§2.11 Περὶ δὲ θαλὰττης, καὶ τίς ἡ φύσις αὐτῆς, καὶ διὰ τίνʼ αἰτίαν ἁλμυρὸν τοσοῦτὸν ἐστιν ὕδατος πλῆθος, ἔτι δὲ περὶ τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενέσεως λέγωμεν.
1 Let us speak about the sea, both what its nature is and for what cause so great a body of water is so salty, and further about its original generation.
οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀρχαῖοι καὶ διατρίβοντες περὶ τὰς θεολογίας ποιοῦσιν αὐτῆς πηγάς, ἵνʼ αὐτοῖς ὥσιν ἀρχαὶ καὶ ῥίζαι γῆς καὶ θαλάττης· τραγικῶτερον γὰρ οὕτω καὶ σεμνότερον ὑπέλαβον ἴσως εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον, ὡς μέγα τι τοῦ παντὸς τοῦτο μόριον ὄν· καὶ τὸν λοιπὸν οὐρανὸν ὅλον πεοὶ τοῦτον συνεστάναι τὸν τόπον καὶ τούτου χάριν ὡς ὄντα τιμμιῶτατον καὶ ἀρχήν.
Now the ancients and those who spent their time on theologies make sources for it, in order that they might have principles and roots of earth and sea; for they supposed, perhaps, that what was said was more tragic and solemn in this way, on the ground that this is a great part of the universe; and that the whole of the rest of the heaven was constituted around this place and for its sake, as if it were the most honorable thing and a principle.
οἱ δὲ σοφώτεροι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην σοφίαν ποιοῦσιν αὐτῆς γένεσιν· εἶναι γὰρ τὸ πρῶτον ὑγρὸν ἅπαντα τὸν περὶ τὴν γῆν τόπον, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου ξηραινόμενον τὸ μὲν διατμίσαν πνεύματα καὶ τροπὰς ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης φασὶ ποιεῖν, τὸ δὲ λειφθὲν θάλατταν εἶναι· διὸ καὶ ἐλάττω γίγνεσθαι ξηραινομένην οἴονται, καὶ τέλος ἔσεσθαὶ ποτε πᾶσαν ξηράν.
But those who were wiser in human wisdom make a generation of it: for they say that at first the whole region about the earth was wet, but being dried by the sun, the part that vaporized produced winds and the turnings of the sun and moon, while the part left behind is the sea; wherefore they think that it is becoming smaller as it dries, and that at last it will some time all be dry.
ἔνιοι δʼ αὐτῶν θερμαινομένης φασὶν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς γῆς οἶον ἱδρῶτα γίγνεσθαι· διὸ καὶ ἁλμυρὰν εἶναι· καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἱδρὼς ἁλμυρός.
And some of them say that when the earth is heated by the sun, a kind of sweat is produced, and that this is why it is salty; for sweat too is salty.
οἱ δὲ τῆς ἀλμιυρδτητος αἰτίαν τὴν γῆν εἶναὶ φασιν· καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ διὰ τῆς τέφρας ἠθούμενον ἀλμμυρὸν γίγνεται, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ταύτην ἁλμυρὰν εἶναι μειχθείσης αὐτῇ τοιαύτης γῆς.
Others say that the earth is the cause of its saltiness; for just as water filtered through ashes becomes salty, in the same way this too is salty because such earth is mixed with it.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν πηγὰς τῆς θαλάττης ἀδύνατον εἶναι, διὰ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἤδη θεωρεῖν δεῖ.
That it is impossible, then, for there to be sources of the sea, we must observe from the facts already established.
τῶν γὰρ περὶ τὴν γῆν ὑδάτων τὰ μὲν ῥυτὰ τυγχάνει ὄντα τὰ δὲ στάσιμα.
For of the waters about the earth, some happen to be flowing and others standing.
τὰ μὲν οὖν ῥυτὰ πάντα πηγαῖα· περὶ δὲ τῶν πηγῶν εἰρήκαμεν πρότερον ὅτι δεῖ νοεῖν οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀγγείου ταμιευόμενον τὴν ἀρχὴν εἶναι πηγήν, ἀλλʼ εἰς ἓν ἀεὶ γιγνόμενον καὶ συρρέον ἀπαντᾶν πρώτην.
Now the flowing waters are all from sources; and about sources we have said before that we must conceive of a source as a principle not in the sense of being stored up as if from a vessel, but as the first point of meeting where water is always being generated and flowing together into one.
τῶν δὲ στασίμων τὰ μὲν συλλογιμμαῖα καὶ ὑποστάσεις, οἶον τὰ τελματιαῖα καὶ ὅσα λιμνώδη, πλήθει καὶ ὀλιγότητι διαφέροντα, τὰ δὲ πηγαῖα.
Of standing waters, some are collected and sedimented, such as marshy waters and all lake waters, differing in greatness and smallness of quantity, while others are from sources.
ταῦτα δὲ πάντα χειρόκμητα, λέγω δʼ οἷον τὰ φρεατιαῖα καλούμενα· πάντων γὰρ ἀνωτέρω δεῖ τὴν πηγὴν εἶναι τῆς ῥύσεως.
And all these are artificial, I mean for instance what are called well waters; for in all cases the source must be higher than the flow.
διὸ τὰ μὲν αὐτόματα δεῖ τὰ κρηναῖα καὶ ποτάμια, ταῦτα δὲ τέοὅτως χνης προσδεῖται τῆς ἐργασομένης.
Therefore, spring waters and river waters must be spontaneous, whereas these require an art to construct them.
αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραὶ τοσαῦται καὶ τοιαῦται τῶν ὑδάτων εἰσίν· τούτων δʼ οὕτω διωρισμένων ἁδύνατον πηγὰς εἶναι τῆς θαλάττης·
Such and so many, then, are the differences of waters; and since these have been thus defined, it is impossible for there to be sources of the sea.
ἐν οὐδετέρῳ γὰρ τούτων οἶον τʼ εἶναι τῶν γενῶν αὐτήν· οὔτε γὰρ ἀπόρρυτός ἐστιν οὔτε χειροποίητος, τὰ δὲ πηγαῖα πάντα τούτων θάτερον πέπονθεν·
For it cannot belong to either of these classes; for it is neither flowing nor artificial, whereas all waters from sources have one or the other of these properties.
αὐτόματον δὲ στάσιμον τοσοῦτον πλῆθος οὐδὲν ὁρῶμεν πηγαῖον γιγνόμενον.
And we see no spontaneous standing water of so great a quantity coming from sources.
ἔτι δʼ ἐπεὶ πλείους εἰσὶ θάλατται πρὸς ἀλλήλας οὐ συμμμμειγνύουσαι κατʼ οὐδένα τόπον, ὧν ἡ μὲν ἐρυθρὰ φαίνεται κατὰ μικρὸν κοινωνοῦσα πρὸς τὴν ἔξω στηλῶν θάλατταν, ἡ δʼ Ὑρκανία καὶ Κασπία κεχωρισμέναι τε ταύτης καὶ περιοικοῦμμεναι κύκλῳ, ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐλάνθανον αἱ πηγαί, εἰ κατά τινα τόπον αὐτῶν ἠσαν.
Furthermore, since there are several seas that do not mix with one another at any point—of which the Red Sea appears to communicate slightly with the sea outside the Pillars, while the Hyrcanian and Caspian are separated from this and surrounded by inhabited land in a circle, so that their sources would not have escaped notice if they existed in any part of them.
ῥέουσα δʼ ἡ θάλαττα φαίνεται κατά τε τὰς στενότητας, εἴ που διὰ τὴν περιέχουσαν γῆν εἰς μικρὸν ἐκ μεγάλου συνάγεται πελάγους, διὰ τὸ ταλαντεύεσθαι δεῦρο κἀκεῖσε πολλάκις.
But the sea appears to flow in narrow straits, where because of the surrounding land it is contracted into a small space from a great sea, due to its frequent oscillation back and forth.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐν μὲν πολλῷ πλήθει θαλάττης ἄδηλον· ᾗ δὲ διὰ τὴν στενότητα τῆς γῆς ὀλίγον ἐπέχει τόπον, ἀναγκαῖον τὴν ἐν τῷ πελάγει μικρὰν ταλάντωσιν ἐκεῖ φαίνεσθαι μεγάλην.
This is imperceptible in a great quantity of sea; but where, because of the narrowness of the land, it occupies a small space, it is necessary that the slight oscillation in the open sea should appear large there.
ἡ δʼ ἐντὸς Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν ἄποσα κατὰ τὴν τῆς γῆς κοιλότητα ῥεῖ, καὶ τῶν ποταμῶν τὸ πλῆθος· ἡ μὲν γὰρ Μαιῶτις εἰς τὸν ὸντον ῥεῖ, οὗτος δʼ εἰς τὸν Aἰγαῖον.
The whole sea inside the Pillars of Heracles flows according to the hollow of the earth, and because of the multitude of rivers; for Lake Maeotis flows into the Pontus, and the Pontus into the Aegean.
τὰ δʼ ἤδη τούτων ἔξω πελάγη ᾖττον ποιεῖ τοῦτʼ ἐπιδήλως.
But the seas already outside of these do this less visibly.
ἐκείνοις δὲ διά τε τὸ τῶν ποταμῶν πλῆθος συμβαίνει τοῦτο (πλείους γὰρ εἰς τὸν Eὔξεινον ῥέουσιν ποταμοὶ καὶ τὴν Μαιῶτιν ἢ τὴν πολλαπλασίαν χώραν αὐτῆς) καὶ διὰ τὴν βραχύτητα τοῦ βάθους· ἀεὶ γὰρ ἔτι βαθυτέρα φαίνεται οὖσα ἡ θάλαττα, καὶ τῆς μὲν Μαιώτιδος ὁ Πόντος, τούτου δʼ ὁ Αἰγαῖος, τοῦ δʼ Αἰγαίου ὁ Σικελικός· ὁ δὲ Σαρδονικὸς καὶ Τυρρηνικὸς βαθύτατοι πάντων.
In those seas this happens both because of the multitude of rivers (for more rivers flow into the Euxine and Lake Maeotis than into a territory many times their size) and because of the shallowness of their depth; for the sea always appears to be deeper as one goes on, the Pontus being deeper than Lake Maeotis, the Aegean than the Pontus, and the Sicilian than the Aegean; while the Sardinian and Tyrrhenian are the deepest of all.
τὰ δʼ ἔξω στηλῶν βραχέα μὲν διὰ τὸν πηλόν, ἄπνοα δʼ ἐστὶν ὡς ἐν κοίλῳ τῆς θαλάττης οὔσης.
And the parts outside the Pillars are shallow because of the mud, and are windless, as if the sea were in a hollow.
ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ κατὰ μέρος ἐκ τῶν ὑψηλῶν οἱ ποταμοὶ φαίνονται ῥέοντες, οὕτω καὶ τῆς ὅλης γῆς ἐκ τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων τῶν πρὸς ἄρκτον τὸ ῥεῦμα γίγνεται τὸ πλεῖστον· ὥστε τὰ μὲν διὰ τὴν ἔκχυσιν οὐ βαθέα, τὰ δʼ ἕξω πελάγη βαθέα μᾶλλον.
Therefore, just as in detail rivers are seen flowing from high places, so in the earth as a whole the greatest part of the flow comes from the higher parts towards the north; so that some parts are not deep because of the outflow, while the outer seas are deeper.
περὶ δὲ τοῦ τὰ πρὸς ἄρκτον εἶναι τῆς γῆς ὑψηλὰ σημεῖόν τι καὶ τὸ πολλοὺς πεισθῆναι τῶν ἀρχαίων μετεωρολόγων τὸν ἥλιον μὴ φέρεσθαι ὑπὸ γῆν ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον, ἀφανίζεσθαι δὲ καὶ ποιεῖν νύκτα διὰ τὸ ὑψηλὴν εἶναι πρὸς ἄρκτον τὴν γῆν.
And that the northern parts of the earth are high is indicated by the fact that many of the ancient meteorologists were persuaded that the sun does not pass under the earth, but around the earth and this region, and that it disappears and causes night because the earth is high towards the north.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὔτε πηγὰς οἷόν τʼ εἶναι τῆς θαλάττης, καὶ διὰ τίνʼ αἰτίαν οὕτως φαίνεται ῥέουσα, τοιαῦτα καὶ τοσαῦθʼ ἡμῖν εἰρήσθω.
That, then, it is impossible for there to be sources of the sea, and for what cause it appears to flow in this way, let so much of these things be said by us.