Agricola, Georgius, De re metallica, 1912/1950

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    <archimedes>
      <text>
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          <chap>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <pb pagenum="39"/>
              bush grows above a vein. </s>
              <s>Others use a different kind of twig for each metal,
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              when they are seeking to discover the veins, for they employ hazel twigs
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              for veins of silver; ash twigs for copper; pitch pine for lead and especially
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              tin, and rods made of iron and steel for gold. </s>
              <s>All alike grasp the forks of
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              the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the
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              clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should
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              be raised at that end where the two branches meet. </s>
              <s>Then they wander
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              hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. </s>
              <s>It is said
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              that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns
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              and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move
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              their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more
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              immobile.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>The truth is, they assert, the movement of the twig is caused by the
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              power of the veins, and sometimes this is so great that the branches of trees
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              growing near a vein are deflected toward it. </s>
              <s>On the other hand, those
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              who say that the twig is of no use to good and serious men, also deny that
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              the motion is due to the power of the veins, because the twigs will not move
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              for everybody, but only for those who employ incantations and craft. </s>
              <s>More­
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              over, they deny the power of a vein to draw to itself the branches of trees,
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              but they say that the warm and dry exhalations cause these contortions.
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              </s>
              <s>Those who advocate the use of the twig make this reply to these objections:
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              when one of the miners or some other person holds the twig in his hands,
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              and it is not turned by the force of a vein, this is due to some peculiarity
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              of the individual, which hinders and impedes the power of the vein, for since
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              the power of the vein in turning and twisting the twig may be not unlike
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              that of a magnet attracting and drawing iron toward itself, this hidden
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              quality of a man weakens and breaks the force, just the same as garlic
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              weakens and overcomes the strength of a magnet. </s>
              <s>For a magnet smeared
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              with garlic juice cannot attract iron; nor does it attract the latter when
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              rusty. </s>
              <s>Further, concerning the handling of the twig, they warn us that
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              we should not press the fingers together too lightly, nor clench them too
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              firmly, for if the twig is held lightly they say that it will fall before the force
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              of the vein can turn it; if however, it is grasped too firmly the force of the
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              hands resists the force of the veins and counteracts it. </s>
              <s>Therefore, they
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              consider that five things are necessary to insure that the twig shall serve
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              its purpose: of these the first is the size of the twig, for the force of the
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              veins cannot turn too large a stick; secondly, there is the shape of the twig,
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              which must be forked or the vein cannot turn it; thirdly, the power of the
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              vein which has the nature to turn it; fourthly, the manipulation of the twig;
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              fifthly, the absence of impeding peculiarities. </s>
              <s>These advocates of the twig
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              sum up their conclusions as follows: if the rod does not move for every­
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              body, it is due to unskilled manipulation or to the impeding peculiarities
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              of the man which oppose and resist the force of the veins, as we said above,
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              and those who search for veins by means of the twig need not necessarily make
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              incantations, but it is sufficient that they handle it suitably and are devoid
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              of impeding power; therefore, the twig may be of use to good and serious </s>
            </p>
          </chap>
        </body>
      </text>
    </archimedes>
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