Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              <s>
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              muſt be the beſt, being leſs likely to be ſpoil'd
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              by any foreign Mixture. </s>
              <s>But it is not every
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              Water which runs among Stones that is to be
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              approved of, becauſe if it runs in a deep Bed
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              under a dark Shade, it will be too crude; and
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              on the contrary, if its Channel be too open, I
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              ſhould be inclined to ſubſeribe to
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              Ariſtole's
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              Opinion, that the too great Heat of the Sun
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              conſuming the more ſubtle Parts, would make
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              it viſcous. </s>
              <s>Authors prefer the
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              Nile
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              to all other
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              Rivers, becauſe it deſcends with a very exten­
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              ſive Courſe; becauſe it cuts through the fineſt
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              Sorts of Soil which are not either infected with
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              Corruption by Damps, nor tainted with Con­
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              tagion by being burnt up; becauſe it flows
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              towards the North: And laſtly, becauſe its
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              Channel is always full and clear. </s>
              <s>And indeed
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              it cannot be denied, that Waters which have
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              the longeſt and the gentleſt Current, are the
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              leaſt crude, and are moſt refined and purged
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              by their eaſy Motion, leaving all the Weight
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              of their Sediment behind them in their long
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              Courſe. </s>
              <s>Moreover, all the Ancients agree in
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              this, that Waters not only receive a Tincture,
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              as we obſerved before, from the Ground in
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              which they lie as in their Mother's Lap, but
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              alſo borrow ſomewhat from the Soils thro'
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              which they flow, and from the Juices of the
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              different Plants which they waſh; not merely
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              becauſe they lick thoſe Plants in their Courſe,
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              but rather becauſe any peſtiferous Plant will
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              taint them with the Mixture of the Steams of
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              the unwholſome Soil in which they grow. </s>
              <s>This
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              is the Reaſon that unwholſome Plants are ſaid
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              to yield unwholeſome Water. </s>
              <s>You ſhall ſome­
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              times obſerve the Rain itſelf to have an ill
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              Smell, and perhaps a bitter Taſte. </s>
              <s>This we
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              are told proceeds from the Infection of the
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              Place from whence the Steam or Vapour firſt
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              aroſe. </s>
              <s>Thus it is affirmed, that the Juices of
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              the Earth, when ſufficiently maturated and
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              concocted by Nature, produce every Thing
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              ſweet, and on the contrary, when they are
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              crude and undigeſted, they make every Thing
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              bitter with which they mix. </s>
              <s>Thoſe Waters
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              which run towards the North may perhaps be
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              ſuppoſed to be the moſt uſeful, becauſe they
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              are the coldeſt, as flying from the Rays of the
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              Sun, and being rather viſited than ſcorched
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              by him; and thoſe which flow towards the
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              South the contrary, as throwing themſelves
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              into the very Mouth of the Flame.
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              Ariſtotle
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              taught, that the fiery Spirit which was mixed
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              up by Nature in all Bodies, was repelled by
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              the Coldneſs of the North Wind, and confined
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              within, from evaporating, and that this gave
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              the Water its due Concoction: And it is cer­
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              tain, that this Spirit is exhauſted and diſſipated
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              by the Heat of the Sun.
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              Servius,
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              upon the
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              Authority of experienced Perſons, ſays, that
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              Wells and Springs which lie under a Roof, do
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              not emit any Vapour: That light ſubtle Breath
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              riſing from the Well, not being able to penetrate
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              or make its Way through the denſe and groſs
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              Air which the Roof compreſſes together over it;
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              whereas, when it lies under the clear and open
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              Sky, it has free Play, and extends and purges
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              itſelf without Obſtruction: For which Reaſon,
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              Wells under the open Air are accounted more
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              wholeſome than thoſe under Cover. </s>
              <s>In other
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              reſpects, all the ſame Properties are to be wiſhed
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              for in a Well that are required in a Spring;
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              for both ſeem to have a very near Relation to
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              each other, and hardly differ in any Thing but
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              in Point of Current; though you ſhall very
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              frequently meet even with Wells which run
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              with a very large Vein of Water; and we are
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              told, that no Water can poſſibly be perpetual
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              which is abſolutely without Motion; and
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              Water without Motion, let it lie in what Soil
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              it will, cannot be wholeſome. </s>
              <s>If a great deal of
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              Water is continually and conſtantly drawn out
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              of a Well, that Well may be looked upon ra­
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              ther as a deep Spring; and on the other hand,
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              if a Spring does not run over its Sides, but
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              ſtands quiet and ſtill, it may be accounted a
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              ſhallow Well rather than a Spring. </s>
              <s>Some are
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              of Opinion, that no Water can be perpetual,
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              or of very long Duration, which does does not
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              move with the riſing and falling of the next
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              River of Torrent; and I believe the ſame.
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              </s>
              <s>The ancient Lawyers made this Diſtinction
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              between a Lake and a Marſh, that the Lake
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              has a perpetual Water, whereas that of the
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              Marſh is only temporary, and what it gathers
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              in the Winter. </s>
              <s>Lakes are of three Sorts. </s>
              <s>One,
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              if we may ſo call it, ſtationary, content with
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              its own Waters, always keeping within its Bed,
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              and never overflowing. </s>
              <s>The ſecond, which is
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              as it were the Father of the River, diſcharges its
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              Waters at ſome Paſſage; and the laſt receives
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              ſome Stream from abroad, and ſends it out
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              again into ſome River. </s>
              <s>The firſt partakes
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              ſomewhat of the Nature of a Marſh: the ſecond
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              is a direct Spring: and the third, if I miſtake
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              not, is only a River ſpreading out into Breadth
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              in that particular Place. </s>
              <s>We need not there­
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              fore upon this Occaſion repeat what we have
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              already ſaid of the Spring and the River. </s>
              <s>We
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              may only add, that all Water that is covered </s>
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