218 WALKS AND TALKS. 



radiate, and the power to radiate was not in proportion to the 

 mass but to the surface. Hence, some of the older planets 

 are less advanced than the earth, because so much larger ; 

 while Mars, I imagine, is more advanced, both because smaller 

 in mass and older. Now, during the habitable stage of 

 the earth, the sun remains the residual mass of the ancient 

 nebula. 



The sun is a relic of the primordial, fire-mist. The sun is 

 historian of a mighty past. He is more to us than a source 

 of bodily comfort. He has shed his vivifying warmth on all 

 the populations which have appeared and disappeared in the 

 history of terrestrial life. He stimulates to growth during 

 the human age, the crops which supply our food, and affords 

 the warmth which yields us comfort and maintains the activ- 

 ities of the natural world. But the sun is more to us than 

 this. He sustains relations to our intelligence. He proclaims 

 and exemplifies our material origin. He responds to our 

 anxious inquiry concerning long histories which were enacted 

 in the ages unnumbered ; before man existed. 



The history of each planetary mass has repeated the 

 history of the general mass, as far as physical conditions per- 

 mitted. The planetary mass was a fire-mist possessing r ady 

 mobility of parts. It rotated, cooled, contracted, and under- 

 went acceleration of rotation. The larger masses retained the 

 fire-mist state sufficiently long to detach several rings. From 

 these originated the satellites of the larger planets. The 

 arth underwent but one annulation, and had then assumed 

 the fluid or molten state. The two interior planets, with a 

 larger proportion of fixed constituents, attained a fluid Ftate 

 before sufficient contraction had been experienced to lead to 

 the evolution of a single satellite. 



