66 pliny's NATTJEAL HISTOET. [Book II. ment with clouds^ This is the region of the winds. Here their nature principally originates, as well as the causes of almost all other things^; since most persons ascribe the darting of thunder and lightning to their violence. And to the _ same cause are assigned the showers of stones, these having been previously taken up by the wind, as well as many other bodies in the same way. On this account we must enter more at large on this subject. CHAP. 39. (39.) — OF THE STATED SEASONS. It is obvious that there are causes of the seasons and of other things which have been stated, while there are some things which are casual, or of which the reason has not yet been discovered. Eor who can doubt that summer and winter, and the annual revolution of the seasons are caused by the motion of the stars ^ ? As therefore the nature of the sun is understood to influence the temperature of the year, so each of the other stars has its specific power, which pro- duces its appropriate effects. Some abound in a fluid re- taining its liquid state, others, in the same fluid concreted into hoar frost, compressed into snow, or irozen into hail ; some are prolific in winds, some in heat, some in vapours, some in dew, some in cold. But these bodies must not be supposed to be actually of the size which they appear, since the consideration of their immense height clearly proves, that none of them are less than the moon. Each of them exercises its influence over us by its own motions ; this is particularly obser^cable with respect to Saturn, which pro- duces a great quantity of rain in its transits. Nor is this power confined to the stars which change their situations, but is found to exist in many of the fiLxed stars, whenever
- "sed assidue rapta (natura) convolvitur, et circa terram immense rerum
causas globe estendit, subinde per nubes eoelum aliud obtexens." On the words " immense globo," idexandre has the following comment : " Im- mensis coeli fomicibus appicta sidera,dumcirciimvolvitm% terris ostendit;" and on the words "eoelum ahud," "obductse sciHcet nubes falsum quasi eoelum vere preetexunt." Lemaire, i. 313. 2 The author probably means to speak of all the atmospheric phaeno- mena that have been mentioned above. ^ Marcus has made some remarks on this subject which may be read ■with advantage j Ajasson, ii. 245-6.
