1muſt be the beſt, being leſs likely to be ſpoil'd
by any foreign Mixture. But it is not every
Water which runs among Stones that is to be
approved of, becauſe if it runs in a deep Bed
under a dark Shade, it will be too crude; and
on the contrary, if its Channel be too open, I
ſhould be inclined to ſubſeribe to Ariſtole's
Opinion, that the too great Heat of the Sun
conſuming the more ſubtle Parts, would make
it viſcous. Authors prefer the Nile to all other
Rivers, becauſe it deſcends with a very exten
ſive Courſe; becauſe it cuts through the fineſt
Sorts of Soil which are not either infected with
Corruption by Damps, nor tainted with Con
tagion by being burnt up; becauſe it flows
towards the North: And laſtly, becauſe its
Channel is always full and clear. And indeed
it cannot be denied, that Waters which have
the longeſt and the gentleſt Current, are the
leaſt crude, and are moſt refined and purged
by their eaſy Motion, leaving all the Weight
of their Sediment behind them in their long
Courſe. Moreover, all the Ancients agree in
this, that Waters not only receive a Tincture,
as we obſerved before, from the Ground in
which they lie as in their Mother's Lap, but
alſo borrow ſomewhat from the Soils thro'
which they flow, and from the Juices of the
different Plants which they waſh; not merely
becauſe they lick thoſe Plants in their Courſe,
but rather becauſe any peſtiferous Plant will
taint them with the Mixture of the Steams of
the unwholſome Soil in which they grow. This
is the Reaſon that unwholſome Plants are ſaid
to yield unwholeſome Water. You ſhall ſome
times obſerve the Rain itſelf to have an ill
Smell, and perhaps a bitter Taſte. This we
are told proceeds from the Infection of the
Place from whence the Steam or Vapour firſt
aroſe. Thus it is affirmed, that the Juices of
the Earth, when ſufficiently maturated and
concocted by Nature, produce every Thing
ſweet, and on the contrary, when they are
crude and undigeſted, they make every Thing
bitter with which they mix. Thoſe Waters
which run towards the North may perhaps be
ſuppoſed to be the moſt uſeful, becauſe they
are the coldeſt, as flying from the Rays of the
Sun, and being rather viſited than ſcorched
by him; and thoſe which flow towards the
South the contrary, as throwing themſelves
into the very Mouth of the Flame. Ariſtotle
taught, that the fiery Spirit which was mixed
up by Nature in all Bodies, was repelled by
the Coldneſs of the North Wind, and confined
within, from evaporating, and that this gave
the Water its due Concoction: And it is cer
tain, that this Spirit is exhauſted and diſſipated
by the Heat of the Sun. Servius, upon the
Authority of experienced Perſons, ſays, that
Wells and Springs which lie under a Roof, do
not emit any Vapour: That light ſubtle Breath
riſing from the Well, not being able to penetrate
or make its Way through the denſe and groſs
Air which the Roof compreſſes together over it;
whereas, when it lies under the clear and open
Sky, it has free Play, and extends and purges
itſelf without Obſtruction: For which Reaſon,
Wells under the open Air are accounted more
wholeſome than thoſe under Cover. In other
reſpects, all the ſame Properties are to be wiſhed
for in a Well that are required in a Spring;
for both ſeem to have a very near Relation to
each other, and hardly differ in any Thing but
in Point of Current; though you ſhall very
frequently meet even with Wells which run
with a very large Vein of Water; and we are
told, that no Water can poſſibly be perpetual
which is abſolutely without Motion; and
Water without Motion, let it lie in what Soil
it will, cannot be wholeſome. If a great deal of
Water is continually and conſtantly drawn out
of a Well, that Well may be looked upon ra
ther as a deep Spring; and on the other hand,
if a Spring does not run over its Sides, but
ſtands quiet and ſtill, it may be accounted a
ſhallow Well rather than a Spring. Some are
of Opinion, that no Water can be perpetual,
or of very long Duration, which does does not
move with the riſing and falling of the next
River of Torrent; and I believe the ſame.
The ancient Lawyers made this Diſtinction
between a Lake and a Marſh, that the Lake
has a perpetual Water, whereas that of the
Marſh is only temporary, and what it gathers
in the Winter. Lakes are of three Sorts. One,
if we may ſo call it, ſtationary, content with
its own Waters, always keeping within its Bed,
and never overflowing. The ſecond, which is
as it were the Father of the River, diſcharges its
Waters at ſome Paſſage; and the laſt receives
ſome Stream from abroad, and ſends it out
again into ſome River. The firſt partakes
ſomewhat of the Nature of a Marſh: the ſecond
is a direct Spring: and the third, if I miſtake
not, is only a River ſpreading out into Breadth
in that particular Place. We need not there
fore upon this Occaſion repeat what we have
already ſaid of the Spring and the River. We
may only add, that all Water that is covered
by any foreign Mixture. But it is not every
Water which runs among Stones that is to be
approved of, becauſe if it runs in a deep Bed
under a dark Shade, it will be too crude; and
on the contrary, if its Channel be too open, I
ſhould be inclined to ſubſeribe to Ariſtole's
Opinion, that the too great Heat of the Sun
conſuming the more ſubtle Parts, would make
it viſcous. Authors prefer the Nile to all other
Rivers, becauſe it deſcends with a very exten
ſive Courſe; becauſe it cuts through the fineſt
Sorts of Soil which are not either infected with
Corruption by Damps, nor tainted with Con
tagion by being burnt up; becauſe it flows
towards the North: And laſtly, becauſe its
Channel is always full and clear. And indeed
it cannot be denied, that Waters which have
the longeſt and the gentleſt Current, are the
leaſt crude, and are moſt refined and purged
by their eaſy Motion, leaving all the Weight
of their Sediment behind them in their long
Courſe. Moreover, all the Ancients agree in
this, that Waters not only receive a Tincture,
as we obſerved before, from the Ground in
which they lie as in their Mother's Lap, but
alſo borrow ſomewhat from the Soils thro'
which they flow, and from the Juices of the
different Plants which they waſh; not merely
becauſe they lick thoſe Plants in their Courſe,
but rather becauſe any peſtiferous Plant will
taint them with the Mixture of the Steams of
the unwholſome Soil in which they grow. This
is the Reaſon that unwholſome Plants are ſaid
to yield unwholeſome Water. You ſhall ſome
times obſerve the Rain itſelf to have an ill
Smell, and perhaps a bitter Taſte. This we
are told proceeds from the Infection of the
Place from whence the Steam or Vapour firſt
aroſe. Thus it is affirmed, that the Juices of
the Earth, when ſufficiently maturated and
concocted by Nature, produce every Thing
ſweet, and on the contrary, when they are
crude and undigeſted, they make every Thing
bitter with which they mix. Thoſe Waters
which run towards the North may perhaps be
ſuppoſed to be the moſt uſeful, becauſe they
are the coldeſt, as flying from the Rays of the
Sun, and being rather viſited than ſcorched
by him; and thoſe which flow towards the
South the contrary, as throwing themſelves
into the very Mouth of the Flame. Ariſtotle
taught, that the fiery Spirit which was mixed
up by Nature in all Bodies, was repelled by
the Coldneſs of the North Wind, and confined
within, from evaporating, and that this gave
the Water its due Concoction: And it is cer
tain, that this Spirit is exhauſted and diſſipated
by the Heat of the Sun. Servius, upon the
Authority of experienced Perſons, ſays, that
Wells and Springs which lie under a Roof, do
not emit any Vapour: That light ſubtle Breath
riſing from the Well, not being able to penetrate
or make its Way through the denſe and groſs
Air which the Roof compreſſes together over it;
whereas, when it lies under the clear and open
Sky, it has free Play, and extends and purges
itſelf without Obſtruction: For which Reaſon,
Wells under the open Air are accounted more
wholeſome than thoſe under Cover. In other
reſpects, all the ſame Properties are to be wiſhed
for in a Well that are required in a Spring;
for both ſeem to have a very near Relation to
each other, and hardly differ in any Thing but
in Point of Current; though you ſhall very
frequently meet even with Wells which run
with a very large Vein of Water; and we are
told, that no Water can poſſibly be perpetual
which is abſolutely without Motion; and
Water without Motion, let it lie in what Soil
it will, cannot be wholeſome. If a great deal of
Water is continually and conſtantly drawn out
of a Well, that Well may be looked upon ra
ther as a deep Spring; and on the other hand,
if a Spring does not run over its Sides, but
ſtands quiet and ſtill, it may be accounted a
ſhallow Well rather than a Spring. Some are
of Opinion, that no Water can be perpetual,
or of very long Duration, which does does not
move with the riſing and falling of the next
River of Torrent; and I believe the ſame.
The ancient Lawyers made this Diſtinction
between a Lake and a Marſh, that the Lake
has a perpetual Water, whereas that of the
Marſh is only temporary, and what it gathers
in the Winter. Lakes are of three Sorts. One,
if we may ſo call it, ſtationary, content with
its own Waters, always keeping within its Bed,
and never overflowing. The ſecond, which is
as it were the Father of the River, diſcharges its
Waters at ſome Paſſage; and the laſt receives
ſome Stream from abroad, and ſends it out
again into ſome River. The firſt partakes
ſomewhat of the Nature of a Marſh: the ſecond
is a direct Spring: and the third, if I miſtake
not, is only a River ſpreading out into Breadth
in that particular Place. We need not there
fore upon this Occaſion repeat what we have
already ſaid of the Spring and the River. We
may only add, that all Water that is covered