Book III about halite and nitrium, alum and acrid juices and related minerals, sulphur, bitumen, realgar, and orpiment; the fourth, chrysocolla, aerugo, caeruleum, ferrugo Page 63



	BOOK III	51

	nevertheless they can burn the skin so badly that it appears to have been cauterized. Some natural atramentum sutorium has this same property. Sory is identified by its black and shiny surface when broken, by its many openings, it sub-unctuous quality, its strong harsh odor of lightning and its power to destroy odors of the gullet, especially the mineral from Egypt which Dioscorides regards as the best.²⁰ The best chalcitis is that which, when fresh, has the color of copper, occurs in long shining fibers and crushes easily. Misy can be identified by its hardness, its golden color, its luster which resembles polished gold and its sparkle which resembles the stars. The best melanteria has the color of sulphur but blackens rapidly when placed in water.²¹ Since I have discussed natural atramentum sutorium and the related minerals that form from cupriferous pyrite it follows that I mention the congealed acid juice which usually produces cadmia. This mineral is found in the underground workings of the St. Otto mine at Annaberg. It is white, hard, and so acrid that it can eat away walls, grills and even destroy all living matter. The very tenuous material that exudes from mountain rocks and the dense material that hangs from the back of underground workings and caves, from which they make halinitrum, is commonly acrid but it does not produce cadmia. I shall now describe chrysocolla, caeruleum, armenium and aerugo since these are commonly found in mineral veins, especially copper veins. The Greeks first gave the name chrysocolla to the artificial compound used in soldering gold and subsequently natural minerals as well as other artificial compounds were given the same name because of a certain similarity in color. There are two kinds of chrysocolla, native and artificial. The native mineral occurs in veins and fractures and is found either pure, similar ²⁰ Black water-soluble sulphates are rare. There are only two to which he might have reference, voltaite and glockerite. Both minerals occur at Goslar and at other mines in the Harz district. Glockerite has been reported from near Zuckmantel. These description indicate that Agricola confused, at times, other minerals viz. hydrous oxides, silicates, etc., with sulphates. However his statement that "all five minerals are soluble in water" indicates that he must have observed some black soluble sulphate mineral. Veins containing porous marcasite and pyrite, especially when they are alteration products of pyrrhotite, oxidize first to a mixture of free sulphuric acid, melanterite and finely divided iron sulphide which gives the mixture an intense black color. It is possible that Agricola may refer to this mixture when speaking of black melanteria and in part black sory. ²¹ Agricola has mentioned these minerals in other works. The following extract is of particular interest. See Footnote 15. De Natura Eorum Quae Effluunt ex Terra, Book I, p. 108, "Atramentum sutorium is rarely white, commonly green or blue. Among the related minerals misy is golden yellow; chalcitis is copper-colored; sory and melanteria almost always black although the latter is usually gray when dried. 'Book II, p. 121,' Atramentum sutorium, like other acid substances, dyes black and, like other penetrating substances, will produce sneezing."