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Article ON THE SUPPOSED INFLUENCE OE COMETS. Page 1 of 5 →
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On The Supposed Influence Oe Comets.
ON THE SUPPOSED INFLUENCE OE COMETS .
EY FEJlN"CIS HEKKY BAKEE . The appearance of comets , has , in conformity with the general popular tendency to connect terrestrial events with celestial phenomena , been in all ages attended with alarm and apprehension , and nearly all the great calamities and . memorable occurrences recorded
in history have been ascribed to their influence . This is not to be wondered at when we consider the sudden , and until very recently , always unexpected manner in which they burst on the sight , the short duration of their appearance , and the apparent irregularity of their visits , and that until lately nothing was known respecting their constitution and the laws by which they are governed .
It need scarcely be said that these apprehensions are utterly groundless . Considering the great number of comets which have appeared within the memory of man , and the greater number of important events which have happened during the same period , it is in general not difficult to find some calamity , the birth or death of some hero , or the rise or fall of an empire , which has occurred a short time after the appearance of each comet .
The comet which happened in the year 1665 was supposed to have been the cause of the great plague of London , while that of 1746 was believed to have occasioned the earthquakes of Lima and Callao . A comet appeared immediately before the march of Napoleon into Russia , and was supposed to foretell the disastrous consequences of
that expedition . The advocates of cometary influence are not always , however , quite so fortunate in finding such great events to succeed some of the most important comets . Thus the comet of 1668 is said to have produced a remarkable epidemic among the cats of Westphalia The same comet reappeared in 1843 , but we have not heard of any recurrence of the feline malady .
The comet of 1680 was one of the largest and most imp ortant that has appeared in modern times , yet no effects could be attributed to it until some learned philosopher discovered that it was succeeded by a cold winter followed by a warm and dry summer and some remarkable meteors seen in Germany !
A comet appeared in the year 590 , to the influence of which waa attributed a plague , in which the sufferers were seized with violent paroxysms of sneezing , often followed by death , and hence arose the custom , still preserved , of addressing the sneezer in the words , God bless you . "
It will be seen that all these effects were merely local , and since tho comets appeared in all parts of the world , there is no possible reason why London , Westphalia , or Germany should alone have been affected ; while all the rest of the world remained free from their influence . 3 T 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Supposed Influence Oe Comets.
ON THE SUPPOSED INFLUENCE OE COMETS .
EY FEJlN"CIS HEKKY BAKEE . The appearance of comets , has , in conformity with the general popular tendency to connect terrestrial events with celestial phenomena , been in all ages attended with alarm and apprehension , and nearly all the great calamities and . memorable occurrences recorded
in history have been ascribed to their influence . This is not to be wondered at when we consider the sudden , and until very recently , always unexpected manner in which they burst on the sight , the short duration of their appearance , and the apparent irregularity of their visits , and that until lately nothing was known respecting their constitution and the laws by which they are governed .
It need scarcely be said that these apprehensions are utterly groundless . Considering the great number of comets which have appeared within the memory of man , and the greater number of important events which have happened during the same period , it is in general not difficult to find some calamity , the birth or death of some hero , or the rise or fall of an empire , which has occurred a short time after the appearance of each comet .
The comet which happened in the year 1665 was supposed to have been the cause of the great plague of London , while that of 1746 was believed to have occasioned the earthquakes of Lima and Callao . A comet appeared immediately before the march of Napoleon into Russia , and was supposed to foretell the disastrous consequences of
that expedition . The advocates of cometary influence are not always , however , quite so fortunate in finding such great events to succeed some of the most important comets . Thus the comet of 1668 is said to have produced a remarkable epidemic among the cats of Westphalia The same comet reappeared in 1843 , but we have not heard of any recurrence of the feline malady .
The comet of 1680 was one of the largest and most imp ortant that has appeared in modern times , yet no effects could be attributed to it until some learned philosopher discovered that it was succeeded by a cold winter followed by a warm and dry summer and some remarkable meteors seen in Germany !
A comet appeared in the year 590 , to the influence of which waa attributed a plague , in which the sufferers were seized with violent paroxysms of sneezing , often followed by death , and hence arose the custom , still preserved , of addressing the sneezer in the words , God bless you . "
It will be seen that all these effects were merely local , and since tho comets appeared in all parts of the world , there is no possible reason why London , Westphalia , or Germany should alone have been affected ; while all the rest of the world remained free from their influence . 3 T 2