559. Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, volume X, Loeb-Summary

559.  Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, volume X, Loeb.  Pliny wrote his Natural History in praise of Nature.  He lists the marbles mined and used at this time.  He condemns the use of these marbles used for luxury but  admires their use for depicting a divinity.  He always condemns greed in any of its forms.  But it is clear that he is awed by the beauty hidden in the earth.  And what variety!  An extensive range of colors and combination of colors and shades are found in stone.  He is intrigued with magnetites (magnets found in nature).  He discusses how marble is cut into sheets- with saw and sand.  The modern method is to use wire and sand.  I have seen these sheets on ancient buildings and the ancient sheets now on the walls of churches in Rome.  Some are very thin- just an quarter of an inch or so.  I learned about the obelisk.  Often these were dedicated to a sun god and it was meant to represent a ray of sunlight in Egypt.  These were made out of a variety of colored marbles and granites.  Pliny also lists, whenever possible, the medicinal uses of these stones.  Maltha was used to make an extra hard plaster which was used on the walls in baths.  This would resist deterioration caused by the excessive moisture in the baths.  Quartz was and still is used to make glass.  Different ingredients such as copper were used to control color and strength.  Romans made elephants out of glass and countless other objects.  There was a famous glass elephant in the Temple of Concord in Rome.  Famous people dedicated glass objects in several temples in Rome for all to see.  The same was done with gems and other fine stones.  Pliny sees this as an opportunity for people to see the wonders of Nature.  But again he condemns greed which causes people to hoard these items or use these as a means to show off.  Amber was greatly admired.  I think that Pliny liked it because it was beautiful and used for medicinal purposes.  Romans liked garnets rubies, diamonds, sardonyx, malachite, amethysts, sapphires, etc.  For Pliny, Nature is full of surprise, beauty and wonder.