LEADER 03801nam 2200613 a 450 001 9910456111603321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-282-35575-9 010 $a9786612355752 010 $a0-520-91058-3 024 7 $a10.1525/9780520910584 035 $a(CKB)2420000000002292 035 $a(EBL)837184 035 $a(OCoLC)773564904 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000434909 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11925658 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000434909 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10404542 035 $a(PQKB)11756229 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC837184 035 $a(DE-B1597)520152 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780520910584 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL837184 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10676210 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL235575 035 $a(EXLCZ)992420000000002292 100 $a19900123d1990 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aConversations on the plurality of worlds$b[electronic resource] /$fBernard le Bovier de Fontenelle ; translation by H.A. Hargreaves ; introduction by Nina Rattner Gelbart 210 $aBerkeley $cUniversity of California Press$dc1990 215 $a1 online resource (134 p.) 300 $aTranslation of: Entretiens sur la pluralite? des mondes. 311 $a0-520-06361-9 311 $a0-520-07171-9 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 75-82). 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tIntroduction -- $tTranslator's Preface -- $tPreface -- $tDedication -- $tThe First Evening -- $tThe Second Evening -- $tThe Third Evening -- $tThe Fourth Evening -- $tThe Fifth Evening -- $tNotes 330 $aSurveying the night sky, a charming philosopher and his hostess, the Marquise, are considering thep ossibility of travelers from the moon. "What if they were skillful enough to navigate on the outer surface of our air, and from there, through their curiosity to see us, they angled for us like fish? Would that please you?" asks the philosopher. "Why not?" the Marquise replies. "As for me, I'd put myself into their nets of my own volition just to have the pleasure of seeing those who caught me."In this imaginary conversation of three hundred years ago, readers can share the excitement of a new, extremely daring view of the uinverse. Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes), first published in 1686, is one of the best loved classics of the early French enlightenment. Through a series of informal dialogues that take place on successive evenings in the marquise's moonlit gardens, Fontenelle describes the new cosmology of the Copernican world view with matchles clarity, imagination, and wit. Moreover, he boldly makes his interlocutor a woman, inviting female participation in the almost exclusively male province of scientific discourse. The popular Fontenelle lived through an entire century, from 1657 to 1757, and wrote prolifically. H. A. Hargreaves's fresh, appealing translation brings the author's masterpiece to new generations of readers, while the introduction by Nina Rattner Gelbart clearly demonstrates the importance of the Conversations for the history of science, of women, of literature, and of French civilization, and for the popularization of culture. 606 $aPlurality of worlds$xEarly works to 1800 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aPlurality of worlds$xEarly works to 1800. 676 $a574.999 700 $aFontenelle$cM. de$g(Bernard Le Bovier),$f1657-1757.$0169138 701 $aHargreaves$b H. A$01027396 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910456111603321 996 $aConversations on the plurality of worlds$92442810 997 $aUNINA