,transcribed from the #ahhi ,cassell    
,company edition by ,david ,price1 email
  ccx#jgd;coventry4ac4uk                
,,consolations ,,in ,,travel2  ,,or1    
,,the ,,last ,,days ,,of ,a             
,,philosopher4      ,,by ,,sir ,,humphry
 ,,davy1 ,,bart41  ,late ,president of  
the ,royal ,society4    ,,cassell       
,,company1 ,,limited3  ,,london1        
,,paris1 ,,new ,,york  ,,melbourne4     
#ahhi          ,,introduction4          
,humphry ,davy was born at ,penzance1 in
 ,cornwall1 on the #agth of ,december1  
#aggh1 and died at ,geneva on the #bith 
of ,may1 #ahbi1 at the age of fifty4    
,he was a philosopher who turned        
knowledge to wisdom2 he was one of the  
foremost of our ,english men of science2
 and this book1 written when he  was    
dying1 which makes ,reason the companion
 of ,faith1 shows how he passed  through
 the light of earth into the light of   
heaven4    ,his father had a small      
patrimony at ,varfell1 in ,ludgvan4     
,his mother had  lost in early childhood

 both her parents within a few hours of 
each  other1 and had been adopted by    
,john ,tonkin1 an eminent surgeon in    
,penzance1 to whom1 therefore1 so to    
speak1 ,humphry ,davy became grandson   
by adoption4  ,there were five such     
grandchildren--,humphry1 the elder of   
two boys1 the other boy being named     
,john1 and three girls4    ,at a        
preparatory school and at the ,penzance 
,grammar ,school ,humphry ,davy  was a  
noticeable boy4  ,he read eagerly and   
showed great quickness of  imagination1 
delighted in legends1 when eight years  
old told stories to  his companions1 and
 as a boy wrote verse4  ,there was a    
,quaker saddler who  made for himself an
 electrical machine and mechanical      
models1 in which  young ,davy took keen 
interest1 and from that saddler1 ,robert
 ,dunkin1 came  the first impulse       
towards experiments in science4  ,at    
fifteen ,davy was  placed for further   
education at a school in ,truro4  ,a    
year later his  father died1 and ,john  

,tonkin apprenticed him1 on the #ajth of
 ,february1  #agie1 to ,dr4 ,borlase1 a 
surgeon in large practice at ,penzance4 
,medical  practitioners in those days   
dispensed their own medicines1 and the  
inquiring mind of this young apprentice 
being let loose upon a store-room  of   
chemicals1 experimental chemistry became
 his favourite pursuit4  ,his           
grandfather1 by adoption1 allowed him to
 fit up a garret as a laboratory1       
notwithstanding the fears of the        
household that ,this boy1 ,humphry1 will
  blow us all into the air4    ,activity
 and originality of mind1 with a        
persistent habit of inquiry and         
experiment1 brought ,davy friends who   
could appreciate and help him4  ,when   
,dr4 ,beddoes1 of ,bristol1 was         
examining the ,cornish coast1 in #agih1 
he  came upon young ,humphry ,davy1 was 
told of researches made by him1 and     
urged to engage him as laboratory       
assistant in a ,pneumatic ,institution  
that he was then establishing in        

,bristol4  ,davy went in ,october1      
#agih1  then in his twentieth year2 but 
his good friend1 and grandfather by     
adoption1 had set his heart upon        
,humphry's becoming an eminent burgeon1 
and even altered his will when his boy  
yielded to the temptation of a          
laboratory for research4  ,men also know
 something of the trouble of the  hen   
who has a chance duckling in her brood1 
and sees that contumacious  chicken run 
into the water deaf to all the warnings 
of her love4    ,at ,bristol ,humphry   
,davy came into companionship with      
,coleridge and  ,southey1 who were then 
also at the outset of their career1 and 
there are  poems of his in the ,poetical
 ,anthology then published by ,southey4 
,but at  the same time ,davy contributed
 papers on ,heat1 ,light1 and the       
,combinations of ,light1 on             
,phos-,oxygen and its ,combinations1 and
 on  ,the ,theory of ,respiration1 to a 
volume of ,west ,country ,collections1  
that filled more than half the volume4  

,he was experimenting then on  gases and
 on galvanism1 and one day by experiment
 upon himself1 in the  breathing of     
carburetted hydrogen1 he almost put an  
end to his life4    ,in #agii ,count    
,rumford was founding the ,royal        
,institution1 and its home in           
,albemarle ,street was then bought for  
it4  ,the first lecturer appointed  was 
in bad health1 and in #ahja he was      
obliged to resign4  ,young ,davy was    
now known to men of science for the     
number and freshness of his             
experiments1 and for the substantial    
value of his chemical discoveries4  ,it 
was resolved by the managers1 in ,july1 
#ahja1 that ,humphry ,davy be  appointed
 ,assistant-,lecturer in ,chemistry1    
,director of the ,chemical  ,laboratory1
 and assistant-editor of the journals of
 the ,royal  ,institution4  ,his first  
remuneration was a room in the house1   
coals and  candles1 and #ajj pounds a   
year4  ,count ,rumford held out the     
prospect of a  professorship with #cjj  

pounds a year1 and the certainty of full
 support  in the use of the laboratory  
for his own private research4  ,his age 
then  was twenty-three4  ,he at once    
satisfied men of science and amused     
people  of fashion4  ,his energy was    
unbounded2 there was a fascination in   
his  personal character and manner4  ,he
 was a genial and delightful lecturer1  
and his inventive genius was continually
 finding something new4  ,a first       
suggestion of the process of photography
 was dropped incidentally among  the    
records of researches that attracted    
more attention4  ,davy had been  little 
more than a year at the ,royal          
,institution when he was made its       
,professor of ,chemistry4  ,after       
another year he was made a ,fellow4     
,dr4  ,paris1 his biographer1 says that 
the enthusiastic admiration which his   
lectures obtained is at this period     
scarcely to be imagined4  ,men of the   
first rank and talent--the literary and 
the scientific1 the practical1  the     

theoretical--blue-stockings and women of
 fashion1 the old and the  young1 all   
crowded--eagerly crowded--the           
lecture-room4  ,at the beginning  of the
 year #ahje his salary was raised to    
#djj pounds a year4  ,in ,may of  that  
year the ,royal ,society awarded to him 
the ,copley ,medal4  ,within the  next  
two years he was elected ,secretary of  
the ,royal ,society4  ,since #ahjj  he  
had been advancing knowledge by         
experiments with galvanism4  ,the ,royal
  ,institution raised a special fund to 
place at his disposal a more  powerful  
galvanic battery than any that had been 
constructed4  ,the fame  of his         
discoveries spread over ,europe4    ,the
 ,institute of ,france gave ,davy the   
,napoleon ,prize of three thousand      
francs for the best experiments in      
galvanism4  ,dublin1 in #ahaj1 paid     
,davy  four hundred guineas for some    
lectures upon his discoveries4  ,the    
,farming  ,society of ,ireland gave him 
#gej pounds for six lectures on         

chemistry  applied to agriculture4  ,in 
the following year he received more than
 a  thousand pounds for two courses of  
lectures at ,dublin1 and was sent home  
with the honorary degree of ,,ll4,d4    
,in ,april1 #ahab1 he was knighted1     
resigned his professorship at the ,royal
 ,institution1 and in order more        
strongly to mark the high sense of his  
merits he was elected ,honorary         
,professor of ,chemistry4  ,in the same 
month ,davy married a young and rich    
widow1 who had charmed all ,edinburgh by
 her beauty and her wit4  ,two  months  
after marriage ,sir ,humphry ,davy      
dedicated to his wife his  ,elements of 
,chemical ,philosophy4  ,in ,march1     
#ahac1 he published his  ,elements of   
,agricultural ,chemistry4  ,he travelled
 abroad1 and was  received with honour  
by the chief men of science in all      
places that he  visited4  ,when1 at     
,pavia1 he first met ,volta3 he found   
that ,volta had put  on full-dress to   
receive him4    ,in ,august1 #ahae1     

,davy's attention was drawn to the loss 
of life by  explosions of fire-damp1 and
 by the end of the year he had devised  
his  safety-lamp4  ,the coal owners     
subscribed #a1ejj pounds for a          
testimonial1  gave him also a dinner and
 a service of plate4  ,in ,october1     
#ahah1 he was  made a baronet4  ,in     
,november1 #ahbj1 he was elected        
,president of the ,royal  ,society4     
,his next researches were chiefly on    
electro-magnetism and the protection  of
 the copper sheathing on ships' bottoms4
  ,at the end of #ahbf his health       
failed seriously4  ,he went to ,italy2  
resigned1 in ,july1 #ahbg1 the          
,presidency of the ,royal ,society2 came
 back to ,england1 longing for the      
fresh air of the mountains2 wrote and   
published his ,salmonia1 or ,days  of   
,fly-fishing4  ,in the spring of #ahbh  
he left ,england again4  ,he was at     
,rome in the winter of #ahbi1 still     
engaged in quiet research1 and it was   
then that he wrote his ,consolations in 

,travel2 or1 the ,last ,days of a       
,philosopher4  ,his wife1 who shone in  
,london society1 did not go with him    
upon this last journey1 but travelled   
day and night to reach him when  word   
came to her and to his brother ,john1   
who was a physician1 that he  had again 
been struck with palsy and was dying4   
,that stroke of palsy  followed         
immediately upon the finishing of the   
book now in the reader's  hand4  ,davy  
lived to see again his wife and brother1
 rallied enough to  leave ,rome with    
them1 and had got as far as ,geneva on  
the #bhth of ,may1  #ahbi4  ,he died in 
the next night4    ,h4 ,m4          ,a  
,,note1      ,prefixed to the ,first    
,edition1 by ,sir ,humphry ,davy's      
,brother4    ,as is stated in the       
,preface which follows1 this work was   
composed during  a period of bodily     
indisposition2--it was concluded at the 
very moment of  the invasion of the     
,author's last illness4  ,had his life  
been prolonged1  it is probable that    

some additions and some changes would   
have been made4  ,the editor does not   
consider himself warranted to do more   
than give to  the world a faithful copy1
 making only a few omissions and a few  
verbal  alterations4  ,the characters of
 the persons of the dialogue were       
intended  to be ideal1 at least in great
 part such they should be considered by 
the  reader2 and1 it is to be hoped1    
that the incidents introduced1 as well  
as  the persons1 will be viewed only as 
subordinate and subservient to the      
sentiments and doctrines4  ,the         
dedication1 it may be specially noticed1
  is the author's own1 and in the very  
words dictated by him1 at a time  when  
he had lost the power of writing except 
with extreme difficulty1  owing to the  
paralytic attack1 although he retained  
in a very remarkable  manner all his    
mental faculties unimpaired and         
unclouded4    ,,john ,,davy4  ,london1  
,january #fth1 #ahcj4    ,,to ,,thomas  
,,poole1 ,,esq4 ,,of ,,nether ,,stowey  

,,in ,,remembrance ,,of  ,,thirty       
,,years ,,of ,,continued ,,and          
,,faithful  ,,friendship4               
,,author',s ,,preface4      ,salmonia   
was written during the time of a partial
 recovery from a long  and dangerous    
illness4  ,the present work was composed
 immediately after1  under the same     
unfavourable and painful circumstances1 
and at a period  when the constitution  
of the ,author suffered from new        
attacks4  ,he has  derived some pleasure
 and some consolation1 when most other  
sources of  consolation and pleasure    
were closed to him1 from this exercise  
of his  mind2 and he ventures to hope   
that these hours of sickness may be not 
altogether unprofitable to persons in   
perfect health4    ,rome1  ,february    
#ba1 #ahbi4          ,,dialogue ,,the   
,,first4  ,,the ,,vision4      ,i passed
 the autumn and the early winter of the 
years #ah-- and #ah-- at  ,rome4  ,the  
society was1 as is usual in that        
metropolis of the old  ,christian world1

 numerous and diversified4  ,in it there
 were found many  intellectual          
foreigners and amongst them some        
distinguished ,britons1 who  had a      
higher object in making this city their 
residence than mere  idleness or vague  
curiosity4  ,amongst these my           
countrymen1 there were two  gentlemen   
with whom ,i formed a particular        
intimacy and who were my  frequent      
companions in the visits which ,i made  
to the monuments of the  grandeur of the
 old ,romans and to the masterpieces of 
ancient and modern  art4  ,one of them  
,i shall call ,ambrosio3 he was a man of
 highly  cultivated taste1 great        
classical erudition1 and minute         
historical  knowledge4  ,in religion he 
was of the ,roman ,catholic persuasion2 
but a  ,catholic of the most liberal    
school1 who in another age might have   
been  secretary to ,ganganelli4  ,his   
views upon the subjects of politics and 
religion were enlarged2 but his leaning 
was rather to the power of a  single    

magistrate than to the authority of a   
democracy or even of an  oligarchy4     
,the other friend1 whom ,i shall call   
,onuphrio1 was a man of a  very         
different character4  ,belonging to the 
,english aristocracy1 he had  some of   
the prejudices usually attached to birth
 and rank2 but his  manners were gentle1
 his temper good1 and his disposition   
amiable4  ,having  been partly educated 
at a northern university in ,britain1 he
 had adopted  views in religion which   
went even beyond toleration and which   
might be  regarded as entering the verge
 of scepticism4  ,for a patrician he was
  very liberal in his political views4  
,his imagination was poetical and       
discursive1 his taste good and his tact 
extremely fine1 so exquisite1  indeed1  
that it sometimes approached to morbid  
sensibility1 and disgusted  him with    
slight defects and made him keenly      
sensible of small perfections  to which 
common minds would have been            
indifferent4    ,in the beginning of    

,october on a very fine afternoon ,i    
drove with these  two friends to the    
,colosaeum1 a monument which1 for the   
hundredth time  even1 ,i had viewed with
 a new admiration2 my friends partook of
 my  sentiments4  ,i shall give the     
conversation which occurred there in    
their  own words4  ,onuphrio said1 ,how 
impressive are those ruins6--what a     
character do they give us of the ancient
 ,romans1 what magnificence of  design1 
what grandeur of execution6  ,had we not
 historical documents to  inform us of  
the period when this structure was      
raised and of the  purposes for which it
 was designed1 it might be imagined the 
work of a  race of giants1 a ,council   
,chamber for those ,titans fabled to    
have warred  against the gods of the    
pagan mythology4  ,the size of the      
masses of  travertine of which it is    
composed is in harmony with the immense 
magnitude of the building4  ,it is      
hardly to be wondered at that a people  
which constructed such works for their  

daily sports1 for their usual           
amusements1 should have possessed       
strength1 enduring energy1 and          
perseverance sufficient to enable them  
to conquer the world4  ,they appear     
always to have formed their plans and   
made their combinations as if their     
power were beyond the reach of chance1  
independent of the influence of  time1  
and founded for unlimited duration--for 
eternity6    ,ambrosio took up the      
discourse of ,onuphrio1 and said1 ,the  
aspect of this  wonderful heap of ruins 
is so picturesque that it is impossible 
to regret  its decay2 and at this season
 of the year the colours of the         
vegetation  are in harmony with those of
 the falling ruins1 and how perfectly   
the  whole landscape is in tone6  ,the  
remains of the palace of the ,caesars   
and  of the golden halls of ,nero appear
 in the distance1 their gray and        
tottering turrets and their moss-stained
 arches reposing1 as it were1  upon the 
decaying vegetation3 and there is       

nothing that marks the  existence of    
life except the few pious devotees1 who 
wander from station  to station in the  
arena below1 kneeling before the cross1 
and  demonstrating the triumph of a     
religion1 which received in this very   
spot  in the early period of its        
existence one of its most severe        
persecutions1  and which1 nevertheless1 
has preserved what remains of that      
building1  where attempts were made to  
stifle it almost at its birth2 for1     
without  the influence of ,christianity1
 these majestic ruins would have been   
dispersed or levelled to the dust4      
,plundered of their lead and iron by    
the barbarians1 ,goths1 and ,vandals1   
and robbed even of their stones by      
,roman princes1 the ,barberini1 they owe
 what remains of their relics to  the   
sanctifying influence of that faith     
which has preserved for the world  all  
that was worth preserving1 not merely   
arts and literature but  likewise that  
which constitutes the progressive nature

 of intellect and  the institutions     
which afford to us happiness in this    
world and hopes of  a blessed           
immortality in the next4  ,and1 being of
 the faith of ,rome1 ,i  may say1 that  
the preservation of this pile by the    
sanctifying effect of  a few crosses    
planted round it1 is almost a miraculous
 event4  ,and what a  contrast the      
present application of this building1   
connected with holy  feelings and       
exalted hopes1 is to that of the ancient
 one1 when it was  used for exhibiting  
to the ,roman people the destruction of 
men by wild  beasts1 or of men1 more    
savage than wild beasts1 by each other1 
to  gratify a horrible appetite for     
cruelty1 founded upon a still more      
detestable lust1 that of universal      
domination6  ,and who would have        
supposed1 in the time of ,titus1 that a 
faith1 despised in its  insignificant   
origin1 and persecuted from the supposed
 obscurity of its  founder and its      
principles1 should have reared a dome to

 the memory of  one of its humblest     
teachers1 more glorious than was ever   
framed for  ,jupiter or ,apollo in the  
ancient world1 and have preserved even  
the ruins  of the temples of the pagan  
deities1 and have burst forth in        
splendour  and majesty1 consecrating    
truth amidst the shrines of error1      
employing  the idols of the ,roman      
superstition for the most holy purposes 
and rising  a bright and constant light 
amidst the dark and starless night which
  followed the destruction of the ,roman
 empire6    ,onuphrio now resumed the   
discourse4  ,he said1 ,i have not the   
same  exalted views on the subject which
 our friend ,ambrosio has so eloquently 
expressed4  ,some little of the perfect 
state in which these ruins exist  may   
have been owing to causes which he has  
described2 but these causes  have only  
lately begun to operate1 and the        
mischief was done before  ,christianity 
was established at ,rome4  ,feeling     
differently on these  subjects1 ,i      

admire this venerable ruin rather as a  
record of the  destruction of the power 
of the greatest people that ever        
existed1 than  as a proof of the triumph
 of ,christianity2 and ,i am carried    
forward in  melancholy anticipation to  
the period when even the magnificent    
dome of  ,st4 ,peter's will be in a     
similar state to that in which the      
,colosaeum now  is1 and when its ruins  
may be preserved by the sanctifying     
influence of  some new and unknown      
faith2 when1 perhaps1 the statue of     
,jupiter1 which  at present receives the
 kiss of the devotee1 as the image of   
,st4 ,peter1  may be employed for       
another holy use1 as the personification
 of a future  saint or divinity2 and    
when the monuments of the papal         
magnificence shall  be mixed with the   
same dust as that which now covers the  
tombs of the  ,caesars4  ,such1 ,i am   
sorry to say1 is the general history of 
all the  works and institutions         
belonging to humanity4  ,they rise1     

flourish1 and  then decay and fall2 and 
the period of their decline is generally
  proportional to that of their         
elevation4  ,in ancient ,thebes or      
,memphis  the peculiar genius of the    
people has left us monuments from which 
we can  judge of their arts1 though we  
cannot understand the nature of their   
superstitions4  ,of ,babylon and of     
,troy the remains are almost extinct2   
and what we know of these famous cities 
is almost entirely derived from         
literary records4  ,ancient ,greece and 
,rome we view in the few remains of     
their monuments2 and the time will      
arrive when modern ,rome shall be what  
ancient ,rome now is2 and ancient ,rome 
and ,athens will be what ,tyre or       
,carthage now are1 known only by        
coloured dust in the desert1 or coloured
  sand1 containing the fragments of     
bricks or glass1 washed up by the wave  
of a stormy sea4  ,i might pursue these 
thoughts still further1 and show  that  
the wood of the cross1 or the bronze of 

the statue1 decay as quickly  as if they
 had not been sanctified2 and ,i think  
,i could show that their  influence is  
owing to the imagination1 which1 when   
infinite time is  considered1 or the    
course of ages even1 is null and its    
effect  imperceptible2 and similar      
results occur1 whether the faith be that
 of  ,osiris1 of ,jupiter1 of ,jehovah1 
or of ,jesus4    ,to this ,ambrosio     
replied1 his countenance and the tones  
of his voice  expressing some emotion3  
,i do not think1 ,onuphrio1 that you    
consider  this question with your usual 
sagacity or acuteness2 indeed1 ,i never 
hear  you on the subject of religion    
without pain and without a feeling of   
regret that you have not applied your   
powerful understanding to a more  minute
 and correct examination of the         
evidences of revealed religion4  ,you   
would then1 ,i think1 have seen1 in the 
origin1 progress1 elevation1  decline   
and fall of the empires of antiquity1   
proofs that they were  intended for a   

definite end in the scheme of human     
redemption2 you would  have found       
prophecies which have been amply        
verified2 and the foundation  or the    
ruin of a kingdom1 which appears in     
civil history so great an  event1 in the
 history of man1 in his religious       
institutions1 as  comparatively of small
 moment2 you would have found the       
establishment of  the worship of one    
,god amongst a despised and contemned   
people as the  most important           
circumstance in the history of the early
 world2 you would  have found the       
,christian dispensation naturally       
arising out of the  ,jewish1 and the    
doctrines of the pagan nations all      
preparatory to the  triumph and final   
establishment of a creed fitted for the 
most  enlightened state of the human    
mind and equally adapted to every       
climate  and every people4    ,to this  
animated appeal of ,ambrosio1 ,onuphrio 
replied in the most  tranquil manner and
 with the air of an unmoved             

philosopher3--,you mistake  me1         
,ambrosio1 if you consider me as hostile
 to ,christianity4  ,i am not of  the   
school of the ,french ,encyclopaedists1 
or of the ,english infidels4  ,i        
consider religion as essential to man1  
and belonging to the human mind in  the 
same manner as instincts belong to the  
brute creation1 a light1 if  you please 
of revelation to guide him through the  
darkness of this life1  and to keep     
alive his undying hope of immortality3  
but pardon me if ,i  consider this      
instinct as equally useful in all its   
different forms1 and  still a divine    
light through whatever medium or cloud  
of human passion or  prejudice it       
passes4  ,i reverence it in the         
followers of ,brahmah1 in the  disciple 
of ,mahomet1 and ,i wonder at in all the
 variety of forms it  adopts in the     
,christian world4  ,you must not be     
angry with me that ,i do  not allow     
infallibility to your ,church1 having   
been myself brought up by  ,protestant  

parents1 who were rigidly attached to   
the doctrines of  ,calvin4    ,i saw    
,ambrosio's countenance kindle at       
,onuphrio's explanation of his          
opinions1 and he appeared to be         
meditating an angry reply4  ,i          
endeavoured  to change the conversation 
to the state of the ,colosaeum1 with    
which it  had begun4  ,these ruins1 ,i  
said1 as you have both observed1 are    
highly  impressive2 yet when ,i saw them
 six years ago they had a stronger      
effect  on my imagination2 whether it   
was the charm of novelty1 or that my    
mind  was fresher1 or that the          
circumstances under which ,i saw them   
were  peculiar1 ,i know not1 but        
probably all these causes operated in   
affecting  my mind4  ,it was a still and
 beautiful evening in the end of ,may2  
the  last sunbeams were dying away in   
the western sky and the first moonbeams 
shining in the eastern2 the bright      
orange tints lighted up the ruins and   
as it were kindled the snows that still 

remained on the distant  ,apennines1    
which were visible from the highest     
accessible part of the  amphitheatre4   
,in this glow of colouring1 the green of
 advanced spring  softened the grey and 
yellow tints of the decaying stones1 and
 as the  lights gradually became        
fainter1 the masses appeared grander and
 more  gigantic2 and when the twilight  
had entirely disappeared1 the contrast  
of  light and shade in the beams of the 
full moon and beneath a sky of the      
brightest sapphire1 but so highly       
illuminated that only ,jupiter and a few
  stars of the first magnitude were     
visible1 gave a solemnity and           
magnificence to the scene which awakened
 the highest degree of that  emotion    
which is so properly termed the sublime4
  ,the beauty and the  permanency of the
 heavens and the principle of           
conservation belonging to  the system of
 the universe1 the works of the ,eternal
 and ,divine  ,architect1 were finely   
opposed to the perishing and degraded   

works of man  in his most active and    
powerful state4  ,and at this moment so 
humble  appeared to me the condition of 
the most exalted beings belonging to the
  earth1 so feeble their combinations1  
so minute the point of space1 and so    
limited the period of time in which they
 act1 that ,i could hardly avoid        
comparing the generations of man1 and   
the effects of his genius and  power1 to
 the swarms of luceoli or fire-flies    
which were dancing around  me and that  
appeared flitting and sparkling amidst  
the gloom and darkness  of the ruins1   
but which were no longer visible when   
they rose above the  horizon1 their     
feeble light being lost and utterly     
obscured in the  brightness of the      
moonbeams in the heavens4    ,onuphrio  
said3 ,i am not sorry that you have     
changed the conversation4  ,you have    
given us the history of a most          
interesting recollection and well       
expressed a solemn though humiliating   
feeling4  ,in such moments and among    

such scenes it is impossible not to be  
struck with the nothingness of  human   
glory and the transiency of human works4
  ,this1 one of the greatest  monuments 
on the face of the earth1 was raised by 
a people1 then its  masters1 only       
seventeen centuries ago2 in a few ages  
more it will be but  as dust1 and of all
 the testimonials of the vanity or power
 of man1  whether raised to immortalise 
his name1 or to contain his decaying    
bones  without a name1 no one is known  
to have a duration beyond what is       
measured by the existence of a hundred  
generations2 and it is only to  multiply
 centuple for instance the period of    
time1 and the memorials of a  village   
and the monuments of a country          
churchyard may be compared with  those  
of an empire and the remains of the     
world4    ,ambrosio1 to whom the        
conversation seemed disagreeable1 put us
 in mind of  an engagement we had made  
to spend the evening at the             
conversazione of a  celebrated lady1 and

 proposed to call the carriage4  ,the   
reflections  which the conversation and 
the scene had left in my mind little    
disposed  me for general society4  ,i   
requested them to keep their engagement1
 and  said ,i was resolved to spend an  
hour amidst the solitude of the ruins1  
and desired them to send back the       
carriage for me4  ,they left me1        
expressing a hope that my poetical or   
melancholy fancy might not be the       
occasion of a cold1 and wished me the   
company of some of the spectres of  the 
ancient ,romans4    ,when ,i was left   
alone1 ,i seated myself in the          
moonshine1 on one of the  steps leading 
to the seats supposed to have been      
occupied by the  patricians in the      
,colosaeum at the time of the public    
games4  ,the train  of ideas in which ,i
 had indulged before my friends left me 
continued to  flow with a vividness and 
force increased by the stillness and    
solitude  of the scene2 and the full    
moon has always a peculiar effect on    

these  moods of feeling in my mind1     
giving to them a wildness and a kind of 
indefinite sensation1 such as ,i suppose
 belong at all times to the true        
poetical temperament4  ,it must be so1  
,i thought to myself2 no new city  will 
rise again out of the double ruins of   
this2 no new empire will be  founded    
upon these colossal remains of that of  
the old ,romans4  ,the  world1 like the 
individual1 flourishes in youth1 rises  
to strength in  manhood1 falls into     
decay in age2 and the ruins of an empire
 are like the  decrepit frame of an     
individual1 except that they have some  
tints of  beauty which nature bestows   
upon them4  ,the sun of civilisation    
arose in  the ,east1 advanced towards   
the ,west1 and is now at its meridian2  
in a few  centuries more it will        
probably be seen sinking below the      
horizon even in  the new world1 and     
there will be left darkness only where  
there is a  bright light1 deserts of    
sand where there were populous cities1  

and  stagnant morasses where the green  
meadow or the bright cornfield once     
appeared4  ,i called up images of this  
kind in my imagination4  ,time1 ,i      
said1 which purifies1 and as it were    
sanctifies the mind1 destroys and       
brings into utter decay the body2 and1  
even in nature1 its influence  seems    
always degrading4  ,she is represented  
by the poets as eternal in  her youth1  
but amongst these ruins she appears to  
me eternal in her age1  and here no     
traces of renovation appear in the      
ancient of days4  ,i had  scarcely      
concluded this ideal sentence when my   
reverie became deeper1 the  ruins       
surrounding me appeared to vanish from  
my sight1 the light of the  moon became 
more intense1 and the orb itself seemed 
to expand in a flood  of splendour4  ,at
 the same time that my visual organs    
appeared so  singularly affected1 the   
most melodious sounds filled my ear1    
softer yet  at the same time deeper and 
fuller than ,i had ever heard in the    

most  harmonious and perfect concert4   
,it appeared to me that ,i had entered a
  new state of existence1 and ,i was so 
perfectly lost in the new kind of       
sensation which ,i experienced that ,i  
had no recollections and no  perceptions
 of identity4  ,on a sudden the music   
ceased1 but the brilliant  light still  
continued to surround me1 and ,i heard a
 low but extremely  distinct and sweet  
voice1 which appeared to issue from the 
centre of it4  ,the sounds were at first
 musical like those of a harp1 but they 
soon  became articulate1 as if a prelude
 to some piece of sublime poetical      
composition4  ,you1 like all your       
brethren1 said the voice1 are  entirely 
ignorant of every thing belonging to    
yourselves1 the world you  inhabit1 your
 future destinies1 and the scheme of the
 universe2 and yet  you have the folly  
to believe you are acquainted with the  
past1 the  present1 and the future4  ,i 
am an intelligence somewhat superior to 
you1  though there are millions of      

beings as much above me in power and in 
intellect as man is above the meanest   
and weakest reptile that crawls  beneath
 his feet2 yet something ,i can teach   
you3 yield your mind wholly  to the     
influence which ,i shall exert upon it1 
and you shall be undeceived  in your    
views of the history of the world1 and  
of the system you  inhabit4  ,at this   
moment the bright light disappeared1 the
 sweet and  harmonious voice1 which was 
the only proof of the presence of a     
superior  intelligence1 ceased2 ,i was  
in utter darkness and silence1 and      
seemed to  myself to be carried rapidly 
upon a stream of air1 without any other 
sensation than that of moving quickly   
through space4  ,whilst ,i was still  in
 motion1 a dim and hazy light1 which    
seemed like that of twilight in a  rainy
 morning1 broke upon my sight1 and      
gradually a country displayed  itself to
 my view covered with forests and       
marshes4  ,i saw wild animals  grazing  
in large savannahs1 and carnivorous     

beasts1 such as lions and  tigers1      
occasionally disturbing and destroying  
them2 ,i saw naked savages  feeding upon
 wild fruits1 or devouring shell-fish1  
or fighting with clubs  for the remains 
of a whale which had been thrown upon   
the shore4  ,i  observed that they had  
no habitations1 that they concealed     
themselves in  caves1 or under the      
shelter of palm trees1 and that the only
 delicious  food which nature seemed to 
have given to them was the date and the 
cocoa-  nut1 and these were in very     
small quantities and the object of      
contention4  ,i saw that some few of    
these wretched human beings that        
inhabited the wide waste before my eyes1
 had weapons pointed with flint  or     
fish-bone1 which they made use of for   
destroying birds1 quadrupeds1 or        
fishes1 that they fed upon raw2 but     
their greatest delicacy appeared to  be 
a maggot or worm1 which they sought for 
with great perseverance in the  buds of 
the palm4  ,when ,i had cast my eyes on 

the varied features of this  melancholy 
scene1 which was now lighted by a rising
 sun1 ,i heard again  the same voice    
which had astonished me in the          
,colosaeum1 and which  said1--,see the  
birth of ,time6  ,look at man in his    
newly created state1  full of youth and 
vigour4  ,do you see aught in this state
 to admire or  envy8  ,as the last words
 fell on my ear1 ,i was again1 as       
before1 rapidly  put in motion1 and ,i  
seemed again resistless to be hurried   
upon a stream  of air1 and again in     
perfect darkness4  ,in a moment1 an     
indistinct light  again appeared before 
my eyes and a country opened upon my    
view which  appeared partly wild and    
partly cultivated2 there were fewer     
woods and  morasses than in the scene   
which ,i had just before seen2 ,i beheld
 men who  were covered with the skins of
 animals1 and who were driving cattle to
  enclosed pastures2 ,i saw others who  
were reaping and collecting corn1       
others who were making it into bread2 ,i

 saw cottages furnished with many  of   
the conveniences of life1 and a people  
in that state of agricultural  and      
pastoral improvement which has been     
imagined by the poets as  belonging to  
the golden age4  ,the same voice1 which 
,i shall call that of  the ,genius1     
said1 ,look at these groups of men who  
are escaped from the  state of infancy3 
they owe their improvement to a few     
superior minds  still amongst them4     
,that aged man whom you see with a crowd
 around him  taught them to build       
cottages2 from that other they learnt to
 domesticate  cattle2 from others to    
collect and sow corn and seeds of fruit4
  ,and  these arts will never be lost2  
another generation will see them more   
perfect2 the houses1 in a century more1 
will be larger and more  convenient2 the
 flocks of cattle more numerous2 the    
corn-fields more  extensive2 the        
morasses will be drained1 the number of 
fruit-trees  increased4  ,you shall be  
shown other visions of the passages of  

time1 but  as you are carried along the 
stream which flows from the period of   
creation to the present moment1 ,i shall
 only arrest your transit to make  you  
observe some circumstances which will   
demonstrate the truths ,i wish  you to  
know1 and which will explain to you the 
little it is permitted me  to understand
 of the scheme of the universe4  ,i     
again found myself in  darkness and in  
motion1 and ,i was again arrested by the
 opening of a new  scene upon my eyes4  
,i shall describe this scene and the    
others in the  succession in which they 
appeared before me1 and the observations
 by  which they were accompanied in the 
voice of the wonderful being who        
appeared as my intellectual guide4  ,in 
the scene which followed that of  the   
agricultural or pastoral people1 ,i saw 
a great extent of cultivated  plains1   
large cities on the sea-shore1          
palaces--forums and temples  ornamenting
 them2 men associated in groups1 mounted
 on horses1 and  performing military    

exercises2 galleys moved by oars on the 
ocean2 roads  intersecting the country  
covered with travellers and containing  
carriages  moved by men or horses4  ,the
 ,genius now said1 ,you see the early   
state of  civilisation of man2 the      
cottages of the last race you beheld    
have become  improved into stately      
dwellings1 palaces1 and temples1 in     
which use is  combined with ornament4   
,the few men to whom1 as ,i said before1
 the  foundations of these improvements 
were owing1 have had divine honours     
paid to their memory4  ,but look at the 
instruments belonging to this           
generation1 and you will find that they 
are only of brass4  ,you see men  who   
are talking to crowds around them1 and  
others who are apparently  amusing      
listening groups by a kind of song or   
recitation2 these are the  earliest     
bards and orators2 but all their signs  
of thought are oral1 for  written       
language does not yet exist4  ,the next 
scene which appeared was  one of varied 

business and imagery4  ,i saw a man1 who
 bore in his hands  the same instruments
 as our modern smiths1 presenting a     
vase1 which  appeared to be made of     
iron1 amidst the acclamations of an     
assembled  multitude engaged in         
triumphal procession before the altars  
dignified by  the name of ,apollo at    
,delphi2 and ,i saw in the same place   
men who carried  rolls of papyrus in    
their hands and wrote upon them with    
reeds containing  ink made from the soot
 of wood mixed with a solution of glue4 
,see1 the  ,genius said1 an immense     
change produced in the condition of     
society by  the two arts of which you   
here see the origin2 the one1 that of   
rendering  iron malleable1 which is     
owing to a single individual1 an obscure
 ,greek2  the other1 that of making     
thought permanent in written characters1
 an art  which has gradually arisen from
 the hieroglyphics which you may observe
  on yonder pyramids4  ,you will now see
 human life more replete with power  and

 activity4  ,again1 another scene broke 
upon my vision4  ,i saw the  bronze     
instruments1 which had belonged to the  
former state of society1  thrown away2  
malleable iron converted into hard      
steel1 this steel applied  to a thousand
 purposes of civilised life2 ,i saw     
bands of men who made use  of it for    
defensive armour and for offensive      
weapons2 ,i saw these iron-  clad men1  
in small numbers subduing thousands of  
savages1 and  establishing amongst them 
their arts and institutions2 ,i saw a   
few men on  the eastern shores of       
,europe1 resisting1 with the same       
materials1 the  united forces of ,asia2 
,i saw a chosen band die in defence of  
their  country1 destroyed by an army a  
thousand times as numerous2 and ,i saw  
this same army1 in its turn1 caused to  
disappear1 and destroyed or driven  from
 the shores of ,europe by the brethren  
of that band of martyred  patriots2 ,i  
saw bodies of these men traversing the  
sea1 founding  colonies1 building       

cities1 and wherever they established   
themselves1  carrying with them their   
peculiar arts4  ,towns and temples arose
  containing schools1 and libraries     
filled with the rolls of the papyrus4   
,the same steel1 such a tremendous      
instrument of power in the hands of the 
warrior1 ,i saw applied1 by the genius  
of the artist1 to strike forms even     
more perfect than those of life out of  
the rude marble2 and ,i saw the  walls  
of the palaces and temples covered with 
pictures1 in which  historical events   
were portrayed with the truth of nature 
and the poetry  of mind4  ,the voice now
 awakened my attention by saying1 ,you  
have now  before you the vision of that 
state of society which is an object of  
admiration to the youth of modern times1
 and the recollections of which1  and   
the precepts founded on these           
recollections1 constitute an important  
part of your education4  ,your maxims of
 war and policy1 your taste in  letters 
and the arts1 are derived from models   

left by that people1 or by  their       
immediate imitators1 whom you shall now 
see4  ,i opened my eyes1  and recognised
 the very spot in which ,i was sitting  
when the vision  commenced4  ,i was on  
the top of an arcade under a silken     
canopy1 looking  down upon the tens of  
thousands of people who were crowded in 
the seats  of the ,colosaeum1 ornamented
 with all the spoils that the wealth of 
a  world can give2 ,i saw in the arena  
below animals of the most  extraordinary
 kind1 and which have rarely been seen  
living in modern  ,europe--the giraffe1 
the zebra1 the rhinoceros1 and the      
ostrich from the  deserts of ,africa    
beyond the ,niger1 the hippopotamus from
 the ,upper ,nile1  and the royal tiger 
and the gnu from the banks of the       
,ganges4  ,looking  over ,rome1 which1  
in its majesty of palaces and temples1  
and in its  colossal aqueducts bringing 
water even from the snows of the distant
  ,apennines1 seemed more like the      
creation of a supernatural power than   

the  work of human hands2 looking over  
,rome to the distant landscape1 ,i saw  
the whole face1 as it were1 of the      
ancient world adorned with miniature    
images of this splendid metropolis4     
,where the ,roman conquered1 there he   
civilised2 where he carried his arms1   
there he fixed likewise his  household  
gods2 and from the deserts of ,arabia to
 the mountains of  ,caledonia there     
appeared but one people1 having the same
 arts1 language1  and letters--all of   
,grecian origin4  ,i looked again1 and  
saw an entire  change in the brilliant  
aspect of this ,roman world--the people 
of  conquerors and heroes was no longer 
visible2 the cities were filled with  an
 idle and luxurious population2 those   
farms which had been cultivated  by     
warriors1 who left the plough to take   
the command of armies1 were now  in the 
hands of slaves2 and the militia of     
freemen were supplanted by  bands of    
mercenaries1 who sold the empire to the 
highest bidder4  ,i saw  immense masses 

of warriors collecting in the north and 
east1 carrying  with them no other      
proofs of cultivation but their horses  
and steel arms2  ,i saw these savages   
everywhere attacking this mighty empire1
 plundering  cities1 destroying the     
monuments of arts and literature1 and1  
like wild  beasts devouring a noble     
animal1 tearing into pieces and         
destroying the  ,roman power4  ,ruin1   
desolation1 and darkness were before me1
 and ,i closed  my eyes to avoid the    
melancholy scene4  ,see1 said the       
,genius1 the  melancholy termination of 
a power believed by its founders        
invincible1  and intended to be eternal4
  ,but you will find1 though the glory  
and  greatness belonging to its military
 genius have passed away1 yet those     
belonging to the arts and institutions1 
by which it adorned and dignified  life1
 will again arise in another state of   
society4  ,i opened my eyes  again1 and 
,i saw ,italy recovering from her       
desolation--towns arising with          

governments almost upon the model of    
ancient ,athens and ,rome1 and these    
different small states rivals in arts   
and arms2 ,i saw the remains of         
libraries1 which had been preserved in  
monasteries and churches by a holy      
influence which even the ,goth and      
,vandal respected1 again opened to the  
people2 ,i saw ,rome rising from her    
ashes1 the fragments of statues found   
amidst the ruins of her palaces and     
imperial villas becoming the models  for
 the regeneration of art2 ,i saw        
magnificent temples raised in this  city
 become the metropolis of a new and     
,christian world1 and ornamented  with  
the most brilliant masterpieces of the  
arts of design2 ,i saw a  ,tuscan city1 
as it were1 contending with ,rome for   
pre-eminence in the  productions of     
genius1 and the spirit awakened in      
,italy spreading its  influence from the
 ,south to the ,north4  ,now1 the       
,genius said1 society  has taken its    
modern and permanent aspect4  ,consider 

for a moment its  relations to letters  
and to arms as contrasted with those of 
the ancient  world4  ,i looked1 and saw1
 that in the place of the rolls of      
papyrus1  libraries were now filled with
 books4  ,behold1 the ,genius said1 the 
printing-press2 by the invention of     
,faust the productions of genius are1   
as it were1 made imperishable1 capable  
of indefinite multiplication1 and       
rendered an unalienable heritage of the 
human mind4  ,by this art1  apparently  
so humble1 the progress of society is   
secured1 and man is  spared the         
humiliation of witnessing again scenes  
like those which  followed the          
destruction of the ,roman ,empire4  ,now
 look to the warriors  of modern times2 
you see the spear1 the javelin1 the     
shield1 and the  cuirass are changed for
 the musket and the light artillery4    
,the ,german  monk who discovered       
gunpowder did not meanly affect the     
destinies of  mankind2 wars are become  
less bloody by becoming less personal2  

mere  brutal strength is rendered of    
comparatively little avail2 all the     
resources of civilisation are required  
to maintain and move a large army2      
wealth1 ingenuity1 and perseverance     
become the principal elements of        
success2 civilised man is rendered in   
consequence infinitely superior to  the 
savage1 and gunpowder gives permanence  
to his triumph1 and secures  the        
cultivated nations from ever being again
 overrun by the inroads of  millions of 
barbarians4  ,there is so much identity 
of feature in the  character of the two 
or three centuries that are just passed1
 that ,i wish  you only to take a very  
transient view of the political and     
military  events belonging to them4     
,you will find attempts made by the     
chiefs of  certain great nations to     
acquire predominance and empire2 you    
will see  those attempts1 after being   
partially successful1 resisted by other 
nations1 and the balance of power1      
apparently for a moment broken1 again   

restored4  ,amongst the rival nations   
that may be considered as forming  the  
republic of modern ,europe1 you will see
 one pre-eminent for her  maritime      
strength and colonial and commercial    
enterprise1 and you will  find she      
retains her superiority only because it 
is favourable to the  liberty of        
mankind4  ,but you must not yet suffer  
the vision of modern  ,europe to pass   
from your eyes without viewing some     
other results of the  efforts of men of 
genius1 which1 like those of gunpowder  
and the press1  illustrate the times to 
which they belong1 and form brilliant   
epochs in  the history of the world4    
,if you look back into the schools of   
regenerated ,italy1 you will see in them
 the works of the ,greek masters of     
philosophy2 and if you attend to the    
science taught in them1 you will  find  
it vague1 obscure1 and full of erroneous
 notions4  ,you will find in  this early
 period of improvement branches of      
philosophy even applied to  purposes of 

delusion2 the most sublime of the       
departments of human                    
knowledge--astronomy--abused by         
impostors1 who from the aspect of the   
planetary world pretended to predict the
 fortunes and destinies of  individuals4
  ,you will see in the laboratories     
alchemists searching for a  universal   
medicine1 an elixir of life1 and for the
 philosopher's stone1  or a method of   
converting all metals into gold2 but    
unexpected and useful  discoveries you  
will find1 even in this age1 arise      
amidst the clouds of  deception and the 
smoke of the furnace4  ,delusion and    
error vanish and  pass away1 and truths 
seized upon by a few superior men become
 permanent1  and the property of an     
enlightening world4  ,amongst the       
personages who  belong to this early    
period1 there are two whom ,i must      
request you to  notice--one an          
,englishman1 who pointed out the paths  
to the discovery of  scientific truths1 
and the other a ,tuscan1 who afforded   

the happiest  experimental illustrations
 of the speculative views of his brother
 in  science4  ,you will see academies  
formed a century later in ,italy1       
,france1  and ,britain1 in which the    
sciences are enlarged by new and varied 
experiments1 and the true system of the 
universe developed by an  illustrious   
,englishman taught and explained4  ,the 
practical results of  the progress of   
physics1 chemistry1 and mechanics1 are  
of the most  marvellous kind1 and to    
make them all distinct would require a  
comparison  of ancient and modern       
states3 ships that were moved by human  
labour in  the ancient world are        
transported by the winds2 and a piece of
 steel1  touched by the magnet1 points  
to the mariner his unerring course from 
the  old to the new world2 and by the   
exertions of one man of genius1 aided by
  the resources of chemistry1 a power1  
which by the old philosophers could     
hardly have been imagined1 has been     
generated and applied to almost all  the

 machinery of active life2 the          
steam-engine performs not only the      
labour of horses1 but of man1 by        
combinations which appear almost        
possessed of intelligence2 waggons are  
moved by it1 constructions made1        
vessels caused to perform voyages in    
opposition to wind and tide1 and a      
power placed in human hands which seems 
almost unlimited4  ,to these novel  and 
still extending improvements may be     
added others1 whish1 though of a        
secondary kind1 yet materially affect   
the comforts of life1 the  collecting   
from fossil materials the elements of   
combustion1 and applying  them so as to 
illuminate1 by a single operation1      
houses1 streets1 and  even cities4  ,if 
you look to the results of chemical arts
 you will find  new substances of the   
most extraordinary nature applied to    
various novel  purposes2 you will find a
 few experiments in electricity leading 
to the  marvellous result of disarming  
the thunder-cloud of its terrors1 and   

you  will see new instruments created by
 human ingenuity1 possessing the same   
powers as the electrical organs of      
living animals4  ,to whatever part of   
the vision of modern times you cast your
 eyes you will find marks of            
superiority and improvement1 and ,i wish
 to impress upon you the  conviction    
that the results of intellectual labour 
or of scientific  genius are permanent  
and incapable of being lost4  ,monarchs 
change their  plans1 governments their  
objects1 a fleet or an army effect their
 purpose  and then pass away2 but a     
piece of steel toached by the magnet    
preserves  its character for ever1 and  
secures to man the dominion of the      
trackless  ocean4  ,a new period of     
society may send armies from the shores 
of the  ,baltic to those of the ,euxine1
 and the empire of the followers of     
,mahomet  may be broken in pieces by a  
northern people1 and the dominion of the
  ,britons in ,asia may share the fate  
of that of ,tamerlane or ,zengiskhan2   

but the steam-boat which ascends the    
,delaware or the ,st4 ,lawrence will be 
continued to be used1 and will carry the
 civilisation of an improved  people    
into the deserts of ,north ,america and 
into the wilds of ,canada4  ,in  the    
common history of the world1 as compiled
 by authors in general1  almost all the 
great changes of nations are confounded 
with changes in  their dynasties1 and   
events are usually referred either to   
sovereigns1  chiefs1 heroes1 or their   
armies1 which do1 in fact1 originate    
from  entirely different causes1 either 
of an intellectual or moral nature4     
,governments depend far more than is    
generally supposed upon the opinion  of 
the people and the spirit of the age and
 nation4  ,it sometimes happens  that a 
gigantic mind possesses supreme power   
and rises superior to the  age in which 
he is born1 such was ,alfred in ,england
 and ,peter in ,russia1  but such       
instances are very rare2 and1 in        
general1 it is neither amongst          

sovereigns nor the higher classes of    
society that the great improvers or     
benefactors of mankind are to be found4 
,the works of the most  illustrious     
names were little valued at the times   
when they were  produced1 and their     
authors either despised or neglected2   
and great1  indeed1 must have been the  
pure and abstract pleasure resulting    
from the  exertion of intellectual      
superiority and the discovery of truth  
and the  bestowing benefits and         
blessings upon society1 which induced   
men to  sacrifice all their common      
enjoyments and all their privileges as  
citizens to these exertions4            
,anaxagoras1 ,archimedes1 ,roger ,bacon1
  ,galileo ,galilei1 in their deaths or 
their imprisonments1 offer instances  of
 this kind1 and nothing can be more     
striking than what appears to have  been
 the ingratitude of men towards their   
greatest benefactors2 but  hereafter1   
when you understand more of the scheme  
of the universe1 you  will see the cause

 and the effect of this1 and you will   
find the whole  system governed by      
principles of immutable justice4  ,i    
have said that in  the progress of      
society all great and real improvements 
are perpetuated2  the same corn which   
four thousand years ago was raised from 
an improved  grass by an inventor       
worshipped for two thousand years in the
 ancient  world under the name of       
,ceres1 still forms the principal food  
of mankind2  and the potato1 perhaps the
 greatest benefit that the ,old has     
derived  from the ,new ,world1 is       
spreading over ,europe1 and will        
continue to  nourish an extensive       
population when the name of the race by 
whom it was  first cultivated in ,south 
,america is forgotten4    ,i will now   
call your attention to some remarkable  
laws belonging to the  history of       
society1 and from the consideration of  
which you will be able  gradually to    
develop the higher and more exalted     
principles of being4  ,there appears    

nothing more accidental than the sex of 
an infant1 yet take  any great city or  
any province and you will find that the 
relations of  males and females are     
unalterable4  ,again1 a part of the pure
 air of the  atmosphere is continually  
consumed in combustion and respiration2 
living  vegetables emit this principle  
during their growth2 nothing appears    
more  accidental than the proportion of 
vegetable to animal life on the surface 
of the earth1 yet they are perfectly    
equivalent1 and the balance of the      
sexes1 like the constitution of the     
atmosphere1 depends upon the  principles
 of an unerring intelligence4  ,you saw 
in the decline of the  ,roman empire a  
people enfeebled by luxury1 worn out by 
excess1 overrun by  rude warriors2 you  
saw the giants of the ,north and ,east  
mixing with the  pigmies of the ,south  
and ,west4  ,an empire was destroyed1   
but the seeds of  moral and physical    
improvement in the new race were sown2  
the new  population resulting from the  

alliances of the men of the ,north with 
the  women1 of the ,south was more      
vigorous1 more full of physical power1  
and  more capable of intellectual       
exertion than their apparently          
ill-suited  progenitors2 and the moral  
effects or final causes of the migration
 of  races1 the plans of conquest and   
ambition which have led to revolutions  
and changes of kingdoms designed by man 
for such different objects have  been   
the same in their ultimate results--that
 of improving by mixture the  different 
families of men4  ,an ,alaric or an     
,attila1 who marches with  legions of   
barbarians for some gross view of       
plunder or ambition1 is an  instrument  
of divine power to effect a purpose of  
which he is wholly  unconscious--he is  
carrying a strong race to improve a weak
 one1 and  giving energy to a           
debilitated population2 and the deserts 
he makes in  his passage will become in 
another age cultivated fields1 and the  
solitude he produces will be succeeded  

by a powerful and healthy  population4  
,the results of these events in the     
moral and political world  may be       
compared to those produced in the       
vegetable kingdom by the storms  and    
heavy gales so usual at the vernal      
equinox1 the time of the formation  of  
the seed2 the pollen or farina of one   
flower is thrown upon the pistil  of    
another1 and the crossing of varieties  
of plants so essential to the           
perfection of the vegetable world       
produced4  ,in man moral causes and     
physical ones modify each other2 the    
transmission of hereditary qualities  to
 offspring is distinct in the animal    
world1 and in the case of  disposition  
to disease it is sufficiently obvious in
 the human being4  ,but  it is likewise 
a general principle that powers or      
habits acquired by  cultivation are     
transmitted to the next generation and  
exalted or  perpetuated2 the history of 
particular races of men affords distinct
  proofs of this4  ,the ,caucasian stock

 has always preserved its  superiority1 
whilst the negro or flat-nosed race has 
always been marked  for want of         
intellectual power and capacity for the 
arts of life4  ,this  last race1 in     
fact1 has never been cultivated1 and a  
hundred generations1  successively      
improved1 would be required to bring it 
to the state in  which the ,caucasian   
race was at the time of the formation of
 the ,greek  republics4  ,the principle 
of the improvement of the character of  
races by  the transmission of hereditary
 qualities has not escaped the          
observations  of the legislators of the 
ancient people4  ,by the divine law of  
,moses the  ,israelites were enjoined to
 preserve the purity of their blood1 and
 there  was no higher crime than that of
 forming alliances with the idolatrous  
nations surrounding them4  ,the         
,brahmins of ,hindostan have established
  upon the same principle the law of    
caste1 by which certain professions     
were made hereditary4  ,in this warm    

climate1 where labour is so  oppressive1
 to secure perfection in any series of  
operations it seems  essential to       
strengthen the powers by the forces     
acquired from this  principle of        
hereditary descent4  ,it will at first  
perhaps strike your  mind that the      
mixing or blending of races is in direct
 opposition to this  principle of       
perfection2 but here ,i must require you
 to pause and  consider the nature of   
the qualities belonging to the human    
being4  ,excess  of a particular power1 
which in itself is a perfection1 becomes
 a defect2  the organs of touch may be  
so refined as to show a diseased        
sensibility2  the ear may become so     
exquisitely sensitive as to be more     
susceptible to  the uneasiness produced 
by discords than to the pleasures of    
harmony4  ,in  the nations which have   
been long civilised the defects are     
generally  those dependent on excess of 
sensibility--defects which are cured in 
the  next generation by the strength and

 power belonging to a ruder tribe4  ,in 
looking back upon the vision of ancient 
history1 you will find that there  never
 has been an instance of a migration to 
any extent of any race but  the         
,caucasian1 and they have usually passed
 from the ,north to the ,south4  ,the   
negro race has always been driven before
 these conquerors of the  world2 and the
 red men1 the aborigines of ,america1   
are constantly  diminishing in number1  
and it is probable that in a few        
centuries more  their pure blood will be
 entirely extinct4  ,in the population  
of the  world1 the great object is      
evidently to produce organised frames   
most  capable of the happy and          
intellectual enjoyment of life--to raise
 man  above the mere animal state4  ,to 
perpetuate the advantages of            
civilisation1 the races most capable of 
these advantages are preserved  and     
extended1 and no considerable           
improvement made by an individual is    
ever lost to society4  ,you see living  

forms perpetuated in the series of      
ages1 and apparently the quantity of    
life increased4  ,in comparing the      
population of the globe as it now is    
with what it was centuries ago1 you     
would find it considerably greater2 and 
if the quantity of life is  increased1  
the quantity of happiness1 particularly 
that resulting from  the exercise of    
intellectual power1 is increased in a   
still higher ratio4  ,now1 you will say1
 ',is mind generated1 is spiritual power
 created2 or are  those results         
dependent upon the organisation of      
matter1 upon new  perfections given to  
the machinery upon which thought and    
motion depend8'  ,i proclaim to you1    
said the ,genius1 raising his voice from
 its low and  sweet tone to one of      
ineffable majesty1 neither of these     
opinions is  true4  ,listen1 whilst ,i  
reveal to you the mysteries of spiritual
 natures1  but ,i almost fear that with 
the mortal veil of your senses          
surrounding  you1 these mysteries can   

never be made perfectly intelligible to 
your  mind4  ,spiritual natures are     
eternal and indivisible1 but their modes
 of  being are as infinitely varied as  
the forms of matter4  ,they have no     
relation to space1 and1 in their        
transitions1 no dependence upon time1 so
  that they can pass from one part of   
the universe to another by laws         
entirely independent of their motion4   
,the quantity1 or the number of         
spiritual essences1 like the quantity or
 number of the atoms of the  material   
world1 are always the same2 but their   
arrangements1 like those  of the        
materials which they are destined to    
guide or govern1 are  infinitely        
diversified2 they are1 in fact1 parts   
more or less inferior of  the infinite  
mind1 and in the planetary systems1 to  
one of which this  globe you inhabit    
belongs1 are in a state of probation1   
continually  aiming at1 and generally   
rising to a higher state of existence4  
,were it  permitted me to extend your   

vision to the fates of individual       
existences1  ,i could show you the same 
spirit1 which in the form of ,socrates  
developed  the foundations of moral and 
social virtue1 in the ,czar ,peter      
possessed  of supreme power and enjoying
 exalted felicity in improving a rude   
people4  ,i could show you the monad or 
spirit1 which with the organs of        
,newton displayed an intelligence almost
 above humanity1 now in a higher  and   
better state of planetary existence     
drinking intellectual light from  a     
purer source and approaching nearer to  
the infinite and divine ,mind4  ,but    
prepare your mind1 and you shall at     
least catch a glimpse of those  states  
which the highest intellectual beings   
that have belonged to the  earth enjoy  
after death in their transition to now  
and more exalted  natures4  ,the voice  
ceased1 and ,i appeared in a dark1 deep1
 and cold  cave1 of which the walls of  
the ,colosaeum formed the boundary4     
,from  above a bright and rosy light    

broke into this cave1 so that whilst    
below  all was dark1 above all was      
bright and illuminated with glory4  ,i  
seemed  possessed at this moment of a   
new sense1 and felt that the light      
brought  with it a genial warmth2 odours
 like those of the most balmy flowers   
appeared to fill the air1 and the       
sweetest sounds of music absorbed my    
sense of hearing2 my limbs had a new    
lightness given to them1 so that ,i     
seemed to rise from the earth1 and      
gradually mounted into the bright       
luminous air1 leaving behind me the dark
 and cold cavern1 and the ruins  with   
which it was strewed4  ,language is     
inadequate to describe what ,i  felt in 
rising continually upwards through this 
bright and luminous  atmosphere4  ,i had
 not1 as is generally the case with     
persons in dreams  of this kind1        
imagined to myself wings2 but ,i rose   
gradually and securely  as if ,i were   
myself a part of the ascending column of
 light4  ,by degrees  this luminous     

atmosphere1 which was diffused over the 
whole of space1  became more            
circumscribed1 and extended only to a   
limited spot around me4  ,i saw through 
it the bright blue sky1 the moon and    
stars1 and ,i passed by  them as if it  
were in my power to touch them with my  
hand4  ,i beheld  ,jupiter and ,saturn  
as they appear through our best         
telescopes1 but still  more magnified1  
all the moons and belts of ,jupiter     
being perfectly  distinct1 and the      
double ring of ,saturn appearing in that
 state in which  ,i have heard ,herschel
 often express a wish he could see it4  
,it seemed as  if ,i was on the verge of
 the solar system1 and my moving sphere 
of light  now appeared to pause4  ,i    
again heard the low and sweet voice of  
the  ,genius1 which said1 ,you are now  
on the verge of your own system3 will   
you go further1 or return to the earth8 
,i replied1 ,i have left an  abode which
 is damp1 dreary1 dark and cold2 ,i am  
now in a place where all  is life1      

light1 and enjoyment2 show me1 at least 
before ,i return1 the  glimpse which you
 promised me of those superior          
intellectual natures and  the modes of  
their being and their enjoyments4       
,there are creatures far  superior1 said
 the ,genius1 to any idea your          
imagination can form in  that part of   
the system now before you1 comprehending
 ,saturn1 his moons  and rings4  ,i will
 carry you to the verge of the immense  
atmosphere of  this planet4  ,in that   
space you will see sufficient to wonder 
at1 and far  more than with your present
 organisation it would be possible for  
me to  make you understand4  ,i was     
again in motion1 and again almost as    
suddenly at rest4  ,i saw below me a    
surface infinitely diversified1         
something like that of an immense       
glacier covered with large columnar     
masses1 which appeared as if formed of  
glass1 and from which were  suspended   
rounded forms of various sizes1 which1  
if they had not been  transparent1 ,i   

might have supposed to be fruit4  ,from 
what appeared to me  to be analogous to 
masses of bright blue ice1 streams of   
the richest tint  of rose-colour or     
purple burst forth and flowed into      
basins1 forming  lakes or seas of the   
same colour4  ,looking through the      
atmosphere towards  the heavens1 ,i saw 
brilliant opaque clouds of an azure     
colour that  reflected the light of the 
sun1 which had to my eyes an entirely   
new  aspect1 and appeared smaller1 as if
 seen through a dense blue mist4  ,i    
saw moving on the surface below me      
immense masses1 the forms of which ,i   
find it impossible to describe2 they had
 systems for locomotion similar  to     
those of the morse or sea-horse1 but ,i 
saw with great surprise that  they moved
 from place to place by six extremely   
thin membranes1 which  they used as     
wings4  ,their colours were varied and  
beautiful1 but  principally azure and   
rose-colour4  ,i saw numerous           
convolutions of tubes1  more analogous  

to the trunk of the elephant than to    
anything else ,i can  imagine1 occupying
 what ,i supposed to be the upper parts 
of the body1 and  my feeling of         
astonishment almost became one of       
disgust1 from the  peculiar character of
 the organs of these singular beings2   
and it was  with a species of terror    
that ,i saw one of them mounting        
upwards1  apparently flying towards     
those opaque clouds which ,i have before
  mentioned4  ,i know what your feelings
 are1 said the ,genius2 you want        
analogies and all the elements of       
knowledge to comprehend the scene       
before you4  ,you are in the same state 
in which a fly would be whose           
microscopic eye was changed for one     
similar to that of man2 and you are     
wholly unable to associate what you now 
see with your former knowledge4  ,but   
those beings who are before you1 and who
 appear to you almost as  imperfect in  
their functions as the zoophytes of the 
,polar ,sea1 to which  they are not     

unlike in their apparent organisation to
 your eyes1 have a  sphere of           
sensibility and intellectual enjoyment  
far superior to that of  the inhabitants
 of your earth4  ,each of those tubes   
which appears like  the trunk of an     
elephant is an organ of peculiar motion 
or sensation4  ,they have many modes of 
perception of which you are wholly      
ignorant1 at  the same time that their  
sphere of vision is infinitely more     
extended  than yours1 and their organs  
of touch far more perfect and exquisite4
  ,it  would be useless for me to       
attempt to explain their organisation1  
which  you could never understand2 but  
of their intellectual objects of pursuit
  ,i may perhaps give you some notion4  
,they have used1 modified1 and  applied 
the material world in a manner analogous
 to man2 but with far  superior powers  
they have gained superior results4      
,their atmosphere  being much denser    
than yours and the specific gravity of  
their planet  less1 they have been      

enabled to determine the laws belonging 
to the solar  system with far more      
accuracy than you can possibly conceive1
 and any one  of those beings could show
 you what is now the situation and      
appearance  of your moon with a         
precision that would induce you to      
believe that he  saw it1 though his     
knowledge is merely the result of       
calculation4  ,their  sources of        
pleasure are of the highest intellectual
 nature2 with the  magnificent spectacle
 of their own rings and moons revolving 
round them1  with the various           
combinations required to understand and 
predict the  relations of these         
wonderful phenomena their minds are in  
unceasing  activity and this activity is
 a perpetual source of enjoyment4  ,your
 view  of the solar system is bounded by
 ,uranus1 and the laws of this planet   
form the ultimatum of your mathematical 
results2 but these beings catch a  sight
 of planets belonging to another system 
and even reason on the  phenomena       

presented by another sun4  ,those       
comets1 of which your  astronomical     
history is so imperfect1 are to them    
perfectly familiar1 and  in their       
ephemerides their places are shown with 
as much accurateness as  those of       
,jupiter or ,venus in your almanacks2   
the parallax of the fixed  stars nearest
 them is as well understood as that of  
their own sun1 and  they possess a      
magnificent history of the changes      
taking place in the  heavens and which  
are governed by laws that it would be   
vain for me to  attempt to give you an  
idea of4  ,they are acquainted with the 
revolutions  and uses of comets2 they   
understand the system of those meteoric 
formations of stones which have so much 
astonished you on earth2 and they  have 
histories in which the gradual changes  
of nebulas in their progress  towards   
systems have been registered1 so that   
they can predict their  future changes4 
,and their astronomical records are not 
like yours which  go back only twenty   

centuries to the time of ,hipparchus2   
they embrace a  period a hundred times  
as long1 and their civil history for the
 same time  is as correct as their      
astronomical one4  ,as ,i cannot        
describe to you the  organs of these    
wonderful beings1 so neither can ,i show
 to you their  modes of life2 but as    
their highest pleasures depend upon     
intellectual  pursuits1 so you may      
conclude that those modes of life bear  
the strictest  analogy to that which on 
the earth you would call exalted virtue4
  ,i will  tell you however that they   
have no wars1 and that the objects of   
their  ambition are entirely those of   
intellectual greatness1 and that the    
only  passion that they feel in which   
comparisons with each other can be      
instituted are those dependent upon a   
love of glory of the purest kind4  ,if  
,i were to show you the different parts 
of the surface of this planet1  you     
would see marvellous results of the     
powers possessed by these highly        

intellectual beings and of the wonderful
 manner in which they have  applied and 
modified matter4  ,those columnar       
masses1 which seem to you as  if arising
 out of a mass of ice below1 are results
 of art1 and processes  are going on in 
them connected with the formation and   
perfection of their  food4  ,the        
brilliant coloured fluids are the       
results of such operations  as on the   
earth would be performed in your        
laboratories1 or more properly  in your 
refined culinary apparatus1 for they are
 connected with their  system of        
nourishment4  ,those opaque azure       
clouds1 to which you saw a few  minutes 
ago one of those beings directing his   
course1 are works of art  and places in 
which they move through different       
regions of their  atmosphere and command
 the temperature and the quantity of    
light most  fitted for their            
philosophical researches1 or most       
convenient for the  purposes of life4   
,on the verge of the visible horizon    

which we perceive  around us1 you may   
see in the east a very dark spot or     
shadow1 in which  the light of the sun  
seems entirely absorbed2 this is the    
border of an  immense mass of liquid    
analogous to your ocean1 but unlike your
 sea it is  inhabited by a race of      
intellectual beings inferior indeed to  
those  belonging to the atmosphere of   
,saturn1 but yet possessed of an        
extensive  range of sensations and      
endowed with extraordinary power and    
intelligence4  ,i could transport you to
 the different planets and show  you in 
each peculiar intellectual beings       
bearing analogies to each other1  but   
yet all different in power and essence4 
,in ,jupiter you would see  creatures   
similar to those in ,saturn1 but with   
different powers of  locomotion2 in     
,mars and ,venus you would find races of
 created forms more  analogous to those 
belonging to the earth2 but in every    
part of the  planetary system you would 
find one character peculiar to all      

intelligent  natures1 a sense of        
receiving impressions from light by     
various organs of  vision1 and towards  
this result you cannot but perceive that
 all the  arrangements and motions of   
the planetary bodies1 their satellites  
and  atmospheres are subservient4  ,the 
spiritual natures therefore that pass   
from system to system in progression    
towards power and knowledge preserve  at
 least this one invariable character1   
and their intellectual life may  be said
 to depend more or less upon the        
influence of light4  ,as far as my      
knowledge extends1 even in other parts  
of the universe the more perfect        
organised systems still possess this    
source of sensation and enjoyment2  but 
with higher natures1 finer and more     
ethereal kinds of matter are  employed  
in organisation1 substances that bear   
the same analogy to common  matter that 
the refined or most subtle gases do to  
common solids and  fluids4  ,the        
universe is everywhere full of life1 but

 the modes of this  life are infinitely 
diversified1 and yet every form of it   
must be enjoyed  and known by every     
spiritual nature before the consummation
 of all  things4  ,you have seen the    
comet moving with its immense train of  
light  through the sky2 this likewise   
has a system supplied with living beings
  and their existence derives its       
enjoyment from the diversity of         
circumstances to which they are exposed2
 passing as it were through the         
infinity of space they are continually  
gratified by the sight of new  systems  
and worlds1 and you can imagine the     
unbounded nature of the  circle of their
 knowledge4  ,my power extends so far as
 to afford you a  glimpse of the nature 
of a cometary world4  ,i was again in   
rapid motion1  again passing with the   
utmost velocity through the bright blue 
sky1 and ,i  saw ,jupiter and his       
satellites and ,saturn and his ring     
behind me1 and  before me the sun1 no   
longer appearing as through a blue mist 

but in  bright and unsupportable        
splendour1 towards which ,i seemed      
moving with  the utmost velocity2 in a  
limited sphere of vision1 in a kind of  
red hazy  light similar to that which   
first broke in upon me in the           
,colosaeum1 ,i  saw moving round me     
globes which appeared composed of       
different kinds of  flame and of        
different colours4  ,in some of these   
globes ,i recognised  figures which put 
me in mind of the human countenance1 but
 the  resemblance was so awful and      
unnatural that ,i endeavoured to        
withdraw my  view from them4  ,you are  
now1 said the ,genius1 in a cometary    
system2  those globes of light          
surrounding you are material forms1 such
 as in one  of your systems of religious
 faith have been attributed to seraphs2 
they  live in that element which to you 
would be destruction2 they communicate  
by powers which would convert your      
organised frame into ashes2 they are    
now in the height of their enjoyment1   

being about to enter into the blaze  of 
the solar atmosphere4  ,these beings so 
grand1 so glorious1 with  functions to  
you incomprehensible1 once belonged to  
the earth2 their  spiritual natures have
 risen through different stages of      
planetary life1  leaving their dust     
behind them1 carrying with them only    
their  intellectual power4  ,you ask me 
if they have any knowledge or           
reminiscence of their transitions2 tell 
me of your own recollections in  the    
womb of your mother and ,i will answer  
you4  ,it is the law of divine  wisdom  
that no spirit carries with it into     
another state and being any  habit or   
mental qualities except those which may 
be connected with its  new wants or     
enjoyments2 and knowledge relating to   
the earth would be no  more useful to   
these glorified beings than their       
earthly system of  organised dust1 which
 would be instantly resolved into its   
ultimate atoms  at such a temperature2  
even on the earth the butterfly does not

 transport  with it into the air the    
organs or the appetites of the crawling 
worm  from which it sprung4  ,there is1 
however1 one sentiment or passion which 
the monad or spiritual essence carries  
with it into all its stages of  being1  
and which in these happy and elevated   
creatures is continually  exalted2 the  
love of knowledge or of intellectual    
power1 which is1 in  fact1 in its       
ultimate and most perfect development   
the love of infinite  wisdom and        
unbounded power1 or the love of ,god4   
,even in the imperfect  life that       
belongs to the earth this passion exists
 in a considerable  degree1 increases   
even with age1 outlives the perfection  
of the corporeal  faculties1 and at the 
moment of death is felt by the conscious
 being1 and  its future destinies depend
 upon the manner in which it has been   
exercised and exalted4  ,when it has    
been misapplied and assumed the forms   
of vague curiosity1 restless ambition1  
vain glory1 pride or oppression1  the   

being is degraded1 it sinks in the scale
 of existence and still  belongs to the 
earth or an inferior system1 till its   
errors are corrected  by painful        
discipline4  ,when1 on the contrary1 the
 love of intellectual  power has been   
exercised on its noblest objects1 in    
discovering and in  contemplating the   
properties of created forms and in      
applying them to  useful and benevolent 
purposes1 in developing and admiring the
 laws of  the eternal ,intelligence1 the
 destinies of the sentient principle are
 of  a nobler kind1 it rises to a higher
 planetary world4  ,from the height to  
which you have been lifted ,i could     
carry you downwards and show you        
intellectual natures even inferior to   
those belonging to the earth1 in  your  
own moon and in the lower planets1 and  
,i could demonstrate to you  the effects
 of pain or moral evil in assisting in  
the great plan of the  exaltation of    
spiritual natures2 but ,i will not      
destroy the brightness of  your present 

idea of the scheme of the universe by   
degrading pictures of  the effects of   
bad passions and of the manner in which 
evil is corrected  and destroyed4  ,your
 vision must end with the glorious view 
of the  inhabitants of the cometary     
worlds2 ,i cannot show you the beings of
 the  system to which ,i1 myself1       
belong1 that of the sun2 your organs    
would  perish before our brightness1 and
 ,i am only permitted to be present to  
you as a sound or intellectual voice4   
,we are likewise in progression1  but we
 see and know something of the plans of 
infinite wisdom2 we feel  the personal  
presence of that supreme ,deity which   
you only imagine2 to  you belongs faith1
 to us knowledge2 and our greatest      
delight results from  the conviction    
that we are lights kindled by ,his light
 and that we belong  to ,his substance4 
,to obey1 to love1 to wonder and adore1 
form our  relations to the infinite     
,intelligence4  ,we feel ,his laws are  
those of  eternal justice and that they 

govern all things from the most glorious
  intellectual natures belonging to the 
sun and fixed stars to the meanest      
spark of life animating an atom crawling
 in the dust of your earth4  ,we  know  
all things begin from and end in ,his   
everlasting essence1 the cause  of      
causes1 the power of powers4    ,the low
 and sweet voice ceased2 it appeared as 
if ,i had fallen suddenly  upon the     
earth1 but there was a bright light     
before me and ,i heard my  name loudly  
called2 the voice was not of my         
intellectual guide--the  genius before  
me was my servant bearing a flambeau in 
his hand4  ,he told  me he had been     
searching me in vain amongst the ruins1 
that the carriage  had been waiting for 
me above an hour1 and that he had left a
 large party  of my friends assembled in
 the ,palazzo ,f---4          ,,dialogue
 ,,the ,,second4  ,,discussions         
,,connected ,,with ,,the ,,vision ,,in  
,,the  ,,colosaeum4      ,the same      
friends1 ,ambrosio and ,onuphrio1 who   

were my companions at ,rome  in the     
winter1 accompanied me in the spring to 
,naples4  ,many  conversations occurred 
in the course of our journey which were 
often to  me peculiarly instructive1 and
 from the difference of their opinions  
generally animated and often            
entertaining4  ,i shall detail one of   
these  conversations1 which took place  
in the evening on the summit of         
,vesuvius1  and the remembrance of which
 from its connection with my vision in  
the  ,colosaeum has always a peculiar   
interest for me4  ,we had reached with  
some labour the edge of the crater and  
were admiring the wonderful scene       
around us4  ,i shall give the           
conversation in the words of the persons
 of  the drama4    ,philalethes4--,it is
 difficult to say whether there is more 
of sublimity  or beauty in the scene    
around us4  ,nature appears at once     
smiling and  frowning1 in activity and  
repose4  ,how tremendous is the volcano1
 how  magnificent this great laboratory 

of ,nature in its unceasing fire1 its   
subterraneous lightnings and thunder1   
its volumes of smoke1 its showers  of   
stones and its rivers of ignited lava6  
,how contrasted the darkness of  the    
scoriae1 the ruins and the desolation   
round the crater with the scene  below6 
,there we see the rich field covered    
with flax1 or maize1 or  millet1 and    
intersected by rows of trees which      
support the green and  graceful festoons
 of the vine2 the orange and lemon tree 
covered with  golden fruit appear in the
 sheltered glens2 the olive trees cover 
the  lower hills2 islands purple in the 
beams of the setting sun are scattered  
over the sea in the west1 and the sky is
 tinted with red softening into  the    
brightest and purest azure2 the distant 
mountains still retain a part  of the   
snows of winter1 but they are rapidly   
melting and they absolutely  seem to    
melt reflecting the beams of the setting
 sun1 glowing as if on  fire4  ,and man 
appears emulous of ,nature1 for the city

 below is full of  activity2 the nearest
 part of the bay is covered with boats1 
busy  multitudes crowd the strand1 and  
at the same time may be seen a number of
  the arts belonging to civilised       
society in operation--house-building1   
ship-building1 rope-making1 the         
manipulations of the smith and of the   
agriculturist1 and not only the useful  
arts1 but even the amusements and       
luxuries of a great metropolis may be   
witnessed from the spot in which we     
stand2 that motley crowd is collected   
round a policinello1 and those  smaller 
groups that surround the stalls are     
employed in enjoying the  favourite food
 and drink of the lazzaroni4            
,ambrosio4--,we see not only the power  
and activity of man1 as existing  at    
present1 and of which the highest       
example may be represented by the       
steam-boat which is now departing for   
,palermo1 but we may likewise view      
scenes which carry us into the very     
bosom of antiquity1 and1 as it were1    

make us live with the generations of    
past ages4  ,those small square         
buildings1 scarcely visible in the      
distance1 are the tombs of              
distinguished men amongst the early     
,greek colonists of the country2 and    
those rows of houses1 without roofs1    
which appear as if newly erecting1      
constitute a ,roman town restored from  
its ashes1 that remained for  centuries 
as if it had been swept from the face of
 the earth4  ,when you  study it in     
detail you will hardly avoid the        
illusion that it is a rising  city2 you 
will almost be tempted to ask where are 
the workmen1 so perfect  art the walls  
of the houses1 so bright and uninjured  
the painting upon  them4  ,hardly       
anything is wanting to make this scene a
 magnificent  epitome of all that is    
most worthy of admiration in ,nature and
 art2 had  there been in addition to the
 other objects a fine river and a       
waterfall  the epitome would1 ,i think1 
have been absolutely perfect4           

,phil4--,you are most unreasonable in   
imagining additions to a scene  which it
 is impossible to embrace in one view1  
and which presents so many  objects to  
the senses1 the memory1 and to the      
imagination2 yet there is a  river in   
the valley between ,naples and ,castel  
del ,mare2 you may see its  silver      
thread and the white foam of its        
torrents in the distance1 and if  you   
were geologists you would find a number 
of sources of interest1 which  have not 
been mentioned1 in the scenery          
surrounding us4  ,somma which is  before
 us1 for instance1 affords a wonderful  
example of a mountain formed  of marine 
deposits1 and which has been raised by  
subterraneous fire1 and  those large and
 singular veins which you see at the    
base and rising  through the substance  
of the strata are composed of volcanic  
porphyry1  and offer a most striking and
 beautiful example of the generation and
  structure of rocks and mineral        
formations4    ,onuphrio4--,as we passed

 through ,portici1 on the road to the   
base of  ,vesuvius1 it appeared to me   
that ,i saw a stone which had an ancient
 ,roman  inscription upon it1 and which 
occupied the place of a portal in the   
modern palace of the ,barberini4        
,phil4--,this is not an uncommon        
circumstance3 ,most of the stones used  
in  the palaces of ,portici had been    
employed more than two thousand years   
before in structures raised by the      
ancient ,romans or ,greek colonists2 and
  it is not a little remarkable that the
 buildings of ,herculaneum1 a town      
covered with ashes1 tufa1 and lava1 from
 the first recorded eruption of         
,vesuvius more than seventeen hundred   
years ago1 should have been  constructed
 of volcanic materials produced by some 
antecedent igneous  action of the       
mountain in times beyond the reach of   
history2 and it is  still more          
remarkable that men should have gone on 
for so many ages  making erections in   
spots where their works have been so    

often destroyed1  inattentive to the    
voice of time or the warnings of nature4
    ,onu4--,this last fact recalls to my
 recollection an idea which             
,philalethes started in the remarkable  
dream which he would have us  believe   
occurred to him in the ,colosaeum1      
namely--that no important facts  which  
can be useful to society are ever lost2 
and that1 like these  stones1 which     
though covered with ashes or hidden     
amongst ruins1 they are  sure to be     
brought forward again and made use of in
 some new form4    ,amb4--,i do not see 
the justness of the analogy to which    
,onuphrio  refers2 but there are many   
parts of that vision on which ,i should 
wish to  hear the explanations of       
,philalethes4  ,i consider it in fact as
 a sort of  poetical epitome of his     
philosophical opinions1 and ,i regard   
this vision  or dream as a mere web of  
his imagination in which he intended to 
catch  us1 his summer-flies and         
travelling companions4                  

,phil4--,there1 ,ambrosio1 you do me    
wrong4  ,i will acknowledge1 if you     
please1 that the vision in the          
,colosaeum is a fiction2 but the most   
important parts of it really occurred to
 me in sleep1 particularly that  in     
which ,i seemed to leave the earth and  
launch into the infinity of  space under
 the guidance of a tutelary genius4     
,and the origin and  progress of civil  
society form likewise parts of another  
dream which ,i  had many years ago1 and 
it was in the reverie which happened    
when you  quitted me in the ,colosaeum  
that ,i wove all these thoughts         
together1 and  gave them the form in    
which ,i narrated them to you4          
,amb4--,of course we may consider them  
as an accurate representation of  your  
waking thoughts4    ,phil4--,i do not   
say that they strictly are so1 for ,i am
 not quite  convinced that dreams are   
always representations of the state of  
the mind  modified by organic diseases  
or by associations4  ,there are         

certainly no  absolutely new ideas      
produced in sleep1 yet ,i have had more 
than one  instance1 in the course of my 
life1 of most extraordinary combinations
  occurring in this state1 which have   
had considerable influence on my        
feelings1 my imagination1 and my health4
    ,onu4--,why ,philalethes1 you are   
becoming a visionary1 a dreamer of      
dreams4  ,we shall perhaps set you down 
by the side of ,jacob ,behmen or of     
,emanuel ,swedenbourg1 and in an earlier
 age you might have been a prophet1  and
 have ranked perhaps with ,mahomet4     
,but pray give us one of these          
instances in which such a marvellous    
influence was produced on your          
imagination and your health by a dream  
that we may form some judgment of  the  
nature of your second sight or          
inspirations2 and whether they have  any
 foundation1 or whether they are not1 as
 ,i believe1 really unfounded1          
inventions of the fancy1 dreams         
respecting dreams4    ,phil4--,i        

anticipate unbelief1 and ,i expose      
myself to your ridicule in  the         
statement ,i am about to make1 yet ,i   
shall mention nothing but a  simple     
fact4  ,almost a quarter of a century   
ago1 as you know1 ,i  contracted that   
terrible form of typhus-fever known by  
the name of gaol-  fever1 ,i may say1   
not from any imprudence of my own1 but  
whilst engaged  in putting in execution 
a plan for ventilating one of the great 
prisons  of the metropolis4  ,my illness
 was severe and dangerous4  ,as long as 
the  fever continued1 my dreams or      
delirium were most painful and          
oppressive2  but when the weakness      
consequent to exhaustion came on1 and   
when the  probability of death seemed to
 my physicians greater than that of     
life1  there was an entire change in all
 my ideal combinations4  ,i remained in 
an apparently senseless or lethargic    
state1 but in fact my mind was          
peculiarly active2 there was always     
before me the form of a beautiful       

woman1 with whom ,i was engaged in the  
most interesting and intellectual       
conversation4    ,amb4--,the figure of a
 lady with whom you were in love4       
,phil4--,no such thing2 ,i was          
passionately in love at the time1 but   
the  object of my admiration was a lady 
with black hair1 dark eyes1 and pale    
complexion2 this spirit of my vision1 on
 the contrary1 had brown hair1  blue    
eyes1 and a bright rosy complexion1 and 
was1 as far as ,i can  recollect1 unlike
 any of the amatory forms which in early
 youth had so  often haunted my         
imagination4  ,her figure for many days 
was so distinct  in my mind1 as to form 
almost a visual image4  ,as ,i gained   
strength1 the  visits of my good angel  
7for so ,i called it7 became less       
frequent1 and  when ,i was restored to  
health they were altogether             
discontinued4    ,onu4--,i see nothing  
very strange in this--a mere reaction of
 the mind  after severe pain--and1 to a 
young man of twenty-five1 there are few 

more  pleasurable images than that of a 
beautiful maiden with blue eyes1        
blooming cheeks1 and long nut-brown     
hair4    ,phil4--,but all my feelings   
and all my conversations with this      
visionary  maiden were of an            
intellectual and refined nature4        
,onu4--,yes1 ,i suppose1 as long as you 
were ill4    ,phil4--,i will not allow  
you to treat me with ridicule on this   
point  till you have heard the second   
part of my tale4  ,ten years after ,i   
had  recovered from the fever1 and when 
,i had almost lost the recollection of  
the vision1 it was recalled to my memory
 by a very blooming and graceful        
maiden1 fourteen or fifteen years old1  
that ,i accidentally met during my      
travels in ,illyria2 but ,i cannot say  
that the impression made upon my  mind  
by this female was very strong4  ,now   
comes the extraordinary part of  the    
narrative4  ,ten years after1 twenty    
years after my first illness1 at  a time
 when ,i was exceedingly weak from a    

severe and dangerous malady1  which for 
many weeks threatened my life1 and when 
my mind was almost in a  desponding     
state1 being in a course of travels     
ordered by my medical  advisers1 ,i     
again met the person who was the        
representative of my  visionary female1 
and to her kindness and care ,i believe 
,i owe what  remains to me of existence4
  ,my despondency gradually disappeared1
 and  though my health still continued  
weak1 life began to possess charms for  
me which ,i had thought were for ever   
gone2 and ,i could not help  identifying
 the living angel with the vision which 
appeared as my  guardian genius during  
the illness of my youth4    ,onu4--,i   
really see nothing at all in this fact1 
whether the first or  the second part of
 the narrative be considered1 beyond the
 influence of  an imagination excited by
 disease4  ,from youth1 even to age1    
women are  our guardian angels1 our     
comforters2 and ,i dare say any other   
handsome  young female1 who had been    

your nurse in your last illness1 would  
have  coincided with your remembrance of
 the vision1 even though her eyes had   
been hazel and her hair flaxen4         
,nothing can be more loose than the     
images represented in dreams following a
 fever1 and with the nervous            
susceptibility produced by your last    
illness1 almost any agreeable form      
would have become the representative of 
your imaginary guardian genius4  ,thus  
it is1 that by the power of fancy1      
material forms are clothed in           
supernatural attributes2 and in the same
 manner imaginary divinities have  all  
the forms of mortality bestowed upon    
them4  ,the gods of the pagan  mythology
 were in all their characters and       
attributes exalted human  beings2 the   
demon of the coward1 and the angelic    
form that appears in the  dream of some 
maid smitten by devotion1 and who1      
having lost her earthly  lover1 fixes   
her thoughts on heaven1 are clothed in  
the character and  vestments of humanity

 changed by the dreaminess of passion4  
,amb4--,with such a tendency1           
,philalethes1 as you have shown to      
believe  in something like a            
supernatural or divine influence on the 
human mind1 ,i  am astonished there     
should be so much scepticism belonging  
to your vision  in the ,colosaeum4  ,and
 your view of the early state of man1   
after his  first creation1 is not only  
incompatible with revelation1 but       
likewise  with reason and everything    
that we know respecting the history or  
traditions of the early nations of      
antiquity4    ,phil4--,be more distinct 
and detailed in your statements1        
,ambrosio1 that  ,i may be able to reply
 to them2 and whilst we are waiting for 
the sunrise  we may discuss the subject1
 and for this1 let us seat ourselves on 
these  stones1 where we shall be warmed 
by the vicinity of the current of lava4 
,amb4--,you consider man1 in his early  
or first created state1 a savage1  like 
those who now inhabit ,new ,holland or  

,new ,zealand1 acquiring by the  little 
use that they make of a feeble reason   
the power of supporting and  extending  
life4  ,now1 ,i contend1 that if man had
 been so created1 he must  inevitably   
have been destroyed by the elements or  
devoured by savage  beasts1 so          
infinitely his superiors in physical    
force4  ,he must1  therefore1 have been 
formed with various instinctive         
faculties and  propensities1 with a     
perfection of form and use of organs    
fitting him to  become the master of the
 earth2 and1 it appears to me1 that the 
account  given in ,genesis of the first 
parents of mankind having been placed in
 a  garden fitted with everything       
necessary to their existence and        
enjoyment1  and ordered to increase and 
multiply there1 is strictly in harmony  
with  reason1 and accordant with all    
just metaphysical views of the human    
mind4  ,man as he now exists can only be
 raised with great care and difficulty  
from the infant to the mature state2 all

 his motions are at first  automatic1   
and become voluntary by association2 he 
has to learn  everything by slow and    
difficult processes1 many months elapse 
before he  is able to stand1 and many   
years before he is able to provide for  
the  common wants of life4  ,without the
 mother or the nurse in his infant      
state1 he would die in a few hours2 and 
without the laborious discipline  of    
instruction and example1 he would remain
 idiotic and inferior to most  other    
animals4  ,his reason is only acquired  
gradually1 and when in its  highest     
perfection is often uncertain in its    
results4  ,he must1  therefore1 have    
been created with instincts that for a  
long while  supplied the want of reason1
 and which enabled him from the first   
moment  of his existence to provide for 
his wants1 to gratify his desires1 and  
enjoy the power and the activity of     
life4    ,phil4--,i acknowledge that    
your objection has some weight1 but not 
so  much as you would attribute to it4  

,i will suppose that the first created  
man or men had certain powers or        
instincts1 such as now belong to the    
rudest savages of the southern          
hemisphere2 ,i will suppose them created
  with the use of their organs for      
defence and offence and with passions   
and propensities enabling them to supply
 their own wants4  ,and ,i oppose  the  
fact of races who are now actually in   
this state to your vague  historical or 
traditionary records2 and their gradual 
progress or  improvement from this early
 state of society to that of the highest
 state  of civilisation or refinement   
may1 ,i think1 be easily deduced from   
the  exertions of reason assisted by the
 influence of the moral powers and of   
physical circumstances4  ,accident1 ,i  
conceive1 must have had some  influence 
in laying the foundations of certain    
arts2 and a climate in  which labour was
 not too oppressive1 and in which the   
exertion of  industry was required to   
provide for the wants of life must have 

fixed  the character of the activity of 
the early improving people2 where nature
  is too kind a mother1 man is generally
 a spoiled child2 where she is  severe1 
and a stepmother1 his powers are usually
 withered and destroyed4  ,the people of
 the south and the north and those      
between the tropics  offer1 even at this
 day1 proof of the truth of this        
principle2 and it is  even possible now 
to find on the surface of the earth1 all
 the different  gradations of the states
 of society1 from that in which man is  
scarcely  removed above the brute1 to   
that in which he appears approaching in 
his  nature to a divine intelligence4   
,besides1 reason being the noblest gift 
of ,god to man1 ,i can hardly suppose   
that an infinitely powerful and all-    
wise ,creator would bestow upon the     
early inhabitants of the globe a        
greater proportion of instinct than was 
at first necessary to preserve  their   
existence1 and that he would not leave  
the great progress of their  improvement

 to the development and exaltation of   
their reasoning powers4    ,amb4--,you  
appear to me in your argument to have   
forgotten the influence  that any       
civilised race must possess over        
savages2 and many of the  nations which 
you consider as in their original state1
 may have descended  from nations       
formerly civilised2 and1 it is quite as 
easy to trace the  retrograde steps of a
 people as their advances2 the savage   
hordes who now  inhabit the northern    
coast of ,africa are probably descended 
from the  opulent1 commercial1 and      
ingenious ,carthaginians who once       
contended with  ,rome for the empire of 
the world2 and even nearer home1 we     
might find in  ,southern ,italy and her 
islands1 proofs of a degradation not    
much  inferior4  ,what ,i contend for is
 the civilisation of the first          
patriarchal races who peopled the ,east1
 and who passed into ,europe from       
,armenia1 in which paradise is supposed 
to have been placed4  ,the early        

civilisation of this race could only    
have been in consequence of their       
powers and instincts having been of a   
higher character than those of  savages4
  ,they appear to have been small       
families--a state not at all  fitted for
 the discovery of arts by the exercise  
of the mind2 and they  professed the    
most sublime form of religion1 the      
worship of one ,supreme                 
,intelligence--a truth which1 after a   
thousand years of civilisation1 was     
with difficulty attained by the most    
powerful efforts of reasoning by the    
,greek sages4  ,it appears to me1 that  
in the history of the ,jews1 nothing    
can be more in conformity to our ideas  
of just analogy than this series  of    
events4  ,our first parents were created
 with everything necessary for  their   
wants and their happiness2 they had only
 one duty to perform1 by  their         
obedience to prove their love and       
devotion to their ,creator4  ,in  this  
they failed1 and death--or the fear of  

death--became a curse upon  their race2 
but the father of mankind repented1 and 
his instinctive or  intellectual powers 
given by revelation were transmitted to 
his offspring  more or less modified by 
their reason1 which they had gained as  
the fruit  of their disobedience4  ,one 
branch of his offspring1 however1 in    
whom  faith shone forth above reason1   
retained their peculiar powers and      
institutions and preserved the worship  
of ,jehovah pure1 whilst many of  the   
races sprung from their brethren became 
idolatrous1 and the clear  light of     
heaven was lost through the mist of the 
senses2 and that ,being1  worshipped by 
the ,israelites only as a mysterious    
word1 was forgotten by  many of the     
nations who lived in the neighbouring   
countries1 and men1  beasts1 the parts  
of the visible universe1 and even stocks
 and stones1  were set up as objects of 
adoration4  ,the difficulty which the   
divine  legislators of the ,jewish      
people had to preserve the purity of    

their  religion amongst the idolatrous  
nations by whom they were surrounded1   
proves the natural evil tendency of the 
human mind after the fall of man4  ,and1
 whoever will consider the nature of the
 ,mosaical or ceremonial law  and the   
manner in which it was suspended before 
the end of the ,roman  ,empire1 the     
expiatory sacrifice of the ,messiah1 the
 fear of death  destroyed by the blessed
 hopes of immortality established by the
  resurrection of ,jesus ,christ1 the   
destruction of ,jerusalem by ,titus1 and
  the triumphs of ,christianity over    
paganism in the time of ,constantine1   
can ,i think1 hardly fail to acknowledge
 the reasonableness of the truth  of    
revealed religion as founded upon the   
early history of man2 and  whoever      
acknowledges this reasonableness and    
this truth1 must ,i think be            
dissatisfied with the view which        
,philalethes or his genius has given of 
the progress of society1 and will find  
in it one instance1 amongst many  others

 that might be discovered1 of the vague 
and erring results of his  so much      
boasted human reason4    ,onu4--,i fear 
,i shall shock ,ambrosio1 but ,i cannot 
help vindicating a  little the          
philosophical results of human reason1  
which it must be  allowed are entirely  
hostile to his ideas4  ,i agree with    
,philalethes that  it is the noblest    
gift of ,god to man2 and ,i cannot think
 that ,ambrosio's  view of the          
paradisaical condition and the fall of  
man and the progress  of society is at  
all in conformity with the ideas we     
ought to form of the  institutions of an
 infinitely wise and powerful ,being4   
,besides1 ,ambrosio  speaks of the      
reasonableness of his own opinions2 of  
course his notions  of reason must be   
different from mine1 or we have adopted 
different forms  of logic4  ,i do not   
find in the biblical history any idea of
 the supreme  ,intelligence conformable 
to those of the ,greek philosophers2 on 
the  contrary1 ,i find ,jehovah         

everywhere described as a powerful      
material  being1 endowed with organs1   
feelings1 and passions similar to those 
of a  great and exalted human agent4    
,he is described as making man in ,his  
own  image1 as walking in the garden in 
the cool of the evening1 as being       
pleased with sacrificial offerings1 as  
angry with ,adam and ,eve1 as           
personally cursing ,cain for his crime  
of fratricide1 and even as  providing   
our first parents with garments to hide 
their nakedness2 then  ,he appears a    
material form in the midst of flames1   
thunder and lightning1  and was regarded
 by the ,levites as having a fixed      
residence in the ,ark4  ,he is          
contrasted throughout the whole of the  
,old ,testament with the gods  of the   
heathens1 only as being more powerful2  
and in the strange scene  which took    
place in ,pharaoh's court ,he seemed to 
have measured ,his  abilities with those
 of certain seers or magicians1 and to  
have proved  ,his superiority only by   

producing greater and more tremendous   
plagues4  ,in  all the early history of 
the ,jewish nation there is no          
conception  approaching to the sublimity
 of that of ,anaxagoras1 who called ,god
 the  ,intelligence or ,greek text4  ,he
 appears always1 on the contrary1 like  
the genii of ,arabian romance1 living in
 clouds1 descending on mountains1       
urging ,his chosen people to commit the 
most atrocious crimes1 to destroy  all  
the races not professing the same       
worship1 and to exterminate even  the   
child and the unborn infant4  ,then1 ,i 
find in the ,old ,testament no  promise 
of a spiritual ,messiah1 but only of a  
temporal king1 who1 as the  ,jews       
believe1 is yet to come4  ,the serpent  
in ,genesis has no connection  with the 
spirit of evil1 but is described only as
 the most subtle beast  of the field1   
and1 having injured man1 there was to be
 a perpetual enmity  between their      
races--the serpent when able was to bite
 the heel of the  man1 and the man when 

an opportunity occurred was to bruise   
the head of  the serpent4  ,i will      
allow1 if you please1 that an instinct  
of religion  or superstition belongs to 
the human mind1 and that the different  
forms  which this instinct assumes      
depend upon various circumstances and   
accidents of history and climate2 but ,i
 am not sure that the religion of  the  
,jews was superior to that of the       
,sabaeans who worshipped the stars1  or 
the ancient ,persians who adored the sun
 as the visible symbol of  divine power1
 or the eastern nations who in the      
various forms of the  visible universe  
worshipped the powers and energies of   
the ,divinity4  ,i  feel like the       
ancient ,romans with respect to         
toleration2 ,i would give a  place to   
all the gods in my ,pantheon1 but ,i    
would not allow the followers  of       
,brahmah or of ,christ to quarrel about 
the modes of incarnation or the         
superiority of the attributes of their  
trien ,god4    ,amb4--,you have mistaken

 me1 ,onuphrio1 if you think ,i am      
shocked by your  opinions2 ,i have seen 
too much of the wanderings of human     
reason ever to  be surprised by them1   
and the views you have adopted are not  
uncommon  amongst young men of very     
superior talents1 who have only slightly
  examined the evidences of revealed    
religion4  ,but ,i am glad to find that 
you have not adopted the code of        
infidelity of many of the ,french       
revolutionists and of an ,english school
 of sceptics1 who find in the  ancient  
astronomy all the germs of the worship  
of the ,hebrews1 who  identify the      
labours of ,hercules with those of the  
,jewish heroes1 and who  find the life1 
death and resurrection of the ,messiah  
in the history of  the solar day4  ,you1
 at least1 allow the existence of a     
peculiar  religious instinct1 or1 as you
 are pleased to call it1 superstition1  
belonging to the human mind1 and ,i have
 hopes that upon this foundation  you   
will ultimately build up a system of    

faith not unworthy a philosopher  and a 
,christian4  ,man1 with whatever        
religious instincts he was created1  was
 intended to communicate with the       
visible universe by sensations and  act 
upon it by his organs1 and in the       
earliest state of society he was  more  
particularly influenced by his gross    
senses4  ,allowing the existence  of a  
supreme ,intelligence and ,his          
beneficent intentions towards man1 the  
ideas of ,his presence which ,he might  
think fit to impress upon the mind1     
either for the purpose of veneration1 or
 of love1 of hope or fear1 must  have   
been in harmony with the general train  
of ,his sensations--,i am not  sure that
 ,i make myself intelligible4  ,the same
 infinite power which in  an instant    
could create a universe1 could of course
 so modify the ideas  of an intellectual
 being as to give them that form and    
character most  fitted for his          
existence2 and ,i suppose in the early  
state of created man  he imagined that  

he enjoyed the actual presence of the   
,divinity and heard  ,his voice4  ,i    
take this to be the first and simplest  
result of religious  instinct4  ,in     
early times amongst the patriarchs ,i   
suppose these ideas  were so vivid as to
 be confounded with impressions2 but as 
religious  instinct probably became     
feebler in their posterity1 the         
vividness of the  impressions           
diminished1 and they then became visions
 or dreams1 which  with the prophets    
seem to have constituted inspiration4   
,i do not suppose  that the ,supreme    
,being ever made ,himself known to man  
by a real change in  the order of       
,nature1 but that the sensations of men 
were so modified by  their instincts as 
to induce the belief in ,his presence4  
,that there was  a divine intelligence  
continually acting upon the race of     
,seth as his  chosen people1 is1 ,i     
think1 clearly proved by the events of  
their  history1 and also that the early 
opinions of a small tribe in ,judaea    

were  designed for the foundation of the
 religion of the most active and        
civilised and powerful nations of the   
world1 and that after a lapse of  three 
thousand years4  ,the manner in which   
,christianity spread over the  world    
with a few obscure mechanics or         
fishermen for its promulgators2 the     
mode in which it triumphed over paganism
 even when professed and  supported by  
the power and philosophy of a ,julian2  
the martyrs who  subscribed to the truth
 of ,christianity by shedding their     
blood for the  faith2 the exalted nature
 of those intellectual men by whom it   
has been  professed who had examined all
 the depths of nature and exercised the 
profoundest faculties of thought1 such  
as ,newton1 ,locke1 and ,hartley1 all   
appear to me strong arguments in favour 
of revealed religion4  ,i prefer  rather
 founding my creed upon the fitness of  
its doctrines than upon  historical     
evidences or the nature of its miracles4
  ,the ,divine  ,intelligence chooses   

that men should be convinced according  
to the  ordinary train of their         
sensations1 and on all occasions it     
appears to me  more natural that a      
change should take place in the human   
mind than in  the order of nature4  ,the
 popular opinion of the people of       
,judaea was  that certain diseases were 
occasioned by devils taking possession  
of a  human being2 the disease was cured
 by our ,saviour1 and this in the       
,gospel  is expressed by his casting out
 devils4  ,but without entering into    
explanations respecting the historical  
miracles belonging to  ,christianity1 it
 is sufficient to say that its truth is 
attested by a  constantly existing      
miracle1 the present state of the ,jews1
 which was  predicted by ,jesus2 their  
temple and city were destroyed1 and all 
attempts made to rebuild it have been   
vain1 and they remain the despised  and 
outcasts of the world4    ,onu4--,but   
you have not answered my objections with
 respect to the  cruelties exercised by 

the ,jews under the command of ,jehovah1
 which  appear to me in opposition to   
all our views of divine justice4        
,amb4--,i think even ,philalethes will  
allow that physical and moral  diseases 
are hereditary1 and that to destroy a   
pernicious unbelief or  demoniacal      
worship it was necessary to destroy the 
whole race root and  branch4  ,as an    
example1 ,i will imagine a certain      
contagions disease which  is transmitted
 by parents to children1 and which1 like
 the plague1 is  communicated to sound  
persons by contact2 to destroy a family 
of men who  would spread this disease   
over the whole earth would              
unquestionably be a  mercy4  ,besides1  
,i believe in the immortality of the    
sentient principle  in man2 destruction 
of life is only a change of existence1  
and supposing  the new existence a      
superior one it is a gain4  ,to the     
,supreme  ,intelligence the death of a  
million of human beings is the mere     
circumstance of so many spiritual       

essences changing their habitations1    
and is analogous to the myriad millions 
of larvae that leave their coats  and   
shells behind them and rise into the    
atmosphere1 as flies in a summer  day4  
,when man measures the works of the     
,divine ,mind by his own feeble         
combinations1 he must wander in gross   
error2 the infinite can never be        
understood by the finite4    ,onu4--,as 
far as ,i can comprehend your reasoning1
 the priests of  ,juggernaut might make 
the same defence for their idol1 and    
find in such  views a fair apology for  
the destruction of thousands of         
voluntary  victims crushed to pieces by 
the feet of the sacred elephant4        
,amb4--,undoubtedly they might1 and ,i  
should allow the justness of their      
defence if ,i saw in their religion any 
germs of a divine institution  fitted to
 become1 like the religion of ,jehovah1 
the faith of the whole  civilised world1
 embracing the most perfect form of     
theism and the most  refined and exalted

 morality4  ,i consider the early acts  
of the ,jewish  nation as the lowest and
 rudest steps of a temple raised by the 
,supreme  ,being to contain the altar of
 sacrifice to ,his glory4  ,in the early
  periods of society rude and           
uncultivated men could only be acted    
upon by  gross and temporal rewards and 
punishments2 severe rites and heavy     
discipline were required to keep the    
mind in order1 and the punishment of    
the idolatrous nation served as an      
example for the ,jews4  ,when           
,christianity took the place of ,judaism
 the ideas of the ,supreme ,being       
became more pure and abstracted1 and the
 visible attributes of ,jehovah  and    
,his angels appear to have been less    
frequently presented to the mind2  yet  
even for many ages it seemed as if the  
grossness of our material  senses       
required some assistance from the eye in
 fixing or perpetuating  the character  
of religious instinct1 and the ,church  
to which ,i belong1  and ,i may say the 

whole ,christian ,church in early times1
 allowed visible  images1 pictures1     
statues1 and relics as the means of     
awakening the  stronger devotional      
feelings4  ,we have been accused of     
worshipping merely  inanimate objects1  
but this is a very false notion of the  
nature of our  faith2 we regard them    
merely as vivid characters representing 
spiritual  existences and we no more    
worship them than the ,protestant does  
his ,bible  when he kisses it under a   
solemn religious adjuration4  ,the past1
 the  present1 and the future being the 
same to the infinite and divine         
,intelligence1 and man being created in 
love for the purposes of  happiness1 the
 moral and religious discipline to which
 he was submitted  was in strict        
conformity to his progressive faculties 
and to the primary  laws of his nature4 
,it is but a rude analogy1 yet it is the
 only one ,i  can find1 that of         
comparing the ,supreme ,being to a wise 
and good father  who1 to secure the     

well-being of his offspring1 is obliged 
to adopt a  system of rewards and       
punishments in which the senses at first
 and  afterwards the imagination and    
reason are concerned2 he terrifies them 
by  the example of others1 awakens their
 love of glory by pointing out the      
distinction and the happiness gained by 
superior men by adopting a  particular  
line of conduct2 he uses at first the   
rod1 and gradually  substitutes for it  
the fear of immediate shame2 and having 
awakened the  fear of shame and the love
 of praise or honour with respect to    
temporary  and immediate actions he     
extends them to the conduct of the whole
 of  life1 and makes what was a         
momentary feeling a permanent and       
immutable  principle4  ,and obedience in
 the child to the will of such a parent 
may  be compared to faith in and        
obedience to the will of the ,supreme   
,being2  and a wayward and disobedient  
child who reasons upon and doubts the   
utility of the discipline of such a     

father is much in the same state in     
which the adult man is who doubts if    
there be good in the decrees of         
,providence and who questions the       
harmony of the plan of the moral        
universe4    ,onu4--,allowing the       
perfection of your moral scheme of      
religion and its  fitness for the nature
 of man1 ,i find it impossible to       
believe the  primary doctrines on which 
this scheme is founded4  ,you make the  
,divine  ,mind1 the creator of infinite 
worlds1 enter into the form of a man    
born  of a virgin1 you make the eternal 
and immortal ,god the victim of shameful
  punishment and suffering death on the 
cross1 recovering ,his life after  three
 days1 and carrying ,his maimed and     
lacerated body into the heaven of       
heavens4    ,amb4--,you1 like all other 
sceptics1 make your own interpretations 
of  the ,scriptures and set up a        
standard for divine power in human      
reason4  ,the infinite and eternal mind1
 as ,i said before1 fits the doctrines  

of  religion to the minds by which they 
are to be embraced4  ,i see no          
improbability in the idea that an       
integrant part of ,his essence may have 
animated a human form2 there can be no  
doubt that this belief has existed  in  
the human mind1 and the belief          
constitutes the vital part of the       
religion4  ,we know nothing of the      
generation of the human being in the    
ordinary course of nature2 how absurd   
then to attempt to reason upon the  acts
 of the ,divine ,mind6 nor is there more
 difficulty in imagining the  event of a
 divine conception than of a divine     
creation4  ,to ,god the  infinite1      
little and great1 as measured by human  
powers1 are equal2 a  creature of this  
earth1 however humble and insignificant1
 may have the  same weight with millions
 of superior beings inhabiting higher   
systems4  ,but ,i consider all the      
miraculous parts of our religion as     
effected by  changes in the sensations  
or ideas of the human mind1 and not by  

physical  changes in the order of       
nature2 a man who has to repair a piece 
of  machinery1 as a clock1 must take it 
to pieces1 and1 in fact1 re-make it1    
but to infinite wisdom and power a      
change in the intellectual state of  the
 human being may be the result of a     
momentary will1 and the mere act  of    
faith may produce the change4  ,how     
great the powers of imagination  are1   
even in ordinary life1 is shown by many 
striking facts1 and nothing  seems      
impossible to this imagination when     
acted upon by divine influence4  ,to    
attempt to answer all the objections    
which may be derived from the  want of  
conformity in the doctrines of          
,christianity to the usual order of     
events would be an interminable labour4 
,my first principle is1 that  religion  
has nothing to do with the common order 
of events2 it is a pure  and divine     
instinct intended to give results to man
 which he cannot  obtain by the common  
use of his reason1 and which at first   

view often  appear contradictory to it1 
but which when examined by the most     
refined  tests1 and considered in the   
most extensive and profound relations1  
are1  in fact1 in conformity with the   
most exalted intellectual knowledge1 so 
that1 indeed1 the results of pure reason
 ultimately become the same with  those 
of faith--the tree of knowledge is      
grafted upon the tree of life1  and that
 fruit which brought the fear of death  
into the world1 budding on  an immortal 
stock1 becomes the fruit of the promise 
of immortality4    ,onu4--,you derive   
,christianity from ,judaism2 ,i cannot  
see their  connection1 and it appears to
 me that the religion of ,mahomet is    
more  naturally a scion from the stock  
of ,moses4  ,christ was a ,jew1 and was 
circumcised2 this rite was continued by 
,mahomet1 and is to this day  adopted by
 his disciples1 though rejected by the  
,christians2 and the  doctrines of      
,mahomet appear to me to have a higher  
claim to divine origin  than those of   

,jesus2 his morality is as pure1 his    
theism purer1 and his  system of rewards
 and punishments after death as much in 
conformity with  our ideas of eternal   
justice4    ,amb4--,i will willingly    
make the decision of the general        
question  dependent upon the decision of
 this particular one4  ,no attempts have
  been made by the ,mahometans to find  
any predictions respecting their        
founder in the ,old ,testament1 and they
 have never pretended even that he  was 
the ,messiah2 therefore1 as far as      
prophecy is concerned1 there is no      
ground for admitting the truth of the   
religion of ,mahomet4  ,it has been  the
 fashion with a particular sect of      
infidels to praise the morality of  the 
,mahometans1 but ,i think unjustly2 they
 are said to be honest in their         
dealings and charitable to those of     
their own persuasion2 but they allow    
polygamy and a plurality of women1 and  
are despisers and persecutors of  the   
nations professing a different faith4   

,and what a contrast does this  morality
 present to that of the ,gospel which   
inculcates charity to all  mankind1 and 
orders benevolent actions to be         
performed even to enemies6  and the     
purity and simplicity of the infant is  
held up by ,christ as the  model of     
imitation for ,his followers4  ,then1 in
 the rewards and  punishments of the    
future state of the ,mahometans1 how    
gross are all the  ideas1 how unlike the
 promises of a divine and spiritual     
being2 their  paradise is a mere earthly
 garden of sensual pleasure1 and their  
,houris  represent the ladies of their  
own harems rather than glorified angelic
  natures4  ,how different is the       
,christian heaven1 how sublime in its   
idea1  indefinite1 yet well suited to a 
being of intellectual and progressive   
faculties2 ,eye hath not seen1 nor ear  
heard1 nor hath it entered into  the    
heart of man to conceive the joys that  
,he hath prepared for those who  love   
,him4    ,onu4--,i confess your answer  

to my last argument is a triumphant one2
  but ,i cannot allow a question of such
 extent and of such a variety of        
bearings to be decided by so slight an  
advantage as that which you have  gained
 by this answer4  ,i will now offer     
another difficulty to you4  ,the  law of
 the ,jews1 you will allow1 was         
established by ,god ,himself and        
delivered to ,moses from the seat of    
,his glory amongst storms1 thunder1  and
 lightnings1 on ,mount ,sinai2 why      
should this law1 if pure and divine1    
have been overturned by the same ,being 
who established it8  ,and all the       
ceremonies of the ,hebrews have been    
abolished by the first ,christians4     
,amb4--,i deny that the divine law of   
,moses was abolished by ,christ1 who    
,himself says1 ,i came to confirm the   
law1 not to destroy it4  ,and the  ,ten 
,commandments form the vital parts of   
the foundation of the creed of  the true
 ,christian4  ,it appears that the      
religion of ,christ was the same  pure  

theism with that of the patriarchs2 and 
the rites and ceremonies  established by
 ,moses seem to have been only adjuncts 
to the spiritual  religion intended to  
suit a particular climate and a         
particular state of  the ,jewish nation1
 rather a dress or clothing of the      
religion than  forming a constituent    
part of it1 a system of discipline of   
life and  manners rather than an        
essential part of doctrine4  ,the rites 
of  circumcision and ablution were      
necessary to the health and perhaps even
  to the existence of a people living on
 the hottest part of the shores of  the 
,mediterranean4  ,and in the sacrifices 
made of the first fruits and of  the    
chosen of the flock1 we may see a design
 not merely connected with  the         
religious faith of the people but even  
with their political economy4  ,to offer
 their choicest and best property as a  
proof of their gratitude  to the        
,supreme ,being was a kind of test of   
devotedness and obedience to  the       

theocracy2 and these sacrifices by      
obliging them to raise more  produce and
 provide more cattle than were essential
 to their ordinary  support1 preserved  
them from the danger of famine1 as in   
case of a dearth  it was easy for the   
priests under the divine permission to  
apply those  offerings to the           
necessities of the people4  ,all the    
pure parts of the  faith which had      
descended from ,abraham to ,david were  
preserved by ,jesus  ,christ2 but the   
ceremonial religion was fitted only for 
a particular  nation and a particular   
country2 ,christianity1 on the contrary1
 was to be  the religion of the world   
and of a civilised and improving world4 
,and it  appears to me to be an         
additional proof of its divine nature   
and origin1  that it is exactly in      
conformity to the principles of the     
improvement and  perfection of the human
 mind4  ,when given to a particular race
 fixed in a  peculiar climate1 its      
objects were sensible1 its discipline   

was severe1  and its rites and          
ceremonies numerous and imposing1 fitted
 to act upon  weak1 ignorant1 and       
consequently obstinate men4  ,in its    
gradual  development it threw off its   
local character and its particular      
forms1  and adopted ceremonies more     
fitted for mankind in general2 and in   
its  ultimate views1 it preserves only  
pure1 spiritual1 and ,i may say         
philosophical doctrines1 the unity of   
the divine nature and a future  state1  
embracing a system of rewards and       
punishments suited to an  accountable   
and immortal being4    ,phil4--,i have  
been attentively listening to your      
discussion4  ,the views  which ,ambrosio
 has taken of ,christianity certainly   
throw a light over it  perfectly new to 
me2 and1 ,i must say in candour1 that ,i
 am disposed to  adopt his notion of the
 early state of society rather than that
 of my  ,genius4  ,i have always been   
accustomed to consider religious feeling
 as  instinctive2 but ,ambrosio's       

arguments have given me something       
approaching  to a definite faith for an 
obscure and indefinite notion4  ,i am   
willing  to allow that man was created1 
not a savage1 as he is represented in my
  vision1 but perfect in his faculties  
and with a variety of instinctive       
powers and knowledge2 that he           
transmitted these powers and knowledge  
to  his offspring2 but that by an       
improper use of reason in disobedience  
to  the divine will1 the instinctive    
faculties of most of his descendants    
became deteriorated and at last lost1   
but that these faculties were  preserved
 in the race of ,abraham and ,david1 and
 the full power again  bestowed upon or 
recovered by ,christ4  ,i am ready to   
allow the importance  of religion in    
cultivating and improving the world2 and
 ,ambrosio's view  appears to me capable
 of being referred to a general law of  
our nature2  and revelation may be      
regarded not as a partial interference  
but as a  constant principle belonging  

to the mind of man1 and the belief in   
supernatural forms and agency1 the      
results of prophecies and the  miracles1
 as one only of the necessary           
consequences of it4  ,man1 as a         
reasoning animal1 must always have      
doubted of his immortality and plan of  
conduct2 in all the results of faith1   
there is immediate submission to a      
divine will1 which we are sure is good4 
,we may compare the destiny of  man in  
this respect to that of a migratory     
bird2 if a slow flying bird1  as a      
landrail in the ,orkneys in autumn1 had 
reason and could use it as to  the      
probability of his finding his way over 
deserts1 across seas1 and of  securing  
his food in passing to a warm climate   
#c1jjj miles off1 he would  undoubtedly 
starve in ,europe2 under the direction  
of his instinct he  securely arrives    
there in good condition4  ,i have       
allowed the force of  your objections to
 that part of my vision relating to the 
origin of  society1 but ,i hope you will

 admit that the conclusion of it is not 
inconsistent with the ideas derived from
 revelation respecting the future  state
 of the human being4                    
,amb4--,revelation has not disclosed to 
us the nature of this state1 but  only  
fixed its certainty4  ,we are sure from 
geological facts1 as well as  from      
sacred history1 that man is a recent    
animal on the globe1 and that  this     
globe has undergone one considerable    
revolution1 since the creation1  by     
water2 and we are taught that it is to  
undergo another1 by fire1  preparatory  
to a new and glorified state of         
existence of man2 but this is  all we   
are permitted to know1 and as this state
 is to be entirely  different from the  
present one of misery and probation1 any
 knowledge  respecting it would be      
useless and indeed almost impossible4   
,phil4--,my ,genius has placed the more 
exalted spiritual natures in  cometary  
worlds1 and this last fiery revolution  
may be produced by the  appulse of a    

comet4    ,amb4--,human fancy may       
imagine a thousand manners in which it  
may be  produced1 but upon such notions 
it is absurd to dwell4  ,i will not     
allow  your ,genius the slightest       
approach to inspiration1 and ,i can     
admit no  verisimility in a reverie     
which is fixed on a foundation you now  
allow to  be so weak4  ,but see1 the    
twilight is beginning to appear in the  
orient  sky1 and there are some dark    
clouds on the horizon opposite to the   
crater  of ,vesuvius1 the lower edges of
 which transmit a bright light1 showing 
the sun is already risen in the country 
beneath them4  ,i would say that  they  
may serve as an image of the hopes of   
immortality derived from  revelation2   
for we are sure from the light reflected
 in those clouds that  the lands below  
us are in the brightest sunshine1 but we
 are entirely  ignorant of the surface  
and the scenery2 so1 by revelation1 the 
light of  an imperishable and glorious  
world is disclosed to us2 but it is in  

eternity1 and its objects cannot be seen
 by mortal eye or imaged by  mortal     
imagination4    ,phil4--,i am not so    
well read in the ,scriptures as ,i hope 
,i shall be at  no very distant time2   
but ,i believe the pleasures of heaven  
are mentioned  more distinctly than you 
allow in the sacred writings4  ,i think 
,i  remember that the saints are said to
 be crowned with palms and amaranths1   
and that they are described as          
perpetually hymning and praising ,god4  
,amb4--,this is evidently only          
metaphorical2 music is the sensual      
pleasure which approaches nearest to an 
intellectual one1 and probably  may     
represent the delight resulting from the
 perception of the harmony of  things   
and of truth seen in ,god4  ,the palm as
 an evergreen tree and the  amaranth a  
perdurable flower are emblems of        
immortality4  ,if ,i am allowed  to give
 a metaphorical allusion to the future  
state of the blest1 ,i  should image it 
by the orange grove in that sheltered   

glen1 on which the  sun is now beginning
 to shine1 and of which the trees are at
 the same  time loaded with sweet golden
 fruit and balmy silver flowers4  ,such 
objects may well portray a state in     
which hope and fruition become one      
eternal feeling4    ,onu4--,this        
glorious sunrise seems to have made you 
both poetical4  ,though with the darkest
 and most gloomy mind of the party ,i   
cannot help  feeling its influence1 ,i  
cannot help believing with you that the 
night of  death will be succeeded by a  
bright morning2 but1 as in the scene    
below  us1 the objects are nearly the   
same as they were last evening1 with    
more  of brightness and brilliancy1 with
 a fairer prospect in the east and more 
mist in the west1 so ,i cannot help     
believing that our new state of         
existence must bear an analogy to the   
present one1 and that the order of      
events will not be entirely different4  
,amb4--,your view is not an unnatural   
one2 but ,i am rejoiced to find some    

symptoms of a change in your opinions4  
,onu4--,i wish with all my heart they   
were stronger2 ,i begin to feel my      
reason a weight and my scepticism a very
 heavy load4  ,your discussions  have   
made me a ,philo-,christian1 but ,i     
cannot understand nor embrace all  the  
views you have developed1 though ,i     
really wish to do so4    ,amb4--,your   
wish1 if sincere1 ,i doubt not will be  
gratified4  ,fix your  powerful mind    
upon the harmony of the moral world1 as 
you have been long  accustomed to do    
upon the order of the physical universe1
 and you will  see the scheme of the    
eternal intelligence developing itself  
alike in  both4  ,think of the goodness 
and mercy of omnipotence1 and aid your  
contemplation by devotional feelings and
 mental prayer and aspirations to  the  
source of all knowledge1 and wait with  
humility for the light which ,i  doubt  
not will be so produced in your mind4   
,onu4--,you again perplex me2 ,i cannot 
believe that the adorations or          

offerings of so feeble a creature can   
influence the decrees of  omnipotence4  
,amb4--,you mistake me3 as to their     
influencing or affecting the supreme    
mind it is out of the question1 but they
 affect your own mind1 they  perpetuate 
a habit of gratitude and of obedience   
which may gradually end  in perfect     
faith1 they discipline the affections   
and keep the heart in a  state of       
preparation to receive and preserve all 
good and pious feelings4  ,whoever      
passes from utter darkness into bright  
sunshine finds that he  cannot at first 
distinguish objects better in one than  
in the other1 but  in a feeble light he 
acquires gradually the power of bearing 
a brighter  one1 and gains at last the  
habit not only of supporting it1 but of 
receiving delight as well as instruction
 from it4  ,in the pious  contemplations
 that ,i recommend to you there is the  
twilight or sober  dawn of faith which  
will ultimately enable you to support   
the brightness  of its meridian sun4    

,onu4--,i understand you1 but your      
metaphor is more poetical than just2    
your discipline1 however1 ,i have no    
doubt1 is better fitted to enable me  to
 bear the light than to contemplate it  
through the smoked or coloured  glasses 
of scepticism4    ,amb4--,yes1 for they 
not only diminish its brightness but    
alter its  nature4          ,,dialogue  
,,the ,,third4  ,,the ,,unknown4        
,the same persons accompanied me in many
 journeys by land and water to          
different parts of the ,phlegraean      
fields1 and we enjoyed in a most        
delightful season1 the beginning of     
,may1 the beauties of the glorious      
country which encloses the ,bay of      
,naples1 so rich1 so ornamented with the
  gifts of nature1 so interesting from  
the monuments it contains and the       
recollections it awakens4  ,one         
excursion1 the last we made in southern 
,italy1 the most important both from the
 extraordinary personage with whom  it  
made me acquainted and his influence    

upon my future life1 merits a           
particular detail which ,i shall now    
deliver to paper4    ,it was on the     
#afth of ,may1 #ah-- that we left       
,naples at three in the  morning for the
 purpose of visiting the remains of the 
temples of ,paestum1  and having        
provided relays of horses we found      
ourselves at about half-  past one      
o'clock descending the hill of ,eboli   
towards the plain which  contains these 
stupendous monuments of antiquity4      
,were my existence to  be prolonged     
through ten centuries1 ,i think ,i could
 never forget the  pleasure ,i received 
on that delicious spot4  ,we alighted   
from our  carriage to take some         
refreshment1 and we reposed upon the    
herbage under  the shade of a           
magnificent pine contemplating the view 
around and below  us4  ,on the right    
were the green hills covered with trees 
stretching  towards ,salerno2 beyond    
them were the marble cliffs which form  
the  southern extremity of the ,bay of  

,sorento2 immediately below our feet was
  a rich and cultivated country filled  
with vineyards and abounding in  villas1
 in the gardens of which were seen the  
olive and the cypress tree  connected as
 if to memorialise how near to each     
other are life and death1  joy and      
sorrow2 the distant mountains stretching
 beyond the plain of  ,paestum were in  
the full luxuriance of vernal           
vegetation2 and in the  extreme         
distance1 as if in the midst of a       
desert1 we saw the white  temples       
glittering in the sunshine4  ,the blue  
,tyrrhene sea filled up the  outline of 
this scene1 which1 though so beautiful1 
was not calm2 there  was a heavy breeze 
which blew full from the southwest2 it  
was literally a  zephyr1 and its        
freshness and strength in the middle of 
the day were  peculiarly balmy and      
delightful2 it seemed a breath stolen by
 the spring  from the summer4  ,i never 
saw a deeper1 brighter azure than that  
of the  waves which rolled towards the  

shore1 and which was rendered more      
striking by the pure whiteness of their 
foam4  ,the agitation of nature  seemed 
to be one of breathing and awakening    
life2 the noise made by the  waving of  
the branches of the pine above our heads
 and by the rattling of  its cones was  
overpowered by the music of a multitude 
of birds which sung  everywhere in the  
trees that surrounded us1 and the cooing
 of the turtle-  doves was heard even   
more distinctly than the murmuring of   
the waves or  the whistling of the      
winds1 so that in the strife of nature  
the voice of  love was predominant4     
,with our hearts touched by this        
extraordinary  scene we descended to the
 ruins1 and having taken at a farmhouse 
a person  who acted as guide or         
cicerone1 we began to examine those     
wonderful  remains which have outlived  
even the name of the people by whom they
 were  raised1 and which continue almost
 perfect whilst a ,roman and a ,saracen 
city since raised have been destroyed4  

,we had been walking for half an  hour  
round the temples in the sunshine when  
our guide represented to us  the danger 
that there was of suffering from the    
effects of malaria1 for  which1 as is   
well known1 this place is notorious1 and
 advised us to  retire into the interior
 of the temple of ,neptune4  ,we        
followed his  advice1 and my companions 
began to employ themselves in measuring 
the  circumference of one of the ,doric 
columns1 when they suddenly called my   
attention to a stranger who was sitting 
on a camp-stool behind it4  ,the        
appearance of any person in this place  
at this time was sufficiently           
remarkable1 but the man who was before  
us from his dress and appearance  would 
have been remarkable anywhere4  ,he was 
employed in writing in a  memorandum    
book when we first saw him1 but he      
immediately rose and  saluted us by     
bending the head slightly though        
gracefully2 and this  enabled me to see 
distinctly his person and dress4  ,he   

was rather above  the middle stature1   
slender1 but with well-turned limbs2 his
 countenance  was remarkably            
intelligent1 his eye hazel but full and 
strong1 his front  was smooth and       
unwrinkled1 and but for some grey hairs1
 which appeared  silvering his brown and
 curly locks1 he might have been        
supposed to have  hardly reached the    
middle age2 his nose was aquiline1 the  
expression of  the lower part of his    
countenance remarkably sweet1 and when  
he spoke to  our guide1 which he did    
with uncommon fluency in the ,neapolitan
 dialect1  ,i thought ,i had never heard
 a more agreeable voice1 sonorous yet   
gentle  and silver-sounded4  ,his dress 
was very peculiar1 almost like that of  
an  ecclesiastic1 but coarse and light2 
and there was a large soiled white  hat 
on the ground beside him1 on which was  
fastened a pilgrim's cockle  shell1 and 
there was suspended round his neck a    
long antique blue  enamelled phial1 like
 those found in the ,greek tombs1 and it

 was attached  to a rosary of coarse    
beads4  ,he took up his hat1 and        
appeared to be  retiring to another part
 of the building1 when ,i apologised for
 the  interruption we had given to his  
studies1 begged him to resume them1 and 
assured him that our stay in the        
building would be only momentary1 for ,i
  saw that there was a cloud over the   
sun1 the brightness of which was the    
cause of our retiring4  ,i spoke in     
,italian2 he replied in ,english1       
observing that he supposed the fear of  
contracting the malaria fever had       
induced us to seek the shelter of the   
shade3 but it is too early in the       
season to have much reasonable fear of  
this insidious enemy2 yet1 he  added1   
this bottle which you may have observed 
here at my breast1 ,i carry  about with 
me1 as a supposed preventive of the     
effects of malaria1 and as  far as my   
experience1 a very limited one1 however1
 has gone1 it is  effectual4  ,i        
ventured to ask him what the bottle     

might contain1 as such  a benefit ought 
to be made known to the world4  ,he     
replied1 ,it is a  mixture which slowly 
produces the substance called by        
chemists chlorine1  which is well known 
to be generally destructive to          
contagious matters2  and a friend of    
mine who has lived for many years in    
,italy1 and who has  made a number of   
experiments with it1 by exposing himself
 to the danger  of fever in the worst   
seasons and in the worst places1        
believes that it  is a secure           
preventive4  ,i am not convinced of     
this2 but it can do no  harm2 and in    
waiting for more evidence of its        
utility1 ,i employ it  without putting  
the least confidence in its power2 nor  
do ,i expose myself  to the same danger 
as my friend has done for the sake of an
 experiment4  ,i said1 ,i believe       
several scientific persons--,brocchi    
amongst  others--have doubted the       
existence of any specific matter in the 
atmosphere producing intermittent fevers

 in marshy countries and hot  climates2 
and have been more disposed to attribute
 the disease to  physical causes1       
dependent upon the great differences of 
temperature  between day and night and  
to the refrigerating effects of the     
dense fogs  common in such situations in
 the evening and morning2 and1 on this  
hypothesis1 they have recommended warm  
woollen clothing and fires at  night as 
the best preventives against these      
destructive diseases1 so  fatal to the  
peasants who remain in the summer and   
autumn in the  neighbourhood of the     
maremme of ,rome1 ,tuscany1 or ,naples4 
,the stranger  said1 ,i am acquainted   
with the opinions of the gentlemen1 and 
they  undoubtedly have weight2 but that 
a specific matter of contagion has not  
been detected by chemical means in the  
atmosphere of marshes does not  prove   
its non-existence4  ,we know so little  
of those agents that affect  the human  
constitution1 that it is of no use to   
reason on this subject4  ,there can be  

no doubt that the line of malaria above 
the ,pontine marshes  is marked by a    
dense fog morning and evening1 and most 
of the old ,roman  towns were placed    
upon eminences out of the reach of this 
fog4  ,i have  myself experienced a     
peculiar effect upon the organs of smell
 in the  neighbourhood of marshes in the
 evening after a very hot day2 and the  
instances in which people have been     
seized with intermittents by a single   
exposure in a place infested by malaria 
in the season of fevers gives1 ,i       
think1 a strong support to something    
like a poisonous material existing  in  
the atmosphere in such spots2 but ,i    
merely offer doubts4  ,i hope the       
progress of physiology and of chemistry 
will at no very distant time  solve this
 important problem4  ,ambrosio now came 
forward1 and bowing to  the stranger1   
said he took the liberty1 as he saw from
 his familiarity  with the cicerone that
 he was well acquainted with ,paestum1  
of asking him  whether the masses of    

travertine1 of which the ,cyclopean     
walls and the  temples were formed1 were
 really produced by aqueous deposition  
from the  ,river ,silaro1 as he had     
often heard reported4  ,the stranger    
replied1  that they were certainly      
produced by deposition from water2 and  
such  deposits are made by the ,silaro4 
,but ,i rather believe1 he said1 that a 
lake in the immediate neighbourhood of  
the city furnished the quarry from      
which these stones were excavated2 and1 
in half an hour1 if you like1  after you
 have finished your examinations of the 
temples with your guide1  ,i will       
accompany you to the spot from which it 
is evident that large  masses of the    
travertine1 marmor tiburtinum1 or       
calcareous tufa1 have  been raised4  ,we
 thanked him for his attention1 accepted
 his invitation1  took the usual walk   
round the temples1 and returned to our  
new  acquaintance1 who led the way      
through the gate of the city to the     
banks  of a pool or lake a short        

distance off4  ,we walked to the borders
 on a  mass of calcareous tufa1 and we  
saw that this substance had even        
encrusted the reeds on the shore4       
,there was something peculiarly         
melancholy in the character of this     
water2 all the herbs around it were     
grey1 as if encrusted with marble2 a few
 buffaloes were slaking their  thirst in
 it1 which ran wildly away on our       
approach1 and appeared to  retire into a
 rocky excavation or quarry at the end  
of the lake2 there  were a number of    
birds1 which1 on examination1 ,i found  
were sea swallows1  flitting on the     
surface and busily employed with the    
libella or dragon-  fly in destroying   
the myriads of gnats which rose from the
 bottom and  were beginning to be very  
troublesome by their bites to us4       
,there1  said the stranger1 is what ,i  
believe to be the source of those large 
and  durable stones which you see in the
 plain before you4  ,this water rapidly 
deposits calcareous matter1 and even if 

you throw a stick into it1 a few  hours 
is sufficient to give it a coating of   
this substance4  ,whichever  way you    
turn your eyes you see masses of this   
recently-produced marble1  the          
consequence of the overflowing of the   
lake during the winter floods1  and in  
that large excavation where you saw the 
buffaloes disappear you  may observe    
that immense masses have been removed1  
as if by the hand of  art and in remote 
times4  ,the marble that remains in the 
quarry is of the  same texture and      
character as that which you see in the  
ruins of ,paestum1  and ,i think it is  
scarcely possible to doubt that the     
builders of those  extraordinary        
structures derived a part of their      
materials from this  spot4  ,ambrosio   
gave his assent to this opinion of the  
stranger2 and ,i  took the liberty of   
asking him as to the quantity of        
calcareous matter  contained in solution
 in the lake1 saying that it appeared to
 me1 for so  rapid and considerable an  

effect of deposition1 there must be an  
unusual  quantity of solid matter       
dissolved by the water or some peculiar 
circumstance of solution4  ,the stranger
 replied1 ,this water is like  many1 ,i 
may say most of the sources which rise  
at the foot of the  ,apennines3 it holds
 carbonic acid in solution which has    
dissolved a  portion of the calcareous  
matter of the rock through which it has 
passed4  ,this carbonic acid is         
dissipated in the atmosphere1 and the   
marble1  slowly thrown down1 assumes a  
crystalline form and produces coherent  
stones4  ,the lake before us is not     
particularly rich in the quantity of    
calcareous matter that it contains1 for1
 as ,i have found by experience1 a  pint
 of it does not afford more than five or
 six grains2 but the quantity  of fluid 
and the length of time are sufficient to
 account for the immense  quantities of 
tufa and rock which in the course of    
ages have accumulated  in this          
situation4  ,onuphrio's curiosity was   

excited by this statement  of the       
stranger1 and he said1 ,may ,i take the 
liberty of asking if you  have any idea 
as to the cause of the large quantity of
 carbonic acid  which you have been so  
good as to inform us exists in most of  
the waters  in this country8  ,the      
stranger replied1 ,i certainly have     
formed an  opinion on this subject1     
which ,i willingly state to you4  ,it   
can1 ,i  think1 be scarcely doubted that
 there is a source of volcanic fire at  
no  great distance from the surface in  
the whole of southern ,italy2 and1 this 
fire acting upon the calcareous rocks of
 which the ,apennines are  composed1    
must constantly detach from them        
carbonic acid1 which rising to  the     
sources of the springs1 deposited from  
the waters of the atmosphere1  must give
 them their impregnation and enable them
 to dissolve calcareous  matter4  ,i    
need not dwell upon ,etna1 ,vesuvius1 or
 the ,lipari ,islands to  prove that    
volcanic fires are still in existence2  

and there can be no  doubt that in      
earlier periods almost the whole of     
,italy was ravaged by  them2 oven ,rome 
itself1 the eternal city1 rests upon the
 craters of  extinct volcanoes2 and ,i  
imagine that the traditional and        
fabulous record  of the destruction made
 by the conflagration of ,phaeton in the
 chariot of  the sun and his falling    
into the ,po had reference to a great   
and  tremendous igneous volcanic        
eruption1 which extended over ,italy and
  ceased only near the ,po at the foot  
of the ,alps4  ,be this as it may1 the  
sources of carbonic acid are numerous1  
not merely in the ,neapolitan1 but      
likewise in the ,roman and ,tuscan      
states4  ,the most magnificent waterfall
  in ,europe1 that of the ,velino1 near 
,terni1 is partly fed by a stream       
containing calcareous matter dissolved  
by carbonic acid1 and it deposits       
marble1 which crystallises even in the  
midst of its thundering descent  and    
foam in the bed in which it falls4  ,the

 ,anio or ,teverone1 which  almost      
approaches in beauty to the ,velino in  
the number and variety of  its falls and
 cascatelle1 is likewise a calcareous   
water2 and there is  still a more       
remarkable one which empties itself into
 this river below  ,tivoli1 and which   
you have probably seen in your          
excursions in the  campagna of ,rome1   
called the lacus ,albula or the lake of 
the ,solfatara4  ,ambrosio said1 ,we    
remember it well1 we saw it this very   
spring2 we were  carried there to       
examine some ancient ,roman baths1 and  
we were struck by  the blue milkiness of
 the water1 by the magnitude of the     
source1 and by  the disagreeable smell  
of sulphuretted hydrogen which          
everywhere  surrounded the lake4  ,the  
stranger said1 ,when you return to      
,latium ,i  advise you to pay another   
visit to a spot which is interesting    
from a  number of causes1 some of which 
,i will take the liberty of mentioning  
to  you4  ,you have only seen one lake1 

that where the ancient ,romans erected  
their baths1 but there is another a few 
yards above it1 surrounded by  very high
 rushes1 and almost hidden by them from 
the sight4  ,this lake  sends down a    
considerable stream of tepid water to   
the larger lake1 but  this water is less
 strongly impregnated with carbonic     
acid2 the largest  lake is actually a   
saturated solution of this gas1 which   
escapes from it  in such quantities in  
some parts of its surface that it has   
the  appearance of being actually in    
ebullition4  ,i have found by experiment
  that the water taken from the most    
tranquil part of the lake1 even after   
being agitated and exposed to the air1  
contained in solution more than  its own
 volume of carbonic acid gas with a very
 small quantity of  sulphuretted        
hydrogen1 to the presence of which1 ,i  
conclude1 its ancient  use in curing    
cutaneous disorders may be referred4    
,its temperature1 ,i  ascertained1 was  
in the winter in the warmest parts above

 #hj degrees of  ,fahrenheit1 and it    
appears to be pretty constant1 for ,i   
have found it  differ a few degrees     
only1 in the ascending source1 in       
,january1 ,march1  ,may1 and the        
beginning of ,june2 it is therefore     
supplied with heat from a  subterraneous
 source1 being nearly twenty degrees    
above the mean  temperature of the      
atmosphere4  ,kircher has detailed in   
his ,mundus  ,subterraneus various      
wonders respecting this lake1 most of   
which are  unfounded1 such as that it is
 unfathomable1 that it has at the bottom
 the  heat of boiling water1 and that   
floating islands rise from the gulf     
which  emits it4  ,it must certainly be 
very difficult1 or even impossible1 to  
fathom a source which rises with so much
 violence from a subterraneous          
excavation1 and1 at a time when         
chemistry had made small progress1 it   
was  easy to mistake the disengagement  
of carbonic acid for an actual          
ebullition4  ,the floating islands are  

real1 but neither the ,jesuit nor  any  
of the writers who have since described 
this lake had a correct idea  of their  
origin1 which is exceedingly curious4   
,the high temperature of  this water1   
and the quantity of carbonic acid that  
it contains1 render it  peculiarly      
fitted to afford a pabulum or           
nourishment to vegetable life4  ,the    
banks of travertine are everywhere      
covered with reeds1 lichens1  confervae1
 and various kinds of aquatic           
vegetables1 and1 at the same time  that 
the process of vegetable life is going  
on1 the crystallisations of  the        
calcareous matter1 which is everywhere  
deposited in consequence of  the escape 
of carbonic acid1 likewise proceed1     
giving a constant  milkiness to what1   
from its tint1 would otherwise be a blue
 fluid4  ,so  rapid is the vegetation1  
owing to the decomposition of the       
carbonic acid1  that1 even in winter1   
masses of confervae and lichens1 mixed  
with  deposited travertine1 are         

constantly detached by the currents of  
water  from the bank and float down the 
stream1 which being a considerable river
  is never without many of these small  
islands on its surface2 they are        
sometimes only a few inches in size1 and
 composed merely of dark-green          
confervae or purple or yellow lichens1  
but they are sometimes even of  some    
feet in diameter1 and contain seeds and 
various species of common  water-plants1
 which are usually more or less         
encrusted with marble4  ,there  is1 ,i  
believe1 no place in the world where    
there is a more striking  example of the
 opposition or contrast of the laws of  
animate and  inanimate ,nature1 of the  
forces of inorganic chemical affinity   
and those  of the powers of life4       
,vegetables in such a temperature1 and  
everywhere  surrounded by food1 are     
produced with a wonderful rapidity1 but 
the  crystallisations are formed with   
equal quickness1 and they are no sooner 
produced than they are destroyed        

together4  ,notwithstanding the         
sulphureous exhalations from the lake1  
the quantity of vegetable matter        
generated there and its heat make it the
 resort of an infinite variety of       
insect tribes1 and even in the coldest  
days in winter numbers of flies  may be 
observed on the vegetables surrounding  
its banks or on its  floating island's1 
and a quantity of their larvae may be   
seen there  sometimes encrusted and     
entirely destroyed by calcareous matter1
 which is  likewise often the fate of   
the insects themselves1 as well as of   
various  species of shell-fish that are 
found amongst the vegetables1 which grow
  and are destroyed in the travertine on
 its banks4  ,snipes1 ducks1 and        
various water-birds1 often visit those  
lakes1 probably attracted by the        
temperature and the quantity of food in 
which they abound2 but they  usually    
confine themselves to the banks1 as the 
carbonic acid disengaged  from the      
surface would be fatal to them if they  

ventured to swim upon it  when tranquil4
  ,in ,may1 #ah--1 ,i fixed a stick on a
 mass of travertine  covered by the     
water1 and ,i examined it in the        
beginning of the ,april  following for  
the purpose of determining the nature of
 the depositions4  ,the water was lower 
at this time1 yet ,i had some           
difficulty1 by means of  a sharp-pointed
 hammer1 in breaking the mass which     
adhered to the bottom  of the stick2 it 
was several inches in thickness4  ,the  
upper part was a  mixture of light tufa 
and the leaves of confervae2 below this 
was a  darker and more solid travertine1
 containing black and decomposed masses 
of confervae2 in the inferior part the  
travertine was more solid and of a  grey
 colour1 but with cavities which ,i have
 no doubt were produced by the          
decomposition of vegetable matter4  ,i  
have passed many hours1 ,i may say  many
 days1 in studying the phenomena of this
 wonderful lake2 it has  brought many   
trains of thought into my mind connected

 with the early  changes of our globe1  
and ,i have sometimes reasoned from the 
forms of  plants and animals preserved  
in marble in this warm source to the    
grander  depositions in the secondary   
rocks1 where the zoophytes or coral     
insects  have worked upon a grand scale1
 and where palms1 and vegetables now    
unknown are preserved with the remains  
of crocodiles1 turtles1 and  gigantic   
extinct animals of the sauri genus1 and 
which appear to have  belonged to a     
period when the whole globe possessed a 
much higher  temperature4  ,i have1     
likewise1 often been led1 from the      
remarkable  phenomena surrounding me in 
that spot1 to compare the works of man  
with  those of ,nature4  ,the baths1    
erected there nearly twenty centuries   
ago1  present only heaps of ruins1 and  
even the bricks of which they were      
built1 though hardened by fire1 are     
crumbled into dust1 whilst the masses   
of travertine around it1 though formed  
by a variable source from the most      

perishable materials1 have hardened by  
time1 and the most perfect remains  of  
the greatest ruins in the eternal city1 
such as the triumphal arches  and the   
,colosaeum1 owe their duration to this  
source4  ,then1 from all we  know1 this 
lake1 except in some change in its      
dimensions1 continues  nearly in the    
same state in which it was described    
#a1gjj years ago by  ,pliny1 and ,i have
 no doubt contains the same kinds of    
floating islands1  the same plants1 and 
the same insects4  ,during the fifteen  
years that ,i  have known it it has     
appeared precisely identical in these   
respects1 and  yet it has the character 
of an accidental phenomenon depending   
upon  subterraneous fire4  ,how         
marvellous then are those laws by which 
even the  humblest types of organic     
existence are preserved though born     
amidst the  sources of their            
destruction1 and by which a species of  
immortality is  given to generations    
floating1 as it were1 like evanescent   

bubbles1 on a  stream raised from the   
deepest caverns of the earth1 and       
instantly losing  what may be called its
 spirit in the atmosphere4  ,these last 
observations of the stranger recalled to
 my recollection some phenomena  which  
,i had observed many years ago1 and of  
which ,i could then give no             
satisfactory explanation4  ,i was       
shooting in the marshes which surround  
the ruins of ,gabia1 and where there are
 still remains supposed to be of  the   
,alexandrine aqueduct2 ,i observed a    
small insulated hill1 apparently        
entirely composed of travertine1 and    
from its summit there were  formations  
of tufa which had evidently been        
produced by running water1  but the     
whole mass was now perfectly dry and    
encrusted by vegetables4  ,at  first ,i 
suspected that this little mountain had 
been formed by a jet of  calcareous     
water1 a kind of small fountain         
analogous to the ,geiser1 which  had    
deposited travertine and continued to   

rise through the basin flowing  from a  
higher level2 but the irregular form of 
the eminence did not  correspond to this
 idea1 and ,i remained perplexed with   
the fact and  unable to satisfy myself  
as to its cause4  ,the views of the     
stranger  appeared to me now to make it 
probable that the calcareous water had  
issued from ancient leaks in the        
aqueduct and formed a hillock that had  
encased the bricks of the erection1     
which in other parts1 where not         
encrusted by travertine1 had become     
entirely decayed1 degraded1 and  removed
 from the soil4  ,i mentioned the       
circumstance and my suspicion of  its   
nature4  ,the stranger said3 ,you are   
perfectly correct in your idea4  ,i know
 the spot well1 and if you had not      
mentioned it ,i should probably  have   
quoted it as an instance in which the   
works of art are preserved1 as  it were1
 by the accidents of ,nature4  ,i was so
 struck by this appearance  last year   
that ,i had the travertine partially    

removed by some workmen1  and ,i found  
beneath it the canal of the aqueduct in 
a perfect state1 and  the bricks of the 
arches as uninjured as if freshly laid4 
,the stranger  had hardly concluded this
 sentence when he was interrupted by    
,onuphrio1  who said1 ,i have always    
supposed that in every geological system
 water  is considered as the cause of   
the destruction or degradation of the   
surface1 but in all the instances that  
you have mentioned it appears  rather as
 a conservative power1 not destroying   
but rather producing4  ,it  is the      
general vice of philosophical systems1  
replied the stranger1  that they are    
usually founded upon a few facts1 which 
they well explain1  and are extended by 
the human fancy to all the phenomena of 
,nature1 to  many of which they must be 
contradictory4  ,the human intellectual 
powers  are so feeble that they can with
 difficulty embrace a single series of  
phenomena1 and they consequently must   
fail when extended to the whole of      

,nature4  ,water by its common          
operation1 as poured down from the      
atmosphere in rain and torrents1 tends  
to level and degrade the surface1  and  
carries the material of the land into   
the bosom of the ocean4  ,fire1  on the 
contrary1 in volcanic eruptions usually 
raises mountains1 exalts  the surface1  
and creates islands even in the midst of
 the sea4  ,but these  laws are not     
invariable1 as the instances to which we
 have just referred  prove1 and parts of
 the surface of the globe are sometimes 
destroyed even  by fire1 of which       
examples may be seen in the ,phlegraean 
fields1 and  islands raised by one      
volcanic eruption have been immerged in 
the sea by  another4  ,there are1 in    
fact1 no accidents in ,nature2 what we  
call  accidents are the results of      
general laws in particular operation1   
but we  cannot deduce these laws from   
the particular operation or the general 
order from the partial result4          
,ambrosio said to the stranger3 ,you    

appear1 sir1 to have paid so much       
attention to physical phenomena that    
few things would give us more pleasure  
than to know your opinion  respecting   
the early changes and physical history  
of the globe1 for ,i  perceive you do   
not belong to the modern geological     
schools4  ,the  stranger said1 ,i have  
certainly formed opinions or rather     
speculations  on these subjects1 but ,i 
fear they are hardly worth              
communicating2 they  have sometimes     
amused me in hours of idleness1 but ,i  
doubt if they will  amuse others4  ,i   
said1 ,the observations which you have  
already been so  kind as to communicate 
to us1 on the formation of the          
travertine1 lead us  not only to expect 
amusement but likewise instruction4     
,the ,stranger4--,on these matters ,i   
had facts to communicate2 on the        
geological scheme of the early history  
of the globe there are only  analogies  
to guide us1 which different minds may  
apply and interpret in  different ways2 

but ,i will not trifle with a long      
preliminary discourse4  ,astronomical   
deductions and actual measures by       
triangulation prove that  the globe is  
an oblate spheroid flattened at the     
poles1 and this form we  know1 by strict
 mathematical demonstrations1 is        
precisely the one which a  fluid body   
revolving round its axis1 and become    
solid at its surface by  the slow       
dissipation of its heat or other causes1
 would assume4  ,i  suppose1 therefore1 
that the globe1 in the first state in   
which the  imagination can venture to   
consider it1 was a fluid mass with an   
immense  atmosphere revolving in space  
round the sun1 and that by its cooling a
  portion of its atmosphere was         
condensed in water which occupied a part
 of  the surface4  ,in this state no    
forms of life such as now belong to our 
system could have inhabited it2 and1 ,i 
suppose1 the crystalline rocks  7or1 as 
they are called by geologists1 the      
primary rocks71 which contain  no       

vestiges of a former order of things1   
were the results of the first           
consolidation on its surface4  ,upon the
 further cooling the water which  more  
or less had covered it contracted1      
depositions took place1 shell-  fish and
 coral insects of the first creation    
began their labours1 and  islands       
appeared in the midst of the ocean      
raised from the deep by the  productive 
energies of millions of zoophytes4      
,those islands became  covered with     
vegetables fitted to bear a high        
temperature1 such as palms  and various 
species of plants similar to those which
 now exist in the  hottest parts of the 
world2 and the submarine rocks or shores
 of these  new formations of land became
 covered with aquatic vegetables1 on    
which  various species of shell-fish and
 common fishes found their nourishment4 
,the fluids of the globe in cooling     
deposited a large quantity of the       
materials they held in solution1 and    
these deposits agglutinating  together  

the sand1 the immense masses of coral   
rocks1 and some of the  remains of the  
shells and fishes found round the shores
 of the primitive  lands1 produced the  
first order of secondary rocks4  ,as the
 temperature  of the globe became lower1
 species of the oviparous reptiles were 
created  to inhabit it2 and the turtle1 
crocodile1 and various gigantic animals 
of  the sauri kind1 seem to have haunted
 the bays and waters of the primitive   
lands4  ,but in this state of things    
there was no order of events similar  to
 the present2 the crust of the globe was
 exceedingly slender1 and the  source of
 fire a small distance from the surface4
  ,in consequence of  contraction in one
 part of the mass1 cavities were opened1
 which caused  the entrance of water1   
and immense volcanic explosions took    
place1  raising one part of the surface1
 depressing another1 producing          
mountains1  and causing new and         
extensive depositions from the primitive
 ocean4  ,changes of this kind must have

 been extremely frequent in the early   
epochas of nature1 and the only living  
forms of which the remains are  found in
 the strata that are the monuments of   
these changes1 are those of  plants1    
fishes1 birds1 and oviparous reptiles1  
which seem most fitted to  exist in such
 a war of the elements4  ,when these    
revolutions became less  frequent1 and  
the globe became still more cooled1 and 
the inequalities of  its temperature    
preserved by the mountain chains1 more  
perfect animals  became its inhabitants1
 many of which1 such as the mammoth1    
megalonix1  megatherium1 and gigantic   
hyena1 are now extinct4  ,at this period
 the  temperature of the ocean seems to 
have been not much higher than it is at 
present1 and the changes produced by    
occasional eruptions of it have left  no
 consolidated rocks4  ,yet one of these 
eruptions appears to have been  of great
 extent and some duration1 and seems to 
have been the cause of  those immense   
quantities of water-worn stones1 gravel 

and sand1 which are  usually called     
diluvian remains2 and it is probable    
that this effect was  connected with the
 elevation of a new continent in the    
southern  hemisphere by volcanic fire4  
,when the system of things became so    
permanent that the tremendous           
revolutions depending upon the          
destruction  of the equilibrium between 
the heating and cooling agencies were no
  longer to be dreaded1 the creation of 
man took place2 and since that  period  
there has been little alteration in the 
physical circumstances of  our globe4   
,volcanoes sometimes occasion the rise  
of new islands1  portions of the old    
continent are constantly washed by      
rivers into the  sea2 but these changes 
are too insignificant to affect the     
destinies of  man1 or the nature of the 
physical circumstances of things4  ,on  
the  hypothesis that ,i have adopted1   
however1 it must be remembered that the 
present surface of the globe is merely a
 thin crust surrounding a nucleus  of   

fluid ignited matter1 and consequently  
we can hardly be considered as  actually
 safe from the danger of a catastrophe  
by fire4    ,onuphrio said3 ,from the   
view you have taken1 ,i conclude that   
you  consider volcanic eruptions as     
owing to the central fire2 indeed1 their
  existence offers1 ,i think1 an        
argument for believing that the interior
 of  the globe is fluid4  ,the stranger 
answered3 ,i beg you to consider the    
views ,i have been developing as merely 
hypothetical1 one of the many  resting  
places that may be taken by the         
imagination in considering this         
subject4  ,there are1 however1 distinct 
facts in favour of the idea that  the   
interior of the globe has a higher      
temperature than the surface2 the  heat 
increasing in mines the deeper we       
penetrate1 and the number of warm       
sources which rise from great depths in 
almost all countries1 are  certainly    
favourable to the idea4  ,the opinion   
that volcanoes are owing  to this       

general and simple cause is1 ,i think1  
likewise more agreeable to  the         
analogies of things than to suppose them
 dependent upon partial  chemical       
changes1 such as the action of air and  
water upon the  combustible bases of the
 earths and alkalies1 though it is      
extremely  probable that these          
substances may exist beneath the        
surface1 and may  occasion some results 
of volcanic fire2 and on this subject my
 notion  may1 perhaps1 be more trusted1 
as for a long while ,i thought volcanic 
eruptions were owing to chemical        
agencies of the newly discovered metals 
of the earths and alkalies1 and ,i made 
many1 and some dangerous1  experiments  
in the hope of confirming this notion1  
but in vain4    ,amb4--,we are very much
 obliged to you for your geological     
illustrations2 but they remind me a     
little of some of the ideas of our      
friend ,philalethes in his remarkable   
vision1 and with which we may at  some  
time amuse you in return for your       

geology should we be honoured with  more
 of your company4  ,you are obliged to  
have recourse to creations for  all the 
living beings in your philosophical     
romance4  ,i do not see why  you should 
not suppose creations or arrangements of
 dead matter by the  same laws of       
infinite wisdom1 and why our globe      
should not rise at once a  divine work  
fitted for all the objects of living and
 intelligent natures4    ,the stranger  
replied3 ,i have merely attempted a     
philosophical history  founded upon the 
facts known respecting rocks and strata 
and the remains  they contain4  ,i begin
 with what may be considered a creation1
 a fluid  globe supplied with an immense
 atmosphere1 and the series of phenomena
  which ,i imagine consequent to the    
creation1 ,i supposed produced by powers
  impressed upon matter by ,omnipotence4
    ,ambrosio said3 ,there is this      
verisimility in your history1 that it is
  not contradictory to the little we are
 informed by ,revelation as to the      

origin of the globe1 the order produced 
in the chaotic state1 and the           
succession of living forms generated in 
the days of creation1 which may  be what
 philosophers call the 'epochas of      
nature1' for a day with  ,omnipotence is
 as a thousand years1 and a thousand    
years as one day4    ,i must object1    
,onuphrio said1 to your interpretation  
of the scientific  view of our new      
acquaintance1 and to your disposition to
 blend them with  the cosmogony of      
,moses4  ,allowing the divine origin of 
the ,book of  ,genesis1 you must admit  
that it was not intended to teach the   
,jews  systems of philosophy1 but the   
laws of life and morals2 and a great man
  and an exalted ,christian raised his  
voice two centuries ago against this    
mode of applying and of often wresting  
the sense of the ,scriptures to  make   
them conformable to human fancies2 'from
 which1' says ,lord ,bacon1  'arise not 
only false and fantastical philosophies1
 but likewise  heretical religions4'    

,if the ,scriptures are to be literally 
interpreted  and systems of science     
found in them1 ,gallileo ,gallilei      
merited his  persecution1 and we ought  
still to believe that the sun turns     
round the  earth4    ,amb4--,you mistake
 my view1 ,onuphrio1 if you imagine ,i  
am desirous of  raising a system of     
geology on the ,book of ,genesis4  ,it  
cannot be doubted  that the first man   
was created with a great variety of     
instinctive or  inspired knowledge1     
which must have been likewise enjoyed by
 his  descendants2 and some of this     
knowledge could hardly fail to have     
related  to the globe which he          
inhabited1 and to the objects which     
surrounded him4  ,it would have been    
impossible for the human mind to have   
embraced the  mysteries of creation1 or 
to have followed the history of the     
moving  atoms from their chaotic        
disorder into their arrangement in the  
visible  universe1 to have seen dead    
matter assuming the forms of life and   

animation1 and light and power arising  
out of death and sleep4  ,the ideas     
therefore transmitted to or presented by
 ,moses respecting the origin of  the   
world and of man were of the most simple
 kind1 and such as suited the  early    
state of society2 but1 though general   
and simple truths1 they were  divine    
truths1 yet clothed in a language and   
suited to the ideas of a  rude and      
uninstructed people4  ,and1 when ,i     
state my satisfaction in  finding that  
they are not contradicted by the refined
 researches of  modern geologists1 ,i do
 not mean to deduce from them a system  
of science4  ,i believe that light was  
the creation of an act of the ,divine   
will2 but ,i  do not mean to say that   
the words1 ,let there be light1 and     
there was  light1 were orally spoken by 
the ,deity1 nor do ,i mean to imply that
 the  modern discoveries respecting     
light are at all connected with this    
sublime and magnificent passage4        
,onu4--,having resided for a long time  

in ,edinburgh1 and having heard a       
number of discussions on the theory of  
,dr4 ,hutton1 or the plutonic theory  of
 geology1 and having been exceedingly   
struck both by its simplicity and       
beauty1 its harmony with existing facts1
 and the proofs afforded to it by  some 
beautiful chemical experiments1 ,i do   
not feel disposed immediately  to       
renounce it for the views which ,i have 
just heard explained2 for the  principal
 facts which our new acquaintance has   
stated are1 ,i think1 not  inconsistent 
with the refined philosophical systems  
of ,professor ,playfair  and ,sir ,james
 ,hall4    ,the ,unknown4--,i have no   
objection to the refined plutonic view1 
as  capable of explaining many existing 
phenomena2 indeed1 you must be aware    
that ,i have myself had recourse to it4 
,what ,i contend against is1 its        
application to explain the formations of
 the secondary rocks1 which ,i  think   
clearly belong to an order of facts not 
at all embraced by it4  ,in  the        

plutonic system there is one simple and 
constant order assumed1 which  may be   
supposed eternal4  ,the surface is      
constantly imagined to be               
disintegrated1 destroyed1 degraded1 and 
washed into the bosom of the  ocean by  
water1 and as constantly consolidated1  
elevated1 and regenerated  by fire1 and 
the ruins of the old form the           
foundations of the new world4  ,it is   
supposed that there are always the same 
types1 both of dead and  living matter2 
that the remains of rocks1 of           
vegetables1 and animals of  one age are 
found embedded in rocks raised from the 
bottom of the ocean  in another4  ,now1 
to support this view1 not only the      
remains of living  beings which at      
present people the globe might be       
expected to be found in  the oldest     
secondary strata1 but even those of the 
arts of man1 the most  powerful and     
populous of its inhabitants1 which is   
well known not to be  the case4  ,on the
 contrary1 each stratum of the secondary

 rocks contains  remains of peculiar and
 mostly now unknown species of          
vegetables and  animals4  ,in those     
strata which are deepest1 and which must
 consequently  be supposed to be the    
earliest deposited1 forms even of       
vegetable life  are rare2 shells and    
vegetable remains are found in the next 
order2 the  bones of fishes and         
oviparous reptiles exist in the         
following class2 the  remains of birds1 
with those of the same genera mentioned 
before1 in the  next order2 those of    
quadrupeds of extinct species1 in a     
still more  recent class2 and it is only
 in the loose and slightly consolidated 
strata of gravel and sand1 and which are
 usually called diluvian  formations1   
that the remains of animals such as now 
people the globe are  found1 with others
 belonging to extinct species4  ,but in 
none of these  formations1 whether      
called secondary1 tertiary1 or diluvial1
 have the  remains of man or any of his 
works been discovered4  ,it is1 ,i      

think1  impossible to consider the      
organic remains found in any of the     
earlier  secondary strata1 the          
lias-limestone and its congenerous      
formations for  instance1 without being 
convinced that the beings1 whose organs 
they  formed1 belonged to an order of   
things entirely different from the      
present4  ,gigantic vegetables1 more    
nearly allied to the palms of the       
equatorial countries than to any other  
plants1 can only be imagined to  have   
lived in a very high temperature2 and   
the immense reptiles1 the  megalosauri  
with paddles instead of legs and clothed
 in mail1 in size  equal or even        
superior to the whale2 and the great    
amphibia1  plethiosauri1 with bodies    
like turtles1 but furnished with necks  
longer  than their bodies1 probably to  
enable them to feed on vegetables       
growing  in the shallows of the         
primitive ocean1 seem to show a state in
 which low  lands or extensive shores   
rose above an immense calm sea1 and when

 there  were no great mountain1 chains  
to produce inequalities of temperature1 
tempests1 or storms4  ,were the surface 
of the earth now to be carried  down    
into the depths of the ocean1 or were   
some great revolution of the  waters to 
cover the existing land1 and it was     
again to be elevated by  fire1 covered  
with consolidated depositions of sand or
 mud1 how entirely  different would it  
be in its characters from any of the    
secondary strata4  ,its great features  
would undoubtedly be the works of       
man--hewn stones1  and statues of bronze
 and marble1 and tools of iron--and     
human remains  would be more common than
 those of animals on the greatest part  
of the  surface2 the columns of ,paestum
 or of ,agrigentum1 or the immense iron 
and  granite bridges of the ,thames1    
would offer a striking contrast to the  
bones of the crocodiles or sauri in the 
older rocks1 or even to those of  the   
mammoth or elephas primogenius in the   
diluvial strata4  ,and whoever  dwells  

upon this subject must be convinced that
 the present order of  things1 and the  
comparatively recent existence of man as
 the master of  the globe1 is as certain
 as the destruction of a former and a   
different  order and the extinction of a
 number of living forms which have now  
no  types in being1 and which have left 
their remains wonderful monuments of    
the revolutions of ,nature4    ,onu4--,i
 am not quite convinced by your         
arguments4  ,supposing the lands  of    
,new ,holland were to be washed into the
 depths of the ocean1 and to be  raised 
according to the ,huttonian view1 as a  
secondary stratum1 by  subterraneous    
fire1 they would contain the remains of 
both vegetables and  animals entirely   
different from any found in the strata  
of the old  continents2 and may not     
those peculiar formations to which you  
have  referred be1 as it were1 accidents
 of ,nature belonging to peculiar parts 
of the globe8  ,and you speak of a      
diluvian formation1 which ,i conclude   

you would identify with that belonging  
to the catastrophe described in  the    
sacred writings1 in which no human      
remains are found4  ,now1 you  surely   
will not deny that man existed at the   
time of this catastrophe1  and he       
consequently may have existed at the    
period of the other  revolutions1 which 
are supposed to be produced in the      
,huttonian views by  subterraneous fire4
    ,the ,unknown4--,i have made use of 
the term diluvian1 because it has  been 
adopted by geologists1 but without      
meaning to identify the cause of  the   
formations with the deluge described in 
the sacred writings4  ,i apply  the term
 merely to signify loose and water-worn 
strata not at all  consolidated1 and    
deposited by an inundation of water1 and
 in these  countries which they have    
covered man certainly did not exist4    
,with  respect to your argument derived 
from ,new ,holland1 it appears to me to 
be  without weight4  ,in a variety of   
climates1 and in very distant parts of  

the globe1 secondary strata of the same 
order are found1 and they contain       
always the same kind of organic remains1
 which are entirely different  from any 
of those now afforded by beings         
belonging to the existing order  of     
things4  ,the catastrophes which        
produced the secondary strata and       
diluvian depositions could not have been
 local and partial phenomena1 but  must 
have extended over the whole1 or a great
 part of the surface1 of the  globe4    
,the remains of similar shell-fishes are
 found in the limestones  of the old and
 new continents2 the teeth of the       
mammoth are not uncommon  in various    
parts of ,europe2 entire skeletons have 
been found in ,america1  and even the   
skin covered with hair and the entire   
body of one of these  enormous extinct  
animals has been discovered in ,siberia 
preserved in a  mass of ice4  ,in the   
oldest secondary strata there are no    
remains of such  animals as now belong  
to the surface2 and in the rocks which  

may be  regarded as more recently       
deposited1 these remains occur but      
rarely1 and  with abundance of extinct  
species4  ,there seems1 as it were1 a   
gradual  approach to the present system 
of things1 and a succession of          
destructions and creations preparatory  
to the existence of man4  ,it will  be  
useless to push these arguments farther4
  ,you must allow that it is  impossible
 to defend the proposition1 that the    
present order of things is  the ancient 
and constant order of ,nature1 only     
modified by existing laws1  and1        
consequently1 the view which you have   
supported must be abandoned4  ,the      
monuments of extinct generations of     
animals are as perfect as those  of     
extinct nations2 and it would be more   
reasonable to suppose that the  pillars 
and temples of ,palmyra were raised by  
the wandering ,arabs of the  desert1    
than to imagine that the vestiges of    
peculiar animated forms in  the strata  
beneath the surface belonged to the     

early and infant families  of the beings
 that at present inhabit it4            
,onu4--,i am convinced4  ,i shall push  
my arguments no further1 for ,i will    
not support the sophisms of that school 
which supposes that living nature  has  
undergone gradual changes by the effects
 of its irritabilities and  appetencies2
 that the fish has in millions of       
generations ripened into  the quadruped1
 and the quadruped into the man2 and    
that the system of  life by its own     
inherent powers has fitted itself to the
 physical changes  in the system of the 
universe4  ,to this absurd1 vague1      
atheistical  doctrine1 ,i prefer even   
the dream of plastic powers1 or that    
other more  modern dream1 that the      
secondary strata were created1 filled   
with  remains1 as it were1 of animal    
life1 to confound the speculations of   
our  geological reasoners4    ,the      
,unknown4--,i am glad you have not      
retreated into the desert and           
defenceless wilderness of scepticism1 or

 of false and feeble philosophy4  ,i    
should not have thought it worth my     
while to have followed you there2 ,i    
should as soon think of arguing with the
 peasant who informs me that the        
basaltic columns of ,antrim or of       
,staffa were the works of human art and 
raised by the giant ,finmacoul4    ,at  
this moment1 one of our servants came to
 inform me that a dinner which  had been
 preparing for us at the farmhouse was  
ready2 we asked the  stranger to do us  
the honour to partake of our repast2 he 
assented1 and  the following            
conversation took place at table4       
,phil4--,in reflecting upon our         
discussions this morning1 ,i cannot help
  being a little surprised at their     
nature2 we have been talking only of    
geological systems1 when a more natural 
subject for our conversation  would have
 been these magnificent temples1 and an 
inquiry into the race  by whom they were
 raised and the gods to whom they wore  
dedicated4  ,we  are now treading on a  

spot which contains the bones of a      
highly civilised  and powerful people2  
yet we are almost ignorant of the names 
they bore1  and the period of their     
greatness is lost in the obscurity of   
time4    ,amb4--,there can be no doubt  
that the early inhabitants of this city 
were ,grecians and a maritime and       
commercial people2 they have been       
supposed to belong to the ,sybarite     
race1 and the roses producing flowers   
twice a year in the spring and autumn in
 ancient times here1 might  sanction the
 idea that this balmy spot was chosen by
 a colony who carried  luxury and       
refinement to the highest pitch4        
,onu4--,to attempt to form any opinion  
with respect to the people that         
anciently inhabited these now deserted  
plains is useless and a vain  labour4   
,in the geological conversation which   
took place before dinner1  some series  
of interesting facts were presented to  
us2 and the monuments  of ,nature1      
though they do not speak a distinct     

language1 yet speak an  intelligible    
one2 but with respect to ,paestum1 there
 is neither history  nor tradition to   
guide us2 and we shall do wisely to     
resume our  philosophical inquiries1 if 
we have not already exhausted the       
patience of  our new guest by doubts or 
objections to his views4    ,the        
,stranger4--,one of you referred in our 
conversation this morning to  a vision1 
which had some relation to the subject  
of our discussion1 and ,i  was promised 
some information on this matter4    ,i  
immediately gave a sketch of my vision1 
and of the opinions which had  been     
expressed by ,ambrosio on the early     
history of man1 and the  termination of 
our discussions on religion4    ,the    
,stranger4--,i agree with ,ambrosio in  
opinion on the subjects you  have just  
mentioned4  ,in my youth1 ,i was a      
sceptic2 and this ,i believe is  usually
 the case with young persons given to   
general and discursive  reading1 and    
accustomed to adopt something like a    

mathematical form in  their reasonings2 
and it was in considering the nature of 
the  intellectual faculties of brutes1  
as compared with those of man1 and in   
examining the nature of instinctive     
powers1 that ,i became a believer4      
,after ,i had formed the idea that      
,revelation was to man in the place of  
an  instinct1 my faith constantly became
 stronger2 and it was exalted by many   
circumstances ,i had occasion to witness
 in a journey that ,i made through      
,egypt and a part of ,asia ,minor1 and  
by no one more than by a very           
remarkable dream which occurred to me in
 ,palestine1 and which1 as we are  now  
almost at the hour of the siesta1 ,i    
will relate to you1 though  perhaps you 
will be asleep before ,i have finished  
it4  ,i was walking  along that deserted
 shore which contains the ruins of      
,ptolemais1 one of  the most ancient    
ports of ,judaea4  ,it was evening2 the 
sun was sinking in  the sea2 ,i seated  
myself on a rock1 lost in melancholy    

contemplations on  the destinies of a   
spot once so famous in the history of   
man4  ,the calm  ,mediterranean1 bright 
in the glowing light of the west1 was   
the only  object before me4  ,these     
waves1 ,i said to myself1 once bore the 
ships  of the monarch of ,jerusalem     
which were freighted with the riches of 
the  ,east to adorn and honour the      
sanctuary of ,jehovah2 here are now no  
remains of greatness or of commerce2 a  
few red stones and broken bricks  only  
mark what might have been once a        
flourishing port1 and the citadel       
above1 raised by the ,saracens1 is      
filled with ,turkish soldiers4  ,the    
janissary1 who was my guide1 and my     
servant1 were preparing some food for   
me in a tent which had been raised for  
the purpose1 and whilst waiting  for    
their summons to my repast1 ,i continued
 my reveries1 which must  gradually have
 ended in slumber4  ,i saw a man        
approaching towards me1  whom1 at first1
 ,i took for my janissary1 but as he    

came nearer ,i found a  very different  
figure4  ,he was a very old man with a  
beard as white as  snow2 his countenance
 was dark but paler than that of an     
,arab1 and his  features stern1 wild1   
and with a peculiar savage expression2  
his form was  gigantic1 but his arms    
were withered and there was a large scar
 on the  left side of his face which    
seemed to have deprived him of an eye4  
,he  wore a black turban and black      
flowing robes1 and there was a large    
chain  round his waist which clanked as 
he moved4  ,it occurred to me that he   
was  one of the santons or sacred madmen
 so common in the ,east1 and ,i retired 
as he approached towards me4  ,he called
 out3 ,fly not1 stranger2 fear me  not1 
,i will not harm you4  ,you shall hear  
my story1 it may be useful to  you4  ,he
 spoke in ,arabic but in a peculiar     
dialect and to me new1 yet ,i           
understood every word4  ,you see before 
you1 he said1 a man who was  educated a 
,christian1 but who renounced the       

worship of the one supreme  ,god for the
 superstitions of the pagans4  ,i became
 an apostate in the  reign of the       
,emperor ,julian1 and ,i was employed by
 that ,sovereign to  superintend the    
re-erection of the temple of ,jerusalem1
 by which it was  intended to belie the 
prophecies and give the deathblow to the
 holy  religion4  ,history has informed 
you of the result3 my assistants were   
most of them destroyed in a tremendous  
storm1 ,i was blasted by lightning  from
 heaven 7he raised his withered hand to 
his face and eye71 but  suffered to live
 and expiate my crime in the flesh4  ,my
 life has been  spent in constant and   
severe penance1 and in that suffering of
 the spirit  produced by guilt1 and is  
to be continued as long as any part of  
the  temple of ,jupiter1 in which ,i    
renounced my faith1 remains in this     
place4  ,i have lived through fifteen   
tedious centuries1 but ,i trust in the  
mercies of ,omnipotence1 and ,i hope my 
atonement is completed4  ,i now  stand  

in the dust of the pagan temple4  ,you  
have just thrown the last  fragment of  
it over the rock4  ,my time is arrived1 
,i come6  ,as he spake  the last words1 
he rushed towards the sea1 threw himself
 from the rock  and disappeared4  ,i    
heard no struggling1 and saw nothing but
 a gleam of  light from the wave that   
closed above him4  ,i was now roused by 
the cries  of my servant and of the     
janissary1 who were shaking my arm1 and 
who  informed me that my sleep was so   
sound that they were alarmed for me4    
,when ,i looked on the sea1 there was   
the same light1 and ,i seemed to see    
the very spot in the wave where the old 
man had sunk4  ,i was so struck by  the 
vision1 that ,i asked if they had not   
seen something dash into the  wave1 and 
if they had not heard somebody speaking 
to me as they arrived4  ,of course their
 answers were negative4  ,in passing    
through ,jerusalem and  in coasting the 
,dead ,sea ,i had been exceedingly      
struck by the present  state of ,judaea 

and the conformity of the fate of the   
,jewish nation to  the predictions of   
our ,saviour2 ,i had likewise been      
reading ,gibbon's  eulogy of ,julian1   
and his account of the attempts made by 
that ,emperor to  rebuild the temple3 so
 that the dream at such a time and in   
such a place  was not an unnatural      
occurrence4  ,yet it was so vivid1 and  
the image of  the subject of it so      
peculiar1 that it long affected my      
imagination1 and  whenever ,i recurred  
to it1 strengthened my faith4           
,onu4--,i believe all the narratives of 
apparitions and ghost stories are       
founded upon dreams of the same kind as 
that which occurred to you3 an  ideal   
representation of events in the local   
situation1 in which the  person is at   
the moment1 and when the imaginary      
picture of the place in  sleep exactly  
coincides with its reality in waking4   
,the ,stranger4--,i agree with you in   
your opinion4  ,if my servant had not   
been with me1 and my dream had been a   

little less improbable1 it would  have  
been difficult to have persuaded me that
 ,i had not been visited by  an         
apparition4    ,i mentioned the dream of
 ,brutus1 and said1 ,his supposed evil  
genius  appeared in his tent2 had the   
philosophical hero dreamt that his      
genius  had appeared to him in ,rome1   
there could have been no delusion4  ,i  
cited  the similar vision1 recorded of  
,dion before his death1 by ,plutarch1 of
 a  gigantic female1 one of the fates or
 furies1 who was supposed to have  been 
seen by him when reposing in the portico
 of his palace4  ,i referred  likewise  
to my own vision of the beautiful       
female1 the guardian angel of  my       
recovery1 who always seemed to me to be 
present at my bedside4    ,amb4--,in    
confirmation of this opinion of         
,onuphrio1 ,i can mention many          
instances4  ,i once dreamt that my door 
had been forced1 that there were        
robbers in my room1 and that one of them
 was actually putting his hand  before  

my mouth to ascertain if ,i was sleeping
 naturally4  ,i awoke at  this moment1  
and was some minutes before ,i could be 
sure whether it was a  dream or a       
reality4  ,i felt the pressure of the   
bedclothes on my lips1  and still in the
 fear of being murdered continued to    
keep my eyes closed  and to breathe     
slowly1 till1 hearing nothing and       
finding no motion1 ,i  ventured to open 
my eyes2 but even then1 when ,i saw     
nothing1 ,i was not  sure that my       
impression was a dream till ,i had risen
 from my bed and  ascertained that the  
door was still locked4    ,onu4--,i am  
the only one of the party unable to     
record any dreams of the  vivid and     
peculiar nature you mention from my own 
experience2 ,i conclude  it is owing to 
the dulness of my imagination4  ,i      
suppose the more intense  power of      
reverie is a symptom of the poetical    
temperament2 and perhaps1  if ,i        
possessed more enthusiasm1 ,i should    
always have possessed more of  the      

religious instinct4  ,to adopt the idea 
of ,philalethes of hereditary           
character1 ,i fear my forefathers have  
not been correct in their faith4        
,amb4--,your glory will be greater in   
establishing a new character1 and ,i    
trust even the conversation of this day 
has given you an additional  reason to  
adopt our faith4    ,ambrosio spoke     
these words with an earnestness unusual 
in him1 and with  something of a tone   
which marked a zeal for proselytism1 and
 at the same  time he cast his eyes on  
the rosary which was suspended round the
 neck of  the stranger1 and said1 ,i    
hope ,i am not indiscreet in saying our 
faith4    ,the ,stranger4--,i was       
educated in the ritual of the church of 
,england2 ,i  belong to the ,church of  
,christ2 the rosary which you see       
suspended round  my neck is a memorial  
of sympathy and respect for an          
illustrious man4  ,i  will1 if you will 
allow me1 give you the history of it1   
which1 ,i think  from the circumstances 

with which it is connected1 you will not
 find  devoid of interest4  ,i was      
passing through ,france in the reign of 
,napoleon1 by the peculiar privilege    
granted to a scavan1 on my road into    
,italy4  ,i had just returned from the  
,holy ,land1 and had in my possession   
two or three of the rosaries which are  
sold to pilgrims at ,jerusalem as       
having been suspended in the ,holy      
,sepulchre4  ,pius ,,vii4 was then in   
imprisonment at ,fontainebleau4  ,by a  
special favour1 on the plea of my       
return from the ,holy ,land1 ,i obtained
 permission to see this venerable  and  
illustrious ,pontiff4  ,i carried with  
me one of my rosaries4  ,he  received me
 with great kindness4  ,i tendered my   
services to execute any  commissions1   
not political ones1 he might think fit  
to entrust me with in  ,italy1 informing
 him that ,i was an ,englishman4  ,he   
expressed his thanks1  but declined     
troubling me4  ,i told him ,i was just  
returned from the ,holy  ,land1 and     

bowing with great humility1 offered to  
him my rosary from the  ,holy           
,sepulchre4  ,he received it with a     
smile1 touched it with his lips1  gave  
his benediction over it1 and returned it
 into my hands1 supposing1  of course1  
that ,i was a ,roman ,catholic4  ,i had 
meant to present it to his  ,holiness1  
but the blessing he had bestowed upon it
 and the touch of his  lips1 made it a  
precious relic to me and ,i restored it 
to my neck1 round  which it has ever    
since been suspended4  ,he asked me some
 unimportant  questions respecting the  
state of the ,christians at ,jerusalem2 
and on a  sudden1 turned the subject1   
much to my surprise1 to the destruction 
of  the ,french in ,russia1 and in an   
exceedingly low tone of voice1 as if    
afraid of being overheard1 he said1 ,the
 nefas has long been triumphant  over   
the fas1 but ,i do not doubt that the   
balance of things is even now           
restoring2 that ,god will vindicate his 
,church1 clear his polluted altars1  and

 establish society upon its permanent   
basis of justice and faith4  ,we  shall 
meet again4  ,adieu6 and he gave me his 
paternal blessing4  ,it was  eighteen   
months after this interview1 that ,i    
went out with almost the  whole         
population of ,rome1 to receive and     
welcome the triumphal entry of  this    
illustrious father of the ,church into  
his capital4  ,he was borne on  the     
shoulders of the most distinguished     
artists1 headed by ,canova2 and  never  
shall ,i forget the enthusiasm with     
which he was received--it is  impossible
 to describe the shouts of triumph and  
of rapture sent up to  heaven by every  
voice4  ,and when he gave his           
benediction to the people1  there was an
 universal prostration1 a sobbing and   
marks of emotions of  joy almost like   
the bursting of the heart4  ,i heard1   
everywhere around  me1 cries of ,the    
holy ,father6  ,the most holy ,father6  
,his restoration is  the work of ,god6  
,i saw tears streaming from the eyes of 

almost all the  women about me1 many of 
them were sobbing hysterically1 and old 
men were  weeping as if they had been   
children4  ,i pressed my rosary to my   
breast  on this occasion1 and repeatedly
 touched with my lips that part of it   
which had received the kiss of the most 
venerable ,pontiff4  ,i preserve it     
with a kind of hallowed feeling1 as the 
memorial of a man whose sanctity1       
firmness1 meekness and benevolence are  
an honour to his ,church and to  human  
nature2 and it has not only been useful 
to me1 by its influence  upon my own    
mind1 but it has enabled me to give     
pleasure to others1 and  has1 ,i        
believe1 been sometimes beneficial in   
insuring my personal safety4  ,i have   
often gratified the peasants of ,apulia 
and ,calabria by presenting  them to    
kiss a rosary from the ,holy ,sepulchre 
which had been hallowed by  the touch of
 the lips and benediction of the ,pope2 
and it has been even  respected by and  
procured me a safe passage through a    

party of brigands  who once stopped me  
in the passes of the ,apennines4        
,onu4--,the use you have made of this   
relic puts me in mind of a device  of a 
very ingenious geological philosopher   
now living4  ,he was on ,etna  and      
busily employed in making a collection  
of the lavas formed from the  igneous   
currents of that mountain2 the peasants 
were often troublesome to  him1         
suspecting that he was searching for    
treasures4  ,it occurred to him  to make
 the following speech to them3 ,i have  
been a great sinner in my  youth and1 as
 a penance1 ,i have made a vow to carry 
away with me pieces  of every kind of   
stone found upon the mountain2 permit me
 quietly to  perform my pious duty1 that
 ,i may receive absolution for my sins4 
,the  speech produced the desired       
effect2 the peasants shouted1 ,the holy 
man6  ,the saint6 and gave him every    
assistance in their power to enable him 
to  carry off his burthen1 and he made  
his ample collections with the utmost   

security and in the most agreeable      
manner4    ,the ,stranger4--,i do not   
approve of pious frauds even for        
philosophical  purposes2 my rosary      
excited in others the same kind of      
feeling which it  excited in my own     
bosom1 and which ,i hold to be perfectly
 justifiable1  and of which ,i shall    
never be ashamed4    ,amb4--,you must   
have travelled in ,italy in very        
dangerous times2 have  you always been  
secure8    ,the ,stranger4--,always2 ,i 
have owed my security1 partly1 as ,i    
have said1  to my rosary1 but more to my
 dress and my acquaintance with the     
dialect  of the natives4  ,i have always
 carried with me a peasant as a guide1  
who  has been intrusted with the small  
sums of money ,i wanted for my immediate
  purposes1 and my baggage has been     
little more than a ,cynic philosopher   
would have carried with him2 and when ,i
 have been unable to walk1 ,i have      
trusted myself to the conduct of a      
vetturino1 a native of the province1    

with his single mule and caratella4     
,the sun was now setting and the temple 
of ,neptune was glowing with its  last  
purple rays4  ,we were informed that our
 horses were waiting1 and  that it was  
time for us to depart to our lodgings at
 ,eboli4  ,i asked the  stranger to be  
our companion and to do us the honour to
 accept of a seat  in our carriage4  ,he
 declined the invitation1 and said3 ,my 
bed is  prepared in the casina here for 
this night1 and to-morrow ,i proceed on 
a  journey connected with scientific    
objects in the parts of ,calabria the   
scene of the terrible earthquakes of    
#aghc4  ,i held out my hand to him in   
parting2 he gave it a strong and warm   
pressure1 and said1 ,adieu6 we  shall   
meet again4          ,,dialogue ,,the   
,,fourth4  ,,the ,,proteus1 ,,or        
,,immortality4      ,the impression made
 upon my mind by the stranger with whom 
we became  acquainted at ,paestum was of
 the strongest and most extraordinary   
kind4  ,the memory of his person1 his   

dress1 his manners1 the accents of his  
voice1 and the tone of his philosophy1  
for a long while haunted my  imagination
 in a most unaccountable manner1 and    
even formed a part of my  dreams4  ,it  
often occurred to me that this was not  
the first time that ,i  had seen him2   
and ,i endeavoured1 but in vain1 to find
 some type or image  of him in former   
scenes of my life4  ,i continually made 
inquiries  respecting him amongst my    
acquaintance1 but ,i could never be sure
 that  any of them knew him1 or even had
 seen him4  ,so great were his          
peculiarities1 that he must have escaped
 observation altogether2 for1 had  he   
entered the world at all1 he must have  
made some noise in it4  ,i  expressed so
 much interest on this subject1 that at 
last it became a  source of ridicule    
amongst my acquaintance1 who often asked
 me if ,i had  not yet obtained news of 
my spirit-friend or ghost-seer4         
,after my return from ,naples to ,rome1 
,i was almost immediately recalled to   

,england by a melancholy event--the     
death of a very near and dear           
relation--and ,i left my two friends1   
,ambrosio and ,onuphrio1 to pursue      
their travels1 which were intended to be
 of some extent and duration4    ,in my 
youth1 and through the prime of manhood1
 ,i never entered ,london  without      
feelings of pleasure and hope4  ,it was 
to me as the grand theatre  of          
intellectual activity1 the field of     
every species of enterprise and         
exertion1 the metropolis of the world of
 business1 thought1 and action4  ,there 
,i was sure to find the friends and     
companions of my youth1 to hear  the    
voice of encouragement and praise4      
,there1 society of the most  refined    
kind offered daily its banquets to the  
mind with such variety  that satiety had
 no place in them1 and new objects of   
interest and  ambition were constantly  
exciting attention either in politics1  
literature1 or science4    ,i now       
entered this great city in a very       

different tone of mind--one of  settled 
melancholy2 not merely produced by the  
mournful event which  recalled me to my 
country1 but owing1 likewise1 to an     
entire change in  the condition of my   
physical1 moral1 and intellectual being4
  ,my health  was gone1 my ambition was 
satisfied1 ,i was no longer excited by  
the  desire of distinction2 what ,i     
regarded most tenderly was in the grave1
  and1 to take a metaphor derived from  
the change produced by time in the      
juice of the grape1 my cup of life was  
no longer sparkling1 sweet1 and         
effervescent2--it had lost its sweetness
 without losing its power1 and it  had  
become bitter4    ,after passing a few  
months in ,england and enjoying 7as much
 as ,i could  enjoy anything7 the       
society of the few friends who still    
remained alive1  the desire of travel   
again seized me4  ,i had preserved      
amidst the wreck  of time one feeling   
strong and unbroken3 the love of natural
 scenery2 and  this1 in advanced life1  

formed a principal motive for my plans  
of conduct  and action4  ,of all the    
climates of ,europe1 ,england seems to  
me most  fitted for the activity of the 
mind1 and the least suited to repose4   
,the  alterations of a climate so       
various and rapid continually awake new 
sensations2 and the changes in the sky  
from dryness to moisture1 from the  blue
 ethereal to cloudiness and fogs1 seem  
to keep the nervous system in  a        
constant state of disturbance4  ,in the 
mild climate of ,nice1 ,naples1 or      
,sicily1 where even in winter it is     
possible to enjoy the warmth of the     
sunshine in the open air1 beneath palm  
trees or amidst evergreen groves  of    
orange trees covered with odorous fruit 
and sweet-scented leaves1 mere          
existence is a pleasure1 and even the   
pains of disease are sometimes          
forgotten amidst the balmy influence of 
nature1 and a series of agreeable  and  
uninterrupted sensations invite to      
repose and oblivion4  ,but in the       

changeful and tumultuous atmosphere of  
,england1 to be tranquil is a  labour1  
and employment is necessary to ward off 
the attacks of ennui4  ,the  ,english as
 a nation is pre-eminently active1 and  
the natives of no other  country follow 
their objects with so much force1 fire1 
and constancy4  ,and1 as human powers   
are limited1 there are few examples of  
very  distinguished men living in this  
country to old age3 they usually fail1  
droop1 and die before they have attained
 the period naturally marked for  the   
end of human existence4  ,the lives of  
our statesmen1 warriors1 poets1  and    
even philosophers offer abundant proofs 
of the truth of this opinion2  whatever 
burns1 consumes--ashes remain4  ,before 
the period of youth is  passed1 grey    
hairs usually cover those brows which   
are adorned with the  civic oak or the  
laurel2 and in the luxurious and        
exciting life of the  man of pleasure1  
their tints are not even preserved by   
the myrtle wreath  or the garland of    

roses from the premature winter of time4
    ,in selecting the scenes for my new 
journey ,i was guided by my former      
experience4  ,i know no country more    
beautiful than that which may be  called
 the ,alpine country of ,austria1       
including the ,alps of the southern     
,tyrol1 those of ,illyria1 the ,noric   
and the ,julian ,alps1 and the ,alps of 
,styria and ,salzburg4  ,the variety of 
the scenery1 the verdure of the  meadows
 and trees1 the depths of the valleys1  
the altitude of the  mountains1 the     
clearness and grandeur of the rivers and
 lakes give it1 ,i  think1 a decided    
superiority over ,switzerland2 and the  
people are far  more agreeable4         
,various in their costumes and manners1 
,illyrians1  ,italians1 or ,germans1    
they have all the same simplicity of    
character1 and  are all distinguished by
 their love of their country1 their     
devotion to  their sovereign1 the warmth
 and purity of their faith1 their       
honesty1 and  7with very few exceptions7

 ,i may say their great civility and    
courtesy to  strangers4    ,in the prime
 of life ,i had visited this region in a
 society which  afforded me the         
pleasures of intellectual friendship and
 the delights of  refined affection2    
later ,i had left the burning summer of 
,italy and the  violence of an unhealthy
 passion1 and had found coolness1 shade1
 repose1  and tranquillity there2 in a  
still more advanced period ,i had sought
 for  and found consolation1 and partly 
recovered my health after a dangerous   
illness1 the consequence of labour and  
mental agitation2 there ,i had  found   
the spirit of my early vision4  ,i was  
desirous1 therefore1 of again  passing  
some time in these scenes in the hope of
 re-establishing a broken  constitution2
 and though this hope was a feeble one1 
yet at least ,i  expected to spend a few
 of the last days of life more          
tranquilly and more  agreeably than in  
the metropolis of my own country4       
,nature never  deceives us4  ,the rocks1

 the mountains1 the streams always speak
 the same  language4  ,a shower of snow 
may hide the verdant woods in spring1 a 
thunderstorm may render the blue limpid 
streams foul and turbulent2 but  these  
effects are rare and transient3 in a few
 hours or at least days all  the sources
 of beauty are renovated4  ,and ,nature 
affords no continued  trains of         
misfortunes and miseries1 such as depend
 upon the constitution  of humanity2 no 
hopes for ever blighted in the bud2 no  
beings full of  life1 beauty1 and       
promise taken from us in the prime of   
youth4  ,her  fruits are all balmy1     
bright1 and sweet2 she affords none of  
those  blighted ones so common in the   
life of man and so like the fabled      
apples  of the ,dead ,sea--fresh and    
beautiful to the sight1 but when tasted 
full  of bitterness and ashes4  ,i have 
already mentioned the strong effect     
produced on my mind by the stranger whom
 ,i had met so accidentally at          
,paestum2 the hope of seeing him again  

was another of my motives for  wishing  
to leave ,england1 and 7why1 ,i know    
not7 ,i had a decided  presentiment that
 ,i was more likely to meet him in the  
,austrian states  than in ,england1 his 
own country4    ,for this journey ,i had
 one companion1 an early friend and     
medical  adviser4  ,he had lived much in
 the world1 had acquired a considerable 
fortune1 had given up his profession1   
was now retired1 and sought1 like       
myself1 in this journey repose of mind  
and the pleasures derived from  natural 
scenery4  ,he was a man of a very       
powerful and acute  understanding1 but  
had less of the poetical temperament    
than any person  whom ,i had ever known 
with similar vivacity of mind4  ,he was 
a severe  thinker1 with great variety of
 information1 an excellent physiologist1
  and an accomplished naturalist4  ,in  
his reasonings he adopted the  precision
 of a geometer1 and was always upon his 
guard against the  influence of         
imagination4  ,he had passed the        

meridian of life1 and his  health was   
weak1 like my own1 so that we were well 
suited as travelling  companions1 moving
 always slowly from place to place      
without hurry or  fatigue4  ,i shall    
call this friend ,eubathes4  ,i will say
 nothing of the  progress of our journey
 through ,france and ,germany2 ,i shall 
dwell only  upon that part of it which  
has still a strong interest for me1 and 
where  events occurred that ,i shall    
never forget4  ,we passed into the      
,alpine  country of ,austria by ,lintz1 
on the ,danube1 and followed the course 
of  the ,traun to ,gmunden1 on the      
,traun ,see or lake of the ,traun1 where
 we  halted for some days4  ,if ,i were 
disposed to indulge in minute           
picturesque descriptions ,i might occupy
 hours with details of the various      
characters of the enchanting scenery in 
this neighbourhood4  ,the vales  have   
that pastoral beauty and constant       
verdure which is so familiar to us  in  
,england1 with similar enclosures and   

hedge-rows and fruit and forest  trees4 
,above are noble hills planted with     
beeches and oaks4  ,mountains  bound the
 view1 here covered with pines and      
larches1 there raising their  marble    
crests capped with eternal snows above  
the clouds4  ,the lower part  of the    
,traun ,see is always1 even in the most 
rainy season1 perfectly  pellucid2 and  
the ,traun pours out of it over ledges  
of rocks a large and  magnificent river1
 beautifully clear and of the purest    
tint of the beryl4  ,the fall of the    
,traun1 about ten miles below ,gmunden1 
was one of our  favourite haunts4  ,it  
is a cataract which1 when the river is  
full1 may be  almost compared to that of
 ,schaffhausen for magnitude1 and       
possesses the  same peculiar characters 
of grandeur in the precipitous rush of  
its awful  and overpowering waters1 and 
of beauty in the tints of its streams   
and  foam1 and in the forms of the rocks
 over which it falls1 and the cliffs    
and woods by which it is overhung4  ,in 

this spot an accident1 which had  nearly
 been fatal to me1 occasioned the       
renewal of my acquaintance in an        
extraordinary manner with the mysterious
 unknown stranger4  ,eubathes1 who  was 
very fond of fly-fishing1 was amusing   
himself by catching graylings  for our  
dinner in the stream above the fall4  ,i
 took one of the boats  which are used  
for descending the canal or lock        
artificially cut in the  rock by the    
side of the fall1 on which salt and wood
 are usually  transported from ,upper   
,austria to the ,danube2 and ,i desired 
two of the  peasants to assist my       
servant in permitting the boat to       
descend by a rope  to the level of the  
river below4  ,my intention was to amuse
 myself by  this rapid species of       
locomotion along the descending sluice4 
,for some  moments the boat glided      
gently along the smooth current1 and ,i 
enjoyed  the beauty of the moving scene 
around me1 and had my eye fixed upon the
  bright rainbow seen upon the spray of 

the cataract above my head2 when ,i  was
 suddenly roused by a shout of alarm    
from my servant1 and1 looking  round1 ,i
 saw that the piece of wood to which the
 rope had been attached  had given way1 
and the boat was floating down the river
 at the mercy of  the stream4  ,i was   
not at first alarmed1 for ,i saw that my
 assistants  were procuring long poles  
with which it appeared easy to arrest   
the boat  before it entered the rapidly 
descending water of the sluice1 and ,i  
called out to them to use their united  
force to reach the longest pole  across 
the water that ,i might be able to catch
 the end of it in my hand4  ,and at this
 moment ,i felt perfect security2 but a 
breeze of wind suddenly  came down the  
valley and blew from the nearest bank1  
the boat was turned  by it out of the   
side current and thrown nearer to the   
middle of the  river1 and ,i soon saw   
that ,i was likely to be precipitated   
over the  cataract4  ,my servant and the
 boatmen rushed into the water1 but it  

was  too deep to enable them to reach   
the boat2 ,i was soon in the white water
  of the descending stream1 and my      
danger was inevitable4  ,i had presence 
of mind enough to consider whether my   
chance of safety would be greater  by   
throwing myself out of the boat or by   
remaining in it1 and ,i preferred  the  
latter expedient4  ,i looked from the   
rainbow upon the bright sun  above my   
head1 as if taking leave for ever of    
that glorious luminary2 ,i  raised one  
pious aspiration to the divine source of
 light and life2 ,i was  immediately    
stunned by the thunder of the fall1 and 
my eyes were closed  in darkness4  ,how 
long ,i remained insensible ,i know not4
  ,my first  recollections after this   
accident were of a bright light shining 
above  me1 of warmth and pressure in    
different parts of my body1 and of the  
noise of the rushing cataract sounding  
in my ears4  ,i seemed awakened by  the 
light from a sound sleep1 and           
endeavoured to recall my scattered      

thoughts1 but in vain2 ,i soon fell     
again into slumber4  ,from this second  
sleep ,i was awakened by a voice which  
seemed not altogether unknown to  me1   
and looking upwards ,i saw the bright   
eye and noble countenance of the        
,unknown ,stranger whom ,i had met at   
,paestum4  ,i faintly articulated3 ,i am
  in another world4  ,no1 said the      
stranger1 you are safe in this2 you  are
 a little bruised by your fall1 but you 
will soon be well2 be tranquil  and     
compose yourself4  ,your friend is here1
 and you will want no other  assistance 
than he can easily give you4  ,he then  
took one of my hands1  and ,i recognised
 the same strong and warm pressure which
 ,i had felt from  his parting salute at
 ,paestum4  ,eubathes1 whom ,i now saw  
with an  expression of joy and of warmth
 unusual to him1 gave a hearty shake to 
the other hand1 and they both said1 ,you
 must repose a few hours longer4  ,after
 a sound sleep till the evening1 ,i was 
able to take some  refreshment1 and     

found little inconvenience from the     
accident except some  bruises on the    
lower part of the body and a slight     
swimming in the head4  ,the next day ,i 
was able to return to ,gmunden1 where ,i
 learnt from the  ,unknown the history  
of my escape1 which seemed almost       
miraculous to me4  ,he said that he was 
often in the habit of combining pursuits
 of natural  history with the amusements
 derived from rural sports and was      
fishing the  day that my accident       
happened below the fall of the ,traun   
for that  peculiar species of the large 
salmo of the ,danube which1 fortunately 
for me1 is only to be caught by very    
strong tackle4  ,he saw1 to his very    
great astonishment and alarm1 the boat  
and my body precipitated by the  fall1  
and was so fortunate as to entangle his 
hooks in a part of my dress  when ,i had
 been scarcely more than a minute under 
water1 and by the  assistance of his    
servant1 who was armed with the gaff or 
curved hook for  landing large fish1 ,i 

was safely conveyed to the shore1       
undressed1 put  into a warm bed1 and by 
the modes of restoring suspended        
animation1 which  were familiar to him1 
,i soon recovered my sensibility and    
consciousness4  ,i was desirous of      
reasoning with him and ,eubathes upon   
the state of  annihilation of power and 
transient death which ,i had suffered   
when in  the water2 but they both       
requested me to defer those inquiries1  
which  required too profound an exertion
 of thought1 till the effects of the    
shock on my weak constitution were over 
and my strength was somewhat re-        
established3 and ,i was the more        
contented to comply with their request  
as  the ,unknown said it was his        
intention to be our companion for at    
least  some days longer1 and that his   
objects of pursuit lay in the very      
country  in which we were making our    
summer tour4  ,it was some weeks before 
,i was  sufficiently strong to proceed  
on our journey1 for my frame was little 

fitted to bear such a trial as that     
which it had experienced2 and1          
considering the weak state of my body   
when ,i was immerged in the water1 ,i   
could hardly avoid regarding my recovery
 as providential1 and the  presence and 
assistance of the ,stranger as in some  
way connected with the  future destiny  
and utility of my life4  ,in the middle 
of ,august we  pursued our plans of     
travel4  ,we first visited those        
romantic lakes1  ,hallsstadt1 ,aussee1  
and ,toplitz ,see1 which collect the    
melted snows of  the higher mountains of
 ,styria to supply the unfailing sources
 of the  ,traun4  ,we visited that      
elevated region of the ,tyrol which     
forms the  crest of the ,pusterthal1 and
 where the same chains of glaciers send 
down  streams to the ,drave and the     
,adige1 to the ,black ,sea and to the   
,adriatic4  ,we remained for many days  
in those two magnificent valleys which  
afford  the sources of the ,save1 where 
that glorious and abundant river rises1 

as  it were1 in the very bosom of       
beauty1 leaping from its subterraneous  
reservoirs in the snowy mountains of    
,terglou and ,manhardt in thundering    
cataracts amongst cliffs and woods into 
the pure and deep cerulean lakes  of    
,wochain and ,wurzen1 and pursuing its  
course amidst pastoral meadows so       
ornamented with plants and trees as to  
look the garden of ,nature4  ,the       
subsoil or strata of this part of       
,illyria are entirely calcareous and    
full of subterranean caverns1 so that in
 every declivity large funnel-  shaped  
cavities1 like the craters of volcanoes1
 may be seen1 in which the  waters that 
fall from the atmosphere are lost3 and  
almost every lake or  rives has a       
subterraneous source1 and often a       
subterraneous exit4  ,the  ,laibach     
river rises twice from the limestone    
rock1 and is twice again  swallowed up  
by the earth before it makes its final  
appearance and is  lost in the ,save4   
,the ,zirknitz ,see or ,lake is a mass  

of water entirely  filled and emptied by
 subterraneous sources1 and its natural 
history1  though singular1 has in it    
nothing of either prodigy1 mystery1 or  
wonder4  ,the ,grotto of the ,maddalena 
at ,adelsberg occupied more of our      
attention  than the ,zirknitz ,see4  ,i 
shall give the conversation that took   
place in  that extraordinary cavern     
entire1 as well as ,i can remember it1  
in the  words used by my companions4    
,eub4--,we must be many hundred feet    
below the surface1 yet the  temperature 
of this cavern is fresh and agreeable4  
,the ,unknown4--,this cavern has the    
mean temperature of the atmosphere1     
which is the case with all subterraneous
 cavities removed from the  influence of
 the solar light and heat2 and1 in so   
hot a day in ,august as  this1 ,i know  
no more agreeable or salutary manner of 
taking a cold bath  than in descending  
to a part of the atmosphere out of the  
influence of  those causes which        
occasion its elevated temperature4      

,eub4--,have you1 sir1 been in this     
country before8    ,the ,unknown4--,this
 is the third summer that ,i have made  
it the scene of  an annual visit4       
,independently of the natural beauties  
found in ,illyria1  and the various     
sources of amusement which a traveller  
fond of natural  history may find in    
this region1 it has had a peculiar      
object of interest  for me in the       
extraordinary animals which are found in
 the bottom of its  subterraneous       
cavities3 ,i allude to the ,proteus     
anguinus1 a far greater  wonder of      
nature than any of those which the      
,baron ,valvasa detailed to  the ,royal 
,society a century and half ago as      
belonging to ,carniola1 with  far too   
romantic an air for a philosopher4      
,phil4--,i have seen these animals in   
passing through this country  before2   
but ,i should be very glad to be better 
acquainted with their  natural history4 
,the ,unknown4--,we shall soon be in    
that part of the grotto where they  are 

found1 and ,i shall willingly           
communicate the little that ,i have been
  able to learn respecting their natural
 characters and habits4    ,eub4--,the  
grotto now becomes really magnificent2  
,i have seen no  subterraneous cavity   
with so many traits of beauty and of    
grandeur4  ,the  irregularity of its    
surface1 the magnitude of the masses    
broken in pieces  which compose its     
sides1 and which seem torn from the     
bosom of the  mountain by some great    
convulsion of nature1 their dark colours
 and deep  shades form a singular       
contrast with the beauty1 uniformity1 ,i
 may say1  order and grace of the white 
stalactical concretions which hang from 
the  canopy above1 and where the light  
of our torches reflected from the       
brilliant or transparent calcareous gems
 create a scene which almost  looks like
 one produced by enchantment4           
,phil4--,if the awful chasms of dark    
masses of rock surrounding us appear    
like the work of demons who might be    

imagined to have risen from the  centre 
of the earth1 the beautiful works of    
,nature above our heads may be  compared
 to a scenic representation of a temple 
or banquet hall for  fairies or genii1  
such as those fabled in the ,arabian    
romances4    ,the ,unknown4--,a poet    
might certainly place here the palace of
 the ,king  of the ,gnomes1 and might   
find marks of his creative power in the 
small  lake close by on which the flame 
of the torch is now falling1 for there  
it is that ,i expect to find the        
extraordinary animals which have been so
  long the objects of my attention4     
,eub4--,i see three or four creatures1  
like slender fish1 moving on the  mud   
below the water4    ,the ,unknown4--,i  
see them2 they are the ,protei4  ,now ,i
 have them in my  fishing-net1 and now  
they are safe in the pitcher of water4  
,at first  view you might suppose this  
animal to be a lizard1 but it has the   
motions  of a fish4  ,its head and the  
lower part of its body and its tail bear

 a  strong resemblance to those of the  
eel2 but it has no fins1 and its        
curious bronchial organs are not like   
the gills of fishes3 they form a        
singular vascular structure1 as you see1
 almost like a crest1 round the  throat1
 which may be removed without           
occasioning the death of the animal1    
which is likewise furnished with lungs4 
,with this double apparatus for         
supplying air to the blood1 it can live 
either below or above the surface  of   
the water4  ,its fore-feet resemble     
hands1 but they have only three  claws  
or fingers1 and are too feeble to be of 
use in grasping or  supporting the      
weight of the animal2 the hinder feet   
have only two claws  or toes1 and in the
 larger specimens are found so imperfect
 as to be  almost obliterated4  ,it has 
small points in place of eyes1 as if to 
preserve the analogy of ,nature4  ,it is
 of a fleshy whiteness and  transparency
 in its natural state2 but when exposed 
to light1 its skin  gradually becomes   

darker1 and at last gains an olive tint4
  ,its nasal  organs appear large1 and  
it is abundantly furnished with teeth3  
from  which it may be concluded that it 
is an animal of prey2 yet in its        
confined state it has never been known  
to eat1 and it has been kept alive  for 
many years by occasionally changing the 
water in which it was placed4           
,eub4--,is this the only place in       
,carniola where these animals are found8
    ,the ,unknown4--,they were first    
discovered here by the late ,baron      
,zois2  but they have since been found1 
though rarely1 at ,sittich1 about thirty
  miles distant1 thrown up by water from
 a subterraneous cavity2 and ,i have    
lately heard it reported that some      
individuals of the same species have    
been recognised in the calcareous strata
 in ,sicily4    ,eub4--,this lake in    
which we have seen these animals is a   
very small  one4  ,do you suppose they  
are bred here8    ,the                  
,unknown4--,certainly not4  ,in dry     

seasons they are seldom found  here1 but
 after great rains they are often       
abundant4  ,i think it cannot  be       
doubted that their natural residence is 
in an extensile deep  subterranean lake1
 from which in great floods they        
sometimes are forced  through the       
crevices of the rocks into this place   
where they are found2  and it does not  
appear to me impossible1 when the       
peculiar nature of the  country in which
 we are is considered1 that the same    
great cavity may  furnish the           
individuals which have been found at    
,adelsberg and at  ,sittich4            
,eub4--,this is a very extraordinary    
view of the subject4  ,is it not        
possible that it may be the larva of    
some large unknown animal inhabiting    
these limestone cavities8  ,its feet are
 not in harmony with the rest of  its   
organisation2 and were they removed1 it 
would have all the characters  of a     
fish4    ,the ,unknown4--,i cannot      
suppose that they are larvae4  ,there   

is1 ,i  believe1 in ,nature no instance 
of a transition by this species of      
metamorphosis from a more perfect to a  
less perfect animal4  ,the tadpole  has 
a resemblance to a fish before it       
becomes a frog2 the caterpillar and  the
 maggot gain not only more perfect      
powers of motion on the earth in  their 
new state1 but acquire organs by which  
they inhabit a new element4  ,this      
animal1 ,i dare say1 is much larger than
 we now see it when mature in  its      
native place2 but its comparative       
anatomy is exceedingly hostile to  the  
idea that it is an animal in a state of 
transition4  ,it has been  found of     
various sizes1 from that of the         
thickness of a quill to that of  the    
thumb1 but its form of organs has been  
always the same4  ,it is surely  a      
perfect animal of a peculiar species4   
,and it adds one instance more to  the  
number already known of the wonderful   
manner in which life is  produced and   
perpetuated in every part of our globe1 

even in places which  seem the least    
suited to organised existences4  ,and   
the same infinite  power and wisdom     
which has fitted the camel and the      
ostrich for the  deserts of ,africa1 the
 swallow that secretes its own nest for 
the caves  of ,java1 the whale for the  
,polar seas1 and the morse and white    
bear for  the ,arctic ice1 has given the
 proteus to the deep and dark           
subterraneous  lakes of ,illyria--an    
animal to whom the presence of light is 
not  essential1 and who can live        
indifferently in air and in water1 on   
the  surface of the rock1 or in the     
depths of the mud4    ,phil4--,it is now
 ten years since ,i first visited this  
spot4  ,i was  exceedingly anxious to   
see the proteus1 and came here with the 
guide in  the evening of the day ,i     
arrived at ,adelsberg2 but though we    
examined the  bottom of the cave with   
the greatest care1 we could find no     
specimens4  ,we  returned the next      
morning and were more fortunate1 for we 

discovered five  close to the bank on   
the mud covering the bottom of the lake2
 the mud was  smooth and perfectly      
undisturbed1 and the water quite clear4 
,this fact  of their appearance during  
the night seemed to me so extraordinary1
 that  ,i could hardly avoid the fancy  
that they were new creations4  ,i saw no
  cavities through which they could have
 entered1 and the undisturbed state  of 
the lake seemed to give weight to my    
notion4  ,my reveries became            
discursive2 ,i was carried in           
imagination back to the primitive state 
of  the globe1 when the great animals of
 the sauri kind were created under  the 
pressure of a heavy atmosphere2 and my  
notion on this subject was not          
destroyed when ,i heard from a          
celebrated anatomist1 to whom ,i sent   
the  specimens ,i had collected1 that   
the organisation of the spine of the    
proteus was analogous to that of one of 
the sauri1 the remains of which  are    
found in the older secondary strata4    

,it was said at this time that  no      
organs of reproduction had been         
discovered in any of the specimens      
examined by physiologists1 and this lent
 a weight to my opinion of the          
possibility of their being actually new 
creations1 which ,i suppose you  will   
condemn as wholly visionary and         
unphilosophical4    ,eub4--,from the    
tone in which you make your statements1 
,i think you  yourself consider them as 
unworthy of discussion4  ,on such ground
 eels  might be considered new          
creations1 for their mature ovaria have 
not yet  been discovered1 and they come 
from the sea into rivers under          
circumstances when it is difficult to   
trace their course4    ,the             
,unknown4--,the problem of the          
reproduction of the proteus1 like that  
of the common eel1 is not yet solved2   
but ovaria have been discovered in      
animals of both species1 and in this    
instance1 as in all others belonging  to
 the existing order of things1 ,harvey's

 maxim of omne vivum ab ovo  will apply4
    ,eub4--,you just now said that this 
animal has been long an object of       
attention to you2 have you studied it as
 a comparative anatomist1 in  search of 
the solution of the problem of its      
reproduction8    ,the ,unknown4--,no2   
this inquiry has been pursued by much   
abler  investigators3 by ,schreiber and 
,configliachi2 my researches were made  
upon its respiration and the changes    
occasioned in water by its bronchia4    
,eub4--,i hope they have been           
satisfactory4    ,the ,unknown4--,they  
proved to me1 at least1 that not merely 
the oxygen  dissolved in water1 but     
likewise a part of the azote1 was       
absorbed in the  respiration of this    
animal4    ,eub4--,so that your         
researches confirm those of the ,french 
savants and  ,alexander von ,humboldt1  
that in the respiration of animals which
 separate  air from water1 both         
principles of the atmosphere are        
absorbed4    ,phil4--,i have heard so   

many and such various opinions on the   
nature of  the function of respiration  
during my education and since1 that ,i  
should  like to know what is the modern 
doctrine on this subject4  ,i can hardly
  refer to better authority than        
yourself1 and ,i have an additional     
reason  for wishing for some accurate   
knowledge on this matter1 having1 as you
  well know1 been the subject of an     
experiment in relation to it which1 but 
for your kind and active assistance1    
must have terminated fatally4    ,the   
,unknown4--,i shall gladly state what ,i
 know1 which is very little4  ,in       
physics and in chemistry1 the science of
 dead matter1 we possess many  facts and
 a few principles or laws2 but whenever 
the functions of life  are considered1  
though the facts are numerous1 yet there
 is1 as yet1  scarcely any approach to  
general laws1 and we must usually end   
where we  begin by confessing our entire
 ignorance4    ,eub4--,i will not allow 
this ignorance to be entire4            

,something1  undoubtedly1 has been      
gained by the knowledge of the          
circulation of the  blood and its       
aeration in the lungs--these1 if not    
laws1 are at least  fundamental         
principles4    ,the ,unknown4--,i speak 
only of the functions in their          
connection with  life4  ,we are still   
ignorant of the source of animal heat1  
though half a  century ago the chemists 
thought they had proved it was owing to 
a sort  of combustion of the carbon of  
the blood4    ,phil4--,as we return to  
our inn ,i hope you will both be so good
 as give  me your views of the nature of
 this function1 so important to all     
living  things2 tell me what you know1  
or what you believe1 or what others     
imagine they know4    ,the              
,unknown4--,the powers of the organic   
system depend upon a continued  state of
 change4  ,the waste of the body        
produced in muscular action1            
perspiration1 and various secretions1 is
 made up for by the constant  supply of 

nutritive matter to the blood by the    
absorbents1 and by the  action of the   
heart the blood is preserved in         
perpetual motion through  every part of 
the body4  ,in the lungs1 or bronchia1  
the venous blood is  exposed to the     
influence of air and undergoes a        
remarkable change1 being  converted into
 arterial blood4  ,the obvious chemical 
alteration of the  air is sufficiently  
simple in this process3 a certain       
quantity of carbon  only is added to it1
 and it receives an addition of heat or 
vapour2 the  volumes of elastic fluid   
inspired and expired 7making allowance  
for  change of temperature7 are the     
same1 and if ponderable agents only were
  to be regarded it would appear as if  
the only use of respiration were to     
free the blood from a certain quantity  
of carbonaceous matter4  ,but it is     
probable that this is only a secondary  
object1 and that the change  produced by
 respiration upon the blood is of a much
 more important kind4  ,oxygen1 in its  

elastic state1 has properties which are 
very  characteristic3 it gives out light
 by compression1 which is not certainly 
known to be the case with any other     
elastic fluid except those with which   
oxygen has entered without undergoing   
combustion2 and from the fire it        
produces in certain processes1 and from 
the manner in which it is  separated by 
positive electricity in the gaseous     
state from its  combinations1 it is not 
easy to avoid the supposition that it   
contains1  besides its ponderable       
elements1 some very subtle matter which 
is capable  of assuming the form of heat
 and light4  ,my idea is that the common
 air  inspired enters into the venous   
blood entire1 in a state of dissolution1
  carrying with it its subtle or        
ethereal part1 which in ordinary cases  
of  chemical change is given off2 that  
it expels from the blood carbonic acid  
gas and azote2 and that in the course of
 the circulation its ethereal  part and 
its ponderable part undergo changes     

which belong to laws that  cannot be    
considered as chemical--the ethereal    
part probably producing  animal heat and
 other effects1 and the ponderable part 
contributing to  form carbonic acid and 
other products4  ,the arterial blood is 
necessary  to all the functions of life1
 and it is no less connected with the   
irritability of the muscles and the     
sensibility of the nerves than with  the
 performance of all the secretions4     
,eub4--,no one can be more convinced    
than ,i am of the very limited extent   
of our knowledge in chemical physiology1
 and when ,i say that1 having been  a   
disciple and friend of ,dr4 ,black1 ,i  
am still disposed to prefer his  ancient
 view to your new one1 ,i wish merely to
 induce you to pause and to  hear my    
reasons2 they may appear insufficient to
 you1 but ,i am anxious to  explain     
them4  ,first1 then1 in all known       
chemical changes in which oxygen  gas is
 absorbed and carbonic acid gas formed1 
heat is produced4  ,i could  mention a  

thousand instances1 from the combustion 
of wood or spirits of  wine to the      
fermentation of fruit or the            
putrefaction of animal matter4  ,this   
general fact1 which may be almost called
 a law1 is in favour of the  view of    
,dr4 ,black4  ,another circumstance in  
favour of it is1 that those  animals    
which possess the highest temperature   
consume the greatest  quantity of air1  
and1 under different circumstances of   
action and repose1  the heat is in great
 measure proportional to the quantity of
 oxygen  consumed4  ,then those animals 
which absorb the smallest quantity of   
air  are cold-blooded4  ,another        
argument in favour of ,dr4 ,black's     
opinion is  the change of colour of     
blood from black to red1 which seems to 
show that  it loses carbon4    ,the     
,unknown4--,with the highest respect for
 the memory of ,dr4 ,black1 and  for the
 opinion of his disciple1 ,i shall      
answer the arguments ,i have just       
heard4  ,i will not allow any facts or  

laws from the action of dead matter  to 
apply to living structures2 the blood is
 a living fluid1 and of this  we are    
sure that it does not burn in           
respiration4  ,the terms warmth and     
cold1 as applied to the blood of        
animals1 are improper in the sense in   
which they have been just used2 all     
animals are1 in fact1 warm-blooded1  and
 the degrees of their temperature are   
fitted to the circumstances  under which
 they live1 and those animals1 the life 
of which is most  active1 possess most  
heat1 which may be the result of general
 actions1  and not a particular effect  
of respiration4  ,besides1 a            
distinguished  physiologist has rendered
 it probable that the animal heat       
depends more  upon the functions of the 
nerves than upon any result of          
respiration4  ,the  argument derived    
from change of colour is perfectly      
delusive2 it would  not follow if carbon
 were liberated from the blood that it  
must  necessarily become brighter2      

sulphur combining with charcoal becomes 
a  clear fluid1 and a black oxide of    
copper becomes red in uniting with a    
substance which abounds in carbon4  ,no 
change in sensible qualities can  ever  
indicate with precision the nature of   
chemical change4  ,i shall  resume my   
view1 which ,i cannot be said to have   
fully developed4  ,when ,i  stated that 
carbonic acid was formed in the venous  
blood in the processes  of life1 ,i     
meant merely to say that this blood1 in 
consequence of certain  changes1 became 
capable of giving off carbon and oxygen 
in union with  each other1 for the      
moment inorganic matter enters into the 
composition  of living organs it obeys  
new laws4  ,the action of the gastric   
juice is  chemical1 and it will only    
dissolve dead matters1 and it dissolves 
them  when they are in tubes of metal as
 well as in the stomach1 but it has no  
action upon living matter4  ,respiration
 is no more a chemical process  than the
 absorption of chyle2 and the changes   

that take place in the  lungs1 though   
they appear so simple1 may be very      
complicated2 it is as  little           
philosophical to consider them as a mere
 combustion of carbon as  to consider   
the formation of muscle from the        
arterial blood as  crystallisation4     
,there can be no doubt that all the     
powers and agencies  of matter are      
employed in the purposes of             
organisation1 but the phenomena  of     
organisation can no more be referred to 
chemistry than those of  chemistry to   
mechanics4  ,as oxygen stands in that   
electrical relation to  the other       
elements of animal matter which has been
 called  electropositive1 it may be     
supposed that some electrical function  
is  exercised by oxygen in the blood2   
but this is a mere hypothesis4  ,an     
attempt has been made founded on        
experiments on the decomposition of     
bodies by electricity to explain        
secretion by weak electrical powers1 and
  to suppose the glands electrical      

organs1 and even to imagine the action  
of the nerves dependent upon            
electricity2 these1 like all other      
notions  of the same kind1 appear to me 
very little refined4  ,if electrical    
effects be the exhibition of certain    
powers belonging to matter1 which is  a 
fair supposition1 then no change can    
take place without their being  more or 
less concerned2 but to imagine the      
presence of electricity to  solve       
phenomena the cause of which is unknown 
is merely to substitute one  undefined  
word for another4  ,in some animals     
electrical organs are found1  but then  
they furnish the artillery of the animal
 and means of seizing  its prey and of  
its defence4  ,and speculations of this 
kind must be  ranked with those         
belonging to some of the more           
superficial followers of  the ,newtonian
 philosophy1 who explained the          
properties of animated nature  by       
mechanical powers1 and muscular action  
by the expansion and  contraction of    

elastic bladders2 man1 in this state of 
vague  philosophical inquiry1 was       
supposed a species of hydraulic machine4
  ,and  when the pneumatic chemistry was
 invented1 organic structures were soon 
imagined to be laboratories in which    
combinations and decompositions         
produced all the effects of living      
actions2 then muscular contractions     
were supposed to depend upon explosions 
like those of the detonating  compounds1
 and the formation of blood from chyle  
was considered as a pure  chemical      
solution4  ,and1 now that the progress  
of science has opened new  and          
extraordinary views in electricity1     
these views are not unnaturally  applied
 by speculative reasoners to solve some 
of the mysterious and  recondite        
phenomena of organised beings4  ,but the
 analogy is too remote  and incorrect2  
the sources of life cannot be grasped by
 such machinery2  to look for them in   
the powers of electro-chemistry is      
seeking the living  among the dead3 that

 which touches will not be felt1 that   
which sees will  not be visible1 that   
which commands sensations will not be   
their subject4    ,phil4--,i conclude1  
from what you last said1 that though you
 are  inclined to believe that some     
unknown subtle matter is added to the   
organised system by respiration1 yet you
 would not have us believe that  this is
 electricity1 or that there is any      
reason to suppose that  electricity has 
a peculiar and special share in         
producing the functions  of life4       
,the ,unknown4--,i wish to guard you    
against the adoption of any  hypothesis 
on this recondite and abstruse subject4 
,but however difficult  it may be to    
define the exact nature of respiration1 
yet the effect of it  and its connexions
 with the functions of the body are     
sufficiently  striking4  ,by the action 
of air on the blood it is fitted for the
  purposes of life1 and from the moment 
that animation is marked by  sensation  
or volition1 this function is performed1

 the punctum saliens in  the ovum seems 
to receive as it were the breath of life
 in the influence  of air4  ,in the     
economy of the reproduction of the      
species of animals1  one of the most    
important circumstances is the aeration 
of the ovum1 and  when this is not      
performed1 from the blood of the mother 
as in the  mammalia by the placenta1    
there is a system for aerating as in the
  oviparous reptiles or fishes1 which   
enables the air freely to pass  through 
the receptacles in which the eggs are   
deposited1 or the egg  itself is aerated
 out of the body through its coats or   
shell1 and when  air is excluded1       
incubation or artificial heat has no    
effect4  ,fishes  which deposit their   
eggs in water that contains only a      
limited portion of  air1 make           
combinations which would seem almost the
 result of scientific  knowledge or     
reason1 though depending upon a more    
unerring principle1  their instinct for 
preserving their offspring4  ,those     

fishes that spawn  in spring or the     
beginning of summer and winch inhabit   
deep and still  waters1 as the carp1    
bream1 pike1 tench1 c41 deposit their   
eggs upon  aquatic vegetables1 which by 
the influence of the solar light        
constantly  preserve the water in a     
state of aeration4  ,the trout1 salmon1 
hucho1 and  others of the ,salmo genus1 
which spawn in the beginning or end of  
winter1  and which inhabit rivers fed by
 cold and rapid streams which descend   
from  the mountains1 deposit their eggs 
in shallows on heaps of gravel1 as near 
as possible to the source of the stream 
where the water is fully combined  with 
air2 and to accomplish this purpose they
 travel for hundreds of  miles against  
the current1 and leap over cataracts and
 dams3 thus the  ,salmo salar ascends by
 the ,rhone and the ,aar to the glaciers
 of  ,switzerland1 the hucho by the     
,danube1 the ,isar1 and the ,save1      
passing  through the lakes of the ,tyrol
 and ,styria to the highest torrents of 

the  ,noric and ,julian ,alps4          
,phil4--,my own experience proves in the
 strongest manner the immediate         
connection of sensibility with          
respiration2 all that ,i can remember in
 my  accident was a certain violent and 
painful sensation of oppression in the  
chest1 which must have been immediately 
succeeded by loss of sense4    ,eub4--,i
 have no doubt that all your suffering  
was over at the moment  you describe2 as
 far as sensibility is concerned1 you   
were inanimate when  your friend raised 
you from the bottom4  ,this distinct    
connection of  sensibility with the     
absorption of air by the blood is1 ,i   
think1 in  favour of the idea advanced  
by our friend1 that some subtle and     
ethereal  matter is supplied to the     
system in the elastic air which may be  
the  cause of vitality4    ,the         
,unknown4--,softly1 if you please2 ,i   
must not allow you to mistake my  view4 
,i think it probable that some subtle   
matter is derived from the  atmosphere  

connected with the functions of life2   
but nothing can be more  remote from my 
opinion than to suppose it the cause of 
vitality4    ,phil4--,this might have   
been fully inferred from the whole tenor
 of your  conversation1 and particularly
 from that expression1 that which       
commands  sensation will not be their   
subject4  ,i think ,i shall not mistake 
your  views when ,i say that you do not 
consider vitality dependent upon any    
material cause or principle4    ,the    
,unknown4--,you do not4  ,we are        
entirely ignorant on this subject1  and 
,i confess in the utmost humility my    
ignorance4  ,i know there have  been    
distinguished physiologists who have    
imagined that by organisation  powers   
not naturally possessed by matter were  
developed1 and that  sensibility was a  
property belonging to some unknown      
combination of  unknown ethereal        
elements4  ,but such notions appear to  
me  unphilosophical1 and the mere       
substitution of unknown words for       

unknown  things4  ,i can never believe  
that any division1 or refinement1 or    
subtilisation1 or juxtaposition1 or     
arrangement of the particles of  matter1
 can give to them sensibility2 or that  
intelligence can result  from           
combinations of insensate and brute     
atoms4  ,i can as easily imagine  that  
the planets are moving by their will or 
design round the sun1 or  that a cannon 
ball is reasoning in making its         
parabolic curve4  ,the  materialists    
have quoted a passage of ,locke in      
favour of their doctrine1  who seemed to
 doubt whether it might not have pleased
 ,god to bestow a  power of thinking on 
matter4  ,but with the highest          
veneration for this  great reasoner1 the
 founder of modern philosophical logic1 
,i think there  is little of his usual  
strength of mind in this doubt4  ,it    
appears to me  that he might as well    
have asked whether it might not have    
pleased ,god to  make a house its own   
tenant4    ,eub4--,i am not a professed 

materialist2 but ,i think you treat     
rather  too lightly the modest doubts of
 ,locke on this subject4  ,and without  
considering me as a partisan1 you will1 
,i hope1 allow me to state some of  the 
reasons which ,i have heard good        
physiologists advance in favour of  that
 opinion to which you are so hostile4   
,in the first accretion of the  parts of
 animated beings they appear almost like
 the crystallised matter1  with the     
simplest kind of life1 scarcely         
sensitive4  ,the gradual  operations by 
which they acquire new organs and new   
powers1 corresponding  to these organs1 
till they arrive at full maturity1      
forcibly strikes the  mind with the idea
 that the powers of life reside in the  
arrangement by  which the organs are    
produced4  ,then1 as there is a gradual 
increase of  power corresponding to the 
increase of perfection of the           
organisation1 so  there is a gradual    
diminution of it connected with the     
decay of the body4  ,as the imbecility  

of infancy corresponds to the weakness  
of organisation1  so the energy of youth
 and the power of manhood are marked by 
its  strength2 and the feebleness and   
dotage of old age are in the direct     
ratio of the decline of the perfection  
of the organisation1 and the  mental    
powers in extreme old age seem destroyed
 at the same time with the  corporeal   
ones1 till the ultimate dissolution of  
the frame1 when the  elements are again 
restored to that dead nature from which 
they were  originally derived4  ,then1  
there was a period when the greatest    
philosopher1 statesman1 or hero1 that   
ever existed was a mere living  atom1 an
 organised form with the sole power of  
perception2 and the  combinations that a
 ,newton formed before birth or         
immediately after  cannot be imagined to
 have possessed the slightest           
intellectual  character4  ,if a peculiar
 principle be supposed necessary to     
intelligence1 it must exist throughout  
animated nature4  ,the elephant         

approaches nearer to man in intellectual
 power than the oyster does to  the     
elephant2 and a link of sensitive nature
 may be traced from the  polypus to the 
philosopher4  ,now1 in the polypus the  
sentient principle  is divisible1 and   
from one polypus or one earthworm may be
 formed two or  three1 all of which     
become perfect animals1 and have        
perception and  volition2 therefore1 at 
least1 the sentient principle has this  
property  in common with matter1 that it
 is divisible4  ,then to these          
difficulties  add the dependence of all 
the higher faculties of the mind upon   
the state  of the brain2 remember that  
not only all the intellectual powers1   
but  even sensibility is destroyed by   
the pressure of a little blood upon the 
cerebellum1 and the difficulties        
increase4  ,call to mind likewise the   
suspension of animation in cases similar
 to that of our friend1 when  there are 
no signs of life and when animation     
returns only with the  return of organic

 action4  ,surely in all these instances
 everything which  you consider as      
belonging to spirit appears in intimate 
dependence upon  the arrangements and   
properties of matter4    ,the           
,unknown4--,the arguments you have used 
are those which are generally  employed 
by physiologists4  ,they have weight in 
appearance1 but not in  reality4  ,they 
prove that a certain perfection of the  
machinery of the  body is essential to  
the exercise of the powers of the mind1 
but they do  not prove that the machine 
is the mind4  ,without the eye there can
 be no  sensations of vision1 and       
without the brain there could be no     
recollected  visible ideas2 but neither 
the optic nerve nor the brain can be    
considered as the percipient            
principle--they are but the instruments 
of a  power which has nothing in common 
with them4  ,what may be said of the    
nervous system may be applied to a      
different part of the frame2 stop the   
motion of the heart1 and sensibility and

 life cease1 yet the living  principle  
is not in the heart1 nor in the arterial
 blood which it sends  to every part of 
the system4  ,a savage who saw the      
operation of a number  of power-looms   
weaving stockings cease at once on the  
stopping of the  motion of a wheel1     
might well imagine that the motive force
 was in the  wheel2 he could not divine 
that it more immediately depended upon  
the  steam1 and ultimately upon a fire  
below a concealed boiler4  ,the         
philosopher sees the fire which is the  
cause of the motion of this  complicated
 machinery1 so unintelligible to the    
savage2 but both are  equally ignorant  
of the divine fire which is the cause of
 the mechanism  of organised structures4
  ,profoundly ignorant on this subject1 
all that  we can do is to give a history
 of our own minds4  ,the external world 
or  matter is to us in fact nothing but 
a heap or cluster of sensations2 and1   
in looking back to the memory of our own
 being1 we find one principle1  which   

may be called the monad1 or self1       
constantly present1  intimately         
associated with a particular class of   
sensations1 which we  call our own body 
or organs4  ,these organs are connected 
with other  sensations1 and move1 as it 
were1 with them in circles of existence1
  quitting for a time some trains of    
sensation to return to others2 but the  
monad is always present4  ,we can fix no
 beginning to its operations2 we  can   
place no limit to them4  ,we sometimes1 
in sleep1 lose the beginning  and end of
 a dream1 and recollect the middle of   
it1 and one dream has no  connection    
with another2 and yet we are conscious  
of an infinite variety  of dreams1 and  
there is a strong analogy for believing 
in an infinity of  past existences1     
which must have had connection2 and     
human life may be  regarded as a type of
 infinite and immortal life1 and its    
succession of  sleep and dreams as a    
type of the changes of death and birth  
to which  from its nature it is liable4 

,that the ideas belonging to the mind   
were  originally gained from those      
classes of sensations called organs it  
is  impossible to deny1 as it is        
impossible to deny that mathematical    
truths  depend upon the signs which     
express them2 but these signs are not   
themselves the truths1 nor are the      
organs the mind4  ,the whole history of 
intellect is a history of change        
according to a certain law2 and we      
retain the memory only of those changes 
which may be useful to us--the  child   
forgets what happened to it in the womb2
 the recollections of the  infant       
likewise before two years are soon lost1
 yet many of the habits  acquired in    
that age are retained through life4     
,the sentient principle  gains thoughts 
by material instruments1 and its        
sensations change as  those instruments 
change2 and1 in old age1 the mind1 as it
 were1 falls  asleep to awake to a new  
existence4  ,with its present           
organisation1 the  intellect of man is  

naturally limited and imperfect1 but    
this depends  upon its material         
machinery2 and in a higher organised    
form1 it may be  imagined to possess    
infinitely higher powers4  ,were man to 
be immortal  with his present corporeal 
frame1 this immortality would only      
belong to  the machinery2 and with      
respect to acquisitions of mind1 he     
would  virtually die every two or three 
hundred years--that is to say1 a certain
  quantity of ideas only could be       
remembered1 and the supposed immortal   
being would be1 with respect to what had
 happened a thousand years ago1  as the 
adult now is with respect to what       
happened in the first year of  his life4
  ,to attempt to reason upon the manner 
in which the organs are  connected with 
sensation would be useless2 the nerves  
and brain have some  immediate relation 
to these vital functions1 but how they  
act it is  impossible to say4  ,from the
 rapidity and infinite variety of the   
phenomena of perception1 it seems       

extremely probable that there must be   
in the brain and nerves matter of a     
nature far more subtle and refined  than
 anything discovered in them by         
observation and experiment1 and that    
the immediate connection between the    
sentient principle and the body may  be 
established by kinds of ethereal matter1
 which can never be evident to  the     
senses1 and which may bear the same     
relations to heat1 light1 and           
electricity that these refined forms or 
modes of existence of matter bear  to   
the gases4  ,motion is most easily      
produced by the lighter species of      
matter2 and yet imponderable agents1    
such as electricity1 possess force      
sufficient to overturn the weightiest   
structures4  ,nothing can be farther    
from my meaning than to attempt any     
definition on this subject1 nor would   
,i ever embrace or give authority to    
that idea of ,newton1 who supposes  that
 the immediate cause of sensation may be
 in undulations of an  ethereal medium4 

,it does not1 however1 appear improbable
 to me that some  of the more refined   
machinery of thought may adhere1 even in
 another  state1 to the sentient        
principle2 for1 though the organs of    
gross  sensation--the nerves and        
brain--are destroyed by death1 yet      
something of  the more ethereal nature1 
which ,i have supposed1 may be less     
destructible4  ,and ,i sometimes imagine
 that many of those powers1 which  have 
been called instinctive1 belong to the  
more refined clothing of the  spirit2   
conscience1 indeed1 seems to have some  
undefined source1 and may  bear relation
 to a former state of being4            
,eub4--,all your notions are merely     
ingenious speculations4  ,revelation    
gives no authority to your ideas of     
spiritual nature2 the ,christian        
immortality is founded upon the         
resurrection of the body4    ,the       
,unknown4--,this ,i will not allow4     
,even in the ,mosaic history of the     
creation of man his frame is made in the

 image of ,god--that is1 capable  of    
intelligence2 and the ,creator breathes 
into it the breath of life1 ,his  own   
essence4  ,then our ,saviour has said1  
of the ,god of ,abraham1 of  ,isaac1 and
 of ,jacob4  ,he is not the ,god of the 
dead1 but of the  living4  ,st4 ,paul   
has described the clothing of the spirit
 in a new and  glorious body1 taking the
 analogy from the living germ in the    
seed of the  plant1 which is not        
quickened till after apparent death2 and
 the  catastrophe of our planet1 which1 
it is revealed1 is to be destroyed and  
purified by fire before it is fitted for
 the habitation of the blest1 is  in    
perfect harmony with the view ,i have   
ventured to suggest4    ,eub4--,i cannot
 make your notions coincide with what ,i
 have been  accustomed to consider the  
meaning of ,holy ,writ4  ,you allow     
everything  belonging to the material   
life to be dependent upon the           
organisation of  the body1 and yet you  
imagine the spirit after death clothed  

with a new  body2 and1 in the system of 
rewards and punishments1 this body is   
rendered happy or miserable for actions 
committed by another and extinct  frame4
  ,a particular organisation may impel  
to improper and immoral  gratification2 
it does not appear to me1 according to  
the principles of  eternal justice1 that
 the body of the resurrection should be 
punished for  crimes dependent upon a   
conformation now dissolved and          
destroyed4    ,the ,unknown4--,nothing  
is more absurd1 ,i may say more impious1
 than for  man1 with a ken surrounded by
 the dense mists of sense1 to reason    
respecting the decrees of eternal       
justice4  ,you adopt here the same      
limited view that you embraced in       
reasoning against the indestructibility 
of the sentient principle in man from   
the apparent division of the living     
principle in the polypus1 not           
recollecting that to prove a quality can
 be  increased or exalted does not prove
 that it can be annihilated4  ,if there 

be1 which ,i think cannot be doubted1 a 
consciousness of good and evil          
constantly belonging to the sentient    
principle in man1 then rewards and      
punishments naturally belong to acts of 
this consciousness1 to obedience1  or   
disobedience2 and the indestructibility 
of the sentient being is  necessary to  
the decrees of eternal justice4  ,on    
your view1 even in this  life1 just     
punishments for crimes would be almost  
impossible2 for the  materials of which 
human beings are composed change        
rapidly1 and in a few  years probably   
not an atom of the primitive structure  
remains yet even  the materialist is    
obliged in old age to do penance for the
 sins of his  youth1 and does not       
complain of the injustice of his        
decrepit body1  entirely changed and    
made stiff by time1 suffering for the   
intemperance  of his youthful flexible  
frame4  ,on my idea1 conscience is the  
frame of  the mind1 fitted for its      
probation in mortality4  ,and this is in

 exact  accordance with the foundations 
of our religion1 the ,divine origin of  
which is marked no less by its history  
than its harmony with the  principles of
 our nature4  ,obedience to its precepts
 not only prepares  for a better state  
of existence in another world1 but is   
likewise  calculated to make us happy   
here4  ,we are constantly taught to     
renounce  sensual pleasure and selfish  
gratifications1 to forget our body and  
sensible organs1 to associate our       
pleasures with mind1 to fix our         
affections upon the great ideal         
generalisation of intelligence in the   
one  ,supreme ,being4  ,and that we are 
capable of forming to ourselves an      
imperfect idea even of the infinite mind
 is1 ,i think1 a strong  presumption of 
our own immortality1 and of the distinct
 relation which  our finite knowledge   
bears to eternal wisdom4    ,phil4--,i  
am pleased with your views2 they        
coincide with those ,i had  formed at   
the time my imagination was employed    

upon the vision of the  ,colosaeum1     
which ,i repeated to you1 and are not in
 opposition with the  opinions that the 
cool judgment and sound and humble faith
 of ,ambrosio  have led me since to     
embrace4  ,the doctrine of the          
materialists was  always1 even in my    
youth1 a cold1 heavy1 dull1 and         
insupportable doctrine  to me1 and      
necessarily tending to ,atheism4  ,when 
,i had heard1 with  disgust1 in the     
dissecting-rooms the plan of the        
physiologist of the  gradual accretion  
of matter1 and its becoming endowed with
 irritability1  ripening into           
sensibility and acquiring such organs as
 were necessary1 by  its own inherent   
forces1 and at last rising into         
intellectual existence1  a walk into the
 green fields or woods by the banks of  
rivers brought back  my feelings from   
nature to ,god2 ,i saw in all the powers
 of matter the  instruments of the      
,deity2 the sunbeams1 the breath of the 
zephyr1  awakened animation in forms    

prepared by ,divine intelligence to     
receive  it2 the insensate seed1 the    
slumbering egg1 which were to be        
vivified1  appeared like the new-born   
animal1 works of a ,divine mind2 ,i saw 
love as  the creative principle in the  
material world1 and this love only as a 
,divine attribute4  ,then1 my own mind1 
,i felt connected with new  sensations  
and indefinite hopes1 a thirst for      
immortality2 the great  names of other  
ages and of distant nations appeared to 
me to be still  living around me2 and1  
even in the funeral monuments of the    
heroic and  the great1 ,i saw1 as it    
were1 the decree of the                 
indestructibility of  mind4  ,these     
feelings1 though generally considered as
 poetical1 yet1 ,i  think1 offer a sound
 philosophical argument in favour of the
 immortality  of the soul4  ,in all the 
habits and instincts of young animals   
their  feelings or movements may be     
traced in intimate relation to their    
improved perfect state2 their sports    

have always affinities to their  modes  
of hunting or catching their food1 and  
young birds1 even in the  nest1 show    
marks of fondness which1 when their     
frames are developed1  become signs of  
actions necessary to the reproduction   
and preservation of  the species4  ,the 
desire of glory1 of honour1 of immortal 
fame1 and of  constant knowledge1 so    
usual in young persons of               
well-constituted minds1  cannot1 ,i     
think1 be other than symptoms of the    
infinite and progressive  nature of     
intellect--hopes which1 as they cannot  
be gratified here1  belong to a frame of
 mind suited to a nobler state of       
existence4    ,the ,unknown4--,religion1
 whether natural or revealed1 has always
 the  same beneficial influence on the  
mind4  ,in youth1 in health1 and        
prosperity1 it awakens feelings of      
gratitude and sublime love1 and         
purifies at the same time that it       
exalts2 but it is in misfortune1 in     
sickness1 in age1 that its effects are  

most truly and beneficially felt2  when 
submission in faith and humble trust in 
the ,divine will1 from duties  become   
pleasures1 undecaying sources of        
consolation2 then it creates  powers    
which were believed to be extinct1 and  
gives a freshness to the  mind which was
 supposed to have passed away for ever1 
but which is now  renovated as an       
immortal hope2 then it is the ,pharos1  
guiding the wave-  tost mariner to his  
home1 as the calm and beautiful still   
basins or  fiords1 surrounded by        
tranquil groves and pastoral meadows1 to
 the  ,norwegian pilot escaping from a  
heavy storm in the north sea1 or as the 
green and dewy spot gushing with        
fountains to the exhausted and thirsty  
traveller in the midst of the desert4   
,its influence outlives all earthly     
enjoyments1 and becomes stronger as the 
organs decay and the frame  dissolves2  
it appears as that evening star of light
 in the horizon of  life1 which1 we are 
sure1 is to become in another season a  

morning star1  and it throws its        
radiance through the gloom and shadow of
 death4          ,,dialogue ,,the       
,,fifth4  ,,the ,,chemical              
,,philosopher4      ,i had been made    
religious by the conversations of       
,ambrosio in ,italy2 my  faith was      
strengthened and exalted by the opinions
 of the ,unknown1 for  whom ,i had not  
merely that veneration awakened by      
exalted talents1 but a  strong affection
 founded upon the essential benefit of  
the preservation  of my life owing to   
him4  ,i ventured1 the evening after our
 visit to the  cave of ,adelsberg1 to   
ask him some questions relating to his  
history and  adventures4  ,he said1 ,to 
attempt to give you any idea of the     
formation  of my character would lead me
 into the history of my youth1 which    
almost  approaches to a tale of romance4
  ,the source of the little information 
and intelligence ,i possess ,i must     
refer to a restless activity of spirit1 
a love of glory which ever belonged to  

my infancy1 and a sensibility  easily   
excited and not easily conquered4  ,my  
parentage was humble1 yet ,i  can       
believe a traditional history of my     
paternal grandmother1 that the  origin  
of our family was from an old ,norman   
stock2 ,i found this belief  upon       
certain feelings which ,i can only refer
 to an hereditary source1 a  pride of   
decorum1 a tact and refinement even in  
boyhood1 and which are  contradictory to
 the idea of an origin from a race of   
peasants4  ,accident  opened to me in   
early youth a philosophical career1     
which ,i pursued with  success4  ,in    
manhood fortune smiled upon me and made 
me independent2 ,i  then really became a
 philosopher1 and pursued my travels    
with the object  of instructing myself  
and of benefiting mankind4  ,i have seen
 most parts  of ,europe1 and conversed1 
,i believe1 with all the illustrious men
 of  science belonging to them4  ,my    
life has not been unlike that of the    
ancient ,greek sages4  ,i have added    

some little to the quantity of human    
knowledge1 and ,i have endeavoured to   
add something to the quantity of  human 
happiness4  ,in my early life ,i was a  
sceptic2 ,i have informed you  how ,i   
became a believer1 and ,i constantly    
bless the ,supreme ,intelligence  for   
the favour of some gleams of ,divine    
light which have been vouchsafed  to me 
in this our state of darkness and doubt4
    ,phil4--,i am surprised that with   
your powers you did not enter into a    
professional career either of law or    
politics2 you would have gained the     
highest honours and distinctions4       
,the ,unknown4--,to me there never has  
been a higher source of honour or       
distinction than that connected with    
advances in science4  ,i have not       
possessed enough of the eagle in my     
character to make a direct flight to    
the loftiest altitudes in the social    
world1 and ,i certainly never           
endeavoured to reach those heights by   
using the creeping powers of the        

reptile who1 in ascending1 generally    
chooses the dirtiest path1 because  it  
is the easiest4    ,eub4--,i have often 
wondered that men of fortune and of rank
 do not  apply themselves more to       
philosophical pursuits2 they offer a    
delightful  and enviable road to        
distinction1 one founded upon the       
blessings and  benefits conferred on our
 fellow-creatures2 they do not supply   
the same  sources of temporary          
popularity as successes in the senate or
 at the bar1  but the glory resulting   
from them is permanent and independent  
of vulgar  taste or caprice4  ,in       
looking back to the history of the last 
five reigns  in ,england1 we find       
,boyles1 ,cavendishes1 and ,howards1 who
 rendered those  great names more       
illustrious by their scientific honours2
 but we may in  vain search the         
aristocracy now for philosophers1 and   
there are very few  persons who pursue  
science with true dignity2 it is        
followed more as  connected with objects

 of profit than those of fame1 and there
 are fifty  persons who take out patents
 for supposed inventions for one who    
makes a  real discovery4    ,phil4--,the
 information we have already received   
from you proves to me  that chemistry   
has been your favourite pursuit4  ,i am 
surprised at this4  ,the                
higher-mathematics and pure physics     
appear to me to offer much more  noble  
objects of contemplation and fields of  
discovery1 and1 practically  considered1
 the results of the chemist are much    
more humble1 belonging  principally to  
the apothecary's shop and the kitchen4  
,eub4--,i feel disposed to join you in  
attacking this favourite study of  our  
friend1 but merely to provoke him to    
defend it4  ,i wish our attack  would   
induce him to vindicate his science1 and
 that we might enjoy a  little of the   
sport of literary gladiators1 at least1 
in order to call  forth his skill and   
awaken his eloquence4    ,the           
,unknown4--,i have no objection4  ,let  

there be a fair discussion2  remember we
 fight only with foils1 and the point of
 mine shall be covered  with velvet4    
,in your attack upon chemistry1         
,philalethes1 you limited the  use of it
 to the apothecary's shop and the       
kitchen4  ,the first is an  equivocal   
use2 by introducing it into the kitchen 
you make it an art  fundamental to all  
others4  ,but if what you had stated had
 really meant  to be serious1 it would  
not have deserved a reply2 as it is in  
mere  playfulness1 it shall not be      
thrown away4  ,i want eloquence1        
however1 to  adorn my subject1 yet it is
 sufficiently exciting even to awaken   
feeling4  ,persons in general look at   
the magnificent fabric of civilized     
society as  the result of the           
accumulated labour1 ingenuity1 and      
enterprise of man  through a long course
 of ages1 without attempting to define  
what has been  owing to the different   
branches of human industry and science2 
and  usually attribute to politicians1  

statesmen1 and warriors a much greater  
share than really belongs to them in the
 work3 what they have done is in        
reality little4  ,the beginning of      
civilization is the discovery of some   
useful arts by which men acquire        
property1 comforts1 or luxuries4  ,the  
necessity or desire of preserving them  
leads to laws and social  institutions4 
,the discovery of peculiar arts gives   
superiority to  particular nations2 and 
the love of power induces them to employ
 this  superiority to subjugate other   
nations1 who learn their arts1 and      
ultimately adopt their manners2 so that 
in reality the origin1 as well as  the  
progress and improvement1 of civil      
society is founded in mechanical  and   
chemical inventions4  ,no people have   
ever arrived at any degree of           
perfection in their institutions who    
have not possessed in a high degree  the
 useful and refined arts4  ,the         
comparison of savage and civilized man1 
in fact1 demonstrates the triumph of    

chemical and mechanical philosophy  as  
the causes not only of the physical1 but
 ultimately even of moral  improvement4 
,look at the condition of man in the    
lowest state in which  we are acquainted
 with him4  ,take the native of ,new    
,holland1 advanced  only a few steps    
above the animal creation1 and that     
principally by the  use of fire2 naked1 
defending himself against wild beasts or
 killing them  for food only by weapons 
made of wood hardened in the fire1 or   
pointed  with stones or fish bones2     
living only in holes dug out of the     
earth1 or  in huts rudely constructed of
 a few branches of trees covered with   
grass2  having no approach to the       
enjoyment of luxuries or even comforts2 
unable  to provide for his most pressing
 wants2 having a language scarcely      
articulate1 relating only to the great  
objects of nature1 or to his most       
pressing necessities or desires1 and    
living solitary or in single  families1 
unacquainted with religion1 government1 

or laws1 submitted to  the mercy of     
nature or the elements4  ,how different 
is man in his highest  state of         
cultivation2 every part of his body     
covered with the products of  different 
chemical and mechanical arts made not   
only useful in protecting  him from the 
inclemency of the seasons but combined  
in forms of beauty  and variety2        
creating out of the dust of the earth   
from the clay under  his feet           
instruments of use and ornament2        
extracting metals from the rude  ore and
 giving to them a hundred different     
shapes for a thousand  different        
purposes2 selecting and improving the   
vegetable productions  with which he    
covers the earth2 not only subduing but 
taming and  domesticating the wildest1  
the fleetest1 and the strongest         
inhabitants of  the wood1 the mountain1 
and the air2 making the winds carry him 
on every  part of the immense ocean2 and
 compelling the elements of air1 water1 
and  even fire as it were to labour for 

him2 concentrating in small space       
materials which act as the thunderbolt1 
and directing their energies so  as to  
destroy at immense distances2 blasting  
the rock1 removing the  mountain1       
carrying water from the valley to the   
hill2 perpetuating  thought in          
imperishable words1 rendering immortal  
the exertion of genius1  and presenting 
them as common property to all awakening
 minds1 becoming  as it were the true   
image of divine intelligence receiving  
and bestowing  the breath of life in the
 influence of civilization4             
,eub4--,really you are in the poetical1 
not the chemical chair1 or rather  on   
the tripod4  ,we claim from you some    
accuracy of detail1 some minute         
information1 some proofs of what you    
assert4  ,what you attribute to the     
chemical and mechanical arts1 we might  
with the same propriety attribute  to   
the fine arts1 to letters1 to political 
improvement1 and to those  inventions of
 which ,minerva and ,apollo and not     

,vulcan are the patrons4    ,the        
,unknown4--,i will be more minute4  ,you
 will allow that the rendering  skins   
insoluble in water by combining with    
them the astringent principle  of       
certain vegetables is a chemical        
invention1 and that without leather1    
our shoes1 our carriages1 our equipages 
would be very ill made2 you will  permit
 me to say1 that the bleaching and dying
 of wool and silk1 cotton1  and flax1   
are chemical processes1 and that the    
conversion of them into  different      
clothes is a mechanical invention2 that 
the working of iron1  copper1 tin1 and  
lead1 and the other metals1 and the     
combining them in  different alloys by  
which almost all the instruments        
necessary for the  turner1 the joiner1  
the stone-mason1 the ship-builder1 and  
the smith are  made1 are chemical       
inventions2 even the press1 to the      
influence of which  ,i am disposed to   
attribute as much as you can do1 could  
not have existed  in any state of       

perfection without a metallic alloy2 the
 combining of  alkali and sand1 and     
certain clays and flints together to    
form glass and  porcelain is a chemical 
process2 the colours which the artist   
employs to  frame resemblances of       
natural objects1 or to create           
combinations more  beautiful than ever  
existed in ,nature1 are derived from    
chemistry2 in  short1 in every branch of
 the common and fine arts1 in every     
department  of human industry1 the      
influence of this science is felt1 and  
we may find  in the fable of ,prometheus
 taking the flame from heaven to animate
 his  man of clay an emblem of the      
effects of fire in its application to   
chemical purposes in creating the       
activity and almost the life of civil   
society4    ,phil4--,it appears to me   
that you attribute to science what in   
many  cases has been the result of      
accident4  ,the processes of most of the
  useful arts1 which you call chemical1 
have been invented and improved  without

 any refined views1 without any general 
system of knowledge4  ,lucretius        
attributes to accident the discovery of 
the fusion of the  metals2 a person in  
touching a shell-fish observes that it  
emits a purple  liquid as a dye1 hence  
the ,tyrian purple2 clay is observed to 
harden in  the fire1 and hence the      
invention of bricks1 which could hardly 
fail  ultimately to lead to the         
discovery of porcelain2 oven glass1 the 
most  perfect and beautiful of those    
manufactures you call chemical1 is said 
to  have been discovered by accident2   
,theophrastus states that some merchants
  who were cooking on lumps of soda or  
natron1 near the mouth of the river     
,belus1 observed that a hard and        
vitreous substance was formed where the 
fused natron ran into the sand4    ,the 
,unknown4--,i will readily allow that   
accident has had much to do  with the   
origin of the arts as with the progress 
of the sciences4  ,but it  has been by  
scientific processes and experiments    

that these accidental  results have been
 rendered really applicable to the      
purposes of common  life4  ,besides1 it 
requires a certain degree of knowledge  
and scientific  combination to          
understand and seize upon the facts     
which have originated  in accident4  ,it
 is certain that in all fires alkaline  
substances and  sand are fused together1
 and clay hardened2 yet for ages after  
this  discovery of fire1 glass and      
porcelain were unknown till some men of 
genius profited by scientific           
combination often observed but never    
applied4  ,it suits the indolence of    
those minds which never attempt         
anything1 and which probably if they did
 attempt anything would not  succeed1 to
 refer to accident that which belongs to
 genius4  ,it is  sometimes said by such
 persons1 that the discovery of the law 
of  gravitation was owing to accident3  
and a ridiculous story is told of the   
falling of an apple as the cause of this
 discovery4  ,as well might the         

invention of fluxions or the            
architectural wonders of the dome of    
,st4  ,peter's1 or the miracles of art  
the ,st4 ,john of ,raphael or the       
,apollo  ,belvidere1 be supposed to be  
owing to accidental combinations4  ,in  
the  progress of an art1 from its rudest
 to its more perfect state1 the whole   
process depends upon experiments4       
,science is in fact nothing more than   
the refinement of common sense making   
use of facts already known to  acquire  
new facts4  ,clays which are yellow are 
known to burn red2  calcareous earth    
renders flint fusible--the persons who  
have improved  earthenware made their   
selections accordingly4  ,iron was      
discovered at  least one thousand years 
before it was rendered malleable2 and   
from what  ,herodotus says of this      
discovery1 there can be little doubt    
that it was  developed by a scientific  
worker in metals4  ,vitruvius tells us  
that the  ceruleum1 a colour made of    
copper1 which exists in perfection in   

all the  old paintings of the ,greeks   
and ,romans and on the mummies of the   
,egyptians1 was discovered by an        
,egyptian king2 there is therefore every
  reason to believe that it was not the 
result of accidental combination1  but  
of experiments made for producing or    
improving colours4  ,amongst the        
ancient philosophers1 many discoveries  
are attributed to ,democritus and       
,anaxagoras2 and1 connected with        
chemical arts1 the narrative of the     
inventions of ,archimedes alone1 by     
,plutarch1 would seem to show how great 
is the effect of science in creating    
power4  ,in modern times1 the  refining 
of sugar1 the preparation of nitre1 the 
manufacturing of acids1  salts1 c41 are 
all results of pure chemistry4  ,take   
gunpowder as a  specimen2 no person but 
a man infinitely diversifying his       
processes and  guided by analogy could  
have made such a discovery4  ,look into 
the books  of the alchemists1 and some  
idea may be formed of the effects of    

experiments4  ,it is true1 these persons
 were guided by false views1 yet  they  
made most useful researches2 and ,lord  
,bacon has justly compared them  to the 
husbandman who1 searching for an        
imaginary treasure1 fertilised  the     
soil4  ,they might likewise be compared 
to persons who1 looking for  gold1      
discover the fragments of beautiful     
statues1 which separately are  of no    
value1 and which appear of little value 
to the persons who found  them2 but     
which1 when selected and put together by
 artists and their  defective parts     
supplied1 are found to be wonderfully   
perfect and worthy  of conservation4    
,look to the progress of the arts since 
they have been  enlightened by a system 
of science1 and observe with what       
rapidity they  have advanced4  ,again1  
the steam-engine in its rudest form was 
the result  of a chemical experiment2 in
 its refined state it required the      
combinations of all the most recondite  
principles of chemistry and  mechanics1 

and that excellent philosopher who has  
given this wonderful  instrument of     
power to civil society was led to the   
great improvements he  made by the      
discoveries of a kindred genius on the  
heat absorbed when  water becomes steam1
 and of the heat evolved when steam     
becomes water4  ,even the most          
superficial observer must allow in this 
case a triumph of  science1 for what a  
wonderful impulse has this invention    
given to the  progress of the arts and  
manufactories in our country1 how much  
has it  diminished labour1 how much has 
it increased the real strength of the   
country6  ,acting as it were with a     
thousand hands1 it has multiplied our   
active population2 and receiving its    
elements of activity from the bowels  of
 the earth1 it performs operations which
 formerly were painful1  oppressive1 and
 unhealthy to the labourers1 with       
regularity and  constancy1 and gives    
security and precision to the efforts of
 the  manufacturer4  ,and the inventions

 connected with the steam-engine1 at the
  same time that they have greatly      
diminished labour of body1 have tended  
to increase power of mind and           
intellectual resources4  ,adam ,smith   
well  observes that manufacturers are   
always more ingenious than husbandmen2  
and manufacturers who use machinery will
 probably always be found more          
ingenious than handicraft manufacturers4
  ,you spoke of porcelain as a  result  
of accident2 the improvements invented  
in this country1 as well as  those made 
in ,germany and ,france1 have been      
entirely the result of  chemical        
experiments2 the ,dresden and the       
,sevres manufactories have been  the    
work of men of science1 and it was by   
multiplying his chemical  researches    
that ,wedgewood was enabled to produce  
at so cheap a rate those  beautiful     
imitations which while they surpass the 
ancient vases in  solidity and          
perfection of material1 equal them in   
elegance1 variety1 and  tasteful        

arrangement of their forms4  ,in another
 department1 the use of  the electrical 
conductor was a pure scientific         
combination1 and the  sublimity of the  
discovery of the ,american philosopher  
was only equalled  by the happy         
application he immediately made of it4  
,in our own times it  would be easy to  
point out numerous instances in which   
great improvements  and beneficial      
results connected with the comforts1 the
 happiness1 and  even life of our fellow
 creatures have been the results of     
scientific  combinations2 but ,i cannot 
do this without constituting myself a   
judge of  the works of philosophers who 
are still alive1 whose researches are   
known1 whose labours are respected1 and 
who will receive from posterity  praises
 that their contemporaries hardly dare  
to bestow upon them4    ,eub4--,we will 
allow that you have shown in many cases 
the utility of  scientific investigation
 as connected with the progress of the  
useful  arts4  ,but1 in general1 both   

the principles of chemistry are         
followed1  and series of experiments    
performed without any view to utility2  
and a  great noise is made if a new     
metal or a new substance is discovered1 
or  if some abstracted law is made known
 relating to the phenomena of nature2   
yet1 amongst the variety of new         
substances1 few have been applied to any
  trifling use even1 and the greater    
number have had no application at all4  
,and with respect to the general views  
of the science1 it would be  difficult  
to show that any real good had resulted 
from the discovery or  extension of     
them4  ,it does not add much to the     
dignity of a pursuit that  those persons
 who have followed it for profit have   
really been most  useful1 and that the  
mere artisan or chemical manufacturer   
has done more  for society than the     
chemical philosopher4  ,besides1 it has 
always  appeared to me that it is in the
 nature of this science to encourage    
mediocrity and to attach importance to  

insignificant things2 very slight       
chemical labours seem to give persons a 
claim to the title of  philosopher--to  
have dissolved a few grains of chalk in 
an acid1 to have  shown that a very     
useless stone contains certain known    
ingredients1 or  that the colouring     
matter of a flower is soluble in acid   
and not in  alkali1 is thought by some a
 foundation for chemical celebrity4  ,i 
once  began to attend a course of       
chemical lectures and to read the       
journals  containing the ephemeral      
productions of this science2 ,i was     
dissatisfied  with the nature of the    
evidence which the professor adopted in 
his  demonstrations1 and disgusted with 
the series of observations and          
experiments which were brought forward  
one month to be overturned the  next4   
,in ,november there was a ,zingeberic   
acid1 which in ,january was  shown to   
have no existence2 one year there was a 
vegetable acid1 which  the next was     
shown to be the same as an acid known   

thirty years ago2 to-  day a man was    
celebrated for having discovered a new  
metal or a new  alkali1 and they        
flourished like the scenes in a new     
pantomime only to  disappear4  ,then1   
the great object of the hundred triflers
 in the science  appeared to be to      
destroy the reputation of the three or  
four great men  whose labours were      
really useful1 and had in them something
 of dignity4  ,and1 there not being     
enough of trifling results or false     
experiments to  fill up the pages of the
 monthly journals1 the deficiency was   
supplied by  some crude theories or     
speculations of unknown persons1 or by  
some ill-  judged censure or partial    
praise of the editor4    ,the           
,unknown4--,i deny in toto the accuracy 
of what you are advancing4  ,i have     
already shown that real philosophers1   
not labouring for profit1  have done    
much by their own inventions for the    
useful arts2 and1 amongst  the new      
substances discovered1 many have had    

immediate and very important            
applications4  ,the chlorine1 or        
oxymuriatic gas of ,scheele1 was        
scarcely  known before it was applied by
 ,berthollet to bleaching2 scarcely was 
muriatic acid gas discovered by         
,priestley1 when ,guyton de ,morveau    
used it  for destroying contagion4      
,consider the varied and diversified    
applications of platinum1 which has owed
 its existence as a useful metal        
entirely to the labours of an           
illustrious chemical philosopher2 look  
at  the beautiful yellow afforded by one
 of the new metals1 chrome2 consider    
the medical effects of iodine in some of
 the most painful and disgusting        
maladies belonging to human nature1 and 
remember how short a time               
investigations have been made for       
applying the new substances4  ,besides1 
the mechanical or chemical manufacturer 
has rarely discovered anything2  he has 
merely applied what the philosopher has 
made known1 he has merely  worked upon  

the materials furnished to him4  ,we    
have no history of the  manner in which 
iron was rendered malleable2 but we know
 that platinum  could only have been    
worked by a person of the most refined  
chemical  resources1 who made multiplied
 experiments upon it after the most     
ingenious and profound views4  ,but1    
waiving all common utility1 all  vulgar 
applications1 there is something in     
knowing and understanding the  operation
 of ,nature1 some pleasure in           
contemplating the order and harmony  of 
the arrangements belonging to the       
terrestrial system of things4  ,there   
is no absolute utility in poetry1 but it
 gives pleasure1 refines and  exalts the
 mind4  ,philosophic pursuits have      
likewise a noble and  independent use of
 this kind1 and there is a double reason
 offered for  pursuing them1 for whilst 
in their sublime speculations they reach
 to the  heavens1 in their application  
they belong to the earth2 whilst they   
exalt  the intellect1 they provide food 

for our common wants1 and likewise      
minister to the noblest appetites and   
most exalted views belonging to our     
nature4  ,the results of this science   
are not like the temples of the         
ancients1 in which statues of the gods  
were placed1 where incense was  offered 
and sacrifices were performed1 and which
 were presented to the  adoration of the
 multitude founded upon superstitious   
feelings2 but they  are rather like the 
palaces of the moderns1 to be admired   
and used1 and  where the statues1 which 
in the ancients raised feelings of      
adoration and  awe1 now produce only    
feelings of pleasure1 and gratify a     
refined taste4  ,it is surely a pure    
delight to know how and by what         
processes this earth  is clothed with   
verdure and life1 how the clouds1 mists1
 and rain are  formed1 what causes all  
the changes of this terrestrial system  
of things1  and by what divine laws     
order is preserved amidst apparent      
confusion4  ,it  is a sublime occupation

 to investigate the cause of the tempest
 and the  volcano1 and to point out     
their use in the economy of things1 to  
bring  the lightning from the clouds and
 make it subservient to our experiments1
  to produce1 as it were1 a microcosm in
 the laboratory of art1 and to  measure 
and weigh those invisible atoms which1  
by their motions and  changes according 
to laws impressed upon them by the      
,divine ,intelligence1  constitute the  
universe of things4  ,the true chemical 
philosopher sees  good in all the       
diversified forms of the external world4
  ,whilst he  investigates the          
operations of infinite power guided by  
infinite wisdom1  all low prejudices1   
all mean superstitions1 disappear from  
his mind4  ,he  sees man an atom amidst 
atoms fixed upon a point in space1 and  
yet  modifying the laws that are around 
him by understanding them1 and  gaining1
 as it were1 a kind of dominion over    
time and an empire in  material space1  
and exerting on a scale infinitely small

 a power seeming  a sort of shadow or   
reflection of a creative energy1 and    
which entitles  him to the distinction  
of being made in the image of ,god and  
animated by  a spark of the ,divine     
,mind4  ,whilst chemical pursuits exalt 
the  understanding1 they do not depress 
the imagination or weaken genuine       
feeling2 whilst they give the mind      
habits of accuracy by obliging it to    
attend to facts1 they likewise extend   
its analogies1 and though  conversant   
with the minute forms of things1 they   
have for their ultimate  end the great  
and magnificent objects of ,nature4     
,they regard the  formation of a        
crystal1 the structure of a pebble1 the 
nature of a clay  or earth2 and they    
apply to the causes of the diversity of 
our mountain  chains1 the appearances of
 the winds1 thunderstorms1 meteors1 the 
earthquake1 the volcano1 and all those  
phenomena which offer the most  striking
 images to the poet and the painter4    
,they keep alive that  inextinguishable 

thirst after knowledge which is one of  
the greatest  characteristics of our    
nature1 for every discovery opens a new 
field for  investigation of facts1 shows
 us the imperfection of our theories4   
,it  has justly been said that the      
greater the circle of light1 the greater
  the boundary of darkness by which it  
is surrounded4  ,this strictly  applies 
to chemical inquiries1 and hence they   
are wonderfully suited to  the          
progressive nature of the human         
intellect1 which by its increasing      
efforts to acquire a higher kind of     
wisdom1 and a state in which truth is   
fully and brightly revealed1 seems1 as  
it were1 to demonstrate its  birthright 
to immortality4    ,eub4--,i am glad    
that our opposition has led you to so   
complete a  vindication of your         
favourite science4  ,i want no further  
proof of its  utility4  ,i regret that  
,i have not before made it a particular 
object of  study4    ,phil4--,as our    
friend has so fully convinced us of the 

importance of  chemistry1 ,i hope he    
will descend to some particulars as to  
its real  nature1 its objects1 its      
instruments4  ,i would willingly have a 
definition of chemistry and some idea of
 the qualifications necessary to  become
 a chemist1 and of the apparatus        
essential for understanding what  has   
been already done in the science1 and   
for pursuing new inquiries4    ,the     
,unknown4--,there is nothing more       
difficult than a good definition1  for  
it is scarcely possible to express in a 
few words the abstracted view  of an    
infinite variety of facts4  ,dr4 ,black 
has defined chemistry to be  that       
science which treats of the changes     
produced in bodies by motions of  their 
ultimate particles or atoms1 but this   
definition is hypothetical1  for the    
ultimate particles or atoms are mere    
creations of the  imagination4  ,i will 
give you a definition1 which will have  
the merit of  novelty and which is      
probably general in its application4    

,chemistry  relates to those operations 
by which the intimate nature of bodies  
is  changed1 or by which they acquire   
new properties4  ,this definition will  
not only apply to the effects of        
mixture1 but to the phenomena of        
electricity1 and1 in short1 to all the  
changes which do not merely depend  upon
 the motion or division of masses of    
matter4  ,however difficult it  may have
 been to have given you a definition of 
chemistry1 it is still  more difficult  
to give you a detail of all the         
qualities necessary for a  chemical     
philosopher4  ,i will not name as many  
as ,athenaeus has named for  a cook1    
who1 he says1 ought to be a             
mathematician1 a theoretical  musician1 
a natural philosopher1 a natural        
historian1 c41 though you had  a        
disposition just now to make chemistry  
merely subservient to the uses  of the  
kitchen4  ,but ,i will seriously mention
 some of the studies  fundamental to the
 higher departments of this science2 a  

man may be a  good practical chemist    
perhaps without possessing them1 but he 
never can  become a great chemical      
philosopher4  ,the person who wishes to 
understand  the higher departments of   
chemistry1 or to pursue them in their   
most  interesting relations to the      
economy of ,nature1 ought to be         
well-grounded  in elementary            
mathematics2 he will oftener have to    
refer to arithmetic  than algebra1 and  
to algebra than to geometry4  ,but all  
these sciences  lend their aid to       
chemistry2 arithmetic1 in determining   
the proportions  of analytical results  
and the relative weights of the elements
 of bodies2  algebra1 in ascertaining   
the laws of the pressure of elastic     
fluids1 the  force of vapour as         
dependent upon temperature1 and the     
effects of masses  and surfaces on the  
communication and radiation of heat2 the
 applications  of geometry are          
principally limited to the determination
 of the  crystalline forms of bodies1   

which constitute the most important type
 of  their nature1 and often offer      
useful hints for analytical researches  
respecting their composition4  ,the     
first principles of natural philosophy  
or general physics ought not to be      
entirely unknown to the chemist4  ,as   
the most active agents are fluids1      
elastic fluids1 heat1 light1 and        
electricity1 he ought to have a general 
knowledge of mechanics1  hydrodynamics1 
pneumatics1 optics1 and electricity4    
,latin and ,greek  among the dead and   
,french among the modern languages are  
necessary1 and1  as the most important  
after ,french1 ,german and ,italian4    
,in natural  history and in literature  
what belongs to a liberal education1    
such as  that of our universities1 is   
all that is required2 indeed1 a young   
man  who has performed the ordinary     
course of college studies which are     
supposed fitted for common life and for 
refined society1 has all the            
preliminary knowledge necessary to      

commence the study of chemistry4  ,the  
apparatus essential to the modern       
chemical philosopher is much less bulky 
and expensive than that used by the     
ancients4  ,an air pump1 an electrical  
machine1 a voltaic battery 7all of which
 may be upon a small scale71 a          
blow-pipe apparatus1 a bellows and      
forge1 a mercurial and water-gas        
apparatus1 cups and basins of platinum  
and glass1 and the common reagents  of  
chemistry1 are what are required4  ,all 
the implements absolutely  necessary may
 be carried in a small trunk1 and some  
of the best and most  refined researches
 of modern chemists have been made by   
means of an  apparatus which might with 
ease be contained in a small travelling 
carriage1 and the expense of which is   
only a few pounds4  ,the facility  with 
which chemical inquiries are carried on1
 and the simplicity of the  apparatus1  
offer additional reasons1 to those ,i   
have already given1 for  the pursuit of 
this science4  ,it is not injurious to  

the health2 the  modern chemist is not  
like the ancient one1 who passed the    
greater part  of his time exposed to the
 heat and smoke of a furnace and the    
unwholesome vapours of acids and        
alkalies and other menstrua1 of which1  
for a single experiment1 he consumed    
several pounds4  ,his processes may  be 
carried on in the drawing-room1 and some
 of them are no less beautiful  in      
appearance than satisfactory in their   
results4  ,it was said1 by an  author   
belonging to the last century1 of       
alchemy1 that its beginning was  deceit1
 its progress labour1 and its end       
beggary4  ,it may be said of  modern    
chemistry1 that its beginning is        
pleasure1 its progress knowledge1  and  
its objects truth and utility4  ,i have 
spoken of the scientific  attainments   
necessary for the chemical philosopher2 
,i will say a few  words of the         
intellectual qualities necessary for    
discovery or for the  advancement of the
 science4  ,amongst them patience1      

industry1 and  neatness in manipulation1
 and accuracy and minuteness in         
observing and  registering the phenomena
 which occur1 are essential4  ,a steady 
hand and  a quick eye are most useful   
auxiliaries2 but there have been very   
few  great chemists who have preserved  
these advantages through life2 for the  
business of the laboratory is often a   
service of danger1 and the  elements1   
like the refractory spirits of romance1 
though the obedient  slave of the       
magician1 yet sometimes escape the      
influence of his talisman  and endanger 
his person4  ,both the hands and eyes of
 others1 however1 may  be sometimes     
advantageously made use of4  ,by often  
repeating a process or  an observation1 
the errors connected with hasty         
operations or imperfect  views are      
annihilated2 and1 provided the assistant
 has no preconceived  notions of his    
own1 and is ignorant of the object of   
his employer in  making the experiment1 
his simple and bare detail of facts will

 often be  the best foundation for an   
opinion4  ,with respect to the higher   
qualities  of intellect necessary for   
understanding and developing the general
 laws  of the science1 the same talents 
,i believe are required as for making   
advancement in every other department of
 human knowledge2 ,i need not be  very  
minute4  ,the imagination must be active
 and brilliant in seeking  analogies2   
yet entirely under the influence of the 
judgment in applying  them4  ,the memory
 must be extensive and profound2 rather1
 however1  calling up general views of  
things than minute trains of thought4   
,the  mind must not be1 like an         
encyclopedia1 a burthen of knowledge1   
but  rather a critical dictionary which 
abounds in generalities1 and points  out
 where more minute information may be   
obtained4  ,in detailing the  results of
 experiments and in giving them to the  
world1 the chemical  philosopher should 
adopt the simplest style and manner2 he 
will avoid all  ornaments as something  

injurious to his subject1 and should    
bear in mind  the saying of the first   
king of ,great ,britain respecting a    
sermon which  was excellent in doctrine 
but overcharged with poetical allusions 
and  figurative language1 that the      
tropes and metaphors of the speaker were
  like the brilliant wild flowers in a  
field of corn--very pretty1 but  which  
did very much hurt the corn4  ,in       
announcing even the greatest and  most  
important discoveries1 the true         
philosopher will communicate his        
details with modesty and reserve2 he    
will rather be a useful servant of  the 
public1 bringing forth a light from     
under his cloak when it is needed  in   
darkness1 than a charlatan exhibiting   
fireworks and having a trumpeter  to    
announce their magnificence4  ,i see you
 are smiling1 and think what ,i  am     
saying in bad taste2 yet1               
notwithstanding1 ,i will provoke your   
smiles  still further by saying a word  
or two on his other moral qualities4    

,that  he should be humble-minded1 you  
will readily allow1 and a diligent      
searcher after truth1 and neither       
diverted from this great object by the  
love of transient glory or temporary    
popularity1 looking rather to the       
opinion of ages than to that of a day1  
and seeking to be remembered and  named 
rather in the epochas of historians than
 in the columns of  newspaper writers or
 journalists4  ,he should resemble the  
modern  geometricians in the greatness  
of his views and the profoundness of his
  researches1 and the ancient alchemists
 in industry and piety4  ,i do not  mean
 that he should affix written prayers   
and inscriptions of  recommendations of 
his processes to ,providence1 as was the
 custom of  ,peter ,wolfe1 and who was  
alive in my early days1 but his mind    
should  always be awake to devotional   
feeling1 and in contemplating the       
variety  and the beauty of the external 
world1 and developing its scientific    
wonders1 he will always refer to that   

infinite wisdom through whose           
beneficence he is permitted to enjoy    
knowledge2 and1 in becoming wiser1  he  
will become better1 he will rise at once
 in the scale of intellectual  and moral
 existence1 his increased sagacity will 
be subservient to a more  exalted faith1
 and in proportion as the veil becomes  
thinner through  which he sees the      
causes of things he will admire more the
 brightness of  the divine light by     
which they are rendered visible4        
,,dialogue ,,the ,,sixth4  ,,pola1 ,,or 
,,time4      ,during our stay in        
,illyria1 ,i made an excursion by water 
with the  ,unknown1 my preserver1 now   
become my friend1 and ,eubathes1 to     
,pola1 in  ,istria4  ,we entered the    
harbour of ,pola in a felucca when the  
sun was  setting2 and ,i know no scene  
more splendid than the amphitheatre seen
  from the sea in this light4  ,it      
appears not as a building in ruins1 but 
like a newly erected work1 and the      
reflection of the colours of its        

brilliant marble and beautiful forms    
seen upon the calm surface of the       
waters gave to it a double effect--that 
of a glorious production of art  and of 
a magnificent picture4  ,we examined    
with pleasure the remains of  the arch  
of ,augustus and the temple1 very       
perfect monuments of imperial  grandeur4
  ,but the splendid exterior of the     
amphitheatre was not in  harmony with   
the bare and naked walls of the         
interior2 there were none of  those     
durable and grand seats of marble1 such 
as adorn the amphitheatre  of ,verona1  
from which it is probable that the whole
 of the arena and  conveniences for the 
spectators had been constructed of wood4
  ,their  total disappearance led us to 
reflect upon the causes of the          
destruction  of so many of the works of 
the older nations4  ,i said1 in our     
metaphysical abstractions1 we refer the 
changes1 the destruction of  material   
forms1 to time1 but there must be       
physical laws in ,nature by  which they 

are produced2 and ,i begged our new     
friend to give us some  ideas on this   
subject in his character of chemical    
philosopher4  ,if human  science1 ,i    
said1 has discovered the principle of   
the decay of things1 it  is possible    
that human art may supply means of      
conservation1 and bestow  immortality on
 some of the works which appear destined
 by their  perfection for future ages4  
,the ,unknown4--,i shall willingly      
communicate to you my views of the      
operation of time1 philosophically      
considered4  ,a great philosopher has   
said1 man can in no other way command   
,nature but in obeying her laws2  and1  
in these laws1 the principle of change  
is a principle of life2  without decay1 
there can be no reproduction2 and       
everything belonging to  the earth1     
whether in its primitive state1 or      
modified by human hands1 is  submitted  
to certain and immutable laws of        
destruction1 as permanent and  universal
 as those which produce the planetary   

motions4  ,the property  which1 as far  
as our experience extends1 universally  
belongs to matter1  gravitation1 is the 
first and most general cause of change  
in our  terrestrial system2 and1 whilst 
it preserves the great mass of the globe
  in a uniform state1 its influence is  
continually producing alterations  upon 
the surface4  ,the water1 raised in     
vapour by the solar heat1 is            
precipitated by the cool air in the     
atmosphere2 it is carried down by       
gravitation to the surface1 and gains   
its mechanical force from this law4     
,whatever is elevated above the         
superfices by the powers of vegetation  
or  animal life1 or by the efforts of   
man1 by gravitation constantly tends to 
the common centre of attraction2 and the
 great reason of the duration of  the   
pyramid above all other forms is1 that  
it is most fitted to resist  the force  
of gravitation4  ,the arch1 the pillar1 
and all perpendicular  constructions1   
are liable to fall when a degradation   

from chemical or  mechanical causes     
takes place in their inferior parts4    
,the forms upon  the surface of the     
globe are preserved from the influence  
of gravitation  by the attraction of    
cohesion1 or by chemical attraction2 but
 if their  parts had freedom of motion1 
they would all be levelled by this      
power1  gravitation1 and the globe would
 appear as a plane and smooth oblate    
spheroid1 flattened at the poles4  ,the 
attraction of cohesion or chemical      
attraction1 in its most energetic state1
 is not liable to be destroyed by       
gravitation2 this power only assists the
 agencies of other causes of            
degradation4  ,attraction1 of whatever  
kind1 tends1 as it were1 to produce     
rest--a sort of eternal sleep in        
,nature4  ,the great antagonist power is
  heat4  ,by the influence of the sun   
the globe is exposed to great  varieties
 of temperature2 an addition of heat    
expands bodies1 and an  abstraction of  
heat causes them to contract2 by        

variation of heat1  certain kinds of    
matter are rendered fluid1 or elastic1  
and changes from  fluids into solids1 or
 from solids or fluids into elastic     
substances1 and  vice versa1 are        
produced2 and all these phenomena are   
connected with  alterations tending to  
the decay or destruction of bodies4  ,it
 is not  probable that the mere         
contraction or expansion of a solid1    
from the  subtraction or addition of    
heat1 tends to loosen its parts2 but if 
water  exists in these parts1 then its  
expansion1 either in becoming vapour or 
ice1 tends not only to diminish their   
cohesion1 but to break them into        
fragments4  ,there is1 you know1 a very 
remarkable property of water--its       
expansion by cooling1 and at the time of
 becoming ice--and this is a  great     
cause of destruction in the northern    
climates2 for where ice forms  in the   
crevices or cavities of stones1 or when 
water which has penetrated  into cement 
freezes1 its expansion acts with the    

force of the lever or  the screw in     
destroying or separating the parts of   
bodies4  ,the  mechanical powers of     
water1 as rain1 hail1 or snow1 in       
descending from  the atmosphere1 are not
 entirely without effect2 for in acting 
upon the  projections of solids1 drops  
of water or particles of snow1 and still
  more of hail1 have a power of         
abrasion1 and a very soft substance1    
from  its mass assisting gravitation1   
may break a much harder one4  ,the      
glacier1 by its motion1 grinds into     
powder the surface of the granite  rock2
 and the ,alpine torrents1 that have    
their origin under glaciers1 are  always
 turbid1 from the destruction of the    
rocks on which the glacier is  formed4  
,the effect of a torrent in deepening   
its bed will explain the  mechanical    
agency of fluid-water1 though this      
effect is infinitely  increased1 and    
sometimes almost entirely dependent1    
upon the solid  matters which are       
carried down by it4  ,an angular        

fragment of stone in  the course of ages
 moved in the cavity of a rock makes a  
deep round  excavation1 and is worn     
itself into a spherical form4  ,a       
torrent of rain  flowing down the side  
of a building carries with it the       
silicious dust1  or sand1 or matter     
which the wind has deposited there1 and 
acts upon a  scale infinitely more      
minute1 but according to the same law4  
,the  buildings of ancient ,rome have   
not only been liable to the constant    
operation of the rain-courses1 or minute
 torrents produced by rains1 but  even  
the ,tiber1 swollen with floods of the  
,sabine mountains and the  ,apennines1  
has often entered into the city1 and a  
winter seldom passes  away in which the 
area of the ,pantheon has not been      
filled with water1  and the reflection  
of the cupola seen in a smooth lake     
below4  ,the  monuments of ,egypt are   
perhaps the most ancient and permanent  
of those  belonging to the earth1 and in
 that country rain is almost unknown4   

,and  all the causes of degradation     
connected with the agency of water act  
more  in the temperate climates than in 
the hot ones1 and most of all in those  
countries where the inequalities of     
temperature are greatest4  ,the         
mechanical effects of air are           
principally in the action of winds in   
assisting the operation of gravitation1 
and in abrading by dust1 sand1  stones1 
and atmospheric water4  ,these effects1 
unless it be in the case  of a building 
blown down by a tempest1 are            
imperceptible in days1 or even  years2  
yet a gentle current of air carrying the
 silicious sand of the  desert1 or the  
dust of a road for ages against the face
 of a structure1  must ultimately tend  
to injure it1 for with infinite or      
unlimited  duration1 an extremely small 
cause will produce a very great effect4 
,the  mechanical agency of electricity  
is very limited2 the effects of         
lightning have1 however1 been witnessed1
 even in some of the great  monuments of

 antiquity1 the ,colosaeum at ,rome1 for
 instance2 and only  last year1 in a    
violent thunderstorm1 some of the       
marble1 ,i have been  informed1 was     
struck from the top of one of the arches
 in this building1  and a perpendicular 
rent made1 of some feet in diameter4    
,but the  chemical effects of           
electricity1 though excessively slow and
 gradual1 yet  are much more efficient  
in the great work of destruction4  ,it  
is to the  general chemical doctrines of
 the changes produced by this powerful  
agent  that ,i must now direct your     
especial attention4    ,eub4--,would not
 the consideration of the subject have  
been more  distinct1 and your           
explanations of the phenomena more      
simple1 had you  commenced by dividing  
the causes of change into mechanical and
 chemical2  if you had first considered 
them separately1 and then their joint   
effects8    ,the ,unknown4--,the order  
,i have adopted is not very remote from 
this4  ,but ,i was perhaps wrong in     

treating first of the agency of         
gravitation1  which owes almost all its 
powers to the operation of other causes4
  ,in  consequence of your hint1 ,i     
shall alter my plan a little1 and       
consider  first the chemical agency of  
water1 then that of air1 and lastly that
 of  electricity4  ,in every species of 
chemical change1 temperature is         
concerned4  ,but unless the results of  
volcanoes and earthquakes be  directly  
referred to this power1 it has no       
chemical effect in relation to  the     
changes ascribed to time simply         
considered as heat1 but its  operations1
 which are the most important belonging 
to the terrestrial  cycle of changes1   
are blended with1 or bring into         
activity1 those of  other agents4  ,one 
of the most distinct and destructive    
agencies of water  depends upon its     
solvent powers1 which are usually       
greatest when its  temperature is       
highest4  ,water is capable of          
dissolving1 in larger or  smaller       

proportions1 most compound bodies1 and  
the calcareous and  alkaline elements of
 stones are particularly liable to this 
kind of  operation4  ,when water holds  
in solution carbonic acid1 which is     
always  the case when it is precipitated
 from the atmosphere1 its power of      
dissolving carbonate of lime is very    
much increased1 and in the              
neighbourhood of great cities1 where the
 atmosphere contains a large  proportion
 of this principle1 the solvent powers  
of rain upon the marble  exposed to it  
must be greatest4  ,whoever examines the
 marble statues in  the ,british        
,museum1 which have been removed from   
the exterior of the  ,parthenon1 will be
 convinced that they have suffered from 
this agency2  and an effect distinct in 
the pure atmosphere and temperate       
climate of  ,athens1 must be upon a     
higher scale in the vicinity of other   
great  ,european cities1 where the      
consumption of fuel produces carbonic   
acid in  large quantities4  ,metallic   

substances1 such as iron1 copper1       
bronze1  brass1 tin1 and lead1 whether  
they exist in stones1 or are used for   
support or connection in buildings1 are 
liable to be corroded by water  holding 
in solution the principles of the       
atmosphere2 and the rust and  corrosion1
 which are made1 poetically1 qualities  
of time1 depend upon the  oxidating     
powers of water1 which by supplying     
oxygen in a dissolved or  condensed     
state enables the metals to form new    
combinations4  ,all the  vegetable      
substances1 exposed to water and air1   
are liable to decay1 and  even the      
vapour in the air1 attracted by wood1   
gradually reacts upon its  fibres and   
assists decomposition1 or enables its   
elements to take new  arrangements4     
,hence it is that none of the roofs of  
ancient buildings  more than a thousand 
years old remain1 unless it be such as  
are  constructed of stone1 as those of  
the ,pantheon of ,rome and the tomb of  
,theodoric at ,ravenna1 the cupola of   

which is composed of a single block  of 
marble4  ,the pictures of the ,greek    
masters1 which were painted on the  wood
 of the abies1 or pine of the           
,mediterranean1 likewise1 as we are     
informed by ,pliny1 owed their          
destruction not to a change in the      
colours1  not to the alteration of the  
calcareous ground on which they were    
painted1 but to the decay of the tablets
 of wood on which the intonaco or       
stucco was laid4  ,amongst the          
substances employed in building1 wood1  
iron1 tin1 and lead1 are most liable to 
decay from the operation of  water1 then
 marble1 when exposed to its influence  
in the fluid form2  brass1 copper1      
granite1 sienite1 and porphyry are more 
durable4  ,but in  stones1 much depends 
upon the peculiar nature of their       
constituent parts2  when the feldspar of
 the granite rocks contains little      
alkali or  calcareous earth1 it is a    
very permanent stone2 but1 when in      
granite1  porphyry1 or sienite1 either  

the feldspar contains much alkaline     
matter1  or the mica1 schorl1 or        
hornblende much protoxide of iron1 the  
action of  water containing oxygen and  
carbonic acid on the ferruginous        
elements  tends to produce the          
disintegration of the stone4  ,the red  
granite1 black  sienite1 and red        
porphyry of ,egypt1 which are seen at   
,rome in obelisks1  columns1 and        
sarcophagi1 are amongst the most durable
 compound stones2  but the grey granites
 of ,corsica and ,elba are extremely    
liable to undergo  alteration3 the      
feldspar contains much alkaline matter2 
and the mica and  schorl1 much protoxide
 of iron4  ,a remarkable instance of the
 decay of  granite may be seen in the   
,hanging ,tower of ,pisa2 whilst the    
marble  pillars in the basement remain  
scarcely altered1 the granite ones have 
lost a considerable portion of their    
surface1 which falls off continually  in
 scales1 and exhibits everywhere stains 
from the formation of peroxide  of iron4

  ,the kaolin1 or clay1 used in most    
countries for the manufacture  of fine  
porcelain or china1 is generally        
produced from the feldspar of           
decomposing granite1 in which the cause 
of decay is the dissolution and         
separation of the alkaline ingredients4 
,eub4--,i have seen serpentines1        
basalts1 and lavas which internally were
  dark1 and which from their weight1 ,i 
should suppose1 must contain oxide  of  
iron1 superficially brown or red1 and   
decomposing4  ,undoubtedly this  was    
from the action of water impregnated    
with air upon their ferruginous         
elements4    ,the ,unknown4--,you are   
perfectly right4  ,there are few        
compound stones1  possessing a          
considerable specific gravity1 which are
 not liable to  change from this cause2 
and oxide of iron amongst the metallic  
substances  anciently known1 is the most
 generally diffused in nature1 and most 
concerned in the changes which take     
place on the surface of the globe4  ,the

 chemical action of carbonic acid is so 
much connected with that of  water1 that
 it is scarcely possible to speak of    
them separately1 as must  be evident    
from what ,i have before said2 but the  
same action which is  exerted by the    
acid dissolved in water is likewise     
exerted by it in its  elastic state1 and
 in this case the facility with which   
the quantity is  changed makes up for   
the difference of the degree of         
condensation4  ,there  is no reason to  
believe that the azote of the atmosphere
 has any  considerable action in        
producing changes of the nature we are  
studying on  the surface2 the aqueous   
vapour1 the oxygen and the carbonic acid
 gas1  are1 however1 constantly in      
combined activity1 and above all the    
oxygen4  ,and1 whilst water1 uniting its
 effects with those of carbonic acid1   
tends  to disintegrate the parts of     
stones1 the oxygen acts upon vegetable  
matter4  ,and this great chemical agent 
is at once necessary1 in all the        

processes of life and in all those of   
decay1 in which ,nature1 as it were1    
takes again to herself those            
instruments1 organs1 and powers1 which  
had  for a while been borrowed and      
employed for the purpose or the wants of
  the living principle4  ,almost        
everything effected by rapid            
combinations  in combustion may also be 
effected gradually by the slow          
absorption of  oxygen2 and though the   
productions of the animal and vegetable 
kingdom  are much more submitted to the 
power of atmospheric agents than those  
of  the mineral kingdom1 yet1 as in the 
instances which have just been          
mentioned1 oxygen gradually destroys the
 equilibrium of the elements of  stones1
 and tends to reduce into powder1 to    
render fit for soils1 even  the hardest 
aggregates belonging to our globe4      
,electricity1 as a  chemical agent1 may 
be considered not only as directly      
producing an  infinite variety of       
changes1 but likewise as influencing    

almost all which  take place4  ,there   
are not two substances on the surface of
 the globe  that are not in different   
electrical relations to each other2 and 
chemical attraction itself seems to be a
 peculiar form of the exhibition  of    
electrical attraction2 and wherever the 
atmosphere1 or water1 or any  part of   
the surface of the earth gains          
accumulated electricity of a  different 
kind from the contiguous surfaces1 the  
tendency of this  electricity is to     
produce new arrangements of the parts of
 these  surfaces2 thus a positively     
electrified cloud1 acting even at a     
great  distance on a moistened stone1   
tends to attract its oxygenous1 or      
acidiform or acid1 ingredients1 and a   
negatively electrified cloud has  the   
same effect upon its earthy1 alkaline1  
or metallic matter4  ,and the  silent   
and slow operation of electricity is    
much more important in the  economy of  
,nature than its grand and impressive   
operation in lightning  and thunder4    

,the chemical agencies of water and air 
are assisted by  those of electricity2  
and their joint effects combined with   
those of  gravitation and the mechanical
 ones ,i first described are sufficient 
to  account for the results of time4    
,but the physical powers of ,nature in  
producing decay are assisted likewise by
 certain agencies or energies of        
organised beings4  ,a polished surface  
of a building or a statue is no  sooner 
made rough from the causes that have    
been mentioned than the seeds  of       
lichens and mosses1 which are constantly
 floating in our atmosphere1  make it a 
place of repose1 grow1 and increase1 and
 from their death1  their decay1 and    
decomposition carbonaceous matter is    
produced1 and at  length a soil is      
formed1 in which grass can fix its      
roots4  ,in the  crevices of walls1     
where this soil is washed down1 even the
 seeds of  trees grow1 and1 gradually as
 a building becomes more ruined1 ivy and
  other parasitical plants cover it4    

,even the animal creation lends its  aid
 in the process of destruction when man 
no longer labours for the  conservation 
of his works4  ,the fox burrows amongst 
ruins1 bats and birds  nestle in the    
cavities in walls1 the snake and the    
lizard likewise make  them their        
habitation4  ,insects act upon a smaller
 scale1 but by their  united energies   
sometimes produce great effect2 the ant1
 by establishing  her colony and forming
 her magazines1 often saps the          
foundations of the  strongest buildings1
 and the most insignificant creatures   
triumph1 as it  were1 over the grandest 
works of man4  ,add to these sure and   
slow  operations the devastations of    
war1 the effects of the destructive zeal
  of bigotry1 the predatory fury of     
barbarians seeking for concealed wealth 
under the foundations of buildings1 and 
tearing from them every metallic        
substance1 and it is rather to be       
wondered that any of the works of the   
great nations of antiquity are still in 

existence4    ,phil4--,your view of the 
causes of devastation really is a       
melancholy  one4  ,nor do ,i see any    
remedy2 the most important causes will  
always  operate4  ,yet1 supposing the   
constant existence of a highly civilised
  people1 the ravages of time might be  
repaired1 and by defending the  finest  
works of art from the external          
atmosphere1 their changes would be      
scarcely perceptible4    ,eub4--,i doubt
 much whether it is for the interests of
 a people that its  public works should 
be of a durable kind4  ,one of the great
 causes of the  decline of the ,roman   
,empire was that the people of the      
,republic and of  the first empire left 
nothing for their posterity to do2      
aqueducts1  temples1 forums1 everything 
was supplied1 and there were no objects 
to  awaken activity1 no necessity to    
stimulate their inventive faculties1 and
  hardly any wants to call forth their  
industry4    ,the ,unknown4--,at least1 
you must allow the importance of        

preserving  objects of the fine arts4   
,almost everything we have worthy of    
admiration  is owing to what has been   
preserved from the ,greek school1 and   
the  nations who have not possessed     
these works or models have made little  
or  no progress towards perfection4     
,nor does it seem that a mere imitation 
of ,nature is sufficient to produce the 
beautiful or perfect2 but the  climate1 
the manners1 customs1 and dress of the  
people1 its genius and  taste1 all      
co-operate4  ,such principles of        
conservation as ,philalethes  has       
referred to are obvious4  ,no works of  
excellence ought to be exposed  to the  
atmosphere1 and it is a great object to 
preserve them in  apartments of equable 
temperature and extremely dry4  ,the    
roofs of  magnificent buildings should  
be of materials not likely to be        
dissolved  by water or changed by air4  
,many electrical conductors should be   
placed  so as to prevent the slow or the
 rapid effects of atmospheric           

electricity4  ,in painting1 lapis lazuli
 or coloured hard glasses1 in  which the
 oxides are not liable to change1 should
 be used1 and should be  laid on marble 
or stucco encased in stone1 and no      
animal or vegetable  substances1 except 
pure carbonaceous matter1 should be used
 in the  pigments1 and none should be   
mixed with the varnishes4               
,eub4--,yet1 when all is done that can  
be done in the work of  conservation1 it
 is only producing a difference in the  
degree of  duration4  ,and from the     
statements that our friend has made it  
is evident  that none of the works of a 
mortal being can be eternal1 as none of 
the  combinations of a limited intellect
 can be infinite4  ,the operations of   
,nature1 when slow1 are no less sure2   
however man may for a time usurp        
dominion over her1 she is certain of    
recovering her empire4  ,he converts    
her rocks1 her stones1 her trees1 into  
forms of palaces1 houses1 and  ships2 he
 employs the metals found in the bosom  

of the earth as  instruments of power1  
and the sands and clays which constitute
 its  surface as ornaments and resources
 of luxury2 he imprisons air by water1  
and tortures water by fire to change or 
modify or destroy the natural  forms of 
things4  ,but1 in some lustrums his     
works begin to change1 and in  a few    
centuries they decay and are in ruins2  
and his mighty temples1  framed as it   
were for immortal and divine purposes1  
and his bridges  formed of granite and  
ribbed with iron1 and his walls for     
defence1 and  the splendid monuments by 
which he has endeavoured to give        
eternity even  to his perishable        
remains1 are gradually destroyed2 and   
these structures1  which have resisted  
the waves of the ocean1 the tempests of 
the sky1 and  the stroke of the         
lightning1 shall yield to the operation 
of the dews of  heaven1 of frost1 rain1 
vapour1 and imperceptible atmospheric   
influences2  and1 as the worm devours   
the lineaments of his mortal beauty1 so 

the  lichens and the moss and the most  
insignificant plants shall feed upon    
his columns and his pyramids1 and the   
most humble and insignificant  insects  
shall undermine and sap the foundations 
of his colossal works1  and make their  
habitations amongst the ruins of his    
palaces and the  falling seats of his   
earthly glory4    ,phil4--,your history 
of the laws of the inevitable           
destruction of  material forms recalls  
to my memory our discussion at          
,adelsberg4  ,the  changes of the       
material universe are in harmony with   
those which belong  to the human body1  
and which you suppose to be the frame or
 machinery of  the sentient principle4  
,may we not venture to imagine that the 
visible  and tangible world1 with which 
we are acquainted by our sensations1    
bears  the same relation to the ,divine 
and ,infinite ,intelligence that our    
organs  bear to our mind1 with this only
 difference1 that in the changes of the 
divine system there is no decay1 there  

being in the order of things a  perfect 
unity1 and all the powers springing from
 one will and being a  consequence of   
that will1 are perfectly and unalterably
 balanced4  ,newton  seemed to          
apprehend1 that in the laws of the      
planetary motions there was  a principle
 which would ultimately be the cause of 
the destruction of the  system4         
,laplace1 by pursuing and refining the  
principles of our great  philosopher1   
has proved that what appeared sources of
 disorder are1 in  fact1 the perfecting 
machinery of the system1 and that the   
principle of  conservation is as eternal
 as that of motion4    ,the             
,unknown4--,i dare not offer any        
speculations on this grand and awful    
subject4  ,we can hardly comprehend the 
cause of a simple atmospheric           
phenomenon1 such as the fall of a heavy 
body from a meteor2 we cannot  even     
embrace in one view the millionth part  
of the objects surrounding  us1 and yet 
we have the presumption to reason upon  

the infinite universe  and the eternal  
mind by which it was created and is     
governed4  ,on these  subjects ,i have  
no confidence in reason1 ,i trust only  
to faith2 and1 as  far as we ought to   
inquire1 we have no other guide but     
revelation4    ,phil4--,i agree with you
 that whenever we attempt metaphysical  
speculations1 we must begin with a      
foundation of faith4  ,and being sure   
from revelation that ,god is omnipotent 
and omnipresent1 it appears to me  no   
improper use of our faculties to trace  
even in the natural universe  the acts  
of ,his power and the results of ,his   
wisdom1 and to draw  parallels from the 
infinite to the finite mind4  ,remember1
 we are taught  that man was created in 
the image of ,god1 and1 ,i think1 it    
cannot be  doubted that in the progress 
of society man has been made a great    
instrument by his energies and labours  
for improving the moral universe4       
,compare the ,greeks and ,romans with   
the ,assyrians and ,babylonians1 and the

  ancient ,greeks and ,romans with the  
nations of modern ,christendom1 and it  
cannot1 ,i think1 be questioned that    
there has been a great superiority in   
the latter nations1 and that their      
improvements have been subservient to  a
 more exalted state of intellectual and 
religious existence4  ,if this  little  
globe has been so modified by its       
powerful and active inhabitants1  ,i    
cannot help thinking that in other      
systems beings of a superior nature1    
under the influence of a divine will1   
may act nobler parts4  ,we know from    
the sacred writings that there are      
intelligences of a higher nature than   
man1 and ,i cannot help sometimes       
referring to my vision in the           
,colosaeum1  and in supposing some acts 
of power of those genii or seraphs      
similar to  those which ,i have imagined
 in the higher planetary systems4       
,there is  much reason to infer from    
astronomical observations that great    
changes  take place in the system of the

 fixed stars3 ,sir ,william ,herschel1  
indeed1 seems to have believed that he  
saw nebulous or luminous matter in  the 
process of forming suns1 and there are  
some astronomers who believe  that stars
 have been extinct2 but it is more      
probable that they have  disappeared    
from peculiar motions4  ,it is1 perhaps1
 rather a poetical  than a philosophical
 idea1 yet ,i cannot help forming the   
opinion that  genii or seraphic         
intelligences may inhabit these systems 
and may be the  ministers of the eternal
 mind in producing changes in them      
similar to  those which have taken place
 on the earth4  ,time is almost a human 
word  and change entirely a human idea2 
in the system of ,nature we should      
rather say progress than change4  ,the  
sun appears to sink in the ocean in     
darkness1 but it rises in another       
hemisphere2 the ruins of a city fall1   
but they are often used to form more    
magnificent structures as at ,rome2     
but1 even when they are destroyed1 so as

 to produce only dust1 ,nature  asserts 
her empire over them1 and the vegetable 
world rises in constant  youth1 and--in 
a period of annual successions1 by the  
labours of man  providing               
food--vitality1 and beauty upon the     
wrecks of monuments1 which  were once   
raised for purposes of glory1 but which 
are now applied to  objects of utility4