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 also he 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 meantime 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 them, but also
they are drawn by the Sun. The Nile however, alone of all rivers, not
having rain and being drawn by the Sun, naturally flows during this time
of winter in much less than its proper volume, that is much less than in
summer; for then it is drawn equally with all the other waters, but in
winter it bears the burden alone. Thus I suppose the Sun to be the cause
of these things. He also is the cause in my opinion that the air in
these parts is dry, since he makes it so by scorching up his path
through the heaven: thus summer prevails always in the upper parts of
Libya. If however the station of the seasons had been changed, and where
now in the heaven are placed the North Wind and winter, there was the
station of the South Wind and of the midday, and where now is placed
the South Wind, there was the North, if this had been so, the Sun being
driven from the midst of the heaven by the winter and the North Wind
would go to the upper parts of Europe, just as now he comes to the upper
parts of Libya, and passing in his course throughout the whole of Europe
I suppose he would do to the Ister that which he now works upon the
Nile. As to the breeze, why none blows from the river, my opinion is
that from very hot places it is not natural that anything should blow,
and that a breeze is wont to blow from something cold.

Let these matters then be as they are and as they were at the first: but
as to the sources of the Nile, not one either of the Egyptians or of
the Libyans or of the Hellenes, who came to speech with me, professed to
know anything, except the scribe of the sacred treasury of Athene at the
city of Sais in Egypt. To me however this man seemed not to be speaking
seriously when he said that he had certain knowledge of it; and he said
as follows, namely that there were two mountains of which the tops ran
up to a sharp point, situated between