Had some one asked, fifty years ago, Is the Sun composed of chemical
elements with which we are familiar? Shall we ever know? the question
would not have been deemed worthy of a second thought. Realizing
what has been accomplished, not only regarding the constitution of
the Sun, but of the most remote stars, we are encouraged to ask: Is
Mars inhabited? Shall we ever know? To what groups of students are
we to appeal for an answer? If we want to know the diameter of Mars,
its weight, the form of its orbit, the inclination of its axis, the
period of its revolution around the Sun, and its rotation period,
its ephemeris and its albedo, we ask the astronomer, for he has the
instruments with which to observe and measure, and the mathematical
knowledge necessary to reduce the measurements. If Mars were
incandescent, we should appeal to the astrophysicist for information
regarding its chemical composition. If, however, we want to know the
probability of Mars being the abode of life, we should appeal to one
who is familiar with the conditions of life upon our own globe. If the
question is asked as to the existence of intelligence on the planet,
we endeavor to trace evidences of its surface markings, and their
character, whether natural or artificial. Knowing how profoundly man
has changed the appearance of the surface features of our own globe in
the removal of vast forests, in the irrigation of enormous tracts of
sterile plain, the filling up of certain areas, like Peking, Tokio,
London, with material having a different reflecting surface, we are to
scan the surface of Mars for similar modifications, and for an answer
ask those who are familiar with physical geography, with meteorology,
with geology, including the character of natural cracks or crannies,
deep cañon, or range of mountains, or any of the great cataclysms which
have scarred the face of the Earth. Taking the great mass of facts
as they are presented to us by astronomers, to what class are we to
appeal as to the probability of life in other worlds? What class will
form the most rational conclusions? Will it be the circle-squarers,
perpetual-motion cranks, spiritualists, survivals of a past who believe
the world is flat, those who have "anthropomorphic conceptions of
the Supreme" and Hebraic conceptions of the origin of things, or will
it be those who value observation and experiment, who appreciate the
importance of large numbers, and who are endowed with a tithe of
imagination? Most certainly the latter class.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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