Conversation Between Residents of Sirius and Saturn

After his excellency laid himself down to rest the secretary approached him.

After his excellency lay down to rest, the secretary came up to him.

"You have to admit," said Micromegas, "that nature is extremely varied."

"You have to admit," said Micromegas, "that nature has an incredible amount of variety."

"Yes," said the Saturnian, "nature is like a flower bed wherein the flowers—"

"Yes," said the Saturnian, "nature is like a flower bed where the flowers..."

"Ugh!" said the other, "leave off with flower beds."

"Ugh!" said the other, "stop talking about flower beds."

The secretary began again. "Nature is like an assembly of blonde and brown-haired girls whose jewels—"

The secretary began again. "Nature is like a group of blonde and brown-haired girls whose jewels..."

"What am I supposed to do with your brown-haired girls?" said the other.

"What am I supposed to do with your brown-haired girls?" the other asked.

"Then she is like a gallery of paintings whose features—"

"Then she is like a gallery of paintings whose features..."

"Certainly not!" said the voyager. "I say again that nature is like nature. Why bother looking for comparisons?"

"Certainly not!" said the traveler. "I'll say it again: nature is like nature. Why bother looking for comparisons?"

"To please you," replied the Secretary.

"To please you," the Secretary replied.

"I do not want to be pleased," answered the voyager. "I want to be taught. Tell me how many senses the men of your planet have."

"I don't want to be pleased," the traveler replied. "I want to learn. Tell me how many senses the men on your planet have."

"We only have 72," said the academic, "and we always complain about it. Our imagination surpasses our needs. We find that with our 72 senses, our ring, our five moons, we are too restricted; and in spite of all our curiosity and the fairly large number of passions that result from our 72 senses, we have plenty of time to get bored."

"We only have 72," said the academic, "and we always complain about having so few. Our imagination goes beyond our needs. Even with our 72 senses, our ring, and our five moons, we feel too restricted. And despite all our curiosity and the fairly large number of passions our 72 senses create, we still have plenty of time to get bored."

"I believe it," said Micromegas, "for on our planet we have almost 1,000 senses; and yet we still have a kind of vague feeling, a sort of worry, that warns us that there are even more perfect beings. I have traveled a bit; and I have seen mortals that surpass us, some far superior. But I have not seen any that desire only what they truly need, and who need only what they indulge in. Maybe someday I will happen upon a country that lacks nothing; but so far no one has given me any word of a place like that."

"I believe it," said Micromegas, "because on our planet we have almost 1,000 senses. And yet we still have a vague feeling, a sort of worry, that warns us of even more perfect beings. I have traveled a little and seen mortals who surpass us, some far superior to us. But I have never seen any who want only what they truly need and need only what they enjoy. Maybe someday I will come across a country that lacks nothing. But so far no one has told me of a place like that."

The Saturnian and the Sirian proceeded to wear themselves out in speculating; but after a lot of very ingenious and very dubious reasoning, it was necessary to return to the facts.

The Saturnian and the Sirian wore themselves out speculating. But after much very clever and very doubtful reasoning, they had to return to the facts.

"How long do you live?" said the Sirian.

"How long do you live?" asked the Sirian.

"Oh! For a very short time," replied the small man from Saturn.

"Oh! For a very short time," said the small man from Saturn.

"Same with us," said the Sirian. "we always complain about it. It must be a universal law of nature."

"It's the same for us," said the Sirian. "We always complain about it. It must be a universal law of nature."

"Alas! We only live through 500 revolutions around the sun," said the Saturnian. (This translates to about 15,000 years, by our standards.) "You can see yourself that this is to die almost at the moment one is born; our existence is a point, our lifespan an instant, our planet an atom. Hardly do we begin to learn a little when death arrives, before we get any experience. As for me, I do not dare make any plans. I see myself as a drop of water in an immense ocean. I am ashamed, most of all before you, of how ridiculously I figure in this world."

"Sadly, we live for only 500 trips around the sun," said the Saturnian. (That is about 15,000 years by our standards.) "You can see for yourself that living so briefly means dying almost as soon as we are born. Our existence is a point, our lifespan an instant, our planet an atom. We have hardly begun to learn a little when death comes, before we gain any experience. As for me, I don't dare make any plans. I see myself as a drop of water in an immense ocean. I'm ashamed of how ridiculously insignificant I am in this world, especially in front of you."

Micromegas replied, "If you were not a philosopher, I would fear burdening you by telling you that our lifespan is 700 times longer than yours; but you know very well when it is necessary to return your body to the elements, and reanimate nature in another form, which we call death. When this moment of metamorphosis comes, to have lived an eternity or to have lived a day amounts to precisely the same thing. I have been to countries where they live a thousand times longer than we do, and they also die. But people everywhere have the good sense to know their role and to thank the Author of nature. He has scattered across this universe a profusion of varieties with a kind of admirable uniformity. For example, all the thinking beings are different, and all resemble one another in the gift of thought and desire. Matter is extended everywhere, but has different properties on each planet. How many diverse properties do you count in yours?"

Micromegas replied, "If you were not a philosopher, I would worry about burdening you with the length of our lives. We live 700 times longer than you do. But you know very well that we must eventually return our bodies to the elements and give nature new life in another form. We call this change death. When that moment of transformation comes, living an eternity or living a day amounts to exactly the same thing. I have visited countries where people live a thousand times longer than we do, and they die too. But people everywhere have the good sense to know their role and thank the Author of nature. He has filled this universe with an abundance of variety, yet with a remarkable underlying uniformity. For example, all thinking beings are different, yet all share the gifts of thought and desire. Matter extends everywhere, but its properties differ from planet to planet. How many different properties do you find on your planet?"

"If you mean those properties," said the Saturnian, "without which we believe that the planet could not subsist as it is, we count 300 of them, like extension, impenetrability, mobility, gravity, divisibility, and the rest."

"If you mean the properties we believe the planet needs to exist as it does," said the Saturnian, "we count 300. These properties include extension, impenetrability, mobility, gravity, divisibility, and the rest."

"Apparently," replied the voyager, "this small number suffices for what the Creator had in store for your dwelling. I admire his wisdom in everything; I see differences everywhere, but also proportion. Your planet is small, your inhabitants are as well. You have few sensations; your matter has few properties; all this is the work of Providence. What color is your sun upon examination?"

"Apparently," replied the traveler, "this small number is enough for what the Creator planned for your world. I admire his wisdom in everything. I see differences everywhere, but also a sense of proportion. Your planet is small, and so are its inhabitants. You have few sensations, and your matter has few properties. All of this is the work of Providence. What color is your sun when you examine it?"

"A very yellowish white," said the Saturnian. "And when we divide one of its rays, we find that it contains seven colors."

"A very yellowish white," said the Saturnian. "And when we split one of its rays, we find that the ray contains seven colors."

"Our sun strains at red," said the Sirian, "and we have 39 primary colors. There is no one sun, among those that I have gotten close to that resembles it, just as there is no one face among you that is identical to the others."

"Our sun tends toward red," said the Sirian, "and we have 39 primary colors. No other sun I have come close to looks like ours. In just the same way, no face among you is identical to any other."

After numerous questions of this nature, he learned how many essentially different substances are found on Saturn. He learned that there were only about thirty, like God, space, matter, the beings with extension that sense, the beings with extension that sense and think, the thinking beings that have no extension; those that are penetrable, those that are not, and the rest. The Sirian, whose home contained 300 and who had discovered 3,000 of them in his voyages, prodigiously surprised the philosopher of Saturn. Finally, after having told each other a little of what they knew and a lot of what they did not know, after having reasoned over the course of a revolution around the sun, they resolved to go on a small philosophical voyage together.

After many questions like these, he learned how many fundamentally different substances existed on Saturn. There were only about thirty, including God, space, and matter. Others included beings that occupy space and can sense, and beings that occupy space and can sense and think. There were also thinking beings that occupy no space, substances that others can pass through, substances that resist penetration, and so on. The Sirian’s home had 300 substances, and he had discovered 3,000 on his travels, greatly surprising the philosopher of Saturn. Finally, the two had shared a little of what they knew and a great deal of what they did not know. After discussing these matters for one full orbit around the sun, they decided to take a short philosophical journey together.