National Republican., 1883-02-28
Other Worlds Than Ours.

The recent observations made on the planet
Venus during her transit across the sun ap-
pear TO confirm the impression derived from
the last transit, in 1874, that she has an at
mosphere not less dense than our own, and
aqueous vapor and cloud within that atmos-
phere. This conclusion would have grieved
the late Prof. Whewell, who, in his ingenious
essay to disprove the plurality of in
habitcd worlds, took for granted that we
discern no traces Of gaseous or watery at
mosphere surrounding her (Venus)," and
built on this negative evidence one of his ar
gum ents to prove that in the whole universe
the earth is not improbably the only habita-
BILE globe. Prof. Whewell did his best to show
that the earth held very singular place in
W hat might be very unique solar system !;
that 1t occupied what he called "the tenn
perate zone" Of its own SUMS system, and
that there is no particular reason to suppose
that any other sun has planetary attendants
at all. In order TO make out the singular
position Of the earth in its own SUMS
system, Professor Whewell was compelled
to make the most Of the intensity of the light
and heat In Mercury and Venus, and the
most, again, of the comparative cold of Mars.
In point of fact, however, it is probable that
q very slight modification of our human or
ganization-even If any structural modifoa-
tion at all of that organization were neces-
sary-would enable creatures of the same
general structure and habits as man to live
with ease in either of the planets nearest to
the earth, in either Mars, which should, cdeteris
pdribus, be colder and darker, or in Venus,
which should, caeteriS paribas, be lighter
and hotter than the earth. We know, to
some extent, the conhguration of the conti-
nents in Mars, and our astronomers have at
times watched the area of the polar SHOWS of
that planet increasing with the approach of
winter, and dwindling with the approach Of
summer. OF Venus we know much less, the
intense brightness of her reflected light being
o very unfavorable condition for minute OBJ
servation. But the apparently clear evidence
for an atmosphere of u good deal Of density,
and for the presence of cloud and aqueous
vap0r in that atmosphere, dispOses completely
of the late Prof. Whewells assump-
tion that no creature resembling man
now has or could ever have his
abode there. There now seems no reason to
doubt that in Venus the conditions of phys-
cal existence arc such that either there
now may be there, or may have been, or may
be in future, being whose physical exist
ence might like that of man and the animal
natures nearest to man, exist under something
closely approaching to those of terrestrial
life. The length of the day, in Venus
Is nearly the same, the weight of any
given mass is nearly the same, tho
atmospheric conditions are probably not very
different from our own; the only material
differences being probably the length Of the
year, which is not very much above the half
of Cursor, say, about seven months instead
of twelve-and the amount Of light and heat,
which, unless mitigated by special atmos-
pheric conditions, as they easily might bc,
would probably be twice as intense US terres-
trial light and heat.
We insist on this analogy however, only
for the sake of those who like the late DR..
Whewell, made the argument from analogy
so all important, though in relation to ques-
tion on which, as 1t appears to us the argu-
ment from analogy has really very slight
bearing indeed There is no reason in the
world why spiritual beings, much moro like
to us in their thoughts than it is
at all probable that birds and tortoises are
like to us in their thoughts, should not exist
everywhere-in the pure ether, in the hottest
flames of the sun, in the dimness of the darkest
recesses of space, in the heat of the volcano,
or in the depth Of the ocean. Ignore the
reasoning from analogy, and we can hardly
have q less secure basis for reasoning where
observation is limited as it is in this case to
one minute corner Of the universe, and we
shall find no more reason why we should con-
fine the Creators power TO working within
conditions closely resembling our own than
there is why we should assume that He will
work at all in regions where we have no evil
dence of that work.