4.555-575 (1st C. BC) Document 3: Lucretius \"The sun cannot be either much larg

Question

4.555-575 (1st C. BC) Document 3: Lucretius "The sun cannot be either much larger or much smaller than it appears to our senses. So long as fires are near enough both to transmit their light and to breathe a warm blast upon our bodies, the bulk of their flames suffers no loss through distance: the fire is not visibly diminished. Since the heat of the sun and the light it gives off travel all the way to [Earth] its shape and size must also appear as they really are. The moon also is not bigger than it appears to ou:r eyes. For objects seen at a distance through a thick screen of air appear blurred in outline before they are diminished in bulk. It follows that the moon, which presents a sharp outline and a precise shape, must appear to us up there just as it is, with its limits truly defined and its actual dimensions." 13. Summarize and criticize the argument in Document 3. If you have trouble understanding the argument you may consult external sources, but as always for these assignments I am interested in what you have to say. (400 words max)

Explanation / Answer

Answer 13: Lucretius was a famous Roman poet who was one of the first people to understand and communicate that the universe was made up of atoms that had uncertain motion and that this motion was the very reason that the universe could form elements and entities including the planets, satellites, asteroids and everything else.

However, the excerpt in the question shows a mixed value for modern astronomy and planetary geology. It is quiet incredible that the quote could show that Lucretius observed the brilliance and the energy of the sun since he mentions that the solar energy is generated at the sun and travels a great distance to reach the earth. He thus, understands that there must be an appreciable distance between the sun and the earth! He gives the example of the moon stating that the moon cannot be smaller or bigger than what we see since a thick bulk of air would have rendered the outline of the moon to be blurry. On the basis of this, he assumes that the sun and moon, both cannot be bigger or smaller than their dimensions as seen by the naked human eye form Earth.

The crucial part he did not considered is:

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