"If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly; if they be un-inhabited, what a waste of space."
— Thomas Carlyle

January 1, 1970

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ExistentialistsAcademics from ScotlandPhilosophers from ScotlandConservatives from the United KingdomHistorians from Scotland
Original Language: English

Sources

Variant: A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. It they be not inhabited, what a waste of space. — Attributed by Carl Sagan at a November 20, 1972 symposium on "Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man", held at Boston University — {{cite book