Moon-madness *

Mother Nature is an exceedingly exacting old lady. She guards her treasures well and does not yield them on casual inquiry. To be sure, she has spread the stuff and substance of the Universe before everyone so that it might be described and classified. For generations men have eagerly approached this monumental job until at last there is available a fairly satisfactory account of the structure of material things. This natural history approach to the Universe is fundamental and extremely important for, without adequate description of the elements of the problem posed by the Universe, solution is impossible. Important as this procedure is, nevertheless consideration of the relationships which exist between the elementary particles is just as significant. Once the cataloging is well underway, interest naturally turns to the patterning of the units. This leads to the inevitable questions, "What is the order of the Universe?" and, "Whence comes this order?" In a time of world-wide disruption, the existence of the order is questioned and man fumbles for some stability. While it is true that everyone sooner or later must determine his relationship to the Universe, the need for this is accelerated during times of stress and strain. It becomes especially important, therefore, in times like these to re-emphasize not so much the describable order of the Universe but the fact that it has order and that this order can be understood by the mind of man. Furthermore, it is equally necessary to emphasize the ways and means by which knowledge and understanding of that order can be obtained. This is debatable ground. The artist is sure that he approaches ultimate reality when, obeying the creative urge, he re-creates by some intuitive and imaginative approach the truth as he sees it. To the religious, the same intuitive approach operates through the forms and rituals and creeds of theology. It is quite clear that nearly everyone develops a personal procedure by means of which he approaches or reaches what he believes to be the truth. The scientist is one of these. His first approach to the world about