The Consolidator; or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon. Defoe Daniel
way was passable from these Parts.
I had heard of a World in the Moon among some of our Learned Philosophers, and Moor, as I have been told, had a Moon in his Head; but none of the fine Pretenders, no not Bishop Wilkins, ever found Mechanick Engines, whose Motion was sufficient to attempt the Passage. A late happy Author indeed, among his Mechanick Operations of the Spirit, had found out an Enthusiasm, which if he could have pursued to its proper Extream, without doubt might, either in the Body or out of the Body, have Landed him somewhere hereabout; but that he form'd his System wholly upon the mistaken Notion of Wind, which Learned Hypothesis being directly contrary to the Nature of things in this Climate, where the Elasticity of the Air is quite different and where the pressure of the Atmosphere has for want of Vapour no Force, all his Notion dissolv'd in its Native Vapour call'd Wind, and flew upward in blew Strakes of a livid Flame call'd Blasphemy, which burnt up all the Wit and Fancy of the Author, and left a strange stench behind it, that has this unhappy quality in it, that every Body that Reads the Book, smells the Author, tho' he be never so far off; nay, tho' he took Shipping to Dublin, to secure his Friends from the least danger of a Conjecture.
But to return, to the happy Regions of the Lunar Continent, I was no sooner Landed there, and had lookt about me, but I was surpriz'd with the strange Alteration of the Climate and Country; and particularly a strange Salubrity and Fragrancy in the Air, which I felt so Nourishing, so Pleasant and Delightful, that tho' I could perceive some small Respiration, it was hardly discernable, and the least requisite for Life, supplied so long that the Bellows of Nature were hardly imployed.
But as I shall take occasion to consider this in a Critical Examination into the Nature, Uses and Advantages of Good Lungs, of which by it self, so I think fit to confine my present Observations to things more particularly concerning the Eye-sight.
I was, you may be sure, not a little surprized, when being upon an Eminence I found my self capable by common Observation, to see and distinguish things at the distance of 100 Miles and more, and seeking some Information on this point, I was acquainted by the People, that there was a certain grave Philosopher hard by, that could give me a very good Account of things.
It is not worth while to tell you this Man's Lunar Name, of whether he had a Name, or no; 'tis plain, 'twas a Man in the Moon; but all the Conference I had with him was very strange: At my first coming to him, he askt me if I came from the World in the Moon? I told him, no: At which he began to be angry, told me I Ly'd, he knew whence I came as well as I did; for he saw me all the way. I told him, I came to the World in the Moon, and began to be as surly as he. It was a long time before we could agree about it, he would have it, that I came down from the Moon; and I, that I came up to the Moon: From this, we came to Explications, Demonstrations, Spheres, Globes, Regions, Atmospheres, and a Thousand odd Diagrams, to make the thing out to one another. I insisted on my part, as that my Experiment qualified me to know, and challeng'd him to go back with me to prove it. He, like a true Philosopher, raised a Thousand Scruples, Conjectures, and Spherical Problems, to Confront me; and as for Demonstrations, he call'd 'em Fancies of my own. Thus we differ'd a great many ways; both of us were certain, and both uncertain; both right, and yet both directly contrary; how to reconcile this Jangle was very hard, till at last this Demonstration happen'd, the Moon as he call'd it, turning her blind-side upon us three Days after the Change, by which, with the help of his extraordinary Glasses, I that knew the Country, perceived that side the Sun lookt upon was all Moon, and the other was all world; and either I fancy'd I saw or else really saw all the lofty Towers of the Immense Cities of China: Upon this, and a little more Debate, we came to this Conclusion, and there the Old Man and I agreed, That they were both Moons and both Worlds, this a Moon to that, and that a Moon to this, like the Sun between two Looking-Glasses, and shone upon one another by Reflection, according to the oblique or direct Position of each other.
This afforded us a great deal of Pleasure; for all the World covet to be found in the right, and are pleas'd when their Notions are acknowledg'd by their Antagonists: It also afforded us many very useful Speculations, such as these;
1. How easy it is for Men to fall out, and yet all sides to be in the right?
2. How Natural it is for Opinion to despise Demonstration?
3. How proper mutual Enquiry is to mutual Satisfaction?
From the Observation of these Glasses, we also drew some Puns, Crotchets and Conclusions.
1st, That the whole World has a Blind-side, a Dark-side, and a Bright-side, and consequently so has every Body in it.
2dly, That the Dark-side of Affairs to Day, may be the Bright-side to Morrow; from whence abundance of useful Morals were also raised; such as,
1. No Man's Fate is so dark, but when the Sun shines upon it, it will return its Rays, and shine for it self.
2. All things turn like the Moon, up to Day, down to Morrow, Full and Change, Flux and Reflux.
3. Humane Understanding is like the Moon at the First Quarter, half dark.
3dly, The Changing-sides ought not to be thought so strange, or so much Condemn'd by Mankind, having its Original from the Lunar Influence, and govern'd by the Powerful Operation of Heavenly Motion.
4thly, If there be any such thing as Destiny in the World, I know nothing Man is so predestinated to, as to be eternally turning round; and but that I purpose to entertain the Reader with at least a whole Chapter or Section of the Philosophy of Humane Motion, Spherically and Hypocritically Examin'd and Calculated, I should inlarge upon that Thought in this place.
Having thus jumpt in our Opinions, and perfectly satisfied our selves with Demonstration, That these Worlds were Sisters, both in Form, Function, and all their Capacities; in short, a pair of Moons, and a pair of Worlds, equally Magnetical, Sympathetical, and Influential, we set up our rest as to that Affair, and went forward.
I desir'd no better Acquaintance in my new Travels, than this new Sociate; never was there such a Couple of People met; he was the Man in the Moon to me, and I the Man in the Moon to him; he wrote down all I said, and made a Book of it, and call'd it, News from the World in the Moon; and all the Town is like to see my Minutes under the same Title; nay, and I have been told, he published some such bold Truths there, from the Allegorical Relations he had of me from our World: That he was call'd before the Publick Authority, who could not bear the just Reflections of his damn'd Satyrical way of Writing; and there they punisht the Poor Man, put him in Prison, ruin'd his Family; and not only Fin'd him Ultra tenementum, but expos'd him in the high Places of their Capital City, for the Mob to laugh at him for a Fool: This is a Punishment not unlike our Pillory, and was appointed for mean Criminals, Fellows that Cheat and Couzen People, Forge Writings, Forswear themselves, and the like; and the People, that it was expected would have treated this Man very ill, on the contrary Pitied him, wisht those that set him there placed in his room, and exprest their Affections, by loud Shouts and Acclamations, when he was taken down.
But as this happen'd before my first Visit to that World, when I came there all was over with him, his particular Enemies were disgrac'd and turn'd out, and the Man was not at all the worse receiv'd by his Country-folks than he was before; and so much for the Man in the Moon.
After we had settled the Debate between us, about the Nature and Quality, I desir'd him to show me some Plan or Draft of this new World of his; upon which, he brought me out a pair of very beautiful Globes, and there I had an immediate Geographical Description of the Place.
I found it less by Degrees than Our Terrestial Globe, but more Land and less Water; and as I was particularly concern'd to see something in or near the same Climate with Our selves, I observ'd a large extended Country to the North, about the Latitude of 50 to 56 Northern Distance; and enquiring of that Country, he told me it was one of the best Countries in all their World: That it was his