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nature of incandescent stone, and the one who opposed him as to that
error was not far wrong. But I only wish I had words to serve me to
blame those who are fain to extol the worship of men more than that
of the sun; for in the whole universe there is nowhere to be seen a
body of greater magnitude and power than the sun. Its light gives
light to all the celestial bodies which are distributed throughout
the universe; and from it descends all vital force, for the heat
that is in living beings comes from the soul [vital spark]; and
there is no other centre of heat and light in the universe as will
be shown in Book 4; and certainly those who have chosen to worship
men as gods--as Jove, Saturn, Mars and the like--have fallen into
the gravest error, seeing that even if a man were as large as our
earth, he would look no bigger than a little star which appears but
as a speck in the universe; and seeing again that these men are
mortal, and putrid and corrupt in their sepulchres.
Marcellus [Footnote 23: I have no means of identifying Marcello
who is named in the margin. It may be Nonius Marcellus, an obscure
Roman Grammarian of uncertain date (between the IInd and Vth
centuries A. C.) the author of the treatise De compendiosa doctrina
per litteras ad filium in which he treats de rebus omnibus et
quibusdam aliis. This was much read in the middle ages. The editto
princeps is dated 1470 (H. MULLER-STRUBING).] and many others
praise the sun.
8
81.
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