[p. 26] for boiling, so that the belly is more likely to be bound up than
loosened by them. And thus it is with regard to the waters of springs.
PART 8
I will now tell how it is with respect to rain-water, and water from
snow. Rain waters, then, are the lightest, the sweetest, the thinnest,
and the clearest; for originally the sun raises and attracts the thinnest
and lightest part of the water, as is obvious from the nature of salts;
for the saltish part is left behind owing to its thickness and weight,
and forms salts; but the sun attracts the thinnest part, owing to
its lightness, and he abstracts this not only from the lakes, but
also from the sea, and from all things which contain humidity, and
there is humidity in everything; and from man himself the sun draws
off the thinnest and lightest part of the juices. As a strong proof
of this, when a man walks in the sun, or sits down having a garment
on, whatever parts of the body the sun shines upon do not sweat, for
the sun carries off whatever sweat makes its appearance; but those
parts which are covered by the garment, or anything else, sweat, for
the particles of sweat are drawn and forced out by the sun, and are
preserved by the cover so as not to be dissipated by the sun; but
when the person comes into the shade the whole body equally perspires,
because the sun no longer shines upon it. Wherefore, of all kinds
of water, these spoil the soonest; and rain water has a bad spot smell,
because its particles are collected and mixed together from most objects,
so as to spoil the soonest. And in addition to this, when attracted
and raised up, being carried about and mixed with the air, whatever
part of it is turbid and darkish is separated and removed from the
other, and becomes cloud and mist, but the most attenuated and lightest
part is left, and becomes sweet, being heated and concocted by the
sun, for all other things when concocted become sweet. While dissipated
then and not in a state of consistence it is carried aloft. But when
collected and condensed by contrary winds, it falls down wherever
it happens to be most condensed. For this is likely to happen when
the clouds being carried along and moving with a wind which does not
allow them to rest, suddenly encounters another wind and
