Recapture of Wonder 13 



Soon as the ev'ning shades prevail, 

 The moon takes up the wondrous tale, 

 And, nightly to the list'ning earth, 

 Repeats the story of her birth; 

 While all the stars that round her burn, 

 And all the planets in their turn, 

 Confirm the tidings as they roll 

 And spread the truth from pole to pole. 



In Reason's ear they all rejoice, 

 And utter forth a glorious voice; 

 For ever singing as they shine, 

 "The hand that made us is divine." 



Addison's hymn may sound a little quaint to us, 

 and perhaps we feel almost nearer the simpler words 

 of the psalm that inspired them — not less so because 

 it expresses astonishment that man should be crowned 

 amidst all the splendor of creation. 



When I see the work of thy fingers, 



Moon and stars which thou hast fashioned, 



What is man that thou shouldest think of him, 



Or one of earth's race that thou shouldest befriend him? 



In seeking to recapture something of the old re- 

 ligious wonder, we should not attach too much im- 

 portance to the size of the canvas. But it is very 

 impressive. Before Galileo the stellar universe con- 

 sisted of less than five thousand visible stars; the 

 telescope raised the number to hundreds of thou- 

 sands; the photographic plate to hundreds of mil- 

 lions. And besides these there are the thousands of 

 dark stars ! 



