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04 - We Start on the Journey - Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne · Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter four, we start on the journey. You see, the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: whole island is composed of volcanos, said the professor, and
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  Speaker 1: remark carefully that they all bear the name of jocol.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: The word is Icelandic and means a glacier. In most
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  Speaker 1: of the lofty mountains of that region, the volcanic eruptions
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: come forth from ice bound caverns, hence the name applied
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  Speaker 1: to every volcano on this extraordinary island. But what does
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  Speaker 1: this word Sneffels mean? To this question? I expected no
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  Speaker 1: rational answer. I was mistaken. Follow my finger to the
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  Speaker 1: western coast of Iceland. There you see Raekavik, its capital.
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  Speaker 1: Follow the direction of one of its innumerable fiords or
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  Speaker 1: arms of the sea. And what do you see below
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  Speaker 1: the sixty fifth degree of latitude a peninsula very like
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  Speaker 1: a thigh bone in shape, and in the center of
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  Speaker 1: it a mountain. Well, that's Sneffeles. I had nothing to say.
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  Speaker 1: That is Sneffles, a mountain about five thousand feet in height,
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  Speaker 1: one of the most remarkable in the whole island, and
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  Speaker 1: certainly doomed to be the most celebrated in the world.
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  Speaker 1: For through its crater we shall reach the center of
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  Speaker 1: the Earth. Impossible, cried I startled and shocked at the thought.
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  Speaker 1: Why impossible, said Professor Hartwig in his severest tones, because
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  Speaker 1: its crater is choked with lava, by burning rocks, by
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  Speaker 1: infinite dangers. But if it be extinct, that would make
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  Speaker 1: a difference, of course it would. There are about three
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  Speaker 1: hundred volcanoes on the whole surface of the globe, but
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  Speaker 1: the greater number are extinct. Of these, Sneffels is one.
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  Speaker 1: No eruption has occurred since twelve hundred and nineteen. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: it has ceased to be a volcano at all. After this,
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  Speaker 1: what more could I say? Yes, I thought of another objection,
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  Speaker 1: But what is all this about Scartaris and the callons
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  Speaker 1: of July? My uncle reflected deeply. Presently he gave forth
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  Speaker 1: the result of his reflections in a sententious tone. What
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  Speaker 1: appears obscure to you, to me is light. This very
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  Speaker 1: phrase shows how particular Sucnosom is in its directions. The
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  Speaker 1: Sneffel's mountain has many craters. He is careful, therefore, to
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  Speaker 1: point the exact one, which is the highway into the
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  Speaker 1: interior of the earth. He lets us know for this
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  Speaker 1: purpose that about the end of the month of June,
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  Speaker 1: the shadow of mounts Cartaris falls upon the one crater.
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  Speaker 1: There can be no doubt about the matter. My uncle
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  Speaker 1: had an answer for everything. I accept all your explanations,
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  Speaker 1: I said, and sagnosm is right. He found out the
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  Speaker 1: entrance to the bowels of the earth. He has indicated correctly.
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  Speaker 1: But that he or anyone else ever followed up the
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  Speaker 1: discovery is madness to suppose. Why so, young man, All
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  Speaker 1: scientific teaching, theoretical and practical, shows it to be impossible.
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  Speaker 1: I care nothing for theorists, retorted my uncle. But is
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  Speaker 1: it not well known that heat increases one degree for
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  Speaker 1: every seventy feet you descend into the earth, which gives
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  Speaker 1: a fine idea of the central heat. All the matters
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  Speaker 1: which compose the globe are in a state of incandescence.
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  Speaker 1: Even gold, platinum, and the hardest rocks are in a
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  Speaker 1: state of fusion. What would become of us. Don't be
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  Speaker 1: alarmed at the heat, my boy. How so, neither you
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  Speaker 1: nor anybody else know anything about the real state of
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  Speaker 1: the Earth's interior. All modern experiments tend to explode the
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  Speaker 1: older theories. Were any such heat to exist, the upper
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  Speaker 1: crust of the earth would be shattered to atoms, and
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  Speaker 1: the world would be at an end. A long learned
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  Speaker 1: and not uninteresting discussion followed, which ended in this wise,
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  Speaker 1: I do not believe in the dangers and difficulties which you, Henry,
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  Speaker 1: seemed to multiply, And the only way to learn is
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  Speaker 1: like Arnest sachusen, to go and see. Well, cried I
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  Speaker 1: overcome at last, Let us go and see. Though how
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  Speaker 1: we can do that in the dark is another mystery.
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  Speaker 1: Fear nothing. We shall overcome these and many other difficult Besides,
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  Speaker 1: as we approached the center, I expect to find it luminous.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing is impossible. And now that we have come to
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  Speaker 1: a thorough understanding, not a word to any living soul.
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  Speaker 1: Our success depends on secrecy and despatch. Thus ended our
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  Speaker 1: memorable conference, which roused a perfect fever in me. Leaving
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  Speaker 1: my uncle, I went forth like one possessed. Reaching the
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  Speaker 1: banks of the Elbe, I began to think, was all
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  Speaker 1: I had heard really and truly possible? Was my uncle
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  Speaker 1: in his sober senses? And could the interior of the
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  Speaker 1: earth be reached? Was either the victim of a madman?
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  Speaker 1: Or was he a discoverer of rare courage and grandeur
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  Speaker 1: of conception to a certain extent. I was anxious to
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  Speaker 1: be off. I was afraid my enthusiasm would cool. I
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  Speaker 1: determined to pack up at once at the end of
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  Speaker 1: an hour. However, on my way home I found that
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  Speaker 1: my feelings had very much changed. I'm all abroad, I cried,
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  Speaker 1: tis a nightmare. I must have dreamt it. At this
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  Speaker 1: moment I came face to face with Gretchen, whom I
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  Speaker 1: warmly embraced. So you have come to meet me, She said,
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  Speaker 1: how good of you, But what is the matter. Well,
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  Speaker 1: it was no use mincing the matter. I told her all.
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  Speaker 1: She listened with ave, and for some minutes she could
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  Speaker 1: not speak well. I at last said, rather anxiously, what
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  Speaker 1: a magnificent journey. If I were only a man, a
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  Speaker 1: journey worthy of the nephew of Professor Hartwig, I should
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  Speaker 1: look upon it as an honor to accompany him. My
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  Speaker 1: dear Gretchen, I thought you would be the first to
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  Speaker 1: cry out against this mad enterprise. No, on the contrary,
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  Speaker 1: I glory in it. It is magnificent, splendid, an idea
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  Speaker 1: worthy of my father, Henry Lawson. I envy you. This was,
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  Speaker 1: as it were, conclusive. The final blow of all. When
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  Speaker 1: we entered the house, we found my uncle surrounded by
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  Speaker 1: workmen and porters who were packing up. He was pulling
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  Speaker 1: and hauling at a bell. Where have you been wasting
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  Speaker 1: your time? Your portmanteau is not packed, My papers are
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  Speaker 1: not in order. The precious tailor has not brought my clothes,
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  Speaker 1: nor my gaiters. The key of my carpet bag is gone.
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  Speaker 1: I looked at him, stupefied and steely tugged away at
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  Speaker 1: the bell. We are really off, then, I said, yes,
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  Speaker 1: of course, And yet you go out for a stroll,
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  Speaker 1: unfortunate boy. And when do we go the day after
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  Speaker 1: to morrow? At daybreak I heard no more, but darted
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  Speaker 1: off to my little bed chamber and locked myself in.
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  Speaker 1: There was no doubt about it. Now my uncle had
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  Speaker 1: been hard at work all the afternoon. The garden was
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  Speaker 1: full of ropes, rope ladders, torches, gorge, iron clamps, crowbars, alpenstocks,
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  Speaker 1: and pickaxes enough to load ten men. I passed a
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  Speaker 1: terrible night. I was called early the next day to
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  Speaker 1: learn that the resolution of my uncle was unchanged and irrevocable.
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  Speaker 1: I also found my cousin an affianced wife as warm
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  Speaker 1: on the subject as was her father. Next day, at
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  Speaker 1: five o'clock in the morning, the post chaise was at
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  Speaker 1: the door. Gretchen and the old cook received the keys
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  Speaker 1: of the house, and, scarcely pausing to wish any one
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  Speaker 1: good bye, we started on our our adventurous journey into
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  Speaker 1: the center of the earth. End of Chapter four