The Pulpit and Rostrum

The Pulpit And Rostrum by O. M. Mitchell is a periodical collection presenting phonographically reported sermons, orations, and popular lectures. This issue includes the lectures on the Great Unfinished Problems of the Universe delivered by Prof. O. M. Mitchell at the Academy of Music in New York on January 29, 1859, and discusses the burgeoning science of astronomy, including universal gravitation, planetary motion, and the search for a central gravitational body in the stellar universe. Mitchell reflects on the development of astronomical observation—from early transit methods to electro-magnetic timekeeping and telegraphic longitude measurement—and outlines the challenges of determining the motions of the sun and planets, the study of double stars, and the possibility of a central center of gravity in the cosmos. He also recounts the establishment of observatories, the role of science in modern society, and the broader philosophical question of the cosmos and the unknown God. This issue situates science, religion, and public discourse in mid-19th-century America.