confirmed
in his dominions by Augustus; completing the trio of royal
mineralogists, all contemporaries. The loss of Juba's treatise,
considering his geographical position and his opportunities for
obtaining exact information (the succeeding articles will show how
large a proportion of the "coloured" stones the Romans drew from the
North African provinces), is perhaps the greatest we have to deplore in
this sad catalogue of desiderata. Latest of all came Asarubas,* apparently
of Punic extraction, and Pliny's contemporary, for he cites him as "
qui de his nuperrime scripsit, vivitque adhuc Asarubas" (xxxvii. 11).
His African origin may be inferred not merely from his name but also
from his being quoted as to the existence of a lake in Mauritania that
produced Amber.
Of
all this extensive literature (Pliny cites by name thirty-six authors
in all), nothing whatever is extant beyond the meagre treatise of
Theophrastus (composed shortly before B.C. 300), and the elegant, but,
in a scientific point of view, almost valueless poem of the '
Pseudo-Orpheus,' the date of which is quite conjectural. Theophrastus
has treated chiefly of the mineral substances used in the arts, their
supposed origin, nature, and localities; briefly noticing, as secondary
matters, the few Precious Stones known to the Greeks of his age. This
book of his being the sole relic left to exhibit the state of
mineralogical knowledge amongst his countrymen, a summary of its
contents will not be out of place here.
Sections
1-5 treat of the origin of Stones, their differences, and qualities;
6, 7, of Marbles; 8-16, of fusible Minerals, Copper-mines, Pumice, and
Coal (anthracite); 23, 24, of Gems used for signets: the Sard, Jasper,
Sapphirus, Emerald; 25-29 contain the description of these Gems and
* " Our-God-is-Baal."
B 2
