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δευτέρων, ‘of the things next in importance,’ as opposed to θωμαστότατον.

The floating island is mentioned in fr. 284 of Hecataeus (F. H. G. i. 20) ἐστὶ μεταρσίη καὶ περιπλέει καὶ κινέεται ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος (cf. Introd. § 20). Hecataeus' form of the name, Χέμβις, is nearer to the Egyptian ‘Chebt’ than the form here, Χέμμις. It is hard to detect in this passage ‘the mocking tone’ towards his predecessor which Diels (Herm. xxii. 420) imputes to H. The idea of floating islands was familiar to the Greeks, e.g. Delos; a modern instance on a tiny scale is the island in Derwentwater; but it need hardly be said that the ‘astonishment’ of H. is justified.

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