§2.8#4προέρχεται δὲ ὁ ψόφος τῆς κινήσεως διὰ τὸ λεπτομερέστερον εἶναι καὶ μᾶλλον διὰ παντὸς ἰέναι τοῦ πνεύματος τὸν ψόφον.
And the noise precedes the movement because the noise is made of finer parts and passes through everything more than the wind.
ὅταν δʼ ἔλαττον ᾖ ἢ ὥστε κινῆσαι τῆν γῆν διὰ λεπτότητα, διὰ μὲν τὸ ῥάδίως διηθεῖσθαι οὐ δύναται κινεῖν, διὰ δὲ τὸ προσπίπτειν στερεοῖς ὄγκοις καὶ κοίλοις καὶ παντοδαποῖς σχήμασι παντοδαπὴν ἀφίησι φωνήν, ὥστʼ ἐνίοτε δοκεῖν ὅπερ λέγουσιν οἱ τερατολογοῦντες, μυκᾶσθαι τὴν γῆν.
But when it is too small to move the earth because of its fineness, on the one hand, because of its filtering through easily it cannot move it, but on the other hand, because of its striking against solid masses and hollow spaces and all kinds of shapes, it emits all kinds of sounds, so that sometimes it seems, as those who tell portents say, that the earth bellows.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὕδατα ἀνερράγη γιγνομένων σεισμῶν· ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ τοῦτο αἴτιον τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς κινήσεως, ἀλλʼ ἂν ᾗ ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς ἢ κάτωθεν βιάζηται τὸ πνεῦμα, ἐκεῖνο τὸ κινοῦν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ τῶν κυμάτων οἱ ἄνεμοι ἀλλʼ οὐ τὰ κύματα τῶν ἀνέμων εἰσὶν αἴτια, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν γῆν οὕτως ἄν τις αἰτιῷτο τοῦ πάθους· ἀνατρέπεται γὰρ σειομένη, καθάπερ ὕδωρ (ἡ γὰρ ἔκχυσις ἀνάτρεψίς τίς ἐστιν).
And before now, waters have also burst forth when earthquakes occurred; but the water is not the cause of the movement because of this, but if the wind forces its way either from the surface or from below, that is the moving thing, just as the winds are the cause of the waves, but the waves are not the cause of the winds, since in this way one might also blame the earth for the affection; for it is overturned when shaken, just like water (for overflowing is a kind of overturning).
ἀλλʼ αἴτια ταῦτα μὲν ἄμφω ὡς ὕλη (πάσχει γάρ, ἀλλʼ οὐ ποιεῖ), τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ὡς ἀρχή.
But both of these are causes as matter (for they are acted upon, but do not act), whereas the wind is the cause as origin.
ὅπου δʼ ἄμα κῦμα σεισμῷ γέγονεν, αἴτιον, ὅταν ἐναντία γίγνηται τὰ πνεύματα.
And where a wave has occurred at the same time as an earthquake, the cause is when the winds become contrary.
τοῦτο δὲ γίγνεται ὅταν τὸ σεῖον τὴν γῆν πνεῦμα φερομένην ὑπʼ ἄλλου πνεύματος τὴν θάλατταν ἀπῶσαι μὲν ὅλως μὴ δύνηται, προωθοῦν δὲ καὶ συστέλλον εἰς ταὐτὸν συναθροίσῃ πολλήν· τότε γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον ἡττηθέντος τούτου τοῦ πνεύματος ἀθρόαν ὠθουμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου πνεύματος ἐκρήγνυσθαι καὶ ποιεῖν τὸν κατακλυσμόν.
And this happens when the wind that shakes the earth is completely unable to push back the sea which is being carried by another wind, but, pushing it forward and contracting it, gathers a great deal of it into the same place; for then, when this wind is defeated, it is necessary that, being pushed all at once by the opposite wind, it should burst out and produce the flood.
ἐγένετο δὲ τοῦτο καὶ περὶ Ἀχαΐαν· ἕξω μὲν γὰρ ἦν νότος, ἐκεῖ δὲ βορέας, νηνεμίας δὲ γενομένης καὶ ῥυέντος εἴσω τοῦ ἀνέμου ἐγένετο τὸ τε κῦμα καὶ ὁ σεισμὸς ἅμα, καὶ μᾶλλον διὰ τὸ τὴν θάλατταν μὴ διδόναι διαπνοὴν τῷ ὑπὸ τὴν γῆν ὡρμημένῳ πνεύματι, ἀλλʼ ἀντιφράττειν·
And this happened also around Achaea; for outside there was a south wind, but there a north wind, and when a calm occurred and the wind flowed inwards, both the wave and the earthquake happened at the same time, and all the more because the sea did not give an outlet to the wind that had rushed under the earth, but blocked it.
ἀποβιαζόμενα γὰρ ἄλληλα τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα τὸν σεισμὸν ἐποίησεν, ἡ δ᾿ ὑπόστασις τοῦ κύματος τὸν κατακλυσμόν.
For, forcing each other, the wind produced the earthquake, and the massing of the wave produced the flood.
κατὰ μέρος δὲ γίγνονται οἱ σεισμοὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ πολλάκις ἐπὶ μικρὸν τόπον, οἱ δʼ ἄνεμοι οὔ·
And earthquakes of the earth occur locally, and often over a small area, but winds do not.
κατὰ μέρος μέν, ὅταν αἱ ἀναθυμιάσεις αἱ κατὰ τὸν τόπον αὐτὸν καὶ τὸν γειτνιῶντα συνέλθωσιν εἰς ἕν, ὥσπερ καὶ τοὺς αὐχμοὺς ἔφαμεν γίγνεσθαι καὶ τὰς ὑπερομβρίας τὰς κατὰ μέρος.
Locally, indeed, when the exhalations in that place itself and the neighboring one come together into one, just as we said that droughts and local heavy rains occur.
καὶ οἱ μὲν σεισμοὶ γίγνονται διὰ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, οἱ δʼ ἄνεμοι οὔ·
And earthquakes occur in this way, but winds do not.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ γῇ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχει, ὥστʼ ἐφʼ ἓν ἁπάσας ὁρμᾶν· ὁ δʼ ἥλιος οὐχ ὁμοίως δύναται, τὰς δὲ μετεώρους μᾶλλον, ὥστε ῥεῖν, ὅταν ἀρχὴν λάβωσιν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ ἡλίου φορᾶς ἤδη κατὰ τὰς διαφορὰς τῶν τόπων, ἐφʼ ἕν.
For the former have their origin in the earth, so that they all rush towards one point; but the sun cannot do similarly, but rather affects those in the air, so that they flow, when they have received their origin from the motion of the sun, already according to the differences of the places, towards one.
ὅταν μὲν οὖν ᾗ πολὺ τὸ πνεῦμα, κινεῖ τὴν γῆν, ὥσπερ δὲ ὁ τρόμος, ἐπὶ πλάτος·
When, therefore, the wind is abundant, it moves the earth, like a shudder, horizontally.
γίγνεται δʼ ὀλιγάκις καὶ κατά τινας τόπους, οἶον σφυγμός, ἄνω κάτωθεν· διὸ καὶ ἐλαττονάκις σείει τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· οὐ γὰρ [δίδωσιν] ῥᾴδιον οὕτω πολλὴν συνελθεῖν ἀρχήν· ἐπὶ μῆκος γὰρ πολλαπλασία τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ βάθους ἡ διάκρισις.
But it happens rarely and in some places, like a throbbing, vertically; therefore, it shakes less often in this way; for it is not easy for so much source-material to come together; for the separation along the length is many times greater than that from the depth.
ὅπου δʼ ἂν γένηται τοιοῦτος σεισμός, ἐπιπολάζει πλῆθος λίθων, ὥσπερ τῶν ἐν τοῖς λίκνοις ἀναβραττομένων·
And wherever such an earthquake occurs, a multitude of stones comes to the surface, like those being shaken up in winnowing baskets.
τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν τρόπον γενομένου σεισμοῦ τά τε περὶ Σίπυλον ἀνετράπη καὶ τὸ Φλεγραῖον καλούμενον πεδίον καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν Λιγυστικὴν χώραν.
For when an earthquake occurred in this way, the region around Sipylos was overturned, and the so-called Phlegraean plain, and the region around the Ligurian territory.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς νήσοις ταῖς ποντίαις ἧττον γίγνονται σεισμοὶ τῶν προσγείων·
But in the islands out at sea, earthquakes occur less than in those near the land.
τὸ γὰρ πλῆθος τῆς θαλάττης καταψύχει τὰς ἀναθυμιάσεις καὶ κωλύει τῷ βάρει καὶ ἀποβιάζεται· ἔτι δὲ ῥεῖ καὶ οὐ σείεται κρατουμένη ὑπὸ τῶν πνευμάτων· καὶ διὰ τὸ πολὺν ἐπέχειν τόπον οὐκ εἰς ταύτην ἀλλʼ ἐκ ταύτης αἱ ἀναθυμιάσεις γίγνονται, καὶ ταύταις ἀκολουθοῦσιν αἱ ἐκ τῆς γῆς.
For the mass of the sea cools the exhalations and prevents them by its weight and repels them; and furthermore, it flows and is not shaken, being dominated by the winds; and because of its occupying a large space, the exhalations do not occur into it but out of it, and those from the land follow these.
αἱ δʼ ἐγγὺς τῆς ἠπείρου μόριόν εἰσιν τῆς ἠπείρου· τὸ γὰρ μεταξὺ διὰ μικρότητα οὐδεμίαν ἔχει δύναμιν·
But those near the mainland are a part of the mainland; for the intervening sea, because of its smallness, has no power.
τὰς δὲ ποντίας οὐκ ἔστιν κινῆσαι ἄνευ τῆς θαλάττης ὅλης, ὑφʼ ἧς περιεχόμεναι τυγχάνουσιν.
But it is impossible to move the deep-sea islands without the whole sea by which they happen to be surrounded.
περὶ μὲν οὖν σεισμῶν καὶ τίς ἡ φύσις, καὶ διὰ τίνα αἰτίαν γίγνονται, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν συμβαινόντων περὶ αὐτούς, εἴρηται σχεδὸν περὶ τῶν μεγίστων.
Concerning earthquakes, therefore, both what their nature is, and for what cause they occur, and concerning the other things that happen around them, the most important points have been pretty much stated.