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διὰ τί τὸ θαλάττιον ὔδωρ οὐ τρέφει τὰ δένδρα;
πότερον δι᾽ ἢν αἰτίαν οῦδὲ τῶν ζᾠων τὰ χερσαῖα;
ζῷον γὰρ ἔγγειον τὸ φυτὸν εἶναι, οἱ περὶ Πλάτωνα καὶ Ἀναξαγόραν καὶ Δημόκριτον οἴονται:
οὐ γὰρ διότι τοῖς ἐναλίοις φυτοῖς τρόφιμόν ἐστι καὶ πότιμον ὥσπερ τοῖς ἰχθύσιν, ἤδη καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ χέρσῳ φυτά τε καὶ δένδρα τρέφει: οὔτε γὰρ ἐνδύεται
ταῖς ῥίζαις ὑπὸ πάχους οὔτ᾽ ἀναφέρεται ὑπὸ βάρους: ὅτι δ᾽ ἐμβριθές ἐστι καὶ γεῶδες, ἄλλοις τε πολλοῖς ἀποδείκνυται καὶ τῷ μᾶλλον ἀνέχειν καὶ ὑπερείδειν τὰ πλοῖα καὶ τοὺς κολυμβῶντας: ἢ μάλιστα μὲν βλάπτεται ξηρότητι τὰ δένδρα ξηραντικὸν
δὲ τὸ θαλάττιον; ὅθεν πρός γε τὰς σήψεις οἱ
ἅλες βοηθοῦσι, καὶ τὰ σώματα τῶν λουσαμένων ἐν θαλάττῃ ξηρὰν εὐθὺς ἴσχει καὶ τραχεῖαν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν.
ἢ τὸ μὲν ἔλαιον τοῖς φυτοῖς πολέμιον καὶ φθείρει τὰ προσαλειφόμενα; μετέχει δὲ πολλῆς ἡ
θάλαττα λιπαρότητος: διὸ συνεξάπτει, καὶ παραινοῦμεν εἰς τὰς φλόγας μὴ ἐμβάλλειν θαλάττιον
ὕδωρ. ἢ γέγονεν ἄποτον καὶ πικρὸν τὸ ὕδωρ, ὡς
Ἀριστοτέλης φησίν, ἀναμίξει κατακεκαυμένης γῆς;
[p. 374]
καὶ γὰρ ἡ κονία γίγνεται, γλυκέος ὕδατος εἰς τέφραν
ἐμπεσόντος, ἡ δὲ διάλυσις ἐξίστησι καὶ φθείρει τὸ χρηστὸν καὶ πότιμον, ὡς ἐν ἡμῖν οἱ πυρετοὶ τὸ
ὑγρὸν εἰς χολὴν τρέπουσιν. ἃ δ᾽ ἱστοροῦσιν ἐν τῇ
Ἐρυθρᾷ θαλάσσῃ βλαστάνειν ὑλήματα καὶ φυτά, καρπὸν μὲν οὐδένα φέρει τρέφεται δὲ τοῖς ποταμοῖς πολλὴν ἐμβάλλουσιν ἰλύν: ὅθεν οὐ πρόσω τῆς
γῆς ἀλλὰ πλησίον ἔχει τὴν γένεσιν.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1893. 5.
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