§2.7CAP. VII. Τῶν δὲ λίθων πολλαί τινες αἰ φύσεις καὶ τῶν μεταλλευομένων.
CAP. VII. The natural characters of stones and of mined substances are of many kinds.
ἔνιαι γὰρ ἅμα χρυσὸν ἔχουσι κοὶ ἄργυρον, προφανῆ δὲ μόνον ἄργυρον· βαρύτεραι δὲ αὗται πολὺ καὶ τῇ ῥοπῇ καὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ.
For some contain both gold and silver together, while in others only silver is visibly present; and these are much heavier, both in weight and in odor.
καὶ κύανος σὐτοφυὴς ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ χρυσοκόλλαν.
There is also natural kyanos which contains chrysocolla within itself.
ἄλλη δὲ λίθος ὁμοία τὴν χρόαν τοῖς ἄνθραξι· βάρος δὲ ἔχουσι.
Another stone is similar in color to embers, and they have weight.
τὸ δὲ ὅλον ἐν τοῖς μετάλλοις πλεῖσται καὶ ἰδιώταται φύσεις εὑρίσκονται τῶν τοιούτων, ὧν τὰ μέν εἰσι γῆς καθάπερ ὦχρα καὶ μίλτος, τὰ δὲ οἷον ἄμμου καθάπερ χρυσοκόλλα καὶ κύανος, τὰ δὲ κονίας οἷον σανδαράκη καὶ ἀρρενικὸν καὶ ὅσα ὅμοια τούτοις.
On the whole, in the mines the most numerous and peculiar natural types of such substances are found, of which some are earth, such as ochre and red earth, and others are like sand, such as chrysocolla and kyanos, and others are of powder, such as sandarac and arsenic, and whatever is similar to these.
καὶ τῶν μὲν τοιούτων πλείους ἄν τις λάβοι τὰς ἰδιότητας.
And from such substances one might grasp more of their properties.
ἔνιαι δὲ λίθοῖ καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας ἔχουσι δυνάμεις εἰς τὸ μὴ πάσχειν, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, οἷον τὸ μὴ γλύφεσθαι σιδηρίοις ἀλλὰ λίθοις ἑτέροις.
Some stones also have such powers of resisting treatment, as we said, such as not being carved by iron tools but only by other stones.
ὅλως μὲν ἡ κατὰ τὰς ἐργασίας κοὶ τῶν μειζόνων λίθων πολλὴ διαφορά.
In general, there is a great difference in the methods of working even the larger stones.
πριστοὶ γὰρ, οἱ δὲ γλυπτοὶ, καθάπερ ἐλέχθη, καὶ τορνευτοὶ τυγχάνουσι, καθάπερ καὶ ἡ μαγνῆτις αὕτη λίθος ἡ καὶ ὄψει περιττὸν ἔχουσα, καὶ ἧς γε δή τινες θαυμάζουσι τὴν ὁμοίωσιν τῷ ἀργύρῳ μηδαμῶς οὔσης συγγενοῦς.
For some can be sawn, some carved, as has been said, and some turned on a lathe, just like this Magnetis stone, which has an extraordinary appearance, and whose resemblance to silver, though it is in no way related to it, some people marvel at.
πλείους δʼ εἰσὶν οἱ δεχόμενοι πάσας τὰς ἐργασίας.
But those which admit all kinds of workmanship are more numerous.
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν Σίφνῳ τοιοῦτός τίς ἐστιν ὀρυκτὸς ὡς τρία στάδια ἀπὸ θαλάττης, στρογγύλος καὶ βωλώδης, καὶ τορνεύεται καὶ γλύφεται διὰ τὸ μαλακόν· ὅταν δὲ πυρωθῇ καὶ ἀποβαφῇ ἐλαίῳ, μέλας τε σφόδρα γίνεται καὶ σκληρός.
For in Siphnos also there is such a mined stone about three stades from the sea, round and clod-like, which is turned on a lathe and carved because of its softness; but when it is heated in fire and dipped in oil, it becomes extremely black and hard.
ποιοῦσι δʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ σκεύη τὰ ἐπιτράπεζα.
And they make tableware vessels from it.
οἱ μὲν (οὖν) τοιοῦτοι πάντες προσδέχονται τὴν τοῦ σιδήρου δύναμιν· ἔνιοι δὲ λίθοις ἄλλοις γλύφονται, σιδήροις δʼ οὐ δύνανται καθάπερ εἴπομεν.
Now all such stones admit the action of iron; but some are carved by other stones, and cannot be worked by iron, as we said.
οἱ δὲ σιδήροις μὲν ἀμβλυτέροις δέ·
Others are worked by iron, but only by rather blunt tools.
καὶ εἰσὶν παραπλησίως δὲ κάτω (ἄτοπον?) τὰ μὴ τέμνεσθαι σιδήρῳ καίτοι καὶ στερεὸν ἕτε ἰσχυρότερα τέμνει, καὶ σίδηρος λίθου σκληρότερος ὤν.
And it is seemingly strange that they are not cut by iron, although iron cuts other harder things, and iron is harder than stone.
ἄτοπον δὲ κἀκεῖνο φαίνεται διότι ἡ μὲν ἀκόνη κατεσθίει τὸν σίδηρον, ὁ δὲ σίδηρος ταύτην μὲν δύναται διαιρεῖν καὶ ῥυθμίζειν, ἐξ ἧς δὲ αἱ σφραγίδες οὔ.
This also appears strange, that whereas the whetstone wears away iron, iron is able to divide and shape this whetstone, yet cannot do so to the stones from which seals are made.
καὶ πάλιν ὁ λίθος ᾧ γλύφουσι τὰς σφραγίδας ἐκ τούτου ἐστὶν ἐξ οὗπερ αἱ ἀκόναι, ἢ ἐξ ὁμοίου τούτῳ ἄγεται δὲ ἡ (ἀρίστη) ἐξ Ἀρμενίας.
And again, the stone with which they carve seals is made of the very same substance as whetstones, or of something similar to it; and the best is brought from Armenia.
θαυμαστὴ δὲ φύσις καὶ τῆς βασανιζούσης τὸν χρυσόν· δοκεῖ γὰρ δὴ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχειν τῷ πυρὶ δύναμιν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο δοκιμάζει.
The nature of the stone that tests gold is also wonderful; for it seems to have the same power as fire, since that too tests it.
διὸ καὶ ἀποροῦσί τινες οὐκ ἄγαν οἰκείως ἀποροῦντες.
Therefore some people are puzzled, though not very properly.
οὐ γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον δοκιμάζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πῦρ τῷ τὰ χρώματα μεταβάλλειν καὶ ἀλλοιοῦν ὁ δὲ λίθος τῇ παρατρίψει· δύναται γὰρ ὡς ἔοικεν ἐκλαμβάνειν τὴν ἑκάστου φύσιν.
For it does not test in the same way, but fire tests by changing and altering the colors, while the stone tests by friction; for it seems able to extract the nature of each.
εὑρῆσθαι δέ φασι νῦν ἀμείνω πολὺ τῆς πρότερον ὥστε μὴ μόνον τὸν ἐκ τῆς καθάρσεως ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν κατάχαλκον χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον γνωρίζειν καὶ πόσον εἰς τὸν στατῆρα μέμικται.
And they say that a stone much better than the former one has now been found, so that it detects not only refined gold, but also gold and silver alloyed with copper, and how much has been mixed in per stater.
σημεῖα δʼ ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλαχίστου· ἐλάχιστον δὲ γίνεται κριθῂ, εἶτα κόλλυβος, εἶτα τεταρτημόριον ἢ ἡμιώβολος, ἕξ ὧν γνωρίζουσι τὸ καθῆκον.
And their indicators start from the smallest unit; the smallest is the grain of barley, then the kolybos, then the tetartemonion or the half-obol, from which they determine the proper proportion.
εὑρίσκονται δὲ τοιαύται πᾶσαι ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ Τμώλῳ.
All such stones are found in the river Tmolus.
λεία δʼ ἡ φύσις αὐτῶν καὶ ψηφοειδὴς, πλατεῖα, οὐ στρογγύλη.
Their nature is smooth and pebble-like, flat, not round.
μέγεθος δὲ ὅσον διπλασία τῆς μεγίστης ψήφου.
In size they are about twice the largest pebble.
διαφέρει δʼ αὐτῆς πρὸς τὴν δοκιμασίαν τὰ ἄνω πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον ἢ τὰ κάτω καὶ βέλτιον δοκιμάζει τὰ ἄνω· τοῦτο δὲ διότι ξηρότερα τὰ ἄνω· κωλύει γὰρ ἡ ὑγρότης εἰς τὸ ἐκλαμβάνειν·
In testing, the upper side facing the sun differs from the lower side, and the upper side tests better; and this is because the upper side is drier, for moisture prevents extraction.
ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐν τοῖς καύμασι δοκιμάζει χεῖρον ἀνίησι γάρ τινα νοτίδα ἐξ αὐτῆς διʼ ἣν ἀπολισθαίνει.
For indeed, in hot weather it tests worse, as it releases a certain dampness from itself, because of which the metal slips.
συμβαίνει δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλοις τῶν λίθων, καὶ ἐξ ὧν τὰ ἀγάλματα ποιοῦσιν, ὃ καὶ σημεῖον ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ἴδιόν τι τοῦ ἕδους.
This happens also to other stones, even those from which statues are made, which they also take as a sign peculiar to the image.