Note 579 — BOOK IX.
Thomas Hodgkin translation
'Origo quidem nobilis, sed de flamma suscipit vim coloris, ut magis credas inde nasci, cujus similitudine videtur ornari. Sed cum auro tribuat splendidum ruborem, argento confert albissimam lucem. Ut mirum sit, unam substantiam tradere, quod rebus dissimilibus possit aptari.' Have we here a hint of 'the transmutation of metals?' Cassiodorus seems to think that it is only the furnace that makes the difference between the colours of gold and of silver.