Masterpieces of Science 



and overlooking a widely extended landscape. 

 The nearer objects are for the most part con- 

 spicuous, though some are hidden by intervening 

 obstacles. A little farther away things are less 

 clearly seen, and all the remoter features are 

 veiled in haze or shadow, or simply lost in the 

 distance. Of all the various roads that lead 

 forward from the observer's station only a few 

 can be followed far by the eye; but some of the 

 great highways are marked, and at the same 

 time partly hidden, by lines of foliage and arti- 

 ficial structures, while of others glimpses are 

 here and there attainable. So, as we try to 

 penetrate the future of our science, a small por- 

 tion of what lies nearest appears reasonably dis- 

 tinct, and we feel confident that sturdy per- 

 sistence in following certain paths in which 

 astronomers are now treading will carry them 

 well forward into regions now visible but dimly, 

 if at all. We know well, also, that very likely 

 some most wonderful things lie close at hand, 

 as yet undreamed of, and we have no idea how 

 soon, or on what road they may reveal them- 

 selves. 



But in some vital respects our figure fails. 

 Astronomers do not overlook a wide and open 

 valley, but rather from the foothills of a moun- 

 tain range, look upward into mists and clouds, 

 and every path soon disappears into obscurity, 

 except where here and there sunlight breaks 

 through. Some of these paths doubtless end at 

 the foot of precipices which cannot be scaled, and 

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