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waters by the beams of the sun, and carried into the middle region of the air, where by the extremity of the cold, it is thickened into the body of a cloud; and afterwards, being dissolved through an accession of heat, it falleth upon the earth; and this is done by God’s power, and at his appointment, at the Prophet Amos witnesseth.
Of Hail.
HAIL is nothing but rain congeal’d into ice by the coldness of the air, freezing the drops after tire dissolving of the clouds; and the higher it comes, and the longer it tarries in the air, the rounder and lesser it is: we have sometimes great showers of hail in the heat of summer, after a thunder clap; which doth manifest, that the air at that time is extreme cold, thus to congeal the water therein, notwithstanding the heat then upon the earth.
Of Snow.
SNOW (as say the ancients) is of the same humour that hail is, but only looser parts; and therefore in the summer-time is melted into rain before it cometh down.
Of Frost and Rain.
IN the day time through the heat of the sun, there is a cold and moist vapour drawn up a little from the earth; which after the setting of the sun, descends upon the earth again, and is called dew: but if by the sharpness of the air it be congealed, is called frost; and therefore in hot seasons and windy weather, dews are not so frequent, nor so much as after a calm and clear night; for when frosts happen, they draw up wet and moisture for the ice being melted, is proportionably less.
