nevertheless upon this Silk-Worm-Ball there are perform'd such mighty Works and where there are such terrible Wars and such strange Commotions as reign every where 'T is certainly true said I Madam while at the same time Nature who is not at the pains to consider these Troubles and Commotions carries us all along together by a general Motion and does as it were play with this little Globe It seems to me said she that 't is very ridiculous to inhabit any thing that turns so often and is so much agitated and the worst of all is that we are not assur'd whether we turn round or not for to be plain with you and that I may keep none of my Doubts from you I do extreamly suspect that all the Pre-cautions you can take will not convince me of the Motion of the Earth For is it possible but Nature wou'd have taken care to have given us some sensible Sign by which we might discover the turning round of so vast a Body The Motions answer'd I which are most natural to remove are the least perceptible and which holds true even in Morality for the Motion of Self-love is so natural to us that for the most part we do not feel it while we believe we act by other Principles Ah said she do you begin to speak of Moral Philosophy when the Question is of that which is altogether natural But I perceive you are sleepy and begin to yawn let us therefore retire for there 's enough said for the first Night to morrow we shall return hither again you with your Systems and I with my Ignorance In returning to the Castle to make an end of what might be said to Systems I told her there was a third Opinion invented by Ticho-brahe who wou'd have the Earth absolutely immoveable and plac'd in the Centre of the Universe and made the Sun to turn round it as he did the other Planets to turn round the Sun because since the new Discoveries it cou'd not be imagin'd that the other Planets turn'd round the Earth But my Lady Marquiese whose Judgment and Understanding is solid and penetrating found there was too much Affectation in endeavouring to free the Earth from turning round the Sun since several other great Bodies cou'd not be exempt from that Labour and that the Sun was not so proper and fit to turn round the Earth since the other Planets turn round the Sun and that this new System was only good to maintain the standing still of the Earth if one had a mind to undertake that Argument but 't is not proper to perswade another to believe it At last we resolv'd to hold our selves to the Opinion of Copernicus which is more uniform and more agreeable without the least mixture of Prejudice and indeed its Simplicity and Easiness perswades as much as its Boldness pleases The Second Night AS soon as one could get into my Lady Marquiese's Apartment I sent to know how she did and how she had slept that Night in turning round She sent me word that now she was pretty well accustom'd to the Motion of the Earth and that Copernicus himself cou'd not have rested better that Night than she did A little after this there came Company to visit my Lady which according to the nauseous Country-fashion stay'd till the Evening and yet we thought our selves happy that we were so easily rid of 'em then since according to the custom of the Country they might have prolong'd their Visit till the next Day but they were so civil as not to do it so that Madam the Marquiese and I found our selves at liberty In the Evening we went again to the Park and the Conversation began as it ended before of our System My Lady Marquiese had comprehended 'em so well that she wou'd not be at the pains to re-assume any thing of what had pass'd but press'd me to lead her to something that was new Well said I since the Sun which is now immoveable and no longer a Planet and that the Earth that moves round the Sun is now one be not surpriz'd if I tell you the Moon is another Earth and is by all appearance inhabited Said she I never heard of the Moon 's being inhabited but as a Fable So it may be still said I I concern my self no further in these Matters than Men use to do in Civil Wars where the Uncertainty of what may be makes People still entertain a Correspondence with the adverse Party As for me tho' I see the Moon inhabited I live very civilly with those that do not believe it and I carry my self so trimmingly that I may upon occasion with Honour go over to their side who have the better but still they gain some considerable Advantage over us I 'll tell you my Reasons that make me take part with the Inhabitants of the Moon Suppose then there had never been any Commerce between Paris and St. Denis and that a Citizen of Paris who had never been out of that City shou'd go up to the top of the Steeple of our Lady and shou'd view St. Denis at a distance and one shou'd ask him if he believ'd St. Denis to be inhabited he wou'd answer boldly Not at all for he wou'd say I see the Inhabitants of Paris but I do not see those of St. Denis nor ever heard of ' em It may be some body standing by wou'd represent to him That it was true one cou'd not see the Inhabitants of St. Denis from our Lady's Church but that the distance was the cause of it yet that all we cou'd see of St. Denis was very like to Paris for St. Denis had Steeples Houses and Walls and that it might resemble Paris in every thing else and be inhabited as well as it All these Arguments wou'd not prevail upon my Citizen who wou'd continue still obstinate in maintaining that St. Denis was not inhabited because he saw none of the People The Moon is our St. Denis and we the Citizens of Paris that never went out of our own Town Ah interrupted the Marquiese you do us wrong we are not so foolish as your Citizens of Paris Since he sees that St. Denis is so like to Paris in every thing he must have lost his Reason if he did not think it was inhabited But for the Moon that 's nothing like the Earth Have a care Madam said I what you say for if I make it appear that the Moon is in every thing like the Earth you are oblig'd to believe that the Moon is inhabited I acknowledge said she if you do that I must yield and your Looks are so assur'd that you frighten me already The two different Motions of the Earth which wou'd never have enter'd into my Thoughts make me very apprehensive of all you say But is it possible that the Earth can be an enlighten'd Body as the Moon is For to resemble it it must be so Alas Madam said I to be enlightned is not so
little and several have made and fitted wings to themselves and invented a way to give themselves Motion for supporting the Body in the Air for crossing of Rivers and flying from one steeple to another 'T is true these were not flights of an Eagle and it has cost some of these new Birds a Leg or an Arm But this Essay is like the first Planks that were carry'd on the Water which yet gave beginnings to shipping and there was a very great difference between these Planks and Ships of mighty burden yet you see that time by degrees has produc'd great Ships The Art of flying is but in its Infancy time must bring it to Maturity and one day Men will be able to fly to the Moon Do you pretend to have discover'd all things said she or to have brought them to that perfection that nothing can be added Pray Madam said I by consent let us save something for the Age to come I will never yield said she that Men will ever be able to fly without breaking their Necks Well said I Madam since you will needs have Men always to fly so ill it may be the Inhabitants of the Moon will fly better and will be fitter for that Trade for 't is all one if we go to them or they to us And we shall be like the Americans who did not believe Navigation possible when at the same time sailing was so well understood on the other half of the Globe Sure said she in anger the Inhabitants of the Moon wou'd have been with us before now if that were likely Pardon me said I Madam the Europaeans did not sail to America till after six thousand years all that time was requisite for performing Navigation The Inhabitants of the Moon it may be at that time knew how to make little Journeys in the Air and are now practising and it may be when they have more skill we shall see ' em And God knows what a strange Surprise 't will be to us This is insupportable said the Marquiese to banter me on thus with such frivolous Arguments If you anger me said I I know what I have to say to enforce 'em and make all good Observe Madam how the World is daily more and more unfolded The Ancients believed the torrid and the frozen Zones uninhabituable for extremity of cold or heat And the Romans confin'd the general Map of the World to their own Empire which carry'd as much of Grandure as Ignorance But we know that there are Inhabitants both in these extreme hot and extreme cold Countries by this the World is much augmented Then it was believed that the Ocean cover'd all the Earth except what was inhabited And that there was no Antipodes for the Ancients never heard of them Besides they cou'd not believe Men cou'd have their Feet opposite to ours with their Heads hanging down and yet after all this the Antipodes are discover'd the Map of the World is corrected and a new half added to the World. You understand my meaning said I Madam these Antipodes which have been discover'd contrary to all Expectation ought to make us more circumspect in judging by appearances The World and secrets of Nature will be daily more and more discover'd and at last we may come to know somewhat more of the Moon Certainly said the Marquiese looking earnestly on me I see you so charmed with this Opinion that I doubt not but you believe all you say I shou'd be very sorry to find my self so said I my endeavour is only to show that chimerical Opinion may be so far defended by strength of Argument as to amuse a Person of your Understanding and Sense but not to perswade Nothing but truth it self has that Influence even without the Ornaments of all its convincing Proofs it penetrates so naturally into the Soul that one seems but to call it to mind tho it be the first time that ever one heard of it Now you ease me said she for your false way of arguing did confound and incommode me but now I can go sleep soundly so if you please let us retire The Third Night MY Lady Marquiese wou'd needs engage me to pursue and continue our Discourse by Day-light but I told her 't was more proper to reserve our Fancies and Notions till the Night and since the Moon and Stars were the Subjects of our Conversation to trust it only to them We did not fail to go that Evening into the Park which was now become a place consecrated to our Philosophical Entertainment I have a great deal of News to tell you said I The Moon which I told you last Night by all appearance was inhabited now I begin to think may be otherwise for I have been reflecting upon a thing which puts its Inhabitants in great danger I shall never suffer that said the Marquiese for you having prepar'd me last Night put me in hopes to see these People arrive one Day upon our Earth and to day you will not allow them a being in the Universe You shall not impose upon me at this rate You made me believe there were Inhabitants in the Moon I have overcome all the Difficulties my Reason suggested to me against that Opinion and now I am resolv'd I will believe it You go too fast said I Madam one ought to give but one half of ones Thoughts and Belief to Opinions of this nature reserving the other half free for receiving the contrary Opinion if there be occasion I am not to be deluded reply'd the Marquiese with fair Words let us come to the subject matter in debate Must not we reason the same way of the Inhabitants of the Moon as we did of your St. Denis Not at all Madam answer'd I the Moon does not so much resemble the Earth as St. Denis does Paris The Sun draws from the Earth Waters Exhalations and Vapours which ascending into the Air to a certain heighth are gather'd together and form Clouds these Clouds hanging in the Air move regularly round our Globe and over shadows sometimes one Country sometimes another And if it were possible for any one to see and consider the Earth at a great distance he wou'd perceive great Changes as to the appearance of its Surface for a great Country cover'd with Clouds wou'd appear to be a very obscure part of the Globe and will become clear and enlightned as soon as these Clouds dis-appear and one wou'd see these obscure places change their Situation meeting together in different Figures or disappearing all together We shou'd see therefore the same Changes upon the Surface of the Moon were it encompass'd with Clouds as the Earth is but on the contrary all the Obscurities or dark places as also those parts that are enlightned are still the same fix'd to the same Situation without Variation or Change there lies the difficulty And for this reason the Sun draws no Vapours or Exhalation from the Globe of the Moon and by consequence 't
else but Collections or little heaps of these imperceptible Animals who find there as much room as is requisite for them to move in The leaf of a Tree is a little World inhabited by such invisible little Worms To them this leaf seems of a vast Extent they find Hills and Valleys upon it And there is no more Communication between the living Creatures on the one side and those on the other than between us and the Antipodes And I think there is more reason to believe a Planet which is so vast a Body to be inhabited There has been found in several sorts of very hard Stones infinite multitudes of little Worms lodg'd all over them in insensible varieties and who are nourish'd upon the Substance of these Stones which they eat Consider the vast Numbers of these little Animals and how long a tract of Years they have liv'd upon a grain of Sand. And by this Argument tho my Moon were nothing but a confus'd heap of Marble Rocks I wou'd rather make it be devour'd and consum'd by its Inhabitants than to place none at all in it To conclude every thing lives and every thing is animated that is to say if you comprehend the Animals that are generally known the living Creatures lately discover'd and those that will be discover'd herafter you will find that the Earth is very well Peopl'd and that Nature has been so liberal in bestowing them that she has not been at the pains to discover half of ' em After this can you believe that Nature who has been fruitful to Excess as to the Earth is barren to all the rest of the Planets My Reason is convinc'd said the Marquiese but my Fancy in confounded with the infinite Number of living Creatures that are in the Planets and my thoughts are strangely embarass'd with the variety that one must of Necessity imagine to be amongst 'em because I know Nature does not love Repetitions and therefore they must all be different But how is it possible for one to represent all these to our Fancy Our Imaginations can never comprehend this variety said I let us be satisfied with our Eyes or we may easily conceive by an universal view Nature has form'd variety in the several Worlds All the Faces of Mankind are in general near the same Form. Yet the two great Nations of our Globe the Europaeans and Africans seem to have been made after different Models Nay there is a certain resemblance and Air of the Countenance peculiar to every Family or Race of Men. Yet it is wonderful to observe how many Millions of Times Nature has varied so simple a thing as the Face of a Man. We the Inhabitants of the Earth are but one little Family of the Universe we resemble one another The Inhabitants of another Planet are another Family whose Faces have another Air peculiar to themselves by all appearance the difference increases with the distance for cou'd one see an Inhabitant of the Earth and one of the Moon together he wou'd perceive less difference between them than between an Inhabitant of the Earth and an Inhabitant of Saturn Here for Example we have the use of the Tongue and Voice and in another Planet it may be they only speak by Signs In another the Inhabitants speaks not at all Here our Reason is form'd and made perfect by Experience In another Place Experience adds little or nothing to Reason Further off the old know no more than the young Here we trouble our selves more to know what 's to come than to know what 's past In another Planet they neither afflict themselves with the one nor the other and 't is likely they are not the less happy for that Some say we want a sixth Sense by which we shou'd know a great many things we are now ignorant of It may be the Inhabitants of some other Planet have this advantage but want some of those other five we enjoy it may be also that there are a great many more natural Senses in other Worlds but we are satisfi'd with the five that are fal'n to our Share because we know no better Our Knowledge is bounded to certain limits which the Wit of Man cou'd never yet exceed There is a certain point where our Ingenuity is at a stand that which is beyond it is for some other World where it may be some things that are familiar to us are altogether unknown Our Globe enjoys the Pleasure of Love but is destroyed in several places by the fury of War. Another Planet enjoys constant Peace without the delights of Love which must render their Lives very irksom In fine Nature has done to the several Worlds in great as she has done to us Mortals in little by making some happy others miserable Yet she has never forgot her admirable Art in varying all things tho she has made some equal in some respects by compensating the want of any one thing with another of equal value Are you satisfi'd said I Madam very gravely have not I told you Chimeras in abundance Truly I find not so much difficulty to comprehend these differences of Worlds my Imagination is working upon the Model you have given me And I am representing to my own Mind odd Characters and Customs for these Inhabitants of the other Planets Nay more I am forming extravagant shapes and figures for 'em I can describe 'em to you for I fansie I see 'em here I leave these shapes said I Madam to entertain you in Dreams this Night to morrow we shall know if they have assisted you to describe the Inhabitants of some other Planet The Fourth Night THe Dreams of my Lady Marquiese were not lucky they still represented to her something like what we see on Earth so that I had as much reason to reproach her as certain People have to blame us when they see some of our Pictures for they being ignorant of drawing and designing and pleasing themselves with their extravagant and grotesque Figures tell us our Pictures are nothing but Men and Women and that there is no Fancy in 'em there was therefore a necessity of laying aside all sorts of the Forms and Figures of those Animals that inhabit several Planets and to rest satisfy'd by guessing as well as we can in pursuing our Journey which we had begun through the several Worlds of the Universe We were at Venus And there is no doubt said I to my Lady Marquiese but Venus turns upon her own Axis but 't is not known in what time and by consequence we know not the length of her Days but her Years must consist but of eight Months since Venus turns round the Sun in that space of time As Venus is forty times less than the Earth the Earth must necessarily appear to the Inhabitants of Venus to be forty times bigger than Venus appears to us and as the Moon is also forty times less than the Earth by consequence it must appear to the Inhabitants of Venus about