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 cloudes.

A Cloude is a vapor colde and moyste,* 1.1 drawen out of the earth, or waters by the heate of the sunne, into the mydle re¦gion of the ayre, where by colde it is so knit together, that it hangeth vntill ei∣ther y^e waight or some resolution cause it to fall downe.

The place wherein the cloudes doe hange is sayde to be in the midle region of the ayre, because men sée it is necessa∣ry that there shoulde be a colde whiche

should make those vapors so grosse, and thycke, whiche for the most part are dra∣wen so thinne, from the earth, that they ar inuisible, as the aier is. And although they are knowen oftentime as Aristotle wytnesseth,* 1.2 to be in the lowest region of the ayre, neare to the earth, in so muche that sometymes, they fall downe to the earth, with great noyse, to y^e great feare of men and no lesse losse and daunger. Yet may it be reasonably thought, that these cloudes were generated in y^e midle region of the ayre, farre distant from the earth, whiche by their heuines doe by litle and litle sinke downe, lower into y^e lowest region, and sometymes also fall downe to the earth.

The commen opinion is,* 1.3 that they goe not hygher then nyne myle, whiche because it leaneth to no reason is vn∣certayne.

Albertus Magnus,* 1.4 whose reason also is to be doubted of, affirmeth, that the cloudes doe scarse exceade thrée myle in heyght, when they are hyghest.

And some let not to saye, that often∣tymes they ascend not past the halfe of one myle, in heyght.

Agayne other pretending to find out the truth by Geometical demonstrations, make it aboue fiftie myle to the place where the generation of cloudes is

Howe these men take the distaunce from the earth, it is vncertain. whether that they assigne y^e least distance, meane it from the hyghest part of the earth, as are hyll toppes, or from the commen playne. Againe, whether they y^t assigne the hyghest distaunce to be from the lo∣west vallyes, of the earth, or from the hylle toppes.

The reason before shewed, moueth me to thynke that the moste vsuall & cō∣men generation, I meane the condensa¦tion or making thick of these thinne va∣pors, into cloudes is in the midle region of the ayer. But for the distaunce of the cloudes, whē thei be generated I thinke they be somtime nine mile, somtime in. myle, somtime halfe a myle, & somtyme lesse then a quarter of a myle from the earth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cloudes.
• * 1.2

  Arist.
• * 1.3

  the height of the cloudes.
• * 1.4

  Albert Magnus.