Solar Empire --Heavens Above II

　　For most ancient civilizations, anything that could n't be explained by the primitive science of the day, w as believed the result of supernatural, often divine fo rces at play. They noticed patterns in the great star g rid that have been passed down to us, remarkably intact , as the constellations of the zodiac, astral signs tho ught to exercise a mystical influence over our lives. I magine what early men must have felt beneath the canopy of cosmic glitter.

　　"You have to look at the entire history of our unde rstanding of the world, and for that matter, cosmos, as a continuity that goes back at least to the old Stone A ge. Now, that doesn't mean it … didn't have fits, and s tarts, and dead ends, but our ancestors began the proce ss of carefully, thoughtfully, and systematically obser ving nature, and that legacy is still with us today."

　　The story of how we have systematically observed th e heavens begins in the days before recorded time. For primitive man, the sun reigned supreme. Its recurring c ycles of light and darkness formed the basis of the fir st organizing principle of our natural world, day and n ight.

　　This was the most basic astronomical observation, a nd man's first attempt to explain what was going on dow n here by observing what was happening up there. In eff ect, ushering in a belief system that looked for casual connections between heavenly and earthly matters. Many believed the sun needed to be persuaded to reappear aft er the cold, dark night.

　　What was going on up there? For our earliest ancest ors, with little in the way of scientific knowledge, it was a natural next step to ascribe supernatural answers to nature's most basic questions.

　　to be continued

　　Notes:

　　1．alignment: n. 成一直线

　　2．dire: adj. 可怕的 eg. a ~ calamity 可怕的灾难 ~ news 噩耗

　　3．astrology: n. 占星术，占星学

　　4．baffling: adj. 困惑的

　　5．intact: adj. 完整无缺的，未经触动的

　　6．constellation: n. 星座

　　7．zodiac: 黄道十二宫

　　8．astral: adj. 星的，多星的

　　9．canopy: n. 天穹，天空

　　10．ascribe: vt (to) 把……归因于 eg. ~one's failure to ba d luck. 把自己的失败归咎于运气不好