' 'Your glass is a cheat, a lie,' said the Professor. 'But
others have seen them,' said the man, 'as well as I, and seen them
through a number of other glasses.'
''It is impossible,' answered the Professor. 'A Sun made by an
All-perfect God, and made on purpose to be a Light, cannot possibly be
defaced with dark spots; and whoever says any thing to the contrary is
a ----.'
'Here the Professor rested his case;--'A Sun without spots, or no Sun.
Light without variation of shade, or no Light. Prove that the Sun has
spots, and you reduce him to a level with an old extinguished lamp, that
is fit for nothing but to be cast away as an unclean and worthless
thing. The honor of God, and the welfare of the universe all hang on
this one question,--Spots, or no spots!'
'His fellow professors took his part, and many spoke in the same strain.
But the belief in the spots made its way, and spread further every day,
and the consequence was, the obstinate Professors were confounded and
put to shame. Facts were too strong for them, and their credit and
influence were damaged beyond remedy.
'After the Professors of the Sun were silenced, the Man in the Moon
arose and spoke. He contended that both Sun and Moon were free from
spots, but said, that no one could see the Sun as it really was, unless
he _lived_ in the Moon, and looked at it from his standpoint.
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