1ſome ſharp, ſome bitter, ſome perfectly clear,
others muddy, viſcous, oily, tinctured with
Pitch, or of a petriſying Quality; ſome run
ning partly clear, and partly foul, and ſome
times in the ſame Place part ſweet, and part
ſalt or bitter: There are alſo ſeveral other Par
ticulars, well worth Note, which make Wa
ters very different from one another, as well in
Nature as in Effect, and of no ſmall Conſe
quence to the Preſervation or Prejudice of the
Health. And here let us be allowed juſt to
mention ſome miraculous Properties of Water,
by Way of Amuſement. The River Arſione
in Armenia, rots the Cloaths which are waſh
ed in it. The Water of Diana's Fountain,
near Camerinum, will mix with nothing Male.
At Debri, a Town of the Garamanthes, is a
Spring which is cold in the Day, and warm in
the Night. The Helbeſus, a River in the Coun
try of the Segeſtani in Sicily, in the Middle of
its Courſe grows of a ſudden hot. There is a
ſacred Well in Epirus, which extinguiſhes any
Thing which is put into it burning, and lights
that which is extinguiſhed. In Eleuſina near
Athens, is a Spring which leaps and rejoices at
the Sound of a Flute. Foreign Animals that
drink at the River Indus, change their Colour:
And upon the Shore of the Red Sea there is a
Spring, at which if Sheep drink, their Wool
preſently turns Black. At Laodicea in Aſia,
there are Springs, near which all the fourfoot
ed Animals that are conceived are of a yellow
Hue. In the Country of Gadara, is a Water,
of which if the Cattle drink, they loſe their
Hair and Nails. Near the Hyrcanian Sea, is a
Lake, wherein all that bathe grow ſcabby, and
can be cured with nothing but Oil. At Suſa,
is a Water which makes the Teeth fall out of
the Head. Near the Lake Zelonium, is a Spring
which makes Women barren, and another
which makes them fruitful. In the Iſland of
Chies, there is one which makes thoſe that
drink of it fooliſh: And in ſome other Place,
which I do not now recollect, is one which
not only upon drinking, but upon the bare
Taſting makes the Perſon die laughing, and
there is another wherein only Batheing is im
mediate Death. And near Nonacris in Arca
dia, is a Water perfectly clear to the View, but
of ſo poiſonous a Quality, that it cannot be
contained in any Metal whatſoever. On the
contrary, there are others which are admirable
for reſtoring the Health, ſuch as the Waters of
Pozzuolo, Siena, Volterra, Bologna, and many
others of great Fame all over Italy. But it is
yet more extraordinary which we are told of
a Water in Corſica, namely, that it will recon
ſolidate broken Bones, and prevent the Effect
of the moſt dangerous Poiſons. In other Places
there are Waters which mend the Wit and even
inſpire Divination. In Corſica, alſo there is
another Spring very good for the Eyes, which
if a Thief dares to deny a Theft with an Oath,
and to waſh his Eyes with its Water, imme
diately makes him blind. Of theſe we have
ſaid enough. Laſtly, in ſome Places no Wa
ter at all is to be found, neither good nor bad.
To remedy this, it was the Cuſtom all over the
Country of Apulia to receive and preſerve the
Rain-water in Ciſterns.
others muddy, viſcous, oily, tinctured with
Pitch, or of a petriſying Quality; ſome run
ning partly clear, and partly foul, and ſome
times in the ſame Place part ſweet, and part
ſalt or bitter: There are alſo ſeveral other Par
ticulars, well worth Note, which make Wa
ters very different from one another, as well in
Nature as in Effect, and of no ſmall Conſe
quence to the Preſervation or Prejudice of the
Health. And here let us be allowed juſt to
mention ſome miraculous Properties of Water,
by Way of Amuſement. The River Arſione
in Armenia, rots the Cloaths which are waſh
ed in it. The Water of Diana's Fountain,
near Camerinum, will mix with nothing Male.
At Debri, a Town of the Garamanthes, is a
Spring which is cold in the Day, and warm in
the Night. The Helbeſus, a River in the Coun
try of the Segeſtani in Sicily, in the Middle of
its Courſe grows of a ſudden hot. There is a
ſacred Well in Epirus, which extinguiſhes any
Thing which is put into it burning, and lights
that which is extinguiſhed. In Eleuſina near
Athens, is a Spring which leaps and rejoices at
the Sound of a Flute. Foreign Animals that
drink at the River Indus, change their Colour:
And upon the Shore of the Red Sea there is a
Spring, at which if Sheep drink, their Wool
preſently turns Black. At Laodicea in Aſia,
there are Springs, near which all the fourfoot
ed Animals that are conceived are of a yellow
Hue. In the Country of Gadara, is a Water,
of which if the Cattle drink, they loſe their
Hair and Nails. Near the Hyrcanian Sea, is a
Lake, wherein all that bathe grow ſcabby, and
can be cured with nothing but Oil. At Suſa,
is a Water which makes the Teeth fall out of
the Head. Near the Lake Zelonium, is a Spring
which makes Women barren, and another
which makes them fruitful. In the Iſland of
Chies, there is one which makes thoſe that
drink of it fooliſh: And in ſome other Place,
which I do not now recollect, is one which
not only upon drinking, but upon the bare
Taſting makes the Perſon die laughing, and
there is another wherein only Batheing is im
mediate Death. And near Nonacris in Arca
dia, is a Water perfectly clear to the View, but
of ſo poiſonous a Quality, that it cannot be
contained in any Metal whatſoever. On the
contrary, there are others which are admirable
for reſtoring the Health, ſuch as the Waters of
Pozzuolo, Siena, Volterra, Bologna, and many
others of great Fame all over Italy. But it is
yet more extraordinary which we are told of
a Water in Corſica, namely, that it will recon
ſolidate broken Bones, and prevent the Effect
of the moſt dangerous Poiſons. In other Places
there are Waters which mend the Wit and even
inſpire Divination. In Corſica, alſo there is
another Spring very good for the Eyes, which
if a Thief dares to deny a Theft with an Oath,
and to waſh his Eyes with its Water, imme
diately makes him blind. Of theſe we have
ſaid enough. Laſtly, in ſome Places no Wa
ter at all is to be found, neither good nor bad.
To remedy this, it was the Cuſtom all over the
Country of Apulia to receive and preſerve the
Rain-water in Ciſterns.
CHAP. III.
Four Things to be conſidered with Relation to Water; alſo whence it is engender
ed or ariſes, and its Courſe.
ed or ariſes, and its Courſe.
There are four Things therefore which
are to our Purpoſe with Relation to
Water; namely, the finding, the conveying,
the chuſing, and the preſerving. Of theſe we
are to treat: But we may firſt premiſe ſome
few Things concerning the Nature of Water in
general. I am of Opinion that Water cannot
be contained in any Thing but a Veſſel, and
therefore I agree with thoſe, who upon that
Account, affirm the Sea itſelf to be nothing
but a Veſſel of vaſt Capacity, and Rivers to be
great oblong Veſſels too. But there is this
Difference between the Waters of the Sea and
thoſe of Rivers, that theſe latter have a Cur
rent and Motion by their own Nature, whereas
the former would eaſily ſubſide and be at Reſt,
if they were not put in Agitation by the Force of
the Winds. I ſhall not here diſcuſs thoſe philo
ſophical Queſtions, whether all Waters make
their Way to the Sea, as to a Place of Reſt, and
whether the regular Flux and Reflux of the
Ocean be owing to the Impulſe of the Moon:
Thoſe Points not being to our Purpoſe: but
we muſt not omit to take Notice of what we
are to our Purpoſe with Relation to
Water; namely, the finding, the conveying,
the chuſing, and the preſerving. Of theſe we
are to treat: But we may firſt premiſe ſome
few Things concerning the Nature of Water in
general. I am of Opinion that Water cannot
be contained in any Thing but a Veſſel, and
therefore I agree with thoſe, who upon that
Account, affirm the Sea itſelf to be nothing
but a Veſſel of vaſt Capacity, and Rivers to be
great oblong Veſſels too. But there is this
Difference between the Waters of the Sea and
thoſe of Rivers, that theſe latter have a Cur
rent and Motion by their own Nature, whereas
the former would eaſily ſubſide and be at Reſt,
if they were not put in Agitation by the Force of
the Winds. I ſhall not here diſcuſs thoſe philo
ſophical Queſtions, whether all Waters make
their Way to the Sea, as to a Place of Reſt, and
whether the regular Flux and Reflux of the
Ocean be owing to the Impulſe of the Moon:
Thoſe Points not being to our Purpoſe: but
we muſt not omit to take Notice of what we