Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/64

 50 STUABO. BOOK i. rated into two divisions by the Nile from the Delta to Syene, 1 These towards the west, those towards the east ? And what else is Egypt, with the exception of the island formed by the river and overflowed by its waters ; does it not lie on either side of the river both east and west ? Ethiopia runs in the same direction as Egypt, and resem- bles it both in its position with respect to the Nile, and in its other geographical circumstances. It is narrow, long, and subject to inundation ; beyond the reach of this inunda- tion it is desolate and parched, and unfitted for the habitation of man ; some districts lying to the east and some to the west of [the river]. How then can we deny that it is separated into two divisions ? Shall the Nile, which is looked upon by some people as the proper boundary line between Asia and Libya, 2 and which extends southward in length more than 10,000 stadia, embracing in its breadth islands which contain populations of above ten thousand men, the largest of these being Meroe, the seat of empire and metropolis of the Ethiopians, be regarded as too insignificant to divide Ethiopia into two parts ? The greatest obstacle which they who object to the river being made the line of demarcation between the two continents are able to allege, is, that Egypt and Ethiopia are by this means divided, one part of each being assigned to Libya, and the other to Asia, or, if this will not suit, the continents cannot be divided at all, or at least not by the river. 26. But besides these there is another method of dividing Ethiopia. All those who have 'sailed along the coasts of Libya, whether starting from the Arabian Gulf, 3 or the Pillars, 4 after proceeding a certain distance, have been obliged to turn back again on account of a variety of accidents ; and thus originated a general belief that it was divided midway by some isthmus, although the whole of 1 This explanation falls to the ground when we remember, that prior to the reign of Psammeticus no stranger had ever succeeded in penetrating into the interior of Egypt. This was the statement of the Greeks them- selves. Now as Psammeticus did riot flourish till two and a half centu- ries after Homer, that poet could not possibly have been aware of the circumstances which Strabo brings forward to justify his interpretation of this passage which he has undertaken to defend. 2 Africa. 3 The Red Sea. 4 The Strait of Gibraltar.