The Saturn
Presentation of this planet and its moons, including ring and creatures
- Chapter 33 -
The Saturnian human beings. Their origin, population density and housing conditions.
Much has already been said about the humans on Saturn. Regardless of that, much more remains to be said about the masters of this celestial body, in order for you to learn in what kind of order this planet exists and whose Spirit's child it is.
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Since a good order is at all times and everywhere the basis of all wisdom, we shall therefore observe here a human being in a good order first of all, in his externally-shaped being and then his spiritual existence and everything that enters into the region of the spiritual, such as his country's constitution, his trade and his divine service. Now we shall begin with the physical shape of the Saturnian human being.
3
Was there only one human couple on Saturn, or were there at the same time at various places several human couples created? All human beings that now live on Saturn originate from one human couple; this applies to all planets just as it applies to earth. The history of the Saturnites is more than one million earth years older than the history of human beings on earth.
4
A Saturnite throughout his entire life has rarely more than four descendants with his wife; it should be understandable when I say that this planet, in proportion to earth, is by many times less populated than earth. On the large continental countries, of which several are larger in area than Asia, Africa and Europe, human beings very seldom live in a neighborly way next to each other. This situation that exists in your villages on earth belongs to one of the greatest rarities on Saturn.
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If a human being from earth were somehow able to travel to one of these continents, the dwellings of the people on Saturn are so far apart that it would take him at least ten to twelve days to travel from one to another. In the mountains these distances from one dwelling to another or from one neighbor to another are the rule rather than the exception, whereas in the lower-lying regions, which are next to the lakes and rivers, the dwellings of the Saturnites are closer together.
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Wherever you find such an abode, there are not only a few human beings, but an entire family which usually numbers anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people.
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How large are their dwellings that they can accommodate so many people? It should be mentioned that the Saturnites prefer to have plenty of space. As far as their accommodation is concerned, this was mentioned right at the beginning with the description of the sun tree (gliuba). It was also mentioned that this tree is their house, one which they prefer to all others. Therefore I do not have to describe the peculiar shape of this tree again, other than to remind you that it is an extraordinary tree with many trunks, and that on its wide branches, which almost always run in a horizontal manner, the people build their dwellings.
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Such a tree is as significant on Saturn as an important city on earth. The patriarch of such a large family assigns the individual branches and side trunks to the individual family and it then becomes their own property, just like a house in your cities. The difference here, however, is that the people who live in this tree city are all blood relatives, while in your cities anyone who has the financial means can purchase a house right next to you.
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You might ask yourself: How can these people sleep on these branches? If they turn around during their sleep will they not fall out of the trees? The possibility of this happening would be much greater if you were simply to turn around in your bed. Because these horizontal outward-bound branches are so thick and wide that on a single branch there is enough room for every house in your , and there would still be enough room to drive and ride around.
10
Besides that, there are a large number of smaller branches growing in a horizontal parallel direction from the wide edges of each of these large branches; they are the actual carriers of the fruit of this tree. Closer to the trunk these smaller branches are of significant strength; they are so strong that if a human being would walk, stand or lie beyond the edge of the branch he would not fall off the tree. Let us assume that despite these smaller branches it happens that someone walks carelessly beyond them and falls to the ground, or from a higher branch to a lower branch; this person would not sustain any injury from such a fall. The reason for this is already known to you, and has been mentioned in a previous chapter: On Saturn, through the existing attraction between the actual planet and the ring, the specific weight of any given body, including the body of a human being, is significantly reduced. Therefore, nobody on Saturn will be able to fall with the same severity as someone on earth.
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The above explanation is the reason for this occurrence and should completely satisfy the inquisitive mind in this respect. As long as this planet has been populated by human beings, no one has ever broken a leg or an arm during his lifetime, and nobody has injured his head or sustained a hole in his head through a fall, which of course happens quite often on earth.
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The question now arises: Is this tree the only dwelling the Saturnites call home? The answer is no. Besides these main tree dwellings, they have various other dwellings, which are occupied during the cool shadow time.
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These houses are built in various ways. Some are built from the strong branches of the pyramid tree, while others are grown from the species of the more slender trees. The houses that are grown, or living house, are superior to those which are built. However, they always build houses between those which are grown, because they serve as storage for their food.
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They also only make a fire in those houses which they build, where they cook, boil and roast their various food, though not in the same clever and artificial manner as you do on earth, but more as you would bake an apple or cook pears, vegetables, and some of your good-tasting beets and roots. This is what the entire art of cooking consists of on Saturn. In these houses they also store their milk products as well as their precious berry juice containers.
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Nobody eats or sleeps in the houses that are built; that is always done in the houses that are grown, because it is unbearable for the Saturnites to remain for a longer period in the vicinity of a dead thing. That applies to a house which is built from trees that have been cut down as well as to dead human beings or animals. That is why houses built by the Saturnites are used exclusively as workshops and storage rooms.
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You would probably like to know how large such a manmade house is and also what it looks like. I can grant this wish. These houses are built in the form of a wreath, similar to the houses in the Austrian countryside, except they do not have any roofs; they are completely open towards the sky. For the Saturnites, the greatest atrocity is a house separated from heaven by a roof. They say that everything that comes from above unto the ground is a blessing from heaven, and therefore a blessing for the soil. And since they also live on the soil, why should they separate themselves and hide from the blessings of heaven? They are of the opinion that it is also a much greater benefit to them, since they are alive and therefore in much greater need of heaven's blessing than the soil of their earth, which they believe to be dead.
17
Now we know how their houses are built. Now all we need to know is their form and size. Usually these houses are built in the shape of a star, like a compass dial; however, these houses have sometimes 8, 16 or even 32 pointed tips, each of which forms a kind of separate section for food and drink. In the center of this round wide room is a round hearth where food is cooked. It is understood that the hearth is in proportion to the size of the Saturnites.
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In such a star-house the distance from one tip to the opposite tip, in accordance with your earthly measurements, would take one hour if you walked it in good stride. As far as the height of this house is concerned, every person on Saturn that is as tall as a man can easily look over the walls of this house.
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Are these houses decorated in any way? No, other than that the people adorn them with the foliage of the trees they cut down to build them with. That is everything in regards to these houses.
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Since we have learned that the houses they build are the actual farm, kitchen and storage buildings of the people on Saturn, we shall now take a closer look at their living domiciles.
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What is the form of these live domiciles? Their external form is completely round, with one entrance from the morning (east). Only two different kinds of species of trees are used to build or, rather, grow these houses. The more beautiful and more magnificent houses are grown with the well-known mirror trees (ubra) planted closely together; the houses that are less beautiful and less magnificent are grown with the wall tree (brak), not the common kind but the cultivated wall tree.
22
The inside floor of these houses is made completely level. Grass seeds are sown on this floor, from which a very short but extremely thick grass grows, like a thick carpet. This grass has the appearance of velvet and is so resilient that, when someone walks on it, it immediately springs back to its original state.
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In the center of the house is a large, round and proportionately high hearth, which is covered on all sides with the same grass. So that you have an idea of the size, circumference and height of this hearth, I can tell you that it has a diameter of roughly 540 feet and a height that reaches above the knees, even halfway up to the thighs of a Saturnian man.
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What purpose does this hearth serve? It serves the Saturnites in the same manner as do tables on earth, namely for food and drink.
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Not far from this hearth-table, at a distance of approximately 200 feet, there is a completely round pyramid, obtuse at the top, which at its base has approximately three times the diameter of the hearth. The space at the top of the pyramid is only large enough for a man to stand on conveniently. This pyramid has the height of a man and is covered with the same grass as the floor and hearth, and it serves as the family pulpit for the patriarch. Every day before sunset the eldest member of the family stands on this platform, whereupon the whole family gathers around in order to hear from him the will of the Great Spirit pertaining to the night and the entire following day.
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What other kinds of furnishings or facilities does such a house contain? Completely in the background, the entrance directly opposite the sunrise, there is another circular wall covered with the same grass. But it is not as high by far as the center pulpit; instead, it is considerably larger in circumference and with many moderate curvatures. What is the purpose of this third circular wall? This is the common bed or place of rest for our tall Saturnian humans.
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Before they go to sleep, they place soft pillows into the curvature close to the periphery of this circular wall and lean against one of these curvatures, each person having one such curvature. The men take their position, which faces the rising sun, and the women face the setting sun. All are resting with their bodies in a position that is 30° in earth measurements in relationship to the floor. That is how they fall asleep; they remain in this position until shortly before sunrise. In spite of the ring shadow they notice the sunrise, because the ring never covets the sun so completely that nothing can be seen of the sun. And should it happen at times that the ring is wider that it covers the sun completely, the duration of such cover never lasts longer than half a day; after that a small edge of the sun becomes visible again.
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These are all the furnishings which such a house contains which is occupied by the Saturnites during the time of the shadow. What is the size of such a house in regards to its circumference? The diameter is longer than the well-known star-like storage houses by more than half.
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Does the entire population of the large dwelling tree live in such a house? No, only one family, that is one father and one mother with their children and children's children, just as they live together on one branch of a tree during the light-time. There are as many man-made dwellings as there are branches on which the Saturnites live.
30
In such common family dwellings, the area around such a tree covers mostly more square miles than Styria (632,586 square miles). These dwellings are, as you know, at such a distance from each other that it would take many days' travel to reach another one. Around these dwellings are the grounds and grazing lands of the domesticated animals which you already know. These animals must have enough ground so that enough can be harvested for the maintenance of the life of the people on Saturn as well as the preservation of the animals. In addition to this, there are, at border regions of the common family properties, the large, far-expanding forests of the funnel trees, and on the large plains, especially on the northern side of large lakes, there are forests of pyramid trees covering areas of 2,000 to 3,000 square geographic miles, and there are also other large forests of shrubs. When you take all this into consideration as well, you will not be surprised that the distance between two common family dwellings is so far.
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Now we know how the people on Saturn dwell, especially those in the mountain regions. But we do not know anything about the rules or laws by which they govern their households. However, we examined those Saturnites and their dwellings who live in the mountainous areas. But before we turn to the people who live on the plains, we shall first examine, in the chapter that follows, the household constitution of the people of the highlands.