The theory of the Earth's rotation was met by a like opposition—even to the martyrdom of its discoverers—because, besides depriving our orb of its dignified central position in space, the theory produced an appalling confusion of ideas as to the Ascension—the terms “up” and “down” being proved to be merely relative, thus complicating not a little the question of the precise locality of Heaven![1663]
According to the best modern calculations, there are no less than 500,000,000 Stars of various magnitudes, within the range of the best telescopes. As to the distances between them, they are incalculable. Is, then, our microscopical Earth—a “grain of sand on an infinite sea-shore”—the only centre of intelligent life? Our own Sun, itself 1,300,000 times larger than our Planet, sinks into insignificance beside the giant Sun, Sirius, and the latter in its turn is dwarfed by other luminaries in infinite Space. The self-centred conception of Jehovah as the special guardian of a small and obscure semi-nomadic tribe, is tolerable beside that which confines sentient existence to our microscopical Globe. The primary reasons were without doubt: (a) astronomical ignorance on the part of the early Christians, coupled with an exaggerated appreciation of man's own importance—a crude form of selfishness; and (b) the dread that, if the hypothesis of millions [pg 749] of other inhabited Globes were accepted, the crushing rejoinder would ensue: “Was there then a Revelation to each World?”—involving the idea of the Son of God eternally “going the rounds,” as it were. Happily it is now unnecessary to waste time and energy in proving the possibility of the existence of such Worlds. All intelligent persons admit it. That which now remains to be demonstrated is, that if it is once proven that there are inhabited Worlds besides our own, with humanities entirely different from each other as from our own—as maintained in the Occult Sciences—then the evolution of the preceding Races is half proved. For where is that Physicist or Geologist who is prepared to maintain that the Earth has not changed scores of times, in the millions of years which have elapsed in the course of its existence; and that changing its “skin,” as it is called in Occultism, the Earth has not had each time her special Humanities adapted to such atmospheric and climatic conditions as were entailed by such change? And if so, why should not our preceding four and entirely different Mankinds have existed and thrived before our Adamic Fifth Root Race?
Before closing our debate, however, we have to examine the so-called organic evolution more closely. Let us search well and see whether it is quite impossible to make our Occult data and chronology agree—up to a certain point—with those of Science.
C. Supplementary Remarks On Esoteric Geological Chronology.
It seems possible to calculate the approximate duration at any rate of the geological periods from the combined data of Science and Occultism now before us. Geology is, of course, able to determine one thing with almost certainty—the thickness of the several deposits. Now, it also stands to reason that the time required for the deposition of any stratum on a sea-bottom must bear a strict proportion to the thickness of the mass thus formed. Doubtless the rate of the erosion of land, and of the sorting out of matter on to ocean beds, has varied from age to age, and cataclysmic changes of various kinds have broken the “uniformity” of ordinary geological processes. Provided, then, that we have some definite numerical basis on which to work, our task is rendered less difficult than it might at first sight appear. Making [pg 750] due allowance for variations in the rate of deposit, Professor Lefèvre gives us the relative figures which sum up geological time. He does not attempt to calculate the lapse of years since the first bed of the Laurentian rocks was deposited, but postulating that time as x, he presents us with the relative proportions in which the various periods stand to it. Let us premise our estimate by stating that, roughly speaking, the Primordial rocks are 70,000 ft., the Primary 42,000 ft., the Secondary 15,000 ft., the Tertiary 5,000 ft., and the Quaternary some 500 ft. in thickness:
Dividing into a hundred parts the time, whatever its actual length, that has passed since the dawn of life on this earth [lower Laurentian strata], we shall be led to attribute to the Primordial age more than half of the whole duration, say 53.5; to the Primary 32.2; to the Secondary 11.5; to the Tertiary 2.3; to the Quaternary 0.5 or one-half per cent.[1664]
Now, as it is certain, on Occult data, that the time which has elapsed since the first sedimentary deposits is 320,000,000 years, we are able to construct the following table:
Rough Approximations of Length of Geological Periods in Years.
Primordial (Laurentian, Cambrian, Silurian): 171,200,000.