The Letter of Petrus Peregrinus on the Magnet, A.D. 1269

TRANSLATED BY BROTHER ARNOLD, M.Sc. PRINCIPAL OF LA SALLE INSTITUTE, TROY WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY BROTHER POTAMIAN, D.Sc. PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN MANHATTAN COLLEGE, NEW YORK
NEW YORK McGRAW PUBLISHING COMPANY MCMIV
Copyright, 1904, by McGraw Publishing Company
Oft from the magnet, too, the steel recedes,
Repelled by turns and re-attracted close.
And in verse 1085:
Its viewless, potent virtues men surprise;
Its strange effects, they view with wond’ring eyes
When without aid of hinges, links or springs
A pendant chain we hold of steely rings
Dropt from the stone—the stone the binding source—
Ring cleaves to ring and owns magnetic force: