The plurality of worlds,—the indefinite immensity of the universe, is
a most awful subject of contemplation. He who rightly feels its mystery and
grandeur is in no danger of seduction from the falsehoods of religious
systems, or of deifying the principle of the universe. It is impossible to
believe that the Spirit that pervades this infinite machine begat a son upon
the body of a Jewish woman; or is angered at the consequences of that
necessity, which is a synonym of itself. All that miserable tale of the Devil,
and Eve, and an Intercessor, with the childish mummeries of the God of the
Jews, is irreconcilable with the knowledge of the stars. The works of His
fingers have borne witness against Him.
The nearest of the fixed stars is inconceivably distant from the earth,
and they are probably proportionably distant from each other. By
a calculation of the velocity of light, Sirius is supposed to be at least
54,224,000,000,000 miles from the earth
. That which appears only like
a thin and silvery cloud streaking the heaven is in effect composed of
innumerable clusters of suns, each shining with its own light, and illuminating
numbers of planets that revolve around them. Millions and
millions of suns are ranged around us, all attended by innumerable worlds,
yet calm, regular, and harmonious, all keeping the paths of immutable
necessity.
