" Afterwards the
legate asked him to make this true, That a raven is white and not black;
and he replied, "I will do this also with ease;" and he said, "Take a
needle or razor, and lay open the feathers or quills of a raven; are
they not white within? Also remove the feathers and quills, and look at
its skin; is it not white? What is the blackness then which envelops it
but a shade, which ought not to determine the raven's color? That
blackness is merely a shade. I appeal to the skilful in the science of
optics, who will tell you, that if you pound a black stone or glass into
fine powder, you will see that the powder is white." But the legate
replied, "Does not the raven appear black to the sight?" The confirmator
answered, "Will you, who are a man, think in any case from appearance?
you may indeed say from appearance, that a crow is black, but you cannot
think so; as for example, you may speak from the appearance and say that
the sun rises, advances to its meridian altitude, and sets; but, as you
are a man, you cannot think so; because the sun stands unmoved and the
earth only changes its position.
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