History of a World of Immortals without a God / Translated from an unpublished manuscript in the library of a continental university

by Unknown

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
	PAGE
Concerning the Birth and Education of Dr. Gervaas Van Varken, and his Loathing and Abhorrence of the whole Human Race—How he met an Ancient Parsee merchant in Bombay, and got an introduction to the Great Magician of Thibet—How he went to Thibet; what he learned there, and how he departed from it,	[1]
CHAPTER II.
HERE BEGINS THE HISTORY OF HESPEROS.
Of the shining city of Lucetta—How Dr. Van Varken met an apparent Yahoo—Of the great astonishment of the citizens at sight of the Doctor, and how they gave him in charge to a committee of three—How the committee learned the Dutch tongue, and showed the Doctor sundry strange and wonderful maps,	[19]
CHAPTER III.
Concerning Physical Hesperography—Of the great Cloud-Screen, and its effect on Terrestrial Astronomy—Of the Chronic Equatorial Tornado, and of its extraordinary importance in the history of Hesperos—Of the Giant Mountains; and of the Flora and Fauna,	[35]
CHAPTER IV.
Of the Origin of Rational Life in Hesperos—Of the Cyclical Organic Life—Of the Law of Evanescence by Mortal Lesion—The story of the Hesperian Cain—Of the Law of Evanescence by adverse Metronomic Balance—How a Court of Justice sentenced a culprit to Eternal Punishment; and how the culprit escaped,	[45]
CHAPTER V.
Of the causes of the high civilization of Hesperos—Of the relations of the sexes—Of private personal property—Of property in Land; and of the methods of Eviction—Of the Jacks and Masters of all Trades,	[66]
CHAPTER VI.
Of the Universal Language—Of the Universal Empire and first measures of the World-Parliament—Of the great progress of the Hesperians in all Physical Science; and of their fruitless craving after the Unknown God,	[74]
CHAPTER VII.
Of the first attempt to pass the Equatorial Tornado; and its tragical issue—Of the attempt to pass the Cloud-Screen,	[85]
CHAPTER VIII.
Of the great courage of three Engineers—How they passed the Screen and saw the Host of Heaven—How they further discovered a Disk of Unknown Fire—Of the reception of the news throughout the world—Of the construction of a mountain Observatory; and of the rapid growth of Astronomical knowledge,	[98]
CHAPTER IX.
Of the development of World-Weariness in Hesperos; and of the second attempt to cross the Equatorial Tornado—How the Forlorn Hope succeeded, and discovered a City of the Dead—How the terrible mystery of Evanescence was explained; and how the crew set out on their return,	[113]
CHAPTER X.
The oldest inhabitant of the South relates its history—How the awful intelligence was received in the North,	[128]
CHAPTER XI.
HERE BEGINS THE MODERN HISTORY OF HESPEROS.
How the two Hemispheres were amalgamated—concerning the Sympathetic Telegraph; and how the great astonishment of the Hesperians at the first sight of the Doctor was fully explained,	[135]
CHAPTER XII.
Of the great social changes which resulted from the discovery of the Indestructibility of Life,	[150]
CHAPTER XIII.
How the Doctor delivered a course of lectures on the History of the Earth and its Inhabitants—Of the effects of his ghastly description—Of the attempt of two Hesperians to reach the Earth; and of its unsatisfactory result,	[159]
CHAPTER XIV.
Of the further wanderings of Dr. Van Varken—Of his visits to Australis and the great Observatory—Of a strange physical Theory concerning the Tornado—Supposed cause of the Doctor’s return to the Earth,	[171]

‘That we are to live hereafter, is just as reconcilable with the scheme of atheism, and as well to be accounted for by it, as that we are now alive is; and therefore nothing can be more absurd than to argue from that scheme, that there can be no future state.’—Bishop Butler.