§2.2#12 περὶ δὲ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτῆς, εἰ γέγονε, καὶ τοῦ χυμοῦ, τίς ἡ αἰτία τῆς ἁλμυρότητος καὶ πικρότητος, λεκτέον.
2 We must speak about its generation, if indeed it has come to be, and about its taste, what the cause of its saltiness and bitterness is.
ἡ μὲν οὖν αἰτία ἡ ποιήσασα τοὺς πρότερον οἴεσθαι τὴν θάλατταν ἀρχὴν εἶναι καὶ σῶμα τοῦ παντὸς ὕδατος ἥδ᾿ ἐστίν· δόξειε γὰρ ἄν εὔλογον εἶναι, καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στοιχείων ἐστὶν ἠθροισμένος ὄγκος καὶ ἀρχὴ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος, ὅθεν μεταβάλλει τε μεριζόμενον καὶ μείγνυται τοῖς ἄλλοις οἷον πυρὸς μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἄνω τόποις, ἀέρος δὲ πλῆθος τὸ μετὰ τὸν τοῦ πυρὸς τόπον, γῆς δὲ σῶμα περὶ ὃ ταῦτα πάντα κεῖται φανερῶς· ὥστε δῆλον ὅτι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον καὶ περὶ ὕδατος ἀνάγκη ζητεῖν.
Now, the cause that made our predecessors think that the sea is the principle and body of all water is this: for it would seem to be reasonable, just as there is a gathered mass and principle of the other elements because of their quantity, from which they change when divided and mix with the others—as for instance of fire in the upper regions, and the mass of air in the region next after that of fire, and the body of earth about which all these clearly lie—so that it is clear that according to the same argument it is necessary to seek concerning water also.
τοιοῦτον δʼ οὐδὲν ἄλλο φαίνεται σῶμα κείμενον ἀθρόον, ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στοιχείων, πλὴν τὸ τῆς θαλάττης μέγεθος· τὸ γὰρ τῶν ποταμῶν οὔτʼ ἀθρόον οὔτε στάσιμον, ἀλλʼ ὡς γιγνόμενον ἀεὶ φαίνεται καθʼ ἡμέραν.
But no other such body appears lying gathered together, as in the case of the other elements, except the magnitude of the sea; for the water of rivers is neither gathered together nor standing, but appears as always being generated daily.
ἐκ ταύτης δὴ τῆς ἀπορίας καὶ ἀρχὴ τῶν ὑγρῶν ἔδοξεν εἶναι καὶ τοῦ παντὸς ὕδατος ἡ θάλαττα.
It was indeed from this difficulty that the sea seemed to be both the principle of wet things and of all water.
διὸ καὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς οὐ μόνον εἰς ταύτην ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ ταύτης φασί τινες ῥεῖν· διηθούμενον γὰρ γίγνεσθαι τὸ ἁλμυρὸν πότιμον.
Therefore, some even say that rivers flow not only into it but also out of it; for they say that the salty water becomes drinkable by being filtered.
ἀντίκειται δὲ ἑτέρα πρὸς ταύτην τὴν δόξαν ἀπορία, τί δή ποτʼ οὐκ ἔστιν τὸ συνεστὸς ὕδωρ τοῦτο πότιμον, εἴπερ ἀρχὴ τοῦ παντὸς ὕδατος, ἀλλʼ ἁλμυρόν.
But another difficulty opposes this opinion, namely, why on earth this gathered water is not drinkable, if indeed it is the principle of all water, but salty.
τὸ δʼ αἴτιον ἅμα ταύτης τε τῆς ἀπορίας λύσις ἔσται, καὶ περὶ θαλάττης τὴν πρώτην λαβεῖν ὑπόληψιν ἀναγκαῖον ὀρθῶς.
But the cause of this will simultaneously be the solution to this difficulty, and it is necessary first to grasp the correct assumption about the sea.
τοῦ γὰρ ὕδατος περὶ τὴν γῆν περιτεταμένου, καθάπερ περὶ τοῦτο ἡ τοῦ ἀέρος σφαῖρα καὶ περὶ ταύτην ἡ λεγομένη πυρός (τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι πάντων ἔσχατον, εἶθʼ ὡς οἱ πλεῖστοι λέγουσιν εἴθ᾿ ὡς ἡμεῖς), φερομένου δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τῆς μεταβολῆς καὶ γενέσεώς τε καὶ φθορᾶς οὔσης, τὸ μὲν λεπτότατον καὶ γλυκύτατον ἀνάγεται καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν καὶ φέρεται διακρινόμενον καὶ ἀτμίζον εἰς τὸν ἄνω τόπον, ἐκεῖ δὲ πάλιν συστὰν διὰ τὴν ψύξιν καταφέρεται πάλιν πρὸς τὴν γῆν.
For since water is stretched around the earth, just as the sphere of air is around this, and around that the sphere of what is called fire (for this is the outermost of all, whether as most people say or as we say), and since the sun is carried in this manner, and because of this change and generation and decay exist, the finest and sweetest part is drawn up every day and carried, being separated and vaporized, into the upper region, and there again condensed by the cold, it is carried down again to the earth.
καὶ τοῦτʼ ἀεὶ βούλεται ποιεῖν ἡ φύσις οὕτως, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον.
And nature always wishes to do this in this way, just as was said before.
διὸ καὶ γελοῖοι πάντες ὅσοι τῶν πρότερον ὑπέλαβον τὸν ἥλιον τρέφεσθαι τῷ ὑγρῷ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτʼ ἔνιοί γέ φασιν καὶ ποιεῖσθαι τὰς τροπὰς αὐτόν· οὐ γὰρ αἰεὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς δύνασθαι τόπους παρασκευάζειν αὐτῷ τὴν τροφήν· ἀναγκαῖον δʼ εἶναι τοῦτο συμβαίνειν περὶ αὐτὸν ἢ φθείρεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ τὸ φανερὸν πῦρ, ἕως ἂν ἔχῃ τροφήν, μέχρι τούτου ζῆν, τὸ δʼ ὑγρὸν τῷ πυρὶ τροφὴν εἶναι μόνον, — ὥσπερ ἀφικνούμενον μέχρι πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον τὸ ἀναγόμενον τοῦ ὑγροῦ, ἢ τὴν ἄνοδον τοιαύτην οὖσαν οἵανπερ τῇ γιγνομένῃ φλογί, διʼ ἧς τὸ εἰκὸς λαβόντες οὕτω καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ὑπέλαβον.
Wherefore also all those of our predecessors who supposed that the sun is nourished by the wet are ridiculous; and because of this some even say that it makes its turnings; for they say that the same regions cannot always provide its nourishment, and that this must necessarily happen concerning it or it must perish; for indeed visible fire, as long as it has nourishment, lives up to that point, and the wet is the only nourishment for fire—as if the water drawn up arrived all the way to the sun, or its ascent were such as that of the flame that is generated, from which they took the likelihood and so assumed also about the sun.
τὸ δʼ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιον· ἡ μὲν γὰρ φλὸξ διὰ συνεχοῦς ὑγροῦ καὶ ξηροῦ μεταβαλλόντων γίγνεται καὶ οὐ τρέφεται (οὐ γὰρ ἡ αὐτὴ οὖσα διαμένει οὐδένα χρόνον ὡς εἰπεῖν), περὶ δὲ τὸν ἥλιον ἀδύνατον τοῦτο συμβαίνειν, ἐπεὶ τρεφομένου γε τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοί φασιν, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἥλιος οὐ μόνον καθάπερ Ἡράκλειτός φησιν, νέος ἐφʼ ἡμέρῃ ἐστίν, ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ νέος συνεχῶς.
But this is not similar; for flame comes to be through a continuous change of wet and dry and is not nourished (for it does not remain the same for any time to speak of), but concerning the sun this is impossible to happen, since if it were nourished in the same way, as they say, it is clear that the sun is not only, as Heraclitus says, new every day, but always continuously new.
ἔτι δʼ ἡ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀναγωγὴ τοῦ ὑγροῦ ὁμοία τοῖς θερμαινομένοις ἐστὶν ὕδασιν ὑπὸ πυρός· εἰ οὖν μηδὲ τὸ ὑποκαόμενον τρέφεται πῦρ, οὐδὲ τὸν ἥλιον εἰκὸς ἦν ὑπολαβεῖν, οὐδʼ εἰ πᾶν θερμαίνων ἐξατμίσειεν τὸ ὕδωρ.
Furthermore, the drawing up of the wet by the sun is similar to waters being heated by fire; if then not even the fire burning underneath is nourished, it was not reasonable to suppose this of the sun either, not even if it evaporated all the water by heating it.
ἄτοπον δὲ καὶ τὸ μόνον φροντίσαι τοῦ ἡλίου, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων ἄστρων αὐτοὺς παριδεῖν τὴν σωτηρίαν, τοσούτων καὶ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ὄντων.
And it is also absurd to care only for the sun, and to overlook the preservation of the other stars, being so many both in multitude and magnitude.
τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ συμβαίνει καὶ τούτοις ἄλογον καὶ τοῖς φάσκουσι τὸ πρῶτον ὑγρᾶς οὔσης καὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ περὶ τὴν γῆν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου θερμαινομένου, ἀέρα γενέσθαι καὶ τὸν ὅλον οὐρανὸν αὐξηθῆναι, καὶ τοῦτον πνεύματά τε παρέχεσθαι καὶ τὰς τροπὰς αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν· φανερῶς γὰρ ἀεὶ τὸ ἀναχθὲν ὁρῶμεν καταβαῖνον πάλιν ὕδωρ· κἂν μὴ κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν ἀποδιδῷ καὶ καθʼ ἑκάστην ὁμοίως χώραν, ἀλλʼ ἔν γέ τισιν τεταγμένοις χρόνοις ἀποδίδωσι πᾶν τὸ ληφθέν, ὡς οὔτε τρεφομένων τῶν ἄνωθεν, οὔτε τοῦ μὲν μένοντος ἀέρος ἤδη μετὰ τὴν γένεσιν, τοῦ δὲ γιγνομένου καὶ φθειρομένου πάλιν εἰς ὕδωρ, ἀλλʼ ὁμοίως ἅπαντος διαλυομένου καὶ συνισταμένου πάλιν εἰς ὕδωρ.
And the same irrationality happens both to these and to those who assert that at first, when the earth also was wet, and the world about the earth was heated by the sun, air came to be and the whole heaven was increased, and this provided winds and caused its turnings; for we always clearly see the water that has been drawn up coming down again; and even if it does not return it year by year and in every region alike, yet in certain ordained times it returns all that was taken, showing that neither are the things above nourished, nor does part of the air remain already after its generation while another part comes to be and perishes back into water, but rather all of it is dissolved and condensed back into water alike.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πότιμον καὶ γλυκὺ διὰ κουφότητα πᾶν ἀνάγεται, τὸ δʼ ἁλμυρὸν ὑπομένει διὰ βάρος οὐκ ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ οἰκείῳ τόπῳ· τοῦτο γὰρ οἰητέον ἀπορηθῆναί τε προσηκόντως (ἄλογον γὰρ εἰ μή τίς ἐστιν τόπος ὕδατος ὥσπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στοιχείων) καὶ ταύτην εἶναι λύσιν· ὃν γὰρ ὁρῶμεν κατέχουσαν τόπον τὴν θάλατταν, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστιν θαλάττης ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὕδατος.
The drinkable and sweet part, then, is all drawn up because of its lightness, but the salty remains behind because of its weight, yet not in its own proper place; for we must think that this was properly questioned (for it is irrational if there is no place for water as there is for the other elements) and that this is the solution; for the place which we see the sea occupying is not that of the sea, but rather of water.