The moon hoax : $b or, A discovery that the moon has a vast population of human beings — John Locke — John Shaqi
The moon hoax : $b or, A discovery that the moon has a vast population of human beings
John Locke · en
"The surface of the moon, when viewed in her mean libration, even with
telescopes of very limited power, exhibits three oceans of vast breadth
and circumference, independently of seven large collections of water,
which may be denominated seas. Of inferior waters, discoverable by the
higher classes of instruments, and usually called lakes, the number
is so great that no attempt has yet been made to count them. Indeed,
such a task would be almost equal to that of enumerating the annular
mountains which are found upon every part of her surface, whether
composed of land or water. The largest of the three oceans occupies a
considerable portion of the hemisphere between the line of her northern
axis and that of her eastern equator, and even extends many degrees
south of the latter. Throughout its eastern boundary, it so closely
approaches that of the lunar sphere, as to leave in many places
merely a fringe of illuminated mountains, which are here, therefore,
strongly contra-distinguished from the dark and shadowy aspect of the
great deep. But peninsulas, promontories, capes, and islands, and a
thousand other terrestrial figures, for which we can find no names in
the poverty of _our_ geographical nomenclature, are found expanding,
sallying forth, or glowing in insular independence, through all the
'billowy boundlessness' of this magnificent ocean. One of the most
remarkable of these is a promontory, without a name, I believe, in
the lunar charts, which starts from an island district denominated
Copernicus by the old astronomers, and abounding, as we eventually
discovered, with great natural curiosities. This promontory is indeed
most singular. Its northern extremity is shaped much like an imperial
crown, having a swelling bow, divided and tied down in its centre by a
band of hills which is united with its forehead band or base. The two
open spaces formed by this division are two lakes, each eighty miles
wide; and at the foot of these, divided from them by the band of hills
last mentioned, is another lake, larger than the two put together, and
nearly perfectly square. This one is followed, after another hilly
division, by a lake of an irregular form; and this one yet again, by
two narrow ones, divided longitudinally, which are attenuated northward
to the main land. Thus this skeleton promontory of mountain ridges runs
396 miles into the ocean, with six capacious lakes, enclosed within
its stony ribs. Blunt's excellent lunar chart gives this great work
of nature with wonderful fidelity, and I think you might accompany
my description with an engraving from it, much to your reader's
satisfaction. (See plate 4.)