登陆注册
5302100000053

第53章 BOOK II.(29)

"If,then,the condition of a nebula or star depends simply on its size,it is reasonable to suppose that Andromeda,Sirius,and all the vast bodies we see,were created at the same time as our system,which involves the necessity of one general and simultaneous creation day.But as Sirius,with its diameter of twelve million miles,must be larger than some of the nebulae will be when equally condensed,we must suppose rather that nebulae are forming and coming into the condition of bright and dead stars,much as apples or pears on a fruit tree are constantly growing and developing,so that the Mosaic description of the creation would probably apply in point of time only to our system,or perhaps to our globe,though the rest will doubtless pass through precisely the same stages.This,I think,I will publish,on our return,as the Cortlandt astronomical doctrine,as the most rational I have seen devised,and one that I think we may safely believe,until,perhaps,through increased knowledge,it can be disproved."After they crossed a line of hills that ran at right angles to their course they found the country more rolling.All streams and water-courses flowed in their direction,while their aneroid showed them that they were gradually descending.When they were moving along near the surface of the ground,a delicious and refined perfume exhaled by the blue and white flowers,that had been growing smaller as they journeyed northward,frequently reached their nostrils.To Cortlandt and Bearwarden it was merely the scent of a flower,but to Ayrault it recalled mental pictures of Sylvia wearing violets and lilies that he had given her.He knew that the greatest telescopes on earth could not reveal the Callisto moving about in Jupiter's sunshine,as even a point of light,at that distance,and,notwithstanding Cortlandt's learning and Bearwarden's joviality,he felt at times extremely lonely.

They swept along steadily for fifty hours,having bright sunny days and beautifully moonlit nights.They passed over finely rounded hills and valleys and well-watered plains.As they approached the ocean and its level the temperature rose,and there was more moisture in the air.The plants and flowers also increased in size,again resembling somewhat the large species they had seen near the equator.

"This would be the place to live,"said Bearwarden,looking at iron mountains,silver,copper,and lead formations,primeval forests,rich prairies,and regions evidently underlaid with coal and petroleum,not to mention huge beds of aluminum clay,and other natural resources,that made his materialistic mouth water.

"It would be joy and delight to develop industries here,with no snow avalanches to clog your railroads,or icy blizzards to paralyze work,nor weather that blights you with sun-strokes and fevers.On our return to the earth we must organize a company to run regular interplanetary lines.We could start on this globe all that is best on our own.Think what boundless possibilities may be before the human race on this planet,which on account of its vast size will be in its prime when our insignificant earth is cold and dead and no longer capable of supporting life!Think also of the indescribable blessing to the congested communities of Europe and America,to find an unlimited outlet here!Mars is already past its prime,and Venus scarcely habitable,but in Jupiter we have a new promised land,compared with which our earth is a pygmy,or but little more than microscopic.""I see,"said Ayrault,"that the possibilities here have no limit;but I do not see how you can compare it to the promised land,since,till we undertook this journey,no one had even thought of Jupiter as a habitable place.""I trace the Divine promise,"replied Bearwarden,"in what you described to us on earth as man's innate longing and desire to rise,and in the fact that the Almighty has given the race unbounded expansiveness in very limited space.This would look to me as the return of man to the garden of Eden through intellectual development,for here every man can sit under his own vine and fig-tree.""It seems to me,"said Cortlandt,"that no paradise or heaven described in anything but the Bible compares with this.

同类推荐
  • 雨山和尚语录

    雨山和尚语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 丽则遗音

    丽则遗音

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 塞下曲

    塞下曲

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 大方禅师语录

    大方禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 续三国演义

    续三国演义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 非卿莫白

    非卿莫白

    人的一生会遇到许许多多的人,喜欢的人和不喜欢的人,喜欢的人同时也喜欢着你的概率微乎其微,她喜欢他从第一次见面开始,但是,他好像不喜欢她。
  • 摸金传人1:明陵疑冢

    摸金传人1:明陵疑冢

    陶城朱家是延续了三百年的摸金世家,却因父母早亡在朱笑东这里断了传承,直到朱笑东被骗进明陵疑冢,被推下白骨累累的万人坑。 暗无天日的万人尸坑鬼影幢幢,大战人面蜘蛛九死一生,机关重重的百年皇陵、惊险刺激的古墓穴探险有效激活了流淌在朱笑东骨子里摸金传人的血脉传承,开启了他传奇的一生。大漠探险九死一生,揭开尘封千年谜团,寻得楼兰古城,揭晓香妃谜案。千里奔赴大清祖穴长白山,苦战守墓部族历尽艰辛获取龙珠,破解流传了三百年的秘辛。
  • Generations
  • 雪域:醉梦浮生

    雪域:醉梦浮生

    同一个身体,不一样的灵魂,面对未知的危险,当如何应对呢?
  • 总经理把私营公司做大做强的288条妙计

    总经理把私营公司做大做强的288条妙计

    私营公司从无到有,从小到大,由大到强,它成长过程的每一步都在考验着公司总经理的勇气和耐心,需要总经理们时刻保持敏锐的头脑和旺盛的斗志。从小到大,由大到强,可以说是每一位私营公司总经理的不懈追求。本书较之于琳琅满目的企业管理著作和大学MBA教材,最为显著的价值和特征是它的实践性和可操作性:言简意赅,系统完整。私营公司的总经理们不仅可以从本书中学到目前发展所需要的知识,更重要的是能通过这本书获取洞察未来,把握公司成长方向的能力,掌握私营公司竞争力的提升之道,对私营公司的管理和做强做大起到如虎添翼的作用。每一位私营公司的总经理都应该读一读这本书。每一位在私营公司打拼的职业经理人都应该读一读这本书。
  • 马关议和中之伊李问答:戊戌前后的痛与梦

    马关议和中之伊李问答:戊戌前后的痛与梦

    本书记录了光绪二十一年(1895)春,因甲午战败,清政府派遣大臣李鸿章与日本全权大臣伊藤博文在马关议和时的五次往复辩难。
  • 腹黑大叔别偷心

    腹黑大叔别偷心

    初次相见,他便被她那独特的白色睫毛吸引,不顾一切的想看看那双白睫下是一双怎样的眼睛,他堵截她,一掷千金的甩给她一张金卡,笑的傲慢又潇洒:“女人,我看上你了。”初夏面对花少,只是眼睫轻抬,眼里有他,也似无他,声音冷漠:“可惜,我看不上你。”他的卡,最后拍的还是他自己的脸。她说他是空气,总是冷漠的无视,然而有一天却发现,这世上无处不在的便是空气,他将她包围了,不管是爱情还是亲情,他都给她……【初夏寻风】
  • 怎样说话不伤孩子

    怎样说话不伤孩子

    《怎样说话不伤孩子》通过列举家庭生活中亲子沟通中存在的种种问题,阐明了父母的言语方式对孩子的成长具有怎样的影响和作用。书中用温馨暖人的亲切话语向天下父母们传递家教正能量,引导做父母的应当用积极的、正面的、有效的沟通方式来终止亲子间的言语伤害,走出自己和孩子在日常生活和学习中的交流误区,从而促进亲子感情,拉近孩子与父母的心灵距离,使亲子关系更加融洽,最终培养出期望中的最优秀孩子。
  • 总裁大人该吃药了

    总裁大人该吃药了

    互怼日常,宠爱有加,她是一名娱乐记者,但不是偷窥狂,他是一名时装设计师,但也是一个幼稚鬼,十八般武艺,收了你这个骗子,这是倪欢接下来要做的事情。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 道演起源

    道演起源

    注重故事框架,描写本质,前期删减了许多剧情内容,不注重角色性格,没有绝对的主角,留给读者自己思考,变为读者自己的故事。后面开始完全抛弃描写主要剧情,从支线进行线索补充主线,读者需要靠前面的世界观,事件,自行脑补。