BOOK V

.

AN ACCOUNT OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, SEAS, TOWNS, HAVENS, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, DISTANCES, AND PEOPLES WHO NOW EXIST OR FORMERLY EXISTED.

CHAP. 1.—THE TWO MAURITANIAS.

The Greeks have given the name of Libya[3232] to Africa, and have called the sea that lies in front of it the Libyan Sea. It has Egypt for its boundary, and no part of the earth is there that has fewer gulfs or inlets, its shores extending in a lengthened line from the west in an oblique direction. The names of its peoples, and its cities in especial, cannot possibly be pronounced with correctness, except by the aid of their own native tongues. Its population, too, for the most

## part dwells only in fortresses[3233].

(1.) On our entrance into Africa, we find the two Mauritanias, which, until the time of Caius Cæsar[3234], the son of Germanicus, were kingdoms; but, suffering under his cruelty, they were divided into two provinces. The extreme promontory of Africa, which projects into the ocean, is called Ampelusia[3235] by the Greeks. There were formerly two towns, Lissa and Cotte[3236], beyond the Pillars of Hercules; but, at the present day, we only find that of Tingi[3237], which was formerly founded by Antæus, and afterwards received the name of Traducta Julia[3238], from Claudius Cæsar, when he established a colony there. It is thirty miles distant from Belon[3239], a town of Bætica, where the passage across is the shortest. At a distance of twenty-five miles from Tingi, upon the shores of the ocean[3240], we come to Julia Constantia Zilis[3241], a colony of Augustus. This place is exempt from all subjection to the kings of Mauritania, and is included in the legal jurisdiction of Bætica. Thirty-two miles distant from Julia Constantia is Lixos[3242], which was made a Roman colony by Claudius Cæsar, and which has been the subject of such wondrous fables, related by the writers of antiquity. At this place, according to the story, was the palace of Antæus; this was the scene of his combat with Hercules, and here were the gardens of the Hesperides[3243]. An arm of the sea flows into the land here, with a serpentine channel, and, from the nature of the locality, this is interpreted at the present day as having been what was really represented by the story of the dragon keeping guard there. This tract of water surrounds an island, the only spot which is never overflowed by the tides of the sea, although not quite so elevated as the rest of the land in its vicinity. Upon this island, also, there is still in existence the altar of Hercules; but of the grove that bore the golden fruit, there are no traces left, beyond some wild olive-trees. People will certainly be the less surprised at the marvellous falsehoods of the Greeks, which have been related about this place and the river Lixos[3244], when they reflect that some of our own[3245] countrymen as well, and that too very recently, have related stories in reference to them hardly less monstrous; how that this city is remarkable for its power and extensive influence, and how that it is even greater than Great Carthage ever was; how, too, that it is situate just opposite to Carthage, and at an almost immeasurable distance from Tingi, together with other details of a similar nature, all of which Cornelius Nepos has believed with the most insatiate credulity[3246].

In the interior, at a distance of forty miles from Lixos, is Babba[3247], surnamed Julia Campestris, another colony of Augustus; and, at a distance of seventy-five, a third, called Banasa[3248], with the surname of Valentia. At a distance of thirty-five miles from this last is the town of Volubilis, which is just that distance also from both[3249] seas. On the coast, at a distance of fifty miles from Lixos, is the river Subur[3250], which flows past the colony of Banasa, a fine river, and available for the purposes of navigation. At the same distance from it is the city of Sala[3251], situate on a river which bears the same name, a place which stands upon the very verge of the desert, and though infested by troops of elephants, is much more exposed to the attacks of the nation of the Autololes, through whose country lies the road to Mount Atlas, the most fabulous[3252] locality even in Africa.

It is from the midst of the sands, according to the story, that this mountain[3253] raises its head to the heavens; rugged and craggy on the side which looks toward the shores of the ocean to which it has given its name, while on that which faces the interior of Africa it is shaded by dense groves of trees, and refreshed by flowing streams; fruits of all kinds springing up there spontaneously to such an extent, as to more than satiate every possible desire. Throughout the daytime, no inhabitant is to be seen; all is silent, like that dreadful stillness which reigns in the desert. A religious horror steals imperceptibly over the feelings of those who approach, and they feel themselves smitten with awe at the stupendous aspect of its summit, which reaches beyond the clouds, and well nigh approaches the very orb of the moon. At night, they say, it gleams with fires innumerable lighted up; it is then the scene of the gambols of the Ægipans[3254] and the Satyr crew, while it re-echoes with the notes of the flute and the pipe, and the clash of drums and cymbals. All this is what authors of high character have stated, in addition to the labours which Hercules and Perseus there experienced. The space which intervenes before you arrive at this mountain is immense, and the country quite unknown.

There formerly existed some Commentaries written by Hanno[3255], a Carthaginian general, who was commanded, in the most flourishing times of the Punic state, to explore the sea-coast of Africa. The greater part of the Greek and Roman writers have followed him, and have related, among other fabulous stories, that many cities there were founded by him, of which no remembrance, nor yet the slightest vestige, now exists.

While Scipio Æmilianus held the command in Sicily, Polybius the historian received a fleet from him for the purpose of proceeding on a voyage of discovery in this part of the world. He relates, that beyond[3256] Mount Atlas, proceeding in a westerly direction, there are forests filled with wild beasts, peculiar to the soil of Africa, as far as the river Anatis[3257], a distance of 485 miles, Lixos being distant from it 205 miles. Agrippa says, that Lixos is distant from the Straits of Gades 112 miles. After it we come to a gulf which is called the Gulf of Saguti[3258], a town situate on the Promontory of Mulelacha[3259], the rivers Subur and Salat[3260], and the port of Rutubis[3261], distant from Lixos 213 miles. We then come to the Promontory of the Sun[3262], the port of Risardir[3263], the Gætulian Autololes, the river Cosenus[3264], the nations of the Selatiti and the Masati, the river Masathat[3265], and the river Darat[3266], in which crocodiles are found. After this we come to a large gulf, 616[3267] miles in extent, which is enclosed by a promontory of Mount Barce[3268], which runs out in a westerly direction, and is called Surrentium[3269]. Next comes the river Salsus[3270], beyond which lie the Æthiopian Perorsi, at the back of whom are the Pharusii[3271], who are bordered upon by the Gætulian Daræ[3272], lying in the interior. Upon the coast again, we find the Æthiopian Daratitæ, and the river Bambotus[3273], teeming with crocodiles and hippopotami. From this river there is a continuous range[3274] of mountains till we come to the one which is known by the name of Theon Ochema[3275], from which to the Hesperian Promontory[3276] is a voyage of ten days and nights; and in the middle of this space he[3277] has placed Mount Atlas, which by all other writers has been stated to be in the extreme parts of Mauritania.

The Roman arms, for the first time, pursued their conquests into Mauritania, under the Emperor Claudius, when the freedman Ædemon took up arms to avenge the death of King Ptolemy[3278], who had been put to death by Caius Cæsar; and it is a well-known fact, that on the flight of the barbarians our troops reached Mount Atlas. It became a boast, not only among men of consular rank, and generals selected from the senate, who at that time held the command, but among persons of equestrian rank as well, who after that period held the government there, that they had penetrated as far as Mount Atlas. There are, as we have already stated, five Roman colonies in this province; and it may very possibly appear, if we listen only to what report says, that this mountain is easily accessible. Upon trial, however, it has been pretty generally shown, that all such statements are utterly fallacious; and it is too true, that men in high station, when they are disinclined to take the trouble of inquiring into the truth, through a feeling of shame at their ignorance are not averse to be guilty of falsehood; and never is implicit credence more readily given, than when a falsehood is supported by the authority of some personage of high consideration. For my own part, I am far less surprised that there are still some facts remaining undiscovered by men of the equestrian order, and even those among them who have attained senatorial rank, than that the love of luxury has left anything unascertained; the impulse of which must be great indeed, and most powerfully felt, when the very forests are ransacked for their ivory and citron-wood[3279], and all the rocks of Gætulia are searched for the murex and the purple.

From the natives, however, we learn, that on the coast, at a distance of 150 miles from the Salat, the river Asana[3280] presents itself; its waters are salt, but it is remarkable for its fine harbour. They also say that after this we come to a river known by the name of Fut[3281], and then, after crossing another called Vior which lies on the road, at a distance of 200 miles we arrive at Dyris[3282], such being the name which in their language they give to Mount Atlas. According to their story there are still existing in its vicinity many vestiges which tend to prove that the locality was once inhabited; such as the remains of vineyards and plantations of palm-trees.

Suetonius Paulinus[3283], whom we have seen Consul in our own time, was the first Roman general who advanced a distance of some miles beyond Mount Atlas. He has given us the same information as we have received from other sources with reference to the extraordinary height of this mountain, and at the same time he has stated that all the lower parts about the foot of it are covered with dense and lofty forests composed of trees of species hitherto unknown. The height of these trees, he says, is remarkable; the trunks are without knots, and of a smooth and glossy surface; the foliage is like that of the cypress, and besides sending forth a powerful odour, they are covered with a flossy down, from which, by the aid of art, a fine cloth might easily be manufactured, similar to the textures made from the produce of the silk-worm. He informs us that the summit of this mountain is covered with snow even in summer, and says that having arrived there after a march of ten days, he proceeded some distance beyond it as far as a river which bears the name of Ger[3284]; the road being through deserts covered with a black sand[3285], from which rocks that bore the appearance of having been exposed to the action of fire, projected every here and there; localities rendered quite uninhabitable by the intensity of the heat, as he himself experienced, although it was in the winter season that he visited them. We also learn from the same source that the people who inhabit the adjoining forests, which are full of all kinds of elephants, wild beasts, and serpents, have the name of Canarii; from the circumstance that they partake of their food in common with the canine race, and share with it the entrails of wild beasts.

It is a well-known fact, that adjoining to these localities is a nation of Æthiopians, which bears the name of Perorsi. Juba, the father of Ptolemy, who was the first king[3286] who reigned over both the Mauritanias, and who has been rendered even more famous by the brilliancy of his learning than by his kingly rank, has given us similar information relative to Mount Atlas, and states that a certain herb grows there, which has received the name of ‘euphorbia’[3287] from that of his physician, who was the first to discover it. Juba extols with wondrous praises the milky juice of this plant as tending to improve the sight, and acting as a specific against the bites of serpents and all kinds of poison; and to this subject alone he has devoted an entire book. Thus much, if indeed not more than enough, about Mount Atlas.

(2.) The province of Tingitana is 170 miles in length[3288]. Of the nations in this province the principal one was formerly that of the Mauri[3289], who have given to it the name of Mauritania, and have been by many writers called the Maurusii[3290]. This nation has been greatly weakened by the disasters of war, and is now dwindled down to a few families only[3291]. Next to the Mauri was formerly the nation of the Massæsyli[3292]; they in a similar manner have become extinct. Their country is now occupied by the Gætulian nations[3293], the Baniuræ[3294], the Autololes[3295], by far the most powerful people among them all, and the Vesuni, who formerly were a part of the Autololes, but have now separated from them, and, turning their steps towards the Æthiopians[3296], have formed a distinct nation of their own. This province, in the mountainous district which lies on its eastern side, produces elephants, as also on the heights of Mount Abyla[3297] and among those elevations which, from the similarity of their height, are called the Seven Brothers[3298]. Joining the range of Abyla these mountains overlook the Straits of Gades. At the extremity of this chain begin the shores of the inland sea[3299], and we come to the Tamuda[3300], a navigable stream, with the site of a former town of the same name, and then the river Laud[3301], which is also navigable for vessels, the town and port of Rhysaddir[3302], and Malvane[3303], a navigable stream.

The city of Siga[3304], formerly the residence of King Syphax, lies opposite to that of Malaca[3305] in Spain: it now belongs to the second[3306] Mauritania. But these countries, I should remark, for a long time retained the names of their respective kings, the further Mauritania being called the “land of Bogud[3307],” while that which is now called Cæsariensis was called the “country of Bocchus.” After passing Siga we come to the haven called “Portus Magnus[3308]” from its great extent, with a town whose people enjoy the rights of Roman citizens, and then the river Mulucha[3309], which served as the limit between the territory of Bocchus and that of the Massæsyli. Next to this is Quiza Xenitana[3310], a town founded by strangers, and Arsenaria[3311], a place with the ancient Latin rights, three miles distant from the sea. We then come to Cartenna[3312], a colony founded under Augustus by the second legion, and Gunugum[3313], another colony founded by the same emperor, a prætorian cohort being established there; the Promontory of Apollo[3314], and a most celebrated city, now called Cæsarea[3315], but formerly known by the name of Iol; this place was the residence of King Juba, and received the rights of a colony from the now deified Emperor Claudius. Oppidum Novum[3316] is the next place; a colony of veterans was established here by command of the same emperor. Next to it is Tipasa[3317], which has received Latin rights, as also Icasium[3318], which has been presented by the Emperor Vespasianus with similar rights; Rusconiæ[3319], a colony founded by Augustus; Rusucurium[3320], honoured by Claudius with the rights of Roman citizens; Ruzacus[3321], a colony founded by Augustus; Salde[3322], another colony founded by the same emperor; Igilgili[3323], another; and the town of Tucca[3324], situate on the sea-shore and upon the river Ampsaga. In the interior are the colony of Augusta, also called Succabar[3325], Tubusuptus[3326], the cities of Timici and Tigavæ[3327], the rivers Sardabal[3328], Aves[3329], and Nabar[3330], the nation of the Macurebi, the river Usar[3331], and the nation of the Nababes. The river Ampsaga is distant from Cæsarea 322[3332] miles. The length of the two Mauritanias is 1038, and their breadth 467 miles.

CHAP. 2. (3.)—NUMIDIA.

At the river Ampsaga Numidia begins, a country rendered illustrious by the fame of Masinissa. By the Greeks this region was called Metagonitis[3333]; and the Numidians received the name of “Nomades” from their frequent changes of pasturage; upon which occasions they were accustomed to carry[3334] their _mapalia_, or in other words, their houses, upon waggons. The towns of this country are Cullu[3335] and Rusicade[3336]; and at a distance of forty-eight miles from the latter, in the interior, is the colony of Cirta[3337], surnamed “of the Sitiani;” still more inland is another colony called Sicca[3338], with the free town of Bulla Regia[3339]. On the coast are Tacatua[3340], Hippo Regius[3341], the river Armua[3342], and the town of Tabraca[3343], with the rights of Roman citizens. The river Tusca[3344] forms the boundary of Numidia. This country produces nothing remarkable except its marble[3345] and wild beasts.

CHAP. 3. (4.)—AFRICA.

Beyond the river Tusca begins the region of Zeugitana[3346], and that part which properly bears the name of Africa[3347]. We here find three promontories; the White Promontory[3348], the Promontory of Apollo[3349], facing Sardinia, and that of Mercury[3350], opposite to Sicily. Projecting into the sea these headlands form two gulfs, the first of which bears the name of “Hipponensis” from its proximity to the city called Hippo Dirutus[3351], a corruption of the Greek name Diarrhytus, which it has received from the channels made for irrigation. Adjacent to this place, but at a greater distance from the sea-shore, is Theudalis[3352], a town exempt from tribute. We then come to the Promontory of Apollo, and upon the second gulf, we find Utica[3353], a place enjoying the rights of Roman citizens, and famous for the death of Cato; the river Bagrada[3354], the place called Castra Cornelia[3355], the colony[3356] of Carthage, founded upon the remains of Great Carthage[3357], the colony of Maxula[3358], the towns of Carpi[3359], Misua, and Clypea[3360], the last a free town, on the Promontory of Mercury; also Curubis, a free town[3361], and Neapolis[3362].

Here commences the second division[3363] of Africa properly so called. Those who inhabit Byzacium have the name of Libyphœnices[3364]. Byzacium is the name of a district which is 250 miles in circumference, and is remarkable for its extreme fertility, as the ground returns the seed sown by the husbandman with interest a hundred-fold[3365]. Here are the free towns of Leptis[3366], Adrumetum[3367], Ruspina[3368], and Thapsus[3369]; and then Thenæ[3370], Macomades[3371], Tacape[3372], and Sabrata[3373] which touches on the Lesser Syrtis; to which spot, from the Ampsaga, the length of Numidia and Africa is 580 miles, and the breadth, so far as it has been ascertained, 200. That portion which we have called Africa is divided into two provinces, the Old and the New; these are separated by a dyke which was made by order of the second Scipio Africanus[3374] and the kings[3375], and extended to Thenæ, which town is distant from Carthage 216 miles.

CHAP. 4.—THE SYRTES.

A third Gulf is divided into two smaller ones, those of the two Syrtes[3376], which are rendered perilous by the shallows of their quicksands and the ebb and flow of the sea. Polybius states the distance from Carthage to the Lesser Syrtis, the one which is nearest to it, to be 300 miles. The inlet to it he also states to be 100 miles across, and its circumference 300. There is also a way[3377] to it by land, to find which we must employ the guidance of the stars and cross deserts which present nothing but sand and serpents. After passing these we come to forests filled with vast multitudes of wild beasts and elephants, then desert wastes[3378], and beyond them the Garamantes[3379], distant twelve days’ journey from the Augylæ[3380]. Above the Garamantes was formerly the nation of the Psylli[3381], and above them again the Lake of Lycomedes[3382], surrounded with deserts. The Augylæ themselves are situate almost midway between Æthiopia which faces the west[3383], and the region which lies between[3384] the two Syrtes, at an equal distance from both. The distance along the coast that lies between the two Syrtes is 250 miles. On it are found the city of Œa[3385], the river Cinyps[3386], and the country of that name, the towns of Neapolis[3387], Graphara[3388], and Abrotonum[3389], and the second, surnamed the Greater, Leptis[3390].

We next come to the Greater Syrtis, 625 miles in circumference, and at the entrance 312 miles in width; next after which dwells the nation of the Cisippades. At the bottom of this gulf was the coast of the Lotophagi, whom some writers have called the Alachroæ[3391], extending as far as the Altars of the Philæni[3392]; these Altars are formed of heaps of sand. On passing these, not far from the shore there is a vast swamp[3393] which receives the river Triton[3394] and from it takes its name: by Callimachus it is called Pallantias[3395], and is said by him to be on the nearer side of the Lesser Syrtis; many other writers however place it between the two Syrtes. The promontory which bounds the Greater Syrtis has the name of Borion[3396]; beyond it is the province of Cyrene.

Africa, from the river Ampsaga to this limit, includes 516 peoples, who are subject to the Roman sway, of which six are colonies; among them Uthina[3397] and Tuburbi[3398], besides those already mentioned. The towns enjoying the rights of Roman citizens are fifteen in number, of which I shall mention, as lying in the interior, those of Assuræ[3399], Abutucum, Aborium, Canopicum[3400], Cilma[3401], Simithium, Thunusidium, Tuburnicum, Tynidrumum, Tibiga, the two towns called Ucita, the Greater and the Lesser, and Vaga. There is also one town with Latin rights, Uzalita by name, and one town of tributaries, Castra Cornelia[3402]. The free towns are thirty in number, among which we may mention, in the interior, those of Acholla[3403], Aggarita, Avina, Abzirita, Canopita, Melizita, Matera, Salaphita, Tusdrita[3404], Tiphica, Tunica[3405], Theuda, Tagasta[3406], Tiga[3407], Ulusubrita, a second Vaga, Visa, and Zama[3408]. Of the remaining number, most of them should be called, in strictness, not only cities, but nations even; such for instance as the Natabudes, the Capsitani[3409], the Musulami, the Sabarbares, the Massyli[3410], the Nisives, the Vamacures, the Cinithi, the Musuni, the Marchubii[3411], and the whole of Gætulia[3412], as far as the river Nigris[3413], which separates Africa proper from Æthiopia.

CHAP. 5. (5.)—CYRENAICA.

The region of Cyrenaica, also called Pentapolis[3414], is rendered famous by the oracle of Hammon[3415], which is distant 400 miles from the city of Cyrene; also by the Fountain of the Sun[3416] there, and five cities in especial, those of Berenice[3417], Arsinoë[3418], Ptolemais[3419], Apollonia[3420], and Cyrene[3421] itself. Berenice is situate upon the outer promontory that bounds the Syrtis; it was formerly called the city of the Hesperides (previously mentioned[3422]), according to the fables of the Greeks, which very often change their localities. Not far from the city, and running before it, is the river Lethon, and with it a sacred grove, where the gardens of the Hesperides are said to have formerly stood; this city is distant from Leptis 375 miles. From Berenice to Arsinoë, commonly called Teuchira, is forty-three miles; after which, at a distance of twenty-two, we come to Ptolemais, the ancient name of which was Barce; and at a distance of forty miles from this last the Promontory of Phycus[3423], which extends far away into the Cretan Sea, being 350 miles distant from Tænarum[3424], the promontory of Laconia, and from Crete 225. After passing this promontory we come to Cyrene, which stands at a distance of eleven miles from the sea. From Phycus to Apollonia[3425] is twenty-four miles, and from thence to the Chersonesus[3426] eighty-eight; from which to Catabathmos[3427] is a distance of 216 miles. The Marmaridæ[3428] inhabit this coast, extending from almost the region of Parætonium[3429] to the Greater Syrtis; after them the Ararauceles, and then, upon the coasts of the Syrtis, the Nasamones[3430], whom the Greeks formerly called Mesammones, from the circumstance of their being located in the very midst of sands[3431]. The territory of Cyrene, to a distance of fifteen miles from the shore, is said to abound in trees, while for the same distance beyond that district it is only suitable for the cultivation of corn: after which, a tract of land, thirty miles in breadth and 250 in length, is productive of nothing but laser [or silphium[3432]].

After the Nasamones we come to the dwellings of the Asbystæ and the Macæ[3433], and beyond them, at eleven days’ journey to the west of the Greater Syrtis, the Amantes[3434], a people also surrounded by sands in every direction. They find water however without any difficulty at a depth mostly of about two cubits, as their district receives the overflow of the waters of Mauritania. They build houses with blocks of salt[3435], which they cut out of their mountains just as we do stone. From this nation to the Troglodytæ[3436] the distance is seven days’ journey in a south-westerly direction, a people with whom our only intercourse is for the purpose of procuring from them the precious stone which we call the carbuncle, and which is brought from the interior of Æthiopia. Upon the road to this last people, but turning off towards the deserts of Africa, of which we have previously[3437] made mention as lying beyond the Lesser Syrtis, is the region of Phazania[3438]; the nation of Phazanii, belonging to which, as well as the cities of Alele[3439] and Cilliba[3440], we have subdued by force of arms, as also Cydamus[3441], which lies over against Sabrata. After passing these places a range of mountains extends in a prolonged chain from east to west: these have received from our people the name of the Black Mountains[3442], either from the appearance which they naturally bear of having been exposed to the action of fire, or else from the fact that they have been scorched by the reflection of the sun’s rays. Beyond it[3443] is the desert, and then Talgæ, a city of the Garamantes, and Debris, at which place there is a spring[3444], the waters of which, from noon to midnight, are at boiling heat, and then freeze for as many hours until the following noon; Garama too, that most famous capital of the Garamantes; all which places have been subdued by the Roman arms. It was on this occasion that Cornelius Balbus[3445] was honoured with a triumph, the only foreigner indeed that was ever honoured with the triumphal chariot, and presented with the rights of a Roman citizen; for, although by birth a native of Gades, the Roman citizenship was granted to him as well as to the elder Balbus[3446], his uncle by the father’s side. There is also this remarkable circumstance, that our writers have handed down to us the names of the cities above-mentioned as having been taken by Balbus, and have informed us that on the occasion of his triumph[3447], besides Cydamus and Garama[3448], there were carried in the procession the names and models of all the other nations and cities, in the following order: the town of Tabudium[3449], the nation of Niteris, the town of Nigligemella, the nation or town of Bubeium[3450], the nation of Enipi, the town of Thuben, the mountain known as the Black Mountain, Nitibrum, the towns called Rapsa, the nation of Discera[3451], the town of Debris[3452], the river Nathabur[3453], the town of Thapsagum[3454], the nation of Nannagi, the town of Boin, the town of Pege[3455], the river Dasibari; and then the towns, in the following order, of Baracum, Buluba, Alasit, Galia, Balla, Maxalla[3456], Zizama, and Mount Gyri[3457], which was preceded by an inscription stating that this was the place where precious stones were produced.

Up to the present time it has been found impracticable to keep open the road that leads to the country of the Garamantes, as the predatory bands of that nation have filled up the wells with sand, which do not require to be dug for to any great depth, if you only have a knowledge of the locality. In the late war[3458] however, which, at the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, the Romans carried on with the people of Œa, a short cut of only four days’ journey was discovered; this road is known as the “Præter Caput Saxi[3459].” The last place in the territory of Cyrenaica is Catabathmos, consisting of a town, and a valley with a sudden and steep descent. The length of Cyrenean Africa, up to this boundary from the Lesser Syrtis, is 1060 miles; and, so far as has been ascertained, it is 800[3460] in breadth.

CHAP. 6. (6.)—LIBYA MAREOTIS.

The region that follows is called Libya Mareotis[3461], and borders upon Egypt. It is held by the Marmaridæ, the Adyrmachidæ, and, after them, the Mareotæ. The distance from Catabathmos to Parætonium is eighty-six miles. In this district is Apis[3462], a place rendered famous by the religious belief of Egypt. From this town Parætonium is distant sixty-two miles, and from thence to Alexandria the distance is 200 miles, the breadth of the district being 169. Eratosthenes says that it is 525 miles by land from Cyrene to Alexandria; while Agrippa gives the length of the whole of Africa from the Atlantic Sea, and including Lower Egypt, as 3040 miles. Polybius and Eratosthenes, who are generally considered as remarkable for their extreme correctness, state the length to be, from the ocean to Great Carthage 1100 miles, and from Carthage to Canopus, the nearest mouth of the Nile, 1628 miles; while Isidorus speaks of the distance from Tingi to Canopus as being 3599 miles. Artemidorus makes this last distance forty miles less than Isidorus.

CHAP. 7. (7.)—THE ISLANDS IN THE VICINITY OF AFRICA.

These seas contain not so very many islands. The most famous among them is Meninx[3463], twenty-five miles in length and twenty-two in breadth: by Eratosthenes it is called Lotophagitis. This island has two towns, Meninx on the side which faces Africa, and Troas on the other; it is situate off the promontory which lies on the right-hand side of the Lesser Syrtis, at a distance of a mile and a half. One hundred miles from this island, and opposite the promontory that lies on the left, is the free island of Cercina[3464], with a city of the same name. It is twenty-five miles long, and half that breadth at the place where it is the widest, but not more than five miles across at the extremity: the diminutive island of Cercinitis[3465], which looks towards Carthage, is united to it by a bridge. At a distance of nearly fifty miles from these is the island of Lopadusa[3466], six miles in length; and beyond it Gaulos and Galata, the soil of which kills the scorpion, that noxious reptile of Africa. It is also said that the scorpion will not live at Clypea; opposite to which place lies the island of Cosyra[3467], with a town of the same name. Opposite to the Gulf of Carthage are the two islands known as the Ægimuri[3468]; the Altars[3469], which are rather rocks than islands, lie more between Sicily and Sardinia. There are some authors who state that these rocks were once inhabited, but that they have gradually subsided in the sea.

CHAP. 8. (8.)—COUNTRIES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF AFRICA.

If we pass through the interior of Africa in a southerly direction, beyond the Gætuli, after having traversed the intervening deserts, we shall find, first of all the Liby-Egyptians[3470], and then the country where the Leucæthiopians[3471] dwell. Beyond[3472] these are the Nigritæ[3473], nations of Æthiopia, so called from the river Nigris[3474], which has been previously mentioned, the Gymnetes[3475], surnamed Pharusii, and, on the very margin of the ocean, the Perorsi[3476], whom we have already spoken of as lying on the boundaries of Mauritania. After passing all these peoples, there are vast deserts towards the east until we come to the Garamantes, the Augylæ, and the Troglodytæ; the opinion of those being exceedingly well founded who place two Æthiopias beyond the deserts of Africa, and more particularly that expressed by Homer[3477], who tells us that the Æthiopians are divided into two nations, those of the east and those of the west. The river Nigris has the same characteristics as the Nile; it produces the calamus, the papyrus, and just the same animals, and it rises at the same seasons of the year. Its source is between the Tarrælian Æthiopians and the Œcalicæ. Magium, the city of the latter people, has been placed by some writers amid the deserts, and, next to them the Atlantes; then the Ægipani, half men, half beasts, the Blemmyæ[3478], the Gamphasantes, the Satyri, and the Himantopodes.

The Atlantes[3479], if we believe what is said, have lost all characteristics of humanity; for there is no mode of distinguishing each other among them by names, and as they look upon the rising and the setting sun, they give utterance to direful imprecations against it, as being deadly to themselves and their lands; nor are they visited with dreams[3480], like the rest of mortals. The Troglodytæ make excavations in the earth, which serve them for dwellings; the flesh of serpents is their food; they have no articulate voice, but only utter a kind of squeaking noise[3481]; and thus are they utterly destitute of all means of communication by language. The Garamantes have no institution of marriage among them, and live in promiscuous concubinage with their women. The Augylæ worship no deities[3482] but the gods of the infernal regions. The Gamphasantes, who go naked, and are unacquainted with war[3483], hold no intercourse whatever with strangers. The Blemmyæ are said to have no heads, their mouths and eyes being seated in their breasts. The Satyri[3484], beyond their figure, have nothing in common with the manners of the human race, and the form of the Ægipani[3485] is such as is commonly represented in paintings. The Himantopodes[3486] are a race of people with feet resembling thongs, upon which they move along by nature with a serpentine, crawling kind of gait. The Pharusii, descended from the ancient Persians, are said to have been the companions of Hercules when on his expedition to the Hesperides. Beyond the above, I have met with nothing relative to Africa[3487] worthy of mention.

CHAP. 9. (9.)—EGYPT AND THEBAIS.

Joining on to Africa is Asia, the extent of which, according to Timosthenes, from the Canopic mouth of the Nile to the mouth of the Euxine, is 2639 miles. From the mouth of the Euxine to that of Lake Mæotis is, according to Eratosthenes, 1545 miles. The whole distance to the Tanais, including Egypt, is, according to Artemidorus and Isidorus, 6375[3488] miles. The seas of Egypt, which are several in number, have received their names from those who dwell upon their shores, for which reason they will be mentioned together.

Egypt is the country which lies next to Africa; in the interior it runs in a southerly direction, as far as the territory of the Æthiopians, who lie extended at the back of it. The river Nile, dividing itself, forms on the right and left the boundary of its lower part, which it embraces on every side[3489]. By the Canopic mouth of that river it is separated from Africa, and by the Pelusiac from Asia, there being a distance between the two of 170 miles. For this reason it is that some persons have reckoned Egypt among the islands, the Nile so dividing itself as to give a triangular form to the land which it encloses: from which circumstance also many persons have named Egypt the Delta[3490], after that of the Greek letter so called. The distance from the spot where the channel of the river first divides into branches, to the Canopic mouth, is 146 miles, and to the Pelusiac, 166.

The upper part of Egypt, which borders on Æthiopia, is known as Thebais. This district is divided into prefectures of towns, which are generally designated as “Nomes.” These are Ombites[3491], Apollopolites[3492], Hermonthites[3493], Thinites[3494], Phaturites[3495], Coptites[3496], Tentyrites[3497], Diopolites[3498], Antæopolites[3499], Aphroditopolites[3500], and Lycopolites[3501]. The district which lies in the vicinity of Pelusium contains the following Nomes, Pharbæthites, Bubastites[3502], Sethroites, and Tanites[3503]. The remaining Nomes are those called the Arabian; the Hammonian, which lies on the road to the oracle of Jupiter Hammon; and those known by the names of Oxyrynchites, Leontopolites, Athribites[3504], Cynopolites[3505], Hermopolites[3506], Xoites, Mendesium, Sebennytes[3507], Cabasites, Latopolites, Heliopolites, Prosopites, Panopolites, Busirites[3508], Onuphites[3509], Saïtes[3510], Ptenethu, Phthemphu[3511], Naucratites[3512], Metelites, Gynæcopolites, Menelaites,—all in the region of Alexandria, besides Mareotis in Libya.

Heracleopolites[3513] is a Nome on an island[3513] of the Nile, fifty miles in length, upon which there is a city, called the ‘City of Hercules.’ There are two places called Arsinoïtes[3514]: these and Memphites[3515] extend to the apex[3516] of the Delta; adjoining to which, on the side of Africa, are the two Nomes of Oasites[3517]. Some writers vary in some of these names and substitute for them other Nomes, such as Heroöpolites[3518] and Crocodilopolites[3519]. Between Arsinoïtes and Memphites, a lake[3520], 250 miles, or, according to what Mucianus says, 450 miles in circumference and fifty paces deep, has been formed by artificial means: after the king by whose orders it was made, it is called by the name of Mœris. The distance from thence to Memphis is nearly sixty-two miles, a place which was formerly the citadel of the kings of Egypt; from thence to the oracle of Hammon it is twelve days’ journey. Memphis is fifteen miles from the spot where the river Nile divides into the different channels which we have mentioned as forming the Delta.

CHAP. 10.—THE RIVER NILE.

The sources of the Nile[3521] are unascertained, and, travelling as it does for an immense distance through deserts and burning sands, it is only known to us by common report, having neither experienced the vicissitudes of warfare, nor been visited by those arms which have so effectually explored all other regions. It rises, so far indeed as King Juba was enabled to ascertain, in a mountain[3522] of Lower Mauritania, not far from the ocean; immediately after which it forms a lake of standing water, which bears the name of Nilides[3523]. In this lake are found the several kinds of fish known by the names of alabeta[3524], coracinus, and silurus; a crocodile also was brought thence as a proof that this really is the Nile, and was consecrated by Juba himself in the temple of Isis at Cæsarea[3525], where it may be seen at the present day. In addition to these facts, it has been observed that the waters of the Nile rise in the same proportion in which the snows and rains of Mauritania increase. Pouring forth from this lake, the river disdains to flow through arid and sandy deserts, and for a distance of several days’ journey conceals itself; after which it bursts forth at another lake of greater magnitude in the country of the Massæsyli[3526], a people of Mauritania Cæsariensis, and thence casts a glance around, as it were, upon the communities of men in its vicinity, giving proofs of its identity in the same peculiarities of the animals which it produces. It then buries itself once again in the sands of the desert, and remains concealed for a distance of twenty days’ journey, till it has reached the confines of Æthiopia. Here, when it has once more become sensible of the presence of man, it again emerges, at the same source, in all probability, to which writers have given the name of Niger, or Black. After this, forming the boundary-line between Africa and Æthiopia, its banks, though not immediately peopled by man, are the resort of numbers of wild beasts and animals of various kinds. Giving birth in its course to dense forests of trees, it travels through the middle of Æthiopia, under the name of Astapus, a word which signifies, in the language of the nations who dwell in those regions, “water issuing from the shades below.” Proceeding onwards, it divides[3527] innumerable islands in its course, and some of them of such vast magnitude, that although its tide runs with the greatest rapidity, it is not less than five days in passing them. When making the circuit of Meroë, the most famous of these islands, the left branch of the river is called Astobores[3528], or, in other words, “an arm of the water that issues from the shades,” while the right arm has the name of Astosapes[3529], which adds to its original signification the meaning of “side[3530].” It does not obtain the name of “Nile” until its waters have again met and are united in a single stream; and even then, for some miles both above and below the point of confluence, it has the name of Siris. Homer has given to the whole of this river the name of Ægyptus, while other writers again have called it Triton[3531]. Every now and then its course is interrupted by islands which intervene, and which only serve as so many incentives to add to the impetuosity of its torrent; and though at last it is hemmed in by mountains on either side, in no part is the tide more rapid and precipitate. Its waters then hastening onwards, it is borne along to the spot in the country of the Æthiopians which is known by the name of “Catadupi[3532];” where, at the last Cataract[3533], the complaint is, not that it flows, but that it rushes, with an immense noise between the rocks that lie in its way: after which it becomes more smooth, the violence of its waters is broken and subdued, and, wearied out as it were by the length of the distance it has travelled, it discharges itself, though by many mouths[3534], into the Egyptian sea. During certain days of the year, however, the volume of its waters is greatly increased, and as it traverses the whole of Egypt, it inundates the earth, and, by so doing, greatly promotes its fertility.

There have been various reasons suggested for this increase of the river. Of these, however, the most probable are, either that its waters are driven back by the Etesian winds[3535], which are blowing at this season of the year from an opposite direction, and that the sea which lies beyond is driven into the mouths of the river; or else that its waters are swollen by the summer rains of Æthiopia[3536], which fall from the clouds conveyed thither by the Etesian winds from other parts of the earth. Timæus the mathematician has alleged a reason of an occult nature: he says that the source of the river is known by the name of Phiala, and that the stream buries itself in channels underground, where it sends forth vapours generated by the heat among the steaming rocks amid which it conceals itself; but that, during the days of the inundation, in consequence of the sun approaching nearer to the earth, the waters are drawn forth by the influence of his heat, and on being thus exposed to the air, overflow; after which, in order that it may not be utterly dried up, the stream hides itself once more. He says that this takes place at the rising of the Dog-Star, when the sun enters the sign of Leo, and stands in a vertical position over the source of the river, at which time at that spot there is no shadow thrown. Most authors, however, are of opinion, on the contrary, that the river flows in greater volume when the sun takes his departure for the north, which he does when he enters the signs of Cancer and Leo, because its waters then are not dried up to so great an extent; while on the other hand, when he returns towards the south pole and re-enters Capricorn, its waters are absorbed by the heat, and consequently flow in less abundance. If there is any one inclined to be of opinion, with Timæus, that the waters of the river may be drawn out of the earth by the heat, it will be as well for him to bear in mind the fact, that the absence of shadow is a phænomenon which lasts continuously[3537] in these regions.

The Nile begins to increase at the next new moon after the summer solstice, and rises slowly and gradually as the sun passes through the sign of Cancer; it is at its greatest height while the sun is passing through Leo, and it falls as slowly and gradually as it arose while he is passing through the sign of Virgo. It has totally subsided between its banks, as we learn from Herodotus, on the hundredth day, when the sun has entered Libra. While it is rising it has been pronounced criminal for kings or prefects even to sail upon its waters. The measure of its increase is ascertained by means of wells[3538]. Its most desirable height is sixteen cubits[3539]; if the waters do not attain that height, the overflow is not universal; but if they exceed that measure, by their slowness in receding they tend to retard the process of cultivation. In the latter case the time for sowing is lost, in consequence of the moisture of the soil; in the former, the ground is so parched that the seed-time comes to no purpose. The country has reason to make careful note of either extreme. When the water rises to only twelve cubits, it experiences the horrors of famine; when it attains thirteen, hunger is still the result; a rise of fourteen cubits is productive of gladness; a rise of fifteen sets all anxieties at rest; while an increase of sixteen is productive of unbounded transports of joy. The greatest increase known, up to the present time, is that of eighteen cubits, which took place in the time of the Emperor Claudius; the smallest rise was that of five, in the year of the battle of Pharsalia[3540], the river by this prodigy testifying its horror, as it were, at the murder of Pompeius Magnus. When the waters have reached their greatest height, the people open the embankments and admit them to the lands. As each district is left by the waters, the business of sowing commences. This is the only river in existence that emits no vapours[3541].

The Nile first enters the Egyptian territory at Syene[3542], on the frontiers of Æthiopia; that is the name of a peninsula a mile in circumference, upon which Castra[3543] is situate, on the side of Arabia. Opposite to it are the four islands of Philæ[3544], at a distance of 600 miles from the place where the Nile divides into two channels; at which spot, as we have already stated, the Delta, as it is called, begins. This, at least, is the distance, according to Artemidorus, who also informs us that there were in it 250 towns; Juba says, however, that the distance between these places is 400 miles. Aristocreon says that the distance from Elephantis to the sea is 750 miles; Elephantis[3545] being an inhabited island four miles below the last Cataract, sixteen[3546] beyond Syene, 585 from Alexandria, and the extreme limit of the navigation of Egypt. To such an extent as this have the above-named authors[3547] been mistaken! This island is the place of rendezvous for the vessels of the Æthiopians; they are made to fold up[3548], and the people carry them on their shoulders whenever they come to the Cataracts.

CHAP. 11.—THE CITIES OF EGYPT.

Egypt, besides its boast of extreme antiquity, asserts that it contained, in the reign of King Amasis[3549], 20,000 inhabited cities: in our day they are still very numerous, though no longer of any particular note. Still however we find the following ones mentioned as of great renown—the city of Apollo[3550]; next, that of Leucothea[3551]; then Great Diospolis[3552], otherwise Thebes, known to fame for its hundred gates; Coptos[3553], which from its proximity to the Nile, forms its nearest emporium for the merchandise of India and Arabia; then the town of Venus[3554], and then another town of Jupiter[3555]. After this comes Tentyris[3556], below which is Abydus[3557], the royal abode of Memnon, and famous for a temple of Osiris[3558], which is situate in Libya[3559], at a distance from the river of seven miles and a half. Next to it comes Ptolemais[3560], then Panopolis[3561], and then another town of Venus[3562], and, on the Libyan side, Lycon[3563], where the mountains form the boundary of the province of Thebais. On passing these, we come to the towns of Mercury[3564], Alabastron[3565], the town of Dogs[3566], and that of Hercules already mentioned[3567]. We next come to Arsinoë[3568], and Memphis[3569], which has been previously mentioned; between which last and the Nome of Arsinoïtes, upon the Libyan side, are the towers known as the Pyramids, the Labyrinth[3570] on Lake Mœris, in the construction of which no wood was employed, and the town of Crialon[3571]. Besides these, there is one place in the interior, on the confines of Arabia, of great celebrity, the City of the Sun[3572].

(10.) With the greatest justice, however, we may lavish our praises upon Alexandria, built by Alexander the Great on the shores of the Egyptian Sea, upon the soil of Africa, at twelve miles’ distance from the Canopic Mouth and near Lake Mareotis[3573]; the spot having previously borne the name of Rhacotes. The plan of this city was designed by the architect Dinochares[3574], who is memorable for the genius which he displayed in many ways. Building the city upon a wide space[3575] of ground fifteen miles in circumference, he formed it in the circular shape of a Macedonian chlamys[3576], uneven at the edge, giving it an angular projection on the right and left; while at the same time he devoted one-fifth part of the site to the royal palace.

Lake Mareotis, which lies on the south side of the city, is connected by a canal which joins it to the Canopic mouth, and serves for the purposes of communication with the interior. It has also a great number of islands, and is thirty miles across, and 150 in circumference, according to Claudius Cæsar. Other writers say that it is forty schœni in length, making the schœnum to be thirty stadia; hence, according to them, it is 150 miles[3577] in length and the same in breadth.

There are also, in the latter part of the course of the Nile, many towns of considerable celebrity, and more especially those which have given their names to the mouths of the river—I do not mean, all the mouths, for there are no less than twelve of them, as well as four others, which the people call the False Mouths[3578]. I allude to the seven more famous ones, the Canopic[3579] Mouth, next to Alexandria, those of Bolbitine[3580], Sebennys[3581], Phatnis[3582], Mendes[3583], Tanis[3584], and, last of all, Pelusium[3585]. Besides the above there are the towns of Butos[3586], Pharbæthos[3587], Leontopolis[3588], Athribis[3589], the town of Isis[3590], Busiris[3591], Cynopolis[3592], Aphrodites[3593], Sais[3594], and Naucratis[3595], from which last some writers call that the Naucratitic Mouth, which is by others called the Heracleotic, and mention it instead[3596] of the Canopic Mouth, which is the next to it.

CHAP. 12. (11.)—THE COASTS OF ARABIA, SITUATE ON THE EGYPTIAN SEA.

Beyond the Pelusiac Mouth is Arabia[3597], which extends to the Red Sea, and joins the Arabia known by the surname of Happy[3598], so famous for its perfumes and its wealth. This[3599] is called Arabia of the Catabanes[3600], the Esbonitæ[3601], and the Scenitæ[3602]; it is remarkable for its sterility, except in the parts where it joins up to Syria, and it has nothing remarkable in it except Mount Casius[3603]. The Arabian nations of the Canchlæi[3604] join these on the east, and, on the south the Cedrei[3605], both of which peoples are adjoining to the Nabatæi[3606]. The two gulfs of the Red Sea, where it borders upon Egypt, are called the Heroöpolitic[3607] and the Ælanitic[3608]. Between the two towns of Ælana[3609] and Gaza[3610] upon our sea[3611], there is a distance of 150 miles. Agrippa says that Arsinoë[3612], a town on the Red Sea, is, by way of the desert, 125 miles from Pelusium. How different the characteristics impressed by nature upon two places separated by so small a distance!

CHAP. 13. (12.)—SYRIA.

Next to these countries Syria occupies the coast, once the greatest of lands, and distinguished by many names; for the part which joins up to Arabia was formerly called Palæstina, Judæa, Cœle[3613], and Phœnice. The country in the interior was called Damascena, and that further on and more to the south, Babylonia. The part that lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris was called Mesopotamia, that beyond Taurus Sophene, and that on this side of the same chain Comagene. Beyond Armenia was the country of Adiabene, anciently called Assyria, and at the part where it joins up to Cilicia, it was called Antiochia. Its length, between Cilicia and Arabia[3614], is 470 miles, and its breadth, from Seleucia Pieria[3615] to Zeugma[3616], a town on the Euphrates, 175. Those who make a still more minute division of this country will have it that Phœnice is surrounded by Syria, and that first comes the maritime coast of Syria, part of which is Idumæa and Judæa, after that Phœnice, and then Syria. The whole of the tract of sea that lies in front of these shores is called the Phœnician Sea. The Phœnician people enjoy the glory of having been the inventors of letters[3617], and the first discoverers of the sciences of astronomy, navigation, and the art of war.

CHAP. 14.—IDUMÆA, PALÆSTINA, AND SAMARIA.

On leaving Pelusium we come to the Camp of Chabrias[3618], Mount Casius[3619], the temple of Jupiter Casius, and the tomb of Pompeius Magnus. Ostracine[3620], at a distance of sixty-five miles from Pelusium, is the frontier town of Arabia.

(13.) After this, at the point where the Sirbonian Lake[3621] becomes visible, Idumæa and Palæstina begin. This lake, which some writers have made to be 150 miles in circumference, Herodotus has placed at the foot of Mount Casius; it is now an inconsiderable fen. The towns are Rhinocolura[3622], and, in the interior, Rhaphea[3623], Gaza, and, still more inland, Anthedon[3624]: there is also Mount Argaris[3625]. Proceeding along the coast we come to the region of Samaria; Ascalo[3626], a free town, Azotus[3627], the two Jamniæ[3628], one of them in the interior; and Joppe[3629], a city of the Phœnicians, which existed, it is said, before the deluge of the earth. It is situate on the slope of a hill, and in front of it lies a rock, upon which they point out the vestiges of the chains by which Andromeda was bound[3630]. Here the fabulous goddess Ceto[3631] is worshipped. Next to this place comes Apollonia[3632], and then the Tower of Strato[3633], otherwise Cæsarea, built by King Herod, but now the Colony of Prima Flavia, established by the Emperor Vespasianus: this place is the frontier town of Palæstina, at a distance of 188 miles from the confines of Arabia; after which comes Phœnice[3634]. In the interior of Samaria are the towns of Neapolis[3635], formerly called Mamortha, Sebaste[3636], situate on a mountain, and, on a still more lofty one, Gamala[3637].

CHAP. 15. (14.)—JUDÆA.

Beyond Idumæa and Samaria, Judæa extends far and wide. That part of it which joins up to Syria[3638] is called Galilæa, while that which is nearest to Arabia and Egypt bears the name of Peræa[3639]. This last is thickly covered with rugged mountains, and is separated from the rest of Judæa by the river Jordanes. The remaining part of Judæa is divided into ten Toparchies, which we will mention in the following order:—That of Hiericus[3640], covered with groves of palm-trees, and watered by numerous springs, and those of Emmaüs[3641], Lydda[3642], Joppe, Acrabatena[3643], Gophna[3644], Thamna[3645], Bethleptephene[3646], Orina[3647], in which formerly stood Hierosolyma[3648], by far the most famous city, not of Judæa only, but of the East, and Herodium[3649], with a celebrated town of the same name.

(15.) The river Jordanes[3650] rises from the spring of Panias[3651], which has given its surname to Cæsarea, of which we shall have occasion to speak[3652]. This is a delightful stream, and, so far as the situation of the localities will allow of, winds along[3653] in its course and lingers among the dwellers upon its banks. With the greatest reluctance, as it were, it moves onward towards Asphaltites[3654], a lake of a gloomy and unpropitious nature, by which it is at last swallowed up, and its bepraised waters are lost sight of on being mingled with the pestilential streams of the lake. For this reason it is that, as soon as ever the valleys through which it runs afford it the opportunity, it discharges itself into a lake, by many writers known as Genesara[3655], sixteen miles in length and six wide; which is skirted by the pleasant towns of Julias[3656] and Hippo[3657] on the east, of Tarichea[3658] on the south (a name which is by many persons given to the lake itself), and of Tiberias[3659] on the west, the hot springs[3660] of which are so conducive to the restoration of health.

(16.) Asphaltites[3661] produces nothing whatever except bitumen, to which indeed it owes its name. The bodies of animals will not sink[3662] in its waters, and even those of bulls and camels float there. In length it exceeds 100 miles being at its greatest breadth twenty-five, and at its smallest six. Arabia of the Nomades[3663] faces it on the east, and Machærus on the south[3664], at one time, next to Hierosolyma, the most strongly fortified place in Judæa. On the same side lies Callirrhoë[3665], a warm spring, remarkable for its medicinal qualities, and which, by its name, indicates the celebrity its waters have gained.

(17.) Lying on the west of Asphaltites, and sufficiently distant to escape its noxious exhalations, are the Esseni[3666], a people that live apart from the world, and marvellous beyond all others throughout the whole earth, for they have no women among them; to sexual desire they are strangers; money they have none; the palm-trees are their only companions. Day after day, however, their numbers are fully recruited by multitudes of strangers that resort to them, driven thither to adopt their usages by the tempests of fortune, and wearied with the miseries of life. Thus it is, that through thousands of ages, incredible to relate, this people eternally prolongs its existence, without a single birth taking place there; so fruitful a source of population to it is that weariness of life which is felt by others. Below this people was formerly the town of Engadda[3667], second only to Hierosolyma in the fertility of its soil and its groves of palm-trees; now, like it, it is another heap of ashes. Next to it we come to Masada[3668], a fortress on a rock, not far from Lake Asphaltites. Thus much concerning Judæa.

CHAP. 16. (18.)—DECAPOLIS.

On the side of Syria, joining up to Judæa, is the region of Decapolis[3669], so called from the number of its cities; as to which all writers are not agreed. Most of them, however, agree in speaking of Damascus[3670] as one, a place fertilized by the river Chrysorroös[3671], which is drawn off into its meadows and eagerly imbibed; Philadelphia[3672], and Rhaphana[3673], all which cities fall back towards Arabia; Scythopolis[3674] (formerly called Nysa by Father Liber, from his nurse having been buried there), its present name being derived from a Scythian colony which was established there; Gadara[3675], before which the river Hieromix[3676] flows; Hippo, which has been previously mentioned; Dion[3677], Pella[3678], rich with its waters; Galasa[3679], and Canatha[3680]. The Tetrarchies[3681] lie between and around these cities, equal, each of them, to a kingdom, and occupying the same rank as so many kingdoms. Their names are, Trachonitis[3682], Panias[3683], in which is Cæsarea, with the spring previously mentioned[3684], Abila[3685], Arca[3686], Ampeloëssa[3687], and Gabe[3688].

CHAP. 17. (19.)—PHŒNICE.

We must now return to the coast and to Phœnice. There was formerly a town here known as Crocodilon; there is still a river[3689] of that name: Dorum[3690] and Sycaminon[3691] are the names of cities of which the remembrance only exists. We then come to the Promontory of Carmelus[3692], and, upon the mountain, a town[3693] of that name, formerly called Acbatana. Next to this are Getta[3694], Jeba, and the river Pacida, or Belus[3695], which throws up on its narrow banks a kind of sand from which glass[3696] is made: this river flows from the marshes of Cendebia, at the foot of Mount Carmelus. Close to this river is Ptolemais, formerly called Ace[3697], a colony of Claudius Cæsar; and then the town of Ecdippa[3698], and the promontory known as the White Promontory[3699]. We next come to the city of Tyre[3700], formerly an island, separated from the mainland by a channel of the sea, of great depth, 700 paces in width, but now joined to it by the works which were thrown up by Alexander when besieging it,—the Tyre so famous in ancient times for its offspring, the cities to which it gave birth, Leptis, Utica, and Carthage[3701],—that rival of the Roman sway, that thirsted so eagerly for the conquest of the whole earth; Gades, too, which she founded beyond the limits of the world. At the present day, all her fame is confined to the production of the murex and the purple[3702]. Its circumference, including therein Palætyrus[3703], is nineteen miles, the place itself extending twenty-two stadia. The next towns are Sarepta[3704] and Ornithon[3705], and then Sidon[3706], famous for its manufacture of glass, and the parent of Thebes[3707] in Bœotia.

(20.) In the rear of this spot begins the chain of Libanus, which extends 1500 stadia, as far as Simyra; this district has the name of Cœle Syria. Opposite to this chain, and separated from it by an intervening valley, stretches away the range of Antilibanus, which was formerly connected with Libanus[3708] by a wall. Beyond it, and lying in the interior, is the region of Decapolis, and, with it, the Tetrarchies already mentioned, and the whole expanse of Palæstina. On the coast, again, and lying beneath Libanus, is the river Magoras[3709], the colony of Berytus[3710], which bears the name of Felix Julia, the town of Leontos[3711], the river Lycos[3712], Palæbyblos[3713], the river Adonis[3714], and the towns of Byblos[3715], Botrys[3716], Gigarta[3717], Trieris[3718], Calamos[3719], Tripolis[3720], inhabited by the Tyrians, Sidonians, and Aradians; Orthosia[3721], the river Eleutheros[3722], the towns of Simyra and Marathos[3723]; and opposite, Arados[3724], a town seven stadia long, on an island, distant 200 paces from the mainland. After passing through the country in which the before-named mountains end and the plains that lie between, Mount Bargylus[3725] is seen to rise.

CHAP. 18.—SYRIA ANTIOCHIA.

Here Phœnicia ends, and Syria recommences. The towns are, Carne[3726], Balanea[3727], Paltos[3728], and Gabale[3729]; then the promontory upon which is situate the free town of Laodicea[3730]; and then Diospolis[3731], Heraclea[3732], Charadrus[3733], and Posidium[3734].

(21.) We then come to the Promontory of Syria Antiochia. In the interior is the free city of Antiochia[3735] itself, surnamed Epidaphnes[3736], and divided by the river Orontes[3737]. On the promontory is Seleucia[3738], called Pieria, a free city.

(22.) Beyond it lies Mount Casius[3739], a different one from the mountain of the same name[3740] which we have already mentioned. The height of this mountain is so vast, that, at the fourth watch[3741] of the night, you can see from it, in the midst of the darkness, the sun rising on the east; and thus, by merely turning round, we may at one and the same time behold both day and night. The winding road which leads to its summit is nineteen miles in length, its perpendicular height four. Upon this coast there is the river Orontes, which takes its rise near Heliopolis[3742], between the range of Libanus and Antilibanus. The towns are, Rhosos[3743], and, behind it, the Gates of Syria[3744], lying in the space between the chain of the Rhosian mountains and that of Taurus. On the coast there is the town of Myriandros[3745], and Mount Amanus[3746], upon which is the town of Bomitæ[3747]. This mountain separates Cilicia from Syria.

CHAP. 19. (23.)—THE REMAINING PARTS OF SYRIA.

We must now speak of the interior of Syria. Cœle Syria has the town of Apamea[3748], divided by the river Marsyas from the Tetrarchy of the Nazerini[3749]; Bambyx, the other name of which is Hierapolis[3750], but by the Syrians called Mabog[3751], (here the monster Atargatis[3752], called Derceto by the Greeks, is worshipped); and the place called Chalcis[3753] on the Belus[3754], from which the region of Chalcidene, the most fertile part of Syria, takes its name. We here find also Cyrrhestice, with Cyrrhum[3755], the Gazatæ, the Gindareni, the Gabeni, the two Tetrarchies called Granucomatæ[3756], the Emeseni[3757], the Hylatæ[3758], the nation of the Ituræi, and a branch of them, the people called the Bætarreni; the Mariamitani[3759], the Tetrarchy known as Mammisea, Paradisus[3760], Pagræ[3761], the Pinaritæ[3762], two cities called Seleucia, besides the one already mentioned, the one Seleucia on the Euphrates[3763], and the other Seleucia[3764] on the Belus, and the Cardytenses. The remaining part of Syria (except those parts which will be spoken of in conjunction with the Euphrates) contains the Arethusii[3765], the Berœenses[3766], and the Epiphanæenses[3767]; and on the east, the Laodiceni[3768], who are called the Laodiceni on the Libanus, the Leucadii[3769], and the Larissæi, besides seventeen other Tetrarchies, divided into kingdoms and bearing barbarous names.

CHAP. 20. (24.)—THE EUPHRATES.

This place, too, will be the most appropriate one for making some mention of the Euphrates. This river rises in Caranitis[3770], a præfecture of Greater Armenia, according to the statement of those who have approached the nearest to its source. Domitius Corbulo says, that it rises in Mount Aba; Licinius Mucianus, at the foot of a mountain which he calls Capotes[3771], twelve miles above Zimara, and that at its source it has the name of Pyxurates. It first flows past Derxene[3772], and then Anaitica[3773], shutting out[3774] the regions of Armenia from Cappadocia. Dascusa[3775] is distant from Zimara seventy-five miles; from this spot it is navigable as far as Sartona[3776], a distance of fifty miles, thence to Melitene[3777], in Cappadocia, distant seventy-four[3778] miles, and thence to Elegia[3779], in Armenia, distant ten miles; receiving in its course the rivers Lycus[3780], Arsanias[3781], and Arsanus. At Elegia it meets the range of Mount Taurus, but no effectual resistance is offered to its course, although the chain is here twelve miles in width. At its passage[3782] between the mountains, the river bears the name of Omma[3783]; but afterwards, when it has passed through, it receives that of Euphrates. Beyond this spot it is full of rocks, and runs with an impetuous tide. It then divides that part of Arabia which is called the country of the Orei[3784], on the left, by a channel three schœni[3785] in width, from the territory of the Commageni[3786] on the right, and it admits of a bridge being thrown across it, even where it forces a passage through the range of Taurus. At Claudiopolis[3787], in Cappadocia, it takes an easterly direction; and here, for the first time in this contest, Taurus turns it out of its course; though conquered before, and rent asunder by its channel, the mountain-chain now gains the victory in another way, and, breaking its career, compels it to take a southerly direction. Thus is this warfare of nature equally waged,—the river proceeding onward to the destination which it intends to reach, and the mountains forbidding it to proceed by the path which it originally intended. After passing the Cataracts[3788], the river again becomes navigable; and, at a distance of forty miles from thence, is Samosata[3789], the capital of Commagene.

CHAP. 21.—SYRIA UPON THE EUPHRATES.

Arabia, above mentioned, has the cities of Edessa[3790], formerly called Antiochia, and, from the name of its fountain, Callirhoë[3791], and Carrhæ[3792], memorable for the defeat of Crassus there. Adjoining to this is the præfecture of Mesopotamia, which derives its origin from the Assyrians, and in which are the towns of Anthemusia[3793] and Nicephorium[3794]; after which come the Arabians, known by the name of Prætavi, with Singara[3795] for their capital. Below Samosata, on the side of Syria, the river Marsyas[3796] flows into the Euphrates. At Cingilla ends the territory of Commagene, and the state of the Immei begins. The cities which are here washed by the river are those of Epiphania[3797] and Antiochia[3798], generally known as Epiphania and Antiochia on the Euphrates; also Zeugma, seventy-two miles distant from Samosata, famous for the passage there across the Euphrates. Opposite to it is Apamia[3799], which Seleucus, the founder of both cities, united by a bridge. The people who join up to Mesopotamia are called the Rhoali. Other towns in Syria are those of Europus[3800], and what was formerly Thapsacus[3801], now Amphipolis. We then come to the Arabian Scenitæ[3802]. The Euphrates then proceeds in its course till it reaches the place called Ura[3803], at which, taking a turn to the east, it leaves the Syrian Deserts of Palmyra[3804], which extend as far as the city of Petra[3805] and the regions of Arabia Felix.

(25.) Palmyra is a city famous for the beauty of its site, the riches of its soil, and the delicious quality and abundance of its water. Its fields are surrounded by sands on every side, and are thus separated, as it were, by nature from the rest of the world. Though placed between the two great empires of Rome and Parthia, it still maintains[3806] its independence; never failing, at the very first moment that a rupture between them is threatened, to attract the careful attention of both. It is distant 337 miles from Seleucia[3807] of the Parthians, generally known as Seleucia on the Tigris, 203 from the nearest part of the Syrian coast, and twenty-seven less from Damascus.

(26.) Below the deserts of Palmyra is the region of Stelendene[3808], and Hierapolis, Berœa, and Chalcis, already mentioned[3809]. Beyond Palmyra, Emesa[3810] takes to itself a portion of these deserts; also Elatium, nearer to Petra by one-half than Damascus. At no great distance from Sura[3811] is Philiscum, a town of the Parthians, on the Euphrates. From this place it is ten days’ sail to Seleucia, and nearly as many to Babylon. At a distance of 594 miles beyond Zeugma, near the village of Massice, the Euphrates divides into two channels, the left one of which runs through Mesopotamia, past Seleucia, and falls into the Tigris as it flows around that city. Its channel on the right runs towards Babylon, the former capital of Chaldæa, and flows through the middle of it; and then through another city, the name of which is Otris[3812], after which it becomes lost in the marshes. Like the Nile, this river increases at stated times, and at much about the same period. When the sun has reached the twentieth degree of Cancer, it inundates[3813] Mesopotamia; and, after he has passed through Leo and entered Virgo, its waters begin to subside. By the time the sun has entered the twenty-ninth degree of Virgo, the river has fully regained its usual height.

CHAP. 22. (27.)—CILICIA AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.

But let us now return to the coast of Syria, joining up to which is Cilicia. We here find the river Diaphanes[3814], Mount Crocodilus, the Gates[3815] of Mount Amanus, the rivers Androcus[3816], Pinarus[3817], and Lycus[3818], the Gulf of Issos[3819], and the town of that name; then Alexandria[3820], the river Chlorus[3821], the free town of Ægæ[3822], the river Pyramus[3823], the Gates[3824] of Cilicia, the towns of Mallos[3825] and Magarsos[3826], and, in the interior, Tarsus[3827]. We then come to the Aleian Plains[3828], the town of Cassipolis, Mopsos[3829], a free town on the river Pyramus, Thynos, Zephyrium, and Anchiale[3830]. Next to these are the rivers Saros[3831] and Cydnus[3832], the latter of which, at some distance from the sea, runs through the free city of Tarsus, the region of Celenderitis with a town[3833] of similar name, the place where Nymphæum[3834] stood, Soli of Cilicia[3835], now called Pompeiopolis, Adana[3836], Cibyra[3837], Pinare[3838], Pedalie[3839], Ale, Selinus[3840], Arsinoë[3841], Iotape[3842], Doron, and, near the sea, Corycos, there being a town[3843], port, and cave[3844] all of the same name. Passing these, we come to the river Calycadnus[3845], the Promontory of Sarpedon[3846], the towns of Holmœ[3847] and Myle, and the Promontory and town of Venus[3848], at a short distance from the island of Cyprus. On the mainland there are the towns of Myanda, Anemurium[3849], and Coracesium[3850], and the river Melas[3851], the ancient boundary of Cilicia. In the interior the places more especially worthy of mention are Anazarbus[3852], now called Cæsarea, Augusta, Castabala[3853], Epiphania[3854], formerly called Œniandos, Eleusa[3855], Iconium[3856], Seleucia[3857] upon the river Calycadnus, surnamed Tracheotis, a city removed[3858] from the sea-shore, where it had the name of Holmia. Besides those already mentioned, there are in the interior the rivers Liparis[3859], Bombos, Paradisus, and Mount Imbarus[3860].

CHAP. 23.—ISAURIA AND THE HOMONADES.

All the geographers have mentioned Pamphylia as joining up to Cilicia, without taking any notice of the people of Isauria[3861]. Its cities are, in the interior, Isaura[3862], Clibanus, and Lalasis; it runs down towards the sea by the side of Anemurium[3863] already mentioned. In a similar manner also, all who have treated of this subject have been ignorant of the existence of the nation of the Homonades bordering upon Isauria, and their town of Homona[3864] in the interior. There are forty-four other fortresses, which lie concealed amid rugged crags and valleys.

CHAP. 24.—PISIDIA.

The Pisidæ[3865], formerly called the Solymi, occupy the higher parts of the mountains. In their country there is the colony of Cæsarea, also called Antiochia[3866], and the towns of Oroanda[3867] and Sagalessos.

CHAP. 25.—LYCAONIA.

These people are bounded by Lycaonia[3868], which belongs to the jurisdiction of the province of Asia[3869], to which also resort the people of Philomelium[3870], Tymbrium[3871], Leucolithium[3872], Pelta, and Tyrium. To this jurisdiction is also added a Tetrarchy of Lycaonia in that part which joins up to Galatia, containing fourteen states, with the famous city of Iconium[3873]. In Lycaonia itself the most noted places are Thebasa[3874] on Taurus, and Hyde, on the confines of Galatia and Cappadocia. On the [western] side of Lycaonia, and above Pamphylia, come the Milyæ[3875], a people descended from the Thracians; their city is Arycanda.

CHAP. 26.—PAMPHYLIA.

The former name of Pamphylia[3876] was Mopsopia[3877]. The Pamphylian Sea[3878] joins up to that of Cilicia. The towns of Pamphylia are Side[3879], Aspendum[3880], situate on the side of a mountain, Pletenissum[3881], and Perga[3882]. There is also the Promontory of Leucolla, the mountain of Sardemisus, and the rivers Eurymedon[3883], which flows past Aspendus, and Catarrhactes[3884], near to which is Lyrnesus: also the towns of Olbia[3885], and Phaselis[3886], the last on this coast.

CHAP. 27.—MOUNT TAURUS.

Adjoining to Pamphylia is the Sea of Lycia and the country of Lycia[3887] itself, where the chain of Taurus, coming from the eastern shores, terminates the vast Gulf[3888] by the Promontory of Chelidonium[3889]. Of immense extent, and separating nations innumerable, after taking its first rise at the Indian Sea[3890], it branches off to the north on the right-hand side, and on the left towards the south. Then taking a direction towards the west, it would cut through the middle of Asia, were it not that the seas check it in its triumphant career along the land. It accordingly strikes off in a northerly direction, and forming an arc, occupies an immense tract of country, nature, designedly as it were, every now and then throwing seas in the way to oppose its career; here the Sea of Phœnicia, there the Sea of Pontus, in this direction the Caspian and Hyrcanian[3891], and then, opposite to them, the Lake Mæotis. Although somewhat curtailed by these obstacles, it still winds along between them, and makes its way even amidst these barriers; and victorious after all, it then escapes with its sinuous course to the kindred chain of the Riphæan mountains. Numerous are the names which it bears, as it is continuously designated by new ones throughout the whole of its course. In the first part of its career it has the name of Imaüs[3892], after which it is known successively by the names of Emodus, Paropanisus, Circius, Cambades, Paryadres, Choatras, Oreges, Oroandes, Niphates, Taurus, and, where it even out-tops itself, Caucasus. Where it throws forth its arms as though every now and then it would attempt to invade the sea, it bears the names of Sarpedon, Coracesius, Cragus, and then again Taurus. Where also it opens and makes a passage to admit mankind, it still claims the credit of an unbroken continuity by giving the name of “Gates” to these passes, which in one place are called the “Gates of Armenia[3893],” in another the “Gates of the Caspian,” and in another the “Gates of Cilicia.” In addition to this, when it has been cut short in its onward career, it retires to a distance from the seas, and covers itself on the one side and the other with the names of numerous nations, being called, on the right-hand side the Hyrcanian and the Caspian, and on the left the Paryadrian[3894], the Moschian, the Amazonian, the Coraxican, and the Scythian chain. Among the Greeks it bears the one general name of Ceraunian[3895].

CHAP. 28.—LYCIA.

In Lycia, after leaving its promontory[3896], we come to the town of Simena, Mount Chimæra[3897], which sends forth flames by night, and the city of Hephæstium[3898], the heights above which are also frequently on fire. Here too formerly stood the city of Olympus[3899]; now we find the mountain places known as Gagæ[3900], Corydalla[3901], and Rhodiopolis[3902]. Near the sea is Limyra[3903] with a river of like name, into which the Arycandus flows, Mount Masycites[3904], the state of Andriaca[3905], Myra[3906], the towns of Aperræ[3907] and Antiphellos[3908], formerly called Habessus, and in a corner Phellos[3909], after which comes Pyrra, and then the city of Xanthus[3910], fifteen miles from the sea, as also a river known by the same name. We then come to Patara[3911], formerly Pataros, and Sidyma, situate on a mountain. Next comes the Promontory of Cragus[3912], and beyond it a gulf[3913], equal to the one that comes before it; upon it are Pinara[3914], and Telmessus[3915], the frontier town of Lycia.

Lycia formerly contained seventy towns, now it has but thirty-six. Of these, the most celebrated, besides those already mentioned, are Canas[3916], Candyba, so celebrated for the Œnian Grove, Podalia, Choma, past which the river Ædesa flows, Cyaneæ[3917], Ascandalis, Amelas, Noscopium, Tlos[3918], and Telandrus[3919]. It includes also in the interior the district of Cabalia, the three cities of which are Œnianda, Balbura[3920], and Bubon[3921].

On passing Telmessus we come to the Asiatic or Carpathian Sea, and the district which is properly called Asia. Agrippa has divided this region into two parts; one of which he has bounded on the east by Phrygia and Lycaonia, on the west by the Ægean Sea, on the south by the Egyptian Sea, and on the north by Paphlagonia, making its length to be 473 miles and its breadth 320. The other part he has bounded by the Lesser Armenia on the east, Phrygia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia on the west, the province of Pontus on the north, and the Sea of Pamphylia on the south, making it 575 miles in length and 325 in breadth.

CHAP. 29.—CARIA.

Upon the adjoining coast is Caria[3922], then Ionia, and beyond it Æolis. Caria surrounds Doris, which lies in the middle, and runs down on both sides of it to the sea. In it[3923] is the Promontory of Pedalium[3924], the river Glaucus[3925], into which the Telmedium[3926] discharges itself, the towns of Dædala[3927], Crya[3928], peopled by fugitives, the river Axon[3929], and the town of Calynda[3930].

(28.) The river Indus[3931], which rises in the mountains of the Cibyratæ[3932], receives sixty-five rivers which are constantly flowing, besides upwards of 100 mountain torrents. Here is the free town of Caunos[3933], then the town of Pyrnos[3934], the port of Cressa[3935], from which the island of Rhodes is distant twenty miles; the place where Loryma formerly stood, the towns of Tisanusa[3936], Paridion[3937], and Larymna[3938], the Gulf of Thymnias[3939], the Promontory of Aphrodisias[3940], the town of Hyda, the Gulf of Schœnus, and the district of Bubasus[3941]. There was formerly the town of Acanthus here, another name of which was Dulopolis. We then come to Cnidos[3942], a free town, situate on a promontory, Triopia[3943], and after that the towns of Pegusa and Stadia.

At this last town Doris begins; but, first, it may be as well to describe the districts that lie to the back of Caria and the several jurisdictions in the interior. The first of these[3944] is called Cibyratica, Cibyra being a town of Phrygia. Twenty-five states resort to it for legal purposes, together with the most famous city of Laodicea[3945].

(29.) This place at first bore the name of Diospolis, and after that of Rhoas, and is situate on the river Lycus, the Asopus and the Caprus[3946] washing its sides. The other people belonging to the same jurisdiction, whom it may be not amiss to mention, are the Hydrelitæ[3947], the Themisones[3948], and the Hierapolitæ[3949]. The second jurisdiction receives its title from Synnas[3950]; to it resort the Lycaones[3951], the Appiani[3952], the Eucarpeni[3953], the Dorylæi[3954], the Midæi, the Julienses[3955], and fifteen other peoples of no note. The third jurisdiction has its seat at Apamea[3956], formerly called Celænæ[3957], and after that Cibotos. This place is situate at the foot of Mount Signia, the Marsyas, the Obrima, and the Orga, rivers which fall into the Mæander, flowing past it. Here the Marsyas, rising from the earth, again makes its appearance, but soon after buries itself once more at Aulocrenæ[3958], the spot where Marsyas had the musical contest with Apollo as to superiority of skill in playing on the flute. Aulocrenæ is the name given to a valley which lies ten miles on the road towards Phrygia from Apamea. As belonging to this jurisdiction, it may be as well to mention the Metropolitæ[3959], the Dionysopolitæ[3960], the Euphorbeni[3961], the Acmonenses[3962], the Pelteni[3963], and the Silbiani[3964], besides nine other nations of no note.

Upon the Gulf of Doris[3965] we have Leucopolis, Hamaxitos, Eleus, and Euthene[3966]. We then come to Pitaium, Eutane[3967], and Halicarnassus[3968], towns of Caria. To the jurisdiction of this last place six towns were appended by Alexander the Great, Theangela[3969], Sibde, Medmasa, Euralium, Pedasus, and Telmissus[3970]. Halicarnassus lies between two gulfs, those of Ceramus[3971] and Iasus[3972]. We then come to Myndos[3973], and the former site of Palæomyndos; also Nariandos, Neapolis[3974], Caryanda[3975], the free town of Termera[3976], Bargyla[3977], and the town of Iasus[3978], from which the Iasian Gulf takes its name.

Caria is especially distinguished for the fame of its places in the interior; for here are Mylasa[3979], a free town, and that of Antiochia[3980], on the site of the former towns of Symmæthos and Cranaos: it is now surrounded by the rivers Mæander[3981] and Orsinus[3982]. In this district also was formerly Mæandropolis[3983]; we find also Eumenia[3984], situate on the river Cludros, the river Glaucus[3985], the town of Lysias and Orthosa[3986], the district of Berecynthus[3987], Nysa[3988], and Tralles[3989], also called Euanthia[3990], Seleucia, and Antiochia: it is washed by the river Eudon, while the Thebais runs through it. Some authors say that a nation of Pygmies formerly dwelt here. Besides the preceding towns, there are Thydonos, Pyrrha[3991], Eurome[3992], Heraclea[3993], Amyzon[3994], the free town of Alabanda[3995], which has given name to that jurisdiction, the free town of Stratonicea[3996], Hynidos, Ceramus[3997], Trœzene[3998], and Phorontis. At a greater distance[3999], but resorting to the same place of jurisdiction, are the Orthronienses, the Alindienses[4000] or Hippini, the Xystiani[4001], the Hydissenses, the Apolloniatæ[4002], the Trapezopolitæ[4003], and the Aphrodisienses[4004], a free people. Besides the above, there are the towns of Coscinus[4005], and Harpasa[4006], situate on the river Harpasus[4007], which also passed the town of Trallicon when it was in existence.

CHAP. 30.—LYDIA.

Lydia, bathed by the sinuous and ever-recurring windings of the river Mæander, lies extended above Ionia; it is joined by Phrygia on the east and Mysia on the north, while on the south it runs up to Caria: it formerly had the name of Mæonia[4008]. Its place of the greatest celebrity is Sardes[4009], which lies on the side of Mount Tmolus[4010], formerly called Timolus. From this mountain, which is covered with vineyards, flows the river Pactolus[4011], also called the Chrysorroas, and the sources of the Tarnus: this famous city, which is situate upon the Gygæan Lake[4012], used to be called Hyde[4013] by the people of Mæonia. This jurisdiction is now called that of Sardes, and besides the people of the places already mentioned, the following now resort to it—the Macedonian Cadueni[4014], the Loreni, the Philadelpheni[4015], the Mæonii, situate on the river Cogamus at the foot of Mount Tmolus, the Tripolitani, who are also called the Antoniopolitæ, situate on the banks of the Mæander, the Apollonihieritæ[4016], the Mesotimolitæ[4017], and some others of no note.

CHAP. 31.—IONIA.

Ionia begins at the Gulf of Iasos, and has a long winding coast with numerous bays. First comes the Gulf of Basilicum[4018], then the Promontory[4019] and town of Posideum, and the oracle once called the oracle of the Branchidæ[4020], but now of Didymæan Apollo, a distance of twenty stadia from the sea-shore. One hundred and eighty stadia thence is Miletus[4021], the capital of Ionia, which formerly had the names of Lelegëis, Pityusa, and Anactoria, the mother of more than ninety cities, founded upon all seas; nor must she be deprived of the honour of having Cadmus[4022] for her citizen, who was the first to write in prose. The river Mæander, rising from a lake in Mount Aulocrene, waters many cities and receives numerous tributary streams. It is so serpentine in its course, that it is often thought to turn back to the very spot from which it came. It first runs through the district of Apamea, then that of Eumenia, and then the plains of Bargyla; after which, with a placid stream it passes through Caria, watering all that territory with a slime of a most fertilizing quality, and then at a distance of ten stadia from Miletus with a gentle current enters the sea. We then come to Mount Latmus[4023], the towns of Heraclea[4024], also called by the same name as the mountain, Carice, Myus[4025], said to have been first built by Ionians who came from Athens, Naulochum[4026], and Priene[4027]. Upon that part of the coast which bears the name of Trogilia[4028] is the river Gessus. This district is held sacred by all the Ionians, and thence receives the name of Panionia. Near to it was formerly the town of Phygela, built by fugitives, as its name implies[4029], and that of Marathesium[4030]. Above these places is Magnesia[4031], distinguished by the surname of the “Mæandrian,” and sprung from Magnesia in Thessaly: it is distant from Ephesus fifteen miles, and three more from Tralles. It formerly had the names of Thessaloche and Androlitia, and, lying on the sea-shore, it has withdrawn from the sea the islands known as the Derasidæ[4032] and joined them to the mainland. In the interior also is Thyatira[4033], washed by the Lycus; for some time it was also called Pelopia and Euhippia[4034].

Upon the coast again is Mantium, and Ephesus[4035], which was founded by the Amazons[4036], and formerly called by so many names: Alopes at the time of the Trojan war, after that Ortygia and Morges, and then Smyrna, with the surname of Trachia, as also Samornion and Ptelea. This city is built on Mount Pion, and is washed by the Caÿster[4037], a river which rises in the Cilbian range and brings down the waters of many streams[4038], as also of Lake Pegasæus[4039], which receives those discharged by the river Phyrites[4040]. From these streams there accumulates a large quantity of slime, which vastly increases the soil, and has added to the mainland the island of Syrie[4041], which now lies in the midst of its plains. In this city is the fountain of Calippia[4042] and the temple of Diana, which last is surrounded by two streams, each known by the name of Selenus, and flowing from opposite directions.

After leaving Ephesus there is another Mantium, belonging to the Colophonians, and in the interior Colophon[4043] itself, past which the river Halesus[4044] flows. After this we come to the temple[4045] of the Clarian Apollo, and Lebedos[4046]: the city of Notium[4047] once stood here. Next comes the Promontory of Coryceium[4048], and then Mount Mimas, which projects 150 miles into the sea, and as it approaches the mainland sinks down into extensive plains. It was at this place that Alexander the Great gave orders for the plain to be cut through, a distance of seven miles and a half, for the purpose of joining the two gulfs and making an island of Erythræ[4049] and Mimas. Near Erythræ formerly stood the towns of Pteleon, Helos, and Dorion; we now find the river Aleon, Corynæum, a Promontory of Mount Mimas, Clazomenæ[4050], Parthenie[4051], and Hippi[4052], known by the name of Chytrophoria, when it formed a group of islands; these were united to the continent by the same Alexander, by means of a causeway[4053] two stadia in length. In the interior, the cities of Daphnus, Hermesia, and Sipylum[4054], formerly called Tantalis, and the capital of Mæonia, where Lake Sale now stands, are now no longer in existence: Archæopolis too, which succeeded Sipylum, has perished, and in their turns Colpe and Libade, which succeeded it.

On returning thence[4055] towards the coast, at a distance of twelve miles we find Smyrna[4056], originally founded by an Amazon [of that name], and rebuilt by Alexander; it is refreshed by the river Meles, which rises not far off. Through this district run what may almost be called the most famous mountains of Asia, Mastusia in the rear of Smyrna, and Termetis[4057], joining the foot of Olympus. Termetis is joined by Draco, Draco running into Tmolus, Tmolus into Cadmus[4058], and Cadmus into Taurus. Leaving Smyrna, the river Hermus forms a tract of plains, and gives them its own name. It rises near Dorylæum[4059], a city of Phrygia, and in its course receives several rivers, among them the one called the Phryx, which divides Caria from the nation to which it gives name; also the Hyllus[4060] and the Cryos, themselves swollen by the rivers of Phrygia, Mysia, and Lydia. At the mouth of the Hermus formerly stood the town of Temnos[4061]: we now see at the extremity of the gulf[4062] the rocks called Myrmeces[4063], the town of Leuce[4064] on a promontory which was once an island, and Phocæa[4065], the frontier town of Ionia.

A great part also of Æolia, of which we shall have presently to speak, has recourse to the jurisdiction of Smyrna; as well as the Macedones, surnamed Hyrcani[4066], and the Magnetes[4067] from Sipylus. But to Ephesus, that other great luminary of Asia, resort the more distant peoples known as the Cæsarienses[4068], the Metropolitæ[4069], the Cilbiani[4070], both the Lower and Upper, the Mysomacedones[4071], the Mastaurenses[4072], the Briulitæ[4073], the Hypæpeni[4074], and the Dioshïeritæ[4075].

CHAP. 32. (30.)—ÆOLIS.

Æolis[4076] comes next, formerly known as Mysia, and Troas which is adjacent to the Hellespont. Here, after passing Phocæa, we come to the Ascanian Port, then the spot where Larissa[4077] stood, and then Cyme[4078], Myrina, also called Sebastopolis[4079], and in the interior, Ægæ[4080], Attalia[4081], Posidea, Neontichos[4082], and Temnos[4083]. Upon the shore we come to the river Titanus, and the city which from it derives its name. Grynia[4084] also stood here on an island reclaimed from the sea and joined to the land: now only its harbours are left[4085]. We then come to the town of Elæa[4086], the river Caïcus[4087], which flows from Mysia, the town of Pitane[4088], and the river Canaïus. The following towns no longer exist—Canæ[4089], Lysimachia[4090], Atarnea[4091], Carene[4092], Cisthene[4093], Cilla[4094], Cocylium[4095], Theba[4096], Astyre[4097], Chrysa[4098], Palæscepsis[4099], Gergitha[4100], and Neandros[4101]. We then come to the city of Perperene[4102], which still survives, the district of Heracleotes, the town of Coryphas[4103], the rivers Grylios and Ollius, the region of Aphrodisias[4104], which formerly had the name of Politice Orgas, the district of Scepsis[4105], and the river Evenus[4106], on whose banks the towns of Lyrnesos[4107] and Miletos have fallen to decay. In this district also is Mount Ida[4108], and on the coast Adramytteos[4109], formerly called Pedasus, which gives its name to the gulf and the jurisdiction so called. The other rivers are the Astron, Cormalos, Crianos, Alabastros, and Hieros, flowing from Mount Ida: in the interior is Mount Gargara[4110], with a town of the same name. Again, on the coast we meet with Antandros[4111], formerly called Edonis, and after that Cimmeris and Assos, also called Apollonia. The town of Palamedium also formerly stood here. The Promontory of Lecton[4112] separates Æolis from Troas. In Æolis there was formerly the city of Polymedia, as also Chrysa, and a second Larissa. The temple of Smintheus[4113] is still standing; Colone[4114] in the interior has perished. To Adramyttium resort upon matters of legal business the Apolloniatæ[4115], whose town is on the river Rhyndacus[4116], the Erizii[4117], the Miletopolitæ[4118], the Pœmaneni[4119], the Macedonian Asculacæ, the Polichnæi[4120], the Pionitæ[4121], the Cilician Mandacadeni, and, in Mysia, the Abrettini[4122], the people known as the Hellespontii[4123], and others of less note.

CHAP. 33.—TROAS AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.

The first place in Troas is Hamaxitus[4124], then Cebrenia[4125], and then Troas[4126] itself, formerly called Antigonia, and now Alexandria, a Roman colony. We then come to the town of Nee[4127], the Scamander[4128], a navigable river, and the spot where in former times the town of Sigeum[4129] stood, upon a promontory. We next come to the Port of the Achæans[4130], into which the Xanthus[4131] flows after its union with the Simois[4132], and forms the Palæscamander[4133], which was formerly a lake. The other rivers, rendered famous by Homer, namely, the Rhesus, the Heptaporus, the Caresus, and the Rhodius, have left no vestiges of their existence. The Granicus[4134], taking a different route, flows into the Propontis[4135]. The small city of Scamandria, however, still exists, and, at a distance of a mile and a half from its harbour, Ilium[4136], a place exempt from tribute[4137], the fountain-head of universal fame. Beyond the gulf are the shores of Rhœteum[4138], peopled by the towns of Rhœteum[4139], Dardanium[4140], and Arisbe[4141]. There was also in former times a town of Achilleon[4142], founded near the tomb of Achilles by the people of Mitylene, and afterwards rebuilt by the Athenians, close to the spot where his fleet had been stationed near Sigeum. There was also the town of Æantion[4143], founded by the Rhodians upon the opposite point, near the tomb of Ajax, at a distance of thirty stadia from Sigeum, near the spot where his fleet was stationed. Above Æolis and part of Troas, in the interior, is the place called Teuthrania[4144], inhabited in ancient times by the Mysians. Here rises the river Caïcus already mentioned. Teuthrania was a powerful nation in itself, even when the whole of Æolis was held by the Mysians. In it are the Pioniæ[4145], Andera[4146], Cale, Stabulum, Conisium, Teium, Balcea[4147], Tiare, Teuthranie, Sarnaca, Haliserne, Lycide, Parthenium, Thymbre, Oxyopum, Lygdamum, Apollonia, and Pergamum[4148], by far the most famous city in Asia, and through which the river Selinus runs; the Cetius, which rises in Mount Pindasus, flowing before it. Not far from it is Elæa, which we have mentioned[4149] as situate on the sea-shore. The jurisdiction of this district is called that of Pergamus; to it resort the Thyatireni[4150], the Mosyni, the Mygdones[4151], the Bregmeni, the Hierocometæ[4152], the Perpereni, the Tiareni, the Hierolophienses, the Hermocapelitæ, the Attalenses[4153], the Panteenses, the Apollonidienses, and some other states unknown to fame. The little town of Dardanum[4154] is distant from Rhœteum seventy stadia. Eighteen miles thence is the Promontory of Trapeza[4155], from which spot the Hellespont first commences its course.

Eratosthenes tells us that in Asia there have perished the nations of the Solymi[4156], the Leleges[4157], the Bebryces[4158], the Colycantii, and the Tripsedri. Isidorus adds to these the Arimi[4159], as also the Capretæ, settled on the spot where Apamea[4160] stands, which was founded by King Seleucus, between Cilicia, Cappadocia, Cataonia, and Armenia, and was at first called Damea[4161], from the fact that it had conquered nations most remarkable for their fierceness.

CHAP. 34. (31.)—THE ISLANDS WHICH LIE IN FRONT OF ASIA.

Of the islands which lie before Asia the first is the one situate in the Canopic Mouth of the Nile, and which received its name, it is said, from Canopus, the pilot of Menelaüs. A second, called Pharos, is joined by a bridge to Alexandria, and was made a colony by the Dictator Cæsar. In former times it was one day’s sail[4162] from the mainland of Egypt; at the present day it directs ships in their course by means of the fires which are lighted at night on the tower[4163] there; for in consequence of the insidious nature of the shoals, there are only three channels by which Alexandria can be approached, those of Steganus[4164], Posideum[4165] and Taurus.

In the Phœnician Sea, before Joppe there is the island of Paria[4166], the whole of it forming a town. Here, they say, Andromeda was exposed to the monster: the island also of Arados, already mentioned[4167], between which and the continent, as we learn from Mucianus, at a depth of fifty cubits in the sea, fresh water is brought up from a spring at the very bottom by means of leather pipes[4168].

CHAP. 35.—CYPRUS.

The Pamphylian Sea contains some islands of little note. The Cilician, besides four others of very considerable size, has Cyprus[4169], which lies opposite to the shores of Cilicia and Syria, running east and west; in former times it was the seat of nine kingdoms. Timosthenes states that the circumference of this island is 427 miles, Isidorus[4170] 375; its length, between the two Promontories of Dinæ[4171] and Acamas[4172] lying on the west, is, according to Artemidorus, 160-1/2 miles, according to Timosthenes, 200. Philonides says that it was formerly called Acamantis, Xenagoras that it had the names of Cerastis[4173], Aspelia, Amathusia, and Macaria[4174], while Astynomus gives it the names of Cryptos[4175] and Colinia. Its towns are fifteen in number, Neapaphos[4176], Palæpaphos[4177], Curias[4178], Citium[4179], Corineum, Salamis[4180], Amathus[4181], Lapethos[4182], Solœ, Tamasos[4183], Epidarum, Chytri[4184], Arsinoë[4185], Carpasium[4186], and Golgi[4187]. The towns of Cinyria, Marium, and Idalium[4188] are no longer in existence. It is distant from Anemurium[4189] in Cilicia fifty miles; the sea which runs between the two shores being called the Channel of Cilicia[4190]. In the same locality[4191] is the island of Eleusa[4192], and the four islands known as the Clides[4193], lying before the promontory which faces Syria; and again at the end of the other cape[4194] is Stiria: over against Neapaphos is Hierocepia[4195], and opposite to Salamis are the Salaminiæ.

In the Lycian Sea are the islands of Illyris, Telendos, and Attelebussa[4196], the three barren isles called Cypriæ, and Dionysia, formerly called Caretha. Opposite to the Promontory of Taurus are the Chelidoniæ[4197], as many in number, and extremely dangerous to mariners. Further on we find Leucolla with its town, the Pactyæ[4198], Lasia, Nymphäis, Macris, and Megista, the city on which last no longer exists. After these there are many that are not worthy of notice. Opposite, however, to Cape Chimæra is Dolichiste[4199], Chœrogylion, Crambussa[4200], Rhoge[4201], Enagora, eight miles in circumference, the two islands of Dædala[4202], the three of Crya[4203], Strongyle, and over against Sidyma[4204] the isle of Antiochus. Towards the mouth of the river Glaucus[4205], there are Lagussa[4206], Macris, Didymæ, Helbo, Scope, Aspis, Telandria, the town of which no longer exists, and, in the vicinity of Caunus[4207], Rhodussa.

CHAP. 36.—RHODES.

But the fairest of them all is the free island of Rhodes, 125, or, if we would rather believe Isidorus, 103 miles in circumference. It contains the inhabited cities of Lindos, Camirus[4208], and Ialysus[4209], now called Rhodos. It is distant from Alexandria in Egypt, according to Isidorus, 583 miles; but, according to Eratosthenes, 469. Mucianus says, that its distance from Cyprus is 166. This island was formerly called Ophiussa[4210], Asteria[4211], Æthria[4212], Trinacrie[4213], Corymbia[4214], Pœeëssa[4215], Atabyria[4216], from the name of one of its kings; and, in later times, Macaria[4217] and Oloessa[4218]. The islands of the Rhodians are Carpathus[4219], which has given its name to the surrounding sea; Casos[4220], formerly known as Achne[4221]; Nisyros[4222], twelve miles distant from Cnidos, and formerly called Porphyris[4223]; and, in the same vicinity, midway between Rhodes and Cnidos, Syme[4224]. This island is thirty-seven miles and a half in circumference, and welcomes us with eight fine harbours. Besides these islands, there are, in the vicinity of Rhodes, those of Cyclopis, Teganon, Cordylussa[4225], the four islands called Diabetæ[4226], Hymos, Chalce[4227], with its city of that name, Seutlussa[4228], Narthecussa[4229], Dimastos, Progne; and, off Cnidos, Cisserussa, Therionarce, and Calydne[4230], with the three towns of Notium, Nisyros, and Mendeterus. In Arconnesus[4231] there is the town of Ceramus. Off the coast of Caria, there are the islands known as the Argiæ, twenty in number; also Hyetussa[4232], Lepsia, and Leros.

The most noted island, however, in this gulf is that of Cos[4233], fifteen miles distant from Halicarnassus, and 100 in circumference, according to the opinion of many writers. It was formerly called Merope; according to Staphylus, Cea; Meropis, as Dionysius tells us; and, after that, Nymphæa. In this island there is Mount Prion. Nisyros[4234], formerly called Porphyris, is supposed to have been severed from the island of Cos. We next come to the island of Caryanda[4235], with a city of that name, and that of Pidosus[4236], not far from Halicarnassus. In the Gulf of Ceramicus we also find Priaponnesos[4237], Hipponnesos, Psyra, Mya, Lampsa, Æmyndus, Passala, Crusa, Pinnicussa, Sepiussa[4238], and Melano. At a short distance from the mainland is an island which bears the name of Cinædopolis, from the circumstance that King Alexander left behind there certain persons of a most disgraceful character.

CHAP. 37.—SAMOS.

The coast of Ionia has the islands of Trageæ, Corseæ[4239], and Icaros, which has been previously[4240] mentioned; Lade[4241], formerly called Late; and, among others of no note, the two Camelidæ[4242], in the vicinity of Miletus; and the three Trogiliæ[4243], near Mycale, consisting of Philion, Argennon, and Sandalion. There is Samos also, a free[4244] island, eighty-seven miles in circumference, or, according to Isidorus, 100. Aristotle tells us, that it was at first called Parthenia[4245], after that Dryussa[4246], and then Anthemussa[4247]. To these names Aristocritus has added Melamphyllus[4248] and Cyparissia[4249]: other writers, again, call it Parthenoarussa[4250] and Stephane[4251]. The rivers of this island are the Imbrasus, the Chesius, and the Ibettes. There are also the fountains of Gigartho and Leucothea; and Mount Cercetius. In the vicinity of Samos are the islands of Rhypara, Nymphæa, and Achillea.

CHAP. 38.—CHIOS.

At a distance of ninety-four miles from Samos is the free island of Chios[4252], its equal in fame, with a town of the same name. Ephorus says, that the ancient name of this island was Æthalia; Metrodorus and Cleobulus tell us, that it had the name of Chia from the nymph Chione; others again say, that it was so called from the word signifying snow[4253]; it was also called Macris and Pityusa[4254]. It has a mountain called Pelennæus; and the Chian marble is well known. It is 125[4255] miles in circumference, according to the ancient writers; Isidorus however makes it nine more. It is situate between Samos and Lesbos, and, for the most part, lies opposite to Erythræ[4256].

The adjacent islands, are Thallusa[4257], by some writers called Daphnusa[4258], Œnussa, Elaphitis, Euryanassa, and Arginusa, with a town of that name. All these islands are in the vicinity of Ephesus, as also those called the Islands of Pisistratus, Anthinæ, Myonnesos, Diarreusa,—in both of these last there were cities, now no longer in existence,—Poroselene[4259], with a city of that name, Cerciæ, Halone[4260], Commone, Illetia, Lepria and Rhesperia, Procusæ, Bolbulæ, Phanæ, Priapos, Syce, Melane, Ænare, Sidusa, Pele, Drymusa[4261], Anhydros, Scopelos[4262], Sycussa, Marathussa, Psile, Perirreusa, and many others of no note. In the main sea lies the celebrated island of Teos, with a city[4263] of that name, seventy-one miles and a half distant from Chios, and the same from the Erythræ.

In the vicinity of Smyrna are the Peristerides[4264], Carteria, Alopece, Elæussa, Bachina, Pystira, Crommyonnesos, and Megale[4265]. Facing Troas there are the Ascaniæ, and the three islands called Plateæ. We find also the Lamiæ, the two islands called Plitaniæ, Plate, Scopelos, Getone, Arthedon, Cœlæ, Lagussæ, and Didymæ.

CHAP. 39.—LESBOS.

But Lesbos[4266], distant from Chios sixty-five miles, is the most celebrated of them all. It was formerly called Himerte, Lasia, Pelasgia, Ægira, Æthiope, and Macaria, and is famous for its nine cities. Of these, however, that of Pyrrha has been swallowed up by the sea, Arisbe[4267] has perished by an earthquake, and Methymna is now united to Antissa[4268]; these lie in the vicinity of nine cities of Asia, along a coast of thirty-seven miles. The towns of Agamede and Hiera have also perished. Eresos[4269], Pyrrha, and the free city of Mitylene[4270], still survive, the last of which was a powerful city for a space of 1500 years. The circumference of the whole island is, according to Isidorus, 168 miles[4271], but the older writers say 195. Its mountains are, Lepethymnus, Ordymnus, Macistus, Creon, and Olympus. It is distant seven miles and a half from the nearest point of the mainland. The islands in its vicinity are, Sandaleon, and the five called Leucæ[4272]; Cydonea[4273], which is one of them, contains a warm spring. The Arginussæ[4274] are four miles distant from Æge[4275]; after them come Phellusa[4276] and Pedna. Beyond the Hellespont, and opposite the shore of Sigeum, lies Tenedos[4277], also known by the names of Leucophrys[4278], Phœnice, and Lyrnesos. It is distant from Lesbos fifty-six miles, and twelve and a half from Sigeum.

CHAP. 40. (32.)—THE HELLESPONT AND MYSIA.

The tide of the Hellespont now begins to run with greater violence, and the sea beats against the shore, undermining with its eddies the barriers that stand in its way, until it has succeeded in separating Asia from Europe. At this spot is the promontory which we have already mentioned as Trapeza[4279]; ten miles distant from which is the city of Abydos[4280], where the straits are only seven stadia wide; then the town of Percote[4281]; Lampsacus[4282], at first called Pityusa; the colony of Parium[4283], which Homer calls by the name of Adrastia; the town of Priapos[4284]; the river Æsepus[4285]; Zelia[4286]; and then the Propontis[4287], that being the name given to the tract of sea where it enlarges. We then come to the river Granicus[4288], and the harbour of Artace[4289], where a town formerly stood. Beyond this is an island which Alexander joined to the continent, and upon which is Cyzicus[4290], a city of the Milesians, which was formerly called Arctonnesos[4291], Dolionis, and Dindymis; above it are the heights of Mount Dindymus[4292]. We then come to the towns of Placia, Ariace[4293], and Scylace; in the rear of which places is Mount Olympus, known as the “Mysian Olympus,” and the city of Olympena. There are also the rivers Horisius[4294] and Rhyndacus[4295], formerly called the Lycus; this last river rises in Lake Artynias, near Miletopolis, and receives the Macestos, and many other streams, dividing in its course Asia[4296] from Bithynia[4297].

This country was at first called by the name of Cronia, after that, Thessalis, and then Malianda and Strymonis. The people of it are by Homer called Halizones[4298], from the fact that it was a nation begirt by the sea. There was formerly a vast city here, Attussa by name; at present there are twelve cities in existence; among which is Gordiucome[4299], otherwise Juliopolis; and, on the coast, Dascylos[4300]. We then come to the river Gelbes[4301]; and, in the interior, the town of Helgas, or Germanicopolis, which has also the other name of Booscœte[4302]; Apamea[4303], now more generally known as Myrlea of the Colophonians: the river Etheleus also, the ancient boundary of Troas, and the commencement of Mysia. Next to this comes the gulf[4304] into which the river Ascanius flows, the town of Bryllion[4305], and the rivers Hylas and Cios, with a town of the same name as the last-mentioned river; it was founded by the Milesians at a place which was called Ascania of Phrygia, as an entrepôt for the trade of the Phrygians who dwelt in the vicinity. We may therefore look upon this as a not ineligible opportunity for making further mention of Phrygia.

CHAP. 41.—PHRYGIA.

Phrygia lies above Troas, and the peoples already mentioned as extending from the Promontory of Lectum[4306] to the river Etheleus. On its northern side it borders upon Galatia, on the south it joins Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Mygdonia, and, on the east, it touches upon Cappadocia. The more celebrated towns there, besides those already mentioned, are Ancyra[4307], Andria, Celænæ[4308], Colossæ[4309], Carina[4310], Cotyaion[4311], Ceraine, Conium, and Midaium. There are authors who say that the Mœsi, the Brygi, and the Thyni crossed over from Europe, and that from them are descended the peoples called the Mysi, Phryges, and Bithyni.

CHAP. 42.—GALATIA AND THE ADJOINING NATIONS.

On this occasion also it seems that we ought to speak of Galatia[4312], which lies above Phrygia, and includes the greater part of the territory taken from that province, as also its former capital, Gordium[4313]. The Gauls[4314] who have settled in these parts, are called the Tolistobogi, the Voturi, and the Ambitouti; those who dwell in Mæonia and Paphlagonia are called the Trocmi. Cappadocia stretches along to the north-east of Galatia, its most fertile parts being possessed by the Tectosages and the Teutobodiaci. These are the nations by which those parts are occupied; and they are divided into peoples and tetrarchies, 195 in number. Its towns are, among the Tectosages, Ancyra[4315]; among the Trocmi, Tavium[4316]; and, among the Tolistobogi, Pessinus[4317]. Besides the above, the best known among the peoples of this region are the Actalenses, the Arasenses, the Comenses[4318], the Didienses, the Hierorenses, the Lystreni[4319], the Neapolitani, the Œandenses, the Seleucenses[4320], the Sebasteni[4321], the Timoniacenses[4322], and the Thebaseni[4323]. Galatia also touches upon Carbalia in Pamphylia, and the Milyæ[4324], about Baris; also upon Cyllanticum and Oroandicum[4325], a district of Pisidia, and Obizene, a part of Lycaonia. Besides those already mentioned[4326], its rivers are the Sangarius[4327] and the Gallus[4328], from which last the priests[4329] of the Mother of the gods have taken their name.

CHAP. 43.—BITHYNIA.

And now as to the remaining places on this coast. On the road from Cios into the interior is Prusa[4330], in Bithynia, founded by Hannibal at the foot of Olympus, at a distance of twenty-five miles from Nicæa, Lake Ascanius[4331] lying between them. We then come to Nicæa[4332], formerly called Olbia, and situate at the bottom of the Ascanian Gulf; as also a second place called Prusa[4333], at the foot of Mount Hypius. Pythopolis, Parthenopolis, and Coryphanta are no longer in existence. Along the coast we find the rivers Æsius, Bryazon, Plataneus, Areus, Æsyros, Geodos, also called Chrysorroas[4334], and the promontory[4335] upon which once stood the town of Megarice. The gulf that here runs inland received the name of Craspedites from the circumstance of that town lying, as it were, upon its skirt[4336]. Astacum[4337], also, formerly stood here, from which the same gulf has received the name of the ‘Astacenian’: the town of Libyssa[4338] formerly stood at the spot where we now see nothing but the tomb of Hannibal. At the bottom of the gulf lies Nicomedia[4339], a famous city of Bithynia; then comes the Promontory of Leucatas[4340], by which the Astacenian Gulf is bounded, and thirty-seven miles distant from Nicomedia; and then, the land again approaching the other side, the straits[4341] which extend as far as the Thracian Bosporus. Upon these are situate Chalcedon[4342], a free town, sixty-two miles from Nicomedia, formerly called Procerastis[4343], then Colpusa, and after that the “City of the Blind,” from the circumstance that its founders did not know where to build their city, Byzantium being only seven stadia distant, a site which is preferable in every respect.

In the interior of Bithynia are the colony of Apamea[4344], the Agrippenses, the Juliopolitæ, and Bithynion[4345]; the rivers Syrium, Laphias, Pharnacias, Alces, Serinis, Lilæus, Scopius, and Hieras[4346], which separates Bithynia from Galatia. Beyond Chalcedon formerly stood Chrysopolis[4347], and then Nicopolis, of which the gulf, upon which stands the Port of Amycus[4348], still retains the name; then the Promontory of Naulochum, and Estiæ[4349], a temple of Neptune[4350]. We then come to the Bosporus, which again separates Asia from Europe, the distance across being half a mile; it is distant twelve miles and a half from Chalcedon. The first entrance of this strait is eight miles and three-quarters wide, at the place where the town of Spiropolis[4351] formerly stood. The Thyni occupy the whole of the coast, the Bithyni the interior. This is the termination of Asia, and of the 282 peoples, that are to be found between the Gulf of Lycia[4352] and this spot. We have already[4353] mentioned the length of the Hellespont and Propontis to the Thracian Bosporus as being 239 miles; from Chalcedon to Sigeum, Isidorus makes the distance 322-1/2.

CHAP. 44.—THE ISLANDS OF THE PROPONTIS.

The islands of the Propontis are, before Cyzicus, Elaphonnesus[4354], from whence comes the Cyzican marble; it is also known by the names of Neuris and Proconnesus. Next come Ophiussa[4355], Acanthus, Phœbe, Scopelos, Porphyrione, Halone[4356], with a city of that name, Delphacia, Polydora, and Artaceon, with its city. There is also, opposite to Nicomedia, Demonnesos[4357]; and, beyond Heraclea, and opposite to Bithynia, the island of Thynias, by the barbarians called Bithynia; the island of Antiochia: and, at the mouth of the Rhyndacus, Besbicos[4358], eighteen miles in circumference; the islands also of Elæa, the two called Rhodussæ, and those of Erebinthus[4359], Megale, Chalcitis[4360], and Pityodes[4361].

SUMMARY.—Towns and nations spoken of ****. Noted rivers ****. Famous mountains ****. Islands, 118 in number. People or towns no longer in existence ****. Remarkable events, narratives, and observations ****.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Agrippa[4362], Suetonius Paulinus[4363], M. Varro[4364], Varro Atacinus[4365], Cornelius Nepos[4366], Hyginus[4367], L. Vetus[4368], Mela[4369], Domitius Corbulo[4370], Licinius Mucianus[4371], Claudius Cæsar[4372], Arruntius[4373], Livius the Son[4374], Sebosus[4375], the Register of the Triumphs[4376].

* * * * *

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—King Juba[4377], Hecatæus[4378], Hellanicus[4379], Damastes[4380], Dicæarchus[4381], Bæton[4382], Timosthenes[4383], Philonides[4384], Zenagoras[4385], Astynomus[4386], Staphylus[4387], Aristoteles[4388], Aristocritus[4389], Dionysius[4390], Ephorus[4391], Eratosthenes[4392], Hipparchus[4393], Panætius[4394], Serapion[4395] of Antioch, Callimachus[4396], Agathocles[4397], Polybius[4398], Timæus[4399] the mathematician, Herodotus[4400], Myrsilus[4401], Alexander Polyhistor[4402], Metrodorus[4403], Posidonius[4404], who wrote the Periplus and the Periegesis, Sotades[4405], Periander[4406], Aristarchus[4407] of Sicyon, Eudoxus[4408], Antigenes[4409], Callicrates[4410], Xenophon[4411] of Lampsacus, Diodorus[4412] of Syracuse, Hanno[4413], Himilco[4414], Nymphodorus[4415], Calliphanes[4416], Artemidorus[4417], Megasthenes[4418], Isidorus[4419], Cleobulus[4420], and Aristocreon[4421].

END OF VOL. I.

APPENDIX OF CORRECTIONS.

Page 1, line 9, The allusion, otherwise obscure, is to the fact that some friends of Catullus had filched a set of table-napkins, which had been given to him by Veranius and Fabius, and substituted others in their place.

„ 13, „ 2, _for_ Roman figures, _read_ other figures.

„ 20, „ 7, _for_ the God of nature; he also tends, _down to_ and most excellent, _read_ the God of nature. He supplies light to the universe, and dispels all darkness; He both conceals and reveals the other stars. It is He that regulates the seasons, and, in the course of nature, governs the year as it ever springs anew into birth; it is He that dispels the gloom of the heavens, and sheds his light upon the clouds of the human mind. He, too, lends his brightness to the other stars. He is most brilliant and most excellent.

„ 21, „ 13, _for_ elected, _read_ erected.

„ 21, „ 13, _for_ good fortune, _read_ evil fortune.

„ 23, „ 18, _for_ our scepticism concerning God is still increased, _read_ our conjectures concerning God become more vague still.

„ 23, „ 31, _for_ and the existence of God becomes doubtful, _read_ whereby the very existence of a God is shewn to be uncertain.

„ 33, „ 4, _for_ as she receives, _read_ as receives.

„ 54, „ 15, _for_ the seventh of the circumference, _read_ the seventh of the third of the circumference.

„ 59, „ 36, _for_ transeuntia, _read_ transcurrentia.

„ 67, „ 26, _for_ circumstances, _read_ influences.

„ 78, „ 9, _for_ higher winds, _read_ higher waves.

„ 78, „ 17, _for_ the male winds are therefore regulated by the odd numbers, _read_ hence it is that the odd numbers are generally looked upon as males.

„ 79, „ 15, _for_ of the cloud, _read_ of the icy cloud.

„ 79, „ 21, _for_ sprinkling it with vinegar, _read_ throwing vinegar against it.

„ 79, „ 22, _for_ this substance, _read_ that liquid.

„ 80, „ 13, _for_ but not until, _read_ and not after.

„ 80, „ 14, _for_ the former is diffused, _down to_ impulse, _read_ the latter is diffused in the blast, the former is condensed by the violent impulse.

„ 80, „ 17, _for_ dash, _read_ crash.

„ 81, „ 21, _for_ thunder-storms, _read_ thunder-bolts.

„ 81, „ 27, _for_ their operation, _read_ its operation.

„ 82, „ 8, _for_ thunder-storms, _read_ thunder-bolts.

„ 85, „ 2, _for_ blown up, _read_ blasted.

„ 88, „ 15, _for_ the east, _read_ the west.

„ 89, „ 11, _for_ even a stone, _read_ ever a stone.

„ 92, „ 9, _for_ how many things do we compel her to produce spontaneously, _read_ how many things do we compel her to produce! How many things does she pour forth spontaneously!

„ 92, „ 10, _for_ odours and flowers, _read_ odours and flavours.

„ 93, „ 16, _for_ luxuries, _read_ caprices.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The weight of testimony inclines to the latter. The mere titles of the works which have been written on the subject would fill a volume.

[2] At a wedding feast, as mentioned by him in B. ix. c. 58. She was then the wife of Caligula.

[3] Related in B. ix. c. 5.

[4] Here at Tusdrita, he saw L. Coisicius, who it was said had been changed from a woman into a man. See B. vii. c. 3. Phlegon Trallianus and Ausonius also refer to the story.

[5] See B. xvi. c. 2, and B. xxxi. c. 19.

[6] Plinii Ep. B. vi. Ep. 16.

[7] Twenty-fourth August.

[8] “Fortes fortuna juvat.”

[9] B. iii. Ep. 5.

[10] Nero Claudius Drusus, the son of Livia, afterwards the wife of Augustus. He was the father of the Emperor Claudius, and died in Germany of the effects of an accident.

[11] “Studiosus.” This work has perished.

[12] “De Dubia Sermone.” A few scattered fragments of it still survive.

[13] 23rd of August.

[14] For astrological presages.

[15] At midwinter, this hour would answer at Rome to our midnight.

[16] At midwinter, this would be between six and seven in the evening.

[17] “Electorum Commentarii.”

[18] B. viii. c. 34. His acrimony may however, in this instance, have outstripped his discretion. Though indebted to them for by far the largest amount of his information on almost every subject, he seems to have had a strong aversion to the Greeks, and repeatedly charges them with lying, viciousness, boasting, and vanity. See B. ii. c. 112; B. iii. c. 6; B. v. c. 1; B. xv. c. 5; B. xix. c. 26; B. xxviii. c. 29; B. xxxvii. c. 74.

[19] Of Vespasian and Titus for certain; and probably of Nero, who appointed him “procurator Cæsaris” in Spain.

[20] Even on that point he contradicts himself in the next Book. See B. viii. c. 19, and 64, in reference to the lion and the horse.

[21] See B. vii. c. 51.

[22] “Summa vitæ felicitas.” B. vii. c. 54.

[23] B. vii. c. 53.

[24] He loses no opportunity of inveighing against luxury and sensuality.

[25] The question as to a future existence he calls “Manium ambages,” “quiddities about the Manes.” B. vii. c. 56.

[26] See B. vii. c. 53.

[27] We have already seen that in his earlier years he was warned in a vision by Drusus to write the history of the wars in Germany; but there is a vast difference between paying attention to the suggestions of a dream, and believing in the immortality of the soul, or the existence of disembodied spirits.

[28] B. vii. c. 53.

[29] B. vii. c. 58, 59, 60.

[30] Mankind must surely have agreed before this in making the instruments employed in shaving.

[31] “Discours Premier sur l’Histoire Naturelle.”

[32] Biographie Universelle. Vol. 35. Art. _Pline_.

[33] This, however, is not the fault of Pliny, but the result of imperfect tradition. To have described _every_ object _minutely_ that he has named, and of which he has given the peculiar properties, would have swollen his book to a most enormous size, almost indeed beyond conception.

[34] Lemaire informs us, in his title-page, that the two first books of the Natural History are edited by M. Alexandre, in his edition.

[35] “Jucundissime;” it is not easy to find an epithet in our language which will correctly express the meaning of the original, affectionate and familiar, at the same time that it is sufficiently dignified and respectful.

[36] Lamb’s trans.; Carm. i. 4. of the original.

[37] “Conterraneus;” we have no word in English which expresses the idea intended by the original, and which is, at the same time, a military term. There is indeed some reason to doubt, whether the word now inserted in the text was the one employed by the author: see the remarks of M. Alexandre, in Lem. i. 3; also an observation in Cigalino’s dissertation on the native country of Pliny; Valpy, 8.

[38] “Permutatis prioribus sætabis;” Carm. xii. 14; xxv. 7; see the notes in Lamb’s trans. pp. 135 & 149.

[39] These names in the original are Varaniolus and Fabullus, which are supposed to have been changed from Veranius and Fabius, as terms of familiarity and endearment; see Poinsinet, i. 24, and Lemaire, i. 4.

[40] The narrative of Suetonius may serve to illustrate the observation of Pliny: “Triumphavit (Titus) cum patre, censuramque gessit una. Eidem collega et in tribunicia potestate, et in septem consulatibus fuit. Receptaque ad se prope omnium officiorum cura, cum patris nomine et epistolas ipse dictaret, et edicta conscriberet, orationesque in Senatu recitaret etiam quæstoris vice, præfecturam quoque prætorii suscepit, nunquam ad id tempus, nisi ab Equite Romano, administratum.” (viii. 5.)

[41] “Perfricui faciem.” This appears to have been a proverbial expression among the Romans; Cicero, Tusc. Quæs. iii. 41, employs “os perfricuisti,” and Martial, xi. 27. 7, “perfricuit frontem,” in the same sense.

[42] Suetonius speaks of Domitian’s taste for poetry, as a part of his habitual dissimulation, viii. 2; see also the notes of Poinsinet, i. 26, and of Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 351.

[43] “Non eras in hoc albo;” see the note of Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 8. A passage in Quintilian, xii. 4, may serve to illustrate this use of the term ‘album’; “... quorum alii se ad album ac rubricas transtulerunt....”

[44] It appears that the passage in which Cicero makes this quotation from Lucilius, is not in the part of his treatise De Republica which was lately discovered by Angelus Maius; Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 9. Cicero refers to this remark of Lucilius in two of his other works, although with a variation in the expression and in the individuals specified; De Orat. ii. 6, and De Fin. i. 3.

[45] “Qui primus condidit styli nasum.”

[46] “Sed hæc ego mihi nunc patrocinia ademi nuncupatione.”

[47] “Pecunias deponerent.” Ajasson, i. 11, remarks on these words, “Qui videri volebant ambitu alienissimi, pecuniam apud sanctum aliquem virum deponebant, qua scilicet multarentur, si unquam hujus criminis manifesti fierent.”

[48] This expression is not found in any of the works of Cicero which are now extant, nor, indeed, is it certain that it was anything more than a remark made in conversation.

[49] “Provocatio,” calling forth.

[50] Horace, Epist. ii. 1. 143; Ovid, Fast. iv. 746 and v. 121, and Tibullus, i. 1. 26 and ii. 5. 37, refer to the offerings of milk made by the country people to their rural deities.

[51] “... id est, artium et doctrinarum omnium circulus;” Alexandre in Lem. i. 14.

[52] These words are not found in any of the books of Livy now extant; we may conclude that they were introduced into the latter part of his work.

[53] “Quem nunc primum historiæ Plinianæ librum vocamus, hic non numeratur, quod sit operis index.” Hardouin in Lem. i. 16.

[54] Nothing is known of Domitius Piso, either as an author or an individual.

[55] The names of these authors will be found, arranged by Hardouin alphabetically, with a brief account of them and their works, in Lem. i. 157 _et seq._; we have nearly the same list in Valpy, p. 4903.

[56] “Musinamur.” We learn from Hardouin, Lem. i. 17, that there is some doubt as to the word employed by our author, whether it was _musinamur_ or _muginamur_; I should be disposed to adopt the former, as being, according to the remark of Turnebus, “verbum a Musis deductum.”

[57] “A fine Aufidii Bassi;” as Alexandre remarks, “Finis autem Aufidii Bassi intelligendus est non mors ejus, sed tempus ad quod suas ipse perduxerat historias. Quodnam illud ignoramus.” Lem. i. 18. For an account of Aufidius Bassus we are referred to the catalogue of Hardouin, but his name does not appear there. Quintilian (x. 1) informs us, that he wrote an account of the Germanic war.

[58] “Jam pridem peracta sancitur.”

[59] This sentiment is not found in that portion of the treatise which has been lately published by Angelus Maius. Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 19.

[60] The following is probably the passage in the Offices to which Pliny refers: “Panæcius igitur, qui sine controversia de officiis accuratissime disputavit, quemque nos, correctione quadam exhibita, potissimum secuti sumus....” (iii. 2.)

[61] “Cum præsertim sors fiat ex usura.” The commentators and translators have differed respecting the interpretation of this passage; I have given what appears to me the obvious meaning of the words.

[62] “Lac gallinaceum;” “Proverbium de re singulari et admodum rara,” according to Hardouin, who quotes a parallel passage from Petronius; Lemaire, i. 21.

[63] The titles in the original are given in Greek; I have inserted in the text the words which most nearly resemble them, and which have been employed by modern authors.

[64] “Lucubratio.”

[65] The pun in the original cannot be preserved in the translation; the English reader may conceive the name Bibaculus to correspond to our surname Jolly.

[66] “Sesculysses” and “Flextabula;” literally, Ulysses and a Half, and Bend-table.

[67] Βιβλιοθήκη.

[68] “Cymbalum mundi” and “publicæ famæ tympanum.”

[69] “Pendenti titulo;” as Hardouin explains it, “qui nondum absolutum opus significaret, verum adhuc pendere, velut imperfectum.” Lemaire, i. 26.

[70] “Homeromastigæ.”

[71] “Dialectici.” By this term our author probably meant to designate those critics who were disposed to dwell upon minute verbal distinctions; “dialecticarum captionum amantes,” according to Hardouin; Lem. i. 28.

[72] “Quod argutiarum amantissimi, et quod æmulatio inter illos acerbissima.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 28.

[73] Pliny the younger, in one of his letters (iii. 5), where he enumerates all his uncle’s publications, informs us, that he wrote “a piece of criticism in eight books, concerning ambiguity of expression.” Melmoth’s Pliny, i. 136.

[74] The ancients had very exaggerated notions respecting the period of the elephant’s pregnancy; our author, in a subsequent part of his work (viii. 10), says, “Decem annis gestare vulgus existimat; Aristoteles biennio.”

[75] His real name was Tyrtamus, but in consequence of the beauty of his style, he acquired the appellation by which he is generally known from the word θεῖος φράσις. Cicero on various occasions refers to him; Brutus, 121; Orator, 17, _et alibi_.

[76] “Suspendio jam quærere mortem oportere homines vitæque renunciare, cum tantum licentiæ, vel feminæ, vel imperiti homines sumant, ut in doctissimos scribant;” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 29. We learn from Cicero, De Nat. Deor. i. 33, that the name of this female was Leontium; “... sed meretricula etiam Leontium contra Theophrastum scribere ausa sit.”

[77] A. Gellius (vii. 4) refers to this work and gives an extract from it.

[78] The hostility which Cato bore to Scipio Africanus is mentioned by Livy, xxxviii. 54, and by Corn. Nepos, Cato, i.

[79] Lucius Munatius Plancus took a conspicuous part in the political intrigues of the times and was especially noted for his follies and extravagance.

[80] Asinius Pollio is a name which stands high in Roman literature; according to the remark of Alexandre, “Vir magnus fuit, prono tamen ad obtrectandum ingenio, quod arguunt ejus cum Cicerone simultates,” Lemaire, i. 30. This hostile feeling towards Cicero is supposed to have proceeded from envy and mortification, because he was unable to attain the same eminence in the art of oratory with his illustrious rival. See Hardouin’s Index Auctorum, in Lemaire, i. 168.

[81] “Vitiligatores.”

[82] The table of contents, which occupies no less than 124 pages in Lemaire’s edition, I have omitted, in consequence of its length; the object which the author proposed to effect by the table of contents will be gained more completely by an alphabetical index.

[83] “Ἐποπτίδων.” For an account of Valerius Soranus see Hardouin’s Index Auctorum, in Lemaire, i. 217.

[84] To the end of each book of the Natural History is appended, in the original, a copious list of references to the sources from which the author derived his information. These are very numerous; in the second book they amount to 45, in the third to 35, in the 4th to 53, in the fifth to 60, in the sixth to 54, and they are in the same proportion in the remaining books.

[85] “Spartum;” this plant was used to make bands for the vines and cables for ships.

[86] “Mundus.” In translating from one language into another, it is proper, as a general principle, always to render the same word in the original by the same word in the translation. But to this rule there are two exceptions; where the languages do not possess words which precisely correspond, and where the original author does not always use the same word in the same sense. Both these circumstances, I apprehend, apply to the case in question. The term _Mundus_ is used by Pliny, sometimes to mean _the earth_ and its immediate appendages, the visible solar system; and at other times _the universe_; while I think we may venture to assert, that in some instances it is used in rather a vague manner, without any distinct reference to either one or other of the above designations. I have, in almost all cases, translated it by the term _world_, as approaching nearest to the sense of the original. The word _mundus_ is frequently employed by Lucretius, especially in his fifth book, and seems to be almost always used in the more extended sense of _universe_. There are, indeed, a few passages where either meaning would be equally appropriate, and in one line it would appear to be equivalent to _firmament_ or _heavens_; “et mundi speciem violare serenam,” iv. 138. Cicero, in his treatise De Natura Deorum, generally uses the term _mundus_ in the sense of _universe_, as in ii. 22, 37, 58 and 154; while in one passage, ii. 132, it would appear to be employed in the more limited sense of _the earth_. It occasionally occurs in the Fasti of Ovid, but it is not easy to ascertain its precise import; as in the line “Post chaos, ut primum data sunt tria corpora mundo,” v. 41, where from the connexion it may be taken either in the more confined or in the more general sense. Manilius employs the word very frequently, and his commentators remark, that he uses it in two distinct senses, _the visible firmament_ and the _universe_; and I am induced to think that he attaches still more meaning to the term. It occurs three times in the first eleven lines of his poem. In the third line, “deducere mundo aggredior,” _mundus_ may be considered as equivalent to the celestial regions as opposed to the earth. In the ninth line, “concessumque patri mundo,” we may consider it as signifying the celestial regions generally; and in the eleventh, “Jamque favet mundus,” the whole of the earth, or rather its inhabitants. We meet with it again in the sixty-eighth line, “lumina mundi,” where it seems more properly to signify the visible firmament; again in the 139th, “Et mundi struxere globum,” it seems to refer especially to the earth, synonymous with the general sense of the English term _world_; while in the 153rd line, “per inania mundi,” it must be supposed to mean the universe. Hyginus, in his Poeticon Astronomicon, lib. i. p. 55, defines the term as follows: “Mundus appellatur is qui constat in sole et luna et terra et omnibus stellis;” and again, p. 57, “Terra mundi media regione collocata.” We may observe the different designations of the term _mundus_ in Seneca; among other passages I may refer to his Nat. Quæst. vii. 27 & iii. 30; to his treatise De Consol. § 18 and De Benef. iv. 23, where I conceive the precise meanings are, respectively, the universe, the terrestrial globe, the firmament, and the heavenly bodies. The Greek term κόσμος, which corresponds to the Latin word _mundus_, was likewise employed to signify, either the visible firmament or the universe. In illustration of this, it will be sufficient to refer to the treatise of Aristotle Περὶ Κόσμου, cap. 2. p. 601. See also Stephens’s Thesaurus, _in loco_. In Apuleius’s treatise De Mundo, which is a free translation of Aristotle’s Περὶ Κόσμου, the term may be considered as synonymous with universe. It is used in the same sense in various parts of Apuleius’s writings: see Metam. ii. 23; De Deo Socratis, 665, 667; De Dogmate Platonis, 574, 575, _et alibi_.

[87] Cicero, in his Timæus, uses the same phraseology; “Omne igitur cœlum, sive mundus, sive quovis alio vocabulo gaudet, hoc a nobis nuncupatum est,” § 2. Pomponius Mela’s work commences with a similar expression; “Omne igitur hoc, quidquid est, cui mundi cœlique nomen indideris, unum id est.” They were probably taken from a passage in Plato’s Timæus, “Universum igitur hoc, Cœlum, sive Mundum, sive quo alio vocabulo gaudet, cognominemus,” according to the translation of Ficinus; Platonis Op. ix. p. 302. The word _cœlum_, which is employed in the original, in its ordinary acceptation, signifies _the heavens_, the visible firmament; as in Ovid, Met. i. 5, “quod tegit omnia, cœlum.” It is, in most cases, employed in this sense by Lucretius and by Manilius, as in i. 2. of the former and in i. 14. of the latter. Occasionally, however, it is employed by both of these writers in the more general sense of _celestial regions_, in opposition to the earth, as by Lucretius, i. 65, and by Manilius, i. 352. In the line quoted by Cicero from Pacuvius, it would seem to mean the place in which the planets are situated; De Nat. Deor. ii. 91. The Greek word οὐρανὸς may be regarded as exactly corresponding to the Latin word _cœlum_, and employed with the same modifications; see Aristotle, De Mundo and De Cœlo, and Ptolemy, Mag. Const. lib. i. _passim_; see also Stephens’s Thesaurus, _in loco_. Aratus generally uses it to designate the visible firmament, as in l. 10, while in l. 32 it means the heavenly regions. Gesner defines _cœlum_, “Mundus exclusa terra,” and _mundus_, “Cœlum et quidquid cœli ambitu continetur.” In the passage from Plato, referred to above, the words which are translated by Ficinus _cœlum_ and _mundus_, are in the original οὐρανὸς and κόσμος; Ficinus, however, in various parts of the Timæus, translates οὐρανὸς by the word _mundus_: see t. ix. p. 306, 311, _et alibi_.

[88] The following passage from Cicero may serve to illustrate the doctrine of Pliny: “Novem tibi orbibus, vel potius globis, connexa sunt omnia: quorum unus est cœlestis, extimus, qui reliquos omnes complectitur, summus ipse Deus, arcens et continens cœlum;” Som. Scip. § 4. I may remark, however, that the term here employed by our author is not _Deus_ but _Numen_.

[89] We have an interesting account of the opinions of Aristotle on this subject, in a note in M. Ajasson’s translation, ii. 234 _et seq._, which, as well as the greater part of the notes attached to the second book of the Natural History, were written by himself in conjunction with M. Marcus.

[90] The philosophers of antiquity were divided in their opinions respecting the great question, whether the active properties of material bodies, which produce the phænomena of nature, are inherent in them, and necessarily attached to them, or whether they are bestowed upon them by some superior power or being. The Academics and Peripatetics generally adopted the latter opinion, the Stoics the former: Pliny adopts the doctrine of the Stoics; see Enfield’s Hist. of Phil. i. 229, 283, 331.

[91] I may remark, that the astronomy of our author is, for the most part, derived from Aristotle; the few points in which they differ will be stated in the appropriate places.

[92] This doctrine was maintained by Plato in his Timæus, p. 310, and adopted by Aristotle, De Cœlo, lib. ii. cap. 14, and by Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 47. The spherical form of the world, οὐρανὸς, and its circular motion are insisted upon by Ptolemy, in the commencement of his astronomical treatise Μεγάλη Σύνταξις, Magna Constructio, frequently referred to by its Arabic title Almagestum, cap. 2. He is supposed to have made his observations at Alexandria, between the years 125 and 140 A.D. His great astronomical work was translated into Arabic in the year 827; the original Greek text was first printed in 1538 by Grynæus, with a commentary by Theon. George of Trebisond published a Latin version of it in 1541, and a second was published by Camerarius in 1551, along with Ptolemy’s other works. John Muller, usually called Regiomontanus, and Purback published an abridgement of the Almagest in 1541. For an account of Ptolemy I may refer to the article in the Biog. Univ. xxxv. 263 _et seq._, by Delambre, also to Hutton’s Math. Dict., _in loco_, and to the high character of him by Whewell, Hist. of the Inductive Sciences, p. 214.

[93] See Ptolemy, _ubi supra_.

[94] This opinion, which was maintained by Pythagoras, is noticed and derided by Aristotle, De Cœlo, lib. ii. cap. 9. p. 462-3. A brief account of Pythagoras’s doctrine on this subject is contained in Enfield’s Philosophy, i. 386.

[95] Pliny probably here refers to the opinion which Cicero puts into the mouth of one of the interlocutors in his treatise De Nat. Deor. ii. 47, “Quid enim pulchrius ea figura, quæ sola omnes alias figuras complexa continet, quæque nihil asperitatis habere, nihil offensionis potest, nihil incisum angulis, nihil anfractibus, nihil eminens, nihil lacunosum?”

[96] The letter Δ, in the constellation of the triangle; it is named Δελτωτὸν by Aratus, l. 235; also by Manilius, i. 360. We may remark, that, except in this one case, the constellations have no visible resemblance to the objects of which they bear the name.

[97] “Locum hunc Plinii de Galaxia, sive Lactea via, interpretantur omnes docti.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 227. It may be remarked, that the word _vertex_ is here used in the sense of the astronomical term zenith, not to signify the pole.

[98] De Ling. Lat. lib. iv. p. 7, 8. See also the remarks on the derivation of the word in Gesner, Thes., _in loco_.

[99] “Signifer.” The English term is taken from the Greek word Ζωδιακὸς, derived from Ζῶον; see Aristotle, De Mundo, cap. 2. p. 602. The word _Zodiacus_ does not occur in Pliny, nor is it employed by Ptolemy; he names it λοξὸς κύκλος, _obliquus circulus_; Magn. Const. i. 7, 13, _et alibi_. It is used by Cicero, but professedly as a Greek term; Divin. ii. 89, and Arati Phænom. l. 317. It occurs in Hyginus, p. 57 _et alibi_, and in A. Gellius, 13. 9. Neither _signifer_ taken substantively, nor _zodiacus_ occur in Lucretius or in Manilius.

[100] The account of the elements, of their nature, difference, and, more especially, the necessity of their being four, are fully discussed by Aristotle in various parts of his works, more particularly in his treatise De Cœlo, lib. iii. cap. 3, 4 and 5, lib. iv. cap. 5, and De Gener. et Cor. lib. ii. cap. 2, 3, 4 and 5. For a judicious summary of the opinions of Aristotle on this subject, I may refer to Stanley’s History of Philosophy; Aristotle, doctrines of, p. 2. l. 7, and to Enfield, i. 764 _et seq._ For the Epicurean doctrine, see Lucretius, i. 764 _et seq._

[101] Although the word _planeta_, as taken from the Greek πλανήτης, is inserted in the title of this chapter, it does not occur in any part of the text. It is not found either in Lucretius, Manilius, or Seneca, nor, I believe, was it used by any of their contemporaries, except Hyginus, p. 76. The planets were generally styled _stellæ erraticæ_, _errantes_, or _vagæ_, _sidera palantia_, as in Lucretius, ii. 1030, or simply the _five stars_, as in Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 51, and in Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vii. 24. Pliny, by including the sun and moon, makes the number seven. Aratus calls them πέντ’ ἄστερες, l. 454.

[102] “Aër.” “Circumfusa undique est (terra) hac animabili spirabilique natura, cui nomen est aër; Græcum illud quidem, sed perceptum jam tamen usu a nobis;” Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 91.

[103] “universi cardine.” “Revolutionis, ut aiunt, centro. Idem Plinius, hoc ipso libro, cap. 64, terram cœli cardinem esse dicit;” Alexandre, in Lem. i. 228. On this subject I may refer to Ptolemy, Magn. Const, lib. i. cap. 3, 4, 6. See also Apuleius, near the commencement of his treatise De Mundo.

[104] “Sidera.” The word _sidus_ is used, in most cases, for one of the heavenly bodies generally, sometimes for what we term a constellation, a particular assemblage of them, and sometimes specially for an individual star. Manilius employs the word in all these senses, as will appear by the three following passages respectively; the first taken from the opening of his poem,

“Carmine divinas artes, et conscia fati Sidera....”

The second,

“Hæc igitur texunt æquali sidera tractu Ignibus in varias cœlum laqueantia formas.” i. 275, 276.

The third

“... pectus, fulgenti sidere clarius;” i. 356.

In the Fasti of Ovid, we have examples of the two latter of these significations:—

“Ex Ariadnæo sidere nosse potes;” v. 316.

“Et canis (Icarium dicunt) quo sidere noto Tosta sitit tellus;” iv. 939, 940.

Lucretius appears always to employ the term in the general sense. J. Obsequens applies the word _sidus_ to a meteor; “sidus ingens cœlo demissum,” cap. 16. In a subsequent part of this book, chap. 18 _et seq._, our author more particularly restricts the term _sidus_ to the planets.

[105] Cicero remarks concerning them; “quæ (stellæ) falso vocantur errantes;” De Nat. Deor. ii. 51.

[106] “... vices dierum alternat et noctium, quum sidera præsens occultat, illustrat absens;” Hard. in Lem. i. 230.

[107] “ceteris sideribus.” According to Hardouin, _ubi supra_, “nimium stellis errantibus.” There is, however, nothing in the expression of our author which sanctions this limitation.

[108] See Iliad, iii. 277, and Od. xii. 323.

[109] It is remarked by Enfield, Hist. of Phil. ii. 131, that “with respect to philosophical opinions, Pliny did not rigidly adhere to any sect.... He reprobates the Epicurean tenet of an infinity of worlds; favours the Pythagorean notion of the harmony of the spheres; speaks of the universe as God, after the manner of the Stoics, and sometimes seems to pass over into the field of the Sceptics. For the most part, however, he leans to the doctrine of Epicurus.”

[110] “Si alius est Deus quam sol,” Alexandre in Lem. i. 230. Or rather, if there be any God distinct from the world; for the latter part of the sentence can scarcely apply to the sun. Poinsinet and Ajasson, however, adopt the same opinion with M. Alexandre; they translate the passage, “s’il en est autre que le soleil,” i. 17 and ii. 11.

[111] “totus animæ, totus animi;” “Anima est qua vivimus, animus quo sapimus.” Hard. in Lem. i. 230, 231. The distinction between these two words is accurately pointed out by Lucretius, iii. 137 _et seq._

[112] “fecerunt (Athenienses) Contumeliæ fanum et Impudentiæ.” Cicero, De Leg. ii. 28. See also Bossuet, Discours sur l’Histoire univ. i. 250.

[113] The account which Cicero gives us of the opinions of Democritus scarcely agrees with the statement in the text; see De Nat. Deor. i. 120.

[114] “In varios divisit Deos numen unicum, quod Plinio cœlum est aut mundus; ejusque singulas partes, aut, ut philosophi aiunt, attributa, separatim coluit;” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 231.

[115] “Febrem autem ad minus nocendum, templis celebrant, quorum adhuc unum in Palatio....” Val. Max. ii. 6; see also Ælian, Var. Hist. xii. 11. It is not easy to ascertain the precise meaning of the terms _Fanum_, _Ædes_, and _Templum_, which are employed in this place by Pliny and Val. Maximus. Gesner defines _Fanum_ “area templi et solium, _templum_ vero ædificium;” but this distinction, as he informs us, is not always accurately observed; there appears to be still less distinction between _Ædes_ and _Templum_; see his Thesaurus _in loco_, also Bailey’s Facciolati _in loco_.

[116] “Orbona est Orbitalis dea.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 231.

[117] “Appositos sibi statim ab ortu custodes credebant, quos viri Genios, Junones fœminæ vocabant.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 232. See Tibullus, 4. 6. 1, and Seneca, Epist. 110, _sub init._

[118] We may suppose that our author here refers to the popular mythology of the Egyptians; the “fœtidi cibi” are mentioned by Juvenal; “Porrum et cæpe nefas violare et frangere morsu,” xv. 9; and Pliny, in a subsequent part of his work, xix. 32, remarks, “Allium cæpeque inter Deos in jurejurando habet Ægyptus.”

[119] See Cicero, De Nat. Deor. i. 42 _et alibi_, for an illustration of these remarks of Pliny.

[120] This sentiment is elegantly expressed by Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 62, and by Horace, Od. iii. 3. 9 _et seq._ It does not appear, however, that any of the Romans, except Romulus, were deified, previous to the adulatory period of the Empire.

[121] “Planetarum nempe, qui omnes nomina mutuantur a diis.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 234.

[122] This remark may be illustrated by the following passage from Cicero, in the first book of his treatise De Nat. Deor. Speaking of the doctrine of Zeno, he says, “neque enim Jovem, neque Junonem, neque Vestam, neque quemquam, qui ita appelletur, in deorum habet numero: sed rebus inanimis, atque mutis, per quandam significationem, hæc docet tributa nomina.” “Idemque (Chrysippus) disputat, æthera esse eum, quem homines Jovem appellant: quique aër per maria manaret, eum esse Neptunum: terramque eam esse, quæ Ceres diceretur: similique ratione persequitur vocabula reliquorum deorum.”

[123] The following remarks of Lucretius and of Cicero may serve to illustrate the opinion here expressed by our author:—

“Omnis enim per se Divum natura necesse est Immortali ævo summa cum pace fruatur, Semota ab nostris rebus, sejunctaque longe;” Lucretius, i. 57-59.

“Quod æternum beatumque sit, id nec habere ipsum negotii quidquam, nec exhibere alteri; itaque neque ira neque gratia teneri, quod, quæ talia essent, imbecilla essent omnia.” Cicero, De Nat. Deor. i. 45.

[124] The author here alludes to the figures of the Egyptian deities that were engraven on rings.

[125] His specific office was to execute vengeance on the impious.

[126] “sola utramque paginam facit.” The words _utraque pagina_ generally refer to the two sides of the same sheet, but, in this passage, they probably mean the contiguous portions of the same surface.

[127] “astroque suo eventu assignat;” the word _astrum_ appears to be synonymous with _sidus_, generally signifying a single star, and, occasionally, a constellation; as in Manilius, i. 541, 2.

“... quantis bis sena ferantur Finibus astra....”

It is also used by synecdoche for the heavens, as is the case with the English word _stars_. See Gesner’s Thesaurus.

[128] “Quæ si suscipiamus, pedis offensio nobis ... et sternutamenta erunt observanda.” Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 84.

[129] “Divus Augustus.” The epithet _divus_ may be regarded as merely a term of court etiquette, because all the Emperors after death were deified _ex officio_.

[130] We learn the exact nature of this ominous accident from Suetonius; “... si mane sibi calceus perperam, et sinister pro dextro induceretur;” Augustus, Cap. 92. From this passage it would appear, that the Roman sandals were made, as we term it, right and left.

[131] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the opinions here stated respecting the Deity are taken partly from the tenets of the Epicureans, combined with the Stoical doctrine of Fate. The examples which are adduced to prove the power of fate over the Deity are, for the most part, rather verbal than essential.

[132] “affixa mundo.” The peculiar use of the word _mundus_ in this passage is worthy of remark, in connexion with note [86], ch. 1. page 13.

[133] We have many references in Pliny to the influence of the stars upon the earth and its inhabitants, constituting what was formerly regarded as so important a science, judicial astrology. Ptolemy has drawn up a regular code of it in his “Centum dicta,” or “Centiloquiums.” We have a highly interesting account of the supposed science, its origin, progress, and general principles, in Whewell’s History of the Inductive Sciences, p. 293 _et seq._ I may also refer to the same work for a sketch of the history of astronomy among the Greeks and the other nations of antiquity.

[134] There are certain metaphorical expressions, which have originated from this opinion, adopted by the moderns; “his star is set;” “the star of his fortune,” &c.

[135] Ovid, when he compares Phaëton to a falling star, remarks, concerning this meteor,—

“Etsi non cecidit, potuit cecidisse videri.” Metam. ii. 322.

[136] Manilius supposes that comets are produced and rendered luminous by an operation very similar to the one described in the text; i. 815 _et seq._ Seneca, in the commencement of his Nat. Quæst., and in other parts of the same treatise, refers to this subject. His remarks may be worth perusing by those who are curious to learn the hypotheses of the ancients on subjects of natural science. We may remark, that Seneca’s opinions are, on many points, more correct than our author’s.

[137] The author probably refers to that part of his work in which he treats on agriculture, particularly to the 17th and 18th books.

[138] The æra of the Olympiads commenced in the year 776 before Christ; each olympiad consists of 4 years; the 58th olympiad will therefore include the interval 548 to 544 B.C. The 21st vol. of the “Universal History” consists entirely of a “chronological table,” and we have a useful table of the same kind in Brewster’s Encycl., article “Chronology.”

[139] “rerum fores aperuisse ... traditur.” An account of the astronomy of Anaximander is contained in Brewster’s Encycl., article “Astronomy,” p. 587, and in the article “Anaximander” in the supplement to the same work by Scott of Aberdeen. I may remark, that these two accounts do not quite agree in their estimate of his merits; the latter author considers his opinions more correct. We have also an account of Anaximander in Stanley, pt. 2. p. 1 _et seq._, and in Enfield, i. 154 _et seq._

[140] In the translation of Ajasson, ii. 261-7, we have some valuable observations by Marcus, respecting the origin and progress of astronomy among the Greeks, and the share which the individuals mentioned in the text respectively had in its advancement; also some interesting remarks on the history of Atlas. Diodorus Siculus says, that “he was the first that discovered the knowledge of the sphere; whence arose the common opinion, that he carried the world upon his shoulders.” Booth’s trans. p. 115.

[141] “nunc relicto mundi ipsius corpore, reliqua inter cœlum terrasque tractentur.” I have already had occasion to remark upon the various modes in which the author uses the word _mundus_; by _cœlum_, in this passage, he means the body or region beyond the planets, which is conceived to contain the fixed stars. _Sphæra_, in the preceding sentence, may be supposed to mean the celestial globe.

[142] “ac trigesimo anno ad brevissima sedis suæ principia regredi;” I confess myself unable to offer any literal explanation of this passage; nor do the remarks of the commentators appear to me satisfactory; see Hardouin and Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 241, 2. It is translated by Ajasson “en trente ans il reviens à l’espace minime d’où il est parti.” The period of the sidereal revolutions of the planets, as stated by Mrs. Somerville, in her “Mechanism of the Heavens,” and by Sir J. Herschel, in his “Treatise on Astronomy,” are respectively as follows:—

days. days. Mercury 87·9705 87·9692580 Venus 224·7 224·7007869 Earth 365·2564 365·2563612 Mars 686·99 686·9796458 Jupiter 4332·65 4332·5848212 Saturn 10759·4 10759·2198174

Somerville, p. 358. Herschel, p. 416.

[143] “‘mundo;’ hoc est, cœlo inerrantium stellarum.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, ii. 242.

[144] Our author supposes, that the spectator has his face directed towards the south, as is the case with the modern observers. We are, however, informed by Hardouin, that this was not the uniform practice among the ancients; see the remarks of Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 242, and of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 269.

[145] The _constant revolution_ refers to the apparent daily motion; the _opposite direction_ to their annual course through the zodiac. Ptolemy gives an account of this double motion in his Magna Constructio, i. 7.

[146] For the exact period, according to Somerville and Herschel, see note [142], p. 27.

[147] Aristotle informs us, that Mars was also called Hercules or Pyrosis; De Mundo, cap. ii. p. 602. See also Apuleius, De Mundo, § 710. Hyginus is said by Hardouin to give the name of Hercules to the planet Mars, but this appears to be an inaccuracy; he describes the planet under its ordinary appellation; lib. ii. p. 62; and ii. 78, 9.

[148] Cicero, speaking of the period of Mars, says, “Quatuor et viginti mensibus, sex, ut opinor, diebus minus;” De Nat. Deor. For the exact period, see note [142], p. 27.

[149] “Sed ut observatio umbrarum ejus redeat ad notas.” According to the interpretation of Hardouin, “Ad easdem lineas in solari horologio.” Lemaire, ii. 243.

[150] This is an example of the mode of computation which we meet with among the ancients, where, in speaking of the period of a revolution, both the time preceding and that following the interval are included.

[151] The division of the planets into superior and inferior was not known to Aristotle, De Mundo, cap. ii. p. 602, to Plato, Timæus, p. 318, 319, or the older Greek astronomers. It was first made by the Egyptians, and was transferred from them to the Romans. It is one of the points in which our author differs from Aristotle. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 242 _et seq._ Marcus notices the various points which prove the deficiency of Pliny’s knowledge of astronomy; he

## particularizes the four following:—his ignorance of the true situation

of the constellations; his erroneous opinion respecting the cause of the seasons; his account of the phases of the moon, and of the position of the cardinal points. He appears not to have been aware, that certain astronomical phænomena undergo a regular progression, but supposed that they remained, at the time when he wrote, in the same state as in the age of Hipparchus or the original observers. Columella, when treating on these subjects, describes the phænomena according to the ancient calculation, but he informs us, that he adopts it, because it was the one in popular use, and better known by the farmers (De Re Rust. ix. 14), while Pliny appears not to have been aware of the inaccuracy.

[152] “Modo solem antegrediens, modo subsequens.” Hardouin in Lemaire, ii. 243.

[153] It was not known to the earlier writers that Lucifer and Vesper were the same star, differently situated with respect to the Sun. Playfair remarks, that Venus is the only planet mentioned in the sacred writings, and in the most ancient poets, such as Hesiod and Homer; Outlines, ii. 156.

[154] There has been much discussion among the commentators respecting the correctness of the figures in the text; according to the æra of the olympiads, the date referred to will be between the years 750 and 754 B.C.; the foundation of Rome is commonly referred to the year 753 B.C. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 278, 9.

[155] Aristotle informs us, that it was called either Phosphorus, Juno, or Venus; De Mundo, cap. 2. t. i. p. 602. See also Hyginus, Poet. Astr. lib. iii. p. 76, 7; and Apuleius, De Mundo, § 710.

[156] It will be scarcely necessary to refer the reader to the well-known commencement of Lucretius’s poem for the illustration of this passage; it is remarkable that Pliny does not refer to this writer.

[157] The periodical revolution of Venus is 224·7 days, see note [142], p. 27. Its greatest elongation is 47° 1′; Somerville, § 641. p. 391.

[158] According to Aristotle, this planet had the three appellations of Stilbon, Mercury, and Apollo; De Mundo, cap. 2. p. 602; see also Apuleius, De Mundo, § 710. Cicero inverts the order of the planets; he places Mercury next to Mars, and says of Venus, that it is “infima quinque errantium, terræque proxima;” De Nat. Deor. ii. 53. Aristotle places the stars in the same order, _ubi supra_, and he is followed in this by Apuleius, _ubi supra_; this appears to have been the case with the Stoics generally; see Enfield’s Phil. i. 339.

[159] For the periodical revolution of Mercury see note[142], p. 27. Its greatest elongation, according to Playfair, p. 160, is 28°. Mrs. Somerville, p. 386, states it to be 28° 8′. Ptolemy supposed it to be 26·5 degrees; Almagest, ix. 7. We learn from Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 246, that there is considerable variation in the MSS. with respect to the greatest elongation of Mercury.

[160] Sosigenes was an Egyptian mathematician and astronomer, who is said to have assisted Cæsar in the formation of his Kalendar, as our author informs us in a subsequent part of his work, xviii. 25; see also Aikin, Gen. Biog., _in loco_; Enfield’s Phil. ii. 96; Whewell, p. 210; and Hardouin’s “Index Auctorum,” in Lemaire, i. 213.

[161] Concerning the “magnus annus” Cicero remarks, “efficitur cum solis et lunæ et quinque errantium ad eandem inter se comparationem, confectis omnibus spatiis, est facta conversio.” De Nat. Deor. ii. 51. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 281-3.

[162] For the various appellations which the moon has received in the ancient and modern languages, and their relation to each other, the reader is referred to the learned remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 283-5.

[163] Marcus conceives that the epithet _maculosa_ does not refer to what are called the spots on the moon, but to the circumstance of the edge of the disc being not illuminated when it is near the full; Ajasson, ii. 286. But, from the way in which the word is employed at the end of the chapter, and from the explanation which is given of the cause of the “maculæ,” I think it ought to be referred to the spotted appearance of the face of the moon.

[164] “Quum laborare non creditur.” It was a vulgar notion among the ancients, that when the moon is eclipsed, she is suffering from the influence of magicians and enchanters, who are endeavouring to draw her down to the earth, in order to aid them in their superstitious ceremonies. It was conceived that she might be relieved from her sufferings by loud noises of various kinds which should drown the songs of the magicians. Allusion is frequently made to this custom by the ancient poets, as Virgil, Æn. i. 742, Manilius, i. 227, and Juvenal, vi. 444; and the language has been transferred to the moderns, as in Beattie’s Minstrel, ii. 47, “To ease of fancied pangs the labouring moon.”

[165] We have some interesting remarks by Marcus respecting Endymion, and also on the share which Solon and Thales had in correcting the lunar observations; Ajasson, ii. 288-290.

[166] “Lucem nobis aperuere in hac luce.”

[167] “Cardo.”

[168] Astronomers describe two different revolutions or periods of the moon; the synodical and the sidereal. The synodical marks the time in which the moon passes from one conjunction with the sun to the next conjunction, or other similar position with respect to the sun. The sidereal period is the time in which the moon returns to the same position with respect to the stars, or in which it makes a complete revolution round the earth. These numbers are, for the synodical period, 29ᵈ 12ʰ 44ᵐ 2·87ˢ, and for the sidereal, 27ᵈ 7ʰ 43ᵐ 11·5ˢ; Herschel, pp. 213, 224.

[169] Our author, as Marcus remarks, “a compté par nombres ronds;” Ajasson, ii. 291; the correct number may be found in the preceding note.

[170] It was a general opinion among the ancients, and one which was entertained until lately by many of the moderns, that the moon possessed the power of evaporating the water of the ocean. This opinion appears to have been derived, at least in part, from the effect which the moon produces on the tides.

[171] “quantum ex sole ipsa concipiat;” from this passage, taken singly, it might be concluded, that the author supposed the quantity of light received by the moon to differ at different times; but the succeeding sentence seems to prove that this is not the case; see the remarks of Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 249. Marcus, however, takes a different view of the subject; Ajasson, ii. 291, 292. He had previously pointed out Pliny’s opinion respecting the phases of the moon, as one of the circumstances which indicate his ignorance of astronomy, _ut supra_, ii. 245, 246.

[172] This doctrine is maintained by Seneca, Quæst. Nat. lib. ii. § 5. p. 701, 702. From the allusion which is made to it by Anacreon, in his 19th ode, we may presume that it was the current opinion among the ancients.

[173] I may remark, that Poinsinet, in this passage, substitutes “umbra” for “umbræque,” contrary to the authority of all the MSS., merely because it accords better with his ideas of correct reasoning. Although it may be of little consequence in this particular sentence, yet, as such liberties are not unfrequently taken, I think it necessary to state my opinion, that this mode of proceeding is never to be admitted, and that it has proved a source of serious injury to classical literature. In this account of the astronomical phenomena, as well as in all the other scientific dissertations that occur in our author, my aim has been to transfer into our language the exact sense of the original, without addition or correction. Our object in reading Pliny is not to acquire a knowledge of natural philosophy, which might be better learned from the commonest elementary work of the present day, but to ascertain what were the opinions of the learned on such subjects when Pliny wrote. I make this remark, because I have seldom if ever perused a translation of any classical author, where, on scientific topics, the translator has not endeavoured, more or less, to correct the mistakes of the original, and to adapt his translation to the state of modern science.

[174] The terms here employed are respectively _interventus_, _objectio_, and _interpositus_; it may be doubted whether the author intended to employ them in the precise sense which is indicated by their etymology.

[175] “metæ et turbini inverso.” The _metæ_ were small pyramids placed at the two extremities of the spina, or central division of the circus: see Montfaucon, v. iii. p. 176; Adam, p. 341.

[176] The eclipses of the moon are only visible when the spectator is so situated as to be able to observe the shadow of the earth, or is on that side of the earth which is turned from the sun.

[177] “non semper in scrupulis partium congruente siderum motu.” On the term _scrupulus_ Hardouin remarks, “Scrupuli, nodi sunt, in quibus circuli, quos in suo cursu Sol et Luna efficiunt, se mutuo secant.” Lemaire, ii. 251. Ptolemy, Magn. Const. vi. 6-11, gives a full and generally correct account of the principal phænomena of eclipses.

[178] Marcus conceives that our author must here mean, not the actual, but the apparent size of these bodies; Ajasson, ii. 295; but I do not perceive that the text authorizes this interpretation.

[179] I have given the simple translation of the original as it now stands in the MSS.; whether these may have been corrupted, or the author reasoned incorrectly, I do not venture to decide. The commentators have, according to their usual custom, proposed various emendations and explanations, for which I may refer to the note of Hardouin in Lemaire, ii. 252, with the judicious remarks of Alexandre, and to those of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 295-298, who appear to me to take a correct view of the subject.

[180] Alexandre remarks, “Hinc tamen potius distantia quam magnitudo Solis colligi potest.” Lemaire, ii. 252. And the same remark applies to the two next positions of our author.

[181] Alexandre remarks on the argument of our author, perhaps a little too severely, “Absurde dictum; nam aliis oritur, aliis occidit, dum aliis est a vertice; quod vel pueri sentiunt.” Lemaire, ii. 253. But we may suppose, that Pliny, in this passage, only meant to say, that as the sun became vertical to each successive part of the equinoctial district, no shadows were formed in it.

[182] The commentators have thought it necessary to discuss the question, whether, in this passage, Pliny refers to the Ida of Crete or of Asia Minor. But the discussion is unnecessary, as the statement of the author is equally inapplicable to both of them. Mela appears to refer to this opinion in the following passage, where he is describing the Ida of Asia Minor; “ipse mens ... orientem solem aliter quam in aliis terris solet aspici, ostentat.” lib. i. cap. 18.

[183] “Ut dictum est superiore capite, quo Plinius falso contendit Terram esse Luna minorem.” Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 253. The words of the text, however, apply equally to the comparative size of the earth and the sun, as of the earth and the moon.

[184] “turbo rectus;” literally an upright top.

[185] “meta.”

[186] This has been pointed out as one of our author’s erroneous opinions on astronomy. The earth is really about 1/30 nearer the sun in our winters than in our summers. The greater degree of heat produced by his rays in the latter case depends upon their falling on the surface of the earth less obliquely. This is the principal cause of the different temperatures of the equatorial and polar regions.

[187] This eclipse is calculated to have occurred on the 28th of June, 168 B.C.; Brewster’s Encyc. “Chronology,” p. 415, 424. We have an account of this transaction in Livy, xliv. 37, and in Plutarch, Life of Paulus Æmilius, Langhorne’s trans. ii. 279; he however does not mention the name of Gallus. See also Val. Maximus, viii. 11. 1, and Quintilian, i. 10. Val. Maximus does not say that Gallus predicted the eclipse, but explained the cause of it when it had occurred; and the same statement is made by Cicero, De Repub. i. 15. For an account of Sulpicius, see Hardouin’s Index auctorum, Lemaire, i. 214.

[188] An account of this event is given by Herodotus, Clio, § 74. There has been the same kind of discussion among the commentators, respecting the dates in the text, as was noticed above, note [154], p. 29: see the remarks of Brotier and of Marcus in Lemaire and Ajasson, _in loco_. Astronomers have calculated that the eclipse took place May 28th, 585 B.C.; Brewster, _ut supra_, pp. 414, 419.

[189] Hipparchus is generally regarded as the first astronomer who prosecuted the science in a regular and systematic manner. See Whewell, C. 3. p. 169 _et seq._, 177-179. He is supposed to have made his observations between the years 160 and 125 B.C. He made a catalogue of the fixed stars, which is preserved in Ptolemy’s Magn. Const. The only work of his now extant is his commentary on Aratus; it is contained in Petau’s Uranologie. We find, among the ancients, many traces of their acquaintance with the period of 600 years, or what is termed the great year, when the solar and lunar phænomena recur precisely at the same points. Cassini, Mem. Acad., and Bailly, Hist. Anc. Astron., have shown that there is an actual foundation for this opinion. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 302, 303.

[190] Seneca, the tragedian, refers to this superstitious opinion in some beautiful verses, which are given to the chorus at the termination of the fourth act of the Thyestes.

[191] We have an account of this event in Thucydides, Smith’s trans. ii. 244, and in Plutarch, Langhorne’s trans. iii. 406. It is calculated to have happened Aug. 27th, 413 B.C.; Brewster, _ut supra_, p. 415, 421.

[192] The elegant lines of Ovid, in his Fasti, i. 297 _et seq._, express the same sentiment: “Felices animos, quibus hoc cognoscere primis,” &c.

[193] I have already remarked upon the use of this term as applied to the eclipses of the moon in note [164], p. 31.

[194] According to the remarks of Marcus, it appears probable that this sol-lunar period, as it has been termed, was discovered by the Chaldeans; Ajasson, ii. 306, 307.

[195] “coitus.”

[196] “Hoc enim periodo (223 mensium) plerumque redeunt eclipses, non multum differentes, denis tamen gradibus zodiaci antecedentes;” Kepler, as quoted by Alexandre, in Lemaire, ii. 238.

[197] The terms “sub terra” and “superne” are interpreted, by most of the commentators, below and above the horizon respectively; see Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 307.

[198] “globo terræ obstante convexitatibus mundi.” The term _convexus_, as applied to the heavens, or visible firmament, simply signifies _arched_; not opposed to _concave_, like the English word _convex_.

[199] This point is discussed by Ptolemy, Magn. Const. vi. 6; “De distantia eclipticorum mensium.” See also the remarks of Hardouin in Lemaire, ii. 260, 261; and of Poinsinet, i. 67.

[200] These are styled horizontal eclipses; they depend on the refractive power of the atmosphere, causing the sun to be visible above the horizon, although it is actually below it. Brotier states, that eclipses of this description occurred on the 17th July, 1590, on the 30th November, 1648, and on the 16th January, 1660; Lemaire, ii. 260.

[201] This is supposed to have been in the year 72 of our æra, when it is said that the sun was eclipsed, in Italy, on the 8th, and the moon on the 22nd of February; see Hardouin and Alexandre, in Lemaire, ii. 261.

[202] In a subsequent part of the work, xviii. 75, the author gives a different rate of increase, viz. 51-1/2 minutes; neither of these numbers is correct; the mean rate of increase being, according to Alexandre, about 54′ or 55′; Lemaire, ii. 261, 262. See also Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 311-14.

[203] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the effect, as here stated, has no connexion with the supposed cause.

[204] “luminum canonica.”

[205] Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

[206] They are then said, in astronomical language, to rise heliacally.

[207] In the last chapter this distance was stated to be 7 degrees; see the remarks of Alexandre, in Lemaire, ii. 263.

[208] “radiorum ejus contactu reguntur.” The doctrine of the ancient astronomers was, that the motions of the planets are always governed by the rays of the sun, according to its position, attracting or repelling them.

[209] A planet appears to be stationary, _i. e._ to be referred to the same point of the zodiac, when it is so situated with respect to the earth, that a straight line passing through the two bodies forms a tangent to the smaller orbit. The apparent motion of the planets, sometimes direct and at other times retrograde, with their stationary positions, is occasioned by the earth and the planets moving in concentric orbits, with different velocities. One hundred and twenty degrees is the mean distance at which the three superior planets become stationary. We have an elaborate dissertation by Marcus, on the unequal velocities of the planets, and on their stations and retrogradations, as well according to the system of Aristotle as to that of Copernicus; Ajasson, ii. 316 _et seq._ He remarks, and, I conceive, with justice, “... ce n’est pas dans les traités d’astronomie de nos savans que l’on doit puiser les détails destinés à éclaircir le texte des chapitres xii, xiii, xiv et xv du second livre de Pline.... Je ne dis rien des commentaires de Poinsinet, d’Hardouin et d’autres savans peu versés en matière d’astronomie, qui ont fait dire à Pline les plus grandes absurdités.”

[210] “Occasus planetæ vespertinus dicitur, quo die desinit post occasum solis supra horizontem oculis se præbere manifestum;” Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 265. It is then said to set heliacally.

[211] The interpretation of this passage has given rise to much discussion among the commentators and translators; I may refer the reader to the remarks of Poinsinet, i. 70, 71; of Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 266; and of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 328. I conceive the meaning of the author to be, that while the other planets become stationary, when at 120 degrees from the sun, Mars becomes so at 90 degrees, being detained by the rays, which act upon him more powerfully, in consequence of his being nearer to their source.

[212] I may refer to the remarks of Marcus on the respective distances from the sun at which Venus and Mercury become stationary, and when they attain their greatest elongations; Ajasson, ii. 328, 329. According to Ptolemy, Magn. Constr. lib. viii. cap. 7, the evening setting of Venus is at 5° 40′ from the sun, and that of Mercury at 11° 30′.

[213] “Ἁψὶς, ligneus rotæ circulus, ab ἅπτω necto;” Hederic _in loco_. The term is employed in a somewhat different sense by the modern astronomers, to signify the point in the orbit of a planet, when it is either at the greatest or the least distance from the earth, or the body about which it revolves; the former being termed the apogee, aphelion, or the higher apsis; the latter the perigee, perhelion, or lower apsis; Jennings on the Globes, pp. 64, 65.

[214] “mundo.”

[215] “ratione circini semper indubitata.”

[216] In consequence of the precession of the equinoxes these points are continually advancing from W. to E., and are now about 30 degrees from the situation they were in when the observations were first made by the modern astronomers.

[217] Our author here probably refers to the motions of the planets through their epicycles or secondary circles, the centres of which were supposed to be in the peripheries of the primary circles. See Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 270.

[218] It is to this visible appearance of convexity in the heavens that Ovid refers in the story of Phaëton, where he is describing the daily path of the sun; Metam. ii. 63-67.

[219] “quam quod illi subjacet;” under this designation the author obviously meant to include the temperate zones, although it technically applies only to the part between the tropics. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that modern discoveries have shown that this opinion respecting the Arctic zone is not strictly correct.

[220] The breadth of the zodiac, which was limited by the ancients to 12 degrees, has been extended by the modern astronomers to 18, and would require to be much farther extended to include the newly discovered planet. Herschel’s Astronomy, § 254.

[221] There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of the terms employed by our author in describing the course of the planet Mercury through the zodiac; “medio ejus,” “supra,” and “infra.” Hardouin’s comment is as follows: “Duas zodiaci partes seu gradus pererrat, quum ipse per medium incedit signiferum: supra, quum deflectit ad Aquilonem, per quatuor alias ejusdem partes vagatur: infra, quum descendit ad Austrum, discedit duabus.” Lemaire, ii. 271, 272. But Marcus has shown that the opinion of Hardouin is inadmissible and inconsistent with the facts; Ajasson, ii. 338-341. He proposes one, which he conceives to be more correct, but we may probably be led to the conclusion, that the imperfect knowledge and incorrect opinions of our author on these subjects must render it impossible to afford an adequate explanation.

[222] “flexuoso draconum meatu;” Poinsinet remarks, “Les Grecs ... appellaient dragons les bracelets, les hausse-cols, les chainettes, et généralement tout ce qui avait une figure armillaire;” i. 79, 80.

[223] As this remark appears to contradict what was said in the last sentence respecting the sun, we may suspect some error in the text; see Poinsinet, Alexandre, and Marcus, _in loco_.

[224] The following comparative statement is given by Alexandre of the geocentric latitudes of the planets, as assigned by Pliny, and as laid down by the moderns. Lemaire, ii. 273:—

_Pliny._ _Moderns._ Venus 8° 9° 22′ Moon 6 6 0 Mercury 5 6 54 Mars 2 0 1 51 Jupiter 1 30 1 30 Saturn 1 (or 2°) 2 30

[225] It appears from the remark at the end of this chapter, that this explanation applies to the superior planets alone.

[226] It is not easy, as Marcus observes, Ajasson, ii. 341, 345, to comprehend the exact meaning of this passage, or to reconcile it with the other parts of our author’s theory.

[227] “Ecliptica,” called by the moderns the nodes; i. e. the two points where the orbits of the planets cut the ecliptic. See the remarks of Marcus on this term; Ajasson, ii. 345, 346.

[228] We may presume that our author here refers to the apparent motion of the planets, not to their actual acceleration or retardation.

[229] The editors have differed in the reading of this passage; I have followed that of Lemaire.

[230] “incipit detrahi numerus.” According to the explanation of Alexandre, “numerus nempe partium quas certo temporis intervallo emetiuntur.” Lemaire, ii. 275. Marcus remarks in this place, “Dans tout ce chapitre et dans le suivant, Pline a placé dans une correlation de causité, tout ce qu’il croit arriver en même temps; mais il n’a pas prouvé par-là que les phenomènes célestes qui sont contemporains sont engendrés les uns par les autres.” Ajasson, ii. 349.

[231] The hypothesis of Pliny appears to be, that the planets are affected by the rays of the sun, and that according to the angle at which they receive the impulse, they are either accelerated or retarded in their course.

[232] “ex priore triquetro.”

[233] Alexandre supposes, as I conceive justly, that our author, in this passage, only refers to the writings of his own countrymen; Lemaire, ii. 276.

[234] According to Ptolemy, these numbers are respectively 47° 51′ and 24° 3′; the modern astronomers have ascertained them to be 48° and 29°. The least elongations of the planets are, according to Ptolemy, 44° 7′ and 18° 50′, and according to the observations of the moderns, 45° and 16°; Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 354.

[235] I have not translated the clause, “quum sint diversæ stelæ,” as, according to Hardouin, it is not found “in probatissimis codd.,” and appears to have little connexion with the other parts of the sentence; it is omitted by Valpy and Lemaire, but is retained by Poinsinet and Ajasson.

[236] When these inferior planets have arrived at a certain apparent distance from the sun, they are come to the extent of their orbits, as seen from the earth.

[237] “Quum ad illam Solis distantiam pervenerunt, ultra procedere non possunt, deficiente circuli longitudine, id est, amplitudine.” Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 277.

[238] The transits of the inferior planets had not been observed by the ancients.

[239] “utroque modo;” “latitudine et altitudine;” Hardouin in Lemaire, ii. 279.

[240] “Catholica.”

[241] “... quæ (stella Martis) ut maxime excentrica volvitur, motus etiam maxime dissonos habere diu visa est....;” Alexandre in Lemaire, ii. 180.

[242] “... qui numerus sexangulas mundi efficit formas.”

[243] Lynceus was one of the Argonauts and was celebrated for the acuteness of his vision; Val. Flaccus, i. 462 _et seq._

[244] The relative situation of these astronomical phænomena has changed since the time of Pliny, in consequence of the precession of the equinoxes. For an illustration and explanation of the various statements in this chapter I may refer to the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 368-370.

[245] Ptolemy’s account of the colours of the planets is nearly similar to that of our author; “Candidus color Jovialis est, rutilus Martius, flavus Veneris, varius Mercurii;” De Jur. Astrol. ii. 9.

[246] This effect cannot be produced by any of the planets, except perhaps, to a certain extent, by Venus.

[247] “mundi.”

[248] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the method which Pliny employs to explain the different phases of the moon betrays his ignorance, not only of the cause of these particular phænomena, but of the general principles which affect the appearance of the heavenly bodies.

[249] “seminani ambitur orbe.” According to the interpretation of Hardouin, “Orbe non perfecto et absoluto;” “major dimidia, minor plena;” Lemaire, ii. 284.

[250] As Alexandre justly remarks, our author refers here to the aspects only of the planets, not to their phases; ii. 284.

[251] “centrum terræ;” the equator, the part equally distant from the two poles or extremities.

[252] It may be remarked, that the equinoxes did not actually take place at this period in the points mentioned by Pliny, but in the 28th degrees of Pisces and Virgo respectively; he appears to have conformed to the popular opinion, as we may learn from Columella, lib. ix. cap. 14. The degrees mentioned above were those fixed by the Greek astronomers who formed the celestial sphere, and which was about 138 years before the Christian æra. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 246 & 373, 374.

[253] The same remark applies to this as to the former observation.

[254] “siderum.”

[255] The hypothesis of the author is, that the excess of moisture in the orbit of Saturn, and the excess of heat in that of Mars, unite in the orbit of Jupiter and are discharged in the form of thunder.

[256] Alexandre remarks, that Pliny mentions this, not as his own opinion, but that of _many_ persons; for, in chap. 21, he attempts to prove mathematically, that the moon is situated at an equal distance between the sun and the earth; Lemaire, ii. 286.

[257] Marcus remarks upon the inconsistency between the account here given of Pythagoras’s opinion, and what is generally supposed to have been his theory of the planetary system, according to which the sun, and not the earth, is placed in the centre; Enfield’s Philosophy, i. 288, 289. Yet we find that Plato, and many others among the ancients, give us the same account of Pythagoras’s doctrine of the respective distances of the heavenly bodies; Ajasson, ii. 374. Plato in his Timæus, 9. p. 312-315, details the complicated arrangement which he supposes to constitute the proportionate distances of the planetary bodies.

[258] Sulpicius has already been mentioned, in the ninth chapter of this book, as being the first among the Romans who gave a popular explanation of the cause of eclipses.

[259] “Διὰ πασῶν, omnibus tonis contextam harmoniam.” Hardouin in Lemaire, ii. 287.

[260] These appellations appear to have originated from different nations having assumed different notes as the foundation or commencement of their musical scale. The Abbé Barthelemi informs us, that “the Dorians executed the same air a tone lower than the Phrygians, and the latter a tone still higher than the Lydians; hence the denomination of the Dorian, Phrygian, and Lydian modes.” It appears to have been a general practice to employ the lowest modes for the slowest airs; Anacharsis’s Travels, iii. 73, 74.

[261] Hence the passus will be equal to 5 Roman feet. If we estimate the Roman foot at 11·6496 English inches, we shall have the _miliare_ of 8 stadia equal to 1618 English yards, or 142 yards less than an English statute mile. See Adam’s Roman Antiquities, p. 503; also the articles Miliare and Pes in Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities; and for the varieties of the stadium, as employed at different periods and in different countries, see the article Stadium. The stadium which Herodotus employed in measurements of Babylon has been supposed to consist of 490 English feet, while that of Xenophon and Strabo has been estimated at 505; see Ed. Rev. xlviii. 190. The Abbé Barthelemi supposes the stadium to be equal to 604 English feet; Anach. Travels, vii. 284.

[262] There appears to have been two individuals of this name, who have been confounded with each other; the one referred to by Pliny was an astronomer of Alexandria, who flourished about 260 years B.C.; the other was a native of Apamea, a stoic philosopher, who lived about two centuries later; see Aikin’s Biog. _in loco_; also Hardouin’s Index Auctorum, Lemaire, i. 209.

[263] The terms in the original are respectively _nubila_ and _nubes_. The lexicographers and grammarians do not appear to have accurately discriminated between these two words.

[264] The words in the text are “vicies centum millia” and “quinquies millia.”

[265] Archimedes estimated that the diameter of a circle is to its circumference as 1 to 3·1416; Hutton’s Dict. _in loco_. Ptolemy states it to be precisely as 1 to 3; Magn. Const. i. 12.

[266] The author’s reasoning is founded upon the supposition of the length of the sun’s path round the earth being twelve times greater than that of the moon’s; the orbit therefore would be twelve times greater and the radius in the same proportion.

[267] “Non inter Lunam et Saturnum, sed inter Lunam et cœlum affixarum stellarum, medium esse Solem modo dixerat. Quam parum sui meminit!” Alexandre in Lem. i. 291.

[268] “Qui computandi modus plurimum habet verecundiæ et modestiæ, quum ibi sistit, nec ulterius progreditur.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 292.

[269] “... ad Saturni circulum addito Signiferi ipsius intervallo, ...”

[270] We may remark, that our author, for the most part, adopts the opinions of Aristotle respecting comets and meteors of all kinds, while he pays but little attention to those of his contemporary Seneca, which however, on some points, would appear to be more correct. See the remarks of Marcus in Ajasson, ii. 244. Under the title of comets he includes, not only those bodies which are permanent and move in regular orbits, but such as are transient, and are produced from various causes, the nature of which is not well understood. See Aristotle, Meteor. lib. i. cap. 6, 7, and Seneca, Nat. Quæst. lib. 7, and Manilius, i. 807 _et seq._

[271] a κόμη, coma.

[272] a πωγωνίος, barbatus. Most of these terms are employed by Aristotle and by Seneca.

[273] ab ἀκόντιον, jaculum.

[274] a ξίφος, ensis.

[275] a δίσκος, orbis.

[276] a πίθος, dolium. Seneca describes this species as “magnitudo vasti rotundique ignis dolio similis;” Nat. Quæst. lib. i. § 14. p. 964.

[277] a κέρας, cornu.

[278] a λαμπὰς, fax.

[279] ab ἵππος, equus. Seneca mentions the fax, the jaculum, and the lampas among the prodigies that preceded the civil wars; Phars. i. 528 _et seq._

[280] Alexandre remarks, that these dates do not correspond, and adds, “Desperandum est de Pliniana chronologia; nec satis interdum scio, utrum librarios, an scriptorem ipsum incusem,....” Lemaire, i. 295. According to the most approved modern chronology, the middle of the 109th olympiad corresponds to the 211th year of the City.

[281] “errantium modo;” this may mean, that they move in orbits like those of the planets and exhibit the same phænomena, or simply that they change their situation with respect to the fixed stars.

[282] Seneca remarks on this point, “Placet igitur nostris (Stoicis) cometas ... denso aëri creari. Ideo circa Septemtrionem frequentissime apparent, quia illic plurimi est aëris frigor.” Quæst. Nat. i. 7. Aristotle, on the contrary, remarks that comets are less frequently produced in the northern part of the heavens; Meteor. lib. i. cap. 6. p. 535.

[283] _Ubi supra._

[284] See Aristotle, _ut supra_, p. 537.

[285] “Videtur is non cometes fuisse, sed meteorus quidam ignis;” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 296.

[286] Virgil, Geor. i. 488 _et seq._, Manilius, i. 904 _et seq._, and Lucan, i. 526 _et seq._, all speak of the comets and meteors that were observed previous to the civil wars between Pompey and Cæsar. In reference to the existence of a comet about the time of Julius Cæsar, Playfair remarks, that Halley supposed the great comet of 1680 to have been the same that appeared in the year 44 A.C., and again in Justinian’s time, 521 P.C., and also in 1106; Elem. Nat. Phil. ii. 197, 198. See Ptolemy’s Cent. Dict. no. 100, for the opinion, that comets presented an omen especially unfavourable to kings. To this opinion the following passage in the Paradise Lost obviously refers; “And with fear of change perplexes monarchs.”

[287] Seneca refers to the four comets that were seen, after the death of Cæsar, in the time of Augustus, of Claudius, and of Nero; Quæst. Nat. i. 7. Suetonius mentions the comet which appeared previous to the death of Claudius, cap. 46, and Tacitus that before the death of Nero, Ann. xiv. 22.

[288] “A Julio Cæsare. Is enim paulo ante obitum collegium his ludis faciendis instituerat, confecto Veneris templo;” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 299. Jul. Obsequens refers to a “stella crinita,” which appeared during the celebration of these games, cap. 128.

[289] “Hoc est, hora fere integra ante solis occasum;” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 299.

[290] All these circumstances are detailed by Suetonius, in Julio, § 88. p. 178.

[291] “terris.”

[292] Seneca remarks, “... quidam nullos esse cometas existimant, sed species illorum per repercussionem vicinorum siderum,... Quidam aiunt esse quidem, sed habere cursus suos et post certa lustra in conspectum mortalium exire.” He concludes by observing, “Veniet tempus, quo ista quæ nunc latent, in lucem dies extrahat, et longioris diei diligentia;” Nat. Quæst. lib. 7. § 19. p. 807.

[293] For some account of Hipparchus, see note [189], p. 37.

[294] Nothing is known respecting the nature of these instruments, nor have we any means of forming even a conjecture upon the subject.

[295] The terms “faces,” “lampades,” “bolides,” and “trabes,” literally torches, lamps, darts, and beams, which are employed to express different kinds of meteors, have no corresponding words in English which would correctly designate them.

[296] From this account it would appear, that the “fax” was what we term a falling star. “Meteora ista, super cervices nostras transeuntia, diversaque a stellis labentibus, modo aërolithis ascribenda sunt, modo vaporibus incensis aut electrica vi prognata videntur, et quamvis frequentissime recurrant, explicatione adhuc incerta indigent.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 302.

[297] Seneca refers to this meteor; “Vidimus non semel flammam ingenti pilæ specie, quæ tamen in ipso cursu suo dissipata est ... nec Germanici mors sine tali demonstratione fuit;” Nat. Quæst, lib. i. cap. 1. p. 683.

[298] This meteor is mentioned by Dion Cassius, lib. xlv. p. 278, but is described by him as a lampas.

[299] We may presume that the _trabes_ are, for the most part, to be referred to the aurora borealis. _The chasma_ and the appearances described in the twenty-seventh chapter are probably varieties of this meteor. On these phænomena we have the following remarks by Seneca: “Lucem in aëre, seu quamdam albedinem, angustam quidem, sed oblongam, de noctu quandoque visam, sereno cœlo, si parallelo situ sit, Trabem vocant; si perpendiculari, Columnam; si, cum cuspide Bolida, sive Jaculum.” Nat. Quæst. vii. 4, and again, vii. 5, “Trabes autem non transcurrunt nec prætervolant, ut faces, sed commorantur, et in eadem parte cœli collucent.”

[300] Seneca describes this meteor, _ubi supra_, i. 14. “Sunt chasmata, cum aliquando cœli spatium discedit, et flammam dehiscens velut in abdito ostentat. Colores quoque horum omnium plurimi sunt. Quidam ruboris acerrimi, quidam evanidæ et levis flammæ, quidam candidæ lucis, quidam micantes, quidam æquabiliter et sine eruptionibus aut radiis fulvi.” Aristotle’s account of chasmata is contained in his Meteor. lib. i. cap. 5. p. 534.

[301] The meteor here referred to is probably a peculiar form of the aurora borealis, which occasionally assumes a red colour. See the remarks of Fouché, in Ajasson, i. 382.

[302] The doctrine of the author appears to be, that the prodigies are not the cause, but only the indication of the events which succeed them. This doctrine is referred to by Seneca; “Videbimus an certus omnium rerum ordo ducatur, et alia aliis ita complexa sint, ut quod antecedit, aut causa sit sequentium aut signum.” Nat. Quæst. i. 1.

[303] It would appear that, in this passage, two phænomena are confounded together; certain brilliant stars, as, for example, Venus, which have been occasionally seen in the day-time, and the formation of different kinds of halos, depending on certain states of the atmosphere, which affect its transparency.

[304] This occurrence is mentioned by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. i. 2; he enters into a detailed explanation of the cause; also by V. Paterculus, ii. 59, and by Jul. Obsequens, cap. 128. We can scarcely doubt of the reality of the occurrence, as these authors would not have ventured to relate what, if not true, might have been so easily contradicted.

[305] The term here employed is “arcus,” which is a portion only of a circle or “orbis.” But if we suppose that the sun was near the horizon, a portion only of the halo would be visible, or the condition of the atmosphere adapted for forming the halo might exist in one part only, so that a portion of the halo only would be obscured.

[306] The dimness or paleness of the sun, which is stated by various writers to have occurred at the time of Cæsar’s death, it is unnecessary to remark, was a phænomenon totally different from an eclipse, and depending on a totally different cause.

[307] Aristotle, Meteor. lib. iii. cap. 2. p. 575, cap. 6. p. 582, 583, and Seneca, Quæst. Nat. lib. i. § 11, describe these appearances under the title which has been retained by the moderns of παρήλια. Aristotle remarks on their cause as depending on the refraction (ἀνάκλασις) of the sun’s rays. He extends the remark to the production of halos (ἅλως) and the rainbow, _ubi supra_.

[308] This occurrence is referred to by Livy, xli. 21.

[309] This meteor has been named παρασελήνη; they are supposed to depend upon the same cause with the Parhelia. A phænomenon of this description is mentioned by Jul. Obsequens, cap. 92, and by Plutarch, in Marcellus, ii. 360. In Shakspeare’s King John the death of Prince Arthur is said to have been followed by the ominous appearance of five moons.

[310] This phænomenon must be referred to the aurora borealis. See Livy, xxviii. 11. and xxix. 14.

[311] “clypei.”

[312] Probably an aërolite. Jul. Obsequens describes a meteor as “orbis clypei similis,” which was seen to pass from west to east, cap. 105.

[313] “ceu nubilo die.”

[314] It would be difficult to reconcile this phænomenon with any acknowledged atmospherical phenomenon.

[315] Perhaps the phænomena here alluded to ought to be referred to some electric action; but they are stated too generally to admit of our forming more than a conjecture on the subject. Virgil refers to the occurrence of storms of wind after the appearance of a falling star; Geor. i. 265-6.

[316] These phænomena are admitted to be electrical; they are referred to by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. i. 1. This appearance is noticed as of frequent occurrence in the Mediterranean, where it is named the fire of St. Elmo; see Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 311, and Fouché in Ajasson, ii. 382.

[317] Perhaps this opinion may be maintained on the principle, that, when there is a single luminous appearance only, it depends upon the discharge of a quantity of electrical fluid in a condensed state; its effects are, in this case, those that would follow from a stroke of lightning.

[318] This is said by Livy to have occurred to Servius Tullius while he was a child; lib. i. cap. 39; and by Virgil to Ascanius, Æn. ii. 632-5.

[319] “Ut circumagendo balistæ vel fundæ impetus augetur.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 313.

[320] “sed assidue rapta (natura) convolvitur, et circa terram immenso rerum causas globo ostendit, subinde per nubes cœlum aliud obtexens.” On the words “immenso globo,” Alexandre has the following comment: “Immensis cœli fornicibus appicta sidera, dum circumvolvitur, terris ostendit;” and on the words “cœlum aliud,” “obductæ scilicet nubes falsum quasi cœlum vero prætexunt.” Lemaire, i. 313.

[321] The author probably means to speak of all the atmospheric phænomena that have been mentioned above.

[322] Marcus has made some remarks on this subject which may be read with advantage; Ajasson, ii. 245-6.

[323] The diminutive of Sus.

[324] Ab ὕω, pluo.

[325] The Hædi were in the constellation Auriga.

[326] We have the same account of the Oryx in Ælian, lib. vii. cap. 8.

[327] Our author again refers to this opinion, viii. 63, and it was generally adopted by the ancients; but it appears to be entirely unfounded.

[328] “cum tempestatibus confici sidus intelligimus.”

[329] “afflantur.” On this term Hardouin remarks, “Siderantur. Sideratio morbi genus est, partem aliquam corporis, ipsumque sæpe totum corpus percutientis subito: quod quum repentino eveniat impetu, e cœlo vi quadam sideris evenire putatur.” Lemaire, i. 317.

[330] Cicero alludes to these opinions in his treatise De Divin. ii. 33; see also Aul. Gellius, ix. 7.

[331] The heliotropium of the moderns has not the property here assigned to it, and it may be doubted whether it exists in any plant, except in a very slight and imperfect degree: the subject will be considered more fully in a subsequent part of the work, xxii. 29, where the author gives a more particular account of the heliotrope.

[332] “conchyliorum;” this term appears to have been specifically applied to the animal from which the Tyrian dye was procured.

[333] “soricum fibras;” Alexandre remarks on these words, “fibras jecoris intellige, id est, lobos infimos ...;” Lemaire, i. 318; but I do not see any ground for this interpretation.

[334] It does not appear from what source our author derived this number; it is considerably greater than that stated by Ptolemy and the older astronomers. See the remarks of Hardouin and of Brotier; Lemaire. i. 319.

[335] The Vergiliæ or Pleiades are not in the tail of the Bull, according to the celestial atlas of the moderns.

[336] “Septemtriones.”

[337] The doctrine of Aristotle on the nature and formation of mists and clouds is contained in his treatises De Meteor. lib. i. cap. 9. p. 540, and De Mundo, cap. 4. p. 605. He employs the terms ἀτμὶς, νέφος, and νεφέλη, which are translated _vapor_, _nubes_ and _nebula_, respectively. The distinction, however, between the two latter does not appear very clearly marked either in the Greek or the Latin, the two Greek words being indiscriminately applied to either of the Latin terms.

[338] It is doubtful how far this statement is correct; see the remarks of Hardouin, Lem. i. 320.

[339] The words in the original are respectively _fulmen_ and _fulgetrum_; Seneca makes a similar distinction between _fulmen_ and _fulguratio_: “Fulguratio est late ignis explicitus; fulmen est coactus ignis et impetu jactus.” Nat. Quæst. lib. ii. cap. 16. p. 706.

[340] “Præsertim ex tribus superioribus planetis, uti dictum est, cap. 18.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 322.

[341] Our author’s opinion respecting the origin of winds nearly agrees with that of Aristotle; “nihil ut aliud ventus (ἄνεμος) sit, nisi aër multus fluctuans et compressus, qui etiam spiritus (πνεῦμα) appellatur;” De Meteor. This treatise contains a full account of the phænomena of winds. Seneca also remarks, “Ventus est aër fluens;” Nat. Quæst. lib. 3 & 5.

[342] Aristotle informs us, that the winds termed apogæi (ἀπόγαιοι) proceed from a marshy and moist soil; De Mundo, cap. 4. p. 605. For the origin and meaning of the terms here applied to the winds, see the remarks of Hardouin and Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 323.

[343] This is mentioned by Pomp. Mela.

[344] “In domibus etiam multis manu facta inclusa opacitate conceptacula....” Some of the MSS. have _madefacta_ for _manu facta_, and this reading has been adopted by Lemaire; but nearly all the editors, as Dalechamps, Laët, Grovonius, Poincinet and Ajasson, retain the former word.

[345] The terms in the original are “flatus” and “ventus.”

[346] “illos (flatus) statos atque perspirantes.”

[347] “qui non aura, non procella, sed mares appellatione quoque ipsa venti sunt.” This passage cannot be translated into English, from our language not possessing the technical distinction of genders, as depending on the termination of the substantives.

[348] “Septem nimirum errantibus.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 306.

[349] In his account and nomenclature of the winds, Pliny has, for the most part, followed Aristotle, Meteor. lib. ii. cap. 4. pp. 558-560, and cap. 6. pp. 563-565. The description of the different winds by Seneca is not very different, but where it does not coincide with Aristotle’s, our author has generally preferred the former; see Nat. Quæst. lib. 5. We have an account of the different winds, as prevailing at particular seasons, in Ptolemy, De Judiciis Astrol. 1. 9. For the nomenclature and directions of the winds, we may refer to the remarks of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 328 _et seq._

[350] Odyss. v. 295, 296.

[351] In giving names to the different winds, the author designates the points of the compass whence they proceed, by the place where the sun rises or sets, at the different periods of the year. The following are the terms which he employs:—“Oriens æquinoctialis,” the place where the sun rises at the equinox, i. e. the East. “Oriens brumalis,” where he rises on the shortest day, the S.E. “Occasus brumalis,” where he sets on the shortest day, the S.W. “Occasus æquinoctialis,” where he sets at the equinox, the W. “Occasus solstitialis,” where he sets on the longest day, the N.W. “Exortus solstitialis,” where he rises on the longest day, the N.E. “Inter septemtrionem et occasum solstitialem,” between N. and N.W., N.N.W. “Inter aquilonem et exortum æquinoctialem,” between N. and N.E., N.N.E. “Inter ortum brumalem et meridiem,” between S. and S.E., S.S.E. “Inter meridiem et hybernum occidentem,” between S. and S.W., S.S.W.

[352] “Quod sub sole nasci videtur.”

[353] This name was probably derived from the town Vulturnum in Campania.

[354] Seneca informs us, that what the Latins name Subsolanus, is named by the Greeks Ἀφηλιώτης; Quæst. Nat. lib. 5. § 16. p. 764.

[355] “quia favet rebus nascentibus.”

[356] “... semper spirantes frigora Cauri.” Virgil, Geor. iii. 356.

[357] The eight winds here mentioned will bear the following relation to our nomenclature: Septemtrio, N.; Aquilo, N.E.; Subsolanus, E.; Vulturnus, S.E.; Auster, S.; Africus, N.W.; Favonius, W.; and Corus, N.W.

[358] The four winds here mentioned, added to eight others, making, in the whole, twelve, will give us the following card:—

N. Septemtrio. N.N.E. Boreas or Aquilo. E.N.E. Cæcias. E. Apeliotes or Subsolanus. E.S.E. Eurus or Vulturnus. S.S.E. Euronotus or Phœnices. S. Notos or Auster. S.S.W. Libonotos. W.S.W. Libs or Africus. W. Zephyrus or Favonius. W.N.W. Argestes or Corus. N.N.W. Thrascias.

We are informed by Alexandre, Lemaire, i. 330, that there is an ancient dial plate in the Vatican, consisting of twelve sides, in which the names of the twelve winds are given both in Greek and in Latin. They differ somewhat from those given above, both absolutely and relatively; they are as follows:—

Ἀπαρκτίας, Septemtrio. Βορέας, Aquilo. Καικίας, Vulturnus. Ἀφηλιώτης, Solanus. Εὖρος, Eurus. Εὐρόνοτος, Euronotus. Νότος, Auster. Λιβόνοτος, Austroafricus. Λὶψ, Africus. Ζέφυρος, Zephyrus. Ἰάπυξ, Corus. Θρασκίας, Circius.

[359] This wind must have been N.N.W.; it is mentioned by Strabo, iv. 182; A. Gellius, ii. 22; Seneca, Nat. Quæst. v. 17; and again by our author, xvii. 2.

[360] We may learn the opinions of the Romans on the subject of this chapter from Columella, xi. 2.

[361] corresponding to the 8th day of the month.

[362] ... lustro sequenti ...; “tribus annis sequentibus.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 334.

[363] corresponding to the 22nd of February.

[364] a χελιδὼν, hirundo.

[365] This will be either on March 2nd or on February 26th, according as we reckon from December the 21st, the real solstitial day, or the 17th, when, according to the Roman calendar, the sun is said to enter Capricorn.

[366] “quasi Avicularem dixeris.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 334.

[367] Corresponding to the 10th of May.

[368] According to the Roman calendar, this corresponds to the 20th July, but, according to the text, to the 17th. Columella says, that the sun enters Leo on the 13th of the Calends of August; xi. 2.

[369] “quasi præcursores;” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 335. Cicero refers to these winds in one of his letters to Atticus; xiv. 6.

[370] ἐτησίαι, ab ἔτος, annus.

[371] This will be on the 13th of September, as, according to our author, xviii. 24, the equinox is on the 24th.

[372] This corresponds to the 11th of November; forty-four days before this will be the 29th of September.

[373] Or Halcyonides. This topic is considered more at length in a subsequent part of the work; x. 47.

[374] The author, as it appears, portions out the whole of the year into fourteen periods, during most of which certain winds are said to blow, or, at least, to be decidedly prevalent. Although the winds of Italy are less irregular than those of England, Pliny has considerably exaggerated the real fact.

[375] On this subject the reader may peruse the remarks of Seneca, Nat. Quæst. v. 18, written in his style of flowery declamation.

[376] The greatest part of the remarks on the nature of the winds, in this chapter, would appear to be taken from Aristotle’s Treatise De Meteor., and it may be stated generally, that our author has formed his opinions more upon those of the Greek writers than upon actual observation.

[377] 9 A.M.

[378] In the last chapter Ornithias is said to be a west wind.

[379] This obviously depends upon the geographical situation of the northern parts of Africa, to which the observation more particularly applies, with respect to the central part of the Continent and the Mediterranean. See the remarks of Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 340.

[380] The influence of the fourth day of the moon is referred to by Virgil, Geor. i. 432 _et seq._ “Sin ortu quarto,” &c.

[381] This refers to the genders of the names of the winds, analogous to the remark in note [346], p. 71.

[382] Eudoxus was a native of Cnidus, distinguished for his knowledge in astrology and science generally; he was a pupil of Plato, and is referred to by many of the ancients; see Hardouin’s Index Auctorum, in Lemaire, i. 187, and Enfield’s Hist. of Phil. i. 412, with the very copious list of references.

[383] “flatus repentini.”

[384] Cicero refers to an opinion very similar to this as maintained by the Stoics; De Div. ii. 44.

[385] “procella.”

[386] “ἐκ νέφους, ex nube, erumpente spiritu.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 343. Perhaps it most nearly corresponds to the term “hurricane.”

[387] a τύφω, incendo, ardeo. We have no distinct term in our language which corresponds to the account of the typhon; it may be considered as a combination of a whirlwind and a hurricane.

[388] Plutarch, Sympos. Quæst. iii. 5, refers to the extraordinary power of vinegar in extinguishing fire, but he ascribes this effect, not to its coldness, but to the extreme tenuity of its parts. On this Alexandre remarks, “Melius factum negassent Plinius et Plutarchus, quam causam inanem rei absurdissimæ excogitarent.” Lemaire, i. 344.

[389] The terms here employed are respectively “turbines,” “presteres,” and “vortices.”

[390] πρηστὴρ, a πρήθω, incendo. Seneca calls it “igneus turbo;” Nat. Quæst. v. 13. p. 762. See also Lucretius, vi. 423.

[391] Plutarch.

[392] A water-spout. We have a description of this phænomenon in Lucretius, vi. 425 _et seq._

[393] “fulmen.”

[394] This has been pointed out by Alexandre, Lemaire, i. 346, as one of the statements made by our author, which, in consequence of his following the Greek writers, applies rather to their climate than to that of Italy. The reader may form a judgement of the correctness of this remark by comparing the account given by Aristotle and by Seneca; the former in Meteor. iii. 1. p. 573, 574, the latter in Nat. Quæst. ii. 32 _et seq._

[395] “fulgur.” The account of the different kinds of thunder seems to be principally taken from Aristotle; Meteor. iii. 1. Some of the phænomena mentioned below, which would naturally appear to the ancients the most remarkable, are easily explained by a reference to their electrical origin.

[396] “quod clarum vocant.”

[397] This account seems to be taken from Aristotle, Meteor. iii. 1. p. 574; see also Seneca, Nat. Quæst. ii. 31. p. 711. We have an account of the peculiar effects of thunder in Lucretius, vi. 227 _et seq._

[398] This effect may be easily explained by the agitation into which the female might have been thrown. The title of “princeps Romanarum,” which is applied to Marcia, has given rise to some discussion among the commentators, for which see the remarks of Hardouin and Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 348.

[399] Sometimes a partial thunder-cloud is formed, while the atmosphere generally is perfectly clear, or, as Hardouin suggests, the effect might have been produced by a volcanic eruption. See Lemaire, i. 348.

[400] Seneca gives us an account of the opinions of the Tuscans; Nat. Quæst. ii. 32; and Cicero refers to the “libri fulgurales” of the Etrurians; De Divin. i. 72.

[401] According to Hardouin, “Summanus est Deus summus Manium, idem Orcus et Pluto dictus.” Lemaire, i. 349; he is again referred to by our author, xxix. 14; Ovid also mentions him, Fast. vi. 731, with the remark, “quisquis is est.”

[402] The city of Bolsena is supposed to occupy the site of the ancient Volsinium. From the nature of the district in which it is situate, it is perhaps more probable, that the event alluded to in the test was produced by a volcanic eruption, attended by lightning, than by a simple thunder-storm.

[403] “Vocant et familiaria ... quæ prima fiunt familiam suam cuique indepto.” This remark is explained by the following passage from Seneca; Nat. Quæst. ii. 47. “Hæc sunt fulmina, quæ primo accepto patrimonio, in novo hominis aut urbis statu fiunt.” This opinion, as well as most of those of our author, respecting the auguries to be formed from thunder, is combated by Seneca; _ubi supra_, § 48.

[404] This opinion is also referred to by Seneca in the following passage; “privata autem fulmina negant ultra decimum annum, publica ultra trigesimum posse deferri;” _ubi supra_.

[405] “in deductione oppidorum;” according to Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 350, “quum in oppida coloniæ deducuntur.”

[406] The following conjecture is not without a degree of probability; “Ex hoc multisque aliis auctorum locis, plerique conjiciunt Etruscis auguribus haud ignotam fuisse vim electricam, licet eorum arcana nunquam divulgata sint.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 350.

[407] Alexandre remarks in this place, “An morbus aliquis fuit, qui primum in agros debacchatus, jam urbi minabatur, forsitan ab aëris siccitate natus, quem advenientes cum procella imbres discusserunt?” Lemaire, i. 350.

[408] For a notice of Piso, see Lemaire, i. 208.

[409] We have an account of the death of Tullus Hostilius in Livy, i. 31.

[410] “ab eliciendo, seu quod precationibus cœlo evocaretur, id nomen traxit.” This is confirmed by the following lines from Ovid, Fast. iii. 327, 328:—

“Eliciunt cœlo te, Jupiter: unde minores Nunc quoque te celebrant, Eliciumque vocant.”

[411] “beneficiis abrogare vires.”

[412] “ictum autem et sonitum congruere, ita modulante natura.” This remark is not only incorrect, but appears to be at variance both with what precedes and what follows.

[413] The following remark of Seneca may be referred to, both as illustrating our author and as showing how much more correct the opinions of Seneca were than his own, on many points of natural philosophy; “... necesse est, ut impetus fulminis et præmittat spiritus, et agat ante se, et a tergo trahat ventum....;” Nat. Quæst. lib. ii. § 20. p. 706.

[414] “quoniam læva parte mundi ortus est.” On this passage Hardouin remarks; “a Deorum sede, quum in meridiem spectes, ad sinistram sunt partes mundi exorientes;” Lemaire, i. 353. Poinsinet enters into a long detail respecting opinions of the ancients on this point and the circumstances which induced them to form their opinions; i. 34 _et seq._

[415] See Cicero de Divin. ii. 42.

[416] “Junonis quippe templum fulmine violatum ostendit non a Jove, non a Deis mitti fulmina.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 354. The consulate of Scaurus was in the year of Rome 638. Lucan, i. 155, and Horace, Od. i. 2. refer to the destruction of temples at Rome by lightning.

[417] Obviously because faint flashes are more visible in the night.

[418] We have an explanation of this peculiar opinion in Tertullian, as referred to by Hardouin, Lemaire. i. 355; “Qui de cœlo tangitur, salvus est, ut nullo igne decinerescat.”

[419] Although it has been thought necessary by M. Fée, in the notes to Ajasson’s trans., ii. 384, 385, to enter into a formal examination of this opinion of the author’s, I conceive that few of our readers will agree with him in this respect.

[420] Suetonius informs us, that Augustus always wore a seal’s skin for this purpose; Octavius, § 90.

[421] The eagle was represented by the ancients with a thunderbolt in its claws.

[422] There is strong evidence for the fact, that, at different times, various substances have fallen from the atmosphere, sometimes apparently of mineral, and, at other times, of animal or vegetable origin. Some of these are now referred to those peculiar bodies termed aërolites, the nature and source of which are still doubtful, although their existence is no longer so. These bodies have, in other instances, been evidently discharged from distant volcanoes, but there are many cases where the substance could not be supposed to have proceeded from a volcano, and where, in the present state of our knowledge, it appears impossible to offer an explanation of their nature, or the source whence they are derived. We may, however, conclude, that notwithstanding the actual occurrence of a few cases of this description, a great proportion of those enumerated by the ancients were either entirely without foundation or much exaggerated. We meet with several variations of what we may presume to have been aërolites in Livy; for example, xxiv. 10, xxx. 38, xli. 9, xliii. 13, and xliv. 18, among many others. As naturally may be expected, we have many narratives of this kind in Jul. Obsequens.

[423] The same region from which lightning was supposed to proceed.

[424] We have several relations of this kind in Livy, xxiv. 10, xxxix. 46 and 56, xl. 19, and xliii. 13. The red snow which exists in certain alpine regions, and is found to depend upon the presence of the Uredo nivalis, was formerly attributed to showers of blood.

[425] This occurrence may probably be referred to an aërolite, while the wool mentioned below, i. e. a light flocculent substance, was perhaps volcanic.

[426]

Armorum sonitum toto Germania cœlo Audiit.—Virgil, Geor. i. 474, 475.

“ ... in Jovis Vicilini templo, quod in Compsano agro est, arma concrepuisse.” Livy, xxiv. 44.

[427] See Plutarch, by Langhorne; Marius, iii. 133.

[428] See Livy, iii. 5 & 10, xxxi. 12, xxxii. 9, _et alibi_.

[429] I have already had occasion to remark, concerning this class of phænomena, that there is no doubt of their actual occurrence, although their origin is still unexplained.

[430] The life of Anaxagoras has been written by Diogenes Laërtius. We have an ample account of him by Enfield in the General Biography, _in loco_; he was born B.C. 500 and died B.C. 428.

[431] There is some variation in the exact date assigned by different authors to this event; in the Chronological table in Brewster’s Encyc. vi. 420, it is said to have occurred 467 B.C.

[432] Aristotle gives us a similar account of this stone; that it fell in the daytime, and that a comet was then visible at night; Meteor. i. 7. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the authority for this fact must be referred entirely to Aristotle, without receiving any additional weight from our author. The occurrence of the comet at the same time with the aërolite must have been entirely incidental.

[433] “Deductis eo sacri lapidis causa colonis, extructoque oppido, cui nomen a colore adusto lapidis, est inditum, Potidæa. Est enim ποτὶ Dorice πρὸς, ad, apud; δαίομαι, uror.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 361. It was situated in the peninsula of Pallene, in Macedonia.

[434] The Vocontii were a people of Gallia Narbonensis, occupying a portion of the modern Dauphiné.

[435] “Manifestum est, radium Solis immissum cavæ nubi, repulsa acie in Solem, refringi.”

[436] Aristotle treats of the Rainbow much in detail, principally in his Meteor. iii. 2, 3, 4, and 5, where he gives an account of the phænomena, which is, for the most part, correct, and attempts to form a theory for them; see especially cap. 4. p. 577 _et seq._ In the treatise De Mundo he also refers to the same subject, and briefly sums up his doctrine with the following remark: “arcus est species segmenti solaris vel lunaris, edita in nube humida, et cava, et perpetua; quam velut in speculo intuemur, imagine relata in speciem circularis ambitûs.” cap. 4. p. 607. Seneca also treats very fully on the phænomena and theory of the Rainbow, in his Nat. Quæst. i. 3-8.

[437] _Vide supra_, also Meteor. iii. 2, and Seneca, Nat. Quæst. i. 3.

[438] Aristotle, Meteor. iii. 5. p. 581, observes, that the rainbow is less frequently seen in the summer, because the sun is more elevated, and that, consequently, a less portion of the arch is visible. See also Seneca, Nat. Quæst. i. 8. p. 692.

[439] Aristotle treats at some length of dew, snow, and hail, in his Meteor. i. cap. 10, 11 & 12 respectively.

[440] When water is frozen, its bulk is increased in consequence of its assuming a crystalline structure. Any diminution which may be found to have taken place in the bulk of the fluid, when thawed, must be ascribed to evaporation or to some accidental circumstance.

[441] “Velini lacus ... præcipiti cursu in gurgitem subjectum defertur, et illo aquarum lapsu, dispersis in aëra guttis humidis, ... iridis multiplicis phænomenon efficit....” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 365.

[442] We have an example in Martial, v. 34. 9, of the imprecation which has been common in all ages:

Mollia nec rigidus cespes tegat ossa, nec illi Terra gravis fueris;

and in Seneca’s Hippolytus, _sub finem_:

... istam terra defossam premat, Gravisque tellus impio capiti incubet.

[443] The author refers to this opinion, xxix. 23, when describing the effects of venomous animals.

[444] inertium; “ultione abstinentium,” as explained by Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 367.

[445] “Quod mortis genus a terræ meritis et benignitate valde abhorret.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 367.

[446] “Terra, inquit, sola est, e quatuor naturæ partibus sive elementis, adversus quam ingrati simus.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 368.

[447] “Est ironiæ formula. Quid, ait, feras et serpentes et venena terræ exprobramus, quæ ne ad tuendam quidem illam satis valent?” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 369.

[448] “ossa vel insepulta cum tempore tellus occultat, deprimentia pondere suo mollitam pluviis humum.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 370.

[449] “figura prima.” I may refer to the second chapter of this book, where the author remarked upon the form of the earth as perfect in all its parts, and especially adapted for its supposed position in the centre of the universe.

[450] “... si capita linearum comprehendantur ambitu;” the meaning of this passage would appear to be: if the extremities of the lines drawn from the centre of the earth to the different parts of the surface were connected together, the result of the whole would be a sphere. I must, however, remark, that Hardouin interprets it in a somewhat different manner; “Si per extremitates linearum ductarum a centro ad _summos_ quosque vertices montium circulus exigatur.” Lemaire, i. 370.

[451] “... immensum ejus globum in formam orbis assidua circa eam mundi volubilitate cogente.” As Hardouin remarks, the word _mundus_ is here used in the sense of _cœlum_. Lemaire, i. 371.

[452] As our author admits of the existence of antipodes, and expressly states that the earth is a perfect sphere, we may conclude that the resemblance to the cone of the pine is to be taken in a very general sense. How far the ancients entertained correct opinions respecting the globular figure of the earth, or rather, at what period this opinion became generally admitted, it is perhaps not easy to ascertain. The lines in the Georgics, i. 242, 243, which may be supposed to express the popular opinion in the time of Virgil, certainly do not convey the idea of a sphere capable of being inhabited in all its parts:

Hic vertex nobis semper sublimis; at illum Sub pedibus Styx atra videt, manesque profundi.

[453] “spiritus vis mundo inclusi.”

[454] “... Alpium vertices, longo tractu, nec breviore quinquaginta millibus passuum assurgere.” To avoid the apparent improbability of the author conceiving of the Alps as 50 miles high, the commentators have, according to their usual custom, exercised their ingenuity in altering the text. See Poinsinet, i. 206, 207, and Lemaire, i. 373. But the expression does not imply that he conceived them as 50 miles in perpendicular height, but that there is a continuous ascent of 50 miles to get to the summit. This explanation of the passage is adopted by Alexandre; Lemaire, _ut supra_. For what is known of Dicæarchus I may refer to Hardouin, Index Auctorum, in Lemaire, i. 181.

[455] “coactam in verticem aquarum quoque figuram.”

[456] “aquarum nempe convexitas.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 374.

[457] “Quam quæ ad extremum mare a primis aquis.” I profess myself altogether unable to follow the author’s mode of reasoning in this paragraph, or to throw any light upon it. He would appear to be arguing in favour of the actual flatness of the surface of the ocean, whereas his previous remarks prove its convexity.

[458] Alexandre remarks on this passage, “Nempe quod remotissimos etiam fontes alat oceanus. Sed omittit Plinius vaporationis intermedia ope hoc fieri.” Lemaire, i. 376. Aristotle has written at considerable length on the origin of springs, in his Meteor. i. 13. p. 543 _et seq._ He argues against the opinion of those who suppose that the water of springs is entirely derived from evaporation. Seneca’s account of the origin of springs is found in his Nat. Quæst. iii. 1.

[459] The voyage which is here alluded to was probably that performed by Drusus; it is mentioned by Dio, lib. iv., Suetonius, Claud. § 1, Vel. Paterculus, ii. 106, and by Tacitus, Germ. § 34.

[460] What is here spoken of we may presume to have been that part of the German Ocean which lies to the N.W. of Denmark; the term Scythian was applied by the ancients in so very general a way, as not to afford any indication of the exact district so designated.

[461] “Sub eodem sidere;” “which lies under the same star.”

[462] The ancients conceived the Caspian to be a gulf, connected with the northern ocean. Our author gives an account of it, vi. 15.

[463] That is, of the Caspian Sea.

[464] The remarks which our author makes upon the Palus Mæotis, in the different parts of his work, ii. 112 and vi. 7, appear so inconsistent with each other, that we must suppose he indiscriminately borrowed them from various writers, without comparing their accounts, or endeavouring to reconcile them to each other. Such inaccuracies may be thought almost to justify the censure of Alexandre, who styles our author, “indiligens plane veri et falsi compilator, et ubi dissentiunt auctores, nunquam aut raro sibi constans.” Lemaire, i. 378.

[465] The son of Agrippa, whom Augustus adopted. Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 378.

[466] See Beloe’s Herodotus, ii. 393, 394, for an account of the voyage round Africa that was performed by the Phœnicians, who were sent to explore those parts by Necho king of Egypt.

[467] It is generally supposed that C. Nepos lived in the century previous to the Christian æra. Ptolemy Lathyrus commenced his reign U.C. 627 or B.C. 117, and reigned for 36 years. The references made to C. Nepos are not found in any of his works now extant.

[468] We have previously referred to Eudoxus, note [382], p. 78.

[469] We have a brief account of Antipater in Hardouin’s Index Auctorum; Lemaire, i. 162.

[470] We are informed by Alexandre that this was in the year of the City 691, the same year in which Cicero was consul; see note in Lemaire, i. 379.

[471] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the account here given must be incorrect; the reader who may be disposed to learn the opinions of the commentators on this point, may consult the notes in Poinsinet and Lemaire _in loco_.

[472] Dividuo globo; “Eoas partes a vespertinis dividente oceano.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 380.

[473] “Jam primum in dimidio computari videtur.”

[474] “Cœlum;” the rigour of the climate.

[475] The division of the globe into five zones is referred to by Virgil, Geor. i. 233-239, and by Ovid, Met. i. 45, 46.

[476] “... interna maria allatrat, ...”

[477] This is considerably more than the distance in the present day. The Isthmus of Suez appears, according to the statement of the most accurate geographers, to be about 70 miles in breadth.

[478] Hæ tot portiones terræ, as Alexandre correctly remarks, “ironice dictum. Quam paucæ enim supersunt!” Lemaire, i. 383.

[479] “Mundi punctus.” This expression, we may presume, was taken from Seneca; “Hoc est illud punctum, quod inter tot gentes ferro et igni dividitur.” Nat. Quæst. i. præf. p. 681.

[480] Nostro solo adfodimus; “addimus, adjungimus, annectimus, ut una fossione aretur.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 383.

[481] “Mundi totius.”

[482] “Æquinoctii paribus horis.”

[483] Dioptra. “Græce διόπτρα, instrumentum est geometricum, _un quart de cercle_, quo apparentes rerum inter se distantiæ anguli apertura dijudicantur.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 384.

[484] This title does not correspond with the contents of the chapter.

[485] “Tropici duo, cum æquinoctiali circulo;” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 384.

[486] The Troglodytice of the ancients may be considered as nearly corresponding to the modern Abyssinia and Nubia.

[487] This remark is incorrect, as far as respects nearly the whole of Egypt; see the remarks of Marcus, in Ajasson, ii. 245.

[488] This is a star of the first magnitude in the southern constellation of Argo; we have a similar statement in Manilius, i. 216, 217.

[489] The commentators suppose that the star or constellation here referred to cannot be the same with what bears this name on the modern celestial atlas; vide Hardouin _in loco_, also Marc. in Ajasson, _ut supra_. The constellation of Berenice’s hair forms the subject of Catullus’s 67th poem.

[490] In Troglodytice and in Egypt.

[491] The first watch of the night was from 6 P.M. to 9; the second from 9 to midnight.

[492] According to Columella, xi. 2. 369, this was 9 Calend. Mart., corresponding to the 21st of February.

[493] “In alia adverso, in alia prono mari.” I have adopted the opinion of Alexandre, who explains the terms “adverso” and “prono,” “ascendenti ad polum,” and “ad austrum devexo;” a similar sense is given to the passage by Poinsinet and Ajasson, in their translations.

[494] “Anfractu pilæ.” See Manilius, i. 206 _et seq._ for a similar mode of expression.

[495] “Aut;” as Poinsinet remarks, “_aut_ est ici pour _alioqui_;” and he quotes another passage from our author, xix. 3, where the word is employed in a similar manner.

[496] We may presume that the author meant to convey the idea, that the eclipses which are visible in any one country are not so in those which are situated under a different meridian. The terms “vespertinos,” “matutinos,” and “meridianos,” refer not to the time of the day, but to the situation of the eclipse, whether recurring in the western, eastern, or southern parts of the heavens.

[497] Brewster, in the art. “Chronology,” p. 415, mentions this eclipse as having taken place Sept. 21st, U.C. 331, eleven days before the battle of Arbela; while, in the same art. p. 423, the battle is said to have taken place on Oct. 2nd, eleven days after a total eclipse of the moon.

[498] It took place on the 30th of April, in the year of the City 811, A.D. 59; see Brewster, _ubi supra_. It is simply mentioned by Tacitus, Ann. xiv. 12, as having occurred among other prodigies which took place at this period.

[499] We have an account of Corbulo’s expedition to Armenia in Dion Cassius, lx. 19-24, but there is no mention of the eclipse or of any peculiar celestial phænomenon.

[500] The terms employed in the original are “oppositu” and “ambitu.” Alexandre’s explanation of the first is, “quum globi terraquei crassitudo interposita solis arcet radios;” and of the second, “quum nostra hujus globi pars a sole ambitur.” Lemaire, i. 389.

[501] One of these towers is mentioned by Livy, xxxiii. 48; it is said to have been situated between Acholla and Thapsus, on the sea-coast.

[502] Hardouin, according to his usual custom, employs all his learning and ingenuity to give a plausible explanation of this passage. Alexandre, as it must be confessed, with but too much reason, remarks, “Frustra desudavit Harduinus ut sanum aliquem sensum ex illis Plinii deliramentis excuteret.” He correctly refers the interval of time, which was said to occur between these signals, not to any astronomical cause, but to the necessary delay which took place in the transmission of them. He concludes, “Sed ad cursum solis hoc referre, dementiæ est. Nam ut tanta horarum differentia intersit, si moram omnem in speculandis ac transmittendis signis sustuleris, necesse erit observatores illos ultimos 135 gradibus, id est, sesquidimidio hemisphærio, a primis distare furribus. Recte igitur incredibilem Plinii credulitatem ludibrio vertit Baylius in Dictionario suo.” Lemaire, i. 389.

[503] The distance, as here stated, is about 150 miles, which he is said to have performed in nine hours, but that the same distance, in returning, required fifteen hours. We have here, as on the former occasion, a note of Hardouin’s to elucidate the statement of the author. On this Alexandre observes, “Optime; sed in tam parva locorum distantia, Elidis et Sicyonis horologia vix quinque unius horæ sexagesimis differre poterant; quare eunti ac redeunti ne discrimen quidem quadrantis horæ intererat. Ineptos igitur auctores sequitur hoc quoque loco Plinius.” Lemaire, i. 390, 391.

[504] “Vincunt spatia nocturnæ navigationis.” This expression would appear to imply, that the author conceived some physical difficulty in sailing during the night, and so it seems to be understood by Alexandre; vide not. _in loco_.

[505] “Vasa horoscopica.” “Vasa horoscopica appellat horologia in plano descripta, horizonti ad libellam respondentia. Vasa dicuntur, quod area in qua lineæ ducebantur, labri interdum instar et conchæ erat, cujus in margine describebantur horæ. Horoscopa, ab ὥρα et σκοπέω, hoc est, ab inspiciendis horis.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 391.

[506] These distances are respectively about 38 and 62 miles.

[507] We are not to expect any great accuracy in these estimates, and we accordingly find, that our author, when referring to the subject in his 6th book, ch. 39, makes the shadow at Ancona 1/35 greater than the gnomon, while, in Venetia, which is more northerly, he says, as in the present chapter, that the shadow and the gnomon are equal in length. See the remarks of M. Alexandre in Lemaire, _ut supra_.

[508] This would be about 625 miles. Strabo, ii. 114, and Lucan, ii. 587, give the same distance, which is probably nearly correct. Syene is, however, a little to the north of the tropic.

[509] This remark is not correct, as no part of this river is between the tropics. For an account of Onesicritus see Lemaire, i. 203, 204.

[510] “In meridiem umbras jaci.” M. Ajasson translates this passage, “les ombres tombent pendant quatre-vingt-dix jours sur le point central du méridien.” ii. 165. But I conceive that Holland’s version is more correct, “for 90 days’ space all the shadows are cast into the south.” i. 36. The remarks of M. Alexandre are to the same effect; “... ut bis solem in zenitho haberet (Ptolemais), Maii mensis et Augusti initio; interea vero, solem e septemtrione haberet.” Lemaire, i. 393.

[511] About 625 miles.

[512] These days correspond to the 8th of May and the 4th of August respectively.

[513] There is considerable uncertainty respecting the identity of this mountain; our author refers to it in a subsequent part of his work, where it is said to be in the country of the Monedes and Suari; vi. 22. See the note of Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 394.

[514] Our author, in a subsequent part of his work, vi. 23, describes the island of Patale as situated near the mouth of the Indus; he again refers to it, xii. 25. His account of the position of the sun does not, however, apply to this place.

[515] If we may suppose this to have been actually the case, we might calculate the time of the year when Alexander visited this place and the length of his stay.

[516] We may presume, that our author means to say no more than that, in those places, they are occasionally invisible; literally the observation would not apply to any part of India.

[517] ἄσκια, shadowless.

[518] If this really were the case, it could have no relation to the astronomical position of the country.

[519] “In contrarium,” contrary to what takes place at other times, _i. e._ towards the south. This observation is not applicable to the whole of this country, as its northern and southern parts differ from each other by seven or eight degrees of latitude. For an account of Eratosthenes see Lemaire, i. 186.

[520] “Hora duodecim in partes, ut as in totidem uncias dividebatur. Octonas igitur partes horæ antiquæ, sive bessem, ut Martianus vocat, nobis probe repræsentant horarum nostratium 40 sexagesimæ, quas minutas vocamus.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 396.

[521] For a notice of Pytheas see Lemaire, i. 210. He was a geographer and historian who lived in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus; but his veracity does not appear to have been highly estimated by his contemporaries.

[522] The Thule of Pliny has been generally supposed to be the Shetland Isles. What is here asserted respecting the length of the day, as well as its distance from Britain, would indeed apply much more correctly to Iceland than to Shetland; but we have no evidence that Iceland was known to the ancients. Our author refers to the length of the day in Thule in two subsequent parts of his work, iv. 30 and vi. 36.

[523] Supposed to be Colchester in Essex; while the Mona of Pliny appears to have been Anglesea. It is not easy to conceive why the author measured the distance of Mona from Camelodunum.

[524] Chap. 6 of this book.

[525] a σκιὰ, umbra, and θηράω, sector. It has been a subject for discussion by the commentators, how far this instrument of Anaximenes is entitled to the appellation of a dial, whether it was intended to mark the hours, or to serve for some other astronomical purpose. See Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 398, 399. It has been correctly remarked by Brotier, that we have an account of a much more ancient dial in the 2nd book of Kings, xx. 9, 11.

[526] A. Gellius, iii. 3, informs us, that the question concerning the commencement of the day was one of the topics discussed by Varro, in his book “Rerum Humanarum:” this work is lost. We learn from the notes of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 399, that there are certain countries in which all these various modes of computation are still practised; the last-mentioned is the one commonly employed in Europe.

[527] It has been supposed, that in this passage the author intended to say no more than that the nights are shorter at the summer solstice than at the other parts of the year; see Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 399, 400. But to this, I conceive, it may be objected, that the words “inter ortus solis” can scarcely apply to the period while the sun is below the horizon, and that the solstices generally would seem to be opposed to the equinoxes generally. Also the words “obliquior” and “rectior” would appear to have some farther reference than merely to the length of time during which the sun is above or below the horizon.

[528] “Vibrato;” the same term is applied by Turnus to the hair of Æneas; Æn. xii. 100.

[529] “Mobilitate hebetes;” it is not easy to see the connexion between these two circumstances.

[530] There is a passage in Galen, De Temperamentis, iii. 6, which may appear to sanction the opinion of our author; “Siccos esse, quibus macra sunt crura; humidos, quibus crassa.”

[531] The latter part of the remark is correct, but the number of ferocious animals is also greater in the warmer regions; there is, in fact, a greater variety in all the productions of nature in the warmer districts of the globe, except in those particular spots where animal or vegetable life is counteracted by some local circumstances, as in many parts of Asia and Africa by the want of water.

[532] “Sensus liquidus;” Alexandre explains this expression, “judicium sanum, mens intelligendo apta.” Lemaire, i. 401.

[533] Saturn, Jupiter and Mars: see the 8th chapter of this book.

[534] “Vel quando meant cum Sole in conjunctione cum eo, vel quando cum eo conveniunt in aspectu, maxime vero in quadrato, qui fit, quum distant a Sole quarta mundi sive cœli parte.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 401.

[535] “Ut urbem et tecta custodirent.” This anecdote is referred to by Cicero, who employs the words “ut urbem et tecta linquerent.” De Divin. i. 112.

[536] This anecdote is also referred to by Cicero, de Div. ii.

[537] It has been observed that earthquakes, as well as other great convulsions of nature, are preceded by calms; it has also been observed that birds and animals generally exhibit certain presentiments of the event, by something peculiar in their motions or proceedings; this circumstance is mentioned by Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8, and by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vi. 12.

[538] It is scarcely necessary to remark, that this supposed resemblance or analogy is entirely without foundation. The phænomena of earthquakes are described by Aristotle, De Mundo, cap. 4, and Meteor. ii. 7 and 8; also by Seneca in various parts of the 6th book of his Quæst. Nat.

[539] On this subject we shall find much curious matter in Aristotle’s Treatise de Mundo, cap. 4.

[540] Poinsinet enters into a long detail of some of the most remarkable earthquakes that have occurred, from the age of Pliny to the period when he wrote, about fifty years ago; i. 249. 2.

[541] See Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8.

[542] See Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8, and Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vi. 13.

[543] “Fervente;” “Fremitum aquæ ferventis imitante.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 404.

[544] The reader will scarcely require to be informed, that many of the remarks in the latter part of this chapter are incorrect. Our author has principally followed Aristotle, whose treatise on meteorology, although abounding in curious details, is perhaps one of the least correct of his works.

[545] This observation is taken from Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8.

[546] Phænomena of this kind have been frequently noticed, and are not difficult of explanation.

[547] “In iisdem;” “Iidem, inquit, putei inclusum terra spiritum libero meatu emittentes, terræ motus avertunt.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 406.

[548] “Quæ pendent.” M. Ajasson translates this passage, “qui sont comme suspendues.” Hardouin’s explanation is, “Structis fornice cameris imposita ædificia intelligit; quod genus camerarum spiramenta plerumque habet non pauca, quibus exeat ad libertatem aer.” Lemaire, i. 407.

[549] Many of these circumstances are referred to by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vi. 30. On the superior security of brick buildings, M. Alexandre remarks, “Muri e lateribus facti difficilius quam cæteri dehiscunt, unde fit ut in urbibus muniendis id constructionum genus plerumque præferatur. Ex antiquæ Italiæ palatiis templisve nihil fere præter immensas laterum moles hodie superest.”

[550] These remarks upon the different kinds of shocks are probably taken from Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8.

[551] This observation is also in Aristotle, ii. 8.

[552] In the year of the city 663; A.C. 90.

[553] In the year of the city 821; A.D. 68.

[554] The continuation of Aufidius Bassus’ history; our author refers to it in the first book.

[555] We have no authentic accounts of this mutual change of place between two portions of land, nor can we conceive of any cause capable of effecting it. Our author mentions this circumstance again in