卷一·第十章　论四季与四角之效

Of the four seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, spring exceeds in moisture on account of its diffusion after the cold has passed and warmth is setting in; the summer, in heat, because of the nearness of the sun to the zenith; autumn more in dryness, because of the sucking up of the moisture during the hot season just past; and winter exceeds in cold, because the sun is farthest away from the zenith.

一年四季，春、夏、秋、冬之中，春季湿偏盛，这是由于寒冷过去、温暖到来之后的消融弥散；夏季热偏盛，因为太阳接近天顶；秋季较偏于燥，因为刚过去的炎热季节把湿气吸干了；冬季冷偏盛，因为太阳离天顶最远。

For this reason, although there is no natural beginning of the zodiac, since it is a circle, they assume that the sign which begins with the vernal equinox, that of Aries, is the starting-point of them all, making the excessive moisture of the spring the first part of the zodiac as though it were a living creature, and taking next in order the remaining seasons, because in all creatures the earliest ages, like the spring, have a larger share of moisture and are tender and still delicate.

因此，黄道既然是一个圆，本无天然的起点，他们便假定从春分开始的那个星座，即白羊，为所有星座的起点，把春天过盛的湿当作黄道的第一部分，仿佛黄道是一个活物，再依次接上其余各季；因为一切生物最早的年岁，就像春天一样，分有较多的湿，柔嫩而尚且娇弱。

The second age, up to the prime of life, exceeds in heat, like summer; the third, which is now past the prime and on the verge of decline, has an excess of dryness, like autumn; and the last, which approaches dissolution, exceeds in its coldness, like winter.

第二个年龄段，直到盛年，热偏盛，如同夏季；第三个，已过盛年、将要衰退，燥过多，如同秋季；最后一个，走向消解，冷偏盛，如同冬季。

Similarly, too, of the four regions and angles of the horizon, from which originate the winds from the cardinal points, the eastern one likewise excels in dryness because, when the sun is in that region, whatever has been moistened by the night then first begins to be dried; and the winds which blow from it, which we call in general Apeliotes, are without moisture and drying in effect.

同样，地平的四个方位与四角——四方之风就从那里吹起——之中，东方同样以燥见长，因为太阳到了那一方时，凡被夜晚润湿的东西才开始变干；从那里吹来的风，我们统称为阿佩利奥忒斯，不带湿气，作用是使物干燥。

The region to the south is hottest because of the fiery heat of the sun's passages through mid-heaven and because these passages, on account of the inclination of our inhabited world, diverge more to the south; and the winds which blow thence and are called by the general name Notus are hot and rarefying.

南方最热，因为太阳经过中天时火一般炽热，又因为我们所居的世界有所倾斜，这些经过更偏向南方；从那里吹来、统称为诺托斯的风，热而使物稀散。

The region to the west is itself moist, because when the sun is therein the things dried out during the day then first begin to become moistened; likewise the winds which blow from this part, which we call by the general name Zephyrus, are fresh and moist.

西方本身湿润，因为太阳到了那里时，白天被晒干的东西才开始变湿；同样，从这一方吹来、我们统称为泽费罗斯的风，清新而湿润。

The region to the north is the coldest, because through our inhabited world's inclination it is too far removed from the causes of heat arising from the sun's culmination, as it is also when the sun is at its lower culmination; and the winds which blow thence, which are called by the general name Boreas, are cold and condensing in effect.

北方最冷，因为由于我们所居世界的倾斜，它离太阳上中天所产生的热源太远，太阳在下中天时也是如此；从那里吹来、统称为玻瑞阿斯的风，寒冷，作用是使物凝聚。

The knowledge of these facts is useful to enable one to form a complete judgement of temperatures in individual instances. For it is easily recognizable that, together with such conditions as these, of seasons, ages, or angles, there is a corresponding variation in the potency of the stars' faculties, and that in the conditions akin to them their quality is purer and their effectiveness stronger, those that are heating by nature, for instance, in heat, and those that are moistening in the moist, while under opposite conditions their power is adulterated and weaker. Thus the heating stars in the cold periods and the moistening stars in the dry periods are weaker, and similarly in the other cases, according to the quality produced by the mixture.

知道这些事实，有助于对各个具体情形中的气质作出完整的判断。因为很容易看出，诸星各种能力的效力，会随着季节、年龄或四角这类条件而相应变化：在与它们相近的条件下，它们的性质更纯、作用更强，例如本性生热的星在热中、致湿的星在湿中；而在相反的条件下，它们的力就被掺杂而减弱。所以，生热之星在寒冷时节、致湿之星在干燥时节较弱，其余情形也一样，视混合后所产生的性质而定。