Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	call_v	grow_v	herb_n	2,071	5	9.7166	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65182	Voyages and discoveries in South-America the first up the river of Amazons to Quito in Peru, and back again to Brazil, perform'd at the command of the King of Spain by Christopher D'Acugna : the second up the river of Plata, and thence by land to the mines of Potosi by Mons Acarete : the third from Cayenne into Guiana, in search of the lake of Parima, reputed the richest place in the world by M. Grillet and Bechamel : done into English from the originals, being the only accounts of those parts hitherto extant : the whole illustrated with notes and maps.	Acuña, Cristóbal de, b. 1597. Nuevo descubrimiento del gran rio de las Amazonas. English.; Acarete, du Biscay, 17th cent. Relation des voyages dans la rivière de la Plate. English.; Grillet, Jean, 1624-1677. Journal du voyage qu'on fait les Per̀es Jean Grillet et François Bećhamel ... dans la Goyane l'an 1674. English.; Béchamel, François, 1637-1676.	1698 (1698)	Wing V746; ESTC R1215	153,168	365

ALL along this River and in all the neighbouring Provinces the Air is so temperate and the Seasons of the Year so regular that there 's no Excess either of Heat or Cold nor any troublesome variety of Weather For tho there is every Year a kind of Winter yet it does not proceed from the different Course of the Planets or Distance of the Sun for that always rises and sets at the same hour That which most incommodes 'em is the frequency of the Inundations which leave a great Dampness in the Ground and by their overflowing the Plains hinder 'em several Months from sowing and gathering in the Fruits of the Earth By these Floods they distinguish the Winter from the Spring throughout all Peru they call all that time wherein the Earth produces no Crop the Winter and they call that Season the Spring which they employ in sowing and gathering in not only their Maze which is the principal part of their Harvest but all the other Product of the Ground whether that which grows spontaneously or by Cultivation These Inundations happen twice a Year all along the whole Extent of this River We have observ'd that those who dwell near the Mountains of Quito suffer more Heat than those that inhabit along this River towards the Sea the reason is because there come Breezes from the Coast of the Northern Sea that continue two three or four hours in a day and sometimes more these Winds extreamly refresh the Air and are a great Comfort to those People that are less remote from the Sea However it must be said that the highest degree of Heat even in the Mountains themselves is no greater than is at Panama and at Cartagena for however violent it be in it self it is every where moderated by the gentle Winds which blow every day and not only render the Air tolerable and agreeable to the Inhabitants but have besides the Property of preserving all their Victuals and Stores from corrupting I have had the Experience of it my self in the Wafers we carried with us which at the end of five Months and a half since we parted from Quito were as good as if they had been newly made This made me and my Companion wonder the more because in our Travels in almost all other Parts of America we observ'd that Bread and other things of the least Substance corrupted in a little time And tho all this long stretch of Land is so near the Equinoctial Line yet the Heat of the Sun is not at all hurtful nor the Evening Air neither tho it be very cool and moist I have good reason to testify this for during our whole Voyage I have commonly pass'd whole Nights in the open Air without getting the least Pain in my Head or the least Defluxion of Rhume and yet in all other Places the least walking abroad in a Moon-shiny Night has very much incommoded me 'T is true at the beginning of our Voyage almost all of our Men that came from cold Countries had Agues but were all cur'd by bleeding three or four times We neither felt nor heard of any such bad Air along this River as there is in almost all other places of Peru that have been discover'd where People are sometimes in a moment taken with violent Rhumatisms throughout all their Limbs which could not proceed but from a sudden Corruption of the Humours and which in some degenerated to an incurable Palsy and cost others their Lives In a word were it not for the Heats which are in most of the inhabited Parts of Peru intolerable the Country of the River of Amazons might without Exaggeration be term'd an Earthly Paradise CHAP. XXX The Beauty of this Country and the abundance of Medicinal Simples Plants and Trees it yields THis sweet Temperature of the Air causes all the Borders of this River to be cover'd with a thousand kinds of lovely Trees the pleasant Verdure of which is perpetually preserv'd by the moderate Disposition of the Air a thousand Landskips were presented to our Eyes still more and more fine and more diversified as if they emulated one another and made us confess that Art had yet a great deal to learn of Nature when she discovers her self after so excellent and surprizing a manner The Ground is very low in most places near the Banks of the River but rises gradually at a distance with little Hills that adjoin to curious Plains all cover'd with Flowers without so much as a Tree beyond these are lovely Vales all cloth'd with Grass and Herbs preserv'd continually green by the refreshing Rivulets that run through ' em Beyond all this Extent of Ground are Hills rising one above another till they make those high Mountains which extend from one end of Peru to the other call'd Cordeliers because they are rang'd in order as if they were plac'd by a Line or Cord. There are a great many Thickets that produce all sorts of Simples which the Indians know how to use for the Cure of their Diseases There grow Cassia-Trees which bear the best Cassia in all the Indies There is excellent Sarsaparilla Gums and Rosins that are very good for Wounds and Bruises and a prodigious quantity of Honey which the Bees on all sides make in such abundance that the store of it is not to be exhausted This is as good to eat as it is for the Composition of various Medicines The Bees also make a sort of black Wax which is however very good and burns as well as that which is white or yellow There are a kind of Trees call'd by the People of the Country Audirouas from which there runs an Oil of extraordinary Virtue for curing Wounds There is another Tree call'd Copayba which yields a Balm surpassing the best that is to be had in the East In a word there grows a multitude of different kinds of Herbs and Plants of very great Virtue besides those that are not yet known which would suffice to make a new Dioscorides and a second Pliny And it would be a matter of no small Difficulty to give an account of all the Properties of so many different Simples CHAP. XXXI The Multitude of Trees that grow in this Countrey Cedars and other kinds fit for the building of Vessels and the Providence of Nature in furnishing this Part of the World with all Necessaries for that purpose except Iron THE Trees that grow along this River are innumerable and of a surprizing Tallness and Bulk I measured a Cedar that was thirty Hands breadth in Compass the Poplars are almost all of that size and excellent Timber for building either for Sea or Land Those Trees which are known in the Country are for the most part Cedars Coibos Palohierro and Palocolorado and other such like which are no sooner cut down but they may be safely used and the Vessels that are made of 'em may be launched as soon as they are finished There is no need of any of the Materials of Europe