MOCK SUNS 35 



them Mock Suns (parelia = beside the sun), because 

 they are generally seen in proximity to the sun, 

 and somewhat resemble the sun. They do not 

 give a complete reproduction of the sun, but ex- 

 hibit only his size and shape. They are dull, 

 however, and languid without any of his heat. 

 What name are we to apply to them ? Shall I do 

 as Virgil did hesitating about the name, employ 

 the very name which causes the hesitation ? 



And by what name l shall I call you, 



Rhaetian wine? But yet you must not seek to compete with 

 the Falernian bins. 



There is no objection to my calling these, mock 

 suns. They are, in fact, images of the sun formed 

 in a thick cloud close to him after the fashion of a 

 mirror. Some writers define a mock sun as a cloud, 

 round, bright, and resembling the sun. The mock 

 sun follows the sun, and is never left farther behind 

 him in his orbit than it was at its first appearance. 

 None of us, I suppose, is surprised at seeing a 

 reflection of the sun in some fountain or quiet lake. 

 Well, his disc may be reflected in the heavens just 

 as readily as on earth, if only the material is suitable 

 to produce the reflection. 



XII 



WHENEVER we wish to observe an eclipse of the 

 sun, we place on the ground basins filled with oil 

 or pitch. The thick liquid is not easily disturbed, 

 and therefore retains the images it receives. 

 Images, I may observe, cannot be seen except in a 



1 He has altered Virgil's word "carmine" to "nomine" to suit his 

 meaning, or, as the editors say, lapsu memoriae. 



