Moon Pull

The laws of the universe fix the moon in its space niche, but what of its place in man's perception? The moon is being diminished, picked at like a specimen in a biology class, deprived of its ancient mythology.

"Honor to human courage," declared Pope Paul in a litany of praise. "Honor to the synthesis of the scientific and organizational activity of man. Honor to man--king of the earth and now prince of the heavens!" But pity the prince's domain. There was the astronaut with his golf ball, treating the desolate grandeur like country-club grass. Next time the visitors will drive a car. Mundane subjugation would seem complete.

Last week, as the astronauts came home, a grim earthquake struck California, and one scientist suggested that the quake was a function of the lunar eclipse. Retaliation, perhaps, for the little moonquakes precipitated by the astronauts. Scientists may argue the potency of the moon's gravitational pull, but for laymen there can be some comfort in the notion that the moon retains a bit of its mystery and strength.

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