th at if P oe d id n ot a ctu a lly w rite th e w ork in its en tirety, h e m ay h a
h a d a hand in revision b eca u se o f th e q u a n tity o f P oe-related su
jects. Q uinn reprints a p ortion of th e w ork rela tin g to “R inosophia,
N o se -O lo g y ,” and contrasts it w ith sim ilar lin es in “L io n izin g ” (Soul
ern Literary Messenger, M ay 1 8 3 5 ), w h ich are in d eed close. A t £
tim e th at “T h e A tlan tis” w as serialized , P o e w as in th e B altim ore ar
and a regular contributor to th e American Museum; his works for t
m a g a zin e in c lu d e d “L ig e ia ” (S ep tem b e r 1 8 3 8 ) , “P sy ch e Zenobi
(N o v e m b e r 1 8 3 8 ) , “T h e S cy th e o f T im e ” (N o v e m b e r 1 8 3 8 ) , a:
“T h e H a u n te d P a la ce” (A p ril 1 8 3 9 ) . H is sm all p rod u ction th e yei
1 8 3 8 and 1 8 3 9 co u ld b e ra tion alized if this n o v el-len g th p ie c e w
attributed to him .
2 0 8
THE M A N WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
Q uinn attach es esp ec ia l sign ifican ce to th e le n g th y referen ces to
M artinus and C ornelius Scriblerus in th e text, b eca u se h e can estab -
lish th at P o e w as acq u a in ted w ith th e Memoirs of Martin Scriblerus
co-auth ored b y John A rbuthnot, Jonathan S w ift, an d A lexan d er P o p e,
for P oe u sed a q u otation from th at w ork in “P sy ch e Z enobia,” p u b -
lish ed concurrently w ith “T h e A tlan tis.”
S om e o f th e scientific discussion s are sh o w n to bear a relationsh ip
to the early portions o f P o e ’s “E u rek a.” A nim al m agn etism , b a llo o n
v o y a g es to the m oon , cranio logy, and other subjects w h ich P oe h ad a
strong in terest in are d iscu ssed in p a ssin g or at len gth .
N o t m e n tio n ed , b u t certain ly ob vious to Q uinn, w as the fa ct th at
th e nom d e p lu m e em p lo y e d in w ritin g th e p ie c e , Prospero, w as also
u sed as th e n a m e o f th e lea d character, P rince Prospero, in “T h e
M asq u e o f th e R ed D e a th ” ( Graham’s La dy's and Gentlemans Maga-
zine, M ay 1 8 4 2 ). Still further, th e o p en in g o f th e story, w ith its
im a g in a tiv e trip to th e A ntarctic in a m a g n etic a lly p o w ere d sh ip
cap ab le o f tw e n ty knots an hour, alo n g w ith its referen ces to m es-
m erism , is in line w ith th e P o e tradition. So are h orseless carriages an d
a sky fu ll o f “floatin g balloons o f all d im en sions, th at see m ed to ad-
v a n c e b y volu n tary effort tow ard ev ery p o in t o f th e com p ass.”
T here is another p o in t in q u estion . D e s p ite th e serious d iscussion s
con tain ed in “T h e A tlan tis,” satiric hum or p ervad es it all. F or som e
reason, in all th e scholarly tom es on P oe, on e n ev er seem s to run
across a ch ap ter titled : “E d g a r A llan P oe: H u m orist.” F or hum orist
h e u n d o u b ted ly w as, at tim es a very clev er o n e. From his earliest
w ritin g alm ost u n til th e tim e o f his d eath , h e n ever c e a sed to pour
ou t com ic short stories and articles, som e of th em ab solu te slapstick.
Perhaps b eca u se it d oes n o t fit in w ith a p resen tation o f th e onrushing
traged y o f his life or th e m o o d of his g reatest w orks, th ere has b e e n
a te n d e n c y to p u sh his hum or aside rather th an com e to grips w ith
th e paradox of this ob session w ith satire an d com ed y. Y et its p resen ce
id en tifies P oe as m u ch as d oes th e dark sp ectral in sigh t.
T h e first four chapters of “T he A tlan tis” are reprin ted here, as far
as is k n o w n for th e first tim e since their original p u b lica tio n in 183 9 .
T h e y m ake u p a rem arkable seq u en ce, im p ortan t to th e history of
scien ce fiction an d the U to p ia , w h eth er th e y w ere w ritten b y P o e or
not. T h e early chapter is straight ad ven tu re th at m ig h t h ave co m e
o u t o f “T h e N arrative o f A . G ordon P y m ,” a relation o f p io n eerin g
in to the u nexplored A n tarctic w a stes w ith th e la test scien tific m arvel
in sea transportation. T h e collap se o f all m em bers of th e ship as it
p asses th rou gh a transferen ce zon e into th e realm o f S atu m ia, th e
lost city o f th e A ntarctic, to be sa v ed on ly b y th e u n p re ced en te d
sp eed o f th e ship, w as first-rate scien ce fiction for its tim e.
T h e sec o n d chapter, “Our arrival at Saturnia” is U to p ia n w ritin g
in the classic tradition, d escrib in g th e n om en clatu re and ou tw ard ap-
p earan ce o f th e n e w ly d isco v ered or lost lan d or city.
׳THE M AN WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
2 0 9
T h e third ch ap ter, "M y rem oval to a H o te l,” finds th e transition o f
th e story from a b a sic U to p ia to a serious fan tasy in a U to p ia n settin g,
as it is d iscovered th at ap p aren tly all th e great m en o f history are
reincarnated here w h e n th e y d ie and th a t th e author n o w has access
to th em .
C hapter 4 , "M y M e etin g w ith D r. Franklin, and th e p roceed in gs o f
th e P h ilo so p h ica l S o ciety ,” finds th e author, on the a d v ice o f B en-
jam in Franklin, a tten d in g a scien tific session at w h ich D escartes,
G alileo, A ristotle, L eib n itz, H a lle y , B acon, an d M aupertuis g iv e their
v iew s on astronom y, sp ace, tim e, the structure o f th e u n iverse, and
other m atters o f sp ecia l interest.
T h ere w er e fifteen chapters in all, cov erin g th e en tire gam ut o f
h u m an ex isten ce, and w h e n th e fifteen th chapter clo sed , so had a
d iscussion on religion , and P eter Prospero w as le ft in Saturnia, ap-
p aren tly in a sort o f du rance v ile forever. T h e q u a lity o f th e w ritin g is
n otab le, and for th o se w h o w on d er w h atever b eca m e o f th e p reviou sly
m en tio n ed referen ce to N o se -o lo g y and Mr. Scriblerus, th e y ap p eared
in C hapter 14, p u b lish ed in th e January 1 8 3 9 issu e o f the p u b lication ,
and w ere in serted into the text alm ost like extraneous essays. T h e y
m a y b e fo u n d in Arthur H o b so n Q uinn's Edgar Allan Poe, as illustra-
tiv e excerpts. For th e sp ace buffs, sp ace travel w as referred to in
C hapter 13, w h ere Prospero is sh ow n a variety o f in ven tion s, in clu d in g
". . . a b alloon so con stru cted as to m o u n t to an y h eig h t, and ev en
ascen d to th e m o o n .”
A ll th e foreg o in g w o u ld m ak e a p retty co n v in cin g and ex citin g
ca se for "The A tlan tis” h a v in g b e e n p en n e d in w h o le or part b y E d -
gar A llan P o e—ex c e p t for on e th ing. T h e late authority on E dgar
A llan P oe, professor T hom as O lliv e M ab b ott, w as sk eptical, and Ar-
thur H o b so n Q uinn, h a v in g also d ep arted this m ortal coil, is no longer
around either to d e fe n d or c o n ce d e the p oin t, th o u g h h e p rob ably is
n o w frantically g esticu la tin g from Saturnia.
W ell, if P o e didn't w rite it, to w h om d id Professor M ab b ott credit
authorship?
H e w as v ery p recise on th at score. It w as his op in ion th at "The
A tlan tis” w as w ritten b y N a th
a n C ovin gton Brooks, on e o f th e editors
o f th e American Museum, and a teach er o f L atin and G reek in B alti-
m ore. Brooks, h e inform ed us, w as a v ery clo se friend , adm irer, and
com rade o f E dgar A llan P o e. T h e y sa w ea ch oth er freq u en tly , and
Brooks w o u ld h a v e read virtu ally ev ery scrap o f m aterial w ritten b y
P oe. W h at is m ore, th e y w o u ld h a v e d iscu ssed th e co n cep ts b e tw e e n
them . T h e adm iration that B rooks had for Poe's id eas w o u ld have
m a d e it p ossib le th at h e ad o p ted m an y o f them .
M ab b ott h ad no co n clu sive d ocu m en tary e v id e n c e , b u t w as per-
son ally co n v in ced th at Brooks w a s respon sible for th e serialized p hilo-
sop h ical discourse. T h is, o f course, d oes n o t rule o u t Poe's con trib ution
210
THE M AN WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
o f id eas or d ab b lin g in th e essays, and e v e n e d itin g portions o f th e
m anuscript.
T h ere y o u h a v e it. Arthur H o b so n Q u in n an d Professor T hom as
O lliv e M ab b ott, tw o of th e greatest P oe scholars o f all tim e, le a n e d in
d ifferent d irection s on th e au th orsh ip o f “T h e A tlan tis.” R ead th e
chapters p resen ted here, w h ic h accurately p resen t th e flavor o f th e
work, and m ake your o w n d ecisio n as to w h ic h sch ool o f th o u g h t y o u
in clin e tow ard.
The Atlantis
by Feter Prospero, L.L.D.; M.A.; P.S.
A Southern World—or a Wonderful Continent,—dis-
covered in the great Southern Ocean, and supposed
to be the Atlantis of Plato, or the Terra Australis In-
cognita of Dr. Swift, during a voyage conducted by
Alonzo Pinzon, Commander of the American Metal
Ship Astrea.
S alve, m agn a Parens frugum , Saturnia T ellus!
M agn a virum ; tib i res antiquae lau dis e t artis,
Ingredior, sanctos ausus reclu d ere fon tes.
V irgil.
CHAPTER I.
The origin of my enterprise.
As I am undertaking, gentle reader, to give thee an ac-
count, if not of a circumnavigation of the globe, at least of
the most singular voyage, and most wonderful discovery
ever made in the world, not excepting that of Columbus,
it is but due courtesy, to gratify thy rational curiosity by
informing thee of that process of thought and reasoning
by which I was led to the conception of the bold and sub-
lime enterprise. Know, then, that from my earliest years,
my ruling passion has been a desire after.knowledge, and
THE M A N WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
211
my whole time has been sedulously devoted to study and
reflection. I had the happiness to be bom in the state of
North Carolina, one of the southern divisions of our great
republic, and to be descended from Anglo-Saxon ancestors.
My parents, who were not without a relish of elegant
literature, and a strong conviction of the immense advan-
tages of education, allowed an unrestrained indulgence of
my ardent propensity for reading. W hether, therefore, I
was stationed in winter at the domestic fireside, or in sum-
mer under the shade of a tree, amidst the bustle of a school-
room, or in the quiet seclusion of collegiate life, my book
was always my most constant companion, and the best
classical productions in Greek, Latin, English and French,
were successively perused with rapture. In pursuit of sci-
ence, I was not contented with that superficial knowledge
which seems to satiate the desires and terminate the labors
of too many votaries of literature, at the present day; but
when I undertook the investigation of any particular branch,
I endeavoured to penetrate to its lowest foundations,
fathom all its depths and compass its most extended bounda-
ries. Instead of wasting the powers of my understanding
in attaining a partial acquaintance with every branch of
science, and learning to talk volubly and write plausibly
about every topic of polite learning, after that rapid glance
at the whole circle which is comprised in a collegiate course,
I aimed at a thorough mastery of the few to which I seemed
to be most strongly prompted by natural inclination, and
acquired habits of thinking and enjoyment. Through this
process, I essayed to w het into the keenest edge of discern-
ment, and address the native faculties of my mind, and
communicate to them all the energy and perspicuity of
which they were susceptible. And I avail myself of this
opportunity to remark, that this appears to me to be the
only method of study by which the minds of men can be
successfully cultured and useful attainments made; and, on
these accounts, is to be most earnestly recommended to all
212
THE M A N WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
the cultivators of learning and aspirants after excellence in
the elegant and useful arts.
During the prosecution of my studies and the perusal of
ancient and modern authors, I had remarked, that no theo-
logians or writers of history and antiquities, had ever
been able to determine in what portion of our globe was
situated the Ultima Thule of the classic authors, or the land
of Ophir, from which large quantities of gold were imported
into Palestine in the time of Solomon. Some supposed this
valuable treasure to have been derived from the east, and
others from the west, some from Spain, and others from
Africa, some from Britain, and others from regions still
more remote than England, in the north of Europe. In the
Timaeus and other works of Plato, I found it stated as a
fact, that when Pythagoras was in Egypt, he was told by
her learned men of a large and populous island, denomi-
nated Atlantis, which lay in the W estern Ocean, and had
been inhabited by a great and powerful nation, long anterior
to the commencement of Grecian history. When to these
distinct and significant indications, denoting the existence
of some wonderful community in the southern and western
world, I added the typical, but satisfactory allusion to it in
the authentic memoirs of the ״Tale of a Tub,” by Doctor
Swift, in which he maintains that there lies in that direc-
tion an immense continent, designated as the ״Terra Aus-
tralis Incognita,” which had been cantoned into various
departments by Lord Peter, and advantageously sold to
successive emigrants, all of whom were shipwrecked on
their passage. I came to a definitive conclusion, that the
voyages of Columbus and his rivals in navigation, had not
completed the discoveries to be made in the Southern
Hemisphere. It appeared evident to my mind, that some
continent or large island, distinguished by wonderful pecu-
liarities, and inhabited by a remarkable people, remained
to be explored by the enteiprise and perseverance of the
inquisitive and skilful. By frequently revolving these reflec-
THE M A N WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE
213
tions
in my mind, a kind of presentiment was awakened,
that I should become the projector and executor of a great
undertaking by which a new world, more extraordinary
than America, would be revealed to mankind, and those
hitherto impassable barriers surmounted which preclude
our access to the Southern and Northern Pole.
After first conceiving the hint upon this important subject,
my imagination brooded over the enterprise until at length
I became so inflamed with enthusiasm, that in the year
1835, I resolved no longer to procrastinate the period of
its commencement. Accordingly, having an ample fortune
at my disposal, I knew of no method by which I could more
usefully devote it to the service of my fellow-men, than in
making preparation for this voyage of discovery. The first
question which recurred that was difficult of solution,
related to the best means to be adopted in order to navi-
gate successfully and safely, the Polar regions of the south.
As I had seen all the expeditions to the north fitted out by
British liberality for similar purposes, defeated, or limited
in their success, by the extreme cold of those climates, I
had concluded, that if ever the Polar seas were explored, it
must be by steam ships, or some mode of navigation which
is preferable to these. About this time was suggested the
idea of constructing wheels which would move of them-
selves, and transport the largest carriages or boats by the
influence of the magnet and its tendency to attract iron. I
seized upon this suggestion with the utmost avidity, and
after many experiments made with captain Pinzon, a lineal
descendant of the celebrated companion of Columbus, and
animated by the same spirit which displayed itself in that
great navigator, we came to the conclusion, that a vessel
might be propelled in this way, not only with more safety,
but with greater velocity, then had ever before been wit-
nessed upon the ocean. Captain Pinzon was now commis-
sioned to select skilful workmen and a master mechanic,
who should immediately commence the structure of our
2 1 4 צ
t h e m a n w h o c a l l e d HIMSELF POE
magnetic ship, and after various delays, occasioned by diffi-
The Man Who Called Himself Poe Page 27
