Note 39 — Chapter V · ALGECIRAS—TARIFA.
Reading edition
See “The Merchant and Friar.” It has been imagined that explosive powder was known to the ancients. It is singular that the priests of Delphi could always protect their Temple against barbarians (who were uninitiated) by thunder and lightning; but never against Greeks (who were initiated).
Pliny speaks of the art of bringing down lightning being made common after the siege of Troy.—Lib. ii. ch. 53. Philostratus, Lib. ii. Life of Apoll. 1. iii. ch. 3 says that Hercules was repelled by the Indians, who launched lightnings. The Gentoo code forbids the use of fire-arms.
Coming down to modern times, Langlès supposes it to have been used by the Saracens against St. Louis. In the work of Marcus Græcus, “Liber ignium ad Comb. hostes,” it is said to be referred to, and exactly described in, Julius Africanus, ch. 44; and about the time that Roger Bacon was amusing himself with crackers, an Arab poet was describing the granulation of gunpowder in verse, Langlès “Apud Salverte,” t. ii. c. 8. If the Arabs had had it from us, they would have taken our word, or given to it a constructive name. Their term is original—Barut.