But As They Began To Pluck It, There Came Upon
Them Small Men, Of Less Stature Than Men Of The
Common size, and these
seized them and carried them away; and neither could the Nasamonians
understand anything of their speech
Nor could those who were carrying
them off understand anything of the speech of the Nasamonians; and
they led them (so it was said) through very great swamps, and after
passing through these they came to a city in which all the men were in
size like those who carried them off and in colour of skin black; and
by the city ran a great river, which ran from the West towards the
sunrising, and in it were seen crocodiles. Of the account given by
Etearchos the Ammonian let so much suffice as is here said, except
that, as the men of Kyrene told me, he alleged that the Nasamonians
returned safe home, and that the people to whom they had come were all
wizards. Now this river which ran by the city, Etearchos conjectured
to be the Nile, and moreover reason compels us to think so; for the
Nile flows from Libya and cuts Libya through in the midst, and as I
conjecture, judging of what is not known by that which is evident to
the view, it starts at a distance from its mouth equal to that of the
Ister: for the river Ister begins from the Keltoi and the city of
Pyrene and so runs that it divides Europe in the midst (now the Keltoi
are outside the Pillars of Heracles and border upon the Kynesians, who
dwell furthest towards the sunset of all those who have their dwelling
in Europe): and the Ister ends, having its course through the whole of
Europe, by flowing into the Euxine Sea at the place where the
Milesians have their settlement of Istria. Now the Ister, since it
flows through land which is inhabited, is known by the reports of
many; but of the sources of the Nile no one can give an account, for
the part of Libya through which it flows is uninhabited and desert.
About its course however so much as it was possible to learn by the
most diligent inquiry has been told; and it runs out into Egypt. Now
Egypt lies nearly opposite to the mountain districts of Kilikia; and
from thence to Sinope, which lies upon the Euxine Sea, is a journey in
the same straight line of five days for a man without encumbrance; and
Sinope lies opposite to the place where the Ister runs out into the
sea: thus I think that the Nile passes through the whole of Libya and
is of equal measure with the Ister.
Of the Nile then let so much suffice as has been said. Of Egypt
however I shall make my report at length, because it has wonders more
in number than any other land, and works too it has to show as much as
any land, which are beyond expression great: for this reason then more
shall be said concerning it.
The Egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any
other, and with the river, which shows a nature different from all
other rivers, established for themselves manners and customs in a way
opposite to other men in almost all matters: for among them the women
frequent the market and carry on trade, while the men remain at home
and weave; and whereas others weave pushing the woof upwards, the
Egyptians push it downwards: the men carry their burdens upon their
heads and the women upon their shoulders: the women make water
standing up and the men crouching down: they ease themselves in their
houses and they eat without in the streets, alleging as reason for
this that it is right to do secretly the things that are unseemly
though necessary, but those which are not unseemly, in public: no
woman is a minister either of male or female divinity, but men of all,
both male and female: to support their parents the sons are in no way
compelled, if they do not desire to do so, but the daughters are
forced to do so, be they never so unwilling. The priests of the gods
in other lands wear long hair, but in Egypt they shave their heads:
among other men the custom is that in mourning those whom the matter
concerns most nearly have their hair cut short, but the Egyptians,
when deaths occur, let their hair grow long, both that on the head and
that on the chin, having before been close shaven: other men have
their daily living separated from beasts, but the Egyptians have
theirs together with beasts: other men live on wheat and on barley,
but to any one of the Egyptians who makes his living on these it is a
great reproach; they make their bread of maize, which some call spelt:
they knead dough with their feet and clay with their hands, with which
also they gather up dung: and whereas other men, except such as have
learnt otherwise from the Egyptians, have their members as nature made
them, the Egyptians practice circumcision: as to garments, the men
wear two each and the women but one: and whereas others make fast the
rings and ropes of the sails outside the ship, the Egyptians do this
inside: finally in the writing of characters and reckoning with
pebbles, while the Hellenes carry the hand from the left to the right,
the Egyptians do this from the right to the left; and doing so they
say that they do it themselves rightwise and the Hellenes leftwise:
and they use two kinds of characters for writing, of which the one
kind is called sacred and the other common.
They are religious excessively beyond all other men, and with regard
to this they have customs as follows: - they drink from cups of bronze
and rinse them out every day, and not some only do this but all:
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