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But it is not only among poets or astrologers that suchnotions prevail. They maintain a remarkable hold upon thepopular mind. Any oracular statement connected with themspreads with marvellous rapidity when once publicity is givento it. And, of late, certain prophets, or seers, seem to havetaken up the theory that, in addition to any results dependentupon their Conjunctions or Oppositions, the passages of thelarger planets, i.e. of Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune ,through their Perihelia, may be expected to have most disastrousand disturbing effects upon the Earth , and may bring aboutplagues and pestilences of the most awful and destructivecharacter. An attempt has also been made to show, from thehistory of plagues, that, on one or two previous occasions, viz.,in the sixth and sixteenth centuries, the effect of a near coin-cidence in the times of their passing through their Periheliahas been actually such.
It has been stated that about every twelve years, whenJupiter thus passes, evil consequences result; and that, once inevery fifty-nine years, when the Perihelion-passages of Jupiter and Saturn nearly coincide in date, they are especially injurious.
We have not now space to discuss this subject at length.W e can only say that, although it is impossible to deny that theapproach of a large planet may iu some way act upon the Sun,or upon the Earth , we have, after considerable search, metwith no sufficient record of any apparent connection betweentimes of pestilence and such near approaches. On the con-trary, if any actual effect takes place, we should think that itmight, by disturbing the Sun and increasing its heat, ratherbless than curse the planets in general. And we shouldexpect that the approach of a planet to the Sun when passing-through its Perihelion might affect that planet itself (whetherfor good or evil) much more than it would, through its influenceupon the Sun, affect any other planet; so that some specialcommotion in the spots, or belts, of such a planet as Jupiter might possibly have some connection with its own Perihelion-passage.
It must, of course, be carefully noticed that the near coinci-dence of the Perihelion-passages of the planets does not mean