[3.25.1] Quaedam aquae mortiferae sunt, nec odore notabiles nec sapore: Seneca is answering a topic he raised at NQ 3.2.2 supra. This section probably owes much to Theophrastus (who is cited by name twice), cf. Steinmetz 1964: 262-66, Setaioli 1988: 438-39, and Sharples 1998: 213-16. Vitruvius also covered the topic of aquae genera mortifera at 8.3.15-16 and Pliny will discuss it Nat. 31.26-27. The various reactions to waters, especially those without a noticeably bad taste or odor, probably led to the tradition of placing poems or notices by springs, cf. Vitruvius 8.3.21-23. There could be an unconscious recollection of his own Consolatio ad Marciam here: odor illi [corpori] saporque et lassitude et vigilia et umor et cibus et sine quibus vivere non potest mortifera sunt (Dial. 6.11.4).
circa Nonacrinam in Arcadia Styx appellata ab incolis advenas fallit: If the residents of Baiae can assert the validity of Empedocles’ ideas (quem non falli crede Baianis), Seneca here stresses how this water can deceive strangers (advenas fallit). The contrast between incolis and the adjacent advenas stresses the gulf in knowledge between, as it were, insiders and outsiders. Seneca is working throughout the NQ to overcome such deceptive aspects of the natural world (cf. 2.7.2, 2.34.2). For the position of the Styx in northeast Arcadia, see Map in introduction and here. Theophrastus discussed the properties of the Styx (F 213A, 213B). Descriptions of the actual Styx are relatively consistent from Herodotus (6.74.1) to Strabo (8.8.4), and compiled in Pausanias (8.17.6-18.6). In Pausanias’ time, Nonaris was already ruins and he describes the Styx trickling down from a high cliff and its various properties – Pausanias’ Styx not only kills, but also corrodes all metals and breaks all materials (glass, crystal, etc.) except a horse’s hoof (cf. the story in Vitruvius 8.3.16, Plut. Alex. 77.3). Seneca’s other mentions of the river are part of his poetic underworld and not based on the natural world per se, e.g. Herc. F. 104, Tr. 520, Ag. 493. For a recent trip to the Styx with photographs, cf. Kroonenberg 2011: 90-93.
quia non facie, non odore suspecta est: Pliny Nat. 2.231 also mentions how deceptive this water is (nec odore differens nec colore, pota ilico necat), but both Pliny Nat. 31.27 and Vitruvius mention its frigid temperature (8.3.16). Frazer 1898: 253 comments that in July the temperature of the water is only 5 degrees Celsius when the air temperature is 35 degrees Celsius. Strabo preserves the story that the Telchinians of Rhodes were wizards who poured the water of the Styx (mixed with sulphur) over animals and plants to kill them (14.2.7). For facies of water, cf. NQ 6.7.3: omnis aquarum et intra terram natura faciesque est. Elsewhere, Seneca mentions how the outward appearance can be deceiving (Ep. 24.14, 79.18), mistrust can lead to assumptions of guilt (Ben. 3.26) and, if we can believe Tacitus, suspicion and dissimulation was common for the political elite at this time (cf. Bartsch 1994: 1-35, Grau 2017). Seneca may be imbuing this with political undertones, which would be made all the more obvious with the mention of poisoners (and the common story that Claudius was killed by poisoned mushrooms, Suet. Cl. 44.2).
qualia sunt magnorum artificum venena quae deprehendi nisi morte non possunt: Vitruvius (8.3.16) and Pliny (Nat. 30.149) tell the story that the water of Styx actually was used to kill Alexander the Great. One can only imagine that this must be a live issue for Seneca at this period in his life. The biographical record indicates that at the time of his “retirement” from Nero (and probably the time in which he was writing NQ), he feared he would be poisoned and devoted himself to a diet of fresh fruit and running water (Ann. 15.45). Of course, Nero benefited from the suspected poisonings of Claudius, Britannicus, and others (Tac. Ann. 12.67, 13.15-16; Suet. Nero 33, 47), and had a notorious poisoner, Locusta, “on staff” (cf. Tac. Ann. 12.66, Juv. 1.71, Kaufman 1932 for more on poison in Rome). In his tragedy, Medea is the poisoner par excellence (a long tradition, cf. Mayor 2010: 63), and Seneca devotes a long description to the collection of various poisons as part of her spell (addit venenis verba non illis minus / metuenda, Med. 737-38, and see Costa 1973: ad 670-739 and 734 where she is scelerum artifex). For the expression artifex magnus cf, NQ 4a.pr.5, 1.pr.16 – it is clear it can be a positive term as well as negative. Poisons were often able to be discovered after death because of their subsequent effects on the body, see Dio’s harrowing description of Brittanicus’ corpse (D.C. 61.7).
haec autem de qua paulo ante rettuli aqua: Vitruvius says the Greek name was still current in Rome (Στυγὸς Ὕδωρ, 8.3.16). paulo ante rettuli is a common phrase in Seneca, e.g. Dial. 5.23.1, 11.17.1, NQ 6.19.2.
summa celeritate corrumpit, nec remedio locus est: The speeds of various poisons were detailed in the various works on poison and Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica (cf. Cilliers and Retief 2000). remedio locus est is found in Celsus (3.9.1, 5.28.19), so Seneca may be drawing upon a medical commonplace, cf. Dial. 3.16.2, Ep. 39.6. Pliny mentions how quickly gypsum sets with water (celerrime coit, Nat. 36.183).
quia protinus hausta duratur: Pliny claims that the water of the Styx “harms by its excessive cold, in as much as it turns to stone as it flows forth” (nimio frigore esse noxiam, utpote cum profluens ipsa lapidescat, Nat. 31.27) and so it may be thought to harden the vital organs – Seneca discussed this earlier (NQ 3.20.4 supra) and, because of elemental transformation, this should not be miraculous (3.10.4). Elsewhere Seneca will make the paradoxical observation (quid mollius unda? Dura tamen molli saxa cavantur aqua, NQ 4b.3.4).
nec aliter quam gypsum sub umore constrigitur et alligat viscera: The word comes from the Greek γύψος “plaster” and the way it sets can be seen when adding water to plaster of Paris. Pliny also calls it lapidum specularium (Nat. 36.160-62), which can denote both gypsum as well as mica (see Bailey 1929: 202). Pliny Nat. 36.183 tells the story of Gaius Proculeius, who committed suicide by ingesting gypsum during the Augustan period. If this discussion of poisons brought the topic to the mind of contemporary readers, they would remember that Brittancius’ body was covered in gypsum during his funeral procession, but a heavy rainstorm washed it off the body causing evidence of his poisoning to be seen (D.C. 61.7).
[3.25.2] est aeque noxia aqua in Thessalia circa Tempe: See map in introduction and here for location of this spring, which Vitruvius (8.3.15) and Pliny (Nat. 4.31, 31.28) also note. Pliny likewise mentions it directly after the Styx, so both Pliny and Seneca are probably relying on the same source. The Vale of Tempe usually is associated with Apollo and the Muses and was considered to be one of the most beautiful and evocative landscapes in the ancient world with the river Peneus cutting the valley to the sea (see infra for more on this river, 3.24.4). Tempe is a poetic topos in its own right, especially among Roman poets, cf. Cat. 64.285-86, Hor. C. 1.7.4, Verg. G. 4.317 in association with Aristaeus, and Ovid Met. 1.568-76 as part of a long ecphrasis. By placing a noxia aqua in this pastoral (and poetic) valley, Seneca taints this famous locus amoenus and highlights one of Thessaly’s other notorieties – its association with witchcraft and poisons (e.g. Lucan 6.430-506, and Pillinger 2012: 63-73).
quam et fera et pecus omne devitat: Vitruvius likewise mentions this fact (ex quo fonte nec pecus ullum gustat nec bestiarum genus ullum propius accedit, 8.3.15). That animals know natural elements that can be helpful or harmful to them is a commonplace (cf. Aristotle H.A. 612a3-612b2). Pliny seems to identify this spring as the source of the river Titaressus (Nat. 4.31, Hom. Il. 2.751-55), which Homer calls a tributary of the Styx that floats like oil above the waters of the Peneus.
per ferrum et aes exit: Whereas the Styx in Arcadia causes petrification, this acidic water is able to eat through iron and bronze. Seneca pairs ferrum et aes also of the power of lightning to melt these two substances (NQ 2.52.2).
tanta vis illi est etiam dura mordendi: For tanta vis elsewhere in NQ, cf. 7.14.2, 1.1.11, 2.22.3, 2.59.12. For more on vis as applied to waters, see note on 3.14.3 supra. Contrast this river with the gentle Nile (Nilus…nihil exedit nec abradit, NQ 4a.2.10).
ne arbusta quidem ulla alit, et herbas necat: contra the fabulous appearance of a purple bush in Pliny (Nat 31.28) and Vitruvius (8.3.15). Seneca’s rationalistic tendencies are apparent here, since he could not believe a water with such power could also produce a plant of this sort. In fact, larger bushes are not nourished by this water and grasses are killed outright (for the contrast between arbusta and herba, see NQ 3.27.4-5. Acidic rivers polluted because of mining, such as the Rio Tinto (relatively close to Seneca’s home town of Corduba and exploited for mines during Seneca’s time, Nat. 33.96-98), have desolate river basins that support no life (besides microorganisms, cf. González-Toril et al. 2003).
[3.25.3] quibusdam fluminibus vis inest mira: When commenting on earthquakes, Seneca also stresses their “wondrous power” (quorum mira ut ex toto vis est, NQ 6.30.2) and he has the collocation vis inest also at Ep. 92.29. Seneca stresses the various miracula associated with the Nile, cf. NQ 4a.2.6, 4a.2.10. Many of the rivers mentioned are also found in Pliny Nat. 2.230, 31.13-14 and the attribution to Theophrastus (3.25.4 infra) leads most scholars to see Theophrastus, or possibly Posidonius, as Seneca’s ultimate source (see Setaioli 1988: 438-39 and Sharples 1998: 213-17).
alia enim sunt quae pota inficiunt greges ovium: alia enim sunt “For there are some rivers…”. Seneca will later mention the flocks of sheep killed during the Campanian earthquake of 62/63 CE (NQ 6.1.3, 6.27.1-4). For previous use of inficere and possible metaliterary significance of dying, see 3.21.2 supra. This example has a long lineage, from Aristotle H.A. 519a9-20 (on waters which change the color of animals) to Varro (Solino 7.27) and beyond.
intraque certum tempus quae fuere nigrae albam ferunt lanam, quae albae venerant, nigrae abeunt: For Vitruvius, this will happen to the offspring, but not the flocks themselves (8.3.14), but most other sources attribute a quicker time period to this certum tempus. While it is not uncommon for the the color of a sheep’s wool to fade or change over time, a quick change would be miraculous, although Pliny states in a matter-of-fact manner mutatio aquarum potusque variat [colorem], Nat. 8.189, and 8.190-99 for more on dying, breeding, and using wool. Vergil writes of a golden age in which sheep can change to various luxurious hues sua sponte, E. 4.42-45 (possibly from Etruscan prophetic texts, cf. Marc. Sat. 3.7.2). alba lana was the most valuable wool and from Vergil’s G. 2.465: alba neque Assyrio fucatur lana veneno, we can see how dye could be considered a “poison” (cf. Hor. Epist. 2.1.207) – could Seneca make this connection from his previous discussion of poisonous water?
hoc in Boeotia amnes duo efficiunt, quorum alteri ab effectu Melas nomen est: See Map in intro and here. Reported by Pliny to have the names Melas (Gr. μέλας= “dark, black”) and Cephisus (Nat. 2.230) and to flow from the same lake (as Seneca goes on to stress). Pausanias (9.38) mentions its source as two springs (Phenix and Elaea) near the town of Orchomenos, and that it flows into Lake Cephissis.
[3.25.4] qui facere albas oves volunt adducunt: The river’s name is missing from the manuscripts, but was supplied by Gercke (cf. Pliny Nat. 31.14: item in Macedonia qui velint sibi candida nasci ad Haliacmonem ducere). The Haliacmon was considered the boundary of “upper” Macedonia by Strabo and flows into the Thermaic Gulf (see Map in intro and here). It is the longest river that flows entirely in Greek territory.
quem ut diutius potavere, non aliter quam infectae mutantur: The various rivers and descriptions of these changes in wool color are redundant and raises the question if this is merely Seneca at his worst (see Costa 1995: 108-9 for Seneca’s rhetoric not “knowing when to stop”) or if something else is going on in this passage. It seems to me that Seneca stresses such changes because of the drastic (and obvious) change that, reputedly, occurs through the medium of water. His own book questions terrestrial waters and their ability to undergo change as well as enact them. This topos, now placed into the NQ’s larger context of elemental change and human responses to the natural world shows how mankind attempts to use natura for their own gain. While these reports are nowhere near as problematic as the color change of the dying mullet, these changes (part of the paradoxographical tradition) are also some of the most obvious that one could derive from water. infectae now has its primary meaning “to immerse in a pigment, dye” (s.v. inficere 1a, cf. 3.20.4). Seneca will utilize the metaphor of dyeing to explain how meditatio can lead to philosophical learning at Ep. 71.31. Is this natural dyeing to be seen in light of the luxurious dyes and pigments of Neronian Rome? See Lytle 2007 on dye works on Delos, Healy 1999: 138-41 for dyes and dyeing in Pliny the Elder, and Hughes 2007 on dye works and dyeing in ancient Rome.
si illis lana opus fuit pulla: paratus gratuitus infector est: infector = “dyer” (cf. Pliny 11.8 for its application to the murex: purpurarum generi infector ille sucus). The fact that it is gratuitus sets it apart from the expensive dyes and their time-consuming, labor-intensive production, cf. Plaut. Aul. 508-22 for a comedic take on such dyers, fullers, and others involved in the “fashion industry” of Rome. Tradesmen and artisans were known for wearing dark tunics (OLD b). Wool was an important symbol of women’s work (Lucretia, Arachne) and even state ideology, cf. Lovén 2007.
ad Peneon eundem gregem appellant: The Peneus river flows from the Pindus mountains into the Aegean Sea through the Vale of Tempe, cf. Strabo 9.5 and see Map in introduction. The most famous myth involving Peneus is the transformation of his daughter, Daphne, into the laurel tree (Ovid Met. 1.452-567). Seneca also mentions this river at NQ 6.25.2 where an earthquake caused it to flow out to the sea.
auctores bonos habeo: The only time Seneca will use this construction to speak of unnamed, but good, sources. See Ep. 58.6: Ciceronem auctorem huius verbi habeo. Steinmetz 1964: 260n.6 believes these authorities may have been Posidonius, Iuba, or Sotion.
esse in Galatia flumen quod idem in omnibus efficiat: The province of Galatia makes up, roughly, the center of modern Turkey and had its regional capital in Ancyra, see Mitchell 1980. This unnamed river will change the color of all animals. Although Seneca does not mention if it will make them white or black – possibly we should believe they will be whitened in an etymological play on γάλα (Gr. “milk”). This is the only time Seneca mentions Galatia in his corpus.
in Cappadocia: The province directly to the southeast of Galatia. When Seneca was writing NQ, Cappadocia was being united with Galatia under Cn. Domitius Corbulo and L. Iunius Caesennius Paetus.
equis nec ulli praeterea animali color mutetur et spargatur albo cutis: Cappadocia was known as a particularly fruitful land for horse breeding and ranching in antiquity (Van Dam 2002: 23 “The reputation of Cappadocian horses was long-standing, almost legendary…Roman emperors too were familiar with the sterling reputation of Cappadocian horses and used them both in their foreign diplomacy and to advertise their generosity at Rome”). White markings on horses are unique to each horse and useful for distinguishing individuals. Birdcatcher spots are small white spots that can appear on horses, so it possible that an ancient source identified these with horses who had drunk from a particular river. All these animals have benign coloration changes compared to that of the mullet which suffers his change in death (NQ 3.17.2: observatur morientium color, quem in multas mutationes mors...vertit).
[3.25.5] Quosdam lacus esse qui nandi imperitos ferant notum est: Moving on from rivers to lakes, Seneca focuses on those which are especially buoyant. Livy coined the phrase of those unable to swim: multosque imperitos nandi…hausere gurgites (5.38.8). Seneca does not use notum est often, cf. Ep. 81.8, Ben. 6.15.8. Seneca will discuss buoyancy as a quality of water and due to the spiritus that causes tension within it at NQ 2.9.2-3. These waters are able to support human swimmers or bricks because of the “weight” of the water, which Seneca reported to be a worthy subject of inquiry at NQ 3.2.2. Because of the larger context of water density and the citation of Theophrastus at 3.27.7, some scholars have thought these three sections (3.25.5-7) derive from Theophrastus’ On Waters, see Sharples 1998: 180-81.
erat in Sicilia: Strabo (6.2.9) mentions a lake near Akragas where people who can not swim “float like wood” and Vottero 1989: ad loc. points out references in Ctesias and Callimachus to such features in Sicily (Antigon. Hist. mir. 150). Because of Lucilius’ procuratorship in Sicily, Seneca may mention this to pique his interest (see Ep. 79 for an additional moment in which Seneca asks Lucilius to investigate the natural wonders of Sicily, and Dial. 6.17.2-5 for a description of Syracuse). It is notable that Seneca positions this as something that existed in the past, so he may be thinking of the salt flats in western Sicily, that had been exploited by the Phoenicians, but were abandoned by Seneca’s time. Pliny’s discussion of salt production may allude to this lake (Nat. 31.73-81). For a nice podcast ruminating on the nature of salt in a Senecan manner, click here.
est adhuc in Syria stagnum in quo natant lateres et mergi proiecta non possunt, licet gravia sint: This refers to the Dead Sea (see Aristotle Mete. 359a17-21, D.S. 2.48.6, Pliny Nat. 2.226). lateres = “bricks” and it is true that bricks will float in the Dead Sea (at the time of writing one can find a video online showing someone throwing a 14 lb. bowling ball into the Dead Sea only to see it float). The Greeks knew it as λίμνη ἀσφαλτίτης because of the naturally occurring asphalt, which was exploited as early as 1000 BC by the Egyptians for mummification, cf. Nissenbaum and Buckley 2013. Tacitus (Hist. 5.6.2) and Josephus (4.478-81) mention how the bitumen is “mined” from the lake. The Dead Sea may be a topos in the question of accident or design in cosmological debates, see Furley 1989: 224 on the “new” fragment 40 of Diogenes of Oenoanda.
huius rei palam causa est: Seneca uses variations of this phrase elsewhere at NQ 4b.7.3, 4b.13.6, 1.3.3.
quamcumque vis rem expende et contra aquam statue, dummodo utriusque par sit modus: The strong second person singular imperatives make this appear to be the sort of experiment Seneca expects the reader to do. He is careful to note that the volume (modus) of each must be the same. While statuere is not common for the weighing out of material (whereas expendere is, s.v. OLD 1), it may hearken to the name for a common type of balance/steelyard (statera, Vitr. 10.3.4, Cic. De Orat. 2.159). For a similar appeal to weighing on the scales, cf. NQ 3.10.3 supra. See Lehoux 2012: 83-90 and Roby 2014 for such models in NQ.
si aqua gravior est, leviorem rem quam ipsa est fert, et tanto supra se extollet quanto erit levior: Seneca is attempting to describe an aspect of fluid dynamics (specific gravity), which was the subject of Archimedes’ On Floating Bodies. Seneca touches upon a number of the propositions including Proposition 3: “Of solids, those which, size for size, are of equal weight with a fluid will, if let down into the fluid, be immersed so that they do not project above the surface but do not sink lower” and Proposition 4: “A solid lighter than a fluid will, if immersed in it, not be completely submerged, but part of it will project about the surface” (Heath 1920 trans.). Vitruvius gives the most famous account of Archimedes’ “eureka!” anecdote about the displacement of water (Vitr. 9.pr.9-12, Proposition 7: “A solid heavier than a fluid will, if placed in it, descend to the bottom of the fluid, and the solid will, when weighed in the fluid, be lighter than its true weight by the weight of the fluid displaced”). It is notable that Archimedes’ treatises highlight his ability to make explicit principles from his observations and his generalized “proof, amazement, and the juxtaposition of the unexpected” (Netz 2002: 967) is akin to the spirit of Seneca’s NQ. Rihll 1999: 32 sees Seneca’s account as evidence that “the concept of specific gravity became so well and so widely understood by Nero’s time that Seneca…considered it obvious, and discussed it without reference to Archimedes, the bath, crown, or any other element in the tale”. See Jaeger 2008 for more on the reception of Archimedes in Rome.
at si aquae et eius rei quam contra pensabis par pondus erit, nec pessum ibit nec extabit: Seneca utilizes the second person future to show how the experiment will proceed (if “you” do it correctly). pessum + ire = “to sink to the bottom” and Seneca will repeat the language pessum eunt at NQ 3.25.7 and even his description of the catastrophic flood as pessundabit (3.29.9) might look back to this concept of weighing materials (cf. 3.29.5). The strong alliteration of “p” sounds, repetition of nec…nec, and homeoteleuton of -bit…-bit adds to the sense of equivalency (and the fact that the matter will float).
sed exaequabitur aquae et natabit quidem, sed paene mersa ac nulla eminens parte: There is near-foreshadowing with the great flood at the end of the book where the whole world is submerged (mersum est, 3.27.14) and should be imagined as swimming (orbem terrarum natare, 3.27.15), even the mountains which may, at first, overcome the waves (eminent, 3.27.13).
[3.25.6] hoc est cur quaedam tigna supra aquam paene tota efferantur: Seneca explains how a routine observation fits into the physical theory he is expounding. hoc est cur may derive from Ovid (Ars 2.684, Fast. 6.558, 6.710, Tr. 4.1.5), and is also found at Dial. 7.12.5. I wonder if this could be indicative of log driving by river in as much as tigna is often used of building timber in Seneca (Ep. 90.9, Ep. 120.7) and not natural branches of wood. See Aldrete 2007: 76: “The easiest way by far to transport felled trees is by water, and the forests along the banks of the Tiber and its tributaries would have been the first places Roman loggers concentrated their efforts. After the trees were cut down, they were stripped of branches and rolled down to the nearest stream, where the logs were fastened together to form timber rafts. These timber rafts were then floated down the Tiber by the current until they reached Rome, where they could be further processed” (citing Strabo 5.3.7, Pliny Nat 16.202).
quaedam ad medium submissa sint, quaedam ad aequilibrium aquae descendant: Different logs float at varying levels in the waters because of their weight (but also their surface area, which Archimedes understood (Principle 5: “Any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid”), but Seneca passes over here). aequilibrium (“a state of equilibrium” +gen.) is not a common word, but obviously plays upon the language of weights and scales (libra) in this passage.
namque cum utriusque pondus par est, neutra res alteri cedit: Seneca will recycle the latter half of this at NQ 2.58.2: dum neutra vis alteri cedit to describe the zig-zag shape of lightning bolts and the two forces acting upon it. During the flood passage, Seneca draws upon similar imagery of scales and balance to argue for the tipping point when water will take control, see NQ 3.29.5: aliquid oportet alteri accedat, ut quae libramento stant inaequalitas turbet. accedet umori.
graviora descendunt, leviora gestantur: As part of a reverie about contemplating the cosmos in de Otio, Seneca wrote: quis loca rebus adsignaverit, suapte natura gravia descenderint, evolaverint levia, an praeter nisum pondusque corporum altior aliqua vis legem singulis dixerit (Dial. 8.5.5, see Williams 2003: ad loc. for the Epicurean undertones of this passage). The rhetorical parallelism stresses this as a law of nature, while highlighting the passive nature of “lighter things” to be carried off.
grave autem et leve est non aestimatione nostra sed comparatione eius quo vehi debet: The relative nature of “heavy” and “light” is stressed. This readjusting of perspective, in which “our estimation” is shown to be faulty when seen compared with the larger natural (or universal) context is important throughout the NQ, see the note supra 3.pr.14. As Seneca says elsewhere: nam magnitudo non habet modum certum: comparatio illam aut tollit aut deprimit (Ep. 43.2) and quaecumque videntur eminere in rebus humanis, quamvis pusilla sint et comparatione humillimorum exstent, per difficiles tamen et arduos tramites adeuntur (Ep. 84.13).
[3.25.7] ubi aqua gravior est hominis corpore aut saxi, non sinit id quo non vincitur mergi: By insisting on the “body of a rock”, Seneca stresses the corporeality of these elements and a major tenet of Stoic physics, “the most prominent feature of the Stoic ‘onto-logy’ is that, stricto sensu, it is limited to bodies: it recognizes only bodies (sômata) as genuinely existent beings (onta)” (Brunschwig 2003: 210). For the concept in Seneca, cf. Ep. 58, 106.4, 117.2, 117.10: et quod fit et quod facit corpus est, and Armisen-Marchetti 2014: 218-33. The bodily nature of these clashing objects creates a quasi-combat characterization (non vincitur), which Seneca will exploit when writing about the Nile: frangitur enim occurrentibus saxis et per angusta luctatus, ubicumque vincit aut vincitur, fluctuat… NQ 4a.2.5).
sic evenit ut in quibusdam stagnis ne lapides quidem pessum eant: sic evenit ut also found at Ben. 7.28.2 (as variatio for sic factum est ut) and NQ 6.12.2. Here it is used to both restate what has been discussed about bricks thrown into the Dead Sea, but also to set up the differentiation between types of rocks.
de solidis et duris loquor: Seneca writes of the power of a lapis solidus: invictae adversus dura naturae dividendus est (Ben. 5.5.1) and it is “hard stone” which destroyed Hippolytus’ beautiful face (ora durus pulcra populatur lapis, Phaed. 1095). Seneca will stress, however, that even hard stone is hollowed out by water: dura tamen molli saxa cavantur aqua (NQ 4b.3.4).
sunt enim multi pumicosi ac leves: At NQ 2.26.5, Seneca muses on how pumice is made light: deinde saxa evoluta rupesque partime illaesae, quas spiritus, antequam urerentur, expulerat, partim exesae et in levitatem pumicis versae. Seneca only mentions pumice at one other occasion: pumice ex sicco / fluxit Nyctelius latex (Oed. 491-92). Theophrastus discussed pumice in de lapidibus 19-22 and writes about its light weight and ability to float, see Caley 1956: ad loc. Pumice “rafts” can occur with volcanic eruptions and have the appearance of floating stone islands (see Heggen 2015: 283-306).
ex quibus quae constant insulae in Lydia natant: constare w/ ex+abl.= “to be composed of” (OLD 3a). The manuscripts have India for Lydia, but Pliny (Nat. 2.209 – which is devoted entirely to floating islands) and Varro (R. 3.17.4) stress that these are the famous Calaminae (“reed islands”) in Lydia. Pliny adds the detail that the islands in Lydia are able to be punted by poles and thus were helpful in saving citizens during the Mithridatic war (88-63 BCE). Varro writes about how these islands could “dance” to music and were sacred to the nymphs. While Seneca here avers that these islands may be made of pumice, in general such “islands” are merely the conglomeration of roots, reedy material, and mud. See Heggen 2015 for exhaustive comparanda and Van Duzer 2004 for bibliography on floating islands. As the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1780 avows “History abounds with accounts of floating islands; but the greatest part of them are either false or exaggerated. What we generally see of this kind is no more than the concretion of the lighter and more viscous matter floating on the surface of the water in cakes; and, with the roots of plants, forming congeries of different sizes, which not being fixed to the shore in any part, are blown about by the winds and float on the surface. These are generally found in lakes, where they are confined, and, in process of time, some of them acquire a considerable size” (cited in Heggen 2015: 318).
Theophrastus est auctor: An “abrupt” (Hine 1996: 58) citation. This is Fr.206 (Fortenbaugh) and see Sharples 1998: 180-81 for excellent commentary on this passage. Setaioli 1988: 439n.2075 believes Lydian floating islands may be falsely attributed to Theophrastus and this is another clue to the indirect tradition that Seneca is following. Theophrastus does mention other floating islands at H.P. 4.10 (at Orchomenos and Thesprotia).
[3.25.8] ipse ad Cutilias natantem insulam vidi: The verification of Theophrastus from Seneca’s own point of view and movement from abroad to Italy (the very “belly-button” of Italy, according to Varro, cf. Pliny Nat. 3.109), shows the way Seneca positions knowledge-networks working in the NQ. The larger world and a broad number of thinkers can be brought to bear testimony to the quaestiones under consideration. Writers from Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.15) to Macrobius (1.7.28) mention the floating island in this lake. For more on the water of Cutilia in general, cf. Frazier 1931: 432-36.
alia in Vadimonis lacu vehitur (lacus in Statoniensi est): Statonia is a town and district in southern Etruria. I wonder if Seneca draws attention to this district in part because the etymology would imply something that is stable and unmoving (see the use of statio below). Pliny mentions this floating island as well (Nat 2.209), and it was described in detail by Pliny the Younger (8.20). Pliny the Younger’s account adds a number of “miraculous” details and seems indebted, in part, to the larger discussion of Seneca (buoyancy of the islands and the “medicinal” nature of the water). This was the site of a great battle with the Etruscans in 310 BCE (Livy 9.39, Polybius 2.20) although that detail is ignored by Seneca and Pliny. Cluveri 1624: 420 believed it was the small crater lake Lago di Mezzano in Lazio, Talbert 2000: 42 places it close to the Tiber downstream from Statonia. See Philipp for other views, RE 3A2.coll. 2225-26. For photographic evidence of a modern floating island in what may be Lake Vadimo, see Heggen 2015: 313-14.
Cutiliarum insula et arbores habet et herbas alit: Pliny writes about the movement of its “dark forest” (opaca silva) which makes it sound like an impressive island indeed (Nat. 2.209).
aqua sustinetur: Seneca will echo this language when writing about boats floating in water and the spiritus inherent to water that creates buoyancy at NQ 2.9.3 and earlier had mentioned Thales’ theory that the earth is floating on water, see note on 3.14.1 supra.
in hanc atque illam partem non vento tantum sed aura compellitur: The islands are so light and the foliage catches the wind in such a way that they are able to be moved by a mere breeze. Similar language describes the movement of ships (Ag. 431-32), clouds (Phaed. 955), and atmospheric fires (NQ 1.14.5). Seneca writes of the ease in adjusting a light load on the shoulders in hanc aut illam partem (Dial. 5.6.6).
nec umquam illi per diem ac noctem uno loco statio est: Similar language can be found in Pliny Nat. 2.209: opaca silva quae numqum die ac nocte eodem loco visitur.
adeo movetur levi flatu: levi flatu hearkens back to Manilius’ description of the breeze touching Andromeda (ipsa levi flatu refovens pendentia membra / aura per extremas resonavit flebile rupes, 5.565-6, cf. 5.331). Seneca uses it elsewhere of the soul’s knowledge of what is honorable at Ep. 94.29: quae admonitione excitantur, non aliter quam scintilla flatu levi adiuta ignem suum explicat and a variation to describe the waves of the sea (maria flatu movent, Ben. 7.31.4).
[3.25.9] aquae gravitas medicatae ob hoc ponderosae: See the notes supra on 3.2.1 and 3.20.3 for more on these waters. Here their healing ability is downplayed, but the “potent substances” (OLD 1b) with which it is imbued add to the weight of the water. The purgative effect of the waters of Cutilia was well known (Vitr. 8.3.5, Pliny Nat. 31.59), but Vespasian’s attempts to alleviate his illness with the waters may have hastened his demise (Suet. Ves. 23-24). Seneca only uses ponderosus elsewhere in a pejorative manner of the size of Tanusius’ Annals (Ep. 93.11).
materia vectabilis, quae non est corporis solidi, quamvis arbores alat: vectabilis is a hapax “capable of being carried/transported”. The notion of “solid body” (here as a genitive of material, A&G 344) will appear later in the NQ in the words of Democritus (4b.9.1: omne corpus, quo solidius est, hoc calorem citius concipit, diutius servat) and Artemidorus’ conception of the celestial sphere (7.13.2, 7.14.1).
leves truncus frondesque in lacu sparsas pinguis umor adprehendit ac vinxit: The accumulation of such floral material is the basis for most stories of floating islands. Seneca has already stressed how certain waters can cause this sort of material to petrify (NQ 3.20.4-5) so he is building upon previous findings to create these islands. Pinguis umor is also found at 3.15.2 supra, and 1.12.1 about olive oil or pitch, in which we can observe an eclipse without harming our eyes.
[3.25.10] invenies exesa et fistulosa: If there are rocks present in the floating islands, they will be hollow and porous. When writing of underwater volcanic activity, Seneca mentions that rocks appeared that were “eaten away and light as pumice” (partim exesae et in levitatem pumicis versae, NQ 2.26.5). Seneca will use fistulosus elsewhere of certain clouds that produce particular winds (eknephiai, NQ 5.12.1). Cf. Calp. Ecl. 6.63 for exesus used of pumice, which may recall Vergil G. 4.43-44 (sub terra fovere larem, pentiusque repertae / pumicibusque cavis exesaeque arboris antro) or Ovid Fast. 4.495 (est specus exesi structura pumicis asper).
qualia sunt quae duratus umor efficit: Earlier he wrote of the accretions on channels and pipes around certain springs (NQ 3.20.4). The ability of water to form into rock recalls the elemental transformations that occur underground (NQ 3.10.4-5) and, indeed, are noticeable around the perspicacious observer of the natural world.
utique circa medicatorum fontium rivosque: Hine 1996: 58-59 supplements the line with ora to escape the awkward and unattested fontium rivos, cf. NQ 3.30.4: ora fontium. In many ways this acts as a supplement to NQ 3.20.4 by paying more attention to the nature of the rocky deposits by such springs. These are striking and feature travertine, silica, and limestone in many parts of Italy, such as Fosso Bianco in San Filippo and Cascate del Mulino near Saturnia. See Lewin and Woodward 2009: 298 who mention “outside the subterranean karst environment, precipitated and cemented carbonates include[e] travertines and tufas” (and provide images).
purgamenta aquarum coaluerunt et spuma solidatur: Seneca is setting up his discussion of filth that is ejected from fountains and the sea in the following chapter. Seneca also has coalescere to describe the action of bees making honey from a variety of flowers (quo in unum diversa coalescunt, Ep. 84.4). Pliny likewise writes about the impurities of water, cf. Nat. 31.55 and also “foam” rocks like nitrum, salt, and paraetonium – a white pigment (Nat. 31.73, 31.110, 35.36: spumam maris esse dicunt solidatam cum limo). Cf. [Arist.] de Plantis 2.823B about stones formed from sea water and Theophrastus de lap. 19 for sea foam as the origin of one type of pumice.
necessario leve est quod ex ventoso inanique concretum est: These rocks can be seen as visible reminders not only of the transformations that occur, but also as a fusion of all the elements: water, usually heated, and infused with air produces these porous stones. For necessario, cf. note on 3.9.1 supra. Seneca will also pair ventosus and inanis at Dial. 3.20.2 about anger: non habet ira cui insistat; non ex firmo mansuroque oritur, sed ventosa et inanis est… Vergil writes of ventos…inanis (A. 10.82), which Seneca will echo in his description of mining at 5.15.4: terrarum pendentium habitus ventosque per caecum inanes experientur.
[3.25.11] quorundam causa non potest reddi: Seneca will repeat this sentiment after discussing other purgamenta from springs at the conclusion of NQ 3.26.8 (itaque proxima quidem inveniri et vicina non potest causa). These final sections present an assortment of properties from various waters.
quae aqua Nilotica fecundiores feminas faciat: Witnesses such as Aeschylus (Supp. 854-57) and Aristotle H.A. 584b7-31 comment on the fecundity of Egyptian women. Athenaeus attributes to Theophrastus the idea that drinking the Nile encourages the production of offspring (Deipno. 2.15-17, see Sharples 1998: 202-4). Pliny Nat. 7.33 and 31.10 also note this connection. Seneca makes a jingle with the alliteration of “f” sounds. Seneca (or Lucan) coined the adjective Niloticus and Seneca’s interest in Egypt and the Nile runs deep (see note on 3.14.2 supra) – his distrust in this reported benefit probably stems from first-hand experience.
adeo ut quarundam viscera longa sterilitate praeclusa ad conceptum relaxaverit: For viscera = “womb” (s.v. viscus OLD 3b). The impact of water on the body recalls Seneca’s stress on similarities between the earth and the human body, and the Nile is colloquially fertile in Latin thought, e.g. Tib. 1.7.22, Mela 1.49.3-4, NQ 4a.2.9. Seneca’s language recalls terms for water management [conceptus, cf. 3.15.8 supra; praeclusio = “a device for stopping (the flow of water in a pipe)”]. Athenaeus tells us that the Nile contains some mixture of soda (λιτρώδη) that promotes conception, helps the bowels, and is pleasant to drink (41e). For more on infertility in the ancient world, see Flemming 2013
quaedam in Lycia aquae conceptum feminarum custodiant: custodire = “preserve/keep in good condition” conceptus here could be either the action of conception (as above) or the embryo/fetus (cf. Oed. 373). Pliny mentions waters that can do both (Nat. 31.7: Thespiarum fons conceptus mulieribus repraesentat, item in Arcadia flumen Elatum. custodit autem fetum Linus fons in eadem Arcadia abortusque fieri non patitur).
quas solent petere quibus parum tenax vulva est: parum tenax can also be found at Ep. 7.6.1 of the young man who much avoid the crowd: subducendus populo est tener animus et parum tenax recti. tenax vulva is not used of gynecological problems elsewhere.
quod ad me attinet: s.v. attineo OLD 6c for this idiom “as far as I’m concerned”. This is the sole example in Seneca’s corpus.
pono ista inter temere vulgata: Seneca questions the veracity of these rumors. For temere vulgata, cf. Liv. 37.51: fama dein de rebus in Asia gestis temere vulgata sine auctore. Seneca writes of picking one of Epicurus’ lesser-known dictums: non adicerem auctorem huic voci, nisi esset secretior nec inter vulgata Epicuri dicta, quae mihi et laudare et adoptare permisi, Ep. 13.17.
creditum est quasdam aquas scabiem adferre corporibus: scabies = “eczema” and for waters that can cause eczema, cf. Curt. 9.10.1 of a lake in India (quippe scabies corpora invasit, et contagium morbi etiam in alios vulgatum est). Pliny Nat. 28.244 gives various cures of scabies hominis, and it is notable that none of his “magical” springs seem to cure scabies. In Seneca scabies appears at Dial. 7.27.4, and Dial. 9.2.11. For Vergil, scabies (of animals) occurred due to extremes in temperature, often associated with liquid of some sort (G. 3.441-44) and Roman children playing tag would say habeat scabiem quisquis ad me venerit novissimus! (Fairclough 1926: 484). It must be said that in spite of the large number of baths and ready access to water, Romand did not associate hygiene with proper sanitation, see Koloski-Ostrow 2015: 118-22. Seneca’s use of creditum est, may be foreshadowing his address to Lucilius in the next chapter, hoc et a te creditum est (3.26.6 – the only two times creditum est appears in the NQ).
quasdam vitiliginem et foedam ex albo varietatem, sive infusa sive pota sit: For the pigment alteration of vitiligo (psoriasis), cf. Cels. 5.28.19: vitiligo quoque quamvis per se nullum periculum adfert, tamen et foeda est et ex malo corporis habitu fit. Celsus goes on to distinguish three types (alphos, melas, leuce). Pliny Nat. 20.165, 21.129 distinguishes between nigrae vitiligines and albae vitiligines. Pliny claims that the water of Lake Alphius can cure vitiligo (Nat. 31.11). There were different regimens at the various health “spas” of the ancient world, some of which would require bathing and other ingesting various waters (infundere is “to pour on/over” OLD 1d), cf. Allen 1998 and 2006. This sort of spotting may recall the waters that caused dappled horses at 3.25.4 supra. Campbell 2012: 340 stresses the various ways spring waters can affect someone “by drinking, bathing, or inhalation of fumes”.
quod vitium habere aiunt aquam ex rore collectam: quod vitium referring back to vitiligo. See Hine 1996: 59 for reading habere aiunt (with Z) instead of dicunt habere, because Seneca does not use dicunt as a general “everyone says/they say”. Water collected from dew was said to have a variety of characteristics, depending in some way on the genre from which the information is given, see note supra on 3.15.7. For prose agricultural writers, dew is harmful moisture and Pliny warns it can give scabies to plants (31.33) and fig trees (17.225). Roman poets, however, use ros to evoke “to notions of fertility and welcome moisture” (Boedeker 1984: 36). Plutarch’s NQ 6 questions “why persons who frequently walk through bushes wet with dew contract ‘leprosy’ (λέπρα) on the body parts that come into contact with the brushwood” (see Meeusen 2016: ad loc.). In the lost portion of 4b, Seneca apparently discussed the difference between dew and water (NQ 4b.3.6: illud enim iam diximus, quod inter rorem et aquam interest, hoc inter pruinam et glaciem nec non inter nivem et grandinem interesse).
[3.25.12] quis non gravissimas esse aquas credit quae in crystallum coeunt?: Seneca varies his argumentative strategy at this moment, asking a question that he will go on to disprove. That heavy mineral-rich waters can become rock has been consistent in the previous chapters, but now he focuses on one type of stone made from water. The idea that quartz is formed from frozen water can be found in Pliny Nat. 37.23-26, cf. Bailey 1929: 177, Healy 1999: 59, Ball 1950: 224-26. Such crystal was engraved and made into precious cups and other vessels (Theophrastus mentions seals of quartz, Lap. 30 and Pliny cites a crystal dipper that cost 150,000 sesterces, Nat 37.29). For the famous story of the crystal cup (crystallina) of Vedius Pollio, cf. Dial. 5.40.2, Cl. 1.18.2 – that story resonates with many parts of NQ 3 including Pollio’s fish ponds and his luxurious lifestyle.
contra autem est: tenuissimis enim hoc evenit: See Crowley 2016: 223-24 for Seneca’s interest in the “phase change” in crystal formation and the false inference that all rocks are made from dense material. For contra autem answering a question, cf. Cic. Off. 2.8.5 and the adverbial force of contra here “However it is the opposite:…” to be explained by the enim clause. evenire+dat. = “happen (to)” (OLD 3b), cf. Ep. 2.2.5 for a similar use in Seneca. For the contrast of gravissimus vs. tenuissimus as relating to water, cf. Vitr. 8.1.7: quod est levissimum tenuissimumque et subtili salubritate, aer avocans dissipat in impetum caeli, quaeque gravissimae duraeque et insuaves sunt partes, eae in fontibus campestribus relinquuntur.
quas frigus ob ipsam tenuitatem facillime gelat: Pliny writes how the best crystal is found in the high mountains of India or the Alps where it was dangerously extracted from mountain fissures (Nat. 37.9-10). For the ability of cold to freeze lighter waters, the Greeks and Romans would probably rely on the fact that salt water freezes at a colder temperature than fresh water as well as the observation that ice floats. Seneca writes of the nature of denser material to preserve heat (quo crassioris solidiorisque materiae sunt, hoc fidelius custodire calorem receptum, NQ 4b.10). This is also important for the question of hail and snow, cf. Arist. Mete. 347b36-349a11, NQ 4b passim. Gell. Noct. Att. 19.5.5 is a witty discussion on how water freezes and whether it is unwholesome to drink snow-water. For more on the question of why liquids freeze, cf. Plato Timaeus 59E for freezing water and 62C-63D for more on heavy and light bodies, see Lloyd 1964 for hot and cold in Greek philosophy more general and Lloyd 1987: 247-57 for the problematics of weighing in Greek science and for water “experiments” about light and heavy waters.
unde autem fiat eiusmodi lapis, apud Graecos ex ipso nomine apparet: For additional moments of translation or discussion of Greek terms in Senecan prose, cf. Dial. 3.4.2, 5.16.5, Ep. 89.5: philosophia unde dicta sit apparet; ipso enim nomine fatetur quid amet; and the work of Fitch 2016 on “speaking names” in Senecan tragedy. At Ep. 62.2 Seneca analyzes the Stoic ideas of material and cause in a similar manner.
crystallum enim appellant aeque hunc perlucidum lapidem quam illam glaciem ex qua fieri lapis creditur: crystallus can be both “ice” and “crystal/quartz” as can the Greek κρύσταλλος from the root κρύος “cold”. See Plato’s Timaeus for the idea that all minerals are merely liquids in solid form (58d8-c3). For more on the poetics of rock crystal, see Petrain 2005: 332-40 on the λιθικά collection in the new Posiddipus. Although crystal is made from water, it is a precious material. Yet water is proverbially cheap and common (Pl. Euthd. 304b3-4). This makes the discussion of the crystal foreshadow the Seneca’s jeremiad against the snow and ice trade and luxury’s need to make even nature’s boons expensive in 4b.13.1-11.
aqua enim caelestis minimum in se terreni habens cum induruit: Seneca identifies this as “celestial water” and believes that such crystal-producing water maintains its purity in spite of falling to earth. Certain authors testify to quartz being washed downstream in rivers (cf. Posid. AB 16.1-2, Xenocrates – cited at Pliny Nat. 37.25). Pliny comes to the conclusion that it forms from pure snow (Nat. 37.26: e caelesti umore puraque nive id fieri necesse est). NQ 4b is concerned with such “celestial waters” in general. For the purity and lightness of such rain water, see Vitr. 8.2.1 with Callebat 1973: ad loc., Col. 1.5.3, and Pliny Nat. 31.31. The transformation itself is explained in language much like the elemental transformations earlier (see note on 3.10.4 supra) and this ties this moment to the larger context of the work.
longioris frigoris pertinacia spissatur magis ac magis: “By the persistence of long-lasting cold, it is condensed more and more”. Pliny likewise notes that rock crystal is found primarily in cold climates (Nat. 37.23). Seneca earlier wrote of the ability of air to be condensed into water, see note on 3.15.7 supra. For Seneca, the persistence of winter is almost colloquial (pertinaciam hiemis, Dial. 4.27.2) and ice-traders can excavate the most solid and coldest cores to sell (ut vim maiorem habeat et pertinacius frigus, ex abdito effoditur, NQ 4b.13.8). The homeoteleuton of -oris -oris is picked up by the repetition of magis magis almost to mark the progress of the condensation, cf. Dial. 5.1.5, Ben. 2.14.4, and Ep. 114.25 for additional repetitions of magis ac magis.
donec omni aëre excluso in se tota compressa est: Reminiscent of Aristotle’s discussion of various metals such as iron, copper, and gold which arise from vaporous emissions “Their dryness compresses it, and it congeals just as dew or hoar-frost does when it has been separated off…hence, they are water in a sense, and in a sense not.” (Mete. 378a30-32). Vitruvius writes of the force of the winter wind to compress wood (2.9.2) and Lucretius writes about contraction and compression happening due to the night’s cold (6.865-66).
et umor qui fuerat lapis factus est: Pliny remarks that the purest quartz is the color of clear water “not foam” (spumei coloris) and that its weight is part of the value. This is a clear contrast with the light pumice made from foam above (NQ 3.25.10) and follows what Seneca wrote about certain metals (NQ 3.15.3 supra). This hypothesis about crystal held well into the 17th C., see the remarks of Sir Thomas Browne (1646): “hereof the common Opinion hath been, and still remaineth amongst us, that Crystal is nothing else but Ice or Snow concreted, and by duration of time, congealed beyond liquation…Pliny is positive in this opinion…The same is followed by Seneca, Elegantly described by Claudian, not denied by Scaliger, some way affirmed by Albertus, Brassavolus, and directly by many others… The venerable Fathers of the Church have also assented hereto” (Keynes 1928: II.87).
