§2.8#1CAP. VII. Αἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν λίθων διαφοραὶ καὶ δυνάμεις εἰσὶν ἐν τούτοις.
CAP. VIII. Such then are the differences and powers of stones.
αἱ δὲ τῆς γῆς ἐλάττονες μὲν ἰδιώτεραι δέ.
Those of earth are fewer but more peculiar.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ τήκεσθαι καὶ μαλάττεσθαι καὶ πάλιν ἀποσκληρύνεσθαι καὶ ταύτῃ συμβαίνει.
For melting, softening, and hardening again happen also to this.
τήκεται μὲν γὰρ τοῖς χυτοῖς καὶ ὀρυκτοῖς ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ λίθος· μαλάττεται δὲ, λίθους τε ποιοῦσιν, ὧν τάς τε ποικίλας καὶ τὰς ἄλλας συντιθεμένας ἁπάσας γὰρ πυροῦντες καὶ μαλάττοντες ποιοῦσιν.
For it melts with fusible and mined substances, just as stone does; and it softens, and from it they make stones, for all those which are variegated and otherwise composite they make by heating and softening.
εἰ δὲ καὶ ὁ ὕελος ἐκ τῆς ὑελίτιδος ὥς τινές φασι, καὶ αὕτη πυκνώσει γίνεται.
And if glass is also made from glass-earth, as some say, this too is produced by condensation.
ἰδιωτάτη δὲ ἡ τῷ χαλκῷ μιγνυμένη· πρὸς γὰρ τῷ τήκεσθαι καὶ μίγνυσθαι καὶ δύναμιν ἔχει περιττὴν ὥστε τῷ κάλλει τῆς χρόας ποιεῖν διαφοράν.
Most peculiar is the earth mixed with copper; for in addition to melting and mixing, it has an extraordinary power to make a difference by the beauty of its color.
περὶ δὲ Κιλικίαν ἐστί τις ἢ ἕψεται γῆ καὶ γίνεται γλισχρά· ταύτῃ δʼ ἀλείφουσι τὰς ἀμπέλους ἀντὶ ἰξοῦ πρὸς τούς ἶπας.
Near Cilicia there is a certain earth which is boiled and becomes sticky; with this they smear the vines instead of birdlime against caterpillars.
εἴη δʼ ἂν λαμβάνειν καὶ ταύτας τὰςφορὰς, ὅσαι πρὸς τὴν ἀπολίθωσιν εὐφυεῖς· ἐπεὶ αἵ γε τῶν τόπων ποιοῦσαι χυμούς διαφόρους ἀλλήλων(ἰδίαν) τινʼ ἔχουσι φύσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ τοὺς τῶν φυτῶν.
One might also include those varieties which are naturally disposed to petrifaction; since those which produce juices different from one another in various places have a certain peculiar nature, just as those which produce the juices of plants do.
ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἄν τις (αὐ)τὰς τοῖς χρώμασι διαριθμήσειεν οἷσπερ καὶ οἱ γραφεῖς χρῶνται.
But one might rather classify them by the colors which painters use.
καὶ γὰρ ἡ γένεσις τούτων, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἴπομεν, ἤτοι συρροῆς τινὸς ἢ διηθήσεως γινομένης.
For the generation of these, as we said at the beginning, is due to either a certain confluence or filtration.
καὶ ἔνιά γε δὴ φαίνεται πεπυρωμένα καὶ οἷον κατακεκαυμένα οἷον καὶ ἡ σανδαράκη καὶ τὸ ἀρρενικὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα δʼ ὡς ἀπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀναθυμιάσεως ταῦτα τῆς ξηρᾶς καὶ καπνώδους.
And indeed some appear to have been heated by fire and as if burnt, such as sandarac, arsenic, and all other such substances; to speak simply, all these come from dry and smoky exhalation.
εὑρίσκεται δὴ πάντα ἐν τοῖς μετάλλοις τοῖς ἀργυρείοις τε καὶ χρυσείοις, ἔνια δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς χαλκορυχείοις, οἶον ἀρρενικὸν, σανδαράκη, χρυσοκόλλα, μίλτος, ὦχρα, κύανος· ἐλάχιστος δὲ οὗτος καὶ κατʼ ἐλάχιστα.
All are found in silver and gold mines, and some also in copper mines, such as arsenic, sandarac, chrysocolla, red ochre, yellow ochre, and kyanos; but the last is the least in quantity and found in the smallest amounts.
τῶν δʼ ἄλλων τῶν μέν εἰσι ῥάβδοι, τὴν δʼ ὦχραν ἀθρόαν πώς φασιν εἶναι· μίλτον δὲ παντοδαπὴν ὥστε εἰς τὰ ἀνδρείκελα χρῆσθαι τοὺς γραφεῖς· καὶ ὦχραν ἀντʼ ἀρρενικοῦ διὰ τὸ μηδὲν τῇ χρόᾳ διαφέρειν, δοκεῖν δέ.
Of the others, some exist in veins, while they say yellow ochre is found in masses; and red ochre is of all kinds, so that painters use it for flesh-tones; and yellow ochre is used instead of arsenic, because it seems to differ not at all in color, though it only appears so.
ἀλλὰ μίλτου τε καὶ ὤχρας ἐστὶν ἐνιαχοῦ μέταλλα καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ καθάπερ ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ, καὶ ὀρύττεται πολλή.
But of red ochre and yellow ochre there are in some places mines that are separate, just as in Cappadocia, and much is mined.
χαλεπὸν δὲ τοῖς μεταλλεῦσι φασὶν εἶναι τὸ πνίγεσθαι· ταχύ γὰρ καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ τοῦτο ποιεῖν.
They say that for the miners, suffocation is a difficult danger; for it does this quickly and in a short time.
βελτίστη δὲ δοκεῖ μίλτος ἡ κεία εἶναι· γίνονται γὰρ πλείους.
The best red ochre seems to be that of Ceos; for several kinds are produced.
ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῶν μετάλλων, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὰ σιδηρεῖα ἔχει μίλτον.
This then is from the mines, since iron mines also contain red ochre.
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ λημνία καὶ ἥν καλοῦσι σινωπικήν.
But there are also Lemnian ochre and that which they call Sinopic.
αὕτη δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ καππαδοκικὴ κατάγεται δʼ εἰς Σινώπην.
This is actually Cappadocian, but is brought down to Sinope.
ἐν δὲ τῷ μικρῷ μεταλλεύεται καθʼ αὐτήν.
In a small mine, it is mined by itself.
ἔστι δὲ αὐτῆς γένη τρία, ἡ μὲν ἐρυθρὰ σφόδρα, ἡ δὲ ἔκλευκος, ἡ δὲ μέση.
There are three kinds of it: the very red, the pale, and the intermediate.
ταύτην αὐτάρκη καλοῦμεν διὰ τὸ μὴ μίγνυσθαι, τὰς δʼ ἑτέρας μιγνύουσι.
This intermediate one we call self-sufficient because it is not mixed, whereas they mix the others.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς ὤχρας κατακαιομένης ἀλλὰ χείρων, τὸ δʼ εὕρημα Κυδίου.
It is also made from burnt yellow ochre, but is of inferior quality, the discovery being that of Cydias.
συνεῖδε γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, ὥς φασι, κατακαυθέντος τινὸς πανδοχείου τὴν ὦχραν ἰδὼν ἡμίκαυστον καὶ πεφοινιγμένην.
For he, as they say, when a certain inn was burnt down, saw the yellow ochre half-burnt and turned red, and so perceived it.
τιθέασι δʼ εἰς τὰς καμίνους χύτρας καινὰς περιπλάσαντες πηλῷ· ὀπτῶσι γὰρ διάπυροι γενόμεναι· ὅσῳ δʼ ἄν μᾶλλον πυρωθῶσι, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον μελαντέραν καὶ ἀνθρακωδεστέραν ποιοὕσι.
They place it in furnaces in new pots smeared with clay; for they roast them when they become red-hot; and the more they are heated, the darker and more charcoal-like they make it.