Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-02-28
MAN As SEEN FROM MARS.
One of the Cunnfngfy.Wr ght Fancies
of Camille FlamnariOn I'm lie Figaro

From Translation in the " o. Times-Democra..
These first two inhabitants of Mars whom I
met seemed to consider me with pity; and
when j fancied that I discerned in their way
of treating me a certain cold air of superiority,
my blood at once took fire, and with a strong
effort at selfrestrainst opened my lips to say:
"Messieurs, must Inform you that the IN
habitants of the earth not SO stupid as you
seem To believe
Unfortunately they did not even allow me to
pteln the sentence. lnasmuch as they had
already OWNED what ] WAS going to say by the
molecular vibration in my brain.
Let me inform you, III the firSt place. said
one of them, that your planet has never been
developed, by reason of accident which
dates back some ten million of years. 1t was
IN the primary epoch of the terrestrial genesis.
/ L here were already plants and admirable plants,
and in the deepS ol the sea as we'll as upon
the shores, the first animals had made their
appeafance-the molluskS, he;idless, dumb and
seXlesS.
You know that respiration alone sufIices for
The ample nOuriShment OF trees, ana that your
most sturdy oaks, your most gigantic cedars,
Z have never eaten anytiiing-a circumstance,
which, Notwithstanding. mas never retarded
their growth. An i'll chance brought it about
that one of the first molluSks had its body
traversed by water-drop denser than the sur
Thought it was very nice. That was the origin
OF the first digcStive-tube which organ was deS-
tined to exercise SO dismal an influence upon the
Whole animal world. and, at a later epoch, upon
+ humanity itself The first assassin was the
mOllu>lt who ate.
Here on this planet we never eat: nothing
has ever been eaten; nothing ever will be
eaten. Creation has been developed gradually.
Practically, nobly, aS it commenced. All organ
lSIlS nouIISh themselves, OF, more correctly
speaking, renew their molecules, by the simple
act ct respiration, just as do your terrestrial
trees, each leaf being a little stomach In your
dear native world You cannot live a single day
except upon the condition OF killing something.
The law OF lite with you is the law OF death.
Here il never entered anybodys mind to Kill
even bird.
You people of the earth are all more or less
butchers. Your hands are covered with blood
\ our stCmachs are 9Orgcd with victualS. How
can you expect with such gross organizations to
have any pure. wholesome, elevated idcaS-I
will even say, cleaniy ideas; pardon my frank
'.What.' 1 exclaimed, "you refuse me even
the ability to have clcanly idea? DO you
think all human; beings are bruteS? Homer,
fhidias Seneca, Virgil. Dante, Columbus, Ba-
con, Calico, Pascal Leonardo. Raphae., Mo
Fart Beethoven-h.ve none OF them ever had
an elevated aspiration? You think our bodies
gross; but had you ever seen pass by you Helen,
PhryEc. Aepasia, Sappho, Cleopatra Lucr@zia
Bor%ia, Agnes, Sorel. Diana Of Poitiers, Mar
guerite de Nalois, Bofsliese, fallen, Recainicr,
Georges and their admirable rivals. you mill
think differently. All. my dear Marian, allow
me in ms turn to regret that you only know the
earth from II distance.
There you are mistaken. I inhabited that
world OF ours for fifty years. That was quite
enough for me- and assure yOu shall never re-
turn to it. Everything is u failure, even what
appears TO You most charming.
certainly great minds on the earth and admir-
able beauties.
NO. my fiiend: never can You make peaches
grow upon briars. Reflect that the most deli
cious terrestrial beauties whom you recently
referred 20 are nothing but clumsy monsters
compared TO our aerial women Of Mars, who
live only upon The air Of our spring days, the
perfumes of our flowers and who are 50 volUp-
JuoHSly charming, even III the mere qtiiyerimg
nj their wings. in the ideal kiss of n mouth
which has never eaten anything, that had
Dante'S Beatrice been like them the immortal
fiorcutine would never have written two cam
toS of his Divina Commcdia; he would have
begun with Paradise and never have descended
theretrOm. Know, also, that our young lads
have quite as much Unborn scientific knuwl-
edge as Pytha@oTas, ArcEimcGeS, Euclid, Keep
pier, Newton, Laplace. and Darwin, after all
their IabOriOuS studies. Our twelve senses
place Us in direct communication with the uni
verse Here, at the distance OF one hundred
million leagues, we feel the attraction of the
planet Jupiter i'll passing. We can distinguish
can divine in advance the approach of a comet:
and oIlr bodies are imprcgnated with that solar
electricity which keeps all nature III vibration.
Here there have never been any founders of
empires. nor any International divisions nor
wars; but our humanity from its birth pacific
and free from all material wants, has lived in
thorough independence OF body and mind.
in constant intellectual activity, elevating
itself increasingly to the knowledge of the
TRUTH