In submitting this question to analysis, Laplace found that the
_equilibrium of the ocean is stable if its density is less than
the mean density of the earth_, and that its equilibrium cannot be
subverted unless these two densities are equal, or that of the earth
less than that of its waters. The experiments on the attraction of
Schehallien and Mont Cenis, and those made by Cavendish, Reich, and
Baily, with balls of lead, demonstrate that the mean density of the
earth is at least _five_ times that of water, and hence the stability
of the ocean is placed beyond a doubt. As the seas, therefore, have at
one time covered continents which are now raised above their level,
we must seek for some other cause of it than any want of stability in
the equilibrium of the ocean. How beautifully does this conclusion
illustrate the language of Scripture, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no
further”! (_Job_ xxxviii. 11.)