Etidorhpa or the End of Earth

HY AND HOW.--”THE STRUGGLING RAY OF LIGHT FROM THOSE FARTHERMOST OUTREACHES.”

“Confronting mankind there stands a sphinx--the vast Unknown. However well a man may be informed concerning a special subject, his farthermost outlook concerning that subject is bounded by an impenetrable infinity.”

“Granted,” I interrupted, “that mankind has not by any means attained a condition of perfection, yet you must admit that questions once regarded as inscrutable problems are now illuminated by the discoveries of science.”

“And the ‘discovered, ‘ as I will show, has only transferred ignorance to other places,” he replied. “Science has confined its labors to superficial descriptions, not the elucidation of the fundamental causes of phenomena.”

“I can not believe you, and question if you can prove what you say.”