As instruments improved, however, the expected motion was observed, and the distances of some stars calculated. They proved to be enormous; the great waste of space does occur. God is not a farmer. This being established, one could approach the general problem of stellar distribution free from certain prepossessions. One’s sense of the reasonable acquired a different orientation, as it were. But it still remains reasonable to suppose that the brighter stars are, on the whole, nearer to us than the fainter stars. This assumption must, however, be employed with caution. If a list be formed of the nearest stars from amongst those whose distances have actually been determined, we reach some rather unexpected results. Knowing the apparent magnitudes of these stars, and their distances, we can calculate their actual luminosity compared with the sun as a standard. The apparent magnitudes range from Sirius, which is considerably brighter than a first-magnitude star, to stars of more than the ninth magnitude, that is, to stars quite invisible to the naked eye. Some of the nearest stars may be fainter yet, for determinations of the distances of stars fainter than magnitude 9.5 are lacking. The actual luminosities of these stars range from forty-eight times that of the sun to four-thousandths that of the sun. The actual distribution of the nearer stars is not at all that which would appear reasonable if we were guided by considerations of apparent brightness. Some of the very brightest stars, such as Canopus, must be at inconceivable distances, and their actual brightness must be thousands of times, perhaps very many thousands of times, that of the sun. Here again our unsophisticated notion of what is reasonable is apt to be more of a hindrance than a help. Excellent as a guide through not too unfamiliar country, it is apt to lead us sadly astray when we advance into completely unknown territory. Nevertheless, it is the only guide we have. III