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51The mountains here, which lie close to the inner bodies of water, have springs which send forth a great deal of fire mingled with water; and neither of the two elements is found anywhere by itself (that is, neither pure fire nor cold water alone is to be seen), but from their association the water is heated and the fire moistened. 2The water on its way down the foot-hills to the sea runs into reservoirs and the inhabitants conduct the steam from it through pipes into upper rooms, where they use the steam for vapour baths; for the higher it ascends from the earth and from the water, the dryer it becomes. Costly apparatus is in use for turning both the vapour and the water to practical use, and they are very serviceable indeed for the uses of daily life and also for effecting cures. 3Now besides these products that mountain furnishes an earth, the peculiar nature of which I am going to describe. Since the fire has not the power of burning, since by its union with the water all its scorching qualities are extinguished, yet is still able to separate and melt the substances with which it comes in contact, it follows that the soft part of the earth is melted out by it, whereas the hard and what might be called the bony part of it is left. 4Hence the masses of earth necessarily become porous and when exposed to the dry air crumble into dust, but when mixed with water and lime become compact, and as long as they remain in the liquid they harden and petrify. The reason for this is that the brittle element in them is disintegrated and broken up by the fire, which possesses the same nature, but by the admixture of moisture is chilled, and so is wholly packed together on the inside and becomes indissoluble. 5So much for the description of Baiae. Here Agrippa, as soon as he had constructed the entrances, set about collecting his ships, which he proceeded to equip with decks, and his oarsmen, whom he trained to row on practice benches.
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