“Your confidence in human wit is commendable2 from a patriotic3 point of view,” returned the Professor, “but for this particular occasion it is not entirely4 justified5. The fact is that not many years ago your race in North America and Europe had so crowded upon its conditions of comfortable existence that it was in imminent6 danger of a disastrous,[183] if not total collapse7. The efforts then made to prevent this, resulted almost in the disorganization of society to such an extent that a collapse from this cause was seriously threatened. Your race and nation have been saved from such collapse and a repetition of one of its numerous relapses into barbarism, not, however, by human wit this time, but by the wisdom and generosity8 of the race I have the honor to represent.”
“What! the Lunarians?”
“The same. Our people saw the straits to which the human family was reduced, and willing that it should be spared the distress9 that they had been compelled to undergo before the discovery of the means of protection against themselves, they sent messengers to earth with the necessary facts and instructions.”
“I am amazed, and gratified,” said I, “for this signal proof that benevolence10 is not confined to any one world or race; but I am impatient to know what this wonderful and essential secret is, that defied the penetration11 of the wise of my own race.”
“Our belief,” said he, “is that it would not always have eluded12 them, but they would have failed to apprehend13 it in time to save the race from present disaster. The Lunarians have always taken a deep interest in Mundane14 affairs, and have given many hints to man, some of which have been acted upon with good results. But many others could not be properly acted on or even fairly understood, because the education of your race had not prepared them for it. We are often tempted15 to exclaim “what a stupid race.” But then we remember[184] how very young and immature16 you are, and we remember too that once we were in a like state of infancy17 ourselves, and so we exercise charity.”
“But what was the secret you told us?—I am anxious to learn at once, lest some accident shall forever bar my opportunity.”
“Well the secret is the simplest thing in the world, and your scientists have been reproaching themselves all over the earth for not having discovered it themselves. In fact, as they say, they did discover all around it when they lit upon the “Option of Sex.” It is simply the conditions for the production at will of the Third Sex.”
“Yes the Third Sex. I prefer that name, though some have called it the neuter sex, others name it the Double Sex, or the Epicene or Common Sex, others the Hermes-Aphrodite. In some respects it is all of these, or either, or neither. But it is at any rate Third. I am not going to give you the recipe,” said he, “for if I do, when you leave here, and now and go back to the Nineteenth Century, you will be sure to let out the secret prematurely19 by two hundred years. But I can say that the development of the third sex is in reality no development at all, but an arrest of development, at a particular prenatal period. If you are informed in the science of embryology, you know that in the earliest stage of the embryos21 of all sexual animals, the sex is not determined22, and at that stage there is nothing to distinguish whether the coming individual is to be male or female. It possesses possibilities[185] of either and therefore the germs of both. At a second stage the elements of the essential organs of both sexes are developed in each individual and then the individual is both male and female, but not fully23 matured or developed. At the third stage the organs distinguishing one of the sexes are carried forward to functional24 perfection, while those pertaining25 to the other, are not developed any further, and in some cases are partly undone26 again. Now if the developement of the embryonic27 sexual organs be arrested during the second stage of growth or before it, the individual will be neither male nor female, but will belong to the third sex. The manner in which this arrest can be accomplished28 is the secret we imparted to you 20 years ago, and by means of which the important problem of the control of population can be solved by you as it was long ago done by us.”
“Then you have the three sexes in the moon?”
“We have had them for many ages, in fact, we would not know how to exist if we had but two.”
“It is a wonder to me how you ever could have fallen upon so wonderful an arcanum—that nature seems to be carefully hiding from us.”
“Nature dropped the hint in this as in so many others of our discoveries. There were occasional examples of the third sex produced by nature and born into life, as there have been in the case of the human race as you must know. These examples excited curiosity, which led to the discovery, that they were due to arrested development. Further investigation29 and experiment showed this arrest to[186] be due to deprivation30 of a certain class of food, or rather of food in a certain dynamic condition, that is, under certain electric tensions. This condition again depends on the molecular31 structure of the food elements. When the food is deprived of the constituent32 plastidules[2] required for the nourishment33 and development of the tissues composing the embryo20 organs of sex; these tissues do not mature. And since the emasculation or invalidation of the food does not extend to, or affect the process of assimilation of the same nourishment by the other tissues, such as muscle, brain, nerve, bone, etc., the individual is built up to a symmetrically sexless maturity34. And the development of sex is said to be arrested.
“If your people had been as wise as the bees they would have known how to produce the third sex simply as the bees do by supplying the appropriate sort of nutriment; for they, from the same sort of an egg, produce either a queen, a drone or a worker, the latter being of the neuter or third sex; simply by variations in the food and treatment.
“It is said, that it was by observing and following such hints as these that our ancestors learned how to produce the same results the bees have accomplished.”
While the Professor was making this explanation, the question arose in my mind whether this discovery, surprising as it was, was sufficient to rectify35 the ills that our race had encountered. Would there not be some unforeseen drawback as[187] there had proved to be to the other schemes, that would neutralize36 the anticipated benefits, or work another disaster as great as the one it was intended to cure. Was the third sex in itself a desirable or happy kind of condition to have. The contemplation of this subject, at first repulsive37; when viewed philosophically39 becomes exceedingly interesting as one of the curious flights of nature. It is true that the specimens40 of these people she has furnished us on earth, we have commonly regarded as unhappy monstrosities.—But that is no doubt due to ignorance and prejudice, and to the anomalous41 conditions into which they are born. I expressed myself somewhat in accordance with these reflections, after which the Professor with some hesitation42 proceeded.
“In your day the family was spoken of as the basis and the bond of society; and by the family was meant a father and mother and a brood of children, all living together and working and caring for each other. The family was the laboratory for the creation and preparation of the citizens of the state. As an instrument for the education and development of the young citizens it was discovered to be, in civil life, inefficient44 and costly45 very unequal in its results and entailing46 an unequal and unjust distribution of its burdens. The state gradually assumed one after another of these former family duties and burdens in the rearing and development of the young, and in doing so, gradually disintegrated47 the family until there was nothing left of it except a pair of people, a man and a woman. But in this the state only consummated48 a[188] process that had been begun generations before by the invention of labor43 saving machinery49. The family of your day was already a very much dwindled50 affair, compared with that of ancient times. Then the members of the family made for themselves their clothing and everything they required and they constituted a military body of which the father was the chief. But when machinery and gunpowder51 were invented, labor and employment, in both peace and war, became specialized52, and in the division of labor that followed, families were gradually separated so as to use the labor of their individual components53 to greater advantage and new combinations were formed that crossed and obliterated54 family lines.
“When the families gave up their children to the state to be brought up, it was a continuation of the same process in accordance with the eternal law of economy, and because the machinery of the state for the care of the young was so much better and cheaper than that of the family, that the latter could no longer compete. When this was accomplished the family had lost every function that had ever made it a necessary or important subdivision of society.
“In former times the state of celibacy55 was regarded as censurable56 and blameworthy, because the unmarried by failing to raise and provide for a family of children were considered as shirking out of a duty they owed to society. But when it was no longer the business of individuals to provide for the growing citizens, it became a matter of total indifference57 to the general public whether one was[189] married or not. It became unimportant to the public to know even of what sex any individual might be, and the ancient laws that required the sex to be advertised by their clothes, were repealed58 and everybody was allowed to dress according to the demands of their business or their fancy. All artificial distinctions of sex such as employment, civil rights and dress were abolished, and the personal pronouns and titles of address that recognized sex were of necessity dropped out of the languages. These things have already transpired59 in your country and in all the more advanced countries of the world and this has prepared the people to view the introduction of the third sex with philosophical38 interest and appreciation60, instead of vulgar and unreasoning prejudice. You must make allowance for the advance people have made since your day in education and the comprehensiveness of their views. The third sex was looked upon in your day as a monstrosity, because it was rare. Did they regard a seedless orange or lemon or grape as a monstrosity? If you had ever seen a horse with three toes on each foot you would have called him a monstrosity, but the time was as you know, when the horse commonly had three toes and the monstrosity was the animal with only one, such as you regarded in your day as a perfect model of beauty and utility.
“Your race will not regard the third sex with aversion or depreciation61 when they understand its relations and experience its value.”
“Please tell me,” said I, “what the relations of this sex to the others will be. I suppose of[190] course it will be subordinate to the others, especially the male.”
“Well,” he replied, “your experience in this matter will closely follow ours. As it is in Luna, so it is beginning to be on earth. You are greatly mistaken in supposing our sex to be subordinate to another.”
At the expression “our sex,” I involuntarily gave the Professor a surprised glance.
“Then your affiliations62 are with that sex?”
“I have indeed that honor.”
I was greatly astonished at this avowal63 and was greatly mortified64 to reflect that I had unwittingly said things that must have hurt his feelings, although he gave no sign of being in the least offended. I began an embarrassed apology, but he silenced me by a deprecatory wave of his right joker. He appeared amused rather than offended and evidently excused my unlucky observations as due to the ignorance and inexperience of the human race; which indeed, they were. I am now in doubt about the propriety65 of these masculine personal pronouns that I have applied66 when speaking of him but I shall continue to use them for I do not know what sort to substitute for them; certainly none of less dignity would seem appropriate to so dignified67 and noble a personage.
“In the moon,” the Professor went on, “there is perfect equality between all individuals, regardless of the sex. But the third sex is numerically far the largest and in case of disagreement would easily dominate the other two. But there is and has been from time immemorial perfect harmony[191] as between the sexes, their functions being of necessity complemental68 and in no way antagonistic69. The most responsible places in the state, and the leadership in education, in religion, in public works, engineering and architecture as well as almost all the common occupations, such as manufacturing and storing goods, agriculture etc., are in the hands of the third sex. They are preeminently people of affairs, and for most occupations are decidedly superior to the other sexes, because they are less liable to be distracted from their chosen occupations.
“The males and females generally marry and then their first duties are to each other, otherwise they are employed like the third sex people.
“Married people are desired to conform to the policy of the State Bureau of Population in regard to the distinctions required by it. Otherwise they are under no restriction70 or obligation. The population is thus kept uniform or increased or diminished in an almost exact and scientific manner. As I have already informed you, all Lunarians are by nature industrious71 and they take the keenest sort of pleasure in their work. Nevertheless they also play and amuse themselves, and devote much time to intellectual occupations. They have numerous societies and clubs, and the third sex people in particular are organized into associations for said purposes. So are the others also, but their club life is more or less interrupted and broken up by their connubial72 relations and duties. The third sex people are distinguished73 for their personal friendships which are very close intimate and tender and of life long constancy. These friendships[192] founded on compatibility of character, similarity of tastes and pursuits the subtile attractions of reciprocal intellectual and spiritual qualities, we regard as finer, more elevated, more noble, more exquisite74 and more absorbing than the unions formed on the basis of sexual attractions, and they are notably75 more permanent.”
“Then,” said I, “you have no jealousies76 of the other sexes—no envy?”
“Why should we have when it is plain we are as happy—we think happier—than they? We would not change places with them, any sooner than you would with a fish, because it can dive into depths you cannot penetrate77, or a bird, because it can soar where you cannot. You know you would lose by the exchange. In a society where there are no artificial distinctions on account of sex it is not possible to find any one who would willingly exchange with another. Why should not a non-marrying sex be happy? Do you not remember that one of the great teachers of earth declared that in the kingdom of heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage? Certainly the third sex is in a better condition to comply with this celestial78 regulation than either of the others. The same great teacher was apparently79 so impressed with the superior conditions for happiness possessed80 by the third sex that he recommended to those of his followers81 who were able to receive it, to attach themselves to that sex by artificial means[3], and not a[193] few of them have from time to time attempted to do so. But there is a vast difference between the artificial and the natural, the spurious and the genuine. Those who are of the third sex by natural development, are formed symmetrically; the brain and the mind depending on it, with its desires and aversions are formed in unison82 and harmony with the other bodily parts and organs.
“The same causes that suppress the formation of the latter also prevent the development of the corresponding pieces of brain and mind. There is therefore no clash between mind and body, no mental instincts that the body is physically83 disqualified from executing. The artificial imitation on the other hand is a mutilate. His symmetry and balance are destroyed because he retains a sexual brain and mind. He is out of harmony with himself, necessarily unhappy, and often a wretch84.
“Intellectually the third sex is superior to the others. It is less emotional, more cool, dispassionate, patient and rational. It is more gentle and sympathetic, yet more firm in its conclusions and persistent85 in its purposes. In size it is between the other sexes the male being the largest—as with you—and from the same cause, polygamy, which as in your case, was practiced by our ancestors. But our sex is physically finer, stronger, more wiry and tough, more skillful in all the arts of life and twenty-five per cent longer lived than the others. In short we possess all the good qualities of the others in an increased degree, as if the material that nature saved by the suppression of sexual[194] qualities, she used for the purpose of re-inforcing and augmenting86 the remaining ones.
“You are I think now enabled to judge what your third sex is like, that is just now being introduced as an active factor in human affairs. Your race is now for the first time in its history, able in a perfectly87 scientific manner, to defend itself against its own encroachments. Your long looked for millennium88 dates from this very moment—the practical introduction of this new factor. The disorders89 of the past half century that seemed to many to mark the beginning of a chaotic90 anarchy91 in reality mark its termination. From this time forward, law and liberty will gradually grow together until, at a period long before the end of this millennium, they will precisely92 coincide. Things will not be perfect at first. Men will learn better every day how to live and every day will subjugate93 more and more of the energies and materials of nature to their own ends. The millennium that begins now will be succeeded by ninety-nine more before your race will have passed its high tide and begun its final ebb94.”
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1
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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mundane
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| adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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embryo
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| n.胚胎，萌芽的事物 | |
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embryos
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| n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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functional
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| adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的 | |
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pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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embryonic
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| adj.胚胎的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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deprivation
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| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
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molecular
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| adj.分子的；克分子的 | |
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constituent
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| n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的 | |
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nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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rectify
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| v.订正，矫正，改正 | |
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neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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anomalous
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| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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entailing
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| 使…成为必要( entail的现在分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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disintegrated
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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consummated
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| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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specialized
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| adj.专门的，专业化的 | |
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components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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54
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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celibacy
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| n.独身(主义) | |
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censurable
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| adj.可非难的，该责备的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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repealed
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| 撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 | |
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affiliations
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| n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳 | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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complemental
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| 补足的，补充的 | |
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antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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70
restriction
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| n.限制，约束 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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connubial
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| adj.婚姻的，夫妇的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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augmenting
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| 使扩张 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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millennium
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| n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世 | |
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disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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subjugate
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| v.征服；抑制 | |
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ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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