neitherhadanyofthemanythingoftheirown，buttheyregardedallthattheyhadascommonproperty；nordidtheyclaimtoreceiveoftheothercitizensanythingmorethantheirnecessaryfood。Andtheypractisedallthepursuitswhichweyesterdaydescribedasthoseofourimaginaryguardians。ConcerningthecountrytheEgyptianpriestssaidwhatisnotonlyprobablebutmanifestlytrue，thattheboundarieswereinthosedaysfixedbytheIsthmus，andthatinthedirectionofthecontinenttheyextendedasfarastheheightsofCithaeronandParnes；theboundarylinecamedowninthedirectionofthesea，havingthedistrictofOropusontheright，andwiththeriverAsopusasthelimitontheleft。Thelandwasthebestintheworld，andwasthereforeableinthosedaystosupportavastarmy，raisedfromthesurroundingpeople。EventheremnantofAtticawhichnowexistsmaycomparewithanyregionintheworldforthevarietyandexcellenceofitsfruitsandthesuitablenessofitspasturestoeverysortofanimal，whichproveswhatIamsaying；butinthosedaysthecountrywasfairasnowandyieldedfarmoreabundantproduce。HowshallI
establishmywords？andwhatpartofitcanbetrulycalledaremnantofthelandthatthenwas？Thewholecountryisonlyalongpromontoryextendingfarintotheseaawayfromtherestofthecontinent，whilethesurroundingbasinoftheseaiseverywheredeepintheneighbourhoodoftheshore。Manygreatdelugeshavetakenplaceduringtheninethousandyears，forthatisthenumberofyearswhichhaveelapsedsincethetimeofwhichIamspeaking；andduringallthistimeandthroughsomanychanges，therehasneverbeenanyconsiderableaccumulationofthesoilcomingdownfromthemountains，asinotherplaces，buttheearthhasfallenawayallroundandsunkoutofsight。Theconsequenceis，thatincomparisonofwhatthenwas，thereareremainingonlythebonesofthewastedbody，astheymaybecalled，asinthecaseofsmallislands，allthericherandsofterpartsofthesoilhavingfallenaway，andthemereskeletonofthelandbeingleft。
Butintheprimitivestateofthecountry，itsmountainswerehighhillscoveredwithsoil，andtheplains，astheyaretermedbyus，ofPhelleuswerefullofrichearth，andtherewasabundanceofwoodinthemountains。
Ofthislastthetracesstillremain，foralthoughsomeofthemountainsnowonlyaffordsustenancetobees，notsoverylongagotherewerestilltobeseenroofsoftimbercutfromtreesgrowingthere，whichwereofasizesufficienttocoverthelargesthouses；andthereweremanyotherhightrees，cultivatedbymanandbearingabundanceoffoodforcattle。
Moreover，thelandreapedthebenefitoftheannualrainfall，notasnowlosingthewaterwhichflowsoffthebareearthintothesea，but，havinganabundantsupplyinallplaces，andreceivingitintoherselfandtreasuringitupinthecloseclaysoil，itletoffintothehollowsthestreamswhichitabsorbedfromtheheights，providingeverywhereabundantfountainsandrivers，ofwhichtheremaystillbeobservedsacredmemorialsinplaceswherefountainsonceexisted；andthisprovesthetruthofwhatI