84 RAIN CAUSED BY HEAT OF THE SUN. 



LlB - &quot; ing in the Lake in their boates of tortora, the which are 

 tied together and fastened to some rocke, and often times 

 the whole village change th from place to place. So, as hee 

 that would seeke them now whereas they were yesterday, 

 shall finde no shew nor remainder of them, or of their 

 village. The current or issue of this Lake, having runne 

 above fiftie leagues, makes another Lake, but lesse then the 

 first, which they call Paria, and containes in it some small 

 Hands, but they finde no issue thereof. Some imagine it 

 runnes vnder the ground, and that it falles into the South 

 sea; giving out, that there is a branch of a river which they 

 see rise and enter into the sea neere the banke, having no 

 knowledge of the Spring. But, contrariwise, I beleeve that 

 the waters of this Lake dissolve and are dispearsed within 

 the Lake it selfe, through the heate of the Sunne. This 

 discourse seemes sufficient to prove that the Ancients had 

 no reason to holde that the middle region was uninhabitable 

 for the defect of waters, seeing there is such store both 

 from heaven and on the earth. 



CHAP. vn. Shewing tlie reason wh.y the Sunne without the 



Tropicks causetli greatest quantitie of waters when it is 



farthest off; and contrariwise, within them it breedeth 



most when it is neerest. 



Considering with my selfe often times what should cause 

 the Equinoctial to be so moist, as I have said, to refute the 

 opinion of the Ancients, I finde no other reason but the 

 great force of the sunne in those partes, whereby it drawes 

 vnto it a great aboundance of vapors from out of the Ocean, 

 which in those parts is very great and spatious ; and having 

 drawne vnto it this great aboundance of vapours, doth sud 

 denly dissolve them into raine, and it is approoved by many 

 tryed experiences, that the raine and great storm es from 



