Natural History
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CM CMO in z:?,2i ^i5 THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY FOUKDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D. EDITED BY fT. E. PAGE, C.H., LITT.D. tE. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. tW. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d. L. A. POST, l.h.d. E. H. WARMIXGTON. m.a., f.r.hist.soc. PLINY NATURAL HISTORY IX LIBRI XXXIIl-XXXV PLINY NATURAL HISTORY WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION IN TEN VOLUMES VOLUME IX LlBRi XXXIII-XXXV BY H. RACKHAM, M.A. FELLOW OF CHR1ST'S COLLEGE, CAMBKIDQE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS HAllVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD First print..-d 1952 Rpprintcd 1961 Printed in Great Britain CONTENTS PAQE INTKODUCTION vii nOOK XXXIII 1 BOOK XXX IV 125 BOOK XXXV 259 INDEX OF ARTISTS 413 MUSEOGRArUlC INDEX 417 INt>EX OF MINERALS ^IJ INTRODUCTION BooKS XXXIII, XXXIV, and XXXV of Pliny's Natural History contain interesting accounts of minerals and mining and of the history of art. Mr. H. Rackham left when he died a translation in typescript vvith a few footnotes. The Latin text has been prepared by Prof. E. H. Warmington, who has also added the critical notes on this text, many footnotes on the translation, and marginal helps, Some parts of the translation were completely re-written by him. The sections on Greek art were read and criticised by Prof. T. B. L. Webster, to whom thanks are now duly rendered. The codices cited in the critical notes on the Latin text are as follows : B = Bambergensis ; cd. Leid. Voss. = V ; cd. Leid. Lips. = F ; cd. Chiffl{eiianus) = f ; cd. Flor. Ricc. = R ; cc?. Par. Lat. 6797 = d ; c^. Par. 6801 = h ; cd. Vind. CCXXXIV = a ; cd. ToleL = T. : PLINY NATURAL HISTORY BOOK XXXIIl PLINII NATURALIS HISTORIAE LIBER XXXIII 1. Metalla niinc ipsaeque opes et rerum pretia di- centur, tellurem intus exquirente cura multiplici modo, quippe alibi divitiis foditur ^ quaerente vita aurum, argentum, electrum, aes, alibi deliciis gemmas et parietum lignorumque ^ pigmenta, alibi temeritati ferrum, auro etiam gratius inter bella caedesque. persequimur omnes eius fibras vivimusque super excavatam, mirantes dehiscere aliquando aut intre- mescere illam, ceu vero non hoc indignatione sacrae 2 parentis exprimi possit. imus in viscera et in sede manium opes quaerimus, tamquam parum benigna ^ fertilique qua calcatur ; et inter haec minimum remediorum gratia scrutamur, quoto enim cuique fodiendi causa medicina est ? quamquam et hoc summa sui parte tribuit ut fruges, larga facihsque in ^ ante quippe transferewlum aut fodinis vel e fodini.s legendum coni. Mayhoff. ^ lignorumque {vel signorumque) Mayhoff : pictorum Detlefsen: digitorumque cdd. {rectet): delieiis parietum digitorumque gemmas et pigmenta Bergk. ^ V .11. caecatur, cecatur, secatur. " Elecirum, properly amber, was a word applied to an alloy of gold and silver, and also to native argentiferous gold, be- cause of their resemblance in colour. — PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY BOOK XXXIII I. Our topic now will be metals, and the actual MetaU. resources employed to pay for commodities resources diligently sought for in the bowels of the earth in a variety of ways. For in some places the earth is dug into for riches, when life demands gold, silver, silver-gold " and copper, and in other places for luxury, when gems and colours for tinting walls and beams are demanded, and in other places for rash valour, when the demand is for iron, which amid warfare and slaughter is even more prized than gold. \Ve trace out all the fibres of the earth, and live above the hollows we have made in her, marvel- ling that occasionally she gapes open or begins to tremble—as if forsooth it were not possible that this may be an expression of the indignation of our holy parent ! We penetrate her inner parts and seek for riches in the abode of the spirits of the departed, as though the part w^here we tread upon her were not sufficiently bounteous and fertile. And amid all this the smallest object of our searching is for the sake of remedies for illness, for with what fraction of mankind is medicine the object of this delving? Although medicines also earth bestows upon us on her surface, as she bestows corn, bountiful and ! PLINY: NATURAL HISTOR\ 3 omnibus, quaecumque prosunt. illa nos peremunt, illa nos ad inferos agunt, quae occultavit atque demersit, illa, quae non nascuntur repente, ut ^ mens ad inane evolans reputet, quae deinde futura sit finis omnibus saeculis exhauriendi eam, quo usque penetratura avaritia. quam innocens, quam beata, immo vero etiam delicata esset vita, si nihil aliunde quam supra terras concupisceret, breviterque, nisi ^ quod secum est 4 IL Eruitur aurum et chrysocolla iuxta, ut pre- tiosior videatur, nomen ex auro custodiens. parum enim erat unam vitae invenisse pestem, nisi in pretio esset auri etiam sanies. quaerebat argentum avari- tia ; boni consuluit interim invenisse minium ruben- tisque terrae excogitavit usum. heu prodiga ingenia, quot modis auximus pretia rerum ! accessit ars picturae, et aurum argentumque caelando carius fecimus. didicit homo naturam provocare. auxere et artem vitiorum inritamenta ; in pocuHs libidines r> caelare iuvit ac per obscenitates bibere. abiecta deinde sunt haec ac ^ sordere coepere, ut ^ auri argentique nimium fuit. murrina ex eadem tellure et crystalHna effodimus, quibus prctium faceret ipsa fragilitas. hoc argumentum opum, haec vera luxu- ' repente ut Mayhojf : iit repente aut repente. ^ V.l. haberetque non nisi. ^ ac Mayhoff : abs B : et rell. * ut Mayhoff : et. " XpuaoKoAAa, 'gold-solder.' This is malachite, basic copper carbonate. * See§§ 111 ff. * Or possibly finest agate. 4 BOOK XXXIII. I. wi. =; generous as she is in all things for our benefit ! The things that she has concealed and hidden under- ground, those that do not quickly come to birth, are the things that destroy us and drive us to the depths belovv ; so that suddenly the mind soars aloft into the void and ponders what finally \vill be the end of draining her dr^' in all the ages, what will be the point to which avarice vriW penetrate. How innocent, how blissful, nay even how luxurious life might be, if it coveted nothing from any source but the surface of the earth, and, to speak briefly, nothing but what lies ready to her hand ! II. Gold is dug out of the earth and in proximity to <?oM. ^ it gold-solder, which still retains in Greek a name derived from gold, so as to make it appear more precious. It was not enough to have discovered one bane to plague life, %\-ithout setting value even on the corrupt humours of gold ! Avarice was seeking for silver, but counted it a gain to have discovered cinnabar ^ by the way, and devised a use to make of red earth. Alas for the prodigality of our inventive- ness ! In how many ways have we raised the prices of objects ! The art of painting has come in addition, and we have made gold and silver dearer by means of engraving ! Man has learnt to challenge nature in competition ! The enticements of the \ices have augmented even art : it has pleased us to engrave scenes of licence upon our goblets, and to drink through the midst of obscenities. Afterwards these were flung aside and began to be held of no account, when there was an excess of gold and silver. Out of the same earth we dug supplies of fluor-spar^ and cr\-sta], things which their mere fragility rendered costly. It came to be deemed the proof 5 PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY riae gloria existimata est, habere quod posset statim perire totum. nec hoc fuit satis. turba gemmarum potamus et zmaragdis teximus calices, ac temulentiae causa tenere Indiam iuvat. aurum iam accessio est. 6 III. utinamque posset e vita in totum abdicari [sacrum fame, ut celeberrimi auctores dixere] ^ proscissum conviciis ab optimis quibusque et ad perni- ciem vitae repertum, quanto feliciore aevo, cum res ipsae permutabantur inter sese, sicut et Troianis temporibus factitatum Homero credi convenit ! ita enim, ut opinor, commercia victus gratia inventa.^ 7 alios coriis boum, alios ferro captivisque res ^ empti- tasse tradit. quare,^ quamquam ipse iam mirator auri,^ pecore ^ aestimationes rerum ita fccit, ut c boum arma aurea permutasse Glaucum diceret cum Diomedis armis viiii boum. ex qua consuetudine multa legum antiquarum pecore constat etiam Romae. 8 IV. Pessimum vitae scelus fecit qui primus induit digitis, nec hoc quis fecerit traditur. nam de Pro- metheo omnia fabulosa arbitror, quamquam illi quoque ferreum anulum dedit antiquitas vinculumque id, non gestamen, intellegi voluit. Midae quidem anulum, quo circumacto habentem nemo cerneret, 1 Seclusit J. Muller. 2 inventa cd. Par. 6801 : invecta rell. ^ res Detlefsen : nierum coni. lan : vinum Bergk : rebus codd. (rerus B^ : reru B^). * quare MayhofJ : qua B^ : qua B^ : om. rell. ^ ]\l. miratus auri. ^ pecore Mayhoff : pec : B^ pec B"^ : et aut om. rell. " The MSS. here insert a clause (' aocursed by hunger, as vcry famous writcrs have said ') adapted from Virgirs famous ' phrase in Aen. Ilf . .57 : auri sacra fames.' 6 BOOK XXXIII. II. 5-iv. 8 of wealth, the true glory of luxury, to possess some- thing that might be absolutely destroyed in a moment. Xor was this enough : we drink out of a crowd of precious stones, and set our cups ^vith emeralds, we take dehght in holding India for the purpose of tippUng, and gold is now a mere accessory. III. And would that it ° could be entirely banished from Hfe, reviled and abused as it is by all the worthiest people, and only discovered for the ruin of human life—how far happier was the period when goods themselves were interchanged by barter, as it i-^ agreed we must take it from Homer ^ to have been the custom even in the days of Troy. That in my view was the way in which trade was discovered, to procure the necessities of Hfe.