46 plint's natxteal histoet. [Book n. 



is evident, tliat the latitudes are iacreased from the time of 

 their morning risings, since the motions afterwards appear 

 to receive less addition ; but they gaia their altitude in the 

 first station, siace the rate of their motion then begins to 

 diminish \ and the stars to recede. 



And the reason of this must be particularly set forth. 

 "When the planets are struck by the rays of the sun, in the- 

 situation which I have described, i. e. in their quadrature, 

 they are prevented from holding on their straight forward 

 course, and are raised on high by the force of the fire'^. This 

 cannot be immediately perceived by the eye, and therefore 

 they seem to be stationary, and hence the term station is 

 derived. Afterwards the violence of the rays increases, and 

 the vapour being beaten back forces them to recede. 



This exists in a greater degree in their evening risings, the 

 sun being then turned entirely from them, when they are 

 drawn into the highest apsides ; and they are then the least 

 visible, since they are at their greatest altitude and are 

 carried along with the least motion, as much less indeed as 

 this takes place in the highest signs of the apsides. At the 

 time of the evening rising the latitude decreases and becomes 

 less as the motion is diminished, and it does not increase 

 again imtil they arrive at the second station, when the alti- 

 tude is also diminished ; the sun's rays then coming from 

 the other side, the same force now therefore propels them 

 towards the earth which before raised them into the heavens, 

 from their former triangular aspect^. So different is the 

 effect whether the rays strike the planets from below or 

 come to them from above. And aU these circumstances 

 produce much more effect when they occur in the evening 

 setting. This is the doctrine of the superior planets ; that 



1 " incipit detrahi numerus." According to the explanation of Alex- 

 andre, " numerus nempe partium quas certo temporis intervallo emeti- 

 untur." Lemaire, ii. 275. Marcus remarks in this place, " Dans tout 

 ce chapitre et dans le suivant, Pline a place dans une correlation de cau- 

 site, tout ce qu'U croit arriver en meme temps ; mais il n'a pas prouve 

 par-Ik que les phenomenes celestes qui sont contemporains sont engendrea 

 les uns par les autres." Ajasson, ii. 349. 



3 The hypothesis of Pliny appears to be, that the planets are affected 

 by the rays of the sun, and that according to the angle at which they 

 receive the impulse, they are either accelerated or retarded in their 

 course. * " ex priore triquetro." 



