,,lumen        ,the ,one ,hundred and   
,forty-first of the ,minor ,planets1    
situated between ,mars and ,jupiter1    
which was discovered      at the ,paris 
,observatory by ,m4 ,paul ,henry1 on the
 #acth      of ,january #ahge1 received 
the name of ,,lumen in honour      of   
the ,author of this ,work4              
,,lumen        ,,by      ,,camille      
,,flammarion        ,,authorised        
,,translation ,,from ,,the ,,french     
,,by      ,a4 ,a4 ,m4 ,,and ,r4 ,m4     
,with portions of the last chapter      
written specially      for the ,english 
,edition          ,,new ,,york          
,,dodd1 ,,mead ,,and ,,company          
#ahig              ,copyright1 #ahig1   
,,by ,,dodd1 ,,mead ,,and ,,company4    
,fifty-two thousand copies of the       
,french original      of this volume    
have been sold        ,university       
,press3      ,,john ,,wilson ,,and      
,,son1 ,,cambridge1 ,u4,s4,a4           
,,contents          ,,first             
,,conversation                          

,,page      ,,resurrectio ,,pr,,teriti  
#a-fc        ,death--,the soul--,the    
hour of death--,separation of the       
soul--,sight of the soul in             
,heaven--,the ,solar ,system in      the
 heavens--,the ,earth as seen from the  
heavens--,the      star                 
,capella--,velocity of light--,the      
terrestrial planet      seen from       
afar--,the worlds seen from             
afar--,lumen--,lumen      sees again his
 own life4          ,,second            
,,conversation        ,,refluum         
,,temporis                       #fd-aje
        ,journey on a ray of            
light--,events                          
retraced--,re-ascending the             
,ages--,psychical      optics--,light   
and sound--,man organised from the      
planet--,the soul and destiny4          
,,third ,,conversation        ,,homo    
,,homunculus                            
#ajf-abh        ,the sphere of human    
observation--,time and space--,events   
in space--,time1 space1 and eternity4   

,,fourth ,,conversation                 
,,anteriores ,,vit                      
#abi-aif        ,space and light--,the  
star ,gamma in ,virgo--,the system      
of ,gamma in ,virgo--,former            
existence--,the plurality      of       
existences--,the unknown--,the          
constellations--,the                    
elements--,life on the earth--,the      
process of      alimentation--,nutritive
 atmospheres--,poetry on the            
,earth--,a humanity--,the organisation  
of beings--,the      development of     
life--,the genealogical tree of         
life--,the      men-plants--,souls and  
atoms--,other senses--,atoms and        
monads4          ,,fifth ,,conversation 
,,ingenium ,,audax3 ,,natura ,,audacior 
#aig-bbd        ,a world in             
,orion--,analysis of the nervous        
system--,the      ,commune--,animated   
molecules--,various forms of            
life--,infinite diversity on            
,sirius--,phosphorescent                
passions--,lives too long--,infinite    

diversity--,the      magnifying power of
 time--,a chrono-telescope--,light4     
,,lumen          ,,first ,,conversation 
,,resurrectio ,,pr,,teriti              
,,qu,,rens4 ,you promised1 dear ,lumen1 
to describe to me that supremest of     
moments which immediately succeeds      
death1 and to relate to me how1 by  a   
natural law1 singular though it may     
seem1 you lived again your past  life1  
and penetrated a hitherto-unrevealed    
mystery4    ,,lumen4 ,yes1 my old       
friend1 ,i will now keep my word2 and ,i
 trust that1  thanks to the life-long   
communion of our souls1 you will be able
 to  understand the phenomenon you deem 
so strange4    ,sidenote3 ,life and     
death4    ,there are many conceptions   
which a mortal mind finds difficult to  
grasp4 ,death1 which has delivered me   
from the weak and easily-tired  senses  
of the body1 has not yet touched you    
with its liberating hand2  you still    
belong to the living world1 and in spite
 of your isolation  in this retreat of  

yours amid the royal towers of the      
,faubourg ,st4  ,jaques1 you still      
belong to the life of ,earth1 and are   
occupied with  its petty distinctions4  
,you must not1 therefore1 be surprised  
if1  whilst ,i am explaining to you this
 mystery1 ,i beg of you to isolate      
yourself still further from outer       
things1 and to give me the most  fixed  
attention of which your mind is capable4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,my one desire is to    
listen to your revelations2 speak1      
therefore1 without fear and to the      
point1 and deign to acquaint me with    
those impressions1 as yet to me unknown1
 which are experienced upon the         
cessation of life4    ,,lumen4 ,from    
what point do you wish me to begin my   
recital8    ,,qu,,rens4 ,if you can     
recall it1 ,i shall be pleased if you   
will begin at  the moment when my       
trembling hands closed your eyes4       
,sidenote3 ,death4    ,,lumen4 ,the     
separation of the thinking principle    
from the nervous system  leaves no      

remembrance4 ,it is as though the       
impressions made upon the  brain which  
constitute memory were entirely effaced1
 to be renewed  afterwards in another   
form4 ,the first sensation of identity  
felt  after death resembles that which  
is felt during life on awakening in  the
 morning1 when still confused with the  
visions of the night1 the  mind1        
wavering between the past and the       
future1 endeavours to recover  itself1  
and at the same time to retain the      
vanishing dreams1 the  pictures and     
events of which are still passing before
 it4 ,at times when  thus absorbed in   
the recollection of a delightful dream1 
the eyelids  close1 and in a half       
slumber the visions reappear4 ,it is    
thus that our  thinking faculty is      
divided at death1 between a reality that
 it does  not yet comprehend and a dream
 which has completely disappeared4 ,the 
most conflicting impressions mingle in  
and confuse the mind1 and if1           
overwhelmed by perishable feelings1 a   

regret comes into the mind for  the     
world that has been left behind1 a sense
 of indefinable sadness  weighs upon and
 darkens the imagination and hinders    
clearness of vision4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,did
 you feel these sensations immediately  
after death8    ,sidenote3 ,no such     
thing as death4    ,sidenote3 ,not      
death1 but change4    ,,lumen4 ,after   
death8 ,there is no such thing as death4
 ,what you call  death--the separation  
of the body from the soul--is not1      
strictly  speaking1 effected in a       
material form like the chemical         
separation of  a combination of elements
 such as one sees in the world of       
matter4 ,one  is no more conscious of   
this final separation1 which seems to   
you so  cruel1 than the new-born babe is
 aware of his birth4 ,we are born into  
the heavenly life as unconsciously as we
 were born into the earthly2  only the  
soul1 no longer enveloped by its bodily 
covering1 acquires  more rapidly the    
consciousness of its individuality and  

of its powers4  ,this faculty of        
perception varies essentially between   
one soul and  another4 ,there are those 
who1 during their earthly life1 never   
lift  their souls toward heaven1 and    
never feel a desire to penetrate the    
laws of creation2 these1 being still    
dominated by fleshly appetites1  remain 
long in a troubled and semi-conscious   
state4 ,there are others  whose         
aspirations have happily flown upwards  
towards the eternal  heights2 to these  
the moment of separation comes with     
calmness and  peace4 ,they know that    
progress is the law of being1 and that  
the  life to come will be better than   
that which they have quitted4 ,they     
follow1 step by step1 that lethargy     
which reaches at last to the  heart1 and
 when1 slowly and insensibly1 the last  
pulsation ceases1  the departed are     
already above the body whose falling    
asleep they  have been watching4        
,freeing themselves from the magnetic   
bonds1 they  feel themselves swiftly    

borne1 by an unknown force1 toward the  
point  of creation1 to which their      
sentiments1 their aspirations1 and their
  hopes have drawn them4    ,,qu,,rens4 
,the conversation into which ,i have    
drawn you1 my dear master1  recalls to  
my memory the dialogues of ,plato on the
 immortality of the  soul2 and as       
,phdrus asked his master1 ,socrates1 on 
the day he had  to drink the hemlock in 
obedience to the iniquitous sentence of 
the  ,athenians1 ,i ask you--you who    
have passed the dread boundary--what is 
the essential difference which          
distinguishes the soul from the body1   
since the latter dies1 whilst the former
 cannot die8    ,sidenote3 ,life viewed 
scientifically4    ,,lumen4 ,i shall not
 imitate ,socrates by giving a          
metaphysical answer to  this question1  
nor shall ,i1 with the theologians1     
reply in a dogmatic  way2 but ,i will   
give you instead a scientific answer1   
for you1 like  myself1 accept only as of
 real value the results of positive     

knowledge4    ,sidenote3 ,renewal of the
 body4    ,sidenote3 ,atoms and         
molecules4    ,we find in the human     
being three principles1 different1 and  
yet in  complete union3 #a4 ,the body2  
#b4 ,the vital energy2 #c4 ,the soul4 ,i
  name them thus in order that ,i may   
follow the a posteriori method4  ,the   
body is an association of molecules     
which are themselves formed  of groups  
of atoms4 ,the atoms are inert1 passive1
 immutable1 and  indestructible4 ,they  
enter into the organism by means of     
respiration  and alimentation2 they     
renew the tissues incessantly1 and are  
continually replaced by others1 and when
 cast out from the body go to  form     
other bodies4 ,in a few months the human
 body is entirely renewed1  and neither 
in the blood1 nor in the flesh1 nor in  
the brain1 nor in  the bones1 does an   
atom remain of those which constituted  
the body  a few months before4 ,the     
atoms travel without ceasing from body  
to  body1 chiefly by the grand medium of

 the atmosphere4 ,the molecule of  iron 
is the same whether it be incorporated  
in the blood which throbs  in the       
temples of an illustrious man1 or form  
part of a fragment of  rusty iron2 the  
molecule of oxygen is the same in the   
blush raised by  a loving glance1 or    
when in union with hydrogen it forms the
 flame of  one of the thousand jets of  
gas that illuminate ,paris by night1 or 
when  it falls from the clouds in the   
shape of a drop of water4 ,the bodies   
of the living are formed of the ashes of
 the dead1 and if all the dead  were to 
be resuscitated1 the last comers might  
find the material for  their bodies     
wanting1 owing to their predecessors    
having appropriated  all that was       
available4 ,moreover1 during life many  
exchanges are made  between enemies and 
friends1 between men1 animals1 and      
plants1 which  amaze the analyst who    
looks at them with the eyes of science4 
,that  which you breathe1 eat1 and      
drink1 has been breathed1 drunk1 and    

eaten  millions of times before4 ,such  
is the human body1 an assemblage of     
molecules of matter which are constantly
 being renewed4 ,the principle  by which
 these molecules are grouped according  
to a certain form so as  to produce an  
organism1 is the vital energy of life4  
,the inert1 passive  atoms1 incapable of
 guiding themselves1 are ruled by vital 
force1 which  calls them1 makes them    
come1 takes hold of them1 places and    
disposes of  them according to certain  
laws1 and forms this                    
marvellously-organised  body1 which the 
anatomist and the physiologist          
contemplate with wonder4    ,sidenote3  
,atoms indestructible4    ,sidenote3    
,vital energy or force in nature and    
man4    ,sidenote3 ,vital force has     
limits4    ,the atoms are               
indestructible2 vital force is not3     
atoms have no age2  vital force is born1
 grows old1 and dies4 ,why is an        
octogenarian  older than a youth of     
twenty1 since the atoms of which his    

body is  composed have only belonged to 
his frame a few months1 and since  atoms
 are neither old nor young8 ,the        
constituent elements of his  body when  
analysed have no age1 and what is old in
 him is solely his  vital energy1 which 
is but one of the forms of the general  
energy of  the universe1 and which in   
his case has become exhausted4 ,life is 
transmitted by generation1 and sustains 
the body instinctively1 and1  as it     
were1 unconsciously4 ,it has a beginning
 and an end4 ,it is an  unconscious     
physical force1 which organises and     
maintains the body  of which it is the  
preserving element4 ,the soul is an     
intellectual1  thinking1 immaterial     
being4 ,the world of ideas in which the 
soul lives  is not the world of matter4 
,it has no age1 it does not grow old4   
,it is  not changed in a few months like
 the body2 for after months1 years1     
dozens of years1 we feel that we have   
preserved our identity--that  our ego1  
ourself1 is always ours4 ,on the other  

hand1 if the soul did  not exist1 and if
 the faculty of thinking were only a    
function of the  brain1 we should no    
longer be able to say that we have a    
body1 for  it would be our body1 our    
brain1 that would have us4 ,besides1    
from  time to time our consciousness    
would change2 we should no longer have  
a feeling of identity1 and we should no 
longer be responsible for the           
resolutions1 secreted by the molecules1 
which had passed through the  brain many
 months before4 ,the soul is not the    
vital force2 for that  is limited and is
 transmitted by generation1 has no      
consciousness of  itself1 is born1 grows
 up1 declines1 and dies4 ,all these     
states are  opposed to those of the     
soul1 which is immaterial1 unlimited1   
not  transmissible1 conscious4          
,sidenote3 ,the soul has no limits4     
,the development of the vital force may 
be represented geometrically  by a      
spindle1 which swells out gradually to  
the middle1 and decreases  again to a   

point4 ,when the soul reaches the middle
 of life1 it does  not become less1 like
 a spindle1 and dwindle down to the end1
 but  follows its parabolic curve into  
the infinite4 ,moreover1 the mode of    
existence of the soul is essentially    
different from that of the vital  force4
 ,it lives in a spiritual way4 ,the     
conceptions of the soul1 such  as the   
sentiments of justice or injustice1 of  
truth or falsehood1 of  good and evil1  
as well as knowledge1 mathematics1      
analysis1 synthesis1  contemplation1    
admiration1 love1 affection or hatred1  
esteem or  contempt--in a word1 the     
occupations of the soul1 whatever they  
may be1  are of an intellectual and     
moral order1 which neither the atoms nor
  the physical forces can apprehend1 and
 which have as real an existence  as the
 physical order of things4 ,the chemical
 or mechanical work of  cerebral cells1 
however subtle they may be1 can never   
produce an  intellectual judgment1 such1
 for instance1 as the knowledge of the  

fact  that four multiplied by four is   
equal to sixteen1 or that the three     
angles of a triangle are equal to two   
right angles4    ,sidenote3 ,the soul   
survives the body4    ,these three      
elements of the human being are         
reproduced in the universe  at large3   
#a4 ,the atoms1 the material world      
inert1 passive2 #b4 ,the  physical      
forces which regulate the world1 and    
which are continually  transformed into 
one another or into others2 #c4 ,god1   
the eternal and  infinite spirit1 the   
intellectual organiser of the           
mathematical  laws which these forces   
obey1 the unknown being in whom reside  
the  supreme principles of truth1 of    
beauty1 of goodness4 ,the soul can be   
attached to the body only by means of   
the vital force4 ,when life is  extinct 
the soul naturally separates from the   
organism and ceases to  have any        
immediate connection with time and      
space4 ,after death the soul  remains in
 that part of the universe where the    

,earth happens to be at  the moment of  
its separation from the body4 ,you know 
that the ,earth is  a planet in the     
heavens like ,venus and ,jupiter4 ,the  
,earth continues to  run in its orbit at
 the rate of #ab1gjj kilometres an hour1
 so that the  soul an hour after death  
is at that distance from its body       
because of  its immobility in space1    
when no longer subject to the laws of   
matter4  ,thus we are in the heavens    
immediately after death1 where1 however1
 we  have also been during the whole of 
our lives2 but we then had weight  which
 held us to the ,earth4 ,i must add1    
however1 that as a rule the  soul takes 
some time to disengage itself from the  
nervous organism1  and that it          
occasionally remains many days1 and even
 many months1  magnetically connected   
with the old body1 which it is reluctant
 to  forsake4 ,moreover1 it has special 
faculties by means of which it can      
transport itself from one point of space
 to another4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,now for the

 first time ,i am able to understand    
death as a  natural process1 and to     
comprehend the individual existence of  
the  soul1 its independence of the body 
and of life1 its personality1 its       
survival1 and its obvious position in   
the universe4 ,this synthetic  theory   
has prepared me1 ,i hope1 to understand 
and appreciate your  revelation4 ,but   
you said that a singular event struck   
you on your  entrance into the eternal  
life2 at what moment did that take      
place8    ,sidenote3 ,the hour of death4
    ,sidenote3 ,last impressions of the 
parting soul4    ,sidenote3 ,separation 
of the soul4    ,,lumen4 ,well1 my dear 
friend1 let me go on with my story4     
,midnight  had just struck1 you will    
remember1 on the sonorous bell of my old
  timepiece1 and the full ,moon shed its
 pale light on my dying bed1  when my   
daughter1 my grandson1 and other friends
 withdrew to take  some rest4 ,you      
wished to remain with me1 and you       
promised my daughter  not to leave me   

till the morning4 ,i would thank you for
 your warm and  tender devotion if we   
were not so truly brothers4 ,we had been
 alone  about half-an-hour1 for the star
 of night was declining1 when ,i took   
your hand and told you that life had    
already abandoned my extremities4  ,you 
assured me that it was not so2 but ,i   
was calmly observing my  physiological  
state1 and ,i knew that in a few moments
 ,i should cease  to breathe4 ,you moved
 gently towards the room where my       
children were  sleeping1 but            
concentrating my powers by an extreme   
effort ,i stopped  you4 ,returning with 
tears in your eyes1 you said to me1 ,you
 are right2  you have given them your   
last wishes1 and to-morrow morning will 
be  time enough to send for them4 ,there
 was in these words a contradiction     
that ,i felt without expressing it to   
you4 ,do you remember that then ,i      
asked you to open the window4 ,it was a 
beautiful night in ,october2 more       
beautiful than those of the ,scottish   

bards sung by ,ossian4 ,not far from    
the horizon1 just level with my eyes1 ,i
 could distinguish the ,pleiades1       
veiled by mist1 whilst ,castor and      
,pollux floated triumphantly a little   
higher up4 ,above1 forming a triangle   
with them1 shone the beautiful  star    
with rays of gold1 which1 on maps of the
 zodiac1 is marked  ,capella4 ,you see  
how clearly ,i remember it all4 ,when   
you had opened  the window the perfume  
of the roses1 sleeping under the wings  
of night1  ascended upwards to me and   
mingled with the silent rays of the     
stars4  ,i cannot express to you how    
sweet were these last impressions that  
,i  received from the ,earth2 language  
fails me to describe what ,i felt4 ,in  
the hours of my sweetest happiness1 of  
my tenderest love1 ,i never felt  such  
an intensity of joy1 so glorious a      
serenity1 such real bliss1 as  ,i       
experienced then in the ecstatic        
enjoyment of the perfumed breath  of the
 flowers and the tender gleam of the    

distant stars4444 ,when you  bent over  
me ,i seemed to return to the outer     
world1 and with my hands  clasped over  
my breast1 my sight and my thoughts1    
united in prayer1  together took flight 
into space4 ,before my ears closed for  
ever ,i heard  the last words as they   
fell from my lips3 ,adieu6 my old       
friend1 ,i feel  that death is bearing  
me away to those unknown regions where  
,i trust we  shall one day meet4 ,when  
the dawn effaces these stars1 only my   
mortal  body will be here4 ,repeat then 
to my daughter my last wish3 to bring up
  her children in the contemplation of  
the eternal goodness4 ,and whilst  you  
wept1 as you knelt by my bed1 ,i added1 
,recite the beautiful  prayer of ,jesus1
 and you began with trembling voice1    
,our ,father1 444  ,forgive us 444 our  
trespasses1 444 as we 444 forgive those 
444 that 444  trespass 444 against      
us4444 ,these were the last thoughts    
that passed  through my soul by means of
 the senses2 my sight grew dim as ,i    

looked  at the star ,capella1 and       
immediately ,i became unconscious4      
,sidenote3 ,time does not exist outside 
the ,earth    ,years1 days1 and hours   
are constituted by the movements of the 
,earth4  ,in space1 outside these       
movements time does not exist2 indeed1  
it is  impossible to have any notion of 
time4 ,i think1 however1 that the event 
,i am now going to describe to you      
occurred on the very day of my death1   
for1 as you will see presently1 my body 
was not yet buried when this  vision    
appeared to my soul4    ,sidenote3      
,sight of the soul in the heavens4      
,as ,i was born in #agic1 ,i was then1  
in #ahfd1 in my seventy-second year1  so
 ,i was not a little surprised to find  
myself animated by a vivacity  of mind  
as ardent as in the prime of my life4 ,i
 had no body1 and yet  ,i was not       
incorporeal2 ,i felt and saw that ,i was
 constituted of a  substance which1     
however1 bore no analogy to the material
 form of  terrestrial bodies4 ,i know   

not how ,i traversed the celestial      
spaces1  but by some unknown force ,i   
soon found that ,i was approaching a    
magnificent golden sun1 the splendour of
 which did not1 however1  dazzle me4 ,i 
perceived that it was surrounded by a   
number of worlds1  each enveloped in one
 or more rings4 ,by the same unconscious
 force  ,i was driven towards one of    
these rings1 and was a spectator of the 
marvellous phenomena of light1 for the  
starry spaces were crossed  everywhere  
by rainbow bridges4 ,i lost sight of the
 golden sun1 and  ,i found myself in a  
sort of night coloured with hues of a   
thousand  shades4 ,the sight of my soul 
far exceeded that of my body1 and1 to   
my surprise1 this power of sight        
appeared to be subject to my will4  ,the
 sight of the soul is so marvellous that
 ,i must not stop to-day to  describe   
it4 ,suffice it to say that instead of  
seeing the stars in the  heavens as you 
see them on the ,earth1 ,i could        
distinguish clearly the  worlds         

revolving round each other2 and strange 
to say1 when ,i desired  to examine more
 closely these worlds1 and to avoid the 
brilliance of  the central sun1 it      
disappeared from my sight1 and left me  
under the  most favourable conditions   
for observing any one of them ,i        
wished4#a  ,further1 when my attention  
was concentrated on one particular      
world1  ,i could distinguish its        
continents and its seas1 its clouds and 
its  rivers1 although they did not      
appear to become larger1 as objects seen
  through a telescope do4 ,i saw any    
special thing that ,i fixed my sight    
upon1 such as a town or a tract of      
country1 with perfect clearness and     
distinctness4    ,sidenote3 ,the soul   
clothed in a new body4    ,when ,i      
reached this ringed world ,i found      
myself clothed in a form like  that of  
its inhabitants4 ,it appeared that my   
soul had attracted to  itself the       
constituent atoms of a new body4 ,living
 bodies on the ,earth  are composed of  

molecules which do not touch one        
another1 and which are  constantly      
renewed by respiration1 by nutrition1   
and by assimilation4  ,the envelope of  
the soul is formed more quickly in that 
far-off world4  ,i felt myself more     
alive than the supernatural beings whose
 passions  and sorrows ,dante           
celebrates4 ,one of the special         
faculties of this new  world is that of 
seeing very far4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but    
pardon a rather simple remark4 ,is it   
not likely that  the worlds or planets  
that revolve round each star must mingle
 in a  distant view with their central  
sun2 for instance1 when you see our ,sun
  from afar with the planets of his     
system1 is it possible for you to       
distinguish our ,earth amongst them8    
,sidenote3 ,the soul's powers of vision4
    ,,lumen4 ,you have raised the single
 geometrical objection which seems  to  
contradict all previous experience4 ,in 
point of fact1 at a certain  distance   
the planets are absorbed in their suns1 

and our terrestrial  eyes would have    
difficulty in distinguishing them4 ,you 
know that  from ,saturn the ,earth is   
invisible4 ,but you must remember that  
this  discrepancy arises as much from   
the imperfection of our sight as from   
the geometrical law of the decrease of  
surfaces4 ,now1 in the world  on which  
,i had just landed1 the inhabitants are 
not incarnated in a  gross form1 as we  
are here below1 but are free beings1 and
 endowed  with eminently powerful       
faculties of perception4 ,they can1 as  
,i have  told you1 isolate the source of
 light from the object lighted1 and1    
moreover1 they can perceive distinctly  
details which at that distance  would be
 absolutely hidden from the eyes of     
those dwelling upon this  ,earth4       
,,qu,,rens4 ,do they make use1 then1 of 
instruments superior to our  telescopes8
    ,,lumen4 ,well1 if1 in order to     
realise this marvellous faculty1 you    
find  it easier to suppose that they    
possess such instruments1 you may do so1

  in theory4 ,imagine a telescope which1
 by a succession of lenses and  an      
arrangement of diaphragms1 brings near  
in succession these distant  worlds1 and
 isolates each one in the field of view 
in order to study it  separately4 ,i    
should also inform you that these beings
 are endowed with  a special sense by   
which they can regulate at will the     
powers of their  marvellous organs of   
sight4    ,and you must further         
understand that this power and this     
regulation  of vision are natural in    
those worlds1 and not supernatural4 ,in 
order  to conceive of the faculties     
possessed by these ultra-terrestrial    
beings1 reflect for a moment upon the   
eyes of some insects--of those1  for    
instance1 which have the power to draw  
in1 to lengthen out1 or to  flatten the 
crystalline lens so as to make it       
magnify in different  degrees2 or of    
those which can concentrate on the field
 of view a  multitude of eyes in order  
to bring them to bear upon the desired  

object4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,yes1 ,i can     
imagine it to be possible4 ,then you are
 able to see  the ,earth1 and to        
distinguish from above even the towns   
and villages of  our lower world8       
,sidenote3 ,lumen on a star world4      
,,lumen4 ,let me proceed with my        
description4 ,i found myself then upon  
the ring-shaped world1 the size of which
 ,i told you is great enough  to make   
two hundred worlds like yours4 ,the     
mountain on which ,i stood  was covered 
with trees woven into arboreal palaces4 
,these fairy-like  chateaux seemed to me
 either to grow naturally1 or else to be
 produced  by a skilful arrangement of  
branches and of tall flowering plants4  
,the  town1 where ,i entered it1 was    
thickly peopled1 and on the summit of   
the  mountain ,i noticed a group of old 
men1 twenty or thirty in number1 who    
were looking with the most fixed and    
anxious attention at a beautiful  star  
in the southern constellation of the    
,altar on the confines of the  ,milky   

,way4 ,they did not observe my arrival  
amongst them1 so absorbed  were they in 
observing and examining this star1 or   
perhaps one of the  worlds belonging to 
its system4    ,sidenote3 ,lumen learns 
the language of spirits4    ,as for     
myself1 ,i became aware1 on arriving in 
this atmosphere1 that  ,i was clothed in
 a body resembling that of its          
inhabitants1 and to  my still greater   
surprise ,i heard these old men speaking
 of the  ,earth--yes1 of the ,earth in  
that universal spirit-language which all
  beings comprehend from the seraphim to
 the trees of the forest4 ,and not  only
 were they talking about the ,earth1 but
 about ,france4 ,what can  be the       
meaning of these legal massacres8 they  
said4 ,is it possible  that brute force 
reigns supreme there8 ,will civil war   
decimate these  people1 and will rivers 
of blood run in this capital1 at one    
time so  magnificent and so gay8    ,i  
could not follow the drift of this      
speech1 ,i who had just come from  the  

,earth with the swiftness of thought1   
and who but yesterday had  breathed in  
the heart of this tranquil and peaceful 
capital4 ,i joined  the group1 fixing my
 eyes1 as they did1 on the beautiful    
star1 and ,i  tried at the same time to 
understand what they were talking about4
  ,presently ,i saw to the left of the  
star a pale-blue sphere--that was  the  
,earth4    ,sidenote3 ,the ,solar       
,system in the heavens4    ,you are     
aware1 my friend1 that1 notwithstanding 
the apparent paradox1  the ,earth is    
really a star in the sky1 as ,i reminded
 you just now4 ,seen  from one of the   
stars comparatively near to your system1
 it appears  to the spiritual sight1 of 
which ,i have told you1 like a family of
  stars composed of eight principal     
worlds crowding round the ,sun1 which   
is itself reduced to a star4 ,jupiter   
and ,saturn first arrest the  attention1
 because of their great size2 then one  
notices ,uranus and  ,neptune1 and at   
length1 quite near to the ,sun-star1    

,mars and the ,earth4  ,venus is very   
difficult to make out4 ,mercury remains 
invisible because  of its too great     
proximity to the ,sun4 ,such is the     
appearance of the  planetary system in  
the heavens4    ,sidenote3 ,the ,earth  
as seen from the heavens4    ,my        
attention was fixed exclusively on the  
little terrestrial sphere  by the side  
of which ,i perceived the ,moon4 ,i soon
 remarked the white  snow of the ,north 
,pole1 the yellow triangle of ,africa1  
and the  outlines of the ,ocean4 ,whilst
 my attention was concentrated on our   
planet1 the ,sun-star became eclipsed   
before my eyes4 ,then ,i was able  to   
distinguish1 in the midst of an expanse 
of azure1 a brown cleft or  hollow1 and 
pursuing my investigations ,i discovered
 a town in the midst  of this cleft4 ,i 
had no difficulty in recognising that   
this continental  hollow was ,france1   
and that the town was ,paris4 ,the first
 sign by which  ,i recognised it was the
 silver ribbon of the ,seine1 that      

describes so  many graceful convolutions
 to the west of the great town4 ,by the 
use of  my new optical organs ,i could  
see it in detail4 ,at the eastern side  
of  the city ,i saw the nave and towers 
of ,notre ,dame in the form of a ,latin 
cross4 ,the ,boulevards wound round the 
north4 ,to the south ,i recognised  the 
gardens of the ,luxembourg and the      
,observatory4 ,the cupola of the        
,pantheon covered like a grey hood the  
,mount of ,ste4 ,genevive4 ,to the  west
 the grand avenue of the ,champs-lyses  
formed a straight line4  ,farther on ,i 
could distinguish the ,bois de          
,boulogne1 the environs of  ,st4 ,cloud1
 the ,wood of ,meudon1 ,svres1 ,ville   
d',avray1 and ,montretout4    ,sidenote3
 ,paris4    ,the whole scene was lighted
 up by splendid sunshine2 but1 strange  
to  say1 the hills were covered with    
snow as in the month of ,january1       
whilst ,i had left it in ,october when  
the country was perfectly green4  ,i was
 fully convinced that ,i was looking at 

,paris2 but as ,i could  not understand 
the exclamations of my companions1 ,i   
endeavoured to  ascertain more details4 
,sidenote3 ,old ,paris4    ,sidenote3   
,no ,arc de ,triomphe visible4          
,sidenote3 ,no ,column ,vendme4         
,sidenote3 ,no obelisk in the ,place de 
la ,concorde4    ,my eyes were fixed    
with most interest upon the             
,observatory4 ,it was my  favourite     
quarter1 and for forty years ,i had     
scarcely left it for more  than a few   
months4 ,judge1 therefore1 of my        
surprise when ,i came to look  more     
closely at it to find that the          
magnificent avenue of chestnuts  between
 the ,luxembourg and the ,observatory   
was nowhere to be seen1  that in its    
place were the gardens of convents4 ,my 
indignation as an  artist was aroused   
against these municipal misdeeds1 but it
 was quickly  suspended by still        
stranger feelings4 ,i beheld a monastery
 in the midst  of our beautiful orchard4
 ,the ,boulevard ,st4 ,michel did not   

exist1 nor  did the ,rue de ,medici2    
instead ,i saw a confused mass of little
 streets1  and ,i seemed to recognise   
the former ,rue de l',est and the ,place
 ,st4  ,michel1 where an ancient        
fountain used to supply water to the    
people  of the faubourg1 and ,i made out
 a number of narrow lanes which existed 
long ago4 ,the cupolas and the two side 
wings of the ,observatory had           
disappeared4 ,by degrees1 as ,i         
continued my observations1 ,i discovered
  that ,paris was indeed much changed4  
,the ,arc de ,triomphe de l'toile1  and 
all the brilliant avenues that meet     
there1 had disappeared4 ,there  was no  
,boulevard de ,sbastopol1 no ,station de
 l',est1 nor any other  station1 and no 
railway4 ,the tower of ,st4 ,jaques was 
enclosed in a  court of old houses1 and 
the ,column of ,victory was reached that
 way4  ,the ,column of the ,bastile was 
also absent1 for ,i should easily have  
recognised the figure upon it4 ,an      
equestrian statue filled the place  of  

the ,vendme ,column4 ,the ,rue          
,castiglione was an old green convent4  
,the ,rue de ,rivoli had disappeared4   
,the ,louvre was either unfinished or   
partly pulled down4 ,between the ,court 
of ,francis ,i4 and the ,tuileries      
there were tumble-down old hovels4      
,there was no obelisk in the ,place  de 
la ,concorde2 but ,i saw a moving crowd1
 though ,i was unable at first  to      
distinguish the figures4 ,the ,madeleine
 and the ,rue ,royal were  invisible4   
,behind the ,isle of ,st4 ,louis ,i saw 
a small island4 ,instead  of the outer  
,boulevards there was only an old wall1 
and the whole was  enclosed by          
fortifications4 ,in short1 although ,i  
recognised the capital  of ,france by   
some familiar buildings1 ,i was aware of
 a marvellous  metamorphosis1 which had 
completely changed its aspect4          
,sidenote3 ,time merely relative4    ,at
 first ,i fancied that1 in place of     
having just come from the ,earth1  ,i   
must have been many years en route4 ,as 

the notion of time is  essentially      
relative1 and there is nothing real or  
absolute in the  measure of duration1   
having once left the ,earth1 ,i had lost
 all  standard of measure1 and ,i said  
to myself that years1 centuries indeed1 
might have passed over my head without  
my perceiving it1 and that  the time had
 seemed short to me because of the great
 interest ,i had  taken in my aerial    
voyage--a commonplace idea which shows  
how merely  relative is our notion of   
time4 ,not having any means of assuring 
myself  of the facts of the case1 ,i    
should undoubtedly have concluded that  
,i  was separated by many centuries from
 the terrestrial life which was  now    
going on before my eyes in ,paris1 and  
,i imagined that ,i saw the  period of  
the twentieth or twenty-first century   
until ,i penetrated  more deeply into   
the details of the life picture and     
examined all its  features4 ,eventually 
,i succeeded in identifying the aspect  
of the town1  and ,i gradually          

recognised the sites of the streets and 
of the public  buildings which ,i had   
known in my early youth4 ,the ,htel de  
,ville  appeared to be decorated with   
flags1 and ,i could distinguish the     
square  central dome of the ,tuileries4 
,sidenote3 ,lumen sees a scene in his   
past life4    ,a little further         
examination recalled everything to me2  
and then ,i saw1  in an old convent     
garden1 a summer-house which made me    
tremble with  joy4 ,it was in that spot 
that ,i met in my youth the woman who   
loved me  so deeply1 my ,sylvia1 so     
tender and so devoted1 who gave up      
everything  to unite her life to mine4  
,i saw the little cupola of the terrace 
where  we loved to saunter in the       
evenings and to study the               
constellations4  ,oh1 with what joy ,i  
greeted those promenades where we had   
walked1  keeping step with one another1 
those avenues where we took refuge from 
the curious eyes of intruders6 ,you can 
fancy how1 as ,i looked at this         

summer-house1 the sight of it alone was 
enough to assure me1 absolutely  and    
convincingly1 that ,i had before my eyes
 not1 as it was natural to  suppose1 the
 ,paris of long after my death1 but in  
reality the ,paris  of the past1 old    
,paris of the beginning of this century 
or of the  end of last century4 ,but1 in
 spite of all1 you can easily imagine   
that  ,i could scarcely believe my eyes4
 ,it seemed so much more natural to     
think that ,paris had grown old and had 
suffered these transformations  since my
 departure from the ,earth--an interval 
of time absolutely  unknown to me4 ,it  
was so much easier to think that ,i     
beheld the city  of the future4 ,i      
continued my observations carefully1 in 
order to  ascertain if it was really the
 old ,paris1 now partly demolished1 that
  ,i was looking at1 or if1 by a        
phenomenon still more incredible1 it was
  another ,paris1 another ,france1      
another world4      ,,ii    ,sidenote3  
,in the star ,capella4    ,,qu,,rens4   

,what an extraordinary discovery for an 
analytical mind like  yours1 dear       
,lumen6 ,by what means did you satisfy  
yourself that your  conclusions were    
correct8    ,sidenote3 ,the ,french     
,terror visible in ,capella4            
,sidenote3 ,old men in ,capella watch   
the doings on the ,earth4    ,,lumen4   
,while ,i was gradually arriving at the 
conviction of which ,i  have told you1  
the old men around me on the mountain   
continued their  conversation4 ,suddenly
 the oldest of them1 a venerable ,nestor
 whose  aspect commanded both admiration
 and respect1 called out1 in a loud  and
 mournful voice ,on your knees1 my      
brethren2 let us pray for  forbearance  
to the universal ,god4 ,that world1 that
 nation1 that city  continues to revel  
in blood4 ,a fresh head1 that of a king 
this time1  is about to fall4 ,his      
companions seemed to understand1 for    
they  knelt down on the mountain1 and   
prostrated their white faces to the     
ground4 ,for myself1 ,i had not yet     

succeeded in distinguishing men in  the 
streets and squares of ,paris1 and not  
being able to verify the  observations  
of these old men1 ,i remained standing1 
but ,i pursued  my examination of the   
scene before me carefully4 ,stranger1   
said  the old man to me1 do you blame   
the action of your brothers since  you  
do not join your prayers to theirs8     
,senator1 ,i replied1 ,i  neither       
approve nor blame what ,i do not        
comprehend4 ,having only just  arrived  
on this mountain1 ,i do not know the    
cause of your righteous  indignation4 ,i
 then drew near the old man1 and while  
his companions  were rising and entering
 into conversation in groups1 ,i asked  
him  to describe the situation to me4   
,he informed me that the order of       
spirits inhabiting this world are gifted
 by intuition with the power  of seeing 
and apprehending events in the          
neighbouring worlds1 and  that they each
 possess a sort of magnetic relation    
with the stars and  systems around them4

 ,these neighbour-worlds1 or stars1 are 
twelve or  fifteen in number4 ,outside  
that limit the perceptions become       
confused4  ,they have therefore a vague 
but distinct knowledge of the state of  
humanity in the planets of our ,sun1 and
 of the relative elevation in  the      
intellectual and moral order of their   
inhabitants4 ,moreover1 when  a great   
disturbance takes place1 either in the  
physical or the moral  realm1 they feel 
a sort of inner agitation1 like that of 
a musical  chord which vibrates in      
unison with another chord at a distance4
    ,for a year 7a year of this world is
 equal to ten of our years7 they had    
felt themselves drawn by special        
attraction towards the terrestrial      
planet1 and had observed with unusual   
interest and anxiety the march  of      
events in that world4 ,they had beheld  
the end of a reign and the  dawn of     
glorious liberty1 the conquest of the   
rights of man and the  assertion of the 
great principles of human dignity4 ,then

 they had seen  the cause sacred to     
liberty placed in peril by those who    
should have  been the first to defend   
it1 and brute force substituted for     
reason and  justice4    ,i saw that he  
was describing the great ,revolution of 
#aghi1 and the fall  of the old         
political world before the new rgime4   
,very mournfully  they had followed the 
events of the ,reign of ,terror and the 
tyranny of  that bloody time4 ,they     
trembled for the future of the ,earth1  
and felt  doubtful of the progress of a 
humanity which1 when emancipated1 so    
soon  lost the treasure it had just     
acquired4 ,i took care not to let the   
senator know that ,i had just arrived   
from the ,earth myself1 and that ,i  had
 lived there seventy-two years4 ,i do   
not know whether he was aware  of this1 
but ,i was so much surprised by this    
vision before me that it  completely    
absorbed my mind and ,i did not think of
 myself4    ,sidenote3 ,lumen witnesses 
the scenes of the ,french ,revolution4  

,at last my sight was fully developed1  
and ,i perceived the spectacle  in all  
its details4 ,i could distinguish1 in   
the midst of the ,place  de la          
,concorde1 a scaffold1 surrounded by a  
formidable array of war1  drums1 cannon1
 and a motley crowd armed with pikes4 ,a
 cart1 led by  a man in red1 bore the   
remains of ,louis ,,xvi4 in the         
direction of  the ,faubourg ,st4 ,honor4
 ,an intoxicated mob lifted their fists 
to  heaven4 ,some horsemen1 sabre in    
hand1 mournfully followed4 ,towards the 
,champs-lyses there were ditches into   
which the curious stumbled4 ,but  the   
agitation was concentrated in this      
region4 ,it did not extend into  the    
town1 which appeared dead and deserted2 
the terror had thrown it  into a state  
of lethargy4    ,i was not present      
during the events of #agic1 since that  
was the year of  my birth1 and ,i felt  
an inexpressible interest in being thus 
a witness  of these scenes of which ,i  
had read in history4 ,i have often      

discussed  and debated the vote of the  
,convention1 but ,i confess to you ,i   
see no  excuse of state in the execution
 of such men as ,lavoisier1 the creator 
of chemistry1 ,bailly1 the historian of 
astronomy1 ,andr ,chenier1 the  sweet   
poet1 or the condemnation of ,condorcet1
 the philosopher4 ,these  have roused my
 indignation much more than the         
punishment of ,louis ,,xvi4  ,i was     
intensely interested at being thus a    
witness of this vanished  epoch4 ,but   
you may imagine how much greater was my 
surprise1 and how  much more ,i was     
astonished1 that ,i beheld in #ahfd     
events actually  present before me which
 had taken place at the end of the last 
century4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,in truth1 it   
seems to me that this feeling of its    
impossibility ought to have awakened    
doubt in you4 ,visions are  essentially 
illusory4 ,we cannot admit their reality
 even though we see  them4    ,,lumen4  
,yes1 my friend1 it was as you say1     
impossible6 ,now can you  understand my 

experience in seeing with my own eyes   
this paradox  realised8 ,the common     
saying is1 ,one cannot believe one's own
 eyes4  ,that was just my position4 ,it 
was impossible to deny what ,i saw1 and 
equally impossible to admit it4         
,,qu,,rens4 ,but was it not a conception
 of your own mind1 a creation of  your  
imagination1 or perhaps a reminiscence  
of your memory8 ,are you  sure it was a 
reality1 not a strange reflection from  
your memory8    ,sidenote3 ,not a       
paradox4    ,,lumen4 ,that was my first 
idea2 but it was so obvious that ,i saw 
before  me the ,paris of '#ic1 and the  
events of ,january #ba1 that ,i could   
no longer be in any doubt about it4     
,besides1 this explanation was          
anticipated by the fact that the old men
 of the mountain had preceded  me in    
observing these phenomena1 and they had 
seen1 and analysed1 and  conversed on   
them as actual facts without knowing    
anything of the  history of our world1  
and were quite unaware of my knowledge  

of that  history4 ,further1 we had      
before our eyes a present fact1 not a   
past  event4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but1 on the
 other hand1 if the past can be thus    
merged into  the present1 if reality and
 vision can be allied in this way1 if   
persons long since dead can be seen     
again acting on the scene of life1  if  
new structures and metamorphoses in a   
city like ,paris can disappear  and give
 place to the aspect of the city as it  
was formerly--in short1  if the present 
can vanish and the past be re-created1  
what certainty  can we have of anything8
 ,what becomes of the science of        
observation8  ,what becomes of          
deductions and theories8 ,on what solid 
foundation  can we base our knowledge8  
,if these things are true1 ought we not 
henceforth to doubt everything1 or else 
to believe everything8    ,sidenote3 ,a 
reality4    ,,lumen4 ,yes1 my friend1   
these considerations and many others    
occupied  my mind and tormented me1 but 
they did not do away with the reality   

which ,i was observing4 ,when ,i had    
assured myself that we had present      
before our eyes the events of the year  
#agic1 it immediately occurred  to me   
that science1 instead of conflicting    
with these facts1 ought to  furnish an  
explanation of them1 for two truths can 
never be opposed to  one another4 ,i    
investigated the physical laws1 and ,i  
discovered the  solution of the mystery4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,what6 the facts were   
real8    ,sidenote3 ,explanation of the 
apparent paradox4    ,sidenote3 ,lumen  
ascertains the place where he was in    
space4    ,,lumen4 ,they were not only  
real1 but comprehensible and capable of 
demonstration4 ,you shall have an       
astronomical explanation of them4  ,in  
the first place1 ,i examined the        
position of the ,earth in the           
constellation of the ,altar as ,i have  
told you2 ,i took the bearings of  my   
position relatively to the ,polar star  
and to the ,zodiac4 ,i remarked  that   
the constellations were not very        

different from those we see from  the   
,earth1 and that except in the case of a
 few particular stars1  their positions 
were evidently the same4 ,orion still   
reigned in the  ultra-equatorial region1
 the ,great ,bear pursuing his circular 
course  still pointing to the north4 ,in
 comparing the apparent movements1 and  
co-ordinating them scientifically1 ,i   
calculated that the point where  ,i saw 
the group of the ,sun1 the ,earth1 and  
the planets1 marked the  #agth hour of  
right ascension1 that is to say1 about  
the #befth degree1  or nearly so4 ,i had
 no instrument to take exact            
measurements4 ,i  observed1 in the      
second place1 that it was on the #ddth  
degree from the  ,south ,pole4 ,i made  
these observations to ascertain the star
 on which  ,i then was1 and ,i was led  
to conclude that ,i was on a star       
situated  on the #gfth degree of right  
ascension1 and the #dfth degree of north
  declination4 ,on the other hand1 ,i   
knew from the words of the old man  that

 the star on which we were was not far  
from our ,sun1 since he  considered it  
to be one of the neighbouring stars4    
,from these data ,i  had no difficulty  
in recalling the star that stands in the
 position ,i  had determined4 ,one only 
answered to it1 that of the first       
magnitude1  ,alpha in the constellation 
of ,auriga1 named also ,capella1 or the 
,goat4    ,there was no doubt about     
this4 ,thus ,i was certain that ,i was  
on one of  the planetary worlds of the  
sun ,capella4 ,from thence our ,sun     
looks like  a simple star1 and appears  
in perspective to be in the             
constellation of  the ,altar1 just      
opposite that of ,auriga1 as seen from  
the ,earth4    ,then ,i tried to        
remember what was the parallax of this  
star4 ,i recalled  that a friend of     
mine1 a ,russian astronomer1 had made a 
calculation1  which had been confirmed1 
of this parallax4 ,it was proved to be  
#j1jdf4--,when ,i had thus solved the   
mystery my heart beat with joy4  ,every 

geometrician knows that parallax        
indicates mathematically the  distance  
in units of the magnitude employed in   
the calculation4 ,i  sought then to     
recall exactly the distance which       
separated this star  from the ,earth1 in
 order to prove the accuracy of the     
calculation4 ,i  only needed to find out
 what number corresponded to #j1jdf4b   
,sidenote3 ,the velocity of light4      
,expressed in millions of leagues1 this 
number is #agj1cib1jjj1 and so1  from   
the star on which ,i was1 the ,earth was
 distant #agj billions #cib  thousand   
millions of leagues4 ,the principle was 
thus established1  and the problem was  
three parts solved4 ,now1 here is the   
main point1  to which ,i call your      
special attention1 for you will find in 
it an  explanation of the most          
marvellous realities4 ,light1 you know1 
does  not cross instantaneously from one
 place to another1 but in successive    
waves4 ,if you throw a stone into a pool
 of tranquil water1 a series of         

undulations form around the point where 
the stone fell4 ,in the same  way1 sound
 undulates in the air when passing from 
one point to another1  and thus1 also1  
light travels in space--it is           
transmitted in successive  undulations4 
,the light of a star takes a certain    
time to reach the  ,earth1 and this time
 naturally depends on the distance which
 separates  the star from the ,earth4   
,sidenote3 ,how the heavenly bodies are 
seen4    ,sound travels #cdj metres in a
 second4 ,a cannon shot is heard        
immediately by those who fire it1 a     
second later by persons who are  at a   
distance of #cdj metres1 in three       
seconds by those who are a  kilometre   
off1 twelve seconds after the shot at   
four kilometres4 ,it  takes two minutes 
to reach those who are ten times farther
 off1 and  those who live at a distance 
of a hundred kilometres hear this human 
thunder in five minutes4 ,light travels 
with much greater swiftness1  but it is 
not transmitted instantaneously1 as the 

ancients supposed4  ,it travels at the  
rate of #cjj1jjj kilometres per second1 
and if it  could revolve1 might encircle
 the ,earth eight times in a second4    
,light  occupies one second and a       
quarter to come from the ,moon to the   
,earth1  eight minutes and thirteen     
seconds to come from the ,sun1 forty-two
  minutes to come from ,jupiter1 two    
hours to come from ,uranus1 and four    
hours to come from ,neptune4 ,therefore1
 we see the heavenly bodies not  as they
 are at the moment we observe them1 but 
as they were when the  luminous ray     
which reaches us left them4 ,if a       
volcano were to burst  forth in eruption
 on one of the worlds ,i have named1 we 
should not see  the flames in the ,moon 
till a second and a quarter had elapsed1
 if in  ,jupiter not till forty-two     
minutes1 in ,uranus two hours after1 and
 we  should not see it in ,neptune till 
four hours after the eruption4 ,the     
distances are incomparably more vast    
outside our planetary system1 and  the  

light is still longer in reaching us4   
,thus1 a luminous ray coming  from the  
star nearest to us1 ,alpha1 in          
,centaurus1 takes four years in  coming4
 ,a ray from ,sirius is nearly ten years
 in crossing the abyss  which separates 
us from that sun4 ,the star ,capella1   
being the distance  above mentioned from
 the ,earth1 it is easy to calculate1 at
 the rate  of #cjj1jjj kilometres the   
second1 what time is needed to cross    
this  distance4 ,the calculation amounts
 to seventy-one years1 eight months1    
and twenty-four days4 ,the luminous ray1
 therefore1 which came from  ,capella to
 the ,earth1 traversed space without    
interruption seventy-one  years1 eight  
months1 and twenty-four days before it  
was visible on the  ,earth4 ,in like    
manner1 the ray of light which leaves   
the ,earth can only  arrive at ,capella 
in the same period of time4             
,sidenote3 ,time occupied in the        
transmission of light4    ,,qu,,rens4   
,if the luminous ray which comes from   

that star takes nearly  seventy-two     
years to reach us1 it follows that we   
see the star as it  was nearly          
seventy-two years ago8    ,,lumen4 ,you 
are quite right1 and this is the fact   
that ,i want you take  note of          
specially4    ,sidenote3 ,a belated     
courier4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,in other words1
 the ray of light is like a courier who 
brings  despatches from a distant       
country1 and having been nearly         
seventy-two  years on the way1 his news 
is of events that occurred at the time  
of  his departure seventy-two years ago4
    ,,lumen4 ,you have divined the      
mystery4 ,your illustration shows me    
that  you have lifted the veil which    
shrouded it4 ,in order to be still more 
exact1 the light represents a courier   
who brings1 not written news1 but       
photographs1 or1 strictly speaking1 the 
real aspect of the country  from whence 
he came4 ,we see this living picture    
such as it appeared1  in all its        
aspects1 at the moment when the luminous

 rays shot forth  from the distant orb4 
,nothing is more simple1 nothing more   
indubitable4  ,when we examine the      
surface of a star with a telescope we   
see1 not the  actual surface as it was  
at the time of our observation1 but such
 as it  was when the light was emitted  
from that surface4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,this 
being so1 if a star1 the light of which 
takes ten years  to reach us1 were to be
 annihilated to-day1 we should continue 
to see  it for ten years1 since its last
 ray would not reach us before ten      
years had elapsed4    ,sidenote3 ,we see
 the past1 not the present1 aspect of   
the stars4    ,,lumen4 ,it is precisely 
so4 ,in short1 the rays of light that   
proceed  from the stars do not reach us 
instantaneously1 but occupy a certain   
time in crossing the distance which     
separates us from them1 and show us     
those stars not as they are now1 but    
such as they were at the moment  in     
which those rays set out to transmit the
 aspect of the stars to  us4 ,thus we   

behold a wondrous transformation of the 
past into the  present4 ,in the star we 
observe we see the past1 which has      
already  disappeared1 while to the      
observer it is the present1 the actual4 
,strictly speaking1 the past of the star
 is positively the present of  the      
observer4 ,as the aspect of the worlds  
change from year to year1  almost from  
day to day1 one can imagine these       
aspects emerging into  space and        
advancing into the infinite1 and thus   
revealing their phases  in the sight of 
far-distant spectators4 ,each aspect or 
appearance is  followed by another1 and 
so on in endless sequence4 ,thus a      
series of  undulations bears from afar  
the past history of the worlds which the
  observer sees in its various phases as
 they successively reach him4  ,the     
events which we see in the stars at     
present are already past1 and  that     
which is actually happening there we    
cannot as yet see4 ,realise  to         
yourself1 my friend1 this presentation  

of an actual fact1 for it  is of        
importance to you to comprehend the     
precession of the waves of  light and to
 understand the essential nature of this
 undoubted truth4  ,the appearance of   
things1 borne to us by light1 shows us  
those things  not as they are at        
present1 but as they were in that period
 of the past  which preceded the        
interval of time needed for the light to
 traverse  the distance which separates 
us from those events4    ,we do not see 
any of the stars such as they are1 but  
such as they were  when the luminous    
rays that reach us left them4           
,sidenote3 ,the planet ,earth as seen   
from afar4    ,it is not the actual     
condition of the heavens that is        
visible1 but  their past history4       
,moreover1 there are distant stars which
 have been  extinct for ten thousand    
years1 but which we can see still1      
because  the rays of light from them had
 set out before they were extinguished4 
,some of the double stars1 the nature   

and movements of which we seek  with    
care and toil1 ceased to exist long     
before astronomers began to  make       
observations4 ,if the visible heavens   
were to be annihilated to-day  we should
 still see stars to-morrow1 even next   
year1 and for a hundred  years1 a       
thousand years1 and even for fifty and a
 hundred thousand  years1 or more1 with 
the exception only of the nearest stars1
 which  would disappear successively as 
the time needed for their luminous rays 
to reach us expired4 ,alpha of ,centaur 
would go out first1 in four  years1     
,sirius in ten years1 and so on4        
,now1 my friend1 you can easily apply a 
scientific theory in explanation  of    
these strange facts of which ,i was     
witness4 ,if from the ,earth one  sees  
the star ,capella1 not as it is at the  
moment of observation1 but  as it was   
seventy-two years before1 in the same   
way from ,capella one  would see the    
,earth as it was seventy-two years      
earlier1 for light  takes the same time 

to traverse the distance either way4    
,,qu,,rens4 ,master1 ,i have followed   
your explanation attentively4 ,but1 ,i  
ask you1 does the ,earth shine like a   
star8 ,surely she is not luminous8      
,sidenote3 ,the other planets seen from 
afar4    ,,lumen4 ,she reflects in space
 the light of the ,sun2 the greater the 
distance the more our planet resembles a
 star4 ,all the light that  radiates    
from the ,sun on its surface is         
condensed into a disc that  becomes     
smaller and smaller4 ,seen from the     
,moon our ,earth appears  fourteen times
 more luminous than the full ,moon1     
because she is  fourteen times larger   
than the ,moon4 ,seen from the planet   
,venus the  ,earth appears as bright as 
,jupiter appears to us4 ,from the planet
  ,mars the ,earth is the morning and   
the evening star1 presenting phases     
like those of ,venus to us4 ,thus1      
although our ,earth is not luminous     
herself1 she shines afar like the ,moon 
and the planets1 by the light  that she 

receives from the ,sun1 and reflects    
into space4    ,now the events taking   
place on ,neptune1 if seen from the     
,earth1 would  have a delay of four     
hours2 in like manner the view of life  
on the  ,earth could only reach ,neptune
 in the same time2 nearly seventy-two   
years1 therefore1 separate ,capella and 
the ,earth4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,although    
these views are new and strange to me1  
,i now  understand perfectly how1 since 
the light was nearly seventy-two  years 
in traversing the abyss which separates 
the ,earth from ,capella1  you beheld   
not the ,earth as it was in ,october    
#ahfd1 the date of your  death1 but as  
it appeared in ,january #agic4 ,and ,i  
comprehend quite as  clearly that what  
you saw was neither a phenomenon of     
memory1 nor a  supernatural experience1 
but an actual1 positive1 and            
incontestable  fact1 and that in very   
truth what had long passed away on the  
,earth was  only then present to an     
observer at that distance4 ,but permit  

me to ask  you an incidental question4  
,in coming from the ,earth to ,capella  
did you  cross that distance even more  
quickly than light8    ,sidenote3       
,thought swifter than light4    ,,lumen4
 ,have ,i not already anticipated your  
question in telling you  that ,i crossed
 this distance with the swiftness of    
thought4 ,on the very  day of my death  
,i found myself on this star1 which ,i  
had admired and  loved so much all my   
life on the terrestrial globe4          
,,qu,,rens4 ,ah1 ,master1 although      
everything is thus explained1 your      
vision  is not the less wonderful4      
,truly it is an astonishing phenomenon  
that  of seeing thus at once the past in
 the present in this extraordinary      
manner4 ,not less marvellous is the     
thought of seeing the stars1 not  such  
as they are when one makes the          
observation1 nor as they have been      
simultaneously1 but as they have been at
 different epochs according  to their   
distances1 and the time that the light  

of each has taken in  coming to the     
,earth6    ,sidenote3 ,light4           
,,lumen4 ,i venture to say that the     
natural astonishment that you feel  in  
contemplating this truth is only the    
prelude to the things which ,i  have now
 to unfold to you4 ,undoubtedly1 it     
appears at first sight very             
extraordinary1 that by removing to a    
distance in space1 one can become  a    
witness of long past events1 and remount
 as it were the stream of  time4 ,but   
this is not more strange than what ,i   
have yet to communicate  to you1 and    
which will appear to you still more     
imaginary if you can  listen a little   
longer to the narrative of that day     
which followed my  death4    ,,qu,,rens4
 ,go on1 ,i beg of you1 ,i am eager to  
hear you4      ,,iii    ,sidenote3      
,lumen sees his own life on ,earth4     
,,lumen4 ,on turning away from the      
sanguinary scenes of the ,place de la   
,rvolution1 my eyes were attracted      
towards a habitation of somewhat  an    

antique style1 situated in front of     
,notre ,dame1 and occupying  the place  
of the present square in front of the   
cathedral4 ,i saw  a group of five      
persons before the entrance of the      
cathedral1 who  were reclining on wooden
 benches in the sunshine1 with their    
heads  uncovered4 ,when they rose and   
crossed the square1 ,i perceived that   
one  was my father1 younger than ,i     
could remember him1 another my mother1  
still younger1 and a third a cousin of  
mine who died the same year as  my      
father1 now nearly forty years ago4 ,i  
found it difficult at first  to         
recognise these persons1 for instead of 
facing them1 ,i saw them  only from on  
high above their heads4 ,i was not a    
little surprised at  this unlooked-for  
meeting1 but then ,i remembered that ,i 
had heard that  my parents lived in the 
,place ,notre ,dame before my birth4 ,i 
cannot  tell you how profoundly ,i was  
affected by this sight2 my perception   
seemed to fail me1 and a cloud appeared 

to obscure ,paris from my view4  ,i felt
 as though ,i had been carried off by a 
whirlwind2 for1 as you  are aware1 ,i   
had lost all sense of time4 ,when ,i    
began again to see  objects distinctly1 
,i noticed a troop of children running  
across the  ,place de ,panthon4 ,they   
looked like school children coming out  
of  class2 for they had their portfolios
 and books in their hands1 and were     
apparently going to their homes1        
gambolling and gesticulating4 ,two of   
them attracted me especially1 for ,i saw
 they were quarrelling and just         
preparing to fight1 and another little  
fellow was advancing to separate  them  
when he received a blow on the shoulder 
and was thrown down4 ,in an  instant a  
woman ran to help him2 this was my own  
mother4 ,words fail me  to tell my      
amazement when ,i perceived that the    
child to whose rescue my  mother came   
was my own self4 ,never in my           
seventy-two years of earthly  life1 with
 all the unlooked-for changes and       

strange events with which  it was       
crowded1 never in all its surprises and 
chances have ,i felt such  emotion as   
this sight caused me2 ,i was completely 
overcome when in this  child ,i         
recognised--myself6    ,,qu,,rens4 ,you 
saw yourself8    ,,lumen4 ,yes1 myself1 
with the blond curls of six years of    
age1 with  my little collar embroidered 
by my mother's hands1 my little blouse  
of light blue colour1 and the cuffs     
always rumpled4 ,there ,i was1 the  very
 same as you have seen in the           
half-effaced miniature that stood on  my
 mantelpiece4 ,my mother came over to   
me1 and sharply reproving the  other    
boys1 took me up in her arms1 and then  
led me by the hand into  the house1     
which was close to the ,rue d',ulm4     
,there ,i saw that1 after  passing      
through the house1 we reappeared in the 
garden in the midst of  a numerous      
company4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,master1 pardon 
me a criticism4 ,i confess to you that  
it  appears to me impossible that you   

could see yourself2 you could not be    
two persons2 and since you were         
seventy-two years old1 your infancy was 
passed1 and had totally disappeared4    
,you could not see a thing that no      
longer existed4 ,i cannot comprehend how
 when an old man you could see  yourself
 as an infant4    ,,lumen4 ,why cannot  
you admit this point on the same grounds
 as the  preceding ones8    ,,qu,,rens4 
,because you cannot see yourself double1
 an infant and an old  man1 at the same 
time4    ,sidenote3 ,a logical          
inference4    ,,lumen4 ,look at the     
matter more closely1 my friend4 ,you    
admit the  general fact1 but you do not 
sufficiently observe1 that this last    
particular is logically inferred from   
that fact4 ,you admit that the  view ,i 
had of the ,earth was seventy-two years 
in coming to me1 do you  not8 that      
events reached me only at that interval 
of time after they  had taken place8 in 
short1 that ,i saw the world as it was  
at that  epoch8 ,you admit1 likewise1   

that as ,i saw the streets of that time 
,i  saw also the children running in    
those streets8 ,you admit all this8     
,,qu,,rens4 ,yes1 decidedly4    ,,lumen4
 ,well1 then1 since ,i saw this troop of
 children1 and myself  amongst them1 why
 do you say ,i could not see myself as  
well as the  others8    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but
 you were no longer there amongst them6 
,,lumen4 ,again1 ,i repeat1 this whole  
troop of children has ceased to  exist4 
,but ,i saw them such as they were at   
the moment the ray of light  left the   
,earth1 which only reached me at the    
present time4 ,and as ,i  could         
distinguish the fifteen to eighteen     
children in the group1 there  was no    
reason why ,i should disappear from     
amongst them because ,i myself  was the 
distant spectator4 ,since any other     
observer could see me in  company with  
my comrades1 why should ,i form an      
exception8 ,i saw them  all1 and ,i saw 
myself amongst them4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i  
had not fully taken in the idea4 ,it is 

evident1 in short1  that seeing a troop 
of children1 of whom you were one1 you  
could not  fail to see yourself as well 
as you saw the others4    ,sidenote3    
,lumen sees himself a child4    ,,lumen4
 ,now you can understand into what a    
state of surprise ,i was  thrown4 ,this 
child was really myself1 flesh and      
bones1 as the vulgar  expression has    
it--myself1 at the age of six years4 ,i 
saw myself as  well as the company in   
the garden who were playing with me saw 
me4 ,it  was no mirage1 no vision1 no   
spectre1 no reminiscence1 no image2 it  
was reality1 positively myself1 my      
thought and my body4 ,i was there       
before my eyes4 ,if my other senses had 
the perfection of my sight1 it  seemed  
as though ,i should have been able to   
touch and hear myself4 ,i  jumped about 
the garden and ran round the pond1 which
 had a balustrade  around it4 ,some time
 after my grandfather took me on his    
knees and  made me read in a big book4  
,it is not possible for me to describe  

my  astonishment4 ,i must leave you to  
imagine what it was to me1 and to       
realise the fact1 now that you          
understand upon what it was based4      
,suffice it to say1 that ,i had never   
received such a surprise in my  life4   
,one reflection especially puzzled me4  
,i said to myself1 this  child is really
 me1 he is alive1 he will grow up1 and  
he ought to live  sixty-six years       
longer4 ,it is undoubtedly myself4 ,and 
on the other  hand1 here ,i am1 having  
lived seventy-two years of the          
terrestrial  life4 ,i who now think and 
see these things1 ,i am still myself1   
and  this child is me also4 ,am ,i then 
two beings1 one there below1 on  the    
,earth1 and the other here in space--two
 complete persons and yet  quite        
distinct8 ,an observer1 placed where ,i 
am1 could see this child in  the garden1
 as ,i see him1 and at the same time see
 me here4 ,i must be  two--it is        
incontestable4 ,my soul is in this      
child2 it is no less here4  ,it is the  

same soul1 my own soul4 ,how can it     
animate two beings8 ,what  a strange    
reality6 ,for ,i cannot say that ,i     
delude myself1 or that what  ,i see is  
an optical illusion1 for both according 
to nature1 and by the  laws of science1 
,i see at once a child and an old       
man--the one there  beyond1 the other   
here where ,i am1 the former joyous and 
free-hearted1  the other pensive and    
agitated4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,in truth it is
 strange6    ,sidenote3 ,lumen sees     
himself a young man4    ,sidenote3      
,lumen witnesses the events of the      
,hundred ,days4    ,,lumen4 ,yes1 but no
 less true4 ,you may search through all 
creation and  not find such a paradox4  
,well1 to proceed with my history1 ,i   
saw  myself grow up in this vast city of
 ,paris1 ,i saw myself enter college  in
 #ahjd1 and perform my first military   
exercises when the ,first ,consul  was  
crowned ,emperor4 ,one day as ,i passed 
by the ,carrousel ,i got a  glimpse of  
the domineering and thoughtful face of  

,napoleon4 ,i could  not remember having
 seen him in my life1 and it was        
interesting to see  him thus pass across
 my field of view4 ,in #ahaj ,i saw     
myself promoted  to the ,polytechnic    
,school1 and there ,i was talking of the
 course of  studies with ,franois       
,arago1 the best of comrades4 ,he       
already belonged  to the institute1 and 
had replaced ,monge at the school1      
because the  ,emperor had complained of 
the ,jesuitism of ,binet4 ,i saw myself1
 in like  manner1 all through the       
brilliant years of my youth1 full of    
projects  of travels for scientific     
exploration1 in company with ,arago and 
,humboldt1 travels which only the latter
 decided to undertake4 ,later on  ,i saw
 myself during the ,hundred ,days1      
crossing quickly the little wood  of the
 old ,luxembourg1 and then the ,rue de  
l',est and the avenue of the  garden of 
the ,rue ,st4 ,jaques1 and hastening to 
meet my beloved under  the lilac-trees4 
,sweet meetings all to ourselves1 the   

confidences of  our hearts1 the silences
 of our souls1 the transports of our    
evening  conversations1 were all        
presented to my astonished sight1 no    
longer  veiled by distance1 but actually
 before my eyes4 ,i was present again   
at the combat with the ,allies on the   
,hill of ,montmartre1 and saw their     
descent into the capital1 and the fall  
of the statue in the ,place  ,vendme1   
when it was drawn through the streets   
with cries of joy4 ,i saw  the camp of  
the ,english and the ,prussians in the  
,champs-lyses1 the  destruction of the  
,louvre1 the journey to ,ghent1 the     
entrance of ,louis  ,,xviii4            
,sidenote3 ,napoleon at ,st4 ,helena4   
,the flag of the island of ,elba floated
 before my eyes1 and later on  ,i sought
 out the far ,atlantic isle where the   
eagle1 with his wings  broken1 was      
chained4 ,the rotation of the ,earth    
soon brought before  my eyes the        
,emperor in ,st4 ,helena sadly musing at
 the foot of a  sycamore-tree4          

,sidenote3 ,historical events appear in 
succession4    ,thus the events of the  
years as they passed were revealed to me
 in  following my own career--my        
marriage1 my various enterprises1 my    
connections1 my travels1 my studies1 and
 so on4 ,i witnessed at the  same time  
the development of contemporary history4
 ,to the restoration  of ,louis ,,xviii4
 succeeded the brief reign of ,charles  
,x4 ,i saw the  barricades of the days  
of ,july #ahcj1 and not far from the    
throne of  the ,duke of ,orleans ,i saw 
the ,column of the ,bastile arise4      
,passing  rapidly over eighteen years1  
,i perceived myself at the ,luxembourg  
at  the time when that magnificent      
avenue was opened1 that avenue ,i loved 
so much1 and which has been threatened  
by a recent decree4 ,i saw ,arago       
again1 this time at the ,observatory1   
and ,i beheld the crowd before the  door
 of the new amphitheatre4 ,i recognised 
the ,sorbonne of ,cousin and  of        
,guizot4 ,then ,i shuddered as ,i saw my

 mother's funeral pass4 ,she was  a     
stern woman1 and perhaps a little too   
severe in her judgments1 but  ,i loved  
her dearly1 as you know4 ,the singular  
and brief revolution of  #ahdh surprised
 me as much as when ,i first witnessed  
it4 ,on the ,place  de la ,bourse ,i saw
 ,lamoricire1 who was buried last year1 
and in the  ,champs-lyses1 ,cavaignac1  
who has been dead five or six years4    
,the #bnd  of ,december found me an     
observer on my solitary tower1 and from 
thence  ,i witnessed many striking      
events which passed before me1 and many 
others which were unknown to me4        
,,qu,,rens4 ,did the event pass rapidly 
before you8    ,,lumen4 ,i had no       
perception of time2 but the whole       
retrospective  panorama appeared to me  
in successive scenes--in less than a    
day1  perhaps in a few hours4           
,,qu,,rens4 ,then ,i do not understand  
you at all4 ,pardon your old friend     
this interruption1 a little too abrupt  
perhaps4 ,as ,i took it1 you saw  the   

real events of your life1 not merely    
images of them4 ,but1 in view  of the   
time necessary for the passage of light1
 these events appeared  to you after    
they had happened4 ,if1 then1           
seventy-two terrestrial years  had      
passed before your eyes1 they should    
have taken seventy-two years  to appear 
to you1 and not a few hours4 ,if the    
year #agic appeared to you  only in     
#ahfd1 the year #ahfd1 consequently1    
should only in #aicf appear  to you4    
,sidenote3 ,the anachronism explained4  
,,lumen4 ,you have grounds for your     
fresh objection1 and this proves to  me 
that you have perfectly comprehended the
 theory of this fact4 ,i  fully         
appreciate your belief in me2 indeed its
 consciousness helps me  in my          
explanations4 ,thus it is not necessary 
that seventy-two years  should be needed
 in which to review my life1 for under  
the impulse of  an involuntary force all
 its events passed before me in less    
than a  day4 ,continuing to follow the  

course of my existence1 ,i reached its  
later years1 rendered memorable by the  
striking changes which had  come over   
,paris4 ,i saw our old friends1 and you 
yourself2 my daughter  and her charming 
children2 my family1 and circle of      
acquaintances2 and  last of all ,i saw  
myself lying dead upon my bed1 and ,i   
was present at  the final scene4 ,yes2  
,i tell you ,i had returned to the      
,earth4 ,drawn by  the contemplation    
which absorbed my soul1 ,i had quickly  
forgotten the  mountain1 the old men1   
and ,capella4 ,even as a dream all faded
 from my  mind4    ,i did not at first  
perceive the strange vision which       
captivated all  my faculties4 ,i cannot 
tell you either by what law or by what  
power  souls can be transported with    
such rapidity from one place to another4
  ,suffice it to say1 ,i had returned to
 the ,earth in less than a day1  and ,i 
had entered my chamber even at the      
moment of my decease4 ,also in  this    
returning voyage ,i had travelled faster

 than the rays of light1  hence the     
various phases of my life on ,earth had 
unrolled themselves to  my sight in     
their successive stages as they         
occurred4 ,when ,i reached  half-way ,i 
saw the rays of light arriving only     
thirty-six years behind  time1 showing  
me the ,earth1 not as it appeared       
seventy-two years ago1  but thirty-six4 
,when ,i had travelled three-quarters of
 the way ,i saw  things as they had been
 eighteen years ago2 at the half of the 
last  quarter1 as they were nine years  
previously2 until finally the whole     
acts of my life were condensed into less
 than one day because of the  rapid rate
 at which my soul had travelled1 which  
far surpassed the  velocity of the rays 
of light4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,was not this a
 very strange phenomenon8    ,,lumen4   
,do any other objections rise in your   
mind as you listen to me8    ,,qu,,rens4
 ,no1 this is the only one2 or rather1  
this one has puzzled and  interested me 
so greatly that it has absorbed all     

others4    ,,lumen4 ,i would remark that
 there is another1 an astronomical one1 
which ,i will hasten to dispel1 for fear
 it should arise and cloud  your mind4  
,it depends upon the ,earth's movement1 
not only upon its  diurnal rotation1    
which in itself would be sufficient to  
prevent  my seeing the facts in         
succession1 but this movement would also
  be greatly accelerated by the rapidity
 of my return to the ,earth4  ,hence    
seventy-two years would pass before me  
in less than a day4 ,on  reflection1 ,i 
was surprised that ,i had not earlier   
perceived this2  yet as ,i had only seen
 a comparatively small number of        
countries1  panoramas1 and facts1 it is 
probable that in returning to our planet
 ,i  had only a fleeting glance for a   
few moments of the successive points  of
 interest4 ,but however this may be1 ,i 
can but bear evidence that ,i  have been
 witness to the rapid succession of     
events both throughout the  century and 
of my own life4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,that    

difficulty had not escaped me2 ,i had   
weighed the thought1  and had come to   
the conclusion that you had revolved in 
space1 even  as a balloon is spun round 
by the rotation of the globe4 ,it is    
true  that the inconceivable speed with 
which you would be whirled through      
space would be likely to give you       
vertigo1 nevertheless1 after hearing    
your experience1 this hypothesis forces 
itself upon me1 that spirits  rush      
through space with the lightness and    
velocity of thought2 and  in remarking  
on the intensity of your gaze as you    
approached certain  parts of the ,earth1
 may it not be admissible to infer that 
this very  eagerness to see certain     
localities1 might be the reason of your 
being  drawn to them1 and as it were    
fixed above their point of vision8      
,,lumen4 ,as to this ,i can affirm      
nothing1 because ,i know nothing2 but   
,i do not think this is the explanation4
 ,i did not see all the events  of my   
life1 but only a few of the main ones1  

which1 successively  unfolding1 passed  
in review before me on the same visual  
ray4 ,a  magnetism drew me imperiously  
as with a chain to the ,earth2 or1 if   
you  prefer it1 a force similar to that 
mysterious attraction of the stars1  by 
reason of which1 stars of a lesser      
degree would inevitably fall  upon those
 of the first magnitude1 unless retained
 in their orbits by  centrifugal force4 
,,qu,,rens4 ,in reflecting on the effect
 of the concentration of thought  upon a
 single point1 and of the attraction    
which consequently ensues  towards that 
point1 ,i cannot but conclude that      
therein lies the  mainspring of the     
mechanism of dreams4    ,sidenote3 ,the 
source of dreams4    ,,lumen4 ,you say  
truly1 my friend2 ,i can confirm you in 
this remark1  as for many years ,i have 
made dreams the subject of a special    
study  and observation4 ,when the soul1 
freed from the attentions1 the          
preoccupations1 the encumbrance of the  
body1 has a vision of the  object which 

charms it1 and towards which it is      
irresistibly drawn1  all disappear      
except the object4 ,that alone remains1 
and becomes the  centre of a world of   
creations2 the soul possesses it        
entirely without  any reserve1 it       
contemplates it1 it seizes it as its    
own1 the entire  universe is effaced    
from the memory in order that its       
domination over  the soul may be        
absolute4 ,i felt thus on being drawn   
earthwards4 ,i saw  but one object1     
around which were grouped the ideas1 the
 images1 and  the associations to which 
it had given birth4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,your
 rapid flight to ,capella and your      
equally rapid return  to the ,earth were
 governed by this psychological law2 and
 you acted  more freely than in a dream1
 because your soul was not impeded by   
the  machinery of your organism4 ,often 
in our former conversations have you    
discoursed to me upon the strength of   
the will4 ,thus1 willing to do  so1 you 
were enabled to return and to see       

yourself upon your death-bed  before    
your mortal remains had been committed  
to the dust4    ,sidenote3 ,lumen       
witnesses his own funeral4    ,sidenote3
 ,his flight to the stars4    ,,lumen4  
,i did return2 and ,i blessed my family 
for the sincerity of  their grief4 ,i   
shed a benediction on them2 ,i soothed  
their grief1 and  poured balm upon their
 wounded hearts2 and ,i inspired my     
children  with the belief that the body 
lying there was not my real self--my    
ego--but merely the shell from which my 
soul had risen to a sphere  celestial1  
infinite1 and far beyond their earthly  
ken4 ,i witnessed my  own funeral       
procession1 and ,i noticed those who    
called themselves my  friends and who   
yet1 for some trifling reason1 begged to
 be excused  from following my remains  
to their last resting-place4 ,i listened
 to  the various comments of those      
following my bier1 and although in this 
region of peace we are free from that   
thirst for praise which clings  to most 

of us whilst on ,earth1 nevertheless ,i 
felt gratified to know  that ,i had left
 pleasant memories behind me4 ,when the 
stone of the  vault was rolled away1    
that which separates the dead from the  
living1  ,i gave a last farewell to my  
poor sleeping body2 and1 as the ,sun set
  in its bed of purple and gold1 ,i went
 out into the air until night had       
fallen1 plunged in admiration of the    
beautiful scenes which unrolled         
themselves in the heavens4 ,the aurora  
borealis displayed itself above  the    
,north ,pole in bands of glistening     
silver1 shooting stars rained  from     
,cassiopeia1 and the full ,moon rose    
slowly in the east like a  new world    
emerging from the waves4 ,i saw ,capella
 scintillating and  looking at me with a
 glance pure and bright1 and could      
distinguish  the crowns surrounding it1 
as if they were princes dowered with a  
celestial divinity4 ,then ,i forgot the 
,earth1 the ,moon1 the ,planetary       
,system1 the ,sun1 the ,comets1 in one  

intense1 overpowering attraction        
towards a shining brilliant star1 and ,i
 felt myself carried towards  it        
instinctively with a celerity far       
greater than that of an electric  flash4
 ,after a time1 the duration of which ,i
 cannot guess1 ,i arrived  upon the same
 ring and upon the same mountain1 from  
which ,i had first  kept watch when ,i  
saw the old men occupied in following   
the history  of the ,earth1 seventy-one 
years and eight months ago4 ,they were  
still  absorbed in the contemplation of 
events happening in the city of ,lyons  
on the #bcrd of ,january #agic4 ,i will 
avow to you the reason of the           
mysterious attraction of ,capella for   
me4 ,for marvellous as it may seem1     
there are in creation invisible ties    
which do not break like mortal  ties2   
there are means by which souls can      
commune with each other1 in  spite of   
the distance that separates them4       
,sidenote3 ,he meets the spirit of his  
wife4    ,sidenote3 ,they recall their  

life on ,earth4    ,on the evening of   
the second day1 as the emerald ,moon    
enshrined itself  in the third ring of  
gold--for such is the sidereal          
measurement of  time--,i found myself   
walking in a lonely avenue enamelled    
with flowers  of sweet perfume4         
,sauntering along1 as if in a dream1    
imagine my  delight when ,i saw coming  
towards me my beautiful and beloved     
,sylvia4  ,she was at a ripe age at her 
death1 and notwithstanding an           
indefinable  change ,i recognised the   
features1 whose expression had but      
deepened  and spiritualised1 in happy   
correspondence with her sweet1 pure     
life4  ,i will not stop to describe to  
you the joy of our meeting1 this is not 
the time for it2 but perchance some day 
we may have the opportunity of          
descanting upon the different           
manifestations of affection in this     
world  and the world beyond the grave1  
and ,i only add now that together we    
sought our native land on ,earth1 where 

we had passed days of peace and         
happiness4 ,we delighted to turn our    
gaze towards the luminous point1  which 
our state of exaltation enabled us to   
perceive was a world--the  one upon     
which we had lived in earthly form--we  
loved to wed the memory  of the past    
with the reality of our present1 and in 
all the freshness  of our new and       
ecstatic sensations we sought to recall 
and review the  scenes of our youth4 ,it
 was thus we actually saw again the     
happy years  of our earthly love1 the   
pavilion of the convent1 the flower     
garden1  the promenades in the charming 
and delightful environs of ,paris1 and  
the solitary rambles that1 loving and   
beloved1 we took together4 ,to  retrace 
these years we had but to travel        
together into space in the  direction of
 the ,earth1 where these scenes1 focused
 by the light1 were  being photographed4
 ,now1 my friend1 ,i have fulfilled my  
promise in  revealing to you these      
remarkable observations4    ,behold the 

day breaks1 and the star ,lucifer is    
paling already under its  rosy light4 ,i
 must return to the constellations4444  
,,qu,,rens4 ,just one more word1 ,lumen1
 before we conclude this interview4     
,can earthly scenes be transmitted      
successively into space--if so1  the    
present could be kept perpetually before
 the eyes of distant  spectators1 and be
 limited only by the power of their     
spiritual sight8    ,sidenote3 ,the     
precession of events as seen in space4  
,,lumen4 ,yes1 my friend4 ,let us1 for  
example1 place our first observer on    
the ,moon--he would perceive terrestrial
 events one second and a quarter  after 
they had happened4 ,let us place a      
second observer at four times  the      
distance--he would be cognisant of them 
five seconds later4 ,double  the        
distance1 and a third would see them ten
 seconds after they had  taken place4   
,again double the distance1 and a fourth
 observer would  have to wait twenty    
seconds before he could witness them2 so

 on and on  with ever-increasing delay1 
until at the ,sun's distance2 eight     
minutes  and thirteen seconds must      
elapse before they could become visible4
    ,upon certain planets1 as we have   
seen1 hours must intervene between  the 
action and the sight of it2 further off 
still1 days1 months even  years must    
elapse4 ,upon neighbouring stars earthly
 events are not seen  until four1 six1  
ten years after their occurrence2 but   
there are stars  so distant that light  
only reaches them after many centuries1 
and even  thousands of years4 ,indeed1  
there are nebul to which light takes    
millions of years to travel4            
,,qu,,rens4 ,therefore it only needs a  
sight sufficiently piercing to  witness 
events historic or geologic which are   
long since past4 ,could  not one1       
therefore1 so gifted see the ,deluge1   
the ,garden of ,eden1 ,adam  and4 4 4 4 
,,lumen4 ,i have told you1 my old       
friend1 that the rising of the sun on   
this hemisphere puts to flight all      

spirits1 so ,i must go4 ,another        
interview may be granted us some other  
day1 when we can continue our  talk on  
this subject1 and ,i will then give you 
a general sketch which  will open out   
for you new horizons4 ,the stars call   
me1 and are already  disappearing4 ,i   
must away4 ,adieu1 ,qurens1 adieu4      
,,footnotes3    #a ,physiological       
anatomy would probably explain this fact
 by  suggesting that a sort of punctum  
ccum is displaced in order to  conceal  
the object that one does not wish to    
see4    #b ,every one knows that the    
farther an object is1 the smaller it    
appears4 ,an object which is seen under 
an angle of one second1 is at a         
distance of #bjf1bfe times its own      
diameter1 whatever it may be2 because   
as there are #a1bif1jjj seconds in the  
circumference1 the ratio between  the   
circumference and its diameter being    
#c1adaei  #b1 it follows that  this     
object is at a distance equal to        
#bjf1bfe times its own diameter4  ,as   

,capella sees the semi-diameter of the  
terrestrial orbit only under  an angle  
#bb times smaller1 its distance is #bb  
times greater4 ,capella  is therefore at
 a distance of #d1dhd1jjj times the     
radius of the  terrestrial orbit4       
,future micrometrical measurements may  
modify these  results concerning the    
parallax of this star1 but they cannot  
change  the principle upon which the    
conception of this work is grounded4    
,,second ,,conversation    ,,refluum    
,,temporis          ,i      ,,qu,,rens4 
,your revelations which were interrupted
 by the break of day1  ,o ,lumen1 have  
left me hungering and thirsting to hear 
more of this  wonderful mystery4 ,as a  
child to whom one shows a delicious     
fruit  longs to have a bite1 and when he
 has tasted of it begs for more1 so  my 
curiosity is eager to have renewed      
enjoyment of these paradoxes of  nature4
 ,may ,i venture to submit to you a few 
questions in relation to  the subject1  
which have been suggested to me by the  

friends to whom ,i  have communicated   
the substance of your revelations1 and  
then may ,i ask  you to continue the    
narrative of your impressions of the    
regions beyond  this ,earth8            
,sidenote3 ,scientific truth1 not fancy 
or romance4    ,,lumen4 ,no1 my friend1 
,i cannot consent to such curiosity4    
,however  perfectly disposed your mind  
may be to accept my communications1 ,i  
am convinced that all the details of my 
subject have not been equally           
apprehended by you1 and are not in your 
eyes equally self-evident4 ,my  recital 
has been called mystical by those who   
have not quite understood  that it is   
neither a romance nor a phantasy1 but a 
scientific truth1  a physical fact      
demonstrable and demonstrated1          
indisputable and as  positive as the    
fall of an aerolite or the motion of a  
cannon-ball4 ,the  reason which prevents
 you and your friends from fully        
comprehending  these facts is1 that they
 took place beyond this ,earth1 in      

regions  foreign to the sphere of your  
impressions1 and inaccessible to your   
terrestrial senses4 ,naturally you do   
not comprehend them4 7,pardon  my       
frankness1 but in the spiritual world   
one is frank2 there1 even  thoughts are 
visible47 ,you only comprehend those    
things which you  perceive4 ,and as you 
persist in regarding your ideas of time 
and space  as absolute1 although they   
are only relative1 and thence form a    
judgment on truths which are quite      
beyond your sphere1 and which are       
imperceptible to your terrestrial       
organism and faculties1 ,i should not   
do you a true service1 my friend1 in    
giving you fuller details of my         
ultra-terrestrial observations4         
,sidenote3 ,an inquiring mind4          
,,qu,,rens4 ,it is not1 ,i assure you1  
in a spirit of simple curiosity1  dear  
,lumen1 that ,i ventured to draw you    
forth from the bosom of the  invisible  
world1 where advanced souls partake of  
indescribable joys4  ,but ,i have       

understood1 perhaps better than you1 the
 grandeur of the  problem1 and it is    
under the inspiration of an earnest1    
studious  avidity that ,i seek for other
 aspects of it1 still more novel than   
those you have given me1 if ,i may say  
so1 or rather more bold and more        
incomprehensible4 ,as the result of     
reflection1 ,i have arrived at the      
conclusion that what we know is nothing1
 and that what we do not know  is       
everything2 ,i am therefore disposed to 
welcome everything you tell  me4 ,i beg 
of you1 if you will allow me1 to share  
your revelations4444    ,,lumen4 ,the   
fact is1 my friend1 ,i assure you1      
either you are not  sufficiently able to
 understand1 or you are too willing to  
believe3 in  the first case1 you do not 
fully comprehend2 in the second1 you are
 too  credulous1 and do not appreciate  
my communications at their full value4  
,however1 ,i shall continue4            
,,qu,,rens4 ,dear comrade of my earthly 
life6    ,,lumen4 ,the remaining facts1 

which ,i shall now relate to you1 are   
still  more extraordinary than any that 
preceded them4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i feel   
like ,tantalus in the midst of his lake1
 or like the  spirits in the            
twenty-fourth canto of the ,purgatorio4 
,i am as eager as  the ,hesperides      
holding out their hands for the fragrant
 fruit1 or as  ,eve in her desire       
for4444    ,sidenote3 ,travelling on a  
ray of light4    ,sidenote3 ,lumen sees 
the ,revolution of #ahdh4    ,,lumen4   
,some time after my departure from the  
,earth1 the eyes of my soul  being still
 mournfully directed toward my native   
world1 ,i found that1  on an attentive  
examination1 ,i could perceive at the   
#deth degree of  north latitude and the 
#ceth degree of longitude1 a triangular 
piece  of land of a sombre colour1 north
 of the ,black ,sea1 on the shores of   
which ,i saw1 towards the west1 a       
grievous number of my compatriots  madly
 engaged in killing one another4 ,i     
recalled to mind that relic  of         

barbarism1 war1 formerly called         
glorious1 with which you are still      
beset and burdened1 and ,i remembered   
that in this corner of the ,crimea      
#hjj1jjj men fell1 in ignorance of the  
cause of their mutual massacre4  ,some  
clouds then passed over ,europe4 ,at    
that time ,i was not on ,capella1  but  
in mid space1 between that star and the 
,earth1 about half the  distance from   
,vega4 ,having left the ,earth some time
 before1 ,i turned  toward a group of   
stars1 that1 seen from your planet1 are 
to the left  of ,capella4 ,meanwhile my 
thoughts recurred from time to time to  
the  ,earth1 and soon after taking the  
observation to which ,i have referred1  
my eyes being fixed on ,paris1 ,i was   
surprised to see it a prey to an        
insurrection of the people4 ,examining  
it more attentively1 ,i discerned       
barricades on the boulevards1 near the  
,htel de ,ville1 and along the  streets1
 and the citizens firing at one another4
 ,the first idea that  occurred to me   

was that a new revolution was taking    
place before my  eyes1 and that         
,napoleon ,,iii4 was dethroned4 ,but1 by
 the secret sympathy  of souls1 my sight
 was attracted to a barricade in the    
,faubourg ,st4  ,antoine1 upon which ,i 
saw lying prostrate the ,archbishop     
,denis ,auguste  ,affre1 with whom ,i   
had been slightly acquainted4 ,his      
sightless eyes  were turned towards the 
heavens where ,i was1 but he saw        
nothing2 in his  hand he held a green   
branch4 ,i was thus witnessing the days 
of #ahdh1  and in particular that of the
 #beth of ,june4    ,sidenote3 ,he sees 
the events of #ahca4    ,a few          
minutes--a few hours1 perhaps--passed1  
during which my  imagination and my     
reason sought in turns for an           
explanation of this  special scene4 ,to 
see #ahdh after #ahed6 ,when my sight   
was again  attracted to the ,earth1 ,i  
remarked a distribution of tricoloured  
flags  in a grand square of the city of 
,lyons1 ,trying to distinguish the      

official person who was making this     
distribution1 ,i recognised the         
uniforms1 and ,i remembered that after  
the accession of ,louis ,philippe1  the 
young ,duke of ,orleans had been sent to
 quell the disturbances in  the capital 
of ,french manufactures4 ,it followed   
from thence that1  after #ahed and      
#ahdh1 ,i had before my eyes an event of
 #ahca4 ,presently  my glance turned to 
,paris on the day of a public fte4 ,the 
king1 a  coarse-looking man1 with a     
rubicund face1 was tearing along in a   
magnificent chariot1 and was just       
crossing the ,pont ,neuf4 ,the weather  
was splendid4 ,some fair ladies posed1  
like a basket of lilies1 on the  white  
parapet of the bridge4 ,floating over   
,paris some brightly-coloured  creatures
 could be seen4 ,evidently ,i beheld the
 en trance of the  ,bourbons into       
,france4    ,sidenote3 ,supposed        
explanation of this strange slight4     
,i should not have understood this last 
strange sight if ,i had not  recollected

 that a number of balloons1 in the form 
of animals1 had  been sent up on that   
occasion4 ,from my higher altitude they 
appeared  to wriggle about the roofs of 
the houses4 ,to see again past events   
was comprehensible enough1 according to 
the law of light4 ,but to see  things   
contrary to their real order in time1   
that was too fantastic1  and puzzled me 
beyond expression4 ,nevertheless1 as ,i 
had the things  before my eyes1 ,i could
 not deny the fact4 ,i sought forthwith 
for  some hypothesis to account for this
 singular phenomenon4 ,at first ,i      
supposed it was really the ,earth that  
,i saw1 and that by a fiat of  fate1 the
 secret of which is known only to ,god1 
the history of ,france  repeats itself1 
and passes through the same phases that 
it has already  traversed2 that the     
course of events proceed up to a certain
 maximum1  where they shine gloriously  
for a time1 and then comes a reaction to
  the original state of things1 by an   
oscillation in human affairs like  the  

variations of the magnetic needle1 or   
like the movements of the  stars4       
,the personages whom ,i took for the    
,duke of ,orleans and ,louis ,,xviii4   
were perhaps other princes1 who were    
repeating exactly what the  former had  
done4 ,this hypothesis1 however1        
appeared to be so very  extraordinary1  
that ,i paused to consider a more       
rational theory4  ,admitting the fact of
 the number of stars1 with planets      
moving round  them1 is it not probable  
that a world exactly like the ,earth    
exists  somewhere in the universe of    
space8    ,sidenote3 ,calculation of    
probabilities4    ,the calculation of   
probabilities supplies an answer to this
 question4  ,the greater the number of  
worlds1 the greater will be the         
probability  that the forces of nature  
have given birth to an organisation like
  that of the ,earth4 ,now the real     
number of worlds surpasses all human    
calculation1 either written or possible 
to be written4 ,if we could  understand 

what infinite means1 we might venture to
 say that this  number is infinite4 ,i  
concluded1 then1 that there is a very   
high  probability in favour of the      
existence of many worlds exactly like   
the  ,earth1 on the surface of which the
 same history is accomplished1 and  the 
same succession of historical events    
takes place2 worlds which are  inhabited
 by identically the same species of     
vegetables and animals1  and the same   
humanity1 and where men and families    
like our own1 ,i doubt  not1 exist4     
,in the second place1 ,i asked myself if
 another world analogous to  the ,earth 
might not also be symmetrical to it2 and
 then ,i worked out  the geometry of the
 problem1 and the metaphysical theory of
 images4  ,i arrived at the conclusion  
that it was possible for the world in   
question to be like the ,earth1 but in  
an inverse form4 ,when you look  at     
yourself in a mirror1 you notice that   
the ring on your right hand  appears to 
be on the ring-finger of your left hand4

 ,this explains the  symbol4 ,if you    
wink your right eye1 your reflection    
winks the left  eye2 when you advance   
your right arm1 your image advances the 
left  arm4 ,it is not impossible that in
 the infinity of the stars a world      
exists exactly the converse of the      
terrestrial world4 ,undoubtedly in an   
infinity of worlds the non-existence of 
a similar world1 perhaps of  millions of
 them1 would be the real impossibility4 
,nature of necessity  repeats herself1  
reproduces herself1 but still under all 
forms plays  the game of creation4 ,i   
thought therefore that the world on     
which ,i saw  those things was not the  
,earth1 but a globe like the ,earth1 the
 history  of which was precisely the    
opposite of yours4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i    
myself have had the idea also that it   
might have been as you  say4 ,but was it
 not easy for you to make sure of it by 
ascertaining  whether it was the ,earth 
or another star that you had before your
 eyes1  by examining its astronomical   

position8    ,sidenote3 ,the solution of
 the problem4    ,,lumen4 ,that is      
precisely what ,i did immediately1 and  
this examination  confirmed me in my    
opinion4 ,the star where ,i had just    
witnessed four  facts1 analogous to four
 terrestrial facts1 but inversely1 did  
not  appear to me to occupy its original
 position4 ,the little constellation  of
 the ,altar no longer existed1 and on   
that side of the heavens where  you     
remember the ,earth appeared to be in my
 first episode1 there was  an irregular 
polygon of unknown stars4 ,i was thus   
convinced that it  was not our ,earth   
that ,i had before my eyes4 ,i could no 
longer feel  any doubt about it1 and ,i 
was satisfied that ,i had now1 for my   
field  of exploration1 a world so much  
the more curious that it was not the    
,earth1 and that its history appeared to
 represent1 in an inverse order1  the   
scenes of the history of our world4     
,sidenote3 ,history retraced            
,sidenote3 ,france of the past4    ,some

 events1 it is true1 did not appear to  
have corresponding ones  on the ,earth1 
but in general the coincidence was very 
remarkable4 ,i  was the more struck with
 this because the contempt which ,i feel
 for  the instigators of war had led me 
to hope that a folly so absurd  and so  
infamous might not have existed in other
 worlds4 ,but1 on the  contrary1 the    
greater part of the events which ,i     
witnessed were  combats or preparations 
for war4 ,after a battle1 which appeared
 to  me very much to resemble that of   
,waterloo1 ,i saw the battle of the     
,pyramids4 ,an image of ,napoleon as    
emperor had become first ,consul1  and  
,i saw the ,revolution succeed to the   
,consulate4 ,some time after  ,i        
observed the square in front of the     
,chteau of ,versailles covered  with    
mourning-coaches1 and in an open pathway
 from ,ville-d',avray ,i  recognised the
 botanist ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau      
slowly walking along1  and1 no doubt1 at
 that moment philosophising on the death

 of ,louis ,,xv4  ,i was particularly   
struck with the gala ftes at the        
beginning of the  reign of ,louis ,,xv41
 worthy successors of those of the      
,regency1 during  which the treasures of
 ,france glistened in precious stones on
 the  fingers of the three or four      
adored courtesans4 ,i saw ,voltaire1    
with  his white cotton cap1 in his park 
at ,ferney2 and later on1 ,bossuet1     
walking on the little terrace of his    
episcopal palace at ,meaux1 not far     
from the little hill through which the  
railway is now cut1 but ,i could  not   
see the least trace of the railway line4
 ,in this same succession of  events1 ,i
 saw the highroads covered with         
diligences1 and large sailing  ships on 
the seas4 ,steam and all the factories  
that are moved by it  now1 had          
disappeared4 ,neither telegraphs nor any
 other application  of electricity      
existed4 ,balloons1 which more than once
 ,i had seen in  the field of           
observation1 were lost to sight4 ,the   

last that ,i saw was  the shapeless     
globe sent up by the brothers           
,montgolfier at ,annonay  in the        
presence of the ,states-,general4 ,the  
face of the ,earth was  quite           
changed--,paris1 ,lyons1 ,marseilles1   
,havre1 and more especially             
,versailles1 were not recognisable2 the 
first four had lost their  immense      
activity1 the last had gained           
incomparably in magnificence4           
,sidenote3 ,the monarchy4    ,i had     
formed a very imperfect idea of the     
splendour of the royal ftes  at         
,versailles4 ,it was a satisfaction to  
me to be present at them2 and  it was   
not without interest that ,i recognised 
,louis ,,xiv4 himself1 on  the splendid 
terrace at the west1 surrounded by a    
thousand nobles whose  breasts were     
covered with decorations4 ,it was in the
 evening2 the last  rays of glowing     
sunshine were reflected on the royal    
faade1 whilst  gallant couples gravely  
descended the steps of the marble       

stairs1 and  presently disappeared along
 the silent and shady avenues4 ,my sight
 was  fixed in preference on ,france1 or
 at least toward that region of this    
unknown world which represented ,france 
to me2 for absence makes the  heart grow
 fonder1 and when far from one's country
 one thinks of it  all the more1 and    
recurs with ever new interest to the    
thought of it4  ,do not believe that    
souls liberated from their bodies are   
scornful1  and indifferent1 and devoid  
of memory4 ,our existence would then be 
a  sad one4 ,no2 we preserve the faculty
 of remembrance4 ,our hearts are  not   
wholly absorbed in the life of the      
spirit2 and so it was with an           
instinctive feeling of delight1 which   
you can imagine1 that thus ,i saw  again
 the history of ,france unfolded before 
me as though its phases  were being     
accomplished in an inverse order4       
,sidenote3 ,feudalism    ,sidenote3     
,joan of ,arc4    ,sidenote3 ,the       
,crusades4    ,sidenote3 ,the history of

 ,france unrolled4    ,after the people 
had amalgamated into one nationality1 ,i
 saw the rule  of a single sovereign    
established4 ,after that came princely  
feudalism4  ,mazarin1 ,richelieu1 ,louis
 ,,xiii41 and ,henry ,,iv4 appeared to  
me at ,saint  ,germain4 ,the ,bourbons  
and the ,guises resumed their skirmishes
 for me4  ,i thought ,i could           
distinguish the night of ,st4           
,bartholomew1 ,i saw some  special      
events in the history of our            
provinces--for instance1 one of  the    
scenes in the sorcery of ,chaumont1     
which ,i had time to observe1  before   
the ,church of ,saint ,jean1 and the    
massacre of the ,protestants  at ,vassy4
 ,what a comedy is human life6 ,alas6   
too often a tragedy6  ,suddenly ,i      
beheld in space the magnificent comet of
 #aegg1 in the  form of a sabre4 ,in    
grand array in the midst of a plain1    
brilliantly  decorated1 ,i recognised   
,francis ,i4 and ,charles ,v4 saluting  
one another4  ,louis ,,xi4 ,i perceived 

on a terrace of the ,bastile1 attended  
by his two  gloomy companions4 ,later   
on1 my sight was turned to a square in  
,rouen1  where ,i observed flames and   
smoke1 and in their midst ,i discerned  
the  form of the ,maid of ,orleans4     
,convinced as ,i was that the world ,i  
was  looking at was the exact           
counterpart of the ,earth1 ,i divined   
beforehand  the events that ,i was about
 to see4 ,thus1 after having seen ,saint
  ,louis dying before ,tunis1 ,i was    
present at the eighth ,crusade1 and     
subsequently at the third1 where ,i     
recognised ,frederick ,barbarossa by    
his beard4 ,then at the first ,crusade1 
when ,peter the ,hermit and ,godfrey    
reminded me of ,tasso4 ,i was not a     
little surprised4 ,i then expected to   
see1 in succession1 ,hugh ,capet1       
leading a procession1 arrayed in his    
official robes2 the ,council of         
,tauriacum deciding that the judgment of
  ,god would be pronounced in the battle
 of ,fontanet2 ,charles the ,bald       

ordering the massacre of a hundred      
thousand men and all the ,merovingian   
nobility2 ,charlemagne crowned in ,rome3
 his war against the ,saxons and  the   
,lombards2 ,charles ,martel hammering   
away at the ,saracens2 ,king  ,dagobert 
founding the ,abbey of ,st4 ,denis1 just
 as ,i had seen ,alexander  ,,iii4      
laying the first stone of ,notre ,dame2 
,brunehaut dragged along  the pavement  
by a horse2 the ,visigoths1 the         
,vandals1 the ,ostrogoths1  ,clovis     
,meroveus appearing in the country of   
the ,saliens3 in a word1  the history of
 ,france1 from its very beginning1      
unrolled itself before  me in an order  
inverse to the succession of            
events--this was what  actually         
happened4 ,many historical questions    
which were very important1  and which   
had hitherto been obscure to me1 were   
rendered clear4 ,i  ascertained1 among  
other things1 that the ,french were the 
original  possessors of the right bank  
of the ,rhine1 and that the ,germans    

have no  right to claim that river1 and 
still less to dispute the possession of 
the left bank4    ,sidenote3 ,old ,paris
    ,sidenote3 ,rome of the ,csars4     
,sidenote3 ,judea4    ,sidenote3        
,calvary4    ,sidenote3 ,death of       
,julius ,csar4    ,there was1 ,i assure 
you1 an immense interest in taking part1
 if ,i may  so express myself1 in the   
events of which ,i had but the vague    
ideas  derived from the echoes of       
history1 often deceptive1 and in        
visiting  countries that are now totally
 transformed4 ,the vast and brilliant   
capital of modern civilisation became   
old to me1 and had shrunk to  the size  
of an ordinary town1 but was at the same
 time fortified with  crenellated       
towers4 ,i admired in turns the         
beautiful city of the  fifteenth        
century1 its curious types of           
architecture1 the celebrated  tower of  
,nesle1 and the extensive convents of   
,saint ,germain-des-,prs4  ,where the   
tower of ,st4 ,jacques now stands1 ,i   

recognised the gloomy  court of the     
alchemist ,nicolas ,flamel4 ,the round  
and pointed roofs had  the singular     
effect of looking like mushrooms on the 
banks of a river4  ,then this feudal    
aspect disappeared1 and gave place to a 
solitary  castle in the ,seine valley   
surrounded by cottages2 and finally     
there  was nothing but a fertile plain1 
where one could only distinguish a  few 
huts of savages4 ,at the same time ,i   
remarked that the seat of  civilisation 
was changed1 and was now in the south4  
,i will confess to  you1 my friend1 that
 ,i never felt greater delight than at  
the moment  when ,i was permitted to see
 ,rome of the ,csars in all its         
splendour4  ,it was the day of a        
triumph1 and no doubt under the rule of 
the ,syrian  princes2 for in the midst  
of magnificent surroundings1 gorgeous   
chariots1 the purple oriflammes of the  
,senate1 and of elegant women  and of   
performers of theatres1 ,i distinguished
 the ,emperor luxuriously  reclining in 

a golden car1 clothed in                
delicately-coloured silk1  covered with 
precious stones and ornaments in gold   
and silver1 which  glittered in the     
golden sunshine4 ,this must have been   
,heliogabalus1  the priest of the sun4  
,the ,coliseum1 the temple of           
,antoninus1 the  triumphal arches1 and  
,trajan's column were standing4 ,rome   
was in all  its ancient beauty and      
grandeur1 that last beautiful phase     
which was  no more than a scene in a    
theatre to those crowned buffoons4 ,a   
little  later ,i was present at the     
eruption of ,vesuvius1 which overwhelmed
  ,herculaneum and ,pompeii4 ,i saw     
,rome in flames1 just for a moment2 and 
although ,i was not able to distinguish 
,nero on his terrace1 ,i have no  doubt 
,i beheld the conflagration in the year 
#fd1 and the signal for the  persecution
 of the ,christians4 ,a few hours after1
 my attention being  still occupied in  
examining the extensive gardens by the  
,tiber1 ,i had  just seen the ,emperor  

near a parterre of roses1 when1 in      
consequence of  the revolution of the   
,earth on its axis1 ,judea was presented
 to me4 ,how  anxiously ,i regarded it  
when ,i distinguished ,jerusalem and the
 mountain  of ,golgotha4 ,jesus was     
climbing this mountain1 accompanied by a
 few  women1 escorted by a troop of     
soldiers1 and followed by the ,jewish   
populace4 ,i shall never forget this    
spectacle4 ,it assumed a totally        
different aspect to me from what it did 
to those who were living at  the time   
and who took part in it1 for the        
glorious future 7and the  past also7 of 
the ,christian ,church was unfolded for 
me as the crown of  the ,divine         
sacrifice4444 ,i cannot dwell on it2 you
 can understand what  various feelings  
agitated my soul on this supreme        
occasion4444 ,a little  later1 returning
 to ,rome1 ,i recognised ,julius ,csar  
prostrate in death1  with ,antony beside
 him holding what ,i think was a roll of
 papyrus in  his left hand4 ,the        

conspirators were hastening down to the 
banks of  the ,tiber4 ,with a very      
natural curiosity ,i traced back the    
life of  ,julius ,csar1 and found him   
with ,vercingetorix in the centre of    
,gaul1  and ,i may state that none of   
the suppositions of our modern          
historians  respecting the situation of 
,alesia are correct4 ,in fact1 this     
fortress  was situated on 4 4 4         
,,qu,,rens44 ,master1 pardon me for     
interrupting you1 but ,i am anxious to  
seize this opportunity to question you  
on a particular point respecting  the   
,dictator4 ,since you have seen ,julius 
,csar1 tell me1 ,i pray you1 if  his    
face resembles that given by the        
,emperor ,napoleon ,,iii4 in his great  
work on the life of that famous captain8
    ,,lumen4 ,i should be delighted1 my 
old friend1 to enlighten you on this    
point if it were possible for me to do  
so4 ,but reflect for a moment1  and you 
will see that the laws of perspective   
forbid me4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,of           

perspective8 ,you mean to say of        
politics4    ,,lumen4 ,no1 of           
perspective 7although these two things  
strongly resemble  one another72 for in 
seeing great men from the height of     
heaven1 ,i do  not see them as they     
appear to the vulgar4 ,from the heavens 
we see  men geometrically from above1   
not face to face2 that is to say1 when  
they are standing we have only a        
horizontal projection of them4 ,you may 
remember that once in a balloon1 as we  
passed over the ,vendme ,column  at     
,paris1 you remarked to me that         
,napoleon seen from that height was  not
 above the level of other men4 ,it was  
just the same with ,csar4 ,in  the other
 world material measures disappear1 only
 intellectual measures  exist4          
,sidenote3 ,roman history4    ,sidenote3
 ,building of the ,pyramids4            
,sidenote3 ,the ,stone ,age4    ,to     
continue1 however1 ,i retraced history1 
from ,julius ,csar to the  ,consuls1 and
 then to the kings of ,latium1 in order 

to witness the rape  of the ,sabines1   
which ,i was pleased to observe         
actually1 as a type of  ancient manners4
 ,history has embellished many things1  
and ,i discovered  that most events as  
represented to us are totally different 
from the  actual facts4 ,then ,i saw    
,king ,candaules in ,lydia1 in the scene
 in the  bath that you remember1 then   
the invasion of ,egypt by the           
,ethiopians1  the oligarchical republic 
of ,corinth1 the eighth ,olympiad in    
,greece1  and ,isaiah the prophet in    
,judea4 ,i saw the building of the      
,pyramids  by troops of obedient slaves 
under chiefs mounted on dromedaries4    
,the great dynasties of ,bactria and of 
,india appeared before me1 and  ,china  
showed the marvellous skill in the arts 
that she possessed even  before the     
birth of the western world4 ,i had an   
opportunity to search  for the ,atlantis
 of ,plato1 and ,i saw that the opinions
 of ,bailly on  that continent1 now     
submerged1 are not devoid of foundation4

 ,in ,gaul ,i  could distinguish nothing
 but vast forests and swamps2 even the  
,druids  had disappeared1 and the savage
 inhabitants strongly resembled those   
that we find now in ,oceania4 ,it was   
truly the stone age as it is  unearthed 
for us by modern archologists4 ,further 
back still1 ,i saw  that the number of  
men diminished by degrees1 and the      
domination of  nature seemed to belong  
to a race of the great apes1 to the cave
 bears1  to lions1 hyenas1 and the      
rhinoceros4 ,a moment arrived when it   
was  not only impossible to distinguish 
a single man on the surface of the      
earth1 but when not the least vestige of
 the human race was visible4  ,all had  
disappeared2 earthquakes1 volcanoes1    
deluges prevailed over the  surface of  
the planet1 and the presence of man in  
the midst of such a  chaotic state of   
things was no longer possible4          
,,qu,,rens4 ,i shall confess to you1    
dear ,lumen1 that ,i have waited with   
impatience for the moment when you      

should arrive at the garden of ,eden1   
in order to learn in what form the      
creation of the human race on the  earth
 was presented to you4 ,i am surprised  
that you do not seem to have  thought of
 making this important observation4     
,,lumen4 ,i relate to you only the      
things which ,i saw1 my curious friend1 
and ,i refrain from substituting the    
dreams of my imagination for the        
evidences of my sight4 ,i did not       
perceive the least trace of that  ,eden 
so poetically depicted in the primitive 
theogonies4 ,now1 this  was very        
extraordinary1 since the resemblance    
between the world that  ,i had before my
 eyes and the ,earth was so complete4   
,it was more than  surprising1 if the   
terrestrial paradise was really the     
cradle of  humanity4 ,but ,i do not see 
why paradise might not have been1 with  
as  good reason1 at the end of human    
society4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,indeed ,i think
 it would be more just to suppose it to 
be at  the end rather than the          

beginning1 as the result and the        
recompense1  instead of the             
misunderstood prelude1 to a life of     
suffering4 ,but since  you have not seen
 it ,i shall not urge my question4      
,sidenote3 ,prehistoric ages4           
,sidenote3 ,a dying world4    ,sidenote3
 ,the beginning1 not the end of the     
,earth4    ,,lumen4 ,finally1 in        
concluding my observations of this      
singular world1  whose history was      
exactly the inverse of yours1 ,i saw    
marvellous  animals1 of monstrous forms1
 in combat on the shores of vast oceans4
  ,there were enormous serpents armed   
with formidable paws2 crocodiles  that  
flew in the air1 sustained by wings     
organically longer than their  bodies2  
misshapen fishes with jaws wide enough  
to swallow an ox2 birds  of prey        
struggling in terrible battles in the   
desert islands4 ,there  were whole      
continents covered with forests1 trees  
with enormous leaves  entangled in one  
another2 a vegetation at once sombre and

 severe1  for the vegetable kingdom was 
devoid of both flowers and fruit4 ,the  
mountains vomited forth clouds of flame 
and vapour1 the rivers fell  in         
cataracts1 the ground opened in immense 
chasms in which were  engulfed hills1   
woods1 streams1 trees1 and animals4 ,but
 before long it  became impossible for  
me to perceive even the surface of the  
globe2 a  universal sea appeared to     
cover it1 and the vegetable kingdom1    
like  the animal kingdom1 was slowly    
effaced1 and gave place to a monotonous 
verdure interspersed with lightning and 
whitish smoke4 ,henceforth  it was a    
dying world4 ,i was present at the last 
palpitations of its  heart1             
intermittently revealed in the gloom by 
flashes of flame4 ,then  it seemed to me
 that it rained everywhere over its     
whole surface1  for the ,sun threw light
 on nothing but clouds and torrents of  
rain4  ,the hemisphere opposite to the  
,sun appeared less sombre than before1  
and one could perceive a dull light     

gleaming through the tempests4  ,this   
light increased in intensity1 and spread
 over the entire sphere4  ,great        
crevasses became red like iron in the   
furnace2 and as iron in  a hot furnace  
becomes bright red1 then orange1 then   
yellow1 then in  succession white and   
incandescent1 so the world passed       
through all  the progressive phases of  
heat4 ,its volume increased1 its        
movement of  rotation became slower4    
,the mysterious globe seemed like an    
immense  sphere of molten metal         
enveloped in metallic vapours4 ,under   
the  incessant action of this interior  
furnace and the elemental combats  7or  
combinations7 of this strange chemistry1
 it acquired enormous  proportions1 and 
the sphere of fire became a sphere of   
smoke4 ,thence  it went on developing   
without cessation1 and lost its         
personality4 ,the  ,sun1 which at first 
had shed light on it1 no longer         
surpassed it in  brightness1 and it     
itself increased so much in             

circumference that it  became evident to
 me that the vaporous planet would soon 
lose its own  existence and be absorbed 
in the enlarged atmosphere of the ,sun4 
,it is  a rare experience to be present 
at the end of a world4 ,and so in my    
enthusiasm ,i could not prevent myself  
from crying out with a kind of  vanity1 
,behold the end of the world1 ,o ,god6  
and this1 then1 is the  fate in store   
for all the inhabited worlds6 ,this is  
not the end1  replied a voice in the    
hearing of my soul2 this is the         
beginning4  ,how can this be the        
beginning8 thought ,i immediately4 ,the 
beginning  of the ,earth itself1 replied
 the same voice4 ,thou hast seen over   
again the whole history of the ,earth in
 thus withdrawing from her with  a      
velocity greater than that of light4    
,this declaration did not surprise me so
 much as the first episode  of my       
ultra-terrestrial life1 for ,i was now  
familiarised with the  astonishing      
effects of the laws of light2 ,i was    

henceforth prepared  for every new      
surprise4 ,i had some doubts of the     
fact1 in consequence  of certain details
 that ,i have not given you to avoid    
disturbing the  unity of my recital or  
breaking the thread of my narrative1 but
 which  were nevertheless incomparably  
more extraordinary than the general     
succession of events4    ,,qu,,rens4    
,but if it was really the ,earth1 how   
comes it that the  astronomical         
calculations you made in order to       
recognise her in the  constellation of  
the ,altar1 indicated1 as you have      
pointed out1 that  the world you were   
examining was neither the ,earth nor a  
star of the  ,altar8    ,sidenote3      
,events retraced4    ,sidenote3         
,sidereal perspective4    ,,lumen4 ,the 
fact is1 that even that constellation   
had itself changed  in consequence of my
 voyage in space4 ,in place of the stars
 of the  third magnitude1 1 1 and       
7alpha1 gamma1 zeta71 and stars of the  
fourth magnitude1 1 1 and  7beta1 delta1

 theta71 which constitute  that figure  
as seen from the ,earth1 my distance    
towards the nebul had  reduced those    
starsa to little imperceptible points4  
,it had placed  other brilliant stars   
there1 which were no doubt  7alpha7 and 
7beta7  of ,auriga1 1 1  7theta1 iota1  
eta71 and perhaps even  7epsilon7 of    
the same constellation--stars           
diametrically opposite to the preceding 
when seen from the ,earth1 but which    
were necessarily interposed there  when 
,i had passed them by4 ,the celestial   
perspective had already  changed1 and it
 had become1 in truth1 almost impossible
 to determine  the position of our ,sun4
    ,sidenote3 ,it was really the ,earth
 that ,lumen saw4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i had 
not thought of this inevitable change of
 perspective  on the other side of      
,capella2 and so it was really the      
,earth that you  saw1 and therefore its 
history was unrolled before you in an   
inverse  order--you saw ancient events  
taking place after modern events4 ,by   

what new process has light thus enabled 
you to ascend the stream of  time8      
,furthermore1 dear ,lumen1 you have     
informed me that you have  observed some
 curious particulars relative to the    
,earth itself4 ,i am  wishful to ask you
 some special questions on these        
details4 ,i shall  listen1 then1 with   
interest to the extraordinary history   
which ought to  complete this recital1  
persuaded1 as before1 that it will fully
 reward  my curiosity4      ,,ii        
,sidenote3 ,history read backwards4     
,,lumen4 ,the first circumstance is     
connected with the battle of ,waterloo4 
,,qu,,rens4 ,no one remembers that      
catastrophe better than ,i do4 ,i       
received  a ball in my shoulder there1  
in the neighbourhood of ,mont           
,saint-,jean1  and a sabre-cut on my    
right hand from one of ,blucher's       
blackguards4    ,sidenote3 ,waterloo    
beyond the tomb4    ,,lumen4 ,well1 my  
old comrade1 in taking part in this     
battle again1  ,i found it quite        

different from what it was in the past1 
as you  may judge from what ,i will     
relate to you4 ,when ,i had recognised  
the field of ,waterloo1 to the south of 
,brussels1 ,i distinguished  first a    
considerable number of dead bodies lying
 on the ground  indiscriminately4 ,far  
off1 through the mist1 ,i perceived     
,napoleon  walking backwards1 holding   
his horse by the bridle4 ,the officers  
who  accompanied him were marching      
backwards also4 ,the cannon began to    
boom1 and from time to time ,i saw the  
lurid gleam of their flashes4  ,when my 
sight was sufficiently habituated to the
 scene1 ,i perceived  some soldiers     
coming to life out of the eternal night1
 and by a single  effort standing up4   
,group after group1 a considerable      
number1 were thus  resuscitated4 ,the   
dead horses revived like the dead       
cavaliers1 and  the latter remounted    
them4 ,as soon as two or three thousand 
men had  returned to life1 ,i saw them  
form unconsciously in line of battle4   

,the  two armies took their places      
fronting one another1 and began to fight
  desperately with a fury that one might
 have taken for despair4 ,as the  combat
 deepened on both sides1 the soldiers   
came to life more rapidly4  ,french1    
,english1 ,prussians1 ,germans1         
,hanoverians1 ,belgians--grey  coats1   
blue uniforms1 red tunics1 green1       
white--arose from the field  of the dead
 and fought4 ,in the centre of the      
,french army ,i espied the  ,emperor1 a 
battalion in square surrounded him2 the 
,imperial ,guard was  resuscitated4     
,their immense battalions advanced from 
the two camps  and engaged in a fierce  
onslaught2 from the left and from the   
right1  squadrons advanced4 ,the white  
manes of the white horses floated in the
  wind4 ,i remembered the strange       
picture by ,raffet1 and the spectral    
epigram of the ,german poet ,sedlitz3-- 
,la caisse sonne1 trange1               
,fortement elle retentit4       ,dans   
leur fosse ressuscitent       ,les vieux

 soldats pris4    ,and this other3--    
,c'est la grande revue1       ,qu'      
l'heure de minuit       ,aux            
,champs-lyses       ,tient ,csar dcd4   
,it was really ,waterloo1 but a         
,waterloo beyond the tomb1 for the      
combatants were raised from the dead4   
,besides1 in this singular  apparition  
they marched backwards one against the  
other4 ,such a battle  had a magical    
effect1 and impressed me more forcibly1 
because ,i foresaw  the event itself1   
and this event was strangely transformed
 in its  counterpart image4 ,not less   
singular was the fact1 that the longer  
they  fought1 the more the number of    
combatants increased2 at each gap made  
by the cannon in the serried ranks a    
group of resuscitated dead filled  up   
the gaps immediately4 ,when the         
belligerents had spent the whole day  in
 tearing one another to pieces with     
grape-shot1 with cannons and  bullets1  
with bayonets1 sabres1 and swords--when 
the great battle was  over1 there was   

not a single person killed1 no one was  
even wounded2  even uniforms that before
 it were torn and in disorder were in   
good  condition1 the men were safe and  
sound1 and the ranks in correct form4   
,the two armies slowly withdrew from one
 another1 as if the heat of the  battle 
and all its fury had no other object    
than the restoration to  life1 amid the 
smoke of the combat1 of the two hundred 
thousand corpses  which had lain on the 
field a few hours before4 ,what an      
exemplary and  desirable battle it was6 
,sidenote3 ,reascending the ages4       
,assuredly it was the most singular of  
military episodes1 and the moral  aspect
 of it far surpassed the physical1 when 
,i found that this battle  resulted not 
in the defeat of ,napoleon1 but in      
placing him upon the  throne4 ,instead  
of losing the battle1 it was the        
,emperor who gained  it2 instead of a   
prisoner1 he became a sovereign4        
,waterloo was an #ahth  ,brumaire6444   
,,qu,,rens4 ,dear ,lumen1 ,i do not half

 understand this new effect of the  laws
 of light4 ,if you have discovered it1  
,i shall be grateful to you if  you will
 give me an explanation of it4          
,,lumen4 ,i have helped you to divine it
 by telling you that ,i removed  from   
the ,earth with a greater velocity than 
that of light4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but tell 
me1 ,i pray you1 how does this          
retrogression in space  enable you to   
see events in an order inverse to that  
in which they took  place8    ,,lumen4  
,the theory is very simple4 ,suppose you
 set out from the ,earth  with the      
velocity exactly equal to that of light1
 you would always  have with you the    
aspect that the ,earth assumed at the   
moment you  set out1 since you would be 
receding from the globe with a swiftness
  precisely equal to that which bore    
this very aspect into space4 ,thus1     
even if you voyaged for a thousand years
 or a hundred thousand years1  this     
aspect would accompany you always like a
 photograph which did not  grow old2    

whilst the original is made old by the  
years that elapse4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i    
understood this fact already in our     
first conversation4    ,sidenote3       
,retrogressive light pictures4          
,,lumen4 ,well1 suppose now that you    
remove from the ,earth with a velocity  
superior to that of light1 what will    
happen8 ,you will find again1 as  fast  
as you advance into space1 the rays that
 set out before you1  that is to say the
 successive photographs which1 from     
second to second1  from instant to      
instant1 project their rays into space4 
,if1 for  example1 you set out in #ahfg 
with the velocity equal to that of      
light1  you would retain for ever the   
year #ahfg in sight4 ,if you went more  
quickly1 you would find before you the  
rays that had set out in former  years1 
and which bore upon them the photographs
 of those years4 ,in  order further to  
illustrate this fact1 reflect1 ,i pray  
you1 on the many  luminous rays that    
have set out from the ,earth in         

different epochs4 ,let  us suppose the  
first to be at some instant of the #ast 
,january #ahfg4  ,at the rate of        
#cjj1jjj kilometres a second1 it has1 at
 the moment in  which ,i am speaking to 
you1 already passed a portion of space  
from the  instant of its departure till 
it reached a certain distance which ,i  
shall express by the letter ,a4 ,let us 
now suppose that a second ray  sets out 
from the ,earth a hundred years before1 
on the #ast ,january  #agfg2 it is a    
hundred years in advance of the first1  
and is found at  a still greater        
distance--a distance that ,i shall      
express by the letter  ,b4 ,a third ray 
which ,i shall in like manner suppose on
 the #ast ,january  #affg1 is still     
further off by a length equal to the    
distance that  the light would travel in
 a hundred years4 ,i call the place     
where this  third ray reaches1 ,c4 ,then
 a fourth1 a fifth1 a sixth1 on         
respectively  the #ast ,january #aefg1  
#adfg1 #acfg1 c41 are posted at equal   

distances ,d1  ,e1 ,f1 penetrating more 
and more into the infinite4    ,here1   
then1 we have a series of photographs1  
taken on the same line1  from post to   
post in space4 ,now1 the mind which     
travels on in passing  successively by  
the points ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 ,e1 ,f1 can  
retrace successively  the secular       
history of the ,earth in those epochs4  
,,qu,,rens4 ,master1 at what distance   
are these photographs from one  another8
    ,sidenote3 ,photographs of the life 
on ,earth imprinted in space4           
,,lumen4 ,the calculation is very easy4 
,the interval which separates  them is  
of necessity that which light travels in
 a hundred years4  ,now1 at the rate of 
#ge1jjj leagues per second1 you see at  
once that  it travels #d1ejj1jjj leagues
 in a minute1 #bgj1jjj1jjj leagues in   
an hour1 #f1dhj1hjj1jjj leagues in a    
day1 #b1cff1hbj1jjj1jjj in a  year1     
allowing for leap-years2 consequently1  
the result would be  that the interval  
between two points of departure at the  

distance of  a century from one another1
 is nearly #bcf billions #fhb thousand  
millions of leagues4 ,here1 then1 ,i say
 we have a series of terrestrial        
photographs1 imprinted in space1 at     
corresponding distances1 one after      
another4 ,let us now suppose that       
between each of these centennial        
pictures we should find annual pictures1
 between each of which the  distance is 
preserved in accordance with the time   
that light travels in  a year1 which ,i 
have just given you2 then between each  
of the annual  pictures we have those of
 every day1 and as each day contains the
  photographs of each hour1 every hour  
the photographs of its minutes1  and    
every minute of its seconds1 all        
succeeding one another1 according  to   
their respective distances apart--we    
shall have in a ray of light1  or rather
 in a jet of light1 composed of a series
 of distinct pictures  in juxtaposition1
 the aerial register of the history of  
the ,earth4    ,sidenote3 ,psychical    

optics4    ,when the spirit travels in  
this ethereal ray of pictures with a    
swiftness greater than that of light1 it
 sees in succession1 backwards1  the    
ancient pictures4 ,when it arrives at   
the distance at which the  aspect of    
events that set out in #agfg is to be   
seen1 it has already  retraced a hundred
 years of terrestrial history4 ,when it 
reaches the  point where the aspect of  
#affg has arrived1 it retraces two      
centuries4  ,when it attains to the     
photograph of #aefg1 it has seen1 again1
 three  centuries1 and so on            
successively4 ,i told you in the        
beginning that ,i  directed my course   
toward a group of stars situated at the 
left of  ,capella4 ,this group proved to
 be at an incomparably greater distance 
than that star1 although from the ,earth
 it appeared to be close beside  it1    
because the two visual rays are near one
 another4 ,this apparent  proximity is  
solely due to the perspective4 ,in order
 to give you an  idea of the remoteness 

of this far-off universe1 ,i may tell   
you that  it is not less vast in size   
than the ,milky ,way4 ,one may then ask 
to  what distance should the ,milky ,way
 be transported to reduce it to  the    
apparent size of this nebula4 ,my       
learned friend ,arago made this         
calculation1 of which you must be aware1
 as he repeated it every year  in his   
course of lectures at the ,observatory1 
that have been published  since his     
death4 ,it would be necessary to suppose
 the ,milky ,way to be  transported to a
 distance equal to #ccd times its own   
length4 ,now1 as  light takes #ae1jjj   
years to traverse the ,milky ,way from  
one end to  another1 it follows that it 
cannot take less than #ccd times #ae1jjj
  years1 that is to say1 less than      
#e1jjj1jjj years1 in coming from        
thence4 ,i have ascended a ray of light 
from the ,earth to these remote         
regions1 and if my spiritual sight had  
been more perfect1 ,i should have  been 
able to distinguish not only the        

retrogression of history for  #aj1jjj   
years or #ajj1jjj years1 but even for   
#e1jjj1jjj years4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,can   
the mind1 then1 by its powers alone1    
cross in this way the  immeasurable     
spaces of the heavens8    ,,lumen4 ,not 
by its own power alone1 but by making   
use of the forces  of nature4           
,attraction is one of these forces4 ,it 
is transmitted with  a velocity         
incomparably superior to that of light1 
and the most  rigorously exact          
astronomical calculations are obliged to
 consider  this transmission as almost  
instantaneous4 ,i will add that if ,i   
have  been able to perceive events at   
such distances1 it is not by the        
apprehension of a physical sense that ,i
 know them1 but by a process            
incomparably more subtle1 which belongs 
to the psychic order4 ,the  movements of
 the ether1 which constitute light1 are 
not luminous by  themselves1 as you     
know4 ,the eye is not necessary in order
 to perceive  them4 ,a soul vibrating   

under their influence perceives them as 
well1  and often incomparably better    
than an organic optical apparatus4 ,this
  being psychical optics4 ,for example1 
attraction crosses instantaneously  the 
#adh1jjj1jjj of kilometres that separate
 the ,earth from the ,sun1  whilst light
 occupies #dic seconds in this passage4 
,,qu,,rens4 ,what length of time did    
your voyage to that remote universe     
occupy8    ,,lumen4 ,have ,i not told   
you that time does not exist outside the
  movements of the ,earth8 ,whether ,i  
employed a year or an hour1 it would    
have been exactly the same period in    
infinity4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i have thought
 it over1 and the physical difficulties 
seem to  me enormous4 ,permit me now to 
submit to you a strange thought that has
  just come into my head4    ,,lumen4   
,it is to hear your reflections that ,i 
give you this narrative4    ,,qu,,rens4 
,i want to ask you if the same inversion
 would take place with  the hearing as  
well as the sight8 ,if you can see an   

event backwards  from its real          
occurrence1 can you also hear a         
discourse backwards1  beginning at the  
end8 ,this is perhaps a daring question1
 and apparently  ridiculous1 but in     
paradoxes where can one stop8           
,sidenote3 ,light and sound4    ,,lumen4
 ,the paradox is only apparent4 ,the    
laws of sound are essentially  different
 from the laws of light4 ,sound travels 
only at the rate of #cdj  metres a      
second1 and its effects have absolutely 
nothing in common with  those of light4 
,nevertheless it is evident that if we  
were to advance  into the air with a    
velocity superior to that of sound1 we  
should  hear inversely the sounds that  
left the lips of a speaker4 ,if1 for    
instance1 some one were to recite an    
alexandrine1 an auditor in moving  with 
the aforesaid velocity1 starting at the 
moment when he heard the  last foot of  
the line1 would find successively the   
eleven other feet  which had been       
uttered before1 and would thus hear the 

alexandrine  backwards4    ,as to the   
theory itself1 it suggests a curious    
reflection1 that nature  might have     
caused sound to travel1 not at the rate 
of #cdj metres  a second1 and that its  
velocity1 which depends on the density  
and  the elasticity of the air1 might   
have been very much less4 ,why1 for     
instance1 might it not have been        
transmitted at the rate of only a few   
centimetres a second8 ,now see what     
would be the result if this were  the   
case4 ,men would not be able to speak to
 one another when walking  together4    
,let two friends be conversing1 and     
suppose one takes a step  or two in     
advance1 or goes on1 say the distance of
 a metre2 now1 if  sound were to take   
many seconds to cross this metre1 the   
consequence  would be that1 instead of  
hearing the phrases spoken in their     
right  order by his friend1 the foremost
 walker would hear in an inverse  order 
the sounds conveying the anterior       
phrases4 ,in that case we could  not    

speak whilst walking1 and three-fourths 
of mankind would not be  able to hear   
one another4    ,these remarks1 my      
friend1 induce me to suggest to you1 in 
this  connection1 for your              
consideration1 a subject well worthy of 
attention1  and which has hitherto      
received little notice--that of the     
adaptation  of the human organism to its
 terrestrial environment4 ,the manner in
  which man sees1 in which he hears2 his
 sensations1 his nervous system1  his   
build1 his weight1 his density1 his     
walk1 his functions--in a word1  all his
 actions are regulated and constituted  
by the condition of your  planet4 ,none 
of your acts are absolutely free and    
independent4 ,man is  the obedient1     
though unconscious1 creature of the     
organic forces of the  ,earth4          
,sidenote3 ,the human organism derived  
from the ,earth4    ,sidenote3 ,organic 
life accords with its habitat on each   
planet4    ,undoubtedly the human soul1 
not being a function of the brain1  and 

existing by itself1 enjoys relative     
liberty2 but this liberty  is limited by
 its faculties1 its powers1 and its     
energies2 it is  determined1 according  
to the causes which decide it1 at the   
moment of  the birth of every man4      
,could one know exactly the faculties of
 his  soul and the circumstances which  
were to surround his life1 one could    
write beforehand that man's life in all 
its details4 ,the human organism  is the
 product of the planet4 ,it is not by a 
,divine fantasy1 by a  miracle1 or by a 
direct creation that terrestrial man is 
constituted  such as he is4 ,his form1  
his figure1 his weight1 his sense1 his  
whole  organisation1 are derived from   
the state or condition of your planet1  
the atmosphere that you breathe1 the    
food that nourishes you1 the  gravity of
 the surface of the ,earth1 the density 
of terrestrial matter1  c4 ,the human   
body does not differ anatomically from  
that of one of the  higher mammalia1 and
 if you go back to the origin of        

species1 you will  find gradual         
transformations established by          
unimpeachable evidence4 ,the  whole of  
terrestrial life1 from the mollusc to   
man1 is the development  of one single  
and sole genealogical tree4 ,the human  
form has its  origin in the animal form4
 ,man is the butterfly developed from   
the  chrysalis of the palontological    
ages4 ,from this fact the consequence   
results that on other worlds organic    
life is different from what it is  here1
 and that their humanities1 which1 like 
our own1 are the result  of forces in   
activity on each planet1 differ         
absolutely in their  forms from that of 
terrestrial humanity4 ,for example1 on  
the worlds  where they do not eat1 the  
digestive apparatus and the intestines  
do  not exist4 ,on the worlds which are 
very highly electric1 the beings        
inhabiting them are gifted with an      
electric sense4 ,on others1 sight is    
adapted for the ultra-violet rays1 and  
the eyes have nothing in common  with   

your eyes2 they do not see what you see1
 and they see what you  cannot see4 ,the
 organs are adapted to the functions    
they have to fulfil4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,we 
are not1 then1 the absolute type of     
creation8 ,creation  itself is1 it      
appears1 a perpetual development of     
forces in activity4    ,sidenote3 ,the  
soul and destiny    ,,lumen4 ,the soul  
itself is subject to a similar law4     
,there are as many  diversities of souls
 as of bodies4 ,in order that the soul  
should exist  as an independent being   
having a consciousness of itself1 in    
order that  it should preserve the      
recollection of its identity and be     
qualified  for immortality1 it is       
necessary that even in this life it     
should know  that it really exists4     
,otherwise it is no more advanced the   
day after  death than the day before    
death1 and falls as an insensible breath
  into the blind cosmos1 neither more   
nor less than any other centre  of      
unconscious force4 ,many men on the     

,earth boast that they do not  believe  
in anything but matter1 without knowing 
what they say1 since  they do not know  
what matter is4 ,these last1 and those1 
still more  numerous1 who do not think  
at all1 are not immortal1 since they    
have  no consciousness of their         
existence4 ,the spirits who live really 
the  spiritual life are the only ones   
who are fitted for immortality4         
,,qu,,rens4 ,are there many of them8    
,,lumen4 ,my friend1 behold the dawn of 
morning which invites me anew to  return
 into the depths of space1 peopled with 
things unknown on ,earth1  that fruitful
 mine in which spirits find again the   
wrecks of past  existences1 the secrets 
of many mysteries1 the ruins of         
disintegrated  worlds1 and the genesis  
of future worlds4 ,and for the rest1 it 
would  be superfluous to lengthen out   
this recital with useless details4 ,my  
object has been to show you that1 in    
order to have the spectacle of a  world 
and of a system exactly opposite to     

yours1 all that is needed is  to recede 
from the ,earth with a velocity greater 
than that of light4  ,in this flight of 
the soul towards the inaccessible       
horizons of the  infinite1 one retraces 
the luminous rays reflected by the      
,earth and  by the other planets for    
millions and myriads of years1 and while
  observing the planets at this vast    
distance one can be present in  vision  
at the events of their past history4    
,thus one ascends the  stream of time to
 its source4 ,such a faculty ought to   
illuminate for  you the regions of      
eternity with a new light4 ,if1 as ,i   
hope1 you admit  the scientific value of
 my expositions of these                
ultra-terrestrial  studies1 ,i look     
forward to unfolding to you before long 
their  metaphysical consequences4       
,,third ,,conversation    ,,homo        
,,homunculus      ,sidenote3 ,clouds no 
impediment to vision4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i 
have listened to you with interest1     
,lumen1 without1 ,i  own1 being entirely

 convinced that all you have told me is 
actually  real4 ,indeed it is difficult 
to believe that it is possible to see   
with absolute certainty all the things  
of which you speak4 ,when1 for          
instance1 there are clouds across your  
field of view1 you cannot see  clearly  
what passes on the ,earth4 ,the same    
objection obtains for the  interior of  
houses4    ,sidenote3 ,light a vibration
 of ether4    ,,lumen4 ,you are         
mistaken1 my friend4 ,the undulations of
 ether pass  through obstacles that you 
would believe impenetrable4 ,clouds are 
formed of molecules between which rays  
of light frequently pass4 ,in the       
contrary case1 there are here and there 
vistas or gaps1 across which  one can   
only see obliquely4 ,the case is very   
rare when nothing can be  distinguished4
 ,besides1 light is not what it appears 
to be2 it is a  vibration of ether1 and 
there are other ways of seeing than by  
means  of the retina and the optic      
nerve4    ,the vibrations of ether are  

perceptible to senses other than those  
you  possess4 ,therefore1 if this be    
your sole objection1 it is1 ,i must say1
  far from being an insurmountable one4 
,,qu,,rens4 ,you have a special faculty 
for resolving all doubts4 ,perhaps  this
 is one of the gifts granted to         
spiritual beings4 ,i have been  obliged 
successively to admit1 that you have    
been transported to  ,capella with a    
swiftness exceeding that of light2 that 
you reached  another world as a spirit2 
that your soul is liberated from the    
flesh2  that your ultra-earthly         
perception is able to distinguish from  
that  height all that passes here2 that 
you can advance or recede in space      
according to your fancy2 and lastly1    
that the clouds themselves are no       
obstacles to your clearly seeing the    
surface of our globe4 ,it must be  owned
 that these are grave difficulties      
indeed4    ,,lumen4 ,you are very       
material1 my old friend6 ,should you be 
very  surprised if ,i undertook to prove

 to you that all these difficulties     
exist only in name1 and that all the    
objections which oppose themselves  to  
your conception of phenomena are the    
effects of ignorance8    ,what should   
you think if ,i affirmed that no one has
 a single true idea  of what takes place
 upon the ,earth1 and that man utterly  
fails to  understand nature8            
,,qu,,rens4 ,in the name of all the     
indisputable truths of modern science1  
,i should dare to think that you were   
trying to impose upon me4    ,sidenote3 
,the marvels of spectral analysis4      
,sidenote3 ,piercing nature of the      
soul's sight4    ,,lumen4 ,god forbid6  
,listen to me1 my friend4 ,the          
marvellous discoveries  of contemporary 
science ought to enlarge the sphere of  
your  conceptions4 ,you have just       
discovered spectral analysis6 ,by this  
methodic examination of a simple ray of 
light shot from a far-off star1  you    
learn what are the elements which       
compose this inaccessible star  and feed

 its brilliancy4 ,this knowledge1 my    
brother1 is of more value  than all the 
conquests of ,alexander1 of ,csar1 and  
of ,napoleon1 than  all the discoveries 
of ,ptolemy1 of ,columbus1 of           
,gutenberg1 than all the  books of      
,moses and of ,confucius4 ,only think1  
trillions of leagues span  the abyss    
which separates us from ,sirius1 from   
,arcturus1 from ,vega1  from ,capella1  
from ,castor and ,pollux1 and it is now 
possible to analyse  the substances     
which constitute these suns1 just as    
accurately as if  you could take them in
 your hand and submit them to the       
crucible of  the laboratory6 ,how then  
can you refuse to admit that1 by        
processes  which are unknown to you1 the
 soul's sight can be sufficiently       
piercing  to see clearly a bright       
far-off world1 and to distinguish even  
its  smallest details8 ,does not the    
telegraph carry in an inappreciable     
moment your thought from ,europe to     
,america through the depths of the      

ocean8 ,cannot two people converse in a 
low voice at a distance of  thousands of
 leagues1 and still you hesitate to     
admit the truth of my  narrations1      
because you do not altogether comprehend
 them8 ,but can you  explain how the    
telegraphic message is transmitted8 ,no1
 you cannot4  ,cease then to retain     
doubts which have not even the merit of 
being  scientific4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,my   
objections1 learned master1 have not any
 other end in view  than to elicit fresh
 light upon the subject4 ,i am far from 
denying the  truth of all you tell me1  
and ,i but seek to form a rational and  
exact  idea of it4    ,sidenote3 ,the   
inadequacy of the earthly senses4       
,,lumen4 ,be assured1 my friend1 ,i do  
not take any offence at your            
objections4 ,my only desire is to       
develop and enlarge the sphere of your  
conceptions4 ,i can at this very instant
 open your eyes to see the utter        
inadequacy of your terrestrial          
faculties1 and the fatal poverty of     

positive science itself1 by inviting you
 to reflect that the causes of  your    
impressions are solely modes of motion1 
and that what is proudly  termed science
 is only a very limited organic         
perception4    ,sidenote3 ,the          
limitations of the senses4    ,light by 
which your eyes see--sound by which your
 ears hear--are  different forms of     
motion by which you are impressed2      
odours1 flavours1  c41 are emanations   
which strike upon your olfactory nerve  
or touch  your palate2 these are solely 
vibratory motions which are transmitted 
to your brain4 ,you can only appreciate 
a few of these movements through  the   
senses you possess1 principally those of
 sight and hearing4 ,you1 in  your      
simplicity1 believe that you see and    
hear nature8 ,nothing of the  kind4 ,all
 you do is to receive some of the       
movements in activity upon  your        
sublunary atom4 ,that is all4 ,beyond   
the impressions you receive  there are  
an infinitely greater number unperceived

 by you4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,pardon1 master1
 but this new aspect of nature is not   
sufficiently clear for me to understand 
it4 ,would you4444    ,sidenote3 ,the   
extent of the gamut re vibrations of    
sound4    ,sidenote3 ,the extent of the 
vibrations of light4    ,,lumen4 ,this  
aspect is indeed new to you1 but        
attentive reflection will  enable you to
 grasp it4 ,sound is formed by          
vibrations in the air which  strike upon
 the membrane of the tympanum and give  
you the impression of  various tones4   
,man does not hear all sounds4 ,when the
 vibrations are  too slow 7below forty a
 second71 the sound is too low2 your ear
 cannot  catch it4 ,when the vibrations 
are too rapid 7above #cf1jjj a second71 
the sound is too sharp2 your ear cannot 
receive it4 ,above and below  these two 
limits1 therefore1 human beings do not  
perceive them4 ,these  vibrations exist1
 however1 and are perceived by creatures
 of other  kinds1 as1 for example1      
certain insects4 ,the same rules apply  

to light4  ,the different aspects of    
light1 the shades and colours of        
objects1 are  equally due to the        
vibrations which strike upon the optic  
nerve and  give you the impression of   
the different degrees of intensity in   
light4  ,man does not by any means see  
all that is visible4 ,when the          
vibrations  are too slow 7under #deh    
billions a second71 light is too feeble2
 your  eye sees nothing4 ,when the      
vibrations are too rapid 7over #gbg     
billions  a second71 light outruns your 
organic faculty of perception and is    
invisible to you4 ,above and below these
 two limits the vibrations of  ether    
still exist1 and are perceived by other 
beings4 ,you do not know  therefore1 nor
 can you receive1 any impressions except
 those that can  be made to vibrate upon
 the two chords of your organic lyre1   
called  respectively the optic nerve and
 the auditory nerve4    ,imagine for one
 instant the extent of all the sights   
and sounds which  are not perceptible to

 you4 ,all the undulatory movements that
 exist in  the universe between the     
figures of #cf1jjj and those represented
 by  #deh1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj in the same   
unity of time1 can neither be heard nor 
be seen by you1 and remain utterly      
unknown to you4    ,sidenote3 ,man deaf 
to the concert of universal harmonies by
 reason of  his limitations4    ,try to 
measure that distance6 ,contemporary    
science is beginning to  penetrate a    
little into this invisible world1 and   
you know that it  has just calculated   
the vibrations below #deh billions      
7these are the  caloric invisible rays7 
and the vibrations above #gbg billions  
7these  are the chemical rays1 also     
equally invisible to the human eye74    
,scientific methods can enlarge the     
sphere of the perceptions but a  little2
 you remain isolated in the midst of    
infinitude4 ,moreover1  an endless      
number of other vibrations exist in     
nature which have no  correspondence    
with your organisation1 and therefore   

cannot be  received by you1 consequently
 you remain for ever utterly ignorant of
  them4 ,did you possess other strings  
to your lyre--ten1 a hundred1 a         
thousand--the harmony of nature could   
more completely translate itself  to    
you1 each of the myriad vibrations      
according to their kind4 ,you  would    
perceive a number of facts which are    
certainly passing around  you1 whose    
very existence you cannot even now      
guess1 and in place of  two dominant    
notes you would be conscious of the     
grand concert of  harmonies everywhere  
about you4    ,but although thus        
ignorant1 you are unconscious of it1    
because all  around you are equally     
ignorant1 and therefore it is impossible
 to  compare your limited faculties with
 those of beings much more highly       
organised4    ,sidenote3 ,were the eye a
 combined spectroscope and telescope1 it
 would  see the chemical elements       
composing bodies4    ,the senses you do 
possess suffice1 however1 to indicate   

the existence  of other senses1 not only
 more powerful1 but of a totally        
different  order4 ,by the sense of      
touch1 for example1 you can1 it is true1
 feel  the sensation of heat2 but it is 
easy to conceive the existence of  a    
special sense1 analogous to that by     
which light reveals to you the  aspect  
of exterior objects1 and which would    
render man capable of  judging of the   
form and substance of an object1 its    
interior structure1  and other          
qualities1 by the action of the caloric 
waves radiating from  it4 ,the same     
reasoning would hold good on the subject
 of electricity4  ,you could equally    
well conceive the existence of a sense1 
endowing  the eye with the powers of a  
spectroscope and telescope in one1 thus 
enabling it to see the chemical         
elements1 of which bodies are  composed4
    ,thus already1 from a scientific    
point of view1 you have sufficient      
ground for imagining modes of           
perception1 quite different from those  

which characterise human beings4 ,these 
faculties exist in other worlds1  and   
there are endless ways of perceiving the
 action of the forces of  nature4       
,sidenote3 ,our terrestrial senses are  
limited4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,certainly1     
master1 ,i own that as you unfold these 
possibilities a new and singular        
clearness enlightens my understanding1  
and your teachings appear to me a true  
interpretation of the reality4  ,i had  
already dreamed that similar marvels    
might be possible1 but  ,i had not been 
able to explain them1 enveloped as ,i   
still am in my  terrestrial senses4 ,one
 thing is certain1 we must be lifted out
 of our  earth-bound limitations ere we 
are capable of comprehending1 or even of
  attempting to judge1 of the scope of  
the universe4    ,thus1 being endowed   
with only a few limited senses1 we can  
but know the  facts that are perceptible
 to them4 ,the remainder is naturally   
unknown4  ,can it be that the unknown is
 infinitely more than the known8        

,sidenote3 ,the ordinary senses are     
insensible to many physical  movements4 
,,lumen4 ,this remainder is immense1 and
 all you at present know will  seem as  
nothing by comparison4 ,not only do your
 senses not perceive  physical          
movements--such as solar and terrestrial
 electricity whose  currents cross in   
the atmosphere1 the magnetism of        
minerals1 of plants1  and of beings1 the
 affinities of organisms1 c41 which are 
invisible  to you--but they perceive    
still less the movements of the moral   
world1  its sympathies and antipathies1 
its presentiments1 its spiritual        
attractions1 c4 ,i only speak the simple
 truth when ,i say1 that all  that you  
know1 and all that you could know1      
through the medium of your  earthly     
senses1 is as nothing compared to that  
which is4    ,sidenote3 ,beings exist   
with other than our senses4    ,this    
truth is so profound that it might well 
be asserted1 that beings  exist upon the
 ,earth essentially different from you1 

possessing neither  eyes1 nor ears1 nor 
any of your senses1 but endowed with    
other  senses1 and capable of perceiving
 that which you cannot perceive1 and    
who1 while living in the same world as  
yourself1 know that which you  cannot   
know1 and form an idea of nature        
completely at variance with  your own4  
,,qu,,rens4 ,all this is utterly beyond 
my comprehension4    ,,lumen4 ,moreover1
 my earthly friend1 ,i can add most     
emphatically that  the perceptions you  
receive1 and that constitute the bases  
of your  science1 are not even the      
perceptions of the reality4 ,no4 ,light1
  lucidity1 colours1 looks1 tones1      
noises1 harmonies1 sounds1 perfumes1    
flavours1 apparent qualities of bodies1 
c41 are nothing but forms4    ,these    
forms enter into your mind by the avenue
 of the eye1 and the ear1  by the senses
 of smell1 and taste1 and are           
represented to you by their             
appearances1 but not even by the essence
 of the things themselves4    ,the real 

nature of things entirely escapes your  
understanding1 and you  are utterly     
incapable of comprehending the universe4
    ,sidenote3 ,matter is not solid4    
,matter itself is not what you believe  
it to be4 ,to speak absolutely1  there  
is not anything that is solid2 your own 
body1 a piece of iron  or of granite1   
are not more solid than the air you     
breathe4 ,all these  things are composed
 of atoms which do not touch each other1
 and which  are in perpetual movement4  
,the ,earth1 atom of the ,heavens1 moves
 in  space with a swiftness of #fdc1jjj 
leagues a day2 but1 in proportion to    
their dimensions1 each atom which       
constitutes your own body and that      
circulates in your blood1 moves much    
more quickly4 ,if your vision were      
sufficiently powerful to see through    
this stone1 you would no longer  see it 
thus1 because your sight would pass     
through and beyond it4444    ,sidenote3 
,how man errs in thinking his limited   
sensations describe  those of the       

universe4    ,sidenote3 ,the difference 
of organisms on ,mars1 ,uranus1 c4      
,sidenote3 ,the tie uniting the physical
 and spiritual world    ,but ,i see by  
the disturbance of your brain1 and the  
rapid movements of  the fluid which     
crosses your closely-concentrated lobes1
 that you no  longer understand my      
revelations4 ,i will not then pursue    
this subject  which ,i have thus merely 
lightly touched upon1 with the end in   
view of  thereby demonstrating how      
greatly you would err1 did you attach   
any  importance to difficulties born of 
your terrestrial sensations1 and  to    
assure you that neither you nor any man 
upon the ,earth could form  even an     
approximate idea of the universe4 ,what 
is earthly man but a  mere pigmy6 ,ah6  
if you were but acquainted with the     
organisms which  vibrate upon ,mars or  
upon ,uranus2 if it had but been granted
 to you1 to  appreciate the senses in   
action1 upon ,venus and upon a ring of  
,saturn2  if during centuries of travel 

you had been permitted to glance at and 
observe the forms of life in the systems
 of the double stars2 at the  sensations
 of sight in the coloured suns1 to glean
 the impressions  of an electric sense1 
of which you can know absolutely        
nothing1  in the groups of multiple     
suns2 if a suitable comparison of this  
ultra-terrestrial state had furnished   
you with the elements of a fresh        
knowledge1 you would then have          
comprehended that beings exist--who can 
see1 hear1 feel1 or1 to be more         
accurate1 understand nature without     
eyes1 without ears1 without sense of    
smell2 that an incredible number  of    
other senses exist in nature1 senses    
essentially different from  yours2 and  
that there are in creation an           
incalculable number of  marvellous facts
 which it is absolutely impossible for  
you to imagine4  ,in this general       
contemplation of the universe1 my       
friend1 one perceives  the              
solidarity--the tie which unites the    

physical with the spiritual  world2 one 
sees from a higher ground the           
instinctive strength which  raises      
certain souls1 tried by the coarseness  
of matter but purified  by sacrifice1   
towards the higher regions of spiritual 
light2 and one  understands how immense 
is the happiness reserved for those     
beings1  who1 even while on ,earth1 have
 succeeded in gradually overcoming their
  lower nature4    ,,qu,,rens44 ,to     
return to the transmission of light in  
space4 ,does  not light lose itself at  
last8 ,does the aspect of the ,earth    
remain  eternally visible1 and never1 on
 the contrary1 diminish in proportion   
to the square of distance1 thus becoming
 finally annihilated8    ,sidenote3 ,the
 word end applied to space meaningless  
,,lumen4 ,your expression at last is    
without meaning1 because there is  no   
end in space4    ,light becomes         
attenuated1 it is true1 with distance1  
the scenes become  less vivid1 but      
nothing is lost entirely4 ,any number1  

whatever it may  be1 perpetually reduced
 by half1 for example1 can never become 
equal  to zero4 ,the ,earth is not      
visible to all eyes at a certain        
distance4  ,nevertheless it still       
exists1 even though it may not be seen  
by all2  and only spiritual sight can   
see it4    ,besides1 the image of a     
star1 borne upon the wings of light1    
goes into  the unfathomable depths of   
the mysterious abysses of space4        
,sidenote3 ,vast regions exist without  
stars4    ,vast regions exist in space  
without stars1 regions decimated by     
time1  whence worlds have been          
successively removed by the attraction  
of  exterior suns4 ,the image of a star 
in crossing these dark abysses1  would  
be in a condition analogous to that of a
 person1 or object1 that  the           
photographer had forgotten and left in  
the camera4    ,it is not impossible    
that such images encounter in these vast
 spaces an  obscure star 7celestial     
mechanics state the existence of many   

such7 in  a special condition whose     
surface 7formed perhaps of iodine1 if   
one is  to credit spectral analysis7    
would be sensitised1 and capable of     
fixing  upon itself the image of this   
far-off world4    ,thus terrestrial     
events might be printed upon a dark     
globe4 ,and if this  globe turns upon   
itself1 like other celestial bodies1 it 
would present  successively its         
different zones to the terrestrial      
image1 and would  thus take a sort of   
continuous photograph of successive     
events4    ,sidenote3 ,images of this   
world's events photographed spirally    
upon  other globes in space4            
,following moreover1 in ascending1 or   
descending1 a perpendicular  line to its
 equator1 the line where the images were
 reproduced would  no longer be         
described in a circle1 but in a spiral2 
and after the  first movement of        
rotation was finished1 the new images   
would not  coincide with the old ones1  
nor superimpose them1 but would follow  

above and below4 ,the imagination could 
now suppose that this world is  not     
spherical1 but cylindrical1 and thus see
 in space an imperishable  column around
 which would be engraved the great      
events of the world's  history4    ,i   
have not myself seen this realisation4  
,it is so short a time since ,i  left   
the ,earth1 that ,i have barely done    
more than glance superficially  at these
 celestial marvels4 ,before long ,i     
shall seek to verify this  fact1 and see
 if its reality does not form a part of 
the infinite  richness of the astral    
creations4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,if the ray   
which leaves the ,earth is never        
destroyed1  master1 our actions are then
 eternal8    ,,lumen4 ,certainly they   
are4    ,sidenote3 ,actions carried for 
ever on rays of light4    ,an act once  
accomplished can never be effaced1 and  
no power can ever  cause it to be as if 
it had never been4 ,say that a crime is 
committed  in the heart of a desert     
country4 ,the criminal goes far away1   

remains  unknown1 and supposes that the 
act which he has committed has passed   
for ever4 ,he has washed his hands of   
it1 he has repented1 he believes  his   
action obliterated4 ,but in reality     
nothing is destroyed4 ,at the  moment   
when this act was accomplished1 the     
light seized it and carried  it into    
space with the rapidity of lightning4   
,it became incorporated  in a ray of    
light2 eternal1 it will transmit itself 
eternally into  infinitude4    ,likewise
 a good action is done in secret2 the   
benefactor thinks it is  concealed1 but 
a ray of light has taken possession of  
it4 ,far from  being forgotten1 it will 
live for ever4    ,napoleon1 in order to
 satisfy his personal ambition1 was     
voluntarily  the cause of the death of  
five millions of men1 whose ages        
averaged  about thirty years1 and who1  
according to the laws of life1 had      
thirty-seven more years to live4        
,therefore1 by this calculation1 he     
caused the destruction of #ahe millions 

of years of human life4    ,sidenote3   
,napoleon's punishment4    ,his         
chastisement1 his expiation1 consists in
 being carried along by  that ray of    
light which left the plains of ,waterloo
 on the #ahth ,june  #ahae1 and to be   
ever moving in space with the quickness 
of light  itself2 to have constantly in 
sight that critical scene1 where he saw 
for ever crumbling to pieces the        
scaffolding of his vain ambition2  to   
feel1 without respite1 the bitterness of
 despair2 and to remain  bound to this  
ray of light for the #ahe millions of   
years for whose  destruction he was     
responsible4 ,by thus acting1 in place  
of worthily  fulfilling his mission1 he 
has retarded for a similar length of    
time  his progress in the spiritual     
life4    ,and if it were given to you to
 see that which goes on in the moral    
world1 as clearly as you now see that   
which passes in the physical one1  you  
would recognise vibrations and          
transmissions of another nature1  which 

imprint in the arcana of the spiritual  
world1 not only the  actions1 but even  
the most secret thoughts4    ,sidenote3 
,speculation upon the problem of        
communication by luminous  signals      
between the ,earth and stars4           
,sidenote3 ,an interval of two centuries
 between question and answer4           
,,qu,,rens4 ,your revelations1 ,lumen1  
are awful6 ,thus1 our eternal  destinies
 are intimately bound up with the       
construction of the universe  itself4 ,i
 have many times speculated upon the    
problem of communication  between the   
worlds by the aid of light4 ,many       
physicists have supposed  that it will  
be possible to establish communication  
between the ,earth  and the ,moon1 and  
even the planets1 by the aid of luminous
 signals4  ,but suppose one could make  
signs from the ,earth to a star1 by     
employing  the light1 for example1 a    
hundred years must come and go before   
the  signal from the ,earth could reach 
its destination1 and the response  could

 only return after the same interval of 
time had elapsed4 ,two  centuries must  
consequently elapse between the question
 and its answer4  ,the terrestrial      
observer would have died long before his
 signal could  have reached his sidereal
 observer1 and the latter would         
doubtless have  undergone a similar fate
 before his answer could have been      
received6    ,,lumen4 ,it would1 in     
fact1 be a conversation between the     
living and the  dead4    ,,qu,,rens4    
,pardon a last question1 master--one    
perhaps a little  indiscreet1 but a last
 one1 for ,i see ,venus is paling1 and  
,i feel that  your voice will soon cease
 to be heard4 ,if actions are thus      
visible  in ethereal regions1 we can    
then see1 after our death1 not only our 
own actions1 but also those of          
others--,i mean those which specially   
interest us8    ,for instance1 a pair of
 twin souls1 dwelling in perfect unity1 
would  like to see again for a thousand 
years the delightful hours passed       

together on the ,earth2 they would rush 
into space with a rapidity equal  to    
that of light1 in order to have always  
before their eyes the same  hours of    
joy4    ,in another sense1 a husband    
would trace with interest the entire    
life  of his companion2 and should some 
unexpected situation have presented     
itself1 he could at leisure examine the 
causes leading to the same4 ,he  might  
even1 if his disembodied companion      
resided in some neighbouring  region1   
call upon her to observe1 in common with
 himself1 these  retrospective          
incidents4    ,no denial could be       
admissible before such palpable         
evidence1 and might  not this power     
exercised by these spirits give rise to 
some strange  revelations8    ,,lumen4  
,you are very earthly1 my friend1 to    
think that in the ,heavens  memories of 
a material kind will be valued1 and ,i  
am astonished that  you can continue to 
think them of importance4 ,what should  
specially  strike you in all we have    

said during these two interviews is1    
that  by virtue of the laws of light1 we
 can see events after they have  been   
accomplished1 although they are past1   
and indeed when they have  entirely     
vanished4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,believe me1   
master1 this truth will never more be   
effaced from  my memory4 ,it is         
precisely this point which ,i find so   
exceedingly  marvellous4    ,forget1 ,i 
pray you1 my last digression4    ,to say
 the truth1 that which from our first   
interview has most  taxed and surpassed 
the bounds of my imagination1 was to    
think  that the duration of the voyage  
of the spirit can be not only           
nil--negative--but also retrograde6     
,sidenote3 ,time retrogressive4    ,time
 retrogressive6 ,these two words involve
 a contradiction in terms4  ,dare one   
believe it8    ,you start to-day for a  
star1 and you arrive yesterday6 ,what do
 ,i  say--yesterday8 ,you will arrive   
there seventy-two years ago1 even a     
hundred years ago6 ,the farther you go1 

the sooner you will arrive6  ,terms in  
grammar must be remade for such         
extraordinary reckoning4    ,,lumen4    
,this is undeniable4    ,speaking       
according to terrestrial style1 there is
 not any error in this  mode of         
expression1 since the ,earth was only in
 #agic1 c41 for the  world in which we  
arrived1 or for the world which we      
reached4    ,sidenote3 ,apparent        
paradoxes anent time4    ,you have1     
however1 on your little globe certain   
apparent paradoxes1  which give an idea 
of this one4    ,for example1 a telegram
 sent from ,paris at noon arrives at    
,brest  twenty minutes before noon4 ,but
 these curious aspects of particular    
application are not of sufficient       
significance for you to dwell upon1  but
 rather the revelation of which they are
 the metaphysical form and  the outward 
expression4 ,know that time is not an   
absolute reality1 but  only a transitory
 measure caused by the movements of the 
,earth in the  ,solar ,system4          

,regarded with the eyes of the soul1 and
 not with those of the body1  this      
picture of human life1 not imaginary but
 real1 such as it was1  dissimulation   
being impossible1 touches on one side   
the domain of  theology1 inasmuch as it 
explains physically a mystery hitherto  
inexplicable3 ,i mean individual        
judgment of ourselves after death4      
,from the point of view of the whole    
question1 the present of a world  is no 
longer a momentary actuality1 which     
disappears as soon as it  has appeared1 
it is no longer a phase without         
consistency1 a gate  through which the  
past is precipitated unceasingly towards
 the future1  a mathematical plan in    
space4 ,it is1 on the contrary1 an      
effective  reality1 which flies away    
from this world with the swiftness of   
light1  sinking for ever in the         
infinite1 and remaining thus an eternal 
present4    ,sidenote3 ,events live for 
ever4    ,the metaphysical reality of   
this vast problem is such1 that one can 

now  conceive the omnipresence of the   
world throughout all its duration4      
,events vanish from the place in which  
they were born1 but they exist in       
space4 ,this successive and endless     
projection of all the facts enacted     
upon every world takes place in the     
bosom of the ,infinite ,being1  whose   
ubiquity holds everything in an eternal 
permanence4    ,sidenote3 ,scientific   
explanation of ubiquity4    ,the events 
which have been accomplished upon the   
surface of the ,earth  since its        
creation are visible in space at        
distances proportioned to  their        
remoteness in the past4 ,the whole      
history of the globe1 and the  life of  
each one of its inhabitants1 could thus 
be seen at a glance by  an eye which    
could embrace that space4 ,we thus      
understand optically1 as  it were1 that 
the eternal ,spirit1 present everywhere1
 can see all the  past at one and the   
same moment4    ,that which is true of  
our ,earth is true of all the worlds in 

space4  ,thus the entire history of the 
whole universe can be present at once   
to the universal ubiquity of the        
,creator4 ,i may add that ,god knows all
  the past1 not only in consequence of  
this direct sight1 but also by  the     
knowledge of each thing in the present4 
,if a naturalist1 such as  ,cuvier1     
knows how to reconstruct1 by the aid of 
a fragment of bone1 any  species of     
extinct animals1 surely the ,author of  
,nature knows by the  present ,earth the
 ,earth which is past1 the ,planetary   
,system1 and the  ,sun of the past1 and 
all the conditions of temperatures1     
aggregations1  and combinations1 by     
which the elements have produced the    
complex  condition of things at present 
in existence4    ,sidenote3 ,present1   
past1 and future1 all one4    ,on the   
other hand1 the future can be as        
completely present to ,god in  its      
actual germs1 as the past is in its     
fruits4    ,each event is bound in an   
indissoluble manner with the past and   

the  future4    ,the future will be as  
inevitably the outcome of the present1  
and is1  as logically deducible from it1
 and exists in it as exactly1 as that   
the past itself is therein inscribed for
 those who are able to decipher  it4    
,but--and ,i emphasise it--the main     
point of this recital is to  state1 to  
make you understand1 that the past life 
of all worlds1 and  of all beings1 is   
always visible in space1 thanks to the  
successive  transmission of light across
 and through the vast regions of the    
infinite4          ,,fourth             
,,conversation    ,,anteriores ,,vit    
,sidenote3 ,new horizons4    ,,qu,,rens4
 ,two years have fled1 ,lumen1 since the
 day when you granted  me that          
mysterious interview4 ,during this      
period1 unconsciously for  the          
inhabitants of eternal space1 but most  
consciously for us dwellers  upon the   
,earth1 ,i have often raised my thoughts
 to the great problems  in which you    
have initiated me1 and to the horizons  

developed before  my mind's eye4        
,doubtless1 also1 since your departure  
from the ,earth  you have made1 through 
your observations and studies1 great    
advance  upon a field of research more  
and more vast4 ,doubtless1 also1 you    
have  numberless marvels to declare to  
me1 now that my intelligence is better  
prepared to receive them4 ,if ,i am     
worthy1 and if ,i can comprehend  them1 
give me an account1 ,lumen1 of the      
celestial voyages which have            
transported your spirit into the higher 
spheres2 of the unknown truths  which   
they have revealed to you2 of the       
grandeurs which they have  opened out to
 you1 and of the principles they have   
taught you in  reference to that        
mysterious subject1 viz41 the destiny of
 man1 and  other beings4    ,,lumen4 ,i 
have prepared your mind1 my dear old    
friend1 to receive  marvellous          
impressions1 such as no earthly         
spectacle ever has1 or could  produce4  
,it is1 nevertheless1 necessary that you

 should keep your  understanding free   
from all earthly prejudice4 ,that which 
,i am going to  unfold will astonish    
you1 but receive it from the first with 
attention  as an undeniable truth1 and  
not as a romance4 ,this is the first    
condition that ,i demand from my earnest
 pupil4 ,when you comprehend--and  you  
will comprehend1 if you bring to the    
task a mathematical mind  and an        
unprejudiced spirit--you will see that  
all the facts which  constitute our     
ultra-terrestrial existence are not only
 possible1 but  also real1 and moreover1
 are in perfect harmony with our        
intellectual  faculties as already      
manifested upon the earth4              
,,qu,,rens4 ,be assured1 ,lumen1 that ,i
 bring to you an open mind1 cleared     
from all prejudice1 and ,i am eagerly   
expecting to hear revelations such  as  
the human ear has never before heard4   
,sidenote3 ,space and ,light4           
,,lumen4 ,the events which will form the
 subject of this recital have  not only 

the ,earth and its neighbouring stars   
for their subject1 but  they will extend
 over immense fields of sidereal        
astronomy1 and make  us acquainted with 
their marvels4 ,their explanation will  
be solved1  as was that of former       
difficulties1 by the study of light1 a  
magic  bridge thrown from one star to   
another1 from the ,earth to the ,sun1   
from  the ,earth to the stars--of light1
 the universal movement which fills     
space1 sustains worlds in their orbits1 
and constitutes the eternal  life of    
nature4 ,take care1 then1 to keep ever  
in mind1 the fact of the  successive    
transmission of light in space4         
,sidenote3 ,velocity of ,light4         
,,qu,,rens4 ,i know that light1 whatever
 it may be1 is the agent by which       
objects are rendered visible to our     
eyes1 that it is not transmitted        
instantaneously from one point to       
another1 but gradually1 like all        
motion4 ,i know that it flies at the    
rate of #ge1jjj leagues a second1  that 

it runs #gej1jjj leagues in ten seconds1
 and #d1ejj1jjj each minute4  ,i know   
that it takes more than eight minutes to
 cross the distance of  #cg millions of 
leagues which separate us from the ,sun4
 ,modern astronomy  has made these facts
 familiar4    ,,lumen4 ,do you perfectly
 realise its undulatory movement8       
,sidenote3 ,undulatory movement of      
,sound4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i think so4 ,i  
compare it to that of sound1 although it
 be  accomplished upon a scale          
incomparably more vast4 ,by undulation  
following undulation1 sound is diffused 
in the air4 ,when the bells  peal forth 
their sonorous sound1 this is heard at  
the very moment when  the clapper       
strikes the bell1 by those living round 
the church1 but is  not heard till one  
second after1 by those living at a      
distance of #dib  yards2 two seconds    
later by those at #gfe yards2 and three 
seconds later  still1 by those at a     
distance of #ajic yards from the church4
 ,thus sound  only gradually reaches one

 village after another as far as it can 
go4    ,in the same way light passes    
successively from one region in space to
  another at a greater distance1 and    
travels without being extinguished  into
 the far-off realms of ,infinity4 ,if we
 could see from the ,earth  an event    
which is being accomplished upon the    
,moon2 for instance1 if  we had         
sufficiently good instruments to        
perceive from here1 a fruit  falling    
from a tree on the surface of the ,moon1
 we should not see the  fact at the     
moment of its occurrence1 but one second
 and a quarter  after1 because light    
requires about that time to travel the  
distance  from the ,moon to the ,earth4 
,similarly1 could we see an event taking
  place upon a world at ten times       
greater distance than the ,moon1 we     
could not witness it until #ac seconds  
after it had really happened4 ,if  this 
world were a hundred times farther off  
than the ,moon1 we could  not see an    
event until #acj seconds after it had   

taken place2 were it a  thousand times  
more distant1 we should not see it until
 #acjj seconds1  or #ba minutes #dj     
seconds had elapsed4 ,and so on         
according to the  distance4             
,sidenote3 ,time taken by ,light in     
travelling from the ,earth to the star  
,capella4    ,,lumen4 ,exactly1 and you 
are aware that the luminous ray sent to 
the  ,earth by the star ,capella takes  
seventy-two years in reaching it4 ,it   
follows1 therefore1 that if we only     
receive the luminous ray to-day1  which 
left its surface seventy-two years ago1 
the denizens of ,capella  see only that 
which happened on the ,earth seventy-two
 years ago4 ,the  ,earth reflects in    
space the light that it gets from the   
,sun1 and from  a distance1 appears as  
brilliant as ,venus and ,jupiter appear 
to you1  planets lighted by the same    
,sun that lights the ,earth4 ,the       
luminous  aspect of the ,earth1 its     
photograph1 journeys in space at the    
rate of  #ge1jjj leagues a second1 and  

only reaches ,capella after seventy-two 
years of incessant travel4 ,i recall    
these elementary principles in  order   
that you may have them thoroughly fixed 
in your memory2 you  will then be able  
to comprehend1 without difficulty1 the  
facts which  have happened to me during 
my ultra-terrestrial life since our last
  interview4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,these      
principles of optics are1 to my mind1   
clearly  established4 ,the day after    
your death in ,october #ahfd1 when1 as  
you have confided to me1 you found      
yourself rapidly transported to         
,capella1 you were astonished to arrive 
there at the moment when the            
philosophical astronomers of the country
 were observing the ,earth in  the year 
#agic1 and witnessing one of the most   
significant acts of the  ,french        
,revolution4 ,you were not less         
surprised to see yourself again as  a   
child1 running about in the streets of  
,paris4 ,then1 leaving ,capella  and    
coming nearer to the ,earth1 you arrived

 at the zone where that part  of the    
terrestrial photography passed before   
your vision1 which showed  you your     
infancy1 and you saw yourself at six    
years of age1 not in  memory1 but in    
reality4 ,out of all your previous      
revelations1 this is  the one ,i had the
 most difficulty in believing--,i mean1 
in grasping its  meaning4    ,,lumen4   
,that which ,i now wish to make you     
comprehend is stranger still4  ,but it  
was first necessary for you to admit    
that one1 before ,i could  adequately   
reveal to you this one4    ,sidenote3   
,retrospective survey of life on ,earth4
    ,on leaving ,capella and approaching
 the ,earth1 ,i saw again my            
seventy-two years of earthly existence1 
my entire life such as it had  been1    
passed before me2 for1 in approaching   
the ,earth1 ,i passed through           
successive zones of earthly scenes1     
where ,i saw spread out as in a  scroll 
the visible history of our planet1      
because in going back towards  the      

,earth1 ,i was continually meeting the  
various zones which carried  through    
space the visible history of our planet1
 comprising that of  ,paris as well as  
my own1 for ,i was there4 ,taking thus  
in one day a  retrospective survey of   
the road which it had taken light       
seventy-two  years to traverse1 ,i had  
reviewed my whole life in that one day1 
and ,i  perceived even my own interment4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,it is as if1 on        
returning from ,capella to the ,earth1  
you had  seen1 as in a mirror1 the      
seventy-two years of your life          
photographed  year by year4 ,the one the
 farthest from the ,earth1 but which had
  started the first1 and was the oldest1
 showed events as they were in  #agic2  
the second1 which left the ,earth a year
 later1 and had not yet  reached        
,capella1 contained those of #agid2 the 
tenth1 those of #ahjc2  the             
thirty-sixth1 having reached midway on  
the road1 gave those of  #ahbi2 the     
fiftieth1 those of #ahdc2 the           

seventy-first1 those of #ahfd4          
,,lumen4 ,it is impossible to have      
better grasped these facts1 which seem  
so mysterious and incomprehensible at   
first sight4 ,now ,i can recount to  you
 that which happened to me upon         
,capella1 after having thus witnessed   
over again my existence on the ,earth4  
,i    ,,lumen4 ,whilst not very long ago
 7but ,i can no longer express that time
  by earthly measurements71 in a        
melancholy region of ,capella1 ,i was   
contemplating the starry heavens at the 
beginning of a clear night1  occupied in
 noting the star which is your earthly  
,sun1 and near it the  little azure     
planet1 your ,earth1 ,i observed one of 
the scenes of my  childhood--my young   
mother seated in the midst of a garden1 
holding  an infant in her arms 7my      
brother71 having at her side a little   
girl  of two summers 7my sister71 and a 
boy two years older 7myself74 ,i saw    
myself at that age when man is not yet  
conscious of his intellectual           

existence1 though he bears even then    
upon his brow the germ of future        
promise4 ,whilst dreaming of this       
singular spectacle1 which showed me     
myself at the entrance of my earthly    
career1 ,i felt my attention drawn  from
 your planet by a superior power1 and   
directed towards another  point in the  
heavens1 which1 even at that moment1    
seemed to be linked  with the ,earth and
 my career there1 by some mysterious    
tie4 ,i could  not turn my gaze from    
this new point in the the heavens1 my   
eyes  being1 as it were1 chained to the 
spot by some magnetic power ,i was      
unable to resist4 ,several times ,i     
endeavoured to withdraw my eyes1 and  to
 fix them on the ,earth ,i love so well2
 but in vain1 for ,i was ever           
re-attracted to the same unknown star4  
,sidenote3 ,the star ,gamma in ,virgo4  
,sidenote3 ,life on the planet of       
,virgo4    ,this star1 upon which my    
eyes sought instinctively to divine     
something1  belongs to the constellation

 of ,virgo1 whose form varies slightly  
as  seen from ,capella4 ,it is a double 
star1 that is to say1 an association  of
 two suns1 one of a silvery whiteness1  
the other of a bright golden  yellow1   
which revolve round one another once in 
#age years4 ,this star  can be seen from
 the ,earth with the naked eye1 and its 
sign is the  letter  7,gamma71 in the   
constellation of ,virgo4 ,around  each  
of the suns which form it there is a    
planetary system4 ,my sight  was fixed  
upon one of the planets belonging to the
 golden sun4 ,on that  planet there are 
animals and vegetables as upon the      
,earth2 their forms  bear a similarity  
to earthly ones1 although there is an   
essential  difference in their          
organisms4 ,their animal kingdom is     
analogous to  yours2 they have fishes in
 the seas1 quadrupeds in the air1 in    
which  men can fly without wings1 by    
reason of the extreme density of the    
atmosphere4 ,the men of this planet     
possess almost the same form as  those  

on the ,earth1 but no hair grows upon   
their heads1 and they have  three large 
thin thumbs instead of five fingers on  
their hands1 and  three great toes at   
the heel in place of soles to their     
feet1 the  extremities of their arms and
 legs being supple as india-rubber4     
,they  have1 nevertheless1 two eyes1 a  
nose1 and a mouth1 which give them      
their resemblance to earthly beings4    
,they have not two ears1 one on  each   
side of the head1 but one only1 in the  
shape of a cone1 which is  placed on the
 upper part of the skull like a little  
hat4    ,they live in societies and wear
 clothing4 ,thus1 you see1 in their     
exterior they differ little from the    
inhabitants of the ,earth4              
,,qu,,rens4 ,are there1 then1 in other  
worlds beings entirely distinct from    
us1 but who1 notwithstanding their      
dissimilarities1 can be compared  with  
us8    ,,lumen4 ,a distinction profound 
and unimaginable by you separates in    
general the animal life of the different

 worlds4 ,these forms are the  result of
 elements special to each globe1 and of 
the forces which  regulate them3 matter1
 density1 weight1 heat1 light1          
electricity1  atmosphere1 c41 differ    
essentially on each globe4 ,even in the 
same  system these forms differ4        
,sidenote3 ,the system of ,gamma in     
,virgo4    ,thus the men of ,uranus and 
,mercury do not in any way resemble the 
men  of the ,earth2 those who see them  
for the first time cannot perceive  that
 they possess either head1 members1 or  
senses4 ,on the contrary1  the forms of 
those in the planetary system of ,virgo1
 towards which my  attention was being  
persistently drawn1 are nearly similar  
to those  of the inhabitants of the     
,earth1 whom they also resemble morally 
and intellectually4 ,slightly inferior  
to ourselves1 they belong to  that scale
 in the order of souls which immediately
 precedes that of  terrestrial humanity 
as a whole4    ,,qu,,rens44 ,yet there  
is a wide divergence between human      

beings  themselves in all that pertains 
both to intellect and morals4 ,we in    
,europe differ greatly from the tribes  
of ,abyssinia and from the savages  of  
the ,oceanic ,isles4 ,what people do you
 take as a type of the highest  degree  
of intelligence on the ,earth8          
,sidenote3 ,the ,arabs and their        
intelligence4    ,,lumen4 ,the ,arabs4  
,they are capable of producing their    
,keplers1 their  ,newtons1 their        
,galileos1 their ,archimedes1 their     
,euclids1 their  ,d',alemberts4         
,besides1 they sprang from those        
primitive hordes whose  roots reach down
 to the bed rock of humanity4 ,but it is
 not necessary  to choose a people for a
 type4 ,it is better to consider modern 
civilisation as a whole4 ,nor is there  
so marked a distance as you  appear to  
suppose1 between the brain capacity of a
 negro and that of  the ,latin race4    
,however1 if you insist upon a          
comparison1 ,i can assure you that the  
men of the planet of ,virgo are almost  

on a par intellectually with the        
,scandinavians4    ,sidenote3 ,vital    
difference between ,virgo and the       
,earth4    ,the most vital difference   
which exists between their world and the
  ,earth1 is the absence of sex4        
,neither plants1 animals1 nor human     
beings have sex4 ,generation is effected
 spontaneously1 as the natural  result  
of the union of certain physiological   
conditions in some of  the fertile isles
 of this planet1 man not being formed in
 the womb of  his mother as upon earth4 
,it would be useless to explain the     
process1  to one whose earthly faculties
 prevent him comprehending the facts  of
 a world distinctly different from his  
own4 ,it results from this  organic     
arrangement1 that marriage in any form  
does not exist in this  world1 and that 
the friendships between human beings are
 never mixed  with the carnal desires1  
which are inevitably manifested on the  
,earth  between people of different     
sexes1 even when the attraction is most 

pure4 ,probably you will remember that  
during the protozoic period1 the        
inhabitants of the ,earth were all deaf1
 dumb1 and sexless4 ,the division  into 
sexes took place much later in the      
history of ,nature both among  animals  
and plants4    ,being attracted towards 
this far-off planet ,i attentively      
examined its  surface with my spiritual 
sight1 and ,i was specially drawn1      
without  knowing the cause1 to a white  
city1 resembling from afar a region     
covered with snow2 but it is improbable 
that it was snow1 as it is  unlikely    
that water can exist on that globe in   
the same physical  and chemical         
conditions as upon the ,earth4 ,upon the
 borders of this  city an avenue led to 
a neighbouring wood of yellow trees4 ,i 
soon  remarked three persons who seemed 
to be slowly sauntering towards  this   
wood4 ,this little group was formed of  
two friends1 who were in  close         
conversation1 and of a third1 who       
differed from both by his red  garment  

and the burden he bore1 and who was     
probably their servant1  their slave1 or
 some domestic animal4 ,whilst intently 
regarding the two  principal personages1
 ,i observed the one to the right raise 
his face  to the sky1 as if some one had
 called him from a balloon1 and turn his
  gaze towards ,capella1 a star which1  
doubtless1 he did not see1 because  for 
him it was then daylight4 ,oh1 my old   
friend1 ,i shall never forget  the      
sudden surprise this sight gave me6 ,i  
can still scarcely believe  that ,i was 
not dreaming4444    ,this person on the 
planet of ,virgo1 who was looking       
towards me without  knowing it1 was4444 
,can ,i tell you8 ,well1 it was myself6 
,,qu,,rens4 ,how yourself8    ,,lumen4  
,yes1 my very self4 ,i recognised myself
 instantly1 and you can  judge of my    
surprise6    ,,qu,,rens4 ,certainly ,i  
can4 ,i cannot comprehend it at all4    
,sidenote3 ,anterior existence          
,,lumen4 ,the fact is1 the situation was
 so entirely novel that it demands      

explanation4 ,it was in truth myself1   
and ,i was not long in finding  out1 not
 only that it was my former face and    
figure1 but also that the  person       
walking by my side was my dear          
,kathleen1 an intimate friend1  and the 
companion of my studies upon that       
planet4 ,my gaze followed  them as far  
as the ,yellow ,wood1 across picturesque
 valleys1 beneath  golden cupolas1 under
 trees covered with large orange-tinted 
branches1  and through hedges of elms   
with amber-coloured leaves4 ,a purling  
brook  babbled on the fine sand1 and we 
seated ourselves on its banks4 ,i       
recall sweet hours we have passed       
together1 the happy years which have    
glided away in this far-off country1 the
 fraternal confidences1 and  the        
impressions we shared1 in the midst of  
woodland scenes1 of silent  plains1 of  
mist-covered hills1 and of little lakes 
which smilingly  reflected the heavens4 
,with aspirations raised towards all    
that was  grand and sacred in nature1 we

 adored ,god in ,his works4 ,with what  
joy  ,i saw again this phase of my      
previous existence1 and riveted anew the
  golden chain1 whose links life on     
,earth had broken6    ,in truth1 dear   
,qurens1 it was my very self who then   
was living on that  planet of ,virgo4 ,i
 really saw myself1 and ,i could follow 
in sequence  the events of my life and  
the happiest moments of that existence1 
now  so far remote4    ,besides1 if ,i  
had had any doubt of my identity1 the   
uncertainty would  have ceased during my
 observation1 for whilst pondering upon 
the  matter1 ,i saw ,berthor--my brother
 during that existence--come out of  the
 wood1 approach us1 and join in our     
conversation by the side of the         
murmuring brook4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,master1
 ,i fail still to comprehend how you    
could really see  yourself on that      
planet of ,virgo4 ,were you then gifted 
with ubiquity8    ,could you1 like      
,francis of ,assisi or ,apollonius of   
,tyana1 be in two  places at the same   

time8    ,sidenote3 ,scientific         
explanation of anterior life on ,virgo4 
,,lumen4 ,certainly not4 ,but in        
examining the astronomical co-ordinates 
of  the ,sun ,gamma in ,virgo1 and      
knowing its parallax as seen from       
,capella1  ,i came to the conclusion    
that the light from this ,sun could not 
employ  less than #agb years in         
traversing the distance which separates 
it from  ,capella4    ,i was then       
actually receiving the luminous ray     
which left that world  #agb years       
before4 ,and it so happens that at that 
epoch ,i was absolutely  living upon the
 planet of which we speak1 and that ,i  
was then in my  twentieth year4 ,in     
verifying these periods1 and in         
comparing the  different planetary      
styles1 ,i found1 in fact1 that ,i was  
born on the  world of ,virgo in the year
 #deijd 7which corresponds to the year  
#afgg of the ,christian era on ,earth71 
and that ,i died--through an            
accident--in the year #deiac1 which     

corresponds to the year #agfg4 ,each    
year of this planet equals ten of yours4
 ,when ,i saw myself1 as ,i have  just  
told you1 ,i appeared to be about twenty
 years of age according to  earthly     
reckoning1 but following the way of     
reckoning on that planet1  ,i was only  
two years old4 ,there the age of fifteen
 years is often  reached1 which is      
considered the limit of life on that    
globe1 and is  equivalent to #aej years 
on the ,earth4    ,sidenote3 ,light     
takes #agb years to travel from ,virgo  
to ,capella4    ,the luminous ray1 or1  
to speak more accurately1 the aspect or 
photograph of the world of ,virgo1 takes
 #agb earthly years to traverse  the    
immense space which separates it from   
,capella2 consequently1 upon  finding   
myself upon this last star1 ,i was      
receiving at that very moment  the image
 which left the constellation of ,virgo 
#agb years previously4  ,and although   
things have changed greatly1 though     
generations have  followed generations1 

though ,i died there myself1 and have   
had time to  be born again and live     
seventy-two years on the ,earth1        
nevertheless  light had taken all this  
time to cross the space which separates 
,virgo  from ,capella1 and was bringing 
afresh to me impressions of events long 
passed away4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,this       
duration of the passage of light being  
proved1 ,i have not  any objection to   
urge on this point1 but ,i frankly own  
that to credit  an experience of such   
amazing singularity1 taxes my           
imagination beyond  its just limits4    
,sidenote3 ,the history of each world is
 contained in the rays of light4        
,,lumen4 ,this is not any imagination1  
my old friend4 ,it is a reality1        
eternal and sacred1 holding its fixed   
place in the universal plan of          
creation4 ,the light of every star1     
direct or reflected--say otherwise1  the
 aspect of each ,sun1 and of each       
planet--is diffused in space1  according
 to a rate of rapidity already known to 

you1 and the luminous  ray contains in  
itself all that is visible4 ,as nothing 
can be lost1  the history of each world 
is contained in the light which         
incessantly  emanates from it in        
successive waves1 eternally travelling  
into  infinite space without any        
possibility of its being annihilated4   
,true1  the terrestrial eye cannot read 
it2 but there are eyes immeasurably     
superior to your earthly ones4          
,sidenote3 ,light is vibrations of      
ether2 ,sight1 perceptions of thought4  
,i make use of the terms sight and      
light1 in these conversations1  in order
 that you may comprehend me2 but1 as ,i 
told you in a previous  communication1  
speaking absolutely1 there is not such a
 thing as light1  only vibrations of    
ether2 neither is there any sight1 only 
perceptions  of the mind4 ,moreover1    
even upon the ,earth1 when you examine  
the nature  of a star with a telescope1 
or better still with a spectroscope1 you
  well know it is not its actual state  

you have before your eyes1 but  its past
 state1 transmitted to you by a ray of  
light which left it1  perhaps1 ten      
thousand years ago4 ,you know1 besides1 
that a certain  number of stars1 of     
which your astronomers on the ,earth are
 seeking  to determine the physical and 
numerical properties1 and which shine   
brilliantly over your heads1 have long  
ago ceased even to exist--may  indeed   
have ceased to exist since the beginning
 of your world4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,we know 
this is so4 ,thus you have seen1        
unrolled before your  eyes1 your        
existence previous to the last one1 #agb
 years after it had  flown by4          
,,lumen4 ,say rather one phase of this  
existence2 but ,i could have been  able1
 and could now indeed review my entire  
life by going closer to  that planet1 as
 ,i have already done for my terrestrial
 existence4    ,qurens4 ,so1 through the
 medium of light1 you have really seen  
again  your last two incarnations8      
,,lumen4 ,precisely2 and what is more1  

,i have seen them1 and continue to  see 
them1 simultaneously1 side by side as it
 were of one another4    ,,qu,,rens4    
,you see them again both at the same    
time8    ,,lumen4 ,this fact is easily  
explained4 ,the light from the ,earth   
takes  seventy-two years to reach       
,capella4 ,the light from the planet of 
,virgo1  being once and a half farther  
off than ,capella1 takes once and a half
  longer time to travel1 which would    
make it about #agb years4 ,as ,i lived  
seventy-two years upon the ,earth1 and  
one hundred years before that  upon the 
other planet1 these two periods reach me
 at precisely the  same time upon       
,capella4 ,thus by simply looking at    
these two worlds1 ,i  have before me my 
last two existences1 which unroll       
themselves as if ,i  were not here to   
see them1 and without my being able to  
change any of  the acts that ,i see     
myself upon the point of accomplishing1 
either upon  the one or the other1 since
 those acts1 although present and future

 to  my actual observation1 are in      
reality past4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,this is   
indeed a strange experience6    ,,lumen4
 ,but what struck me most in this       
unexpected observation of two of  my    
previous existences in two different    
worlds1 thus unrolled before  me1 was   
the odd resemblance between these two   
lives4 ,i found that ,i had  almost the 
same tastes in the one as in the other1 
the same passions1  the same errors4    
,nothing criminal1 nothing saintly in   
either4    ,sidenote3 ,explanation of   
inherent tastes4    ,furthermore        
7extraordinary coincidence71 ,i have    
witnessed scenes in  the first analogous
 to those ,i have seen upon the ,earth4 
,this explains  the innate tastes ,i    
brought into the terrestrial world1 for 
the poetry  of the ,north1 the poems of 
,ossian1 the dreamy landscape of        
,ireland1  for its mountains and its    
,aurora ,borealis4 ,for ,scotland1      
,scandinavia1  ,sweden1 ,norway with its
 fiords1 ,spitzbergen with its          

solitudes--all  alike attracted me4 ,old
 towers in ruins1 rocks and wild        
ravines1  sombre pines soughing with the
 northern winds--all these appealed  to 
me on the ,earth1 and seemed to have    
some mysterious link with my  deepest   
thoughts4 ,when ,i saw ,ireland for the 
first time1 ,i felt as  if ,i had lived 
there before4 ,when for the first time  
,i ascended the  ,rigi and the          
,finsteraarhorn1 and saw the superb     
sunrise over the snowy  summits of the  
,alps1 it seemed as if ,i had previously
 seen all this4  ,the spectre of the    
,brocken was not new1 the reason being  
that ,i had  in a former life inhabited 
similar regions on the planet of ,virgo4
  ,the same life1 the same actions1 the 
same circumstances1 the same            
conditions--analogies1 analogies6       
,almost all that ,i have seen1 done1    
thought on the ,earth1 ,i had already   
seen1 done1 thought a hundred years     
before upon that anterior world4 ,i had 
always suspected it6 ,taking it         

altogether1 however1 my terrestrial life
 as a whole was superior to the  one    
preceding it4 ,each child in coming into
 the world brings with him  different   
faculties1 special predispositions1     
innate dissimilarities1  which no one   
denies1 and can only be explained to the
 philosophical  mind1--or in view of    
eternal ,justice1--by the supposition of
 works  previously accomplished by free 
souls4    ,but though my terrestrial    
life was superior to its anterior one1  
evincing1 as it did1 a more accurate and
 profound knowledge of the  system of   
the ,world1 it yet lacked1 ,i am bound  
to state1 the possession  of certain    
moral and physical qualities which      
belonged to me in my  former existence4 
,on the other hand1 ,i had faculties on 
that ,world which ,i had not had  upon  
the ,earth4 ,i may cite one specially1  
that of flying4    ,sidenote3 ,flying   
without wings4    ,i see that on the    
planet of ,virgo ,i could fly1 just as  
easily as walk1  and this without either

 aeronautic apparatus or wings1 by      
simply  stretching my arms and legs1 as 
if ,i were swimming in the water4 ,on   
closely examining the mode of locomotion
 in use on that planet1 ,i see  clearly 
that ,i have 7or rather had7 neither    
wings1 balloon1 nor any  kind of        
mechanical appliance4 ,at a given moment
 ,i spring from the  ground by a        
vigorous leap1 and1 spreading out my    
arms1 sail in the air  without fatigue4 
,at other times1 descending a steep     
mountain on foot1 ,i  spring out into   
space1 with feet pressed together1 and  
float at will1  with a slow and oblique 
motion1 to any point ,i wish1 standing  
upright  as soon as my feet touch the   
ground4    ,sidenote3 ,dreams bring     
reminiscences of a former existence4    
,then again1 when ,i wish to do so1 ,i  
fly slowly in the manner of a  dove     
which describes a curve in returning to 
its dovecot4 ,all this ,i  distinctly   
see myself doing in this world4 ,not    
once1 but a hundred1  a thousand times  

have ,i thus felt myself transported in 
my dreams  on ,earth softly1 naturally1 
and without apparatus4 ,how can such    
impossibilities so often present        
themselves to us in our dreams8         
,nothing can explain them1 for nothing  
analogous exists upon this  earthly     
globe4 ,obeying instinctively this      
innate tendency1 ,i have  frequently    
soared into the atmosphere suspended    
from the car of a  balloon1 but the     
sensation is not the same2 one does not 
feel one's  self flying2 on the         
contrary1 one has the feeling of being  
stationary4    ,i now have the key to my
 dreams4 ,during the slumber of my      
terrestrial  senses my soul had         
reminiscences of its anterior existence4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but ,i also often feel1
 and see myself flying in dreams in     
precisely the way you describe1 without 
wings or machinery1 and simply  by an   
effort of will4 ,is this1 then1 a proof 
that ,i also have lived  upon the planet
 of ,virgo8    ,,lumen4 ,i do not know4 

,if you had abnormal sight1 or          
instruments1  or eyes sufficiently      
piercing1 you could see this planet from
 your  globe1 examine its surface1 and  
if1 perchance1 you had existed there    
when it parted with the luminous rays   
which have actually reached the  ,earth1
 you might perhaps find yourself again  
there4 ,but your eyes are  too feeble to
 make a like research4 ,besides1 it does
 not follow that  because you have been 
able to fly1 that therefore you have    
lived in  that world4 ,there are a      
considerable number of worlds where     
flying  is the normal condition1 and    
where all the human race possess this   
faculty4 ,in reality1 there are but few 
planets where the living  creatures     
crawl as upon the ,earth4    ,sidenote3 
,plurality of existences4    ,,qu,,rens4
 ,the conclusion resulting then from    
your experience is1 that  you have had a
 life anterior to that upon the ,earth4 
,do you1 then1  believe in a plurality  
of existences for the soul8    ,,lumen4 

,you forget that you speak to a         
disembodied spirit4 ,i ought to  be well
 fitted to give such evidence1 having   
before me both my earthly  life and my  
anterior life upon the planet of ,virgo4
 ,besides1 ,i can  recall many other    
existences4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,ah6 that is 
precisely what ,i lack in order to      
possess a  similar conviction4 ,i can   
recall absolutely nothing that preceded 
my  birth into this world4    ,sidenote3
 ,the soul's memory4    ,,lumen4 ,you   
are yet in the flesh2 you must wait for 
freedom from earthly  fetters before you
 can recall your spiritual life4 ,the   
soul has  only full remembrance1 full   
possession of itself in its normal1 its 
celestial life2 that is to say1 between 
its incarnations4 ,it then sees  not    
only its life on the ,earth1 but all its
 anterior lives4    ,how could a soul1  
enveloped in the gross materialities of 
the flesh1  and fixed there for a       
transitory work1 recall its spiritual   
life8 ,would  not such a remembrance    

even prove hurtful8 ,what trammels would
 not be  put upon the soul's liberty of 
action1 could it see its life from the  
beginning to the end8    ,where would be
 the merit of striving if one's destiny 
could be foreseen8    ,souls incarnated 
upon the ,earth have not yet attained to
 a sufficiently  elevated state of      
advancement1 for the memory of their    
anterior life to  be of use to them4    
,sidenote3 ,man is oblivious of anterior
 impressions1 as in the  butterfly4     
,the permanence of the anterior         
impressions of the soul is not          
manifested in this world of passage4    
,the caterpillar does not remember  its 
rudimentary existence in the egg4 ,the  
sleeping chrysalis cannot  recall the   
days it spent in work when it crawled   
upon the herbage4 ,the  butterfly1 which
 flits from flower to flower1 has not   
any memory of the  time when its cocoon 
dreamed1 as it hung suspended from its  
web2 nor  of the twilight1 when its larv
 trailed from plant to plant2 nor of    

the night1 when it was buried like a nut
 in its shell4 ,this does not  alter the
 fact that the egg1 the caterpillar1 the
 chrysalis1 and the  butterfly1 are one 
and the same being4    ,in certain      
cases1 even of terrestrial life1 you    
have remarkable  examples of            
forgetfulness1 such as that of          
somnambulism1 either natural  or        
artificial1 and also in certain         
psychical conditions of which modern    
science makes a study4 ,hence it is not 
surprising that during one  existence we
 should not remember our anterior ones4 
,uranic life and  planetary life        
represent two states1 free and distinct 
the one from the  other4    ,,qu,,rens4 
,still1 master1 if we had already lived 
a life before this  one1 something of it
 would remain with us1 otherwise these  
anterior  existences might as well never
 have been4    ,sidenote3 ,heredity4    
,sidenote3 ,dissimilarities4    ,lumen4 
,do you1 then1 call it nothing to be    
born on the ,earth with  innate         

tendencies8 ,such a thing as            
intellectual heredity does not  exist4  
,take two children of the same          
parentage1 receiving identically  the   
same education1 surrounded by the same  
care1 and having in every  respect      
similar environments4 ,now examine each 
of them4 ,are they equal8  ,not in any  
way2 equality of souls does not exist4  
,the one is born with  pacific instincts
 and great intelligence4 ,he will be    
good1 learned1  wise1 illustrious       
perchance1 amid the thinkers of his age4
 ,the other  one brings with him a      
domineering1 envious perhaps1 or even a 
brutal  instinct4 ,his career defines   
and accentuates itself as each year     
passes1 and will lead him eventually to 
high rank in military life1 and  will   
give him the honour 7little to be       
coveted1 though still admired  upon the 
,earth7 which is attached to the title  
of an official assassin4    ,whether    
feebly or strongly pronounced1 this     
dissimilarity of character1  which      

depends neither upon family1 nor upon   
race1 nor upon education1  nor upon     
material conditions1 is manifest in     
every man4 ,reflect upon  this at your  
leisure2 you will arrive at the         
conviction that it is  absolutely       
inexplicable1 and can only be accounted 
for by belief in an  anterior life of   
the soul4    ,sidenote3 ,creation of the
 soul4    ,qurens4 ,have not most       
philosophers and theologians taught that
 the  soul and the body are created at  
one and the same time8    ,lumen4 ,and  
which1 pray1 is the precise moment of   
its creation8 ,is  it at the moment of  
birth8 ,legislation1 enlightened by     
anatomical  physiology1 knows that a    
child lives before being delivered from 
its  uterine prison1 therefore the      
destruction of an embryo of eight months
  is regarded as murder4 ,at what period
 do you then suppose1 that the  soul    
appears in the fluid brain of the foetus
 or of the embryo8    ,qurens4 ,it was  
thought in olden times that the real    

spiritual  quickening of the human being
 took place during the sixth week of    
gestation1 but the modern belief is that
 it occurs at the moment of  conception4
    ,lumen4 ,oh1 bitter mockery6 ,in    
accordance with this view you would     
have the eternal designs of the ,creator
 dependent in their execution  upon     
capricious desires1 upon the            
intermittent flames of two amorous      
hearts6 ,you would dare to admit that   
our immortal being is created by  the   
physical contact of two human beings6   
,you would be disposed to  believe that 
the ,divine ,head which governs the     
worlds1 is influenced by  intrigue1 by  
passion1 even by crime6 ,you would think
 that the number of  souls depends upon 
the number of flowers impregnated by the
 touch of  the sweet pollen dust borne  
to them on golden wings8    ,is not such
 a doctrine1 such a supposition1 an     
outrage upon the ,divine  dignity and   
the spiritual grandeur of the soul      
itself8 ,and would it  not1 besides1 be 

the complete materialisation of our     
intellectual  faculties8    ,qurens4    
,and yet----    ,lumen4 ,yes2 that seems
 so to you1 because upon your planet no 
soul  can incarnate itself otherwise    
than in a human embryo4 ,it is a law of 
life on the ,earth4 ,but you must look  
through the veil4 ,the soul is not  an  
effect4 ,the body serves it only as its 
garment4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i admit that it
 would indeed be singular that an event 
of such  dire importance as the creation
 of an immortal soul should spring  from
 a carnal cause1 should be the result of
 casual unions1 more or  less           
legitimate4 ,also1 ,i agree with you    
that organic causes do not  explain the 
different degrees of capacity with which
 mankind is born  into this world4      
,but ,i ask1 of what use would be these 
various existences if1 on  beginning a  
new life1 we retain no remembrance of   
those that precede  it8 ,also1 if it is 
really desirable to have in prospect a  
journey  without end through endless    

worlds1 and an eternal transmigration8  
,for at last there must be an end to it 
all1 and1 after many ons of  voyages1 we
 must some day finish our existence and 
seek repose4 ,would  it not be as well  
to do so after one existence only8      
,sidenote3 ,the unknown4    ,,lumen4 ,o 
men6 ,you do not comprehend either time 
or space4 ,do you not  know that outside
 the movement of the stars time no      
longer exists1  and that eternity is no 
longer measured8 ,do you not know that  
in the  infinite extent of the sidereal 
universe space is but a vain word1 no   
longer measurable8 ,you ignore all2     
principles1 causes1 all escape you3     
atoms upon a movable atom1 you have not 
any exact appreciation of the  universe2
 and yet1 despite ignorance so dense1   
and comprehension so  obscure1 you would
 attempt to judge all1 to envelop all1  
to seize all6  ,but it would be easier  
to put the ocean into a nutshell than it
 would  be to make you1 with your       
terrestrial brain1 understand the law of

  destiny4    ,sidenote3 ,nothing       
created1 nothing annihilated4    ,can   
you not1 then1 by making a legitimate   
use of the faculty of  induction which  
has been given you1 gather the direct   
consequences  resulting from observation
 supported by reason8 ,observation1     
sustained  by proof1 shows conclusively 
that all are not equal on coming into   
this  world2 that the past is not unlike
 the future2 and that the eternity      
which is before us is equally behind us2
 that nothing is created in  nature1 and
 that nothing is annihilated2 that      
nature includes all  things existing1   
and that ,god1 spirit1 law1 number1 are 
no more outside  nature than matter1    
weight1 motion2 that moral truth1       
justice1 wisdom1  virtue1 exist in the  
progress of the world as surely as its  
physical  reality2 that justice decrees 
equity in the distribution of its       
destinies2 that our destinies are not   
accomplished upon this earthly  planet2 
that the empyrean heaven does not exist1

 and that the ,earth is  a star in the  
sky2 that other inhabited planets soar  
with ours in the  vast expanse2 opening 
out to the wings of the soul an         
inexhaustible  field of vision1 and that
 the infinite in the universe           
corresponds1 in  the material creation1 
with the eternity of our intelligence in
 the  spiritual creation4    ,sidenote3 
,unknown forces in nature4    ,sidenote3
 ,affinities4    ,are not certainties   
such as these1 followed by the          
inductions with  which they inspire us1 
sufficient to liberate your mind from   
ancient  prejudices1 and to open out1 to
 an enlightened judgment1 a panorama    
worthy of the vague yet profound desires
 of our souls8 ,i could  illustrate this
 general sketch by examples and details 
which would  surprise you still more4   
,let it suffice for me to add that there
 are in  nature other forces than those 
you know1 which1 both in essence and in 
mode of action1 differ from electricity1
 attraction1 light1 c4 ,now1  among     

these natural and unknown forces there  
is one in particular1  the study of     
which will ultimately lead to singular  
discoveries in  elucidating the problems
 of the soul and of life4 ,this is the  
psychic  force4 ,this invisible fluidic 
force establishes a mysterious bond1    
unknown to themselves1 between living   
beings1 and already in many  cases you  
have been able to recognise its         
existence4 ,take the case of  two beings
 in love 7as the saying is74 ,it seems  
impossible for them  to live apart4     
,should circumstances lead to their     
being separated1 our  two lovers become 
absent-minded1 and their souls as it    
were leave their  bodies1 and span any  
distance which prevents them re-uniting 
with one  another4 ,the thoughts of the 
one are shared by the other1 and they   
live  together despite their separation4
    ,should any misfortune touch one1   
the other becomes immediately  conscious
 of it2 and such separations have been  
known to end in death4  ,how many facts 

have been stated by trustworthy         
witnesses of the sudden  apparition of a
 person to an intimate friend1 of a wife
 to a husband1  of a mother to a son1   
and vice vers1 just at the moment of    
death1  even though many leagues might  
separate them6 ,the most captious critic
  cannot in these days deny facts thus  
circumstantially proved4 ,twin  children
 living ten leagues apart1 and under    
very different conditions1  are stricken
 at the same time with the same malady1 
or if one is  excessively fatigued1 the 
other feels the same without apparently 
any  assignable cause4 ,and so on4      
,these facts prove that ties of sympathy
  exist between souls and even between  
bodies1 and give room for the  repeated 
reflection1 that we are far from knowing
 all the forces  operating in nature4   
,if ,i communicate these views to you1  
my friend1 it is chiefly to show  that  
you can not only have a foretaste of    
truth before death1 but  also that      
earthly existence is not so entirely    

deprived of light1 as  to prevent one's 
reason recognising the chief            
characteristics of the  moral world4    
,besides1 all these truths will be      
emphasised by my further  narration1    
when you learn that it is not only the  
previous existence  before my last one  
that ,i have seen again1 thanks to the  
slowness of  light1 but also my         
ante-penultimate planetary life1        
inclusive of more  than ten existences  
preceding that one in which we came to  
know each  other upon this ,earth4      
,,ii    ,sidenote3 ,plurality of lives4 
,,qu,,rens4 ,reflection and study had   
already inclined me1 ,lumen1 to  believe
 in the plurality of the existences of  
the soul4 ,yet this  doctrine lacks     
proofs1 logical1 moral1 and even        
physical1 as numerous  and as weighty as
 are those in favour of the plurality of
 the inhabited  worlds4 ,i own that     
until now ,i had grave doubts on the    
subject4 ,modern  optics and marvellous 
calculations1 which enable us to touch1 

as it  were1 the other worlds1 show us  
their years1 their seasons1 their days1 
and make us acquainted with the         
varieties of nature living on their     
surface4 ,all these elements have       
enabled contemporaneous astronomy to    
establish the fact of human existence in
 the other worlds on a strong  and      
imperishable foundation4 ,but ,i repeat 
that it is not so with  palingenesis1   
though ,i am strongly inclined towards  
the doctrine of  the transmigration of  
souls in the actual heaven1 since this  
is the  only way by which we can gain an
 idea of eternal life4 ,my desires1     
however1 need to be sustained by the    
help of a light1 and inspired by a      
confidence ,i do not yet possess4       
,,lumen4 ,it is precisely this light    
which we have under consideration1  and 
will be brought out by this interview4  
,i have1 ,i own1 an advantage over you1 
since ,i speak de visu1 and  that ,i    
strictly limit myself to interpret with 
exactitude the events  with which my    

spiritual life is actually woven4 ,but  
since you can see  the possibility and  
probability of the scientific           
explanation of my  statement1 you cannot
 fail as you listen to increase your    
light and  augment your knowledge4      
,,qu,,rens4 ,it is for this cause       
chiefly that ,i am always eager to hear 
you4    ,,lumen4 ,light1 you understand1
 is the means of giving to the          
disincarnated soul a direct vision of   
its planetary existences4    ,sidenote3 
,constellations4    ,after having       
reviewed my earthly existence1 ,i saw   
once more my life  previous to my last  
one1 upon one of the planets of ,gamma  
in ,virgo1  light bringing to me the    
former only after #gb years1 and the    
latter  after #agb years4 ,i see myself 
at present from ,capella as ,i was upon 
the  earth #gb years ago1 and as ,i was 
upon ,virgo #agb years ago4 ,thus two   
existences1 both past and successive1   
are here shown me as present  and       
simultaneous1 by virtue of the laws of  

light which transmit them  to me4       
,sidenote3 ,andromeda4    ,sidenote3    
,effects of perspective4    ,nearly five
 hundred years ago1 ,i lived upon a     
world whose astronomical  position as   
seen from the earth is precisely that of
 the left breast  of ,andromeda4        
,assuredly the inhabitants of that world
 do not suspect  that the denizens of a 
little planet in space have joined the  
stars  by fictitious lines1 tracing     
figures of men1 women1 animals1 and     
divers objects1 incorporating all the   
stars in figures more or less  original1
 in order to give them a name4 ,it would
 greatly astonish  some of these        
planetary people if they were told1 that
 upon the  ,earth certain stars bear the
 names of ,heart-of-the-,scorpion 7what 
a  heart671 ,head-of-the-,dog1          
,tail-of-the-,great-,bear1              
,eye-of-the-,bull1                      
,neck-of-the-,dragon1                   
,brow-of-,capricorn4 ,you are1 of       
course1 aware that  neither the         

constellations drawn upon the celestial 
globe1 nor the  position of the stars   
upon that globe1 are either real or     
absolute1 but  are only the result of   
the position of the ,earth in space1 and
 thus are  simply a question of         
perspective4 ,go to the top of a        
mountain and  fix upon a map the        
respective positions of all the summits 
surrounding  you in that circular       
panorama1 its hills1 its valleys1 its   
villages1  its lakes2 a map so          
constructed could only serve for the    
place from  whence it was drawn4 ,now   
transport yourself ten miles farther2   
the same  summits are visible1 but their
 respective positions in regard to each 
other are different1 resulting from the 
change in perspective4 ,the  panorama of
 the ,alps and of the ,oberland1 as seen
 from ,lucerne1 and  ,pilatus does not  
in the least resemble that seen from the
 ,fulkhorn1  or from the ,schynige      
,platte above ,interlaken4 ,yet these   
are the same  summits and the same      

lakes4 ,it is exactly so with the stars4
 ,the same  aspect is seen both from the
 star ,delta in ,andromeda and from the 
,earth2 but there is not a constellation
 that can be recognised1 because  all   
the celestial perspectives have changed2
 stars of the first  magnitude have     
become of the second and of the third2  
whilst others1 of  lesser magnitudes1   
seen nearer1 shine with increased       
brilliancy2 and1  above all1 the        
respective situation of the stars as    
regards one another  has completely     
changed in consequence of the different 
position of that  star and of the       
,earth4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,therefore the   
appearance of the constellation which   
one has so  long believed to be         
ineffaceably traced upon the vaulted sky
 is only  due to perspective4 ,in       
changing our position we change our     
perspective1  and our sky is no longer  
the same4 ,but1 then1 ought we not to   
have a  change of celestial perspective 
every six months1 since during this     

interval the ,earth has greatly altered 
its position1 having removed  to a      
distance of seventy-four millions of    
leagues from the place it  formerly     
occupied8    ,,lumen4 ,this objection   
proves that you have perfectly          
comprehended the  principle of the      
deformation of the constellations as one
 moves in any  direction in space4      
,it would be1 as you suppose1 if the    
,earth's orbit were of a dimension      
sufficiently vast for the two opposite  
points of this orbit to change  the view
 of this celestial scenery4             
,,qu,,rens4 ,seventy-four millions of   
leagues--    ,,lumen4 ,are as nothing in
 the order of celestial distances1 and  
can  no more affect the perspectives of 
the stars1 than taking a step in  the   
cupola of the ,pantheon would change the
 apparent position of the  buildings in 
,paris to the eye of the observer4      
,sidenote3 ,the charts of the ,middle   
,ages4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,certain charts of
 the ,middle ,ages represent the ,zodiac

 as  an arch in the heavens1 and place  
some of the constellations1 such  as    
,andromeda1 the ,lyre1 ,cassiopea1 and  
the ,eagle1 in the same region  as the  
,seraphim1 the ,cherubim1 and the       
,thrones4 ,that1 therefore1 was  simply 
fancy1 since constellations have no real
 existence1 but are  simply appearances 
due to perspective4    ,,lumen4         
,certainly the old heaven of theology   
has no legitimate place  to-day1 and    
simple common sense shows that it does  
not exist4 ,two  truths cannot oppose   
one another2 it is a necessity that the 
spiritual  heaven should accord with the
 physical heaven1 and the object of my  
various conversations is the            
demonstration of this truth4 ,upon the  
world of ,andromeda of which ,i speak1  
there is nothing resembling  the        
constellation of ,andromeda4 ,seen from 
the ,earth1 those stars  which appear   
joined and have served on the celestial 
landscape to  distinguish the daughter  
of ,cepheus and ,cassiopea1 are in      

reality  spread out in space at all     
sorts of distances1 and in every        
direction4  ,one cannot find either     
there or elsewhere the least vestige of 
the  tracings of terrestrial mythology4 
,sidenote3 ,the poetry of the heavens   
lost4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,all its poetry is 
lost4444 ,i shall feel1 however1 a      
certain  satisfaction in believing that 
for a part of my life ,i have rested  on
 the bosom of ,andromeda4 ,it is a      
pleasant fancy4 ,there is in it a       
mythological perfume and a comforting   
sensation4 ,i should like to be         
transported there without fear of the   
monster1 and without solicitude  for the
 young ,perseus bearing the head of the 
,medusa1 and mounted on  his famous     
,pegasus4 ,but now1 thanks to the       
scalpel of science1 there is  no longer 
an unveiled princess bound to a rock on 
the sea-shore1 nor a  virgin holding an 
ear of golden corn1 nor ,orion pursuing 
the ,pleiades2  ,venus has vanished from
 our evening sky1 and old ,saturn has   

let fall  his scythe in the night4      
,science has caused these ancient myths 
to  disappear6 ,i regret its progress4  
,sidenote3 ,the facts of astronomy      
grander than its fancies4    ,,lumen4   
,do you1 then1 prefer illusion to       
reality8 ,do you not know  that truth is
 immeasurably more beautiful1 grander1  
and infinitely  more marvellous than    
error1 however that may be embellished8 
,what  can be comparable in all the     
mythologies past and present1 to the    
rapt scientific contemplation of        
celestial grandeurs and the sublime     
movements of nature8 ,what impression   
can strike the soul more  profoundly    
than the fact of the expanse crowded    
with worlds1 and the  immensity of the  
sidereal systems8 ,what voice is more   
eloquent than  the silence of a star-lit
 night8 ,what wild flight of imagination
 could  conceive an image surpassing    
that1 of the interstellar voyage of     
light1  stamping with the seal of       
eternity the transitory events of the   

life of  each world8    ,throw off1     
then1 my friend1 your old errors and    
become worthy of the  majesty of        
science4 ,listen to what follows3--     
,sidenote3 ,description of the world of 
,andromeda4    ,sidenote3 ,the elements4
    ,by reason of the time light employs
 in coming from the system  of          
,andromeda to ,capella1 ,i have seen    
again1 in this year of #ahfi1 my        
ante-penultimate existence1 already     
ended five hundred years ago4  ,that    
world is very singular according to our 
ideas4 ,it has only one  kingdom on its 
surface1 and that the animal kingdom4   
,the vegetable  kingdom does not exist  
there4 ,but that animal kingdom is very 
different  from ours1 and of a superior 
kind1 although it is endowed with five  
senses similar to those on the ,earth4  
,it is a world without sleep and        
without fixity4 ,it is entirely         
enveloped in a rose-coloured ocean1     
less dense than terrestrial water1 and  
more dense than our atmosphere4  ,it is 

a substance holding a middle place as a 
fluid1 between air and  water4          
,terrestrial chemistry does not produce 
any similar substance1  therefore it    
would be in vain to try and represent it
 to you4 ,carbolic  acid gas that can be
 held invisible at the bottom of a      
glass1 and can  be poured out like      
water1 will give you the nearest idea of
 it4 ,this  is due to a fixed quantity  
of heat and electricity held in         
permanence  upon that globe4 ,you are   
aware that the composition of all things
 upon  the ,earth1 whether mineral1     
vegetable1 or animal1 is in three       
states1  solid1 liquid1 and gaseous1 and
 that the sole cause of these different 
conditions is the heat radiated from the
 ,sun upon the surface of the  ,earth4  
,the interior heat of the globe has now 
hardly any appreciable  effect upon its 
surface4    ,sidenote3 ,degree of heat  
fixes the condition of matter4          
,sidenote3 ,effect of the ,earth flying 
off at a tangent4    ,less solar heat   

would liquefy gases and solidify        
liquids4 ,greater heat  would dissolve  
solids and evaporate liquids4 ,a more or
 less quantity  of heat would produce   
liquid air 7yes1 liquid air71 and marble
 would  be turned into gas4 ,if by any  
cause whatever the earthly planet were  
one day to fly off from its orbit at a  
tangent1 and rush away into the  glacial
 obscurity of space1 you would see all  
the water on the ,earth  become solid1  
and gases in their turn become liquids2 
then as to solids  themselves 444 you   
would see6 ,no1 you could not see this  
by remaining  upon the ,earth1 but you  
could from the depths of space witness  
this  curious spectacle1 should your    
globe ever indulge in the freak of      
escaping from its orbit at a tangent4   
,and note further1 that should  this    
colossal cold ever take place suddenly1 
all creatures would find  themselves    
immediately frozen on the spot1 and the 
globe would carry  into space the       
singular panorama of the whole human    

race1 and every  animal immovably       
congealed for all eternity1 in the      
various attitudes  assumed by each      
individual and each creature1 at the    
moment of the  catastrophe4             
,sidenote3 ,worlds in a glacial state4  
,life arrested4    ,sidenote3 ,the      
awakening out of glacial repose4        
,there are worlds now in this state4    
,they are eccentric worlds1  the life of
 whose inhabitants has been insensibly  
arrested by the  rapid flight of their  
planet away from the ,sun1 and they have
 been  transformed into millions of     
statues4 ,most of them are lying down   
asleep1 seeing that this profound change
 of temperature takes many  days in its 
accomplishment4 ,there they are by      
millions1 pell-mell1  dead1 or1 to be   
more accurate1 sunk in a complete       
lethargy4 ,the cold  preserves them4    
,three or four thousand years later1    
when the planet  returns from its dark  
and frozen aphelion to its brilliant    
perihelion1  towards the sun--whose     

fertilising heat caressing its surface  
with  welcoming rays will rapidly       
increase--and when it has reached the   
degree which betokens the normal        
temperature of these beings1 they will  
be resuscitated at the age at which they
 were when overtaken by sleep2  they    
will take up their affairs from the     
moment of their interruption  7long     
interruption indeed67 without any       
consciousness that they had  slept a    
dreamless sleep for so many ages4 ,one  
may see some continuing  a game1 or     
finishing a phrase whose first words    
have been uttered four  thousand years  
ago4 ,all this is perfectly simple1 for 
we have seen that  time does not in     
reality exist4 ,this1 on a large scale1 
is exactly  what passes on a small one  
on the ,earth when you revive infusoria1
  which take a fresh lease of life under
 the rain1 after several years of       
apparent death4    ,sidenote3 ,world of 
,andromeda4    ,but to return to our    
world of ,andromeda2 the rose-coloured  

and  quasi-liquid atmosphere1           
surrounding it entirely as an ocean     
without  islands1 is the abode of living
 beings1 who are perpetually floating in
  the depths of that ocean which none   
have ever sounded3 from their birth  to 
their death they have not one moment's  
repose4 ,incessant activity is  the     
condition of their existence4 ,should   
they become stationary they  would      
perish4 ,in order to breathe1 that is to
 say1 to enable this fluid  element to  
penetrate to their bosom1 they are      
constrained to keep their  tentacles in 
unceasing motion1 and their lungs 7,i   
use this word the  better to be         
understood7 constantly open4            
,sidenote3 ,process of nourishment4     
,the external form of this human race   
resembles that of the sirens  of        
antiquity1 but is less elegant1 and     
their organism approaches  that of the  
seal4 ,do you see the essential         
difference between their  constitution  
and that of terrestrial man8 ,it is that

 on the ,earth we  breathe without being
 conscious of the act1 and obtain oxygen
 without  exertion1 not being compelled 
with difficulty to convert venous into  
arterial blood by the absorption of     
oxygen4 ,upon this other world1 on  the 
contrary1 this nourishment is only      
obtained with labour and at  the price  
of incessant effort4    ,,qu,,rens4     
,then this world is inferior to ours in 
the scale of progress8    ,,lumen4      
,without any doubt1 seeing that ,i      
inhabited it before coming  upon the    
,earth4 ,but do not think that the      
,earth is much superior by  reason of   
our being able to breathe whilst we are 
asleep4 ,doubtless1 it  is a great      
advantage to be furnished with a        
pneumatic mechanism1 which  opens       
involuntarily every time that our       
organism needs the least breath  of air1
 and which acts automatically and       
unceasingly night and day4 ,but  man    
does not live on air alone2 his earthly 
organism requires to be  nourished with 

something more solid1 and this solid    
something does not  come to him         
involuntarily as does air4    ,sidenote3
 ,labour of life on the ,earth4    ,what
 is the result8 ,look for a moment at   
the ,earth4 ,see what sorrow1  what     
desolation6 ,what a world of misery and 
brutality6 ,multitudes bowed  down with 
bent backs to the soil1 which they dig  
with toil and pain1  that they may gain 
their daily bread6 ,all these heads bent
 down to the  grossness of matter1 in   
place of being raised up to the         
contemplation  of nature6 ,all these    
efforts and these labours1 bringing in  
their wake  feebleness and disease6 ,all
 this traffic to amass a little gold at 
the  expense of others6 ,man taking     
advantage of his brother man6 ,castes1  
aristocracies1 robbery and ruin1        
ambitions1 thrones1 wars6 ,in a word1   
personal interests1 always selfish1     
often sordid1 and the reign of  matter  
over mind4 ,such is the normal state of 
the ,earth1 a condition  forced by the  

law which rules over your bodies1       
compelling you to kill  in order to     
live1 and to prefer the possession of   
material goods that  cannot be earned   
beyond the grave1 to the possession of  
intellectual  gifts1 which the soul can 
keep as a rich and inalienable          
possession4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,you speak1  
master1 as if you thought it were       
possible to live  without eating4       
,,lumen4 ,do you1 then1 believe that the
 beings of every world in space  are    
subject to an operation so ridiculous as
 this8 ,happily1 in many of  the worlds1
 the spirit is not subjected to such    
ignominy4    ,sidenote3 ,atmospheric    
nutrition4    ,it is not so difficult as
 you may suppose1 on first thoughts1 to 
believe in the possibility of           
atmospheric nutriment4 ,the maintenance 
of  life among man and the animals      
depends upon two causes1 respiration and
  nutrition4 ,the first is found        
naturally in the atmosphere2 the second 
is derived from nourishment4 ,nutrition 

produces blood2 from the blood  come the
 tissues1 the muscles1 the bones1 the   
cartilages1 the flesh1  the brain1 the  
nerves1 in a word1 the organic          
constituents of the  body4 ,the oxygen  
we breathe can itself be considered as a
 nutritive  substance1 inasmuch as it   
combines with the principal aliments    
absorbed  by the stomach1 and completes 
the formation of the blood and the      
development of the tissues4             
,sidenote3 ,the process of alimentation4
    ,now1 to imagine nutrition passing  
entirely into the domain of the         
atmosphere1 it is only necessary to     
observe that1 as a whole1 a  complete   
aliment is made up of albumen1 of sugar1
 of fat1 and of  salt1 and to imagine   
also that an atmospheric fluid1 in place
 of  being composed of azote and of     
oxygen only1 should be formed of these  
different substances in a gaseous state4
 ,these aliments are found in  the      
solids that you absorb2 digestion is the
 function which separates  them1 and    

which causes them to assimilate with the
 organs to which they  belong4 ,when1   
for example1 you eat a morsel of bread1 
you introduce  into your stomach a grain
 of starch1 a substance insoluble in    
water1  and which is not found in the   
blood4 ,the saliva1 and the pancreatic  
juice1 transform the insoluble starch   
into soluble sugar4 ,the bile1  the     
pancreatic juice1 and the intestinal    
secretions1 change the sugar  into fat4 
,both sugar and fat are present in the  
blood1 and it is by  the processes of   
alimentation that substances are        
separated and  assimilated in your body4
    ,it astonishes you1 my friend1 that 
after living five years--according  to  
terrestrial reckoning--in the celestial 
world1 ,i can remember all  these       
material terms1 and condescend to make  
use of them4 ,but the  memories that ,i 
have brought from the ,earth are still  
vivid1 and as we  speak on this occasion
 on a question of organic physiology1 ,i
 do not  feel ashamed of calling things 

by their own names4    ,if1 then1 we    
suppose that in place of being combined 
or mixed in the  constitution of bodies1
 solid or liquid1 these aliments could  
be found  in a gaseous state in the     
composition of the atmosphere1 we should
  create by this means nutritive        
atmospheres1 which would dispense with  
digestion and its attendant coarse and  
humiliating functions4    ,that which   
man is capable of imagining in the      
restricted sphere of his  observation1  
,nature has put in practice in more than
 one spot of the  universe4    ,besides1
 ,i can assure you that when one has    
ceased to be accustomed  to this        
material process of the introduction of 
nourishment into the  digestive tube1   
one cannot avoid being impressed with   
its coarseness4  ,this was the          
reflection ,i made a few days ago whilst
 observing one of  the richest countries
 on your planet4 ,i was struck by the   
suave and  angelic beauty of a maiden1  
reclining in a gondola as it floated    

gently  on the blue waters of the       
,bosphorus before ,constantinople4 ,red 
velvet  cushions1 embroidered with      
brilliant silks1 whose heavy tassels of 
gold  touched the water1 formed the     
divan of this young ,circassian4 ,before
  her knelt a little black slave playing
 upon some stringed instrument4  ,her   
form was so juvenile and graceful1 her  
bended arm so elegant1 her  eyes so pure
 and innocent1 her pensive brow so calm 
under the light of  heaven1 that for an 
instant ,i was captivated by a kind of  
retrospective  admiration for this      
masterpiece of living nature4    ,well6 
while this pure vision of awakening     
youth1 sweet as a flower  opening its   
petals to the sun's rays1 held me in a  
kind of passing  enchantment1 the bark  
reached the landing-stage1 and the      
maiden1  leaning on a slave1 seated     
herself on a couch near a well-spread   
table1  around which others had already 
gathered4 ,she began to eat6 ,yes6 for  
near an hour she was eating6    ,i could

 scarcely tolerate the earthly          
recollections recalled by this          
ridiculous spectacle4 ,to see a being   
like that partaking of food  through the
 mouth1 and making her charming body the
 receptacle for ,i  do not know what    
substances6 ,what vulgarity6            
,masticating morsels of  some kind of   
animal which her pearly teeth did not   
disdain to chew1  and again fragments of
 another animal which her virginal lips 
opened  without hesitation to receive   
and swallow6 ,what a diet3 a medley of  
ingredients drawn from cattle1 or from  
deer1 which have lived in the  mire and 
afterwards been slaughtered4 ,horror6 ,i
 turned away with  sadness from this    
strange contrast1 and directed my gaze  
to the system  of ,saturn1 where        
humanity need not stoop to such         
necessities4    ,sidenote3 ,victims to  
the struggle for existence4    ,the     
floating beings belonging to the world  
of ,andromeda1 where my  antepenultimate
 existence was passed1 are submitted to 

a still more  degrading manner of       
sustaining life than are the inhabitants
 of the  ,earth4 ,they have not the     
advantage of finding three parts of     
their  nutriment supplied by the air1 as
 is the case on your globe3 they  must  
work to obtain what may be called their 
oxygen1 and1 without  ceasing1 they are 
condemned to use their lungs in order to
 prepare the  nutritious air they need1 
without sleeping1 and without ever      
feeling  satisfied1 because1 despite    
their incessant toil1 they cannot absorb
  more than a small quantity at a time4 
,thus they pass their entire life1  and 
finally die victims to the struggle for 
existence4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,better far   
never to have been born6 ,but does not  
the same  reflection apply to the       
,earth8    ,what is the use of being    
born1 to weary one's self with endless  
work  and worry1 to turn in the same    
daily treadmill for sixty or a hundred  
years2 to sleep1 to eat1 to work1 to    
speak1 to run1 to err1 to agitate1  to  

dream1 ad infinitum8 ,of what use is all
 this8 ,would not one be  just as       
advanced if one were extinguished the   
day after birth1 or1  better still1 if  
one did not take the trouble to come    
into the world8  ,nature would not go on
 in any worse fashion1 and even if it   
did1 no one  would be the wiser4 ,and   
one might ask1 of what use is ,nature   
herself1  and why does the universe     
exist at all8    ,sidenote3 ,humanity in
 ,andromeda4    ,sidenote3 ,humanity4   
,,lumen4 ,that is the great mystery4    
,yet must all destinies be              
accomplished4 ,the world of ,andromeda  
is decidedly an inferior one4 ,to  give 
you an idea of the poor mental calibre  
of its inhabitants1 ,i will  cite two   
examples1 selecting the subjects of     
religion and politics1 as  these are    
generally the best criterions of the    
value of a people4 ,in  religion1 in    
place of seeking for ,god in nature1 and
 of basing their  judgment on science1  
instead of aspiring to the truth1 and of

 using  their eyes to see and their     
reason to comprehend--in a word1 in     
place  of establishing the foundations  
of their philosophy upon knowledge  as  
exact as possible of the order which    
governs the world--they are  divided    
into sects1 who are voluntarily blind1  
and believe they render  homage to their
 pretended ,god by ceasing to reason1   
and think they  adore ,him1 in          
maintaining that their anthill is unique
 in space2 by  reciting phrases and in  
injuring other sects1 and alas6 by      
blessing  swords1 and burnings at the   
stake1 and in authorising massacres and 
wars4 ,their doctrines contain          
assertions which seem expressly imagined
  to outrage common sense4 ,these are   
precisely those which constitute the    
articles of their faith and belief6     
,they are stupid in politics4 ,the most 
intelligent and pure-minded do  not     
understand each other4 ,therefore the   
,republic seems to be a form  of        
government which cannot be realised4    

,tracing the annals of their  history as
 far back as possible1 one sees a       
people1 cowardly and  indifferent1      
deliberately choosing1 rather than      
govern themselves1 to  be led by an     
individual claiming to be their         
,basileus1 their king4  ,this chief     
deprives them of three-fourths of their 
resources1 keeping  for himself and his1
 the atmosphere containing the greatest 
amount of  rose-essence--that is to say1
 that he keeps the best in the land for 
his own use2 he numbers his subjects1   
and from time to time sends them  to    
fight with neighbouring peoples1 who1   
like themselves1 are subject  to a      
similar ,basileus4    ,marshalling them 
like shoals of herrings1 he directs them
 on either  side towards the field of   
battle1 which they call the field of    
honour1 they then destroy one another   
like furious fools1 without  knowing    
why1 and without1 for that matter1 the  
power to comprehend1 as  they do not    
even speak the same language4    ,and do

 you imagine that those who1 most       
favoured by chance1 live to  return1    
feel any hatred against their ,basileus8
    ,nothing of the kind4 ,the remnant  
of the army who live to see their  homes
 again1 think nothing more natural than 
to celebrate their  thanksgivings in    
company with the dignitaries of their   
sects1  supplicating their ,god to grant
 long life to1 and to pour blessings    
upon1 the worthy man whom they designate
 their father and king4    ,sidenote3   
,organisation of the beings on          
,andromeda4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i gather    
from this narration1 that the           
inhabitants of ,delta  ,andromeda are1  
both physically and intellectually1     
greatly our  inferiors1 for upon the    
,earth we do not regulate our affairs in
 this  manner4444 ,in short1 upon their 
globe there is only one living kingdom1 
and that a mobile one1 without repose1  
without sleep1 kept in perpetual        
agitation by reason of an inexorable    
fate4 ,a world like this strikes me  as 

being very fantastic4    ,,lumen4 ,what1
 then1 would you say of the one ,i      
inhabited fifteen  centuries ago8 ,a    
world also containing only one kingdom1 
and that not  a movable one1 but1 on the
 contrary1 as fixed as is your vegetable
  kingdom8    ,,qu,,rens4 ,how6 ,animals
 and men held down by roots8      ,,iii 
,sidenote3 ,organisation of beings on   
,andromeda4    ,,lumen4 ,my existence   
anterior to that upon the world of      
,andromeda was  passed upon ,venus1 a   
planet near to the ,earth1 where ,i can 
remember  myself as a woman4 ,not that  
,i have directly seen myself there1 for1
  according to the law of light1 it     
would require the same length of time   
to travel from ,venus to ,capella as it 
would from the ,earth to ,capella1  and 
,i consequently see ,venus only as it   
was seventy-two years ago1  and not as  
it was nine hundred years ago1 which was
 the epoch of my  existence upon that   
planet4    ,my fourth life1 previous to 
my terrestrial one1 was passed upon an  

immense annular planet belonging to the 
constellation ,cygnus1 situated  in the 
zone of the ,milky ,way4 ,this singular 
world is inhabited solely  by trees4    
,,qu,,rens4 ,that is to say1 that so far
 only plants are there1 and neither     
animals nor intelligent speaking beings8
    ,,lumen4 ,not exactly4 ,there are   
only plants there1 it is true4 ,but in  
this vast world of plants there are     
vegetable races more advanced than      
those existing upon the ,earth4 ,there  
plants live as we do--feel1 think1      
reason1 and speak4    ,sidenote3        
,reasoning plants4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but  
this is impossible6 ,pardon6--,i would  
say improbable1  incomprehensible1 and  
entirely inconceivable4    ,,lumen4     
,these intelligent vegetable races      
really exist--so much so1 that  ,i      
myself belonged to them4 ,fifteen       
centuries ago ,i was a tree possessed   
of reason4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but tell me1 
how can a plant reason without a brain1 
and speak  without a tongue8    ,,lumen4

 ,tell me1 ,i beg of you1 by what       
process you yourself think1  and by what
 transformation of motion your soul     
translates its mute  conceptions into   
audible language8    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i am  
seeking1 ,o ,master1 but ,i fail to     
find1 the material  explanation of this 
fact1 however ordinary it may be4       
,sidenote3 ,facts not impossible because
 unknown4    ,,lumen4 ,we have no right 
to declare an unknown fact impossible1  
when  we are so ignorant ourselves of   
the laws regulating our own being4      
,because the brain is the physiological 
organ of intelligence placed at  the    
service of man on the ,earth1 do you    
therefore believe that there  are       
similar brains and spinal marrows upon  
all the worlds in space8  ,this would be
 an error too childish4 ,the law of     
progress governs the  vital system of   
each world4 ,this vital system differs  
according to the  secret nature of the  
special forces peculiar to each4 ,when a
 world has  reached a sufficient degree 

of evolution to fit it for entering into
  the service of moral life1 mind1 more 
or less developed1 appears on  it4      
,sidenote3 ,gradation of the human race4
    ,do not imagine that the ,eternal   
,father creates at once a human race on 
each globe4 ,not so4 ,the first step in 
the ladder of the animal kingdom        
receives the human transfiguration by   
force of circumstance1 and by  natural  
law1 which ennobles it1 as soon as      
progress has brought it to a  state of  
relative superiority4    ,sidenote3 ,the
 development of life4    ,do you know   
why you have a chest1 a stomach1 two    
legs1 two arms1 and  a head furnished   
with visual1 auditory1 and olfactory    
senses8 ,it is  because the quadrupeds1 
the mammalia1 which preceded the        
appearance  of man on the ,earth1 had   
them already4 ,monkeys1 dogs1 lions1    
bears1  horses1 oxen1 tigers1 cats1 c41 
and before them the horned rhinoceros1  
the cave-hyena1 the elk1 the mastodon1  
the oppossum1 c41 and prior  to these   

the pleiosaurus1 the ichthyosaurus1 the 
iguanodon1 the  pterodactyl1 c41 and    
again before these the fishes1 the      
crustacea1 the  mollusca1 c41 have been 
the result of the vital forces in action
 upon  the ,earth1 dependent upon the   
state of the soil1 of the atmosphere1   
of inorganic chemistry1 of the quantity 
of heat1 and of terrestrial  gravity4   
,the earthly animal kingdom has         
followed1 from its origin1 this         
continuous and progressive march towards
 the perfection of its typical  forms of
 mammalia1 freeing itself more and more1
 from the grossness of  its material4   
,man is more beautiful than the horse1  
the horse than the bear1 the bear  than 
the tortoise4 ,a similar law governs the
 vegetable kingdom4    ,heavy1 coarse   
vegetables without leaves and without   
flowers began the  series4 ,then1 as the
 ages advanced1 their forms became more 
pure1 and  graceful leaves appeared     
filling the woods with silent shadows4  
,flowers in their turn began to beautify

 the gardens of the ,earth1 and  spread 
sweet perfumes in an atmosphere until   
then insipid4    ,sidenote3 ,the        
genealogical tree of life4    ,to the   
scrutinising eye of the geologist who   
visits these tertiary1  secondary1 and  
primordial districts1 this double       
progressive series of  two kingdoms is  
to be seen to this day4 ,there was a    
period upon the  ,earth when a few      
islands had but just emerged from the   
bosom of the  warm waters1 into an      
atmosphere surcharged with vapour1 when 
the only  living things distinguishing  
this inorganic kingdom were long        
floating  filaments held in suspension  
in the waves4 ,seaweed and sea-wrack    
were  the first forms of vegetation4 ,on
 the rocks1 live creatures for which    
one has no name4 ,there1 sponges swell  
out4 ,here1 a tree of coral lifts  up   
itself4 ,further on1 the ,medus detach  
themselves and float like  balls of     
jelly4 ,are these animals8 ,are these   
plants8 ,science does not  answer4 ,they

 are animal-plants1 zoophites4 ,but life
 is not limited to  these forms4 ,there 
are creatures not less primitive1 and as
 simple1  which typify a special        
species4 ,these are the annelides1      
worms1 fish in  the form of a simple    
tube1 creatures without eyes1 ears1     
blood1 nerves1  will1 a vegetative      
species1 yet endowed with the power of  
motion4  ,later on rudimentary organs of
 sight and of locomotion appeared1 and  
life became less elemental4 ,then fishes
 and amphibious creatures came  into    
existence4 ,the animal kingdom began to 
form itself4    ,sidenote3 ,formation of
 the animal kingdom4    ,what would have
 been the result if the first creature  
had never quitted  its rock8 ,if these  
primitive elements of terrestrial life  
had remained  stationary at the point of
 their formation1 and if1 for any cause 
whatever1 the faculty of locomotion had 
never had a beginning8 ,the  consequence
 would have been1 that in place of the  
system of terrestrial  vitality being   

manifested in two different directions1 
viz41 in the  world of plants and the   
world of animals1 it would have         
continued  manifesting itself solely in 
the first direction1 with the result    
that  there would have been but one     
kingdom instead of two1 and the creative
  progress would have operated in that  
kingdom as it operated in the  animal   
kingdom4 ,it would not have been        
arrested at the formation of            
sensitives1 superior plants which are   
already gifted with a veritable  nervous
 system2 nor would it have stopped at   
the formation of flowers1  which are    
already bordering on ours in their      
organic functions2 but1  continuing its 
ascension1 would have produced1 in the  
vegetable  kingdom1 that which has      
already been produced in the animal     
kingdom4 ,as  it is1 many vegetables    
feel and act2 here would have been      
vegetables  feeling and making          
themselves understood4 ,the ,earth would
 not have been  on that account deprived

 of the human species4 ,only mankind1   
instead  of being gifted with locomotion
 as it is1 would have been fixed by the 
feet4 ,such is the state of the annular 
world in which ,i lived fifteen         
centuries ago in the heart of the ,milky
 ,way4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,of a truth1 this 
world of men-plants astonishes me more  
than  the previous one1 and ,i find it  
difficult to picture to myself the life 
and manners of these singular beings4   
,sidenote3 ,men-plants4    ,,lumen4     
,their kind of life is indeed very      
different from yours4 ,they  neither    
build cities nor make voyages2 they have
 no need of any form  of government2    
they are ignorant of war1 that scourge  
of terrestrial  humanity1 and they have 
nothing of that national self-love      
called  patriotism which is one of your 
characteristics4 ,prudent1 patient1 and 
gifted with constancy1 they have neither
 the mobility nor the fragility  of the 
denizens of the ,earth4 ,life there     
reaches an average of five or  six      

centuries1 and is calm1 sweet1 uniform1 
and without revolutions4  ,but do not   
think that these men-plants live only a 
vegetable life4 ,on  the contrary1 they 
have an existence both personal and     
positive4 ,they  are divided1 not by    
caste1 regulated by birth and fortune1  
according to  that absurd custom on the 
earth1 but by families1 whose native    
value  differs precisely according to   
its kind4 ,they have an unwritten social
  history1 but nothing which happens    
amongst them can be lost1 inasmuch  as  
they have neither emigrations nor       
conquests1 but their records and        
traditions are handed down from one     
generation to another4 ,each one  knows 
the history of his own race4 ,they have 
also two sexes1 as upon  the ,earth1 and
 unions take place there in a similar   
manner1 but are  purer1 more            
disinterested1 and invariably           
affectionate4 ,nor are these  unions    
always consanguineous2 impregnation can 
even be effected at a  distance4        

,,qu,,rens4 ,but1 after all1 how can    
they communicate their thoughts if it   
be true that they think8 ,and besides1  
master1 how was it possible for  you to 
recognise yourself on this singular     
world8    ,sidenote3 ,manner of life    
upon ,cygnus4    ,,lumen4 ,the same     
reply will satisfactorily answer your   
double question4  ,i was looking at that
 ring in the constellation of ,cygnus1  
being drawn  there with persistence by  
some irresistible instinct4 ,it         
surprised  me to see only vegetable     
growths upon its surface1 and ,i        
principally  remarked their singular    
manner of grouping3 here two and two1   
there  three and three1 farther off ten 
and ten1 besides others in larger       
clusters4 ,some were seated1 as it were1
 upon the brink of a fountain1  others  
appeared to be reposing1 with little    
shoots springing up round  them4 ,i     
sought to find there the kinds familiar 
to me on the ,earth1  such as pines1    
oaks1 poplars1 willows1 but ,i could not

 find any of  these botanical growths4  
,at last ,i fixed my eyes upon a plant  
in the shape of a fig-tree1  without    
either leaves or fruit1 but full of     
brilliant scarlet flowers1  when        
suddenly ,i saw this enormous fig-tree  
stretch out a bough like a  gigantic    
arm1 raise the extremity of this arm to 
its head1 and pluck  one of the         
magnificent flowers ornamenting its     
crown1 and then present  the same1 with 
an inclination of the head1 to another  
fig-tree growing  some little distance  
apart1 of slender and graceful form1 and
 bearing  sweet blue flowers4 ,this one 
appeared to receive the red flower with 
a  certain pleasure1 for it extended a  
branch1 or one might say a cordial      
hand1 to its neighbour1 which was       
apparently held in a long clasp4        
,under certain circumstances1 as you    
know1 a gesture is sufficient for       
making yourself known to another4 ,thus1
 then1 the meaning of this  tableau was 
borne in upon me4 ,this gesture of the  

fig-tree in the ,milky  ,way awoke      
within me a world of memories4    ,this 
,man-,plant was myself as ,i was fifteen
 centuries ago1 and in  the fig-trees   
with the violet flowers which were      
grouped around me ,i  recognised my     
children2 for ,i recollected that the   
tints of the flowers  borne by the      
offspring1 are the result of the        
admixture of the two  colours           
distinguishing their parents4           
,sidenote3 ,faculties of men-plants4    
,these ,men-,plants see without eyes1   
hear without ears1 and speak without    
larynx4 ,have you not flowers upon the  
,earth which can discriminate  not only 
night from day1 but also the different  
hours of the day1 the  height of the sun
 above the horizon1 a clear sky from a  
cloudy one1 and  more1 which perceive   
divers sounds with exquisite            
sensitiveness2 and1  in fine1 not only  
hear each other perfectly1 but also the 
butterfly  messengers4 ,these rudiments 
are developed to a veritable degree of  

civilisation upon the world of which ,i 
speak1 and these beings are  as complete
 in their kind as you on the ,earth are 
in yours4 ,their  intelligence1 it is   
true1 is less advanced than the average 
intellect  of terrestrial humanity2 but 
in their manners and mutual relations1  
they show in all ways a sweetness and   
refinement1 which might often  serve as 
a model to the dwellers upon the ,earth4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,how is it possible1    
master1 that they see without eyes1 and 
hear without ears8    ,sidenote3 ,light 
and sound are only modes of motion4     
,,lumen4 ,you will cease to be          
astonished1 my old friend1 if you will  
but reflect that light and sound are    
nothing else than two modes of  motion4 
,in order to appreciate either one or   
the other of these two  modes of motion1
 you must 7and that is sufficient7 be   
endowed with an  apparatus in           
correspondence with them1 which might be
 only a simple  nerve4 ,the eye and the 
ear are the apparatus for your          

terrestrial  nature4 ,in another natural
 organisation the optic nerve and the   
auditory nerve form quite different     
organs4 ,besides1 light and sound  are  
not the only two modes of motion in     
nature4 ,i can even say that  light and 
sound are the result of your manner of  
feeling1 and not of  anything real4     
,sidenote3 ,nature possesses myriads of 
modes of motion4    ,there are in nature
 not one1 but ten1 twenty1 a hundred1 a 
thousand  different modes of motion4    
,upon the ,earth you are so formed as to
 be  able to appreciate chiefly these   
two1 which constitute almost the whole  
of your life in its external relations4 
,upon other worlds there are other      
senses with which nature can be         
appreciated under its various aspects4  
,some of these senses take the  place of
 your eyes and of your ears1 and others 
are in touch with  perceptions entirely 
foreign to those which are received by  
terrestrial  organs4    ,,qu,,rens4     
,when you spoke to me just now of the   

men-plants in the world  of ,cygnus1 the
 idea occurred to me to ask if earthly  
plants possess a  soul8    ,sidenote3   
,form determined by soul4    ,sidenote3 
,souls of plants4    ,,lumen4 ,most     
certainly4 ,terrestrial plants are      
gifted with a soul  just as much as are 
animals and men4 ,without a potential   
soul no  organisation could exist4 ,the 
form of a plant is determined by its    
soul4 ,an acorn and the kernel of a     
peach are planted side by side in  the  
same soil1 the same situation1 under the
 same conditions2 why  should the first 
produce an oak and the second a peach   
tree8 ,because  an organic force        
inherent in the oak will construct its  
special kind  of vegetable1 and another 
organic force1 another soul inherent in 
the  peach1 will equally draw to itself 
other elements necessary for its        
special body1 just as the human soul1 in
 the construction of its body1  uses the
 means put by nature at its disposal4   
,only the soul of the  plant has not any

 self-consciousness4    ,sidenote3      
,souls and atoms4    ,sidenote3         
,personality of the soul4    ,the souls 
in vegetables1 in animals1 and in men1  
have already attained  to that degree of
 personality and of authority1 which    
enables them  to bend at will1 and to   
command and govern at pleasure1 all     
those  non-personal forces which exist  
in the bosom of immeasurable nature4    
,the human monad1 for example1 being    
superior to the monad of salt1  or of   
carbon1 or of oxygen1 absorbs and       
incorporates them in its  structure4    
,our human soul in our terrestrial body 
upon the ,earth  governs1 without being 
conscious of it1 all the elementary     
souls  forming the constituent parts of 
its body4 ,matter is not a solid and    
compassable substance4 ,it is an        
assemblage of centres of forces4        
,substance has not any importance4 ,from
 one atom to another there is a  great  
distance in proportion to the dimensions
 of atoms4 ,at the head  of the divers  

centres of forces which constitute and  
form the human  body is the human soul1 
governing all the ganglionic souls1     
which are  subordinated to it4          
,,qu,,rens4 ,i must frankly own1 most   
wise instructor1 that ,i fail to        
clearly grasp this theory4    ,,lumen4  
,then ,i will illustrate it for you by  
an example which will  demonstrate the  
truth of all ,i have said1 and convince 
you that it is a  fact4    ,,qu,,rens4  
,a fact8 ,are you1 then1 a reincarnation
 of the ,princess  ,scheherazade1 and   
have you been fascinating me with a new 
tale from the  ,arabian ,nights8        
,,fifth ,,conversation    ,,ingenium    
,,audax3 ,,natura ,,audacior            
,sidenote3 ,theta 77 in ,orion4         
,,lumen4 ,you know the splendid         
constellation of ,orion which reigns    
like  a sovereign over your winter      
nights1 and the curious multiple star   
7theta7 which is to be found below the  
sword suspended from the  ,belt1 and    
shines in the midst of the famous       

nebula4 ,this system  of  ,orion is one 
of the most singular which is to be     
found in the vast  treasure-house which 
contains such a variety of celestial    
jewels4 ,it is  composed of four        
principal ,suns disposed in a           
quadrilateral form4 ,two  of these      
,suns1 forming what ,i may call the base
 of the quadrilateral1  are accompanied1
 the one by a single ,sun1 the other by 
two ,suns4 ,thus  it is a system of     
seven ,suns around each of which        
circulate inhabited  planets4           
,sidenote3 ,a world in ,orion4    ,i was
 on a planet turning round one of the   
secondary ,suns4 ,this  revolved round  
another of the four principal ,suns4    
,that in its turn  circulated1 in       
concert with the others and at the same 
time1 around an  invisible centre of    
gravity in the interior of the          
quadrilateral4 ,i do  not insist on     
these movements1 but the celestial      
mechanism explains  them4    ,sidenote3 
,day ,suns and night ,suns4    ,i was   

therefore lighted and warmed on my      
planet by seven ,suns at the  same time2
 by one larger and more brilliant in    
appearance than the  other six1 because 
it was nearer to me2 by a second very   
large and  equally bright2 by a third of
 moderate size1 and by two who were like
  twins4 ,these different ,suns are     
never all together above the horizon4   
,there are day ,suns and night ,suns2   
that is to say1 they have there no      
night properly so called4    ,,qu,,rens4
 ,really8 ,are there in the heavens     
double and multiple ,suns8    ,sidenote3
 ,inhabitants of ,theta ,orionis4       
,,lumen4 ,yes1 a very great number4 ,the
 system of which ,i am speaking to  you1
 amongst others1 is known to the        
astronomers of the ,earth1 who  count by
 thousands in their catalogues1 systems 
of double stars1 of  multiple stars1 and
 of coloured stars4 ,you can study them 
yourself  with your telescope4 ,now1 on 
the planet of ,orion1 which ,i have just
  mentioned to you1 the inhabitants are 

neither vegetables nor animals4  ,they  
could not be placed in any              
classification of terrestrial life1  nor
 in either of the two great divisions of
 the vegetable and animal  kingdoms4 ,in
 truth ,i do not know with what to      
compare them in order to  give you an   
idea of their form4    ,have you ever   
seen1 in botanic gardens1 the gigantic  
tapering plant the  ,cereus giganteus8  
,,qu,,rens4 ,i know this plant very     
well4 ,its name comes from its          
resemblance to the wax tapers1 placed in
 three or more branched stands1  with   
which churches are lighted4             
,sidenote3 ,analysis of the nervous     
system4    ,sidenote3 ,plant-beings4    
,,lumen4 ,well1 the men of  ,orionis    
bear some likeness to this  form4 ,only 
they move slowly1 and maintain an       
upright position by means  of a process 
of suction analogous to that of the     
ampull of certain  plants4 ,the lower   
part of the vertical stem1 where it     
rests on the  ground1 is slightly       

elongated1 like a starfish1 with little 
appendages  which fix themselves to the 
soil by means of suction4 ,these beings 
often go in troops1 and change their    
latitude according to the seasons4  ,but
 the most singular peculiarity of their 
organisation is that which  illustrates 
the principle of which ,i have spoken to
 you1 of the union  of elementary souls 
in the human body4 ,one day ,i visited  
this world1  and found myself in the    
midst of an ,orionic landscape4 ,i      
beheld a  being standing there like a   
plant ten metres high1 without leaves or
  flowers4 ,he consisted in fact of a   
cylindrical stalk1 the uppermost  part  
of which separated into many branches   
like those of a chandelier4  ,the       
central stem1 as well as those of the   
branches1 measured about a  third of a  
metre in diameter4 ,the tops of the     
stalk and of the branches  were crowned 
with a diadem of silver fringe4         
,suddenly ,i saw this being  agitate his
 branches and then vanish4 ,the fact is 

that in this world  individuals1        
although quite well1 fall to pieces     
literally in an  instant4    ,sidenote3 
,death by disintegration4    ,the       
molecules of which they are constituted 
fall altogether to the  ground4 ,the    
personal existence of the individual    
comes to an end4 ,his  molecules        
separate and are dispersed4             
,,qu,,rens4 ,they disintegrate1 and the 
atoms fly apart1 like truants from      
school4    ,,lumen4 ,just so4 ,i can    
recollect this disintegration of the    
body often  took place in their lives4  
,sometimes it was the result of         
contrariety1  sometimes of fatigue1 and 
in other cases of a want of organic     
accord  between the different parts4    
,they exist in their entirety actual    
and complete1 then suddenly they are    
reduced into the most simple  elementary
 form4 ,the cerebral molecule1 which    
constitutes each one in  reality1 feels 
itself descending in consequence of the 
fall of its  sister molecules of the    

long branches1 and it arrives at the    
surface  of the ground solitary and     
independent4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,this mode  
of dissolution would sometimes be a very
 convenient  proceeding here below4 ,to 
get out of an embarrassing situation1   
for  example a conjugal scene  la       
,molire1 or a bad quarter of an hour    
such as ,rabelais describes1 or a       
mournful situation such as the  scaffold
 for an execution1 one would only have  
to let loose one's  constituent atoms1  
and--bid good-bye to the company4444    
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,animated molecules4         
,,lumen4 ,you seem to regard the matter 
as a joke1 but ,i assure you it is  an  
undoubted reality4 ,it would exist on   
the ,earth as well as on the  planet of 
,orion1 if the principle of authority   
were not so firmly fixed  with you4     
,there it is only in an elementary form4
 ,your body is formed  of animated      
molecules4    ,according to one of your 
most eminent physiologists1 your spinal 

marrow  is a series of centres1 linked  
together independently1 and yet under   
control4 ,the essential constituents of 
your blood1 of your flesh1 and  of your 
bones1 are in a like case4 ,they are    
provinces self-governed1  but subject to
 a superior authority4 ,the working of  
this superior  authority is a condition 
of human life--a condition which is less
  exclusive amongst the inferior        
animals4 ,each ring of the worm called  
lombric is a complete worm1 so that a   
lombric represents a series of  similar 
beings constituting a veritable living  
cooperative society4 ,cut  into rings1  
the worm would be so many independent   
individuals4    ,in the tape-worm1 a    
solitary worm1 the head is of more      
importance  than the rest of the body1  
and possesses the faculty of reproducing
  the rest of the body after it has been
 cut off4 ,the leech is another  example
 of united individuals4 ,cut it into    
five or six rings1 and the  operation   
gives you as many leeches4 ,thus also1 a

 cutting of a branch  of a tree will    
grow4 ,in like manner a crab's claw or a
 lizard's tail  will be reproduced4 ,in 
reality the vertebrate animals1 such as 
man1 are  essentially composite in      
structure4 ,the spinal marrow1 and its  
highest  expansion in the brain1 consist
 of segments placed in juxtaposition1   
with nervous centres1 each of which     
possesses an elementary soul4           
,sidenote3 ,power of the personal soul4 
,the law of authority in action on the  
,earth1 has determined in the  animal   
series a preponderating direction4 ,you 
are composed of a  multitude of beings  
grouped together1 and dominated by the  
plastic  attraction of your personal    
soul1 which from the centre of your     
being  has formed your body from the    
embryo1 and has united round itself1 in 
a microcosm1 a whole world of beings1   
who have not any consciousness of  their
 individuality4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,on the  
planet of ,orion nature itself is then  
in a state of  absolute ,republicanism4 

,,lumen4 ,republicanism governed by law4
    ,,qu,,rens4 ,but when a being finds 
itself thus disintegrated1 how can he   
afterwards reconstitute himself as a    
whole8    ,,lumen4 ,by an act of the    
will1 and often without the least       
effort1 and  even by a casual desire4   
,although separated from the cerebral   
molecule1  the corporeal molecules are  
still intimately connected with one     
another4 ,at a given moment they        
combine1 and each takes its place4 ,the 
directing molecule draws the other from 
a distance1 as the loadstone  attracts  
iron filings4    ,,qu,,rens4 ,i can     
easily picture to myself the spectacle  
of this  ,lilliputian army1 when        
summoned by a whistle1 drawing to its   
centre  to organise a reunion2 all the  
little soldiers climbing one over the   
other1 and in a moment taking their     
places to reconstruct the man-taper     
that you have described to me4 ,one     
really ought to leave the ,earth to     
behold such rare wonders6    ,,lumen4   

,you still judge of universal nature by 
the atom that you have  before your     
eyes1 and you are only qualified to     
comprehend the facts  which are within  
the sphere of your observations4 ,but ,i
 assure you the  ,earth is not the type 
of the universe4    ,sidenote3 ,various 
forms of life4    ,this world of        
,orionis1 with its seven revolving      
,suns1  is peopled by an organic system 
analogous to that which ,i have just    
described to you4    ,i lived there     
#bdjj years ago1 and ,i can see myself  
there again in  accordance with the time
 that light occupied in coming from that
 point  in space to ,capella4 ,when     
there1 ,i was acquainted with the spirit
 who  in this century was incarnated on 
the ,earth and published his studies    
under the name of ,allan ,kardec4    ,we
 did not recollect that we had known one
 another before1 during  our terrestrial
 life1 but we often felt attracted to   
one another by  peculiar intellectual   
sympathies4 ,now that he has returned1  

like  myself1 into the world of spirits1
 he also remembers the singular         
republic of ,orion and can see it4 ,yes1
 this is very curious1 but it is  quite 
true4 ,you have no idea1 on your poor   
planet1 of the unimaginable  diversity  
which separates the worlds in their     
geological1 as much as in  their        
physiological organisations4            
,sidenote3 ,sense of sight in spirits4  
,these conversations may serve to throw 
light on your knowledge of  this general
 truth1 so important in the conception  
of the universe4  ,but the scientific   
service that these conversations can    
specially  render you is in making you  
understand that light is the mode of    
transmission of universal history4 ,with
 the powerful visual faculty  which we  
enjoy here1 we can distinguish the      
surface of distant worlds4  ,the eye of 
our perisprit is not identical with the 
bodily eye4 ,in  the terrestrial sight  
the rays diverge1 so that a very small  
object1  placed quite near the eye fills

 the interval of the two rays1 whilst   
at a greater distance1 a larger object  
is necessary to fill the space1         
proportionately increased1 which        
separates the same rays4 ,in our eye1   
on the contrary1 the visual rays enter  
in parallel lines1 so that we  see each 
object in its real proportions1 and in  
its normal size1 its  apparent size     
being quite unaffected by distance4 ,we 
do not see the  whole of large objects1 
but only sections of them proportioned  
to the  openings of our special retina1 
but these parts are seen by us with     
equal clearness at any distance 7when   
there is no atmosphere to veil  this    
distance74    ,a tree in a prairie on a 
celestial body1 as far as ,theta of     
,orion  is from ,capella1 is perfectly  
visible to us4 ,on the other hand1 in   
accordance with the law of the          
successive transmission of the rays of  
light1 all the events in nature1 and the
 history of all the worlds1 are         
depicted in space as a universal        

tableau1 the most true and the most     
magnificent in all nature4    ,sidenote3
 ,infinite diversity in ,sirius4    ,as 
these conversations will have shown you1
 ,i have traversed a great  many        
different celestial countries1 and have 
actually studied creation  without      
fixing myself in any place4 ,i hope in  
the course of the next  century to be   
reincarnated on a world dependent on the
 train of ,sinus4  ,the humanity there  
is more beautiful than that of the      
,earth4 ,birth is  effected by means of 
an organic system less ridiculous and   
less brutal  than that of the ,earth4   
,but the most remarkable characteristic 
of the life on this world is1  that     
there men perceive the physico-chemical 
operations which take  place for the    
maintenance of the body4 ,from each     
molecule of the body1  so to speak1     
proceeds a nerve which transmits to the 
brain the various  impressions that it  
receives1 so that the soul absolutely   
knows its  body1 and rules over it as a 

sovereign4    ,sidenote3 ,vegetable life
 in ,aldebaran4    ,there is an immense 
variety amongst the worlds4 ,on one of  
the  planets of the system of           
,aldebaran1 very curious from this point
  of view1 the vegetables are all       
composed of a substance analogous  to   
the loadstone1 because silica and       
magnesia predominate in its             
constitution4 ,the animals feed on this 
substance only4 ,most of the  beings    
inhabiting this world are incombustible4
    ,upon the world of which ,i speak   
night is illumined by phosphorescent    
lights4 ,i have visited other worlds    
where night does not exist at  all1     
where day and night do not succeed each 
other as upon the ,earth1  because every
 portion of their spheres is            
continuously supplied with  light by    
several suns1 which never leave them in 
darkness for an  instant4 ,there sleep  
is unnecessary1 either for man1 for     
animals1 or  for plants4    ,upon your  
planet sleep consumes a third portion of

 your life1 its  primary cause being the
 rotation of the earth on its axis1     
which  produces day and night in        
succession1 on the various parts of the 
globe4    ,upon these worlds where it is
 always day1 the inhabitants never      
sleep1  and it would greatly surprise   
them to learn1 that there exists a      
humanity where a third of life is passed
 in a lethargy resembling death4        
,sidenote3 ,phosphoric light    ,not far
 from this1 a world revolves where night
 is almost unknown1  although it does   
not possess a nocturnal sun1 as in the  
quadrilateral  of ,orion1 and it has no 
satellites4 ,the rocks of its mountains1
 being  of a chemical composition that  
reminds one of the phosphates and the   
sulphates of barytes1 store up the solar
 light received during the  day2 and    
during the night they radiate a sweet1  
calm1 translucent  light1 which         
illumines the scenery with a tranquil   
nocturnal clearness4  ,there1 also1 one 
sees curious trees1 bearing flowers     

which shine in the  evening like        
fire-flies4 ,these resemble             
horse-chestnuts1 but the snowy  flowers 
are luminous4    ,phosphorus enters     
largely into the composition of this    
curious and  singular world4 ,its       
atmosphere is constantly electrical2 its
 animals  are luminous1 as well as its  
plants1 and its humanity partakes of the
  same nature4    ,sidenote3 ,the       
passions phosphorescent4    ,the        
temperature is very high1 and the       
inhabitants have not much need to       
invent clothes4 ,now1 it happens that   
certain passions are manifested  by the 
illumination of part of the body4 ,this 
is1 on a large scale1  what takes place 
on a small scale in your terrestrial    
meadows1 where  one sees in the sweet   
summer evenings the glow-worms silently 
consumed  in an amorous flame4 ,in the  
fire-flies of the north1 that you see   
in ,france1 the male is winged and is   
not luminous2 the female1 on  the       
contrary1 is luminous1 but does not     

possess the aerial faculty4  ,in ,italy 
the two sexes are winged1 and both can  
become luminous4 ,the  humanity which ,i
 am describing to you has all the       
advantages of this  latter type4        
,certain forms of terrestrial life are  
to be met with among the sidereal       
humanities4 ,thus we find in some of    
them1 the same thing that takes  place  
on the ,earth in the ant world1 where1  
on the day of their aerial  unions1 all 
the males die of exhaustion2 and again  
in the world of  bees1 where the        
procreators are pitilessly sacrificed2  
and amongst  spiders1 where they are    
devoured by their companions unless they
 can  immediately escape4 ,we find      
reproduced the habits of a great number 
of insects1 which never see their       
offspring1 and lay their eggs in        
surroundings in which the newly-born    
will find their first food4    ,the     
human body on this ,earth owes its form 
and its state of being to  the          
atmospheric environment1 and to the     

conditions of density1 of  weight1 and  
of nutrition1 by means of which         
terrestrial evolution  operates4    ,the
 human being proceeds from the fusion of
 a microscopic masculine  corpuscle with
 a minute feminine ovule4 ,this fusion  
gives birth to a  little cell which is  
transformed into the embryo1 in which   
gradually  appear the heart1 the head1  
the limbs1 and the different organs4    
,the  nervous system of this embryo may 
be compared to rays of delicate         
threads1 proceeding from a central point
 which will become the brain4    ,under 
the influence of the ,solar light and of
 the vibrations of the  air1 one of     
these nerves is developed at its        
extremity1 and forms the  eye4 ,this is 
undefined at first1 and almost blind in 
an elementary  state1 like the eyes of  
the trilobites and of the fishes of the 
,silurian period1 but it develops into  
the admirable eyes of birds1 of  the    
vertebr1 and of man4 ,the senses of     
smell and taste proceed from  the nerves

 in the same way4 ,these last two       
senses1 with that of touch1  are the    
most primitive1 the earliest1 and the   
most necessary to life4  ,there are but 
two of the senses which place man in    
communication with  the outer           
world--sight and hearing1--but the eye  
is the sole organ  which puts us in     
communication with the whole universe4  
,millions of these little nerve-threads 
proceed from the brain1 through  the    
body1 without producing any other than  
the five senses1 unless we  except      
certain sensations of touch1 which are  
intimate and personal1  and which have  
even been described as a sixth sense4   
,you shall hear4    ,now there is no    
reason why that which has taken place   
and been arrested  on our little planet1
 should take place and be arrested in   
the same  fashion elsewhere4    ,in     
proof of this ,i must tell you that ,i  
visited1 not long since1 two  worlds on 
which human beings have two senses of   
which we have not any  idea on our      

,earth4    ,one of these senses may be  
described as electrical4 ,one of the    
little nerve-threads of which ,i have   
just told you is developed into  a      
multitude of ramifications which form a 
sort of cornet4 ,these1  under the      
scalpel and the microscope1 appear to be
 tubes placed in  juxtaposition1 the    
outer extremity of which receives the   
electric fluid  and transmits it to the 
brain1 much as our optic nerves receive 
the  waves of light1 and our auditory   
nerves receive the undulations of       
sound4    ,the beings provided with this
 sense perceive the electrical condition
  of bodies1 of material things1 of     
plants and flowers1 of animals1 of  the 
atmosphere1 and of clouds4 ,to these    
beings this electric sense is  a source 
of knowledge which is wholly forbidden  
to us4 ,their organic  sensations are   
all different from yours4 ,their eyes   
are not constructed  like yours2 they do
 not see what you see2 they see what you
 do not see4  ,they are conscious only  

of the invisible violet rays4 ,but their
 mode of  existence differs from yours1 
especially through their electric sense4
  ,the electric constitution of their   
world is the cause of the existence  and
 of the development of this sense4      
,another sense with which ,i was still  
more struck1 and which was of  quite a  
different character1 ,i found on a      
second world4 ,this was the  sense of   
orientation4 ,another of the            
nerve-threads proceeding from the  brain
 produced a species of winged ear1 very 
light1 by means of which  the living    
being perceives his direct bearings4 ,he
 is conscious of the  points of the     
compass1 and turns to the north or the  
south1 the east or  the west1           
instinctively4    ,the atmosphere is    
full of emanations which you never      
perceive4 ,this  singular sense orients 
the possessors of it infallibly4 ,it    
enables them  also to discover things   
concealed in the interior of the ,sun1  
and gives  them an insight into some of 

,nature's secrets which are absolutely  
hidden from you4    ,i would thus       
demonstrate to you that in the vast     
domains of creation  an infinite variety
 exists1 and that eternity will be      
inexhaustibly  occupied in gathering and
 partaking of its flowers and of its    
fruits4    ,there are worlds where old  
age is unknown--where lovers are        
consumed in  a delirious fantasy1       
transported by the intoxication of the  
body1 and  careless of the morrow4 ,the 
active sex never survive these nuptials2
  the passive sex1 oviparous1 having    
secured the perpetuity of the  species1 
sleep their last sleep4 ,those celestial
 worlds1 where one  never grows old1 are
 not without their advantages4          
,sidenote3 ,life too long    ,sidenote3 
,a world without war4    ,worlds exist  
in which the vital movements1           
respiration1 assimilation1  the organic 
periods1 day and night1 the seasons and 
the years1 are all  of extreme length4  
,although the nervous system of the     

human inhabitants  is highly developed1 
and thought has a prodigious activity1  
life there  appears to be of an endless 
length4 ,those who die of old age have  
lived more than a thousand of these     
years1 but they are so rare that  the   
memory of a few only have been preserved
 in the historical records  of this     
humanity4 ,war between the nations has  
never been invented1  because there is  
only one race1 one people1 one language4
 ,the natural  constitutions of these   
organisms are remarkable4 ,diseases are 
almost  unknown2 there are no doctors4  
,as a result of this great mental       
activity1 the length of life becomes a  
perspective without end1 and  before    
long becomes a burden4 ,hence suicide is
 almost universal4 ,this  custom has    
been habitual from very ancient times4  
,the few old men who  from any special  
motive have not put an end to their     
lives1 are looked  upon as exceptional  
beings1 originals1 and more or less     
eccentric4  ,suicide is the general law4

    ,but1 my dear friend1 it is         
impossible for me to describe to you all
 the  curiosities of the universe4 ,let 
it suffice that ,i have raised the veil 
sufficiently1 to give you a glimpse of  
the incommensurable diversity  that     
exists1 in the animated productions of  
all the various systems  disseminated   
through space4    ,sidenote3 ,infinite  
diversity    ,while accompanying me in  
spirit in this interstellar voyage1 you 
have passed several hours away from the 
,earth4 ,it is well to isolate  one's   
self thus at times amongst the celestial
 solitudes4 ,the soul  obtains a fuller 
possession of itself1 and in its        
solitary reflections  it penetrates     
profoundly into the universal reality4  
,terrestrial  humanity1 you understand1 
is1 as regards moral as well as physical
  life1 the result virtually of the     
forces of the ,earth4 ,human strength1  
figure1 weight1 all depend on these     
forces4 ,the organic functions are      
determined by the planet4 ,if life is   

divided with you between work and  rest1
 between activity and sleep1 it is      
because of the rotation of the  globe1  
and day and night4 ,in the luminous     
globes1 and those lighted by  many ,suns
 alternately1 they do not sleep4 ,if you
 need to eat and drink1  it is in       
consequence of the insufficiency of the 
atmosphere4 ,the bodies  of the beings  
who do not eat are not constructed like 
yours1 since they  have no need of a    
stomach and intestines4 ,the terrestrial
 eye enables  you to see the universe in
 a certain way1 the ,saturnian eye sees 
in a  different manner4    ,sidenote3   
,other senses than those of the ,earth4 
,there are senses which perceive other  
things than those which you  perceive in
 nature4 ,each of the worlds is         
inhabited by a race  essentially        
different1 and sometimes the inhabitants
 are neither  vegetables nor animals4   
,there are men of all possible forms1 of
 all  dimensions1 of all weights1 of all
 colours1 of all sensations1 of every   

variety of characteristics4 ,the        
universe is infinite4 ,our terrestrial  
existence is only one phase of the      
infinite4 ,an inexhaustible diversity   
enriches this marvellous field of the   
eternal ,sower4 ,the function of        
science is1 to study all that the       
terrestrial senses are capable of       
perceiving4 ,the function of philosophy 
is1 to form a synthesis of all  defined 
and determined ideas and facts1 and to  
develop the sphere of  thought4    ,what
 would you say if ,i told you not only  
of the physical differences  of         
humanity1 but also of its moral and     
intellectual diversities8  ,its         
varieties are great--too much so1       
indeed1 for you to thoroughly           
understand them4 ,as an instance1 ,i    
will give you just one noteworthy       
example4 ,in your terrestrial humanity1 
intellectual or moral worth  counts for 
nothing in advancing a man1 whatever may
 be the value of his  ideas1 or the     
worth of his personal character1 unless 

he possesses the  means and the         
determination to push himself forward4  
,no one seeks for  hidden merit4 ,a man 
must needs make his own way1 and        
struggle against  intrigue1 cupidity1   
and ambition--a strife which is the     
antipodes of  what ought to be4 ,it     
results1 therefore1 that the noblest and
 most  worthy people remain in          
obscurity1 whilst position1 wealth1 and 
social  distinction are often showered  
on worthless intriguers4    ,ah well6 ,i
 recently visited a world belonging to  
one of the most  luminous regions of the
 ,milky ,way1 where an intellectual     
order  absolutely different exists2     
where the constitution of the           
,government  is such1 that only those   
distinguished for their virtues are     
placed at  the head of the ,state2 and  
their function is to seek out1 and place
 in  responsible positions1 men worthy  
of the trust4    ,in that country1 in   
short1 the search is as eager for the   
discovery  of merit and intelligence1 as

 it is in yours for gold and diamonds4  
,all is done there for the benefit of   
humanity4 ,they have not invented  any  
,academy1 as they cannot conceive that a
 man of worth 7instead of  being sought 
after7 should be compelled to waste his 
time in visits  of ceremony1 and find1  
probably1 that a titled nobody 7who has 
known  better than he how to cajole     
votes7 has been preferred to himself4   
,so  true it is1 that the system        
prevailing in other worlds is far more  
enlightened than that of yours4         
,sidenote3 ,the magnifying power of     
time4    ,now1 my dear terrestrial      
friend1 you know what the ,earth is in  
the  universe2 you know something of    
what the heavens contain2 and you know  
also what ,life is1 and what ,death is4 
,we shall soon see the dawn of  morning1
 which puts spirits to flight and brings
 our conversations to  an end1 as the   
approach of your terrestrial day causes 
the brightness  of ,venus to fade away4 
,but ,i should like to add to the       

preceding ideas  a very interesting     
remark suggested by the same            
observations4 ,it is  this3 ,if you set 
out from the ,earth at the moment that a
 flash of  lightning bursts forth1 and  
if you travelled for an hour or more    
with  the light1 you would see the      
lightning as long as you continued to   
look at it4 ,this fact is established by
 the foregoing principles4 ,but  if1    
instead of travelling exactly with the  
velocity of light1 you  were to travel  
with a little less velocity2 note the   
observation that  you might make3 ,i    
will suppose that this voyage away from 
the ,earth1  during which you look at   
the lightning1 lasts a minute4 ,i will  
suppose  also1 that the lightning lasts 
a thousandth part of a second4 ,you will
  continue to see the lightning during  
#fj1jjj times its duration4 ,in our     
first supposition this voyage is        
identical with that of light4 ,light    
has occupied #fj1jjj tenths of seconds  
to go from the ,earth to the point  in  

space where you are4 ,your voyage and   
that of light have co-existed4  ,now if 
instead of flying with just the same    
velocity as light1 you had  flown a     
little less quickly1 and if you had     
employed a thousandth part  of a second 
more to arrive at the same point1       
instead of always seeing  the same      
moment of the lightning1 you would have 
seen1 successively1  the different      
moments which constituted the total     
duration of the  lightning1 equal to    
#ajjj parts of a second4 ,in this whole 
minute  you would have had time to see  
first the beginning of the flash of     
lightning1 and could analyse the        
development of it1 the successive       
phases of it1 to the very end4 ,you may 
imagine what strange discoveries  one   
could make in the secret nature of      
lightning1 increased #fj1jjj  times in  
the order of its duration1 what         
frightful battles you would  have time  
to discover in the flames6 what         
pandemonium6 what unlucky  atoms6 what a

 world hidden by its volatile nature    
from the imperfect  eyes of mortals6    
,sidenote3 ,vision of the analysing eye4
    ,if you could see by your           
imagination sufficiently1 to separate   
and  count the atoms which constitute   
the body of a man1 that body would      
disappear before you1 for it consists of
 thousands of millions of atoms  in     
motion1 and to the analysing eye it     
would be a nebula animated  by the      
forces of gravitation4 ,did not         
,swedenborg imagine that the  universe  
by which he was surrounded1 seen as a   
whole1 was in the form  of an immense   
man8 ,that was anthropomorphism4 ,but   
there are analogies  everywhere4 ,what  
we know most certainly is1 that things  
are not what  they appear to be1 either 
in space or in time4 ,but let us return 
to the  delayed flash of lightning4     
,when you travel with the velocity of   
light1 you see constantly the  scene    
which was in existence at the moment of 
your departure4 ,if you  were carried   

away for a year1 at the same rate1 you  
would have before  your eyes the same   
event for that time4 ,but if1 in order  
to see more  distinctly an event which  
would have taken only a few seconds1    
such  as the fall of a mountain1 an     
avalanche1 or an earthquake1 you were   
to delay1 to see the commencement of the
 catastrophe 7in slackening a  little1  
your steps on those of light71 you would
 see the progress of  the catastrophe1  
its first moment1 its second1 and so on 
successively1  in thus nearly following 
the light1 you would only see the end   
after  an hour of observation4 ,the     
event would last for you an hour instead
  of a few seconds4 ,you would see the  
rocks1 or the stones suspended  in the  
air1 and could thus ascertain the mode  
of production of the  phenomenon1 and   
its incidental delays4 ,already your    
terrestrial  scientific knowledge       
enables you to take instantaneous       
photographs of  the successive aspects  
of rapid phenomena1 such as lightning1 a

 meteor1  the waves of the sea1 a       
volcanic eruption1 the fall of a        
building1 and  to make them pass before 
you graduated in accordance with their  
effect  on the retina4 ,similarly you   
can1 on the contrary1 photograph the    
pollen of a flower1 through each stage  
of expansion to its completion  in the  
fruit1 or the development of a child    
from its birth to maturity1  and project
 these phases upon a screen1 depicting  
in a few seconds the  life of a man1 or 
a tree4    ,sidenote3 ,a                
chrono-telescope4    ,i see in your     
thoughts that you compare this effect to
 that of a  microscope which would      
magnify time4 ,that is exactly what it  
is2 we  thus see time amplified4 ,this  
process cannot strictly speaking be     
called that of the microscope1 but      
rather that of a chronoscope or  of a   
chrono-telescope 7to see time from      
afar74 ,the duration of a reign  might1 
by the same process1 be augmented       
according to the good pleasure  of the  

parti politique4    ,thus1 for example1 
,napoleon ,,ii4 reigned only three      
hours1 but one could  see him reign for 
fifteen years successively1 by          
dispersing the #ahj  minutes of the     
three hours over the length of #ahj     
months 7in removing  one's self from the
 ,earth with a velocity a little        
inferior to that  of light72 so1 by     
setting out at the very moment that the 
,chamber had  proclaimed ,napoleon      
,,ii41 one would arrive at the last     
minute of his  supposed reign1 only at  
the end of fifteen years4 ,each minute  
would be  seen for a month1 each second 
for twelve hours4    ,sidenote3 ,light  
transmission in space4    ,the          
conclusions of this discourse are based 
entirely on this principle1  my dear    
,qurens4 ,i have endeavoured to show you
 that the physical law  of the          
successive transmission of ,light in    
space1 is one of the  fundamental       
elements of the conditions of eternal   
life4 ,according  to this law every     

event is imperishable1 and the past is  
always  present4 ,the image of the      
,earth as it was #fjjj years ago1 is    
actually  now in space at the distance  
that light crossed it #fjjj years since4
  ,the worlds situated in that region   
see the ,earth of that epoch4 ,we  could
 see again our own direct existence and 
our different anterior  existences4 ,all
 that we need for this is to be at the  
proper distance  from the worlds in     
which we had lived4 ,there are stars    
which you see  from the ,earth1 and     
which no longer exist1 because they     
became extinct  after they had emitted  
the luminous ray which has only just    
reached you4    ,in the same way you    
might hear the voice of a man at a      
distance1 who  might be dead before the 
moment at which you heard him1 if1      
perchance1  he had been struck with     
apoplexy immediately after he had       
uttered his  last cry4    ,sidenote3    
,there are living forms unknown to      
,earth4    ,i am very much pleased that 

this last sketch has enabled me at the  
same  time to trace for you a picture of
 the diversities of existence and of    
the possibility of living forms unknown 
to the ,earth4 ,here also you  see the  
revelations of ,urania are grander and  
more profound than those  of all her    
sisters4 ,the ,earth is only an atom in 
the universe4    ,i must pause here1 for
 all these numerous and diverse         
applications  of the laws of light are  
not apparent to you4 ,on the ,earth1 in 
this  dark cavern1 as ,plato            
appropriately termed it1 you vegetate in
  ignorance of the gigantic forces in   
action in the universe4 ,the day  will  
come when physical science will discover
 in light the principle  of every       
movement and the inner reason of things4
 ,already within the  last few years    
spectrum analysis has demonstrated to   
you that by the  examination of a       
luminous ray from the ,sun1 or from a   
,star1 you can  learn what substances   
constitute that ,sun and that ,star4    

,already you  can determine1 across a   
distance of millions and millions of    
miles1 the  nature of celestial bodies  
from which a ray of light has come to   
you6  ,and the study of light will      
afford still more splendid results1 both
  in experimental science1 and in its   
application to the philosophy of  the   
universe4    ,sidenote3 ,anticipations4 
,but the refraction of the earth's      
atmosphere is projecting beyond the     
zenith the light shed forth by the      
distant ,sun4 ,the vibrations of the    
light of day will let me talk with you  
no longer4 ,farewell1 my good  friend4  
,farewell6 or rather1 au revoir6 ,great 
things are going to  happen around you4 
,after the storm ,i shall perhaps return
 for one last  visit to give you proof  
of my existence1 and to show that ,i    
have not  forgotten you4 ,then1 later1  
when your life upon this little planet  
is  done1 ,i shall come to you once     
more1 and together we will take our     
real journey through the unspeakable    

splendours of speed4 ,nor can you  ever1
 in your wildest dreams1 form even a    
faint idea of the stupendous  surprises1
 the inconceivable wonders which there  
await you4      ,,the ,,end           99
       99       99       99       99    
,transcriber's ,notes3    ,page #cb1    
,sidenote1 h changed to e 7the place    
where he was in7    ,page #aci1 repeated
 word the deleted4 ,original read 7,even
 in the the  same system7    ,page #afj1
 period added to text 7surprise you     
still more47    ,page #agb1 ,sidenote1  
,adromeda changed to ,andromeda 7,world 
of  ,andromeda7    ,page #agi1 oxgyen   
changed to oxygen 7called their oxygen7