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
"On one of these, however, Mr. Drummond, myself, and Mr. Holmes, made
those discoveries near the Bay of Rainbows, to which I have somewhere
briefly alluded. The bay thus fancifully denominated is a part of
the northern boundary of the first great ocean which I have lately
described, and is marked in the chart with the letter O. The tract
of country which we explored on this occasion is numbered 6, 5, 8,
7, in the catalogue, and the chief mountains to which these numbers
are attached are severally named Atlas, Hercules, Heraclides Verus,
and Heraclides Falsus. Still farther to the north of these is the
island circle called Pythagoras, and numbered 1; and yet nearer the
meridian line is the mountainous district marked R, and called the
Land of Drought, and Q, the Land of Hoar Frost; and certainly the name
of the latter, however theoretically bestowed, was not altogether
inapplicable, for the tops of its very lofty mountains were evidently
covered with snow, though the valleys surrounding them were teeming
with the luxuriant fertility of midsummer. But the region which we
first particularly inspected was that of Heraclides Falsus (No. 7),
in which we found several new specimens of animals, all of which were
horned and of a white or grey color; and the remains of three ancient
triangular temples which had long been in ruins. We thence traversed
the country southeastward, until we arrived at Atlas (No. 6), and it
was in one of the noble valleys at the foot of this mountain that we
found the very superior species of the Vespertilio-homo. In stature
they did not exceed those last described, but they were of infinitely
greater personal beauty, and appeared in our eyes scarcely less lovely
than the general representations of angels by the more imaginative
schools of painters. Their social economy seemed to be regulated by
laws or ceremonies exactly like those prevailing in the Vale of the
Triads, but their works of art were more numerous, and displayed a
proficiency of skill quite incredible to all except actual observers. I
shall, therefore, let the first detailed account of them appear in Dr.
Herschel's authenticated natural history of this planet."
[This concludes the Supplement, with the exception of forty pages
of illustrative and mathematical notes, which would greatly enhance
the size and price of this work, without commensurably adding to its
general interest.--_Ed. Sun._]
APPENDIX.
THE MOON AS KNOWN AT THE PRESENT TIME.