about Egypt is not sound: but if the judgment of the Ionians is right, I
declare that neither the Hellenes nor the Ionians themselves know how
to reckon since they say that the whole earth is made up of three
divisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya: for they ought to count in addition
to these the Delta of Egypt, since it belongs neither to Asia nor to
Libya; for at least it cannot be the river Nile by this reckoning which
divides Asia from Libya, but the Nile is cleft at the point of this
Delta so as to flow round it, and the result is that this land would
come between Asia and Libya.

We dismiss then our opinion of the Ionians, and express a judgment
of our own on this matter also, that Egypt is all that land which is
inhabited by Egyptians, just as Kilikia is that which is inhabited by
Kilikians and Assyria that which is inhabited by Assyrians, and we
know of no boundary properly speaking between Asia and Libya except
the borders of Egypt. If however we shall adopt the opinion which is
commonly held by the Hellenes, we shall suppose that the whole of Egypt,
beginning from the Cataract and the city of Elephantine, is divided into
two parts and that it thus partakes of both the names, since one side
will thus belong to Libya and the other to Asia; for the Nile from the
Cataract onwards flows to the sea cutting Egypt through in the midst;
and as far as the city of Kercasoros the Nile flows in one single
stream, but from this city onwards it is parted into three ways; and
one, which is called the Pelusian mouth, turns towards the East; the
second of the ways goes towards the West, and this is called the Canobic
mouth; but that one of the ways which is straight runs thus,--when the
river in its course downwards comes to the point of the Delta, then it
cuts the Delta through the midst and so issues out to the sea. In this
we have a portion of the water of the river which is not the smallest
nor the least famous, and it is called the Sebennytic mouth. There are