Note 136 — BOOK II. AN ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD AND THE ELEMENTS.

Manilius supposes that comets are produced and rendered luminous by an operation very similar to the one described in the text; i. 815 et seq. Seneca, in the commencement of his Nat. Quæst., and in other parts of the same treatise, refers to this subject. His remarks may be worth perusing by those who are curious to learn the hypotheses of the ancients on subjects of natural science. We may remark, that Seneca’s opinions are, on many points, more correct than our author’s.