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to the south, it has been judged, because of the cold and heat of the climate in those places. and especially in the case of Italy; for the air there is temperate in almost every place, since from each side of the north, the Boreas, the Iapyx, and the Caurus winds blow down from the Alps upon all the deep valley lying below the Apennines, and from the direction toward the southwest by the south wind, and not the dry and heavy south wind but the most life-giving of all, such as the great sea stretching alongside toward Gades to the Atlantic makes it, mixing with its cold exhalations the steamy and pestilential heat of the midday south wind. And the most important cause of the country's temperate climate, it is washed on the upper side by the Ionian, and on the lower side by the Tyrrhenian sea. whence the cattle are accustomed to bear young twice a year, and cheese is not lacking "1neither in summer nor in autumn."2 Such things one might say about Italy. 44 And the nature of thunderbolts is varied and not of one kind. For antiquity calls some sooty, others bright, and scepters and fiery whirlwinds. For not all do the same thing. And there are some which also return to the ruptures of the clouds, from where they were also forced out. And some are fiery whirlwinds, others not fiery are hurricanes, and others still more gentle are rain-squalls. Indeed, those borne in a swirl of air are called squalls. For this reason the story attributes the aegis to Zeus, as if intimating that the air is the cause of the storm and the shaking. There are also other forms of thunderbolts; the books call them spirals, because they display a spiral-shaped line as they descend. And in this it is possible to marvel at nature and the inaccessibility of the principles within it. For not all, although all are borne from the air and the swirling of clouds, do the same things. For the one among them called 'bright', which the ancients also call exceptionally 'shining', often having fallen upon a pithos or simply a vessel of wine or water, has left the container unharmed but made the contents disappear. And not least, having fallen into vessels carrying gold or silver, in the same way it melted what was inside, but saved what was outside. And the most wonderful thing of all, the great Apuleius says happened to a pregnant woman, and a woman not unknown, indeed that Marcia who lived with the last Cato. For a thunderbolt, the one called bright or shining, having fallen upon her, kept her herself completely unharmed, but destroyed what was in her so imperceptibly that she herself did not perceive what had happened to what was in her, although it was ready to be born. Such an exceptional power the nature of the bright thunderbolt possesses. 45 To speak generally, among plants the laurel and the fig tree are kept unharmed from thunderbolts and are not struck at all; for these belong to the sun. whence it is also told in myth that Apollo loves the laurel, as does the sun; and being changed into a lion, instead of into fire, he does not destroy the laurel. and among birds, the eagle, and among sea-creatures, the seal; whence the eagle is also the thunderbolt-bearer and is considered to belong to Zeus. and that the seal is unharmed by a strike of lightning, experience has shown as a witness; for the tents of the ships, in which kings sail, are customarily covered with sealskins. And a thunderbolt is accustomed to be buried not more than five feet into the earth, being pushed from above; for the number is most earthy. But there are times when thunderbolts also fall under a clear sky; which if it should happen, one must no longer hunt for the interpretation of what is to come from the sun in the zodiac signs or at least another of the known interpretations, but to declare on the spot an overturning for common affairs, and destruction for the entire place in which such a thing will happen. But Nigidius in his Examination of Dreams hands down another interpretation concerning thunderbolts from the opposite view. for he says that for all in general the striking of scepters is to be deprecated, even if they should happen not to harm, but for those in a dream

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ἐπὶ τὸ νότιον, κέκριται, διὰ τὸ ψυχρὸν καὶ θερμὸν τοῦ κατὰ τοὺς χώρους ἐκείνους καταστήματος. ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς Ἰταλίας ὡς μάλιστα· εὔκρατος γὰρ σχεδὸν παρὰ πᾶν χωρίον ὁ κατ' ἐκείνην ἀήρ, ἀπὸ μὲν ἄρκτου πλευρᾶς ἑκατέρας τῷ βορρᾷ ἰάπυγί τε κώρῳ τε ἐξ Ἄλπεων καταπνεομένης πάσης τῆς ὑποκειμένης τῷ Ἀπεννίνῳ βαθείας, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ πρὸς λίβα νεύματος τῷ νότῳ, καὶ νότῳ οὐ τῷ ξηρῷ καὶ βαρεῖ ἀλλὰ τῷ γονιμωτάτῳ πάντων, οἷον εἶναι τοῦτον ἡ παρήκουσα πρὸς Γάδειρα ἐπὶ τὸ Ἀτλαντικὸν μεγάλη παρασκευάζει θάλασσα, κιρνῶσα ταῖς ψυχραῖς ἀναθυμιάσεσι τὴν ἀτμώδη καὶ λοιμικὴν τοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ νότου θερμότητα. καὶ τὸ δὴ πάντων τῇ χώρᾳ τῆς εὐκρασίας αἰτιώτατον, ἄνωθεν τῷ Ἰονίῳ, κάτωθεν δὲ τῷ Τυρσηνικῷ παρακλύζεται πελάγει. ὅθεν δίς τε τὰ θρέμματα τοῦ ἔτους ἀπογεννᾶν πέφυκε, τυρός τε οὐ λείπει "1οὔτ' ἐν θέρει οὔτ' ἐν ὀπώρῃ."2 τοιαῦτα μὲν ἄν τις περὶ Ἰταλίας εἴποι. 44 ∆ιάφορος δὲ καὶ οὐ μονοειδὴς ἡ τῶν κεραυνῶν φύσις. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ψολόεντας ἡ παλαιότης καλεῖ, τοὺς δὲ ἀργῆτας, σκηπτούς τε καὶ πρηστῆρας. οὐδὲ γὰρ πάντες ταὐτὸ πράττουσιν. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ ἀναστρέφουσι πρὸς τὰς ῥήξεις τῶν νεφῶν, ὅθεν καὶ ἐξεθλίβησαν. καὶ οἱ μὲν διάπυροι πρηστῆρες, οἱ δὲ μὴ πυρώδεις τυφῶνες, οἱ δ' ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀνειμένοι ἐκνεφίαι. αἰγίδες γε μὴν λέγονται οἱ ἐν συστροφῇ ἀέρος φερόμενοι. ταύτῃ αἰγίδα ∆ιὶ περιτίθησιν ὁ λόγος, οἱονεὶ τὸν ἀέρα καταιγίδος καὶ συσσεισμοῦ αἴτιον παραινιττόμενος. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἕτερα σχήματα κεραυνῶν· ἑλικίας αὐτοὺς τὰ βιβλία καλεῖ, ὅτι ἑλικοειδῆ γραμμὴν ἐν τῷ καταφέρεσθαι παραδεικνῦσιν. Ἔστι δὲ θαυμάσαι κἀν τούτῳ τὴν φύσιν καὶ τὸ ἄβατον τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ θεωρημάτων. οὐδὲ γὰρ πάντες καίτοι πάντες ἐξ ἀέρος καὶ συστροφῆς νεφῶν φερόμενοι τὰ αὐτὰ ἀλλήλοις δρῶσιν. ὁ γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς λεγόμενος ἀργής, ὃν καὶ λαμπρὸν ἐξαιρέτως καλοῦσιν οἱ ἀρχαῖοι, πολλάκις ἐμπεσὼν ἐπὶ πίθον ἢ ἄγγος ἁπλῶς ἢ οἴνου ἢ ὕδατος, τὸ μὲν περιέχον ἀπήμαντον τὸ δὲ ἐμπεριεχόμενον ἄφαντον ἐποίησεν. οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ ἐν σκεύεσι χρυσίον ἢ ἀργύριον φέρουσιν ἐμπεσὼν τῷ ἴσῳ τρόπῳ τὰ μὲν ἔνδον ἔτηξε, τὰ δὲ ἔξωθεν ἔσωσε. καὶ τὸ δὴ πάντων θαυμασιώτατον ἐπὶ γυναικὸς ἐγκύμονος συμβῆναί φησιν ὁ μέγας Ἀπουλήιος, καὶ γυναικὸς οὐκ ἠγνοημένης, Μαρκίας δὴ ἐκείνης τῆς Κάτωνι τῷ τελευταίῳ συνοικησάσης. ἐμπεσὼν γὰρ αὐτῇ κεραυνὸς ὁ λεγόμενος ἀργὴς ἤτοι λαμπρὸς αὐτὴν μὲν παντελῶς ἐφύλαξεν ἀβλαβῆ, τὸ δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ διεφόρησεν οὕτως ἀνεπαισθήτως, ὡς μηδὲ αὐτὴν συνιδεῖν ὅ τι γέγονε τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ, καίτοι πρὸς ἔξοδον ἔχον. τοιαύτην μὲν κατ' ἐξαίρετον ἐνέργειαν ἡ τοῦ ἀργῆτος εἴληχε φύσις. 45 Γενικῶς δ' εἰπεῖν, ἀβλαβῶς φυλάττεται ἀπὸ κεραυνῶν καὶ οὐδὲ βάλλεται τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐν μὲν φυτοῖς δάφνη καὶ συκῆ· καὶ γὰρ ἡλίου ταῦτα. ὅθεν καὶ δάφνην φιλεῖν Ἀπόλλων μυθεύεται, οἷον ὁ ἥλιος· καὶ εἰς λέοντα μεταβαλλόμενος, ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰς πῦρ, οὐ φθείρει τὴν δάφνην. ἐν δὲ πτηνοῖς ἀετός, ἐν δὲ ὑγροῖς φώκη· ὅθεν καὶ κεραυνοφόρος ὁ ἀετὸς καὶ ∆ιὸς εἶναι νενόμισται. ἡ δὲ φώκη ὡς ἀπήμαντος ἐπιβολῇ κεραυνοῦ, μάρτυς ἡ πεῖρα ἀποδέδωκε· τῶν γὰρ νεῶν τὰ ἱστία, ἐν αἷς οἱ βασιλεῖς πλέουσι, φωκείοις εἴθισται ἀποδιφθεροῦσθαι δέρμασιν. οὐ πλέον δὲ πέντε ποδῶν κατακρύπτεσθαι κεραυνὸς πέφυκεν εἰς γῆν, ἐξωθούμενος ἄνωθεν· ὁ γὰρ ἀριθμὸς γηϊνώτατος. Ἔστι δ' ὅτε καὶ ὑπ' αἰθρίῳ τῷ ἀέρι πίπτουσι κεραυνοί· ὅπερ εἰ συμβαίη, οὐκέτι τὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς ζῳδίοις ἥλιον ἢ ἑτέραν γοῦν τῶν ἐγνωσμένων δέοι ἑρμηνείαν τοῦ ἐσομένου θηρᾶσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτόθεν ἀποφήνασθαι ἀνατροπὴν μὲν τοῖς κοινοῖς, ἀπώλειαν δὲ τῷ παντελεῖ χωρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τοιοῦτό τι συμβήσεται. Ἄλλην δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ὁ Νιγίδιος ἐν τῇ τῶν Ὀνείρων ἐπισκέψει παραδίδωσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς κεραυνοῖς ἑρμηνείαν. φησὶ γὰρ πᾶσι μὲν καθόλου ἀπευκταίαν εἶναι τὴν τῶν σκηπτῶν φοράν, κἂν εἰ μὴ τυχὸν βλάπτοιεν, τοῖς δ' ὄναρ