Adventures in the Moon, and Other WorldsRussell, John Russell, Earl
Science
Adventures in the Moon, and Other Worlds
Russell, John Russell, Earl
Utopias
The same lady was no longer in sight, but he was acquainted with another
of as much beauty and ambiguity, every age being furnished with such
enterprises, and to her he immediately had recourse through the
inspiration of his bottle, soliciting her by every known artifice, to
the great amusement of many observers, and the surprise of his friends;
for before this he had always conformed himself to the lapse of time,
and never pretended to an indiscretion above his years. This hope
continued to molest him for three weeks, during which he was
indefatigable; but the effects of the draught having then passed away,
he discovered the fallacy, and was in great confusion at what he had
been doing. He told me that if he was to commit such absurdities through
his bottle, he should prefer despair and dejection. I advised him to
shake his bottle thoroughly, so as to confound all the hopes together
before he poured out a draught, whence I conceived that he would not be
instigated to any single project, but obtain only a general
encouragement. This he practises with great success, repeating his
draught from time to time; after each dose, he is possessed with a
conviction of some speedy good fortune, though he can gain no insight
into the particular nature of it, and he is thus quite fortified against
the melancholy of old age. It is true that to drink for hope and
prosperity is not a new invention; but the complacency obtained in the
manner I describe has the advantage of not being followed by any of
those injuries which attend the peace of mind from a common bottle.
Leaving the House of Hopes, and pursuing my travels, I met with an old
gentleman, who told me he had come to the moon in search of the time
that he had lost during his life; "for," said he, "if I could recover
all the hours that I have mis-applied, I should be a young man again."
"But," said I, "is it not probable, that if these hours had to be
employed again, they would be engaged in the very same occupations which
have brought them to the moon before?"
"No," he answered, "I believe there are some old men who lament their
loss of time only because it is a loss of pleasure; but I rejoice in
having freed myself from my errors. I lately undertook a complete
reformation of my habits, and succeeded. I wish to regain my time, only
that I might pass it all in the virtue which I now enjoy; for, alas! I
have discovered the pleasure of virtue so late, that I cannot expect
much time for the practice of it."
I walked on with this old man till we came to a building, which,
according to the information of one whom we met, contained "lost vices."
Inquiring what was meant by that expression, I was told that in this
building are preserved all the profligate habits, which have been
unwillingly relinquished by those, whom old age alone can reform, and
who never part with an infirmity till they lose the faculty of being
frail.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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