§1.1I. Σημεῖα ὑδάτων καὶ πνευμάτων καὶ χειμώνων καὶ εὐδιῶν ὧδε ἐγράψαμεν καθ᾿ ὅσον ἦν ἐφικτόν, ἃ μὲν αὐτοὶ προσκοπήσαντες ἃ δὲ παρ᾿ ἑτέρων οὐκ ἀδοκίμων λαβόντες.
I. We have written, as far as was possible, the signs of rains, winds, storms, and fair weather, partly observing them ourselves, and partly taking them from other trustworthy authorities.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄστροις δυομένοις καὶ ἀνατέλλουσιν ἐκ τῶν ἀστρονομικῶν δεῖ λαμβάνειν.
Now, those signs concerning the setting and rising of the stars must be taken from astronomical treatises.
§1.2εἰσὶ δὲ δύσεις διτταί· οἵ τε γὰρ ἀφανισμοὶ δύσεις εἰσί· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ὅταν ἅμα συνδύνῃ τῷ ἡλίῳ τὸ ἄστρον, καὶ ὅταν ἀνατέλλοντος δύνῃ.
Settings are of two kinds: for disappearances are settings, and this occurs both when the star sets together with the sun, and when it sets as the sun rises.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἀνατολαὶ διτταί, αἱ μὲν ἑῷοι ὅταν προανατέλλῃ τοῦ ἡλίου τὸ ἄστρον, αἱ δ᾿ ἀκρόνυχοι ὅταν ἅμα δυομένῳ ἀνατέλλῃ.
Likewise, risings are also of two kinds: the morning risings, when the star rises before the sun, and the evening risings, when it rises as the sun sets.
Αἱ μὲν οὖν τοῦ Ἀρκτούρου λεγόμεναι ἀνατολαὶ ἀμφοτέρως συμβαίνουσιν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἀκρόνυχός ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ μετωπορινὴ ἑῴα.
Therefore, the so-called risings of Arcturus occur in both ways: for the winter rising is at evening, while the autumnal is in the morning.
τῶν δ᾿ ἄλλων αἱ πλεῖσται τῶν ὀνομαζομένων ἑῷαι, οἷον Πλειάδος καὶ Ὠρίωνος καὶ Κυνός.
Of the other named stars, most of the risings are morning ones, such as those of the Pleiades, Orion, and the Dog-star.
§1.3Τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν σημείων ἔνια μὲν ἴδια κατὰ πάσας χώρας ἐστὶν ἐν ὅσαις ὄρη ὑψηλὰ καὶ αὐλῶνές εἰσι, μάλιστα δὲ ὅσα πρὸς θάλασσαν καθήκει τῶν ὑψηλῶν·
Of the remaining signs, some are peculiar to all lands where there are high mountains and valleys, and especially where high lands slope down to the sea.
τῶν τὲ γὰρ πνευμάτων ἀρχομένων τὰ νέφη προσπίπτει πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους τόπους, καὶ μεθισταμένων εἰς τοὐναντίον ἀντιμεθίστανται καὶ ὑγρότερα γινόμενα διὰ βάρος εἰς τὰ κοῖλα συγκαθίζει.
For when winds begin, clouds strike against such places; and when the winds shift to the opposite quarter, the clouds also shift in the opposite direction, and becoming heavier with moisture, they settle in the hollows.
διὸ δεῖ προσέχειν οὗ ἄν τις ἱδρυμένος ᾖ.
Therefore, one must pay attention to where one is situated.
ἔστι γὰρ ἀεί τινα λαβεῖν τοιοῦτον γνώμονα καὶ ἔστι σαφέστατα σημεῖα τὰ ἀπὸ τούτων.
For it is always possible to find some such indicator, and the signs derived from them are the most distinct.
§1.4Διὸ καὶ ἀγαθοὶ γεγένηνται κατὰ τόπους τινὰς ἀστρονόμοι ἔνιοι, οἷον Ματρικέτας ἐν Μηθύμνῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ Λεπετύμνου, καὶ Κλεόστρατος ἐν Τενέδῳ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἴδης, καὶ Φαεινὸς Ἀθήνῃσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Λυκαβηττοῦ τὰ περὶ τὰς τροπὰς συνεῖδε, παρ᾿ οὗ Μέτων ἀκούσας τὸν τοῦ ἑνὸς δέοντα εἴκοσιν ἐνιαυτῶν κύκλου συνέταξεν.
Hence also some good astronomers have arisen in certain localities: for instance, Matricetas in Methymna observed these things from Mount Lepetymnus, Cleostratus in Tenedos from Mount Ida, and Phaeinus at Athens from Mount Lycabettus, grasping the phenomena of the solstices; and Meton, having heard Phaeinus, composed the cycle of nineteen years.
ἦν δὲ ὁ μὲν Φαεινὸς μέτοικος Ἀθήνῃσιν ὁ δὲ Μέτων Ἀθηναῖος.
Phaeinus was a resident alien at Athens, while Meton was an Athenian.
καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἠστρολόγησαν.
Others also have observed the stars in this manner.
§1.5Ἄλλα δέ ἐστι σημεῖα ἃ λαμβάνεται ἀπό τε ζώων τῶν κατ᾿ οἰκίαν καὶ ἑτέρων τινῶν τόπων καὶ παθημάτων, μάλιστα δὲ κυριώτατα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς σελήνης·
There are other signs which are taken from domestic animals and from certain other places and conditions, but the most important and sovereign are those from the sun and the moon.
ἡ γὰρ σελήνη νυκτὸς οἷον ἥλιός ἐστι· διὸ καὶ αἱ σύνοδοι τῶν μηνῶν χειμέριοί εἰσιν, ὅτι ἀπολείπει τὸ φῶς τῆς σελήνης ἀπὸ τετράδος φθίνοντος μέχρι τετράδος ἱσταμένου.
For the moon is like a sun of the night; therefore also the conjunctions of the months are stormy, because the light of the moon fails from the fourth day of the waning moon to the fourth day of the waxing moon.
ὥσπερ οὖν ἡλίου ἀπόλειψις γίνεται κατὰ τὸν ὅμοιον τρόπον καὶ τῆς σελήνης ἔκλειψις.
Thus, just as a failure of the sun occurs, in a similar way the eclipse of the moon also takes place.
§1.6δεῖ οὖν προσέχειν μάλιστα ταῖς ἀνατολαῖς ταῖς τούτων καὶ ταῖς δύσεσιν ὁποίας ἂν ποιῶνται τὸν βουλόμενον προγινώσκειν.
Therefore, he who wishes to foreknow must pay the greatest attention to their risings and settings, and of what character they are.
Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ληπτέον ὅτι αἱ διχοτομίαι διορίζουσι τὰς ὥρας, ὥστε ἐπὶ τούτων δεῖ ἀθρεῖν καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ μῆνα καὶ ἡμέραν.
First then, it must be understood that the divisions into halves define the seasons, so that one must observe the year, the month, and the day by these.
διχοτομεῖ δὲ τὸν μὲν ἐνιαυτὸν Πλειάς τε δυομένη καὶ ἀνατέλλουσα· ἀπὸ γὰρ δύσεως μέχρι ἀνατολῆς τὸ ἥμισυ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐστίν.
The Pleiades, setting and rising, divide the year into halves: for from their setting to their rising is half of the year, so that the whole time is cut in two.
ὥστε δίχα τέμνεται ὁ πᾶς χρόνος. §1.7ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ αἱ τροπαὶ καὶ ἰσημερίαι ποιοῦσιν.
Likewise also do the solstices and equinoxes.
οἵα τις ἂν οὖν ᾖ κατάστασις τοῦ ἀέρος Πλειάδος δυομένης, οὕτω ἔχει ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ μέχρι τροπῶν, κἂν μεταβάλλῃ, μετὰ τροπάς· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ μεταβάλλῃ, διέχει ἕως ἰσημερίας.
Whatever the condition of the air may be when the Pleiades set, it remains so for the most part until the solstice, and if it changes, it does so after the solstice; but if it does not change, it continues until the equinox.
κἀκεῖθεν ὡσαύτως μέχρι Πλειάδος, καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης μέχρι τροπῶν θερινῶν, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν μέχρι ἰσημερίας, καὶ ἀπὸ ἰσημερίας μέχρι Πλειάδος δύσεως.
And from then in like manner until the rising of the Pleiades, and from this until the summer solstice, and thence until the equinox, and from the equinox until the setting of the Pleiades.
§1.8Ὡς δ᾿ αὕτως ἔχει καὶ περὶ τὸν μῆνα ἕκαστον· διχοτομοῦσι γὰρ αἵ τε πανσέληνοι καὶ αἱ ὀγδόαι καὶ αἱ τετράδες, ὥστε ἀπὸ νουμηνίας ὡς ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς δεῖ σκοπεῖν.
It is the same also with respect to each month: for the full moons, the eighth days, and the fourth days divide it into halves, so that one must watch from the new moon as from a starting point.
μεταβάλλει γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ ἐν τῇ τετράδι, ἐὰν δὲ μή, ἐν τῇ ὀγδόῃ, εἰ δὲ μή, πανσελήνῳ· ἀπὸ δὲ πανσελήνου εἰς ὀγδόην φθίνοντος, καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης εἰς τετράδα, ἀπὸ δὲ τετράδος εἰς τὴν νουμηνίαν.
For change occurs for the most part on the fourth day, or if not, on the eighth, or if not, at the full moon; and from the full moon to the eighth day of the waning moon, and from that to the fourth, and from the fourth to the new moon.