§1διὰ τί τὸ θαλάττιον ὕδωρ οὐ τρέφει τὰ δένδρα;
Why does sea-water not nourish trees?
πότερον διʼ ἢν αἰτίαν οῦδὲ τῶν ζᾠων τὰ χερσαῖα;
Is it for the same reason that land animals are not nourished by it?
ζῷον γὰρ ἔγγειον τὸ φυτὸν εἶναι, οἱ περὶ Πλάτωνα καὶ Ἀναξαγόραν καὶ Δημόκριτον οἴονται·
For those around Plato, Anaxagoras, and Democritus think that a plant is an earth-bound animal.
οὐ γὰρ διότι τοῖς ἐναλίοις φυτοῖς τρόφιμόν ἐστι καὶ πότιμον ὥσπερ τοῖς ἰχθύσιν, ἤδη καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ χέρσῳ φυτά τε καὶ δένδρα τρέφει·
For it does not follow that, because sea-water is nourishing and drinkable for marine plants, as it is for fish, it therefore also nourishes plants and trees on land.
οὔτε γὰρ ἐνδύεται ταῖς ῥίζαις ὑπὸ πάχους οὔτʼ ἀναφέρεται ὑπὸ βάρους·
For it neither penetrates the roots because of its density, nor is it drawn up because of its weight.
ὅτι δʼ ἐμβριθές ἐστι καὶ γεῶδες, ἄλλοις τε πολλοῖς ἀποδείκνυται καὶ τῷ μᾶλλον ἀνέχειν καὶ ὑπερείδειν τὰ πλοῖα καὶ τοὺς κολυμβῶντας·
That it is heavy and earthy is demonstrated by many other things, and especially by the fact that it supports and floats ships and swimmers better.
ἢ μάλιστα μὲν βλάπτεται ξηρότητι τὰ δένδρα ξηραντικὸν δὲ τὸ θαλάττιον;
Or is it because trees are most harmed by dryness, and sea-water is drying?
ὅθεν πρός γε τὰς σήψεις οἱ ἅλες βοηθοῦσι, καὶ τὰ σώματα τῶν λουσαμένων ἐν θαλάττῃ ξηρὰν εὐθὺς ἴσχει καὶ τραχεῖαν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν.
This is why salt helps against rot, and the bodies of those who bathe in the sea immediately become dry and rough on the surface.
ἢ τὸ μὲν ἔλαιον τοῖς φυτοῖς πολέμιον καὶ φθείρει τὰ προσαλειφόμενα;
Or is it because oil is hostile to plants and destroys what is anointed with it, and the sea contains a large amount of fatness?
μετέχει δὲ πολλῆς ἡ θάλαττα λιπαρότητος· διὸ συνεξάπτει, καὶ παραινοῦμεν εἰς τὰς φλόγας μὴ ἐμβάλλειν θαλάττιον ὕδωρ.
This is why it helps to kindle fire, and we advise people not to throw sea-water into flames.
ἢ γέγονεν ἄποτον καὶ πικρὸν τὸ ὕδωρ, ὡς Ἀριστοτέλης φησίν, ἀναμίξει κατακεκαυμένης γῆς;
Or did the water become undrinkable and bitter, as Aristotle says, by the mixture of burnt earth?
καὶ γὰρ ἡ κονία γίγνεται, γλυκέος ὕδατος εἰς τέφραν ἐμπεσόντος, ἡ δὲ διάλυσις ἐξίστησι καὶ φθείρει τὸ χρηστὸν καὶ πότιμον, ὡς ἐν ἡμῖν οἱ πυρετοὶ τὸ ὑγρὸν εἰς χολὴν τρέπουσιν.
For indeed, lye is produced when sweet water falls into ashes, and this dissolution alters and destroys what is useful and drinkable, just as fevers in us turn moisture into bile.
ἃ δʼ ἱστοροῦσιν ἐν τῇ Ἐρυθρᾷ θαλάσσῃ βλαστάνειν ὑλήματα καὶ φυτά, καρπὸν μὲν οὐδένα φέρει τρέφεται δὲ τοῖς ποταμοῖς πολλὴν ἐμβάλλουσιν ἰλύν· ὅθεν οὐ πρόσω τῆς γῆς ἀλλὰ πλησίον ἔχει τὴν γένεσιν.
As for what they report about shrubs and plants budding in the Red Sea, they bear no fruit and are nourished by the rivers that deposit much silt; hence they do not have their origin far from land, but close to it.
§2διὰ τί μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν ὑετίων ἢ τῶν ἐπιρρύτων ὑδάτων τὰ δένδρα καὶ τὰ σπέρματα πέφυκε τρέφεσθαι;
Why are trees and seeds naturally better nourished by rain-water than by running water?
πότερον, ὡς Λαῖτος ἔλεγε, τῇ πληγῇ τὰ ὄμβρια διιστάντα τὴν γῆν πόρους ποιεῖ καὶ διαδύεται μᾶλλον εἰς τὴν ῥίζαν ἢ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἀληθές, ἀλλʼ ἔλαθε τὸν Λαῖτον ὅτι καὶ τὰ λιμναῖα φυτά, τύφη καὶ φλέως καὶ θρύον, ἀναυξῆ καὶ ἀβλαστῆ μένει, μὴ γενομένων ὄμβρων καθʼ ὥραν τὸ δὲ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους ἀληθές, ὅτι πρόσφατόν ἐστι καὶ νέον ὕδωρ τὸ ὑόμενον ἕωλον δὲ καὶ παλαιὸν τὸ λιμναῖον;
Is it, as Laetus was saying, because rain-water by its impact divides the earth, makes pores, and so penetrates better to the root? Or is this not true, but did it escape Laetus that even marsh plants, such as cat-tail, flowering rush, and rush, remain without growth and budding if timely rains do not fall? Or is the view of Aristotle true, that water that falls as rain is fresh and new, whereas marsh water is stale and old?
ἢ καὶ τοῦτο πιθανὸν μᾶλλον ἢ ἀληθές ἐστι;
Or is even this rather plausible than true?
τὰ γὰρ πηγαῖα καὶ ποτάμια νάματα πρόσφατα μέν ἐστι καὶ νεογενῆ· ποταμοῖς γὰρ δὶς τοῖς αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης
ὥς φησιν Ἡράκλειτος, ἕτερα ἐπιρρεῖ ὕδατα τρέφει καὶ ταῦτα τῶν χεῖρον.
For springs and river streams are fresh and newly born; "for you could not step twice into the same rivers" as Heraclitus says, for other waters flow on, yet these too nourish plants less well than rain.
ἆρʼ οὖν κοῦφόν ἐστι τὸ ἐκ Διὸς ὕδωρ καὶ ἀερῶδες καὶ πνεύματι μεμιγμένον ὁδηγεῖται τε καὶ ἀναπέμπεται ταχέως εἰς τὸ φυτὸν ὑπὸ λεπτότητος, διὸ καὶ πομφόλυγας ποιεῖ τῇ ἀναμίξει τοῦ ἀέρος·
Is it then because the water from Zeus is light and airy, and mixed with wind, and is guided and sent up quickly into the plant by its thinness, wherefore it also produces bubbles by the mixture of air?
ἢ τρέφει μὲν μάλιστα κρατούμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ τρεφομένου ʽ τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι πέψις· ἀπεψία δὲ τοὐναντίον, ὅταν ἰσχυρότερα τοῦ παθεῖν καὶ μεταβάλλον τὰ λεπτὰ καὶ ἁπλᾶ καὶ ἄχυμα μᾶλλον, οἷόν ἐστι τὸ ὄμβριον ὕδωρ;
Or does it nourish best when it is overcome by that which is nourished, since this indeed is digestion, whereas indigestion is the opposite, when the waters are too strong to be acted upon and changed—thin, simple, and flavorless substances being more easily changed, such as rain-water?
γεννώμενον γὰρ ἐν ἀέρι καὶ πνεύματι καθαρὸν καὶ ἀμιγὲς κάτεισι· τὰ δὲ πηγαῖα καὶ τῇ γῇ καὶ τοῖς τόποις ὁμοιούμενα, διʼ ὧν ἔξεισι, πολλῶν ἀναπίμπλαται ποιοτήτων, διʼ ἃς ἧττόν ἐστιν εὔτρεπτα καὶ βράδιον αὑτὰ παρέχει τῇ πέψει μεταβάλλειν εἰς τὸ τρεφόμενον·
For being generated in air and wind, it comes down pure and unmixed; whereas spring waters, being made like to the earth and the places through which they issue, are filled with many qualities, because of which they are less easily changed and offer themselves more slowly for digestion to transform them into that which is nourished.
τῶν δʼ ὀμβρίων τὸ εὔτρεπτον αἱ σήψεις κατηγοροῦσιν, εὐσηπτότερα γάρ ἐστι τῶν ποταμίων καὶ φρεατιαίων ἡ δὲ πέψις ἔοικεν εἶναι σῆψις, ὡς Ἐμπεδοκλῆς μαρτυρεῖ λέγων
"οἶνος ὑπὸ φλοιοῦ πέλεται σαπὲν ἐν ξύλῳ ὕδωρ"
ἢ πάντων ἑτοιμότατόν ἐστι καὶ ῥᾷστον αἰτιάσασθαι τὸ γλυκὺ τῶν ὀμβρίων καὶ χρηστόν, ἐκπεμπόμενον εὐθὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος;
That rain-water is easily changed is shown by its rotting, for it is more easily rotted than river or well water; and digestion seems to be a kind of rotting, as Empedocles witnesses when he says, "water rotted in wood becomes wine under the bark." Or is it the readiest and easiest thing of all to assign the cause to the sweetness and goodness of rain-water, sent down immediately by the wind?
διὸ καὶ τὰ θρέμματα τούτων ἀπολαύει προθυμότερον, καὶ οἱ βάτραχοι προσδοκῶντες ὄμβρον ἐπιλαμπρύνουσι τὴν φωνὴν ὑπὸ χαρᾶς, ὥσπερ ἥδυσμα τοῦ λιμναίου τὸ ὑέτιον προσδεχόμενοι καὶ σπέρμα τῆς ἐκείνων γλυκύτητος ἓν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ποιεῖται σημεῖον ὑετοῦ μέλλοντος Ἄρατος εἰπών
"
ἦ μάλα δείλαιαι γενεαί, ὕδροισιν ὄνειαρ,
αὐτόθεν ἐκ λίμνης πατέρες βοόωσι γυρίνων. "
Wherefore even cattle enjoy this more eagerly, and frogs, anticipating rain, make their voices clear with joy, as though receiving the rain-water as a seasoning for the marsh water and a seed of its sweetness; for Aratus also makes this one of the signs of coming rain when he says, "ah, truly miserable generations, a boon to water-snakes, the fathers of tadpoles cry out from the marsh itself."