Page:Dante and the early astronomers (1913).djvu/49



The sky appears to us like an arch, embracing all our lives, Dante says. From the dawn of intelligence man must have recognized his dependence upon the all-embracing heavens, especially the sun, without which life would be impossible. The consciousness expressed itself in many ways: in adoration of the sky, the sun, moon, and hosts of heaven; in superstitious fear which regarded events on earth as directly controlled by the heavenly bodies; in careful watching and recording of their movements for useful purposes. Thus, long before astronomy became an exact science, and was studied simply for its own sake, patient observers had laid the foundations, and were familiar with many of the movements we have been describing.

These are of great importance to primitive man. Sun, moon, and stars are invaluable as guides, especially at sea, and we know that the ancient Greek mariners used to steer their ships by observations of the Great Bear, while the Phoenicians preferred to use the Little Bear for this purpose. But the strongest and most universal incentive to careful and prolonged study of the skies is our complete dependence upon them for the measurement of time.

In the earliest period of their history, the Jews, the Greeks, and probably every other nation, divided the day simply into morning, noon, and evening, according as the sun was rising, or apparently stationary, or 25