the other, reveal objects close to him which he believes both, has thought but little of he had never suspected. In the latter case, either."* his microscope exhibits an astounding specta- By this impions drivel is meant, that if this cle, almost every atom turned, as it were, infinitude of systems be made by one God, into a world, peopled with exquisitely organ- who has peopled every orb as our own is peoized animal forms, adapted perfectly to the pled, with rational and moral beings, it is elements in which they are seen disporting absurd to suppose that He has such a special themselves. In the former case, his telescope regard for us, as the Scriptures assure us He makes equally astounding revelations in an has,-that He was made flesh, and dwelt among opposite direction. The heavens are swarm-us,-lived with us, died for us, rose again for ing with splendid structures unseen to the us-us, the insignificant occupants of this innaked eye. New planets are visible, with significant speck amidst the resplendent magrings, belts, and moons; and the stars prove nificence of the infinite universe. Now, that to be resplendent suns, the centres of so many such a notion is equally irreligious and unphilsystems peopling infinitude; and these, more-osophical, we trust no intelligent reader of over, obeying laws of motion the same as those ours requires to be persuaded; but that there which exist in the system of which the earth are both friends and enemies of the Christian forms part! faith, who fear or believe otherwise, may be "Well," says our overwhelmed observer, assumed. And hence the unspeakable im"it is certainly late in the day to make these portance of viewing the matter soberly, by sublime and awful discoveries; but here they such light as we have,-as God has been are, unless my instruments play me false, so pleased to vouchsafe to us. If we have little, that I am the victim of mere optical delusion; we cannot help it, but must gratefully and the boundless, numberless realms of insect life reverently make the best use we can of it; being only imaginary, and the stars really no assuring ourselves that there must be wise suns or worlds at all, but simply the glittering reasons for our omniscient Creator's having spots which alone mankind has hitherto be- given us just as much as we have, and no lieved them. But if my telescope tell me more. He might have endowed us with facultruly, the little speck on which I live is in ties nearly akin to His own; but He has fact but a grain of dark dust in the heavens, thought proper to act otherwise. circling obscurely round a sun, itself a mere The attention of scientific persons, and those star, perhaps eclipsed in splendor by every of a speculative character in religion, physics, other star in existence; each probably con- and morals, has recently been recalled to the taining many more and greater planets cir- question, whether there are grounds for becling about it than has our sun! And about lieving the heavenly bodies to be inhabited by these matters The Book is silent!" rational beings, by the publication, eleven Pondering these discoveries, and assuming months ago, of a thin octavo volume of 279 them to be real, our observer echoes the pages, bearing no author's name, and entitled, inquiry of our greatest living astronomer: Of the Plurality of Worlds An Essay. "Now, for what purpose are we to suppose Internal evidence seemed to point to a distinsuch magnificent bodies scattered through the guished person at Cambridge as the author — abyss of space?"* And at length the a gentleman of great eminence as a mathemagrander one occurs: Are there human beings, tician, a logician, a divine, and a moralist or beings similar to myself, anywhere else in short to the Rev. Dr. Whewell, the Masthan on this earth?-on the sun, moon, plan-ter of Trinity College. The work was divided ets, and their satellites?-nay, on all the into numbered paragraphs, as is usual with that other inconceivably numerous suns, planets, gentleman; peculiarities of spelling: e. g. and satellites in existence? He pauses, as "offense," instead of " offence," - and of style though in a spasm of awe. But he may next, and expression, are common to the Essay and and very rationally ask: If it be so, how does the other works of the suspected author. We all this affect me? Has it any practical bear-are not aware that, up to the present time, he ing on the condition of a denizen of this has repudiated the work thus attributed to him. earth? On the contrary, he has just published a DiaIf our bewildered inquirer unfortunately logue, by way of supplement to it, in which he had at his elbow Thomas Paine, he would and various classes of objectors are speakers; hear this blasphemous whisper: "The system and on one of them telling him that one of his of a plurality of worlds renders THE CHRIS- critics "repeatedly tries to connect his specuTIAN FAITH at once little and ridiculous, lations with those of the author of Vestiges of and scatters it in the mind, like feathers in Creation," a wild work of an infidel character, the air. The two beliefs cannot be held to-he answers: If he were to try to connect me gether in the same mind; and he who thinks with an answer to that work, which went *Herschell, Astron., § 592.-[We quote from the first edition.] * Age of Reason. SPECULATORS AMONG THE STARS.-PART I. : 66 former, he owns that his "views are so differ- appear through two editions, under the title of Indica- ing unfolded, greater strength than he had extions of the Creator, he would be nearer the pected." He is now disposed to regard a bemark; at least, I adopt the sentiments of this lief in the plurality of worlds "to have been latter book." Now, this latter book was pub- really produced by a guess, lightly made at lished, certainly not with Dr. Whewell's name first, quite unsupported by subsequent discoveon the title-page, but by the publisher of all ries, and discountenanced by the most recent his other works, and entitled Indications of the observations, though too remote from knowlCreator; Theological Extracts from Dr. Whe-edge to be either proved or disproved." And I do not attempt to well's History and Philosophy of Inductive Sci- further, he thus indicates the grand scope of ence. But whereas the Essay in question is the entire inquiry: written by the present highly gifted Master of disprove the plurality of worlds, by taking for Trinity, with the design of showing that "the granted the truths of Revealed Religion; but belief of the planets and stars being inhabited I say that the teaching of Religion may, to a a notion taken up on insuffi- candid inquirer, suggest the wisdom of not is ill-founded Religion seems, at first sight at least, to reprecient grounds, and that the most recent astro- taking for granted the Plurality of Worlds. nomical discoveries point the other way," the author declaring that these "views have sent Man's history and position as unique. Aslong been in his mind, the convictions which tronomy, some think, suggests the contrary. they involve growing gradually deeper, through I examine the force of this latter suggestion, the effect of various trains of speculation;" it and it seems to me to amount to little or nowill be found, on referring to Dr. Whewell's thing." In the tenth and eleventh chapters of Bridgewater Treatise, published in 1833, that the Essay, Dr. Whewell thus speaks, in two these views seem not then to have been enter-passages (§§ 12, 20), which appear to us to intained by him. In book iii, chap. 2, we find dicate at once the spirit in which he offers his him speaking thus: "The earth, the globular speculations, and his apprehension as to the body thus covered with life, is not the only reception with which they might meet. In the globe in the universe. There are circling about our own sun six others, so far as we can judge perfectly analogous in their nature, besides our moon, and other bodies analogous to it. No one can resist the temptation to conjecture that these globes, some of them much larger than our own, are not dead and barren; that they are, like ours, occupied with life, organization, intelligence. To conjecture is all that we can do; yet even by the perception of such a possibility, our view of the domain of nature is enlarged and elevated." Speaking again of the stars, and supposing them suns, with planets revolving round them, he adds: "And these may, like our planet, be the seats of vegetable, animal, and rational life. We may thus have in the universe, worlds, no one knows how many, no one can guess how varied." And, finally, in the ensuing chapter, "On man's place in the Universe," he says: "We thus find that a few of the shining spots which we see scattered on the face of the sky in such profusion, appear to be of the same nature as the earth; and may, perhaps, as analogy would suggest, be, like the earth, the habitations of organized beings." Undoubtedly these remarks are penned in a cautious and philosophic spirit; and upwards of twenty years' subsequent reflection, by the light of various splendid astronomical discoveries during that interval, is now announced to have so far shaken Dr. Whewell's faith in such "conjectures," as to induce him, "in all sincerity and simplicity," to submit "to the public the arguments, strong or weak," which had occurred to him on the subject; "and which, when he proceeded to write the Essay, assumed, by be It is not to be denied that there may be a regret and disturbance naturally felt at having to probably contain servants and worshippers of give up our belief that the planets and the stars God. It must always be a matter of pain and trouble, to be urged with tenderness, and to be performed in time, to untwine our reverential religious sentiments from erroneous views of the constitution of the Universe with which they have been involved. But the change once made, it is found that religion is uninjured, and rever ence undiminished. And, therefore, we trust that the reader will receive with candor and patience the argument which we have to offer with reference to this view, or, rather, this sentiment. In this tone of manly modesty is expressed the whole of this really remarkable work; but all competent readers will also be struck by the dignified consciousness of power associated with that modesty. These two characteristics have invested this book with a certain charm, in our eyes, which we cannot but thus avow, after having given his Essay, and the Dialogue, in which he deals with various objectors to his Essay, due consideration. A calm perusal of that Dialogue may suggest to shrewd opponents the necessity of approaching the writer of it with caution. Here, then, we have a man of first-rate in tellectual power, a practised and skilful dialec- felicitous and masterly disposition of his subtician, formidably familiar with almost every de- ject; a thorough familiarity with the heights partment of physical science, in its latest and and depths of physics, divinity and morals; highest development; an eminent moral writer and above, and infinitely beyond all, a reverent and academical teacher, and an orthodox clergy-regard for the truths of revealed religion, and man in the Church of England, coming for an earnest desire to advance its interests, by ward deliberately to commit himself to opin- removing what, in his opinion, many deem a ions which he acknowledges he does not pub- serious stumblingblock in the way of the devout lish "without some fear of giving offence: " Christian. That stumblingblock may be seen opinions at variance with those not only popu- indicated in the audacious language which we larly held, but maintained by perhaps three- have quoted from Thomas Paine. If this be fourths of even scientific persons who have the object which Dr. Whewell has had in bestowed attention on the subject. Who can view-and who will doubt it ?-his title to redoubt his right to do so, especially in a calm spectful consideration is greatly enhanced.and temperate spirit, as contradistinguished to He must be given credit for having deliberone of arrogance and dogmatism? None but a ately counted the cost of what he was about fool would rush angrily forward, to encounter to do-the amount of censure, ridicule, and such an author with harsh and heated language, contempt which he might provoke. It seems or derogatory and uncharitable insinuations that he has felt himself strong enough to make and imputations. A philosophical and duly the experiment; and here he sees a distinqualified opponent would act differently. He guished contemporary, Sir David Brewster, would say: In this age of free inquiry, no mat- quickly ascribing "his theories and speculater how bold and serious the attack on precon- tions to no better feeling than a love of notoceptions and long-established opinion and be- riety; "who again stigmatizes an argument lief, if it be made in a grave and manly spirit of the Essayist, as "the most ingenious though of inquiry and argument, and especially by one shallow piece of sophistry which we have ever whose eminent character, qualifications, and encountered in modern dialectics." † position, entitle his suggestions and specula- That Dr. Whewell offers us, in his Essay tions to deliberate consideration; that delibe- and Dialogue, his real views and opinions, and rate consideration they must have. "I have that they have been long and deeply consid presented," says the writer of the Essay, in ered, we implicitly believe, on his own statethe Dialogue, "gravely and calmly, the views ment, that such is the case. It may neverand arguments which occurred to my mind, on theless be, that he is the unconscious vietim a question which many persons think an inter- of an invincible love of paradox; and indeed esting one; and if any one will introduce any Sir David Brewster unceremoniously characother temper into the discussion of this ques- terizes the Essayist's conjectures concerning tion, with him I will hold no argument; if he the fixed stars as "insulting to Astronomy," write in a vehement and angry strain, I will and "ascribable only to some morbid condihave nothing to say to him." The author is tion of the mental powers, which feeds upon here alluding to Sir David Brewster, the au- paradox, and delights in doing violence to senthor of the second of the three works placed at timents deeply cherished, and to opinions unithe head of this article. If, on the other hand, versally believed;" that having once cona man of great authority and reputation be un-ceived what he regards as a happy idea on a wise enough to run counter to opinions uni- great question, he dwells upon it with such versally received, and that by persons of high an eager fondness as warps his judgment; that scientific and literary reputation, merely as a sort of gladiatorial exercise, disturbing views rightly associated with religion and science, and with levity shaking the confidence of mankind in conclusions arrived at by the profoundest masters of science, he must take the consequences of being deemed presumptuous and trifling, and encounter the stern rebuke of those whom he is not entitled to treat with disrespect. Now, a careful and unprejudiced perusal of this Essay has satisfied us concerning several things. It is written with uncommon ability. The author has an easy mastery of the English language, and these pages abound in vigorous and beautifully exact expressions. From beginning to end, also may be seen indications of a subtle and guarded logic; a having committed himself to what he has seen lbid., p. 230. assertion, and would coerce me into a concur-proof as will require the plurality of worlds to rence in your conclusions? I long for the be accepted as his CREED, by a PHILOSOPHER; production of sufficient evidence of so awful a that is, by a Baconian-one accustomed to fact as that God has created all the starry exact and patient investigation of facts, and bodies for the purpose of placing upon them inferences deducible from them; who rigorbeings in any degree like man-moral, intel- ously rejects, as disturbing forces, all appeals lectual, accountable beings, of equal, higher, to our hopes or wishes, our feelings or fancy. or lower degree of intelligence-consisting of There are two questions before us; to which that wondrous combination of matter and we shall add, on our own account, a third. mind, body and soul, which constitutes man, The first is that asked in 1686 by the gifted existing in similar relations to the external and sprightly Fontenelle (whom Voltaire world. The mere suggestion startles me, both pronounced the most universal genius which as a man of science and a Christian believer, the age of Louis XIV. produced), and echoed on account of certain difficulties which appear in 1854 by Sir David Brewster: Pourquoi to me greater than perhaps even you may non? Why should there not be a plurality have taken into account. But, however this of worlds? The second is that asked by Dr. may be, I call upon you for proofs of so vast a Whewell: Why should there be? "I do not fact as you allege to exist, or the best kind pretend to disprove a plurality of worlds; but and greatest degree of evidence which may I ask in vain for any argument that makes the justify me in assenting to the existence of doctrine probable."* The third, is our own. such a fact. We are dealing with facts, pro- And what if there be ?—a question of a directly babilities, improbabilities; and I repudiate practical tendency. We shall take the secany intrusion of sentiment or fancy. If God ond question first, because it will bring Dr. has told me that the fact exists, I receive it Whewell first on the field, as it was he who with reverence; and wonder at finding my- has so suddenly mooted this singular question. self a member of so immense a family, from But we would at the outset entreat our readall communication with which He has been ers, at all events our younger ones, to remempleased to cut me off in my present stage of ber that we are dealing with a purely specuexistence. But if God has not told me the lative subject, respecting which zealous parfact directly and I feel no religious obliga- tisans are apt to draw on their imaginationstion to hold the fact to exist or not to exist-I to assert or deny the existence of analogy, on will regard the question as one both curious insufficient grounds; to overstrain or underand interesting, and weigh carefully the rea- rate its force; and lend to bare probabilities, sons which you offer me in support of your or even pure possibilities, somewhat of the air assertion. But will you, in return, weigh of facts, where facts there are absolutely none. carefully the reasons I offer for asserting a 1. Why should there be more worlds than fact which appears to me, however you may one? Astronomy," says Dr. Whewell, “no think erroneously, of incalculable greater per- more reveals to us extra-terrestrial moral sonal moment to me as a member of the hu- agents, than religion reveals to us extra-terresnau family-namely, that "man's history and trial plans of Divine government;" and to position are unique ;-that the earth is really remedy the assumption of moral agents in the largest planetary body in the solar system other worlds, by the assumption of some ope-its domestic hearth, and the only WORLD | ration of the Divine plan in other worlds, is in the universe?" I am quite as much start- unauthorized and fanciful, and a violation of led at having to receive your notion, as you the humility, submission of mind, and spirit of may be to receive mine. My great engine of reverence, which religion requires. He con-proof, says his opponent, is analogy: well, re- siders Dr. Chalmers's allowance of astronomy's plies the other, there I will meet you; and the offering strong analogies in favor of such opinfirst grand point to settle is, whether there Is an analogy when that shall have been set-" tled in the affirmative, we will, as carefully as possible, weigh the amount of it. This is the point at issue between Dr. Whewell and Sir David Brewster; who resolutely undertakes to demonstrate " More Worlds than One" to be "the creed of the philosopher, and the hope of the Christian." It is to be seen whether this eminent member of the scientific world, also a firm believer in the Christian religion, has undertaken a task to which he is equal. He must present such an amount of * Essay (2d edition), p. 261. ions as "more than rash!” he regards such the conclusion, that as the Creator cannot be they are deemed sufficient to warrant such an immense conclusion. But that to which he is now disposed to come is equally immense. He says, "That the earth is inhabited, is not a reason for believing that the other planets are so, but for believing that they are not so." Her orbit" is the temperate zone of the solar system, where only is the play of hot and cold, moist and dry, possible. The earth is really the largest planetary body in the solar system; its domestic hearth; adjusted between the hot and fiery haze on one side, the cold and watery vapor on the other. This region only is fit to be a domestic hearth, a We have spoken of Sir David Brewster's seat of habitation; in this region is placed the drawing a huge conclusion from a passage of largest solid globe of our system; and on this Scripture in support of his views of the quesglobe, by a series of creative operations, entire- tion before us; but we have to present a still ly different from any of those which separated huger conclusion, drawn by him from another the solid from the vaporous, the cold from the glorious passage: "When I consider the heahot, the moist from the dry, have been estab-vens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and lished, in succession, plants, and animals, and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is MAN. So that the habitations have been oc- man, that thou art mindful of him? and the cupied; the domestic hearth has been sur-son of man, that thou visitest him?” This," rounded by its family; the fitnesses so wonder-says Sir David, " is a positive argument for a fully combined have been employed; and the plurality of worlds! We cannot doubt that earth alone, of all the parts of the frame which inspiration revealed to the Hebrew poet the revolve round the sun, has become a WORLD." † magnitude, the distances, and the final cause Now, let us here cite two or three passages of of the glorious spheres which fixed his admiraScripture, one of them very remarkable. tion. He doubtless viewed these "The heaven, even the heavens, are the worlds as teeming with life, physical and intelLord's; but the earth hath he given to the chil- lectual; as globes which may have required dren of men." "Thus saith God the Lord, he millions of years for their preparation, exhibthat created the heavens, and stretched them iting new forms of beings, new powers of out; he that spread forth the earth, and that mind, new conditions in the past, and new which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath glories in the future!" In his Dialogue Dr. unto the people upon it, and spirit to them Whewell thus drily dismisses this extraordina that walk therein: § I have made the ry flight of his opponent: "That the Hebrew poet knew or thought about, the plurality of worlds, is a fact hitherto unnoticed by the his torians of astronomy; to their consideration I leave it." 66 earth, and created man upon it; I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. Thus saith the Lord, that created the heavens; God himself, that formed the earth, and made it; Let us now, however, follow Dr. Whewell he hath established it, he created it not in vain, in the development of his idea, bearing in he formed IT to be inhabited; I am the Lord; mind his own impressive statement, in his and there is none else." Here the Psalmist preface, that, "while some of his philosophical speaks of both the heaven and the earth, say-conclusions appear to him to fall in very reing of the latter that he has given it to the markably with certain points of religious docchildren of men; while the inspired prophet trine, he is well aware that philosophy alone repeatedly speaks of the heavens and the can do little in providing man with the consoearth, saying that God had given breath to lations, hopes, supports, and convictions which the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk religion offers; and he acknowledges it as a therein; that he had created man upon it; ground of deep gratitude to the Author of All that he had created the earth not in vain, but Good, that man is not left to philosophy for formed "," to be inhabited. It is not said those blessings, but has a fuller assurance of that he formed the heavens to be inhabited, them by a more direct communication from but the earth. This passage Sir David Brews-Him." ter has quoted as 66 a distinct declaration from "The two doctrines which we have here to the inspired prophet, that the earth would weigh against each other," says Dr. Whewell, have been created IN VAIN, if it had not been" are the plurality of worlds, and the unity of formed to be inhabited; and hence we draw the world;" and he "includes, as a necessary part of the conception of a 'wORLD,' a col Essay, pp. 299, 300. † Ibid., pp. 308, 309. *More Worlds than One, p. 17. |