NPNF2-08. Basil: Letters and Select Works - Holy Bible Institute

On the Firmament.the abundance of water at the creation. Further, there is no one so strange to life as to needto learn the reason why fire is essential to the world. Not only all the arts which supportlife, the art of weaving, that of shoemaking, of architecture, of agriculture, have need of thehelp of fire, but the vegetation of trees, the ripening of fruits, the breeding of land and wateranimals, and their nourishment, all existed from heat from the beginning, and have beensince maintained by the action of heat. The creation of heat was then indispensable for theformation and the preservation of beings, and the abundance of waters was no less so in thepresence of the constant and inevitable consumption by fire.6. Survey creation; you will see the power of heat reigning over all that is born andperishes. On account of it comes all the water spread over the earth, as well as that whichis beyond our sight and is dispersed in the depths of the earth. On account of it are abundanceof fountains, springs or wells, courses of rivers, both mountain torrents and everflowing streams, for the storing of moisture in many and various reservoirs. From the East,from the winter solstice flows the Indus, the greatest river of the earth, according to geographers.From the middle of the East proceed the Bactrus, 1484 the Choaspes, 1485 and theAraxes, 1486 from which the Tanais 1487 detaches itself to fall into the Palus-Mæotis. 1488Add to these the Phasis 1489 which descends from Mount Caucasus, and countless otherrivers, which, from northern regions, flow into the Euxine Sea. From the warm countriesof the West, from the foot of the Pyrenees, arise the Tartessus 1490 and the Ister, 1491 of whichthe one discharges itself into the sea beyond the Pillars and the other, after flowing throughEurope, falls into Euxine Sea. Is there any need to enumerate those which the Ripæanmountains 1492 pour forth in the heart of Scythia, the Rhone, 1493 and so many other rivers,all navigable, which after having watered the countries of the western Gauls and of Celtsand of the neighbouring barbarians, flow into the Western sea? And others from the higherregions of the South flow through Ethiopia, to discharge themselves some into our sea,691484 Balkh.1485 Kerak.1486 Probably the Volga is meant.1487 Don.1488 Sea of Asov.1489 Phaz.1490 Ebro.1491 The Danube.1492 Used vaguely for any mountains in the north of Europe and Asia. Strabo (vii. pp. 295, 299) considersthem fabulous.1493 A varia lectio is Eridanus.284