76 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book VI. 



support all weighty substances thrown into them, and exhale 

 nitrous vapours. This lake produces only one kind of fish, 

 which, however, never enter the current of the river in its 

 passage through the lake : and in a similar manner^ the 

 fish of the Tigris will never swim out of its stream into the 

 waters of the lake. Distinguishable from the lake, both by 

 the rapidity and the colour of its waters, the tide of the river is 

 hurried along ; after it has passed through and arrived at 

 Mount Taurus, it disappears 57 in a cavern of that mountain, 

 and passing beneath it, bursts forth on the other side ; 

 the spot bears the name of Zoroande. 58 That the waters on 

 either side of the mountain are the same, is evident from the 

 fact, that bodies thrown in on the one side will reappear on the 

 other. It then passes through another lake, called Thospites, 

 and once more burying itself in the earth, reappears, after 

 running a distance of twenty- two miles, in the vicinity of 

 ISTymphgeum. 59 Claudius Caesar informs us that, in the district 

 of Arrene 60 it flows so near to the river Arsanias, 61 that when 

 their waters swell they meet and flow together, but without, 

 however, intermingling. For those of the Arsani, as he says, 

 being lighter, float on the surface of the Tigris for a distance 

 of nearly four miles, after which they separate, and the Arsa- 

 nias flows into the Euphrates. The Tigris, after flowing through 

 Armenia and receiving the well-known rivers Parthenias and . 

 Mcephorion, separates the Arabian Orei 62 from the Adiabeni, 

 and then forms by its course, as previously mentioned, the 

 country of Mesopotamia. After traversing the mountains of 

 the Gordysei, 63 it passes round Aparnea, 64 a town of Mesene, one 



57 Seneca, however, in his Quast. Nat. B. vL, represents the Tigris here 

 as gradually drying up and becoming gradually smaller, till it disappears. 

 * This spot is considered by Parisot to be the modern city of Betlis. 



59 A spot where liquid bitumen or naphtha was found. 



60 Or probably Arzarene, a province of the south of Armenia, situate on 

 the left bank of the Tigris. It derived its name from the lake Arseno, or 

 the town Arzen, situate on this lake. It is comprehended in the modern 

 Pashalik of Dyar Bekr. 



61 Now called the Myrad-chai. See B. v. c. 24. Ritter considers it to 

 be the southern arm of the Euphrates. 



62 Or Aroei, as Littre suggests. See Note to c. 30 in p. 71. 

 3 See c. 17 of the present Book. 



64 The site of this place seems to be unknown. It has been remarked 

 that it is difficult to explain the meaning of this passage of Pliny, or to 

 determine the probable site of Apaniea. 



