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Micromegas

by Voltaire

Downloads: Under 100
First published: 1752
Pages: 37

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About this book

A colossal inhabitant of a planet circling Sirius, some eight leagues tall, is exiled from his world and sets off to explore the universe. On Saturn he picks up a comparatively tiny companion, and together the two giants eventually reach Earth, where they are astonished to find intelligent life in creatures as small as human beings. Voltaire uses their outsider's eye to poke at human vanity, at philosophers who squabble over questions they cannot answer, and at our habit of imagining ourselves the center of creation. Barely a few dozen pages long, it counts among the earliest works of science fiction and shows Enlightenment wit at full strength.

About the author

Voltaire

Voltaire (1694-1778), pen name of Francois-Marie Arouet, was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, and polemicist. Celebrated for his wit and his campaigns against tyranny and religious intolerance, he produced plays, histories, essays, and tales, of which Candide remains the most widely read.