Читать книгу The Natural History of Pliny (Vol. 1-6) - Pliny the Elder - Страница 218

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Adjoining to Pamphylia is the Sea of Lycia and the country of Lycia3887 itself, where the chain of Taurus, coming from the eastern shores, terminates the vast Gulf3888 by the Promontory of Chelidonium3889. Of immense extent, and separating nations innumerable, after taking its first rise at the Indian Sea3890, it branches off to the north on the right-hand side, and on the left towards the south. Then taking a direction towards the west, it would cut through the middle of Asia, were it not that the seas check it in its triumphant career along the land. It accordingly strikes off in a northerly direction, and forming an arc, occupies an immense tract of country, nature, designedly as it were, every now and then throwing seas in the way to oppose its career; here the Sea of Phœnicia, there the Sea of Pontus, in this direction the Caspian and Hyrcanian3891, and then, opposite to them, the Lake Mæotis. Although somewhat curtailed by these obstacles, it still winds along between them, and makes its way even amidst these barriers; and victorious after all, it then escapes with its sinuous course to the kindred chain of the Riphæan mountains. Numerous are the names which it bears, as it is continuously designated by new ones throughout the whole of its course. In the first part of its career it has the name of Imaüs3892, after which it is known successively by the names of Emodus, Paropanisus, Circius, Cambades, Paryadres, Choatras, Oreges, Oroandes, Niphates, Taurus, and, where it even out-tops itself, Caucasus. Where it throws forth its arms as though every now and then it would attempt to invade the sea, it bears the names of Sarpedon, Coracesius, Cragus, and then again Taurus. Where also it opens and makes a passage to admit mankind, it still claims the credit of an unbroken continuity by giving the name of “Gates” to these passes, which in one place are called the “Gates of Armenia3893,” in another the “Gates of the Caspian,” and in another the “Gates of Cilicia.” In addition to this, when it has been cut short in its onward career, it retires to a distance from the seas, and covers itself on the one side and the other with the names of numerous nations, being called, on the right-hand side the Hyrcanian and the Caspian, and on the left the Paryadrian3894, the Moschian, the Amazonian, the Coraxican, and the Scythian chain. Among the Greeks it bears the one general name of Ceraunian3895.