| Greek text | English text |
|---|---|
| ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΟΣ ΠΥΘΟΚΛΕΙ ΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ | EPICURUS TO PYTHOCLES |
| [84] Ἤνεγκέ μοι Κλέων ἐπιστολὴν παρὰ σοῦ, ἐν ᾗ φιλοφρονούμενός τε περὶ ἡμᾶς διετέλεις ἀξίως τῆς ἡμετέρας περὶ σεαυτὸν σπουδῆς καὶ οὐκ ἀπιθάνως ἐπειρῶ μνημονεύειν τῶν εἰς μακάριον βίον συντεινόντων διαλογισμῶν, | [84] Cleon brought me a letter from you in which you continue to express a kindly feeling towards me, which, is a just return for my interest in you, and you attempt with some success to recall the arguments which lead to a life of blessedness. |
| ἐδέου τε σεαυτῷ περὶ τῶν μετεώρων σύντομον καὶ εὐπερίγραφον διαλογισμὸν ἀποστεῖλαι, ἵνα ῥᾳδίως μνημονεύῃς· | You ask me to send you a brief argument about the phenomena of the sky in a short sketch, that you may easily recall it to mind. |
| τὰ γὰρ ἐν ἄλλοις ἡμῖν γεγραμμένα δυσμνημόνευτα εἶναι, καίτοι, ὡς ἔφης, συνεχῶς αὐτὰ βαστάζεις. | For you say that what I have written in my other works is hard to remember, even though, as you state, you constantly have them in your hands. |
| ἡμεῖς δὲ ἡδέως τε σοῦ τὴν δέησιν ἀπεδεξάμεθα καὶ ἐλπίσιν ἡδείαις συνεσχέθημεν. | I was glad to receive your request and felt constrained to answer it by pleasant expectations for the future. |
| [85] γράψαντες οὖν τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα συντελοῦμεν ἅπερ ἠξίωσας πολλοῖς καὶ ἄλλοις ἐσόμενα χρήσιμα τὰ διαλογίσματα ταῦτα, καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς νεωστὶ φυσιολογίας γνησίου γευομένοις καὶ τοῖς εἰς ἀσχολίας βαθυτέρας τῶν ἐγκυκλίων τινὸς ἐμπεπλεγμένοις. | [85] Therefore, as I have finished all my other writings I now intend to accomplish your request, feeling that these arguments will be of value to many other persons as well, and especially to those who have but recently tasted the genuine inquiry into nature, and also to those who are involved too deeply in the business of some regular occupation. |
| καλῶς δὴ αὐτὰ διάλαβε, καὶ διὰ μνήμης ἔχων ὀξέως αὐτὰ περιόδευε μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν ὧν ἐν τῇ μικρᾷ ἐπιτομῇ πρὸς Ἡρόδοτον ἀπεστείλαμεν. | Therefore lay good hold on it, keep it in mind, and go through it all keenly, together with the rest which I sent in the small epitome to Herodotus. |
| Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν μὴ ἄλλο τι τέλος ἐκ τῆς περὶ μετεώρων γνώσεως εἴτε κατὰ συναφὴν λεγομένων εἴτε αὐτοτελῶς νομίζειν εἶναι ἤ περ ἀταραξίαν καὶ πίστιν βέβαιον, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. | First of all then we must not suppose that any other object is to be gained from the knowledge of the phenomena of the sky, whether they are dealt with in connexion with other doctrines or independently, than peace of mind and a sure confidence, just as in all other branches of study. |
| [86] μήτε τὸ ἀδύνατον καὶ παραβιάζεσθαι μήτε ὁμοίαν κατὰ πάντα τὴν θεωρίαν ἔχειν ἢ τοῖς περὶ βίων λόγοις ἢ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων φυσικῶν προβλημάτων κάθαρσιν, οἷον ὅτι τὸ πᾶν σώματα καὶ ἀναφὴς φύσις ἐστὶν ἢ ὅτι ἄτομα <τὰ> στοιχεῖα, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα δὴ ὅσα μοναχὴν ἔχει τοῖς φαινομένοις συμφωνίαν· | [86] We must not try to force an impossible explanation, nor employ a method of inquiry like our reasoning either about the modes of life or with respect to the solution of other physical problems: witness such propositions as that 'the universe consists of bodies and the intangible', or that 'the elements are indivisible', and all such statements in circumstances where there is only one explanation which harmonizes with phenomena. |
| ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν μετεώρων οὐχ ὑπάρχει, ἀλλὰ ταῦτά γε πλεοναχὴν ἔχει καὶ τῆς γενέσεως αἰτίαν καὶ τῆς οὐσίας ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι σύμφωνον κατηγορίαν. | For this is not so with the things above us: they admit of more than one cause of coming into being and more than one account of their nature which harmonizes with our sensations. |
| οὐ γὰρ κατὰ ἀξιώματα κενὰ καὶ νομοθεσίας φυσιολογητέον, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς τὰ φαινόμενα ἐκκαλεῖται· | For we must not conduct scientific investigation by means of empty assumptions and arbitrary principles, but follow the lead of phenomena: |
| [87] οὐ γὰρ ἤδη ἀλογίας καὶ κενῆς δόξης ὁ βίος ἡμῶν ἔχει χρείαν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀθορύβως ἡμᾶς ζῆν. | [87] for our life has not now any place for irrational belief and groundless imaginings, but we must live free from trouble. |
| πάντα μὲν οὖν γίνεται ἀσείστως κατὰ πάντων <τῶν> κατὰ πλεοναχὸν τρόπον ἐκκαθαιρομένων συμφώνως τοῖς φαινομένοις, ὅταν τις τὸ πιθανολογούμενον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν δεόντως καταλίπῃ· | Now all goes on without disturbance as far as regards each of those things which may be explained in several ways so as to harmonize with what we perceive, when one admits, as we are bound to do, probable theories about them. |
| ὅταν δέ τις τὸ μὲν ἀπολίπῃ, τὸ δ᾽ ἐκβάλῃ ὁμοίως σύμφωνον ὂν τῷ φαινομένῳ, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ἐκ παντὸς ἐκπίπτει φυσιολογήματος, ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν μῦθον καταρρεῖ. | But when one accepts one theory and rejects another, which harmonizes well with the phenomenon, it is obvious that he altogether leaves the path of scientific inquiry and has recourse to myth. |
| σημεῖα δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς μετεώροις συντελουμένων φέρειν τῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν τινα φαινομένων, ἃ θεωρεῖται ᾗ ὑπάρχει, καὶ οὐ τὰ ἐν μετεώροις φαινόμενα· | Now we can obtain indications of what happens above from some of the phenomena on earth: for we can observe how they come to pass, though we cannot observe the phenomena in the sky: |
| ταῦτα γὰρ ἐνδέχεται πλεοναχῶς γενέσθαι. | for they may be produced in several ways. |
| [88] τὸ μέντοι φάντασμα ἑκάστου τηρητέον καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ συναπτόμενα τούτῳ διαιρετέον, ἃ οὐκ ἀντιμαρτυρεῖται τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν γινομένοις πλεοναχῶς συντελεῖσθαι. | [88] Yet we must never desert the appearance of each of these phenomena, and further, as regards what is associated with it, must distinguish those things whose production in several ways is not contradicted by phenomena on earth. |
| Κόσμος ἐστὶ περιοχή τις οὐρανοῦ, ἄστρα τε καὶ γῆν καὶ πάντα τὰ φαινόμενα περιέχουσα, οὖ λυομένου πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ σύγχυσιν λήψεται, ἀποτομὴν ἔχουσα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀπείρου καὶ καταλήγουσα ἐν πέρατι ἢ ἀραιῷ ἢ πυκνῷ καὶ ἢ ἐν περιαγομένῳ ἢ ἐν στάσιν ἔχοντι καὶ στρογγύλην ἢ τρίγωνον ἢ οἵαν δή ποτε <ἔχουσα> περιγραφήν. | A world is a circumscribed portion of sky, containing heavenly bodies and an earth and all the heavenly phenomena, whose dissolution will cause all within it to fall into confusion: it is a piece cut off from the infinite and ends in a boundary either rare or dense, either revolving or stationary: its outline may be spherical or three-cornered, or any kind of shape. |
| πανταχῶς γὰρ ἐνδέχεται· | For all such conditions are possible, |
| τῶν γὰρ φαινομένων οὐδὲν ἀντιμαρτυρεῖ <ἐν> τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ, ἐν ᾧ λῆγον οὐκ ἔστι καταλαβεῖν. | seeing that no phenomenon is evidence against this in our world, in which it is not possible to perceive an ending. |
| [89] ὅτι δὲ καὶ τοιοῦτοι κόσμοι εἰσὶν ἄπειροι τὸ πλῆθος, ἔστι καταλαβεῖν, καὶ ὅτι καὶ ὁ τοιοῦτος δύναται κόσμος γίνεσθαι καὶ ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ <ἐν> μετακοσμίῳ, ὃ λέγομεν μεταξὺ κόσμων διάστημα, ἐν πολυκένῳ τόπῳ καὶ οὐκ ἐν μεγάλῳ εἰλικρινεῖ καὶ κενῷ, καθάπερ τινὲς φασίν, ἐπιτηδείων τινῶν σπερμάτων ῥυέντων ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς κόσμου ἢ μετακοσμίου ἢ καὶ ἀπὸ πλειόνων κατὰ μικρὸν προσθέσεις τε καὶ διαρθρώσεις καὶ μεταστάσεις ποιούντων ἐπ᾽ ἄλλον τόπον, ἐὰν οὕτω τύχῃ, καὶ ἐπαρδεύσεις ἐκ τῶν ἐχόντων ἐπιτηδείως ἕως τελειώσεως καὶ διαμονὴν ἐφ᾽ ὅσον τὰ ὑποβληθέντα θεμέλια τὴν προσδοχὴν δύναται ποιεῖσθαι. | [89] And that such worlds are infinite in number we can sure, and also that such a world may come into being both inside another world and in an interworld, by which we mean a space between worlds; it will be in a place with much void, and not in a large empty space quite void, as some say: this occurs when seeds of the right kind have rushed in from a single world or interworld, or from several: little by little they make junctions and articulations, and cause changes of position to another place, as it may happen, and produce irrigations of the appropriate matter until the period of completion and stability, which lasts as long as the underlying foundations are capable of receiving additions. |
| [90] οὐ γὰρ ἀθροισμὸν δεῖ μόνον γενέσθαι οὐδὲ δῖνον ἐν ᾧ ἐνδέχεται κόσμον γίνεσθαι κενῷ κατὰ τὸ δοξαζόμενον ἐξ ἀνάγκης αὔξεσθαί τε, ἕως ἂν ἑτέρῳ προσκρούσῃ, καθάπερ τῶν φυσικῶν καλουμένων φησί τις. | [90] For it is not merely necessary for a gathering of atoms to take place, nor indeed for a whirl and nothing more to be set in motion, as is supposed, by necessity, in an empty space in which it is possible for a world to come into being, nor can the world go on increasing until it collides with another world, as one of the so-called physical philosophers says. |
| τοῦτο γὰρ μαχόμενόν ἐστι τοῖς φαινομένοις. | For this is a contradiction of phenomena. |
| Ἥλιός τε καὶ σελήνη καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἄστρα <οὐ> καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ γενόμενα ὕστερον ἐμπεριελαμβάνετο ὑπὸ τοῦ κόσμου, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς διεπλάττετο καὶ αὔξησιν ἐλάμβανεν κατὰ προσκρίσεις καὶ δινήσεις λεπτομερῶν τινων φύσεων, ἤτοι πνευματικῶν ἢ πυροειδῶν ἢ τὸ συναμφότερον· | Sun and moon and the other stars were not created by themselves and subsequently taken in by the world, but were fashioned in it from the first and gradually grew in size by the aggregations and whirlings of bodies of minute parts, either windy or fiery or both, |
| καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα οὕτως ἡ αἴσθησις ὑποβάλλει. | for this is what our sensation suggests. |
| [91] τὸ δὲ μέγεθος ἡλίου τε <καὶ σελήνης> καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἄστρων κατὰ μὲν τὸ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τηλικοῦτόν ἐστιν ἡλίκον φαίνεται· | [91] The size of sun (and moon) and the other stars is for us what it appears to be; |
| κατὰ δὲ τὸ καθ᾽ αὑτὸ ἤτοι μεῖζον τοῦ ὁρωμένου ἢ μικρῷ ἔλαττον ἢ τηλικοῦτον. | and in reality it is either (slightly) greater than what we see or slightly less or the same size: |
| οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν πυρὰ ἐξ ἀποστήματος θεωρούμενα κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν θεωρεῖται. | for so too fires on earth when looked at from a distance seem to the senses. |
| καὶ πᾶν δὲ ἑἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἔνστημα ῥᾳδίως διαλυθήσεται, ἐάν τις τοῖς ἐναργήμασι προσέχῃ, ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς περὶ φύσεως βυβλίοις δείκνυμεν. | And every objection at this point will easily be dissipated, if we pay attention to the clear vision, as I show in my books about nature. |
| [92] ἀνατολὰς καὶ δύσεις ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἄστρων καὶ κατὰ ἄναψίν γενέσθαι δύνασθαι καὶ κατὰ σβέσιν, τοιαύτης οὔσης περιστάσεως καὶ καθ᾽ ἑκατέρους τοὺς τόπους ὥστε τὰ προειρημένα ἀποτελεῖσθαι· | [92] The risings and settings of the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies may be due to kindling and extinction, the composition of the surrounding matter at the places of rising and setting being such as to lead to these results: |
| οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν φαινομένων ἀντιμαρτυρεῖ. | for nothing in phenomena is against it. |
| <καὶ> κατ᾽ ἐκφάνειάν τε ὑπὲρ γῆς καὶ πάλιν ἐπιπροσθέτησιν τὸ προεἰρημένον δύναιτ᾽ ἂν συντελεῖσθαι· | Or again, the effect in question might be produced by their appearance over the top of the earth, and again the interposition of the earth in front of them: |
| οὐδὲ γάρ τι τῶν φαινομένων ἀντιμαρτυρεῖ. | for once more nothing in phenomena is against it. |
| τάς τε κινήσεις αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀδύνατον μὲν γίνεσθαι κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ὅλου οὐρανοῦ δίνην, ἢ τούτου μὲν στάσιν, αὐτῶν δὲ δίνην κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν τῇ γενέσει τοῦ κόσμου ἀνάγκην ἀπογεννηθεῖσαν ἐπ᾽ ἀνατολῇ· ***** | Their motions may not impossibly be due to the revolution of the whole heaven, or else it may remain stationary, and they may revolve owing to the natural impulse towards the east, which was produced at the beginning of the world..... |
| [93] τάτῃ θερμασιᾳ κατά τινα ἐπινέμησιν τοῦ πυρὸς ἀεὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἑξῆς τόπους ἰόντος. | [93] by an excessive heat owing to a spreading of the fire which is always moving on to the regions nearest in succession. |
| τροπὰς ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης ἐνδέχεται μὲν γίνεσθαι κατὰ λόξωσιν οὐρανοῦ οὕτω τοῖς χρόνοις κατηναγκασμένου· | The tropics of sun and moon may be caused owing to an obliquity of the whole heaven, which is constrained into this position in the successive seasons; |
| ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ κατὰ ἀέρος ἀντέξωσιν ἢ καὶ ὕλης ἀεὶ ἐπιτηδείας ἐχομένως ἐμπιπραμένης, τῆς δ᾽ ἐκλειπούσης· | or equally well by an outward impulsion of a current of air, or because the appropriate material successively catches fire, as the former fails; |
| ἢ καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοιαύτην δίνην κατειληθῆναι τοῖς ἄστροις τούτοις, ὥσθ᾽ οἷόν τιν᾽ ἕλικα κινεῖσθαι. | or again, from the beginning this particular form of revolution may have been assigned to these stars, so that they move in a kind of spiral. |
| πᾶντα γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ τούτοις συγγενῆ οὐθενὶ τῶν ἐναργημάτων διαφωνεῖ, ἐάν τις ἀεὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων μερῶν ἐχόμενος τοῦ δυνατοῦ εἰς τὸ σύμφωνον τοῖς φαινομένοις ἕκαστον τούτων δύνηται ἀνάγειν, μὴ φοβούμενος τὰς ἀνδραποδώδεις ἀστρολόγων τεχνιτείας. | For all these and kindred explanations are not at variance with any clear-seen facts, if one always clings in such departments of inquiry to the possible and can refer each point to what is in agreement with phenomena without fearing the slavish artifices of the astronomers. |
| [94] Κένωσεις τε σελήνης καὶ πάλιν πλήρωσεις καὶ κατὰ στροφὴν τοῦ σώματος τούτου δύναιντ᾽ ἂν γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ σχηματισμοὺς ἀέρος ὁμοίως, ἔτι τε καὶ κατὰ προσθετήσεις καὶ κατὰ πάντας τρόπους, καθ᾽ οὓς καὶ τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν φαινόμενα ἐκκαλεῖται εἰς τὰς τούτου τοῦ εἴδους ἀποδόσεις, ἐὰν μή τις τὸν μοναχῇ τρόπον κατηγαπηκὼς τοὺς ἄλλους κενῶς ἀποδοκιμάζῃ, οὐ τεθεωρηκὼς τί δυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ θεωρῆσαι καὶ τί ἀδύνατον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀδύνατα θεωρεῖν ἐπιθυμῶν. | [94] The wanings of the moon and its subsequent waxings might be due to the revolution of its own body, or equally well to successive conformations of the atmosphere, or again to the interposition of other bodies; they may be accounted for in all the ways in which phenomena on earth invite us to such explanations of these phases; provided only one does not become enamoured of the method of the single cause and groundlessly put the others out of court, without having considered what it is possible for a man to observe and what is not, and desiring therefore to observe what is impossible. |
| ἔτι τε ἐνδέχεται τὴν σελήνην ἐξ ἑαυτῆς ἔχειν τὸ φῶς, ἐνδέχεται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου. | Next the moon may have her light from herself or from the sun. |
| [95] καὶ γὰρ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν θεωρεῖται πολλὰ μὲν ἐξ ἑαυτῶν ἔχοντα, πολλὰ δὲ ἀφ᾽ ἑτέρων. | [95] For on earth too we see many things shining with their own, and many with reflected light. |
| καὶ οὐθὲν ἐμποδοστατεῖ τῶν ἐν τοῖς μετεώροις φαινομένων, ἐάν τις τοῦ πλεοναχοῦ τρόπου ἀεὶ μνήμην ἔχῃ καὶ τὰς ἀκολούθους αὐτοῖς ὑποθέσεις ἅμα καὶ αἰτίας συνθεωρῇ καὶ μὴ ἀναβλέπων εἰς τὰ ἀνακόλουθα ταῦτ᾽ ὀγκοῖ ματαίως καὶ καταρρέπῃ ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ἐπὶ τὸν μοναχὸν τρόπον. | Nor is any celestial phenomenon against these explanations, if one always remembers the method of manifold causes and investigates hypotheses and explanations consistent with them, and does not look to inconsistent notions and emphasize them without cause and so fall back in difierent ways on different occasions on the method of the single cause. |
| ἡ δὲ ἔμφασις τοῦ προσώπου ἐν αὐτῇ δύναται μὲν γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ παραλλαγὴν μερῶν καὶ κατ᾽ ἐπιπροσθέτησιν, καὶ ὅσοι ποτ᾽ ἂν τρόποι θεωροῖντο τὸ σύμφωνον τοῖς φαινομένοις κεκτημένοι. | The impression of a face in the moon may be due to the variation of its parts or to interposition or to any one of many causes which might be observed, all in harmony with phenomena. |
| [96] ἐπὶ πάντων γὰρ τῶν μετεώρων τὴν τοιαύτην ἰχνεύειν οὐ προετέον. | [96] For in the case of all celestial phenomena this process of investigation must never be abandoned; |
| ἢν γάρ τις ᾖ μαχόμενος τοῖς ἐναργήμασιν, οὐδέποτε μὴ δυνήσεται ἀταραξίας γνησίου μεταλαβεῖν. | for if one is in opposition to clear-seen facts, he can never have his part in true peace of mind. |
| Ἔκλειψις ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης δύναται μὲν γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ σβέσιν, καθάπερ καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν τοῦτο θεωρεῖται γινόμενον· | The eclipse of sun and moon may take place both owing to their extinction, as we see this effect is produced on earth, |
| καὶ ἤδη κατ᾽ ἐπιπροσθέτησιν ἄλλων τινῶν, ἢ γῆς ἢ ἀοράτου τινὸς ἤ ἑτέρου τοιούτου. | or again by the interposition of some other bodies, either the earth or some unseen body or something else of this sort. |
| καὶ ὧδε τοὺς οἰκείους ἀλλήλοις τρόπους συνθεωρητέον, καὶ τὰς ἅμα συγκυρήσεις τινῶν ὅτι οὐκ ἀδύνατον γίνεσθαι. | And in this way we must consider together the causes that suit with one another and realize that it is not impossible that some should coincide at the same time. |
| [97] ἔτι τε τάξις περιόδου, καθάπερ ἔνια καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν τῶν τυχόντῶν γίνεται, λαμβανέσθω· | [97] Next the regularity of the periods of the heavenly bodies must be understood in the same way as such regularity is seen in some of the events that happen on earth. |
| καὶ ἡ θεία φύσις πρὸς ταῦτα μηδαμῇ προσαγέσθω, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλειτούργητος διατηρείσθω καὶ ἐν τῇ πάσῃ μακαριότητι. | And do not let the divine nature be introduced at any point into these considerations, but let it be preserved free from burdensome duties and in entire blessedness. |
| ὡς εἰ τοῦτο μὴ πραχθήσεται, ἅπασα ἡ τῶν μετεώρων αἰτιολογία ματαία ἔσται, καθάπερ τισὶν ἤδη ἐγένετο οὐ δυνατοῦ τρόπου ἐφαψαμένοις, εἰς δὲ τὸ μάταιον ἐκπεσοῦσι τὸ καθ᾽ ἕνα τρόπον μόνον οἴεσθαι γίνεσθαι, τοὺς δ᾽ ἄλλους πάντας τοὺς κατὰ τὸ ἐνδεχόμενον ἐκβάλλειν εἴς τε τὸ ἀδιανόητον φερομένους καὶ τὰ φαινόμενα, ἃ δεῖ σημεῖα ἀποδέχεσθαι, μὴ δυναμένους συνθεωρεῖν. | For if this principle is not observed, the whole discussion of causes in celestial phenomena is in vain, as it has already been for certain persons who have not clung to the method of possible explanations, but have fallen back on the useless course of thinking that things could only happen in one way, and of rejecting all other ways in harmony with what is possible, being driven thus to what is inconceivable and being unable to compare earthly phenomena, which we must accept as indications. |
| [98] Μήκη νυκτῶν καὶ ἡμερῶν παραλλάττοντα καὶ παρὰ τὸ ταχείας ἡλίου κινήσεις γίνεσθαι καὶ πάλιν βραδείας ὑπὲρ γῆς, παρὰ τὸ μήκη τόπων παραλλάττοντα <διιέναι> καὶ <παρὰ τὸ> τόπους τινὰς περαιοῦν τάχιον ἤ βραδύτερον, ὡς καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν τινα θεωρεῖται, οἷς συμφώνως δεῖ λέγειν ἐπὶ τῶν μετεώρων. | [98] The successive changes in the length of nights and days may be due to the fact that the sun's movements above the earth become fast and then slow again because he passes across regions of unequal length or because he traverses some regions more quickly or more slowly, <or again to the quicker or slower gathering of the fires that make the sun>, as we observe occurs with some things on earth, with which we must be in harmony in speaking of celestial phenomena. |
| οἱ δὲ τὸ ἕν λαμβάνοντες τοῖς τε φαινομένοις μάχονται καὶ τοῦ εἰ δυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ θεωρῆσαι διαπεπτώκασιν. | But those who assume one cause fight against the evidence of phenomena and fail to ask whether it is possible for men to make such observations. |
| Ἐπισημασίαι δύνανται γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ συγκυρήσεις καιρῶν, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἐμφανέσι παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ζῴοις, καὶ παρ᾽ ἑτεροιώσεις ἀέρος καὶ μεταβολάς· | Signs of the weather may occur owing to the coincidence of occasions, as happens with animals we can all see on earth, and also through alterations and changes in the atmosphere. |
| ἀμφότερα γὰρ ταῦτα οὐ μάχεται τοῖς φαινομένοις· | For both these are in accordance with phenomena. |
| [99] ἐπὶ δὲ ποίοις παρὰ τοῦτο ἢ τοῦτο τὸ αἴτιον γίνεται, οὐκ ἔστι συνιδεῖν. | [99] But under what circumstances the cause is produced by this or that, we cannot perceive. |
| Νέφη δύναται γίνεσθαι καὶ συνίστασθαι καὶ παρὰ πιλήσεις ἀέρος <κατὰ> πνευμάτων συνώσεις καὶ παρὰ περιπλοκὰς ἀλληλούχων ἀτόμων καὶ ἐπιτηδείων εἰς τὸ τοῦτο τελέσαι καὶ κατὰ ῥευμάτων συλλογὴν ἀπό τε γῆς καὶ ὑδάτων· | Clouds may be produced and formed both by the condensation of the atmosphere owing to compression by winds and by the interlacing of atoms clinging to one another and suitable for producing this result, and again by the gathering of streams from earth and the waters: |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ τρόπους πλείους αἱ τῶν τοιούτων συστάσεις οὐκ ἀδυνατοῦσι συντελεῖσθαι. | and there are several other ways in which the formation of such things may not impossibly be brought about. |
| ἤδη δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ᾗ μὲν θλιβομένων, ᾗ δὲ μεταβαλλόντων ὕδατα δύναται συντελεῖσθαι, | And from them again rain may be produced if they are squeezed in one part or changed in another, |
| [100] ἔτι τε πνευμάτων καταφορᾷ ἀπὸ ἐπιτηδείων τόπων καὶ δι᾽ ἀέρος κινουμένων, βιαιοτέρας ἐπαρδεύσεως γινομένης ἀπό τινων ἀθροισμάτων ἐπιτηδείων εἰς τὰς τοιαύτας ἐπιπέμψεις. | [100] or again by a downward current of wind moving through the atmosphere from appropriate places, a more violent shower being produced from certain conglomerations of atoms suited to create such downfalls. |
| Βροντὰς ἐνδέχεται γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ πνεύματος ἐν τοῖς κοιλώμασι τῶν νεφῶν ἀνείλησιν, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἀγγείοις, καὶ παρὰ πυρὸς πεπνευματωμένου βόμβον ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ κατὰ ῥήξεις δὲ νεφῶν καὶ διαστάσεις, καὶ κατὰ παρατρίψεις νεφῶν καὶ κατάξεις πῆξιν εἰληφότων κρυσταλλοειδῆ· | Thunder may be produced by the rushing about of wind in the hollows of the clouds, as happens in vessels on earth, or by the reverberation of fire filled with wind inside them, or by the rending and tearing of clouds, or by the friction and bursting of clouds when they have been congealed into a form like ice: |
| καὶ τὸ ὅλον καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος πλεοναχῶς γίνεσθαι λέγειν ἐκκαλεῖται τὰ φαινόμενα. | phenomena demand that we should say that this department of celestial events, just like them all, may be caused in several ways. |
| [101] Καὶ ἀστραπαὶ δ᾽ ὡσαύτως γίνονται κατὰ πλείους τρόπους· | [101] And lightnings too are produced in several ways: |
| καὶ γὰρ κατὰ παράτριψιν καὶ σύγκρουσιν νεφῶν ὁ πυρὸς ἀποτελεστικὸς σχηματισμὸς ἐξολισθαίνων ἀστραπὴν γεννᾷ· | for both owing to the friction and collision of clouds a conformation of atoms which produces fire slips out and gives birth to the lightning, |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἐκριπισμὸν ἐκ τῶν νεφῶν ὑπὸ πνευμάτων τῶν τοιούτων σωμάτων ἃ τὴν λαμπηδόνα ταύτην παρασκευάζει, καὶ κατ᾽ ἐκπιασμόν, θλίψεως τῶν νεφῶν γινομένης εἴθ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἀλλήλων εἴθ᾽ ὑπὸ πνευμάτων· | and owing to wind bodies which give rise to this flash are dashed from the clouds: or compression may be the cause, when clouds are squeezed either by one another or by the wind. |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἐμπερίληψιν δὲ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄστρων κατεσπειραμένου φωτός, εἶτα συνελαυνομένου ὑπὸ τῆς κινήσεως νεφῶν τε καὶ πνευμάτων καὶ διεκπίπτοντος διὰ τῶν νεφῶν· | Or again it may be that the light scattered abroad from the heavenly bodies is taken in by the clouds, and then is driven together by the movement of the clouds and wind, and falls out through the clouds; |
| ἢ κατὰ διήθησιν <διὰ> τῶν νεφῶν τοῦ λεπτομερεστάτου φωτὸς, ᾖ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς νέφη συνεφλέχθαι καὶ τὰς βροντὰς ἀποτελεῖσθαι κατὰ τὴν τούτου κίνησιν· | or else light composed of most subtle particles may filter through the clouds, whereby the clouds may be set on fire by the flame and thunder produced by the movement of the fire. |
| καὶ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐκπύρωσιν τὴν γινομένην διά τε συντονίαν φορᾶς καὶ διὰ σφοδρὰν κατείλησιν· | Or the wind may be fired owing to the strain of motion and its violent rotation, |
| [102] καὶ κατὰ ῥήξεις δὲ νεφῶν ὑπὸ πνευμάτων ἔκπτωσίν τε πυρὸς ἀποτελεστικῶν ἀτόμων καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀστραπῆς φάντασμα ἀποτελουσῶν· | [102] or clouds may be rent by wind and atoms fall out which produce fire and cause the appearance of lightning. |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ πλείους τρόπους ῥᾳδίως ἔσται καθορᾶν ἐχόμενον ἀεὶ τῶν φαινομένων καὶ τὸ τούτοις ὅμοιον δυνάμενον συνθεωρεῖν. | And several other methods may easily be observed, if one clings always to phenomena and can compare what is akin to these things. |
| προτερεῖ δὲ ἀστραπὴ βροντῆς ἐν τοιᾷδέ τινι περιστάσει νεφῶν καὶ διὰ τὸ ἅμα τῷ τὸ πνεῦμα ἐμπίπτειν ἐξωθεῖσθαι τὸν ἀστραπῆς ἀποτελεστικὸν σχηματισμόν, ὕστερον δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα ἀνειλούμενον τὸν βόμβον ἀποτελεῖν τοῦτον· | Lightning precedes thunder in such a conformation of the clouds, either because at the moment when the wind dashes in, the formation of atoms which gives rise to lightning is driven out, but afterwards the wind whirls about and produces the reverberation; |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἔμπτωσιν δὲ ἀμφοτέρων ἅμα, τῷ τάχει συντονωτέρῳ κεχρῆσθαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὴν ἀστραπήν, ὑστερεῖν δὲ τὴν βροντήν, | or because they both dash out at the same moment, but lightning moves at a higher speed towards us, and thunder comes after, |
| [103] καθάπερ ἐπ᾽ ἐνίων ἐξ ἀποστήματος θεωρουμένων καὶ πληγάς τινας ποιουμένων. | [103] as in the case of some things seen at a distance and producing blows. |
| Κεραυνοὺς ἐνδέχεται γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ πλείονας πνευμάτων συλλογὰς καὶ κατείλησιν ἰσχυράν τε ἐκπύρωσιν καὶ κατάρρηξιν μέρους καὶ ἔκπτωσιν ἰσχυροτέραν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς κάτω τόπους, τῆς ῥήξεως γινομένης διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἑξῆς τόπους πυκνοτέρους εἶναι διὰ πίλησιν νεφῶν· | Thunderbolts may occur because there are frequent gatherings of wind, which whirls about and is fanned into a fierce flame, and then a portion of it breaks off and rushes violently on the places beneath, the breaking taking place because the regions approached are successively denser owing to the condensation of clouds, |
| καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς ἔκπτωσιν ἀνειλουμένου, καθὰ καὶ βροντὴν ἐνδέχεται γίνεσθαι, πλείονος γενομένου καὶ πνευματωθέντος ἰσχυρότερον καὶ ῥήξαντος τὸ νέφος διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι ὑποχωρεῖν εἰς τὰ ἑξῆς, τῷ πίλησιν γίνεσθαι ἀεὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα. | or as the result of the actual outburst of the whirling fire, in the same way that thunder may be produced, when the fire becomes too great and is too violently fanned by wind and so breaks through the cloud, because it cannot retreat to the next regions owing to the constant condensation of clouds one on the other. |
| [104] καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ τρόπους πλείονας ἐνδέχεται κεραυνοὺς ἀποτελεῖσθαι· | [104] And thunderbolts may be produced in other ways too. |
| μόνον ὁ μῦθος ἀπέστω· | Only superstition must be excluded, |
| ἀπέσται δέ, ἐάν τις καλῶς τοῖς φαινομένοις ἀκολουθῶν περὶ τῶν ἀφανῶν σημειῶται. | as it will, if one successfully follows the lead of seen phenomena to gain indications about the invisible. |
| Πρηστῆρας ἐνδέχεται γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ κάθεσιν νέφους εἰς τοὺς κάτω τόπους στυλοειδῶς ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἀθρόου ὠσθέντος καὶ διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος πολλοῦ φερομένου, ἅμα καὶ τὸ νέφος εἰς τὸ πλάγιον ὠθοῦντος τοῦ ἐκτὸς πνεύματος· | Cyclones may be produced either by the driving down of a cloud into the regions below in the form of a pillar, because it is pushed by the wind gathered inside it and is driven on by the violence of the wind, while at the same time the wind outside impels it sideways; |
| καὶ κατὰ περίστασιν δὲ πνεύματος εἰς κύκλον, ἀέρος τινὸς ἐπισυνωθουμένου ἄνωθεν· | or by wind forming into circular motion, while mist is simultaneously thrust down from above; |
| καὶ ῥύσεως πολλῆς πνευμάτων γενομένης καὶ οὐ δυναμένης εἰς τὰ πλάγια διαρρυῆναι διὰ τὴν πέριξ τοῦ ἀέρος πίλησιν. | or when a great rush of wind takes place and cannot pass through sideways owing to the surrounding condensation of the atmosphere. |
| [105] καὶ ἕως μὲν γῆς τοῦ πρηστῆρος καθιεμένου στρόβιλοι γίγνονται, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἡ ἀπογέννησις κατὰ τὴν κίνησιν τοῦ πνεύματος γίνηται· | [105] And when the spout is let down on to the land, whirlwinds are produced in all the various ways in which their creation may occur owing to the movement of the wind, |
| ἕως δὲ θαλάττης δῖνοι ἀποτελοῦνται. | but if it reaches the sea it produces waterspouts. |
| Σεισμοὺς ἐνδέχεται γίνεσθαι καὶ κατὰ πνεύματος ἐν τῇ γῇ ἀπόληψιν καὶ παρὰ μικροὺς ὄγκους αὐτῆς παράθεσιν καὶ συνεχῆ κίνησιν, ὃ τὴν κράδανσιν τῇ γῇ παρασκευάζει. | Earthquakes may be brought about both because wind is caught up in the earth, so that the earth is dislocated in small masses and is continually shaken, and that causes it to sway. |
| καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦτο ἢ ἔξωθεν ἐμπεριλαμβάνει <ἢ> ἐκ τοῦ πίπτειν εἴσω ἐδάφη εἰς ἀντροειδεῖς τόπους τῆς γῆς ἐκπνευματοῦντα τὸν ἐπειλημμένον ἀέρα. | This wind it either takes into itself from outside, or else because masses of ground fall in into cavernous places in the earth and fan into wind the air that is imprisoned in them. |
| <καὶ> κατ᾽ αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν διάδοσιν τῆς κινήσεως ἐκ τῶν πτώσεων ἐδαφῶν πολλῶν καὶ πάλιν ἀνταπόδοσιν, ὅταν πυκνώμασι σφοδροτέροις τῆς γῆς ἀπαντήσῃ, ἐνδέχεται σεισμοὺς ἀποτελεῖσθαι, | And again, earthquakes may be brought about by the actual spreading of the movement which results from the fall of many such masses of ground and the return shock, when the first motion comes into collision with more densely packed bodies of earth. |
| [106] καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ πλείους τρόπους τὰς κινήσεις ταύτας τῆς γῆς γίνεσθαι. | [106] There are also many other ways in which these motions of the earth may be caused. |
| Τὰ δὲ πνεύματα συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι κατὰ χρόνον ἀλλοφυλίας τινὸς ἀεὶ καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν παρεισδυομένης, καὶ καθ᾽ ὕδατος ἀφθόνου συλλογήν. | The winds may be produced when from time to time some alien matter is continually and gradually forcing its way in, or owing to the gathering of a vast quantity of water. |
| τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ πνεύματα γίνεται καὶ ὀλίγων πεσόντων εἰς τὰ πολλὰ κοιλώματα, διαδόσεως τούτων γινομένης. | The other winds arise when a few (currents of air) fall into many hollow spaces, and cause a spreading of wind. |
| Χάλαζα συντελεῖται καὶ κατὰ πῆξιν ἰσχυροτέραν, πάντοθεν δὲ πνευματωδῶν περίστασιν τινῶν καὶ καταμέρισιν· | Hail is produced both by a powerful congelation, when certain windy bodies form together from all sides and split up: |
| καὶ <κατὰ> πῆξιν μετριωτέραν ὑδατοειδῶν τινων, <καὶ> ὁμοῦ ῥῆξιν, ἅμα τήν τε σύνωσιν αὐτῶν ποιουμένην καὶ τὴν διάρρηξιν πρὸς τὸ κατὰ μέρη συνίστασθαι πηγνύμενα καὶ κατὰ ἀθροότητα. | also by a more moderate congelation of watery bodies and their simultaneous division, which causes at one and the same time their coagulation and separation, so that they cling together as they freeze in their separate parts as well as in their whole masses. |
| [107] ἡ δὲ περιφέρεια οὐκ ἀδυνάτως μὲν ἔχει γίνεσθαι πάντοθεν τῶν ἄκρων ἀποτηκομένων καὶ ἐν τῇ συστάσει πάντοθεν, ὡς λέγεται, κατὰ μέρη ὁμαλῶς περιισταμένων εἴτε ὑδατοειδῶν τινων εἴ τε πνευματωδῶν. | [107] Their circular shape may possibly arise because the corners melt off all round or because at their conformation bodies, whether watery or windy, come together evenly from all directions part by part, as is alleged. |
| Χιόνα δὲ ἐνδέχεται συντελεῖσθαι καὶ ὕδατος λεπτοῦ ἐκχεομένου ἐκ τῶν νεφῶν διὰ πόρων συμμετρίας καὶ θλίψεις ἐπιτηδείων νεφῶν ἀεὶ ὑπὸ πνευμάτων σφοδράς, εἶτα τούτου πῆξιν ἐν τῇ φορᾷ λαμβάνοντος διά τινα ἰσχυρὰν ἐν τοῖς κατωτέρῳ τόποις τῶν νεφῶν ψυχρασίας περίστασιν· | Snow may be produced when fine particles of rain are poured out of the clouds owing to the existence of pores of suitable shape and the strong and constant compression by winds of clouds of the right kind; and then the water is congealed in its descent owing to some conformation of excessive coldness in the clouds in the lower regions. |
| καὶ κατὰ πῆξιν δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς νέφεσιν ὁμαλῆ ἀραιότητα ἔχουσιν τοιαύτη πρόεσις ἐκ τῶν νεφῶν γίνοιτο ἂν πρὸς ἄλληλα θλιβομένων ὑδατοειδῶν καὶ συμπαρακειμένων· | Or else owing to congelation in clouds of uniform thinness an exudation of this kind might arise from watery clouds lying side by side and rubbing against one another: |
| ἃ οἱονεὶ σύνωσιν ποιούμενα χάλαζαν ἀποτελεῖ, ὃ μάλιστα γίνεται ἐν τῷ ἀέρι. | for they produce hail by causing coagulation, a process most frequent in the atmosphere. |
| [108] καὶ κατὰ τρῖψιν δὲ νεφῶν πῆξιν εἰληφότων ἀπόπαλσιν ἂν λαμβάνοι τὸ τῆς χιόνος τοῦτο ἄθροισμα. | [108] Or else, owing to the friction of congealed clouds, these nuclei of snow may find occasion to break off. |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ τρόπους ἐνδέχεται χιόνα συντελεῖσθαι. | And there are many other ways in which snow may be produced. |
| Δρόσος συντελεῖται καὶ κατὰ σύνοδον πρὸς ἄλληλα ἐκ τοῦ ἀέρος τῶν τοιούτων, ἃ τῆς τοιαύτης ὑγρασίας ἀποτελεστικὰ γίνεται· | Dew may be produced both when such particles as are productive of this kind of moisture issue from the atmosphere and meet one another, |
| καὶ κατὰ φορὰν δὲ ἢ ἀπὸ νοτερῶν τόπων ἢ ὕδατα κεκτημένων, ἐν οἵοις τόποις μάλιστα δρόσος συντελεῖται, εἶτα σύνοδον τούτων εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ λαβόντων καὶ ἀποτέλεσιν ὑγρασίας καὶ πάλιν φορὰν ἐπὶ τοὺς κάτω τόπους, καθάπερ ὁμοίως καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἐπὶ πλεόνων τοιαῦτά τινα <θεωρεῖται. | and also when particles rise from moist regions or regions containing water, in which dew is most naturally produced, and then meet together and cause moisture to be produced, and afterwards fall back on the ground below, as <is> frequently <seen> to be the case in phenomena on earth as well. |
| [109] καὶ πάχνη δὲ μεταβαλλομένων> συντελεῖται τῶν δρόσων, τοιούτων τινῶν πῆξίν τινα λαβόντων διὰ περίστασίν τινα ἀέρος ψυχροῦ. | [109] <And frost is produced by a change> in the dew-particles, when such particles as we have described undergo a definite kind of congelation owing to the neighbourhood of a cold atmosphere. |
| Κρύσταλλος συντελεῖται καὶ κατ᾽ ἔκθλιψιν μὲν τοῦ περιφεροῦς σχηματισμοῦ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, σύνωσιν δὲ τῶν σκαληνῶν καὶ ὀξυγωνίων τῶν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ὑπαρχόντων· | Ice is caused both by the squeezing out from the water of particles of round formation and the driving together of the triangular and acute-angled particles which exist already in the water, |
| καὶ κατὰ ἔξωθεν δὲ τῶν τοιούτων πρόσκρισιν, ἃ συνελαθέντα πῆξιν τῷ ὕδατι παρεσκεύασε, ποσὰ τῶν περιφερῶν ἐκθλίψαντα. | and again by the addition from without of particles of this kind, which when driven together produce a congelation in the water, by squeezing out a certain number of the round particles. |
| Ἶρις γίνεται κατὰ πρόσλαμψιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου πρὸς ἀέρα ὑδατοειδῆ· | The rainbow is caused by light shining from the sun on to watery atmosphere: |
| ἢ κατὰ πρόσκρισιν ἰδίαν τοῦ τε φωτὸς καὶ τοῦ ἀέρος, ἣ τὰ τῶν χρωμάτων τούτων ἰδιώματα ποιήσει εἴτε πάντα εἴτε μονοειδῶς· | or else by a peculiar union of light and air, which can produce the special qualities of these colours whether all together or separately; |
| ἀφ᾽ οὗ πάλιν ἀπολάμποντος τὰ ὁμοροῦντα τοῦ ἀέρος χρῶσιν τοιαύτην λήψεται, οἵαν θεωροῦμεν, κατὰ πρόσλαμψιν πρὸς τὰ μέρη. | from it as it reflects back again the neighbouring regions of the air can take the tint which we see, by means of the shining of the light on to its various parts. |
| [110] τὸ δὲ τῆς περιφερείας τοῦτο φάντασμα γίνεται διὰ τὸ τὸ διάστημα πάντοθεν ἴσον ὑπὸ τῆς ὄψεως θεωρεῖσθαι, ἢ σύνωσιν τοιαύτην λαμβανουσῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ ἀέρι ἀτόμων ἢ ἐν τοῖς νέφεσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀέρος ἀποφερομένων περιφέρειάν τινα καθίεσθαι τὴν σύγκρισιν ταύτην. | [110] The appearance of its round shape is caused because it is perceived by our sight at equal distance from all its points, or else because the atoms in the air or those in the clouds which are derived from the same air, are pressed together in this manner, and so the combination spreads out in a round shape. |
| Ἅλως περὶ τὴν σελήνην γίνεται καὶ πάντοθεν ἀέρος προσφερομένου πρὸς τὴν σελήνην ἢ τὰ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς ῥεύματα ἀποφερόμενα ὁμαλῶς ἀναστέλλοντος ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐφ᾽ ὅσον κύκλῳ περιστῆσαι εἰς τὸ νεφοειδὲς τοῦτο καὶ μὴ τὸ παράπαν διακρῖναι, ἢ καὶ τὸν πέριξ ἀέρα αὐτῆς ἀναστέλλοντος συμμέτρως πάντοθεν εἰς τὸ περιφερὲς τὸ περὶ αὐτὴν καὶ παχυμερὲς περιστῆσαι. | A halo round the moon is caused either when air is carried towards the moon from all sides, or when the air checks the effluences carried from the moon so equably that it forms them into this cloudy ring all round without any gaps or differences, or else when it checks the air round the moon uniformly on all sides so as to make that which encircles it round and thick in texture. |
| [111] ὃ γίνεται κατὰ μέρη τινὰ ἤτοι ἔξωθεν βιασαμένου τινὸς ῥεύματος ἢ τῆς θερμασίας ἐπιτηδείως πόρων ἐπιλαμβανομένης εἰς τὸ τοῦτο ἀπεργάσασθαι. | [111] This comes to pass in different parts either because some current outside forces the air or because heat blocks the passages in such a way as to produce this effect. |
| Κομῆται ἀστέρες γίνονται ἤτοι πυρὸς ἐν τόποις τισὶ διὰ χρόνων τινῶν ἐν τοῖς μετεώροις συντρεφομένου περιστάσεως γινομένης, ἢ ἰδίαν τινὰ κίνησιν διὰ χρόνων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἴσχοντος ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς, ὥστε τὰ τοιαῦτα ἄστρα ἀναφανῆναι ἢ αὐτὰ ἐν χρόνοις τισὶν ὁρμῆσαι διά τινα περίστασιν καὶ εἰς τοὺς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς τόπους ἐλθεῖν καὶ ἐκφανῆ γενέσθαι. | Comets occur either when fire is collected together in certain regions at certain intervals of time in the upper air because some gathering of matter takes place, or when at certain intervals the heaven above us has some peculiar movement, so that stars of this nature are revealed, or when they themselves at certain seasons start to move on account of some gathering of matter and come into the regions within our ken and appear visible. |
| τήν τε ἀφάνισιν τούτων γίνεσθαι παρὰ τὰς ἀντικειμένας ταύταις αἰτίας. | And their disappearance occurs owing to the opposite causes to these. |
| [112] Τινὰ ἄστρα στρέφεται αὐτοῦ συμβαίνει οὐ μόνον τῷ τὸ μέρος τοῦτο τοῦ κόσμου ἑστάναι, περὶ ὃ τὸ λοιπὸν στρέφεται, καθάπερ τινές φασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δίνην ἀέρος ἔγκυκλον αὐτῷ περιεστάναι, ἣ κωλυτικὴ γίνεται τοῦ περιπολεῖν ὡς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα· | [112] Some stars 'revolve in their place' (as Homer says), which comes to pass not only because this part of the world is stationary and round it the rest revolves, as some say, but also because a whirl of air is formed in a ring round it, which prevents their moving about as do the other stars: |
| ἢ καὶ διὰ τὸ ἑξῆς μὲν αὐτοῖς ὕλην ἐπιτηδείαν μὴ εἶναι, ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ ἐν ᾧ κείμενα θεωρεῖται. | or else it is because there is not a succession of appropriate fuel for them, but only in this place in which they are seen fixed. |
| καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλους δὲ πλείονας τρόπους τοῦτο δυνατὸν συντελεῖσθαι, ἐάν τις δύνηται τὸ σύμφωνον τοῖς φαινομένοις συλλογίζεσθαι. | And there are many other ways in which this may be brought about, if one is able to infer what is in agreement with phenomena. |
| Τινὰ τῶν ἄστρων πλανᾶσθαι, εἰ οὕτω ταῖς κινήσεσι χρώμενα συμβαίνει, | That some of the stars should wander in their course, if indeed it is the case that their movements are such, |
| [113] τινὰ δὲ μὴ <οὕτω> κινεῖσθαι ἐνδέχεται μὲν καὶ παρὰ τὸ κύκλῳ κινούμενα ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὕτω κατηναγκάσθαι, ὥστε τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δίνην φέρεσθαι ὁμαλὴν οὖσαν, τὰ δὲ κατά τὴν ἅμα τισὶν ἀνωμαλίαις χρωμένην· | [113] while others do not move in this manner, may be due to the reason that from the first as they moved in their circles they were so constrained by necessity that some of them move along the same regular orbit, and others along one which is associated with certain irregularities: |
| ἐνδέχεται δὲ καὶ καθ᾽ οὓς τόπους φέρεται οὗ μὲν παρεκτάσεις ἀέρος εἶναι ὁμαλὰς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ συνωθούσας κατὰ τὸ ἑξῆς ὁμαλῶς τε ἐκκαούσας, οὗ δὲ ἀνωμαλεῖς ὥστε τὰς θεωρουμένας παραλλαγὰς συντελεῖσθαι. | or it may be that among the regions to which they are carried in some places there are regular tracts of air which urge them on successively in the same direction and provide flame for them regularly, while in other places the tracts are irregular, so that the aberrations which we observe result. |
| τὸ δὲ μίαν αἰτίαν τούτων ἀποδιδόναι, πλεοναχῶς τῶν φαινομένων ἐκκαλουμένων, μανικὸν καὶ οὐ καθηκόντως πραττόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν τὴν ματαίαν ἀστρολογίαν ἐζηλωκότων καὶ εἰς τὸ κενὸν αἰτίας τινῶν ἀποδιδόντων, ὅταν τὴν θείαν φύσιν μηθαμῇ λειτουργιὼν ἀπολύωσι. | But to assign a single cause for these occurrences, when phenomena demand several explanations, is madness, and is quite wrongly practised by persons who are partisans of the foolish notions of astrology, by which they give futile explanations of the causes of certain occurrences, and all the time do not by any means free the divine nature from the burden of responsibilities. |
| [114] Τινὰ ἄστρα ὑπολειπόμενα τινῶν θεωρεῖσθαι συμβαίνει καὶ παρὰ τὸ βραδύτερον συμπεριφέρεσθαι τὸν αὐτὸν κύκλον περιιόντα, καὶ παρὰ τὸ τὴν ἐναντίαν κινεῖσθαι ἀντισπώμενα ὑπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς δίνης· | [114] That some stars should be seen to be left behind by others is caused because though they move round in the same orbit they are carried along more slowly, and also because they really move in the opposite direction though they are dragged back by the same revolution: |
| καὶ παρὰ τὸ περιφέρεσθαι τὰ μὲν διὰ πλείονος τόπου, τὰ δὲ δι᾽ ἐλάττονος, τὴν αὐτὴν δίνην περικυκλοῦντα. | also because some are carried round through a greater space and some through a lesser, though all perform the same revolution. |
| τὸ δὲ ἁπλῶς ἀποφαίνεσθαι περὶ τούτων καθῆκόν ἐστι τοῖς τερατεύεσθαί τι πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς βουλομένοις. | But to give a single explanation of these occurrences is only suitable to those who wish to make a show to the many. |
| Οἱ λεγόμενοι ἀστέρες ἐκπίπτειν καὶ παρὰ μέρος κατὰ παράτριψιν ἑαυτῶν δύνανται συντελεῖσθαι καὶ παρὰ ἔκπτωσιν οὗ ἂν ἡ ἐκπνευμάτωσις γένηται, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀστραπῶν ἐλέγομεν· | What are called falling stars may be produced in part by the rubbing of star against star, and by the falling out of the fragments wherever an outburst of wind occurs, as we explained in the case of lightning-flashes: |
| [115] καὶ κατὰ σύνοδον δὲ ἀτόμων πυρὸς ἀποτελεστικῶν, συμφυλίας γενομένης εἰς τὸ τοῦτο τελέσαι, καὶ κίνησιν οὗ ἂν ἡ ὁρμὴ ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατὰ τὴν σύνοδον γένηται· | [115] or else by the meeting of atoms productive of fire, when a gathering of kindred material occurs to cause this, and a movement in the direction of the impulse which results from the original meeting; |
| καὶ κατὰ πνεύματος δὲ συλλογὴν ἐν πυκνώμασί τισιν ὀμιχλοειδέσι καὶ ἐκπύρωσιν τούτου διὰ τὴν κατείλησιν, εἶτ᾽ ἐπέκρηξιν τῶν περιεχόντων, καὶ ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἂν τόπον ἡ ὁρμὴ γένηται τῆς φορᾶς, εἰς τοῦτον φερομένου. | or else by a gathering of wind in certain dense and misty formations, and its ignition as it whirls round, and then its bursting out of what encloses it and its rush towards the spot to which the impulse of its flight tends. |
| καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ τρόποι εἰς τὸ τοῦτο τελέσαι ἀμύθητοί εἰσιν. | And there are other ways in which this result may be brought about, quite free from superstition. |
| Αἱ δ᾽ ἐπισημασίαι αἱ γινόμεναι ἐπί τισι ζῴοις κατὰ συγκύρημα γίνονται τοῦ καιροῦ. | The signs of the weather which are given by certain animals result from mere coincidence of occasion. |
| οὐ γὰρ τὰ ζῷα ἀνάγκην τινὰ προσφέρεται τοῦ ἀποτελεσθῆναι χειμῶνα, οὐδὲ κάθηταί τις θεία φύσις παρατηροῦσα τὰς τῶν ζῴων τούτων ἐξόδους κἄπειτα τὰς ἐπισημασίας ταύτας ἐπιτελεῖ· | For the animals do not exert any compulsion for winter to come to an end, nor is there some divine nature which sits and watches the outgoings of these animals and then fulfils the signs they give. |
| [116] οὐδὲ γὰρ <ἂν> εἰς τὸ τυχὸν ζῷον κἂν <εἰ> μικρὸν χαριέστερον εἴη, τοιαύτη μωρία ἐμπέσοι, μὴ ὅτι εἰς παντελῆ εὐδαιμονίαν κεκτημένον. | [116] For not even the lowest animal, although 'a small thing gives the greater pleasure', would be seized by such foolishness, much less one who was possessed of perfect happiness. |
| Ταῦτα δὴ πάντα, Πυθόκλεις, μνημόνευσον· | All these things, Pythocles, you must bear in mind; |
| κατὰ πολύ τε γὰρ τοῦ μύθου ἐκβήσῃ καὶ τὰ ὁμογενῆ τούτοις συνορᾶν δυνήσῃ. | for thus you will escape in most things from superstition and will be enabled to understand what is akin to them. |
| μάλιστα δὲ σεαυτὸν ἀπόδος εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀρχῶν καὶ ἀπειρίας καὶ τῶν συγγενῶν τούτοις θεωρίαν, ἔτι δὲ κριτηρίων καὶ παθῶν, καὶ οὗ ἕνεκεν ταῦτα ἐκλογιζόμεθα. | And most of all give yourself up to the study of the beginnings and of infinity and of the things akin to them, and also of the criteria of truth and of the feelings, and of the purpose for which we reason out these things. |
| ταῦτα γὰρ μάλιστα συνθεωρούμενα ῥᾳδίως τὰς περὶ τῶν κατὰ μέρος αἰτίας συνορᾶν ποιήσει. | For these points when they are thoroughly studied will most easily enable you to understand the causes of the details. |
| οἱ δὲ ταῦτα μὴ καταγαπήσαντες ᾗ μάλιστα οὔτ᾽ <ἂν> αὐτὰ ταῦτα καλῶς συνθεωρήσαιεν οὔτε οὗ ἕνεκεν δεῖ θεωρεῖν ταῦτα περιεποιήσαντο. | But those who have not thoroughly taken these things to heart could not rightly study them in themselves, nor have they made their own the reason for observing them. |