THE SUN'S SPOTS. 75 



Sun's disk) have always been accompanied by numerous fac- 

 ulae, I am not much disposed to ascribe to nucleoid spots those 



360 A.D. In all the eastern provinces of the Roman empire, " per 

 Eoos tractus," there was obscurity from early dawn till noon ; " Ca- 

 ligo a primo aurorae exortu adusque meridiem, ' Ammian. MarcelL, 

 xx., 3; but the stars continued to shine: consequently, there could 

 not have been any shower of ashes, nor, from the long duration of 

 the phenomenon, could it be ascribed to the action of a total eclipse 

 of the Sun, to which the historian refers it. " Cum lux ccelestis ope- 

 riretur, e muudi conspectu penitus luce abrepta, defecisse diutius so- 

 lem pavidae inentes hominum aBStimabant: primo attenuatum in luuae 

 corniculantis effigiem, deinde in speciem auctum semenstrem, post- 

 eaque in integrum restitutum. Quod alias non evenit ita perspicue, 

 nisi cum post inaequales cursus intermenstruum lunaa ad idem revo- 

 catur." " When the light of heaven, suddenly and wholly concealed, 

 was hidden from the world, trembling men thought the Sun had left 

 them for a very long time; at first it assumed the form of a horned 

 moon, then increased to half its proper size, and was finally restored 

 to ita integrity. But it did not appear so bright until, after all ir- 

 regular motions were over, it returned." This description entirely 

 corresponds with a true eclipse of the Sun ; but how are we to ex- 

 plain its long duration, and 'the "caligo" experienced in all the prov- 

 inces of the East ? 



409 A.D. When Alaric appeared before Rome, there was so great a 

 darkness that the stars were seen by day. Schnurrer, Chronik der 

 Seuchen, th. i., p. 113. 



536. Jnstinianus I. Caesar imperavit annos triginta-octo (727 to 565). 

 Anno imperii nono deliquium lucis passus est Sol. quod annum inte- 

 grum et duos amplius menses duravit, adeo ut parum admodum de 

 luce ipsius appareret ; dixeruntque homines Soli aliquid accidisse, 

 quod nunquam ab eo recederet." " In the ninth year of the reign 

 of Justinian I., who reigned thirty-eight years, the Sun suffered an 

 eclipse, which lasted a whole year and two months, so that very little 

 of his light was seen; men said that something had clung to the Sun, 

 from which it would never be able to disentangle itself." Gregorius 

 Abu'l-Faragius, Supplementum Histories Dynastiarum, ed. Edw. Po- 

 cock, 1663, p. 94. This phenomenon appears to have been very sim- 

 ilar to one observed in 1783, which, although it has received a name 

 (Hohenrauch),* has in many cases not been satisfactorily explained. 



567 A.D. " Justinus II. annos 13 imperavit (565-578). Anno imperii 

 ipsius secundo apparuit in ccelo ignis flammans juxta polum arcticum, 

 qui annum integrum permansit ; obtexeruntque tenebrae mundum ab 

 hora diei noua noctem usque, adeo ut nemo quicquam videret; de- 

 ciditque ex ae"re quoddam pulveri minuto et cineri simile." "In 

 the second year of the reign of Justinian II., who reigned thirteen 

 years, there appeared a flame of fire in the heavens, near the North 

 Pole, and it remained there for a whole year; darkness was cast over 

 the world from three o'clock until night, so that nothing could be 

 seen ; and something resembling dust and ashes fell down from the 

 sky." Abu'l-Farag., 1. c., p. 95. Could this phenomenon have con- 

 tinued for a whole year like a perpetual northern light (magnetic 

 storm), and been succeeded by darkness and showers of meteoric 

 dust? 



* A kind of thick, yellowish fog, common in North Germany. 



