in ARISTOTLE S EXPLANATION 19 



prevents discrimination of them. By and by 

 instead of individual drops there is seen a single 

 blurred mass that contains them all. 



Aristotle agrees with this opinion. His words 



are : Beams of light are reflected by sight 



from every smooth surface. Now, nothing is 8 



smoother than water and air. Therefore, our 



sight is reflected back on us from thick air. 



Indeed, where the vision is dull and feeble, 



the slightest stroke of air checks it. Some 



people suffer from an affection which causes 



them to think that they are meeting their own 



image, and they see everywhere the reflection of 



themselves. And why ? Because the power of 



their eyes is so weak that it cannot overcome the 



resistance of even the nearest layer of the 



atmosphere. What dense air effects in ordinary 



cases, any kind of air is sufficient to effect in 



the cases referred to by Aristotle. For whatever 



the nature of the air, it is strong enough to defeat 



i weak sight. Now, much more is our vision 



reflected upon us by water because it is denser 



j and cannot be pierced ; it absolutely stops the 



rays from our eyes, and turns them back to the 



i source whence they proceeded. Well then, 9 



i when there are numerous raindrops, they are 



ljust so many mirrors. But on account of their 



smallness they express the sun s colour without 



distinct shape. By and by when the same colour 



is reflected in the countless drops that fall without 



I intermission, it begins to take on the appearance 



I not of numerous images with intervals between, but 



of a single, long, uninterrupted image. 



But how, you may object, can you tell me that there 

 are many thousands of images there, where I can 



