An abridgement of the notable woorke of Polidore Vergile conteignyng the deuisers and firste finders out as well of artes, ministeries, feactes & ciuill ordinaunces, as of rites, and ceremonies, commo[n]ly vsed in the churche: and the originall beginnyng of the same. Co[m]pendiously gathered by Thomas Langley

❧The .xii. Chapiter. ¶Who found out metals, smith••s toles, fyre, candels, and belowes.

OF al metal, wherin world¦ly substaunce consisteth▪* 1.1 gold, that all men so sore couer to haue, is the most preciouse. For the desyre

herof they haue digged into the depe botomlesse abi••se of the yearth, & at y^e length (as Phaletius sayd) they wyl digge Pluto out of hel for it. And Dio¦genes what tyme he was asked why gold loke so pale, answered very wel saiyng, because it hath many that lye in wayte for it. Cadmus, as Plinie af¦fyrmeth,* 1.2 foūd it in the moūt Pāgaeus in T••race, or as some thynke, it was Thoas and Eaclis that inuented it in Panc••aia. Syluer Erichthonius of Athens or Ceacus foūd out. I thinke they reporte that gold was found in Pangaeus, because there is great plē∣tye in that hyl,* 1.3 as Herodotus dothe write. The fyue brethren named Idei Dactyli found yron in Crete.* 1.4 Mida∣c••itus fe•• leade out of the Ilelandes against Spayne called Cassitrides, as Strabo declareth. Brasse was foūd by Ciny••as in y^e ile of Cypres,* 1.5 & So∣linas ••ayeth it was found in Crete. Ciny••as also deuised the tōges,* 1.6 fyle or tape, leuer, and stythe. Notwith∣standyng Clement sayeth that Sel∣mētes and Damnameneus two Iues foūd yron fyrst in Cypres, & the Pāno¦niās brasse. Aristotle holdeth opiniō

that Lydus a Scithian fyrst taught to melte & worke brasse,* 1.7 Theophrast thinketh it was Delas a Phrigian. Strabo writeth that a certayne peo∣ple named Telchines wrought yron and brasse fyrst, & they made a swerd named Harpe, which they gaue to Sa¦turne.* 1.8 The smithesforge some thinke the Calibians found, & some suppose it were the Ciclopes, whiche fyrst v∣sed the smithes craft. Diodorus hol∣deth the opinion that Idei Dactili & Vulcanus were auctours of fyre,* 1.9 yrō, brasse, syluer, gold, & al y^t is wrought with the fyre.* 1.10 Sotheryng of yron Glaucus founde, and Cadmus mel∣tyng of golde. Neuerthelesse I take it that all these afore named foūd the vse of suche thinges in their coūtries where they were inhabitauntes. For the vse of al suche metal was percey∣ued in the beginnyng of the worlde by Tubalcain whiche was sonne to Lamech and occupied smithe crafte.* 1.11 Clement referreth the temperyng of yron to Delas. Fyre is supposed to be the inuencion of Vulcanus: Victri∣uius sayeth that the trees tossed and shaken with wyndes, by beatyng to∣gether

of theyr boughes excited fyre.* 1.12 But it had bene more conuenient to haue ascribed the gyfte of it to God, whiche gaue it to man to be remedye against the daūger of colde.* 1.13 Pyrodes fyrst stroke fyre out of flinte, Prome∣theus taught fyrst to kepe it in mat∣ches: Plinie telleth howe the spyes in armies and campes,* 1.14 or els the she∣pardes diuised to smyte fyre by rub∣byng of two peces of wood together. Laurel and Iuye be best for that vse. Belowes were found by Anacharsis as Strabo wytnesseth:* 1.15 Candels the Egyptians inuented.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Golde,
• * 1.2

  Cadmus found gold.
• * 1.3

  Syluer.
• * 1.4

  Yron. Leade.
• * 1.5

  Brasse.
• * 1.6

  Tonges. Leuer. Stithe.
• * 1.7

  Meltyng brasse.
• * 1.8

  Harpe. Smythes¦forge.
• * 1.9

  Idei Dactili.
• * 1.10

  Sotheryng of yron.
• * 1.11

  Tubalcain.
• * 1.12

  Fyre.
• * 1.13

  Pyrodes stroke fyre out of flinte. Matches.
• * 1.14

  Smityng fyre with wood.
• * 1.15

  Belowes. Candels.