History of Monsters. 739

the year 3759 of the world, two suns were observed at Alba. Indeed, according to Pliny, in the year 3847 of the world, three suns were seen. Likewise, in 42 BC, three suns rose in Rome and gradually merged into a single orb; this apparition undoubtedly portended the worship of the one and triune God. Similarly, in 51 AD, three suns seen at once immediately merged into the same disk.

In 1469, a triple sun seen in Rome disturbed the minds of many. Similarly, the inhabitants of the Duchy of Württemberg witnessed three suns around the third hour of the day. On January 12, 1514, three suns appeared, the middle of which exceeded the others in size, and bloody swords stood out in all of them. Furthermore, in July 1556, as recorded by Lycosthenes, many people at Sankt Goar saw three suns in a clear sky. Finally, according to a reliable report, we understand that three suns appeared near Naples in the year 1629.

But even more wondrous is when the Sun, accompanied by other solar likenesses, is seen traveling through the sky crowned with various circles and rainbows. First, near the end of May 1528, in Zurich, the capital of the Swiss, many suns surrounded by various circles were observed together; in the following year, the people of Zurich, along with their confederates, attacked five Swiss cantons. Likewise, around the end of March 1551, suns appeared with various circles, which the Greeks call *parhelia*.

Theon, commenting on Aratus, cites Poseidonius in stating that *parhelia* are round clouds irradiated around the Sun; they do not possess their own light but use the Sun's, just as the Moon illuminates similar clouds. However, Aristotle explains the *parhelios* as a doubled sun, and in Suidas, *parhelios* is the name given to a highly condensed nebula illuminated by the Sun. Indeed, according to the philosophers, it always inclines toward the sides of the Sun, as is also observed in "rods." Cornelius Gemma asserts that this monstrous impression occurred at Magdeburg; not long after, by order of Emperor Charles, and under the leadership of Dukes Maurice and Albert, the city was besieged for fifteen months, finally obtaining peace under unfavorable conditions.

A similar monstrous phenomenon appeared in the heavens at Rome on March 20, 1629, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first hour. Its diagram is shown in Image I, where five suns are seen with a triple circle, along with various letters that are explained there.