Dante and the early astronomers . gi,come venne, veloce. ^ The sun has now driven Capri-corn from the mid sky with his bright beams, that is,the stars have become invisible in bright daylight, andfig. 46 shows that when Aries rises over the easternhorizon Capricorn will be overhead. But the sun isstill very low, so swift was the coming of the spirits,for Dantes shadow is not yet visible to them: it is byhis breathing that they perceive he is a living is only after the meeting with Casella, and the dis-persal of the spirits by Cato, that the sun, still red withsunrise tints, makes Dantes
Dante and the early astronomers . gi,come venne, veloce. ^ The sun has now driven Capri-corn from the mid sky with his bright beams, that is,the stars have become invisible in bright daylight, andfig. 46 shows that when Aries rises over the easternhorizon Capricorn will be overhead. But the sun isstill very low, so swift was the coming of the spirits,for Dantes shadow is not yet visible to them: it is byhis breathing that they perceive he is a living is only after the meeting with Casella, and the dis-persal of the spirits by Cato, that the sun, still red withsunrise tints, makes Dantes shadow fall in front ofhim as the poets are walking westward towardsthe mountain. He is alarmed not to see Virgilsshadow on the ground beside it, and is told that thebody within which Virgil once had cast a shadow liesburied in a country where it is now the time ofvespers. That is, in Italy it is three oclock in theafternoon; hence in Purgatory, where they now are, itis six in the morning. ^ Departed, as he came, swiftly. South. North Fig. 46. The Signs of the Zodiac as seen at sunrise from the Mountain ofPurgatory at the autumnal equinox there (the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere). Purg. ii. 55. At 6 Aries is just rising, Libra the opposite constellation is just setting, whileCapricornus has just reached the meridian. Tlie signs follow one another in their diurnalcourse over the sky in the direction shown by the arrows, circling parallel to the celestialequator. p. 375. 376 PURGATORY. At the foot of the mountain they are joined by aband of spirits, and walking very slowly with them,conversing with Manfred, so much time passes that toDantes surprise, when they reach the place where theascent is to be made (still on the eastern side), the sunhas travelled fully fifty degrees since rising. As thesun passes over 360° in 24 hours, this indicates about3J hours after sunrise, or ^ The climb to thefirst ledge is slow and very arduous, for as Virgilexplains, t
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