Page 19 Thales, who is reckon'd one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, is of Opinion that the Etesean Winds that beat fiercely upon the Mouth of the River, give a check and stop to the Current, and so hinder it from falling into the Sea, upon which the River swelling, and its Channel fill'd with Water, at length overflows the Country of Egypt, which lies flat and low. Though this seem a plausible Reason, yet it may be easily disprov'd. For if it were true what he says, then all the Rivers which run into the Sea against the Etesean Winds would overflow in like manner; which being never known in any other part of the World, some other Reason and more agreeable to Truth must of necessity be sought for. Anaxagoras the Philosopher ascribes the Cause to the melting of the Snow in Ethiopia, whom the Poet Euripides (who was his Scholar) follows, saying thus—
Neither is it any hard Task to confute this Opinion, since it's apparent to all, that by reason of the parching Heats, there's no Snow in Ethiopia at that time of the Year. For in these Countries there's not the least Sign either of Frost, Cold or any other effects of Winter, especially at the time of the overflowing of Nile. And suppose there be abundance of Snow in the higher Parts of Ethiopia, yet what is affirm'd is certainly false: For every River that is swell'd with Snow, fumes up in cold Fogs, and thickens the Air; but about Nile, only above all other Rivers, neither Mists gather, nor are there any cold Breezes, nor is the Air gross and thick. Herodotus says, that Nile is such in its own nature, as it seems to be in the time of its Increase; for that in Winter, when the Sun moves to the South, and runs its daily Course directly over Africa, it exhales so much Water out of Nile, that it decreases against Nature; and in Summer when the Sun returns to the North, the Rivers of Greece, and the Rivers of all other Northern Countries fall and decrease; and therefore that it is not so strange for Nile about Summer time to increase, and in Winter to fall and grow lower. But to this it may be answer'd, that if the Sun exhale so much moisture out of Nile in Winter time, it would do the like in other Rivers in Africa, and so they must fall as well as Nile, which no where happens throughout all Africa, and therefore this Author's Reason is frivolous; for the Rivers of Greece rise not in the Winter, by reason of the remoteness of the Sun, but by reason of the great Rains that fall at that time.
Democritus the Abderite says, that the Northern Countries, and not those towards the South (as Anaxagoras and Euripides say) are subject to Snow; for that it's clear and evident to every Body, that in the Northern Parts, Drifts and Heaps of Snow lye congeal'd at the time of the Winter Solstice; but in Summer, the Ice being melted by the heat of the Sun, the Land becomes very wet, which causes many thick Mists to appear upon the Hills from the Vapours rising from the Earth. These Vapours, he says, are driven about by the Etesean Winds, till they fall upon the highest Mountains, which are (as he affirms in Ethiopia) and by the violent impression they make upon the Tops of these Mountains, great Storms and Showers of Rain are occasion'd, which about the time of the Etesean Winds cause the River to rise. But if any will diligently observe the time and season of the Year when this falls out, he may easily answer this Argument; for Nile begins to swell at the time of the Summer Solstice, when there are no Etesean Winds; and after the Autumnal Equinox, when those Winds are past, it falls again. Inasmuch therefore as certain Experience to the contrary, answers all Arguments be they never so probable, the Mans diligence and ingenuity is to be commended, but his Affirmations and Opinions by no means to be rely'd upon: And I wave this, that it's evident that the Etesean Winds come as often from the West, as from the North. For not only the North-East Winds call'd Aparctie, but those of the North-West call'd Argeste, go under the name of the Etesean Winds. And whereas he
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.