The whole object of science is to synthesize, and so simplify and did we but know the uttermost of a subject we could make it singularly clear.

That Mars is inhabited by beings of some sort or other we may consider as certain as it is uncertain what these beings may be.

Ever since celestial mechanics in the skillful hands of Leverrier and Adams led to the world-amazed discovery of Neptune, a belief has existed begotten of that success that still other planets lay beyond, only waiting to be found.

War is a survival among us from savage times and affects now chiefly the boyish and unthinking element of the nation.

Imagination is as vital to any advance in science as learning and precision are essential for starting points. Let me warn you to beware of two opposite errors: of letting your imagination soar unballasted by facts, but on the other hand, of shackling it so solidly that it loses all incentive to rise.

Are physical forces alone at work there, or has evolution begotten something more complex, something not akin to what we know on Earth as life? It is in this that lies the peculiar interest of Mars.

Bright points in the sky or a blow on the head will equally cause one to see stars.