Flatland
contributor: Eric Lease Morgan (Infomotions, Inc.)
creator: Abbott, Edwin A.
date: 0000-00-00
extent: 204607
format: text/plain
language: en
publisher: Wiretap Electronic Text Archive
rights: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/
source: flatland.txt
subject: line
subject: flatland
subject: circle
subject: sphere
subject: space
subject: particular
subject: dedicated
subject: humble
subject: native
subject: hope
subject: initiated
subject: mysteries
subject: dimensions
subject: previously
subject: conversant
subject: citizens
subject: celestial
subject: region
subject: aspire
subject: secrets
subject: five
subject: six
subject: thereby
subject: contributing
subject: enlargment
subject: imagination
subject: development
subject: excellent
subject: gift
subject: modesty
type: text
local mirror: abbott-flatland-361.txt
concordance: http://infomotions.com/alex/cgi-bin/concordance.pl
plain html: abbott-flatland-361.htm
sort title: Flatland
full text: The Internet Wiretap Electronic Edition of FLATLAND A Public Domain Text Instantiated by aloysius@west.darkside.com in November 1990 The Internet Wiretap, of Cupertino, California gopher@wiretap.spies.com F L A T L A N D A Romance of Many Dimensions With Illustrations by the Author, A SQUARE (EDWIN A. ABBOTT) "Fie, fie how franticly I square my talk!" [Fifth Edition, Revised] * * * To The Inhabitance of SPACE IN GENERAL And H.C. IN PARTICULAR This Work is Dedicated By a Humble Native of Flatland In the Hope that Even as he was Initiated into the Mysteries Of THREE DIMENSIONS Having been previously conversant With ONLY TWO So the Citizens of that Celestial Region May aspire yet higher and higher To the Secrets of FOUR FIVE or EVEN SIX Dimensions Thereby contributing To the Enlargment of THE IMAGINATION And the possible Development Of that most and excellent Gift of MODESTY Among the Superior Races Of SOLID HUMANITY * * * PREFACE TO THE SECOND AND REVISED EDITION, 1884. BY THE EDITOR If my poor Flatland friend retained the vigour of mind which he enjoyed when he began to compose these Memoirs, I should not now need to represent him in this preface, in which he desires, fully, to return his thanks to his readers and critics in Spaceland, whose appreciation has, with unexpected celerity, required a second edition of this work; secondly, to apologize for certain errors and misprints (for which, however, he is not entirely responsible); and, thirdly, to explain on or two misconceptions. But he is not the Square he once was. Years of inprisonment, and the still heavier burden of general incredulity and mockery, have combined with the thoughts and notions, and much also of the terminology, which he acquired during his short stay in spaceland. He has, therefore, requested me to reply in his behalf to two special objections, one of an intellectual, the other of a moral nature. The first objection is, that a Flatlander, seeing a Line, sees something that must be _thick_ to the…