126 
plixt's katuhal histobt. 
[Book 11. 
quarter, and tliey again increase from the time tliat slie 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 distanced 
After an interA^al 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 winter 
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 them ; 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 effect 
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 arid produce 
greater inundations than the tides of the other seas ; whether 
it be that the wiiole of the universe taken together is more 
full of life than its individual parts, or that the large open 
space feels more sensibly the powder of the planet, as it moves 
freely about, than when restrained within narrow bounds. 
^ It is 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 cu-cumstances 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 Le- 
mah'e, i. 429. 
^ According to the remark of Alexandre, " Uno die et dimidio altero, 
2G circiter horis, in G-aUia." Lemaire, i. 429. 
^ Alexandre remarks on this passage, " Yariat pro locis hoc intervallum 
a nullo fere temporis momento ad undecim horas et amphus Lemaire, 
i. 429. 
