BY THE ANCIENT HINDUS. 



225 



weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth 

 songs to an heavy heart." (Proverbs, xv. 22.) 



Herodotos mentions nitrum as litron (Xirpov) in his descrip- 

 tion of the embalming of dead bodies as practised in Egypt. 106 

 Pliny repeatedly speaks of nitrum, and Gralen 107 records that 

 it was burnt to strengthen its qualities. This would have 

 had no effect if applied to salpetre. There is no doubt that 

 had the ancients known saltpetre, its oxydizing properties 

 would soon have been discovered by them, which is the most 

 important step towards the invention of gunpowder. 



The word natron was introduced into Europe from the East 

 by some European scholars who had been travelling there 

 about the middle of the sixteenth century and who had thus 

 become acquainted with this salt ; 108 and though the word 

 natron was originally used there for denoting saltpetre, its 

 other form nitrum has been since assigned it ; however, as we 

 have seen, the nitrum of the ancients is quite different from 

 oar nitre, which is saltpetre (potassium nitrate). 



Native saltpetre, i.e., saltpetre produced by entirely natural 

 processes is very scarce, so much so that the inventor of nickel, 

 Freiherr Axel Friedrich von Cronstedt (1722-65) was 

 unacquainted with it. It is found especially in India, Egypt, 

 and in some parts of America. Since the introduction of 

 gunpowder in European warfare saltpetre has been manu- 

 factured wherever native saltpetre could not be obtained in 

 sufficient quantities. It was obtained, from the efflorescence 

 on walls (sal rnurale) and other sources, this exudation, 



106 Herodotos, II. 86, ravra Se iroi^ffavres rapix^ovcri KiTpcp, and 87, ras 5c 

 ffdpKas rb Kirpou Kararr}Kei. 



107 Nitrum ustum proprius ad aphronitrum accedit, utpote ex ustione tenuius 

 ve&ditum (\eirToiJi.epe<rT€pov). Ceterum nitro usto simul et non usto . . . 

 in talibus morbis uti consuevimus (vlrpct) Se KeKav/xevcp re koX aKavtrra koI t)/a€?s 

 iirl toiovtwv xp<6"e0a. Galenus, De Simplic. Med. Factilt. IX. Dioscurides 

 says also that nitrum was commonly burnt. Compare Beckmann's History 

 of Inventions, II. 433. 



108 See J. Beckmann, History of Discoveries, under the head Saltpetre, 

 Gunpowder, Aquafortis. 



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