"To th’ east a lovely country wide extends, , whose borders the wide ocean bounds; On this the sun, new rising from the main, Smiles pleas’d, and sheds his early orient beam. Th’ inhabitants are swart, and in their locks Betray the tints of the dark hyacinth. Various their functions; some the rock explore, And from the mine extract the latent gold; Some labour at the woof with cunning skill, And manufacture linen; others shape And polish iv’ry with the nicest care: Many retire to rivers shoal, and plunge To seek the beryl flaming in its bed, Or glittering diamond. Oft the jasper’s found Green, but diaphanous; the topaz too Of ray serene and pleading; last of all The lovely amethyst, in which combine All the mild shades of purple. The rich soil, Wash’d by a thousand rivers, from all sides Pours on the natives wealth without control."
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Orbis Descriptio, ch. 28, excerpts translated by Jacob Bryant, A New System, or, An Analysis of Ancient Mythology, vol. 3 (London, 1776) p. 227
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dionysius_Periegetes
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Dionysius Periegetes
Dionysius Periegetes (Ancient Greek: Διονύσιος ὁ Περιηγητής; Latin: Dionysius Periegeta, 'Dionysius the Voyager') was the author of a description of the then-known world in Greek hexameter verse. He is believed to have been from Alexandria and to have lived around the time of Hadrian (r. 117–138), though some date his lifetime as late as the end of the 3rd century.
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