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
[p. 27]other clouds
from the opposite direction: there it is first condensed, and what
is behind is carried up to the spot, and thus it thickens, blackens,
and is conglomerated, and by its weight it falls down and becomes
rain. Such, to all appearance, are the best of waters, but they require
to be boiled and strained; for otherwise they have a bad smell, and
occasion hoarseness and thickness of the voice to those who drink
them. Those from snow and ice are all bad, for when once congealed,
they never again recover their former nature; for whatever is clear,
light, and sweet in them, is separated and disappears; but the most
turbid and weightiest part is left behind. You may ascertain this
in the following manner: If in winter you will pour water by measure
into a vessel and expose it to the open air until it is all frozen,
and then on the following day bring it into a warm situation where
the ice will thaw, if you will measure the water again when dissolved
you will find it much less in quantity. This is a proof that the lightest
and thinnest part is dissipated and dried up by the congelation, and
not the heaviest and thickest, for that is impossible: wherefore I
hold that waters from snow and ice, and those allied to them, are
the worst of any for all purposes whatever. Such are the characters
of rain-water, and those from ice and snow.
