47 The Scientist's Reply

The poet and the scientist argue about causal relationships.

Think of the sun, the poet begins, as my daughter. I command her to rise, and she rises. I command her to sleep, and she sleeps. By this metaphor, I refute the scientific principle stating that the risings and settings of the sun are caused by the rotation of the earth upon its axis.

Ahh! retorts the scientist, pausing for effect. As the sun has given birth to the earth whence the command to rise is given, so should the daughter you have borne bid you to rise.

The poet answers shrewdly. But I have not given birth to my daughter. Such chores are the duty of my wife.

The scientist is prepared for this answer. Well then, he says, stroking his chin, think of your wife as the moon, which commands the night when you have put your daughter to rest. Further recognize that your wife takes her light from your daughter, who sleeps surreptitiously beneath the horizon.

I am betrayed, says the poet.

"The Scientist's Reply" from The Collection