Inventions; Science; Technology -- Social aspects; Technology and civilization
Professor Simon Newcomb, one of the most brilliant minds our country
has produced, says: "It is perfectly reasonable to suppose that beings,
not only animated but endowed with reason, inhabit countless worlds
in space." Professor Mitchell of the Cincinnati Observatory, in his
work, "Popular Astronomy," says,--"It is most incredible to assert,
as so many do, that our planet, so small and insignificant in its
proportions when compared with the planets with which it is allied,
is the only world in the whole universe filled with sentient, rational,
and intelligent beings capable of comprehending the grand mysteries
of the physical universe." Camille Flammarion, in referring to the
utter insignificance of the earth in the immensity of space, puts
forward his view thus: "If advancing with the velocity of light we
could traverse from century to century the unlimited number of suns
and spheres without ever meeting any limit to the prodigious immensity
where God brings forth his worlds, and looking behind, knowing not in
what part of the infinite was the little grain of dust called the
earth, we would be compelled to unite our voices with that universal
nature and exclaim--'Almighty God, how senseless were we to believe
that there was nothing beyond the earth and that our abode alone
possessed the privilege of reflecting Thy greatness and honor.'"
The most distinguished astronomers and scientists of a past time, as
well as many of the most famous divines, supported the contention of
world life beyond the earth. Among these may be mentioned Kepler and
Tycho, Giordano Bruno and Cardinal Cusa, Sir William and Sir John
Herschel, Dr. Bentley and Dr. Chalmers, and even Newton himself
subscribed in great measure to the belief that the planets and stars
are inhabited by intelligent beings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account