The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-11
THE INFLUENCE OF COMETS.
Evidence Which Tends to Show to Super.
stlti0ns Minds That Their Coming
P0rtcnds Good or Evil.

From the Times Herald.
The approach of Perrine's comet,
which is speeding toward the earth ut
the rate of 1.G00,000 miles a day, and
which is due to strike this sphere on
March IL, naturally raises the question
to what extent, IL any, this earth of
ours Is Influenced by these strange dem
izens of heaven. That they have some
influence has been stoutly maintained
by astrologers of all ages.
Albumazar tells us that comets, be-
coming first visible in Aries, signify
evil to the countries ruled by that sign.
and that drought will be especially
prevalent. Now. the comet Of 1870 ap-
peared in Aries. the sign of Germany,
and In that year the Franco German
war was begun and several districts in
Europe suffered severely from drought.
Donatts comet appeared In 1858. and
was followed by the italian war of 1853
The appearance of the great comet of
1861 conceded with most destructive
confiagration In London, and was i'm
mediately followed by the outbreak OF
the civil war In this country The as
sassination of President Lincoln be-
longs to the same epoch. This comet
appeared In Gemini the sign of the
United States and London. The great
comet (comet b was first seen in Ge-
mini on May 22, 1884, and on July 9 of
the same year President Garfield was
shot. The same period was noted for
Its violent storms and hurricanes. Now.
the ancient astrologers taught that the
appearance of u comet In Gemini al
ways signifies severe tempests and the
death of some illustrlous man.
NAPOLEON's COMET.
Evidences Of q like nature abound in
history. comet tenanted the heavens
FOR several months before the birth
or the great Napolean and an
other one of vast splendor became Wis.,
ible at the beginning of September, 1911,
when he was at the height of his glory.
More curious still, it attained It's great
est luster I'm the latitude of Paris and
II vanished over the latitude oA Cor
slca. When Napoleon was dying a
comet appeared again--for the third
time In his notable life.
In 1906 comet appeared In England
In the watery sign Scorpio. and soon
| afterward there was a terrible inunda-
lion In Bristol. Somersetshire. Nor
folk and the eastern counties. Nos
tradamus. by the way, predicted this
Hood In 1866, fifty years before 1t took
place.
Oriental pOtentates have for centur-
les been swayed greatly by comets.
Iimour, when one appeared, consulted
Abduiiah Lissan, a famous astrologer,
ana was Informed that it presaged the
| utmost disasters to his enemies and es-
pecially to the Ottoman empire. Alb
dullah predicted thus, seeing that the
comet was In the west Of Timour's do
minions and in the sign Aries. Timour
prepared for war, entered the enemies
territory and utterly overthrow them.
In the reign of Selim II. Q572) there ap-
| peared comet, which had the bright
ness and magnitude of Venus. This
excited the monarch's apprehensions,
| when We're augmented by the predic-
tions OF his astrologers, who fOretold
TINS phenomenon announced the calam-
| tiles which excessive rain would intiict
| upon the empire. Forty days after
ward says the historian, "they imag-
ined themselves threatened with a uni
| versal deluge; incessant rains over
flowed the monarch's dominions in Eu-
| rope and Asia, laid waste three of his
chief cities, swept away men, cattle
ana houses, and rendered the bridges
| and public roads impossible for several
weeks Winston has conjectured that
| the deluge mentioned in the Bible, was
produced by the near approach of a
| comet to the earth, and he further sur
misses that the end of the world may be
produced by the approach of a comet
l
1t is interesting to compare his views on
the subject with those expressed by
| Nj. Flammarion, In his book entitled
La Fin du Monde
VIEWS OF THE ANCIENTS.
Even the great Charlemagne regarded
comets as portents. Seeing one appear
a few weeks before his death, he con-
suited his astronomers, and in reply to
! his secretary, Eginhard, who urged him
not to grow uneasy, he said that he was
not dismayed at such signs, but feared
| the divine framer of them, who, being
| tncensed with anger against people or
a prince, Is wont in this way to admon-
ish them of His wrath and to call them
! to repentance. Other famous men held
| similar opinions Cicero writes that an
the civil war between Octavius Angus
tus and Mark Antony it was observed
| that comets were the harbingers of the
miseries that then befell them" and
| expresses the opinion that "such ap-
pearances foretell great events Pinly
| writes: "A fearful star, this comet Is.
and not easily expated. as it appeared
| by the late civil troubles when Octavius
| was consul, as also a second time by
! the intestine war Of Pompey and
| Caesar. and in our days about the time
| that ClaudiuS Caesar was poisoned and
/ left the empire to Domitius Nero. in the
time of whose reign and government
| there was blazing comet continually
| seen" Seneca eXclaims: Some COM
| cts are very cruel and threaten us with
! the worst of mischefs; they bring with
| them and leave behind them the seeds
of blood and slaughter" Socrates. wri-
| ting of the siege of Constantinople.
| says: 80 great was the danger that
| hung over the city that it was foretold
| by huge blazing comet, that reached
| from heaven to earth, the like of which
no man ever saw before" Anna Com
| nena, the daughter of Emperor Alex
| ius. speaking of a comet that appeared
| before .he invasion of the Gauls. says:
This happened by the usual admins
tration of providence in such cases, for
| Ii Is not fit that so great and strange an
alteration o things as was brought to
pass by that coming of theirs should be
| without some previous denunciation
| and admonishment from heaven"
FEARED IN ALL AGES.
Machiavelli. writing on the same sub
| ject, says: Experience shows that
some great connections are the conse-
Quence of such signs as these" MILL
| chius. a noted mathematician. says:
much experience and observation
| shows that comets announce great
| slaughter to the world. such as sack
| Ing of cities. subversion of Kingdoms
| and other public disasters The learn
; ed Grotius observes that Comets ANA
| fiery swords and such like signs are
wont to be the forerunners of great
| changes i'm the world" Raphael tells
| MS that ''rhe great comet i'm 1850. fol-
lowed by Il lesser In 1852. was evidently
| the forerunner of all those remarkable
and disastrous events that ended in the
revolution of 1GSS.
"a comet aDpearpi lust at the time