ON ORICHALCUM. 273 



blance is sufficiently ascertained in general, from observing that 

 substances gilded with brass, or, as it is commonly called, Dutch 

 leaf, are not easily distinguished from such as are gilded with gold 

 leaf. 



The Romans wore not only in possession of a metallic substance, 

 called by them orichalcum, and resembling gold in colour, but they 

 knew also the manner of making it ; and the materials from which 

 they made it, were the very same from which we make brass. I 

 am sensible, that in advancing this opinion, I dissent from authors 

 of great credit, who esteem the art of making brass to be wholly a 

 modern invention. Thus M. Cronstedt (though I differ in opinion 

 from him) u does not think it just to conclude, from old coiiw and 

 other antiquities, that it is evidently proved, that the making of 

 brass was known in the most ancient times* ;" the authors of the 

 French Encyclopedic assure us, that ** our brass is a very recent 

 invention t :'' and L)r. Laughtou t says, " the vessels here called 

 brazen, after ancit-nt authors, cannot have been of the materials 

 our present brass is composed of; the art of making it is a modem 

 discovery." 



Pliny, "peaking of some copper which had been discovered near 

 Corduba in (he province of Andalusia in Spain, says, u this of all 

 the kinds of copper, the Livian except, d, absorbs most cadmia, 

 and imitates the goodness of aurichalcum ." The expression, 

 * absorbs most cadmia,' seems to indicate, that the copper was 

 increased in bulk, or in weight, or in both, by means of the cadmia. 

 Now it is well known, that any definite quantity of copper is 

 greatly increased, both in bulk and in weight, when it is made into 

 brass by being fluxed in conjunction with calamine. The other 

 attribute of the copper, when mixed with cadmia, was, its resembling 

 aurichalcum. We have seen from Cicero, that the term orichalcum 

 was applied to a substance far less valuable than gold, but similar 

 to it in colour ; and it is likely enough, that the Romans, com. 

 monly called the mixture of copper and cadmia, orichalcum, though 

 Pliny says, that it only resembled it ; he, as a naturalist, speaking 

 with precision, and distinguishing the real orichalcum, which in his 

 time, he says, was no where produced, from the factitious one, 

 which from its resemblance to it, had usurped its name. 



Miner, p. 218. t Art. Orichalquc. 



I Laughton's Hiit. of Ancient Egypt, p. 58. ^ Hilt. Nat. L. XXXI V. 3. II 



TOL. VI. T 



