Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	air_n	body_n	element_n	5,315	5	9.9100	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51890	The third volume of letters writ by a Turkish spy who lived five and forty years undiscover'd at Paris : giving an impartial account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most remarkable transactions of Europe, and discovering several intrigues and secrets of the Christian courts (especially of that of France) continued from the year 1645 to the year 1682 / written originally in Arabick, translated into Italian, and from thence into English by the translator of the first volume.	Marana, Giovanni Paolo, 1642-1693.; Bradshaw, William, fl. 1700.; Midgley, Robert, 1655?-1723.	1691 (1691)	Wing M565CD; ESTC R33498	164,529	390

Acknowledgment Accept now a Small Present from Mahmut's Hands who being not Master of Wealth can make no Great Ones I send thee neither Silver Gold nor Jewels which the Insatiable Avarice of Mortals has violently torn from the Bowels of their Common Mother Neither shalt thou receive from me any of the more familiar Products of the Earth such as grow on her Surface Expect no choice Fruits or Wine or Oil nor any thing framed by the Art of Man whether for Delight or Use What I send thee is the Dew of Heaven a certain Quintessence of the Elements an Aetherial Spirit first condens'd into a Vapour then into a more liquid Substance and afterwards congealed into a Gum. It is the celebrated Manna of Calabria Adonai the Jew sent it to me out of Italy as a Rarity I knew not whom so properly to oblige with this Present as the Studious of Natural Things Haly the Sage Physician and my Friend The Philosopher Averroes our Country-man has written much of this excellent Substance He calls it the Food of the Airy Angels And says the Young Ravens crying in their Nests are nourish'd by this Heavenly Diet when the Old Ones forsake them And that the Chamelions seek no other Repast during their Lives but the Invisible Manna that every where floats in the Morning Air. He holds it possible That a Man after he has pass'd his Great Climacter may live without any other Sustenance save what he receives from this Heavenly Distillation that he may thus prolong his Life for the Space of Seven Years which will complete the appointed Age of Mortals Many of the sublimely instructed among the Arabians are of the same Opinion so are not a few of the Hebrew Rabbi's But the Christians who are Gluttons laugh at this Doctrine as Ridiculous and Impracticable Forgetting at the same time what they read in their Bible which they pretend is the Rule of their Faith that the Israelites had Nothing else to feed on for a considerable time in the Desart when they were almost Eight Hundred Thousand Souls and the Greatest Part of them in their full Strength Men of Arms and inur'd to the Toils of War Certainly it were a desirable Thing that this Divine Largess were distributed to all the Regions on Earth But God sends his Blessings to whom and when he pleases 'T is he that directeth the Clouds when they move through the Air and rest not till they arrive at barren and dry Places where they pour forth their Water to refesh the Earth and render it fruitful God! There is but One God Lord of the Worlds These are Signs of his Vnity to True Believers but the Incredulous have hardned their Hearts It is recorded That in former Times the Ground whereon this Manna descended belong'd to a certain Nobleman of the Country who covetous of the Unusual Blessing undertook to enclose all that Land with a high Wall to the End that so rare a Gift might not be made Common to every one But as soon as the Workmen had begun to lay the Foundations of this Enclosure the Manna ceas'd to fall and so continued as long as they proceeded in that Envious work Which when the Lord of the Ground was made sensible of he commanded the Workmen to desist Saying withal The Almighty gives and the Almighty takes away Henceforward I will not seek to restrain the Free Gift of Heaven Upon which the Manna descended daily as before and so has continued to do ever since Doubtless this is a Sign of God's Omnipotence If thou wilt permit me to play the Philosopher I will tell thee my Opinion why this Manna is seen rather in the Kingdom of Naples than in any other Region of the Earth It is well known that the Earth of this Country abounds with Veins of Sulphur which are diffused up and down through all Parts and heat the Soil to an Extraordinary Degree Hence it follows that the Lower Region of the Air in this Country must needs acquire a greater Degree of Heat and Dryness also being perpetually rarified by the Fiery Atomes which every where transpire through the Pores of the Earth as from a Furnace This being so it is not hard to conceive that the Vapours which are exhal'd by the Sun into the Vpper Region in the Heat of a Summers Day and there become Impregnated by the Aetherial Spirit which remains pure and uncloath'd in those serener Tracts and consequently is apt to Incorporate with any proper Vehicle Naturally descend again in the Cool of the Night but not meeting with a Congenious Body of Vapours in the Lower Region that Air being over-purify'd and grown defecate through the too near Neighbourhood of the Burning Soil so that they cannot diffuse themselves through the Air for want of a fit Medium they consisting of Homogeneous Parts and following the Natural Position of the Element and the Laws of Gravity contract themselves into little Globular Forms the lower they descend thus setling on the Leaves of Trees on the Grass and Herbs on Stones and any Part of the Earth appearing like Grains of Transparent Gum. Hence also I conceive That the same Manna which is Nothing else but an Aetherial Spirit embodied in light and dulcid Vapours abounds in the Air of most Countries but remains invisible rarely so far condens'd as to settle in a gross Body on the Ground because the Air of those Regions is not so rarify'd as is that of Calabria having no such Subterranean Fires to drink the Vapours up but being moist and thick the descending Manna instead of contracting it self into Globular Bodies and through its Weight sinking to the Earth dilates it self and incorporates with the floating Vapours Just as if you pour drops of Water into a Vessel full of the same Element those Drops do not sink to the Bottom but finding an Homogeneous Body they mix with it and are dispersed every way whereas if there be nothing in the way to stop them they immediately fall to the Ground But I shall tire thee with my Philosophy forgetting that I speak to a Man consummate in all Sciences Adonai relates many remarkable Passages of this Country too tedious for a Letter I will only tell thee in short That the Kingdom of Naples is esteemed one of the most Delectable Regions on Earth the Trees flourishing Twice a Year and the Soil abounding to Prodigality with Corn Wine Oil and Fruits and all Things necessary for the Life of Man Yet the Inhabitants have this Proverb common among them The Kingdom of Naples is a Paradise of Delights but it is inhabited with Devils So corrupted are the Manners of the People Adieu Dear Haly and think not Mahmut tedious in his Letters who has no other Way at this Distance to converse with his Friends Paris 19th of the 10th Moon of the Year 1647. LETTER VI. To Kerker Hassan Bassa WHEN this Dispatch shall come to thy Hands be assured that Mahmut thy Countryman and Slave to

Mussulman to sink into the abject Timorousness of a Christian Be fearful only of thy self and stand in Awe of none more than of thy own Conscience There is a Cato in every Man a severe Censor of his Manners and he that reverences this Judge will seldom do any Thing he need to repent of Let not the Authority of thy Station tempt thee to be Cruel or Unjust but in all Things Do as thou wouldst be done unto This is a Precept engraven on every Man's Heart and he whose Actions write after this Copy will always be at ease here and transcendently happy hereafter Follow this Rule and thou wilt experience the Effect Adieu Paris 1st of the 9th Moon of the Year 1645. LETTER VII To the Invincible Vizir Azem IF One may judge of future Events by applying to them the Symptoms of Things past and if a Man may compare one Kingdom with another I should think that France will in Time extend the Limits of her Empire as far as any of the Four Great Monarchies that have been recorded in Histories for their Vniversal Sway. I will not say as far as the wide-stretch'd Empire of the ever-victorious Osmans Yet the Genius of this Nation seems in some Manner to inspire the French with as ardent a Thirst of Glory and Conquest as that which has in all Ages appear'd to be the Inseparable Vertue of the Mussulmans They press forward to the Mark for which they take up Arms that is to subdue All before them and lay Kingdoms Provinces and Cities at the Feet of their Sovereign They are not discourag'd at Difficulties and Losses The Checks and Oppositions they meet with do but animate them with new and fresh Vigors So that it is become a sure Prognostick of some great Success to that Nation when at any Time they receive ill News from their Armies In this their Courage seems to be of the Quality of Naptha which by pouring on of Water takes Fire although thou knowest these Two Elements be Contrary to each other So this Warlike People instead of being dejected or made timorous by any Defeat given to their Armies are rather inflam'd with more active and valiant Resolutions as will appear by the Repulse given them by the Duke of Bavaria not many Moons ago As soon as that News arrived in this City one would have expected to have seen some Tokens of Fear in the People but it wrought a contrary Effect No Tears of Women and Children no compassionate Sighs for their slain Husbands Fathers or other Relations no down-cast Looks or ominous shaking of Heads no melancholly Whispers or portentous Stories were murmur'd in the Ears of the Multitude But all Things appear'd lively and prosperous the very Women exciting the Young Men to list themselves Soldiers and the Boys in the Streets making all their Pastime consist in imitating the Men of Arms and learning the Discipline of War There was no need to force Men to the Field No sooner was the King's Intention to raise New Forces divulg'd in the Provinces but Thousands came voluntarily and took up Arms chusing rather to seek Honourable Deaths in the Toils and Hazards of War than to lead Inglorious Lives at Home in the soft Enjoyments of Peace These Things appear'd to me as certain Presages of the Rising Greatness of this Monarchy and an Evident Sign That the French Nation in this Age shall out-do their Ancestors in Warlike Deeds The Stage of that Bloody Combat between the Forces of the Duke of Bavaria and those under the Command of Mareschal Turenne was Mergentheim Since which there has been a more fierce Encounter between the French and Imperialists at Allersheim Wherein the former have recover'd the Honour they seem'd to have lost in the Spring owing much to the Bravery of the Landgrave of Hess-Cassel who with his Regiments had a considerable Share in the Actions of this Day and therefore has been presented with Magnificent Gifts by the Queen-Regent The Bavarians lost in this Battle above Two Thousand Common Soldiers besides many Officers of Note On the French Side the Duke of Enguien who had newly join'd his Forces to those of Turenne was wounded in the Arm with Two other Commanders Monsieur Grammond was taken Prisoner but honourably treated and sent away with Presents by the Duke of Bavaria together with Instructions about a Neutrality who is exchang'd for a German of equal Quality The French have also lost in this Battle above a Thousand of the Common Soldiers so that their Victory cost them dear The Duke of Enguien notwithstanding his Wounds marches on the next Day with his Army to Norlinghen offering to that Town a Neutrality and Liberty for the Garrison to march out which consisted of Three Hundred Bavarians But receiving a fierce Answer from the Governor he caus'd the Approaches to be made in Order to an Assault which was begun that very Night and a Breach made in the Walls upon which the Inhabitants were forc'd to intercede with the Duke that there might be a Cessation of Violence till the next Morning promising that then the Soldiers should surrender at Discretion which was done accordingly There he tarried Eight Days to refresh his Army Then he marched to Dunkenspule which was defended by a Garrison of Five Hundred Bavarians He took this Place by Storm yet gave Quarter to the Soldiers who laid down their Arms and yielded themselves Prisoners Leaving a Garrison of Three Hundred French in the Town he remov'd his Forces toward Heilbrun But in regard this Place was defended by Fifteen Hundred Men he forbore to assault it and only Quarter'd his Army in the Neighbouring Villages Since that Time which was about the Middle of the last Moon there has been no considerable Action between the French and the Germans Yet those who pretend to be vers'd in Military Affairs laugh at the ill Conduct of the Arch Duke Leopold who when he had the French shut up in a Narrow Streight through which it was impossible for them to pass but by single Files neglected that Opportunity to cut them off deferring the Victory whereof he was too secure till the next Day by Reason of the present Weariness of his Soldiers In the mean Time Turenne with his whole Army pass'd the Streight in the Dead of the Night and came to Philipsburgh This Oversight of the General is much talk'd of because had he pursu'd his Advantage he had not only entirely defeated the French but in all Probability falling with the whole Force of the Empire on the Suedes he had likewise vanquish'd them and so put an End to the War But it seems as if the Inscrutable Providence had determin'd to infatuate the Minds of the Germans and reserve those Two Potent Nations their Enemies to be a farther Scourge to the Empire Adieu Great Guardian of the Eternal Monarchy and believe Mahmut when he solemnly swears by Mount Sinai and by the Tenth Night of the Moon that he adores thy

reported of this little Serpent That by Natural Instinct being sensible when a Magician is about to utter Words which being heard will ensnare it lays one Ear close to the Ground and with its Tail stops the other to the End the Enchantment may have no Effect Admit not any Man to thy Conversation who shall attempt to warp thee from the Simplicity of the Faith and Obedience which thou owest to the Apostle of God Without Water there is no Purity on this Side the Grave That Element has a Force in it of which thou art not aware 'T is the Third in the Rank of Living Principles 'T is the Tabernacle of the Winds The Seraglio of the Generative Spirit The Stage of Wonders In fine it is the Purifier of every Thing that has Breath Thou knowest that to serve the Necessities of the Prophet and his Army Vnderstanding and Speech was given to a Fountain in Arabia which having promised to follow him to the Place of his Repose made a Channel through the Desart and kept Pace with the Troops of the Faithful till they came to Medina Talnabi That so the Submissive to the Will of Heaven might not want that Element without which Life it self would be a Burden and a Curse And yet thou speakest contemptibly of Water as a very Indifferent Thing whether we use it or not any other ways than to quench our Thirst Thus making no Difference between the many Advantages we reap from that Element and that Common Use to which the Beasts put it In how many Places of the Alcoran does the Holy Prophet record the Mercy of God in giving us Water that is Fresh and not Salt How does he celebrate his Wisdom and Goodness for directing the Clouds to barren and dry Places Thou canst not be Ignorant that it is one of the Encomiums of Paradise that there are Gardens wherein flow many Rivers And after all this wilt thou dispise so Holy and Blessed a Gift without which Earth and Heaven Men and Angels could not be completely happy Go learn then of the Indian Idolaters who have never heard of the Book of Glory Go learn of these Barbarians to prize this Sanctify'd Creature They travel many Hundreds of Leagues to bathe themselves in the Waters of Ganges With those Incorruptible and All-purging Streams the Brachmans fill certain Vessels and transport the Invaluable Liquor to the Utmost Parts of that Wide Empire They travel on Foot sometimes Two Thousand Miles together each Man with his Load of that precious Water to supply the Wants of those who live so remote from the River So that a Bottle of it is many times sold to the Princes and Nobles for Two Hundred Sequins or Eight Hundred Roupies And yet for all this those very Princes would not die with a safe Conscience had they not at least once in their Lives made a Pilgrimage to this Renowned River and bath'd themselves in the Waves which blot out Sins O Cousin let the Example of these Infidels make thee blush at thy Impiety and excite thee to a diligent and indispensible Practice of Cleanness So shalt thou have a Sound Mind in a Healthy Body And the Angel of thy Nativity will not shun thy Person Adieu Paris 7th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1647. LETTER IX To the Kaimacham THE Defeat of the Venetians and Morlacks in Bosna has reached these Parts That News is not unwelcom to Mahmut But I could wish our General had used his Victory with more Moderation The Christians term him Barbarian Salvage Devil Incarnate and load him with Execrations For having taken Prisoner the Captain of the Morlacks he caused him to be flead alive and afterwards to be Impal'd This Captain was an Ecclesiastick They call him Stephano Sorich and in Honour of his Zeal and Fidelity they entitle him the Good Priest They applaud his Magnanimity and Courage in Battel and no less do they extoll his Constancy during the Torments of so Cruel and Ignominious a Death But I tremble to think of the Blasphemies and Curses they utter against our Holy Prophet and all the Mussulmans For this Cruel Execution has scandaliz'd the Nazarenes and imbitter'd 'em even to Fury Their Revenge is implacable They would go to Hell themselves provided the True Faithful might be Damn'd for Company What will our Divine Lawgiver say Or what Apology will our General make when the Sent of God shall charge him with driving so many Thousand Souls into an Irreconcilable Hatred of the Vndefiled Faith For they look not on this as the Action of a Private Man but of one who represents the Person of our August Sovereign the Great Protector of the Law brought down from Heaven They suppose him to be honour'd with the particular Instructions of his Master And therefore they say the Sultan has authoriz'd this Unheard-of Cruelty and that our Religion countenances Tyranny and the most Nefandous Methods of shedding Innocent Blood I am no Advocate for Infidels yet suffer me to vindicate Nature which is the Common Parent of us all Suffer me to be Solicitous for the Honour of our Holy Profession which is blemish'd by this Inhumane Murder What Offence had this Unhappy Captain given that deserv'd so dire a Punishment Was it because he fought valiantly and perform'd Wonders in Defence of his Country This is Nothing but what becomes every Honest Man to do And had our General been truly Brave he would have entertain'd his Prisoner with a Respect due to his Merit Who was a more Inveterate Enemy of the Mussulmans than the Renowned Ischenderbeg Prince of Albania Who more Valiant or Successful against the Ottoman Armies It is Recorded of him That he never shun'd a Battel never fled from his Enemies never shrunk from Perils nor was ever wounded but once in all his Life And yet he sustain'd a Continual War from Two Successive Osman Emperors defeated Seven Vizirs with their Forces took all their Ammunition and Baggage and in several Combats slew with his own Hands above Two Thousand Mahometans Our Fathers did not basely revenge themselves for all this but cherish'd a Veneration for this Heroick Enemy and honour'd the very Dust of such an extraordinary Person For after his Death having conquer'd Albania they sought out his Tomb where they performed their Devotions as at the Sepulcher of a Prophet They open'd the Dormitory of the Desunct Warriour and with Religious Solemnity took up his Bones sharing the Honour'd Reliques among them and wrapping them up in Silk wore them continually at their Breasts esteeming them as Sacred Amulets against Misfortune Surely our General would blush at an Example of so great Vertue But perhaps he was incensed because his Captive was a Priest Mistaken Zeal might prompt him to this horrid Butchery Thou who art Justice it self wilt not approve his Bloody Passion when thou considerest That the Priests of Jesus are Men as well as others and if they live in Error the Fault is in their Education