The first question suggested to the reader by these considerations
is whether any such result is possible; whether it is within the
power of man to discover the nature of luminiferous ether and the
cause of gravitation. To this the profoundest philosopher can only
answer, "I do not know." Quite possibly the gates at which he is
beating are, in the very nature of things, incapable of being
opened. It may be that the mind of man is incapable of grasping
the secrets within them. The question has even occurred to me
whether, if a being of such supernatural power as to understand
the operations going on in a molecule of matter or in a current of
electricity as we understand the operations of a steam-engine
should essay to explain them to us, he would meet with any more
success than we should in explaining to a fish the engines of a
ship which so rudely invades its domain. As was remarked by
William K. Clifford, perhaps the clearest spirit that has ever
studied such problems, it is possible that the laws of geometry
for spaces infinitely small may be so different from those of
larger spaces that we must necessarily be unable to conceive them.
Still, considering mere possibilities, it is not impossible that
the twentieth century may be destined to make known natural forces
which will enable us to fly from continent to continent with a
speed far exceeding that of the bird.
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