibrium between the centripetal and centrifugal forces of each sys tem, being necessarily destroyed upon attainment of a cer tain proximity to the nucleus of the cluster to which it belongs, there must occur, at once, a chaotic or seemingly chaotic precipitation, of the moons upon the planets, of the 136 EUREKA. planets upon the suns, and of the suns upon the nuclei ; and the general result of this precipitation must be the gathering of the myriad now-existing stars of the firma ment into an almost infinitely less number of almost infi nitely superior spheres. In being immeasurably fewer, the worlds of that day will be immeasurably greater than our own. Then, indeed, amid unfathomable abysses, will be glaring unimaginable suns. But all this will be merely a climacic magnificence foreboding the great End. Of this End the new genesis described, can be but a very par tial postponement. While undergoing consolidation, the clusters themselves, with a speed prodigiously accumula tive, have been rushing towards their own general centre — and now, with a thousand-fold electric velocity, commen surate only with their material grandeur and with the spir itual passion of their appetite for oneness, the majestic remnants of the tribe of Stars flash, at length, into a com mon embrace. The inevitable catastrophe is at hand. But this catastrophe — what is it ? We have seen ac complished the ingathering of the orbs. Henceforward, are we not to understand one material globe of globes as constituting and comprehending the Universe? Such a fancy would be altogether at war with every assumption and consideration of this Discourse. I have already alluded to that absolute reciprocity of adaptation which is the idiosyncrasy of the divine Art — stamping it divine. Up to this point of our reflections, we have been regarding the electrical influence as a something by dint of whose repulsion alone Matter is enabled to exist in that state of diffusion demanded for the fulfilment of THE UNIVERSE. . 137 its purposes : — so far, in a word, we have been considering the influence in question as ordained for Matter's sake — to subserve the objects of matter. With a perfectly legiti mate reciprocity, we are now permitted to look at Matter, as created solely for the sake of this influence — solely to serve the objects of this spiritual Ether. Through the aid — by the means — through the agency of Matter, and by dint of its heterogeneity — is this Ether manifested — is Spirit individualized. It is merely in the development of this Ether, through heterogeneity, that particular masses of Matter become animate — sensitive — and in the ratio of their heterogeneity ; — some reaching a degree of sensitive ness involving what we call Thought and thus attaining Conscious Intelligence. In this view, we are enabled to perceive Matter as a Means — not as an End. Its purposes are thus seen to have been comprehended in its diffusion ; and with the return into Unity these purposes cease. The absolutely consoli dated globe of globes would be objectless : — therefore not for a moment could it continue to exist. Matter, created for an end, would unquestionably, on fulfilment of that end, be Matter no longer. Let us endeavor to understand that it would disappear, and that God would remain all in all. That every work of Divine conception must coexist and coexpire with its particular design, seems to me espe cially obvious ; and I make no doubt that, on perceiving the final globe of globes to be objectless, the majority of my readers will be satisfied with my " therefore it cannot con tinue to exist." Nevertheless, as the startling thought of its instantaneous disappearance is one which the most power- 138 EUREKA. ful intellect cannot be expected readily to entertain on grounds so decidedly abstract, let us endeavor to look at the idea from some other and more ordinary point of view : — let us see how thoroughly and beautifully it is corrobo rated in an a posteriori consideration of Matter as we ac tually find it. I have before said that " Attraction and Repulsion being undeniably the sole properties by which Matter is mani fested to Mind, we are justified in assuming that Matter exists only as Attraction and Repulsion — in other words that Attraction and