Summary Micromegas


Voltaire
Micromegas
Heroes of the story “Micromegas” – the natives of the planets of Sirius and Saturn, Micromegas, a young man, the inhabitant of the star Sirius, by 450 years – on the threshold of adolescence – engaged in anatomical research and wrote a book. The mufti of his country, a loafer and an ignoramus, found suspicious, impudent, heretical positions in this work and began to pursue the scientist fiercely. He declared the book forbidden, and the author received an order not to appear to the court for 800 years. Micromegas was not particularly upset by the fact that he was removed from the court, vegetated in baseness and hectic, and set out to travel the planets. He traveled the entire Milky Way and found himself on the planet Saturn. The inhabitants of this country were just dwarfs compared to Micromegas, whose growth was 120,000 feet. He became friends with the Saturnians after they ceased to amaze him. The secretary of the Saturnia

Academy, a man of great intelligence, skilfully laying out the essence of other people’s inventions, made friends with the stranger, who explained to him that the purpose of his journey was the search for knowledge that could enlighten him. – Tell us how many senses people have in your planet, – the traveler asked. “We have seventy-two of them,” answered the academician, “and we constantly complain that this is too little.” “We are gifted with about a thousand feelings, and yet there is always a concern in us that we are insignificant and there are beings that surpass us,” Micromegas said. “How long have you been living?” – was his next question. – alas, we live very little, only fifteen thousand years. Our existence is not more than a point, our age is an instant. Hardly you begin to know the world, how, even earlier than experience comes, death is. “It’s quite like ours, sighed the giant. “If you were not a philosopher,” he continued, “I would be afraid to upset you, saying that our life is seven hundred times
longer than yours; but when death comes, whether you have lived for eternity or one day – it is absolutely decisive anyway. After they told each other little of what they knew, and much of what they did not know, both came to a decision to make a small philosophical journey.
After spending a whole year on Jupiter and having learned during this time a lot of interesting secrets that would have been published in the press, if it were not for the gentlemen of the inquisitors, they came up to Mars. Our friends continued their journey and reached Earth on the northern shore of the Baltic Sea on July 5th, 1737. They wanted to get acquainted with the small country that they fell into. First they went from north to south. Since the foreigners were going quite fast, they walked all over the land in thirty-six hours. Soon they returned to where they came from, passing through the sea, almost invisible to their eye and called the Mediterranean, and through another small pond, the Great Ocean. This ocean was knee-deep to the dwarf, and Micromegas only dipped his heel in it. They argued for a long time whether this planet was inhabited. And only when Micromegas, heated up in a dispute, tore his diamond necklace, Saturnian, having brought a few stones to his eyes, discovered that they are magnificent microscopes. With their help, the travelers found a whale, as well as a ship carrying scientists returning from the expedition. Micromegas grabbed the ship and deftly put it on his fingernail. Passengers and crew at this time found themselves blown away by a hurricane and thrown on a rock, panic began. The microscope, which hardly allowed to distinguish the whale and the ship, was powerless to view such an imperceptible creature as a human being. But Micromegas finally saw some strange figures. These unfamiliar creatures moved, talked. To speak, one must think, and if they think, they must have a certain likeness of the soul. But to attribute this kind of insect to the soul seemed to Micromegas a ridiculous. Meanwhile, they heard that the speech of these bugs is quite reasonable, and this game of nature seemed to them inexplicable. Then the Saturnian, who had a softer voice, with the help of a mouthpiece made from the pruning of the micromegas nail, briefly explained to the earthlings who they are. In turn, he asked if they were always in such a miserable state, close to nonexistence, what they are doing on a planet whose masters are apparently whales, were they happy, have a soul, and asked many more such questions. Then the most talkative and brave of this company, offended by doubting the existence of his soul, exclaimed: “You imagine, sir, that having a head to toe a thousand toazi (toilet – about two meters), you can… “He did not have time to finish the sentence, as the astonished Saturnian interrupted him:” A thousand Tuaz, how do you know my height? ” – ” I measured you and can measure your huge companion, “the scientist replied,” When correctly named the growth of Micromegas, our travelers were literally numb. “Recovering, Micromegas concluded:” You, having so little substance, and apparently spiritual, must lead a life of love and peace. I have never seen real happiness, but here it dwells undoubtedly. “One of the philosophers objects to him:” We have more matter than necessary to do a lot of evil. Do you know, for example, that at this very time, when I’m talking to you, a hundred thousand madmen of our breed wearing hats on their heads kill or themselves give themselves to kill one hundred thousand other animals that cover their heads with a turban; and that this has been done almost all over the world since time immemorial. “Micromegas, full of indignation, exclaimed, that he had a desire to crush this anthill, populated by miserable killers, with three heels of a heel. “Do not bother,” they answered, “They themselves work hard enough to destroy themselves, besides, not all of them should be punished, but the inhuman sydney who do not leave their offices, give, at the time of digestion, the order to kill millions of people.” Then the traveler felt compassion for the little human race, which showed such amazing contrasts. He promised to compose an excellent philosophical book for the earthmen, which will explain to them the meaning of all things. He really gave them this essay before his departure, and that one was sent to Paris, to the Academy of Sciences. But when the secretary opened it, he found nothing but plain paper. “I thought so,” he said. they answered him. “They work hard enough on their own destruction.” In addition, it is necessary to punish not all, but the inhuman sydney who do not leave their offices, give, at the time of digestion, the order to kill millions of people. “Then the traveler felt compassion for the little human race that showed such amazing contrasts. earthlings an excellent philosophical book that will explain to them the meaning of all things. He really gave them this essay before his departure, and that one was sent to Paris to the Academy of Sciences. But when the secretary opened it, nothing but a pure boom agi, there he did not find. “I thought so,” said. they answered him. “They work hard enough on their own destruction.” In addition, it is necessary to punish not all, but the inhuman sydney who do not leave their offices, give, at the time of digestion, the order to kill millions of people. “Then the traveler felt compassion for the little human race that showed such amazing contrasts. earthlings an excellent philosophical book that will explain to them the meaning of all things. He really gave them this essay before his departure, and that one was sent to Paris to the Academy of Sciences. But when the secretary opened it, nothing but a pure boom agi, there he did not find. “I thought so,” said. and this one was sent to Paris, to the Academy of Sciences. But when the secretary opened it, he found nothing but plain paper. “I thought so,” he said. and this one was sent to Paris, to the Academy of Sciences. But when the secretary opened it, he found nothing but plain paper. “I thought so,” he said.


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Summary Micromegas