the Bishop of Vtrecht was building the Church as they digg'd to lay the Foundation of this Pillar they came to a Quick-Sand that swallowed up every thing that was put upon it so that the raising of it was look'd upon as unpracticable till the Bishop proposing a great reward to any that could bring the Foundation to bear a Friezlander found out the way and being overjoyed at the discovery he told it to his Wife which his Son hearing told it to his Play-fellows in the Street by this means it came to the Bishop's Ears so that when the Ingineer came to demand his Reward he refus'd to pay him saying he knew it already which so incens'd the cruel Friezelander that he kill'd his Child and Wife for divulging his Secret and the Bishop for defrauding him of his Reward in memory of this there is a Picture of an Ox upon the Pillar with this Inscription Accipe posteritas quod per tua saeculaa nerres Taurinis cutibus fundo solidata columna est Upon a Pillar at the end of the Church are twenty or thirty Hexameter Verses giving an account of the whole Story The Theorist needs not object that the heat of the Sun which is suppos'd to bake the Earth into a hard crust might burn the Hides for the Water in the Abyss will secure him from this fear a confirmation of which may be seen in Buchanan's History where he gives an account of a way practis'd in these times for boiling of Meat in raw Hides by which they became hard like Iron and were not burnt But if we admit that the after-birth of the Earthy Particles did in the order suppos'd by the Theorist fall upon the Oil and there were by the heat of the Sun bak'd into a hard crust how will this agree with the Scripture Gen. 1. 9 Let the Dry Land appear and it was so ver 10. And God called the Dry Land Earth c. How was the Earth hardened by the heat of the Sun that was not yet made For the Earth was made on the third and the Sun on the fourth ver 16. God made two great Lights the greater 〈◊〉 Rule the Day and the lesser to Rule the Night But suppose the Sun could do this under the Line how came it to be so soon bak'd under the Poles where according to the Theory's supposition of the Poles of the Ecliptick and Aequator coinciding the Sun could never rise above the Horizon Seeing now tho' the Sun shines half a year to these places the Air is always very cold and the Earth covered with Snow But let us suppose the Earth to have been thus hardened by the heat of the Sun and Winds then it must be granted that it hardened sooner under the Line than towards the Poles and that before the crust was hard enough to support it self from falling into the Abyss it had acquired some considerable weight by reason of which pressing on the Surface of the Abyss it would according to the nature of all Fluids give way and rise towards the Poles where by reason of the greater rawness of the Crust the Water would meet with less resistance and so break the continuity of the Egg-shell for I do not see by any thing the Theorist advances how the Water which in the natural Ballance alters its place with the 1 200000 of its weight more on one side than on another should in this case hold firm except by the above mentioned supposition of the raw Hides Methinks I see the Oil'd Cake or Crust thus falling in at the sides and rising towards the Poles and so the whole Fabrick of the Egg-shell spoil'd and therefore Gentlemen I will by your leave take the liberty to entertain you with another Hypothesis while the Theorist is making a surer and better foundation than Water for his Primogenial Earth or Egg-shell but first crave leave to make an end of this search The Theorist does not tell in what proportion the Earth was mixt with the Oil for Nature does all her Work in proportion this the Apothecaries know in making their Plaisters where according to the Rule of Art there is of Oil and Wax each an ounce and of Powders half an ounce for a soft Plaister and for the hardest Plaister there is one ounce of Oil two ounces of Wax and Powders six drachms which being cold makes a Mass hard almost like a Stone but this seeing it melts again with the heat will not answer the end the good Women know a certain proportion of Butter and Flower which tho' I am ignorant of yet seeing it bakes into a very hard substance might do here were it not very brittle The Theorist may think this a ridiculous comparison yet this I may be bold to say and can make out if needful that a good Woman that makes Butter'd Cakes to sell them again does more service to the Publick than the Doctor has done by his Theory But he does very well to decline this as being a thing impracticable except he had been then on God Almighty's Council or dispens'd out the Ingredients for if he had been then present and but a bare Spectator he could have done no more than now i. e. to make a Conjecture good for nothing But farther the Oil must have been of some depth to incorporate so great a quantity of Earth now the Theory does not tell where so great a quantity of Earth did stop in the Oil whether near the surface in the middle or near the bottom if they settled to the confines of the Oil and Water the heat of the Sun even under the Torrid Zone could not reach so far as to bake it into a hard Crust except he be suppos'd to have been far more vigorous in his Actions in his own and the World's Infancy than he is how in his old declining Age for at Sea within the Tropicks we do not find now that the Sun-beams penetrate much below the surface of the Water this is known by the experience of the Seamen when under the Line they let down their Plumets for after they have been some time under Water 200 fathom deep they bring them up so cold that one cannot long hold his hand upon them which observation the Mariners have improved to the cooling of their Liquors better than we do here with Ice and Snow It will be most convenient therefore in my judgment to suppose this forming of the Crust on or near the surface of the Oil but by this means 't is very likely there would be a great quantity of Oil under that never incorporated with the Earth or was never bak'd so that when the Egg-shell broke the Sea would be covered with it like so much fat Broth which there being no more Earth to Rain out of the Air to incorporate with it must have continued so to this day except consum'd with the superfluous Waters after the Deluge Yet further the Egg-shell or Crust was made before the
are such Fountains observ'd so everlasting and subject to no Alteration Therefore we may lawfully judge the Cistern that furnishes VVater at the same rate to this Source to be perpetual never failing and not temporary CHAP. IV. Of the Ancient State and Form of the Countrey on this and the other side of the River Po. THerefore having discuss'd the Opinions which take most among our Countrymen of the Nature of this hidden Source it may be thought fit that I should now tell my own But before I do that I think it worth while to enquire and as far as Conjecture will allow to discover what was in those times the outward Face of this Countrey which we inhabit seeing by the digging of these VVells in the Land of Modena 't is known enough that the Situation of this Countrey which is called Gallia Cispadana and Transpadana was very low and deprest in old times in comparison of what 't is now Plato when he brings in Critias speaking writes that there are two things which bring great and sudden Changes in the Earth and totally abolish the Monuments of the most ancient Countreys The VVorld felt the first Calamity in the Universal Deluge the other being reserved against the Day of Judgment and the Destruction of wicked Mâ—n as Peter says when a New Heaven and a New Earth shall appear 'T is most certain that the Face of the whole Earth was most notably changed in that Universal Drowning and Overturning of all things But some think that such a Change follow'd that the state of the VVorld before the Flood was quite different from what 't was afterwards which yet I cannot assent to There is lately come from England a Book whose Title is The Sacred Theory of the Earth by Thomas Bâ—â—net This Learned Man endeavours to demonstrate that the Earth before the Deluge in its first Original had another Form than now it appears to have so that there were neither Seas nor Isles nor Mountains nor Valleys nor Rivers any where but the whole Body of the VVaters lodg'd in the Caverns of the Earth Now he feign'd such a Face of the Earth to the end that it may be perceiv'd without the Creation of new VVaters from what Store-house a quantity of VVater may be drawn sufficient to cover the Face of the Earth tho' it had Mountains which we must imagine to have been higher by far than the present ones So that according to his Reasoning neither Rains how great soever nor Theoâ—â— Rabbah of Moses viz. Abyss of VVaters hid in the Caverns of the Earth could be sufficient for that Universal Deluge But he thinks that the Mountains Valleys Seas Isles and Rocks might have appeared in that great cleaving of the whole Body of the Earth pieces of it being broke off here and there and swallow'd up in the great Gulph while those which stood in their former state made a shew of Isles Mountains and Rocks but these which were wholly covered by the VVaters had the Name of Sea and Lakes and so the Earth appeared after the Deluge all broken torn and of a quite different Aspect This Fancy however it may be taken for new yet certainly is not the Fiction of our Times but more ancient by far Franciscus Patritius a Man famous enough for Learning in a certain Book of his Of the Rhetorick of the Ancients written in Italian and Printed at Venice by Franciscus Senensis Anno 1562. The first Dialogue has a pleasant Story which he says Iulius Strozza had from Count Balthazzar Castillon and he had from a certain Abyssine Philosopher in Spain This wise Abyssinian did say That in the most ancient Annals of Aethiopia there is a History of the Destruction of Mankind and the breaking of the Earth That in the beginning of the World the Earth was far bigger than now 't is and nearer to Heaven perfectly round without Mountains and Valleys yet all Cavernous within like a Spunge and that Men dwelling in it and enjoying a most pure Aether did lead a pleasant Life and that the Earth brought forth excellent Corn and Fruits without Labour But when after a long Flux of Ages Men were puft up with Pride and so fell from their first Goodness the Gods in Anger did shake the Earth so that a great part of it fell within its own Caverns and by this means the Water that before was shut up in dark Holes was violently squeez'd out and so Fountains Lakes Rivers and the Sea it self took its Original But that Portion of the Earth which did not fall into these Caverns but stood higher than the rest made the Mountains That the Isles and Rocks in the midst of the Sea are nothing but Segments of the Earth remaining after the sudden fall of its Mass. I am willing for the satisfaction of the Curious to give the Author 's own words as more tending to our purpose In the first Ages said the Reverend Old Man after the last Renovation of the VVorld the Earth we dwell on was not of that Form nor so little as 't is at present but far greater and of a perfect roundness because then it did take up as much place as it now takes up with the whole VVater and Air together So that between it and Heaven there was not any thing interpos'd but a most pure Fire which is called Aether being of a most pure and vital Heat The Earth then was of so large an Extent and so near to Heaven But within and in the Surface 't was very Cavernous within which were scattered the Elements of Air and VVater and towards the Center was scattered a Fire to warm the places remotest from Heaven and therefore obscure and cold Because the other Caverns nearer the Surface of the Earth were illuminated from Heaven by the Openings above and by its VVarmth filled with Life and all these Caverns were inhabited by Men and other Animals for the use of which the VVater and Air were scattered over the Caverns The Earth then was like a Spunge and Men dwelt within it their Life was very happy and without any Evil because there was not among Men either War or Sedition Nor did they live inclos'd in Cities as they do now for fear of wild Beasts and other Men but they liv'd promiscuously and the Earth produc'd its Fruits for their Necessity without any Labour of theirs Further the Mildness of the Air and Aether were so great that the Seasons did not vary as they do now And knowing then the Truth and the Vertues of all things they found they were good they knew also the Vertues of the Stars their Senses being nourished in a most pure Aether from whence they had the Knowledge of things Celestial and Elemental 'T is come to our Knowledge that in the most ancient Annals of Aethiopia among many others were found Aegypt Aethiopia Persia Assyria and Thracia Now hearken O Count says the Aethiopian attentively what occasioned the Fall of the Earth
the World these Waters had flown as they do now the force of the water would easily have thrown off that weight as it happens sometime when the boring is delay'd Then one will say When and how had this admirable Source its Original To this I may answer That there are no Monuments of this nor can it be absolutely known when these waters began to flow yet 't is certain that this Accumulation of the Ground hath not happen'd but after great Land-Floods they leaving a great deal of Mud here otherwise as I was saying the force of the water would have thrown off the weight Therefore I am inclin'd to believe that after the Plain was thus rais'd some new ways were open'd by a great Earthquake so that the waters might flow from the Cistern placed in the adjacent Mountains which receives them by a continal evaporation from the Sea and so might flow from that sandy Ground and so to have kept their Course for many Ages before the wit of Man reach'd hither and open'd the Veins of the Earth with the Auger as with a Launce And 't is known by many Observations that some Fountains die by Earthquakes and some rise as Ovid says Lib. 15. Met. Hic fontes natura novos emisit illic Clausit antiquis tam multa tremoribus orbis Flumina prosiliunt aut excaecata residunt In English thus Here Nature in her Changes manifold Sends forth new Fountains there shuts up the old Streams with impetuous Earthquakes heretofore Have broken forth and sunk or run no more CHAP. VI. The Progress and End of these Waters is enquired into and a Reason is given of those things which are observ'd in the digging of the Wells 'T IS worth the Enquiry What is the Progress of these our waters that flow under ground and whether they go But here I stick and there is no place but for Conjecture I have often enquir'd of the Undertakers Whether they felt the Auger to be carried by Violence to any side but I could understand nothing certain of them But seeing the length of this Source is far greater than its breadth I think it more agreeable to truth that these waters flow from East to VVest according to the lenghth of the Aemilian way which Tract of Ground is six Mile long and but four broad as far as I have had occasion to observe but when it has pass'd the way we may judge that either 't is sunk into these Wells of the Earth or by secret turnings and windings falls into the Sea according to the Laws by which the water circulates in the Body of the Earth which we read described by Ecclesiastes in these words All Rivers enter into the Sea yet it does not overflow the Rivers return to the place from whence they came thither they return again And the Heathen Poets as Lucretius in these Verses Lib. 1. Debet ut in mare de terris venit humor aquai In terr as itidem manare ex aequore salso As Rivers run from Earth and fill the Main So some through secret Pores returâ— again But also is proved by the most grave and modern VVriters with many Reasons as Arias Montanus Varenius Vossius Becher and many others whom the most famous Lanzon Physician of Ferrara cites in his Animadversions full of variety It may be doubted and that not without reason whether the course of these waters must be for ever And truly seeing from the times of the Roman Common-wealth even to this Age there hath been so great an accumulation of the Earth as well in the City as in the adjacent Lands and in the Channels of Rivers there is no place left of doubting but the course of these Fountains will at length cease the Causes continuing the same to wit while the next Rivers take away with them the spoil of the Mountains and therewith cover the Plains that lie under Therefore as these Fountains for a far better use did rise many Feet above the Surface of the Earth but now rarely reaches its Surface so we must think that the time will come in which these waters must stand in their VVells having no descent by which to run down And these Changes which succeed in great length of time and without a VVitness if we consider the present state of things hardly deserve Credit yet the thing it self speaks that they have truly happened and will still follow But because to use Aristotile's words the things are done in great length of time in respect of our Life they are hid from us and the ruine of all Nations does happen before the change of these things is told from the beginning to the end But this is the common Fate of Cities that are plac'd in the Plains that after many Ages they are almost half buried or as the Egyptian Priest in Plato says of the Cities of Greece are carried by the force of the Rivers into the Sea though on the other hand Towns which are plac'd on the tops of the mountains their Foundations being par'd do tell the Injuries of Time A sure Proof that there is nothing constant and firm in this world but that we must look for the City that is on high and is to continue for ever But why these Fountains seeing they are supposed to take their Original from the Sea have no ebbing or flowing as some Fountains of which Writers take notice as is that which Pliny the Younger mentions in the Land of Como which ebbs and flows three times in a Day I think this to happen because water is furnisht to these Fountains from the Sea by the Ascent of Vapors which evaporation though it be not always equal because of the subterraneous Fires sometimes weaker sometimes stronger yet 't is enough if it be such as is sufficient to keep the Cistern full always to the same height on which depends the Equality of Flux of these our Fountains for so many Ages whatever come of the water that sometimes overflows and is dispersed another way But why some Fountains at certain times flow and at other times ebb many Causes are brought of which I mean those which draw their Source from the Sea the Cause is the ebbing and flowing of the Sea by force of which it comes to pass that as the Sea ebbs and flows these Fountains are sometimes observed full and sometimes empty We said that in the Winter-time a great Heat was perceiv'd in these Fountains and in the Summer time a great Cold as appears also by the Theâ— mometer let down to several Depths and the Table before marked shews Which Observations seem not a little to favour the Defenders of an Antiperistasis and so much the rather that these Observations were not made in a Mountanous but in a Champion Countrey For I do not think it safe to try it in Mines and the Caverns of the Mountains because of the Metallick Exhalations and divers Salts and kinds of Marcasites with which they are
pregnant for when such Substances are sprinkled with Water they grow hot like Quick lime and raise divers Exhalations which the Mineral Waters do testifie that break out hot to which you may add there are many Store houses of Fire which may not a little alter the subterraneous Region which happens not in great Plains as is the Countrey on this and the other side of the Po. Indeed the most Learn'd Mr. Boyle has gathered many things of the Temper of the Air under Ground all which yet he says he had from such as made Observations on many Mines where he also relates that in the same places and at the same times of the Year there is found a different temper of the subterraneous Regions because of the different Nature of Salts And he says That from some Mines are felt hot Effluvia in the Summer-time And 't is observed that not only out of the Caverns of the Mountains hot Exhalations breath in the Summer-time but also frequently a most cold Air. In Etruria near the Lake of the Vulsinenses near the Town Martha is a little Cave at the foot of a most high Mountain which is not above 6 or 8 Feet deep but in the side of the Cave at a little Chink the Wind blows so cold that it may be compar'd to the Coldness of the North Winds The Fathers of the Order of the Mimims of St. Francis de Paula who have a Church with a Monastery near it use this Cave as a Vault for their Wine and in the Summer-time draw their Wine from thence as cold as if it had been in Snow yea if they keep their Summer Fruits there sometime they draw them out sprinkled with a cold Dew as I have observed during my stay with them in the Dog days But in the great Plains where all the Earth is solid and does not keep so many kinds of Salts or Fires inclos'd if we might go down deeper by digging a greater Certitude might be had of this subterraneous Temperature But in these VVells of ours I perceived this Reciprocation of Heat and Cold sensible enough as often as I descended into them at different times but that there might happen no Deception by the Senses being preposses'd with Heat or Cold I observed it manifestly by a Thermometer exactly sealed But whatever is the nature of Cold or Heat for 't is not proper in this place to enquire whether they are bare Qualities or Corpuscles causing such a Sensation in us Antiperastis as I think ought not to be banish'd out of the Schools for it may be explained right enough both ways Whether therefore according to the Diversity of Climates and Countreys there be a different Temper of the Air under Ground yet 't is certain that the Thermometer being let down does speak with distinct Notes that there is at least in the first Region of the Earth whatever be of the deeper and Central parts of the Earth this Reciprocation of Heat and Cold according to the different Changes of the Year and always in a quality opposite to that which the external Air in which we live hath So that here may be used that Sentence of the Noble Hippocrates Lux orco tenebrae Iovi Lux Iovi tenebrae orco But before we come out of these VVells it will be fit to give the Reasons of some Phaenomena that are observ'd in the digging of them It was said before that there is a great Rest in the Air in the VVinter-time so that the Candles continue burning there is no smoaky Exhalation and they easily draw their Breath but in the Summer-time there is raised a thick Cloud the Lights are put out and the Diggers are almost kill'd But from whence this VVhen rather in the Winter-time because of the Heat more intense at that time and equal to the Summers Heat it might seem consonant to Reason that in a moist place a smoaky Exhalation should be rais'd which should trouble the Air and put out the Lights but in the Summer by reason of the Cold which lodges in these VVells not much unlike the Cold in the VVinter it would seem reasonable that the Air should be more pure nor so intangled with gross Vapours as to be unfit for Respiration VVhether 't is that the Heat which in the VVinter-time is in these Wells by reason of an Antiperistasis being greater hath force to dissipate these Vapors but in the Summer-time by reason of the Cold they cannot be dissolved Or rather that the Exhalations in the Winter that are raised by the Heat in these VVells are lighter than the external and thicker Air and so do ascend more easily but in the Summer are heavier than the external Air and therefore stagnating there cause a difficulty of breathing and put out the Lights when kindled But here I cannot but wonder why in the Mines though of great depth as are those in Hungary the Miners continue any time of the Year with their Candles lighted and that in any season nor do they feel so great an Inconvenience in breathing But in our Wells that are in the open Air and communicate with the open Air not by turnings but in a streight Line the VVorkmen in the Summer-time are almost suffocated and their Lights put out so that in the Dog-Days there is no hiring of them to work Perhaps this falls out because the Mines in the Mountains and dry places have not so gross an Air but such as is sufficient for Respiration but these being digg'd in a Champion Countrey and moist Ground send forth Streams more plentifully so the Air being filled with them is unfit for Respiration I deny not but in the Mines the Miners are sometimes troubled with shortness of Breath partly by reason of their own Breaths and partly because of the Metallick Exhalations yea are sometimes killed so that to prevent the Danger of being stifled they use Air-Pumps for taking up the fowl Air and letting in fresh a Description of which you may see in Agricola Beside they dig a Pit some distance from the Mine tending downwards from which a Mine is extended to the place where the Diggers work which serves for a Wind Pipe and by bringing in fresh Air and driving the old to the Mouth of the Pit does much refresh the VVorkmen and frees them from the danger of being stifled but that is only done in the deeper Mines as Agricola and Mr. Boyle relate The Lights therefore are put out in the Summer-time in these VVells and the Diggers are seiz'd with a great Difficulty of breathing because the Air in it is fill'd with gross Vapours which thick and ponderous Vapors cannot ascend in the hotter and lighter Air but are to lodge there by reason of their weight But the Vital Light requires of necessity a thinness and empty spaces in the Air in which it may lay down its Fulginous Effluvia and needs fresh Air for its Food otherwise it quickly dies It was observed before
be inserted into it and shut in the Extremity and let F G H I be the Glass Pipes erected perpendicularly but M the Pipe pouring out water Therefore in the Pipe F G according to what was said before the water will rise to O i. e. to parts 5. for the height of the Pipe M pouring out the water is suppos'd 2. and the height of the water contain'd in the Vessel is as 8. But if the Pipe F G be transferred to H I the Orifice where it was fastned being stopt the water will be raised higher i. e. to N to almost 7 degrees which would likewise happen if at the same time two Glass Pipes F G H I stood upright and the Pipe M should pour out water the Vessel being always full for this different height of waters is perceiv'd well enough in every case One may try the same not only when the Pipe that pour'd out the water is longer or shorter but also when many Pipes of different lengths and with proportion to the height of the water contain'd in the Vessel send forth water at the same time and many Glass Pipes are interjected seeing many cases may be fain'd according to every ones Fancy But seeing there is no small Undulation in the Glass Pipes because the water running out at M falls back upon its self this Inconveniency will in some measure be shunned if the Pipe F H be something bended that so both the Glass Pipes and the Pipes sending forth the water be inclin'd to one side for in this case there will happen less Undulation and the different heights of the water may be more easily viewed The Reason of this Phaenomenon I judge to be that the Impetus of the Water running from the Cistern out at M withdraws some of the water from the Pipe F G so that it cannot rise so high and the same Impetus coming to H I finding now no Vent makes it rise higher even to N. This new Observation I communicated to the same Boccabadatus who as he did not a little wonder at the novelty of the thing so being a most ingenious and exact Searcher into natural things he did not cease to enquire into the Cause of it yea afterwards he told me he had the Demonstration of it which he said he would insert into his Work which he is to publish about Mechanick Force I thought fit to propose this Phaenomenon to the Lovers of Hydrostaticks thinking it worthy of the consideration of the more acute VVits to the end it may be discovered from whence this Diversity of Pressures proceeds CHAP. VIII About the Goodness and Excellency of the Wells of Modena THerefore having sail'd over these Subterraneous Waters according to the best of my Understanding as far as I could in a dark Navigation in which neither the Stars nor the Needle did guide me it remains that I furl my Sails and hasten to the Land Georg. 4. But that I may not pass over with a dry Foot the nature of these Fountains so far as they are useful to Men and lest as the Custom is of those that are thirsty I drink quietly I shall touch only at some things relating to this Subject though it seem to be beyond my purpose 'T is an old Dispute what in the Class of Simple Waters is most wholsom seeing some prefer Rain-waters others prefer Fountain-waters in some places River-waters are most preferred in others Well-waters Hippocrates seem'd to prefer Rain-waters to all others for these he called the sweetest the thinnest and the clearest of all seeing what is thinnest and lightest of the water is exalted and drawn up by the Sun Yet 't is certain Hippocrates spoke of Rain waters in the Summer-time which they call Horaiae i. e. Early seeing among waters that want Art he commends these which in the Summer time fall down from the Sky when it thunders but these that fall in Storms he pronounces bad Celsus Galen Avicenna Paulus and others following Hippocrates judge the same On the other hand Pliny does greatly discommend Rain-waters yea he is so angry that he thinks the O pinion which commends them to endanger Men's Lives neither does he think it an Argument of Levity that they have been raised to Heaven seeing Stones also have been rais'd to Heaven and further VVaters when they fall from the Clouds may be infected by the Exhalations of the Earth so that Fountain-water to him seems preferable to them when Plenty of them may be had But if the thing be duly considered there will be no place left to dispute for all Rain-waters as also Fountain-waters being not of the same Goodness seeing every Countrey has not the same Atmosphere nor the same Ground thro' which the water passes seeing also according to Theophrastus such as the Earth is such is the Water it often happens as Coâ—taeus adverts that in some places for the Purity of the Air the Rain-waters are better but in other places the Fountain or River-waters are the best as the water of the River Nile whose much wish'd-for Inundation keeps all Egypt every Year solicitous But 't is no wonder that the water of the Nile excels in Goodness all others seeing running a long way over a Countrey burnt with the heat of the Sun 't is concocted and is tossed by sudden Falls from the highest Mountains and attenuated Hence Athenaeus testifies That when Philadelphus King of Egypt betroth'd his Daughter Berenice to Antiochus King of Assyria he willed her to take with her the Water of the Nile Yet when other things do not agree it seems the Fountain-waters ought to be preferred to Rain-waters and all others for Rain-waters are drawn from all sorts of Filth Dung and Dead Bodies themselves and though Hippocrates judged them best yet he adds That they have need of being boil'd and strain'd Wherefore 't is not without Reason that some do disprove making of Syrup of Poppeys with Rain-water and they think that Hippocrates spoke according to Reason and not Experience So among the Moderns the most experienc'd Etmuller says That Rain-water kept always something Earthy behind it though distilled a hundred times But so will any Water do as well as Rain water But Well-waters seeing they have no Motion but when they are stirred and in the bottom have much Slime and Rain-waters being gathered of Snow and Rains and running over divers kinds oâ— Earths and are therefore by Hippocrates call'd disagreeing cannot have that Purity and Simplicity which the Fountain-waters have which are concocted by the Heat pent up in the Bowels of the Earth and are strain'd through the same Earth Therefore our most pure Fountain-waters as they have the first place in the Rank of plain waters so they yield to none of the most famous Fountains of our Times for as much as the Marks by which the most sincere Waters and fittest for Humane Use are commended do appear in these in a most eminent manner The chief Quality that is wanted