The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6)

Chapter 22: CHAP. 17. (19.)—OF THE MOTION OF THE SUN AND THE CAUSE OF THE IRREGULARITY OF THE DAYS.

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The text assembles a systematic survey of the natural world, opening with cosmological and geographical discussions and proceeding through plants, animals, minerals, and human uses of natural substances. It synthesizes reports from earlier authors, travelers, and craftsmen, combining empirical observation, hearsay, and learned commentary to describe physical phenomena, medicinal remedies, technologies, and curiosities. Organized as an encyclopedic sequence of books and chapters, it catalogues facts and theories, cites authorities, and balances practical instruction with natural-philosophical reflection.

CHAP. 17. (19.)—OF THE MOTION OF THE SUN AND THE CAUSE OF THE IRREGULARITY OF THE DAYS.

The Sun himself is in four different states; twice the night is equal to the day, in the Spring and in the Autumn, when he is opposed to the centre of the earth251, in the 8th degree of Aries and Libra252. The length of the day and the night is then twice changed, when the day increases in length, from the winter solstice in the 8th degree of Capricorn, and afterwards, when the night increases in length from the summer solstice in the 8th degree of Cancer253. The cause of this inequality is the obliquity of the zodiac, since there is, at every moment of time, an equal portion of the firmament above and below the horizon. But the signs which mount directly upwards, when they rise, retain the light for a longer space, while those that are more oblique pass along more quickly.