Chap. 63.] NATUEE OF THE EA.ETH. 91 



by frozen dew*. During the winter snow falls, but not hail ; 

 hail itself falls more frequently during the day than the night, 

 and is more quickly melted than snow. There are no mista 

 either in the summer or during the greatest cold of winter. 

 There is neither dew nor hoar formed during great heat or 

 winds, nor unless the night be serene. Fluids are diminished 

 in bulk by being frozen, and, when the ice is melted, we do 

 not obtain the same quantity of fluid as at first'. 



(61.) The clouds are varied in their colour and figure accord- 

 ing as the fire which they contain is in excess or is absorbed 

 by them. 



CHAP. 62. (62.) — THE PEOUI-IAEITIES OP THE WEATHEB IN 

 DIFFEEENT PLACES. 



'^here are, moreover, certain peculiarities in certain places. 

 In Africa dew falls during the night in summer. In Italy, 

 at Locri, and at the Lake Velinum, there is never a day 

 in which a rainbow is not seen'. At Rhodes and at Syracuse 

 the sky is never so covered with clouds, but that the sun is 

 visible at one time or another ; these things, however, will 

 be better detailed in their proper place. So far respecting 

 the air. 



CHAP. 63. (63.) — NATUEE OP THE EAETH. 



Next comes the earth, on which alone of all parts of na- 

 ture we have bestowed the name that implies maternal vene- 

 ration. It is appropriated to man as the heavens are to God. 

 She receives us at our birth, nourishes us when bom, and 

 ever afterwards supports us ; lastly, embracing us in her 

 bosom when we are rejected by the rest of nature, she then 

 covers us with especial tenderness ; rendered sacred to us, 

 inasmuch as she renders us sacred, bearing our monuments 



* Aristotle treats at some length of dew, snow, and hail, in his Meteor. L 

 cap. 10, 11 & 12 respectively. 



2 WTien water is frozen, its bulk is increased in consequence of its as- 

 suming a crystalline structure. Any diminution which may be found to 

 luive taken place in the bulk of the fluid, when thawed, must be ascribed 

 to evaporation or to some accidental circumstance. 



3 " VeHni lacus praxiipiti ciursu in gurgitem subjectmn defertur, 



et illo aquarum lapsu, dispersis in aera guttis humidis, iridis multi- 



pUcis phsenomenon efficit " Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 365. 



