''Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds'' (french: Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes) is a

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

book by French author Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, published in 1686.

Content

The work consists of six lessons popularizing the knowledge of

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...

and Nicolas Copernicus, given to a Marquise, spread over six evenings and preceded of a preface and a dispatch ''To Monsieur L***'' . * ''First evening.'' That the Earth is a Planet which turns on itself, & around the Sun. * ''Second evening.'' That the Moon is an inhabited Earth. * ''Third night.'' Peculiarities of the Moon World. That the other Planets are also inhabited. * ''Fourth evening.'' Peculiarities of the Worlds of Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, & Saturn . * ''Fifth night.'' That the Fixed Stars are so many Suns, each of which illuminates a World. * ''Sixth evening.'' New thoughts that confirm those of previous Interviews. Latest discoveries that have been made in Heaven.

Analysis

Unlike many scientific works of its time, ''Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds'' was not written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

but in French, making it one of the first books to attempt an explanation of

scientific theories A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that has been repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluatio ...

in a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

language. A precursor to it could be seen in

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmolog ...

's 1584 book ''.'' It is an early exposition of

cosmic pluralism Cosmic pluralism, the plurality of worlds, or simply pluralism, describes the belief in numerous "worlds" (planets, dwarf planets or natural satellites) in addition to Earth (possibly an infinite number), which may harbour extraterrestrial life ...

, the idea that the

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

s are distant suns which might have their own

planetary systems A planetary system is a set of gravitationally bound non- stellar objects in or out of orbit around a star or star system. Generally speaking, systems with one or more planets constitute a planetary system, although such systems may also consi ...

, including the possibility of

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

. In the preface, Fontenelle suggests that the offered explanation should be easily understood even by those without scientific knowledge, and he specifically addresses female readers. The book itself is presented as a series of conversations between a gallant

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and a marquise, who walk in the latter's garden at night and gaze at

s. The philosopher explains the heliocentric model and also muses on the possibility of

. It is the first work introducing the trope that sentient Venusians are gentle, ethereal, and beautiful.

Reception

The book was very well received both in France and elsewhere, and was regularly published. In 1691, Fontenelle was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

. Fontenelle's work was not cast polemically against the world view of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

or the Protestant churches, nor did it attract the attention, positive or negative, of theologians or prelates. The book is Fontenelle's most famous work and is considered to be one of the first major works of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

Translations

The first English translation was published in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

by Sir William Donville or Domville in 1687, followed by another translation by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

in 1688, under the title ''A Discovery of New Worlds'' and a third by John Glanvill later in 1688.

Antiokh Kantemir Antiochus or Antioch Kantemir or Cantemir (russian: Антиох Дмитриевич Кантемир, ''Antiokh Dmitrievich Kantemir''; ro, Antioh Cantemir; tr, Antioh Kantemiroğlu; french: Antioche Cantemir; 8 September 1708 – 31 Mar ...

translated it into Russian in 1730, although the translation was only published in a censored edition in 1740, due to objections from the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. Elizabeth Gunning translated it into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

in 1803.

References

External links