Astronomy 



plane. The earth is, therefore, nearly in th^ centre of the 

 stellar universe. 



(3) That this universe consists throughout of the same 

 kinds of matter, and is subjected to the sjme physical and 

 chemical laws. 



The conclusions which I claim to have » hown to have 

 enormous probabilities in their favour are : 



(4) That no other planet in the solar sy^^tem than our 

 earth is inhabited or habitable. 



(5) That the probabilities are almost as great against 

 any other sun possessing inhabited planets. 



(6) That the nearly central position of our sun is prob- 

 ably a permanent one, and has been specially favourable, 

 perhaps absolutely essential, to life-develoj)ment on the 

 earth. 1 



Wallace never maintained that this eartli alone in the 

 whole universe is the abode of life. What he maintained 

 wa«, first, that our solar system appears to be in or near 

 the centre of the visible universe, and, secondly, that all 

 the available evidence supports the idea of the extreme un- 

 likelihood of there being on any star or planet revealed by 

 the telescope any intelligent life either identical with or 

 analogous to man. To suppose that this one particular 

 type of universe extends over all space was, he considered, 

 to have a low idea of the Creator and His power. Such a 

 scheme would mean monotony instead of infinite variety, 

 the keynote of things as they are known to us. There 

 might be a million universes, but all different. 



To his mind there was no difficulty in believing in the 

 existence of consciousness apart from material organism ; 

 though he could not readily conceive of pure mind, or 

 pure spirit, apart from some kind of substantial envelope 

 or substratum. Many of the views suggested in " Man's 

 Place in the Universe " as to man's spiritual progress 

 hereafter, the reason or ultimate purpose for which he 



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