Dream of Scipio and Stoic Paradoxes

Now, the earth itself appeared so small to me that I was ashamed of our empire, of which we touch only a point. When I gazed at it more intently, Africanus said, "How long will your mind be fixed upon the earth? Do you not see into what temples you have entered? All things are bound together by nine orbits, or rather globes. The outermost one is celestial, which contains all the others; it is the supreme God himself, moving and containing all things. In it are fixed those eternally revolving courses of the stars. Beneath it are the seven that move in the opposite direction to the rotation of the heavens. Of these, one globe is held by the one you call Saturn on earth. Then there is that brilliant light, prosperous and salutary to the human race, which is called Jupiter; then the red one, terrible to the earth, which you call Mars. Then, beneath, occupying almost the middle region, the Sun holds the position of leader, prince, and moderator of the other lights; he is the mind of the universe and its regulator, of such great magnitude that he illuminates and fills all things with his light. He is followed by Venus and Mercury as his companions. In the lowest orbit, the Moon revolves, ignited by the rays of the Sun. Below this, there is nothing that is not mortal and perishable, except for the souls given to the human race by the gift of the gods. Above the moon, all things are eternal. For that earth which is the ninth and in the middle does not move and is the lowest, and all heavy objects are drawn to it by their own nature." When I stared at this, as I recovered myself, I said, "What is this great and sweet sound that fills my ears?" "This," he said, "is the sound created by the intervals of the orbits, which, though unequal, are nevertheless distinguished by exact proportions; it arises from the impulse and motion of the spheres themselves. By tempering high notes with low ones, it produces a uniform, harmonic melody. Nor can such great motions be impelled in silence, and nature decrees that the extremes on one side sound low, and on the other, high. For this reason, the highest, star-filled course of the heavens, whose rotation is faster, moves with a high-pitched, sharp sound, while the lunar, lowest course moves with the deepest. For the ninth earth, remaining motionless, always clings to the lowest seat, occupying the center of the universe. But those eight courses, in which there is the same power