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Book IV Sulphur, amber, Pliny's gems, jet, bitumen, naphtha, camphor, maltha, Samothracian gem, thracius stone, obsidianus stone

Book IV Sulphur, amber, Pliny's gems, jet, bitumen, naphtha, camphor, maltha, Samothracian gem, thracius stone, obsidianus stone Page of 251 Book IV Sulphur, amber, Pliny's gems, jet, bitumen, naphtha, camphor, maltha, Samothracian gem, thracius stone, obsidianus stone Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
64
DE NATURA FOSSILIUΜ
All Moorish writers do not say that this mineral is the gum of a tree. Neither the Moors nor the Greek authorities have investigated whether or not it was a juice but each has written that it is the tears of the poplar tree without investigating its true nature. Thus Serapio writes that ac­cording to certain people there are trees in the mountains of India that yield camphor in abundance. Isaacus, who writes at the same time as Serapio, states definitely that it is the gum of a tree and Pselus, a Greek writer, is not sure whether it is a gum or tears. The Moors write that native camphor is sometimes brought to them mixed with fragments of wood. There are two possible explanations of this. The wood may have adhered to the bitumen, by chance, as it was flowing or exuding from the earth since it is unctuous, or the Indians may have added it to the cam­phor in order to cheat the Moors or deceive the credulous. This argument that is used to prove that camphor comes from a tree is not sufficiently valid. And it is not the same as if someone said that amber was the juice of a tree because Archelaus writes that it is brought from India in the crude state with bark adhering to it. However, since I have never seen the place where camphor is produced I will not fight with these opinions of the Moors. Also, I wish to keep peace with the learned men who hold that the writings of the Moors are beyond question. Wisely, Ludovicus Ver-tomannus who sailed to the island of Borneo, having heard this theory of the origin of camphor withheld his assent to an unknown thing since he did not see it with his own eyes. No less correctly M. Paulus Venetus, who sailed to Lower Java to a place called Fansur where the finest cam­phor is said to be produced, has said nothing about its origin and has ig­nored the subject completely.
The color of the native mineral is not uniform since it may be white and clear with reddish spots, white and dull, or dark colored. The artificial mineral is always white. The taste is mixed, being both acrid and bitter. The odor is agreeable and varies only slightly. Camphor is, by nature, friendly to fire and when ignited burns at all points until entirely con­sumed. Even when it is smeared over an icicle and set on fire it will not be extinguished as long as a particle of camphor remains. For this reason it is commonly added to compounds which burn in water. It has a bright and sweet smelling flame. Since it consists of the most tenuous material it gradually melts into the air and disappears.4 This fact is well known to physicians who place the mineral in vessels and cover it with flax or millet seeds in order to preserve it for many years. The camphor which has been sublimated to the upper portion of an earthenware vessel when placed on a fire is readily dissolved in wine and then burned as incense instead of frankincense and myrrh. The refined mineral is used in medicine to warm and to dry. This is taught by experience and proven by taste. A certain Moor has written, quite correctly, that it is warm and dry in the second
1 Camphor readily sublimates in air at room temperature. This is an early de­scription of this property of certain solids.
Book IV Sulphur, amber, Pliny's gems, jet, bitumen, naphtha, camphor, maltha, Samothracian gem, thracius stone, obsidianus stone Page of 251 Book IV Sulphur, amber, Pliny's gems, jet, bitumen, naphtha, camphor, maltha, Samothracian gem, thracius stone, obsidianus stone
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