nced."...

After I had made its coat of earth, covered it well, and bound it
properly with irons, I began by means of a slow fire to draw off the
wax, which melted away by many ventholes; for the more of these are
made, the better the molds are filled; and when I had entirely stript
off the wax, I made a sort of fence around my Perseus, that is, round
the mold above mentioned, of bricks, piling them one upon another, and
leaving several vacuities for the fire to exhale at. I next began
gradually to put on the wood, and kept a constant fire for two days
and two nights, till, the wax being quite off, and the mold well
baked, I began to dig a hole to bury my mold in, and observed all
those fine methods of proceeding that are prescribed by our art. When
I had completely dug my hole, I took my mold, and by means of levers
and strong cables directed it with care, and suspended it a cubit
above the level of the furnace, so that it hung exactly in the middle
of the hole. I then let it gently down to the very bottom of the
furnace, and placed it with all the care and exactness I possibly
could.

After I had finished this part of my task, I began to make a covering
of the very earth I had taken off, and in proportion as I raised the
earth I made vents for it, which are a sort of tubes of baked earth,
generally used for conduits, and other things of a similar nature. As
soon as I saw that I had placed it properly, and that this manner of
covering it, by putting on these small tubes in their proper places,
was likely to answer, as also that my journeymen thoroughly understood
my plan, which was very different from that of all other masters, and
I was sure that I could depend upon them, I turned my thoughts to my
furnace. I had caused it to be filled with several pieces of brass and
bronze, and heaped them upon one another in the manner taught us by
our art, taking particular care to leave a passage for the flames,
that the metal might the sooner assume its color and dissolve into a
fluid. Thus I with great alacrity excited my men to lay on the pine
wood, which, because of the oiliness of the resinous matter that oozes
from the pine-tree, and that my furnace was admirably well made,
burned at such a rate that I was continually obliged to run to and
fro, which greatly fatigued me. I, however, bore the hardship; but, to
add to my misfortune, the shop took fire, and we were all very much
afraid the roof would fall in and crush us. Fr