After all this, the Empress desired the Worm-men to give her a true relation how frost was made upon the earth? To which they answered, that it was made much after the manner and description of the Fish- and Bird-men, concerning the congelation of water into ice and snow, by a commixture of saline and acid particles; which relation added a great light to the Ape-men, who were the chemists, concerning their chemical principles, salt, sulphur, and mercury. But, said the Empress, if it be so, it will require an infinite multitude of saline particles to produce such a great quantity of ice, frost and snow: besides, said she, when snow, ice and frost, turn again into their former principle, I would fain know what becomes of those saline particles? But neither the Worm-men, nor the Fish- and Bird-men, could give her an answer to it.
Then the Empress enquired of them the reason, why springs were not as salt as the sea is? also, why some did ebb and flow? To which it was answered, that the ebbing and flowing of some springs, was caused by hollow caverns within the earth, where the seawater crowding through, did thrust forward, and drew backward the spring-water, according to its own way of ebbing and flowing; but others said, that it proceeded from a small proportion of saline and acid particles, which the spring-water imbibed from the earth; and although it was not so much as to be perceived by the sense of taste; yet it was enough to cause an ebbing and flowing-motion. And as for the spring-water being fresh, they gave, according to their observation, this following reason: There is, said they, a certain heat within the bowels of the earth, proceeding from its swift circular motion, upon its own axe, which heat distills the rarest parts of the earth into a fresh and insipid water, which water being through the pores of the earth, conveyed into a place where it may break forth without resistance or obstruction, causes springs and fountains; and these distilled waters within the earth, do nourish and refresh the grosser and drier parts thereof. This relation confirmed the Empress in the opinion concerning the motion of the earth, and the fixedness of the sun, as the Bird-men had informed her; and then she asked the Worm-men, whether minerals and vegetables were generated by the same heat that is within the bowels of the earth? To which they could give her no positive answer; only this they affirmed, that heat and cold were not the primary producing causes of either vegetables or minerals, or other sorts of creatures, but only effects; and to prove this our assertion, said they, we have observed, that by change of some sorts of corporeal motions, that which is now hot, will become cold; and what is now cold, will grow hot; but the hottest place of all, we find to be the center of the earth: Neither do we observe, that the torrid zone does contain so much gold and silver as the temperate; nor is there great store of iron and lead wheresoever there is gold; for these metals are most found in colder climates towards either of the poles. This observation, the Empress commanded them to confer with her chemists, the Ape-men; to let them know that gold was not produced by a violent, but a temperate degree of heat. She asked further, whether gold could not be made by art? They answered, that they could not certainly tell her Majesty, but if it was possible to be done, they thought tin, lead, brass, iron and silver, to be the fittest metals for such an artificial transmutation. Then she asked them, whether art could produce iron, tin, lead, or silver? They answered, not, in their opinion. Then I perceive, replied the Empress, that your judgments are very irregular, since you believe that gold, which is so fixed a metal, that nothing has been found as yet which could occasion a dissolution of its interior figure, may be made by art, and not tin, lead, iron, copper or silver, which yet are so far weaker, and meaner metals than gold is. But the Worm-men excused themselves, that they were ignorant in that art, and that such questions belonged more properly to the Ape-men, which were her Majesty’s chemists.
Then the Empress asked them, whether by their sensitive perceptions they could observe the interior corporeal, figurative motions both of vegetables and minerals? They answered, that their senses could perceive them after they were produced, but not before; Nevertheless, said they, although the interior, figurative motions of natural creatures are not subject to the exterior, animal, sensitive perceptions, yet by their rational perception they may judge of them, and of their productions if they be regular: Whereupon the Empress commanded the Bear-men to lend them some of their best microscopes. At which the Bear-men smilingly answered her Majesty, that their glasses would do them but little service in the bowels of the earth, because there was no light; for, said they, our glasses do only represent exterior objects, according to the various reflections and positions of light; and wheresoever light is wanting, the glasses will do no good. To which the Worm-men replied, that although they could not say much of refractions, reflections, inflections, and the like; yet were they not blind, even in the bowels of the earth: for they could see the several sorts of minerals, as also minute animals, that lived there; which minute animal creatures were not blind neither, but had some kind
