Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/142

 108 tlint's natural uistojit. [Book II. mer fall towards the soutli and in winter towards the north. The seven stars of the Great Bear are visible there for fifteen nights only. In India also, in the celebrated sea-port Pa- tale the sun rises to the right hand and the shadows fall towards the south. "While Alexander was staying there it was_ observed, that the seven northern stars were seen only during the early part of the nightl Onesicritus, one of his generals, inforins us in his work, that in those places in India where there are no shadows, the seven stars are not visible^ ; these places, he says, are called " AsciaV and the people there do not reckon the time by hours ^ CHAP. 76. (74.) ^WHEEE THIS TAKES PLACE TWICE TIS^ THE TEAR AJfD WHERE THE SHADOWS FALL Ilf OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. Eratosthenes informs us, that in the whole of Troglodytice, for twice forty-five days in the year, the shadows fall in the contrary direction^. • CHAP. 77. (75.) — WHERE THE DATS ARE THE LONGEST AND WHERE THE SHORTEST. Hence it foUows, that in consequence of the daylight increasing in various degrees, in Meroe the longest day said to be in the country of the Monedes and Suari ; vi. 22. See the note of Alexandre in Lemaire, i, 394. 1 Our author, in a subsequent part of his work, vi. 23, describes the island of Patale as situated near the mouth of the Indus ; he again refers to it, xii. 25. His account of the position of the sun does not, however, apply to tliis place. 2 If we may suppose this to have been actually the case, we might calculate the time of the year when Alexander visited this place and the length of liis stay. 3 We may presume, that our author means to say no more than that, in those places, they are occasionally invisible ; hteraUy the observation would not apply to any part of India. 4 ^f^^ia, shadowless. 5 If this really were the case, it could have no relation to the astrono- mical position of the country. 6 " In contrarium," contrary to what takes place at other tunes, i. e. towards the south. This observation is not apphcable to the wliole of this country, as its northern and southern parts differ from each other by seven or eight degrees of latitude. For an account of Eratosthenes see Lemaire, i. 186.