§2.2.10Τὴν δὲ ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὑπερβαίνει τὸ ὕδωρ· ἡ γὰρ ὅλη ἐπιφάνεια αὐτοῦ μία ἐστὶ μετὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀέρος.
And water does not exceed its surface; for its whole surface is one with that of the air.
Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἄνεισι καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον ὑπεράνω τοῦ ὕδατος.
And for this reason oil also rises above water.
Εἰσὶ δὲ καί τινες λίθοι οἳ τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπερνήχονται, διὰ τὸ κενὸν μόνον τὸ ἐν τούτοις μεῖζον ὂν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς μερῶν, καὶ διὰ τὸ τὸν τόπον τοῦ ἀέρος μείζονα εἶναι τοῦ τόπου τοῦ σώματος τῆς γῆς.
And there are also some stones which float upon water, solely because the void in them is larger than the parts in them, and because the place of the air is larger than the place of the body of the earth.
§2.2.11Φύσις γάρ ἐστι τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπεράνω βαίνειν τῆς γῆς, τοῦ δὲ ἀέρος τὸ ὑπεράνω βαίνειν τοῦ ὕδατος, Ἡ τοῦ ἀέρος τοίνυν φύσις τοῦ ἐγκλειομένου τῷ λίθῳ ἀναβαίνει ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ τῷ ὅλῳ ἀέρι συνάπτεται· καὶ γὰρ ἕκαστον τὸ οἰκεῖον ὅμοιον ἐφέλκεται, καὶ συνακολουθεῖ ἡ φύσις τοῦ μέρους τῷ ὅλῳ ιὧ συζεύγνυται.
For it is the nature of water to go above the earth, and of air to go above water. Therefore, the nature of the air enclosed in the stone ascends above the water and is joined to the whole air; for indeed each thing draws to itself its own like, and the nature of the part follows the whole to which it is joined.
§2.2.12Εἰ τοίνυν ἔσται τις ῥαχία κούφη, τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ αὐτῆς καταδύσεται ἐν ὕδατι, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ὑπερνήξεται, ὅτι μείζων ἐν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀὴρ τοῦ λοιποῦ σώματος τοῦ λίθου.
If, therefore, there is some light pumice-stone, half of it will sink in water, and the rest will float, because the air in it is larger than the remaining body of the stone.
Διὰ τοῦτο πάντα τὰ δένδρα βαρύτερά εἰσι τῶν τοιούτων λίθων.
For this reason all trees are heavier than such stones.
Οἱ ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι δὲ λίθοι γίνονται ἐκ τῆς συγκρούσεως τῶν ὑδάτων τῆς ἰσχυρᾶς.
And stones in water are formed from the violent collision of waters.
§2.2.13Γίνεται γὰρ πρῶτον ἀφρός, εἶτα συμπήγνυται οὕτως οἷόν τι γάλα λιπαρόν· καὶ ὅτε τὸ ὕδωρ τῇ ψάμμῳ προστρίβεται, συναθροίζει ἡ ψάμμος τὴν λιπότητά πως τοῦ ἀφροῦ, ξηραίνει τε αὐτὴν ἡ ξηρότης τῆς θαλάσσης μετά περιττῆς τῆς ἁλυκότητος· καὶ οὕτω συνάγονται τὰ μέρη τῆς ψάμμου, καὶ τῷ ἐπιμήκει τοῦ χρόνου γίνονται λίθοι.
For first foam is formed, then it solidifies in the manner of a kind of rich milk; and when the water is rubbed against the sand, the sand gathers in some way the fatness of the foam, and the dryness of the sea dries it along with an excess of saltness; and thus the parts of the sand are gathered together, and in the length of time they become stones.
§2.2.14Ἡ δήλωσις δὲ ὅτι ἡ θάλασσα ποιεῖ καθ’ ἑαυτὴν ψάμμον, οὕτως ἐστίν, ὅτι πᾶσα γῆ οὐκ ἔστι γλυκεῖα· ὅτε οὖν στῇ ἐν αὐτῇ τι ὕδωρ, κωλύεται ὁ ἀὴρ ἀλλοιῶσαι αὐτό,
And the demonstration that the sea by itself makes sand is this: that not all earth is sweet; when, therefore, some water stands in it, the air is prevented from altering it.
§2.2.15Ἔτι δὲ χρονίζοντος τῷ τόπῳ τοῦ ἐμπεριειλημμένου ὕδατος, ἐπεὶ οὐ δύναται τοῦτο παρομοιῶσαι ἑαυτῷ ὁ ἀήρ (κυριεύουσι γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ὕδατι τὰ μέρη τὰ γεώδη, ἅ εἰσιν ἁλυκά), ἀνάγκη ἐπὶ πλέον θερμανθέντα κατὰ βραχὺ καὶ ἄμφω ποιῆσαι πηλὸν ἔμφυτον.
Moreover, as the enclosed water remains a long time in the place, since the air cannot assimilate this to itself (for the earthy parts, which are salty, prevail in the water itself), it is necessary that, being further heated, gradually both of them make innate mud.
§2.2.16Τοῦτο δὲ οὐ δύναται γενέσθαι ἐν ὕδασι γλυκεροῖς διὰ τὴν γλυκύτητα καὶ τὴν λεπτότητα αὐτῶν, ἀλλ’ ἐν τοῖς ἁλμυροῖς, ὅτι κυριεύει ἐν τούτοις ἡ ξηρότης τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἢ μεταβάλλει τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς τὸ εἶδος αὐτῆς, ἢ πλησίον αὐτῆς τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καὶ ἑκάτερον ἀλλοιοῦται.
But this cannot happen in sweet waters because of their sweetness and thinness, but in salty ones, because the dryness of the earth prevails in these, and either changes the water into its own form, or makes it close to it, and both are altered.
§2.2.17Σκληρύνουσα δὲ ἡ σκληρότης τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς συμπήξεως αὐτῆς τὴν ὑπόστασιν τοῦ ὕδατος, διαιρεῖ τὸν πηλὸν εἰς ἴδια μέρη σμικρά· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γίνεται ἡ γῆ ἡ τῇ θαλάσσῃ πλησιάζουσα ψαμμώδης.
And the hardness of the earth, hardening the sediment of the water according to the power of its solidification, divides the mud into small individual parts; and for this reason the earth bordering on the sea becomes sandy.
Οὕτως καὶ αἱ πεδιάδες, αἵτινες οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὅπερ ἂν περικαλύψῃ αὐτὰς ἀπό τοῦ ἡλίου, εἰσί τε καὶ μεμακρυσμέναι ἀπὸ ὕδατος γλυκεροῦ.
Likewise also the plains, which do not have anything to cover them from the sun, and are far removed from sweet water.
§2.2.18Ξηραίνει γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος τὰ μέρη τῆς ὑγρότητος τῆς γλυκείας, ἀπομένει δὲ ὅ ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ γένους τῆς γῆς.
For the sun dries up the parts of the sweet moisture, and what is of the genus of earth remains.
Καὶ διότι ἐνδιατρίβει ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ τῷ ἀπερικαλύπτῳ, διαχωρίζονται τὰ μέρη τοῦ πηλοῦ, καὶ γίνεται ἐντεῦθεν ψάμμος.
And because the sun remains in this uncovered place, the parts of the mud are separated, and hence sand is formed.
Τούτου δὲ σημεῖόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ἐν τοιούτῳ τόπῳ βαθὺ κοιλαίνομεν καὶ εὑρίσκομεν πηλὸν ἔμφυτον, καὶ ἔστιν οὗτος ῥίζα ψάμμου.
And a sign of this is that in such a place we dig deep and find innate mud, and this is the root of sand.