An eclipse of the Sun is mentioned by Dion Cassius[57] as having happened when Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, a celebrated event made use of by speakers, political and otherwise, on endless occasions in modern history. There seems no doubt that the passage of the Rubicon took place in 51 B.C., and that the eclipse must have been that of March 7, 51 B.C. The circumstances of this eclipse have been investigated by Hind, who found that the eclipse was an annular one, the annular phase lasting 6½ minutes in Northern Italy.
Arago associates the death of Julius Cæsar in 44 B.C. with an annular eclipse of the Sun, but seemingly without sufficient warrant. The actual record is to the effect that about the time of the great warrior’s death there was an extraordinary dimness of the Sun. Whatever it was that was noticed, clearly it could not have been an annular eclipse, because no such eclipse then happened. Johnson suggests that Arago confused the record of some meteorological interference with the Sun’s light with the annular eclipse that happened seven years previously when Cæsar passed the Rubicon, to which eclipse allusion has already been made. That there was for a long while a great deficiency of sunshine in Italy about the time of Cæsar’s death seems clear from remarks made by Pliny, Plutarch, and Tibullus, and the words of Suetonius seem to imply something of a meteorological character. I should not have mentioned this matter at all, but for Arago’s high repute as an astronomer. According to Seneca[58] during an eclipse a comet was also seen.
It is an interesting question to inquire whether any allusions to eclipses are to be found in Homer, and no very certain answer can be given. In the Iliad (book xvii., lines 366-8) the following passage will be found:—“Nor would you say that the Sun was safe, or the Moon, for they were wrapt in dark haze in the course of the combat.”
In the Odyssey (book xx., lines 356-7) we find:—“And the Sun has utterly perished from heaven and an evil gloom is overspread.” This was considered by old commentators to be an allusion to an eclipse, and in the opinion of W. W. Merry[59] “this is not impossible, as they were celebrating the Festival of the New Moon.”
Certainly this language has somewhat the savour of a total eclipse of the Sun, but it is difficult to say whether the allusion is historic, as of a fact that had happened, or only a vague generality. Perhaps the latter is the most justifiable surmise.
I have in the many preceding pages been citing ancient eclipses, for the reason, more or less plainly expressed, that they are of value to astronomers as assisting to define the theory of the Moon’s motions in its orbit, and this they should do; but it is not unreasonable to bring this chapter to a close by giving the views of an eminent American astronomer as to the objections to placing too much reliance on ancient accounts of eclipses. Says Prof. S. Newcomb[60]:—“The first difficulty is to be reasonably sure that a total eclipse was really the phenomenon observed. Many of the statements supposed to refer to total eclipses are so vague that they may be referred to other less rare phenomena. It must never be forgotten that we are dealing with an age when accurate observations and descriptions of natural phenomena were unknown, and when mankind was subject to be imposed upon by imaginary wonders and prodigies. The circumstance which we should regard as most unequivocally marking a total eclipse is the visibility of the stars during the darkness. But even this can scarcely be regarded as conclusive, because Venus may be seen when there is no eclipse, and may be quite conspicuous in an annular or a considerable partial eclipse. The exaggeration of a single object into a plural is in general very easy. Another difficulty is to be sure of the locality where the eclipse was total. It is commonly assumed that the description necessarily refers to something seen where the writer flourished, or where he locates his story. It seems to me that this cannot be safely done unless the statement is made in connection with some battle or military movement, in which case we may presume the phenomena to have been seen by the army.”
Footnotes:
[36] De Republicâ, Lib. vi., cap. 22.
[37] E. Millosevich, Memorie della Societa Spettroscopisti Italiani, vol. xxii. p. 70. 1893.
[38] Herodotus, Book i., chap. 74. This eclipse is also mentioned by Pliny (Nat. Hist., Book ii., chap. 9) and by Cicero (De Divinatione, cap. 49).