1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

 7

 8

 9

 10

 11

 12

 13

 14

 15

 16

 17

 18

 19

 20

 21

 22

 23

 24

 25

 26

 27

 28

 29

 30

 31

 32

 33

 34

 35

 36

 37

 38

 39

 40

 41

 42

 43

 44

 45

 46

 47

 48

 49

 50

 51

 52

 53

 54

 55

 56

 57

 58

 59

 60

 61

 62

 63

 64

 65

 66

 67

 68

 69

 70

 71

 72

 73

 74

 75

 76

 77

 78

 79

 80

 81

 82

 83

 84

 85

 86

 87

 88

 89

 90

 91

 92

 93

 94

 95

 96

 97

 98

 99

 100

 101

 102

 103

 104

 105

 106

 107

 108

 109

 110

 111

 112

 113

 114

 115

 116

 117

 118

 119

 120

 121

 122

 123

 124

 125

 126

 127

 128

 129

 130

 131

 132

 133

 134

 135

 136

 137

 138

 139

 140

 141

 142

 143

 144

 145

 146

 147

 148

144

called Gollas, leading out to war, as they say, not less than two thousand elephants and much cavalry; and he also rules over India, oppressing and demanding tribute. At one time, therefore, as they say, wanting to sack an inland city of the Indians, but the city was guarded by water in a circle, he himself, having besieged and guarded it for a sufficient number of days, and having consumed the water by means of the elephants and horses and the army, later, having crossed over on dry land, he took the city. 11.21 These people also love the emerald stone and wear it in their crowns. For the Ethiopians, conducting transactions with the Blemmyes in Ethiopia, bring in the same stone as far as India; and they themselves buy the most beautiful ones. And all these things, some I have explained and described having learned from experience, and others I have related having learned them accurately by being near the places. 11.22 And the local kings of India have elephants, such as the king of Orrhotha and of the Kallianoi and of Sindou and of Sibor and of Male, one has six hundred, another five hundred, each more or less. And the king of Sielediba, both the elephants he has and the horses, he buys the elephants by the cubit—for its height is measured from the ground, and thus he agrees on the cubit, paying, for example, fifty or a hundred nomismata or even more, and they bring him the horses from Persia, and he buys them and honors those who bring them with tax exemption. And the kings on the mainland also tame elephants from the wild and acquire them for the purpose of war. 11.23 And they often have a fight of elephants, with the king watching. For they place between the two a large transverse beam, bound to two other upright beams, reaching as it were to their chests; and many men stand on either side not allowing them to come together with each other and they bring them to fight; and with their trunks they strike each other, until one of them gives up. But the Indian elephants do not have large tusks, but even if they have them, they saw them off because of the weight, so that it does not weigh them down in war. But the Ethiopians do not know how to tame elephants, but if the king should happen to want one or two for a show, they catch small ones and raise them; for their country has a great number of them, and with large tusks; for from Ethiopia tusks are shipped to India and to Persia and to the Homerite country and to Romania. And having received these traditions, I have written them. 11.24 And the Pishon river divides all of India and the Hunnic land. For in Holy Scripture the land of the Indian country is called "Havilah"; for thus it is written in Genesis: "And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden; from there it is divided into four heads; the name of the one is Pishon, this is the one that encompasses the whole land of Havilah; there then is the gold, and the gold of that land is good; there is the carbuncle and the green stone", naming it more clearly the land of Havilah. And this Havilah is from Ham; for thus again it is written: "The sons of Ham, Cush and Mizraim, Phut and Canaan; and the sons of Cush, Seba and Havilah", that is, the Homerites and the Indians; for Seba lies in the Homerite country, and Havilah is in India; for the Persian Gulf divides these two countries. And that land also has gold according to the sacred Writing; it also has the ruby stone, for it calls it carbuncle; it also has jasper, for this it called the green stone. More clearly, therefore, the Holy Scripture, as truly divine, relates the matters, just as the whole treatise shows. 12.t BOOK 12 Still another discourse indicating that many of the ancient pagan authors bear witness to the antiquity of the Holy Scriptures spoken through Moses and the prophets, and that the Greeks appear to have learned later than all others both letters and about the Holy Scriptures, having a rooted unbelief. 12.1 In the Chaldean writings of Berossus and certain others it is written thus, that ten kings reigned among them for two thousand two hundred and forty-two myriads of years. In the time of

144

λεγόμενος Γολλᾶς ἐκβάλλων εἰς πόλεμον, ὥς φασιν, οὐκ ἔλαττον τῶν δισχιλίων ἐλεφάντων καὶ ἵππον πολλήν· κατακρατεῖ δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς καταδυναστεύων καὶ φόρους ἀπαιτῶν. Ποτὲ γοῦν, ὥς φασι, βουλόμενος πόλιν τῶν Ἰνδῶν μεσόγειον πορθῆσαι, τῆς δὲ πόλεως κύκλῳ ὕδατι φρουρουμένης, αὐτὸς ἱκανὰς ἡμέρας περικαθίσας καὶ φρουρήσας καὶ ἀναλώσας τὸ ὕδωρ διὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων καὶ ἵππων καὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, ὕστερον διὰ ξηρᾶς περάσας τὴν πόλιν παρέλαβεν. 11.21 Οὗτοι καὶ τὸν σμάραγδον λίθον ἀγαπῶσι καὶ εἰς τὸν στέφανον αὐτῶν φοροῦσιν. Εἰσφέρουσι γὰρ οἱ Αἰθίοπες συναλλαγὰς ποιοῦντες μετὰ τῶν Βλεμμύων ἐν τῇ Αἰθιοπίᾳ τὸν αὐτὸν λίθον ἕως εἰς τὴν Ἰνδίαν· καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰ καλλιστεύοντα ἀγοράζουσι. Καὶ ταῦτα πάντα, τὰ μὲν πείρᾳ μαθὼν ἐξηγησάμην καὶ διέγραψα, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐγγὺς τῶν τόπων γενόμενος ἀκριβῶς μεμαθηκὼς ἐξεῖπον. 11.22 Οἱ δὲ κατὰ τόπον βασιλεῖς τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἔχουσιν ἐλέφαντας, οἷον ὁ τῆς Ὀρροθᾶ καὶ ὁ Καλλιανῶν καὶ ὁ τῆς Σινδοῦ καὶ ὁ τῆς Σιβὼρ καὶ ὁ τῆς Μαλέ, ὁ μὲν ἑξακόσια, ὁ δὲ πεντακόσια, ἕκαστος πλέον ἢ ἔλαττον. Ὁ δὲ τῆς Σιελεδίβα καὶ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας οὓς ἔχει καὶ τοὺς ἵππους, τοὺς μὲν ἐλέφαντας πηχισμῷ ἀγοράζειμετρεῖται γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν χαμαὶ τὸ ὕψος αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὕτω συμφωνεῖ τῷ πήχει παρέχων, φέρε εἰπεῖν, πεντήκοντα ἢ ἑκατὸν νομίσματα ἢ καὶ πλέον, τοὺς δὲ ἵππους ἀπὸ Περσίδος φέρουσιν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀγοράζει καὶ τιμᾷ ἀτέλειαν τοὺς φέροντας. Οἱ δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν στερεὰν βασιλεῖς ἡμεροῦσιν ἐκ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας καὶ κτῶνται αὐτοὺς εἰς πολεμικὴν χρείαν. 11.23 Συμβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ μάχην ἐλεφάντων πολλάκις, θεωροῦντος τοῦ βασιλέως. Μεσάζουσι γὰρ τοὺς δύο ξύλον μέγα πλάγιον, δεδεμένον εἰς ἄλλα δύο ξύλα ὄρθια, φθάνοντα ὥσπερ εἰς τὸ στῆθος αὐτῶν· καὶ ἵστανται πολλοὶ ἔνθεν κἀκεῖθεν ἄνθρωποι μὴ ἐῶντες αὐτοὺς συμμῖξαι ἀλλήλοις καὶ συμβάλλουσιν αὐτούς· καὶ ταῖς προβοσκίσι τύπτουσιν ἀλλήλους, μέχρι ὁ πρότερος αὐτῶν παραιτήσεται. Ὀδόντας δὲ μεγάλους οἱ ἰνδικοὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐὰν σχῶσι, πρίζουσιν αὐτοὺς διὰ τὸ βάρος, ἵνα μὴ βαρῇ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ. Οἱ δὲ Αἰθίοπες οὐκ ἴσασιν ἡμερῶσαι ἐλέφαντας, ἀλλ' εἰ τύχοι θελῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα ἕνα ἢ δεύτερον πρὸς θέαν, μικροὺς πιάζουσι καὶ ἀνατρέφουσιν· ἔχει γὰρ ἡ χώρα αὐτῶν πλῆθος καὶ μεγάλους ὀδόντας ἔχοντας· ἐκ τῆς γὰρ Αἰθιοπίας καὶ εἰς Ἰνδίαν πλωΐζονται ὀδόντες καὶ ἐν Περσίδι καὶ ἐν τῷ Ὁμηρίτῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ῥωμανίᾳ. Καὶ ταῦτα παρειληφὼς ἔγραψα. 11.24 Πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν Ἰνδικὴν καὶ τὴν Οὐννίαν διαιρεῖ ὁ Φεισὼν ποταμός. Καλεῖται γὰρ παρὰ τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ ἡ γῆ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς χώρας "Εὐιλάτ"· οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται ἐν τῇ Γενέσει· "Ποταμὸς δὲ ἐκπορεύεται ἐξ Ἐδὲμ ποτίζειν τὸν παράδεισον· ἐκεῖθεν ἀφορίζεται εἰς τέσσαρας ἀρχάς· ὄνομα τῷ ἑνὶ Φεισών, οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Εὐιλάτ· ἐκεῖ οὖν ἐστι τὸ χρυσίον, τὸ δὲ χρυσίον τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης καλόν· ἐκεῖ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθραξ καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πράσινος", γῆν Εὐιλὰτ σαφέστερον αὐτὴν ὀνομάσας. Οὗτος δὲ Εὐιλὰτ ἐκ τοῦ Χάμ ἐστιν· οὕτω γὰρ πάλιν γέγραπται· "Υἱοὶ Χάμ, Χοὺς καὶ Μεσραείμ, Φοὺδ καὶ Χαναάν· υἱοὶ δὲ Χούς, Σαβᾶ καὶ Εὐιλάτ", τουτέστιν Ὁμηρῖται καὶ Ἰνδοί· ἡ Σαβᾶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ὁμηρίτῃκεῖται, καὶ Εὐιλὰτ ἐν τῇ Ἰνδίᾳ ἐστί· τὰς δύο γὰρ ταύτας χώρας ὁ Περσικὸς κόλπος διαιρεῖ. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἡ γῆ ἐκείνη τὸ χρυσίον κατὰ τὸ ἱερὸν Γράμμα· ἔχει καὶ τὸν παιδέρωτα λίθον, αὐτὸν γὰρ καλεῖ ἄνθρακα· ἔχει καὶ τὸν ἴασπιν, τοῦτον γὰρ εἶπε λίθον πράσινον. Σαφέστερον οὖν ἡ θεία Γραφή, ὡς ὄντως θεία, διηγεῖται τὰ πράγματα, καθὰ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ πραγματεία δηλοῖ. 12.τ ΛΟΓΟΣ ΙΒʹ Ἔτι ἕτερος λόγος σημαίνων ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν ἀρχαίων συγγραφέων μαρτυροῦσι τῇ ἀρχαιότητι τῶν θείων Γραφῶν τῶν διὰ Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν εἰρημένων, καὶ ὅτι ὕστερον πάντων οἱ Ἕλληνες φαίνονται μεμαθηκότες καὶ γράμματα καὶ περὶ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, ἐρριζωμένην ἔχοντες τὴν ἀπιστίαν. 12.1 Ἐν τοῖς χαλδαϊκοῖς γράμμασι Βηρώσου καὶ ἑτέρων τινῶν γέγραπται οὕτως ὅτι δέκα βασιλεῖς ἐβασίλευσαν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐτῶν μυριάδας δισχιλίας διακοσίας τεσσαράκοντα δύο. Ἐπὶ