ed to the
shepherds were really angels from heaven. Therefore also the star
which appeared to the Magi was really a star from the heavens.

Obj. 3: Further, stars which are not in the heavens but in the air
are called comets, which do not appear at the birth of kings, but
rather are signs of their approaching death. But this star was a sign
of the King's birth: wherefore the Magi said (Matt. 2:2): "Where is
He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the
east." Therefore it seems that it was a star from the heavens.

_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (Contra Faust. ii): "It was not one
of those stars which since the beginning of the creation observe the
course appointed to them by the Creator; but this star was a stranger
to the heavens, and made its appearance at the strange sight of a
virgin in childbirth."

_I answer that,_ As Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.), it is clear,
for many reasons, that the star which appeared to the Magi did not
belong to the heavenly system. First, because no other star
approaches from the same quarter as this star, whose course was from
north to south, these being the relative positions of Persia, whence
the Magi came, and Judea. Secondly, from the time [at which it was
seen]. For it appeared not only at night, but also at midday: and no
star can do this, not even the moon. Thirdly, because it was visible
at one time and hidden at another. For when they entered Jerusalem it
hid itself: then, when they had left Herod, it showed itself again.
Fourthly, because its movement was not continuous, but when the Magi
had to continue their journey the star moved on; when they had to
stop the star stood still; as happened to the pillar of a cloud in
the desert. Fifthly, because it indicated the virginal Birth, not by
remaining aloft, but by coming down below. For it is written (Matt.
2:9) that "the star which they had seen in the east went before them,
until it came and stood over where the child was." Whence it is
evident that the words of the Magi, "We have seen His star in the
east," are to be taken as meaning, not that when they were in the
east the star appeared over the country of Judea, but that when they
saw the star it was in the east, and that it preceded them into Judea
(although this is considered doubtful by some). But it could not have
indicated the house distinctly, unless it were near the earth. And,
as he [Chrysostom] observes, this does not seem fitting to