Dante and the early astronomers . ry deep, andunder the mountain is the abode of the dead. It isentered from the west, which surely was suggested bythe setting of the heavenly bodies in the west. Thevaulted sky above the earth has divisions : the rim of thelowest part rests upon the supporting watery deep;above it are the upper waters (the source of rain) ; andabove this again is the dwelling-place of the sun issues forth each morning from a door in theupper heaven, or from the mount of sunrise, andenters another heavenly door, or the sunset mountain,at night. The similarity to
Dante and the early astronomers . ry deep, andunder the mountain is the abode of the dead. It isentered from the west, which surely was suggested bythe setting of the heavenly bodies in the west. Thevaulted sky above the earth has divisions : the rim of thelowest part rests upon the supporting watery deep;above it are the upper waters (the source of rain) ; andabove this again is the dwelling-place of the sun issues forth each morning from a door in theupper heaven, or from the mount of sunrise, andenters another heavenly door, or the sunset mountain,at night. The similarity to these Babylonian ideas of theHebrew firmament, the waters above the firma-ment, and the fountains of the great deep, in thebook of Genesis,^ and Ezekiels Sheol in the netherparts of the earth, ^ has often been noted. To sum up :— If we include as astronomy any observation of theheavenly bodies which leads to a recognition of orderand periodicity in their movements and a power of 1 Gen. i. 6, 7 ; vii. 11. ^ Ezek. xxxii. The Boat of the ^iun travelling over the an ancient Egyptian papyrus. [To face p. h6. The recumbent figure covered with leaves symbolizes the earth ; the figure leaningover Earth, covered with stars, is the sky ; the boat of the rising sun and of the settingsun floats over it. Tiie central figure represents Maon, the Divine Intelligence whichpreserves the order of the universe. {Reproduced from Astronomical Myths, by-permission ofMessrs. Macmiliau tfc Co.) THE BEGINNINGS OF ASTRONOMY. 47 forecasting their positions, then every race and agehas had its astronomers, rough though their methodsmay be at first. With growing civilization morerefined methods are used; the gnomon is invented forstudying the movements of the sun; the changingpositions of moon and planets are noted by means ofcertain stars; finally, all the visible stars are groupedinto constellations, and it is recognized that a greatband of star-groups crosses the sky, wh
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