“No,” Miss Rowrer answered; “I am more than a drop of water, and more than a blade of grass. How, Phil, can you speak that way? As for me, there are times when I feel myself the equal of the whole world.”
“Miss Rowrer,” said Phil, “the whole world itself is nothing to the infinite.”
Phil Listening to Ethel
“And I say,” replied the young girl, “that the end and aim of this whole boundless universe is the production and development of the soul, or, if you prefer it that way, of consciousness in man’s perishable body. How do you know that Alfred Russel Wallace is not right when he supposes the earth to be the center of the universe? The Bible always said so. What if science should prove it?”
“Frankly, now,” remarked Will, who was smoking a bad cigar (and yet the brand bore his name—it was enough to disgust one with earthly grandeur) “frankly now, Ethel, can you suppose these little creatures that we are—”
“But I will not be a little creature!” cried Ethel. “The telescope seems to show that there is no such thing as an infinity of suns. Limited as they must be in number, they only form what is called a globular agglomeration, concentric with the Milky Way. I read that the other day. Our solar system is in the center of this agglomeration and so in the center of the Milky Way, which we see around us like a circle. And beyond, there is, perhaps, nothing at all. Our solar system is, then, in the center of the material universe; and this earth of ours—that which is nothing to the infinite, according to Phil—on the contrary, occupies so privileged a place near its central sun that here only, it is probable, life can have been developed and man created, and so the whole universe must have its fulfilment in us! What do you think of such a theory? I had rather believe that than be only a flower or a drop of water,” Ethel concluded, as she arose.
From his corner in the shadow Phil saw her, in the full light of the lamp, standing out luminous against the dark horizon as if mingled with the stars. He admired her superb self-confidence—why should he doubt himself? He vowed that before their departure for Morgania he would let Miss Rowrer know his feelings for her. Perhaps she suspected them a little. No matter, he would tell her! As an extreme limit, so much did he feel the need of binding himself, he fixed the time for his declaration at the stag hunt.