Fig. 604.—Sagittarius.
Sagittarius, the Archer, is, as one can see, a Centaur, and said to be Chiron, who was wounded by Hercules, and cured by being taken up to Heaven by Jupiter. This Chiron is represented as a great patron of the arts, and thus the fable may be said to exemplify the proverb, “Art is long, time is fleeting”; for readers of mythology will find much more in the legends than is apparent on the surface. But we can now only regard the Centaur from an astronomical, and not a philosophical standpoint. Sagittarius has no very brilliant stars. He is close to the Milky Way, and contains sixty-nine stars, five forming a sort of V in the bow, sometimes compared to a ladle or “dipper.”
Fig. 605.—Capricornus.
Capricornus, the Goat, is supposed to be Pan—“the great god Pan,” who turned himself into a goat. The sun was in Capricornus at mid-winter, so the “southern gate of the sun” was a title bestowed upon him. But now the constellation is later. It does not include any very striking stars, of which there are fifty-one in the “Goat.”
Fig. 607.—Aquarius.
Aquarius, or the Waterbearer, may have referred to wet weather, or as others declare, to Ganymede, the Cupbearer. There are four stars in the waterpot like a Y; and more than one hundred stars of small brilliancy are included in this constellation. But here again fancy must come to our assistance, for without a diagram the ordinary observer could not distinguish the Waterbearer.
Fig. 606.—Pisces.