§2.5.15Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ πρὸς μὲν τὰ νότια μέρη πλέουσιν ἡ Λιβύη κεῖται·
And to those sailing from here towards the southern parts, Libya lies.
ταύτης δὲ τὰ δυσμικώτατα μικρῷ τῶν Γαδείρων πρόκειται μᾶλλον, εἶτʼ ἄκραν ποιήσαντα στενὴν ἀναχωρεῖ πρὸς ἕω καὶ νότον, καὶ πλατύνεται κατʼ ὀλίγον ἕως ἂν τοῖς ἑσπερίοις Αἰθίοψι συνάψῃ.
Its westernmost parts project slightly more than Gadeira, and then, after forming a narrow cape, it recedes towards the east and the south, and broadens little by little until it connects with the western Ethiopians.
οὗτοι δʼ ὑπόκεινται τῶν περὶ Καρχηδόνα τόπων ὕστατοι, συνάπτοντες τῇ διὰ τῆς Κινναμωμοφόρου γραμμῇ.
These latter lie below the regions around Carthage, as the outermost people, touching the line through the Cinnamon-bearing land.
εἰς δὲ τἀναντία πλέουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἀκρωτηρίου μέχρι τῶν Ἀρτάβρων καλουμένων ὁ πλοῦς ἐστι πρὸς ἄρκτον ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχουσι τὴν Λυσιτανίαν· εἶθʼ ὁ λοιπὸς πρὸς ἕω πᾶς ἀμβλεῖαν γωνίαν ποιῶν μέχρι τῶν τῆς Πυρήνης ἄκρων τῶν τελευτώντων εἰς τὸν ὠκεανόν.
But for those sailing in the opposite direction from the Sacred Promontory as far as the so-called Artabri, the voyage is towards the north, keeping Lusitania on the right; then the rest of the voyage is entirely towards the east, making an obtuse angle, as far as the extremities of the Pyrenees which terminate in the Ocean.
τούτοις δὲ τὰ ἑσπέρια τῆς Βρεττανικῆς ἀντίκειται πρὸς ἄρκτον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ἀρτάβροις ἀντίκεινται πρὸς ἄρκτον αἱ Καττιτερίδες καλούμεναι νῆσοι πελάγιαι κατὰ τὸ Βρεττανικόν πως κλίμα ἱδρυμέναι· ὥστε δῆλον ἐφʼ ὅσον συνάγεται τὰ ἄκρα τῆς οἰκουμένης κατὰ μῆκος ὑπὸ τοῦ περικεχυμένου πελάγους εἰς στενόν.
Opposite to these, on the north, lie the western parts of Britain, and likewise, opposite to the Artabri on the north lie the islands called Cassiterides, situated in the open sea, established approximately in the latitude of Britain; so that it is clear to what extent the extremities of the inhabited world are drawn together into a narrow space along its length by the surrounding sea.
§2.5.16τοιούτου δὲ ὄντος τοῦ καθόλου σχήματος, χρήσιμον φαίνεται δύο λαβεῖν εὐθείας, αἳ τέμνουσαι πρὸς ὀρθὰς ἀλλήλας, ἡ μὲν διὰ τοῦ μήκους ἥξει τοῦ μεγίστου παντὸς ἡ δὲ διὰ τοῦ πλάτους, καὶ ἡ μὲν τῶν παραλλήλων ἔσται μία ἡ δὲ τῶν μεσημβρινῶν· ἔπειτα ταύταις παραλλήλους ἐπινοοῦντας ἐφʼ ἑκάτερα διαιρεῖν κατὰ ταύτας τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλατταν, ᾗ χρώμενοι τυγχάνομεν.
Since its general shape is of this kind, it seems useful to take two straight lines which, intersecting each other at right angles, the one will pass through the entire maximum length, and the other through the breadth, and the former will be one of the parallels, and the latter one of the meridians; then, by conceiving parallels to these on either side, to divide according to them the land and the sea which we happen to use.
καὶ γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα μᾶλλον ἂν καταφανὲς γένοιτο ὁποῖον εἰρήκαμεν, κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν γραμμῶν ἄλλα καὶ ἄλλα μέτρα ἐχουσῶν τῶν τε τοῦ μήκους καὶ τοῦ πλάτους, καὶ τὰ κλίματα ἀποδηλωθήσεται βέλτιον τά τε ἑωθινὰ καὶ τὰ ἑσπέρια, ὡς δʼ αὕτως τὰ νότια καὶ τὰ βόρεια.
For in this way the shape which we have described would become more clearly visible, since the lines of length and breadth would have different measures according to their size, and the regions, both eastern and western, as well as southern and northern, will be better revealed.
ἐπεὶ δὲ διὰ γνωρίμων τόπων λαμβάνεσθαι δεῖ τὰς εὐθείας ταύτας, αἱ μὲν ἐλήφθησαν ἤδη, λέγω δὲ τὰς μέσας δύο τήν τε τοῦ μήκους καὶ τοῦ πλάτους, τὰς λεχθείσας πρότερον, αἱ δʼ ἄλλαι ῥᾳδίως γνωρίζοιντʼ ἂν διὰ τούτων· τρόπον γάρ τινα στοιχείοις χρώμενοι τούτοις τὰ παράλληλα μέρη στοχαζόμεθα καὶ τὰς ἄλλας σχέσεις τῶν οἰκήσεων τάς τʼ ἐπὶ γῆς καὶ πρὸς τὰ οὐράνια.
And since these straight lines must be taken through well-known places, some have already been taken—I mean the two central ones, of length and breadth, which were mentioned before—and the others would easily be known through these; for, using these as elements in a certain way, we conjecture the parallel regions and the other relations of habitable places, both on earth and with respect to the celestial bodies.
§2.5.17πλεῖστον δʼ ἡ θάλαττα γεωγραφεῖ καὶ σχηματίζει τὴν γῆν, κόλπους ἀπεργαζομένη καὶ πελάγη καὶ πορθμούς, ὁμοίως δὲ ἰσθμοὺς καὶ χερρονήσους καὶ ἄκρας· προσλαμβάνουσι δὲ ταύτῃ καὶ οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ τὰ ὄρη.
But it is the sea that chiefly maps out and shapes the land, by creating gulfs, seas, and straits, and likewise isthmuses, peninsulas, and capes; and the rivers and mountains also contribute to this.
διὰ γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων ἤπειροί τε καὶ ἔθνη καὶ πόλεων θέσεις εὐφυεῖς ἐνενοήθησαν καὶ τἆλλα ποικίλματα, ὅσων μεστός ἐστιν ὁ χωρογραφικὸς πίναξ.
For it is through such features that continents, nations, favorable sites for cities, and all the other ornaments with which the chorographic map is filled, have been conceived.
ἐν δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὸ τῶν νήσων πλῆθός ἐστι κατεσπαρμένον ἔν τε τοῖς πελάγεσι καὶ κατὰ τὴν παραλίαν πᾶσαν.
And among these, the multitude of islands is also scattered both in the open seas and along the entire coast.
ἄλλων δʼ ἄλλας ἀρετάς τε καὶ κακίας καὶ τὰς ἀπʼ αὐτῶν χρείας ἐπιδεικνυμένων ἢ δυσχρηστίας, τὰς μὲν φύσει τὰς δὲ ἐκ κατασκευῆς, τὰς φύσει δεῖ λέγειν· διαμένουσι γάρ, αἱ δʼ ἐπίθετοι δέχονται μεταβολάς.
And while different features exhibit different virtues and defects, and the utilities or inconveniences arising from them—some by nature and others by human institution—it is those by nature that we must describe; for they endure, while those which are superadded undergo changes.
καὶ τούτων δὲ τὰς πλείω χρόνον συμμένειν δυναμένας ἐμφανιστέον, μὴ πολὺ μέν, ἄλλως δʼ ἐπιφάνειαν ἐχούσας τινὰ καὶ δόξαν, ἣ πρὸς τὸν ὕστερον χρόνον παραμένουσα τρόπον τινὰ συμφυῆ τοῖς τόποις ποιεῖ καὶ μηκέτι οὖσαν κατασκευήν, ὥστε δῆλον ὅτι δεῖ καὶ τούτων μεμνῆσθαι.
But even among these, we must point out those which are able to endure for a longer time—not perhaps very long, but otherwise possessing a certain prominence and fame, which, by persisting into later times, makes even a no-longer-existent structure in a way natural to the places, so that it is clear that we must mention these as well.
περὶ πολλῶν γάρ ἐστι πόλεων τοῦτʼ εἰπεῖν, ὅπερ εἶπε Δημοσθένης ἐπὶ τῶν περὶ Ὄλυνθον, ἃς οὕτως ἠφανίσθαι φησὶν ὥστε μηδʼ εἰ πώποτε ᾠκίσθησαν γνῶναι ἄν τινα ἐπελθόντα.
For of many cities we may say what Demosthenes said of those around Olynthus, which he says have so vanished that no one visiting the spot could know if they had ever been inhabited.
ἀλλʼ ὅμως καὶ εἰς τούτους τοὺς τόπους καὶ εἰς ἄλλους ἀφικνοῦνται ἄσμενοι, τά γʼ ἴχνη ποθοῦντες ἰδεῖν τῶν οὕτω διωνομασμένων ἔργων, καθάπερ καὶ τοὺς τάφους τῶν ἐνδόξων ἀνδρῶν.
But nevertheless, people gladly visit both these places and others, desiring to see at least the traces of such famous deeds, just as they desire to see the tombs of famous men.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ νομίμων καὶ πολιτειῶν μεμνήμεθα τῶν μηκέτι οὐσῶν, ἐνταῦθα καὶ τῆς ὠφελείας προκαλουμένης τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πράξεων· ἢ γὰρ ζήλου χάριν ἢ ἀποτροπῆς τῶν τοιούτων.
And in the same way, we mention customs and constitutions that are no longer in existence, since utility here invites us in the very same way as in the case of actions—either for the sake of emulation or for the avoidance of such things.