ABSTRACT
WHAT I have to expound will be shown well enough by this shocking picture without my using many roundabout turns of phrase and expression; yet a short time must be spent in revealing whence and by what means these disasters occur. The shores of that part of the world, you see, are very sandy 1 and filled with gulfs, as though one had to navigate through deep valleys and high mountains, on the summit of which trees have been torn away by the violence of storms and, rotting where they have been thrown down, stick fast, and with a mere touch will drive holes in ships. 2 Even if the sailors exert themselves skilfully in desiring to escape these dangers, the force of the raging winds will in no way allow them to do so. For the wind Circius, whose fury has been sufficiently referred to above in Book I, 3 is so violent in northern waters, especially when it coincides with the full moon, that all who are sailing there must fear its horrifying and lethal effects.
Sandy chasms
Wind Circius
Winds fiercer at the full moon
