[10] It has been thought by some that, in the beginning, the moon was
always opposite the sun, thus always ruling the night. Milton thus
understood the account given in the first book of Genesis. For he
says,--
Less bright the morn,
But opposite in levell'd west was set
His mirror, with full face, borrowing her light
From him; for other light she needed none
In that aspect; and still that distance keeps
Till night, then in the east her turn she shines,
Revolv'd on Heav'n's great axle.
It was only as a consequence of Adam's transgression that he conceives
the angels sought to punish the human race by altering the movements of
the celestial bodies--
To the blank moon
Her office they prescribe--
It is hardly necessary to say, perhaps, that this interpretation is not
scientifically admissible.
[Illustration]