BOOK XXXIV. .vx. 95-98 



of copper the palm goes to bronze of Campania. 

 vvhich is most esteemed for utensils. There are 

 several ways of preparing it. At Capua it is smelted 

 in a fire of wood, not of charcoal, and then poured 

 into cold water and cleaned in a sieve made of oak, 

 and this process of smelting is repeated several 

 times, at the last stage Spanish silver lead ^ being 

 added to it in the proportion of ten pounds to one 

 hundred pounds of copper : this treatment renders it 

 pliable and gives it an agreeable colour of a kind 

 imparted to other sorts of copper and bronze by 

 means of oil and salt. Bronze resembling the 

 Campanian is produced in many parts of Italy and 

 the provinces, but there they add only eight pounds 

 of lead, and do additional smelting with charcoal ^ 

 because of their shortage of wood. The difference 

 produced by this is noticed specially in Gaul, where 

 the metal is smelted between stones heated red hot, 

 as this roasting scorches it and renders it black and 

 friable. Moreover they only smelt it again once 

 whereas to repeat this several times contributes a 

 great deal to the quality. It is also not out of place 

 to notice that all copper and bronze fuses better in 

 very cold weather. 



The proper blend for making statues is as follows, Bieiidsfor 

 and the same for tablets : at the outset the ore is ^/SS"'^'^ 

 melted, and then there is added to the melted metal 

 a third part of scrap copper, that is copper or bronze 

 that has been bought up after use. This contains a 

 peculiar seasoned quality of briUiance that has been 

 subdued by friction and so to speak tamed by habi- 

 tual use. Silver-lead is also mixed with it in the 

 proportion of twelve and a half pounds to every 

 hundred pounds of the fused metal. There is also 



199 



