

1838.] Translation of the Mohit 767 



II. — Extracts from the Mohit (the Ocean J, a Turkish work on Na- 

 vigation in the Indian Seas. Translated and Communicated by 

 Joseph Von Hammer, Baron Purgstall, Aulic Counsellor, and 

 Prof. Orient. Lang, at Vienna, Hon. Memb. As. Soc. fyc. §c. 



First Chapter. 



OF THE NAMES OF THE SKIES, AND THE STARS ; OF THE ELE- 

 MENTS, AND WHAT BELONGS TO THEM. 



First Section. Of the skies, stars, and elements. 



Be it known that all the skies are perfectly round in convexity and 

 concavity each between two parallel surfaces ; their centre is that of 

 the world ; they are nine in number, are called the ' universal skies,' 

 and are comprehended one within the other. The four elements are 

 within the concavity of the lunar sky, and have fixed themselves in the 

 middle of the terrestrial globe because gravitating like all bodies to- 

 wards the centre of the world, they found their repose there. According 

 to the expression of philosophers the earth is surrounded by the water, 

 but the surrounding is an imperfect one, because, according to the 

 opinion of old sages, the fourth part of the northern side of the earth 

 is shining forth ; the modern philosophers say more, and in fact, the 

 Portuguese have found on the west of the Canarian islands a new conti- 

 nent which they call the New World, and which is drawn up in the 

 maps of our time ; we will mention it, please God, with more detail, in 

 the chapter of the Indian islands. 



The water and the earth form together one globe ; the cause that 

 the earth came forth of the water, is only God's grace, who raised 

 towering mountains, and sunk flat valleys to make them the abode of 

 animals and plants. The earth shone forth by the natural inclination 

 of the water to descend to the deeper grounds, the effect of which was, 

 that the higher places remained uncovered with water. Some say that 

 there are six hundred species of animals on the continent, and eight 

 hundred in the sea. The Sheikh, author of the Shefa has said of the 

 animals : that all those who have ears propagate by birth ; and those 

 which have only auricular holes, by eggs. The eggs are of two species 

 — those the shell of which is hard, have two colors ; one, that of the 

 interior part and the other of the exterior covering ; but those, the 

 shell of which is tender, are but of one color and have no exterior hide ; 

 as the eggs of the fishes. After the terrestrial globe comes the aerial, 

 after it that of fire ; then the skies of the moon, mercury, venus, sun, 

 mars, jupiter, saturnus, that of the fixed stars, and the greatest sky 

 which is called Attas. The reason that the universal skies are in the 

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