§1.6#2καὶ φανερῶν δὲ ὄντων αὐτῶν ἀπάντων καὶ μὴ φαινομένων πάντων, ἀλλʼ ἐνίων ὄντων πρὸς τῷ ἡλίῳ, οὐδὲν ἧττον κομῆται φαίνονται γιγνόμενοι πολλάκις.
And though all of them are visible, and also when they are not all seen but some are near the sun, nonetheless comets are often seen to appear many times.
ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀληθές, ὡς ἐν τῷ πρὸς ἄρκτον τόπῳ γίγνεται κομήτης μόνον, ἅμα καὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ὄντος περὶ θερινὰς τροπάς·
Furthermore, neither is this true, that a comet appears only in the region towards the north, and at the same time when the sun is near the summer solstice.
ὅ τε γὰρ μέγας κομήτης ὁ γενόμενος περὶ τὸν ἐν Ἀχαΐᾳ σεισμὸν καὶ τὴν τοῦ κύματος ἔφοδον ἀπὸ δυσμῶν τῶν ἰσημερινῶν ἀνέσχεν, καὶ πρὸς νότον ἤδη πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν.
For the great comet which appeared about the time of the earthquake in Achaea and the tidal wave rose from the equinoctial west, and already many have appeared towards the south.
ἐπὶ δʼ ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησιν Εὐκλέους τοῦ Μόλωνος ἐγένετο κομήτης ἀστὴρ πρὸς ἄρκτον μηνὸς Γαμηλιῶνος περὶ τροπὰς ὄντος τοῦ ἡλίου χειμερινάς· καίτοι τοσοῦτον ἀνακλασθῆναι καὶ αὐτοὶ τῶν ἀδυνάτων εἶναί φασι.
And under the archonship of Eucles, son of Molon, at Athens, a comet appeared towards the north in the month of Gamelion, when the sun was near the winter solstice; and yet they themselves say that so great a reflection is among the impossible things.
κοινὸν δὲ καὶ τούτοις καὶ τοῖς τὴν σύναψιν λέγουσιν πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἀπλανῶν λαμβάνουσι κόμην τινές.
An objection common both to these thinkers and to those who say it is a conjunction is, first, that some of the fixed stars also acquire a tail.
καὶ τοῦτʼ οὐ μόνον Αἰγυπτίοις πιστεῦσαι δεῖ, καίτοι κἀκεῖνοί φασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐφεωράκαμεν· τῶν γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἰσχίῳ τοῦ κυνὸς ἀστήρ τις ἔσχε κόμην, ἀμαυρὰν μέντοι· ἀτενίζουσιν μὲν γὰρ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀμυδρὸν ἐγίγνετο τὸ φέγγος, παραβλέπουσι δʼ ἡρέμα τὴν ὄψιν πλέον.
And this we must not only believe on the authority of the Egyptians, although they too say so, but we ourselves have also observed it; for one of the stars in the thigh of the Dog acquired a tail, though a dim one; for to those looking directly at it, its light became faint, but to those looking slightly aside, its light was brighter.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἄπαντες οἱ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ὡμμένοι ἄνευ δύσεως ἠφανίσθησαν ἐν τῷ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὁρίζοντος τόπῳ ἀπομαρανθέντες κατὰ μικρὸν οὕτως. ὥστε μήτε ἑνὸς ἀστέρος ὑπολειφθῆναι σῶμα μήτε πλειόνων, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ μέγας ἀστὴρ περὶ οὗ πρότερον ἐμνήσθημεν ἐφάνη μὲν χειμῶνος ἐν πάγοις καὶ αἰθρίαις ἀφʼ ἑσπέρας, ἐπὶ Ἀστείου ἄρχοντος, καὶ τῇ μὲν πρώτῃ οὐκ ὤφθη ὡς προδεδυκὼς τοῦ ἡλίου, τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ ὤφθη· ὅσον ἐνδέχεται γὰρ ἐλάχιστον ὑπελείφθη, καὶ εὐθὺς ἔδυ· τὸ δὲ φέγγος ἀπέτεινε μέχρι τοῦ τρίτου μέρους τοῦ οὐρανοῦ οἷον ἅλμα· διὸ καὶ ἐκλήθη ὁδός.
In addition to these, all the comets seen in our time have disappeared without setting, in the region above the horizon, having faded away gradually in this manner, so that the body of neither a single star nor of several was left behind, since even the great star which we mentioned before appeared in winter in frost and clear weather in the evening, under the archonship of Asteius, and on the first day it was not seen because it had set before the sun, but on the next day it was seen; for it fell behind by the smallest possible amount, and immediately set; and its light extended up to a third part of the sky like a leap, wherefore it was also called a path.
ἐπανῆλθε δὲ μέχρι τῆς ζώνης τοῦ Ὠρίωνος, καὶ ἐνταυθοῖ διελύθη.
And it went up as far as the belt of Orion, and there it dissolved.
καίτοι Δημόκριτός γε προσπεφιλονείκηκεν τῇ δόξῃ τῇ αὐτοῦ· φησὶ γὰρ ὦφθαι διαλυομένων τῶν κομητῶν ἀστέρας τινάς.
And yet Democritus at least has defended his own opinion with stubbornness; for he says that when comets dissolve, certain stars have been seen.
τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ ὁτὲ μὲν ἔδει γίγνεσθαι ὁτὲ δὲ οὔ, ἀλλʼ ἀεί.
But this ought not to happen at one time and not at another, but always.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ οἱ Αἱγύπτιοί φασι καὶ τῶν πλανήτων καὶ πρὸς αὑτοὺς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπλανεῖς γίγνεσθαι συνόδους, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑωράκαμεν τὸν ἀστέρα τὸν τοῦ Διὸς τῶν ἐν τοῖς διδύμοις συνελθόντα τινὶ ἤδη καὶ ἀφανίσαντα, ἀλλʼ οὐ κομήτην γενόμενον.
Furthermore, the Egyptians also say that conjunctions of the planets occur both with one another and with the fixed stars, and we ourselves have already seen the star of Zeus come into conjunction with one of the stars in Gemini and occult it, but without a comet appearing.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ λόγου φανερόν· οἱ γὰρ ἀστέρες κἂν εἰ μείζους καὶ ἐλάττους φαίνονται, ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἀδιαίρετοί γε καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι δοκοῦσιν.
Moreover, this is also clear from reason: for the stars, even if they appear larger or smaller, yet seem at any rate to be indivisible in themselves.
ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ εἰ ἦσαν ἀδιαίρετοι, ἁψάμενοι οὐδὲν ἄν ἐποίησαν μέγεθος μεῖζον, οὕτως καὶ ἐπειδὴ οὐκ εἰσὶν μὲν φαίνονται δὲ ἀδιαίρετοι, καὶ συνελθόντες οὐδὲν φανοῦνται μείζους τὸ μέγεθος ὄντες.
Just as therefore, if they were indivisible, they would have produced no greater size by touching, so also, since they are not indeed indivisible but appear to be so, when they come together they will not appear to be any greater in size.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν αἱ λεγόμεναι περὶ αὐτῶν αἰτίαι ψευδεῖς οὖσαι τυγχάνουσιν, εἰ μὴ διὰ πλείονων, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τούτων ἱκανῶς δῆλόν ἐστιν.
That, therefore, the causes alleged concerning them happen to be false, is sufficiently clear, if not through more arguments, at least through these.