Any one who will read Sylla’s myth, with a good map of the moon’s
surface before him, will be able to locate for himself the ‘Gulf of
Hecate’, and the long valleys leading to the Elysian plains, which, on
her side remote from earth, enjoy diffused sunlight. There need be no
idea of shafts or tunnels driven through the solid body of the moon.
Cicero’s _Dream of Scipio_, written more than a century before
Plutarch’s Dialogue, and also drawn from Posidonius, will be found an
admirable companion piece, enforcing, in language of singular beauty and
elevation, those duties to country and ancestors which find inadequate
expression in the Greek thought of the first century of our era.
NOTE ON THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS AND THE FIVE REGULAR SOLIDS
The opinion that our World, or universe, is not the only one in the
Whole, is attributed, in general terms, to many of the early Greek
philosophers, notably to Anaximander. The exact meaning of a ‘Cosmos’,
in this connexion, is perhaps not easy to fix. Aristotle is clear that
the circle of the fixed stars is one and constant, but the author of the
Stoical treatise on the Cosmos, found among his works, takes stars to be
a part of the (one) Cosmos. An earth, such as ours with her atmosphere
and moon, is essential, and a sun, or access to sunlight, and perhaps
some planets. In the _Dream of Scipio_ our solar system, with the earth
in its centre, is described with great distinctness as a unit in space.
The planets are always regarded as luminous points, stars somewhat out
of place (see p. 268), possessing no definite magnitude or solid
substance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account