TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS

AND MOST MIGHTY DUKES OF

Saxony, Landgraves of Thuringia, Margraves of Meissen,Imperial Overlords of Saxony, Burgraves of Altenbergand Magdeburg, Counts of Brena, Lords ofPleissnerland, To maurice Grand Marshalland Elector of the Holy Roman Empireand to his brother Augustus, 1

GEORGE AGRICOLA S. D.

OST illustrious Princes, often have I consideredthe metallic arts as a whole, as Moderatus Columella 2considered the agricultural arts, just as if Ihad been considering the whole of the humanbody ; and when I had perceived the various partsof the subject, like so many members of the body,I became afraid that I might die before I shouldunderstand its full extent, much less before Icould immortalise it in writing. This bookitself indicates the length and breadth of the subject, and the numberand importance of the sciences of which at least some little knowledgeis necessary to miners. Indeed, the subject of mining is a very exten-sive one, and one very difficult to explain ; no part of it is fully dealtwith by the Greek and Latin authors whose works survive ; and sincethe art is one of the most ancient, the most necessary and the most profitableto mankind, I considered that I ought not to neglect it. Without doubt,none of the arts is older than agriculture, but that of the metals is notless ancient; in fact they are at least equal and coeval, for no mortal man evertilled a field without implements. In truth, in all the works of agricul-ture, as in the other arts, implements are used which are made from metals,or which could not be made without the use of metals ; for this reasonthe metals are of the greatest necessity to man. When an art is so poor thatit lacks metals, it is not of much importance, for nothing is made withouttools. Besides, of all ways whereby great wealth is acquired by good andhonest means, none is more advantageous than mining; for although fromfields which are well tilled (not to mention other things) we derive rich yields,yet we obtain richer products from mines ; in fact, one mine is often muchmore beneficial to us than many fields. For this reason we learn from thehistory of nearly all ages that very many men have been made rich by the

1 For Agricola’s relations with these princes see p. ix.

*Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella was a Roman, a native of Cadiz, and livedduring the ist Century. He was the author of De Re Rustica in 12 books. It was firstprinted in 1472, and some fifteen or sixteen editions had been printed before Agricola’s death.