Probably written in the late 1620s by Bishop Francis Godwin, it was first published in 1638 - after Godwin's death in 1633 - under the pseudonym of Domingo Gonsales. The story is written in first person, from Gonsales' point of view, describing Gonsales' travels and life in trade after being forced to flee Spain as a result of killing a man in a duel.
Eventually he attempts to return to Spain, but falls seriously ill on the journey and ends up being dropped off at St Helena. There he encounters a swan like animal he names gansa, and trains 40 or so from birth to carry weights with the idea of using them to make his way off the island. As luck would have it though, Captain Alphonso de Xima eventually stopped off at St Helena and gave Gonsales passage - along with his birds and "engine".
Less lucky was the encounter with English ships off Tenerife that forces Gonsales to take to the air. He first thinks to land on Tenerife, but hostile natives compell him to head for the mountains, with unintended effects:
When I was set down there, my poor Gansas fell to panting, blowing, and gaping for Breath as if they would all have died, so I did not trouble them awhile, forbearing to draw them in, which they never used to endure without struggling, but little did I expect what followed. It was now the Season that these Birds take their Flight away, as our Cuckows and Swallows do in Spain towards Autumn, and as I afterwards found, being mindful of their usual Voyage, just when I began to settle myself to take them in, they with one Consent rose up, and having no other higher Place to make toward, to my unspeakable Fear and Amazement, struck bolt upright, and never left towring upward, still higher and higher, for the Space, as I guest, of an Hour, after which I thought they laboured less than before, till at length, ah wonderful! they remained immoveable, as steadily as if they had sat upon so many Perches; the Lines slacked, neither I, nor the Engine moved at all, but continued still, as having no Manner of Weight.
Above the clouds Gonsales encounters "the Illusions of Devils and wicked Spirits, who the first Day of my Arrival came about me in great Numbers in the Likeness of Men and Women, wondering at me like so many Birds about an Owl, and speaking several Languages which I understood not, till at last I met with some that spoke good Spanish, some Dutch, and others Italian". They offer to bring him back to Spain, if he joins their fraternity, but Gonsales turns them down and continues on to the moon.
"[The birds] set me on the Top of an high Hill in that Other World, where many wonderful Things were presented to my Sight. For I observed first, that though the Globe of the Earth appeared much greater there than the Moon doth to us even three Times bigger, yet all Things there were ten, twenty, yea thirty Times larger than ours; their Trees were thrice as high, and above five Times broader and thicker; so were their Herbs, Birds, and Beasts, though I cannot well compare them to ours, because I found not any kind of Beast or Bird there which any way resembled ours, except Swallows, Nightingales, Cuckoos, Woodcocks, Batts, and some kind of Wild Fowl: And likewise such Birds as my Gansas, all which, as I now perceived, spend their Time in their Absence from us, in that World, neither do they differ in any Thing from ours, but are the very same kind."
As ever, of most interest to me is the description of the martians:
"I saw myself surrounded with a strange kind of People both in Feature, Manners, and Apparel; their Stature was very different, but they were generally twice as high as ours; their Shape and Countenance pleasant, and their Habit hardly to be describe; for I never saw either Cloth, Silk, nor other Stuff, like that whereof their Cloths were made; neither can I possibly relate their Colour, they being in a manner all cloathed alike; it was neither Black, White, Yellow, Red nor Blue, nor any Colour composed of these: If you ask what was it then? I must tell you, it was a Colour never seen in our earthly World, and so neither to be described nor conceived by us; for as it is hard to make a Man born blind understand the Difference between Green and Blue, so neither can I decypher this Moon-colour, as having no Affinity with any I ever beheld; I can only say it was the most glorious and delightful that can be imagined, neither was any Thing more pleasant to me during my Stay there."
Surprised by their appearance, Gonsales crosses himself and crieds out 'Jesu Maria'. This lead to them greeting him kindly and providing him with accommodation. After a few days he is taken to meet the "Pylonas, which in their Language is First or Chief." We're told that:
"The first Ancestor of this great Monarch came out of the Earth, as they relate, and by marrying the Heiress of that vast Monarchy obtaining the Government, left it to his Posterity, who have enjoyed it ever since, even forty thousand Moons, which is 3077 Years: His Name was Irdonozur, whose Heirs to this Day assume the same Name; he, they say, having continued there about four hundred Moons, and begot divers Children, returned (though by what Means they know not) to the Earth again. I doubt they have their Fables as well as we, since our Historians never mention any earthly Man to have been in that World before myself, and much less to have returned again. I cannot therefore but condemn this Tradition as false and romantick, though I found Learning was in great Esteem among them, and they seem to detest Lying and Falshood, which is there severely punished, and which may yield some Credit to their historical Narrations.
Many of them live wonderful long, even beyond Belief, affirming to me, that some survived thirty thousand Moons, which is above a thousand Years, so that the Ages of three or four Men might easily reach to the Time of the first Irdonozur, and this is generally noted, that the taller People are of Stature, the more excellent are their Endowments of Mind, and the longer Time they live; for their Stature is very different, great Numbers not much exceeding ours, who seldom live above a thousand Moons, which is fourscore of our Years; these they account base, unworthy Creatures, but o»e Degree above brute Beasts, and employ in mean and servile Offices, calling them Bastards, Counterfeits or Changlings: Those whom they account true Natural Lunars or Moon Men, exceed ours generally thirty Times, both in Quantity of Body, and Length of Life, proportionable to the Quality of the Day in both Worlds, theirs containing almost thirty of our Days."
Gonsales gives us a bit more information about life and culture on the moon:
"You must understand, that of the true Lunars or Moon Men there are three Kinds, some a little taller than we, as perhaps ten or twelve Foot high, these can endure the Day of the Moon, when the Earth shines but little, but not the Beams of both, and so then must be laid asleep: Others are twenty Foot high or above, who can suffer all the Light both of the Earth and Sun. There are in a certain Island (the Mysteries whereof are carefully concealed) Men whose Stature is at lead twenty-seven Foot high: If any other come to land there in the Moon's Day time, they instantly fall asleep: This is called Insula Martini, and hath a particular Governor, who as they report is sixty five thousand Moons old, which makes five thousand of our Years; His Name is said to be Hiruch, and he in a manner commands lrdonozur himself, especially in that Island out of which he never removes: There is another comes often thither, who they say is not above half his Age, that is about thirty-three thousand Moons, or two thousand fix hundred of our Years, and he orders all Things through the Globe of the Moon in Matters or Religion, as absolutely as the Pope doth in any Part of Italy; I would fain have seen this Man, but was not permitted to come near him, his Name is Imozes.
Now let me settle myself to a long Night's Sleep, to which End my Attendants take Charge of my Birds, prepare my Lodging, and signify to me by Signs how I must order myself. It was then about the Middle of September, when I perceived the Air more clear than ordinary, and with the Increase of the Light I began to feel myself first dull and then heavy to Sleep, though I had not been lately disturbed of my Rest: At length I delivered myself into the Custody of this Sister of Death, whose Prisoner I was for almost a Fortnight after, and then awaking, it is not to be believed how brisk and vigorous I found the Faculties both of my Body and Mind; I then applied myself to learning the Language, which is the same throughout all the Regions of the Moon, yet not so wonderful, since I believe all the Earth of the Moon does not amount to the fortieth Part of our inhabited Earth, partly because the Globe of the Moon is far less, and besides the Sea or Ocean covers very nigh three Parts of four, whereas the Land and Sea in our World may be judged of an equal Measure.
Their Language is very difficult, since it hath no Affinity with any other I ever heard, and consists not so much of Words and Letters, as Tunes and strange Sounds which no Letters can express, for there are few Words but signify several Things, and are distinguished only by their Sounds, which are sung as it were in uttering; yea many Words consist of Tunes only, without Words: By Occasion whereof I find a Language may be framed, and easily learned, as copious as any other in the World only of Tunes, which is an Experiment worth searching after: Notwithstanding these Difficulties, within two Months I attained to such Knowledge therein, that I understood most Questions demanded of me, and with Signs and Words made reasonable Shift to utter my Mind; which Pylonas having Notice of, he oft-times sent for me, and was pleased to inform me of many Things my Guardians durst not disclose, though I must needs say I never found they abused me with an Untruth, but if I asked a Question they were unwilling to resolve, they would shake their Heads, and with a Spanish Shrug divert to some other Discourse."
On work and justice:
"In a thousand Years there is found neither Thief nor Whore-monger, for first there is no want of any thing necessary for the Use of Man, Food growing every where without Labour, of all Sorts that can be desired. As for Cloths, Houses, or whatever else a Man may be supposed to want, it is provided by their Superiors, though not without some Labour, but yet so easy as if they did it for Pleasure: Again, their Females are all absolute Beauties, and by a secret Disposition of Nature, a Man there having once known a Woman never desires any other: Murther was never heard of amongst them, neither is it hardly possible to be committed, for there can be no Wound made but what is curable; yea they assured me, and for my Part I believe it, that though a Man’s Head be cut off, yet if within three Moons it be joined to the Carcase again, and the Juice of a certain Herb there growing applied, it will be so consolidated, as the wounded Party shall be perfectly cured.
But the chief Cause of their good Government is an excellent Disposition in the Nature of the People, so that all both Old and Young have all manner of Vice, and live in such Love, Peace, and Amity, as it seems to be another Paradise: Though it is true likewise that some are of a better Disposition than others, which they discern immediately at their Birth; and because it is an inviolable Law amongst them that none shall be put to Death; therefore perceiving by their Stature or some other Signs, who are like to be of a wicked and debauched Humour, they send them, I know not by what Means, into the Earth, and change them for other Children, before they have either Opportunity or Ability to do amiss among them; but first, they say, they are fain to keep them there for some Time, till the Air of the Earth alters their Colour like ours.
Their ordinary Vent for them is a certain high Hill in the North of America, whose People, I am apt to believe, are wholly descended from them, both in regard of their Colour, and their continual use of Tobacco, which the Lunars or Moon Men smoak exceedingly, the Place abounding much with Moisture, together with the Pleasure they take therein, and some other Respects too long to rehearse: Sometimes, though but seldom, they mistake their Aim, and fall upon Europe, Asia, or Africa. I remember some Years since I read certain Stories tending to confirm what is related by these Lunars, and especially one Chapter of Neubrigensis. Inigo Mondejar, in his Description of Nova Granata. Also Joseph Defia de Carana, in his History of Mexico, if my Memory fail not, recount what will make my Report more creditable; but I value not Testimonies."
Eventually, moved by his homesickness, Gonsales is given leave to return to Earth. He was taken into custody after being spotted in the skies of China. In time Gonsales learnt that language and the favour of the Mandarin, and eventually wrote up his story and gave it to Jesuit missionaries to dispense for the benefit of Spain...
You can read the full thing HERE.
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