wn light,
and they are properly called _stars_.

Suppose that the sun and the multitude of stars, properly so called, are
each and all self-luminous brilliant bodies, what is the great
distinction between the sun and the stars? There is, of course, a vast
and obvious difference between the unrivalled splendour of the sun and
the feeble twinkle of the stars. Yet this distinction does not
necessarily indicate that our luminary has an intrinsic splendour
superior to that of the stars. The fact is that we are nestled up
comparatively close to the sun for the benefit of his warmth and light,
while we are separated from even the nearest of the stars by a mighty
abyss. If the sun were gradually to retreat from the earth, his light
would decrease, so that when he had penetrated the depths of space to a
distance comparable with that by which we are separated from the stars,
his glory would have utterly departed. No longer would the sun seem to
be the majestic orb with which we are familiar. No longer would he be a
source of genial heat, or a luminary to dispel the darkness of night.
Our great sun would have shrunk to the insignificance of a star, not so
bright as many of those which we see every night.

Momentous indeed is the conclusion to which we are now led. That myriad
host of stars which studs our sky every night has been elevated into
vast importance. Each one of those stars is itself a mighty sun,
actually rivalling, and in many cases surpassing, the splendour of our
own luminary. We thus open up a majestic conception of the vast
dimensions of space, and of the dignity and splendour of the myriad
globes by which that space is tenanted.

There is another aspect of the picture not without its utility. We must
from henceforth remember that our sun is only a star, and not a
particularly important star. If the sun and the earth, and all which it
contains, were to vanish, the effect in the universe would merely be
that a tiny star had ceased its twinkling. Viewed simply as a star, the
sun must retire to a position of insignificance in the mighty fabric of
the universe. But it is not as a star that we have to deal with the sun.
To us his comparative proximity gives him an importance incalculably
transcending that of all the other stars. We imagined ourselves to be
withdrawn from the sun to obtain his true perspective in the universe;
let us now draw near, and give him that attention which his supreme
importance to us merits.