Ἄγε δὴ γῆν ἀφεὶς καὶ τὰ περὶ γῆν, πρὸς τὸν ἀέρα κουφίσθητι τοῖς τῆς διανοίας πτεροῖς, ἵνα σοι καθ’ ὁδὸν ὁ λόγος προίη· κἀκεῖθεν ἀνάξω σε πρὸς τὰ οὐράνια, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν αὐτόν, καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ οὐρανόν. καὶ τοῖς ἑξῆς ὀκνεῖ μὲν προσβῆναι ὁ λόγος, προσβήσεται δὲ ὅμως ὁπόσον ἔξεστι. τίς ὁ χέας ἀέρα, τὸν πολὺν τοῦτον πλοῦτον 8 ποταμοῖς] μους abcef || 14 om τὴν cdf 28. 17 προίη] προῄει e πλοῦτον τοῦτον e 1. τοῦτο] sc. τὸ πρόσταγμα. 2. τὸν χέρσ’. ναυτ.] There is prob. no direct ref. to the shell-fish called a nautilus, which only bears that name because of its similarity to a man in a sailing boat. By ’the land ’’ Gr. means the land animal which nevertheless finds a home on the sea. At the same time the word ναυτίλος had become so exclusively poetical as applied to men and ships, and so recognised a name for the shell-fish, that the ad- dition of χ. was necessary to prevent a moment's mistake. Ἄγει sc. ἢ θάλασσα. 4. deduct] Cp. ἑ 26. Χρείαις κ. ἐπ’. almost ’demand and supply.’ 8. ποταμοῖς] ἴθι the rivers, ’ not ‘with,’ in spite of Hab. iii 9. 10. ἐπεξιούσης] ‘break out.’ 11. ἢ τῶν ὑδ. ‘how are the waters fed?’ The metaphor more ’luxuriant’ in Greek than in English, and Gr. proceeds, with an apology, to develope it. Some of them, he says, are ’watered from above,’ i.e. are fed by others (and this is the climax of the ’luxuriance’) ’drink with their roots? i.e. are fed by springs from under- ground. These last Gr. had learned from Arist. to be connected with the sea. 28. The air, and all the pheno- mena of meteorology. 16. καθ’ ὁδόν] ’in due order,’ ’methodically’; Plat. Rep. 435 Α. καὶ ἄφθονον, οὐκ ἀξίαις, οὐ τύχαις μετρούμενον, οὐχ ὅροις κρατούμενον, οὐχ ἡλικίαις μεριζόμενον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ μάννα διανομὴν αὐταρκείᾳ περιλαμβανόμενον καὶ ἰσομοιρίᾳ τιμώμενον· τὸ τῆς πτηνῆς φύσεως ὄχημα, τὴν ἀνέμων ἕδραν, τὴν ὡρῶν εὐκαιρίαν, τὴν ζώων ψύχωσιν, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὸ σῶμα συντήρησιν, ἐν ᾧ σώματα, καὶ μεθ’ οὐ λόγος, ἐν ᾧ φῶς καὶ τὸ φωτιζόμενον, καὶ ἡ ὄψις ἡ δι’ αὐτοῦ ῥέουσα; σκόπει δέ μοι καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· οὐ γὰρ συγχωροῦμαι τῷ ἀέρι δοῦναι τὴν ἅπασαν δυνα- στείαν τῶν τοῦ ἀέρος εἶναι νομιζομένων. τίνα μὲν ἀνέμων ταμιεῖα; τίνες δὲ θησαυροὶ χιόνος; τίς δὲ ὁ τετοκὼς βώλους δρόσου, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον; ἐκ γαστρὸς δὲ τίνος ἐκπορεύεται κρύσταλλος; τίς ὁ δεσμεύων ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἱστὰς ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν—ὣ τοῦ θαύματος—λόγῳ κρατουμένην φύσιν τὴν ῥέουσαν, τὸ δὲ ἐκχέων ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς, καὶ σπείρων καιρίως καὶ ὁμοτίμως, καὶ οὔτε ἀφιεὶς ἅπασαν τὴν ὑγρὰν οὐσίαν ἐλευθέραν καὶ ἄσχετον, — ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ἡ ἐπὶ Νῶε κάθαρσις, καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ διαθήκης οὐκ ἐπιλήσμων ὁ ἀψευδέστατος, — οὔτε ἀνέχων 11 τινες δε] om ’δε ef || 13 τις] + ’δε e || 15 κρτουμενην]+ τὴν ’Reg. Cypr.’ || 17 ουτε] οὐδὲ abef ΙΙ απασαν] ἅπασι ’Reg. Cypr.’ 1. οὐκ ἀξίαις] ’by deserts’; Matt. v 45; or perh. ’ by differences of rank.’ Τύχαις, ‘by fortunes.’ ῾Ηλ., coming after ὄροις, may mean ’ages’ in the sense of a measurement of time, ’to certain generations.’ 2. τοῦ μάννα] Ex. xvi 18. αὐταρκεῖ π.] ’freely taken in’; no leave has to be asked, and ἰσομ. τιμώμ. ’each ’s share is of equal ’’, lit. ’assessed at an equality οἱ partition.’ 5. εὐκαιρίαν] The air is said to the ’suitableness of seasons’ be- cause the suitableness of seasons de- pends upon atmospheric conditions. 7. μεθ’ οὐ λόγος] ’with which (cp. § 26) we speak.’ 9. οὐ γὰρ συγχωρ.] ace. to Elias, directed against Arist. (presumably de Mund. 4). 11. θησαυροὶ χιόνος] Job xxxviii 22. ib. τίς ὁ τετοκώς κτλ.] Job xxxviii 28, 29. 13. δεσμεύων υδ.] Job xxvi 8. 14. τὸ μὲν ἱστάς] τὸ μὲν and τὸ δέ appear to be ’part’ and ’part’ of the water thus ’bound ’ In that case φύσιν is in app. to τὸ μέν. 15. ἐπὶ πρόσωπονπ. τ. γ] Scripbe tural language, but not a definite quotation. 16. ὁμοτίμως] Elias rightly refers to Matt, v 45. 19. διαθήκης] Gen. ix 12. παντάπασιν, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν Ἡλίου τινὸς δεηθῶμεν, τὴν ξηρότητα λύοντος; Ἐὰν κλείσῃ, φησί, τὸν οὐρανόν, τίς ἀνοίξει; ἐὰν δὲ ἀνοίξῃ τοὺς καταράκτας, τίς συνέξει; τίς οἴσει τὴν ἐπ’ ἀμφότερα τοῦ ὑετίζοντος ἀμετρίαν, ἐὰν μὴ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μέτροις καὶ σταθμοῖς διεξαγάγῃ τὰ σύμπαντα; τί μοι φιλοσοφήσεις περὶ ἀστραπῶν καὶ βροντῶν, ὦ βροντῶν ἀπὸ γῆς σὺ καὶ οὐδὲ μικροῖς σπινθῆρσι τῆς ἀληθείας λαμπόμενε; τίνας ἀτμοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς αἰτιάσῃ νέφους δημιουργούς, ἢ ἀέρος πύκνωσίν τινα, ἢ νεφῶν τῶν μανοτάτων θλῖψιν ἢ σύρρηξιν, ἵνα ἢ μὲν θλίψις σοι τὴν ἀστραπήν, ἡ δὲ ῥῆξις τὴν βροντὴν ἀπεργάσηται; ποῖον δὲ πνεῦμα στενοχωρούμενον, εἶτα οὐκ ἔχον διέξοδον, ἵνα ἀστράψῃ θλιβόμενον, καὶ βροντήσῃ ῥηγνύμενον; εἰ τὸν ἀέρα διῆλθες τῷ λογισμῷ, καὶ ὅσα περὶ ἀέρα, ψαῦσον ἤδη σὺν ἐμοὶ καὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν οὐρανίων. πίστις δὲ ἀγέτω πλέον ἡμᾶς ἢ λόγος, εἴπερ ἔμαθες τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἐν τοῖς ἐγγυτέρω, καὶ λόγον ἔγνως τὸ γνῶναι τὰ ὑπὲρ λόγον, ἵνα μὴ παντελῶς ἐπίγειος ἦς ἢ περίγειος, ἀγνοῶν καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, τὴν ἄγνοιαν.