The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-26
METALS OF THE ANcIENTs.
Thsy Knsw All About Gold and silver
but Not About Diamonds.

Knew All About Gold ana silver
but Not About Diamonds,
ut seems probable shat the diamond was
not known In the time Of Moses" said Min
srAlogist H. L. Preston, OF Rochester, : Q =
Washington Star reporter. "The word
translated diamond or 'sdamsnt In var
ious parts OF the Bible signifies simply a
very hard stone, and would DO equally ap-
plicabls to many other gems. Diamond.
were certainly known Mt o later period
sessed a high value chiefly because. Of their
rarity and extreme hardness. For " 10 =
stono OF me- extraordinary brillinncv OF
beauty untilYt has been cut. and. the art Of
cutting and polishing diamonds was not
discovered until 14D, A. D. Inc
out diamonds credited 70 h'ndoo
epoch are believed by the best autho.ities
to have been sapphiros. Polished and en-
Rraved GENE OF other kinds were known IN
the time Of the exodus.
.'Ihs ainbaster Of ancients was not the
compact variety OF gypsum, from WHOM
adnys, but a stalaQmitic carbonate of lime.
II was mostly employed in the old days IN
tho manufacture Of reoeptacles for contain
ing unguents and perfumes. The nitrate
repeatedly mentioned in the Bible was not
saItpstsr. but m impure carbonate OF SODA,
obtained from certain lakes IN Egypt,
used for making soap and also IN the mum
"Of the metals known to tho ancisnts
probably gold wal the first discovered. IT
abounded in the sands of many rivers OF
antiquity, which have long since
ceased to be nurifsrous. From me
those early times one may imagine how
such p%rodigious quantities Of gold were
| collected AZ are spoken Of by authors VINO
describe tho wealth Of solomon, the statues,
tablets and vessels of gold dedicated by
Ssmiramis and the riches OF Croesus.
Roman conauerors ronen me p re ths
wagon loads. These great accommodations
we're usually the results of conquesss. Sc
Il was with enormous treasures gathered al
BABYLON under Semiram;s, at Jerusalem
under Solomon, at Sardis under Croesus,
! again at Babylon under Darius, at Alexan-
dria under Alexander, and afterward 81
Rome, while she was ut the summit OF her
power. Ihasmuch as gold in those days
was use solely for the purpose OF ornament
il was less likely to be widely scattered
through a multitude of hands.
''The first mention of gold md silver Is
where Abraham is described as very rich
in cattle. silver and gold" Gold seems To
/ DC IoIeEteu v An II x111AO -
ancient books as conspicuously associatsd
with lordly wealth. Funnily enough, the
metal is ascertained to have been used at
Rome 300 years before Christ for securing
artificial teeth in their places. Cloth was
also made Of it. Pliny speaks OF having
seen A~grippina, wife Of the Emperor
Claudius, seated at her husbands side
during a naval sham battle, clothed in .
robe Of gold woven without admixture OF
other material. Though the auriferout
sands of livers and alluvial plains furnished
most OF the gold anoiently, mines were
worked also. The Pharaoha of Egypt drew
great quantities of the yellow metal from
mines in that country. !.
MANY references in the Bible render il
certain that silver was used for money very
anciently. The first mention Of it's employ
ment in. this way 10 in the passage. where
Ephron values his field at 400 shekols Of
silver, which are weighed out to him b,
Abraham. Joseph's brothers are said te
have sold him for twenty pieces OF silvel
and they took silver with them on bott
occasions when thew went into Egypt to bu,
corn. Mirrors in Pliny's time were com
monty Of silver, although previously. the.
had been made of a mixture of tin and cop
Der. #@ @ & Mg.