For winter yields not heat enough, the wind
Flies cold: In fummer, clouds are too refin'd:
But in these middle quarters all concur ;

All caufes join to make the thunder roar ;
Becaufe thofe feasons heat and cold engage;
Both neceffary things for thunder's rage;
That parts may disagree, and raise a war,
And fires, and rapid whirls disturb the air.
For, first the spring within its limits holds
The coming heats, and the retiring colds:
And therefore these two parts, thus oppofite,
When join'd, and mix'd, must strive, and fiercely
fight.

360

But then in autumn, fummer's flames retreat,
And coming winter fights the flying heat.
Thefe are the troubled feasons of the year;
The times that elements go forth to war:
What wonder, then, if frequent thunder flies,
If frequent ftorms disturb the lower skies;
Since, fighting, all in doubtful wars engage, 370
Here heat and flames, there cold and waters, rage?

And hence we know the nature of the flame;
And how it works, and whence the fury came :
For not by reading Thufcan books inquire
The gods' defign by this celeftial fire;
Obferve the moving flame, and then prefage
The kindness of the gods, or coming rage:
Or if the clouds in lucky quarters fwell;
And thunder break, and with fad omen fell:
And hence we know, how its quick forces pafs 380
Through clofeft ftones, and melt or break the
mafs:
[flow,
What drives swift lightning on, what makes it
And all the harm celeftial flames can do.

For if these bolts were thrown by gods above, Or if they were the proper arms of Jove; Why do the daring wicked ftill provoke, Why ftill fin on, fecure from thunder's ftroke? Why are not such shot through, and plac'd on high,

As fad examples of impiety,

That men may fin no more, no more defy? 390. And why does heedlefs lightning blast the good, And break his bones, or cruddle all his blood? Why good and pious men thefe boits endure? And villains live, and fee their fall fecure?

Why do they throw them o'er a defert plain, Why through the empty woods, and toil in vain? Is it to try their strength? or elfe in play The wantons sport, and throw Jove's bolts away? Or why, the fenfelefs rocks, they idly wound? Why blunt their father's bolts against the ground? Why does he fuffer this? why not prepare, And keep his useful arms for times of war? Left fome gigantic, impious rebels rise, And unprovided he should lofe the skies.

401

Why then the heav'n is clear, no thunder flies? What, when thick heavy clouds o'erfpread the Does he defcend to take the furer aim, [fkies? At nearer diftance then, and dart the flame? Why ftrike the floods? What mean fuch bolts as thefe ?

Is it to check the fury of the feas?

410

Poor weak defign! The troubled waters roar, And, vex'd by whirling flames, ftill rage the more.

Befides this Jove is willing men shou'd fy These bolts, or not if willing, tell me why The thunder is too fubtle for our eye?

If not; why does he show the threat'ning ligh) And why o'erfpread the heav'ns with che and night?

And make a noise, and give us time for fligh Befides, how can thefe flames at once by thrown

To diff'rent parts? Or is it never done? 40 Does Jove at once but throw a fingle one? Fond fancy! For, as rain, fo lightning flies To many parts at once, and breaks the fe

Nay more Why does he beat the temple) down,

Those of his fellow-gods, and of his own? Why does he hurt, and break the facred ftest? Why break the curious ftatue, fpoil the grac And wound with fiery bolts the facred face?

Why does he feldom ftrike the humble plur But blunt his fires on hills and rocks in vain?

And hence 'tis known, how fiery whirwa

rife,

How they descend, and cut the threat'ning fr For often dark and heavy clouds increase, And pillar-like defcend, and reach the feas While all around the troubled ocean raves Fierce winds ftill blow, and raise the boiling And all the ships, in reach of danger told Are whirl'd with rapid turns, and wreck",

loft.

This happens when the tumbling winds, the
Confin'd in clouds, too weak to force a wa
Do drive it down; for then, by flow degre
As if fome hand, or arm above did press,
The pillar-clouds defcend, and reach them."
When this divides, the rufhing winds eng
The flood, and make the waters boil and
For then the whirling winds defcend, an
The thick, tough, heavy clouds through
But when they reach the fea, they breakth
bound,

And mingle with the waves, and, whirling,
With dreadful noife, the furious billows raft. 4
And light the waters with a mighty blaze.
Sometimes the whirling wind might

Because when thin and little mists arise, [Not thicken'd yet, and wander o'er the skies, 470 All too refin'd, and fubtile for our eyes; The winds do drive them to the mountain's head, And there the thin and airy cov'rings spread; Which, thick'ning round the top, there first appear,

And feem to rife from that, and fill the air.

But farther on; the feas give vast supplies, From thefe the greateft ftores of vapours rife : For clothes grow wet, expanded near the shore, And drops arife, and stand in ev'ry pore: 479 And therefore from the deep and fpacious floods, Great ftores of mifts may rife, and frame the clouds.

Befides; the earth, and rivers, urg'd by heat, Oft breathe foft mifts, and num rous vapours fweat Which join, and make thick clouds, and ftop the light;

And ftain the glorious skies with fudden night:
For the warm vig 'rous rays, with conftant blows,
Still beat them on the back, and prefs them close.
And more: external matter give supplies,
And feeds of clouds, which spread o'er all the fkies.
For I have prov'd the mafs immenfe, the space 490
Is infinite, and knows no loweft place:
And how the atoms through the vacuum rove,
How quick they measure space, and how they

move:

Slow time admires, and knows not what to call
The motion, having no account fo small.
What wonder, then, that fudden storms should rife;
And hafty night spread o'er the lower skies.
Since from the mafs fuch vaft supplies are hurl'd
Through ev'ry porc, and paffage of the world;
And linger here, and join or break the chain,
And fly through the divided fkies again?

501

Now fing, my mufe, how rain is fpread o'er all, How wat'ry clouds are join'd, and showers fall First, with the clouds moift freams of vapours rife,

From ev'ry thing and spread o'er all the skies: And, as in man; the moisture, fweat, and blood Grow with the limbs, increasing with the cloud, And oft as winds do whirl them o'er the main, The clouds, like wool do dip themselves in rain, To shake their fleeces o'er the earth again. 510. The rivers, lakes, and pools, when flirr'd by heat, Breathe forth foft mifts, and num'rous vapours fweat.

[bin'd,

Thefe rife, and fet in clouds; and there comOr by the ambient cold, or driving wind, They thence defcend, because the winds divide, Or elfe the clouds contract, their injur'd fide; Dr elfe the upper clouds prefs thofe below, And fqueeze the water out, and make it flow. And when the wind makes thin the wat'ry frame,

Or rays cut through it with a vig'rous flame, 520 The rain breaks forth, the injur'd cloud appears Like melted running wax, and drops in tears.

But when the wind with higher clouds agrees, And their united force begins to fqueeze, When both do prefs the cloud, fwoln big with rain, Then ftorms defcend, and beat the humble plain.

Then conftant fhow'rs, when wat'ry clouds,'

that lie

On one another's back, receive supply
From ev'ry quarter of the lower sky.
And when the thirsty earth has drunk the rain, 530
And throws it up in vapours back again.

And when the adverfe fun's bright beauties flow,
And ftrike thick clouds, they paint the gawdy bow.
And how the other meteors rife and fall,
What ftamps the figur'd fnow, and moulds the
hail.

And why the water's pride and beauty's loft, When rig'rous winter binds the floods with frost, 'Tis easy to conceive, if once we know The nature of the elements, or how Their fighting pow'rs must work, or what they do.

540

And next of earthquakes. First, then, you must suppose the earth contains" Some feeds of winds, fpread o'er its hollow veins;

And there, as well as here, fierce vapour reigns : And many lakes, and pools, and fpacious caves, And fecret rivers there roll boift'rous waves :. For nature's laws command, and reafon's prove, The parts below resemble thofe above :

Thefe things fuppos'd: when those vast courts below

Shall fail, the upper earth must tremble too: 550
For hills muft fink, and from the mighty fall
Quick tremblings muft arife, and fpread o'er all:
No wonder this: while carts go flowly on,
Or fwifter coaches rattle o'er the ftone,
Although the weight's not great, the houses feel,
And shake at ev'ry jumping of the wheel.

Or elfe from arched caves great stones may

fall,

560

And ftrike the under waves, and trouble all:
Thofe agitate, and fhake th' enclofing ball:
For when the liquor, as experience proves,
Is troubled, all the veffel fhakes and moves.
Befides; when winds below with mighty force
Against refifting caves direct their course,
The earth that way inclines then fixt before,
Our houfes nod; the higher nod the more:
The hanging beams ftart from the tott'ring wall,
We fly our houfes, and we dread the fall.
And yet fome think the world will ne'er decay;
The scatter'd feeds, diffolv'd, fly all away;
Though thefe few fighting winds with cafe difplace
The heavy earth, and turn the weighty mafs. 571
For did thefe ftill rufh on, no force could stay
The coming ruin; all would foon decay
But fince they prefs but now and then, their courfe
Now here, now there, now fly with mighty
force,

And, then repell'd, return with weaker wings,
The earth oft threatens ruin, feldom brings:
Inclining only from its ufual plain,

Then turns, and fettles in its feat again:
And therefore houfes nod, and feem to fall; 580
High, moft; low, lefs; the loweft, leaf of all.

But more; the earth may shake, when winds

begin,

(Or rais'd without in air, or bred within)

To rage through hollow caves, and, whirlingʻ

round,

}

590

Endeavour still to force the narrow bound,
At laft break through, and leave a gaping wound.
Thus Æge, thus Phoenician towns did fall,
The greedy earth gap'd wide, and swallow'd all :
Befides, a thousand towns, a thousand ifles,
Whilft cruel eddies dimpled into fmiles,
Have fall'n, all fwallow'd by the greedy main,
And poor inhab'tants ftrove for life in vain.
But if the vapour's cold, too weak the wind
To force a way, if by ftrong bounds confin'd,
It spreads o'er all the pores the earth contains,
And brings a fhiv'ring cold through all the veins;
As when frost comes, it brings a trembling chill,
And makes our members shake against our will:
Then men begin to fear, and wifely dread,
And fly the tow'rs that nod their threat'ning head:
Or else they think the earth will fail; the ground 6co
Will gape, and all fink through the mighty wound.
Ev'n thofe, who think the world must still en-
dure,

Eternal ftill, from fate and age fecure,
Yet often, waken'd by the prefent fear,
Start all, and think the diffolution near;
They think the earth will fink, the world will fall;
And ruin and confusion spread o'er all.

Now I must sing, my mufe, why greedy feas
Devour the water ftill, yet ne'er increase; 610
For it seems frange, that rivers still should flow,
And run for num'rous years as much as now;
And, though they daily bring a mighty store,
The fpacious ocean fhould increase no more,
But ftill be bounded with the former fhore:
And yet it is not strange: for thefe, the rain,
And all the moisture that the clouds contain,
Scarce feem a drop, compar'd to spacious feas;
No wonder then the waves do ne'er increase.

Befides; the fun draws much; the fiery ray Defcends, and forces many parts away: For fenfe affures, that when the bufy beams Prefs moiften'd clouds, the vapours rife in ftreams: Therefore from fi acious feas the rays muft bear More wat'ry parts, and fcatter through the air: But now, though here and there few parts arife, Yet a vaft fpacious mafs of water flies [fkies. From the whole fea, and fpreads o'er all the And then the winds take fome, with wanton play [away: 630 They dip their wings, and bear fome parts This fenfe declares; for often after rain, In one fhort night, if winds fweep o'er the plain, The dirt grows hard, the ways are dry'd again. Befides; as winds drive on the low-hung clouds, And make them fkim the furface of the floods, They take fome drops away; and these compose And fall to earth, in hail, in rain, and fnows.

7

Spread,

Hence ftreams arife, in fair meander's play, And through the vallies cut their liquid way.

Now next, why Ætna burns, and why the flat Breaks forth in whirls, and whence the fury ca For fure 'tis fond to think that flames arife, Directed by the angry deities,

To wafte fair Sicily, and burn, and fpoil
The farmer's hopes, and fruits of all his toil,
Whilft all the neighb'ring nations stood amar's
Opprefs'd with anxious fear, and wildly gaz'd
The heav'n, all spread with flames, they fai
to view,

And wonder'd what vex'd nature meant to da
But if you look about on ev'ry fide,
Confider that the whole's immenfely wide:
Then view the arched skies, and fee how im
And mean a portion of the fpacious all,
How little man, compar'd to earth's vaft ba
You then will find your fears and cares decret
Your jealoufies, and admiration cease.
For who admires to fee a patient sweat,
Or hear him groan, when scorch'd by fever's
Or when the foot, or eye is vex'd with pain,
Or any hot disease spread o'er the veins?
And this, because there lie vast stores of feed
In heav'n, and earth, all fit, all apt to breed
Such ftrange and vexing pains; or elfe iner
The noxious flame, and feed the ftrong difer
So you may think the mass fends great fupe
And stores of feed through all our earth an
Sufficient to raise ftorms, to shake the frame,
Raife Ætna's fires, and cover skies with flame
For that appears, when feeds of flame comb
As rain, and clouds, when drops of water j
You'il fay the fire's too strong, the flame too g
A vain objection this, and fancy's cheat:
Thus he, that views a river, man, or tree,
Or elfe whatever 'tis he chance to fee,
Straight thinks them great, becaule, pe

knows

No larger ftreams, no greater things than be Yet there, and all the fpacious fkies control, Are fmall, and nothing to the mighty whole.

Now why the flames break forthFirst, then, this Ætna's cave's a mighty ont; A fpacious hollow, and all arch'd with float This fwells with winds, which whirl and tunik there,

(For wind is nothing elfe but troubled air) When thefe, by whirling round the arched fra Grow hot, and from the flints ftrike fpark

flame,

Then, proud, and furious too, and rifing high. Break forth at top, in smoke, and sparks of fra By the fame force, ev'n weighty mountains n And whirling rocks cut through the wounded

But more, this hollow, fiery mountain", fide The fea ftill washes with impetuous tide, And, paffing through the pores, the flame re The preffing waters drive the yielding fires, And force them out; these raise large clouds fand,

And fcatter ftones, and afhes o'er the land And thus my mufe a store of cauis brings;

}

Though by one fingle caufe th' effect is done,
Yet fince 'tis hid, a thousand must be fhown,
That we may furely hit that fingle one.
As when a carcafe we at diftance view,
We all the various means of death must show,
That in the number we may speak the true :
For whether he was kill'd by throng difeafe,
Or cold, or fword, though 'twas by one of these,
We cannot tell; and thus it must be done
in other things, a thoufand others shown,
When fenfe determines not our choice to one.
In fummer Nile o'erflows; his waters drown
The fruitful Egypt's fields, and his alone :
Because the mouth of that wide river lies
Oppos'd to north: for when th' Etefias rife
from heavy northern clouds, and fiercely blow 719
Against the streams, thefe ftop, and rife, and flow.
For northern winds blow full against the ftreams,
Their fpring is fouth, it boils with mid-day beams;
Then cuts its way through fun-burnt Negroe's
land,

And hiffes, paffing o'er the fiery fand.

Or elfe the troubled fea that rolls to fouth, Brings heaps of fand, and chokes the rivers mouth: These ftop the headlong floods; they strive in ́

vain

To force a way, but weary'd turn again,

And break their banks, and flow o'er all the plain.

Or elfe rain makes it fwell; th' Etefias bear 730 The northern vapours through the fouthern air : Thefe thicken'd round the hill the rain compose. Or elfe the fun melts Ethiopean fnows; Thefe fwell the river, and the water flows.

Next of th' Avens fing, and whence the name, And whence the rage, and hurtful nature came. jo call'd, because the birds that cut the sky, fo'er thofe places they but chance to fly, By noxious ftreams opprefs'd, fall down, and

die:

First, feeds do lie, as I have prov'd before, In earth, of ev'ry fhape a mighty store : Some, vital parts to men, prolong their breath, Some apt to breed disease, and haften death: To other animals fome parts are good:

Some hurt, fome kill, and fome give wholesome food:

Death meets them in the air, and strikes them dead; 740

They fall with hanging wing, and bended head;
And ftrike the pois'nous lake, or deadly field:
Such vapours boiling fprings near Cuma yield.
In Athens, where Minerva's temple stands,
There never crow, nor boading raven flies,
Nt, though the fat and oily facrifice

Allure his fmell, and call his willing eyes.
Not that he fears Minerva's vain prezence,
Or banish'd from her train for an offence;
But 'tis the noxious vapour drives him thence.
A place, as story tells, in Syria lies,
Which if a horfe goes o'er, he groans and dies,
As if by fudden ftroke, and vi'lent blow,
He fell a facrifice to gods below:

751

Yet these effects agree with nature's laws, And ftrict obfervers may difcern the caufe: Left you should fancy these the gates of hell, That there the fmutty gods, and manes dwell; And through thofe places draw the wand'ring fouls, 779 As deer fuck ferpents from their lurking holes : But that's abfurd, irrational, and vain : Come, underftand the caufe, for I'll explain.

And all these different effects arife

From diff'rent motion, figure, fhape, and size. 770
A thousand hurtful parts through ears defcend,
A thousand pass the noftrils, and offend:

A thoufand hurt the touch, a num'rous flore
Disturb the eye, the taste a thousand more:
Befides, on man, a thousand atoms wait,
And hurtful all, and carry hafty fate:

Thus often, under trees fupinely laid,
While men enjoy the pleasure of the shade,
Whilft those their loving branches seem to
fpread,

To fcreen the fun, they noxious atoms fhed, 780 From which quick pains arise, and feize the head.

Near Helicon, and round the learned hill, Grow trees, whose bloffoms with their odour kill: And all these hurtful things from earth arise, Because the parents earth's vaft wombs comprise Thofe diff rent flores and kinds of pois'nous feed, Which, fitly join'd, these hurtful natures breed: The fnuff of candles, this is often known, Offends the nofe with ftench, and makes us (woon. Befides a thousand other things, that seize The foul within, oft make their way with ease, And shake the vital pow'rs with strong difeafe.. So when the belly's full, go fit, and stay, And wanton in hot baths, ftrait flies away Thy life, thy frength, and all thy pow'rs de

cay:

From charcoal deadly fmells the brain engage, If draughts of water not prevent their rage.

To those whom fevers burn, the piercing fmell
Of vig'rous wine is grievous, death, and hell. 799
Befides, obferve what pains the earth contains,
And how much pois'nous fulphur fills her veins.
Lastly, Whilft men pursue the hidden store,
And dig in mines of gold, or filver ore;
What hurtful damps, what noxious vapours rife!
The wretched miner o'er the metal dies.
What noxious parts from golden mines exhale!
How foon they feize, and make the miners pale!
With what quick force they kill the wretched
flaves!

How foon they bury them in precious graves!
Therefore thefe noxious parts must often rear,
And scatter poifon through the upper air.

811

Thus hurtful parts from the Averni rife, And with strong poifcns fill the lower skies: And thefe, as birds cut through the liquid way, Seize them; and then fome parts of life decay: Thus they amaz'd on the Averni fall, And there the poifons work, and ruin all : For firft they make them giddy; then their wing Grows weak; they fall into the poifon's fpring; There die; there leave their fouls in deep despair, 810

Becaufe the poifon's fierce, and ftronger there:

1

Or elfe the conftant rifing streams displace
The neighb'ring air, and leave an empty space:
Where, when the birds are come with nimble
force,

And ftill endeavour to pursue their course,
Deceiv'd they fall, they clap their wings in vain;"
For no refifting airy parts fuftain,

Their weight does force them on the pois'nous
plain.

And while they helpless in the vacuum lie,
Breathe out their foul through ev'ry pore, and die.
In fummer, fprings are cold; for earth con-
tains
831
Some feeds of heat within her hollow veins :
But when the heat's increase, and vig'rous ray
Forces a paffage through, they fly away:
Thus as the fummer comes, and rays begin
To cleave the earth, the streams grow cold within:
But cold contracts the pores to leffer space,
And binds the feeds of heat with ftrict embrace :
And thefe, fqueez'd from the pores, with nimble
wings

Pafs into lower wells, and warm the fprings. 840
Near Ammon's fhrine, as fame has loudly told,
A fpring runs hot by night, by day 'tis cold:
This men admire, and think, when night has
spread

Her blackeft curtains o'er our sleepy head,
The fun below does caft his vig'rous beams,
And pierces through the earth, and warms the
ftreams.

urious7

Abfurd and vain! For, fince the furious'
ray,

When, roll'd above, it makes our warmest day,
849.
And beats the open furface of the fea,
Can raife but little warmth; when roll'd below,
How pierce the earth, and heat in paffing through?
Since fenfe affures, that when the rays do beat,
Our houses yield us a fecure retreat;
We lie within, and fcorn the fummer's heat.
Then what's the caufe? 'Tis this; a fpongy
ground,

And fill'd with fiery feeds, lies all around :
This when cold nights contract,. the feeds of fire,
Squeez'd out, fly off, and to the spring retire,
And make it hot: but when the vig'rous ray
Peeps forth, and opens them an easy way,
They leave the cold embrace, and foon retreat
To earth again, and take their former feat:
And thus, by day, it lofes all its heat.

860

Befides, the water grows more rare by day; In parts, divided by the piercing ray, So lofe their fire: as when the beams arise, And warm the frozen ftreams with foft'ning ( kifs,

They melt in the embrace, and lose their ice.

And fome cold fprings light flax, held o'er the
ftreams,

The flax takes fire, and scatters feeble beams: 870
A torch is kindled too: the flames appear,
And nod at ev'ry little breath of air;
Because the water feeds of heat contains,
And many rife from earth's capacious veins,
And cut the body of the streams, and flow,
Too weak to warm the waves in palling through.

Besides, their own quick force will make th

move,

And pass the yielding waves, and join above:
As little ftreams, that cut their fecret way,
And rife up fweet i' th' bottom of the fea;
Beat off the falt, and the refifting flood
To thirsty failors proves a mighty good :
Juft fo these feeds of fire might rife and flow,
And cut the yielding waves, and, palling!
through,

Straight ftrike, and kindle oily torch, or tow;
Because those parts are of convenient frame,
Hold feeds of fire, and fit to raise a flame:
Thus take a torch, but lately dead, and strive
To light the fnuff again, and make it live,
It kindles long before it comes to touch;
And fure experience fhows a thousand such,
Which light at distance, ere they reach the fam
And thus this fountain acts; the cause the fan:

Now fing, my mufe, for 'tis a weighty cau Explain the magnet, why it ftrongly draws, And brings rough iron to its fond embrace:

This men admire; for they have often fee Small rings of iron, fix, or eight, or ten, Compofe a fubtle chain, no tie between: But, held by this, they seem to hang in air,) One to another sticks, and wantons there; So great the loadstone's force, fo ftrong to br

In order to the cause, must first be prov A thousand things, a thousand doubts rema And long deductions made; do you prepar A ftrict obferving mind, and lift'ning ear.

First, then, from objects feen thin forms In conftant fubtle streams, and strike our ep Thus odours fly from gums; a gentle bre From rivers flows, and from the neighb'ring Sharp falts arife, and fret the shores around; Thus all the air is fill'd with murm'ring And while we walk the ftrand, and p

view

The wanton waves; or squeeze, or ming Or salt, or bitter tastes our tongues surprik: So that 'tis certain fubtle parts arise

From all, and wander in the lower skies; And never ceafe to flow, because the ear, And eye, and nose still smell, and fee, and ber

Next I'll repeat what I have prov'd before, No compound's perfect folid, free from port. For though 'tis useful to direct our eye Through all the fecrets of philofophy, To prove that folid feeds can never join, Unless fome empty space is left between It has its proper force in this defign. Then, first, in caves the fubtle moisture creep Through hardest rocks, and even marble wee And sweat from ev'ry lab'ring member flows And stubborn hair o'er all the body grows: And nature drives our food with curious art Through all the limbs, increafing ev'ry part: Strong flames divide the rigid gold and bras; And to a liquid fubftance break the mafs: Through filver, heat, and cold; and each dif And fcorns a prifon, though in precious chains This fenfe affures; into a well-clos'd room The parts of odours, founds, and heat will com