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

Chapter 63: CHAP. 58. (57.)—RATTLING OF ARMS AND THE SOUND OF TRUMPETS HEARD IN THE SKY.

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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. 58. (57.)—RATTLING OF ARMS AND THE SOUND OF TRUMPETS HEARD IN THE SKY.

We have heard, that during the war with the Cimbri, the rattling of arms and the sound of trumpets were heard through the sky, and that the same thing has frequently happened before and since426. Also, that in the third consulship of Marius, armies were seen in the heavens by the Amerini and the Tudertes, encountering each other, as if from the east and west, and that those from the east were repelled427. It is not at all wonderful for the heavens themselves to be in flames428, and it has been more frequently observed when the clouds have taken up a great deal of fire.