Summary Other Light, or State and Empire of the Moon
S. de Bergerac
Other Light, or State and Empire of the Moon
At nine in the evening the author and four of his friends returned from the same house in the vicinity of Paris. A full moon shone in the sky, attracting the gaze of the revelers and arousing wit already sharpened on the pavement stones. One suggested that this is a heavenly dormer window, from which the shining of the blessed is shining. Another claimed that Bacchus was holding a tavern in the sky and hung the moon like his sign. The third one exclaimed that it was an ironing board on which Diana smoothed the collars of Apollo. The fourth one said that it was just the sun in a home dressing gown, without the clothing of the rays. But the most original version was expressed by the author: no doubt, the moon is the same world as the earth, which in turn is the moon for her. Satellites met these words with loud laughter, although the author relied on the authority of Pythagoras, Epicurus, Democritus, Copernicus and
To climb to heaven, the author tied himself with bottles filled with dew. The sun’s rays attracted them, and soon the inventor found himself above the highest clouds. Then he began to break the bottles one after another and smoothly sank to the ground, where he saw completely naked people in fear of those who had fled when he appeared. Then a detachment of soldiers appeared, from whom the author learned that he was in New France. The viceroy met him very graciously: he was a man capable of sublime thoughts and fully shared Gassendi’s views on the falsity of the Ptolemy system. Philosophical conversations brought the author great pleasure, but he did not leave the thought to rise to the moon and built a special machine with six rows of rockets filled with fuel. The
Walking in a wonderful garden, the author met an unusually handsome young man. It was the prophet Elijah who ascended to heaven on an iron chariot, with the help of a constantly flipped up magnet. Having tasted the fruit of the tree of life, the holy elder has found eternal youth. From him the author learned about the former inhabitants of paradise. Expelled by God, Adam and Eve, flying to the ground, settled in the area between Mesopotamia and Arabia – pagans who knew the first man under the name of Prometheus, put a fable about him, as if he had stolen fire from the sky. Several centuries later, the Lord inspired Enoch to leave the vile tribe of people. This holy husband, filling two large vessels with smoke from the sacrificial fire, tightly sealed them and tied them under their armpits, as a result of which the pair raised it to the moon. When there was a flood on the ground, the waters rose to such a terrible height, That the ark was floating on the same level with the moon. One of Noah’s daughters, having lowered the boat into the sea, also found herself in the Garden of Eden – the bravest of animals followed her. Soon the girl met Enoch: they began to live together and gave birth to large offspring, but then the godless nature of the children and the pride of their wife forced the righteous to go into the forest to devote themselves entirely to prayers. Resting from his labors, he combs a linen tow – that’s why in the autumn a white web is worn in the air, which the peasants call “the thread of the Virgin.” to devote himself entirely to prayers. Resting from his labors, he combs a linen tow – that’s why in the autumn a white web is worn in the air, which the peasants call “the thread of the Virgin.” to devote himself entirely to prayers. Resting from his labors, he combs a linen tow – that’s why in the autumn a white web is worn in the air, which the peasants call “the thread of the Virgin.”
When it came to raising to the moon the Evangelist John, the devil instilled in the author an inappropriate joke. The Prophet Elijah, beside himself with indignation, called him an atheist and drove him away. The author, tormented by hunger, bit the apple from the tree of knowledge, and then a thick darkness enveloped his soul – he did not lose his reason only because the life-giving juice of the pulp somewhat weakened the malignant action of the skin. Woke up the author in a completely unfamiliar area. Soon he was surrounded by many large and powerful animals – face and build, they resembled a man, but moved on four paws. Later it turned out that these giants took the author for the female small animal queen. At first he was deposited with a magician – he taught him to somersault and build up grimaces for the amusement of the crowd.
Nobody wanted to recognize as rational a creature that moves on two legs, but once among the spectators was a man who had been on the ground. He lived for a long time in Greece, where he was called the Demon of Socrates. In Rome, he joined the party of younger Cato and Brutus, and after the death of these great husbands became a hermit. The inhabitants of the moon on earth were called oracles, nymphs, geniuses, fairies, penates, vampires, goblins, ghosts and ghosts. Now the earthly people are so gross and stupid that the lunar sages have lost the desire to teach it. However, real philosophers sometimes still meet – so, Demon Socrates with pleasure visited the Frenchman Gassendi. But the moon has much more advantages: here love the truth and above all put the mind, and only the sophists and orators are considered insane. Born in the sun, the Demon took a visible image, having settled into the body,
Visits Demon brightened the bitter share of the author forced to serve a magician, and then the rejuvenated Demon took him with the intention to present to the court. In the hotel the author became more familiar with certain customs of the inhabitants of the moon. He was laid to sleep on a bed of flower petals, fed tasty smells and stripped before eating naked, so that the body absorbs evaporation better. The demon paid with the owner for his poems, who received an evaluation in the Mint, and explained that in this country only fools die from hunger, but intelligent people never go to poverty.
In the palace of the author they waited impatiently, as they wanted to happen with the little animal of the queen. This mystery was resolved, when among the crowd of monkeys, dressed in pantaloons, the author made out a European. He was born in Castile and managed to fly to the moon with the help of birds. At home, the Spaniard nearly landed in the prison of the Inquisition, because he asserted to the pedants that there is a void and that no substance in the world weighs more than another substance. The author liked the arguments of the comrade in misfortune, but he had to conduct philosophical conversations only at night, since there was no escape from the curious during the day. Having learned to understand the sounds they make, the author began to speak in half in a foreign language, which led to great unrest in the city, which was divided into two parties: some found the author’s glimpses of reason, others attributed all his meaningful actions to instinct. In the end, this religious dispute was brought before the court. During the third meeting, a man fell at the feet of the king and lay for a long time on his back – this position of the inhabitants of the moon is taken when they want to speak in public. The stranger pronounced an excellent defensive speech, and the author was recognized as a man, but was sentenced to public repentance: he had to renounce the heretical assertion that his moon is a real world, while the world here is no more than the moon.
In a clever lawyer, the author recognized his dear Demon. He congratulated him on his release and took him to a house belonging to a respectable old man. The demon settled here to influence the master’s son, who could become the second Socrates, if he could use his knowledge and not pretend to be atheist from empty vanity. The author was surprised to see how the gray professors invited to dinner bowed obsequiously to this young man. The demon explained that the reason for this is age: on the moon old people show all respect to the young, and parents must obey the children. The author once again marveled at the reasonableness of local customs: on the ground, panic fear and insane fear of action is taken for common sense, while on the moon, the senility that has passed away from the mind is valued.
The master’s son fully shared the views of the Demon. When his father decided to contradict him, he kicked the old man with his foot and ordered him to bring him a scarecrow, which he began to sow. Not content with this, he ordered the unfortunate man to walk on two legs all day for the sake of shameful disgrace. The author was extremely amused by such pedagogy. Fearing to burst out laughing, he started a philosophical conversation with the young man about the eternity of the universe and the creation of the world. As Demon warned, the young man turned out to be a vile atheist. Trying to seduce the author, he boldly denied the immortality of the soul and even the very existence of God. Suddenly the author saw in the face of this handsome young man something terrible: his eyes were small and very deep, his complexion was swarthy, his mouth was huge, his chin was hairy, and his fingernails were black, so only the antichrist could look. In the midst of the dispute, a giant Zionist giant appeared and, grabbed the blasphemer across the body, climbed with it into the chimney. The author nevertheless managed to become attached to the unfortunate, and so he grabbed his feet to tear out the giant from the clutches. But the Ethiopian was so strong that he rose above the clouds with a double load, and now the author firmly held on to his comrade not out of philanthropy, but out of fear to fall. The flight lasted infinitely long, then the outlines of the earth appeared, and at the sight of Italy it became clear that the devil bears the master’s son straight to hell. The author cried out in horror, “Jesus, Mary!” and at the same instant found himself on the slope of a heather-covered hill. The good peasants helped him to get to the village, where he was almost torn to pieces by the smell of moon-scented dogs – as is known, these animals are used to barking at the moon for the pain that it gives them from afar. The author had to sit for three or four hours naked in the sun, until the stench had disappeared – after that the dogs left him alone, and he went to the port to board a ship floating to France. On the way, the author pondered a lot about the inhabitants of the moon: probably the Lord consciously removed these unbelievers by the nature of people in a place where they do not have the opportunity to corrupt others – as punishment for complacency and pride they were left to themselves. Out of mercy, no one was sent to them with the preaching of the Gospel, for they would surely have used the Holy Scripture for evil, thereby aggravating the punishment that inevitably awaits them in the next world. where they do not have the opportunity to corrupt others – in punishment for complacency and pride they were left to themselves. Out of mercy, no one was sent to them with the preaching of the Gospel, for they would surely have used the Holy Scripture for evil, thereby aggravating the punishment that inevitably awaits them in the next world. where they do not have the opportunity to corrupt others – in punishment for complacency and pride they were left to themselves. Out of mercy, no one was sent to them with the preaching of the Gospel, for they would surely have used the Holy Scripture for evil, thereby aggravating the punishment that inevitably awaits them in the next world.
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