BOOK XXXIII. XIX. 59-62 



making it assume a similar red hue and itself becomes 

 the colour of fire ; this proccss is called assaying." 

 The first proof of quahty in gold is however its being 

 affected by fire v/ith extreme difficulty ; beside that, 

 it is remarkable that though invincible to live coal 

 made of the hardest wood it is very quickly made 

 red hot by a fire of chaff, and that for the purpose of 

 purifying it it is roasted with lead. 



Another more important reason for its value is 

 that it gets extremely Httle worn by use ; whereas, 

 with silver, copper and lead, Hnes may be drawn, 

 and stuff that comes off them dirties the hand. Nor 

 is any other material more malleable or able to 

 be divided into more portions, seeing that an ounce 

 of gold can be beaten out into 750 or more leaves 4 

 inches square. The thickest kind of gold leaf is 

 called Palestrina leaf, still bearing the name taken 

 from the most genuinely gilded statue of Fortune in 

 that place. The foil next in thickness is styled 

 Quaestorian leaf. In Spain tiny pieces of gold are 

 called scrapers.** Gold more than all other metals is 

 found unalloyed in nuggets or in the form of detritus. 

 Whereas all other metals when found in the mines 

 are brought into a finished condition by means of 

 fire, gold is gold straight away and has its substance 

 in a perfect state at once, when it is obtained by 

 mining. This is the natural way of getting it, while 

 another which we shall describe is artificial. More §^gs sqq. 

 than any other substance gold is immune from rust 

 or verdigris or anything else emanating from it 

 that wastes its goodness or reduces its weight. 

 Moreover in steady resistance to the overpowering 

 effect of the juices of salt and vinegar it surpasses 

 all things, and over and above that it can be spun 



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