Plinies NatUr^llHiftorie. 



A fing. So that m\\ a little turning of his face and bodie, hee may at one time, fee both day and 

 night^To get up by the ordinarie high way to the veric pitch of it^a man might fetch a compaffe 

 of milesj butclimbedire(SlIy uprightjitis but foure miles. In the borders of this councrey, 

 runneth the river Orontes, which arifcth becweene Libanus and Antilabanusj neere to Helio- 

 polis»Thenjthe towneRhofos appeareth :and behind it, the freight paiTages and gullets be- 

 tweenethc mountainesRhofij and Taurus, which are called Portoe ^yriae.In this tra il atid coaftj 

 ftandeth the towne Myriandros, the hill Avanus (where is the lowne Boaiilse) vvhieh fcparateth 

 Ciiicia from the Syrians. - : 



^ . , _ .Chap.: xxiii. 



IT reniaineth now,tofpeakeof thetownes anJ citties in the mid-land parts within the firmd 

 land .And to begin with Coele-Syria, it hath in it Apamiajfeparated from the Nazerines Te- 

 tracchie by the river MarliadikewifeBambyce, othcrwife called Hierapoiisjbut of the Syri- 

 dnSjMagog. TherCjis honoured the monftrousldoll of theMeermaid, Atargatisjcalled oi ihd 

 GreekSjDecrcto.AlfoChalcis with this additionjVponBelus; from which5thc region Chalci- 

 denCjwhich is mod fertile ofall Syria^taketh name.Then have you the quarter CyrrhidicajWith 

 CirrhuSjGazattfejGindarenes^andGabenCs.MoreoverjtwoTetrarchieSjCallcdGranucomara^^ 

 Over and befidesjthc Hemi(€neSjHylates,theltara;ans countrie3(and principally thofe of theiil 

 Q \vhoarenamedBetarranj)&theMariamnutanes4TheTetrarchieorPrincipalirie3namedMam- 

 mifea:the citie ParadifuSiPagro^jPinariteSjand two Seleucia'^befides the above-nuoiedjone cal- 

 led Vpon Euphrates, and the other, VponBelus : and la ft of all, tlie Carditenfes. The reft of 

 Syria, hath thefe States (over and above thofe which fliall be Ipokenof withthe river Euphra- 

 tes) the ArethufianSjBer^enfes, and Epipbanenfes . And Eaftward, the Laodicencs, namely 3- 

 thole who are entituledjVponLibanus.-the Leticadians, andLaiilfeans:belidss ly Tesrar- 

 chies reduced into the forme of Realines^but their names are but barbardus^ 



Chap* xxiiii. 

 P§j Euphrates^ 



D 



ANd here, me thinkes, is the fitted: andmceteft place to Ipeake of Euphrates. The fburcd 

 of it, by report of them that faw it lall: and necreftjis in Caranitis, a State under the go- 

 vernment of Armenia the greaterrand thofe arc Domitim -dvA Co; bulo^ v^ho fay. That is 

 fpringeth in che mountaine Aba. B ut Lkwii^s MmianU'S affirmeth, That it iffueth iiom under 

 the foot of the mountaine, which they call Capotes, 1 2 miles higher into the countrcy, than is 

 Simyra: and that in thcbeginningitwas called Pyxirates^ It runneth firftdire6lly toDerxenej 

 and fo forth to Ana alfb,exciuding the regions Armenian, the greater as Vvsll as the Icfle, from 

 Cappadocia.TheDaftulcefrom Simyra are 75 miles. From thence it is navigable to Paftona^ 

 fiftiemilesjfromit to Melitencin CappadoGia,74 miles. Soforwardto Elegia in Armenia, 

 E ten miles -.where hee reccivech thefe rivers, Lycus, Arfania, and Arfanus.Neere to Elegia^hecs 

 meeteth afront with the hill Taurus : yet itayeth hee not there, but prevaileth and pierccth tho- 

 row it) although it beare a breadth there of twelve miles . At this entrie where hee breakcth 

 thorough the hill, they call him Omiras ; and fo foone as he hath made way and cur through it, 

 he is named Euphrates. And yet being paft this mountaine, full of rockes hee isand very vio- 

 lent. Howbeit heepafleth through the countrey of the Moeri , where he carrieth a ftreame of 

 three Schoeiies breadth, where hee parteth Arabia on the left handjffom Comagene on the 

 right. And nevcrthelefle, even there whereas hecconquereth arid getteth the upper hand of 

 Taurus, he can abide a bridge to be made over him. Ac Claudiopolis in Cappadocia, hee ta- 

 kethhis comfe Weft ward* And now the mountaine Taurus, for all he was refifted and over- 

 p come at firft,impeacheth and hindreth him of his way: and notwithftanding (Ifay)Tiee was 

 over-matched and difmembred one peece from another, hee getteth the better of him another 

 way,hcebreaketh hiscourle now, and drives him perforce into the South. Thus Nature fee- 

 nieth to match the forces of thefe two champions equally in this maner. That as Euphrates go- 

 ct h on ftiil withou; ftay as far as he willj fo Taurus will not fuffer him yet to run what way he wilL 



Now 



