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fiercely, in the same way the moon gives
us light. The moon's body is polished and beautiful,
like a well-buffed apple, and it shines and gives off
brightness when it is lit by the rays of the sun. The dark
patches that one sees on the moon are said by some
people to be land, and that what appears to be white is water,
just as with a mirror, which
receives a variety of colors when it is turned towards them.
Others think differently, saying that these dark patches
came about when Adam was deceived by the apple that
he ate, with such harm to the human race. At that time
the moon was damaged and its clarity diminished. Of the seven
stars that are there and that make their course in
the firmament, of which I spoke of earlier, at first
only two were known: the sun and the moon. The others would
not be known of were it not for astronomy. Nonetheless I
will name them, as I have spoken of them. Of these,
there are two above the moon, one above the
other, each having its own virtues on the earth (see note). These are