Firmament

Definition and stakes

Portrait of Moses Maimonides Moses Maimonides,  The guide for the perplexed (1910)

“ For if taken literally the firmament would appear at first thought to be merely an imaginary thing, as there is no other substance but the elements between us and the lowest of the heavenly spheres, and there is no water above the air; and if the firmament, with that which is over it, be supposed to be above the heavens, it would a fortiori seem to be unreal and uncomprehensible. ”
Source: Gutenberg

Mediaeval Tales

“ I being once laid in my bed, and I could not sleep for thinking on my calendar and practice, I marvelled with myself how it were possible that the firmament should be known, and so largely written of by men, or whether they write true or false, by their own opinions and suppositions, or by due observation and true course of the heavens ”
Source: Gutenberg

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