Dante and the early astronomers . orthern signs, and the dayslonger than the nights, but as soon as Night beginsto assert her supremacy, and the nights begin to belonger than the days, the sun enters Libra and thenit is not visible all night. This is the meaning of le Bilance,Che ]e caggion di man quando soverchia.^ When Night becomes dominant, the Scales fall fromher hand, for the sun is in that sign. Applying this idea to the passage quoted above, itwill mean The nights are going southward, for thesun in Aquarius is not far from the point where hecrosses the equator to the north, therefore N
Dante and the early astronomers . orthern signs, and the dayslonger than the nights, but as soon as Night beginsto assert her supremacy, and the nights begin to belonger than the days, the sun enters Libra and thenit is not visible all night. This is the meaning of le Bilance,Che ]e caggion di man quando soverchia.^ When Night becomes dominant, the Scales fall fromher hand, for the sun is in that sign. Applying this idea to the passage quoted above, itwill mean The nights are going southward, for thesun in Aquarius is not far from the point where hecrosses the equator to the north, therefore Nightcircling opposite to him is nearing the point where shegoes south. Either interpretation is faithful to fact,but perhaps the circumstance that the plural noun isused favours the first. Conrad Malaspina prophesied to Dante that hisfavourable opinion of the Malaspina family would be ^ Night that opposite to him revolves. {Longfdlow). ^ The Scales, that from her hands are dropped When she reigns highest. Purg. ii. 5, 6, (Carey).. Fig. 41. The Ram on the Ecliptic. [Tojacep. 27<J. From the Co<mi Historia of Robert Find, ). 1612.(Reproduced from Broicns Phainomena of Aratoi.) MOVEMENTS OF THE SUN. 279 justified before the sun had come to rest again seventimes in the bed which the Ram covers and bestrideswith his four feet. Ed egh : Or va, che il Sol non si ricorcaSette volte nel lotto che il MontoneCon tutti e quattro i pie copre ed inforcaChe cotesta cortese opinione. . ^ The sun was at the time in the Ram, and Malaspinameans that less than seven years would elapse, beforehis prophecy was fulfilled. The aptness of the de-scription may be seen by the figure of Aries as por-trayed in an old seventeenth century book in whichthe Ram is uncomfortably trying to sit on the ecliptic. Another instance is in the beautiful midwinter Ode, lo son venuto al punto della rota. ^ Each stanzapictures a feature of a severe winter—snow and rain,the absence of summer birds, bare trees and
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