De Re Metallica Part 60

Nicolas Francois Joseph Eloy: _Dictionnaire Historique de la Medecine_, Liege & Francfort (chez J. F. Ba.s.sompierre), 1755, 8vo (Agricola p. 28, vol. I).

Georg Abraham Mercklinus: _Lindenius Renovatus de scriptis medicis continuati ... amplificati_, etc., Amsterdam, 1686, s.v. Georgius Agricola.

John Ferguson: _Bibliotheca Chemica_: A catalogue of the Alchemical, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical books in the collection of the late James Young of Kelly & Durris, Esq., L.L.D., F.R.S., F.R.S.E. Glasgow, 1906, 4to, 2 vols., s.v. Agricola.

Christoph Wilhelm Gatterer: _Allgemeines Repertorium der mineralogischen, bergwerks und Salz werkswissenschaftlichen Literatur_, Gottingen, 1798, vol. I.

Dr. Reinhold Hofmann: _Dr. Georg Agricola, Ein Gelehrtenleben aus dem Zeitalter der Reformation_, 8vo, Gotha, 1905.

Georg Heinrich Jacobi: _Der Mineralog Georgius Agricola und sein Verhaltnis zur wissenschaft seiner Zeit_, etc., 8vo. Zwickau (1889), (_Dissertation_--Leipzig).

Georg Draud: _Bibliotheca Cla.s.sica_, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1611.

B. G. Struve: _Bibliotheca Saxonica_, 8vo, Halle, 1736.

[4] Albinus states (p. 354): _Omnes simul editi Anno. 1549, iterum 1550, Basileae_, as though two separate editions.

[5] _G. Fabricii epistolae ad W. Meurerum et alios aequales_, by Baumgarten-Crusius, Leipzig, 1845, p. 83.

[6] _Dr. Georg Agricola_, Gotha, 1905, pp. 60-61.

[7] Albinus, _Landchronik_, pp. 354-5.

[8] _Dr. Georg Agricola_, p. 63.

[9] _Baumgarten-Crusius_, p. 115.

[10] _Virorum Clarorum Saec. XVI. et XVII._ _Epistolae Selectae_ by Ernst Weber, Leipzig, 1894, p. 2.

[11] Nicholas Episcopius to Georg Agricola, Sept. 17, 1548, published in Schmid's _Bermannus_ p. 38. See also Hofmann, op. cit. pp. 62 and 140.

[12] _Meissnische Landchronik_, Dresden, 1589, p. 354.

[13] Printed in Baumgarten-Crusius, pp. 48-49, letter XLVIII.

[14] Printed in Hermann Peter's _Meissner Jahresbericht der Furstenschule_, 1891, p. 24.

[15] Baumgarten-Crusius. _Georgii Fabricii Chemnicensis Epistolae_, Leipzig, 1845, p. 139.

[16] There is a copy of this work in the Rathsschul Library at Zwickau.

[17] In the Rathsschul Library at Zwickau.

[18] Contained in Vols. x.x.xVII. and XL. of Stephan Roth's _Kollectanenbande_ Volumes of Transcripts.

[19] _Landchronik_, p. 354.

[20] Op. cit., p. 354.

[21] Book IV.

[22] Op. cit., p. 355.

[23] Page 291.

[24] See Baumgarten-Crusius, p. 114, letter from Georg Fabricius.

[25] Op. cit., p. 354.

[26] Albinus, Op. cit., p. 355.

[27] Baumgarten-Crusius, p. 2.

[28] See Ferguson, _Bibliotheca Chemica_, s.v. Daniel Agricola.

APPENDIX B.

ANCIENT AUTHORS.

We give the following brief notes on early works containing some reference to mineralogy, mining, or metallurgy, to indicate the literature available to Agricola and for historical notes bearing upon the subject. References to these works in the footnotes may be most easily consulted through the personal index.

GREEK AUTHORS.--Only a very limited Greek literature upon subjects allied to mining or natural science survives. The whole of the material of technical interest could be reproduced on less than twenty of these pages. Those of most importance are: Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Theophrastus (371-288 B.C.), Diodorus Siculus (1st Century B.C.), Strabo (64 B.C.-25 A.D.), and Dioscorides (1st Century A.D.).

Aristotle, apart from occasional mineralogical or metallurgical references in _De Mirabilibus_, is mostly of interest as the author of the Peripatetic theory of the elements and the relation of these to the origin of stones and metals. Agricola was, to a considerable measure, a follower of this school, and their views colour much of his writings.

We, however, discuss elsewhere[1] at what point he departed from them.

Especially in _De Ortu et Causis_ does he quote largely from Aristotle's _Meteorologica_, _Physica_, and _De Coelo_ on these subjects. There is a spurious work on stones attributed to Aristotle of some interest to mineralogists. It was probably the work of some Arab early in the Middle Ages.

Theophrastus, the princ.i.p.al disciple of Aristotle, appears to have written at least two works relating to our subject--one "On Stones", and the other on metals, mining or metallurgy, but the latter is not extant.

The work "On Stones" was first printed in Venice in 1498, and the Greek text, together with a fair English translation by Sir John Hill, was published in London in 1746 under the t.i.tle "Theophrastus on Stones"; the translation is, however, somewhat coloured with Hill's views on mineralogy. The work comprises 120 short paragraphs, and would, if reproduced, cover but about four of these pages. In the first paragraphs are the Peripatetic view of the origin of stones and minerals, and upon the foundation of Aristotle he makes some modifications. The princ.i.p.al interest in Theophrastus' work is the description of minerals; the information given is, however, such as might be possessed by any ordinary workman, and betrays no particular abilities for natural philosophy. He enumerates various exterior characteristics, such as colour, tenacity, hardness, smoothness, density, fusibility, l.u.s.tre, and transparence, and their quality of reproduction, and then proceeds to describe various substances, but usually omits his enumerated characteristics. Apart from the then known metals and certain "earths"

(ochre, marls, clay, etc.), it is possible to identify from his descriptions the following rocks and minerals:--marble, pumice, onyx, gypsum, pyrites, coal, bitumen, amber, azurite, chrysocolla, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, quartz in various forms, lapis lazuli, emerald, sapphire, diamond, and ruby. Altogether there are some sixteen distinct mineral species. He also describes the touchstone and its uses, the making of white-lead and verdigris, and of quicksilver from cinnabar.

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek native of Sicily. His "historical library"

consisted of some 40 books, of which parts of 15 are extant. The first print was in Latin, 1472, and in Greek in 1539; the first translation into English was by Thomas Stocker, London, 1568, and later by G. Booth, 1700. We have relied upon Booth's translation, but with some amendments by friends, to gain more literal statement. Diodorus, so far as relates to our subject, gives merely the occasional note of a traveller. The most interesting paragraphs are his quotation from Agatharchides on Egyptian mining and upon British tin.

Strabo was also a geographer. His work consists of 17 books, and practically all survive. We have relied upon the most excellent translation of Hamilton and Falconer, London, 1903, the only one in English. Mines and minerals did not escape such an acute geographer, and the matters of greatest interest are those with relation to Spanish mines.

Dioscorides was a Greek physician who wrote entirely from the standpoint of materia medica, most of his work being devoted to herbs; but Book V.

is devoted to minerals and rocks, and their preparation for medicinal purposes. The work has never been translated into English, and we have relied upon the Latin translation of Matthioli, Venice, 1565, and notes upon the Greek text prepared for us by Mr. C. Katopodes. In addition to most of the substances known before, he, so far as can be identified, adds schist, _cadmia_ (blende or calamine), _chalcitis_ (copper sulphide), _misy_, _melanteria_, _sory_ (copper or iron sulphide oxidation minerals). He describes the making of certain artificial products, such as copper oxides, vitriol, litharge, _pompholyx_, and _spodos_ (zinc and/or a.r.s.enical oxides). His princ.i.p.al interest for us, however, lies in the processes set out for making his medicines.

Occasional sc.r.a.ps of information relating to the metals or mines in some connection are to be found in many other Greek writers, and in quotations by them from others which are not now extant, such as Polybius, Posidonius, etc. The poets occasionally throw a gleam of light on ancient metallurgy, as for instance in Homer's description of Vulcan's foundry; while the historians, philosophers, statesmen, and physicians, among them Herodotus, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Galen, and many others, have left some incidental references to the metals and mining, helpful to gleaners from a field, which has been almost exhausted by time. Even Archimedes made pumps, and Hero surveying instruments for mines.

ROMAN AUTHORS.--Pre-eminent among all ancient writers on these subjects is, of course, Pliny, and in fact, except some few lines by Vitruvius, there is practically little else in extant Roman literature of technical interest, for the metallurgical metaphors of the poets and orators were threadbare by this time, and do not excite so much interest as upon their first appearance among the Greeks and Hebrews.

Pliny (Caius Plinius Secundus) was born 23 A.D., and was killed by eruption of Vesuvius 79 A.D. His Natural History should be more properly called an encyclopaedia, the whole comprising 37 books; but only portions of the last four books relate to our subject, and over one-half of the material there is upon precious stones. To give some rough idea of the small quant.i.ty of even this, the most voluminous of ancient works upon our subject, we have made an estimate that the portions of metallurgical character would cover, say, three pages of this text, on mining two pages, on building and precious stones about ten pages. Pliny and Dioscorides were contemporaries, and while Pliny nowhere refers to the Greek, internal evidence is most convincing, either that they drew from the same source, or that Pliny drew from Dioscorides. We have, therefore, throughout the text given precedence in time to the Greek author in matters of historical interest. The works of Pliny were first printed at Venice in 1469. They have pa.s.sed dozens of editions in various languages, and have been twice translated into English. The first translation by Philemon Holland, London, 1601, is quite impossible. The second translation, by Bostock and Riley, London, 1855, was a great advance, and the notes are most valuable, but in general the work has suffered from a freedom justifiable in the translation of poetry, but not in science. We have relied upon the Latin edition of Ja.n.u.s, Leipzig, 1870. The frequent quotations in our footnotes are sufficient indication of the character of Pliny's work. In general it should be remembered that he was himself but a compiler of information from others, and, so far as our subjects are concerned, of no other experience than most travellers. When one considers the reliability of such authors to-day on technical subjects, respect for Pliny is much enhanced. Further, the text is no doubt much corrupted through the generations of transcription before it was set in type. So far as can be identified with any a.s.surance, Pliny adds but few distinct minerals to those enumerated by Theophrastus and Dioscorides. For his metallurgical and mining information we refer to the footnotes, and in general it may be said that while those skilled in metallurgy can dimly see in his statements many metallurgical operations, there is little that does not require much deduction to arrive at a conclusion. On geology he offers no new philosophical deductions of consequence; the remote connection of building stones is practically all that can be enumerated, lest one build some a.s.sumption of a knowledge of ore-deposits on the use of the word "vein". One point of great interest to this work is that in his search for Latin terms for technical purposes Agricola relied almost wholly upon Pliny, and by some devotion to the latter we have been able to disentangle some very puzzling matters of nomenclature in _De Re Metallica_, of which the term _molybdaena_ may be cited as a case in point.