[1231] No light is thrown upon the nature either of Cadmia or Aurichalcum by this statement; we only learn from it that different compounds, or substances possessing different physical properties, went under the common appellation of Æs, and were, each of them, employed in the formation of coins.—B.
[1232] “Dupondiariis.” The “as,” it must be remembered, originally weighed one pound. See B. xxxiii. c. [13], and the Introduction to Vol. III.
[1233] He alludes to the ancient works of art in this compound metal.
[1234] The art of making compound metals.
[1235] Vulcan, namely.
[1236] No one has accidentally stumbled upon the art of making this composite metal.
[1237] We have an account of the destruction of Corinth, and the accidental formation of this compound, in Florus, B. ii. c. 16. Although this account was generally received by the ancients, we may venture to assert, that it cannot be correct; we cannot conceive the possibility of such a fusion taking place during the destruction of the city, or of the complete union of the components, in the mode in which they have been found to exist.—B.
[1238] B.C. 146.—B.
[1239] “Trulleos.” In an epigram of Martial, B. ix. Ep. 97, the word “trulla” signifies a chamber-pot.
[1240] From the Greek ἥπαρ, “the liver.”