A Sirius Resident’s Journey to Saturn

On one of the planets that orbits the star named Sirius there lived a spirited young man, who I had the honor of meeting on the last voyage he made to our little ant hill. He was called Micromegas¹, a fitting name for anyone so great. He was eight leagues tall, or 24,000 geometric paces of five feet each.

A spirited young man lived on one of the planets orbiting the star Sirius. I had the honor of meeting him on his last visit to our little anthill. His name was Micromegas¹, a fitting name for someone so great. He was eight leagues tall, or 24,000 geometric paces of five feet each.

Certain geometers², always of use to the public, will immediately take up their pens, and will find that since Mr. Micromegas, inhabitant of the country of Sirius, is 24,000 paces tall, which is equivalent to 120,000 feet, and since we citizens of the earth are hardly five feet tall, and our sphere 9,000 leagues around; they will find, I say, that it is absolutely necessary that the sphere that produced him was 21,600,000 times greater in circumference than our little Earth. Nothing in nature is simpler or more orderly. The sovereign states of Germany or Italy, which one can traverse in a half hour, compared to the empires of Turkey, Moscow, or China, are only feeble reflections of the prodigious differences that nature has placed in all beings.

Certain geometers², always useful to the public, will immediately pick up their pens and work out the following. Mr. Micromegas, an inhabitant of the country of Sirius, is 24,000 paces tall, or 120,000 feet. We citizens of Earth are hardly five feet tall, and our globe measures 9,000 leagues around. From these facts, the geometers will find, I say, that his home globe must have a certain circumference. That circumference must be 21,600,000 times greater than our little Earth's. Nothing in nature is simpler or more orderly. The sovereign states of Germany or Italy can be crossed in half an hour. Compared with the empires of Turkey, Moscow, or China, these states offer only a faint reflection of something far greater: the enormous differences nature has placed among all beings.

His excellency's size being as great as I have said, all our sculptors and all our painters will agree without protest that his belt would have been 50,000 feet around, which gives him very good proportions.³ His nose taking up one third of his attractive face, and his attractive face taking up one seventh of his attractive body, it must be admitted that the nose of the Sirian is 6,333 feet plus a fraction; which is manifest.

Given his excellency's size, as I have described it, his belt would have measured 50,000 feet around. All our sculptors and all our painters will agree without objection that these are very good proportions.³ His nose takes up one third of his attractive face. His attractive face takes up one seventh of his attractive body. So we must admit that the Sirian's nose measures 6,333 feet plus a fraction. The calculation is obvious.

As for his mind, it is one of the most cultivated that we have. He knows many things. He invented some of them. He was not even 250 years old when he studied, as is customary, at the most celebrated⁴ colleges of his planet, where he managed to figure out by pure willpower more than 50 of Euclid's propositions. That makes 18 more than Blaise Pascal, who, after having figured out 32 while screwing around, according to his sister's reports, later became a fairly mediocre geometer⁵ and a very bad metaphysician. Towards his 450th year, near the end of his infancy, he dissected many small insects no more than 100 feet in diameter, which would evade ordinary microscopes. He wrote a very curious book about this, and it gave him some income. The mufti of his country, an extremely ignorant worrywart, found some suspicious, rash⁶, disagreeable, and heretical propositions in the book, smelled heresy, and pursued it vigorously; it was a matter of finding out whether the substantial form of the fleas of Sirius were of the same nature as those of the snails. Micromegas gave a spirited defense; he brought in some women to testify in his favor; the trial lasted 220 years. Finally the mufti had the book condemned by jurisconsults who had not read it, and the author was ordered not to appear in court for 800 years⁷.

As for his mind, it is one of the best educated we have. He knows many things and invented some of them. Before he was even 250, he studied, as was customary, at his planet’s most famous⁴ colleges. There, through sheer determination, he worked out more than 50 of Euclid’s propositions. That makes 18 more than Blaise Pascal, who worked out 32 while fooling around, according to his sister. Pascal later became a fairly mediocre geometer⁵ and a very bad metaphysician. Around his 450th year, near the end of his infancy, he dissected many small insects. These insects measured no more than 100 feet across and were too small for ordinary microscopes to detect. He wrote a very curious book about these insects, and the book earned him some money. His country’s mufti, an extremely ignorant worrier, found some suspicious, rash⁶, unpleasant, and heretical claims in the book. The mufti smelled heresy and pursued the matter vigorously. The question was whether the substantial form of the fleas of Sirius had the same nature as that of snails. Micromegas defended himself vigorously and brought in some women to testify in his favor. The trial lasted 220 years. Finally, the mufti had the book condemned by legal experts who had not read it. The author was ordered to stay away from court for 800 years⁷.

He was thereby dealt the minor affliction of being banished from a court that consisted of nothing but harassment and pettiness. He wrote an amusing song at the expense of the mufti, which the latter hardly noticed; and he took to voyaging from planet to planet in order to develop his heart and mind⁸, as the saying goes. Those that travel only by stage coach or sedan will probably be surprised learn of the carriage of this vessel; for we, on our little pile of mud, can only conceive of that to which we are accustomed. Our voyager was very familiar with the laws of gravity and with all the other attractive and repulsive forces. He utilized them so well that, whether with the help of a ray of sunlight or some comet, he jumped from globe to globe like a bird vaulting itself from branch to branch. He quickly spanned the Milky Way, and I am obliged to report that he never saw, throughout the stars it is made up of, the beautiful empyrean sky that the vicar Derham⁹ boasts of having seen at the other end of his telescope. I do not claim that Mr. Derham has poor eyesight, God forbid! But Micromegas was on site, which makes him a reliable witness, and I do not want to contradict anyone. Micromegas, after having toured around, arrived at the planet Saturn. As accustomed as he was to seeing new things, he could not, upon seeing the smallness of the planet and its inhabitants, stop himself from smiling with the superiority that occasionally escapes the wisest of us. For in the end Saturn is hardly nine times bigger than Earth, and the citizens of this country are dwarfs, no more than a thousand fathoms tall, or somewhere around there. He and his men poked fun at them at first, like Italian musicians laughing at the music of Lully when he comes to France. But, as the Sirian had a good heart, he understood very quickly that a thinking being is not necessarily ridiculous just because he is only 6,000 feet tall. He got to know the Saturnians after their shock wore off. He built a strong friendship with the secretary of the academy of Saturn, a spirited man who had not invented anything, to tell the truth, but who understood the inventions of others very well, and who wrote some passable verses and carried out some complicated calculations. I will report here, for the reader's satisfaction, a singular conversation that Micromegas had with the secretary one day.

He thus suffered the minor inconvenience of banishment from a court filled with nothing but harassment and pettiness. He wrote an amusing song mocking the mufti, who hardly noticed. Then he began traveling from planet to planet to develop his heart and mind⁸, as the saying goes. People who travel only by stagecoach or sedan chair will probably be surprised by his means of transportation. For we, on our little pile of mud, can imagine only what we are used to. Our traveler knew the laws of gravity and all the other forces of attraction and repulsion very well. He used those forces so skillfully that a ray of sunlight or a comet could help him along. He leaped from world to world like a bird hopping from branch to branch. He quickly crossed the Milky Way, and I must report that he never saw the beautiful empyrean heaven among its stars. The vicar Derham⁹ boasts of having seen that heaven through his telescope. I do not claim that Mr. Derham has poor eyesight, God forbid! But Micromegas was there in person, making him a reliable witness, and I do not want to contradict anyone. After traveling around, Micromegas arrived on Saturn. Though he was used to seeing new things, he could not help smiling at the planet and its inhabitants. They were so small that he smiled with the air of superiority that sometimes slips out even among the wisest. After all, Saturn is hardly nine times bigger than Earth. Its citizens are dwarfs, no more than a thousand fathoms tall, or somewhere around there. He and his men made fun of them at first, like Italian musicians laughing at Lully's music when he comes to France. But the Sirian had a good heart and quickly understood something. A thinking being is not necessarily ridiculous just because he is only 6,000 feet tall. He got to know the Saturnians once their shock had worn off. He formed a close friendship with the secretary of the academy of Saturn, a lively man. To tell the truth, the secretary had invented nothing, but he understood other people's inventions very well. He also wrote some adequate verse and performed some complicated calculations. For the reader's enjoyment, I will recount an unusual conversation Micromegas had with the secretary one day.