Book II.

BOOK II.
Qualities which the perfect miner should possess
and the arguments which are urged for and against
the arts of mining and metallurgy, as well
as the people occupied in the industry, I
have sufficiently discussed in the first Book. Now
I have determined to give more ample information
concerning the miners.
In the first place, it is indispensable that they
should worship God with reverence, and that they
understand the matters of which I am going to speak, and that they
take good care that each individual performs his duties efficiently and
diligently. It is decreed by Divine Providence that those who know
what they ought to do and then take care to do it properly, for the
most part meet with good fortune in all they undertake; on the other
hand, misfortune overtakes the indolent and those who are careless in
their work. No person indeed can, without great and sustained effort and
labour, store in his mind the knowledge of every portion of the metallic
arts which are involved in operating mines. If a man has the means
of paying the necessary expense, he hires as many men as he needs, and
sends them to the various works. Thus formerly Sosias, the Thracian, sent
into the silver mines a thousand slaves whom he had hired from the Athenian
Nicias, the son of Niceratus 1 . But if a man cannot afford the expenditure
he chooses of the various kinds of mining that work which he himself can
most easily and efficiently do. Of these kinds, the two most important
are the making prospect trenches and the washing of the sands of rivers, for
out of these sands are often collected gold dust, or certain black stones
from which tin is smelted, or even gems are sometimes found in them; the
trenching occasionally lays bare at the grass−roots veins which are found rich
in metals. If therefore by skill or by luck, such sands or veins shall fall
into his hands, he will be able to establish his fortune without expenditure,
and from poverty rise to wealth. If on the contrary, his hopes are not realised,
then he can desist from washing or digging.
When anyone, in an endeavour to increase his fortune, meets the
expenditure of a mine alone, it is of great importance that he should attend
to his works and personally superintend everything that he has ordered to
be done. For this reason, he should either have his dwelling at the mine,
where he may always be in sight of the workmen and always take care that
none neglect their duties, or else he should live in the neighbourhood, so
that he may frequently inspect his mining works. Then he may send word
by a messenger to the workmen that he is coming more frequently than
he really intends to come, and so either by his arrival or by the intimation
of it, he so frightens the workmen that none of them perform their duties
otherwise than diligently. When he inspects the mines he should praise the
diligent workmen and occasionally give them rewards, that they and the
others may become more zealous in their duties; on the other hand, he
should rebuke the idle and discharge some of them from the mines and
substitute industrious men in their places. Indeed, the owner should
frequently remain for days and nights in the mine, which, in truth, is no
habitation for the idle and luxurious; it is important that the owner who
is diligent in increasing his wealth, should frequently himself descend into
the mine, and devote some time to the study of the nature of the veins and
stringers, and should observe and consider all the methods of working, both
inside and outside the mine. Nor is this all he ought to do, for sometimes
he should undertake actual labour, not thereby demeaning himself, but in
order to encourage his workmen by his own diligence, and to teach
them their art; for that mine is well conducted in which not only the
foreman, but also the owner himself, gives instruction as to what ought to
be done. A certain barbarian, according to Xenophon, rightly remarked
to the King of Persia that "the eye of the master feeds the horse," 2 for the
master' s watchfulness in all things is of the utmost importance.
When several share together the expenditure on a mine, it is convenient
and useful to elect from amongst their own number a mine captain, and
also a foreman. For, since men often look after their own interests but
neglect those of others, they cannot in this case take care of their own without
at the same time looking after the interests of the others, neither can they
neglect the interests of the others without neglecting their own. But if
no man amongst them be willing or able to undertake and sustain the bur−
dens of these offices, it will be to the common interest to place them in the
hands of most diligent men. Formerly indeed, these things were looked
after by the mining prefect 3 , because the owners were kings, as Priam, who
owned the gold mines round Abydos, or as Midas, who was the owner of
those situated in Mount Bermius, or as Gyges, or as Alyattes, or as Croesus,
who was the owner of those mines near a deserted town between Atarnea
and Pergamum 4 ; sometimes the mines belonged to a Republic, as, for
instance, the prosperous silver mines in Spain which belonged to Carthage 5 ;
sometimes they were the property of great and illustrious families, as were
the Athenian mines in Mount Laurion 6 .
When a man owns mines but is ignorant of the art of mining, then
it is advisable that he should share in common with others the expenses,
not of one only, but of several mines. When one man alone meets the
expense for a long time of a whole mine, if good fortune bestows on him a
vein abundant in metals, or in other products, he becomes very wealthy; if,
on the contrary, the mine is poor and barren, in time he will lose everything
which he has expended on it. But the man who, in common with others,
has laid out his money on several mines in a region renowned for its wealth
of metals, rarely spends it in vain, for fortune usually responds to his
hopes in part. For when out of twelve veins in which he has a joint interest
one yields an abundance of metals, it not only gives back to the owner the
money he has spent, but also gives a profit besides; certainly there will
be for him rich and profitable mining, if of the whole number, three, or four,
or more veins should yield metal. Very similar to this is the advice which
Xenophon gave to the Athenians when they wished to prospect for new
veins of silver without suffering loss. "There are," he said, "ten tribes
of Athenians; if, therefore, the State assigned an equal number of
slaves to each tribe, and the tribes participated equally in all the new veins,
undoubtedly by this method, if a rich vein of silver were found by one tribe,
whatever profit were made from it would assuredly be shared by the whole
number. And if two, three, or four tribes, or even half the whole number
find veins, their works would then become more profitable; and it is not
"probable that the work of all the tribes will be disappointing" 7 Although
this advice of Xenophon is full of prudence, there is no opportunity for it
except in free and wealthy States; for those people who are under the
authority of kings and princes, or are kept in subjection by tyranny, do not
dare, without permission, to incur such expenditure; those who are endowed
with little wealth and resources cannot do so on account of insufficient funds.
Moreover, amongst our race it is not customary for Republics to have slaves
whom they can hire out for the benefit of the people 8 ; but, instead, now−
adays those who are in authority administer the funds for mining in the name
of the State, not unlike private individuals.
Some owners prefer to buy shares 9 in mines abounding in metals,
rather than to be troubled themselves to search for the veins; these men
employ an easier and less uncertain method of increasing their property.
Although their hopes in the shares of one or another mine may be frustrated,
the buyers of shares should not abandon the rest of the mines, for all the
money expended will be recovered with interest from some other mine.
They should not buy only high priced shares in those mines producing metals,
nor should they buy too many in neighbouring mines where metal has not
yet been found, lest, should fortune not respond, they may be exhausted by
their losses and have nothing with which they may meet their expenses
or buy other shares which may replace their losses. This calamity over−
takes those who wish to grow suddenly rich from mines, and instead, they
become very much poorer than before. So then, in the buying of shares,
as in other matters, there should be a certain limit of expenditure which
miners should set themselves, lest blinded by the desire for excessive wealth,
they throw all their money away. Moreover, a prudent owner, before he
buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the
vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent
sellers of shares should deceive him. Investors in shares may perhaps
become less wealthy, but they are more certain of some gain than those who
mine for metals at their own expense, as they are more cautious in trusting
to fortune. Neither ought miners to be altogether distrustful of fortune, as
we see some are, who as soon as the shares of any mine begin to go up in
value, sell them, on which account they seldom obtain even moderate wealth.
There are some people who wash over the dumps from exhausted and
abandoned mines, and those dumps which are derived from the drains of
tunnels; and others who smelt the old slags; from all of which they make an
ample return.
Now a miner, before he begins to mine the veins, must consider seven
things, namely:the situation, the conditions, the water, the roads, the
climate, the right of ownership, and the neighbours. There are four kinds
of situationsmountain, hill, valley, and plain. Of these four, the
first two are the most easily mined, because in them tunnels can be
driven to drain off the water, which often makes mining operations very
laborious, if it does not stop them altogether. The last two kinds of
ground are more troublesome, especially because tunnels cannot be driven
in such places. Nevertheless, a prudent miner considers all these four
sorts of localities in the region in which he happens to be, and he searches for
veins in those places where some torrent or other agency has removed and
swept the soil away; yet he need not prospect everywhere, but since there
is a great variety, both in mountains and in the three other kinds of
localities, he always selects from them those which will give him the best
chance of obtaining wealth.
In the first place, mountains differ greatly in position, some being
situated in even and level plains, while others are found in broken and
elevated regions, and others again seem to be piled up, one mountain upon
another. The wise miner does not mine in mountains which are situated on
open plains, neither does he dig in those which are placed on the summits of
mountainous regions, unless by some chance the veins in those mountains
have been denuded of their surface covering, and abounding in metals and
other products, are exposed plainly to his notice,for with regard to what
I have already said more than once, and though I never repeat it again,
I wish to emphasize this exception as to the localities which should
not be selected. All districts do not possess a great number of mountains
crowded together; some have but one, others two, others three, or perhaps
a few more. In some places there are plains lying between them; in others
the mountains are joined together or separated only by narrow valleys.
The miner should not dig in those solitary mountains, dispersed through
the plains and open regions, but only in those which are connected and
joined with others. Then again, since mountains differ in size, some being
very large, others of medium height, and others more like hills than
mountains, the miner rarely digs in the largest or the smallest of them,
but generally only in those of medium size. Moreover, mountains have a
great variety of shapes; for with some the slopes rise gradually, while
others, on the contrary, are all precipitous; in some others the slopes are
gradual on one side, and on the other sides precipitous; some are drawn
out in length; some are gently curved; others assume different
shapes. But the miner may dig in all parts of them, except where there
are precipices, and he should not neglect even these latter if metallic veins
1
97
are exposed before his eyes. There are just as great differences in hills as
there are in mountains, yet the miner does not dig except in those situated
in mountainous districts, and even very rarely in those. It is however very
little to be wondered at that the hill in the Island of Lemnos was excavated,
for the whole is of a reddish−yellow colour, which furnishes for the inhabit−
ants that valuable clay so especially beneficial to mankind 10 . In like
manner, other hills are excavated if chalk or other varieties of earth are
exposed, but these are not prospected for.
There are likewise many varieties of valleys and plains. One kind is
enclosed on the sides with its outlet and entrance open; another has either
its entrance or its outlet open and the rest of it is closed in; both of these are
properly called valleys. There is a third variety which is surrounded on all
sides by mountains, and these are called convalles. Some valleys again,
have recesses, and others have none; one is wide, another narrow; one
is long, another short; yet another kind is not higher than the neighbouring
plain, and others are lower than the surrounding flat country. But the
miner does not dig in those surrounded on all sides by mountains, nor in those
that are open, unless there be a low plain close at hand, or unless a vein
of metal descending from the mountains should extend into the valley.
Plains differ from one another, one being situated at low elevation,
and others higher, one being level and another with a slight incline. The
miner should never excavate the low−lying plain, nor one which is perfectly
level, unless it be in some mountain, and rarely should he mine in the other
kinds of plains.
With regard to the conditions of the locality the miner should
not contemplate mining without considering whether the place be
covered with trees or is bare. If it be a wooded place, he who digs there
has this advantage, besides others, that there will be an abundant supply of
wood for his underground timbering, his machinery, buildings, smelting,
and other necessities. If there is no forest he should not mine there unless
there is a river near, by which he can carry down the timber. Yet wherever
there is a hope that pure gold or gems may be found, the ground can
be turned up, even though there is no forest, because the gems need only
to be polished and the gold to be purified. Therefore the inhabitants of
hot regions obtain these substances from rough and sandy places, where
sometimes there are not even shrubs, much less woods.
The miner should next consider the locality, as to whether it has a
perpetual supply of running water, or whether it is always devoid of water
except when a torrent supplied by rains flows down from the summits of the
mountains. The place that Nature has provided with a river or stream can
be made serviceable for many things; for water will never be wanting and
can be carried through wooden pipes to baths in dwelling−houses; it may
be carried to the works, where the metals are smelted; and finally, if the
conditions of the place will allow it, the water can be diverted into the
tunnels, so that it may turn the underground machinery. Yet on the other
hand, to convey a constant supply of water by artificial means to mines
where Nature has denied it access, or to convey the ore to the stream,
increases the expense greatly, in proportion to the distance the mines are
away from the river.
The miner also should consider whether the roads from the neighbouring
regions to the mines are good or bad, short or long. For since a region
which is abundant in mining products very often yields no agricultural
produce, and the necessaries of life for the workmen and others must all be
imported, a bad and long road occasions much loss and trouble with
porters and carriers, and this increases the cost of goods brought in, which,
therefore, must be sold at high prices. This injures not so much the work−
men as the masters; since on account of the high price of goods, the work−
men are not content with the wages customary for their labour, nor can
they be, and they ask higher pay from the owners. And if the owners
refuse, the men will not work any longer in the mines but will go elsewhere.
Although districts which yield metals and other mineral products are
generally healthy, because, being often situated on high and lofty ground,
they are fanned by every wind, yet sometimes they are unhealthy, as has
been related in my other book, which is called " De Natura Eorum Quae
Effluunt ex Terra. " Therefore, a wise miner does not mine in such places,
even if they are very productive, when he perceives unmistakable signs
of pestilence. For if a man mines in an unhealthy region he may be alive
one hour and dead the next.
Then, the miner should make careful and thorough investigation con−
cerning the lord of the locality, whether he be a just and good man or a
tyrant, for the latter oppresses men by force of his authority, and seizes
their possessions for himself; but the former governs justly and lawfully
and serves the common good. The miner should not start mining opera−
tions in a district which is oppressed by a tyrant, but should carefully
consider if in the vicinity there is any other locality suitable for mining and
make up his mind if the overlord there be friendly or inimical. If he be
inimical the mine will be rendered unsafe through hostile attacks, in one of
which all of the gold or silver, or other mineral products, laboriously col−
lected with much cost, will be taken away from the owner and his workmen
will be struck with terror; overcome by fear, they will hastily fly, to free
themselves from the danger to which they are exposed. In this case, not
only are the fortunes of the miner in the greatest peril but his very life is
in jeopardy, for which reason he should not mine in such places.
Since several miners usually come to mine the veins in one locality, a
settlement generally springs up, for the miner who began first cannot keep
it exclusively for himself. The Bergmeister gives permits to some to mine
1
101
the superior and some the inferior parts of the veins; to some he gives
the cross veins, to others the inclined veins. If the man who first starts
work finds the vein to be metal−bearing or yielding other mining products,
it will not be to his advantage to cease work because the neighbourhood may
be evil, but he will guard and defend his rights both by arms and by the law.
When the Bergmeister 11 delimits the boundaries of each owner, it is the duty
of a good miner to keep within his bounds, and of a prudent one to repel
encroachments of his neighbours by the help of the law. But this is enough
about the neighbourhood.
The miner should try to obtain a mine, to which access is not difficult,
in a mountainous region, gently sloping, wooded, healthy, safe, and not far
distant from a river or stream by means of which he may convey his
mining products to be washed and smelted. This indeed, is the best
position. As for the others, the nearer they approximate to this position the
better they are; the further removed, the worse.
Now I will discuss that kind of minerals for which it is not necessary
to dig, because the force of water carries them out of the veins. Of these
there are two kinds, mineralsand their fragments 12 and juices. When
there are springs at the outcrop of the veins from which, as I have already said,
the above−mentioned products are emitted, the miner should consider these
first, to see whether there are metals or gems mixed with the sand, or whether
the waters discharged are filled with juices. In case metals or gems have
settled in the pool of the spring, not only should the sand from it be
washed, but also that from the streams which flow from these springs, and
even from the river itself into which they again discharge. If the springs dis−
charge water containing some juice, this also should be collected; the further
such a stream has flowed from the source, the more it receives plain water and
the more diluted does it become, and so much the more deficient in strength.
If the stream receives no water of another kind, or scarcely any, not only
the rivers, but likewise the lakes which receive these waters, are of the same
nature as the springs, and serve the same uses; of this kind is the lake
which the Hebrews call the Dead Sea, and which is quite full of bituminous
fluids 13 . But I must return to the subject of the sands.
Springs may discharge their waters into a sea, a lake, a marsh, a river,
or a stream; but the sand of the seashore is rarely washed, for although the
water flowing down from the springs into the sea carries some metals or
gems with it, yet these substances can scarcely ever be reclaimed, because
they are dispersed through the immense body of waters and mixed up with
other sand, and scattered far and wide in different directions, or they
sink down into the depths of the sea. For the same reasons, the sands of
lakes can very rarely be washed successfully, even though the streams rising
from the mountains pour their whole volume of water into them. The
particles of metals and gems from the springs are very rarely carried into the
marshes, which are generally in level and open places. Therefore, the
miner, in the first place, washes the sand of the spring, then of the stream
which flows from it, then finally, that of the river into which the stream
discharges. It is not worth the trouble to wash the sands of a large
river which is on a level plain at a distance from the mountains. Where
several springs carrying metals discharge their waters into one river, there
is more hope of productive results from washing. The miner does not
neglect even the sands of the streams in which excavated ores have been
washed.
The waters of springs taste according to the juice they contain, and
they differ greatly in this respect. There are six kinds of these tastes which
the worker 14 especially observes and examines; there is the salty kind,
which shows that salt may be obtained by evaporation; the nitrous, which
indicates soda; the aluminous kind, which indicates alum; the vitrioline,
which indicates vitriol; the sulphurous kind, which indicates sulphur;
and as for the bituminous juice, out of which bitumen is melted down, the
colour itself proclaims it to the worker who is evaporating it. The sea−
water however, is similar to that of salt springs, and may be drawn into
low−lying pits, and, evaporated by the heat of the sun, changes of
itself into salt; similarly the water of some salt−lakes turns to salt when dried
by the heat of summer. Therefore an industrious and diligent man observes
and makes use of these things and thus contributes something to the
common welfare.
The strength of the sea condenses the liquid bitumen which flows into
it from hidden springs, into amber and jet, as I have described already in
my books " De Subterraneorum Ortu et Causis " 15 . The sea, with certain
directions of the wind, throws both these substances on shore, and for this
reason the search for amber demands as much care as does that for coral.
Moreover, it is necessary that those who wash the sand or evaporate
the water from the springs, should be careful to learn the nature of the
locality, its roads, its salubrity, its overlord, and the neighbours, lest on
account of difficulties in the conduct of their business they become either
impoverished by exhaustive expenditure, or their goods and lives are
imperilled. But enough about this.
The miner, after he has selected out of many places one particular spot
adapted by Nature for mining, bestows much labour and attention on the
veins. These have either been stripped bare of their covering by chance
and thus lie exposed to our view, or lying deeply hidden and concealed they
are found after close search; the latter is more usual, the former more
rarely happens, and both of these occurrences must be explained. There
is more than one force which can lay bare the veins unaided by the industry
or toil of man; since either a torrent might strip off the surface, which hap−
pened in the case of the silver mines of Freiberg (concerning which I have
written in Book I. of my work " De Veteribus et Novís Metallís ") 16 ; or they
may be exposed through the force of the wind, when it uproots and destroys
the trees which have grown over the veins; or by the breaking away of the
rocks; or by long−continued heavy rains tearing away the mountain; or by
an earthquake; or by a lightning flash; or by a snowslide; or by the
violence of the winds: "Of such a nature are the rocks hurled down from
the mountains by the force of the winds aided by the ravages of time." Or
the plough may uncover the veins, for Justin relates in his history that
nuggets of gold had been turned up in Galicia by the plough; or this may
occur through a fire in the forest, as Diodorus Siculus tells us happened in the
silver mines in Spain; and that saying of Posidonius is appropriate enough:
"The earth violently moved by the fires consuming the forest sends forth new
products, namely, gold and silver." 17 . And indeed, Lucretius has ex−
plained the same thing more fully in the following lines: "Copper and gold
and iron were discovered, and at the same time weighty silver and the sub−
stance of lead, when fire had burned up vast forests on the great hills, either
by a discharge of heaven' s lightning, or else because, when men were waging
war with one another, forest fires had carried fire among the enemy in order to
strike terror to them, or because, attracted by the goodness of the soil, they
wished to clear rich fields and bring the country into pasture, or else to destroy
wild beasts and enrich themselves with the game; for hunting with pitfalls
and with fire came into use before the practice of enclosing the wood with
toils and rousing the game with dogs. Whatever the fact is, from
1
106
whatever cause the heat of flame had swallowed up the forests with a frightful
crackling from their very roots, and had thoroughly baked the earth with
fire, there would run from the boiling veins and collect into the hollows of the
grounds a stream of silver and gold, as well as of copper and lead." 18 But
yet the poet considers that the veins are not laid bare in the first instance
so much by this kind of fire, but rather that all mining had its
origin in this. And lastly, some other force may by chance disclose the
veins, for a horse, if this tale can be believed, disclosed the lead veins at
Goslar by a blow from his hoof 19 . By such methods as these does fortune
disclose the veins to us.
But by skill we can also investigate hidden and concealed veins, by
observing in the first place the bubbling waters of springs, which cannot be
very far distant from the veins because the source of the water is from
them; secondly, by examining the fragments of the veins which the torrents
break off from the earth, for after a long time some of these fragments are
again buried in the ground. Fragments of this kind lying about on the
ground, if they are rubbed smooth, are a long distance from the veins,
because the torrent, which broke them from the vein, polished them while
it rolled them a long distance; but if they are fixed in the ground, or if
they are rough, they are nearer to the veins. The soil also should be con−
sidered, for this is often the cause of veins being buried more or less deeply
under the earth; in this case the fragments protrude more or less widely
apart, and miners are wont to call the veins discovered in this manner
" fragmenta. " 20
Further, we search for the veins by observing the hoar−frosts,
which whiten all herbage except that growing over the veins, because the
veins emit a warm and dry exhalation which hinders the freezing of the
moisture, for which reason such plants appear rather wet than whitened by
the frost. This may be observed in all cold places before the grass has grown
to its full size, as in the months of April and May; or when the late crop of
hay, which is called the cordum, is cut with scythes in the month of
September. Therefore in places where the grass has a dampness that is not con−
gealed into frost, there is a vein beneath: also if the exhalation be excessively
hot, the soil will produce only small and pale−coloured plants. Lastly, there
are trees whose foliage in spring time has a bluish or leaden tint, the upper
branches more especially being tinged with black or with any other unnatural
colour, the trunks cleft in two, and the branches black or discoloured.
These phenomena are caused by the intensely hot and dry exhalations
which do not spare even the roots, but scorching them, render the trees
sickly; wherefore the wind will more frequently uproot trees of this kind
than any others. Verily the veins do emit this exhalation. Therefore, in a
place where there is a multitude of trees, if a long row of them at an unusual
time lose their verdure and become black or discoloured, and frequently fall
by the violence of the wind, beneath this spot there is a vein. Likewise
along a course where a vein extends, there grows a certain herb or fungus
which is absent from the adjacent space, or sometimes even from the neigh−
bourhood of the veins. By these signs of Nature a vein can be discovered.
There are many great contentions between miners concerning the forked
twig 21 , for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and
others deny it. Some of those who manipulate and use the twig, first cut
a fork from a hazel bush with a knife, for this bush they consider more
efficacious than any other for revealing the veins, especially if the hazel
bush grows above a vein. Others use a different kind of twig for each metal,
when they are seeking to discover the veins, for they employ hazel twigs
for veins of silver; ash twigs for copper; pitch pine for lead and especially
tin, and rods made of iron and steel for gold. All alike grasp the forks of
the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the
clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should
be raised at that end where the two branches meet. Then they wander
hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. It is said
that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns
and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move
their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more
immobile.
The truth is, they assert, the movement of the twig is caused by the
power of the veins, and sometimes this is so great that the branches of trees
growing near a vein are deflected toward it. On the other hand, those
who say that the twig is of no use to good and serious men, also deny that
the motion is due to the power of the veins, because the twigs will not move
for everybody, but only for those who employ incantations and craft. More−
over, they deny the power of a vein to draw to itself the branches of trees,
but they say that the warm and dry exhalations cause these contortions.
Those who advocate the use of the twig make this reply to these objections:
when one of the miners or some other person holds the twig in his hands,
and it is not turned by the force of a vein, this is due to some peculiarity
of the individual, which hinders and impedes the power of the vein, for since
the power of the vein in turning and twisting the twig may be not unlike
that of a magnet attracting and drawing iron toward itself, this hidden
quality of a man weakens and breaks the force, just the same as garlic
weakens and overcomes the strength of a magnet. For a magnet smeared
with garlic juice cannot attract iron; nor does it attract the latter when
rusty. Further, concerning the handling of the twig, they warn us that
we should not press the fingers together too lightly, nor clench them too
firmly, for if the twig is held lightly they say that it will fall before the force
of the vein can turn it; if however, it is grasped too firmly the force of the
hands resists the force of the veins and counteracts it. Therefore, they
consider that five things are necessary to insure that the twig shall serve
its purpose: of these the first is the size of the twig, for the force of the
veins cannot turn too large a stick; secondly, there is the shape of the twig,
which must be forked or the vein cannot turn it; thirdly, the power of the
vein which has the nature to turn it; fourthly, the manipulation of the twig;
fifthly, the absence of impeding peculiarities. These advocates of the twig
sum up their conclusions as follows: if the rod does not move for every−
body, it is due to unskilled manipulation or to the impeding peculiarities
of the man which oppose and resist the force of the veins, as we said above,
and those who search for veins by means of the twig need not necessarily make
incantations, but it is sufficient that they handle it suitably and are devoid
of impeding power; therefore, the twig may be of use to good and serious
men in discovering veins. With regard to deflection of branches of trees
they say nothing and adhere to their opinion.
Since this matter remains in dispute and causes much dissention
amongst miners, I consider it ought to be examined on its own merits. The
wizards, who also make use of rings, mirrors and crystals, seek for veins
with a divining rod shaped like a fork; but its shape makes no difference
in the matter,it might be straight or of some other formfor it is not
the form of the twig that matters, but the wizard' s incantations
which it would not become me to repeat, neither do I wish to do so. The
Ancients, by means of the divining rod, not only procured those things neces−
sary for a livelihood or for luxury, but they were also able to alter the forms
of things by it; as when the magicians changed the rods of the Egyptians
into serpents, as the writings of the Hebrews relate 22 ; and as in Homer,
Minerva with a divining rod turned the aged Ulysses suddenly into a youth,
and then restored him back again to old age; Circe also changed Ulysses'
companions into beasts, but afterward gave them back again their human
form 23 ; moreover by his rod, which was called "Caduceus," Mercury gave
sleep to watchmen and awoke slumberers 24 . Therefore it seems that the
divining rod passed to the mines from its impure origin with the magicians.
Then when good men shrank with horror from the incantations and rejected
them, the twig was retained by the unsophisticated common miners, and
in searching for new veins some traces of these ancient usages remain.
But since truly the twigs of the miners do move, albeit they do not
generally use incantations, some say this movement is caused by the
power of the veins, others say that it depends on the manipulation, and
still others think that the movement is due to both these causes. But, in
truth, all those objects which are endowed with the power of attraction
do not twist things in circles, but attract them directly to themselves; for
instance, the magnet does not turn the iron, but draws it directly to itself,
and amber rubbed until it is warm does not bend straws about, but simply
draws them to itself. If the power of the veins were of a similar nature to
that of the magnet and the amber, the twig would not so much twist as
move once only, in a semi−circle, and be drawn directly to the vein, and unless
the strength of the man who holds the twig were to resist and oppose the
force of the vein, the twig would be brought to the ground; wherefore,
since this is not the case, it must necessarily follow that the manipulation
is the cause of the twig' s twisting motion. It is a conspicuous fact that
these cunning manipulators do not use a straight twig, but a forked one
cut from a hazel bush, or from some other wood equally flexible, so that if it
be held in the hands, as they are accustomed to hold it, it turns in a circle
for any man wherever he stands. Nor is it strange that the twig does not
turn when held by the inexperienced, because they either grasp the forks of
the twig too tightly or hold them too loosely. Nevertheless, these things
give rise to the faith among common miners that veins are discovered by
the use of twigs, because whilst using these they do accidentally discover
some; but it more often happens that they lose their labour, and although
they might discover a vein, they become none the less exhausted in
digging useless trenches than do the miners who prospect in an unfortunate
locality. Therefore a miner, since we think he ought to be a good and
serious man, should not make use of an enchanted twig, because if he is
prudent and skilled in the natural signs, he understands that a forked stick
is of no use to him, for as I have said before, there are the natural indica−
tions of the veins which he can see for himself without the help of twigs.
So if Nature or chance should indicate a locality suitable for mining, the
miner should dig his trenches there; if no vein appears he must dig
numerous trenches until he discovers an outcrop of a vein.
A vena dilatata is rarely discovered by men' s labour, but usually some
force or other reveals it, or sometimes it is discovered by a shaft or a tunnel
on a vena profunda 25 .
The veins after they have been discovered, and likewise the shafts and
tunnels, have names given them, either from their discoverers, as in the
case at Annaberg of the vein called "Kölergang," because a charcoal
burner discovered it; or from their owners, as the Geyer, in Joachimstal,
because part of the same belonged to Geyer; or from their products,
as the "Pleygang" from lead, or the "Bissmutisch" at Schneeberg from
bismuth 26 ; or from some other circumstances, such as the rich alluvials from
the torrent by which they were laid bare in the valley of Joachim. More
often the first discoverers give the names either of persons, as those of
German Kaiser, Apollo, Janus; or the name of an animal, as that of lion,
bear, ram, or cow; or of things inanimate, as "silver chest" or "ox stalls";
or of something ridiculous, as "glutton' s nightshade"; or finally, for the sake
of a good omen, they call it after the Deity. In ancient times they
followed the same custom and gave names to the veins, shafts and tunnels,
as we read in Pliny: "It is wonderful that the shafts begun by Hannibal in
Spain are still worked, their names being derived from their discoverers.
One of these at the present day, called Baebelo, furnished Hannibal with
three hundred pounds weight (of silver) per day." 27
END OF BOOK II