The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1875-09-24

meQJ II CudDCo ulU ail GQlSy WudL
may it not do? Why should not yon
snow-capped mountain rise from its
solid base, and go wandering through
the air? What holds it to the earth 4?
It is but an atom when compared with
those bodies which are suspended in
ethereal space. Can not a creative
power be seen in all these things? p?
What power directs the wandering
comet in it's eccentric flight? Why
should it not collide with other bodies,
if it is not governed by Omnipotent
power? Is not some "great first cause"
plainly manifest in everything we see ?
Whether we take the animal, vegetable,
or mineral kingdom; whether we view
His greatness in giving US those facul-
ties by which we attain knowledge, or
whether with those faculties we view
the insect communities which throng
the quivering leaf, or scan the vast ex-
tent of territory, where the mind regales
itself upon objects of greater magnitude,
all, all tell us that there is Being who
rules supreme.
Then, if everything has been created
for an all-wise purpose, and that pur-
pose is manifest in the works of Gre
ator, we are at liberty to use our facul-
ties in the solution of His problems, and
reason upon His works; and having
made ourselves somewhat familiar with
the nature of those distant worlds, by
the use of the science of astronomy and
the telescope, the rules and laws which
govern them, and their likeness to the
world which we inhabit, is it not natu-
raj for US to conclude that they are in
habited? If we cannot SO conclude,
then for what purpose have they been
placed there? Not for US, surely. Can
we believe that those countless globes
were set in ethereal space for our use
alone? Was it necessary for a Creator,
in order to make and people one small
world like this, Insignificant when
compared to others which surround
US, that he would be compelled tt
create millions besides, to set about
in the midst of space, to hold, az
some would argue, by their attractive
power this world in its place. Can WE
with Justice to a Deity suppose that out
of the innumerable worlds that exist
around US, none save this, smaller
world of a smaller system, should be es
pecially chosen as the abode of man
Does it not strike the mind with fore
that beyond this system of ours othe
systems successively arise, presenting
similar prints of creative power? Sup
! pose, for instance, that we should us
this earth as an observatory of crea
tion, and take a broad survey of the un
numbered worlds in the amplitude c
space; and then, gazing with steady ey
into the outstretched scope of immensi
ty, where we behold distant suns, myT
lads in number, round which counties
worlds revolve can we attribute t
each of them less Importance in tn
grand masterwork than we do to ou
: own?
Now, returning to our system, W
will select therefrom Jupiter. Some as
tronomers of late have advanced tn
opinion that he is planet in course {
) maturing progress; that is, he has nc
yet reached a sufficient stage of develop
ment to be capable of sustaining inhat
! itants, his growth being incomplet,
There are various reasons for the opir
> ion, some of which are, first, his densit
is not nearly so great as ours, bein
4 about the weight of the same bulk
i water; second, the land and water O
u his surface appear to be differently a
= ranged, in smaller bodies than on OF
- earth; and third, his clouds are diffe
emily distributed, being formed I'M
u belts which float round him in certai
u fixed places, at certain times, and SCI
{ eral other reasons which, perhaps, ma
be conclusive to some. For my part
II would rather incline to a different tn
|" ory, the one that he is perfectly mi
. tured world, and has been for ages, al
/ though differing from our earth in son
g unessential particulars, is capable
sustaining and does sustain a numerol
u population of sentient beings, probab
& more advanced than we are, and el
u dowed with all the attributes that v
q are. Still would not set up my oW
u opinion in opposition to any of them.
u offer it here only for what it may
Is worth, as musings.
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