But let us discover a substance a hundred times as
strong as steel, and with that some form of force hitherto
unsuspected which will enable us to utilize this strength, or let
us discover some way of reversing the law of gravitation so that
matter may be repelled by the earth instead of attracted--then we
may have a flying-machine. But we have every reason to believe
that mere ingenious contrivances with our present means and forms
of force will be as vain in the future as they have been in the
past.
End of Project Gutenberg's Side-Lights On Astronomy, by Simon Newcomb
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