It is significant, in connection with
these considerations, that the little planet Mercury, which seems also
to have parted with its air and water, shows to the telescope some
indications that it is pitted with craters resembling those that have
torn to pieces the face of the moon.
Upon the whole, after studying the dreadful lunar landscapes, one
cannot feel a very enthusiastic sympathy with those who are seeking
indications of the continued existence of some kind of life on the
moon; such a world is better without inhabitants. It has met its fate;
let it go! Fortunately, it is not so near that it cannot hide its
scars and appear beautiful -- except when curiosity impels us to look
with the penetrating eyes of the astronomer.
The Great Mars Problem
Let any thoughtful person who is acquainted with the general facts of
astronomy look up at the heavens some night when they appear in their
greatest splendor, and ask himself what is the strongest impression
that they make upon his mind. He may not find it easy to frame an
answer, but when he has succeeded it will probably be to the effect
that the stars give him an impression of the universality of
intelligence; they make him feel, as the sun and the moon cannot do,
that his world is not alone; that all this was not made simply to form
a gorgeous canopy over the tents of men.
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