Chapter XIV: Book XXXIV: The Natural History of Metals (2)

We have a young bull by Menæchmus,[1511] pressed down beneath a man’s knee, with its neck bent back:[1512] this Menæchmus has also written a treatise on his art. Naucydes[1513] is admired for a Mercury, a Discobolus,[1514] and a Man sacrificing a Ram. Naucerus made a figure of a wrestler panting for breath; Niceratus, an Æsculapius and Hygeia,[1515] which are in the Temple of Concord at Rome. Pyromachus represented Alcibiades, managing a chariot with four horses: Polycles made a splendid statue of Hermaphroditus; Pyrrhus, statues of Hygeia and Minerva; and Phanis, who was a pupil of Lysippus, an Epithyusa.[1516]

Stypax of Cyprus acquired his celebrity by a single work, the statue of the Splanchnoptes;[1517] which represents a slave of the Olympian Pericles, roasting entrails and kindling the fire with his breath. Silanion made a statue in metal of Apollodorus, who was himself a modeller, and not only the most diligent of all in the study of this art, but a most severe criticizer of his own works, frequently breaking his statues to pieces when he had finished them, and never able to satisfy his intense passion for the art—a circumstance which procured him the surname of “the Madman.” Indeed, it is this expression which he has given to his works, which represent in metal embodied anger rather than the lineaments of a human being. The Achilles, also, of Silanion is very excellent, and his Epistates[1518] exercising the Athletes. Strongylion[1519] made a figure of an Amazon, which, from the beauty of the legs, was known as the “Eucnemos,”[1520] and which Nero used to have carried about with him in his travels. Strongylion was the artist, also, of a youthful figure, which was so much admired by Brutus of Philippi, that it received from him its surname.[1521]

Theodorus of Samos,[1522] who constructed the Labyrinth,[1523] cast his own statue in brass; which was greatly admired, not only for its resemblance, but for the extreme delicacy of the work. In the right hand he holds a file, and with three fingers of the left, a little model of a four-horse chariot, which has since been transferred to Præneste:[1524] it is so extremely minute, that the whole piece, both chariot and charioteer, may be covered by the wings of a fly, which he also made with it.

Xenocrates[1525] was the pupil of Ticrates, or, as some say, of Euthycrates: he surpassed them both, however, in the number of his statues, and was the author of some treatises on his art.

Several artists have represented the battles fought by Attalus and Eumenes with the Galli;[1526] Isigonus, for instance, Pyromachus, Stratonicus, and Antigonus,[1527] who also wrote some works in reference to his art. Boëthus,[1528] although more celebrated for his works in silver, has executed a beautiful figure of a child strangling a goose. The most celebrated of all the works, of which I have here spoken, have been dedicated, for some time past, by the Emperor Vespasianus in the Temple of Peace,[1529] and other public buildings of his. They had before been forcibly carried off by Nero,[1530] and brought to Rome, and arranged by him in the reception-rooms of his Golden Palace.[1531]

In addition to these, there are several other artists, of about equal celebrity, but none of whom have produced any first-rate works; Ariston,[1532] who was principally employed in chasing silver, Callides, Ctesias, Cantharus of Sicyon,[1533] Diodorus, a pupil of Critias, Deliades, Euphorion, Eunicus,[1534] and Hecatæus,[1535] all of them chasers in silver; Lesbocles, also, Prodorus, Pythodicus, and Polygnotus,[1536] one of the most celebrated painters; also two other chasers in silver, Stratonicus,[1537] and Scymnus, a pupil of Critias.

I shall now enumerate those artists who have executed works of the same class:— Apollodorus,[1538] for example, Antrobulus, Asclepiodorus, and Aleuas, who have executed statues of philosophers. Apellas[1539] has left us some figures of females in the act of adoration; Antignotus, a Perixyomenos,[1540] and figures of the Tyrannicides, already mentioned. Antimachus and Athenodorus made some statues of females of noble birth; Aristodemus[1541] executed figures of wrestlers, two-horse chariots with the charioteers, philosophers, aged women, and a statue of King Seleucus:[1542] his Doryphoros,[1543] too, possesses his characteristic gracefulness.

There were two artists of the name of Cephisodotus:[1544] the earlier of them made a figure of Mercury nursing Father Liber[1545] when an infant; also of a man haranguing, with the hand elevated, the original of which is now unknown. The younger Cephisodotus executed statues of philosophers. Colotes,[1546] who assisted Phidias in the Olympian Jupiter, also executed statues of philosophers; the same, too, with Cleon,[1547] Cenchramis, Callicles,[1548] and Cepis. Chalcosthenes made statues of comedians and athletes. Daïppus[1549] executed a Perixyomenos.[1550] Daïphron, Democritus,[1551] and Dæmon made statues of philosophers.

Epigonus, who has attempted nearly all the above-named classes of works, has distinguished himself more particularly by his Trumpeter, and his Child in Tears, caressing its murdered mother. The Woman in Admiration, of Eubulus, is highly praised; and so is the Man, by Eubulides,[1552] reckoning on his Fingers. Micon[1553] is admired for his athletes; Menogenes, for his four-horse chariots. Niceratus,[1554] too, who attempted every kind of work that had been executed by any other artist, made statues of Alcibiades and of his mother Demarate,[1555] who is represented sacrificing by the light of torches.

Tisicrates[1556] executed a two-horse chariot in brass, in which Piston afterwards placed the figure of a female. Piston also made the statues of Mars and Mercury, which are in the Temple of Concord at Rome. No one can commend Perillus;[1557] more cruel even than the tyrant Phalaris[1558] himself, he made for him a brazen bull, asserting that when a man was enclosed in it, and fire applied beneath, the cries of the man would resemble the roaring of a bull: however, with a cruelty in this instance marked by justice, the experiment of this torture was first tried upon himself. To such a degree did this man degrade the art of representing gods and men, an art more adapted than any other to refine the feelings! Surely so many persons had not toiled to perfect it in order to make it an instrument of torture! Hence it is that the works of Perillus are only preserved, in order that whoever sees them, may detest the hands that made them.

Sthennis[1559] made the statues of Ceres, Jupiter, and Minerva, which are now in the Temple of Concord; also figures of matrons weeping, adoring, and offering sacrifice; Simon[1560] executed figures of a dog and an archer. Stratonicus,[1561] the chaser in silver, made some figures of philosophers; and so did both of the artists named Scopas.[1562]

The following artists have made statues of athletes, armed men, hunters, and sacrifices—Baton,[1563] Euchir,[1564] Glaucides,[1565] Heliodorus,[1566] Hicanus, Leophon, Lyson,[1567] Leon, Menodorus,[1568] Myagrus,[1569] Polycrates, Polyidus,[1570] Pythocritus, Protogenes, a famous painter, whom we shall have occasion to mention hereafter;[1571] Patrocles, Pollis, Posidonius[1572] the Ephesian, who was also a celebrated chaser in silver; Periclymenus,[1573] Philon,[1574] Symenus, Timotheus,[1575] Theomnestus,[1576] Timarchides,[1577] Timon, Tisias, and Thrason.[1578]

But of all these, Callimachus is the most remarkable, on account of his surname. Being always dissatisfied with himself, and continually correcting his works, he obtained the name of “Catatexitechnos;”[1579] thus affording a memorable example of the necessity of observing moderation even in carefulness. His Laconian Female Dancers, for instance, is a most correct performance, but one in which, by extreme correctness, he has effaced all gracefulness. It has been said, too, that Callimachus was a painter also. Cato, in his expedition against Cyprus,[1580] sold all the statues that he found there, with the exception of one of Zeno; in which case he was influenced, neither by the value of the metal nor by its excellence as a work of art, but by the fact that it was the statue of a philosopher. I only mention this circumstance casually, that an example[1581] so little followed, may be known.

While speaking of statues, there is one other that should not be omitted, although its author is unknown, that of Hercules clothed in a tunic,[1582] the only one represented in that costume in Rome: it stands near the Rostra, and the countenance is stern and expressive of his last agonies, caused by that dress. There are three inscriptions on it; the first of which states that it had formed part of the spoil obtained by L. Lucullus[1583] the general; the second, that his son, while still a minor, dedicated in accordance with a decree of the Senate; the third, that T. Septimius Sabinus, the curule ædile, had it restored to the public from the hands of a private individual. So vast has been the rivalry caused by this statue, and so high the value set upon it.

CHAP. 20.—THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF COPPER AND ITS COMBINATIONS. PYROPUS. CAMPANIAN COPPER.

We will now return to the different kinds of copper, and its several combinations. In Cyprian copper we have the kind known as “coronarium,”[1584] and that called “regulare,”[1585] both of them ductile. The former is made into thin leaves, and, after being coloured with ox-gall,[1586] is used for what has all the appearance of gilding on the coronets worn upon the stage. The same substance, if mixed with gold, in the proportion of six scruples of gold to the ounce, and reduced into thin plates, acquires a fiery red colour, and is termed “pyropus.”[1587] In other mines again, they prepare the kind known as “regulare,” as also that which is called “caldarium.”[1588] These differ from each other in this respect, that, in the latter, the metal is only fused, and breaks when struck with the hammer, whereas the “regulare” is malleable, or ductile,[1589] as some call it, a property which belongs naturally to all the copper of Cyprus. In the case, however, of all the other mines, this difference between bar copper and cast brass is produced by artificial means. All the ores, in fact, will produce bar or malleable copper when sufficiently melted and purified by heat. Among the other kinds of copper, the palm of excellence is awarded to that of Campania,[1590] which is the most esteemed for vessels and utensils. This last is prepared several ways. At Capua it is melted upon fires made with wood, and not coals, after which it is sprinkled with cold water and cleansed through a sieve made of oak. After being thus smelted a number of times, Spanish silver-lead is added to it, in the proportion of ten pounds of lead to one hundred pounds of copper; a method by which it is rendered pliable, and made to assume that agreeable colour which is imparted to other kinds of copper by the application of oil and the action of the sun. Many parts, however, of Italy, and the provinces, produce a similar kind of metal; but there they add only eight pounds of lead, and, in consequence of the scarcity of wood, melt it several times over upon coals. It is in Gaul more particularly, where the ore is melted between red-hot stones, that the difference is to be seen that is produced by these variations in the method of smelting. Indeed, this last method scorches the metal, and renders it black and friable. Besides, they only melt it twice; whereas, the oftener this operation is repeated, the better in quality it becomes.

(9.) It is also as well to remark that all copper fuses best when the weather is intensely cold. The proper combination for making statues and tablets is as follows: the ore is first melted; after which there is added to the molten metal one third part of second-hand[1591] copper, or in other words, copper that has been in use and bought up for the purpose. For it is a peculiarity of this metal that when it has been some time in use, and has been subject to long-continued friction, it becomes seasoned, and subdued, as it were, to a high polish. Twelve pounds and a half of silver-lead are then added to every hundred pounds of the fused metal. There is also a combination of copper, of a most delicate nature, “mould-copper,”[1592] as it is called; there being added to the metal one tenth part of lead[1593] and one twentieth of silver-lead, this combination being the best adapted for taking the colour known as “Græcænicus.”[1594] The last kind is that known as “ollaria,”[1595] from the vessels that are made of it: in this combination three or four pounds of silver-lead[1596] are added to every hundred pounds of copper. By the addition of lead to Cyprian copper, the purple tint is produced that we see upon the drapery of statues.

CHAP. 21.—THE METHOD OF PRESERVING COPPER.

Copper becomes covered with verdigris more quickly when cleaned than when neglected, unless it is well rubbed with oil. It is said that the best method of preserving it is with a coating of tar. The custom of making use of copper for monuments, which are intended to be perpetuated, is of very ancient date: it is upon tablets of brass that our public enactments are engraved.

CHAP. 22. (10.)—CADMIA.

The ores of copper furnish a number of resources[1597] that are employed in medicine; indeed, all kinds of ulcers are healed thereby with great rapidity. Of these, however, the most useful is cadmia.[1598] This substance is formed artificially, beyond a doubt, in the furnaces, also, where they smelt silver, but it is whiter and not so heavy, and by no means to be compared with that from copper. There are several kinds of it. For, as the mineral itself, from which it is prepared artificially, so necessary in fusing copper ore, and so useful in medicine, has the name of “cadmia,”[1599] so also is it found in the smelting-furnaces, where it receives other names, according to the way in which it is formed. By the action of the flame and the blast, the more attenuated parts of the metal are separated, and become attached, in proportion to their lightness, to the arched top and sides of the furnace. These flakes are the thinnest near the exterior opening of the furnace, where the flame finds a vent, the substance being called “capnitis;”[1600] from its burnt appearance and its extreme lightness it resembles white ashes. The best is that which is found in the interior, hanging from the arches of the chimney, and from its form and position named “botryitis.”[1601] It is heavier than the first-mentioned kind, but lighter than those which follow. It is of two different colours: the least valuable is ash-coloured, the better kind being red, friable, and extremely useful as a remedy for affections of the eyes.

A third kind of cadmia is that found on the sides of the furnace, and which, in consequence of its weight, could not reach the arched vaults of the chimney. This species is called “placitis,”[1602] in reference to its solid appearance, it presenting a plane surface more like a solid crust than pumice, and mottled within. Its great use is, for the cure of itch-scab, and for making wounds cicatrize. Of this last there are two varieties, the “onychitis,” which is almost entirely blue on the exterior, and spotted like an onyx within; and the “ostracitis,”[1603] which is quite black and more dirty than the others, but particularly useful for healing wounds. All the species of cadmia are of the best quality from the furnaces of Cyprus. When used in medicine it is heated a second time upon a fire of pure charcoal, and when duly incinerated, is quenched in Aminean[1604] wine, if required for making plasters, but in vinegar, if wanted for the cure of itch-scab. Some persons first pound it, and then burn it in earthen pots; which done, they wash it in mortars and then dry it.

Nymphodorus[1605] recommends that the most heavy and dense pieces of mineral cadmia that can be procured, should be burnt upon hot coals and quenched in Chian wine; after which, it must be pounded and then sifted through a linen cloth. It is then pulverized in a mortar and macerated in rain water, the sediment being again pounded until it is reduced to the consistency of ceruse, and presents no grittiness to the teeth. Iollas[1606] recommends the same process; except that he selects the purest specimens of native cadmia.

CHAP. 23.—FIFTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM CADMIA. TEN MEDICINAL EFFECTS OF CALCINED COPPER.

Cadmia[1607] acts as a desiccative, heals wounds, arrests discharges, acts detergently upon webs and foul incrustations of the eyes, removes eruptions, and produces, in fact, all the good effects which we shall have occasion to mention when speaking of lead. Copper too, itself, when calcined, is employed for all these purposes; in addition to which it is used for white spots and cicatrizations upon the eyes. Mixed with milk, it is curative also of ulcers upon the eyes; for which purpose, the people in Egypt make a kind of eye-salve by grinding it upon whet stones. Taken with honey, it acts as an emetic. For these purposes, Cyprian copper is calcined in unbaked earthen pots, with an equal quantity of sulphur; the apertures of the vessel being well luted, and it being left in the furnace until the vessel itself has become completely hardened. Some persons add salt, and others substitute alum[1608] for sulphur; others, again, add nothing, but merely sprinkle the copper with vinegar. When calcined, it is pounded in a mortar of Thebaic stone,[1609] after which it is washed with rain water, and then pounded with a large quantity of water, and left to settle. This process is repeated until the deposit has gained the appearance of minium;[1610] after which it is dried in the sun, and put by for keeping in a box made of copper.

CHAP. 24. (11.)—THE SCORIA OF COPPER.

The scoria, too, of copper is washed in the same manner; but the action of it is less efficacious than that of copper itself. The flower, too, of copper[1611] is also used in medicine; a substance which is procured by fusing copper, and then removing it into another furnace, where the repeated action of the bellows makes the metal separate into small scales, like the husks of millet, and known as “flower of copper.” These scales are also separated, when the cakes of metal are plunged into water: they become red, too, like the scales of copper known as “lepis,”[1612] by means of which the genuine flower of copper is adulterated, it being also sold under that name. This last is made by hammering nails that are forged from the cakes of metal. All these processes are principally carried on in the furnaces of Cyprus; the great difference between these substances being, that this lepis is detached from the cakes by hammering, whereas the flower falls off spontaneously.

CHAP. 25.—STOMOMA OF COPPER; FORTY-SEVEN REMEDIES.

There is another finer kind of scale which is detached from the surface of the metal, like a very fine down, and known as “stomoma.”[1613] But of all these substances, and even of their names, the physicians, if I may venture so to say, are quite ignorant, as appears by the names they give them; so unacquainted are they with the preparation of medicaments, a thing that was formerly considered the most essential part of their profession.[1614] At the present day, whenever they happen to find a book of recipes, if they wish to make any composition from these substances, or, in other words, to make trial of the prescription at the expense of their unhappy patients, they trust entirely to the druggists,[1615] who spoil everything by their fraudulent adulterations. For this long time past, they have even purchased their plasters and eye-salves ready made, and the consequence is, that the spoiled or adulterated wares in the druggists’ shops are thus got rid of.

Both lepis and flower of copper are calcined in shallow earthen or brazen pans; after which they are washed, as described above,[1616] and employed for the same purposes; in addition to which, they are used for excrescences in the nostrils and in the anus, as also for dullness of the hearing, being forcibly blown into the ears through a tube. Incorporated with meal, they are applied to swellings of the uvula, and, with honey, to swellings of the tonsils. The scales prepared from white copper are much less efficacious than those from Cyprian copper. Sometimes they first macerate the nails and cakes of copper in a boy’s urine; and in some instances, they pound the scales, when detached, and wash them in rain water. They are then given to dropsical patients, in doses of two drachmæ, with one semisextarius of honied wine: they are also made into a liniment with fine flour.

CHAP. 26.—VERDIGRIS; EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

Verdigris[1617] is also applied to many purposes, and is prepared in numerous ways. Sometimes it is detached already formed, from the mineral from which copper is smelted: and sometimes it is made by piercing holes in white copper, and suspending it over strong vinegar in casks, which are closed with covers; it being much superior if scales of copper are used for the purpose. Some persons plunge vessels themselves, made of white copper, into earthen pots filled with vinegar, and scrape them at the end of ten days. Others, again, cover the vessels with husks of grapes,[1618] and scrape them in the same way, at the end of ten days. Others sprinkle vinegar upon copper filings, and stir them frequently with a spatula in the course of the day, until they are completely dissolved. Others prefer triturating these filings with vinegar in a brazen mortar: but the most expeditious method of all is to add to the vinegar shavings of coronet copper.[1619] Rhodian verdigris, more particularly, is adulterated with pounded marble; some persons use pumice-stone or gum.

The adulteration, however, which is the most difficult to detect, is made with copperas;[1620] the other sophistications being detected by the crackling of the substance when bitten with the teeth. The best mode of testing it is by using an iron fire-shovel; for when thus subjected to the fire, if pure, the verdigris retains its colour, but if mixed with copperas, it becomes red. The fraud may also be detected by using a leaf of papyrus, which has been steeped in an infusion of nut-galls; for it becomes black immediately upon the genuine verdigris being applied. It may also be detected by the eye; the green colour being unpleasant to the sight. But whether it is pure or adulterated, the best method is first to wash and dry it, and then to burn it in a new earthen vessel, turning it over until it is reduced to an ash;[1621] after which it is pounded and put by for use. Some persons calcine it in raw earthen vessels, until the earthenware becomes thoroughly baked: others again add to it male frankincense.[1622] Verdigris is washed, too, in the same manner as cadmia.

It affords a most useful ingredient for eye-salves, and from its mordent action is highly beneficial for watery humours of the eyes. It is necessary, however, to wash the part with warm water, applied with a fine sponge, until its mordency is no longer felt.

CHAP. 27.—HIERACIUM.

“Hieracium”[1623] is the name given to an eye-salve, which is essentially composed of the following ingredients; four ounces of sal ammoniac, two of Cyprian verdigris, the same quantity of the kind of copperas which is called “chalcanthum,”[1624] one ounce of misy[1625] and six of saffron; all these substances being pounded together with Thasian vinegar and made up into pills. It is an excellent remedy for incipient glaucoma and cataract, as also for films upon the eyes, eruptions, albugo, and diseases of the eye-lids. Verdigris, in a crude state, is also used as an ingredient in plasters for wounds. In combination with oil, it is wonderfully efficacious for ulcerations of the mouth and gums, and for sore lips. Used in the form of a cerate, it acts detergently upon ulcers, and promotes their cicatrization. Verdigris also consumes the callosities of fistulas and excrescences about the anus, either used by itself, applied with sal ammoniac, or inserted in the fistula in the form of a salve. The same substance, kneaded with one third part of resin of turpentine, removes leprosy.

CHAP. 28. (12.)—SCOLEX OF COPPER; EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

There is another kind of verdigris also, which is called “scolex.”[1626] It is prepared by triturating in a mortar of Cyprian copper, alum and salt, or an equal quantity of nitre, with the very strongest white vinegar. This preparation is only made during the hottest days of the year, about the rising of the Dog-star. The whole is triturated until it becomes green, and assumes the appearance of small worms, to which it owes its name. This repulsive form is corrected by mixing the urine of a young child, with twice the quantity of vinegar. Scolex is used for the same medicinal purposes as santerna, which we have described as being used for soldering gold,[1627] and they have, both of them, the same properties as verdigris. Native scolex is also procured by scraping the copper ore of which we are about to speak.

CHAP. 29.—CHALCITIS: SEVEN REMEDIES.

Chalcitis[1628] is the name of a mineral, from which, as well as cadmia, copper is extracted by heat. It differs from cadmia in this respect, that this last is procured from beds below the surface, while chalcitis is detached from rocks that are exposed to the air. Chalcitis also becomes immediately friable, being naturally so soft as to have the appearance of a compressed mass of down. There is also this other distinction between them, that chalcitis is a composition of three other substances, copper, misy, and sory,[1629] of which last we shall speak in their appropriate places.[1630] The veins of copper which it contains are oblong. The most approved kind is of the colour of honey; it is streaked with fine sinuous veins, and is friable and not stony. It is generally thought to be most valuable when fresh, as, when old, it becomes converted into sory. It is highly useful for removing fleshy excrescences in ulcers, for arresting hæmorrhage, and, in the form of a powder, for acting astringently upon the gums, the uvula, and the tonsillary glands.[1631] It is applied in wool, as a pessary, for affections of the uterus; and with leek juice it is formed into plasters for diseases of the genitals. This substance is macerated for forty days in vinegar, in an earthen vessel luted with dung; after which it acquires a saffron colour. When this composition is mixed with an equal proportion of cadmia, it forms the medicament known as “psoricon.”[1632] If two parts of chalcitis are combined with one of cadmia, the medicament becomes more active; and it is rendered still more powerful if vinegar is used instead of wine. For all these purposes, calcined chalcitis is the most efficacious.

CHAP. 30.—SORY: THREE REMEDIES.

The sory[1633] of Egypt is the most esteemed, being considered much superior to that of Cyprus, Spain, and Africa; although some prefer the sory from Cyprus for affections of the eyes. But from whatever place it comes, the best is that which has the strongest odour, and which, when triturated, becomes greasy, black, and spongy. It is a substance so unpleasant to the stomach, that some persons are made sick merely by its smell. This is the case more particularly with the sory from Egypt. That from other countries, by trituration, acquires the lustre of misy, and is of a more gritty consistency. Held in the mouth, and used as a collutory, it is good for toothache. It is also useful for malignant ulcers of a serpiginous nature. It is calcined upon charcoal, like chalcitis.

CHAP. 31.—MISY: THIRTEEN REMEDIES.

Some persons have stated, that misy[1634] is formed by the calcination of the mineral, in trenches;[1635] its fine yellow powder becoming mixed with the ashes of the burnt fire-wood. The fact is, however, that though obtained from the mineral, it is already formed, and in compact masses, which require force to detach them. The best is that which comes from the manufactories of Cyprus, its characteristics being, that when broken, it sparkles like gold, and when triturated, it presents a sandy or earthy appearance, like chalcitis. Misy is used in the process of refining gold. Mixed with oil of roses, it is used as an injection for suppurations of the ears, and, in combination with wool, it is applied to ulcers of the head. It also removes inveterate granulations of the eye-lids, and is particularly useful for affections of the tonsils, quinsy, and suppurations. For these maladies, sixteen drachmæ should be mixed with one semisextarius of vinegar, and boiled with the addition of some honey, until it becomes of a viscous consistency; in which state it is applicable to the different purposes above mentioned. When its action is wanted to be modified, a sprinkling of honey is added. A fomentation of misy and vinegar removes the callosities of fistulous ulcers; it also enters into the composition of eye-salves. It arrests hæmorrhage, prevents the spreading of serpiginous and putrid ulcers, and consumes fleshy excrescences. It is particularly useful for diseases of the male generative organs, and acts as a check upon menstruation.

CHAP. 32.—CHALCANTHUM, OR SHOEMAKERS’ BLACK: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

The Greeks, by the name[1636] which they have given to it, have indicated the relation between shoemakers’ black[1637] and copper; for they call it “chalcanthum.”[1638] Indeed there is no substance[1639] so singular in its nature. It is prepared in Spain, from the water of wells or pits which contain it in dissolution. This water is boiled with an equal quantity of pure water, and is then poured into large wooden reservoirs. Across these reservoirs there are a number of immovable beams, to which cords are fastened, and then sunk into the water beneath by means of stones; upon which, a slimy sediment attaches itself to the cords, in drops of a vitreous[1640] appearance, somewhat resembling a bunch of grapes. Upon being removed, it is dried for thirty days. It is of an azure colour, and of a brilliant lustre, and is often taken for glass. When dissolved, it forms the black dye that is used for colouring leather.

Chalcanthum is also prepared in various other ways: the earth which contains it being sometimes excavated into trenches, from the sides of which globules exude, which become concrete when exposed to the action of the winter frosts. This kind is called “stalagmia,”[1641] and there is none more pure. When its colour is nearly white, with a slight tinge of violet, it is called “lonchoton.”[1642] It is also prepared in pans hollowed out in the rocks; the rain water carrying the slime into them, where it settles and becomes hardened. It is also formed in the same way in which we prepare salt;[1643] the intense heat of the sun separating the fresh water from it. Hence it is that some distinguish two kinds of chalcanthum, the fossil and the artificial; the latter being paler than the former, and as much inferior to it in quality as it is in colour.

The chalcitis which comes from Cyprus is the most highly esteemed for the purposes of medicine, being taken in doses of one drachma with honey, as an expellent of intestinal worms. Diluted and injected into the nostrils, it acts detergently upon the brain, and, taken with honey or with hydromel, it acts as a purgative upon the stomach. It removes granulations upon the eye-lids, and is good for pains and films upon the eyes; it is curative also of ulcerations of the mouth. It arrests bleeding at the nostrils, and hæmorrhoidal discharges. In combination with seed of hyoscyamus, it brings away splinters of broken bones. Applied to the forehead with a sponge, it acts as a check upon defluxions of the eyes. Made up into plasters, it is very efficacious as a detergent for sores and fleshy excrescences in ulcers. The decoction of it, by the contact solely, is curative of swellings of the uvula. It is laid with linseed upon plasters which are used for relieving pains. The whitish kind is preferred to the violet in one instance only, for the purpose of being blown into the ears, through a tube, to relieve deafness. Applied topically by itself, it heals wounds; but it leaves a discoloration upon the scars. It has been lately discovered, that if it is sprinkled upon the mouths of bears and lions in the arena, its astringent action is so powerful as to deprive the animals of the power of biting.

CHAP. 33. (13.)—POMPHOLYX.

The substances called pompholyx[1644] and spodos[1645] are also found in the furnaces of copper-smelting works; the difference between them being, that pompholyx is disengaged by washing, while spodos is not washed. Some persons have called the part which is white and very light “pompholyx,” and say that it is the ashes of copper and cadmia; whereas spodos is darker and heavier, being a substance scraped from the walls of the furnace, mixed with extinguished sparks from the metal, and sometimes with the residue of coals. When vinegar is combined with it, pompholyx emits a coppery smell, and if it is touched with the tongue, the taste is most abominable. It is useful as an ingredient in ophthalmic preparations for all diseases of the eyes, as also for all the purposes for which spodos is used; this last only differing from it in its action being less powerful. It is also used for plasters, when required to be gently cooling and desiccative. For all these purposes it is more efficacious when it has been moistened with wine.

CHAP. 34.—SPODOS: FIVE REMEDIES.

The Cyprian spodos[1646] is the best. It is formed by fusing cadmia with copper ore. This substance, which is the lightest part of the metal disengaged by fusion, escapes from the furnace, and adheres to the roof, being distinguished from the soot by the whiteness of its colour. Such parts of it as are less white are indicative of incomplete combustion, and it is this which some persons call “pompholyx.” Such portions of it as are of a more reddish colour are possessed of a more energetic power, and are found to be so corrosive, that if it touches the eyes, while being washed, it will cause blindness. There is also a spodos of a honey colour, an indication that it contains a large proportion of copper. All the different kinds, however, are improved by washing; it being first skimmed with a feather,[1647] and afterwards submitted to a more substantial washing, the harder grains being removed with the finger. That, too, which has been washed with wine is more modified in its effects; there being also some difference according to the kind of wine that is used. When it has been washed with weak wine the spodos is considered not so beneficial as an ingredient in medicaments for the eyes; but the same kind of preparation is more efficacious for running sores, and for ulcers of the mouth attended with a discharge of matter, as well as in all those remedies which are used for gangrene.

There is also a kind of spodos, called “lauriotis,”[1648] which is made in the furnaces where silver is smelted. The kind, however, that is best for the eyes, it is said, is that produced in the furnaces for smelting gold. Indeed there is no department of art in which the ingenuity of man is more to be admired; for it has discovered among the very commonest objects, a substance that is in every way possessed of similar properties.

CHAP. 35.—FIFTEEN VARIETIES OF ANTISPODOS.

The substance called “antispodos”[1649] is produced from the ashes of the fig-tree or wild fig, or of leaves of myrtle, together with the more tender shoots of the branches. The leaves, too, of the wild olive[1650] furnish it, the cultivated olive, the quince-tree, and the lentisk; unripe mulberries also, before they have changed their colour, dried in the sun; and the foliage of the box, pseudo-cypirus,[1651] bramble, terebinth and œnanthe.[1652] The same virtues have also been found in the ashes of bull-glue[1653] and of linen cloth. All these substances are burnt in a pot of raw earth, which is heated in a furnace, until the earthenware is thoroughly baked.

CHAP. 36.—SMEGMA.

In the copper forges also smegma[1654] is prepared. When the metal is liquefied and thoroughly smelted, charcoal is added to it and gradually kindled; after which, upon it being suddenly acted upon by a powerful pair of bellows, a substance is disengaged like a sort of copper chaff. The floor on which it is received ought to be prepared with a stratum of coal-dust.

CHAP. 37.—DIPHRYX.

There is another product of these furnaces, which is easily distinguished from smegma, and which the Greeks call “diphryx,”[1655] from its being twice calcined. This substance is prepared from three different sources. It is prepared, they say, from a mineral pyrites, which is heated in the furnace until it is converted by calcination into a red earth. It is also made in Cyprus, from a slimy substance extracted from a certain cavern there, which is first dried and then gradually heated, by a fire made of twigs. A third way of making it, is from the residue in the copper-furnaces that falls to the bottom. The difference between the component parts of the ore is this: the copper itself runs into the receivers, the scoriæ make their escape from the furnace, the flower becomes sublimated, and the diphryx remains behind.

Some say that there are certain globules in the ore, while being smelted, which become soldered together; and that the rest of the metal is fused around it, the mass itself not becoming liquefied, unless it is transferred to another furnace, and forming a sort of knot, as it were, in the metal. That which remains after the fusion, they say, is called “diphryx.” Its use in medicine is similar to that of the substances mentioned above;[1656] it is desiccative, removes morbid excrescenses, and acts as a detergent. It is tested by placing it on the tongue, which ought to be instantly parched by it, a coppery flavour being perceptible.

CHAP. 38.—PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO THE SERVILIAN TRIENS.

We must not neglect to mention one other very remarkable fact relative to copper. The Servilian family, so illustrious in our annals, nourishes with gold and silver a copper triens,[1657] which devours them both. The origin and nature of this coin is to me incomprehensible;[1658] but I will quote the very words of the story, as given by old Messala[1659] himself—“The family of the Servilii is in possession of a sacred triens, to which they offer every year a sacrifice, with the greatest care and magnificence; the triens itself, they say, appears sometimes to increase in size and sometimes to diminish; changes which indicate the coming advancement or decadence of the family.”

CHAP. 39 (14).—IRON ORES.

Next to copper we must give an account of the metal known as iron, at the same time the most useful and the most fatal instrument in the hand of mankind. For by the aid of iron we lay open the ground, we plant trees, we prepare our vineyard-trees,[1660] and we force our vines each year to resume their youthful state, by cutting away their decayed branches. It is by the aid of iron that we construct houses, cleave rocks, and perform so many other useful offices of life. But it is with iron also that wars, murders, and robberies are effected, and this, not only hand to hand, but from a distance even, by the aid of missiles and winged weapons, now launched from engines, now hurled by the human arm, and now furnished with feathery wings. This last I regard as the most criminal artifice that has been devised by the human mind; for, as if to bring death upon man with still greater rapidity, we have given wings to iron and taught it to fly.[1661] Let us therefore acquit Nature of a charge that here belongs to man himself.[1662]

Indeed there have been some instances in which it has been proved that iron might be solely used for innocent purposes. In the treaty which Porsena granted to the Roman people, after the expulsion of the kings, we find it expressly stipulated, that iron shall be only employed for the cultivation of the fields; and our oldest authors inform us, that in those days it was considered unsafe to write with an iron pen.[1663] There is an edict extant, published in the third consulship of Pompeius Magnus, during the tumults that ensued upon the death of Clodius, prohibiting any weapon from being retained in the City.

CHAP. 40.—STATUES OF IRON; CHASED WORKS IN IRON.

Still, however, human industry has not failed to employ iron for perpetuating the honours of more civilized life. The artist Aristonidas, wishing to express the fury of Athamas subsiding into repentance, after he had thrown his son Learchus from the rock,[1664] blended copper and iron, in order that the blush of shame might be more exactly expressed, by the rust of the iron making its appearance through the shining substance of the copper; a statue which still exists at Rhodes. There is also, in the same city, a Hercules of iron, executed by Alcon,[1665] the endurance displayed in his labours by the god having suggested the idea. We see too, at Rome, cups of iron consecrated in the Temple of Mars the Avenger.[1666] Nature, in conformity with her usual benevolence, has limited the power of iron, by inflicting upon it the punishment of rust; and has thus displayed her usual foresight in rendering nothing in existence more perishable, than the substance which brings the greatest dangers upon perishable mortality.

CHAP. 41.—THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF IRON, AND THE MODE OF TEMPERING IT.

Iron ores are to be found almost everywhere; for they exist even in the Italian island of Ilva,[1667] being easily distinguished by the ferruginous colour of the earth. The method of working the ore is the same as that employed in the case of copper. In Cappadocia, however, it is peculiarly questionable whether this metal is present due to the water or to the earth; because, when the latter has been saturated with the water of a certain river, it yields, and then only, an iron that may be obtained by smelting.

There are numerous varieties of iron ore; the chief causes of which arise from differences in the soil and in the climate. Some earths produce a metal that is soft, and nearly akin to lead; others an iron that is brittle and coppery, the use of which must be particularly avoided in making wheels or nails, the former kind being better for these purposes. There is another kind, again, which is only esteemed when cut into short lengths, and is used for making hobnails;[1668] and another which is more particularly liable to rust. All these varieties are known by the name of “strictura,”[1669] an appellation which is not used with reference to the other metals, and is derived from the steel that is used for giving an edge.[1670] There is a great difference, too, in the smelting; some kinds producing knurrs of metal, which are especially adapted for hardening into steel, or else, prepared in another manner, for making thick anvils or heads of hammers. But the main difference results from the quality of the water into which the red-hot metal is plunged from time to time. The water, which is in some places better for this purpose than in others, has quite ennobled some localities for the excellence of their iron, Bilbilis,[1671] for example, and Turiasso[1672] in Spain, and Comum[1673] in Italy; and this, although there are no iron mines in these spots.

But of all the different kinds of iron, the palm of excellence is awarded to that which is made by the Seres,[1674] who send it to us with their tissues and skins;[1675] next to which, in quality, is the Parthian[1676] iron. Indeed, none of the other kinds of iron are made of the pure hard metal, a softer alloy being welded with them all. In our part of the world, a vein of ore is occasionally found to yield a metal of this high quality, as in Noricum[1677] for instance; but, in other cases, it derives its value from the mode of working it, as at Sulmo,[1678] for example, a result owing to the nature of its water, as already stated. It is to be observed also, that in giving an edge to iron, there is a great difference between oil-whetstones and water-whetstones,[1679] the use of oil producing a much finer edge. It is a remarkable fact, that when the ore is fused, the metal becomes liquefied like water, and afterwards acquires a spongy, brittle texture. It is the practice to quench smaller articles made of iron with oil, lest by being hardened in water they should be rendered brittle. Human blood revenges itself upon iron; for if the metal has been once touched by this blood it is much more apt to become rusty.

CHAP. 42.—THE METAL CALLED LIVE IRON.

We shall speak of the loadstone in its proper place,[1680] and of the sympathy which it has with iron. This is the only metal that acquires the properties of that stone, retaining them for a length of time, and attracting other iron, so that we may sometimes see a whole chain formed of these rings. The lower classes, in their ignorance, call this “live iron,” and the wounds that are made by it are much more severe. This mineral is also found in Cantabria, not in continuous strata, like the genuine loadstone, but in scattered fragments, which they call “bullationes.”[1681] I do not know whether this species of ore is proper also for the fusion of glass,[1682] as no one has hitherto tried it; but it certainly imparts the same property as the magnet to iron. The architect Timochares,[1683] began to erect a vaulted roof of loadstone, in the Temple of Arsinoë,[1684] at Alexandria, in order that the iron statue of that princess might have the appearance of hanging suspended in the air:[1685] his death, however, and that of King Ptolemæus, who had ordered this monument to be erected in honour of his sister, prevented the completion of the project.

CHAP. 43. (15.)—METHODS OE PREVENTING RUST.

Of all metals, the ores of iron are found in the greatest abundance. In the maritime parts of Cantabria[1686] which are washed by the Ocean, there is a steep and lofty mountain, which, however incredible it may appear, is entirely composed of this metal, as already stated in our description of the parts bordering upon the Ocean.[1687]

Iron which has been acted upon by fire is spoiled, unless it is forged with the hammer. It is not in a fit state for being hammered when it is red-hot, nor, indeed, until it has begun to assume a white heat. By sprinkling vinegar or alum upon it, it acquires the appearance of copper. It is protected from rust by an application of ceruse, gypsum, and tar; a property of iron known by the Greeks as “antipathia.”[1688] Some pretend, too, that this may be ensured by the performance of certain religious ceremonies, and that there is in existence at the city of Zeugma,[1689] upon the Euphrates, an iron chain, by means of which Alexander the Great constructed a bridge across the river; the links of which that have been replaced are attacked with rust, while the original links are totally exempt from it.[1690]

CHAP. 44.—SEVEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM IRON.

Iron is employed in medicine for other purposes besides that of making incisions. For if a circle is traced with iron, or a pointed weapon is carried three times round them, it will preserve both infant and adult from all noxious influences: if nails, too, that have been extracted from a tomb, are driven into the threshold of a door, they will prevent night-mare.[1691] A slight puncture with the point of a weapon, with which a man has been wounded, will relieve sudden pains, attended with stitches in the sides or chest. Some affections are cured by cauterization with red-hot iron, the bite of the mad dog more particularly; for even if the malady has been fully developed, and hydrophobia has made its appearance, the patient is instantly relieved on the wound being cauterized.[1692] Water in which iron has been plunged at a white heat, is useful, as a potion, in many diseases, dysentery[1693] more particularly.

CHAP. 45.—FOURTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM RUST.

Rust itself, too, is classed among the remedial substances; for it was by means of it that Achilles cured Telephus, it is said, whether it was an iron weapon or a brazen one that he used for the purpose. So it is, however, that he is represented in paintings detaching the rust with his sword.[1694] The rust of iron is usually obtained for these purposes by scraping old nails with a piece of moistened iron. It has the effect of uniting wounds, and is possessed of certain desiccative and astringent properties. Applied in the form of a liniment, it is curative of alopecy. Mixed with wax and myrtle-oil, it is applied to granulations of the eyelids, and pustules in all parts of the body; with vinegar it is used for the cure of erysipelas; and, applied with lint, it is curative of itch, whitlows on the fingers, and hang-nails. Used as a pessary with wool, it arrests female discharges. Diluted in wine, and kneaded with myrrh, it is applied to recent wounds, and, with vinegar, to condylomatous swellings. Employed in the form of a liniment, it alleviates gout.[1695]

CHAP. 46.—SEVENTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE SCALES OF IRON. HYGREMPLASTRUM.

The scales of iron,[1696] which are procured from a fine point or a sharp edge, are also made use of, being very similar in effect to rust, but more active; for which reason they are employed for defluxions of the eyes. They arrest bleeding, also, more particularly from wounds inflicted with iron; and they act as a check upon female discharges. They are applied, too, for diseases of the spleen, and they arrest hæmorrhoidal swellings and serpiginous ulcers. They are useful also for affections of the eyelids, gradually applied in the form of a fine powder. But their chief recommendation is, their great utility in the form of a hygremplastrum[1697] or wet plaster, for cleansing wounds and fistulous sores, consuming all kinds of callosities, and making new flesh on bones that are denuded. The following are the ingredients: of pitch, six oboli, of Cimolian chalk,[1698] six drachmæ, two drachmæ of pounded copper, the same quantity of scales of iron, six drachmæ of wax, and one sextarius of oil. To these is added some cerate, when it is wanted to cleanse or fill up wounds.

CHAP. 47. (16.)—THE ORES OF LEAD.

The nature of lead next comes to be considered. There are two kinds of it, the black and the white.[1699] The white is the most valuable: it was called by the Greeks “cassiteros,”[1700] and there is a fabulous story told of their going in quest of it to the islands of the Atlantic, and of its being brought in barks made of osiers, covered with hides.[1701] It is now known that it is a production of Lusitania and Gallæcia.[1702] It is a sand found on the surface of the earth, and of a black colour, and is only to be detected by its weight. It is mingled with small pebbles, particularly in the dried beds of rivers. The miners wash this sand, and calcine the deposit in the furnace. It is also found in the gold mines that are known as “alutiæ,”[1703] the stream of water which is passed through them detaching certain black pebbles, mottled with small white spots and of the same weight[1704] as gold. Hence it is that they remain with the gold in the baskets in which it is collected; and being separated in the furnace, are then melted, and become converted into white lead.[1705]

Black lead is not procured in Gallæcia, although it is so greatly abundant in the neighbouring province of Cantabria; nor is silver procured from white lead, although it is from black.[1706] Pieces of black lead cannot be soldered without the intervention of white lead, nor can this be done without employing oil;[1707] nor can white lead, on the other hand, be united without the aid of black lead. White lead was held in estimation in the days even of the Trojan War, a fact that is attested by Homer, who calls it “cassiteros.”[1708] There are two different sources of black lead: it being procured either from its own native ore, where it is produced without the intermixture of any other substance, or else from an ore which contains it in common with silver, the two metals being fused together. The metal which first becomes liquid in the furnace, is called “stannum;”[1709] the next that melts is silver; and the metal that remains behind is galena,[1710] the third constituent part of the mineral. On this last being again submitted to fusion black lead is produced, with a deduction of two-ninths.

CHAP. 48. (17.)—STANNUM. ARGENTARIUM.