BOOK XXXIII. XXVII. 90-xxix. 93 



middling, which is 5 denarii, and ttie crushed, also 

 called the grass-green kind, 3 denarii. Before 

 applying the sandy variety they put on a prehminary 

 coating of black dye and pure white chalk " : these 

 serve to hold the gold-solder and give a softness of 

 colour. As the pure chalk is of a very unctuous 

 consistency and extremely tenacious owing to its 

 smoothness, it is sprinkled with a coat of black, to 

 prevent the extreme whiteness of the chalk from 

 imparting a pale hue to the gold-solder. The yellow 

 gold-solder is thought to derive its name from the 

 phmt vellow-weed, which is itself often pounded up 

 with steel-blue and applied for painting instead of 

 gold-solder, making a very inferior and counterfeit 

 kind of colour. 



XXVIII. Gold-solder is also used in medicine, 

 mixed with wax and olive oil, for cleansing wounds ; 

 likewise appHed dry by itself it dries wounds and 

 draws them together. It is also given in cases of 

 quinsy or asthma, to be taken as an electuary with 

 honey. It acts as an emetic, and also is used as 

 an ingredient in salves for sores in the eyes and in 

 green plasters for relieving pains, and drawing 

 together scars. This kind of gold-solder is called 

 by medical men ' remedial solder,' * and is not the 

 same as orobitis. 



XXIX. The goldsmiths also use a special gokl- 

 sokler of their own for soldering gold, and according 

 to them it is from this that all the other substances 

 with a simikar green colour take the name. The 

 mixture is made with Cyprian copper verdigris and 

 the urine of a boy ^ who has not reached puberty with 

 the addition of soda «^ ; this is ground with a pestle 



^ Sodiura carbonate. 



