﻿H. 
  A. 
  Newton 
  — 
  The 
  Worship 
  of 
  Meteorites. 
  5 
  

  

  became 
  black 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  being 
  kissed 
  by 
  a 
  sinner. 
  In 
  the 
  

   day 
  of 
  judgment 
  it 
  will 
  witness 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  all 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  

   touched 
  it 
  with 
  sincere 
  hearts, 
  and 
  will 
  be 
  endowed 
  with 
  sight 
  

   and 
  speech. 
  The 
  color 
  of 
  this 
  stone, 
  according 
  to 
  Burckhardt, 
  

   is 
  deep 
  reddish 
  brown, 
  approaching 
  to 
  black 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  like 
  basalt, 
  

   and 
  is 
  supposed 
  by 
  some 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  meteorite. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  not 
  important 
  for 
  my 
  purpose 
  to 
  separate 
  the 
  history 
  

   from 
  the 
  myth. 
  Eusebius 
  quotes 
  from 
  an 
  old 
  Phoenician 
  

   writer, 
  Sanchouniathon, 
  that 
  the 
  Goddess 
  Astarte 
  found 
  a 
  stone 
  

   that 
  fell 
  from 
  the 
  air, 
  that 
  she 
  took 
  it 
  to 
  Tyre, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  

   worshiped 
  it 
  there 
  in 
  the 
  sacred 
  shrine. 
  We 
  have 
  reason 
  to 
  

   question 
  whether 
  that 
  Phoenician 
  writer 
  ever 
  lived. 
  What 
  

   matters' 
  it? 
  The 
  existence 
  of 
  the 
  story 
  in 
  Eusebius' 
  time 
  has 
  

   to 
  us 
  a 
  significance 
  not 
  greatly 
  unlike 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  

   the 
  worship 
  itself 
  in 
  the 
  earlier 
  years. 
  

  

  Vergil 
  describes 
  a 
  detonating 
  meteor 
  in 
  such 
  terms 
  that 
  I 
  

   feel 
  reasonably 
  sure 
  that 
  either 
  he 
  had 
  seen 
  and 
  heard, 
  or 
  else 
  

   he 
  had 
  had 
  direct 
  conversations 
  with 
  others 
  who 
  had 
  seen 
  and 
  

   heard, 
  a 
  splendid 
  example 
  of 
  these 
  meteors. 
  The 
  passage 
  is 
  in 
  

   the 
  second 
  book 
  of 
  the 
  Aeneid. 
  The 
  city 
  of 
  Troy 
  was 
  cap- 
  

   tured 
  and 
  was 
  burning. 
  All 
  was 
  in 
  confusion. 
  The 
  family 
  of 
  

   Aeneas 
  was 
  gathered 
  ready 
  for 
  flight, 
  but 
  Anchises 
  would 
  not 
  

   go. 
  An 
  omen, 
  lambent 
  flames 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  his 
  grandson, 
  

   began 
  only 
  to 
  shake 
  his 
  purpose 
  to 
  perish 
  with 
  his 
  country. 
  

   He 
  prayed 
  for 
  more 
  positive 
  guidance. 
  It 
  is 
  Aeneas 
  who 
  

   describes 
  the 
  scene 
  : 
  

  

  " 
  Hardly 
  had 
  the 
  old 
  man 
  spoken 
  when 
  across 
  the 
  darkness 
  a 
  

   star 
  ran 
  down 
  from 
  the 
  sky 
  carrying 
  a 
  brilliant 
  light 
  torch. 
  

   We 
  saw 
  it 
  go 
  sweeping 
  along 
  above 
  the 
  roof 
  of 
  the 
  house. 
  It 
  

   lighted 
  up 
  the 
  streets 
  and 
  disappeared 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  on 
  Mount 
  

   Ida. 
  A 
  long 
  train, 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  light, 
  remained 
  across 
  the 
  sky, 
  

   and 
  all 
  around 
  the 
  place 
  was 
  a 
  sulphurous 
  smell. 
  A 
  heavy 
  

   sound 
  of 
  thunder 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  left. 
  Overcome 
  now, 
  my 
  

   father 
  raised 
  his 
  hands 
  to 
  heaven, 
  addressed 
  the 
  gods 
  and 
  wor- 
  

   shiped 
  the 
  sacred 
  star. 
  Now, 
  now, 
  he 
  cried, 
  no 
  longer 
  delay." 
  

  

  This 
  story 
  is, 
  of 
  course, 
  all 
  legendary, 
  but 
  Yergil's 
  descrip- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  scene 
  is 
  true 
  to 
  life 
  as 
  conceived 
  by 
  pagan 
  Rome 
  in 
  

   his 
  day. 
  

  

  The 
  images 
  that 
  fell 
  down 
  from 
  Jupiter, 
  or 
  that 
  fell 
  from 
  

   the 
  skies, 
  are 
  often 
  spoken 
  of 
  by 
  Greek 
  and 
  by 
  Latin 
  writers. 
  

   I 
  mention 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  cases 
  only 
  where 
  this 
  allusion 
  points 
  to 
  

   a 
  meteoric 
  origin 
  as 
  possible 
  or 
  probable. 
  The 
  earliest 
  repre- 
  

   sentative 
  of 
  Yenus 
  at 
  old 
  Paphos 
  on 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Cyprus, 
  was 
  

   one 
  of 
  these 
  heaven-descended 
  images. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  the 
  Yenus 
  

   of 
  the 
  Capitol, 
  nor 
  the 
  Yenus 
  of 
  Milo, 
  but 
  as 
  described 
  was 
  a 
  

   rude 
  triangular 
  stone. 
  

  

  Cicero, 
  in 
  the 
  grand 
  closing 
  passage 
  of 
  his 
  oration 
  against 
  

  

  