60 THE FITNESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT 



the action of water through long ages must 

 accomplish its gigantic work of disintegration 

 and sedimentation. Soil must be formed, and 

 water must penetrate it. In short a possible 

 abode of life not unlike the earth apparently 

 must be a frequent occurrence in space. 



GENERAL COSMOGRAPHICAL CONCLUSIONS 



Such, in the present state of knowledge, 

 are the general cosmographical views which 

 naturally suggest themselves to one who 

 considers the possibility of life throughout 

 the universe. The solar system appears to 

 be, in its most general traits, a fair sample 

 of the whole ; the sun is a typical star ; the 

 planets are certainly members of a large class 

 of similar bodies. These various types of 

 material aggregation are a good deal alike 

 wherever they occur. They are formed of 

 the same matter, probably in very much the 

 same proportions. They are actuated by the 

 same manifestations of the same energy, and 

 their evolutionary histories are similar. One 

 and all are likely to possess, for a longer or 

 shorter time, climates which make life possible. 

 On the other hand, it is already obvious that 



