Archimedes Texts

84
difficulty proceedeth from the waters of Fiume morto being low,
and the fields drained.

4. As to the particular of the Causes that you tell me men
press so much unto the most Serene Grand Duke, and to the
Prince, I have not much to say, because it is not my profession;
nor have I considered of the same: Yet I believe, that when the
Prince and his Highnesse see the benefit of his People and Sub
jects in one scale of the Ballance, and the accomodation of
Huntsmen in the other, his Highnesse will incline to the profit
of his subjects; such have I alwayes found his Clemency and
Noblenesse of minde. But if I were to put in my vote upon
this businesse, I would say, that the points of Spears, and the
mouths of Guns, the yelping of Dogs, the wilynesse of Hunts
men, who run thorow and narrowly search all those Woods,
Thickets and Heathes, are the true destroyers of Bucks and
Boares, and not a little Salt-water, which setleth at last in some
low places, and spreadeth not very far. Yet neverthelesse, I will
not enter upon any such point, but confine my self solely to the
businesse before me.

5. That Experiment of joyning together the water of Fiume
morto, and that of Serchio by a little trench to see what advan
tage the Level E hath upon the Level I, doth not give me full
satisfaction, taken so particularly, for it may come to passe, that
sometimes E may be higher, and sometimes A lower, and I do
not question but that when Serchio is low, and Fiume morto full
of Water, the level of Fiume morto will be higher than that of
Serchio. But Serchio being full, and Fiume morto scant of Wa
ter, the contrary will follow, if the Mouth shall be opened to
the Sea. And here it should seem to me, that it ought to be
considered, that there is as much advantage from E to the Sea
through the little Trench opened anew into Serchio, as from E to
the Sea by the Mouth of Fiume morto. But the difficulty (which
is that we are to regard in our case) is, that the course of the
Waters thorow the Trench is three times longer than the course
of the Mouth of Fiums morto, as appeareth by the Draught or
Plat which you sent me, which I know to be very exactly drawn,
for that the situation of those places are fresh in my memory.
Here I must give notice, that the waters of Fiume morto determi
ning thorow the Trench in Serchio (the waters of which Fiume
morto are, for certain, never so low as the Sea) their pendency or
declivity shall, for two causes, be lesse than the pendency of those
waters through the Mouth towards the Sea, that is, because of
the length of the line through the Trench, and because of the
height of their entrance into Serchio, a thing which is of very
great import in discharging the waters which come suddenly, as