6. Survey creation; you will see the power of heat reigning over all that is born and perishes. On account of it comes all the water spread over the earth, as well as that which is beyond our sight and is dispersed in the depths of the earth. On account of it are abundance of fountains, springs or wells, courses of rivers, both mountain torrents and ever flowing streams, for the storing of moisture in many and various reservoirs. From the East, from the winter solstice flows the Indus, the greatest river of the earth, according to geographers. From the middle of the East proceed the Bactrus,  27  Balkh. the Choaspes,  28  Kerak. and the Araxes,  29  Probably the Volga is meant. from which the Tanais  30  Don. detaches itself to fall into the Palus-Mæotis.  31  Sea of Asov. Add to these the Phasis  32  Phaz. which descends from Mount Caucasus, and countless other rivers, which, from northern regions, flow into the Euxine Sea. From the warm countries of the West, from the foot of the Pyrenees, arise the Tartessus  33  Ebro. and the Ister,  34  The Danube. of which the one discharges itself into the sea beyond the Pillars and the other, after flowing through Europe, falls into Euxine Sea. Is there any need to enumerate those which the Ripæan mountains  35  Used vaguely for any mountains in the north of Europe and Asia. Strabo (vii. pp. 295, 299) considers them fabulous. pour forth in the heart of Scythia, the Rhone,  36  A varia lectio is Eridanus. and so many other rivers, all navigable, which after having watered the countries of the western Gauls and of Celts and of the neighbouring barbarians, flow into the Western sea? And others from the higher regions of the South flow through Ethiopia, to discharge themselves some into our sea, others into inaccessible seas, the Ægon  37  Αἰγών is properly the Ægean Sea. the Nyses, the Chremetes,  38  Basil’s geography is bad. He might have improved it by consulting Strabo or Ptolemæus, but has been content to go for his facts to Aristotle (Met. i. 13), whose errors he repeats. Fialon remarks “nouvelle preuve de l’indifférence des cités grecques de l’ Asie pour cet Occident lointain dont elles se séparèrent si facilement.” If this refers to the theological separation it is hardly fair. The East in the 4th c. and 5th c. shewed no indifference to the sympathy of the W., and when the split came the “separation” was not taken “easily.” and above all the Nile, which is not of the character of a river when, like a sea, it inundates Egypt. Thus the habitable part of our earth is surrounded by water, linked together by vast seas and irrigated by countless perennial rivers, thanks to the ineffable wisdom of Him Who ordered all to prevent this rival element to fire from being entirely destroyed.

However, a time will come, when all shall be consumed by fire; as Isaiah says of the God of the universe in these words, “That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers.”  39  Isa. xliv. 27. Reject then the foolish wisdom of this world,  40  Schools of “the wisdom of the world” did, however, teach that the world was a world γενόμενον καὶ φθαρτόν. cf. Lucretius v. 322, “totum nativum mortali corpore constat.” and receive with me the more simple but infallible doctrine of truth.

Περίβλεψαι πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ ὄψει τοῦ θερμοῦ τὴν δύναμιν τοῖς ἐν γενέσει καὶ φθορᾷ πᾶσιν ἐνδυναστεύουσαν. Διὰ τοῦτο πολὺ τὸ ὕδωρ ὑπὲρ γῆς κεχυμένον, καὶ ὑπερέκεινα τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀπενεχθὲν, καὶ προσέτι παντὶ τῷ βάθει τῆς γῆς ἐνεσπαρμένον. Ὅθεν πηγῶν ἀφθονίαι, καὶ φρεάτων σύρροιαι, καὶ ποταμῶν ῥεύματα, χειμάρρων τε καὶ ἀεννάων, ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ ποικίλοις ταμείοις διατηρεῖσθαι τὴν ὑγρασίαν. Ἐκ μέν γε τῆς ἕω, ἀπὸ μὲν χειμερινῶν τροπῶν ὁ Ἰνδὸς ῥεῖ ποταμὸς ῥεῦμα πάντων ποταμίων ὑδάτων πλεῖστον, ὡς οἱ τὰς περιόδους τῆς γῆς ἀναγράφοντες ἱστορήκασιν: ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν μέσων τῆς ἀνατολῆς ὅ τε Βάκτρος, καὶ ὁ Χοάσπης, καὶ ὁ Ἀράξης, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ ὁ Τάναϊς ἀποσχιζόμενος εἰς τὴν Μαιῶτιν ἔξεισι λίμνην. Καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Φάσις τῶν Καυκασίων ὀρῶν ἀπορρέων, καὶ μυρίοι ἕτεροι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρκτῴων τόπων ἐπὶ τὸν Εὔξεινον Πόντον φέρονται. Ἀπὸ δὲ δυσμῶν τῶν θερινῶν ὑπὸ τὸ Πυρηναῖον ὄρος Ταρτησός τε καὶ Ἴστρος: ὧν ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν ἔξω Στηλῶν ἀφίεται θάλασσαν: ὁ δὲ Ἴστρος διὰ τῆς Εὐρώπης ῥέων, ἐπὶ τὸν Πόντον ἐκδίδωσι. Καὶ τί δεῖ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι οὓς αἱ Ῥιπαὶ γεννῶσι, τὰ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐνδοτάτω Σκυθίας ὄρη; Ὧν ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ Ῥοδανὸς μετὰ μυρίων ἄλλων ποταμῶν, καὶ αὐτῶν ναυσιπόρων, οἳ τοὺς ἑσπερίους Γαλάτας καὶ Κελτοὺς, καὶ τοὺς προσεχεῖς αὐτοῖς βαρβάρους παραμειψάμενοι, ἐπὶ τὸ ἑσπέριον πάντες εἰσχέονται πέλαγος. Ἄλλοι ἐκ τῆς μεσημβρίας ἄνωθεν διὰ τῆς Αἰθιοπίας, οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔρχονται θάλασσαν: οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἔξω τῆς πλεομένης ἀποκενοῦνται: ὅ τε Αἰγὼν καὶ ὁ Νύσης καὶ ὁ καλούμενος Χρεμέτης, καὶ πρός γε ἔτι ὁ Νεῖλος, ὃς οὐδὲ ποταμοῖς τὴν φύσιν ἔοικεν, ὅταν ἴσα θαλάσσῃ πελαγίζῃ τὴν Αἴγυπτον. Οὕτως ὁ τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης τόπος ὕδατι περιείληπται, πελάγεσί τε ἀπλέτοις ἐνδεδεμένος καὶ μυρίοις ποταμοῖς ἀεννάοις κατάρρυτος, διὰ τὴν ἄρρητον σοφίαν τοῦ τὴν ἀντίπαλον τῷ πυρὶ φύσιν δυσεξανάλωτον εἶναι οἰκονομήσαντος. Ἔσται μέντοι ὅτε καὶ πάντα καταφρυγήσεται τῷ πυρὶ, ὥς φησιν Ἡσαΐας ἐν οἷς πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν διαλέγεται: Ὁ λέγων τῇ ἀβύσσῳ, ἐρημωθήσῃ, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ποταμούς σου ξηρανῶ. Ὥστε ἀπορρίψας τὴν μωρανθεῖσαν σοφίαν, κατάδεξαι μεθ' ἡμῶν τὸ διδασκάλιον τῆς ἀληθείας, ἰδιωτικὸν μὲν τῷ λόγῳ, ἀδιάπτωτον δὲ κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν.