[207] LXXVI. Nor did he ever—continue, etc.—Neque postea—moratus, simulabat, etc.—Most editors take moratus for morans; Allen places a colon after it, as if it were for moratus est.
[208] And erected towns upon it to protect, etc.—Et super aggerem impositis turribus epus et administros tutari. "And protected the work and the workmen with towers placed on the mound." Impositis turribus is not the ablative absolute, but the ablative of the instrument.
[209] LXXVII. Leptis—Leptis Major, now Lebida. In c. 19, Leptis Minor is meant.
[210] Their own safety—Suam salutem: i.e. the safety of the people of Leptis.
[211] LXXVIII. Which take their name from their nature—Quibus nomen ex re inditum. From [Greek: surein], to draw, because the stones and sand were drawn to and fro by the force of the wind and tide. But it has been suggested that this etymology is probably false; it is less likely that their name should be from the Greek than from the Arabic, in which sert signifies a desert tract or region, a term still applied to the desert country bordering on the Syrtea. See Ritter, Allgem. vergleich, Geog. vol. i. p. 929. The words which, in Havercamp, close this description of the Syrtes, "Syrtes ab tractu nominatae", and which Gruter and Putschius suspected not to be Sallust's, Cortius omitted; and his example has been followed by Muller and Burnouf; Gerlach, Kritzius, and Dietsch, have retained them. Gerlach, however, thinks them a gloss, though they are found in every manuscript but one.
[212] Almost at the extremity of Africa—Prope in extremâ Africâ. "By extremâ Africâ Gerlach rightly understands the eastern part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, and at a great distance from Numidia." Kritzius.
[213] The language alone—Lingua modò.
[214] From the king's dominions—Ab imperio regis. "Understand Masinissa's, Micipsa's, or Jugurtha's." Burnouf.
[215] LXXIX. Philaeni—The account of these Carthaginian brothers with a Greek name, philainoi, praise-loving, is probably a fable. Cortius thinks that the inhabitants, observing two mounds rising above the surrounding level, fancied they must have been raised, not by nature, but by human labor, and invented a story to account for their existence. "The altars," according to Mr. Rennell (Geog. of Herod., p. 640), "were situated about seven ninths of the way from Carthage to Cyrene; and the deception," he adds, "would have been too gross, had it been pretended that the Carthaginian party had traveled seven parts in nine, while the Cyrenians had traveled no more than two such parts of the way." Pliny (II. N. v. 4) says that the altars were of sand; Strabo (lib. iii.) says that in his time they had vanished. Pomponius Mela and Valerius Maximus repeat the story, but without adding any thing to render it more probable.
[216] Devoid of vegetation—Nuda gignentium. So c. 93, cunota gignentium natura. Kritzius justly observes that gignentia is not to be taken in the sense of genita, as Cortius and others interpret, but in its own active sense; the ground was bare of all that was productive, or of whatever generates any thing. This interpretation is suggested by Perizonius ad Sanctu Minerv. i. 15.