CHAP.		PAGE
	However, one should not think too highly of himself simply because he is governor of that historic province, Sicily, which has before now decided the fate of generals and of empires . . . . . . .	159
I.	Leaving Sicily and its marvels, let us deal with the omitted part of the last book: the Nile. There is no real analogy between it and the Danube . . . . . . .	166
II.	The course of the Nile; its cataracts. The inundation of the river. Its meaning to Egypt. Its denizens: crocodiles and dolphins in conflict. Causes of the overflow: melting of snow; Etesian Winds Seasonal winds blowing from the north-northwest in the Mediterranean.; drying up of the springs through internal heat of the earth in winter; the attraction of the sun in Africa draws water from the sea to fill the gap caused by evaporation [none of the accounts are apparently accepted] . . . . .	167
III.	Origin of hail; why it differs from snow . . . . .	177
IV.	Causes of snow in winter, and hail in spring . . . . .	179
V.	It is said that the cooler air of the North (Scythia, etc.) is stirred by the melting of the snow in spring and floats south, causing hail instead of rain . . . . . . .	180
VI.	Hail, it is again alleged, is averted by sacrifice. If there is not a victim handy, you have merely to prick your finger! . . .	181
VII.	This belief in the power of blood was an ancient superstition .	182
VIII.	Three causes why the air near the earth is warmest, and therefore produces snow rather than hail . . . . . .	182
IX.	Democritus' view—dense bodies are heated most quickly, and retain their heat longest . . . . . . .	183
X.	The air nearest the earth is denser than elsewhere . . .	184
XI.	The tops of mountains, it is urged, should be warmer because they are nearer the sun. The difference is entirely unnoticeable if we adopt the scale of the universe, which is the true one . . . .	184
XII.	The comparatively mild air near the earth causes snow, but not hail . . . . . . . . .	186
XIII.	The despicable luxury of the effeminate Romans, who bought snow, bathed in it, and must resort even to ice to cool the unnatural, feverish thirst born of their indulgence . . . .	186

BOOK V

TREATING OF WINDS AND MOVEMENT OF THE ATMOSPHERE


I.	DEFINITION of wind—air flowing in one direction. The air, like the sea, is always moving, even when it is thought to be still; hence the necessity of the additional qualification—"in one direction."	193
II.	Democritus says wind arises from a multitude of atoms in a small space striving to get free, just like a crowd jostling each other .	194