A goodly gallerye with a most pleasaunt prospect, into the garden of naturall contemplation, to behold the naturall causes of all kynde of meteors, as wel fyery and ayery, as watry and earthly, of whiche sort be blasing sterres, shooting starres, flames in the ayre &c. tho[n]der, lightning, earthquakes, &c. rayne dewe, snowe, cloudes, springes &c. stones, metalles, earthes &c. to the glory of God, and the profit of his creaturs.

¶ Of thonder.

THōder is a sound,* 1.1 caused in y^e cloudes by the breaking out of a whote & dry Exhalation, beating against the edges, of the cloude. It is often herde in spryng & sommer, by reason y^t the heat of y^e sonne, thē draweth vp many Exhalations, which meating in the midle regiō of the ayre, w^c colde & moist vapors, ar together with them, inclosed in an hollowe cloud, but whē the whot Exhalatiō cannot agrée w^c the coldnes of y^e place, by this strife be∣ing driuen together, made stronger and kēdled, it wil neades breake out which soden & violent eruptiō, causeth y^e noyse which we cal thōder. A similitude is put by gret autors of moist wood,* 1.2 y^e cracketh

in y^e fire, we may adde here vnto y^e brea∣king of an egge in the fire, of an apple, or any like thing, for whatsoeuer holdeth & withholdeth, enclosed any whot wind, so y^t it can haue no vente, it wil séeke it¦self a way, by breaking y^e skinn, shell or case. It wer no ill cōparisō to likē thōder to the sound of a gonne, which be both caused of the same or very like causes.

The soūd of thōders is diuerse, after which, men haue diuided y^e thōders into diuerse kindes.* 1.3 Making first ij. sortes, y^t is, small thōder & great. But as for the diuersitie of soūdes, generally it cōmeth of y^e diuerse disposition of y^e cloudes, one while hauing more holes then at ano∣ther, somtime thicker in one place then in another. The smal or litle thōder is,* 1.4 when y^e exhalatiō is driuē frō side to side, of y^e cloude, making a noise, & ether for y^e smal quātitie, & lesse forcibles, or els for the thicknes of y^e cloudes walles, is not able to break thē, but rōbleth vp & down w^tin y^e cloud, whose sids ar strōger thē y^e force of y^e exhalation is able to breake, it rōneth vp & down w^tin, & striking agaīst the cloud & moist sides, maketh a noyse not vnlike to the quēching of whote yrō in cold water.

And if y^e Exhalation be meanly strōg, and the cloude not in all places of lyke thickenes, it breaketh out at those thinn places whiche suche a bussing, as wynd maketh blowyng out of narrow holes.

But if the cloude, be so thynne, that it cannot kepe in y^e Exhalation, although it be not kyndled, then it bloweth out with lyke puffinge as wynde commeth out of a payre of bellowes.

A great thonder, is when the Exha∣lation is muche in quantitie,* 1.5 and verye whote and drye in qualitie, the cloude also very thycke and stronge, that ease∣ly wyll not geue place to the wynde, to escape out.

Wherfore if the Exhalation do vehe∣mently shake the cloude, though it doe not at the first disperse it, it maketh a longe and fearefull romblyng against the sydes of the cloude, vntill at the last being made stronger by swyfter motiō, it dissolueth the cloude, and hath lyber∣tie to passe out into the open ayer. The cloude resolued, droppeth downe, and then followeth a showre of rayne.

Otherwhyles it shaketh the cloude, not long, but streyghtwaye rendeth it a

long space & tyme, whose sounde is like the rendyng of a broade clothe, whiche noyce continueth a prety whyle.

And sometime it discusseth the cloude at once, makyng a vehement and terry∣ble cracke lyke a gonne, sometime with great force, casting out stones, but most commenly fyre, whiche setteth manye highe places on fyre. As in the yeare of our Lorde, 1561. the fourth day of Iune, the steple of saint Paules church in Lō∣don was set on fyre, as it hath béen once or twyse before, and burned. The noyce of thonder though it be great in suche places ouer whiche it is made,* 1.6 yet is it not harde farre of, especially against the wynde. Whereof we had experience al∣so in the yeare of our Lorde, 1561. on saynt Mathyes daye in February, at the euening, when there was a great flashe of lyghtnynges, and a verye terryble crack of thonder followynge, they that were but xv. myles from Londō West∣warde, hearde no noyse, nor sound ther∣of: the wynde that tyme was Western.

The effect of thonder is profitable to men,* 1.7 bothe for that the swete shower doth followe it, and also for that it pur∣geth,

and purifieth the ayre by the swyft mouynge of the Exhalation, that brea∣keth foorthe, as also by the sounde which deuidynge and pearcyng the ayre, cau∣seth it to be muche thynner, which may be veryfied by an historie that Plutar∣chus in the life of T. Quincius Flaminius,* 1.8 reporteth, that there was suche a noyce made by the Grecians after theyr lyber∣tie was restored, that the byrdes of the ayer that flewe ouer them were séen to fall downe, by reason that the ayer de∣uided by theyr crye, was made so thinn, that there was no firmitie, or strengthe in it to beare them vp. And let this suf∣fice for thonder, whome lyghtnyng suc∣ceadeth in treatie, that seildome is from it in nature.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Thonder.
• * 1.2

  a simili∣tude.
• * 1.3

  Diuerse kindes of thonder.
• * 1.4

  Smal thon¦der and the kin∣des therof
• * 1.5

  Great thō¦der and the kindes therof.
• * 1.6

  How farr thūder is harde.
• * 1.7

  The profit of thonder.
• * 1.8

  Plutarch{us} T. Quin¦cius Fla∣minius.