ON OAlCHALCUKf. 275 



Sixth century, observes, that aurichakum was made from copper^ 

 brought to a golden colour by a long continued heat, and (he ad- 

 mixture of a drug*. Isidorus, bishop of Seville in Spain, in the 

 seventh century, describes aurichalcum as possessing the splendor 

 of gold, and the hardness of copper, and he uses the very words of 

 Primasius respecting the manner of it's being madef. The drug 

 spoken of by these three bishops was probably Cadmia. Prepared 

 cadmla is highly commended by Pliny as useful in disorders of the 

 eyes| ; And it is still with us, under the more common appellation 

 of calamine, in some repute for the same purpose. Hence, consu 

 dering the testimonies of Festus and Pliny to the application of 

 cadmia in making either orichalcum, or a substance imitating the 

 goodness of orichalcum, we cannot have much doubt in supposing, 

 that cadmia was the drug alluded to by Ambrose, and by those 

 who seemed to have borrowed, with some inaccuracy of expression, 

 his description of the manner of making orichalcum. 



What we call brass, was anciently in the French language called 

 archal; and brass wire is still not unfrequently denominated fit 

 d'archal. Now if we can infer, from the analogy of languages, 

 that archal is a corruption of aurichalcum, we may reasonably 

 conjecture, that our brass, which is the same with the French ar- 

 chal, is the same also with the Roman aurichalcum. 



Though we may, from what has been advanced, conclude, with, 

 out much apprehension of error, that the Romans knew the me. 

 thod of making brass, by melting together calamine and copper; 

 yet the invention was probably derived to them from some other 

 country. 



We meet with two passages, one In Aristotle, the other in Strabo, 

 from which we may collect, that brass was made in Asia, much 

 after the same manner in which it appears to have been made at 

 Rome. 



Strabo informs us, that in the environs of Andera, a city of 

 Phrygia, a wonderful kind of stone was met with, which bting 

 calcine d became iron ; and being then fluxed with a certain earth, 



* Aurichalcum ex ere fit, cum igne multo ; et medicamine adhibito, perdu- 

 itur ad nreom colorem. Prima. in Apoc. C. I. 



f Aurichalcum dictum, quod et splendorem auri, et duritiara eris pouideat ; 

 fit autemex sere et igne multo, ac medicaminibus perducitur ad aureutn olo- 

 rem. Isid. Orig. 



+ Hist. Nat. L. XXXIV. C, X. 



T * 



