第126章

Whatcomfortedhismisapprehension？

Thatasacompetentkeylesscitizenhehadproceededenergeticallyfromtheunknowntotheknownthroughtheincertitudeofthevoid。

Inwhatorderofprecedence，withwhatattendantceremonywastheexodusfromthehouseofbondagetothewildernessofinhabitationeffected？LightedCandleinStickbornebyBLOOM。

DiaconalHatonAshplantbornebySTEPHEN。

Withwhatintonationsecretoofwhatcommemorativepsalm？

The113th，modusperegrinus：InexituIsraë；ldeEgypto：domusJacobdepopulobarbaro。

Whatdideachdoatthedoorofegress？

Bloomsetthecandlestickonthefloor。Stephenputthehatonhishead。

Forwhatcreaturewasthedoorofegressadoorofingress？

Foracat。

Whatspectacleconfrontedthemwhenthey，firstthehost，thentheguest，emergedsilently，doublydark，fromobscuritybyapassagefromtherereofthehouseintothepenumbraofthegarden？

Theheaventreeofstarshungwithhumidnightbluefruit。

WithwhatmeditationsdidBloomaccompanyhisdemonstrationtohiscompanionofvariousconstellations？

Meditationsofevolutionincreasinglyvaster：ofthemooninvisibleinincipentlunation，approachingperigee：oftheinfinitelattiginousscintillatinguncondensedmilkyway，discerniblebydaylightbyanobserverplacedatthelowerendofacylindricalverticalshaft5000ftdeepsunkfromthesurfacetowardsthecentreoftheearth：ofSirius(alphainCanisMajor)10lightyears(57，000，000，000，000miles)distantandinvolume900

timesthedimensionofourplanet：ofArcturus：oftheprecessionofequinoxes：

ofOrionwithbeltandsextuplesunthetaandnebulainwhich100ofoursolarsystemscouldbecontained：ofmoribundandofnascentnewstarssuchasNovain1901：ofoursystemplungingtowardstheconstellationofHercules：oftheparallaxorparallacticdriftofsocalledfixedstars，inrealityevermovingfromimmeasurablyremoteeonstoinfinitelyremotefuturesincomparisonwithwhichtheyears，threescoreandten，ofallottedhumanlifeformedaparenthesisofinfinitesimalbrevity。

Werethereobversemeditationsofinvolutionincreasinglylessvast？

Oftheeonsofgeologicalperiodsrecordedinthestratificationsoftheearth：ofthemyriadminuteentomologicalorganicexistencesconcealedincavitiesoftheearth，beneathremovablestones，inhivesandmounds，ofmicrobes，germs，bacteria，bacilli，spermatozoa：oftheincalculabletrillionsofbillionsofmillionsofimperceptiblemoleculescontainedbycohesionofmolecularaffinityinasinglepinhead：oftheuniverseofhumanserumconstellatedwithredandwhitebodies，themselvesuniversesofvoidspaceconstellatedwithotherbodies，each，incontinuity，itsuniverseofdivisiblecomponentbodiesofwhicheachwasagaindivisibleindivisionsofredivisiblecomponentbodies，dividendsanddivisorseverdiminishingwithoutactualdivisiontill，iftheprogresswerecarriedfarenough，noughtnowherewasneverreached。

Whydidhenotelaboratethesecalculationstoamorepreciseresult？

Becausesomeyearspreviouslyin1886whenoccupiedwiththeproblemofthequadratureofthecirclehehadlearnedoftheexistenceofanumbercomputedtoarelativedegreeofaccuracytobeofsuchmagnitudeandofsomanyplaces，e。g。，the9thpowerofthe9thpowerof9，that，theresulthavingbeenobtained，33closelyprintedvolumesof1000pageseachofinnumerablequiresandreamsofIndiapaperwouldhavetoberequisitionedinordertocontainthecompletetaleofitsprintedintegersofunits，tens，hundreds，thousands，tensofthousands，hundredsofthousands，millions，tensofmillions，hundredsofmillions，billions，thenucleusofthenebulaofeverydigitofeveryseriescontainingsuccinctlythepotentialityofbeingraisedtotheutmostkineticelaborationofanypowerofanyofitspowers。

Didhefindtheproblemoftheinhabitabilityoftheplanetsandtheirsatellitesbyarace，giveninspecies，andofthepossiblesocialandmoralredemptionofsaidracebyaredeemer，easierofsolution？

Ofadifferentorderofdifficulty。Consciousthatthehumanorganism，normallycapableofsustaininganatmosphericpressureof19tons，whenelevatedtoaconsiderablealtitudeintheterrestrialatmospheresufferedwitharithmeticalprogressionofintensity，accordingasthelineofdemarcationbetweentropospher