Astronomy and the Bible;

THEGOSPELOFDESPAIR 179

thatall weknow, even from science itself, depends
on ourvery limitedsensations, our verylimited ex-
perience,andourstillmorelimitedpowerofconceiv-
inganythingforwhichthis experience hasnotpre-
paredus?
"Ihave read somewhere a story about a race of
ephemeral insectswhichlivebutanhour. Tothose
thatarebornintheearlymorning,thesunriseisthe
time ofyouth. Theydieofoldagewhileitsbeams
areyetgatheringforce,andonlytheirdescendantslive
on till midday; while it is another race which sees
thesundecline,fromthatwhichsawitrise. Imagine
the sunabout toset,and thewholenation of mites
gathered under the shadow of some mushroom (to
themancientasthesunitself)tohearwhattheirwisest
philosopherhastosayofthegloomyprospect. If I
remember right,hefirsttoldthemthat,incredibleas
itmightseem,therewasnotonlyatimeintheworld's
youthwhenthemushroomitselfwasyoung,butthat
thesuninthoseearlyageswasintheeastern,notin
thewesternsky. Sincethen,he explained,thescien-
tificephemerahasfollowedit,andestablished,byin-
duction fromvast experience, thegreat 'law of na-
ture,' thatitmoved only westward; and he showed
thatsince it wasnow nearing the western horizon,
scienceherself pointedtothe conclusion thatitwas
aboutto disappear forever, together withthe great
raceofephemeraeforwhichitwascreated.
"WhathishearersthoughtofthisdiscourseIdonot
remember,butI have heardthatthe sun roseagain
thenextmorning!"

—

"TheNewAstronomy/'