§3.22.1ἡ δὲ κατὰ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν παράλιος συνάπτει μὲν ἡμέρῳ καὶ καταφύτῳ χώρᾳ, τοσοῦτο δέ ἐστι πλῆθος τῶν ἰχθύων τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις ὥστε τοὺς ἀναλίσκοντας μὴ δύνασθαι ῥᾳδίως περιγενέσθαι τῆς δαψιλείας.
On the other hand, the coast along Babylonia borders on a cultivated and planted land, and there is such a multitude of fish for the inhabitants that those who consume them cannot easily overcome the abundance.
§3.22.2παρὰ γὰρ τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς ἱστᾶσι καλάμους πυκνοὺς καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαπεπλεγμένους, ὥστε τὴν πρόσοψιν ὁμοίαν εἶναι δικτύῳ παρὰ θάλατταν ἑστηκότι.
For along the shores they set up thick reeds interwoven with one another, so that their appearance is like a net standing by the sea.
κατὰ δὲ πᾶν τὸ ἔργον ὑπάρχουσι πυκναὶ θύραι, τῇ μὲν πλοκῇ ταρσώδεις, τὰς στροφὰς δʼ ἔχουσαι πρὸς τὰς εἰς ἑκάτερα τὰ μέρη κινήσεις εὐλύτους.
And along the whole work there are frequent doors, wicker-like in their weaving, and having their hinges loose for movement in both directions.
ταύτας ὁ κλύδων φερόμενος μὲν εἰς τὴν γῆν κατὰ τὸν τῆς πλημυρίδος καιρὸν ἀνοίγει, παλισσυτῶν δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἄμπωτιν ἀποκλείει.
These doors the surf, when carried toward the land at the time of flood tide, opens, and when rushing back at the ebb tide, closes.
§3.22.3διόπερ συμβαίνει καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν πλημυρούσης μὲν τῆς θαλάττης ἐκ βυθοῦ τοὺς ἰχθῦς συνεκφερομένους διὰ τῶν θυρῶν παρεισπίπτειν, ἀναχωρούσης δὲ μὴ δύνασθαι τοῖς ὑγροῖς συνδιαρρεῖν διὰ τῆς τῶν καλάμων πλοκῆς.
Therefore, it happens every day that when the sea rises, the fish are carried along from the deep and slip in through the doors, but when it recedes, they are unable to flow out together with the water because of the interweaving of the reeds.
διὸ καὶ παρὰ τὸν ὠκεανὸν ἐνίοτε σωροὺς ἰχθύων σπαιρόντων ὁρᾶν ἔστι γινομένους, οὓς ἀναλεγόμενοι συνεχῶς οἱ πρὸς τούτοις τεταγμένοι δαψιλεῖς ἀπολαύσεις ἔχουσι καὶ μεγάλας προσόδους.
For this reason, sometimes indeed piles of gasping fish can be seen along the ocean, which those appointed for this task, continuously gathering them, enjoy in abundance and derive great revenues from.
§3.22.4ἔνιοι δὲ τῶν περὶ τοὺς τόπους διατριβόντων, πεδιάδος τε καὶ ταπεινῆς τῆς χώρας ὑπαρχούσης, τάφρους ὀρύττουσιν ἀπὸ θαλάττης εὐρείας ἐπὶ πολλοὺς σταδίους μέχρι ἰδίων ἐπαύλεων, ῥαβδωτὰς δὲ θύρας ἐπʼ ἄκρας αὐτὰς ἐπιστήσαντες ἀναβαινούσης μὲν τῆς πλημυρίδος ἀνοίγουσιν, εἰς δὲ τοὐναντίον μεταπιπτούσης κλείουσιν.
And some of those who dwell around these places, since the land is flat and low, dig wide trenches from the sea for many stades up to their own estates, and having placed barred doors at their very ends, they open them when the flood tide rises, but close them when it turns to the contrary.
εἶτα τῆς μὲν θαλάττης διὰ τῶν τῆς θύρας ἀραιωμάτων ἀπορρεούσης, τῶν δʼ ἰχθύων ἀποληφθέντων ἐν ταῖς τάφροις, ταμιεύονται καὶ λαμβάνουσιν ὅσους ἂν προαιρῶνται καὶ καθʼ ὃν ἂν χρόνον βούλωνται.
Then, while the sea flows out through the gaps in the door, and the fish are left behind in the trenches, they store them up and take as many as they choose and at whatever time they wish.