[125] Ding dong.
A man may speir at me what does the ringing of the bells to the thunder. Yes wery much; for its known that the thunder is partly occasioned by the thickness, grossness, impuritude, crassitude of the circumambient air wt which the thunder feides itselfe as its matter. Now Im sure if we can dissipate and discusse this thickness of the air which occasiones the thunder, we are wery fair for extinguishing the thunder itselfe according to the Axioma, sublata causa tollitur effectus, whilk maxime tho it holds not in thess effect which dependes not on the cause in esse and conservari but only in fieri: as filius, pater quidem est eius causa; attamen eo sublato non tollitur filius quia nullo modo dependet filius a patre sive in esse sive in conservari: solum modo ab eo dependet ut est in fieri. Yet my axiome is good in this present demonstration, since the thunder dependes on this grossenese of the air, not only in its fieri, but even in its esse and conservari. But weill yeell say, let it be so, but what influence has the ringing of the bells to dissipat this grosseness: even wery much: for the sound and noice certainly is not a thing immateriall; ergo it most be corporeall: since theirfor wt the consent of the papists themselfes duo corpora non possunt se penetrare aut esse in codem loco nuturaliter, its consequentiall that the sound of the bells as it passes thorow the circumambient air to come to our ears and to pass thorow all the places wheir it extends its noice makes place for it selfe by making the air yeeld that stands in its way; whence it rarifies and purifies the air and by consequence disipates the crassities of the air, which occasions the thunder.
That the noice thats conveyed to our ears is corporeall and material be it of bels or of canons is beyond controversy, since sonus is obiectum sensûs corpori, ut auditus: at objectum rei corporcae oportet esse corporeum: cum incorporea sub sensibus naturaliter non cadunt. I adde naturaliter, because I know super naturaliter in beatificá visione Deus quodammodo cadet sub sensibus ut glorificatus, according to that of Jobs with thir same wery eyes sall I see my Redeimer: yea not only is sonus quid materiale, but further something much more grossely material then the objects of the rest of the senses, as for instance in the discharging of a canon being a distance looking on we would think it gives fire long before it gives the crack, tho in wery truth they be both in the same instant. The reason then whey we sie the fire before we hear the crack is because the species Wisibiles that carries the fire to our eyes, tho material are exceeding spirituall and subtill and are for that soon conveyed to our sight: when the Species Audibiles being more gross takes a pitty tyme to peragrate and passe over that distance that is betuixt us and the canon, or they can rendre them selfes to the organ of our hearing.
But let us returne, we are informed that in Italy, wheir thunders are bothe more frequent and more dangerous then heir, they are wery carefull not only to cause ring all their bells, but also to shoot of their greatest cannons and peices of ordonnances and that to the effect mentioned. I am not ignorant but the Papists feignes and attributes a kind of wertue to the ringing of bells for the chassing away of all evill spirits if any place be hanted or frequented wt them. Yet this reason cannot have roome in our case, since ther are few so ignorant of the natural causes of thunder as to impute it to the raging of ill spirits in the air, tho the Mr. of Ogilvy at Orleans, who very wilfully whiles would maintain things he could not maintain, would not hear that a natural cause could be given of the thunder, but would impute it to evill spirits. I do not deny but the Devils wt Gods permission may occasion thunders and other tempests in the air, but what I aime at is this, they never occasion it so, but they make use of natural means; for who is ignorant but the Meteorologists gives and assignes all the 4 causes of it its efficient, its materiall, its formall and its finall.
I cannot forget the effect I have sein the thunder produce in the papists. When they hear a clap coming they all wery religiously signe theyr forfronts and their breast wt the signe of the cross, in the wertue of which they are confident that clap can do them no scaith. Some we have sein run to their beads and their knees and mumble over their prayers, others away to the church and doune before the Altar and blaither anything that comes in their cheek. They have no thunders in the winter.
Discoursing of the commodityes of sundry nations transported to France, their ordinar cxpression is, that they are beholden to Scotland for nothing but its herrings, which they count a wery grosse fish no wayes royall, as they speak, thats, not for a kings table. As for linnen, cloath and other commodities the kingdome affords, we have litle more of them then serves our oune necessity.
I was 5 moneth in France before I saw a boyled or roasted egge. Their mouton is neither so great nor so good heir as its at home. The reason of which may be the litle roome they leive for pasturage in the most parts of France. They buy a leg heir for 8 souse, whiles 10 souse.
On the 20 of August came about St. Bernard, Abbot of Clarevill,[126] his day, who founded the order of the Foullions[127] or Bernardines, whence we went that afternoon to their Convent and heard one of the order preach his panygyrick, but so constupatly that the auditory seweral tymes had much ado to keip themselfes from laughting.
[126] Clairvaux.
[127] See p. 47, note.