es. > _ 
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THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 615 
neck of land further to the fouth ; and though Eudoxus had 
failed from the Red Sea around the Cape of Good Hope, 
which muft have totally deftroyed the poflibility of the ex- 
iftence of that land fuppofed to join the two continents, ra- 
ther than allow this, they neglected the information of this 
navigator, and treated it as a fable. 
Ir was the conftant opinion of the Greeks, that no river 
could rife in the torrid zone, as alfo, that the melting of 
{now was the caufe of the overflowing of all rivers in the 
heat of fummer, and fo of the Nile among the reft; when, 
therefore, Alexander heard from his difcoverers, that the 
Nile, about latitude 9°, ran ftraight to the eaft,and returned ne 
- more, he imagined the river’s courfe was eaftward through 
the imaginary neck of land inclofing the imaginary lake, 
and joining the peninfula of India, and that the river, after 
it had croffed, continued north till it came within reach 
of the thawing of the fnows of Mount Caucafus; and this 
was alfo the opinion of Ptolemy the geographer. 
' Proctemy PuHiLADELPuUSs, the fecond of thofe princes who 
had fucceeded to the throne of Alexander in Egypt, was the 
next who marched into Ethiopia with an army againft the 
Shangalla. His object was not only to difcover the fource 
of the Nile, but alfo to procure a perpetual fupply of ele- 
phants to enable him to cope with the kings of Syria. The 
fuccefs of this expedition we have related in the firft vo- 
lume, book ii. chap. v. 
Proremy Everceres, his fucceflor, in the 27th year of 
his reign, being in peace with all his neighbours, under- 
took an expedition to Ethiopia. His defign was certainly, 
4H2 : to 
