I would like to thank René Barownick, Katharine Park, Alina Payne, and the anonymous reviewers for their criticism and comments. Translations are the author's unless otherwise noted. 1. The full title is Discours admirables, de la nature des eaux et fontaines, tant naturelles qu'artificielles, des metaux, des sels et salines, des pierres, des terres, du feu et des maux.