"We were rapidly moving northward, and just as it would be on the earth,
the changing vegetation gave visible notice of our advance.
"But more interesting than nature were the scenes of life along our way,
and the custom of public worship filled me with wonder. Amphitheatres
of stone built high above the ground, and approached by encircling
terraces of steps dotted the country at long intervals. These, Chapman
explained, were the churches of the people. Here they gathered from long
distances around, and, even as he described their meaning, the
congregations were seen assembling, while later we heard the music flung
in waves of sound from these houses of song and worship.
"Chapman did not understand the Martian faith. There seemed little to
understand about it. It was one national expression of the love of
goodness and of beauty, but it was all directed to a source of
infallible wisdom, power and justice.
"Thus considering the country and its customs we fell again into a long
colloquy:
"'Dodd,' said Chapman, musingly, 'we should all become as these people
about us, and do the same things, and believe and act as they do. You
will, but I think I remain a little strange. I seem a spectator that a
caprice has cast upon this globe, and though I live here, I must succumb
to a certain alienation, a lack of mediation between their life and my
former existence, and because of this subtle estrangement, I shall
contract disease, or meet with accident, or waste in age, while you
shall stay young, and living, sink into the Martian life and yield to
it a spiritual, a mental acquiescence.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145