Theorem VI.

Rainwater is a thing most artfully made: thin, subtle, transparent, sweet, pleasant, spiritual, and simple; an element and throne that has received no particular blessing or command from almighty God. It contains all colours, as well as the beginnings of the other elements, and thus the seed of all visible things; all powers and virtues for nourishing animals and growing things, and likewise for healing all diseases; in sum, the powers of the whole of nature. It has its residence in the air beneath the firmament of heaven.

I say “a thing most artfully made”: artful in respect of its efficient cause, because at the beginning of creation it was created and prepared by the Most High, almighty and all-wise Lord and Creator of all things, together with and amid the great mass of waters; artful in respect of its formal cause and its origin, because, as stated above, it was created through God’s Word and from nothing. Here I recall what the author of the Revelation of Divine Majesty writes: in human speech it is right to say that water, and hence the world, was created from nothing; yet in a manner beyond human speech one may also say that water has an author or origin. In his own sense I must again agree with him, when I consider that Christ the Lord himself says in the Revelation of John, chapter 3, that he is “the beginning of God’s creatures.”

This could readily resolve the learned dispute about principles and things derived from principles, and other similar questions, if only scholars would assent to the truth. But enough of this for the present; let me continue with my purpose. Rainwater is also an artfully made thing in respect of form and quality: it has a body, yet that body itself is not seen, only its lustre. It is also Thin, subtle, transparent. Sight itself confirms this, since one can otherwise see several fathoms deep into water.

Rainwater is also artful in respect of its essence, for it is “a sweet and pleasant thing.” Its taste and smell sufficiently reveal that sweetness and pleasantness. When rainwater falls sour, salty, foul-smelling, red, or many-coloured, this happens through almighty God as punishment, threat, warning, or a miraculous sign. A spiritual and simple thing. Experience again testifies that this subject is spiritual. If raw, undistilled rainwater is left standing in an open vessel, it will evaporate entirely and disappear. I also appeal to the spirit mentioned below, which is to be prepared from rainwater.

An element and throne that has received no particular blessing or command from almighty God. After almighty God ordained that the water below the firmament should gather in particular places, on the fifth day he gave it this special blessing and command: to teem with moving and living creatures and with birds, and so forth. Previously he had given the earth a similar blessing and command to bring forth plants. But concerning rainwater, Scripture says in its account of creation—or rather its completion—“For God the Lord had not yet caused it to rain upon the earth.” This clause was therefore included in the definition for a definite reason, as may be gathered from chapter seven of the Second Part. It is said:

Which contains all colours, and so forth. Although rainwater appears outwardly almost white, it nevertheless contains all colours. This can again be shown by a simple example: if rainwater is repeatedly distilled through an alembic and the alembic is afterward allowed to dry, colours of every imaginable kind appear within it. The same can even be observed on glass that has lain in the rain and afterward dried in the sun. This reminds me of Hollandus’s statement that the three spirits resting in natural warmth—taste, smell, and colour—are the soul, life, and quintessence of all things. For this reason I also said above that rainwater is artfully made in respect of its essence, because it is sweet and pleasant.

I do not, however, wish to offend the Aristotelian philosophers, who, to my knowledge, commonly maintain the contrary, or enter into a dispute with them about it. I hope they will remember for themselves that when the distilled waters in their apothecaries’ shops have grown somewhat old and lost their taste, smell, and colour, nothing remains but phlegm—which, nevertheless, must sometimes still serve poor patients as medicine. Likewise, when an apple has lost its smell, taste, and colour through decay, nothing remains but waste.

Yet not only they, but also those who claim to be chymists, err when they imagine they can open up one body or another through great violence of fire or through strong waters. Instead of its essence, they likewise obtain foul-smelling wastes, spoiled medicines, or powerless husks. But to return to our subject, the definition continues: Likewise the beginnings of the other elements, and so forth. For from rainwater one may prepare not only a splendid and exceedingly subtle spirit—which disappears so quickly when a whole spoonful is poured into the air that not a single drop can be detected—but also a beautiful spiritual oil and salt.

Thus the seed of all visible things, and all powers and virtues for nourishing animals and growing things, and so forth. There is no need to demonstrate further that all things consist of the elements. Now the late Dr Arndt says: “We are nourished and preserved by the very things of which we consist. But we consist of the elements. Therefore,” and so forth. Nor will any true philosopher deny or dispute that all diseases can be cured and healed through elements subjected to equal balancing and this supreme tempering. This equal balancing will be discussed further in the Second Part. Meanwhile the definition continues here:

And, in sum, the powers of the whole of nature within itself, and so forth. Just as this has been proved above a priori and theoretically, and will be further proved in the Second Part, so, as regards animal and vegetable nature, it can be shown from its effect and a posteriori in the following way. Experience testifies that if rain does not moisten the earth, no seed, herb, or grass can grow, as happened not only in Elijah’s time but often otherwise. Conversely, we know—as God also says to Job in chapter 38 of his book—that rain causes grass to grow. Grass gives flesh to the ox; flesh gives food to humankind; food yields chyle, chyle blood, and blood seed, from which a human being arises again.

This, however, must be understood solely in respect of potentiality, and by no means of actuality and operation. For pagan “Nature” is a mere fiction: there is no nature that acts. The Most High and only-wise God created all things through his eternal, subsistent Word; therefore all things are also administered, governed, directed, moved, and preserved through that Word. God the Lord acts through no other means than his Word, and indeed not through things, but in things. What, then, becomes of pagan Nature? To avoid straying further from my purpose, I shall discuss this more fully in the Second Part. There it will also be shown that rainwater likewise contains mineral nature; meanwhile the reader is again referred there.

Lastly I say: That rainwater has its residence in the air beneath the firmament of heaven. The frequently cited author of the Revelation of Divine Majesty maintains this; it is also conveyed by the pagan word meteoron, especially if one reads and considers its explanation in Dr Bechmann’s Systema Physicum. The Second Part will discuss further how rainwater is sustained in the air beneath heaven’s firmament. For brevity I refer the reader there. Next, so that I conceal nothing in this matter, I declare the following: