high Hill and that at the bottom a Stream runs swiftly and with great Noise Altho' all this seems to be true and obvious to the Senses yet the further Progress of these waters may in our case consist with the rising in these Wells which may be demonstrated in the same First Figure For if you put your Finger to the Mouth of the Pipe D yet so as not to stop it altogether the Water will leap out on high at the same time by the holes E F G and flow down by the Slit H and withal at the Mouth of the Pipe the one Action not hindring the other and so according as there is more or less of the Orifice of the Pipe stopt with your Finger more or less Water will be raised by the said Holes but it will never be rais'd to that height it would be if the Mouth were quite stopt It does not therefore disagree with the Laws of Hydrostaticks if these Subterraneous Waters are running and go further that at the fame time they should be raised to the height of 68 Feet in the Wells yet so as not to exceed the height of the Cistern from whence they come because the Passage at which they flow out is not large enough 'T is convenient that some Account be given of these Phaenomena observ'd hither to by none that I know seeing there is no part of Philosophy more curious yet less cultivated than Hydrostaticks First therefore 't is no wonder that the Water while it has a free Course and Passage through the wide Mouth of the Pipe does not run also at the Holes yea of necessity it must be so For the Water has a free Descent neither does it meet with any Obstacle to make it rise as it does in Pipes bended upwards so neither will it descend by the Cleft because of the Pressure and the Force it has acquir'd in descending like a solid Body which suffer it not to turn from its Course in the same manner as Bodies thrown are carricd in a Horizontal Line for some space while the Force continues But the Reason why the Orifice of the Pipe being straightned the Water presently leaps on high and runs down through the Slit in my Opinion is this That when the lower parts of the Water are pressed by the upper as the most famous Mr. Boyle has made evident in his Hydrostatical Paradoxes and are urged with Violence to run out the Passage being straitned by applying the Finger to the Mouth of the Pipe some of the Water when it cannot overcome the Obstacle seeks a Passage to it self where it can From whence it comes to pass that the less the Water runs out at the Mouth of the Pipe with the greater Force it runs out at these Holes But when the Pressure is abated and the Vessel is almost empty none runs out at the Mouth of the Pipe but what remains runs slowly through the Slit being the shorter way From hence it appears that the direct Pressure must be estimated by the weight of the Pillar of Water whose Base is equal to the Horizontal Surface it rests on and its Height equal to the perpendicular Depth of the Water For Example In a Vessel constituted in a Horizontal Plain any part of the bottom that can be assigned may be a Base to a Pillar of water of the same Height with the whole water in the Vessel And in the foregoing Figure when it flows freely through the Pipe C D 't is prest by a Pillar of water which has the same Base with the Orifice of the Pipe CD which Pillar of water forces it self by a lateral Pressure into the Pipe and so to run out by the force of which Pressure it comes to pass that all the water in the Vessel runs out by this Imaginary Pillar Many things are said of this Pressure of the water by Hydrostatical VVriters to wit that the under parts are prest by the upper and the upper parts are prest by those that are under Moreover they are prest side ways by one another which Diversity of Pressures they endeavour to prove by several Experiments and in effect every one may experience this lateral pressure in himself when he is in the watery up to the Neck for he will feel a pressure on every side and some difficulty of Breathing which yet is not to be thought to proceed only from the lateral pressure of the water but another Cause For when the Expansion of the Chest is necessary to Respiration 't is not so easily perform'd in the water Element as in the Air by reason of its Grossness For as Fishes need a greater force for swimming than Birds for flying as Borellus demonstrates by reason of the grosser Body of the water which must be moved out of its place and circulate into that left by the Fish So a Man sunk in the Water up to the Neck needs a greater force for opening his Chest than if he were in the Air. And from hence it is that Inspiration in the Water is more difficult than Expiration This happens only because the pressure is unequal for the pressure of the Pillar of Air and Water on the Chest without exceeds the pressure of the Pillar within the Chest that is only of Air so much as the weight of the Pillar of Water which covers the Chest exceeds the weight or pressure of the Pillar of Air within the Lungs and of the same height with the Water about the Chest for Fluids press only according to the perpendicular heights and not the grosness of their Pillars as is plain in Syphons in whose Legs tho' of different thickness the Liquor rises but to the same Horizonal Height Likewise all do agree that not only the bottom but also the sides of the Vessel are prest which pressure some say is considerable but others not Tho. Cornelius thinks it to be equal to the perpendicular Pressure For supposing the Water to press by inclin'd Lines and that a Body sliding down by inclin'd Lines acquires as great a Velocity as if it fell down by a Perpendicular equal to the height of the Plain he thinks the lateral Pressure to be equal to the Perpendicular On the other Hand Becher in his Physica Subterranea says That the Water presses directly on the bottom but far less on the sides which Conjecture he grounds on this That the little Ramparts of Earth sustain the Pressure of the Ocean it self that it overflows not the adjacent Fields yea he endeavours to make it out by a Mechanical Experiment that the Pressure of the Water is only upward and downward If Mr. Becher had considered that Hydrostatical Axiom viz. That Fluids press only according to their perpendicular Altitudes he would not have been frighted by the Extent of the great Sea at Amsterdam from owning so evident an Hydrostatical Truth as this is That the Lateral Pressure of Fluids is equal to the Perpendicular For suppose the Banks there
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
be explained by Possibilities Seeing I am come so far that I must at length tell what I think of the Nature of this admirable Spring I believe I have done the part of a good Guesser if by sounding this Ford I can tell things probable and agreeable to the Laws of Nature instead of things certain VVe may therefore conjecture that the Sea in this our Countrey had secret Commerce with the Appennine to which it was adjacent in the beginning of the World and that it still has and that it laid a Foundation by several subterraneous Passages in its Bowels for several Storehouses of Waters of which this may be believed to be one from whence these Fountains derive their Original and that the Water is expanded over all this Vein of Sand in which such a Spring is discovered But when the Stop is taken away and the Flood-gates are opened it rises on high as in Aqueducts And this Thought of mine as it does not contradict Nature so it shuns those Difficulties which the foremention'd Opinion of an Immense Space through which a subterraneous River flows does incur That a great abundance of VVaters may secretly flow a long way through Sand is neither against Reason nor Experience seeing 't is the Property of Sand easily to drink up VVater and therefore has the Name of Sinking Sand. Pliny and Solinus say that the Nile the greatest of Rivers being swallowed up in the Sands runs hid a great way tho' nothing of that is known in our Times Seneca also testifies that some Rivers fall into Caves some are by degrees consumed and never appear again The most Learned Kircher says that in Westphalia near the Village Altembechem there is a certain sandy Plain in which every Day the Water breaks out with great Violence so as to overflow the whole Countrey and afterwards sinking into the Sand disappears the Surface of the Sand remaining dry The River Guadiana in Spain as some relate who have observ'd it when it has come to a certain Plain is gradually swallowed up and without noise of the Earth which is a most certain Proof that this River does not fall into a Gulph but runs away by these Beds of Sand. In like manner I do believe that the VVater descends by secret Passages from a Cistern in the Roots of the adjacent Mountains that communicates with the Sea till it come into this deep sandy Plain mixt with much Gravel so that there is no need to conceive any Plain of great width and depth by which these subterraneous waters may constantly run down but a few intersperst spaces may suffice because of the Mixture of Sand and Gravel Helmont says that Sand is Original Earth and the Seat of the VVaters but that the rest of the Earth is the Fruit of this Original Earth and that not without Reason seeing the reducing of this Sand into VVater is more difficult than of any other Body This same Author makes this Sand the last Bounds of digging beyond which to proceed were lost Labour because of the continual Conflux of Sand and VVater But he thinks that this Sand is extended from the Shell of the Earth to the Center and abundance of Water lodges in it so that the Water which is kept in it is a thousand times bigger than what is in the whole Ocean All Seas Rivers and Fountains even in the top of the Mountains owe their Original to this invisible Ocean so that the Water does every where follow the vital Sand. Telesus seems to have been of the same Judgment who said the bottom of the Sea was a Fountain of that Interiour Ocean which agrees with that Opinion of Plato concerning the Gulph from whose Bosom all Waters go out and into which they all fall back again Whatever be of Truth in this Opinion of an Invisible Ocean lurking in the Sand which Helmont conceiv'd ingeniously and upon probable enough Arguments yet I think none will deny but Water may run a long way through Beds of Sand and when some Passage is open may be rais'd again especially if it be urg'd by Water descending from a higher Ground And I think that 't is probable the matter is so in our Fountains to wit the Water flows out of some Cistern plac'd in the neighbouring Mountains by subterraneous Passages where the Earth is firm and hard but when it has come into the Plain it expatiates far over the Sand and in the way is lifted up to this height when a Hole is made with an Auger according to the Laws of Hydrostaticks And I think this is a more expeditious and easie way of explicating the Nature of this never-enough-admired Spring than to imagine a great Vault of which there are no Marks and a Town with a whole Countrey hanging over it To give some Specimen how â—his flowing of the Water may be according to my Explication Suppose as in Fig. 2. that there is a Cistern in the Bowels of the Apennine drawing Water from the Sea and that the Water is carry'd by subterraneous Pipes from the same Cistern and spread over this deep and sandy Plain A B C mixt with much Gravel which sandy Plain being brought into much lesser Bounds the Water is forc'd to run down by a more narrow space than it had in the beginning and to follow its Course till it come into the Sea or some great Gulph Therefore Wells EFGH being digg'd without any Choice in all the Tract lying upon this Spring and a Hole being made by the Auger the Water of necessity must be lifted up on high being forc't by another which descending from a higher Ground presses on that which goes before and drives it up By this means these Waters receive a plentiful Supply from their Father Apennine as does the Well of Waters which flows from Lebanon of which there is mention in the Sacred History But 't is by far more probable that the Water is sent from the Sea into such a Cistern than from Showers or melted Snows seeing Rain and Snow-waters run away for the most part by Rivers above Ground neither can they enter into the ground so deep as Seneca also testifies That there is no Rain so great which wets the ground above Ten Foot For as he says when the Earth is glutted if any more fall it shuts it out And truly how could it come to pass that they should flow at the same rate as well in moist as in dry Seasons if the Rain-Water came hither and they did not rather get their VVaters from the Sea which being strained through the Sand and deprived of all Salt they return to the Sea again with Interest Truly I could never yet understand how that secret Cistern from which VVaters are sent to these Fountains should not be unconstant if they received Moisture for a time from the Rains and Snows and sometimes increase sometimes decrease and therefore according to the Increase and Decrease of the Pressure
Increase so in the greatest Droughts such as we observ'd in these last Years in which the whole Region on this and the other side of the Po did exceedingly want Water they suffe no Decrease Moreover these Waters are very warm in Winter so that they send forth a Smoak but in Summer they are very cold Some Days after the Eruption is made when the Water has setled they usually cover the Well with a Marble Stone and as it were seal it and afterwards convey the Water by Earthen Pipes from the same into Vessels of Marble or of Stone from which afterwards the Water is by other Conduits continually Bed of Clay is about 11 Feet and sometimes 't is full of Cockle-shells it ends therefore about the depth of 39 Feet after that there appears another Bed of marshy Earth about 2 Foot thick compos'd of Rushes Leaves of Plants and Branches This marshy Bed being taken away by the Diggers another Bed of Clay of the same thickness with the former presents it self which terminates in the depth of about 52 Foot which being digg'd up another Bed of marshy ground not unlike the former is seen which being removed another Bed of Clayie Ground of the same nature with the former two but not so thick appears which lies upon another Bed of marshy Earth which at last terminates on that last Plain in which the Auger is fix'd which is soft and sandy and mixt with much Gravel and sometimes full of Sea-Products These several Beds with their Intervals are observ'd in all the Wells as well within the Walls of the City as in the Suburbs in a constant Order Seeing in digging they often fall on Stocks of Trees as I have frequently observed which gives great trouble in the boring to the Undertakers 't is a manifest Proof that this Ground was once expos'd to the Air but I could never observe those Stocks of Trees in the Beds of Chalk but in the marshy ones only or in that space which lies between the Foundation and the beginning of the Clay There have been also found in the greatest Depths of these Wells great Bones Coals Flints and pieces of Iron I do willingly pass by many things here which the common People report of extraneous things cast up by the Violence of the Waters at their first breaking forth as Leaves of Oaks Chesnut Millet Bean-husks and many other things contenting my self with telling those things only of which I have been an Eye-witness or have heard from Persons worthy of Credit These are the things which belong to the History of the Wells of Modena and which I have observ'd as I had occasion CHAP. II. That these are not Standing but Running Waters upon this occasion some things are brought in from the Hydrostaticks SEing the Nature and Original of this hidden Source deserves to be as much enquir'd into as that of the Nile did formerly let us pass through these Subterraneous VVaters with the Sails of our Reason seeing we cannot do it otherwise First we may freely affirm That these Waters are not standing as they are when shut up in a Hogshead but are in conâ—inual motion and that pretty quick For the Noise of that waâ—er which is heard before the Perâ—oration in the bottom of the Wells â—oes make it manifest enough Neither can any object that even stagnant VVaters are subject to great Commotions as is known of the Vulsinian Lake Thrasumenus and Benacus of which the chief of the poets says Teque adeo assurgens aestu Benace marino O Benacus which like the Ocean roars For that is not constant yea these Lakes for the most part are very still But the Noise of the VVater before the Terebration is constantly heard which I always perceiv'd distinctly as oft as I descended into these Wells and to this agree the Undertakers of these Wells who by the noise of the VVater guess that they have done with digging But seeing the VVate rises so suddenly to the height 〈◊〉 68 Feet casting forth Sand and Stones with force 't is most certain that these Subterraneous VVaters descend from a high place and are continually prest on by others that follow Neither do I think that such a sudden rising of the VVater can be attributed to the weight of the superincumbent Earth which drives the VVater upward by its Pressure I know indeed that VVater may be elevated above its Surface when 't is driven up by some force lying upon it as Scaliger writing against Cardan demonstrates by the Example of a Cylindrical Vessel with Pipes on both sides and a Plug fitted exactly to its Capacity into which being full of VVater if you force down the Plug it will raise the VVater in the Pipes above the Surface of the VVater that is in the Vessel But if by the weight of the incumbent Earth these VVaters were elevated the Earth so superincumbent would be broke off from the rest which is altogether improbable there appearing no Marks of it Beside by what way could it come to pass that these Waters should be so excellent as to surpass all others if they were without Motion and kept as it were captive For every body knows that standing Waters do no less differ from those that are moved than dead Bodies differ from live ones seeing we commonly call such as run Living Waters These Waters therefore do move and stand not still here but run down constantly either to the Sea or are swallowed up in some Gulph But whilst I conclude these VVaters to be running an Objection of no small Value does occur and 't is this If the VVaters run away so violently there seems to be no Reason why these Wells being digged they should rise upwards But it may be demonstrated by a Physical Experiment that the Water cannot ascend in such as case For let there be a Vessel full of Water at whose side near the bottom a Pipe is inserted at right Angles pierc't with many Holes EFG and in the lower part let it have a Slit HI If now you give the Water free vent to run out not only it will not ascend at the Holes but neither will it descend at the Slit but will all run out at the wide Mouth of the Pipe and it will be pleasant to see the Water hang out at the Slit and not fall till at the latter end the Vessel being almost empty the Water will no more run out at the wide Mouth but will all run down through the Slit. If therefore this Experiment hold the supposed running of the Waters to places farther off and their manifest ascent into these Wells at the same time seem not to agree with the Laws of Hydrostaticks For if they flow freely and without stopping without doubt they cannot rise on high which is confirmed by what the most Learned Scaliger says in his Exercitations who enquiring whether VVaters may run under other waters says That near the River Oâ—tus there is a Well on a
to be Three Fathom or Eightteen Feet above the Harlem Meer and the adjacent Lands which they defend from the Inundation of the Sea and that the weight of every Cubical Foot of Water is 76 lb. 9 ℥ ½ and 48 gr this multiplied by 18 f. the Perpendicular Height will amount to 1381 ½ lb ℥ 1. g. 384. which is the Weight or Lateral Pressure that lies on a Square Foot at the bottom which a Rampart of Earth made strong for the purpose and 100 Foot thick may be well allowed able to support 'T is true this Computation is made for fresh Water but the addition of Salt in the Sea-water which is about 1 lb of Salt to 41 lb of Water will not so much alter the Reckning For my part as I do not believe the lateral pressure of the VVater to be equal to the perpendicular so I do not think it despicable for it may be shown that the lateral pressure is less than the perpendicular by taking notice of this only That there is a greater Endeavour of the VVater to descend by a perpendicular Line than an inclin'd one But suppose that some parts in the sides of the Vessel suffer a pressure equal to the perpendicular pressure as are these which be at the bottom and in which those inclin'd ones would end which have the same Depth with the whole VVater yet in other parts the lateral pressure cannot be admitted so great The Author here seems like one groping in the dark for the Truth and yet when he has got it between his Hands he lets it slip For he supposes that the Pressure by inclin'd Lines is at the bottom equal to the Pressure by Perpendicular Lines yet he will not own the same in the intermedial parts Indeed the Pressure by Inclin'd Lines in the intermedial Parts is not equal to that Perpendicular Pressure which is at the bottom but 't is equal to that perpendicular Pressure which is on the same Horizontal Surface which may be made evident thus Take a Glass Tube such as they use for Baroscopes but open at both ends a b stop the upper end a with your Finger and so immerse it into the Vessel e f g h filled with Water to m l inclining till it come to the Horizontal Surface i k and then take your Finger off the Water will rise by the Pressure at the Orifice b till it has come to the Surface m l which is the same height it would have come to if the Pipe had been Perpendicular as in c d. Farther Suppose a Pipe bended in the end at the right Angles p q immersed to the same Surface i k as before upon taking away your Finger form p it will rise up as high as before to the Surface m l Now 't is evident to any that considers the Figure of the Pipe that the Pressure at q is Lateral and as forcible as if it were Perpendicular This may be made more pleasant to the Eye by putting Oil into the Pipe as the Honourable Mr. Boyle shews in his Paradoxa Hydrostatica Paradox 7. And yet 't is not to be thought so little of as Becherus says for seeing the sides of Vessel are no small hindrance to the Fluid that it descends not the Force which the Fluid exerces on the sides cannot be small Seeing then as was before said the parts of a Fluid are crowded on one another as if they were in a Press 't is not without Reason that Moderns from this do fetch a Solution of that old yet difficult Problem which has wearied subtile VVits VVhy a Diver in the bottom of the Sea is not opprest by the incumbent VVater They commonly say that it happens Because the Diver is lifted up by the water under him and on the sides the parts of his Body are prest with the same force neither can they be driven inward seeing all is full so that there is no fear of the Luxation of a Member or painful Compression Yet the most ingenious Mr. Boyle thinks the Difficulty is not answered enough for though by reason of the equal Pressure of the Ambient Fluid there follows no Luxation yet there appears no Reason why there is no Pain felt by the compression of the Parts one against another VVherefore the same Author recurs to the strong Texture of the Animal which can resist the Pressure It might be solv'd thus There is an Air lodged in the Pores of all Animal Iuices which two together keep distended and full the Fibres which are tubulous as Sir Edmund King has very ingeniously discovered long ago and it is by the Pressure of the Ambient Fluid which is equal on every side that this Air being forc'd into less Compass the sides of the Fibres come closer together which causes no more pain to the Fibres than the Bladder which yet is a very sensible part suffers upon its being contracted when the Urine is expelled If it were not Rashness to think any thing can be added to the Reasons of so many most famous Men I would say that seeing the Body of a Living Man is specifically lighter than VVater tho' not much and therefore being more prest by the Collateral VVater according to the Principle of Archimedes the Syphon in which the Diver is that is less prest ought to be lifted up and therefore he ought to feel no Pressure But because the Diver under water may be diversly considered either as he descends by a perpendicular Line or ascends by it or is moved by inclining Lines or as being fastned to the bottom and sticking on a Rock he remains immovable in any of these cases he cannot be subject to a dolorous Pressure I have learned from a skilful Diver that when a Swimmer will descend perpendicularly and go to the bottom in a straight Posture he drives the water upward with his Hands as with Oars and when he will rise again driving the water with his hands towards the bottom he returns the same way From whence it comes to pass that such as are unskilful in Swimming when they strike the water contrary ways are stifled It is worth the while to enquire into the Reason of these Effects having never seen them in any Author tho' there were need of a Delian Swimmer here as they say I think then that when a Swimmer drives the superincumbent water with his hand upward he therefore descends because such a Syphon being so smitten is less prest and therefore is lifted up the other being deprest in which the Swimmer is just as in a Scale suspended and put in an Aequilibrium if one of the Scales be hit below that will be lifted up and the other of necessity will descend Therefore the Body of the Swimmer being put in the Pillar that is more prest will of necessity descend but when at the same time he does this with both hands he makes his Descent more easie But when he will rise perpendicularly and in a straight
Posture from the bottom by striking the water with his hands toward the bottom he makes that Syphon more prest and therefore the Swimmer being plac'd in the other must of necessity ascend Just as when the Scale is put in an Aequilibrium if I hit the Scale in the hollow part that will be deprest and the other lifted up The same Reason holds when he ascends or descends by Lines inclin'd to the Horizon Therefore whether he ascend or descend or whatever way he move he ought to be under no dolorous Pressure how deep soever the Water be For seeing according to the most ingenious Borellus Bodies do not appear heavy but when they are in rest aâ— appears in an Example given by him of two Sacks of Wool one of which being put on the other does not exerce its weight or press it but when 't is resting and not when it descends Therefore the Swimmer descending in the Water perpendicularly ought not to suffer any Pressure in the VVater descending with the same Swiftness But when he is carry'd up by the same way seeing by his Body he thrusts upward the VVater lying upon him which he does not by his own Strength but by the help of the Collateral Syphon and therefore needs no help of his Muscles to overcome the Resistance of the superincumbent VVater neither ought he to have the sense of a dolorous Pressure to which the Circulation of the Ambient Fluid coming in behind does not a little contribute by not suffering any part of the Body to be mov'd out of its place Upon the same Account he ought not to feel any dolorous Pressure if he ascend or descend by inclin'd Lines or stick without Motion to the bottom For the other Collateral Syphon being more prest does always exerce its Force and the subjacent VVater lifts up the Diver that is specifically lighter than its self upward The Author here supposes the Body to be specifically lighter than Water which I judge to proceed from the Air inclosed in the Chest for when that is out the Body sinks by its own weight and this gave perhaps the first rise to Anatomists to discover whether a Child was Still-born or not for if its Lungs do swim in the Water 't was not Still born but has breathed the Air but if they sink then they conclude the Child to have been Still-born As for the Divers rising or falling by the Motion of his Hands 't is the same Case as in an Oar when the Blade of it moves with greater force than the Water it makes resistance to the Oar which therefore not advancing the Boat of necessity must So when a Man presses the Water quickly downward it makes resistance to his Hands and therefore the Water not giving way fast enough the Body must be thrust upward just as in the Air if a Man between two Chairs did forcibly thrust them down with his two Hands he must be lifted up because they do not give way The Author says the Pressure is not felt when the Diver is ascending or descending because the Water being in motion does not press upon the Body But it might be made manifest that it does and Experience makes it beyond Contradiction that they feel no Pressure when the Water is at rest and the Divers do own that they feel a Pressure rather in the going down in the Diving-Bell than afterward as the Honourable Mr. Boyle told me be had communicated to him by the Laird of Melgum who practis'd this way of Diving in these Words The Compression of the Air being such as going down did hurt me but below and staying there was as familiar to me as that above CHAP. III. That these Fountains cannot be derived from a Subterraneous River SEing then that it is clear enough from what was said before that the flowing of these VVaters toward the Sea may consist with their rising here and in any place it seems to follow that there is a great subterraneous River under it from which these Fountains do spring And truly this is the common Opinion among us which yet I cannot assent to I am not ignorant that there are some Rivers that hide their Head under Ground and after some time do rise again Some again there are that never rise above Ground as it happens in the Veins of the Body some do appear in the Surface and some do never Of this Seneca speaks very well Nature governs the Earth as it does our Bodies in which are Veins and Arteries and Nature hath so formed it like our Bodies that our Ancestors have call'd them Veins Pliny says That the Nile is often swallowed up in Gulphs and after a long time is spew'd up again They report the same of Niger a River of Aethiopia which rising out of the same Lake that the Nile does and running towards the VVest when it meets with a Chain of Mountains it finds hidden ways and appearing again on the other side of the Mountains discharges it self into the Atlantick Ocean In like manner Tigris in Mesopotamia being stopt by the Mountain Cancasus hides it self under Ground and is lost in a great Cave but afterward breaking out near to Babylon is mixt with Euphrates To say nothing of Alphaeus a River in Achaia whom the Poets feign to pass a great way not only under Ground but also under the Sea it self and to rise again in the Fountain called Arethusa This is known by the Offals of the Sacrifice which being thrown down the River were every fifth Summer at the time of the Olympiack Games cast up by this Fountain And also the Seas themselves are thought to communicate by occult Passages as the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Caspian with the Euxine as the most Learned Kircher makes out by good Conjectures Father Avril a Iesuit in his Travels into Tartary says that 't is more probable that it discharges its self into the Persian Gulph of which this is his main Proof That they who inhabit about the Persian Gulph do every Year at the end of Autumn observe a vast quantity of Willow-Leaves Now in regard this sort of Tree is altogether unknown in the Southerin part of Persia which borders upon that Sea and for that quite the contrary the Northern part which is bounded by the Sea of Kilan or the Caspian-Sea has all the Sea-Coasts of it shaded with these Trees we may assure our selves with Probability enough that these Leaves are not carried from one end of the Empire to the other but only by the Water that rowls them along thro' the Caverns of the Earth So far Father Avril Who further for establishing a Circulation of VVaters from Pole to Pole describes a great VVhirlpool under the North Pole of which also Olaus Magnus and Helmont have written by which a great quantity of VVaters is absonb'd which falling into the Bowels of the Earth is return'd by the South Pole Some say that this changes its Course
come When the timorous join'd themselves together there arose Counsellors and when they were called into Judgment there arose Judges This now Noble Sir is the great History which the wise Abyssinian told the Count worthy to be had in great Veneration and highly to be esteem'd Helmont seems to have entertain'd an Opinion about the Face of the Earth before the Deluge not unlike to this his Words are these From whence I conceive the Earth to have been in one piece and undivided for asmuch as 't was be-water'd with one Fountain and lastly to have had no Isles but the whole Globe was Sea on one side and Earth on the other This was the Face of the World before the Deluge after which the Earth did open into several shapes and out of the Abyss of these Chinks did the Waters break out But let us leave the Opinion no less disagreeing with the Interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures than with Nature it self Scaliger speaking of the Asserters of that Opinion about the Generation of the Mountains says That they piously dote who have told that the Earth was pulled out of and sav'd from the Deluge Yet 't is certain that the Earth in that Universal Deluge did not suffer an ordinary Change so that the Fortune of things being changed Thetis and Vesta chang'd their places from whence Ovid says Quodque fuit campus vallem decursus aquarum Fecit eluvie mons est deductus in aequor E'que paludosa siccis humus aret arenis In English thus Torrents have made a Valley of a Plain High Hills by Deluges born to the Main Steep standing Lakes suckt dry by thirsty Sand And on late thirsty Earth now Lakes do stand I believe it has not happened otherwise to this Countrey of ours For I conceive that in the first beginning of the World all this Plain than which Italy has not a greater and which the Po does now divide into Gallia Cispadana and Transpadana was once a Sea and a part of the Adriatick So in the Universal Deluge the Mountains being par'd off and bar'd so that they lookt like Bodies extenuated by a Disease as Plato wrote of the Atlantick Island we have reason to think that this Bay of the Sea was filled with Sand and so became a Valley and afterwards in process of time by continual Descent of Waters from the Apennine and the Alps and other particular Deluges such as was that which happen'd Anno 590. in Gallia Cisalpina than which 't is thought there has not been a greater since the Days of Noah as Paâ—â—â—vinâ—us says in his Fifth Book of the Antiquities of Verona this Ground did grow up by degrees and by many Lays or Beds to the height we do now see it of Both Ancient and Modern Writers judge the same of the most famous and greatest Plains in the Earth as in Egypt c. which Aristottle says formerly was a part of the Sea and Herodot calls it the Gift of the Nile seeing the Etymology of Nile is derived from Limus Slime which he likewise says of the Countreys about Ilium Teuthrania and Ephesus to wit that they were sometime a part of the Sea Yea the same Herodot hath left it in Writing that if the Nile turn'd its Course into the Arabick Gulph it would at length cover it all with Slime Polybius says that the Lake Maeotis and the Euxine Sea are constantly fill'd with plenty of Sand which great Rivers do continually bring into it and that the time would be when they should be made even with the Continent taking an Argument from the Taste of the Water viz. That as Maeotis is sweeter than the Pontick so the Pontick is sweeter than the Euxine Modern Writers think no less of the great and plain Countreys among whom is the most Learned Kircher who in his Mundus Subterraneus says from the Arabick Antiquities and other Observations That the great Plain which lies between the Arabick and Persian Gulph before the common Deluge was covered with Sea-waters And he also thinks That the Sandy Desarts of Tartary were formerly the place of Waters and all one with the Caspian Sea and afterwards in length of time to have been rais'd to a greater height and turned into great Fields Neither need we to go so far off for Examples We understand by History that Ravenna as well as Venice was plac'd in the Sea but seeing now 't is 5 Miles from the Sea no body knows how much Land has accrew'd to it by the retiring of the Sea a Prodigy truly worthy of Wonder that where Ships did sail before now there are Groves of Pine-trees Upon the same account may we call the Land of Ferrara the Gift of Eridanus by reason of the slimy Water which this Royal River did by many Mouths discharge into the Adriatick for some Ages by which it came to pass that a Colony of Fishes was by a true Metamorphosis chang'd into an Habitation of Men for which Ovid says Vidi factas ex aequore terras Et procul à pelago conchae jacuere marinae I 've seen the Seas oft turned to a Plain And Lands were tilled where was before the Main Tho' I dare not absolutely say that all the Countrey which lies between the Apennine and the Alps was a Sea formerly yet by what is observ'd in the digging of the Wells Oyster-shells and other Sea Products being found in their greatest Depth it may be not without Ground conjectured that the Adriatick did at least come thus far or that the Bays communicating with the Sea did stagnate here Yet 't is without doubt from the Writings of the Ancients that between the â— Aemilian Way in the middle of which is seated Modena and the Po there was a Lake reaching from the Adriatick even to Placentia which from the Neighbourhood of the Po they called Padusa into which many Rivers descending from the Apennine discharg'd a great quantity of Waters Virgil makes mention of this Lake in these Verses Piscosove amne padusae Dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquacia cygni Or murmuring Swans that sound their fanning Wings Padusa's Fishy Banks upon or Ecchoing Springs But Iohn Baptista Aleottus in his most Learned Book against Caesar Mengolus of Ravenna shews by strong Reasons and Authorities that no River from Splacentia to the Coast of the Adriatick Sea did come into the Channel of the Po but that they all discharged themselves into this Padusa for which he brings the Authority of Strabo who writes That this Lake was a great Hindrance to Hannibal when he would have pass'd his Army into Etruria which Lake being not long after by the Diligence of M. Scaurus the Surveyor dried up was turned into most fruitful Fields many Rivers being brought within their own Banks to enter into the Po as Tarus Parma Entia Gabellus Scultenna the Rheine and other Rivers of no small Note Upon this account we may reasonably think that the Po was not so famous of old
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-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
in water and which contains the rest by way of Excellency is that it partake most of the nature of the Air. So Pliny hath written That wholsom water ought to be most like to the Air. On which Account Cassiodorus commended the Virgin Water so famous then at Rome that running most purely it resambled the Air. For water ought to be pure like the Air light and clear free of smell and taste thin and susceptible of Heat and Cold. But the waters of these Fountains are such for they are clear like the Air free of smell and taste do most quickly receive any other quality and being weigh'd are lighter than any others Though Physicians do not seem to value much the Argument taken from the Lightness and the Divine Master calls these light which are soon hot and soon cold And Pliny writes That 't is in vain to examine by the Balance the goodness of the Waters seeing it seldom happens that one is lighter than the other which Brasavolus try'd in several kinds of Waters before Hercules the Second Duke of Ferrara Yet seeing there are not wanting more subtile ways of knowing even the least difference of weight in waters according to the Doctrine of Archimedes Levity is not altogether to be neglected for Levity signifies the absence of the Terrestrial parts and is a sure Proof of greater simplicity Truly 't is without doubt that if there were two Vessels of the same capacity and full of the same water and in one of these divers kinds of Salts were dissolved in a certain quantity though the water did not grow in bulk yet the one will be of greater weight than the other and will be filled with strange qualities wherefore Gravity and Levity are not to be slighted I will not deny that some waters naturally light are worse than others that are heavier because of the evil qualities of the Soil through which they pass Athenaeus says That the waters of Amphiaraus and Eâ—treria being compar'd together do not differ in weight yet the one is wholsom and the other not So Titâ—aresius a River of which Homer speaks running into Penaeus is not mixt with it but swims over it like Oil Yet Pliny says his waters are deadly And he says That Penaeus refuses to suffer his silver-colour'd waters to be mix'd with the others deadly waters If we infuse a whole Glass of Antimony in water otherwise light no weight will be added to it to judge of but none is ignorant what Disorders it raises in the Body And it is necessary to confess these things to be true of the lightness of the water considered alone but if with other marks of goodness there be lightness join'd it will be no small accession to its goodness Herodotus describes a Fountain of Aethiopia the water of which he says was of such lightness that nothing could swim in it no not a Stick nor what was lighter than a Stick and such as used those waters were called Macrobii i. e. Long-liv'd Gelen himself commends the lightness of the water for a probable conjecture of its goodness But if the lightness be alone says he 't will not be a sufficient mark of good water which one may also say of all the other Signs seeing none of it self and separately is a sufficient Mark of its goodness But a surer Mark of the goodness of water is if it be not heavy in the Bowels for this is truly the lightest and this kind of lightness is more to be esteemed than that which may be try'd with the Scale For we must not presently because 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Deprived of all quality so as to be pure clear void of smell and taste give Sentence and pronounce it innocent but we must bring another Proof viz. How they affect the Bowels for it may be that it has all external Marks of Goodness yet has a more secret Noxiousness which cannot be found out by the external Sense This therefore will be the true and safer judgment of waters which is brought from Experience it self And truly that water is to be thought light by the Effect which makes not the Bowels feel any weight in passing for which kind of lightness the waters of Modena are very commendable as not weighting the Stomach when one drinks a full Draught of them but easily pass through the whole Body and are voided by Sweat and Urine But above all these Hippocrates chiefly commends these Fountains whose waters come forth of deep Springs which are cold in Summer and warm in Winter but all these things are observed in these Fountains seeing they rise 68 Foot high and in Summer are very cold but in Winter are warm yea exhale some small Vapors Neither must we refer the Heat which is found in these waters in the Winter-time to metallick Exhalations or a mixture of Salts with an acid Mineral seeing that is perceiv'd only in the Winter-time by an Antiperistasis All know that there are as many differences of Waters as of Places for Fountain and Well-waters do easily drink up the different qualities of the Ground through which they pass which are innumerable yet those waters are thought more wholsom that run through thick Sand and Gravel because they carry nothing from such a matter upward which cannot be said of that which runs through Clay and soft Sand. But the waters of these Fountains flow a long way through Sand which is called Male a Proof of which is a great abundance of Dross Sand and Gravel which these Fountains use to throw up at their first coming forth Moreover these waters according to my Observation and of many others continue without Corruption for a long time For it is found by Experiment in long Navigations that the water of Neuceria did stink but ours continued pure I am not ignorant 't is a Question among Physicians no less curious than worthy to be known Whether the sudden Corruption of the water be a mark of its Goodness or Badness Perhaps Hippocrates himself gave cause of doubting who after he had commended Rain water says They soon putrifie except they be boil'd and strained again Galen Paulus Avicenna and some of the Ancients amongst the Moderns Ioubertus Salius Augenius Bruvierinus and many others take the waters readiness to putrifie for a sign of goodness providing other Notes agree For the chief Property of water is say they that they be quickly altered by any external Cause and from thence they think its inclinableness to Putrefaction to arise But these which continue long free of Corruption say they partake of an aluminous nature Such are the waters of Tyber which are kept in Earthen Vessels for Months and Years under Ground without Corruption On the other hand there are some who think an inclinableness to Putrefaction among the faults of water among whom is Costaeus who says That it is a mark of the best water that they do not so easily corrupt And
is deservedly oppos'd to Avicenna who thought that Rain-waters were soon corrupted because they were thinner For rather from thinness of the Substance one might argue that their Substances are less subject to Corruption as is known of distilled waters and Spirits of VVine which truly is thinner than VVine and not only does not putrifie it self but also preserves other Bodies free from Corruption Seeing then Experience it self makes it plain that those which are most simple do less putrifie but those which have a greater Heterogenity because of the Disagreement of the Internal Parts and a continual Fermentation are more easily corrupted Therefore I am easily induc'd to believe that the Curruption of the water is rather to be attributed to its Pravity than Goodness But the Reason why the Rain waters sooner putrifie may be this that when by the Heat of the Sun the water is rais'd from the Earth all sorts of Filth are raised with it and a great quantity of Volatile Salts is mixed with it which made Becher say That all Rain-waters being putrified and distilled did give an ardent Spirit But if promptitude to Putrefaction were a Sign of Goodness why may we not say the same of Eatables which naturally do soon putrifie such as are Fleshes Fishes VVorts early Ripe Fruits and the like viz. That these Aliments are better than those which do not so soon putrifie seeing they are sooner alter'd by the concocting Faculty Weaker Foods have a shorter Life Hippocrates as Valesius interprets says they make Men's Lives shorter and such as cat these Meats are infirm and weak and cannot live so long So Bread of Wheat well fermented and well bak'd gives a most excellent Nourishment and long Life to sound Bodies and Bread of all Food does least putrefie Upon which account 't is that Levinus Lemnius commendeth it For says he Bread long kept does indeed grow mouldy and grows dry but does not putrefie Therefore 't is not a little to the Praise of our Fountains that they do not corrupt so that having other Marks of Goodness they are to be reckon'd the best of Waters 'T is an old Commendation of Waters if Pulse be quickly boil'd in them as Pliny Athenaeus Vitruvius Galeus Paulus and among the Modern Physicians Langius Costaeus Bruvierinus and others do testifie But 't is known that this also is common to unwholsom Waters for the difficulty of boiling some Pulse is not always by the Fault of the Waters but very often of the Grains themselves as they have grown in this or the other Ground as Theophrastus testifies when he said That there are many places which always bring forth Pulse that are easily boil'd others there are which bring forth Grains hard to be boil'd Yea Plutarch says That of two Furrows join'd together one brings forth a hard Crop the other not The Women themselves know that well enough who if they have Pulse that are not easily boil'd use to macerate them a Night in water with a Sack full of Ashes by which means the close Texture of the Grain is open'd by the force of the Salt in the Ashes And I think none will look upon the water so made lixivial as simple or will commend it for daily drinking in whole Bodies Yet I cannot deny that salt and crude waters very far distant from the best may be for some sickly Natures or in a neutral state of Health instead of Medicine which Hippocrates hath taught expresly in these words But whatever are salt and crude are not fit for all to drink of yet there are some Natures to whom such Waters are convenient to be drunk Whatever were hard to be boiled the Greek call'd Ateramnia transferring likewise the same word to a stubborn and inflexible Mind So Grains hard to be boil'd were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are those which Theophrastus says grow in a thick tough Earth and as it were clayie as at Philippi when the Pulse which Egypt bears both by reason of the nitrous Soil and the Heat are easily boil'd Likewise water in which Grains were hardly boil'd was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word Hippocrates us'd to signifie the crudity of water in many occasions of which Erotianus hath in his Onomasticon made a Collection Therefore as the Difficulty of the Pulses being boil'd is not always the Fault of the waters so their being easily boil'd is not a Mark of their Goodness which sometimes is proper to the Seeds sometimes to the VVaters yea more effectual in some waters that are not of the best seeing in nitrous and lixivious water Pulse Roots and Worts are sooner boil'd Upon this account in Rain-waters as being full of Saline Particles all kind of Grains are sooner boil'd than in Fountain-water which is more pure and defecated Upon this account Horatius Augenius preferring Rain-water to others for making of Ptisan when he had taken notice that Barley did sooner boil in this than in Spring-water of his own accord confesses That the Rain-VVaters are not sincere which made him go into this Opinion as a Paradox That the purer the water is and less mixt the less 't is fit for the use of Life But in our Fountain-waters Pulse of all sorts is easily enough boil'd and any other kind of Aliments which as I dare not discommend in them so I think is no way to be taken for a Mark of the best But certainly that is a greater Criterion for judging of the Goodness of plain VVaters which as Vitruvius says is taken from the Habit of Men's Bodies that live about those waters to wit if they be robust clear Complexions sound and not blear-ey'd Now 't is known enough that both Citizens and such as live in the Suburbs here are of a good Habit of Body and subject to none of these Distempers and the good Health which those of Modena enjoy beyond other Towns on this side the Po is not so much to be ascribed to the wholsomness of the Air as to the goodness of the Waters as in Egypt where their long Life according to Alpinus is attributed to the water of the Nile Seeing therefore in the most strict Censure the waters of these Fountains are not only innocent but wholsom truly this City has nothing in which it may envy any other as to this point yea seeing its waters are carried to the neighbouring places in the Summer-time the Nucerian water is now out of use to the great benefit of the sick So in the Summer-time they run to these Fountains in all kinds of Fevers for the use of water that I may not say the abuse is grown so frequent that it seems the only Febrifuge and chiefly to the Fountain which is called Abyssus as to the VVell of Esculapius of which we spoke before VVherefore I need not fear to make use of what Claudian says of Aponus That they are at least amongst our Countrey-folks Commune Medentum Auxilium praesens numen inempta salus Physicians common Aid a present Help A Powerful Deity and an unpurchas'd Health And so much may suffice concerning the Nature and Properties of the VVells of Modena and if I have said something like probable 't is well but if not then both for the Dignity and the Difficulty of the matter Volutatum est dolium in Cranio FINIS Theor. l. 1. p. 114. Tell. Th. l. 1. c. 5. Tell. Th. c. 5. p. 35 36 37. ☞ Ram. p. 58 76. Fig. 1. Exer. 100. De motu Anim P. 1. prop. 215. ☜ ☜ Ep. 2. Lib. 4. Lib. 5. Hist. Nat. c. 9. c. 35. Lib. 3 Quaest. Nat. c. 28. Cant. 4. L. 3. Quae. Nat. c. 7. De Leg. Dial. 8. Lib. 7. De re Metallica In Lucul 5 Aph. 26. Lib. 31. N. 11. c. 3. One may rather say Saline In Thal. De Bonit aq c. 1.