‹‹‹ Vitr. 8.3.12 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 8.3.14 ›››
13For if the soil and its moisture did not vary, not only would the reeds and rushes of Syria and Arabia be odoriferous, and the shrubs yield pepper, frankincense, and myrrh; nor would the laser grow only in Cyrene, but in all countries and in all places would the same sort of plants grow. For the varieties that are found in different situations and countries arise from the different climates, and the power of the sun, sometimes at a less and at other times at a greater distance; the effects of which are perceived, not only on the moisture of the earth, but on cattle and flocks. And these circumstances could not occur, if in every country the quality of the land did not depend on the sun’s power.
13If soils were not different and unlike in their kinds of juices, Syria and Arabia would not be the only places in which the reeds, rushes, and all the plants are aromatic, and in which there are trees bearing frankincense or yielding pepper berries and lumps of myrrh, nor would assafoetida be found only in the stalks growing in Cyrene, but everything would be of the same sort, and produced in the soil of all countries. It is the inclination of the firmament and the force of the sun, as it draws nearer or recedes in its course, that make these diversities such as we find them in different countries and places, through the nature of the soil and its juices. And not only in the case of the things mentioned, but also in that of sheep and cattle. These diversities would not exist if the different properties of soils and their juices were not qualified by the power of the sun.