of Scythia come regularly to these parts for
wintering: if then it snowed ever so little in that land through which
the Nile flows and in which it has its rise, none of these things would
take place, as necessity compels us to admit.

23. 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; 30 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.

24. 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 31 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.

25. 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, 32 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. I
think however that the Sun does not send away from himself all the water
of the Nile of each year, but that he also lets some remain behind with
himself. Then when the winter becomes milder, the Sun returns back again
to the midst of the heaven, and from that time onwards he draws equally
from all rivers; but in the meanwhile they flow in large volume, since
water of rain mingles with them in great quantity, because their country
receives rain then and is filled with torrent streams. In summer however
they are weak, since not only the showers of rain fail then, but also
t