UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 



the midnight skies, and ponder upon the truth that 

 science reveals to us there, we are moved in a differ- 

 ent way. And when we peer into the vista of the 

 geologic ages our humanizing process does not come 

 into play. In fact, the two great sciences, astronomy 

 and geology, move us without any admixture of the 

 human element; they move us by their grandeur, 

 by the conception of time and space which they 

 force upon us. In these fields science opens up to us 

 views into the universe of non-living matter that 

 not only challenge our reasoning faculties, but also 

 stimulate our imagination, views that overwhelm us 

 with a sense of power and magnitude. We do not 

 see ourselves reflected there — we are swept away 

 from ourselves, and impressed with our own insignif- 

 icance. Astronomy is pure science. It reveals to us 

 mechanical principles working on such a scale and 

 with such harmony and precision that we get a new 

 conception of these principles. They encompass the 

 universe; they guide the stars in their courses, they 

 are the builders and upholders of suns and systems. 

 The cosmos is automatic, blind physical forces work 

 there with mathematical exactness, but all is on 

 such a scale and involving such an element of time 

 and distance that we never think of it as mechanical. 

 We do not see the wheels go round; we do not see the 

 source or the distribution of the power; all is as fluid 

 and spontaneous as a meadow brook. We do not see 

 matter or motion as we know them upon the earth; 



298 



