66 Old South Leaflets. No. 117. Frobisher's Voyage. FROM THE TRUE DISCOURSE," BY GEORGE BESTE. The colde regions of the worlde are those whiche, tending towarde the pole artike and antartike, are withoute the circuit or bounds of the seaven climates, which, agreeable to the opinion of the olde writers, is founde and sette out in our authore of the Sphere, Joannes de Sacrobosco, where he playnely sayeth, that without the seaventh climate, which is bounded by a parallel passing at fiftie degrees in latitude, all the habitation beyonde that to be discommodious and intollerable: but Gemma Phrisius, a late writer, finding England and Scotland to be withoute the compasse of those climates wherein he knew to be very temperate and good habitation, added thereunto two other climates, the uttermost paralell whereof passeth by 56 degrees in latitude, and therein comprehendeth over and above the first computation, England, Scotland, Denmarke, Moscovia, etc., which all are rich and mightie kingdomes. The old writers, perswaded by bare conjecture, went aboute to determine of those places, by comparing them to their own complexions, bycause they felt them to be hardly tolerable to themselves, and so toke thereby an argument of the whole habitable earth, as if a man borne in Morochus, or other part of Barbarie, should at the latter end of sommer, upon the suddayne, eyther naked, or wyth hys thinne vesture, be broughte into England, he would judge this region presently not to be habitable, bycause he being brought up in so warme a countrey, is not able heere to live, for so sodaine an alteration of the cold ayre; but if the same man hadde come at the beginning of sommer, and so afterwarde by little and little by certaine de grees, had felt and acquainted himselfe with the frost of autumne, it would have seemed by degrees to harden him, and so to make it far more tollerable, and by use after one yeere or two, the ayre woulde seeme to hym more temperate. It was compted a greate matter in the olde time, that there was a brasse pot broken in sunder with frozen water in Ponthus, which after was broughte and shewed in Delphis, in token of a miraculous cold region and winter, and therefore consecrated to the Temple of Apollo. This effect being wroghte in the paralell of 48 degrees in latitude, it was presentlye compted a place verye hardlye and uneasily to be inhabited for the greate colde. And howe then can suche men define uppon other regions very farre without that paralell, wh'er they were inhabited or not, seeing that in so neare a place they so grossely mistooke the matter, and others their followers being contented with the inventions of the olde authors, have persisted willingly in the same opinion, with more confidence than consideration of the cause, so lightly was that opinion received, as touching the unhabitable clime neare and under the Poles. Therefore I am at this present to prove yt all the land lying betweene the laste climate even unto the point directly under either Poles, is or maye be inhabited, especially of suche creatures as are ingendred and bredde therein. For indeed it is to be confessed, that some particular living creature cannot live in every particular place or region, especially wyth the same joy and felicitie, as it did where it was first bredde, for the certane agreement of nature that is betweene the place, and the thing bredde in that place, as appeareth by the elephant, which being translated and brought out of the second or third climate, though they may live, yet will. they never ingender or bring forth yong. Also wee see the like in many kinds of plants and hearbs: for example, the orange tree, although in Naples they bring forth fruit abundantly, in Rome and Florence they will beare onlye faire greene leaves, but not any fruite: and translated into England, they will hardly beare either flowers, fruite, or leaves, but are the next winter pinched and withered with colde: yet it followeth not for this, that England, Rome, and Florence should not be habitable. In the proving of these colde regions habitable, I shall be verye shorte, bicause the same reasons serve for this purpose, which were alleaged before in the proving the middle zone to be temperate, especially seeing all heate and colde proceede from the sunne, by the meanes eyther of the angle his beames doeth make with the horizon, or else by ye long or shorte continuance of the sun's presence above ground: so that if the sunnes beames do heate perpendicularlye at righte angles, then there is one cause of heate, and if the sunne doe also long continue above the horizon, then the heate thereby is muche encreased by accesse of this other cause, and so groweth to a kind of extremitie. And these ii causes, as I said before, doe moste concurre under the two tropickes, and therefore there is the greatest heate of ye worlde. And likewise, where both these causes are most absent, there is greatest want of heate, and encrease of colde (seeing that colde is nothing but the privation and absence of heat), and if one cause be wanting and the other present the effect will grow indifferent. Therefore this is to be understanded, that the nearer anye region is to the equinoctiall the higher the sunne doeth rise over their heades at noone, and so maketh either righte or neare righte angles, but the sun tarryeth with them so much the shorter time, and causeth shorter dayes, with longer and colder nights, to restore the domage of the daye paste, by reason of the moisture consumed by vapour. But in such reasons, over the which the sun riseth lower (as in regions extended towardes eyther pole) it maketh there unequall angles, but the sunne continueth longer, and maketh longer dayes, and causeth so much shorter and warmer nights, as retayning warme vapoures of the daye paste. For there are found by experience sommer nights in Scotland and Gothland very hot, when under the equinoctiall they are found very colde. This benefit of the sunnes long continuance and encrease of the day, doth augment so muche the more in colde regions, as they are nearer the poles, and ceaseth not encreasing, until it come directly under the point of the pole articke, where the sunne continueth above grounde the space of sixe moneths or halfe a yeare togither, and so the daye is halfe a yere longe, that is the time of ye suns being in the north signes, from the first degree of Aries until the last of Virgo, that is all the time from our 10 day of March, untill the 14th of September. The sun therefore during the time of these 6 moneths without any offence or hinderaunce of the nighte, gyveth his influence upon those landes with heate that never ceaseth during that time, which maketh to the great increase of sommer, by reason of the sunnes continuance. Therefore it followeth, that though the sunne be not there very high over their heads to cause right angle beams and to give great heate, yet the sun being there sometime almost 24 degrees high, doth caste a convenient and meane heate which there continueth without hinderance of the night the space of six moneths (as is before saide) during whiche time there foloweth to be a convenient moderate and temperate heat, or else rather it is to be suspected the heat there to be very great, both for continuance and also quia virtus unita crescit, the vertue and strength of heat united in one encreaseth. If then there be suche a moderate heat under the poles, and the same to continue so long time, what shoulde move the olde writers to saye there cannot be place for habitation. And that the certaintie of this temperate heat under both the poles might more manifestlye appeare, lette us consider the position and qualitie of the sphere, the length of the day, and so to gather the heighte of the sunne at all times, and by consequent the quantitie of his angle, and so lastely the strength of his heate Those landes and regions lying under the pole and having the pole for their zenith, muste needes have the equinoctiall circle for their horizon, therefore the sunne entring into the north signes, and describing every 24 houres a paralell to the equinoctiall by the diurnall motion of Primum Mobile, the same paralels must needes be wholely above the horizon, and so looke how many degrees there are from the fyrst of Aries to the last of Virgo, so many whole revolutions there are above theyr horizon yt dwell under the pole, whiche amounteth to 182, and so manye of oure dayes the sunne continueth with them. ing whych tyme they have there continuall daye and lighte withoute anye hinderaunce of moiste nightes. Yet it is to be noted that the sunne being in the fyrst degree of Aries, and laste degree of Virgo, maketh his revolution in the very horizon, so that in these 24 houres halfe the body of the sunne is above the horizon and the other halfe is under this only center, describing both the horizon and the equinoctiall circle. Dur And therefore seeing the greatest declination of the sun is almost 24 degrees, it followeth his greatest height in those countries to be almost 24 degrees. And so high is the sun at noone to us in London about ye 29 of October, being in the 15 degree of Scorpio, and likewise the 21 of January being in the 15 of Aquarius. Therefore looke what force the sun at noone hath in London the 29th of October, the same force of heate it hathe, to them that dwell under the pole, the space almost of two moneths, during the time of the sommer solstitium, and that without intermingling of any colde night: so that if the heate of the sunne at noone coulde be well measured in London (which is verye harde to do, bycause of the long nights, whiche engender greate moysture and colde), then woulde manifestlye appeare by expresse numbers the maner of the heate under the poles, which certainly must needes be to the inhabitants verye commodious and profitable, if it inclyne not to over much heate, and if moysture do not want. For as in October in England we find temperate aire, and have in our gardens hearbes and floures notwithstanding our colde nights, how much more shoulde they have ye same good ayre, being continual without night. This heate of ours continueth but one houre while the sunne is in ye meridian, but theirs continueth a long time in one height. This our heate is weake, and by the coolenesse of the night vanisheth; that heate is strong, and by continual accesse is still increased and strengthened. And thus by a similitude of the equal height of the sunne in both places, appeareth the commodious and moderate heate of the regions under the poles. And surely I can not thinke that the divine providence hath made any thing uncommunicable, but to have given such order to all things that one way or other the same shoulde be emploied, and that every thing and place should be tollerable to the next. But especiallye all things in this lower world be given to man to have dominion and use thereof. Therefore wee neede no longer to doubt of the temperate and commodious habitation under the poles during the tyme of sommer. And al the controversie consisteth in the winter, for then the sun leaveth those regions, and is no more seene for the space of other sixe months, in the which time al the sunnes course is under their horizon for the space of halfe a yeare, and then those regions (saye some) muste needs be deformed with horible darkenesse and continuall nyghte, whiche maye be the cause that beastes can not seeke theyr foode, and that also the cold should then be intollerable. By which double evils al living creatures should be constrayned to die, and were not able to indure the extremitie and injurie of winter and famine ensuing thereof, but that all things shoulde perish before the sommer folowing, when they should bring forth their broode and yong, and that for these causes ye said clime about the pole shold be desolate and not habitable. To al which objections may be |