of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 
ftopped,and choked. And what might the reafon els be of thunders and lightnings Aathin g and 
breaking forth in that violence, and caufing fuch troubles and broils, as if the world were at war 
within it felfez And can there bee any thing more woonderfull and miraculous, than to fee the 
waters congealed above in theaire, and{oto continue pendant in the skie? And yetas if they 
were not contented to have rifen thustothat exceeding heigth, they catch and {natch up with 
them into the upper region of the aire,a world of litle fifhes:ocherwhiles alfo they take up {tones, 
and charge themlelves with that ponderous and weightie matter which is more proper to ano- 
ther Element. The {ame waters falling downe againe in raine, are the verie cau‘e of all thofe 
things here below whichthe Earth produceth and bringeth forth. And theretore confideting 
the woonderfull nature thereof,and namely how the corne groweth upon the ground, how trees 
and plants doe live, profper, and fructifie by the means of waters, which firft afcending up into 
the skie, are furnifhed from thence with a lively breath,and beftowing the fame upon the herbs, 
caufe them to {pring and multiply ; wee cannot chufe but confeffe, that for all the ftrength and 
vertue whichthe Earth alfo hath, fhee isbeholdento the Waters, and hath receivedall from 
them. In which regard ,above all things,and before I enter into my intended difcourfe of Fifhes 
and Beafts living in this Element, I meane firftto fer downe in generalitie the marveilous power 
aud properties ofwater it felfe, and to illuftratthe{ame by way of fundrie examples: for the par- 
ticular difcourfe ofall forts of waters,what man living is able to performe ? 
Cuap, 11. 
2S The diverfitie of waters their vertues and operations medtcivable : and 
other fingularsties obferved therein, 
Here is in manner no region nor coaft of the earth but you fhall fee in one quarter or other 
waters gently rifing and {pringing out of the ground here and there, yeelding tountains in 
one place cold,in another hot yea and otheMhiles there may be difcovered one with ano- 
therneare adjoyning :asfor example, about * Tarbelli atowne in Guienne, and the Pyrenzean 
hills, there do boile np hot andcold forings,fo clofe one unto the other,that hardly any diftance 
can be perceived between, Moreover, fources there be, which yeeld waters neither coldnor hot 
but luke-warme, and the fame veric holefome and proper for the cure of many difeafes; as if Na- 
ture had fex them apart for the good of man onely,and no other living creature befide.To thefe 
fountaiis fo medicinable,there is afcribed {omedivine power, iofomuch as they give name un- 
to fundrie gods and goddefles,and feeme to augment their number by that means: yea & other- 
whiles great towns and cities carrie their names : like as Puteolt in Campaine ; Statyella in Ligu- 
ria; Aque Sextix inthe province of Narbon or Piemont: but inno countrey of the worldis 
there found greater plentic of thefe {prings, and the fame endued with more medicinable pro- 
perties,than in the tract or vale Baianus within the realm of Naples,where you thal] have fome 
hold ot brimftone, others of alume;fome ftanding upon a veine of falc, others of nitre;fome 
refembling the nature of Bitumen, and others againe of a mixt qualitie, partly fowre and partly 
falr. Furthermore, you fhall meet with fome of them, which naturally ferve asa fteuph or hot- 
houfe; tor the very {teeme and vapour onely which arifeth from them, is holefome and profita- 
ble for our bodies :and thofé are fo exceeding hot, that they heatthebains, yea and are ableto 
make the cold water to feeth and boile again which is in their bathing tubs :as namely, the foua- 
taine Pofidianus within the forefaid territorie Bajanus, which name it tocke of one Pofidiusya 
4.01 
* Some thinke 
Bajon in 
Fraunce. 
flave fomerime,and enfranehifed by Clandiw Cz(ay the Emperour. Moreover, there be of them . 
fo hot, that they are ableto feeth an egg or any other viands or cates for the table, As forthe Li- 
cinian fprings, which beare the name of Liciais Craffae,a man may perceive them to boile and 
reeke againe, even out of the very fea. See how good Nature is unto us,who amid the waves and 
billows of the fea, hath affonrded healthful waters! But nowto difcipher their vertues in phyfick 
according to their {everall kinds :thus much in generalitie is obferved in thefe bathes, That they 
ferve for the infirmities of the finews,for gout of the feet,and {ciatica. Some more properly are 
good for diflocations of joints,and fractures of bones: others have a propertie to loofen the bel- 
hie and to purge: and as there be of them which heale wounds and ulcers, fo there are againe that 
more particularly berefpective tothe accidents of the head and ears :and among the reft, thofe 
which beare the name of Cicero andbe called Ciceronianz,be foveraign for the cies. Now there 
Mm ij | is 
. 
4 
