Page:Arrian's Voyage Round the Euxine Sea Translated.djvu/167

166 contains 125 of the former, and 625 of the latter. To uppoe on uch a random conjecture that Pliny acribed 1000 feet to a tadium, when his. own words o directly contradict it, would be the height of aburdity.

But let us now examine, from the tetimony of writers of authority, Greek an well as, Roman., if the- meaure of ten Roman feet would not be utterly inconitent with the decription of the, or fathom, itelf.

Xenophon, who flourihed only 54 years after Herodotus, decribes the to be the meaure of the ditance which reaches from the extremity of one arm to that of the other, when both are extended at right angles to the body. Phavorinus, Suidas , Hefychiu , and Julius Pollux , explain it in. the ame way.

The ame meaure, though without a name aigned to it, is decribed by Vitruvius, who makes it equal to the lengths of the body. It is alo evident that Vitmvius meant eherebya meaure of fix feet, as he reckons the meaure of the foot as one-ixth part of the height.

Of the authors above cited, Vitruiius lived, about 126 years fore