FewofthosewhofindpleasureinfrequentingbookstorescanhavefailedtocomeacrossoneormoreoftheprofuselyillustratedvolumesinwhichM。LouisFiguierhassoughttorenderdryscienceentertainingtothemultitude。Andofthosewhomayhavecasuallyturnedovertheirpages，thereareprobablynone，competenttoformanopinion，whohavenotspeedilyperceivedthatthesepretentiousbooksbelongtotheclassofpestsandunmitigatednuisancesinliterature。Antiquatedviews，utterlackofcomprehensionofthesubjectstreated，andshamelessunscrupulousnessastoaccuracyofstatement，arefaultsbutillatonedforbysensationalpicturesofthe“dragonsoftheprimethattareeachotherintheirslime，“oroftheNewton-likebrowandsilkencurlsofthatprimitivemanincontrastwithwhomthesaiddragonshavebeenlikenedto“mellowmusic。“
Nevertheless，thesortofscientificreputationwhichthesediscreditableperformanceshavegainedforM。Figuieramonganuncriticalpublicissuchastojustifyusindevotingafewparagraphstoabook[13]which，onitsownmerits，isunworthyofanynoticewhatever。“TheTo-morrowofDeath“——ifoneweretoputhistrustinthetranslator’sprefatorynote——discussesagravequestionupon“purelyscientificmethods。“Wearegladtoseethisremark，becauseitshowswhatnotionsmaybeentertainedbypersonsofaverageintelligencewithreferenceto“scientificmethods。“Those——andtheyaremany——whovaguelythinkthatscienceissomethingdifferentfromcommon-sense，andthatanybookisscientificwhichtalksaboutperiheliaandasymptotesandcetacea，willfindtheirvaguenotionsherewellcorroborated。
Quitedifferentwillbetheimpressionmadeuponthose——andtheyareyettoofew——whohavelearnedthatthemethodofscienceisthecommon-sensemethodofcautiouslyweighingevidenceandwithholdingjudgmentwhereevidenceisnotforthcoming。Iftalkingaboutremoteanddifficultsubjectssufficetomakeonescientific，thenisM。Figuierscientifictoaquiteterribledegree。Hewritesaboutthestarryheavensasifhehadbeenpresentatthehourofcreation，orhadatleastaccompaniedtheArabianprophetonhisfamousnight-journey。Norishisknowledgeofphysiologyandotherabstrusesciencesatalllessremarkable。
Butthesethingswillceasetosurpriseuswhenwelearnthesources，hithertosuspectedonlyinmythology，fromwhichfavouredmortalscanobtainaknowledgeofwhatisgoingonoutsideofourplanet。
[13]TheTo-morrowofDeath；or，TheFutureLifeaccordingtoScience。ByLouisFiguier。TranslatedfromtheFrenchbyS。R。
Crocker。Boston:RobertsBrothers。1872。
Thefourinnerplanetsbeingnearlyalikeinsize？andinlengthofday，M。Figuierinfers，bystrictlyscientificmethods，thatwhateveristrueofoneofthem，asourearth，willbetrueoftheothersp。34。Hence，theyareallinhabitedbyhumanbeings。ItistruethathumanbeingsmustfindVenusratherwarm，andarenotunlikelytobeseriouslyincommodedbythetropicalclimateofMercury。Butwemustrememberthat“themenofVenusandMercuryaremadebynaturetoresistheat，asthoseofJupiterandSaturnaremadetoendurecold，andthoseoftheEarthandMarstoliveinameantemperature:OTHERWISETHEY
Inviewofthischarmingspecimenofatrulyscientificinference，itisalmosttoobadtocallattentiontothefactthatM。Figuierisquitebehindtheageinhisstatementoffacts。SofarfromJupiterandSaturnbeingcold，observationplainlyindicatesthattheyareprodigiouslyhot，ifnotevenincandescentandpartlyself-luminous；theexplanationbeingthat，byreasonoftheirhugebulk，theystillretainmuchoftheprimitiveheatwhichsmallerplanetshavemorequicklyradiatedaway。AsforM。Figuier’sstatement，thatpolarsnowshavebeenwitnessedontheseplanets，itissimplyuntrue；
nosuchthinghaseverbeenseenthere。Mars，ontheotherhand，hasbeenobservedtoresembleinmanyimportantrespectsitsnearneighbour，theEarth；whenceourauthordeclaresthatifanaeronautweretoshootclearofterrestrialgravitationandlanduponMars，hewouldunquestionablysupposehimselftobestillupontheearth。Foraerolites，itseems，aresomehowfireddownuponourplanetbothfromMarsandfromVenus；andaerolitessometimescontainvegetablematter？。Therefore，Marshasavegetation，andverylikelyitsredcolouriscausedbyitsluxuriantautumnalfoliage！p。47。ToreturntoJupiter:thisplanet，indeed，hasinconvenientlyshortdays。“Inhis’PictureoftheHeavens，’theGermanastronomer，LittrowtheseGermansthinkofnothingbutgormandizing，askshowthepeopleofJupiterordertheirmealsintheshortintervaloffivehours。“
Nevertheless，saysourauthor，thegreatplanetiscompensatedforthisinconveniencebyitsequableanddeliciousclimate。
Inview，however，ofourauthor’smorestrikingandoriginaldisclosures，onewouldsupposethatallthisdiscussionofthephysicalconditionsofexistenceonthevariousplanetsmighthavebeenpassedoverwithoutdetrimenttotheargument。AftertheseeffortsatprovingforM。Figuierpresumablyregardsthisrigmaroleasproofthatallthemembersofoursolarsystemarehabitable，theinterplanetaryetherisforthwithpeopledthicklywith“souls，“withoutanyresorttoargument。This，wesuppose，isoneofthosescientifictruthswhichasM。Figuiertellsus，precedeandunderliedemonstration。Uponthisimpregnablebasisisrearedthescientifictheoryofafuturelife。Whenwedieoursoulpassesintosomeotherterrestrialbody，unlesswehavebeenverygood，inwhichcaseweatoncesoaraloftandjointhenoblefraternityoftheether-folk。Badmenandyoungchildren，ondying，mustundergorenewedprobationherebelow，butultimatelyallpassawayintotheinterplanetaryether。Thedwellerinetherischieflydistinguishedfromthemundanemortalbyhisacutesensesandhisabilitytosubsistwithoutfood。Hecanseeasifthroughatelescopeandmicroscopecombined。HisintelligenceissogreatthatincomparisonanAristotlewouldseemidiotic。Itshouldnotbeforgotten，too，thathepossesseseighty-fivepercentofsoultofifteenpercentofbody，whereasinterrestrialmanthetwoelementsaremixedinequalproportions。Thereisnosexamongtheether-folk，theirnumbersbeingkeptupbytheinfluxofsoulsfromthevariousplanets。“Alimentation，thatnecessitywhichtyrannizesovermenandanimals，isnotimposedupontheinhabitantsofether。Theirbodiesmustberepairedandsustainedbythesimplerespirationofthefluidinwhichtheyareimmersed，thatis，ofether。“Mostlikely，continuesourscientificauthor，thephysiologicalfunctionsoftheether-folkareconfinedtorespiration，andthatitispossibletobreathe“withoutnumerousorgansisprovedbythefactthatinallofawholeclassofanimals——thebatrachians——themerebareskinconstitutesthewholemachineryofrespiration“p。95。Allowingfortheunfortunateslipofthepenbywhich“batrachians“aresubstitutedfor“fresh-waterpolyps，“howcanwefailtoadmiretheseverityofthescientificmethodemployedinreachingtheseinterestingconclusions？
ButtheKingofSerendibmustdie，norwilltherelentlessscytheofTimespareourEtherians，withalltheirexaltedattributes。
Theywilldierepeatedly；andafterhavingthroughsundryperiodsofprobationattainedspiritualperfection，theywillallpourintothesun。Sinceitisthesunwhichoriginateslifeandfeelingandthoughtuponthesurfaceofourearth，“whymaywenotdeclarethattheraystransmittedbythesuntotheearthandtheotherplanetsarenothingmorenorlessthantheemanationsofthesesouls？“Andnowwemaybegintoformanadequateconception，oftherigorouslyscientificcharacterofourauthor’smethod。Therehavebeenmanyhypothesesbywhichtoaccountforthesupplyofsolarradiance。OneofthemostingeniousandprobableofthesehypothesesisthatofHelmholtz，accordingtowhichthesolarradianceisduetothearrestedmotionofthesun’sconstituentparticlestowardtheircommoncentreofgravity。ButthisistoofancifultosatisfyM。
Figuier。ThespeculationsofHelmholtz“havethedisadvantageofrestingontheideaofthesun’snebulosity，——anhypothesiswhichwouldneedtobemorecloselyexaminedbeforeservingasabasisforsoimportantadeduction。“Accordingly，M。Figuierpropoundsanexplanationwhichpossessesthesignaladvantagethatthereisnothinghypotheticalinit。“Inouropinion，thesolarradiationissustainedbythecontinualinfluxofsoulsintothesun。“
This，asthereaderwillperceive，isthewell-knowntheoryofMayer，thatthesolarheatisduetoaperennialbombardmentofthesunbymeteors，savethat，inplaceofgrossmaterialisticmeteors，M。Figuierputsetherealsouls。Theether-folkaredailyrainingintothesolarorbinuntoldmillions，andtotheunceasingconcussionisduetheradiationwhichmaintainslifeintheplanets，andthusthecircleiscomplete。
Inspiteoftheirexaltedposition，theether-folkdonotdisdaintominglewiththeaffairsofterrestrialmortals。Theygiveuscounselindreams，anditisfromthissource，wepresume，thatourauthorhasderivedhisrigidnotionsastoscientificmethod。
Inevidenceofthisdream-theorywehavetheusualarrayofcases，“acelebratedjournalist，Malawyer，“
etc。，etc。，asinmostbooksofthiskind。
M。FiguierisnotaDarwinian:thederivationofourbodiesfromthebodiesofapesisaconceptiontoogrosslymaterialisticforhim。Oursouls，however，heisquitewillingtoderivefromthesoulsofloweranimals。Obviouslywehavepre-existed；howarewetoaccountforMozart’sprecocitysavebysupposinghispre-existence？Hebroughtwithhimthemusicalskillacquiredinapreviouslife。Ingeneral，thesoulsofmusicalchildrencomefromnightingales，whilethesoulsofgreatarchitectshavepassedintothemfrombeaversp。247。Wedonotrememberthesepastexistences，itistrue；butwhenwebecomeether-folk，weshallbeabletolookbackinrecollectionoverthewholeseries。
Amidthesesublimeinquiries，M。Figuierissometimesnotablyobliviousofhumblertruths，asmightindeedbeexpected。ThusherepeatedlyalludestoLockeastheauthorofthedoctrineofinnateideas！！，[14]andheinformsusthatKeplerneverquittedProtestantEnglandp。336，thoughwebelievethatthenearestKeplerevercametolivinginEnglandwastherefusingofSirHenryWotton’srequestthatheshouldmovethither。
[14]Pages251，252，287。Sointhetwenty-firstcenturysomeavatarofM。FiguierwillperhapsdescribethelateprofessorAgassizastheauthoroftheDarwiniantheory。
Andlastly，wearetreatedtoarealdialogue，withquiteadramaticmiseenscene。Theauthor’simaginaryfriend，Theophilus，enters，“seatshimselfinacomfortablechair，placesanottomanunderhisfeet，abookunderhiselbowtosupportit，andacigaretteofTurkishtobaccobetweenhislips，andsetshimselftothetaskoflisteningwithagraveairofcollectedness，relievedbyacertaintouchofsuspiciousseverity，asbecomesthearbiterinaliteraryandphilosophicmatter。““Andso，“beginsourauthor，“youwishtoknow，mydearTheophilus，WHEREILOCATEGOD？Ilocatehiminthecentreoftheuniverse，or，inbetterphrase，atthecentralfocus，whichmustexistsomewhere，ofallthestarsthatmaketheuniverse，andwhich，borneonwardinacommonmovement，gravitatetogetheraroundthisfocus。“
Muchmore，ofanequallyscientificcharacter，follows；butinfairnesstothereader，whoisalreadyblamingusforwastingthepreciousmomentsoversuchsorrytrash，wemayaswellconcludeoursketchofthisnewlineofspeculation。