lated into English and German.

3.

As the motto of his prophetic vision Mercier takes the saying of
Leibnitz that "the present is pregnant of the future." Thus the phase of
civilisation which he imagines is proposed as the outcome of the natural
and inevitable march of history. The world of A.D. 2440 in which a man
born in the eighteenth century who has slept an enchanted sleep awakes
to find himself, is composed of nations who live in a family concord
rarely interrupted by war. But of the world at large we hear little;
the imagination of Mercier is concentrated on France, and particularly
Paris. He is satisfied with knowing that slavery has been abolished;
that the rivalry of France and England has been replaced by an
indestructible alliance; that the Pope, whose authority is still august,
has renounced his errors and returned to the customs of the primitive
Church; that French plays are performed in China. The changes in Paris
are a sufficient index of the general transformation.

The constitution of France is still monarchical. Its population has
increased by one half; that of the capital remains about the same. Paris
has been rebuilt on a scientific plan; its sanitary arrangements have
been brought to perfection; it is well lit; and every provision has been
made for the public safety. Private hospitality is so large that inns
have disappeared, but luxury at table is considered a revolting crime.
Tea, coffee, and tobacco are no longer imported. [Footnote: In the
first edition of the book commerce was abolished.] There is no system of
credit; everything is paid for in ready money, and this practice has
led to a remarkable simplicity in dress. Marriages are contracted only
through mutual inclination; dowries have been abolished. Education is
governed by the ideas of Rousseau, and is directed, in a narrow spirit,
to the promotion of morality. Italian, German, English, and Spanish
are taught in schools, but the study of the classical languages has
disappeared; Latin does not help a man to virtue. History too is
neglected and discouraged, for it is "the disgrace of humanity, every
page being crowded with crimes and follies." Theatres are government
institutions, and have become the public schools of civic duties and
morality. [Footnote: In 1769 Mercier began to carry out his programme of
composing and adapting plays for instruction and edification. His theory
of the true functions of the theatre he explained in a speci