Everything about Georgius Agricola totally explained
Georgius Agricola (
March 24,
1494 –
November 21,
1555) was a
German scholar and scientist. Known as "the father of
mineralogy", he was born at
Glauchau in
Saxony. His real name was
Georg Bauer;
Agricola is the
Latinised version of his name,
Bauer meaning
peasant. He is best known for his book
De Re Metallica.
Life and work
Gifted with a precocious intellect, Georg early threw himself into the pursuit of the "new learning," with such effect that at the age of twenty he was appointed Rector extraordinarius of Greek at the so-called Great School of
Zwickau, and made his appearance as a writer on
philology. After two years he gave up his appointment in order to pursue his studies at
Leipzig, where, as rector, he received the support of the professor of classics,
Peter Mosellanus (1493-1524), a celebrated humanist of the time, with whom he'd already been in correspondence. Here he also devoted himself to the study of
medicine,
physics, and
chemistry. After the death of Mosellanus he went to
Italy from 1524 to 1526, where he took his doctor's degree.
He returned to Zwickau in
1527, and was chosen as town physician at
Joachimsthal, a centre of mining and smelting works, his object being partly "to fill in the gaps in the art of healing," partly to test what had been written about mineralogy by careful observation of ores and the methods of their treatment. His thorough grounding in philology and philosophy had accustomed him to systematic thinking, and this enabled him to construct out of his studies and observations of minerals a logical system which he began to publish in 1528. Agricola's dialogue
Bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus, (1530) the first attempt to reduce to scientific order the knowledge won by practical work, brought Agricola into notice; it contained an approving letter from
Erasmus at the beginning of the book.
In 1530
Prince Maurice of Saxony appointed him
historiographer with an annual allowance, and he migrated to
Chemnitz, the centre of the mining industry, in order to widen the range of his observations. The citizens showed their appreciation of his learning by appointing him town physician in 1533. In that year, he published a book about Greek and Roman weights and measures,
De Mensuis et Ponderibus.
He was also elected
burgomaster of Chemnitz. His popularity was, however, short-lived. Chemnitz was a violent centre of the Protestant movement, while Agricola never wavered in his allegiance to the old religion; and he was forced to resign his office. He now lived apart from the contentious movements of the time, devoting himself wholly to learning. His chief interest was still in mineralogy; but he occupied himself also with medical, mathematical, theological and historical subjects, his chief historical work being the
Dominatores Saxonici a prima origine ad hanc aetatem, published at
Freiberg. In 1544 he published the
De ortu et causis subterraneorum, in which he laid the first foundations of a physical
geology, and criticized the theories of the ancients. In 1545 followed the
De natura eorum quae effluunt e terra; in 1546 the
De veteribus et novis metallis, a comprehensive account of the discovery and occurrence of minerals and also more commonly known as
De Natura Fossilium; in 1548 the
De animantibus subterraneis; and in the two following years a number of smaller works on the
metals.
De Re Metallica
His most famous work, the
De re metallica libri xii, was published in
1556, though apparently finished several years before, since the dedication to the elector and his brother is dated 1550. It is a complete and systematic treatise on
mining and
metallurgy, illustrated with many fine and interesting
woodcuts which illustrate every conceivable process to extract ores from the ground and metal from the ore, and more besides. Thus Agricola describes and illustrates how ore veins occur in and on the ground, making the work an early contribution to the developing science of
geology. He describes
prospecting for ore veins and
surveying in great detail, as well as washing the ores to collect the heavier valuable minerals such as
gold and
tin.
It is also interesting for showing the many
water mills used in
mining, such as the machine for lifting men and material into and out of a mine shaft. Water mills found innumerable applications, especially in crushing ores to release the fine particles of gold and other heavy minerals, as well as working giant
bellows to force air into the confined spaces of underground workings.
It contains in an appendix, the German equivalents for the technical terms used in the Latin text. It long remained a standard work, and marks its author as one of the most accomplished chemists of his time. Believing the black rock of the
Schlossberg at
Stolpen to be the same as
Pliny the Elder's
basalt, he applied this name to it, and thus originated a petrological term which has been permanently incorporated in the vocabulary of science. Until that time, Pliny's work
Historia Naturalis was the main source of information on metals and mining techniques, and Agricola makes numerous references to the
Roman encyclopedia.
He describes many
mining methods which are now redundant, such as
fire-setting, which involved building fires against hard rock faces. The hot rock was quenched with water and the
thermal shock weakened it enough for easy removal. It was very dangerous when used in underground galleries for the toxic gases given off by fires, and was made obsolete by
explosives.
De re metallica is considered a classic document of
Medieval metallurgy, unsurpassed for two centuries. In 1912, the
Mining Magazine (London) published an English translation. The translation was made by
Herbert Hoover, an American mining engineer better known in his term as a
President of the United States, and his wife
Lou Henry Hoover.
Final days
In spite of the early proof that Agricola had given of the tolerance of his own religious attitude, he wasn't suffered to end his days in peace. He remained to the end a staunch Catholic, though all Chemnitz had gone over to the Lutheran creed; and it's said that his life was ended by a fit of
apoplexy brought on by a heated discussion with a Protestant divine. He died in Chemnitz on
21 November 1555; so violent was the theological feeling against him, that he wasn't allowed to be buried in the town to which he'd added such lustre. Amidst hostile demonstrations he was carried to
Zeitz, some fifty kilometers away, and buried there.
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