§1.13#113 περὶ δὲ ἀνέμων καὶ πάντων πνευμάτων, ἔτι δὲ ποταμῶν καὶ θαλάττης λέγωμεν, πρῶτον καὶ περὶ τούτων διαπορήσαντες πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς· ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ περὶ ἄλλων, οὕτως καὶ περὶ τούτων οὐδὲν παρειλήφαμεν λεγόμενον τοιοῦτον ὃ μὴ κἄν ὁ τυχὼν εἴπειεν.
13 Now let us speak concerning winds and all currents of air, and furthermore concerning rivers and the sea, first discussing the difficulties concerning them among ourselves; for, as in other matters, so also concerning these, we have inherited nothing said of such a kind that even any chance person might not say it.
εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἵ φασι τὸν καλούμενον ἀέρα κινούμενον μὲν καὶ ῥέοντα ἄνεμον εἶναι, συνιστάμενον δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον πάλιν νέφος καὶ ὕδωρ, ὡς τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως οὔσης ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, καὶ τὸν ἄνεμον εἶναι κίνησιν ἀέρος.
There are indeed some who say that what is called air, when in motion and flowing, is wind, but that this same air when condensing is again cloud and water, as though water and wind were of the same nature, and wind were a motion of air.
διὸ καὶ τῶν σοφῶς βουλομένων λέγειν τινὲς ἕνα φασὶν ἄνεμον εἶναι πάντας τοὺς ἀνέμους, ὅτι συμπέπτωκε καὶ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν κινούμενον ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι πάντα, δοκεῖν δὲ διαφέρειν οὐδὲν διαφέροντα διὰ τοὺς τόπους ὅθεν ἄν τυγχάνῃ ῥέων ἑκάστοτε, παραπλησίως λέγοντες ὥσπερ ἄν εἵ τις οἴοιτο καὶ τοὺς ποταμμοὺς πάντας ἕνα ποταμὸν εἶναι.
Therefore also, some of those who wish to speak wisely say that all winds are one wind, because it happens that the air in motion is also all one and the same, but it seems to differ, though not differing at all, because of the places from which it happens to flow each time, speaking in a similar way as if someone were to think that all rivers are one river.
διὸ βέλτιον οἱ πολλοὶ λέγουσιν ἄνευ ζητήσεως τῶν μετὰ ζητήσεως οὕτω λεγόντων· εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ μιᾶς ἀρχῆς ἅπαντες ῥέουσι, κἀκεῖ τὰ πνεύματα τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, τάχα λέγοιεν ἄν τι οἱ λέγοντες οὕτως·
Wherefore the many speak better without inquiry than those who speak thus with inquiry; for if indeed they all flow from one source, and the currents of air there in the same manner, those who speak thus might perhaps be saying something; but if it is similar here and there, it is clear that this clever theory would be false.
εἰ δʼ ὁμοίως ἐνταῦθα κἀκεῖ, δῆλον ὅτι τὸ κόμψευμα ἂν εἴη τοῦτο ψεῦδος, ἐπεὶ τοῦτό γε προσήκουσαν ἔχει σκέψιν, τί τʼ ἐστὶν ὁ ἄνεμος, καὶ γίγνεται πῶς, καὶ τὶ τὸ κινοῦν, καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ πόθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ πότερον ἄρʼ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀγγείου δεῖ λαβεῖν ῤέοντα τὸν ἄνεμον, καὶ μέχρι τούτου ῥεῖν ἕως ἄν κενωθῇ τὸ ἀγγεῖον, οἷον ἐξ ἀσκῶν ἀφιέμενον, ἢ καθάπερ καὶ οἱ γραφεῖς γράφουσιν, ἐξ αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀφιέντας.
For this indeed requires proper consideration: what wind is, and how it arises, and what is the moving cause, and what is their source, and whether we ought to take the wind as flowing as if from a vessel, and flowing until the vessel is emptied, as if let go from wineskins, or whether, as painters also draw them, they let go the source from themselves.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν ποταμῶν γενέσεως δοκεῖ τισιν ἔχειν· τὸ γὰρ ἀναχθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ὕδωρ πάλιν ὑόμενον ἀθροισθὲν ὑπὸ γῆν ῥεῖν ἐκ κοιλίας μεγάλης, ἢ πάντας μιᾶς ἢ ἄλλον ἄλλης· καὶ οὐ γίγνεσθαι ὕδωρ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τὸ συλλεχθὲν ἐκ τοῦ χειμῶνος εἰς τὰς τοιαύτας ὑποδοχάς, τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι τὸ πλῆθος τὸ τῶν ποταμῶν.
In like manner, concerning the generation of rivers, it seems to some to be the case: for they say that the water drawn up by the sun, falling again as rain and being gathered under the earth, flows from a great cavity, either all from one or each from a different one; and that no water is generated, but that what is collected from the winter into such reservoirs becomes this abundance of the rivers.
διὸ καὶ μείζους ἀεὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ῥεῖν ἢ τοῦ θέρους, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀενάους εἶναι τοὺς δʼ οὐκ ἀενάους· ὅσων μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς κοιλίας πολὺ τὸ συλλεγόμενον ὕδωρ ἐστίν, ὥστε διαρκεῖν καὶ μὴ προαναλίσκεσθαι πρὶν ἐπελθεῖν τὸ ὄμβριον ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι πάλιν, τούτους μὲν ἀενάους εἶναι διὰ τέλους, ὅσοις δὲ ἐλάττους αἱ ὑποδοχαί, τούτους δὲ διʼ ὀλιγότητα τοῦ ὕδατος φθάνειν ξηραινομένους πρὶν ἐπελθεῖν τὸ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, κενουμένου τοῦ ἀγγείου.
Therefore also, they always flow larger in winter than in summer, and some are perennial while others are not perennial; for those in which, because of the size of the cavity, the collected water is much, so that it lasts and is not consumed beforehand until the rain comes again in the winter, these are perennial throughout, but those for which the reservoirs are smaller, these because of the smallness of the water are dried up beforehand before the water from heaven comes, the vessel being emptied.
καίτοι φανερόν, εἴ τις βούλεται ποιήσας οἷον ὑποδοχὴν πρὸ ὀμμάτων τῷ καθʼ ἡμέραν ὕδατι ῥέοντι συνεχῶς νοῆσαι τὸ πλῆθος· ὑπερβάλλοι γὰρ ἄν τῷ μεγέθει τὸν τῆς γῆς ὄγκον ἢ οὐ πολὺ ἂν ἐλλείποι τὸ δεχόμενον πᾶν τὸ ῥέον ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν ἐνιαυτόν.
Yet it is manifest, if anyone wishes to form, as it were, a reservoir before his eyes and conceive the quantity for the water flowing continuously day by day; for the vessel receiving all the flowing water for a year would exceed the mass of the earth in size, or would not fall far short of it.
ἀλλὰ δῆλον ὅτι συμβαίνει μὲν καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα πολλαχοῦ τῆς γῆς, οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἄτοπον εἴ τις μὴ νομίζει διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν ὕδωρ ἐξ ἀέρος γίγνεσθαι διʼ ἥνπερ ὑπὲρ γῆς καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ.
But it is clear that, though many such things happen in many places of the earth, nevertheless it is absurd if one does not believe that water is generated from air under the earth for the same reason as it is above the earth.
ὥστʼ εἴπερ κἀκεῖ διὰ ψυχρότητα συνίσταται ὁ ἀτμίζων ἀὴρ εἰς ὕδωρ, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ γῇ ψυχρότητος τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δεῖ νομίζειν συμβαίνειν, καὶ γίγνεσθαι μὴ μόνον τὸ ἀποκεκριμένον ὕδωρ ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ τοῦτο ῥεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ γίγνεσθαι συνεχῶς.
So that if indeed there, because of cold, the vaporous air condenses into water, we must believe that this same thing happens also by the cold in the earth, and that not only does the water already separated in it exist and flow, but also it is continually generated.