1mines, and the
fortunes of many kings have been much amplified there
by. But I will not now speak more of these matters, because I have
dealt with these subjects partly in the first book of this work, and partly in
the other work entitled De Veteribus et Novis Metallis, where I have refuted
the charges which have been made against metals and against miners.
Now, though the art of husbandry, which I willingly rank with the art of
mining, appears to be divided into many branches, yet it is not separated
into so many as this art of ours, nor can I teach the principles of this as
easily as Columella did of that. He had at hand many writers upon hus
bandry whom he could follow,—in fact, there are more than fifty Greek
authors whom Marcus Varro enumerates, and more than ten Latin ones,
whom Columella himself mentions. I have only one whom I can follow;
that is C. Plinius Secundus,3 and he expounds only a very few methods of
digging ores and of making metals. Far from the whole of the art having
been treated by any one writer, those who have written occasionally on any
one or another of its branches have not even dealt completely with a single
one of them. Moreover, there is a great scarcity even of these, since alone of
all the Greeks, Strato of Lampsacus,4 the successor of Theophrastus,5 wrote
a book on the subject, De Machinis Metallicis; except, perhaps a work by the
poet Philo, a small part of which embraced to some degree the occupation
of mining.6 Pherecrates seems to have introduced into his comedy, which
was similar in title, miners as slaves or as persons condemned to serve in the
mines. Of the Latin writers, Pliny, as I have already said, has described
a few methods of working. Also among the authors I must include the modern
writers, whosoever they are, for no one should escape just condemnation
who fails to award due recognition to persons whose writings he uses, even
very slightly. Two books have been written in our tongue; the one on the
assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author
is unknown7; the other “On Veins,” of which Pandulfus Anglus8 is also
said to have written, although the German book was written by Calbus of
Freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task
by. But I will not now speak more of these matters, because I have
dealt with these subjects partly in the first book of this work, and partly in
the other work entitled De Veteribus et Novis Metallis, where I have refuted
the charges which have been made against metals and against miners.
Now, though the art of husbandry, which I willingly rank with the art of
mining, appears to be divided into many branches, yet it is not separated
into so many as this art of ours, nor can I teach the principles of this as
easily as Columella did of that. He had at hand many writers upon hus
bandry whom he could follow,—in fact, there are more than fifty Greek
authors whom Marcus Varro enumerates, and more than ten Latin ones,
whom Columella himself mentions. I have only one whom I can follow;
that is C. Plinius Secundus,3 and he expounds only a very few methods of
digging ores and of making metals. Far from the whole of the art having
been treated by any one writer, those who have written occasionally on any
one or another of its branches have not even dealt completely with a single
one of them. Moreover, there is a great scarcity even of these, since alone of
all the Greeks, Strato of Lampsacus,4 the successor of Theophrastus,5 wrote
a book on the subject, De Machinis Metallicis; except, perhaps a work by the
poet Philo, a small part of which embraced to some degree the occupation
of mining.6 Pherecrates seems to have introduced into his comedy, which
was similar in title, miners as slaves or as persons condemned to serve in the
mines. Of the Latin writers, Pliny, as I have already said, has described
a few methods of working. Also among the authors I must include the modern
writers, whosoever they are, for no one should escape just condemnation
who fails to award due recognition to persons whose writings he uses, even
very slightly. Two books have been written in our tongue; the one on the
assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author
is unknown7; the other “On Veins,” of which Pandulfus Anglus8 is also
said to have written, although the German book was written by Calbus of
Freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task