As For Him Who Talked About
The Ocean, He Carried His Tale Into The Region Of The Unknown, And So
He need not be refuted; since I for my part know of no river Ocean
existing, but I think that
Homer or one of the poets who were before
him invented the name and introduced it into his verse.
If however after I have found fault with the opinions proposed, I am
bound to declare an opinion of my own about the matters which are in
doubt, I will tell what to my mind is the reason why the Nile
increases in the summer. In the winter season the Sun, being driven
away from his former path through the heaven by the stormy winds,
comes to the upper parts of Libya. If one would set forth the matter
in the shortest way, all has now been said; for whatever region this
god approaches most and stands directly above, this it may reasonably
be supposed is most in want of water, and its native streams of rivers
are dried up most. However, to set it forth at greater length, thus it
is: - the Sun passing in his course by the upper parts of Libya, does
thus, that is to say, since at all times the air in those parts is
clear and the country is warm, because there are no cold winds, in
passing through it the Sun does just as he was wont to do in the
summer, when going through the midst of the heaven, that is he draws
to himself the water, and having drawn it he drives it away to the
upper parts of the country, and the winds take it up and scattering it
abroad melt it into rain; so it is natural that the winds which blow
from this region, namely the South and South-west Winds, should be
much the most rainy of all the winds.
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