in two, it finally pours itself into the sea; this arm is equally celebrated, and not inferior in the depth of its waters; it is called the Sebbennitic mouth, and this again divides itself into two branches; one is called the Saitic, and one the Mendesian channel; both empty themselves into the sea. There are two other mouths, the Bolbitinian and the Bucolic; these are not produced by nature, but by art. XVIII. My opinion concerning the extent of Ægypt, receives farther confirmation from the oracle of Ammon, of which however I had no knowledge, till my mind was already satisfied on the subject. The people of Marea and Apis, who inhabit the borders of Libya, thinking themselves to be not Ægyptians but Libyans, both of them disliked the religious ceremonies of the country, and that particular restriction which did not permit them to kill heifers for food: they sent therefore to Ammon, declaring that they had no connection with the Ægyptians; for they lived beyond the Delta, had their opinions and prejudices as distinct as possible, and wished to have no restriction in the article of food. deity signified his disapprobation of their conduct, and intimated that every part of that region which was watered by the Nile, was strictly to be denominated Egypt; and that all who VOL. I. dwelt Y The dwelt below Elephantine, and drank of this stream", were Ægyptians. XIX. In its more extensive inundations, the Nile does not overflow the Delta only, but part of that territory which is called Libyan, and sometimes the Arabian frontier, and extends about the space of two days journey on each side, speaking on an average. Of the nature of this river I could obtain no certain information, from the priests or from others. It was nevertheless my particular desire to know why the Nile, beginning at the summer solstice 35, conti nues 33 Drank of this stream.]-The ancients, says Strabo, confined the appellation of Egypt to the inhabited country watered by the Nile, from the environs of Syene to the Sea. 34 This river.]—That the Nile was considered by the natives as a tutelar deity, appears from the following passages of Tibullus and of Statius. Nile pater, quanam possum te dicere causa See also Statius, Theb. 4. Tu nunc ventis pluvioque rogaris Pro Jove.. T. Tibullus. 35 Summer solstice.]-The inundation commences regu gularly about the month of July, or three weeks after the rains have begun to fall in Æthiopia. The nues gradually to rise for the space of one hundred days, after which for the same space it as gradually recedes, remaining throughout the winter, and till the return of the summer solstice, in its former low and quiescent state: but all my inquiries of the inhabitants proved ineffectual, and I was unable to learn why the Nile was thus distinguished in its properties from other streams. I was equally unsuccessful in my wishes to be informed why this river alone, wafted no breeze from its surface. XX. From a desire of gaining a reputation for sagacity, this subject has employed the attention of many among the Greeks. There have been three different modes 36 of explaining it, two of which The Nile is not the only river which increases its waters in the summer season; it has this property in common with many others, both of Africa and India. As the chief increase of the Nile was when the sun was passing through Leo, the Egyptians made the lion a type of an inundation, as we learn from Johannes Pierianus. He says that all effusion of water was specified by this characteristic; and he adds, that from hence has been the custom of making the water which proceeds from cisterns and other reservoirs, as well as spouts from the roofs of buildings, come through the mouth of a lion.—Bryant; Plagues of Egypt. 36 Three different modes.]-Diodorus Siculus allows only two of these hypotheses to be Grecian; the one by Thales, the other by Anaxagoras; the third, concerning the ocean, he makes of Ægyptian extraction amongst the priests. Norden. which merit no farther attention than barely to be mentioned; one of them affirms the increase of the Nile to be owing to the Etesian winds, which by blowing in an opposite direction, impede the river's entrance to the sea. But it has often happened that no winds have blown from this quarter, and the phænomenon of the Nile has still been the same*. It may also be remarked, that were this the real cause, the same events would happen to other rivers, whose currents are opposed to the Etesian winds 37, which, indeed, as having * These winds, as Herodotus properly observes, are frequently interrupted with winds from other quarters. Moreover, as Shaw remarks, if these winds do not blow directly from the North, but uniting, as they generally do, to the East or West, they will diverge from the mountains of Ethiopia, and direct their courses into the clouds and vapours, which accompany them towards the regions of Libya or Arabia. See Shaw, quarto ed. p. 378. 37 Etesian winds.] Of these winds the following account is given by Pliny:--In the hottest part of the summer the dog-star rises; this is usually the fifteenth day preceding the calends of August, when the sun enters Leo. About eight days before this star rises, the north-east winds rise, which the Greeks call Prodromi (fore-runners): about two days afterwards these winds increase in force, and continue for the space of forty days; these are called the Etesian winds.-T. The most satisfactory explanation of the inundation of the Nile is given by Pococke. "It must be supposed," he ob"that the north winds are the cause of its overflow, which egin to blow about the latter end of May, and drive the clouds formed by the vapours of the Mediterranean serves, southward, having a less body of waters, and a weaker current, would be capable of still less resistance: but there are many streams, both in Syria and Libya, none of which exhibit the same appearances with the Nile. XXI. The second opinion 38 is still less agreeable to reason, though more calculated to excite wonder. This affirms, that the Nile has these qualities, as flowing from the ocean, which entirely surrounds the earth. XXII. The third opinion, though more plausible in appearance, is still more false in reality. It simply intimates, that the body of the Nile is formed from the dissolution of snow, which coming from Libya through the regions of Æthiopia, discharges itself upon Ægypt. But how can this river, southward, as far as the mountains of Æthiopia, which stopping their course, they condense and fall down in violent rains. It is said, that at this time not only men from their reason, but the wild beasts by a sort of instinct, leave the mountains. The wind, which is the cause of the rise of the Nile, driving the clouds against those hills, is also the cause of it in another respect, as it drives in the water from the sea, and keeps back the waters of the river, in such a manner as to raise the waters above." For further particulars on this curious subject, see Pococke.—T. 38 The second opinion.]-This second was the opinion of Euthymenes of Marseilles. According to Diodorus Siculus it was the prevailing sentiment of the Egyptian priests.-T. 1 |