Agricola, Georgius, De re metallica, 1912/1950
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            <pb pagenum="xxiv"/>
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              <s>Quæ ſi cuncta uelim tenui percurrere uerſu,
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              Ante alium reuehat Memnonis o
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              ra diem.</s>
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              <s>Poſtremus labor eſt, concretos diſcereſuccos,
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              Quos fert innumeris Teutona terra locis.</s>
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              <s>Quo ſal, quo nitrum, quo pacto fiat alumen,
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              Vſibus artiſicis cùm parat illa manus:</s>
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              <s>Necnon chalcantum, ſulfur, fluidumque bitumen,
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              Maſſa〈qué〉 quo uitri lenta dolanda modo.</s>
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              <s>Suſcipit hæc hominum mirandos cura labores,
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              Pauperiem uſqueadeo ferre famem〈qué〉 graue eſt,</s>
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              <s>Tantus amor uictum paruis extundere natis,
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              Et patriæ ciuem non dare uelle malum.</s>
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              <s>Nec manet in terræ foſſoris merſa latebris
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              Mens, ſed fert domino uota preces〈qué〉 Deo.</s>
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              <s>Munificæ expectat, ſpe plenus, munera dextræ,
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              Extollens animum lætus ad aſtra ſuum.</s>
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              <s>Diuitias CHRISTVS dat noticiam〈qué〉 fruendi,
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              Cui memori grates pectore ſemper agit.</s>
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              <s>Hoc quoque laudati quondam fecere Philippi,
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              Qui uirtutis habent cum pietate decus.</s>
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              <s>Huc oculos, huc flecte animum, ſuauiſſime Lector,
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              Auctorem〈qué〉 pia noſcito mente Deum.</s>
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              <s>AGRICOLAE hinc optans operoſo fauſta labori,
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              Laudibus eximij candidus eſto uiri.</s>
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              <s>Ille ſuum extollit patriæ cum nomine nomen,
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              Et uir in ore frequens poſteritatis erit.</s>
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              <s>Cuncta cadunt letho, ſtudij monumenta uigebunt,
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              Purpurei doneclumina ſolis erunt.</s>
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              <s>Miſenæ M. D. LI.</s>
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              <s>èludo illuſtri.</s>
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              <s>For completeness' sake we reproduce in the original Latin the laudation of Agricola
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              by his friend, Georgius Fabricius, a leading scholar of his time. </s>
              <s>It has but little intrinsic
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              value for it is not poetry of a very high order, and to make it acceptable English would require
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              certain improvements, for which only poets have license. </s>
              <s>A “free” translation of the last
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              few lines indicates its complimentary character:—</s>
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              <s>“He doth raise his country's fame with his own
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              And in the mouths of nations yet unborn
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              His praises shall be sung; Death comes to all
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              But great achievements raise a monument
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              Which shall endure until the sun grows cold.”</s>
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