CHAPTER XIV 



GOLD AND IRON 



metals never rust; such a one is gold. 



Ancient gold pieces found in the earth after cen- 

 turies are as bright as the day they were coined. 

 No dross, no rust covers their effigy and inscription. 

 Time, fire, humidity, air, cannot harm this admirable 

 iiH-tal. Therefore gold, on account of its unchange- 

 able luster and its rarity, is preeminently the mate- 

 rial for ornaments and coins. 



"Furthermore, gold is the first metal that man 



me acquainted with, long before iron, lead, tin, 

 and tlu others. The reason why man's attention 

 \\.i- called to gold, long centuries before iron, is not 

 hard to understand. Gold never rusts; iron rusts 

 with such grievous facility that in a short time, if 

 we are not careful, it is converted into a iv<l earth. 

 I have just told you that gold objects, however old 

 they may be, have come to us intact, even after 

 having been in the dampest ground. As for objects 

 of iron, not one has reached us that was not in an 

 unrecognizable state. Corroded with rust, they have 



>me a shapeless earthy crust. Now I will ask 



.hile< it' the iron ore that is erl raeted from the bowels 



of tin- e;irth can be real, pure iron, such as \\v use. 91 



"II seems to me not, Tuelr; for if iron at any 



riven moment is pure, it must rust with time and 



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