Stelle § 39 Ipsas gentes Alexander magnus ...; (Cosmographia Aethici Istri (700 - 730), Aethicus Ister, Cosmographia, § 39, 40, 41, ed. and trans. M. Herren, 48-53) [5781]

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ID 5781
Text Cosmographia Aethici Istri (700 - 730) Anonymous - Other
Quotation § 39 Ipsas gentes Alexander magnus recludere uoluit sicut et alia uiginti duo regna Gog et Magog fecit ad ubera aquilonis, quia et istae ex ea prosapia rapidaa et pessima sunt ultra uniuersas gentes "quae sub caelo sunt." Et ita et hanc gentem in obsidionem posuit, ut munitos montes obstrueret. Sed mare oceanum paruolas insolas ac minima interualla sirtesque sablonumc et mollia quaeque litora pelagum undique obductum; ob hoe obstruere non potuit. Sed maximam multitudinem gladio crudeliter interfecit. § 40 Nonnulla et inaudita gentium illarum inmanitate scribit et adinuentionem incredibilium argumentorum. Tandem ad mare Caspium et ubera aquilonis pilasque eminentissimo cacumine, in multa spatia terrarum uastissima ambitione gyrata mare oceanum plaga septentrionale et mare Caspium ab occasu fluente ac meridianam plagam uergentem quasi stadia duorum milium. Ab utrisque partibus montium densitate uallatus tam in litoribus utroque mare ambage[s] quam et reliquorum finium illarum regionum, ultra quam credi potest. Montes inmensa magnitudine ambiunt ita, ut ine cacumine ucl uertict: eorum ascensus ualde incredibilis/ et difficilis esse uideatur, iugaquc asperrima sectilis ab intus in longitudine arbitratus est philosophus millc milia passuum, quos nos dextros uocamus, mille millearia in latitudine. Et <im alias partes aestimare non potuit magnitudine propter nimiam munitionem et habitationem gentium pessimam ultra omnem terram, quae nisi illinc inclausae fuissent, nulla gens aut populus obpraessionem illorum sufferre potuissent. §41a Alexander enim uir magnus et in omni um adinuentionum uel utilitatum0 famosissimus uel operibus insignis, egregius, tarn prauas gentes et perfidas, ut supra diximus, ad aquilonem, cum comperisset Gogetas et Magogetasb et onagriasc fonna et omnia lineamenta transfonnata et truculentissima tarn in uita quam et in membris omnibus, quod, dicitur, d legentibus et audientibus inmensum incutit pauorem atque terrorem, omnia spurcitia comedentes, animosus et odio habentes bona et dulcia atque delectabilia, amantes mala prauaque et horribilia, philosarchis et cruorum putatores, odientes bonum, diligentes malum - haec uidens egregius princeps, nimio merore adfectus et stupore uehementissimo, terretus ultra quam credi potest constematusque, ait: "Vae terra fructifera ac melliflua, si ingruerint in ea .tot serpentes et bestiae; uae habitatores orbis cum istae coeperint triumphare!" Ingemuitque aedificauitquee aras in monte Chelion, immolatisque hostiis Deo, depraecatusque est tota die ac nocte, dei consilium et misericordiam quaerens, inuenitquee artem magnam. Praecurrente potentiam Dei, adfuit terrae motus magnus in montana ilia, qualis antea/ numquam fuerat uisus neque auditus, et conuenerunt montes aduersus montes, uaticiniumg prophetae auditum: "Surge, contende iudicium aduersus montes, et audiant colles uocem tuam, audiant montes iudicium Domini et fortia fundamenta terrae." Hine enim montes commouebanturh et colics clamabant, i quia magno impetu proximauerunt se montcs isti usque stadium unum. § 41b Faciens itaque consilium salubre princeps magnus et congrcgans cunctum exercitum regni sui a finibus orbis terrarum, medium comm stabiliuit iuxta utroque mare, reliquo uero exercitu in ipsa latibula montium inter colles collocauit, et fecit cum eis placitum quasi ad pacem foedera sociare ferentesque porcum in diis eornm. Quod pro nihilo ducens Alexander magnus quasi subdolum, congregauit aes plurimum et fudit colomnas mirae magnitudinis et portas et limina et seras, et [minans] 0 minauit eos et omnem subolem eornm, et inclusit eos ad ubera aquilonis in anno uno et mensibus quattuor. Erexitque portas et limina et serracula mirae magnitudinis, et induxit ac liniuit eas assincitum bitumen incognitum b in orbe terrarum, nisi in insolam c unde superius 141 scripsimus. Tanta enim uehementia habere adscribitur, ut neque acumen aut ferro incidatur neque ignem aut aquam dissoluatur. Tamen Dei prouidentiam huic magno principe credimus fuisse ostensam. Et non inmeritod magnus dici potest qui tarn utilia argumenta agrestium hominum uesamam retrudendam adinuenit, quorum solutionem temporibus Antechristi in persecutionem gentium uel ultionem peccatorum credimus adfuturam. § 42 Terra itaque in qua inhabitant in obsidione montium sarfaica esse adfirmat idem soficus et hispida, tantomodo semina promiscua gignit humus, herbarum copia. Siluis fecunda, pecorum et iumentornm opulenta; lac et me] plurimum gignit. Vitis illic cognita,a uinum tamen incognitum et oleum. Aromata nee pimentumb ad nullum opus uisum nee usui acceptum. Arma bellica gignari et fabrorum fomacem industrii, mina enim ferri plurimum gignit. Flumina inrigua, arenaque in aliquibus locis aurum differt.
Translation Alexander the Great wanted to enclose these peoples, just as he did the other twenty-two kingdoms of Gog and Magog at the Breasts of the North, because they too stem from a rapacious tribe and are worse than all the peoples "which are under heaven". And so he laid siege to this tribe as well in order to wall them up in fortified mountains. However, Ocean has small islands and sand-banks with very small intervals, and the soft shores are everywhere surrounded by sea; therefore, he was able to wall them in. However, he put a huge number of them to a crual death by the sword. § 40 Aethicus describes some of the unimaginably barbarous deeds of those peoples as well as theis incredible inventions and stratagems. At length [he came] to the Caspian Sea and the Breasts of the North and the gates of tremendous height, surrounded at many extensions of land by the huge compass of Ocean at the northern shore and by the Casoian Sea on the West, flowing as it turns to its southern shore for a disctance of about two-thousand stades. On both sides [the region] is walled in (to an extent beyond belief!) by the density of the mountains both at the shores, whre it is encircled by both seas, and in the remainder of those regions. These surrounding mountains are of such an immense height that an ascent to their peak or summit would seem highly unlikely or difficult, and our philosopher believed that the very rough ridges dividing them in the interior (which we call the mountains to the right) were a thousand miles long and a thousand miles wide. He could not estimate the size {of the ridges} <in> the other parts on account of their great fortification and the habitation of the worst races on the entire earth, which, if they had not been enclosed there, no other race or peoples would hvae been able to withstand their oppression. § 41a When, as we said above, the great man Alexander, most famous for every [kind of] invention and useful article and outstanding [and] distinguished in deeds, came upon such vile and deceitful peoples of the North, as we said above, the sons of Gog and Magog, and Ass-men transmuted in their form and all their features and completely savage in thei lifestyle as wella s in their members, which, it is said, strikes immense fear and terror into all those who read or hear [about them], devouring every kind of filth, hot-tempered, and despising [everything] good, sweet and delectable, embracing evil, vile and terrible things, flesh-eaters and drinkers of blood, hating good [and] loving evil - seeing these things the famous prince, overcome with terrible grief and maddening stupor, terrified beyond belief, says in consternation: "Woe to the land that is fruitful and flowing with honey, if so many serpents and beasts invade her. Woe to the inhabitants of the world when such as these begin to triumph." He groaned and built altars on Mount Chelion, and sacrificed victims to God, and for a whole day and night he prayed asking God's guidance and mercy, and he found a great stratagem. Through God's power a heavy earthquake occurred on that mountain, the likes of which had never been seen or heard before, and mountains came together against mountains, heeding the oracle of the prophet: "Arise, contend in judgement against the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord and the strong foundations of the earth." Then the mountains were moved and the hiulls cried out, because these mountains with great force moved nearer each other by up to one stade. §41b And so devising an excellent plan, and, gathering the entire army of his empire from the ends of the earth, the great prince drew up their middle [ranks] near to ech sea, arranging the remainder of his army in mountain lairs between the hills, and he made a pact with them [sc. the unclean races], bringing pork [offerings] to their gods as if to join them in a peace treaty. Regarding this as meaningless {and}, as it were, a trick, the great Alexander collected a large quantity of bronze and cast columns of wondrous magnitude, with gates, thresholds and locks, and, he herded them and their entire oftspring, and he immured them by the Breasts of the North within a year and four months. And he raised the gates of wondrous magnitude, together with their thresholds and locks, and he pargetted and sealed them with unmixed bitumen, unknown in the rest of the world except on the Isle { of Tripicia}, about which he wrote wrote above. It is said to possess such strength that it cannot be cut by steel or iron, nor can it be melted by fire or water. But we believe that the providence of God was shown to this great prince. And not without good reason can {Alexander} be called "the Great", who found such useful strategems for checking the rage of these wild peoples, whose release we believe will occur int imes of the Antichrist as a persecution of the nations and the punsihments of sinners. § 42 And the same sage affirms that the soil in which they dwell in mountain fastness is baked and rough; the earth only produces seeds indiscriminately, {but} an abundance of grasses. {The land} is productive of forests and wealthy in cattle and beasts of burden; it produces milk and plenty of honey. The vine is known there, but not wine and oil. Spices and pepper are seen as {serving} no purpose, and are not accepted for use. The people are knowledgeable about implements of war and industrious at the smith's forge; a mine produces a great quantity of iron. The rivers overflow, and sand produces gold in some places.
Quotation source Aethicus Ister, Cosmographia, § 39, 40, 41, ed. and trans. M. Herren, 48-53
Temporal Coverage -356 - -323
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