Section 7 of the Natural History, Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Linda Dodge. The Natural History, Volume 1 by Pliny the Elder. Translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley. Section 7. Chapter 14. Why the same stars have different motions? I must first state the cause. Why the star Venus never recedes from the sun more than 46 degrees, nor Mercury more than 23, while they frequently return to the sun within this distance? As they are situated below the sun, they have both of them their absities turned in the contrary direction. Their orbits are as much below the earth as those of the stars above mentioned are above it, and therefore they cannot receive it any farther, since the curve of their absities has no greater longitude. The extreme parts of their absities therefore align the limits to each of them in the same manner and compensate as it were for the small extent of their longitudes, by the great divergence of their latitudes. It may be asked, why do they not always proceed as far as the 46th and 23rd degrees respectively? They in reality do so, but the theory fails us here. For it would appear that the absities are themselves moved, as they never pass over the sun. When therefore they have arrived at the extremities of their orbits on either side, the stars are then supposed to have proceeded to their greatest distance. When they have been a certain number of degrees within their orbits, they are then supposed to return more rapidly, since the extreme point in each is the same. And on this account it is that the direction of their motion appears to be changed. For the superior planets are carried along the most quickly in their evening setting, while these move the most slowly. The former are at their greatest distance from the earth when they move the most slowly. The latter when they move the most quickly. The former are accelerated when nearest to the earth. The latter when at the extremity of the circle. In the former the rapidity of the motion begins to diminish at their morning risings. In the latter it begins to increase. The former are retrograde from their morning to their evening station, while Venus is retrograde from the evening to the morning station. She begins to increase her latitude from her morning rising. Her altitude follows the sun from her morning station. Her motion being the quickest and her altitude the greatest in her morning setting. Her latitude decreases and her altitude diminishes from her evening rising. She becomes retrograde and at the same time decreases in her altitude from her evening station. Again the star Mercury in the same way mounts up in both directions from his morning rising and having followed the sun through a space of fifteen degrees he becomes almost stationary for four days. Presently he diminishes his altitude and recedes from his evening setting to his morning rising. Mercury and the moon are the only planets which descend for the same number of days that they ascend. Venus ascends for fifteen days and somewhat more. Saturn and Jupiter descend in twice that number of days and Mars in four times. So great is the variety of nature. The reason of it is however evident for those planets which are forced up by the vapor of the sun likewise descend with difficulty. Chapter 15. General Laws of the Planets There are many other secrets of nature in these points as well as the laws to which they are subject which might be mentioned. For example the planet Mars whose course is the most difficult to observe never becomes stationary when Jupiter is in the trine aspect. Very rarely when he is sixty degrees from the sun which number is one sixth of the circuit of the heavens. Nor does he ever rise in the same sign with Jupiter except in Cancer and Leo. The star Mercury seldom has his evening risings in Pisces but very frequently in Virgo and his morning risings in Libra. He has also his morning rising in Aquarius, very rarely in Leo. He never becomes retrograde in either Taurus or Gemini nor until the twenty fifth degree of Cancer. The Moon makes her double conjunction with the Sun in no other sign except Gemini while Sagittarius is the only sign in which she has sometimes no conjunction at all. The old and the new Moon are visible on the same day or night in no other sign except Aries and indeed it has happened very seldom to anyone to have witnessed it. From this circumstance it was that the tale of Lensius's quick-sighted dis-originated. Saturn and Mars are invisible at most for one hundred seventy days, Jupiter for thirty six or at the least for ten days less than this, Venus for sixty nine or at the least for fifty two, Mercury for thirteen or at the most for eighteen. Chapter sixteen, the reason why the stars are of different colors. The difference of their color depends on the difference in their altitudes for they acquire a resemblance to those planets into the vapor of which they are carried, the orbit of each tinging those that approach it in each direction. A colder planet renders one that approaches it paler, one more hot renders it redder. A windy planet gives it a lowering aspect while the Sun at the union of their absities or the extremity of their orbits completely obscures them. Each of the planets has its peculiar color. Saturn is white, Jupiter brilliant, Mars fury, Lucifer is glowing, Vesper refulgent, Mercury sparkling, the Moon mild, the Sun when he rises is blazing, afterwards he becomes radiating. The appearance of the stars which are fixed in the firmament is also affected by these causes. At one time we see a dense cluster of stars around the Moon when she is only half enlightened and when they are viewed in a serene evening while at another time when the Moon is full there are so few to be seen that we wonder whether they are fled and this is also the case when the rays of the Sun or of any of the above mentioned bodies have dazzled our sight and indeed the Moon herself is without doubt differently affected at different times by the rays of the Sun when she is entering them. The convexity of the heavens rendering them more feeble than when they fall upon her more directly. Hence when she is at a right angle to the Sun she is half enlightened when in the trine aspect she presents an imperfect orb while in opposition she is full. Again when she is waning she goes through the same gradations and in the same order as the three stars that are superior to the Sun. Chapter 17 of the motion of the Sun and the cause of the irregularity of the days. The Sun himself is in four different states twice the night is equal to the day in the spring and in the autumn when he is opposed to the center of the Earth in the eighth degree of Aries and Libra the length of the day and the night is then twice changed when the day increases in length from the winter solstice in the eighth degree of Capricorn and afterwards when the night increases in length from the summer solstice in the eighth degree of Cancer. The cause of this inequity is the obliquity of the zodiac since there is at every moment of time an equal portion of the firmament above and below the horizon but the signs which mount directly upwards when they rise retain the light for a longer space while those that are more oblique pass along more quickly. Chapter 18 Why Thunder is Ascribed to Jupiter It is not generally known what has been discovered by men who are the most imminent for their learning in consequence of their assiduous observations of the heavens that the fires which fall upon the Earth can receive the name of Thunderbolts proceed from the three superior stars but principally from the one which is situated in the middle. It may perhaps depend upon the superabundance of moisture from the superior orbit communicating with the heat from the inferior which are expelled in this manner and hence it is commonly said the Thunderbolts are darted by Jupiter and as in Burning Wood the burnt part is cast off with a crackling noise so does the star throw off this celestial fire bearing the omens of future events even the part which is thrown off not losing its divine operation and this takes place more particularly when the air is in an unsettled state either because the moisture which is then collected excites the greatest quantity of fire or because the air is disturbed as if by the parturition of the pregnant star. Chapter 19 of the Distances of the Stars Many persons have attempted to discover the distance of the stars from the Earth and they have published as the result that the Sun is nineteen times as far from the Moon as the Moon herself is from the Earth. Pythagoras, who was a man of a very sagacious mind computed the distance from the Earth to the Moon to be one hundred and twenty-six thousand furlongs that from her to the Sun is double this distance and that it is three times this distance to the twelve signs and this was also the opinion of our countryman Gallus Sulpicius. Chapter 20 of the Harmony of the Stars Pythagoras, employing the terms that are used in music sometimes names the distance between the Earth and the Moon a tone. From her to Mercury he supposes to be half this space and about the same from him to Venus. From her to the Sun is a tone and a half from the Sun to Mars is a tone the same as from the Earth to the Moon from him there is half a tone to Jupiter from Jupiter to Saturn also half a tone and then a tone and a half to the Zodiac. Hence there are seven tones which he terms the the Aposon Harmony meaning the whole compass of the notes. In this Saturn is said to move in the Doric time Jupiter in the Phrygian and so forth of the rest but this is a refinement rather amusing than useful. Chapter 21 of the Dimensions of the World The stadium is equal to 125 of our Roman paces or 625 feet. Poesidonus supposes that there is a space of not less than 40 stadia around the Earth whence the mist, winds and clouds proceed. Beyond this he supposes that the air is pure and liquid consisting of uninterrupted light. From the clouded region to the Moon there is a space of 2 million of stadia and thence to the Sun of 500 million. It is in consequence of this space that the Sun, notwithstanding his immense magnitude does not burn the Earth. Many persons have imagined that the clouds rise to the height of 900 stadia. These points are not completely made out and are difficult to explain but we have given the best account of them that has been published and if we may be allowed in any degree to pursue these investigations there is one infallible geometrical principle which we cannot reject. Not that we can ascertain the exact dimensions for to profess to do this would be almost the act of a madman but that the mind may have some estimate to direct its conjectures. Now it is evident that the orbit through which the Sun passes consists of nearly 366 degrees and that the diameter is always the third part and a little less than the seventh of the circumference. Then taking the half of this for the Earth is placed in the center it will follow that nearly one sixth part of the immense space which the mind conceives as constituting the orbit of the Sun round the Earth will compose his altitude. That of the Moon will be one twelfth part since her course is so much shorter than that of the Sun she is therefore carried along midway between the Sun and the Earth. It is astonishing to what an extent the weakness of the mind will proceed urged on by a little success as in the above mentioned instance to give full scope to its impudence. Thus having ventured to guess at the space between the Sun and the Earth we do the same with respect to the heavens because he is situated midway between them so that we may come to know the measure of the whole world in inches for if the diameter consists of seven parts there will be 22 of the same parts in the circumference as if we could measure the heavens by a plum line. The Egyptian calculation which was made out by Pettiseris and the Kepsos supposes that each degree of the lunar orbit which as I have said is the least consists of little more than 33 stadia in the very large orbit of Saturn the number is double in that of the Sun which as we have said is in the middle we have half the sum of these numbers and this is indeed a very modest calculation since if we add to the orbit of Saturn the distance from him to the zodiac we shall have an infinite number of degrees. Chapter 22 the stars which appear suddenly or of comets a few things still remain to be said concerning the world for stars are suddenly formed in the heavens themselves of these there are various kinds the Greeks name these stars comets we name them krytoni as if shaggy with bloody locks and surrounded with bristles like hair those stars which have a mane hanging down from their lower part like a long beard are named Pogonii those that are named Akontii vibrate like a dart with a very quick motion it was one of this kind which the emperor Titus described in his very excellent poem as having been seen in his fifth consulship and this was the last of these bodies which has been observed when they are short and pointed they are named Zipteii these are the pale kind they shine like a sword and are without any rays while we name those discae which being of an amber color and in conformity with their name emit a few rays from their margin only a kind named Pythias exhibits the figure of a cask appearing convex and emitting a smoky light the kind named Serastius has the appearance of a horn it is like the one which was visible when the Greeks fought at Salamis Lampadias is like a burning torch Hippias is like a horse's mane it has a very rapid motion like the circle revolving on itself there is also a white comet with silver hair so brilliant that it can scarcely be looked at exhibiting as it were the aspect of the deity in a human form there are some also that are shaggy having the appearance of a fleece surrounded by a kind of crown there was one where the appearance of a mane was changed into that of a spear it happened in the 109th Olympiad in the 398th year of the city the shortest time during which any one of them has been observed to be visible is seven days the longest 180 days Chapter 23 their nature, situation and species some of them move about in the manner of planets other remain stationary they are almost all of them seen towards the north not indeed in any particular portion of it but generally in that white part of it which has obtained the name of the Milky Way Aristotle informs us that several of them are to be seen at the same time but this as far as I know has not been observed by anyone else also that they prognosticate high winds and great heat they are also visible in the winter months and about the south pole but they have no rays proceeding from them there was a dreadful one observed by the Ethiopians and the Egyptians to which Typhon, the king of that period gave his own name it had a fury appearance and was twisted like a spiral its aspect was hideous nor was it like a star but rather like a knot of fire sometimes there were hairs attached to the planets and the other stars comments are never seen in the western part of the heavens it is generally regarded as a terrific star and one not easily expiated as was the case with the civil commotions in the council ship of Octavius and also in the war of Pompey and Caesar and in our own age about the time when Claudius Caesar was poisoned and left the empire to Demidius Nero and afterwards while the latter was emperor there was one which was almost constantly seen and was very frightful it is thought important to notice towards what part it darts its beams but from what star it receives its influence what it resembles and in what places it shines if it resembles a flute it portends something unfavorable respecting music if it appears in the parts of the signs referred to the secret members something respecting lewdness of manners something respecting wit and learning if they form a triangular quadrilangular figure with the position of some of the thick stars and that someone will be poisoned if they appear in the head of either the northern or the southern serpent Rome is the only place in the whole world where there is a temple dedicated to a comet it was thought by the late emperor Augustus to be auspicious to him from its appearance during the games operating in honor of venus genetrix not long after the death of his father Caesar in the college which was founded by him he expressed his joy in these terms during the very time of these games of mine a hairy star was seen during seven days in the part of the heavens which is under the great bear it rose about the eleventh hour of the day was very bright and was conspicuous in all parts of the earth the common people suppose the star to indicate that the soul of Caesar was admitted among the immortal gods under which designation it was that the star was placed on the bust which was lately consecrated in the forum this is what he proclaimed in public but in secret he rejoiced at this auspicious omen interpreting it as produced for himself and to confess the truth it really proved a salutary omen for the world at large some persons suppose that those stars are permanent and that they move through their proper orbits but that they are only visible when they recede from the sun others suppose that they are produced by an accidental vapor together with the force of fire and that from this circumstance they are likely to be dissipated End of Section 7 Section 8 of the Natural History Volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Natural History Volume 1 by Pliny the Elder translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley Section 8 Chapter 24 the doctrine of Hipparchus about the stars this same Hipparchus who can never be sufficiently commended as one who more especially proved the relation of the stars to man and that our souls are a portion of heaven discovered a new star that was produced in his own age and by observing its motions on the day in which it shone he was led to doubt whether it does not often happen that those stars have motion which we suppose to be fixed and the same individual attempted what might seem presumptuous even in a deity this to number the stars for posterity and to express their relations by appropriate names having previously devised instruments by which he might mark the places and the magnitudes of each individual star in this way it might be easily discovered not only whether they were destroyed or produced but whether they changed their relative positions and likewise whether they were increased or diminished the heavens being thus left as an inheritance to anyone who might be found competent to complete his plan Chapter 25 Examples from history of celestial prodigies Phases, Lumpidus and Bollydus The faces shine brilliantly but they are never seen accepting when they are falling One of these darted across the heavens in the sight of all the people at noon day when Germanicus Caesar was exhibiting a show of gladiators there are two kinds of them those which are called Lumpidus and those which are called Bollydus one of which latter was seen during the troubles at Mutina they differ from each other in disrespect that the faces produce a long train of light the four part only being on fire while the Bollydus being entirely in a state of combustion leave a still longer track behind them Chapter 26 Trape's Celestus, Casma Coili The Trape's also, which are named Docoi shine in the same manner one of these was seen at a time when the Lekedemonians by being conquered at sea lost their influence in Greece an opening sometimes takes place in the firmament which is named Casma Chapter 27 Of the colors of the sky and of celestial flame there is a flame of a bloody appearance and nothing is more dreaded by mortals which falls down upon the earth such as was seen in the third year of the 103rd Olympiad when King Philip was disturbing Greece but my opinion is that these, like everything else occur at stated natural periods and are not produced as some persons imagine from a variety of causes such as their fine genius may suggest they have indeed been the precursors of great evils but I can see that the evils occurred not because the prodigies took place but that these took place because the evils were appointed to occur at that period their cause is obscure in consequence of their rarity and therefore we are not as well acquainted with them as we are with the rising of the stars which I have mentioned and with eclipses and many other things Chapter 28 Of Celestial Korone Stars are occasionally seen along with the sun for whole days together and generally round its orb like a wreath made of the ears of corn or circles of various colors such as occurred when Augustus while a very young man was entering the city after the death of his father in order to take upon himself the great name which he assumed the same Korone occur about the moon and also about the principal stars which are stationary in the heavens Chapter 29 A bow appeared round the sun in the consulship of El Opimius and El Fabius and a circle in that of C. Porcius and M. Asilius There was a little circle of a red color in the consulship of El Julius and P. Rutilius Chapter 30 Of unusually long eclipses of the sun Eclipses of the sun also take place which are portentous and unusually long such as occurred when Caesar the dictator was slain and in the war against Antony the sun remained dim for almost a whole year Chapter 31 Many suns and again many suns have been seen at the same time not above or below the real sun but in an oblique direction never near nor opposite to the earth nor in the night but either in the east or in the west they are said to have been seen once at noon in the Bosphorus and to have continued from morning until sunset Our ancestors have frequently seen three suns at the same time as was the case in the consulship of S. P. Postimius and El Musius of El Marcius and M. Porcius and that of M. Anthony and D. Bella and that of M. Lapidus and El Plancus and we have ourselves seen one during the reign of the late Emperor Claudius when he was consul along with Cornelius Orpheus We have no account transmitted to us of more than three having been seen at the same time Chapter 32 Many moons Three moons have also been seen as was the case in the consulship of S. Andomitius and S. Fanius They have generally been named Nocturnal Suns Chapter 33 Daylight in the night A bright light has been seen proceeding from the heavens in the night time as was the case in the consulship of C. Sicilius and C. And Papyrus and at many other times so that there has been a kind of daylight in the night Chapter 34 Burning Shields A burning shield darted across at sunset from west to east throwing out sparks in the consulship of El Valerius and C. Marius Chapter 35 An ominous appearance in the heavens that was seen once only We have an account of a spark falling from a star and increasing as it approached the earth until it became of the size of the moon shining us through a cloud it afterwards returned into the heavens and was converted into a lampus This occurred in the consulship of C. And Octavius and C. Scribonius It was seen by Solanus, the procuncel and his attendants Chapter 36 Of stars which move about in various directions Stars are seen to move about in various directions but never without some cause nor without violent winds proceeding from the same quarter Chapter 37 Of the stars which are named Castor and Pollux These stars occur both at sea and at land I have seen during the night watches of the soldiers a luminous appearance like a star attached to the javelins on the ramparts They also settle on the yard arms and other parts of ships while sailing producing a kind of vocal sound like that of birds flitting about When they occur singly, they are mischievous so as even to sink the vessels and if they strike on the lower part of the keel setting them on fire When there are two of them they are considered auspicious and are thought to predict a prosperous voyage as it is said that they drive away that dreadful and terrific meteor named Helena On this account their efficacy is ascribed to Castor and Pollux and they are invoked as gods They also occasionally shine round the heads of men in the evening which is considered as predicting something very important But there is great uncertainty respecting the cause of all these things and they are concealed in the majesty of nature Chapter 38 Of the air and of the cause of the showers of stones So far I have spoken of the world itself and of the stars I must now give an account of the other remarkable phenomena of the heavens for our ancestors have given the name of heavens or sometimes another name air to all the seemingly void space which diffuses around us this vital spirit It is situated beneath the moon indeed much lower as is admitted by everyone who has made observations on it and is composed of a great quantity of air from the upper regions mixed with a great quantity of terrestrial vapor the two forming a compound hence proceed clouds, thunder and lightning of all kinds hence also hail, frost, showers, storms and whirlwinds hence proceed many of the evils incident to mortals and the mutual contests of the various parts of nature The force of the stars keeps down all terrestrial things which tend towards the heavens and the same force attracts to itself those things which do not go there spontaneously the showers fall mists rise up rivers are dried up hillstorms rush down the rays of the sun parts the earth and impel it from all quarters towards the center the same rays, still unbroken dart back again and carry with them whatever they can take up vapor falls from on high and returns again to the same place winds arise which contain nothing return loaded with spoils the breathing of so many animals draws down the spirit from the higher regions but this tends to go in a contrary direction and the earth pours out its spirit into the void space of the heavens thus nature moving to and fro as if impelled by some machine discord is kindled by the rapid motion of the world nor is the contest allowed to cease for she is continually world round and lays open the causes of all things forming an immense globe about the earth while she again from time to time covers this other firmament with clouds this is the region of the winds here their nature principally originates as well as the causes of almost all other things since most persons ascribe the darting of thunder and lightning to their violence and to the same cause are assigned the showers of stones these having been previously taken up by the wind as well as many other bodies in the same way on this account we must enter more at large on this subject chapter 39 of the stated seasons it is obvious that there are causes of the seasons and of other things which have been stated while there are some things which are casual or of which the reason has not yet been discovered for who can doubt that summer and winter and the annual revolution of the seasons are caused by the motion of the stars as therefore the nature of the sun is understood to influence the temperature of the year so each of the other stars has its specific power which produces its appropriate effects some abound in a fluid retaining its liquid state others in the same fluid concreted into whore thrust compressed into snow or frozen into hail some are prolific in winds some in heat some in vapours some in dew some in cold but these bodies must not be supposed to be actually of the size which they appear since the consideration of their immense height clearly proves that none of them are less than the moon each of them exercises its influence over us by its own motions this is particularly observable with respect to Saturn which produces a great quantity of rain in its transits nor is this power confined to the stars which change their situations but is found to exist in many of the fixed stars whenever they are impelled by the force of any of the planets or excited by the impulse of their rays as we find to be the case with respect to the succulay which the Greeks in reference to their rainy nature have termed the hiatus there are also certain events which occur spontaneously and at stated periods as the rising of the kids the star Arcturus scarcely ever rises without storms or hail occurring Chapter 40 of the Rising of the Dog Star who is there that does not know that the vapor of the sun is kindled by the rising of the dog star the most powerful effects are felt on the earth from this star when it rises the seas are troubled the winds and our cellars ferment and stagnant waters are set in motion there is a wild beast named by the Egyptians Oryx which when the star rises is said to stand opposite to it to look steadfastly at it and then to sneeze as if it were worshiping it there is no doubt that dogs during the whole of this period are peculiarly disposed to become rabid Chapter 41 of the regular influence of the different seasons there is moreover a peculiar influence in the different degrees of certain signs as in the autumnal aquinox and also in the winter solstice when we find that a particular star is connected with the state of the weather it is not so much the recurrence of showers and storms as of various circumstances which act both upon animals and vegetables some are planet struck and others at stated times are affected in the bowels, the sinews, the head or the intellect the olive, the white poplar and the willow turn their leaves around at the summer solstice the herb puligium, when dried and hanging up in a house blossoms on the very day of the winter solstice and bladders burst in consequence of their being distended with air one might wonder at this did we not observe every day that the plant named Heliotrope always looks towards the setting sun and is at all hours turned towards him even when he is obscured by clouds it is certain that the bodies of oysters and of welks and of shellfish generally are increasing in size and again diminished by the influence of the moon certain accurate observers have found out that the entrails of the field mouse correspond in number to the moon's age and at a very small animal the ant feels the power of this luminary always resting from their labours at the change of the moon and so much more disgraceful is our ignorance as every one acknowledges that the diseases in the eyes of the certain beasts of burden increase and diminish according to the age of the moon but the immensity of the heavens, divided as they are into 72 constellations, may serve as an excuse these are the resemblances of certain things animate and inanimate into which the learned have divided the heavens in these they have announced 1600 stars as being remarkable either for their effects or their appearance for example in the tale of the bull there are seven stars which are named for Gileae in his forehead are the succulet there is also Bootes which follows the seven northern stars chapter 42 of uncertain states of the weather but I would not deny that there may exist showers and winds independent of these causes since it is certain that an exhalation proceeds from the earth which is sometimes moist and at other times in consequence of the vapours like dense smoke and also that clouds are formed either from the fluid rising up on high or from the air being compressed into a fluid their density and their substance is very clearly proved from their intercepting the sun's rays which are visible by divers even in the deepest waters chapter 43 of thunder and lightning it cannot therefore be denied that fire proceeding from the stars which are above the clouds may fall on them as we frequently observe on serene evenings and that the air is agitated by the impulse as darts when there are hurled whiz through the air and when it arrives at the cloud a discordant kind of vapour is produced as when hot iron is plunged into water and the wreath of smoke is evolved hence arise squalls and if wind or vapour be struggling in the cloud thunder is discharged if it bursts out with a flame there is a thunderbolt if it be long in forcing out its way it is simply a flash of lightning by the latter the cloud is simply rent by the former it is shattered thunder is produced by the stroke given to the condensed air and hence it is that the fire darts from the chinks of the clouds it is possible also that the vapour which has risen from the earth being repelled by the stars may produce thunder when it is pent up in the cloud nature restraining the sound whilst vapour is struggling to escape but when it does escape the sound bursting forth as is the case with bladders that are distended with air it is possible also that the spirit whatever it be may be kindled by friction when it is so violently projected it is possible that by the dashing of the two clouds the lightning may flesh out as is the case when two stones are struck against each other but all these things appear to be casual hence there are thunderbolts which produce no effect and proceed from no immediate actual cause by these mountains and seas are struck and no injuries done those which prognosticate future events proceed from on high and from stated causes and they come from their peculiar stars chapter 44 in like manner I would not deny that winds or rather sudden gusts are produced by the air and dry vapours of the earth that air may also be exhaled from water which can neither be condensed into a mist nor compressed into a cloud that it may be also driven forward by the impulse of the sun since by the term wind we mean nothing more than a current of air by whatever means it may be produced for we observe winds to proceed from rivers and bays and from the sea even when at this tranquil while others which are named Altani rise up from the earth when they come back from the sea they are named Tropoi but if they go straight on Apogoi the windings and the numerous beaks of mountains their ridges bent into angles or broken into defiles with the hollow valleys by their irregular forms cleaving the air which rebounds from them which is also the cause why voices are in many cases repeated several times in succession give rise to winds there are certain caves such as that on the coast of Dalmatia with a fast perpendicular chasm into which if a light weight only be let down and although the day be calm a squall issues from it like a whirlwind the name of the place is Santa and also in the Prophets of Cyranoica there is a certain rock set to be sacred to the south wind which it is profane for a human hand to touch as the south wind immediately rolls forward clouds of sand there are also in many houses artificial cavities formed in the walls which produce currents of air none of these are without their appropriate cause Chapter 45 various observations respecting winds but there is a great difference between a gale and a wind the former are uniform and appear to rush forth they are felt not in certain spots only but over whole countries not forming breezes or squalls but violent storms whether they be produced by the constant revolution of the world and the opposite motion of the stars or whether they both of them depend on the generative spirit of the nature of things wandering as it were up and down in her womb or whether the air be scorched by the irregular strokes of the wandering stars or the various projections of their race or whether they each of them proceed from their own stars among which are those that are nearest to us or whether they descend from those that are fixed in the heavens it is manifest that they are all governed by a law of nature which is not altogether unknown although it be not completely ascertained more than 20 old Greek writers have published their observations upon this subject and this is the more remarkable seeing that there is so much discord in the world and that it is divided into different kingdoms that is into separate members that there should have been so many who have paid attention to these subjects which are so difficult to investigate especially when we consider the wars and the treachery which everywhere prevail while pirates, the enemies of the human race have possession of all the modes of communication so that at this time a person may acquire more correct information about a country from the writings of those who have never been there than from the inhabitants themselves whereas at this day in the blessed peace which we enjoy under a prince who so greatly encourages the advancement of the arts no new inquiries are set on foot nor do we even make ourselves thoroughly masters of the discoveries of the ancients not that there were greater rewards held out from the advantages being distributed to a greater number of persons but that there were more individuals who diligently scrutinized these matters with no other prospect but that of benefiting posterity it is that the manners of man are degenerated not that the advantages are diminished all the seas, as many as there are, being laid open and a hospitable reception being given us at every shore an immense number of people undertake voyages but it is for the sake of gain, not of science nor does their understanding which is blinded and bent only on avarice perceive that this very thing might be more safely done by means of science seeing, therefore, that there are so many thousands of persons on the seas I will treat of the winds with more minuteness than perhaps might otherwise appear suitable to my undertaking End of Section 8 Recording by Peter Zinn Chapter 46 The Different Kinds of Winds The ancients reckoned only four winds nor indeed does Homer mention more corresponding to the four parts of the world a very poor reason as we now consider it The next generation added eight others but this was too refined and minute a division The moderns have taken a middle course and out of this great number have added four to the original set There are, therefore, two in each of the four quarters of the heavens From the equinoctial rising of the sun proceeds sub Solanus and from his Brunel rising, Volternus the former is named by the Greeks Apeliotes the latter Eurus From the south we have Oster and from the Brunel setting of the sun, Afrakis these were named Notos and Libs From the equinoctial setting proceeds Favonius and from the solstitial setting Chorus these were named Zephyrus and Argestes From the seven stars comes Sceptremtio between which and the solstitial rising we have Aquillo named Aparchtius and Boreus By a more minute subdivision we interpose four others Thrascius between Sceptremio and the solstitial setting Caesius between Aquillo and the equinoctial rising and Phonises between the Bruma rising and the south and also at an equal distance from the south and the winter setting between Libs and Notos and compounded of the two is Libonotos Nor is this all For some persons have added a wind which they have named Macy's between Boreus and Caesius and one between Urius and Notos named Euronotus There are also certain winds peculiar to certain countries which do not extend beyond certain districts as Skyron and Attica deviating a little from Argestes and not known in the other parts of Greece In other places it is little higher on the card and is named Olympius but all these have gone by the name of Argestes In some places Caesius is named Hellespontia and the same is done in other cases In the province of Narbon the most noted wind is Thrascius It is not inferior to any of the winds and violence frequently driving the waves before it to Ostia straight across the Ligurian Sea Yet this same wind is unknown in other parts not even reaching Vajen a city in the same province for meeting with the high ridge of hills Just before it arrives at that district it is checked although it be the most violent of all the winds Fabius also asserts that the south winds never penetrate into Egypt Hence this law of nature is obvious that the winds have their stated seasons and limits Chapter 47 The Periods of the Winds The spring opens the seas for the navigators In the beginning of this season the west winds soften as it were the winter sky the sun having now gained the 25th degree of Aquarius This is on the 6th day before the Ides of February This agrees for the most part with all the remarks that I shall subsequently make only anticipating the period by one day in the intercalary year and again preserving the same order in the succeeding Lustrum After the 8th day before the Calens of March Favonius is called by some Celodonius from the swallows making their appearance The wind which blows for the space of nine days from the 71st day after the winter solstice is sometimes called Ornithius from the arrival of the birds In the contrary direction to Favonius is the wind which we name Sub-Solanus and this is connected to the rising of the Virgilii in the 25th degree of Taurus 6 days before the Ides of May which is the time when the south winds prevail These are opposite to Subtremptio The dark star rises in the hottest time of the summer when the sun is entering the first degree of Leo This is 15 days before the Calens of August The north winds, which are called Prodromi proceed its rising by about 8 days but in two days after its rising the same north winds, which are named Atesii blow more constantly during this period The vapor from the sun, being increased twofold by the heat of this star is supposed to render these winds more mild nor are there any which are more regular After these the south winds become more frequent until the appearance of Arcturus which rises 11 days before the Uptumnal Equinox At this time Chorus sets in Chorus is an Uptumnal Wind and is in the opposite direction to Volturnus After this, and generally 44 days after the Equinox at the setting of the Virgilii the winter commences which usually happens on the third of the Ides of November This is the period of the winter north wind which is very unlike the summer north wind and which is in the opposite direction to Africa For seven days before the winter solstice and for the same length of time after it the sea becomes calm in order that the kingfishers they rear their young From this circumstance they have obtained the name of the Halcyon days The rest of the season is winterly Yet the severity of the storms does not entirely close up the sea In former times pirates were compelled by the fear of death to rush into death and to brave the winter ocean Now we are driven to it by Avaris Chapter 48 The Nature of the Winds Those are the coldest winds which are said to blow from the seven stars and Chorus, which is contiguous to them these also restrain the others and dispel the clouds The moist winds are Africa's and still more the Auster of Italy It is said that in Pontus Caesius attracts the clouds The dry winds are Chorus and Volturnus especially when they are about to cease blowing The winds that bring snow are Aquillo and Septemtrio bringing hail and Sodus Chorus Auster is sultry Volturnus and Zephyrus are warm These winds are more dry than subsolanus and generally those which blow from the north and west are more dry than those which blow from the south and east Aquillo is the most healthy of them all Auster is unhealthy and more so when dry It is colder, perhaps because it is moist Animals are supposed to have less appetite for food when this wind is blowing The Atezii generally cease during the night and spring up at the third hour of the day In Spain and in Asia these winds have an easterly direction in Pontus and northerly and in other places a southerly direction They blow also after the winter solstice when they are called Ornithii but they are more gentle and continue only for a few days There are two winds which change their nature with their situation In Africa, Auster is attended with a clear sky while Aquillo collects the clouds Almost all winds blow in their turn so that when one ceases his opposite springs up When winds which are contiguous exceed each other they go from left to right in the direction of the sun The fourth day of the moon generally determines their direction for the whole of the monthly period We are able to sail in opposite directions by means of the same wind if we have the sails properly set Hence it frequently happens that in the night vessels going in different directions run against each other Auster produces higher winds than Aquillo because the warmer blows as it were from the bottom of the sea while the latter blows on the surface It is therefore after south winds that the most mischievous earthquakes have occurred Auster is the more violent during the night and Aquillo during the day Winds from the east continue longer than from the west The north winds generally cease blowing on the odd days and we observe the prevalence of the odd numbers in many other parts of nature The male winds are therefore regulated by the odd numbers The sun sometimes increases and sometimes restrains winds when rising and setting it increases them while when on the meridian it restrains them during the summer They are therefore generally lulled during the middle of the day and of the night because they are abated either by excessive cold or heat Winds are also lulled by showers We generally expect them to come from that quarter where the clouds open and allow the clear sky to be seen Eudox is supposed to have the same succession of changes occurs in them after a period of four years if we observe their minute revolutions this applies not only to winds but to whatever concerns the state of the weather He begins his lustrum at the rising of the dog-star in the intercalary year so far concerning winds in general Chapter 49 Echnethias and Typhon and now respecting the sudden gusts which were rising from the exhalations of the earth as has been said above and falling down again being in the meantime covered by a thin film of clouds exists in a variety of forms By their wandering about and rushing down like torrents in the opinion of some persons they produce thunder and lightning but if they be urged on with greater force and violence so as to cause the rupture of a dry cloud they produce a squall which is named by the Greeks Echnethias but if these are compressed and rolled up more closely together and then break without any discharge of fire i.e. without thunder they produce a squall just named Typhon or Echnethias in a state of agitation it carries along a portion of the cloud which it has broken off rolling it and turning it round aggravating its own destruction by the weight of it and whirling it from place to place this is very much dreaded by sailors as it not only breaks their sailyards but the vessels themselves bending them about in various ways this may be a slight degree counteracted by sprinkling it with vinegar when it comes near us this substance being of a very cold nature this wind when it rebounds after the stroke absorbs and carries up whatever it may have seized on Chapter 50 tornadoes, blasting winds, whirlwinds and other wonderful kinds of tempests but if it bursts from the cavity of a cloud which is more depressed it's capacious than what produces a squall and is accompanied by noise it is called a whirlwind and throws on everything which is near it the same when it is more burning and rages with greater heat is called a blasting wind scorching and at the same time throwing down everything with which it comes in contact Typhon never comes from the north nor have we Echnethias when it snows or when there is snow on the ground it breaks the clouds and at the same time catches fire or burns but not until it has left the cloud it forms a thunderbolt it differs from prester as flame does from fire the former is diffused in a gust the latter is condensed with a violent impulse the whirlwind when it rebounds differs from the tornado in the same manner as a loud noise does from a dash the squall differs from both of them in its extent the clouds being more properly rent asunder than broken into pieces a black cloud is formed resembling a great animal an appearance much shredded by sailors it is also called a pillar when the moisture is so condensed and rigid as to be able to support itself it is a cloud of the same kind which when drawn into a tube sucks up the water Chapter 51 Of Thunder In what countries it does not fall and for what reason Thunder is rare both in winter and in summer but from different causes the air which is condensed in the winter is made still more dense by a thicker covering of clouds while the exhalations from the earth being all of them rigid and frozen extinguish whatever fiery vapor it may receive it is this cause which exempts Skithia cold districts rounded from thunder on the other hand the excessive heat exempts Egypt the warm and dry vapors of the earth being very seldom condensed and that only into light clouds but in the spring and autumn thunder is more frequent the causes which produce summer and winter being in each season less efficient from this cause thunder is more frequent in Italy the air being more easily set in motion in consequence of a milder winter and a showery summer so that it may be said to be always spring or autumn also in those parts of Italy which recede from the north and lie toward the south as in the district around our city and in Campania it lightens equally both in winter and in summer which is not the case in other situations Chapter 52 of the different kinds of lightning and their wonderful effects we have accounts of many different kinds of thunderstorms those which are dry do not burn objects but dissipate them while those which are moist do not burn but blacken them there is a third kind which is called bright lightning of a very wonderful nature by which casks are emptied without the vessels themselves being injured or there being any other trace left of their operation gold, copper and silver are melted while the bags which contain them are not in the least burned nor even the wax seal much defaced Marcia, a lady of high rank at Rome was struck while pregnant the fetus was destroyed while she herself survived without suffering any injury among the prognostics which took place at the time of Catalan's conspiracy M. Herinius, a magistrate of the borough of Pompeii was struck by lightning when the sky was without clouds Chapter 53 the atrarian and the Roman observations on these points the Tuscan books inform us that there are nine gods who discharged thunderstorms that there are eleven different kinds of them and that three of them are darted out by Jupiter of these the Romans retained only two ascribing the diurnal kinds to Jupiter and the nocturnal to Samanus this latter kind being more rare and consequence of the heavens being colder as was mentioned above the atrarians also suppose that those which are named infernal burst out of the ground they are produced in the winter and are particularly fierce and direful as all things are which proceed from the earth and are not generated by or proceeding from the stars but from a cause which is near at hand and of a more disorderly nature as a proof of this it is said that all those which proceed from the higher regions strike obliquely while those which are termed terrestrial strike in a direct line and because these fall from matter which is nearer to us they are supposed to proceed from the earth since they leave no traces of a rebound this being the effect of a stroke coming not from below but from an opposite quarter those who have searched into the subject more minutely suppose that these come from the planet Saturn as those that are of a burning nature do from Mars in this way it was that Volsinium the most opulent town of the Tuscans was entirely consumed by lightning the first of these strokes that a man receives after he has come into possession of any property is termed familiar and is supposed to prognosticate the events of the whole of his life but it is not generally supposed that they predict events of a private nature for a longer space than 10 years unless they happen at the time of a first marriage or a birthday nor that public predictions extend beyond 30 years unless with respect to the founding of colonies it is related in our annals that by certain sacred rites and implications thunderstorms may be compelled or invoked there is an old report in Atraria that thunder was invoked when the city of Volsinium had its territory laid waste by a monster named Volta thunder was also invoked by King Porcena and El Piso, a very respectable author states in the first book of his annals that this had been frequently done before his time by Numa and that Tolas Hostelius, imitating him but not having properly performed the ceremonies was struck with lightning we also have groves and altars and sacred places and among the titles of Jupiter as Stator, Tonans and Feretrius we have a Jupiter Elysius the opinions entertained on this point are very various and depend much on the dispositions of different individuals to believe that we can command nature is the mark of a bold mind nor is it less the mark of a feeble one to reject her kindness our knowledge has been so far useful to us in the interpretation of thunder that it enables us to predict what is to happen on a certain day and we learn either that our fortune is to be entirely changed or discloses events which are concealed from us as is proved by an infinite number of examples public and private wherefore let these things remain according to the order of nature to some persons certain, to others doubtful by some approved, by others condemned I must not, however, omit the other circumstances connected with them which deserve to be related Chapter 55 General Laws of Lightning it is certain that the lightning is seen before the thunder is heard although they both take place at the same time nor is this wonderful since light has a greater velocity than sound nature so regulates it that the stroke and the sound coincide the sound is, however, produced by the discharge of the thunder not by its stroke but the air is impelled quicker than the lightning on which account it is that everything is shaken and blown up before it is struck and that a person is never injured when he has seen the lightning and heard the thunder thunder on the left hand is supposed to be lucky because the east is on the left side of the heavens we do not regard so much the mode in which it comes to us as that in which it leaves us whether the fire rebounds after the stroke or whether the current of air returns when the operation is concluded and the fire is consumed in relation to this object the attrarians have divided the heavens into sixteen parts the first great division is from north to east the second to the south the third to the west and the fourth occupies what remains from west to north each of these has been subdivided into four parts of which the eight on the east have been called the left and those on the west the right divisions those which extend from the west to the north have been considered the most unpropitious it becomes therefore very important to ascertain from what quarter the thunder proceeds and in what direction it falls it is considered a very favorable omen when it returns into the eastern divisions but it prognosticates the greatest felicity when the thunder proceeds from the first mentioned part of the heavens and falls back into it it was an omen of this kind which as we have heard was given to sell of the dictator the remaining quarters of the heavens are less propitious and also less to be dreaded there are some kinds of thunder which it is not thought right to speak of or even listen to unless when they have been disclosed to the master of a family or to a parent but the futility of this observation was detected when the temple of Juno was struck at Rome during the consulship of Scouris he who was afterwards the prince of the senate it lightens without thunder more frequently in the night than in the day man is the only animal that is not always killed by it all other animals being killed instantly nature having granted to him this mark of distinction while so many other animals excel him in strength all animals fall down on the opposite side to that which has been struck man unless he be thrown down on the parts that are struck does not expire those who are struck directly from above sink down immediately when a man is struck while he is awake he is found with his eyes closed when asleep with them open it is not considered proper that a man killed in this way should be burnt on the funeral pile our religion enjoins us to bury the body in the earth no animal is consumed by lightning unless after having been previously killed the parts of the animal that have been wounded by lightning are colder than the rest of the body end of section 9 recording by Kristina Vasilevsky of www.105creations.com section 10 of the natural history volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Anna Simon the natural history volume 1 by Pliny the Elder translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley section 10 chapter 56 objects which are never struck among the productions of the earth thunder never strikes a laurel nor does it descend more than five feet into the earth those therefore who are timid consider the deepest caves as the most safe or tents made of the skins of the animal called the sea calf since this is the only marine animal which is never struck as is the case among birds with the eagle on this account it is represented as the bearer of this weapon in Italy between Terracina and the temple of Feronia the people have left off building towers in time of war every one of them having been destroyed by thunderbolts chapter 57 showers of milk, blood, flesh, iron, wool and baked tiles besides these we learn from certain monuments that from the lower part of the atmosphere it rained milk and blood in the consulship of M. Achilles and C. Porcus and frequently at other times this was the case with respect to flesh in the consulship of P. Volumnus and Servius S. Picius and it's said that what was not devoured by the birds did not become putrid it also rained iron among the Lucanians the year before Crassus was slain by the Parthians as well as all the Lucanian soldiers of whom there was a great number in this army the substance which fell had very much the appearance of sponge the augurs warned the people against wounds that might come from above in the consulship of L. Paulus and C. Marcellus it rained wool round the castle of Carousanum near which place a year after T. Aeneas Milo was killed it is recorded among the transactions of that year that when he was pleading his own cause there was a shower of baked tiles Chapter 58 rattling of arms and the sound of trumpets heard in the sky we have heard that during the war with the Kimbe the rattling of arms and the sound of trumpets were heard through the sky and that the same thing has frequently happened before and since also that in the third consulship of Marius armies were seen in the heavens by the Amarini and the Turdertis encountering each other as if from the east and west and that those from the east were repelled it is not at all wonderful for the heavens themselves to be in flames and it has been more frequently observed when the clouds have taken up a great deal of fire Chapter 59 of stones that have fallen from the clouds the opinion of Anaxagoras respecting them the Greeks boast that Anaxagoras, the Clasimenean in the second year of the 78th Olympiad from his knowledge of what relates to the heavens had predicted that at a certain time a stone would fall from the sun and the thing accordingly happened in the daytime in a part of Thrace at the River Aegos the stone is now to be seen, a wagon load in size and of a burned appearance there was also a comet shining in the night at that time but to believe that this had been predicted would be to admit that the dividing powers of Anaxagoras were still more wonderful and that our knowledge of the nature of things and indeed everything else would be thrown into confusion would be to suppose either that the sun is itself composed of stone or that there was even a stone in it yet there can be no doubt that stones have frequently fallen from the atmosphere there is a stone, a small one indeed at this time in the gymnasium of Abydos which on this account is held in veneration and which the same Anaxagoras predicted would fall in the middle of the earth there is another at Cassandria formerly called Posidea which from this circumstance was built in that place I have myself seen one in the country of the Volcanti which had been brought from the fields only a short time before Chapter 60 The Rainbow what we name rainbows frequently occur that are not considered either wonderful or ominous for they do not predict with certainty either rain or fair weather it is obvious that the rays of the sun being projected upon a hollow cloud the light is thrown back to the sun and is refracted and that the variety of colours is produced by a mixture of clouds, air and fire the rainbow is certainly never produced except in the part opposite to the sun nor even in any other form except that of a semicircle nor are they ever formed at night although Aristotle asserts that they are sometimes seen at that time he acknowledges however that it can only be on the 14th day of the moon they are seen in the winter the most frequently when the days are shortening after the eternal equinox they are not seen when the days increase again after the vernal equinox or on the longest days about the summer solstice but frequently at the winter solstice when the days are the shortest when the sun is low they are high and when the sun is high they are low they are smaller when the east or west but are spread out wider in the south they are small but of a greater span in the summer they are not seen at noon but after the eternal equinox at any hour there are never more than two seen at once Chapter 61 the nature of hail, snow, whore, mist, dew the forms of clouds I do not find that there is any doubt entertained respecting the following points hail is produced by frozen rain and snow by the same fluid less firmly concreted and whore by frozen dew during the winter snow falls but not hail hail itself falls more frequently during that day than night and is more quickly melted than snow there are no mists either in the summer or during the greatest cold of winter there is neither dew nor whore formed during great heat or winds nor unless the night be serene fluids are diminished in bulk by being frozen and when the ice is melted we do not obtain the same quantity of fluid as at first the clouds are varied in their colour and figure according as the fire which they contain is in excess or is absorbed by them Chapter 62 the peculiarities of the weather in different places there are moreover certain peculiarities in certain places in Africa dew falls during the night in summer in Italy at Locchi and at the lake Valenem there is never a day in which a rainbow is not seen at roads and at Syracuse the sky is never so covered with clouds but that the sun is visible at one time or another these things however will be better detailed in their proper place so far respecting the air Chapter 63 nature of the earth next comes the earth on which alone of all parts of nature we have bestowed the name that implies maternal veneration it is appropriated to man as the heavens are to God she receives us at our birth nourishes us when born and ever afterwards supports us lastly embracing us in her bosom when we are rejected by the rest of nature she then covers us with a special tenderness rendered sacred to us as much as she renders us sacred bearing our monuments and titles continuing our names and extending our memory in opposition to the shortness of life in our anger we implicate her on those who are now no more as if we were ignorant that she is the only being who can never be angry with man the water passes into shower is concreted into hail swells into rivers is precipitated in torrents the air is condensed into clouds rages in squalls but the earth kind mild and indulgent as she is and always ministering to the wants of mortals how many things do we compel her to produce spontaneously what odours and flowers nutritive juices forms and colours with what good faith does she render back all that has been entrusted to her it is the vital spirit which must bear the blame of producing noxious animals for the earth is constrained to receive the seeds of them and to support them when they are produced the fault lies in the evil nature which generates them the earth will no longer harbor a serpent after it has attacked anyone and thus she even demands punishment in the name of those who are indifferent about it themselves she pours forth a perfusion of medicinal plants and is always producing something for the use of man we may even suppose that it is out of compassion to us that she has ordained certain substances to be poisonous in order that when we are wary of life hunger, a mode of death the most foreign to the kind disposition of the earth might not consume us by a slow decay that precipices might not lacerate our mangled bodies that the unseemly punishment of the halter may not torture us by stopping the breath of one who seeks his own destruction or that we may not seek our death in the ocean and become food for our graves or that our bodies may not be gashed by steel on this account it is that nature has produced substance which is very easily taken by which life is extinguished the body remaining under-filed and retaining all its blood and only causing a degree of thirst and when it is destroyed by this means neither bird nor beast will touch the body but he who has perished by his own hands is reserved for the earth but it must be acknowledged that everything which the earth has produced as a remedy for our evils we have converted into the poison of our lives for do we not use iron which we cannot do without for this purpose but although this cause of mischief has been produced we ought not to complain we ought not to be ungrateful to this one part of nature how many luxuries and how many insults does she not bear for us she is cast into the sea and in order that we may introduce seas into her bosom she is washed away by the waves she is continually tortured for her iron her timber, stone, fire, corn and is even much more subservient to our luxuries than to our mere support what indeed she endures on her surface might be tolerated but we penetrate also into her bowels digging out the veins of gold and silver and the oars of copper and lead we also search for gems and certain small pebbles driving our trenches to a great death we tear out her entrails in order to extract the gems with which we may load our fingers how many hands are worn down that one little joint may be ornamented if the infernal regions really existed certainly these burrows of Everest and luxury would have penetrated into them and truly we wonder that this same earth should have produced anything noxious but I suppose the savage beasts protect her and keep off our sacrilegious hands for do we not dig among serpents and handle poisonous plants along with those veins of gold but the goddess shows herself more proficient to us in as much as all this wealth ends in crimes slaughter and war and that while we drench her with our blood we cover her with unburied bones and being covered with these and her anger being thus appeased she conceals the crimes of mortals I consider the ignorance of her nature as one of the evil effects of an ungrateful mind of the form of the earth everyone agrees that it has the most perfect figure we always speak of the ball of the earth and we admit it to be a globe bounded by the poles it has not indeed the form of an absolute sphere from the number of lofty mountains and flat plains but if the termination of the lines be bounded by a curve this would compose a perfect sphere and this we learn from arguments drawn from the nature of things although not from the same considerations which we made use of with respect to the heavens for in these the hollow convexity everywhere bends on itself and leans upon the earth as its center whereas the earth rises up solid and dense like something that swells up and is protruded outwards the heavens bend towards the center while the earth goes from the center the continual rolling of the heavens about it forcing its immense globe into the form of a sphere on this point there is a great contest between the learned and the vulgar we maintain that our men dispersed over every part of the earth that they stand with their feet turned towards each other and that the vault of the heavens appears alike to all of them and that they, all of them, appear to tread equally on the middle of the earth if anyone should ask why those situated opposite to us do not fall we directly ask in return whether those on the opposite side do not wonder that we do not fall but I may make a remark that will appear plausible even to the most unlearned that if the earth were of a figure of an unequal globe like the seed of a pine still it may be inhabited in every part but of how little moment is this when we have another miracle rising up to our notice the earth itself is pendant and does not fall with us it is doubtful whether this be from the force of the spirit which is contained in the universe or whether it would fall did not nature resist by allowing of no place where it might fall for as the seed of fire is nowhere but in fire nor of water except in water nor of air except in air so there is no situation for the earth except in itself everything else repelling it it is indeed wonderful that it should form a globe when there is so much flat surface of the sea and of the plains and this was the opinion of Dicurecress a peculiarly learned man who measured the heights of mountains and met the direction of the kings and estimated Pylian which is the highest at 1250 paces perpendicular and considered this as not affecting the round figure of the globe but this appears to me to be doubtful as I well know that the summits of some of the Alps rise up by a long space of not less than 50,000 paces but what the vulgar most strenuously contend against is to be compelled to believe that the water is forced into a rounded figure yet there is nothing more obvious to the sight among the phenomena of nature for we see everywhere that drops when they hang down assume the form of small globes and when they are covered with dust or have the down of leaves spread over them they are observed to be completely round and when a cup is filled the liquid swells up in the middle but on account of the subtle nature of the fluid the effect is more easily ascertained by our reason than by our sight and it is even more wonderful that if a very little fluid only be added to a cup when it is full the superfluous quantity runs over whereas the contrary happens if we add a solid body even as much as would weigh 20 denari the reason of this is that what is dropped in raises up the fluid at the top while what is poured on it it is from the same cause that the land is not visible from the body of a ship when it may be seen from the mast and that when a vessel is receding if any bright object be fixed to the mast it seems gradually the descent and finally to become invisible and the ocean which we admit to be without limits if it had any other figure could it cohere and exist without falling there being no external margin to contain it and the same wonder still recurs how is it that the extreme part of the sea although it be in the form of a globe do not fall down in opposition to which doctrine the Greeks to their great joy and glory were the first to teach us by their subtle geometry that this could not happen even if the seas were flat and of the figure which they appear to be for since water always runs from a higher to a lower level and this is admitted to be essential to it no one ever doubted that the water would accumulate on any shore as much as its slope would allow it it is also certain that the lower anything is so much the nearer is it to the centre and that all the lines which are drawn from this point to the water which is nearest to it are shorter than those which reach from the beginning of the sea to its extreme parts hence it follows that all the water from every part tends towards the centre and because it has this tendency does not fall Chapter 66 how the water is connected with the earth of the navigation of the sea and the rivers we must believe that the great artist nature has so arranged it that as the arid and dry earth cannot subsist by itself and without moisture nor on the other hand can the water subsist unless it be supported by the earth they are connected by a mutual union the earth opens her harbours while the water pervades the whole earth within, without and above its veins running in all directions like connecting links and bursting out on even the highest ridges where, forced up by the air and pressed out by the weight of the earth it shoots forth as from a pipe and is so far from being in danger of falling that it bounce up to the highest and most lofty places hence the reason is obvious why the seas are not increased by the daily accession of so many rivers the earth has therefore the whole of its globe girt on every side by the sea flowing around it and this is not a point to be investigated by arguments but what has been a certain by experience End of Section 10 Section 11 of the Natural History Volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Anna Simon The Natural History Volume 1 by Pliny the Elder translated by John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley Section 11 Chapter 67 Where the Ocean Surrounds the Earth The whole of the western ocean is now navigated from goddess and the pillars of Hercules round Spain and Gaul the greater part of the northern ocean has also been navigated under the auspices of the Emperor Augustus his fleet having been carried around Germany to the promontory of the Kimberley from which spot they described an immense sea or became acquainted with it by report which extends to the country of the Skithians and the districts that are chilled by excessive moisture on this account it is not at all probable that the ocean should be deficient in a region where moisture so much abounds in like manner towards the east from the Indian Sea all that part which lies in the same latitude and which bends round towards the Caspian has been explored by the Macedonian arms in the reigns of Seleucus and Antiochus who wished it to be named after themselves the Seleucian or Antiochian Sea about the Caspian too many parts of the shores of the ocean have been explored so that nearly the whole of the north has been sailed over in one direction or another nor can our argument be much affected by the point that has been so much discussed respecting the palis meotis whether it be a bay of the same ocean as is I understand the opinion of some persons or whether it be the overflowing of a narrow channel connected with a different ocean on the other side of Gades proceeding from the same western point a great part of the southern ocean along Mauritania has now been navigated indeed the greater part of this region as well as of the east as far as the Arabian Gulf was surveyed in consequence of Alexander's victories when Caius Caesar the son of Augustus had the conduct of affairs in that country it is said that they found the remains of Spanish vessels which have been wrecked there all the power of cartage was at its height Hanno published an account of a voyage which he made from Gades to the extremity of Arabia Himilco was also sent about the same time to explore the remote parts of Europe besides we learned from Cornelius Nipples that one Eudoxus a contemporary of his when he was flying from King Lathras set out from the Arabian Gulf and was carried as far as Gades and long before him Cilius Antipater informs us that he had seen a person who had sailed from Spain to Ethiopia for the purposes of trade the same Cornelius Nipples when speaking of the northern Syracum navigation tells us that Ciumetalus Cila the colleague of El Aphranius in the consulship but then a proconsul in Gaul had a present made to him by the king of the Suevi of certain Indians who sailing from India for the purpose of commerce had been driven by tempests into Germany thus it appears that the seas which flow completely round the globe and divide it as it were into two parts excludes from one part of it as there is no way open to it on either side and as the contemplation of these things is adapted to detect the vanity of mortals it seems incumbent on me to display and lay open to our eyes the whole of it whatever it be in which there is nothing which can satisfy the desires of certain individuals Chapter 68 what part of the earth is inhabited in the first place then it appears that this should be estimated at half the globe as if no portion of this half was encroached upon by the ocean but surrounding as it does the whole of the land pouring out and receiving all the other waters furnishing whatever goes to the clouds and feeding the stars themselves so numerous and of such great size as they are what a great space must we not suppose it to occupy this vast mass must fill up and occupy an infinite extent to this we must add that portion of the remainder which the heavens take from us for the globe is divided into five parts termed zones and all that portion is subject to severe cold and perpetual frost which is under the two extremities about each of the poles the nearer of which is called the north and the opposite the south pole in all these regions there is perpetual darkness and in consequence of the aspect of the milder stars being turned from them the light is malignant and only like the whiteness which is produced by whorefrost the middle of the earth over which is the orbit of the sun is parched and burned by the flame consumed by being so near the heat there are only two of the zones which are temperate those which lie between the torrent and the frigid zones and these are separated from each other in consequence of the scorching heat of the heavenly bodies it appears therefore that the heavens take from us three parts of the earth how much the ocean steals is uncertain and with respect to the part which is left us this same ocean insinuating itself into a number of bays approaches with its roaring so near the inland seas that the Arabian Gulf is no more than 115 miles from the Egyptian sea and the Caspian only 375 miles from the Uxin it also insinuates itself into the numerous seas by which it separates Africa Europe and Asia hence how much space must it occupy we must also take into account the extent of all the rivers and the marshes and we must add the lakes and the pools there are also the mountains raised up to the heavens with their precipitous fronts we must also subtract the forests and the craggy valleys the wildernesses and the places which from various causes are desert the vast quantity which remains of the earth or rather as many persons have considered it this speck of a world for the earth is no more in regard to the universe this is the object the seed of our glory here we bear our honors here we exercise our power here we covet wealth here we mortals create our disturbances here we continually carry on our wars I, civil wars even and unpeople the earth and not to dwell on public feuds entered into by nations against each other here it is that we drive away our neighbors and enclose the land thus seized upon within our own fence and yet the man who has most extended his boundary and has expelled the inhabitants for ever so great a distance after all what mighty portion of the earth is he master of and even when his ever is has been the most completely satisfied part of it can he take with him into the grave Chapter 69 that the earth is in the middle of the world it is evident from undoubted arguments that the earth is in the middle of the universe but it is the most clearly proved by the equality of the days and the nights at the equinox it is demonstrated by the quadrant which affords the most decisive confirmation of the fact that unless the earth was in the middle the days and nights could not be equal for at the time of the equinox the rising and setting of the sun are seen on the same line and the rising of the sun at the summer solstice is on the same line with its setting at the winter solstice but this could not happen if the earth was not situated in the center Chapter 70 of the Obligity of the Zones the three circles which are connected with the above mentioned zones which have distinguished the inequalities of the seasons these are the solstice circle which proceeds from the part of the zodiac the highest to us and approaching the nearest to the district of the north on the other side the brumel which is towards the south pole and the equinoxial which traverses the middle of the zodiac Chapter 71 of the Inequality of Climates the cause of the other things which are worthy of our admiration depends on the figure of the earth itself which together with all its waters is proved by the same arguments to be a globe this certainly is the cause why the stars of the northern portion of the heavens never set to us and why on the other hand those in the south never rise and again why the letter can never be seen by the former the globe of the earth rising up and concealing them the northern wane is never seen nor in Egypt which borders on it nor can we in Italy see the star Canopus nor what under the emperor Augustus was named Caesar's throne although they are there very brilliant stars the curved form of the earth is so obvious rising up like a ridge that Canopus appears to a spectator at Alexandria to rise above the horizon almost a quarter of a sign the same star at Rhodes appears as it were to graze along the earth while in Pontus it is not seen at all where the northern wane appears considerably elevated this same constellation cannot be seen at Rhodes and still less at Alexandria in Arabia in the month of November it is concealed during the first watch of the night but may be seen during the second in Meroe it is seen for a short time in the evening and it is visible at daybreak for a few days before the rising of Arcturus these facts have been principally ascertained by the expeditions of navigators the sea appearing more elevated or depressed in certain parts the stars suddenly coming into view and as it were emerging from the water after having been concealed by the bulging out of the globe but the heavens do not as some suppose rise higher at one pole as its stars would be seen from all parts of the world they indeed are supposed to be higher by those who are nears to them but the stars are sunk below the horizon to those who are more remote as this pole appears to be elevated to those who are beneath it so when we have passed along the convexity of the earth those stars rise up which appear elevated to the inhabitants of those other districts all this however could not happen as the earth had the shape of a globe Chapter 72 in what places eclipses are invisible and why this is the case hence it is that the inhabitants of the east do not see those eclipses of the sun or of the moon which occur in the evening nor the inhabitants of the west those in the morning while such a stake place at noon are more frequently visible we are told that at the time of Alexander the Great at Arbella the moon was eclipsed at the second hour of the night while in Sicily the moon was rising at the same hour the eclipse of the sun which occurred the day before the Calens of May in the consulship of Vipstanus and Fontius not many years ago was seen in Campania between the 7th and 8th hour of the day the general corpulo conforms us that it was seen in Armenia between the 11th and 12th hour thus the curve of the globe both reveals and conceals different objects from the inhabitants of its different parts if the earth had been flat everything would have been seen at the same time from every part of it and the nights would not have been unequal while the equal intervals of 12 hours which are now observed only in the middle of the earth would in that case have been the same everywhere Chapter 73 What regulates the daylight on the earth Hence it is that there is not any one night and day the same in all parts of the earth at the same time the intervention of the globe producing night and its turning round producing day this is known by various observations in Africa and in Spain it is made evident by the towers of Hannibal and in Asia by the beacons which in consequence of their dread of pirates the people erected for their protection for it has been frequently observed that the signals which were lighted at the sixth hour of the day were seen at the third hour of the night by those who were the most remote Philonides a courier of the above mentioned Alexander went from Scythion to Ulis a distance of 1200 stadia in nine hours while he seldom returned until the third hour of the night although the road was downhill the reason is that in going he followed the course of the sun while on his return in the opposite direction he met the sun and left it behind him for the same reason it is that those who sail to the west even on the shortest day compensate for the difficulty of sailing in the night and go farther because they sail in the same direction with the sun chapter 74 remarks on dials as connected with this subject the same dial plates cannot be used in all places the shadow of the sun being sensibly different at distances of 300 or at most of 500 stadia hence the shadow of the dial pin which is termed the Gnomon at noon and at the summer solstice in Egypt is little more than half the length of the Gnomon itself at the city of Ruhm it is only one ninth less than the Gnomon at Ancona not more than one in 55 parts less while in the part of Italy which is called Venizia at the same hour the shadow is equal to the length of the Gnomon chapter 75 when and where there are no shadows it is likewise said that in the town of Sayin which is 5000 stadia south of Alexandria there is no shadow at noon on the day of the solstice and that a well which was sunk for the purpose of the experiment is illuminated by the sun in every part it appears that the sun in this place is vertical and on a secretus informs us that this is the case about the same time in India at the river Hippasis it is well known that at Peronis at city of Turgola deity and 4820 stadia beyond that city in the same country at the town of Ptolemies which was built on the Red Sea when the elephant was first hunted it takes place for 45 days before the solstice and for an equal length of time after it and that during these 90 days the shadows are turned towards the south again at Meroy an island in the Nile and the metropolis of the Ethiopians which is 5000 stadia from Sayin there are no shadows at two periods of the year that is when the sun is in the 18th degree of Taurus and in the 14th of Leo the Orates, a people of India have a mountain named Malleus near which the shadows in summer fall towards the south and in winter towards the north the seven stars of the Great Bear are visible there for 15 nights only in India also in a celebrated seaport Patali the sun rises to the right hand and the shadows fall towards the south while Alexander was staying there it was observed that the seven northern stars fall only during the early part of the night on a secretus one of his generals informs us in his work that in those places in India where there are no shadows the seven stars are not visible these places he says are called Aschia and the people there do not reckon the time by hours Chapter 76 where this takes place twice in the year and where the shadows fall in opposite directions Eratosthenes informs us that in the whole of Turgalodityche for twice 45 days in the year the shadows fall in the contrary direction Chapter 77 where the days are the longest and where the shortest hence it follows that in consequence of the daylight increasing in various degrees in Meroy the longest day consists of 12 equinoxial hours and 8 parts of an hour at Alexandria of 14 hours in Italy of 15 in Britain of 17 where the degree of light which exists in the night very clearly proves what the reason of the thing also obliges to believe that during the solstice period as the sun approaches to the pole of the world and his orbit is contracted the parts of the earth that lie below him have a day of six months long and a night of equal length when he is removed to the south pole Pythias of Marseille informs us that this is the case in the island of Thule which is 6 days sail from the north of Britain some persons also affirm that this is the case in Mona which is about 200 miles from Camunadunum a town of Britain End of Section 11