If there were beings who lived in the depths of the earth, in dwellings
adorned with statues and paintings, and every thing which is possessed
in rich abundance by those whom we esteem fortunate; and if these beings
could receive tidings of the power and might of the gods, and could then
emerge from their hidden dwellings through the open fissures of the
earth, to the places which we inhabit; if they could suddenly behold the
earth, and the sea, and the vault of heaven; could recognize the expanse
of the cloudy firmament, and the might of the winds of heaven, and
admire the sun in its majesty, beauty, and radiant effulgence; and,
lastly, when night vailed the earth in darkness, they could behold the
starry heavens, the changing moon, and the stars rising and setting in
the unvarying course ordained from eternity, they would surely exclaim,
“There are gods, and such great things must be the work of their hands.”
_Translation from_ HUMBOLDT’S “_Cosmos_.”