46

of the Troglodytes, who, not bearing the sun, live under the ground, and silver in that place is separated from lead and no matter melts away; And otherwise that there are many rivers exposed to the south, of which we see none, even though there are mountains above, flooding in the summer. And Euthymenes the Massaliote says that he sailed through the Atlantic sea, and from there saw the Nile flowing out and that it swells more at that time, when the so-called etesian winds blow; for at that time, he says, the sea is pushed back by the winds, and when these cease, it is calm. And the water of the Atlantic sea is almost sweet, and its creatures are similar to those of the Nile. But Seneca contradicts this opinion, saying that sweet and light water is snatched up by the sun and every sea is salty in every way, and that this is not true at all; for if this were so, the Nile would also rise in winter, and even more, by as much as the force of the winds is more violent; and furthermore, it appears rather muddy and dark blue, which is foreign to sea waters. After him, Diogenes of Apollonia says that when the sun snatches up the moisture, the Nile is drawn from the sea by the dry land; for being porous and perforated by nature, it draws the liquid to itself, and the drier the land of Egypt is, the more it draws the moisture to itself, just as the oil in lamps rushes more to where it is also consumed by the fire. But Herodotus says that the sun draws moisture from all rivers as it traverses the terrestrial southern zone, and in summer, turning towards the north, it draws out the Nile, and for this reason it overflows in the summer. But the Egyptians say that the etesian winds push all the clouds from higher up towards the south, and from there, as heavy rain falls, the Nile gushes forth. Indeed, Ephorus of Cyme in the first of his histories says that Egypt is by nature porous, and each year, with silt brought in by the Nile, it becomes watertight, and the river, like sweat, at the time of the heat, flows down to the lighter and more porous parts. But also Thrasyalces of Thasos says that the etesian winds push back the Nile; for Ethiopia, being girded by mountains higher than those near us, and receiving the clouds pushed by the etesian winds, gives forth the Nile; as also Callisthenes the Peripatetic says in the fourth book of his Hellenica, that he himself campaigned with Alexander of Macedon, and having come to Ethiopia found the Nile flowing down from boundless rains that had occurred there. But also Dicaearchus in his Circuit of the Earth wishes the Nile to overflow from the Atlantic sea. The opinions about it, therefore, are various, but the truth, according to men, is so far nowhere to be found; for according to the oracle, "the truth is in the deep." And Chrestus the Roman says: "In the west there are very great and very high mountains, which separate Libya from Ethiopia, upon their outermost roots the Atlantic sea falls, from where Ethiopia takes its beginning from the west. Under these mountains, then, there are lakes spread out to an infinite breadth; and dwelling near them is a race of men called Fish-eaters, who from the first hour until sunset spend their time in the water and are fed by the fish. Bordering on these are the so-called Man-eaters, a most courageous race of men, with round noses, bent faces, and claws nearly like those of lions. From those lakes, therefore, the river takes its beginnings; for the streams proceeding from them form a covered course. From these lakes, then, which those people call Chaas, flows out a very fine stream and scarcely visible, which into narrow places and partly from different parts falling into its own bed appearance

46

τῶν Τρωγλοδυτῶν, οἵτινες οὐ φέροντες τὸν ἥλιον ὑπὸ τὴν γῆν οἰκοῦσιν, ὅ τε ἄργυρος κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν τόπον ἀπομολυβοῦται καὶ οὐδεμία ὕλη οὐκ ἀποτήκεται· ἄλλως δὲ πολλοὺς εἶναι ποταμοὺς ἐκκειμένους τῷ νότῳ, ὧν οὐδένα ὁρῶμεν καίπερ ὑπερκειμένων ὀρῶν πλημμυροῦντα τῷ θέρει. Εὐθυμένης δὲ ὁ μασσαλιώτης φησὶ διαπλεῦσαι τὴν Ἀτλαντικὴν θάλατταν, ἐξ ἐκείνης τε ἰδεῖν τὸν Νεῖλον ἐκτρέχοντα καὶ τότε μᾶλλον ὀγκοῦσθαι, ὅταν οἱ λεγόμενοι ἐτήσιοι πνέωσι· τότε γάρ φησιν ἐξωθεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων τὴν θάλατταν, τούτων δὲ παυομένων ἡσυχάζειν. γλυκὺ δὲ σχεδὸν τὸ τῆς Ἀτλαντικῆς θαλάττης ὕδωρ, καὶ ὅμοια τὰ ταύτης θηρία τοῖς τοῦ Νείλου. ἀντιλέγει δὲ καὶ ταύτῃ τῇ δόξῃ ὁ Σενέκας φάσκων, τὸ μὲν γλυκὺ καὶ λεπτὸν ὕδωρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀναρπάζεσθαι καὶ τρόποις ἅπασιν ἁλμυρὰν εἶναι πᾶσαν θάλασσαν, καὶ μηδὲν ἀληθὲς εἶναι τοῦτο· εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἦν, καὶ τῷ χειμῶνι ἂν ἐπεδίδου ὁ Νεῖλος, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον, ὅσῳ καὶ βιαιοτέρα ἡ τῶν ἀνέμων φορά· ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἰλυώδης μᾶλλον καὶ κυανοῦς φαίνεται, ὅπερ ἀλλότριον θαλαττίων ὑδάτων. μεθ' ὃν ∆ιογένης ὁ Ἀπολλωνιάτης φησί, τοῦ ἡλίου ἁρπάζοντος τὴν ὑγρότητα, ἕλκεσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς ξηρᾶς τὸν Νεῖλον ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης· σηραγγώδης γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν ὑπάρχουσα καὶ διατετρημένη ἕλκει πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τὸ ὑγρόν, καὶ ὅσῳ μᾶλλον ξηροτέρα ἡ γῆ τῆς Αἰγύπτου, τοσούτῳ πλέον ἕλκει πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τὴν νοτίδα, καθάπερ τὸ ἔλαιον ἐπὶ τῶν λύχνων ἐκεῖσε πλέον ὁρμᾷ, ὅπη καὶ δαπανᾶται ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός. ὁ δὲ Ἡρόδοτος παρὰ πάντων τῶν ποταμῶν ἕλκειν τὸν ἥλιον τὸ ὑγρόν φησι τὴν πρόσγειον νότου ζώνην διατρέχοντα, πρὸς δὲ τῷ θέρει πρὸς βορρᾶν ἐκκλίνοντα ἐκκαλεῖσθαι τὸν Νεῖλον, καὶ διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτὸν ἀναχεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸ θέρος. οἱ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοί φασι, τοὺς ἐτησίους πάσας ἐξ ὑπερτέρου τὰς νεφέλας ἐπὶ τὸν νότον ἐξωθεῖν καὶ ἐκεῖθεν βαρείας καταφερομένης βροχῆς ἀναβλύζειν τὸν Νεῖλον. Ἔφορός γε μὴν ὁ Κυμαῖος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν ἱστοριῶν φησιν, ἀραιὰν εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν τὴν Αἴγυπτον, καὶ κατ' ἔτος ἐπαγομένης ἰλύος ὑπὸ τοῦ Νείλου στεγανοῦσθαι, τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν δίκην ἱδρῶτος κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ καύματος ἐπὶ τὰ κουφότερα καὶ ἀραιότερα καταρρεῖν. ἀλλὰ καὶ Θρασυάλκης ὁ Θάσιος τοὺς ἐτησίους φησὶν ἐξωθεῖν τὸν Νεῖλον· τῆς γὰρ Αἰθιοπίας ὑψηλοῖς παρὰ τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ὄρεσι διεζωσμένης, ὑποδεχομένης τε τὰς νεφέλας πρὸς τῶν ἐτησίων ὠθουμένας ἐκδιδόναι τὸν Νεῖλον· ὡς καὶ Καλλισθένης ὁ Περιπατητικὸς ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ βιβλίῳ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν φησιν, ἑαυτὸν συστρατεύσασθαι Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Μακεδόνι, καὶ γενόμενον ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰθιοπίας εὑρεῖν τὸν Νεῖλον ἐξ ἀπείρων ὄμβρων κατ' ἐκείνην γενομένων καταφερόμενον. ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆ικαίαρχος ἐν περιόδῳ γῆς ἐκ τῆς Ἀτλαντικῆς θαλάττης τὸν Νεῖλον ἀναχεῖσθαι βούλεται. ποικίλαι μὲν οὖν αἱ περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαι, τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς κατὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τέως οὐδαμοῦ· κατὰ γὰρ τὸ λόγιον τὸ δ' ἀτρεκὲς ἐν βαθεῖ ἐστι. Χρῆστος δὲ ὁ Ῥωμαῖός φησιν· «ἐπὶ τῆς δύσεως ὄρη μέγιστα καὶ ὑψηλότατά εἰσιν, ἃ τὴν Λιβύην ἀπὸ τῆς Αἰθιοπίας χωρίζουσι, τούτων ταῖς ἐσχάταις ῥίζαις τὸ Ἀτλαντικὸν ἐπιπῖπτον πέλαγος, ἔνθεν τὴν ἀρχὴν Αἰθιοπία ἀπὸ τῆς δύσεως λαμβάνει. ὑπὸ τοίνυν τούτοις τοῖς ὄρεσι λίμναι εἰσὶν εἰς ἄπειρον πλατύτητος ἡπλωμέναι· παροικεῖ δὲ αὐτὰς γένος ἀνθρώπων τῶν λεγομένων Ἰχθυοφάγων, ὅπερ ἀπὸ πρώτης ὥρας ἄχρι δυσμῶν ἡλίου ἐν τῷ ὕδατι διατρίβει καὶ τοῖς ἰχθύσι τρέφεται. τούτοις ὁμοροῦσιν οἱ λεγόμενοι Ἀνθρωποφάγοι, γένος ἀνθρώπων ἀνδρειότατον, ῥισὶ στρογγύλαις χρώμενον, προσώποις ἐπικαμπέσιν, ὄνυξιν ἐγγὺς λέουσιν ὁμοίοις. ἐκ τῶν λιμνῶν οὖν ἐκείνων τὰς ἀφορμὰς ὁ ποταμὸς λαμβάνει· προϊόντα γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν τὰ ῥεύματα συνηρεφῆ ἀποτελοῦσιν. ἐκ τούτων δὴ τῶν λιμνῶν, ἃς καλοῦσιν ἐκεῖνοι Χαάς, ἐκρεῖ λεπτότατόν τι ῥεῦμα καὶ μόλις ὁρώμενον, ὅπερ εἰς στενοὺς τόπους καὶ κατὰ μέρος ἐκ διαφόρων μερῶν εἰς κοίτην ἰδίαν καταπῖπτον ὄψιν