The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-02-15
"Other Worlds Than Ours"

London SPECTATOR
The recent observations made on
the planet Venus during her transit
across the sun appear to confirm the
impression derived from the last
transit, in 1874, that she has an atmos-
phere not less dense than our own,
and aqueous vapor and cloud within
that atmosphere. This conclusion
would have grieved the late Prof.
Whewell, who, in his ingenious essay
to disprove the plurality of inhabited
worlds, took for granted that 1--WE
discern no traces of gaseous or
wat, ry atmosphere surrounding her
(Venus)," and built on this negative
evidence one of his arguments to
prove that In bhe whole universe the
earth is not improbably the only hab-
liable globe. Prof. Whewell did his
best to show that the earth held a
very singular place in what might be
a very unique solar system; that 1T
occupied what he called the temper
ate zone" of its own suns system,
and that there is no particular rea-
son 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 suns system,
Professor Whewell was compelled to
make the most of the intensity of the
light and heav in Mercury and Venus,
and the most, again, of the compare
tive cold of Mars. In point of fact,
however, it is probable tat a very
slight modification of our human or
ganization-even if any structural
modification at all of that organization
were necessary-would enable crea-
lures 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,
caeteris paribus, be colder and darker,
or in Venus, which should, caeteris
paribus, be lighter and hotter than
the earth. We know, to some extent.
the confguration of the continents-h-
Mars, and our astronomers haze 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 reelected light being q
very unfaVorable condition for minute
observation. But the apparently
clear evidence for an atmosphere Of q
good deal of density, and for the pres
ence of cloud and aqueous yapor IN
that atmosphere, disposes completely
or the late Professor Whewell's as
sumption that no creature resembling
man, now has, or could ever have, his
abode there. There seems no reiisOn
now to doubt that in Venus the con
ditioas of physical existence are such
that either there now may be there,
h.n ~ "A in flafI 4IaaI
being whose physical existenCe
might, like that of man and the ahi-
mai 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, the ATMOSPHERIC
conditions are probably not very diff
ferent from our own; the only mate
rial 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 at
mospheric conditions, as they easily
might be, would probably be twice as
intense as terrestrial light and heat.
We insist, on this anology, however,
only for the sake of those who, like
the late DIR. Whewell, made the argii-
ment from analogy so all-imp0rtant,
though i'll relation To question on
which, as it appears TO us, the argu-
ment from analogy has really very
slight bearing indeed. There is no
reason in the weFld why spiritual
beings, much more like to- ~ fAeir
thoughts than it is at all prSzvc that
birds and tortoises are like to us In
their thoughts, should not exist every
wherein the pure ether, in the hot
test 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
a less secure basis for reasoning,
where observation is limited, as IL Is
in this case, to one minute corner OF
the universe, and we shall find no
more reason why we should coniine
the Creators power to working with
in conditions closely resembling our
own than there is why we should as
sumo that he will work at all in
regions where we have no evidence Of
| that work.