Although the ancients were entirely ignorant of this metal, they were
well acquainted with several of its combinations,[297] _Basil
Valentine_, a German Benedictine Monk, was the first who described the
process for obtaining it from its ore; to this work, originally written
in high Dutch, and known by the title of the “_Currus Triumphalis
Antimonii_,” which was published towards the end of the 15th century, we
are indebted for almost all our knowledge respecting this metal.
Antimony is of a greyish white colour, having considerable brilliancy;
its texture is laminated, and exhibits plates crossing each other in
every direction; its _specific gravity_ is 6·7021; when rubbed upon the
fingers it communicates to them a peculiar taste and smell; it is very
brittle, and fuses at the temperature of 809°, but does not appear to be
volatile; when fused, with the access of air, it emits white fumes,
consisting of an oxide of the metal, which formerly was called
_Argentine flowers of Antimony_. When the metal is raised to a white
heat, and suddenly agitated, it enters into a state of combustion, and
is converted into the same white coloured oxide.
According to _Thenard_,[298] antimony is susceptible of no less than six
different degrees of oxidation; _Proust_, however, has shewn that they
may all be reduced to two, viz. _protoxide_ and _peroxide_. The former
of which alone exerts any sensible activity upon the human body; but
this constitutes the basis of several preparations, which although in
common use for medical purposes, are so extremely poisonous in larger
doses, as to render them objects of interest to the forensic physician.