126 PLIIs'Y's ITATUEAL HISTOET. [Book II. 



quarter, and they again increase from the time that she is at 

 first quarter on the other side. At her conjunction with 

 the sun they are equally high as at the full. When the 

 moon is in the northern hemisphere, and recedes further 

 from the earth, the tides are lower than when, going towards 

 the south, she exercises her influence at a less distance'. 

 iVfter an interval of eight years, and the hundredth revolu- 

 tion of the moon, the periods and the heights of the tides 

 return into the same order as at first, this planet always 

 acting upon them; and all these effects are likewise in- 

 creased by the annual changes of the sun^, the tides rising 

 up higher at the equinoxes, and more so at the autumnal 

 than at the vernal ; while they are lower^ about the wdnter 

 solstice, and still more so at the summer solstice ; not • 

 indeed precisely at the points of time which I have men- 

 tioned, but a few days after* ; for example, not exactly at 

 the full nor at the new moon, but after tliem ; and not 

 immediately when the moon becomes visible or invisible, or 

 has advanced to the middle of her course, but generally 

 about two hours later than the equinoctial hours^ ; the efl'ect 

 of what is going on in the heavens being felt after a short 

 interval ; as we observe with respect to lightning, thunder, 

 and thunderbolts. 



But the tides of the ocean cover greater spaces and produce 

 greater inundations than the tides of the other seas ; whether 

 it be that the whole of the universe taken together is more 

 full of life than its individual parts, or that the large open 

 space feels more sensibly the power of the planet, as it moves 

 freely about, than when restrained within narrow bounds. 



1 It 13 scarcely necessary to remark, that both the alleged fact and the 

 supposed cause are incorrect. And this is the case with what our author 

 says in the next sentence, respecting the period of eight years, and the 

 hundred revolutions of the moon. 



2 " Solis annuls causis." The circumstances connected with the revo- 

 lution of the sun, acting as causes of the period and height of the tides, 

 in addition to the effect of the moon. 



3 " Inanes ;" " Depressiores ac minus tumentes." Hardouin in Lc- 

 maire, i. 429. 



■* According to the remark of Alexandre, " Uno die et dimidio altero, 

 26 circiter horis, in GalUa." Lemaire, i. 429. 



5 Alexandre remarks on this passage, " Yariat pro locis hoc intervallum 

 a nullo fere temporis momento ad undecim horas et amphus j " Lemaire, 

 i429. 



