268 NEW ATLANTIS. cines; wherein you may easily think, if we have such variety of plants and living creatures more than you have in Europe, (for we know what you have,) the simples, drugs, and ingredients of me dicines, must likewise be in so much the greater variety. We have them likewise of divers ages, and long fermentations. And for their prepara tions, we have not only all manner of exquisite distillations and separations, and especially by gentle heats and percolations through divers strainers, yea, and substances ; but also exact forms of composition, whereby they incorporate almost as they were natural simples. " We have also divers mechanical arts, which you have not ; and stuffs made by them ; as pa pers, linen, silks, tissues: dainty works of feath ers of wonderful lustre ; excellent dyes, and many others ; and shops likewise as well for such as are not brought into vulgar use among us, as for those that are. For you must know, that of the things before recited, many of them are grown into use throughout the kingdom ; but yet, if they did flow from our invention, we have of them also for patterns and principals. " We have also furnaces of great diversities, and that keep great diversities of heats ; fierce and quick ; strong and constant ; soft and mild ; blown, quiet, dry, moist ; and the like. But above all, we have heats in imitation of the sun s and heavenly bodies heats, that pass divers ine qualities, and, as it were, orbs, progresses and re turns, whereby, we produce admirable effects. Besides, we have heats of dungs, and of bellies and maws of living creatures, and of their bloods and bodies ; and of hays and herbs laid up moist; of lime unquenched; and such like. Instruments also which generate heat only by motion. And farther, places for strong insolations ; and again, places under the earth, which by nature or art, yield heat. These divers heats we use, as the nature of the operation which we intend requir- eth. " We have also perspective houses, where we make demonstrations of lights and radiations ; and of all colours ; and out of things uncoloured and transparent, we can represent unto you all several colours; not in rainbows as it is in gems and prisms, but of themselves single. We represent also all multiplications of light, which we carry to great distance ; and make so sharp, as to dis cern small points and lines ; also all colorations oi light : all delusions and deceits of the sight, in figures, magnitudes, motions, colours ; all de monstrations of shadows. We find also divers means yet unknown to you, of producing of light originally from divers bodies. We procure means cf seeing objects afar off; as in the heaven and i emote places; and represent things near as far off ; and things afar off as near ; making feigned tiiswiir.es. We have also helps for the sight, far above spectacles and glasses in use. We have also glasses and means, to see small and mim,t*> bodies perfectly and distinctly ; as the shapes ano colours of small flies and worms, grains and flaws in gems, which cannot otherwise be seen ; observations in urine and blood, not otherwise to be seen. We make artificial rainbows, halos, and circles about light. We represent also all manner of reflections, refractions, and multiplica tions of visual beams of objects. "We have also precious stones of all kinds, many of them of great beauty, to you unknown; crystals likewise ; and glasses of divers kinds ; and amongst them some of metals vitrificated, and other materials, besides those of which you make glass. Also a number of fossils, and imperfect minerals, which you have not. Likewise load stones of prodigious virtue; and other rare stones, both natural and artificial. " We have also sound-houses, where we prac tise and demonstrate all sounds, and their gene ration. We have harmonies which you have not of quarter-sounds, and lesser slides of sounds. Divers instruments of music likewise to you unknown, some sweeter than any you have ; to gether with bells and rings that are dainty and sweet. We represent small sounds as great and deep ; likewise great sounds extenuate and sharp we make divers tremblings and warblings of sounds, which in their original are entire. Wo represent and imitate all articulate sounds ant 1 letters, and the voice and notes of beasts and birds. We have certain helps, which set to the ear do further the hearing greatly. We have also divers strange and artificial echoes, reflect ing the voice many times, and as it were tossing it : and some that give back the voice louder than it came; some shriller, and some deeper; yea, some rendering the voice differing in the letters or articulate sound from that they receive. We have also means to convey sounds in trunks and pipes, in strange lines and distances. " We have also perfume-houses ; wherewith we join also practices of taste. We multiply smells, which may seem strange. We imitate smells, making all smells to breathe out of other mixtures than those that give them. We make divers imi tations of taste likewise, so that they will deceive any man s taste. And in this house we contain also a comfiture-house ; where we make all sweet meats, dry and moist, and divers pleasant wines, milks, broths, and salads, in far greater variety than you have. " We have also engine-houses, where are ore- pared engines and instruments for all sorts of mo tions. There we imitate and practise to make swifter motions than any you have, either out of your muskets, or any engine that you have ; and to make them, and multiply them more easily, and with small force, by wheels and other means : and to make them stronger, and more violent than yours are ; exceeding your greatest cannons and
