much does making a star seem bigger tell us? Their courses will remain the same. Their place in the heavens will be unchanged. The rising and setting of the major constellations will occur with the same regularity as was observed by the astronomers of Babylon and Egypt thousands of years ago."
"But look at this!" Zeno said with a note of triumph that Izates recognized. His friend had been leading up to this all along.
"You've set an ambush for me," he grumbled.
Zeno drew a folded papyrus from the pouch at his waist. "This came from our friend Gabinius. It was among the most recent reports from Marcus Scipio to the Senate. Gabinius says that it is a mystery to him, but that we might find it amusing." He unfolded it portentously and began to read.
"Among the intriguing new developments are those of the Cypriote, Agathocles. I have written of him before: He is the experimenter with mirrors, who invented the device for observing around corners and over walls. This device proved very useful on the underwater boats.
"His newest creations involve parabolic mirrors and lenses of finely ground glass, which by some seemingly magical property cause distant objects to appear closer. He has used some of these devices to study the stars and the moon, and the astronomers who have looked through these things have been astonished. They say that, not only do the stars appear nearer, but they can actually see more stars than are visible to our eyes alone. Agathocles says that he is frus trated by the impurities and other imperfections in his lenses, and works feverishly with his Babylonian glass work ers to create clearer, more refined glass and finer grinding and polishing agents to perfect his lenses.
"I am sure that these things must have some sort of military application. Reconnaissance, both at sea and on land, comes to mind. I shall set Agathocles to work devising small, portable viewing devices."
Zeno refolded the parchment. "What do you think of that?"
Izates looked stunned. "Can this be possible?" he said, the sneer for once gone from his voice. "Not the device— we've all seen how reflective surfaces distort, so why not control the distortion to magnify? No, I mean, can it be true that there are more stars in Heaven than we can see?"
"No sense pondering on an empty stomach," Zeno said, pleased at having stunned his friend for once.
Numerous hawkers had set up booths around the mili tary facility, and they went to one such and purchased bread, cheese, fruit and large cups of wine. They took these to a stone jetty and sat on its rim, their feet dangling over the water, while they munched, drank and talked over the implications of this unprecedented news.
"From the earliest days of rational thought," Izates said, "it has been believed that we could understand the world by looking at it and analyzing what we see. But if this man Agathocles is correct, if his magnifying devices show what is truly there, then it means that there are things in the cosmos that we cannot see!"
"That seems clear," Izates agreed.
"And if this is true of the visible world, what of the world as perceived by our other senses? Are there sounds we cannot hear? Are there objects all around us that we cannot feel?"
"I see no reason why this may not be the case," Izates said.
"Consider: A man with only slightly defective vision cannot see many things that those of us with clear vision can. That does not mean those things are not there, merely that he can't see them. We cannot see the wind, but we can feel it and we can hear it. We know that dogs can detect scents our own noses are not keen enough for, and they often seem to hear sounds when we hear nothing at all."
Izates nodded. "Quite so, quite so. There may be a whole invisible cosmos out there, previously unsuspected. Perhaps you are right, and we philosophers in our vanity have assumed upon an imperfect base of knowledge."
"This is a rather sudden shift of view," Zeno noted.
"A Cynic only needs
"But look at this!" Zeno said with a note of triumph that Izates recognized. His friend had been leading up to this all along.
"You've set an ambush for me," he grumbled.
Zeno drew a folded papyrus from the pouch at his waist. "This came from our friend Gabinius. It was among the most recent reports from Marcus Scipio to the Senate. Gabinius says that it is a mystery to him, but that we might find it amusing." He unfolded it portentously and began to read.
"Among the intriguing new developments are those of the Cypriote, Agathocles. I have written of him before: He is the experimenter with mirrors, who invented the device for observing around corners and over walls. This device proved very useful on the underwater boats.
"His newest creations involve parabolic mirrors and lenses of finely ground glass, which by some seemingly magical property cause distant objects to appear closer. He has used some of these devices to study the stars and the moon, and the astronomers who have looked through these things have been astonished. They say that, not only do the stars appear nearer, but they can actually see more stars than are visible to our eyes alone. Agathocles says that he is frus trated by the impurities and other imperfections in his lenses, and works feverishly with his Babylonian glass work ers to create clearer, more refined glass and finer grinding and polishing agents to perfect his lenses.
"I am sure that these things must have some sort of military application. Reconnaissance, both at sea and on land, comes to mind. I shall set Agathocles to work devising small, portable viewing devices."
Zeno refolded the parchment. "What do you think of that?"
Izates looked stunned. "Can this be possible?" he said, the sneer for once gone from his voice. "Not the device— we've all seen how reflective surfaces distort, so why not control the distortion to magnify? No, I mean, can it be true that there are more stars in Heaven than we can see?"
"No sense pondering on an empty stomach," Zeno said, pleased at having stunned his friend for once.
Numerous hawkers had set up booths around the mili tary facility, and they went to one such and purchased bread, cheese, fruit and large cups of wine. They took these to a stone jetty and sat on its rim, their feet dangling over the water, while they munched, drank and talked over the implications of this unprecedented news.
"From the earliest days of rational thought," Izates said, "it has been believed that we could understand the world by looking at it and analyzing what we see. But if this man Agathocles is correct, if his magnifying devices show what is truly there, then it means that there are things in the cosmos that we cannot see!"
"That seems clear," Izates agreed.
"And if this is true of the visible world, what of the world as perceived by our other senses? Are there sounds we cannot hear? Are there objects all around us that we cannot feel?"
"I see no reason why this may not be the case," Izates said.
"Consider: A man with only slightly defective vision cannot see many things that those of us with clear vision can. That does not mean those things are not there, merely that he can't see them. We cannot see the wind, but we can feel it and we can hear it. We know that dogs can detect scents our own noses are not keen enough for, and they often seem to hear sounds when we hear nothing at all."
Izates nodded. "Quite so, quite so. There may be a whole invisible cosmos out there, previously unsuspected. Perhaps you are right, and we philosophers in our vanity have assumed upon an imperfect base of knowledge."
"This is a rather sudden shift of view," Zeno noted.
"A Cynic only needs
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