annul gravitation, I do not see why it should not do more, for to
annul it the repulsion of the earth that it produces must be as
great as its attraction, unless we suppose gravitation for the
time being to be suspended; but whether it is or not, does not
affect the result in this case, for, after the apergetic
repulsion is brought to the degree at which a body does not fall,
any increase in the current's strength will cause it to rise, and
in the case of electro-magnets we know that the attraction or
repulsion has practically no limit. This will be of great
advantage to us," he continued, "for if a projectile could move
away from the earth with no more rapid acceleration than that
with which it approaches, it would take too long to reach the
nearest planet, but the maximum repulsion being at the start by
reason of its proximity to the earth--for apergy, being the
counterpart of gravitation, is subject to Newton's and Kepler's
laws--the acceleration of a body apergetically charged will be
greatest at first. Two inclined planes may have the same fall,
but a ball will reach the bottom of one that is steepest near the
top in less time than on any other, because the maximum
acceleration is at the start. We are all tired of being stuck to
this cosmical speck, with its monotonous ocean, leaden sky, and
single moon that is useless more than half the time, while its
size is so microscopic compared with the universe that we can
traverse its great circle in four days. Its possibilities are
exhausted; and just as Greece became too small for the
civilization of the Greeks, and as reproduction is growth beyond
the individual, so it seems to me that the future glory of the
human race lies in exploring at least the solar system, without
waiting to become shades."