THE LESSON OF EVOLUTION 15 



the Universe which shews no sign of evolution. It 

 alone is eternal. 



A casual glance at the stars gives us the impression 

 of immutability. We still speak of the " fixed stars," 

 in much the same way as our forefathers used to speak 

 of the " everlasting hills." But we know that they are 

 not fixed. We know that the nearer stars, including 

 the sun itself, are in swift movement ; and we infer 

 that all are so. But we can see no connection between 

 their movements. Single stars, or small groups of 

 stars, are rushing through space in various directions, 

 and we cannot detect any common centre of gravity 

 which holds them in control. The stars have not yet 

 attained the regularity of movement that gravitation 

 must bring about in a very ancient system ; and this 

 idea of the comparative youth of the Universe is 

 strengthened when we remember that large numbers 

 of the primitive meteorites are still wandering in space 

 uncondensed into stars. If it be true that the sun is 

 one of the oldest stars in the Universe ; and if, as 

 geologists think, the earth is not more than a hundred 

 millions of years old, then it may very well be that 

 the creation of the cosmic dust out of which the stellar 

 universe has been formed, took place less than two 

 hundred millions of years ago. But, although it may 

 be possible to place a limit to the age of the Universe, 

 we can fix no time for its duration. It is impossible 

 to form an estimate of the hundreds of millions of 

 years that will pass before the end approaches. Still, 



through space, constantly throwing off stars in all directions and 

 occasionally colliding. As all this is pure assumption and highly 

 improbable, I cannot think that Professor Bickerton has brought 

 forward any serious objection to the theory of the dissipation of 

 energy, and his hypothesis must be added to the list of failures. 



