Three times as much, the difference is not clear(?)
between the firmament and the sun,
He has given to calculators;[18]
my King star-mighty! most true is this!
This is the perfect Olympus,
motionless, immovable,
(according to the opinion of the ancient sages)
which is called the Third Holy Heaven.
Twelve miles, bright boundary,
with ten times five hundred miles,
splendid the star-run course, separately
from the firmament to the earth.
The measure of the space
from the earth to the firmament,
it is the measure of the difference
from the firmament to heaven.
Twenty-four miles
with thirty hundred miles
is the distance to heaven,
besides the firmament.
The measure of the whole space
from the earth to the Kingly abode,
is equal to that from the rigid earth
down to the depths of hell.
King of each Sovereign lord, vehement, ardent,
who of His own force set going the firmament
as it seemed secure to Him over every space,
He shaped them from the formless mass.
The poem goes on to speak of the division of the universe into five zones, a torrid, two temperate, and two frigid zones, and of the earth revolving in the centre of the universe, with the firmament about it, "like a shell encircling an egg." The passage of the sun through the constellations is then described, each of the twelve divisions through which it passes being provided with six windows, with close-fitting shutters, and strong coverings, which open to shed light by day. The constellations are then named, and the first section of the poem ends as follows:—
For each day five items of knowledge
are required of every intelligent person,
from every one, without appearance of censure,[19]
who is in ecclesiastical orders.
The day of the solar month, the age of the moon,
the sea-tide, without error,
the day of the week, the festivals of the perfect saints,
after just clearness, with their variations.