148 TWO NEW WORLDS 



strange and formidable than a river-bed or a snow- 

 drift. There is no problem on an infinite scale 

 which is not equally presented to us on an infini- 

 tesimal scale. If we can unravel the secrets of 

 matter down to the molecule and up to the star- 

 cluster, we shall know the secrets of all matter to 

 the uttermost ends of space and time. Our facul- 

 ties will have grasped the material universe. This 

 prospect is magnificent and encouraging. It holds 

 out a vast promise, and indicates a speedy fulfilment 

 of it. The results achieved will be utterly inde- 

 pendent of space and time. The laws of the material 

 universe as disclosed to us by our faculties will rule 

 for ever. Could we by any chance catch a glimpse 

 of our starry heavens as they will appear in a trillion 

 years, or as they appeared a trillion years ago, we 

 might fail to recognise its constellations ; but the 

 stars would be shining as they shine upon us now, 

 with their different spectra and magnitudes, their 

 orbits, and their proper motions. The laws of chem- 

 istry and of physics would still hold good, and those 

 of geology and biology would be the same wherever 

 the local circumstances were similar to those of our 

 earth. This eternity of the material universe gives 

 a new dignity to it and to our work in solving its 

 riddles. We find that the structure of the material 

 universe is consistent with its general stability. 

 True, we cannot yet trace the circulation of energy 

 in all its course. We do not yet know how the 



