Chaps. 69-83.

Chap. 69. (69.)—That the Earth Is in the Middle of the World.

It is evident from undoubted arguments, that the earth is in the middle of the universe [“Mundi totius.”], but it is the most clearly proved by the equality of the days and the nights at the equinox [“Æquinoctii paribus horis.”]. It is demonstrated by the quadrant [Dioptra. “Græce διόπτρα, instrumentum est geometricum, un quart de cercle, quo apparentes rerum inter se distantiæ anguli apertura dijudicantur.” Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 384.], which affords the most decisive confirmation of the fact, that unless the earth was in the middle, the days and nights could not be equal; for, at the time of the equinox, the rising and setting of the sun are seen on the same line, and the rising of the sun, at the summer solstice, is on the same line with its setting at the winter solstice; but this could not happen if the earth was not situated in the centre.

Chap. 70. (70.)—Of the Obliquity of the Zones.

The three circles [“Tropici duo, cum æquinoctiali circulo;” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 384.], which are connected with the above-mentioned zones, distinguish the inequalities of the seasons; these are, the solstitial circle, which proceeds from the part of the Zodiac the highest to us and approaching the nearest to the district of the north; on the other side, the brumal, which is towards the south pole; and the equinoctial, which traverses the middle of the Zodiac.

Chap. 71.—Of the Inequality of Climates.

The cause of the other things which are worthy of our admiration depends on the figure of the earth itself, which, together with all its waters, is proved, by the same arguments, to be a globe. This certainly is the cause why the stars of the northern portion of the heavens never set to us, and why, on the other hand, those in the south never rise, and again, why the latter can never be seen by the former, the globe of the earth rising up and concealing them. The Northern Wain is never seen in Troglodytice [The Troglodytice of the ancients may be considered as nearly corresponding to the modern Abyssinia and Nubia.], nor in Egypt, which borders on it [This remark is incorrect, as far as respects nearly the whole of Egypt; see the remarks of Marcus, in Ajasson, ii. 245.]; nor can we, in Italy, see the star Canopus [This is a star of the first magnitude in the southern constellation of Argo; we have a similar statement in Manilius, i. 216, 217.], or Berenice’s Hair [The commentators suppose that the star or constellation here referred to cannot be the same with what bears this name on the modern celestial atlas; vide Hardouin in loco, also Marc. in Ajasson, ut supra. The constellation of Berenice’s hair forms the subject of Catullus’s 67th poem.]; nor what, under the Emperor Augustus, was named Cæsar’s Throne, although they are, there [In Troglodytice and in Egypt.], very brilliant stars. The curved form of the earth is so obvious, rising up like a ridge, that Canopus appears to a spectator at Alexandria to rise above the horizon almost the quarter of a sign; the same star at Rhodes appears, as it were, to graze along the earth, while in Pontus it is not seen at all; where the Northern Wain appears considerably elevated. This same constellation cannot be seen at Rhodes, and still less at Alexandria. In Arabia, in the month of November, it is concealed during the first watch of the night, but may be seen during the second [The first watch of the night was from 6 P.M. to 9; the second from 9 to midnight.]; in Meroë it is seen, for a short time, in the evening, at the solstice, and it is visible at day-break, for a few days before the rising of Arcturus [According to Columella, xi. 2. 369, this was 9 Calend. Mart., corresponding to the 21st of February.]. These facts have been principally ascertained by the expeditions of navigators; the sea appearing more elevated or depressed in certain parts [“In alia adverso, in alia prono mari.” I have adopted the opinion of Alexandre, who explains the terms “adverso” and “prono,” “ascendenti ad polum,” and “ad austrum devexo;” a similar sense is given to the passage by Poinsinet and Ajasson, in their translations.]; the stars suddenly coming into view, and, as it were, emerging from the water, after having been concealed by the bulging out of the globe [“Anfractu pilæ.” See Manilius, i. 206 et seq. for a similar mode of expression.]. But the heavens do not, as some suppose, rise higher at one pole, otherwise [“Aut;” as Poinsinet remarks, “ aut est ici pour alioqui;” and he quotes another passage from our author, xix. 3, where the word is employed in a similar manner.] its stars would be seen from all parts of the world; they indeed are supposed to be higher by those who are nearest to them, but the stars are sunk below the horizon to those who are more remote. As this pole appears to be elevated to those who are beneath it; so, when we have passed along the convexity of the earth, those stars rise up, which appear elevated to the inhabitants of those other districts; all this, however, could not happen unless the earth had the shape of a globe.

Chap. 72.—In What Places Eclipses Are Invisible, and Why This Is the Case.

Hence it is that the inhabitants of the east do not see those eclipses of the sun or of the moon which occur in the evening, nor the inhabitants of the west those in the morning, while such as take place at noon are more frequently visible [We may presume that the author meant to convey the idea, that the eclipses which are visible in any one country are not so in those which are situated under a different meridian. The terms “vespertinos,” “matutinos,” and “meridianos,” refer not to the time of the day, but to the situation of the eclipse, whether recurring in the western, eastern, or southern parts of the heavens.]. We are told, that at the time of the famous victory of Alexander the Great, at Arbela [Brewster, in the art. “Chronology,” p. 415, mentions this eclipse as having taken place Sept. 21st, U.C. 331, eleven days before the battle of Arbela; while, in the same art. p. 423, the battle is said to have taken place on Oct. 2nd, eleven days after a total eclipse of the moon.], the moon was eclipsed at the second hour of the night, while, in Sicily, the moon was rising at the same hour. The eclipse of the sun which occurred the day before the calends of May, in the consulship of Vipstanus and Fonteius [It took place on the 30th of April, in the year of the City 811, A.D. 59; see Brewster, ubi supra. It is simply mentioned by Tacitus, Ann. xiv. 12, as having occurred among other prodigies which took place at this period.], not many years ago, was seen in Campania between the seventh and eighth hour of the day; the general Corbulo informs us, that it was seen in Armenia, between the eleventh and twelfth hour [We have an account of Corbulo’s expedition to Armenia in Dion Cassius, lx. 19-24, but there is no mention of the eclipse or of any peculiar celestial phænomenon.]; thus the curve of the globe both reveals and conceals different objects from the inhabitants of its different parts. If the earth had been flat, everything would have been seen at the same time, from every part of it, and the nights would not have been unequal; while the equal intervals of twelve hours, which are now observed only in the middle of the earth, would in that case have been the same everywhere.

Chap. 73. (71.)—What Regulates the Daylight on the Earth.

Hence it is that there is not any one night and day the same, in all parts of the earth, at the same time; the intervention of the globe producing night, and its turning round producing day [The terms employed in the original are “oppositu” and “ambitu.” Alexandre’s explanation of the first is, “quum globi terraquei crassitudo interposita solis arcet radios;” and of the second, “quum nostra hujus globi pars a sole ambitur.” Lemaire, i. 389.]. This is known by various observations. In Africa and in Spain it is made evident by the Towers of Hannibal [One of these towers is mentioned by Livy, xxxiii. 48; it is said to have been situated between Acholla and Thapsus, on the sea-coast.], and in Asia by the beacons, which, in consequence of their dread of pirates, the people erected for their protection; for it has been frequently observed, that the signals, which were lighted at the sixth hour of the day, were seen at the third hour of the night by those who were the most remote [Hardouin, according to his usual custom, employs all his learning and ingenuity to give a plausible explanation of this passage. Alexandre, as it must be confessed, with but too much reason, remarks, “Frustra desudavit Harduinus ut sanum aliquem sensum ex illis Plinii deliramentis excuteret.” He correctly refers the interval of time, which was said to occur between these signals, not to any astronomical cause, but to the necessary delay which took place in the transmission of them. He concludes, “Sed ad cursum solis hoc referre, dementiæ est. Nam ut tanta horarum differentia intersit, si moram omnem in speculandis ac transmittendis signis sustuleris, necesse erit observatores illos ultimos 135 gradibus, id est, sesquidimidio hemisphærio, a primis distare furribus. Recte igitur incredibilem Plinii credulitatem ludibrio vertit Baylius in Dictionario suo.” Lemaire, i. 389.]. Philonides, a courier of the above-mentioned Alexander, went from Sicyon to Elis, a distance of 1200 stadia, in nine hours, while he seldom returned until the third hour of the night, although the road was down-hill [The distance, as here stated, is about 150 miles, which he is said to have performed in nine hours, but that the same distance, in returning, required fifteen hours. We have here, as on the former occasion, a note of Hardouin’s to elucidate the statement of the author. On this Alexandre observes, “Optime; sed in tam parva locorum distantia, Elidis et Sicyonis horologia vix quinque unius horæ sexagesimis differre poterant; quare eunti ac redeunti ne discrimen quidem quadrantis horæ intererat. Ineptos igitur auctores sequitur hoc quoque loco Plinius.” Lemaire, i. 390, 391.]. The reason is, that, in going, he followed the course of the sun, while on his return, in the opposite direction, he met the sun and left it behind him. For the same reason it is, that those who sail to the west, even on the shortest day, compensate for the difficulty of sailing in the night and go farther [“Vincunt spatia nocturnæ navigationis.” This expression would appear to imply, that the author conceived some physical difficulty in sailing during the night, and so it seems to be understood by Alexandre; vide not. in loco.], because they sail in the same direction with the sun.

Chap. 74. (72.)—Remarks on Dials, as Connected with This Subject.

The same dial-plates [“Vasa horoscopica.” “Vasa horoscopica appellat horologia in plano descripta, horizonti ad libellam respondentia. Vasa dicuntur, quod area in qua lineæ ducebantur, labri interdum instar et conchæ erat, cujus in margine describebantur horæ. Horoscopa, ab ὥρα et σκοπέω, hoc est, ab inspiciendis horis.” Hardouin, in Lemaire, i. 391.] cannot be used in all places, the shadow of the sun being sensibly different at distances of 300, or at most of 500 stadia [These distances are respectively about 38 and 62 miles.]. Hence the shadow of the dial-pin, which is termed the gnomon, at noon and at the summer solstice, in Egypt, is a little more than half the length of the gnomon itself. At the city of Rome it is only 1 / 9 less than the gnomon, at Ancona not more than 1 / 35 less, while in the part of Italy which is called Venetia, at the same hour, the shadow is equal to the length of the gnomon [We are not to expect any great accuracy in these estimates, and we accordingly find, that our author, when referring to the subject in his 6th book, ch. 39, makes the shadow at Ancona 1 / 35 greater than the gnomon, while, in Venetia, which is more northerly, he says, as in the present chapter, that the shadow and the gnomon are equal in length. See the remarks of M. Alexandre in Lemaire, ut supra.].

Chap. 75. (73.)—When and Where There Are No Shadows.

It is likewise said, that in the town of Syene, which is 5000 stadia south of Alexandria [This would be about 625 miles. Strabo, ii. 114, and Lucan, ii. 587, give the same distance, which is probably nearly correct. Syene is, however, a little to the north of the tropic.], there is no shadow at noon, on the day of the solstice; and that a well, which was sunk for the purpose of the experiment, is illuminated by the sun in every part. Hence it appears that the sun, in this place, is vertical, and Onesicritus informs us that this is the case, about the same time, in India, at the river Hypasis [This remark is not correct, as no part of this river is between the tropics. For an account of Onesicritus see Lemaire, i. 203, 204.]. It is well known, that at Berenice, a city of the Troglodytæ, and 4820 stadia beyond that city, in the same country, at the town of Ptolemais, which was built on the Red Sea, when the elephant was first hunted, this same thing takes place for forty-five days before the solstice and for an equal length of time after it, and that during these ninety days the shadows are turned towards the south [“In meridiem umbras jaci.” M. Ajasson translates this passage, “les ombres tombent pendant quatre-vingt-dix jours sur le point central du méridien.” ii. 165. But I conceive that Holland’s version is more correct, “for 90 days’ space all the shadows are cast into the south.” i. 36. The remarks of M. Alexandre are to the same effect; “... ut bis solem in zenitho haberet (Ptolemais), Maii mensis et Augusti initio; interea vero, solem e septemtrione haberet.” Lemaire, i. 393.]. Again, at Meroë, an island in the Nile and the metropolis of the Æthiopians, which is 5000 stadia [About 625 miles.] from Syene, there are no shadows at two periods of the year, viz. when the sun is in the 18th degree of Taurus and in the 14th of Leo [These days correspond to the 8th of May and the 4th of August respectively.]. The Oretes, a people of India, have a mountain named Maleus [There is considerable uncertainty respecting the identity of this mountain; our author refers to it in a subsequent part of his work, where it is said to be in the country of the Monedes and Suari; vi. 22. See the note of Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 394.], near which the shadows in summer fall towards the south and in winter towards the north. The seven stars of the Great Bear are visible there for fifteen nights only. In India also, in the celebrated sea-port Patale [Our author, in a subsequent part of his work, vi. 23, describes the island of Patale as situated near the mouth of the Indus; he again refers to it, xii. 25. His account of the position of the sun does not, however, apply to this place.], the sun rises to the right hand and the shadows fall towards the south. While Alexander was staying there it was observed, that the seven northern stars were seen only during the early part of the night [If we may suppose this to have been actually the case, we might calculate the time of the year when Alexander visited this place and the length of his stay.]. Onesicritus, one of his generals, informs us in his work, that in those places in India where there are no shadows, the seven stars are not visible [We may presume, that our author means to say no more than that, in those places, they are occasionally invisible; literally the observation would not apply to any part of India.]; these places, he says, are called “Ascia [ἄσκια, shadowless.],” and the people there do not reckon the time by hours [If this really were the case, it could have no relation to the astronomical position of the country.].

Chap. 76. (74.)—-Where This Takes Place Twice in the Year and Where the Shadows Fall in Opposite Directions.

Eratosthenes informs us, that in the whole of Troglodytice, for twice forty-five days in the year, the shadows fall in the contrary direction [“In contrarium,” contrary to what takes place at other times, i. e. towards the south. This observation is not applicable to the whole of this country, as its northern and southern parts differ from each other by seven or eight degrees of latitude. For an account of Eratosthenes see Lemaire, i. 186.].

Chap. 77. (75.)—Where the Days Are the Longest and Where the Shortest.

Hence it follows, that in consequence of the daylight increasing in various degrees, in Meroë the longest day consists of twelve æquinoctial hours and eight parts of an hour [“Hora duodecim in partes, ut as in totidem uncias dividebatur. Octonas igitur partes horæ antiquæ, sive bessem, ut Martianus vocat, nobis probe repræsentant horarum nostratium 40 sexagesimæ, quas minutas vocamus.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 396.], at Alexandria of fourteen hours, in Italy of fifteen, in Britain of seventeen; where the degree of light, which exists in the night, very clearly proves, what the reason of the thing also obliges us to believe, that, during the solstitial period, as the sun approaches to the pole of the world, and his orbit is contracted, the parts of the earth that lie below him have a day of six months long, and a night of equal length when he is removed to the south pole. Pytheas, of Marseilles [For a notice of Pytheas see Lemaire, i. 210. He was a geographer and historian who lived in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus; but his veracity does not appear to have been highly estimated by his contemporaries.], informs us, that this is the case in the island of Thule [The Thule of Pliny has been generally supposed to be the Shetland Isles. What is here asserted respecting the length of the day, as well as its distance from Britain, would indeed apply much more correctly to Iceland than to Shetland; but we have no evidence that Iceland was known to the ancients. Our author refers to the length of the day in Thule in two subsequent parts of his work, iv. 30 and vi. 36.], which is six days’ sail from the north of Britain. Some persons also affirm that this is the case in Mona, which is about 200 miles from Camelodunum [Supposed to be Colchester in Essex; while the Mona of Pliny appears to have been Anglesea. It is not easy to conceive why the author measured the distance of Mona from Camelodunum.], a town of Britain.

Chap. 78. (76.)—Of the First Dial.

Anaximenes the Milesian, the disciple of Anaximander, of whom I have spoken above [Chap. of this book.], discovered the theory of shadows and what is called the art of dialling, and he was the first who exhibited at Lacedæmon the dial which they call sciothericon [a σκιὰ, umbra, and θηράω, sector. It has been a subject for discussion by the commentators, how far this instrument of Anaximenes is entitled to the appellation of a dial, whether it was intended to mark the hours, or to serve for some other astronomical purpose. See Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 398, 399. It has been correctly remarked by Brotier, that we have an account of a much more ancient dial in the 2nd book of Kings, xx. 9, 11.].

Chap. 79. (77.)—Of the Mode in Which the Days Are Computed.

The days have been computed by different people in different ways. The Babylonians reckoned from one sunrise to the next; the Athenians from one sunset to the next; the Umbrians from noon to noon; the multitude, universally, from light to darkness; the Roman priests and those who presided over the civil day, also the Egyptians and Hipparchus, from midnight to midnight [A. Gellius, iii. 3, informs us, that the question concerning the commencement of the day was one of the topics discussed by Varro, in his book “Rerum Humanarum:” this work is lost. We learn from the notes of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 399, that there are certain countries in which all these various modes of computation are still practised; the last-mentioned is the one commonly employed in Europe.]. It appears that the interval from one sunrise to the next is less near the solstices than near the equinoxes, because the position of the zodiac is more oblique about its middle part, and more straight near the solstice [It has been supposed, that in this passage the author intended to say no more than that the nights are shorter at the summer solstice than at the other parts of the year; see Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 399, 400. But to this, I conceive, it may be objected, that the words “inter ortus solis” can scarcely apply to the period while the sun is below the horizon, and that the solstices generally would seem to be opposed to the equinoxes generally. Also the words “obliquior” and “rectior” would appear to have some farther reference than merely to the length of time during which the sun is above or below the horizon.].

Chap. 80. (78.)—Of the Difference of Nations as Depending on the Nature of the World.

To these circumstances we must add those that are connected with certain celestial causes. There can be no doubt, that the Æthiopians are scorched by their vicinity to the sun’s heat, and they are born, like persons who have been burned, with the beard and hair frizzled [“Vibrato;” the same term is applied by Turnus to the hair of Æneas; Æn. xii. 100.]; while, in the opposite and frozen parts of the earth, there are nations with white skins and long light hair. The latter are savage from the inclemency of the climate, while the former are dull from its variableness [“Mobilitate hebetes;” it is not easy to see the connexion between these two circumstances.]. We learn, from the form of the legs, that in the one, the fluids, like vapour, are forced into the upper parts of the body, while in the other, being a gross humour, it is drawn downwards into the lower parts [There is a passage in Galen, De Temperamentis, iii. 6, which may appear to sanction the opinion of our author; “Siccos esse, quibus macra sunt crura; humidos, quibus crassa.”]. In the cold regions savage beasts are produced, and in the others, various forms of animals, and many kinds of birds [The latter part of the remark is correct, but the number of ferocious animals is also greater in the warmer regions; there is, in fact, a greater variety in all the productions of nature in the warmer districts of the globe, except in those particular spots where animal or vegetable life is counteracted by some local circumstances, as in many parts of Asia and Africa by the want of water.]. In both situations the body grows tall, in the one case by the force of fire, and in the other by the nutritive moisture.

In the middle of the earth there is a salutary mixture of the two, a tract fruitful in all things, the habits of the body holding a mean between the two, with a proper tempering of colours; the manners of the people are gentle, the intellect clear [“Sensus liquidus;” Alexandre explains this expression, “judicium sanum, mens intelligendo apta.” Lemaire, i. 401.], the genius fertile and capable of comprehending every part of nature. They have formed empires, which has never been done by the remote nations; yet these latter have never been subjected by the former, being severed from them and remaining solitary, from the effect produced on them by their savage nature.

Chap. 81. (79.)—Of Earthquakes.

According to the doctrine of the Babylonians, earthquakes and clefts of the earth, and occurrences of this kind, are supposed to be produced by the influence of the stars, especially of the three to which they ascribe thunder [Saturn, Jupiter and Mars: see the chapter of this book.]; and to be caused by the stars moving with the sun, or being in conjunction with it, and, more particularly, when they are in the quartile aspect [“Vel quando meant cum Sole in conjunctione cum eo, vel quando cum eo conveniunt in aspectu, maxime vero in quadrato, qui fit, quum distant a Sole quarta mundi sive cœli parte.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 401.]. If we are to credit the report, a most admirable and immortal spirit, as it were of a divine nature, should be ascribed to Anaximander the Milesian, who, they say, warned the Lacedæmonians to beware of their city and their houses [“Ut urbem et tecta custodirent.” This anecdote is referred to by Cicero, who employs the words “ut urbem et tecta linquerent.” De Divin. i. 112.]. For he predicted that an earthquake was at hand, when both the whole of their city was destroyed and a large portion of Mount Taygetus, which projected in the form of a ship, was broken off, and added farther ruin to the previous destruction. Another prediction is ascribed to Pherecydes, the master of Pythagoras, and this was divine; by a draught of water from a well, he foresaw and predicted that there would be an earthquake in that place [This anecdote is also referred to by Cicero, de Div. ii.]. And if these things be true, how nearly do these individuals approach to the Deity, even during their lifetime! But I leave every one to judge of these matters as he pleases. I certainly conceive the winds to be the cause of earthquakes; for the earth never trembles except when the sea is quite calm, and when the heavens are so tranquil that the birds cannot maintain their flight, all the air which should support them being withdrawn [It has been observed that earthquakes, as well as other great convulsions of nature, are preceded by calms; it has also been observed that birds and animals generally exhibit certain presentiments of the event, by something peculiar in their motions or proceedings; this circumstance is mentioned by Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8, and by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vi. 12.]; nor does it ever happen until after great winds, the gust being pent up, as it were, in the fissures and concealed hollows. For the trembling of the earth resembles thunder in the clouds; nor does the yawning of the earth differ from the bursting of the lightning; the enclosed air struggling and striving to escape [It is scarcely necessary to remark, that this supposed resemblance or analogy is entirely without foundation. The phænomena of earthquakes are described by Aristotle, De Mundo, cap. 4, and Meteor. ii. 7 and 8; also by Seneca in various parts of the 6th book of his Quæst. Nat.].

Chap. 82. (80.)—Of Clefts of the Earth.

The earth is shaken in various ways, and wonderful effects are produced [On this subject we shall find much curious matter in Aristotle’s Treatise de Mundo, cap. 4.]; in one place the walls of cities being thrown down, and in others swallowed up by a deep cleft [Poinsinet enters into a long detail of some of the most remarkable earthquakes that have occurred, from the age of Pliny to the period when he wrote, about fifty years ago; i. 249. 2.]; sometimes great masses of earth are heaped up, and rivers forced out, sometimes even flame and hot springs [See Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8.], and at others the course of rivers is turned. A terrible noise precedes and accompanies the shock [See Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8, and Seneca, Nat. Quæst. vi. 13.]; sometimes a murmuring, like the lowing of cattle, or like human voices, or the clashing of arms. This depends on the substance which receives the sound, and the shape of the caverns or crevices through which it issues; it being more shrill from a narrow opening, more hoarse from one that is curved, producing a loud reverberation from hard bodies, a sound like a boiling fluid [“Fervente;” “Fremitum aquæ ferventis imitante.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 404.] from moist substances, fluctuating in stagnant water, and roaring when forced against solid bodies. There is, therefore, often the sound without any motion. Nor is it a simple motion, but one that is tremulous and vibratory. The cleft sometimes remains, displaying what it has swallowed up; sometimes concealing it, the mouth being closed and the soil being brought over it, so that no vestige is left; the city being, as it were, devoured, and the tract of country engulfed. Maritime districts are more especially subject to shocks. Nor are mountainous tracts exempt from them; I have found, by my inquiries, that the Alps and the Apennines are frequently shaken. The shocks happen more frequently in the autumn and in the spring, as is the case also with thunder. There are seldom shocks in Gaul and in Egypt; in the latter it depends on the prevalence of summer, in the former, of winter. They also happen more frequently in the night than in the day. The greatest shocks are in the morning and the evening; but they often take place at day-break, and sometimes at noon. They also take place during eclipses of the sun and of the moon, because at that time storms are lulled. They are most frequent when great heat succeeds to showers, or showers succeed to great heat [The reader will scarcely require to be informed, that many of the remarks in the latter part of this chapter are incorrect. Our author has principally followed Aristotle, whose treatise on meteorology, although abounding in curious details, is perhaps one of the least correct of his works.].

Chap. 83. (81.)—Signs of an Approaching Earthquake.

There is no doubt that earthquakes are felt by persons on shipboard, as they are struck by a sudden motion of the waves, without these being raised by any gust of wind. And things that are in the vessels shake as they do in houses, and give notice by their creaking; also the birds, when they settle upon the vessels, are not without their alarms. There is also a sign in the heavens; for, when a shock is near at hand, either in the daytime or a little after sunset, a cloud is stretched out in the clear sky, like a long thin line [This observation is taken from Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 8.]. The water in wells is also more turbid than usual, and it emits a disagreeable odour [Phænomena of this kind have been frequently noticed, and are not difficult of explanation.].