Dante and the early astronomers . this is the highest position inwhich the inhabitants of Maria can ever see it]. If a man stood upright in Maria, and kept turninghis face to the sun, he would see it move to his right[as we do]. After reaching his greatest height in the sky, thesun would begin to descend again, in the same spiralway like a screw turning, for another ninety revolutionsor so, until once more he was circling down on thehorizon, only half his body visible. ^ Adopting the reading of Dr. Moore : nella raezza terra, alia mezzaierza, that is, at the equator at middle tierce. See Studi
Dante and the early astronomers . this is the highest position inwhich the inhabitants of Maria can ever see it]. If a man stood upright in Maria, and kept turninghis face to the sun, he would see it move to his right[as we do]. After reaching his greatest height in the sky, thesun would begin to descend again, in the same spiralway like a screw turning, for another ninety revolutionsor so, until once more he was circling down on thehorizon, only half his body visible. ^ Adopting the reading of Dr. Moore : nella raezza terra, alia mezzaierza, that is, at the equator at middle tierce. See Studies in Dante , 108. DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE EARTH, 327 Then he would be lost to sight altogether, and wouldbegin to be seen in Lucia, where he would rise anddescend in just the same way as in Maria. But if aman faced the sun in Lucia, he would see it movingto his left [as one does in Australia where it goesnorth at noon]. We see, then, that these places have one day in theyear which is six months long, and one night of equal. Horizon I v^ _i_ — 1 Horizon Sun on da^y of equinox,seen m Mana and Lucia. Fig. 43. The Sun at the Equinox, seen from the poles andthe equator. Conv. III. v. (Maria, Lucia, imaginary cities at the North and South poles). length, and when it is day with one, it is night withthe other. Now on the circle on the globe where the Garamanteslive [the equator], the sun when in Aries goes exactlyoverhead, not circling horizontally like a mill-stone, butvertically like a wheel, and exactly half of this wheelis visible above the horizon. After this, the sun is seen to depart and go towardsMaria for about 91 days; then in about the same timeit returns, and enters Libra; then it goes towardsLucia for about 91 days, and in the same period re-turns. And this place, which circles the entire globe, 328 THE SUNS PATH SEEN FROM always has equal day and night, on whichever side of itthe sun is; and twice in the year it has a very hotsummer, and twice a mild winter. The
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