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Rating: Summary: Ian Myles Slater on: A Humanist's Industrial Handbook Review: Georg Pawer was an extremely well educated German in the Humanist tradition of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It was natural that he turned his Greco-German name into Greco-Latin, labeling himself Georgius Agricola. Both versions mean Farmer (Georgios) Farmer (Pawer = Bauer / Agricola). He was a physician by profession. Neither side of his background would seem to suit him to write one of the great books on mining and the refining of ores, but as an official town physician, responsible for treating miners at no additional charge, he seems to have won their trust. The result was a manual, aimed not at people who would have to dig up ores, but at potential investors, and officials and lawyers, who would have to deal with financing, administration and litigation. He set out the basic customs and practices of mining, described the remarkably elaborate machines needed to keep mines dry and ventilated, and processing and refining, with their devices and chemicals. Naturally, he wrote it in the language of real scholarship, Latin, not sixteenth-century German.Since surviving classical Latin is not abundantly supplied with appropriate technical terms, and those which exist are not always clear, the resulting text was soon found to present formidable difficulties, despite important aids from accompanying illustrations. There were early attempts at translating it into German, and even a rendering into Chinese (an early attempt to emulate the mysterious Occidentals and their terror-weapons), but when this translation appeared in 1912, German scholars were humiliated to find that they had been outclassed by a couple of mere "Englanders". They were probably even less happy to find that the translators were Americans. Actually, Lou Henry Hoover, a good classicist, made a perfect team with her husband, the mining engineer Herbert Hoover, who was shortly to become much better known for humanitarian relief work, and an unhappy experience as President of the United States. The engineering half of the partnership knew what the problems were, and the sort of thing that Agricola must have been trying to say, and the classicist could tell whether the vocabulary and grammar could carry that meaning. The result was a book which was not only beautiful, with its reproductions of the original illustrations, but a genuine contribution to the history of technology. The Dover reprinting of 1950 was one of the first, if not the first, of that publisher's adventures in bringing important works back into print, in attractive editions, at reasonable prices. It remains a gem, whether regarded from points of view of the history of technology, of art, or of Renaissance Humanism. The only thing missing is Agricola's companion treatise on other hazards of mining, like kobolds and other malicious spirits (yes, I am serious; he had lots of testimony from honest miners, after all). Of course, nothing human is perfect, and there are some hints of why such a practical man, with a real concern for human suffering, proved so doctrinaire in the face of the Depression. At one point, the Hoovers' scold the Romans for concentrating on German metal resources, instead of trying to build up the only true source of wealth, Agriculture. A lovely sentiment, very eighteenth-century Physiocratic, but it did not seem to occur to them that any agricultural surplus would have had to be shipped down the Rhine, into the North Sea, and around Europe, to be of any immediate benefit to Rome. If it stayed it Germany, it would just feed more nasty, Roman-hating Germans -- so much better to concentrate on something worth carrying across the Alps, or at least useful for arming the Legions. (Of course, there are also the problems of whether Italian agricultural techniques were of any value in the Rhine valley, and why the Germans had not learned appropriate methods from the neighboring Gauls -- but that leads in other directions.)
Rating: Summary: Excellent attention to detail of ancient mining practices Review: This book is a great read. The sections are well defined to cover each topic, including measurements where applicable and even the definition of tracts and management of said lands. He has written other books too. I hope they reprint the translations soon.
Rating: Summary: essential reading for students of technological history Review: This early work describes the thinking of early technologists and shows the development of materials technology and related engineering knowledge of the late 15th century. Of particular interest is the detailed research done by Herbert Hoover, former President and mining engieer. His research is detailed in extensive foot notes. The illustrations are exact copies of the originals. Some of the early chapters are the most intersting reading because of the insights gained into archaic thinking that extrapolates to modern times.
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