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Letters from the Earth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Letters from the Earth is one of Mark Twain's posthumously published works. Initially, his daughter objected to its publication, probably because of its controversial and iconoclastic views on religion. The book consists of a series of short stories, many of which deal with God and Christianity. The title story consists of letters written by the archangel Satan to another archangel, Gabriel, about his observations on the curious proceedings of earthly life and the nature of man's religions. Other short stories in the book include a bedtime story about a family of cats Twain wrote for his daughters, and an essay explaining why an anaconda is morally superior to Man.
| “ | The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before him rose the black night of Space, like a wall. His mighty bulk towered rugged and mountain-like into the zenith, and His divine head blazed there like a distant sun. At His feet stood three colossal figures, diminished to extinction, almost, by contrast -- archangels -- their heads level with His ankle-bone. | ” |
| “ | Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his very, very best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm. | ” |
