66 
pliny's nattteal histoet. 
[Book 11. . 
ment with clouds ^ This is the region of tlie winds. Here ■ 
their nature principally originates, as well as the causes of 
almost all other things^ ; since most persons ascribe the , 
darting of thunder and lightning to their violence. And to 
the same cause are assigned the showers of stones, these 
having been previously taken up by the wind, as well as 
many other bodies in the same way. On this account we 
must enter more at large on this subject. 
CHAP. 39. (39.)— OP THE STATED SEASONS. 
It is obvious that there are causes of the seasons and of 
other things which have been stated, while there are some 
things which are casual, or of which the reason has not yet 
been discovered. For who can doubt that summer and 
winter, and the annual revolution of the seasons are caused 
by the motion of the stars ^ ? As therefore the nature of the 
sun is understood to influence the temperature of the year, 
so each of the other stars has its specific power, which pro- 
duces its appropriate effects. Some abound in a fluid re- 
taining its liquid state, others, in the same fluid concreted 
into hoar frost, compressed into snow, or frozen into hail ; 
some are prolific in winds, some in heat, some in vapours, 
some in dew, some in cold. Eut these bodies must not be 
supposed to be actually of the size which they appear, since 
the consideration of their immense height clearly proves, 
that none of them are less than the moon. Each of them 
exercises its influence over us by its own motions ; this is 
particularly obser^ble with respect to Saturn, which pro- 
duces a great quantity of rain in its transits. Nor is this 
powder confined to the stars which change their situations, 
but is found to exist in many of the fixed stars, whenever 
^ "sed assidue rapta (natura) convolvitur, et circa terram immenso rerum 
causas globo ostendit, subinde per nubes coelum aliud obtexens." On the 
words *' immenso globo," Alexandre has the foUowmg comment : " Im- 
mensis coeh fornicibus appicta sidera,dumcu*cumvolvitur, terris ostendit;" 
and on the words "coelum ahud," "obductae scilicet nubes falsum quasi 
coelum vero prsetexunt." Lemaire, i. 313. 
2 r£^Q author probably means to speak of all the atmospheric phaeno- 
imena that have been mentioned above. 
3 Marcus has made some remarks on this subject which may be read 
with advantage j Ajasson, ii. 245-6. 
