Cosmas Indicopleustes, Christian Topography (1897) pp. 244-262. Book 6
BOOK VI. SUPERADDED.
Regarding the Size of the Sun. [204]
FTER my work had been finished, some questioned us about the figure of the world, saying: "How can the sun possibly be hidden, as you hold, by the northern parts of the earth, which according to you are very high, while he is many times larger than the earth? For in the case of the sphere which we advocate, however much greater the sun may be than the earth, he will always, when giving light to one part of her surface, leave the other in shadow." To those so questioning us we have made a very brief reply, that such a thing is false and a pure fiction, having shown first from the climates which they themselves, recognise, that the sun projects shadows between which there is no difference, and next from what we ourselves saw with our own eyes in the parts of Axômis in |245 Ethiopia. For, at the beginning of the summer solstice on the twenty-fifth day of the month Payni at the sixth hour of the day when the sun is now at the meridian, we plainly saw that a man's shadow inclined to the south. And when I was resident here in Alexandria, at the same time of the year on the twenty-fifth, that is of Payni, and until the thirtieth of Thôth at the sixth hour of the day when we were standing under the sun, I pointed out that the shadow inclined to northward only a single foot. And, according to them, Alexandria is the third climate. Now in this city there happened to be living that extremely pious and admirable man, Abbot Stephanus, the Presbyter of Antioch, a most Christian man and verily to be |246 numbered among the perfect, and as he was accurately versed in lunar calculations, and moreover able, in accordance with the scheme of the world which we have laid down from divine scripture, to predict readily both solar and lunar eclipses, he willingly turned his attention to this subject. Accordingly when in the month Thôth of the current tenth indiction he was asked by the erudite Anastasius, a man of science and learning, and superior to many in point of experience, to predict when an eclipse of the sun would take place, he stated that there would be one in that very indiction on the twelfth day of the month Mechir; and it did so occur. He predicted also a lunar eclipse for the twenty-fourth of Mesori in the same indiction. Anastasius was much surprised, and asked him next to tell what past eclipses there had been, and when he had declared them correctly great again was his surprise. There were present too some other scientific men, friends of ours, at this conversation. Now this God-beloved man, who has a curiosity to investigate such [265] matters, and who lived in Antioch and, for many years also, at Constantinople, told us himself that he had measured the shadows in both these cities, and assured us that at Antioch the shadow projected a foot and a half at the time already mentioned, while at Byzantium it projected two feet. Now Antioch is in the same climate as Rhodes, namely, in the fourth, but Byzantium is a little |247 beyond the fifth. For it is in the following way they distinguish the climates. The first is, they say, the climate of Meroê; the second of Syênê; the third of Alexandria, the fourth of Rhodes, the fifth of Hellespont, the sixth of the middle of Pontus, the seventh of the river Borysthenes and the Maeotic lake, and the last of the Ocean. If therefore, as we have seen with our own eyes here, in the climate which, according to their own laying down, is the third, the shadow falls only one foot towards the north, and in the fourth one foot and a half, and in the fifth two feet, is it not manifest that the shadow is either lengthened or shortened by half a foot for each climate? And if this be true, as assuredly it is, the sun will be found to have the size of two climates and no more. For if, in the third climate, he throws a shadow of one foot, in the second he will beyond all question throw one of half a foot, while in the first he will throw none at all. |248 But as we said by anticipation in the second book, there He between Meroê and the Ocean in the south many of the |249 stages into which the earth is partitioned. For, from the Cataracts to the ocean we remember having stated that the number of halting-places in that distance was seventy more or less. But the number of climates which they suppose to exist they reckon at somewhere about twenty only. So then quite clearly the shadow in the climate of Axômê, a city of the Ethiopians, is found projecting more than a foot to the south, so that everything goes to show that, if the sun in his passage through the summer tropic be between Syênê and Axômis, he has the size of two climates. Is it not then false and fabulous what they say about the sun, that he is greater than the earth? And how too comes it, if, as they say, the earth is spherical, the shadow does not vary on the convex surface of the earth? For since they place the torrid zone in the centre, it follows of necessity that the parts on each side of that zone must be depressed. And they assert that none can inhabit the torrid zone----yea, even that the northern part of the world which is inhabited by us is many stages distant from the torrid zone. And I wonder again if, in those convex parts of the earth which they suppose to exist, the shadows are able to observe such a proportion that they increase or diminish by half a foot for each climate, as with God's help we have demonstrated and with our very eyes have witnessed to be the case, and have shown to the men with whom we have conversed----men by no means novices but adepts in science, |250 and earnestly maintaining this opinion. But further again [266] they affirmed most positively that when the illuminating body is large and the body which is illuminated small, and each of them spherical, the shadow produced is beyond question conical----for the rays of the larger sphere, passing beyond the smaller on this and on that side, necessarily make a very acute cone; and they endeavoured by means of geometrical demonstrations to circumvent us; but on this point we very concisely by optical experiments again showed the falsehood of what they alleged; for, fetching a small wooden globe, we drove a nail into it by which we held it in our hands, and on stretching it out to the sun, we saw that the shadow was round and not conical. And we said to them, look you now how small the sphere is which we hold out, and how great, according to you at any rate, the sun is, and yet he does not make a conical but a round shadow. And we made the experiment both at a short and at a long distance----and they found nothing to show the truth of what they say, but with their specious sophistries they delude the multitude. We, again, fetching a cone-shaped vessel, then showed them that a conical body produces a shadow conical like itself. And, it is the truth I speak, O most God-beloved Father, through the power of Christ they went away dumbfounded and sadly crestfallen, having been put to shame by our exposure of their fictions. And now behold, we also, in accordance with an art of theirs, having drawn lines and imprinted one for each climate as they are wont to do, are able, if first |251 strengthened by the divine power, to show that the sun is not greater than two climates, in order that they may learn in this manner not to arch their neck proudly, but to bow submissively to divine scripture.
[267] The straight (horizontal) line is the earth----the nine lines drawn perpendicular to it are so many bodies standing each of them for one of the climates. The lines drawn from the sun to these bodies are the rays of the sun which, falling simultaneously upon the bodies on this and that side, produce the shadows as we have depicted them in ink. That particular line which descends straight down, since it falls upon the top of the body perpendicularly, produces no shadow for it is greater than the body and shines all round it.
The Lord also bears me witness in the Gospels, when He calls the country of the Homerites, which is not more |252 than a two days' sail by sea distant from Barbaria, the ends of the earth. It is evident again that I am right from the climates which they acknowledge, and from the places of which Ptolemy speaks, he who made war against Ethiopia, and of whom we made mention in the second book. And from the shadows themselves which are produced in each climate, it is proved that the sun does not exceed in size two climates, nay, even that the earth is flat, as the delineation shows, and not spherical.
[268] A dissertation by which it is proved more clearly and comprehensively that, throughout the whole of divine scripture, we are taught that God has made two states ---- the present state and the future.
First of all, it is proved from the account of the creation that God divided the one place which extends from the |253 earth to the first heaven, by placing in the middle the firmament, that is, the second heaven, thus making the one place into two places.
Secondly, it is proved from the very structure of man, inasmuch as he consists of two, namely, of mortal and immortal, evidently subjecting him through their contrariety to a life of conflict, in order that he may afterwards be honoured with gifts.
Thirdly, through the two trees which grew in the midst of Paradise, scripture shows that there are two states, one mortal and mutable, and one immortal and immutable. For the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a type of this world as a school of discipline----and the tree of life is a type of the future state, in which neither death nor change has any power.
Fourthly, because the expulsion of the man from the Garden, by God, and his warning him and saying: Lest he should stretch forth his hand and touch the tree of life and eat and live for ever; these are the words of one who imparts knowledge, and obscurely hints that some gift of life eternal is reserved for men after the life of conflict here.
Fifthly, again, we are taught through Lamech the father of Noah, who prophesied and said that his son would deliver us from toils and the curse, and would conduct us to the enjoyment of a better condition.
Sixthly, again, through this Noah we learn that from that first earth, all miserable and thorny, we were transferred to this earth, which we men now inhabit: an earth that is better, and almost equal to Paradise, whereby we are taught the difference between the first and the second state.
Seventhly, we learn that God chose Abraham out of the |254 land of the Chaldaeans and transferred him to Palestine, and promised to give him great gifts and possession of the land, without giving him, however, so much of it as to set his foot on, according to divine scripture, and trained him to have faith, so that he knew to expect with confidence gifts to be bestowed afterwards. And in like manner He showed through Ishmael and Isaac the worth of the two covenants----namely, that one was servile, and the other free.
Eighthly, a second time through Isaac and Rebecca, when twins were born, it was said: The elder shall serve the younger, thereby again showing there are two states, one of bondage and the other of freedom.
[269] Ninthly, in the case again of Jacob and of Joseph, who could not bear to be buried in Egypt, but only in the Land of Promise, it was shown how each of them longed to obtain from God the hope which had been promised them----namely, of the second state.
Tenthly, the exodus itself in the time of Moses and the deliverance from the bondage of the Egyptians, and the freedom [thus obtained] and the entrance into the Land of Promise, accomplished through Joshua the son of Nun, clearly signified beforehand the two states.
Eleventhly, in like manner the construction of the Tabernacle and of the Temple, which, by means of the veil placed in the middle, was made from one into two----an inner and an outer----prefigured this state and the future state.
But what need is there that I should speak of the dispensations that existed through good men, for instance, the confidence Abel displayed after death, who yet speaketh, crying from the earth in bringing to birth the return of life.
If any reflects about the translation of Enoch, who |255 because he pleased God, was translated that he should not see death, knows with the utmost certainty that there will be a better state, from an occurrence of this nature. Any one who is filled with astonishment, as he thinks of the ascension of Elijah and his passage in a chariot of fire, must see how much the nature of humankind has been honoured, as, it is thereby taught and has the hope, that it can pursue its way to heaven.
Any one who heard the multitudinous host of the heavenly ranks singing in chorus and rejoicing and exulting at the birth of our Lord Christ according to the flesh, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good-will to men, would be astonished beyond measure as he reflected that the inhabitants of heaven and of earth had joined in making one confession, and that God was well pleased with men.
Any one who had seen the power of the resurrection from the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ would, with all his soul stirred up, celebrate without ceasing God the Saviour of all, who made the conflict of body and soul to cease, and brought into concord these two antagonistic parts of our nature, making them in things spiritual mutually conformable.
Any one who takes into view the ascension into Heaven of our Lord Christ, and the angels clothed in white raiment announcing to the Apostles his second coming, would never cease magnifying Jesus who showed and opened up to men the ascent into the future heavenly state, which He had prepared from the foundation of the world;
Any one who looks at the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and the speech of the great Peter in the midst of all the people, would in praying extol God [270] |256 the giver of all with loud praises, who gave such an earnest and pledge of the future state to men.
Any one who contemplates the calling of the great Paul made from heaven, and his being caught up into the third heaven, and again into Paradise, will lift up his voice to God and say: Glory be unto Thee who through all and unto all graciously givest gifts to men!