right of the east, between the belt of the signs and the north. I
shall next describe those that Nature has distributed to the left of the
east and in the southern regions.

CHAPTER V

THE SOUTHERN CONSTELLATIONS

1. First, under the He-Goat lies the Southern Fish, facing towards the
tail of the Whale. The Censer is under the Scorpion's sting. The fore
parts of the Centaur are next to the Balance and the Scorpion, and he
holds in his hands the figure which astronomers call the Beast. Beneath
the Virgin, Lion, and Crab is the twisted girdle formed by the Snake,
extending over a whole line of stars, his snout raised near the Crab,
supporting the Bowl with the middle of his body near the Lion, and
bringing his tail, on which is the Raven, under and near the hand of the
Virgin. The region above his shoulders is equally bright.

2. Beneath the Snake's belly, at the tail, lies the Centaur. Near the
Bowl and the Lion is the ship named Argo. Her bow is invisible, but her
mast and the parts about the helm are in plain sight, the stern of the
vessel joining the Dog at the tip of his tail. The Little Dog follows
the Twins, and is opposite the Snake's head. The Greater Dog follows the
Lesser. Orion lies aslant, under the Bull's hoof; in his left hand
grasping his club, and raising the other toward the Twins.

3. At his feet is the Dog, following a little behind the Hare. The Whale
lies under the Ram and the Fishes, and from his mane there is a slight
sprinkling of stars, called in Greek [Greek: harpedonai], regularly
disposed towards each of the Fishes. This ligature by which they hang is
carried a great way inwards, but reaches out to the top of the mane of
the Whale. The River, formed of stars, flows from a source at the left
foot of Orion. But the Water, said to pour from the Waterman, flows
between the head of the Southern Fish and the tail of the Whale.

4. These constellations, whose outlines and shapes in the heavens were
designed by Nature and the divine intelligence, I have described
according to the view of the natural philosopher Democritus, but only
those whose risings and settings we can observe and see with our own
eyes. Just as the Bears turn round the pivot of the axis without ever
setting or sinking under the earth, there are likewise stars that keep
turning round the southern pivot, which on account of the inclination of
the firmament lies always under the earth, and, being hidden there, they
never r