Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/113

 CHAP. iv. 3, 4. INTRODUCTION. 99 From thence to the Hellespont 1 about 8100. Again; from thence to the Dnieper, 50l)0 ; and thence to the parallel of Thule, 2 which Pytheas says is six (jays' sail north from Britain, and near the Frozen Sea, other 11,500. To"whlch iFw-e add 3400 stadia a5ove~T5Teroe in order to include the Island of the Egyptians, 3 the Cinnamon country, and Tapro- bane, 4 there will be in all 38,000 stadia. 3. We will let pass the rest of his distances, since they are something near, but that the Dnieper is under the same parallel as Thule, what man in his senses could ever agree to this ? Pytheas, who has given us the history of Thule, is known to be a man upon whom no reliance can be placed, and other writers who have seen Britain andj^rne, 5 although they tell us of many small islaricfsround Britain, make no mention whatever of Thule. The length^f Britain itself is nearly the saine ^_t]iat_oJ^eltica, 6 opposite to which it extends. Alto- gether it is not more than 5000 stadia in length, its outer- most points corresponding to those of the opposite continent. In fact the extreme points of the two countries lie opposite to each other, the eastern extremity to the eastern, and the western to the western: the eastern points are situated so close as to be within sight of each other^ both at Kent and at the mouths oT th^Tthme] But Pytheas tells us that the is- land [of Britain] is more than 20,000 stadia in length, and that Kent is some days' sail from France. With regard to the locality of the Ostimii, and the countries beyond the Rhine, 7 as far as Scythia, he is altogether mistaken. The veracity of a writer who has been thus false in describing countries with which we are well acquainted, should not be too much trusted in regard to unknown places. 4. Further, Hipparchus and many others are of opinion that the parallel of latitude of the Dnieper does not differ the inoxith of the Borysthenes or Dnieper, were all under the same meridian. 1 The Dardanelles. 2 Iceland. 3 This Island of the Egyptians is the same which Strabo elsewhere calls the Island of the Exiles, because it was inhabited by Egyptians who had revolted from Psammeticus, and established themselves in the island. Its exact situation is unknown. 4 Ceylon. 5 Ireland. 6 France. 7 Between the Rhine and Elbe. H 2