Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright.

  • Thomas Wright
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    37/164 (page 17)
    i; eallc eoi 51icc licbtiiricin. on. w uintiS, p synd, aav, ignis taw a aqua. Aer is lyft; ignis, fyr; tew a, eor3e; aqua, wseter! Lyft is lichamlic ge-sceaft swy3e ];ynne; seo ofer-gse3 ealne middan-eard, *j up astih3 fornean o3 3one monan, on 3am fleo3 fugelas swa swa fixas swimma'S on waetere. Ne mihte he ora nan fleon, naere seo lyft 3e hi byr3 ; ne nan mann ne nyten naf5 nane or3unge buton ]?urh f lyft. Nis na seo or- Sung 3e we ut-blawab 3 in-ateob ure sawul, ac is seo lyft J?e we on libba3 on Syssum deadlican life ; swa swa fixas cwela3 gyf hi of waetere beab, swa eac cwel3 aelc eorblic lichama gyf he by3 3aere lyfte be-daeled. Nis nan lichamlic J?ing 3e nmb- be 3a feower ge-sceafta him mid, f is, lyft, 3 fyr, eorSe, j waeter. On aelcum lichaman synd j?as feower 3ing. Nime mnne sticcan j gnid to sumum Jfinge, hit hata3 J?aer-rihte of 5am fyre pe him on luta3. For-baern ]?one oSerne ende, ]^onne gae3 se waetu ut aet 3am oJ?rum ende mid pam smice. Swa eac ure lichaman habba3 aeg3er ge haetan ge waetan, eor3an, j lyft. Seo lyft 3e we ymbe sprecah, astih3 up for¬ nean o3 pone monan, j abyr3 ealle wolcna j stormas. Seo lyft )?onne heo astyred is by3 wind. Se wind haefS mistlice naman on bocum. Banon ]?e he blaew3 him by3 nama ge- sett. Feower heafod-windas synd. Se fyrmesta is easterne wind, subsolanus ge-haten, for fam 3e he blaew3 fram 3aere sunnan up-springe, j ys swy3e ge-metegod. Se oSer heafod- wind is su3erne, auster ge-haten, se astyre3 wolcnu, j ligettas, 1 mistlice cwyld blaew3 geond3as eor3an. Se }?ridda heafod- wind hatte zephirus on Greciscum ge-reorde, ^ on Ledenum fabonius; se blaew3 westan, j ];urh his blae3 acucia3 ealle eor31ice blaedu, j blowa3, j se wind to-wyrp3 j 3awa3 aelcne corporeal body dwells. There are four elements in which all earthly bodies dwell, which are, aer, ignis, terra, aqua^ Aer is atmosphere; ignis, fire ; terra, earth ; aqua, water. Aii is a very thin corporeal element; it goes over the whole world, and extends upwards nearly to the moon, in it fly fowls as fishes swim in the wa¬ ter. Not one of them could fly wrere it not for the air which bears them up ; and no man or cattle has any breathing except by means of the air. The breath that we blow out and draw in is not our soul, but it is the air in which we live in this mortal life; as fishes die if they are out of the water, so also every earthly body dies if it be deprived of air. There is no corporeal thing which has not in it the four elements, that is, air, and fire, earth, and wrater. In every body are these four things. Take a stick, and rub on something, it becomes hot directly with the fire which lurks in it. Burn the one end, then goeth the moisture out at the other end with the smoke. So also our bodies have both heat and moisture, earth and air. The air of which w^e are speaking, rises up nearly to the moon, and supports all clouds and storms. The air when it is moved is wind. The wind has various names in books. It takes its name from the quarter w hence it blow^s. There are four chief winds. The first is the east wind, called subsolanus, because it blows from the quarter in which the sun rises, and is very temperate. The second chief wind is the southern, called auster, wdiich stirs clouds, and lightnings, and blows various plagues through the earth. The third chief wind is called zephyrus in the Greek language, and in Latin favonius; it blows from the w est, and through its blowing all earthly plants take life and blossom, and it disperses and thaws all winter C