A systematic presentation of the premises the paper considered necessary for Koreshan Universology and its account of the universe.
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Professor Totten, the Famous Chronologist, Attacks the Koreshan System, and is Answered by the Founder of Koreshanity.
A man (if not a rodent) writing under the signature "Rats"—C. A. L. T., in an article published in the Our Race News-Leaflet, attempts to bombard the impregnable fortifications of Koreshan Universology with the harmless ordnance of assumption. He says:
Up to about 1895, a Prof. Morrow, of Allegheny, Pa., was editing a monthly in which he advocated what he called the cosmo-enspheric astronomy, to wit: "that the earth is a circular plane, the orbits of the sun, moon, and stars being circumpolar, and the universe enspherical." That is, we live upon a flat equatorial disc, and in or under a firmament which encanopies us like a hemisphere. A year later, we find this very same theorist equally positive upon diametrically opposed premises, as we shall see further on.
Prof. Morrow, through experiments of one "Parallax," came to the conclusion that the earth is not, nor could it be, convex, and accepted the conclusion that if not convex, it must be flat. He had the same right to assume it to be flat, that the modern astronomer had to assume it to be convex,—for one assumption is as liable to be true as another,—but being desirous of the truth regardless of its source, and not being bound by preconceived opinions, he was easily led to compare a system of logic claiming to be founded upon a demonstrated premise, with the protean compound called the Copernican astronomy, which its advocates know and confess to be established upon a primary assumption.
But perhaps the most original and curious conception is that of Dr. Cyrus R. Teed,—the Chicago Sage,—who defines his ideas thus:
"The earth is a stationary concave cell, about 8000 miles in diameter, with peoples, sun, moon, planets, and stars on the inside; the whole constituting the only physical universe in existence."
Ah! here is one wiser than Daniel himself, and speaks a la carte—a la "Koresh"—(Cyrus). He has no end of explanations to divulge upon this fundamental hypothesis, which we must at present omit; but it strikes us to ask, anent this primary definition, how he "knows" that this cell is the "only" one in existence, seeing that we are said to be in it, and no one has explored the space beyond.
There are two or three points in "Rats'" attempt to divert the mind from the Koreshan premise, to which we will call special attention. How does the modern astronomer know that the universe is illimitable, "seeing that no one has explored the space beyond"? Yet he makes the statement regarding an assumed property of existence, that it is illimitable, because his little "finite" mind does not know, and cannot comprehend the laws of form. He is as dogmatic in his statement, that the universe has no limit, as the Koreshan is that the world is a cell, and is limited. Some most remarkable feats of contortion are exhibited by the contortionists,—who are worried over the Koreshan System of Cellular Cosmogony,—in their endeavor to attract the attention of interested investigators from our demonstrated and simple premise. We know that there is no substance, nor space even, beyond the cell in which we live, just as we first knew that the universe is cellular. Prof. "R" continues:
Take moreover, the Koreshan admission that the universe is "about eight thousand miles in diameter"; now, how does "Koresh" know this? Why, of course he borrowed it from standard astronomy. Its dimensions have been successfully obtained a thousand times by the rules of geodesy, a mere extension of our method of measuring a ten-acre lot or the height of a monument. These dimensions, perforce, he accepts as to the 8,000 mile diameter of the terra firma that is beneath our feet, but he rejects the application of these very same rules upwards, whereby similar triangulation from these identical base lines has demonstrated that the sun is about 92½ million miles away, and that just because of this distance, its diameter must be about one hundred times as large as that of the earth.
We have never pretended to deny that a correct application of the principles of geometric trigonometry, in a system of mensuration called triangulation, will determine the size of areas and amount of curvation; but we do absolutely deny that any man can determine the direction of the curve of the earth's surface by this method. "Rats" knows this to be a fact, else he is an ignoramus; and we do not regard him as quite that.
Take for instance, a part of a spherical shell, convex on the outside and concave on the inside. Locate a polar point, then toward that point determine convergent lines as meridians, on both the outer and inner surfaces, and apply triangulate mensuration. The results on both surfaces will be identical; the triangulation will determine the amount, but not the direction of the curves of either surface. Two men of different heights cannot run exactly the same aerial line, hence the amount of curvation has never been exactly determined by geodesists. The nearest to an exact measurement that has ever been made, was accomplished by the Koreshan Geodetic Staff, under the management of Professor Morrow, in his various mechanical Geodetic surveys and experiments.
A line drawn at right angles from a perpendicular post, will extend into the water or earth's surface at a distance proportionate to the height of the perpendicular, at a curve of eight inches to the mile. This fact is not "borrowed," but determined mechanically by exact measurements, as above described; the mechanical application showing the earth to curvate upward that amount. Let the reader notice the effect "of these very same rules upward."
The "Copernican" astronomer assumes that the earth is convex. This assumption is made upon the basis of a rejection of the positive principles of optics, from appearances which the astronomer accepts as facts. Assuming that the "base line" is convex, lines into space are assumed to be divergent from this convex surface, and all astronomical calculations are predicated upon this primary assumption, which every astronomer knows and confesses to be merely an assumption—a premise without any corroboration except appearances and mathematical deductions logically following the initial guess.
Let the investigator of Koreshan Universology examine some mathematical points, on the basis of appearances versus facts. A balloon sixty feet in diameter, at the distance of seven miles, will appear to be one foot, or about that, in diameter; and twice 7 are 14,—the number of miles diameter of a circle described from the point of vision at the distance of the balloon. The circumference of such a circle is 44 miles. A balloon at the distance of seven miles, seen as an object apparently one foot in diameter, is one sixtieth part of the space the object actually occupies. Every other part of space in the same circle is subject to the same law of perspective diminution or foreshortening; therefore, the circle of about 44 miles in circumference is contracted to the dimension of about three fourths of a mile. The space on the surface of the earth, seen from an altitude which enables the vision to observe the horizon at the distance of seven miles all the way around, contracts the distance of a circumference of 44 miles, to the apparent contraction of one sixtieth of that distance. This is a consideration of facts regarding distal foreshortening, which the puckering strings of Rodentius have never embraced as a factor in the globular illusion of the earth's surface.
Now, if we take into consideration a geodetic radius from the point of vision, that is, a straight line drawn on the surface of the earth from the point of observation to the circumference, the distance of seven miles, the first mile will appear to be about six or seven times longer than the second mile, and the third mile about fifteen times shorter than the second. At this ratio of perspective foreshortening, the seventh mile—extending from the direction of the point of observation—has no apparent length. This optical illusion gives the appearance of vanishing, hence the globular appearance of the earth.
We hardly expect to open the eyes of the blind guides of so called astronomical science, especially in the face of the fact that so much of an authority as Professor Harkness, of the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, D. C., in reply to the inquiry made by the writer of this article in a personal interview: "Would you look through a telescope, over a large body of water,—had you the opportunity without trouble,—to observe the possibility of bringing a ship into view after it had disappeared over the apparent horizon?" "No Sir!" was the emphatic answer. This was after we had his admission, that if a ship could be thus brought into the scope of vision by a magnifying power, after it had disappeared from view with the naked eye, it would prove conclusively that the surface of the earth is not convex.
Prof. "Rats" further states:
But if we grant Mr. Teed his fundamental idea—that we do live on the inside of a metallic egg-shell—it at once involves us in a host of brand new confusions, from which there is no other extrication than the creation and acceptance of a corresponding host of other dogmatic definitions and ex parte explanations, such as those he offers and his followers accept, and which stand upon no other basis than his own ipse dixit and vocabulary.
To which we have this to offer: The ipse dixit of a scientific exposition logically drawn from a demonstrated premise, is a much safer foundation than the dogmatic enunciation of an astronomical system predicated upon what the founder of the Copernican astronomy confessed to be an assumption, and without any proof, and is in fulfilment of the prediction: "That, frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish." This refers to the personality of the prophecy of Isaiah xliv:28. "Rats," further admits that:
Nevertheless, there are already thousands (although they do not understand a solitary principle of the two great world contended systems of astronomy, nor why the standard Newtonian system is victorious over the Ptolemaic) who do accept the Koreshan scheme, and descant upon its superiority over all opposing systems.
Again, "Rats" postulates the assertion that the followers of the Koreshan Astronomy are a set of ignoramuses, who "do not understand a solitary principle of the two great world contended systems of astronomy." There isn't anything conceited about "Rats."
However, [he or it says] it will not surprise the scientific world to learn that at Naples Bay, Florida, [on the Gulf of Mexico.—KORESH.] under the direction of KORESH (who, by the way, claims to be that "Cyrus" referred to in Isaiah) an actual survey has been run, which we are assured is destined to establish the Koreshan geographical premises, to revolutionize astronomy itself, and even to overturn all previous thought as to the figure of the earth.
This, according to "Rats'" own declaration in the same article, has never yet been determined, for he says:
But in order to obtain its actual shape [the shape of the earth], that is, to determine which of the figures fits the case exactly, a perfectly triangulated east and west survey such as this was necessary [referring to a government survey which has been progressing for a number of years.—KORESH]. When the calculations now in process at Washington shall have been completed (and it is expected that the solution will soon be realized), and not until they are published, shall we be able to supply that truly vertical line, to the long sought absolute zenith, which is so necessary to exact astronomical work. * But these operations in Florida were rushed in a most unbecoming manner, the instrument is understood to have been strained [a lie of our enemies—KORESH] before the work was completed.
The above observations were made by "Rats," at a distance of about fifteen hundred miles. His accuracy need not surprise us, however, when we recognize the fact that his visual perspective is accommodated to the distance of trillions of miles into space. He narrows us down—in our experiments—to a few days or weeks; while the fact is, we have been engaged in this work constantly for thirty years,—not to prove to ourselves its truth, for that we determined thirty years ago. In a foot note, we find the following:
We quote the following from October FLAMING SWORD, under Editorial Discussions, by Cyrus. [He means Professor Morrow.—KORESH.]
"Koresh proclaims himself to be the Messiah of this dispensation, the precursor of the coming sons of God. The Messianic manifestation of the present time is both the Messiah and the Sign of the Son of man, the Elijah who comes before the second coming of Jesus in the 144,000 sons of God. The word Christ means anointed; it is not a name, but a title. The church does not know this, and uses the word as a name! The name of the Messiah at the beginning of the age was Jesus; the literal translation of Ιησους Χριστος, is Jesus the Anointed, or the Anointed Savior. The name of the Founder of Koreshanity is KORESH; it is the Hebrew for Cyrus; and Cyrus is his legitimate, first name, by which he has been called since 1839, and is the name prophesied that he should possess when manifest to the world. Isa. xliv: 28; xlv: 1-3."—"Rats!" C. A. L. T.
We most emphatically reiterate, that there is not a report in existence of any geodetic survey—outside of the one made by the Geodetic Staff of the Koreshan Unity—that was ever made, to determine whether the earth is concave, flat, or convex. If Professor Rodent denies the possibility of extending a mechanical straight line from a perpendicular point, and at right angles to that point, he places himself in an unenviable attitude in relation to mechanics and mechanical engineering, and will have a hard battle to fight on the other flank.
Our line was extended by an absolutely perfect instrument. If the earth convexes eight inches to the mile, at the distance of one mile, the extended right-angle line would be eight inches farther from the convex earth than at the starting point. This would furnish superabundant leeway for a deviation of the instrument from perfection. The fact is, at the end of one mile the surface of the earth was eight inches nearer the line extended at right angles from the perpendicular post. If the earth were convex, at the distance of two miles the rectiline would be just thirty-two inches farther from the convex surface. The fact is just the opposite;—the line was thirty-two inches nearer the concave surface, making a difference of sixty-four inches between the assumption and the fact. At the distance of three miles, the line would have been six feet farther from the surface if the earth were convex; the fact is, the line was six feet nearer, making a difference of twelve feet between the assumption and the fact.
We have not only made these experiments corroborative of the corresponding optical experiments, which tally exactly, but we can make them ten thousand times with the same results. When the astronomical cowards are forced, by public opinion, to make experiments along the same lines and upon the same principles, they will reach the same conclusions. We are not afraid of, but rather court the trial and its consequences. If "Rats" imagines for one moment that we are through with the demonstrations of these principles, he is greatly mistaken. We may be obliged to repeat them a thousand times, before millions of people, before the world at large will accept our statements; but we are sure of one thing; namely, that as many as we do induce to examine the experiment, so many will acknowledge the facts. It resolves itself to the mere fact of observation—if our statement of facts is not enough to convince. There are doubting Thomases; some must see the experiment to be convinced, but thousands will accept our positive statements as true, especially when we have nothing to gain by publishing what is not true. Prof. "Rats" had best continue his chronological reckoning, and if possible tell us when the Turks will evacuate the tough old Jerusalem, inasmuch as his predictions of last Spring did not "pan out."
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The Flaming Sword · Vol. 13, No. 52 · 17 Nov 1899 · PDF pp. 3-5
