THE

TWELFTH BOOK

O F

N atu ral MstSick :

O

Os Artificial Fires.

The Pros me.

B Effore I leave off to writeoff Fire, I (hall treat of that danger otu Fire that wer\s won-derful things, which the vulgar call Artificial Fire , which the C ommanders of Ar-mies and Generals , use lamentably in divers Artifices and monfirous Designs , to brestopenWalls and Cities , and totally to subvert them', and in Sea-fights,to the infinite rume off mor-tal men ; and whereby the) oft-times ffruftrate the malicious enterprises off their Enemies,The matter is very uffeful and wonderful, and there is nothing in the world that more frightsand terrifies the mindes off men, (jod is coming to judge the world by Fire, I (hall de-ffcribe the mighty hot Fires off our Anceflors , which they used to be siege places with ; andI (hall add those that are of later Invention , that far exceed them : and lastly , I (hat ffpeafroff those off our days. You have here the Compositions off terrible Gun-powder that ma (es anoise, and then off that which makes no noise : cf Pipes that vomit forth deadly Fires,and ofFires that cannot be cjuenched,and that will rage under Water at the very bott m off icWhere-by the Seas rend asunder, as if they were Undermined by the great Violence off the (lamesfflrtving against them, and are lifted up into the Air, that Ships are drawn by the monstrousGulphs. O Fire- Balls that (lie with glittering Fire, and tern fie Troops off Horffe-men , andoverthrow them. So that we are come almost to eternal Fires,

Chap. I.

How divers ways to procure Fire may be prepared,

Itruvim faith, That it fell out by accident, that sundry Trees,frequently moved with Windes and Tempests , the Bows ofthem rubbing one against another, and the parts smitingeach other, and so being rarified, caused heat, and tookfire, and flamed exceedingly. Wilde people that saw this,ran away. When the Fire was out, and they durst comeneerer, and found i: to be a great commodity for the Bodyof man, they preserved the Fire 5 and so they perceived thatit afforded causes of civility, of conversing and talking to-gether. Fliny faith, It was found out by Souldiers and Shepherds. In the Camp,those that keep watch found this out for neceflity; and so did Shepherds, becausethere is not always a Flint ready. Thedphrastus teacheth what kindes of Wood aregood for this purpose : and though the Auger and the handle are sometimes bothmade of one sort of Wood, yet it is so that one part acts and the other suffers; sothat he thinks the one part should be of hard Wood, and the other .of soft. Ex-ample j

Wood that by rubbing together will takeFire, '

They are such as are very hot, as the Bay-T tee, the Buck-thorn, the Holm , the Piel-Tree: But OHnestor adds the Mulbcrry-Trec; and men conjecture so, because they

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