I had been there before. But how peculiar everything appeared now as I
looked down from above. I could plainly discern the harbor and great
tableland in the scene before me, although apparently shrunk in size,
but the city itself resembled a little toy village, while the largest
ships in the harbor reminded me of the tiny boats I used to construct
when a child and float about in the bath-tub. But where, oh where, was
the greatest of all exalted things--that for which the entire universe
and all that it contains therein was constructed--mighty man? He could
not be seen. In fact he was as completely invisible as the pestilential
germ on the back of a sick flea. "If I only had a microscope," thought
I, "perhaps I could see him." Then I began to descend, until finally I
discovered innumerable little creepers moving about in all directions.
They were men. At first sight they looked to be about the size of ants,
but as I got closer to the earth they increased in bulk until they
appeared to be at least three inches in height, and then their
importance became noticeable. As they moved about in great numbers and I
came into close proximity with them, I observed that the actions of some
was apparently sensible but that the doings of the most of them was
positively ridiculous. For instance, here was one set of creatures
diligently toiling to produce something and getting nothing, while here
was a set of idlers doing absolutely nothing but receiving everything.
The real producer of all the necessities and luxuries of life was
actually giving nine-tenths of the fruits of his labor to a class of
loafers and schemers who took it as a divine right, and then begrudged
him the one-tenth he received of his own production.
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