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Abstract Algebra A Gentle Introduction 1st Edition Gary
L. Mullen Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Gary L. Mullen, James A. Sellers
ISBN(s): 9788131733837, 8131733831
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 4.54 MB
Year: 2016
Language: english
ABSTRACT
ALGEBRA
A GENTLE INTRODUCTION
 TEXTBOOKS in MATHEMATICS
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TEXTBOOKS in MATHEMATICS

ABSTRACT
ALGEBRA
A GENTLE INTRODUCTION

Gary L. Mullen
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, USA

James A. Sellers
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, USA
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Contents

Preface ix

1 Elementary Number Theory 1

1.1 Divisibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Primes and factorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Congruences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Solving congruences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.5 Theorems of Fermat and Euler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.6 RSA cryptosystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

2 Groups 33
2.1 Definition of a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2 Examples of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3 Subgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.4 Cosets and Lagrange’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

3 Rings 55
3.1 Definition of a ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.2 Subrings and ideals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3 Ring homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.4 Integral domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

4 Fields 67
4.1 Definition and basic properties of a field . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

5 Finite Fields 73
5.1 Number of elements in a finite field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.2 How to construct finite fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.3 Properties of finite fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.4 Polynomials over finite fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.5 Permutation polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.6 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.6.1 Orthogonal Latin squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.6.2 Diffie/Hellman key exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

vii
viii Contents

6 Vector Spaces 99
6.1 Definition and examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.2 Basic properties of vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
6.3 Subspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

7 Polynomials 111
7.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.2 Unique factorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
7.3 Polynomials over the real and complex numbers . . . . . . . 117
7.4 Root formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

8 Linear Codes 127

8.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.2 Hamming codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8.3 Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
8.4 Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
8.5 Further study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
8.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

9 Appendix 149
9.1 Mathematical induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
9.2 Well-ordering Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.3 Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
9.4 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
9.5 Permutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
9.6 Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
9.7 Complex numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

10 Hints and Partial Solutions to Selected Exercises 167

Bibliography 195

Index 199
Preface

The aim of this textbook is to provide a brief introduction to abstract algebra.

We use the term “A Gentle Introduction” because we do not go into great
depth while covering various topics in abstract algebra. Instead, we provide
the reader with coverage of numerous algebraic topics to give the reader a
flavor of what we believe to be the most important areas of abstract algebra.
For example, we do not cover topics such as the Sylow Theorems in group
theory. Instead, we lead the reader through a proof of Lagrange’s Theorem,
and then in Chapter 8, we provide a beautiful application of this famous
group theory result to the study of error-correcting codes used so frequently
in today’s modern communications.
We also discuss the famous RSA cryptographic system and the
Diffie/Hellman key exchange for the secure transmission of information. In
addition, we discuss some fascinating ideas in the study of sets of mutually
orthogonal latin squares, an area of study that dates back to Leonard Euler
in 1782.
The text is intended to be used for a one-semester course in abstract
algebra. It is suitable for an introductory course in abstract algebra for math­
ematics majors. The text is also very suitable for education majors who need
to have an introduction to various topics in abstract algebra.
Theorems, definitions, examples, corollaries, etc., are all numbered con­
secutively within each chapter. For example, in the first chapter, item 1.3 is
Theorem 1.3, item 1.5 is Example 1.5, and item 1.8 is Corollary 1.8.
In Chapter 9, entitled “Appendix,”we provided a brief review of numerous
topics with which the student may not be familiar. This chapter is also meant
for the students who need to refresh their memory on a few topics. The topics
covered in the Appendix include mathematical induction, the well-ordering
principle, sets, functions, permutations, matrices, and complex numbers.
Numerous exercises are provided at the end of almost every section. In
addition, in Chapter 10, entitled “Hints and Partial Solutions to Selected
Exercises,”we provide solutions to the odd-numbered problems, leaving the
even-numbered problems for homework use by the instructor. Exercises are
numbered using the system Exercise i.j.k. This refers to the k-th exercise in
Chapter i, Section j.
We would like to thank Serge Ballif for his help in setting up the LaTeX files
for our manuscript. Gary Mullen would also like to thank his wife (Bev Mullen)
for her patience and understanding during the writing of this text. Thanks are

ix
x Preface

also due the staff at CRC Press. Finally Gary Mullen would like to thank his
Math 470 (Algebra for Teachers) class held during the Spring Semester 2016
at the Pennsylvania State University for their help in locating errors, typos,
and in general suggesting a number of clarifications and improvements in the
text.
G.L. Mullen
J.A. Sellers
Chapter 1
Elementary Number Theory

1.1 Divisibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Primes and factorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Congruences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Solving congruences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.5 Theorems of Fermat and Euler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.6 RSA cryptosystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

This chapter deals with several fundamental topics from elementary number
theory. The reader will find that many of these topics will later be generalized
and discussed in other chapters such as the group, ring, and field chapters.

1.1 Divisibility
We begin by discussing the notion of divisibility of integers. Indeed, this
is one of the oldest concepts in number theory. The topic has been studied in
depth for at least 2000 years. In fact, Euclid (∼325BC–265BC) dealt with the
topic of divisibility in Book VII of his Elements.
Let a be an integer and let d be an integer. We say that d divides a if
there is an integer k so that a = dk. The important point here is that k must
be an integer. If there are such integers, we denote the fact that d divides a
by using the notation d|a.
For example, 2|8 since 8 = 2(4); 36|108 since 108 = 36(3); 3|(−36) since
−36 = 3(−12); and for any integer m, 3|(15m + 3) since 15m + 3 = 3(5m + 1).
On the other hand, 3 does not divide 13 as there is no integer k with 13 = 3k.
The reader should be aware that d|a is just a notation for the fact that
the integer d divides a. Be careful, do not confuse this with the notation d/a
which, as usual, represents the value d divided by a.
In the following lemma, we provide a few basic properties involving the
divisibility of integers.

1
2 Abstract Algebra: A Gentle Introduction

Lemma 1.1 Let a, b, d be integers with d > 0.

• (i) If d|a and d|b, then d|(a + b);

• (ii) If d|a and d|b, then d|(a − b);
• (iii) If d|a and d|b, then d|(ma + nb) for any integers m and n;
• (iv) If m|d and d|a, then m|a.

Proof: To prove part (i), we may assume that a = dk and b = dl where k

and l are integers. Hence a + b = dk + dl = d(k + l) so that d divides a + b
(since k + l is an integer).
The proof of part (ii) is similar and hence omitted. Proofs of the remaining
parts are left to the exercises.
We now state two extremely important results about positive integers.
These results are known as the Division and Euclidean Algorithms, respec­
tively. The reader should not be confused or worried about the term “al­
gorithm;”it is simply a term that is used to indicate a method to compute
something. While mathematicians often use this terminology, it is also very
heavily used by people working in the field of computer science.

Theorem 1.2 (Division Algorithm) Let a and b be two positive integers. Then
there are integers q and r so that b = aq + r where 0 ≤ r < a.

A proof of this result is given in the Appendix, Section 2 where we discuss

the Well-Ordering Principle. For the moment, let’s just use this result.
The integers q and r are often called the quotient and the remainder,
respectively.
This terminology comes from long division. For example, consider the in­
tegers a = 4 and b = 23. Dividing 23 by 4, we see that 23 = 5(4) + 3. Hence
from the Division Algorithm the quotient q is 5 and the remainder r is 3.
Note in the Division Algorithm that 0 ≤ r < a. As in the process of long
division, this simply says that the remainder is always non-negative and less
than the divisor.
Given two positive integers a and b, we define the greatest common
divisor of a and b to be the largest positive integer that divides both a and
b. This is often denoted by writing gcd(a, b) or sometimes by simply writing
(a, b). With this latter notation one must be careful not to get this confused
with the open interval (a, b) or the point (a, b) in the usual xy-plane!
We say that two positive integers are relatively prime if their greatest
common divisor is 1; i.e., if for integers a and b, gcd(a, b) = 1. Thus two
integers a and b are relatively prime if the only factor they have in common
is 1. For example, 5 and 16 are relatively prime as are 24 and 37. However,
6 and 28 are not relatively prime since they have a common factor of 2. You
should convince yourself that a prime p is relatively prime to any integer n as
long as p does not divide the integer n.
 Elementary Number Theory 3

How do we find or compute the greatest common divisor of two positive

integers a and b, especially if the integers a and b are large? The Euclidean
Algorithm does the trick for us by providing a very systematic and efficient
way to calculate our greatest common divisor. Euclid demonstrated amaz­
ing insight when he devised this algorithm and noted it in Book VII of his
Elements.
We now state the Euclidean Algorithm for finding the greatest common
divisor gcd(a, b) of two positive integers a and b.

Theorem 1.3 (Euclidean Algorithm) Let a and b be positive integers. If a

divides b then the gcd(a, b) = a. Otherwise, there exists a strictly decreasing
sequence of positive integers r1 , . . . , rn so that

b = aq1 + r1
a = r1 q2 + r2
r1 = r2 q3 + r3
..
.
rn−2 = rn−1 qn + rn
rn−1 = rn qn+1 + 0.

Then gcd(a, b) = rn .

The proof of the Euclidean Algorithm relies heavily on the Division Al­
gorithm (Theorem 1.2). We will omit the proof and instead illustrate the
algorithm with several examples. Basically, the algorithm says to repeat­
edly apply the Division Algorithm over and over until we can’t divide any
longer. Since the integers a and b are positive, the process must stop be­
cause the remainders keep getting smaller each time we apply the Division
Algorithm.

Example 1.4 By way of illustration, we use the Euclidean Algorithm to find

the greatest common divisor of a = 18 and b = 58. By repeated use of the
Division Algorithm we have

58 = 18(3) + 4
18 = 4(4) + 2
4 = 2(2) + 0.

Thus, since the last non-zero remainder is 2, gcd(18, 58) = 2.

By using the Euclidean Algorithm in reverse, we can obtain integers x

and y so that gcd(a, b) = ax + by. This will prove to be useful in our later
work.
4 Abstract Algebra: A Gentle Introduction

As an illustration, consider our previous example. From the next to last

line, we note that gcd(18, 58) = 2 = 18 − 4(4). Then using the line above we
have

2 = 18 − 4(58 − 3(18)) = 18(13) − 58(4)

so that x = 13 and y = −4.

Example 1.5 As another illustration of the Euclidean Algorithm, let a = 68

and b = 249. Then repeatedly using the Division Algorithm we obtain:

249 = 68(3) + 45
68 = 45(1) + 23
45 = 23(1) + 22
23 = 22(1) + 1
22 = 1(22) + 0.

Thus, gcd(68, 249) = 1. This means 68 and 249 are relatively prime.
We now illustrate one method to find integers x and y so that

1 = 68x + 249y.

Using the Euclidean Algorithm in reverse, we first note from the next to last
line that 1 = 23 − 22. Then from the line above we have that

1 = 23 − 1(45 − 1(23)) = 2(23) − 1(45).

Continuing, we obtain

1 = 2(68 − 1(45)) − 1(45) = 2(68) − 3(45)

and finally using the first line of the above example, we have

1 = 2(68) − 3(249 − 3(68)) = 68(11) − 249(3).

Hence x = 11 and y = −3.

We take the liberty of pointing out now that similar results hold for poly­
nomials; we will study these polynomial versions of the Division and Euclidean
Algorithms in more detail in Chapter 7.

1.1 Exercises

1. Let m and k be positive integers. Which of the following hold?

• 5|635
 Elementary Number Theory 5

• −5|635
• 48|124
• 341|32871
• 5|(15m − 10)
• m|(−3m)
• (k + m)|(7k + 14m)
• k|(−6k 2 − k)
2. Prove part (iii) of Lemma 1.1.
3. Prove part (iv) of Lemma 1.1.
4. Find gcd(35, 180).
5. Find gcd(35, 225).
6. Find gcd(224, 468).
7. Find gcd(384, 434).
8. If a = 140 and b = 146, find the gcd(a, b) and write gcd(a, b) as 140r +
146s for some integers r and s.
9. The sequence of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, . . . is known as the se­
quence of Fibonacci numbers. After the first two values, a given num­
ber is obtained as the sum of the previous two numbers. We denote this
sequence by F1 , F2 , F3 , . . . , in honor of Fibonacci who first wrote about
these numbers in his book Liber Abaci, which was published in 1202.
Show that, for any k ≥ 1, gcd(Fk , Fk+1 ) = 1, i.e., show that any two
consecutive Fibonacci numbers are relatively prime.
10. If a positive integer d divides the integer a and d also divides the integer
b, show that d divides ar − bs for all integers r and s.
11. Show that, for any positive integer n, 3 divides 4n − 1.
12. Is n3 − n divisible by 6 for each positive integer n? If so, show it, and if
not, find an example where it fails.
13. For a positive integer a, what are the possibilities for the quantity
gcd(a + 3, a)? Find specific examples to demonstrate each possibility.
6 Abstract Algebra: A Gentle Introduction

1.2 Primes and factorization

Prime numbers are the building blocks of the integers. Primes have fas­
cinated mathematicians for thousands of years. We begin by first carefully
defining what is meant by a prime number.
A positive integer p is a prime if p has exactly two distinct positive di­
visors, namely 1 and p itself. Thus 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 are the five smallest primes.
Note that positive integers like 4, 9, 16, 18, and 25 are not primes. Note also
that 2 is the only even prime.
The reader should note that with this definition the positive integer 1 is not
a prime, since it does not have exactly two distinct divisors. Its only divisor is
1. Early mathematicians may have viewed 1 as a prime, but once we discuss
the theory of unique factorization of integers, we will see why it is important
not to count 1 as a prime.
How can one test whether a given positive integer n is a prime? This, in
general, is not an easy problem, especially when n is large. For example, is
4999 a prime? It turns out that 4999 is indeed a prime, but 4997 is not a prime,
though upon quick inspection, it is not so easy to determine these facts.
How does one list all of the primes up to some value n? There is a way to do
this, known as the Sieve of Eratosthenes, named in honor of Eratosthenes
(276BC–194BC), who appears to be the first to make note of this process.
The process is quite efficient as long as n isn’t “too large.”
One begins by listing all of the numbers from 2 to n. Then since 2 is a
prime, we leave it in the list and delete all multiples of 2 (except 2 itself) up
to n. We thus delete all even values larger than 2. We then leave 3 and delete
all larger multiples of 3. The next value not already deleted is 5, so we leave
it and delete all multiples of 5. We continue this process with 7, which is yet
to be deleted, then 11, etc. The values remaining in the list give all primes up
to n.
We now illustrate the Sieve of Eratosthenes by finding all primes up to
n = 50. We begin by listing all of the positive integers from 2 through 50.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
We boldface the number 2 as the first item in this list (since we know it
is prime), and then cross out each multiple of 2 that is greater than 2. It is
important to note that no actual arithmetic must be done here! We simply
start at 2, skip by the amount of 2 (which gets us to the number 4), cross out
the 4, then skip by another 2 to get to 6, cross out the 6, and so on. This stage
 Elementary Number Theory 7

of the process is quite straightforward. This now leaves us with the following
table.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Once we have traversed the entire list, we then return to the beginning
of the list and look for the first number that has not be selected as a prime
already and that has not been crossed out. At this stage, that number is 3.
We are guaranteed that this is a prime, so we boldface that number and then
cross out all multiples of 3 in the list (again by simply skipping by 3 each
time and crossing out the corresponding numbers). That leaves us with the
following:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Returning to the beginning of the list, we see that 5 is the first number
which is neither boldfaced nor crossed out. So it must be a new prime. We
boldface it and then cross out the multiples of 5 as described in the previous
steps.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Once we have fully completed the sieving process, our list will look like
this:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
We find that the list of all primes up to 50 is given by

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47.

In Exercise 1.2.1 below the reader will be asked to list all of the primes up
to 100.
8 Abstract Algebra: A Gentle Introduction

We now wish to identify how the primes serve as the “building blocks”
of the integers. To do so, we must develop a number of additional results on
divisibility. The first is the following theorem:

Theorem 1.6 Let a, b, c be positive integers with a and b relatively prime.

(i) If a|bc then a|c;
(ii) If a|c and b|c, then ab|c.

Proof: We first prove part (i). Since a and b are relatively prime, we know
gcd(a, b) = 1, so there are integers r and s so that 1 = ar + bs. Hence,
c = car + cbs. Recall that if an integer divides two integers, it must divide the
sum and difference of those two integers. Thus since a divides the product bc
and a certainly divides car, it must also divide the right side of the equation
c = car + cbs. Therefore, a must divide c.
For part (ii), since a divides c, ab divides cbs and since b divides c, ab
divides car. Thus ab must divide the sum, which is c.
Our next theorem is often attributed to Euclid (and is referred to by many
as “Euclid’s Lemma.”) It provides the foundation for the truly important role
that the primes play in elementary number theory.

Theorem 1.7 If p is a prime and p divides ab, then p divides a or p divides

b.

Proof: Since p is a prime, we know gcd(p, a) is either 1 or p. In the latter

case p divides a. If gcd(p, a) = 1 then part (i) of Theorem 1.6 implies that p
divides b.
The above result says that if p is a prime and it divides the product of two
integers, it must divide one or the other of the integers (or both). Note that
this is not necessarily true of divisors that are not prime. For example, 4|12,
which can be written as 6 × 2. So 4|(6 × 2), but 4 ∤ 6 and 4 ∤ 2.
The next result shows that if a prime divides the product of any finite
number of integers, it must divide one of them. The reader will be asked to
prove this corollary in the exercises.

Corollary 1.8 If p is a prime and p divides a1 · · · ar , then p must divide ai

for some i = 1, . . . , r.

We now state, and prove, one of the most fundamental results in number
theory. This result states that any positive integer can be written as a product
of primes, and that with a possible re-ordering of the primes, this product of
primes is unique.

Theorem 1.9 (Unique Factorization)

(i) Each positive integer n ≥ 2 may be written as a product of primes; i.e.,
n may be written in the form

n = p1 · · · pr
 Elementary Number Theory 9

where each integer pi , i = 1, . . . , r, is a prime.

(ii) Moreover, this factorization is unique except for the order of the
primes; i.e., if n = q1 · · · qs where each qi is a prime, then r = s and (if
necessary) upon re-ordering, pi = qi , i = 1, . . . , r.

Proof: For the proof of part (i), we use strong induction. This proof is
given in the Appendix, Section 9.1 where strong mathematical induction is
discussed.
For the proof of part (ii), we proceed by regular induction (also discussed
in the same section of the Appendix). We induct on r, the number of primes
in the factorization. For the r = 1 case assume that n is a prime and that we
also have n = q1 · · · qs .
If s ≥ 2, then the prime n would have at least the three distinct divisors
1, q1 , q1 q2 , but this contradicts the fact that n is a prime.
We now use the induction hypothesis that any positive integer greater than
2 that has a factorization into r − 1 primes has a unique factorization in the
above sense. Assume further that

n = p1 · · · pr = q1 · · · qs
are two prime factorizations of the positive integer n. The prime p1 divides
n so it must divide one of the primes q1 , . . . , qs . By re-ordering the primes qi
if necessary, we may assume that p1 divides q1 . But since both p1 and q1 are
primes, we must have that p1 = q1 .
Hence we can divide both sides of the above equation by p1 to obtain

p2 · · · pr = q2 · · · qs .
The integer on the left side is thus a product of r − 1 primes, so by the
induction hypothesis, we have that r − 1 = s − 1 and hence r = s. Upon
re-ordering if necessary, we have pi = qi , i = 2, . . . , r. Since p1 = q1 , we have
that pi = qi , i = 1, . . . , r and the proof is complete.
We note in the statement of the Unique Factorization Theorem that n ≥ 2.
This theorem provides a good reason why 1 is not considered to be a prime.
For if 1 was a prime, then for example

6 = 2(3) = 1(2)(3)

would have two different numbers of primes in its prime factorization, so the
factorization would not be unique.
We can, of course, collect like primes in the factorization of an integer
n and thus write n = pa1 1 · · · patt where each pi , i = 1, . . . , t is a prime with
� pj if i =
pi = � j and each exponent ai ≥ 1. This form is often called the prime
factorization or canonical factorization of the positive integer n.
For example, the prime factorization of the integer n = 1, 000 is given by
n = 23 53 while the prime factorization of the integer n = 3, 500 can be written
as 22 53 7.
Other documents randomly have
different content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Paradise (to
be) Regained
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Title: Paradise (to be) Regained

Author: Henry David Thoreau

Release date: October 14, 2020 [eBook #63459]

Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

Language: English

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARADISE (TO

BE) REGAINED ***
Pa r a d i s e ( To B e )
[1]
Regained
 by Henry David Thoreau

We learn that Mr. Etzler is a native of Germany, and originally

published his book in Pennsylvania, ten or twelve years ago; and
now a second English edition, from the original American one, is
demanded by his readers across the water, owing, we suppose, to
the recent spread of Fourier’s doctrines. It is one of the signs of the
times. We confess that we have risen from reading this book with
enlarged ideas, and grander conceptions of our duties in this world.
It did expand us a little. It is worth attending to, if only that it
entertains large questions. Consider what Mr. Etzler proposes:
“Fellow Men! I promise to show the means of creating a paradise
within ten years, where everything desirable for human life may be
had by every man in superabundance, without labor, and without
pay; where the whole face of nature shall be changed into the most
beautiful forms, and man may live in the most magnificent palaces,
in all imaginable refinements of luxury, and in the most delightful
gardens; where he may accomplish, without labor, in one year, more
than hitherto could be done in thousands of years; may level
mountains, sink valleys, create lakes, drain lakes and swamps, and
intersect the land everywhere with beautiful canals, and roads for
transporting heavy loads of many thousand tons, and for travelling
one thousand miles in twenty-four hours; may cover the ocean with
floating islands movable in any desired direction with immense
power and celerity, in perfect security, and with all comforts and
luxuries, bearing gardens and palaces, with thousands of families,
and provided with rivulets of sweet water; may explore the interior
of the globe, and travel from pole to pole in a fortnight; provide
himself with means, unheard of yet, for increasing his knowledge of
the world, and so his intelligence; lead a life of continual happiness,
of enjoyments yet unknown; free himself from almost all the evils
that afflict mankind, except death, and even put death far beyond
the common period of human life, and finally render it less afflicting.
Mankind may thus live in and enjoy a new world, far superior to the
present, and raise themselves far higher in the scale of being.”
It would seem from this and various indications beside, that there
is a transcendentalism in mechanics as well as in ethics. While the
whole field of the one reformer lies beyond the boundaries of space,
the other is pushing his schemes for the elevation of the race to its
utmost limits. While one scours the heavens, the other sweeps the
earth. One says he will reform himself, and then nature and
circumstances will be right. Let us not obstruct ourselves, for that is
the greatest friction. It is of little importance though a cloud obstruct
the view of the astronomer compared with his own blindness. The
other will reform nature and circumstances, and then man will be
right. Talk no more vaguely, says he, of reforming the world,—I will
reform the globe itself. What matters it whether I remove this humor
out of my flesh, or this pestilent humor from the fleshy part of the
globe? Nay, is not the latter the more generous course? At present
the globe goes with a shattered constitution in its orbit. Has it not
asthma, and ague, and fever, and dropsy, and flatulence, and
pleurisy, and is it not afflicted with vermin? Has it not its healthful
laws counteracted, and its vital energy which will yet redeem it? No
doubt the simple powers of nature, properly directed by man, would
make it healthy and a paradise; as the laws of man’s own
constitution but wait to be obeyed, to restore him to health and
happiness. Our panaceas cure but few ails, our general hospitals are
private and exclusive. We must set up another Hygeian than is now
worshipped. Do not the quacks even direct small doses for children,
larger for adults, and larger still for oxen and horses? Let us
remember that we are to prescribe for the globe itself.
This fair homestead has fallen to us, and how little have we done
to improve it, how little have we cleared and hedged and ditched!
We are too inclined to go hence to a “better land,” without lifting a
finger, as our farmers are moving to the Ohio soil; but would it not
be more heroic and faithful to till and redeem this New England soil
of the world? The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be
directed in their proper channel. Every gazette brings accounts of
the untutored freaks of the wind,—shipwrecks and hurricanes which
the mariner and planter accept as special or general providences;
but they touch our consciences, they remind us of our sins. Another
deluge would disgrace mankind. We confess we never had much
respect for that antediluvian race. A thorough-bred business man
cannot enter heartily upon the business of life without first looking
into his accounts. How many things are now at loose ends. Who
knows which way the wind will blow to-morrow? Let us not succumb
to nature. We will marshal the clouds and restrain the tempests; we
will bottle up pestilent exhalations, we will probe for earthquakes,
grub them up; and give vent to the dangerous gases; we will
disembowel the volcano, and extract its poison, take its seed out.
We will wash water, and warm fire, and cool ice, and underprop the
earth. We will teach birds to fly, and fishes to swim, and ruminants
to chew the cud. It is time we had looked into these things.
And it becomes the moralist, too, to inquire what man might do to
improve and beautify the system; what to make the stars shine more
brightly, the sun more cheery and joyous, the moon more placid and
content. Could he not heighten the tints of flowers and the melody
of birds? Does he perform his duty to the inferior races? Should he
not be a god to them? What is the part of magnanimity to the whale
and the beaver? Should we not fear to exchange places with them
for a day, lest by their behavior they should shame us? Might we not
treat with magnanimity the shark and the tiger, not descend to meet
there on their own level, with spears of sharks’ teeth and bucklers of
tiger’s skin? We slander the hyæna; man is the fiercest and cruelest
animal. Ah! he is of little faith; even the erring comets and meteors
would thank him, and return his kindness in their kind.
How meanly and grossly do we deal with nature! Could we not
have a less gross labor? What else do these fine inventions suggest,
—magnetism, the daguerreotype, electricity? Can we not do more
than cut and trim the forest,—can we not assist in its interior
economy, in the circulation of the sap? Now we work superficially
and violently. We do not suspect how much might be done to
improve our relation to animated nature; what kindness and refined
courtesy there might be.
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do
at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know.
The keeping of bees, for instance, is a very slight interference. It is
like directing the sunbeams. All nations, from the remotest antiquity,
have thus fingered nature. There are Hymettus and Hybla, and how
many bee-renowned spots beside? There is nothing gross in the idea
of these little herds,—their hum like the faintest low of kine in the
meads. A pleasant reviewer has lately reminded us that in some
places they are led out to pasture where the flowers are most
abundant. “Columella tells us,” says he, “that the inhabitants of
Arabia sent their hives into Attica to benefit by the later-blowing
flowers.” Annually are the hives, in immense pyramids, carried up
the Nile in boats, and suffered to float slowly down the stream by
night, resting by day, as the flowers put forth along the banks; and
they determine the richness of any locality, and so the profitableness
of delay, by the sinking of the boat in the water. We are told, by the
same reviewer, of a man in Germany, whose bees yielded more
honey than those of his neighbors, with no apparent advantage; but
at length he informed them that he had turned his hives one degree
more to the east, and so his bees, having two hours the start in the
morning, got the first sip of honey. Here, there is treachery and
selfishness behind all this; but these things suggest to the poetic
mind what might be done.
Many examples there are of a grosser interference, yet not
without their apology. We saw last summer, on the side of a
mountain, a dog employed to churn for a farmer’s family, travelling
upon a horizontal wheel, and though he had sore eyes, an alarming
cough, and withal a demure aspect, yet their bread did get buttered
for all that. Undoubtedly, in the most brilliant successes, the first
rank is always sacrificed. Much useless travelling of horses, in
extenso, has of late years been improved for man’s behoof, only two
forces being taken advantage of,—the gravity of the horse, which is
the centripetal, and his centrifugal inclination to go a-head. Only
these two elements in the calculation. And is not the creature’s
whole economy better economized thus? Are not all finite beings
better pleased with motions relative than absolute? And what is the
great globe itself but such a wheel,—a larger tread-mill,—so that our
horse’s freest steps over prairies are oftentimes balked and rendered
of no avail by the earth’s motion on its axis? But here he is the
central agent and motive power; and, for variety of scenery, being
provided with a window in front, do not the ever-varying activity and
fluctuating energy of the creature himself work the effect of the
most varied scenery on a country road? It must be confessed that
horses at present work too exclusively for men, rarely men for
horses; and the brute degenerates in man’s society.
It will be seen that we contemplate a time when man’s will shall
be law to the physical world, and he shall no longer be deterred by
such abstractions as time and space, height and depth, weight and
hardness, but shall indeed be the lord of creation. “Well,” says the
faithless reader, “ ‘life is short, but art is long;’ where is the power
that will effect all these changes?” This it is the very object of Mr.
Etzler’s volume to show. At present, he would merely remind us that
there are innumerable and immeasurable powers already existing in
nature, unimproved on a large scale, or for generous and universal
ends, amply sufficient for these purposes. He would only indicate
their existence, as a surveyor makes known the existence of a
water-power on any stream; but for their application he refers us to
a sequel to this book, called the “Mechanical System.” A few of the
most obvious and familiar of these powers are the Wind, the Tide,
the Waves, the Sunshine. Let us consider their value.
First, there is the power of the Wind, constantly exerted over the
globe. It appears from observation of a sailing-vessel, and from
scientific tables, that the average power of the wind is equal to that
of one horse for every one hundred square feet. “We know,” says
our author—
“that ships of the first class carry sails two hundred feet high; we
may, therefore, equally, on land, oppose to the wind surfaces of the
same height. Imagine a line of such surfaces one mile, or about
5,000 feet, long; they would then contain 1,000,000 square feet. Let
these surfaces intersect the direction of the wind at right angles, by
some contrivance, and receive, consequently, its full power at all
times. Its average power being equal to one horse for every 100
square feet, the total power would be equal to 1,000,000 divided by
100, or 10,000 horses’ power. Allowing the power of one horse to
equal that of ten men, the power of 10,000 horses is equal to
100,000 men. But as men cannot work uninterruptedly, but want
about half the time for sleep and repose, the same power would be
equal to 200,000 men.... We are not limited to the height of 200
feet; we might extend, if required, the application of this power to
the height of the clouds, by means of kites.”
But we will have one such fence for every square mile of the
globe’s surface, for, as the wind usually strikes the earth at an angle
of more than two degrees, which is evident from observing its effect
on the high sea, it admits of even a closer approach. As the surface
of the globe contains about 200,000,000 square miles, the whole
power of the wind on these surfaces would equal
40,000,000,000,000 men’s power, and “would perform 80,000 times
as much work as all the men on earth could effect with their nerves.”
If it should be objected that this computation includes the surface
of the ocean and uninhabitable regions of the earth, where this
power could not be applied for our purposes, Mr. Etzler is quick with
his reply—“But, you will recollect,” says he, “that I have promised to
show the means for rendering the ocean as inhabitable as the most
fruitful dry land; and I do not exclude even the polar regions.”
The reader will observe that our author uses the fence only as a
convenient formula for expressing the power of the wind, and does
not consider it a necessary method of its application. We do not
attach much value to this statement of the comparative power of the
wind and horse, for no common ground is mentioned on which they
can be compared. Undoubtedly, each is incomparably excellent in its
way, and every general comparison made for such practical purposes
as are contemplated, which gives a preference to the one, must be
made with some unfairness to the other. The scientific tables are, for
the most part, true only in a tabular sense. We suspect that a loaded
wagon, with a light sail, ten feet square, would not have been blown
so far by the end of the year, under equal circumstances, as a
common racer or dray horse would have drawn it. And how many
crazy structures on our globe’s surface, of the same dimensions,
would wait for dry-rot if the traces of one horse were hitched to
them, even to their windward side? Plainly, this is not the principle of
comparison. But even the steady and constant force of the horse
may be rated as equal to his weight at least. Yet we should prefer to
let the zephyrs and gales bear, with all their weight, upon our
fences, than that Dobbin, with feet braced, should lean ominously
against them for a season.
Nevertheless, here is an almost incalculable power at our disposal,
yet how trifling the use we make of it. It only serves to turn a few
mills, blow a few vessels across the ocean, and a few trivial ends
besides. What a poor compliment do we pay to our indefatigable and
energetic servant!
“If you ask, perhaps, why this power is not used, if the statement
be true, I have to ask in return, why is the power of steam so lately
come to application? so many millions of men boiled water every day
for many thousand years; they must have frequently seen that
boiling water, in tightly closed pots or kettles, would lift the cover or
burst the vessel with great violence. The power of steam was,
therefore, as commonly known down to the least kitchen or wash-
woman, as the power of wind; but close observation and reflection
were bestowed neither on the one nor the other.”
Men having discovered the power of falling water, which after all is
comparatively slight, how eagerly do they seek out and improve
these privileges? Let a difference of but a few feet in level be
discovered on some stream near a populous town, some slight
occasion for gravity to act, and the whole economy of the
neighborhood is changed at once. Men do indeed speculate about
and with this power as if it were the only privilege. But meanwhile
this aerial stream is falling from far greater heights with more
constant flow, never shrunk by drought, offering mill-sites wherever
the wind blows; a Niagara in the air, with no Canada side;—only the
application is hard.
There are the powers too of the Tide and Waves, constantly
ebbing and flowing, lapsing and relapsing, but they serve man in but
few ways. They turn a few tide mills, and perform a few other
insignificant and accidental services only. We all perceive the effect
of the tide; how imperceptibly it creeps up into our harbors and
rivers, and raises the heaviest navies as easily as the lightest chip.
Everything that floats must yield to it. But man, slow to take nature’s
constant hint of assistance, makes slight and irregular use of this
power, in careening ships and getting them afloat when aground.
The following is Mr. Etzler’s calculation on this head: To form a
conception of the power which the tide affords, let us imagine a
surface of 100 miles square, or 10,000 square miles, where the tide
rises and sinks, on an average, 10 feet; how many men would it
require to empty a basin of 10,000 square miles area, and 10 feet
deep, filled with sea-water, in 6¼ hours and fill it again in the same
time? As one man can raise 8 cubic feet of sea-water per minute,
and in 6¼ hours 3,000, it would take 1,200,000,000 men, or as they
could work only half the time, 2,400,000,000, to raise
3,000,000,000,000 cubic feet, or the whole quantity required in the
given time.
This power may be applied in various ways. A large body, of the
heaviest materials that will float, may first be raised by it, and being
attached to the end of a balance reaching from the land, or from a
stationary support, fastened to the bottom, when the tide falls, the
whole weight will be brought to bear upon the end of the balance.
Also when the tide rises it may be made to exert a nearly equal force
in the opposite direction. It can be employed wherever a point
d’appui can be obtained.
 “However, the application of the tide being by establishments fixed
on the ground, it is natural to begin with them near the shores in
shallow water, and upon sands, which may be extended gradually
further into the sea. The shores of the continent, islands, and sands,
being generally surrounded by shallow water, not exceeding from 50
to 100 fathoms in depth, for 20, 50, or 100 miles and upward. The
coasts of North America, with their extensive sand-banks, islands,
and rocks, may easily afford, for this purpose, a ground about 3,000
miles long, and, on an average, 100 miles broad, or 300,000 square
miles, which, with a power of 240,000 men per square mile, as
stated, at 10 feet tide, will be equal to 72,000 millions of men, or for
every mile of coast, a power of 24,000,000 men.”
“Rafts, of any extent, fastened on the ground of the sea, along the
shore, and stretching far into the sea, may be covered with fertile
soil, bearing vegetables and trees, of every description, the finest
gardens, equal to those the firm land may admit of, and buildings
and machineries, which may operate, not only on the sea, where
they are, but which also, by means of mechanical connections, may
extend their operations for many miles into the continent. (Etzler’s
Mechanical System, page 24.) Thus this power may cultivate the
artificial soil for many miles upon the surface of the sea, near the
shores, and, for several miles, the dry land, along the shore, in the
most superior manner imaginable; it may build cities along the
shore, consisting of the most magnificent palaces, every one
surrounded by gardens and the most delightful sceneries; it may
level the hills and unevennesses, or raise eminences for enjoying
open prospect into the country and upon the sea; it may cover the
barren shore with fertile soil, and beautify the same in various ways;
it may clear the sea of shallows, and make easy the approach to the
land, not merely of vessels, but of large floating islands, which may
come from, and go to distant parts of the world, islands that have
every commodity and security for their inhabitants which the firm
land affords.”
“Thus may a power, derived from the gravity of the moon and the
ocean, hitherto but the objects of idle curiosity to the studious man,
be made eminently subservient for creating the most delightful
abodes along the coasts, where men may enjoy at the same time all
the advantages of sea and dry land; the coasts may hereafter be
continuous paradisiacal skirts between land and sea, everywhere
crowded with the densest population. The shores and the sea along
them will be no more as raw nature presents them now, but
everywhere of easy and charming access, not even molested by the
roar of waves, shaped as it may suit the purposes of their
inhabitants; the sea will be cleared of every obstruction to free
passage everywhere, and its productions in fishes, etc., will be
gathered in large, appropriate receptacles, to present them to the
inhabitants of the shores and of the sea.”
Verily, the land would wear a busy aspect at the spring and neap
tide, and these island ships—these terræ infirmæ—which realise the
fables of antiquity, affect our imagination. We have often thought
that the fittest locality for a human dwelling was on the edge of the
land, that there the constant lesson and impression of the sea might
sink deep into the life and character of the landsman, and perhaps
impart a marine tint to his imagination. It is a noble word, that
mariner—one who is conversant with the sea. There should be more
of what it signifies in each of us. It is a worthy country to belong to
—we look to see him not disgrace it. Perhaps we should be equally
mariners and terreners, and even our Green Mountains need some
of that sea-green to be mixed with them.
The computation of the power of the Waves is less satisfactory.
While only the average power of the wind and the average height of
the tide were taken before, now the extreme height of the waves is
used, for they are made to rise ten feet above the level of the sea,
to which, adding ten more for depression, we have twenty feet, or
the extreme height of a wave. Indeed, the power of the waves,
which is produced by the wind blowing obliquely and at
disadvantage upon the water, is made to be, not only three thousand
times greater than that of the tide, but one hundred times greater
than that of the wind itself, meeting its object at right angles.
Moreover, this power is measured by the area of the vessel, and not
by its length mainly, and it seems to be forgotten that the motion of
the waves is chiefly undulatory, and exerts a power only within the
limits of a vibration, else the very continents, with their extensive
coasts, would soon be set adrift.
Finally, there is the power to be derived from Sunshine, by the
principle on which Archimedes contrived his burning-mirrors, a
multiplication of mirrors reflecting the rays of the sun upon the same
spot, till the requisite degree of heat is obtained. The principal
application of this power will be to the boiling of water and
production of steam.
“How to create rivulets of sweet and wholesome water, on floating
islands, in the midst of the ocean, will be no riddle now. Sea-water
changed into steam, will distill into sweet water, leaving the salt on
the bottom. Thus the steam engines on floating islands, for their
propulsion and other mechanical purposes, will serve, at the same
time, for the distillery of sweet water, which, collected in basins, may
be led through channels over the island, while, where required, it
may be refrigerated by artificial means, and changed into cool water,
surpassing, in salubrity, the best spring water, because nature hardly
ever distils water so purely, and without admixture of less
wholesome matter.”
So much for these few and more obvious powers, already used to
a trifling extent. But there are innumerable others in nature, not
described nor discovered. These, however, will do for the present.
This would be to make the sun and the moon equally our satellites.
For, as the moon is the cause of the tides, and the sun the cause of
the wind, which, in turn, is the cause of the waves, all the work of
this planet would be performed by these far influences.
“But as these powers are very irregular and subject to
interruptions; the next object is to show how they may be converted
into powers that operate continually and uniformly for ever, until the
machinery be worn out, or, in other words, into perpetual motions” .
. . “Hitherto the power of the wind has been applied immediately
upon the machinery for use, and we have had to wait the chances of
the wind’s blowing; while the operation was stopped as soon as the
wind ceased to blow. But the manner, which I shall state hereafter,
of applying this power, is to make it operate only for collecting or
storing up power, and then to take out of this store, at any time, as
much as may be wanted for final operation upon the machines. The
power stored up is to react as required, and may do so long after
the original power of the wind has ceased. And though the wind
should cease for intervals of many months, we may have by the
same power a uniform perpetual motion in a very simple way.”
“The weight of a clock being wound up gives us an image of
reaction. The sinking of this weight is the reaction of winding it up.
It is not necessary to wait till it has run down before we wind up the
weight, but it may be wound up at any time, partly or totally; and if
done always before the weight reaches the bottom, the clock will be
going perpetually. In a similar, though not in the same way, we may
cause a reaction on a larger scale. We may raise, for instance, water
by the immediate application of wind or steam to a pond upon some
eminence, out of which, through an outlet, it may fall upon some
wheel or other contrivance for setting machinery a going. Thus we
may store up water in some eminent pond, and take out of this
store, at any time, as much water through the outlet as we want to
employ, by which means the original power may react for many days
after it has ceased. . . . Such reservoirs of moderate elevation or size
need not be made artificially, but will be found made by nature very
frequently, requiring but little aid for their completion. They require
no regularity of form. Any valley, with lower grounds in its vicinity,
would answer the purpose. Small crevices may be filled up. Such
places may be eligible for the beginning of enterprises of this kind.”
The greater the height, of course, the less water required. But
suppose a level and dry country; then hill and valley, and “eminent
pond,” are to be constructed by main force; or, if the springs are
unusually low, then dirt and stones may be used, and the
disadvantage arising from friction will be counterbalanced by their
greater gravity. Nor shall a single rood of dry land be sunk in such
artificial ponds as may be wanted, but their surfaces “may be
covered with rafts decked with fertile earth, and all kinds of
vegetables which may grow there as well as anywhere else.”
And, finally, by the use of thick envelopes retaining the heat, and
other contrivances, “the power of steam caused by sunshine may
react at will, and thus be rendered perpetual, no matter how often
or how long the sunshine may be interrupted. (Etzler’s Mechanical
System).”
Here is power enough, one would think, to accomplish somewhat.
These are the powers below. Oh ye millwrights, ye engineers, ye
operatives and speculators of every class, never again complain of a
want of power; it is the grossest form of infidelity. The question is,
not how we shall execute, but what. Let us not use in a niggardly
manner what is thus generously offered.
Consider what revolutions are to be effected in agriculture. First,
in the new country a machine is to move along, taking out trees and
stones to any required depth, and piling them up in convenient
heaps; then the same machine, “with a little alteration,” is to plane
the ground perfectly, till there shall be no hills nor valleys, making
the requisite canals, ditches, and roads as it goes along. The same
machine, “with some other little alterations,” is then to sift the
ground thoroughly, supply fertile soil from other places if wanted,
and plant it; and finally the same machine, “with a little addition,” is
to reap and gather in the crop, thresh and grind it, or press it to oil,
or prepare it any way for final use. For the description of these
machines we are referred to “Etzler’s Mechanical System, pages 11
to 27.” We should be pleased to see that “Mechanical System,”
though we have not been able to ascertain whether it has been
published, or only exists as yet in the design of the author. We have
great faith in it. But we cannot stop for applications now.
“Any wilderness, even the most hideous and sterile, may be
converted into the most fertile and delightful gardens. The most
dismal swamps may be cleared of all their spontaneous growth, filled
up and levelled, and intersected by canals, ditches and aqueducts,
for draining them entirely. The soil, if required, may be meliorated,
by covering or mixing it with rich soil taken from distant places, and
the same be mouldered to fine dust, levelled, sifted from all roots,
weeds and stones, and sowed and planted in the most beautiful
order and symmetry, with fruit trees and vegetables of every kind
that may stand the climate.”
New facilities for transportation and locomotion are to be adopted:
“Large and commodious vehicles, for carrying many thousand
tons, running over peculiarly adapted level roads, at the rate of forty
miles per hour, or one thousand miles per day, may transport men
and things, small houses, and whatever may serve for comfort and
ease, by land. Floating islands, constructed of logs, or of wooden-
stuff prepared in a similar manner, as is to be done with stone, and
of live trees, which may be reared so as to interlace one another,
and strengthen the whole, may be covered with gardens and
palaces, and propelled by powerful engines, so as to run at an equal
rate though seas and oceans. Thus, man may move, with the
celerity of a bird’s flight, in terrestrial paradises, from one climate to
another, and see the world in all its variety, exchanging, with distant
nations, the surplus of productions. The journey from one pole to
another may be performed in a fortnight; the visit to a transmarine
country in a week or two; or a journey round the world in one or
two months by land and water. And why pass a dreary winter every
year while there is yet room enough on the globe where nature is
blessed with a perpetual summer, and with a far greater variety and
luxuriance of vegetation? More than one-half the surface of the
globe has no winter. Men will have it in their power to remove and
prevent all bad influences of climate, and to enjoy, perpetually, only
that temperature which suits their constitution and feeling best.”
Who knows but by accumulating the power until the end of the
present century, using meanwhile only the smallest allowance,
reserving all that blows, all that shines, all that ebbs and flows, all
that dashes, we may have got such a reserved accumulated power
as to run the earth off its track into a new orbit, some summer, and
so change the tedious vicissitude of the seasons? Or, perchance,
coming generations will not abide the dissolution of the globe, but,
availing themselves of future inventions in aerial locomotion, and the
navigation of space, the entire race may migrate from the earth, to
settle some vacant and more western planet, it may be still healthy,
perchance unearthy, not composed of dirt and stones, whose
primary strata only are strewn, and where no weeds are sown. It
took but little art, a simple application of natural laws, a canoe, a
paddle, and a sail of matting, to people the isles of the Pacific, and a
little more will people the shining isles of space. Do we not see in
the firmament the lights carried along the shore by night, as
Columbus did? Let us not despair nor mutiny.
“The dwellings also ought to be very different from what is known,
if the full benefit of our means is to be enjoyed. They are to be of a
structure for which we have no name yet. They are to be neither
palaces, nor temples, nor cities, but a combination of all, superior to
whatever is known. Earth may be baked into bricks, or even vitrified
stone by heat,—we may bake large masses of any size and form,
into stone and vitrified substance of the greatest durability, lasting
even thousands of years, out of clayey earth, or of stones ground to
dust, by the application of burning mirrors. This is to be done in the
open air, without other preparation than gathering the substance,
grinding and mixing it with water and cement, moulding or casting
it, and bringing the focus of the burning mirrors of proper size upon
the same. The character of the architecture is to be quite different
from what it ever has been hitherto; large solid masses are to be
baked or cast in one piece, ready shaped in any form that may be
desired. The building may, therefore, consist of columns two
hundred feet high and upwards, of proportionate thickness, and of
one entire piece of vitrified substance; huge pieces are to be
moulded so as to join and hook on to each other firmly, by proper
joints and folds, and not to yield in any way without breaking.”
“Foundries, of any description, are to be heated by burning
mirrors, and will require no labor, except the making of the first
moulds and the superintendence for gathering the metal and taking
the finished articles away.”
Alas! in the present state of science, we must take the finished
articles away; but think not that man will always be a victim of
circumstances.
The countryman who visited the city and found the streets
cluttered with bricks and lumber, reported that it was not yet
finished, and one who considers the endless repairs and reforming
of our houses, might well wonder when they will be done. But why
may not the dwellings of men on this earth be built once for all of
some durable material, some Roman or Etruscan masonry which will
stand, so that time shall only adorn and beautify them? Why may we
not finish the outward world for posterity, and leave them leisure to
attend to the inner? Surely, all the gross necessities and economies
might be cared for in a few years. All might be built and baked and
stored up, during this, the term-time of the world, against the vacant
eternity, and the globe go provisioned and furnished like our public
vessels, for its voyage through space, as through some Pacific
Ocean, while we would “tie up the rudder and sleep before the
wind,” as those who sail from Lima to Manilla.
But, to go back a few years in imagination, think not that life in
these crystal palaces is to bear any analogy to life in our present
humble cottages. Far from it. Clothed, once for all, in some “flexible
stuff,” more durable than George Fox’s suit of leather, composed of
“fibres of vegetables,” “glutinated” together by some “cohesive
substances,” and made into sheets, like paper, of any size or form,
man will put far from him corroding care and the whole host of ills.
“The twenty-five halls in the inside of the square are to be each
two hundred feet square and high; the forty corridors, each one
hundred feet long and twenty wide; the eighty galleries, each from
1,000 to 1,250 feet long; about 7,000 private rooms, the whole
surrounded and intersected by the grandest and most splendid
colonnades imaginable; floors, ceilings, columns with their various
beautiful and fanciful intervals, all shining, and reflecting to infinity
all objects and persons, with splendid lustre of all beautiful colors,
and fanciful shapes and pictures. All galleries, outside and within the
halls, are to be provided with many thousand commodious and most
elegant vehicles, in which persons may move up and down like birds,
in perfect security, and without exertion. Any member may procure
himself all the common articles of his daily wants, by a short turn of
some crank, without leaving his apartment; he may, at any time,
bathe himself in cold or warm water, or in steam, or in some
artificially prepared liquor for invigorating health. He may, at any
time, give to the air in his apartment that temperature that suits his
feeling best. He may cause, at any time, an agreeable scent of
various kinds. He may, at any time, meliorate his breathing air,—that
main vehicle of vital power. Thus, by a proper application of the
physical knowledge of our days, man may be kept in a perpetual
serenity of mind, and if there is no incurable disease or defect in his
organism, in constant vigor of health, and his life be prolonged
beyond any parallel which present times afford.
“One or two persons are sufficient to direct the kitchen business.
They have nothing else to do but to superintend the cookery, and to
watch the time of the victuals being done, and then to remove them,
with the table and vessels, into the dining-hall, or to the respective
private apartments, by a slight motion of the hand at some crank.
Any extraordinary desire of any person may be satisfied by going to
the place where the thing is to be had; and anything that requires a
particular preparation in cooking or baking may be done by the
person who desires it.”
This is one of those instances in which the individual genius is
found to consent, as indeed it always does, at last, with the
universal. These last sentences have a certain sad and sober truth,
which reminds us of the scripture of all nations. All expression of
truth does at length take the deep ethical form. Here is hint of a
place the most eligible of any in space, and of a servitor, in
comparison with whom, all other helps dwindle into insignificance.
We hope to hear more of him anon, for even a crystal palace would
be deficient without his invaluable services.
And as for the environs of the establishment,
“There will be afforded the most enrapturing views to be fancied,
out of the private apartments, from the galleries, from the roof, from
its turrets and cupolas,—gardens as far as the eye can see, full of
fruits and flowers, arranged in the most beautiful order, with walks,
colonnades, aqueducts, canals, ponds, plains, amphitheatres,
terraces, fountains, sculptural works, pavilions, gondolas, places for
public amusement, etc., to delight the eye and fancy, the taste and
smell. . . . The walks and roads are to be paved with hard vitrified,
large plates, so as to be always clean from all dirt in any weather or
season. . . . The channels being of vitrified substance, and the water
perfectly clear, and filtrated or distilled if required, may afford the
most beautiful scenes imaginable, while a variety of fishes is seen
clear down to the bottom playing about, and the canals may afford
at the same time, the means of gliding smoothly along between
various sceneries of art and nature, in beautiful gondolas, while their
surface and borders may be covered with fine land and aquatic
birds. The walks may be covered with porticos adorned with
magnificent columns, statues, and sculptural works; all of vitrified
substance, and lasting forever, while the beauties of nature around
heighten the magnificence and deliciousness.
“The night affords no less delight to fancy and feelings. An infinite
variety of grand, beautiful and fanciful objects and sceneries,
radiating with crystalline brilliancy, by the illumination of gas-light;
the human figures themselves, arrayed in the most beautiful pomp
fancy may suggest, or the eye desire, shining even with brilliancy of
stuffs and diamonds, like stones of various colors, elegantly shaped
and arranged around the body; all reflected a thousand-fold in huge
mirrors and reflectors of various forms; theatrical scenes of a
grandeur and magnificence, and enrapturing illusions, unknown yet,
in which any person may be either a spectator or an actor; the
speech and the songs reverberating with increased sound, rendered
more sonorous and harmonious than by nature, by vaultings that are
moveable into any shape at any time; the sweetest and most
impressive harmony of music, produced by song and instruments
partly not known yet, may thrill through the nerves and vary with
other amusements and delights.
“At night the roof, and the inside and outside of the whole square,
are illuminated by gas-light, which in the mazes of many-colored
crystal-like colonnades and vaultings, is reflected with a brilliancy
that gives to the whole a lustre of precious stones, as far as the eye
can see. Such are the future abodes of men. . . . Such is the life
reserved to true intelligence, but withheld from ignorance, prejudice,
and stupid adherence to custom.” ... “Such is the domestic life to be
enjoyed by every human individual that will partake of it. Love and
affection may there be fostered and enjoyed without any of the
obstructions that oppose, diminish, and destroy them in the present
state of men.” ... “It would be as ridiculous, then, to dispute and
quarrel about the means of life, as it would be now about water to
drink along mighty rivers, or about the permission to breathe air in
the atmosphere, or about sticks in our extensive woods.”
Thus is Paradise to be Regained, and that old and stern decree at
length reversed. Man shall no more earn his living by the sweat of
his brow. All labor shall be reduced to “a short turn of some crank,”
and “taking the finished article away.” But there is a crank,—oh, how
hard to be turned! Could there not be a crank upon a crank,—an
infinitely small crank?—we would fain inquire. No,—alas! not. But
there is a certain divine energy in every man, but sparingly
employed as yet, which may be called the crank within,—the crank
after all,—the prime mover in all machinery,—quite indispensable to
all work. Would that we might get our hands on its handle! In fact
no work can be shirked. It may be postponed indefinitely, but not
infinitely. Nor can any really important work be made easier by co-
operation or machinery. Not one particle of labor now threatening
any man can be routed without being performed. It cannot be
hunted out of the vicinity like jackals and hyenas. It will not run. You
may begin by sawing the little sticks, or you may saw the great
sticks first, but sooner or later you must saw them both.
We will not be imposed upon by this vast application of forces. We
believe that most things will have to be accomplished still by the
application called Industry. We are rather pleased after all to
consider the small private, but both constant and accumulated force,
which stands behind every spade in the field. This it is that makes
the valleys shine, and the deserts really bloom. Sometimes, we
confess, we are so degenerate as to reflect with pleasure on the
days when men were yoked like cattle, and drew a crooked stick for
a plough. After all, the great interests and methods were the same.
It is a rather serious objection to Mr. Etzler’s schemes, that they
require time, men, and money, three very superfluous and
inconvenient things for an honest and well-disposed man to deal
with. “The whole world,” he tells us, “might therefore be really
changed into a paradise, within less than ten years, commencing
from the first year of an association for the purpose of constructing
and applying the machinery.” We are sensible of a startling
incongruity when time and money are mentioned in this connection.
The ten years which are proposed would be a tedious while to wait,
if every man were at his post and did his duty, but quite too short a
period, if we are to take time for it. But this fault is by no means
peculiar to Mr. Etzler’s schemes. There is far too much hurry and
bustle, and too little patience and privacy, in all our methods, as if
something were to be accomplished in centuries. The true reformer
does not want time, nor money, nor co-operation, nor advice. What
is time but the stuff delay is made of? And depend upon it, our
virtue will not live on the interest of our money. He expects no
income, but our outgoes; so soon as we begin to count the cost the
cost begins. And as for advice, the information floating in the
atmosphere of society is as evanescent and unserviceable to him as
gossamer for clubs of Hercules. There is absolutely no common
sense; it is common nonsense. If we are to risk a cent or a drop of
our blood, who then shall advise us? For ourselves, we are too
young for experience. Who is old enough? We are older by faith than
by experience. In the unbending of the arm to do the deed there is
experience worth all the maxims in the world.
“It will now be plainly seen that the execution of the proposals is
not proper for individuals. Whether it be proper for government at
this time, before the subject has become popular, is a question to be
decided; all that is to be done, is to step forth, after mature
reflection, to confess loudly one’s conviction, and to constitute
societies. Man is powerful but in union with many. Nothing great, for
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