BOOK XXXIII. XXII. 79-xxiii. 8i 



attracted the Empcror Gaius Caligula, who was a.d. 37-41. 

 extremely covetous for gold, and who consequently 

 gave orders for a great weight of it to be smelted; 

 and as a matter of fact it did produce excellent gold, 

 but so small a weight of it that he found himself a 

 loser by his experiment that was prompted by 

 avarice, although orpiment sold for 4 denarii a 

 pound ; and no one afterwards has repeated the 

 experiment. 



XXIII. All gold contains silver in various pro- ' Ekcirum: 

 portions, a tenth part in some cases, an eighth in 

 others. In one mine only, that of Callaecia called 

 the Albucrara mine, the proportion of silver found 

 is one thirty-sixth, and consequently this one is more 

 valuable than all the others. Wherever the pro- 

 portion of silver is one-fifth, the ore is called 

 electrum « ; grains of this are found in ' channelled ' of. § 68. 

 gold. An artificial electrum is also made by adding 

 silver to gold. If the proportion of silver exceeds 

 one-fifth, the metal produced offers no resistance on 

 the anvil. Electrum also held a high position in 

 old times, as is evidenced by Homer ^ who represents 

 the palace of Menelaus as resplendent with gold, 

 electrum, silver and ivory. There is a temple of 

 Athena at Lindus of the island of Rhodes in which 

 there is a goblet made of electrum, dedicated by 

 Helen; history further relatcs that it has the same 

 measurement as her breast. A quahty of electrum 

 is that it shines more brightly than silver in lamp- 

 light. Natural electrum also has the property of 

 detecting poisons ; for semicircles resembling rain- 

 bows run over the surface in poisoned goblets and 

 emit a crackling noise hke fire, and so advertise the 

 presence of poison in a twofold manner. 



63 



