Chaps. 100-108.

Chap. 100.—Where the Tides Rise and Fall in an Unusual Manner.

There are, however, some tides which are of a peculiar nature, as in the Tauromenian Euripus [The name of Euripus is generally applied to the strait between Bœotia and Eubœa, but our author here extends it to that between Italy and Sicily. A peculiarity in the tide of this strait is referred to by Cicero, De Nat. Deor. iii. 24.], where the ebb and flow is more frequent than in other places, and in Eubœa, where it takes place seven times during the day and the night. The tides intermit three times during each month, being the 7th, 8th and 9th day of the moon [“Æstus idem triduo in mense consistit.” “Consistentia, sive mediocritas aquarum non solum septima die sentitur, sed et octava, ac nona durat,” as Hardouin explains this passage, Lemaire, i. 431.]. At Gades, which is very near the temple of Hercules, there is a spring enclosed like a well, which sometimes rises and falls with the ocean, and, at other times, in both respects contrary to it. In the same place there is another well, which always agrees with the ocean. On the shores of the Bætis [Now called the Guadalquivir.], there is a town where the wells become lower when the tide rises, and fill again when it ebbs; while at other times they remain stationary. The same thing occurs in one well in the town of Hispalis [The modern Seville.], while there is nothing peculiar in the other wells. The Euxine always flows into the Propontis, the water never flowing back into the Euxine [This circumstance is noticed by most of the ancients, as by Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 1; by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. iv. 2; and by Strabo. It has, however, no relation to the tide, but depends upon the quantity of water transmitted into the Euxine by the numerous large rivers that empty themselves into it.].

Chap. 101. (98.)—Wonders of the Sea.

All seas are purified at the full moon [It has been suggested, with some plausibility, that the greater height of the tides at this period will cause a greater quantity of matter to be cast on shore. This circumstance is referred to by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. iii. 26; and by Strabo.]; some also at stated periods. At Messina and Mylæ a refuse matter, like dung [Alexandre observes on this supposed fact, “Algarum molles quædam species intelligendæ sunt, quæ convolutæ et marcidæ in littus ejiciuntur.” Lemaire, i. 432.], is cast up on the shore, whence originated the story of the oxen of the Sun having had their stable at that place. To what has been said above (not to omit anything with which I am acquainted) Aristotle adds, that no animal dies except when the tide is ebbing. The observation has been often made on the ocean of Gaul; but it has only been found true with respect to man [It may cause some surprise to find that such an opinion has been entertained even in modern times; but more correct observation has shown it to be without foundation. Lemaire.].

Chap. 102. (99.)—The Power of the Moon Over the Land and the Sea.

Hence we may certainly conjecture, that the moon is not unjustly regarded as the star of our life [“Spiritus sidus;” “Quod vitalem humorem ac spiritus in corporibus rebusque omnibus varie temperet.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 433.]. This it is that replenishes the earth [“Terras saturet;” as Alexandre interprets it, “succo impleat;” Lemaire.]; when she approaches it, she fills all bodies, while, when she recedes, she empties them. From this cause it is that shell-fish grow with her increase [This circumstance is alluded to by Cicero, De Divin. ii. 33, and by Horace, Sat. ii. 4, 30. It is difficult to conceive how an opinion so totally unfounded, and so easy to refute, should have obtained general credence.], and that those animals which are without blood more particularly experience her influence; also, that the blood of man is increased or diminished in proportion to the quantity of her light; also that the leaves and vegetables generally, as I shall describe in the proper place [Lib. xviii. chap. 75.], feel her influence, her power penetrating all things.

Chap. 103. (100.)—The Power of the Sun.

Fluids are dried up by the heat of the sun; we have therefore regarded it as a masculine star, burning up and absorbing everything [Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 1, remarks, that as the sun is continually evaporating the water of the sea, it must eventually be entirely dried up. But we have reason to believe, that all the water which is evaporated by the solar heat, or any other natural process, is again deposited in the form of rain or dew.].

Chap. 104.—Why the Sea Is Salt.

Hence it is that the widely-diffused sea is impregnated with the flavour of salt, in consequence of what is sweet and mild being evaporated from it, which the force of fire easily accomplishes; while all the more acrid and thick matter is left behind; on which account the water of the sea is less salt at some depth than at the surface. And this is a more true cause of the acrid flavour, than that the sea is the continued perspiration of the land [“Terræ sudor;” according to Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 4: this opinion was adopted by some of the ancients.], or that the greater part of the dry vapour is mixed with it, or that the nature of the earth is such that it impregnates the waters, and, as it were, medicates them [The commentators discuss at considerable length the relative merits of the three hypotheses here proposed, to account for the saltness of the ocean; all of which are equally unfounded. See Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 434, 435. Aristotle’s opinion on this subject is contained in his Meteor.]. Among the prodigies which have occurred, there is one which happened when Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, was expelled from his kingdom; that, for the space of one day, the water in the harbour became sweet.

(101.) The moon, on the contrary, is said to be a feminine and delicate planet, and also nocturnal; also that it resolves humours and draws them out, but does not carry them off. It is manifest that the carcases of wild beasts are rendered putrid by its beams, that, during sleep, it draws up the accumulated torpor into the head, that it melts ice, and relaxes all things by its moistening spirit [It is not easy to ascertain the origin of the very general opinion respecting the peculiar physical action of the moon. The alleged facts are, for the most part, without foundation, and I am not aware of any circumstance which could, originally, have made them a part of the popular creed of so many nations, ancient as well as modern. Perhaps some of the effects which have been ascribed to the specific action of the moon, may be explained by the lower temperature and greater dampness of the air, during the absence of the sun.]. Thus the changes of nature compensate each other, and are always adequate to their destined purpose; some of them congealing the elements of the stars and others dissolving them. The moon is said to be fed by fresh, and the sun by salt water.

Chap. 105. (102.)—Where the Sea Is the Deepest.

Fabianus [There appears to be some doubt respecting the history of the person here referred to: according to the account of Hardouin, Fabianus was a naturalist, who enjoyed a high reputation; he lived in the time of Tiberius: see Lemaire, i. 188.] informs us that the greatest depth of the sea is 15 stadia [This would be a depth of 3125 yards, not very far short of two miles; see Adam’s Rom. Antiq. p. 503.]. We learn from others, that in the Euxine, opposite to the nation of the Coraxi, at what is called the Depths of the Euxine [“ Βαθέα Ponti;” Aristotle refers to this as one of those parts where the sea is unfathomable; Meteor. i. 13.], about 300 stadia [A distance of nearly nine and a half miles.] from the main land, the sea is immensely deep, no bottom having been found.

Chap. 106. (103.)—The Wonders of Fountains and Rivers.

It is very remarkable that fresh water should burst out close to the sea, as from pipes. But there is no end to the wonders that are connected with the nature of waters. Fresh water floats on sea water, no doubt from its being lighter; and therefore sea water, which is of a heavier nature [The specific gravity of sea water varies from 1·0269 to 1·0285. The saline contents of the water of the English Channel are stated to be 27 grs. in 1000. Turner’s Chem. p. 1289, 1290.], supports better what floats upon it. And, in some places, different kinds of fresh water float upon each other; as that of the river which falls into the Fucinus; that of the Addua into the Larius; of the Ticinus into the Verbanus; of the Mincius into the Benacus; of the Ollius into the Sevinus; and of the Rhone into the Leman lake [The modern names of the rivers and lakes here mentioned are the Liris, communicating with the Lago di Celano; the Adda, with the Lago di Como; the Ticino, with the Lago Maggiore; the Mincio, with the Lago di Guarda; the Oglio, with the Lago di Sero; and the Rhone with the Lake of Geneva. There may be some foundation for the alleged fact, because the specific gravity and the temperature of the lake may differ a little from that of the river which passes through it.] (this last being beyond the Alps, the others in Italy): all which rivers passing through the lakes for many miles, generally carry off no more water than they bring with them. The same thing is said to occur in the Orontes, a river of Syria, and in many others.

Some rivers, from a real hatred of the sea, pass under it, as does Arethusa, a fountain of Syracuse, in which the substances are found that are thrown into the Alpheus; which, after flowing by Olympia, is discharged into the sea, on the shore of the Peloponnesus [According to Brotier, “fons ille olim nobilissimus, nunc ignobile est lavacrum, cujus aqua marino sapore inficitur.” He conceives that there is no actual foundation for this so frequently repeated story; and conjectures that it originated from the similitude of the names, the fountain in Sicily and the river in the Peloponnesus being both named Alpheus. He goes on to mention some examples of springs of fresh water rising up on the sea-coast; Lemaire, i. 438. The allusion to the fountain of Arethusa, by Virgil, in the commencement of the 10th eclogue, is well known to all classical scholars. The lines of Virgil have been elegantly imitated by Voltaire, in the Henriade, ix. 269, 270.]. The Lycus in Asia [This is mentioned by Ovid, Met. xv. 273, 274.], the Erasinus in Argolis, and the Tigris [This is again referred to by our author, vi. 31; also by Strabo, and by Seneca, Nat. Quæst. iii. 26.] in Mesopotamia, sink into the earth and burst out again. Substances which are thrown into the fountain of Æsculapius at Athens [Pausanias.] are cast up at the fountain of Phalerum. The river which sinks into the ground in the plain of Atinum [The river here referred to is the Tanager, the modern Rio Negro. See the remarks of Hardouin and Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 439.] comes up again at the distance of twenty miles, and the Timavus does the same in Aquileia [From a note in Poinsinet, i. 302, we learn that there has been some doubt respecting the locality of this river. It is mentioned by Virgil, Æn. i. 244, and it forms the subject of Heyne’s 7th Excursus, ii. 124 et seq. Virgil also speaks of the Timavus, Ec. viii. 6; and Heyne, in a note, gives the following description of it: “Timavus in ora Adriæ, non longe ab Aquileia fluvius ex terra novem fontibus seu capitibus progressus, brevi cursu, in unum alveum collectus, lato altoque flumine in mare exit.” i. 127, 128.].

In the lake Asphaltites, in Judæa, which produces bitumen, no substance will sink, nor in the lake Arethusa [This remark is not to be taken in its full extent; the water of these lakes contains a large quantity of saline and other substances dissolved in it, and, consequently, has its specific gravity so much increased, that various substances float on it which sink in pure water.], in the Greater Armenia: in this lake, although it contains nitre, fish are found. In the country of the Salentini, near the town of Manduria, there is a lake [According to Hardouin, this is now called the Lake of Andoria, near the town of Casalnuovo; Lemaire, i. 439. Poinsinet calls it Anduria, i. 303.] full to the brim, the waters of which are never diminished by what is taken out of it, nor increased by what is added. Wood, which is thrown into the river of the Cicones [The petrifying quality of this river is referred to by Ovid, Met. xv. 313, 314; Seneca quotes these lines when treating on this subject, Nat. Quæst. iii. 20.], or into the lake Velinus in Picenum, becomes coated with a stony crust, while in the Surius, a river of Colchis, the whole substance becomes as hard as stone. In the same manner, in the Silarus [Aristotle, Strabo, and Silius Italicus, viii. 582, 583, refer to this property of the Silarus; but, according to Brotier, it does not appear to be known to the present inhabitants of the district through which it flows. Lemaire, i. 440.], beyond Surrentum, not only twigs which are immersed in it, but likewise leaves are petrified; the water at the same time being proper for drinking. In the stream which runs from the marsh of Reate [In a subsequent part of the work, xxxi. 8, our author remarks, “Reatinis tantum paludibus ungulas jumentorum indurari.” We may presume that the water contained some saline, earthy or metallic substance, either in solution, or in a state of minute division, which would produce these effects. It does not appear that anything of this kind has been observed by the moderns in this water.] there is a rock, which continues to increase in size, and in the Red Sea olive-trees and green shrubs are produced [The coral beds with which the Red Sea abounds may have given rise to this opinion: see the remarks of Alexandre in loco. Hardouin informs us, that this clause respecting the Red Sea is not found in any of the MSS. Lemaire, i. 441. A similar observation occurs in a subsequent part of the work, xiii. 48.].

There are many springs which are remarkable for their warmth. This is the case even among the ridges of the Alps [There are thermal springs in the Alpine valleys, but not any in the elevated parts of the Alps themselves.], and in the sea itself, between Italy and Ænaria, as in the bay of Baiæ, and in the Liris and many other rivers [The volcanic nature of a large portion of the south of Italy and the neighbouring islands may be regarded as the cause of the warm springs which are found there.]. There are many places in which fresh water may be procured from the sea, as at the Chelidonian Isles, and at Arados, and in the ocean at Gades. Green plants are produced in the warm springs of Padua, frogs in those of Pisa, and fish in those of Vetulonia in Etruria, which is not far from the sea. In Casinas there is a cold river called Scatebra, which in summer is more full of water [This river may be supposed to have been principally supplied by melted snow; it would appear to be colder, because its temperature would be less elevated than the other streams in the neighbourhood.]. In this, as in the river Stymphalis, in Arcadia, small water-mice are produced. The fountain of Jupiter in Dodona, although it is as cold as ice, and extinguishes torches that are plunged into it, yet, if they be brought near it, it kindles them again [The statement, if correct, may be referred to the discharge of a quantity of inflammable gas from the surface of the water. The fact is mentioned by Lucretius, vi. 879, 880, and by Mela.]. This spring always becomes dry at noon, from which circumstance it is called Ἀναπαυόμενον [“Quasi alternis requiescens, ac meridians: diem diffindens, ut Varro loquitur, insititia quiete.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 443. He says that there is a similar kind of fountain in Provence, called Collis Martiensis.]: it then increases and becomes full at midnight, after which it again visibly decreases. In Illyricum there is a cold spring, over which if garments are spread they take fire. The pool of Jupiter Ammon, which is cold during the day, is warm during the night [There has been considerable difference of opinion among the commentators, both as to the reading of the text and its interpretation, for which I shall refer to the notes of Poinsinet, i. 307, of Hardouin and Alexandre, Lemaire, i. 443, and of Richelet, Ajasson, ii. 402.]. In the country of the Troglodytæ [We have an account of the Troglodytæ in a subsequent part of the work, v. 5. The name is generally applied by the ancients to a tribe of people inhabiting a portion of Æthiopia, and is derived from the circumstance of their dwellings being composed of caverns; a τρωγλὴ and δύνω. Alexandre remarks, that the name was occasionally applied to other tribes, whose habitations were of the same kind; Lemaire, i. 443. They are referred to by Q. Curtius as a tribe of the Æthiopians, situated to the south of Egypt and extending to the Red Sea, iv. 7.], what they call the Fountain of the Sun, about noon is fresh and very cold; it then gradually grows warm, and, at midnight, becomes hot and saline [Q. Curtius gives nearly the same account of this fountain.].

In the middle of the day, during summer, the source of the Po, as if reposing itself, is always dry [The Po derives its water from the torrents of the Alps, and is therefore much affected by the melting of the snow or the great falls of rain, which occur at different seasons of the year; but the daily diminution of the water, as stated by our author, is without foundation.]. In the island of Tenedos there is a spring, which, after the summer solstice, is full of water, from the third hour of the night to the sixth [“Fontem ibi intermittentem frustra quæsivit cl. Le Chevalier, Voyage de la Troade, t. i. p. 219.” Lemaire, i. 444.]. The fountain Inopus, in the island of Delos, decreases and increases in the same manner as the Nile, and also at the same periods [Strabo, in allusion to this circumstance, remarks, that some persons make it still more wonderful, by supposing that this spring is connected with the Nile. We learn from Tournefort, that there is a well of this name in Delos, which he found to contain considerably more water in January and February than in October, and which is supposed to be connected with the Nile or the Jordan: this, of course, he regards as an idle tale. Lemaire.]. There is a small island in the sea, opposite to the river Timavus, containing warm springs, which increase and decrease at the same time with the tides of the sea [Hardouin informs us, that these warm springs are called “i bagni di Monte Falcone,” or “di S. Antonio.” They are situate so very near the sea, that we may suppose some communication to exist, which may produce the alleged effect. Lemaire.]. In the territory of Pitinum, on the other side of the Apennines, the river Novanus, which during the solstice is quite a torrent, is dry in the winter [According to Hardouin this is the modern Torre di Pitino; he conceives that the river here mentioned must be the Vomanus. The effect here described is, to a certain extent, always the case with rivers which proceed from mountains that are covered with snow. Lemaire, i. 445.].

In Faliscum, all the water which the oxen drink turns them white; in Bœotia, the river Melas turns the sheep black; the Cephissus, which flows out of a lake of the same name, turns them white [Seneca, Nat. Quæst. iii. 25, makes the same remark: the fact would seem to be, that in certain districts the cattle are found to be for the most part white, and in other places black; but we have no reason to suppose that their colour has any connexion with the water which they employ.]; again, the Peneus turns them black, and the Xanthus, near Ilium, makes them red, whence the river derives its name [This is asserted by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. iii. 12. We have a similar statement made by Ælian respecting the Scamander; viii. 21.]. In Pontus, the river Astaces waters certain plains, where the mares give black milk, which the people use in diet. In Reate there is a spring called Neminia, which rises up sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, and in this way indicates a change in the produce of the earth [“Annonæ mutationem significans.”]. There is a spring in the harbour of Brundisium that yields water which never becomes putrid at sea. The water of the Lyncestis, which is said to be acidulous, intoxicates like wine [The peculiar nature of the water of the Lyncestis is referred to by many of the ancients: we may suppose that it was strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas. See Ovid, Met. xv. 329-331; also Aristotle, Meteor. ii. 3, and Seneca, Nat. Quæst. iii. 20.]; this is the case also in Paphlagonia [Vitruvius and Athenæus.] and in the territory of Calenum [Calenum was a town in Campania; this peculiar property of its water is referred to by Val. Maximus, i. 8, 18.]. In the island of Andros, at the temple of Father Bacchus, we are assured by Mucianus, who was thrice consul, that there is a spring, which, on the nones of January, always has the flavour of wine; it is called Διὸς Θεοδοσία [Literally, Jovis cultus; as interpreted by Hardouin, “tanquam si dixeris, divinum Jovis munus hunc fontem esse.” Lemaire, i. 447.]. Near Nonacris, in Arcadia, the Styx [Seneca affirms its poisonous nature; Nat. Quæst. iii. 25. Q. Curtius refers to a spring in Macedonia of the same name, “quo pestiferum virus emanat.” x. 10.], which is not unlike it either in odour or in colour, instantly destroys those who drink it. Also in Librosus, a hill in the country of the Tauri, there are three springs which inevitably produce death, but without pain. In the territory of the Carrinenses in Spain [There appears to be some uncertainty respecting the locality of this district; see the remarks of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 447.], two springs burst out close together, the one of which absorbs everything, the other throws them out. In the same country there is another spring, which gives to all the fish the appearance of gold, although, when out of the water, they do not differ in any respect from other fish. In the territory of Como, near the Larian lake, there is a copious spring, which always swells up and subsides again every hour [“Hunc fontem describit eximie Plinius jun. lib. iv. epist. ult. Est ad orientalem Larii lacus plagam, Lago di Como, x mill. pass. a Como.” Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 448.]. In the island of Cydonea [Our author, in a subsequent passage, v. 39, speaks of Cydonea, “cum fonte calido.”], before Lesbos, there is a warm fountain, which flows only during the spring season. The lake Sinnaus [According to Hardouin, i. 448, there is a considerable variation in the MSS. with respect to this name: he informs us that “ Συναὸς urbs est Magnæ Phrygiæ Ptolemæo, v. 2.”], in Asia, is impregnated with wormwood, which grows about it. At Colophon, in the cave of the Clarian Apollo, there is a pool, by the drinking of which a power is acquired of uttering wonderful oracles; but the lives of those who drink of it are shortened [Tacitus gives an account of this oracle as having been visited by Germanicus; Ann. ii. 54.]. In our own times, during the last years of Nero’s life, we have seen rivers flowing backwards, as I have stated in my history of his times [Our author refers to this history in the First book of the present work.].

And indeed who can be mistaken as to the fact, that all springs are colder in summer than in winter [“Comparatos scilicet cum aëris externi temperie.” Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 448.], as well as these other wonderful operations of nature; that copper and lead sink when in a mass, but float when spread out [Thin leaves or films of metal have little affinity for water, and have, generally, bubbles of air attached to them; so that, when placed upon the water, the fluid is prevented from adhering to them, and thus they remain on the surface.]; and of things that are equally heavy, some will sink to the bottom, while others will remain on the surface [Depending not upon their absolute, but their specific gravity.]; that heavy bodies are more easily moved in water [Being partly supported by the water.]; that a stone from Scyros, although very large, will float, while the same, when broken into small pieces, sinks [The stone may have floated in consequence of its being full of pores: these are more quickly filled with water when it is broken into small pieces. It was probably of the nature of pumice or some other volcanic product.]; that the body of an animal, newly deprived of life, sinks, but that, when it is swelled out, it floats [This is well known to depend upon the commencement of the decomposition of some part of the viscera, by which there is an evolution of gaseous matter.]; that empty vessels are drawn out of the water with no more ease than those that are full [This is an erroneous statement; it is not easy to ascertain what was the source of the error.]; that rain-water is more useful for salt-pits than other kinds of water [Rain, as it falls from the clouds, is nearly pure; and rivers, or receptacles of any kind, that are supplied by it, are considerably more free from saline impregnations than the generality of springs.]; that salt cannot be made, unless it is mixed with fresh water [This statement is altogether incorrect.]; that salt water freezes with more difficulty [When salt water freezes, it is disengaged from the saline matter which it previously held in solution; a greater degree of cold is therefore required to overcome the attraction of the water for the salt, and to form the ice, than when pure water is congealed.], and is more readily heated [“Celerius accendi.” We can scarcely suppose that by this term our author intended to express the actual burning or inflaming of the water, which is its literal and ordinary meaning. This, however, would appear to be the opinion of Hardouin and Alexandre; Lemaire, i. 449. Holland translates it, “made hot and set a-seething,” i. 46; Poinsinet, “s’échauffe le plus vîte,” i. 313; and Ajasson, “plus prompte à s’échauffer,” ii. 217.]; that the sea is warmer in winter [The temperature of the ocean, in consequence of its great mass and the easy diffusion and mixture of its various parts, may be conceived to be longer in becoming raised or depressed than any particular portion of the land, where contemporary observations may be made.] and more salt in the autumn [The evaporation that is going on during the heats of summer, and the heavy rains which in many countries fall during the autumn, may produce the effects here described, in confined seas or inlets.]; that everything is soothed by oil, and that this is the reason why divers send out small quantities of it from their mouths, because it smoothes any part which is rough [The statement is true to a certain extent, as is proved by the well-known experiments of Franklin and others; but the degree of the effect is considerably exaggerated. See the observations of Hardouin, Brotier, and Alexandre; Lemaire, i. 450, 451.] and transmits the light to them; that snow never falls in the deep part of the sea [In the Mediterranean the warm vapours rising from the water and its shores may melt the snow as it descends; but this is not the case in the parts of the main ocean which approach either to the Arctic or the Antarctic regions.]; that although water generally has a tendency downwards, fountains rise up [The theory of springs is well understood, as depending upon the water tending to rise to its original level, so as to produce an equilibrium of pressure.], and that this is the case even at the foot of Ætna [When we consider the great extent of the base of Ætna, and that the crater is in the form of an inverted cone, we shall perceive that there is ample space for the existence of springs in the lower part of the mountain, without their coming in contact with the heated lava.], burning as it does, so as to force out the sand like a ball of flame to the distance of 150 miles?

Chap. 107.—The Wonders of Fire and Water United.

And now I must give an account of some of the wonders of fire, which is the fourth element of nature; but first those produced by means of water.

Chap. 108. (104.)—Of Maltha.

In Samosata, a city of Commagene [Samosata is situated on the Euphrates, in the north of Syria.], there is a pool which discharges an inflammable mud, called Maltha [The Petroleum or Bitumen of the modern chemists; it is a tarry substance, more or less fluid, which has probably been produced by carbonaceous matter, as affected by heat or decomposition, below the surface of the earth. Our author has exaggerated its properties and action upon other bodies.]. It adheres to every solid body which it touches, and moreover, when touched, it follows you, if you attempt to escape from it. By means of it the people defended their walls against Lucullus, and the soldiers were burned in their armour [Respecting the transaction here mentioned, I shall refer to the note of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 452.]. It is even set on fire in water. We learn by experience that it can be extinguished only by earth.