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CHAP. II. 



ON ORICHALCUM, AU RICH A LCUM, OB THE BUASS OF THE 

 ANCIENTS. 



W K have a proof, from the writings of Cicero, that the Romans, 

 in his time, uml rstoocl by the term orichalcum, a metallic substance 

 resembling gold in colour, but very inferior to it in value. lie 

 puts the following case ' k Whether, if a person should offer a 

 piece of gold to sale, thinking that he was only disposing of a piece 

 of orichalcum, an honest man ought to inform him that it was really 

 gold, or might fairly buy for a penny what was worth a thousand 

 times as much*." It is not contended, that the argument, in this 

 place, required any great accuracy in ascertaining the relative va. 

 lues of gold and orichalcum ; yet we may reasonably conclude from 

 it, that orichalcum mi^ht by an ignorant person be mistak' H for 

 gold, and that it was but of s.nall estimation when compared with 

 it. 



Julius Caesar robbed the capitol of three thousand pound weight 

 of gold, and substituted as much gilded copper in its stead -f ; in 

 this species of sacrilege, he was followed by Vitellius, who despoiled 

 the temples of their gifts and ornaments, replacing the gold and 

 silver by tin and orichalcum J. From this circumstance also, we 

 may collect, that the Roman orichalcum resembled gold in colour, 

 though it was far inferior to it in value. 



It is probable, that the orichalcum, here spoken of, was a metal, 

 lie substance greatly analogous to our brass, if not wholly the same 

 with it. The value of our brass is much less than that of gold, and 

 the resemblance of brass to gold in colour, is obvious at first sight. 

 Both brass and gold, indeed, are susceptible of a variety of shades 

 of yellow ; and, if very pale brass be compared with gold mixed 

 with much copper, such as the foreign goldsmiths, especially, use in 

 their toys, a disparity may be seen ; but the nearness of the resem- 



Circer. dp Off. L. III. t Suet, in Jul. Caes. C. HV. 



$ Id. in Vital. C. VI. 



