The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 2 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 2 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
Under the fourth circle or parallel lie those parts of India which
are on the other side of the Imaüs, the southern parts of Cappadocia,
Galatia, Mysia, Sardis, Smyrna, Sipylus, Mount Tmolus, Lydia, Caria,
Ionia, Tralles, Colophon, Ephesus, Miletus, Chios, Samos, the Icarian
Sea, the northern part of the Cyclades, Athens, Megara, Corinth,
Sicyon, Achaia, Patræ, the Isthmus, Epirus, the northern parts of
Sicily, the eastern parts of Gallia Narbonensis, and the sea-coast
of Spain, from New Carthage westward. In these districts a gnomon of
twenty-one feet throws a shadow of sixteen feet in length; the longest
day contains fourteen equinoctial hours and two-thirds of an hour.
Under the fifth zone are included, from the entrance to the Caspian
Sea, the Bactri, Iberia, Armenia, Mysia, Phrygia, the Hellespont,
Troas, Tenedos, Abydos, Scepsis, Ilium, Mount Ida, Cyzicus, Lampsacus,
Sinope, Amisus, Heraclea in Pontus, Paphlagonia, Lemnos, Imbros,
Thasos, Cassandria, Thessaly, Macedonia, Larissa, Amphipolis,
Thessalonica, Pella, Edessa, Berœa, Pharsalia, Carystus, Eubœa in
Bœotia, Chalcis, Delphi, Acarnania, Ætolia, Apollonia, Brudisium,
Tarentum, Thurii, Locri, Rhegium, the Lucani, Neapolis, Puteoli, the
Tuscan Sea, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the middle of Spain. A
gnomon, seven feet in length, in these countries gives a shadow of six
feet, and the length of the day is fifteen equinoctial hours.
The sixth division, in which Rome is included, embraces the Caspian
nations, Caucasus, the northern parts of Armenia, Apollonia on the
Rhyndacus, Nicomedia, Nicæa, Chalcedon, Byzantium, Lysimachia, the
Chersonnesus, the Gulf of Melas, Abdera, Samothracia, Maronea, Ænus,
Bessica, Thracia, Mædica, Pæonia, the Illyrii, Dyrrhachium, Canusium,
the extreme parts of Apulia, Campania, Etruria, Pisæ, Luna, Luca,
Genua, Liguria, Antipolis, Massilia, Narbo, Tarraco, the middle parts
of Hispania Tarraconensis, and thence through Lusitania. A gnomon of
nine feet here throws a shadow eight feet long; the greatest length of
the day is fifteen equinoctial hours, plus one-ninth part of an hour,
or, according to Nigidius, one-fifth.
The seventh division begins on the other side of the Caspian Sea,
and the line runs above Callatis, and through the Bosporus, the
Borysthenes, Tomi, the back part of Thrace, the Triballi, the remainder
of Illyricum, the Adriatic Sea, Aquileia, Altinum, Venetia, Vicetia,
Patavium, Verona, Cremona, Ravenna, Ancona, Picenum, the Marsi, the
Peligni, the Sabini, Umbria, Ariminum, Bononia, Placentia, Mediolanum,
all the districts at the foot of the Apennines, and, beyond the Alps,
Gallia Aquitanica, Vienna, the Pyrenæan range, and Celtiberia. A gnomon
thirty-five feet in length here throws a shadow of thirty-six feet,
except in some parts of Venetia, where the shadow just equals the
length of the gnomon; the longest day is fifteen equinoctial hours,
plus three-fifths of an hour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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