The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-04-12
SCIENTIFIC.

Other Notwithstanding the universe
OF suns and worlds in the AM here
suggested, we would adopt a theory of
other worlds which would hold a posi-
ton intermediate between the Brew
steTian and Whewellite theories. (lt
is not on this account that ! advocate
il, let me remark in passing, but simply
because il aecOrds with the evidence,
which is not the case with Others.) Re-
iecting on the one hand the theory OF
the plurality of worlds in the sense i'm
plying that all existent worlds are in
habited, and on the other hand thetheOry
of but one world, we should accept a
theory which might be entitled the
Paucity of Worlds, only that relative
not absolute paucity must be under
stood. Ii is absolutely certain that this
theory is the correct one, if we admit
two postulates, neither of which can be
reasonably questiOned-viZ., first that
the fe-bearing era of any world is
short compared with the entire dura-
ton of that world; and secondly, that
there can have been no cause which set
all the worlds in existence, not stimuli
taneously, which would be amazing
enough, but (Which would be infinitely
more surprisingly in such a way that
after passing each through its time of
preparation, longer for the large worlds
and shorter for the small worlds, they
all reached at the same time the life
bearing era. But quite apart from this
~antecedent probability, amounting as
il does TO absolute certainly if these
two highly probable %pOstulates are ad-
mitted, we have the actual evidence of
the plants we can examine that evil
dence proving incontestibly, as | have
shown elsewhere, that such planets as
Jupiter and Saturn are still in the state
of preparation, still so intensely hot
that no form of life could possibly exist
upon them, and that such bodies as our
moon have long since passed the life
bearing stage, and are to all intents and
purposes defunct. But may we not go
furtherf Recognizing in our own
world, in many instances, what TO our
ideas resembles waste-waste seeds,
waste lives, waste races, waste regions,
waste fOrces-Tecognizing superhuity
and suberabundance in all the pro-
cesses and in all the works OF nature,
should it not appear at least possible
that some, perhaps a large proportion,
of the worlds in the multitudiuOus sys-
tenn peopling space are not only not
now supporting life, but never have
supported life and never Wilt Does
this idea differ in kind, however large
ly to our feeble conceptions 1t may
seem to differ in degree, from the idea
of the imagined creatures on a fruit
that some or even many fruits excel
lently fitted for the support of life
might not subserve that purposeY And
as those creatures might conceive (as
we know that some fruits, even many,
failed to come to the full perfection of
fruit life, may not we without irrever-
ence conceive Gas higher beings than
ourselves may know that a planet or a
sun may fail in the makingP We can
not say that in such a case there would
be a waste or a loss of material, though
we may be unable to conceive how the
lost sur or planet could be utilized.
Our imagined insect reasoner would be
unable to imagine that fruits plucked
from their tree system would be other
wise than wasted, for they would con-
ceive that their idea of the purpose of
fruits was the only true one; yet they
would be altogether mistaken, as we
maybe in suppOssing the main purpose
of planetary existence is the support of
life.