The Ecotopia 2121 project was created under the influence of Thomas More's book Utopia, which recently celebrated its five hundredth anniversary. The word "utopia", derived from the Greek ou-topos, which means "nowhere", has come to mean unattainable ideal. Scientist and writer Alan Marshall, as part of a project, predicted the future of one hundred cities from around the world.
With the forecast that by the end of the 21st century, about 80% of the population will live in cities, it goes without saying that these cities can only survive if they take care of environment first among your priorities. Each city has its own heritage and culture, making their development scenarios deeply individual.
I present to you six cities of the future from the Ecotopia-2121 project, one from each inhabited continent.
Accra 2121
Accra, the capital of Ghana, is subjected to devastating floods. Under the influence of climate change, as well as uncontrolled construction and waste storage, the situation is getting even worse. In our imagined future, residents will build houses in trees above the flood level using scrap materials. Currently, Ghana has a critical level of deforestation, but in the future, residents will protect their homes from logging and oil companies and the forest will gradually recover.
London 2121
In the summer of 2121, during a period of economic decline, one hundred thousand pensioners, along with their grandchildren, will take to the streets of London to protest against cuts to pensions and education subsidies, blocking the entire city. By the end of the summer, despairing of waiting for an answer from the government, pensioners will take matters into their own hands. They will transform the center of London into an ecological village, occupying empty offices, planting squares and street corners, and engaging in environmentally friendly production. clean products. Their grandchildren, being nearby, will receive free education in the field of horticulture and gardening.
Los Angeles 2121
This Southern California city previously had an extensive network of streetcar lines, but car manufacturers conspired to systematically buy them out and close them. When the world's oil reserves are depleted by the end of the century, cars will become useless and streetcars will be able to return to the streets of Los Angeles. Unused highways can be turned into flowering alleys. These alleys, intended for pedestrians and cyclists, can also serve as ecological corridors, connecting islands of greenery with each other. Cars that are no longer needed can become building material, creating a special architectural style. People will begin to live in tightly knit small communities, and the city will no longer creep in breadth, capturing more and more new territories.
Rekohu 2121
Known in Western world like the Chatham Islands, Rekohu is an archipelago in Pacific Ocean, southeast of New Zealand. This is the homeland of the Moriori people, who wore albatross feathers in their hair as a sign of peace for five hundred years. In the nineteenth century, the archipelago was discovered by British sailors and Maori warriors from New Zealand. The sailors destroyed many wild animals and brought deadly diseases to which the Moriori had no immunity. The Maori then established their rule on the island, destroying or enslaving the remaining Moriori. However, they did not abandon their peace-loving ideas, and by 2121 their small capital in the lagoon will become home to a “peace school”, bringing the ideas of pacifism to the rest of the world.
Salto del Guaira 2121
The Guaira Falls along the Paraguay-Brazil border were a true natural wonder. The loud roar of its seven cascades was heard for many kilometers and long years The waterfall attracted tourists, fueling the economy of Paraguay and the nearby city of Salto del Guaira. In 1982, the Brazilian government blew up the rocks along which the waterfall flowed to create a reservoir for a hydroelectric power station. Many Paraguayans mourned their beloved waterfall. However, by 2121 the dam will collapse, and local residents will again become masters of their land. They will restore the waterfall and turn their home into a beautiful eco-city, once again attracting tourists from all over the world.
Tokyo 2121
After the explosion nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Tokyo, a wide radioactive cloud will envelop the city. All residents will be evacuated, with the exception of the most stubborn ones who remain to live in radiation-protected bunker houses. Everything these people eat and drink must be produced and processed within their homes. When going outside, they are forced to put on protective suits or “space suits.” But sudden depopulation also has its own bright side– Tokyo has ceased to be a noisy metropolis, stress-inducing from its residents. Revived and wild nature, albeit in a mutated form.
What is the essence of the Ecotopia-2121 project?
The six scenarios described above are just a small part of the hundreds of future cities created by Alan Marshall. Some will be pleased by such prospects, while others may be shocked. Part of the point of utopian scenarios is that they are provocative. If you like to imagine your future with self-driving cars and power atomic energy, then these scenarios are probably not for you. You would consider them a waste of time anyway. However, this is not idle fiction; the study of utopias is an active response to the technological plans of humanity, which arise annually in huge quantities. These fantasies allow us to think about how we should live on this planet in order to cause as little harm as possible to it through our activities.Thus, Kaku believes that by 2030 the world will have new type contact lenses - they will be able to access the Internet. Professor Babak Parviz from the University of Washington is already working on a prototype of such a device.
Various “spare parts” for human organisms. Today, the latest biotechnologies allow scientists to “grow” in laboratory conditions new cartilage, noses, ears, blood vessels, heart valves, bladders, etc. Stem cells containing the patient's DNA are seeded onto a sponge-like plastic base. When a catalyst is added to these cells, they begin to grow and multiply very quickly. This is how living tissues appear first, and then entire organs.
They say that within 20 years society will master the capabilities of telepathy. Today, scientists are already able to implant special microcircuits into the brains of paralyzed people, with the help of which they can only use force to control computers, write emails, play video games and use web browsers. Engineers from the Japanese company Honda have already learned how to create robots that are controlled by patients with the power of thought.
By 2070, scientists plan to bring many fauna representatives back to life. Using DNA samples taken 25 years after the death of the animal, scientists were able to clone it in Brazil. The Neanderthal genome has already been deciphered. And in scientific circles they are seriously talking about the possible revival of this human species. Why researchers need this, however, is completely unclear, but human curiosity is truly immeasurable.
But what scientists will undoubtedly develop are technologies that will allow us to slow down our aging in the future. Corresponding experiments are already being carried out on insects and some animals. It turns out that a 30% life extension is very simple: just reduce the calorie intake of the average American or European by 30%. In the future, it will be possible to prolong life in a hundred technological ways.
But the most interesting thing is that by 2100, “programmable matter” technologies will appear in the world. Everyone remembers “Terminator 2” and the killer robot T-1000. That's about it we're talking about: the world will see materials whose shapes can be programmed by computers. Microchips the size of a pinhead have already been created, which can easily be regrouped by influence. electrical discharges. They can take the form of a sheet of paper, a cup, or a plate.
Scientists are also confident that great progress has been achieved and space technology. In a hundred years we will be able to spaceships fly to the stars, they say. It will all start with microcomputers “the size of a fingernail”, which can be sent in millions throughout space. They will move in space at a speed close to the speed of light. They will look for extraterrestrial intelligence and transmit messages to it from earthlings, and explore space. Then people will begin to colonize the star worlds.
In about a hundred years, humanity will finally overcome cancer. It is known for certain that the disease can be prevented and destroyed only by early stages. In the future, DNA chips will be built into our toilets, which will be able to detect tumors at their very core. initial stage. Then “cleaners” will be launched into the organisms - special nano-computers that will cleanse the body of cancer cells.
In an interview newspaper The Times he told what the world will be like in the near and distant future. It is worth emphasizing that the forecasts have nothing to do with the work of science fiction writers and are based on real scientific discoveries.
Thus, Kaku believes that by 2030 the world will have new type of contact lenses- they will be able to access the Internet. Professor Babak Parviz from the University of Washington is already working on a prototype of such a device.
This device will be built into the eyes not only of people with poor eyesight. Their functionality is different: glasses with Internet access will be able to “show” virtual reality before the eyes of users.
There will be a quick facial recognition function and the ability automatic translation“on the fly” of foreign languages.
It will look like this: in London, you ask a foreigner how to get to the right restaurant, he will answer you, and special voice recognition technologies will make a translation, which will appear as text right in front of your eyes.
It sounds like science fiction, but scientists say that there is no magic: facial recognition and speech recognition functions already exist.
It will not be a problem in the future to make a miniature computer that will fit in thin body eye lenses.
Various “spare parts” for human organisms.
Today, the latest biotechnologies allow scientists to easily “grow” new cartilage, noses, ears, blood vessels, heart valves, bladders, etc. in the laboratory.
Stem cells containing the patient's DNA are seeded onto a sponge-like plastic base. When a catalyst is added to these cells, they begin to grow and multiply very quickly.
This is how living tissues appear first, and then entire organs. Anthony Atala from Wake Forest University spoke about these technologies.
They say that within 20 years society will master the capabilities of telepathy. Today, scientists are already able to implant special microcircuits into the brains of paralyzed people, with the help of which they can only use force to control computers, write emails, play video games and use web browsers.
Engineers from the Japanese company Honda have already learned how to create robots that are controlled by patients with the power of thought. Kendrick Kaye of the University of California, Berkeley, says the emergence of telepaths in the future is inevitable. And a person will not need any superpowers for this.
By 2070, scientists plan to bring many fauna representatives back to life.
Using DNA samples taken 25 years after the death of the animal, scientists were able to clone it in Brazil.
The Neanderthal genome has already been deciphered. And in scientific circles they are seriously talking about the possible revival of this human species. Why researchers need this, however, is completely unclear, but human curiosity is truly immeasurable.
Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology Corporation says there is only one problem in the way of science in this area - ethical.
“From a technical and theoretical point of view, everything is possible. Now we just need to decide whether it is necessary to do this,” he says.
But what scientists will undoubtedly develop are technologies that will allow in the future slow down our aging.
Corresponding experiments are already being carried out on insects and some animals. It turns out that a 30% life extension is very simple: just reduce the calorie intake of the average American or European by 30%. In the future, it will be possible to prolong life in a hundred technological ways.
But the most interesting thing is that by 2100 in the world “programmable matter” technologies will appear. Everyone remembers “Terminator 2” and the killer robot T-1000.
This is roughly what we are talking about: materials will appear in the world, the shape of which can be programmed by computers. Microchips the size of a pinhead have already been created, which can easily rearrange themselves when exposed to electrical discharges.
They can take the form of a sheet of paper, a cup, or a plate. It is possible, writes The Times, that in the future “entire cities will appear at the touch of a button.”
Scientists are also confident that great progress has been achieved in space technology. Within a hundred years we will be able to fly to the stars in spaceships, they say.
It will all start with microcomputers “the size of a fingernail”, which can be sent in millions throughout space.
They will move in space at a speed close to the speed of light. They will look for extraterrestrial intelligence and transmit messages to it from earthlings, and explore space. Then people will begin to colonize the star worlds.
Approximately in a hundred years humanity will finally overcome cancer. It is known for certain that the disease can be prevented and destroyed only in the early stages.
In the future, DNA chips will be built into our toilets, which will be able to detect tumors at the very early stages. Then “cleaners” will be launched into the organisms - special nano-computers that will cleanse the body of cancer cells.
Rodney Brooks from Massachusetts University of Technology expects the new century to “merge” with robots.” He says that in the future our bodies will undergo radical genetic changes. And around us there will be intelligent humanoid robots everywhere.
They will be so perfect that people and robots in Everyday life will be difficult to distinguish from each other. And people themselves will become partially cyborgs. “Darwin’s theory will no longer work, the boundaries between biology and cybernetics will be blurred,” says the scientist.
Do we need such a high-tech future? On the other hand, people were once afraid of movies, steam locomotives, and cars.
Watkins's predictions at the beginning of the twentieth century seemed strange and almost impossible, but a considerable part of them came true.
Futurologists Ian Pearson (IP) and Patrick Tucker (PT) comment on speculation about what the world will look like in 100 years.
1. There will be thousands of farms in the oceans, producing food on an unprecedented scale.
Seaweed plantation
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. We have to feed 10 billion people, and our planet does not have the resources to do this. These ocean farms will grow not only fish, but also algae, which will be used to produce food and fuel.
PT: It's quite possible. According to Denis Bushnell, leading specialist research center NASA Langley seaweed, which will be genetically modified to absorb large volumes of nitrogen from the atmosphere, will release up to 68% fresh water, which humanity now spends on agriculture.
2. Transmission of thoughts over a distance will become a reality.
Brain electrical signal transmission circuit
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. Telepathy will become one of the common forms of increasing brain functionality. Perceiving thoughts and transmitting them over a distance will become as commonplace as storing thoughts on computer networks.
PT: It's quite possible. Artificial telepathy now seems like science fiction, but it is quite real, if by the transfer of thoughts we mean the transfer of electrical signals from the brain.
3. Thanks to advances in genetics, we will be able to create people with the highest level intelligence possessing immortality.
Immortality. Engraving from the magazine "Iskra". Bulgaria, 1891
IP: Probability 9 out of 10. Direct connection of the brain with the computer will give people immortality in in a practical sense this word, however genetic modification will lead to a significant extension of lifespan until electronic immortality becomes available to everyone at a reasonable price.
PT: It's quite possible. The idea that scientific breakthroughs in genetics, biotechnology and engineering artificial intelligence will expand the boundaries human mind and will allow our species to largely overcome death, sometimes called the singularity.
4. We will learn to completely control the weather.
Powerful cumulus clouds
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. There are already ways to fight tornadoes or cause rain. Thanks to the study of climate in last years because of fears of global warming, we are becoming more and more aware of the mechanisms of influence on the weather. Perhaps new methods of such influence will be too expensive for everyday use, and will be resorted to only in critical circumstances.
PT: It's quite possible. Such attempts are inevitable. Most American scientists support federal program to study methods of intervention in the climate of our planet. These geoengineering technologies are designed to neutralize human impacts on the climate.
5. Antarctica will lose its status as a protected area.
Antarctica
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. The temptation to use this protected continent for mining mineral resources will be too strong. Humanity will do this subject to the strictest adherence to environmental standards.
PT: It's quite possible. But even before that we will witness the development of the Arctic. In the coming decades, the struggle for control of natural resources The Arctic will become large political problem For northern countries and all humanity. If it is successfully resolved, it will be Antarctica’s turn.
6. A single world currency will be introduced.
Classification of electronic money
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. We are already seeing electronic money being used everywhere, and this trend will develop. It is quite possible that by the middle of this century there will only be a few regional physical currencies left, plus a global electronic currency. By the end of the century it will be the only one.
IP: Hardly. In fact, the trend in this area is towards reverse side. The Internet makes possible new forms of exchange of goods and services. Therefore the number various types currency is likely to increase.
7. A direct connection will be established between the human brain and the computer.
Electrical activity of the brain
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. For many, this will become a reality by 2050. By 2075, most people developed countries will use one or another computer-based brain function enhancer.
8. Nanorobots will circulate through our circulatory system, repairing cells and recording our thoughts.
Numerous nanorobots, theoretically "ready to go"
IP: Probability 7 out of 10.
PT: It's quite possible. So far, medical nanorobots exist only in theory, but research in this area is developing very actively.
9. Thermonuclear fusion will become reality.
Model of international experimental fusion reactor, ITER
IP: Probability 10 out of 10. Thermonuclear power plants will appear, most likely, by 2045-2050, and certainly by 2100. Whether they will become the main source of energy for humanity is still unclear. It is likely that this site will be claimed by huge solar collectors and shale gas production.
10. California will become the first state to secede from the United States.
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. There are already signs that California will seek secession from the union of states and this trend may intensify by the end of the century. At the heart of this phenomenon is the vast disparity in wealth between states and the reluctance of residents in richer states to fund poorer areas.
11. The space elevator will make space accessible to everyone.
Artistic fantasy: view of a space elevator lifting cargo from Earth to orbital station, - “space port”
IP: Probability 8 out of 10. The first space elevators will appear by the middle of the century and will turn out to be much cheaper than conventional methods of entering space. This will accelerate space exploration and development space tourism, although I doubt that the cost of their use will be widely available to people.
12. Artificial insemination will completely replace natural insemination.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection
PT: Not far from the truth. It's all over now more people use new methods of fertilization. Genetic analysis and selection of fertilized embryos are increasingly used in specialized clinics. Already, embryo scanning makes it possible to identify about half of the known genetic diseases. And in the next ten years, scientists will learn to select almost 100% of full-fledged embryos.
IP: Probability 5 out of 10.
13. Habitat human and animal habitats will be destroyed, and will be replaced by nature reserves and museums.
PT: Not far from the truth. Our planet is on the brink of significant species extinction. Protection biological diversity In an era of increasing resource consumption, overpopulation and environmental degradation will require sacrifice, and can often come at the expense of local, often poor, peoples. Experts believe that the inclusion of the economic interests of residents of a number of areas in the struggle for environmental preservation should become an essential part of the environmental protection strategy.
IP: Probability 2 out of 10.
14. Sovereign states will disappear, they will not the change will come world government.
PT: Nice try, but unlikely. On the contrary, the number nation states will increase. In the near future, wealthy citizens and wealthy corporations will seek to buy up areas of the world's oceans to create their own island states in international waters.
IP: Probability 2 out of 10.
15. The war will be waged exclusively by remote means.
IP: Probability 5 out of 10.
Original article on bbcrussian.com
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The one who became famous for his historical novels writer Grigory Danilevsky has a collection uncharacteristic for him short stories“Yuletide Evenings,” written during the “Vetlyansky plague” in 1878-1879. Many are mystical or detective stories, heavily involved in folk (including Ukrainian) legends and beliefs.
The story “Life in a Hundred Years” stands apart. Back in 1879, Grigory Danilevsky writes a short dystopia about what the world will be like in the next century.
The narration is told from the perspective of young man Poroshin, who found himself in Paris in 1868 and decided to undertake the experiment proposed by the Armenian “magician” - to travel back to 1968 for a week.
Many of the forecasts given by Grigory Danilevsky are amazing.
A lot has changed in the world in a hundred years. For example, Constantinople became an “all-Slavic port”, and the Sahara Desert was flooded with waters Mediterranean Sea.
But there were other, more global changes. Everything happened by 1930. There was neither the First nor the Second World Wars. The conquest took place quickly and almost bloodlessly.
Here is the forecast given by Grigory Danilevsky in 1879:
"By the end XIX century The Chinese were thought to number up to 500 million, i.e., half of all humanity living on earth. The 20th century arrived, and in the first quarter of this new century, China's population increased to 700 million. Residents Heavenly Empire, competing with their neighbors, the Japanese, adopted all practical knowledge from Europe, especially genius technical inventions Europeans in the war. They started a huge land army 5 million soldiers and a gigantic steam fleet a hundred monitors and twice as fast, giant steam cruisers. Having covered their country with a network of railways that reached as far as Western Siberia and Afghanistan, they first conquered and absorbed pampered Japan, then conquered and turned into their colonies the Republic of the United States of America, in which they were helped by a new, destructive internecine war Northern and Southern States, which filled the beginning of the 20th century, with the shameful rivalry of the two then presidential dynasties. Having resettled the surplus of their people into conquered America, who were crowded in the end, due to lack of land, on floating and pile structures of their rivers and lakes, the Chinese turned their attention to Europe. They sent their fleet to Atlantic Ocean, where in 1930 there was a colossal naval battle Chinese monitors with monitors of independent states that still existed at that time European continent- England, France, Italy and Germany<...>Europe was conquered by China in 1930.”
“Russia survived this general breakdown due to its Chinese-friendly neutrality, which it declared during the invasion of the inhabitants of the Heavenly Empire on Europe - in revenge for England for Palmerston and his successors, France - for the Napoleonids, Austria - for its eternal betrayals and betrayals and Germany - for Bismarck, “who pressed the Slavs to the wall...”<...>Bogdykhan, for his friendship with Russia, having given the Slavs the means to finally expel the Turks to Asia and form on the Balkan Peninsula a separate Slavic-Greek Danube Empire, friendly to Russia, did not prevent the Russians from fulfilling their last, main duty... The Russians, as the calendar said, thanks railway, established from the Urals to Khiva and a new Chinese forward post in the west to Afghanistan, defeated the British in Peshawar, drove them out of East India and set up a third Russian capital in Calcutta."
A different fate awaited Europe:
“Having imposed a heavy annual tribute on the European continent, conquered by his troops—a billion francs—and the obligation to process exclusively Chinese raw materials in his factories, Bogdykhan abolished all unproductive European armies and fleets. Replacing these standing troops With land and sea civilian “Chinese gendarmerie”, the Chinese surrounded the main capitals and cities of the abolished European countries new Chinese fortress walls, providing them with their own garrisons and their own cannons, but in return they allowed each of the “United States of Europe” to settle down as before American system, in their own special way, without the right to carry or have any weapons. Even knives and forks disappeared from use; Since then, everyone in Europe ate like in China, only with spoons and chopsticks.”
But, as Grigory Danilevsky notes, local political, religious and financial elites had nothing against such Chinese expansion:
“At the same time, Germany happily retained its “Junker Landtag”, Italy - the “papacy”, England - the “House of Lords” and “majority”, France - first the “commune”, and then the “moderate republic”, whose presidents, from 1935 to 1968, there were figures with different big names, between which Poroshin counted five Gambettas and twelve Rothschilds. At the end of the "Gambettid dynasty", France for the most part was under the local supreme rule of Jewish presidents from the Rothschild banking house. Fast forward to 1968, Poroshin consequently found the French under the control of Rothschild XII. Jewish admirals at this time commanded French fleet in the oceans, Jewish field marshals guarded, in the name of the Chinese ruler, the French borders, and Jewish ministers, with the president in sidelocks and a yarmulke, met the ruling Bogdykhan of Europe, Tsa-o-dza, during the latter’s recent triumphal visit to Paris, which is why it continues to this day For the second week now, Parisian streets and houses were hung with flags.”
Grigory Danilevsky also foresees purely everyday changes - underground trains, cars, total electrification, air conditioners with a microclimate and even wi-fi, thanks to which restaurant visitors could listen through special “tubes” to broadcasts from theaters.
The people themselves, their interests and aspirations have changed. In the way Grigory Danilevsky describes the inhabitants of Paris in 1968 ninety years earlier, one can easily discern a typical modern European:
“Everyone was rushing to the huge iron and stone, in the manner of the ancient Roman, Colosseum. Animal baiting, bullfighting, and the wrestling of inferiors were in fashion. human races with tigers and lions, horse racing with incredible obstacles - through powder magazines with lit torches, through dynamite batteries - and single combat between roosters and rats.<...>The role of ancient gladiator-slaves was played in the fight against wild animals, brought into the arena specifically for this purpose, brought from inner Africa residents of Lake Nianze and Tanganyika. When animal or human blood was shed in the Colosseum arena, Parisian ladies drank champagne and threw luxurious bouquets from the boxes to the winners.”
People's morals have also changed significantly. The main character is told about the rights and freedoms “granted” to people:
“Polygamy was granted to France during the reign of the penultimate of the wise Rothschilds, who now rule us in the name of the blessed Bogdykhan, granted as a reward for the admission of this brilliant banking race to all the secrets of our state treasury<...>Abraham and other forefathers had several wives. Well, having introduced the Jewish confession in a happy, prosperous France, our new rulers recommended this custom<...>If you like, we no longer have any faith. The Chinese are especially accommodating in this regard and gave us complete freedom. Our sermons have been replaced by instructive Sunday feuilletons from ministerial newspapers, and most rituals have been replaced by notarial deeds<...>Our marriage is truly Chinese, that is, applied, in the spirit of the century, to forms of legal maintenance of property or hiring servants, apartments - for a year, for a month, and even, for those who wish, for shorter periods.”
At the end of the journey new reality, received at first with delight, begins to irritate the hero, and he enters into ideological disputes with people.
Arguing with the French, he is indignant:
“You boast of a republic, equality, freedom, but you, in addition to the Chinese oppression common to all of you, also have local, private oppression... Jewish! In addition to many previous dynasties, you finally pass through the dynasty of the Israeli presidents of your republic, the Rothschilds... Sorry, but this is a shame! Jews sit on your throne as Henry IV and Louis XIV, bankers, stockbrokers flaunt themselves in the chairs of Robespierre and Mirabeau... This was not imagined by the history of even such traders as the English; They also had and have their own, but they did not and do not go further than bankers’ offices and fireproof chests.”
But people in 1968 do not understand the discontent of their new Russian friend. They quickly explain to him what's what:
“At the beginning of the present, 20th century, the Jews, through their banking offices, took possession of all the metal coins in the world, all the gold and silver. By exerting pressure on the stock exchange, they gained irresistible influence on the elected classes of the great France, which was conquered by the Chinese. But under the very first president from the house of Rothschild, we found ourselves in a financial paradise: a complete balance of income with expenditure in the budget, the organization of all public functions on a joint-stock basis and the final introduction of convenient paper money instead of metal ones<...>Yes, the gold of the whole world passed to them, they still own it, and for it they gave us, in the form of bills on themselves, very beautifully printed banknotes. They are much more convenient and easy to carry in your pocket. Only people like you, foreigners, like to wear gold.”
Probably, Grigory Danilevsky could not even imagine, writing these largely satirical stories for the entertainment of friends and acquaintances, that he terrible prophecy about the future, read out in one of the long winter evenings for the public, it will be so close and understandable after a century and a half.