The Epigraph

[Charles]

Why do you think Wells placed the Kepler quote "But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be inhabited? ...Are we or they Lords of the World? ...And how are all things made for man?" from "The Anatomy of Melancholy?"

[Bayne]

[glow=red,2,300]For that matter, what is 'the anatomy of melencholy' by Kepler, having not read it. [/glow]

[Charles]

"The Anatomy of Melancholy" (1621) is actually the work of Robert Burton. Burton quotes a letter by Kepler to Galileo, and Wells edited it for the epigraph in order to link it to one of the novel's main ideas.

So the question remains, "are we, or they?"

[Bayne]

[glow=red,2,300]Well, as another Mars probe bites the dust, and on the same day an outback council worker snaps a nice saucer image near a railway crossing, I think it's a safe bet that the squiddies have it all over us

Bayne (with tongue firmly planted in cheek)

[/glow]

[David Faltskog]

Come now Bayne...The Martians are in preperation for their next invasion of earth.

The last thing they want want is some earthly probe looking through their bedroom window!.

Brittanicus-Bratticus.

[Xav]

One of the reasons for the Beagle crash was simply poor understanding of the problems involved and crappy engineering.....the American one was because they got mixed up between CGS and FPS units so that the poor thing didnt know where it was....an appalling error.

Oh, and the quote...Probably some kind of a dramatic metaphorical rendering, predicting the demise of the British Empire, and telling us (with suitable Biblical coyness) what to expect when America takes over. Who knows what to expect of ' melancholy scholars'? Nothing good, I'll warrant.

[Lensman]

Charles said:

Why do you think Wells placed the Kepler quote "But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be inhabited? ...Are we or they Lords of the World? ...And how are all things made for man?" from "The Anatomy of Melancholy?"

I'm puzzled by your question, Charles. It seems to me self-evident; those are some of the central themes of the book. I would not presume to lecture you on the themes of WotW; I'm sure you have a deeper understanding of them than I do. Perhaps you're looking for a deeper meaning? Do you see any indication that one exists? I don't, but certainly I don't have your depth of understanding of the material.

I presume "And how are all things made for man?" is questioning the old human-centered view of the cosmos, which assumed Creation was made entirely for the benefit of man. My understanding is that-- back in the days of Galileo-- the reason the Catholic church preferred the Ptolemic (earth-centered) view of the cosmos, rather than the Copernican model, is because the latter called into question this human-centered universe. Once you admit that the Earth is not the center of creation, it calls into question the primary importance of mankind.

This is exactly the same motive which compels "creationists" to reject evolutionary science and try to get so-called "creation science" or "intelligent design theory" into American schools.

[Charles]

I was trying to jump start conversation on the board during a slow time back in January 2004.

It didn't work.

[the Donal]

What lords? Which world?

Who are they?
Who are we?

Hang on....

WHO AM I?

Certainly not Horza Gobuchal or Kraiklyn.

Anyway- good you see you back and trying to promote thoughtful discussion. As you can see from the above- I've had a pig's festering maggot ridden corpse of a day and don't intend to make much sense for the remainder of the weekend.

Back to topic- I think, with the astronomy link, that perhaps it was more of a general muse on the possibility of inhabited worlds, frame of reference (they would be lords of their world, we lords of ours?*) and therefore, should the twain meet, what would our fate be?

All obviously very relevant to the face and alluded values of the book.


* Whichever- there's still far too much lording about goes on!