Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-20
|Profane Curiosity Rebuked
by Comets Odd Behavior!

In the disappointing of the thou
sands of merely curious ones. who
went to see Halley's comet in much
of the amusement-seeking spirit
that they would be animated by
when going to a circus there may
be rebuke.
I do not assert that such is the
case. OF the working of the Su-
preme Intelligence I know no more
than the least laborer in the field.
and / do not presume to explain
any of His motives.
/. In New York lobster palace com
ct parties" prepared to make merry
over and a jest Of one Of the most
wonderful spectacles Of the heav-
ems. Elsewhere many expected
that the tall of the comet would
be turned on for their special curl
osity, and went to see it much as
If it were some celestial moving
picture show.
These and all those who sought
mere qualification of curiosity
were disappointed.
The heavens cannot be studied
with the same motive that one
watches q circus parade. The won.
ders and the glorfes of celestial
space are not h:ppodrone speta-
Gle provided for amusement. One
must approach them with a clean
heart and a humble mind and in
the right spirit.
Nor is the layman the only one
at fault. Those astror omcrs Of
time and place whose confident
predictions Of q fixed and absolute
hour are really as impertinent as
the gaping OF the curious have also
been rebuked.
We must postulate a Supreme
Being, by whose will all things
exist and have their being. Since
all natural laws that govern the
motion and action of all matter
must emanate from Him, we can
safely assume that the same Being
that has the power to cause COM
ct to move through its orbit has
also the power to suspend for a
time the operation of the laws of
energy under which it moves. We
cannot assume one without the
other unless We are mad! enough
to try to bound by finite under
standing the operations of the In
finite in His creation.
May there not be food for refiec-
ton in the disappointing of the
amusement seekers and the con-
founding Of the wise? "Canst thou
bind Arcturus and his seven sons?"
It would be as easy for Omnipo-
tence to delay, by the operation of
natural laws, the passing Of Hal
leys comet. on which the attention
of the entire world was concen-
trated, as a sort of tremendous OBJ
ject lesson, as il Is for Him to
cause it to move through an APP
pointed orbit
Is 1t not conceivable that in the
search for other things we have
forgotten God, and that this means
may have been adopted to give to
us an example of His power. that
the lesson may sink deeply and be
long remembered of all mankind?
Humanity has progressed far, but
humanity is still finite.
1t has been we'll said that the
undevout astronomer is mad.
There is no record Of astronomy
driving man insane The nightly
contemplation of the wonders CT
the heavens, in addition to WHAT
ever else it may teach, impresses
most deeply in the soul of the con-
scientious observer the one great
fact of all existence-that God is.
that He is absolutely on,nipotent,
that no matter in what manner We
conceive Him, or what name we
call Him by, it is only through Him
and His power that the universe
and all it contains exists.
EDWIN FAIRFAX NAULTY.