Flatland [2]
Revolutions cannot always be suppressed by slaughter, and that Nature, in sentencing the Circles to infecundity, has condemned them to ultimate failure -- "and herein," he says, "I see a fulfilment of the great Law of all worlds, that while the wisdom of Man thinks it is working one thing, the wisdom of Nature constrains it to work another, and quite a different and far better thing." For the rest, he begs his readers not to suppose that every minute detail in the daily life of Flatland must needs correspond to some other detail in Spaceland; and yet he hopes that, taken as a whole, his work may prove suggestive as well as amusing, to those Spacelanders of moderate and modest minds who -- speaking of that which is of the highest importance, but lies beyond experience -- decline to say on the one hand, "This can never be," and on the other hand, "It must needs be precisely thus, and we know all about it."
CONTENTS:
PART I: THIS WORLD
Section
1. Of the Nature of Flatland 2. Of the Climate and Houses in Flatland 3. Concerning the Inhabitants of Flatland 4. Concerning the Women 5. Of our Methods of Recognizing one another 6. Of Recognition by Sight 7. Concerning Irregular Figures 8. Of the Ancient Practice of Painting 9. Of the Universal Colour Bill 10. Of the Suppression of the Chromatic Sedition 11. Concerning our Priests 12. Of the Doctrine of our Priests
PART II: OTHER WORLDS
13. How I had a Vision of Lineland 14. How I vainly tried to explain the nature of Flatland 15. Concerning a Stranger from Spaceland 16. How the Stranger vainly endeavoured to reveal to me in words the mysteries of Spaceland 17. How the Sphere, having in vain tried words, resorted to deeds 18. How I came to Spaceland, and what I saw there 19. How, though the Sphere shewed me other mysteries of Spaceland, I still desired more; and what came of it 20. How the Sphere encouraged me in a Vision 21. How I tried to teach the Theory of Three Dimensions to my Grandson, and with what success 22. How I then tried to diffuse the Theory of Three Dimensions by other means, and of the result
PART I: THIS WORLD
"Be patient, for the world is broad and wide."
Section 1. Of the Nature of Flatland
I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space.
Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows -- only hard and with luminous edges -- and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. Alas, a few years ago, I should have said "my universe": but now my mind has been opened to higher views of things.
In such a country, you will perceive at once that it is impossible that there should be anything of what you call a "solid" kind; but I dare say you will suppose that we could at least distinguish by sight the Triangles, Squares, and other figures, moving about as I have described them. On the contrary, we could see nothing of the kind, not at least so as to distinguish one figure from another. Nothing was visible, nor could be visible, to us, except Straight Lines; and the necessity of this I will speedily demonstrate.
Place a penny on the middle of one of your tables in Space; and leaning over it, look down upon it. It will appear a circle.
But now, drawing back to the edge of the table, gradually lower your eye (thus bringing yourself more and more into the condition of the inhabitants of Flatland), and you will find the penny becoming more and more oval to your view, and at last when you have placed your eye exactly on the edge of the table (so that you are, as it were, actually a Flatlander) the penny will then have
CONTENTS:
PART I: THIS WORLD
Section
1. Of the Nature of Flatland 2. Of the Climate and Houses in Flatland 3. Concerning the Inhabitants of Flatland 4. Concerning the Women 5. Of our Methods of Recognizing one another 6. Of Recognition by Sight 7. Concerning Irregular Figures 8. Of the Ancient Practice of Painting 9. Of the Universal Colour Bill 10. Of the Suppression of the Chromatic Sedition 11. Concerning our Priests 12. Of the Doctrine of our Priests
PART II: OTHER WORLDS
13. How I had a Vision of Lineland 14. How I vainly tried to explain the nature of Flatland 15. Concerning a Stranger from Spaceland 16. How the Stranger vainly endeavoured to reveal to me in words the mysteries of Spaceland 17. How the Sphere, having in vain tried words, resorted to deeds 18. How I came to Spaceland, and what I saw there 19. How, though the Sphere shewed me other mysteries of Spaceland, I still desired more; and what came of it 20. How the Sphere encouraged me in a Vision 21. How I tried to teach the Theory of Three Dimensions to my Grandson, and with what success 22. How I then tried to diffuse the Theory of Three Dimensions by other means, and of the result
PART I: THIS WORLD
"Be patient, for the world is broad and wide."
Section 1. Of the Nature of Flatland
I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space.
Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows -- only hard and with luminous edges -- and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. Alas, a few years ago, I should have said "my universe": but now my mind has been opened to higher views of things.
In such a country, you will perceive at once that it is impossible that there should be anything of what you call a "solid" kind; but I dare say you will suppose that we could at least distinguish by sight the Triangles, Squares, and other figures, moving about as I have described them. On the contrary, we could see nothing of the kind, not at least so as to distinguish one figure from another. Nothing was visible, nor could be visible, to us, except Straight Lines; and the necessity of this I will speedily demonstrate.
Place a penny on the middle of one of your tables in Space; and leaning over it, look down upon it. It will appear a circle.
But now, drawing back to the edge of the table, gradually lower your eye (thus bringing yourself more and more into the condition of the inhabitants of Flatland), and you will find the penny becoming more and more oval to your view, and at last when you have placed your eye exactly on the edge of the table (so that you are, as it were, actually a Flatlander) the penny will then have