BOOK II. XXV. 96-xxix. 98 



between tliem is that ' torches ' make long tracks, 

 with their front part glowing, whereas a ' bohs ' glows 

 throughout its length, and traces a longer path. 



XXVI. Other simihir meteoric hghts are ' beams.' 

 in Greek dokoi, for example one that appeared when 

 the Spartans were defeated " at sea and lost the 

 empire of Greece. There also occurs a yawning of the 

 actual sky, called chasvia, (XXVII) and also something 

 tliat looks hke blood, and a fire that falls from it to 

 the earth — the most alarming possible cause of terror 

 to mankind ; as happened in the third year ^ of the 

 lOTth Olympiad, when King Phihp was throwing 

 Greece into distm-bance. My o^vn view is that 

 these occurrences take place at fixed dates owing to 

 natural forces, hke all other events, and not, as most 

 people think, from the variety of causes invented by 

 tlie cleverness of human intellects ; it is true that 

 they were the harbingers of enormous misfortunes, 

 but I hold that those did not happen because the 

 marvellous occurrences took place but that these 

 took place because the misfortunes were going to 

 occur, only the reason for their occurrence is con- 

 cealed by their rarity, and consequently is not 

 understood as are the risings and setting of the 

 planets described above and many other phenomena. 



XXVIII. Stars are also seen throughout the day- Soinr ana 

 time in company with the sun, usually actually sur- "'""^ 

 rounding the sun's orb hke wreaths made of ears of 

 corn and rings of changing colour — for instance, when 

 Augustus Caesar in early manhood entered the city 

 after the death of his father '^ to assume his mighty 

 surname. Similar haloes occur round the moon and 

 round the principal fixed stars. XXIX. A bow 

 appeared round the sun in the consulship of Lucius 



241 



