The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part IHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation — Volume 12: America, Part I
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
The Astronomers consent that the Sunne descending from our vpper hemisphere
at the 18 parallel vnder the horizon maketh an end of twilight, so that at
length the darke night insueth, and that afterward in the morning the Sun
approching againe within as many parallels, doth driue away the night by
accesse of the twilight. Againe, by the position of the sphere vnder the
pole, the horizon, and the equinoctiall are all one. These reuolutions
therefore that are parallel to the equinoctiall are also parallel to the
horizon, so that the Sunne descending vnder that horizon, and there
describing certaine parallels not farre distant, doth not bring darke
nights to those regions vntill it come to the parallels distant 18 degrees
from the equinoctiall, that is, about the 21 degree of Scorpio, which will
be about the 4 day of our Nouember, and after the Winter solstitium, the
Sunne returning backe againe to the 9 degree of Aquarius, which will be
about the 19 of January; [Sidenote: The regions vnder the poles want
twilights but sixe weeks.] during which time onely, that is, from the 4 day
of Nouember vntill the 19 day of Ianuary, which is about six weeks space,
these regions do want the commodity of twilights: therefore, during the
time of these sayd six moneths of darknesse vnder the poles, the night is
destitute of the benefit of the Sunne and the sayd twilights onely for the
space of six weeks or thereabout. And yet neither this time of six weeks is
without remedy from heauen; for the Moone with her increased light hath
accesse at that time, and illuminateth the moneths lacking light euery one
of themselues seuerally halfe the course of that moneth, by whose benefit
it commeth to passe that the night named extreame darke possesseth those
regions no longer then one moneth, neither that continually, or all at one
time, but this also diuided into two sorts of shorter nights, of the which
either of them indureth for the space of 15 dayes, and are illuminate of
the Moone accordingly. [Sidenote: Winter nights vnder the pole tolerable to
liuing creatures.] And this reason is gathered out of the sphere, whereby
we may testifie that the Summers are warme and fruitfull, and the Winters
nights vnder the pole are tolerable to liuing creatures. And if it be so
that the Winter and time of darknesse there be very colde, yet hath not
nature left them vnprouided therefore: for there the beastes are couered
with haire so much the thicker in how much the vehemency of colde is
greater; by reason whereof the best and richest furres are brought out of
the coldest regions. Also the fowles of these colde countreys haue thicker
skinnes, thicker feathers; and more stored of downe then in other hot
places. Our English men that trauell to S. Nicholas, and go a fishing to
Wardhouse, enter farre within the circle Artike, and so are in the frozen
Zone, and yet there, aswell as in Island and all along those Northern Seas,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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