The ^aturall and Moratt 



As many regions are there on the ground. 

 As are in he A venjvhereinfut parts are found, 

 Whereof the midjl, through heateraifdjrom tfa raytz 

 Qffcorchingfonnejr*habitableftaies. 

 The A undents have grounded their general! opi- 

 tnonvpon one reafon, which feemed to them cer- 

 taine and not to be confuted : for finding that the 

 more a region drew neere vnto the South , the hotter 

 it was : theproofe whereof was fo infallible inthofe 

 regions 5 as by the fame reafon in I fa lie , Apulia is hot 

 ter then Tttfcane^ and inSpaineAnddozia then Bifiait. 

 A thing fo apparent > that although there bee but 

 eight degrees difference orkflTe betwixt the one and 

 the other 5 <yet dp weefindetheone extreame hotte, 

 and the other very colde , whereby they did inferre, 

 that the region fo neere the South, having the funnc 

 fbdiredly for zenith, muft of neceflity bee continu 

 ally fcorched with heate . They did likewifc fee, that 

 the divers feafons of the yeere,as theSpring, Summer, 

 Autumne & Winter, were caufed by the neerenes and 

 diftanceof thefunne, finding alfo that although they 

 were farre from the Tropicke ? by which the funne doth 

 paflein fummer, yetwhenit approched neere vnto 

 them,at the fame feafon they feltgreat heate. Whereby 

 they did conieiure 5 thatif they had had the funnp 

 fo neere vnto them as to go diredlly over their heads,, 

 the heate would have bene fo infupportable,as it would 

 burneand confume men with the vehemency thereof. 

 The feme reafon moved the Auncients , to thinke that 

 the middle region was not habitable, and therefore 

 they called it the burning zone. And in truth, if vifible 

 experience [did not vnfold this doubt, we fhould yet 

 confeffe , that this reafon were very peremptorie 



and 



