Genre:

Essay, Drollery, Serial

Subjects:

Astronomy, Cosmology, Comparative Philology, Creation, Electricity

    An account of the origin of the universe explains how such pagan deities as 'Night', 'Day', and 'Nox' created the earth and heavenly bodies. They 'kneaded and rolled' the matter of the universe into balls and thus made the earth and heavenly bodies 'into which they inspired a quantity of electric fluid which set them spinning'. Adds that they made the sun 'out of an enormous carbuncle', the moon out of silver, and some of the stars out of diamonds. Notes that during the creation of the earth 'several subaltern divinities were appointed to various employments in the administration of mundane affairs' such as the oceans, winds and aurorae. (20)