The Hypothesis Is Pretty; Its Only Fault

When The Moon Is Ninety Degrees Away From The Sun It Sees But Half The Earth Illuminated (the Western Half). For The Other (the Eastern Half) Is Enveloped In Night. Hence The Moon Itself Is Illuminated Less Brightly From The Earth, And As A Result Its Secondary Light Appears Fainter To Us.

It Has Always Seemed To Me Extreme Presumptuousness On The Part Of Those Who Want To Make Human Ability The Measure Of What Nature Can And Knows How To Do, Since, When One Comes Down To It, There Is Not One Effect In Nature, No Matter How Small, That Even The Most Speculative Minds Can Fully Understand.

The Milky Way Is Nothing Else But A Mass Of Innumerable Stars Planted Together In Clusters.

Facts Which At First Seem Improbable Will, Even On Scant Explanation, Drop The Cloak Which Has Hidden Them And Stand Forth In Naked And Simple Beauty.

Long Experience Has Taught Me This About The Status Of Mankind With Regard To Matters Requiring Thought: The Less People Know And Understand About Them, The More Positively They Attempt To Argue Concerning Them, While On The Other Hand To Know And Understand A Multitude Of Things Renders Men Cautious In Passing Judgment Upon Anything New.