ABSTRACT
THESE words of scripture are worthy of respect: ‘The Lord giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice (crystallum) like morsels: who can stand before his cold, etc. 1 Certainly, if that book, which can be very obscure, could be illuminated with the brightness of crystal, even this would not be adequate to explain the foregoing sentences, because everything is full of mystery, notwithstanding the fact that the small number of words ought properly to make it comprehensible. The Bible says: ‘Who giveth snow like wool.’ Snow (as all seem to agree) is generated from the clouds, falls, and spreads profusely far and wide. But it is only Cypriot wool that falls, when it is ripened, from a shrub or its parent plant sown for that purpose, covering and whitening the whole plain, so that to the local inhabitants it looks as though it were snow coming down from the sky. From this the natives make a very rich profit; for it is dispersed to all parts of the world, especially where it is subject to cold in order to conserve warmth, just as birds’ feathers in the Indies are seen to serve usefully as a natural protection and to moderate the heat when gently fanned. To see the truth of the words, ‘He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes,’ one need only glance briefly at Bk I, Ch. 20, of this work, which treats of frost and hoarfrost. Moreover the fact that, ‘He casteth out his ice like morsels,’ is clear from its fragments, of which there is certainly a great abundance. They are called morsels because of their brittleness, since they are very easily crushed by moderate grinding, as if between the molars. Among the ancients crystal was more commonly used than among people of today, especially on chests and in the hilts of swords, as you may see in the cathedral church at Oslo in the kingdom of Norway, where the famous sword of King Håkon is preserved as a splendid sight. 2
Ice like morsels
Snow
Nature of Cypriot wool
Plentiful profit
Birds’ feathers in the Indies
Sword of King Håkon
