[3] While the Greeks steered by the Great Bear, which, if a more visible, was a far more uncertain guide, the Phœnicians had, at an early time, discovered a less conspicuous but more trustworthy guide in the polar star, which the Greeks call The Phœnician Star (“History of Antiquity,” Prof. Max Duncker, translated by Evelyn Abbott, London, 1882, Vol. II. p. 293).
[4] The Etruscans “inquired, under the direction of technical rules, into the hidden properties of nature, particularly those of the electric phenomena.” “History of the Romans,” by Chas. Merivale, New York, 1880, Vol. II. p. 395. (Cicero, “De Divin.,” i. 41–42; Diod. Sic., v. 40; Senec., “Nat. Qu.,” ii. 32; Micali, “l’Italie,” ii. 246 foll.).
[5] In this Chapter I of Book II Gilbert says that Aristotle admits only of two simple movements of his elements, from the centre and toward the centre ... so that in the earth there is but one motion of all its parts towards the centre of the world—a wild headlong falling. Johannes Franciscus Offusius (the author of “De divina astrorum facultate,” Paris, 1570), says he distinguishes several magnetic movements, the first to the centre, the second to the pole, traversing seventy-seven degrees, the third to iron, the fourth to a loadstone.
[6] At p. 16, note No. 4, of his “Dawn of Civilization,” New York, 1894, Mr. G. Maspero says that the well-known French archæologist, Charles Théodule Deveria (1831–1871), was the first to prove that the Egyptians believed the sky to be made of iron or steel. This was done in his monograph entitled “Le fer et l’aimant, leur nom et leur usage dans l’ancienne Egypte,” published originally at Paris during 1872 in “Mélanges d’Archéologie,” Vol. I. pp. 2–10; also by M. Charas, in “l’antiquité Historique,” first edition, pp. 64–67, and at pp. 339–356, Vol. V. of the “Bibliothèque Egyptologique,” issued in Paris during 1897. So well established was the belief in a sky-ceiling of iron, says M. Charas, that it was preserved in common speech by means of the name given to the metal itself, viz. Bai-ni-pit (in the Coptic, Benipi, benipe)—metal of heaven. Reference is thereto made in “The Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature,” Vol. XIV. second series, p. 291, by Mr. J. Offord, Jr., who speaks of the splendid and exceedingly valuable papyrus in the Louvre “Catalogue des Manuscripts,” Paris, 1874, pp. 170–171 of M. Deveria, who frequently referred to it in the preparation of the monograph above alluded to upon Iron and the Loadstone in Ancient Egypt (“Zeitschrift für Ægyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde”—Review founded by M. le Docteur H. Brugsch). Deveria says: “Cette matière céleste (dont parle Plutarque) devait être l’aimant, la substance d’Horus, la siderites des Romains, plutôt que le fer non-magnétique, substance typhonienne.... Ils disent aussi que la pierre d’aimant est un des os de Horus et le fer un des os de Typhon: c’est Manathon qui nous l’apprend.” For Deveria, see “La Grande Encyclopédie,” H. Lamirault et Cie., Paris, n. d., Vol. XIV. p. 375.
[7] The word calamita was first used by the Italians. It is employed by Petri de Vineis (Pierre des Vignes), Matthieu de Messine, the notary of Lentino, and by Guido Guinicelli of Bologna (Libri, “Hist. des Sc. Mathém.,” Vol. II. pp. 66–69). Consult likewise C. Falconet, “Dissert. Histor.,” Paris, 1746; “Le Journal des Sçavans” for July-December 1724, Vol. LXXV. pp. 22–28; W. Falconer, Vol. III. of the “Mem. of the Society of Manchester,” also “Bibl. Britan.,” 1798, Vol. VIII. p. 281.
In the “Essai d’un Glossaire Occitanien” (“Le Journal des Savants” for June 1820, pp. 369–370) it is said about M. de Rochegude that he discovered in “La Vie de St. Honorat de Lérins,” written by Raimont Féraut in 1300, the words caramida, caramita, which he interprets as calamite, aimant, boussole, and that he also read in the “Bergeries” of Remy Belleau (1528–1577) the words calamite ou aiguille aimantée. He found that Joachim du Bellay (1524–1560) had written “Comme le fer qui suit la calamite,” and Nicholas Rapin (1540–1608) “Tourne ma calamite,” but, after examining all the ancient works obtainable, he concluded that the poem of Raimont Féraut, admitted by him to have been translated from an old Latin MS., is the earliest publication containing the word adopted by many to designate the compass. The poem alluded to is the only one extant of Raimont Féraut—Raymond Féraudi de Thoard—a troubadour, long at the court of Charles II of Naples, who died about A.D. 1324 (“Biogr. Génér.”—Hœfer—Vol. XVII. p. 354).
[8] “If an adamant be set by iron, it suffereth not the iron to come to the magnet, but it draweth it by a manner of violence, from the magnet, so that though the magnet draweth iron to itself, the adamant draweth it away from the magnet” (Mediæval Lore, “Gleanings from Barthol. de Glanvilla,” by Robert Steele, London, 1893, Chap. IX. p. 32). The great “Liber de Proprietatibus Rerum,” which has been elsewhere cited in this compilation, was undoubtedly written by Glanvilla (who, according to Salimbene, author of the “Chronicles of Parma,” had been a professor of theology in the Paris University) before the year 1260, for, as Steele remarks, he cites Albertus Magnus, who was in Paris during 1248, but does not quote from either Vincent de Beauvais, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon or Egidius Colonna, all of whom were in Paris during the second half of the thirteenth century.
[9] It is scarcely necessary to add that the afore-named method of suspension is impracticable. This curious problem was deemed worthy of a memoir by M. J. Plateau, communicated to the “Académie des Sciences” at its séance of November 28, 1864 (“Le Moniteur Scientifique,” par le Dr. Quesneville, Vol. VI. p. 1146).
[10] The “Historiæ Hierosolimitanæ” relates all that passed in the kingdom of Jerusalem from 1177 to the siege of Ptolemais inclusively (“History of the Crusades,” Joseph François Michaud, translated by W. Robson, Vol. I. p. 456).
[11] The Astrolabe.—For descriptions of astrolabes used by the Arabs, see pp. 338–357 of “Matériaux ... Sciences Mathém.,” by L. A. Sedillot, Paris, 1845, and for plates showing the construction of the compass and other nautical instruments of his time, consult Crescentio (Bartolomeo), “Nautica Mediterranea,” Rome, 1602.