Agricola, Georgius - De re metallica

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1he had begun.9 Recently Vannucci Biringuccio, of Sienna, a wise man
experienced in many matters, wrote in vernacular Italian on the
subject of the melting, separating, and alloying of metals.10 He
touched briefly on the methods of smelting certain ores, and explained
more fully the methods of making certain juices; by reading his
directions, I have refreshed my memory of those things which I myself
saw in Italy; as for many matters on which I write, he did not touch upon
them at all, or touched but lightly. This book was given me by Franciscus
Badoarius, a Patrician of Venice, and a man of wisdom and of repute; this
he had promised that he would do, when in the previous year he was at
Marienberg, having been sent by the Venetians as an Ambassador to King
Ferdinand. Beyond these books I do not find any writings on the metallic
arts. For that reason, even if the book of Strato existed, from all these
sources not one-half of the whole body of the science of mining could be
pieced together.

Seeing that there have been so few who have written on the subject of the
metals, it appears to me all the more wonderful that so many alchemists have
arisen who would compound metals artificially, and who would change one
into another. Hermolaus Barbarus,11 a man of high rank and station, and
distinguished in all kinds of learning, has mentioned the names of many in
his writings; and I will proffer more, but only famous ones, for I will limit myself
to a few. Thus Osthanes has written on χυμευτικά; and there are Hermes;
Chanes; Zosimus, the Alexandrian, to his sister Theosebia; Olympiodorus,
also an Alexandrian; Agathodæmon; Democritus, not the one of Abdera,
but some other whom I know not; Orus Chrysorichites, Pebichius, Comerius,
Joannes, Apulejus, Petasius, Pelagius, Africanus, Theophilus, Synesius,
Stephanus to Heracleus Cæsar, Heliodorus to Theodosius, Geber, Callides
Rachaidibus, Veradianus, Rodianus, Canides, Merlin, Raymond Lully,
Arnold de Villa Nova, and Augustinus Pantheus of Venice; and three women,
Cleopatra, the maiden Taphnutia, and Maria the Jewess.12 All these alchemists
employ obscure language, and Johanes Aurelius Augurellus of Rimini,
alone has used the language of poetry. There are many other books on

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