VOYAGES TO THE MOON AND THE SUN By CYRANO DE BERGERAC _Translated by_ RICHARD ALDINGTON _With an Introduction and Notes_ LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LTD. NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE EDINBURGH PRESS, 9 AND 11 YOUNG STREET, EDINBURGH Broadway Translations "_Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety._" À FRÉDÉRIC LACHÈVRE TÉMOINAGE D'ADMIRATION ET DE RECONNAISSANCE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION (1) The Legend of Cyrano (2) The Life of Cyrano (3) Cyrano's Friends (4) The Libertin Question (5) The Works of Cyrano VOYAGE TO THE MOON VOYAGE TO THE SUN APPENDICES (1) Extracts from Godwin, D'Urfey, and Swift (2) Bibliography (3) Genealogy (4) Coat of Arms LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Portrait of Cyrano 2. Signature of Cyrano 3. Title-page to Lovell's Translation 4. Cyrano's First Attempt 5. Frontispiece to Lovell's Translation 6. Cyrano's Flight to the Sun 7. The Parliament of Birds 8. Gonzales' Voyage to the Moon 9. Cyrano's Coat of Arms CYRANO DE BERGERAC I THE LEGEND OF CYRANO The legend of Cyrano de Bergerac began, one might say, during his life; but it was strongly founded by his friend Henry Le Bret who edited _The Voyage to the Moon_ with an introduction, in 1657, two years after Cyrano's death. The 'Préface' of Le Bret is one of the chief sources of information about Cyrano. It is no discredit to Le Bret that he drew as favourable a portrait of his friend as he could, but we cannot accept literally everything he says and we are forced to read between the lines of his panegyric. Le Bret is largely responsible for the moral legend of Cyrano. He says: