Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 58

Vis scire, quam falsus oculos tuos deceperit fulgor? Nihil est istis, quamdiu mersa et involuta caeno suo iacent, foedius, nihil obscurius, quidni? Quae per longissimorum cuniculorum tenebras extrahuntur. Nihil est illis, dum fiunt et a faece sua separantur, informius. Denique ipsos opifices intuere, per quorum manus sterile terrae genus et infernum perpurgatur; videbis quanta fuligine oblinantur.

Veux-tu savoir quel faux éclat a déçu tes yeux ? Rien de plus sale, de moins brillant que ces métaux tant qu’ils restent ensevelis et noyés dans
leur boue. Et en effet, quand on les extrait à travers de sombres et interminables tranchées, et avant qu’ils se produisent dégagés de leurs scories, il n’est rien de plus terne. Enfin considère ceux qui les travaillent et sous la main desquels cette sorte de terre stérile et informe laisse successivement ses impuretés, et vois de quel enduit fuligineux ils sont couverts. Eh bien !

Do you wish to know how false is the gleam that has deceived your eyes? There is really nothing fouler or more involved in darkness than these things of earth, sunk and covered for so long a time in the mud where they belong. Of course they are foul; they have been hauled out through a long and murky mine-shaft. There is nothing uglier than these metals during the process of refinement and separation from the ore. Furthermore, watch the very workmen who must handle and sift the barren grade of dirt, the sort which comes from the bottom; see how soot-besmeared they are!