About water qualities

Water is one of the elements and differs among the totality of elements in that it is included in everything that we take in - not because water nourishes, but because it conducts nutrients and improves their consistency. We said that water does not nourish, because what nourishes is, in potency, blood and, in a more distant potency, part of any human organ, and a simple body is not capable, having undergone a transformation, to take on the image of blood and the image of a human organ until it combines with other elements. But water is a substance that facilitates the flow of nutrients and their softening, and accompanies them as they pass to the vessels and rush to the passages. You cannot do without this kind of help in the entire nutrition process.

Further, water differs not in relation to the watery substance, but according to what is mixed with it, and according to the qualities predominant in it. The best water is the water of springs, but not all springs, but flowing through clean land, in the soil of which no extraneous properties and qualities predominate, or through rocky soil, which is better preserved from decay by earthly rot. But soil made of pure clay is better than rocky soil.

Good water does not come from any clean spring, but one that at the same time flows, and not from any flowing spring, but from a spring that flows and at the same time is open to the sun and to the winds - after all, this is one of the qualities thanks to which running water acquires dignity. As for stagnant water, sometimes it, being open, acquires bad properties: which it does not have, being in a lowland and being hidden from the sun. Also, not all flowing water that is open to the sun is good, but only that with a clay bed.

Know that waters with a clay bed are better than those that flow over rocks. After all, clay purifies water, removes foreign impurities from it and makes it transparent, but stones do not do all this. But the clay in the channel must be clean, without any admixture of silt, salt or anything else, for it happens that if there is a lot of water and it flows with force, the impurities, due to their abundance, pass into its nature.

The flow of water should be directed towards the sun. If it flows to the east, especially in summer, then such water is the best, especially if it has gone very far from its origin.

This is followed by water flowing towards the north, and that which flows towards the west or south is bad, especially when the wind blows from the south. Water that comes down from elevated places, if it has other advantages, is better.

Water with these qualities is fresh and seems sweet. If you mix wine with such water, the wine allows it only in a small part. It is light in weight and, due to its thinness, quickly cools and heats up, is cold in winter and warm in summer, has no taste or smell, easily descends into the insides, quickly boils what is boiled in it, and quickly boils what is boiled in it.

Know that weighing is one of the best ways to find out the quality of water: lighter water is better in most cases. Weight is sometimes determined using a measure, sometimes it is determined as follows: two rags or two pieces of cotton of the same weight are moistened with water of different qualities, then dried and weighed. The water with which the cotton was moistened turned out to be lighter and better.

Sublimation and distillation is one of the ways to correct bad water, and if this is not possible, then boiling. Boiled water, as scientists testify, bloats the stomach less and quickly descends into the insides. Ignorant doctors think that in boiled water the light parts rise and evaporate, while the heavy parts remain, therefore boiling is supposed to be of no use, since it makes the water denser. However, you should know that all particles of water, while it remains water, are similar to each other in terms of lightness and density, for water is a simple body, not complex. But water becomes dense either due to the increased effect of the quality of cold on it, or due to a significant admixture of earthy particles, which are extremely small and cannot separate from the water and settle in it, for they, due to their smallness, are not of such a size as to be able to tear adhesion of water particles and form sediment in it. This necessarily leads to mixing between them and the substance of water. Boiling first destroys the density resulting from the cold, then exposes the particles of water to a strong rarefaction, so that they become thinner in consistency, and it becomes possible to separate from the water the heavy earthy particles contained in it when it was dense. They permeate the water, settling in it, and are separated from it during the process of sedimentation, so that the water becomes pure, close to a simple body. What is separated by evaporation is homogeneous with the remaining water, not far from it in composition, for when the water is freed from impurities, its particles become similar in terms of fineness, and the particles raised by evaporation do not have much advantage over what remains. Boiling only thins the water, removing the compaction from the cold and impurities mixed with the water precipitate. The proof of this is that if thick water is left to stand for a long time, no significant sediment will fall out of it; if you boil it, a large sediment will immediately fall out, and the remaining water will become light in weight and clean. The cause of sedimentation is thinning caused by boiling water. Don’t you know that the water of large rivers, such as the Jeyhun River, especially if you scoop it up at the end of the river, is extremely muddy when you scoop it up, but then it clears up in a short time the first time, so if you strain her second time, there is absolutely no sediment that is worth talking about?

Some people indulge in extreme exaggeration in praising the water of the Nile, and unite its praiseworthy qualities in four properties: in the remoteness of the beginning of its flow, in its abundance, in the fact that it has a good channel, and in the fact that it flows north from the south, imparting tenderness to the waters flowing in the riverbed. As for the abundance of water, other rivers share this property with the Nile.

If you purify bad water every day by pouring it from vessel to vessel, then sediment will certainly appear from it again every day; in this case, what should settle will settle only gradually, not quickly, and the water will still not be well purified. The reason for this is that earthy impurities easily fall out of a substance that is thin in substance, which does not have density, viscosity and oiliness, and are not so easily precipitated from a dense substance, and boiling makes the substance thin. Boiling in this sense is followed by stirring.

Good water also includes rainwater, especially that which falls from thunderclouds in the summer. The water that falls from clouds driven by stormy winds is cloudy from the steam from which the clouds are born, and also cloudy from the cloud from which it drips. Therefore, the substance of such water has an impurity and it is not pure. In addition, putrefaction rushes to rainwater, even if this water is the best that exists, since rainwater is very liquid and is quickly affected by the destructive principle of the earth and air.

The putrefaction of rainwater  causes the juices to rot, and is harmful to the chest and voice. Some people say: “The reason for this is that rainwater is born from the vapors rising from various moistures.” But if this were the reason, then rainwater would probably be condemned rather than praised, but this is not so. The reason here is the great subtlety of the substance of rainwater. The composition of any fine substance is easily affected, and if you rush to boil rainwater, its ability to rot becomes small.

If you take acidic things internally, when you have to drink rainwater, which can rot, if necessary, this will protect it from harm.

As for the water from wells and underground canals, in comparison with the water of springs it is bad, for it consists of stale waters, mixed for a long time with particles of earth and not free from some putrefaction. It is drawn from the depths and set in motion by a compelling external force, and not by a force inherent in itself, which tends to rush outward; extraction from the depths is achieved artificially, with the help of cunning, by making it easier for water to seep through. The worst is water for which a passage has been laid in lead pipes; it borrows the power of lead and often causes ulcers in the intestines.

Subsoil water is worse than well water, since the water in the well flows quickly due to scooping and is constantly in motion, not remaining locked for long. As for the subsoil water, it wanders for a long time in the dust of the rotting earth and its movement, when it is knocked out, is slow, resulting not from the strength of its own desire, but from the abundance of the mass of water. In addition, underground water is found only in spoiled, rotting soil.

As for the water from ice and snow, it is thick.

Standing swamp water, especially open water, is foul and heavy. It is cooled in winter only by snow and generates mucus in the body, and in summer it is heated by the sun and from putrefaction and generates bile. Due to its density and the admixture of earthy particles, as well as due to the evaporation of the liquid substance, it gives rise to spleen diseases in those who drink it, thins the abdominal walls and locks the insides. Their limbs, shoulders and neck become dry, they are overcome by the urge to eat and drink, their stomach becomes blocked and vomiting is difficult. Due to the retention of water substances, such people are often susceptible to dropsy, and sometimes they are affected by pneumonia, as well as slippery intestines and diseases of the spleen. Their legs become thin, their liver weakens, and they eat little due to a disease of the spleen; they experience insanity, kidney pain, dilated veins, pneumonia and loose tumors, especially in winter. For women who drink swamp water, pregnancy and childbirth are difficult; they give birth to swollen babies and often have false pregnancies. In children of such people, hydrocele of the testicle often develops, and in adults, dilated veins and ulcers on the legs; their ulcers do not heal.

Such people have a big appetite. Diarrhea is difficult to cause in them, and is accompanied by suffering and ulceration of the viscera. They often have a four-day fever, and the elderly have a burning fever, due to the dryness of their nature and abdomen.

Standing water, whatever it may be, is not suitable for the stomach. The effect of water drawn from a spring is close to the effect of stagnant water, but spring water is better than stagnant water, since its stay in one place is short-lived; however, as long as the water in the spring does not flow, there is inevitably some heaviness in it. Sometimes large amounts of such water cause constipation. It quickly begins to warm up the body inside and therefore is not suitable for those with fever and for those who are overcome by bile and, on the contrary, is best suited for diseases that require locking and ripening of juices.

Water to which a mineral substance or the like is mixed, as well as waters in which leeches are found, are always worse, but some of them have beneficial properties. Water, in which the strength of iron predominates, is useful in that it strengthens the insides, prevents indigestion and raises all the powers of desire. We will later talk about the qualities of such water and what is similar to it.

When snow and ice are pure and not mixed with any evil force, then it makes no difference whether you dissolve them, turning them into water, or cool the water outside with them, or throw them into water - they are in all cases good and the qualities of their varieties do not differ from each other sharply and significantly. However, the water of ice and snow is denser than any other water and is harmful to those who have nerve pain; if you boil it, it again becomes suitable for such patients.

If the ice was formed from bad water or the snow acquired an extraneous force in the places where it fell, then it is best to cool the water with them, protecting it from mixing with them.

Cold water in moderation is the most suitable water for the healthy, although it is sometimes harmful to the nerves and to those people who suffer from tumors of the viscera. This water is one of the substances that stimulates the appetite and strengthens the stomach.

Hot water spoils digestion and extinguishes the appetite for food. It does not quench thirst immediately and often leads to dropsy and thinness and dries out the body.

As for warm water, if it is only lukewarm, it makes you sick; if it is warmer and is drunk on an empty stomach, then it often rinses the stomach and “releases nature”; however, consuming it in large quantities is bad - it weakens the strength of the stomach.

Very hot water sometimes thins the kulanj and breaks the winds from the spleen. People who benefit from artificially warmed water are epilepsy sufferers, melancholic sufferers, those suffering from cold headaches and inflammation of the eyes, as well as those with pimples in the throat and gums and tumors behind the ears, and people suffering from catarrhs , ulcers of the abdominal barrier and disruption of continuity in the chest area. Hot water increases the flow of menstrual blood and urine and soothes pain.

As for salt water, it first depletes, dries up and causes diarrhea due to its cleansing effect, then, in the end, binds the stomach due to the drying effect inherent in its nature. It spoils the blood and causes itching and scabies.

Cloudy water creates stones and blockages; after it you should take diuretics. However, people with stomach problems often benefit from cloudy water and other types of thick, heavy water as it lingers in the stomach and slowly moves downwards. Anti-cloudy water agents include fats and sweets.

Water mixed with ammonia “releases nature”, it doesn’t matter whether you drink it, sit in it, or give an enema from it.

Alum water helps with excessively abundant menstrual cleansing, with hemoptysis and kidney problems, but only it greatly induces fever in the body of people who are disposed to it.

Ferrous water eliminates diseases of the spleen and increases lust; cuprous water is good for spoilage of nature.

If different waters, good and bad, mix, then the strongest of them prevails.

We explained how to deal with bad water in the chapter on traveler mode. We present the rest of the information about the action of water, its qualities and the strengths of its varieties in the section on water in the Book of Simple Medicines.