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takes from a river. This would be the Nile, which, winding through different climes, passes through wooded and untrodden places, from which the ... thence is poured out onto a plain and is again gathered into the river bed, and then, navigable, it is carried toward Meroë through the uninhabited parts of the south, and flowing around this, makes it an island; for it is all flat. And from there the rest, all enclosed, trends toward the east and to Egypt, and from there to the sea when a stronger wind blows down; for by the force, as has been said, of the north wind the river is driven back and, being poured out more, floods all of Egypt. But when an east wind from the east blows against the Etesian winds, or a south wind from the south pushes the Nile, the river reasonably runs down to the sea—the north wind having gently abated. And this is proof that it does not increase from the melting of snow: that it is not cold, but warm, and for this reason when the water recedes, certain animals are found in the silt, partly formed, and partly monsters. For such things are naturally brought to life by heat and moisture, which is not the case with other waters; for they have only fish. And the others say this by conjecture, but I—says Chrestus—having been at the promontory of Mauretania at the mouth of the Ocean». 4.108 That wherever a range of fire might be burning, the earth in its depth must be cavernous, from which cause come the hot waters. For this reason also the nature of such waters is slimy, since they are also of the sea; but by fire, changing the salty to the nauseous, it becomes both asphalt-like and full of alum and sulfur. †it does not cleanse rather, drying it up somewhat, the fumes of the asphalt being submerged by the greater moisture of the waters. 4.109 Cestius the consular, governor of Jerusalem, by night set up the image of Nero in the temple of the Hebrews, so that Nero might share in the honor with God; but they, being indignant, killed both Cestius himself and all the Romans who were found in the east and openly declared war on the rulers. 4.110 The Romans call vagrants and wanderers errusales; but the common people out of ignorance call them errulli. 4.111 August. It is the sixth from the spring, but the eighth from the festival called Auxiphotia. That it is the sixth from March, one can grasp from the ancient name of this month; for it was named Sextilis after Quintilis; whence those after it up to the tenth do not have a proper name, but one derived from numbers. But it was later renamed August, as some say, by Augustus Caesar because in this month he ended the civil wars, of which Rome then had many, and brought the Romans into concord; and since it is the eighth from January, to this eighth month they assigned the name of the one who was the cause of their concord. For according to the Pythagoreans, the number eight is called concord and persuasion; for it is the first cube, containing the idea of the whole sensible universe, in length and breadth and depth, and it would be well called concord; for in it the odd numbers agreed with the even. But as others say, when Augustus Caesar died in this month, the Romans, in his honor, named the month August. And this Augustus Caesar, son of Octavius, was formerly called Octavian, having become son-in-law to Gaius Julius Caesar through his sister; and after his many great trophies he was honored with many names; for some named him Quirinus, as if Romulus, others Caesar, but by a common vote of the chief priests and the senate, Augustus

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ποταμοῦ λαμβάνει. οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ Νεῖλος, ὅστις ἐπὶ διαφόρων κλιμάτων εἰλούμενος γί νεται διὰ τόπων δασέων καὶ ἀνοδεύτων, ὧν τὰ ... ἐκεῖθεν εἰς ὁμαλὸν ἐκχεῖται καὶ πάλιν εἰς ποταμοῦ κοίτην συνάγεται, καὶ ναυσίπορος λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Μερόην διὰ τῶν ἀοικήτων τοῦ νότου μερῶν φέρεται καὶ ταύτην περιρρέων νῆσον ἀποτελεῖ· ἔστι γὰρ πᾶσα ὁμαλή. κἀκεῖθεν τὸ λοιπὸν ὁ πᾶς ἐγκλειόμενος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνατολὴν ῥέπει καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον, κἀκεῖθεν εἰς θάλασσαν σφοδροτέρου πνεύματος καταπνέοντος· ἐκ τῆς βίας γάρ, ὡς εἴρηται, τοῦ βορείου πνεύματος ἀνακλώμενος ὁ ποταμὸς καὶ μᾶλλον ἀνεκχεόμενος πᾶσαν καταλιμνάζει τὴν Αἴγυπτον. εὔρου δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀνατολῆς τοῖς ἐτησίοις ἀντιπνέοντος ἢ νότου ἀπὸ μεσημβρίας ἐξωθοῦντος τὸν Νεῖλον, εἰκότως ὁ ποταμὸς ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν-λωφήσαντος ἠρέμα τοῦ βορρᾶ- κατατρέχει. κἀκεῖνο δὲ τεκμήριόν ἐστι τοῦ μὴ ἀπὸ τήξεως χιόνων αὔξεσθαι αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐ ψυχρός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ θερμός, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὑπονοστοῦντος τοῦ ὕδατος εὑρίσκεται ἐπὶ τῆς ἰλύος ζωά τινα ἐκ μέρους διαπεπλασμένα καὶ ἐκ μέρους κνώδαλα. πέφυκε δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα θερμότητι καὶ ὑγρότητι ζωογονεῖσθαι, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὑδάτων οὐκ ἔστιν· ἰχθύας γὰρ καὶ μόνους ἔχουσι. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι στοχαζόμενοι λέγουσιν, ἐγὼ δέ-φησὶν ὁ Χρῆστος-γενόμενος ἐν τῷ ἀκροτηρίῳ τῆς Μαυρουσίας ἐν τῷ στομίῳ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ». 4.108 Ὅτι ὅπη ἂν πυρὸς νομὴ καίοιτο, σηραγγώδη ἀνάγκη τυγχάνειν τὴν ἐν βάθει γῆν, ἐξ ἧς αἰτίας τὰ θερμὰ ὕδατα. διὸ καὶ βλεννώδης ἡ φύσις τῶν τοιούτων ὑδάτων, ἐπεὶ καὶ θαλάττια· τῷ δὲ πυρὶ τὸ ἁλμυρὸν ἐπὶ τὸ σικχὸν μεταβάλλουσα ἀσφαλτώδης τε ἅμα καὶ στυπτηρίας καὶ θείου ἔμπλεως γίνεται. †οὐ καθαίρει μᾶλλον ὑποξηραίνουσα τῶν ἀτμῶν τῆς ἀσφάλτου τῇ πλείονι τῶν ὑδάτων ὑγρότητι βυθιζομένων. 4.109 Κέστιος ὁ ὑπατικὸς τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡγούμενος νυκτὸς τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ Νέρωνος ἀνέστησεν ἐν τῷ τῶν Ἑβραίων ἱερῷ, ὥστε κοινωνεῖν τῆς τιμῆς τῷ θεῷ τὸν Νέρωνα· οἱ δὲ ἀγανακτήσαντες αὐτόν τε Κέστιον καὶ πάντας Ῥωμαίους τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς ἀνατολῆς εὑρεθέντας ἀνεῖλον καὶ φανερῶς τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἀνεκήρυξαν τὸν πόλεμον. 4.110 Ἐρρουσάλους Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς ἀλήτας καὶ πλανωμένους καλοῦσιν· οἱ δὲ ἰδιῶται ἐρρούλλους αὐτοὺς ἐξ ἀγνοίας λέγουσιν. 4.111 Αὔγουστος. Ἕπεται δὲ ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἦρος ὁ ἕκτος, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς λεγομένης Αὐξιφωτίας ἑορτῆς ὁ ὄγδοος. ὅτι δὲ ἕκτος ἀπὸ τοῦ Μαρτίου, ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐστι λαβεῖν τῆς ἀρ χαίας τοῦ μηνὸς τούτου προσηγορίας· Σεξτίλιος γὰρ μετὰ τὸν Κυντίλιον ὠνομάζετο· ὅθεν οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν ἄχρι τοῦ δεκάτου οὐ κυρίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀριθμῶν ἕλκουσι προσηγορίαν. Αὔγουστος δὲ ὕστερον μετωνομάσθη, ὡς μέν τινές φασιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ Αὐγούστου Καίσαρος διὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ μηνὶ τούτῳ τοὺς ἐμφυλίους παῦσαι πολέμους, οὓς τότε πολλοὺς εἶχεν ἡ Ῥώμη, καὶ εἰς ὁμόνοιαν τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἤδη καταστῆσαι· καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὄγδοός ἐστιν ἀπὸ Ἰανουαρίου, τούτῳ τῷ ὀγδόῳ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τῆς ὁμονοίας αὐτοῖς αἰτίου ἀνέθεντο. κατὰ γὰρ τοὺς Πυθαγορικοὺς ὁμολογία καὶ πειθὼ ἡ ὀκτὼ καλεῖται· πρῶτος γάρ ἐστι κύβος τὴν τοῦ παντὸς αἰσθητοῦ ἰδέαν περιέχων, κατά τε μῆκος καὶ πλάτος καὶ βάθος, καὶ καλῶς ὁμολογία καλοῖτ' ἄν· ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ τὰ περιττὰ τοῖς ἀρτίοις ὡμολόγησαν. ὡς δὲ ἕτεροί φασι, τοῦ Αὐγούστου Καίσαρος τῷ μηνὶ τούτῳ ἀποθανόντος οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι πρὸς τιμὴν αὐτοῦ Αὔγουστον τὸν μῆνα ὠνόμασαν. καὶ οὗτος δὲ ὁ Αὔγουστος Καῖσαρ, υἱὸς Ὀκταβίου, Ὀκταβιανὸς πρότερον ἐκαλεῖτο, ἐπ' ἀδελφῇ γαμβρὸς γενόμενος Γαίῳ Ἰουλίῳ τῷ Καίσαρι· μετὰ δὲ τὰ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἐκείνου τρόπαια πολλοῖς ὀνόμασιν ἐτιμᾶτο· οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ὠνόμαζον Κυρῖνον οἱονεὶ Ῥωμύλον, ἄλλοι Καίσαρα, ψήφῳ δὲ κοινῇ τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ τῆς βουλῆς Αὔγουστος