LIGHT. 141 



tion of a limit ; each improvement in telescopic power gives 

 us new realms of stars or of nebulae, which, if not stellar 

 clusters, are at all events self-luminous matter ; and if we as 

 sume a limit, what is it? We cannot conceive a physical 

 boundary, for then immediately comes the question, what 

 bounds the boundary ? and to suppose the stellar universe to 

 be bounded by infinite space or by infinite chaos, that is to 

 say, to suppose a spot for it would then become so of mat 

 ter in definite forms, with definite forces, and probably teem 

 ing with definite organic beings, plunged in a universe of 

 nothing, is to my mind at least far more unphilosophical than 

 to suppose a boundless universe of matter existing in forms 

 and actions analogous to those which, as far as our examina 

 tion goes, pervade space. But without speculating on topics 

 in which the mind loses itself, it may not unreasonably be 

 expected that a greater amount of light would reach us from 

 the surrounding self-luminous spheres were not some portion 

 lost as light, by its action on the medium which conveys the 

 impulses. &quot;What force this becomes, or what it effects, it 

 would be idle to speculate upon. 



