Book XXXI. Remedies Derived from the Aquatic Productions.

Chaps. 1-21.

Chap. 1. (1.)—Remarkable Facts Connected with Water.

We have now to speak of the benefits derived, in a medicinal point of view, from the aquatic productions; for not here even has all-bounteous Nature reposed from her work. Amid waves and billows, and tides of rivers for ever on the ebb and flow, she still unceasingly exerts her powers; and nowhere, if we must confess the truth, does she display herself in greater might, for it is this among the elements that holds sway over all the rest. It is water that swallows up dry land, that extinguishes flame, that ascends aloft, and challenges possession of the very heavens: it is water that, spreading clouds as it does, far and wide, intercepts the vital air we breathe; and, through their collision, gives rise to thunders and lightnings, [See B. ii. c. 43. Ajasson remarks, that the electric fluid, forming lightning, escapes from the clouds through causes totally independent of water. Still, Pliny would appear to be right in one sense; for if there were no water, there would be no clouds; and without clouds the electric fluid would probably take some other form than that of lightning.] as the elements of the universe meet in conflict.

What can there be more marvellous than waters suspended aloft in the heavens? And yet, as though it were not enough to reach so high an elevation as this, they sweep along with them whole shoals of fishes, and often stones as well, thus lading themselves with ponderous masses which belong to other elements, and bearing them on high. Falling upon the earth, these waters become the prime cause of all that is there produced; a truly wondrous provision of Nature, if we only consider, that in order to give birth to grain and life to trees and to shrubs, water must first leave the earth for the heavens, and thence bring down to vegetation the breath of life! The admission must be surely extorted from us, that for all our resources the earth is indebted to the bounteousness of water. It will be only proper, therefore, in the first place to set forth some instances of the powerful properties displayed by this element; for as to the whole of them, what living mortal could describe them?

Chap. 2. (2.)—The Different Properties of Waters.

On all sides, and in a thousand countries, there are waters bounteously springing forth from the earth, some of them cold, some hot, and some possessed of these properties united: those in the territory of the Tarbelli, [He alludes to the mineral waters of Acqs or Dax on the Adour, in the French department of the Ariège. They are still highly esteemed.] for instance, a people of Aquitania, and those among the Pyrenæan [The principal of which are those of Aigues-Chaudes, Aigues-Bonnes, Bagnères-Adores, Cambo, Bagnères, Barèges, Saint-Sauveur, and Cauteret.] Mountains, where hot and cold springs are separated by only the very smallest distance. Then, again, there are others that are tepid only, or lukewarm, announcing thereby the resources they afford for the treatment of diseases, and bursting forth, for the benefit of man alone, out of so many animated beings. [Ajasson remarks that animals in all cases refuse to drink mineral waters.]

Under various names, too, they augment the number of the divinities, [He alludes to Neptune, Amphitrite, the Oceanides, Nereides, Tritons, Crenides, Limnades, Potamides, and numerous other minor divinities.] and give birth to cities; Puteoli, [See B, iii. c. 9.] for example, in Campania, Statyellæ [See B. iii. c. 7.] in Liguria, and Sextiæ [See B. iii. c. 5.] in the province of Gallia Narbonensis. But nowhere do they abound in greater number, or offer a greater variety of medicinal properties than in the Gulf of Baiæ; [The mineral waters of Baiæ are still held in high esteem.] some being impregnated with sulphur, some with alum, some with salt, some with nitre, [As to the identity of the “nitrum” of Pliny, see c. 46 of this Book.] and some with bitumen, while others are of a mixed quality, partly acid and partly salt. In other cases, again, it is by their vapours that waters are so beneficial to man, being so intensely hot as to heat our baths even, and to make cold water boil in our sitting-baths; such, for instance, as the springs at Baiæ, now known as “Posidian,” after the name of a freedman [Posides, a eunuch who belonged to the Emperor Claudius, according to Suetonius, c. 28.] of the Emperor Claudius; waters which are so hot as to cook articles of food even. There are others, too,—those, for example, formerly the property of Licinius Crassus—which send forth their vapours in the sea [There are still submarine volcanoes in the vicinity of Sicily, but the spot here referred to is now unknown.] even, thus providing resources for the health of man in the very midst of the waves!

Chap. 3.—Remedies Derived from Water.

According to their respective kinds, these waters are beneficial for diseases of the sinews, feet, or hips, for sprains or for fractures; they act, also, as purgatives upon the bowels, heal wounds, [The Eaux Bonnes in the Basses Pyrénées are good for wounds. After the battle of Pavia they received from the soldiers of Jean d’Albret, king of Navarre, the name of Eaux d’arquebusade.] and are singularly useful for affections of the head and ears: indeed, the waters of Cicero are good for the eyes. [Only, Ajasson remarks, where the ophthalmia is caused by inflammation of the conjunctive.] The country-seat where these last are found is worthy of some further mention: travelling from Lake Avernus towards Puteoli, it is to be seen on the sea-shore, renowned for its fine portico and its grove. Cicero gave it the name of Academia, [He also called it his Puteolan villa.] after the place so called at Athens: it was here that he composed those treatises [The “Quæstiones Academicæ.”] of his that were called after it; it was here, too, that he raised those monuments [“Monumenta.” Ajasson queries what monuments they were, thus raised by the “ parvenu of Arpinum.” He suggests that the erection may have been a chapel, temple-library, or possibly funeral monument.] to himself; as though, indeed, he had not already done so throughout the length and breadth of the known world.

Shortly after the death of Cicero, and when it had come into the possession of Antistius Vetus, [C. Antistius Vetus probably, a supporter of Julius Cæsar, Consul Suffectus, B.C. 30.] certain hot springs burst forth at the very portals [“In parte primâ.”] of this house, which were found to be remarkably beneficial for diseases of the eyes, and have been celebrated in verse by Laurea Tullius, [There are three Epigrams probably by this author in the Greek Anthology.] one of the freedmen of Cicero; a fact which proves to demonstration that his servants even had received inspiration from that majestic and all-powerful genius of his. I will give the lines, as they deserve to be read, not there only, but everywhere:

Chap. 4.—Waters Productive of Fecundity. Waters Curative of Insanity.

In Campania, too, are the waters of Sinuessa, [At the Torre de’ Bagni, Hardouin says, near the church of Santa Maria a Caudara.] remedial, it is said, for sterility in females, and curative of insanity in men.

Chap. 5.—Waters Remedial for Urinary Calculi.

The waters of the island of Ænaria are curative of urinary calculi, [Saline and gaseous waters are good for this purpose. See B. iii. c. 12.] it is said; and the same is the case with the cold spring of Acidula, [It has still the same reputation, Hardouin says, and is situate near the castle of Francolici.] four miles distant from Teanum [See B. iii. c. 9.] Sidicinum, the waters at Stabiæ, known as the Dimidiæ, [Or “half-strength” waters, apparently. See B. iii. c. 9.] and those in the territory of Venafrum, [See B. iii. c. 9.] which take their rise in the spring of Acidula. Patients suffering from these complaints may be cured also by drinking the waters of Lake Velia; [See B. ii. cc. 62, 106, and B. iii. c. 17.] the same effects being produced by those of a spring in Syria, near Mount Taurus, M. Varro says, and by those of the river Gallus in Phrygia, as we learn from Callimachus. In taking the waters, however, of this last, the greatest moderation is necessary, as they are apt to cause delirium; an effect equally produced, Ctesias tells us, by the waters of the Red Fountain [Alluded to, probably, by Ovid, Met. xv. 319, et seq.] in Æthiopia.

Chap. 6.—Waters Curative of Wounds.

The tepid waters of Albula, [The present Bagni di Tivoli. They have other sanitary properties as well, a fact known to Strabo. Martial and Vitruvius also mention them.] near Rome, have a healing effect upon wounds. Those of Cutilia, [See B. iii. c. 17. Called Cotiscoliæ by Strabo. They were of a salt and aluminous nature.] again, in the Sabine territory, are intensely cold, and by a kind of suction penetrate the body to such a degree as to have the effect of a mordent almost. They are remarkably beneficial for affections of the stomach, sinews, and all parts of the body, in fact.

Chap. 7.—Waters Preventive of Abortion.

The waters of Thespiæ [See B. iv. c. 2.] ensure conception to females; the same, too, with those of the river Elatus [Pausanias calls it the “Elaphus.”] in Arcadia. The spring Linus, [Isidorus, in his “Origines,” calls it the “Lechnus.”] also in Arcadia, acts as a preservative of the fœtus and effectually prevents abortion. The waters of the river Aphrodisius, on the other hand, in the territory of Pyrrhæa, [In Thessaly, probably, according to Stephanus Byzantinus.] are productive of sterility.

Chap. 8.—Waters Which Remove Morphew.

The waters of Lake Alphius remove white morphew, [Ἄλφος; from which the lake probably derived its name. It has been suggested that the source of the river Anigrus in Elis is meant. Its waters had an offensive smell, and its fish were not eatable; and near it were caverns sacred to the Nymphs Anigrides, where persons with cutaneous diseases were cured. The water of these caverns is impregnated with sulphur.] Varro tells us; who also mentions the fact that one Titius, [Possibly the M. Titius who was proscribed by the Triumvirs, B.C. 43, and escaped to Sex. Pompeius in Sicily.] a personage who had held the prætorship, had a face to all appearance like that of a marble statue, in consequence of this disease. The waters of the river Cydnus, [See B. v. c. 22.] in Cilicia, are curative of gout, as would appear from a letter addressed by Cassius [“Cassius Parmensis.” See the end of this Book.] of Parma to Marcus Antonius. At Trœzen, on the contrary, all the inhabitants are subject to diseases of the feet, owing to the bad quality of the water there. The state of the Tungri, [According to some authorities, he alludes to the still famous waters of Spa; but it is more probable that he alludes to the spring still in existence at the adjacent town of Tongres, which was evidently well known to the Romans, and is still called the “Fountain of Pliny.”] in Gaul, has a spring of great renown, which sparkles as it bursts forth with bubbles innumerable, and has a certain ferruginous taste, only to be perceived after it has been drunk. This water is strongly purgative, is curative of tertian fevers, and disperses urinary calculi: upon the application of fire it assumes a turbid appearance, and finally turns red. The springs [The springs on the present Monte Posilippo.] of Leucogæa, between Puteoli and Neapolis, are curative of eye diseases and of wounds. Cicero, in his work entitled “Admiranda,” [This work is lost. Chifflet suggests that “Varro” should be read. See, however, B. vii. c. 2, B. xxix. c. 16 and c. 28 of this Book. It was a common-place book, probably, of curious facts.] has remarked that it is only by the waters of the marshes of Reate [See B. ii. c. 106, where a growing rock in the marsh of Reate is mentioned.] that the hoofs of beasts of burden are hardened.

Chap. 9.—Waters Which Colour the Hair.

Eudicus informs us that in Hestiæotis [In Thessaly. A mere fable, no doubt.] there are two springs; one of which, Cerona, renders sheep black that drink of it, while the other, called Neleus, turns them white: if, again, a sheep should happen to drink their waters mixed, its fleece will be mottled. According to Theophrastus, the water of the Crathis, [Ovid, Met. xv. 315, et seq., tells very nearly the same fabulous story about the rivers Crathis and Sybaris.] a river of Thurii, makes sheep and cattle white, while that of the river Sybaris turns them black.

Chap. 10.—Waters Which Colour the Human Body.

And not only this, but human beings even, Theophrastus tells us, are sensible of this difference: for persons who drink the water of the Sybaris, he says, become more swarthy and more hardy, the hair inclining to curl: while those, again, who drink of the Crathis become fair and more soft-skinned, with the hair growing straight and long. So, too, in Macedonia, persons who wish the produce to be white, drive their cattle to the river Haliacmon, while those who desire a black or tawny colour, take them to water at the Axius. Upon the same authority, too, we learn that in certain localities, as in the country of the Messapii, for instance, all the productions, the cereals even, grow of a tawny colour; and that at Lusi, [This marvellous story appears to have been derived from the works of Aristotle.] in Arcadia, there is a certain fountain in which land-mice live and dwell. The river Aleos, which passes through Erythræ, promotes the growth of hair upon the body.

Chap. 11.—Waters Which Aid the Memory, or Are Productive of Forgetfulness.

At the Temple [Near the town of Lebadea, now Livadhia.] of the god Trophonius, in Bœotia, near the river Hercynnus, there are two fountains, [One called “Mnemosyne” or Memory, and the other “Lethe,” or Forgetfulness.] one of which aids the memory, while the other is productive of forgetfulness: hence the names which they respectively bear.

Chap. 12.—Waters Which Sharpen or Dull the Senses. Waters Which Improve the Voice.

Near the town of Cescum, in Cilicia, runs the river Nus, [From the Greek νοῦς “spirit,” “mind,” or “intelligence.” Ajasson thinks it possible that its water may have assuaged vertigo, or accelerated the circulation of the blood, and that thence its reputation.] the waters of which, according to Varro, sharpen the intellect; while those of a certain spring in the island of Cea dull the senses. At Zama, in Africa, there is a spring, the waters of which render the voice more musical. [A fable invented by the priests, Ajasson thinks.]

Chap. 13.—Waters Which Cause a Distaste for Wine. Waters Which Produce Inebriety.

Eudoxus says that persons who drink the water [See Ovid, Met. xv. 322. It seems to be uncertain whether it was at this lake or the adjoining spring of Lusi above-mentioned, that the daughters of Prœtus were purified by Melampus. See the “Eliaca” of Pausanias.] of Lake Clitorius take a distaste for wine, and Theopompus asserts that the waters of the springs already [In B. ii. c. 106.] named are productive of inebriety. According to Mucianus, [See B. ii. c. 106. As Ajasson remarks, Mucianus should have had the sense to see that it was only a juggle of the priests of Bacchus. He compares it to the miracle of the blood of St. Januarius at Naples. The contrivance of the priests of Bel was not very dissimilar; but in their case, they themselves were the real recipients of what the god was supposed to devour.] there is a fountain at Andros, consecrated to Father Liber, from which wine flows during the seven days appointed for the yearly festival of that god, the taste of which becomes like that of water the moment it is taken out of sight of the temple.

Chap. 14.—Waters Which Serve as a Substitute for Oil.

Polyclitus says, that the water [He no doubt alludes to “petroleum,” rock-oil, or Barbadoes tar.] of the river Liparis, [So called from the Greek λιπαρὸς, “unctuous.”] near Soli, in Cilicia, is used as a substitute for oil, and Theophrastus mentions a spring of that name in Æthiopia, which is possessed of similar properties. Lycus says, that at Tasitia [A new reading given by Sillig in place of “India,” the former one. Tasitia is the name of a district mentioned by Ptolemy, iv. 7, 15, as being in Æthiopia. He alludes to a burning spring, probably, of naphtha or of petroleum. The burning springs of Bakou in the East are well known. Genoa is lighted with naphtha from the village of Amiano, in Parma.] there is a fountain of it, the water of which emits light: the same is asserted, too, of a spring at Ecbatana. According to Theopompus, there is a lake at Scotussa, [In Macedonia.] the waters of which heal wounds.

Chap. 15.—Salt and Bitter Waters.

Juba says, that in the country of the Troglodytæ there is a lake, called the “Lake of Insanity,” [“Lacum insanum.”] from its highly noxious properties: thrice a day it becomes salt and bitter, and then again fresh, the same taking place as many times during the night. It is full, he says, of white serpents, twenty cubits long. [Juba has been deceived, Ajasson remarks, by the tales of travellers, there being no serpents of this length in Africa, except boas. He thinks that large congers, and other similar fishes, may be the animals really alluded to.] He mentions, also, a certain spring in Arabia, which rises from the ground with such remarkable force, as to throw back any object pressed down upon it, however weighty.

Chap. 16.—Waters Which Throw Up Stones. Waters Which Cause Laughter and Weeping. Waters Which Are Said to Be Curative of Love.

Theophrastus makes mention of the fountain of Marsyas, near the city of Celænæ, in Phrygia, which throws up masses of stone. Not far from it are two other springs, called Clæon [From κλαίειν, “to weep,” and γελᾷν, “to laugh.”] and Gelon by the Greeks, from the effects which they respectively produce. At Cyzicus is a fountain known as that of Cupido, the waters of which, Mucianus believes, [His credulity, we have seen already, was pretty extensive.] cure those who drink thereof of love.

Chap. 17.—Waters Which Preserve Their Warmth for Three Days.

At Crannon [In Thessaly.] there are certain hot springs, though not at boiling heat, the water of which, mixed with wine, preserves it warm in the vessels for a period of three days. The same is the case, too, with the springs of Mattiacum [At the town called “Aquæ Mattiacæ,” the modern Wiesbaden.] in Germany, beyond the river Rhenus, the water of which retains its boiling heat three days. The margin of these springs is covered with pumice, formed by the action of the water.

Chap. 18.—Other Marvellous Facts Connected with Water. Waters in Which Everything Will Sink. Waters in Which Nothing Will Sink.

If any of the above-mentioned facts have the appearance of being incredible to a person, I would have him know that there is no department of Nature which presents greater marvels than this, independently of the numerous peculiarities which have been already mentioned [In B. ii. c. 106.] in an earlier part of this work. Ctesias informs us that, in India, there is a lake of standing water, upon which nothing [Sotion, professing to quote from Ctesias, says that it rejected everything placed on its waters, and hurled it back upon dry land.] will float, every object instantly sinking to the bottom. Cælius says that in the waters of Lake Avernus, [Whence, as it was said, its name, ἄορνος, “Without birds.” Strabo ridicules this story.] in our own part of the world, the very leaves of the trees even will sink; and, according to Varro, these waters are fatal to such birds as fly towards them.

On the other hand, again, in the waters of Lake Apuscidamus, [M. Douville says that in the interior of Africa there is a lake called Kalonga Kouffoua, or the Dead Lake, the surface of which is covered with bitumen and naphtha, which contains no fish, has oleaginous waters, and presents all the phænomena of the Dead Sea.] in Africa, nothing will sink; the same, too, Apion tells us, with the fountain of Plinthia in Sicily, as also a certain lake in Media, and the well of Saturn. The spring of Limyra [In Lycia.] not unfrequently makes its way through the neighbouring localities, and when it does so, is always portentous of some coming event. It is a singular thing too, that the fish always accompany its waters on these occasions; the inhabitants of the adjoining districts being in the habit of consulting them by offering them food. When the fishes seize it with avidity, the answer is supposed to be favourable; but if, on the other hand, they reject the food, by flapping it with their tails, the response is considered to be unfavourable. The river Holcas, in Bithynia, runs close to Bryazus, [Hardouin is of opinion that a river also was so called. See B. v. c. 43. Of the divinity of this name, nothing further is known.] the name of a temple and of a divinity there worshipped; persons guilty of perjury, it is said, cannot endure contact with its waters, which burn like flame. [A story evidently connected with a kind of ordeal.]

The sources, too, of the Tamaricus, [See B. iv. c. 34. Intermittent springs are not uncommon. See B. ii. c. 106.] a river of Cantabria, are considered to possess certain powers of presaging future events: they are three in number, and, separated solely by an interval of eight feet, unite in one channel, and so form a mighty stream. These springs are often dry a dozen times in the day, sometimes as many as twenty, without there being the slightest trace of water there: while, on the other hand, a spring close at hand is flowing abundantly and without intermission. It is considered an evil presage when persons who wish to see these springs find them dry: a circumstance which happened very recently, for example, to Lartius Licinius, [See B. xix. c. 11.] who held the office of legatus after his prætorship; for at the end of seven days after his visit he died.

In Judæa there is a river [According to Elias of Thisbe this river was the Goza; but Holstenius says that it was the Eleutherus, or one of its tributaries. Josephus says that it flowed on the Sabbath day, and was dry the other six.] that is dry every Sabbath day.

Chap. 19.—Deadly Waters. Poisonous Fishes.

There are other marvels again, connected with water, but of a more fatal nature. Ctesias states in his writings, that there is a spring in Armenia, the fishes in which are black, [Ajasson thinks that he means, grey. He remarks also, that it is a matter of doubt whether there are any fishes that are poisonous.] and, if used as food, productive of instantaneous death. I have heard the same, too, with reference to the waters near the sources of the river Danuvius, [The Danube.] until a spring is reached which is near its main channel, and beyond which this poisonous kind of fish is not to be found. Hence it is that this spot is generally looked upon as the source of the river. The same, too, is reported of the Lake of the Nymphs, in Lydia. Near the river Pheneus, in Achaia, there flows from the rocks a spring known as the Styx, the waters of which, as already [In B. ii. c. 106, see also B. xxx. c. 53.] stated, are instantly fatal. And not only this, but there are also small fish in it, Theophrastus says, which are as deadly as the water, a thing that is not the case with the fish of any other poisonous springs. Theopompus says, that at the town of Cychri, in Thrace, the waters are deadly; and Lycus states, that at Leontium [See B. iii. c. 14, and B. xviii. c. 21.] there is a spring, the waters of which are fatal at the end of a couple of days to those who drink thereof. Varro speaks also of a spring upon Mount Soracte, some four feet in breadth, the waters of which bubble forth at sunrise, as though they were boiling; birds, he says, which only taste thereof, fall dead close by.

And then, besides, we meet with this insidious circumstance, that in some cases, waters of this nature are inviting even in their appearance; those at Nonacris, in Arcadia, for example, the water of which fountain possesses no apparent quality to excite mistrust, though, owing to its intense coldness, it is generally looked upon as highly injurious, seeing that it petrifies as it flows. It is otherwise with the waters of Tempe, in Thessaly, their baneful properties inspiring universal terror, and possessing the property of corroding copper even and iron, it is said. This stream runs a short distance only, as already stated; [In B. iv. c. 15.] and it is truly marvellous that, according to general report, the banks of its source [He alludes, according to Dalechamps, to the Eurotas, a tributary, and not the source, of the Peneus. See B. iv. c. 8.] are surrounded with the roots of a wild carob, [“Siliquà.”] always covered with purple flowers, while the margin is clothed with a green herbaceous plant of a peculiar species. In Macedonia, not far from the tomb of the Poet Euripides, is the confluence of two streams, the water of one of which is extremely wholesome, that of the other fatal.

Chap. 20.—Waters Which Petrify, Themselves, or Cause Other Objects to Petrify.

At Perperena, [A town of Mysia, south of Adramyttium.] there is a spring which petrifies [As Ajasson remarks, numerous instances are known of this at the present day. Pliny, however, does not distinguish the incrusting springs from the petrifying springs.] the ground wherever it flows, the same being the case also, with the hot waters at Ædepsus, in Eubœa; for there, wherever the stream falls, the rocks are continually increasing in height. At Eurymenæ, [In Thessaly, according to Hecatæus.] chaplets, when thrown into the waters of a certain fountain there, are turned to stone. At Colossæ there is a river, into the water of which if bricks [“Lateres.” He means unburnt bricks, probably.] are thrown, when taken out they are found changed into stone. In the mines of Scyros, the trees petrify that are watered by the river, branches and all. In the caverns of Mount Corycus, the drops of water that trickle down the rocks become hard in the form of a stone. [He alludes to stalactites and stalagmites.] At Mieza, too, in Macedonia, the water petrifies as it hangs from the vaulted roofs of the rocks; but at Corycus it is only when it has fallen that it becomes hard.

In other caverns, again, the water petrifies both ways, [Both on the roof and on the floor.] and so forms columns; as we find the case in a vast grotto at Phausia, a town of the Chersonesus [In Caria, opposite Rhodes.] of the Rhodians, the columns of which are tinted with various colours. These instances will suffice for the present.

Chap. 21. (3.)—The Wholesomeness of Waters.

It is a subject of enquiry among medical men, which kind of water is the most beneficial. They condemn, and with justice, all stagnant, sluggish, waters, and are of opinion that running water is the best, being rendered lighter and more salubrious by its current and its continuous agitation. Hence it is that I am much surprised that persons should be found to set so high a value as they do, upon cistern water. These last give as their reason, however, that rain-water must be the lightest water of all, seeing that it has been able to rise [Rain-water really is the lightest, but the reason here given is frivolous, for it does not ascend as water, but as vapour.] aloft and remain suspended in the air. Hence it is, too, that they prefer snow-water to rain-water, and ice, again, to snow, as being water subtilized to the highest possible degree; on the ground that snow-water and ice-water must be lighter than ordinary water, and ice, of necessity, considerably lighter. It is for the general interest, however, of mankind, that these notions should be refuted. For, in the first place, this comparative lightness which they speak of, could hardly be ascertained in any other way than by the sensation, there being pretty nearly no difference at all in weight between the kinds of water. Nor yet, in the case of rain-water, is it any proof of its lightness that it has made its way upwards into the air, seeing that stones, [See B. ii. c. 38. Before venturing on this argument, he should have been certain as to the circumstances under which aërolites are generated, a question which still remains hidden in mystery.] it is quite evident, do the same: and then, besides, this water, while falling, must of necessity become tainted with the vapours which rise from the earth; a circumstance owing to which it is, that such numerous impurities [Ajasson remarks that this is only the case in the water of heavy falls of rain after long drought.] are to be detected in rain-water, and that it ferments [“Calefiat.”] with such extreme rapidity.

I am, surprised, too, that snow [Snow-water is pernicious in a very high degree, being the fruitful source of goitre and cretinism.] and ice should be regarded as the most subtilized states of this element, in juxtaposition with the proofs supplied us by hail, the water of which, it is generally agreed, is the most pernicious of all to drink. And then, besides, there are not a few among the medical men themselves, who assert that the use of ice-water and snow-water is highly injurious, from the circumstance that all the more refined parts thereof have been expelled by congelation. At all events, it is a well-ascertained fact that the volume of every liquid is diminished by congelation; as also that excessive dews [See B. xvii. c. 44, and B. xviii. c. 68.] a reproductive of blight in corn, and that hoar-frosts result in blast; of a kindred nature, both of them, to snow. It is generally agreed, too, that rain-water putrefies with the greatest rapidity, and that it keeps but very badly on a voyage. Epigenes, however, assures us that water which has putrefied seven times and as often purified [This is somewhat similar to what is said of the putrefaction and purification of Thames water, on a voyage.] itself, will no longer be liable to putrefaction. As to cistern-water, medical men assure us that, owing to its harshness, it is bad for the bowels and throat; [“Inutilis alvo duritia faucibusque.” The passage is probably corrupt.] and it is generally admitted by them that there is no kind of water that contains more slime or more numerous insects of a disgusting nature. But it does not, therefore, follow that river water is the best of all, or that, in fact, of any running stream, the water of many lakes being found to be wholesome in the very highest degree.

What water, then, out of all these various kinds, are we to look upon as best adapted for the human constitution? Different kinds in different localities, is my answer. The kings of Parthia drink no water but that of the Choaspes [See B. vi. c. 27.] or of the Eulæus, and, however long their journies, they always have this water carried in their suite. And yet it is very evident that it is not merely because this water is river-water that it is thus pleasing to them, seeing that they decline to drink the water of the Tigris, Euphrates, and so many other streams.