Agricola, Georgius, De re metallica, 1912/1950

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1which they say nothing more pernicious could have been brought into the
life
of man.
For it is employed in making swords, javelins, spears, pikes,
arrows—weapons
by which men are wounded, and which cause slaughter,
robbery
, and wars.
These things so moved the wrath of Pliny that he wrote:
Iron is used not only in hand to hand fighting, but also to form the winged
missiles
of war, sometimes for hurling engines, sometimes for lances, some­
times
even for arrows.
I look upon it as the most deadly fruit of human
ingenuity
.
For to bring Death to men more quickly we have given wings to
iron
and taught it to fly.19 The spear, the arrow from the bow, or the bolt
from
the catapult and other engines can be driven into the body of only one
man
, while the iron cannon-ball fired through the air, can go through the
bodies
of many men, and there is no marble or stone object so hard that it
cannot
be shattered by the force and shock.
Therefore it levels the highest
towers
to the ground, shatters and destroys the strongest walls.
Certainly
the
ballistas which throw stones, the battering rams and other ancient war
engines
for making breaches in walls of fortresses and hurling down strong­
holds
, seem to have little power in comparison with our present cannon.
These emit horrible sounds and noises, not less than thunder, flashes
of
fire burst from them like the lightning, striking, crushing, and shatter­
ing
buildings, belching forth flames and kindling fires even as lightning
flashes
.
So that with more justice could it be said of the impious men of
our
age than of Salmoneus of ancient days, that they had snatched lightning
from
Jupiter and wrested it from his hands.
Nay, rather there has been
sent
from the infernal regions to the earth this force for the destruction of
men
, so that Death may snatch to himself as many as possible by one stroke.

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