Year: 1876

The subject of one of Professor Proctor S
lectures in Boston was the probability OF
the existence of life IN other worlds than
! ours, Modern science. he SAID, does not
object, as many suppose, to the idea OF a
scheme in the universe, but to the theory
that that scheme is one which men can un-
derstand. Fortunately, if choice lay be-
| tween two interpretations OF observed
facts, and one seemed to accord well, the


other i'll, with conception entertained re-
| specting the ways of God the former was
! accepted unhesitatingly. even though the
balance OF evidence might be in favor OF
the latter. Thus in astronomy it was as
| sumed that the celestial bodies had been


all created either to support life as the sun
does, or to subserve the wants of living
creatures as the moon does. or like our
own earth, to be actually the abode of
living creatures lie said that in studying
the heavens we have to face Il seeming
mystery OF nature, namey, the apparent
wasteulness Of the plan OF creation. In
illustration OF this he said


"-All the planets together receive less
than the $50 milionth part OF the heat and
light which the sun is constantly emitting


In each second he emit> as much heat as
would result from the burning Of II, 600
millions OF millions of tons OF coal, and OF
all this amazing amount OF energy but one
part in $50 millions falls on the members
OF the suns planetary family What is
true of the sun is doubtless true of his
fellow suns, the stars All the thousand
Of stars we see, all the millions revealed
by the telescope, and millions OF times as
many, which ne telescope yet made by
man can reveal, as suns similarly pouring
heat and light into space, and similarly
wasting. according to OUT conceptions. the
energy which they possess. Inc energy
wasted seems, IN TACT, nearly the whole Of
the lncohceIvabIe amount expended. But
1t Is not necessary to leave the study OF
our earth to find evidences Of seeming
waste. How many seeds are scattered
over the face OF the earth to no visible
purpose, tor each one that grows to per-
lection How many creatures are brought
TO life that perish before they reach matu-
rity, This is true Of man as of other races.
True Of individual men, it is true of ma
tions, of races. Looking back at the past
history Of our earth, we find even more
abundant evidence of seeming waste, un-
til we reach Il time when the whole mass
of the earth appears as a mere waste. For
millions Of years, the whole terrestrial
globe was the scene of processes Of tre-
mendous activity, Yet utterly unfit to be
the abode OF life. 3d. also, ii we look for
ward. In Il period jncomparably exceed
ing in duration the life period Of her his
tory, sac Will circle around the central
sun, bearing only the records and memo-
ries OF former lite, bat to our conceptions
a useless, desert scene. But if we could
see the whole plan instead of the minutest
portion; if we could sean the whole space
instead of the nearest corner; il all time
were before rs, instead OF space, we
might indeed pronounce judgment. But
knowing as we do how little we really
can perceive, with any clearness. we may
admit the truth of all that science teaches
believing still that the scheme of nature
appears Imperfect only because it il seen
but in part