"The sea!" I cried.
"Yes," my uncle replied, "the Liedenbrock Sea; and I don't suppose any other discoverer will ever dispute my claim to name it after myself as its first discoverer."
A vast sheet of water, the commencement of a lake or an ocean, spread far away beyond the range of the eye, reminding me forcibly of that open sea which drew from Xenophon's ten thousand Greeks, after their long retreat, the simultaneous cry, "Thalatta! thalatta!" the sea! the sea! The deeply indented1 shore was lined with a breadth of fine shining sand, softly lapped by the waves, and strewn with the small shells which had been inhabited by the first of created beings. The waves broke on this shore with the hollow echoing murmur2 peculiar3 to vast inclosed spaces. A light foam4 flew over the waves before the breath of a moderate breeze, and some of the spray fell upon my face. On this slightly inclining shore, about a hundred fathoms5 from the limit of the waves, came down the foot of a huge wall of vast cliffs, which rose majestically6 to an enormous height. Some of these, dividing the beach with their sharp spurs, formed capes7 and promontories8, worn away by the ceaseless action of the surf. Farther on the eye discerned their massive outline sharply defined against the hazy9 distant horizon.
It was quite an ocean, with the irregular shores of earth, but desert and frightfully wild in appearance.
If my eyes were able to range afar over this great sea, it was because a peculiar light brought to view every detail of it. It was not the light of the sun, with his dazzling shafts10 of brightness and the splendour of his rays; nor was it the pale and uncertain shimmer11 of the moonbeams, the dim reflection of a nobler body of light. No; the illuminating12 power of this light, its trembling diffusiveness, its bright, clear whiteness, and its low temperature, showed that it must be of electric origin. It was like an aurora13 borealis, a continuous cosmical phenomenon, filling a cavern14 of sufficient extent to contain an ocean.
The vault15 that spanned the space above, the sky, if it could be called so, seemed composed of vast plains of cloud, shifting and variable vapours, which by their condensation16 must at certain times fall in torrents17 of rain. I should have thought that under so powerful a pressure of the atmosphere there could be no evaporation18; and yet, under a law unknown to me, there were broad tracts19 of vapour suspended in the air. But then 'the weather was fine.' The play of the electric light produced singular effects upon the upper strata20 of cloud. Deep shadows reposed21 upon their lower wreaths; and often, between two separated fields of cloud, there glided22 down a ray of unspeakable lustre23. But it was not solar light, and there was no heat. The general effect was sad, supremely24 melancholy25. Instead of the shining firmament26, spangled with its innumerable stars, shining singly or in clusters, I felt that all these subdued27 and shaded lights were ribbed in by vast walls of granite28, which seemed to overpower me with their weight, and that all this space, great as it was, would not be enough for the march of the humblest of satellites.
Then I remembered the theory of an English captain, who likened the earth to a vast hollow sphere, in the interior of which the air became luminous30 because of the vast pressure that weighed upon it; while two stars, Pluto31 and Proserpine, rolled within upon the circuit of their mysterious orbits.
We were in reality shut up inside an immeasurable excavation32. Its width could not be estimated, since the shore ran widening as far as eye could reach, nor could its length, for the dim horizon bounded the new. As for its height, it must have been several leagues. Where this vault rested upon its granite base no eye could tell; but there was a cloud hanging far above, the height of which we estimated at 12,000 feet, a greater height than that of any terrestrial vapour, and no doubt due to the great density33 of the air.
The word cavern does not convey any idea of this immense space; words of human tongue are inadequate34 to describe the discoveries of him who ventures into the deep abysses of earth.
Besides I could not tell upon what geological theory to account for the existence of such an excavation. Had the cooling of the globe produced it? I knew of celebrated35 caverns36 from the descriptions of travellers, but had never heard of any of such dimensions as this.
If the grotto37 of Guachara, in Colombia, visited by Humboldt, had not given up the whole of the secret of its depth to the philosopher, who investigated it to the depth of 2,500 feet, it probably did not extend much farther. The immense mammoth38 cave in Kentucky is of gigantic proportions, since its vaulted39 roof rises five hundred feet [1] above the level of an unfathomable lake and travellers have explored its ramifications40 to the extent of forty miles. But what were these cavities compared to that in which I stood with wonder and admiration41, with its sky of luminous vapours, its bursts of electric light, and a vast sea filling its bed? My imagination fell powerless before such immensity.
I gazed upon these wonders in silence. Words failed me to express my feelings. I felt as if I was in some distant planet Uranus42 or Neptune—and in the presence of phenomena43 of which my terrestrial experience gave me no cognisance. For such novel sensations, new words were wanted; and my imagination failed to supply them. I gazed, I thought, I admired, with a stupefaction mingled44 with a certain amount of fear.
The unforeseen nature of this spectacle brought back the colour to my cheeks. I was under a new course of treatment with the aid of astonishment45, and my convalescence46 was promoted by this novel system of therapeutics; besides, the dense47 and breezy air invigorated me, supplying more oxygen to my lungs.
It will be easily conceived that after an imprisonment48 of forty seven days in a narrow gallery it was the height of physical enjoyment49 to breathe a moist air impregnated with saline particles.
[1] One hundred and twenty. (Trans.)
I was delighted to leave my dark grotto. My uncle, already familiar with these wonders, had ceased to feel surprise.
"You feel strong enough to walk a little way now?" he asked.
"Yes, certainly; and nothing could be more delightful50."
I eagerly accepted, and we began to coast along this new sea. On the left huge pyramids of rock, piled one upon another, produced a prodigious52 titanic53 effect. Down their sides flowed numberless waterfalls, which went on their way in brawling54 but pellucid55 streams. A few light vapours, leaping from rock to rock, denoted the place of hot springs; and streams flowed softly down to the common basin, gliding56 down the gentle slopes with a softer murmur.
Amongst these streams I recognised our faithful travelling companion, the Hansbach, coming to lose its little volume quietly in the mighty57 sea, just as if it had done nothing else since the beginning of the world.
"We shall see it no more," I said, with a sigh.
"What matters," replied the philosopher, "whether this or another serves to guide us?"
I thought him rather ungrateful.
But at that moment my attention was drawn58 to an unexpected sight. At a distance of five hundred paces, at the turn of a high promontory59, appeared a high, tufted, dense forest. It was composed of trees of moderate height, formed like umbrellas, with exact geometrical outlines. The currents of wind seemed to have had no effect upon their shape, and in the midst of the windy blasts they stood unmoved and firm, just like a clump60 of petrified61 cedars62.
I hastened forward. I could not give any name to these singular creations. Were they some of the two hundred thousand species of vegetables known hitherto, and did they claim a place of their own in the lacustrine flora63? No; when we arrived under their shade my surprise turned into admiration. There stood before me productions of earth, but of gigantic stature64, which my uncle immediately named.
"It is only a forest of mushrooms," said he.
And he was right. Imagine the large development attained65 by these plants, which prefer a warm, moist climate. I knew that the Lycopodon giganteum attains66, according to Bulliard, a circumference67 of eight or nine feet; but here were pale mushrooms, thirty to forty feet high, and crowned with a cap of equal diameter. There they stood in thousands. No light could penetrate68 between their huge cones69, and complete darkness reigned70 beneath those giants; they formed settlements of domes71 placed in close array like the round, thatched roofs of a central African city.
Yet I wanted to penetrate farther underneath72, though a chill fell upon me as soon as I came under those cellular73 vaults74. For half an hour we wandered from side to side in the damp shades, and it was a comfortable and pleasant change to arrive once more upon the sea shore.
But the subterranean75 vegetation was not confined to these fungi76. Farther on rose groups of tall trees of colourless foliage77 and easy to recognise. They were lowly shrubs78 of earth, here attaining79 gigantic size; lycopodiums, a hundred feet high; the huge sigillaria, found in our coal mines; tree ferns, as tall as our fir-trees in northern latitudes80; lepidodendra, with cylindrical81 forked stems, terminated by long leaves, and bristling82 with rough hairs like those of the cactus83.
"Wonderful, magnificent, splendid!" cried my uncle. "Here is the entire flora of the second period of the world—the transition period. These, humble29 garden plants with us, were tall trees in the early ages. Look, Axel, and admire it all. Never had botanist84 such a feast as this!"
"You are right, my uncle. Providence85 seems to have preserved in this immense conservatory86 the antediluvian87 plants which the wisdom of philosophers has so sagaciously put together again."
"It is a conservatory, Axel; but is it not also a menagerie?"
"Surely not a menagerie!"
"So there are!" I cried; "bones of extinct animals."
I had rushed upon these remains89, formed of indestructible phosphates of lime, and without hesitation90 I named these monstrous91 bones, which lay scattered about like decayed trunks of trees.
"Here is the lower jaw92 of a mastodon," [1] I said. "These are the molar teeth of the deinotherium; this femur must have belonged to the greatest of those beasts, the megatherium. It certainly is a menagerie, for these remains were not brought here by a deluge93. The animals to which they belonged roamed on the shores of this subterranean sea, under the shade of those arborescent trees. Here are entire skeletons. And yet I cannot understand the appearance of these quadrupeds in a granite cavern."
[1] These animals belonged to a late geological period, the Pliocene, just before the glacial epoch94, and therefore could have no connection with the carboniferous vegetation. (Trans.)
"Why?"
"Because animal life existed upon the earth only in the secondary period, when a sediment95 of soil had been deposited by the rivers, and taken the place of the incandescent96 rocks of the primitive97 period."
"What! at such a depth below the surface of the earth?"
"No doubt; and there is a geological explanation of the fact. At a certain period the earth consisted only of an elastic99 crust or bark, alternately acted on by forces from above or below, according to the laws of attraction and gravitation. Probably there were subsidences of the outer crust, when a portion of the sedimentary deposits was carried down sudden openings."
"That may be," I replied; "but if there have been creatures now extinct in these underground regions, why may not some of those monsters be now roaming through these gloomy forests, or hidden behind the steep crags?"
And as this unpleasant notion got hold of me, I surveyed with anxious scrutiny100 the open spaces before me; but no living creature appeared upon the barren strand101.
I felt rather tired, and went to sit down at the end of a promontory, at the foot of which the waves came and beat themselves into spray. Thence my eye could sweep every part of the bay; within its extremity102 a little harbour was formed between the pyramidal cliffs, where the still waters slept untouched by the boisterous103 winds. A brig and two or three schooners104 might have moored105 within it in safety. I almost fancied I should presently see some ship issue from it, full sail, and take to the open sea under the southern breeze.
But this illusion lasted a very short time. We were the only living creatures in this subterranean world. When the wind lulled106, a deeper silence than that of the deserts fell upon the arid107, naked rocks, and weighed upon the surface of the ocean. I then desired to pierce the distant haze108, and to rend109 asunder110 the mysterious curtain that hung across the horizon. Anxious queries111 arose to my lips. Where did that sea terminate? Where did it lead to? Should we ever know anything about its opposite shores?
My uncle made no doubt about it at all; I both desired and feared.
After spending an hour in the contemplation of this marvellous spectacle, we returned to the shore to regain112 the grotto, and I fell asleep in the midst of the strangest thoughts.
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1
indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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promontories
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| n.岬，隆起，海角( promontory的名词复数 ) | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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10
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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11
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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12
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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13
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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15
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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16
condensation
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| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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evaporation
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| n.蒸发，消失 | |
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19
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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21
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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23
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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29
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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Pluto
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| n.冥王星 | |
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excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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40
ramifications
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| n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 ) | |
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41
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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42
Uranus
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| n.天王星 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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44
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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45
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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46
convalescence
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| n.病后康复期 | |
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47
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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48
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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49
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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50
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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51
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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52
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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53
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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54
brawling
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| n.争吵，喧嚷 | |
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55
pellucid
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| adj.透明的，简单的 | |
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56
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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57
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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58
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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59
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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60
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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61
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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62
cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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63
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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64
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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65
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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66
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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67
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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68
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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69
cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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70
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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71
domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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72
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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cellular
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| adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的 | |
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74
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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76
fungi
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| n.真菌，霉菌 | |
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77
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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78
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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79
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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80
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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cactus
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| n.仙人掌 | |
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botanist
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| n.植物学家 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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antediluvian
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| adj.史前的，陈旧的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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sediment
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| n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物) | |
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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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alluvial
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| adj.冲积的；淤积的 | |
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elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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101
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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109
rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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