* 3. Copper. 
The foure and'thirtiech Booke 
THE XXXITL “BOOKE:OF 
“THE HISTORIE OF NATVRE,’ 
| WRITTEN BY. = Gxt PLINEVS niin 
eb GIL 
SEG VND V2S.21 0), $MM Sih) Ou 1203G D1 
g 7 hé'Proeme- ‘ 
Cuar, ‘1 I re sii 
—O& The mines of sgl. id 
2 T isnowtime to goein hand with mines of Braflesa meteall efteernesh mot 
-= of allother nextto Goldand Silver; in regard of the ufes about whichiie 
“~ isemploied: nay,if Ifhould fay truly, preferred ivis(efpecially that which 
34, Iscalledthelaton of Corinth) in divers refpects before filver, yea & gold 
@ it felfe:for braffe (I may tell you) isof great authoritie’ inthe camipe, and 
{, carrieth no {mall firoke among fouldiors in regard of thei pay; which (as 
eVer CF! Thave faid before}}was weighed them’ out in'brafle:and hereupon their 
wages: morieyi is ufvally called bythe name of 2ra milituni,From this mettall likewife;the gene- 
rali Receiversand Treafurerstake their title of credit arid place :forat Romethey becalled Tri- _ 
buni wrarij, as aman would fay, the Tribunes‘or officers to the chamber of Braffecoine, thatis ” 
indeed, of the Treafurie: hereof alfo isthe Chamber of the citie or Treafuric it felfe,called Era- 
rium: finally, thofe that be deeply indebted to any man,are in Latine named Obzerati, as it were 
charged and prefled with the heavie burden of brafle, i debt. Moreover, I have fhewed alreadie. 
(for the greater credit and authoritie of this mettall) for how many yeers togither the people of 
Rome ufed no other money but brafen coine.And otherwife,as may appeareby ancient records 
and hiftories, the credit of brafletooke root atthe beginning, and hath been in authoritie ever 
fince Rome was Rome : an evident proofe whereof weehhave from K. Numa, who founded and 
erected a third focietie or confrarernitieof braffe-founders.As touching the ore or veine of 
brafle, digged it is out of theminein manneraforefaid, but itis tried and broughtto perfection _ 
by fire, Made alfoic is of the Chalamine-ftone, named jotherwife Cadmia. The beft mines of L 
braffe that yeeld che excellent metrall,arenowan A fia showfoever: in oldtime Campainein Ita- 
lie caried the name.And even at this day. ithe braffe, dipget out ofthe mines within theterritorie 
of che Bergomats in the fartheft part of Traliesis 1 in great requeft: and as it is faid, there aregood © 
mines thereof difcovered lately in Gormacheue7 6 under the Romane Empire. 
Cute Tle 
eS. Divers kinds of Brafse : and namely, the Brafv of Corinth of the Ifles 
of Delosand Aegina. 
N thelfland of Cyprus, where firft were found mines of braffe, the fame is made of another jg 
ftone allo befides Cadmia, which they name Chalcitis: but this * Cypriari brafie fell {oon to 
_ ebearea low price, by reafon ofa betrerkind which other countries did yeeld; and principally 
the laton called Orichalcum, which fora long time was counted the beft and heldin greateftad- _ 
miration. Howbeit, this kind of braffe hath not been gotten for thefe many yeers, asifthe earth » 
were 
