338 Traces of Modern Geological Theoriesin Ancient Authors. [July 1° 
judges of the subject than myself; and I 
shall be very glad to sce them followed 
by improved remarks, upon this fine and 
liberal art. Your’s, &c. 
Witrram NEILson. 
Dundalk, May 24, 1809. 
i 
Yo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SiR, | . ' 
INCE my last communication on the 
subject of Electricity, | have disco- 
vered, that Eustathius gained his infor- 
mation, concerning the phenomena there 
mentioned, froma Lite of Isidore, written 
by Damascius, who also composed four 
books de Incredibilibus, which have never 
seen the light, but may probably lie con- 
cealed in the Vatican library ; where some 
unedited philosophical works of this au- 
thor are stated, by Hschelius, to be pre- 
served. They were probably of equal 
value with the Murabilia of Antigonus 
the Carystian, and the Incredibilia of 
Apollonius and Phlegon Trallianus ; the 
second of whom should be consuited for 
the sake of acurious description of the 
Bnitish Isles. Vhis Damascius, of whose 
history I kuow little more than that he 
seems to have lived shortly after the time 
of Severus, falls under the heavy dis- 
pleasure of the pious and learned patri-- 
arch Photius; who, in more places than 
one, mildly reproves hum with the ap- 
pellations of a fool, an atheist, a poly- 
theist, aud an impious wretch, for sleep= 
ing, as he terms it, in the deep darkness 
ot idolatry. At the same time, he does 
not withhold from him the praise of 
writing in astyle neither inelegant nor 
obscure. If any judgment is to be 
formed from the litthe which remains of 
him, the good patriarch must have been 
easily pleased. 
Before I transcribe the passage in ques- 
tion, as extracted by Photius from the 
original work, I will notice a curious co- 
' incidence of appellations, p. 1043, ad fin. 
B2Bio 82 of Tugary wal cristae ob Ev Aaparna, 
72 yveoyyva xahicr@adia. It should be ob- 
served, to the credit of this, sophist, that 
he does not appear to be unacquainted 
with the Attic poets, since he quotes 
HEschylus, though the words. are mixed 
with the prose, and Eupolis, p. 1035.— 
We may collect from the words of Pho.- 
. tius, p. 563, that he was not far removed 
from the age of Achilles Tatius and He- 
liodorus. But to the extract in question, 
p. 1041. AdAX wal sev (1. rav) wep “ArTiAaY 
Eva tyra, Toy Barlwcciv, Aero Tou oimetov ca patus 
AWOWArEY omwsters Boe tv 6 Bariuegis 6 
@eviecivcu Warne, 0g vUv FO MEVIOTOY EXEL #et= 
woclranlac daracng: AEyer OS ual arépl Eavreu 6 
cuyyeatsrs (i. e. Damascits), ag wat scot 
Evdustvn re wal Exdvopetve, el ual coravioy TOVTO 
cupPaiver, cunBaiver Souv, omwoneas amomnda v 
eLarrioug, co9 Ore xal xtv@ov WapeyovTas’ EWITE 
Se nal dAdyag Crag KaTard.mey TO lyAaTiov, JAN 
fEVTOL Matocag: Kal TO TEgag ayvoeiv, tig O TE- 
AcuThoes. iSelv dE rbyer nat avOcwmdv Twe awd 
Tig KEpariig adiévra omnBiigagr AAAe nal prcya 
dyvawrovra, 6réfovrcire, ination ativh tTeaxee 
mugareiPoeyng. 
Vhe concluding words are very re- 
markable, inasmuch as they clearly as- 
certain the electrical nature of this lumi- 
nous appearance, which was produced 
by rubbing his head with a coarse cloth, 
probably a woollen one. I perceive, that 
-I inadvertently erred in my preceding 
communication; for I believe that a dry 
skin is non-electric, and the luminous 
phenomena described will often take 
place, upon suddenly stripping flannel 
from the skin, or silk from flannel. I 
have made one or two slight alierations in 
the Greek text; but I do not think it 
correct as it now stands—we should read, 
kal pAdyag Aas warardpeTren, po EVTOL TO 
tariovxamvcas. Wewant also the words 
ov eedvoy after xaparis. ) 
As I alluded in my last to the theories 
of geologists, 1 will venture to produce a 
few more examples, to shew that the 
modern notions on these subjects are not - 
entirely new. Zeno, as it appears from 
Laértius, entertained opipions similar to | 
those held by the Neptunians of the pre- 
sent day. Indeed, Thales seems to have 
been the father of the sect; and he, per- 
haps, as Lipsius says, took the hint from 
Homer. 
~ , 
*"Nnsaver, Comee yivecrs WavTecet TET UXT AL. 
Homer himself, probably, learned this 
from the Brachmins, in whose opi- 
nion, according to Strabo, aexat mev rai 
Cupwavtay Erega, Tne Ve kor peourolias dwg. —— 
To rise a step higher, the Indian philoso- 
phers might have been instructed by the 
-Egyptians, whom Philo Judzus states to 
have held similar opinions. Manibhius I. 1. 
briefly states this and the Iluttonian 
theory: 1 
© Seu liquor boc peperit, sine quo riget arida 
rerum 
Materies, ipsumque vocat, quo solvitur, ignem ie 
The great author of the Huttonian or Vul- 
canian theory, was Heraclitas, whom 
most of the stvics, and even sometimes 
Zeno himself, followed. He taught, éa etves 
xocpoy, yewaobar 32 aitov Ex Orugeg, Hai 
marry Ex@ugoiobat nara tives wEpodous Evahhakt 
roy cimmayvte atave. It there be any truth 
in the fanciful speculations of ops 
wi 
ee 
