Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/127

 Chap. 63.] » NATUEE OF THE EAETH. 93 his own destruction, or that we may not seek our death in the ocean, and become food for our graves, or that our bodies may not be gashed by steel. On this account it is that na- ture has produced a substance which is very easily taken, and by which life is extinguished, the body remaining undefiled aiid retaining all its blood, and only causing a degree of thirst. And when it is destroyed by this means, neither bird nor beast will touch the body, but he who has perished by his own hands is reserved for the earth. earth has produced, as a remedy for our evils, we have con- verted into the poison of oiu- lives. Eor do we not use iron, which we caimot do without, for this purpose ? But although this cause of mischief has been produced, we ought not to complain ; we ought not to be ungrateful to this one part of nature How many luxuries and how many insults does she not bear for us ! She is cast into the sea, and, in order that we may introduce seas into her bosom, she is washed away by the waves. She is continuallytortiu^edfor her iron,lier timber, stone, foe, corn, and is even much more subservient to our luxm'ies than to om' mere support. What indeed she endures on her siu-face might be tolerated, but we penetrate also into her bowels, digging out the veins of gold and silver, and the ores of copper and lead ; we also search for gems and certain small pebbles, driving oiu* trenches to a great depth. We tear out her entrails in order to extract the gems ^vith which we may load our fingers. How many hands are worn doTi that one little joint may be ornamented ! If the in- fernal regions really existed, certainly these burrows of ava- rice and luxury would have penetrated into them. And truly we wonder that this same earth should have produced any- thing noxious ! But, I suppose, the savage beasts protect her and keep otF our sacrilegious liands"-. I'or do we not dig among serpents and handle poisonous plants along with those veins of gold ? But the Goddess shows herself more pro- pitious to us, inasmuch as all this wealth ends in crimes, ^ " Terra, inquit, sola est, e quatuor natura? partibus sive dementis, ad- versus quam ingrati simus." Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 308. 2 " Est ironiffi formula. Quid, ait, feras et serpent es et venena terrfB exprobraraus, qu?c nc ad tuendam quidcm illam satis valent ? " Alexandre, in Lemaii-e, i. 3GU.
 * But it must be acknowledged, that ever^i;hing which the