PREFACE

...good judgment is not enough at the first sight of the mountain, which by its great barrenness, its ruggedness, or by the waters that arise there, might be powerful enough to give certain light that it contains minerals, such that seekers would set themselves to digging with expense and labor of the body. And also because I do not believe that one man in a new country, even if he were robust and shrewd, would be capable of searching minutely—not only all the mountains of one or more provinces that might contain minerals, but hardly even a single one.

Yet there are some who, recognizing such difficulty, say that for such purposes necromancy original: "nigromãtia"; the practice of communicating with spirits or using magic to uncover hidden things, which Biringuccio treats with skepticism. should be employed. Since I consider this a mythical thing and have no other knowledge of it, I intend neither to praise it nor to blame it; for if it were true that it produced such an effect, it would certainly be a useful effect. But I would like these necromancers to tell me why they do not also use their said art after they have found the ore, and do just as they did at the beginning, in the middle and the end—extracting it and bringing it to the smeltings and to the purity of its separations. For without a doubt, having the power to do the aforementioned things, one can believe that they also have the power to do the others.

But because such effects are so frightening and horrible, and should not and cannot—and perhaps also are not wanted to—be practiced by all men, and perhaps also because such a thing is not known, I do not hear of them being used. But it should be believed with all the more reason that it is left aside, since it is always the custom in the beginnings of digging minerals to first seek the grace of God, so that He may intervene to help their doubtful and tiring work; whereas instead they would come to seek that of demons.

Wherefore (in my opinion), leaving the way of bestial and intrepid men, I comfort you in wanting to find them by taking this path of the practice of signs brought by the kindness of nature, founded upon the truth and approved by all practitioners through experience. This (as is seen) does not consist in words or in promises of incomprehensible and vain things, with which you will go searching the banks of valleys, the ruptures and fissures original: "apture & stuccamenti"; refers to geological breaks or joints in the rock where minerals often accumulate. of stones, and the ridges or the high extremities of the mountain peaks, and similarly the beds and courses of rivers.

Look into their sands or among the ruins of ditches, among which many times marcasites original: "margassite"; in the 16th century, this term referred to various shiny metallic sulfides like pyrite that were often mistaken for precious metals or seen as indicators of nearby ore. show themselves to you, or small pieces of ore, or various other metallic tints, by which things one can easily have an indication that certainly there are minerals in those places. And they are found exactly where they are by observing minutely the fissures of their detachments.

And near these, it is given as a general sign that all those mountains and places are mineral-bearing where one sees a great abundance of raw waters gushing out, and which (even if they are clear) have some mineral taste, and which change quality with every variation of the season, being lukewarm in winter and very cold in summer. And you will have all the more reason to believe it when you see the aspects of those mountains are rugged and wild, without earth or trees upon them; and if even a little earth is found there with some thin blade of grass, it is seen to be without its green color, all withered original: "stecchiginosa"; parched or twig-like in appearance due to the toxicity or acidity of the mineral soil. and weak. Although some minerals are found in mountains that have earth and fruit-bearing trees, most are in those aforementioned...