By Tim Binnall
A centuries-old book that explores the possibility of intelligent beings living on other planets was recently unearthed in England. Written by pioneering scientist Christiaan Huygens and published in 1698, the historic tome was reportedly discovered by book appraiser Jim Spencer at an antiques event in the British town of Moreton-in-Marsh. Given the onerous title The Celestial World Discover'd: Or, Conjectures Concerning the Inhabitants, Plants and Productions of the Worlds in the Planets, the 17th century piece posits that the other planets in our solar system are likely home to alien civilizations since it is unfathomable that God would create these worlds merely for them to be observed by humans here on Earth.
Based on this premise, Huygens puts forward an array of theories regarding the nature of these extraterrestrials in a manner that, although informed by the science of its day, would not seem all that out of place in UFO research circles today. To that end, he theorizes that the ETs likely possess hands and feet, since these body parts have proven to be particularly useful to human development over the course of time. Huygens also postulated that although they may live on another world, the aliens probably shared similar interests with Earthlings, such as astronomy and sailing, while also suffering from many of the same difficulties, including wars and disasters.
Reflecting on the odd contents of the book, Spencer noted that its outdated science can be somewhat amusing, such as Huygens' contention that animals elsewhere in the universe could be no larger than those found on Earth at the time, which is an idea that would later be upended by the discovery of the dinosaurs. That said, he mused that the tome is also rather sobering in the sense that "who knows how our own thoughts on these matters will appear to people looking back in 324 years." The book also serves as a somewhat maddening reminder that while the search for extraterrestrial life may have improved considerably, speculation on what these beings might be like has largely remained static for centuries.