ON ORICHALCUM. 



which being smelted yielded a copper of the colour of gold, and 

 that this copper was called orichalcum, or the mountain cop * r 

 it is much to be wondered at, that neither the poets nor the phi. 

 losophers of antiquity have bestowed a single line in its commen- 

 dation ; for as to the Atlantis of Plato, before mentioned, no one 

 it is conceived, will build an argument for the existence of natural 

 orichalcum, on such an uncertain foundation : and, if there had 

 been any such mountain, it is probable, that the copper it pro. 

 duced would have retained its name, just as at this time of day 

 we speak of Ecton copper in Statfordbhire, and Paris. mountain 

 copper in Anglesey. 



Some men are fond of etymological inquiries, and to them I 

 would suggest a very different derivation of orichalcum. The He. 

 brew word or, ur, signifies light, fire, flame ; the Latin terms 

 ro, to burn, and uurum, gold, are derived from it, inasmuch as 

 gold resembles the colour of flame ; and hence, it is not impro- 

 bable, that orichalcum may be composed of an Hebrew and Greek 

 term, and that it is rightly rendered, flame-coloured copper. In 

 confirmation of this it may be observed, that the Latin epithet 

 lucidum, and the Greek one pasivov, are both applied to orichal. 

 cum by the ancients; but I would be understood ..o submit this 

 conjecture, with great deference, to those who are much better 

 skilled than I am in etymological learning. 



[Bishop IValson. 



Dr. Watson has justly observed in the preceding essay, that 

 none of the poets or philosophers have spoken in favour of or/. 

 chalcum. Among the Roman poets the term employed both for 

 copper and brass, or orichalcura, was ce s ; which is the only term 

 adopted by Lucretius when he evidently means mineral copper, 

 either in its ores or in metallic veins. This, however, by his 

 translators is in almost all cases translated brass, but most erro. 

 neously ; for, as we have just seen, brass is a mixed metal, and 

 has never, that we know of, been traced in a natire state. Mr. 

 Good is the only one of the translators who lias entered into the 

 scientific meaning of the term, and has avoided the error : nor can 

 we conclude this chapter better than by quoting his translation of 

 the " Nature of Things," which describes the mode by which phi- 

 losophers in the time of Lucretius supposed mankind to have ac- 

 quired their Grst rude knowledge of metals. 



