BOOK II. xLi. 109-XL111. 112 



the phases of the moon'^ afFect the tissues of the shrew- 

 mouse, and that the smallest animal, the ant, is 

 sensitive to the influence of the planet and at the 

 time of the new moon is always slack. This makes 

 ignorance all the more disgraceful to man, especially 

 as he admits that with some cattle diseases of the 

 eyes increase and diminish with the moon. His 

 excuse is the heaven's vastness, being divided at an 

 enormous height into 72 signs, that is, shapes of 

 things or of animals into which the learned have 

 mapped out the sky. In them they have indeed 

 noted 1600 stars as being specially remarkable for 

 their influence or their appearance, for instance the 

 seven which they have named the Pleiades in the 

 tail of the Bull and the Little Pigs ^* in his forehead, 

 and Bootes,"^ the star that follows the Seven Plough- 

 oxen.'' 



XLII. I would not deny that rain and wind can Emporatio 

 arise from other causes than these ; it is certain that ^Jarth!''^ 

 the carth exhales a damp mist and at other times a 

 smoky one due to vapour, and that clouds are formed 

 out of moisture rising to a height or air condensed 

 into moisture. Their density and bulk are con- 

 jectured with certain inference from the fact that 

 they obscure the sun, which is otherwise visible even 

 to those diving into water to whatever depth. 



XLIII. Consequently I would not go against the storms 

 view that it is also possible for the fires of stars to l't^^l^ ^^ 

 fall from above into the clouds (as we often see happen 

 in fine weather, and the impact of these fires un- 

 questionably shakes the air since even weapons 

 when flung make a hissing noise) ; and that when they 

 reach the cloud, a hissing steam is produced, just as 

 when red-hot iron is plunged into water, and a coil of 



253 



