第9章

FewofthosewhofindpleasureinfrequentingbookstorescanhavefailedtocomeacrossoneormoreoftheprofuselyillustratedvolumesinwhichM。LouisFiguierhassoughttorenderdryscienceentertainingtothemultitude。Andofthosewhomayhavecasuallyturnedovertheirpages，thereareprobablynone，competenttoformanopinion，whohavenotspeedilyperceivedthatthesepretentiousbooksbelongtotheclassofpestsandunmitigatednuisancesinliterature。Antiquatedviews，utterlackofcomprehensionofthesubjectstreated，andshamelessunscrupulousnessastoaccuracyofstatement，arefaultsbutillatonedforbysensationalpicturesofthe“dragonsoftheprimethattareeachotherintheirslime，“oroftheNewton-likebrowandsilkencurlsofthatprimitivemanincontrastwithwhomthesaiddragonshavebeenlikenedto“mellowmusic。“ Nevertheless，thesortofscientificreputationwhichthesediscreditableperformanceshavegainedforM。Figuieramonganuncriticalpublicissuchastojustifyusindevotingafewparagraphstoabook[13]which，onitsownmerits，isunworthyofanynoticewhatever。“TheTo-morrowofDeath“——ifoneweretoputhistrustinthetranslator’sprefatorynote——discussesagravequestionupon“purelyscientificmethods。“Wearegladtoseethisremark，becauseitshowswhatnotionsmaybeentertainedbypersonsofaverageintelligencewithreferenceto“scientificmethods。“Those——andtheyaremany——whovaguelythinkthatscienceissomethingdifferentfromcommon-sense，andthatanybookisscientificwhichtalksaboutperiheliaandasymptotesandcetacea，willfindtheirvaguenotionsherewellcorroborated。 Quitedifferentwillbetheimpressionmadeuponthose——andtheyareyettoofew——whohavelearnedthatthemethodofscienceisthecommon-sensemethodofcautiouslyweighingevidenceandwithholdingjudgmentwhereevidenceisnotforthcoming。Iftalkingaboutremoteanddifficultsubjectssufficetomakeonescientific，thenisM。Figuierscientifictoaquiteterribledegree。Hewritesaboutthestarryheavensasifhehadbeenpresentatthehourofcreation，orhadatleastaccompaniedtheArabianprophetonhisfamousnight-journey。Norishisknowledgeofphysiologyandotherabstrusesciencesatalllessremarkable。 Butthesethingswillceasetosurpriseuswhenwelearnthesources，hithertosuspectedonlyinmythology，fromwhichfavouredmortalscanobtainaknowledgeofwhatisgoingonoutsideofourplanet。 [13]TheTo-morrowofDeath；or，TheFutureLifeaccordingtoScience。ByLouisFiguier。TranslatedfromtheFrenchbyS。R。 Crocker。Boston:RobertsBrothers。1872。 Thefourinnerplanetsbeingnearlyalikeinsize(？)andinlengthofday，M。Figuierinfers，bystrictlyscientificmethods，thatwhateveristrueofoneofthem，asourearth，willbetrueoftheothers(p。34)。Hence，theyareallinhabitedbyhumanbeings。ItistruethathumanbeingsmustfindVenusratherwarm，andarenotunlikelytobeseriouslyincommodedbythetropicalclimateofMercury。Butwemustrememberthat“themenofVenusandMercuryaremadebynaturetoresistheat，asthoseofJupiterandSaturnaremadetoendurecold，andthoseoftheEarthandMarstoliveinameantemperature:OTHERWISETHEY Inviewofthischarmingspecimenofatrulyscientificinference，itisalmosttoobadtocallattentiontothefactthatM。Figuierisquitebehindtheageinhisstatementoffacts。SofarfromJupiterandSaturnbeingcold，observationplainlyindicatesthattheyareprodigiouslyhot，ifnotevenincandescentandpartlyself-luminous；theexplanationbeingthat，byreasonoftheirhugebulk，theystillretainmuchoftheprimitiveheatwhichsmallerplanetshavemorequicklyradiatedaway。AsforM。Figuier’sstatement，thatpolarsnowshavebeenwitnessedontheseplanets，itissimplyuntrue； nosuchthinghaseverbeenseenthere。Mars，ontheotherhand，hasbeenobservedtoresembleinmanyimportantrespectsitsnearneighbour，theEarth；whenceourauthordeclaresthatifanaeronautweretoshootclearofterrestrialgravitationandlanduponMars，hewouldunquestionablysupposehimselftobestillupontheearth。Foraerolites，itseems，aresomehowfireddownuponourplanetbothfromMarsandfromVenus；andaerolitessometimescontainvegetablematter(？)。Therefore，Marshasavegetation，andverylikelyitsredcolouriscausedbyitsluxuriantautumnalfoliage！(p。47。)ToreturntoJupiter:thisplanet，indeed，hasinconvenientlyshortdays。“Inhis’PictureoftheHeavens，’theGermanastronomer，Littrow(theseGermansthinkofnothingbutgormandizing)，askshowthepeopleofJupiterordertheirmealsintheshortintervaloffivehours。“ Nevertheless，saysourauthor，thegreatplanetiscompensatedforthisinconveniencebyitsequableanddeliciousclimate。 Inview，however，ofourauthor’smorestrikingandoriginaldisclosures，onewouldsupposethatallthisdiscussionofthephysicalconditionsofexistenceonthevariousplanetsmighthavebeenpassedoverwithoutdetrimenttotheargument。Aftertheseeffortsatproving(forM。Figuierpresumablyregardsthisrigmaroleasproof)thatallthemembersofoursolarsystemarehabitable，theinterplanetaryetherisforthwithpeopledthicklywith“souls，“withoutanyresorttoargument。This，wesuppose，isoneofthosescientifictruthswhichasM。Figuiertellsus，precedeandunderliedemonstration。Uponthisimpregnablebasisisrearedthescientifictheoryofafuturelife。Whenwedieoursoulpassesintosomeotherterrestrialbody，unlesswehavebeenverygood，inwhichcaseweatoncesoaraloftandjointhenoblefraternityoftheether-folk。Badmenandyoungchildren，ondying，mustundergorenewedprobationherebelow，butultimatelyallpassawayintotheinterplanetaryether。Thedwellerinetherischieflydistinguishedfromthemundanemortalbyhisacutesensesandhisabilitytosubsistwithoutfood。Hecanseeasifthroughatelescopeandmicroscopecombined。HisintelligenceissogreatthatincomparisonanAristotlewouldseemidiotic。Itshouldnotbeforgotten，too，thathepossesseseighty-fivepercentofsoultofifteenpercentofbody，whereasinterrestrialmanthetwoelementsaremixedinequalproportions。Thereisnosexamongtheether-folk，theirnumbersbeingkeptupbytheinfluxofsoulsfromthevariousplanets。“Alimentation，thatnecessitywhichtyrannizesovermenandanimals，isnotimposedupontheinhabitantsofether。Theirbodiesmustberepairedandsustainedbythesimplerespirationofthefluidinwhichtheyareimmersed，thatis，ofether。“Mostlikely，continuesourscientificauthor，thephysiologicalfunctionsoftheether-folkareconfinedtorespiration，andthatitispossibletobreathe“withoutnumerousorgansisprovedbythefactthatinallofawholeclassofanimals——thebatrachians——themerebareskinconstitutesthewholemachineryofrespiration“(p。95)。Allowingfortheunfortunateslipofthepenbywhich“batrachians“aresubstitutedfor“fresh-waterpolyps，“howcanwefailtoadmiretheseverityofthescientificmethodemployedinreachingtheseinterestingconclusions？ ButtheKingofSerendibmustdie，norwilltherelentlessscytheofTimespareourEtherians，withalltheirexaltedattributes。 Theywilldierepeatedly；andafterhavingthroughsundryperiodsofprobationattainedspiritualperfection，theywillallpourintothesun。Sinceitisthesunwhichoriginateslifeandfeelingandthoughtuponthesurfaceofourearth，“whymaywenotdeclarethattheraystransmittedbythesuntotheearthandtheotherplanetsarenothingmorenorlessthantheemanationsofthesesouls？“Andnowwemaybegintoformanadequateconception，oftherigorouslyscientificcharacterofourauthor’smethod。Therehavebeenmanyhypothesesbywhichtoaccountforthesupplyofsolarradiance。OneofthemostingeniousandprobableofthesehypothesesisthatofHelmholtz，accordingtowhichthesolarradianceisduetothearrestedmotionofthesun’sconstituentparticlestowardtheircommoncentreofgravity。ButthisistoofancifultosatisfyM。 Figuier。ThespeculationsofHelmholtz“havethedisadvantageofrestingontheideaofthesun’snebulosity，——anhypothesiswhichwouldneedtobemorecloselyexaminedbeforeservingasabasisforsoimportantadeduction。“Accordingly，M。Figuierpropoundsanexplanationwhichpossessesthesignaladvantagethatthereisnothinghypotheticalinit。“Inouropinion，thesolarradiationissustainedbythecontinualinfluxofsoulsintothesun。“ This，asthereaderwillperceive，isthewell-knowntheoryofMayer，thatthesolarheatisduetoaperennialbombardmentofthesunbymeteors，savethat，inplaceofgrossmaterialisticmeteors，M。Figuierputsetherealsouls。Theether-folkaredailyrainingintothesolarorbinuntoldmillions，andtotheunceasingconcussionisduetheradiationwhichmaintainslifeintheplanets，andthusthecircleiscomplete。 Inspiteoftheirexaltedposition，theether-folkdonotdisdaintominglewiththeaffairsofterrestrialmortals。Theygiveuscounselindreams，anditisfromthissource，wepresume，thatourauthorhasderivedhisrigidnotionsastoscientificmethod。 Inevidenceofthisdream-theorywehavetheusualarrayofcases，“acelebratedjournalist，Malawyer，“ etc。，etc。，asinmostbooksofthiskind。 M。FiguierisnotaDarwinian:thederivationofourbodiesfromthebodiesofapesisaconceptiontoogrosslymaterialisticforhim。Oursouls，however，heisquitewillingtoderivefromthesoulsofloweranimals。Obviouslywehavepre-existed；howarewetoaccountforMozart’sprecocitysavebysupposinghispre-existence？Hebroughtwithhimthemusicalskillacquiredinapreviouslife。Ingeneral，thesoulsofmusicalchildrencomefromnightingales，whilethesoulsofgreatarchitectshavepassedintothemfrombeavers(p。247)。Wedonotrememberthesepastexistences，itistrue；butwhenwebecomeether-folk，weshallbeabletolookbackinrecollectionoverthewholeseries。 Amidthesesublimeinquiries，M。Figuierissometimesnotablyobliviousofhumblertruths，asmightindeedbeexpected。ThusherepeatedlyalludestoLockeastheauthorofthedoctrineofinnateideas(！！)，[14]andheinformsusthatKeplerneverquittedProtestantEngland(p。336)，thoughwebelievethatthenearestKeplerevercametolivinginEnglandwastherefusingofSirHenryWotton’srequestthatheshouldmovethither。 [14]Pages251，252，287。Sointhetwenty-firstcenturysomeavatarofM。FiguierwillperhapsdescribethelateprofessorAgassizastheauthoroftheDarwiniantheory。 Andlastly，wearetreatedtoarealdialogue，withquiteadramaticmiseenscene。Theauthor’simaginaryfriend，Theophilus，enters，“seatshimselfinacomfortablechair，placesanottomanunderhisfeet，abookunderhiselbowtosupportit，andacigaretteofTurkishtobaccobetweenhislips，andsetshimselftothetaskoflisteningwithagraveairofcollectedness，relievedbyacertaintouchofsuspiciousseverity，asbecomesthearbiterinaliteraryandphilosophicmatter。““Andso，“beginsourauthor，“youwishtoknow，mydearTheophilus，WHEREILOCATEGOD？Ilocatehiminthecentreoftheuniverse，or，inbetterphrase，atthecentralfocus，whichmustexistsomewhere，ofallthestarsthatmaketheuniverse，andwhich，borneonwardinacommonmovement，gravitatetogetheraroundthisfocus。“ Muchmore，ofanequallyscientificcharacter，follows；butinfairnesstothereader，whoisalreadyblamingusforwastingthepreciousmomentsoversuchsorrytrash，wemayaswellconcludeoursketchofthisnewlineofspeculation。