§2.13#113 Λοιπὸν δὲ περὶ τῆς γῆς εἰπεῖν, οὖ τε τυγχάνει πειμένη, καὶ πότερον τῶν ἠρεμούντων ἐστὶν ἢ τῶν κινουμένων, καὶ περὶ τοῦ σχήματος αὐτῆς.
13 It remains to speak of the earth, both where it happens to be situated, and whether it is of those things that are at rest or those that move, and concerning its shape.
περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς θέσεως οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν ἄπαντες ἔχουσι δόξαν, ἀλλὰ τῶν πλείστων ἐπὶ τοῦ μέσου κεῖσθαι λεγόντων, ὅσοι τὸν ὅλον οὐρανὸν πεπερασμένον εἶναί φασιν, ἐναντίως οἱ περὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν, καλούμενοι δὲ Πθυαγόρειοι λέγουσιν·
Concerning its position, then, not all have the same opinion, but while most of those who say the whole heaven is finite state that it lies at the center, the opposite is said by those in Italy, who are called Pythagoreans.
ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ μέσου πῦρ εἶναί φασι, τὴν δὲ γῆν ἓν τῶν ἄστρων οὖσαν, κύκλῳ φερομένην περὶ τὸ μέσον νύκτα τε καὶ ἡμέραν ποιεῖν.
For they say that fire is at the center, and that the earth, being one of the stars, moves in a circle about the center and thus creates night and day.
ἔτι δʼ ἐναντίαν ἄλλην ταύτῃ κατασκευάζουσι γῆν, ἣν ἀντίχθονα ὄνομα καλοῦσιν) οὐ πρὸς τὰ φαινόμενα τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰς αἰτίας ζητοῦντες, ἀλλὰ πρός τινας λόγους καὶ δόξας αὑτῶν τὰ φαινόμενα προσέλκοντες καὶ πειρώμενοι συγκοσμεῖν.
Furthermore, they construct another earth opposite to this one, which they call by the name "counter-earth", not seeking explanations and causes in relation to the phenomena, but rather dragging the phenomena into conformity with certain explanations and opinions of their own, and trying to coordinate them.
πολλοῖς δʼ ἂν καὶ ἑτέροις συνδόξειε μὴ δεῖν τῇ γῇ τὴν τοῦ μέσου χώραν ἀποδιδόναι, τὸ πιστὸν οὐκ ἐκ τῶν φαινομένων ἀθροῦσιν ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν λόγων.
And many others also might agree that they should not assign the central place to the earth, gathering their conviction not from the phenomena but rather from reasoning.
τῷ γὰρ τιμιωτάτῳ οἴονται προσήκειν τὴν τιμιωτάτην ὑπάρχειν χώραν, εἶναι δὲ πῦρ μὲν γῆς τιμιώτερον, τὸ δὲ πέρας τῶν μεταξύ, τὸ δʼ ἔσχατον καὶ τὸ μέσον πέρας·
For they think that the most honorable place belongs to the most honorable thing, and that fire is more honorable than earth, and the limit more honorable than the intermediate, and the extreme and the center are limits.
ὥστʼ ἐκ τούτων ἀναλογιζόμενοι οὐκ οἴονται ἐπὶ τοῦ μέσου κεῖσθαι τῆς σφαίρας αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸ πῦρ.
So that, reasoning from these premises, they do not think that the earth lies at the center of the sphere, but rather the fire.
ἔτι δʼ οἵ γε Πυθαγόρειοι καὶ διὰ τὸ μάλιστα προσήκειν φυλάττεσθαι τὸ κυριώτατον τοῦ παντός· τὸ δὲ μέσον εἶναι τοιοῦτον· ὁ Διὸς φυλακὴν ὀνομάζουσι, τὸ ταύτην ἔχον τὴν χώραν πῦρ, ὥσπερ τὸ μέσον ἀπλῶς λεγόμενον, καὶ τὸ τοῦ μεγέθους μέσον καὶ τοῦ πράγματος ὂν μέσον καὶ τῆς φύσεως.
Moreover, the Pythagoreans hold this also because it is most fitting that the most sovereign part of the universe should be guarded, and the center is such a place; which fire, occupying this region, they call the "Guard of Zeus", just as if "the center" were spoken of in a single sense, and the center of magnitude were also the center of the thing itself and of its nature.
καίτοι καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις οὐ ταὐτὸν τοῦ ζῴου καὶ τοῦ σώματος μέσον, οὕτως ὑποληπτέον μᾶλλον καὶ περὶ τὸν ὅλον οὐρανόν.
And yet, just as in animals the center of the animal and that of the body are not the same, so we must rather conceive also concerning the whole heaven.
διὰ μὲν οὖν ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν οὐθὲν αὐτοὺς δεῖ θορυβεῖσθαι περὶ τὸ πᾶν, οὐδʼ εἰσάγειν φυλακὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἐκεῖνο μὲν γὰρ ἀρχὴ τὸ μέσον καὶ τίμιον, τὸ δὲ τοῦ τόπου μέσον ἔοικε τελευτῇ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀρχῇ·
For this reason, therefore, they have no need to be troubled about the universe, nor to introduce a guard at for that center is a principle and honorable, whereas the center of place seems rather like an end than a principle.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὁριζόμενον τὸ μέσον, τὸ δʼ ὁρίζον τὸ πέρας.
For the center is that which is defined, whereas the limit is that which defines.
τιμιώτερον δὲ τὸ περιέχον καὶ τὸ πέρας ἢ τὸ περαινόμενον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὕλη τὸ δʼ οὐσία τῆς συστάσεώς ἐστιν.
And that which encompasses and the limit are more honorable than that which is limited; for the latter is matter, while the former is the substance of the constitution.
περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ τόπου τῆς γῆς ταύτην ἔχουσί τινες τὴν δόξαν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ μονῆς καὶ κινήσεως·
Concerning, then, the place of the earth, some hold this opinion, and likewise concerning its rest and motion.
οὐ γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἅπαντες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, ἀλλʼ ὅσοι μὲν μηδʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ μέσου κεῖσθαί φασιν αὐτήν, κινεῖσθαι κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ μέσον, οὐ μόνον δὲ ταύτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀντίχθονα, καθάπερ εἴπομεν πρότερον.
For not all conceive of it in the same way, but those who say that it does not even lie at the center hold that it moves in a circle about the center, and not only this earth, but also the counter-earth, as we said before.
ἐνίοις δὲ δοκεῖ καὶ πλείω σώματα τοιαῦτα ἐνδέχεσθαι φέρεσθαι περὶ τὸ μέσον ἡμῖν ἄδηλα διὰ τὴν ἐπιπρόσθησιν τῆς γῆς.
And to some it seems possible that even more such bodies are carried about the center, invisible to us because of the obstruction of the earth.
διὸ καὶ τὰς τῆς σελήνης ἐκλείψεις πλείους ἢ τὰς τοῦ ἡλίου γίγνεσθαί φασιν· τῶν γὰρ φερομένων ἕκαστον ἀντιφράττειν αὐτήν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ μόνον τὴν γῆν.
Wherefore they also say that eclipses of the moon are more numerous than those of the sun; for each of these moving bodies blocks it, and not only the earth.
ἐπεὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ γῆ κέντρον, ἀλλʼ ἀπέχει τὸ ἡμισφαίριον αὐτῆς ὅλον, οὐθὲν κωλύειν οἴονται τὰ φαινόμενα συμβαίνειν ὁμοίως μὴ κατοικοῦσιν ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ κέντρου, ὥσπερ κἂν εἰ 〈 μὴ〉 ἐπὶ τοῦ μέσου ἦν ἡ γῇ· οὐθὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ νῦν ποιεῖν ἐπίδηλον τὴν ἡμίσειαν ἀπέχοντας ἡμᾶς διάμετρον.
For since the earth is not the center, but is distant from it by its whole hemisphere, they think that nothing prevents the phenomena from occurring in the same way even though we do not dwell at the center, just as if the earth were not at the center; for even now our being distant by half the diameter makes no obvious difference.
ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ κειμένην ἐπὶ τοῦ κέντρου φασὶν αὐτὴν ἴλλεσθαι καὶ κινεῖσθαι περὶ τὸν διὰ παντὸς τεταμένονπόλον, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Τιμαίῳ γέγραπται.
And some say that, although it lies at the center, it spins and moves about the axis stretched through the whole universe, just as is written in the Timaeus.
παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ σχήματος ἀμφισβητεῖται· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ δοκεῖ εἶναι σφαιροειδής, τοῖς δὲ πλατεῖα καὶ τὸ σχῆμα τυμπανοειδής·
In a similar way, its shape is also disputed; for to some it seems to be spherical, but to others flat and drum-shaped.
ποιοῦνται δὲ τεκμήριον ὅτι δύνων καὶ ἀνατέλλων ἱ ἥλιος εὐθεῖαν καὶ οὐ περιφερῆ τὴν ἀπόκρυψιν φαίνεται ποιούμενος ὑπὸ τῆς γῆς, ὡς δέον, εἴπερ ἦν σφαιροειδής, περινφερῆ γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀποτομήν, οὐ προσλογιζόμενοι τό τε ἀπόστημα τοῦ ἡλίου πρὸς τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸ τῆς περιφερείας μέγεἡμῖν] θος, ὡς ἐν τοῖς φαινομένοις μικροῖς κύκλοις εὐθεῖα φαίνεται πόρρωθεν.
And they take as proof that the rising and setting sun appears to make a straight and not a curved line where it is hidden by the earth, whereas, if it were spherical, the section ought to be curved; not taking into account either the distance of the sun from the earth or the size of the circumference, and how, as in the case of small circles appearing to us, it seems straight from a distance.
διὰ μὲν οὖν ταύτην τὴν φαντασίαν οὐδὲν αύτοὺς ἀπιστεῖν δεῖ μὴ κυκλοτερῆ τὸν ὄγκον εἶναι τῆς γῆς·
Because of this appearance, then, they have no reason to disbelieve that the mass of the earth is spherical.
ἀλλʼ ἔτι προστιθέασι, καὶ φασὶ διὰ τὴν ἠρεμίαν ἀναγκαῖον τὸ σχῆμα τοῦτʼ ἔχειν αὐτήν.
But they go on to add, and say that because of its rest it is necessary for it to have this shape.
καὶ γὰρ δὴ οἱ περὶ τῆς κινήσεως καὶ τῆς μονῆς εἰρημένοι τρόποι πολλοὶ τυγχάνουσιν.
For indeed, the ways that have been stated concerning its motion and rest happen to be many.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀπορῆσαι πᾶσιν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπελθεῖν· τάχα γὰρ ἀλυποτέρας διανοίας τὸ μὴ θαυμάζειν πῶς ποτὲ μικρὸν μὲν μόριον τῆς γῆς, ἄν μετεωρισθὲν ἀφεθῇ, φέρεται καὶ μένειν οὐκ ἔθέλει, καὶ τὸ πλεῖον ἀεὶ θᾶττον, πᾶσον δὲ τὴν γῆν εἴ τις ἀφείη μετεωρίσας, οὐκ ἄν φέροιτο.
Now, to feel this difficulty must necessarily occur to everyone; for it would perhaps show a rather dull mind not to wonder how it is that a small part of the earth, if suspended and released, is carried downwards and refuses to stay still— and a larger part always more quickly—whereas if someone were to suspend and release the whole earth, it would not be carried downwards.
νῦν δʼ ἠρεμεῖ τοσοῦτον βάρος.
But as it is, so great a weight remains at rest.
ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ εἴ τις τῶν φερομένων μορίων αὐτῆς, πρὶν πεσεῖν, ὑφαιροίη τὴν γῆν, οἰσθήσεται κάτω μηθενὸς ἀντερείσαντος.
Moreover, if indeed before one of its falling parts should hit, one were to withdraw the earth, it would still be carried downwards with nothing resisting it.
ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἀπορεῖν εἰκότως ἐγένετο φιλοσόφημα πᾶσιν· τὸ δὲ τὰς περὶ τούτου λύσεις μὴ μᾶλλον ἀτόπους εἶναι δοκεῖν τῆς ἀπορίας θαυμάσειεν ἄν τις.
So that to feel this difficulty naturally became a subject of philosophical inquiry for everyone; but that the solutions offered for it do not seem even more absurd than the difficulty itself is what one might wonder at.