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[THE BOOK OF THE COURSES OF THE HEAVENLY LUMINARIES. The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.]
[1] And the first quarter is called the east, because it is the first: and the second, the south, because the Most High will descend there, yea, there in quite a special sense will He who is blessed for ever descend,
[2] And the west quarter is named the diminished, because there all the luminaries of the heaven wane and go down,
[3] And the fourth quarter, named the north, is divided into three parts: the first of them is for the dwelling of men: and the second contains seas of water, and the abysses and forests and rivers, and darkness and clouds; and the third part contains the garden of righteousness.
[4] I saw seven high mountains, higher than all the mountains which are on the earth: and thence comes forth hoar-frost, and days, seasons, and years pass away,
[5] I saw seven rivers on the earth larger than all the rivers: one of them coming from the west pours its waters into the Great Sea,
[6] And these two come from the north to the sea and pour their waters into the Erythraean Sea in the east,
[7] And the remaining four come forth on the side of the north to their own sea, <two of them> to the Erythraean Sea, and two into the Great Sea and discharge themselves there [and some say: into the desert],
[8] Seven great islands I saw in the sea and in the mainland: two in the mainland and five in the Great Sea.
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